Soldiers Fight to Save the A-10 Warthog

This is cool, via Business Week:

Here's why U.S. soldiers are fighting to save the Air Force's A-10 Warthog: http://t.co/5AF2dM0Oe1 pic.twitter.com/LNvlsqyUCa

— Businessweek (@BW) May 19, 2014

Britain Goes Halal

Don't miss this utterly mind-boggling entry at Bare Naked Islam, "First restaurants, then government schools, then supermarkets, now British universities are force-feeding their students barbarically-slaughtered halal meat without them being told."



But it couldn't happen here (wink wink).

You know, because ritual slaughtered meat is yummy, or something.

California Chrome Has Nasal Strip Problem at Belmont

It's always something.

At the Washington Post, "California Chrome’s Triple Crown could be derailed by nasal strips," and "California Chrome faces many obstacles in Triple Crown bid."

Governor Jerry Brown Blames Climate Change for California Wildfires

Governor Moonbeam is back.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Jerry Brown presses message on climate change."

The Left's 'White Privilege' Attack: 'An Attempt to Shut Down Argument...'

I looked for this clip earlier, but found it at the left-wing racist sites Crooks and Liars and Raw Story.

But it's up now at Independent Journal Review, "‘Fantastic!’: Watch This Army Colonel’s Takedown of ‘White Privilege’ Leave Fox Anchor Speechless."

“All of us have worked, all of us have achieved something. That is how we measure character, that’s how we measure what the value of a person is, not some arbitrary category imposed by some ponytailed grad students who have taken too many gender study seminars.”

PREVIOUSLY: "Harvard's Kennedy School Adds 'Checking Your Privilege 101' to New Student Orientation," and "Stephanie M. Baran: 'White Privilege' Speaker Pushes #Marxism to Defeat Racism in America."

A Dishonest Rewrite of the Duke Lacrosse Case

From Dorothy Rabinowitz, at the Wall Street Journal:

In the outpouring of praise for William D. Cohan's new book "The Price of Silence"—a work, remarkably enough, being celebrated as a model of evenhandedness, scrupulous objectivity, etc.—one essential has gone overlooked. Namely, the central point of this tale about the Duke lacrosse case and accusations against three players of rape and assault at a house party. It takes no close reading to see that the book is meant to recast the story so as to nullify the outcome Americans thought they knew—that the players were exonerated and had been falsely accused. In Mr. Cohan's portrayal, the workings of decency and justice were undone by malign forces—among them, it would seem, the ability to hire defense attorneys.

The book's pro forma declarations that the accused were, yes, exonerated come surrounded by a far stronger drumbeat of doubt that their exoneration could conceivably have been just. No surprise the accused beat the charges, Mr. Cohan is regularly at pains to make clear: These were white sons of privilege, from families who could pay for their excellent defense lawyers.

In Mr. Cohan's revisionist history we find a new moral hero—none other than Mr. Nifong, the prosecutor who brought the case and was disbarred for his actions during the investigation. "The Price of Silence" gives us a man mistreated and misunderstood, ruined for his efforts to do justice.

Such is the book's view of the prosecutor whose prime activity, upon taking the case, consisted of nonstop media interviews in which he denounced the evil of this racist sex assault by the lacrosse players—"hoodlums," as he referred to them—whose guilt, he emphasized, was unquestionable.

That this protracted pretrial outpouring might be unwise—in addition to being a clear violation of the requirement that prosecutors make no statements prejudicial to a fair trial—did not apparently trouble Mr. Nifong, who relished his turn on the national stage. Mr. Cohan rationalizes this bizarre prosecutorial behavior as a strategy to pressure members of the lacrosse team who had attended the party to tell what they knew—to break their "wall of silence."

In Mr. Cohan's interviews as he promotes his book, we hear much the same. Along with the author's repeated dark assertions that "something happened in that bathroom," we also hear, ominously, that "we will never know" the facts because "nobody in that bathroom is talking." District Attorney Nifong's career may have been undone but its spirit lives on...

Keep reading.

Rabinowitz is a national treasure. Here's one of her pieces from back in 2007, "The Michael Nifong Scandal."

More at KC Johnson's blog, "Rabinowitz Eviscerates Author Cohan."

Catholic School Boys Compete for Up-Skirt Photos of Hot Teachers

Boys will be boys, as they say.

Via EBL, at Batshit Crazy News, "Teenage boys take #upskirt photos of female teachers at California Catholic High School School."

It's wrong. It's humiliating and harassment. But it's the kind of misbehavior the generations grew up with. Indeed, I'm surprised this is news, considering it's not some politically incorrect attack on LGBTQ rights, or something.

The Audacity of Protesting Anti-Semitism

From Tom Wilson, at Commentary.

Read it at the link.

An astounding statement on leftist anti-Jewish eliminationist ideology.

Irina Shayk Topless for #BringBackOurGirls

Now this is interesting, at BroBible, "Irina Shayk Posts Topless #BringBackOurGirls Selfie, Pisses The Entire World Off":

Hashtag activism is fucking annoying, but even more annoying is when celebrities use them as a platform to heighten their own self image. What about when they use it as an excuse to take their clothes off?

Well, I'd be less annoyed with Selma Hayek topless.

That would be something, heh.

Former Princeton President Blasts Haverford College Students in Commencement Address

I would have loved to have been there.

At NBC 10 Philadelphia, "Haverford Graduation Speaker Calls Students 'Immature'."

And at the Philadelphia Enquirer, "Haverford commencement speaker's rebuke of graduates draws criticism, praise":

The stunning move by a commencement speaker at Haverford College on Sunday to use the celebratory occasion to lambaste students who had protested against another speaker drew a standing ovation but also sharp criticism.

William G. Bowen, former president of Princeton, called the protestors’ approach both “immature” and “arrogant” and the subsequent withdrawal as a speaker of Robert J. Birgeneau, former chancellor of the University of California Berkeley, a “defeat” for the Quaker college and its ideals.

Bowen’s remarks to an audience of about 2,800, plus nearly 300 graduates, added a new twist to commencement speaker controversies playing out increasingly on college campuses. Bowen — one of three speakers who received an honorary degree — faced no opposition, but chose to address the issue, calling it “sad” and “troubling.”

The controversy arose over Birgeneau’s leadership during a 2011 incident in which UC Berkeley police used force on students protesting college costs. A group of more than 40 students and three Haverford professors — all Berkeley alums — objected to Birgeneau’s appearance, noting that many of them had participated in Occupy protests as well and wanted to stand in solidarity with Berkeley students.

They wrote a letter to Birgeneau, urging him to meet nine conditions, including publicly apologizing, supporting reparations for victims, and writing a letter to Haverford students explaining his position on the events and “what you learned from them.” Birgeneau declined and withdrew.

“I am disappointed that those who wanted to criticize Birgeneau’s handling of events at Berkeley chose to send him such an intemperate list of “demands,” said Bowen, who led Princeton from 1972 to 1988 and last year received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama. “In my view, they should have encouraged him to come and engage in a genuine discussion, not to come, tail between his legs, to respond to an indictment that a self-chosen jury had reached without hearing counter-arguments.”

Bowen’s remarks stung some students and professors, who criticized his decision to chide graduates on their day in a forum where they had no opportunity to respond.

More.

The piece quotes Haverford English Professor Maud McInerney, one of the faculty members who attacked Birgeneau (and a Berkeley Ph.D. recipient), who moans, "It was an ambush."

Oh, those poor babies.

'Public Mistreatment'

At Neo-Neocon, "More on the Abramson story: what’s this “public mistreatment” bit?":

To me, the most curious phrase in the newest Sulzberger statement about Jill Abramson is this one [italics mine]:

During [Abramson's] tenure, I heard repeatedly from her newsroom colleagues, women and men, about a series of issues, including arbitrary decision-making, a failure to consult and bring colleagues with her, inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues…

So, did Abramson put some writer or editor in the stocks? Institute public floggings at the Times? Did she administer a series of public tongue-lashings? Or just criticisms? Is there a rule at the Times that, in order to avoid offending egos and tender sensibilities, an executive can only say negative things about an employee in private? And if this “mistreatment” perpetrated by Abramson was indeed, “public,” could Sulzberger mention more specifically (without naming the recipient of the mistreatment) what she allegedly said or did, so we could get an idea of what sort of offense he might be talking about? ...

Kinda funny, but the notion of "public mistreatment" isn't obscure on college campuses. Indeed, if a professor wants to discipline a student, it's best to do it away from the rest of the class, because any "public" humiliation could be grounds for a civil rights complaint. Some of my white male colleagues have totally given up on the idea of classroom discipline at all, lest they be attacked as "racist."

It's out of control.

PREVIOUSLY: "Why Student Behavior Matters."

Black Flag Settles Ownership Lawsuit

The band members from various iterations of Black Flag have settled a trademark lawsuit.

At the O.C. Weekly, "Black Flag Refuse to Surrender Their Ideals":

The dust has settled in the ongoing Black Flag legal beef, and the lawyers have demarcated the remnants of what was once called the best punk band on the West Coast, if not the entire universe.

The long and short of the settlement announced April 21 is that Black Flag's name and four black bars logo belong exclusively to Greg Ginn, the band's founder, guitarist and main songwriter. This all stems from a trademark-infringement suit filed last year by Ginn against his former band mates—Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena and Bill Stevenson—who had begun touring as FLAG last year, performing the band's classics and peddling Black Flag merchandise. Henry Rollins was lumped into the legal action as well; according to the lawsuit, Rollins colluded with FLAG members to "fraudulently" trademark Black Flag under his name after discovering Ginn's trademark period had lapsed.

"The problem with FLAG was they didn't come in the front door, and they used slandering Greg to promote themselves to drive up ticket sales," explains Black Flag's current lead singer, Mike Vallely, an '80s skate-mag celebrity and longtime Greg Ginn collaborator who fronted the band for 2003 reunion shows, then went on to manage them....

As it stands now, when Black Flag are on the bill, it's Ginn on guitar, Vallely out front, and a pair of session players from Ginn's north Texas hometown filling in on bass and drums. They will play a "classics" set, with the songs arranged to allow Greg to roam instrumentally. FLAG can tour as FLAG, though there are no plans for them to do so at press time. Nobody other than Ginn will see a dime from authentic Black Flag merch.

Here's "Flag" doing the Goldenvoice 30th anniversary show, "Black Flag -- Nervous Breakdown, Fix Me, I've Had It, Wasted @ GV30."

I love Keith Morris, but Black Flag isn't Black Flag without Greg Ginn.

Los Angeles @Dodgers: Out of Sight Is Out of Mind

The Dodgers have never been my favorite home team, but they had a very enjoyable season last year and I was looking forward to 2014. And then along came that cursed Time-Warner cable contract. Now 70 percent of the greater L.A. market can't get the Dodgers on their cable box. It's definitely hurting the team.

Here's Jim Peltz, at the Los Angeles Times, "Dodgers have faded from view on TV; will they fade from fans' hearts?"

And from Bill Plaschke, there's plenty of blame to go around, "Dodgers are out of sight, could become out of mind":

This is the worst season to be a Dodgers fan thanks to Time Warner #SportsNetFaiLA

— Taryn L (@InTransit74) May 12, 2014

The issue has been well-documented and there is clearly enough blame for everyone, greed by some, gluttony by others, villains everywhere.

The Dodgers are the biggest bad guys because, by taking $8.35 billion from Time Warner Cable and insisting on starting their own channel — SportsNet LA — they made it nearly impossible for that channel to find distribution at a price that Time Warner Cable could accept. The Dodgers could have signed a new deal with Prime Ticket for slightly less money but with a much higher probability that pay-TV operators would have continued carrying the existing channel. They would not have had their own channel, but at least that channel would have been seen.

The next villain is Time Warner Cable, which seriously overpaid, perhaps because it seriously misjudged the Los Angeles fan culture and thought this transition would be similar to the quick implementation of the Lakers channel a couple of years ago. Wrong. The Dodgers are not as big as the Lakers, and the Dodgers fans are not the Lakers fans, who lost their minds and used their wallets and essentially forced the pay-TV operators to carry the channel after only a few missed games. There is no such mass fleeing from the likes of DirecTV. The onus is now on Time Warner Cable to sell what is essentially an overpriced product.

"We sold the rights to a gigantic corporation, it's their job to market the rights and get the distribution," Guber said in the recent interview. "We are not happy that they haven't been able to get the full distribution in our own market that they promised. That's their job. They made the bet."

The final villains are the pay-TV operators who have shunned the Dodgers, if only because they are still charging consumers the same prices as last season when they carried the Dodgers. The contracts are surely murky and complicated but, bottom line, I no longer receive the Dodgers on my television yet my pay-TV operator has yet to give me a refund.

"It's unfortunate most providers have not yet decided to give it to our fans even though they're still charging them for last year's Dodgers coverage," said Stan Kasten, Dodgers president, in an interview Saturday.

It's all unfortunate, such that during the last month I heard several respected local sports authorities wonder whether the Clippers had actually become bigger than the Dodgers. It sounds crazy. It will never happen. But right now, which team has more buzz? There was also fallout felt when Magic Johnson surfaced as a possible new owner of the Clippers. A year ago, the support for his Guggenheim group would have been unquestioned. Now, not so much, with people wondering if that would mean the Clippers would also soon disappear.

If you own a sports team in Southern California, you can refurbish a lineup and a stadium and championship hopes, but none of that matters if that team is not on television. Period.

Or so it would seem.

Salma Hayek Stages Mini-Protest at Cannes to #BringBackOurGirls

Well, it's makes for good copy, I guess.

At Fox News, "Salma Hayek supports kidnapped Nigerian girls on red carpet."



As always, I'm with Staff Sergeant Old School.

Vile at Vassar? Typical Leftist Racist Hatred, Actually

Here's the editorial at the New York Daily News, "Vile at Vassar (via Legal Insurrection).

The whole piece is vital, so read it all at the link.

Here's the vile Nazi propaganda poster posted by SJP Vassar:



More at the Times of Israel, "Vassar’s SJP sort of apologizes for anti-Israel, Nazi cartoon."

Here's the cowardly and dishonest "apology" from the group, "An Apology from the SJP Vassar General Body."

And back over to Legal Insurrection, "Vassar removes Wall of Truth raised to protest anti-Israel campus climate (Updates)."

Events at Vassar tell you all you need to know about the ideological left today. Note that 39 Vassar professors backed the Israel boycott on campus, and the cowards they are, none of them would stand up for their beliefs when called out by William Jacobson.

Leftism is pure evil, deceit and cowardice. That's all they have. Well, that and ignorance too. Our job is to fight the ignorance, since leftists will always fail when confronted with truth.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

BONUS: At Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Checkmate."

Cartoon Credit: Theo Spark.

Stephanie M. Baran: 'White Privilege' Speaker Pushes #Marxism to Defeat Racism in America

At Progs Today, "CAUGHT ON TAPE: WPC14 Speaker Promotes Marxism As a Way to Defeat Racism in America (Video)."

She calls for a "full-scale revolution" as the "only way" to beat racism.

Oh brother. This chick's a bleedin' loon, a "fun person, adjunct, Ph.D candidate, fiery intersectional feminist, marxist, cat/animal lover, vegetarian" (via Twitter).



And she's got a publication apparently based on her Master's thesis from DePaul University, "Parsing White Supremacy: An Exploratory Study of Political Thought and Beliefs." (Unimpressive. She's dredging up and recycling some really old political science research there, on "symbolic racism," for example.)

I would just love --- love! --- for this shrinking Marxist violet to go face-to-face with Kurt Schlichter. Man would that be delicious.

PREVIOUSLY: "Harvard's Kennedy School Adds 'Checking Your Privilege 101' to New Student Orientation."

BONUS: She blogs at Feministing?

Oh my goodness. Robert Stacy McCain would make Marxist mincemeat out of her, lol. See, "Feminism: Love as Oppression and Heterosexuality as Subordination."

California Chrome Wins #Preakness Stakes

Here's the full video, on YouTube, "2014 Preakness Stakes + Post Race."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "California Chrome wins Preakness; one victory from Triple Crown," and "California Chrome does it again in Preakness."

A great story, and more at the New York Times, "Top Horse, From a Place Winners Aren’t Made: Favorite for Preakness Was Bred on a California Ranch."

Pinch Sulzberger Responds to Backlash Over Jill Abramson's Ouster

In denial.

At NYT, "After Criticism, Times Publisher Details Decision to Oust Top Editor":

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of The New York Times, released a statement Saturday afternoon detailing his decision to fire the newspaper’s executive editor, Jill Abramson. He was responding to a growing controversy over accusations by Ms. Abramson’s supporters that gender played a role in her dismissal.

The decision to remove her, announced on Wednesday, “has been cast by many as an example of the unequal treatment of women in the workplace,” Mr. Sulzberger wrote. Instead, the statement said, it “was a situation involving a specific individual who, as we all do, has strengths and weaknesses.”

The statement by Mr. Sulzberger came three days after he told a shocked newsroom that Ms. Abramson had been replaced by her No. 2, Dean Baquet. During the announcement, Mr. Sulzberger delivered brief remarks and said, “There is nothing more that I want to say about this.” But Saturday’s statement, which was about 500 words long, is the second public comment that he has made since her ouster.

Driving Mr. Sulzberger’s increasingly public posture has been an escalating debate over pay equality and the treatment of women. Two articles in The New Yorker have said that Ms. Abramson’s base salary when she took the job in 2011 was lower than that of her male predecessor, Bill Keller. On Sunday, NBC’s “Meet the Press” is scheduled to have a round table on “the equal pay debate” and is expected to discuss Ms. Abramson.

On Saturday, Mr. Sulzberger said, as he did in an earlier public statement, that Ms. Abramson’s pay package in her last year in the job was 10 percent higher than Mr. Keller’s.

“Equal pay for women is an important issue in our country — one that The New York Times often covers,” Mr. Sulzberger wrote. “But it doesn’t help to advance the goal of pay equality to cite the case of a female executive whose compensation was not in fact unequal.”

Ms. Abramson has not made any public statement since her dismissal, and has not responded to messages and emails seeking comment. Her first remarks on her dismissal could come on Monday, when she is scheduled to give the commencement address at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, N.C.

Whatever. It was handled badly.

ICYMI, see Jonathan Tobin's response earlier, at Commentary, "Judge the Times the Way It Judges Others":

It is a terrible thing to see any veteran journalist get turned out on the street in this kind of manner and I don’t think anyone—except perhaps for Thomas—would be justified in exulting about has happened to Abramson. But for the Times itself, I have no compassion or sympathy. The Times deserves to be judged and condemned as the classic example of liberal hypocrisy.

Ain't it the truth.

The Atlantic Takes Down Racist Photoshop of Antonin Scalia — #LiberalRacism

Following-up from my post earlier today, "Racism at @TheAtlantic: Leftist Hypocrisy in Action."

The editors took down Robinson Meyer's racist Photoshop, although the dude's tweet is still live:

You Should Read Antonin Scalia’s Opinions On Net Neutrality But Also I Made You This Photoshop http://t.co/ZOxLGWprKX pic.twitter.com/1X9gva9mpH
— Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob) May 16, 2014

I called him out and tweeted the editors. Damned idiots finally wised up to their hypocrisy.

.@yayitsrob Are you racist? http://t.co/ONX4AoZbRi
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob I mean really? You're RTing posts about "Euro masculinity"? https://t.co/PjoU3Tl5TQ
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob You made the Photoshop yourself? Racist much? https://t.co/kVGahAM8Nh
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

@AmPowerBlog Did you read the post? Scalia sets up an extended (and very useful, I think) analogy between Internet service & pizza delivery.
— Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob You idiot. What if Sotomayor compared the offerings of a Mexican restaurant? Would you P-shop her with menudo and tacos?
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@Instapundit Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob) bragging about creating his racist Photoshop: https://t.co/kVGahAM8Nh
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@Instapundit @MichelleMalkin @DLoesch Racism at @TheAtlantic: Leftist Hypocrisy in Action http://t.co/yrWxLRZOdq cc. @yayitsrob
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob Yes, I read it. And there's still no excuse for your disgusting racism: http://t.co/ONX4AoZbRi @MichelleMalkin @TwitchyTeam
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob If you decide to leave up your P-shop you know that's a badge of racist shame, right? http://t.co/ONX4AoZbRi @TwitchyTeam
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

@AmPowerBlog Thanks for the comments. I’ll talk to my editor about it.
— Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob Okay. Tell him if Sotomayor had "an extended discussion" comparing Mexican restaurants to telecommunications, you'd be attacked.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

.@yayitsrob That is, you'd be attacked if you P-shopped her like you did Scalia, regardless of the "extended discussion" in the dissent.
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

I'm tweeting to all @TheAtlantic editors to see if they have a response to this racism: http://t.co/ego7zQQVjA @BigFurHat @BlazingCatFur
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

I did tweet all the editors.

Then, while out with my family I noticed they'd taken down their racist image. I didn't know that Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent (Jeanette Victoria mentioned it in the comments at the post). Had I known I'd have tweeted some Puerto Rican dishes she could've been daydreaming about in a racist Atlantic Photoshop of the first Latina Supreme Court justice. It's amazing to me that Robinson Meyer and the Atlantic editors never gave their racism a second thought. Must be white privilege, or something. Whatever. You've got to hold 'em to their own standards. Go Alinsky on the bastards. If you don't they'll continue to get away with the most disgusting racist hypocrisy imaginable. Seriously. Their leftist hypocrisy is genuinely evil. I'm sick of these scumbags. Sheesh.

Maite Perroni for GQ Mexico.

She's lovely.

At Egotastic!, "Maite Perroni is Super Sexy in GQ Mexico May 2014."

'The audiences have also been mostly elderly. The theater comes equipped with a defibrillator, and managers used to keep a supply of disposable underwear, in case of accidents...'

What a story, at the Los Angeles Times, "THE FABULOUS PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES NEARS LAST HURRAH IN PRIME FORM":

It was 10 minutes before showtime and Joni Naber was putting the final touches on her costume — a blue explosion of tassels and sequins that wasn't doing a very good job of covering her body.

"Come here and feel this!" she called out, grabbing a reporter's hand and placing it squarely on her midriff.

Her abdominals felt tight and smooth, like a piece of molded plastic.

"It's a corset," the 77-year-old former USO dancer explained with a grin.

In the cramped dressing room of the Plaza Theatre, 10 other showgirls were prepping for a matinee show. "Stop flirting with the reporter," one called out.

Naber is a dancer in the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, the musical revue and local institution that for the last 23 years has featured performers who could all claim AARP membership. The current cast ranges in age from 55 to 84...

The crowds have been streaming back in since the end of the run was announced. Alas, sounds a bit too late.

Did Led Zeppelin Filch the Opening Notes of 'Stairway to Heaven' from Relatively Forgotten California Band?

Posted the song here, "'Stairway to Heaven'."

And here's Business Week, "Stairway to Heaven: The Song Remains Pretty Similar":

Weary from touring, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page retreated in 1970 to a stone cottage in Wales, called Bron-Yr-Aur, with no power or running water. Legend has it King Arthur fought his last battle nearby. Not far off is the mountain Cader Idris where, it’s said, those who spend a night at its summit are fated to die, go mad, or become poets. At Bron-Yr-Aur, by candlelight, Page constructed the bones of what may well be the most popular, and valuable, rock ’n’ roll song of all time, Stairway to Heaven. This included the introductory finger-picked section that launched a million guitar lessons.

Back in England that winter, Page laid out the budding epic for the band at another house, Headley Grange, where the magic continued around a fire fueled on one occasion by a section of stairway banister. As Page plucked, singer Robert Plant seemed to channel another world as he wrote the lyrics. To Page, who has referred to the song as “my baby,” it was Zeppelin’s crowning achievement. “Stairway crystallized the essence of the band,” he told then-teenage rock writer Cameron Crowe in a March 13, 1975, Rolling Stone interview. “It was a milestone for us. Every musician wants to do something of lasting quality, something which will hold up for a long time, and I guess we did it with Stairway.”

For generations of middle-class youth, the song is the 8-minute soundtrack of adolescent romance—or at least the anticipation of it. Stairway is slow dancing, the last song played at high school proms, sweet-16 parties, and summer camp mixers across a broad swath of the late 20th century.

Stairway’s stature—financially, culturally, and musically—is towering. By 2008, when Conde Nast Portfolio magazine published an estimate that included royalties and record sales, the song had earned at least $562 million. It was so profitable in part because Led Zeppelin refused to release the song as a single, forcing fans to shell out for the entire album, which is untitled but known as Led Zeppelin IV. In the U.S., the album has sold more copies (23 million, according to the Recording Industry Association of America) than any save Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971-75). To this day, Warner Music Group cites the song in its annual reports as an example of its publishing portfolio.

For live audiences, Stairway’s power starts with its introductory notes. “Can you think of another song, any song, for which, when its first chord is played, an entire audience of 20,000 rise spontaneously to their feet, not just to cheer or clap hands, but in acknowledgment of an event that is crucial for all of them?” Observer critic Tony Palmer wrote in a 1975 profile. Dave Lewis writes in Led Zeppelin: The Complete Guide to Their Music that “Stairway has a pastoral opening cadence that is classical in feel and which has ensured its immortality.”

But what if those opening notes weren’t actually written by Jimmy Page or any member of Led Zeppelin? What if the foundation of the band’s immortality had been lifted from another song by a relatively forgotten California band?

You’d need to rewrite the history of rock ’n’ roll...

Yeah, well, a little late now, don't you think?

But keep reading, in any case.

Racism at @TheAtlantic: Leftist Hypocrisy in Action

Here's the piece up this morning at the Atlantic: "Antonin Scalia Totally Gets Net Neutrality."

And they illustrate it with a Photoshop of Justice Scalia daydreaming about pizza?

If it had been an article about Sonia Sotomayor Photoshopped with her daydreaming about menudo and tacos it'd be a major racist scandal. Because CONSERVATIVES are racist?!!

It's all about hypocrisy with the left.

Do as I say not as I do.

It's bad. Indeed, it's evil. For when the left can destroy people's lives for the tiniest microaggression but then freely post a blatantly racist Photoshop of a Supreme Court justice, you're heading down the road to tyranny.

.@Instapundit So, @TheAtlantic can get away with an ethnic attack on Scalia? Nice photo there: http://t.co/L9BfNq5KuK pic.twitter.com/EVkWiCwshF

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

Video of Alleged Heisman-Winning Rapist Jameis Winston Stealing Crab Legs

What's the psychology here? It's not like the guy couldn't afford them. Is it entitlement? Black privilege?

Whatever. Wouldn't want to be racist and criticize the guy for stealing or anything. Indeed, he wasn't even charged with a crime.

At Sports Illustrated, "Watch video footage of Florida State QB Jameis Winston shoplifting from Publix," and the Miami Herald, "Video footage shows FSU star Jameis Winston stealing crab legs."



And remember, this is the guy who allegedly got away with rape.

More at USA Today, "As incidents mount for Jameis Winston, so does concern":

Winston's supermarket episode almost immediately became the butt of jokes. An Alabama grocery store advertised "Jameis Winston King Crab Legs" the day after a press conference that included multiple questions about whether the QB also took butter. Stetson fans held up crab legs in its game against FSU on Tuesday. And Taiwanese animators created a video showing Winston using Heisman moves to elude security officers on Segways.

Those close to the quarterback say the citation, for which he has performed 20 hours of community service, is the honest mistake of a college kid adjusting to the intense spotlight. If he wasn't aware of its glare, he should be now, they say.

"We hope so," Antonor Winston tells USA TODAY Sports. "Not only him. I think it should show the university and us, I think we probably kind of dropped the ball on that a little bit."

Florida State declined to make Winston available for an interview about the incident, but after it was reported he released a statement through his attorney, Tim Jansen, in which he accepted responsibility for a "moment of youthful ignorance."

Youthful ignorance? Nah. More like black racist privilege.

My Son's 6th Grade Country Report

My boy picked Denmark. And of course I spent time with him researching the country and helping with the written paragraphs.

I'm impressed. Denmark boasts the world's highest level of income equality, as measured by the Gini coefficient (financed the world's highest tax rates). And Danes have the highest rate of meat consumption per capita in the world. It's basically your Scandinavian dream country. Modern, cultured and environmentally correct. I'm not planning a trip to Europe anytime soon, but after helping with this project, I'm way more inclined to consider a Copenhagen stopover.

My kid's 6th grade class project. #Denmark pic.twitter.com/84ebIAL09r

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 17, 2014

In any case, here's the copy on the country's background:

Denmark is located in Scandinavia, in the northernmost part of Europe. The geography of Denmark is mostly flatland. The country's highest point being roughly 173 meter above sea level. There are over 400 islands. Some of its best-known landmarks include the Tivoli Gardens amusement park in Copenhagen and the Little Mermaid Statue, at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen. Denmark's natural resources include oil, natural gas, gravel, sand, limestone, chalk, and clay. Denmark is self-sufficient in oil. Denmark has a temperate climate with mild winters and cool summers. The country averages about 28 inches of rainfall per year. Denmark is a predominantly Protestant nation and Easter and Christmas are the country's biggest holidays. Danes celebrate three days of Christmas. Other religious holidays are also important throughout the year. The capital city of Copenhagen, population of over 1 million people, is a popular visitors' attraction. The city is rich in historical sites and palaces, as well as arts and culture, like museums and the opera. The Copenhagen zoo is popular as well. The original Legoland park is located in the city of Billund, to the west in Jutland. Danes are the world's greatest meateaters! Denmark boasts the highest consumption of meat per person in the world. Meat and fish are the main foods. Danes like to eat open sandwiches, called smørrebrød, with lots of toppings, as well as meatballs with all kinds of trimmings. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Nina Agdal is probably the world's most famous Dane at the moment, although Prince Hamlet, from Shakespeare's play, remains as popular as ever. Because it is cool in Denmark most of the time, Danes wear a lot of layers in the clothing, as well as denim jeans, sweaters and scarves.

And you gotta love Denmark's immigration policy, via Der Spiegel, "Putting a Price on Foreigners: Strict Immigration Laws 'Save Denmark Billions'":

Denmark's strict immigration laws have saved the country billions in benefits, a government report has claimed. The Integration Ministry report has now led to calls among right-wing populists to clamp down further on immigrants to increase the savings...

The report has led to jubilation among right-wing politicians: "We now have it in black and white that restrictions (on immigrants) pay off," said DPP finance spokesman Kristian Thulesen Dahl. The DPP will almost certainly exploit the figures in future negotiations over the Danish economy.

But the report has sparked outrage from opposition parties like the centrist Social Liberal Party, which dismissed it as undignified and discriminatory. The party's integration spokeswoman, Marianne Jelved, said: "A certain group of people is being denounced and being blamed for our deficit, being made into whipping boys." She added: "We cannot classify people depending on their value to the economy. That is degrading in a democracy that has a basic value of equality."

Still, the announcement has not come as surprise. The right-wing populist DPP, which has been working with the ruling center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen since 2001, has in the past made its aims very clear: a complete halt to immigration into Denmark from non-Western countries. "A Somali who is no good for anything, that is simply not acceptable," said DPP leader Pia Kjærsgaard. Similarly, center-right liberal Prime Minister Rasmussen has also said anyone who would be a burden on Denmark is not welcome in the country.

Right-wing populists have even demanded a ban on satellite dishes so that TV stations like al-Jazeera and Al Arabiya cannot be beamed into Danish living rooms. There have also been suggestions to exempt migrants from the minimum wage -- supposedly to make it easier for foreigners to gain access to the labor market.

The small Scandinavian country already has the strictest immigration and asylum laws in Europe. For example, foreign couples are only allowed to marry if both partners are at least 24 years old. The number of asylum seekers and relatives of immigrants seeking entry into Denmark dropped by more than two-thirds within nine years as a result of the tough laws....

In November, the government agreed to stricter laws and made the entry of immigrants' spouses more difficult. Only those who collect enough "points" may come to Denmark in the future -- with points being determined by factors such as academic qualifications and proof of language proficiency. In addition, the equivalent of €13,000 must be deposited with the state in the form of a bank guarantee to cover any future public assistance. Socially deprived areas with a disproportionately high number of immigrants will be subject in future to a so-called "ghetto strategy" designed to prevent high concentrations of foreigners in public housing areas. Migrants will be assigned housing, and three-year-old children who do not speak Danish well enough will be required to attend state child care.

Some immigrants have already turned their back on Denmark voluntarily. Increasing numbers of Somalis are moving away, especially to the UK, the Jyllands Posten reported on Thursday, because of discrimination.

Hmm, racism as state strategy. And leftists say we're the world's most evil country, lol!

Ringling Brothers Gets $16 Million in 'Vexatious' Animal Rights Blowback

At the Wall Street Journal, "Lawsuit Losers Pay" (via Google):

Animal-rights groups that made phony claims of abused circus elephants continue to pay for their bogus litigation. On Thursday Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced a legal settlement under which it received $15.75 million from the Humane Society of the United States and other animal-rights groups. This follows a 2012 agreement by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to surrender $9.3 million to the producer of family-friendly entertainment.

The activist groups aren't settling out of a spirit of generosity. They're paying up because Feld exposed their payments to a former circus employee who offered false testimony. And as Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia noted last year, "the plaintiffs were unable to produce any credible evidence that any of them had standing to pursue their claims." He called their lawsuit "frivolous, unreasonable and groundless" and ordered them to pay Feld's attorneys fees. Total settlements of roughly $25 million now cover the costs of a defense that began in 2000 when the activists first lobbed their spurious claims...

Now that is the way to do it --- punch back twice as hard.

Also from Michael Rubin, at Commentary, "Dishonesty Has Cost for Radical Animal Activists":

The U.S. District Court ruled that the Humane Society’s case was “frivolous,” “vexatious,” and “groundless and unreasonable from its inception.” The settlement also covered a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case that Feld Entertainment had filed after they discovered that the Humane Society and co-complainants had paid a witness and then tried to cover that up.

Dishonesty. The calling card of the radical left.

'The Immigrant'

A movie review, from Betsy Sharkey, at the Los Angeles Times, "Intensely moving 'Immigrant' leaves viewers unsettled":

Though its story is far more about survival than love, there is a sense of seduction in director James Gray's new film, a wolf in sheep's clothing quality. Not unlike Bruno Weiss, the dandy who trolls Ellis Island for pretty girls in bad straits played so well by Phoenix.

Cotillard's Ewa Cybulska is one of those weary and desperate beauties, a world away from her edgy portrayal of Edith Piaf in 2007's "La Vie en Rose," which would win her an Oscar. Ewa and her sister, Belva (Dagmara Dominczyk), are just off the boat, still awaiting clearance to enter the country. It's a compelling opening scene, the endless lines, the empty faces, so many fates hanging in the balance, and opportunists like Bruno moving through the sea of humanity like sharks.

The sepia-saturated scene immediately evokes that vast influx of refugees in the '20s and '30s. The period detail achieved by production designer Happy Massee, costume designer Patricia Norris, and captured so beautifully by cinematographer Darius Khondji is outstanding. Composer Chris Spelman adds a bluesy jazz-age sound that is terrific — weeping when it needs to, carefree when that's called for later...

I love movies like this, the deep periodization especially.

More.

Political Correctness Out of Control

A great O'Reilly talking points memo.

He's got some leftist Buckwheat dude on there who's a freakin' laugh riot.



Yeah, and no doubt No More Mister's got a response to O'Reilly. Because leftist PC intolerance is always justified, or something.

Julie Garcia, University of Arkansas Freshman, Under Arrest for Filing False Sexual Assault Report

At Instapundit, "I like that they published her name and picture."

Send this one to Professor Caroline Heldman.

The Leaked New York Times Innovation Report is One of the Key Documents of This Media Age

Well, I thought it was pretty significant myself when I read about it yesterday at BuzzFeed, "Exclusive: New York Times Internal Report Painted Dire Digital Picture." (Funny, too, how I came across it via BuzzFeed's app on my iPhone.)

So now here's this at Nieman Journalism Lab:

We don’t typically write about intra-newsroom politics at Nieman Lab, leaving that to Manhattan’s very capable cadre of media reporters. But Abramson’s removal and Dean Baquet’s ascent has apparently inspired someone inside the Times to leak one of the most remarkable documents I’ve seen in my years running the Lab, to Myles Tanzer at BuzzFeed. It’s the full report of the newsroom innovation team that was given six full months to ask big questions about the Times’ digital strategy. (A summary version of it was leaked last week, but this is the big kahuna.)

Keep reading.

And read the "innovation report" here.

RELATED: At Instapundit, "MORE UGLINESS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: Was Sexism Behind Jill Abramson’s Firing?"

And at Althouse:

I feel pushed to talk about pushiness. And I feel irked to accept Jill Abramson as the face of the topic of The Problem of Female Leadership. I don’t particularly like her, and I suspect she did not do a good job for The New York Times, and they had every reason to oust her.

'It's time that American Jews see Israel not as a Hollywood or Hebrew school fantasy but what it was and still is: a real country made of bona fide humans, faults and all, albeit humans caught in inhuman circumstances...'

The quote is from Ambassador Michael Oren, at Foreign Policy, "'A' Jewish State vs. 'The' Jewish State."

Oren debates David Rothkopf, the editor of Foreign Policy, c/o Israel Matzav, "An exchange of emails well worth reading":

Michael Oren and David Rothkopf were college roommates at Columbia around the time that I was there. Although both went into international politics, their lives took very different directions. Oren has just finished a term as Israel's ambassador to the United States. Rothkopf is editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine.

Although he considers himself a Zionist, Rothkopf only visited Israel for the first time in late 2013. This exchange of emails resulted from Oren asking Rothkopf what he thought about his visit. You should definitely read the whole thing...

College 'Hump Day' Event Canceled After Students Protest 'Camel Racism'

Boy, "camel racism."

What's next?

At Campus Reform, "‘Hump Day’ event cancelled after students claim bringing a camel to campus was racist."

And Twitchy, "‘Is this a joke?’ College ‘camel fiasco’ sparks mockery of PC cops, exposes real racists."

trademarking "racist camel whistle."

— T-Mex (@SooperMexican) May 16, 2014

Ban college. This is just fucking ridiculous http://t.co/6xMb0BOvRW

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) May 16, 2014

I"m so fucking sick and tired of worrying whether I'm offending a Muslim. Know what offends me? Hanging gays and stoning women.

— Chris Barnhart (@ChrisBarnhart) May 16, 2014

Wait, campus lefties, you see a a camel, automatically think of an ethnic group, and then you say _other people_ are racist?

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 16, 2014

When is Geico going to apologize for its deeply offensive camel commercial?

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) May 16, 2014

.@ProgsToday Released from #TwitterGulag

The left, morally and intellectually bankrupt, can only use deceit and force to push its agenda.

And @ProgsToday must have really struck a nerve to bring out the fever swamp gulag trolls.

From Gateway Pundit:

THANKS EVERYONE! @ProgsToday is Back Up and Running! We've been released from #TwitterGulag @MichelleMalkin @DLoesch

— Progs Today (@gatewaypundit) May 15, 2014

And follow Progressives Today:

.@arneduncan why are federal tax $$ going to #WhitePrivilege conference? They teach "racism is central to America" pic.twitter.com/ukNAt2HvFm

— Progressives Today (@ProgsToday) May 16, 2014

Narendra Modi Victory Heralds New Era in #India

I saw this at Pamela's earlier, "Astounding Victory for Modi in India Election":

The results are in and they are astounding. Magnificent. Narendra Modi did wildly better than even the best projections. The BJP (Modi’s party) won over 50 percent of the seats ALONE, without even their handful of ideologically aligned allies.

Despite what the cretins in the media and the Islamic apologists in the political arena tell you, there is major change afoot. I have been seeing it here in the States, and we see lights of hope and truth beginning to blaze across the world.

And here's WSJ, "Modi Election Win Heralds New Era: Hindu-Nationalist, Pro-Business BJP Candidate Narendra Modi Marks Sweeping Shift."

It's a big deal. The BJP dislodged the Gandhi, Congress Party machine that's ruled india for 60 years.

More at Telegraph UK, "Narendra Modi wins India election with landslide victory."

And video from Euro News, "Dramatic shift in Indian politics with Modi set to win landslide election victory."

Amanda Marcotte's Reaction to the Über Sexist Hypocrisy at the New York Times

Here's Robert Stacy McCain, "Was She Too … Bossy?"

Robert hasn't seen Murderin' Mandy's response, apparently. But she's weighed in, at TPM, "Why Jill Abramson's Firing Triggers Women's Worst Fears About Sexism."

Notice how she got "triggers" in there at the headline.

Mandy's got skills, heh.

Day Three of Southern California Wildfires

I've been thinking about the drought conditions the past couple of days, and now the national media's picking up the meme. At USA Today, "Drought creates tinderbox for wildfires in southwest USA."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Huge increase in California wildfires linked to drought, hot weather."

Also, a dramatic report from this CBS This Morning:



More, "Southern California wildfires rage on; some evacuations lifted."

And at the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Prospect of arson stokes fear, suspicion in San Diego."

Mimi Walters for Congress

I like Mimi Walters. She's a down home fiscal conservative, and pretty much a regular lady in this era of freak-show leftist regressivism.

The Orange County Register had a piece on her and the open seat for O.C. 45th congressional district, "Open O.C. House seat draws diverse field, but how competitive?"

The leftist Orange Juice Blog hates her, attacking Walters as as "Stepford carpetbagger":

"I will be casting my ballot for Republican Mimi Walters."- Congressman John Campbell #CA45 #TeamWalters pic.twitter.com/3nZ4gX6gOC

— Mimi Walters (@MimiWaltersCA) May 15, 2014

In 2012 Mrs. Walters, as Greg reported in great detail, created a “sham residence” in the state senate district she wanted to represent, renting out a small cheap Irvine apartment while continuing to actually reside in her and HER wealthy husband’s Laguna Niguel mansion with their four children.  Her brilliant Democratic opponent Steve Young dramatized/proved this state of affairs memorably by placing “welcome to the neighborhood” flowers on her doorstep and coming back every day for weeks to photograph them in their sad wilted state of growing decay.

And, being a lawyer, he accompanied this edifying bit of theater with a lawsuit, to remove her from the ballot.  But a Sacramento superior court judge ruled against Steve, and the state Senate itself, which also could have removed her, opted to stay collegial and self-protective,  and nothing happened. (For who knows how many other Senators of both parties may be guilty of the same?)  So now, having served two years of her Senate term, she throws in her hat for an open Congressional seat, driving out the much worthier John Moorlach with her overwhelming fundraising, endorsements, and false, malicious attacks.

Lesson?  Nothing happens.  The law on residency means nothing, and the law on lying under penalty of perjury about your residency also means nothing...

Okay, so let the voters sort it out. In the case of Walters, she's definitely a resident of the 45th congressional district, so good luck with the carpetbagger attack. She's going to Congress.

Obama Administration Threatened Nigeria with Sanctions in 2013 for Fighting #BokoHaram

At Pamela's:

This is too monstrous for words. Here is yet more evidence of what I contended years ago: that Obama had switched sides in the war on terror — even before Benghazi. And the heads exploded on the left (here).

And I was right.

“Obama Administration Threatened Nigeria with Sanctions in 2013 for Fighting Boko Haram,” by Fred Dardick, Canada Free Press, May 14, 2014...

Keep reading.

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Revealed: Hillary Clinton's State Department refused to classify Boko Haram as a 'terror group' even after it threatened to 'murder the U.S. ambassador' to Nigeria."

Flying Lion Catches Fleeing Antelope

Via BroBible:

Donald Sterling and Oklahoma City Prove Too Much for Clippers

The Clippers are out of the NBA West Finals, and not without controversy, "Clippers can't shoulder the weight, falling in Game 6 to Thunder."

Here's Bill Plaschke's column on Doc Rivers' Game 5 meltdown, "Clippers' Doc Rivers goes from voice of reason to loud distraction." (Added: "Doc Rivers calls out officials after Clippers' agonizing Game 5 loss.")

And here the series-deciding (in Rivers' interpretation) final minute of Game 5, where the Clippers blew a 7-point lead with 49 seconds to play. Unreal:



More from Plaschke, "Clippers are gone from the postseason, but it all won't be forgotten."

And on the liberal racism front, "Donald Sterling is refusing to pay $2.5-million fine, reports say." And at Sports Illustrated, "Sources: Donald Sterling refuses NBA sanctions, threatens to sue."

Ousted Editor Jill Abramson Was Raking More Than $500 Thousand Annually

They're the wretched of the earth over there at NYT, or something.

From Ken Auletta, at the New Yorker, "In 2011, Abramson's salary went from $475k to $503k, then $525k after protest; Keller's, $559k":

It is always hard to say what causes a final break—a firing, a divorce—but, clearly, a last straw came a few weeks ago, when Abramson, who made little secret of her displeasure with Sulzberger, decided to hire a lawyer to complain that her salary was not equal to that of her predecessor, Bill Keller. She had also been told by reliable sources at the paper that, as managing editor, she had once earned less than her own deputy, John Geddes. Abramson’s attempt to raise the salary issue at a time when tempers were already frayed seemed wrongheaded to Sulzberger and Thompson, both on its merits and in terms of her approach. Bringing in a lawyer, in particular, seems to have struck them as especially combative. Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Times, argued that there was no real compensation gap, but conceded to me that “this incident was a contributing factor” to the firing of Abramson, because “it was part of a pattern.”

And there was a "non-disparagement agreement"?

Lifestyles of the rich and famous, sounds like to me. Sheesh:

Times ombudsman reveals that both sides have signed non-disparagement agreement, so don't expect a tell-all interview from Jill Abramson

— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) May 15, 2014

Previously: "Well, I was wondering what got Jill Abramson fired..."

More Record-Setting Heat — Arson Investigated in #SanDiego Wildfires

At KNBC Los Angeles, "124-Year Heat Record Shattered in Downtown LA, More Records on the Way."

And on the wildfires, see KABC-TV Los Angeles, "SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRES: 8 OF 9 FIRES SUSPICIOUS."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Southern California fires: Arson and bomb investigators probe cause":

Amazing "firenado," fire tornado pushing through a neighborhood in #SanMarcosFire #CocosFire @10News MT @Tarawallis pic.twitter.com/IXW7zL1dHs

— Natasha Zouves (@10newsnatasha) May 15, 2014

Arson and bomb investigators were looking into what caused the devastating San Diego County wildfires, several of which burned close to roads, officials confirmed Thursday.

Several people were interviewed at the scene of the Lakeside fire near Aurora Drive when it started just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.

Authorities have urged the public to call local law enforcement if they see any suspicious activity. Gore said "nothing is too small" to report.

Escondido police briefly detained a man Thursday afternoon but released him.

The wildfires raging across Southern California have scorched more than 10,000 acres, with crews struggling to protect hundreds of homes from advancing flames.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, officials said an 18-unit apartment complex in Carlsbad and at least seven houses had been destroyed in the more than half-dozen brush fires that have flared up in San Diego County since Wednesday.

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob urged residents to heed evacuation orders as they come.

“That’s the No. 1 priority, is to save life and then to save property,” she said.

Even though fire conditions had improved slightly, she said the county remained on high alert for "dramatic" flare-ups.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” she said.

Also at the San Diego Union-Tribune, "New fires break out, Escondido threatened," and "10 surreal scenes from San Diego County's wildfires."

Liberals' Dark Ages — #LiberalFascism

I don't think she's had her full Damascus moment, but Kirsten Powers is right there.

At USA Today, "Liberals' Dark Ages" (at Memeorandum):

As the [left's fascist] mob gleefully destroys people's lives, its members haven't stopped to ask themselves a basic question: What happens when they come for me? If history is any guide, that's how these things usually end.

RTWT.

Anti-Liberalism on the Left? Just Call It #LiberalFascism

An interview with far-left (pro-abort extremist) Michelle Goldberg, at Vox, "Why are students forcing out commencement speakers?"

Is this just on college campuses, or is this something you see within the left as a whole?

There is not that much of a left in America. Whenever you talk about the American left, a big part of their base is going to be on college campuses. … There's a specific part of the anti-liberal left that sees civil liberties and free speech ideas as secondary to social justice. You see expressions of it on Twitter, but it's mostly on college campuses.

Partly that's just because college campuses are really the only place where the left has any power to enforce its own agenda. In the broader world, there are probably leftists who want to shut up all kinds of people, but they have no ability do so. They have no power in American life. But they have power on college campuses...

I think she badly underestimates leftist power off America's campuses. I mean, c'mon, the mainstream mass media is objectively leftist. Even outlets like ESPN are now pushing a Gramscian Marxian social ideology.

But keep reading.

RELATED: From our little leftist friend Olivia Nuzzi, at the Daily Beast, "The Oh-So-Fragile Class of 2014 Needs to STFU And Listen to Some New Ideas."

'Claire is a thirtysomething Ph.D.-holder currently living in the South, where she recently completed grad school. Oh, and she’s also a stripper...'

At Vitae, "'Stripping Was the Easiest and Quickest Solution'." (Via Instapundit.)

RELATED: At the Other McCain, "‘She Passed Out in a Bedroom . . . She Wasn’t Strong Enough to Push Him Away’."

The Anti-Common Core 'Barbarians at the Gate'

I don't consider myself particularly knowledgeable about Common Core, although I certainly don't trust the Obama administration on education policy. That said, when education bureaucrats (and faux conservatives) push back hard against Common Core opponents, clearly the latter are on to something.

Here's Michelle Malkin on Twitter:

‘This Is About Control & Conform’: @GlennBeck Slams #CommonCore http://t.co/NKFLb7Rtq9 @oreillyfactor

— FoxNewsInsider (@FoxNewsInsider) May 14, 2014

Sensing a theme here. RT @TruthinAmEd North Dakota DPI Official Attacks Common Core Opponent - http://t.co/zUVPK9yHL3 #StopCommonCore

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) May 14, 2014

Hi fellow "barbarian" parents - help #stopcommoncore in Arizona - support @_dianedouglas for state supe ==> http://t.co/Gt6nkBIsEn

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) May 14, 2014

And for the life of me, I have no clue why Jennifer "I'm for Mitt Romney" Rubin penned this screed defending Common Core, "Common Core critics offer too little, too late." Back to her old faux conservatives ways, I guess.

In any case, I trust Michelle's writing on this.

See, "Rotten to the Core: Obama's War on Academic Standards (Part 1)"; "Rotten to the Core (Part 2): Readin', Writin' and Deconstructionism"; "Rotten to the Core, Part III: Lessons from Texas and the Growing Grassroots Revolt"; and "Rotten to the Core: The Feds' Invasive Student Tracking Database."

Plus, "Good Riddance: Common Core Backlash Claims New Political Casualties."

And from Kyle Olson, "Michelle Malkin Shreds Jeb Bush, Common Core and ‘John Dewey/Saul Alinsky-Marinated Progressives’."

And check out Olson's new book, with Glenn Beck, Conform: Exposing the Truth About Common Core and Public Education.

Help! Hashtag! Do Something! Hashtag! Help!

At Twitchy, "Spot-on! Cartoon ‘demonstrates the utter uselessness’ of hashtag diplomacy [pic]."

In which @ericallie demonstrates the utter uselessness of 'hashtag activism': http://t.co/fvr90qOjfo … pic.twitter.com/cqj9Yi8Bp7

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) May 14, 2014

And ICYMI, from Eliot Cohen, at WSJ, "A Selfie-Taking, Hashtagging Teenage Administration."

San Diego County Wildfires

It was scorching hot again today, and we had plenty of fires, especially in San Diego County.

At the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Major fires burn homes, force evacuations: Other fires being battled in Fallbrook, Oceanside, Marine base, Escondido."

And at AP, "Raw: Fires Scare San Diego but Grow Calm."

Public Anger as Death Toll Rises in Turkish Mine Explosion

At WSJ, "Death Toll and Anger Grow at Turkish Mine: Prime Minister Visits Site of Nation's Worst-Ever Mining Disaster, as Protests Mount Before Presidential Vote in August":

ISTANBUL—Turkey's government on Wednesday raced to deal with the country's worst-ever mining catastrophe, as a mounting death toll sparked protests just three months before presidential elections.

The mine explosion and ensuing fire that have killed at least 274 people since Tuesday afternoon has served a new catalyst of public anger toward the government, which since June has been roiled by protests, corruption scandals and Internet bans.

Mounting deaths in Soma and workplace-safety issues pose a fresh challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has overseen the nearly quadrupling of Turkey's economy to $820 billion through overhauls, investments and privatizations since coming to power in 2002.

In the Aegean province of Manisa, rescue teams worked on Wednesday to evacuate about 100 people still underground at Soma Komur Isletmeleri AS's mine a day after the explosion trapped 787 workers. Local channels have broadcast wailing mothers mourning their sons' deaths, along with images of other people keeping a hopeful vigil. Separately, a collapse in the coal-mining center of Zonguldak on the Black Sea coast killed another worker on Wednesday...

Keep reading.

Dallas TV Host Amy Kushnir Walks Off Over Michael Sam Homosexual Kiss

At the Blaze, "‘I’m Done!’: Talk Show Host Storms Off Set After Heated Discussion Over Michael Sam’s Kiss With Boyfriend."

Video at the link.

More at Larry Brown Sports, "Michael Sam kiss debate leads Dallas talk show host to walk off set (Video)":

Even though she will receive a lot of negative press for this, I thought she was completely composed during the debate and handled herself well while expressing her opinion. I don’t post this to mock her, but rather to illustrate how sensitive this topic has become.

Hmm, that's not what the homosexuals fascists are going to say, but yeah.

Well, I was wondering what got Jill Abramson fired...

And now I know, via Ken Auletta, at the New Yorker, "Why Jill Abramson Was Fired" (at Memeorandum).



The leftist hypocrisy here is so typical of idiot progs.

She complained about gender discrimination and was fired, basically. Pinch Sulzberger can candy-coat it however he wants, but Jill Abramson got uppity about pay and he canned her.

More at Hot Air, "Oh my: NYT executive editor reportedly canned in part because … she wanted to be paid as much as her male predecessor; Update: NYT denies."

PHOTO: Dean Baquet and Jill Abramson, c/o the New York Times.

360 Degree Video Selfies

I watched this earlier.

On CBS This Morning:

'Across the Los Angeles area — at a coffee shop in Ladera Heights, outside the gleaming office buildings of Beverly Hills — the verdict came down Tuesday and it was not generous to Donald Sterling, the 80-year-old billionaire Clippers owner...'

Splashed across the front-page today, at the Los Angeles Times, "On street, Donald Sterling's comments about Magic Johnson called fouls":

It had been two weeks since recordings surfaced of the Clippers owner telling his 31-year-old companion, V. Stiviano, that though she could spend time with African Americans, she should not allow herself to be photographed with them. Those comments earned Sterling a lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5-million fine — but it wasn't until Sterling finally broke his silence, and attempted to defend himself, that Los Angeles' jaw landed on the floor with a unified, collective thud.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, which aired in full on Monday, Sterling insisted that he could hold on to the team he has owned for 33 years, said fans and sponsors remained in his corner and blamed the media for his troubles. Then Sterling turned to a familiar face and an improbable foil: Johnson, the former Lakers superstar, part of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership team and one of the most beloved figures in California sports history.

Also, "Magic Johnson defends himself against Sterling's broadsides."

And at CNN, "Magic Johnson in CNN exclusive: I'm going to pray for Donald Sterling."

Magic takes the high road.

PREVIOUSLY: "Donald Sterling Slams Magic Johnson, Cites HIV Status."

#ObamaCare Still Unpopular, Hold #Democrats Accountable

At Nice Deb, "ObamaCare Still Failing – Still Unpopular – Still An Albatross Around the Necks of Democrats (Video)."



And don't miss Larry Sabato's latest at Politico. It's killer, "How Big a Wave? The big question for 2014: Will we see a GOP ripple … or a tsunami?"

Republicans will pick up seats. It remains to be seen how many. Six is the magic number. Ten would be a blowout. And 14 would be a tsunami.

Record Breaking Temperatures in Southern California

It was boiling yesterday. Santa Ana hit 99 degrees, a record.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Record-breaking heat expected to hit Southland as wildfires burn."

More at CBS Los Angeles, "Red Flag Warning Expected To Be In Effect Until Wednesday Night."