US Election: the smear-war is there to stop people talking about the issues

US election 2016, logo.Ann Coulter explains why the election talk is almost all about scandals and smear, the last thing they want is for the campaign to be about the issues: Hillary has the media on her side, but Trump’s advantage is practically every policy.

[T]he media’s entire campaign against Trump is to prevent him from talking about policy. They would rather talk about fat-shaming than trade, immigration and jobs.

Sometimes, it seems like Trump is cheating by taking the vastly more popular side of every issue. The official GOP used to send its candidates out with ankle weights, a 75-pound backpack and blinders. But Trump didn’t agree to take any staggeringly unpopular positions, however much the Business Roundtable loved them.

He’s against amnesty, for building a wall, against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, for Social Security, against the Iraq War and for extreme vetting of Muslim immigrants.

That’s why the media have to change the subject to something flashy that will capture the attention of the most down-market, easily fooled voters. Trump is a groper!

Trump has been a rich celebrity for 40 years, employing thousands of women, but this is the first time he has been seriously accused of any sexual impropriety. You will recall that, just this May, The New York Times conducted a major investigation into Trump’s treatment of women — and came up empty-handed. …

Add climate scares to the list of topics the Dems would rather weren’t an election topic.

Other ways to stop people talking about the issues: block, censor, ban

Twitter has blocked James O’Keefe, the man who released two hot videos exposing Democrat cheating and vote rigging. Because twitter is not the place for people who use accurate quotes to discuss hot politics, right?

Candians Ezra Levant and Rebel Media have been banned by the U.N. Media Censor from attending the U.N. Marrakech Climate Change Conference as accredited journalists.

The three banned journalists are full-time professionals: Sheila Gunn Reid, the Rebel’s Alberta bureau chief and bestselling author; Meaghan MacSween, a producer, formerly with Global News and Sun News Network; and Alex Jones, a cameraman and editor, also formerly of Sun News Network.

The one-line excuse offered by the UN is that we are “advocacy journalists”…

… as opposed to “impartial journalists” that blindly cut and paste any press release saying that coal power stations cause floods, CO2 destroys sunsets, and moose will freeze due to global warming. The UN won’t ban them.

A few poll results you won’t hear on the ABC

The latest Rassmussen poll finds that 53% of US voters still say Clinton Should Have Been Indicted.

Most voters still disagree with the FBI’s decision not to seek a criminal indictment of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her mishandling of classified information when she was secretary of State, and even more rate the issue as important to their vote.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 39% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the FBI’s decision not to indict Clinton after it concluded that she potentially exposed top secret information to hostile countries when she used a private e-mail server as secretary of State. But 53% disagree and believe the FBI should have sought a criminal indictment against her. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings are basically unchanged from July…

[Back in May] sixty-five percent (65%) of voters [thought it was] likely Clinton broke the law by sending and receiving e-mails containing classified information through a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of State.

Most voters think  Hillary was hiding something, and think it would be good it Russia gave her emails to the FBI:

 Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters think it is likely those e-mails were deleted to hide something incriminating. Just 34% feel it would be bad for U.S.-Russia relations if the Russians had obtained those e-mails through cyberspying and now turned them over to the FBI.

For the record, Rassmussen do professional decent size polls, though their results skew towards Republicans, while  other pollsters skew Dem. Filter accordingly.

h/t David, pickabelief, eyeswideopen.

For science readers…. bear with us, please, regular programming will resume soon.

9.4 out of 10 based on 71 ratings

156 comments to US Election: the smear-war is there to stop people talking about the issues

  • #
    Richard Barnett

    Jo,

    Thank you for all your postings on the US election issues! Great perspective!

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      CC Reader

      In Colorado we will vote on something called “Amendment 71, This Raise the Bar effort wants to make it more difficult for residents to amend Colorado’s constitution”. It would require signatures of 2% in each of our 35 districts to put it on the ballot and 55% approval to be enacted into law. While in NZ I learned the term JAFA and have since tried to find something that would describe the Boulder/Denver area. I have hit upon JAFBAD but it does not seem to have the same panache as JAFA.

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    “Candians Ezra Levant and Rebel Media have been banned by the U.N. Media Censor from attending the U.N. Marrakech Climate Change Conference as accredited journalists….

    The one-line excuse offered by the UN is that we are “advocacy journalists”…”

    Is it too much to expect that the bureaucrats in United Nations observe the Human Rights?:

    “Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

    Article 1.

    All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

    Article 2.

    Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status….”

    And what are the Non-Governmental Organisations then – the organisations that United Nations include if they have the right perspectives – if not advocates!

    Hypocrites!

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    • #
      ScotsmaninUtah

      Candians Ezra Levant and Rebel Media have been banned by the U.N. Media Censor from attending the U.N. Marrakech Climate Change Conference as accredited journalists….

      dirty tactics considering journalists will ALL viewpoints should be permitted access to the U.N. (it is paid for via our taxes)

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  • #
    Tom O

    A smear campaign has another benefit in that it tends to make debate between participants sound and look like a school yard “cat fight.” It makes both people look far more childish than adult, but the truth is, this won’t hurt the Democrats as much since they put their blinders on and wrap themselves around their candidates, regardless of how poor the quality. It certainly isn’t related to the educational level of the individuals, since the Democrats probably have far more “college educated” members than does the Republican party. But there is a moral issue in it that plays out to be anti-Republican because in the US at least, left leaning people appear to have lower moral standards then right leaning people, thus are less affected by name calling and mud slinging.

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    • #

      You are so right. It’s a Saul Alinsky tactic. The Republicans are so easy to divide — they fall for this bait. Instead of ignoring the distraction and turning it back on the accusers they allow the baiters to control the national conversation and keep it in the gutter.

      Journalists could be targeted by this as “lightweight” and “tabloid” (which they will hate) for not asking questions about things that matter like foreign policy, the national economy, immigration…

      Mock them for pretending to be intellectuals who can’t think past their pants.

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      • #
        bobl

        Jo, think about elevating this to a post

        I agree here, what the GOP candidates need to do is repudiate their earlier separation from Trump given the clear criminality exposed by FBI, veritas and wikileaks, and take the public attitude at the very least that the Clinton’s must be kept out of the whitehouse at all costs. If that means backing the boorish Trump then so-be-it.

        Trump’s words while “ugly” are pretty trivial compared to the massive corruption being exposed in many quarters of the democrat camp.

        Let me try to list them (possible crimes and misdemeanours by Hilliary, Bill, Chelsea or her campaign)

        Bill the convicted liar renewing his whitehouse pass (proven)
        Hillary allegedly intimidating Bill’s “victims”
        Adultery (by Bill, and reportedly Hillary too)(Bill proven, Hilliary alleged)
        Alleged Voter Fraud (Veritas)
        Alleged Registration fraud (Veritas)
        Alleged Violating national security (private server)
        Alleged attempts to Evade FOI (private server)
        Possible involvement in political targetting by the IRS.(alleged)
        Contempt of congress (as outlined by Comey) (proven I think)
        Alleged pay for play scheme (eg morocco)
        Misrepresentation by Bill in representing the clinton foundation to the Australian Government while disqualified (bill, alleged)
        Creation of a sham entity in PNG. (Foundation)
        Alleged improper tax filings of foundation. (Foundation)
        Alleged favouritism of grant of government contracts – to FOB (Friends of Bill) or WJC VIPs (Haiti scandal)
        Alleged inciting of violence (Veritas, Campaign)
        Dumping of septic tank contents in public street (Campaign)
        Alleged Improper collaboration between clinton campaign and Super PAC via intemediaries (Veritas)
        Alleged Attempt to have Julian assange assasinated
        Theft of goods from government (proven, goods return and $50,000 fine paid)

        Did I miss any – please continue thread with your favourites

        I find it hard to see why the choice isn’t just obvious, but I think the fakery in AGW is obvious to anyone who can do junior high school math as well.

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        • #
          bobl

          Destruction of documents from the library of Congress (proven I think , Who?)
          Bengazi, though I don’t know if any actual crimes were committed there. perhaps criminal negligence

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        • #
          Tom O

          IF there WAS a Republican party, it would probably do what you say and support Trump. It is way too obvious that he has enormous support in the voter base, so only true fools would choose not to tap into that. Yet they do not, because there really is NO second party in the US.

          The two parties are basically indistinguishable based on the programs they support. There are technical differences in the way they approach the same problems, but they both seek the same thing because they are no longer separate entities accept in name. That is why you see so many appearing to be “RINOs,” Republican in name only. The entire “elite leadership” is RINO, even the big money donors since they have chosen either to support Clinton or be invisible, are.

          Trump is, essentially, running as an independent but on the Republican ticket. He outsmarted the party and the establishment, and chose to run “third party” on a party ticket. If he is successful, I hope he chooses to start a real second party by splitting from the Republicans and taking his base with him. The country needs an opposition party – I had hoped Ron Paul would have done that in 2012, but he didn’t.

          In fact, when you look at the “parties” in virtually any country, you really see only minor differences between them to make them look different, but essentially, on all the major points of governance, you find them virtually indistinguishable as most of the party leaders get their donations from the same pig trough that the others do.

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      • #

        Jo – I think one of the Wikileaks emails to John Podesta from Bill Ivey sums up the left-wing ‘academic’ modus operandi succinctly:

        From:[email protected]
        To: john.podesta @ gmail.com
        Date: 2016-03-13 17:06
        Subject: From Bill Ivey

        Dear John:

        Well, we all thought the big problem for our US democracy was Citizens United/Koch Brothers big money in politics. Silly us; turns out that money isn’t all that important if you can conflate entertainment with the electoral process. Trump masters TV, TV so-called news picks up and repeats and repeats to death this opinionated blowhard and his hairbrained ideas, free-floating discontent attaches to a seeming strongman and we’re off and running. JFK, Jr would be delighted by all this as his “George” magazine saw celebrity politics coming. The magazine struggled as it was ahead of its time but now looks prescient. George, of course, played the development pretty lightly, basically for charm and gossip, like People, but what we are dealing with now is dead serious. How does this get handled in the general? Secretary Clinton is not an entertainer, and not a celebrity in the Trump, Kardashian mold; what can she do to offset this? I’m certain the poll-directed insiders are sure things will default to policy as soon as the conventions are over, but I think not. And as I’ve mentioned, we’ve all been quite content to demean government, drop civics and in general conspire to produce an unaware and compliant citizenry. The unawareness remains strong but compliance is obviously fading rapidly. This problem demands some serious, serious thinking – and not just poll driven, demographically-inspired messaging.
        (https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3599)

        The penny drops: “The unawareness remains strong but compliance is obviously fading rapidly.”

        TRANSLATION: Dumbing down the public using scientific Fabian Society tactics and identity balkanization isn’t working, and now it has backfired as people are more receptive to celebrity politics, and the Trump effect … oh, no, what do we do? … what do we do? … the walls are closing in on me! THE PROLES ARE AWAKENING !!! Nooooooo!

        Bill Ivey is one of the main academic advisors to the DNC and Podesta. He wrote the book: “Handmaking America: A Back-to-Basics Pathway to a Revitalized American Democracy” (Counterpoint Press, 2012). Ok, if ‘handmaking’ is a euphemism for culturally balkanizing and dumbing-down the electorate, then Ivey’s book title is not so ironic when the WikiLeaks email is put in perspective. It reminds me of the famous phrase on the Fabian Society window at the London School of Economics: “Remould it nearer to the heart’s desire.” (‘handmaking’).

        The word ‘democracy’ to these people exclusively refers to the mechanics of ensuring that swing states are rigged for a left-wing advantage, no matter the tactic. One gets the impression that the less moral the tactic, the more pride they actually feel in their own self purpose (as the Project Veritas videos seem to elucidate quite well).

        That John Podesta is directly involved in what amounts to industrial sabotage, in Australia, is not surprising at all, but thank you for pointing out the relevant WikiLeaks proof of actual conspiracy. You’re one of Australia’s diamonds as far as I’m concerned, and I love this blog – it puts the pathetic Australian MSM to shame; though thank god for The Australian.

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    • #
      Owen Morgan

      Interesting: leftie commenters in Britain are using American terminology. Somebody accused Brexit politicians of being “deplorables”. I assume that the derivation for that was a bit too blatant, because it turned into “disreputables” pretty fast.

      On the other hand, the same someone derided me for “gloating in the schoolyard” about the Brexit victory. British schools just don’t have “schoolyards”. They have “playgrounds”. I don’t know anybody who refers to “schoolyards” here. This leftie attacker was getting every syllable of his unfiltered attack straight from America – and was actually too dense to realise it.

      The left has long been in the business of pumping out rent-a-rant drivel, for the use of the likes of Louise Gray, but I think it’s interesting to see the system so obviously betrayed by the vocabulary.

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      • #

        Owen Morgan October 22, 2016 at 10:22 pm

        “Interesting: leftie commenters in Britain are using American terminology. Somebody accused Brexit politicians of being “deplorables”. I assume that the derivation for that was a bit too blatant, because it turned into “disreputables” pretty fast.”

        A basket of 3 month kittens is known as the “adorables”! Later they learn to unroll the john paper, ’cause earthlings worry to much!

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  • #
    diogenese2

    On the subject of the Presidential Election so much airborne faecal matter is engaging rotary propellant devices that I am keeping my head down except to observe that an uncanny parallel with the our recent UK Referendum seems to be emerging and a similar denouement may well be imminent.

    Of topic I’m afraid but relevant to rotating aerial devices after reading the following;

    http://www.thegwpf.com/french-reactor-outages-drive-coal-boom-across-europe/

    the ever alert Paul Homewood penned this, relevant to your recent concerns;

    https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/

    raising the issue (previously unknown to me) of FAULT RUN THROUGH of which South Australia has recently provided a textbook case. The implication being that wind turbines are even more useless and uneconomic than anyone imagined and the consequence for the whole of Europe this winter are dire.
    Fortunately I have upstairs 2 pair of thermal long johns purchased a few years back for a winter visit to Iceland, the nation that is not the supermarket. How ironic that they will probably now serve for both.

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    • #
      TdeF

      Like the US election, distractions are all important. It is now known that the towers came down after the disconnect. Also “The wind generators were not programmed to ride through such serious faults” is simply the current excuse, blaming the software of all things.

      Why should they ‘ride through’? They were programmed to protect the windfarms.

      What is not mentioned is the massive problem of synchronization in that you cannot just disconnect and connect windfarms to an AC power grid. Disconnection can be done in a second. Precise reconnection will take up to ten hours and requires a strong lead signal which comes from a now disconnected big generator from Victoria. Restarting the Rockettes chorus line without a lead or music or an orchestra without a conductor is very difficult. AC grids require exact matching, not just one voltage.

      So as Weatherill hides behind waffle, the cost to every taxpayer in South Australia is massive as it was in Tasmania. Now if he could just explain why he is closing power stations?

      Meanwhile the Democrats make out sex is the most important issue facing America. Julia Gillard used the same tactic and we are still enduring the mess she left. If Mitt Romney could not win against Obama, he may have been right, that when half the country is on welfare, a Republican candidate cannot win.

      In Australia we may be the same, 50% welfare and 50% wind power, which means we can only live when the wind blows which it doesn’t in Adelaide on a blisteringly hot summer’s day or blows too hard in the middle of winter. Which is fine as most people in Adelaide will be on welfare or in the public service and can use the stairs.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        50% of the population receiving some welfare is not good for anyone except the extra bureaucracy created to manage the 50%.

        Australia is a V8 trying to run with 4 spark plug leads removed and plugged into a Prius, its a silly idea that doesn’t work and just wrong.

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      • #
        Graeme No.3

        Use the stairs? They will demand time off for hardship.

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        joseph

        Wish I could give you more than one green thumb!
        From South Australia . . . .

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        Graeme No.3

        TdeF:
        The Adelaide Advertiser is probably not on your reading list and I fully understand why you would ignore it (along with others) but the Friday edition gave Jay Weatherill 6 pages. 2 criticising his record and performance, with emphasis on the blackout. 2 more pages of Letters to the Editor with 12 strongly against and 2 plaintive ones about his being a tough job there to avoid claims of bias, backed up with an Editorial which the Premier wouldn’t have liked reading, followed by 2 more pages detailing the manoeuvring that got him the position, plus columns on who might replace him. It is the last bit that is the most distressing reading of all.

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      • #
        engineer

        I agree TdeF on the grid re-connection difficulty.

        Briefly,to reconnect any generating source to the grid requires 4 conditions to be met:
        1. phase sequence – the wiring for all 3 phases must be connected in the identical rotational sequence.
        2. voltage magnitude – must match within very tight limits.
        3. frequency – of the sinusoidal voltage must be equal to that of the grid.
        4. phase angle – the phase angle between the voltage produced by the generator and the voltage produced by the grid must be zero.

        If any of these 4 conditions are not met on re-connection,
        a surge or total drop out, equipment damage or destruction may occur.

        It’s not just a matter of throwing a switch as most non technical people seem to think.

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        • #
          TdeF

          And the slightest mismatch could result in massive loop currents through a system designed to have no resistance, destroying a generator or the line or both, like reversing the polarity on a battery charger. Connecting a generator to an AC grid would not be for the faint of heart. It was the one huge advantage Edison had over Tesla in the battle of the currents.

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          • #
            tom0mason

            The generators are effectively in parallel on the grid, so as a generator joins the grid it removes some of the shared load from all the other generators on the grid. Grid frequency, voltage, and power factor are altered as this happens — not much but it can be seen.
            These days when the generator joins the grid it automatically readjust itself for the grid conditions at the time it takes up load from the grid (when it supplies current to the grid).

            That is why I say wind generators are a hazard to grid stability.
            They effectively reflect back to all other generators on the grid not as just a (variable) power source but also additional apparent variation in the distributed customer load. It’s not a great variation from individual wind generators as they have limited output but they add to the noise on the grid making it less stable, less predictable. Stability of the grid is then reliant on the computerized control and communication systems, and the software designers art.

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        AndyG55

        “Democrats make out sex is the most important issue facing America”

        Please use the word “gender” !!!

        “Which is fine as most people in Adelaide will be on welfare or in the public service ”

        Let’s not forget that the Libs got 53% of the vote in the last SA election.

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        • #
          Another Ian

          Andy

          Surely you’re not forgetting Senator Ted?

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        • #
          TdeF

          I didn’t mean gender.

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            TdeF

            Apparently gender is a decision made by school children according to the official Australian government primary school grooming program presented as as a safe school program to prevent bullying. As I remember bullying, it was nothing to do with sex, just size. Gender is now a choice, another wacky science idea like man made global warming. Either way, sex is unchanged.

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          Mari C

          No, they meant sex, not gender. Americans are still quite “puritan” when it comes to recreational cuddling. And it seems it doesn’t matter which sex you have sex with, it’s the act more than the gender that will get you in trouble. Even the possibility of the act maybe having been thought of.

          And that is a Republican issue that the Dems use to their advantage all. the. time. It’s defensible when the Dems “do it” (Boiz will be boiz) and reprehensible if the Republicans even think of “doing it” (how dare they! after all they did to Bill!) and that is mainly because it is the Republicans who create the biggest stink about family values and how sex, even inside marriage, is not to be taken lightly.

          Buncha hypocrites, the lot of them, both parties.

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            Another Ian

            Mari

            Remember this joke?

            What did Ted Kennedy rename his law practice after his car fell off that bridge?

            Datem, Dickem and Dunkem”

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    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      diogenese2 @ #4.
      Why are a third France’s nuclear power stations shut down for safety tests at the one time? Is there some new development? Or is it political? Seems strange.

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  • #
    Lord Jim

    Dr. Sebastian Gorka: Hillary Clinton’s Disclosure of Nuclear Response Times During Debate Was ‘Unconscionable’

    http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/10/21/gorka-hillary-clintons-disclosure-nuclear-response-times-debate-unconscionable/

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  • #
    Lord Jim

    Breitbart Ranked #1 for Most Shared Facebook Content on Presidential Debate Day

    “According to data from leading social media analytics company NewsWhip, from noon Wednesday to noon Thursday, Breitbart News generated 514,992 Facebook shares. Number two on the list was the Donald Trump for President Facebook page, which achieved 362,268 shares during the same time period.”

    “The next closest media publishers to Breitbart News were Fox News at #8 (185,119 shares) and Good Morning America at #10 (144,663 shares).”

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/10/20/breitbart-ranked-1-shared-facebook-content-presidential-debate-day/

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    • #
      Rod Stuart

      It’s a big Club, and you ain’t in it.

      IF YOU HAD A HUNCH THE NEWS SYSTEM WAS SOMEWHAT RIGGED AND YOU COULDN’T PUT YOUR FINGER ON IT, THIS MIGHT HELP YOU SOLVE THE PUZZLE.

      ABC News executive producer Ian Cameron is married to Susan Rice, National Security Adviser.

      CBS President David Rhodes is the brother of Ben Rhodes, Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications.

      ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman is married to former Whitehouse Press Secretary Jay Carney

      ABC News and Univision reporter Matthew Jaffe is married to Katie Hogan, Obama’s Deputy Press Secretary

      ABC President Ben Sherwood is the brother of Obama’s Special Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood

      CNN President Virginia Moseley is married to former Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Secretary Tom Nides.

      Ya think there might be a little bias in the news?

      Ya Think ?

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      • #
        Robert Rosicka

        I think our Aussie politicians read the same as in who is related to who in the media .

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        Mari C

        Rod – although at one point that list was accurate, times have changed.

        Ian Cameron is no longer with ABC – I can’t find a thing on who he might be working for, so he may be a house-husband now – they have 2 kids, and one of the reasons he gave for leaving was family-time.

        Matt Jaffe is now the Director of Communications at the U of Chicago – Institute of Politics. Katie Hogan is now the Chief of Organizing for Action (http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/katie-hogan-new-chief-of-chicago-based-organizing-for-action/)

        Moseley is -not- the President of CNN, she’s CNN’s Washington Deputy Bureau Chief and Vice President. Nides is back with Morgan Stanley Global – he’s a Vice Chairman.

        All the above can be found on Google. In fact, Snopes has a synopsis. (I like my lists of who is doing what to be fairly accurate)

        Washington and the press have long had close relations – when you get to a certain level of “elite” there are a lot of cross-connections. Smaller gene pool, too.

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    Jim Poulos

    Forgive me if this is OT, but if the Democrats are as good as Australia’s own Chief Scientist then I can see why this is one of the issues not discussed – behold Senator Robert’s grilling our chief Scientist on his knowledge of Climate Change:
    https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedOzPol/videos/348548855480844/

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      Ross

      Thanks Jim. The comments on the thread shows how strong the indoctrination has been –complete obedience to the cult.

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        Rick Will

        The interesting thing about the Facebook comments is that a few people openly challenge the masses. That makes me wonder how many “friends” does an open skeptic lose by posting such remarks. Climate Change is definitely the new religion and is something that should be avoided in polite conversation. Also makes talking about the weather a doubtful topic these days as might get into a discussion on Climate Change. A decade or so back, inland Australia was going to dry up because of Climate Change now Climate Change is being blamed for unusually high inland rainfall.

        Anyhow 10C here in Melbourne right now. Could be a temperature record for running the Cox Plate – coldest ever recorded since first run in 1922.

        Weather in Greenland looks cold as well. Snowfall has increased dramatically in the last few days:
        http://www.dmi.dk/en/groenland/maalinger/greenland-ice-sheet-surface-mass-budget/
        Surely also this fresh white snow will be reflecting a lot of solar energy out to space.

        I know this is just weather but I thought we would only being making hottest ever records now and the snow would disappear.

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        Glen Michel

        A whole lot of useful idiots.Snarky and dull as mud.I say tear up the page and start again.

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      Manfred

      Thanks for the insightful link JP. An Oscar winning performance from the Australian Chief Scientist that reminded me of Dr Zaius the orangutan member of the Ape National Assembly, Minister of Science and also Chief Defender of the Faith.

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      AndyG55

      Malcolm setting Finkle up for a roasting. Next episode will be fun to watch.

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        Peter C

        Dr Finkel must surely have anticipated Malcolm’s questions. Indeed I think he had prepared himself. His answers although brief seemed to me to have been considered so as not to expose problems with the greenhouse theory.

        Malcolm Roberts was given a briefing on Climate Change by the CSIRO on 26 Sep 2016. He said he would consider their information. I have not heard anything about it since then.

        Does anyone know when this senate hearing occurred?

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      Manfred

      The pecksniffian diet of propaganda mush ladled out on a daily basis as ‘news and weather’ by the New Zealand MSM is only surpassed by the arrogance expressed in their belief that the populous listen to them, believe them and don’t look elsewhere for the ‘news’. I suspect it is much the same around the Western World at present. The DJT HRC contest has been a superb barometer for measuring this, as it has for unequivocally revealing the extent to which the wider MSM are unadulterated manufacturers of the Progressive eco-globalist narrative. God only knows why. Under the 2030 ‘Sustainable’ World Order that they extol, they will be the very first to feel the strangling squeeze of UN pecksniffery.

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      TdeF

      Thanks. “It’s clear what would be driving increases in Carbon Dioxide. Then you go out and measure it”. Yes, it is going up. How trite! How insulting to Roberts. How patronizing of a man who is equally and perhaps better qualified.

      That does not prove increases in Carbon Dioxide are man made, but according to Dr. Finkel that is hypothesis and confirming evidence, his scientific proof. How simple minded. Is there no other explanation for either temperature going up or CO2 going up? I cannot listen further to this childish nonsense before he starts his everyone knows line. It is the least scientific answer I have ever heard, just parroting of Green mantra. Why do we pay this man?

      Besides, as a scientist, an experimental scientist, the first critical question is whether you can confirm that the new CO2 is man made. Is a measurement possible? Yes, radio carbon dating. Is the extra CO2 man made? No. That should be the end of it but according to Finkel, NASA put a man on the moon and Dr. Finkel and Julia Gillard were really impressed down here, I can tell you. (the Galaxy song)

      How does Finkel explain that despite his statement that the CO2 rate of increase is a record, since satellites started accurately measuring temperature, it has not changed. Roberts could quote Pauline Hanson, “please explain”?

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        Robert Rosicka

        please where is my global warming , I’m freezing my brass monkeys off here in northeast Victoria

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          TdeF

          Without Global Warming, in 1900 you could be 1.6C colder. Apparently. So enjoy the balmy weather.

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        • #
          Annie

          The paddocks are soggy again and it is cold in North Central Vic. Our stove is still going full bore and sweaters the order of the day!

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          • #
            Another Ian

            Annie

            Overcast and drizzling here in western Qld and about 18 degrees.

            Reaching for a coat and it is almost November!

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      • #
        Rod Stuart

        The only thing his waffle “proves” is that Finkel is no scientist.
        Witness the logical fallacy “everybody knows”.
        Witness the inability to recognise that correlation is not causation.
        Witness the pathetic ignorance of the measurements of millions of weather balloons that show the trend in decline since 1950.
        Doesn’t this suggest that corruption and deceit is as endemic as it is in the USA or Europe?

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    Mark M

    Here is an issue that needs to be heard:

    French government may jettison carbon tax plan!

    “A plan announced by French environment minister Segolene Royal in May to introduce a carbon floor of EUR30 ($30), is set to be shelved.
    Les Echos reports that the carbon tax is set to be left out of the draft 2016 budget update.”

    http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2016/10/french-government-may-jettison-carbon-tax-plan.html

    Nice timing:

    “Just days after nations agreed to curb production of greenhouse gases 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide and a fortnight before the Paris climate agreement comes into force on November 4, many regions are experiencing bizarre conditions.

    http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/super-typhoons-and-a-soaking-for-australia-weird-weather-explained-20161017-gs4ks6.html

    Here I was, preparing for 97% perfect weather this weekend …

    70

    • #
      Yonniestone

      The French will soon learn scrapping a carbon tax will be very easy compared to reversing the immigration tax inflicted on its citizens.

      100

  • #
    Ruairi

    Some media outlets will vie,
    With each other to quickly comply,
    When they’re ordered to jump,
    Just to denigrate Trump,
    They all answer in chorus, “How high?”.

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  • #
    craig thomas

    This site bills itself a “science” blog, and yet we are expected to put up with a Tsunami of boring apologistic crud about a foreign politician.

    Trump is quite obviously a pathological liar. I was all for his tilt at the Presidency right up until he started publicly smearing the parents of a dead Veteran.
    Absolutely disgusting – he never served his country and treats those that have with contempt.

    Worse, he employs people who have ties to the KGB. Even worse, he repeats KGB dezinformatsiya, meaning he is a tool in an active KGB active measures operation.

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    • #
      AndyG55

      Clinton is by far and away the bigger liar.

      Because she is protected by the MSM she continues to get away with being, after Obama…

      .. the MOST DISHONEST PERSON on the planet.

      282

      • #
        Yonniestone

        Don’t you dare insult The Evita of Arkansas, his non-US citizen vote isn’t going to just any old cult of personality thank you.

        60

      • #
        craig thomas

        She lied to the FBI and should go to jail for both that and her crimes against National Security.

        And Trump is even worse – he is part of a Russian intelligence operation.

        I can’t wait for the Mexicans to finally take over the Republican party and steer back on course.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          You would believe anything you read in FAR-LEFT propaganda newspapers, wouldn’t you.

          GULLIBLE !!!

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        • #
          Mari C

          Craig – please PLEASE post evidence for Trump’s ties. Not the same sort that would tie Hillary to, say, the Saudi’s, with whom she has met and talked and visited in official guise, but evidence that puts Putin influencing Trump, or Trump accepting said influence. As to date, there has been no evidence, just innuendo, supposition and accusation based on Trump not denouncing Putin or Russia – and a call out asking, if Russia did indeed scoop up Hillary’s emails, would they please send them back? Hillary seems to have lost many emails, and I am sure a lot of people would like to see what was “lost” – especially Trump.

          40

    • #
      mike restin

      So craig, you’re voting for the most honest politician running?
      I’m voting for Gary Johnson, too.
      Gary Johnson / Bill Weld
      Let’s mend. Instead of feed the hate.

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      We are forced to discuss politics on a science blog because your lot politicised science!

      Next you’ll be whining about how empirical evidence doesn’t correlate with climate models……oh wait.

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      • #
        craig thomas

        That is the most bald-faced case of projection I have ever seen.

        Sen. Inhofe politicised science. Ken Cuccinelli politicised science. Every politician who claims he knows better than the scientists is politicising science.

        Climate models made in the 1980s (although no longer used) accurately projected current temperatures.

        Climate models made by the likes of Easterbrook, Lindzen, McLean, etc… have all failed abysmally.

        A sceptic might ask themself why they ever believed Easterbrook, Lindzen, etc… when they have demonstrated themselves to be catastrophically ill-informed and unreliable.

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        • #
          Yonniestone

          Do you mean this Ken Cuccinelli who was doing his job?

          Commonwealth Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s investigation of former University of Virginia professor Michael Mann. The American Association of University Professors likewise opposes Cuccinelli, who is seeking documents from UVA, to determine whether there are grounds to prosecute Mann for violating the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, by presenting false or misleading information in support of applications for state-funded research.

          Or Senator Inhofe who also looks out for hoaxes and the public he serves?

          “Poor Bill McKibben – he’s been trying to get something to melt for ages but it keeps backfiring,” Senator Inhofe said. “These alarmists never learn their lesson. Remember Bill McKibben was the one who was going to melt a giant ice sculpture in the shape of the word ‘hoax’ on the national mall, but his group had to cancel because there wasn’t enough interest. Now, after proclaiming that street lights in Oklahoma are melting because of global warming, we have confirmation that a fire caused this scene.

          It would only be politicising science if there was any actual science to politicise, big difference Craig.

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          • #
            Yonniestone

            Comment #10.3.1.1 in moderation because the FR#$d word appears in a documented legal investigation, either that or the use of the name Craig.

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        • #

          Incompetent and alarmist scientists like James Hansen politicized science, with the aid of the UN’s IPCC, as far back as 1988. This is common knowledge. And there is no valid “global warming” science and no competent climate scientists who defend any part of it. Craig Thomas is playing the part of an agitator, interested only in spreading chaos with his aggressive lies.

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          Mari C

          Craig, please produce the models and -accurate- results. It’s 2016, I want to see the 1980s predictions.

          41

    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      Here’s back to some relevant science, Craig. This morning’s The Conversation.

      “And if you’re feeling glum about the weather this weekend, there may be an explanation. Temperature records show Australian cities are actually cooler on weekends, when there is less traffic and air pollution. “

      And less industry generally releasing anthropogenic heat. At least they seem to have got it right this time.

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Craig, if it distresses you so much then don’t read it. In any case aren’t you being ambitious reading about science with your lack of understanding of the subject?

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        As Craig was told in room 101 “you don’t have choices just obligations”, even worse personal choices may lead to satisfaction and gasp!….happiness.

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      • #
        craig thomas

        My lack of understanding of science appears nevertheless to put me head and shoulders above the nuts on this blog with their grab bag of completely unscientific beliefs.

        You’ve got one guy who used to carry on about the Sun having an Iron core, and now tells anybody who will listen that the Sun is in fact a pulsar. ROTFL.

        Then there are several people here who blatantly deny that the greenhouse effect is a real thing – I don’t know if they are insane, or simply ignorant of absorption spectra, but the result is the same.

        Then there are still one or two who deny that there is 400+ppm CO2 in the atmosphere, and a slightly larger number who deny that it was 280ppm at the dawn of the industrial age.

        Then there are a large number (and this has got to be pure ignorance) who deny that the earth’s current carbon budget is known well enough that we know how much CO2 humans are actually emitting. These same people are then apparently incapable of comparing that known quantity of emissions (say, X) against the known atmospheric concentration change over time (which is about X/2) to draw the obvious conclusion.

        I could go on, but if you’re going to question *my* understanding of science, you’re going to have to make a long list and put just about everybody else here on that list because the evidence shows science ignorance seems to be an epidemic around here.

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        • #
          Rod Stuart

          My lack of understanding of science

          It wasn’t necessary to point that out.
          The rest of us have been cognisant of that salient fact for years.

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        • #
          el gordo

          Craig regional cooling has already begun, even BoM acknowledges its going to be cool and wet in the south-east this summer. One day is only weather but I like to think its a fraction of climate change.

          “It will be the equal coldest running of the Cox Plate in its history,” the senior forecaster Scott Williams said.

          ‘It reached just 12.9C in 1970, the coldest Cox Plate day in its 94-year history.’

          Guardian

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        • #
          Yonniestone

          If we are so wrong, know so little and are so overlooked then why would you bother to post here?

          It may suggest something about your personality that if you truly believe in your intellectual superiority claim, where you take pleasure in toying with those of a lesser IQ that it is in fact you that have taken the moral low ground where someone in that position should realise that the people you mock won’t have awareness of the intended context of dialogue.

          Otherwise your’e just an atypical victim component of Critical Thinking that has severe self confidence issues, oh and that “head and shoulders above the nuts” was a massive Freudian slip.

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        • #
          el gordo

          ‘Then there are several people here who blatantly deny that the greenhouse effect is a real thing – I don’t know if they are insane, or simply ignorant of absorption spectra, but the result is the same.’

          That would be me, sir.

          Because of the massive model failure over two decades I took it into my head that AGW is falsified, the Klimatariat didn’t account for water vapor damping down temps or that the sun is more than TSI.

          Of course there is also the possibility that I’m in need of professional help.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          “My lack of understanding of science appears ”

          Yes, your lack of understanding of science appears on every post you make.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          Lets sum up the facts,

          1. No warming in the UAH satellite record from 1980 to 1998 El Nino

          2. No warming between the end of that El Nino in 2001 and the start of the current El Nino at the beginning of 2015.

          3. No warming in the southern polar region for the whole 38 years of the satellite record.

          4. No warming in the southern ex-tropicals for 20 years.

          5. No warming in Australia for 20 years, cooling since 2002

          6. No warming in Japan surface data for the last 20 years, No warming from 1950-1990.. ie, a zero trend for 40 years through their biggest industrial expansion

          7. No warming in the USA since 2005 when a non-corrupted system was installed, until the beginning of the current El Nino.

          8. UAH Global Land shows no warming from 1979-1997, then no warming from 2001 – 2015

          9. Iceland essentially the same temperature as in the late 1930s as now, maybe slightly lower

          10. British Columbia (Canada) temperatures have been stable, with no warming trend, throughout 1900-2010

          11. Chile has been cooling since the 1940s.

          12. Southern Sea temperatures not warming from 1982-2005, then cooling

          13. Even UAH NoPol shows no warming this century until the large spike in January 2016.

          That is DESPITE a large climb in CO2 levels over those regions and time periods.

          There IS NO CO2 WARMING effect evident in the temperature data.. NONE.

          The ONLY warming is from El Nino and ocean cycles

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          AndyG55

          The so called “greenhouse effect” is mis-name. It is real the “gravity/thermal” effect

          CO2 does not re-emit until 11km up the atmosphere.

          There is NO CO2 blanket in a convection controlled atmosphere.. End of Story

          But don’t let your scientific ignorance hit you on your ass on the way out.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          “You’ve got one guy who used to carry on about the Sun having an Iron core, and now tells anybody who will listen that the Sun is in fact a pulsar. ROTFL.”

          Only a moronic twerp would link Oliver to Jo’s site.

          Infests basically everywhere.

          A very low act, very typical of you, CT.

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        • #
          AndyG55

          I’m very pleased that the use of fossil fuels has done its small part in increasing atmospheric CO2.

          It was perilously low for plant photosynthesis. The world’s biosphere is absolutely loving getting away from those subsistence levels.

          And guess what CT, China, Indi, Indonesia, Turkey, Germany, France (at the moment), South African countries, Asia countries etc etc are ALL planning to continue to increase their CO2 emissions for many, many years to come, and there is absolutely NOTHING that you or any of the other CO2 haters can do about it,

          So just SMILE and enjoy the world’s prosperity, because even if some of the developed countries are silly enough to debilitate their economies by following the anti-CO2 renewable mantra…..

          there will still be PLENTY of CO2 for the world’s plant life for many, many years to come. 🙂

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        • #
          AndyG55

          “you’re going to question *my* understanding of science, you’re going to have to make a long list”

          Yes Craig.. a very, very long list !!!

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        • #
          Egor TheOne

          Spoken as a true b’lver …. where absurdity replaces evidence…. where what sounds morally superior becomes inarguable, at least among the inner city leftoids(closet Marxists).

          And where proof is simply a belief propagated by the politically appointed and tax payer freeloader ratbag activists masquerading as science/scientists.

          All on the bloated government payroll.

          Instead of proof, we have authorities to shout down the dissenters and pontificate CAGW tablets from the mount.

          All this nonsense and propaganda needs to be put to the sword, and its propagators prosecuted for racketeering(and worse) and given what they truly deserve …. long jail terms.

          What a pathetic lie to state that somehow ‘great big new taxes’ and ‘idiotic 12 century windmills’ and a bloated world government infested with criminals and ratbag marxists are all necessary to save the planet …. from nothing or at worst/best some beneficial minor warming!

          There is but one inescapable conclusion: CAGW = BS

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        • #

          Craig Thomas obviously doesn’t even know what the “greenhouse effect” really is (neither do any of those who still believe in it; it is a mass delusion among both alarmists and lukewarmers). It is NOT the absorption of long-wavelength (infrared) radiation by CO2, it is the supposed increase in global mean surface temperature due to increasing atmospheric CO2, and the latter does not exist. The hydrostatic condition of the troposphere (along with the intensity of incoming solar radiation) governs the global mean temperature, by enforcing a stable, constant vertical temperature gradient (the well-known “lapse rate”, enshrined in the century-old Standard Atmosphere model, which the Venus/Earth temperatures comparison precisely confirms as the correct physics). Absorption spectra taken in the atmosphere can only indicate the presence, and increase, of CO2 in the atmosphere, NOT any global warming due to such an increase. Everyone should know by now that global mean temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration are not correlated, over the period of modern temperature records, and the Venus/Earth confirmation of the Standard Atmosphere shows why, simply and clearly, as I just explained. Basically, the troposphere is not warmed from the heated planetary surface, especially by CO2 absorbing radiation from the surface, as everyone is taught today to believe; instead, the governing lapse rate structure is maintained solely by direct absorption of incident long-wavelength radiation from the Sun. Every aspect of the consensus theory is false, not just one or two pieces of it.

          Craig Thomas is just one of the legion of incompetent, activist thugs, aggressively pushing their unquestioned, cult belief in the “greenhouse effect” against the overwhelming and definitive evidence against it.

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        • #
          Lucky

          Any discussion on ‘the earth’s current carbon budget’
          ( see craig thomas, ‘My lack of understanding of science’)
          is incomplete without appreciation of Henry’s Law.

          41

        • #
          Lucky

          craig thomas and ‘My lack of understanding of science’, more

          The claim that there is a ‘greenhouse effect’ because of ‘absorption spectra’ is falsified as no hot-spot has been found.

          41

        • #
          Vlad the Impaler

          Greetings Craig:

          Since this is a “science” blog, and all of us are ignorant of “science” (that would include physicists, mathematicians, engineers, chemists, geologists, biologists …. ) why do you keep bothering to post here? Since we’re all “ignorant” of science, then there is no point in trying to “educate” us. You’be been trying for some time, but I see no converts. Einstein (maybe you’ve heard of him) called the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

          What is this mis-nomer, “greenhouse effect” you keep using? Greenhouses are warmed by the suppression of convective cooling, not by reflection/re-radiation of IR-wavelength energy. As far as our atmosphere, it keeps the Earth cool during the day, and warm at night. That’s basic “science”.

          Woods, in 1904, proved that a greenhouse is warmed by convection-suppression, but only those of us who know “science” know about Woods, and that IPCC “science” is false. Care to try to run a cross-correlation between CO2 and temperature for the past 750 million years? I think you’ll find the result, interesting.

          I know in advance you will not, as I am (so far) the only skeptic who has found the correlation coefficient; no ‘believer’, such as yourself, has the cajones to even try.

          How about it? Care to grow a pair?

          Regards,

          Vlad the Impaler

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      AndyG55

      “to put up with a Tsunami of boring apologistic crud”

      Now you know how we feel when you visit. !!

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      el gordo

      ‘This site bills itself a “science” blog …’

      So does Deltoid.

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    • #
      Annie

      “We are expected…blah”? What are you talking about? Nobody is obliging you to come here. As for the majority of us, this election particularly concerns us as we can see all the links with the current push for control of thought re AGW, the UN and the rot that has been set in train in Western society.
      If you don’t like it Craig, I suggest you look elsewhere.

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    • #
      Rod Stuart

      Why not?
      We put up with your disgusting troll swill from time to time.

      61

    • #
      Glen Michel

      Don’t pop a nut there Craig.You’d be a cackle in a discussion at a party.Then again,we’d probably hang in different circles.Your circles being ones that would perplex the mind with it weirdo’s and airheads.

      41

    • #
      peter

      Trump’s smear at a dead veteran was a response to a gratuitous attack on Trump from a couple of card-carrying Democrats (the parents) at a Clinton rally, a decade after their son’s death (why now?). It was intentionally scripted and coached by Clinton people so as to get a bite out of Trump. It worked and was not the best response that Trump could have given. But you have to accept that it was a political stunt orchestrated by Hilary’s people. It was typical of the dirty tricks that Democrats have used for years. They are so much better at this shameful stuff than the Republicans.

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      • #
        AndyG55

        CT is,of course, GULLIBLE enough to fall for basically anything that supports his unfounded far-left beliefs and agenda..

        Limited education on his behalf means limited ability to ask questions and think for himself.

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  • #
    Ross

    We’ve had a couple of posts about “yard board” support for Trump. Here is a part of comment from another site

    “A journalist road his motor cycle from east coast to west coast two weeks ago, he covered almost 2000mls before he came across a yard sign that read “Vote for Hillary” Trump signs were every where. This is because the dems have mostly a online and media presence in the campaign, and that is where her votes are coming from. There is no ground support….”

    Countering that comment is :

    “The Dems ground game involves thousands of people who will be door knocking and collecting postal votes and taking people to the polls.
    Trump has something like 20% of that- in the States where he is even bothering.”

    I would argue that the “yard board” support is energised voter action v’s the Clinton campaign ground game being Clinton’s guys” trying to energise lazy” voters.

    So interesting times

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  • #

    The worst wins with Hillary: Big War, Big Debt and Big Green. Each of these “Bigs” can be used to reinforce or distract from the other.

    The New Class or Posh Left, which is right behind the Bigs every day, is not as extensive as it seems, but it has infested all the pivot points: journalism, academia, administration, religion etc. We could be marched off to hot war for petrodollars or a Qatari pipeline through Syria, all while chatting fashionably over mixed gender latrines or whether Waleed Aly is too cisgender for next Australian of the Year.

    I’m in the scrub, but at a recent engagement party attended by Brisbane people I was amazed at the number of city types who were devoted viewers of the ABC. Those lame man-boy comedians and dreary harpies have over-arching authority with the urban middle-aged who are likely to make most decisions for the rest of us. Morning and early evening comment shows on commercial TV still exert huge influence, even though they are headed up by types you wouldn’t trust to tell you the time of day if they were off camera.

    It’s not enough to turn off the MSM. We really need to point each other to alternatives in the media, not as replacement authorities but as food for thought. I now bounce between sites like Newsbud/Boiling Frogs, Sharyll Atkisson’s Full Measure, The Corbett Report, David Goldman/Spengler. It’s not that I agree with the bulk of opinion in these sites, or that they agree with one another, but it’s a way of getting a bit more info and insight without having to lend an ear – ever again! – to the corrupt mainstream media. Even handy new right/libertarian sites like Breitbart need to be approached with caution. Prefer inquiry to agenda.

    The people who brought us Malcolm Turnbull – as a great communicator! – are now trying to sell us on a violent, diseased, corrupt bungler as next leader of the Free World. Really. We can’t do much to stop Hillary now, but we can still control the buttons on our TVs and radios. Turn the bludgers off, and, as Macbeth said, “be these juggling fiends no more believed”. Let ’em know it’s all over by not knowing what they are saying or who they even are. Start now.

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      Another Ian

      Mosomoso

      If you get a chance have a look at the Courier Mail “The Word on the Street” yesterday.

      Question “Who will win the US presidential election?”

      Hillary 6 – Trump 0

      A msm spectacular IMO

      30

  • #
    Rod Stuart

    Trump and The Pope….
    Seeking a weekend break from his campaign rallies, Donald Trump jetted to his yacht, which was docked off the coast of Italy. He invited Pope Francis and the press corps on board for a Saturday afternoon cruise. It was a rather windy day. The Pope’s little hat, his zucchetto, was blown from his head and into the water.

    A crewman began lowering a boat to retrieve the zucchetto. Trump told the crewman not to bother. Trump climbed down the yacht’s ladder, walked across the waves, picked up the zucchetto, walked back to the yacht, and handed it to the Pope. The Pope and the press corps were amazed! Donald Trump could actually walk on water!

    Speculation immediately began as to how ABC, CNN, NBC, The Washington Post and New York Times would report this miraculous event to the rest of the world. The next morning the New York Times headline read . . . .

    ‘DONALD TRUMP CAN’T SWIM!’

    Just to remind non Americans-the biggest contributor to the Clinton Campaign is Time Warner (CNN owners)!!

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    Angry

    Some stories you won’t read on the leftist msm………..

    Wikileaks: Soros Stooge Trashes Climate Scientist’s Career to Brown-Nose Billionaire Hillary Donor

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/10/21/wikileaks-soros-stooge-trashes-climate-scientists-career-brown-nose-billionaire-hillary-donor/

    Hillary Clinton Tops Middle East Forum’s ‘Islamist Money List

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/10/21/hillary-clinton-tops-middle-east-forums-islamist-money-list/

    “10 out of 10 terrorists agree: Hillary Clinton for President!” !!!

    GO TRUMP !!!

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    Amber

    Yes, Thanks Jo for posting some of the USA Election Soap Opera .
    The media bias has never been more obvious and that is not to say Trump isn’t
    deserving of an oh my god this is the best the Republicans can produce after successive
    election implosions but Hillary and troller Bill again is really rather sad .

    For millions of people in the world places like Australia , Canada and the USA are a source
    of hope yet we can’t seem to get our own houses in order these days . Wasting $$Trillions on
    the overblown global warming scam and avoidance of policy issues after a 2 year election cycle
    is a travesty .
    What would CNN do if they couldn’t trash Donald Trump all day ?

    The Creepy Climate Clowns are dressed up as media .

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    stan stendera

    Thank you Jo. It is a measure of the wonderful community that you have created on this website that a week or so ago on a unthreaded post I proudly announced I was actively working in the Trump campaign and at 74 making my first ever contributions to a political campaign. It was like I was talking to my family to post that comment.

    From my tiny humble position in the effort to elect Mr. Trump I have learned some astounding facts.

    This election is like no other in American history. It is a profound movement to seize back the American government from the establishment. I primarily work on the phone and on the internet. I cannot express my surprise at the depth of disgust within the American people about the establishment. I am amazed at how often I have heard from potential voters that they had given up in despair at having their voices heard. I am amazed at how many have told me they have never voted or not voted in years but will vote for Trump this election.

    I sincerely believe there is a yugh, as Trump would say, group of unheard and unpolled Americans who will crawl over broken glass to vote November 8. I sincerely believe Mr. Trump is going to win by a substantial margin.

    I have also been shocked at the depth of the animosity toward Hillary in particular. Many, many feel the Clintons have drug the country through the mud. I thought I detested her. I am not alone.

    My personal hero, Thomas Jefferson, famously said: “The tree of Liberty must be occasionally watered by the blood of patriots.” It would be the greatest achievement of the American Republic if we can achieve that watering without the violence of revolution. Mr. Trump has unwittingly created a movement. It will not go away if he is defeated. Be very afraid establishment.

    Thank you again Jo for this wonderful forum.

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      el gordo

      ‘Mr. Trump is going to win by a substantial margin.’

      I wouldn’t bet on that.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Mr. Trump is going to win by a substantial margin

      If all things were equal, meaning if the mainstream media was not biased and the truth was told about both sides then yes I would expect that would be the case. Unfortunately the media is biased, in fact so biased they might as well have the Democrats donkey symbol as their official logo. Hence, it’s unsure what the result will be given there are so many gullible people around (just look at Australians for several classic examples wrt Rudd, Gillard and Turnbull). Then take into account the evidence of voter fraud it becomes even more uncertain. If you look at the betting odds they show Clinton will win by a huge margin. That is a concern as betting sites tend to make the right choice because they are mostly driven by large lots of “smart” money. So, all in all it’s not looking good for Trump but let’s wait and see. What amazes me though is how can Americans be so dumb as to vote for a person who almost certainly should be in jail, and at the same time desire to continue with the failed policies of Obama but in amplified form (ie, even more immigration, higher taxes and more aggression towards Russia), and vote against a person who wants to revive the American economy and build a peaceful relationship with Russia to avoid an escalation of the conflict over Syria and avoid a possible nuclear war. The result of the election I feel will reflect the mentality and intelligence (or lack thereof) of the American people. As I said many times before, don’t blame the government for the problems they cause, blame the people who elect said government if they elect the wrong one.

      40

      • #
        Analitik

        One thing that us Aussies have to get out of our heads is the idea of the dispirited but long term party affiliation still giving automatic votes to a party. Voting is not compulsory in the US election and there will be a very large percentage of long term Democrat voters who dislike Hillary and simply will not vote.

        The Donald, by contrast, is a populist and seen as an outsider, especially with consummate insider, Paul Ryan, publicly denouncing him. While this may reduce strict Republican support, is will energise the very large portion of the electorate that is sick of the same-same GOP/Democrat governing over the last 3 decades to get out and vote for change – and this includes voters who normally support the Democrats as well as Republicans. The Obama effect – utter failure in every department after initial great hope – will add to this.

        The Donald may be polarising but I don’t see him creating mass Democrat outrage that is strong enough to convert into votes for Hillary.

        The debates in particular highlighted the differences: Hillary is a machine politician of the establishment while The Donald is a businessman used to boardroom brawls. While the MSM see Hillary as polished and The Donald as non-presidential, I think the wider public recognise the need for overhaul of the system. Trump may not be anyone’s ideal but as a businessman, he is used to delegation while maintaining oversight (“You’re Fired!”)

        Here’s hoping.

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      Ross

      Well done Stan. I hope efforts and those of others like you, bring the outcome you wish for.

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      Chris

      A couple of threads back, I posted here, I spent the last 5 months working in the US on the east coast.
      I do have time off, and when I do, I live in Newtown, PA., 2 hours drive to NYC and an hour to Philly, and about 20 minutes to Princeton.

      My closest male friend there, works a hardware store in Newtown. He is a Trump supporter but he tells me, everyone in Newtown is afraid to talk politics as they may be ridiculed because of their support of one candidate or the other. I had only seen a few Trump signs around the town and no Hillary, but, since I have been back home, I have been told there are a few Hillary signs up now.

      So, today, Saturday, I made a special effort to see the Trump rally in Newtown, and only to see just how many Trump supporters turned up at the Athletic Club, which is just around the corner on the bypass.

      To my surprise, the reports from Newtown were, 3000 to 4000 inside and 1500 that were held outside to prevent overcrowding.

      Seeing those crowds just confirmed my thoughts that there are many people not talking about who they support, but you sure get the feeling that something is going on, and in my mind it is and overwhelming support for Trump.

      And as I said before, I don’t have a dog in this fight, all I want is my Visa to be renewed for next year !

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    philthegeek

    Nah. Trumps policies are out there. And that’s the crux of it. Out there. They have been public for long enough for people to know that they are crap. for the media you cant just keep rehashing how ludicrous his attempts at policy are or it gets REALLY boring, and Trump keeps shooting himself in the feet providing distraction from policy anyway.

    Has the man any toes left??

    I mean:

    1. Begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border, on day one. Mexico will pay for the wall.

    Is an early example of seriously laughable “policy”. The assertion that Mexico will pay? Smell the roses Dear Leader Dondon, they have already told you to naff off on that one mate.

    And a lot of his other “policies” are just populist crap that he actually has no way of following through on. like “45% tariff on Chinese exports to the United States”.

    In any question of “policy”, just as as important as what, is how. Dear Leader Dondon seems to think that if he has the power of the office of President, he can simply issue a decree and it becomes real. Seriously Delusional.

    Not to say that Hillary doesn’t have problems policy wise. If the Repugs were running almost anyone else (except some of the worst of the tea party slime…..or Palin….) it would be much closer with her likely behind.

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    I guess no army can stop an idea whose time has come, and Truth is on the march. If these pathetic little media distractions and diversions are all the enemy has, then perhaps this is a good sign that the Truth is going to win.

    These people are working at a disadvantage; their entire power is derived from secrecy and deception, thus a single person armed with the truth (and/or a hidden camera … lol) can destroy 1,000’s of them, and expose them to the sunlight. The key is clearly the internet and social media, because if we were only reliant on the MSM, then the war would be much longer, and we would all be on the back foot. Social media is a double edged sword however, since it has created internet ghettos of ignorance and apathy that have captured many people, disconnecting them from beneficial socio-political actions.

    What the MSM are *ATTEMPTING* to do – though they are failing – is simply what W. T. Stead referred to in the second half of the 19th century as ‘Government by Journalism‘, where the special interests who control the media, consciously become the main driving force to control government policy using the media cycle:

    “In a democratic age, in the midst of a population which is able to read, no position is comparable for permanent influence and far- reaching power to that of an editor who understands his vocation. In him are vested almost all the attributes of real sovereignty. He has almost exclusive rights of initiative; he retains a permanent right of direction; and, above all, he better than any man is able to generate that steam, known as public opinion, which is the greatest force of politics.”
    — W.T.Stead, “Government by Journalism” (The Contemporary Review, vol. 49, May, 1886, pp. 653-674) http://www.attackingthedevil.co.uk/steadworks/gov.php

    “public opinion, which is the greatest force of politics” – and the anti-Trump personal attack distractions, totally devoid of all policy debate, are the best they can now do !?! Pathetic. The Clinton’s, in my opinion, are the face this dying status-quo of deceitful, corrupt, bureaucratic corpulence.

    W. T. Stead was the most famous Englishman who died on the Titanic when it sunk, and is referred to as the ‘Father of journalism’ … he was the first true muckraker who even deliberately CREATED shocking news in order to actively – and successfully – change government policy in the U.K., but now we are dealing with a much more sinister form of this ideology; Cartel Media … all in the bag for their special interests and the Democratic Party machine (neo-con Republicans have been neutralized by Trump) which serves Wall Street desire, feeding globalism, and ultimately the beast of Empire condensing in the European Union, the United Nations, TTP, TTIP, and TISA – the death of true Sovereignty and human Freedom.

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    Bryn

    Then there is this regarding past climate capers: “Wikileaks: Soros Stooge Trashes Climate Scientist’s Career to Brown-Nose Billionaire Hillary Donor”.

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    pat

    was checking out early voting in Macon, Georgia, where the DNC/Clinton bus was heading after it dropped a “load” in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where the bus had been parked at the early voting venue there. even if this bus wasn’t carrying dubious voters from poll to poll, it does seem unethical/illegal for it to be in the vicinity of polling booths surely!

    anyway, found a few laughs in this bit on Macon:

    17 Oct: Macon Telegraph: Joe Kovac Jr: As early voting begins, Trump supporter at Macon poll says, ‘I got my deplorable on’
    As some of day’s first voters stood in line, the wall-mounted televisions in the office’s waiting queue were tuned to ***CNN. A poll manager told The Telegraph there were some voters who were “not happy,” concerned that perhaps the news footage might unduly influence voters in a place where campaigning is forbidden.
    It wasn’t clear why the TVs — in place for monitoring election results — were on in the first place…
    This is the first election since the Board of Elections moved into its new Pio Nono office, across the street from the Krispy Kreme at Hightower Road.
    Asked about Monday’s technical hiccups with the televisions, county election supervisor Jeanetta Watson said, ***“We made sure that they were turned off as soon as we heard that there were people that were dissatisfied with what was being viewed.”…
    ***There were also free Nu-Way hot dogs and drinks given away at a tent outside. The gesture was to thank voters and serve as something of an open-house welcome to the new voting digs…
    COMMENTS:
    voted at the new Board of Election office yesterday. For those of you that do not know is the reason that Nu Way was giving out free hotdogs, potato chips and tea is because it was the Board of Election grand opening of their new building on Pio Nono Avenue!…
    How bout the free food all day.nu ways donuts this morning.not advertised..coolers of hotdogs…
    http://www.macon.com/news/local/article108820667.html

    Dems are definitely trying to take Georgia back from the Republicans. if voter fraud doesn’t do it, perhaps this will, if the claim is backed up at the link. I can’t tell:

    2 reddit comments:

    Georgia voting machines also have zero paper trail. The Entire State!
    https://www.verifiedvoting.org/verifier/#year/2016/state/13

    No paper trail is why they have targeted Georgia.

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    pat

    a model…and a theory from Valentina Zharkova, Northumbria University, about which i know nothing, but David Evans & others may be interested:

    21 Oct: UK Express: Sean Martin: Earth faces another ICE AGE within 15 YEARS as Russian scientists discover Sun ‘cooling’
    THE Earth is heading towards another ice age as solar magnetic activity is set to drop by up to 60 per cent in the next 15 years…
    A new model has allowed experts to predict solar activity with more accuracy than ever before and it suggests that magnetic activity will fall by 60 per cent between 2030 and 2040…
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/723481/Earth-ICE-AGE-big-freeze-solar-activity

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    RoHa

    The most important difference between Trump and Clinton is that Clinton wants to start a war with Russia, and Trump doesn’t.

    Since Australia always follows the US into all its stupid wars, that point is worth a mention.

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      PeterS

      I believe if it ever comes to a war situation it will be limited and localised – at worst using tactical nukes in Syria. At the moment it’s all about bluffing on both sides. I don’t think either side is stupid enough to want a full scale nuclear war. We all know what would happen if it did get that far – so it won’t happen. Meanwhile Russia is sending a large contingent of war ships to the Mediterranean and moving nuclear missiles within Russia closer to the Middle East. Meanwhile Syria and Russia have warned Turkey over war planes entering into Syrian territory and that they will be shot down. US has warned Turkey to comply. Has everyone stocked up with their popcorn yet?

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    PeterS

    This is HUGE
    ALP funded Australians assisting Democratic US campaigns in violation of campaign finance laws:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7kPtWAzvU4

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    Egor TheOne

    vote 1 ‘the Donald’ and drain the swamp of corruption DC criminals.

    Hitlery for leg irons along with ex Criminal in Chief, hubby ‘Slick Willy’!

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    Dennis

    The election campaign tactics by the Socialist Democrats in the US reminds me of the misogynist diversionary attack used here by former PM Gillard against Tony Abbott when he was leader of the opposition. Almost exactly the same basis for attacking UK leader of the opposition David Cameron earlier and crafted by Labour/Labor Spin Doctor John McTiernan who came to Australia on a 457 Visa to work for the ALP.

    Australian voters will remember that in 2007 Labor won a substantial seat majority to form government but in 2010 after the misogynist attack lost the election and were forced into a minority alliance to form government again.

    The leftists have a long track record of throwing mud when they sense that they are losing ground.

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    pat

    pollster/analyst Pat Caddell has some choice words for the Republicans, but read all:

    21 Oct: Breitbart: Julia Hahn: He’s With Her: Inside Paul Ryan’s Months-Long Campaign to Elect Hillary Clinton President
    “We are on the verge of seeing the Republican Party go the way of the Whigs,” Pat Caddell told Breitbart News exclusively. The Party is “at war with their voters. They are literally abandoning their own. The very base that has nominated Trump is a base that Paul Ryan can ill-afford to alienate, but on the other hand, he doesn’t believe in them. He does not believe what they believe… Having lost all of their citadels of strength, the party leaders have now abandoned all of their principles. Paul Ryan is in real trouble.”
    Caddell explained that Paul Ryan is the “voice” of a Washington establishment that has “absolutely made clear” that it would prefer Clinton over Trump. “What you have is a Bush and Clinton dynasty. And the curtain has risen on the corruption that they’re all in the same game and that ultimately they’re allies. That’s what the American people have been revolting about. I fear that the establishment’s mind doesn’t even understand that that’s what the base is revolting against.”
    http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/10/21/hes-with-her-inside-paul-ryans-months-long-campaign-to-elect-hillary-clinton-president/

    following, read all, including comments, which have more videos, etc. some think Trump’s popular support won’t translate into a win, but I believe he will win unless there is massive fraud:

    21 Oct: ConservativeTreehouse: sundance: Trump -VS- Clinton: Live Stream Speech Comparison – Engagement and Enthusiasm Example…
    Today Hillary Clinton delivered a speech during a campaign event in Cleveland Ohio, the venue was Cuyahoga Community College. Secretary Clinton held only one rally, and gave only one speech. (pictured below left)…
    Today Donald Trump delivered a speech in Fletcher North Carolina. The venue was WNC Agricultural Center. (pictured above right) Mr. Trump held three rallies, in two states (NC and PA), and gave three speeches…
    CHECK THE PICS FURTHER DOWN FOR TRUMP’S JOHNSTOWN RALLY
    Tweet by Trump 22 Oct: The media refuses to talk about the three new national polls that have me in first place. Biggest crowds ever – watch what happens!
    COMMENT: Pam: This was actually an impressive crowd for the Fletcher rally today especially when you consider the town’s population is just over 7300 according to a 2013 census and with it being a mid day rally…
    NC has more registered Dems than reps and with one stop absentee voting starting yesterday, it’s not really surprising to see the dem voters slightly above reps. As Sundance has stated, there will be dems and Indies that will crossover. I do know of a few personally that will…
    COMMENT: tony5460: Beginning Saturday, October 22,2016 and in the coming two weeks, in more than 20 cities across USA, airplanes will carry “Chinese Americans for Trump” messages to show Chinese Americans’ support for Donald J. Trump’s campaign for the United States President…READ ON
    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/10/21/trump-vs-clinton-live-stream-speech-comparison-engagement-and-enthusiasm-example/

    i don’t believe a word CNN says, but i do think Trump’s poll-watchers will have to watch more than the swing States, where the Clinton camp knows there will be maximum scrutiny. definitely must watch Georgia & Virginia, & probably Colorado. lots of shenanigans in Cruz’s Utah as well:

    “Even though the figures from Iowa and Ohio might bode well for Trump, they might not even decide the election. CNN’s latest snapshot of the Electoral College shows Clinton can clinch 270 electoral votes with wins in Colorado and Virginia, without carrying either Iowa or OHIO” – CNN 20 Oct, “Early voting numbers promising for Clinton in battleground states”

    cooking up something or other!

    Clinton meets with so-called “non-partisan” BLM…again:

    21 Oct: Columbus Dispatch: Black Lives (Matter) pair meets with Hillary in Cleveland, Ohio

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    pat

    comment in moderation, which goes with this.

    great blow-up pics of Clinton & Trum rallies in the comments – ignore the insanity of the NYT piece:

    21 Oct: Freerepublic: Hillary Clinton Makes Pitch for Mandate and a Swing-State Sweep – NY Times
    http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3483459/posts

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    pat

    btw why haven’t Robert Creamer, Scott Foval & Zulema Rodriguez from the Project Veritas videos been arrested?
    after all, there’s sufficient video evidence online of Foval & Rodriguez to back up their claims in the vids, & Creamer is the don.

    instead, the MSM – apart from a couple of Chicago pieces to do damage control for Creamer – hasn’t touched this story in days & NYT hasn’t written a word yet, as far as I can tell.

    the final word?

    20 Oct: CBS Chicago: Derrick Blakley: What Really Happened With Trump’s Cancelled Chicago Rally?
    Congresswoman Schakowsky said, in a statement Thursday night defending her husband, O’Keefe “tried to lure democratic consultants into taking actions that were improper or illegal, but no one took the bait.”
    In addition, sources close to the Clinton campaign told CBS 2, they believe it was Bernie Sanders’ operatives, not their supporters, who drove the confrontation with Trump backers in Chicago.
    http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/10/20/what-really-happened-with-trumps-cancelled-chicago-rally/

    perhaps not, but will it be dismissed? most likely:

    21 Oct: The Hill blog: Mark Hensch: O’Keefe files FEC complaint against Clinton camp, DNC
    O’Keefe’s Project Veritas Action Fund announced the complaint on Friday, alleging “a criminal conspiracy” involving the Clinton campaign, the DNC and three left-leaning super PACs…
    Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has repeatedly accused her Republican rival of inciting violence with his rhetoric…
    Democrats have accused O’Keefe of selectively editing footage to deceive viewers.
    http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/302178-okeefe-files-fec-complaint-against-clinton-camp-dnc

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    pat

    wow…a real journalist at last. lengthy, read all, plus the amusing first comment!

    20 Oct: AlphaNewsMinnesota: Plenty of Minnesota Connections Found in Recent Hillary Campaign Sting Videos
    by By Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
    In response to the video information released by Project Veritas Action regarding collusion between democrat operatives, the DNC and Clinton campaign paying protesters to incite violence at GOP and Trump events, Minnesota GOP Chairman, Keith Downey released a statement:
    “It is extremely disturbing to learn that the Clinton campaign actually coordinated with Democrat operatives to instigate conflict and physical violence at Republican events for political purposes. The fact that they have trained agitators in Minneapolis raises the question again whether Minnesota Clinton team members Mayor Betsy Hodges and Democrat Chairman Ken Martin were aware of these tactics and also whether these groups were behind the violence at the Trump fundraising event at the Minneapolis Convention Center”…ETC ETC … “And Betsy Hodges needs to share with the public the results of the internal review promised in the City’s response to the incident at the Trump event.”
    Prior to the article published by Alpha News about the first Project Veritas Action video, Alpha News contacted DFL Chairman Ken Martin and other DFL leaders asking similar questions as Downey, but received no response from the party.
    According to Facebook posts by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action committee and the Minnesota Latino Student Movement, the groups actively planned to protest at the August Minneapolis Trump/MN GOP fundraiser.
    Alpha News reported the violence inflicted on the August Trump Rally attendees by protesters, with victims noting that police officers did not assist in protecting the Trump supporters from the violent mob…
    PICS ETC
    Alpha News is uncovering connections between the groups taking credit for the attack on Trump supporters during the Minneapolis event and some of the Democrat operatives named in both PVA videos…
    One of the Minnesota connections to the groups may be an activist named Brad Sigal. Brad Sigal is a writer for FightBackNews.org, an AFSCME member, an activist with the group Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and is associated with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, as well as an UMN employee. AFSCME also happens to be one of Democracy Partners’ clients…
    Brad Sigal has a long history with social justice activism…
    http://alphanewsmn.com/minnesota-connections-in-clinton-sting-videos/

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      Mari C

      No mention of the Level3 outage a few weeks ago. We lost our access at work, locally, and even our web site hosts were out. AT&T didn’t bother to even try to contact hose affected – we found out through a 3rd party which supplies our IT consultant/tech. I spent the better part of a day consoling coworkers who couldn’t get to their sites. Sniggered at those directors who insisted on using web-based systems for their departments’ work loads. It was only a day, and not too wide an outage, but it was pretty complete.

      With the number of devices on the net, and lack of any attempt at security (not even simple anti-virus email scanning, fer cryin’ out loud) by so many, it’s probably more of a miracle that more of these “outages” aren’t happening. And it need not be the big red scary menace of Russia – there are savvy folks all over the world who could, and more than a few who would, disrupt things. And some just because they can. No evil or power-mongering reason, just. because.

      Millions of teenagers unable to access what ever it is they use right now (instagram? snapchat? it changes almost daily with my niece, I suppose it’s the same everywhere) could be, well, interesting. Millions of businesses unable to perform daily tasks, well, that is a disaster.

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    pat

    great excuse ready in case any of the fraud gets exposed!

    20 Oct: Reuters: U.S. vote authorities warned to be alert to Russian hacks faking fraud: officials
    By David Rohde and Mark Hosenball
    U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are warning that hackers with ties to Russia’s intelligence services could try to undermine the credibility of the presidential election by posting documents online purporting to show evidence of voter fraud.
    The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said however, that the U.S. election system is so large, diffuse and antiquated that hackers would not be able to change the outcome of the Nov. 8 election.
    But hackers could post documents, some of which might be falsified, that are designed to create public perceptions of widespread voter fraud, the officials said…
    Many states use systems that would be difficult to hack or defraud, including paper ballots which initially are tallied by machines…
    The U.S. officials declined to comment on Republican candidate Donald Trump’s contention that the election is being “rigged.”…
    Clinton supporters said Trump is unwittingly aiding an effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to undercut the credibility of the vote…
    “Trump does not even know he is being manipulated,” said Michael Morell, a former deputy CIA director who has endorsed Clinton. “Trump is an unwitting agent of Putin.”
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cyber-idUSKCN12L011

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    pat

    talk about doubling down.

    note: Bob Creamer & Scott Foval have both written for HuffPo for years; only Foval’s connection is disclosed:

    22 Oct: HuffPo: Sam Stein: The Latest Subject Of A James O’Keefe Sting Wants The Full Videos Released
    (Alexander Eichler contributed reporting)
    Bob Creamer stepped away from his job after the films were made public. But he maintains the whole thing is “total bulls**t.”…
    Creamer: “Our firm and a number of others have been victims of a substantial, monthslong spying operation run by James O’Keefe that was pretty sophisticated.”…
    “The portrayal was total bullshit, and these poor people were taken out of context,” Creamer said…
    Creamer, who said he and his group have been flooded with threatening phone calls and emails since the release of the videos, argues that what the tapes show is not some sinister scheme to get Hillary Clinton elected, but rather the mundane ways in which political organizations and operatives conduct their business.
    One of the undercover Project Veritas videographers got to Creamer by posing as a donor…
    “I met with him and he sold me completely,” Creamer recalled. “He was a very genuine guy who had a whole story about his family history. He was great.”…
    Foval, who has blogged for HuffPost in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment…
    UPDATE: 7 p.m. ― Foval provided the following statement to HuffPost in an email Friday evening:
    This scheme to cast legitimate organizing activities as a sinister plot is nothing but a ruse. When O’Keefe’s team of grifters attempted to find illegal activities going on, they were disappointed to discover, in fact, that I and my associates were only involved in above-board, legal, legitimate organizing work to counter Trump’s campaign of division, misogyny, hatred, and xenophobia…
    Our team took the high road, deciding to not indulge the imposters in their dubious scheme, rather attempting to put our energies and intentions towards positive activities that garner electorally relevant results… ETC
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/james-okeefe-sting-operation_us_580a5ee1e4b000d0b1568093

    more HuffPo today:

    Richard Branson Recalls ‘Bizarre’ Lunch With Revenge-Obsessed Trump
    ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic Turns Presidential Debate Into New Anthem: ‘Bad Hombres, Nasty Women’
    Michelle Obama Rips Trump For Rigged Election Claims: ‘You Do Not Keep American Democracy In Suspense’
    Joe Biden Wishes He Could Beat Up Donald Trump

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    Scott Adams is a US cartoonist who does the Dilbert strip. He claims to be an expert in the field of persuasion. He has been blogging about Trump and this election cycle for over a year and has been the closest I have read to predicting what is going on and why.

    Bottom line, is that this entire campaign is about persuasion. Trump is a master persuader. Hillary has someone on her campaign who is one also. It is the master persuaders slugging it out which is why this has been so bizarre.

    His blog is well worth following. Cheers –

    http://blog.dilbert.com/

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    Kim

    One of the big reasons why Brexit won was the massive negative nasty campaign by the remainers. It was extremely difficult to get any positive aspects of staying in the EU. So many people came to the conclusion that there weren’t any. Trolls act to keep discipline in the ranks – to keep people’s heads below the parapet – and it was a classic example of how counter productive it is.

    However the situation with the USA election, although similar, is also different. Trump’s tactic has been to nip everything in the bud – to make sure that mud doesn’t stick – that no significance is assigned. Meanwhile the alt. media have been detailing all the issues and the MSM have been giving them plenty of publicity. The campaign is a very nasty campaign but it is a very desperate fight on par with the French Revolution. It’s neck to neck at the moment – unknown whether either the deplorables or the regressives win. And if the regressives win much damage could result. However if Clinton is made impotent via a Republican Congress and Senate and if her more war like impulses are reigned in then it might just be 4 years of sleeping. If the deplorables get in then it will be a revolution and a renaissance.

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      Kim

      PS: what Trump has done is a classic marketing exercise. Coming up to the primaries he was in product placement mode. He has very much been nipping all the attacks in the bud – out trolling the trolls etc. . Since the primaries he should have been in market penetration mode. How successful he has been will be seen on the 8th. .

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        Roy Hogue

        …market penetration mode…

        About now I could make a crude remark out of that. And in my present mood I think I will.

        If by penetration you mean screwing every Republican voter who depended on him, then you may well turn out to be correct.

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          Roy Hogue

          Let’s extend that to a large percentage of the western world’s population who also deserve better than what’s probably going to happen on November 8.

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    Roy Hogue

    For a simple analogy of what’s behind it all, try this.

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    Krudd Gillard of the Commondebt of Australia

    Thanks Jo, good coverage and good responses in comments. We need politicians like Trump in Australia. In lieu of that, would you please start a movement. I’d vote for you, no probs.

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    Don J A

    Jo, I sent this to Dem friends (one a doctor) as they might have been interested and I in their response. How can I convince them?

    Hi Nancy & B, I found this on a really reliable Blog that I read all the time. I found it really troubling. Is this true?http://joannenova.com.au/2016/10/dems-killing-democracy-massive-voter-fraud-for-50-years-and-paid-activists-at-trump-rallies/

    This doesn’t look legit or it would be in mainstream media … there’s been no reports of dems disrupting Trump rallies, or of voter fraud. Even the Rep’s say so.

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    I live in Florida and have attended a couple of Trump rallies even though it involved standing in line for hours in wind, sun and rain. Even if Trump loses he has lit a flame that will not be extinguished. The “Establishment” suppressed the “TEA Party” and thereby created Trump. Should they manage to suppress Trump you can bet they won’t be able to handle what comes next. Freedom Trumps Tyranny!

    My buddy Mike Wheeler shot a video that may give you a feel for the enthusiasm Trump has created:
    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/dear-donald-how-about-a-trumpscope/#comment-72520

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