Live Blog #2 Super Tuesday

This is a great night for Hillary Clinton. In a couple of weeks, she will have a clear path to the Democratic nomination for President. She has already made history though; she is the first woman ever to get this far.

We are still waiting on results from Massachusetts, Colorado, and Minnesota; so here’s a fresh thread to continue the discussion.

WaPo: Super Tuesday Democratic Primaries: Clinton Projected to Win in 6 States, Sanders in 2.

LA Times: Trump wins five primaries, Cruz takes Texas and Oklahoma; Rubio’s best is 2nd place in Virginia.

ABC News: Exit Polls: Clinton Expands Base; Trump Sells Outsider Image.

Exit Poll: Clinton Expands Base, Trump Sells Outsider Image

Super Tuesday Reads

Good Morning!!

This should be an exciting day. I’m looking forward to voting for Hillary. I’ll probably wait until after the noon hour. I don’t know what the turnout is expected to be, but I don’t really want to wait in line.

Other than going to vote and picking up some groceries, I plan to be home today following Super Tuesday events. I’m so excited! We will add new threads if we need them.

There are new Donald Trump controversies today–violence and racism at his rallies and a leak about something he told The New York Times about immigration. First, the leak:

Ben Smith at Buzzfeed: Donald Trump Secretly Told The New York Times What He Really Thinks About Immigration.

The New York Times is sitting on an audio recording that some of its staff believes could deal a serious blow to Donald Trump, who, in an off-the-record meeting with the newspaper, called into question whether he would stand by his own immigration views.

Trump visited the paper’s Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, Jan. 5, as part of a round of editorial board meetings that — as is traditional — the Democratic candidates for president and some of the Republicans attended. The meetings, conducted partly on the record and partly off the record in a 13th-floor conference room, give candidates a chance to make their pitch for the paper’s endorsement.

People who were at the meeting, including columnist Gail Collins have suggested that Trump’s sees his positions on political issues as endlessly changeable and negotiable.

So what exactly did Trump say about immigration, about deportations, about the wall? Did he abandon a core promise of his campaign in a private conversation with liberal power brokers in New York?

I wasn’t able to obtain the recording, or the transcript, and don’t know exactly what Trump said. Neither Baquet, Collins, nor various editorial board members I reached would comment on an off-the-record conversation, which the Times essentially said it cannot release without approval from Trump, given the nature of the off-the-record agreement.

Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal told me he would not comment “on what was off the record at our meeting with him.”

“If [Trump] wants to call up and ask us to release this transcript, he’s free to do that and then we can decide what we would do,” Rosenthal said.

Release the transcripts!

David Wiegel at The Washington Post reports than Sean Hannity asked Trump about the leaks last night.

Hannity prodded Trump to explain himself.

“The New York Times is claiming today that they had an off-the-record conversation with you in January,” he said on his Fox News show. “Off the record, by the way. Now they’re leaking it.”

“Yeah, of course they’re leaking it,” said Trump. “The most dishonest media group. And it’s also failing. I call it the failing New York Times. It’s doing so badly, it’s dying. But I did. We had a board meeting. It was off the record. All of a sudden, they leak it. It’s all over the place.”

“They said you said it’s negotiable on the wall,” said Hannity.

Trump did not miss a step. “It’s negotiable,” he said. “Things are negotiable. I’ll be honest with you — I’ll make the wall two feet shorter, or something. I mean, everything’s negotiable.”

“It’s not negotiable to build it?” asked Hannity.

“No!” said Trump. “Building it? Not negotiable.”

“Would it be negotiable about the 11 million?” asked Hannity, referring to the frequently cited estimate of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. “Maybe let some people stay if they register in a period of time?”

“I would say this,” said Trump. “I’ve always said, look, we have some great people over here. And they’re going to go out, but we’re going to work out a system that’s fair.”

Whatever. Trump is a disgrace. Let’s make sure he never has a chance to set foot in the White House!

On the incidents at Trump rallies:

Valdosta students after Trump order them removed from rally.

Raw Story: Black college students kicked out of Trump rally in Georgia for no reason.

A group of 30 black Valdosta State University students was removed from a rally by Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Monday before the event even began, the Des Moines Register reported.

“We didn’t plan to do anything,” said one of the students, 19-year-old Tahjila Davis. “They said, ‘This is Trump’s property; it’s a private event.’ But I paid my tuition to be here.”

Davis and the other students were reportedly asked to leave the event by a Secret Service agent, hours after footage circulating online showed another agent attacking a photojournalist at a separate Trump event in Radford, Virginia.

That’s right. Chris Morris, a 63-year-old Time photojournalist, was grabbed by the throat and slammed to the floor by one of Trumps Secret Service agents. Time responds:

Chris Morris, a veteran White House photographer working on the campaign for TIME, stepped out of the press pen to photograph a Black Lives Matter protest that interrupted the speech. A video shows that Morris swore at a Secret Service agent who tried to move Morris back into the pen. A separate video of the event shows that the agent then grabbed Morris’ neck with both hands and threw him into a table and onto the ground.

Video also shows that once on the ground, Morris kicked at the agent who was trying to restrain him. Later, Morris briefly put his hand on the agent’s neck. After the exchange, Morris said that he did so in order to demonstrate the choke hold he had just experienced.

Video also shows that once on the ground, Morris kicked at the agent who was trying to restrain him. Later, Morris briefly put his hand on the agent’s neck. After the exchange, Morris said that he did so in order to demonstrate the choke hold he had just experienced.

Journalist Christopher Morris is arrested by police during a rally of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, at Radford University in Radford, Va., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Why is the U.S. Secret Service getting involved in removing black people from Trump rallies and enforcing ridiculous efforts to prevent the press from covering his events?

TIME has contacted the U.S. Secret Service to express concerns about the level and nature of the agent’s response. Morris has also expressed remorse for his part in escalating the confrontation. A TIME spokesperson said, “We are relieved that Chris is feeling OK, and we expect him to be back at work soon.”

Unlike other presidential campaigns, which generally allow reporters and photographers to move around at events, Trump has a strict policy requiring reporters and cameramen to stay inside a gated area, which the candidate often singles out for ridicule during his speeches. The entrance to the penned area is generally monitored by the Secret Service detail, which also screens attendees at his events and personally protects the candidate.

“I’ve worked for nine years at the White House and have never had an altercation with the Secret Service,” Morris says in a statement. “What happened today was very unfortunate and unexpected. The rules at Trump events are significantly stricter than other campaigns and make it very difficult to work as a photographer, as many others have pointed out before me. I regret my role in the confrontation, but the agent’s response was disproportionate and unnecessarily violent. I hope this incident helps call attention to the challenges of press access.”

Read more at the link. Frankly, I don’t understand why the media has been putting up with this sh%t. If this happened at one of Hillary Clinton’s events–or if she even tried to enforce such draconian rules for the media–the outcry would be endless. Apparently reporters and editors are afraid to stand up to Republicans.

As for the many primaries and caucuses today, Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight has all the information you need to follow Super Tuesday results. Here are his posts on the Democratic and Republican contests:

Super Guide to Super Tuesday (Democrats)

Super Guide to Super Tuesday (Republicans)

More news, links only:

CNN: National poll: Clinton, Sanders both top Trump.

CNN: After GOP establishment ‘froze’ on Trump, Democrats ready battle plans.

Politico: Is the Trump show ready for prime time?

Huffington Post: Obama Showed Us How To Take Down Donald Trump 5 Years Ago, And The Video Is Just As Brutal Today.

The Daily Beast: When Bernie Sanders Thought Castro and the Sandinistas Could Teach America a Lesson.

Miami Herald: Bernie Sanders traveled to communist Cuba and urges a ‘political revolution.’ Will exile Miami take him seriously?

A disturbing story from Fort Wayne, IN. The police says it’s not a hate crime, but the Darfur diaspora community believes it is:

The Washington Post: The mysterious ‘execution-style’ killings of young men in Indiana.

The New York Times: The Model Whose Lips Spurred Racist Comments Speaks Out.

I haven’t included any Hillary news; I’m going to leave it up to you guys to post anything you’re hearing and reading in your local areas. It looks to me as if she will win in Massachusetts and of course the South. Bernie will likely win Vermont and perhaps Colorado and Minnesota. We’ll find out later on today.

Have a great Super Tuesday!

Live Blog: CNN Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall

Good Evening Sky Dancers!

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. From 9-11PM tonight the Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination will have the opportunity to make their cases to a prime time audience before next Monday’s Iowa Caucus. CNN tells us what we “need to know.”

The Democratic presidential hopefuls will make closing arguments to Iowa voters Monday night during a CNN town hall in Des Moines — one week before the first-in-the-nation votes are cast at the Iowa caucuses.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will appear first, followed by ex-Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and then former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton….Each will have 30 minutes onstage at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium and will face questions from audience members as well as CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo.

The Iowa Democratic Party and Drake University invited the audience, which will also include some CNN guests.

The town hall will be live streamed on CNN Go. If you don’t have access to that, it looks like you will have to watch it on TV.

Also from CNN: 5 things to watch in the Democratic town hall.

I’m disappointed that the candidates won’t appear together, but this isn’t a debate after all. There still could be some fireworks. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been trading jabs all week, and today President Obama essential gave the nod to Hillary. Sanders must be furious.

Martin O’Malley is apparently ready to attack Hillary too. He told The New Republic in an interview published today that “Hillary Clinton Will Let the Planet “Literally Burn Up.” Is he desperate for attention or what?

I look forward to reading your reactions in the comment thread below.

Go Hillary!

Lazy Saturday Reads

Good Morning!!

WordPress is forcing me to use a new format for writing posts, and I’m pretty clueless about how to use it. For one thing, I don’t know how to insert captions under pictures. I also can’t figure out how to change the size of the images or put them on the right or left side of the post. The images in this post are winter paintings by Claude Monet. The one above is called The Magpie.

Before I get started on today’s news, I want to call attention to the Democratic debate that will be held tomorrow night at 9PM on NBC. Some information from USA Today:

Hillary Clinton,Bernie SandersandMartin O’Malleywill meet for the fourth time — and it’s their final face-off before theIowa caucusesandNew Hampshire primary. For O’Malley, a spot on the stage was no sure thing thanks to lagging poll numbers, butNBC announced Thursday that he made the cut….

The debate starts at 9 p.m. ET. It’ll air on NBC and will be live-streamed on the network’s digital platforms as well as on the NBC News YouTube channel. (If you’ve got exciting Sunday night plans, you can catch a re-airing of the debate on MSNBC at 11 p.m. ET.) ….

The debate, hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, will be held at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C….

Moderators are NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and the network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, Andrea Mitchell.

Winter on the Seine, Lavacourt

Is it just me, or does Hillary Clinton get far less media coverage than any of the other candidates in either party? It seems to me that Bernie Sanders gets much more press than Hillary and when the corporate media does cover about Hillary, the stories are mostly negative. I hope that’s just because I’m so sensitive to the way the media portrays her.

On Google news today, Bernie Sanders is number three under “Top Stories.”under Hillary Clinton is not listed. When I search for Hillary Clinton, I get this. Let me know if you find any positive stories there. Mostly what I see is articles about how Bernie is beating Hillary in Iowa and New Hampshire and other negative headlines.

Hillary has to fight against the media as well as the Republican candidates, Bernie Sanders, and Republican super pacs. I’m beginning to wonder if she can overcome this much negativity.

The New York Times has published two lengthy and positive articles on Bernie Sanders’ campaign organization and ground game recently:

Jan. 3: Bernie Sanders, Needing Early Lift, Builds Iowa Ground Operation.

Jan. 15: Looking at Later Primaries, Bernie Sanders Works to Strengthen Black Support.

The only article I can find about Hillary’s ground game is an article at the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 5 with a negative spin in the headline: Hillary Clinton Counts On Ground Game in Iowa. Democratic presidential front-runner tries mightily to avoid an early loss in caucuses this time around. The story itself focuses on what happened in 2008 and on Bernie Sanders’ ground operation!

The Road in Vetheuil in Winter

Did you know that Hillary appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe yesterday? There was little media coverage of her appearance, but a few people took something Hillary said and twisted it into an “attack” on Bernie Sanders’ grandchildren!

Paste Magazine: Did Hillary Clinton Just Take A Strange Shot at Bernie Sanders Over His Grandchildren?

Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s biggest challenger in the Democratic presidential primary, has one son. His name is Levi, and he hasthree adopted grandchildren from China. When Sanders married his second wife, Jane, she had three children of their own, and those children now have four children of their own. Sanders considers all seven his grandchildren, as anyone would, even though he’s not related to them by blood.

Clinton, conversely, has one daughter, Chelsea, and Chelsea has a baby daughter named Charlotte.

…Hillary Clinton appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss her differences with “other candidates” in the field. Until very recently, she took pains not to mention Bernie Sanders’ name in her campaign, and to avoid directly engaging him in debates, and in this video she doesn’t mention anybody by name. However, when Mika Brzezinski asks her about her core message, there’s no mistaking the shade she throws:

For me this really is pretty straightforward. I don’t promise easy answers. I don’t promise things that I’m not…knowing can be delivered.”One of Clinton’s chief tactics in combatting Sanders has been the assertion that some of his proposals are pie-in-the-sky, and despite the idealism he may be inspiring, especially in young people, she’s the pragmatic candidate who can actually get things done.

The issue comes in the next part of her statement, mere seconds later (1:45 mark above):

And I guess at the end of the day, for me—you know, people talk about their extraordinary grandchildren, but I actually have one—and we’re going to do everything we can to give her opportunities…Whoa! My first reaction, hearing that, was “this can’t be what she meant…nobody can be that clueless.”

There was also a recommended (!) diary on this at DailyKos, which has descended into a hotbed of Hillary hate and Bernie worship that threatens to outdo what happened there in 2008. I can’t find the link to it right now, but here is a response:

Clinton Did Not Diss Sanders’ Grandkids.

There is a silly diary on the rec list right now calling out Hillary Clinton for… well… saying that her granddaughter is extraordinary. (Apparently Sanders has trademarked that word. Who knew?)

The diary uses an edited clip from the Morning Joe interview to capture Clinton saying:

I guess at the end of the day, for me… you know, people talk about their extraordinary grandchildren, but I actually have one. And we’re going to do everything we can to give her opportunities. But it’s not enough…

She actually has one. She doesn’t mention Bernie Sanders. But what is she getting at here? Why did she bring up her grandkid at all in response to the question “What is the message of your campaign?” That doesn’t seem like much of a message.

But wait, there was more (a lot more) to her statement. And here’s what Clinton said after the ellipses (in the part edited out by whoever made the video).

And I think too many people are forgetting what are some of the biggest determinants as to what happens to your children and grandchildren. The first being what kind of country we are and whether we’re still providing the opportunities to realize your promise and potential and what kind of world’s going to be out there waiting.

And I feel passionately that just because we had it in the past, doesn’t mean we’re going to keep it in the future. You shouldn’t have to be the granddaughter of a former president to have your American Dream realized. I think every kid should have a chance to live up to her god-given potential.

She says this stuff all the time. The idea that somehow now she’s taking a shot at Sanders grandchildren because she used the word “extraordinary” to describe her grandchild… smh.

Sigh . . .

The Tow Path at Argenteuil, Winter

On to other news.

I wonder how the Republicans will put a negative spin on this story.

Huffington Post: Iran Releases 4 American Prisoners After Months Of Top Secret Negotiations.

VIENNA, Austria — Four American citizens, including a Washington Post reporter, who have been imprisoned in Iran are set to board a Swiss aircraft Saturday from Tehran to an undetermined location, where they will be freed as part of a prisoner release deal between the U.S. and Iran. The agreement is the result of long-running, high-stakes secret negotiations between the two traditional adversaries.

“Our citizens have not yet been flown out of Iran, so we don’t want to do anything that could complicate it,” a senior administration official said Saturday. “But we are told the deal is done, that they will be let out.”

As part of the exchange, the U.S. will release seven Iranians who were being held in the country on sanctions violations. All were born in Iran, but six are dual Iranian-American citizens. The seven men all have the option to remain in the U.S.

The deal will bring home four Americans who have been imprisoned in Iran for years on trumped up charges, or in some cases no charges at all: Washington Post Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, and Nosratollah Khosrawi-Roodsari. The imprisonment of Khosrawi-Roodsari has never been previously reported.

Read more at the link.

View of Argenteuil Snow

We haven’t talked much about the “militia” nuts in Oregon lately. Here are some recent updates.

Mashable: Oregon militia has 4,000 artifacts in the building they’re occupying.

Thousands of archaeological artifacts — and maps detailing where more can be found — are kept inside the national wildlife refuge buildings currently being held by an armed group of protestors angry over federal land policy.

Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon, says they have no real interest in the antiquities. Still, their access to the artifacts and maps has some worried that looters could take advantage of the situation.

“There’s a huge market for artifacts, especially artifacts that have provenance, where you can identify where they came from,” said Carla Burnside, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refuge archeologist.

More than 300 recorded prehistoric sites are scattered across the refuge, including burial grounds, ancient villages and petroglyphs. Some of the artifacts — including spears, stone tools, woven baskets and beads — date back 9,800 years.

About 7,000 artifacts and samples from the refuge are kept at a museum in Eugene, Oregon. But 4,000 more are kept at the refuge for research.

Only Burnside has a key to the room containing the artifacts and the maps. She’s since seen pictures of the occupiers in her office, adjacent to the room where the artifacts are stored. The group has been looking through government files at the site, but it is unclear if they’ve gone through the room with the artifacts.

Authorities have finally arrested one of the idiots. The Guardian reports: Oregon militia standoff: man arrested driving stolen government vehicle

The standoff with armed militia in Oregon escalated on Friday after police swooped in on one of the protesters to make the first arrest in connection with the two-week occupation of a federal wildlife refuge.

Kenneth Medenbach, who was arrested for unauthorized use of a government vehicle, is a chainsaw sculptor and longtime nemesis of the government with a history of previous entanglements with the courts over the occupation of federal lands.

He is the first militiaman connected to the armed occupation to be arrested since the bird sanctuary in rural Oregon was unexpectedly taken over on 2 January.

Medenbach, 62, was detained outside a Safeway supermarket in Burns, Oregon, some 30 miles from the Malheur national wildlife refuge, according to a statement from the Harney County sheriff’s office.

Skaters in Giverny

What stories are you following today?