Poll: Americans Divided on Transgender Bathrooms

I've been covering this issue in my classes, pointing out that the Democrats are deliberately inflaming the culture wars. Remember, Houstonians voted down the LGBT ballot measure 61 to 39 percent. And now the White House has forced the issue to the national level.

It's not about civil rights. It's about political and ideological power. And the country's going to be even more bitterly divided as a result.

At NYT, "Public Is Divided Over Transgender Bathroom Issue, Poll Shows":

Like I've Been Saying. Now There's Data: Public Is Divided Over #Transgender Bathrooms, Poll Shows. #Gender https://t.co/R2kOCunqyd

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 20, 2016

Wow. 6/10 Americans want state & local govts to decide transgender school bathroom policies, according to NYT poll. https://t.co/Gg7P8fA6ed

— Kelsey Harkness (@kelseyjharkness) May 20, 2016

The public is sharply divided along age, party and education lines over whether transgender people should be allowed to use public bathrooms that match their gender identity rather than their gender at birth, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

While less than a majority, 46 percent of Americans say they think that transgender people should be allowed to use only public restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth. A smaller number, 41 percent, think transgender people should be allowed to use the restroom that matches the gender they identify with.

Democrats, college graduates and those under the age of 45 are more supportive of allowing for gender identity in bathroom choice, while their counterparts take the opposite stance.

The nationwide poll was conducted after President Obama issued a directive to public schools last week outlining ways to avoid discrimination against transgender students. The Obama administration contends that the issue is a federal civil rights question, while some states, such as North Carolina, say it is an issue for individual states to decide.

Nearly six in 10 Americans say they think decisions about which bathroom transgender students can use in public schools should be left to individual state or local governments to decide. While a slim 51 percent majority of Democrats think it is a federal issue, more than three-quarters of Republicans say the matter should be decided at the state or local level.

While the public narrowly disagrees with Mr. Obama’s stance on transgender rights and the restroom policy, his overall job approval rating, at 50 percent, is at its highest level in more than three years. His approval rating briefly rose after his re-election in November 2012.

More.

Also, a summary of the data, at Newsmax:

* 46 percent believe transgender people should be allowed to use bathrooms based on their birth gender;

* 41 percent believe transgender people should be allowed to use bathrooms based on their gender identity.

CBS News reports breaking down the results by party lines and political beliefs, the poll finds:

* 65 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of conservatives believe transgender people should use bathrooms based on their birth gender;

* 60 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of liberals believe transgender people should use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Another question in the poll addressed whether federal government or state and local governments should be in charge of the bathroom issue:

* 57 percent believe state and local governments should decide;

* 35 percent believe the federal government should decide.

By party lines, according to the CBS News report:

* 77 percent of Republicans believe the decision should be left to state and local governments;

* 42 percent of Democrats believe state and local governments should decide;

* 57 percent of independent voters believe state and local governments should decide.

Fifty-one percent of Democrats favor the federal government deciding, while 31 percent of independent voters believe it should be up to the federal government. Comparatively, only 18 percent of Republicans favor the federal government weighing in on bathroom choice.

Progressive Racism: A History of Racial Truth, Dare, and Deception

From Colin Flaherty, at FrontPage Magazine, "David Horowitz’s new book sets the record straight on the Left's politics of destruction."

And buy the book, at Amazon, The Black Book of the American Left — Volume VI: Progressive Racism.

Pregnant Candice Swanepoel Posts Baby-Bump Photo to Instagram

Wild.

That's wonderful she having a baby too!

Boy Or Girl? Candice Reveals All: https://t.co/xQlJgIX7ts pic.twitter.com/FnlvPFc8GG

— VOGUE.CO.UK (@BritishVogue) May 18, 2016

How Putin Silences Dissent

This is great.

From Maria Lipman, at Foreign Affairs, "Inside the Kremlin’s Crackdown":

In December 2015, the Russian antigraft activist Alexey Navalny released a documentary in which he exposed the corrupt business dealings of the children of Yuri Chaika, Russia’s prosecutor general—the top law enforcement official in the country. In the film, Navalny accuses Chaika’s son Artem of “continuously exploit[ing] the protection that his father, the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation, gives him to extort from and steal other people’s companies.” Artem owns a five-star hotel in Greece with his father’s deputy’s ex-wife, who, according to Navalny, maintains close business ties with the wives of violent gang members in southern Russia. The film includes scenes from the inauguration of the hotel, a grand celebration attended by Russian politicians, businessmen, and pop stars. The documentary also details Artem’s involvement in a predatory takeover of a Siberian shipping company in 2002; after speaking out against Artem, the company’s former manager was found hanged.

The film has garnered more than 4.6 million views online. In a survey conducted by the Levada Center, an independent Russian polling and research organization, some 80 percent of those who had watched the film or heard about it said they thought Navalny’s allegations “appeared true” or were “fully credible.” Shortly after the film’s release, the Russian documentary film festival ArtDocFest awarded it a special prize, and Dmitry Gudkov, a federal lawmaker, filed a request with the Russian Investigative Committee, the Russian equivalent of the FBI, asking for an investigation into Navalny’s allegations.

The characters in this story—a whistleblower, an independent film festival, and an antiestablishment lawmaker—seem to contradict the West’s image of President Vladimir Putin’s Russia as unforgiving and authoritarian. Yet this is only part of the tale.

The rest is that the Kremlin has persecuted Navalny for years. He has been repeatedly prosecuted on what have appeared to be trumped-up embezzlement charges. He has spent months under house arrest, and although he is not currently imprisoned, he remains on a suspended sentence. His brother, who was named Navalny’s codefendant in a sham embezzlement case, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison, and several of Navalny’s coworkers have been threatened or forced to flee Russia.

Navalny’s film went viral on the Internet, but Russia’s state-controlled national television largely ignored it. Chaika dismissed it as a political attack backed by an American businessman. And Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the film, said its allegations were “of no interest to us whatsoever,” as they concerned Chaika’s children, not the prosecutor general himself. Yet in Russia, few believe that Artem became a rich business tycoon simply because he is a talented entrepreneur. An ascent like his takes a special kind of protection, one that his father likely provided. In fact, in 2011, when Artem’s name surfaced repeatedly in connection with an investigation of underground casinos in the Moscow region, which operated under the protection of local prosecutors, the case ended with no indictments—apparently thanks to his father’s influence.

Gudkov, for his part, has become a one-man opposition. Of the 450 members of the Duma, Russia’s parliament, he is the only one who does not pledge full allegiance to Putin. But after reading his request, the Investigative Committee decided to transfer the case to the office of the prosecutor general—that is, to Chaika himself—effectively burying it. No matter how solid the allegations against Chaika’s family may be, the Kremlin simply will not rely on the accusations of a liberal activist to hold them to account.

Since the start of Putin’s third term in 2012, the Kremlin has grown increasingly intolerant of political and civic activism. But as the economist Sergei Guriev and the political scientist Daniel Treisman wrote in 2015, “new authoritarian” regimes, such as Putin’s, “can survive while employing relatively little violence against the public.” Instead, they rely on manipulation and intimidation, cultivating a sense that opposing the Kremlin is not just dangerous but also pointless.

So far, these tactics have served the Kremlin well. Now, however, Russia’s ongoing economic decline may present an obstacle. The combination of a drop in oil prices and a shortage of investment has already led to a decrease in living standards; unemployment is also likely to rise. This makes it tempting to predict that Putin’s regime will soon unravel, but it remains impossible to tell when or how or what will come next...

More.

Jason Derulo's Girlfriend Daphne Joy

At London's Daily Mail, "No room to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! Jason Derulo's girlfriend Daphne Joy struggles to contain her ample assets as she puts on an eye-popping display in skimpy workout gear."

ADDED: "It's over! Bikini model Daphne Joy 'has split up with singer Jason Derulo' after dating for seven months."

Jackie Johnson's Clouds and Clearing Forecast

It's pleasant and mild. I'm not worried about getting a suntan or anything, so what the heck, lol?

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Colin Flaherty, 'White Girl Bleed A Lot'

I've got Flaherty's review of David Horowitz's new book, Progressive Racism, scheduled for a morning post.

But I just realized the Flaherty himself has published some interesting stuff on left-wing racism. See, at Amazon, 'White Girl Bleed A Lot': The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore It.

Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe Under Federal Investigation for Illegal Campaign Contributions (VIDEO)

At CNN, via Memeorandum, "Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe under federal investigation for campaign contributions."

Plus, more at the video, "Officials: Virginia governor under FBI investigation."

More at Politico, "McAuliffe attorney denies knowledge of any DOJ probe" (via Memeorandum).

McAuliffe was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, from 2001 to 2005. He knows exactly what's going on. The Democrats have a history of taking illegal foreign contributions. Flashback to 1998, at the Washington Post, "Gore's Ties to Hsia Cast Shadow on 2000 Race."

RELATED: From Michelle Malkin, "The Chinagate/Buddhist temple cash skeletons in Gary Locke's closet."

Europe or America? Who's More Pro-Choice? (VIDEO)

Here's Elisha Krauss, for Prager University:

KCAL 9's Interview with Bernie Sanders in Irvine (VIDEO)

Local news coverage.

Folks were Feeling the Bern last night at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater:



Also at the O.C. Register, "Bernie Sanders in Orange County: Thousands turn out to hear him campaign against 'rigged' system."

Andrew Roberts, The Storm of War [BUMPED]

This looks quite good, perhaps for your Father's Day shopping.

At Amazon, Andrew Roberts, The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War.

Deal of the Day: 65% Off Rosetta Stone Power Pack Language Learning Bundles

Bulk up your foreign language creds!

At Amazon, Save on Rosetta Stone Power Pack Sets.

Also, Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent.

BONUS: Father's Day 2016 - Lawn & Garden.

Facebook Reverses Ban on Conservative Lauren Southern (VIDEO)

At Heat Street, "Not only has Facebook reversed its ban on me, Twitter just verified me."

And watch, at the Rebel:

Britney Spears at 2016 Billboard Music Awards

At Yahoo, "#BritneySpears took the responsibility of opening the 2016 #BBMAs *very* seriously..."

And London's Daily Mail:

brb going to the gym #BBMAs https://t.co/TSJEqdbysU pic.twitter.com/wwKeOfE4et

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) May 23, 2016

Republicans Paying More Attention to Election Than Democrats

Well, you'd think so.

At Gallup (via Memeorandum.)

Republicans Paying More Attention to Election Than Democrats (Frank Newport / Gallup) https://t.co/Q4bwXc9V1l https://t.co/6SzGc9Cjt3

— memeorandum (@memeorandum) May 23, 2016

Democrats Freak Out - Donald Trump Surges

Look, all these recent polls are national head-to-head surveys. The real battles in the Electoral College, but still. It sure is nice to have the Dems sweating.

Following-up, "ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Dramatic Trend-Line Shows Donald Trump Passing Hillary Clinton (VIDEO)."

Here's today's New York Post, and it's hilarious!

Today's front page: Democrats are freaking out over a possible President Trump https://t.co/6AGg7VoQNP pic.twitter.com/iffMT13tXt

— New York Post (@nypost) May 23, 2016

Apology Tour: As Shadow of War Fades, Obama Visits Vietnam and Japan (VIDEO)

Ralph Peters spoke for me earlier with his comments on Obama's visit to Japan, "Lt. Col. Ralph Peters Slams Obama's Upcoming Visit to Hiroshima (VIDEO)."

Just going there represents an apology. He's the president of the United States. He dignifies the far-left, pacifist (and anti-American) demands for U.S. groveling.

And to top it off, O's visiting Communist Vietnam, which adds to his whirlwind tour of Marxist-Leninist regimes.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Obama heads to Vietnam and Japan to confront the ghosts of old wars amid turmoil in modern ones":

For nearly eight years, President Obama has struggled  to end wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Next week, he’ll finally succeed in closing chapters on two other ones instead – Vietnam and World War II.

Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima and will meet with survivors of the atomic bombings that ended World War II. He will also travel to Vietnam, to whose communist government he is considering selling more weapons, a sign of how the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has blossomed in the decades since the war there ended.

For the president who promised to end two wars only to watch them persist, the end points this week in Vietnam and Japan — decades in the making — show just how hard that is, and how long peace could ultimately take.

“We’ve seen the difficulty or inability to disengage from the war on terror, including in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center. “And he has seen that these U.S. commitments to protect friends and allies can be long-standing commitments, as evidenced by our continued presence in South Korea and Japan and Germany.”

Obama will pay heed to the past by promoting how far the alliances with Vietnam and Japan have come since the countries were bitter enemies of the U.S. He plans to highlight growing commercial ties in Vietnam, one of the 12 countries that are part of the massive Pacific Rim trade deal being negotiated. In Japan, where he will also meet with the heads of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, Obama's visit to Hiroshima is an opportunity to revisit his efforts toward nuclear nonproliferation.

“The very fact that the United States is traveling to Japan, that it’s now one of our closest allies in the world, and Vietnam, which is an emerging partner of ours, demonstrates how you are able to move beyond difficult history,” said White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes....

Obama may encounter some anti-American sentiment in Japan, where the arrest of an American suspected of killing a woman who disappeared last month has sparked outrage. Police say he's also suspected in her death but have not charged him.

On his final day in Japan, Obama will go to the city of Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb used in war in 1945. That bomb, and another dropped on Nagasaki three days later, killed at least 129,000 people and poisoned a generation with radiation.

Obama will pay tribute to the suffering and loss of war, aides say, though he won’t apologize for the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which he views as having been necessary to end the war and save the world from tyranny.

At the time, President Truman made a decision he believed was “consistent with our national security priorities,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in explaining Obama’s refusal to apologize. “He believed that lives on both sides of the conflict could be saved by dropping the bomb.”

Obama has offered a similar defense of his own decision to use armed drones in the fight against terrorists in the Middle East.

More than that, though, he has spoken admiringly of Truman’s commitment to a new post-war order in which nations of the world worked together – the very kind of shift he has sought to enable the world to fight off crisis while still taking steps toward progress.

That new order was a marriage of “idealism to hardheaded realism, an acceptance of America’s power with a humility regarding America’s ability to control events around the world,” Obama wrote in his 2006 book “The Audacity of Hope.”

But the lessons of the 20th century wars only go so far, said [former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt] Campbell. They don’t necessarily provide a clear pathway for today’s leaders...

Hubble Space Telescope Watches Mars (VIDEO)

This is fantastic!

At NASA, on Twitter, ".@NASA_Hubble watches as Mars moves to opposition on 5/22; when it lines up with Earth & sun..."

And watch:

Michelle Fields Joins Huffington Post, Will Resume Covering Donald Trump

Heh.

At Gateway Pundit, "Hah! Liar Michelle Fields Gets Job at Huffington Post – Says She’s Going to Cover Trump Campaign Again."

Hah-Hah-Hah #Liar @michelleFields is working for #HuffPo now! #Perfect pic.twitter.com/4fZpbNueIp

— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) May 23, 2016

Haha😂😂😂

She's gonna be working at the Huff&Puff Post 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/X8YZh5slsf

— Villi Wilson (@Conservative_VW) May 23, 2016

Colonel Richard Kemp on Israel, the World's Most Moral Army (VIDEO)

Via Prager University: