Books About Those 'Hot and Sexy Girls'

If you're up for some hip ("au courant") literary exegeses of the teenage Facebook/Instagram culture.

See Nancy Jo Sales, American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, and Peggy Orenstein, Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.

I'm glad I'm not a teenager in today's day and age.

Seriously. It's hard out there.

CNN/ORC Poll Results: Donald Trump Surges in Florida, Ohio (VIDEO)

Well, I don't think this is anything to write home about, but if Trump starts pulling out a lead in Pennsylvania, I'd be a little more confident.

And check back here if that indeed happens in the Keystone State. Leftists will be losing their lunch.

At CNN, "Donald Trump's national gains extend to Florida, Ohio":

Washington (CNN)With eight weeks to go before Election Day, Donald Trump holds a narrow lead over Hillary Clinton in Ohio and the two are locked in a near-even contest in Florida, according to new CNN/ORC polls in the two critical battleground states.

Among likely voters in Ohio, Trump stands at 46% to Clinton's 41%, with 8% behind Libertarian Gary Johnson and 2% behind Green Party nominee Jill Stein. In Florida, likely voters split 47% for Trump to 44% for Clinton, within the poll's 3.5 percentage point margin of error, and with 6% behind Johnson and 1% backing Stein.

In both states, Trump's support increases as a result of the likely voter screen, among all registered voters, Clinton edges Trump 45% to 44% in Florida, and in Ohio, Trump tops Clinton 43% to 39% with Johnson at 12%...

Keep reading.

Oh, by the way, these results are no fluke. Remember Bloomberg's poll from this week, "Donald Trump Up 5-Points in Ohio."

Leftist Homosexual Josh Barro Worried Donald Trump Has Pulled Together a 'Reasonably Competent' Campaign

Looks like leftists are dealing with the "denial" stage at this point. "Anger" and "bargaining" soon to follow. "Depression" and perhaps "acceptance" after November 8th and a Donald Trump victory.

Here's leftist homo Josh Barro dealing with the possibility that Trump might win, at Business Insider, "My gut worry about the polling shift toward Donald Trump."

(Barro left a plum gig as a New York Times economics writer, joining Business Insider, because he actually didn't want to do objective journalism --- that is, all he wanted was to be a partisan shill for the Democrat Party, leaving the Old Gray Lady behind.)

This kind of "worry" has become at thing, heh.

See Jonathan Chait, at New York Magazine last week, "Matt Lauer’s Pathetic Interview of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Is the Scariest Thing I’ve Seen in This Campaign."

There were even more of these "worry" essays yesterday, in light of Trump's surge in the polls, but you get the idea.

Rash of Anti-American Outbursts from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Has Jolted U.S. Allies in Asia

Remember when the international community was supposed to fall in love with America again, after that dastardly Bush administration left office and everything would be rainbows and unicorns?

Yeah, good times, heh.

At WSJ, "Rodrigo Duterte’s Policy Shifts Confound U.S. Allies."

The Rolling Stones: 'Exhibitionism' (VIDEO)

At WSJ, "The Rolling Stones’s ‘Exhibitionism’ Heads to New York City":

Earlier this year, the Rolling Stones launched their first-ever major exhibition in London, and now it has plans to land stateside.

“Exhibitionism” will open this November in Manhattan at the Industria Superstudio in the West Village, with tickets set to go on sale for the general public starting in September...

More.

Christiane Amanpour Claims Media Coverage of Hillary Clinton's Health is Sexist (VIDEO)

Watch, at Fox News, "Howard Kurtz on Christiane Amanpour's Clinton health coverage rant."

Hot and Sexy Girls on Facebook

Zoë Heller had an essay up at the New York Review earlier this summer, "‘Hot’ Sex & Young Girls."

The reason I'm posting it now is because I'm impressed with the response from Margaret Shea, a student at Brown University, who identifies herself at a "teenager" in her letter. It's very well written, "Go Directly to Facebook":

I cannot think of a single friend who, despite her seriousness and intelligence, has not grappled with the domineering presence and pressures of social media. There is no real neutrality or avoidance to be found for the members of my generation: even if we choose not to photograph, we are always being photographed. One either participates in the Instagram culture or is forced to take a stand in opposition to it: absence from social media is itself a sort of presence. Young women, even those who—as Peggy Orenstein might put it—watch alternative films, cannot escape the constant buzzing, beeping, and “tagging,” no matter how avid and sincere their cultural pursuits. Sales, Heller, and any other writer would be hard-pressed to overstate the extent to which young women are “trapped in the social media hive.”

I am loath to strip girls of their agency, and equally loath to side with the oft-hysterical media narrative about girls, their telephones, and their sex lives. It is of course condemnable to “underestimate the heterogeneity of teenage culture”—and I hope that my status as a teenage girl writing to The New York Review can offer some assurance of the sincerity of this condemnation. But I have yet to meet a single teenage girl whose sexual self-image, sexual life, and personal identity have not been challenged, shaped, or directed by the invasive power of social media and an accompanying, equally harmful desire to “self-brand” as an alluring figure.

Read the whole thing, at Ms. Heller's response, at the link.

History of the Presidential Debates

I don't like Jill Lepore, but this is actually an interesting piece.

At the New Yorker, "THE STATE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE":

Presidential debates are more often lost than won. The gaffe costs more than exposition gains. It’s easy to practice your kicking; it’s harder to brace yourself for getting kicked. Over the summer, there were rumors that the Clinton campaign had arranged for Alan Dershowitz to play Trump during rehearsals. Nothing but rumors, Dershowitz told me, though he’d love to do it, and he knows how he’d do it, too. “I’d try to provoke her,” he said. “I’d ask about Bill and Monica. I’d ask about her health. Did she bang her head? Does she have blood clots?” The health of the candidates has been an issue during the campaign, proxies for their age: Trump is seventy, Clinton sixty-eight. Trump and Clinton and their key advisers, who like to emphasize their stamina, were kids when Nixon, then forty-seven, debated Kennedy, forty-three. Roger Ailes, who is helping Trump prepare against Clinton, is seventy-six. In the nineteen-sixties, when Ailes was just starting out, he told Nixon that he lost the election to Kennedy because he was lousy on television. He went on to found Fox News but was forced out this summer after an investigation into charges that he’d sexually harassed female employees. It may be that Ailes will advise Trump not to refer to his penis again on national television, but, honestly, who knows? The candidates are old. This era in American politics is new....

Political argument has been having a terrible century. Instead of arguing, everyone from next-door neighbors to members of Congress has got used to doing the I.R.L. equivalent of posting to the comments section: serially fulminating. The U.S. Supreme Court is one Justice short of a full bench, limiting its ability to deliberate, because Senate Republicans refused to hold the hearings required in order to fill that seat. They’d rather do battle on Twitter. Democratic members of Congress, unable to get the House of Representatives to debate gun-control measures, held a sit-in, live-streamed on Periscope. At campaign events, and even at the nominating Conventions, protesters have tried to silence other people’s speech in the name of the First Amendment. On college campuses, administrators, faculty, and students who express unwelcome political views have been fired and expelled. Even high-school debate has come under sustained attack from students who, refusing to argue the assigned political topic, contest the rules. One in three Americans declines to discuss politics except in private; fewer than one in four ever talk with someone with whom they disagree politically; fewer than one in five have ever attended a problem-solving meeting, even online, with people holding views different from their own. What kind of democracy is that?

RTWT.

Bill Clinton Still 'Dicking Bimbos'

Heh.

Well, at least Powell went after all foes, left and right (so to speak, seeing that Donald Trump, who Powell bashed as well, isn't necessarily "right").

But anyway, at the Daily Beast, "Colin Powell Bombs Bill, Hillary, and Trump":

Leaked emails reveal he thinks the ex-president is still ‘dicking bimbos,’ his wife ‘screws up’ everything, and her opponent is a racist.

What Donald Trump Gets Right About U.S. Alliances

I don't care for Doug Bandow, although I think his piece, at Foreign Affairs, hits on a major theme of the campaign.

See, "Ripped Off: What Donald Trump Gets Right About U.S. Alliances."

Deal of the Day: Panasonic Bread Maker

At Amazon, "Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker with Yeast Dispenser, White.

Also, KIND Bars, Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, Gluten Free, 1.4 Ounce Bars, 12 Count.

And ICYMI, Mike Lofgren, The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government.

Plus, Shop Books.

BONUS: David Satter, The Less You Know, The Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin.

Killings in Chicago Hit a 20-Year High (VIDEO)

Following-up from last night, "The Ferguson Effect Hits Chicago."

Via Hot Air, "BBC Video: The lost streets of Chicago."

Colin Powell's Hacked Emails (VIDEO)

We're in the hacking age.

Makes you not want to use electronic communications whatsoever.

At Memeorandum, "Colin Powell Calls Trump a 'National Disgrace' In Personal Emails."

And at LAT, "Colin Powell calls Trump a 'national disgrace,' according to report."

But see Twitchy, "Hacked Colin Powell Emails Reveal New Bombshell In Hillary’s Email Scandal."

Still more, at the Intercept, "Colin Powell Urged Hillary Clinton’s Team Not to Scapegoat Him for Her Private Server, Leaked Emails Reveal."

Jennifer Garner on the Red Carpet at Wakefield Premiere

She's fabulous.

At London's Daily Mail, "Jennifer Garner wows in figure-hugging dress at Wakefield premiere."

Donald Trump's Campaign Recasts His Image

It's like I've been saying: There's some real message discipline going on over there, and the Trump team's rejiggered the candidate's public profile.

It's working.

At WSJ, "Donald Trump, New Team Recast His TV Image":

Donald Trump installed his third leadership team at a campaign low point on Aug. 16. The next day, his new managers at a meeting in his Trump Tower office in New York suggested the Republican Party nominee visit residents suffering in the Louisiana floods.

Mr. Trump didn’t like the idea. Wouldn’t he look like he was pandering? he asked, according to advisers. And besides, he added, Louisiana wasn’t a swing state.

Newly installed campaign chief executive Stephen Bannon and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told their new boss, basically, trust us. Mr. Trump needed to move away from a preoccupation with rallies and wall-to-wall TV interviews toward “moments,” in the new managers’ parlance, that showed him in TV newscasts as presidential, with a caring side.

The approach would give Mr. Trump a break from the media replaying unattractive off-script comments and off-putting tweets—including a few viewed as racist—that were helping widen the polling lead of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, they said. Besides, President Barack Obama was away playing golf on an island vacation.

Mr. Trump went to Louisiana the next day, Aug. 18, accompanied by running mate Mike Pence. The trip turned out successfully in Mr. Trump’s view, and cinched his ties with Mr. Bannon and Ms. Conway, shifting his campaign’s focus toward such events as a trip to a Detroit inner-city church, the meeting with Mexico’s president and a planned visit Wednesday to Flint, Mich., to speak with families hurt by tainted drinking water, campaign advisers said.

The new team, said supporters, has fostered a more disciplined candidacy.

“Actually I’m freer now, relying on my instincts and working with a team I trust,” Mr. Trump said in an interview.

His political opponents question how much has changed. Hours after his visit last month with Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, they said, Mr. Trump delivered an immigration speech in Arizona that made even some Trump supporters cringe over its harsh tone and off-the-cuff flourishes.

“Fifty days of script can’t change 15 months of actual positions and beliefs,” said Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist and Clinton supporter. “Trump isn’t going to be able to run away from his divisive rhetoric.”

After Mrs. Clinton’s campaign announced late Sunday that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia, many expected Mr. Trump to pounce on the news, arguing that it proved his claim she lacks the stamina to be president.

Instead, Mr. Trump told campaign advisers deluged with media calls to stand down. The response struck opponents as uncharacteristic, and some supporters attributed Mr. Trump’s restraint to his new campaign organization.

Mr. Trump said efforts by previous campaign leaders to remake him into a politician were “dishonest.” And, Mr. Trump said, he resisted at times by going off script.

Keep reading.

Emily Ratajkowski '24 Horas' Video

At the Sun U.K., "GRIN AND BARE IT Emily Ratajkowski flashes her boobs in very racy video taken at photoshoot."

Watch, at Death and Taxes, "Emily Ratajkowski flashes the camera in ’24 horas’ video."

Farberware Classic Stainless Steel Coffee Percolator

At Amazon, at top product, Farberware Classic Stainless Steel Yosemite 8-Cup Coffee Percolator.

Also, discounts in Gourmet Food.

Donald Trump Up 5-Points in Ohio

Well, that should be outside the margin of error, and in any case is great news.

At Bloomberg, "Trump Has 5-Point Lead in Bloomberg Poll of Battleground Ohio":

The gap underscores the Democrat’s challenges in critical Rust Belt states after one of the roughest stretches of her campaign.

I'm feeling the best about Trump's chance than I've ever felt, and I think the Trump campaign is feeling it. The message discipline during Hillary's fainting spell was masterful, exactly the opposite of what MSM hacks would expect, to their utter chagrin. Somebody at Trump's campaign headquarters must have changed the password to The Donald's Twitter page, heh.

Anthony Gottlieb, The Dream of Enlightenment

For my philosophy readers, at Amazon, Anthony Gottlieb, The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy.

BONUS: From Gottlieb, The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer, Disinherited

This book is great.

At Amazon, Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America's Young.

The Ferguson Effect Hits Chicago

From Heather Mac Donald, at the Wall Street Journal, "The Black Body Count Rises as Chicago Police Step Back":

‘The streets are gone,” Dean Angelo, president of the Chicago police union, told me last month. The night before, Aug. 14, a Chicago police officer’s son had been killed in a shooting while sitting on his family’s porch, one of 92 people killed in Chicago during the worst month for homicides in the Windy City since July 1993. The August victims who survived included 10-year-old Tavon Tanner, shot while playing in front of his house (the bullet ripped through Tavon’s pancreas, intestines, kidney and spleen); an 8-year-old girl shot in the arm while crossing the street; and two 6-year-old girls.

On Sept. 6, a 71-year-old man was accosted by a teen on a bike while watering his lawn. The robber demanded the man’s wallet and when he refused shot him in the abdomen, then grabbed his wallet before pedaling away.

By Sept. 8, nearly 3,000 people had been shot in Chicago in 2016, an average of one shooting victim every two hours. Five hundred and sixteen people had been murdered. Gun homicides and non-fatal shootings were up 47% over the same period of 2015, which had seen a significant rise in crime over 2014.

“There is no way out of this shooting spree,” Mr. Angelo said. His despair is understandable, because Chicago is the country’s most-glaring example of what I have called the “Ferguson effect.” Chicago officers have cut back drastically on proactive policing under the onslaught of criticism from the Black Lives Matter movement and its political and media enablers.

In October 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch during a crime meeting in Washington, D.C., that the Chicago police had gone “fetal,” and were less likely to interdict criminal behavior. That pull-back worsened in 2016, with pedestrian stops dropping 82% from January through July 20, 2016, compared with the same period in 2015, according to the Chicago police department. The cops are just “driving by people on the corners,” Mr. Angelo says, rather than checking out known drug dealers and others who raise suspicions. Criminals are back in control and black lives are being lost at a rate not seen for two decades.

Chicago’s cops are responding to political signals from the most powerful segments of society. President Obama takes every opportunity to accuse police of racially profiling blacks and Hispanics. The media, activists and academics routinely denounce pedestrian stops and public-order enforcement—such as dispersing crowds of unruly teens—as racial oppression intended to “control African-American and poor communities,” in the words of Columbia law professor Bernard Harcourt. Never mind that it is the law-abiding residents of high-crime areas who beg the police to clear their corners of loiterers and trespassers.

Further discouraging proactive policing in Chicago is a misguided agreement between the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union and the city that allows the ACLU to review every police stop. The police are also experiencing fallout from City Hall’s mishandling of the unjustified fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald in October 2014.

Chicago cops regularly encounter aggressive hostility when they leave their vehicles. In August a Chicago Tribune reporter filmed a group of teens taunting officers for over an hour while the cops investigated a shooting on the West Side. “F--- the police!” went one chant. “Get the f--- off my block!” came another insult. Someone fired off shots in a nearby alley for the fun of seeing cops run toward another possible victim. “Run, b----, run!” a shirtless male shouted as the officers took off in a sprint.

Three gangs—the Vice Lords, Black Disciples and Four Corner Hustlers—reached a pact in August to assassinate Chicago officers, according to a police departmental alert. The National Gang Intelligence Center has also picked up on plans to shoot officers.

The media blame poverty, racism and a lack of government services for the growing mayhem...

It's a freakin' war on there!

More.

Plus, Ms. Mac Donald's book, The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe.

Mike Lofgren, The Deep State

I'm really interested in this book.

Lofgren's not a leftist, apparently, which was my first question when I heard about the tome: "Yeah, yeah. Here's another attack on the Bush regime and government despotism, secrecy, and massive civil liberties violations, etc." But it's not written by a leftist, and it's not primarily about Bush (you gotta go with Jane Mayer for that, heh).

In any case, I'll prolly pick this up on the 1st.

At Amazon, The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government.

Every Four years, tempers are tested and marriages fray as Americans head to the polls to cast their votes. But does anyone really care what we think? Has our vaunted political system become one big, expensive, painfully scriped reality TV show? In this cringe-inducing expose of the sins and excesses of Beltwayland, a longtime Republican party insider argues that we have become an oligarchy in form if not in name. Hooked on war, genuflecting to big donors, in thrall to discredited economic theories and utterly bereft of a moral compass, America’s governing classes are selling their souls to entrenched interest while our bridges collapse, wages, stagnate, and our water is increasingly undrinkable.

Drawing on sinsights gleaned over three decades on Capitol Hill, much of it on the Budget Committee, Lofgren paints a gripping portrait of the dismal swamp on the Potomac and the revolution it will take to reclaim our government and set us back on course.

REVIEW: Electric Light Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl (VIDEO)

Well, ELO lit up the place.

I can't remember reading a more enthusiastic music review, at least not recently.

From Randall Roberts, at LAT, "Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra makes flawless landing in Hollywood Bowl debut."

I would've loved to have been there. A real orchestra backing up Jeff Lynne and his band. What a treat:

Given the breathtaking melodies and arrangements propelling Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night, it’s a wonder that the venue’s stage and shell didn’t blast off into the cosmos as the concert was ending.

Performing the first of three consecutive nights in a long-overdue appearance at the Bowl, the singer, songwriter, producer and pop-polisher Lynne and a dynamic backing band teamed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to play songs from another symphony, the Electric Light.

ELO’s exquisitely produced, aerodynamic hits, including “Evil Woman,” “All Over the World” and “Don’t Bring Me Down,” ignited FM radio throughout the 1970s and early ‘80s, soaring through arenas and into a generation’s collective memory.

The result four decades later was a dazzling concert that seemed beamed from another galaxy. Under the direction of conductor Thomas Wilkins, the Bowl Orchestra added a monumental depth to “Living Thing,” and made the disco strings on “Shine a Little Love” swirl with a wild physicality. When original ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy’s robot-synthesized voice saluted “Mr. Blue Sky” during the jubilant curio of the same name, the crowd might have been “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” witnesses watching a spaceship land.

Fans have seemingly been waiting light years for Lynne to return to his classics. Proof? How the sold-out crowd, during a roaring version of Lynne’s ode to longing “Turn to Stone,” bellowed word-for-word that classic, double-time vocal break: “Yes I’m turning to stone ’cause you ain’t coming home/ Why ain’t you coming home if I’m turning to stone? /You’ve been gone for so long and I can’t carry on/ Yes I’m turning, I’m turning, I’m turning to stone.”

That instrument-free refrain only lasted a few bars, but when the music — electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, sheets of strings and a backing track adding layers of studio effects — returned, it did so with a blast that likely echoed across the Hollywood basin.

Donning his omnipresent sunglasses and the same wavy mop-top he’s worn since the mid-1970s, Lynne between songs seemed overwhelmed by the attention, as if he hadn’t fully grasped the continued magnetism of his best work.

That’s understandable. Lynne, 68, attempted to resurrect ELO for a tour about 15 years ago, but interest had so waned that he scrapped the whole thing. Since then he’s focused on producing, all the while watching a new generation of fans latch on to his exquisitely crafted work. This time around, the tours are selling out.

Friday illustrated why. An effervescent celebration from a marvelous creator, the concert affirmed what critics at the time only begrudgingly acknowledged: that Lynne’s way with songcraft, arranging and production was a singular achievement. It’s no accident Lynne titled this round of dates the “Alone in the Universe” tour...

More.

Former CIA Director James Woolsey to Advise #DonaldTrump's Campaign (VIDEO)

He's obviously a very serious guy, and I've seen him recently on Fox News. He's been offering an ice cold analysis of the increasingly catastrophic global jihad threat.

He's a great pick for the Trump campaign:

Hillary Clinton's New Campaign Logo

From Ben Garrison, on Twitter:

I want a President that wears 2 shoes @realDonaldTrump #HillarysBodyDouble #HillarysHealth https://t.co/Oj98iIxEAZ pic.twitter.com/77gGzRuXdj

— Deplorable Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) September 12, 2016

Hillary Clinton to Offer More Detailed Information on Medical History

Following-up from this morning, "Donald Trump to Keep Quiet on Hillary Clinton's Health Episodes, Will Release His Own Detailed Medical Report This Week."

At the New York Times, "Hillary Clinton’s Campaign to Release More Information on Her Health":

Shortly after receiving a diagnosis of pneumonia on Friday, Hillary Clinton decided to limit the information to her family members and close aides, certain that the illness was not a crucial issue for voters and that it might be twisted and exploited by her opponents, several Clinton advisers and allies said on Monday.

To those she did inform, Mrs. Clinton was emphatic: She intended to “press on” with her campaign schedule, she said. Her confidants concluded that Mrs. Clinton did not want to be challenged over her preference to keep the pneumonia secret and continue working.

Mrs. Clinton’s inner circle was mindful of both her guardedness and her expectation of loyalty once her mind is made up. And she herself was optimistic that she could recuperate over the weekend, when she had only two brief events on her schedule, said the advisers and allies, who insisted on anonymity to disclose private conversations.

But Mrs. Clinton’s penchant for privacy backfired. On Monday, her campaign scrambled to reassure voters about her health, a day after she grew visibly weak and was filmed being helped into a van: unsettling images that circulated widely and led her aides to disclose the pneumonia diagnosis, two days after the fact.

Mrs. Clinton’s aides acknowledged that they should have been more forthcoming and said she would release more details about her physical fitness and medical history this week, a concession to the political pressure that she is now under because she chose not to disclose her diagnosis sooner.

But the manner in which Mrs. Clinton’s illness became public has also revived concerns among supporters, and criticism among her detractors, about her seemingly reflexive tendency to hunker down and hoard information, often citing a “zone of privacy,” when she senses a possible political threat. Her desire for tight control over personal information deepened during the partisan wars of the 1990s, influenced her use of a private email server as secretary of state, and now threatens to make her look, again, as though she has something to hide...

That's because she does have something to hide, her poor health.

The lies are frankly par for the course.

Combined, it's an extremely combustible concatenation that threatens to derail her entire campaign, especially if Donald Trump keeps playing his cards right (as he's done so far).

Still more.

Apple's New Headphones Aren't Better

I wouldn't know. I haven't gotten my hands on any of these yet, heh.

The whole new iPhone 7, with the wireless headset, is supposed to be an industry game-changer.

But see Popular Mechanics, "Apple's AirPod Headphones Are an Awful Design." (Via Instapundit.)

Former Prime Minister David Cameron Resigns as Member of Parliament for Witney (VIDEO)

At the Telegraph U.K., "David Cameron resigns as MP, triggering by-election in his Witney constituency."

Louise Mensch offered him some advice, at Heat Street, "Dear David Cameron – Stepping Down As an MP Needs a Game Plan."

National Museum of African American History (VIDEO)

At CBS This Morning:

And at the museum's website, "A PEOPLE’S JOURNEY, A NATION’S STORY."

Heather Ann Thompson Interview (VIDEO)

I posted previously on Heather Ann Thompson's new book, Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy.

It's definitely on my list.

And here's a story about it, and interview with the author, at Democracy Now!, "45 Years After Legendary Attica Prison Uprising, New Book Reveals State Role in Deadly Standoff."

September 11 Flashback

My flashback, to 2010.

Here's the post that reminded me of this, "Turning Conservative After September 11, 2001."

The photo's from my visit to Ground Zero, September 11, 2010. Remember?

See, "Faith, Freedom, and Memory: Report From Ground Zero, September 11, 2010."

Donald Trump to Keep Quiet on Hillary Clinton's Health Episodes, Will Release His Own Detailed Medical Report This Week

Someone tweeted yesterday that Donald Trump's quiet through Hillary's health scare yesterday must have been the most unnerving thing for the Clinton campaign. Trump's been disciplined, not making light of Clinton's fainting spell.

Well played.

At Bloomberg, "Trump Plans to Keep Quiet on Clinton's Health Issues."

And he'll be out later this week with his own health report. At CNBC, "Donald Trump says he'll release detailed report on his own health this week" (via Memeorandum).

Stan Wawrinka Can Beat Anyone at Tennis — Even Novak Djokovic

I like Djoko, but I was rooting for the underdog. Indeed, I'd never even watched Wawrinka.

It was a great match.

At WSJ:

Stan the Man! #StanWawrinka #NovakDjokovic #USOpen #USOpen2016 #Tennis https://t.co/5dddsUeBWG

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 12, 2016

Stan Wawrinka looks more like a lumberjack than a tennis player. Thick shoulders, burly chest, scruffy beard and mustache. He’s strong but unpredictable. He likes to point to his head during matches, because he knows that if he keeps his mind clear and his one-handed backhand flowing, he can beat anyone.

Wawrinka played another magical major final at the U.S. Open on Sunday, when he defeated top seed Novak Djokovic 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in three hours and 55 minutes. In 2014, Wawrinka beat Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals, before winning his first major title. He beat Djokovic again in the 2015 French Open final. He lost the first set in both of those matches, just like he did Sunday. His coach, Magnus Norman, has learned that there’s no need to worry.

“I know that he’s always going to come back,” Norman said. “He has more than one life in five sets.”

After a slow start on Sunday, Wawrinka, seeded third, punished Djokovic with strong serves, deep forehands and the one-handed backhand that Pete Sampras, winner of 14 major titles, once said made him jealous. Not even a medical timeout could slow him down. Wawrinka led 3-1 in the fourth set when Djokovic sat in his chair, took off his socks and had the trainer tape his broken, bleeding toenails. Wawrinka wasn’t pleased. He complained to the chair umpire. Djokovic apologized. And then Wawrinka swatted aside break points and held serve. He trailed 0-30 in the final game, but after saving 14 break points in the match, Wawrinka would bend no more. Djokovic missed a backhand on the final point.

“The more I win in a Grand Slam, the better I feel,” Wawrinka said. “When you play Novak, he’s a beast mentally. He’s going to push you.”

Keep reading.

MSM Hacks Now All of a Sudden Aghast by Clinton Campaign's Handling of Hillary's 'Medical Episode' (VIDEO)

The corrupt MSM operatives are now upset with the Clinton campaign?

They're practically working for the Clinton campaign. This would be like getting mad at your boss because he didn't tell you the company was filing for bankruptcy. The peons are always the last to know, and now they're howling with faux-outrage, hoping to save their own skin in the eyes of the public.

No wonder Americans hate the media. And no wonder the Democrat ticket's collapsing like a wet noodle.

Donald Trump's success is just the flip side of the establishment failure.

At Politico, "Press rips Clinton campaign's handling of health incident: Why didn't they just say she had pneumonia?:

NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton’s campaign is coming under fire for failing to disclose that she was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday, and for saying she simply got “overheated” at the 9/11 memorial service in New York, when video showed her knees buckling as aides helped her into a waiting van.

It wasn’t until shortly after 11:00 a.m. ET Sunday that the campaign put out a terse statement saying that Clinton had “departed to go to her daughter's apartment, and is feeling much better.” There was no explicit acknowledgment that Clinton had left the ceremony earlier than planned, nor any mention of what looked to be a fainting spell.

Clinton herself sought to project that all was well, stepping outside of her Chelsea’s apartment some 45 minutes later. "I'm feeling great, it's a beautiful day in New York," she said, taking a moment to greet a small girl before piling back into the van to head home to Westchester County.

Not until 5:15 p.m. did the campaign revealed that she had in fact been diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics a day earlier, after what her doctor called a “follow-up evaluation of her prolonged cough.”

Lisa Bardack, Clinton’s physician, said that she had indeed become “overheated and dehydrated” on Sunday morning, but made no mention of her apparent collapse. “I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely,” Bardack said. Saturday’s examination, an aide said, took place at Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, New York.

At 10:16 p.m., the campaign said that "Clinton will not be traveling to California tomorrow or Tuesday." Clinton was scheduled to raise cash in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and her campaign had previewed that she would also deliver a speech on the economy Tuesday. Clinton's Wednesday trip to Las Vegas is, for now, still on her schedule.

Frustration with the Clinton campaign’s handling of the incident boiled over among political journalists on Twitter...

Keep reading (via Memeorandum).

Amazon Best Sellers in Home & Kitchen [BUMPED]

Do some shopping today, at Amazon, Home & Kitchen - Best Sellers.

Also, Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels, White, 12 Huge Rolls.

And, HP 61 Black & Tri-color Original Ink Cartridges, 2 pack (CR259FN).

More, AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable - 6 Feet (Latest Standard).

Check out, GoPro HERO4 Silver.

And, KIND Breakfast Bars.

BONUS: The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Authorized Edition).

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."




Also, at Theo's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Can’t Get Up."

Will the Democrats Dump 'Deplorable' Hillary?

Deplorable and overheated. Boy, what a couple of days.

At Instapundit, "Will the Democrats Dump ‘Overheated’ Hillary?"

Dem operative: @HillaryClinton #BasketOfDeplorables, hiding pneumonia for 3 days, + fainting video = "unchartered political territory."

— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) September 12, 2016

Republicans Go on Attack Over Hillary Clinton's 'Deplorable' Slur (VIDEO)

It's not been a good week for unhealthy Hillary.

At LAT, "Clinton apologizes for calling half of Trump's supporters 'deplorables'":

Republicans went on the attack Saturday after Hillary Clinton, during remarks at a fundraiser late Friday night, said that “you could put half of [Donald] Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” which she referred to as “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it.”

In tweets, speeches and press statements, Trump, his running mate Mike Pence, and Republican officials accused Clinton of elitism and disrespect. Pence, the Indiana governor, said Clinton had insulted “hardworking Americans.”

“Hillary, they are not a basket of anything. They are Americans, and they deserve your respect,” Pence said during a speech to the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.

The dueling statements increased the focus on racial and ethnic tension that already has dominated the 2016 campaign, often to Trump’s detriment. This time, however, it was Republicans who thought their opponent had wandered into political damaging territory.

Pence said Clinton’s “low opinion” of the American people disqualified her from being elected president. “The men and women who support Donald Trump's campaign are hardworking Americans — farmers, coal miners, teachers, veterans, members of our law enforcement community — members of every class of this country, who know that we can make America great again,” he said.

The Republican criticism prompted a quick, but partial, apology from Clinton, who said in a statement released early Saturday: “Last night I was ‘grossly generalistic,’ and that's never a good idea. I regret saying ‘half’ -- that was wrong.”

But Clinton went on to say that Trump had nevertheless repeatedly engaged in “deplorable” behavior throughout his campaign. She cited his attacks on a federal judge’s Mexican heritage, his comments about the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq, and his role as a leader of the birther movement that wrongly claimed President Obama was not born in the United States.

“I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign,” Clinton said.

In a call with reporters organized by the Republican National Committee, Trump supporters said that Clinton had been caught saying in private something she would not have said in public.

Her comment was “reprehensible, despicable, yet revealing,” said Cleveland Pastor Darrell Scott. “She was basically caught. She wasn’t expecting this to get out,” he said. “It demonstrates the type of person she really is.”

In fact, however, Clinton’s aides had invited reporters to watch her remarks at the fundraiser — something they often do not do (and Trump’s campaign almost never does) — and she had previously used a version of the “deplorable” remark in an interview.

All that suggests the remark may not have been one the campaign was trying to hide.

Indeed, some Republican strategists suggested that a campaign discussion of whether some of Trump’s supporters are racist — and, if so, how many — might be advantageous to Clinton...

More.

Georgia Gibbs Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Casting Call 2017 (VIDEO)

She's nice.

The Koran's Deadly Role in Jihad Terrorism

Following-up, "#NeverForget: 15 Years of Allahu Akbar-Itis."

I'm re-upping this classic piece from Nabeel Qureshi, at USA Today, "The Quran's deadly role in inspiring Belgian slaughter."

And if you haven't yet, buy Qureshi's book, at Amazon, Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward.

PLAY X STORE Wireless Bluetooth Earhook Earbuds [BUMPED]

They're bestselling earbuds, at Amazon.

Here, PLAY X STORE Wireless Bluetooth Headphone Sweatproof Sports Earhook Earbuds.

And wireless is the wave, heh.

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

#NeverForget: 15 Years of Allahu Akbar-Itis

The cause of September 11?

It's in the Koran.

See the incomparable Michelle Malkin:

This is what madness looks like.

“When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers.”

That’s what 9/11 lead hijacker Mohammed Atta wrote in the jihad checklist found in his baggage 15 years ago after the terror attacks took 2,996 innocent lives.

Seconds before United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on that day, the last sound passengers heard was the hijackers chanting “Allahu Akbar.” The official transcript of the flight recorder translated the Arabic taunts:

10:03:02
Allah is the greatest.
10:03:03
Allah is the greatest.
10:03:04
Allah is the greatest.
10:03:06
Allah is the greatest.
10:03:06
Allah is the greatest.
10:03:07
No.
10:03:09
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
10:03:09
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.

Over the past 15 years, Koran-inspired Islamic jihadists have shouted the crystal-clear refrain over and over and over again—as genuflecting jihad apologists shout even louder that their murderous deeds “have nothing to do with Islam.”

Keep reading.

Hat Tip: Astute Bloggers.

'Hillary Clinton's early departure Sunday from New York's 9/11 memorial ceremony thrust questions about her health to the forefront of the presidential race...'

This story is absolutely delectable.

At WSJ, "Clinton ‘Felt Overheated’ and Left 9/11 Ceremony."

You're going to see a lot of talk about this story over the next few days, and desperate leftist attempts to spin and cover up Hillary's ill health.

Heh, she was "overheated" on one of the mildest summer days you could imagine. See Paul Bedard, "Clinton 'overheated' on coolest day, just 75 degrees, breezy."

And at Instapundit, "FROM CHRIS CILIZZA, WHO JUST LAST WEEK WAS TELLING US TO QUIT WORRYING ABOUT HILLARY’S HEALTH: Hillary Clinton’s health just became a real issue in the presidential campaign."

Previously, "VIDEO of Hillary Clinton's 'Medical Episode' Will Change the Presidential Race."

VIDEO of Hillary Clinton's 'Medical Episode' Will Change the Presidential Race

Says Fox News political analyst Chris Stirewalt.

Watch, "Stirewalt: 'Jarring' video of Clinton will change the race."

Previously, "Hillary Clinton Rushed From 9/11 Memorial Service After Suffering 'Medical Episode'."

Kelly Brook Official Calendar 2017

See all the calendar photos at HawtCelebs.

At the Mirror U.K., "Kelly Brook poses NAKED on the beach for her calendar as she makes social media accounts PRIVATE."

And at the U.K.'s Daily Express, "Kelly Brook flaunts enviable curves as she strips NAKED for seriously racy calendar shoot."

Still more, at the Sun, "'I'M SWELL' Kelly Brook flaunts her fuller figure as she reveals she’s happier than ever now she’s got her curves back - Model has gained 26lbs since hectic schedule left her skinny and miserable."

Plus, flashback from 2013, "Phenomenal New Kelly Brook Sunbathing Pics From Cancun." (Very hot.)

And, "Wow! Kelly Brook is Packing on the Pounds!"

Fifteen Years Later, al-Qaeda Threat Has Grown

From Thomas Jocelyn, at the Weekly Standard, "The Al Qaeda Threat Grows":

Fifteen years after the September 11, 2001, hijackings, the al Qaeda threat is growing. Al Qaeda has the capacity to attempt a mass casualty attack inside the U.S. and Europe today.

Many assume that al Qaeda is a spent force, especially after the surge of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State. But they are wrong. Years of erroneous assessments have clouded our vision of an enemy that remains committed to its anti-American cause...

Keep reading.

Hillary Clinton Rushed From 9/11 Memorial Service After Suffering 'Medical Episode'

At Instapundit, "LET’S HOPE IT WAS JUST ONE TOO MANY MIMOSAS AT BRUNCH."

Apparently, she "stumbled off the curb," her "knees buckled," and she "lost a shoe as she was helped into a van."

Also, at Fox News, via Memerandum, "Hillary Clinton has ‘medical episode’ at 9/11 ceremony, source says."

Added: There's video of Clinton getting in the van, at Sky News. She doesn't look well at all. Knees definitely buckled, "Hillary Clinton Leaves 9/11 Ceremony Feeling 'Overheated'."

Also, at WaPo, "Hillary Clinton’s health just became a real issue in the presidential campaign."

Hillary's numbers are going to tank this week. We're witnessing a real turning point in the campaign.

Deal of the Day: Bushnell Fall Sportsman

At Amazon, Simmons 801600 Volt 600 Laser Rangefinder, Black.

Also, Save on Bushnell Rangefinders.

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

Hillary Has Regrets About 'Basket of Deplorables' Slur

Following-up, "Trump Campaign Seeks Clinton Apology Over 'Deplorables' Dig at His Supporters."

Her only regret is the media reported her vicious slur. And her only response is to double down with the campaign's alleged "apology."

At WaPo, "Clinton says she regrets labeling ‘half’ of Trump supporters ‘deplorable’."

Clinton says she regrets labeling 'half' of Trump supporters 'deplorable' - Washington Post: Washington PostC... https://t.co/PBvadjz30b

— Jupiter Flyer (@JupiterFlyer) September 10, 2016

Oh my gosh. This is horrible..she regrets, then goes off on racist. OMG! Can this get worse 😳#BasketOfDeplorables pic.twitter.com/EZwgNN0uyz

— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) September 10, 2016

Alt Right Press Conference at the Willard InterContinental Washington

Following-up from a couple of weeks ago, "I'm Not 'Alt Right'."

Not that it needs to be said, but I'm really, really not "Alt Right."

Sheesh, these people are scumbags.

From Betsy Woodruff, at the Daily Beast, "Alt-Right Leaders: We Aren't Racist, We Just Hate Jews" (via Memeorandum):

The racist, anti-semitic, white power group called the ‘alt-right’ has been mainstreamed thanks to Breitbart and the Trump campaign. And they are loving the attention.

Well, if they really said they want a movement without Jews (whom they "hate"), then that's indeed pretty racist. (And I know, religion isn't race, but anti-Semitism is regarded as a "racist" ideology, similar to white supremacy.)

At a presser today, Alt Right leaders discussed what they refer to as "the Jewish question" https://t.co/VssPMI0e75

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) September 10, 2016

At The Willard today, Alt Right leaders mulled the possible superiority of East Asians to whites: https://t.co/VssPMI0e75

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) September 10, 2016

Alt Right leaders say the white ethno-state will not include Jews but will have a good relationship w Israel https://t.co/VssPMI0e75

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) September 10, 2016

Apple Unveils the iPhone 7

Following-up, "PLAY X STORE Wireless Bluetooth Earhook Earbuds."

Wireless really is the wave!

At LAT, "Farewell, headphone jack. Apple is killing you, but we'll never forget the decades we shared":

Apple made the first move to retire the audio jack on Wednesday, announcing that it will eliminate the jack from its flagship iPhone 7 smartphones.

When the device ships Sept. 16, it will come with a pair of wired earphones that plug into Apple’s proprietary charging port and an adapter that works with 3.5-mm plugs. The company also announced a pair of wireless earbuds called AirPods, priced at $159. Beats, the headphone maker that Apple acquired in 2014 for $3 billion, will offer its own range of wireless headphones.

The jack won’t disappear from electronics overnight, according to tech experts, who said decades of being the standard consumer audio jack has made the 3.5-mm port and its earphones pervasive.

“[But] this is a very big deal,” said Vince Ponzo, senior director of the entrepreneurship program at Columbia Business School. “When the world’s largest phone distributor and seller eliminates that piece of technology from its phones, it’s a big step toward doing away with that technology entirely.”

And that’s not hyperbole, because when Apple moves, the industry typically follows. The company was one of the first to get rid of serial ports on computers and move to USB ports. It got rid of ethernet ports on laptops, forcing customers to use wireless Internet. It got rid of floppy disks and CD and DVD players. And it all but got rid of buttons from cellphones. These are now the norm. With the iPhone 7, a wireless music listening experience could become the new normal.

Apple executive Phil Schiller said the decision to ditch the port “comes down to courage” — a statement that drew snickers from the crowd gathered at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Wednesday for the unveiling of the iPhone 7. He called the single-purpose technology “ancient,” taking up valuable real estate on an already compact device, and he spelled out hopes for a “wireless future.”

The new iPhone replaces the jack with another speaker, making the gadget twice as loud and allowing users to blast music for the first time in stereo.

The move will no doubt frustrate many customers who currently use wired headphones from third-party headset makers, or those whose junk drawers are filled with tangled earbuds for use when the current pair vanishes.

If Apple’s shift makes wireless earbuds commonplace, it will be a change mourned by those prone to losing things (imagine the frustration of digging through a purse to find only a single earbud). It will also irk anyone who doesn’t want to charge another device at the end of the day (Apple’s AirPods will run for five hours per charge.)

But the loss of the 3.5-mm jack won’t be felt for long, said Simon Hall, the head of music technology at the Birmingham Conservatoire, who said consumers will adapt.

“It’s going to be a change, but eventually it may be viewed as a storm in a teacup,” he said...

Keep reading.

Cliff Diver Almost Hit the Rocks at Crystal Cove (VIDEO)

This local story got a lot of coverage, here at home, at LAist, "Video: Cliff Diver Almost Smacks Into Rocks Diving Into Crystal Cove," and abroad, at London's Daily Mail, "'I thought I was f*****': Heart-stopping moment daredevil narrowly misses landing on ROCKS after leaping off a dangerously high cliff."

Watch, at CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Trump Campaign Seeks Clinton Apology Over 'Deplorables' Dig at His Supporters

Smart move by the Trump people.

The "deplorables" gaffe needs to stay in the news right up to November 8th, reminding voters how much Hillary hates them.

At WSJ:

Donald Trumps’s campaign sought an apology Saturday from his Democratic rival after Hillary Clinton took aim at the Republican’s supporters, suggesting that half of them are what she called “deplorables.”

Mrs. Clinton made the remark at a Friday night fundraiser, saying that Mr. Trump has given voice to the alt-right movement and has lifted up those who spew hateful speech.

“To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?,” Mrs. Clinton told donors in New York City. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it.”

The former secretary of state added that “some of those folks, they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.” The Trump campaign quickly punched back, saying that Mrs. Clinton had revealed “her true contempt for everyday Americans.”

“This was Clinton, as a defender of Washington’s rigged system, telling the American public that she could care less about them,” said Jason Miller, senior communications adviser to Mr. Trump. “And what’s truly deplorable isn’t just that Hillary Clinton made an inexcusable mistake in front of wealthy donors and reporters happened to be around to catch it, it’s that Clinton revealed just how little she thinks of the hard-working men and women of America.” By Saturday morning, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager was urging Mrs. Clinton to make amends...

More.

PREVIOUSLY: "'Basket of Deplorables'."

Lady Gaga Flashes Too Much in London

Or at least so says one of the commenters at the piece linked by Althouse, "'Isn't there some classic rule, 'Underboob or underbutt, not both'?..."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Lady Gaga flashes some underboob as she gives onlookers an eyeful in London."

USC Trojans Say They're Ready Against Utah State Aggies

USC dropped out of the top 25 at A.P.'s college football poll after last week's ultimate shellacking at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

It's going to be quite interesting to see if they can redeem themselves a bit this weekend.

At LAT, "As USC tries to stabilize against Utah State, the energy — and the tension — ratchet up":

The entire USC defense streamed onto the field at the end of Wednesday’s practice, the Trojans’ last heavy-contact session before they attempt to stabilize their season against Utah State on Saturday.

For roughly 15 minutes, the defense had been working itself into a lather. After each pass breakup or big hit, the sideline buzzed, as if the players had consumed too much coffee. Now, on the last play, Adoree’ Jackson swatted away a long, might-have-been-a-touchdown pass down the far sideline.

So the defense sprinted to the end zone, circled around Jackson and danced.

USC has responded to the indignity of a 52-6 loss to Alabama and a head-spinning array of off-the-field incidents by increasing its intensity. A spirited, sometimes angry, edge punctuated the team’s practices this week. A brawl broke out Tuesday.

Running back Justin Davis said the emotion reflected the Trojans’ search for the “fire in the belly” that they lost during Saturday’s defeat. They hope they rediscover it.

“I know my team,” right tackle Zach Banner said. “And I know we’re going to bring it.”

The energy also has been a response to the upheaval that USC hoped it had left behind upon promoting Clay Helton to coach. The past two weeks of USC football have read like overwrought UCLA fan fiction.

National commentators pounded USC players who crawled out of the tunnel pre-game last week. Linebacker Jabari Ruffin was suspended for a half and required to write an apology letter for stomping on the groin of an Alabama player. JuJu Smith-Schuster, the team’s best receiver, sparked a fight at Tuesday’s practice, then stomped off in a huff and needed to be coaxed back to the field.

There was the heartbreaking: A key starter, center Toa Lobendahn, was declared out for the season after undergoing his third knee surgery.

There was the ridiculous: Steve Sarkisian, who was fired by USC last season for erratic behavior and alcohol-related incidents and later sued the school, took a job as an offensive analyst for Alabama, the team that had just embarrassed USC and already employs the Trojans coach who preceded him, Lane Kiffin...

More at that top link.

And Sarkisian? The Alabama folks sure know how to pile on the insults. Sark's the second USC head coach to go to 'Bama's program. Sheesh.

Alabama has hired Steve Sarkisian as an offensive analyst https://t.co/mSRyEWPFIX pic.twitter.com/IfQkNDdzKH

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 6, 2016

Charlotte McKinney Bikini Body on the Beach in Hawaii

At London's Daily Mail, "PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Charlotte McKinney parades her killer body in coral string bikini while enjoying the Hawaiian sun and surf."

Caroline Wozniacki Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Bodypainting (VIDEO)

Watch, via Sports Illustrated, "Caroline Wozniacki Bodypainting Swimsuit 2016 - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit," and "Caroline Wozniacki's SI Swimsuit 2016 Outtakes - Sports Illustrated Swimsuit."

BONUS: "Kerber beats Wozniacki to reach U.S. Open final after capturing World No. 1 ranking."

Donald Trump Says Hillary Clinton Could Shoot Someone and Not Be Prosecuted (VIDEO)

Look, I don't doubt it.

As it is she's a criminal walking free right now.

At the New York Times (via Memeorandum), "Donald Trump Says Hillary Clinton Wouldn't Be Prosecuted Even if She Shot Someone."

'Need You Now'

Lady Antebellum hosted the Academy of Country Music Honors last night.

The award winners are here.

And from yesterday, at CBS This Morning, "Lady Antebellum reflects on road to hosting ACM Honors."

Dangers Rise as America Retreats

From awesome patriots Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney, at WSJ:

Fifteen years ago this Sunday, nearly 3,000 Americans were killed in the deadliest attack on the U.S. homeland in our history. A decade and a half later, we remain at war with Islamic terrorists. Winning this war will require an effort of greater scale and commitment than anything we have seen since World War II, calling on every element of our national power.

Defeating our enemies has been made significantly more difficult by the policies of Barack Obama. No American president has done more to weaken the U.S., hobble our defenses or aid our adversaries.

President Obama has been more dedicated to reducing America’s power than to defeating our enemies. He has enhanced the abilities, reach and finances of our adversaries, including the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, at the expense of our allies and our own national security. He has overseen a decline of our own military capabilities as our adversaries’ strength has grown.

Our Air Force today is the oldest and smallest it has ever been. In January 2015, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno testified that the Army was as unready as it had been at any other time in its history. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert testified similarly that, “Navy readiness is at its lowest point in many years.”

Nearly half of the Marine Corps’ non-deployed units—the ones that respond to unforeseen contingencies—are suffering shortfalls, according to the commandant of the Corps, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. For the first time in decades, American supremacy in key areas can no longer be assured.

The president who came into office promising to end wars has made war more likely by diminishing America’s strength and deterrence ability. He doesn’t seem to understand that the credible threat of military force gives substance and meaning to our diplomacy. By reducing the size and strength of our forces, he has ensured that future wars will be longer, and put more American lives at risk.

Meanwhile, the threat from global terrorist organizations has grown. Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the House Homeland Security Committee in July that, “As we approach 15 years since 9/11, the array of terrorist actors around the globe is broader, wider and deeper than it has been at any time since that day.” Despite Mr. Obama’s claim that ISIS has been diminished, John Brennan, Mr. Obama’s CIA director, told the Senate Intelligence Committee in June that, “Our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability or global reach.”

The president’s policies have contributed to our enemies’ advance...

Keep reading.

And ICYMI, "Jihad Terror Threat Now Worse Than 9/11 (VIDEO)."

Kristen Keogh's Saturday Forecast

It's overcast right now, although it warmed up pretty nicely yesterday.

It's awesome September weather, frankly.

Here's Ms. Kristen, via ABC News 10 San Diego:

Jihad Terror Threat Now Worse Than 9/11 (VIDEO)

At great piece from Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, at USA Today:

Kean & Hamilton: Terror #jihad threat worse now than in 2001. #September11 https://t.co/WQmP9PIDk1

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 9, 2016

And watch, Sebastian Gorka at Fox News:

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera

One of the "fun" bestselling products at Amazon. And it comes in all kinds of colors, including sky blue and "fun" pink." (Heh, gotta keep that gay SSM demographic happy.)

Shop Amazon bestsellers here.

BONUS: More cameras at Amazon, "Receive a $200 credit with a select camera purchase: Buy one or more qualifying cameras below between August 21, 2016 and October 01, 2016 and get a $200 credit toward a future purchase in the Camera, Photo & Video Store."

Kendall Jenner for Vogue Germany

She's a good lady.

At London's Daily Mail:

Kendall Jenner frees the nipple for German Vogue 🙈 https://t.co/OtFN3cPL1B pic.twitter.com/74xdNFTcsm

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) September 9, 2016

BONUS: "Witchy woman! Kendall Jenner rocks voluminous black curls and ghostly blue skin tone in Marc Jacobs' latest wild advert."

'Basket of Deplorables'

At Bloomberg, "Clinton Calls Trump’s Supporters ‘Basket of Deplorables’."

Needless to say, Clinton's slur got lots of attention on Twitter yesterday.

At her fundraiser tonight, Clinton says there are two types of Trump voters: half are in the "basket of deplorables" pic.twitter.com/OSjalkNXar

— Ruby Cramer (@rubycramer) September 10, 2016

Probably wise not to muse about those who endure by clinging to guns & religion https://t.co/YgsfdhLZgr

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 10, 2016

Recent meetings of "The Patriotic #Deplorables " pic.twitter.com/Sv7KVeBkJg

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) September 10, 2016

Added: From Frank Luntz, "Tonight, Hillary Clinton just had her "47 percent" moment. Expect poll numbers to get even tighter after this one. #Deplorables."

Andrei Lankov, The Real North Korea

At Amazon, The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia.

North Korea has been a topic in my American government classes, so I'm intrigued about related readings. Besides, the Hermit Kingdom's in the news. See the New York Times, "A Big Blast in North Korea, and Big Questions on U.S. Policy."

Dear Mark Zuckerberg

At Norway's Aftenposten, "Dear Mark":

I am writing this to inform you that I shall not comply with your requirement to remove this picture.

Dear Mark Zuckerberg https://t.co/Rs16O7JEFy #aftenposten pic.twitter.com/ys8gZTY7Hc

— Espen Egil Hansen (@eghan) September 8, 2016

Also at USA Today, "Facebook reinstates iconic photo of 'napalm girl'."

I hate Zuckerberg. And I don't "hate" very often. But that's the emotion that comes to me right now. I just hate that dude.

NeverTrumpers and the Future of the Republic

From David Finch, at FrontPage Magazine:

Many NeverTrumpers espouse the sentiment that, by not voting for Trump, they are keeping their integrity intact and staying true to their principles.  Good Lord, the high mightiness of it all.

Is this really a matter of integrity?  Or is it hubris?

Think of the Constitutional Convention.  One of the main bones of contention was the issue of the slave trade, indeed of slavery itself.  Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, about 25 owned slaves.  There were northern delegates that were adamantly opposed to slavery and many others that demanded federal regulation of the slave trade.

Whatever one thinks of Trump and his stance, for instance, on “free trade,” it pales in comparison to the issue of human bondage and the slave trade.  The Founders were arguing over issues much more paramount than Donald Trump’s “temperament.”  And yet, they came together with a compromise that codified and indeed, strengthened slavery, at least in the short term.  Why?

he answer is simple.  Divided, America would fall, to be carved up by European powers, and the nation we know as the United States would never have existed.  There was tremendous debate and huge disagreement over a great number of issues during the Constitutional Convention, slavery and the slave trade only being one of them.

Is this analogy overly dramatic?  I don’t think so.  Too many conservatives have a complete lack of understanding of the Left, their intentions and purpose and their utterly destructive goals.  Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and the rest of the leadership of the Democratic Party have run far afield of the Party of JFK, Harry Truman and even Jimmy Carter.  The Party is now led by hard core Alinskyite Leftists who, if they win, will complete the transformation that Barack Obama has started.  He has only been partially successful, but he has set the table and Hillary, getting her due, is, if nothing else very dogged and determined.  She will complete the task.  Forget the scandals and corruption for the moment; they are only devices for her and the Party to secure power.  It is power that the Left seeks, power to destroy what American represents.  To ignore the Democratic Party’s true intentions while refusing to vote for Trump under the guise of “principle” could be the fatal flaw which leads to the downfall of our Republic.

A Union was forged despite the vast gulf between those dedicated to freedom and those supporting slavery, solely because the Founders were men that were able to set aside their differences and their own stances of principle and pride.  Oh that we had such men with us today that were not easily consumed by their own hubris.

Police Photos Show 4-Year-Old Boy in Vehicle with Two Adults Overdosing on Herion

I hate drugs.

Starting with marijuana, which is a proven gateway to harder drugs, including marijuana.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Cops: Photos of 4-year-old boy with overdosed adults show heroin scourge."

Cops: Photos of 4-year-old boy with overdosed adults show heroin scourge https://t.co/Q4H3iFxYGf

— L.A. Times News 24/7 (@latimesfirehose) September 9, 2016

I Didn't Watch Last Night's Commander-in-Chief Forum

I didn't even know a "Commander-in-Chief Forum" was scheduled. In contrast, I can't wait to watch the first presidential debate, on Monday, September 26th. Indeed, I'm fired up about it.

At any rate, Matt Lauer came under heavy fire today, especially from angry leftists, heh.

See Michael Calderone, at PuffHo, "Matt Lauer Failed the Moderator Test."

More at Memorandum.

RELATED: From Stephen Green, at Instapundit, "ANGRY MOB OF WHITE JOURNALISTS TRYING TO INTIMIDATE A BLACK MAN..." You gotta click through to appreciate it.

Karolina Pliskova Beats Serena Williams at U.S. Open

Nothing lasts forever, namely Serena's No. 1 reign.

At USA Today, "Serena Williams stunned by Karolina Pliskova in U.S. Open semifinals."

And at WaPo, "Serena Williams loses in U.S. Open semis for 2nd year in row."

Karolina Pliskova: 4th woman to defeat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Serena. pic.twitter.com/tfiGhSdm7i

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 9, 2016

'What is Aleppo?' (VIDEO)

I'm cutting this guy some slack.

Shoot, the war's gone on so long, it's almost like I yawn at the latest atrocities. Of course I care, but I know nothing's going to happen.

Still, the governor should have known better. He's running for president.

At NYT (via Memeorandum), "‘What Is Aleppo?’ Gary Johnson Asks, in an Interview Stumble."

This statement from Gary Johnson is epic. Obtained by @DavidWright_CNN pic.twitter.com/y1vjx2n15X

— Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) September 8, 2016