James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans

I'm about a third of the way through this book.

At Amazon, James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans.

I had a copy on my shelf years ago, but never read it. But since Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz excoriates the novel with a most-certainly unsurpassed hatred, I thought I'd go ahead and power it down. I can see why it remains one of the greatest of American classics. Cooper's a fantastic writer. The building excitement of so many of the dramatic scenes truly earns whatever historic praise he's been afforded. Indeed, I think I'll read some of the others in the pentology, The Deerslayer, most likely, to start.

Danielle Gersh's Cooler Forecast

Well, temperatures hit the 90s inland this weekend, so no doubt lots of folks will be welcoming a bit of a cool-down.

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

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

Cartoon Credit: A.F. Branco, "Killing O'Reilly."

Kenza Fourati Body Painting (VIDEO)

At Sports Illustrated:

Madison Reed Selfies

At Drunken Stepfather, "MADISON REED’S SLUTTY SELFIES OF THE DAY: Madison Reed is apparently Victoria Justice’s sister, both are pretty hot..."

Four-Year-Old Girl Falls Out of Moving Bus on Highway, Rescued by Volunteer Firefighter (VIDEO)

How could this possibly happen?

Who's supervising the children?

That child is lucky to be alive.

At CNN:

Shop Deals

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

Save on Women's Keds Shoes.

Also, Shop Ray-Ban Sunglasses.

And, Savings on Kindle Books. Plus, check savings on Faye Kellerman's books in Kindle, in particular.

More, Mountain House Just In Case...Essential Bucket.

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

BONUS: J.M. Opal, Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation.

Bernie Sanders Wants Democrats to Focus on Economic Populism, Not Social Justice Cultural Marxism (VIDEO)

Following-up from Friday, "What Defines a Democrat?"

Here's more background on the conflict, at Politico, "DNC rally with anti-abortion candidate fuels backlash." And from Melissa McEwan, at Shakesville, "Bernie Sanders, My Autonomy Is Not Negotiable." (Via Memeorandum.) (Ms. Melissa probably gives the perfect argument for the left's social just position. Economic issues just aren't as important as social issues.)

I have to admit I still get a kick out of Bernie, even though he's a doctrinaire Marxist. Frankly, I love him taking it to the radical left's social justice warriors, hammering 'em on the very things that have caused the political obliteration of the Democrats.

Here's his interview on this morning's Face the Nation:

'It is worth underlining that this is the first time in modern French history that neither of the mainstream centre-right or centre-left parties of government that have governed France since the second world war have qualified for the second round of a presidential election...'

That is well worth underlining. The mainstream political establishment is bankrupt. My only sense is that this Macron dude is also bankrupt, and he'll just bury France in the socialist dead end left over from François Hollande.

At the Guardian U.K., "French election: Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen estimated through to second round – live - Independent centrist Macron estimated to have taken 23.7% of vote with Front National leader Le Pen on 21.7%; official results to follow."

And at Blazing Cat Fur, "France faces its own EU referendum as far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who supports an exit, and Europhile Emmanuel Macron split the first-round vote to go head to head in presidential elections."

President Trump's Approval Holds Steady with Base of Supporters

He's otherwise down in approval, but there a virtually imperceptible drop in support from his hardcore base.

At WaPo, via Memeorandum, "Nearing 100 days, Trump's approval at record lows but his base is holding":

Nearing 100 days, Trump’s approval 42% but his base is holding in new Post-ABC poll, by @danbalz @sfcpoll https://t.co/2oCpoaiSG7

— Post Polls (@PostPolls) April 23, 2017

President Trump nears the 100-day mark of his administration as the least popular chief executive in modern times, a president whose voters remain largely satisfied with his performance, but one whose base of support has not expanded since he took the oath of office, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Trump’s first months in office have produced some tangible successes. Beyond the continued enthusiasm of his most loyal supporters, a small majority of Americans see him as a strong leader. A bigger majority approves of his efforts to pressure U.S. companies to keep jobs in this country. Those who say the economy is getting better outnumber those who say it’s getting worse by the biggest margin in 15 years in Post-ABC polling.

But the president’s balance sheet overall tilts toward the negative. Majorities of Americans say Trump has not accomplished much during his first months as president. Meanwhile, he shows little improvement on his temperament and honesty, and while he’s gained ground on empathy, over 6 in 10 still say he does not understand the problems of people like them.

With a week remaining before his 100th day in office, Trump has yet to achieve a major legislative accomplishment, having been dealt a major setback when Republicans in Congress decided not to proceed with a vote on a health-care bill supported by the White House. His clearest achievement is the successful nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court seat previously held by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

Executive actions on trade, immigration, climate and government organization have pointed the direction he wants to take the country, though his controversial proposed travel ban that affects a number of Muslim-majority nations remains blocked by the courts. Trump and others in his administration have attacked the courts, accusing them of overreach, but nearly 6 in 10 people see their actions as a legitimate role for the judicial branch.

Overseas, he has demonstrated his willingness to use military force, with targeted strikes in Syria and the use of one of the biggest non-nuclear devices in the U.S. arsenal in Afghanistan. But tensions with North Korea remain high and the administration’s policy in the Middle East remains cloudy.

The 100-day marker is in part an artificial measuring post for any president, but by comparison, Trump has reached this point in his presidency faring worse to much worse than other recent presidents. An electorate that was deeply divided throughout the 2016 campaign remains so today, with opposition seemingly hardened and unyielding on most questions regarding his presidency...

Trump's doing fine. You have to remember that the entire political world is stacked up against him, and that includes foreign governments and their leftist mass-media enablers.

As long as he holds the base, he'll be fine. And with the economy chugging along, and with the administration's outward support for American workers, I expect he'll be cruising into 2020 if things hold up.

Maybe Roger Simon will be a winning prognosticator.

Still more.

Jennifer Delacruz's Summer-Like Forecast

She's so lovely!

And boy, it does feel like summer out there.

Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg, Far-Right Politics in Europe

A quite timely book, at Amazon, Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg, Far-Right Politics in Europe.

In Europe today, staunchly nationalist parties such as France’s National Front and the Austrian Freedom Party are identified as far-right movements, though supporters seldom embrace that label. More often, “far right” is pejorative, used by liberals to tar these groups with the taint of Fascism, Nazism, and other discredited ideologies. Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg’s critical look at the far right throughout Europe―from the United Kingdom to France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and elsewhere―reveals a prehistory and politics more complex than the stereotypes suggest and warns of the challenges these movements pose to the EU’s liberal-democratic order.

The European far right represents a confluence of many ideologies: nationalism, socialism, anti-Semitism, authoritarianism. In the first half of the twentieth century, the radical far right achieved its apotheosis in the regimes of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. But these movements have evolved significantly since 1945, as Far-Right Politics in Europe makes clear. The 1980s marked a turning point in political fortunes, as national-populist parties began winning seats in European parliaments. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the United States, a new wave has unfurled, one that is explicitly anti-immigrant and Islamophobic in outlook.

Though Europe’s far-right parties differ in important respects, they are motivated by a common sense of mission: to save their homelands from what they view as the corrosive effects of multiculturalism and globalization by creating a closed-off, ethnically homogeneous society. Members of these movements are increasingly determined to gain power through legitimate electoral means. In democracies across Europe, they are succeeding.

Controversy Surrounds Linda Sarsour Commencement Address at City University of New York (VIDEO)

Oh for crying out loud, let her speak.

If not, conservatives are just as bad as leftists.

At the Daily Caller, "Public CUNY College Commencement Speaker Has Terror Ties."

And CBS News 2 New York:

Nebraska Liquor Stores Lose Licenses

Following-up from last month, "Whiteclay, Nebraska, Beer Portal to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation."

At the Omaha World-Herald, "Appalled' liquor commissioners vote to deny licenses for Whiteclay beer stores."

Breaking: Nebraska Liquor Control Commission votes to deny licenses for Whiteclay beer stores https://t.co/mLLdo5Iyue

— Omaha World-Herald (@OWHnews) April 19, 2017

Video: #Whiteclay stores denied liquor licenses -> https://t.co/AobjX3NSJj #Nebraska #video pic.twitter.com/9zP0DXMtmB

— Megan Smith (@megan_kristin) April 19, 2017

And at the New York Times:

Whiteclay, Neb., is a notorious skid row of the Plains. Today a state liquor board decided its fate: https://t.co/9zOQRmhosh

— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) April 19, 2017

The scene in Whiteclay when I was there last month: public drunkenness, no law enforcement in sight. https://t.co/XcojefEvsP

— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) April 19, 2017

ICYMI: Paul Chaat Smith, Like a Hurricane

At Amazon, Paul Chaat Smith, Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee.

BONUS: Akim D. Reinhardt, Ruling Pine Ridge: Oglala Lakota Politics from the IRA to Wounded Knee.

Deals on Classic Turntables

I still have my vinyl record collection, amazingly. How about you?

D'you need a new record player?

At Amazon, Today's Deals.

Also, Savings on Lenovo Desktops.

Plus, Save on Children's Books.

More, Mountain House Just In Case...Classic Assortment Bucket.

And, KIND Breakfast Bars, Peanut Butter, Gluten Free, 1.8 Ounce, 32 Count.

BONUS: Vine Deloria, Jr., God is Red: A Native View of Religion, 30th Anniversary Edition.

Alessandra Ambrosio Spring Break (VIDEO)

Very sexy!

For LOVE Magazine:

Marine Promises to 'take her country back': French Presidential Candidate Marine Le Pen and Europe's 'Far-Right' Movement (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier this morning, "French Presidential Election's a Battle of Left-Right Extremes."

That's Terry Moran at the video, who interviews National Front candidate Marine Le Pen, for ABC News Nightline:

You Want a Civil War?

At the Liberty Zone, "You want a civil war? Because that’s how you get a civil war."

Also, "Filthy Antifa Whore Lies":

Normally, I wouldn’t call someone a Filthy Antifa Whore (FAW). However, since Moldylocks, who was shown getting punched out at this weekend’s Berkeley protests by some dude everyone claims is a fascist/racist/neo-nazi/somethingorother, is a nasty, unwashed, slovenly sow, and since she did, in fact, demonstrate riot, throw bottles, and assault people at a rally for a President whom she apparently does not like, and since there are photos of said skank on the Internet baring her unshaven, unwashed, beaver and sprocket, that probably reek of week-old garbage and decaying pork, wide for the world – and presumably her parents – to see, I think FAW is appropriate.

No, I’m not giving you a link, pervs. When I ran across it while doing an image search on the protests the other day, I’m pretty sure I developed a severe case of post-traumatic stress, and I may or may not have gone blind for an unspecified period of time, while desperately stumbling around my house trying to find enough brain bleach to erase that image from my mind forever. Suffice it to say that cum-gurgling sausage junkie gives the term “bearded clam” an entire new meaning.

Her mommy and daddy must be so proud!

Keep reading (via Blazing Cat Fur).

The "FAW" is of course "Emily Rose Mitchell."

See, "Leftism 'Weaponized' Berkeley Antifa Girl Emily Rose Mitchell (VIDEO)."

Lisbeth Haas, Saints and Citizens

As promised, I've been posting on California's Indians, and so far I've been able to offer some balanced takes. I'm holding off on the so-called California "genocide" studies, but it's only a matter of time now. I'm reading around myself, so I'll be better able to evaluate the claims of radical scholars and offer refutations.

Meanwhile, here's Professor Lisbeth Haas, Saints and Citizens: Indigenous Histories of Colonial Missions and Mexican California.

BONUS: Albert L. Hurtado, Indian Survival on the California Frontier, and James J. Rawls, Indians of California: The Changing Image.