ICYMI: Gabriel Tallent, My Absolute Darling

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Gabriel Tallent, My Absolute Darling: A Novel.

Walter Kaufmann, Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre

At Amazon, Walter Kaufmann, Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (Revised and Expanded Edition).

Jean Raspail, Camp of the Saints

At Amazon, (check the Kindle edition), Jean Raspail, Camp of the Saints.

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.

The Enduring Miracle of the U.S. Constitution

Charles Krauthammer's posthumous book is coming out on December 4th.

At Amazon, The Point of It All: A Lifetime of Great Loves and Endeavors.

And at the Washington Post, "This column is excerpted from Charles Krauthammer’s forthcoming posthumous book, “The Point of It All.” The book and column were edited by his son, Daniel Krauthammer":

"There is something about the American spirit — about the bedrock decency and common sense of the American — that seems to help us find our way, something about American history that redeems itself in a way that inspires all."
- Charles Krauthammerhttps://t.co/TeMM0QCidH

— Daniel Krauthammer (@dkrauthammer) November 30, 2018

In October 1981, when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated, the networks ran over to Cairo and began covering the events all day and all night. The only thing I remember of all that coverage was a news anchor bringing in a Middle East expert and saying, “We’ve just looked at the Egyptian constitution, and our researchers tell us that the next in line for the presidency is the speaker of the parliament.” The Middle East expert burst out laughing. “Nobody in Egypt has read the constitution in 30 years,” he said. “No one knows it exists. And no one cares what’s in it.” Then he prompted, “Who’s the leader of the military?” The anchor answered, “Hosni Mubarak,” and the expert said, “He’s your next president.”

Two things struck me about that. First, how naive we are about what constitutions are and what they mean around the world. And the second thing, the reason for the first, is how much reverence we have — in the United States and very few other countries — for this document.

Many things are miraculous about the U.S. Constitution. The first is that, somehow, on this edge of the civilized world two and a half centuries ago, there could have been a collection of such political geniuses as to have actually written it.

The second miracle is the substance of it — the way that the founders, drawing from Locke and Montesquieu and the Greeks, created an extraordinary political apparatus that to this day still works and that has worked with incredible success for nearly a quarter of a millennium.

But the third miracle, and the one that I think we appreciate the least, is the fact of the reverence that we have for it. This reverence is so deeply ingrained that we don’t even see it; we just think it’s in the air that we breathe. But it is extraordinarily rare. It exists in only a handful of countries. For almost all of the world, it is completely alien.

Consider the oath of office that we take for granted. Whenever we bestow upon anyone the authority to wield the power of the state over free citizens, we make them swear to protect not the people, not the nation, not the flag, but the Constitution of the United States. A piece of paper. Of course, it stands for the pillars of the American experiment itself: the ideas, the structures, the philosophy that define a limited government with enumerated powers, whose mission is to preserve liberty and individual rights.

This is a gift — that we intrinsically have this sense of reverence for the Constitution. And it’s important to remember that it is a gift from the past. It is not something that we can in any way credit to ourselves. If anything, recent generations have allowed that kind of reverence to diminish, to bleed away over the decades, as we try — as it were — to adapt constitutionalism to modernity.

What’s so remarkable is that constitutions are highly reactionary documents. The very essence of a constitution is to constrain the enthusiasms of a future that one cannot even see. In America, constitutionalism demands that even the most distant progeny swear allegiance to a past embodied in a document written in the late 1780s. If “tradition . . . is the democracy of the dead,” as G.K. Chesterton had it, then constitutionalism — which is ancient wisdom rendered into legal code — is the tyranny of the dead, the ultimate reach of the past into the future.

And in America, it succeeded...

More.

Shop Today

At Amazon, Today's Deals. Save on our top deals every day.

And especially, Oasser Air Compressor Electric Inflator Portable Hand Held Pump with Digital LCD Rechargeable Li-ion 12V 130PSI P2.

Plus, MICTUNING 32" 180W 3B239C Curved LED Light Bar Off Road Driving Fog Work Light for Jeep SUV and More.

Also, Mexican Blanket Authentic Falsa Thick Soft: Woven Acrylic Yoga Serape or as Beach Throw, Picnic, Camping, Travel, Hiking, Adventure, Pillow, Blankets in Pink, Mint, Sand, Mandarin, Gray, Sky Blue.

More, Madison Park - Palmer 7 Piece Comforter Set - Natural - Queen - Pieced Microsuede - Includes 1 Comforter, 3 Decorative Pillows, 1 Bed Skirt, 2 Shams.

Still more, Disney Moana 'The Wave' 3 Piece Twin Sheet Set.

And, Lasko CD09250 Ceramic Portable Space Heater with Adjustable Thermostat - Perfect For the Home or Home Office.

BONUS: Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others.

How Many Times Can You Justify the Murder of Jews before CNN Fires You?

At FrontPage Magazine, "Marc Lamont Hill’s Years of Anti-Semitism Finally Catch Up to Him."

And here it is, Marc Lamont Hill calling for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea" (video via @bennyavni) pic.twitter.com/E7ugrByKyf

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 28, 2018

The Marc Lamont Hill speech is such an easy test for my friends on the left but they’re gonna fail it and I will go on loving them just as much but drinking a bit more

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 29, 2018

Using "Palestine from the river to the sea," is a fairly strong analogy to dropping a "1488" into your Twitter account in terms of what its import is intended to mean to its target audience. Any person who act differently reveals themselves to be an idiot or...worse.

— Jeff B. (@EsotericCD) November 29, 2018

On Tuesday @CNN aired a devastating report on antisemitism in Europe. Today CNN's @marclamonthill echoed Jihadist calls for Israel's violent annihilation, calling for "resist[ance]" to achieve "a free Palestine from the river to the sea." Not a great look. pic.twitter.com/r26Q1BU0lR

— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) November 29, 2018

I'm shocked, shocked to find you burying your company's scandal again.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 29, 2018

"Free Palestine from the river to the sea"

I get that it's hard to spin your call for genocide but this is just a sorry effort https://t.co/ey38YYPS5S

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 29, 2018

And there it is: Marc Lamont Hill appears out at CNN https://t.co/Dh2vrvk7qo

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 29, 2018

Lamont Hill called for the elimination of the State of Israel from the map. Previously he expressed his admiration for antisemite Louis Farrakhan. MLH is a racist, a bigot, an antisemite. The fact that he is all this while in the payroll of @CNN and @TempleUniv is appalling

— Dani Dayan (@AmbDaniDayan) November 29, 2018

You said Palestine should be "from the river to the sea," not that Israel should return to the 1967 borders alongside a Palestine. You didn't call for an Israel and a Palestine. You said Israel should be replaced by Palestine. It is on video. This is what we call "gaslighting." https://t.co/TQJH5J99cH

— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) November 29, 2018

"River to the sea" isn't the point, @MarcLamontHill. It's a free country; you can call for anything you wish.
But have the integrity to stand by your words. You have repeatedly justified murderous #Palestinian violence against #Israel. Don't pretend now to be a champion of peace. https://t.co/455TVpzAO0

— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) November 30, 2018

Vita Sidorkina Nails the Perfect Shot (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Katie Pavlich: James Comey Negotiating His Subpoena is 'Absurd' (VIDEO)

I just love Ms. Katie.

She's so smart and beautiful.

Watch:

Road Rage

I had two road rage incidents this week. Two women rolled down their windows and cursed me out, one on Wednesday on the way home from work and one on Thursday morning on the way to work.

The first woman was in the merging lane to the Culver Drive off ramp in Irvine (there's construction, so the merging side is next to the regular four southbound freeway lanes). I thought she was slowing to get on the freeway, not off. The lane was moving slowly so when I rolled up next to her she started honking her horn like crazy. I had the right of way and continued rolling forward, and once she merged in behind me she continued to beep her horn like a maniac and then followed me, to chase me down as I made my way over to the University Park library. As I went to park my car, she pulled up to the side and blocked my u-turn, and called me a "fucking asshole." I didn't say anything and proceeded to park. She rolled up to me again as I was getting out of my car and continued to berate me, saying, "You're so rude. You knew exactly what you were doing." She's right. I did. I was following my right of way and ignoring her hysterical horn honking. I think she was having a bad day. She drove off after that without further incident.

Yesterday morning, at like 6:40am, as I was getting off the 405 north in Long Beach, onto Lakewood Boulevard where it travels through the tunnel under the Long Beach Airport, I notice a car speeding like the devil attempting to make a dangerous pass ahead, where the light was red. I actually sped up, so not to be caught and cut off by this lady. She pulled up next to me, attempting to pull ahead and drove me into the right hand lane, which would be to turn right at Spring Street. She then rolls down her window and flips me off, saying "Fuck you!" Again, I just looked at her. She continued to berate me and I told her she was speeding. She said some other things which I don't recall, but instead of returning the profanity I just repeated to her "You're not a good person" about five times. When the light turned green, I put my hand out the window and merged back onto Lakewood Boulevard north, driving normally. And wouldn't you know it, here comes the road rage lady going about 90 miles an hour to squeeze by me and the cars just ahead.

I should be a more careful driver I guess. And I should ignore entitled women blaring their horns or driving at excessive speed like bats out of hell. I normally drive at the speed limit on the way to and from work, because there's a lot of highway patrol cars, and I don't want to get cited.

In any case, live and learn. I need to take it less personal and be even nicer than I am. We all could be nicer. And both of these women this week had some serious psychological issues, so playing road rage with folks like that could be dangerous and obviously not worth it.

In any case, at the Chicago Tribune, "As road rage rises, experts give reasons for behavior, tips for staying cool":

The guy who is blowing his horn and purposely trying to cut you off in traffic could be someone with intermittent explosive disorder, who can blow up at minor provocations, according to psychologists.

He could be someone who has an overdeveloped sense of individual rights, with a rigid, territorial style of thinking. Or he could just be tired and ending a bad day in bad traffic.

Whatever is motivating the lunatic in traffic, psychologists agree with traffic safety experts that the best way to cope with the increasingly deadly problem of road rage is to get out of the way.

"Let them go away. Don't cut them off. Don't make eye contact," said Mark Reinecke, professor and chief psychologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "Don't make any gestures and roll down the windows or yell at them."

"If somebody does something, don't do it back," said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Mike Link. "Go on about your business."

That's something to think about as the heavily traveled Memorial Day weekend winds up.

Road rage causes a relatively small, but increasing percentage of fatalities on U.S. roadways, linked to 467 fatal crashes in 2015 or 1.3 percent, up from 80 or 0.2 percent in 2006, an increase of almost 500 percent in 10 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The number of road rage incidents that involve firearms also appears to be rising. Last month, The Trace, a nonprofit news organization focused on gun violence, found that cases of road rage involving a firearm more than doubled to 620 in 2016 from 247 in 2014, with 136 people killed in those three years. The count included cases of motorists brandishing or firing a weapon at another driver or passenger....

People most likely to engage in road rage tend to fall into a few categories, according to experts.

According to Michael Hakimi, clinical psychologist with Loyola Medicine, one type is a person with an actual mental problem, such as a narcissist, someone who always feels entitled; a sociopath, someone who has no remorse or guilt and no regard for the rights of others; someone with a borderline personality; or someone with intermittent explosive disorder.

Another kind of road rager is someone who has a heightened sense that his or her personal rights are being violated, which ties into a cultural norm in the United States, Hakimi said.

"People feel they're so entitled to their rights that their rights should be protected under any circumstances," Hakimi said.

Hakimi said that a driver may have the distorted view that it is his or her job to teach other drivers a lesson.

Those who engage in road rage tend to think in a rigid, self-righteous manner and lack both empathy and a sense that they need to share the road, said Russell Brethauer, a psychologist who spoke on the subject at the Wisconsin Bike Summit this month. They do this whether they actually know traffic laws, and trying to tell them the law tends to be counterproductive, Brethauer noted.

An avid cyclist, Brethauer recalled how a truck driver once purposely went onto the shoulder ahead of him and sprayed him with gravel. Brethauer gave the one-finger salute and yelled that the man had broken the law. The trucker became so enraged that he got out of his vehicle at a red light and came at Brethauer with an axe handle.

"He yells, 'I broke the law, huh?' He's changing all colors of red and purple," Brethauer recalled. Fortunately, the light changed, and the man decided to get back in his truck.

Bad behavior may also be encouraged by the anonymity of a vehicle, which is similar to the anonymity offered by social media, Hakimi said. Someone in a car or an online chat forum may behave much differently than they would in a social setting, where there are immediate consequences for antisocial actions, he said.

"Whenever we have anonymous situations, people are prone to act aggressively," Hakimi said.

Males and younger drivers ages 19-39 are significantly more likely to engage in aggressive behavior, according to an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study last year. The study found that male drivers are more than three times as likely as female drivers to have gotten out of a vehicle to confront another driver or rammed another vehicle on purpose.

Curiously, a 2008 study from Colorado State University found that drivers prone to road rage tend to have more bumper stickers or other personal markers like vanity license plates on their cars — it does not matter if the stickers say "Jesus loves you" or "Save the rainforests."

"It identifies them as individuals to a larger world," said Reinecke.

Fatigue, drinking, being under stress and bad traffic also can contribute to road rage, Reinecke said. He said he suspects that the increasing volume of cars on the road could be contributing to an increase in incidents.

Though some personality types may be more prone to aggression, most drivers are prone to get angry in traffic sometimes. The AAA study found that nearly 80 percent of drivers had expressed significant anger, aggression or road rage at least once in the past year, with 51 percent of drivers reporting they had tailgated on purpose, and 12 percent saying they had deliberately cut off another vehicle.

Keeping the rage down

So how do you avoid maniac drivers who want to ram your car, or worse yet, fire a gun through your window? The first way to stay safe is to be a good, alert driver, and not make other people upset, according to safety experts.

"If people aren't obeying common courtesies, it can enrage other drivers and make them frustrated," said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the Itasca-based National Safety Council.

Being a good driver includes not using your phone or being otherwise distracted, not using your high beams if you're behind someone or if a car is coming in the opposite direction, and using your turn signal if you are turning or changing lanes, Hersman said.

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and even if you did nothing wrong, you can run into a raging motorist convinced that you did. The best reaction in this case is to not react, Hakimi said.

"If somebody wants to pass you and is driving crazy and giving you the finger, do not react — just get out of the way," Hakimi said. "They're going to be getting into trouble somewhere down the line." He said a driver should never think it is his job to teach another person how to drive...

Iskra Lawrence Bikini

At Drunken Stepfather, "Iskra Lawrence Big Girl Big Bikini of the Day."

Bella Thorne Chocolate Video

See, at WWTDD, "Open Wide For Bella Thorne’s Sexual Chocolate."

BONUS: "Bella Thorne Finally Reveals All."

Busty Olivia Holt Bikini Photos

At Hollywood Tuna, "Olivia Holt."

Jen Selter Tight Bikini Booty in Mykonos

Here, "Jen Selter's Bikini Bod in Mykonos -- Greek Goddess."

Kara Del Toro Busting Out of Too-Tiny String Bikini

At Egotastic, "Kara Del Toro is One of the Best InstaModels."

Demi Rose Black Pantie Upskirt

At Taxi Driver.

'You Dropped a Bomb on Me'

From yesterday's drive-time, at 93.1 Jack FM Los Angeles, the Gap Band.

The station's definitely eclectic. (*Eye-roll.*)

I Ran
A Flock Of Seagulls
9:11am

Janie's Got A Gun
Aerosmith
9:06am

Ophelia
The Lumineers
9:03am

Don't Do Me Like That
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8:54am

Take On Me
a-ha
8:50am

Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana
8:45am

You Dropped A Bomb On Me
The Gap Band
8:41am

Gimme All Your Lovin'
ZZ Top
8:37am

It's Time
Imagine Dragons
8:33am

White Wedding
Billy Idol
8:21am

Paradise City
Guns N' Roses
8:14am

Love My Way
The Psychedelic Furs
8:11am

When Did Sports Become so Political? (VIDEO)

Here's Clay Travis, for Prager University:

Michelle Malkin on Tijuana Border Invasion (VIDEO)

Michelle's always excellent on the immigration issue.

She's got a seminal book from 2002, at Amazon, Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists Criminals & Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores.

And on Judge Jeannine's the other night:

"Every Sovereign Nation has the right and prerogative to exercise their ability to make sure that they are able to say who is able to come into their country or not."- @michellemalkin pic.twitter.com/jQKM58c4Vc

— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) November 25, 2018

Migrants in Tijuana Regret the Caravan

Heh, Trump's policies are working.

At the Daily Beast, "Migrants in Tijuana Regret the Caravan: ‘I’m Done With the United States’."

After being gassed by the U.S. and held in a camp by Mexico, hope is running out for some who left Honduras with dreams of a better life in America.

Hope is running out for some of the migrants who left Honduras with dreams of a better life in America https://t.co/2Jc22qvk42

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 28, 2018