Deal of the Day: The Hunger Games: Complete 4 Film Collection (Blu-ray and Digital HD)

At Amazon, it's $24.99 for the complete set, The Hunger Games: Complete 4 Film Collection [Blu-ray + Digital HD].

Also, Save Up to 30% on Panasonic Shavers.

BONUS: Richard Ben Cramer, What It Takes: The Way to the White House. Also, Theodore White, The Making of the President 1960.

In the Sunset of the Baby Boomers' Generation, Election Reawakens an Old Divide

I'm a boomer, born on the tail end of the generation, in the early 1960s.

At the New York Times:

8 years after Obama lamented "psychodrama of the baby boom generation" & 12 years after litigating Bush, Kerry, Nam!https://t.co/U4ZrD0vpWO

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) November 7, 2016

They came of age in the 1960s and ’70s, in the traumatic aftermath of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They fought and protested a war together, argued over Nixon and Kissinger together, laughed at Archie Bunker together. As children, they practiced air-raid drills; as adults, they cheered the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In the 1990s, they saw one of their own become president, watching him gain glory as one of the most gifted politicians of his time, but also infamy as one of its most self-indulgent — a poster child for the Me Generation.

They are of course the baby boomers, the collective offspring of the most fertile period in American history. At 75 million strong, they have been the most dominant force in American life for three decades, and one of its most maligned. Enlightened but self-centered, introspective but reckless, they are known among the cohorts that followed them — and even to some boomers themselves — as the generation that failed to live up to its lofty ideals, but still held fast to its sense of superiority.

If Bill Clinton was their white-haired id, Hillary Clinton is their superego in a pantsuit. A second Clinton presidency could represent a last hurrah for the baby boomers. But it could also offer a shot at a kind of generational redemption.

“There is a kind of do-over quality to it,” said Landon Y. Jones, the author of the 1980 book “Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation.” “This is their last chance to get it right.”

A shared history binds the boomers — as do, broadly speaking, some shared traits. Their parents suffered through the Depression and World War II before rearing them in the most prosperous society the world had ever seen. Inevitably, perhaps, they were guided by two polestars: responsibility and entitlement.

Those dueling impulses powered the rise of both Clintons: one impulse galvanizing supporters who deeply admired their commitment to public service, the other galling critics who saw them as playing by their own rules...

Well, if the Clintons are going to be representative of the boomers, I think it's time to pass the baton.

Frankly, even Obama's a better representative, at least in terms of family values. He does seem like he's kept and raised a nice family, which is not true for the Clintons.

The Cyberwarfare Election

I was already thinking about this, as I was considering how I was going to analyze the 2016 election in my upcoming classes.

It's not just cyberwarfare as a political issue, but also a factor impinging directly on the campaigns, such as all the WikiLeaks revelations and accusations of Russian political influence.

In any case, the New York Times, "Under the Din of the Presidential Race Lies a Once and Future Threat: Cyberwarfare":

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The 2016 presidential race will be remembered for many ugly moments, but the most lasting historical marker may be one that neither voters nor American intelligence agencies saw coming: It is the first time that a foreign power has unleashed cyberweapons to disrupt, or perhaps influence, a United States election.

And there is a foreboding sense that, in elections to come, there is no turning back.

The steady drumbeat of allegations of Russian troublemaking — leaks from stolen emails and probes of election-system defenses — has continued through the campaign’s last days. These intrusions, current and former administration officials agree, will embolden other American adversaries, which have been given a vivid demonstration that, when used with some subtlety, their growing digital arsenals can be particularly damaging in the frenzy of a democratic election.

“Most of the biggest stories of this election cycle have had a cybercomponent to them — or the use of information warfare techniques that the Russians, in particular, honed over decades,” said David Rothkopf, the chief executive and editor of Foreign Policy, who has written two histories of the National Security Council. “From stolen emails, to WikiLeaks, to the hacking of the N.S.A.’s tools, and even the debate about how much of this the Russians are responsible for, it’s dominated in a way that we haven’t seen in any prior election.”

The magnitude of this shift has gone largely unrecognized in the cacophony of a campaign dominated by charges of groping and pay-for-play access. Yet the lessons have ranged from the intensely personal to the geostrategic...

Keep reading.

Why America Can't Make Up Its Mind Three Days Before the Election

From Salena Zito, at the New York Post:

I drove 2000 miles on the back roads-from Appalachia to the Rockies.
Meet the other America https://t.co/tgqSybd3uJ pic.twitter.com/WA75u99dZc

— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) November 7, 2016

Deal of the Day: Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-Less Turkey Fryer

At Amazon, Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-Less Turkey Fryer Bundle with 2 Leg Racks and Kabob Set.

More, Save Up to 35% Off Select Britax Car Seats.

And, Save on Select Under Armour Fleece.

Plus, Cole Haan Shoes for Men and Women.

Still more, AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable - 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) - White.

Also, Kindle Paperwhite E-reader - Black, 6" High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers.

BONUS: Robert S. Gordon, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. (I'm still plugging away on this book, and it's worth it!)

Clinton, Trump in Dead Heat for Florida and Ohio, at CBS News Battleground Tracker (VIDEO)

It's Anthony Salvanto, who've I've come to like a lot, for Face the Nation:

Watch, "CBS News Battleground Tracker: Trump, Clinton in Dead Heat in Ohio, Florida."

On election night, it's a bad sign for the Democrats if Hillary's not ahead in states as the polls close. If they're too close to call, that's going to be a good sign for the Republicans.

I'll probably get home around 5:30pm or so, depending on whether there's a line at my polling place, and there's never been one this last few years. Hence, when I turn on the television, it's possible the networks could be projecting a Hillary Clinton electoral college victory. The nets pretty much called it for Obama by 6:00pm on the West Coast in 2012, and I was surprised, since everyone was talking about how it was going to be a long night.

Well, it's possible we'll have a long night this year, and I hope so.

More later.

J.D. Vance and Arlie Russell Hochschild Have Arrived

My books came yesterday.

Here, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, and Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

There's a combined review of the books at the New Republic, "Red-State Blues: Why do people support Trump and the Tea Party? A native son and a sociologist search for answers."

And thanks to everyone's who's been shopping through my Amazon links.

As you can see, I invest my associate's fees right back into more books!

Hillary Would Complete Obama's Fundamental Transformation of America

I've been saying this for a while.

From John Fonte, at the Claremont Review, "Transformers":

Four Years of Hillary

Hillary Clinton will consolidate and expand Obama’s “fundamental transformation.” America will see both an increase in power for the administrative state, which will breech the parchment barriers of the separation of powers and federalism, and the relentless advance of identity politics, which undermines our traditional civic morality centered on the concept of individual American citizenship.

Since we are perhaps the most litigious society in the world, any Clinton-Trump political comparison must consider how each will treat the interpretation and enforcement of the law. Besides appointments to a sharply divided Supreme Court, the next president will appoint scores of lower court judges and U.S. attorneys, the Attorney General, and lawyers in the Justice Department and throughout the federal agencies. There is every reason to expect that the Clinton Legal Behemoth will push the legal envelope with a vengeance on: Obamacare; climate change; green energy; guns; coal; international law; housing; education; immigration; gender, racial, ethnic, and linguistic disparities; and, of course, expanding the administrative state’s scope and power to the detriment of the separation of powers and federalism. One could well imagine a legal Blitzkrieg against political critics like Dinesh D’Souza, sheriffs who enforce immigration law like Joe Arpaio, climate skeptics, conservative activists, fossil-fuel industry executives, Christians, purveyors of alleged “hate speech,” and perceived enemies of social justice and ethnic/gender equity.

Hadley Arkes writes that Obama “has made a nullity of Congress and the separation of powers. And an administration of the Left will only confirm and entrench these changes.” Under Hillary Clinton, “We can expect a campaign to force religious schools to incorporate abortion in their medical plans and have outreach to LGBT groups. And we can expect new judges in the lower courts to support this war on the religious.”

Clinton’s immigration-integration-diversity agenda will create a new regime and, in many ways, a new people. She has promised even less enforcement than Obama, both at the border and in the interior. Word would get out, certainly in Central America, that any youth able to reach the US border can claim refugee status and then eventually bring his parents. Clinton has also promised to exceed Obama actions on executive amnesty. If she is temporarily blocked by the courts she will, after enough appointments, ultimately get the judges who will approve her actions.

In tandem with Clinton’s promise to increase Syrian refugees by over 500%, the Obama administration recently announced that it seeks to add a new ethnic-racial category to the U.S. Census: “Middle Eastern and North African people.” Doing so would provide “protected status” to many American Muslims, giving them affirmative action preferences and the legal privileges of a “marginalized” group. According to data from DHS there has been a 29% increase under Obama in green cards given to immigrants from Muslim majority nations.

Clinton has promised new “comprehensive immigration reform” legislation in her first 100 days. Republican Congressional leaders eager to “get things done,” not “appear obstructionist”, and “get immigration off the table” might well facilitate this goal by permitting a “conscience vote” in the House, where a unanimous Democratic minority will find enough Republicans to form a majority, and consideration under simple regular order in the Senate. A bill close to the Gang of Eight legislation would mean issuing about 13 million new green cards in Hillary’s first term to overwhelmingly low-skilled, non-English speaking immigrants … who will, of course, vote Democratic. This, in turn, will only accelerate ongoing family chain migration and continuing illegal immigration. As in the Gang of Eight bill, all enforcement provisions will be subject to waivers by Clinton’s DHS Secretary. (There were over 1,000 such waivers in the original Gang of Eight bill.) The massive importation of millions of new low-skilled, non-English speaking, immigrants, of course, cannot be reversed in the election of 2020.

Yet some Republicans seem more concerned about Trump’s alleged sexual misconduct decades ago than Clinton’s endorsement of “open borders” in a speech to foreign bankers on May 16, 2013. Most importantly, this deliberate policy of open borders and mass immigration will be accompanied by an official anti-assimilation policy as the new federal government “integration” strategy, inaugurated by Obama, urges new immigrants to maintain their native languages and cultures, instead of prioritizing English and assimilating into the American way of life...

Read the whole thing.

That piece is a keeper.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies." (It's not posted yet.)



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

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco, "See No Evil."

Hillary Clinton Seems Unfazed by Criticism of Alicia Machado

Pfft.

I ignored this controversy from a few weeks back, but Heat Street's running with an update, posting near-topless photos of this woman Alicia Machado.

Here, "Clinton's campaign seems unfazed by criticism of her surrogate Alicia Machado."

And at Egotastic!, "Alicia Machado Playboy Pictures for the Venezuelan In All of Us."

A political Rule 5, for the last weekend before election day.

What a year and a half it's been. Sheesh.

Feminist Jessica Valenti Knows How She's Gonna Vote

Heh.

On Twitter:

I know what finger I'm voting with! Thanks so much to Stephanie Tamez at @savedtattoo for the beautiful work. pic.twitter.com/KrG8yRgHlc

— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) October 27, 2016

And ICYMI, see Robert Stacy McCain, at the Other McCain, "Bad Habits: Cocaine and Feminism."

What Happens After Tuesday? The Mood is Bleak

From Cathleen Decker, at the Los Angeles Times, "What happens after Tuesday? Dismayed voters weigh in on the future of a divided nation":

The uncivil war of rhetoric and resentments is ending, but few have any idea how to bind the nation's wounds. https://t.co/Jqrc1RdvxC

— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) November 6, 2016

The presidential campaign eight years ago is forever wrapped in the soaring and optimistic Obama slogan: “Change we can believe in.” This one’s imagery is the detritus of FBI investigations, a candidate’s vulgarities, accusations of dishonesty, racial dog whistles, misogynist insults.

Any campaign belongs to its times, and this one fits squarely into a worldwide dislocation of the masses from the elites — those of governments, businesses, religions, media. In Great Britain, those sentiments led to the vote to leave the European Union. Here, it has helped to fuel Trump’s rise and limit Clinton’s success.

In an October tracking poll by SurveyMonkey, 50% of Americans said that the country was more divided now than ever before and that the splits would persist “far into the future.” Another 30% agreed that America was more divided than ever, but said the nation could knit itself together in the near future.

That left fewer than 1 in 5 people to assert that the country hadn’t actually sunk to its most divided state.

A cycle of distrust has bred pessimism, no matter the improving unemployment rate or other favorable statistics.

“Even when the news is good, people don’t trust it,” said Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford law professor and political scientist who has studied the national mood. The randomness of threatening events — whether economic collapse or terrorism —  also “makes people jittery,” he said.

That sense of pessimism and dislocation is particularly strong among America’s shrinking white majority.

“Whites are feeling like the earth is moving beneath their feet. Whether it’s an African American president or immigrants, they feel the meaning of America is changing for them,” he said. “And it’s heaped onto the other insecurities.”

All of that can be found in the campaign...

RTWT.

The Death of Elitism

From Salena Zito, at the Washington Examiner":

Somewhere off U.S. 62 between Sharon, Pa., and Masory, Ohio, a sign reads, "You had your chance, it's our turn now."

That homemade sign, located in the fault line of this election in the Mahoning Valley between Ohio and Pennsylvania, in all its simplicity found a way to capture the essence of this presidential cycle.

In fact, it offered more insight into the discord between the American electorate and the governing elite than any pundit has been able to explain, let alone comprehend.

In short, the biggest takeaway from this election no matter who wins is that we have witnessed the end of elitism.

And the power of elites to persuade us has evaporated.

The public no longer has faith in big banks or big companies or big government. People cannot trust the banks because they create sham accounts to meet sales targets, or trust technology companies because they make shoddy cell phone equipment that blows up in our hands only to be replaced with another shoddy phone that blows up in our hands.

And the governing class has failed us miserably, from wars in the Middle East that never end, to a healthcare bill that erodes our income to the politicization of the once trustworthy institutions of the Pentagon, NASA and the Justice Department.

To them, the system is genuinely rigged, and the divide between the Ivy League educated and the state or trade school educated, between the haves and the have-nots, has become so deep that there is no bridge long or sturdy enough to connect them.

It is that very thing that explains why so many Americans are attracted to the deeply flawed candidacy of Donald Trump...

Keep reading.

Paul Rahe: 'How I Might Be Wrong' in Attacking the Never Trumpers

At Ricochet, "How I Might Be Wrong."

He's had second thoughts in light of Trump's foreign policy, and he cites Jeremy Rabkin and John Yoo, at the Los Angeles Times, in August, "Filling Supreme Court vacancies isn't a good enough reason to vote for Trump."

Hat Tip: Instapundit.

Great 'Hacksaw Ridge' Review from David Edelstein

I've read at least three reviews of the movie, but Edelstein seems to cut closest to the essence.

At Vulture, "'Hacksaw Ridge' Is a Massive Achievement for Mel Gibson":

Say what you will about Mad Mel Gibson, he’s a driven, febrile artist, and there isn’t a second in his war film Hacksaw Ridge — not even the ones that should register as clichés — that doesn’t burn with his peculiar intensity. He has chosen exactly the right subject for himself. His hero is the Virginia-born Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), the first “conscientious objector” to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor based on lives he saved as a medic during the spring 1945 battle for Okinawa, one of the most hellish in the entire Pacific campaign. Doss had no problem with serving in the military. He longed to serve. But in insisting that, as a Seventh-day Adventist, he couldn’t carry a weapon, he flouted the central tenet of military cohesion: You protect your fellow soldiers and they protect you. He had to put himself in the middle of the inferno before the Army understood the nature of the protection he offered.

It’s the right subject for Gibson because violence is central to his work. The formula for the action films in which he starred was Make Mel Mad: hurt him, hurt his ­women, hurt his kids, and stand back. What’s clearer now is that violence — done by him and to him — is a form of self-obliteration. He is, for whatever reason, a man so brimming with self-disgust that he embraces violence as the straightest path to transcendence...

Keep reading. Also, "Mel Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge': Sadism and Pacifism Go to War (VIDEO)," and "Mel Gibson's a Different Person Now."

Donald Trump and the End of American Exceptionalism

Blah, blah, blah.

Here's yet another leftist screed warning about the dangers of Donald Trump and Trumpism. These screeds have been polluting the web with an increasing frequency this last few weeks. That's how frightened the political class has become.

From Jelani Cobb, at the New Yorker:

In the sixteen months since he declared his candidacy, Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign has elicited comparisons to those of George Wallace and Barry Goldwater, to the hallucinatory paranoia of Joseph McCarthy, to the fascist preoccupations of Charles Lindbergh, and to lesser lights of American demagoguery like Father Coughlin and the Know-Nothings of the nineteenth century.

The unifying theme among these figures, beyond their disdain for democracy, was their common residence in the loser’s aisle of American history. McCarthy’s conspiratorial manipulation of the public eventually earned him the enmity of both Republicans and Democrats and a vote in the Senate to censure him. Wallace carried just five states and garnered thirteen per cent of the popular vote. Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson by sixteen million popular votes, winning just fifty-two Electoral College votes to Johnson’s four hundred and eighty-six. Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 classic “The Paranoid Style in American Politics” charted the lunatic genealogy of fringe movements dating back to the early years of the Republic, but the more sanguine assessment of that lineage is that few of these movements—anti-Catholicism, anti-Freemasonry, or Know-Nothingism, for instance—managed to sustain themselves in the long term or to fully inhabit the political mainstream.

Goldwater is heralded as the father of modern conservatism, but he could occupy that niche only because successive generations of his heirs refined and streamlined his message, buffing away the elements that the public saw as extremist. The modern Republican Party staked its claim on conservatism, not on Goldwaterism.

All this points to yet another reason why Trump represents a unique danger in American politics. Trumpism does not seek simply to make a point and pass on its genes to more politically palatable heirs, nor is it readily apparent why he would need to settle for this. When George Will announced his departure from the G.O.P., last summer, he offered a modified version of Ronald Reagan’s quote about leaving the Democrats—“I didn’t leave the Party; the Party left me.” But a kind of converse narrative applies to Trump; he didn’t join the Republican Party so much as its most febrile elements joined him. Trump is partly a product of forces that the G.O.P. created by pandering to a base whose dilated pupils the Party mistook for gullibility, not abject, irrational fear that would send those voters scurrying to the nearest authoritarian savior they could find. The error was in thinking that this populace, mainlining Glenn Beck and Alex Jones theories and pondering how the Minutemen would have fought Sharia law, could be controlled. (For evidence to the contrary, the Party needed look no further than the premature political demise of Eric Cantor.) The old adage warns that one should beware of puppets that begin pulling their own strings.

In this light, Trump represents a kind of return to the old-time religion, a fundamentalism that rejects the effete nature of dog-whistle politics the way the religious right defined itself by rejecting the watery tenets of liberal Christianity. Implicit within dog-whistling is enough respect for democratic norms and those outside one’s base to speak to that base in terms that the mass populace can’t readily decipher. Here, plausible deniability is at least a recognition that there are people with interests different from one’s own and that their influence, if not their interests or humanity, warrants a certain degree of respect. Trump is doing the opposite of this. He is an exhorter in a midsummer tent revival: direct, literal, and speaking at a decibel that makes it impossible to misunderstand his intentions. The end result of Trump’s evangelism is that a xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, serially mendacious narcissist is poised to pull in somewhere north of fifty million votes in the midst of the most bitterly contentious election in modern American history. The easy analysis holds that Trump’s jihad against decency has wrecked the Republican Party, but the damage is far more extensive than this...

The main problem here is its incompleteness. Cobb completely omits the Democrat Party from any responsibility for the rise of Trumpism. But as anyone with half a brain knows, the radicalization of the Democrats since at least the Iraq war has unleashed ideological forces that just now seem to have spun out of control, mainly because Trump is unfiltered (in his professed disdain for political correctness, and so forth). Also, Cobb forgets that the culture itself has changed since the the days of both Goldwater and Reagan. Social media has only accelerated a coarsening of American life that's seeped into politics like a cancer. Trumpism won't go away because Obamism isn't going away. Polls show that partisans on both sides have increased in strength and there's precious little incentive to cooperate with the opponent. Fractured, polarized politics lets out the worst. If Cobb were honest he'd at least concede that forces across the ideological spectrum are responsible for where we are today, and his failure ---- along with those of his political class ---- will ensure that these same forces of a long shelf life.

But keep reading.

And see also, "Social Media Enables Prejudice to Slip Back Into the Mainstream."

Welcome to Friday's 'The Crap We Missed' Featuring Ariel Winter Braless

At the Superficial, "The Crap We Missed – Friday 11.4.16."

Hat Tip: Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

Social Media Enables Prejudice to Slip Back Into the Mainstream

Blah, blah, blah.

Everybody's prejudiced about something. It's human nature.

I mean, Hillary Clinton slammed Bernie Sanders' supporters as a "basket of losers," and I don't see leftists getting all uptight about that.

See? Prejudices.

But check Edward Luce, at FT, "The age of vitriol: Edward Luce on US politics and social media":

Age of vitriol. I talk to co-founder of alt-right, @RichardBSpencer & his antidotes - @juliaioffe and @LibyaLiberty https://t.co/3hJS28wGSS

— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) November 4, 2016

I was first alerted to Richard B Spencer by a horrific Twitter post. The tweet in question showed the ubiquitous photo of a Syrian boy, face covered in blood and dust, with the tagline: “Hey, let’s start WWIII for this f***king kid!” Like most people who saw it, I was offended. That, of course, was the point. Unlike many of his peers, Spencer tweets under his real name. He then revels in the outrage.

Provocation is the goal of the so-called alt-right — the amorphous world of rightwing extremist groups that have thrived in the age of Donald Trump. Memes, such as the one of the Syrian boy, are their weapon. Notoriety is their oxygen. The past year or two have been a field day. “No matter what happens, I will be profoundly grateful to Trump for the rest of my life,” says Spencer.

After what seems like the worst-tempered US election ever, America will at last make its decision on Tuesday. History may look back on 2016 as the year when the US finally chose a woman to lead it, or when the postwar US-global order started to break up. Others will remember it as the election when a rank outsider — a reality-TV star, no less — stormed the citadel and changed the way the game was played.

For my part, having lived in America on and off since the end of the past century, this is the year when democracy’s sense of restraint seemed to vanish. The glue of mutual respect that is so vital to any free society came unstuck. People no longer bother trying to persuade each other. They simply shove their views — or the mere fact of their identity — in your face. Or else they just insult you. The more retweets the better.

For all its pluses, social media has drowned politics in vitriol. New technology has opened up a galaxy of thought once confined to libraries, but it has also enabled ancient prejudices to seep back into the mainstream — anti-Semitism, for example, and hatred of women. In the past few months, the Twitter hashtags #whitegenocide (the view that whites are endangered by multiculturalism) and #repealthe19th (the US constitution’s 19th amendment gave women the right to vote) have trended heavily.

Obnoxiousness has infected all sides of the spectrum but the right has learnt how to play the game better. Partly because it is rebelling against political correctness, it works with fewer boundaries, or none at all. The level of trust between electors and elected has been falling for years. In 2016 the electorate has begun to turn viciously on itself. Is this a blip or a permanent shift? The future of free society may depend on the answer. Democracy cannot prosper for long in a swamp of mutual dislike...

Dramatic much Mr. Luce?

There's more to life than social media. My solution to ugliness and rancor is the be nice. I say hello to everyone, especially at my school. I catch my students off guard when I remember their names and say hello to them outside on the walkways. They really like that, although most don't tell you because they're shy and often don't have many social skills, partially because they spend so much time staring down at an electronic screen.

A solution of course is to get people to interact with each, and to double-down and decency and respect. It's as simple as holding a door for someone, or letting someone pass in front of you (without cutting them off, which is something that happens to me a lot, and that's before social media came along; society's been coarsening for some time).

More at the link.

New WikiLeaks Podesta Emails Spark Accusations of Democrat Party Satanism

I saw some weird tweets earlier today with some strange pictures with a woman holding a bloody animal skull, featured alongside Hillary Clinton's "I'm with Her" logo. I didn't think much of it, other than it looked a little, er, unusual.

Well, now I see what the fuss was.

See the Guardian U.K., "Marina Abramović mention in Podesta emails sparks accusations of satanism."

Marina Abramović mention in Podesta emails sparks accusations of satanism https://t.co/dVndszCX0H

— Guardian US (@GuardianUS) November 4, 2016

Hmm, bizarre seems too mild here.

But see Katie Pavlich, at Town Hall, "No, John Podesta's Spirit Cooking Dinner Wasn't About Devil Worship":

Calm the hell down everyone, "Spirit Cooking" is name of a MoMA featured cookbook, not about Satan https://t.co/wQLNJ4z8Qz

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) November 4, 2016

@KatiePavlich The editor's note on this is one of my favorite things of the year. #deepregrets

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) November 4, 2016

Oh 2016. Thank goodness you'll soon be over.

The internet is in a panic today over an email published by Wikileaks and belonging to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The email shows Podesta's brother, Tony Podesta, forwarding an email to John Podesta asking if he can come to a dinner. The dinner is described in the forwarded portion of the email, which is an email from artist Marina Abramovic to Tony Podesta expressing excitement over hosting a "Spirit Cooking" dinner at her home.

Because of the "Spirit Cooking" reference, a number of right-wing websites have rushed to condemn Podesta as a cult involved, blood sucking, hair eating devil worshipper. Twitter is ablaze with satanic images.

First off, we have no proof Podesta did or did not attend the dinner. Second, this dinner was about a "cookbook" and weird art, not devil worship.

Marina Abramovic is an artist (a strange, extreme artist) and published a "cookbook" called Spirit Cooking in 1996. The "cookbook" was featured at New York City's MoMa art museum. She was hosting a dinner at her home promoting the "cookbook" and invited the Podestas....

The dinner likely included a real dinner and Abramovic giving a presentation of her "art." Watch at your own risk here.

Abramovic is into "art" that involves bodily fluids, but that doesn't mean John Podesta is and again, there isn't proof he attended the dinner.

Everyone needs to calm down the hell down, pun intended.

This post has been updated with additional information for clarifying purposes. The "cookbook" is recipes of thoughts, not traditional food recipes. The author deeply regrets ever diving into this topic.

Mel Gibson's a Different Person Now

My son said that "Hacksaw Ridge" was his "favorite" from all the war movies he's seen, which is probably a half dozen, since I almost always drag him along when I go to the movies.

And I think that's because "Hacksaw Ridge" is an epic tale of valor and perseverance in belief, which combines with the harrowing battle scenes to be something of a statement on the meaning of life, faith, and freedom. (I like it a lot myself, although "Saving Private Ryan" remains my favorite movie of all time, combat film or otherwise.)

I was going to write another post about seeing this one, perhaps with the title, "My Oldest Son Said 'Hacksaw Ridge' Was His Best War Movie He'd Ever Seen," although that'd be redundant at this point.

In any case, I've always admired Mel Gibson, especially after "Passion of the Christ." I wasn't too involved with the controversy surrounding the anti-Semitic outburst during his DUI arrest 10 years ago, although it's inexcusable. Justin Chang's movie review suggests that Gibson's reemergence as a top-tier director is in part an effort to get back in good graces with Hollywood, where many in power there probably still hold him in contempt. Be that as it may, I'm going with the personal redemption angle. Certainly, a public statement of apology would be nice, but given his gifts as a director, one of the few working today making eminently memorable classic motion pictures (patriotic movies, in other words), I'm cutting him a little slack.

So, here's a piece at USA Today, "Mel Gibson talks about his troubled past: 'I fed the bullet to the gun'":

Mel Gibson is unveiling a new film with Hacksaw Ridge this week, the first film he's directed in 10 years.

But the Oscar-winning director is aware that people remember his tabloid meltdown era, which started with his infamous 2006 drunken driving arrest in Malibu, Calif. Gibson peppered the arresting officers with anti-Semitic taunts.

Speaking to USA TODAY, Gibson, 60, says he's apologized and moved on from that troubling time, and believes the public has as well.

"A lot of time goes by. People are tired of petty grudges about nothing. About somebody having a nervous breakdown (after) double tequilas in the back of a police car,” says Gibson, now sober. “Regrettable. I’ve made my apologies, I’ve done my bit. Moved along. Ten years later. Big deal."

“I’ve worked on myself a lot,” Gibson adds in a somber voice. “I’m a different person than I was back then. But the thing that remains the same is I think I could always tell a story.”

Gibson says any anti-Semitic label is unfair.

"It's not true. None of my actions bear that sort of reputation, before or since. So it’s a pity, after 30 or 40 years of doing something, you get judged on one night. And then you spend the next 10 years suffering the scourges of perception,” says Gibson. “But it’s my fault for having (allowed) that perception, I fed the bullet to the gun.”

Keep reading.

Also, "Review: Mel Gibson soldiers on with gripping 'Hacksaw Ridge'."

PREVIOUSLY: "Mel Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge': Sadism and Pacifism Go to War (VIDEO)."

Vicki Gunvalson Real Housewives of Orange County Topless Photo FBI Investigation

I've watched the show a couple of times.

Ostentatious wealth and vanity's not my thing, however.

Still, this is too much.

At TMZ, "'Real Housewives' Topless Pic Triggers FBI Porn Complaint":

This topless pic of 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Vicki Gunvalson has triggered an FBI complaint, and the agency is now looking into it ... TMZ has learned.

The pic was taken in Dublin, Ireland where cast members were on a retreat. Production sources say Tamra Judge took the pic and sent it to other cast members and producers with some snarky comments.

Somehow, the photo ended up on the social media account of a 15-year-old girl, who tweeted it out.

A woman named Rosalie saw the photo and filed a complaint with the FBI, saying "Tamara Judge ... sent a nude photograph of an acquaintance of hers (taken at a small gathering) to a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD girl & asked her to distribute it online in an effort to humiliate & harass one Vicki Gunvalson."

More at Casey Anthony's, "Real Housewives of Orange Country Topless Picture Sparks FBI Investigation."

Harper Polling Shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Tied in Pennsylvania

I've never heard of Harper Polling, although apparently the firm's got a decent reputation (a "B-" rating at 538).

Here's the survey, "Pennsylvania Statewide Poll":

.@HillaryClinton and @realDonaldTrump tied in new @HarperPolling poll in Pa. https://t.co/V0KIrp9cC9

— ByJohnLMicek (@ByJohnLMicek) November 4, 2016

With signs of the race trending Trump in the waning days of the campaign, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are tied in the Keystone state (46-46%, 2% Johnson, 1% Stein, 4% Undecided). Clinton has a steady lead with women (49% Clinton-44% Trump) while Trump has expanded his advantage with men (43-49%, 9/22: 42-44%). Independents prefer Trump (26-46%) but self-identified Moderates choose Clinton (57-31%).

Well, we'll see. Pennyslvania's a Democrat state, so folks shouldn't get all excited about it. It's just going to be fun on election night as far as I'm concerned. If a couple of blue states fall to Trump in the early evening, look out: It could be a cliffhanger.

More at Breitbart:

Pennsylvania Poll Shows Tie Between Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton - Breitbart https://t.co/KDdALt1bgf

— ProudAmerican.357 (@SonofLiberty357) November 4, 2016

ADDED: Here's Salena Zito, who's recently been on the ground in key battleground states. Like I said, election night's going to be a blast. We could see a few surprises. I can't wait:

<-drove across country on #LincolnHighway in Iowa Colorado Pennsylvania Ohio decent shot Trump could win them pic.twitter.com/qfiBloMSQW

— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) November 4, 2016

Hillary Clinton Sent Classified Information to Daughter Chelsea

This should be a scandal of exponential proportions relative to anything Donald Trump has said or been accused of.

But it won't be. The Democrats want Hillary in office, damn the lies and utter venality.

At Politico, plus Judicial Watch below:

Hillary Clinton sent daughter Chelsea info now deemed classified https://t.co/wjLZQVrX7A | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/Ylw1cBTLL6

— POLITICO (@politico) November 4, 2016

Judicial Watch forces releases of document showing HRC sent classified information to Chelsea Clinton. https://t.co/VlX9cRnthL

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 4, 2016

BREAKING @HillaryClinton sent classified information to Chelsea Clinton. More information coming soon! pic.twitter.com/aU3AeKbNz8

— Judicial Watch 🔎 (@JudicialWatch) November 4, 2016

HIllary Clinton's Shrinking Electoral College Map (VIDEO)

I don't expect Donald Trump to pull an upset, although anything's possible.

Mostly, I think CNN's hyping the tightening public opinion polls, perhaps creating tension among voters and driving ratings, of course.

I'll have plenty of political coverage over the weekend, and on Tuesday night.

Here's John King:

Mel Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge': Sadism and Pacifism Go to War (VIDEO)

That's the message from this great review from Justin Chang, at LAT, "Andrew Garfield goes to war in Mel Gibson's pacifist bloodbath 'Hacksaw Ridge'":

“Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson’s latest high-minded cinematic massacre, tells the story of Desmond T. Doss, a God-fearing American pacifist who served as a combat medic during World War II and personally carried 75 wounded soldiers from the Battle of Okinawa, ultimately becoming the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor.

His journey straddles two war zones — the first a largely psychological one, in which Doss endures the scorn and harassment of his fellow soldiers, and the second an intensely physical one, atop a treacherous 350-foot escarpment that gives the movie its title. Steeped in blood, guts and Christian iconography, “Hacksaw Ridge” is a tribute to one man’s courageous adherence to his deepest beliefs, made by a director whose commitment to his aesthetic principles is no less unswerving.

As he did in “Braveheart” and “The Passion of the Christ,” Gibson equates spiritual virtue with a hellish corporeal endurance test. His favorite subject is the testing and purification of a man’s moral mettle — a goal that can be achieved only through a sickening, uncompromising display of brutality.

His new film differs in that its hero nobly refuses to participate in the slaughter. Unlike William Wallace — or Jaguar Paw, the warrior protagonist of Gibson’s previous film, “Apocalypto” — Doss has sworn a sacred vow that he will never use a weapon. And unlike the flayed and battered Jesus we meet in “The Passion,” Doss does not personally endure the bulk of all that digital and prosthetic carnage.

He is an altogether unique kind of hero: a healer, a witness, a patriot and a pacifist. His commitment to nonviolence is established in the first 15 minutes, when, as a spirited young boy (played by Darcy Bryce) growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, he strikes and almost kills his brother, Hal, with a brick.

That near-fatal mishap brings Desmond to a powerful, almost Damascene moment of reckoning, one that Gibson dramatizes with anguished close-ups, swelling music and a heavy-handed reference to Cain and Abel. By the time we see a grown-up Doss in 1942, with the American war effort in full swing, he is a changed man — quite literally, as he’s now played by Andrew Garfield, whose reedy physique and gawky charm immediately cast him as an unusual kind of soldier.

A Seventh-day Adventist who refuses to bear arms, Doss nonetheless longs to serve his country and enlists in the Army — though not before falling in love with a pretty nurse, Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), whom he pursues with the same cheerful, ingratiating stubbornness that characterizes his every decision. He doubtless inherited some of that iron will from his father, Tom (Hugo Weaving), a scarred, embittered World War I veteran who regularly erupts in fits of drunken abuse at his children and their long-suffering mother, Bertha (Rachel Griffiths).

As a filmmaker, Gibson has a certain genius for the familiar: Even when tackling ancient settings and foreign dialects, his command of the Hollywood blockbuster idiom is such that all cultural differences are effectively rendered nil. That’s very much the case with “Hacksaw Ridge,” a thoroughly American concoction (despite all the top-notch Australian and British acting talent) that eases before long into the sturdy, straightforward rhythms of the platoon picture.

The men Doss meets at boot camp are a predictable mix of tough guys and comic archetypes, none funnier than than a barking drill sergeant wittily played by Vince Vaughn as a benign riff on Gunnery Sgt. Hartman from “Full Metal Jacket.” All these soldiers — including a surly alpha dog, Smitty (Luke Bracey), and a steely commanding officer, Capt. Glover (Sam Worthington) — turn on Doss when they learn he has no intention of touching a rifle. Yet even as he faces accusations of cowardice and enormous pressure to drop out, Doss doubles down on his training, as well as his belief that an important destiny awaits him in Okinawa.

In reconstructing one of the Pacific theater’s deadliest conflicts, “Hacksaw Ridge,” to its credit, seeks to strike a balance and honor the fighters whose courage made Doss’ valor possible. For lengthy stretches of Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan’s script, we are not with Doss at all but instead with his comrades in the heat of battle — charging, shooting, stabbing and immolating an equally vicious enemy...

Keep reading.

An excellent review.

I'm heading out to see the movie right now.

More blogging later.

Don't Be Scared, Be Prepared

I like Sarah Kendzior because she's smart. She's super far left, but she's smart and intellectual. I like reading her stuff, even if I disagree. It's brain food.

See, "Our fate was sealed long before November 8 (and not because the election’s rigged)."

Like I said: She's interesting.

As I've said a million times: don't be scared, be prepared. Don't put your head in the sand. Analyze situation, help others, and carry on.

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 4, 2016

This warning is two months old. It still stands. They are making a fool's bargain. pic.twitter.com/Li29pnqlJC

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 4, 2016

'The ABC/WaPo Poll's Track Record Since 1992 is Insane...'

Says Kristen Soltis Anderson, on Twitter.

The ABC/WaPo poll's track record since 1992 is insane. Freakishly accurate. FWIW. https://t.co/SztpfPuKik

— Kristen S Anderson (@KSoltisAnderson) November 4, 2016

She's the author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up), which I desperately need to read.

Character Ultimately Determines Support for Donald Trump

It's not racism after all?

From the erstwhile balanced commentator Jamie Kirchick, at the Tablet, "Who Goes Trump? What ultimately determines support for the GOP nominee isn’t race, class, or political ideology. It’s character":

It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one’s acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Trump. Having gone through the experience many times, I have come to know the types: the born Trumpkins, the Trumpkins whom democracy itself has created, the certain-to-be fellow travelers. And I also know those who never, under any conceivable circumstances, would go Trump.

It is preposterous to think that Trump supporters are created by economic or regional characteristics. The rural white working-class may be more susceptible to Trumpism than most people, but I doubt that preference is inherent. Hispanics are barred, but that’s an arbitrary, circumstantial ruling. I know lots of Hispanics who are born Trumpkins and many others who would support Trump tomorrow morning if given an opening to do so. Trumpism has nothing to do with class, ethnicity, or even gender. It appeals to a certain type of mind...

A certain kind of crazy mind, apparently.

But keep reading.

Is Clinton Slipping?

At Sabato's Crystal Ball, "There are more signs of erosion, but her floodgates appear to be holding."

Chanel West Coast

At Drunken Stepfather, "CHANEL WESTCOAST INSTAGRAM ASS AND NIPPLES OF THE DAY."

Some Obama Voters Now See Donald Trump as Agent of Change

The headline you never thought you'd see.

At NYT, "Some Who Saw Change in Obama Find It Now in Donald Trump":

Gary Kerns, who voted for Obama and now supports Trump, called himself a “bandwagon voter." https://t.co/U4HNzBIDUn pic.twitter.com/R78W5o7vSv

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) November 3, 2016

GRANTVILLE, Pa. — It didn’t take long for Jack Morris to regret voting for President Obama. A few months after Mr. Morris, a lifelong Republican, cast his first vote for a Democrat in 2008, he learned that the carpet company where he worked planned to lay off 36 people in Pennsylvania and move his job to Maryland.

He went home and lamented to his wife that he had made a big mistake buying into Mr. Obama’s message of hope and change. The president had been in office less than half a year, and already the disappointment that would color the next eight years for Mr. Morris was sinking in.

“I just told my wife, ‘I screwed up. I should’ve never voted for him,’” said Mr. Morris, 46, who now supports Donald J. Trump. “I took the chance, left my party to come and try and vote for him to change. It didn’t work, and now I’m back to my party.”

Mr. Morris is one of a small subset of voters who supported Mr. Obama in 2008 and have now embraced Mr. Trump, attracted by his vow to shake up the political status quo and restore lost jobs. A CBS News poll conducted last month found that 7 percent of likely voters who supported Mr. Obama in 2012 now back Mr. Trump, a ray of hope for a candidate who remains behind in most polls and has alienated many centrist voters.

Interviews with Mr. Morris and more than a dozen others show a common theme: The message of change that inspired them to vote for Mr. Obama is now embodied by Mr. Trump, whom they see as a brash outsider unconnected with Washington bureaucrats and the big-money donors funding Democratic and Republican candidates.

Many of those interviewed said they felt duped by the president and frustrated by their personal circumstances. They said Mr. Obama had not done enough to create jobs, unfairly pushed through the Affordable Care Act, and damaged the international reputation of the United States with his handling of foreign affairs. Some also complained that the first black president had bungled his response to racially charged killings...

Keep reading.

In the Mail: Lawrence W. Reed, ed., Excuse Me, Professor

At Amazon, Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism.

Received from Katie McMenamin, Director of External Relations, at the Young America's Foundation.

Donald Trump Says the System is #Rigged

Is he right?

Is it rigged?

Lauren Southern investigates, for the Rebel:

'Fire Down Below'

At the Sound L.A., from Tuesday morning's drive-time.

From Bob Seger:

THE FIRE DOWN BELOW
BOB SEGER
7:01 AM

Saved By Zero
The Fixx
6:55 AM

What Is Life
George Harrison
6:51 AM

Runnin' Down a Dream
Tom Petty
6:35 AM

Rock'n Me
Steve Miller Band
6:32 AM

Shake It Up
The Cars
6:28 AM

Paint It Black
The Rolling Stones
6:25 AM

Go Your Own Way
Fleetwood Mac
6:21 AM

Don't You (Forget About Me)
Simple Minds
6:05 AM

Something About You
Boston
6:02 AM

White Nationalists Plot Voter Intimidation 'Show of Force' for Election Day

I'll believe it when I see it.

The mass media acts like the 1960s rights revolution never happened.

At Politico, "White nationalists plot Election Day show of force":

White nationalists plot Election Day show of force https://t.co/aUm8TKYHKw | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/gquu7xkAvF

— POLITICO (@politico) November 2, 2016

KKK, neo-Nazis and militias plan to monitor urban polling places and suppress the black vote.

Neo-Nazi leader Andrew Anglin plans to muster thousands of poll watchers across all 50 states. His partners at the alt-right website “the Right Stuff” are touting plans to set up hidden cameras at polling places in Philadelphia and hand out liquor and marijuana in the city’s “ghetto” on Election Day to induce residents to stay home. The National Socialist Movement, various factions of the Ku Klux Klan and the white nationalist American Freedom Party all are deploying members to watch polls, either “informally” or, they say, through the Trump campaign.

The Oath Keepers, a group of former law enforcement and military members that often shows up in public heavily armed, is advising members to go undercover and conduct “intelligence-gathering” at polling places, and Donald Trump ally Roger Stone is organizing his own exit polling, aiming to monitor thousands of precincts across the country.

Energized by Trump’s candidacy and alarmed by his warnings of a “rigged election,” white nationalist, alt-right and militia movement groups are planning to come out in full force on Tuesday, creating the potential for conflict at the close of an already turbulent campaign season.

“The possibility of violence on or around Election Day is very real,” said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Donald Trump has been telling his supporters for weeks and weeks and weeks now that they are about to have the election stolen from them by evil forces on behalf of the elites.”

It is difficult to know at what scale these plans will materialize, because Anglin and his fringe-right ilk are serial exaggerators, according to Potok. And rather than successfully uncover widespread voter fraud — for which there is a lack of compelling evidence — or successfully suppress minority turnout, Potok said the efforts are most likely to backfire...

Mark Potok?

The guy's a fraud. If he's making the allegations then I'd bet money there won't be a massive "white nationalist" vote suppression "show of force" on election day.

Sheesh.

More at the link.

And from Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "IN THE FUTURE, EVERYONE WILL BE ADOLF HITLER FOR 15 MINUTES – AND THE FUTURE IS NOW: 'Everyone Who Disagrees with the Southern Poverty Law Center Is Hitler'."

Salma Hayek for GQ Mexico

At Drunken Stepfather, "SALMA HAYEK IN GQ MEXICO OF THE DAY."

Paris Hilton as Tinkerbell

For Halloween.

On Twitter, "Those who don't believe in magic will never find it..."

Also, at Egotastic!, "Paris Hilton Big Cleavage as Tinkerbell."

ICYMI: Arlie Russell Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land

At Amazon, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

I've got this one on order, along with J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.

And thanks once again for shopping through my Amazon links.

It's greatly appreciated.

The 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra

This year's fashion show will feature "Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Karlie Kloss and returning favorites Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk and Jasmine Tookes, who will be wearing the $3 million Bright Night Fantasy Bra."

The show airs Monday, December 5th.

Check back here for all your pre-show hotness.

Deal of the Day: EcoSmart ECO 27 Electric Tankless Water Heater

At Amazon, EcoSmart ECO 27 Electric Tankless Water Heater, 27 KW at 240 Volts, 112.5 Amps with Patented Self Modulating Technology.

Also, Save on Philips Wake-Up Lights.

More, Up to 50% Off ECCO Men's and Women's Shoes.

Plus, Save Up to 35% on PURELL Solutions.

BONUS: Thomas Piketty, The Economics of Inequality.

Black Turnout Falls in Early Voting

Well, enthusiasm's down for Hillary Clinton all around, although I'm not sure it's going to make that much difference.

It's going down to the wire. Donald Trump has to run the table on all the states he needs, plus a couple others he's not expected to get. He's got a hard path to 270.

But we'll see. We'll see.

At NYT:

BAD OMEN: Black turnout falls in early voting, boding ill for Hillary Clinton https://t.co/AI8NnQGzkS pic.twitter.com/AfqycmbDK8

— slone (@slone) November 2, 2016

World Series Goes to Climactic Game 7

Well, the Indians bobbled the ball last night, literally.

Tonight's going to be epic.

Great! Cubs-Indians magic words: #WorldSeries Game 7. https://t.co/naeLE16wNg

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) November 2, 2016

Orange County Could Go Democrat in 2016

The leftist hordes have stormed the barricades and breached the Orange Curtain.

At LAT "Orange County has voted for the GOP in every presidential election since 1936. This year, it could go blue":

It was the home of Richard Nixon, the cradle of Ronald Reagan’s career and, for decades, a virtual synonym for the Republican Party of California.

Now, for the first time since the Depression, Orange County stands on the verge of choosing a Democrat for president, potentially ending the longest streak of Republican presidential victories of any county in the state.

That possibility symbolizes how the American political map has been upended by Donald Trump’s campaign: He has sped up a decade-long shift in which the GOP has gathered strength in white, blue-collar regions that once routinely elected Democrats, but traditional Republican suburbs increasingly have turned blue.

From Chester County outside Philadelphia to Gwinnett County east of Atlanta and on to Fort Bend County near Houston and Tarrant County west of Dallas, big, affluent suburban regions seem likely to shift significantly toward Hillary Clinton this year, according to analysts who track county-level voting trends.

That’s an immediate hurdle for the GOP, which has long counted on suburban strength to offset Democratic votes in the cities. It could be an even bigger problem in the longer term because those suburbs are among the nation’s most economically dynamic, growing regions.

The shift reflects changing demographics: As with Orange County, many of the nation’s suburbs have become racially and ethnically diverse, shedding their status as all-white enclaves.

It has been accelerated by Trump’s weakness among college-educated, white voters. That group has sided with the Republican in every presidential election since reliable polling began in the U.S. in the 1940s, but this year it has consistently shown a Democratic majority in polls...

Keep reading.

Jackie Johnson's November 2nd Weather Forecast

It's cooler in the mornings, but nice in the afternoons. The fall weather's enough to stay in Californian. Not so much the politics of course. Even the O.C. might go Democrat this election. The left's has finally stormed the Orange Curtain!

Here's Ms. Jackie, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Assessing the Fallout From the Comey Effect

Well, I think a number of folks who liked Hillary may have second thoughts, and if that's as much as a percentage point or more in some states, it could make a difference.

But let's see.

Here's Larry Sabato et al., "The Comey Effect":

Crystal Ball: New Electoral College map. AZ/FL/OH to Toss-up https://t.co/HRDHetpcwz pic.twitter.com/dZ5FAQ5Z68

— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) October 31, 2016

FBI director throws a curveball into the presidential race with a week to go; Clinton slips in ratings but retains clear edge.

The purest version of the “October surprise” is a political bombshell that no one sees coming. In the closing days of the craziest campaign in modern history, we have just been witnesses to an October surprise so pure it would qualify for an Ivory Soap commercial (“99 and 44/100 percent pure”). When FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to certain members of Congress about a new development in the long-running Hillary Clinton email mess, the resulting earthquake could be picked up by a seismograph.

There are very legitimate questions about whether Director Comey was right or wrong to do what he did. It’s indisputable that Comey broke normal FBI practice in order to comment publicly on an incomplete, ongoing investigation. Moreover, Comey violated longstanding FBI standards that prohibit announcements within 60 days of an election that would influence the public’s choice. Just 11 days before Nov. 8, Comey took an unprecedented step that could affect the outcome of an election for president and Congress. The vagueness and ambiguity of his letter to some senior members of Congress guaranteed a leak to the press within five nanoseconds, and invited the rankest speculation from Clinton’s opponents.

To the extent that Clinton loses ground this week, and falls behind in battleground states where she had been leading, we will call this “the Comey Effect.” Similarly, if Comey’s decision results in Republicans holding onto the Senate and losing fewer House seats because he has invigorated their “checks and balances” argument, we will also attribute this to the Comey Effect.

The all-emails-all-the-time media coverage has already had an impact on the presidential race. Polls were tightening a bit before this, mainly due to some reluctant Republican partisans returning home at the end to their party’s ticket. We also need to remember something that has defined this race: The candidate in the spotlight, except for the convention period, has generally suffered in the polls. After the conclusion of the third debate, the focus seemed to move back to Clinton, as negative headlines about the Affordable Care Act and the daily trickle of sometimes embarrassing emails from WikiLeaks’ John Podesta treasure trove accumulated. This took the focus off of Donald Trump and put it on Clinton — and the Comey Effect has kept the spotlight on her. That the Democrats have struck back so hard against Comey, with some even calling for his resignation, indicates the seriousness with which they are treating this new development in the race.

Republicans will thrill to the Comey Effect. Democrats will heatedly denounce it. Yet it is real and impossible to ignore, and the FBI director’s extremely controversial move must be noted in the Crystal Ball, and maybe even in the history books.

Still, Clinton remains the clear favorite in the race, and there were not immediate signs that the overall race dramatically changed as a result of the Comey Effect. However, the race may have been getting closer anyway...

Keep reading.

Donald Trump Campaigns in Blue States, Looking to Overturn the Electoral Map

Althouse has an entry on Donald Trump challenging Hillary Clinton's "firewall."

It's completely unorthodox, but what if it works?

At the Los Angeles Times, "Trump is placing a long-shot bet to win a handful of states. It could overturn the electoral map":

With one week before election day, Donald Trump spent the bulk of Tuesday campaigning in Wisconsin, a state that has not backed a Republican for president since 1984.

His unorthodox visit came on the heels of trips to Michigan and Pennsylvania, states that also haven’t gone red since the 1980s.

For the final stretch of the presidential race, the GOP nominee has embarked on a strategy of long-shot bids, holding rallies and airing ads in states that have been reliably Democratic in recent elections. Trump’s gambit sacrifices face time in battleground states, but if successful would upend the political map and likely hand him the White House.

“The Trump campaign is on the offensive and expanding our presence in battleground states into blue states,” David Bossie, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, told reporters Tuesday.

Trump’s campaign believes it can flip states by relying on his populist rhetoric that connects with white working-class voters hurt by the Rust Belt’s decline in manufacturing.

Michigan was among 13 states where the Trump campaign placed a $25-million ad buy for the final week of the race, digital director Brad Parscale announced. Pennsylvania and New Mexico, other mostly reliably blue states, were also on the list.

At a rally Monday in Warren, Mich., Trump seemed almost giddy as he repeatedly mentioned how a win in the state would buck historical precedent.

“No Republican has won since like Reagan or something many years ago” — it was actually George H.W. Bush — “and I said, ‘I love Michigan,’” he said.

Trump has made a number of high-profile visits to the state, and he has enthusiastic grass-roots groups such as the Michigan Conservative Coalition organizing flash mobs and knocking on doors on his behalf.

His campaign also has more than 30 offices in the state and consistently knocks on at least 100,000 doors a week, said Scott Hagerstrom, who runs Trump’s campaign in Michigan.

The biggest challenge, he said, is “to get people to believe again, to believe that it’s possible.”

Trump faces steep hurdles in Michigan, Pennsylvania and here in Wisconsin, a state that has voted Democratic since 1984. He trails in public polls by 5 to 6 points in those states, according to averages maintained by RealClearPolitics.

But if the race tightens significantly, the time invested in those states may yield dividends...

Keep reading.

Americans Think the Media Wants Hillary Clinton by Nearly 10-to-1 Margin

Well, somebody's got some common sense.

At the Hill, "Public overwhelmingly thinks media is in the tank for Clinton."

Poll: Public overwhelmingly thinks media is in the tank for Clinton https://t.co/krQVwAHYTP pic.twitter.com/Hf3Hbgv8aV

— The Hill (@thehill) October 31, 2016

The polls here, at Suffolk University, "Suffolk University/USA Today Poll Shows Clinton Leading Trump by 9 Points Nationwide":

Despite Trump’s claim that the election is rigged, nearly 57 percent of likely voters said that the election results will be fair and accurate, while 38 percent said they are worried that the results could be manipulated. However, voters appeared to agree with Trump’s claim that the media has chosen Clinton. Asked whom they think the media preferred, 75 percent said Clinton, 8 percent Trump, and 5 percent said the media preferred neither.

Joanna Krupa Halloween

This lady goes all out.

At the Sun U.K., "SENDING PULSES AFLUTTER: Model Joanna Krupa goes topless for Halloween as she dons body paint for extremely sexy butterfly costume." (On Twitter here as well.)

Also, at London's Daily Mail, "Whip it good! Joanna Krupa wields riding crop in very revealing dominatrix Halloween costume." (On Twitter here as well.)

Still more, "Joanna Krupa unleashes her inner Aphrodite in a risqué Greek Goddess outfit at Halloween bash as she dons THIRD costume in as many days."

Heidi Klum's Halloween Clones

This is trippy.

At London's Daily Mail, "It's Heidi CLONE! Model Klum unveils her most ambitious costume yet as she arrives at her annual star-studded Halloween party with five lookalikes in prosthetics."

Arlie Russell Hochschild Discusses Anger and Mourning on the American Right (VIDEO)

On Sunday I ordered Arlie Russell Hochschild's, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

I'm getting into the whole sociology of the disaffected white working class. I'm having the Hochschild book sent along with J.D. Vance's, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.

And as noted, I started reading Charles Murray's 2012 book yesterday, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. (It's a great read, by the way.)

In any case, here's Professor Hochschild on Democracy Now! She's amazingly sympathetic to the mourning Americans, even if she can't quite understand them.

Interesting:

The Far-Left's Nightmare Fantasies

Robert Stacy McCain refers to leftists here as "liberals," something I rarely do anymore.

They're not liberal, in the classical sense of the term. They're not even J.F.K liberals, which is the Cold War Democrat version. Nope. They're neo-communists, in David Horowitz's formulation. And they're bringing the Marxist-Leninist collective closer and closer by the day. It's not just "cultural" Marxism either. Leftists these days are giving us a preview of the prison camps of the 21st century, which won't look much different from the prison camps of the 20th century. Think Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and you won't be far off base.

In any case, at the Other McCain, "Liberals and Their Nightmare Fantasies."

Forty-Five Percent of Voters Say Hillary Clinton's Email Scandal is Worse Than Watergate

That's almost half. Among all voters, that's almost half.

You've got more than Donald Trump partisans in a statistic like that. Forty-five percent is capturing a lot of independents, and perhaps quite a few Democrats.

See Politico, "Poll: Comey’s bombshell changes few votes." (Via Althouse.)

More here:

WaPo-ABC poll: 34% say the new FBI review makes them less likely to support Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/vPgojeddrz pic.twitter.com/CgcoZ5W6yD

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 30, 2016

'In North Carolina, as in Ohio, Colorado, Florida and the other major swing states, the election will likely unfold as a test of strength between metropolitan areas breaking for Clinton and non-metropolitan areas rallying to Trump...'

More great election analysis, from Ronald Brownstein, along with Leah Askarinam, at the Atlantic, "The Tipping Points of the 2016 Election."

Ben Cohen Reviews Socialism of Fools

A very interesting book review, at Commentary.

Cohen's reviewing Michele Battini's, Socialism of Fools: Capitalism and Modern Anti-Semitism.

Also, FYI, Cohen's the author of Some of My Best Friends: A Journey Through Twenty-First Century Antisemitism.

In any case, at the magazine:

Book Review, "Socialism of Fools". https://t.co/0dBPxQqVCs @BlazingCatFur

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 31, 2016

Julian Assange Belongs in Jail

Marc Thiessen nails it with this piece, "Wikileaks is no hero":

Wikileaks is no hero. @marcthiessen: https://t.co/nGrJz8ElJL

— AEI Foreign Policy (@AEIfdp) October 28, 2016

Winston Churchill once said that “if Hitler invaded hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.” So it’s not surprising that many conservatives are thrilled to see WikiLeaks and the Clinton campaign at war, as Julian Assange releases emails exposing the duplicity and potential self-dealing of the Clinton machine and the blurred line between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department.

But in our excitement, let’s not forget: Julian Assange is no hero. He is the devil.

Some conservatives seem to have lost sight of this. Rudy Giuliani recently said, “I find WikiLeaks very refreshing.” And Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) declared on Twitter, “Thank God for Wikileaks — doing the job that MSM WON’T!”

These conservatives seem to have forgotten that before Assange was revealing Clinton campaign emails, he was serially leaking stolen, classified national security information that has endangered the United States and its allies across the world. In 2010, WikiLeaks dumped more than 76,000 unredacted, secret U.S. intelligence documents into the public domain, including the identities of at least 100 Afghans who were informing on the Taliban. At the time, Assange admitted in an interview that his leaks might harm innocent people (“collateral damage, if you will,” he declared) and that WikiLeaks might get “blood on our hands,” but this was a price he was willing to pay for transparency.

In the years that followed, Assange continued his serial disclosures of stolen U.S. secrets. He released a troveof classified documents on Guantanamo Bay detainees, an unredacted archive of more than a quarter-million secret U.S. diplomatic cables, classified CIA documents exposing how CIA operatives maintain cover while traveling through airports, secret details of European military operations to intercept refugees traveling from Libya to Europe, and top-secret documents describing National Security Agency intercepts of foreign government communications, among others.

The cost of WikiLeaks’s disclosures to our national security is unfathomable. As former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden has put it, “We will never know who will now not come forward, who will not provide us with life-saving information” because of WikiLeaks, “but we can be certain that the cost will be great. And foreign intelligence services, with whom we have established productive and legitimate partnerships, will ask, ‘Can I trust the Americans to keep anything secret?’ ”

For these and other crimes, Assange should be in jail. But instead, he is being given sanctuary by the left-wing, anti-American government of Ecuador. Moreover, let’s not forget that Assange is attacking Hillary Clinton not because he thinks she is a corrupt liberal, but because he believes that she is too interventionist. “She’s palled up with the neocons responsible for the Iraq War,” Assange recently told Megyn Kelly, “and she’s grabbed on to this kind of neo-McCarthyist hysteria about Russia.” Assange wants the United States to pull back from Iraq and Afghanistan and stop criticizing Russian President Vladi­mir Putin — not exactly conservative priorities.

While the conservative embrace of Assange is troubling, the hypocrisy displayed by some in the media in not fully covering WikiLeaks’s Clinton revelations are equally galling. They had no problem reporting on WikiLeaks’s revelations of highly classified national security information, falling over themselves to publish what amounts to espionage porn. But according to the Media Research Center, between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, “the morning and evening news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC dedicated 4 hours and 13 minutes to discussing the recent allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Donald Trump’s campaign,” while “the continual release of the WikiLeaks emails from top Hillary staff [got] a comparatively puny 36 minutes of coverage .” That is a ratio of 7 to 1. And much of that meager coverage has been focused not on the revelations themselves, but on how the emails were hacked and leaked.

The Clinton campaign has a clear strategy for tamping down coverage of WikiLeaks — to paint the revelations as an assault on American democracy...

Still more.

Kimberley Strassel Explains the Intimidation Game

Here's her book, at Amazon, The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech.

And for Prager University: