An Interesting Conversation: Should Gun Strore Owners be Able to Legally Discriminate?

After the Orlando Massacre I read that the Islamic terrorist purchased his guns legally.

The source further reports that Mateen had purchased a Sig Sauer .223 caliber assault rifle at a firearms shop near his Florida home, St. Lucie Gun Sales, on June 4 and then a Glock 17 at the same store on June 5. Mateen had returned to the store a third time on June 9 to buy magazines for his weapons. The store is a federally licensed firearms dealer. Under law, the seller would have had to notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation of Mateen's purchase so that his name could be checked against the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.

I know that his name was on two FBI watch lists but currently that doesn't mean anything. He hadn't committed a crime so nothing could stop him from buying a gun. If they changed the law it would infringe on the rights of others. Being investigated or having been investigated should not be a crime.

However, an idea I was thinking about would be to allow gun shop owners to deny service to anyone they want to without running afoul of the ACLU. What this would mean is that they could conceivably discriminate against people with Muslim surnames and get away with it. This would be a special case only for gun shop owners and serve to make them a protected class of retailers.

The problem with this plan would be it stops law-abiding Muslims that simply want to defend themselves. That would strait-up infringe on their 2nd amendment rights. Also such a plan might have stopped Mateen or the San Bernadino killers but would not have stopped the Virginia Tech shooter, Sandyhook, or the Colorado shooter or the Boston Bombers because they all would dodge the ban for circumstances that were unique to their cases.

Another problem with this plan would be that Muslim gun shop owners might pop up to get around this idea if there was enough demand. In fact I could see deep-pocketed individuals like the Saudi's or Iran bankrolling gun shops that do not discriminate against Muslims. I could see ISIS starting a gun shop to funnel guns to would be Mateens. In fact I wonder if the FBI is investigating such a thing?

This plan also doesn't stop an Islamic terrorist from buying a gun at a gun show, online, or from a straw-purchase. I'm convinced Mateen would have did one of these things if that St. Lucie Gun Sales would have denied his purchase. So other than making it harder to buy the guns and ammo this kind of thing would have only slowed Mateen down. Only ideological change would have actually stopped it from happening. That would only happen in the Mosque or maybe if we destroyed ISIS once-and-for-all. This might unfortunately be the new normal.

At Last the Nerd Barbie: Game Developer Becomes Barbies New Job Title

I guess Mattel is finally going to amp up its role of becoming steward to little girls everywhere. This sounded absolutely egregious.

Back in 2014, Mattel took an unfortunate step backward when they continued to print the book Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer. Rather than setting out to inspire and empower girls everywhere, this publication ended up doing the opposite because, to put it simply, its plot involved Barbie needing two male characters to help her after she infects her computer with a virus.

Wait, what? She was a computer engineer and had to get two other guys to help her get rid of a virus that she infected her own PC with? Why didn't she just restore from backup or run a virus scan? That is pretty bad. However, Mattel seems to be making amends.

Rather than waiting for guys to step in and solve all her computer problems, Barbie is now self-sufficient. She can design and create her own game, especially since a she has an actual code written on her laptop. According to Slate, it seems that this Barbie is creating her very own version of Bejeweled on her screen.

In addition to her having a (surprisingly non-pink) laptop, Game Developer Barbie also has a workspace filled with things like flowcharts, a tablet, real programming books, headphones, action figures, and a cup of coffee. As for her clothes, she’s wearing what Mattel calls a “industry-inspired outfit.” This consists of white sneakers, skinny jeans, a comfy-looking graphic top, a green jacket, and gold glasses.

Now they need to come out with theoretical physics Ken that looks like Sheldon from Big Bang to date this particular Barbie.

 

Buy out the Coal Industry? Very Intriguing

This is an interesting idea but he is right Congress would kill it dead.

The basic rationale is that this would reduce US power plant emissions more quickly and more certainly than President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, which is currently on hold and bogged down in litigation and is dependent on state cooperation. What's more, a buyout would help the workers who'd be affected by the dislocation.

One thing that the article doesn't go into is that these coal plants need to be replaced with something that does not pollute as much. So if the government would go in and give generous incentives to convert all coal power plants to natural gas (and train the workers for the transition) Obama would have an actual positive legacy item.

Bullard Worse than a Weather Vane: Only One Rate Hike Until 2018!?

I think they should fire this guy already.

St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard, in a significant shift in his outlook for the economy, now says low growth and a very low fed funds rate of just 63 basis points will likely remain in place through 2018. 

Bullard, reversing earlier forecasts that looked for growth to pick up and rates to rise, now says 2 percent growth is the most likely forecast and that rates will remain low. Bullard also sees unemployment at 4.7 percent and trimmed-mean PCE inflation of 2 percent during this window.

So he pretty much went from the biggest rate hawk to the biggest rate dove and he has the audacity to say this:

In a conference call with reporters following the release of the position paper, Bullard said the mismatch between Fed and investor expectations for the fed funds rate is eroding the central bank's credibility and causing distortions in the market.

He is the very one eroding the bank's credibility by going from hawk to dove after one bad jobs report. I know that rate rises are data driven but one data point shouldn't get someone to change so dramatically. I any case they should replace him with someone that isn't so damn vocal. I don't understand why they can't just be quiet and speak with one voice.

Juno had 34 for 34 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) Achieve Complete Remissions? CAR-T is the real deal

Wow now that is some good news and might be a reason to be long the stock again.

In efficacy-evaluable ALL patients (N=34), complete remission was reported in 34/34 (100%) patients and complete molecular remission as measured by flow cytometry (CmR) was achieved in 32/34 (94%) patients.

ALL is a terrible form of cancer that kills in like a few months IIRC. It also seems to go after kids quite a bit so this part was real eye opener.

In addition to the adult JCAR014 data presented today, Rebecca Gardner, M.D., of Seattle Children’s, announced results from Seattle Children’s Phase I study of JCAR017 in pediatric and young adults with CD19+ r/r ALL (n=42) demonstrating 39/42 (93%) patients experienced a complete remission, all of which were a CmR by flow cytometry. In patients who received the Flu/Cy preconditioning regimen, 14/14 (100%) achieved a complete remission and a CmR.

That Flu/Cy preconditioning is a round of Chemo that kills some of the cancer cells so that the CAR-Ts can work on the rest of them.

However, this a tangible bad mark against the therapy

sCRS was observed in 10/42 (24%) patients and Grade 3 or higher neurotoxicity was observed in 10/42 (24%) patients.

That means Cytokine-release syndrome happened to 10 of the 24 patients and that stuff is no joke. That happens because the cancer cells die so rapidly they end up causing this syndrome.

In any case this could be a first line therapy for ALL and will strait-up save some kids lives. Juno is selling for $47.65 a share which is pricey for a stock in a Phase I/II study.  Also there is a big question mark if this therapy can go after solid tumors but it might be something to take a flier on with some risk-capital. It will also probably be really expensive to administer because you are essentially taking cells from the body and re-engineering them to kill the cancer. It would have been nice to catch that low in $24.50 range as well but that is pure hindsight.

Return to the Dorm? WeLive Rolls Out Communal Living Space: They Need an Artists Setup Next

It might not be the next Montparnasse or Taos, New Mexico but this sounds like an ideal living situation.

The layouts in WeLive’s 400 units range from small studios to four-bedrooms, and all apartments come fully furnished. Per-tenant pricing begins at $1,375 but if you want a bit more privacy, you’ll have to dole out at least $2,000 per month. The most common setup is the “studio plus,” which comes with two beds (one is a Murphy hidden in the wall); these range from $2,500 to $2,800. A flat monthly utilities payment of $125 covers electric, water, cable, wifi and cleaning costs (yes, housekeeping is included).

When I visited WeLive, I spoke with 26-year-old entrepreneur Tiffany Tibbot who moved there in March and finds the community enriching and inspiring. Despite having lived alone for the past five years, she opted for a four-bedroom at WeLive in order to save money and meet new people. “The community building reminds me of college,” she said. “It’s like a safety net.”

I have always liked the idea of a communal space for creative minds to work together. However, one of the things that made those old post WW1 art colonies like Montparnasse work is the people were actual starving artists living there. That may not happen with a $2000 a month apartment with cheap wifi and cleaning costs.

In any case I think this might take off quite a bit with many Millennials who are finally able to venture out of their parents houses. The shared experience of living together with people in a dorm setting might counteract some of that disconnectedness some of them feel.  

I Agree with Maisie Williams: Talk about the Charity Event and not Her Not Wearing a Bra to Said Event

I have to agree with her statement.

Rather than being about what she wore, Maisie’s version is about what she did: helped “raise thousands.” Right on.

Maisie’s point is well taken and totally empowering. Let’s talk way more about women’s work, and way less about what they wore.

The headline really needs to change from "Teen Girl Doesn't Wear Bra to Event" to "Teen Girl Attends Anti-Abuse Fund Raiser; Bra Status Irrelevant." I'm pretty sure whatever mag charts Maisie's bra status didn't ask whatever male celebrity was at the event whether he was wearing underwear or not.

Message to Anti-Trump Rioters: You are going to Win him the Election

Some people just cannot be non-violent even if they are playing into the hands of people they hate.

But Thursday evening, in San Jose, California, was the worst of nights. What began as a gathering of young people and labor rights’ groups outside of Trump’s rally here, turned into a raucous, bloody, dangerous affair. The crowd of hundreds became disorderly as a large group broke off with seemingly pernicious intentions; to seek out anyone they suspected of being a Trump supporter and intimidate, harass or even beat them into submission. 

Remember all those riots leading up to the election of Hitler? I'm not saying Trump is Hitler but bloody riots usually lead to the anti-reactionary gaining power. The great silent majority looks at Trump as a cure for the bloody rioters. He looks "law-and-order" and is keeping America from going even further into chaos. I heard a pundit say every time they show a riot at a Trump rally it buys in 5000 more votes. I think that is a very prescient statement.  

The Case for Trump Winning it All? Jake Novak makes a Ton of Sense

It is always good to see a pundit make a strait-up mea culpa.

In the 80-odd days since I wrote that piece, I've been seeing more and more evidence of why my predictions for Trump's demise were wrong — and that his chances of winning in the general election look pretty decent.

He goes on to talk about Trumps management style and how he is distancing himself form the "conservative establishment" All of Novak's points make a ton of sense. I think the GOP needs to come to the realization that Trumps moves have been pretty well done. Getting away from the conservative establishment gets him away from what is, unfortunately, a losing brand. There just aren't enough hard-right conservatives to win a Presidential election and 8 years of Obama proves that.

And this point is especially true:

We all know Trump's key slogan/promise is "Make America Great Again." I'm still not sure what Hillary Clinton's key slogan/promise is and I follow her campaign very closely. Is it "I'm with Her?" If so, it's not very good in that it doesn't seem to have anything in it for the person who isn't "her."

Yeah that is especially bad at this juncture. Forget the idea that America is already great but Trump's slogan is kind of like "Hope and Change." Trump is saying things are bad now but they will get better under President Trump. While Hillary is just talking about blindly following this woman. It wouldn't be as bad if Hillary didn't lie about her unprotected email server, the Rose law firm records, Bengazi, etc. How are you supposed to blindly follow such a dishonest person?

It doesn't help that Bill is creeping around scaring off the Millennials. I think Trump is holding his fire and will unleash it on Bill as a rapist and a sexual predator and ask why Hillary is still married to that monster. Standing-by-ones-man doesn't fly in todays America especially when it comes to sexual violence. Many millennials are just learning about the salacious allegations, victim bashing, outright lies, etc. that went into the Clinton years of the 90s. Wait until Trump frames the narrative and keeps pounding it home that Hillary is married to a rapist and a sexual predator.  

One other thing that seems to be hurting Hillary is Trump know how to play the media like a fiddle. He says something outrageous and then the media pounces demanding an apology. Trump doubles down and doesn't apologize. The media then stands there dumbfounded as Trump moves onto the next thing. He understands that the news media is not trusted by a majority of Americans and are an easy mark.

Case-in-point is his tax returns. The media says every candidate for decades have released them and he should too. Then they try to goad him into doing it. Trump says he will not do it and then moves on to other things. The media is left there saying "its tradition" and "what does Trump have to hide?" Many Americans agree with that stance because why should they release their returns just to be a candidate? The media is again tone deaf on the matter. Trump just sidestepped something that could only be bad for him, looks tough, and puts a finger in the eye of the news media all at once. Novak makes a ton of sense so we might need to brace for a Trump presidency.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors Says S&P 500 to 2300 by Year End on Bond Catch-up Trade

Makes some historical sense at least.

The strategist marshals some historical stats to make his point.

He points out that since 1985, high-yield bonds have posted double-digit gains in 15 separate years. In 14 of those 15 years, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) has risen more than 10 percent; in the remaining year, 1992, stocks rose 8 percent. 

Sounds like a rally coming up unless the FED smashes it with their stupid rate rises.

Facinating how stock ownership has changed over the years

This is one very interesting chart.

Of the $22.8 trillion in stock outstanding (not including US ownership of foreign stock and stock owned by "pass-through entities" such as exchange-traded funds), retirement accounts owned roughly 37%, the most of any type of holder.

One this that has been a night-and-day change is taxable investment accounts aka brokerage accounts

Rosenthal and Austin's main focus was the precipitous decline of taxable investment accounts. In 50 years, the amount of stock owned by individual investors and funds outside retirement and nontaxable accounts such as 529 college-savings plans has dropped off a cliff — to about 25% in 2015 from over 80% in 1965.

I think this reflects some of the apprehension of owning stocks directly. It is much easier to buy a mutual fund or an S&P500 Index Fund then it is picking ones own stocks. This would be bad news for ETrade and other brokers. Luckily they are more diversified and provide different kinds of services all at once.

Sports Authority to Close all Stores: Dick's Sporting Goods Come to Hawaii! You will be the Market Leader on Landing

It seems that instead of some sort of debt work-out Sports Authority is closing everything.

Sports Authority, the once-mighty sporting goods chain that filed for bankruptcy protection in March, now plans to close all its 450 remaining stores, where going-out-of-business sales will start before Memorial Day.

A group of liquidators that offered the winning bid for the debt-ridden company’s assets at Monday’s bankruptcy auction will sell off remaining merchandise in going-out-of-business sales at stores not already in the process of closing, according to a filing in bankruptcy court in Delaware.

So that means the entire Hawaii market is open to a big box sporting goods retailer. I know many people buy things at Sports Authority because whenever I went there I noticed quite a few people even during weekdays. I know I have bought several bulky things that I would never buy online like weight lifting weights and gym bags. Quite a bit of their merchandise will probably be safe from Amazon because who is going to buy a gun safe or running shoes online?

So if Dick's sporting goods was smart they would just take over the leases at those Sports Authority's and thus take over the Hawaii market in one shot. I know Dick's are a pretty good retailer because I owned their stock a few years ago and I researched them fairly well. 

In fact they might be a good stock to get back into because they have very few competitors left and that Amazon-proof nature I talked about above. They recently guided downward because of Sports Authority cratering and offering those fire-sale prices. But that is a couple quarter overhang at best.    

Super Crossover Planned for December for Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow

I'm hoping it is called Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The CW announced that its four DC Comics superhero shows will come together for a special crossover episode in December.
CW President Mark Pedowitz alluded to the idea of the universes of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and the newly acquired Supergirl coming together in a crossover which he called "our biggest ever."
"Just imagine what our superhero crossover episode is going to look like come December," he said.

Have them face the Anti-monitor and Barry has to give his life to save the universe. It would be a great cliffhanger and a way to bring all the universes together into one. Then have Flash be the search for Barry to see if they can bring him back from the dead.

Great No One Vetted Bernie Sanders' Wife Running Burlington College into the Groud?

This is the kind of thing that should have been done months ago.

Burlington College said its financial troubles are linked to Jane Sanders’ 2010 purchase of 32 acres of lakefront property, part of a botched expansion. The college was placed on academic probation in 2014 by its accrediting agency and faced cash-flow problems due to the imminent loss of a line of credit, the Washington Post’s Nick Anderson reports. To survive, the school has tried to sell land but it wasn’t enough to remain solvent.

I feel bad for the kids going to that college. They probably had no say in buying lakefront property to expand the college and they now have to scramble due to this woman's mismanagement. Of course with every endeavor by the wives/husbands of the well connected we have some cronyism.

The Washington Free Beacon reported in January that, when Jane Sanders was president, the college also enrolled students at a woodworking school run by her daughter and spent more than half a million dollars on the endeavor, which ended not long after she left.

Whats $500k among relatives?

Lying Pastor that Claimed Whole Foods Put a Slur on a Cake Should Be Fired from the Church of Open Doors

This is the work of a sociopath pure and simple.

Jordan Brown, an openly gay pastor at Austin's Church of Open Doors, is now reversing those claims — and dropping a lawsuit he filed against Whole Foods — after the company threatened a countersuit, The New York Times reports.

In a statement on Monday, Brown said:

The company did nothing wrong. I was wrong to pursue this matter and use the media to perpetuate this story. I want to apologize to Whole Foods and its team members for questioning the company's commitment to its values, and especially the bakery associate who I understand was put in a terrible position because of my actions.

He cast aspersions on that company and probably almost got some bakery associate fired for reasons unknown. Did he think Whole Foods would just settle out of court and he would get a big check? Was he trying to promote some strange personal brand against hated Whole Foods? In any case when someone perpetrates fraud like this there should be some sort of consequences. Since it is a church they will probably forgive him but it is still pretty crappy behavior.

$15 Minimum Wage Vaulting Fast Food into 2.0 Era

Well here comes the robots to replace pricey humans.

McDonald's is striding into the 21st century with the rollout of the "Create Your Taste" touchscreen kiosks, on which custom burgers can be built as well as full-menu ordering.

The kiosks are incredibly convenient and improve order accuracy, to which I can personally attest.

Panera Bread has fully committed to the kiosk craze as well.

The company's "Panera 2.0" initiative is in full swing. About 50% of company-owned stores already have the technology installed, and the remaining locations expect to have kiosks in place by the end of the year.

Combining the kiosks with Panera's "MyPanera" rewards membership is an added bonus.

"Beyond shorter lines and improved accuracy, customers love the fact that they can save those modifications as favorites or order from their history," says Blaine Hurst, Panera Chief Transformation & Growth Officer.

I would love to view what I have ordered from McDonalds or Panera (if they finally came to Hawaii) in the past as well. Dominoes lets you save favorites on what you ordered so you can re-order something very easily. In any case that Kiosk will replace a counter person taking your order from here on in. Which is good for people that like tech but bad for that counter person. I think the era of the so called McJob is almost dead.

Applebee Moves to Wood Fired Grills? Might Seperate them from the Pack

I have never eaten at Applebee's but I do know some people who have and they do not have a good opinion of the place. So I guess that is why they are doing a $40 million revamp.

"You’re going to see it and hear it," Julia Stewart, the chairman and CEO of Applebee’s parent company DineEquity, Inc., told Business Insider. "You’re going to literally smell it when you’re in the parking lot, and then you're going to walk in and see it on the menu, and then you're going to have a food server talk about it in a very excited way."

I like the idea of smelling the wood fire in the parking lot but I'm not sure about the food server talking about it in a very excited way. In any case I know BBQ places have been packed whenever I travel to the Mainland. Like the entire parking lot is full with people waiting like out the door. So this can be a good idea as long as the food is fairly tasty. Right now the food doesn't even look appetizing in the commercial. 

The Rich Find Thrift and Nordstrom feels the Pain

I guess Rich People are just like us.

The declines confirm a terrifying new reality for high-end retailers: Wealthy shoppers are reining in spending and, along with the rest of American consumers, refusing to pay full price for anything.

While sales are plunging in Nordstrom's full-price business, comparable sales for the company's off-price brands, including Nordstrom Rack — which sells steeply discounting clothes and accessories — grew 4.6%.

Morgan Stanley analysts said the "surprising" bifurcation between Nordstrom's low-end and high-end businesses should be a warning sign for all luxury retailers.
"We think retailers exposed to the high-end consumer are most at risk to a further sales step-down in 2016," the analysts wrote.

I wonder why the wealthy are becoming more thrifty? Is it because they have shifted buying clothes and such to cars and houses and more expensive things? Or is there just a spending malaise out there that no one is talking about? 

I mean the country seems to be drifting toward a place where we will be led either by a orange con-man or the crooked wife of a sexual predator. Maybe rich people are keeping their powder dry because they don't know which way to turn going forward. Will higher taxes be around the corner or will it be economic isolationism? 

Trump Former Butler Needs to be Arrested: Threatens Presidents Life

Um they should arrest this crazy person asap.

Mother Jones revealed   Thursday that Anthony Senecal, Trump’s former butler, has authored several hateful — and vulgar — Facebook rants against Barack Obama, accusing the president of being a Muslim and a “kenyan fraud,” among other things, and calling for him to be killed. 

Millennial's Having Buyers Remorse About College: Um Go to a State School

I would have buyers remorse as well seeing how bad college loans are with their usurious rates.

In fact, 57% of millennial graduates regret taking out as many loans as they did, and 36% even said that they would not have gone to college if they knew how much it was going to cost them, according to a survey by Citizens Bank.

Most State Schools cost a fairly reasonable amount. For instance Florida State tuition costs $6,507 for in-state. If the kid takes a "Malia Obama gap year" they will be all set to establish residency and and pay quite a bit less than that insane out of state cost. 

It might be possible to pay off that loan in a few years rather than 20+ years if the kid went to some small and private college. I'll pick Beloit out of a hat whose tuition is $42,500. You can go to Florida State for 6 years or Auburn for 4 for that exact same amount of money. I'm sure the education is very good at Beloit but is it really good enough to go into debt for decades more to pay it all off?

The state school also allows you to have one of the most fun things about college which is have a rooting interest for the rest of your life. I love seeing those old-timers with their Michigan shirts or someone shouting "War Eagle" at you from a moving car. That shared experience of going to somewhere with a good football or basketball team is very hard to beat.

Earth-sized Planets found just 40 Light Years Away

Pretty close indeed.

An international team of astronomers has discovered three Earth-sized exoplanets, all orbiting the same star just 40 light-years from us, the 16-nation intergovernmental research organization ESO reported on Monday.

The scientists have deemed all three planets potentially habitable, an exciting turn in the hunt for "exoplanets," a term for planets that orbit a star other than our sun.

And it could bring us closer to finding extraterrestrial life.

Too bad we couldn't beam some radio waves toward them and see if they pick it up or not. In fact they might just be getting Happy Days and All in the Family if our transceivers were pointed toward them. 

Japan Enters the Stealth Age with Mitsubishi X-2

Watch out Red China Japan might be trying to close the warplane gap.

Previously called the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X), X-2 took off from Nagoya Airport and flew for 26 minutes to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force base in Gifu. Japan’s Ministry of Defense unveiled the X-2 on Jan. 28.

Overseeing the project is the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, or ATLA, a branch of the Defense Ministry that incorporated the older Technical Research and Development Institute. Together with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, they have overseen the aircraft’s development since 2009.

It is interesting that Japan is developing its own fighter in this day and age. I guess that US pivot toward the Pacific is a smart move because it looks like things are going to get interesting out here in the coming decades. 

Yale Students Rail Against John C. Calhoun College with a Very Odd Attack

Wait I don't understand this rebuke.

In a Wednesday press release Salovey said the decision to retain Calhoun's name was made "to encourage the campus community to confront the history of slavery, and to teach that history and its legacy."

That reasoning, however, drew harsh responses from students who said their painful history should not be made into an educational experience, according to the YDN.

Wait what? You will never learn about the painful history of something if you don't turn it into an educational experience. If these Yale students said "you know what, lets forget about the Holocaust because we don't want it made into an educational experience" that would make them a kind of Holocaust Denier.

Not learning about slavery and its history is a disservice to all of the people that lived through it and had to deal with its legacy. It does the worst thing you can do to people who lived through a tragedy which is to forget about them. All those Africans kidnapped from their homes, survived the middle passage, and worked those 18 hour or more days would be wiped from history by these Yalies. They will be forgotten simply because these students don't want them turned into an "educational experience." How do you learn about a tragedy unless you are educated about it?

However that said, why don't they just name the school after a prominent Yale abolitionist instead? Cassius Clay College or Samuel Hopkins College would do much of the work of teaching about slavery that John C. Calhoun College would. I can kind of see the Yalies point because something awful like the Adolf Eichmann School of Holocaust Studies would be grotesque. It is nice to see some College Presidents with a little backbone for a change. Salovey likes John C. Calhoun and he's sticking with him to the bitter end.

Ferrell Backs out of Alzheimers comedy About Ronald Reagan

Whoever is advising him made a good decision.

Ferrell’s spokesperson said that he was never officially attached: “The Reagan script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered.  While it is by no means a ‘Alzheimers comedy’ as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project.”

I think this is what finalized the decision to back out.

On Friday, the Alzheimer’s Association criticized the planned project, stating: “Would filmmakers consider using a fatal form of cancer or another deadly disease for comedy? It’s time to stop this forever.” 

I'm sure some soulless liberal scumbag was like "It's making fun of a disease by a hated conservative so why the controversy?" When the Alzheimer's Association weighs in maybe shame (or discretion) finally sank in. In any case Farrell was smart to distance himself from this terrible disrespectful project. 

If Will Farrell makes this Offensive Movie about Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's Its Boycott Time: And I really Like Will Farrell

This has to be very high in the stupid career moves department.

News broke Wednesday about a planned movie starring Will Ferrell as the late President Ronald Reagan. Simply titled Reagan, Variety reported, “the story begins at the start of the ex-president’s second term when he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander in chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.”

This has to be in poor taste even from liberals like Ferrell. Lots of people struggle with Alzheimer's Disease so making some funny satire about Reagan having it is egregious. I mean if some asshole on the right made a movie about Rosa Parks (who died of Alzheimer's in 2005) that had the same sort of plot there would be howls of anger from all sides. Instead its about Reagan so some Hollywood scumbag thinks his disease is fair game.

In any case if this movie gets made I will no longer watch anything that would have Will Farrell in it. I think he is super funny and talented and have pretty much watched everything he has made other than the last two with Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart in them. He was one of the highlights of Saturday Night Live when he was on the show and his Harry Carey impression is without peer.

However, Regan was one of our better Presidents and making light of his illness is crass and grotesque. So much so that I can no longer put money in Farrell's pocket if I can help it. Hopefully, he will walk away from this and find something less offensive for his next project. 

Note the Date and Time: Bipartisanship found on Capital Hill and it Relates to Snooping Emails

I'm sure Obama will veto or Rush Limbaugh will come out against it or some other such mess.

The House voted unanimously Wednesday to overhaul a 30-year-old electronic privacy law to prevent government agents from reading Americans' old emails without a warrant.
House members voted 419-0 to pass the bipartisan Email Privacy Act, which requires government agents to get a warrant before they can gain access to Americans' email, texts, photos, videos and other electronic communication, regardless of how old the data is.

Wow so finally they need a warrant to read my old emails, texts, photos, and videos? I guess the Feds no longer has access to all those dirty photos and salacious emails that tripped up Patreaus and them. I'm sure they were all chomping at the bit to figure out who "Becky with the good hair" was. 

Trump Almost Sounds like a Pre-WW2 Isolationist

Hmm this is a very different foreign policy then even the Democrats are sporting.

"We went from mistakes in Iraq to Egypt to Libya, to President Obama's line in the sand in Syria," Trump said Wednesday. "Each of these actions have helped to throw the region into chaos, and gave ISIS the space it needs to grow and prosper."

Those comments happen to echo Russia's Vladimir Putin, who believes U.S. intervention in places like Iraq, Libya, Ukraine and Syria were mistakes that had dangerous destabilizing effects.

I know Putin has some sort of weird respect for Trump so their world-views might be very similar. I know if we didn't leave Iraq ISIS would be a footnote right now. So total non-intervention is not always a smart idea. I wonder if Trump will get rid of bases in Korea and Japan? I mean those wars have been "won" already and thus we should pull out if you go by the "Trump doctrine."

The 1924 Democratic National Convention: Dominated by the KKK? The VP Candidate was a Socialist that Wanted to Lower Taxes!?

I was reading this article about Dark Horses in the different conventions of the past and came across this.

The Democratic Party’s 1924 nominee, however — a West Virginian named John W. Davis — was definitely a dark horse, having received the nomination only as a compromise on the record-setting 103rd ballot after neither of the two leading contenders was able to secure the necessary two-thirds majority during the first 102 rounds of voting.

I was like who did this Davis guy beat out? It turns out it was William Gibbs McAdoo from California and Al Smith who was governor from New York. The interesting part was that William Gibbs McAdoo had the support of the KKK. The KKK was powerful in those days not just in the South but in the Midwest and Northeast as well.

The Democrats, much to their credit, tried to condemn Klan violence in a plank in the convention but it lost by a vote of 542.85 in favor, 546.15 against. It shows how different things were in the past. The guy from California was supported by the Klan against the governor from New York who was Catholic to the tune of 103 ballots. The Democrats instead picked a guy from West Virginia as the candidate. There were even so many Klan people around that there was a massive rally in New Jersey called the "Klanbake."

What was also interesting was the VP nominee Charles W. Bryan the Governor of Nebraska was a weird, radical socialist.

Loquacious beyond endurance, Bryan attacked the gas companies of Nebraska and bravely tried such socialistic schemes as a municipal ice plant for Lincoln. In 1922 he had won the governorship by promising to lower taxes.

That first part seems very Sanders-esque but the idea of him winning by promising to lower taxes is a complete volte fache of normal Dem orthodoxy. There was even a woman nominated for VP named Lena Springs. History is so strange sometimes. 

Picture of Syrian Students in Keffiyehs Mistaken for "Racial Insensitivity" by NJAP (Not Just a Party at UIUC) Wait aren't they named after a Racist Slur againt Japanese?

Now this is what you call knee-jerk racial/cultural animus at its finest.

The two groups said the party’s theme was not “rooted in racist sentiment.” As the Daily Illini reports, the student wearing the Native American headdress was dressed as a Cancun-based DJ while the two men dressed in keffiyehs were, in fact, both of Syrian descent and wanted to celebrate their heritage.

But their explanation failed to appease some students.

“Although that story might justify on an individual level, it does not justify on a systemic level because when people see it, they don’t know that story. When they see it, they see it as a justification for wearing cultural costumes,” Yousuf says, in reference to the men wearing keffiyehs.

So just wearing a keffiyeh among white folks is not correct behavior to these grievance groups? Even if it is to celebrate their culture? I guess this Yoursef cannot be arsed to get an actual explanation of what is happening in a picture. He sees keffiyehs and white people and says "systemic level" whatever and goes into full grievance mode.

However, I am offended by their name:

A number of student activist groups on campus – including Students for Justice in Palestine, the Black Students for Revolution, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan and the Campus Union for Trans Equality and Support — joined forces to form “Not Just a Party at UIUC” (NJAP) in response to the photo, according to Muhammad Yousuf, a junior at the UIUC and a member of NJAP.

NJAP contains a slur against Japanese people and they should change their name immediately. I cannot tolerate the insensitivity and "systemic level" whatever toward Asians shown by these groups.

The List of Theranos' Screw-Ups is a Mile Long: My Bet is it will be Taught in Business Schools as a Cautionary Tale

Now this is how to take $9 billion and flush it down the toilet.

The question is, how could this have happened? How could such a highly valued startup on its way to upending the $76 billion laboratory diagnostics industry by replacing test tubes of blood drawn from a vein with a few drops from a finger stick fall so far so fast? And how could Holmes’ star, which shone so brightly, fall practically overnight.   

If you had to find a way to destroy a brand and blow a $9 billion valuation, you’d be hard pressed to come up with a better plan than the one Holmes has pursued since October 16, 2015. If you had just six months to kill Theranos, this is how you’d do it:   

What follows is a tale of woe that reads like a Greek tragedy. Maybe this CEO Holmes has a future in the government sector where they can waste $9 billion over a long lunch.

There Goes Theranos

I guess a 31 year old with a company valued at a billion that would revolutionize the blood testing industry was all hype.

Then in October 2015 came the massive Wall Street Journal investigation. Carreyrou eventually discovered and reported that it appears Theranos rarely even used its much-hyped Edison technology in its tests. Instead, the startup allegedly relies mostly on older technology by companies like Siemens for the bulk of its testing. (This was in contrast to the company's claims that it used older machines only for "certain esoteric and less commonly ordered tests.")

What's more, there are real concerns that the company's signature Edison machines — the ones that have garnered all the hype — aren't nearly as accurate as claimed. On this point, Carreyrou cited former employees, internal emails, and doctors. One Theranos employee even complained to regulators that Theranos had been gaming the system, "failing to report test results that raised questions about the precision of the Edison system."

I remember seeing her on Squawk Box a few years ago and she did promise something that was supposed to change the world. Instead they might have just been faking it the whole time. I wonder how this woman lived with the deception for so long? It must have been eating her up to lie to Walgreens, Board members Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz, and regulators day after day.

Yet Another Reason to Avoid American Airlines: Mother Loses it After 12 Hour! Delay turns into a Cancellation

I would have lost my shit as well because this is egregious.

IE spoke with Jade Weng, the woman who shot the video of the airport tirade that is being seen around the world.

"She was the first one to meltdown and the crowd got further agitated," Weng said. "Had there been a more clear and transparent communication, we would have been more understanding." 

When Weng posted the video to YouTube, she wrote: “The flight was delayed for 12 hours and finally canceled. Passengers had been waiting since 7pm on 3/24. This was recorded at 2am 3/25. Situation then escalated after as the gate agent called the cops on the passengers after 2am. The lack of communication and sympathy from American Airlines is just unbelievable. No hotel voucher was given. Only a $12 food voucher at 2am.”

There needs to be legislation to regulate this kind of behavior by airlines. After being delayed for like 3 hours or something the flight must be cancelled by FAA rules or something. Everyone would have gotten a voucher to fly the next day or for a free night at a hotel by rule. Maybe the airline can file with the FAA for re-reimbursement so they don't take a hit. In any case hopefully this mother will change airlines when its time for the next Disney cruise vacation.

It Seems Some People Want Marine General James Mattis to be the 3rd party GOP Nominee #NeverTrump

A viable candidate finally comes into view.

The pro-Mattis donors, who want to stay anonymous for the time being, have assembled a core group of seven political operatives, led by Joel Searby, a Republican consultant based in Florida. The group of strategists also includes lead attorney Mohammad Jazil; ballot access specialist Matthew Sawyer; and former George W. Bush pollster Jan Lohuizen, along with a finance team and a “top firm” that has been secured to lead the ballot access petition gathering, members of the team tell The Daily Beast.

If we get to a third ballot this is the kind of guy that looks very appealing to many on the GOP. This guy is war hero and not a chicken-hawk fake tough-guy like Trump. Plus this is the kind of guy that will be serious in silly season. You won't catch this guy making fun of some guys wife or complaining like a little kid about "being treated fairly."

Also he never married and has no kids and had basically became a "Warrior Monk" while he was in the Marines. He would easily have the discipline for all the hard stuff that it takes to be President. The best part is he seems electable compared to Cruz. The General called to service a la Eisenhower.

They just need a way to keep Trump from running as a third party. Hmm maybe he could win a three way race. The Trumpites would come in at maybe 20% (GOP defections would be rampant and Mattis doesn't just talk tough like Trump,) Hillary might get 30% or so (or less if she is indited) and Mattis might get 40-50%?  

Yet Another Reason to Not Vote for Trump: His Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski Sounds like a Giant Asshole

This guy sounds like someone who should not be anywhere near a position of actual power.

Maloney described Lewandowski’s management style as unusually aggressive, lacing his interactions with employees with expletives and calling individual staff to berate them, even when they were not his direct reports.

When Maloney missed a conference call to attend to his ill grandmother, Lewandowski called him at his grandmother’s beside.

“My grandmother is literally dying, having Last Rites administered and I get a call from Corey chewing me out, asking who the hell did I think I was missing this conference call,” he said.”

 This anecdote sounds like something a 12-year old would do
  

Bast later organized another volunteer event closer to the election, which featured Republican strategist Dick Morris. As a part of the preparations, she had ordered 125 box lunches for volunteers who attended; but when Lewandowski decided the lunch shouldn’t be shared unless the volunteers also made calls for the phone bank, Bast said Lewandowski threw all 125 lunches in the garbage. “Corey said, ‘If they don’t phone bank they’re not getting f**king fed.’”

These are volunteers which means they are GOP true-believers and water carriers. I guess he figured he could get free labor out of them but when he didn't get his way he lashed out like a child. This sounds like the work of a sociopath.
 

Imagine if this maniac gets a position like Chief of Staff in a *shudder* Trump White house. Yet another reason to vote for ABT (anyone but Trump.) Hopefully this Lewandowski will get pinched on that battery charge where he roughed up that reporter at the Trump rally and get a little comeuppance.

 

I Think the Red Chinese have a North Korean Spy in their Midst: Kim Jong Il Assassins nabbed at the Border

If I were the Red Chinese it is time to put the Chinese version of George Smiley on the case. It seems that someone tipped off someone if this is true.

The suspects had been reportedly arrested at the China border near the Tumen River as they were preparing a hit on Kim in the city of Hoeryong in North Hamgyong Province, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.

A source in the North who spoke to Japanese news service Asia Press on the condition of anonymity said he had heard the "terrorists" had not yet crossed the Tumen, which separates North Korea from China, when North Korean border guards crossed the border to arrest them.

So these border guards crossed into China to grab these guys before they could even cross the river? It seems that someone high up in the Chinese government might be sending some messages to whomever. Or if the Chinese were smart this group is just a decoy and groups of real assassins have already infiltrated the country. Kind of a "watch your back Little Kim" move.

In Cruz World if you Get Raped you Get to be a Mom #LoseCruz

Talk about doubling down on something just egregious.

Well, listen, let’s talk – you know, when it comes to rape, I’ve spent a lot of years in law enforcement. I was the solicitor general in the state of Texas and I have handled cases with horrific cases of rape, of people who committed child rape, people – I went before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued in defense of state laws imposing capital punishment for the very worst child rapists. And when it comes to rape, rape is a horrific crime against the humanity of a person and needs to be punished and punished severely but at the same time, as horrible as that crime is, I don’t believe it’s the child’s fault. And we weep at the crime. We want to do everything we can to prevent the crime on the front end and to punish the criminal, but I don’t believe it makes sense to blame the child.

I guess this is the position of rape is bad but abortion is worse. Again there is no real thinking involved in this position. That baby will either end up as a ward of the state or incredibly unloved by the mom. I mean he will be a living reminder of the most traumatic experience she probably has ever faced. Sure Cruz sends the rapist to jail or whatever but that kid will have a terrible life. He will probably be drain on society and might even carry the "rape gene" and become a predator. Thanks Ted carrying this kid to term will be bad for the mom, the kid, and society.

Hedge Fund Billionaire to Come up with Justness List for Corporations

Hmm sounds like a good idea to me.

Just Capital’s first big splash will be a "justness" list, coming this fall, ranking America’s largest companies from most just to least. To determine what just behavior is, exactly, the group surveyed 43,000 people last year asking them what they expect from corporations. “The No. 1 thing Americans felt companies need to prioritize are employee pay and benefits,” Whittaker says. “People were absolutely united regardless of political stripe in their lack of trust in corporations today.”

I wonder if you could correlate this "Justness ranking" with stock appreciation or not? It would also be interesting to see if the "most Just" companies are also the most profitable/highest revenue.

FBI Spilling Water on the iPhone is Just a Strait Cover-Your-Tracks Move

This has to be the most transparent attempt I have ever seen to deflect attention so they can use this hack on other iPhones without running afoul of Apples lawyers.

Calling the accident “one of the biggest embarrassments in F.B.I. history,” bureau spokesman Harland Dorrinson told reporters, “There’s no way to express how bad we feel about what happened to that phone.”

Walking reporters through the mishap, Dorrinson said that shortly after the iPhone was unlocked, “There were a lot of high-fives, which led to the unfortunate spilling of the water.”

The water spilled directly on the phone so that no one can ever see what the hackers used to access the phone. Cover-your-tracks 101. I'm sure the hack they used on the phone died when the water splashed on it. Very convenient of that happening as well. Now everyone has a laugh at the FBI while they continue to crack whatever they need in terms of iPhones.

While ISIS is murdering people in Belgium Trump and Cruz fight it Out About Their Wives

This is a serious time for serious people. This is not serious.

Donald Trump has shared an unflattering photo of Sen. Ted Cruz's wife, the latest wrinkle in a feud between the two Republican presidential candidates.

The photo was part of a tweet that the GOP frontrunner shared on Wednesday night. The tweet read, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and it featured a photo of Cruz's wife, Heidi, next to a picture of Trump's wife, Melania.

Yeah, and these two guys want to have their finger on the button? Hillary can measure the drapes for the White House already.

Lindsey Grahm's Has a Great Idea: Don't Nominate Anyone Hold Just hold onto the Congress and Go at Hillary in 2020

I really like this idea.

His endorsement of Cruz? Tepid.

“He’s not completely crazy,” Graham said of Cruz. “Partially crazy?” Noah asked. Graham fired back: “That works in Washington.”

Noah later plays a clip for Graham in which he’s asked if he’d prefer Cruz or Trump. Graham’s response: “It’s like being shot or being poisoned. What does it really matter?”

He finishes: “I’m saying my party is completely screwed up … if it were up to me, we wouldn’t nominate anyone. We’d start all over again.”

Sounds like a good plan. Trump will end up costing Congressional seats or whats worse for the GOP establishment win the Presidency. Cruz is un-electable and insane and Kasich cannot win without some smoke-filled-room screw-job. So they pretty much have nobody to run against Hillary.

Just pack it all in and maybe some anger will drain out of the country so that they can put someone decent up on 2020. The GOP used to be a pretty well-oiled machine but Trump has destroyed all that in 2016.

Belgium Tells ISIS where to go with help of Burger King Ad

I did not know the national symbol of Belgium was fries. In any case it isn't a time to get scared it is a time to get pissed off.

The ad, which dates to 2008, shows a fry made to look like a raised middle finger, Mashable reports.

The image is being shared widely on social media after two separate explosions Tuesday morning at Brussels-Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station, which killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to the Amaq Agency which is known to be affiliated with the terrorist group.

Fries are a national symbol in Belgium, which is likely why the Burger King ad has resurfaced and gained traction online since the attacks.

Here is the ad:

Trump Wimps out on a yet Another Fox News Debate: Cements Scared Little Baby Status

For a big, bag real estate tycoon that will bomb ISIS and wants to punch and shoot people on 5th avenue he is a serious wimp when it comes to Megyn Kelly.

The U.S. Republican presidential debate scheduled for next week in Utah has been canceled, host Fox News said on Wednesday, after party front-runner Donald Trump told the network he would not participate.

Trump, who has clashed with Fox News throughout his campaign, told Fox in an interview on Wednesday he would not appear at the event, scheduled for Monday, because he thought the Republicans had "had enough debates."

What a wimpy little child. He knows he would have his brand hurt by tough questions so he is going to skate to the nomination. Just like a bully to hit and run like that.

Obamas Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland graduated from Harvard Law? Disqualified

Well I'm rejecting him sight-unseen.

If he is appointed, Garland would give the court five graduates of Harvard Law School: John G. Roberts, Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer and Elena Kagan. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg attended Harvard Law but transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated. Three justices are Yale Law School alums: Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

You cannot have 5 justices that all graduated from the same school. There is no diversity in opinion if they all took the same classes and had the same professors. It is not the Supreme Court of Harvard it is the Supreme Court of the entire-US. If Obama actually cared about diversity and income inequality and such he would appoint someone from any other law school that is not Harvard or Yale. It is just that simple.

Marco is Done: Trump Wins Florida

Well, it looks like getting in the mud with Trump cost him the election.

Trump won the other big prize of the night: the Florida primary. That resounding win helped force Marco Rubio out of the race after failing to unite the Republican establishment against Trump.

"America is in the middle of a real political storm, a real tsunami and we should have seen this coming," Rubio said in Miami on Tuesday night in a speech that served as a thinly-veiled rebuke of Trump's campaign tactics. "While we are on the right side," he said, "this year, we will not be on the winning side."

Well get back to the Senate and start crafting some bills and doing the work that Florida sent him there for. Then he needs to get ready for 2020 when Hillary runs for her second term. He will be older and wiser and have some actual accomplishments under his belt.

Jay Bilas's NCAA Tournament Selection Plan is Genius: Kills all that Bracketology and Last 4 In/Out Noise

Here is the plan:

• Tournament selection committee would meet prior to the conference tournaments and rank the top 68 at-large teams. 
• Teams that win conference tournaments receive automatic bids. If that team is not one of the 68 teams, the lowest-ranked team in the field of 68 is knocked out.

This would prevent Monmouth from getting knocked out of the tournament by Tulsa or whomever just because they lost their tournament championship game. There will still be subjectivity after the automatic bids are passed out but it will be fairly minimal.

The best part is you can get rid of all that Last 4 In/Last 4 Out crap that you have to listen to around this time. They had a running thing on ESPN about it and it was totally worthless because Monmouth got jobbed and Tulsa somehow snuck in there. Now we would have a field of 68 and lets say Monmouth and St. Bonaventure are on that list then they are in. If Michigan or Tulsa don't make the list they are out. Very simple and without a ton of drama. 

Bill Ackman lost $1.09 Billion in one day on one stock. #Wowjustwow

That is an unbelievable one day hit.

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman vowed to take a "much more proactive role" at Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) amid a stunning stock decline that cost him more than $1 billion in a single day.

The drug company's stock closed down 51% to $33.54 a share Tuesday on disappointing financial news, including a warning that a late filing could lead to bond defaults that may hurt the company's ability to borrow money. The loss shaved a whopping $35.50 off each share.

For Ackman's Pershing Square entities, which own 30,711,122 Valeant shares, that translates to a paper loss of $1.09 billion.

If they can get through the bond default risk and finally issue their annual statement their stock might be worth buying at these levels. It isn't like Lumber Liquidators (LL) who is fighting the US government on the formaldehyde in their Chinese made wood. This is a company that was making billions before they got into trouble with their captive drug retailer Philidor that they have since shuttered.

Now the GOP wants a Third Party Candidate?: In Other Words President Hillary Clinton even if She is Indicted.

There is some serious Trump derangement disorder in the GOP.

Fagen said it is possible but unlikely that a Republican with "enormous stature" like 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney or House Speaker Paul Ryan would be put forward if Trump enters the Republican National Convention without the required number of delegates to lock up the nomination.

A more likely possibility is that a Republican governor steps up and runs on a third party ticket, she said. "I think there's a scenario where if he's the nominee, one of these governors looks at the race and says, 'Why not? Why not run as an independent? This is not my Republican Party anymore.'" 

So they would have Trump and some Governor (Kasich?) split the voters right down the middle? That was the nuclear scenario if they robbed Trump in the first place. Trump would run as an independent and Hillary would win. Instead Trump will get the nomination the GOP runs some third party Governor and Hillary will win. So instead of the Trump's third-party nuclear option we would instead get the GOP-third party seppuku option. And these guys want all the levers of power? It's almost like a false flag to get Hillary elected.

FBI Raises Stakes Against Apple: Might Demand Source Code and the Electronic Signature for the iPhone

Wow I thought we were living in a Representative Republic and not some sort of dictatorship where the FBI demands corporate secrets just because they cannot crack an iPhone.

But in a court filing on Thursday, the FBI said that if can't require Apple to create the weakened software, it may demand access to what it described as Apple's "crown jewels" instead. Source code is the list of programming code instructions used to create the software that runs the iPhone. The code controls everything from the background colors on the screen to the most critical security protections the phone has. Apple's secret signature is a digital "key" required to update software on all iPhones

Remember Apple has committed no crime and has only refused to cooperate in something that will weaken their product and make them renege on their promise to consumers. There is no idea that anything on the iPhone will be actionable at all. Depending on what app the terrorist used the info could be long gone already. Instead the FBI is getting heavy handed using ancient laws to compel a private company to give up all the goods.

Yeah Rubio is Toast: He Shouldn't have Gotten in the Mud with Trump

I have to agree with this assessment.

But unlike Virginia, Florida is a winner-take-all primary, meaning he must defeat Trump to capture all 99 delegates. If he loses, even his supporters concede there's virtually no path to the GOP nomination for Rubio. Some think it's already too late.

"It's over," said one dejected GOP senator who wants Rubio to win.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Rubio supporter, said he still is banking on his colleague to pull off a win in Florida. But he was uncomfortable at Rubio's attacks on Trump.

"I probably would have stopped at, 'He wants to make the country orange.' That was pretty good," Flake said, referring to Rubio's joke about Trump's physical appearance. Asked about Rubio's "con artist" attacks on Trump, Flake said, "I don't know about that."

I don't think Rubio will win Florida so its pretty much over for the last real "establishment" candidate that could win left in the campaign. It was nice to see him punch back but staying above the fray usually pays more dividends. Especially with a bombast like Trump. Rubio would have looked like the adult in the room even though he is only 44. 

Now he has to lose gracefully and move on to other things because guys like him and Paul Ryan are the real future of the GOP. He now needs to put his head down and create good legislation and have a list of real accomplishments to challenge Hillary in 2020. Maybe do some bipartisan things because rock-ribbed Conservatism has pretty much been destroyed by Trump. Maybe they will finally understand that they are only 30% of the electorate and shrinking fast.

Wow Senators Really Hate Cruz #LoseCruz

It seems that the Senate is not a good place for Ted Cruz. No wonder he wants a job promotion so badly.

After interviews with a dozen Republican senators on Tuesday, there is still no one willing to publicly say they are on Ted Cruz's side, The New York Times reports. To date, Donald Trump and John Kasich both have the endorsements of a current senator, and Marco Rubio has raked in the support of more than a dozen of his peers. Despite years in the Senate, Cruz is still looking at a big zilch.

Yesterday the National Review reported that Cruz was "set to unveil endorsements from more than four senators this week" only to issue an update saying, "The report was erroneous. As of this writing, the campaign has no pending Senate endorsements to announce."

In other words they probably were going to put some words into the mouths of four Senators but they caught wind of it before the Cruz scum-bags could print it.

I bet it was something like "Ted Cruz... is a person... that cannot...be underestimated" says the Senator from some-damn-place when they actually said "Ted Cruz is a terrible person that cannot be trusted and who's massive ineptitude and stupidity cannot be underestimated."

The Sun Sentinel is Right in not Endorsing Anyone in the GOP race: “the kind of person who should be running is not in the race.”

I have to agree with this sentiment.

In an editorial published Friday, the paper’s editorial board argues that businessman Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are unqualified to be president of the United States. Though Ohio Gov. John Kasich would be the best of the remaining candidates, the editorial continued, he does not have a chance of securing the party’s nod.

“We showed our cards a year ago, before the extraordinarily large field of Republican candidates shaped up,” the editorial reads. “We favored the adult in the room, Jeb Bush, a smart, experienced and principled conservative. But the nation wasn’t ready for another Bush, and our former governor wasn’t ready for the anti-establishment edge in today’s Twitter-fueled campaign era.”

Yeah Jeb had that Bush name that is poison in todays landscape. They want an angry unqualified plumber to fix the pipes instead of someone who has been doing if for years. Oh well the "President from Goldman-Sachs" Hillary can cut a deal to not get indited she has a great chance.

If the Donald is held up Against a REIT Index he Looks Even Worse: 57% Underperformance

This makes him look like an even worse businessman then he claims.

Calculation: An investment of $200 million in 1976 in the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index would have compounded to $23.2 billion by year-end 2015. This is considerably above Mr. Trump’s recent self-reported net worth of approximately $10 billion. Mr. Trump has underperformed the real estate market by approximately $13.2 billion, or 57%. - See more at: http://www.texasenterprise.utexas.edu/donald-trump-wealth-investments-underperform#sthash.OemHeZVH.dpuf

Calculation: An investment of $200 million in 1976 in the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index would have compounded to $23.2 billion by year-end 2015. This is considerably above Mr. Trump’s recent self-reported net worth of approximately $10 billion. Mr. Trump has underperformed the real estate market by approximately $13.2 billion, or 57%. 

So if you took that $200 million inheritance and bought that index you would have had $23 billion instead of his $10 billion? That's if he did absolutely nothing and let his cash grow while he played golf and maybe peeled a billion off to buy a sports team or something. That is pretty shocking. That shows how bad he is at actually managing that money. If I were an investor at Trump Inc. I would fire the CEO if he were trailing the average by such a wide margin. 

Wait, Trump Cannot Even Beat an S&P 500 Index Fund? Now that is Pretty Sad

I was told (by Trump) that he is a great business success. However if he just bought and held he would have been even richer.

In 1976, Trump told the New York Times that he was worth $200 million. Had he put that money in an ordinary fund based on the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, the kind that many people use to save money for retirement, he'd have $12 billion today. That is more than the $10 billion he has claimed he is worth. Bloomberg estimates his wealth at $2.9 billion.

So if he just took that 200 million and invested in an S&P 500 Index fund he would have been up an extra $2 billion. If his net worth is actually $2.9 billion that is a fairly poor rate of return on investing $200 million over 40 years. I guess going bankrupt a number of times does that. In any case I can understand why he is so thin skinned when it comes to his net worth. He couldn't even beat a buy-and-hold strategy.

GOP Scrambles to Stop Trump: Um Guys its Over; Hillary Will be the 45th President of the United States

Unless she is indited of course then maybe all bets are off. In any case the GOP establishment is running scared.

In a flurry of conference calls and meetings, top Republican donors and strategists laid plans for a multimillion-dollar assault on the front-runner in a series of states holding contests on March 15. Ground zero is Florida, where home-state Sen. Marco Rubio, the leading establishment candidate, is going all-in to defeat Trump, who leads in the polls there. 

Maybe they should simply let Trump go and get behind the 2020 nominee to head off Hillary's second term. If they go to a brokered convention Trump will run as a third party and Hillary would win anyway. That pledge he signed is just a piece of toilet paper to the Drumpf.

In any case I guess it will be historic to see the first female President. She is owned by Wall Street so the market will be up during her term. So that means bank stocks and brokerage houses will prosper under her reign and patronage. She might really be the President from Goldman Sachs.

However, I wonder if she would be quick to make a deals with the GOP Congress? They don't seem to hate each other like Obama and the current Congress so it might be possible. She is pretty warlike so ISIS would have to watch their backs. 

Well Chris Christie sounds just like a Teen Girl Now that he is no longer relevant

I think he may have damaged his career if Trump doesn't win the Presidency. Here he is sounding like a petulant teen at a press conference.

One reporter told Christie that he and, he assumed, other reporters in the room had some off-topic questions and began to launch into a question, but was immediately shot down.
“No, I won’t permit you to. I told you that there’s going to be only on-topic questions today. So, permission denied,” Christie said.

He silenced another reporter immediately afterward: “That’s an off-topic question. I think you understand that I’m answering on-topic questions today." Asked why he wouldn't take questions on anything else, Christie replied, "Because I don’t want to.”

“Anything else on topic?” Christie asked repeatedly. “Anything else on topic?”

"Because I don't want to" sounds like a teen girl telling her parents why she doesn't want to take off all that make-up. What a blow-hard clown. It will be nice to see him disappear now that he is no longer relevant on the national stage.