The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

LIVE AT FIVESIX: 07.02.14

Posted on | July 2, 2014 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
IDF Air Strikes Pound Gaza As Netanyahu Blames Hamas For Teens’ Murder

Secondary explosions after a strike in Rafah, southern Gaza

UN human rights office calls on Israelis, Palestinians to exercise “maximum restraint”

Over 500 Arrested After Pro-Democracy Rally In Hong Kong
Tens of thousands rally

Nicolas Sarkozy Questioned Over Influence Claims
Former French President under investigation for influence peddling



POLITICS
Protesters Block Busloads Of Illegals In California

Border Patrol union reps decry “de facto amnesty”

Illegals’ families being transferred from overcrowded facilities in Texas to understaffed facilities in California
Illegal Immigrants Already Being Released To A Neighborhood Near You



The House That Talking Built: Clintons’ Speaking Riches A Political Conundrum

Navy Gets First Four-Star Female Admiral

ObamaCare Coverage For Millions In Jeopardy As IG Finds Major Data Flaws

Berkeley Voters To Decide Soda Tax In November

Activists Sue To Block Colorado Marijuana Sales Tax

Obama Warns Of Deep Cutbacks In Highway Construction Aid

VA Offers Appointment To Veteran Two Years After His Death



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Mixed Pending US Stockpile Report: WTI $105.35, Brent $112.14
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Diagnosed With Throat Cancer
Ousted American Apparel CEO Raises Stake
Asia Shares Hit Three-Year High On Economic Optimism
Dollar Plunges To Six-Year Low Against Euro Pending Yellen Comments
Puerto Rico Downgrade Raises Default Fears
Google Buys Music Playlist Service Songza
T-Mobile Sued By Feds Over Bogus Billing
Court Rejects Google Appeal On Street View Privacy Suit
Boston Introduces Solar-Powered Benches As Charging Stations



SPORTS
Dodgers Run Into Triple Play En Route To Scalping By Tribe

Dodgers’ Dee Gordon tagged out at home at tail end of triple play

David Murphy breaks out of slump, gets three hits as Cleveland pounds Dodgers 10-3

America’s Long National Nightmare Ends As Belgium Tops US 2-1 In Extras


Cubs Edge Red Sox Again

Lincecum Stellar Again As Giants Blank Cards 5-0

Angels Sweep Doubleheader Against Pale Hose With 7-5 Win

Tigers’ Porcello Shuts Out A’s 3-0

Yankees Lose Fourth Straight As Price Pitches Rays To Victory

Mariners Crush Astros Again 13-2

Strasburg Shuts Down Rockies, Nats Win 7-1



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Megan Fox Wants Women To Own Their Sexuality

The August Cosmo cover girl

“Women don’t have to be desperate and try so hard.”

“Longmire” Crew Member Dead; Teamsters Probing Whether Long Hours To Blame

Robin Williams In Rehab To Maintain Sobriety

Filmmaker Paul Mazursky Dies, 84

Cameron Diaz, Esquire Cover Girl

Beyonce Sparks Jay-Z Cheating Rumors

Fox Pulls Plug On Egyptian Drama “Hieroglyph”

Curly Kate Pretty In Pink!

Portia De Rossi Secretly Spent 30 Days In Rehab

Travel Channel Pulls New Adam Richman Show In Wake Of His Crude Instagram Rant

“Breaking Bad” Spinoff “Better Call Saul” Plots Return Of Walter White

Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott’s Marriage “A Work In Progress”

Blake Lively: “I’m A Very Shy Person And My Hair Is A Safety Net”

Taylor Armstrong Moving Back To California From Colorado

Cops Rush To Selena Gomez’ Calabasas Home – Again

Carrie Fisher’s Daughter Reportedly Cast As Young Leia In “Star Wars VII”



FOREIGNERS
India Summons US Envoy Over Reports That NSA Spied On BJP
Taliban Suicide Bomber Kills Eight In Kabul
Ukraine Resumes Offensive Against Separatist Rebels As Truce Ends
Meriam Ibrahim In Hiding After New Forgery Charges Placed
Rolf Harris Faces New Abuse Allegations
Red China Denies Link Between Seoul Visit, Nork Missile Launches
Saudi King Pledges $500 Million To Help Iraqi Refugees
Modi To Attempt Getting Indian Railways Back On Track
Tories Surge Ahead Of Labour In Polls After Cameron’s Clash With EU

Nigeria Arrests Businessman In Connection With Girls’ Abductions



BLOGS & STUFF
The Quinton Report: Black Mass In OKC Led By Sex Offender
Michelle Malkin: Two Huge Victories
Twitchy: Rest Easy, Ladies – George Takei Will Do Your Hobby Lobby Thinking For You
American Power: Huge Majorities Blame Obama For Illegal Alien Crisis, IRS Coverup, And Iraq
American Thinker: Those Poor Little Gays – The World Is Saying No
BLACKFIVE: Trailer Talk – CNN’s Zakaria Trashes The Tea Party
Conservatives4Palin: Mark Steyn – The Merger Of The Party And The State
Don Surber: No, America, Iraq Is Still Your Problem
Jammie Wearing Fools: This Is Perfectly Rational – NOW President Compares Hobby Lobby Ruling To Apartheid And Jim Crow Laws
Joe For America: Former Colorado Obamacare Director Pleads Guilty To Stealing Public Funds
Pat Dollard: One-Third Of Little Girls Lured Across The Border By Obama Raped On The Way
Protein Wisdom: Remember – ObamaCo. Planned This Crisis To “Force His Hand” On Amnesty
Shot In The Dark: Civics 090 – Remedial American Civics For “Progressives”
STUMP: Labor Force Participation Rates, Part 3 – Older Folks
The Jawa Report: HHS “Brown Shirts” Threaten To Arrest Doctors & Nurses Treating Illegals
The Lonely Conservative: Did Thad Cochran Win Runoff By Buying Votes?
This Ain’t Hell: Petraeus Unsurprised By Iraq
Weasel Zippers: CAIR Laments America’s “Free” Society Makes Muslims “Uncomfortable”
Megan McArdle: Lois Lerner, Colonel Mustard, And The Blue Screen of Death


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Category: Live at Five

PSA: Words Can Hurt You

Posted on | July 1, 2014 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

I’m not even a customer, but this is great:

“Jesse?”

Category: humor

Celebrities in the Culture War

Posted on | July 1, 2014 | 19 Comments

Famous weirdos in the news:

Post-baby heartbreak. Just five weeks after giving birth to daughter Alijah, Kendra Wilkinson was forced to face a bitter, shocking truth: As rumored, husband Hank Baskett had indeed cheated with a transgender YouTube model named Ava Sabrina London. As revealed in the new issue of Us Weekly, out now, former Playboy model Wilkinson, 29, first laughed off reports of Baskett’s April tryst with London, 25.
But when NFL pro Baskett, 31, didn’t rush to clear his name in the press, his wife grew suspicious and “started snooping,” a source explains to Us. Once Wilkinson discovered an unexplained — and damning — charge on his credit card, she “flipped out,” the source says. In a rage, she punched walls in their Calabasas, Calif. home, threw their 2009 wedding photos into the pool, and even pulled off her wedding ring, flushing it down the toilet, the source says.

On the one hand, you’ve got to figure the kind of guy who would marry a former Playmate is slightly kinky. On the other hand, cheating on a former Playmate with a tranny? Dude.

And obviously, Kendra Wilkinson is guilty of transphobia.

 

Category: Celebrities

Ace, Hayek, Hoffer, Sowell

Posted on | July 1, 2014 | 81 Comments

A few months ago, Ace of Spades pissed me off — entirely by accident, I’m sure — when he recommended Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, a book that I have been recommending for years. (In 2003, I actually wrote Neil Postman’s obituary in a freelance article for the Guardian.) Of course, there was no logical reason for me to be pissed at Ace, and my sense of proprietorship over Postman — his leading advocate in the conservative blogosphere — was utterly irrational. In a situation like that, however, you feel as if you have been cheated out of a hat-tip; alternately, if your frequent writing on a particular subject has been so overlooked that your friends didn’t even notice it, you feel a sense of futile insignificance.

One must be proactive and future-oriented to maintain the crucial sense of psychological agency necessary to good mental health. Therefore deeming it necessary to preempt any further erosion of my self-esteem, I took notice when Ace wrote this yesterday:

It occurs to me that the Left is attempting to create a system wherein there are two different classes of citizenship, one fully possessed of its right to speak and act politically, the other whose rights in this regard are sharply curtailed. . . .
The Left, were it to have its way, would forbid anyone who is not primarily in the business of politics (or working for the government or university) from exercising their full political rights.
If you work in any other industry, your rights are substantially reduced. . . .
The only people who would be permitted to speak on political issues, or at in accordance with their social/cultural/religious/political principles, would be the Political Class Itself, which is of course largely “progressive.”

Read the whole thing. The truth of Ace’s observations is indisputable and, of course, nobody has a copyright on truth. But this idea, that the Left desires to constitute itself as an elite with special privileges, is not new. Nor is Ace the first one to observe that the Left is different from the Right in terms of both its motives and purposes. Therefore, let me get ahead of the game with some recommended reading:

  • Friedrich Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism” — Everybody knows Hayek for The Road to Serfdom, but this 1949 essay — a mere 14 pages long, packed with brilliant insights — answers rather definitively the enduring question of why intellectuals almost invariably ally themselves with the Left. The short version: There is simply more work for scholars and writers to do in the imagining of a new scheme of things than there is in conservatism. Explaining and defending an existing traditional way of life against its critics can be an extraordinary intellectual feat at times, but  is inherently less “creative” than the business of the Left, i.e., dreaming up untried social, economic and political experiments. The claim that conservatives are “anti-intellectual” can be understood as arising from this factor; because intellectuals are so naturally inclined toward idealistic experimental Progress, their predominant leftist orientation makes it appear that all the Smart People are in agreement, despite the fact that other equally intelligent people — though less numerous, and less celebrated within the academia/media axis — make strong arguments against them.
  • Eric Hoffer, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements — Anyone who is interested in understanding the psychology of politics simply must read this 1951 classic. Written at a time when memories of the Third Reich were very fresh, and when the menace of Communist aggression was the greatest threat facing the world, Hoffer analyzed the personal and emotional facts that attract misfits and malcontents to what he called “mass movements.” Hoffer’s insights in this matter have universal application. There are certain types of personalities who, dissatisfied with Ordinary Life, seek psychological satisfaction in the pursuit of an Ideal World. Do yourself a favor: Buy a copy of The True Believer and put it on your nightstand for bedtime reading (or, perhaps, in your bathroom) so that you can just pick it up and re-read it from time to time. It will help you remember that progressives are suffering from a kind of mental disorder, and do not deserve to be answered as if they were entirely sane.
  • Thomas Sowell, The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy — This is the book that I most often recommend as the best one-volume analysis of liberalism ever published. What Sowell demonstrates is that liberals pursue certain “crusades” in order to prove to themselves their own moral superiority — the Politics of Narcissism, essentially. The fact that the policies resulting from these liberal crusades actually harm the people they were supposedly undertaken to help? Oh, never mind that, and also never mind any data which prove the harmfulness or futility of liberal policies. Sowell has an entire chapter called “The Irrelevance of Evidence,” wherein he demonstrates how no liberal can ever accept factual proof of liberalism’s errors.

So there’s three very valuable recommendations, and if Ace starts quoting or name-checking these works in the near future when discussing the progressive Political Class, the lack of a hat-tip won’t inflict such a wound on my fragile psyche. This is not to say that the whole point of exercising influence is to obtain recognition for that influence. However, the feeling that one’s influence is being wrongly ignored — however irrational that feeling may be — can become a wound that festers unless it is recognized for what it is. Having seen what untreated cases of butt-hurt can do to vulnerable minds, concern for my own mental health requires this confession.

Blogger Mood Disorder is a persistent problem in this business. Readers can help treat this disorder: Hit the freaking tip jar.





 

Category: Ace of Spades, Intellectuals

The Mississippi Scandal

Posted on | July 1, 2014 | 29 Comments

Charles C. Johnson’s interview with Rev. Stevie Fielder, a pastor who says he participated in an illegal vote-buying scheme during the Mississippi Senate campaign, was lighting up Twitter last night. Aaron Gardner at Red State provides transcripts of much of the interview. Rev. Fielder provides text messages which appear to confirm that a staffer on the campaign to re-elect Republican Sen. Thad Cochran authorized and or coordinated these illegal payments.

That’s the story so far, and a damned important story it is, too. The question is whether it will be followed up, and whether law enforcement — including the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission — will investigated these allegations.

 

Category: Mississippi

LIVE AT FIVE: 07.01.14

Posted on | July 1, 2014 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Iraqi Parliament Meets To Choose New Government

Iraqi police take positions north of Baghdad

“Things are bad. The political process is not commensurate with the speed of military developments.”
India Scrambles To Pull Citizens From Iraq




Government Motors Recalls Another Seven Million Vehicles
Some dating back to 1997

Ukraine’s Poroshenko Ends Ceasefire
Ukraine forces to go on offensive against rebel separatists



POLITICS
SCOTUS Rules In Favor Of Hobby Lobby

A narrow ruling for religious freedom

5-4 decision allows closely held companies to object to contraception mandates on religious grounds

Obama Pursuing Executive Actions On Immigration As House Effort Stalls

SCOTUS Sticks It To Public Sector Unions

200 More Troops Headed For Iraq

Gov. Corbett Won’t Sign Pennsylvania No-Tax Budget Yet

Blackwater Manager Allegedly Threatened To Kill State Dept. Investigator

“Kissing Congressman” Vance McAllister To Run For Re-Election



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Mixed On Weaker US Dollar, Continuing Iraq Crisis: WTI $105.60, Brent $112.44
Former CalPERS CEO To Plead Guilty To Conspiracy Charges
Wall Street Mixed, But Caps A Sixth Quarter Of Gains
China Manufacturing Grows For First Time In Six Months
Hormel To Acquire Muscle Milk Maker For $450 Million
American Apparel Adopts Stockholder Rights Plan
Google Terminating Orkut, Its First Social Network
Facebook’s Emotion Manipulation Study Faces Added Scrutiny
Twitter Buys Mobile App Firm TapCommerce
Microsoft’s Anti-Malware Crusade Knackers Four Million No-IP Users
Microsoft’s Cortana Adds World Cup Predictions – She’s Been Perfect So Far



SPORTS
Tigers Stun A’s With Davis’ Sayonara Slam

Rajai Davis hits a game-winning grand slam in the 9th

Oakland closer Doolittle blows three-run lead, game

Haren Pitches One-Hitter Over Seven As Dodgers Blank Tribe 1-0

Arrieta Flirts With No-Hitter, Cubs Shut Out Red Sox 2-0


Former Mets GM Frank Cashen Dies, 86

Proposed Trades From Astros’ Front Office Leaked Online

Rays Blow Lead, Beat Yankees Anyway 4-3 In Extras

Mets Miscues Boot Game Away To Braves

Bombs Away: Mariners Clout Four Homers In 10-4 Rout Of Astros

Twins Shut Down By Royals, 6-1

Harper Returns, Rockies Fall, Nats Win 7-3



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Jennifer Lopez Fits In Family Bonding During Miami Concert Series

Off the dating scene for now

Brought mother and twins to the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party


If Viewers Weren’t Watching “Community” On NBC, Why Would More Watch On Yahoo?


Robert Downey Jr.’s Son Arrested For Coke Possession

Shia LaBeouf Checks Into Rehab


Joe Manganiello is PEOPLE’s Hottest Bachelor

Beyonce Tops Forbes’ Celebrity 100 List

Jenelle Evans Of “Teen Mom 2” Gives Birth To Second Son

Disney Star Billy Unger Busted For DUI

Bruno Mars Serenades Zumyah Thorpe

Kellan Lutz, Taryn Manning, Anton Yelchin Sign On With “Experimenter”

Chris Brown Carried Out Of BET Awards After-Party

First Look at “Batman V. Superman” Star Henry Cavill As Clark Kent

Former Tinder Exec Sues Tinder…For Sexual Harrassment

All Charges Dismissed In Amanda Bynes Bong-Throwing Case

Worst Celebrity Breakup Tattoos



FOREIGNERS
Reserve Bank Of Australia Holds Rates At Record Low
Netanyahu Vows “Hamas Will Pay” After Bodies Of Kidnapped Teenagers Found
HK Government Calls For Stability As Mass Protest Looms
Turkey Rejects Kurdish Independence, Seeks Iraq Unity Government
Malaysia To Extradite Diplomat To NZ “If Absolutely Necessary”
Poll: Britons Pessimistic About Promised EU Reforms
“Humiliated” Rob Ford Apologizes, Then Pivots To Campaign Speech
British TV Star Rolf Harris Found Guilty Of Rape Charges
Former Top Red Chinese General Expelled From Party; Will Face Corruption Charges
Turkish PM Erdogan Expected To Seek Presidency



BLOGS & STUFF
Proof Positive: Would You Like Some OJ With That Race Baiting?
Doug Powers: Another Law Signed By Bill Clinton Comes Back To Bite The Dems?
Twitchy: Angry Lefties Scold SCOTUSBlog For Hobby Lobby Decision – Just One Problem…
American Power: Lois Lerner Death Threats? Well, Boo Freakin’ Hoo
BLACKFIVE: The Army’s Racist Helicopters
Conservatives4Palin: Governor Palin On SCOTUS’ Hobby Lobby Ruling
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, June 30
Jammie Wearing Fools: Democrats Outraged Over Schumer Legislation Protecting Religious Freedom
Joe For America: Jenny Beth Martin Is A High Priced [Expletive Deleted]
JustOneMinute: Contraceptive Mandate Limited
Pat Dollard: Hillary Opines On Hobby Lobby Ruling – Having Religious Freedom Is “Deeply Disturbing”
Protein Wisdom: Six Stupid Arguments About Hobby Lobby From Dumb Liberals
Shot In The Dark: Best Voting System In America!
STUMP: Labor Participation Rates, Part 2
The Jawa Report: Nigerian Islamists Celebrate World Cup In Traditional Way – Blowing Up Churches
The Lonely Conservative: An Epidemic Of Koch Derangement Syndrome
This Ain’t Hell: 200 More Troops To Iraq
Weasel Zippers: Newspaper Apologizes To Its Readers For Endorsing Obama In 2008
Megan McArdle: Hobby Lobby Hobbyhorses


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Category: Live at Five

Women’s Studies, IYKWIMAITYD

Posted on | June 30, 2014 | 20 Comments

What aspect of feminism was I researching when I found this? Never mind; it doesn’t matter now. The point is that I found a 2009 syllabus for a Women’s Studies course (“Introduction to Feminisms”) at Boston College, which was taught that year by Ellen Friedman. This sophomore-level class is cross-listed under the departments of sociology, history and English, and is required of Women’s Studies minors (Boston College doesn’t offer a major in the subject).

Friedman’s syllabus includes the names of many authors familiar to any student of feminism: Audre Lorde, Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, Gloria Steinem and Susan Brownmiller, to name a few. However, the principal textbook for the course was Feminist Frontiers, edited by Verta Taylor, Leila Rupp and Nancy Whittier. This is a 576-page paperback described by its publisher, McGraw-Hill, as the “most widely used anthology of feminist writings,” which is now in its ninth edition.

Feminist Frontiers, earlier editions of which were subtitled “Rethinking Sex and Gender,” was first published in 1983, edited by Taylor — then at Ohio State University — and her mentor, sociology professor Laurel Richardson. It was while at Ohio State that Taylor met Leila Rupp, who became (a) the first faculty member of the Women’s Studies program there, and (b) Taylor’s lesbian lover. Taylor and Rupp are now on the faculty of the University of California-Santa Barbara, where they are proud to be known as “the professors of lesbian love.”

The third editor of the ninth edition of Feminist Frontiers, Nancy Whittier, got her Ph.D. in sociology at — you guessed it — Ohio State University. She is now a professor at Smith College, where she lives with her lesbian partner, feminist historian Kate Weigand, and their three children. Weigand, who gets a shout-out in the preface of Feminist Frontiers for her “feedback” and “companionship,” is the author of Red Feminism: American Communism and the Making of Women’s Liberation, about which reviewer Henry Makow says, “Weigand . . . shows that modern feminism is a direct outgrowth of American Communism. . . . Many second-wave feminist leaders were ‘red diaper babies,’ the children of Communists.”

So, the three editors of “the most widely used anthology of feminist writings” — a basic college textbook for introductory Women’s Studies classes, which has been in print for more than 30 years — are all lesbians. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

 

Category: Education, Feminism

Rule 5 Monday: Air-Cooled

Posted on | June 30, 2014 | 10 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

This week’s Rule 5 roundup post almost got punted to Tuesday on account of a weekend spent getting face time with friends and some wrestling with a window air-conditioner tonight, which will make the burrow much more habitable over the next few horribly humid months here in the Washington DC area. Anyway, I remind y’all that the links which follow are to pics of attractive women (usually) dressed in revealing beachwear or lingerie, and sometimes less than that. Do exercise discretion when clicking.

Fishersville Mike kicks it off this week with the Redskinettes, followed by Goodstuff with Gisele Bundchen, Rotten to the Core with Maria Sharapova, and at Randy’s Roundtable, Britney Spears. Ninety Miles from Tyranny checks in with Morning Mistress, Hot Pick of the Late Night, and Girls With Guns; meanwhile, Blackmailers Don’t Shoot wants to know – Did Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult Break Up? First Street Journal has a leftover late post from last week about The Glam Life, and Grumpy Patriot wraps it up with Kaley Cuoco.

EBL’s thundering herd of heifers this week includes some World Cup action, Kevin McCarthy, the combative Hope Solo, “skinterns”, Courtney Barnett, Molly Ball, Huma Abedin, Danish Success, and some sideboob action.

A View from the Beach opts for quantity this week with Black Box’s Kelly Reilly, Homo Bureaucratus (cave girls),In Honor of the World Cup, I Take No Position On This, Redhead Beats the Rap, Blown Away, Hope’s on the Ropes, How to Drink Vodka Like a Russian, CNN Coached Crowd to Cheer Hillary, and It’s Colossal!

At Soylent Refuge, the week begins with Coffee Creamer Lauren, followed by the Monday Motivationer, Humpday Hawt Veronica, the Fursday Flavor Saver Fricassee, Corset Conundrums, T-GIF Friday Motherf*cking Science, T-GIF Friday Encore Of Awesome, Happy Hour Hotness, Weekender Ashlyn, and Bath Night Bonanza.

Proof Positive’s Friday Night Babe is Monica Spear, his Vintage Babe is K.T. Stevens, and Sex in Advertising is covered by Lingerie CPR. At Dustbury, it’s Payal Ghosh and Felicia Day.

Thanks to everyone for their linkagery! Deadline to submit links to the Rule 5 Wombat mailbox for next week’s Independence Day Weekend Rule 5 post is midnight on Saturday, July 5.


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Category: Rule 5
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