Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Somme

At Amazon, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Somme: Into the Breach.

Tomi Lahren on President Trump's Meeting with Vladimir Putin (VIDEO)

I'm not sure what Tomi Lahren's up to: Does she want to be the next Michelle Fields, and ingratiate herself on the left to facilitate ready employment? Or does she want to stay true to her principles and grind it out, working her way up in the media world by paying her dues? Well, if Judge Jeanine's bringing her on the show, I don't know if it's either of these things. Maybe she's still coasting along on whatever remaining capital she has after leaving Glenn Beck's network.

In any case, she's a smokin' hot woman. I dearly hope she sticks to her conservative bona fides.

Danielle Gersh's Record Temperatures Forecast

I was in all day today relaxing, reading, and watching some baseball. While my Angels are struggling, the Dodgers are absolutely on fire, with the best record in the major leagues.

And it was hot. Inland temperatures were in the triple-digits, and it got up to 93 today in Irvine.

So, try to stay cool folks.

Here's the fabulous Ms. Danielle with the forecast, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Just One More Illegal Immigrant Road Sign Left on Interstate 5

These stories are designed to pull at your heartstrings, in classic radical left style, although this is interesting nevertheless.

At LAT (safe link), "With only one left, iconic yellow road sign showing running immigrants now borders on the extinct":

So many immigrants crossing illegally into the United States through California were killed by cars and trucks along the 5 Freeway that John Hood was given an assignment.

In the early 1990s, the Caltrans worker was tasked with creating a road sign to alert drivers to the possible danger.

Silhouetted against a yellow background and the word “CAUTION,” the sign featured a father, waist bent, head down, running hard. Behind him, a mother in a knee-length dress pulls on the slight wrist of a girl — her pigtails flying, her feet barely touching the ground.

Ten signs once dotted the shoulders of the 5 Freeway, just north of the Mexican border. They became iconic markers of the perils of the immigrant journey north. But they began to disappear — victims of crashes, storms, vandalism and the fame conferred on them by popular culture.

Today, one sign remains. And when it’s gone, it won’t be replaced — the result of California’s diminished role as a crossing point for immigrants striving to make it to America....

*****

In the 1980s, more than 100 people were killed as they tried to cross freeway lanes in the San Ysidro area and between San Clemente and Oceanside. Caltrans wanted to do something about the problem and asked [artist John] Hood, a California Department of Transportation employee and Vietnam War veteran who grew up on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, to come up with a sign that would alert drivers and could reduce the number of deaths.

He eventually settled on using the image of a family in an effort to tug at the heart in a way a typical road sign might not. A little girl with pigtails, he thought, would convey the idea of motion, of running.

The sign was inspired by photographs of people crossing at the time, including those taken by former Los Angeles Times staff photographer Don Bartletti.

Caltrans first installed the signs in late 1990 and early 1991. After workers erected a median fence along the freeway’s trouble spots in 1994, officials decided not to replace any future signs that were lost. Around that time, federal officials launched Operation Gatekeeper, which fenced off the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego — pushing illegal immigration east, toward Arizona and Texas. That helped reduce the number of freeway-crossing deaths, Caltrans officials said.

“You create your work, and that’s the extent of it. You never envision something like that to happen,” Hood said about the sign’s evolution. “It’s become an iconic element. It lives on.”

Estela Dutra, a hairstylist at Selena Estetica Unisex on West San Ysidro Boulevard, said she always found the signs offensive. The image is akin to a cattle crossing, she said.

“It’s sort of humiliating, dehumanizing. It makes us look like animals ... primitive people,” she said.

The 72-year-old, a naturalized U.S. citizen, illegally crossed the border 40 years ago. She entered with ease as a car passenger along the San Ysidro crossing, she said.

“I wasn’t asked for a passport or a visa,” she said. “Can you believe it? Those were different times.”

Dutra said she gets teary-eyed when she sees the remaining sign on her way north from a day trip to Mexico. Her sadness doesn’t stem from her journey so long ago, but for those who continue to make the trip — which has become increasingly treacherous.

“I just feel so much sadness for all the families that have to go through that. Can you imagine how much they suffer?” she said. “The families that cross leave everything behind — the little they have — and risk it all.”

More (FWIW).

The truly big story here is that border enforcement works. California's enforcement at San Ysidro is really aggressive, with layers of militarized fencing and aggressive border patrols, with high-technology as well. We can expand this to the rest of the physically-adaptable border. It's doable, totally. It's a political question. That's all.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Shop Amazon Today

Thanks for supporting the blog!

Here, at Amazon, Today's Deals.

And, Savings in Car Audio.

Plus, Mountain House Just In Case...Essential Bucket.

More, Shop American Flags.

Still more, Banana Boat Ultra Mist Sport Performance Broad Spectrum Sun Care Sunscreen Spray - Twin Pack - SPF 30, 2 count, 6OZ.

Also, Biofreeze Pain Relieving Gel - 4 Ounce Tube - Pack of 4.

And, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - White.

BONUS: Hew Strachan, The First World War: Volume I: To Arms.

Sailors and Marines Deploy from Naval Base San Diego (VIDEO)

I'm so glad the local network posts these stories. They're so important.

The family sacrifice is profound, but no complaints.

MAGA!

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Sailors and Marines in the America Amphibious Ready Group and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit left San Diego Friday for a regularly scheduled deployment. The naval force is comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS America, amphibious transport dock USS San Diego and amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor.

During the deployment, they'll operate with embarked forces of the Camp Pendleton-based 15th MEU, the "Wildcards" of Coronado-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, and various other units...

Doug Ross Reviews, Rediscovering Americanism

At Director Blue, "America’s Last History Teacher: A Review of Rediscovering Americanism, by Mark R. Levin."

Levin's a patriot. I don't always agree with him, but you won't go wrong appreciating his work.

At Amazon, Rediscovering Americanism: And the Tyranny of Progressivism.

Barbara Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram

I'm on a kinda pre-World War I reading jag now, thanks to Fritz Fischer's book.

I have this lovely vintage paperback copy of Barbara Tuchman's, The Zimmermann Telegram.

Thanks for your support!

Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought

At Amazon, Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War.

Richard Seymour, Corbyn

At Amazon, Richard Seymour, Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics.

This looks especially interesting in light of that Mark Penn op-ed the other day at the New York Times, and the American left's visceral response to it (at Memeorandum and Twitter).

David Weil, The Fissured Workplace

At Amazon, David Weil, The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It.

Amber Lee's Hot Temperatures Forecast

Well, the true July summer weather arrived on schedule.

It's been pushing 90 degrees in Irvine this past couple of days.

It's getting humid too.

And that's called the weather, heh.

Here's the lovely Ms. Amber, at KCAL 9 News Los Angeles:

Trump's Defining Speech

At WSJ, "In a presidency-defining speech in Poland, Mr. Trump defends the faith and freedom of the Western tradition":

The White House description of Donald Trump’s speech Thursday in Warsaw was simply, “Remarks by President Trump to the People of Poland.” In truth, Mr. Trump’s remarks were directed at the people of the world. Six months into his first term of office, Mr. Trump finally offered the core of what could become a governing philosophy. It is a determined and affirmative defense of the Western tradition.

To be sure, Mr. Trump’s speech also contained several pointed and welcome foreign-policy statements. He assured Poland it would not be held hostage to a single supplier of energy, meaning Russia. He exhorted Russia to stop destabilizing Ukraine “and elsewhere,” to stop supporting Syria and Iran and “instead join the community of responsible nations.” He explicitly committed to NATO’s Article 5 on mutual defense.

But—and this shocked Washington—the speech aimed higher. Like the best presidential speeches, it contained affirmations of ideas and principles and related them to the current political moment. “Americans, Poles and the nations of Europe value individual freedom and sovereignty,” he said. This was more than a speech, though. It was an argument. One might even call it an apologia for the West.

Mr. Trump built his argument out of Poland’s place in the history of the West, both as a source of its culture—Copernicus, Chopin—and as a physical and spiritual battlefield, especially during World War II. The word Mr. Trump came back to repeatedly to define this experience was “threat.”

During and after the war, Poland survived threats to its existence from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Mr. Trump believes that the West today confronts threats of a different sort, threats both physical and cultural. “This continent,” said Mr. Trump, “no longer confronts the specter of communism. But today we’re in the West, and we have to say there are dire threats to our security and to our way of life.”

He identified the most immediate security threat as an “oppressive ideology.” He was talking about radical Islam, but it is worth noting that he never mentioned radical Islam or Islamic State. Instead, he described the recent commitment by Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations to combat an ideological menace that threatens the world with terrorism. He compared this idea of mutual defense to the alliance of free nations that defeated Nazism and communism.

But the speech’s most provocative argument was about our way of life. It came when he described how a million Poles stood with Pope John Paul II in Victory Square in 1979 to resist Soviet rule by chanting, “We want God!”

“With that powerful declaration of who you are,” Mr. Trump said, “you came to understand what to do and how to live.”

This is a warning to the West and a call to action...

Still more.

And President Trump tweeted, "Thank you!"

Bella Hadid on the Runway

At the Mirror U.K., "Bella Hadid struts her stuff on the catwalk in sheer nipple-baring design before slipping into sexy silver number: The jet-setting beauty made her mark at the Alexandre Vauthier show on Tuesday."

And at Taxi Driver, "Bella Hadid in See-Through Top on the Runway."

Today's Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

Also, GoPro HERO5 Black.

Here, Honeywell HT-900 TurboForce Air Circulator Fan, Black.

And, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - White.

Glad Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags, 13 Gallon, 90 Count, (Packaging May Vary).

Here, 2 Pounds Unroasted Coffee Beans, Premium Select from RhoadsRoast Coffees (Brazil Cerrado Arabica - Natural 17/18 Screen Coffee Beans, 2 Pounds Unroasted Green Beans).

Kelloggs Frosted Whole Grain Mini Wheats, 70-Ounce.

More, Franklin Sports Field Master Series Fast-Pitch Softball Glove, Right-Hand Throw.

BONUS: Gordon Prange, At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor.

VIDEO: George Clooney — Hypocrite (and Complete Idiot)

I'm shaking my head at this.

Actions speak louder than words, and Clooney's proving how wrong leftists are, and how hypocritical is the entire leftist establishment.

At London's Daily Mail, "George Clooney 'planning to move Amal and their twins back to LA amid security concerns over $25m English country manor', claims magazine."

And watch, from Paul Joseph Watson:

New Album from Breakout Los Angeles Stars Haim

This is great.

They harken back to classic rock sounds, and it's all girls, heh.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Review: New album from L.A. breakout stars Haim makes you believe rock might have a future":

In the music video for “Want You Back,” the lead single from their long-awaited new album, the three sisters of Haim saunter down a deserted Ventura Boulevard, air-drumming as they pass the sushi joints and car dealerships of their native San Fernando Valley.

The video’s early morning shoot may have been the most alone time they’ve enjoyed since 2013. That’s when Haim released its hit debut, “Days Are Gone,” which after years of hard work around Los Angeles finally launched this crafty family band to stardom — and to highly visible relationships with a diverse array of pop luminaries.

Taylor Swift befriended the sisters and took them on tour. Calvin Harris put them on a thumping EDM track. Morris Day even recruited the trio to help him perform “Jungle Love” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Everywhere you turned, Haim was the life of someone’s party.

Now the group is back with “Something to Tell You,” which features contributions by what seems like half of L.A.’s musical community, including producers Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij and first-call instrumentalists such as Greg Leisz and Lenny Castro.

For all the voices in the mix, though, “Something to Tell You,” due Friday, still feels defined by the unique bond that connects singer-guitarist Danielle Haim, bassist Este Haim and guitarist-keyboardist Alana Haim, who grew up playing music in a family band with their parents. The record makes you believe in the image in the “Want You Back” video of three women sharing a vivid private language.

It also makes you believe that rock might have a future (even if it’s only the genre’s past). On “Days Are Gone,” Haim looked back to the polished sound of vintage Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, and here the sisters continue to rely on guitars and the like at a moment when many of their peers have little use for them...

More.

Milo Yiannopoulos: An Establishment Conservative's Guide to the Alt-Right

Following-up, "Who is 'Alt-Right'?"

I'm reminded of the May '16 article by Milo Yiannopoulos, at Breitbart, "An Establishment Conservative's Guide to the Alt-Right." (Still worth a read, for sure.)

Also, at Instapundit, "IF YOU STRIKE ME DOWN, I SHALL ONLY BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE: Milo Yiannopoulos has sold 100,000 copies of his new book, Dangerous in a single day," and "PUNCHING BACK TWICE AS HARD: Milo Yiannopoulos Files $10M Lawsuit Against Simon & Schuster For Pulling His Book."

And check out Milo's book, currently sold out, heh, at Amazon, Dangerous.

Success is the best revenge, as they say.

H.L. Mencken, Prejudices

Years ago my dad bought me a little paperback copy of this book.

I wish I still had it, actually.

Interesting.

At Amazon, H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: The Complete Series.

Who is 'Alt-Right'?

I'm not, that's for sure.

Some of these people are too cozy with legitimate Nazis and white supremacists (here's looking at you, Lauren Southern). (And don't get me going about Cassandra Fairbanks, *eye-roll*.)

But I gotta hand it to 'em in turning the Alinsky tables on the radical left. Seriously, I can't begrudge the alt-right for taking the fight to the enemy. It's long overdue (you can't count on Beltway Republican barnacles to wage ideological warfare).

From Andrew Marantz, at the New Yorker, "The Alt-Right Branding War Has Torn the Movement in Two." (Via Memeorandum and Red State.)