Donald Trump cucked himself and his followers a week ago on deportation: Today he'll try to uncuck himself

Video here on FOX, where Trump actually polls the audience and comes down on the side of legalization of otherwise law-abiding illegal aliens because people everywhere supposedly keep telling him that's what they want, not what he originally stood for in the debates.

What were the primary debates about then, how brown you like your marshmallows?

Trump cucked himself because a week prior to these remarks he caved to open borders libertarians Rebekah Mercer, Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. That's all there is to it. 

Legalizing 11 million or whatever the number is law-breakers yet again will only encourage more law-breaking, undermining whatever else a president Trump might be able to pass to stem the tide of illegal immigration. As Donald Trump might say, Not good!

Trump is compromising long before he has to, which tells you that as president he will roll over on lots of other promises also and get very little of what he has claimed he wants.

Pragmatism in the face of vice is no virtue. 

It's only cuckservatives who deny Trump promised a deportation force

And once cucked, it's kind of hard to uncuck yourself.

Video here:

You're going to have a deportation force, and you're going to do it humanely . . . Don't forget, Mika, that you have millions of people that are waiting in line to come into this country and they’re waiting to come in legally. And I always say the wall, we're going to build the wall. It's going to be a real deal. It’s going to be a real wall. 

David Cole for Taki's Magazine warns against dismissing the "lying polls"

The disinformation campaign is everywhere.

Polls originating with a dot edu know that their job security depends on tenure, not on "maintaining a record of reasonable accuracy". 

Here:

So take some advice that I know you’re not going to take: Don’t buy the “lying polls” claim. Polls are imperfect, but generally they’re accurate. No pollster, even one who may be personally biased for or against a particular candidate, wants his name attached to a poll that predicts Dewey beating Truman. Personally biased as they may be, pollsters gotta eat too, and they know their job security depends on maintaining a record of reasonable accuracy.

Gavin McInnes pretends Trump didn't flipflop on deportation

Here.

In other words, ignore Ann Coulter, Byron York, Mark Krikorian et alia.

Yeah, what do they know.

A caller got on Rush Limbaugh today to slam Trump's deportation flip-flop

The Hill noticed here.

Rush hardly skipped a beat and poo-pooed it.

You've heard of Democrats being compared to a bucket full of eels.

Rush Limbaugh swims in a pool full of manatees.

Recent Monmouth poll showing Clinton +7 overweights younger voters who don't turnout like older voters

The Monmouth poll is here.

In the last three presidential elections voters under 45 years of age actually turned out to vote at an average rate of 52% compared with 70% for voters 45 and older. Almost half the sample in a recent Monmouth presidential poll is populated by that younger demographic, which means that the part of the sample which is more likely to represent Democrat preference could be overstating their likely election turnout for Hillary in 2016 by almost 50%.

A notable feature of the last three presidential elections has been the enormous uptick in voter turnout by young people aged 18 to 29, most of whom have been for Bernie Sanders this cycle, not Hillary Clinton. Turnout has averaged 45% for this age group since 2004 compared with 37% prior, and given the lack of enthusiasm for Hillary the turnout for this demographic may well revert to the status quo ante. 

Excepting the election in 1992 when the 18-29s turned out for Bill Clinton at almost 43%, in 1988, 1996 and 2000 they yawned Meh! turning out at an average of 34% compared to 66% for their elders aged 60+.  

The gay Frank Bruni knows a thing or two about uncontrollable compulsions, projecting his own onto Anthony Weiner and Donald Trump

This is rich, and no, not Frank Rich: "Weiner and Trump, Partners in Compulsion".

"[B]oth men are creatures of potent want and pure compulsion who lucked into forgiving audiences. Weiner’s finally stopped forgiving: Huma Abedin announced that she was formally separating from him after six years of marriage. Trump still has legions by his side. But for how long? ... Weiner sent strangers pictures of his bulge. Trump assured the viewers of a nationally televised debate that he was amply endowed. These impulses — these boasts — aren’t unrelated. ... insecure exhibitionists out for affirmation above all else?"

Trump is hands down the best candidate on illegal immigration, but NumbersUSA isn't optimistic about his deportation and H-1B visa positions

Review the candidates, here.

But will these illegal immigration positions simply become like the pro-life issue, a thing you have to assent to in future as a Republican even though you never ever get anything done on the issue once elected to office?

Black trio targets and beats Asian-American doctor in Venice Beach in his own car

From the story here:

“What happened?” the radiology tech asked, and Lee told him.

“I don’t know why they targeted me,” he said. Asian males were actually frequent targets because of the perception that they carried wads of cash on them at all times, the tech said. He saw it all the time.

“Really?” Lee asked, and the tech nodded.

“Well, this one doesn't,” Lee said.

Black punk in Philly caught on video sucker-punching and killing a 30-year old Guatemalan, politically correct cops and news won't call it a hate crime

"This appears random."

Random racism here.

Stupid, ignorant and blind liberal buys home in 100-year flood plain in Troy, NY, blames 100-year old 30-foot river wall (doh!), racism, capitalism, classism and climate change, not herself when she floods

I'm not making this up. She admits it.

Where else but in The Nation, here:

Troy floods. It has since before the Dutch arrived. I didn’t know this when I bought my house. I bought it because the chiming, rippling Poesten Kill canal runs through the backyard; because it has rusty old tin ceilings; and because I wanted to be a member of a vibrant, diverse urban neighborhood that comes together in summer evenings. ... When I realized that the property was in a floodplain, I hesitated and asked around. Friends, real-estate agents, and neighbors assuaged my fears: It’s a 100-year floodplain, they said—and look at the height of those canal embankments! You’ll be fine. ... We weren’t legally required to have flood insurance, and we couldn’t find enough money in the budget for it anyway. So we decided that we would take our chances. ... 

Hey Donald, you want hard, we'll give you hard: This is how we deport 'em from Michigan!

Story here.

Or, to put it another way, 47% of Americans don't vote on average (there's that number again)

On average 26% of registered voters don't vote in presidential elections

On average just 53% of the voting age population has voted for president since 1972

RNC fundraising in July 2016 is down 61% from July 2012: Donors exhausted about $750 million on 16 losers in the primaries

OpenSecrets has the RNC story here.

Stupid liberals blame this fundraising debacle on Trump when Republicans have only themselves to blame for throwing tons of good money after bad during the primaries, exhausting the donors. If the dopes at Politicus had just opened up OpenSecrets they'd have seen how.

Jeb! Bush burned through $152 million as of August 22nd, and won bupkis.

Lyin' Ted Cruz? $155 million spent.

Little Marco? $164 million (he's over $2 million in the hole, which is the real reason why he flip-flopped and decided to run for the Senate again).

John Kasich spent $40 million (and he's nearly $6 million in the hole, which is exactly what he deserves).

Chris Christie spent nearly $32 million.

Ben Carson, you won't believe it, spent nearly $79 million.

Scott Walker: almost $33 million.

Carly Fiorina: almost $26 million.

Rand Paul spent over $21 million.

Mike Huckabee spent $10.5 million and he's still $275,000 in the hole. 

Lindsey Grahamnesty: over $10 million.

Bobby Jindal blew nearly $6 million.

Rick Perry: over $17 million, also in the red by $111,000.

And Rick Santorum spent $2.5 million and he's in the red $412,000.

Pataki and Gilmore bring up the rear with relatively smaller sums.

Donald Trump has spent over $97 million and yet has over $40 million in the bank.

It's clear from the fundraising that there were only four or five real contenders here, not seventeen: Bush, Rubio, Cruz, Trump and Carson. And after four riveting televised debates before Thanksgiving 2015 polling showed the same thing, and arguably Bush no longer belonged up there. The RNC should have put its foot down at that point and cut the debate stage to four: You pull 10 points in the polls or you're out.

Things might have turned out very differently. Instead we had to listen to Kasich, Christie, Fiorina and Paul divert attention away from an in depth examination of the issues dividing the candidates attracting over 70% of Republican eyeballs. The candidate might have been better for it today, and the party more unified and flush.

Russell Kirk voted for the Roman Catholic in 1976

Democrats launder money for Hillary: Crooked maxed out donors to DNC give big to state parties who strip their names and send $ to DNC

Bloomberg reports here, calling it an "unprecedented workaround":

At least $7.3 million of the DNC’s July total originated with payments from hundreds of major donors who had already contributed the maximum $33,400 to the national committee, a review of Federal Election Commission filings shows. The contributions, many of which were made months earlier, were first bundled by the Hillary Victory Fund and then transferred to the state Democratic parties, which effectively stripped the donors’ names and sent the money to the DNC as a lump sum. ... Four state parties that received $2.8 million in transfers from the Hillary Victory Fund in July didn’t disclose the names of the donors who were the source of the funds, as FEC regulations require. In each case, the identical amount of incoming money was sent to the DNC the same day it was received.

Trump is imploding on deportation, delays speech again

The speech was supposed to happen this week in Colorado. The new manager Kellyanne Conway put a stop to that.

The speech was then delayed until next week in Arizona.

Now it's delayed maybe two weeks.

Story here.

Trump started his campaign A YEAR AGO centered on illegal immigration and he still needs more time to get his act together on deportation?

Biracial quarterback Kaepernick averages $19 million per year, protests his country for oppressing black people

Hey Colin! They could use your help in Milwaukee!

I guess he wants $20 million. Either that or he knows he's history with the 'Niners and is preparing to sue for racial discrimination.

Meanwhile the rest of us got a 50% pay cut during the Obama administration.

Somebody hand that guy a broom.

Story here.

One day after Rebekah Mercer, Stephen Bannon and Kellyanne Conway took over the campaign, Trump started apologizing

They took over August 17th.

Here was Trump, August 18th:

“Sometimes, in the heat of the debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that, and I regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues." 

Not exactly the Trump of July 2015:


Moderator Frank Luntz asked Trump whether he has ever asked God for forgiveness for his actions. "I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so," he said. "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."

Trump's new campaign manager as of Aug. 17, Kellyanne Conway, was all in with Zuckerberg's fwd.us in 2014

Kellyanne Conway participated in the fwd.us effort, here, which concludes:

There is a strong sentiment in the country that undocumented immigrants should not be granted amnesty; this immigration reform proposal addresses that issue by requiring that undocumented immigrants pay a fine, taxes owed, learn English and wait at least thirteen years until they can become citizens.

Americans across party lines believe this is not amnesty, but rather a fair and equitable way of dealing with the eleven million undocumented immigrants in the country. Hitting the 70 percent mark nationwide, this proposal wins broad support from the electorate.

Finally, this generates a more positive electoral environment for Republicans, as it creates an opening to a significant number of swing voters for GOP candidates.

Donald Trump: A bridge too far (you'll notice it doesn't say "Pence")

Mark Krikorian: Trump does Jeb Bush impersonation, throws away his only chance to win in November, spoils it for open-borders advocates

Here:

But Trump probably just threw away his only remaining chance to win in November with Wednesday’s Jeb Bush impersonation. He won the primaries with immigration control as his marquee issue; had he stuck to his guns, and still lost, the GOP Brain Trust, not to mention the Democrats, would more plausibly have been able to argue that opposition to their agenda was the reason. It still would have been a silly claim, since had he not grabbed hold of the immigration issue, the very idea of President Trump would have remained a Simpsons joke – if he’d remained consistent and still lost, it would have been despite his immigration position, not because of it. But now that he’s channeling Little Marco and Low-Energy Jeb on immigration, that story line has evaporated. Many of the voters who stuck with him through his various antics will start drifting away, so that in any state where the results are close in November could plausibly have been won if Trump hadn’t pulled a Schumer. It’s liberating, in a sense. ... His defeat will be on his head alone.

WaPo and The New York Times won't talk about Hillary's scandals, "conservative" media hide the anger over Trump's deportation flip flop

"If we don't report it, it doesn't exist".

The clueless sheeple bleat on their way to the slaughter.

Hard libertarian billionaire daughter Rebekah Mercer is behind Trump's shift to Bannon and Conway, away from deportation

The price of consensus for Mercer's "help" in retrospect was obviously that Trump soften his deportation stance. Bloomberg's story here in June completely misses the signficance of the Mercers' libertarianism.

The Hill had the story already on August 17, here, the day Trump shook up his campaign by hiring Stephen Bannon as CEO and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager, detailing Mercer's links to Stanford, the Heritage Foundation, BREITBART, the Ted Cruz campaign and libertarian think tank CATO:

“The Mercers basically own this campaign,” said a source who has worked with Rebekah Mercer in her political activities. “They have installed their people. ... And now they’ve got their data firm in there.” ... Little has been written about the Mercers because they avoid the public spotlight, but conservative sources who know the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described them as “kind, civic-minded people and consensus-builders.” ... But that source, who has worked with Mercer in some of her other political ventures, said it was a surprise to some people that the Mercers had swung so forcefully behind Trump, given her ideological bent. “She identifies as a libertarian. At least she always did,” the source said, adding that Mercer was a big supporter of libertarian think tanks like the Goldwater Institute and Cato. “With Bekah you always had to prove your libertarian racing stripes,” the source added. “This seems really strange.”

Quinnipiac poll says 66% say Hillary's not honest, 53% say Trump's not, but Hillary still wins by 10 points

Poll here.

Calling Hillary crooked won't work when the voters are crooked, too. Sort of like promising to cut taxes of people who don't pay any.

Trump campaign CEO Stephen Bannon also needs to go out the door with Conway by his side

They never should have been hired in the first place . . . they're in for 8 days and Trump self-destructs over deportation. Bannon is as much at fault as Conway.

Ted Cruz' revenge: It took this woman only eight days to destroy the candidacy of Donald Trump

What Trump just did on deportation is the same caliber mistake committed by Romney and McCain, only worse

John McCain suspended his campaign in 2008 . . . to go to Washington to vote for bailouts which Bush engineered and Obama also voted for at the height of the financial crisis, making himself abhorrent to his free-market base and indistinguishable from his opposition at the same time. But it wasn't his signature issue.

Mitt Romney was caught telling a fundraiser in 2012 that 47% of the country, "the takers", weren't going to vote for him anyway, so forget 'em, which simply reinforced his image as "not really one of us" among the base, many of whom were in fact part of the 47% and at the same time people whom Romney had fired. But it wasn't his signature issue.

Donald Trump's signature issues have been illegal immigration and law and order, and there's no way in HELL forgiving immigration lawbreaking can be combined with law and order. Either all the laws are enforced, or eventually none of them will be obeyed.

Trump should have such a comprehensive view of that by now, but obviously doesn't, which means there's no there there.

The damage done thereby to the perception of Trump as a strong leader is incalculable.

Donald Trump can't claim to be the law and order candidate if millions of illegals aren't eligible for deportation

We are not mindless followers, Donald.

You just lost the election, and we just lost the country.

Trump has lost Mark Krikorian, says Trump is now the 9th member of the Gang of Eight, so it's over

Link repaired 1/14/24.

 

Quoted here:

Trump has also infuriated some of his supporters. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, declared that Trump's latest remarks were the "last straw" for him, especially his statement that there would be "no amnesty," which he made just before saying that illegal immigrants will have to pay back taxes.

"Those are terms of art in the pro-amnesty, Gang of Eight crowd. Every politician pushing an amnesty says 'this version isn't really an amnesty because fill in the blank,'" Krikorian said, declaring Trump the "unofficial ninth member of the Gang of Eight."

"What he just did was make clear that even on his central issue, which is the only reason he's the nominee ... was immigration, and he now has shown that he can't be relied on, even on that," Krikorian said, who had previously considered himself a reluctant Trump supporter — until now.

"I'm done with Trump at this point," he said.

Trump's "near flip-flop" on deportation puts Ann Coulter on her heels, and Rush opens the show laughing about it

P.O.S.

Rush feels vindicated in his "conservatism".

That four year contract he just signed will be spent trying to find a new patsy to run against Hillary in 2020. Meanwhile, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching.

Obama scrubs "Can I keep my own doctor?" page from healthcare.gov because, well, YOU CAN'T

Oh they're out there control, they're out there: In 2008 approximately 94 million Americans who could have voted, didn't

Total who registered was 176.7 million out of 225.5 million voting age Americans. Difference: 48.8 million.

Total who voted was 131.5 million out of 176.7 million. Difference: 45.2 million.

Maximum who could have voted, but didn't: 94 million.

AP story, supposedly delayed for 3 years because of State Dept. stonewalling, says 55% of Hillary's private meet-ups while Secretary ended up donating to the Clinton Family Crime Foundation

The Associated Press story here outlines the corruption game of pay for play no doubt detailed in some of the 30,000 to 45,000 e-mails deleted by Hillary Clinton from her private server:

At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million. 

WaPo doesn't mention the minimum wage is too high and attracts cheaper illegal immigrant workers, displacing teenagers, which is just fine with them

There are all kinds of jobs not worth the minimum wage of $7.25, and we should abolish it forwith. Youth employment would surge, as would respect for a dollar and the value of capitalism. Maybe that's why liberalism keeps raising the minimum wage.

US teenagers used to do those jobs, and gained the valuable work experience and good habits employers look for in adults but often do not find any longer.

In the United States children who have reached 14 years of age may work limited hours in many jobs. 

There are an estimated 24 million kids aged 14 through 19.

In July 2016 just 6 million aged 16 through 19 were employed, about 38% of that slice of teenagers.

Here:

[A]t least 8 million unauthorized immigrants are employed, most have been in this country for 15 years or longer, and typically they do jobs — tending crops, washing dishes, mowing lawns — that native-born Americans do not want. In basic economic terms, illegal immigrants meet the labor market’s demand for lower-wage employees, for which there is a shortage of available legal workers.

So, Hillary says her foundation will not accept foreign donations when she becomes president . . .

. . . but it was OK to accept them when she was Secretary of State because . . .?

For Congress to see Hillary's FBI file, Comey requires layer upon layer of security which Hillary was allowed to discard

From Kim Strassel, here:

[T]he process highlights not only the absurdity of Mrs. Clinton’s claim that her server was no big deal, but also the irresponsibility of the FBI’s decision not to prosecute. Duly elected members of Congress are traversing layers of security and guards, clearances in hand, to view a few top-secret documents. Ask Mr. Comey why what is demanded of them was not demanded of Hillary.

But the contradiction gets even more extreme. The FBI has placed additional, and unnecessary, strictures on the Hillary file. It warned lawmakers against publicly sharing any information from the documents—even unclassified information. So the FBI chief won’t prosecute Mrs. Clinton for spreading secrets across the globe, but he bars Congress from talking about unclassified issues that potentially get to the heart of today’s presidential race. One might wonder why. ...

The entire spectacle—from the investigation to this week’s handover of files—demonstrates how much damage Mr. Comey has done to the FBI’s credibility.

You will search this New York Times Hillary Clinton health "conspiracy" story in vain for the words "blood clot", caused by dehydration, caused by, you know, alcoholism

Here. 

Flashback here to the New York Times January 2, 2013:

Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose globe-trotting tour as secretary of state was abruptly halted last month by a series of health problems, was discharged from a New York hospital on Wednesday evening after several days of treatment for a blood clot in a vein in her head.

Mrs. Clinton, 65, was admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital on Sunday after a scan discovered the blood clot. The scan was part of her follow-up care for a concussion she sustained more than two weeks earlier, when she fainted and fell, striking her head. According to the State Department, the fainting was caused by dehydration, brought on by a stomach virus. The concussion was diagnosed on Dec. 13, though the fall had occurred earlier that week.

The clot was potentially serious, blocking a vein that drains blood from the brain. Untreated, such blockages can lead to brain hemorrhages or strokes. Treatment consists mainly of blood thinners to keep the clot from enlarging and to prevent more clots from forming, and plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, which is a major risk factor for blood clots. ...

Dr. David J. Langer, a brain surgeon and associate professor at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, said that Mrs. Clinton would need close monitoring in the next days, weeks and months to make sure her doses of blood thinners are correct and that the clot is not growing. Dr. Langer is not involved in her care. ...

The fact that Mrs. Clinton had a blood clot in the past — in her leg, in 1998 — suggests that she may have a tendency to form clots, and may need blood-thinners long-term or even for the rest of her life, Dr. Manley said. ...

Speaker Paul Ryan lectures us to be ideologues and remains ignorant of how our founders appealed to English identity

In March, the Speaker informed us thusly:

"I want to talk about what our country can be…about what our Founders envisioned it to be. America is the only nation founded an idea—not an identity. That idea is the notion that the condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life. Our rights are natural. They come from God, not government."

George Mason, principal author of the Fairfax County Resolves of 1774 in response to the Coercive Acts, in 1776 begged to differ:

"We claim nothing but the liberty and privileges of Englishmen in the same degree, as if we had continued among our brethren in Great Britain."

So also Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bradley in 1873:

"The people of this country brought with them to its shores the rights of Englishmen, the rights which had been wrested from English sovereigns at various periods of the nation's history.... England has no written constitution, it is true, but it has an unwritten one, resting in the acknowledged, and frequently declared, privileges of Parliament and the people, to violate which in any material respect would produce a revolution in an hour. A violation of one of the fundamental principles of that constitution in the Colonies, namely, the principle that recognizes the property of the people as their own, and which, therefore, regards all taxes for the support of government as gifts of the people through their representatives, and regards taxation without representation as subversive of free government, was the origin of our own revolution."

What's wrong with conservatism in America is that it has forgotten all this, if it ever knew it at all.

Winter's coming . . .

. . . it's 65 degrees F right now in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The winter, January through March, is forecast to be colder and snowier than normal.

How to know the WaPo/ABCNews poll showing Clinton +8 overpolled northeastern liberals

The poll here ("detailed" view), still included in the Real Clear Politics presidential average this morning, gives away its northern liberal pedigree in the ZIKA questions appearing at the end.

Apart from the fact that Republicans represented only 23% of the sample, by question 33 you start to get the feeling that this poll comes primarily from the Acela Northeast corridor where the denizens of the Establishment live and have a clear interest in seeing the status quo maintained: Fully 58% want an Establishment president in November, not an outsider like Donald Trump.

This feeling is confirmed by question 48: Just 35% are somewhat or very worried about a ZIKA outbreak personally affecting them. Well of course not, not if you live up north. What? Me worry?

In question 49, the last in the poll, fully 69% are somewhat or very convinced that the Feds can handle anything ZIKA throws our way. The Federal Government is nothing if not competent, you see. We ought to know. We work there. Please keep sending your tax dollars to Washington.

Oh yeah, and 56% of them love Bill Clinton.

Once again, this is polling to shape opinion, not measure it. Otherwise known as the Democrats using all means at their disposal to suppress the Republican vote by demoralizing it, trying to get them to believe the election is already over, so you might as well give up now.

Please delete me, let me go . . .

But none of you remember "Release Me", do you?

Hillary didn't have a seizure, she had a Seagram's

Bribery: Hillary approved Russian uranium deal, her foundation got $2.35 million, and she accuses Trump of being pals with Putin

From the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial, here:

[Special interests] are not paying hundreds of thousands of dollars [to the Clintons] to hear shopworn speeches because they expect to obtain profound insights. They want the Clintons’ help, and they’re willing to pay for it.

That is the obvious conclusion to draw from The New York Times’ 2015 bombshell about how a Russian firm obtained control of one-fifth of all U.S. uranium production capacity from 2009-13 — which required approval from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — while the company’s owner used a Canadian partnership to surreptitiously convey $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation.

DNC finance director Jordan "no homo" Kaplan is out, returns to full time consulting

Story here, which of course doesn't mention his Wikileaks "no homo" fame.

Another reason to throw Turkey out of NATO: age of consent for sex lowered to 12

Story here.

Crack pusher given early release by Obama in August 2014 killed three in January 2016, now eligible for death penalty

Way to go, Brownie! Your man slit the throats of children, who could have been yours.

Story here, here and here.

"A convicted crack dealer who left prison early as part of the Obama administration’s mass release of federal inmates has been indicted by a grand jury for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend and her two kids in Columbus, Ohio. The gory crime drew national attention because the children, ages 7 and 10, were murdered to eliminate them as witnesses in the brutal massacre of their 32-year-old mother."

Hillary actually took twice as much money from the Saudis as Manafort supposedly took from "Ukraine"

$25 million.

Inspector General says Hillary's State Dept. mismanaged $6 billion in contracts

From the story here:

The [Inspector General] alert revealed that State Department officials lost contract files and maintained incomplete contract files, thus exposing taxpayers “to substantial financial losses.” Federal law and State Department policy requires maintenance of all files required to document a government procurement from start to finish.

In a blistering summary, the IG alert said such failures create “conditions conducive to fraud, as corrupt individuals may attempt to conceal evidence of illicit behavior by omitting key documents from the contract file. It impairs the ability of the department to take effective and timely action to protect its interests and, in turn, those of taxpayers. Finally, it limits the ability of the government to punish and deter criminal behavior.”

Polls troll, and Brexit showed the bookies weren't any better

Seen here:

Analysing outcome likelihoods in the real world is a risky business. But if all else fails, you can always rely on the one interest group that has a consistent stake in accurate outcome prediction – betting companies. OddsChecker currently has best odds for a leave vote at 11/4 (27% likely) and stay at 1/3 (75% likely). Make of that what you will.

Mark Belling's right: Hillary's a lying liar and will only continue to lie to you as president

And Donald Trump isn't going to stop being who he is, either.

Better bookmark his Twitter feed.

Hillary suspends campaign Thursday through Saturday to rest, news media shift you to Olympic swimmers' "lies"

Nothing on Hillary's schedule 18th-20th

The only possible headline in the political universe: "Hillary Bush suspends campaign to rest from rigors of the trail".

Notice how Hillary's calendar doesn't treat Sunday as the first day of the week, as in all Christendom?

How the mighty are fallen: The Financial Times calls National Review "establishment GOP"

Here:

"Publications such as the National Review have long been part of the establishment GOP while drawing on outsider status as the Democrats held control of the White House."

That whir you're hearing is William F. Buckley, Jr., who died in 2008, spinning in his grave.

State Dept. spokesman finally admits US paid ransom for hostages in Iran, making Obama a liar yet again

Quoted here:

The State Department admitted Thursday that the US would not hand over $400 million in cash to Iran until it released four American hostages — two weeks after President Obama insisted the payment was not a “ransom.”

State Department spokesman John Kirby was asked at Thursday’s press briefing: “In basic English, you’re saying you wouldn’t give them $400 million in cash until the prisoners were released, correct?”

“That’s correct,” Kirby replied.

Flashback: One week before the November 2012 election Rasmussen had Romney ahead by 2+ in FL, OH, VA and NH but Romney lost them all

And with those losses Romney did not get to 270 and finished instead with 206.

Romney lost by 166,000 votes in OH, 149,000 in VA, 74,000 in FL and 40,000 in NH . . . 429,000 votes.

Flashback here.

The Rasmussen presidential poll isn't really a poll of likely voters, either

From the Rasmussen methodology page, here:

For political surveys, census bureau data provides a starting point and a series of screening questions are [sic] used to determine likely voters. The questions involve voting history, interest in the current campaign, and likely voting intentions. 

Well, that's not polling likely voters. That's polling people who SAY they are going to vote. Likely voters are voters you KNOW voted recently, say in 2014 or 2012.

Polling such people is very expensive, which is why they don't do it.

The polls are not reliable because you can count on only about 30% of the population to tell the truth unfailingly.

The rest of you are liars, and you have the government you deserve. You lie, and you elect liars.  

 

"Science": "Hottest July on record", but not in Seattle, Boulder, Madison, Chicago or Grand Rapids

Seattle's hottest Julys

Boulder's hottest Julys

Madison's hottest Julys

Grand Rapids' hottest Julys

Chicago's hottest Julys

July 2016 hottest on record, they say, but not in Grand Rapids, MI: Average temperature ranked 21st since 1892

Warmest average July temperatures in Grand Rapids ranked

"July 2016 Was The Hottest Month Ever Recorded"

But 70% of the top ten hottest Julys in Grand Rapids, Michigan occurred before World War II.

Michael Warren of The Weekly Standard is convinced the polls are right because they are "scientific"

The guy probably believes the Arctic is ice-free, too.

Here:

Cohen's obstinate challenge to the plain fact that scientific polls show Trump is losing indicates this head-in-the-sand mentality has permeated the culture in Trump World. Remember, it's not spin if you believe it.

Mort Zuckerman pays his respects to John McLaughlin

Here.

Mort puts his time on The McLaughlin Group at about 24 of the 34 years, but has been notably absent in the last year and otherwise has been more quiet than usual.

The last time I remember him writing much of anything was early in 2013 when he reiterated that America was in actuality experiencing another economic depression.

Toronto Canada is the new crucible for molten salt reactors

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reports here:

Canada is now the crucible for molten salt reactors. Terrestrial Energy in Toronto is the most advanced such project in the world with an integral molten salt reactor, and is already pre-licensed. "We can bring our reactor to the commercial market in the 2020s," said the chief executive Simon Irish.

"Once we put a shovel to the ground we can build it in three to four years. The parts can be manufactured on a mass scale.  We believe we can produce power for 40-50 US dollars per megawatt hour," he said.

Vlogger Louis Cole aspires to become the new Walter Duranty, not for The New York Times but for YouTube

Here:

In the description section of one of his North Korea videos, Cole writes, “I’m trying to focus on positive things in the country and combat the purely negative image we see in the Media.” Which, O.K., sure. But as another vlogger shows us in his own video from the DPRK (vloggers seem to be going there en masse), these videos are meant to capture a very carefully curated vision of a country whose human rights abuses are “without parallel in the contemporary world,” according to Human Rights Watch. Cole has, so far, not really made mention of any of that, choosing instead to go for a light tone, oohing and ahhing over abundant food in a country ravaged by hunger.

Real Clear Politics classifies the LA Times/USC poll as a "likely voter" poll, but it isn't

And it is evident to me that none of the other "LV" polls are either. The pollsters ASK if they are likely voters or registered voters, which is different from talking to someone who actually voted in 2014 and 2012. None of these polls appear to be representing the views of exclusively likely voters.

What's even more disturbing, only the Bloomberg and ABC News polls are conducted by telephone, either landline or cell. The other four are conducted online in some way.

The more you look into it, the less confident you become, which would explain why the candidates continue to campaign for your attention and fight like hell. They don't trust the polls either.

From the FAQ, here:

Q: Do you use a likely voter model? 

A: No, the respondents provide us with their own subjective probability of voting and we use that to weight their responses.

Five likely voter polls give Hillary an average advantage of only +3.6 in August, eight registered voter polls +8.9

Like Eleanor Clift, Fred Barnes expresses gratitude for being included in The McLaughlin Group

Here:

I'm grateful to McLaughlin for having been part of it.

Eleanor Clift says goodbye to John McLaughlin, the way it should be done

You should read it, here:

Every issue was deeply researched, and John relished weightier issues like NATO enlargement, making us eat our vegetables before we would get to the easy headlines. ... We will miss his signature phrases, beginning with Issue One, and ending with Bye-Bye. And we will miss the man, who was always a blast to be around. John was an original, and while there are many imitators, he will never be overtaken. He got there first, and he created something that in its own way is as iconic as The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason, a comparison I know John would love.

Why Real Clear Politics shouldn't include the NBC/SM poll in its presidential average

The poll shows Clinton +9 currently.

The poll is conducted online, but if you're a smart person, you've installed an ad-blocker, which means you won't be polled. Hence the poll skews stupid right out of the gate.

The poll is of registered voters, including lots of motor-voters, not of likely voters, and the most likely to vote are 60 years of age and over. In 2012 70% of them turned out, but this poll this week of 15,179 includes just 657 people over  65, or 4.3% of the total. The poll therefore can't be said to reflect the opinion of those most likely to vote.

Here's what it does reflect. In 2012 turnout of people 18-44 averaged about 47%, yet this poll is 46% of that demographic, or 6,920 people, only 3,252 of which are likely to show up in November 2016.

You can make a poll say anything you want by playing games like this.

The NBC/SM poll is trying to shape opinion, not measure it.

Already ridiculed in July, Albuquerque Italian restaurant ups the ante from black olive tapenade to black olives matter T-shirts

Offensive WaPo "obituary" for John McLaughlin lumps him in with his intellectual inferiors to dismiss him

Liberalism prefers processed news

Nixon loyalists remain unforgivable at WaPo.

Erik Wemple, here, a liberal fundamentalist if there ever was one, whom McLaughlin wouldn't have needed five minutes to wither, let alone thirty:

"pugnacious style as a host of a political chat show helped usher in the era of impolite punditry"

"goaded journalists and pundits into moving beyond fact into the argumentative terrain of ideological talking points and rhetorical hyperbole"

"Mr. McLaughlin’s impact can be glimpsed almost any night on cable news channels, for better or worse. ... his show’s staccato approach to wringing opinions from guests previewed the Internet’s addiction to fast and unprocessed news bites."

Obamacare is only attractive to the poorest and sickest, but is "an utter disaster for the working and middle class"

So says Robert Laszewski for CNBC, here:

Obamacare has insured millions of people—particularly in the states that have expanded Medicaid (albeit a currently unsustainable program in its own right) and it has been attractive to the poorest that get bigger subsidies and lower deductibles in the exchanges. But Obamacare has been an utter disaster for the working and middle class that seem willing to buy the unattractive plans only if they are sick and can come out ahead on the deal.