Evelyn Taft's Cooling Trend Forecast

Here's the lovely Ms. Evelyn.

It's been great weather. Cool but comfortable. Sunny but not hot. Very nice all around.

At CBS News 2 Los Angeles:

Lawsuit Against San Diego Unified School District's Muslim Anti-Bullying Program (VIDEO)

That's what I'm talking about.

More of this, please.

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

William Cronon, Changes in the Land

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.

Fox News Retracts Story on Murdered D.N.C Staffer Seth Rich (VIDEO)

Really interesting developments on this, starting with the Fox News statement on the retraction, at top. Sean Hannity said earlier today that he "retracted nothing," but then on his evening broadcast announced he was "backing off" the story for now.

As noted previously, I don't care for this story. I don't know what evidence there is linking the young man's murder to the Democrat Party. That said, clearly, as seen in Hannity's segment, there is absolutely no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign, Russia, the D.N.C. hacks, or whatever. It's all a scam.

Fox News finally retracts its story on the Seth Rich investigation https://t.co/WTF1ecrYMU

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) May 23, 2017

A remarkable rant by Hannity on his radio show re: Seth Rich. Read for yourself. "I retracted nothing!" https://t.co/t523hnckwd pic.twitter.com/rY0Wu0FOkS

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) May 23, 2017

Saffie-Rose Roussos, 8-Years-Old, Killed in Manchester Terror Attack

Following-up, "Manchester Suicide Bomber Identified as British-Libyan Jihadist Salman Abedi."

At the Telegraph U.K.:

8-year-old confirmed dead after Manchester attack at Ariana Grande concerthttps://t.co/1x0W7HstMZ

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 23, 2017

Wednesday's @Telegraph front page #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/EVUScuAOGU

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 23, 2017

Manchester Suicide Bomber Identified as British-Libyan Jihadist Salman Abedi

At the Telegraph U.K., "Salman Abedi named as the Manchester suicide bomber":

The Manchester bomber's parents arrived in the UK as refugees from Libya https://t.co/WYVHH2IOG5

— Claire Lehmann (@clairlemon) May 23, 2017

The Manchester Arena suicide bomber had made trips to Libya, Downing Street said last night, as intelligence agencies combed his connections with al-Qaeda and Islamic State in his parents’ homeland.

Salman Abedi, 22, who was reportedly known to the security services, is thought to have returned from Libya as recently as this week.

A school friend told The Times: "He went to Libya three weeks ago and came back recently, like days ago."

Abedi born in Manchester and grew up in tight-knit Libyan community that was known for its strong opposition to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

He had become radicalised recently - it is not entirely clear when - and had worshipped at a local mosque that has, in the past, been accused of fund-raising for jihadists.

Abedi’s older brother Ismail had been a tutor at Didsbury mosque’s Koran school. The imam last night said that Salman Abedi, who wore Islamic dress, had shown him “the face of hate” when he gave a talk warning on the dangers of so-called Islamic State.

Born in 1994, the second youngest of four children, Abedi’s parents were Libyan refugees who fled to the UK to escape Gaddafi.

His mother, Samia Tabbal, 50, and father, Ramadan Abedi, a security officer, were both born in Tripoli but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to the Whalley Range area of south Manchester where they had lived for at least a decade.

Abedi went to school locally and then on to Salford University in 2014 where he studied business management before dropping out. His trips to Libya, where it is thought his parents returned in 2011 following Gaddafi’s overthrow, are now subject to scrutiny including links to jihadists...

Keep reading.

New Deals. Every Day

At Amazon, Shop Today's Deals.

BONUS: S. Jonathan Bass, Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'.

Leakers Have Done Far More Damage Than Trump

Following-up from my previous entry, here's Marc Thiessen, at WaPo (amazingly):

Leakers who revealed Israel as intelligence source did far more damage than Trump https://t.co/ivM6sx5bOy by @marcthiessen

— Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) May 22, 2017

What a Conservative Sees from Inside Trump's Washington

Heh.

Here's Instapundit, "HUH. I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT OF MEGAN MCARDLE AS A CONSERVATIVE..."

Click through for the Megan McArdle piece at Bloomberg, lol. She's libertarian, but on many issues she comes off as fairly doctrinaire conservative.

Truck Driving, Once a Road to the Middle Class, is Now Low-Paying, Grinding, Unhealthy Work. Why Do They Do It?

I've always been fascinated with truck drivers. Still am.

I especially love the peaceful and easy feeling of the cross-country long haul. But alas, there's not much glamour to the job, at least not any more.

At NYT, "Alone on the Open Road: Truckers Feel Like ‘Throwaway People’":

My grandfather and some of my uncles were truckers. This piece by @tripgabriel is exceptional. https://t.co/w7o3fN8zz3

— Alan Blinder (@alanblinder) May 22, 2017

EFFINGHAM, Ill. — The vast Petro truck stop here is a neon-lit, blacktop oasis at the crossroads of America. It beckons big-rig drivers with showers, laundry machines, a barber shop, even a knife store. “Professional drivers only,” reads the sign above the tables of the Iron Skillet restaurant, where truckers sit mostly alone, carrying the solitude of their jobs into an otherwise social setting.

Driving a long-haul tractor-trailer is as commonplace as the items that drivers carry, from blue jeans to blueberries, from toilet paper for Walmart to farm machinery bound for export. There are 1.7 million men and women working as long-haul drivers in the country. Yet truckers — high up in their cabs — are literally out of view for most Americans.

At a moment when President Trump has ignited a national discussion of blue-collar labor and even climbed into a truck during a White House event, trucking, which was once among the best-paying such jobs, has become low-wage, grinding, unhealthy work. Turnover at large for-hire fleets hauling freight by the truckload — the backbone of the industry — runs an astonishing 80 percent a year, according to a trade group. Looming over the horizon is a future in which self-driving trucks threaten to eliminate many drivers’ livelihoods.

Still, trucking continues to draw plenty of newcomers, reflecting the lack of good alternatives for workers without a higher education (one survey found that 17 percent of truckers had less than a high school diploma). Some have lost better-paying manufacturing jobs in the continuing deindustrialization of America. Others have spent years knocking on the door of the middle class in minimum-wage jobs in fast food or retail. To them, trucking is a step up.

Over two days recently, The New York Times spoke to truckers at the Petro stop, which sits at the intersection of Interstate 57, between Chicago and Memphis, and Interstate 70, between Indianapolis and St. Louis. These interviews were edited and condensed. The maps show drivers’ routes in picking up and delivering their loads...

Keep reading.

Carol Swain on the Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party

She's a good lady!

For Prager University:

Brooklyn Decker in the Virgin Islands (VIDEO)

She looks better than ever, frankly.

For Sports Illustrated Swimsuit:

Mark Mazzetti, The Way of the Knife

At Amazon, Mark Mazzetti, The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth.

Anthony Weiner's World About to Get Much Smaller and Sadder

The New York Post has had very good coverage.

“It took four embarrassments before it really hit home that he f—ed up" https://t.co/NBbPHliebg

— New York Post (@nypost) May 21, 2017

Tomorrow's cover: 'Sick' Anthony Weiner pleads guilty to sexting minor, Huma finally files for divorce https://t.co/DytqxrGrlH pic.twitter.com/PlNRhwqhAV

— New York Post (@nypost) May 20, 2017

Jackie Johnson's Gradual Cooling Forecast

It's cool and comfortable on the coasts, but sunny and hot inland.

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

At Least 19 Slaughtered at Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, U.K. (VIDEO)

Well, I doubt this is going to help Jeremy Corbyn and Labour.

But it's still early.

At Telegraph U.K., "Live Manchester Arena explosion 19 dead in 'terror attack' at Ariana Grande concert."

Terrorism is suspected.

Expect updates.



ADDED: Here's Pamela Geller on Twitter, reporting it was a "suicide attack":

Terror in UK: 20 Dead after Suicide Bombing of Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, Bomb Disposal On Scene https://t.co/Ghxsrv6AhE pic.twitter.com/5y91wgBnDy

— Pamela Geller (@PamelaGeller) May 23, 2017

Now here's the front-page at tomorrow's Guardian U.K.:

The Guardian front page, Tuesday 23.05.17 – Murder in Manchester: at least 19 die in arena attack pic.twitter.com/SCqddBZdvb

— The Guardian (@guardian) May 23, 2017

I'll append tweets as I see them:

Screams heard in latest footage showing the aftermath of an 'explosion' in #Manchester pic.twitter.com/uB6MqOV2aL

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 23, 2017

Prime Minister @theresa_may's first statement following the 'possible terror incident' that's left 19 dead in #Manchester pic.twitter.com/MFmhDRf0wT

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 23, 2017

🇬🇧 US Embassy London issues Emergency Message after suicide attack at #Manchester Arena: https://t.co/1q4RqZW58m #manchesterexplosion pic.twitter.com/MMId7aIf0M

— OSAC (@OSACState) May 23, 2017

#Manchester explosion @gmpolice statement: 19 dead and around 50 injured in the incident that's currently being treated as terrorism pic.twitter.com/MsKOLMXyCu

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 23, 2017

Max Boot, the Perpetually Unhappy Camper

Honestly, if I was Max Boot, I'd just focus on writing books and academic scholarship. Since the nomination (and then election) of Donald Trump, Boot's been publishing one piece after another bemoaning all the old institutions to which he had ties, first it was the GOP itself, now it's Fox News.

He's really pathetic. And that's the saddest thing. I used to find him interesting. I used to respect him. Now look what's happened. All because of President Trump. I don't know. Chalk it up to "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

In any case, here's Boot, at Foreign Policy, "The Seth Rich ‘Scandal’ Shows That Fox News Is Morally Bankrupt":

.@MaxBoot: Fox News has allowed itself to become a sensationalist information weapon for the Kremlin. https://t.co/mIkK8Ecz1y

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) May 22, 2017

The network I once respected as a necessary antidote to liberal media now peddles craven lies and Russian disinformation.

It was just a coincidence, but a telling one, that Roger Ailes died on May 18 just as the television powerhouse that he created, the Fox News Channel, was propagating a conspiracy theory involving a Democratic National Committee staffer named Seth Rich, whose murder in Washington, D.C., last summer remains unsolved.

If you don’t watch Fox News, read Breitbart or the Drudge Report, or listen to Rush Limbaugh, you likely don’t have any idea who Seth Rich was. If, however, you are a devotee of those dubious news sources, you have been fed a grab bag of unsubstantiated allegations designed to make you think that Rich was murdered by some kind of Democratic Party cabal for having revealed the party’s secrets to WikiLeaks.

These spurious insinuations have been put forward (before being largely recanted) by a sometime Fox News contributor named Rod Wheeler. Never mind that Rich’s family, the Washington police force, CNN, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among others, have debunked these conspiracy theories, showing there is no evidence that Rich was a WikiLeaks source, much less that his murder has anything to do with the stolen Democratic Party emails. Sean Hannity, one of the last of the old guard hired by Ailes to rule prime time, nevertheless devoted three separate segments of his show last week to the “DNC murder mystery.” On Sunday morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was pushing the same allegation about Rich’s “assassination” on Fox & Friends. Lou Dobbs has spouted these theories on Fox Business Network, too.

Fox’s tasteless conspiracy-mongering has been denounced by the Rich family, which wants the far-right to stop exploiting their son’s tragic death, but it has found support in an unlikely quarter. Ever happy to play the troll, the Russian Embassy in London tweeted: “‪#WikiLeaks ‪informer Seth Rich murdered in US but MSM was so busy accusing Russian hackers to take notice.”

I'm not up on the Seth Rich story, and that's not by accident. I personally stay away from conspiracy theories. That said, I distinctly remember Julian Assange saying, at the time of Rich's death, that he suspected that his sources were putting their lives in danger. I don't recall him conceding that Seth Rich had leaked documents to WikiLeaks. He simply said that powerful people had an invested interest in making those leaks stop. Assange and WikiLeaks (one and the same, as far as I know) have stated consistently that they do not divulge the names of their sources. But that's about as far as I'll go.

Oh, well, that, and Max Boot is a special snowflake neocon wienie.

BONUS: At the New York Times, "How the Murder of a D.N.C. Staff Member Fueled Conspiracy Theories."

S. Jonathan Bass, He Calls Me By Lightning

Looks like a thrilling read.

At Amazon, S. Jonathan Bass, He Calls Me By Lightning: The Life of Caliph Washington and the forgotten Saga of Jim Crow, Southern Justice, and the Death Penalty.

Jennifer Delacruz's Monday Forecast

The video wasn't available when I hit the hay last night, or I would've posted my nightly weather forecast. But it's never too late for the lovely Ms. Jennifer.

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Harleys, Hamburgers, and American Flags Welcome Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia

At the New York Times, surprisingly:

Saudis welcomed President Trump with a Harley-Davidson biker rally and a burrito truck https://t.co/f2TWoZ9SCK

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 22, 2017