Sunday, February 28, 2016

Is the EU going to survive?

Larry Edelson predicted that the EU would disintegrate. His prediction was based on the negative force of the bailouts, but since then the question of the Muslim invasion has raised its head. Here are the results of a recent opinion poll:




At present, the UK and the Netherlands are scheduled to hold a referendum on EU membership. In both countries the Euroskeptics are in the minority, although the outcome is uncertain.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Trump, trump, trump go the GOP voters.

The Donald scored another important win yesterday. The Media, which regards the race as a horse race, thinks that it is all over. But, it is not over until it's over (Yogi Berra). There are still states to vote that can derail what seems like an electorate marching to nominate Trump.

Politico opines that Trump fractured the GOP. In one corner is the Establishment of the Party, which is glumming on to Rubio. The Conservative wing (i.e. the majority of the Party) is divided between Cruz (the doctrinaire Conservatives) and Trump, the guy who wings it. The Politico writer is shedding crocodile tears as he writes that the three factions are irreparably fractured.

Really? Will the Establishment of the GOP vote for Hillary? Will they sabotage the election so as Hillary can win? I don't think so. I, a Cruz man will vote for a yellow dog to ,prevent a traitorous criminal from becoming President. And I am not referring to crazy Bernie.

Is gold breaking out of another flag formation?

Here is the latest from the gold market as of last night:


Today's action (that is tonight's) is bringing gold down a few dollars. Tomorrow, therefore is an important day. The chart tells me to expect a breakout - up or down. A number of miners were indecisive today, following the gold pattern. There appears to be a resistance at 1,250.

Russia sends 7,000 troops to Turkish border in Armenia.

This morning, President Putin has ordered selected members of the 58th Army Corps to the Turkish border with Armenia. The troops include regiments and brigades in electronic warfare, anti aircraft and multiple rocket launchers, anti tank, motorized rifle and artillery forces.

This was done under the joint Russia-Armenia air defense system agreement. The system mirrors the air defense system the Russians put into Syria. As a consequence, both the Turkish and American  air forces have stopped flying missions in Syria.

These moves come after Turkish President Erdogan called on Muslims to invade Jerusalem and establish a World Islamic Empire.

Spearheading the Russian forces is the Krakusha-4 jamming platform that can damage AWACS and low-flying satellites.

In the meantime, Arab governments are making moves to put special forces into Syria.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

The case for CRUZ, TRUMP.

The best endorsement for CRUZ comes from Reich, a Liberal:

"REICH: Four Reasons Ted Cruz is Even More Dangerous than Donald Trump -- Cruz is more fanatical. Sure, Trump is a bully and bigot, but he doesn't hew to any sharp ideological line. Cruz is a fierce ideologue: He denies the existence of man-made climate change, rejects same-sex marriage, wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, believes the 2nd Amendment guarantees everyone a right to guns. He doesn't believe in a constitutional divide between church and state, favors the death penalty, rejects immigration reform, demands the repeal of Obamacare, and takes a strict "originalist" view of the meaning of the Constitution. Cruz is a true believer. Trump has no firm principles except making money, getting attention, and gaining power.
But Cruz has spent much of his life embracing radical right economic and political views. Number three, Cruz is more disciplined and strategic. Trump is all over the place, often winging it, saying whatever pops into his mind. Cruz hews to a clear script and a carefully crafted strategy. He plays the long game, as he's shown in Iowa. And, fourth and finally, Cruz is a loner who's willing to destroy institutions. Trump has spent his career using the federal government and making friends with big shots. Not Cruz. He's repeatedly led Republicans toward fiscal cliffs. In the fall of 2013, his opposition to Obamacare led in a significant way to the shutdown of the federal government..."

and for Trump:

"As president, I would prosecute Clinton"

Strong reasons for voting for each.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

S Carolina: Pyrrhic victory for Trump.

Trump has been unable to rise above 33% of the vote in S Carolina. His two main rivals got 22% each. In my view, that is not a ringing endorsement. Still, he gets S Carolina's delegates. That does not bode well for the Fall election.


FOX pundits were quick to say that no Republican candidate in recent times was nominated without carrying S Carolina. What is even more critical is the votes of Ohio, where Kasich is expected to prevail.


Meanwhile, Hillary squeaked by in Nevada. She thinks her campaign is back on track, but she is barking up at the wrong tree.



Syria and Turkey are not getting quiter either.

American foreign policy miscalculations are getting to the point (that is the effects of those miscalculations) that very serious consequences are threatening. We have seen the general increase in the Shia/Sunni rivalry as it effects Saudi Arabia. If anything, the consequences seem even more threatening in the case of Syria and Turkey.


Turkey (that is the Ottoman Empire) had been a parasitic entity that threatened the Middle East and Europe. Turkey had waged war on the Bulgarians, the Greeks, the Serbians, the Hungarians, the Slovaks and the Austrians and the Polish with periods of taking on the Russians for fun. The Turks had ethnic cleansed the Greeks from Anatolia, massacred over a million Armenians and for a time even overran some of the Arab states. We can add to this Turkey's part in dismembering the Kurdish Empire. Turkey the parasite lived off the taxes levied on conquered peoples. Turkey the parasite robbed conquered people of some of their young male children, raising them as janitshars to fight their wars of conquest. I bring this up as an explanation of why Turkey's increasingly desperate situation elicits little sympathy from neighbors.


The United States under the leadership of George W Bush had overrun Afghanistan and Iraq. This was to have ended the terrorism of Islamists aimed at the US. W had misunderestimated the treachery and stupidity of the Democrats in sabotaging American efforts to civilize and Westernize those countries. When the Democrats took over they compounded their errors by destabilizing the Arab leaders under the assumption that new leaders would behave decently in the absence of American interference. What happened is the rekindling of the Shia/Sunni rivalry. Here is a look at the consequences re Turkey and Syria through the eyes of a Liberal newspaper:


"
Turkey is confronting what amounts to a strategic nightmare as bombs explode in its cities, its enemies encroach on its borders and its allies seemingly snub its demands.
As recently as four years ago, Turkey appeared poised to become one of the biggest winners of the Arab Spring, an ascendant power hailed by the West as a model and embraced by a region seeking new patrons and new forms of governance.
All that has evaporated since the failure of the Arab revolts, shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the trajectory of the Syrian war.


Russia, Turkey’s oldest and nearest rival, is expanding its presence around Turkey’s borders — in Syria to the south, in Crimea and Ukraine to the north, and in Armenia to the east. On Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the deployment of a new batch of fighter jets and combat helicopters to an air base outside the Armenian capital, Yerevan, 25 miles from the Turkish border.
Blowback from the Syrian war in the form of a string of suicide bombings in Istanbul and Ankara, most recently on Wednesday, has brought fear to Turkish streets and dampened the vital tourist industry.
The collapse of a peace process with Turkey’s Kurds has plunged the southeast of the country into war between Kurds and the Turkish military just as Syrian Kurds carve out their own proto-state in territories adjacent to Turkey’s border.
The economy is in the doldrums, hit by fears of instability and by sanctions from Moscow targeting such goods and revenue sources as Turkish tomatoes and tourism in retaliation for the downing of a Russian plane in November.


Worries that the tensions could escalate further are spreading, both in Turkey and in the international community, prompting French President François Hollande to warn on Friday that “there is a risk of war between Turkey and Russia.”
“Turkey is facing a multifaceted catastrophe,” said Gokhan Bacik, professor of international relations at Ankara’s Ipek University. “This is a country that has often had problems in the past, but the scale of what is happening now is beyond Turkey’s capacity for digestion.”
A rift with the United States, Turkey’s closest and most vital ally, over the status of the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), has further exposed Turkey’s vulnerability. A demand by President Recep Tayyep Erdogan that Washington choose between NATO ally Turkey and the YPG, its main Syrian ally in the fight against the Islamic State, was rebuffed by the State Department this month, despite Turkish allegations that the YPG had carried out the bombing in Ankara.
On Saturday, Turkey dug in, demanding unconditional support from the United States. “The only thing we expect from our U.S. ally is to support Turkey with no ifs or buts,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists in Ankara.


Turkey now stands completely isolated, trapped in a maze of quandaries that are partly of its own making, said Soli Ozel, professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.


“It has so alienated everyone it cannot convince anyone to do anything,” he said. “It is a country whose words no longer carry any weight. It bluffs but does not deliver. It cannot protect its vital interests, and it is at odds with everyone, including its allies.


“For a country that was until very recently seen as a consequential regional power, these facts strike me as quite disastrous,” he added.
Most immediately, Turkey is agonizing over the fast-changing dynamics along its southern border with Syria, where Russia is bombing, Kurds are advancing and the rebels it has supported against President Bashar al-
Assad for the past five years are facing defeat.
Sending troops into Syria, as Ankara has hinted it might, would risk a confrontation with Russia that Turkey would almost certainly lose. The downing of a Russian plane in November was, in retrospect, a major miscalculation, analysts say, one that has hamstrung Turkey’s ability to project its influence into Syria and prevented it from flying missions there, even in support of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.
Not to intervene would mean bowing to the inevitability of an autonomous Kurdish enclave in northern Syria bordering Turkey’s own restive Kurdish region, as well as the defeat of the rebels Turkey had hoped would topple Assad and project Turkish influence into the Arab world.


For now, Turkey has confined its response in Syria to artillery shelling against the advancing Kurdish forces and efforts to reinforce the rebels. A rebel fighter in the border town of Azaz, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive, confirmed multiple reports that Turkey has facilitated the deployment of several hundred rebel fighters from the province of Idlib into Aleppo, via Turkish territory.
At the same time, Erdogan has sought, without success, to revive pressure on the United States to agree to long-standing Turkish proposals for the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria that would protect Syrian civilians who have sought refuge from the fighting along Turkey’s border.
Most observers think direct Turkish intervention unlikely, at least for now. There is no public support for a war and no support for one within the Turkish armed forces. A group of more than 200 academics signed a petition this past week urging Turkey not to go to war in Syria, and the military has publicly stated that it is not willing to send troops across the border without U.N. Security Council approval.
But that has not deterred Erdogan from continuing to threaten action, drawing supposed red lines and seemingly digging Turkish policymakers deeper into a hole from which there is no obvious escape. He recently said the fall of rebel-held Azaz to the advancing Kurds would be a “red line” and vowed that Turkey would not allow the creation of a refuge for militant Kurds in Syria.
Turkey’s predicament is not entirely self-inflicted. Some of the broader global trends — such as Russia’s increasing assertiveness and the United States’ waning interest in the Middle East — could not readily have been foreseen when Turkey set about crafting its ambitious foreign policy earlier in the decade, analysts say.
But Erdogan appears to have misjudged the extent to which the shifting parameters have constrained Turkey’s room to maneuver, according to Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert at the Wilson Center in Washington.
“Erdogan has mismanaged foreign policy because of hubris,” Barkey said. “He was overconfident in 2010 that Turkey was the darling of the world, and that went to his head. There are setbacks that are not of his doing, but how he managed those setbacks are his doing.”


When Erdogan is also confronting unforeseen challenges to his domestic ambitions, notably his plans to amend Turkey’s constitution to enhance his presidential powers, further Turkish missteps cannot be ruled out, said Bacik, the professor in Ankara.


“I’m not saying that Turkey has lost its mind and is poised for war, but the posture in Ankara is very strange and could lead to surprises,” he said. “What’s happening in Syria is a question of survival for Erdogan, so it is not possible to rule anything out.
“For Turkey,” he added, “there is no good scenario from now on.”
Read more

Liz Sly is the Post’s Beirut bureau chief. She has spent more than 15 years covering the Middle East, including the Iraq war. Other postings include Africa, China and Afghanistan   

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Shia/Sunni divide widens.

The divide between the Shia and the Sunni is widening as well as getting more violent. On the one side is Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and on the other side is Iran (Shia). There are several hot points: Yemen being the hottest. Here is Wikipedia's description of the Yemeni mess: "
Houthis emblem.svg
Houthi logo reading "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam". (See here for further explanation)
Active1994–present
 
/
The Houthis (Arabic: الحوثيونal-Ḥūthiyyūn), officially called Ansar Allah (anṣār allāh أنصار الله "Supporters of God"), is a Zaidi Shia-led movement from Sa'dah, northern Yemen. The group was founded by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi[17] who started a rebellion in 2004 which led to a Houthi insurgency in Yemen against then President, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The group has been led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi since Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi was reportedly killed by Yemeni army forces in 2004.[18][19]
The Houthis participated in the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, as well as the ensuing National Dialogue Conference (NDC). However, they rejected the provisions of the November 2011 Gulf Cooperation Council deal on the ground that "it divided Yemen into poor and wealthy regions" and also in response to assassination of their representative at NDC.
In 2014–2015 Houthis took over the government in Sana'a, which led to the fall of the Saudi Arabian-backed government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.[20] Houthis and their allies have gained control of a significant part of Yemen's territory and are currently resisting the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen seeking to restore Hadi in power. Both the Houthis and the Saudi Arabian-led coalition are being attacked by the Islamic State terrorist group.[21][22]

Saudi Arabia is actively involved in trying to suppress the Houthis and the effort is led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman 30, the King's son. Mohammed bin Salman who would like to expand his operations to Syria, where the local Sunnis are ruled by a small Shia sect of Bashar Assad, supported by Iran and Russia.
Syria is another flashpoint of this war. ISIS controls part of Syria and eliminates anyone opposing it. One effective opponent of ISIS are the Kurds, part of whom are waging a war against Turkey to liberate the Kurds of Eastern Turkey. The Kurds, Turks and ISIS are all Sunni, but are obviously at each others' throats.
Turkey is preparing to enter the war against the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, who are quasy allied with the Russians against ISIS. The Obama regime refuses to deliver the Kurds the promised weapons to them, fearing a response from Turkey. Turkey is part of NATO and if attacked by Russia, NATO is required to come to Turkey's aid. The Obama regime favors Iran and has paved the way for Iran to acquire atomic weapons. Will the Saudis buy weapons from N Korea?

And for promoting all this via the Arab Spring, W Europeans awarded Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Texas law on certifying cause of death.

According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if any of the following conditions are met:
– The body or a body part of a person is found, the cause or circumstances of death are unknown, and:
(A) the person is identified; or
(B) the person is unidentified;-the circumstances of the death indicate that the death may have been caused by unlawful means;
or
-the person dies without having been attended by a physician;
Texas Governor orders investigation.

Around the campaign.

Hillary's bark.

Channeling her inner Chihuahua. Her bark is not as bad as her cough.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/02/16/hillary_barking_highlights_double_standard_that_allows_her_career_to_exist

Jeb Bush.

When someone asked for Dems to show themselves at a recent rally, Jeb raised his arm. IQ is NOT in overabundance among the Bush brothers.

Trump.

The guy is going berserk. Does it matter? Here is a post from a supporter:

There is no arguing against that. America's political system has failed, because the Republicans refuse to oppose Obama.

One of Bill Clinton's recently surfaced paramours has told us that Bill complained that Hillary preferred female lovers. Pssst! keep this quiet. Don't want to increase Hillary's numbers.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Judicial Coup D'etats.

Power can be grabbed by the Supreme Court. The case in point is the commies of Venezuela. The commies lost the last election by 2 to 1, which would allow the opposition to reverse the commie advances under the Chavistas (the Party of Hugo Chavez).

The commies responded by packing the Supreme Court, which promptly invalidated the election of enough opposition members to undo the 2/3 majority of the opposition. The opposition is now preparing to impeach Maduro. Since, the Chavistas control the armed forces, no telling what will happen.

In the US, Obama can not pack the Supreme Court, but the "untimely" death of Antonin Scalia opens the way for the Left to enjoy a judicial coup. First, a divided Supreme Court can not overturn decisions by lower (Leftist) courts. Second, Obama will make a recess appointment to implement a coup of sorts. Third, the battle to nominate a replacement for Scalia will be used to mobilize left-wing voters.

Is the Scalia death suspicious? You bet. He was in good health. There is no autopsy, because local justices were told they did not need one. Now, the body has been embalmed which might cover up evidence of wrongdoing.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Hope you enjoyed gold price eruption.

After suppressing the gold price via the phony paper options, gold prices erupted this week. At one point yesterday, gold price was up over $50 an ounce. The price flew past Larry's confirm price of 1,187 and Yamada's 1,200 and simply ignored the resistance at 1,225. Now it is retrenching some and is getting ready for the next move. The previous resistance now becomes a support so 1,225 will be tested.


When? When deep pockets are ready to move the price and the price of gold mining stocks.


You might ax 'why.' Why now? Because the economy of the whole world is FUBAR and so is the financial system. And buying gold is the way to purchase some safety and make money.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Crisis in the Ukraine: On again.

Several things are happening in the Ukraine: some of these are hard to believe:


1. The IMF will fork over $40B to Ukraine to stave off default;


2. Ukraine refuses to pay a $3B payment owed Russia;


3. Ukraine has cut off electricity to Crimea;


4. Russia cut off gas to Ukraine;


5. Mariupol and the breakaway regions cancelled elections;


6. Russia cancelled a free trade treaty with Ukraine.


Meanwhile, Ukrainian nationalists are launching attacks to protest autonomy for E Ukraine and Ukraine's economy is faltering.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

What the NH vote tells us.

It wasn't close. Hillary was schlogged 60 to 38. According to Democrat rules, she got half the delegates.

Nor was it close on the Republican side. The Donald came home with 35% and Kasich got 16%, followed by Cruz(12%), Jeb (11%) and Rubio (10%). The playground bully Christie was in single digits at 8%.

The Left is overjoyed. They no longer have to hide under the name of "Liberal" or even "Progressive." Bernie Sanders makes it possible for them to proudly embrace the word "Socialist." They might even put Bernie's picture in the pantheon of Socialists such as Marx and Engels.

If you listened to the speeches of Bernie Sanders and Hillary, you were struck by one thing: the demonstration of the "Limbaugh theorem." Rush Limbaugh pointed out that the reason Obama's popularity is as high as it is because he runs against the results of his own policies. Thus, Democrats complain about the rising cost of medical premiums, the lack of insurance for millions as if we were not following and suffering the consequences of Obamacare.

The Clintons took a shellacking in NH there is no doubt about that. Now it is on to more Southern climes where the Clintons hope to recoup with the help of the gullible suckers: the horde of low information, black voters. The far Left is already moving to cut them off at the knees. Bernie is meeting with Al Sharpton to offer blacks "reparation" in exchange for their votes.

There is one way for the Dems to escape the choice between a criminal (Hillary) and a Socialist: Kasich. Gov Kasich admitted that he was campaigning as a Democrat. Will it happen? I don't think so. The Democrat Party is too far gone into anti-Americanism and Marxism. The hoopla for Sanders just proves what we have known.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Super Bowl 50: if you liveby the sword...

you die by the sword. The Carolina Panthers lived by Cam Newton's running and passing and they died by it. The Broncos defense made the difference as defense usually does in the Super Bowl. The Drive by Media was having an orgasm, expecting Newton to blow away the Broncos. It did not happen that way. Newton looked ordinary except in one drive. But, the Broncos adjusted and Carolina could not. It is now back to the drawing board. On to the Olympics and the Zika virus.

Why did the Broncos succeed where Carolina failed? The Broncos had a great secondary which allowed the line and linebackers to rush Newton. As simple as that.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Gold move imminent?

Larry posted that gold's confirmation of a new bull market is 1,187. Yamada pegs it at 1,200. That means that if gold closes above 1,187 Larry's customers will jump in and if they push gold up 1,200/oz then Yama da's customers will jump in.

Last Friday gold and silver miners closed up and so did gold. Here is gold:

Yes, Obama knows what he is doing.


Our transparent administration is not being transparent—again. 

by William Hamilton, J.D., Ph.D.

 

Last week, the U.S. Navy dispatched two of its fearsomely armed Riverine Command Boats (RCBs) to patrol between Kuwait and Bahrain. Somehow, the RCBs were seized by the Iranian Navy; the crewmembers arrested, and -- even though the U.S. and Iran are not technically at war -- treated as Prisoners of War (POWs). How could this happen?

The Swedish-designed, U.S.- manufactured RCBs cost $2.8 million per copy. Each RCB carries six machine guns, to include a .50 caliber Gatling gun, plus grenade launchers. Covered with armor plating able to deflect AK-47 fire, the RCB's 49.4 mile-per-hour top speed means RCBs can outrun every known surface warship.

To guard against surprise attack, RCBs carry the Sea FLIR III infrared sensor system, thermal imaging, a laser rangefinder, and long-range radar. Navigation is by a top-of-the line GPS and chart plotter system, along with traditional chart and compass back-up. The RCB's world-wide communications gear nets with ships, aircraft, and ground forces.

Operating in pairs, the RCBs provide each other with mutual fire support. If one RCB is disabled, the other RCB can tow it to safety. Thus, the question arises: How could two RCBs lose their ability to navigate at the same time and stray into Iranian waters? And how could two world-class weapons platforms be seized by the, arguably, inferior Iranian Navy?

Apparently, one of the RCB's had a propulsion problem and radioed U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain for assistance. Congressman Louis Gohmert (R) of Texas claims the Obama White House intervened, asked the Iranian Navy to provide assistance, and ordered the U.S. 5th Fleet to stand down.

By long-standing naval custom, disabled boats found in territorial waters are rendered assistance, and simply escorted back into international waters. Their crews are not subjected to POW treatment or put on world-wide video display, looking like criminals.

But, instead of being treated as distressed vessels exercising the mariners' right of innocent passage, the Iranians arrested the crew members, treated them as POWs, and, somehow, got the officer-in-charge to make filmed statements praising the Iranians and saying the treatment the crew received was: "Fantastic."

Absent Congressman Gohmert's explanation -- citing White House intervention -- it appears Articles II and V of the U.S. military's Code of Conduct were violated.

Article II states: "I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist." Article V reads: "When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the best of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause."

Alternatively, could it be that the White House-imposed Rules of Engagement (ROE) robbed the RCBs of their "means to resist"?

Were the RCB's awesome weapons even permitted to be loaded? Congress should demand to see the Operations Order under which the two RCBs left Kuwait for Bahrain and demand copies of all the communications between the RCBs, U.S. 5th Fleet, and the White House. Meanwhile, the RCB crews are left twisting in the wind.

 

============

Nationally syndicated columnist, William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame, and is a recipient of the University of Nebraska 2015 Alumni Achievement Award. He was educated at the University of Oklahoma, the George Washington University, the Infantry School, the U.S Naval War College, the University of Nebraska, and Harvard University.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Background facts on the Carson kerfuffle.

I ran across a website today, first time.  It's named PolitiStick, P-o-l-i-t-i-s-t-i-c-k.  And the write here is Jennifer Burke.  The headline: "Uh-Oh, Was Marco Rubio Guilty in the Ben Carson Dropout Rumor?"  It begins this way:  "Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been the subject of brutal attacks all day by the Dr. Ben Carson campaign...  Prior to the beginning of the Iowa Caucus, CNN reporter Chris Moody tweeted that Dr. Carson was leaving the campaign trail to return to Florida for some R&R.
"He then said that Carson would be in Washington, DC for the National Prayer Breakfast, the event that put the renowned retired pediatric neurosurgeon on the political map in 2013...  The Cruz campaign is accused of intentionally using dirty tricks against Carson during the Iowa Caucus. Dr. Carson finished the night with just over 9% of the vote. Ted Cruz won the Iowa Caucus with 27.6% ...  Carson accuses Cruz of intentionally trying to undermine his campaign due to the actions of a grassroots leader involved with his campaign. ...

"The one thing not being mentioned is the CNN report which stemmed from an unclear statement sent out by the Carson campaign."   This woman, Jennifer Burke, is actually saying (summarized): You know, you want to get to the bottom of this, what started it all?  The Cruz camp didn't start it.  There was a tweet out there.  And her area of focus is the Carson campaign backed up by CNN.  Here's the Chris Moody tweet.  This is exactly what CNN tweeted out at 5:43 p.m. on February 1st.  This is before the caucus even started.

Chris Moody of CNN tweets: "'Carson won't go to New Hampshire or South Carolina but instead will head home to Florida for some R&R.  He'll be in DC Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast.' The doctor's campaign later clarified that Dr. Carson was not dropping out of the race, but merely returning to Florida to get a change of clothes. FOX News' Dana Perino said earlier on Tuesday that such a decision by a presidential candidate at this state of the game is unheard of.  Still, Cruz handled the accusation with class issuing an apology ...

"That entire apology is being framed as an admission of wrongdoing by Cruz himself... What has not been said much throughout the day is that Florida Senator Marco Rubio's campaign worked actively to spread the message that Carson was leaving the presidential race. These actions were reported on Twitter by Conrad Close who, according to his Twitter profile, is the managing editor of Outset Magazine. Another interesting little tidbit about [Conrad] Close, that he shouts from the rooftops with his Twitter profile picture, is that he is Team Rubio with the statement below his picture, 'I'm voting for Marco Rubio.'"

His tweet at 6:29 p.m. on February 1st, before the caucus had begun: "'Rubio campaign pushing the narrative hard that Carson is dropping out' Obviously looking to pick up votes from Carson.'" That's a tweet from a guy named Conrad Close, who identifies... He's a young guy; he identifies himself as a Rubio supporter and is the managing editor of something called Outset Magazine.  "Conservative journalist and communications guy fighting to make a difference for God and country," is how he describes himself in his Twitter profile, "managing editor Outset, occasionally tries to save the world."
He lives in Georgia, and he tweeted out at 6:29: "Rubio campaign pushing the narrative hard that Carson is dropping out. Obviously looking to pick up votes from Carson."  And that's gone.  They pulled that down, but the screenshot was grabbed of it in time.  And there's more.  So the plot thickens here, ladies and gentlemen.  But it's still politics.  It's not Romper Room.  But that's... You know, we live in a country where many Millennials think it is Romper Room, folks.  That's a problem with our education system, and that's another story.


RUSH: I want to go back to this allegation of cheating and fraud against Senator Cruz on this business of trying to take advantage of a confusing tweet from the Carson campaign about leaving Iowa and going back to Florida.  And that tweet, by the way, the original tweet was a CNN tweet, and the original CNN tweet, it was not a Carson campaign tweet; it was a not a Cruz campaign tweet.  The CNN tweet that got everybody going on this happened at 5:43 on Monday, which  I think it's Central time, so that'd be an hour and 15 minutes before the caucuses began.

And it's a tweet from Chris Moody, CNN:  "Carson won't go to New Hampshire or South Carolina but instead will head home to Florida for some R&R and then he'll be in DC on Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast."  That tweet was then assumed to mean something, or at least somebody sought to take advantage of it and have it mean something.  Now, I have a question, and the question is, how many votes was Dr. Carson denied because of this "fraud"?  I have here in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers are the vote totals on the Republican side from the Iowa caucuses.
Ted Cruz earned more votes than any Republican has ever received in the Iowa caucus, 51,666.  Donald Trump, 45,427.  Marco Rubio, 43,165.  Here are the delegates.  Ted Cruz, 51,000 votes, eight delegates.  Donald Trump, 45,000 votes, seven delegates.  Marco Rubio, 43,000 votes, seven delegates.  Ben Carson, 17,395 votes and three delegates.  Now, my question is, in order for Dr. Carson to have caught Marco Rubio and tied him for third place, there would have had to have been a change of 25,000 votes in both directions.
 
So Carson would have to win 12,500 and Rubio would have to lose 12,500or any combination thereof equal 25,000, because Carson needed 25,000 votes in order to tie Rubio.  His total was 17,395.  But anybody believe that Ben Carson was cheated out of 25,000 votes because of this fraud?  Well, we don't know.  But the polling data... Remember, now, the last poll that everybody trusted -- the Des Moines Register poll -- before the caucuses began, had Trump up by four.  Cruz in second place.  Rubio in third place, and Carson in fourth place, and then everybody after that didn't matter.
Carson at 9%, Rand Paul at 5%, and three, two, two, two, two, two, two, and one.  So aside from the position to Cruz and Trump, the poll was accurate.  So had nobody tweeted that Carson was leaving the race, had nobody tweeted, "Hey, you don't need to vote for Carson! He's getting out of the race," would he have somehow ended up with 25,000 more votes?  Can you see it?  We will never know.  Obviously the Trump campaign and the Carson campaign are going to try to make the case that it is entirely possible that Ben Carson got shafted out of 25,000 votes.
I mean, they practically have to, if they're gonna go forward with this and make it the big cause that it happens to be.

Iowa finally votes.

Some thoughts on the outcome.


1. Donald Trump lost. He views this as a crime and demands a redo.


2. Sen Cruz won. Last minute surge put him over.


3. Sen Rubio came in third right behind the Donald. He,too, had a last minute surge and did better than expected.


4. The kerfuffle over Cruz retweeting CNN's report that Carson was getting out of the race is overblown. One of my favorite Conservatives (Sarah Palin) is trying to live down to her rep among the Establishment. Cruz wasn't dishonest, just took advantage of the Carson mistake.


On to New Hampshire. Cruz will not win there, by a better than expected showing will keep him going till the SEC primary in March.


Venezuela close to the brink.


Venezuela had voted for a communist as El Presidente. As a consequence, the country faces economic ruin. You can find some details here:


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/204fc996-c8d5-11e5-a8ef-ea66e967dd44.html#ixzz3zCUgtsKY


The last two years, the country's economy shrank by 15% and its printing press is the only thing that keeps it afloat. Not for long though. Agriculture is a shambles and we see the shortages typical of a Communist country. When Venezuela defaults, it will have resinous financial repercussions.