If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.
St. John of the Cross
Tweet of the Day
When government screws around with our liberty, everyone feels the burn, Bern. Our prophylactic is the Constitution.
— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) January 18, 2016
Sanders, you say you want a revolution. Well, you know, we all want to change the world, your head. Read the US Constitution instead.
— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) January 18, 2016
Sanders, you say you want a revolution. Well, you know we've all earned what's in our wallets.You better keep your hands out of our pockets.
— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) January 18, 2016
Britain, don't ban @realDonaldTrump. He is a son of Scotland by his mother. Would would the great Adam Smith say?
— Ronald Guillemette (@raguillem) January 18, 2016
Image of the Day
RIP, Glenn Fry
Eagles co-founder/keyboardist/guitar player/lead vocalist/songwriter and solo singer Glenn Frey passed today of "of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia". He was part of the soundtrack of my young adult years. It's impossible to summarize a brilliant performer in a couple of videos, but here are a couple of personal favorites from his Eagles and 1980's solo career.
My Greatest Hits: Jan 2016
Morality of Markets II
Trump's New York State of Mind
A Comment on the NFL Playoffs
I have to say the Green Bay's last minute touchdown drive to tie the Cardinals (who went on to win in overtime) is one of the most improbable, incredible drives I've ever seen. And this is despite the officials not calling an obvious pass interference penalty earlier in the drive.
Anti-GMO Fearmongering Kills People
Facebook Corner
(Lew Rockwell thread on the Cruz' citizenship kerfuffle)
This is crackpot bullshit. Prevailing law required Cruz' US-born mom to have been a 10-year US resident, including 5 years after the age of 14. She did. QED. Cruz's parens were non-Canadian. Furthermore, natural born was used in 18th century English law we inherited. to mean inhabitant and offaspring.
Correct. Cruz was an American citizen at birth. He was never naturalized. In fact, being a citizen for at least 9 years is a Constitutional requirement for the Senate. Ever notice how the Cruz birthers want to have it both ways? He was born of non-Canadian parents in Canada. The broader point is that if you aren't a natural born citien you have to be naturalized.
Political Potpourri
Two new political polls from the South, basicially Trump with 10-point leads in Georgia and Florida, with Bush narrowly beating out Rubio in the money in Florida. Carson continues to hang in, roughly at the 4th or 5th position, but he's melting down like Bush has done nationally over the last couple of months. We have been second winds of other candidacies in the past, but I don't see Carson winning anywhere or benefiting from others dropping out of the race.
As I pointed out in a recent tweet, when others drop out of the race, the vast majority flow to non-Trump candidates, with Trump for instance losing 54 to 37% or so to Cruz. Trump is maybe adding 1 or 2% when others pull out; he has a core following of about a third, but he's leading most over a fragmented opposition. I also noted some time past I saw something similar to the 1996 campaign when Dole consolidated support against Trump's archetype, Pat Buchanan. I think what happens largely depends on Iowa and NH end up, including any surprise winners in the money. If Trump wins in a larger than estimated plurality, say 40 points or more, in both contests, he may take on an air of inevitability. If Rubio finishes in the money in both contests, I think he picks up more support than Cruz or Trump from other candidates. I think Cruz has to win Iowa to pick up support elsewhere because Cruz and Trump address similar coalitions in the base. A wildcard would be a governor like Kasich, Bush or Christie finishing high in one of the first 2 contests; I think Bush is polling well to stay through Florida, but he's got to show he can win somewhere and losing his home state would be devastating to his credibility; why Bush is targeting Rubio, whose campaign seems to have leveled off for several weeks barely in he money, is a mystery--you need to focus on the other 90% of GOP support. I also think a poor showing by Rubio in his favorite son state would hurt.
I am still bewildered by Rubio's campaign, which seems to be oriented more to the general election. Election Betting Odds has shown Rubio's once significant lead flip to Trump. Rubio needs to run more of a cheerful, optimistic Reagan type campaign, not business-as-usual neocon fearmongering where he's just one in a crowd. He needs to rediscover the mojo that made him a phenomenon in 2010.
Political Cartoon
 |
| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall |
Gordon Lightfoot, "Carefree Highway"
Reagan and Bush on Immigration
Reagan And Bush Sure Sound Different On Immigration Than Today...
The Bush-Reagan Republican primary debate over illegal immigration played out very differently in 1980 than it's playing out now. #GOPdebate
Posted by Newsy on Thursday, January 14, 2016
