Angels Look to Rebound from Blowout Loss in Home Opener

Yeah, it. was pretty much a bummer.

The whole opening day vibe has been spectacular this week, but it's a letdown when your team looks like they've got the blahs. And the Angels were looking good in spring training?

In any case,  at the O.C. Register, "Angels look to rebound from blowout loss in opener":

ICYMI: Jake Arrieta spoiled Angels opening night. https://t.co/FFwXCfhgte

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) April 5, 2016

ANAHEIM -- After suffering their worst opening day loss Monday, the Angels are set to "turn the page," to use one of Mike Scioscia's favorite phrases, with the second and final game of the series against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.

It's a battle of lefties, with the Angels' Andrew Heaney facing the Cubs' Jon Lester.

Lester hasn't fared that well at Angel Stadium, posting a 4.76 ERA here in five starts. Heaney has never faced the Cubs.

The Angels are using their expected lineup against a lefty, with Craig Gentry starting in left in place of Daniel Nava. In spring training, it looked as if Mike Scioscia may have dropped Gentry in the lineup -- rather than just swapping him straight into Nava's No. 2 spot -- but Gentry is hitting second...

The game's about to start as this post goes live.

More.

Pre-Order Andrea Tantaros' New Book, Tied Up in Knots

I was wondering when she was going to be coming out with a book?

This is awesome. She's by far the best woman on Fox News.

Pre-order at Amazon, Tied Up in Knots: How Getting What We Wanted Made Women Miserable.

Fifty years after Betty Friedan unveiled The Feminine Mystique, relations between men and women in America have never been more dysfunctional. If women are more liberated than ever before, why aren't they happier? In this shocking, funny, and bluntly honest tour of today’s gender discontents, Andrea Tantaros, one of Fox News' most popular and outspoken stars, exposes how the rightful feminist pursuit of equality went too far, and how the unintended pitfalls of that power trade have made women (and men!) miserable.

In a covetous quest to attain the power that men had, women were advised to work like men, talk like men, party like men, and have sex like men. There’s just one problem: women aren’t men. Instead of feeling happy with their newfound freedoms, females today are tied up in knots, trying to strike a balance between their natural, feminine and traditional desires and what modern society dictates—and demands—through the commandments of feminism.

Revealing the mass confusion this has caused among both sexes, Tantaros argues that decades of social and economic progress haven’t brought women the peace and contentedness they were told they'd gain from their new opportunities. The pressure both to have it all and to put forth the perfectly post-worthy, filtered life for social media and society at large has left women feeling twisted. Meanwhile, in their rightful quest for equality, women have promoted themselves at the expense of their male counterparts, leaving both genders frayed and frustrated...

More.

Iceland Prime Minister Resigns Amid Protests in Panama Papers Scandal (VIDEO)

Following-up from Sunday, "Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Davi Gunnlaugsson Pressured to Resign in #PanamaPapers Scandal (VIDEO)."

Below is video from yesterday's protests, via Euronews.

And at USA Today, "Iceland PM steps aside amid pressure over Panama Papers":

Iceland's prime minister became the first high-profile casualty over the leaked Panama Papers, stepping aside Tuesday following the disclosure of offshore assets that he and his wife held.

Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, 41, suggested that his Progressive Party's vice chairman serve as prime minister for “an unspecified amount of time,” and Gunnlaugsson will continue to be party leader, a government statement said.

Earlier in the day, Agriculture Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV that Gunnlaugsson was stepping down, the Associated Press reported. But the statement issued by government press secretary Sigurdur Mar Jonsson said Gunnlaugsson had not resigned. Iceland’s president has not yet confirmed any leadership changes.

Gunnlaugsson was expected to face a no-confidence vote in Parliament  on Thursday, Icelandic news site Vísir reported.

Gunnlaugsson on Monday denied any wrongdoing and told parliament he would not resign. Thousands protested outside the parliament building in Reykjavik over the disclosure that he owned an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.

That  posed a conflict of interest for him, because Gunnlaugsson had negotiated a deal for Iceland's bankrupt banks at a time when he was a claimant in those banks...

More.

Cindy Crawford, Who Turned 50 This Year, Shows Off Incredible Bikini Body on the Beach in the Bahamas

On Instagram, "Rande caught me in the blue lagoon! Thanks for the 📷! #regram @randegerber 💋•"

And at London's Daily Mail, "'Rande caught me in the blue lagoon!' Cindy Crawford's husband shares stunning photo of his 50-year-old wife in a teeny bikini."

And WWTDD snarks:

Crawford’s doing it again. Shitting on your ability to manage expectations. Undoing life’s hardest lesson: accepting mediocrity. Crawford is fifty years old. She recently posted a picture on Instagram, from some exotic Caribbean locale, of herself in a bikini. She looks fucking amazing. Not amazing for a fifty-year-old. She has abs and shit. Good luck fucking your old, dimpled wife after seeing that.

More.

BONUS: From February, "Cindy Crawford Announces Retirement from Modeling."

Deal of the Day: Cole Haan Men's Garrett Grand Cap-Toe Oxford

These are really beautiful shoes.

At Amazon, 50% Off Cole Haan Men's Garrett Oxfords.

Also, Save $30 on the Fire HD 6, 6" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black ($69.99).

Plus, AmazonBasics 2-Port USB Car Charger with 2.1 Amp Total Output.

More, from Daphne Patai, What Price Utopia?: Essays on Ideological Policing, Feminism, and Academic Affairs, and Professing Feminism: Education and Indoctrination in Women's Studies.

And from by Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women.

BONUS: From Robert Stacy McCain, Sex Trouble: Essays on Radical Feminism and the War Against Human Nature.

Donald Trump Faces Harsh Test in Wisconsin

This is a great piece.

Wisconsin's primary's tonight. I have no clue what's going to happen, as some polls have had Trump leading Ted Cruz by as much as ten points. But we'll see. Trump couldn't fill a hall in Milwaukee last night, so the Badger State's not like the groundswell he's been receiving in states like Arizona, Florida, and South Carolina.

At WSJ, "Donald Trump Faces Great Test Against Wisconsin’s Conservative Political Network":

An hour before the Trump event starts, Milwaukee Theater is barely half full with no lines outside pic.twitter.com/lsSm6qW6rH

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) April 4, 2016

GREEN BAY, Wis.—Wisconsin Republicans could be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare: a sophisticated electorate guided by a conservative political network that has honed its tactics during 13 state Senate and two statewide recall elections held since Republican Scott Walker became the governor five years ago.

Mr. Trump has built a formidable delegate lead in the Republican presidential primary by appealing to people who are infrequent voters. But they are a rarity here—especially in the vote-rich counties that ring Milwaukee and form the core of the state GOP base.

During the 2012 general election, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties each saw turnout of 79% or more. Only one county in the state saw turnout less than 55%, according to the state’s Government Accountability Board.

“Wisconsin has been through a lot of challenging elections, so people are up on the issues,” said Alberta Darling, a Republican state senator from the Milwaukee suburb of River Hills who survived a 2011 recall after backing Mr. Walker’s repeal of collective bargaining rights for most of the state’s public employees. “We are seasoned voters and that’s made a big difference this year.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz barnstormed the state on Sunday, beginning with a Green Bay rally where he was introduced by Mr. Walker, who didn’t say Mr. Trump’s name but said the state’s Republican voters won’t be easily swayed.

“No matter what anybody says coming into the state, we are well-informed,” Mr. Walker said.

At stake in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary are 42 delegates to the Republican National Convention. Mr. Trump retains a commanding delegate lead, with 736, compared with 463 for his closest rival, Mr. Cruz. A Republican needs to win 1,237 delegates to become the party’s nominee. Wisconsin polls show Mr. Cruz holding sizable leads over Mr. Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Mr. Trump on Sunday called for Mr. Kasich, who is a distant third in the delegate hunt with 142, to end his campaign. “He’s not taking Cruz’s votes; he’s taking my votes,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Milwaukee.

Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf said no Republican candidate will win the 1,237 delegates required to clinch the nomination before the Republican National Convention in July. “We look forward to Trump dropping out before the convention,” Mr. Schrimpf said.

In addition to a GOP electorate educated on conservative issues, Mr. Cruz has another hidden advantage: Republican voters here show up. Of 10 presidential swing states tracked in a 2012 Bipartisan Policy Center report, only Wisconsin had more than 70% voter turnout in each of the last three presidential elections.

And Milwaukee’s conservative talk radio hosts have taken a victory lap in the national media after treating the Republican front-runner to a series of rough interviews, touting themselves as the bulwark of the anti-Trump forces.

But if Wisconsin hands Mr. Trump a defeat Tuesday, it will be because of voters such as Ed Perkins, a 75-year-old retiree in Grand Chute.

Always interested in politics, Mr. Perkins said he first became involved in conservative causes to defend Mr. Walker and Republican state senators during the recall elections of 2011 and 2012. He now leads a local tea-party group and on Friday hosted a Cruz campaign event featuring Mr. Cruz’s father, Rafael, at a restaurant in Appleton.

“People like myself have become more knowledgeable about what’s going on,” said Mr. Perkins. “The result of that, of all the candidates, we feel Ted Cruz is the constitutional candidate in front of us.”

Still more.

And see Betsy Woodruff, at the Daily Beast, "Sad! Donald Trump Bombs in Milwaukee."

How the World's Rich and Famous Hide Their Money Offshore (VIDEO)

I have to admit, I'm getting a kick out of this scandal.

At the Guardian UK, "Panama Papers: mass protests in Iceland call for PM to quit – as it happened."

ICYMI, James Holland, The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941

I'm blazing through Nicholas Stargardt's, The German War.

I haven't yet picked up my copy of the Holland tome, although I'm especially interested to read it now, considering how its topical coverage tracks so closely to Stargardt.

We'll see, in any case. I've got lots of good stuff lined up (and I'm reading William F. Buckley on the side as well, heh).

See, The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941: The War in the West, Volume 1.

Gwen Stefani Opens Up About Divorce from Gavin Rossdale (VIDEO)

At GMA.

I hope she's happier.

Jackie Johnson's Summer-Like Forecast

It's going to be in the 90s tomorrow in the inland valleys, heh.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

'The Conservative's Handbook'

This is really cool.

From Phil Valentine, The Conservative's Handbook: Defining the Right Position on Issues from A to Z.

'We'd been looking for a sign — yard sign, bumper sticker, anything — for months...'

Well, there must be lots of Bernie signs though, right?

Heh.

At Althouse, "We finally found it: a Hillary sign in Madison, Wisconsin."

PREVIOUSLY: "Bernie Sanders Campaign Keeps Cash Flow Pumping."

Bernie Sanders Campaign Keeps Cash Flow Pumping

The Sanders fundraising haul is apparently unprecedented, since by now in the season a "losing" campaign would have seen its money spigot drying up.

Not so with the democratic socialist from Vermont. His backers don't believe he's losing, and if it wasn't for the rigged superdelegates, he wouldn't be.

At WSJ, "Bernie Sanders's Cash Keeps Flowing":

Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to rake in contributions for his presidential run despite remaining a clear underdog in the race for the Democratic nomination, all but ensuring his battle with Hillary Clinton will continue for months.

Mr. Sanders’s latest fundraising haul—$44 million in March—was amassed as his path to the nomination narrowed substantially, leaving him with a daunting deficit in convention delegates. Such a feat amounts to defying political gravity, campaign-finance experts say: When candidates start losing primaries, as Mr. Sanders did during the first half of the month, the flow of donations typically slows significantly.

But Mr. Sanders’s fundraising has continued apace, fueled largely by small-dollar online donors. Now, after wins in a string of Western states in late March, the Vermont senator hits April with both money and fresh momentum. He holds a narrow lead over Mrs. Clinton for Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, and the New York primary two weeks later looms as a pivotal showdown.

The importance of the New York contest for both campaigns is evident in the haggling this past weekend over where and when the candidates might debate ahead of the April 19 vote.

Mr. Sanders’s fundraising totals have grown each month this year, hitting $21.3 million in January and $43.5 million in February. Mrs. Clinton hasn’t yet released her take from last month, but Mr. Sanders raised more than she did in January and February.

Although Mr. Sanders has won five of the past six contests, Mrs. Clinton still holds a commanding lead in delegates that her campaign argues is nearly insurmountable. Mr. Sanders now needs decisive victories in delegate-rich states such as New York, California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to make up ground, and he may also need to convince party officials known as “superdelegates” to abandon Mrs. Clinton and support him. Absent those outcomes, Mrs. Clinton appears likely to emerge as the Democratic nominee, but Mr. Sanders could make that an expensive proposition.

Mr. Sanders “is not suffering the fate that candidates usually suffer when they’re running behind,” said Lawrence Noble, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a group that aims to reduce the influence of money in politics. “The narrative that it’s impossible to beat Hillary Clinton has not stopped [Sanders supporters] because I don’t think they believe it,” Mr. Noble said.

In interviews, many Sanders supporters said they were motivated by the senator’s pledges to address income inequality and overhaul the campaign-finance system, and they plan to continue lending financial support until the end. Only 3% of Mr. Sanders’s fundraising total has come from donors who have given the legal maximum of $2,700, and many backers have signed up to automatically contribute a modest sum each month.

Aislinn Melchior, a professor from Tacoma, Wash., who has made several small contributions, said of Mr. Sanders: “I am willing to do whatever I can to help out his candidacy, even if it’s doomed.”

Kenneth Pennington, digital director for the Sanders campaign, said the senator’s supporters understand that building a grass-roots movement doesn’t happen overnight.

“They’re in this fight for the long haul,” he said. “That means when we win, our supporters respond in large numbers. When we lose, our supporters step up to help us win in the long run.”

More.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's Family Embroiled in #PanamaPapers Scandal

At the Telegraph UK, "Cameron's family embroiled in tax avoidance row as details of his late father's business interests are leaked":

Downing Street has refused to deny that David Cameron’s family might have assets held offshore in Panama, reports Christopher Hope, chief political correspondent.

The Prime Minister was linked to the so-called “Panama Papers” by his late father Ian, who died in 2010.

Michael Wilkinson: Panama Papers raises serious questions for David Cameron https://t.co/3641kMNbZz pic.twitter.com/fzdzhxxFJ0

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) April 4, 2016

"thanks dad"

PM David Cameron in multi-miilion pound #PanamaPapers inhertence dodge

1 :https://t.co/fO0yaFdMDb
2: https://t.co/5Ofgqm3ATu

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 4, 2016

David Cameron must take "real action" to crack down on offshore tax havens, opposition figures have demanded after it emerged his father was among the names released in a massive data leak which exposed the scale of efforts by the rich and powerful to hide assets.

The Prime Minister's late father Ian Cameron was reported to be among names - including those of six peers, three ex-Tory MPs and political party donors - named in relation to investments set up by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Downing Street said it was a "private matter" whether the Cameron family still had funds in offshore investments and insisted the PM was in the vanguard of efforts to increase the transparency of tax arrangements.

More than 11 million documents were passed to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to 107 media organisations including the Guardian and BBC's Panorama.

HM Revenue and Customs has approached the ICIJ for access to the data and said it would "act on it swiftly and appropriately" if there was any wrongdoing.

While there is nothing illegal about using offshore companies, the disclosures have intensified calls for international reform of the way tax havens are able to operate and claims of large-scale money laundering.

Mr Cameron has been a vocal advocate of reform and legislation forcing British companies to disclose who owns and benefits from their activities which comes into force in June.

Despite several years of pressure however, few UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories - which are said to make up a large part of the tax havens referred to in the papers - have taken concrete action to open up the books.

He faces pressure to secure progress at an international summit on tackling corruption which he will chair in London in May and where the use of offshore tax havens to escape scrutiny will be high on the agenda.

Asked if Mr Cameron was prepared to legislate if there was continued inaction, the PM's official spokeswoman said: "He rules nothing out. The work with them continues."

More at the Guardian UK, "Fund run by David Cameron’s father avoided paying tax in Britain."

Claudia Romani Super Short Mini-Skirt

Are those shorts or a skirt?

Wow.

At Egotastic!, "Claudia Romani Booty Cheek Peek In Mini Skirt."

10-Piece Cookware Set from AmazonBasics

Shop Amazon, Savings on AmazonBasics 10-Piece Cookware Set.

Plus, Shop Fashion - Levi's Spring Sale, featuring the 501 Original Fit Jean.

Also, deep discount today only, 65% or more off the Schlage Camelot Keypad Flex Lock.

Plus, Kim Holmes, The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left.

And, from Kirsten Powers, The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech.

BONUS: From Eric Metaxas, out June 14th, If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty.

Donald Trump Will Bring U.S. Back to Greatness

From the letters to the editor, at the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

Re “Are you going to vote for Donald Trump?” (Question of the Week, March 21):

After listening to the debates, I feel Donald Trump, although far from perfect, is the best person to lead our country. He has achieved the American dream by building up the million dollars given to him by his dad to billions by investing in real estate.

By using his own money and not being beholding to big donors, Trump is expressing his love for America and his desire to bring America back to greatness by:

• Improving our healthcare system by repealing Obamacare which is proving to be a job-killing healthcare-destroying monstrosity. Through the Affordable Care Act, my son’s deductible increased from $900 to $6,000. With this insurance, my son pays $150 for an office visit and is not compensated for anything X-rays etc. until the $6,000 is paid.

• Securing our border which is critical for both security and prosperity for America.

• Instituting a radical change to the tax system making it better for the average American and encouraging businesses to stay in America.

• Treating terrorists as military combatants not as criminals like the Obama administration treats them.

• Cutting spending without harming those on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

• Reforming welfare and cracking down on entitlement fraud.

• Not intervening in other country’s problems without being compensated for doing so, and if we go to war, we go to win.

• Strengthening our military so we can have a strong national defense.

— Martha Morissy-Call, Downey

Deal of the Day: '47 Brand MLB Shirts, Hats, and Socks

At Amazon, Up to 45% Off '47 MLB Shirts, Hats, and Socks.

It's opening day, heh.

Also, from Bernard Malamud, The Natural.

More, from Ken Burns for PBS, Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns (Includes The Tenth Inning).

And, The Pride of the Yankees.

It was apparently a freak scheduling coincidence, but the Royals played the Mets last night for a season opening on Sunday Night Baseball, and it was a doozy.

At the Kansas City Star, "Royals hoist championship flag, take down Mets 4-3 in season opener."

#MLB #OpeningDay! Spring is here! My #Angels don't play 2day but the #Royals are on. 😃 pic.twitter.com/INeEtW0n3u

— Elle Johnson (@_ElleJohnson) April 3, 2016

BONUS: Field of Dreams.

Disclaimer: I Hate WikiLeaks

Just because I'm posting on the Panama Papers leak, which is a WikiLeaks-style operation being promoted by WikiLeaks and the far-left Guardian newspaper, doesn't mean that I've caved to depraved leftist Anonymous-style hysteria and propaganda.

I hate WikiLeaks. I hate what they stand for. But every now and then these ghouls highlight an issue that deserves attention nevertheless; and greater governmental transparency doesn't necessarily have to be a leftist issue, particularly when the left's fundamental problematique isn't actually transparency but anarchist revolutionary politics. Frankly, WikiLeaks is a criminal enterprise and always has been.

I wrote a lot on the group, and its leader Julian Assange, back in 2010. Here's a refresher, "Exposing the WikiLeaks/Communist/Media Alliance."

Also, flashback, to My Pet Jawa, "59 Seconds of Crucial Reuters 'Murder' Video."



So, yeah. I freakin' hate these people.

Even a broken clock's right twice a day, so now and then I'll give CWCID.

Massive Worldwide Fallout Over the #PanamaPapers

More on the offshore tax haven revelations, at USA Today, "Worldwide fallout continues over Panama Papers":

The massive, anonymous leak Sunday of more than 11 million documents belonging to a law firm in Panama — Mossack Fonseca — that detail how powerful people hid their wealth reveals suspected cases of money laundering, sanctions evasion and tax avoidance.

Here's what you need to know:

Denials from world leaders are rolling out.

Iceland's prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, faces a no-confidence vote later Monday for allegations in the documents that he deliberately hid holdings in Icelandic banks. Gunnlaugsson denies any wrongdoing and said on Icelandic television he would not resign.

News reports allege that Gunnlaughsson and his wife established a company in the British Virgin Islands with the help of Mossack Fonseca.

In Russia, the government said President Vladimir Putin has not committed a crime.

While Putin's name does not appear on any of the records published, the paper trail does show that many of his associates and close friends — including musician Sergei Roldugin, godfather to his daughter Maria and the man who introduced him to his wife, Lyudmilla — made millions from deals that would have been hard to make without Putin's knowledge.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, told Russian news agency Interfax that it was "obvious" the aim of the release of the documents was to undermine the president ahead of parliamentary elections expected in September...

More.

And on Twitter:

The Panama Papers: world reacts to huge offshore tax files leak - live https://t.co/it4rZOdIiG

— The Guardian (@guardian) April 4, 2016

Here are the famous politicians in ‘the Wikileaks of the mega-rich’ #PanamaPapers https://t.co/Ll2wyPj9KC pic.twitter.com/ksNfrzYfrU

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 4, 2016

"Marxism is not merely wrong, it is wicked. Historians estimate that as many as 100 million people were killed under Marxist-Leninist regimes in the 20th century, and yet this deadly lie — deceptively masquerading in costumes of social justice — has become the intellectual basis of 21st-century 'progressive' politics..."

I'm sold!

I'd rather attend the University of Alabama School of Law, heh.

See R.S. McCain, "Harvard Law Is Decadent and Depraved."

"Only a fool would go to Harvard, when he could go to Tuscaloosa instead." https://t.co/YyECsVvd2f #RollTide https://t.co/5TVEJad7XG

— FreeStacy (@Not_RSMcCain) April 4, 2016

Anti-Trump Protesters Stomp on the American Flag (VIDEO)

From Fox News 6 Milwaukee, via Memeorandum, "“Makes me sick:” Protester seen stomping on American flag outside Trump town hall at UWM."

And at Fox News Insider, "WATCH: Anti-Trump Protesters Stomp on the American Flag."

Jaws Drop to 'Panama Papers' Leak

Following-up from earlier, "Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Davi Gunnlaugsson Pressured to Resign in #PanamaPapers Scandal (VIDEO)."

At USA Today, "Worldwide, jaws drop to 'Panama Papers' leak":

Sunday’s jaw-dropping “Panama Papers” leak, which shows a global network of offshore companies helping the wealthy hide their assets, is already being called “the Wikileaks of the mega-rich."

The hashtag #panamapapers topped Twitter on Sunday afternoon. Among those reacting through tweets: Edward Snowden, the 2013 CIA leaker, who said the “Biggest leak in the history of data journalism just went live, and it's about corruption.”

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the Kremlin had already received “a series of questions in a rude manner” from an organization that he said was trying to smear Putin.

“Journalists and members of other organizations have been actively trying to discredit Putin and this country’s leadership,” Peskov said.

The Washington, D.C.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) said the trove of 11.5 million records details the offshore holdings of a dozen current and former world leaders, as well as businessmen, criminals, celebrities and sports stars. The data span nearly 40 years, from 1977 through the end of 2015, ICIJ said, allowing “a never-before-seen view inside the offshore world — providing a day-to-day, decade-by-decade look at how dark money flows through the global financial system, breeding crime and stripping national treasuries of tax revenues.”

Jim Clarken, the CEO of Oxfam Ireland, tweeted: "As long as tax dodging continues to drain government coffers, there is a human cost."

In Australia, the country's tax office said it was investigating more than 800 wealthy clients of the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca for possible tax evasion, Reuters reported.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) said it had linked more than 120 of the clients "to an associate offshore service provider located in Hong Kong."  ATO Deputy Commissioner Michael Cranston said his office was working with the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission and anti-money laundering regulator AUSTRAC.

Iceland’s prime minister, one of several major politicians with alleged links to secret “shell” companies, was expected to face calls for a snap election, Britain’s Guardian reported...

More.

A Literary Guide to Our Orwellian Nightmare

From Marc Fitch, at the Federalist, "We live in an age where the individual has to combat mass society and groupthink, and the individual is losing. Here's a brief overview of writers whose insights can help you fight back."

Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Davi Gunnlaugsson Pressured to Resign in #PanamaPapers Scandal (VIDEO)

Amazing revelations coming out, and I don't even like WikiLeaks and their ilk, like Edward Snowden. But when folks nail corruption, and corrupt cronies, you gotta give it up for 'em.

At the Guardian UK, "Iceland’s PM faces calls for snap election after offshore revelations":

"Oops" #PanamaPapers pic.twitter.com/ISwm6II4Hc

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 3, 2016

Iceland’s prime minister is this week expected to face calls in parliament for a snap election after the Panama Papers revealed he is among several leading politicians around the world with links to secretive companies in offshore tax havens.

The financial affairs of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and his wife have come under scrutiny because of details revealed in documents from a Panamanian law firm that helps clients protect their wealth in secretive offshore tax regimes. The files from Mossack Fonseca form the biggest ever data leak to journalists.

Opposition leaders have this weekend been discussing a motion calling for a general election – in effect a confidence vote in the prime minister.

On Monday, Gunnlaugsson is expected to face allegations from opponents that he has hidden a major financial conflict of interest from voters ever since he was elected an MP seven years ago.

The former prime minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir said Gunnlaugsson would have to resign if he could not regain public trust quickly, calling on him to “give a straightforward account of all the facts of the matter”...

Keep reading (video at the link).

Educational Divide in GOP White House Race; What's Behind It

At ABC News (via Memeorandum).

BONUS: A great piece from Chris Cillizza, at WaPo, "An argument against the ‘magical realism’ of the #neverTrump crowd" (at Memeorandum).

Kendra Wilkinson in Low-Cut White Jumpsuit at Her Reality Show Premiere in West Hollywood

At Egotastic!, "Kendra Wilkinson Big Bosom Display for Reality TV Premiere."

And London's Daily Mail, "She's a Baskett case! Kendra Wilkinson showcases eye-popping cleavage as she packs on the PDA with husband Hank at event celebrating her reality show."

Irina Shayk Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Video 2016

She's badass, heh.

Twists and Turns in California's 2016 Primary

The once-Golden State's going to have a very consequential primary, which is quite a surprise to most observers.

At LAT, "Donald Trump is about to blow up the California primary. Here's how":

The California electorate in the November general election will be far different than the makeup of voters who cast ballots in June. Obama won in 2012 with 59.3% of the vote.

If Trump becomes the Republican presidential nominee, political analysts expect a substantial anti-Trump movement in California during the general election, the first opportunity for non-Republicans to vote against him. Voter turnout among Latinos also would rise substantially, Madrid predicted.

“California has huge Spanish-language media markets … so you’re going to have much more reaction from the community,” Madrid said...

A great piece. Very informative.

RTWT.

William F. Buckley, Jr., God and Man at Yale

Started reading this last night. I wasn't going to, but I got sucked in somehow, lol.

From William F. Buckley, God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of 'Academic Freedom'.

It's highly recommended by Robert Stacy McCain.

Deal of the Day: Samsung 55-inch Ultra HD Smart LED TV

At Amazon, Samsung UN55JU6500 55-inch 4K Ultra HD smart LED TV.

More, Up to 55% Off Little Giant Alta One Ladders.

Also, Hitachi RB24EAP 23.9cc 2-Cycle Gas Powered 170 MPH Handheld Leaf Blower (CARB Compliant).

Plus, from Perry Anderson, Passages From Antiquity to Feudalism, and Lineages of the Absolutist State.

BONUS: From Alain Badiou, Being and Event.

Identitarianism

This is a great piece, from Jamie Kirchick, at National Review, "Why White-Nationalist Thugs Thrill to Trump":

"Identitarianism” is a newfangled euphemism for white supremacy. Coined around the start of the 21st century by the intellectual wing — such as it is — of the French far right, it has since been adopted by white nationalists the world over. Last October, I attended a conference in Washington convened by the identitarian movement’s American division, the National Policy Institute (NPI). It was fitting that the gathering would occur on Halloween, as about 150 ghouls filled the ballroom of the National Press Club. The crowd was almost entirely male, many of them (apparently taking advantage of the under-30 registration discount) young. A conspicuous number sported the Hitler Youth–inspired hairdo known as an “undercut,” short on the sides with a long part on top. In between encomia to the recently deceased anti-Semitic newspaper publisher Willis Carto and a recitation of pagan reveries by a white-separatist folk musician, attendees perused bookstalls featuring the conspiracy-mongering American Free Press newspaper and the Holocaust-denying Barnes Review...

I obviously don't care for genuine hardcore white nationalists, as they're usually completely open about their racist positions. But I think it's a mistake to blow off the larger ideological framework developing on these issues, because lots of regular folks are going to identify with identitarianism and be completely free of the slightest bit of genuine white supremacist racist inclinations. Indeed, the sad part is that leftists will continue to attack regular folks worried about the Muslim invasion as racist "Islamophobes" when they're nothing of the sort. Notice all the articles in Europe about "far-right" protests and you get the picture (see USA Today, for example, "Clashes feared at banned anti-Islamist rally in Brussels").

More.

Amber Lee's Beautiful Sunday Forecast

More gorgeous weather.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Pyros the Bear

It's not often a Wall Street Journal A-hed makes Memeorandum, but this is pretty good, heh.

See, "Pyros the Bear, Brought to Replenish the Pyrenees’ Ursine Population, May Have Been Too Successful."

Ashley Graham Controversy Over the April Cover of Maxim (VIDEO)

They say it was Photoshopped.

See, USA Today, "Ashley Graham covers 'Maxim,' everyone has thoughts."

And London's Daily Mail, "'They captured my true form': Curvy Ashley Graham fiercely denies claims she was 'slimmed down' on her sexy Maxim cover."

Plus, video at E!, "Ashley Graham Is Nearly Naked on 'Maxim' Cover."

Currently Reading: Nicholas Stargardt, The German War

I'm finally into Stargardt's tome, The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939–1945.

And best of all, I'm on spring break --- and I'll have time to read, heh.

Baseball's opening day's on Monday, so that's pretty excellent too, lol.

Deal of the Day: Save $30 on the Fire HD 6

It's a deal at $69.99.

At Amazon, Fire HD 6, 6" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black.

Also, Save on Select Barska Safes & Optics.

More, Save on J.K. Rowling Thrillers.

See also, M. Stanton Evans, Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies.

And, from Whittaker Chambers, Witness.

BONUS: Diana West, American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character, and The Rebuttal: Defending 'American Betrayal' from the Book-Burners.

Europe's Muslims Hate the West

From Leon de Winter, at Politico (via Robert Spencer).

Read it all at the link; it's good.

Cruise Ship Crashes Into San Diego Pier (VIDEO)

It's a while-watching ship.

At the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Hornblower crashes into downtown pier."

Anger at the Other Party Driving 2016 Political Dynamics

Although she doesn't cite him, Emory political scientist Alan Abramowitz has been writing about "negative partisanship" for some time.

See UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavreck, at NYT, "American Anger: It’s Not the Economy. It’s the Other Party."

The theory certainly holds true in my case: I'm lukewarm toward the GOP, but I despise Democrats with a white-hot passion, lol.

Jessica Simpson Maximum Cleavage in Mexico

She's a freakin' bombshell, man!

At London's Daily Mail, "Girls' trip! Jessica Simpson opts for maximum cleavage in pink bikini as she channels Daisy Duke on Mexico getaway."

BONUS: "Jessica Simpson goes braless in a cleavage baring lace up dress on a date with husband Eric Johnson."

Obama Administration Threatens North Carolina Over State's New 'Bathroom Law' (VIDEO)

The homo-fascist steamroller plows on.

At NYT, "North Carolina Law May Risk Federal Aid":

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina’s new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.

Cutting off any federal money — or even simply threatening to do so — would put major new pressure on North Carolina to repeal the law, which eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people and restricted which bathrooms transgender people can use. A loss of federal money could send the state into a budget crisis and jeopardize services that are central to daily life.

Although experts said such a drastic step was unlikely, at least immediately, the administration’s review puts North Carolina on notice that the new law could have financial consequences. Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina had assured residents that the law would not jeopardize federal money for education.

But the law also represents a test for the Obama administration, which has declared that the fight for gay and transgender rights is a continuation of the civil rights era. The North Carolina dispute forces the administration to decide how aggressively to fight on that principle.

The North Carolina law created a mandatory statewide anti-discrimination policy, but it did not include specific protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law prohibits transgender people from using public bathrooms that do not match the sexes on their birth certificates.

Anthony Foxx, the secretary of transportation, first raised the prospect of a review of federal funding in public remarks on Tuesday in North Carolina. The Department of Transportation provides roughly $1 billion a year to North Carolina. The New York Times then asked other federal agencies whether they were conducting similar reviews.

A Department of Education spokeswoman, Dorie Nolt, said on Friday that her agency was also reviewing the North Carolina law “to determine any potential impact on the state’s federal education funding.” She added, “We will not hesitate to act if students’ civil rights are being violated.”

The agency said it provided $4.3 billion to North Carolina last year for kindergarten through 12th grade as well as colleges.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it was doing a similar evaluation. “We’re reviewing the effects of the law on HUD funding allocated for North Carolina,” said Cameron French, a department spokesman.

White House officials had no comment...

More.

And watch, "Video Message from North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory."

Katrina Pierson Discusses Donald Trump and GOP Contested Convention (VIDEO)

People area all agog talking about how Donald Trump's having his "worse week ever."

It's hogwash, of course.

The Trump campaign's going to keep chugging along like it has been, and the collectivist press is going keep trying to steamroll him as a racist, misogynist Islamophobe. As a result, his numbers will continue to soar.

Here's Ms. Pierson, with Gretchen Carlson on Fox:

Jackie Johnson's Gorgeous Weekend Forecast

Lovely weather today.

I was out for a bit with my oldest son, running errands and having lunch.

And now I'm off for spring break. It's going to be lovely, heh.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Donald Trump Clears the Air

At NYT, "Donald Trump Clears Air With G.O.P. Leaders, and Chastises His Aides" (via Memeorandum):

Outwardly, Donald J. Trump called it a “unity meeting” — a closed-door session in Washington on Thursday involving his own inner circle and the Republican National Committee’s high command.

Inside, however, it was more of a clearing of the air, according to three people briefed in detail on the discussion.

And the candid remarks included some by Mr. Trump directed at his own team.

There was plenty of tension to defuse: For months, Mr. Trump has denounced the party’s major donors, and only this week he went back on a written pledge to support whoever becomes the Republican presidential nominee because, he said, the party had treated him “unfairly.”

In the meeting, held at the committee’s headquarters, the Republican national chairman, Reince Priebus, laid out for the party’s front-runner the need for the committee and Mr. Trump’s campaign to have a good relationship, according to the three people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Mr. Priebus, who was joined by the committee’s chief operating officer, Sean Cairncross, and its chief of staff, Katie Walsh, told Mr. Trump and his team that the party wanted to be helpful to him but that it was difficult to do so in the face of his routine criticism, according to those briefed.

Mr. Trump was joined by his son, Donald J. Trump Jr.; his lawyer, Donald F. McGahn; his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski; the national political director Michael Glassner; and Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks.

When the discussion turned to the wrangling of delegates to the party’s nominating convention in Cleveland this July — an issue that has dogged Mr. Trump and his skeletal campaign organization for months — Mr. Priebus explained that states all had different rules governing how they were selected.

Mr. Trump has found himself at a disadvantage in some states, as his aides have allowed rival campaigns to peel some delegates away. Mr. Trump mentioned Louisiana, where he won the primary, but where Senator Ted Cruz is likely to come away with more delegates after exploiting peculiarities in the state’s system, according to those briefed on the meeting.

The situation in Louisiana infuriated Mr. Trump, who threatened this week to sue the Republican National Committee over it.

But when Mr. Priebus explained that each campaign needed to be prepared to fight for delegates at each state’s convention, Mr. Trump turned to his aides and suggested that they had not been doing what they needed to do, the people briefed on the meeting said...

More.

Jackie Johnson's April Fools' Forecast

Tomorrow is April Fools' Day, although of course Ms. Johnson's forecast is on the up and up, heh.

Via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Hillary Clinton Loses Her Cool with Greenpeace Activist (VIDEO)

She looks seriously pissed off.

"I am so sick, I am so sick ... of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it..."

Watch, at the Weekly Standard, "Hillary Blows Up at Greenpeace Activist." (Via Memeorandum.)

WATCH: Woman Videotapes Rare Florida Panther at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (VIDEO)

This is really cool.

Watch, at KTVU News 2 San Francisco, "Video: Rare Florida panther startles woman."

And at the Orlando Sentinel, "Florida panther surprises woman at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary."

Deal of the Day: Select Yukon Outfitters Bags and Packs

At Amazon, Save on Select Yukon Outfitters Bags and Packs.

Also, Save on Coleman Camping Gear.

More, from Jon Shields and Joshua M. Dunn Sr., Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University.

Plus, Kim Holmes, The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left.

BONUS: Kirsten Powers, The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech.

Socialite Jill Kelley Opens Up About David Petraeus Scandal (VIDEO)

Wild.

Via Fox News.



Previous Petraeus scandal blogging here.

Kate Bock Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Video 2016

Nice.



More SI babe-blogging here.

The Ridiculous Video of Donald Trump Campaign Manager 'Assaulting' Michelle Fields

It's from Piers Morgan, who's emerged as something of a bizarre booster of Donald Trump.

At London's Daily Mail:

.@piersmorgan to Michelle Fields: Toughen up, young lady — or choose a different job https://t.co/e64JX2nPnG pic.twitter.com/t3O5xeKmuy

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) March 29, 2016

Gemma Atkinson Bikini Pics

I haven't posted on this lady in ages, and that's a shame, heh.

At WWTDD, "Gemma Atkinson in a Bikini."

The Ethnic Cleansing of Christians Around the World is One of the Great Crimes of Our Age

Wow, what a headline.

From Jonathan Sacks, at Telegraph UK, "We are facing an unprecedented age of terror: The ethnic cleansing of Christians around the world is one of the great crimes of our age."

Via Instapundit, who snarks (darkly), "Obama doesn’t seem that upset, though."

Amanda Carpenter's Emotional Denial of Ted Cruz Affair (VIDEO)

I'm not loving American politics too much of late.

I seriously doubt the least bit of impropriety on Amanda's part, and yet, she's worn down and groveling over her treatment, and rightly so. It's actually kind of sad.

Read all about it at Hot Air, "Amanda Carpenter: No, I didn’t have an affair with Ted Cruz."



PREVIOUSLY: "'I will not be intimidated' — Amanda Carpenter Decries 'Tabloid Trash' Allegations of Affair with Ted Cruz (VIDEO)."

The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty

From Eric Metaxas, out June 14th, If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty.

From the Amazon blurb:

If You Can Keep It is at once a thrilling review of America's uniqueness, and a sobering reminder that America's greatness cannot continue unless we truly understand what our founding fathers meant for us to be. The book includes a stirring call-to-action for every American to understand the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is America. It also paints a vivid picture of the tremendous fragility of that experiment and explains why that fragility has been dangerously forgotten—and in doing so it lays out our own responsibility to live those ideals and carry on those freedoms. Metaxas believes America is not a nation bounded by ethnic identity or geography, but rather by a radical and unprecedented idea, based upon liberty and freedom. It's time to reconnect to that idea before America loses the very foundation for what made it exceptional in the first place.

Pre-order here.

'Love Hurts'

From yesterday morning's drive-time, at the Sound L.A.

Nazareth:

Love Hurts
Nazareth
10:33 AM

Evil Woman
Electric Light Orchestra
10:29 AM

The Wanton Song
Led Zeppelin
10:25 AM

Killer Queen
Queen
10:22 AM

No Woman, No Cry
Bob Marley & The Wailers
10:15 AM

Venus and Mars / Rock Show / Jet
Paul McCartney & Wings
10:08 AM

Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
10:03 AM

Brussels Attacks Cast Light on Belgium's Identity Crisis

At Der Spiegel, "Postcard from a Failed State? Attacks Cast Light on Belgium's State Crisis":

Postcard from a Failed State? Attacks Cast Light on Belgium's State Crisis https://t.co/v5zJaajxmk #BrusselsAttacks

— SPIEGEL English (@SPIEGEL_English) March 27, 2016

With bombs set off in the airport and the subway system, the deadly Islamic State attacks on Brussels have struck the heart of the European Union. Belgium, once the nucleus of Europe, will now have to combat its reputation as a failed state.

Bart De Wever doesn't have much faith in his country. In fact, you can hardly call it a country, this artificial construct created sometime in the 19th century as the result of an accident of history, a power struggle among major powers. The centralized Belgian state is "slow, complicated and inefficient," says De Wever, one of the most powerful men in Belgian politics.

He represents a party that went into the last election campaigning for an end to this centralized state, and for an independent Flanders, which it argued would be more viable than Belgium, a broken construct.
De Wever heads the strongest party, the conservative right-wing New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). He is not part of the government, but rather the mayor of Antwerp, and yet he knows that people in Belgium pay very close attention to what he says. He's sitting under chandeliers in the Gothic city hall, in a room with dark wooden wall panels. It's a sunny Tuesday in February, four weeks before the Brussels attacks. Salah Abdeslam is still on the run, and police haven't tracked him down in Brussels' Molenbeek neighborhood yet. The government is still searching for the sole surviving Paris attacker but have been unsuccessful so far. The government is trying, but it hasn't turned up much yet. Belgium is receiving poor grades, but so is Europe.

De Wever calls German Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy an "epochal mistake," and he complains that integration in Belgium already isn't working today. "This is our problem," he says. "We were unable to offer them a Flemish version of the American dream." His message is that Antwerp is still better off than Brussels, which could be called a cesspool.

De Wever likens the way politics is done in Brussels to the manner in which workers renovate the city's crumbling art nouveau buildings: some new wiring here, something patched up there. "Politicians in Belgium often work like craftsmen in old houses: they putter away without any sort of blueprint." De Wever, sitting in his office on a spring day in Antwerp, has little faith in this country. He doesn't know yet that his lack of confidence will later be confirmed in the worst of ways.

The attack on Brussels, on March 22, 2016, came from inside the country. More than 31 people died and more than 270 were injured, and the victims included people from more than 40 nations.

In the apartment where one of the perpetrators, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, had lived, at Rue Max Roos 4 in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels, police found about 200 liters of chemicals, detonators, a suitcase full of nails, an Islamic State (IS) flag and 15 kilograms of acetone peroxide, an explosive material. Najim Laachraoui, 24, who also lived there, was apparently a bombmaker of sorts for IS. Forensic investigators found his DNA on two of the explosive belts after the Paris attacks. The two men took a taxi to Brussels' Zaventem Airport, where they allowed no one to touch their luggage. Then, at 7:58 a.m., they blew themselves up. A nail bomb was detonated at Gate B, near the American Airlines ticket counter.

Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, Ibrahim's brother, blew himself up in a subway car at the Maelbeek metro station, near the European Commission building. It was 9:11 a.m.

The killers chose places of transit, sites where anyone could be targeted. An airport and a metro station are places where everyone goes. No place is safe. Forget it. That was their message.

IS Infrastructure in Europe

The attacks were delivered four days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam. Investigators now know that it was a mistake to assume that IS, which claimed responsibility for the attack, favored the "lone wolf" approach. Since the Brussels bombings, it is clear that Islamic State has created its own infrastructure in Europe, under the radar of most intelligence services, cells consisting of first, second and third-tier militants. If the first tier is unable to act, the second tier takes over and prepares the next attack. The Brussels bombers were already involved in the Paris attacks. There were logistics experts who provided them with apartments and weapons, there were explosives experts and there were people who maintained communications with IS in Syria.

It's clear that there was a network on which Salah Abdeslam could rely. Documents from the Belgian and French authorities paint a picture of a tightknit group in which everyone protected everyone else, and that made the Belgian security forces look like fools. Salah apparently moved about freely in Molenbeek, where he even went to a barber. The mayor of Molenbeek says there is an "omertà" in the community, a code of silence reminiscent of the Mafia.

The groups are part of international networks, and the terrorists had an advantage over security services: They were perfectly in command of cooperation across European national borders...

Keep reading.

First Quarter GDP Growth Tracking at Just 0.9 Percent

Depression economics.

Next to global Islamic appeasement, meager economic growth (due to ideology and statism) will be the key Obama legacy.

At CBNC, "Shocker cuts to Q1 growth pace show faltering economy" (via Conservative Treehouse):

First-quarter growth is now tracking at just 0.9 percent, after new data showed surprising weakness in consumer spending and a wider-than-expected trade gap.

According to the CNBC/Moody's Analytics rapid update, economists now see the sluggish growth pace based on already reported data, down from 1.4 percent last week. According to the rapid update, economists have a median forecast of 1.6 percent growth in first-quarter GDP, which includes their estimates for data not yet released.

"It's not a polar vortex winter. You can't blame the weather this year. It's the consumer. I think there's a problem with the measurement but at the end of the day if the world were as good as we'd hoped, people would feel better and it's not showing up," said Diane Swonk of DS Economics.

Personal income rose 0.2 percent in February, a tenth above expectations, and spending was up 0.1 percent. But revisions to January's spending data wiped out earlier solid gains and showed spending marginally higher — at 0.1 percent from an earlier 0.5 percent.

Fourth-quarter GDP growth was reported at 1.4 percent Friday, revised up from 1 percent.

Economists had been hopeful the first quarter would show a snapback with growth above 2 percent, and some have been optimistic that weak manufacturing was beginning to show signs of bottoming.

They note the size of the revision to consumer spending is rare.

"It's not falling off the cliff. We're not in a recession but it's consistent with worry," said Swonk...

More.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Endorsement of Donald Trump (VIDEO)

Via Fox News:

Germany Plans New Law to Require Migrants to Integrate and Learn German – Or Get Deported

At Blazing Cat Fur:

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere said he is intending to implement a new law that will require migrants to learn German and be part of society - or lose their permanent right of residency.

Many people in Germany have turned their backs to Chancellor Angela Merkel following her open-door refugee policy and turned towards the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany.

The Alternative for Germany party (AFD) has developed an anti immigration stance over the past year, the party has made huge gains in popularity since the refugee crisis hit the EU and the group powered into three state legislatures...

Tanya Mityushina Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Video 2016

She's amazing.



PREVIOUSLY: "Tanya Mityushina Outtakes Sports Illustrated 2016 (VIDEO)."

Don Watkins and Yaron Brook, Equal Is Unfair

Out today.

At Amazon, Equal Is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality.

Campus Administrators and Activists Don’t Like Yik Yak

Heh.

I'm not even on Yik Yak, but maybe I should be lol.

See Glenn Reynolds, "How PC culture is killing higher education":

The Emory protesters managed to fill a conference room and meet with Emory President James Wagner, but they don’t actually represent the feelings of Emory students overall. He observes: “On Yik Yak, a social media app popular among college students in large part because it permits anonymous speech, the Emory student reaction to the chalk controversy wasn’t mixed, as often happens when one views that platform during a campus controversy. It was clearly, overwhelmingly antagonistic to the student activists.”

Freed from a fear that student “activists” — and their allies in the university’s Student Life and Diversity offices — might punish them, students expressed their true feelings, and they demonstrate that the “activists” are a small, unrepresentative slice that is being indulged at the expense of the university as a whole. (This is probably why so many campus administrations and activists don’t like Yik Yak: It allows students to express themselves without fear of repercussions.)

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "Donald Trump Chalk Microaggressions."

Britney Spears Flaunts Bikini Body on Hawaii Vacation

At London's Daily Mail, "No Photoshop here! Britney Spears flaunts her bikini body as she vacations in Hawaii... after being accused of altering tanning pic."

Deal of the Day: NordicTrack GX 4.7 Exercise Bike

It's a beautiful bike.

At Amazon, NordicTrack GX 4.7 Exercise Bike: Step thru design. Innovative design eliminates the traditional bike base so it's easy to get on and off the recumbent bike. Get started on your workout quickly and easily.

Plus, Chamberlain Whisper Drive Garage Door Opener with MyQ Technology and Battery Backup.

Also, Save on Electronic Accessories from Anker.

BONUS: Laura Poitras, ed., Astro Noise: A Survival Guide for Living Under Total Surveillance.

Catholic Priest Thomas Uzhunnalil Crucified by Islamic State on Good Friday

It's almost unbelievable to me, but then it's all too predictable at the same time.

At London's Daily Mail, "ISIS 'crucifies Catholic priest on Good Friday' after kidnapping him from old people's home where four nuns were shot dead."

And at Pamela's, "Easter in the Islamic State: ISIS crucify Catholic priest." (Via Memeorandum.)

Tracing the Roots of a Modern Populism

From Salena Zito, at RCP (via Ed Driscoll at Instapundit):

VIENNA, Ohio - Frank Bellamy didn't realize he was getting caught up in a populist movement when he started paying attention last July to what Donald Trump said.

“I just knew that I felt as though he was speaking to me, about my pursuit of the American dream,” Bellamy said.

The black businessman, 62, stood in a crowd of several thousand people at a Mahoning Valley airport hangar with daughter Francesca, 11, waiting to hear the billionaire businessman speak.

All around him, very happy Trump supporters shared his enthusiasm. The anger that became a hallmark of recent Trump events infiltrated by protesters was absent. But that clearly was not true of this crowd's populist fervor.

Populism has been part of American politics almost since the country's beginnings.

In fact, it was a common characteristic of Democratic Party politics for ages. President Andrew Jackson famously invited a mob of supporters into the White House to celebrate his inauguration in 1829; table china was broken, furniture ruined and a huge block of cheese eaten (really).

Certainly, this represents a kind of populism.

The heyday of the Democrats' populism occurred at the turn of the 20th century when William Jennings Bryan co-opted the People's Party platform. Bryan's fiery “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democrats' 1896 convention in Chicago was populist to the core; it propelled Bryan to the top of the party's presidential ticket that year. He lost that election, just as he lost the elections of 1900 and 1908 when he again was the Democrats' standard-bearer.

So, populists have been nominated for president before by major political parties. They've just never won. Not yet.

Political scientist John Gerring suggests that Democrats did not shift away from their historic populist orientation until 1952. This, of course, followed the “Dixiecrat” populist rebellion of 1948 and preceded George Wallace's populist-oriented revolt from the party in 1968.

Given that politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum, the Republican Party began integrating populist themes into its anti-statist worldview in the 1970s, according to Baylor University political science professor Curt Nichols: “This was a time when the Supreme Court was ruling against school prayer and for abortion. As one adviser of the time noted, ‘All things Catholic are good politics for Republicans.' ”

The outcome was unavoidable: Populist-based appeals ensued...

Keep reading.

Zito's been on the case for years. See this Twitter thread for an interesting discussion.

Donald Trump Chalk Microaggressions

It's getting to the point that it's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm a college professor, sheesh.

Fortunately, most of the PC leftist idiocy hasn't yet filtered down to the community college level, at least not at a level of critical mass. Most students in my classes aren't that hip on a lot of the stuff going on at the infected universities. They're often shocked at the inanities when we discuss current events in class.

Heh, maybe there's still hope.

At Fox News, "Students terrified by 'Trump 2016' chalk drawings."

And at Instapundit, "AN OPEN LETTER TO EMORY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT JAMES WAGNER from Concerned Emory Alumni."

Terror in Pakistan: At Least 70 Killed as Taliban Jihadists Target Christians on Easter (VIDEO)

The number of fatalities keeps getting bigger.

At LAT, "Taliban says it targeted Christians in a park on Easter Sunday, killing 70."

Also, at Telegraph UK, "Pakistan terror attack: 72 dead after suicide bomber strikes children's play area in Lahore."

The Challenge of Easter

Such a beautiful essay, at WSJ.

#Easter resists commercialism because its story makes a radical claim, says @JamesMartinSJ https://t.co/CvDs06BmnJ pic.twitter.com/CoOSguNtwX

— WSJ Life & Culture (@WSJLife) March 26, 2016

.@JamesMartinSJ eloquent on Easter @WSJ https://t.co/wLD7zJ59sN pic.twitter.com/ZhsLbXLb1L

— Nick Ripatrazone (@nickripatrazone) March 26, 2016

The Consequences of Anti-Zionism

Israel-hatred will not spare you from Islamic jihad.

From Caroline Glick.

California Poll: Donald Trump Holds 2-1 Lead in Golden State, 38-19 Percent

Hmm, pretty impressive, but the 2-1 statistic includes Marco Rubio among the candidate choices. Cruz pops up to 27 percent with recalculation.

It's a new poll out from the Public Policy Institute of California.

See the Sacramento Bee, "Poll: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton lead in California":

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leads his GOP rivals in California less than three months before the primary, according to a statewide survey released late Wednesday.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll showed support for Trump at 38 percent among likely Republican voters, followed by Ted Cruz at 19 percent and John Kasich at 12 percent. Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who ended his presidential bid last week, received 12 percent in the poll taken March 6 to March 15.

With the totals recalculated to account for Rubio’s departure, Trump remained at 38 percent while support for Cruz grew to 27 percent and Kasich to 14 percent. Under that scenario, Trump, a billionaire businessman and political newcomer, bests the others with voters across all age, education, gender and income groups.

The survey comes as California Republicans, a beleaguered lot in this heavily Democratic state, find themselves in the unlikely situation of possibly deciding the fate of their presidential nominee on June 7. The Republican presidential primary, unlike down-ticket contests, is closed to all non-GOP voters...

Keep reading.

'Never Surrender'

Check out John Kelly, Never Surrender: Winston Churchill and Britain's Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940.

Republican Party Beltway Barnacles Are Right to Be Worried (VIDEO)

It's Pat Buchanan, at Fox News:

Don't Forget About Dana Loesch's New Book, Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been To

I'm excited to get my hands on a copy.

Pre-order, at Amazon, Flyover Nation: You Can't Run a Country You've Never Been To.

After Brussels, There's Really No Discussion of Who Our Enemy Is (VIDEO)

Here's Brian Lilley, at the Rebel Media. A great clip: