Demi Rose Showcases Busty Curves in Sheer Maxi-Dress for Sizzling Photo Shoot in Ibiza

At London's Daily Mail, "Demi Rose set pulses racing in a VERY daring semi-sheer maxi dress."

Charles Krauthammer, Things That Matter

I have a lot of signed books, but I'd love to have a copy of this one signed by Dr. K.

At Amazon, Charles Krauthammer, Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics.

Anthony Bourdain Has Died

Today's a sad day. Charles Krauthammer released a statement saying he's got just weeks to live. He's been recovering from a successful surgery to remove a tumor of the stomach, but now the cancer's returned, very aggressively it turns out. More on that later, but it makes me sad. I think I've been just amazed by Krauthammer all these years, even when I disagreed with him, but he's so good. Just so good. It's a wonderful thing that he was able to share some final thoughts with everybody, so folks can respond with their well-wishes.

Meanwhile, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. See CNN, via Memorandum, "CNN's Anthony Bourdain dead at 61."

Bethany Mandel has written about suicide this week, first about Kate Spade's death, and the loss of her father to suicide, at the New York Post. And then again today, with the news of Bourdain. It's very profound reading:

In the wake of Kate Spade's death, I wrote about my father's suicide for the first time. Thank you to my amazing husband @SethAMandel for editing this, I don't usually submit things to him because he's brutal, but this time he was kind. https://t.co/nlgHdfBmzJ

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) June 7, 2018

To all suicide survivor kids, a note: https://t.co/d3kmxndiRA

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) June 8, 2018

Dana Loesch: America Doesn't Watch Samantha Bee (VIDEO)

on Fox & Friends this morning:

Barack Obama Bent Over Backwards to Advance Islamic Totalitarianism in Iran

This is a must-read.

From Sohrab Ahmari, at Commentary, "Anything for the Ayatollah":

My column on Obama bending over backward to help the mullahs cash in on the Iran deal made @RealClearNews this morning. Read it here. https://t.co/aHdMaE1c6n

— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) June 7, 2018

The full history of the Obama administration’s nuclear dealings with Iran has yet to be written, not least because many of the details remain shrouded in secrecy. The bits of the story that do seep out into the public sphere invariably reinforce a single theme: that of Barack Obama’s utter abjection and pusillanimity before Tehran, and his corresponding contempt for the American people and their elected representatives.

Wednesday’s bombshell Associated Press scoop detailing the Obama administration’s secret effort to help Tehran gain access to the American financial system was a case study. In the months after Iran and the great powers led by the U.S. agreed on the nuclear deal, the Obama Treasury Department issued a special license that would have permitted the Tehran regime to convert some $6 billion in assets held in Omani rials into U.S. dollars before eventually trading them for euros. That middle step—the conversion from Omani to American currency—would have violated sanctions that remained in place even after the nuclear accord.

That’s according to the AP’s Josh Lederman and Matthew Lee, citing a newly released report from the GOP-led Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Lederman and Lee write: “The effort was unsuccessful because American banks—themselves afraid of running afoul of U.S. sanctions—declined to participate. The Obama administration approached two U.S. banks to facilitate the conversion . . . but both refused, citing the reputational risk of doing business with or for Iran.”

Put another way: The Obama administration pressed American banks to sidestep rules barring Iran from the U.S. financial system, and the only reason the transaction didn’t take place was because the banks had better legal and moral sense than the Obama Treasury.

This was far from the first instance in which the Obama administration bent over backward, going far beyond the requirements of the deal, to help the Iranian regime cash in on the deal...

Still more.

'Sheena is a Punk Rocker'

I had this song on the brain for almost a week, since Jack F.M. was playing it repeatedly during my drive time.

Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go
They're ready to go now they got their surfboards
And they're going to the discotheque Au Go Go
But she just couldn't stay she had to break away
Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Well she's a punk punk, a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go
They're ready to go now they got their surfboards
And they're going to the discotheque Au Go Go
But she just couldn't stay she had to break away
Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Well she's a punk punk, a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Punk punk a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker
Sheena is a punk rocker now...

Jennifer Love Hewitt Rule 5

I haven't posted on the lovely Ms. Jennifer in ages.

Seen on Twitter:

Jennifer Love Hewitt pic.twitter.com/zj2vjwV52k

— Celebrities (@CeIebritease) June 5, 2018

Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism?

At Amazon, Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women.

Daphne Patai and Noretta Koertge, Professing Feminism

At Amazon, Daphne Patai and Noretta Koertge, Professing Feminism: Education and Indoctrination in Women's Studies.

Miss America Pageant Scraps Swimsuit Competition in Capitulation to Political Correctness (VIDEO)

The news from yesterday, "JUST IN: "We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance. That's huge. And that means we will no longer have a swimsuit competition." - @GretchenCarlson on the major changes coming to @MissAmericaOrg."

The Other McCain has the analysis, "On Courtesy and ‘Gender Equality’":

Where I come from, to insult a man is to challenge him to a fight. Perhaps “progress” has eroded that old-fashioned sensibility down home since I was a boy growing up in Georgia, but surviving to adulthood was not necessarily guaranteed in the culture in which I was raised. My junior year of high school, a quarrel arose between two boys over some no-account, two-timing girl. Neither of those boys made it to graduation. One went to the graveyard, and one went to prison.

Avoid trouble, if possible, but be prepared to defend yourself. Don’t be a bully, don’t let some fool taunt you into throwing the first punch, and don’t go around insulting people just to start trouble.

We were raised by old-fashioned country people. Douglas County, Georgia, started growing fast in the 1970s, but it hadn’t yet become the overcrowded suburb it is now. A rural ethos still prevailed, and you couldn’t just call 911 if somebody started trouble. Fistfights were regarded as just part of life, and it wasn’t the kind of culture where people filed assault charges. People settled their own quarrels, and maybe a boy would get suspended a few days for fighting, but unless there was a knife or a gun involved, fighting wasn’t generally regarded as a crime.

“Never hit a girl” was a rule we were taught from childhood. Only a coward would ever raise his hand to a woman. Did “domestic violence” happen? I’m sure it did, but such people were considered trash.

Life was actually more civilized, in many ways, before we had so much “progress,” and I’m sure I’m not the only old guy who perceives this. The late, great Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard once published a book called I Haven’t Understood Anything Since 1962 which summarized his attitude toward “progress.” Fortunately, I was able to continue understanding things up until about 1993, at least, but I digress . . .

Many times when I remind readers that Feminism Is a Totalitarian Movement to Destroy Civilization as We Know It, some commenters will object to my categorical statement: “Not all feminists.”

Sure. OK. Maybe there are women who call themselves “feminists” who aren’t fanatically devoted to the idea that stabbing babies in the head is among their constitutional rights. Maybe there are women who call themselves “feminists” who aren’t blue-haired “nonbinary queers” with facial piercings who enjoy beating up anyone who “misgenders” them. It’s possible, I suppose, that there are some women who call themselves “feminists” who are not constantly ranting about “misogyny” and “the male gaze” while demanding the destruction of “our capitalist imperialist white supremacist cisheteronormative patriarchy.” However, where are these sane, normal “moderate feminists” whose existence is so often alleged, but are nowhere to be seen in the Year of Our Lord 2018?

Keep reading.

The Democrats' Great White Hope in California

Following-up, "California Primary Results: Gavin Newsom, John Cox to Face-Off in November Gubernatorial Election."

Althouse blogs about the California gubernatorial race, "'Republican John Cox Secures Spot in California Governor’s Race/Businessman comes in second in primary, is set to face Democrat Gavin Newsom in November election'":

ADDED: I just looked at Drudge, saw this...

... asked myself what does John Cox look like, did an image search, and came back to say forget about it, Republicans. As indicated above, I'm practical about voting, and being practical, I'd probably vote for Cox, but as an observer, my practicality has me predicting that California voters — tasked with deciding between idealism and practicality — will spring for the better looking man.

Yeah, well, Cox is probably toast, as I noted at my entry above.

Althouse's screenshot of Drudge:

Justice for Jack Phillips, Owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado (VIDEO)

Vodkapundit linked me at Instapundit the other day, "VIDEO: CNN Reacts to the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop."

And here's more video, from the Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing Jack Phillips:

California Primary Results: Gavin Newsom, John Cox to Face-Off in November Gubernatorial Election

Well, the results are in, and it's almost a near certainty that far-left loon Gavin Newsom will be the state's next governor.

I didn't vote for John Cox, but I'm heartily throwing my support behind, although I'm not confident it'll do any good. But Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton took roughly 60 percent of the vote in the last two presidential elections, and I'd be surprised if Newsom doesn't come close to matching that statewide.

In any case, the full primary election results are at the Los Angeles Times, "Results from the California primary." (And at Memeorandum.)

Also, "It's Newsom vs. Cox in November as Villaraigosa tumbles in governor's race":

Gavin Newsom, the favorite of the California Democratic Party's core liberal base, coasted to a first-place finish in Tuesday's primary election for governor and faces a November showdown with John Cox, a multimillionaire Republican hitched to the far-right policies of President Trump.

The results mark a stunning defeat for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, representing the fall of a politician who embodied the growing power of the Latino electorate when he was elected mayor in 2005. Villaraigosa conceded late in the evening, urging those who voted for him to give their support to his opponent.

“I’m asking you to get behind Gavin Newsom,” said Villaraigosa, surrounded by his family. “I’m asking you to stand up and pressure every one of us — Democrat and Republican alike — pressure every one of us to stand up for you, to fight for you, not just for ourselves, but for all of us for an America and a California where every one of us are growing together.”

Newsom, 50, a former San Francisco mayor who is currently serving his second term as California's lieutenant governor, will face Cox, 62, an Illinois transplant and real estate investor who ran for the U.S. House and Senate twice in Illinois, failing to reach the primary in all three. In 2008, Cox also launched a campaign for president before dropping out when he failed to gain any traction.

At Newsom’s election night party in San Francisco, the Democrat vowed to fight for universal healthcare and tackle the state's housing affordability crisis, while promising to offer policy solutions instead of angry rhetoric.

"In politics today, there’s too much anger,” Newsom told his supporters. “Instead, we offered answers. Resistance with results.”

Cox has poured nearly $5 million into his bid for governor, but his political fortunes grew considerably when Trump fired off a tweet endorsing him in the final weeks of the campaign.

After a five-year hiatus from political office, Villaraigosa hoped to recapture the magic that led to his two terms as mayor of Los Angeles, but failed to stitch together support from enough Latinos, moderates and lower-income Californians to finish in the top two.

Cox declared a second-place victory Tuesday night and wasted no time blasting Newsom and the Democratic Party for California leading the nation in poverty, and government regulations that he said have made homes unaffordable, leading to an explosion of homelessness. In a preview of his general election campaign, Cox pinned the unpopular new gas-tax increase and the so-called sanctuary state policy squarely on Newsom.

“Mr. Newsom, you've had eight years, and your party has made a colossal mess of this once golden state,” Cox told supporters at an election night party held at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego.

Cox said California is in desperate need of a leader with business sense.

"Businesspeople have been elected to office as governor all across this nation to clean up the messes that the politicians have made," Cox said.

Newsom also had a few words for Cox on Tuesday night, yoking the Republican to a president who remains extremely unpopular in California.

“California’s vision and America’s values are one and the same,” Newsom said. “But our values, as you know, are under assault. We’re engaged in an epic battle, and it looks like voters will have a real choice between a governor who will stand up to Donald Trump and a foot solider in his war on California.”

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery on President Trump's Transformation of the U.S. Economy (VIDEO)

It's Kennedy, who's got her own show nowadays on Fox Business Channel.

Katie Pavlich, who should have her own show on Fox, gave Kennedy a plug yesterday. I don't see the video for the monologue, but Kennedy was on the day before with Steve Hilton, and she gives a rousing analysis of the economy and the impact the Trump administration is having on everyday people (the "populists" of American politics).

. @KennedyNation’s monologue is the best in the business, hands down. If you missed it catch the rerun at 12 am et on @FoxBusiness.

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) June 5, 2018

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.