What's Next for Women?

More endless identity politics, for one thing.

From far-left Tina Brown, CEO of "Women in the World," a far-left feminist production of the New York Times, "After a Historic March, What’s Next for Women?":

What's next for the women's movement after a historic march in January? A return to some of its broader issues: https://t.co/saIYyyqD1g

— Tina Brown (@TinaBrownLM) March 31, 2017

Hillary Clinton's loss was a "wake up call for feminism," says @WomenintheWorld founder, Tina Brown https://t.co/P1aK4nCe3b pic.twitter.com/YBN319q8Ul

— CNN (@CNN) April 2, 2017

Last week, we were treated to a news photo that will live in infamy: two dozen white male Republican congressmen (and zero women) around a White House conference table talking about dumping maternity and newborn care as part of their replacement for the Obama health care law.

It instantly went viral: “A rare look inside the GOP’s women’s health caucus,” tweeted Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington State.

Seven days later, the infamy was compounded when Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate that would allow states to defund Planned Parenthood.

Since the heyday of the women’s movement of the 1960s and ’70s, American women have assumed they were on a rocket to a future of assured gender equality. But even as individual women continued to break records and barriers in recent years, the engine began to stall.

Pay inequity festers. The rolling scandals at Uber remind us that the frat clubs of Silicon Valley are often rife with sexual harassment.

Women in the military are beleaguered by so-called revenge porn and sexual assault.

The United States still ranks with Swaziland, Lesotho and Papua New Guinea as the last countries on earth, “advanced” or not, that don’t mandate paid maternity leave.

In corporations, it’s turned out that the trouble isn’t the glass ceiling; it’s the sticky floor.

Male chief executives of Fortune 500 companies brag at Davos, Switzerland, about their healthy pipeline of women headed for the C-suite. (But the boast is undermined by statistics that show a paltry 4 percent of Fortune 500 companies have women in the top job.)

And a woman who commanded nearly three million more votes than her opponent did not become president...

Oh boy, where to begin?

Well, start with "pay inequity," which is a myth.

And of course the rampant "sexual harassment" we're seeing is found almost exclusively at far-left business concerns such as Uber. Why won't progressives clean up their own messes before foisting off all this bullshit on the rest of the public? And so no one wonders why "a woman who commanded nearly three million votes" failed to win the presidency. People see through the leftist cant.

In any case, more at that top link, if you can stomach it.

Newlyweds Hold Wedding Reception at In-N-Out

That is the best!

At ABC 15 News Phoenix:

Newlywed couple holds wedding reception at In-n-Out in California.https://t.co/MXpyp7xZlE #abc15 pic.twitter.com/6xyvZM0ZbM

— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) April 2, 2017

Kathryn Gin Lum, Damned Nation

Well, I think we've all feared going to hell at one point or another.

This looks interesting.

At Amazon, Kathryn Gin Lum, Damned Nation: Hell in America from the Revolution to Reconstruction.

'Few families, of course, are as wealthy as the Rockefellers...'

Well, that's for sure.

An interesting piece, at NYT, "Giving Like a Rockefeller, Even if You're Not Super-Rich."

What we can learn about the power of philanthropy from the Rockefeller family https://t.co/eKUjEKUSor

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) March 31, 2017

The story talks about David Rockefeller's grandson, Michael Quattrone (pictured), who manages the David Rockefeller Fund. The senior Rockeffer is said to have given away at least $2 billion to charity in his lifetime, and philanthropy's become the raison d'être of the entire family. The younger members of the family convinced some of the family's biggest charitable funds (they are numerous, apparently) to divest from fossil fuels, the irony of which just kills me.

In any cast, it's a good read.

Alex Tizon Has Died: Seattle Times Reporter Won Pulitzer for Investigation Into Federally-Sponsored Housing Programs for American Indians

I saw this at the New York Times, "Alex Tizon wrote about Native Americans and won a Pulitzer. Then he wrote about himself."

Then I checked Google, and I'm glad I did.

At the Seattle Times, "Alex Tizon, former Seattle Times reporter who won Pulitzer Prize, dies at 57":

Alex Tizon, former Seattle Times reporter who won Pulitzer Prize, dies at 57 https://t.co/4LItq8rXRl

— Times Watchdog (@STWatchdog) March 26, 2017

Alex Tizon, a journalist and professor who won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting while at The Seattle Times and spent decades exposing untold stories of marginalized communities, has died at age 57.

Mr. Tizon died unexpectedly Thursday, of natural causes, at his home in Eugene, Oregon, according to his family and the University of Oregon, where he was working as an assistant professor of journalism.

Mr. Tizon was one of three Seattle Times reporters to win the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, for stories that exposed widespread corruption and inequalities in the federally sponsored housing program for Native Americans. The series, which documented how billions of dollars in taxpayer funds were helping wealthy people across the country live in mansions while tribes were housed in decrepit shacks, inspired reforms to the program.

Friends, colleagues and family members said Mr. Tizon was known as a deep listener who preferred to dive headfirst into complicated, long-form stories that are becoming rarer in today’s fast-paced media cycle. An introvert who spent hours alone brooding over deep issues like the meaning of his life, he would often take on seemingly simple stories and come back with complicated tales about humanity.

“He was very curious about other people — and learning about other people helped him learn about himself,” said his wife, Melissa Tizon. “That’s what journalism did for him. His whole life quest was about trying to understand who he was, as an immigrant growing up in a largely white community.”

Born in the Philippines, Mr. Tizon immigrated to Seattle with his family when he was 5 years old and bounced around the country before he settled back here.

He spent 17 years at The Seattle Times before becoming the Seattle bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times from 2003 to 2008. He also contributed to publications like Newsweek and programs such as “60 Minutes.”

He then spent two years in Manila, where he helped track efforts by the government to eliminate poverty in poor communities, and taught workshops in far-flung locales like Romania. And he wrote a memoir, “Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self,” about the challenges of being an Asian-American man in the United States.

He turned to teaching in 2011, but his passion for writing still burned.

A year ago, he revived a story he began working on at the Los Angeles Times a decade before, about an Alaskan family whose son had disappeared. People go missing there all the time — about 3,000 a year at one point — but in the remote corner of the world, it garners little attention or news coverage.

The family had learned that authorities had found remains that might provide closure to their grief. Mr. Tizon flew to the tiny town to write a lengthy magazine piece for The Atlantic on the family’s struggles and the broader phenomenon of why so many people vanish in that state.

Those who worked with Mr. Tizon said the story was emblematic of his career — the way he spent so much time deeply reporting the piece, and the fact that he chose a topic that others in the media likely would have ignored.

“He had a real interest in marginal characters and people who had not been in the spotlight,” said his editor on The Atlantic piece, Denise Wills. “He almost became a member of the extended family for these people.”

In an interview last year, Mr. Tizon told the Harvard journalism program: “The stories I work on, especially for any length of time, do tend to become personal to me.”

Jacqui Banaszynski, a University of Missouri journalism professor who was Mr. Tizon’s editor for two years at The Seattle Times, echoed others who said his death was a loss to the journalism community. She recalled Mr. Tizon as “an almost philosopher essayist” in his approach, and that the paper would send him on stories that were complex and needed to be told at a deeper level than the standard news story...

Still more.

Bill O'Reilly Thrives at Fox News (VIDEO)

I've watched O'Reilly now for years. When I first started watching him regularly, at least ten years ago, I was mindful of the stereotypes, from critics both right and left: You know, how he's a blowhard, and not really conservative, and all that.

That's all true, of course, But he's a patriot who works hard. He loves the country and he models our values, especially individualism and fairness. I suspect he actually has sexually harassed women at some point. He's an old school kind of a guy, and some of the old school brusque "locker room" kind of banter and being is bound to slip out once in a while. He's wealthy, though, so million dollar payouts here and there, without conceding allegations, just make problems go away.

 In any case, at the New York Times, "Bill O'Reilly Thrives at Fox News, Even as Harassment Settlements Add Up." (At Memeorandum.)

About $13 million has been paid out over the years to address complaints from women about Mr. O’Reilly’s behavior. He denies the claims have merit.

For nearly two decades, Bill O’Reilly has been Fox News’s top asset, building the No. 1 program in cable news for a network that has pulled in billions of dollars in revenues for its parent company, 21st Century Fox.

Behind the scenes, the company has repeatedly stood by Mr. O’Reilly as he faced a series of allegations of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.

An investigation by The New York Times has found a total of five women who have received payouts from either Mr. O’Reilly or the company in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him. The agreements totaled about $13 million.

Two settlements came after the network’s former chairman, Roger Ailes, was dismissed last summer in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal, when the company said it did not tolerate behavior that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.”

The women who made allegations against Mr. O’Reilly either worked for him or appeared on his show. They have complained about a wide range of behavior, including verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances and phone calls in which it sounded as if Mr. O’Reilly was masturbating, according to documents and interviews.

The reporting suggests a pattern: As an influential figure in the newsroom, Mr. O’Reilly would create a bond with some women by offering advice and promising to help them professionally. He then would pursue sexual relationships with them, causing some to fear that if they rebuffed him, their careers would stall.

Of the five settlements, two were previously known — one for about $9 million in 2004 with a producer, and another struck last year with a former on-air personality, which The Times reported on in January. The Times has learned new details related to those cases...

That "on-air personality" is Juliet Huddy, who's no longer with the network.

But keep reading.

David Roberts, Once They Moved Like the Wind

I love the title of this book.

At Amazon, David Roberts, Once They Moved Like the Wind: Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars.

David M. Wrobel, Global West, American Frontier

Another excellent-looking book.

At Amazon, David M. Wrobel, Global West, American Frontier: Travel, Empire, and Exceptionalism from Manifest Destiny to the Great Depression.

Pat Condell Slams Patronizing Idiot Leftist Elites, Losers of the Brexit Vote (VIDEO)

So good.

So bloody good, as always.

Max Boot, Pseudo-Conservative Blogger at Foreign Policy, Making Outrageous Claim That the Entire Republican Party Has Been Taken Over by Racist Fringe

I gave up on Boot last year, when he published his notorious screed at the L.A. Times, about changing his party registration after Donald Trump won the GOP nomination.

He still blogs at Commentary as well, which is one reason I don't read the magazine as much as I used to. (That, and Noah Rothman, who I like, turned into some kind of angry, middle-aged, and very unpleasant curmudgeon.)

In any case, from Matthew Vadum, at FrontPage Magazine, "Max Boot's 'GOP is the White Nationalist Party' Smear."

Can't Get Over How Much Ivanka Looks Like Her Mom in This Photo

Here's the story, at NYT, "Ivanka Trump, Shifting Plans, Will Become a Federal Employee."

It's just the resemblance to her mom Ivana is uncanny.

Ivanka Trump is becoming an official government employee, joining her husband in serving as an unpaid adviser. https://t.co/HEcwwVh4ZE pic.twitter.com/p8VsiI2Whu

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) March 29, 2017

Heitkamp and Manchin Will Vote for Gorsuch

That's 54 votes for Gorsuch, counting the 52 seat GOP majority in the Senate.

Can Mitch McConnell round up another six seats?

At Instapundit.

I will vote for Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's my full statement: pic.twitter.com/pDdhde7mGF

— Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (@SenatorHeitkamp) March 30, 2017

Atlanta's Interstate Collapse: I-85 Closed After Fire; Traffic Congestion Headache Could Last Months (VIDEO)

Althouse has it, with all kinds of local links, "The I-85 bridge fire disaster."

It's lucky no one was killed, and I mean a freakin' miracle.

I watched earlier on CBS This Morning:

U.S. Military Escalation, Off the Radar

Following-up from last night, "U.S. War Footprint Grows in Middle East, With No Endgame in Sight."

At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump administration stops disclosing troop deployments in Iraq and Syria."

US won't announce or confirm info about troop numbers in Iraq & Syria "in order to maintain tactical surprise." https://t.co/CqMaoksRHO

— W.J. Hennigan (@wjhenn) March 31, 2017

Abigail Ratchford, Quiet in the Library

Well, we haven't visited with this young lady for a while. She's been keeping busy.

On Twitter:

Quiet in the library ; ) 📚 pic.twitter.com/7AxgubwLOn

— Abigail Ratchford (@AbiRatchford) March 29, 2017

Holy grail 👄 pic.twitter.com/GCAOQCNm8n

— Abigail Ratchford (@AbiRatchford) March 28, 2017

Shop Electronics, Computers, and Accessories

At Amazon, Computers and Accessories, Tablets, Laptops.

And, Get 30% or More Off on Selected External Hard Drives.

Plus, Shop Office Products and Supplies.

Also, Computer Games and Accessories.

BONUS: Adam Alter, Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.

U.S. War Footprint Grows in Middle East, With No Endgame in Sight

Well, I think the endgame is the annihilation of the Islamic State, but how and when that's going to happen is another story.

At the New York Times:

The U.S. military is becoming more involved in a string of complex wars in the Middle East https://t.co/P6gACx0M7d

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 30, 2017

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States launched more airstrikes in Yemen this month than during all of last year. In Syria, it has airlifted local forces to front-line positions and has been accused of killing civilians in airstrikes. In Iraq, American troops and aircraft are central in supporting an urban offensive in Mosul, where airstrikes killed scores of people on March 17.

Two months after the inauguration of President Trump, indications are mounting that the United States military is deepening its involvement in a string of complex wars in the Middle East that lack clear endgames.

Rather than representing any formal new Trump doctrine on military action, however, American officials say that what is happening is a shift in military decision-making that began under President Barack Obama. On display are some of the first indications of how complicated military operations are continuing under a president who has vowed to make the military “fight to win.”

In an interview on Wednesday, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the commander of United States Central Command, said the new procedures made it easier for commanders in the field to call in airstrikes without waiting for permission from more senior officers.

“We recognized the nature of the fight was going to change and that we had to ensure that authorities were down to the right level and that we empowered the on-scene commander,” General Votel said. He was speaking specifically about discussions that he said began in November about how the fights in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State were reaching critical phases in Mosul and Raqqa.

Concerns about the recent accusations of civilian casualties are bringing some of these details to light. But some of the shifts have also involved small increases in the deployment and use of American forces or, in Yemen, resuming aid to allies that had previously been suspended.

And they coincide with the settling in of a president who has vowed to intensify the fight against extremists abroad, and whose budgetary and rhetorical priorities have indicated a military-first approach even as he has proposed cuts in diplomatic spending...

The massive recent civilian causalities are extremely regrettable, and totally unacceptable. Otherwise, I'm really liking the growing footprint.

'Ever since I was a young boy, I've played the silver ball...'

From Monday afternoon's drive-time, at the Sound L.A., the Who, "Pinball Wizard":

In Your Eyes
Peter Gabriel
4:56 PM

Barracuda
Heart
4:51 PM

Walking On the Moon
The Police
4:46 PM

She's Not There
Santana
4:37 PM

My Sharona
The Knack
4:32 PM

Paint It Black
The Rolling Stones
4:28 PM

Blinded By the Light
Manfred Mann
4:21 PM

Kashmir
Led Zeppelin
4:13 PM

Burning Down the House
Talking Heads
4:09 PM

Low Rider
War
4:06 PM

Shake It Up
The Cars
4:03 PM

Have a Cigar
Pink Floyd
3:57 PM

I Won't Back Down
Tom Petty
3:55 PM

Pinball Wizard
The Who
3:52 PM

Who's Crying Now
Journey

Susan Sleeper-Smith, et al., Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians

I'm noticing this book especially because it's recent, just published in 2015.

And available at Amazon, Susan Sleeper-Smith, et al., Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians.

Whiteclay, Nebraska, Beer Portal to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

It's a tragic beer portal.

And interestingly, articles like this one, as true and tragic as they are, tend to perpetuate Native American stereotypes. Devon Mihesuah's work attempts to dispel such stereotypes, while others have argued that the reservation experience is the template for understanding the structural epistemology of American Indians.

In any case, at the New York Times, "Nebraska May Stanch One Town’s Flow of Beer to Its Vulnerable Neighbors":

A Nebraska town seems to exist only to sell beer to people like Tyrell Ringing Shield. https://t.co/cFpc1pVfm8 pic.twitter.com/cObFS4bgRo

— NYT National News (@NYTNational) March 26, 2017

WHITECLAY, Neb. — This town is a rural skid row, with only a dozen residents, a street strewn with debris, four ramshackle liquor stores and little else. It seems to exist only to sell beer to people like Tyrell Ringing Shield, a grandmother with silver streaks in her hair.

On a recent morning, she had hitched a ride from her home in South Dakota, just steps across the state line. There, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, alcohol is forbidden. In Whiteclay, though, it reigns supreme.

“You visit, you talk, you laugh, you drink,” said Ms. Ringing Shield, 57, as she stood on the sidewalk with friends, chain-smoked Montclair cigarettes and recounted her struggles with alcoholism, diabetes and cirrhosis. “It makes you forget.”

Now many residents of Nebraska and South Dakota are pushing for the liquor stores of Whiteclay to be shut, disgusted by the easy access to alcohol the stores provide to a people who have fought addiction for generations. The Nebraska authorities, in turn, have tightened scrutiny of the stores, which sell millions of cans of beer and malt liquor annually. Last year, for the first time, the state liquor commission ordered the stores’ six owners to reapply for their liquor licenses.

The fate of the stores could be decided next month, when the three-member commission holds hearings in Lincoln, the state capital.

The issue has left people in South Dakota and Nebraska deeply divided. Most agree that alcohol abuse on the reservation is an entrenched problem, but they are unsure of the solution — and who is responsible.

The grim scene in Whiteclay has scarcely changed for decades. Particularly in the warmer months, Native Americans can be seen openly drinking beer in town, often passed out on the ground, disheveled and ill. Many who come to Whiteclay from the reservation spend the night sleeping on mattresses in vacant lots or fields.

Even under the chill of winter, people huddle outside the liquor stores, silver beer cans poking from coat pockets. The street, busy with traffic from customers, is littered with empty bottles and scraps of discarded clothing.

“It promotes so much misery, that little town,” said Andrea Two Bulls, 56, a Native American on Pine Ridge, who added that she hoped the state would revoke the licenses. “My brother used to go to Whiteclay all the time, and we’d have to go look for him. People sit and drink until they pass out. They just succumb.”

Over the decades, there have been frequent protests outside the stores. Lawsuits against the retailers and beer distributors have been filed. Boycotts of brewers that sell to the stores have begun with enthusiasm. All those efforts have sputtered, though, and little has changed...

More.