Washington State Primary Statewide Election Endorsements

Washington State Primary Statewide Election Endorsements
Governor - none
Lt. Governor - Marty McClendon
Secretary of State - Kim Wyman
Attorney General - None
Secretary of Treasurer - Split Duane Davidson or Michael Waite
Auditor - Mark Miloscia
Commissioner of Public Lands - Steve McLaughlin
Commissioner of Insurance - Richard Schrock
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Ron Higgins
Supreme Court Justices
Place 1 - David DeWolf
Place 5 - Greg Zempel
Place 6 - Dave Larson

Washington State Primary Election Endorsements

Washington State Primary election August 2, 2016 endorsements
US Senate - Chris Vance
US House Dist 1 = split John Orlinski or Robert Sutherland
US House Dist 2 - Marc Hennemann
US House Dist 3 = Jaime Herrera Beutler
US House Dist 4 - Clint Didier
US House Dist 5 - Cathy McMorris Rodgers
US House Dist 7 - Craig Keller
US House Dist 8 - Dave Reichert
US House Dist 9 - Doug Basler
US House Dist 10 - Jim Postma

US Senate Race Endorsements North Carolina and Florida Primary

North Carolina incumbent Senator Richard Burr has a strong pro life record. 

Florida incumbent Senator Marco Rubio seeks re-election and get's my support.  Competitor Ernie Rivera is a Trumpbot.  Thus he is disqualified.  Carlos Beruff refers to President Obama as an animal and endorsed Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio last time around. 

US Senate Races - My Endorsements

New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte is pro life.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran is pro life and anti embryonic stem cell research.

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt is pro life

Colorado Darryl Glenn is trying to unseat incumbent 1st term Senator Michael Bennett.  Glenn is pro life, pro 2nd amendment endorsed by both Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz.  He would be the 2nd black Republican in the US Senate.

Homerun Ted Cruz!!!

Tonight Senator Cruz took the stage in Cleveland.  The question at hand "will he endorse Donald Trump?"  He graciously congratulated the nominee.  He spoke to the final conversation of a father with his little girl before he was murdered in Dallas.  He mentioned freedom.  He brought up the Constitution.  He challenged supporters to vote in November and to vote their conscience.  Donald Trump supporters from that point to the end acted like jackasses chanting for an endorsement that would not come.

Donald Trump called Ted Cruz' wife ugly.  He got his contacts at National Enquirer to slander Cruz' fidelity.  Mr. Trump slandered Ted's father as somehow involved in the JFK assassination.  At the end of the night Donald Trump and his supporters are petty and his train wreck campaign has no chance of winning in November.  Ted Cruz..is the star of the Conservative movement. 

The Nomination of Falsehood

A major political party will nominate for President a candidate that is owned by Wall Street.  This candidate will be pro-choice favoring that Roe vs Wade not be overturned.  This candidate will believe in Federal funding for Planned Parenthood.  The candidate will have a view that gun rights should be severely limited or curtailed by whim of government officials without any opportunity to clear one's name.  The candidate will be of the belief that Israel is the moral equal of her Palestinian attackers.  The candidate will have no military experience but will have a long history of disrespect to veterans and be a critic of their missions.  This candidate will have a consistent record of support for people opposing Conservatives in elections.  The candidate will pander to Christians while consistently living a life that mocks Christianity.

The above is the life story of Donald J. Trump.

Trump Campaign Lies...Lies and More Lies

Monday in Virginia a Federal Court Judge ruled clearly that delegates to the Republican National Convention can reject Donald Trump without legal penalty.  The complaint filed by Virginia delegate Attorney Carol Boston Correll Jr, has vowed to never vote for Trump.  The Judge, Robert E. Payne ruled clearly that the Commonwealth will be permanently enjoined from enforcing Va. Code § 24.2-545(0). 

The Trump campaign website and Facebook pages took the words of the court ruling, twisted them entirely and stated an opposite headline.  I suppose to Trump supporters the facts don't matter.  Hell, for most of them the facts don't actually make sense so there is that.

We Are Not A Nation of Laws

We have two versions of law.  One that applies to Democrats and another for Republicans.  Democrats are allowed to commit widespread voter fraud, disrespect the military and all national institutions.  They will not be held accountable for violations of national security and can treat government programs as absolute ironclad entitlements.

Republicans can be harassed via the Internal Revenue Service.  They are not given any latitude regarding programs and will be jailed should they commit even minor offenses according to the National Security Act. 

I hope this clears everything up.

Britain Votes for Sovereignty

Great Britain voted yesterday to leave the European Union despite warnings from President Obama.  All of the pundits predict financial disaster.  I expect that some wise people will wait til the markets plunge and then jump in to invest and enjoy significant profits.

The I HATE THE CONSTITUTION "Sit In"

If no one got a bloody lip, no one got arrested, nobody missed a meal and you had potty breaks..
that wasn't a sit in. It was a hissy fit.

What Would A Hillary Presidency Make America Look Like?

Rahm Emanuel is Mayor of Chicago.  He is formerly the White House Chief of Staff under President William Jefferson Clinton.  When it comes to policy he is a mirror image of Hillary.  He presides over a city that is virtually a 2.7Million person gun free zone.  Some of our nation's most egregiously difficult gun ownership restrictions are in effect there.

So far in 2016 there have been 1674 shootings in Chicago.  Gun free Chicago has had 253 shot and killed.  That means Chicago has what amounts to Orlando about 2 1/2 times per month.  Now imagine the world under President Hillary who is personally on record opposing the right to bear arms.  Empowering her to launch Executive Orders and appoint Supreme Court Justices is essentially inviting her to end the right of private citizens to self defense.

Do you really want the entire country to look like Chicago?  Do you really want the country to be as easy as an Orlando nightclub?  That is what Hillary means for America.

Obama Reacts Wrongly to Orlando

The worst act of terrorism to reach the United States since 9/11/2001 happened a few hours ago. The President just spoke and his first point was to lash out at gun ownership. Then he spoke about hate. He never once mentioned the obvious reality that the shooter practiced a virulent ideology that we are allegedly at war against. Sane people should remember that this President is not on the side of freedom. He enables fanaticism and apologizes for it.

Fifty people are dead. At least that many are injured and once again I notice that it isn't a Methodist Sunday School teacher or a Baptist Church Bus Driver whose religion has brought this mayhem. While Christians are being raged against over sales of flowers or resistance to adult males using bathrooms alongside little girls, the religion of peace just keeps managing to produce mass murder.

50 People Dead in Terror Attack at Orlando Florida Nightclub

When a disease enters the body the prudent thing is to remove it. When a field has an infestation you fight it. All other ideas are self destructive foolishness. No exceptions.

The shooter who is dead is an Islamic terrorist from Afghanistan who was granted US citizenship.  The media will now fawn for a bit about gun control.  We need common bloody sense in this country.  Instead of allowing the party of crazy to turn us on our heads over the right of perverts to pee next to little girls we should be talking about the most important role of government.  Protection of the people from evil.

From Roseburg to San Bernardino to Orlando the war on terror is now a home field fight.  Our current leadership nurtured and armed the enemy..invited it here and coddled it.  Now we are being mass murdered because of it.

Rene Ellmers Out

Congresswoman Ellmers of North Carolina is the first GOP incumbent to be primaried out this year.  She has lost to George Holding who was funded by The Club for Growth.  Her endorsement from Donald Trump apparently didn't hold much value.

The End of Primary Season

Today both major parties wrap up their primary season.  From here it is on to national party conventions in July and then the general election contest.  Never have I seen the country so torn politically.  Even in 2004 with anti-War protestors driving the Democratic party things weren't this deep.  Both major parties are poised to nominate Presidential candidates largely hated by the majority of Americans.

Our hope is not in men.  We must remember this and keep eyes moving forward.  This is the United States of America.  We are still that shining city upon a hill that can be a beacon of light to a dark world.  We are more than just some person behind a desk in the White House.

Who is the Establishment?

Donald Trump is golfing buddies with John Boehner.  Donald Trump campaigned against Tea Partiers and funded the re-election of Mitch McConnell.  Donald Trump was endorsed by House Speaker Paul Ryan this week.  Donald Trump IS and always has been..the establishment.

Austin Petersen's Pro Life is Really Pro Choice

"As much as I detest the idea of abortion and tend to believe the state has a legal obligation to protect life, the realities of the situation combined with the risks incurred by mothers makes me unable to support a staunch anti-abortion position. I think we should use education and work to direct nonprofit resources toward making contraception widely available, as a means to reducing abortions; but I could never advocate they be outright banned.
First, all making abortions illegal would do is drive them underground. Black market abortion would lead to shoddy medicine, unhealthy practices, disease, suffering, and death. As unwanted births increase in low income areas, crime would rise. The number of people unable to provide for themselves and forced to live off of the state would also dramatically increase.
I just don’t see a world with black market abortions, more unwanted children, and more poverty as being a good thing.
Likewise, the tendency for the left to disregard considerations of life, to the point of hostility towards the unborn (calling them invaders or parasites) is truly sickening to me. Human life is precious and ought to be regarded as such. In fact, a little compassion towards life might go along way when it comes to advocating reasonable abortion positions.
I am pro-life; I believe life is precious and must be protected. But I am pro-choice; I believe individual autonomy is inseparable from human liberty. We must seek to guard human life when reasonable to do so and to protect women’s agency to make their own health decisions. These are not mutually exclusive, those that tell you otherwise are ideologues." Austin Petersen Dec 2015

The Donald Trump hijacking of the Republican Party is leaving many Conservatives looking around for a third party choice.  This has brought about much interest in Austin Petersen who is competing for the Libertarian party nomination for President.  Mr. Petersen touts himself as being a Pro Life atheist.  He is getting a lot of attention from disaffected Evangelicals who find Donald Trump unworthy of their support. 

Is Austin Petersen's position actually Pro-Life?  His word choice consistently draws a distinction between the personal choice of abortion and the legal fact of abortion.  On one hand he speaks in harsh terms about the casual attitude of the left toward the fact that there is a life in the womb worthy of consideration.  He seems to fall short though of literal legal protection lashing out at those who oppose abortion.  He makes the exact same sort of typical arguments about black market abortion as a reason against changing legality.  The result is that Mr. Petersen's Pro-Life morality does not cause a anti-abortion legality..and since we are really only talking about a political issue..his position becomes meaningless.  Opposing abortion as a moral choice and then not extending that to placing limitations into law...is not Pro-Life.  It is in fact from a legal and political perspective..Pro-Choice.  It is no different than the position held by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani or John Kerry.

Difference Between Bush and Obama

Bush administration asks cell phone companies for cell records of customers in order to thwart international terrorists.  A company refuses.  The Bush administration says..."okay."  The ensuing scandal occupies Congressional Democrats for years.  An investigative panel is convened spending millions of taxpayer dollars.  American media types spend millions of lines of text decrying the abuse of individual civil rights.  The next administration proceeds to continue a much more extreme and intrusive version of the same program.

Barack Obama in May of 2016 decreed that public schools in the United States will let boys pee in the girls room.  Any schools refusing will be penalized so that poor children are not able to have lunch. 

What is the Battle?

There is no Republican vs. Democrat. There is only Liberty vs. Tyranny, Freedom vs. Despotism, Independence vs. Authoritarianism. Choose wisely.

Apologetics for Hiroshima

The nuclear attacks against Japan in 1945 ended the Second World War.  Anyone arguing anything counter to that is simply in point of fact a revisionist fool.  No more.  No less.  Japan had not and was not preparing to surrender.  The United States of America and our administration had an obligation to win the war and minimize the loss of American lives. 

Yesterday the Japan Times online was hosting a conversation as to whether or not President Obama will or should apologize for the attacks when he visits Hiroshima.  Oddly, I was surprised.  I did not know that Kenya bombed Japan.  Go figure.  Learn something new everyday.

The Donald's Greatest Accomplishment

In this post Cruz campaign phase of the election process a lot is being said by Trump supporters about what they see as the obligation of all Republicans to now unite behind their favorite candidate.  The saying usually goes "a vote for third party or sitting out is a vote for Hillary."  This is of course utter nonsense.  The only way to vote for Hillary (or anyone else) is to actually cast a vote for that person.  We don't award extra votes in elections based on under performance of political party nominees.  It isn't like if 22% of registered Republicans refuse to vote for Donald Trump and instead don't vote or vote for the Constitutional Party candidate, that Hillary get's a +1 on her side.  Hillary gets nothing for those. 

The next part of the argument is that "It doesn't matter if Donald Trump isn't a Conservative.  He is still infinitely better than Hillary."  This is the "he is not Hillary" argument.  It is also utterly nonsensical insomuch that there are serious issue related arguments that suggest in fact that Donald Trump may be much worse than Hillary in many areas.  Further..just not being Hillary is not much of an argument.  I can point to 7 Billion people in the world that are not Hillary.  You can't tell me that Donald Trump is the very best out of all of us not-Hillary's. 

Donald Trump is the one who is obligated to unite the party.  There is no obligation of supporters of Cruz or anyone else to owe Trump loyalty just because he happens this time to be calling himself Republican.  I believe that after this election it will actually be an identifier used to label people in the future.  For the 2020 election a lot of people who endorsed Donald Trump will be disregarded by those that don't after he gets absolutely crushed in November.  So far, since Tuesday's Indiana primary, Donald Trump has continued to attack those Republicans that do not support him.  He has stated that he doesn't need Conservatives in order to win the election.  I doubt that.  We will see.  He is wrong.

Trump's Running Mate

The perfect running mate for Donald Trump would have to be someone who shares his policy viewpoint. Someone able to handle his level of energy and ability to rile up a gan...errr.....crowd of supporters. The pick would have to be used to rubbing shoulders with men of industry and just as comfortable around a bit of greasing the wallets to make junk happen.

It is my conclusion that the only possible running mate for Donald Trump....would be Donald Trump.

Trump Campaign Funding

For months Donald Trump and his supporters took shots at Ted Cruz and his wife over loans and her work at Goldman Sachs. Today Mr. Trump's "self funded" campaign for President hired a fund raiser.  A former executive at Goldman Sachs and associate of George Soros..who has donated to Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign. 

Undoubtedly the first order of business will be to collect donations to pay Donald Trump back for the loans he made to his campaign's primary race.

The flipping never ends!

So..About Ted Cruz' Eligibility

Months of crazy talk from Trumpbots....Donald Trump himself repeatedly throwing out suggestions that Ted Cruz is not eligible for the Presidency....today Donald Trump suggests that Ted Cruz would be a potential Vice Presidential pick.  Amazing.

Your Vote

A vote is a precious thing.  It is a powerful responsibility.  Many people will have to personally decide whether or not the most important thing on election day is defeating their perceived enemy or to vote FOR something.

The lesser of two evils is still evil.  We are commanded by the Lord to choose righteousness.  This November everyone gets a voice.  Use yours' for something righteous.

The Aftermath of Indiana

A day in which Donald Trump went on national television and quoted the National Enquirer to slander Ted Cruz' father suggesting somehow he was involved in the assassination of JFK?  A day in which Donald Trump says Ted Cruz lacks the temperment for the Supreme Court?  This is the day that Trump essentially clinches the GOP nomination?

Millions of God's people tonight sleep uneasily.  We are not commanded to select the lesser of two evils.  We are commanded to select righteousness.  God will judge us as a nation at some point..or perhaps already is.  America has been great.  America could be great but to be that we need strength of character.  A character as a nation.  We had a chance for a great leader...and we turned him away. 

50 Should Keep His Two Cents

Curtis James Jackson III aka 50 Cent....former rich rap star...decided this weekend to make fun of a young man working in an airport in a video that has gone viral.  The waste of DNA that is 50cent can be heard making comments about the young man's appearance, accusing him of being high at work and other nonsense.

The young man's loved ones have spoken out saying that he has social anxiety.  The young man himself says he works hard and doesn't do drugs.

It must be tough to be a wannabe superstar and not get recognized..which is really all this is about.  50 Cent didn't get recognized and decided to bully someone he sees as beneath him.  He is in a word..a bully.  A piece of human garbage.  He should consider doing the world a favor and just shutting the Hell up..forever.

Trump Tidal Wave

Donald Trump needed to win huge today in the northeast and he did exactly that.  Nearly sweeping all delegates that were up for grabs and possibly putting himself on course to actually secure the GOP nomination.

Next Tuesday is Indiana.  Ted Cruz needs to score heavy there or this race is probably over effectively.

Government's True Purpose

The purpose of government first and foremost without any exception is to protect the innocent and bring the wicked to justice. That means provide for general safety and security. It is not and never has been the purpose of government to conduct "fair" or to derive programs. All of the stuff that seem to be argued in public these days have little if anything at all to do with the main thing.

Our Constitution lists rights..not granted by government. The rights listed in our Bill of Rights are guaranteed beyond the authority of government. That is what Thomas Jefferson spoke of in the Declaration of Independence when he mentioned that government derives authority from the governed and that our rights are endowed by the Creator. God outranks any President. The founders understood this...they codified it.

If government doesn't protect the basic rights, then all other things are window dressing nonsense. Keep splitting the country along the lines of one side wanting nonstop "free" and insisting that whatever they decide they want or don't want is suddenly a right and no one under the age of 40 right now will ever retire.

Obama's Hypocrisy....SHOCKING!!

So...remember that one time that Benjamin Netanyahu came to the USA and addressed Congress?  Remember how Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the Obama administration's Ensure Iran Get's Nuclear Arms and money deal? 

Yesterday the President went to the UK and essentially threatened the British to not leave the European Union.  It is shocking that so many British officials were upset that the American President would stick his nose into their business.  Shocked....just...

Trump is Phony

Yesterday Donald Trump in short order stated that he disagrees with the North Carolina law requiring people to use public restrooms that equate to their actual gender.  He later stated that Republicans should soften position on abortion rights.  Given how he manages his life it is clear that Mr. Trump would seek to use the force of power to push whatever views he has regardless of outside input.  He is not a Conservative.  He is a liberal.  There is no difference between a liberal Democrat and a liberal Republican. 

Christians who refuse to vote based on the Bible will answer to God.

Trump Shakeup

The Trump campaign's ground game has been terrible for weeks now.  From chaos at the top of his Colorado campaign team to just getting a California campaign manager last week things have gone badly for Mr. Trump in the quest for delegates.

Tomorrow is New York's much anticipated primary.  Donald Trump most certainly needs upward of 75 delegates in his Empire State haul tomorrow to maintain any reasonable chance at the nomination. 

This past weekend we saw in several states the Trump campaign trounced in state conventions for delegates by the Cruz campaign.  Today it seems to have hit a boiling point.

Last week Donald Trump's organization picked up Rick Wiley who led Governor Walker's terrible early campaign for President.  It looks like Mr. Wiley was going to be appointed over Scott Jolly who has served as national field director.  Mr. Jolly apparently disagrees and has resigned just as the race enters a run of primaries that the Trump team expects to roll thru.  This cannot be seen as good news for Team Trump.

The Confusing Trumpeters

March 8 Hawaii held a closed Republican caucus to elect delegates to the national convention.  Donald Trump won that contest.  He got the delegates assigned and there was not a single complaint from him or any other candidates in that contest.

Last week Colorado held a closed Republican caucus to elect delegates to the national convention.  Ted Cruz won all of them.  Donald Trump made no attempt to win them and has complained non-stop about it ever since.

Colorado Cruizin

Colorado has had a Republican delegate selection system in place since 1912.  For over 100 years it has included local, district and then statewide levels of delegate selection for the national convention.

In 2012 Colorado ran it's delegate selection process independent of the statewide straw poll.  Straw polls by definition are not elections.  They are advisory.  The party did not use the straw poll in delegate selection.  There is nothing unusual about this.

In 2015 the Republican National Committee informed Colorado Republicans that if they conduct a statewide poll they must use it in delegate selection, or not hold a straw poll at all.  As it the right of a state Republican party making it's rules, Colorado Republicans elected to not hold the straw poll.  They made the announcement in August of 2015.

The Trump campaign never got around to appointing a state campaign manager to run Colorado until days before Colorado began holding congressional district level assemblies.  That manager was promptly fired and replaced.  The result being that the Trump campaign didn't prepare candidates to run for delegate slots and got beaten in all 7 Congressional districts.

Donald Trump was asked by Colorado Republicans to at least address the state convention on Saturday April 9th.  Mr. Trump refused.  Ted Cruz spoke to the convention crowd and promptly won all 13 delegates that were up for grabs there.

Coloradans voted.  They voted locally.  They voted at their convention.  There is nothing particularly unusual about this.  40% of participants in delegate elections were new comers who had never participated before.  This suggests that the process was open in the same way it has been in previous years.

The only thing different in this process is that the Trump campaign treated it like it didn't matter.  They blew off Colorado in favor of New York.  They didn't organize.  They didn't coach candidates on how to run for delegate elections.  They didn't organize voters to actually get them to attend local or state votes.  There should thus be no surprise that Mr. Trump didn't win delegates.  The Cruz campaign by contrast engaged locally.  They organized candidates to run for delegate spots.  They convinced people to participate in the votes and reminded people of locations and times.  In a word...they were organized.

Ted Cruz worked hard..treated Colorado like it was important and knew the rules.  Rules that were published in 2015 for how this works.  The Trump campaign did nothing and as a result got nothing.

More About Trump and Veterans

Two months ago Donald Trump threw a hissy fit and ducked out of a GOP Presidential debate because of his extreme fear of Megyn Kelly and his apparent phobia when it comes to getting actual serious questions.  He rushed to CNN to perform and pander to veterans organizations in a televised fund raiser.  We are told that Trump loves veterans.  So much so that between 2009 and 2013 his foundation donated a whopping $57,000 to veterans organizations which is more than half of the $100,000 that he donated to the Clinton Foundation.

To date out of $6,000,000 that was donated by others to Mr. Trump's event only 40% of the money has been actually distributed to veterans support groups.  No word on where the rest of the money is or what is going on with the distribution.  Perhaps we as a nation would have been better served if he had just not been such a whiny wuss hiding from Megyn Kelly.

Revolt of the True Conservative

For years Conservatives have been sold a bill of goods.  That being the idea that we should simply go along with Republican candidates in elections and that regardless of how liberal they are, we are better off with them than we are with Democrats.  Further we have been told that candidates should ignore our limited government desires or our fundamental beliefs in order to be more attractive to independents and centrist Democrats.  This thinking is how we nominated John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012.  We then watched both of them lose badly on election day while the government tracked to the left.

Now we come to 2016 and there is a backlash against the establishment.  Lo and behold we have an actual small government Conservative who respects the views of Evangelical Christians..and he is running against a very liberal part time Republican.  The contrast is pretty solid.  I am troubled by arguments from Trump supporters who suggest that Conservatives should step in line because Trump will succeed as a liberal because he is somehow more brilliant than other liberal Republicans have been.

Last week Mr. Trump had a tough time defining his view on abortion.  He gave multiple answers that were in conflict with each other and finally settled on the notion that abortion law should remain unchallenged.  This is hardly a position that can be reasonably expressed as Pro-Life.

Mr. Trump is really just an angry populist.  Angry populism is not Conservative.  In fact it is more likely to be protectionist and nationalistic.  We don't need either.  We need Conservative.  Historically when Republican candidates embrace true Conservative principles they win national elections.  When Republicans campaign as Democrat Light..they lose and lose badly.

Despite how rabid Trump fanatics are, he does not meet the standard needed in a President.  He lacks experience or basic understanding of our military, the roles we play among our allies or how to conduct day to day business of government.  The primary argument his supporters keep making is that he is not the establishment..except that he has spent the greater part of 40 year funding said establishment.

Tonight in Wisconsin, a heavily unionized state with a very strong populist tendency...Senator Ted Cruz blew out Donald Trump in the primary beating him by nearly 15% in a state in which he was running 3rd 2 weeks ago.  Conservatives need to unite behind an actual true Constitutionalist in Ted Cruz and support his progress toward the Republican nomination for President.

Cruz is Crushing Trump Among Cheeseheads

The April 5 primary in Wisconsin is less than a week away and polling in the Badger state is moving in one direction.  Multiple polls are all showing Senator Cruz hammering Mr. Trump in nearly all demographics.  A victory in Wisconsin is almost a necessity if Senator Cruz is to have any chance of turning the delegate race around.  It seems that is exactly what is happening.

Zuckerberg and His ISIS Love

Facebook bazillionair and self appointed expert on everything in the world Mark Zuckerberg says that the terrorists who blew up bombs in Belgium and attacked an egg hunt in Pakistan simply do so because they want to cause us division.  He suggests that the only solution is to express love to them so that they feel included.

Perhaps we should allow Mr. Zuckerberg to practice his view by sending him to Raqqah where he can try some of that love them to peace stuff.  When it predictably ends in his gruesome death I then suggest we express love to ISIS in the form of unrestricted air, land and sea warfare 24/7.  It's all about the love!

Seattle Travel Ban

The Mayor of Seattle banned non-essential city travel to North Carolina for reasons that are not entirely rational and won't be mentioned by me.  I would like to consider the ban itself..the ban is for non-essential travel.  A government entity banned something called non-essential travel.  I think maybe a good thing might be...a ban on all non-essential travel.  Just an idea.

Obama's Cuba Visit

Cuba is a communist nation.  Communism is evil.  No force on Earth was responsible for more murder and suffering in the 20th century.  The American left is largely sympathetic to stupid things like...communism.  They dress it up on all sorts of different ways and call it different things...mostly because th eleft...is largely pathetically stupid.

The President took a trip to Cuba this week.  He like a fool posed for pictures with a big giant Che head looming in the background.  He went to a baseball game and deigned 51 seconds of comments to the bombings in Belgium.  He praised Cuba's dictatorship for what it can teach us about..well really I don't remember..I was too overcome with laughing at this moron we call Mr. President.

It should be a rule that when our liberal friends praise this clown we are legally obligated..not just allowed to punch them in the throat.

If we do not teach our children to understand that Communism=bad..we have failed them.

Trump Foundation Donations to Veterans

Between 2009-2013 the Donald J. Trump Foundation made $5.5million in charitable contributions. 7 specific donations went to veterans groups for a total of $57,000. Curiously $100,000 was donated to the Clinton Foundation. Source: the Weekly Standard.

Immigration is a National Security Issue

Normally we see the conversation about immigration and immigration reform discussed as an economic issue.  One between people who see immigration as some sort of charitable item to the less fortunate at the expense of American citizens who inherently have an advantage in the random gamble of life. 

This is nonsense.  Countries firstly are sovereign and should operate under laws defining their existence.  The United States of America being a sovereign nation should function not with open borders, but with standards.  We don't need a simplistic ban of immigrants to solve some vague concept of security.  We need real security physically and existentially secured by a series of rules that shape policy.

Firstly our immigration policy should be determined on the basis of what benefits this country.  Too often immigration law and policy is derived from the perspective of how to benefit the foreign national.  It is treated as a charitable item and those in opposition are scorned by both Democrats and Republicans as somehow racist.  It is not racist to want to define and determine who is in this country.  Immigrants should only be allowed to come to America if there is some definitive benefit to our society.  No one should enter if by their presence they will only be taking from the benefits that we have to offer whether they be thru governmental welfare programs or charitable benefit programs.

Second immigrants must be willing to assimilate into our society.  People coming to this country intent on collectively forcing us to change are in violation of our sovereignty.  It is irrational for any society to simply yield to those coming from worse situations.  If a group of people are escaping their homeland they have a reason to be leaving.  Whatever the conditions that they are leaving we certainly should not want to recreate in this country.  We should welcome those that wish to participate productively in our system and experience the American dream.  Those intent on taking over are not welcome.

Third anyone wishing to enter the United States should undergo a strict vetting process.  People unable to be validated under very strict guidelines cannot be allowed entry for any reason.  There are countries in the world that have entire populations that have been taught to treat us as evil.  It can be assumed that citizens from such countries should be scrutinized very carefully.  If this means that people without records simply cannot enter that is unfortunate but again..our immigration policy should be guided by what benefits this country.  A fair equally enforced vetting process should be a clear requirement in any immigration system.  No exceptions should be made for any adult that cannot be validated.

Fourth illegal immigrants are criminals.  It matters not at all what their reason for being here is.  You cannot say you love this country if you refuse to respect it's laws.  Illegal immigrants should be treated when caught like criminals and prosecuted.  It is absolutely impossible to have an immigration system that has no way of knowing who is in the country and why they are here.  We have a glaring open wound along the southern border that has been violated millions of times.  It is inherently a bad thing for us economically regardless of cheap labor arguments that are made by business owners. I contend that business which rely on illegal laborers support human rights abuses by maintaining people hiding in the shadows.  Women crossing the border to work are subjected to human traffickers and sexually abused.  These undocumented people put demands on our social welfare programs and the safety net designed for our own people.  They damage our health care system with excessive use of emergency room treatments.  They strain our educational system by forcing their children into processes that have limited resources.   These people cause chaos in the social security system by misuse of identity information.  The economic damage is real.  The human cost is also real.  It is fundamentally un-American to participate in the promotion of an abusive process that continues to encourage illegal entry into the country. 

Fifth the physical reality of a wall has a historical basis.  There are many who will say we can't possibly build a wall along the southern border..yet...look around the world.  There are walls.  There are many walls.  Walls surround the Vatican City.  China has a 1600 mile long wall that protected it from Mongolian invaders.  The White House in Washington DC is surrounded by fencing for protection.  Walls exist in the world because they in fact do work.  We should complete a wall along the southern border.  It should be staffed with human patrols and surveillance equipment permanently.  Until we prove to Mexico that we are serious there is no actual relationship of mutual respect.  Mexico will not respect an America that does not protect self first.

Finally the purpose of government is to protect the people.  Our government fails on this whenever it allows someone to enter the country illegally.  Our government fails when it allows someone to simply overstay a Visa without questions.  We fail our children when we strain already limited resources by allowing a population of millions who do not belong here to stay simply because it may be hard to find them all.  We need a reasonable rational immigration system that would be good for our country.  It is great for the United States to attract the best and brightest.  The price should not be an inherent lack of security and economic compromise.

America is a Friend of Israel

Tonight at AIPAC both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz gave rousing speeches.  Both were well received and seemed to excite the crowd.  They both noted the differentiation between how Republicans and Democrats treat our dearest ally in the Middle East.  My perception is that both will be intent on strengthening the bonds of friendship between the United States of America and Israel if they take office in January of 2017. 

Oh the Horror! 15 Years Hard Labor in North Korea!!!!

Perhaps it is not the best idea to go to North Korea and steal political banners.  I'm just thinking out loud here.

Huge Night for Trump

Trump crushed Rubio in Florida ending Senator Rubio's quest for the Presidency.  Kasich won in Ohio but has no mathematical chance at reaching 1237 delegates.  Ted Cruz is going to finish very close in North Carolina and Missouri but likely won't win any of them (Missouri will be within a fraction of a percent separation).  Mr. Trump still is off pace to get to 1237 and races next week in Arizona and Utah really shape up to be between Trump and Cruz. 

Cruz easily wins Wyoming

Caucus voters in Wyoming assign less than half of the state's 29 GOP delegates but Ted Cruz won easily today.  Senator Cruz received 66% of the votes today to take 9 delegates.  Marco Rubio and Donald Trump got 1 each. 

The Aftermath of Thugfest

Soros pushed protesters confront angry Trump supporters in Chicago.  Donald is allegedly attacked in Ohio.  Meanwhile there are votes today!  DC, Guam, Wyoming all selecting delegates for the nomination by the GOP for President.  At the start of the day Trump held a 99 delegate lead on Senator Cruz.  That lead will likely be smaller at the end of today's counting.

Marco Rubio 2PM PST Event in Florida..Might This Be It?

Senator Rubio has a scheduled rally in Hialeah at 5PM ET.  He was shut out of the delegate count in 4 primaries yesterday.  He is trailing Donald Trump badly according to polling in Florida.  There doesn't seem to be any reason for him to continue the campaign past today.

Mixed Results

Donald Trump scored wins in Mississippi, Michigan and Hawaii while Ted Cruz blew him out in Idaho Tuesday.  Trump continues the trend of barely winning southern states and winning open primaries in places the GOP doesn't win in November.  Ted Cruz keeps winning closed races where Republicans decide who the Republican nominee should be.

Marco's Last Stand

Today there are 4 GOP races in play.  150 convention delegates are on the line.  A pathway to the nomination for Senator Rubio is probably already a lost cause but if he fails to win something today he really should drop out of the race.  There is no real point to him sticking around just to compete for Florida. 

Michael Bloomberg Decides Not to Risk Humiliation

Billionaires don't generally become super rich by doing silly things with their money.  Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided not to waste millions running for zero percent of the general election in a pointless attempt to attack Donald Trump.  Fake Republican Bloomberg will thus be able to use more of his resources in his consistent effort to destroy individual rights in his assault on the Second Amendment. 

About that Self Funded Trump Campaign

Interestingly when you go to Donaldjtrump.com at the very top of Make America Great Again page there is a button labeled. "DONATE."  I did something as an experiment..I clicked on it...amazingly enough...donation amounts and billing information request came up.

My conclusion...Donald J. Trump actually is taking donations for President.  Pesky things called facts.

Super Saturday Observations

Senator Cruz has two huge wins in Kansas and Maine (Maine being a stunner).  Donald Trump has two close wins in Kentucky and Louisiana with Senator Cruz within 5% in both.  Senator Cruz cuts into the delegate count lead of Mr. Trump today.

The biggest loser of the day Marco Rubio who really got nothing done to suggest there is any pathway for him toward victory.  At this point Senator Rubio is just a spoiler.  It is time that Conservatives start to yell for Marco to drop out. 

Cruzing in Cash

The Cruz campaign reported Friday that February was the best fund raising month ever for the Senator in his Presidential bid.  $12Million on 225,000 donations for an average of $52. 

Dr. Carson is Out

The day before 4 states vote Ben Carson has dropped out of the race.  Dr. Carson is one of the brilliant minds of our times.  He will remain a useful voice in the Conservative movement in this country for years to come.

Romney to Speak

Unless repeated Presidential campaign loser Mitt Romney is about to reveal video proving that Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are all actually robot puppets of space aliens, nothing he has to say will be of any actual consequence.  If anything it will just further antagonize the Trump ragers.

Planned Conservithood

It is impossible to be a Conservative and to support government funding of Planned Parenthood.  They are in absolute opposition.

"Planned Parenthood has done very good work for many many for millions of women.  And I'll say it.  I know a lot of the so called "conservatves" they say that's really cuz I'm a conservative!  But I'm a common sense conservative.  But millions of women have been helped by Planned Parenthood.  But we're not gonna allow and we're not gonna fund as long as you have the abortion going on at Planned Parenthood.  And we understand that. And I've said it loud and clear." - Donald Trump 3/1/2016 

Super Tuesday Reminder

Christians should refer to the Bible in all things.  Christians should vote the Bible position on all things.  Today there are primaries all over the country.  Christians should participate and should cast a vote that they would not feel guilty about before the Lord.

Christie Endorses Trump

I am not surprised at all that Governor Christie is endorsing Donald Trump.  I think he intended to run as a loudmouthed New York tough guy liberal Republican, but was outperformed by Mr. Trump in the same style.  They are similar campaigners with similar personalities.

Lindsey Graham is Disgusting

"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, no one would convict you." — Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Tonight at the Washington Press Club Foundation Dinner Senator Graham spouted the above comment.  He should be forced to resign from office immediately.

Venezuela Imploding?

http://caracaschronicles.com/2014/02/20/the-game-changed/

News has essentially vanished on Venezuela in the last 24 hours as there is a near blackout of the internet amid anti-government protests.  Socialism never works.

Bye Bye Bush

Days of rumors that his campaign staff would not be paid past tonight turn true.  Jeb finishes out of the running in South Carolina and ends his campaign.  I expect most of his supporters to relook at Rubio.

It is Caucus Day!

While most attention nationally will rightly focus on the primary in South Carolina today, it is Republican Caucus day in the state of Washington.  Local government facilities will have people of like minds gather to vote on delegates to later larger conventions..which will ultimately select delegates to the state convention.  The final delegation is bound to support the winner of the state primary in May. 

Citizen rule begins in the grassroots.  Today is that day.

Inslee Jealous of Indiana

Washington Governor Jay Inslee today felt like spending a few billion.  Since Indiana, Tennessee and New Jersey have shiny agencies dedicated to the needs of vulnerable families and children he thinks Washington needs on too.  Forget that there is already an agency with that mission called the Department of Social and Health Services.  Forget that it represents about 40% of state government.  Ignore that without being tasked to aid vulnerable children and families..DSHS will really not serve much of a purpose to exist at all.  In fact..let's just ignore and forget this entire idea.  It is just plain silly.

That Time that Trump Picked a Papal Fight

OK so he really didn't.  The Pope today decided to speak up in a way that no one could rationally misunderstand engaging in a bit of American politics.  While in Mexico the Pope stated that "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," Pope Francis said. "This is not in the Gospel."

Mr. Trump of course didn't let it go.  He reacted  “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful,” Trump said in a statement. “I am proud to be a Christian and, as president, I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current president.”

The entire notion of a Pope living in a walled city state criticizing an American politician calling for border protection was not lost on those with functioning brains.  It is also appropriately ironic that the Leonine Wall around the Vatican City was built 11 centuries ago in response to Islamic attackers assaulting St. Peter's Basilica.

WSJ/NBC Poll Suggests Tide Shift?

https://www.scribd.com/doc/299591277/NBC-WSJ-February-Poll-GOP?secret_password=JnP82QeNxD9kHWxwZuHr

The first national poll of GOP candidates conducted entirely after last Saturday's debate shows Ted Cruz leading nationally with 28% support ahead of Donald Trump who is at 26%.  This poll could be an anomaly.  It could also suggest that Conservatives are taking a closer look at the two candidates.

The Great WMD Lie

For a decade Democrats..and Donald Trump have had a steady mantra criticizing former President George W. Bush for going into Iraq when they had no WMDs.  This issue which divided the nation for 3 consecutive election cycles ignored reports as early as 2006 that in fact stockpiles of chemical weapons had been located in Iraq.  Systems dating to the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Between 2004 and 2011 there were at least six instances of American or American trained Iraqi forces wounded by chemical weapons.  Coalition forces repeatedly encountered such weapons.  This was reported by the New York Times in October of 2014. 

American forces found as many as 5,000 chemical warheads, shells and bombs.  What they did not find was an active production program.  Iraq certainly held stockpiles of weapons that it had failed to destroy as required by the 1991 Cease Fire ending Desert Storm. 

Since the rise of ISIS there have been reports that ISIS forces have captured chemical weapons storage facilities.  This was stated as early as the summer of 2014.  So ISIS captured weapons that didn't exist in a place that didn't have them to understand the left..and Mr. Trump's narrative.  The implications of course have come true.  The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as well as other officials this week have stated that ISIS has used chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters. 

Facts mean things.  When someone tells you "there were no WMDs"..they are wrong.  We cannot afford to be wrong.

GOP Debate: Closing Statements

John Kasich: I'll send the power back

Dr. Carson: If all the people who say I love Ben Carson but he can't win will vote for me we can turn this thing around.

Jeb Bush: I believe I will have a steady hand as Commander in Chief

Marco Rubio: Our culture is in trouble..wrong is now considered right and right is considered wrong.  These are difficult times.  2016 can be a turning point.  We are going to embrace free enterprise.  Life begins at conception.  Marriage is between a man and a woman.  Rights come from God and not a President.  We will make the 21st Century a new American century.

Ted Cruz: Do you want another deal maker?  Or do you want a Conservative?  Two branches of government hang in the balance.  Not just a Presidency but the Supreme Court.

Donald Trump: Politicians are all talk and no actions.  We need a very big change.  We are going to make our country great again.  We don't win anything.  We are going to start winning again.  I'm working for you.  I'm not working for anyone else.

GOP Debate: Various

Donald Trump on flip flops
Mr. Trump: In life you have flexibility.  You have to have flexibility.  Ronald Reagan was a somewhat liberal Democrat.  He became a somewhat Conservative Republican.  I'm not in love with eminent domain.

Jeb Bush: You should not use eminent domain for private purposes. 

Ted Cruz: Flexibility is a good thing but you shouldn't be flexible on core principles.  I like Donald he is a great entertainer.  For most of his life he has been very very liberal.  For most of his life he has described himself as very very pro choice and as a supporter of partial birth abortion.  Right now today as a candidate he supports federal tax payer funding for Planned Parenthood.  I disagree with him on that.  Thats a matter of principle

Mr. Trump: You are the single biggest liar.  You probably are worse than Jeb Bush.  He's a nasty guy.

Ted Cruz: Notice that Donald didn't disagree with the substance that he supports tax payer funding for Planned Parenthood.  You supported it when were battling for defunding Planned Parenthood.

Mr. Trump: There are wonderful things that Planned Parenthood does for women's health.

Ted Cruz: If Donald Trump is President he will appoint liberals.  (Supreme Court)

Mr. Trump: Ted Cruz supported John Roberts

Jeb Bush: Ronald Reagan was a liberal in the 50's.  No one would suggest he was a liberal.  He didn't tear down people.  He tore down the Berlin wall.

Ted Cruz: I would not have nominated John Roberts.  I would have nominated my former boss who was Justice Scalia's first law clerk.

Marco Rubio: Turn programs over to the states.  Nikki Haley will do a better job confronting poverty than Barack Obama.

Dr. Carson: When I got into this race I decided to look and see what is running the engine in Washington DC and I thought I should run away. 

I'm never going to become a politician.  People need to know that free college is a non-starter.  We are on the verge of economic collapse.  $200Trillion in non-funded liabilities.  It is not the evil rich people..it is the irresponsible people in government.

John Kasich: The first thing we have to do is grow the economy.  You need common sense regulations so small business can flourish.  You need a fiscal plan so people can predict a little bit of the future.  The Democratic party has lost those blue collar Democrats. 

Donald Trump: My wife tells me I'm wrong all the time and I listen.  We need people who know what the Hell they are doing and not politicians.  I hire smart people. 

Jeb Bush: The dysfunction in Washington is really dangerous.  We don't need someone who has been bankrupt four times and then brags about using the system.

Donald Trump: I never went bankrupt.  As soon as he (Jeb) got out of Florida, Florida crashed. He loaded it up with debt.

Jeb Bush: We led the nation in job growth 7 out of 8 years.  We didn't go bankrupt like Trump did and call it success.  Personal income went up 4.4%.  The government grew by half of that.

Marco Rubio: The President that I grew up with was Ronald Reagan.  This is the worst President we have had in 35 years.  If our next President is even half the President that Ronald Reagan was America is going to be greater than it has ever been.

GOP Debate: Poverty

Dr. Carson: Go after the regulatory agency instead of the people that are trying to increase the viability of our society.  Regulations cost us $2Trillion annually.  You want to get rid of poverty, get rid of the regulations.

Ted Cruz: The people who have been hurt the most in the Obama economy are the people who are the most vulnerable.  Small businesses are the heart of the economy.  My dad fled Cuba in 1957.  He washed dishes for 50cents an hour.  If we had Obamacare in place the odds are high he would have been laid off.  We need to lift the burdens on small businesses.

Donald Trump: I would build consensus with Congress and Congress would agree with me.  (regarding Ford building factory in Mexico and his statement that he would impose s 35% tax on them). 

GOP Debate: Immigration Reform

Donald Trump: I want everybody taken care of but we have to take care of our people in this country.  I will build a wall.  The wall will be built by Mexico.  We have to take care of our people

Marco Rubio: Amnesty is the forgiveness of wrong doing without consequences.  I have never supported that.  Don't just pass a law without enforcing the law.  Secure the border before you can do immigration reform.  You can't do any of that until you prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under control

Ted Cruz: Everyone talks tough on illegal immigration during a Republican primary.  (Gang of Eight) I led the fight to defeat that plan. 

Marco Rubio: (Ted Cruz) to argue he is a purist on this issue is just not true.

Ted Cruz: Marco has a long record on amnesty.  Rubio supports citizenship for 12million people here illegally.  Marco went on Univision and said in Spanish he would not rescind President Obama's executive action on amnesty.

Marco Rubio: I don't know how he would know what I said on Univision cuz he doesn't speak Spanish.

Ted Cruz in rough Spanish: If you want to tell them now tell them in Spanish.

Rubio: Ted Cruz lies.  He lied about Ben Carson in Iowa, he lies about Planned Parenthood, he lies about marriage, he lies about all sorts of things and now he makes things up.

Jeb Bush: We need a leader to fix this problem.  The great majority of people who come to this country have no other choices.  These are people that are coming to provide for their families.  They are not all rapists like you know who said.

Donald Trump: The weakest person on this stage by far on illegal immigration is Jeb Bush.

Jeb Bush: It is weak to disparage women.  It's weak to denigrate the disabled.  It is also weak to call John McCain a loser.

Trump: Two days ago he said he would moon everybody and no one reports that...and then he tells me oh my language was a little bit rough.

John Kasich: Let's just talk about what we are for.  I'm for sealing the border.  I'm for a guest worker program.  We haven't sealed the border to because the special interests are against that.

Dr. Carson: Go to my website and read my immigration policy.  (He didn't get an immigration reform question).

GOP Debate: Entitlements

Donald Trump: I'm gonna bring jobs back from China.  I'm going to bring jobs back from Vietnam.  I'm lowering taxes.  We have to make our economy grow again.  I'm the only one going to save Social Security.  There is tremendous waste fraud and abuse.  We are going to take care of it.

Ted Cruz: The Middle Class has been left behind in the last 7 years of the Obama administration.  Everytime we lessened the burden of Washington on small business owners on job creators you see incredible growth.  We abolish the IRS.  16% business tax accross the board, eliminate the corporate tax.  The Cruz simple flat tax would increase 4 million jobs.

Marco Rubio: Parents get to keep more of their money to invest in their children.  The family is the most important institution in society.  You cannot have a strong society without strong families.

John Kasich: We've gone from an $Billion hole to a $2Billion surplus. 

Jeb Bush: We should be fighting Obamacare, repealing Obamacare. 

John Kasich: Jeb's Medicaid program grew twice as fast as mine.

Jeb Bush: The Kato Institute rates Governor Kasich at the bottom

John Kasich: We're up 400,000 jobs our credit is rocks solid

Jeb Bush: We need to reform the tax code to shift the power away from Washington DC

Dr. Carson: My tax plan has been praised by Kato, Wall Street Journal and Forbes.  Everybody has to have skin in the game.  My main goal is to get rid of Obamacare.

GOP Debate: National Security

Donald Trump: We are going to have to hit very very hard to knock out ISIS.  Know who are our allies.  The Iran deal is a disgrace and embarrassment.
I am the only one on this stage who was saying "Do not go in to Iraq."

Marco Rubio: 1. What are we doing in the Asian Pacific Region?  2. What are we doing in the Middle East.  3. Rebuild and reinvigorate NATO.

Dr. Carson: No amount of experience really prepares you for doing something that has never been done before.  That is where judgement comes in.

John Kasich: We will arm the folks in Ukraine that want to fight for their freedom.  We have an opportunity to lead.  The world needs us.

Jeb Bush: We need to destroy ISIS and defeat Assad.  It is absolutely ludicrous to suggest Russia could be a partner in this thing.  I would restore the military.  I would have a strategy to defeating ISIS. 

Mr. Trump: Jeb is so wrong.  You gotta fight ISIS first.  You deside what to do after.  You can't fight two fights.  We've spent 5Trillion on the middle east and have zero to show for it.

Jeb: The very basic fact is Vladimir Putin is not going to be an ally in the Middle East. 

Ted Cruz: On day one I will rip to shreds the Iranian nuclear deal.  When it comes to ISIS we have got to have a focused strategy.  We're not using the tools that we have and it is because the commander in chief is not focused on defeating ISIS.

Donald Trump: As a business man I got along with everybody.  I'm self funded.  Obviously the war in Iraq was a big fat mistake.  We should never have been in Iraq.  He (George W. Bush) should have been impeached.  They lied.  There were no weapons of mass destruction.

Jeb Bush: I'm sick and tired of Barack Obama blaming my brother for every singe problem he has.  I am sick and tired of Donald Trump going after my family.  While Donald Trump was building a reality tv show my brother was building a security apparatus to keep this country safe.

Mr. Trump: The world trade center came down on your brother's watch.

John Kasich: This is just crazy.  We got outselves into Iraq because we thought there were weapons of mass desctruction.  We found ourselves in the middle of a civil war.  I do not believe that the United States should get involved in civil wars.  We should go to war when it is our direct interests.

Marco Rubio: I thank God that it was George W. Bush in the White House on 9/11 and not Al Gore.  George W. Bush enforced what the United Nations refused to do.

Mr. Trump: The World Trade Center came down...how is that keeping us safe?

Marco Rubio: The World Trade Center came down because Bill Clinton refused to kill Osama Bin Laden when he had a chance.

Dr. Carson: The current administration turned tail and ran and destabilized the situation (Iraq).  Obama says we should bomb tankers because there could be people in them and it could damage the environment.  That is just asinine thinking.

GOP Debate: Justice Scalia

Donald Trump: If I were President now I would want to nominate a replacement and I am sure that President Obama is going to want to now.  This is a tremendous blow to our country.  It is up to Mitch McConnell to stop it.  Delay delay delay.

John Kasich: If I were President we wouldn't have the divisions we have here today.  Now we are going to see another partisan fight take place.

Dr. Carson: The President should delay.  The Constitution doesn't address this particular situation.

Marco Rubio: He will down as one of the great Justices in this history of this Republic.  We need to put people on the bench that understand that the Constitution is not a living and breathing document.

Jeb Bush: I will nominate people that have a proven record on the judiciary.  The next President needs to appoint someone that is a proven Conservative.  Fight and fight for that nomination.

Ted Cruz: Justice Scalia was a legal giant.  He changed the arch of legal history.  We are one Justice away from a Supreme Court that will strike down every abortion restriction put in place by the states.  The Senate needs to stand strong.  Confirm principled Constitutionalists to the court.

Scalia is a Giant Loss

This man was a devout Constitutionalist who brought great weight to the court.  He provided leadership for a generation of Justices dating back to the Reagan years.  It will be difficult to replace him and the challenge comes quickly.  The outgoing President and his party will likely want to chime in.  Whomever Obama selects will be someone the Senate has to resist.  This is about to become a major election issue.

Jenrry Joins Illustrious List

Jenrry Mejia's short Major League Baseball career has come to an abrupt end.  He was banned for life yesterday following a third failed drug test for PEDs in about a year.  Mejia tested positive for a drug that increases muscle mass.  His suspension means he cannot play in either MLB or the Minor Leagues.  He can sign with an Independent team or play in foreign leagues. 

Currently the only other person on the permanent suspension list is Pete Rose.  Mejia can apply for reinstatement in one year.  Don't hold your breath.

Carrier Plant Moves to Mexico

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/watch-1-400-people-learn-030718813.html

The announcement that two plants would move to Mexico starting in 2017 was caught on camera and went viral yesterday.  The union workers losing their jobs to lower wage Mexican workers is always spoken of but rarely witnessed. 

We live in a global economy and all resources are subject to supply and demand effects.  This is no different and though it is sad for these employees, every individual needs to safeguard themselves by taking steps to protect against economic shifts that are not to their benefit. 

Gilmore Goes Goodbye

Jim Gilmore has ended his Presidential campaign having earned no delegates thru New Hampshire.  He never really even reached 1% nationally.  It is hard to picture any serious role for him in shaping anything in this process.  An honorable man will now go into permanent retirement.

Clinton Foundation Being Investigated

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-foundation-received-subpoena-from-state-department-investigators/2016/02/11/ca5125b2-cce4-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html

Soooo...about that unsourced, irresponsible claim....turns out while Hillary was telling the handful of viewers watching her debate the crazy old guy down the street last week that she was 100% confident that nothing would come of it (the investigation) she knew that the FBI began probing her foundation in 2015.  She just lies and lies and lies..and the stupid just keep on cheering.

Climate Change Attacks Corrections Officer in Washington State

http://pamelageller.com/2016/02/washington-muslim-prisoner-tries-to-behead-correction-officer-shouting-allahu-akbar.html/

On Jamuary 28, 2016 Clallam Bay Correctional Facility was placed on lockdown when an officer was attacked by Climate Change.  Climate Change was yelling something at the time, but that isn't terribly significant. 

The mainstream media remains in bed with the administration.

About that $15 Minimum Wage

Tonight I needed a quick bite to eat while out.  I stopped in an Olive Garden for the first time in ages.  At the table was a tablet device.  I had no idea!  The device allows customers to order food and drinks directly from the kitchen.  You can summon wait staff and pay your check.

There were noticeably fewer staff on hand.  The server who did come to the table was unfamiliar with the items on the menu when questioned...and she got our drinks wrong.  Oh..and there was hair in the soup. 

The bill was paid with a low tip after a short talk with the manager (regarding the above mentioned soup hair) and I left.  So, even with the electronic replacement of employees the service staff on hand still performed poorly.  Welcome to the new economy!

Hillarity of the Superdelegate #$(*storm

Last night the Democrats held a primary in New Hampshire.  Senator Sanders won in a landslide at the polls.  Today we see that due to the Democratic Party rules regarding every vote not being equal..Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton will come out of New Hampshire with essentially the same number of delegates from that state.  The reason of course being that what most people voting thought was an election to apportion the state's delegates..it really wasn't.  It only was to decide 24 delegates.  8 others are decided by super delegates..DNC officials and heroes who get to do whatever they want.  Hillary is of course getting all such delegates and thus currently has.after the dead heat in Iowa and her pummeling in New Hampshire..a 250 delegate lead in the Democratic race. 

Fiorina's Farewell

Carly Fiorina ended her Presidential campaign today after finishing behind the pack in New Hampshire.  Her campaign had some high points but she never really established a consistent base of support.  She didn't have establishment credentials.  She wasn't a darling of the Evangelicals.  She did however force people to think.

Repeatedly on the debate stage Ms. Fiorina showed a command of issues which she articulated with an avalanche of facts.  She established herself well understanding of national security issues including the numbers around our shrinking armed forces.  She was highly critical of the political class and seemed eager to engage Hillary Clinton on the issues.

Her early flare up with Donald Trump was the only one so far that seemed to damage Mr. Trump and caused him to retreat during her first appearance on the main debate stage.  She also managed to run for months without attracting any sort of scandal.

I expect that she will be on the eventual GOP nominees short list for Vice Presidential running mate.  She is serious and sensible. 

Christie Caving

For all of his campaign effort to nuke Marco Rubio in New Hampshire, Governor Christie finished in 6th place.  He just hasn't carved out a place in the GOP field that is viable as a candidate.  The wannabe tough guy New Yorker voters are almost entirely in the Trump camp to stay. 

Chris Chistie will probably end his campaign here.

Jeb's Folly

Tonight New Hampshire is over.  Jeb Bush spent $36Million and put on 11,000 television ads in order to essentially tie Ted Cruz who spent 1/60th that much and ran less than 500 ads.  So there you go!

Washington State Corrections Crook Resigns

Dan Pacholke's 4 month reign as leader of the Washington State Department of Corrections is ending.  He announced his resignation Saturday so he could devote his time to less deadly things no doubt.  His tenure was marked by the public discovery that for over a decade his agency had been improperly releasing prisoners early and that in at least two such instances these people committed murders.  The mystery is why he and his predecessors are not already in jail themselves.

New Hampshire, Trumpeter Sound of Victory vs. Jeb's Last Stand

Today is New Hampshire.  23 Republican convention delegates are on the line.  Polling suggests a resounding win for Donald Trump.  Of greater interest is how the "establishment" candidates split votes.  Is this the time where one will emerge for the Rockefeller corporatists to rally around?  A year ago we were being told that Jeb Bush was a shoe in.  A virtual army of donors and GOP insiders would force the process so that he would rise to the top.  Anyone not on board would be "responsible for electing Hillary."  Now a Jeb campaign mired in low poll numbers that has been marked by his constant attacks on Donald Trump seeming to add momentum to the Trump campaign everytime he opened his mouth.

Tonight I suspect that between Rubio, Bush, Kasich and Christie one will stand out enough that the others probably drop out. 

Trump probably wins this one.  Cruz should be happy garnering what Conservative votes there are in New Hampshire and then ready for the real contest..South Carolina on the 20th.

On the DNC side...Socialism apparently is popular. 

Those Crazy North Koreans and the Crazy Things They Do

While Americans were concerned with the important things...like Cam dancing and Beyonce praising Domestic terrorism, Pyongyang launched a rocket into space.  The deployed satellite is spinning out of orbit and will eventually re-enter and crash to Earth.  So I guess the angry UN condemnations can wait until the next time the DPRK decides to do something begging for a Tomahawk strike.

NARAL Hates Babies that Like Doritos

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/07/naral-attacks-doritos-ultrasound-super-bowl-ad-for-humanizing-fetuses/

A Superbowl ad that features an unborn baby in the womb reacting to dad with Doritos has drawn the ire of the national baby killing alliance or whatever these twits call themselves today.  Apparently it is hateful in their Nazi minds to refer to an unborn baby as a...baby.  This is of course insanity.  

Santorum Casts His "Support"

After dropping out of the Presidential race today, Senator Rick Santorum stated his support for Senator Marco Rubio for the nomination.  I am not sure how much pull Rick will have since he never moved above 5% nationally at any point in his campaign. 

Rand Paul is Out

Months of his supporters going insane on social media with how incorrect polling was...despite no money...poor organization and a message that seemed to be summed up in "LEGALIZE POT!, disarm America and Trump is evil."  Rand entered Iowa polling under 5% as he had been since the summer.  He was insisting that polling was inaccurate..well...looks like the voters were accurate enough though.  He is dropping out of the race.

It remains to be seen where the last Libertarians will head in this cycle.

Women and the Draft

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/02/02/generals-say-women-should-have-to-register-for-draft.html?intcmp=hpbt3

The military services integration of women into all combat duties will take at least 3 years.  The services leaders say they will not lower physical standards and studies show that women suffer higher rates of injury.  These factors are will need to be considered in planning.

Now the discussion will turn to whether or not women must register for the draft.  This is absurd at face value.  No nation should have to hide behind it's women in defense.  No army in history has been centered upon women serving in combat and the only consideration when forming combat forces is whether or not they can meet mission objectives.

Wounded Warnings

http://gruntstuff.com/wounded-warrior-project-wwp-suing-2-more-veterans/

Three years ago I started finding Wounded Warrior Project questionable.  What organizations they would allow to raise funds and how they held notable parties at hotels was already becoming a thing.  Now we find that WWP tries to silence former employees by fear of lawsuit.  I will not endorse this organization in anyway for their mission.  There are plenty of legitimate charities that meet the needs of war fighters without mistreating the very group they are sworn to aid.  Shame on Wounded Warrior Project. 

Sanders Supporters and Socialism????

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfqr6iIYCI&feature=youtu.be

This video got a lot of coverage on social media today as CNN reporter Brooke Baldwin asked Sanders supporters among other things if they could define Socialism.

The damning part isn't so much that the young fools couldn't define a word they likely weren't taught about in public schools.  We are in a politically correct world where feeling is treated as more important than fact.  We have a generation that naturally presumes that "giving" is the mission of government.  They draw an equivalent with "fair share" of taxes to charity as if they are one and the same.  In decades of following politics I have yet to find one of these progressive idiots that could actually define exactly how much of the "share" actually is "fair."

Bottom line, NOTHING IS EVER FREE!!  You do not build progress by ruining the successful.  That never has worked and never ever will.  Progressive Liberal Socialism is really just the new naming for Communism.  They want absolute control.  They do not have solutions that actually work.

Huckabee Out

Well...suspending his campaign.  He resonated with no one.

GOP Iowa Results CRUZ WINS!!!

With 97% reporting I project Ted Cruz as the winner.

A Tree Falls in Iowa and

no one is listening.  Martin O'Malley takes his spectacular 3rd place showing in the Iowa Caucus and goes home. 

Iowa Turnout

Is it possible for there to be a high turnout for Democrats and an ordinary turnout for Republicans?  Conventional wisdom seems to be that new Dems will swing for Sanders while a high first time voter turnout on the GOP side likely swings for Trump.  A high Evangelical turnout may split between Republicans.

Seattle Bike Share Losing Money

http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/seattle/2016/01/31/seattles-bike-sharing-system-financial-trouble/79616032/

So....bike helmets, hills and weather are keeping people from participating in the bike share.  The non-profit is losing money and wants Seattle to buy the program out for $1.4M and to INCREASE spending in what doesn't work.  Yeah..this is what is going on....wow.

Sniper Taking out ISIS Leaders

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/12129837/Is-a-secret-sniper-killing-off-Isils-high-command-in-Libya.html
The Telegraph reports that 3 Daesh leaders have been killed in the Libyan city of Sarte by someone with Sniper level skills.  No one is sure whether or not the same shooter has taken down all 3 of these individuals but to whoever it is....GOOD START!!!!  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

Predicting Iowa

The Iowa caucus is an exercise in organization and commitment.  The people who come out to cast votes in the caucus are likely people most personally engaged and interested in the candidates.  Thusly, statewide polling and the coverage by the national punditocracy will likely be meaningless.  The winner will more likely be the candidate most able to get committed supporters out to vote. 

The candidate that has the largest most well organized team is Senator Cruz, therefor I expect that tomorrow night Ted Cruz will likely win the caucus.  Donald Trump leads statewide polling but does not have an organization covering the entire state the way Senator Cruz does.

GOP Debate on FOXNEWS Crushes CNN Trumpfest

Last night's debate on FOXNEWS drew four times the viewership of the Trump advertising fest on CNN and MSNBC.  The GOP debate drew higher ratings than the previous debate that included Donald Trump. 

It is clear that Mr. Trump's expected bombing of the ratings failed as viewers by the millions tuned in to see what the candidates had to say.  

GOP Debate Notes: #29 Summary

Rand Paul in his return to the main stage for the first time in this campaign looked like a real statesmen.  He repeatedly articulated his liberty message and didn't resort to shouting matches.  Rand did really well in his performance and may have earned some relooks.

John Kasich consistently brought up his message of working together to get things done.  A lot of what he said probably drifted beyond the interest of Iowa voters.  I don't think he did anything that will move the needle for Monday.

Jeb Bush was able to go thru a debate without getting punked by Donald Trump.  He didn't get cutoff by other candidates as he spoke and he talked about serious issues.  I do think the odd back and forth he had with Marco Rubio did nothing at all to change the perception that he is a proponent of amnesty.

Chris Christie told us several times that his best qualification is that he happens to have been a Governor..of course there were two others on the stage with him tonight.  Oh and I was shocked to find out tonight that he was in New York on 9/11....oh wait.  Nevermind. 

Dr. Carson was soft spoken and stumbled in his comments about national security though he clearly intends to confront Putin.  He maintains high numbers in terms of voters having a positive impression of him yet he has floundered in the polling.  I noticed that he didn't veer into religious areas much at all tonight.  Without strong Evangelical support on Monday his campaign probably is over.

Marco Rubio did what he does.  He looked into the camera and spoke about serious issues with serious answers.  He came accross as solid strong on national defense but lost a lot of credibility in his answers regarding illegal immigration.  I think that Jeb stabbed him pretty hard saying that he was guilty of having "cut and run" when his Gang of Eight bill proved unpopular with Republicans.  Rubio could have really taken his campaign into surge mode tonight.  I don't think he did that.

Ted Cruz was treated more like a front runner in this debate and the most notable moments came when he argued fairness issues with the moderators.  He also stumbled when amnesty was brought up.  Senator Cruz may have gone in with expectations extremely high for tonight and might be victim of an ordinary performance not being viewed as good enough.

So there we go. 

GOP Debate Notes: #28

Closing statements

"I'm worried about the country and the debt we are adding.  I am the one true fiscal conservative"
- Rand Paul

John Kasich and Chris Christie said what they always say..Kasich wants to work together..Christie prosecuted terrorists in New York.

Jeb Bush will be proud to be the nominee as if there is any chance of that happening.

Dr. Carson quoted the preamble. 

"The Bible commands us to let our light shine upon the world."  - Marco Rubio

"93 hours.  The media noise will soon be over and the men and women of Iowa will decide."
"Examine our records and pray upon it."  - Ted Cruz

GOP Debate Notes: #27

About Hillary with Bill's behavior "She can't be a champion of women's rights at the same time she's got this that is always lurking out there..this type of behavior" of her husband's?  "But I combine this with the millions and millions of dollars that they've taken from regimes in the Middle East that treat women like cattle."  Rand Paul

GOP Debate Notes: #26

"Vladimir Putin is a bully and an opportunist.  We have to face him down."  Dr. Carson

GOP Debate Notes: #25

"We must have virtue.  We must a religious bearing as a nation.  But government is not always going to save us and it's not always going to come from government.  But if we don't know right from wrong I think we have lost our way, I think we come unmoored.  I think that without the religious foundation that guides us all I think we have a great risk of going horribly in the wrong direction."

Rand Paul

GOP Debate Notes: #24

"My goal is not simply to live my life for 80 years, but to live in eternity with my Creator.  I will always allow my faith to influence everything I do."  Marco Rubio

GOP Debate Notes: #23

"The Conservative message is economic growth.  And along with economic growth goes opportunity for everyone in America.  Everyone should be able to rise to their God given ability." John Kasich

GOP Debate Notes: #22

"There is only one Savior and that's not me.  It is Jesus Christ who came down and died for our sins."
"Bernie Sanders is a good candidate for President..of Sweden."
"One of Hillary Clinton's first acts as President might be to pardon..herself."
"Anyone who lies to Americans who have died for this country can never be Commander in Chief."

Marco Rubio

GOP Debate Notes: #21

"I am not the candidate of career politicians in Washington."
"If I am elected every single day I will do two things.  Tell the truth and do what I said I would do."

Ted Cruz

GOP Debate Notes: #20

"Stop the Washington bull and let's get things done!"  Chris Christie

GOP Debate Notes: #19

Megan shows videos of Ted Cruz' poison pill attempts in 2013 regarding legal status of illegal immigrants.

"Anyone here illegally is permanently ineligible for citizenship."

"If it wasn't for Ted Cruz the Gang of Eight bill would have passed."

Ted Cruz

GOP Debate Notes: #18

Video of Senator Rubio showing his previous position against amnesty vs. his change of positions two years after he was elected to the Senate.

"Securing our borders is not anti-immigrant.  We will hire 20,000 border security agents in stead of IRS agents."

Marco Rubio

"He was the sponsor of the Gang of Eight bill." 
"He led the charge to fix this immigration problem and then he cut and run because it wasn't popular."
"We should have a path for the 12million that are here illegally."

Jeb Bush

Neither of them lost points with me..Rubio lost more.  It is clear that Senator Rubio is on both sides of this issue and that Jeb "illegal immigration is an act of love" Bush is as well.

GOP Debate Notes: #17

"I do not believe that we have to destroy our economy in order to protect our environment."

Marco Rubio

GOP Debate Notes: #16

"Puerto Rico is going to have to deal with the structural problems in place."

Governor Bush

GOP Debate Notes: #15

"We have seen now under six years of Obamacare that it is a job killer."
"We will repeal every word of Obamacare." 

Ted Cruz

GOP Debate Notes: #14

"Get rid of Planned Parenthood funding for the United States of America.  When you see thousands upon thousands of children being murdered in the womb, I can't think of anything bigger than that."

Chris Christie

GOP Debate Notes: #13

"The first duty of the next President is to fix the mess that is the Department of Veterans Affairs."
"I will make sure that we fire the incompetence at the Department of Veterans Affairs."

Jeb Bush

GOP Debate Notes: #12

"We need to stop allowing political correctness to dictate our policies because it is going to kill us."

Dr. Carson

GOP Debate Notes: #11

"What people should do is use their common sense and let law enforcement make those decisions."
"Barack has made law enforcement the enemy."

Governor Christie

GOP Debate Notes: #10

"Radical Moslems and radical Islam is not just talk.  They take actions."
"The threat we face from ISIS is unprecedented."
"We must keep America safe from this threat."
"We will go after them wherever they are and if we find them they are going straight to Guantanamo."

Senator Rubio

"You can't be in favor of defending us against radical Islam if you are against border security."

Senator Paul

GOP Debate Notes: #9

"Get the lawyers off the damn backs of the military"
Jeb Bush

Senator Cruz is not happy that the last four questions have been worded as attacks against Ted.  The audience seems to react negatively.

"I'm not leaving the stage no matter what you ask me."
"The United States should not be involved in symbolic activity."

Marco Rubio

"Should we be bombing both sides of the war?"
"Arming the allies of ISIS will make the situation worse."

Rand Paul

GOP Debate Notes: #8

Hillary Clinton on her email situation "she did it for convenience.  Let me tell you who is not qualified to be President.  Hillary Rodham Clinton is not qualified to be President of the United States." - Chris Christie

The question pointed out Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz but the moderator would not let Ted Cruz reply.

GOP Debate Notes: #7

"I will apologize to nobody for the vigorousness with which I will fight terrorism, go after ISIS, hunt them down wherever they are and utterly and completely destroy ISIS."

Senator Cruz stated the difference in forces between the military we had 25 years ago in Desert Storm vs. today.

"ISIS is the most dangerous Jihadist group in the hsitory of mankind."
"ISIS wants to trigger an Apocalyptic show down in Dibiqq"
"They need to be defeated and that will take overwhelming force."
"When I'm President we are rebuilding the US military because the world is a safer and a better place when America is the strongest military in the world."

Marco Rubio

"Booming economic growth fueld the rebuilding military under Reagan"

Ted Cruz


It is my considered view that Senator Rubio scored the first serious points of the debate with this exchange.

GOP Debate Notes: #6

"I am the only one on this stage with no political title."
"I don't think you have to be a politician to tell the truth."
"I have had more 2AM phone calls than anybody else here making life and death decisions."
"We need people who can think outside of the box and can solve problems."

Dr. Benjamin Carson

GOP Debate Notes: #5

"Ted didn't show up.  We had an audit the Fed vote and he didn't show up."

"Ted was for NSA reform, but then he told Marco Rubio that I'm in favor of the govnerment collecting 100% of your cell phone information."

Rand Paul..

"I agree with Rand that I respect Ron Paul." 
"You have to bring together the Reagan coalition." 
"The audit the Fed bill had no chance to pass."

Ted Cruz


"I respect Rand."
"When I'm President we are going to rebuild out intelligence capabilities."
"We will keep this country safe."

Marco Rubio


"We fought the war for independence because we wanted to fight against generalized warrants."

Rand Paul

GOP Debate Notes: #4

"There is no reason why you can't stand on principles and go and fight for them...and go and get things done in Government."  - Gov. Christie

GOP Debate Notes: #3

Governor Bush on the establishment

"We are just starting."

"If I am establishment because Barbara Bush is my mother then I'll take it."

GOB Debate Notes: #2

Senator Marco Rubio

"Barack Obama wants to change America.  He wants to make it like the rest of the world. We do not want to be like the rest of the world."

GOP Debate Notes: #1

Ted Cruz is in the center spot for this debate.  Rand Paul clearly got the loudest reaction from the audience during introductions.

Megan starts out of the gate asking Ted Cruz what he thinks about Donald Trump not participating.  Senator Cruz has been to all 99 counties.  His father has preached in churches.  If elected Iowa will be "fly to country."  He pretended to take shots at everyone on the stage referring to it as the "Donald Trump portion of the debate."

Megan asked about the difference between calling Trump a voice against the Washington Cartel and reacting to Trump's personal attacks against him.  "Issues and substance should be the meat of politics." 

Undercard Debate Notes: #13 - Summary

They are only getting a few seconds each for final comments.

No one really hit a homerun final comment.

All 4 contenders were able to make their points tonight.  Everyone was able to focus on their primary issue and it never degenerated into a slime fest. 

Undercard Debate Notes: #12

Carly Fiorina "I will always stand for life and religious liberty because this is about the character of America"

Rick Santorum "I have been a 25 year member of the March for Life"

Carly Fiorina "It is outrageous that Foxnews would question the Pro Life qualifications of Rick Santorum"

Undercard Debate Notes: #11

Carly Fiorina "If my husband did what Bill Clinton did I would have left him a long time ago."

"She has escaped prosectution more times than El Chapo"

"The woman should be prosecuted"

"She has not accomplished anything.  She has gotten every foreign policy wrong."

Undercard Debate Notes: #10

Rick Santorum supports a flat tax for 20%.....

He believes that cutting taxes will draw jobs back to the USA

Undercard Debate Notes: #9

Huckabee doesn't like Club for Growth.  They called him Tax Hike Mike when he was Governor of Arkansas.

Fair tax will create growth and help the little guy...

Undercard Debate Notes: #8

Jim Gilmore is apparently irritated at the amount of time that Ms. Fiorina got to give answers.

"I am a board member of the National Rifle Association." 

President Obama and Hillary Clinton are trying to change the culture of this country when it comes to exercising of Second Amendment rights.

Undercard Debate Notes: #7

Gov. Huckabee

Nobody wants to be poor.  People are poor because they don't know how to get out of poverty.

Undercard Debate Notes: #6

Rick Santorum says you want to do something about climate change?  Bring back 2 million jobs from China...

Undercard Debate Notes: #5

Carly wants a zero based tax code.  I am assuming that less than 10% of voters have any idea what that actually is.

She will not replace hundreds of thousands of retiring Federal employees and will fire 400 senior leaders in the VA.

Undercard Debate Notes: #4

Jim Gilmore wants to rebuild the military accross the board.  Touted his history as an Intelligence officer and Russian area studies expert.

Undercard Debate Notes: #3

Governor Huckabee "I don't trust Putin."

Attack ISIS' ability to use Social Media and attack them on land.

Undercard Debate Notes: #2

Rick Santorum calls for troops on the ground to take land and delegitimize the Caliphate.

Carley Fiorina identifies ISIS as our #1 threat and Iran as #2.  Climate change is not our greatest security threat! 

Hillary lied about terrorists killing Americans in Benghazi.  Mrs. Clinton that is what difference it makes!

Undercard Debate Notes: #1

Governor Gilmore is running for Veterans Affairs Secretary

Obviously a Major Malfunction

Each generation has a moment where everyone knows exactly what they were doing and where they were when it happened.  I was sitting in my room with the radio on not following the Challenger launch.  It had become sort of routine and I didn't remember that it was happening that morning.  The interruption to report the Breaking News was my indicator and I ran out to turn on the television.

Iranian Mining Wealth..the Real Reason Sanctions are Being Lifted

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/27/iran-poised-to-make-billions-off-countrys-vast-mineral-wealth.html?intcmp=hpbt1

Iran is formulating multi-billion dollar deals to impact over 3,000 mines for rare earth minerals located within their borders.  This influx of money will dramatically impact the nation of 80million population.  The thing to pay close attention to is how many power brokers associated closely with the Obama administration will be direct investors standing to make personal profit from these transactions.

Republican Pathways to the Nomination

With Iowa coming up next week it is getting near time to be realistic with the process.  Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are blowing away the entire field in Iowa with both candidates polling far ahead of the other 10 contenders for the nomination.  Iowa has a complex process where precints hold separate votes for delegates to the national convention.  It is very possible for several candidates to garner sufficient votes to acquire pledged delegates from Iowa.

On February 9 is the New Hampshire primary.  Currently Mr. Trump holds a 20% lead over all other candidates in polling being conducted by national sources.  To qualify for any delegates a candidate must win 10% of the votes.  Under most recent polling averages Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are the only candidates on the GOP side polling above this standard.

It can be assumed that after New Hampshire most of the current field will have dropped out with zero delegates.

Things will move to South Carolina   Scheduled for February 20.  South Carolina carries 50 delegates and allocates 29 by statewide vote totals...and 21 by congressional district totals from 7 districts.  Most recent polling averages show Donald Trump well ahead of Ted Cruz..with Marco Rubio trailing in 3rd by a significant margin as well. 

If any candidate wins all 3 of these states I assume that candidate will roll to the nomination barring something catastrophic.  Further, no candidate who fails to win any of these three will have any shot at the nomination.  Even though there are 12 right now..in 3 weeks there will be 2 or 1.

Dewshine Natural Selection

Two Tennessee teens have died and two others are still being treated after they consumed Mountain Dew mixed with racing fuel.  The teens thought they would be effected the same as if they drank alcohol.  Racing fuel is almost entirely made of methanol which is not fit for human consumption obviously.  The teens knew what they were drinking so..there you go.  Kids do stupid things.  Really stupid kids do stupid deadly things.

Al Jazeera America is Dead

Lousy ratings, lousy revenue and poor coverage.  The ten year gamble is dead in three catching employees and sponsors by surprise.  It always seemed like this was doomed from the outset.  A network presuming to add yet another reporting agency to the US media market providing a viewpoint that counters traditional American values. 

You can almost hear the sound of millions of Conservatives laughing.