Deal of the Day: Sun Joe PSI Electric Pressure Washer

At Amazon, Sun Joe SPX3000 2030 PSI 1.76 GPM Electric Pressure Washer, 14.5-Amp.

And, Mr. Coffee BVMC-DMX85 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker with Integrated Hot Water Dispenser, 16-Ounce, Black/Chrome.

Also, California Umbrella 11-Feet Sunbrella Fabric Fiberglass Rib Crank Lift Collar Tilt Aluminum Market Umbrella with Bronze Pole, Terracotta.

More, Midnight by Carole Hochman Women's Short Modal Robe.

From Justin Vaïsse, Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement.

And from Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order.

Mark Gerson and James Q. Wilson, The Essential Neoconservative Reader.

Still more, from James Mann, Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet.

By Jacob Heilbrunn, They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons.

BONUS: Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History.

Donald Trump Holds 15-Point Lead Ahead of Republican Rivals in Indiana Poll

I saw some other polls out, including USA Today, that had Ted Cruz up in Indiana.

I've been discounting those because Donald Trump's got tremendous momentum, and it's Indiana.

At WSJ (via Memeorandum):

Donald Trump holds a 15-point lead in the Republican presidential primary in Indiana, and a majority of GOP voters disapprove of the effort by underdogs Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich to coordinate a strategy to block him, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll finds.

Hillary Clinton holds a narrow, 4-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders among likely Democratic voters in Indiana, the poll found.

That gives Mr. Trump a substantial advantage in a state that Mr. Cruz says could be his last, best chance to stop the front-runner from clinching the GOP nomination before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

Mr. Trump has been on a winning streak since his landslide victories in the New York primary two weeks ago and in last week’s five-state round of voting in the Northeast, which some dubbed the “Acela primary.” ...

In the Republican primary, it is still mathematically possible for Mr. Cruz, of Texas, and Mr. Kasich, of Ohio, to pick up enough delegates between now and the end of the primary season on June 7 to keep Mr. Trump from reaching the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination. But the path to doing so narrows substantially if Mr. Trump sweeps Indiana and wins all of its 57 delegates.

In a last-ditch effort to derail the Trump train, the Cruz and Kasich campaigns last week announced that they would try to coordinate a strategy to block Mr. Trump, a plan that called for Mr. Kasich to stop campaigning in Indiana to give Mr. Cruz a clearer shot at the front-runner.

The poll found that 58% of likely Republican primary voters disapproved of that Cruz-Kasich deal and saw it as “further proof that the Republicans are trying to rig the game against Trump.” One-third of GOP voters approved of the deal and “of doing everything possible to stop Trump from being the Republican nominee.”

It isn’t clear how much the Cruz-Kasich agreement will affect the outcome next Tuesday, as 63% of GOP primary voters said it wasn’t a factor in deciding their votes, including 53% of Kasich voters and 66% of Cruz voters.

The poll also found that not all of Mr. Kasich’s supporters would accrue to Mr. Cruz if Mr. Kasich weren’t in the race.

If the Ohio governor’s support is reallocated according to the second choice of his backers, Mr. Trump still maintains an 11-point lead, with 53% backing him and 42% supporting Mr. Cruz.

Nearly two-thirds of Republican voters said that if no candidate wins a majority of delegates during primary season and the party winds up with a contested convention, then the candidate with the most votes in the primaries should get the nomination...

More.

The Virtual Reality Zombies

Hey, it looks pretty freakin' cool. I can't wait to try VR, heh.

At the New York Post, via Irritated Woman on Twitter:

The VR Zombies... - The VR Zombies... (Second column, 4th story, link) https://t.co/jWN65PlhnJ

— IrritatedWoman™ (@irritatedwoman) May 1, 2016

Gigi Hadid Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Video 2016

Following-up, "Rebecca Romijn Slams Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner as Not 'True Supermodels'."

At Sports Illustrated, "Gigi Hadid Outtakes 2016."

Currently Reading: Heinz Höhne, The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS

If folks are wondering why I'm reading all these histories of Nazi Germany, well, it's actually my academic specialty. My dissertation looked at the West's pathetic response to Germany's rise in the 1930s, with an analysis of balance of power theory.

So, I just like reading all about international politics in the Interwar Period.

In any case, I saw this book at my favorite used bookstore, The Bookman, in Orange.

It's great!

At Amazon, The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS.

Twitter Genius Trolls the Guardian

Via Louise Mensch, at Heat Street:

Twitter Genius Trolls the Guardian – and It’s Glorious https://t.co/uPTugsjI8M #heatstreet via @LouiseMensch

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) April 30, 2016

Deal of the Day: Up to 46% Off Bounty Hunter Metal Detectors

At Amazon, Bounty Hunter TK4 Tracker IV Metal Detector.

More, Save on Bounty Hunter Metal Detectors.

Plus, Save Up to 51% on T-Fal and WearEver Cookware Sets.

And, 40% Off Select ASICS GEL-Excite 3 Running Shoes.

Still more, from Ed Feulner, The American Spirit.

And from Dennis Prager, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.

Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney, Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.

BONUS: Yuval Levin, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism.

Trump Says He'll Win Without GOP Unity

This is what I most like about Donald Trump. He's taking it to the GOPe.

At NYT:

Mocking critics, Donald Trump says he can win without Republican unity https://t.co/u5BEmHdvhz pic.twitter.com/xxNnR8dfTs

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 30, 2016

And at Memeorandum.

U.S. Economy Grew at Pathetic 0.5% Rate in First Quarter of 2016 — Thanks Obama!

O's upset he's not getting enough credit for saving the economy from a depression in '09, heh.

I mean really? He's proud of a 2.0 percent growth rate for his entire term in office? It's the worst economic record of any postwar president.

At WSJ, "U.S. Growth Starts Year in Familiar Rut":

A sharp pullback in business investment and weak global demand dragged down an already-lackluster U.S. economy in the opening months of 2016, the latest setback in a bumpy expansion entering its seventh year.

Consumers and the housing market kept the U.S. from sliding backward, though only barely. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, advanced at a 0.5% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That marked the economy’s worst performance in two years.

Corporate executives and economists say turmoil across global financial markets in the opening weeks of the year may have restrained U.S. economic activity, with conditions improving somewhat after the Federal Reserve scaled back its expectations for rate increases and commodity prices began stabilizing.

“While all is not well with the U.S. economy, neither is the economy as moribund as the print on the first-quarter GDP report implies,” said Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp. “Consumer spending and housing will provide the main support going forward.”

Slow first quarters followed by a rebound have been common in recent years, leaving hope for better months ahead. The U.S. economy contracted in the opening quarter of 2014 and barely grew at the outset of 2015, only to bounce back and leave the economy on the same staid trajectory seen during much of the expansion. For all of 2015, GDP advanced 2.4%, the same as 2014.

Yet stronger global headwinds over the past year have served as an added restraint. Among the forces working against the U.S. expansion in recent months: Tepid demand from overseas and a strong dollar have led to a drop in exports, subtracting from growth. Cheap oil, meanwhile, has thrown business spending into disarray. Outlays for mining exploration and wells contracted the most on record in the first quarter.

The latest worry about the global outlook came Thursday when the Bank of Japan surprised many investors by declining to launch fresh stimulus measures despite a weak economic outlook. The BOJ and the European Central Bank have been among the institutions pushing interest rates into negative territory to boost their economies, moves that had weakened their currencies and pushed the dollar higher.

The Fed hasn’t budged on interest rates since December, when it raised its benchmark for the first time in nearly a decade. Fed officials initially expected to raise interest rates by a full percentage point this year, but in March downgraded their expectation to just half a percentage point amid the global economic turbulence.

After its latest meeting concluded Wednesday, the central bank highlighted the domestic economy’s mixed signals and remained ambiguous about whether it would move its rate target from a range of 0.25% to 0.5% in June.

Despite the cause for concern, the outlook isn’t entirely bleak. For example, business investment in computers, software, research and development and nonenergy structures all rose during the first quarter...

More.

Rebecca Romijn Slams Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner as Not 'True Supermodels'

Shoot, are you kidding me?!!

Kendall Jenner is a freakin' goddess!

So what if social media catapulted her to fame? She's to die for.

At People, "Yolanda Hadid Defends Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner After Rebecca Romijn Says They Aren't 'True Supermodels'."

😊😊😊 @voguemagazine @mariotestino pic.twitter.com/N5sFeloS9g

— Kendall Jenner (@KendallJenner) March 23, 2016

Actually, Gigi's not my favorite, so score a point or two for Rebecca, lol.

Open-Borders Thugs Protest Donald Trump at California GOP Convention (VIDEO)

CBS News 13 Sacramento has the video below.

And at the Los Angeles Times, today's front page lead story, "Trump spurs a fresh wave of Latino activism":

As Donald Trump's presidential campaign moves into California, he's being met by a revitalized, youthful Latino-rights movement playing from a different rule book than its predecessors.

Trump faced large and hostile demonstrations outside a rally Thursday night in Costa Mesa and at the Burlingame hotel where he delivered a speech to the California Republican Convention.

Protest organizers in Southern California said the anti-Trump demonstration spread through word of mouth and involved mostly young people, including many high school and college students. They brought with them Mexican flags, which were once discouraged at immigrant rights rallies for fear they would be regarded as un-American.

But in reaction to Trump, the Mexican flag has re-emerged, unfurled and unapologetic and a symbol for a new generation of Latino activists. Protesters said they have no hesitation about putting their heritage on display, especially when it comes to the rise and rhetoric of Donald Trump.

"People are angry — they are feeling personally attacked and in danger," said Luis Serrano, 28, an organizer with California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance.

Some activists have discussed whether aggressive protests might actually boost Trump with his conservative base and help him win the Republican primary, where he faces Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

On Friday, Trump tried turning the protests to his advantage. After demonstrators blocked his entrance to the hotel, forcing him to walk around a back way, he joked: "It was like crossing the border."

Serrano and other activists said speaking out against Trump outweighs the risk of their protests inadvertently earning the presidential candidate votes. Some groups are trying to use outrage against Trump to register more Latino voters...

More.

Hoisting the Mexican flag is only going to help Trump. Maybe not in California, but if these Latino protests take off in battleground states, they're going to hurt the Democrats. See also, "Trump protesters, Mexican flag-wavers could bring unintended consequences for GOP race."

Jackie Johnson's Partly Cloudy and Cooler Forecast

I'm just chilin' this weekend. We're visiting friends in Temecula tomorrow, and I've got grading to do, so not too much wild partying lol.

Here's Jackie, via CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Fox News Pulls 'Outnumbered' Star Andrea Tantaros Over 'Contract Issues'

At Evil Blogger Lady, "Andrea Tantaros Rule 5: Why is the hot commentator getting pulled?"

It's obvious her outspoken support for Donald Trump has made her persona non grata among some influential people in the Fox News lineup. Indeed, "ANDREA TANTAROS RUMORED TO BE PURGED FROM @FOXNEWS DUE TO HER OUTSPOKEN SUPPORT OF NATIONALISM OVER GLOBALISM."

More at TV Newser, "Andrea Tantaros Won’t Be on Fox News, for Now."

Meanwhile, she's been promoting her book, Tied Up in Knots: How Getting What We Wanted Made Women Miserable.

Frankly, though, I'm not that interesting in "Outnumbered" unless she's hosting. She's so good!

Deal of the Day: Rubbermaid Glass 22-Piece Set [BUMPED]

At Amazon, Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid Glass Food Storage Container, 22-Piece Set.

Also, Up to 50% off select Moen kitchen & bath faucets.

More, Elk Lighting 22001/6 Preston 6-Light Pendant, Brushed Brass.

Plus, Chippewa Men's 6" Rich Oiled Walnut Waterproof Lace Up Boot Steel Toe.

Still more, from the Invisible Committee, The Coming Insurrection.

From Benjamin Kunkel, Utopia or Bust: A Guide to the Present Crisis.

And Slavoj Žižek, Trouble in Paradise: From the End of History to the End of Capitalism.

BONUS: Aaron Klein, The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists.

Donald Trump Jumps Freeway Barrier to Get to GOP Convention: 'It felt like I was crossing the border...' (VIDEO)

Heh.

The despicable leftist illegal alien communists blocked the freeway.

At Gateway Pundit, "WILD VIDEO=> Trump Jumps Barrier, Crosses Ditch to Avoid Violent Leftist Mob in California."

Leftists and Mexican Thugs Burn the American Flag They Stole from Donald Trump Supporter (VIDEO)

Here's the headline at Gateway Pundit, "VIDEO=> LEFTISTS AND OPEN BORDER THUGS Bust Through Security and Storm California GOP Convention" (via Memeorandum).

Leftist anti-Trump protesters hoist the Mexican flag while burning the American flag, via KCRA News 3 Sacramento:

That's a fun protest sign outside Trump's speech pic.twitter.com/uJnCSuEXZQ

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) April 29, 2016

More, via Memeorandum, "California GOP Convention Chaos: Protesters Block Donald Trump's Motorcade."

Donald Trump Rouses Cheering Crowd in Costa Mesa: 'Build That Wall' (VIDEO)

Following-up from previously, "Latinos Riot, Smash Police Cars, Outside Donald Trump Campaign Event in Costa Mesa (VIDEO)."

At the O.C. Register:

#TrumpOC: "We're not only going to make America great again, it's going to be greater than ever before." pic.twitter.com/rXLH5MXORT

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) April 29, 2016

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump brought his rousing message of political indignation to a full house at Costa Mesa’s 8,000-seat Pacific Amphitheatre on Thursday and was celebrated by the vocal crowd for providing an alternative to the status quo.

Within minutes of taking the stage to kick off his California campaign, Trump had the crowd on its feet chanting, “Build that wall.”

“Your crime numbers, they’re going through the roof, and we can’t have it anymore,” Trump told the packed venue at the OC Fair & Event Center. “We’re going to get our country back to a balance.”

Outside, sheriff’s deputies on horseback and in riot gear had to separate pro- and anti-Trump groups who shouted profanities at each other and nearly came to blows, with one side chanting “Dump Trump” as the other shouted, “Go back to Mexico.” After the rally ended, demonstrators jumped on a Costa Mesa police car, breaking out the windows and attempting to turn it over, as hundreds of people blocked the streets.

The tensions may be an early sign of what’s ahead for California in the weeks leading up to the June 7 primary, as Trump shifts his attention to the state that could prove the most crucial yet in his drive to be the Republican standard bearer.

“No state has suffered more from open borders than the state of California,” Trump told the crowd.

Trump’s choice of Orange County for his first major California event of the year is no surprise. While the county’s increasing ethnic diversity has contributed to Republican voter registration recently slipping below 40 percent, the GOP still has an 8-point advantage over Democrats, and the county continues its longstanding national reputation as a Republican powerhouse.

The county’s many wealthy donors also make it a national fundraising hub for GOP candidates.

Hours before the rally began, large crowds of flag-waving supporters and scattered sign-carrying protesters gathered at the fairgrounds.

Dawn Mayo stood on a concrete planter box in front of the fairgrounds’ Pacific Amphitheatre, surrounded by Trump supporters. She waved a blue “Make America great again” hat in her hand as she tried to lead the crowd in a “Go Trump!” chant that quickly died out.

“I’ll get them excited. Give me time,” said Mayo, 49, who grew up in New York and drove from San Diego on Thursday afternoon to attend the rally. “I love Trump. I want the energy to be up and people to be as excited as I am.”

A first clash came around 4:30 p.m.

More.

Latinos Riot, Smash Police Cars, Outside Donald Trump Campaign Event in Costa Mesa (VIDEO)

Some of my students were emailing and tweeting me from the event.

Many Trump supporters waited in line all day to get into the rally, at the Pacific Amphitheater, located at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Attendees were required to RSVP, but nevertheless at least 3,000 rally-goers were turned away as the venue was packed to capacity. After Trump finished speaking, apparently around 8:30pm, mostly-Latino protesters, many hoisting the Mexican flag (seen at the video below), took to the streets outside the fairgrounds.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Protests rage outside Trump rally in Orange County; 17 arrested, police car smashed."

Protesters now Newport Blvd and Fair drive where protesters watch vehicles doing donuts. #CostaMesa pic.twitter.com/fHpcTOVlGb

— Ruben Vives (@LATvives) April 29, 2016

Also, at the O.C. Register, "Video: Police cruiser smashed in post-Donald Trump rally protest in Costa Mesa, about 20 arrested."

Hundreds Swarm SDSU President to Protest David Horowitz Freedom Center Anti-BDS Posters (VIDEO)

At FrontPage Magazine:

A series of posters created by the David Horowitz Freedom Center targeting proponents of the Hamas-inspired and funded Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Jewish state have incited a storm of controversy on the San Diego State University campus where hundreds of students swarmed University President Elliot Hirshman to claim that he did not condemn the posters forcefully enough and demanding an apology.

The Freedom Center’s posters identified by name a number of prominent student and faculty BDS activists on the campus and described them as having “allied themselves with Palestinian terrorists to perpetrate BDS and Jew Hatred on this campus.” The posters also contained the hashtag #StopTheJewHatredonCampus, the slogan of the Freedom Center campaign which seeks to confront the agents of campus anti-Semitism and refute the genocidal lies spread by Palestinian terrorists and their campus allies. These lies include the claims that Israel occupies Palestinian land and that Israel is an apartheid state.

Protestors were also incensed by a print ad taken out by the Freedom Center in the Daily Aztec.

The ad states:

There is an epidemic of Jew hatred on American campuses and at San Diego State University. This Jew hatred is incited by Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Students Association and assorted leftist groups, all of whom support the terrorist organizations Hamas and Fatah.

The ad goes on to explain that both SJP and MSA were created by operatives of the Muslim Brotherhood and that both groups “disseminate genocidal lies about Israel whose purpose is to weaken and destroy the world’s only Jewish state.”

Posters for the campaign appeared on five California campuses, including at UCLA and UC-Berkeley, where they also sparked protests from anti-Israel activists, as well as university administrators who falsely characterized them as “hate speech.” Images of all the posters may be viewed here. Accounts of the protests and administrator responses can be read here.

In an email sent to San Diego State’s entire student body on Tuesday, Hirshman criticized the posters but also defended the importance of free speech: “First, we recognize and fully support the rights of all parties to voice their positions on political issues, whether supportive or critical. We also understand that when parties adopt a specific political position they become responsible for their actions and these actions may produce criticism.”

Hirshman’s failure to outright condemn the posters did not sit well with SDSU’s anti-Israel activists and the campus left...

Keep reading.

Identity of Zero Hedge's 'Tyler Durden' Outed by 'Disgruntled' Ex-Employee

Well, this is interesting.

At Bloomberg, "Unmasking the Men Behind Zero Hedge, Wall Street's Renegade Blog" (via Memeorandum):

Colin Lokey, also known as "Tyler Durden," is breaking the first rule of Fight Club: You do not talk about Fight Club. He’s also breaking the second rule of Fight Club. (See the first rule.)

After more than a year writing for the financial website Zero Hedge under the nom de doom of the cult classic’s anarchic hero, Lokey’s going public. In doing so, he’s answering a question that has bedeviled Wall Street since the site sprang up seven years ago: Just who is Tyler Durden, anyway?

The answer, it turns out, is three people. Following an acrimonious departure this month, in which two-thirds of the trio traded allegations of hypocrisy and mental instability, Lokey, 32, decided to unmask himself and his fellow Durdens.

Lokey said the other two men are Daniel Ivandjiiski, 37, the Bulgarian-born former analyst long reputed to be behind the site, and Tim Backshall, 45, a well-known credit derivatives strategist. (Bloomberg LP competes with Zero Hedge in providing financial news and information.)

In a telephone interview, Ivandjiiski confirmed that the men had been the only Tyler Durdens on the payroll since Lokey came aboard last year, but he criticized his former colleague's decision to come forward.

He called Lokey's parting gift a case of sour grapes. Backshall, meanwhile, declined to comment, referring questions to Ivandjiiski. A political science graduate with an MBA and a Southern twang, Lokey said he had a checkered past before joining Zero Hedge. Earlier this month, overwork landed him in a hospital because he felt a panic attack coming on, he said.

“Ultimately we wish Colin all the best, he’s clearly a troubled individual in many ways, and we are frankly disappointed that he’s decided to take his displeasure with the company in such a public manner,” Ivandjiiski said...

More.

And at Zero Hedge, "The Full Story Behind Bloomberg's Attempt to 'Unmask' Zero Hedge."