Odds and Ends

++President Obama will meet with Attorney-general Loretta Lynch on Monday to review ways the Administration can curb gun violence. The Imperial post already has some of the details about the proposed executive orders. One is to increase background checks ,especially for multiple gun buyers. Another will be to limit Assault Rifle purchases. 

++Bernie Sanders raised $33 Million this past quarter. Hillary Clinton raised $28 million. She has surpassed her 2015 goals of $125 million. Sanders has raised $70 million total. The thing to remember about Sanders' money is that it is all put to the campaign. In other words, he does not have the problems Republicans do with having millions in SuperPac money but none for staff and the ground game.

++Al Shabab did what Hillary said--they have put the Donald's statements about Muslims in their ads. The honor for ISIS ads was Rick Santorum.

++The DesMoines Register says that Hillary Clinton has the best grassroots campaign in Iowa and the best personnel. The worst was Marco Rubio and the Best Republican was Ted Cruz.

++Chris Wiegant in the Huffington Post has an article warning Democrats not to get so complacent about true Donald. He says that a few factors could doom Hillary like the FBI probe and a downturn in the economy. In the Washington Post they quote Karl Rove as saying that Hillary's health will be made an issue. 

++Vladimir Putin made Israel's Man of the Year. Bibi didn't make it into the top four. Pope Francis,ISIS'Al-baghdadi, and Barack Obama each got 2%.

++World New Daily or Nutdaily had Donald Trump as Man of the Year.

++Vladimir Putin put the threat from the United States into the top of Russia's national security doctrine. Pundits in the United States say that President Obama will be forced to send troops permanently to the Baltics and Eastern Europe.

++The Crimea is without power because its source of energy is from the Ukraine and now that it is part of Russia the power has been cut off.

++Is it a wonder Putin thinks the US is his number 1 threat since all the Republican candidates,except Trump, have vowed to take Russia on.

++No Republican candidate except Ronald Reagan has ever won the first three primaries. The reason the "establishment" candidates are scrambling now is that a win in the first three projects possibility and generates press. That is why you see Jeb!,Christie and Rubio scrambling. Jeb! and Christie! are trying to box in Rubio in Iowa. Knock out Rubio in Iowa and New Hampshire and, I believe, he is finished.

++Bernie Sanders may have picked up momentum in Iowa as he drew 30,000. Now these are looking like Obama-type crowds. 

++It is looking like Hillary's firewall will be South Carolina. If she picks up 2 out of the first 3,the nomination's hers.

++Take a look at Democraticunderground for Obama's speech upon winning the 2008 election. Still inspiring but listen he didn't promise what people think he did. A most improbable candidate winning with the best election team in modern history. But remember the Democrats had the attorney generals in Florida and Ohio then to ensure the integrity of the vote. They don't today and in fact have hostile state governments.

++A Surprise to me has been how the Rand Paul campaign has flopped. Ron Paul had a grassroots organization in both Iowa and New Hampshire but it hasn't materialized for the son. In fact there have been times that Ron Paul's fund-raising efforts for the Campaign for Liberty seemed to counter his own son's efforts. Rand Paul has been weak tea in the debates and killed his chances with his weak closing at the last one--no Republicans actually believe in fiscal discipline for the federal government--just for one run by a black man.

++Last Republican primaries I tried to pick up some interesting new idea. Last time it was Newt Gingrich's idea to have an intense program on Alzheimer's. This year that was picked up by Hillary Clinton. But so far the GOP is batting Zero.

++Ted Cruz in his New Year's Greetings at Fox News said this was the last year for Obamacare. Now tell me what happens when you take away 19 million people's healthcare? Healthcare remains a disgrace in this country. But with Obamacare,the uninsured is down to 8.8%. So now it would seem the appropriate news step is to focus less on insurance and more in healthcare.

++Just a FYI--I'm getting hard of hearing--maybe a blessing--but a hearing aid is not covered by insurance and costs about the same as a used car. Dental insurance in this country is horrible and dental costs are skyrocketing. And United Health eliminated my vision insurance arbitrarily so I need to fight them on that. So the only bargain I get is having a heart attack. 

++So the choice in 2016 is between corporate liberalism in the name of Hillary Clinton and populist liberalism in the name of Bernie Sanders. That is ,if you believe in government. If you don't the whole string of Republicans should suffice.