Anthony Bourdain Heartbroken After Split from Asia Argento?

I know, from having my heart broken too many times, if there's one sure thing to drive a man over the cliff it's the rejection of a beautiful woman. And Bourdain had problems before. He'd been a heroin addict at one point.

The Other McCain tweeted the other day:

Bourdain had a history of serious drug abuse. He was divorced twice, and had just been dumped by his girlfriend. Stop pretending that his suicide was mysterious, caused by some "chemical imbalance." That's bullshit.

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) June 9, 2018

Why don't you mention that the reason Bourdain killed himself was because Asia Argento recently dumped him? https://t.co/rM1bxLBfCr

— The Patriarch Tree (@PatriarchTree) June 9, 2018

I wrote about my pal Tony https://t.co/4STkQsUxVV

— your friend Helen (@hels) June 8, 2018

Also at TMZ:

ANTHONY BOURDAIN
EVERYTHING SEEMED GOOD WITH GF
... Until This Week https://t.co/nJQ1UQvHHl

— ☮️ 🕊 🌎 tmarie (@Syr829) June 9, 2018

Here's where things get murky. We know Anthony was shooting his show in France this week -- he'd been there for at least 4 days. However, Asia was back in Rome, strolling around with a French reporter named Hugo Clément. There were photos of them holding hands and hugging, but the Italian photographer who shot the pics pulled them off the market on the heels of Anthony's death.

It's unclear if Anthony and Asia had broken up. If they did, there was no public announcement. Their last public appearance together was at an event was back in April in NYC.

Amber Heard in Thin White Shirt

At Taxi Driver, "Amber Heard Breasts in Really Thin White Shirt."

Kate Upton, Alexis Ren in Sexy Aruba (VIDEO)

Nice:

White House Economic Adviser Peter Navarro Says 'There's a Special Place in Hell' for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (VIDEO)

I love this! At LAT, "White House officials accuse Canadian leader of 'stab in the back,' intensifying fight with U.S. ally":

White House officials lashed out at the leader of Canada, one of America’s closest allies, with extraordinary ferocity Sunday as they accused him of trying to make President Trump look weak heading into his summit with the leader of North Korea.

Two of Trump’s top economic advisors branded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a backstabber, betrayer and double-crosser who pulled a “sophomoric political stunt” that threatened to embarrass Trump before his much-anticipated meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore on Tuesday.

“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said on “Fox News Sunday.”

The administration’s actions drew rebukes from Canada’s foreign minister as well as Democrats and some Republicans in Washington, including Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who on Twitter called out his party members after Navarro’s comments: “Fellow Republicans, this is not who we are. This cannot be our party.”

The White House anger stemmed from Trudeau’s criticism of Trump’s trade policies at a news conference Saturday after the annual Group of 7 summit, which Trudeau hosted at a resort in Charlevoix, Quebec.

Trump left the summit early, and an administration official told reporters he had joined a lengthy communiqué from the world leaders crafted on Friday and Saturday.

That night, however, Trump abruptly announced via Twitter that he would not sign the joint statement, calling Trudeau “very dishonest & weak” for his trade criticism.

Navarro sharply criticized the G-7 final statement, referring to it as “that socialist communiqué.”

Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, offered a somewhat different account, saying Sunday that Trump agreed with the language in the communiqué, which Kudlow helped draft. The statement outlined a shared commitment to work on a variety of economic, social, environmental and security issues.

And at the New York Times:

"All Canadians will support the prime minister in standing up to this bully," a former Canadian ambassador to the United States said. "Friends do not treat friends with such contempt." https://t.co/k5In4Fm6dC

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 11, 2018

Charles Krauthammer Announces Cancer, Has Just Weeks Left to Live (VIDEO)

I mentioned Dr. K. at my post on Anthony Bourdain yesterday. I'm still trying to process this. If you've seen the outpouring on Twitter, you can't count the number of people who've said that Charles Krauthammer was literally the most important influence on their lives, morally, intellectually, spiritually, and in so many other ways. I don't know if he's the most important for me, but yesterday I literally couldn't think of someone more important, especially intellectually and ideologically. I just love listening to him. I'd watch Fox News' Special Report just to tune into the All-Star Panel, since Dr. K. was the staple of that segment. It was just so good. So good.

In any case, he's not dead yet, and it was a little sad seeing folks speak of Dr. K. in the past tense yesterday, so let's pray and hope for a miracle. Maybe he's still got some time left.

Here's a video from Fox News with the announcement, and I'll have more later:

Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

The Los Angeles Times has a very affecting obituary, "Anthony Bourdain, globe-trotting chef who explored culture through cuisine, dies at 61 in apparent suicide."

The more I read about the guy the more I like him, and I already liked him.

And at Amazon, Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

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