Woman Says Alexa Recorded Private Conversations, Sent Them to Contact in Family's Address Book

This isn't creepy at all.

At Instapundit, "I DO NOT TRUST THE “INTERNET OF THINGS” (CONT’D): Woman says her Amazon device recorded private conversation, sent it out to random contact."

The 'Generic Ballot' is Overrated

Folks have been trumpeting the latest polls showing Republicans jumping to a lead in the "generic ballot" for the midterm congressional elections.

I don't give these polls a lot of credence. It's a bit early to expect much from these surveys, for one thing.

The main rule for the midterms is that the president's party always loses seats. That means Republicans. How many will they lose? That depends. On a lot. So, we'll see.

I'm going to be surprised if Democrats don't take the majority in the House of Representatives. They need to pick up 23 seats. There's about 43 Republican House members retiring, presumable most of those because incumbents are facing nasty reelection bids, with an extremely motivated Democrat opposition base. Trump Derangement Syndrome is going to drive energized leftists to the polls in November. I doubt polling is capturing this eruption of partisan hatred adequately.

But then, when your party allies with Hamas and MS-13 against the president (and the country, frankly) all bets are off. Maybe it's true that the public has had enough of Democrat Party anti-Americanism and is grateful for all the winning under this administration. We'll see.

In any case, here's Sean Trende, at RCP, with an analysis, "How the Battle for the House Is Shaping Up":

Characteristically strong assessment of the state of play in the House from @SeanTrende https://t.co/6KypcRmm7c

— Kyle Kondik (@kkondik) May 25, 2018

If you had asked me six months ago who I thought would win control of the House of Representatives in 2018, I wouldn’t have hesitated before answering, “It’s early, but Democrats are heavily favored, although conventional wisdom has been very slow to catch up.” With a raft of GOP retirements in highly vulnerable open seats, a president with job approval ratings in the 30s, and a generic ballot lead for Democrats in the double digits, it was increasingly difficult to spell out a path to victory for Republicans. In fact, things were bad enough that it appeared their losses could grow into the 40 or even 50 seat range.

Things have changed. If the election were held today, it’s not clear who would hold the chamber. I might put a thumb on the scale for Republicans, but right now – and it is still early – the House is likely to be close. Once again, conventional wisdom seems slow to catch up, with analysts still discussing the toxic environment for Republicans. There are three things to consider..

Keep reading.

The Real Constitutional Crisis

It's Kim Strassel, at WSJ:

The Real Constitutional Crisis https://t.co/RMpGZe1Fuy

— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) May 25, 2018

Democrats and their media allies are again shouting “constitutional crisis,” this time claiming President Trump has waded too far into the Russia investigation. The howls are a diversion from the actual crisis: the Justice Department’s unprecedented contempt for duly elected representatives, and the lasting harm it is doing to law enforcement and to the department’s relationship with Congress.

The conceit of those claiming Mr. Trump has crossed some line in ordering the Justice Department to comply with oversight is that “investigators” are beyond question. We are meant to take them at their word that they did everything appropriately. Never mind that the revelations of warrants and spies and dirty dossiers and biased text messages already show otherwise.

We are told that Mr. Trump cannot be allowed to have any say over the Justice Department’s actions, since this might make him privy to sensitive details about an investigation into himself. We are also told that Congress—a separate branch of government, a primary duty of which is oversight—cannot be allowed to access Justice Department material. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes can’t be trusted to view classified information—something every intelligence chairman has done—since he might blow a source or method, or tip off the president.

That’s a political judgment, but it holds no authority. The Constitution set up Congress to act as a check on the executive branch—and it’s got more than enough cause to do some checking here. Yet the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation have spent a year disrespecting Congress—flouting subpoenas, ignoring requests, hiding witnesses, blacking out information, and leaking accusations.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has not been allowed to question a single current or former Justice or FBI official involved in this affair. Not one. He’s also more than a year into his demand for the transcript of former national security adviser Mike Flynn’s infamous call with the Russian ambassador, as well as reports from the FBI agents who interviewed Mr. Flynn. And still nothing.

Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is being stonewalled on at least three inquiries. The House Judiciary and Oversight committee chairmen required a full-blown summit in April with Justice Department officials to get movement on their own subpoena. The FBI continues to block a fuller release of the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia report.

Not that the documents that Justice sends over are of much use. Mr. Grassley this week excoriated the department for its routine practice of redacting key information, and for similarly refusing to provide a “privilege log” that details the legal basis for withholding information. His team recently discovered that one of the items Justice had scrubbed from the Peter Strzok-Lisa Page texts was the duo’s concern that former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe had a $70,000 conference table. (Was it lacquered with unicorn tears?) A separate text refers to an investigation that the White House is “running,” but conveniently blacks out which one. The FBI won’t answer Mr. Johnson’s questions about who is doing the redacting.

This intransigence is creating an unprecedented toxicity between law enforcement and Congress, undermining what has long been a cooperative and vital relationship...

Hence, the real constitution crisis -- the D.O.J and F.B.I.

More at that top link.

I Melt With You

From yesterday's drive-time, at Jack FM Los Angeles, Modern English (at Wikipedia):

You Dropped A Bomb On Me
The Gap Band
7:03am

Heart-Shaped Box
Nirvana
6:51am

Tainted Love
Soft Cell
6:47am

(Don't Fear) The Reaper
Blue Öyster Cult
6:43am

Too Close
Alex Clare
6:39am

Pour Some Sugar On Me
Def Leppard
6:35am

Do I Wanna Know?
Arctic Monkeys
6:22am

So Alive
Love And Rockets
6:18am

Walk This Way
Aerosmith
6:14am

Pictures Of You
The Cure
6:09am

You Give Love A Bad Name
Bon Jovi
6:06am

I Melt With You
Modern English
6:02am

30-Year-Old Man Must Move Out of Parents' House, Judge Rules (VIDEO)

This story was getting a lot of attention the other day, and then the dude went on CNN with Brooke Baldwin, god knows why?

At Hot Air, "The 30-Year-Old Being Evicted From His Parents’ Home Is Exactly How You Thought He’d Be":

Exit question: Is it true, as Brooke Baldwin claims near the end, that the public views Millennials as “so entitled”? Goofing on them is fun but what supposedly makes Millennials more entitled than the garbage generation you and I know as Boomers? Millennials have had their career prospects damaged by the financial crisis, with all sorts of bad knock-on effects (some of which may resonate with Rotondo), and they’ve had their retirement prospects cannibalized by greedy elders who won’t let go of their federal entitlements no matter what it means for the country’s future. If ever you’re forced to choose between Millennials and Boomers, take the Millennials every time.

Actually, I'm a Boomer so no.

Interesting post, in any case.

Friedrich Hayek, The Fatal Conceit

At Amazon, Friedrich Hayek, The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism.

Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher

At Zero Hedge:

So this just happened: Goldman has hired former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher to help it sell subprime loans https://t.co/SdcJs3i4zO pic.twitter.com/fb8Lta4YWE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 3, 2018

Dodge Challenger Hellcat for 2019

Still the same basic body styling (which some reviews have said is dated) but with new aggressive twin scoops. Definitely looks awesome. I don't mind the supposedly dated body style. I love the Challengers. LOVE!

At Car & Driver, via Jay Leno's Garage, and Autoblog below:

ICYMI: SRT Teases New Challenger Hellcat Hood. #JayLenosGarage https://t.co/qvs77tMEIA pic.twitter.com/vhda4vxKEE

— Jay Leno's Garage (@LenosGarage) May 5, 2018

2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat with twin-scoop hood spied with no camouflage: https://t.co/JpQTXODAeR pic.twitter.com/Lx1Bj5mUmt

— Autoblog (@therealautoblog) May 7, 2018

Philip Roth Still Has Plenty to Say

An interview with Philip Roth, from January, at the New York Times, "No Longer Writing, Philip Roth Still Has Plenty to Say":

In an exclusive interview with The New York Times, Philip Roth shared his thoughts on Trump, #MeToo and retirement (from January) https://t.co/LTsow8o6q6

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 23, 2018

I have interviewed Roth on several occasions over the years, and last month I asked if we could talk again. Like a lot of his readers, I wondered what the author of “American Pastoral,” “I Married a Communist” and “The Plot Against America” made of this strange period we are living in now. And I was curious about how he spent his time. Sudoku? Daytime TV? He agreed to be interviewed but only if it could be done via email. He needed to take some time, he said, and think about what he wanted to say.

C.M. [Charles McGrath] In a few months you’ll turn 85. Do you feel like an elder? What has growing old been like?

P.R. [Philip Roth] Yes, in just a matter of months I’ll depart old age to enter deep old age — easing ever deeper daily into the redoubtable Valley of the Shadow. Right now it is astonishing to find myself still here at the end of each day. Getting into bed at night I smile and think, “I lived another day.” And then it’s astonishing again to awaken eight hours later and to see that it is morning of the next day and that I continue to be here. “I survived another night,” which thought causes me to smile once more. I go to sleep smiling and I wake up smiling. I’m very pleased that I’m still alive. Moreover, when this happens, as it has, week after week and month after month since I began drawing Social Security, it produces the illusion that this thing is just never going to end, though of course I know that it can stop on a dime. It’s something like playing a game, day in and day out, a high-stakes game that for now, even against the odds, I just keep winning. We will see how long my luck holds out.

C.M. Now that you’ve retired as a novelist, do you ever miss writing, or think about un-retiring?

P.R. No, I don’t. That’s because the conditions that prompted me to stop writing fiction seven years ago haven’t changed. As I say in “Why Write?,” by 2010 I had “a strong suspicion that I’d done my best work and anything more would be inferior. I was by this time no longer in possession of the mental vitality or the verbal energy or the physical fitness needed to mount and sustain a large creative attack of any duration on a complex structure as demanding as a novel.... Every talent has its terms — its nature, its scope, its force; also its term, a tenure, a life span.... Not everyone can be fruitful forever.”

C.M. Looking back, how do you recall your 50-plus years as a writer?

P.R. Exhilaration and groaning. Frustration and freedom. Inspiration and uncertainty. Abundance and emptiness. Blazing forth and muddling through. The day-by-day repertoire of oscillating dualities that any talent withstands — and tremendous solitude, too. And the silence: 50 years in a room silent as the bottom of a pool, eking out, when all went well, my minimum daily allowance of usable prose.

RTWT.

Kara Del Toro is Hot

At Egotastic!, "Kara Del Toro’s Super Sexy Legs at the ‘Hotel Artemis’ Premiere."

Faith Goldy Attacked by Antifa (VIDEO)

She's a good lady. I think she has too many good graces among the extreme Stormfront right, but other than that, I like her.

Terrible attack.

Remember I was attacked by the ANSWER Communists in Anaheim a few years back, and I stopped covering protests after that, mainly because it's not worth it. If I had my own security I'd do it, but it's not as important to me nowadays.

In any case, at the Rebel, "Media stands with Antifa in violent attack on Faith Goldy."

And Ms. Faith's own video:



Also, "Banned from Patreon."

Shop Today

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And see especially, Dremel 3000-2/28 2 Attachments/28 Accessories Rotary Tool.

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Plus, Dee's Nuts Dill Pickle Flavored Gourmet Peanuts (10 oz).

And, Hershey's 36ct. Plus 1 Bonus Bar (37 Bars Total).

BONUS: Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy.

Devin Brugman Wednesday

Nice Wednesday wake-up with the luscious Ms. Devin:

Golden woman 🦋 Devin wears the Clovelly Set in Nude - shop on https://t.co/YwQGXpQw6I // #MondaySignatureCollection pic.twitter.com/gCbIxXyZy4

— Monday Swimwear (@MONDAYSWIMWEAR) April 2, 2018

The sizing we couldn’t find anywhere, so we made it ourselves 👌🏼 Introducing the new M body / V top Portofino One Piece, for all of you girls with a S-M waist and DDD-E cup bust! Shop the new size at https://t.co/YwQGXpQw6I! #MondaySwimwear pic.twitter.com/oPZOOzW4YR

— Monday Swimwear (@MONDAYSWIMWEAR) April 25, 2018

Emily Ratajkowski Topless Photo Shoot (VIDEO)

This is a throwback to 2015, but good for the memories, lol.

And see the Mirror U.K., "Emily Ratajkowski delights followers wearing nothing but gold chains in risqué topless shoot: The Blurred Lines babe is leaving little to the imagination in her latest revealing Instagram shot."

Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind

At Amazon, Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot.

Michelle Malkin Discusses Possibility F.B.I. Planted Spy in the Trump Campaign (VIDEO)

On Hannity's last night, at Fox News:

Jordan Peterson and the Failure of the Left

At Quillette:

This piece from someone on the left who feels fellow leftists were selling her a false bill of goods about who Jordan Peterson is dovetails with what I’ve heard from several other people in conversation and correspondence. https://t.co/tGBl7I76ft

— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) May 23, 2018

Tomi Lahren Responds to Having Drink Thrown on Her at Restaurant (VIDEO)

I'm not surprised at this at all. Thank god it was only a glass of water.

She responds toward the end of the clip, and President Trump tweets his support below.

Everybody is with Tomi Lahren, a truly outstanding and respected young woman! @foxandfriends

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018

Philip Roth, 1933-1918

I read American Pastoral last year and was highly impressed. However, Portnoy's Complaint turned a lot off people of to Roth's writing. I'm still agnostic on that front.

Either way, requiescat in pace.

At the New York Times, at Memorandum, "Philip Roth, Towering Novelist Who Explored Lust, Jewish Life and America, Dies at 85."

Breaking News: The literary giant Philip Roth has died at 85. He explored themes of lust, vanity and Jewish identity in novels like "Portnoy's Complaint." https://t.co/5ZRj4bGxM5

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 23, 2018

Trump's Base is Bolstering G.O.P. Before the Midterms

From Ronald Brownstein, at CNN, "Beating Republicans in November will be harder than Democrats thought":

Despite all his provocations, the GOP coalition is consolidating around Trump to maintain power in DC. To retake power in November, it increasingly appears Dems will need to match their intensity. https://t.co/gYRAG1xOmn

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) May 22, 2018

(CNN) It's become a numbing Washington ritual. Donald Trump shatters a traditional boundary on the exercise of presidential power. Or he uses inflammatory language that stirs racial animosities. Or he's hit by new revelations in the overlapping investigations into his campaign's contacts with foreign governments in 2016 and his own tangled financial and personal affairs before the presidency.

As each of these bombshells detonate, sometimes within hours of each other, congressional Republican leaders then react with little more than a shrug. Even more important, the vast majority of the Republican electoral coalition increasingly responds the same way.

All of these dynamics played out multiple times this past week. Trump shattered boundaries by openly demanding the Department of Justice investigate the ongoing special counsel examination of his campaign and by privately pressuring the US Postal Service to raise rates on Amazon, whose owner, Jeff Bezos, also owns the Washington Post, which Trump considers an enemy. He used George Wallace-like language in describing members of the MS-13 gang as "animals." And he faced the startling revelation that during the 2016 campaign his son Donald Trump Jr., who had earlier convened with Russians offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton, also met with emissaries of Middle Eastern governments offering to help in the election.

After all that, Republicans responded this week with the sort of silence usually expected from the crowd at the 18th hole of a golf tournament.

The Trump paradox

The elimination of any distance between Trump and the conventional Republican interests that controlled the party before him has happened so incrementally it can be difficult to discern from day to day. But it remains one of the central political dynamics of 2018. Over the long term, Trump's success at stamping his polarizing brand on the GOP remains a huge electoral gamble for the party because it risks alienating the young, well-educated and diverse groups growing, rather than shrinking, in the electorate.

But in the near-term, the GOP's choice to ally so unequivocally with such a unique president may have the paradoxical effect of producing a much more conventional midterm election than seemed possible earlier this year. And that means for Democrats to secure the gains they seek in November, they will need to overcome the typical challenges they face in a midterm election far more than they expected even only a few months ago.

In both 2010 and 2014, the two midterm elections under Barack Obama, Democrats suffered huge losses. Each time the party faced similar problems. The biggest was a collapse in turnout among young voters, and a smaller, but still significant, decline among minorities. In both 2010 and 2014, the share of the vote cast by young adults 18-29, a strongly Democratic-leaning group, was fully six percentage points lower than in the presidential race just two years earlier, according to exit polls...

More.