Blood of Tyrants

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." — Thomas Jefferson.

The left's gun-grabbers are fomenting a patriotic insurrection so fierce even old Thomas Jefferson would be gobsmackingly astonished.

At SHTF Plan, "Will You Submit & Obey?":

In New York, we have a prequel of what’s to come – the repeal of the Second Amendment and summary criminalization of peaceful citizens merely for possessing the means of self-defense, even in their own homes. As in Great Britain, citizens of NY face prison if they use proscribed weapons against murderous thugs – even in their own homes. The tyrants Michael Bloomberg and Andrew Cuomo have made their decision. Now New Yorkers will have to make theirs. And so will the rest of us – if, as seems likely, the federal tyrants succeed in issuing a New York-style fatwa that applies to the rest of the country. Which brings us to the question:

What will you do?

It is a very hard question. Perhaps the hardest question Americans have had to face since 1861. As then, there may be no peaceful way to preserve our rights. There may be blood. As then, one side is absolutely determined to impose its will at bayonet-point. To murder us in the thousands – perhaps millions, this time - if we refuse to submit. There is no reasoning, no discussing. What we face is violence against our persons by people who absolutely will not leave us in peace – no matter how peaceful we try to be – until we have submitted to them utterly and for all time to come. We wish only to be left alone – and demand that our right to defend ourselves against those who will not leave us alone be respected. That self-defense is the most basic of rights – a right conceded even to the lowest animal. They do not acknowledge our rights; they despise the very notion of us having any rights at all. They regard their power over us as limitless in principle – and rage at even the smallest assertion of freedom of action. They loathe our guns because our ownership of guns is an expression of our determination to defend our very lives – and thus, of self-ownership.

And that is what cannot be tolerated. Which is why the current bum-rush to disarm us has become absolutely frantic. The moment is at hand. We will either stand up and be reckoned with as free men – or we will sit down forever and accept any degradation, any humiliation. And in that case, we shall have proved worthy of such treatment. Future generations will look upon us with the same mixture of incomprehension and contempt that our generation looked upon those who meekly lined up naked in queue for their turn at the edge of the pit. Because it will come to that, in time.

Continue reading (via Director Blue and Cold Fury).

RELATED: At the New York Post, "Only rebellion can save America," and Canada Free Press, "Understanding the Obama Conspiracy & U.S. takeover."

EXTRA: At Right Wing News, "2/23/2013 Will Be a Day of Resistance."

President Obama and Secretary Clinton on Benghazi

At the Daily Beast, "Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s Lovefest on ‘60 Minutes’." And at Weasel Zippers, "Obama on Benghazi: “Somewhere, Somehow, Somebody In the Federal Government Is Screwing Up”…"

And previously, Sen. Kelly Ayotte:

The Lightworker's Cosmic Essence

At the Other McCain, "BREAKING: Lightworker Astride Unicorn Transcends Space-Time Continuum."

Rep. Carolyn McCarty: Women Can't Handle AR-15s

Snarks Moonbattery, "Funny, this woman learned how to handle an AR-15 quickly enough":

At at the Truth About Guns, "Carolyn McCarthy: Traditional Rifles Better for Women’s Self Defense Than AR-15s."

How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

Via BigFurHat:

Future of the NFL

From Sam Farmer, at the Los Angeles Times, "NFL future: Feeling a bit woozy":

NEW ORLEANS -- Over the last two decades, the NFL seemingly could do no wrong.

The Dallas Cowboys, bought by Jerry Jones for $150 million in 1989, are now valued at $2.1 billion. Twenty of the league's 32 teams are valued at $1 billion or more.

Eight of the country's top 15 most-watched TV programs were Super Bowls, and more than 100 million people around the globe are expected to tune in for next Sunday's matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Fans will pay thousands of dollars per ticket just to get inside the Superdome to watch the game in person.

Even after the labor meltdown and player lockout of 2011, when another league might have lost legions of fans, the NFL had a typically captivating season — including the unexpected bonus of Tim Tebow — and grew in influence and popularity.

But fissures have formed in the once-pristine NFL edifice. More than 2,000 former players are suing the league over head injuries, and what they were and weren't told about the long-term damage of concussions. Junior Seau, among the greatest linebackers in league history, committed suicide last spring and was later found to have a concussion-related brain disease. Seau's family this week filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the league. A study released last week shows signs of an ailment similar to Seau's in five living NFL alumni.

"The culture of the athlete is still too much of a play-through-it, rather than player-safety mentality," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in November in a speech to the Harvard School of Public Health. "Many players have publicly admitted to hiding concussions and other head injuries.… This is unfortunate, but we are working with players, team doctors and coaches to change that culture. It is changing, but will take more time, resolve, patience, and determination."

The NFL is considering the drastic move of doing away with kickoffs in the name of player safety. However, Goodell and team owners also have explored the possibility of expanding the regular season from 16 to 18 games, potentially increasing the likelihood of injuries. There also have been discussions about expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 or 16 teams.

"There's an uneasy feeling around the NFL, because although the league is arguably more popular than it's ever been before, there are also these glaring areas of deep concern about player safety on the field, and the players' health off the field and after their careers are over," said Michael MacCambridge, author of "America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation."...

Well, if President Obama had a son he wouldn't let him play football, so it's just one more nail in the coffin of American exceptionalism.

Just enjoy it while it lasts, I guess.

More at that top link, in any case.

Israel Attack on Iran's Fordo Nuclear Facility?

I saw news of this on Twitter yesterday, and my good friend Norm in New York gave me a hat tip as well.

See the Times of Israel, "Israeli minister welcomes report of huge blast at Iran nuclear plant."

And at Astute Bloggers, "BREAKING: IRAN NUKE FACILITY BOMBED?" And Israpundit, "Blast hits key Iranian nuclear site?"

With so much at stake you'd think there'd be more coverage of this, but when Israel took out a Syrian nuclear facility a few years back, the reporting was sparse. Don't doubt that Jerusalem will act without U.S. cooperation. The Israelis won't take a chance on Tehran obtaining nuclear strike capabilities.

Lawyers Behaving Badly Get Dressing Down From Civility Cops

At the Wall Street Journal, "Adversarial System Grows Obscenely Nasty; 'Get More Results With Sugar'":

In New York one night recently, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan donned his robes, walked onstage and belted out to his colleagues this heartfelt plea for lawyerly politeness (to the tune of "If I Were a Rich Man"):

"If lawyers were more civil

Daidle deedle daidle daidle daidle deedle daidle dum

They'd treat their breth-er-en with more respect

Wouldn't always yell, 'object.' "

The ditty struck a nerve—and brought down the house, a largely pinstriped crowd of 80 or so lawyers there for a musical refresher course on the virtues of civility.

But it is no laughing matter to those who fret that a tide of rudeness has engulfed the legal profession.

From courtroom yelling matches to insulting letters and depositions that turn into fistfights, some lawyers and judges worry that the adversarial system of justice has gotten a little too adversarial.

To rein in "Rambo" litigators, the politeness patrol is pushing etiquette lessons, and even seeking to have civility included in attorney oaths.

The well-mannered caution that lawyers who shout, lie and shoot off vulgar emails don't merely alienate judges and juries. They also slow the wheels of justice and cost clients money.

"Lawyers already have a bad enough reputation," said Stewart Aaron, a litigator and head of Arnold & Porter LLP's New York office. He performed alongside Judge Sullivan in the revue.

Continue reading.

This is professional civility, not political civility, or what Althouse calls the "civility bullshit."

The Lawyers, Guns and Money Cesspool

Some how I missed this at the time, at Legal Insurrection, "In which Glenn Greenwald and Robert Stacy McCain sort of share an opinion."

@ohtarzie Oh, obviously - LGM is a cesspool of unprincipled partisan hackdom - look what they said about Palin's crosshair "metaphor"
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 22, 2012

William was reminded of Greenwald's LGM smackdown with the "neo-confederate judges" idiocy in the news. See, "Saturday Night different strokes for the happy folks."

But again, it's not just that these are partisan hacks. They're radical nihilists, full moral degenerates who're perfectly representative of the hate-filled Democrat left.

More at The Other McCain.

PREVIOUSLY: "How It Feels to Be Stalked."

Open-Borders Bipartisanship: Group of Senators Agree on Plan for Illegal Alien Amnesty

At the Los Angeles Times, "Senators agree on immigration overhaul plan":

The bipartisan group's proposal would grant legal status to most of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a plan to grant legal status to most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., which could form the basis for a far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws this year.

The Senate blueprint, drafted during weeks of closed-door meetings by leading senators from each party, will probably set parameters for a contentious legislative battle over the next several months. The eight senators involved intend to release their proposal publicly Monday. A copy was provided to The Times' Washington bureau on Sunday by Senate aides.

The Senate plan is more conservative than President Obama's proposal, which he plans to unveil Tuesday in a speech in Las Vegas. But its provisions for legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants go further than measures that failed to advance in Congress in previous years — a reminder of how swiftly the politics of immigration have shifted since Latino voters' strong influence in the November election.

In terms of the number of people who would potentially receive legal status, it would be more than three times larger than the amnesty plan passed under President Reagan in 1986, which legalized about 3 million immigrants.

The senators involved hope to begin committee votes on a bill as soon as March. The timing of their proposal and Obama's, coupled with that schedule — quick by Senate standards — could set up a dynamic in which an eventual bill falls somewhere between the bipartisan plan and the president's.

Latino activists and other advocates for comprehensive immigration reform have pushed for quick action in the Senate, hoping that a large bipartisan vote for a bill that includes a path to citizenship would put pressure on the House.

Many members of the House Republican majority represent districts where proposals for legalization remain highly unpopular, but many Republicans also worry about the political price if the party takes the blame for killing immigration reform.

The Senate proposal would allow most of those in the country illegally to obtain probationary legal status immediately by paying a fine and back taxes and passing a background check. That would make them eligible to work and live in the U.S. They could earn a green card — permanent residency — after the government certifies that the U.S.-Mexican border has become secure, but might face a lengthy process before becoming citizens.

Obama is expected to push for a faster citizenship process that would not be conditional on border security standards being met first. The structure of the citizenship process will probably be among the most hotly debated parts of any immigration plan.

And see the Hill, "Durbin: Senate immigration plan will be comprehensive, include citizenship path" (via Memeorandum).

Barnes and Noble to Downsize

Megan McArdle wrote about this a few weeks back, "Is Barnes and Noble Next?"

And now here's this, at the Wall Street Journal, "B&N Aims To Whittle Its Stores For Years":

Barnes & Noble Inc. expects to close as many as a third of its retail stores over the next decade, the bookseller's top store executive said, offering the most detailed picture yet of the company's plans for the outlets.

"In 10 years we'll have 450 to 500 stores," said Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group, in an interview last week. The company operated 689 retail stores as of Jan. 23, along with a separate chain of 674 college stores.

Mr. Klipper said his forecast assumes that the company will close about 20 stores a year over the period.

The chain shut an average of about 15 stores a year in the past decade, but until 2009 it also was opening 30 or more a year. Its store openings have largely dried up as consumers' shift toward digital books has upended the market and developers have stopped opening new malls; this fiscal year it has opened only two stores.

The company's consumer bookstores peaked at 726 in 2008, excluding the B. Dalton chain, which is now defunct.

Even with 450 to 500 stores, "it's a good business model," says Mr. Klipper. "You have to adjust your overhead, and get smart with smart systems. Is it what it used to be when you were opening 80 stores a year and dropping stores everywhere? Probably not. It's different. But every business evolves."

Mr. Klipper's comments come amid growing questions about Barnes & Noble's future. This month the company reported an unexpectedly weak holiday selling season, with store revenue declining nearly 11% from a year earlier. Book sales at stores open at least a year, a key barometer in the industry, fell 3.1%.

After years of losing market share for print books to discounting by Amazon.com Inc., Barnes & Noble is grappling with the print market's shrinkage, thanks to the growing popularity of cheap e-books, also championed by Amazon. Unit sales of print books dropped 9% in the U.S. last year, according to market researcher Nielsen BookScan, and they are off 22% from 2007, when digital books started gaining traction.

At the same time, Barnes & Noble's efforts to build support for its two new Nook tablets have stalled. Amid competition from Amazon, Apple Inc., Google Inc. and electronics companies like Samsung Electronics Co.,    sales of Nook products in stores and online during the holiday season fell from a year earlier.

Plenty of retailers have been felled by digital competition in the past decade, including Tower Records, Circuit City Stores and Barnes & Noble's former rival, Borders Group Inc. Retail consultant Doug Stephens, whose book, "The Retail Revival," is being published in the U.S. in March, predicts that mainstream booksellers eventually will "become a thing of the past."

As long as there's some brick and mortar bookstores. The browsing experience can't be matched digitally, or at least not yet.

Australian Disc Jockeys Fired in Wake of Duchess of Cambridge Phone Call Hoax

They had to go into hiding, the outrage was so bad. It was only a matter of time.

At Telegraph UK, "Duchess hoax call: Australian DJs axed in wake of nurse suicide."

The Best Essay on Women in the Military You'll Read

Check this out, at Hot Air, "Some advice on women in combat from a female veteran":

I’m a female veteran. I deployed to Anbar Province, Iraq. When I was active duty, I was 5’6, 130 pounds, and scored nearly perfect on my PFTs. I naturally have a lot more upper body strength than the average woman: not only can I do pull-ups, I can meet the male standard. I would love to have been in the infantry. And I still think it will be an unmitigated disaster to incorporate women into combat roles. I am not interested in risking men’s lives so I can live my selfish dream.

We’re not just talking about watering down the standards to include the politically correct number of women into the unit. This isn’t an issue of “if a woman can meet the male standard, she should be able to go into combat.” The number of women that can meet the male standard will be miniscule–I’d have a decent shot according to my PFTs, but dragging a 190-pound man in full gear for 100 yards would DESTROY me–and that miniscule number that can physically make the grade AND has the desire to go into combat will be facing an impossible situation that will ruin the combat effectiveness of the unit. First, the close quarters of combat units make for a complete lack of privacy and EVERYTHING is exposed, to include intimate details of bodily functions. Second, until we succeed in completely reprogramming every man in the military to treat women just like men, those men are going to protect a woman at the expense of the mission. Third, women have physical limitations that no amount of training or conditioning can overcome. Fourth, until the media in this country is ready to treat a captured/raped/tortured/mutilated female soldier just like a man, women will be targeted by the enemy without fail and without mercy.

I saw the male combat units when I was in Iraq. They go outside the wire for days at a time. They eat, sleep, urinate and defecate in front of each other and often while on the move. There’s no potty break on the side of the road outside the wire. They urinate into bottles and defecate into MRE bags. I would like to hear a suggestion as to how a woman is going to urinate successfully into a bottle while cramped into a humvee wearing full body armor. And she gets to accomplish this feat with the male members of her combat unit twenty inches away. Volunteers to do that job? Do the men really want to see it? Should they be forced to?

More at the link.

That piece should be required reading for anyone on the topic.

And check Jazz Shaw's earlier comments, "A few thoughts on women in combat from a dinosaur."

And there was some push back at my previous post, "Women in Combat." I hear the criticism, although folks are overlooking what I wrote:

I think it's about time, although the service branches should be flexible in adapting to gender differences, going with what works and what is comfortable for those on the ground.

So to be clear, I've been talking to veterans on this topic for over ten years and opinions are divided. Some male vets report that women just aren't able to meet the standards of men, and this will reduce combat morale and readiness. But some men have reported that they'd just as soon have women as men as comrades. And I've had lots of women veterans who argue that the prohibitions on women amount to rank sexist discrimination and that they'd like the opportunity to serve equal in ground combat. I don't know from first hand experience. I am not a veteran. I'm a professor. As a matter of straight up military performance, I'd say all male ground combat units should be the exclusive norm. But as a matter of current day realities where everything is a matter of equal opportunity, I expect that the more the services can guaranty open access for women who want to perform those roles the better. If that's politically correct, so be it.

Added: From USMC Captain Katie Petronio, "Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal":

The bottom line is that the enemy doesn’t discriminate, rounds will not slow down, and combat loads don’t get any lighter, regardless of gender or capability. Even more so, the burden of command does not diminish for a male or female; a leader must gain the respect and trust of his/her Marines in combat. Not being able to physically execute to the standards already established at IOC, which have been battle tested and proven, will produce a slower operational speed and tempo resulting in increased time of exposure to enemy forces and a higher risk of combat injury or death. For this reason alone, I would ask everyone to step back and ask themselves, does this integration solely benefit the individual or the Marine Corps as a whole, as every leader’s focus should be on the needs of the institution and the Nation, not the individual?

RTWT.

Capt. Petronio did tours in both Afganistan and Iraq. She faced personal physical deterioration that raised questions in her own mind whether she was up to the standards the battlefield required. (Via Blazing Cat Fur.)

More, "Armed Forces in Canada Resolved Issue Long Ago":

Opening the Canadian military to women followed a protracted debate, but the questions over the suitability of women as combat troops have now all but faded from the nation’s collective memory.

“It doesn’t even enter into conversation anymore,” said Capt. Jaime Phillips, a female artillery officer who commanded not only Canadian men but male American and Afghan combat troops in Afghanistan. “It’s just so ingrained in my generation that it seems silly to hear the same old arguments again.”...

Women make up about 12 percent of the total military force but Canada’s Department of National Defense did not disclose how many of them are in combat roles. A study presented in late 2011 by Krystel Carrier-Sabourin, a doctoral student at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, found that 310 women filled combat roles in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011.

Captain Phillips, who is now an adjutant at an artillery school in New Brunswick, said that she found herself commanding soldiers from both the United States and Afghanistan.

“They were not used to it, that’s for sure,” she said of those troops. “You could tell it was a curiosity for them and they were of the mind of ‘that’s fine for you guys but it’s not our way’.” Nevertheless, Captain Phillips said that her orders were always obeyed and she was never the subject of overt hostility.

Cpl. Katie Hodges, whose time with an infantry unit in Afghanistan was partly documented for the film “Sisters in Arms,” said that it is important to note that combat roles are voluntary for both men and women in the Canadian military.

“I went because I wanted to,” she said. “I wanted to be in the exact opposite of an office job.”

During her training and once she was deployed to Afghanistan, Corporal Hodges shared sleeping accommodations with men, like all women in the infantry. The only time she experienced separate quarters, she said, was when she went down to an American military base for joint training. In the Canadian military, only showers are segregated by gender.

Corporal Hodges, who is now a military photographer stationed at a base northwest of Toronto, is among those surprised that there has been any controversy in the United States about including women in combat roles.

“It’s hard to believe that there is a such a draconian attitude,” she said. “I certainly don’t want to sound offensive but the U.S. is far behind.”

So, again, the fine details of how women would serve in direct combat positions should be worked out by the service branches, but if women want to serve, they should have that right.

Edita Vilkevičiūtė for Victoria's Secret Swimwear in St. Barts

Not sure how you pronounce this woman's name. She's Lithuanian and a smokin' sweetie.

At London's Daily Mail, "Life's a beach! Edita Vilkeviciute smoulders for the camera as she shoots Victoria's Secret swimwear campaign in St Bart's."

New Machine for Amputating Fingers Iran

Click through for the details.

At Atlas Shrugs, "#MYJIHAD IN TECHNOLOGY: IRAN UNVEILS MACHINE FOR AMPUTATING THIEVES' FINGERS, SHARIA JUSTICE."

And at Jawa Report, "Shariah! Iran Unveils A Finger Amputation 'Machine'..."

How It Feels to Be Stalked

This is a must-read personal account of a stalking nightmare, from Professor James Lasdun, at the Chronicle of Higher Education, "'I Will Ruin Him'." I almost had to laugh about how Lasdun characterizes his department chair's reaction to his stalker's allegations:

The culminating act in this particular line of attack came in April of 2008. I had taken a teaching job near where I live. One morning there was a knock on my office door. It was my department head, Frank, looking uncharacteristically ill at ease.

"We've been sent a very weird e-mail," he said. "Maybe you should read it."

The subject heading ran: James Lasdun, important information about your "writer-in-residence"

I began reading warily. "To Whom It May Concern," it began. "I am a former female student of James Lasdun and find it truly disturbing that he is allowed to teach on any level. During my time as his student he did no work on my writing nor on any other female writer's work."

What followed was the familiar litany of plagiarism, theft, racism, and sexual misconduct, although set out at much greater length than ever before, and with a new lavishness of detail. "I wish you'd keep Mr. Lasdun away from young women over which he has power," it concluded. "It is the only way this twisted, sadistic man can get his kicks."

As I began trying to explain to Frank that every one of Nasreen's assertions was a lie, I sensed that, although he personally believed me, in his professional capacity he needed something stronger than just my word against Nasreen's. As it happened, I had recently managed to get a detective from the New York Police Department to take an official interest in the case. If nothing else, that gave me standing as a bona fide victim. As soon as I told Frank about that, he looked immensely relieved, and by the end of our conversation, he was offering his full support...

My department chair was even less supportive.

I had two stalkers, and so when SEK made his libelous accusations by that time things were getting out of hand and I got a lawyer. Doing so definitely beefed up the sense of seriousness among the people at my college. I was being victimized by truly diabolical people. It's unreal until you have to confront this stuff up close and personal. And remember, Carl Salonen actually emailed his lies to the California Attorney General's office. It's frightening how easily cheap, slanderous accusations can basically f-k somebody up, and there's little cost to the depraved complainant --- unless you want to go to court --- except in my case I've created an Internet record for both Carl and SEK. Anyone Googling these ghouls knows the moral crimes they have committed. Carl's search is here. And SEK's is here. Both of those return excellent, top-placement search results, BWAHAHA!!

Lots more at Patterico, "A Compelling Piece About Cyberstalking — And How It Could Have Been *Much* Worse."

Sarah Palin Forced Out at Fox News?

Well, she was forced out to the extent that Fox News was going to pay her "a fraction" of her previous $1 million a year contract, according to Howard Kurtz, "Fox Made Limited Effort to Keep Sarah Palin." But whatever the reason, it signals some kind of significant change, or that's what folks are saying. See CSM, "Why Fox News dropped Sarah Palin."

And see Stephen Bannon, at Breitbart, "Palin: 'We Haven't Yet Begun to Fight!'—Exclusive Interview with Breitbart News."

She'll always be a hero to me. She's stands for so much that's right about this country. Just setting the example for younger conservatives will be a national service. We'll see how she does going forward.

Brazil Nightclub Fire

Here's the banner headline at London's Daily Mail, "Security staff 'barred the doors' as desperate people tried to escape Brazil night club inferno which claimed at least 232 lives."

And at the New York Times, "Scores Dead as Fire Sweeps Through Nightclub in Brazil":

RIO DE JANEIRO — A fire ignited by a flare from a band’s pyrotechnic spectacle swept through a nightclub filled with hundreds of university students early on Sunday morning in Santa Maria, a city in southern Brazil, killing at least 232 people, police officials said.

Health workers hauled bodies from the club, called Kiss, to hospitals in Santa Maria throughout Sunday morning. Some of the survivors were taken to the nearby city of Porto Alegre to be treated for burns. Valdeci Oliveira, a local legislator, said he saw piles of bodies in the nightclub’s bathrooms.

Col. Guido Pedroso de Melo, the commander of the city’s Fire Department, said security guards had locked exits, which intensified the panic as people in the club stampeded to the doors. One police investigator at the club, Elizabeth Shimomura, told a television news channel, “It is a scene of horror.”

Survivors described a scene of mayhem as patrons rushed for the main exit. “I only got out because I am strong,” Ezequiel Corte Real, 23, told reporters. He said he helped others escape the blaze.

The disaster in Santa Maria, which is in the relatively prosperous state of Rio Grande do Sul, shocked the country. President Dilma Rousseff canceled appointments at a summit meeting in Chile to travel to Santa Maria, a city of about 260,000 residents that is known for its cluster of universities.

Entirely senseless. You'd think at this point, in the 21st century, this kind of catastrophe would never happen. The doors were locked? Seriously?

Continue reading.

And there's lots more at the Lede, "Fire at a Nightclub in Southern Brazil."

Britain's National Sickness

Well, it's not just Britain, but don't miss Melanie Phillips' essay, "A LibDem MP gives voice to Britain's national sickness."

RELATED: At the Commentator, "Sunday Times blood libel cartoon, on Holocaust Memorial Day no less." (Via Memeorandum.)

Latino Gangs Intimidating Blacks Into Leaving Compton

Times change, I guess.

At LAT, "Attack on family in Compton latest incident in wave of anti-black violence":

A Latino gang is intimidating blacks into leaving the city that was once an African American enclave. It's part of a violent trend seen in other parts of the L.A. area.

The trouble began soon after they arrived.

The black family—a mother, three teenage children and a 10-year-old boy—moved into a little yellow home in Compton over Christmas vacation.

When a friend came to visit, four men in a black SUV pulled up and called him a "nigger," saying black people were barred from the neighborhood, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. They jumped out, drew a gun on him and beat him with metal pipes.

It was just the beginning of what detectives said was a campaign by a Latino street gang to force an African American family to leave.

The attacks on the family are the latest in a series of violent incidents in which Latino gangs targeted blacks in parts of greater Los Angeles over the last decade.

Compton, with a population of about 97,000, was predominantly black for many years. It is now 65% Latino and 33% black, according to the 2010 U.S. census. But it's not only historically black areas that have been targeted.

Federal authorities have alleged in several indictments in the last decade that the Mexican Mafia prison gang has ordered street gangs under its control to attack African Americans. Leaders of the Azusa 13 gang were sentenced to lengthy prison terms earlier this month for leading a policy of attacking African American residents and expelling them from the town.

Similar attacks have taken place in Harbor Gateway, Highland Park, Pacoima, San Bernardino, Canoga Park and Wilmington, among other places. In the Compton case, sheriff's officials say the gang appears to have been acting on its own initiative.

Sheriff's detectives said Friday they had arrested Jeffrey Aguilar, 19, of Gardena and Efren Marquez, 21, of Rialto, both alleged members of the Compton Varrio 155 gang, and are continuing to look for more assailants.

"This family has no gang ties whatsoever," Sheriff's Lt. Richard Westin said. "They are complete innocent victims here."

The 19-year-old family friend managed to break free that first day and run into the house, where the children were the only ones at home.

The attackers left, but a half-hour later a crowd of as many as 20 people stood on the lawn yelling threats and epithets. A beer bottle crashed through the living room window as the youngsters watched in horror.

"They were scared if they called the sheriff they'd be killed," Westin said. "So they called their mom, who called the Sheriff's Department."

More at the link.

And that's N.W.A. at the clip, "Straight Outta Compton."

Compton ain't got no mo' black mofos like that, I be guessin'.

Kathleen Wynne: Canada's First Openly Homosexual Premier and Ontario's First Female Premier

Well, we have the first gay president already, so I guess Canada's catching up.

Via Joe. My. God and Memeorandum.

And at the Toronto Star, "Ontario Liberal leadership convention: Kathleen Wynne will be next premier."

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons.

Women Sue Explicit 'Revenge Porn' Site After Jilted Lovers Anonymously Posted Revealing Pictures of Them

Well, it's a meat market out there.

At London's Daily Mail, "'Ex'-plicit 'revenge porn' site that allowed jilted lovers to anonymously post revealing pics of their former girlfriends is facing class-action suit."

Photos From the 40th Annual March for Life

From Matt Cassens, at St. Blogustine, "40th Annual March For Life In Pictures."

Long Lines, Ammunition Shortages at Orange County Gun Show

I visited the Orange County fairgrounds this morning.

Here's a report at NBC 4 Los Angeles, "Costa Mesa Gun Show Draws Long Lines, Demand for Ammunition." And see ABC News 7, "Costa Mesa gun show organizers: Ban talks boost business."

I arrived about 10:30am. The lines were long --- I heard people saying they waited an hour to get in --- but moved quickly by the time I got up there. And it was a diverse crowd, defying liberal stereotypes of California progressivism:

I would have loved a couple of beers at the beer gardens, but I was driving. Maybe next time. I'll make it a family affair and the wife can drive:

A banner for Crossroads of the West, the outfit that holds some of the big Southern California gun shows.

A man was showing off accessories. I have no clue the model of that gun, but it looked formidable:

My favorite shirt, which I tweeted from the fairgrounds:

Targets:

Lots of historical weapons and paraphernalia. Here's a "Gettysburg 1863" (a Colt .45, I think):

I'm not sure this gear from Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany was authentic:

Although this knockoff U.S. Army gear from WWII looks pretty cool:

These WWWII rifles were totally authentic. Remington and Winchester and lots more at a huge dealer's counter:

Lots of humorous signs available (and there were loads of anti-Obama stickers as well):

One of the ammunition dealers:

And this is the line for ammunition outside the exhibition halls. High demand:

Here's a couple of Smith & Wesson .45 caliber guns on the right, and that's a .40 caliber at the upper left. The dealer was Quantico Arms and Tactical Supply out of Oceanside, near Camp Pendleton:

They also had this Glock 10mm:

Heading out from the fairgrounds, here's the beautiful country barn. The fair holds cow milking demonstrations every July:

And here's some earlier reporting at the Los Angeles Times, "Security boosted for Orange County gun show," and "Ammunition shortage could draw crowds to O.C. gun show."

I felt reassured about American liberty while attending. Gun enthusiasts are salt-of-the-earth Americans, the kind the Democrat-Media-Complex rarely discusses, lest such patriots upset the progressive narrative.

UPDATE: Linked at Blazing Cat Fur. Thanks! And also at lgstarr, "Fabulous gun show photos."

Also picked up by BadBlue.

More linkage at Lonely Conservative, "No Matter the Issue, the Media Frames It on Their (And the Democrats') Terms." Thanks!

Still more! Bill Quick links at the Daily Pundit, "Screw Limp Dick Gun Control Marches." Thanks!

Hey, here's looking for a Memeorandum link out of this one!

Also, Doug Ross and Marooned in Marin link. Thanks.

Obama's Abuse of Power

At the Wall Street Journal:

President Obama has shown increasing contempt for the constitutional limits on his power, and the courts are finally awakening to the news. A unanimous panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the President's non-recess recess appointments are illegal and an abuse of executive power.

On January 4, 2012, Mr. Obama bypassed the Senate's advice and consent power by naming three new members of the National Labor Relations Board and appointing Richard Cordray to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Other Presidents have made recess appointments and we've supported that executive authority.

But here's the Obama kicker: He consciously made those "recess" appointments when the Senate wasn't in recess but was conducting pro-forma sessions precisely so Mr. Obama couldn't make a recess appointment. No President to our knowledge had ever tried that one, no doubt because it means the executive can decide on his own when a co-equal branch of government is in session.

In Noel Canning v. NLRB, a Washington state Pepsi bottler challenged a board decision on grounds that the recess appointments were invalid and that the NLRB thus lacked the three-member quorum required to conduct business. The D.C. Circuit agreed, while whistling a 98 mile-per-hour, chin-high fastball past the White House about the separation of powers.

In the 46-page opinion, the three-judge panel said that "not only logic and language, but also constitutional history" reject the President's afflatus. The Federalist Papers refer to recess appointments expiring at the end of the following session of Congress, the court explained, so it stands to reason that recess appointments were intended to be made only when the Senate is in a recess between sessions, not any time the Senators step out of the Capitol.

Continue reading.

And at Twitchy, "Lefty academic laments ‘neoconfederate judges’ who ruled NLRB appointments unconstitutional." That "lefty academic" is the asshole Scott Lemieux at LGM.

Lulz. Remember, these are the "serious" people. twitter.com/SonnyBunch/sta…
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) January 25, 2013

Yes, "serious" people --- and Marxist moral degenerates.

Twitter Shuts Down al-Shabaab's Account

Well, the Somalia jihadists were tweeting out photos of dead soldiers, which must have been too much for some folks.

At the New York Times, "Somalia: Twitter Shuts Rebels’ Account."

And at Guardian UK, "Twitter suspends al-Shabaab account."

A cached version is here. You can see some of the sarcastic responses to outrage over the dead French commando.

Networks Refuse to Correctly Identify Pro-Life Activists

I saw Susanne Malveaux's segment on CNN yesterday morning, and the chyron described the March for Life as "Abortion Opponents Protest Roe v. Wade," or thereabouts. And I'm thinking, "Wait. These people are about life. Why not identify them correctly?"

So, it was no surprise later when I saw this at NewsBusters, "‘March for … ?’ Nets Don’t Use ‘Life’ in Abortion Debate":

Thinking of learning a new language? Try English – broadcast media style. Specifically, try abortion-reporting speak – a tongue as notable for the words it doesn’t use as those it does.

This year’s annual March for Life, this Friday, Jan. 25th, marks the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. And, though you might think it would be difficult to talk about something called the March for Life without using the word “life,” the broadcast networks have shown the utility of abortion-reporting speak. In the past 10 years, 91 percent of ABC, NBC, and CBS anchor reports on the March for Life and Roe v. Wade failed to mention the word, “life.”

In 22 reports, “life” was used just twice.  The first came from NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell. O’Donnell said in a Jan. 22, 2003, “Today” segment when she introduced a “pro-life group.” The other came from CBS’ Russ Mitchell in a Jan. 22, 2007, “Early Show” report when he described a “march for life” marking the 34th Roe v. Wade anniversary.

The other 20 reports employed a variety of alternate descriptions for the March for Life and pro-life activists. The March and counter-demonstrations were rallies sponsored by both opponents and supporters of Roe v. Wade, according to NBC’s Brian Williams on Jan. 24, 2005 and his colleague Ann Curry on Jan. 22, 2007. The marchers were “opponents” (ABC’s Jake Tapper, Jan. 23, 2006), and “anti-abortion activists” (NBC’s Tom Brokaw, Jan. 22, 2003) rather than “pro-lifers” or “pro-life marchers,” as they self-describe.

The linguistic selections are far from unconscious. A recent interview by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell illustrated the “life” language prejudice pervading broadcast media. When Republican strategist Juleanna Glover identified herself as “deeply pro-life” in an interview, Mitchell interrupted, “Well, what I would call anti-abortion,” and added, “to use the term that I think is more value neutral.”

And the bias is institutionalized. Journalists should “Use anti-abortion instead of pro-life andabortion rights instead of pro-abortion or pro-choice,” according to The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook’s 44th edition. Instead of making the argument about life and death or choice and constraint, AP advocates for the flat, procedural term: abortion.

More here, "Marching for Life in the Face of a Pro-Abortion Media."

And here's the New York Times' report, where pro-life activists are called "abortion opponents." See, "40 Years After Roe v. Wade, Thousands March to Oppose Abortion." And that piece didn't make the front-page, despite hundreds of thousands of people rallying for life.

RELATED: At Twitchy, "Social media fills the role the MSM won’t as hundreds of thousands #MarchForLife in DC."

BONUS: "Ghoul: Touré says ‘thank God for abortion’."

Wayward Dolphin Dies in Toxic Gowanus Canal in New York

The animal was probably dying before making its way up the canal, but there's some deep irony here that the death happened in progressive, nanny-statist New York.

At the New York Post, "Dolphin stuck in Gowanus Canal dies."

More details at the Wall Street Journal, "Wayward dolphin dies in polluted New York canal":

The canal was named a Superfund site in 2010, meaning the government can force polluters to pay for its restoration. For more than a century before, coal yards, chemical factories and fuel refineries on the canal's banks discharged everything from tar to purple ink into the water, earning it the local nickname The Lavender Lake for its unnatural hue.

While the dolphin was churning up sediment and mud, it's unclear whether that contributed to its death, DiGiovanni said.

The dolphin, which appeared to be about 7 feet long, likely entered the canal from the Atlantic Ocean through the Lower and Upper New York Bays and then the Gowanus Bay, which leads to the canal. It's about 20 miles from the canal to open ocean.

Experts don't know why the dolphin wandered into the canal, but in general that can happen when one gets sick or disoriented, DiGiovanni said.

It's not uncommon for sea creatures to stray into city waters, though they don't often swim away alive.

'Let's Have Hearings in Chicago...'

A great segment with Newt Gingrich debating CNN's Piers Morgan.

But see Milton Wolf, "What Newt should have said to Piers Morgan."

Women in Combat

I've seen a lot of conservatives attacking the policy on Twitter, and prominent figures like Lt. Col. Allen West have spoken out publicly against the Pentagon's move. In my classes I've spoken to a number of veterans and current service personnel on the policy as well. Privacy issues remain a problem for those serving with opposite sex personnel, and comparative strength between men and women comes up. But mostly the consensus is that women should be able to serve in front-line combat. I think it's about time, although the service branches should be flexible in adapting to gender differences, going with what works and what is comfortable for those on the ground.

Deadly Riots Erupt Across Egypt on Anniversary of Revolution

At the New York Times:

CAIRO — Violence erupted across Egypt on Friday as tens of thousands of demonstrators filled Tahrir Square to mark the second anniversary of the country’s revolution with an outpouring of rage against the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood. At least seven protesters and two police officers were killed in clashes in Suez, the state news media said.

More than 250 people were injured in similar battles around government buildings across the country, including the Interior Ministry, the presidential palace and the state television building in the capital. The deaths reported in the city of Suez took place near the provincial government headquarters, which protesters set on fire. Muslim Brotherhood offices were ransacked or burned in at least three cities, including Ismailia, the Suez Canal town where the group was founded 85 years ago.

In the most striking episode, masked men attacked the offices of the Brotherhood’s Web site in Cairo, upending furniture, littering the floor with broken glass and papers and smashing computers. Several witnesses said the assailants came in a large group to the third floor, carrying pellet guns and acid to burn through the padlock, and left with computer hard drives.

“They said, ‘We are here to destroy this place,’ ” said Ragab Abdel Hamid, 36, a printer who works for a liberal organization in the same building and tried to contain the attack. “It was planned.” Unknown assailants had blasted the metal doors to the same office with a fire bomb just days before, leaving flame marks, and the gates had been refortified.

The violence — from Alexandria in the north to Aswan in the south — dramatized the deepening chasm of animosity and distrust dividing the Brotherhood from its opponents. Although the Islamists of the Brotherhood have dominated elections since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, another broad segment of the population harbors deep suspicions of the group’s conservative ideology, hierarchical structure and insular ethos.

Those doubts were only redoubled last month when President Mohamed Morsi, with the Brotherhood’s political party, temporarily overruled the authority of the judiciary in order to ensure that his Islamist allies could push through an Islamist-backed Constitution to referendum over the objections of other parties and the Coptic Church.

“Egyptians will never let the Muslim Brotherhood rule — over our dead bodies,” said Heba Samir, 36, catching her breath by the Nile after fleeing tear gas outside the state television building.

More at that top link, and also, "Street-Level Views of Protests in Cairo to Commemorate 2 Years of Revolution."

Kate Hudson for Ann Taylor

I just watched "Almost Famous" on cable a couple of weeks back and I couldn't have been more impressed with Kate Hudson. I haven't payed that much attention to her before. I won't make that mistake again.

See London's Daily Mail, "Now Kate Hudson reveals she is DESIGNING for Ann Taylor as she strikes a pose for fashion brand's latest campaign."

Facebook Envy

At the Chicago Tribune, "Study finds rampant envy on Facebook":

Witnessing friends' vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers.

A study conducted by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world's largest social network, which has more than 1 billion users.

The researchers found that 1 in 3 people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most.

"We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook, with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry," researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Humboldt University in Berlin told Reuters.

"From our observations, some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site," Krasnova said, adding to speculation that Facebook could be reaching a saturation point in some markets.

I just don't care for it that much. Twitter's way more fun.

Employee at Stafford Hospital Suspended After Pacifier Found Taped to Sick Baby's Mouth

At the Sun UK, "Hospital taped dummy to sick baby’s mouth: Scandal as worker suspended":

A BABY struggling to breathe had a dummy TAPED into his mouth at a scandal-hit hospital.

The pacifier is believed to have been fixed to premature twin Mason Fellows in intensive care to stop him crying.

His mum Sarah — who gave birth to Mason and brother Reece 2½ months early — said: “I’m so angry. He could have suffocated.”

A worker at Stafford Hospital has been suspended while cops investigate.
Mason's grandmother spoke of her horror last night.

Diane Denny, 69, said: “I am furious. How can a human being do this to an innocent, defenceless baby? To my mind, this is nothing less than torture.

“I have been bed-bound by a stroke — but if I ever get my hands on the person who did this they would wish they were never born.”

Four-month-old Mason had been taken to scandal-plagued Stafford Hospital with breathing problems. He had only just returned home after being treated with twin Reece at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where mum Sarah, 28, had kept a bedside vigil.

Diane, from Cannock, Staffs, said: “Sarah was visiting Mason after the latest problems but when she arrived she found police and nurses surrounding his cot.

“The officer told her a member of staff had alerted them after seeing a dummy taped across Mason’s mouth.

Continue reading.

And here's the Sun's "Page 3" since we reading some UK news.

Palmdale Woman Accused of Torturing Her Kids

At the Los Angeles Times, "Woman accused of torturing her children":

Neighbors say they hadn't known children lived in Ingrid Brewer's home at all. The boy and girl, 8 and 7, ran away because 'they were tired of being tied up and beaten,' a sheriff's official says.

Neighbors of a Palmdale woman charged with assaulting and torturing two of her children said Thursday that they never even realized she had kids.

The siblings — a boy, 8, and girl, 7 — did not play outside and were rarely seen, said Cynthia Otero, who runs a day care center at a home opposite the house in the 39000 block of Clear View Court where Ingrid Brewer is alleged to have mistreated the youngsters.

Otero said that when she recently spotted the children getting out of a car, she thought Brewer, 50, "might be baby-sitting."

So neighbors in the suburban cul-de-sac were the more shocked when word spread that Brewer was arrested on suspicion of crimes against her children, she said. Brewer is being charged with eight felony counts, including torture, assault with a deadly weapon and cruelty to a child.

According to authorities, Brewer reported the children missing Jan. 15, prompting a search by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Palmdale Station. The youngsters were found hours later hiding under a blanket near a parked car on a street close to their home. They were without winter clothes in 20-degree weather, authorities said.

Sgt. Brian Hudson, a spokesman for the sheriff's Special Victims Bureau, said the children told investigators they ran away because Brewer deprived them of food, locked them in separate bedrooms when she went to work each day, bound their hands behind their backs with zip ties and beat them with electrical cords and a hammer. The youngsters also said that when they were locked in the bedrooms and needed to use the bathroom, they instead had to use wastebaskets, Hudson said.

They fled because "they were tired of being tied up and beaten," Hudson said.

Sounds like Democrat family values to me.

Astonishing Photos of Sharp-Toothed Leopard Seal Devouring Penguin in Icy Waters Off the Antarctic Peninsula

Absolutely amazing photography, at London's Daily Mail, "Swimming into jaws of death: Incredible photos capture penguin's final moments as it is engulfed by leopard seal's gaping mouth."

I first saw this piece earlier today on my iPhone. I couldn't stop looking that first photo, at the size of that seal compared the little penguin. Survival of the fittest.

Obama's Recess Appointments Struck Down by U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

It's a Beltway wonkish kind of buzz surrounding this decision today, out of the Federal Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit. The Fox News All-Stars, at the clip, are largely deconstructing what in fact happened rather than providing a larger analytical interpretation (although Bret Baier points out repeatedly how significant a decision this was). And then see the New York Times' report, "Court Rejects Recess Appointments to Labor Board":

WASHINGTON — In a ruling that called into question nearly two centuries of presidential “recess” appointments that bypass the Senate confirmation process, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that President Obama violated the Constitution when he installed three officials on the National Labor Relations Board a year ago.

The ruling was a blow to the administration and a victory for Mr. Obama’s Republican critics – and a handful of liberal ones – who had accused Mr. Obama of improperly claiming that he could make the appointments under his executive powers. The administration had argued that the president could decide that senators were really on a lengthy recess even though the Senate considered itself to be meeting in “pro forma” sessions.

But the court went beyond the narrow dispute over pro forma sessions and issued a far more sweeping ruling than expected. Legal specialists said its reasoning would virtually eliminate the recess appointment power for all future presidents when it has become increasingly difficult for presidents to win Senate confirmation for their nominees. In recent years, senators have more frequently balked at consenting to executive appointments. President George W. Bush made about 170 such appointments, including John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations and two appeals court judges, William H. Pryor Jr. and Charles W. Pickering Sr.

“If this opinion stands, I think it will fundamentally alter the balance between the Senate and the president by limiting the president’s ability to keep offices filled,” said John P. Elwood, who handled recess appointment issues for the Justice Department during the Bush administration. “This is certainly a red-letter day in presidential appointment power.

And more from John P. Elwood, at Volokh, "DC Circuit Strikes Down President Obama’s Recess Appointments."

Guns Across America

Photos at the People's Cube, "Olga Does Guns Across America Rally in Atlanta, Jan.19, 2013."

Dianne Feinstein's Personal Mission to Ban Guns

Well, Feinstein's bill is pretty much dead in the water, but her case is demonstrative of so much epic hypocrisy on the gun-grabbing left. See: "Dianne Feinstein's Concealed Carry Permit."

More at Jammie Wearing Fools, "Oh Well: Ban on So-Called ‘Assault Weapons’ Lacks Democrat Votes to Pass Senate."

VIDEO: French Airstrikes in Mali

Cool.

Via Telegraph UK, "Mali airstrikes footage released by French military":

Pro-Life March on Washington

At Life News, "March for Life Proves the Next Generation Pro-Life on Abortion."

And at Twitchy, "Pro-life Generation: Youth turn out in huge numbers to march for the unborn."

Also, "‘Pro life and pro gay’: Gay March for Life participants threaten liberal media narrative."

Anti-abortion protesters fill the mall. One sign reads "I'm pro-life and pro-gay." Others, "I regret my abortion" twitter.com/ndiblasio/stat…
— Natalie DiBlasio (@ndiblasio) January 25, 2013

And check Jill Stanek's for updates.

Arrest of Robert Pimentel, Former Elementary School Teacher, Revives Debate on Firing Criminal Educators

Update on this utterly obscene travesty of decency.

At the Wall Street Journal, "L.A. Arrest Revives Effort to Ease Firing of Teachers":

LOS ANGELES—The arrest of a Los Angeles teacher suspected of molesting 20 children is jump-starting demand for legislation that would make it easier to fire California teachers accused of abusing students and deny them lifetime medical and dental benefits.

Robert Pimentel, who was arrested Wednesday, is entitled to collect a pension and lifetime medical benefits because he resigned last March before officials could fire him, amid allegations that he had improperly touched a student, said Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy.

Prosecutors charged Mr. Pimentel with abusing 12 girls between 2002 and 2012, according to a criminal complaint. Mr. Pimentel began teaching at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary School in 2007, but he worked for the district on and off since 1974.

At his arraignment in a Long Beach, Calif., courthouse Thursday, Mr. Pimentel pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is being held on $12 million bail.

Mr. Pimentel's lawyer, Richard Knickerbocker, said his client denies all the allegations and didn't molest any students. He said the police "were basically soliciting people to make complaints," and that Mr. Pimentel's actions were misinterpreted. Mr. Knickerbocker said, in one instance, after a student "did a very fine job, he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead and they take that as something that's nefarious."

The case is likely to reignite the debate over a proposed state law that would streamline the process for firing teachers and school administrators who have engaged in sex, violence or drug offenses with students. The bill doesn't specifically address pensions or benefits, but a local district has the power to suspend medical and dental benefits if a teacher is fired, Mr. Deasy said.

The bill was introduced last year by Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla as SB 1530, but was killed in a committee.

Mr. Padilla reintroduced the bill in December as SB 10. It would allow school districts to suspend without pay teachers accused of egregious conduct, and would allow local school boards to make the final decision about dismissal—as opposed to a three-person committee that includes two teachers and a judge.

A former principal who the district says failed to report the alleged abuse when she was first made aware of allegations against Mr. Pimentel four years ago is also entitled to her pension and benefits because she resigned before she could be fired.

"They get their pensions and benefits for life, and that absolutely needs to be addressed in the law," Mr. Deasy said.

Yeah, it's great that the arrest "revives" the debate, but I doubt much will change as long as CTA has Sacramento's in its pocket. Remember from last year, "California bill on teachers accused of sex crimes fails."

More at London's Daily Mail, "California teacher 'sexually abused TWENTY elementary students and one adult'."

Fontana School District Police Get Semi-Automatic Weapons (VIDEO)

I reported on this story yesterday, and it was covered by CBS Evening News last night, "SoCal School District Gets Semi-Automatic Guns."

'Wrong Girl'

Via Theo Spark:

Shocking Creative Artists Agency Party at Sundance Film Festival

This does sound pretty tasteless, at LAT, "A bawdy CAA party at Sundance shocks guests, including clients":

PARK CITY, Utah — Parties at the Sundance Film Festival typically feature maverick filmmakers, the best in nouvelle cowboy cuisine and plentiful pours of high-end spirits and Utah microbrews.

But the bash thrown by Hollywood's powerful Creative Artists Agency on Sunday night took festival revelry in an unexpectedly bawdy direction, as Sundance guests mingled with lingerie-clad women pretending to snort prop cocaine, erotic dancers outfitted with sex toys and an Alice in Wonderland look-alike performing a simulated sex act on a man in a rabbit costume.

For decades, CAA has carefully maintained a reputation as Hollywood's most meticulous talent firm, but CAA's leave-nothing-to-chance attention to decorum vanished in that Bacchanalian blizzard on the snowy streets of this mountain resort.

Some CAA clients found the party so shocking that they said it made them embarrassed to be associated with the agency.

"I said to my agent, 'Is this how you want to brand yourself? Pole dancers? Really?'" said Oscar-nominated writer-director Naomi Foner, who was at the festival with her film, "Very Good Girls."

And Foner, who is the mother of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, said she didn't see the sex toys.

"I would have been much more verbal if I had seen that," said the 66-year-old screenwriter of "Running on Empty."

The performers were part of a Las Vegas troupe, the Act LV, which was hired by the Mint Agency, CAA's party planner for the evening.

"The performance by Simon Hammerstein's The Act LV was more explicit than intended," CAA said in a statement. "We regret if this created an uncomfortable setting for any of our guests."

The party planners and CAA had wanted to "wow the crowd," said Jordan Fogle, the chief executive of the Mint Agency, a Toronto-based marketing and events firm.

The Act LV is known for delivering lewd thrills that toe the line between performance art and impropriety.

"They [CAA executives] were a little bit concerned," Fogle said following the public relations backlash to the party. "It's not the image they want to portray — a slutty, trashy image. It's the antithesis of what they are as a brand."

Perhaps they doth protest too much.

But continue reading.

BONUS: At the New York Post, "Greedy celebs flock to Sundance for the swag." Yeah, swag. Like "prop" cocaine and Alice-in-Wonderland sex toys. You can't make this stuff up.

EXTRA: The Wall Street Journal actually talks about the films from the film festival, "Filmmakers in a Frisky Mood."

Bobby Jindal's Speech to RNC's Winter Meeting 2013 (VIDEO)

Lots of folks are paying attention to Jindal's speech, so I gave it a listen. He's both attractive and articulate, although it's not so much that he's presenting new ideas as it is the overall package he pulls together, and his willingness to pull no punches on some of the party's emerging shibboleths, especially the notion that the GOP needs to move to the center. His main themes are that the Republicans are the party of growth and that Washington, D.C., isn't the center of the American political universe. Probably the biggest challenge for the party going forward is being able to effectively articulate its vision, and thus be able to appeal to new generations of Americans.

The last ten minutes are very good if you're pressed for time, or just skim the transcript, from Charlie Spiering, at the Washington Examiner, "Full text: Bobby Jindal's dynamite speech to the Republican National Committee in Charlotte" (via Memeorandum).

PREVIOUSLY: "GOP Leaders Search for New Strategy."

Benjamin Millepied Will Be New Director of Paris Opera Ballet

An interesting piece at the New York Times, "Paris Opera Ballet Picks Outsider for New Director." I like this part:

Mr. Millepied will inherit one of the world’s greatest classical troupes. It has 150 dancers, a complex hierarchy of ranking and promotions and the sizable weight of history: the company is effectively an outgrowth of the very beginnings of ballet at the court of Louis XIV. Its dancers almost all come from the Paris Opera Ballet school, and they rarely leave to dance elsewhere once they have achieved a coveted position in the company.

They are also civil servants, with long-term contracts that run until their mandatory retirement, with pension, at 42. And with the notable exception of Ms. Lefèvre, directors tend to drop like flies at the Paris Opera. Even Rudolf Nureyev lasted only six stormy, if productive, years in the 1980s, while directors like John Taras and Violette Verdy managed just a few seasons.

The byzantine politics, scale and bureaucracy of the Paris Opera are worlds away from Mr. Millepied’s professional experience. He has long put together touring groups, and even at the peak of his dancing career was an indefatigable organizer of small choreographic projects and festivals with musicians and artists. He is a prolific choreographer who has created works for major companies (including American Ballet Theater, City Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet), and his public profile is high, thanks partly to his work on the Darren Aronofsky film “Black Swan” and his subsequent marriage to its star, Natalie Portman.

But his new company, the L.A. Dance Project, which made its debut in September in Los Angeles, is small and experimental in orientation. (Mr. Millepied said he planned to continue running the L.A. Dance Project until he began his new job, when he would move to Paris with Ms. Portman and their son. He said he hoped the company, which has a budget guaranteed for the next three years, would continue.)

“It is always a gamble,” Ms. Lefèvre said in a telephone interview. “I imagine people had something to say when I arrived. But he has a real artistic sensibility and an admirable curiosity. He will have to find his own way between innovation and the house traditions.”

Asked about making the transition from project-based director and choreographer to director of an institution as vast as the Paris Opera, Mr. Millepied smiled.

“I am not entirely a foreigner,” he said. “I did grow up in France, and even though I didn’t go to the school or dance with the Paris Opera Ballet, I absorbed similar ideas in my training. I understand the scale of a big company. I danced for one for almost 20 years. I think it’s an asset that I have absorbed other traditions and had other experiences in the U.S., which I can bring to the dancers here.” He added, “But of course I have a lot to learn about this company and its very remarkable and specific qualities.”

And speaking of Ms. Portman, see London's Daily Mail, "Is Natalie Portman quitting Hollywood? Actress's husband Benjamin Millepied accepts prestigious ballet job in Paris."

'California did the impossible,' Brown says in State of the State

At the Los Angeles Times:

SACRAMENTO — Seeking to reclaim the state's identity as an innovator and engine of growth, Gov. Jerry Brown declared in a sweeping State of the State address that "California did the impossible" in emerging from financial crisis poised to lead again.

Brown outlined a vision for the state Thursday in remarks that were equal parts history lesson, lecture and rhetorical flourish. It includes major investment in water and rail systems, more robust trade and an education structure free of regulations that crush creativity.

Invoking California's "spectacular history of bold pioneers meeting every failure with even greater success," he asked a joint session of the Legislature to overhaul the way schools are funded, build a controversial bullet train and aggressively expand healthcare to millions of needy residents.

Californians "have a rendezvous with our own destiny," he said, in an allusion to Franklin Roosevelt's famous Depression-era speech.

At the same time, he sounded the familiar theme that the state should not try to live beyond its means. Drawing on the Book of Genesis, he recounted Pharaoh's dreams of well-fed cows eaten by starving cows — a warning that famine can follow plenty.

"Fiscal discipline is not the enemy of our good intentions but the basis for realizing them," he told an Assembly chamber packed with legislators, state Supreme Court justices and other dignitaries who applauded throughout the 24-minute speech.

Brown plans to take his message to Washington, D.C., next month, when he will attend a meeting of the National Governors Assn., and to China in April, when he leads a state delegation to christen California's new trade office there.

The governor is at a high point in his long political career, presiding over a Capitol now entirely controlled by his Democratic Party and having convinced voters that higher taxes would restore the state's financial footing.

He will have more influence over lawmakers than any governor has had in years. He solved for them their most immediate problem: an out-of-whack budget that has constrained their ambitions and forced them to cut deeply into programs their constituents value.

But despite Brown's proclamations that California no longer has a deficit, the state faces long-term financial problems that could stymie his agenda.

There's video at that top link, and at C-SPAN, "Gov. Brown (D-CA) Delivers State of the State."

I think the governor's getting a little cocky, but we'll see. Maybe California's turning a corner. How much things might improve remains to be seen. But no doubt any improvement will be welcomed.

(I'm especially interested to see what happens in public education, however. Lord knows that sector has infinite room for improvement.)

GOP Leaders Search for New Strategy

At the Wall Street Journal, "Republican Leaders Search for New, Winning Strategy."

And then see the Washington Post, "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: GOP must stop being 'stupid party'," and "Bobby Jindal speaking truth to GOP power."

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur to Headline Coachella

At the Los Angles Times, "Coachella 2013: Blur, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline."

Held at the Empire Polo Grounds since its 1999 inception, Coachella has a reputation for presenting a heavily curated lineup that connects the dots among hitmakers, underground artists and those on the comeback trail, all within an unique desert setting that’s increasingly becoming more resort-like, with upscale options to match (at the highest end of the VIP configuration.

Israel's New Power Broker

At the New York Times, "The Making of Yair Lapid":

TEL AVIV — They pitched tents along Rothschild Boulevard and took to the streets in unprecedented numbers, hundreds of thousands demonstrating against the rising costs of gas, apartments, even cottage cheese.

Back on the genteel boulevard on Wednesday, many of those middle-class protesters from 2011 said they had taken their grievances to the ballot box the day before, helping to catapult Yair Lapid, a suave, handsome journalist-turned-populist-politician, into Israel’s newest power broker.

“He spoke out the strongest about how everything in this country is upside down,” said Elad Shoshan, 28, who works with computers and rents an apartment on a cheaper street off the boulevard.

Echoing his candidate’s mantra, Roni Klein, 52, an accountant, said, “My wife and I work, and still it is very hard for us to finish the month.”

Mr. Lapid’s new, centrist Yesh Atid party shocked the political establishment by winning 19 of Parliament’s 120 seats, becoming Israel’s second-largest faction and a crucial partner for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relatively poor showing left him scrambling to form a stable coalition.

While Mr. Netanyahu remains all but assured of serving a third term — Mr. Lapid said Wednesday that he would not unite with Arab lawmakers to stop him — Yesh Atid’s ascendance promises to shift the government’s focus to pocketbook concerns despite the pressing foreign policy issues Israel faces.

Mr. Lapid’s campaign hardly challenged Mr. Netanyahu’s policies on the Iranian nuclear threat, the tumult in the Arab world or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was the first election in memory in which such existential security issues were not emphasized, as a growing majority of Israelis see them as too tough to tackle. Even Mr. Netanyahu barely spoke about Iran, his raison d’être.

Instead, voters and analysts alike said Mr. Lapid had captured the hearts of Israel’s silent majority with his personal charm and a positive, inclusive message that harnessed the everyday frustrations that fueled the huge social justice protests in 2011.

RTWT.

And see the Times of Israel, "Netanyahu offers Lapid Foreign or Finance Ministry."