When A German Photographer Boarded This Abandoned Cruise Ship, The Results Were Haunting!

Aboard the recovered Costa Concordia

Then

Roasted

Now

1. This was the theater on the "Costa Concordia."

"What was once a grand and ornate room has been decimated by flooding."

More photos at the link...

Hillary Clinton’s security detail laughed when she broke her elbow

“Condoleezza Rice was a true diplomat. She built a lot of rapport with her security detail. She would talk to you about family, football, she was one of the boys,” the agent said. “Hillary didn’t care. If you weren’t in her little inner circle — Huma Abedin or Cheryl Mills – she wanted nothing to do with you.”

NY Post

. . . "But Clinton, who frequently behaved like a diva-in-chief, according to the agent, made it worse by pointing the finger at her detail for the mishap.

“ 'She blamed us for breaking her elbow, saying it was our fault and we could have prevented that. She’s bad news,” the agent said.

"The agent’s account backed up FBI documents released this week that showed Clinton’s protective detail despised her for treating them with contempt.

“ 'When I first met her, we were given specific instructions: don’t look at her, don’t look at her general direction and if you need to talk to her, keep it short and stay out of her way,” the agent told The Post." . . .

Archaeologists find battle site where Romans breached Jerusalem walls

Times of Israel

Discovery confirms Josephus’s account of the conflict that saw destruction of Second Temple nearly 2,000 years ago, says Israeli Antiquities Authority

"Israeli archaeologists found the site of a fierce battle where the Roman army bombarded and breached the walls of Jerusalem before conquering the city and destroying the Second Temple almost 2,000 years ago, officials said Thursday.

. . . 

"During the dig, the archaeologists found the remains of a tower surrounded by scores of stones and boulders fired by Roman catapults at the Jewish forces guarding the wall, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

“ 'This is a fascinating testimony of the intensive bombardment by the Roman army, led by Titus, on their way to conquering the city and destroying the Second Temple,” the statement said." . . .

The boulders fired by Roman catapults at the Jewish
defenders of the wall. 

. . . "The Third Wall had been completed as part of preparations by the Jews for the Great Revolt against Rome that began in 66 CE and ended in 70 CE when the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed, and the rout heralded the start of nearly two thousand years of exile." . . .

Gold Star Mom thanks football player who stood alone to honor America

First the background on this story  "Connor Brewer is fiercely loyal to his college football team. But he is also fiercely loyal to the United States of America.

"So when the Millikin University football team decided to protest the national anthem by remaining inside the locker room – instead of on the sidelines - Connor was faced with a decision." . . .

Decatur, Illinois Local sports reporter: Millikin football team to stay in locker room during anthem  

Todd Starnes  "My column about the college football player who stood alone to honor the national anthem while his teammates hid in their locker room really struck a chord with readers.

"I've been inundated with hundreds of emails and messages from across the fruited plain -- all affirming their support of Connor Brewer, a football player at Millikin University. 

"The football team had decided to stay inside the field house until the national anthem had concluded - a form of protest against Lord knows what.

"But Connor chose to do the right thing -- the patriotic thing. 

I was especially touched by a poignant letter I received from a Gold Star mother - Debi Daniels. 

" 'Reading your article about Connor broke my heart," she wrote. "It was the loneliness -- that he had to be there by himself."

"She asked to me reach out to Connor and I did.

"'Please thank him for me," she said. "He has a lot of support."

"And based on your well-wishes and words of encouragement, it's clear to me that this young man who stood alone on the gridiron stands alone no more. 

"Mrs. Daniels said the recent controversy at Millikin University hit close to home for her family.

"That's because her son Nickolas was a member of the varsity football program at Millikin back in 2004. He played offense and defense - one heck of an athlete. 

"In 2010 Nickolas enlisted in the Marines. The following year he was killed in Afghanistan.

"Lance Corporal Daniels was a decorated Marine - awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbons, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

"So you can understand why Mrs. Daniels has taken an interest in recent developments at the school.

" 'While I have stayed silent about this 'movement' this struck a tad close to home," she told me.

"The Daniels family told me they understand the protests - but they "just think there is another way."

"There's a reason we stand for the national anthem and we place our hand over our heart and pledge allegiance to the flag.

"It's to honor men and women who shed blood so that we might be free. It's to remember that our freedom comes with a price. 

"So when athletes take a knee -- they don't just disrespect the American flag -- they disrespect American heroes -- like Lance Corporal Nickolas Daniels of Elmwood Park, Illinois." 

"Two Unfit Candidates" debate

Not Rigged, Thrown . . . "Trump is not the man. He can barely frame a coherent thought or articulate a comprehensible argument against her.

"The great theme of Trump’s campaign in one way or another is American sovereignty. If Trump did more than pretend to care about it, he would master an argument and discipline himself. He would take the trouble to select the strongest points to be made against a profoundly flawed opponent and learn how to make them.

"Understanding that he is going to lose “big league,” as he would say, to a pitifully weak opponent, he is more concerned about salvaging his pride than putting up a fight. As I say, I think it makes more sense to infer that he is throwing the contest than that the election is rigged (not that the latter makes much sense at all)."

UK Mail: Twitter mocks Clinton's 'creepy grandma' grin as she smirks her way through presidential debate  "The Democratic candidate faced a flood of insults as she took to the stage at the University of Las Vegas, with many viewers confessing they were 'creeped out' by her stubborn grin.

"Hundreds took to Twitter to describe her smile as 'scary' and 'creepy'"

RedState: Donald Trump Isn’t Wrong To Question The Election Process  . . . "Except... what he said was he'd have to wait and see what happens on election day. And, if you'll pardon the Devil's Advocate argument here... shouldn't we?"

Jonah Goldberg: Trump’s Best Debate So Far...And His Worst  . . . "The tipping point was his refusal to turn on Vladimir Putin. “He said nice things about me!” is a line he always has to get in. It’s so strange, because he honestly seems to think that repeating this helps him. It doesn’t. After months of criticism that Trump is easily swayed by flattery, when he points out that Putin flattered him and suggests that’s a valid reason for not overly antagonizing Putin it only reinforces the critique."

As for Hillary. She, as ever, was plodding, uninteresting, deceitful, and arrogant. But she made no major mistakes because she understood she needs to sit on her lead and make this election a referendum on Donald Trump.

David French: Two unfit candidates  . . . "One last thing, it’s telling that even when the two candidates were at their best — Trump on life and judges and Clinton on Russia, NATO, and pursuing ISIS out of Iraq and into Syria — we still can’t quite trust their words. " . . .

American Thinker: Such a nasty woman  . . .  "Given the issues surrounding the election, such as the Pew report on the number of mistakes in registered voters, the Hillary campaign paying thugs to start fights at Trump rallies, the MSM refusing to cover the email scandal, and Wikileaks, it is rational to say we will review how the election was conducted.

"Trump won because his issues of reducing taxes, border control, and defeating terrorism are in the best interest of our country.  Trump made it clear that Hillary will be the third term of Obama."

UK Mail: Trump under fire for saying that about Hillary

The Federalist: No, Hillary Clinton, The Supreme Court’s Heller Decision Wasn’t About Toddlers "Hillary Clinton claimed the Heller decision was about toddlers. It was actually about whether a 66-year-old police officer had the right to keep a gun at home."

No mention of toddlers. Because the case wasn’t about toddlers. It was about whether the District of Columbia’s “total ban on handguns” — theSupreme Court’s characterization of the law at issue in the case — was constitutional. 

Donna Brazile Tells A Big Fat Lie And Gets Caught And Humiliated

RedState  "Megyn Kelly had Donna Brazile in her crosshairs last night (that is a metaphor for all you progressive hipsters who were triggered, it is not a literal statement of fact) and Donna Brazile emerged shaken and revealed as an obvious liar.

"This is the background. One of the windfalls of the Wikileaks publication of emails pilfered from the DNC was the revelation that then-CNN contributor and current DNC co-chair (take a moment and savor that career path and tell me the press is not a Democrat preserve) had access to at least one question that was going to be asked of Hillary Clinton in a town hall and she sent that question to Hillary's campaign. This would seem to be unethical conduct of the lowest sort. Not only was Brazile interceding to help her favored candidate she also betrayed the trust of her employer and her colleagues.

"Megyn Kelly called her out on it and Brazile's reputation as anything but a baldfaced and unconvincing liar will never be the same." . . .

. . . What you see here is a pathetic woman devoid of honor or integrity who has been caught in a lie -- not that it really matters because CNN will gladly take her back -- but she has never in her life faced hostile questioning and she's reduced to an effervescent puddle of #FAIL.

The Unlikely Winner of the Last Debate (Video)

National Review  "Last night’s third and final presidential debate was more or less what we all expected. But there’s always a second contest going on during debates — and that’s the performance of the moderator. Generally speaking, moderators get a lot of criticism but Fox News’ Chris Wallace received a lot of praise for his ability to deftly handle contentious issues, move smoothly from subject to subject, and keep candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on task." 

The Hill: No rigged debate here: Moderator Chris Wallace wins the night  "The reviews are in for moderator Chris Wallace." Read many of them in this article.

"And let's just say that we haven't seen a media harmony and consensus over one guy like this since Sully landed that plane in the Hudson River."

. . . 

"And ask questions he did.

"Substantive ones.

"And in the process, brought out the best debate performances by both candidates.

"Chris Wallace not only did Fox proud last night. He also made those of us who still want to believe in the debate process proud as well."

Blast from the past: Al Gore explains why he won’t concede election

Thomas Lifson  "The tidal wave of harrumphing over Donald Trump’s refusal to endorse the probity of the voting and vote-counting to come is quite amusing to me. I remember 8 years of accusations from Bush 43 opponents that his election was “stolen” and that he was “selected not elected.” So spare me the righteousness about the need to respect our sacred institutions, unless you can point to your similar criticism of Gore.

"Millennials are probably ignorant of this history. Here’s the video you can send your friends and relatives:"

Selwyn Duke: No, Trump Should Not Accept the Results of a Possibly Stolen Election  "Crooks on the left, cowards on the right. Where do we go to find integrity?

"One of the most talked about parts of last night’s final presidential debate was Donald Trump’s statement that he’d let us know on election night if he’d accept the balloting results. An NBC commentator expressed her bubble-headed opinion that the statement lost him the election. Worse still, “conservative” commentator John Podhoretz wrote that Trump’s comment was “a shocking and cravenly irresponsible thing to say, the sort of thing that threatens to rend our national fabric, and for that alone, Trump has earned his place in the history of American ignominy.” But Podhoretz’ criticism is what’s shocking and cravenly irresponsible — and reflective of profound ignorance." . . .

The author gives the answer he wished Mr. Trump had given:

Yes, sir, and we have another American tradition: it’s called the “rule of law.” And when you suspect an election has been stolen, and allow it to go unanswered, you become complicit in the undermining of our rule of law. Moreover, vote fraud that swings an election thwarts the people’s will. You may not care about that. Hillary Clinton certainly doesn’t care about that. But if I have reasonable suspicion that the Nov. 8 contest has been stolen, I will stand against the thwarting of the rule of law and the people’s will — even if I’m the only person in America to do it.

It appears all violent disruptions at Trump rallies have been executed by paid protesters

WND

Scott Foval, national field director of Americans United for Change

Editor’s Note: Be aware of offensive language throughout videos and in quotes from videos.

"The Federal Elections Commission has been asked to investigate charges made in a series of undercover videos that show Democratic operatives not only explaining how they are trying to influence the presidential election by manipulating the vote but boasting about it.

"The complaint was filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to protect the right to vote, preserve the constitutional framework of American elections, and educate the public on the issue of election integrity.”

"It cites the evidence made public in videos released by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas.

"The videos have resulted already in two Democratic operatives who appeared on them losing their jobs.

"One is Scott Foval, who had worked for People for the American Way, a George Soros-funded group, and more recently with Americans United for Change." . . .

What Dems Really Think About Israel

Jonathan S. Tobin

. . . "In May of last year, Jake Sullivan, the former State Department staffer and top Clinton foreign policy advisor, sought to include a mention in a campaign speech about supporting and standing up for Israel. Clinton’s campaign strategists vetoed the idea, pointing out that the only people who cared about the issue were “Republican primary voters.” In particular, campaign manager Robby Mook flatly stated: We shouldn’t have Israel at public events. Especially dem [Democratic] activists.” The matter was resolved when they all agreed that it was okay for Clinton to speak of Israel “when she’s with donors” but not in public. 

"The good news to be gleaned from this chilling exchange is that there were at least some influential voices inside the Clinton machine that thought Israel was important" . . .

. . . 

 . . . "How can a Democratic president continue to uphold an alliance that her party’s base opposes? Thanks to a Donald Trump campaign that can’t seem to get out of its own way, it looks like we’re about to find out."

And The Whiner Is…

Comically Incorrect

In the Final Debate, the Candidates Ought to Answer Questions about Ideas

National Review  "What if we had a meaningful and civil exchange of ideas in tonight’s debate?

"No doubt tonight’s third and final presidential debate will make for good television. But there is a marked difference between entertainment and substance. We can expect this debate to once again be dominated by talk of Trump’s (or Bill Clinton’s) treatment of women, Hillary Clinton’s (or Trump’s) duplicity, plus the usual barbs and insults. Yet, the next president will have to do more than not be his or her opponent. There are real issues out there, and it would be nice if the candidates actually mentioned them. 

"With that in mind, might I suggest a few questions that I’d like to hear answered." . . .

Enough Sideshows, Let's Have a Debate About the Presidency

"When was the last time you saw a healthy stretch of media coverage about actual issues pertaining to the presidency? When was the last week that featured detailed national conversations about the issues Donald Trump rode to the Republican nomination?

"When he became the presumptive nominee in May, I was among the voices claiming that if the election focuses on the issues, he wins. He wins on borders, wins on the Supreme Court, wins on taxes, wins on blasting through the political correctness that threatens our liberty and safety.

"That race did not happen."   Mark Davis.