BALTIMORE, Maryland January 28, 2016 - Maryland took the floor in College Park Thursday Night, knowing it had dumped itself into a 'must-win' scenario by losing at Michigan State last Saturday. It was a gnarly loss that led to a lot of soul-searching by a lot of people connected to this multi-talented and very good Terrapin Team. In the closely contested game in East Lansing, the Terps seemed unwilling to do what had to be done in order to win. After battling like all get out to stay close to the homestanding and now 12th ranked Spartans, Maryland fiddled through the closing minutes of the game rushing its shots, throwing up ill-conceived shots, and forgetting, as a team, that its prime offensive threat, All-American Guard Melo Trimble, wasn't getting the chance to bring them home. Normally, one would say it was no disgrace to lose in East Lansing to a team that had spent many weeks this season ranked as the No. 1 team in the land. But Maryland has more talent than does Michigan State, yet didn't come close to showing it in East Lansing on Saturday. It was a crying shame.
Yet you have to give Maryland and its coaches credit. Back home in College Park Thursday night, these Terps responded with pure grit and determination to the challenge of the 'sort of' desperate situation they had put themselves in. Thanks in no small part to the outstanding play of Rasheed Sulaimon and Robert Carter, Jr., each of whom had 17 monster points, and of Trimble, the Terps beat back the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, 74-68. It was Iowa's first Big Ten defeat, and it dropped the Hawkeyes back into a first place tie with Indiana. More importantly for Maryland, the win put the Terps into second place, now just one game behind the two leaders. The only bad thing for Maryland as they wake Friday in College Park is the reality of the completely unfair schedule they have been dealt by their new conference . Maryland only plays Michigan State once in conference play, and it was the game last Saturday in East Lansing. Maryland only plays Indiana once - the last game of the regular season - and that game is in Bloomington. Of the top contenders, the only team Maryland gets in College Park is Iowa.
Iowa managed to hold Trimble in check offensively, but Trimble was not to be contained in the larger context of helping his team win a critical game. The All-American made big play after big play going down the wire. He ran the Maryland offense brilliantly, and Maryland's margin should have been much larger. Sadly, the Terps missed what seemed like dozens of open looks, especially in the second half. Jared Nickens seems to have lost his deadly touch from three-point range, although he did play a very solid floor game and converted on two very important drives to the basket. Maryland is relying heavily on Nickens to play a lot of minutes and take on very important defensive assignments, and it might be affecting his outside shooting. It wasn't just Nickens, though, who was out of sorts in spite of the many open looks Trimble was consistently providing them with. Maryland was only 6-25 from three-point range, and while Nickens was 0-4, Layman was just 1-8 from outside and Carter was 0-2. Fortunately, one player who was red hot from outside was Sulaimon. The Duke transfer was absolutely outstanding on both ends of the floor after suffering through a bad shooting night at East Lansing. Sulaimon was a sizzling 3-5 from long range and was astounding on the defensive end of the floor. As I describe it below, Sulaimon managed to dupe the officiating crew into making an atrocious foul call on Hawkeye Center Adam Woodbury. The foul Woodbury was charged with was his fifth - and final - foul. That call came with 7:54 left to play and Iowa ahead by a point. Up to the second he fouled out, the 7'1" senior pivotman was having his usual "below the radar" but nevertheless truly outstanding game. Because of foul trouble, Woodbury managed to stay on the floor only 26 minutes, but in that time he scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting, and snared 10 rebounds. Just as essential for Iowa, he gave the Hawkeyes a big and dangerous inside presence to counteract Maryland's superb inside players Carter, Layman and Diamond Stone.
Trimble finished with 11 points, including 2-6 from beyond the three-point arc. But that doesn't begin to tell the story of Trimble's night. In a critical game, the Maryland point guard pulled in 6 rebounds, dished out three "official" assists and made three very real steals. More importantly, in a game of constant on-ball pressure from Iowa, the amazing Trimble had but one turnover. For the game, the entire game, Melo Trimble had all of one turnover.
The biggest play of the night came with Iowa in possession of the ball and down by just four points with 1:16 left on the clock. Hawkeye senior point guard Mike Gesell tried to take Trimble to the baseline and it blew up right there in Gesell's face. In a slight-of-hand that would make any magician proud, the Terrapin sophmore stripped Gesell of the ball and had the wherewithall to then grab the ball before it squirted out of bounds. Then, in what seemed like one continuing motion, Trimble managed to get the ball ahead to an already breaking Jake Layman. Maryland's two forwards, Layman and Carter, are both 6'9" but dribble and handle the ball like guards. When Layman got what was in essence an outlet pass from Trimble, he took off dribbling right down the middle of the floor with several Hawkeyes all around him. At the very last, Layman laid it off to his left to a sprinting Jared Nickens. Nickens is much better driving to the hoop than people give him credited for, and on this play he took Layman's very sweet pass and easily drove to the basket and laid it in. The play essentially ended Iowa's chances.
Robert Carter sparked Maryland's offense throughout the game, while Layman - who was cold shooting from the floor - held Iowa's leading offensive threat, Jarrod Uthoff, in check with a determined defensive show. Layman found success against Uthoff by keeping his own feet on the floor against the 6'9" Wisconsin transfer, who leads the Hawkeyes in scoring with an 18.4 points per game average. Layman knew he didn't have to jump everytime Uthoff looked to shoot because of his own 6' 9" frame. He used that height and his long arms to irritate Uthoff's outside shot. For the game, Uthoff was 0-3 from three-point range. And by not jumping when Uthoff showed outside shot, Layman was ready and able to guard the Iowa star like a hawk when he tried to drive. Layman's approach produced outstanding results. Uthoff was only 2-13 from the field for the game. Layman has played great this season in some tough situations. At Michigan, he was a bright star on an otherwise dismal and losing night. Other times, he has been not so great; last Saturday at Michigan State was one of those games. Against the Hawkeyes, Layman, like Trimble, finished with 11 points. Even when Layman's shot is off, he has worked like a dog underneath the basket. Even in games when his always unpredictable shot is not working, Layman shows the ability to grab gritty and very clutch late game rebounds. That is something that is brand new and a radical improvement over past years. There was no better example of this gritty ability than against No. 3 Iowa.
Just seconds before the Nickens drive, there was another critical play that helped Maryland begin to open some breathing room in crunch time. Leading only by two points, and having lost Carter to fouls (see below), Turgeon took a time-out and conjured up as sweet a play as you could ever hope for. The Maryland coach knew Iowa would be in a man-to-man defense because they were behind and there was little time left on the clock. All of Maryland's players, save for Stone, moved away from the basket. When the ball came in-bounds, the Terps passed it to Layman on the left side of the lane. Layman threw a perfect lob pass over the Iowa defense to 6'11" freshman center Diamond Stone on the low post. Once he caught the ball, Stone had no trouble leaping to the basket and jamming it home. Stone finished with 9 essential points. Turgeon did more than draw up that play for his freshman center, he also placed him in the starting line-up for the first time in Big Ten play.
The ESPN Announcers - and I confess that analyst Dan Dakich is one of my real favorites even though some of the stuff he says aggravates the you-know-what out of me - were praising the officiating trio in College Park Thursday Night. All three, they noted, had called at least one Final Four game. Then, wouldn't you know it, the trio went out and made two really awful calls in critical situations near the end of the game. These were calls that very much affected the outcome of the game. The first bad call came with just under eight minutes left and Iowa clinging to a one-point lead. The Hawkeye's often overlooked and under-appreciated center, Adam Woodbury, was in foul trouble through-out the game and was playing at this moment with four fouls on him. Maryland's ever-alert senior guard, Rasheed Sulaimon, knew it. Whenever Woodbury took a seat on the bench, Maryland immediately began feeding the ball inside to Robert Carter. Hawkeye coach Fran McCaffery was rolling the dice because he couldn't afford to fall behind on the road.
Ahead by a point, Iowa ran a play that called for Woodbury to set a screen near the foul line. When Sulaimon, with his back to Woodbury's back, slid by the Hawkeye, he managed to hook Woodbury in some manner, and Woodbury was forced to move two or three steps to regain his balance and footing. That was what happened. Except the officials thought they saw something else. As they saw it, Woodbury had set a moving screen and was whistled for his fifth and final foul. He was gone. McCaffery went ballistic and nearly earned what would've been a disasterous technical foul, but after making a really bad call, at least the Final Four Trio didn't make it worse.
Or did they? A moment later, and with Woodbury gone, Maryland went right back to Carter. The junior transfer from Georgia Tech went up for a shot about three feet from the hoop and with three frantic Iowa players clawing at him quite conspicuously. But: the obvious foul of Carter in the act of shooting was not called. With his forearm pinned to his body, Carter lost control of the ball. Play continued and Iowa's Mike Gesell came out of the scrum trying to dribble the ball. Carter reached out for the ball as Gesell seemed to get control of it, but he never came close to touching either Gesell or the ball. That's what actually happened. I saw it myself. Then, I saw it again. But, fortunately. I'm not one of the Final Four Trio. Now, one of the Final Four Trio blew his whistle. Oh Boy! Talk about a make-up call! Three trained Final Four Officials, a play right out in the open for the 17,950 in Maryland's Gym to see plain as day, but somehow, none of the Final Four Trio saw what actually happened or didn't happen. Oh, and by the way, Carter also had four fouls. Now he was gone and none too happy. Turgeon had his face all scrunched up. Sulaimon was standing in the middle of the floor shouting about how cruel the world can be. So be it. What Turgeon and company were now confronted with was trying to get through the final 7:54 without Robert Carter, Jr.
The Final Four Trio was on the prowl now. Maryland was in a heap of trouble. Their lead was gone and now Carter was gone. If it was a make-up call, the Terps got the raw end. In many games, including this game, Carter has been almost as essential to Maryland as Trimble has been. With the 6'9" Carter on the floor, Turgeon can use him and four ball-handlers in certain critical situations. Without Carter, he has to improvise. For the game, and besides his 17 points, Carter had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He is big. He is one of the most determined players you'd ever want to see. He is also very very good.
The Final Four Trio seem to have the same disease that consumes most basketball referees: they're far more interested in protecting some ridiculous notion of personal pride and invincibility than in getting the call correct. Both of these awful calls came in crunch time, and in both cases, the official who made the bad call was not corrected by the other two. In fact, in neither case did the mistaken official even talk to the his two referees. One would hope that one of the 'other two' saw the play correctly and was in position to make sure the play was actually called correctly. The call againt Carter was right out in the open and should have been seen, correctly, by somebody in the crew. But in both situations, the really bad call was allowed to stand. How does this help the game? If three officials are needed to call the game, then one hopes one of the three is seeing things correctly. It is only in the last ten years that basketball at the amateur level has gone to three officials. Before that, it was only two. But I suppose I'm talking to the wall.
Maryland improves to 17-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. Iowa dropped to 16-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference. Iowa was the last unbeaten team in conference play before tonight. Now they are tied for first place with Indiana. The Hoosiers lost to Wisconsin on Monday. Both Indiana and Iowa are 7-1 in the Big Ten. Maryland is just one game back, again. Iowa plays next on Sunday, at home in Iowa, against Northwestern. Maryland, on the other hand, goes to Ohio State on Sunday. The Terps just played the Buckeyes on January 18, and won the game, 100-65. The game worries me for a lot of reasons. Thad Motta is a very good coach. Ohio State did not like losing like they did in College Park. The Terrapins will have to play much better in Columbus than they did in their last road start in East Lansing if they expect to sweep Ohio State.
As I post this tonight, Michigan State is beating up on Northwestern in Evanston. Chris Collins gdt the Wildcats off to a gaudy start in the non-league portion of the schedule. And now, after the Spartans beat Maryland on Saturday night, the genius class at ESPN is saying that the Spartans are back. Fortunately, former Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun was the analyst and he said there are five Big Ten teams, including Maryland, that could win the national title. Calhoun noted that "Maryland could beat any team in the country."
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Hillary Clinton Mulls Nominating Obama to Supreme Court
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 27, 2016 - Even as the FBI closes in on recommending a multi-count indictment of the leading Democratic candidate for President of These United States, the candidate herself told a gathering in Iowa that the idea of nominating President Barack Hussein Obama to the Supreme Court is very appealing. While insisting that, before yesterday, she had never considered the possibility of nominating Obama, she called the idea "very appealing" and said she would give it serious consideration.
According to the New York Times, Clinton responded to a suggestion from the audience that she nominate the President by saying: “Wow, what a great idea. Nobody has ever suggested that to me. Wow. I love that.”
Other questions and comments from the audience also dealt with the candidates views on the nation's highest court. At one point, Clinton said, "We need new justices who actually understand the challenges we face." Later, she lamented that some justices apparently made decisions based on "naivete." The candidate, however, named no names and did not cite to any court decisions that formed the basis for her comments."
Both Clinton and Obama are uber Leftists who support many anti-American poilicies. As many as four openings could occur on the Supreme Court during the next four years, giving the next President the opportunity of naming up to four new Supreme Court Justices and building a solid majority of either liberals or conservatives, depending on who the president is. Today, the Court is split between the three consdervatives (Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito, Jr., four liberals (Stephen Brayer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan), and two so-called fence-sitters (Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Anthony Kennedy). President Obama has nominated two justices: Sotomayor and Kagan, and they are among the most leftist justices ever to sit on the Court.
The justices who are among the oldest are Scalia, who will turn 80 on March 11, Ginsburg, who will be 83 on March 15, Kennedy, who will turn 80 on July 23, and Brayer, who will be 78 on August 15. None of the GOP candidates for President have suggested potential Supreme Court nominees except Donald Trump, who has said that his sister would be an outstanding candidate for the Supreme Court. According to Wikipedia, "Maryanne Trump Barry (who is 78 and was born on April 5, 1937) is a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit."
Trump has not backed away from this suggestion even though his politics have moved far to the right while his sister is regarded as a very liberal judge.
Many political pundits have suggested that if someone other than Senator Ted Crews becomes the GOP Presidential nominee and gains the White House, that Crews would be an outstanding choice for the Supreme Court.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Memo to Maryland Basketball: You Lost Your Very Last Game Tonight!; Memo to Big Ten Officials: Right Now, You're Embarassing Yourself With The Cheeky Talks
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 24, 2016 - Right off the top of the page, understand I'm an alum and thus this stuff is way too important to me. Okay?
That being said, what happened going down the wire at Michigan State tonight proved nothing about the problems with Michigan State, which are glaring. Denzel Valentine is good, but not nearly as good as the State press machine wants you to believe. Three or four players on Maryland are better, and that's the cruxt of this.
:Melo Trimble got Maryland into a position to win on the road, in the second half, and then never saw the ball. Rasheed Sulaimon was fouled going hard to the basket in transition near the end of the game, when he had to score or draw a foul. He drew a foul, a very obvious 'point of emphasis' foul. Matt Costello - who gave tingles to the ESPN Announcers - blocked the shot, "clean" if anything is clean after a teammate fouls a shooter before your block. The teammate - and I think it was Bryn Forbes - had his hands on Sulaimon the whole drive down the lane. Watch the replay and tell me I'm wrong. The whole entire drive all the way down the lane to the basket there were hands on Sulaimon's hip! Michigan State had hands on Sulaimon's hip. No call, no whistle, just cheeky good times by all in East Lansing. And the ESPN bootsies were having a Chris Matthews tingle moment about the Costello block. Very embarassing. We all heard about the fact that 'hands on' defense wasn't going to be allowed on drives to the basket. But it becomes okay at East Lansing when the conference cabal's hero has lost three straight.
I did appreciate the ESPN producer or director, or both, for the numerous shots of Izzo and the one official having cheek-to-cheek chats going down the wire. I guess all the genius class at Big Ten headquarters think this is good for the conference. Whatever they think, Kevin Anderson and Turgeon need to let them know what Maryland thinks. It is nothing short of embarassing. If the genius class tells Anderson and friends that this is good for the conference, he and Turgeon need to come up with an appropriate response. It is awful. And it is more awful when the predictable calls follow the cheeky talks. Really awful. Really really awful.
I guess Kevin Anderson is too involved in political correctness and selling out (tickets) to realize what the Big Ten is doing to Maryland Basketball. Maryland plays at Michigan State, but Michigan State does not come to Maryland in a season when those two were predicted by all to fight it out for the title. It also comes one year after Maryland, in their first year in the conference, swept Michigan State in a real home-and-home. Look at the Maryland Basketball schedule. I looked at it. Did Anderson? Did anybody at Maryland do anything about it? If they did, I didn't hear about it. There were no protest letters released to the press. Izzo, it is said, didn't prepare adequately for Maryland coming in last season because Turgeon had been struggling. Izzo didn't make the same mistake twice.
Turgeon and his assistants have recruited very very well. The game coaching hasn't kept pace. Don't get me wrong, Turgeon is not a bad game coach. I think he could be better. He has the brains. He knows the game. Maybe he and Gary Williams could sit down and look at some of the games. Turgeon still doesn't know how to coach some of Gary's trickery. Williams could turn the last two minutes into an hour. Even when he didn't want to call a time out after a Maryland free throw, he'd have somebody ready to come in, which got a horn and some time to set up the defense. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that Diamond Stone can't be playing 20 minutes. If he up and leaves Maryland after this season, but not to turn pro, I won't blame him. The 'coming off the bench' nonsense was kind of cute until the Michigan game. After that it is a joke. Turgeon has proved that he knows how to lose players who get angry at being mis-used. If Trimble turns pro, and Stone leaves, it will not be even a little bit funny. And I'm worried Cekovsky is going to leave also.
Maryland has to give the ball to Trimble when it matters. And the rest of the team doesn't have to stand around when Trimble has it. Sulaimon keeps moving. Layman keeps moving. Maybe Layman should stand still.
Maryland played good defense against Northwestern. They played pretty good defense against Michigan State at times. At times. Maryland has to have an attitude about defense. Maryland has to be really really angry about the way they're treated, by the Big Ten, the NCAA, the whole cabal.
When Maryland got the lead in the second half, they needed to slice State's head off. The defensive temperature should've been turned up 100%. Trimble should've been living with the ball. Turgeon may never get a player this good again. There aren't many Trimbles out there. When it matters, give him the bloody ball. And when you get a second half lead in East Lansing, that's the time when it matters.
Why was Layman jacking up shots and losing the ball on drives going down the wire? He ought to be spotting up on the perimeter, and maybe driving from there. But the dribbling to penetrate? Please! He had three seasons to show if he could do that in crunch time and in big games. Three years.
Also in crunch time, Costello got a long rebound after pushing Diamond Stone. Costello was in bad position to begin with, between two Maryland players and not underneath the boards. So he pushed Stone. Then he out-jumped the guard on the other side of him. But the ESPN lads were tingling. Pretty. The officials were impressed, or something.
If Trimble can go 35 minutes, Stone should be able to go 30 or 28. We have got to get rebounds at the end of big games. We have got a great young man who makes free throws and scored 39 in a conference game. We don't need him on the bench for half the game.
This is a final four team if ever there was one. Turgeon needs to get an attitude over there, not with his kids - never with his kids and especially not with these kids, who are wonderful - but with the game officials and the Big Ten, which are both awful. The officiating is juvenile. The officials even act juvenile. Cheeky talks. Not even the ACC got this low. This is a conference that should be called the Big Cabal. I thought the ACC and Tobacco Road was a mess. Now I know why Bobby Knight was so angry all the time. You tell me what would be appropriate for a cheeky talk followed by chuckles. This is the progression at East Lansing: Cheeky Talks, Chuckles, and Awful Officiating benefitting the East Lansing people.
Maryland - if there is anything right about college basketball - should've lost their last game tonight. Okay.
That being said, what happened going down the wire at Michigan State tonight proved nothing about the problems with Michigan State, which are glaring. Denzel Valentine is good, but not nearly as good as the State press machine wants you to believe. Three or four players on Maryland are better, and that's the cruxt of this.
:Melo Trimble got Maryland into a position to win on the road, in the second half, and then never saw the ball. Rasheed Sulaimon was fouled going hard to the basket in transition near the end of the game, when he had to score or draw a foul. He drew a foul, a very obvious 'point of emphasis' foul. Matt Costello - who gave tingles to the ESPN Announcers - blocked the shot, "clean" if anything is clean after a teammate fouls a shooter before your block. The teammate - and I think it was Bryn Forbes - had his hands on Sulaimon the whole drive down the lane. Watch the replay and tell me I'm wrong. The whole entire drive all the way down the lane to the basket there were hands on Sulaimon's hip! Michigan State had hands on Sulaimon's hip. No call, no whistle, just cheeky good times by all in East Lansing. And the ESPN bootsies were having a Chris Matthews tingle moment about the Costello block. Very embarassing. We all heard about the fact that 'hands on' defense wasn't going to be allowed on drives to the basket. But it becomes okay at East Lansing when the conference cabal's hero has lost three straight.
I did appreciate the ESPN producer or director, or both, for the numerous shots of Izzo and the one official having cheek-to-cheek chats going down the wire. I guess all the genius class at Big Ten headquarters think this is good for the conference. Whatever they think, Kevin Anderson and Turgeon need to let them know what Maryland thinks. It is nothing short of embarassing. If the genius class tells Anderson and friends that this is good for the conference, he and Turgeon need to come up with an appropriate response. It is awful. And it is more awful when the predictable calls follow the cheeky talks. Really awful. Really really awful.
I guess Kevin Anderson is too involved in political correctness and selling out (tickets) to realize what the Big Ten is doing to Maryland Basketball. Maryland plays at Michigan State, but Michigan State does not come to Maryland in a season when those two were predicted by all to fight it out for the title. It also comes one year after Maryland, in their first year in the conference, swept Michigan State in a real home-and-home. Look at the Maryland Basketball schedule. I looked at it. Did Anderson? Did anybody at Maryland do anything about it? If they did, I didn't hear about it. There were no protest letters released to the press. Izzo, it is said, didn't prepare adequately for Maryland coming in last season because Turgeon had been struggling. Izzo didn't make the same mistake twice.
Turgeon and his assistants have recruited very very well. The game coaching hasn't kept pace. Don't get me wrong, Turgeon is not a bad game coach. I think he could be better. He has the brains. He knows the game. Maybe he and Gary Williams could sit down and look at some of the games. Turgeon still doesn't know how to coach some of Gary's trickery. Williams could turn the last two minutes into an hour. Even when he didn't want to call a time out after a Maryland free throw, he'd have somebody ready to come in, which got a horn and some time to set up the defense. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that Diamond Stone can't be playing 20 minutes. If he up and leaves Maryland after this season, but not to turn pro, I won't blame him. The 'coming off the bench' nonsense was kind of cute until the Michigan game. After that it is a joke. Turgeon has proved that he knows how to lose players who get angry at being mis-used. If Trimble turns pro, and Stone leaves, it will not be even a little bit funny. And I'm worried Cekovsky is going to leave also.
Maryland has to give the ball to Trimble when it matters. And the rest of the team doesn't have to stand around when Trimble has it. Sulaimon keeps moving. Layman keeps moving. Maybe Layman should stand still.
Maryland played good defense against Northwestern. They played pretty good defense against Michigan State at times. At times. Maryland has to have an attitude about defense. Maryland has to be really really angry about the way they're treated, by the Big Ten, the NCAA, the whole cabal.
When Maryland got the lead in the second half, they needed to slice State's head off. The defensive temperature should've been turned up 100%. Trimble should've been living with the ball. Turgeon may never get a player this good again. There aren't many Trimbles out there. When it matters, give him the bloody ball. And when you get a second half lead in East Lansing, that's the time when it matters.
Why was Layman jacking up shots and losing the ball on drives going down the wire? He ought to be spotting up on the perimeter, and maybe driving from there. But the dribbling to penetrate? Please! He had three seasons to show if he could do that in crunch time and in big games. Three years.
Also in crunch time, Costello got a long rebound after pushing Diamond Stone. Costello was in bad position to begin with, between two Maryland players and not underneath the boards. So he pushed Stone. Then he out-jumped the guard on the other side of him. But the ESPN lads were tingling. Pretty. The officials were impressed, or something.
If Trimble can go 35 minutes, Stone should be able to go 30 or 28. We have got to get rebounds at the end of big games. We have got a great young man who makes free throws and scored 39 in a conference game. We don't need him on the bench for half the game.
This is a final four team if ever there was one. Turgeon needs to get an attitude over there, not with his kids - never with his kids and especially not with these kids, who are wonderful - but with the game officials and the Big Ten, which are both awful. The officiating is juvenile. The officials even act juvenile. Cheeky talks. Not even the ACC got this low. This is a conference that should be called the Big Cabal. I thought the ACC and Tobacco Road was a mess. Now I know why Bobby Knight was so angry all the time. You tell me what would be appropriate for a cheeky talk followed by chuckles. This is the progression at East Lansing: Cheeky Talks, Chuckles, and Awful Officiating benefitting the East Lansing people.
Maryland - if there is anything right about college basketball - should've lost their last game tonight. Okay.
Baltimore Mayor Invokes Phase 3 of City's Snow Plan; All Non-Emergency Vehicles Must Be Off City Streets By 6:30 pm; Storm Stalls Over City, Causing Snow Accumulations to Rise; Winds Not Strong Enough for Storm to Earn "Blizzard" Title
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 23, 2016 -Although the storm churning up the East Coast is dumping two and three feet of snow across much of the Atlantic Seaboard, flooding the coastlines with ice-choked tidal surges, collapsing the roof of a high school gymnasium and a Harford County, Maryland, grocery store, and convincing the Mayor of Baltimore to Order all non-emergency vehicles off of City streets by early evening, meteorologists have stopped short of calling the weather event a "blizzard." That is because the winds associated with the storm, while strong, have generally fallen short of the minimum speed for a storm to advance into the category of a blizzard.
Winds must either reach sustained speeds of 35 miles per hour, or have regular gusts of at least 35 miles per hour, for a storm system to reach into the blizzard category. Amazingly enough, a storm can really have just a small amount of snow associated with it and still be called a blizzard if the winds are strong enough. The winds associated with the present storm have stalled in the mid-twenty miles per hour range, with 26 miles per hour being about an average speed of winds spinning out of this storm, so far. We say, "so far," because there is a new development that weather watchers are warning folk about: the storm is still strong, but instead of moving along with its swirling winds -as typical 'Noreasters' do - it has stalled at a place off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, where it continues to dump lots of snow onto the Baltimore area.
Meteorologists have generally agreed that the winds will not get a whole lot stronger than they currently are.
Along the Delmarva Coast, the biggest concern was flooding. The Mayor of Lewes Delaware, which sits at the point where the Delaware Bay joins the Atlantic Ocean, the high tide was the second highest on record according to a report in the Delaware News Journal.
Said the newspaper and its reporter, Molly Murray:
"Lewes Mayor Ted Becker said at 5:30 a.m. he went to check on the Inn at Canal Square along the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal.
"The canal was in its banks," he said.
A little more than an hour later, it was within 10 feet of the hotel doors, he said. The water never reached the hotel.
The worst of the coastal impacts from the storm was expected to be from Lewes north to New Jersey.
Del. 1 from Dewey Beach south was closed and the ocean breached the dune at three locations about a mile north of Indian River Inlet Bridge, which was closed in both directions.
At the new Inlet Bridge, the dune reconstruction and reinforcement installed after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, held.
Just south of Dewey, at Indian Beach, ocean waves rolled up the Beach Street dune crossing, down the street and sent a slurry of sea foam and water onto the ocean highway."
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Baltimore City has just announced (i.e., at 5:50 pm on Saturday, January 23, 2016) that the so-called "Phase 3" of the Baltimore City Snow Emergency Plan will go into effect at 6:30 pm. Phase 3 is, in effect, a lock-down of the entire City. The only vehicles permitted to be on City streets, beginning at 6:30 pm, are police, fire (including ambulances), snow plows and related public works vehicles, and BGE emergency response vehicles. No other vehicles are permitted to be on the streets. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the Phase 3 plan will remain in effect until Sunday morning at 6:30 am. In other words, we are talking about a 12 hour lock-down. Mayor Rawlings-Blake did say that there would be a re-evaluation of the need for Phase 3 as the current time period for Phase 3 staying in effct approaches. If necessary, it could be extended, she said.
City officials said the decision to go to Phase 3 was based on the increasing amounts of time that City workers were spending digging stranded drivers out. When time is spent on digging individuals out, it takes away from the time those city workers have to clear the roads. With Phase 3 in effect, nothing will divert the efforts of the workers the City has available for clearing the roads.
At 6:12 pm, snow accumulations were within just one to three inches of earning the title of the largest snow storm in the recorded history of the Baltimore area.
Winds must either reach sustained speeds of 35 miles per hour, or have regular gusts of at least 35 miles per hour, for a storm system to reach into the blizzard category. Amazingly enough, a storm can really have just a small amount of snow associated with it and still be called a blizzard if the winds are strong enough. The winds associated with the present storm have stalled in the mid-twenty miles per hour range, with 26 miles per hour being about an average speed of winds spinning out of this storm, so far. We say, "so far," because there is a new development that weather watchers are warning folk about: the storm is still strong, but instead of moving along with its swirling winds -as typical 'Noreasters' do - it has stalled at a place off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, where it continues to dump lots of snow onto the Baltimore area.
Meteorologists have generally agreed that the winds will not get a whole lot stronger than they currently are.
Along the Delmarva Coast, the biggest concern was flooding. The Mayor of Lewes Delaware, which sits at the point where the Delaware Bay joins the Atlantic Ocean, the high tide was the second highest on record according to a report in the Delaware News Journal.
Said the newspaper and its reporter, Molly Murray:
"Lewes Mayor Ted Becker said at 5:30 a.m. he went to check on the Inn at Canal Square along the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal.
"The canal was in its banks," he said.
A little more than an hour later, it was within 10 feet of the hotel doors, he said. The water never reached the hotel.
The worst of the coastal impacts from the storm was expected to be from Lewes north to New Jersey.
Del. 1 from Dewey Beach south was closed and the ocean breached the dune at three locations about a mile north of Indian River Inlet Bridge, which was closed in both directions.
At the new Inlet Bridge, the dune reconstruction and reinforcement installed after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, held.
Just south of Dewey, at Indian Beach, ocean waves rolled up the Beach Street dune crossing, down the street and sent a slurry of sea foam and water onto the ocean highway."
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Baltimore City has just announced (i.e., at 5:50 pm on Saturday, January 23, 2016) that the so-called "Phase 3" of the Baltimore City Snow Emergency Plan will go into effect at 6:30 pm. Phase 3 is, in effect, a lock-down of the entire City. The only vehicles permitted to be on City streets, beginning at 6:30 pm, are police, fire (including ambulances), snow plows and related public works vehicles, and BGE emergency response vehicles. No other vehicles are permitted to be on the streets. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the Phase 3 plan will remain in effect until Sunday morning at 6:30 am. In other words, we are talking about a 12 hour lock-down. Mayor Rawlings-Blake did say that there would be a re-evaluation of the need for Phase 3 as the current time period for Phase 3 staying in effct approaches. If necessary, it could be extended, she said.
City officials said the decision to go to Phase 3 was based on the increasing amounts of time that City workers were spending digging stranded drivers out. When time is spent on digging individuals out, it takes away from the time those city workers have to clear the roads. With Phase 3 in effect, nothing will divert the efforts of the workers the City has available for clearing the roads.
At 6:12 pm, snow accumulations were within just one to three inches of earning the title of the largest snow storm in the recorded history of the Baltimore area.
Ice Age that Began in Very Warm Jurassic Had Nothing To Do With Carbon Dioxide Depletion, Scientists Say
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 23, 2016 - A stunning discovery by scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark has set the world of paleoclimatology on its collective head. As reported by the web page "Sci-News," it has been determined that an ice age that started abruptly in the middle of a virtual greenhouse world was caused, not by a depletion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but instead by a large volcanic eruption beneath the northern oceans that prevented warm water from the equatorial areas to flow through to the arctic. Without the warm ocean currents flowing to the north pole, the Jurassic World began a period of pronounced cooling that led to a prolonged ice age.
The Scientific team making the discovery was led by Christoph Korte of the University of Copenhagen. According to Sci-News, the Korte team found that the world-wide cooling that triggered the ice age beginning 174 million years ago coincided with a massive volcanic event, the North Sea Dome, which restricted the flow of seawater and the associated heat that it carried from the equator towards the North Pole region.
“We tend to think of the Jurassic as a warm greenhouse world where high temperatures were governed by high atmospheric carbon dioxide contents,” said team member Prof. Stephen Hesselbo, of the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom.
The Sci-News report can be found at http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/ paleoclimatology/causes-behind-jurassic-ice-age-03511.html
The Sci-News site is no refuge for those doubting that climate change is taking place. The same page carries a new story that claims the past century is the warmest in the last 120,000 years. Still, when leading scientists say that historical climate change leading to an ice age occurred despite high carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is a newsworthy event.
According to Sci-News, the researchers spent ten years constructing a record of seawater temperature change using fossil bivalve and brachiopod shells.
They found that during the same period that the North Sea Dome event occurred, the planet experienced a significant and fast cooling in temperature. The ice age lasted "many millions of years," according to scientists. The topography and geography of the world was vastly different at the time of these events. For instance, the split of South America away from Africa had just begun.
Sci-News reports that the Scientific Team led by Dr. Korte orginally published their findings in the scientific journal "Nature Communications."
The Scientific team making the discovery was led by Christoph Korte of the University of Copenhagen. According to Sci-News, the Korte team found that the world-wide cooling that triggered the ice age beginning 174 million years ago coincided with a massive volcanic event, the North Sea Dome, which restricted the flow of seawater and the associated heat that it carried from the equator towards the North Pole region.
“We tend to think of the Jurassic as a warm greenhouse world where high temperatures were governed by high atmospheric carbon dioxide contents,” said team member Prof. Stephen Hesselbo, of the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom.
The Sci-News report can be found at http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/ paleoclimatology/causes-behind-jurassic-ice-age-03511.html
The Sci-News site is no refuge for those doubting that climate change is taking place. The same page carries a new story that claims the past century is the warmest in the last 120,000 years. Still, when leading scientists say that historical climate change leading to an ice age occurred despite high carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is a newsworthy event.
According to Sci-News, the researchers spent ten years constructing a record of seawater temperature change using fossil bivalve and brachiopod shells.
They found that during the same period that the North Sea Dome event occurred, the planet experienced a significant and fast cooling in temperature. The ice age lasted "many millions of years," according to scientists. The topography and geography of the world was vastly different at the time of these events. For instance, the split of South America away from Africa had just begun.
Sci-News reports that the Scientific Team led by Dr. Korte orginally published their findings in the scientific journal "Nature Communications."
Friday, January 22, 2016
Blizzard Imminent; Up To 3 Feet of Snow Predicted; Wind Gusts of 55 MPH Are Possible
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 22, 2016 - The snow said to be the harbinger of a blizzard embedded in a Noreaster is on course to begin in the Baltimore region at about 3:00 pm today, or maybe even a bit sooner. Temperatures in Baltimore remain in the twenties after a night that was quite a bit colder than was predicted. Early morning readings in and around Baltimore were uniformly in the mid-teens despite forecasts that they would bottom out near 30 degrees,
Predictions as to the depth of the snow ready to fall have been varued, although the later the time of the prediction, the greater the depth being predicted. Some forecasts have as much as 3 feet of snow falling before the storm subsides sometime on Sunday morning.
Public transportation is being suspended for one of the few times in the history of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Authorities announced Friday morning that all MTA service would be halted Friday evening and would not resume until Monday morning. Historians said it was only the third time in the history of the city that public transportation was comepletely halted.
Wind gusts of 55 mph are possible on Saturday, forecasters said. In addition, the snow will be so intense that so-called 'thundersnow' is possible. Thundersnow is a heavy snowstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Predictions as to the depth of the snow ready to fall have been varued, although the later the time of the prediction, the greater the depth being predicted. Some forecasts have as much as 3 feet of snow falling before the storm subsides sometime on Sunday morning.
Public transportation is being suspended for one of the few times in the history of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Authorities announced Friday morning that all MTA service would be halted Friday evening and would not resume until Monday morning. Historians said it was only the third time in the history of the city that public transportation was comepletely halted.
Wind gusts of 55 mph are possible on Saturday, forecasters said. In addition, the snow will be so intense that so-called 'thundersnow' is possible. Thundersnow is a heavy snowstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Megan Kelly Defemds Hillary, But Her Points are All Wrong
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 21, 2016 - The last thing - the very last thing - this writer wants to be is a television or media critic of Fox News. I watch Fox News. It is my humble opinion that their news operation is as straight up as any you will find in these United States. Several of the London daily papers give them a strong run on being objective, but when matched up against their USA competitors, well, there is no comparison. Shep Smith is a dyed in the wool liberal, but he is far more objective than any of the mainstream anchors. I have blasted Fox News for the nonsense they have engaged in with Donald Trump. Their people are mainstream RHINO Republicans; I don't think they even contest that. Right now, amazingly enough, the RHINO folk have started to line-up against Senator Crews and behind Donald Trump. That's too bad. Trump doesn't need their help - I hope he realizes that - - and the RHINO's are getting on board at a bad time, just when Trump is doing some real low-brow stuff against Senator Crews. The Senator is fighting back and getting down in the gutter with Mr. Trump, and a lot of observers are coming out and urging both of them to grow up. I wish they'd stop it with each other, please! The enemy, even now, is Hillary Clinton and her confederates in the mainstream media.
All of which brings me back to the point of this post: Megan Kelly tonight did something I hoped I'd never see on Fox. She went to bat for HIllary Clinton. And what's worse, she was 100% wrong about the point she was making. Hillary Clinton has no defense. If she did, the FBI would not be investigating a darling of the Left. But her violations of federal law are so severe and so outrageous that they had to investigate. And their investigation is leading to what will be, surely, a recommendation to indict. Then we will find out just how ridiculous Mr. Obama can be. Because if he makes Ms. Lynch decline to indict, then he will say to the American people that he has no scruples whatsoever. Personally, I doubt that he does and I expect him to ensure that there is no indictment.
Back to Ms. Kelly. The Clinton hacks in the media and in the Clinton campaign are going regularly to their 'in the tank' media accomplices at Politico with their regular rebuttals of the latest revelations. Just google the latest development and you will see media outlets on the right - what few their are - and in London dutifully reporting what the revelations are. The same google search will also show Politico's story on why none of it is true. Of course, the stories that Politico is rebutting are true and Politico's piece is trash from the Clinton campaign, but then anybody with even half a brain already knows that. Tonight, Ms. Kelly got into an argument with a guest and she was defending Hillary with the Politico arguments. Yikes! Ms. Kelly you gest, right? Are you slipping? Does this thing with Trump have you too bent out of shape to continue at Fox? There are rumors that she is leaving Fox for a job with the mainstream media. Maybe they are true.
All of which brings me back to the point of this post: Megan Kelly tonight did something I hoped I'd never see on Fox. She went to bat for HIllary Clinton. And what's worse, she was 100% wrong about the point she was making. Hillary Clinton has no defense. If she did, the FBI would not be investigating a darling of the Left. But her violations of federal law are so severe and so outrageous that they had to investigate. And their investigation is leading to what will be, surely, a recommendation to indict. Then we will find out just how ridiculous Mr. Obama can be. Because if he makes Ms. Lynch decline to indict, then he will say to the American people that he has no scruples whatsoever. Personally, I doubt that he does and I expect him to ensure that there is no indictment.
Back to Ms. Kelly. The Clinton hacks in the media and in the Clinton campaign are going regularly to their 'in the tank' media accomplices at Politico with their regular rebuttals of the latest revelations. Just google the latest development and you will see media outlets on the right - what few their are - and in London dutifully reporting what the revelations are. The same google search will also show Politico's story on why none of it is true. Of course, the stories that Politico is rebutting are true and Politico's piece is trash from the Clinton campaign, but then anybody with even half a brain already knows that. Tonight, Ms. Kelly got into an argument with a guest and she was defending Hillary with the Politico arguments. Yikes! Ms. Kelly you gest, right? Are you slipping? Does this thing with Trump have you too bent out of shape to continue at Fox? There are rumors that she is leaving Fox for a job with the mainstream media. Maybe they are true.
Blizzard and Up to 30 Inches of Snow Forecast for Baltimore, Washington D.C. and North To Philadelphia; Governor of Maryland Signs State of Emergency Order Beginning Friday at 7 am
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 21, 2016 - A State of Emergency will go into effect across Maryland at 7 am Friday morning in an Order signed today by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
"This is predicted to be the worst storm our state has seen since Snowmageddon in 2010...Our first and main priority is keeping Marylanders safe and making sure they understand that all levels of government are working together to respond to this weather system," Hogan said at a Thursday press conference at the Maryland Emergency Management Office in Owings Mills. At the very same time the State of Emergency goes into effect the National Weather Service has announced that its Blizzard Watch will convert to a Blizzard Warning. Under a warning the NWS is telling residents that the storm will hit imminently.
The Maryland Governor announced at the press conference that Maryland's state highway trucks will begin to pre-treat major highways with salt today. He said that Maryland has some 2,700 pieces of equipment and 365,000 tons of salt ready to work interstates and state routes. He also said that Maryland State troopers will be reassigned to road patrol and other agencies will be ready for shelter and other responses as they are needed.
"Once the storm begins tomorrow, if you don't have to drive, don't drive," Hogan said. If you don't have to leave your home, don't."
Just before 2 pm in Baltimore it was 32 degrees. A minor snow storm swept across Maryland Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, dumping between 1 and 2 inches of extremely dry snow on already frozen ground. The National Weather Service said that the high on Thursday would be around 35 degrees. Thursday night is expected to be partly cloudy with a low of 24 degrees. Friday's forecast calls for the day to start with cloudy skies, followed by developing snow in the afternoon. The Friday high will be within one degree of freezing. Heavy snow and blowing snow will follow toward Friday evening with the Friday night low expected to be near 27 degrees. Northeast winds will be between 10 and 15 miles per hour early in the evening, but increasing to 21 to 27 miles per hour overnight.
The snow will continue throughout the day on Saturday. High temperatures on Saturday are not expected to reach freezing; officially, the NWS is saying the high will be 31 degrees. The NWS does say that there is a chance that some areas near the Chesapeake Bay may see some sleet mixing with the snow on Saturday afternoon.
The NWS says that Saturday night will see continued snow and "blowing snow" with windy conditions and drifting snow. Low temperatures on Saturday night will be about 25 degrees. The snow will be heavy enough to cause "whiteout" conditions, the NWS warned.
The official chance of snow on Saturday and Saturday night is 100%. The snow will give way to clear skys on Sunday with a high temperature expected to be 36 degrees. Sunday night will be clear with diminishing winds and a low of 17 degrees. A slow warm-up will start Monday.
As usual, forecasters are quite coy about snow totals, but forcasters have said that accumulations of up to 30" are possible except in areas where sleet briefly mixes with the snow. Even those areas will receive significant accumulations of snow, the NWS said.
"This is predicted to be the worst storm our state has seen since Snowmageddon in 2010...Our first and main priority is keeping Marylanders safe and making sure they understand that all levels of government are working together to respond to this weather system," Hogan said at a Thursday press conference at the Maryland Emergency Management Office in Owings Mills. At the very same time the State of Emergency goes into effect the National Weather Service has announced that its Blizzard Watch will convert to a Blizzard Warning. Under a warning the NWS is telling residents that the storm will hit imminently.
The Maryland Governor announced at the press conference that Maryland's state highway trucks will begin to pre-treat major highways with salt today. He said that Maryland has some 2,700 pieces of equipment and 365,000 tons of salt ready to work interstates and state routes. He also said that Maryland State troopers will be reassigned to road patrol and other agencies will be ready for shelter and other responses as they are needed.
"Once the storm begins tomorrow, if you don't have to drive, don't drive," Hogan said. If you don't have to leave your home, don't."
Just before 2 pm in Baltimore it was 32 degrees. A minor snow storm swept across Maryland Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, dumping between 1 and 2 inches of extremely dry snow on already frozen ground. The National Weather Service said that the high on Thursday would be around 35 degrees. Thursday night is expected to be partly cloudy with a low of 24 degrees. Friday's forecast calls for the day to start with cloudy skies, followed by developing snow in the afternoon. The Friday high will be within one degree of freezing. Heavy snow and blowing snow will follow toward Friday evening with the Friday night low expected to be near 27 degrees. Northeast winds will be between 10 and 15 miles per hour early in the evening, but increasing to 21 to 27 miles per hour overnight.
The snow will continue throughout the day on Saturday. High temperatures on Saturday are not expected to reach freezing; officially, the NWS is saying the high will be 31 degrees. The NWS does say that there is a chance that some areas near the Chesapeake Bay may see some sleet mixing with the snow on Saturday afternoon.
The NWS says that Saturday night will see continued snow and "blowing snow" with windy conditions and drifting snow. Low temperatures on Saturday night will be about 25 degrees. The snow will be heavy enough to cause "whiteout" conditions, the NWS warned.
The official chance of snow on Saturday and Saturday night is 100%. The snow will give way to clear skys on Sunday with a high temperature expected to be 36 degrees. Sunday night will be clear with diminishing winds and a low of 17 degrees. A slow warm-up will start Monday.
As usual, forecasters are quite coy about snow totals, but forcasters have said that accumulations of up to 30" are possible except in areas where sleet briefly mixes with the snow. Even those areas will receive significant accumulations of snow, the NWS said.
What Will Happen When Citizens Ignore Obama's Executive Orders?
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 21, 2016 - Alabama Senator Richard Shelby on Thursday helped to bring front and center a hot-button issue of personal liberty that, up to now, has been totally obscured inside the Washington D.C. world of make-believe.
Here is a very brief history of the issue, which, very soon, every American will have to decide for his or herself: President Obama, realizing that the political make-up of Congress will deprive him of any further uber left statutory enactments, has taken to passing so-called 'executive orders' which many see as his way of taking Congress out of the process of making new American Laws. Most Americans still understand that for law to be enacted, it has to be introduced into and debated by the Congress, and then passed by both houses of the Congress. If a statute is passed by the Congress, it is sent to the President, who either signs it into law or, instead, signs a veto of the bill. A veto is, in fact, a rejection of the law. If a law passed by Congress is vetoed by the president, it goes back to Congress, which can override the veto and enact the law without the president's signature if two-thirds of each house vote to do so. Currently, the GOP has a veto-proof majority in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. Thus, for a presidential veto to be over-ridden by the Congress, some Senate Democrats must join with the GOP to vote to do so. That rarely happens.
President Obama's problem, however, is in getting anything to the stage where he can sign it. With the GOP in control of both houses, rare is the law that he favors coming to him for an enacting signature. He has resorted to 'executive orders' in an effort to circumvent the will of the American people, who put majorities in both Houses of Congress for the express purpose of stopping the far left legislation that the Democrats had been passing and sending to him. The only time an executive order is a legitimate way of making enforceable laws is when the President has been granted the express power to sign such orders by either the United States Constitution or by the Congress itself. In the current fight that was before the committee on which Senator Shelby sits, not too many legal experts believe the President has the right to act without submitting his ideas to the Congress in the form of a bill. That is because the area in debate is the precepts contained in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment, in case you didn't know, expressly allows American Citizens to keep and bear arms; i.e., guns. Obama wants to pass executive orders that make it more difficult for Americans to purchase, own and use guns. The Attorney General says Obama's proposed orders are within his power to sign. Shelby says they aren't. I agree with Shelby.
The most important reason I agree with Shelby is that we live in a democracy. We do not live in a dictatorship or a monarchy, where one man or woman gets to decide what the laws are or what rules we have to obey. Maybe you want laws preventing people from owning guns. Ask yourself this: are you willing, going forward, to allow the president, whomever he or she is, to decide what other laws or rules should be enforced regardless of what your elected representatives believe. For 200 years we have answered that question in one way: no. Sometimes it takes years for a law to be enacted. Sometimes good ideas are never enacted. But if enough Americans want an idea to be law, it eventually becomes law unless it violates our Constitution. For instance, it doesn't matter if the Congress votes unanimously to pass a law saying every woman must be killed at age 30, it never will be allowed to become law because it violates almost every precept in the Constitution.
Obama has said, repeatedly, that he was forced to move by executive orders because the Congress didn't act. That is pure hogwash and bunk. By not enacting a law Obama wants, the Congress is acting. If they didn't pass a law for him to sign, they are saying, under our system, that there is not enough of a will to have that law right now. If Obama and his functionaries want a law this Congress won't pass, he needs to appeal to the American people to elect Congressmen or Congress Women that will pass such a law. Obama knows he won't get the people to do that while he is president, and part of the reason for that is that he rammed too many really bad laws through the Congress that the American people did not want. Like Obamacare or Obamashame, whatever you decide to call it. He and his confederates - Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi - literally changed the voting rules in the Congress to get Obamashame enacted. The American people, by a large majority, hate that law. They started to elect people to the Congress who promised not only to never pass a law like that again, but to do whatever they could to repeal the law.
When President George W. Bush was re-elected, you might remember him saying that he intended to use some of his political capital in his second term. That was his way of saying that the American people wanted him to propose laws that he said he favored during the campaign. Since he won by fairly large majorities in many states, he believed he had what some call a 'mandate' to make changes. You might say, well, Obama won by large majorities in 2008, and you'd be correct. But he never said he intended to introduce a law like Obamashame in the Congress. All of the Opinion Polls taken as the bill quickly passed through the Congress indicated a large majority of Americans didn't want this law. But he rammed it through. In doing so, he incinerated almost all of his political capital.
Let's now return to Senator Shelby. What he was telling Ms. Lynch and, at the same time, Obama, was that no executive order was going to take away the Second Amendment rights of Americans. As I understand Obama's ideas, he wants to say in his orders that anyone who sells a gun, even one single gun, must go through the same background checks that large gun dealers go through. That would be tremendously expensive and would chill the right to purchase a gun. Senator Shelby was saying to Ms. Lynch that even if she tells Obama he can enact such a rule, that doesn't make it so. If someone violates the order and the government takes action against that person, a lot of organizations will quickly move to assist the person and have the law stricken. Senator Shelby was also saying that Americans do not have to abide by an executive order that violates the Constitution. He is correct, but you better hope, if you're caught, that the Court who makes the decision on your actions interprets the law and the Constitution as you do. If the judge is a true American, he or she will. But Obama has appointed a whole lot of federal judges who are prepared to ignore Constitutional Rights.
Here is a very brief history of the issue, which, very soon, every American will have to decide for his or herself: President Obama, realizing that the political make-up of Congress will deprive him of any further uber left statutory enactments, has taken to passing so-called 'executive orders' which many see as his way of taking Congress out of the process of making new American Laws. Most Americans still understand that for law to be enacted, it has to be introduced into and debated by the Congress, and then passed by both houses of the Congress. If a statute is passed by the Congress, it is sent to the President, who either signs it into law or, instead, signs a veto of the bill. A veto is, in fact, a rejection of the law. If a law passed by Congress is vetoed by the president, it goes back to Congress, which can override the veto and enact the law without the president's signature if two-thirds of each house vote to do so. Currently, the GOP has a veto-proof majority in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. Thus, for a presidential veto to be over-ridden by the Congress, some Senate Democrats must join with the GOP to vote to do so. That rarely happens.
President Obama's problem, however, is in getting anything to the stage where he can sign it. With the GOP in control of both houses, rare is the law that he favors coming to him for an enacting signature. He has resorted to 'executive orders' in an effort to circumvent the will of the American people, who put majorities in both Houses of Congress for the express purpose of stopping the far left legislation that the Democrats had been passing and sending to him. The only time an executive order is a legitimate way of making enforceable laws is when the President has been granted the express power to sign such orders by either the United States Constitution or by the Congress itself. In the current fight that was before the committee on which Senator Shelby sits, not too many legal experts believe the President has the right to act without submitting his ideas to the Congress in the form of a bill. That is because the area in debate is the precepts contained in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment, in case you didn't know, expressly allows American Citizens to keep and bear arms; i.e., guns. Obama wants to pass executive orders that make it more difficult for Americans to purchase, own and use guns. The Attorney General says Obama's proposed orders are within his power to sign. Shelby says they aren't. I agree with Shelby.
The most important reason I agree with Shelby is that we live in a democracy. We do not live in a dictatorship or a monarchy, where one man or woman gets to decide what the laws are or what rules we have to obey. Maybe you want laws preventing people from owning guns. Ask yourself this: are you willing, going forward, to allow the president, whomever he or she is, to decide what other laws or rules should be enforced regardless of what your elected representatives believe. For 200 years we have answered that question in one way: no. Sometimes it takes years for a law to be enacted. Sometimes good ideas are never enacted. But if enough Americans want an idea to be law, it eventually becomes law unless it violates our Constitution. For instance, it doesn't matter if the Congress votes unanimously to pass a law saying every woman must be killed at age 30, it never will be allowed to become law because it violates almost every precept in the Constitution.
Obama has said, repeatedly, that he was forced to move by executive orders because the Congress didn't act. That is pure hogwash and bunk. By not enacting a law Obama wants, the Congress is acting. If they didn't pass a law for him to sign, they are saying, under our system, that there is not enough of a will to have that law right now. If Obama and his functionaries want a law this Congress won't pass, he needs to appeal to the American people to elect Congressmen or Congress Women that will pass such a law. Obama knows he won't get the people to do that while he is president, and part of the reason for that is that he rammed too many really bad laws through the Congress that the American people did not want. Like Obamacare or Obamashame, whatever you decide to call it. He and his confederates - Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi - literally changed the voting rules in the Congress to get Obamashame enacted. The American people, by a large majority, hate that law. They started to elect people to the Congress who promised not only to never pass a law like that again, but to do whatever they could to repeal the law.
When President George W. Bush was re-elected, you might remember him saying that he intended to use some of his political capital in his second term. That was his way of saying that the American people wanted him to propose laws that he said he favored during the campaign. Since he won by fairly large majorities in many states, he believed he had what some call a 'mandate' to make changes. You might say, well, Obama won by large majorities in 2008, and you'd be correct. But he never said he intended to introduce a law like Obamashame in the Congress. All of the Opinion Polls taken as the bill quickly passed through the Congress indicated a large majority of Americans didn't want this law. But he rammed it through. In doing so, he incinerated almost all of his political capital.
Let's now return to Senator Shelby. What he was telling Ms. Lynch and, at the same time, Obama, was that no executive order was going to take away the Second Amendment rights of Americans. As I understand Obama's ideas, he wants to say in his orders that anyone who sells a gun, even one single gun, must go through the same background checks that large gun dealers go through. That would be tremendously expensive and would chill the right to purchase a gun. Senator Shelby was saying to Ms. Lynch that even if she tells Obama he can enact such a rule, that doesn't make it so. If someone violates the order and the government takes action against that person, a lot of organizations will quickly move to assist the person and have the law stricken. Senator Shelby was also saying that Americans do not have to abide by an executive order that violates the Constitution. He is correct, but you better hope, if you're caught, that the Court who makes the decision on your actions interprets the law and the Constitution as you do. If the judge is a true American, he or she will. But Obama has appointed a whole lot of federal judges who are prepared to ignore Constitutional Rights.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Blizzard Could Blanket Mid-Atlantic with 20 or More Inches of Snow; Allegations Against Hillary Get Far More Serious; Maryland Edges Northwestern Thanks to Trimble, Stone and Carter
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 19, 2016 - Headlines today inform the sector that a gigantic winter storm is forming up in multiple locations across these United States. As it coalesces, the resulting super storm is predicted to pummel the Atlantic Seaboard with twenty or more inches of snow as well as strong northern winds and continuing bitter winter cold. The snow from the storm will begin as soon as late Thursday and could continue to fall until mid-day on Sunday.
Forecasters are already comparing the approaching storm to one of the multiple blizzards of just four years ago. One forecaster from Accuweather, Terry Smith, told a radio interviewer on Wednesday morning in Baltimore that the only real mystery right now is where along the I-95 corridor will the heaviest snow fall. One model says that southern Virginia could get hit the hardest while another has it bearing down on West Virginia. It is virtually certain, she said, that the entire corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C. will get significant snow this weekend.
Often such storms give forecasters tons of grief because of the marginal nature of the air temperature. This time, however, the temperatures are almost certainly cold enough for all of the precipitation to fall as snow because the critical cold air has already been in place for about one week.
Also, sources are telling Credible and Incisive that the seriousness of the criminal violations committed by Hillary Clinton and her cabal at the Department of State have been seriously understated. For instance, some of the information sent through the unregistered "homebrew" server by Clinton was a 'big big' step beyond 'top secret.' Most people do not even realize that espionage experts have a classification for information that is so sensitive that it falls into a classification that is more top secret than top secret. But they do. It is called SAP, which is idiomatic for special access program. Fox News and its outstanding National Security Correspondent, Catherine Herridge, have a complete and thorough report about the entire Clinton imbroglio at http://www.foxnews.com/poli tics/2016/01/19/in- spector-general-clinton-emails-had-intel-from-most-secretive-classified-programs.html
At least three nations have already hacked the Clinton computer network. Among the three are said to be Germany, South Korea and China. What's worse, Fox has reported that Hillary Clinton knew that her server had been hacked but continued to use it. Incredible!
General David Petraeus was prosecuted by the Obama Administration for security breeches far less serious than the allegations against Ms. Clinton. Hence, a failure to prosecute now will be a bombshell decision based solely on party loyalty and if it happens - if the Attorney General will not indict because Obama won't prosecute - the resulting reaction within the government would be cataclysmic. As former Federal Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Fox, if the AG will not prosecute Hillary even with an FBI recommendation to prosecute, there will be "blood on the floor."
Finally, No. 7 Maryland edged Northwestern on Tuesday night in College Park, 62-56, in overtime. Melo Trimble brought Maryland back from the dead going down the wire in regulation time, then sparked the Maryland victory in Overtime, with lots of help from Robert Carter, Jr. and Diamond Stone. Trimble finished with 18 points and 6 assists, Stone finished with 11 and Carter with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Jake Layman also played well, scoring 8 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, making 3 steals and blocking 3 shots. Maryland is now 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten. Northwestern slipped to 15-5 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
Incidentally, if you watched the game on BTN, you may have noticed:
1. That one of the officials was Gene Steratore. It is the same Gene Steratore who is an NFL referee.
2, As usual, the game announcers were rooting hard for whatever team Maryland was playing. I never make a note as to who these guys are when the broadcast starts, but about three minutes in, I'm steaming. With the Ravens and Orioles, I can shut off the TV sound and turn on the radio, but with Maryland - and God Knows I hate to say this - Johnny Hollyday is so ineffective describing basketball, and he forgets to give the score often enough, that the radio isn't an option.
Forecasters are already comparing the approaching storm to one of the multiple blizzards of just four years ago. One forecaster from Accuweather, Terry Smith, told a radio interviewer on Wednesday morning in Baltimore that the only real mystery right now is where along the I-95 corridor will the heaviest snow fall. One model says that southern Virginia could get hit the hardest while another has it bearing down on West Virginia. It is virtually certain, she said, that the entire corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C. will get significant snow this weekend.
Often such storms give forecasters tons of grief because of the marginal nature of the air temperature. This time, however, the temperatures are almost certainly cold enough for all of the precipitation to fall as snow because the critical cold air has already been in place for about one week.
Also, sources are telling Credible and Incisive that the seriousness of the criminal violations committed by Hillary Clinton and her cabal at the Department of State have been seriously understated. For instance, some of the information sent through the unregistered "homebrew" server by Clinton was a 'big big' step beyond 'top secret.' Most people do not even realize that espionage experts have a classification for information that is so sensitive that it falls into a classification that is more top secret than top secret. But they do. It is called SAP, which is idiomatic for special access program. Fox News and its outstanding National Security Correspondent, Catherine Herridge, have a complete and thorough report about the entire Clinton imbroglio at http://www.foxnews.com/poli tics/2016/01/19/in- spector-general-clinton-emails-had-intel-from-most-secretive-classified-programs.html
At least three nations have already hacked the Clinton computer network. Among the three are said to be Germany, South Korea and China. What's worse, Fox has reported that Hillary Clinton knew that her server had been hacked but continued to use it. Incredible!
General David Petraeus was prosecuted by the Obama Administration for security breeches far less serious than the allegations against Ms. Clinton. Hence, a failure to prosecute now will be a bombshell decision based solely on party loyalty and if it happens - if the Attorney General will not indict because Obama won't prosecute - the resulting reaction within the government would be cataclysmic. As former Federal Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Fox, if the AG will not prosecute Hillary even with an FBI recommendation to prosecute, there will be "blood on the floor."
Finally, No. 7 Maryland edged Northwestern on Tuesday night in College Park, 62-56, in overtime. Melo Trimble brought Maryland back from the dead going down the wire in regulation time, then sparked the Maryland victory in Overtime, with lots of help from Robert Carter, Jr. and Diamond Stone. Trimble finished with 18 points and 6 assists, Stone finished with 11 and Carter with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Jake Layman also played well, scoring 8 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, making 3 steals and blocking 3 shots. Maryland is now 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten. Northwestern slipped to 15-5 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
Incidentally, if you watched the game on BTN, you may have noticed:
1. That one of the officials was Gene Steratore. It is the same Gene Steratore who is an NFL referee.
2, As usual, the game announcers were rooting hard for whatever team Maryland was playing. I never make a note as to who these guys are when the broadcast starts, but about three minutes in, I'm steaming. With the Ravens and Orioles, I can shut off the TV sound and turn on the radio, but with Maryland - and God Knows I hate to say this - Johnny Hollyday is so ineffective describing basketball, and he forgets to give the score often enough, that the radio isn't an option.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Burnley Beats Back Brentford, 3-1; Claret Set to Face Derby County In Key Championship Showdown
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 19, 2016 - Burnley moved level with Fulham on Friday as the top scoriing team in the Championship, scoring three goals at Brentford and keeping up a determined drive to finish first or second and thereby earn an automatic promotion back to the Premier League. Both Burnley and Fulham have scored 42 goals so far. Last season, when Burnley played magnificent defense but could not score in the Premier seems a distant memory. Today, George Boyd, Scott /Arfield and Joey Barton all hit the back of the net in the first half, enabling the Claret (13 wins, 9 draws, 5 losses) to open up a commanding lead by the half. In the second half the home team did manage to score a goal, but that was it. Brentford is in 11th place with a record of 10 wins, 6 draws and 11 losses.
The only thing of note that didn't go Burnley's way was the failure of Andre Gray to score in a sixth consecutive match.
Burnley is now idle until Monday, January 28, when they take on Derby County at Turf Moor beginning at 7:45 pm in Lancashire, 2:45 pm EST. As this is posted, the top six on the Championship Table stand as follows:
1. Middlesbrough: 17 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses, 55 points
2. Hull City: 16 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses, 53 points
3. Derby County: 13 wins, 10 draws, 4 losses, 49 points
4. Burnley: 13 wins, 9 draws, 5 losses, 48 points
5. Brighton: 12 wins, 11 draws, 47 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday: 12 wins, 9 draws, 6 losses, 45 points
The only thing of note that didn't go Burnley's way was the failure of Andre Gray to score in a sixth consecutive match.
Burnley is now idle until Monday, January 28, when they take on Derby County at Turf Moor beginning at 7:45 pm in Lancashire, 2:45 pm EST. As this is posted, the top six on the Championship Table stand as follows:
1. Middlesbrough: 17 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses, 55 points
2. Hull City: 16 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses, 53 points
3. Derby County: 13 wins, 10 draws, 4 losses, 49 points
4. Burnley: 13 wins, 9 draws, 5 losses, 48 points
5. Brighton: 12 wins, 11 draws, 47 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday: 12 wins, 9 draws, 6 losses, 45 points
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Maryland Crushes Ohio State, 100-65 behind Robert Carter's 25 points, Rasheed Sulaimon's 22, Diamond Stone's 15 and Melo Trimble's 9 Assists; With Big Ten Standings and Weekend Results and Schedule
BALTIMORE, Maryland Jauuary 16. 2016 - Maryland busted out of the gate in College Park, looking hell bent on ripping through anyone standing in their way. Unfortunately for Ohio State, they were the first ones to catch Maryland coming off an extremely vexatious defeat in Ann Arbor on Tuesday night. What happened next wasn't pretty, at least to the Buckeyes. First, Robert Carter scored eight straight points right out of the box. Then, Rasheed Sulaimon continued the hot shooting he demonstrated late in the second half at Michigan. By halftime, Maryland had laid Ohio State to waste, led by Carter with 15 and Sulaimon with 13, and, lest we forget, All-American Melo Trimble had 6 assists by then.
And then the second half started and things got worse for Ohio State. When it was all over, Maryland had posted a stunningly large, 100-65. victory. Carter finished with 25, and Sulaimon finished with 22. Diamond Stone also continued his fine work in the low post, pouring in 15 points and nabbing 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes. For his part, Melo Trimble finished with 8 points and a game-high of 9 assists. He was one of four Maryland starters with 3 rebounds (Carter had 5), giving firm indication of how hard Mark Turgeon's team hits the boards. Off the bench, Jared Nickens showed signs of regaining his shooting touch, hitting two three-point shots in the first half and also grabbing three boards.
Maryland, however, will remain behind Indiana in the standings, as the Hoosiers beat back struggling MInnesota, 70-63 in Minneapolis, In fact, for the time being, the Terps are ensconced in third place behind Indiana and Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 in the conference. However, Iowa plays at home Sunday against Michigan. Also tomorrow, Michigan State plays at Wisconsin. Iowa has 4 wins in the Big Ten and two of them are over Michigan State. In fact, Michigan State has only two losses all season. Here are the up-to-the-minute Big Ten Standings:
1. Indiana: 5-0 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall.
2. Iowa: 4-0 in the Big Ten, 13-3 overall.
3. Maryland: 5-1 in the Big Ten, 16-2 overall.
4. Michigan: 3-1 in the Big Ten, 13-4 overall.
5. Ohio State: 4-2 in the Big Ten, 12=7 overall.
6. Michigan State: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 16-2 overall.
7. Northwestern: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall
8. Purdue: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall.
9. Nebraska: 3-3 in the Big Ten, 11-8 overall.
10. Penn State: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 10-8 overall.
11. Illinois: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 9-9 overall.
12. Wisconsin: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 9-9 overall.
13. Rutgers: 0-5 in the Big Ten, 6-12 overall.
14. Minnesota: 0-6 in the Big Ten, 6-12 overall.
Saturday, January 16 Scores:
Maryland 100, Ohio State 65
Indiana 70, Minnesota 63
Penn State at Northwestern, 7:30 pm
Purdue at Rutgers, 6:00 pm
Nebraska 78, Illinois 67
Sunday, January 17 Schedule:
Michigan at Iowa, 1:00 pm
Michigan State at Wisconsin, 12:00 pm
And then the second half started and things got worse for Ohio State. When it was all over, Maryland had posted a stunningly large, 100-65. victory. Carter finished with 25, and Sulaimon finished with 22. Diamond Stone also continued his fine work in the low post, pouring in 15 points and nabbing 6 rebounds in only 21 minutes. For his part, Melo Trimble finished with 8 points and a game-high of 9 assists. He was one of four Maryland starters with 3 rebounds (Carter had 5), giving firm indication of how hard Mark Turgeon's team hits the boards. Off the bench, Jared Nickens showed signs of regaining his shooting touch, hitting two three-point shots in the first half and also grabbing three boards.
Maryland, however, will remain behind Indiana in the standings, as the Hoosiers beat back struggling MInnesota, 70-63 in Minneapolis, In fact, for the time being, the Terps are ensconced in third place behind Indiana and Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 in the conference. However, Iowa plays at home Sunday against Michigan. Also tomorrow, Michigan State plays at Wisconsin. Iowa has 4 wins in the Big Ten and two of them are over Michigan State. In fact, Michigan State has only two losses all season. Here are the up-to-the-minute Big Ten Standings:
1. Indiana: 5-0 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall.
2. Iowa: 4-0 in the Big Ten, 13-3 overall.
3. Maryland: 5-1 in the Big Ten, 16-2 overall.
4. Michigan: 3-1 in the Big Ten, 13-4 overall.
5. Ohio State: 4-2 in the Big Ten, 12=7 overall.
6. Michigan State: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 16-2 overall.
7. Northwestern: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall
8. Purdue: 3-2 in the Big Ten, 15-3 overall.
9. Nebraska: 3-3 in the Big Ten, 11-8 overall.
10. Penn State: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 10-8 overall.
11. Illinois: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 9-9 overall.
12. Wisconsin: 1-4 in the Big Ten, 9-9 overall.
13. Rutgers: 0-5 in the Big Ten, 6-12 overall.
14. Minnesota: 0-6 in the Big Ten, 6-12 overall.
Saturday, January 16 Scores:
Maryland 100, Ohio State 65
Indiana 70, Minnesota 63
Penn State at Northwestern, 7:30 pm
Purdue at Rutgers, 6:00 pm
Nebraska 78, Illinois 67
Sunday, January 17 Schedule:
Michigan at Iowa, 1:00 pm
Michigan State at Wisconsin, 12:00 pm
Friday, January 15, 2016
As America Prepares to Choose a New President, The Author Ventures Out on His Limb
BALTIMORE, Maryland January 15, 2016 - Now it is decision time. All of the posturing is stamped "completed." All of the campaigning is marked "completed." All of the Ads have been purchased. Everything pre-election, in fact, is marked "completed." All that is left is the decision of the voters, the trip to the polls and the pulling of the levers. When those final steps are "completed." the nation will have a new President. In the debate, last night, some new revelations about the candidates came to light. Only the voters can decide whether these late revelations are decisive.
_______________________________________________
Opinion
and
Analysis
________________________________________________
I am only one voter. I cast but one vote. I have an opinion about who I believe should win. I have reasons why I am going to vote for that person. Here are those reasons along with my personal choice. You know, if you read Credible and Incisive with any kind of regularity that I started out being for Dr. Ben Carson. I love everything about this man, most of which the average American does not know. He is decent and noble to the core. He cares deeply about our country. He gave his entire adult life to improve the lives of people he did not know and who could not enrich him. When he leaves this Earth, the world will be dramatically better for his having been here. The way he was treated by the far left brilliantly illustrates everything that is corrupt and evil about them. During the period of time that opinion polls showed a profound spike in support for Dr. Carson, the Left jumped on him with their teeth bared. They did everything they could to rip him apart. It was filthy and corrupt and exceedingly evil, and it didn't work. Dr. Carson is illustrative of the age-old maxim that some people are so innately good, so good inside and out, that they are impervious to being slimed.
Sadly, while Dr. Carson is indeed that good of a person, he is not a superman when it comes to political adroitness. When the conversation on the campaign trail moved across the sea and into the ambit of foreign policy, he stumbled badly albeit briefly. I know, because I followed him, that he recovered his balance quite quickly, but it wasn't quite quick enough in this cycle of seven very strong candidates, all bunched closely at the top behind a behemoth of a candidate in the person of Donald Trump. Dr. Carson went to the Middle East and met directly with Syrian Refugees across the border in Jordan. He learned from them and proposed a cogent, dynamic solution to the vexing problem of the so-called refugees. His solution, which he believes - probably correctly - that the refugees also favor, is to establish protected zones within Syria for refugees to settle in for the duration of the civil war. Nations from around the world would provide troops and armaments to protect the zone, and food and medicine to care for the refugees. Unfortunately for Dr. Carson, and maybe for us, is that by the time he made his proposal, no one was paying attention to him anymore. He was branded as being unprepared for the presidency in the field of foreign affairs, and hence, passed over by those perceived as 'in the know' politically. He has faught bravely and with determination to overcome the slight, but it looks as if he will not be able to do it. He is still placed in the top four or five candidates, but he has fallen behind the band of candidates at the very tip top - Trump, Crews, Rubio - with the Iowa Caucuses, New Hampshire Primary and South Carolina Primary now looming only days away.
If, on the eve of these primaries, that perception holds, then I will cast my vote for one of the top three and not Dr. Carson.
Some of you might be saying, wait one minute, you are a Democrat. Why aren't you supporting a Democrat. If you are saying that you are only paying slight attention. I am a Democrat. I am not a Leftist. I am definetly not an uber Leftist like Obama, Clinton and even O'Malley. And Bernie Sanders is even left of them. He's a large 'C' Communist. It was reported the other day that he took his wife to Moscow on ther honeymoon. He is a Communist.
I am torn between the three in the top tier. Any of them would be a dramatic improvement over Obama: you would have to be an absolute imbecile not to see that. And in many ways, Hillary Clinton is worse than Obama.
Trump will not be pushed around by any of the Islamics. He will not be pushed around by the Red Chinese. He will not be pushed around by Putin. Trump will rebuild the economy and re-establish basic Capitalism in these United States. He will rebuild the military, but this isn't his strongest point and both Rubio and Crews are more dedicated to the premise of reviving the military than is Trump. Trump is also the strongest on immigration. I worry about him in the areas fidelity to the Constitution and facing down the uber left in other core areas. The reason I worry about this is because Trump is not an inate
Crews is the most decent of the three. He is a devout Christian. He is a devout Constitutionalist. He is very smart. If he appoints someone of Trump's ilk to be Secretary of State and someone of Rubio's ilke to be Secretary of Defense, it could be A new and wonderful day in America again. If he doesn't, I worry he will be bogged down by the politically correct crowd here in these United States.
Rubio is the strongest on foreign policy and national defense. He is the weakest (of the three in the top tier) on immigration. I worry about him on Constitutional principles. I worry about him on crime and political correctness. I worry that Rubio is too concerned about political correctness and because of this, he is susceptible to being beaten down by the uber left. This is what caused him to stumble into the imbroglio that was the 'Gang of Eight' a couple of years back
So, really, I have to choose between Trump and Crews. I think the two of them complement each other in so many ways. I think the best choice is for Trump to be the President and Crews the Vice-President. We saw the perfect combination of talents in the duo of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. The question is whether Trump would listen to Crews when he should, and ignore him when he must.
I guess what I'm saying is that I am going to vote for Trump and hope to God that he picks Crews to run with him. If Trump is going to pick someone like Obama did; i.e., someone who won't be able to stand up to him, I'd be more comfortable with Crews. I'd quit the country before I'd vote for any of the three on the Democratic side. I wonder if I'm the only Democrat who feels like this. I doubt it. But how many of us are there? I've been a Democrat, a liberal Democrat, all of my life, and yet I know in my heart that all seven people on the stage at the GOP debate are far superior to the three radicals on the stage when the Democrats debate.
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