Peter McPhee, Liberty or Death

*BUMPED.*

Following-up from yesterday eariler, "Lynn Hunt, Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution."

Now here's this book, just out on August 8th, from Peter McPhee, at Amazon, Liberty or Death: The French Revolution.

Angels Acquire Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips

Hey, I can dig it.

I like Cameron Maybin, who was sent to Houston, but if the acquisition of Upton and Phillips helps the Angels make the postseason, it's no problem.

And the front office did some serious business with these acquisitions.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Angels signal they're in it to win it by trading for Justin Upton":

Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton will both be in uniform tonight in Texas. I would like to say, in advance, that I don't make the lineup.

— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) September 1, 2017

This is bigger than Yu Darvish.

You might have wondered if the Dodgers were trying their hardest to win the World Series, but you never had to wonder whether they were trying to win. The Dodgers were bound for October, with or without Darvish.

The Angels? Mike Trout, some wings and a prayer.

When the July 31 trade deadline came and the Angels were afloat in the wild-card race, they made one move: dumping one of their most reliable relievers for no good reason, and nothing good in return.

With one bold move on Thursday, the Angels announced they were back.

Back to relevance. Back to winning. Back to a commitment to excellence.

No longer will the Angels allow themselves to be held hostage by the ghost of Josh Hamilton. When they agreed to acquire Justin Upton from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, they finally removed the“vacancy” sign from left field, three years after they exiled Hamilton to Texas.

They could have had Upton two winters ago, or Yoenis Cespedes, Dexter Fowler, Alex Gordon or Jason Heyward. They passed on them all, trying to pass off Craig Gentry and Daniel Nava as a legitimate major league platoon. They still had to pay Hamilton, after all.

The Angels’ left fielders have hit 27 home runs in the three years of the post-Hamilton era, seven this season. Upton has hit 28 home runs this season, 11 in August.

The Angels’ second basemen had a .589 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage), the lowest for any American League club at any position, aside from shortstop for the Kansas City Royals (Alcides Escobar). After two years and zero offense there in the post-Howie Kendrick era, the Angels doubled down on this year and traded for Brandon Phillips on Thursday as well.

Trout has drawn 11 walks in his last eight games, and not just because of his plate discipline. For most of the season, no Angels hitters besides Trout and Andrelton Simmons ranked above league average. They rank last in the AL in OPS. Frankly, with their starting pitching in tatters for most of the season, it’s a miracle they are in contention.

But they awoke Thursday — the last day before organizational rosters are frozen for postseason eligibility — and found themselves one game out of the second AL wild-card spot, two games behind the New York Yankees for the top wild-card spot.

The disabled list is clearing. Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs are back in the starting rotation, with ace Garrett Richards expected to follow any day now. C.J. Cron hit two home runs on Tuesday. Albert Pujols hit two home runs on Wednesday.

The players deserved some help, and owner Arte Moreno gave it to them.

Moreno doesn’t come around the ballpark as often as he used to, and he doesn’t have much to say publicly, leaving fans to wonder whether he remains engaged and interested in his team. He takes pride in running the team as a successful business, with no debt. He could sell the team for 10 times what he paid for it.

On Thursday, he showed he still is in it to win it. The Angels’ lone World Series appearance, remember, came the year before he bought the team.

This is the last year of the Hamilton contract. Moreno will pay about $35 million to left fielders this year — $26 million to Hamilton, the rest to Upton and Cameron Maybin.

It isn’t that the Angels’ payroll is taking a huge jump this year. It’s not. The Angels let the Houston Astros take Maybin on a waiver claim, and the $1.5 million the Angels save there will cover much of the $3.7 million Upton is owed for the rest of this season. The Tigers will pay some of that too. And the Angels’ commitment to the 36-year-old Phillips is less than $1 million; he’s a free agent come fall.

No, the plaudits for Moreno come because Upton has four years and $88.5 million left on his contract after this season. He could opt out, but Moreno assumed that risk — and, really, there’s not much to lose here.

The Angels know they get a month of Upton for a few million bucks, without losing either of their two legitimate prospects in the trade. They just might get four more years of a premium power hitter at a market rate.

Upton, who turned 30 last week, has hit at least 25 home runs five years running. They ought to hope he does not opt out. If he does, they won’t get a draft pick.

The Angels cannot dream of getting anywhere near that production of anyone in their farm system by 2020.

That is the last year of Trout’s contract. The Angels don’t have time for a tank job if they want to persuade him to stay. They need to show him they can win, with him, and soon.

And, as of Thursday, they are two big bats closer to doing something they never have done since baseball’s best player joined the Angels in 2011: winning a postseason game.

Myla Dalbesio Leaves Nothing to the Imagination (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Bella Thorne Flaunts in a Bikini Top

Yolo.

At Drunken Stepfather, "BELLA THORNE IN A BIKINI TOP OF THE DAY":

Bella Thorne never ending stream of her life because girl is so hooked to fame, attention to herself, being the star of her show, that she runs and directs and stars in like a Mel Gibson movie you can jerk off to, while designed to feed her ego.

🌈🎪🏆 pic.twitter.com/plLEYlbGg7

— bella thorne (@bellathorne) August 27, 2017

Alannah Beirne on the Sidewalk

She's was a finalist for Britain's Next Top Model.

At Taxi Driver, "Alannah Beirne Nipple Slip on the Sidewalk."

Also at Sunday World Magazine and VIP:

Free in today's @sundayworld ... Magazine+ has an exclusive chat with Ireland's @BNTMUK stunner @AlannahBeirne pic.twitter.com/XE6jXWIehX

— SW Magazine+ (@SundayWorldMag) June 25, 2017

‘I was bursting with happiness…’ @AlannahBeirne on making top three on Britain’s Next Top Model. https://t.co/W9kWpmxGE1 pic.twitter.com/HMA6lp4XAK

— VIP Magazine (@VIPmagaz) May 18, 2017

Blistering Heat Continues (VIDEO)

There was an apocalyptic feel last night when I was driving home from work. Temperatures were near 100, but the sky was filled with cumulus storm clouds, while at the same time the acrid smell of smoke told that the heat had brought some fires. You just wanted to be out of it. Man.

Here's more, from Jasmine Viel at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

President Trump May Drop DACA (VIDEO)

I hate DACA. But will dropping it hurt the GOP?

We'll see.

At LAT, "Speaker Ryan, business groups urge Trump to save DACA program for young immigrants."

A decision's expected over the weekend.

Democrats: The Atheist Anti-American Feminist Gun-Grabber Man-Hating Party

At the Other McCain:

Democrats like Shannon Watts promote the idea that Bible-believing Christians are a greater threat to America than Koran-believing Muslims. Why? Because exit-poll data show that Bible-believing Christians tend to vote Republican, just like a majority of gun owners vote Republican, and most white people vote Republican. If you are a member of any demographic constituency that is aligned with the GOP, Democrats will find a way to demonize you as the epitome of evil, because scapegoating their enemies is what the Democrat Party is all about.

By the way, is anyone surprised that Shannon Watts’ daughter is gay? Aren’t Democrats now basically the anti-heterosexual party? America is still a free country, and you can say what you want, but they can take away my heterosexuality when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

Probably most Americans agree with me, but Democrats hate most Americans. They are fanatically devoted to hating us, and yet can’t seem to understand why we don’t vote for them. Let’s hope they never figure it out, because this is why Hillary Clinton is not president.

Anna Kooiman in South Korea (VIDEO)

I saw her on Twitter this morning.

And here's the video from Fox & Friends:

Identity Politics, Destroying America

From James A. Baker III and Andrew Young, at WSJ, "Identity Politics Are Tearing America Apart":

The two of us have seen this before: a critical point in U.S. history, when political, social and economic upheavals have left too many Americans battling one another rather than working together to build a better country. We lived through the Great Depression, when men armed with bats and clubs went to the streets in violent attempts to resolve labor differences. We also experienced the civil unrest of the 1960s, when inner cities burned with the heat of racial division and authorities killed innocent students peacefully protesting a war.

Somehow, the drumbeat of dissonance seems harsher today. America’s national ideal of “e pluribus unum”—out of many, one—threatens to become a hollow slogan. Jaded Americans are constantly confronted by a deluge of animus from their televisions and smartphones. The U.S. finds itself increasingly divided along lines of race, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual identity. Countless demagogues stand ready to exploit those differences. When a sports reporter of Asian heritage is removed from his assignment because his name is close to that of a Confederate army general, political correctness has gone too far. Identity politics practiced by both major political parties is eroding a core principle that Americans are, first and foremost, Americans.

The divisions in society are real. So are national legacies of injustice. All can and must be addressed. Those who preach hatred should be called out for their odious beliefs. But even as extremism is condemned, Americans of good will need to keep up lines of civil, constructive conversation.

The country faces a stark choice. Its citizens can continue screaming at each other, sometimes over largely symbolic issues. Or they can again do what the citizens of this country have done best in the past—work together on the real problems that confront everyone.

Both of us have been at the center of heated disputes in this country and around the world. And there’s one thing we’ve learned over the decades: You achieve peace by talking, not yelling. The best way to resolve an argument is to find common ground.

We encourage Congress and the White House to take this approach in the fall. First, they should raise the debt ceiling and fund the government. There is no benefit to shutting down the government simply because one side does not get all it wants from the legislative process. A government shutdown would only fortify most people’s dissatisfaction with a federal government they (often correctly) believe doesn’t work for them. And it would only breed more debilitating cynicism.

We hope that leaders in Washington will also focus on infrastructure projects that can help the U.S. keep pace with its global competitors, particularly China. Floodwaters don’t distinguish between Republicans and Democrats. Nor do rotting bridges discriminate between whites and blacks. This is an important and easy area to emphasize common interests. Political leaders should prioritize and provide tangible policies that benefit Americans. They are long overdue.

We also encourage Washington to focus with laserlike intensity on the federal tax code, which handcuffs American businesses. This country needs to find politically palatable ways to streamline that code and bring corporate taxes in line with those of other countries. As a way to protect the debate from becoming a battle over whose ox gets gored, Congress should make any tax reform revenue-neutral. Legislation should also encourage investors to bring their money back into the U.S., where it can be put into civic projects that improve America.

Congress and the president must do more than just act on these pressing issues. They also need to set an example to all Americans...

Keep reading.

America's Mass Hysteria

Here's Ace, at AoSHQ.

A phenomenal essay. Just read it all at the link. Grab a cup of coffee. It's worth your time.

Media/social media is infected by virally-transmitted hysteria. How to stay sane in the Crazy Years: https://t.co/ujuv3q4Ehs

— Baby Goat Alliance (@AceofSpadesHQ) August 30, 2017

Shop Amazon

Thanks for your support.

Regular blogging's going to pick back up over the long Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, check out these deals.

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

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BONUS: Alberto Angela, A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome: Daily Life, Mysteries, and Curiosities.

Kate Upton Puts on a Show (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Colleen McCullough, Morgan's Run

At Amazon, Colleen McCullough, Morgan's Run.

Evelyn Taft's Smothering Heat Forecast

Oh boy was it hot today. I got out to my van at about 4:00pm and near-about melted once I got inside. Sheesh.

And there's more smothering temperatures expected tomorrow.

Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Laura Ingraham Calls Out #Antifa (VIDEO)

Following-up, "The #Antifa Protests Are Helping Donald Trump."

Things really are coming to a head on this. Thanks antifa! Keep it up!

Here's Ms. Laura, with Tucker Carlson tonight:

The #Antifa Protests Are Helping Donald Trump

When left-wing hacks start writing posts like this, you know a line's been crossed.

This makes me happy. I'm just tickled. Nancy Pelosi even issued a denunciation, which is a little shocking, heh.

From Jelani Cobb, at the New Yorker:

The Antifa protests are helping Donald Trump: https://t.co/44i5eZG9hF pic.twitter.com/g2nxfrFRoN

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) August 29, 2017

Pelosi puts out statement condemning Antifa violence in Berkeley. pic.twitter.com/0RlU6RlWmX

— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) August 30, 2017

Today's Deals

At Amazon, Shop Lightning Deals.

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Still more, Mountain House Just In Case...Breakfast Bucket.

BONUS: Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel.

Lynn Hunt, Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution

Following-up from Monday, "Simon Schama, Citizens."

At Amazon, Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution: With a New Preface, 20th Anniversary Edition (Studies on the History of Society and Culture, No. 1).

Amber Lee's Beach Weather Forecast

It's great down by the water. If you're inland, though, especially if you're out and about, it's gotta be miserable. We're looking at triple-digits inland tomorrow.

I've been teaching this week, so when I head home for my drive-time commute, it's boiling in Long Beach. Shoot, it's supposed to be about 95 tomorrow in Irvine. That's about the hottest it's been all summer, excepting that gnarly heat wave we had back in June.

In any case, I'll be back teaching again on Wednesday. Everything's going fine. I'm getting my classes set up, getting students situated with their syllabi and course materials. Tomorrow's a lecture and discussion section for my American government classes. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully students will remain punctual and attendance is robust.

Meanwhile, here's the lovely Ms. Amber, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles: