tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97689982024-03-09T19:46:14.833-07:00RADAMISTOSteve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.comBlogger16356125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-31795767485688701052016-11-11T21:02:00.000-07:002016-11-11T21:03:58.484-07:00CLINTON JUST ISN'T A GOOD CAMPAIGNER<a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/11/caucus-win-gives-obama-more-texas-delegates-than-clinton/" target="_blank">In 2008, she lost Texas</a> to Obama because she put almost no effort into the caucuses and this year, she didn't win <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/1111/What-Democrats-can-learn-from-Hillary-s-loss" target="_blank">Michigan and Wisconsin</a> because she didn't spend enough time:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Pundits also criticize Clinton for <b>not visiting Wisconsin once during
the general election</b>, and paying attention to Michigan only late in the
campaign. Trump was the first Republican to win Wisconsin since 1984,
and the first to win Michigan since 1988.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-56824145923247999942016-11-11T01:23:00.000-07:002016-11-11T01:23:50.392-07:002016 ELECTION NOTES- The tens of millions spent by non-conservative groups on polling were all pretty much wasted.<br />
<br />
- The pundits and elections specialists who wrote Trump off 10-14 days ago should be required to publicly account for their errors, as <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-a-difference-2-percentage-points-makes/" target="_blank">Nate Silver did yesterday</a>.<br />
<br />
- A big problem with the future Trump Administration is the lack of competent people. I even heard one pundit suggest <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/09/the-top-contenders-for-donald-trumps-foreign-policy-cabinet/" target="_blank">John Bolton as Secretary of State</a><br />
<br />
- Even with bigotry tolerated at the top of the ticket, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/joe-arpaio-arizona-sheriff.html?_r=0" target="_blank">a nationally known bigot lost in a red state.</a>Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-61456136667560047652016-10-25T22:59:00.001-07:002016-10-25T23:02:42.721-07:00CONSERVATIVE PUNDIT IN DENIALWe liberals used to mock conservative pundits because they never admit that conservatism failed and Trump has provided another instance of this denial:<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://thefederalist.com/2016/10/25/failure-of-american-institutionsd-not-conservatism-made-trump-possible/">The Failure Of American Institutions, Not Of Conservatism, Made Donald Trump Possible</a><br />
By Ben Domenech<br />
October 25, 2016</blockquote>
After decades of spewing bullshit in the media, it was inevitable that a bullshit artist would one day be the GOP's presidential candidate.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-35654111453681773352016-10-24T20:13:00.005-07:002016-10-24T20:24:17.585-07:00A LITTLE MORE BAD NEWS FOR HANNITY, ET. AL.I'd really like to know what Hannity's response is:<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/24/michael-hayden-ex-cia-director-says-sean-hannity-h/" target="_blank">Ex-CIA director says ‘Fox News has jumped the shark’ and abandoned ‘conservatism’</a> <br />
By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times - Monday, October 24, 2016 <br />
<br />
George W. Bush’s former director of the NSA and the CIA likened Fox News’ Sean Hannity to a Soviet-era apparatchik over the weekend.<br />
<br />
<b>“Hannity has entered the pantheon of a true propagandist,”</b> Mr. Hayden continued. And his behavior reminds me of a conversation I had with a political office in the mid-1980s when I was an air attaché to Bulgaria. I asked this officer what truth was to him. He responded without hesitation, ‘Truth is what serves the party.’ And there you have it.”</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-conservative-media-hannity-limbaugh-drudge-2016-10?op=1" target="_blank">Others</a> have also noted that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Republican-Noise-Machine-Right-Wing-Democracy/dp/B000FVQV16" target="_blank">the Noise Machine</a> is full of shit:<br />
<blockquote>
"When I was watching the president, I was struck by how he seemed to understand the problems with conservative media more than any Republican does," said <b>John Ziegler, a nationally syndicated conservative radio host</b> and columnist for Mediaite. <br />
[]<br />
<b>"Drudge, Breitbart, Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, [Laura] Ingraham — those people are completely invested in another false narrative to cover up the first false narrative," </b>he said, adding, "and if there's one thing I have ever learned in life, it is far easier to dupe people than to convince them that they have been duped." </blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-19707463897799564902016-10-20T01:35:00.000-07:002016-10-20T01:35:07.845-07:00I WAS IN A GOOD MOOD AFTER THE CUBS' WIN...so I figured I could handle listening to Mark "Foamer" Levin for a bit. I learned that many of his callers want to either form their own party or purge RINOs like Speaker Ryan from the GOP. This may be the beginning of the end for the GOP.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-49837715326013760222016-10-18T02:43:00.003-07:002016-10-19T19:13:50.584-07:00HEADS I LOSE, TAILS I LOSEThat's the position <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/investing/wells-fargo-created-phony-accounts-bank-fees/index.html" target="_blank">5,300 peasants</a> were at Wells Fargo. Any one of them could be fired for not doing enough fraudulent cross-selling OR for notifying the "ethics" department. In the latter case, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/21/investing/wells-fargo-fired-workers-retaliation-fake-accounts/index.html" target="_blank">Wells Fargo retaliated</a> against internal whistleblowers:<br />
<blockquote>
Now CNNMoney is hearing from former Wells Fargo (WFC) workers around the country who tried to put a stop to these illegal tactics. <b>Almost half a dozen workers who spoke with us say they paid dearly for trying to do the right thing: they were fired.</b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b>"They ruined my life," Bill Bado,</b> a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNNMoney.<br />
<br />
Bado not only refused orders to open phony bank and credit accounts. The New Jersey man called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Eight days after that email, a copy of which CNNMoney obtained, Bado was terminated. The stated reason? Tardiness.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
One former Wells Fargo human resources official even said the bank had a method in place to retaliate against tipsters. He said that <b>Wells Fargo would find ways to fire employees "in retaliation for shining light" on sales issues.</b> It could be as simple as monitoring the employee to find a fault, like showing up a few minutes late on several occasions.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b>"I endured harsh bullying ... defamation of character, and eventually being pinned for something I didn't do," said Heather Brock,</b> who was fired earlier this month as a senior business banker at a Wells Fargo branch in Round Rock, Texas.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-49416399807527532132016-10-05T23:02:00.002-07:002016-10-05T23:02:27.433-07:00FEEL GOOD NEWS(h/t <a href="http://www.eschatonblog.com/2016/10/blaze-out.html" target="_blank">Atrios</a>)<br />
<br />
I've been reading about the problems at Glenn Beck's media empire for over a year and now it seems it's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glenn-beck-the-blaze_us_57f3ffe5e4b015995f2b80af?jg96av2jseyyi7ldi" target="_blank">on the verge of collapse</a> unless he can figure out a Trump-like bankruptcy.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-45656502179339304982016-09-28T04:08:00.003-07:002016-09-28T04:08:44.795-07:00I FOUND ONE!A few years ago, I spent about 6 months looking for a conservative thinker who wasn't basically a crackpot. Aside from <a href="http://radamisto.blogspot.com/search?q=Kirk">Russell Kirk</a>, I came up empty. There are occasional outbursts of sanity from <a href="http://radamisto.blogspot.com/search?q=Ponnuru">Ponnuru</a> and a few others but until now, I was unaware of any current Amrican conservative who was consistently sane. My new hero until further notice is <a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/22/12892682/donald-trump-samuel-goldman">Samuel Goldman</a>. He makes obviously good points, such as:<br />
<blockquote>
I think the great message of Trump is that there really are not that many movement conservatives.</blockquote>
and<br />
<blockquote>
A lot of conservatives — not so much political professionals who spend their time studying the numbers, but rank-and-file Republicans and voters — really seemed to believe that they are a silent majority. In some ways, this election could be described as the story of a minority that thinks it's a majority.</blockquote>
The latter delusion is heavily promoted by talk radio gasbags like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and Levin. <br />
<br />
Goldman also <a href="http://nymag.com/news/politics/obama-history-project/samuel-goldman/" target="_blank">isn't impressed with Austrian economics</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
It’s hard to say what would have happened if the administration had failed to secure the stimulus and funds to insure international liquidity in 2009 and 2010. <b>But the bottom did not fall out of the economy. The administration deserves credit for this.</b><br />
<br />
Tough as things are, the U.S. economy is also doing better than other countries’. That’s partly due to the energy boom, which is sheer luck. But <b>Obama’s opposition to the kind of austerity policies that are causing so much pain in Europe also has something to do with it.</b></blockquote>
<br />Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-71502557941189082632016-09-21T00:56:00.000-07:002016-09-21T00:56:04.531-07:00TRUMP GETS HIMSELF MORE FREE PUB FROM A GULLIBLE PRESS<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-defiant-as-polls-rise-wont-say-obama-was-born-in-united-states/2016/09/15/48913162-7b61-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html">On Sept, 15</a>, Trump refused to tell the WaPo's Robert Costa whether or not he still believed Pres. Obama was not born in America and thus ineligible to be President.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.adn.com/opinions/national-opinions/2016/09/17/trump-decides-to-have-a-cup-of-coffee-with-reality/">On Sept. 16</a>, Trump snags full coverage by the gullible press by promising a "big announcement" and then shows up late & pointlessly has some vets sing his praises before finally admitting Pres. Obama was born in America.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-21044663366573802932016-09-12T23:47:00.001-07:002016-09-12T23:56:38.233-07:00MARKET CONSOLIDATIONDerek Thompson has an informative piece in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/10/americas-monopoly-problem/497549/?google_editors_picks=true" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a> and I especially liked this line:<br />
<blockquote>Between too-big-to-fail banks and <b>seemingly incompetent cable companies</b>, there may be popular support for action against consolidated market power.</blockquote>This incompetence has flourished during a period of great consolidation in the cable industry and here's <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/14/chart-of-the-week-a-long-history-of-cable-consolidation/" target="_blank">a chart</a> that shows some of the consolidation.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-51143094671995718222016-09-12T22:50:00.003-07:002016-09-12T22:50:42.825-07:00I DISLIKE SEAN HANNITYso I'm pleased to learn that many conservatives also dislike him. Here's one of the better posts from <a href="http://therightscoop.com/sean-hannity-triggered-into-trumpertantrum-twitter-meltdown-again/" target="_blank">The Right Scoop</a>:<br />
<br />
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Massengill's poster boy Hannity has really lost his mind. He makes Alex Jones look like a true statesman, by comparison.</div>
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</menu></footer>Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-66497924001278258652016-09-09T21:22:00.000-07:002016-09-09T21:22:35.136-07:00MORE GOOD NEWS FROM ARIZONAAccording to <a href="https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/news/arizona-republicmorrisoncronkite-news-poll-finds-arizona-grabs-presidential-election" target="_blank">this new poll</a>, registered voters approve of legalizing marijuana:<br />
<blockquote>
The Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News Poll asked registered voters’ opinions on <b>Proposition 205, a measure to legalize the possession and consumption of marijuana </b>by persons who are 21 years of age or older.<br />
<br />
• Proposition 205 —<b> Favor: 50 percent,</b> Against: 39.9 percent, Don’t Know: 10.2 percent (+/‐ 3.4)</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-46661952101029504582016-09-09T20:45:00.001-07:002016-09-09T20:52:16.357-07:00VALUES VOTERS AND THE DONALDI cannot believe <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/lock-her-up-yell-christian-conservatives-as-trump-addresses-values-voters-summit-001157223.html" target="_blank">Trump spoke to the Fundies</a> because he's hardly a Christian. I have had a low opinion of these people for years and today just confirms my belief that they aren't really Christian.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-76523982780932875562016-09-09T00:56:00.000-07:002016-09-09T00:58:21.884-07:00TRUMP IS RE-LIVING THE '60s<a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/01/22/463884201/trump-champions-the-silent-majority-but-what-does-that-mean-in-2016" target="_blank">Earlier this year</a> he blabbed about how the "silent majority" supports him just <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwix_5as54HPAhXJ4CYKHfBUAOEQtwIISTAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.history.com%2Ftopics%2Fus-presidents%2Frichard-m-nixon%2Fvideos%2Fnixon-addresses-silent-majority&usg=AFQjCNE6Bw14HIKBMXf1NISIwkAKmdTU0Q&sig2=tD0dYeBoTfv987Xy7jtn6A" target="_blank">as Nixon did</a> in 1969 and on Wednesday night he claimed to have a "secret plan" to destroy ISIS. <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/1997/1209/120997.opin.column.1.html" target="_blank">In 1968,</a> Nixon told some editors of Mid-West newspapers that he had a secret plan to end the Vietnam War.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-8467357921240737132016-09-08T01:11:00.003-07:002016-09-08T01:11:45.832-07:00LAUER DID FACT-CHECK TRUMPIt only happened once, according to <a href="http://time.com/4483355/commander-chief-forum-clinton-trump-intrepid/" target="_blank">this transcript</a>.<br />
<blockquote>
QUESTION: I like what you say about supporting veterans and how they’re important. But I haven’t heard what the actual plans are to continue that support beyond words. How do you translate those words to action after you take office?<br />
<b>TRUMP: </b>Well, I love that question, because I’ve been very close to the vets. You see the relationship I have with the vets just by looking at the polls. In fact, today a poll came out. And my relationship has been very good.<br />
I have a very, very powerful plan that’s on my website that you possibly saw. One of the big problems is the wait time. Vets are waiting six days, seven days, eight days. <b>And by the way, Hillary Clinton six months ago said the vets are being treated essentially just fine, there’s no real problem, it’s over-exaggerated. She did say that.</b><br />
<b>LAUER: No, no, she went on after that and laid out a litany of problems within the V.A.</b></blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-20296418892212993762016-09-07T23:57:00.002-07:002016-09-07T23:57:28.794-07:00COLIN POWELL ALSO HAD A MEMORY LAPSE...That's being polite about his failure to admit he used a private email account when he was Secretary of State.<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-09-08/powell-told-clinton-he-used-private-e-mail-to-foreign-leaders">Powell Told Clinton He Used Private E-Mail Globally (Correct)</a><br />
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 2:24 AM GMT<br />
<br />
(Bloomberg) -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave Hillary Clinton blunt advice about skirting the rules on using personal e-mail when she started work at the State Department, saying he used a private account on a personal computer to communicate with everyone from friends to foreign leaders.<br />
<br />
'What were your restrictions on your use of your blackberry?” Clinton asked in an e-mail to Powell on Jan. 23, 2009. “Did you use it in your personal office?” She said she heard that diplomatic security personnel “knew you had one and used it but no one fesses up to knowing how you used it!”<br />
<br />
“I didn't have a BlackBerry,” Powell responded. <b>“What I did do was have a personal computer that was hooked up to a private phone line (sounds ancient.) So I could communicate with a wide range of friends directly without going through the State Department servers. I even used it to do business with some foreign leaders and some of the senior folks in the Department on their personal email accounts. I did the same thing on the road in hotels.”</b></blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-35134760299282637282016-09-07T14:59:00.004-07:002016-09-07T19:07:35.313-07:00NC STILL HAS VOTING RESTRICTIONSDespite court rulings, a number of NC counties are reducing polling hours in what we can assume is part of a GOP plan to reduce the vote of Democrats.<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article100284162.html">Early voting reduced in 23 NC counties; 9 drop Sunday voting after NCGOP memo</a><br />
By Colin Campbell<br />
ccampbell@newsobserver.com<br />
September 6, 2016 8:22 PM <br />
<br />
RALEIGH<br />
Voters in 23 North Carolina counties will have fewer opportunities to vote early than they did four years ago under schedules approved by Republican-led election boards.<br />
<br />
The decisions came after <b>the N.C. Republican Party encouraged its appointees on the county boards to “make party line changes to early voting” by limiting the number of hours and keeping polling sites closed on Sundays.</b></blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-79166769906674637492016-09-06T18:57:00.001-07:002016-09-06T19:42:07.286-07:00MORE WOMEN TROUBLE AT FOX NEWSGreta Van Susteren has been dismissed after she exercised a "key man" clause in her contract and <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/06/media/greta-van-susteren-leaving-fox-news/">asked for a raise</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
The sources said Van Susteren sought to renegotiate the terms of her contract -- and asked for a big bump in pay -- after Ailes resigned.<br />
<br />
Fox executives refused to negotiate, one of the sources said.<br />
<br />
There was a "financial disagreement," another one of the sources said. </blockquote>
Van Susteren claims she left of her own accord:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"On Thursday night, I made my decision and informed Fox News of <b>my decision tha</b>t<b> I was leaving Fox News Channel per my contract,"</b> Van Susteren <a href="https://www.facebook.com/greta/photos/a.162242790457256.36266.158671177481084/1423804617634394/?type=3&permPage=1" target="_blank">wrote on her Facebook page</a> Tuesday. "Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now. The clause had a time limitation, meaning I could not wait."</blockquote>
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<b>UPDATE: </b>CNN Money <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/06/media/greta-van-susteren-leaving-fox-news/" target="_blank">reports</a> that FOX pulled the trigger:<br />
<blockquote>
A courier arrived at Van Susteren's Washington, D.C. home at 9 a.m. Tuesday, hand-delivering two letters that said that Van Susteren "was being taken off the air" immediately, according to her husband, John Coale, who is a high-profile Washington lawyer.<br />
<br />
Van Susteren was already planning to leave, but she thought she would be hosting her 7 p.m. program "On the Record" for a few more weeks.<br />
<br />
Yanking her off the air without a chance to say goodbye was "a bit immature," Coale remarked. </blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-45123155179609961292016-09-04T20:37:00.005-07:002016-09-04T20:39:21.385-07:00TRUMP HAS EVEN LOST MARK "FOAMER" LEVINAND Levin implicitly criticized his best buddy Sean Hannity. This is <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/31/mark-levin-hammers-sean-hannitys-attack-on-nevertr/" target="_blank">from the Washington Times</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Millions of listeners who tuned in for “The Mark Levin” heard the host rhetorically hammer Mr. Hannity’s assertion that “the Jonah Goldberg class” will be to blame if <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hillary-clinton/">Hillary Clinton</a> is elected the next U.S. president.<b> Mr. Levin was careful not to mention the Fox News star by name, but left no doubt who he was talking about.</b><br />
<br />
” ‘If only the #NeverTrumpers, if only Jonah Goldberg and Bill Kristol and Glenn Beck and this one and that one, if only they’d get behind <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a>, then we’d be winning! Then we’d win big time! Oh yes!’ No we wouldn’t,” said Mr. Levin, Mediaite <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/mark-levin-mocks-conservatives-blaming-trumps-failings-on-the-nevertrump-republicans/" target="_blank">reported</a> Tuesday. “As popular as many of those men and women are, they’re not going to sway anybody one way or another. This is a presidential election. People make up their own minds. […] You’re going to vote your conscience. That’s a statement of fact. […] Maybe <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> will win. Maybe <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hillary-clinton/">Hillary</a> will be stopped — but <b><span style="color: red;">we nominated the wrong person.”</span></b></blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-44225971447572599302016-09-04T19:34:00.004-07:002016-09-04T20:25:02.172-07:00GOOD FOR SEN. JEFF FLAKE (AZ)<div class="tr_bq">He's one of the saner Republicans in the Senate and I'm glad <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-the-nation-transcript-september-4-2016-christie-flake-gonzales/" target="_blank">he openly doesn't support Trump</a>:</div><blockquote>DICKERSON: What’s your understanding of how he’s going to handle the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in America?<br />
<br />
FLAKE: You know, that’s not clear at all.<br />
(<a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-in-fiery-speech-a-hard-to-spot-change-in-trump-immigration-plan/article/2600742" target="_blank">Byron York</a> also noted an inconsistency in Trump's Phoenix speech):<br />
<blockquote>First, Trump's statement that those here illegally would have "one route and only one route" to legal status seems clear. Everybody seeking legalization would have to leave and then return.<br />
<br />
But then, a few short paragraphs later, Trump said that "in several years," when tough enforcement measures are fully in place — not contemplated, not in the planning stage, but actually up and running — then "we will be in a position to consider the appropriate disposition of those who remain."</blockquote></blockquote><br />
<blockquote>FLAKE: Well, it becomes increasingly difficult to see that he’s going to change.<br />
So,<b> I don’t expect that I will be able to support him in November. </b>I would like to, but he’s the Republican nominee. I just don’t see how I can.</blockquote><b>UPDATE:</b> Trump responded by insulting Flake, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jeff-flake-arizona-immigration-2016-9">calling him weak and ineffective</a>.Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-57806486775541522242016-09-02T21:56:00.001-07:002016-09-02T21:56:41.726-07:00BRUCE ASH LOSES AGAINHis plan to <a href="http://tucson.com/news/local/appeals-court-upholds-tucson-voting-system/article_959d456d-7293-5d21-9e03-d61714e86cb2.html">overturn Tucson's election system</a> in order to get more Repubicans on the city council has been denied by the 9th Circuit:<br />
<blockquote>
Tucson can continue to use the same two-tiered election system it has been using since the 1920s, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.<br />
<br />
Friday’s ruling by an 11-judge panel erases a three-judge panel’s earlier decision. The court said Friday in its 19-page ruling that Tucson’s voting method doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution’s commitment to one vote per person as alleged by the Public Integrity Alliance and a group of Republican voters.<br />
<br />
<b>The two-tiered system uses a ward-only primary election and a citywide general election. The city is divided into six wards.</b><br />
<br />
“Tucson’s hybrid system for electing members of its city council imposes no constitutionally significant burden on voters’ rights to vote. And Tucson has advanced a valid, sufficiently important interest to justify its choice of electoral system,” the ruling states.</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-14352367004560124482016-09-02T00:08:00.003-07:002016-09-02T00:08:59.604-07:00DAVID BOSSIE IS SO DISHONEST THAT EVEN GINGRICH HAD TO GET RID OF HIMThis is the guy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/01/trump-enlists-veteran-operative-david-bossie-as-deputy-campaign-manager/?postshare=8581472768973983&tid=ss_tw">Trump just hired</a> to be a senior member of his campaign staff:<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/10/weekinreview/may-3-9-a-top-aide-resigns.html?src=pm">May 3-9; A Top Aide Resigns</a><br />
By ERIC SCHMITT<br />
Published: May 10, 1998<br />
The chairman of the House inquiry into President Clinton's 1996 campaign finance practices ousted his top investigator amid <b>a furor over the aide's role in releasing edited tapes of Webster L. Hubbell's jailhouse conversations. </b>Under pressure from Speaker Newt Gingrich, Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican who heads the House Government and Reform Committee, accepted the resignation of the aide, David N. Bossie, a dogged anti-Clinton sleuth. ERIC SCHMITT</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-15025663308838059922016-09-01T22:56:00.000-07:002016-09-01T23:55:21.849-07:00MORE GOOD LIBERAL NEWS IN ARIZONAA minimum wage increase will appear on the ballot this November despite efforts by the Arizona Restaurant Association (ARA) to challenge it in court. In AZ law, petitioners can be called to court to verify their credentials and if they don't show up, their signatures are invalidated. The ARA lost in a lower court on a technicality and that ruling was upheld by the State Supreme Court.<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/08/30/arizona-supreme-court-minimum-wage-hike-ballot/89607294/">Arizona Supreme Court upholds order: Minimum wage hike on the ballot</a><br />
<br />
Bob Christie, Associated Press 4:14 p.m. MST August 30, 2016<br />
<br />
PHOENIX - The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a trial judge’s order rejecting a challenge to a voter initiative raising the state minimum to $12 an hour by 2020.<br />
<br />
Tuesday’s ruling from the high court means voters will see the minimum wage measure on the November general election ballot.<br />
<br />
Opponents of Proposition 206 had argued that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joshua Rogers was wrong when he dismissed their challenge because it was filed too late. <b>Rogers ruled that initiative challenges must be filed within five days of qualifying signatures being filed, including weekends. The Arizona Restaurant Association sued seven days after the filing.</b><br />
<br />
The Supreme Court’s two-page decision said the law is clear and the Legislature could have expressly excluded weekend days but did not.</blockquote>
Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-65407871286358151932016-09-01T21:22:00.003-07:002016-09-01T21:47:24.991-07:00McSALLY ALSO WON'T ENDORSE TRUMPIn this, <a href="http://tucson.com/news/local/columnists/steller/political-notebook-anti-mccain-primary-votes-loom-large/article_d8dbfdb5-5147-5dc5-b58e-c270f82845d7.html" target="_blank">she joins McCain and Jeff Flake</a>:<br />
<div class="subscriber-only" style="background-color: beige; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 24px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whatever the case, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, the Tucson Republican, was never going to attend. She told my colleague Joe Ferguson and me Wednesday morning, “My schedule is booked.”</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>McSally has never endorsed Trump and is not going to, it seems. </b>She said she’ll keep her vote secret. <b>Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, both Republicans, also stayed away from the rally.</b></span></blockquote></div>Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9768998.post-75785590977976703732016-08-29T20:52:00.003-07:002016-08-29T20:54:16.398-07:00I CAN ALMOST HEAR IT RIGHT NOW...<br />
By "it" I mean Trump and the Trumplings complaining that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/us/politics/harry-reid-russia-tampering-election-fbi.html" target="_blank">the commies stole the election.</a>Steve J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05952259820467688797noreply@blogger.com1