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Showing posts from February, 2016

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California just made a huge positive step in Healthcare

Governor Jerry Brown made California the fourth state in the US on Monday to allow physician assisted dying. Yes, only the fourth, and it's disappointing that the numbers (or the lack of) overshadow the real achievement. Everyone has the right to live, and everyone should have the right to die. Of course life is sacred, but the opponents of this law must not seriously think that California's true intentions are to have a genocide. They simply just want to help those people who have no hope of a cure, and are suffering. That's it, there is no story here, Everyone is allowed to make their decisions about their life and body. If you can go and get an abortion from a professional, you should also be able to go to your doctor to die. They are there to help you and to lessen your pain. In any way possible. Of course we support that background checks must take place, and several doctors (including psychologists) should sign off before you are allowed to die. You sho

Clinton takes South Carolina

Politico Hillary Clinton ran her victory lap last night in So uth Carolina. No one expected her to loose there, and she didn't. Her African-American support base showed up, and she won decisively. It was her New Hampshire. But because Bernie wasn't expected to win there, it doesn't really hurt him. However, the size of the win is even beyond the predicted.But it's not like his civil rights record and arrest from the 60's doesn't prove that he too is for the African Americans. They both are. Now we move on to Super Tuesday. That will decide a lot for both the Democrats and Republicans.  The 48 point win though still underscores Sanders' troubles going into March. Clinton now has a strong advantage in the South, and that will give her a lot of delegates. Especially Texas. Sanders may win some of the northern states. But he certainly is in big trouble. Hillary is doing very well with the minorities for some reason. But she can't forget about the W

Nevada is Trump country too

AP Photo/Politico Donald Trump is the next President of the United States. Ooops, that is November 9 headline of Finchley 1959, not today's. But Nevada helped Trump a lot. Trump is now on course to win the Republican nomination. He can still be stopped, but the chances of that are decreasing. But surely, even if he wins among the Republicans, Bernie or Hillary can stop him right? Well, even that is doubtful. Last night Trump proved that he is electable. He can win states all around the country. He won with the young, old, evangelicals and both the highly and less-educated people. But most stunningly, he even won among Hispanics. And by a lot. And this is especially a staggering result, as both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have strong hispanic heritages. But even if you add their support, Trump still won. What can stop him now? Marco Rubio came in second, though a lot behind Trump. Rubio always expected to do well here, but since the rise of Trump, no one thought that he woul

Bush makes it 5

Well well well, Who would have thought? Six months ago nobody, but six days ago everybody. Jeb Bush has quit the Republican race too! The former Florida Governor was an early front runner in this race, but became the latest victim to the Governor's curse, and of course Donald Trump. We are sad to see him go, but he had to! Let's be honest. With his departure, only 5 candidates remain in the race, as Jim Gilmore finally quit as well recently, and as the field narrows ahead of the Nevada Caucus. But who will benefit the most? Trump? Rubio? Cruz? Kasich? or Carson? Bush had everything. He had by far the most money in the bank. The most endorsements at the time, and of course the best name recognition. The name recognition which is also bad because his brother is still hated by a lot of people, despite his popularity among most Republicans. But in overall it is a very useful and resourceful tool to have. But he didn't use them at all. Only in his dying days did he use his

Clinton wins Nevada, Trump does South Carolina

AP/Politico The heat turned up last night. The Democrats took on each other in Nevada, while the Republicans battled it out in South Carolina. As they will now exchange states, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump can be the happiest and most relaxed. They both won last night, a nd have good chances of repeating this feast in the next vote too! Bernie Sanders had a late surge, but Hillary edged him out, while Trump comfortably won ahead of Rubio. But Rubio did beat Cruz which is terribly loss for the Texan, and we also said goodbye to someone last night. This is what happened on February 20th. Hillary Clinton won in Nevada. But for months her campaign have been saying that this is where they will definitely crush Bernie. And he will be over. Well a 52-48 win is anything but a crush, and Bernie Sanders will not quit for sure. Hillary did win, and we do congratulate her for it! A win is a win. But Bernie proved that he is not only a viable candidate where it is mostly only white pe

Christie makes it 7

Iowa and New Hampshire have done their job again. The field is narrowing down, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has become the latest candidate to drop out of the Republican race. The outspoken governor was an early frontrunner in this race, however he was hurt by the Bridgegate scandal back home, and was overshadowed in the crowded Establishment/Governor lane and by the rise of political outsiders like Donald Trump. After coming in at 6th place in the Granite State, Christie didn't believe in the race anymore, as he put all his eggs in one basket. It worked for Kasich, not for Christie, and that is why we are saying bye to him now. In the run-up to the 2012 election, Chris Christie was widely favored in the party, and thought of as a potential candidate. He was however not yet ready and did not join, despite the fact that Romney received a surprisingly strong challenge from Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. He did however went on to campaign heavily for Romney la

Trump and Sanders crush New Hamsphire

AP Photo Last night was the night. After months of speculation, questioning and laugh offs, both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders proved that they are serious candidates, and that they are here to stay for a long time. They both finished second in Iowa, but New Hampshire proved that they are in no way perennial candidates anymore. And what a way to do it, Donald Trump won more than double of his nearest competitor John Kasich, while Bernie Sanders won upwards of 60% too. The question now is if they can continue their streak in South Carolina and Nevada respectively. On the Democratic side, there were no questions at all. After an amazing debate performance, poll leads locally for months and severe recent gains nationally, Bernie Sanders absolutely crushed Hillary Clinton. It is true that the demographics and location of New Hampshire favoured Sanders, but the size of his win is unquestionable. He won in almost every category. He won among males and females, rich and poor, and

Santorum makes it 9

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has also dropped out of the Presidential Race, just after Rand Paul has done the same. In 2012 Santorum was the surprise candidate of the year, as he won Iowa and became the main challenger to Mitt Romney. Santorum had high early hopes for the 2016 race, but unlike last time around, he never managed to connect with the voters. The lack of support led to low levels of fundraising and polling, and constant relegation to the second tier debates. With Santorum out of the race, only 9 candidates remain in the Republican race, and will try to get the most votes in New Hampshire on the 9th of February. While four years ago he was a champion of the workers and the people who saw Mitt Romney as just another rich man lying to them, this time around he campaigned for Christian vote and made family values a key focus in his strategy. He tried to reform his Evangelical coalition from four years ago and build on it, but he too was surprised by the rise

Paul makes it 10

Today, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul became the latest Republican presidential candidate to suspend his campaign. The Senator finished 5th in Iowa, and had a good forecast for New Hampshire. But beyond that, his chances looked grim, as he faced fundraising shortages and a challenger back home. He was the only libertarian candidate and thus his presence greatly widened the debate, but he too was swept away by the rise of political outsiders as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. With his exit, 10 candidates remain in the race to battle it out for the party's ticket. Rand Paul 5th place finish in Iowa was seen as a positive surprise by many, as he managed to defeat the "establishment" governors of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich. But many people who understand how voters think, weren't surprised by Paul's results. Paul's libertarian message is particularly popular among college and young voters. Paul is against big government, and is a firm defendant of pri

Huckabee and O'Malley drop out

Politico The 2016 Iowa Caucus results turned out great for Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. People like Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Rand Paul also felt ok about their numbers. They could have been better, but could have been worse. Then there is Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie who officially didn't really care about what they got here, as they focused on New Hampshire. But it must have hurt them. And then there is Jim Gilmore, Martin O'Malley, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. They were demolished, and for Huckabee and O'Malley it was a knockout. Huckabee's exit leaves the race with 11 Republicans, if you can count Gilmore at all, while O'Malley's exit leaves just Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the side of the Democrats.  Huckabee's poor results were expected, and thus his exit is not a big surprise. What is a surprise is that Rick Santorum didn't go down with him, even though he had an e

Cruz Wins, Democrats tie in Iowa

Chris Carlson/AP After months of campaigning, Iowa finally voted yesterday! On the Republican side of the Iowa Caucus, Texas Senator surprised Donald Trump. While the Democrats pretty much tied, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders only received slightly less support than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but it is still unclear who won, as a recount is very much possible. All the latest polls, even by Anne Selzer, predicted a Donald Trump victory, even though they all acknowledged that Ted Cruz was not far behind. But in real life, not many people expected Cruz to win, even though if there were serious questions of whether or not Trump supporters are real and if they will actually turn out to vote. Well they were real, but Cruz had more of them. Trump almost even slipped down to 3rd place, as it was confirmed that Rubio's late surge was real. His 23.1% is an extremely good show in a state like Iowa. This was a huge loss for Trump. More precisely his ego. For mo