NEED A LYFT? Uber CEO Kalanick Quits as Investors Revolt Over Scandals.

Uber Technologies Inc.’s co-founder and chief executive, Travis Kalanick, has resigned after a group of investors pressured him to step down following a bruising six months of scandal and setbacks, marking a stunning turnabout for one of Silicon Valley’s highest-flying startups.

Mr. Kalanick, 40 years old, handed in his resignation Tuesday, a spokesman said. Several investors pushed Mr. Kalanick to resign, people familiar with the matter said, to help turn around the company as it works to battle allegations that it has a workplace permissive of sexual harassment and sexism.

Uber has no replacement for Mr. Kalanick and is running without financial and operating chiefs and other key executives after several recent departures, including one of the CEO’s top deputies who was pushed out last week by the board.

Given the urgent need to fix Uber’s toxic corporate culture, Kalanick’s resignation was perhaps too long in coming.

I HAD BEEN ASSURED THIS KIND OF THING ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED: As Many as 5.7 Million Non-Citizens Voted in 2008 Election.

THAT’S WHAT ZHE SAID: I Don’t Mind Using Preferred Pronouns. I Mind Being Forced Into It.

A few months ago, at Grandma M’s traditionalist dojo, a karate classmate—let’s call her “Xir-Says”—threw a tantrum over the politics of language. Xir-Says demanded to be referred to as “Xir-Says-San.”

Her sensei tried to explain that San is an honorific reserved for students who’d proved themselves worthy by demonstrating certain skills, that it was presumptuous for Xir-Says to make such a demand since she hadn’t earned it by demonstrating high-level expertise, and that students who hadn’t passed the San benchmark, like her, could be called either “Miss” or “Mister.” She didn’t care. Xir-Says insisted that being called “Miss,” or anybody being called “Miss” or “Mister,” was discriminatory and insulting to “intersex” and “gender non-binary people.”

This was absurd, political posturing. Xir-Says’s sex is female, and she doesn’t say otherwise. But the sensei relented, fearful of the potential backlash that might ensue—Facebook and Twitter shame-bombs, rebuke from a rash of Brooklynite neo-Marxian muckrakers—should he not obey Xir-Says’ demands. She is now called Xir-Says-San. Low-skill students needn’t any longer be referred to as “Miss” or “Mister.” A longstanding tradition was eroded by the gender identity demands of an impertinent brat.

That’s been the plan from the start.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Adam Carolla Explains Hollywood’s Silence on Free Speech Fight.

GEORGIA KICKS OSS, THE RUSSIA NARRATIVE CRUMBLES,AND INTRODUCING MAN-BUN KEN: All that and more in Liz Sheld’s morning brief.

KURT SCHLICHTER: If The Left Wins Their Soft Coup, Everyone Loses – But Mostly Them.

If Trump doesn’t can him, Mueller and his team of committed Never Trumpers will claim the President obstructed “justice” for not hanging his head in shame over the Democrat lies. And that will go nowhere. Trump will never be impeached. And Trump will pardon any of his associates Mueller and his pack of cynical leakers tries to indict on whatever puffed-up, bogus charges they invent in order to justify this exercise in investigatory onanism.

And we should hope that’s how it ends.

Because what happens if the voice of half of America is effectively silenced by the DC swamp and its media guardians? The Tea Party was the first manifestation of the anger out there at the establishment. It was polite – it even cleaned up its own messes after its peaceful protests. The media, and the same alleged conservatives who saw the Tea Party as a threat to their own position because it caused donors to start asking for results instead of simply writing checks, attacked the Tea Party. Well, then we got Trump, who was not nearly as polite, and who took the White House fair and square from the designated establishment candidate. And now they want to use non-ballot means to make sure the normals’ choice is again ignored.

What do they think comes after Trump? Someone nice?

Do you want President Duterte? Because this is how you get President Duterte.

CHANGE IT BACK: Senate Bill Addresses Flaws in Iran Nuclear Deal.

Late last week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill containing new sanctions against Iran. Entitled the “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017,” the proposed legislation includes measures requiring the U.S. to designate as a terrorist organization the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the chief agent of Tehran’s subversive regional agenda. While the bill must win approval in the House and be signed by the president before becoming public law, its language and 98-2 passage signal a renewed U.S. determination to counter Iran’s non-nuclear threats with non-nuclear sanctions.

The Senate’s overwhelming bipartisan vote to enforce arms embargos, impede Iran’s ballistic missile development, and impose human rights sanctions is consistent with the Obama administration’s principle that Iran ought to remain subject to new sanctions for misbehavior unrelated to its nuclear program. In practice, however, the desire to protect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal prevented Obama from taking any significant action that carried the risk of antagonizing Tehran.

Obama also front-loaded the deal where Iran got its money back up front in exchange for mere promises of good behavior in the future — so there’s really only so much Congress can do to undo the damage.

ROGER SIMON: Hollywood YUUUGE Loser in Georgia Sixth.

GREAT WIN KID — BUT DON’T GET COCKY: A Reality Check about What Handel’s Win Means.

NAPKIN MATH: Ossoff raised $23.6 million to make a symbolic run against President Trump, most of it from Marin County, California and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Running the numbers, Democrats might have been better off considering that same amount would have bought 855,072 school lunches (at $2.76 each); 236,000 elementary school textbooks (at $100 each) or even 956 Priuses (at $24,685 each).

Max Weber said that the purpose of a bureaucracy is to maintain or expand its own power. Who cares about children, education or the environment when there’s power to be grabbed? Either that, or Democrats just aren’t very good with numbers.

HANDEL WINS IN GEORGIA: Well, the AP called it for Handel. (Link goes to PJM’s Hot Mic.)

MORE: The Dems put a lot of effort into the Georgia-6 race. Was Hodgkinson’s terror attack a factor? I think it was. The mainstream media have tried to bury it, but that bloodbath will remain on the minds of Americans for years.

UPDATE: The AP’s concession. I mean, report.

Dig the lede:

Republican Karen Handel has won a nationally watched congressional election in Georgia, avoiding an upset that would have rocked Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Would it have really rocked Washington? That’s drama queen posturing. What’s happened is this: reality has deflated media-escalated Dem expectations. Please, someone tell the AP.

LATEST UPDATES ON THE NAIL-BITER IN GEORGIA 6.

DASHCAM VIDEO OF THE PHILANDO CASTILE SHOOTING JUST RELEASED: “Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah says that supporters of the Second Amendment have a double standard. He says that if a legal gun owner had been shot by police, but if that person wasn’t a black man, the gun lobby would be up in arms (so to speak). He says the lack of outcry from the NRA is deafening… What do you think? Should the pro-Second Amendment groups be outraged about Philando Castile’s death?”

DON’T SUBPOENA ME, BRO! The Left’s overreach extends to the notebook of Power Line’s Scott Johnson.

YOU THINK? “Journalism Standards Collapsed in the 2016 Election.” Michael Goodwin is the chief political columnist for The New York Post. Before joining the Post in 2009, he was the political columnist for The New York Daily News, where he served as executive editor and editorial page editor and led its editorial board to a Pulitzer Prize. Prior to that, he worked for 16 years at The New York Times. I’d say he knows a thing or two about a thing or two:

“To the age-old elements of who, what, when, where, and why, [New York Times editor Dean Baquet] added the reporter’s opinion. Now the floodgates were open, and virtually every so-called news article reflected a clear bias against Trump. Stories, photos, headlines, placement in the paper—all the tools that writers and editors have—were summoned to the battle. The goal was to pick the next president.”

Political coverage underscores the old saying that “politics is Hollywood for ugly people.” Working in the industry I can honestly say that there are great old-school journalists at AP, The Times, The WashPost and elsewhere. But those are people covering finance, economy, manufacturing and general assignment. The political reporters are all about being “behind-the-scenes” king (or queen) makers. Even Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security advisor (and brother of CBS News President David Rhodes) admitted in a Kinsleyan gaffe that:

The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.

The saddest part is that most of the MSM are in complete denial, and are racing with each other to be The Official Organ of the Resistance. Racing to the bottom, that is. This will keep ending in tears.

AT AMAZON, save on Bestselling Software.

Plus, deals in Outdoor Recreation.

THE COOLEST THING TO COME OUT OF WALES SINCE TOM JONES: “‘A magical experience’: Beautiful images capture rare bioluminescent plankton off the coast of Wales.“

21ST CENTURY SHOPPING: Amazon Prime Wardrobe lets you try on and return clothes free.

Amazon’s latest perk for Prime members could make us more stylish by letting us buy everything that catches our eye and return what doesn’t fit. Today Amazon revealed Amazon Prime Wardrobe, which is currently in beta, but you can sign up to be notified when it launches

First you pick at least 3 items and up to 15 from over a million Amazon Fashion options including clothes, shoes, and accessories for kids and adults to fill up your Prime Wardrobe box with no upfront cost. Brands available include Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Adidas, Theory, Timex, Lacoste, and more.

Once the Amazon Prime Wardrobe box arrives, you can try on the clothes for up to seven days. Then you either schedule a free pick-up or drop the resealable box with its pre-paid shipping label at a nearby UPS to return whatever you don’t want. Keep three or four items from the box and get 10% off everything, or keep five or more for 20% off. You only pay after for what you keep, with no charge up front. Amazon Prime Wardrobe is free for Prime members with no extra fees.

Jeff Bezos is having a very busy month.

PAGING PAJAMA BOY! I had no idea such drugs existed, but the potential for screwing up a lot of young lives is humongous…The Daily Signal reports “New Paper Says Puberty Blockers Aren’t the Answer to Gender Confusion“:

“Increasingly, gender therapists and physicians argue that children as young as nine should be given puberty-blocking drugs if they experience gender dysphoria. But a new article by three medical experts reveals that there is little scientific evidence to support such a radical procedure.”

I’m pretty opened-minded about the whole gender-identity thing — what do I care what you call yourself? — but like gay conversion therapy and similar “treatments”, when you start messing with kids there’s a lot of potential harm. You add to that the statistic that “41 percent of people who identify as transgender will attempt suicide at some point in their lives, compared to 4.6 percent of the general population” and sooner or later there’s going to be some heartbreak somewhere.

THERE’S SOMEONE FOR EVERYONE: Abandoned Zoo Penguin Finds True Love with Anime Cardboard Cutout.

IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN THEY DO IT: ‘Socially Conscious’ Ben & Jerry’s Slammed by Workers over Pay, Living Conditions.

MUSTACHE RIDES STILL FREE: We have reached peak feminist absurdity — taxpayer funded orgasms.

At least they haven’t tried to put a tax on, you know, thingy.

I’LL TAKE ERIC HOLDER FOR $500, ALEX: “Who Holds the DEA Accountable When Its Missions Cost Lives?”

Soros-funded ProPublica reports that the DEA (like the ATF) may be responsible for dozens of deaths in the Mexican drug wars:

Against the wishes of the lead agent on the case — whose informant specifically warned of the potential for bloodshed — the DEA told a Mexican federal police unit with a long history of leaking to traffickers that it had the [sensitive] information.

Of course, all this happened in 2011. And like “Fast and Furious” the mainstream press was suspiciously incurious about anything that might embarrass Attorney General Holder or then-President Obama. Sharyl Attkisson was pushed out of CBS News for even daring to report it. But now that there’s a new sheriff to “hold accountable”, well, that’s just different. 

BONUS FUN FACT: President Obama asserted Executive Privilege in June 2012 to avoid answering questions about the failed project, and that was rejected by a federal judge.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Brown University Teaching High School Kids to Be Social Justice Warriors.

THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION: Navy Sailor Could Have Saved Himself, Chose to Save His ‘Kids’ or Die Trying.