Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Camel's Hump


15 comments:

  1. We have the power! And there is a tremendous amount of interesting stuff at politicalwire.com this morning, but I must leave for work quickly.

    Pretty sure the virus we are getting over must have been the flu, but it was very mild because we were vaccinated. Not just a cold, that's for sure.

    Alan

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  2. Internet Explodes After Clinton Barks Like A Dog To Mock GOPers At Rally [Click] Oh.My.God. It isn’t enough that HRC seems to be showing signs of panic in Nevada [Click]? In addition to other problems? Now she must come unhinged in public? I don’t think she is ready for the Internet, much less the 3:00 AM telephone call. This presidential campaign is becoming far more than simply entertaining, although I don’t think matters are quite this bad [Click] as long as Bernie hangs in there. (I am grateful that he now has Secret Service protection, although because of his race he is presumably at far less risk than candidate Obama was. But remember the attempted assassination of George Wallace.)

    —Alan

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    1. Etymological footnote: "assassination" in Lincoln's time meant attempted murder, whether successful or not. So in that sense Wallace was assassinated, although he did not die from it. Further historical note: that resulted in the current tradition of extending Secret Service protection to presidential candidates.

      --Alan

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    2. I actually found Clinton's bit rather amusing. There's a rule that presidential candidates aren't supposed to have a sense of humor? (The firestorm from Republicans is understandable, of course.)

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    3. Calvin Coolidge had to give up making jokes as President because they proved too readily susceptible to misunderstanding. No rule, but good sense IMO.

      --Alan

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  3. My brother was on Wallace's detail when the attempt was made. As luck would have it, he was debombing the mansion that day. But aside from mentioning that a Secret Service man had been shot, the news didn't give other details. In the event, he called mama, and we all called her.

    Far more loons with assault weapons out there now than then. . . .

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    1. I stand corrected on when SS protection for presidential candidates began; it was four years earlier, after the assassination of Robert Kennedy. I should have verified my recollection.

      Alan

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    2. Some things are just personal enough that one doesn't likely forget them, eh?

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  4. Quite so. And as memory serves me, that particular madman had "only" a revolver. Like Garfield's assassin, who was also seeking "fame."

    --Alan

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    1. OK, this seems to do it. [Click] Go down to the second box, "regional interest," click on "United States" and select the state of interest. So far I have not found a state where inquiries about Bernie fail to exceed those for HRC.

      --Alan

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    2. OK, here are some current results:

      Nevada: Bernie
      South Carolina: Bernie

      Super Tuesday (SEC primary) states:

      Alabama: Bernie
      Arkansas: Virtual tie; HRC very slightly ahead
      Colorado: Bernie
      Georgia: Bernie
      Massachusetts: Bernie
      Minnesota: Bernie
      Oklahoma: Bernie
      Tennessee: Bernie
      Texas: Bernie
      Vermont: BERNIE!!
      Virginia: Bernie

      I note that the trends in some of the southern states are about like Vermont, i.e., a dramatic recent collapse in searches for HRC. In a lot of the Super Tuesday states, there is little difference from national figures; probably it is too soon for people to really be interested.

      --Alan

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  6. Friday's the day, Alan. VT*Grand will be here the next two days, but on Friday I will finally have the freedom to play with my fountain pens! Yeah! Looking forward to it! :-)

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  7. I still have some leftovers from the Dean campaign. I have this vague feeling that when I go back to help at Bernie HQ that's when his numbers will begin to tank. I realised recently that I've been hesitating to help out, and it took awhile to articulate why.

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    1. Ah, yes, listener; all too understandable. But "While I breathe, I hope." --Alan

      There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

      Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224


      Thomas Piketty on the rise of Bernie Sanders: the US enters a new political era [Click]

      We meet today in freedom's cause 
And raise our voices high; 
We'll join our hands in union strong 
To battle or to die.

      Chorus: 
Hold the fort for we are coming. 
Union men, be strong! 
Side by side we battle onward; 
Victory will come.

      Look, my comrades, see the union 
Banners waving high. 
Reinforcements now appearing, 
Victory is nigh.

      See our numbers still increasing; 
Hear the bugle blow. 
By our union we shall triumph 
Over every foe.

      Fierce and long the battle rages 
But we will not fear. 
Help will come whene'er it's needed. 
Cheer, my comrades, cheer.

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