Worst Flu Season in Almost a Decade (VIDEO)

It's not as bad this year as it was in 2009, apparently, when the 2009 swine flu pandemic, but it's been very bad nevertheless. Yours truly came down with a case a week ago Friday, and it's been 10 days not I've been fighting this. My semester started last week too, which was otherwise fine. I just had to be very medicated. I've be taking over the counter medications, but I stayed in bed all day yesterday, and frankly yesterday and today's the first days I've genuinely felt better. I got the flu shot too, in December, and I haven't come down with the flu for at least two or three years, so I was pretty surprised I got hit. Don't mess around if you're sick. If you have persistent high fever, can't breath, or fluid on the lungs, go to the doctor. Otherwise, get some rest.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles, "High Schooler In Thousand Oaks Dies of Flu," and at the Los Angeles Times, "Flu deaths reach a high, but outbreak shows signs of easing."

And watch, at PBS News Hour:

Telegenic Warrior

The Old Gray Lady had a big piece on Dana Loesch last weekend, "The National Rifle Association’s Telegenic Warrior":

The National Rifle Association’s Telegenic Warrior https://t.co/aTrCAC3O1w

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) January 20, 2018

For as long as Ms. Loesch can remember, the world has been a scary place. She was born Dana Eaton in 1978 in Hematite, Mo., a small community about 40 miles south of St. Louis. Her parents divorced when she was in kindergarten and she has not spoken to her father in more than a decade. Her mother worked three jobs after they moved to nearby Festus, Mo., bringing home bags of granola bars after her shift at a local granola factory. Ms. Loesch said she spent school-day afternoons at home alone or with an aunt.

“Now, you could say it was like a meth ’hood,” Ms. Loesch said of her old neighborhood. “People were fighting. It was kind of crazy. It wasn’t the most stable of childhoods.”

Ms. Loesch mostly found refuge at her grandparents’ home in Annapolis, Mo., a town of about 450 people nestled in the rural Ozarks. Her family voted for Democrats. Her grandfather hunted deer and raccoon. Despite episodes of violence, Ms. Loesch idealized summers in Annapolis in “Flyover Country.” In the book, she recalled her grandfather standing on the porch one night with a shotgun in his hands. Ms. Loesch’s aunt had just arrived; her estranged husband had threatened to kill her.

“Looking back,” Ms. Loesch said, “I think I always wanted to know that I was safe.”

In the late 1990s, Ms. Loesch attended Webster University in suburban St. Louis, studying journalism, but dropped out after she got pregnant. In 2000, she married Chris Loesch, the baby’s father: a musician and son of a preacher who now manages her career. They attend weekly services at the Church of Christ. And on Halloween they give a party that harks back to more pleasant childhood memories. “Halloween was big with her mom,” said Leigh Wambsganns, a friend. Last October Ms. Loesch said she dressed as Wonder Woman.

As a new parent in St. Louis, she blogged about motherhood and began her long-running radio program, “The Dana Show.” She became disillusioned with Democratic politics, though, in the wake of President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. She helped found the St. Louis Tea Party, organizing protests and speaking at rallies. And, in 2010, she joined Andrew Breitbart at his website, one of several new voices railing against establishment politics and media bias.

After Mr. Breitbart died in 2012, Ms. Loesch clashed with Steve Bannon, the former Trump ally who had been named executive chair of Breitbart News. She sued to get out of her contract. In 2014, she moved to Dallas to work for The Blaze.

Ms. Loesch’s particular brand of attack proved unpalatable to mainstream audiences. In 2012, CNN, which had hired her as a political commentator, distanced itself from comments she made on her radio show supporting a group of Marines who urinated on dead Taliban soldiers. She claims the reporting of her comments was “disingenuous.” A year later, she was banned from the now defunct “Piers Morgan Live” after getting into a Twitter fight with the host. “I thought we made up,” she said. “But then we started fighting again.”

And, in 2016, Ms. Loesch expressed personal ire at Kayleigh McEnany, now the spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. Ms. McEnany had chided a friend of Ms. Loesch’s for not supporting Mr. Trump, then a Republican candidate, during a CNN segment. “Babycakes, this was more than just going on television and flashing your pearly whites and your flat chest, red dress, over-sprayed bleach blond hair,” Ms. Loesch told radio listeners.

This time, it seemed, she had gone too far. Ms. McEnany was undergoing treatment for a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. Both Ms. Loesch and Ms. McEnany declined to discuss the matter.

Home on the Range

Ms. Loesch’s performance for the N.R.A. has had more polish. Last April, she was featured in a recruiting ad for the organization called “Violence of Lies.” Scenes of street violence and protests flashed onscreen as Ms. Loesch called for citizens to fight media bias and liberal politicians with the “clenched fist of truth.” (The N.R.A. also released an ad in 2017 aimed at The New York Times, claiming media bias.)

According to Andrew Arulanandam, the N.R.A.’s managing director of public affairs, the message was “inspired” by the chief executive, Wayne LaPierre Jr., whose association donated $30 million in campaign support to Mr. Trump. According to news reports, the N.R.A. may have a connection to the investigation of Russia’s involvement in the election. “Violence of Lies” has been viewed nearly three million times on YouTube alone.

“Dana comes across clearly to our members and gun owners,” Mr. Arulanandam said.

But even some in those groups found the video unnecessarily, even dangerously, incendiary. An online petition was circulated, demanding Facebook remove it. On Twitter, DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist, called the video “an open call to violence to protect white supremacy.” In response, Ms. Loesch challenged him to come on her show and “tell me to my face I’m a racist.” He didn’t, saying Ms. Loesch seeks to use opponents as a foil.

“I don’t believe that she was really talking to me,” he said in an interview. “She was using me to rile up the base.” Last week Ms. Loesch said she had no interest in speaking with Mr. Mckesson.

Ms. Loesch’s boss, Mr. LaPierre, has a history of inflammatory rhetoric at the N.R.A., which has five million members. In 1995, he was forced to apologize after President George H. W. Bush canceled his N.R.A. membership in protest. The N.R.A. had sent out a fund-raising letter calling law enforcement “jackbooted government thugs” who threatened to hurt Americans. “That is what they do,” said Representative Kathleen Rice, a Democrat of New York, who has sparred with Ms. Loesch, also on Twitter. “The N.R.A says their members are under attack.”

Radical Left Attacks the New York Times

I saw this at Memeorandum yesterday, "The Left’s War Against the New York Times."

Interestingly, Memeorandum also curated this throwback piece on Judy Miller at New York Magazine, from over a decade ago, "The Source of the Trouble."

So, there's some good Friday night reading for you.

Emotional Support Hamster Flushed Down the Toilet

Well, perhaps it's better to get a larger animal --- like a peacock --- to avoid traumatic situations like this.

At the Miami Herald, "Bad info from Spirit Air led me to flush pet hamster down airport toilet, student says" (via Memeorandum):

Bad info from Spirit Air led me to flush pet hamster down airport toilet, student says https://t.co/Qw6RF47CQR Via @DavidOvalle305 pic.twitter.com/2PQ4ZmwgHh

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) February 8, 2018

Before Belen Aldecosea flew home from from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring along a special guest: Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster. No problem, the airline told her.

But when Aldecosea arrived at the Baltimore airport, Spirit refused to allow the tiny animal on the flight.

With her only friends hours away at campus, Aldecosea was stuck. She says an airline representative suggested flushing Pebbles down an airport toilet, a step that Spirit denies. Panicked and needing to return home promptly to deal with a medical issue, Aldecosea unsuccessfully tried renting a car and agonized for hours before doing the unthinkable.

She flushed Pebbles.

“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet,” Aldecosea said. “I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.”

Aldecosea, 21, of Miami Beach, is now considering filing a lawsuit against Spirit over the conflicting instructions that wound up pressuring her into making an anguished decision with a pet certified by her doctor as an emotional support animal. She shared her story with the Miami Herald weeks after the story of an emotional support peacock — denied entrance to a United Airlines flight — went viral on the Internet.

This case is much different, said her South Florida attorney, Adam Goodman. “This wasn’t a giant peacock that could pose a danger to other passengers. This was a tiny cute harmless hamster that could fit in the palm of her hand,” he said.

A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told her that Pebbles was allowed. But he denied that a Spirit employee recommended the option of disposing of her pet in an airport restroom.

“To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal,” spokesman Derek Dombrowski said...

More.

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.

More, Samsung MG11H2020CT 1.1 cu. ft. Countertop Grill Microwave Oven with Ceramic Enamel Interior, Black.

Also, Stork Craft Hoop Glider and Ottoman Set, Espresso/Beige.

Here, DRESHOW 4 Pack Headbands Vintage Elastic Printed Head Wrap Stretchy Moisture Hairband Twisted Cute Hair Accessories.

And, Columbia Men's Glennaker Lake Front-Zip Rain Jacket with Hideaway Hood.

More here, G.H. Bass & Co. Men's Larson Penny Loafer.

Plus, CLIF BAR - Energy Bar - Cool Mint Chocolate - With Caffeine (2.4 Ounce Protein Bar, 12 Count).

BONUS: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, In the First Circle.

Dow Closes 20 Points Down as Volatility Remains

At Barron's, "Dow Drops 20 Points on Late Rush for the Exit."

Plus:

Why stocks still have room to rise https://t.co/KScPuZCD66

— Barron's (@barronsonline) February 7, 2018

Alexis Ren Intimates for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (VIDEO)

She's really fine.

Sharyl Attkisson on Surveillance Abuse and Incurious Journalists (VIDEO)

From Fox News:

Hate Speech Police in Britain

I missed this earlier.

From the typically outstanding Pat Condell:

Katie Hopkins in South Africa (VIDEO)

At the Rebel:



ADDED: "SHOCK: Katie Hopkins detained at South Africa airport," and "Katie Hopkins in South Africa: Is “freedom fighter” Malema “afraid of meeting a little white woman?”

Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong to Buy Los Angeles Times

At the Los Angeles Times, via Memeorandum, "Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong reaches deal to buy L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune."

Also, "Who is Patrick Soon-Shiong? An L.A. billionaire with big ideas — and mixed achievements."

Who is Patrick Soon-Shiong, the man who has agreed to buy the L.A. Times? An L.A. billionaire with big ideas — and mixed achievements https://t.co/akjyq23zJb pic.twitter.com/MeALqYUIOP

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 7, 2018

Plus, background:

Interesting time for the Times: Union Is Formed at Los Angeles Times and Publisher Put on Leave https://t.co/qYZf8mMUEs

— Hannah Fleishman (@hbfleishman) January 22, 2018

Amid newsroom clashes, Los Angeles Times becomes its own story https://t.co/m3oxdwNkwE

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 27, 2018

Finally read this HuffPo piece on Tronc's secret LAT scab shop. This is NUTS.https://t.co/wu92lVAVBt

— Chris Labarthe (@chris_labarthe) January 28, 2018

Today's Deals

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

Also, Samsung 75" Class UN75MU6300FXZA (74.5" Actual Diagonal Size) MU6300 Series 4K UHD TV.

And, Craftsman 450-Piece Mechanic's Tool Set.

More, O-Cedar EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop and Bucket Floor Cleaning System.

Here, Lysol Disinfectant Spray, Early Morning Breeze, 57oz (3X19oz).

Plus, Large Beach-Towel Pool-Towel in Cabana Stripe, 4-Pack, 100% Cotton, Easy Care, Maximum Softness and Absorbency (30" x 60") - by Utopia Towels (Variety).

Still more, Cafe Break-Resistant Plastic 20oz Restaurant-Quality Beverage Tumblers - Set of 16 in 4 Assorted Colors.

More here, Armor All Extreme Tire Shine (22 oz.) - 2 Pack.

BONUS: Roger Kimball (Editor),‎ Saving the Republic: The Fate of Freedom in the Age of the Administrative State.

Here's the 'Repulsive' Campaign Ad in the Illinois Governor's Race (VIDEO)

It's not "repulsive."

Just talking about the kind of issues facing the electorate today gets you labeled an extremist or something.

At Politico, "Incendiary ad fuels primary challenge to Illinois governor," and "'Repulsive' campaign ad creates firestorm in Illinois."



Also, at the Chicago Tribune, "Rauner challenger Ives says she's 'a little bit surprised' about 'hysteria' around controversial TV ad."

The Coup Against America

From Sultan Knish, at FrontPage Mag, "The Memo Reveals the Coup against America":

The Memo Reveals the Coup Against America

The memo isn’t treasonous. It reveals a treasonous effort by the Dems to use our intel agencies to rig an election

No vital intel sources were compromised at Yahoo News. And no Yahoo News agents were killed 🙄https://t.co/IEow3JLSiK

— Jewhadi™ (@JewhadiTM) February 3, 2018

The Democrats and the media spent a week lying to the American people about the “memo.”

The memo was full of "classified information" and releasing” it would expose “our spying methods." By “our,” they didn’t mean American spying methods. They meant Obama’s spying methods.

A former White House Ethics Lawyer claimed that the Nunes memo would undermine "national security." On MSNBC, Senator Chris Van Hollen threatened that if the memo is released, the FBI and DOJ “will refuse to share information with the House and Senate Intelligence Committees."

Senator Cory Booker howled that releasing the memo was "treasonous" and might be "revealing sources and methods" and even "endangering fellow Americans in the intelligence community."

The memo isn’t treasonous. It reveals a treasonous effort by the Democrats to use our intelligence agencies to rig an election and overturn the will of the voters.

The only two “sources” are Christopher Steele, who was funded by the Clinton campaign, and a Yahoo News article, that were used to obtain a FISA warrant against a Trump associate. That Yahoo story came from Michael Isikoff, the reporter who knew about Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky but suppressed it. It was based on more leaks from Steele which the FBI and DOJ chose to ignore. Steele’s identity was already well known. The only new source revealed is Yahoo News.

No vital intelligence sources were compromised at Yahoo News. And no Yahoo News agents were killed.

The media spent a week lying to Americans about the dangers of the memo because it didn’t want them to find out what was inside. Today, the media and Dems switched from claiming that the memo was full of “classified information” that might get CIA agents killed to insisting that it was a dud and didn’t matter. Oh what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive.

On Thursday, the narrative was that the memo would devastate our national security and no one should ever be allowed to read it. By Friday, the new narrative was that the memo tells us nothing important and we shouldn’t even bother reading it. The lies change, but suppressing the memo remains the goal.

Rep. Nadler, infamous for securing pardons for Weather Underground bombers, got caught between narratives when he insisted that the memo was “overhyped,” but suggested that it “endangers national security.” "I don't think anybody will be terribly shocked by what's in the memo," he told CNN.

And requested an emergency meeting of the House Judiciary Committee – a body he will head if Democrats win the mid-term elections.

Calling emergency meetings is not the response to an “overhyped” and non-shocking memo.

There is no legitimately classified information in the Nunes memo. But it does endanger a number of “Americans” in the “intelligence community” who colluded with the Clinton campaign against America.

It endangers former FBI Director Comey, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and the current FBI General Counsel Dana Boente who had previously served as the Acting Attorney General. These men and women had allegedly signed FISA applications that were at best misleading and at worst badly tainted.

The Clinton campaign had enlisted figures in the FBI and the DOJ to manipulate an election. The coup against America operated as a “state within a state” inside the United States government.

“The political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials,” the memo informs us. But they did not reveal on the FISA application that their core evidence came from the Clinton campaign. Sources were certainly being protected. But they were Clinton sources.

The memo reveals that without the Steele dossier there would have been no eavesdropping on Carter Page, the Trump associate targeted in this particular case. “Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information.” But the FISA application neglected to mention that its primary source had been paid by the Clinton campaign, was unverified and would continue to be unverified.

FBI Director Comey testified that he had told President Trump that the dossier was "unverified." Yet the "unverified" piece of opposition research was used as the basis for a FISA application.

As Rep. Jim Jordan noted, “FBI takes ‘salacious and unverified’ dossier to secret court to get secret warrant to spy on a fellow American, and FBI doesn't tell the court that the DNC/Clinton campaign paid for that dossier. And they did that FOUR times.”

"There's been no evidence of a corrupt evidence to obtain warrants against people in the Trump campaign," Rep. Adam Schiff insisted. That’s why he tried to block the release of the evidence.

The evidence was unverified opposition research. Its source had been paid by the Clinton campaign. Not only had Steele been indirectly working for the Clinton campaign (when he wasn’t being paid by the FBI), but he made no secret of his own political agenda to stop Trump.

"In September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he “was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president,” the memo informs us.

That’s former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr whose wife was being paid by an organization hired by the Clinton campaign to investigate Trump. Ohr then passed along his wife's opposition research to the FBI. The evidence couldn’t be any more corrupt than that.

Steele was passionate about Trump “not being president.” So were his handlers who ignored his leaks to the media until he “was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations—an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI.” His previous meetings, including the one that allegedly generated the Yahoo News article, were ignored.

Tainted investigations are nothing new. Law enforcement is as fallible as any other profession. But the memo reveals a snapshot of just how many top figures colluded in this corrupted and tainted effort.

What drove them to violate professional ethical norms and legal requirements in the FISA applications?

Top DOJ and FBI officials shared Steele’s “passion,” and that of his ultimate employer, Hillary Clinton, to stop Donald Trump at all costs. And they’re still trying to use the Mueller investigation to overturn the election results in a government coup that makes Watergate look like a children’s tea party,

Former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is already under investigation. He’s suspected of trying to sit on the Wiener emails until the election was over. This alleged failed cover-up triggered the Comey letter which hurt Hillary worse than a timely revelation would have. McCabe’s wife had financial links to the Clintons.

Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was an Obama holdover who had foolishly tried to use the DOJ to go to war with President Trump. Both Yates and Dana Boente were Obama and Holder choices. During the groundless prosecution of the former Republican governor of Virginia, Boente had declared, “No one is above the law.” We’ll see if that’s true with everyone who signed the FISA applications.

If Boente signed false or misleading FISA applications, he should be removed as FBI General Counsel.

The memo is only the first crack in the wall. But it’s grounds for an investigation that will expose the abuses that led to eavesdropping on Trump officials. And the motives of those who perpetuated them.

A Washington Post piece suggested that just releasing the memo alone would allow Mueller to charge President Trump with "obstruction of justice." That’s how badly they want to get Trump.

A clear and simple fact emerges from the memo.

Top figures in the DOJ and the FBI, some loyal to Obama and Hillary, abused the FISA process in the hopes of influencing or reversing the results of an election by targeting their political opponents. The tool that they used for the job came from the Clinton campaign. Using America’s intelligence services to destroy and defeat a political opponent running for president is the worst possible abuse of power and an unprecedented threat to a democratic system of free open elections.

We have been treated to frequent lectures about the independence of the DOJ and the FBI. But our country isn’t based around government institutions that are independent of oversight by elected officials. When unelected officials have more power than elected officials, that’s tyranny.

A Justice Department that acts as the Praetorian Guard for a political campaign is committing a coup and engaging in treason. The complex ways that the Steele dossier was laundered from the Clinton campaign to a FISA application is evidence of a conspiracy by both the DOJ and the Clinton campaign.

It’s time for us to learn about all the FISA abuses, the list of NSA unmasking requests of Trump officials by Obama officials and the eavesdropping on members of Congress. We deserve to know the truth.

The memo has been released. Now it’s time to release everything.

Jemma Lucy in Black Cocktail Dress

At Taxi Driver, "Busty British Reality Star Jemma Lucy Braless Pokies in Black Cocktail Dress."

Memo Day

It's memo day, and partisan spin day.

However it all spins out, the fact is the GOP's making a political comeback in 2018, or so it appears in public opinion polls. The Democrats are desperate, to say nothing of their hard-left media allies.

At NYT, via Memorandum, "House Republicans Release Secret Memo Accusing Russia Investigators of Bias."

And from Austin Bay, at Instapundit, "THE FISA MEMO: Read the whole thing."

I turned on CNN for about an hour this morning, breaking my cable news boycott temporarily, and folks over there were pretty disgusting with the Republicans, but nothing was said that convinces me that the Democrats won't be harmed by its release --- and that's good.

Watching Europe Fall

Really, this woman's brilliant.

Grab a cup of coffee and do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing.

Katie Hopkins giving a recent address, somewhere in the U.S.:

Laura Moriarty, American Heart

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Laura Moriarty, American Heart.

A book on the dystopian future where Muslims are rounded up into internment camps, it turns out the totalitarian left has launched a campaign of destruction. See Quillette, "Buy Banned Books."

Hey, if the left hates it, I'm sure I'll love it!

"These storms increasingly erupt when any white writer, living in a multicultural society, dares to write a character outside their ethnic group." https://t.co/viKKCYN8qn pic.twitter.com/kNtkuz1EhI

— Quillette Magazine (@QuilletteM) January 30, 2018

President Trump to 'OK' Release of Classified GOP Intelligence Memo

This is great!

A report at CBS Evening News, "Controversial surveillance memo expected to be released."

At the Los Angeles Times, FWIW, "Trump's approval will ensure controversial memo will see the light of day despite warnings from intelligence officials":

President Trump is prepared to approve the release of a controversial Republican-drafted memo about secret government surveillance as soon as Friday, a step that would put him at odds with his top national security officials but could give him a new tool to undermine public confidence in the Russia investigation.

The White House might not seek any changes to the classified document, a senior administration official said Thursday, even though FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats have expressed concern about its contents.

"The president is OK with it," the official said. "I doubt there will be any redactions. It's in Congress' hands after that."

The FBI publicly warned Wednesday that it had "grave concerns" about the memo's accuracy, a highly unusual challenge to the White House. Coats has privately expressed similar concerns to the White House, saying the release could set a troubling precedent for revealing classified information, according to another U.S. official...

RTWT.

Hannity: President Trump Delivered Soaring First State of the Union Address (VIDEO)

The Democrats have nothing. They're nihilists.

From Hannity's show last night. It's good: