Donald Barclay, Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies

This looks interesting.

At Amazon, available June 29th, Donald Barclay, Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age.

CNN Reacts to the Supreme Court's Ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop (VIDEO)

Poppy Harlow does a good job at maintaining objectivity, but it's not until 8:30 minutes into this video where she brings up the issue of the Colorado commission authorities' extreme hostility to religion. I mean, from the case we see intense animus to Christianity:

As the record shows, some of the commissioners at the Commission’s formal, public hearings endorsed the view that religious beliefs cannot legitimately be carried into the public sphere or commercial domain, disparaged Phillips’ faith as despicable and characterized it as merely rhetorical, and compared his invocation of his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust. No commissioners objected to the comments. Nor were they mentioned in the later state-court ruling or disavowed in the briefs filed here. The comments thus cast doubt on the fairness and impartiality of the Commission’s adjudication of Phillips’ case.

I tweeted:

Leftists like Nina Totenberg are downplaying the Court's ruling, claiming it was decided on the most "narrow grounds," but reading it we see a major statement denouncing the radical left's monstrous religious bigotry and anti-Christian animus. #MasterpieceCakeshop #SCOTUS 🙏 https://t.co/YmJo3xUskj

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 4, 2018

#MasterpieceCakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: #SCOTUS https://t.co/N53SQ3Mif4

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 4, 2018

But watch, at CNN:

Ryan T. Anderson, Truth Overruled

In light of today's decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, here's Ryan T. Anderson's book, at Amazon, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom.

Howard Kurtz, Media Madness

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Howard Kurtz, Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War over the Truth.

ICYMI: Joel Kotkin, The New Class Conflict

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Joel Kotkin, The New Class Conflict.

Big Win for Religious Freedom in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

Actually, it's apparently a very narrow ruling touching on the nature of religious bias in Colorado's anti-discrimination legislation, but either way, conservative proponents of freedom of expression and religious belief are going to be jumping for the moon today.

At the Washington Post, "Supreme Court rules in favor of baker who would not make wedding cake for gay couple":

Supreme Court narrowly rules for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple https://t.co/ovz7BwsqGG

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 4, 2018

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple.

In an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy that leaves many questions unanswered, the court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had not adequately taken into account the religious beliefs of baker Jack Phillips.

In fact, Kennedy said, the commission had been hostile to Baker’s faith, denying him the neutral consideration he deserved. While the justices split in their reasoning, only Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

Kennedy wrote that the question of when religious beliefs must give way to anti-discrimination laws might be different in future cases. But in this case, he said, Phillips did not get the proper consideration.

“The Court’s precedents make clear that the baker, in his capacity as the owner of a business serving the public, might have his right to the free exercise of religion limited by generally applicable laws,” he wrote. “Still, the delicate question of when the free exercise of his religion must yield to an otherwise valid exercise of state power needed to be determined in an adjudication in which religious hostility on the part of the State itself would not be a factor in the balance the State sought to reach. That requirement, however, was not met here.”

Phillips contended that dual guarantees in the First Amendment — for free speech and for the free exercise of religion — protect him against Colorado’s public accommodations law, which requires businesses to serve customers equally regardless of “disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry.”

Scattered across the country, florists, bakers, photographers and others have claimed that being forced to offer their wedding services to same-sex couples violates their rights. Courts have routinely turned down the business owners, as the Colorado Court of Appeals did in the Phillips case, saying that state anti-discrimination laws require businesses that are open to the public to treat all potential customers equally.

There’s no dispute about what triggered the court case in 2012, when same-sex marriage was prohibited in Colorado. Charlie Craig and David Mullins decided to get married in Massachusetts, where it was legal. They would return to Denver for a reception, and those helping with the plans suggested they get a cake from Masterpiece bakery...

Also at Memeorandum.

Sophie Mudd Photos

At Drunken Stepfather, "SOHPIE MUDD MASSIVE OF THE DAY":

Sohpie Mudd is the biggest deal on social media. She’s done gone viral and I am ready for her to take the reigns from all those aging big titty girls we are bored of seeing.

She certainly fills out a bathing shoot, dang.

pic.twitter.com/3SL5vKMl8Z

— Sophie Mudd (@sophie_mudd) May 18, 2018

New Populist, Anti-Establishment Government Takes Over in Italy

A specter is haunting Europe, the specter of populist-nationalism.

From Professor Michael Curtis, at American Thinker, "Harmony and Discord in Italy":

THIS!
Harmony and Discord in Italy - A new populist government in #Italy threatens to upend the entire #EuropeanUnion arrangement...#EU #globalism #CCOT #PJNET https://t.co/qPBwltvgld

— patriotgirl ن (@Jesus_isPeace) June 3, 2018

Volare, oh, oh, away from the maddening crowds, we can leave the confusion and all disillusion behind!  Such has often been the chant of Italians in search of the elusive political rainbow.  "Così Cosà" may have had little meaning when sung in the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera, but its gist of tolerant acceptance is meaningful in the effervescent world of Italian politics.

Changing of governments is a familiar fad in Italy.  Since the end of World War II 73 years ago, Italy has had 64 governments, and six in the last ten years.

On June 1, 2018, an agreement was reached by the two leading parties in parliament to form the 65th, a coalition government, an improbable and unnatural mixture of left and right, a populist coalition with contradictory policies, to end the weeks of political chaos and wrangling, the longest stalemate in Italian politics.

The political and economic crisis since March 2018 destabilized not only the Italian, but also the European financial system, at least temporarily.  With the appointment of a new government, European stocks closed higher.  Yet are the barbarians within the city walls?  The question remains whether the populists in power with their sharp rhetoric and outlook are a danger to democratic institutions and whether they can reach harmony with the Italian elite and abide by the fiscal rules of the European Union, already troubled by Brexit and other matters.

Italy is the fourth largest country in the E.U., accounting for 15.4% of the eurozone's GDP and 23% of its public debt.  But 32% of those under 25, and 10% of all Italians, are unemployed.  Only 64% of young people with degrees are employed.  Next to Greece, Italy has the highest debt level in the E.U., 132% of GDP, more than twice the E.U. requirement.

A variety of issues confront the new government: membership of the eurozone; the need for economic growth and productivity; the proposals for guaranteed income, pensions, and flat income tax; more foreign investment; reversal of E.U. free trade rules; immigration, 181,000 in 2016; and change in international relations and closer ties with Russia.

The new coalition brings together the two leading parties, the Five Star and the League (formerly the Northern League), and an odd couple of young leaders.  To this has been added a compromise figure, a little known University of Florence academic lawyer, 53-year-old Giuseppe Conte, a man with no previous political experience, as prime minister, heading a cabinet of 18, of whom five are women.  It is curious that Conte has stated he "perfected" his legal studies at NYU and the Sorbonne, though neither university has any record of him.

In the inconclusive March 2018 election for the 630 seats in Parliament, the two populist anti-establishment and anti-European parties won 349 seats.  Five Star, a party formed in 2009 mainly by stand up comedian Beppe Grillo, got 32% of the vote and 222 seats, mostly in the South, while the League got 17% and 124 seats, mostly in the industrial North.

The Five Star is now led by a telegenic, easygoing, youngish looking Neapolitan millennial, 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio.  He spoke strongly against corruption and for direct democracy.  He came out equally strongly for a referendum on the eurozone, which he called a failed economic and social experiment, but he seems, taking the position of minister of labor and industry, to have moderated his position in recent weeks.

The leader of the League is the Milanese-born 45-year-old Matteo Salvini, college drop-out, tireless campaigner, and shrewd manipulator of social media, who changed the stance of the party from a regional group calling for the wealthy North to secede from Italy to a far-right party like the French F.N.  Much of his success was based on his opposition to immigration, especially the 750,000 who had entered since 2011, and his call for mass deportation and for deportation centers around Italy.  Now that he has become interior minister, it remains to be seen whether he will implement his proposals.  He is said to have praised Russian president Vladimir Putin, opposes sanctions against Russia, and seeks closer ties with Russia.  For the U.S., this appears more significant than his complicated sex life.

The two populist parties are divided on issues...

Yeah, let's see those deportations from Italy, heh. Heads will explode in Brussels, and among American bleeding-heart leftists.

Keep reading.

Shop Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

And especially, Coolaroo Outdoor Cordless Roller Shade 4ft by 6ft Sesame.

Here also, Philips HD9621/99 Viva Turbostar Frustration Free Airfryer (1.8lb/2.75qt), Black.

Also, Lamicall VC-S-US-B Cell Phone Stand, S1 Dock : Cradle, Holder, Stand For Switch, all Android Smartphone, iPhone 6 6s 7 8 X Plus 5 5s 5c charging, Accessories Desk - Black.

More, Mpow 059 Bluetooth Headphones Over Ear, Hi-Fi Stereo Wireless Headset, Foldable, Soft Memory-Protein Earmuffs, w/Built-in Mic and Wired Mode for PC/Cell Phones/TV.

And, Samsung UN75MU6300FXZA MU6300 Series 4K UHD TV.

Here, Mountain House Just in Case Essential Bucket.

Plus, Koffee Kult Dark Roast Coffee Beans - Highest Quality Gourmet - Whole Bean Coffee - Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans, 32oz.

BONUS: Alonzo Hamby, Man of Destiny: FDR and the Making of the American Century.

President Trump Fights the Insurgent Wing of the G.O.P.

Interesting. At NYT, "Trump Ran as a Renegade. Now He’s Trying to Keep Them at Bay":

Trump Ran as a Renegade. Now He’s Trying to Keep Them at Bay. https://t.co/ag9zMPTK5i

— Thomas Edsall (@Edsall) June 1, 2018

IUKA, Miss. — When Chris McDaniel first ran for Senate four years ago, his campaign became a cause for disaffected and restless Republicans across the country. Activists waving “Don’t Tread on Me” flags flooded Mississippi. Tea Party-aligned groups spent millions supporting him. Donald J. Trump — who was still a year away from announcing his presidential campaign — took notice and tweeted his endorsement: “He is strong, he is smart & he wants things to change in Washington.”

Mr. McDaniel, a state senator and an attorney, received more votes than any other candidate in that Republican primary, but eventually lost in a runoff to the incumbent, Thad Cochran. But now as Mr. McDaniel embarks on another run for Senate, his campaign contributions are a fraction of what they were in 2014. On a good night, a few dozen people show up to hear him speak. And President Trump is so far keeping his distance from the race.

Mr. McDaniel’s faded political fortunes point up one of the more unforeseen effects of Mr. Trump’s leadership of the Republican Party. Instead of elevating the renegade, insurgent conservatives who have vowed to challenge party leaders in Washington — candidates who are politically and temperamentally cut from the same cloth as the president — Mr. Trump has effectively shut off the oxygen to the noisiest and most fractious wing of his party.

He has endorsed almost every incumbent Republican senator, making it much more difficult for challengers like Mr. McDaniel to wage the kind of primary fights that have sown division inside the party for most of the last decade. In Alabama, Nevada and West Virginia, Mr. Trump has actively worked against candidates that had strong support from grass-roots conservatives.

And while the president has publicly carped at Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader — while also privately badmouthing them as unreliable and weak — he has maintained a partnership of mutual convenience with these frequent targets of the right’s ire.

Mr. Trump’s repositioning has led some self-styled conservative agitators to acknowledge that their bomb-throwing, anti-establishment playbook is in need of refinement.

“People are starting to realize that the anti-establishment thing is kind of a luxury we can’t afford right now,” said Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist who six months ago said it was his objective to see Mr. McConnell removed as the Senate Republican leader.

That effort has been put on hold. And Mr. Bannon’s rebellion has considerably smaller ambitions than it did six months ago, when he was trying to recruit challengers to every Republican incumbent senator up for re-election this year, with the exception of Ted Cruz of Texas...

Power corrupts? Nah. I think President Trump --- and his erstwhile advisers like Bannon --- are strategic politicians, and now in the driver's seat, they're careful about maintaining a pragmatic working coalition. It's not like they haven't been doing anything, especially on the economy.

Keep America Great!

And keep reading.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: Guns, God, and Church Services

At the Los Angeles Times, "At a church security seminar: Guns, God and 'get those heads up' when you pray":

At a church security seminar: Guns, God and 'get those heads up' when you pray https://t.co/NIWtSJ6n49 pic.twitter.com/gK3a9goaQx

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 22, 2018

Just as the people in Mariners Church began to pull off their hats, bow their heads and close their eyes to pray, Jimmy Meeks snapped at them.

"Get those heads up!" said the pastor and retired Texas police officer.

Hadn't he just warned them that closing their eyes made them targets? Sheep in the presence of wolves.

"What's wrong with y'all?"

Their eyes duly peeled, he then led the crowd in a prayer.

"Wherever we are, Father, should the wolf cross our path, give us the wisdom to know what to do with that moment, and give us the power and the courage to act to stop the wolf and protect our sons and daughters."

Churchgoers, preachers and law enforcement officers from across Southern California had gathered for a church security seminar in Huntington Beach hosted by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., which delivered a warning: Faith alone will not protect you in a house of God.

In the sleek sanctuary of Mariners Church, the mostly male crowd sipped coffee, jotted notes and punctured the air with shouts of "Amen!" and "Hooah!" as a series of out-of-town speakers at the Sheepdog Seminar encouraged them to be the ones who step up and protect others if, God forbid, an attacker comes.

In the months since a gunman in November killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs, Texas, many people of faith have begun questioning how to keep religious institutions safe, said Rick Travis, executive director of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. His organization has been inundated with requests for church security training and probably will be hosting events for the next several years, he said.

"We don't want people to be afraid," said Travis, a churchgoer himself. "We want people to be knowledgeable."

The seminar happened four days before a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas killed 10 people, mostly students, and reignited the never-ending debate over gun control, the 2nd Amendment and the place of firearms in American society.

Appearing on Sunday morning news programs, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that teachers need to be armed. He said guns are not the problem.

"Guns stop crimes," he said on ABC's "This Week." "If we take the guns out of society — if you or anyone else thinks that that makes us safer, then I'm sad to say that you're mistaken. That will just give those that are evil … [the ability] to put more of us in danger."

Were the assembled at the church safety event being told to pack heat in the pews? Not always in so many words — and that wasn't the whole kit and caboodle of advice. But if you're legally able to carry a gun, the speakers said, it's best to do it.

"If you do not have an armed presence in your church, you are simply not ready," Meeks said...

Samantha Hoopes: 'Am I Sexy Enough?' (VIDEO)

She's certainly sexy enough for me.

Boom! Atlanta Fed Boosts Second Quarter GDP Forecast to 4.8 Percent!

This is great. Curt Schilling tweets Breitbart.

And 4.8 percent is big, big growth for the U.S. economy. Normally, if we start getting above 3 percent the Fed wants to raise interests rates and put on the brakes. The big growth numbers will scare the s**t out of our trading partners, especially the Europeans, who can pound sand and suck on their double-digit unemployment rates.

Holy WINNING! 10-15 years of crap, 8 years of not even sniffing 3, now we're headed to 5!! https://t.co/7OKmNU6mSi #WINNING

— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) June 2, 2018

Ann Coulter: Leftists Just Wanted to Destroy Roseanne (VIDEO)

It's true.

Here's Coulter on Laura Ingraham's show:

Jennifer Delacruz's Sunday Forecast

It's shaping up to be a beautiful June. No overcast gloom. It's sunny and warm. The May Gray was yesterday (or last week, at least, heh).

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:

What if R.F.K Hadn't Been Assassinated?

Well, the world would have been a better place, surely.

A couple of R.F.K. stories at the Los Angeles Times, and a Michael Beschless tweet from 1968:

What if Robert F. Kennedy hadn't been shot? https://t.co/nVw6skDto8 pic.twitter.com/o07KSrSpKj

— L.A. Times Opinion (@latimesopinion) June 3, 2018

A living history:
“Juan Romero, the busboy comforting RFK in the famous photographs by Boris Yaro & @BillEppridge now 67, is still haunted by the event” @DavidButow who photographed Romero for this piece #photojournalism https://t.co/IvKu62VYxP

— Yunghi Kim (@Yunghi) June 3, 2018

Robert Kennedy campaigning in Modesto, California, 50 years ago today: #Golub pic.twitter.com/WjzPoh2A7O

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 30, 2018

Progressive California the Most Racist State

From Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "NUMBER ONE IN POVERTY, CALIFORNIA ISN’T OUR MOST PROGRESSIVE STATE — IT’S OUR MOST RACIST ONE":

Around the world, progressive economies like those of Sweden, France, and Germany, which redistribute wealth through high taxes and generous social welfare policies, boast far less poverty and inequality than other nations.

What gives? And how does California maintain its reputation as a progressive leader given the reality on the ground?

If racism is more than just saying nasty things — if it is, as scholars like James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michelle Alexander and countless others have described, embedded into socioeconomic structures — then California isn’t just the least progressive state. It’s also the most racist.

Real World “Elysium”

In the 2013 science fiction film, “Elysium,” the rich have fled to a luxury satellite orbiting Earth while the poor toil in dangerous conditions below. Life in California today differs in degree, not in kind, from that dystopian vision...

Terrible.

Kelly Brook on a Movie Set

Ms. Kelly continues to wear the extra pounds, but amazingly, her "hourglass" body distributed the extra weight pleasingly. She's lucky in that way, I guess.

At Taxi Driver, "Kelly Brook Panty Upskirt on a Movie Set."

The Moment Obama Adviser Ben Rhodes Found Out Hillary Lost

I have to say I've never been one to avoid engaging in schadenfreude upon witnessing the defeats of the left, but in the case of Ben Rhodes, I felt sorrow. The man is captured in the moment when he was completely broken, morally and emotionally annihilated. His body, particularly his brain, is literally shutting down. It's a physiological defense mechanism, I imagine to protect the human body from the trauma. There's a non-processing going that is in fact horrible to witness, and I felt bad for Rhodes.

Am a glad he lost? Absolutely. I just think there are many cases when private moments should remain private, and this is one. From what I can remember, Rhodes is a pretty nasty guy, an extreme partisan of the Democrats' agenda, so perhaps he had some of the finger-pointing humiliation coming. But for me, I can only imagine how I felt in 2008 when John McCain lost, and how devastated I was for months. It hurts.

For an example of over-the-top glee, see Twitchy, "OMG! New HBO documentary captures the moment Ben Rhodes found out Hillary lost and IT’S HILARIOUS!"

Lots of so-called conservative tweeps were rolling at this on Twitter, but again, just watch for yourself. Ben Rhodes must have consented to this being included in the documentary, so there's that, in any case.

Ben Rhodes reacting to Hillary Clinton's hilarious defeat in 2016 is the funniest part of the new Obama Documentary on HBO.

What makes it even better is throughout the documentary he brags how she is going to win. pic.twitter.com/MGBQNE5ATY

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) May 30, 2018

Roger Kimball, The Long March

*BUMPED.*

This book is so outstanding, I can't even...

At Amazon, Roger Kimball, The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America.