For several weeks now we have been reading stories about how nervous the Democratic establishment is at the ever-increasing possibility that Bernie Sanders will be the party’s nominee. The prospect has become so troublesome to the party that the Democratic National Committee changed the rules so that Michael Bloomberg would qualify for the debate tonight in Las Vegas, hoping beyond hope that he can do what the other candidates cannot and that is stop the momentum Bernie Sanders has been gathering.
Now an internal memo from the Bloomberg campaign has leaked and in it the campaign talks about how close Bernie Sanders is to a victory and the “dire circumstances” surrounding the possibility. His solution if for all of the other candidates to drop out so that he can take on the Vermont socialist by himself. Here is more:
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign team wants the rest of his Democratic opponents to drop out of the presidential race so he can take on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, man to man, a memo obtained by Axios said.
Sanders will become unstoppable if former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t bow out, Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s top strategist, said, according to Axios on Wednesday. The self-avowed Democratic socialist will have too many delegates after Super Tuesday if the race does not winnow down, he explained.
“The fact is if the state of this race remains status quo — with Biden, Pete and Amy in the race on Super Tuesday — Bernie is likely to open up a delegate lead that seems nearly impossible to overcome,” Sheekey said.
He added: “I don’t think many people understand the dire circumstances here.”
Of course it is natural for a candidate to want his opponents to drop out of a race to give him a better chance of winning, there is nothing unusual in that. But this seems to go beyond and you can sense the urgency and the sense of need to stop Bernie Sanders, and with the Democratic leaders changing the rules to help Michael Bloomberg take the debate stage you have to believe the party is just as worried about Bernie Sanders and his supporters.
If you were a Bernie Sanders supporter in 2016 and you were upset about the way the Democratic party screwed him and you thought it would be different this time you had better think again…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Donald Trump is in the midst of an election year push to build the wall on the Mexican border hoping to appease the members of his base who do not think he has done enough on this issue.
Part of that strategy, according to this story, is to waive some Federal contracting laws to eliminate competitive bidding in order to expedite the process. Here is more:
The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, moving the president closer to fulfilling a signature campaign promise in an election year but sparking criticism about potential for fraud, waste and abuse.
The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles (283 kilometers) of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The 10 waived laws include a requirement for open competition and giving losing bidders a chance to protest decisions.
The acting Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, is exercising authority under a 2005 law that gives him sweeping powers to waive laws for building border barriers.
According to the quote above there is a law on the books which allows the President to waive these laws but we know that will not stop the left from taking this issue to court and eventually finding a sympathetic judge to order a stay.
The issue I have with this is that this eliminates sending the task out for bids to ensure the lowest cost possible to the taxpayer and as a fiscal conservative I find this precedent to be troubling.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Democratic Senators held secret meeting with Iran
You may recall that in 2018, when he was promoting his new book, John Kerry admitted he was conducting secret meetings with Iran in an attempt to salvage his Iran nuclear deal. Well, it looks like other Democratic Senators are following his lead because according to this story Chris Murphy and other Democratic Senators recently held a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Here is more:
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and other Democratic senators had a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the Munich Security Conference last week, according to a source briefed by the French delegation to the conference. Murphy’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment by press time.
Such a meeting would mean Murphy had done the type of secret coordination with foreign leaders to potentially undermine the U.S. government that he accused Trump officials of doing as they prepared for Trump’s administration.
A textbook case of projection, accusing others of doing what you are in fact guilty of. More still:
“Unless it was authorized by the president or secretary of state, conducting independent foreign policy sends mixed signals to our adversaries,” said Christian Whiton, former State Department senior advisor in the Trump and George W. Bush administrations. “It seems very unpalatable. If we want to talk to Iranians, they know how to reach us and they don’t need to go through an intermediary.”
A State Department official who spoke on background said that the State Department was not aware of any side meetings with Iranian officials that Murphy was engaged in.
Both Murphy and Zarif spoke publicly during a two-hour session on Middle East policy, with Murphy and Zarif both fiercely criticizing U.S. policy.
We do not know what was discussed behind closed doors but we do know that Chris Murphy is opposed to Donald Trump’s policy in Iran, that he and Zarif both publicly attacked the President’s policy, and that the State Department had no knowledge of the meeting.
It really is not all that hard to figure out what the topic of conversation was or how it might have gone, but we will leave that type of “parody” up to Adam Schiff because I am sure he will be very interested in finding out if Chris Murphy and the others were colluding with a foreign government to undermine United States policy…
And of course there is the Logan Act:
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
The United States is the world leader in cutting CO2 emissions
For years we have been listening to the left lecture us about CO2 emissions and the need for America to lead by example in the race to save the planet by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently Greta Thunberg asked Americans what we would tell our children when they asked why we did nothing to save the planet even though we were warned about the impending doom. Democrats constantly tell us that Republicans want dirty water and polluted air. Imagine my surprise then when I learned that America actually led the way in cutting greenhouse gasses in 2019. Here is more:
The United States led the world in tackling CO2 emissions last year while combining that singular success with solid economic growth, a new report reveals.
It has also been confirmed while the U.S. was hitting its climate goals, at the same time “80 percent of the increase in CO2 emissions came from Asia and that China and India both contributed significantly” to global increases.
“The United States saw the largest decline in energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019 on a country basis – a fall of 140 Mt, or 2.9%, to 4.8 Gt,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported Tuesday. “US emissions are now down almost 1 Gt from their peak in the year 2000, the largest absolute decline by any country over that period.”
Not only did the United States lead the world in cutting greenhouse emissions in 2019 but this is has been a trend since the year 2000. And while we are doing our part to save the world 80% of the increase in CO2 emissions has come from Asia. Somebody tell me again why the United States is being attacked for our role in destroying the planet while Asia gets a free pass if the global warming scare is really about saving the planet…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, February 16th open thread: ‘Prayers For Rain’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. 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.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
Here is The Cure performing “Prayers For Rain” live in 2002:
Amy Klobuchar could not name Mexico’s President while on Telemundo
We have seen several stories from multiple websites about how worried the Democratic establishment is at the prospect that Bernie Sanders is going to win the nomination. The leaders of the party believe that because he is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist he is too radical to win a general election so they have been hoping a more grounded candidate would step up. (This does not mean the Democratic leadership disagrees with Bernie Sanders they just do not want him to be so vocal about where the party really is nowadays.)
The obvious choice would be Joe Biden but unfortunately for the party he is too busy threatening people, insulting Democratic primary voters, and reliving his glory days of taking on Corn Pop so his candidacy is just about over. Elizabeth Warren? Her campaign never got off the ground because, much like Hillary Clinton, she is just not likable and she comes off as a phony.
This leaves the party with two candidates who may be positioned to make a move as we make our way towards Super Tuesday. One would be Pete Buttigieg, who has done surprisingly well so far, and the other would be Amy Klobuchar, whose unexpected strong performance in New Hampshire has given her a boost and propelled her into the conversation.
And that brings us to the two candidates’ knowledge of foreign policy and world leaders and this is where Amy Klobuchar had a bit of a problem the other day. Pete Buttigieg did slightly better…
At an event in front of Latin-Americans Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg were interviewed by Telemundo and when asked if they knew who the President of Mexico was this is how they answered:
“No,” admitted Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota.
Showing them up was Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend, Indiana mayor and youngest of the eight candidates battling for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“Lopez Obrador… I hope,” he answered, hesitatingly.
Mayor Pete did better than she did, at least he got the answer right even if he was not sure but this has to be embarrassing to Amy Klobuchar considering this was an interview with Telemundo during an event for Latin-American citizens. You would have thought her handlers would have had her prepared for a question like this but they obviously did not.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Virginia moves closer to passing National Popular Vote legislation
The National Popular Vote movement has been around for a few years now but it has gained some steam in liberal states since the 2016 election. If you do not know, the National Popular Vote movement is an attempt by liberal states to undermine the electoral college without going through the proper amendment process to change the system.
The way it works is like this: States vote to award their delegates to whichever candidate wins the popular vote nationally. The pact does not go into effect until enough states have passed NPV legislation to gain a majority of electoral votes.
We have all seen the disastrous results the last election has had in the once great commonwealth of Virginia and now they are one step closer to passing National Popular Vote legislation. Here is more:
The Democratic-led Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation that seeks to award the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate that wins the national popular vote in an election.
If the legislation is passed by the Senate, where Democrats also hold control, and signed into law by the governor, Virginia would subsequently be entered into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
“Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” a bill summary states. “The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact.”
I think it is fairly certain that this bill will eventually be signed into law and when it is the movement will only be 74 electoral votes away from pulling this off. There does not appear to be enough time for this movement to be in effect by the November election but it is getting closer and it is only a matter of time before the Electoral College is the political equivalent of Schrödinger’s cat.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Bernie Sanders enriched his family with campaign funds
It looks like Joe Biden is not the only Presidential candidate in this year’s race who used his position in the government to enrich his family because according to this story the man of the people who believes the system is unfair has also done the same. Yes, I am talking about Bernie Sanders and here is more:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has repeatedly used his political position to steer money — both contributions to his campaigns and government funding — to his family members, explained Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute
[In] 2000, Bernie was in Washington D.C, serving in Congress. Jane and her children a new LLC called Sanders and Driscoll. The new firm was a for-profit consulting company, and was run by Jane, daughter Carina, and son David. The family ran this new business out of the Sanders family home. Because of the way it was structured, it’s impossible to know just how much money Bernie’s wife and children made from his congressional campaign. But critics would claim that Sanders doled out more than $150,000 to his family through the new company.
Jane would even set up a media buying company, meaning that she would get paid every time candidate Bernie Sanders bought television advertising for his Congressional campaigns.
Then, during his 2016 presidential run, the Sanders campaign would funnel $82 million dollars through a mysterious media buying company run by Jane’s former colleagues. That company, known as Olde Towne Media, was located in private home in a cul de sac in Virginia.
And we all remember the Burlington College scandal:
Jane Sanders’ previous role as head of Burlington College, a private school with fewer than 200 students. One of the college’s board members admitted that hiring Jane Sanders was a function of her marriage to Bernie Sanders — then a member of House of Representatives from Vermont — believing it would help the school’s fundraising endeavors.
Despite its financial difficulties at the time, in 2009, Burlington College contracted with an unaccredited woodworking school run by Jane Sanders’ daughter, Carina Driscoll. Over $500,000 was funneled to from Burlington College to the woodworking school.
“Carina Driscoll’s school also received at least one federal grant from the US Department of Agriculture,” added Schweizer, noting that Bernie Sanders had oversight over the USDA’s funding at the time as a member of the Senate Budget Committee.
I believe that in addition to people questioning his sanity the biggest reason why Joe Biden is tanking in the polls is because people are finally realizing how he used his position to enrich himself and his family and hopefully people will begin catching on to what Bernie Sanders has been up to all these years.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
It seems as if not all Democrats are thrilled with the prospect of Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare-for-all” plan. More specifically the culinary union is not happy and it is warning its members that they will be forced to give up their negotiated healthcare coverage if Bernie Sanders is elected.
Here is more:
Bosses of a powerful service industry union in Las Vegas, Nevada, are going after 2020 Democrat presidential primary candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for his plan to strip union workers of their negotiated healthcare plans in favor of Medicare for All.
Less than two weeks before the Nevada Democrat Caucus on February 22, the Culinary Union is posting flyers in the back of restaurants, bars, and hotels along the Las Vegas strip to warn their 60,000-strong union worker membership against Sanders, according to the Nevada Independent:
The flyer says Sanders, if elected president, would “end Culinary Healthcare,” “require ‘Medicare For All,’” and “lower drug prices.” [Emphasis added]
A spokeswoman for the Culinary Union said the flyer is also going out to members Tuesday night via text and email. [Emphasis added]
The Culinary Union provides health insurance for about 130,000 of its members and their family members, negotiated plans that Sanders’ Medicare for All agenda would end.
And Bernie Sanders recently admitted this was true at a town hall meeting in Nevada but assured the people there it was a good thing he was going to take away something they negotiated for and replace it with a government program.
This should be worrisome to union members because it gives us a glimpse into who Bernie Sanders really is and it shows us that he believes the government can better provide for the people than the unions can. Negotiating for more benefits will be out the window because Bernie Sanders believes everybody should be exactly the same and it is not fair for one to have more than another.
And yet the media and the Democrats keep telling the American people that Donald Trump and the Republicans are going to take away healthcare and destroy the unions…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
New Hampshire voter Joe Biden called ‘dog-faced’ speaks out
By now you have heard the story of how Joe Biden treated a young woman who was one of tens of people to attend one of his rallies in New Hampshire. Because she is young and a woman Joe Biden decided to show the room he could be a tough guy and called her a “lying, dog-faced pony soldier.” Her question? She just wanted to know if he thought he could win a national election after the debacle in Iowa.
The humiliated student is now speaking out and she sounds much more lucid and intelligent than Joe Biden did the other night, here is what she had to say:
‘It was kind of humiliating to be called a liar on national TV by the former vice president,” she said. “Instead of answering that question straightforward, his immediate response was to attempt to invalidate me by exposing my inexperience.”
“He has been performing extremely poorly in this race and the fact that he couldn’t just straight answer my question without bullying or intimidating just exacerbates that fact,” she said.
She nailed it! When a person is asked a legitimate question and their first response is an ad hominem attack on the person asking the question, especially a young woman’s looks, it shows that you really have no answer and this was not even a question on policy but rather viability. One can only imagine how this made her feel.
The goal of every politician is to win the young vote and I think this is one vote Joe Biden will not be getting and I also think this probably will turn off most young voters who were thinking about voting for him before this happened. And she was not the first voter Joe Biden insulted or threatened during the campaign, he has a history of this and it is coming back to bite him.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
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