VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: “So what drives deplorablism? It is not so much an ideological or even political movement as it is a spiritual and psychological frame of mind that is fed up with hypocrisies of the proverbial establishment, bicoastal cultural elites, and the deep administrative state.”

SPENGLER: Angela Merkel’s Feet of Clay.

A great deal of the present problem is the result of Merkel’s incompetence. Nearly 300,000 Bulgarians and Romanians entered Britain in 2015 right after their countries joined the European Community. That explains a great deal of the Brexit vote. The Germans suffer from a massive labor shortage, especially in the construction industry, and the Eastern Europeans might have helped. The Germans would not have objected to European immigrants who can assimilate into their society as much as they do to Muslims who cannot. The European Community’s blanket policy of free migration among its members makes it extremely difficult to manage immigration even when it might be beneficial rather than burdensome.

Now Germany is split between ordinary citizens who want to hold on to some notion of German-ness, even if they are not quite sure what that means, and those who want to liquidate German culture as a remedy for war guilt. A natural conservative majority exists in theory, but does not exist in practice because no German party can articulate a coherent, let alone an acceptable, message of German particularism.

Read the whole thing.

RICHARD FERNANDEZ: The End of Prestige:

European colonization was in some sense the longest running hit play in history. It was a performance that ended only by a humiliating eviction from the theater by the empire of Japan in 1942. When Yamashita brought the curtain down he ended the suspension of disbelief so critical for the thing to work. Though the British eventually returned victorious to Singapore in 1945 the magic was gone. Prestige had fled away. Ten years after “Lives of a Bengal Lancer” the bugles had ceased to blow.

In the unending exposes of financial, moral and sexual turpitude we are witnessing a similar humiliation of a ruling elite. The critical role played by prestige in upholding the current status quo was no less important for the Western elite than it was for the old District Commissioners. Not so very long ago the elites were accepted as woke, part of the mission civilisatrice; better educated, better looking, better dressed, destined to greater things, the smartest people in the room. They could pronounce on matters of morality, politics and even the climate. What a shock it was to find through the Internet and social media it was all a sham; and these gods of Washington and Hollywood and the media were deeply flawed and despicable people.

Given the lack of quality control and penchant for recruiting rather than expelling the scandalous it’s amazing in retrospect the prestige lasted so long. All the same, now their fallibility has been exposed under the spotlight of technological innovation, the spell is broken. The elites may still rule but the sullen masses no longer flock to their door as they did of old. Perhaps the single most destabilizing political development since the WW2 has been the destruction of ruling class prestige by the Internet.

Related: The Suicide of Expertise.

Plus, David Brooks on our elites: They really do stink.

“NEVER GO FULL FASCISM:” Teen Vogue columnist ‘not at all concerned’ about innocent men and false harassment allegations.

AT AMAZON, Stem Toys for Kids. And maybe some adults.

WHY ARE LEFTY INSTITUTIONS SUCH CESSPITS OF MISOGYNY AND ABUSE? More SEIU harassment allegations.

RIP: David Cassidy, ‘Partridge Family’ Star, Dies at 67.

SHOCKER, MANIPULATING HORMONE LEVELS CAN HAVE EMOTIONAL EFFECTS: Hormonal Birth Control Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Suicide, Study Says.

YOU KNOW, BEING “TOO MACHO” ISN’T THE BIGGEST PROBLEM THEY, OR THEIR LANGUAGE, FACE: PM quashes bid to make French less macho.

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Men With Muscles and Money Are More Attractive to Straight Women and Gay Men—Showing Gender Roles Aren’t Progressing. Weird. Maybe there’s some biological foundation or something? No, that’s crazy talk!

WHY ARE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES SUCH CESSPITS OF ABUSE? Another Woman Accused Rep. John Conyers Of Sexual Harassment In Court Filings This Year.

GIVEN THE PROBLEMS WITH THE NONPROFIT SECTOR, WHICH I’VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT SINCE THE EARLIEST DAYS OF INSTAPUNDIT, THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING: The House Tax Bill Could Be The End Of Charities As We Know Them.

AT AMAZON, Up to 30 Percent Off on KRUPS Coffee and Kitchen Essentials. Save on coffee machines, toasters, air fryers and more.

Plus, shop Gifts Under $50.

FEMINISM:

THEY’RE ALL IN ASIA AND AFRICA, WHICH IS WHY YOUR SUBURB’S PLASTIC-BAG BAN IS FEELGOOD CRAP: Shocking report reveals that 95% of plastic polluting the world’s oceans comes from just TEN rivers including the Ganges and Niger. “More than half of the plastic waste that flows into the oceans comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.”

WHEN WOMEN ARE IN CHARGE, SEXUAL ABUSE WILL BE A THING OF THE — OOPS! Boys in Custody and the Women Who Abuse Them. “What was a genuine shock to many was the finding that in the vast majority of instances, it was female staff members who were targeting and exploiting the male teens in their custody. . . . The Justice Department first discovered the startling form of abuse in 2010, when it surveyed more than 9,000 youngsters living in juvenile halls and group homes. More than 10 percent of the respondents said they’d been sexually abused by staff and 92 percent said their abuser was female. . . . Twenty percent who said they were victimized by staff said it happened on more than 10 occasions. Nine out of 10 victims were males abused by female staff.”

IT’S COME TO THIS: John Lasseter Takes Leave of Absence From Disney/Pixar, Apologizes for Unwanted Hugs.

THE CONDITIONS WERE PRACTICALLY MEDIEVAL: Here’s What the Family Road Trip Looked Like in 1954: No GPS, no satellite radio, and a nation without a unified highway system. Here’s how your grandparents did it.

JUST IN TIME FOR BLACK FRIDAY: 13 Fabulous Gifts for Under $20 — That People Will Actually Like.

I can vouch for the mini screwdriver set, which slips nicely into the back of a desk drawer awaiting emergency computer repairs.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Is This the End for Lena Dunham, Culture Warrior?

APOCALYPSE NOT: The idea that the Maya or Easter Island experienced eco-apocalypse is just bad archeology, says Guy Middleton of Newcastle University. Those of us who followed the work of Benny Peiser a decade ago already knew about Easter Island. Benny is, appropriately enough, now running the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

ACTUALLY, “IGNORING” WOULD BE A STEP UP FROM “DISDAINING”: If Democrats want to win back votes in the Trump era, they will need to stop ignoring people of faith.

REVIEW: 2018 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 / GT350R. We live in a golden age of muscle.

AT AMAZON, Shop Amazon – Black Friday Deals Kindle Paperwhite $30 Off.

Plus, Top Gift Ideas.