Officials Start Clearing Out Homeless Encampment Near Anaheim Stadium

Following-up from last week, "False Twitter Memes About Homeless Encampment Along the Santa Ana River Bike Trail."

Anaheim and Orange County officials launched the area's homeless eviction operation yesterday. Reading the Los Angeles Times' report, it turns out one woman's been living there for 16 years. I had no idea, man.

And as I noted at the blog post above, these are not migrants, illegal aliens, or refugees. These are mostly downtrodden white working-class folks. People have been priced out of the housing market, and the county lacks credible services for the homeless. What a bummer. The O.C. Register's piece indicates that 32 out of 33 cities in the county ban overnight camping for the homeless, which criminalizes homelessness. And the state's wasting billions upon billions of dollars building the bullet train to nowhere. Remember, these are progressive Democrats running the state, the holier-than-thou tolerance-preaching leftists. They're full of it, the degenerate hypocrites. No wonder people hate politics.

In any case, click the links:

Denise Lindstrom, a 49-year-old homeless woman, sits in a wheelchair at a homeless encampment on the Santa Ana River trail today in Anaheim, Calif. Authorities on Monday told the homeless living in the encampment that it is being closed down. | Photo @jaethephotog pic.twitter.com/If55OwYPif

— AP Images (@AP_Images) January 23, 2018

Hundreds of homeless face eviction or arrest as O.C. clears encampment amid shelter bed shortage https://t.co/FwK8tVVki8 pic.twitter.com/U5QSKdUgaw

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 23, 2018

Amid anxiety among homeless, law enforcement begins plan to gradually clear out Santa Ana riverbed encampments https://t.co/Ayz0LfJBEU pic.twitter.com/QmR1RBCHu3

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) January 23, 2018

Professor Jordan B. Peterson Channel 4 Debate on Gender Equality (VIDEO)

Well, I had to watch the whole thing, considering how this interview generated considerable controversy.

I am surprised, relieved in a profound sense and impressed that channel 4 put this up uncut, enabled comments and, finally, left it online. Maybe there's hope yet. @cathynewman https://t.co/OqQtLqElc8

— Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 19, 2018

https://t.co/4Bni5dSGI0

— Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 22, 2018

The Jordan Peterson interview fallout will be that he's branded a 'controversial professor', while Cathy Newman will avoid being labelled a ‘controversial interviewer’, predicts Douglas Murray https://t.co/mUz94ujQR0

— The Spectator (@spectator) January 22, 2018

The Spectator piece is cached here, and check the search results on Twitter for "Jordan Peterson Cathy Newman" for more.

Shop Today's Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals New deals. Every day. Shop our Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals and more daily deals and limited-time sales.

Also, Samsung 65" 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV 2017 Model (UN65MU6300) with 2x 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable, Stanley 6-Outlet Surge Adapter, Screen Cleaner for LED TVs & 1 Year Extended Warranty.

BONUS: by James O'Keefe, American Pravda: My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News.

Nina Agdal Takes It Off (VIDEO)

Actually, Ms. Nina's taken a hiatus from modeling, apparently after being fat- and figure-shamed by a magazine that declined to put her on the cover after a major photo shoot.

She's alright by me, though, and I hope she's doing better.

What a fabulous woman!

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

L.A. Times Publisher Ross Levinsohn Accused of Sexual Improprieties

Well, I've been reading the Los Angeles Times for over thirty years, almost on a daily basis. I had a subscription to the paper when I lived in both Fresno and Santa Barbara, and of course since 2,000 and working at Long Beach City College. Reading the paper becomes just part of your life. I know it's a left-wing paper, but you fight the ideological culture war with and against the media you have. And it's war, that's for sure.

In any case, sometimes I wonder how much longer LAT's going to hold out as a viable concern. There's a unionization effort going on right now, with the results of the vote to unionize going public tomorrow. And according to Business Insider, the Times is looking to go with some sort of "contributor" publishing model, offering the pages of the paper (at least online, I guess) as a platform for writers and commentators.

On top of all that the new publisher, Ross Levinsohn, is now the subject of sexual harassment allegations. That can't be good, man.

At NPR (where else?), "Accusations of 'Frat House' Behavior Trail 'LA Times' Publisher's Career" (via Memeorandum):

My exclusive: LA Times publisher and CEO Ross Levinsohn was a defendant in two sexual harassment cases settled by employers and female colleagues repeatedly accused him of misconduct throughout his career. https://t.co/bKfExuUTAM

— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) January 18, 2018

The Los Angeles Times has given prominent coverage to recent revelations of sexual harassment of women by prominent men, particularly in entertainment and media. Yet a review by NPR finds that the newspaper's own CEO and publisher, Ross Levinsohn, has been a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits and that his conduct in work settings over the past two decades has been called into question repeatedly by female colleagues.

This story is based on a review of court documents, financial filings and fresh interviews with 26 former colleagues and associates. Taken in concert, they suggest a pattern of questionable behavior and questionable decisions on the job. The portrait that repeatedly emerges is one of a frat-boy executive, catapulting ever higher, even as he creates corporate climates that alienated some of the people who worked for and with him.

Among the accusations:

— Levinsohn was sued in separate sexual harassment lawsuits as an executive at two different corporations. By his own sworn testimony, Levinsohn admitted to rating the relative "hotness" of his female colleagues in office banter as a vice president at a digital media company. He also testified that he speculated about whether a woman who worked for him there was a stripper on the side.

— Two witnesses say they were shocked to see Levinsohn aggressively kissing and pressing himself against a woman at a glitzy music industry dinner in plain view of his subordinates and his clients. Levinsohn was married at the time.

— Levinsohn once told an executive for the Hollywood Reporter he would not stay at the publication's lunch honoring the entertainment business' most influential fashion stylists because he would have to be surrounded by gays — using a vulgar epithet for them, according to the executive.

Almost all people interviewed declined to be quoted by name, citing concerns for their careers given Levinsohn's current perch atop the Los Angeles Times. It is one of the most important newspapers in the country and it is the most influential media organization in California, the capital to the world's entertainment industry. His behavior, as described by those who worked with him, raises questions about how effectively he can lead the paper as it covers the #MeToo movement and such widespread harassment revelations.

Levinsohn did not respond on the record to detailed questions emailed to him and a Times spokeswoman setting out the chief allegations raised in this story. In a telephone call he initiated Wednesday with NPR's CEO, Jarl Mohn, Levinsohn called those allegations "lies" and said he would retain legal counsel if he felt NPR had disparaged him. NPR sent detailed questions to Tronc's chief executive and public affairs staffers early Wednesday morning. The crisis management strategist Charles Sipkins issued a statement on Tronc's behalf Thursday afternoon saying Levinsohn had been placed under investigation by the corporation after the story was posted.

"This week, we became aware of allegations that Ross Levinsohn acted inappropriately. We are immediately launching an investigation so that we have a better understanding of what's occurred," the statement read. "At Tronc, we expect all employees to act in a way that supports a culture of diversity and inclusion. We will take appropriate action to address any behavior that falls short of these expectations."

Sipkins said Tronc had not suspended Levinsohn...

Threatening legal action didn't seem to help some of the earlier targets of the #MeToo recrimination ("reckoning") campaign, so I doubt it's going to help this guy.

Whatever. (*Shrugs.*)

More at the link.

Daniel Day-Lewis Opens-Up About Retirement

I watched "The Last of the Mohicans" over the weekend, and then "Lincoln" was on the other night, so I got to thinking about Daniel Day-Lewis: Why'd he retire? So then I'm out with my wife yesterday at the Spectrum shopping center in Irvine, and she stepped into a hair salon for a consultation about getting a perm. While waiting, I started reading this article about Day-Lewis at W Magazine. Not sure if I'll see his latest --- and last --- movie, "Phantom Thread," which seems a bit too artsy, even for me.

In any case, at W, "Exclusive: Daniel Day-Lewis Opens Up About Giving Up Acting After Phantom Thread":

Watch Daniel Day-Lewis in an exclusive @Phantom_Thread video clip, here: https://t.co/oXHzhpylNw

— W magazine (@wmag) January 18, 2018

Day-Lewis has not seen Phantom Thread. He has viewed many of his other films, but has no plans to see this one. Earlier this summer, he announced through a written statement that he would not continue acting. He only discussed this decision with Rebecca—and has not spoken publicly about his retirement until now. In the past, he always took extended breaks between films—blue periods and times of decompression that prompted Jim Sheridan, the director of My Left Foot and two other Day-Lewis films, to remark that “Daniel hates acting.” But after a break, he would be seduced anew by a fascinating character, a compelling story, an exciting director. “What has taken over in the past is an illusion of inevitability,” Day-Lewis said. “I’ll think, Is there no way to avoid this? In the case of Phantom Thread, when we started I had no curiosity about the fashion world. I didn’t want to be drawn into it. Even now, fashion itself doesn’t really interest me. In the beginning, we didn’t know what profession the protagonist would have. We chose fashion and then realized, What the hell have we let ourselves into? And then the fashion world got its hooks into me.”

The fashion world, in turn, was obsessed with the film, which was cloaked in secrecy. At first, Phantom Thread was rumored to be about the couturier Charles James, a great innovator whose work was recently celebrated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, who ended life destitute and virtually unknown, living in the Chelsea Hotel. Anderson and Day-Lewis were not interested in telling that story. ­Phantom Thread is one of the most beguiling portrayals of fashion in the history of film, but in the end, it’s not a film about fashion.

Day-Lewis was uncharacteristically inarticulate when speaking about the exact reasons why he found Reynolds Woodcock so overwhelming. Perhaps, I suggested, it was a combination of being back in his homeland and playing an exacting artist like his father. He politely brushed my theories aside. “There are spells in these films that you can’t account for,” he said. “Paul and I spoke a lot about curses—the idea of a curse on a family, what that might be like. A kind of malady. And it’s not that I felt there was a curse attached to this film, other than the responsibility of a creative life, which is both a curse and a blessing. You can never separate them until the day you die. It’s the thing that feeds you and eats away at you; gives you life and is killing you at the same time.”

Day-Lewis paused. I wondered why a man who is widely acknowledged as the greatest actor of his generation, who has won three ­Academy Awards for best actor and is magical onscreen, would want to walk away from his profession. “I haven’t figured it out,” he said. “But it’s settled on me, and it’s just there. Not wanting to see the film is connected to the decision I’ve made to stop working as an actor. But it’s not why the sadness came to stay. That happened during the telling of the story, and I don’t really know why.” He paused again. “One of my sons is interested in musical composition, so I showed him the film Tous Les Matins du Monde, about the French composer Sainte-Colombe. My son was deeply struck by the sobriety that it took to create that work, Sainte-Colombe’s refusal to accept less than what was extraordinary from himself or anyone else. I dread to use the overused word ‘artist,’ but there’s something of the responsibility of the artist that hung over me. I need to believe in the value of what I’m doing. The work can seem vital. Irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn’t.”

Day-Lewis has often wanted to quit after emerging from a character. This time, by making a public announcement of his retirement, he sought to make the decision binding. “I knew it was uncharacteristic to put out a statement,” he continued. “But I did want to draw a line. I didn’t want to get sucked back into another project. All my life, I’ve mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don’t know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do.”

Interestingly, Day-Lewis speaks about the need to retire in the same manner he speaks about the need to take on a character: with a kind of intensity that takes over his entire being. And, as with acting, he is still uncertain of his feelings. “Do I feel better?” he asked, anticipating my question. “Not yet. I have great sadness. And that’s the right way to feel. How strange would it be if this was just a gleeful step into a brand-new life. I’ve been interested in acting since I was 12 years old, and back then, everything other than the theater—that box of light—was cast in shadow. When I began, it was a question of salvation. Now, I want to explore the world in a different way.”

Although there have been rumors that Day-Lewis is going to become a fashion designer, he laughed when I suggested that career. “Who knows?” he said mischievously. “I won’t know which way to go for a while. But I’m not going to stay idle. I don’t fear the stony silence.” He has always had a variety of passions: He once wrote a comedy script with Rebecca; he paints well; he makes furniture; and he is a fan of MotoGP, the competitive motorcycle tournament. But he also has a deep love of film, and it is hard to imagine that he will not continue to contribute to movies in some way.

“They will not let you go quietly,” I said to him. And Day-Lewis smiled. “Hmmm,” he said. “They will have to.”

Keep reading.

False Twitter Memes About Homeless Encampment Along the Santa Ana River Bike Trail

I've written about the O.C.'s homeless problem a few times now, and it's not because of "left-wing socialism," as at least a couple of commenters have argued on Twitter. There's a viral video of the homeless camp along the bike trail near Anaheim Stadium, and some tweeps are claiming that these are migrant camps with "refugees." That's just not the case. These are regular urban homeless encampments, and from what I've learned you've got the full range of people residing in them. The most common cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. And usually the homeless are those with severe mental illness, people who normally refuse offers of temporary shelter (because they'll lose their freedom and be told what to do and how to live).

Unfortunately, in our tribal political era, fake memes aren't the exclusive domain of your political enemies. Sometimes people on your own side push false narratives, pernicious narratives. And this bothers me.

This person below, Ryan Saavedra, supposedly a "reporter" at the Daily Wire, did not respond to my tweet nor remove or make corrections to his comments.

Oh well. I'm a positivist conservative. I still believe in the truth. Truth should win out. In the end, conservatives will win when truth wins, so I'm sticking with it.

It is not. It’s a homeless camp next to Anaheim Stadium. Anaheim’s about as capitalist a city you’ll see in California. The problem is mental health and lack of jobs and affordable housing. Stop spreading fake memes. #TheOC https://t.co/bUVRGKg980

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 17, 2018

This video was taken in Orange County, California recently.

It is over 10-minutes long, only 2:20 can be uploaded to Twitter.

This is the result of socialism and left-wing politics. pic.twitter.com/8BYWuXo0ly

— Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) January 16, 2018

Freezing Weather is Creating Energy Shortages in the Northeast

I just saw this at Watts Up With That?, "Frigid cold is why we need dependable energy."

Which reminded me of the East Coast natural gas shortages causing problems this last few weeks, not the least of which some folks couldn't heat their homes. Thanks radical left-wing anti-human environmental psychos!

At the Hartford Courant, "Cold Wave Puts Pressure On Energy Suppliers":

Energy industry officials have for years warned that inadequate pipeline capacity limits the amount of natural gas coming into New England during peak demand periods like this one. Several multi-billion-dollar proposals for new pipelines have been blocked or withdrawn in the last two years as a result of financing issues and opposition from environmental and consumer groups.

Herb said the current cold spell’s inadequate gas supply problems have triggered increased demands for heating oil.

“We’ve absolutely seen huge [institutional and industrial] users switching to fuel oil,” Herb said. He said big schools like the University of Connecticut, Yale University and Fairfield University, as well as a number of big industrial plants, are now using oil to power their heating systems.

Steve Sack, of Sack Energy, a major Connecticut fuel oil wholesaler, said those major users are now looking to purchase fuel oil on the spot market.

In some areas of the northeast, including portions of Pennsylvania and New York, major demand for fuel oil is creating shortage worries. But wholesalers and retail home heating oil suppliers say Connecticut isn’t experiencing the same problems.

The primary reason for Connecticut’s comfortable supply situation is that most of this state’s fuel oil comes into New Haven by barge and then is pumped up through the Buckeye pipeline to major portions of Connecticut. That avoids the kind of problems New York is having getting oil barges up the ice-choked Hudson River, Herb said.

“Right now, we’re having no issues with supply,” Sack said. He said areas of Connecticut that aren’t along the pipeline that runs from New Haven up through Springfield, Mass., are being supplied by tractor trailer trucks from the port or terminals along the pipeline.

Sack said wholesale fuel oil prices at New York’s harbor are now running at about $2.06 per gallon, which are “down a little bit right now” from earlier price levels.

Herb said his office is constantly monitoring the supply situation. He said he recently got a call from U.S. Department of Energy officials asking if the federal regional petroleum reserve should be released to help the energy situation.

“We told them no. … We did not need that,” Herb said.

Heating oil company drivers are being pushed to the max to keep getting fuel deliveries to residential customers who need them.

RTWT.

Feminism Has Become an 'Unapologetic Anti-Male Hate Movement'

At the Other McCain, "‘Maybe as an Old Chick I Don’t Get it’":

Back in the day, women knew men wanted sex, but they were cool with it because women wanted sex, too. It may be difficult for young feminists to believe, but there used to be women who actually liked men. In fact, there still are women who like men, but none of those women are invited to write op-eds for the New York Times. In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat, feminists have removed the mask of “equality.” Feminism is now an unapologetic anti-male hate movement...

There are at least 3,000 words at that post, so click the link and read the whole thing.

Courtney Knox by Jordan Green

At Editorials Fashions Trends, "EROTIC EDITORIALS: COURTNEY KNOX BY JORDAN GREEN."

Minority Unemployment at the Lowest Levels on Record

If voters truly vote their pocketbook, then President Trump should be a shoo-in for reelection in 2020. Alas, I doubt the economic models of elections have much predictive power in this age of political tribalism.

This is good news either way.

At IBD, "Don't Look Now, But Minority Unemployment is at Record Lows Under Trump."

Gallup: Approval of U.S. Leadership Drops to New Low in Global Survey

Who cares?

There's a reason "America First" resonates with the lunch bucket set. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks? Sheesh.

At Politico, "Poll: Under Trump, global approval of U.S. leadership hits historical low." (Via Memeorandum.)

Poll: Under Trump, global approval of U.S. leadership hits historical low https://t.co/y6eHvxMc9j pic.twitter.com/yrc2zyh5Os

— POLITICO (@politico) January 18, 2018

Out in Paperback: Robert J. Gordon, The Rise and Fall of American Growth

This book is well worth your time.

Now available in paperback, at Amazon, Robert J. Gordon, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War.

Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now

Out February 27th, at Amazon, Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.

David Weinberger, Too Big to Know

At Amazon, David Weinberger, Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room.

Don and Alex Tapscott, Blockchain Revolution

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott, Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World.

Albert Camus, The Plague

I need to read some existentialism, heh.

At Amazon, Albert Camus, The Plague.

Instagram Travel Babe Madeline Relph

At Drunken Stepfather, "Madeline Relph Naked of the Day."

James Agee, A Death in the Family

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, James Agee, A Death in the Family (Penguin Classics).

Published in 1957, two years after its author's death at the age of forty-five, A Death in the Family remains a near-perfect work of art, an autobiographical novel that contains one of the most evocative depictions of loss and grief ever written. As Jay Follet hurries back to his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, he is killed in a car accident — a tragedy that destroys not only a life, but also the domestic happiness and contentment of a young family. A novel of great courage, lyric force, and powerful emotion, A Death in the Family is a masterpiece of American literature.

Jewel Heist in Paris

Amazing.

Armed thieves steal £4m in valuables from luxury Ritz Hotel in dramatic Paris jewel heist https://t.co/8lwh6BmcXP

— The Independent (@Independent) January 11, 2018

When what police call a "movie-worthy heist" takes place in Venice, even the New York Times pays attention. https://t.co/PDgUnj7dzj

— Kenneth Turan (@KennethTuran) January 4, 2018

Terry C. Johnston, Dance on the Wind

At Amazon, Terry C. Johnston, Dance on the Wind: A Novel.

Megan Williams Takes You Away (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Badass Challenger

Seen on Twitter:

Monday muscle. (Photo credit: George N.) #ThatsMyDodge pic.twitter.com/6gbkPV3dqp

— Dodge (@Dodge) January 15, 2018

Oops! Frank Luntz Gets Stuffed on Twitter!

Heh.

Frank Luntz asks how you'd feel if someone called your hometown a s**thole, gets his answer https://t.co/iZusB1oBBS

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 16, 2018

every. damn. day. by the "mainstream media" about The South so take your sanctimony and shove it https://t.co/8NCJHxf6OL

— Hang the blessed DJ (@lamblock) January 14, 2018

The Recent 'Exposé' of Aziz Ansari is Arguably the Worst Thing That's Happened to the #MeToo Movement Since it Started

Following-up from the other day, "Aziz Ansari."

From the phenomenal Bari Weiss, at NYT, "Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader."

BONUS: Katie Pavlich tweeted earlier:

Oh my https://t.co/tyXQ0vWFE7

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 16, 2018

The oldest editorial staffer at “Babe” is 25 and the Ansari story was being edited at brunch. So that makes sense. https://t.co/KTTbp2A8uM pic.twitter.com/epwkc42mhb

— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) January 16, 2018

Big Pic Dump

At Theo's, "Pic Dump..."

What If Diversity Isn't America's Strength?

From Jonah Goldberg, at LAT, "This should elicit some fun email":

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he scolded the president for saying something scatological about certain countries and their immigrants. "Diversity has always been our strength," he allegedly said. By my count, this makes Graham the bazillionth person to proclaim some variant of "diversity is strength."

Is it true? I think the only close to right answer is, "it depends." Specifically, it depends on what — often clichéd — analogy you have in mind. Diverse stock portfolios are more resilient. Diverse diets are healthier. But that doesn't mean picking bad stocks will make you richer or that eating spoiled foods is good for you.

I once heard Jesse Jackson explain that racial integration of the NBA made it stronger and better. He was right. But would gender integration of the NBA have the same effect? Would diversifying professional basketball by height? Probably not.

All of these analogies can take you only so far. Thomas Sowell once said, "The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department."

There's a growing body of evidence that even if diversity— the kind that results from immigration — once made America stronger, it may not be doing so anymore. Robert Putnam, a liberal sociologist at Harvard, found that increased diversity corrodes civil society by eroding shared values, customs and institutions. People tend to "hunker down" and retreat from civil society, at least in the short and medium term.

I think the real culprit here isn't immigration or diversity in general, but the rising stigma against assimilation. Particularly on college campuses, but also in large swaths of mainstream journalism and in the louder corners of the fever swamp right, the idea that people of all backgrounds should embrace a single conception of "Americanism" is increasingly taboo.

Anyone of any race or national origin can be an American, but it requires effort and desire from both the individual and the larger society. There's a shortage of both these days...

More.

U.S. Highway 101 to Stay Closed for at Least Another Week (VIDEO)

At the video from KSBY Santa Barbara above. And at USA Today below:

Many evacuated residents don’t yet fully grasp how badly their town has been damaged or how long the scars will remain. https://t.co/qTDtsIqOor

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 16, 2018

Danielle Gersh's Dense Fog Forecast

Well, there go those mid-'80s temperatures we've been having.

This foggy weather is chilly too.

And here's the lovely Ms. Danielle, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Tiffany Watson in Sizzling Lingerie Photo Shoot in London

At London's Daily Mail, "MIC's Tiffany Watson sets pulses racing in plunging lace bra and barely-there thong as she poses between the sheets in sizzling new shoot."

Parents Arrested After 13 Kids Found Chained to Beds and Starving in Riverside County Home (VIDEO)

House of horrors.

A report at CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "13 Children Ages 2 to 29 Found Shackled to Beds In Perris Home, Parents Arrested."

Twenty-nine years old? I can't believe it, man.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Children found shackled and malnourished in Perris home; parents arrested":

The 911 call came in at 6 a.m. Sunday. A teenage girl was on the line with an unsettling tale.

She had managed to escape from her family's home in Perris, where her parents had been holding her captive. Her brothers and sisters were still locked inside — 12 of them. Some were chained to their beds, she said.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to find the 17-year-old girl. When they saw her, they were struck by her small size and emaciated appearance. She looked to be only 10, according to the sheriff's account released Monday.

The nightmarish scene deputies discovered when they entered the house on Muir Woods Road was as bad as the girl had described. They found "several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings," the statement said.

The parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, "were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner," deputies wrote. The couple were arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment and each was being held Monday night in lieu of $9-million bail.

The youngest child was 2. At first deputies assumed from their frail and malnourished appearance that all in the group were minors, but they later determined that seven of them were adults ages 18 to 29, the sheriff's statement said.

It was not clear from the statement how many of the children were found locked to their beds.

Deputies provided food and drinks to the children, who "claimed to be starving," before they were admitted to hospitals.

Public records show the couple own the tract house where the children were found. Its address is also listed in a state Department of Education directory as the location of the Sandcastle Day School, a private K-12 campus. David Turpin is listed as the principal.

During the last school year, the school was listed in state records as a non-religious and co-ed institution. There were six students enrolled — one each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades.

David Turpin's parents, James and Betty Turpin of West Virginia, told ABC News they were "surprised and shocked" at the allegations. They said their grandchildren are home-schooled, and that they had not seen their son and daughter-in-law in four or five years.

Public records indicate the couple have lived at the address for several years and lived in Texas for many years before coming to California. They declared bankruptcy twice, public records show...

And note as well:

Ivan Trahan, an attorney who represented the couple in their latest bankruptcy in 2011, said Monday he was shocked at news of the arrests....Trahan said that David Turpin, who worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman, an aeronautics and defense technology company, had a "relatively high" income, but had trouble keeping up with his expenses because he had so many children.

Well, one would think two or three kids would be sufficient, although I'm not one to impose mandatory family size like leftists, heh.

Still more.

Kelly Rohrbach on Vacation in Hawaii

Following-up from the other day, "Kelly Rohrbach Invites You to Explore (VIDEO)."

At Taxi Driver, "Kelly Rohrbach Topless on Her Vacation."

And at the Sun U.K., "PHWOAR-BACH: Baywatch star Kelly Rohrbach does topless yoga on the beach in Hawaii - Kelly, 27, is enjoying some downtime on the island after her success in the latest Baywatch film."

Jennifer Delacruz's M.L.K. Day Forecast

It's been record warm temperatures this last few days, and while it's supposed to be cooler today, it was roasting outside already when I stepped out to get the newspaper.

Here's lovely Ms. Jennifer:

Racial Injustice Today

I saw this last week but neglected to post. Racial injustice just ain't what it used to be.

Behind the making of this weeks NYer cover. #NewYorker #Magazine #magaazines #illustration #gouache #MLKDay2018 #MLK https://t.co/3sOwENSMrd pic.twitter.com/pGLn6UoVci

— Mark Ulriksen (@MarkUlriksenArt) January 9, 2018

Where Can a Black Person Get Their Hair Done?

When I had an Afro back in the day, my mom used to take me to a black barbershop in Santa Ana, which was the only place where they knew how to give me a haircut. And when I was college in my 20s, even though I wore my hair short and close-cropped, some of the barbers at the local barbershop in Costa Mesa used to groan as I sat down in their seat. I don't know why you're a barber if you don't like giving a mulatto man a haircut?

At the far-left Affinity Magazine (and I do mean far-left, *smh*):

I'm tired of being rejected from hair salons for being black. How can a "professional" hairstylist not be able to do black hair? https://t.co/KBBk64EvVl

— Affinity Magazine (@TheAffinityMag) January 11, 2018

Moira Donegan

I meant to post this earlier. It's good:

Whatever you thought of the Shitty Media Men List, this honest, clear piece, by its creator, should not be missed. https://t.co/Ca9kv4ALco

— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) January 11, 2018

Books from 'Shithole Countries'

Heh, I'm hip with the entrepreneurial exploitation of the president, lol.

A New York bookstore is featuring books today by writers from #ShitholeCountries including Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai pic.twitter.com/CrQa5oFSoY

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 13, 2018

This is How Radical Leftists View the President, at Home and Abroad

At Der Spiegel:

New Der SPIEGEL Cover: The Age of Fire and Fury https://t.co/jxgHScxKrO pic.twitter.com/wVKK5aHrcE

— SPIEGEL ONLINE English (@SPIEGEL_English) January 12, 2018

Peeled Pomegranates

We used to eat pomegranates off the trees in my neighborhood back in the day. Oh boy, what I'd have given for one peeled, lol.

Seen on Twitter just now:

Someone sent me a picture of these completely peeled pomegranates and brb I have fainted pic.twitter.com/bLUB5FAXu0

— Helen Rosner (@hels) January 15, 2018

Aziz Ansari

Honestly, I'm just glad I'm married and I'm not dealing with society's sex panic as an everyday participant in the dating market. It's bad enough being at far-left college for my day job, although it's been like this on campus for a long time already, so I don't have to adjust my orientation too much. (My rule has been to never be alone with a woman in a closed room, and that's been the rule since graduate school, when we were told that's the rule; it's a good rule.)

Anyway, I think Mr. Ansari is more aggressive than I ever was dating, but it's not abnormal at all.

See Caitlin Flanagan, at the Atlantic, "The Humiliation of Aziz Ansari."

The allegations of sexual misconduct against @AzizAnsari amount to "3,000 words of revenge porn," @CaitlinPacific argueshttps://t.co/FV55XuBFaX pic.twitter.com/i0rf0Qhrv2

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) January 15, 2018

And here's the piece itself, on "Babe.net", of all places, "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life."

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This has turned into racial virtue signalling day for the radical left. Here's the New York Times, attacking President Trump, at Memeorandum, "Donald Trump's Racism: The Definitive List."

And WaPo's taking the president to task for golfing, although President Obama golfed all the time, and it was never a problem. At Memorandum, "On MLK Day, President Trump visits Trump golf course."

So, with that, here's President Trump's M.L.K Day greeting. We're lucky we have this president:

Robyn Lawley Uncovered for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2017 (VIDEO)

Nice.

Death Toll from Montecito Mudslides Rises to 20

This is from yesterday's paper, too true, "Hope fades for those still buried by Montecito mudslide."

And from just a little while ago, at LAT, "Death toll from Montecito mudslides climbs to 20, as authorities continue search for the missing":

The death toll in the Montecito mudslides climbed to 20 on Sunday, as officials continued to work to clear the mud and debris-strewn 101 Freeway, which has been closed indefinitely.

The body of the latest victim, who has not been identified, was discovered as authorities continued to search for several people still missing from the deluge, officials said. At least four other people are still unaccounted for.

On Saturday, search and rescue crews recovered the body of Morgan Corey, 25, who was found in debris near Olive Mill Road about 9 a.m., officials said.

At an afternoon news conference at the Earl Warren Fairgrounds, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson spoke about the difficulties and challenges faced by emergency responders in their search for survivors.

"I have felt the heartbreak of knowing that even with all of your skill and all of your training and all of your planning, you couldn't save everybody," he said. "No one could have planned for the size and scope of what a 200-year storm immediately following our largest wildfire could bring."

A candlelight vigil for the victims of the mudslide is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday in the sunken gardens area outside the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

CalTrans crews continued to work Sunday to clear a two-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway in Montecito that was initially expected to re-open Monday. But officials said cleaning up one part of the freeway at Olive Mill Road was proving especially difficult.

Aided by private contractors and the Army Corps of Engineers, crews have been working around the clock to clear the freeway, a major north south artery that carries about 100,000 vehicles through the Central Coast each day.

The cleanup is focused on what CalTrans calls "dewatering" — using pumps to suck up the mud and rainwater. Once all the mud and debris is removed, the pavement and overpasses must be evaluated for structural safety, and then signs and guardrails reinstalled and lines repainted.

"It's really an overwhelming situation, and we don't want to give an estimate that isn't accurate," said Colin Jones, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said about the freeway re-opening.

In addition to the 101, many local roads are blocked. Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Pat McElroy said the big push on Saturday was to clean roads in the Santa Barbara and Montecito areas in order to improve vehicular access.

"As it stands, we're still having to go in on foot in many areas," he said.

State Route 192, which cuts across the foothills, is also unsafe in places, and officials are trying to establish an alternative route as soon as possible.

With the 101 closed, hundreds of people have taken to traveling the coast by boat. Two sightseeing companies, Island Packers in Ventura and Condor Express in Santa Barbara, have worked together to turn their vessels into a ferry service between the cities.

Tickets on the Condor Express, a 75-foot catamaran that normally takes tourists whale watching, were in high demand last week, with many trips packed with the maximum 127 passengers, assistant manager Katie Fitts said.

The 90-minute trip over the water was significantly shorter than the more than four-hour detour on the 5 Freeway, and ferry passengers included firefighters, city workers and medical personnel from Cottage Hospital, she said.

"There are people trying to get to their families that have been struck by this tragedy and people trying to get to work … surgeons and nurses," Fitts said...

More at that top link.

New History of the Ukrainian Famine

This is Sophie Pinkham's review of Anne Applebaum's Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine. It's really good, dang!

(Pinkham's the author of Black Square: Adventures in Post-Soviet Ukraine.)

At the Nation, "The Candle of Memory":

In 1928, Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union had a food problem. Because of policies that gave farmers little incentive to sell their grain, the state could no longer feed the urban population. Stalin became convinced that counterrevolutionary “kulaks”—a mostly imaginary class of fat-cat capitalist peasants—were hoarding grain. He ordered requisitions that angered the peasants and discouraged production, leading to further grain shortages, which in turn were followed by even more requisitions. Stalin had quickly made his own suspicions come true: Peasants began to hoard and hide grain—in protest and as a means of survival.

In response to this crisis, the Communist Party’s Central Committee decided to collectivize agriculture in 1929. Collective farms were to function like state-owned agricultural factories, with peasant farmers transmogrified into workers. The fantasy was that scientific innovations would vastly improve productivity, providing bountiful food for the cities, with plenty left over to export in exchange for the hard currency needed for rapid industrialization.

Though some high-ranking members of the party (notably Nikolai Bukharin) opposed forced collectivization, Stalin chose to employ the most coercive and violent methods available to him. He began by having millions of “kulaks” deported to distant collective farms, depriving them of the ties to community that would aid them in a rebellion. Many peasants chose to destroy their crops and slaughter their livestock rather than turn them over to the state; some of the more religious ones came to believe that the Soviet Antichrist was ringing in the end of the world. Others, more accurately, saw collectivization as a form of “second serfdom.” Peasants lynched and murdered Soviet officials and volunteers in charge of collectivization.

The result of Stalin’s policies was a man-made famine of terrifying scale. By the spring of 1932, peasants in the grain-growing districts of Ukraine, the northern Caucasus, the Volga region, and western Siberia were starving. Applebaum draws on oral testimonies and memoirs that offer a vivid look into the transformations wrought by famine. One Ukrainian survivor described his brother as “alive but completely swollen, his body shining as if it were made of glass.” An activist from Russia remembered Ukrainian children looking “all alike: their heads like heavy kernels, their necks skinny as a stork’s…the skin itself like yellow gauze stretched over their skeletons.” Some parents abandoned or even killed their children, unable to bear watching them starve to death. There were instances of cannibalism, usually necrophagia. Though this horror was the result of Soviet policy, the police arrested those who succumbed to it. Applebaum quotes a Polish woman who wrote in her gulag memoir about being transferred to a prison island populated by “Ukrainian cannibals”:

They described how their children died of hunger, and how they themselves, very close to starvation, cooked the corpses of their own children and ate them. This happened when they were in a state of shock caused by hunger. Later, when they came to understand what had happened, they lost their minds.

People died in the streets, and no one had the strength to bury them. Peasants were forbidden to enter the cities in search of food, and the areas most affected, including Ukraine, were closed off. Policemen and party activists searched village households and confiscated any remaining animals or food they saw, even crusts of bread. Harsh penalties—execution or 10 years’ hard labor—were imposed for any kind of theft. By the end of 1932, less than six months after the new law had been passed, 4,500 people had been executed for violating it, and more than 100,000 had received 10-year sentences.

Party members, ordinary people, and cultural figures like the author Mikhail Sholokhov wrote to Stalin, describing the horrendous situation and imploring him to help. Moscow party boss Martemyan Ryutin released an opposition platform denouncing the Soviet leader and aggressively criticizing coercive collectivization and the anti-kulak terror; he and his family were soon arrested and executed. Members of the Ukrainian Communist Party pleaded with Stalin to lower the quotas and provide food aid; some quit in protest. Many paid for these protests with their lives, and others committed suicide.

In May of 1933, the Soviet authorities finally approved substantial food aid, sent in workers to help bring in the harvest, stopped the arrests of peasants (in part because the prisons and camps were overflowing), and ended the policy of food confiscation. Grain quotas were reduced. But the damage done was almost unimaginable: Between 1931 and 1934, at least 5 million people starved to death across the Soviet Union...

RTWT.

CNN's Alisyn Camerota Starts Bawling on Live TV During Coverage of President Trump's Comments (VIDEO)

I guess tears-on-demand is one of the more genuine measures of leftist virtue signalling. (*SMH.*)

Jennifer Delacruz's Sunday Weather

It was 19 degrees at game time in Pittsburgh this morning, but it's sure nice in Southern California.

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer from last night:

Britney Spears Yellow Bikini on Vacation in Hawaii (PHOTOS)

At Egotastic!:

It may not have polkadots but we still love @britneyspears's itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow bikini.
More pics: https://t.co/TEduhK4MIx pic.twitter.com/2k9h3O49M8

— Egotastic! (@egotastic) January 11, 2018

Doutzen Kroes on Vacation

At Taxi Driver, "Doutzen Kroes Caught Topless on Vacation."

Those sneaky paparazzi photographer, heh.

BONUS: From Christmas 2016:

Merry Xmas to you!#Xmas #DoutzenStories #hunkemöller pic.twitter.com/veMhB8W2mO

— Doutzen Kroes (@Doutzen) December 24, 2016

Blanca Blanco Hits the Beach in Malibu

At London's Daily Mail, "Topless in Malibu: Sizzling Blanca Blanco has nip slip as she hits the beach in nothing more than bold red jacket and underwear."

BONUS: At Fox News, "Blanca Blanco responds to criticism after ignoring all-black dress code at #GoldenGlobes: 'Shaming is part of the problem'."

REPORT: President Trump Lawyer Allegedly Paid $130,000 to Silence Former Porn Star Stormy Daniels Over Sexual Encounter; Daniels Denies

Isn't this where it's all headed, really?

I mean, how many Hollywood moguls, movie stars, and film icons have to be thrown under the #MeToo bus before the biggest prize is captured? I mean, c'mon, we learned a week or so ago that Democrat operatives were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to accusers of the president. Now we have a top-tier media report alleging that porn stars were paid off for their silence? And you've got a smiling photo with President Trump and the former adult star Ms. Stormy?

Oh boy, it's been a busy news day.

Stormy Daniels denies the allegations, at least according to this screen-cap of a letter on Twitter and as reported at the New York Post:

Stormy Daniels herself denies this story, but we can't expect the mainstream media or the twits on liberal twitter to spend 2 seconds fact checking something. pic.twitter.com/jHaXuZex2G

— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) January 12, 2018

JUST IN: Trump team paid porn star $130K to keep quiet about extramarital affair https://t.co/dRplGULnzv

— New York Post (@nypost) January 12, 2018

And see WSJ, "Trump Lawyer Arranged $130,000 Payment for Adult-Film Star’s Silence" (and Memeorandum):

A former porn star reached a $130,000 deal just before the 2016 election to stay silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trumphttps://t.co/uztUVwrPAm

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 12, 2018

A lawyer for President Donald Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to a former adult-film star a month before the 2016 election as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

Michael Cohen, who spent nearly a decade as a top attorney at the Trump Organization, arranged payment to the woman, Stephanie Clifford, in October 2016 after her lawyer negotiated the nondisclosure agreement with Mr. Cohen, these people said.

Ms. Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, has privately alleged the encounter with Mr. Trump took place after they met at a July 2006 celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, these people said. Mr. Trump married Melania Trump in 2005.

Mr. Trump faced other allegations during his campaign of inappropriate behavior with women, and vehemently denied them. In this matter, there is no allegation of a nonconsensual interaction.

“These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election,” a White House official said, responding to the allegation of a sexual encounter involving Mr. Trump and Ms. Clifford. The official declined to respond to questions about an agreement with Ms. Clifford. It isn’t known whether Mr. Trump was aware of any agreement or payment involving her.

In a statement, Mr. Cohen didn’t address the $130,000 payment but said of the alleged sexual encounter that “President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.”

Mr. Cohen added in the statement, addressed to The Wall Street Journal: “This is now the second time that you are raising outlandish allegations against my client. You have attempted to perpetuate this false narrative for over a year; a narrative that has been consistently denied by all parties since at least 2011.”

The Journal previously reported that Ms. Clifford, 38 years old, had been in talks with ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the fall of 2016 about an appearance to discuss Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. In that article, the Journal reported the company that owns the National Enquirer agreed to pay $150,000 to a former Playboy centerfold model three months before the election for her story of an affair a decade earlier with the Republican presidential nominee, which the tabloid newspaper didn’t publish. The company said she was paid to write fitness columns and appear on magazine covers.

Mr. Cohen also sent a two-paragraph statement by email addressed “TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN” and signed by “Stormy Daniels” denying that she had a “sexual and/or romantic affair” with Mr. Trump.

“Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the statement said.

Ms. Clifford didn’t respond to multiple emails seeking comment.

After the agreement, Ms. Clifford’s camp complained the payment wasn’t being made quickly enough and threatened to cancel the deal, some of the people familiar with the matter said.

The payment was made to Ms. Clifford through her lawyer in the matter, Keith Davidson, with funds sent to Mr. Davidson’s client-trust account at City National Bank in Los Angeles, according to the people.

“I previously represented Ms. Daniels,” Mr. Davidson said, referring to Ms. Clifford’s stage name. “Attorney-client privilege prohibits me from commenting on my clients’ legal matters.”

A spokeswoman for City National Bank declined to comment.

The agreement with Ms. Clifford came as the Trump campaign confronted allegations from numerous women who described unwanted sexual advances and alleged assaults by Mr. Trump...

Still more.

The 'Lowest Day' of Trump's Presidency (VIDEO)

It's Lou Dobbs and Ann Coulter, two of the right-wing media's biggest anti-immigration hardliners. (Remember Dobbs was fired from CNN for his comments on illegal immigrants.)

I mentioned the other night that folks like Michelle Malkin and Laura Ingraham weren't going to let the president slide on amnesty, and Coulter's arguing for the death of this presidency, right now. Watch:

CNN Talking Heads Have Completely Lost It Over President Trump's 'Shithole Countries'

I've blogged this story already, "President Trump Asked Why We Should Take Immigrants from 'Shithole Countries'," and "African Nations Angry as President Trump Disses 'Shithole Countries' (VIDEO)."

Just now I checked CNN's YouTube page to see if any of their people were actually saying "shithole countries" on the air last night. So far I've only seen Anderson Cooper use the word (at the video below), although I did catch Ana Navarro literally lose her shit over the president's "shithole" remarks.

This is unreal.

At the link, "Navarro: No other way to interpret Trump's comments." (She's wearing an "I Am An Immigrant" t-shirt on the air as well, which of course provides BIG credibility to her vicious unhinged rant, sheesh.)

And watch Mr. Anderson practically start bawling on air, signalling his virtue about how he just loves all those poor Haitians down there. (*Eye-rolls.*)

Rhian Sugden for Obsessive Lingerie

On Twitter:

New campaign and catalogue shot for Obsessive Lingerie....

Here’s to another year in Poland! 👏🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/oGDXDjK4lM

— Rhian Sugden (@Rhianmarie) January 12, 2018

African Nations Angry as President Trump Disses 'Shithole Countries' (VIDEO)

Following-up, "President Trump Asked Why We Should Take Immigrants from 'Shithole Countries'."

At CBS This Morning, Debora Patta, in Johannesburg, South Africa, refers to "expletive" countries.

President Trump Asked Why We Should Take Immigrants from 'Shithole Countries'

I don't know sometimes. All the problems in the world and the biggest political blowout is whether or not the president actually said "shithole countries."

I broke my boycott of television news this morning, as I was getting my son ready for school at 7:00am, and tuned into CBS This Morning. They led with it, although they would not say "shithole" on the air, with the generic "expletive" countries used in instead. Hilariously, though, now the Washington Post is having to defend itself for actually using "shithole" in it's coverage.

I guarantee you the president knows what he's doing. Stable genius indeed.

At WaPo, via Memeorandum, "Trump attacks protections for immigrants from ‘shithole’ countries in Oval Office meeting."

And at the New York Times, "Trump Alarms Lawmakers With Disparaging Words for Haiti and Africa."

Trump lashed out at Haitian and African immigrants in WH mtg w lawmakers on DACA, asking why US should take people from "shithole countries." WH isn't denying it https://t.co/gxWNsn8pHv

— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) January 11, 2018

Handcuffed Lucy

Yum Lucy Pinder!

Happy Friday @skywest6365 @buquet1000 @Stacey_poolefan @HollyIndoFan_ @teo_campa @RhianSFans @LucyMichelleGLM @LucyPinderFan2 @Cdric91 @aaronmatthewf @curvyonly @CatchHD @BabeDepository @Wildcard095 @Page3Classics @LuckyDragon99 @ds_161_4 @nuffinbutgirls @bigboobsfansite pic.twitter.com/riNOU4EuIo

— World Class Beauty (@LoveLucyP) November 24, 2017

Drunken Steplinks

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

Also, at Director Blue, "Larwyn's Linx: The DOJ and FBI Worked With Fusion GPS on “Operation Trump”."

And at Maggie's Farm, "Friday morning links."

BONUS: At the Other McCain, "Democrats Love ‘S***hole’ Countries, and They Want America to Become One."

pic.twitter.com/IWX1OxJKih

— 🔥Perfect² Hotties🔥 (@nyxxxguy2) December 18, 2017

'Darkest Hour'

Well, I kept my promise and bumped out for a bit to take in "The Darkest Hour." I'm delightfully pleased. It's far from the greatest or near greatest war (or war-ish) film, but next to Daniel Day Lewis in "Lincoln," it's the best biographical portrait of a democratic leader ever.

I read a half dozen reviews right now, and you can check Google yourself if you wish. Here's the New York Times' rather harsh take, "Review: ‘Darkest Hour,’ or the Great Man Theory of History (and Acting)," and Kenneth Turan's, at the Los Angeles Times, "Gary Oldman's bulldog performance as Winston Churchill lifts Joe Wright's overwrought directing in 'Darkest Hour'."

I definitely recommend it. Indeed, a day of great movie-watching would be to watch this one right after "Dunkirk." I love the populist moral clarity here, which is what A.O. Scott at NYT attacks. Indeed, I mostly go to the flicks for exactly this heroic patriotic fare.

Today's Deals

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Plus, UGG Women's Classic Cuff Short Winter Boot.

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Here, CLIF BAR - Energy Bar - Blueberry Crisp - (2.4-Ounce Protein Bar, 12 Count).

Finally, Samsung Curved 55" 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2017 Model) - UN55MU6500 w/ TV Cut The Cord Bundle Includes, Durable HDTV & FM Antenna, 2x 6ft. High Speed HDMI Cable & Screen Cleaner for LED TVs.

BONUS: Ernest Hemingway, Islands in the Stream.

Arctic Doomsday Bunker

I need a doomsday bunker to survive the radical leftist apocalypse in California, sheesh.

At the Daily Mirror U.K.:

Arctic doomsday bunker holds the keys to human survival against warshttps://t.co/ynZmyd0fWe pic.twitter.com/8VKXA8ulPJ

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) January 8, 2018

Kendall Jenner for Harper's Bazaar

She's a sensation.

.@KendallJenner opens up about pushing boundaries and what inspires her in an interview with @Caradelevingne for our February issue: https://t.co/TSwbhlvIq1 pic.twitter.com/5tzGM4u1vr

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 11, 2018

"I like people who push the limits of what's expected." —@KendallJenner https://t.co/ll18cV90oi

— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) January 11, 2018

Sensational Rosie Huntington-Whiteley After Giving Birth

At the Irish Sun, "Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks sensational as she shows off her post-baby body in bikinis on a photoshoot in the Bahamas."

She's married to Jason Statham, the lucky dawg, lol.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks sensational as she shows off her post-baby body in bikinis on a photoshoot in the Bahamas https://t.co/OugCsl8FDl

— Irish Sun (@IrishSunOnline) January 11, 2018

Also, at Taxi Driver, "Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Breast Exposed on a Photo Shoot."

Madison Beer Flashes Perky Underboob

At Taxi Driver, "Madison Beer Steps Out Flaunting her Perky Underboob."

And at Hawt Celebs, "Madison Beer for Nude Magazine – April 2017."

BONUS: At Egotastic!, ".@MadisonBeer = Boobtastic."

Laura Ingraham Warns Trump: You Promised a Border Wall, Not an 'Opaque Electric Fence' (VIDEO)

The problem for me is that even if Trump gets his wall, a DACA deal with the Democrats won't pay off at the ballot box. I doubt many leftist voters will switch over and vote GOP just because Trump caved to political correctness. Leftists won't see Trump as compassionate. They hate him with the heat of a million suns. That's just fact. Playing to the base has been the key to winning for this president, and he risks alienating those voters. I don't know if independents will give him credit. We'll see. Some conservatives like Lori Hendry and Linda Suhler will stick with Trump no matter what, but movement media conservatives like Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, and Michelle Malkin won't be pleased. They'll excoriate the president on this issue, and rightly so.

In any case, here's Ms. Laura, from her show last night:

'New Rose'

Since The Sound L.A. went off the air my drive time music listening has become decidedly more eclectic. I guess that's good, because for all of The Sound's greatness (and it was especially great from the point of view of building a fanatically loyal radio-listening community), the weekday 9-5 playlist was actually pretty boring. You heard super popular hard rock hits all day long, with very few off-beat or underground songs (songs you would hear, though, on the weekends, at the odd hours of the day, or during special programming).

So yesterday I had KLOS 95.5 on while doodling around town, and a little before I came home I listened to Guns & Roses' "New Rose," which is a cover of The Damned's original hit punk rock single "New Rose" which came out in England in 1976, when I was in 10th grade.

So, yes, KLOS does have a bit more diverse daytime programming that The Sound used to have. In fact, it turns out that Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones has a daily two-hour show on the station, from Noon to 2:00pm, called Jonesy's Jukebox, which is hilarious because he literally does "whatever he wants."

So, change is good, as they say.

Here's Guns & Roses:

Victoria
The Kinks
12:33

New Rose
Guns N' Roses
12:25 PM

Miss You
The Rolling Stones
11:57 AM

Urgent
Foreigner
11:52 AM

Learn to Fly
Foo Fighters
11:49 AM

All Along the Watchtower
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
11:44 AM

Comfortably Numb
Pink Floyd
11:38 AM

RLRP_SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY (BONO)
U2
11:33 AM

You Give Love a Bad Name
Bon Jovi
11:29 AM

Man In the Box
Alice In Chains
11:25 AM

Hangman Jury
Aerosmith
11:10 AM

Changes
David Bowie
11:06 AM

Pour Some Sugar On Me
Def Leppard

'No, You Move...'

Seen on Twitter in August, upping it now, in case I haven't upped it, lol.

#JamesDamore you are a hero for being brave enough to dare to have a "wrong" opinion/thought, and openly sharing it. I salute you. pic.twitter.com/jEIwZHStnL

— Danacuss (@DAWoodPangaea) August 8, 2017

Fast and Sexy

Seen earlier:

#FastNSexy pic.twitter.com/sSRVoC17JV

— Mary Cute (@MAcuteRY) August 4, 2017

Winston Churchill's Brevity

I'm hoping to go see "Darkest Hour" today, so in the spirit of things:

Winston Churchill's note to his cabinet on brevity. pic.twitter.com/YVWdbMgzGo

— Stephen Taylor (@stephen_taylor) November 30, 2016

Montecito Cellphone Emergency Alerts Didn't Go Out Until After Mudslides Began

Here's the story, at LAT, "Emergency cellphone alerts didn't go out until after mudslides began in Montecito."

I just had to post a screen-cap of the mudslides: Man, that's up to the rooftops.

From the article:

It's unclear how many people would have heeded an emergency evacuation order had it been issued earlier in Montecito. Numerous residents said they knew about the mudslide risk from warnings but decided to stay in their homes anyway. Some said that after fleeing from fire in December, they doubted the rains would pose much of a risk.

David Cradduck, 66, was one of many people in his Montecito neighborhood who stayed.

"I think all of us have learned our lessons on this one. We were all bad children and ignored the warning," he said.

After the fires, some said they had disaster fatigue.

The #MeToo Movement Has Become a War on Men

Following-up from Monday, "The #MeToo Moment Has Now Morphed Into a Moral Panic That Poses as Much Danger to Women as it Does to Men."

Here's Heather Mac Donald's take on the #MeToo moment, at City Journal, "Too Close for Comfort":

The #MeToo movement may have begun as a justified backlash against grotesque predatory behavior and its institutional support, but, predictably, it soon evolved into a war on men and a moral panic over the male libido. Sexual harassment has become an infinitely expandable concept to take down difficult leaders, but history has been made by driven males; they created casualties aplenty but left the rest of us with art, intellectual advances, and the exploration of the unknown. The #MeToo movement will result in a new wave of quotas for females and the marginalization of men. No amount of political and social reengineering, however, will solve the problem of taming and integrating Eros in a world that denies male-female differences.

RTWT.

That phrase "moral panic" keeps cropping up. I think it's going to stick.