Republican debate open thread
Well I just could not find anything I felt like writing about tonight so I have decided to post a debate night open thread. Feel free to comment on the debate as it happens. What did you like? What is frustrating you about the debate? How are the CNN moderators? To be honest I am not expecting too much tonight, but I will almost guarantee you the moderators will do their best to get the candidates fighting with each other rather than focusing on the issues.
I probably will not be live blogging the event but if anything strikes me tonight during the debate I will try to post it here tomorrow morning.
One of the things that is most frustrating to small time bloggers such as myself is being ahead of the curve on issues while being heard by a small crowd only to hear big time bloggers and big name conservative talk show hosts finally come around to your position days and sometimes weeks after you first reported what only recently these personalities have realized is the truth.
I am not trying to toot my own horn here but there have been several instances where I have heard these big names report as breaking news a position or a story that I have written about in some instances days after I first wrote about it and damn that gets under my skin. It is one of the reasons I do not listen to talk radio anymore…
The Government Accountability Office finds the Epa violated propaganda law in promoting the Clean Water Act
The EPA has been in the midst of creating new regulations regarding surface water that critics claim is an example of government overreach which could allow the agency to regulate puddles and streams on private property, and at least one Federal judge agreed with that assessment. The new rule came under such scrutiny that the EPA took to social media in an attempt to defend the new rule.
This campaign by the EPA to gain support for the new regulation drew claims of foul play and even the New York Times issued a report which called attention to this public relations blitz.
Today the Government Accountability Office released a report which found the EPA did indeed violate propaganda laws with its aggressive social media campaign.
Here is more:
Donald Trump says Ted Cruz is ‘a bit of a maniac’
Ted Cruz has been making quite a bit of headway in the primary lately, especially in Iowa where he leads Donald Trump by 10 points, and it appears as if this is making the business mogul just a little bit uneasy.
As a result of this uneasiness Donald Trump has begun to attack the Senator from Texas; last week he questioned Ted Cruz’s evangelical faith by claiming that “Catholics come out of Cuba” as if that somehow means he is obligated to be a Catholic. Even if one is born a Catholic it does not mean that one has to stay a Catholic and I am living proof, for Donald Trump to insinuate otherwise is just plain silly.
And today he is at it again: on the campaign trail today Donald Trump called Ted Cruz “a bit of a maniac” because he did not exhibit the right temperament while in the Senate. Why doesn’t he feel Ted Cruz has the temperament to be President? He had the gall to fight against the establishment Republicans when he was afforded the opportunity.
Here is what he had to say:
New Iowa poll has Ted Cruz ahead of Donald Trump by 10 points
Ted Cruz appears to be making some waves in Iowa shortly ahead of the caucuses. In the last two weeks the Senator from Texas has surged from being behind in the polls into a virtual tie with Donald Trump and in a poll last week he took the lead for the first time.
And now a new poll is out which shows Ted Cruz expanding his lead to ten points over Donald Trump, here is more:
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has surged ahead to become the latest front-runner in the campaign for the Iowa caucuses, dislodging Ben Carson and opening an impressive lead over a stalled Donald Trump, a Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows.
The firebrand junior senator from Texas is backed by 31 percent of those likely to attend the Republican caucuses that start the presidential nomination season on Feb. 1. Trump is a distant second at 21 percent, up slightly from 19 percent in October, but below his peak of 23 percent in August.
I believe Donald Trump is right about where he will stay in regards to support, his numbers have not changed much, so the only question to me was whether or not the anti-Trump vote would coalesce around one candidate or whether they would split the vote and right now it would appear as if the anti-Trump vote has settled on one candidate.
At least in Iowa. Whether or not this trend continues nationally is another question and the indications here in New Hampshire show Donald Trump winning the first in the nation primary, and as of now it is not even close.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
December 13th open thread: Change (In the House of Flies)
Here is the open thread for Sunday, December 13th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
I always consider it to be a mixed blessing when we get to double digit posts because while it means America’s Watchtower was active it also means the Federal government was as well; this week we covered 11 stories, did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America’s Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles I probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America’s Watchtower. How cool is that! If you do not have a Twitter account what better reason do you need to sign up for one!
This week’s musical selection is the dark and haunting song by Deftones entitled “Change (In the House of Flies)”
frui diem
It is no secret that the Republican establishment hates, and I do not use that term lightly, Donald Trump. It is also no secret that there is a movement afoot to nominate Mitt Romney once again. And with reports circulating that the establishment is preparing for a brokered convention in which they can screw the voters out of the candidate they prefer (and make no mistake about it, I do not support Donald Trump) it appears as if these two stories are about to converge.
It is being reported here that a group of Mitt Romney’s supporters are preparing to wrest the nomination away from Donald Trump at a brokered convention, here is more:
The State Department has informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that it cannot find emails from Hillary Clinton’s top IT staffer Bryan Pagliano. This is especially interesting in light of the fact that Mr. Pagliano has already plead the Fifth and has refused to talk to the Judiciary Committee. What does he know and when did he know it…
Here is more:
The State Department has told Senate investigators it cannot find backup copies of emails sent by Bryan Pagliano, the top Hillary Clinton IT staffer who maintained her email server but has asserted his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer questions on the matter.
State officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a recent closed-door meeting that they could not locate what’s known as a “.pst file” for Pagliano’s work during Clinton’s tenure, which would have included copies of the tech expert’s emails, according to a letter Chairman Chuck Grassley sent to Secretary of State John Kerry that was obtained by POLITICO.
ZoNation: What do Liberals Think Causes Violence?
As you can see in this latest ZoNation video, Zo is a little confused about what liberals think causes violence and when you watch the video you will see why as he exposes different liberal positions on the same issues depending on what the agenda is at the time.
Zo brings up a great point about the new push to ban people who are on the no-fly list from buying guns. While this is a no-brainer it begs the question of why these people are in the country in the first place? Isn’t it too late at this point to be on a no-fly list after they are here? Isn’t the no-fly list designed to keep these people out of the country?
Enjoy:
America's Watchtower 