Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The Obligatory Covington Catholic Kids in #MAGA Hats Harassed Elder Native American 'Vietnam War Veteran' Blog Post

As you may have noticed, I've held off from posting on this story.

I have to admit, the very first short video I saw looked like it could have been the Catholic students harassing the Native American man. But I didn't comment about it. I kept doing my regular reading and tweeting, etc., and then more and more videos became available, and more information became available, and then there was a backlash against the backlash.

It turns out, for one thing, that the so-called Native American "Elder," Nathan Phillips, is not a Vietnam veteran. This Aint' Hell, the military blog, put in official requests to get government confirmation of Phillips' military service. See, "Nathan Phillips – “Vietnam Times” Veteran." Now, though, the Washington Post is correcting its initial story on the controversy, saying in fact that Phillips did not serve in Vietnam.

It's a big deal.

On Twitter:



Okay, as you also may know, this story has just dominated Twitter for days, and for me it was overwhelming keeping up with all the different reports and hot takes. Your mileage may vary.

In any case, see Robert Stacy McCain, "Lessons From an Online Lynching (Why #StandWithCovington Is Going Viral)."

And at Reason, Robby Soave did his homework, watching hours of video, to post a smackdown debunking over the weekend. See, "The Media Wildly Mischaracterized That Video of Covington Catholic Students Confronting a Native American Veteran." Also, "If You Still Think Nick Sandmann’s Smile Is Proof of Racism, You’re Seeing What You Want to See.

Neo-Neocon has been doing awesome stuff on this, but see in particular, "The Covington chronicles: on hating the face of a teenage boy." And she's linked by Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "NEO: Nathan Phillips and the surprise video."

Although these kind of lynch mob stories aren't new, this whole thing for me has been extremely clarifying. Twitter is a radioactive dump of hatred and lies, and as the site's run by leftists, it won't get better. I don't use any other social media, so I begrudgingly continue to use it, even though it sucks.

And of course no amount of factual truth seems to change minds in our extremely ideologically polarized era. And it's interesting, because I keep hearing people say, "talk to each other; listen to the other side." But talking to each other is only helpful if the "other side" is open to what you have to say. I work with radical leftists. They have their narrative and they don't budge. If you get on the wrong side of them, especially in any official capacity, they can be merciless, even using the power of the state to coerce compliance with the leftist agenda (the school hired lawyers to investigate me for disciplining a black student at one point). It's bad.

Check this leftist's thread for the perpetuation of the left's diabolical narrative, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary:


So again, it's been clarifying. If you're a Trump supporter leftists want to destroy you. They literally want to kill you. (See Uncle Shoes on Twitter, for example, a guy who wants to burn down Covington Catholic High School, with all the kids inside.)

More later. (*Sigh.*)

Rachel Notley's NDP Government Launches Stalinist Campaign to Shut Down Rebel Media (VIDEO)

It's shockingly unreal that this kind of stuff is going on in one of the West's great democracies, but that it is calls into question how democratic is Canada under all the far-left governments, at the national and the provincial levels.

This is really stunning.

At the Rebel, "Stand With The Rebel Against Elections Alberta - The Rebel."

Elena Iulia Rotari

At Drunken Stepfather, "Elena Iulia Rotari of the Day."

Monday, January 21, 2019

Alejandra Guilmant in Feminist Shirt

At Drunken Stepfather, "ALEJANDRA GUILMANT TITTIES IN A FEMINIST SHIRT OF THE DAY ."

BONUS: Busty Blonde Babe Jiggles in Her Red Bikini (VIDEO).

How's It Going to Be?

When you don't know me?

It's Third Eye Blind.

No drive time music until February, but I just started singing this song, for some reason, while I was doing the dishes. (*Shrugs.*)



Jennifer Delacruz's MLK Holiday Weather

Nice weather for the holiday.

Here's the fabulous Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:



About the Los Angeles Teachers' Strike

At Theo Spark's, "About that 'teacher's strike'..................from Rico."



Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation

At Amazon, Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation: And Other Essays.



Prince Philip Stokes Debate on Older Drivers

This is really good, at the New York Times (two), and an extra hilarious tweet below:


John Ogbu, Black American Students in An Affluent Suburb

At Amazon, John U. Ogbu, Black American Students in An Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement.



Jayde Nicole Wet T-Shirt

At Drunken Stepfather, "Jayde Nicole Wet T-Shirt Nipples of the Day."

She's pretty amazing!

As MLK Foresaw, U.S. Racism's Been Largely Overcome

From the great Jeff Jacoby, at the Boston Globe:


“I have no despair about the future,” wrote the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” “I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham. . . . We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.”

He was right.

It is a commonplace that racism is America’s original sin. Hardly a day goes by without attention being focused on instances of the racial injustice, friction, and double standards that can still be found in this nation. Open the morning paper or watch cable news, and there will be something to remind you of the country’s racial tensions — from controversy over flying the Confederate flag to NFL players protesting police brutality, from accusations of voter suppression in Georgia to an Iowa congressman defending “white nationalism.” It isn’t surprising that when Americans are asked in opinion polls whether race relations are getting better, many of them — sometimes most of them — gloomily reply that racism is still a major problem.

But it isn’t. It is only a minor problem now, one that has grown steadily less toxic and less entrenched. King predicted confidently that America would surmount its benighted racial past, and his confidence was not misplaced. Though his own life was cut short by a racist assassin, he foresaw that racism would lose its grip on American life.

“We’ve got some difficult days ahead, but . . . I’ve been to the mountaintop,” King said in his final speech. “I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.” He knew that American racism would wither away. Fifty-one years later, it mostly has.

Consider some of the data on changing American values...
Keep reading.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait

At Amazon, Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics).



Thursday, January 17, 2019

Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich

At Amazon, Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich.



Where Have You Gone, Martin Luther King, Jr.?

A great video, featuring Jason Riley, at Prager University:



More on Idiot Instagram Influencer Caroline Calloway

Following-up from yesterday, "The Case of Caroline Calloway and the Influencer Economy."

See Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain, "Caroline Calloway and the ‘Creativity Workshop’ Influencer Tour From Hell."

Miss Calloway is 27 now. She’s no longer the fresh-faced girl posting #adventuregram photos and spending Daddy’s money on an extended vacation “studying art history” in Cambridge. She’s got hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers but has yet to succeed in monetizing her “brand” because she’s unwilling to do any actual work.

Like, you land a $500,000 book contact — half a million dollars! — at age 24, and you can’t deliver the manuscript? Why? Because you were too busy “studying art history” and hanging out with Oscar? Or was it because you realized that your shallow life wasn’t really interesting enough to merit a “memoir”? But if somebody’s willing to pay you $500,000 for it, maybe you could fake it? For $500,000 I could write all kinds of wild stuff, maybe even the True Story of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Robbery, although otherwise I’d have to invoke my Fifth Amendment rights on advice of my Samoan lawyer...
RTWT.

Can Dems Keep a 'Big Tent' in 2020?

Nah.

It's going to be a two year clown show at this point.

At McClathcy, "Democratic leaders fret: Can we keep our big tent in 2020?"


Sarah Snyder Bikini Shots

At Drunken Stepfather, "SARAH FUCKING SNYDER BIKINI SLUT OF THE DAY."

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The Case of Caroline Calloway and the Influencer Economy

Every semester I have students read this Cal Newport op-ed at the New York Times, "Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It."

When I announce this as required first week's readings I usually see a few frowns and long faces, and one semester a student challenged me about the article, saying that people make money as "influencers," or some such thing.

The influencer thing was new to me at the time, but I got it. Nowadays it's a big thing.

I really like Sally Fitzgibbons, for example, but she's so into the product promotions, she never even likes a tweet from a follower. (I like interaction. I've had likes from television stars [Angie Harmon, for example] and lots of interaction with hot sports media and television personalities [like Liz Habib, who's the local Fox 11 sports anchor and a smokin' hottie].)

In any case, you can see why I'm not so sold on the "influencer economy." And after reading this bombshell from Kayleigh Donaldson, it's case closed.

See, "The Empty Mason Jar of the Influencer Economy: The Case of Caroline Calloway and her Creativity Workshop Tour."

Mind-boggling, really. (*SMH.*)

Nina Agdal Takes It Off

At Drunken Stepfather, "NINA AGDAL NAKED OF THE DAY."

And at the Sun U.K., "Supermodel Nina Agdal shows off sensational figure as she poses in white bikini."


Still more at the New York Post, "Nina Agdal says she wouldn’t date Jack Brinkley-Cook if he were broke."

BONUS: Nina Agdal Topless.

Caroline Vreeland Bikini Photos

At Drunken Stepfather, "CAROLINE VREELAND MASSIVE TITS SUCKING IT IN OF THE DAY.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Barry Meier, Pain Killer

At Amazon, Barry Meier, Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic.



Sophie Mackintosh, The Water Cure

At Amazon, Sophie Mackintosh, The Water Cure: A Novel.



Helen Flanagan in Yellow Bikini

At Taxi Driver:


Diarmaid MacCulloch, Thomas Cromwell

At Amazon, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life.



'This is Communism'

It is.

See David Horowitz on Twitter:


Myla Dalbesio Up Close with Flamingos (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:



Democrats Look to Clamp Down Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (VIDEO)

Norms? What norms?

Well, she didn't get an assignment to the Ways and Means Committee, but she won't stop shaking things up on the Hill.

Wait 'till next year. If she backs primary challenges against centrist Democrat incumbents, you know she's going all out to overturn the entire centrist-seniority system in the House.

At Politico, "Exasperated Democrats try to rein in Ocasio-Cortez: The effort is part carrot, part stick. But it's far from clear the anti-establishment political novice can be made to play ball":

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already making enemies in the House Democratic Caucus — and some of its members are mounting an operation to bring the anti-establishment, democratic socialist with 2.2 million Twitter followers into the fold.

The effort, described by nearly 20 lawmakers and aides, is part carrot, part stick: Some lawmakers with ties to Ocasio-Cortez are hoping to coax her into using her star power to unite Democrats and turn her fire on Republicans. Others simultaneously warn Ocasio-Cortez is destined for a lonely, ineffectual career in Congress if she continues to treat her own party as the enemy.

“I’m sure Ms. Cortez means well, but there’s almost an outstanding rule: Don’t attack your own people,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “We just don’t need sniping in our Democratic Caucus.”

Incumbent Democrats are most annoyed by Ocasio-Cortez’s threat to back primary opponents against members of their ranks she deems too moderate. But their frustration goes beyond that: Democratic leaders are upset that she railed against their new set of House rules on Twitter the first week of the new Congress. Rank and file are peeved that there’s a grassroots movement to try to win her a top committee post they feel she doesn’t deserve.

Even some progressives who admire AOC, as she’s nicknamed, told POLITICO that they worry she’s not using her notoriety effectively.

“She needs to decide: Does she want to be an effective legislator or just continue being a Twitter star?” said one House Democrat who’s in lockstep with Ocasio Cortez’s ideology. “There’s a difference between being an activist and a lawmaker in Congress.”

It’s an open question whether Ocasio-Cortez can be checked. She’s barely been in Congress a week and is better known than almost any other House member other than Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis. A media throng follows her every move, and she can command a national audience practically at will.

None of that came playing by the usual rules: Indeed, Ocasio-Cortez’s willingness to take on her party establishment with unconventional guerrilla tactics is what got her here. It’s earned her icon status on the progressive left, it’s where the 29-year-old freshman derives her power — and, by every indication, it’s how she thinks she can pull the Democratic Party in her direction.

The Freedom Caucus didn’t win many popularity contests in Congress the past four years, but it’s hard to dispute the hard-liners’ success dragging the GOP to the right.

Still, fellow Democrats are giving it their best, or planning to in the near future.

So far, most of them have kept their criticism of Ocasio-Cortez private, fearful she’ll sic her massive following on them by firing off a tweet. But a few are engaging with her in the hopes she’ll opt for a different M.O., especially when it comes to trying to take out Democrats in primaries.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) is playing a key role. Like Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez knocked off a longtime Democratic incumbent to win her seat, and they share Puerto Rican roots.

In private conversations with Ocasio-Cortez over the past few months, Velázquez counseled Ocasio-Cortez against targeting her Democratic colleagues in future elections. The two had a “long, long conversation” about the dynamics of Congress and Washington, and how there shouldn’t be a “litmus test” for every district, Velázquez said in a recent interview.

After she defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley in shocking fashion last year, Ocasio-Cortez supported primary challengers to Democratic Reps. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, William Lacy Clay of Missouri and Mike Capuano of Massachusetts.

Only Capuano lost. But Velázquez told Ocasio-Cortez she should think twice in the future before backing primaries against her colleagues. Murphy, the first Vietnamese woman elected to Congress, represents a swing district and could lose her seat if she’s forced to move left in a primary, Velázquez said during the talk...

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

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

And at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – That Was Then."



Danielle Gersh's Sunday Forecast

Here's the fabulous Ms. Danielle, "Increasing cloud cover and colder temperatures expected Sunday before several storms move into the Southland this week..."



PG&E Prepares for Bankruptcy

This is big! At LAT, "PG&E may notify its employees this week of potential bankruptcy."


Bella Thorne Promotes 'F*** Me' Lip Stain (VIDEO)

She's still crazy, heh.




Rams Bring Back Football Glory Days to Los Angeles

It's Bill Plaschke, at LAT, "Rams’ glory days, and a city’s Super Bowl dreams, return in win over Dallas Cowboys":


After more than two decades of midwinter silence, a city’s football soul came alive again, cutting through the winter chill with a roar that shook the Coliseum down to its soggy ankles.

The Rams are 60 minutes from a Super Bowl.

In only their third season back, the city’s prodigal football sons brought winning playoff football home again, delighting awed witnesses with a frenetic, fireworks-blasting feast.

The Rams are one win from a Super Bowl.

In the greatest, latest football game played around here in many seasons, the Rams spent more than three hours on a soggy field Saturday giving thousands of yellow flag-waving fans a refresher course in January greatness.

This is what a playoff victory looks like. This is how a team survives football’s toughest tournament. This is how the Super Bowl becomes close enough to touch.

“This,” tackle Rob Havenstein said, “was electric.”

This was the Rams’ 30-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional playoff game that sent them to the NFC championship game next week in one of two places.

If the New Orleans Saints defeat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the Rams will take their toughness to the Big Easy. If the Eagles win, the conference title game will be back in the Coliseum, and won’t that be a hoot?

The winner of that championship game goes to the Super Bowl. Of course that’s how this works, but it never hurts to remind everyone because it’s been a while.

No matter who they play next week, I’m picking the Rams because, as a crowd delightfully dominated by the locals Saturday night, they are once again the Rams.

“That’s a big-time win for us,” coach Sean McVay said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

With a soggy field underneath them from the day’s early rains, with lingering smoke above their helmets from the midgame pyrotechnics, the Rams appeared in the Coliseum as if ghosts from the recent past.

They gained 459 total yards. They rushed for 273 of those yards. They didn’t commit a turnover. They barely made any mistakes. And they held the Cowboys’ great Ezekiel Elliott to 47 yards rushing.

“Our focus was to shut him down,” said Ndamukong Suh, who didn’t need to say anything else.

This was the team that started the season 11-1, not the team that finished it 2-2.

This was the Jared Goff who dominated defenses early, not the one who struggled late. He completed only 15 of 28 passes for 186 yards but managed the game to near perfection.

“This week was a big game, but next week will be a big game as well,” the ever-circumspect quarterback said...
More.

And from former L.A.T. sports reporter Lindsey Thiry, not at ESPN:


Ben Winters, Golden State

Well, this one ought to be really interesting.

At Amazon, Ben Winters, Golden State.

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder.

In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible.

In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime--and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened.

But the Golden State is less a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Evelyn Taft's Sunday Forecast

The fabulous Ms. Evelyn is back!

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:



Jenna Dewan for Women's Health Magazine (PHOTOS)

This is from last year, but it's nice.

At TMZ, "JENNA DEWAN: NAKED & NOT AFRAID OF HER NEW SINGLE LIFE --- Roaming Hottie Goes Fully Nude for Women's Health Magazine (PHOTOS)."


Friday, January 11, 2019

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Lilly Rose Depp

She's just a sweet little thing.

At Drunken Stepfather, "Lily Rose Depp in a Bra of the Day."

And at Too Fab, "Lily-Rose Depp Goes Topless, Poses with Pam Anderson and Talks 'Twilight' with Kristen Stewart."


Cormac McCarthy, The Road

*BUMPED.*

A truly astonishing novel, better than Blood Meridian even.

At Amazon, Cormac McCarthy, The Road.



Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Today's Deals

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Save on our top deals every day.

See especially, Garden of Life Multivitamin for Men - Vitamin Code Men's Raw Whole Food Vitamin Supplement with Probiotics, Vegetarian, 240 Capsules, and Garden of Life Multivitamin for Women - Vitamin Code 50 & Wiser Women's Raw Whole Food Vitamin Supplement with Probiotics, Vegetarian, 240 Capsules.

Plus, AOMAIS Sport II Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speakers 4.0 Waterproof IPX7, 20W Bass Sound, Stereo Pairing, Durable Design Backyard, Outdoors, Travel, Pool, Home Party (Orange).

More, Holy Stone HS190 Foldable Mini Nano RC Drone for Kids Gift Portable Pocket Quadcopter with Altitude Hold 3D Flips and Headless M, and Holy Stone F181C RC Quadcopter Drone with HD Camera RTF 4 Channel 2.4GHz 6-Gyro with Altitude Hold Function,Headless Mode and One Key Return Home, Color Black.

Also, Smith & Wesson SWA24S 7.1in Stainless Steel Folding Knife with 3.1in Clip Point Serrated Blade and Aluminum Handle for Outdoor Tactical Survival and Everyday Carry.

And, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Double Rich Chocolate, 5 Pound.

More here, Horny Goat Weed Herbal Complex Extract for Men & Women - Ginseng, 100% Maca Root Tongkat Ali Powder - 60 1000mg Optimum Dosage Capsules | Energy, Stamina...by Natures Design.

More, Toshiba Vinyl Record Player Turntable: 12” 3-Speed Bluetooth Turntables - Stereo Shelf Speakers, Encoder.

BONUS: William Styron, Sophie's Choice.

How the Pursuit of Fame is Warping American Society

A really good piece, from John Hawkins, at Pajamas, "The Fame Trap: How the Pursuit of Fame Is Warping American Society":

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” – Andy Warhol

Fame used to be quite the rare commodity if only because there were fewer ways to become famous in the first place. Radio really started to take off in the 1920s, half of all American families acquired a TV in 1955, and the internet only started to be widely used in the early '90s. Facebook came along in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. In 1991, there were 90 adult magazines in America. Today, there are millions of porn websites. The first UFC was in 1993. Amazon sells roughly 15 million regular books per year and another 22 million on Kindle. Amazon did not exist in 1993.

Because of the vast number of websites on the internet looking for something to cover, the almost inexhaustible number of large niches out there, and the nature of social media, fame seems closer than ever for most people and for that reason, more people than ever seem to be seeking it.

We have reality TV shows, where unstable, explosive people are put together and the rest of us “oooh and aaah” at the crazy things they do. Are you good at a video game? Well, there are plenty of people like you with hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitch and YouTube. Some people even go pro. There are also more than a few attractive women putting up pictures of themselves on Instagram looking sexy and getting contributions towards, well, whatever it is they do on Patreon. YouTube also has plenty of personalities making big bucks playing a role. Some of the numbers are just staggering.

WHAT GIRLS THINK ON THEIR FIRST PERIOD: 4.9 million views

I only ate LUNCHABLES for 24 hours: 2.5 million views

LOGAN PAUL - WHY 2018 WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT YEAR OF MY LIFE: 5.7 million views

RATING YOUTUBER APOLOGY VIDEOS 12 million views

Incidentally, the #1 channel on YouTube, PewDiePie, has 80 million subscribers. That’s greater than the population of the entire United States in 1900.

Of course, when you are talking about micro-doses of fame, they’re even easier to get.

Go scream at Ted Cruz and his wife while they’re having dinner and you can guarantee that tens of millions of people will see it. Tell a sad story about how someone didn’t tip you or a fast-food worker was mean to you and you can make headlines all over the country. Say something witty or maybe even not all that witty and if it catches the eye of someone famous and he retweets it, you may get tens of thousands of new followers and hundreds of thousands of likes. Candace Owens’ entire career on the Right is built on the fact that Kanye West liked what she was tweeting. And there are more than a few people with 50,000+ followers because Donald Trump retweeted them. Get enough Instagram or Twitter followers and you get treated like you’re important. Are you famous if you have 50,000 or 100,000 people following you on some social network? Not really, but the level of validation must feel like it. Then, there’s Joe and Jill Average's Facebook page. Here’s the best selfie they took out by the lake. It only took them 17 tries to get that shot. Here they are on a trip to Las Vegas, beside a pretty girl, making a goofy face at a statue.

You might argue that once you’re getting down to this level, people are chasing validation more than fame, but it’s not that different. They’re creating a brand that they hope will get as many people as possible to respond positively to them instead of showing their real life.

Of course, that’s not the only way we change our lives for fame. Those of us who have been around the internet for a while can remember when trolling was considered something unusual done by misanthropes living in their moms’ basements. Today, trolling is commonplace and is done by everyone from the president of the United States on down. Why? Because if you want that fame and attention, one of the best ways to get it is to find a popular post and post something that will irritate most of the people reading it. Then you’ll get lots of hate and aggravate lots of people, but you also may get new followers along with lots of likes and shares.

Not every person chasing that fame is inauthentic, bad or doing something wrong; nor is fame in and of itself a bad thing. But, what is chasing that fame turning us into as a society? What happens when hundreds of millions of people are looking to feel special for a little while as the likes, follows, and shares roll in or alternately, among the more dedicated, looking for a way to get their name in the news?

How many women do you think grew up dreaming of dressing in lingerie and offering lewds on Patreon to entice horny losers to give them money? How many people are wasting their lives on social media? I ask that as I just noticed a reply from someone on Twitter who has done 134K tweets with only 2,868 followers. What could she have done with that time if she had applied it to something meaningful in her life? That applies to what most of us are doing on social media. How much of Twitter is just people being deliberately cruel to other people or saying crazy things to get likes, shares and followers? 25 percent? 40 percent? 50 percent?
Keep reading.

Reading that line about lewd photos offered for money on Patreon, I just noticed that Bridget Phetasy's deleted her Twitter account. (She's still on Patreon, though.) I thought her breast photos were kind of weird, actually, and I certainly didn't think she was conservative, although a lot of folks on Twitter did.

In any case, I've posted 174 thousand tweets on that stupid website, although I'd argue that I've also been able to do "something meaningful" in my life, heh. In 2018, for example, I posted just 1,578 blog posts at American Power (check the sidebar). I spent much more time reading than ever, and I've been more involved as a father and a husband. Besides, as I mentioned the other day, I'm looking to spend less time on the Twitter hate-dump in 2019. All the best people are being deplatformed, and more and more I see people complaining that it's all hate all the time.

So, it's not quantity but quality. Thanks for tuning in folks. I'll still be on Twitter, because I use it as a news feed. But I'm not too worried about "validation," since it's mostly narcissists and haters on the platform nowadays anyway. (There are still some real good people using Twitter, of course, but the cost/benefit analysis is hard to justify anymore, FWIW.)

See Helen Pluckrose, for a case in point:


Jennifer Lopez for Harper's Bazaar (PHOTOS)

At Drunken Stepfather, "JENNIFER LOPEZ SLUTTY FOR HARPERS BAZAAR OF THE DAY."

And on Twitter:


Jennifer Delacruz's Midweek Forecast

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer, for ABC News 10 San Diego:



Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Become Instant Memes with Democrat Response to President Trump's Border Wall Address (VIDEO)

Robert Stacy McCain has the analysis, "Schumer and Pelosi Own the Shutdown Even as They Try to Blame Trump."

And at Instapundit, "STEPHEN GREEN: “The content of the speech reminds me of Bill Clinton, in that it’s smartly triangulated and far more reasonable than his critics tried to make you expect.”

It really was instant meme town last night --- Schumer and Pelosi looked terrible!

The meme's were practically writing themselves! See Twitchy:



Emily Miller had some of the best tweets analyzing the optics (although not included at Twitchy):




And here's the full video, for the lolz:



Eminem's Daughter Hailie Scott Posts Bikini Photo on Instagram

At People:


Also, at GCeleb, "Eminem’s Daughter Does The Instagram Bikini Thing Too."

And, at the Mirror U.K.:


Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Yellow Vest Update

Clarie Berlinski rattled off a long thread last night on the violence of the yellow vest protesters.

They're anarcho-nihilists, basically, and Berlinski's mad because she thinks Macron's a pussy, he's caving to the street scum, and his political cowardice will strengthen the "far right." So, she calls for more authoritarian responses to the protests as a way to prevent "real" right-wing authoritarians from coming to power.



And some of the things that have been happening this last weekend, although given Ms. Claire's animated exasperation, I doubt media reports can replace being on the ground in Paris and watching local media coverage in real time:

At the Local (France), "VIDEO: Protesters attack French ministry with forklift truck."

More:




Facebook, Twitter Work With Conservatives to Manage Political Speech on Their Platforms

This is interesting.


A Year of Shunning and Lawsuits at a Canadian University

It's Lindsay Shepherd, at Quillette, "Thoughtcrime and Punishment."

Her story is familiar, but I hadn't heard about her being shunned in her last semester or so of graduate school, which would violate all kinds of civil rights regulations if professors did this on my campus:


...in another one of my courses, our last three classes (which were to consist of graduate student presentations) were nominally “cancelled.” In fact, they went on behind closed doors: The professor changed the program structure, so that students could invite whoever they wanted to attend their own class presentations—which effectively meant that every other student in the class attended everyone else’s presentations, with me being excluded from all of them. This was a way of shunning me—singling me out so that I would miss the opportunity to learn from and discuss the presentations of my colleagues...
RTWT.

George Packer, The Unwinding

At Amazon, George Packer, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.



Jennifer Delacruz's Tuesday Forecast

It's been mild this week, thankfully. I was freezing last week out in Yucca Valley, sheesh.

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer with today's forecast.



Taylor Swift at the Golden Globe After-Party (PHOTOS)

She's nice.


Bikini Roundup

At Egotastic!, "Weekend Bikini Roundup: Ridiculously Sexy Model Bods in Beautiful Bikinis to Start the Year."

Izabel Goulart is unbelievably hot, dang!

Barbara Palvin Starts the Year (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:



Monday, January 7, 2019

Federico Finchelstein, From Fascism to Populism in History

Hmm, this looks worth a look.

At Amazon, Federico Finchelstein, From Fascism to Populism in History.



Mark Lilla, The Shipwrecked Mind

Following up, "How to Write About the Right."

At Amazon, Mark Lilla, The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction.



Megan Parry's Monday Forecast

At ABC News 10 San Diego:



How to Write About the Right

Leftists will always characterize and attack the new populist-nationalist right as racist and xenophobic. That's a given. It's political correctness on steroids and the left's given assumption is one of the very fault-lines of the new politics of identity across the world.

For me, when someone calls me racist I blow it off and throw it back in their faces. Play by the left's rules. They hate that and it confounds and flusters them.

In any case, Professor Mark Lilla had a nice piece at the New York Review in December, "Two Roads for the New French Right." It elicited the typical Pavlovian attacks from the left. See, "How to Write About the Right: An Exchange."


And Lilla's response:
Writing about the political right has never been harder. Different kinds of right-wing ideologies and political formations are proliferating and shaking liberal governments around the world, as Greil Marcus points out. This makes it difficult to keep track of all the developments, distinguish them, and establish the connections between them. At the same time, liberal and left forces that want to resist these developments are increasingly hostile to learning anything that does not conform to their settled ideas about the right. A misplaced wokeness works like Ambien, dulling our curiosity and willingness to engage, and thrusting us into an intellectual twilight where the only thing we see is the familiar specter of white supremacy...
Keep reading.

Julia Roberts Rebuffs Politics on the Red Carpet

Good for her.

She looked spectacular, and I didn't watch the show. I hate the leftist politics. It should be about the art, not the leftist virtue signalling.

(See "Moral Preening, Identity Politics Win Big at Golden Globes.")


Anne Claire Bousquet.

At Drunken Stepfather, "ANNE-CLAIRE BOUSQUET SAYS SHE’S A MODEL, SO HERE ARE HER TITS OF THE DAY."

(More photos: "Anne-Claire Bousquet shot in the French Riviera, in Le Pradet, France by Guillaume Gaubert.")

BONUS: "GOLDEN GLOBES ROUNDUP OF THE DAY."

Brazil's Primal Scream for Freedom

From Mary Anastasia O'Grady, at WSJ, "Brazil's Primal Scream":

In the days after Jair Bolsonaro won the October runoff contest to become president-elect of Brazil, I received some notable mail from supporters offended by the negative media coverage of their choice for a new chief executive.

A letter from a man in São Paulo, who described himself as “a gay person,” read: For the “first time in my life I voted [with conviction] . . . on both the first and the second round. I woke up 6AM on two cold Sundays happily doing it. I voted for Bolsonaro emotionally and with gratitude in my heart.”

Behind the emotion there was reason. This is “the first time a government [will provide] freedom of market and freedom of choice to us. . . . By that I mean understanding that’s what people want and realizing that’s what will drive the economic direction in this new administration.”

On Tuesday the center-right Mr. Bolsonaro became Brazil’s 36th president. As I read inauguration coverage here in the south of the country I wondered if the new president grasps the soaring expectations he has created. Brazil has let go a primal scream for freedom.

Mr. Bolsonaro’s critics claim that his “right wing” views, shaped by his experience in the military, will put Brazil’s liberal democracy at risk. In the lead-up to the vote, this media hysteria reached a fevered pitch.

It hasn’t diminished. But it has lost its force, in part because it has exposed the bias of the chattering classes, at home and abroad. Brazilians rightly ask where these champions of democracy were when the Workers’ Party governments of former Presidents Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva and Dilma Rousseff were financing the Cuban military dictatorship and its satellite Venezuela.

Brazil’s institutions have matured in the 30-plus years since the end of its own military government. This has been a democratic process, driven by civil society’s thirst for pluralism, tolerance and self-government.

The judiciary and federal law enforcement are increasingly independent. Proof of progress is the federal investigation dubbed Operation Car Wash, which exposed the corruption of a range of powerful business executives and high-ranking politicians in a landmark bribery case. So blind was Lady Justice that even the popular Mr. da Silva couldn’t escape responsibility for his role in the scheme. He’s now in jail.

The same institutions are more than likely to check a power-hungry president on the right. It won’t take as long either. The establishment fawned over Lula. Mr. Bolsonaro will be on a short leash.

The legitimate concern is whether the new president can deliver on his promises to better protect human life and to shrink a monster state that devours dreams.

The São Paulo letter-writer put it bluntly: “Socialism just didn’t work out around here.” Another letter came from a man in Europe who had emigrated seven years ago because Brazil was a dead end.
Still more.


Sunday, January 6, 2019

Danielle Gersh's Weekend Forecast

Here's the lovely Ms. Danielle from last night. We had some storm and flood warnings for early this morning.


The Virtue of Nationalism

Yoram Hazony's book is available at Amazon, The Virtue of Nationalism.

And at Prager University:



The Character That Matters

I really like Roger Kimball, although sometimes American Greatness grates.

In any case, an excellent piece.

RTWT:


Democrats Best Hope

In my classes, I argued throughout 2018 that Joe Biden would be a formidable, if not the best, challenger to President Trump in 2020. That's the case Biden's himself is making.

He's smart. Old. But smart.

And we'll see if he runs. That more than just about any of the identity politics candidates will it interesting.

At NYT:


Crazy Backflips

Seen earlier:


Tucker Carlson's Populist-Nationalist Monologue Draws Response (VIDEO)

Abby Hunstman and Conor Friedersdorf were among some of the prominent responses. Video below:




Saturday, January 5, 2019

R.O. Kwon, The Incendiaries

This one looks worth a try.

At Amazon, R.O. Kwon, The Incendiaries: A Novel.