Is There Anything Ted Cruz Doesn’t Lie About (cont.)?

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) tried to trick potential Ben Carson caucus goers into supporting him on Monday night by falsely claiming that Carson was dropping out of the race.  After it was reported that Carson was going home to Florida on Monday night, Cruz and his campaign quickly tried to create the impression that Carson was ending his campaign.

Just as the caucuses were beginning to meet at 7 p.m., the official Ted Cruz mobile app sent a message to some Iowans.

“CNN is reporting that Ben Carson will stop campaigning after Iowa.  Make sure to tell all of your peers at the caucus supporting Carson that they should coalesce around the true conservative who will be in the race for the long haul: TED CRUZ!”

Carson denied that he was quitting, but at least some damage may have already been done.   Numerous caucus attendees have reported that Cruz supporters attempted  to sway Carson voters by announcing that Carson would be dropping out of the race.

For his part, Carson has described Cruz’s tactics as “dirty tricks” and has called on Cruz to fire anyone involved in the “shenanigans.”  That seems unlikely as Ted is probably unwilling to fire himself.  “If Ted Cruz doesn’t know about this, then he clearly needs to very quickly get rid of some people in his organization,” Carson said. “And if he does know about it, isn’t this the exact kind of thing the American people are tired of?”

Red’s NFL Picks – Super Bowl

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“If it’s the ultimate game, how come they’re playing it again next year?”

Duane Thomas – former running back for the Cowboys, Chargers, Redskins and Hawaiians (WFL).

According to legend, Thomas was overwhelmingly selected as the MVP of Superb Owl VI after the Cowboys stomped on the Dolphins for their first of five wins. But because of DT’s prickly relations with the press (basically ignoring them all season), Larry Klein of Sport magazine which presented the award, named Roger Staubach instead.

Red Rates Himself – For Conference Championship Week Red was 2-0. For the season Red is now 60-46. What money goes to Vegas stays in Vegas – unless you have Red by your side.

Your Ultimate Pick of the Week: Panthers over Broncos. This should be an interesting game. Of course, Red thought that two years ago when you had an incredible Broncos offense facing a tremendous Seahawks defense. My how the worm has turned. This one features an anemic Broncos offense going up against a very good Panthers defense. And a superb Panthers offense facing off against a world-beating Broncos defense. In the modern NFL, Red typically bets on the offense.

First, let’s consider the Broncos – who have won 11 of their 14 victories by seven points or less in the regular season and playoffs which are the most such nail biters by any team in the Superb Owl era. In other words, the Broncos have been winning by the skin of their mouth guards no thanks to the offense. Even PMS was forced to acknowledge this. “Like I’ve said from the get-go, our defense has gotten us to this point. Let’s make that very clear.” On the positive front, the Broncos have five wins against playoff teams having beat the Chiefs, Vikings, Packers, Patriots and Bengals. That is nothing short of incredible in the modern NFL. With probably the best secondary in the league, the Broncos can afford to focus on stopping the run – something they will have to do against the Panthers who happen to have a very good running back playing under center. But then there is that fairly awful offense led by the aged PMS. Last game PMS launched a bomb (maybe 40 yards in the air) against the Pats just as if to say, “I can still do this.” Well maybe so, maybe no. The Broncos have to establish a semblance of a running game to keep this one close and keep PMS from being taken off the field in a basket. CJ Anderson must break at least 2 long runs (he had one against the Stealers and one against the Pats) and the Broncos need 120 yards of rushing. With that, the excellent Panthers defense will free up some space for PMS. If it’s a close game, don’t bet against the Broncos.

 

Moving on to the Panthers, there is almost nothing bad to say about this team beyond the ugly home uniforms. Even that won’t be a factor since they are the visiting team on Sunday. The only real mystery is how the Falcons managed to beat them. With a defense already good enough to win a bunch of games, the Panthers added a top-ranked offense cranking out 31 points per game and never looked back. The Panthers beat three playoff teams – Texans, Packers and OTNA’s – two of whom prevailed in the PEFAPFD that were the AFC South and NFC East this season. So until the playoffs, the Panthers had not really beaten down on a good team other than the Packers – but boy did they bring down the hammer in those games. But more than any other team except perhaps the Patriots, the success of the Panthers rests on the shoulders (and legs) of one man – MVP to be Cam Newton. The Panthers rushing game is what has kept defenses honest, but it is the extraordinary playmaking ability of CN that grabs the headlines. The only real question for the Panthers is will CN somehow wilt in the spotlight. That seems improbable given his demeanor, however, he was somewhat shaky the last time he played for a championship at Auburn. If there is a second set of shoulders here it would be the very capable ones of Greg Olsen. He is clearly the second-best TE in the game with a 14.3 yards per catch average based on his ability to catch and run.

The one stat that really sticks out as the difference between these teams is the +20 turnover margin for the Panthers as opposed to the -4 margin for the Broncos. It is probably weak-kneed, trite and lame to claim that the game will come down to turnovers – except that it probably will. I do expect the Broncos defense to acquit itself respectably in this game, but the likelihood is that the Panthers get a short field at least once and stop a promising Broncos drive at least once simply because of the way the ball bounces.

Red’s record on Superb Owl bets is admittedly spotty. The Panthers giving up 6 is a lot given the Broncos record of keeping games close. The 44.5 O/U is more attractive. Red likes the under here – which means the game probably is going to OT.

Final Prediction of the Season. Carolina 24 Denver 17.

 

Ted Cruz Bullies Way to Victory in Iowa

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Red knows that Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) won the Iowa Caucuses last night edging out billionaire Donald Trump by about 4%.  Cruz is riding a wave of support from the evangelical base of the GOP.  His entire campaign seems to be aimed at convincing everyone that he is among the most religious men on the planet and that only Ted can save our country – indeed perhaps humanity –  from the evils of  . . .  well, anyone but Ted.  This son of an immigrant come to save our country from immigrants.  This smartest man in every room come to tell us exactly how smart he is.

Somehow Red just can’t get his head around the fact that 28% of people anywhere think that Cruz would be a good choice to lead their neighborhood property owners association much less this country.    What is it that these voters like about Ted?  His plan to raise their taxes while providing huge tax cuts for the wealthiest?  His bellicose foreign policy plans that call for what would likely be an unending war in the Middle East – not that we don’t already have that thanks to the Bush family?  His winning personality that has resulted in not a single one of his fellow Senators endorsing him?  His blatant narcissism?  His persistent lies on  many topics?  His frying bacon with an automatic weapon?  His misleading and near fraudulent mailings to voters? His failure to follow simple campaign disclosure laws? His plans to lead the GOP over a cliff?

Please tell Red, he wants to know.

Texas Ethics Commission Rules Paxton Can’t Accept Out-of-State Donations to Pay his Legal Team

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Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton got more bad news on Monday when the Texas Ethics Commission narrowly ruled that he cannot accept money from out-of-state donors to pay for fees for his legal defense team.  A so-called anonymous inquiry was made to the TEC asking if an individual working in the attorney general’s office may accept “benefits” from people or entities outside Texas.  The Texas Tribune has more on the decision that might keep Paxton from using his influence to fight off the mounting criminal charges that he faces.

A draft opinion considered by the commission said a person in the attorney general’s office — including Paxton — would not be prohibited from accepting money in circumstances where an out-of-state donor does not have any pending matters before the attorney general’s office.

But three commissioners – Jim Clancy, Tom Ramsay and Bob Long – voted against the proposal. Four voted for it; five votes are needed to pass an opinion.  Clancy said the commission should not pass the proposal without knowing who requested an opinion.

“I don’t know how you can evaluate this without knowing who is the donor and who is the recipient,” he said. “I’m concerned about the unintended consequences.”

But Commissioner Tom Harrison reminded commissioners that Paxton already must report any gifts.  “There’s no doubt, at least in my mind, that some donations made are going to be extremely scrutinized by members of the public and the media,” he said.

Today in Texas History – February 2

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From the Annals of the Mystics –  In 1620, María Coronel took her religious vows to join an order in Spain known as the Blue Nuns.  The Blue Nuns wore an outer cloak of coarse blue cloth over the traditional brown habit.   Taking the name Sister María de Jesús de Agreda, she had more than 500 mystic experiences in which she envisioned visiting an unknown land. Franciscan authorities somehow decided that the mysterious land was in New Mexico and West Tejas.  In her visitations, Sister María contacted several Indian cultures, including the Jumanos, and instructed them to seek out the isolated Spanish missions.  In July 1629, fifty Jumano Indians appeared at the Franciscan convent of old Isleta near Albuquerque.   The Jumanos claimed they had been sent to find religious teachers. They apparently had some basic knowledge of the Christian tenants that they had learned from the “Woman in Blue.”  Fray Juan de Salas led a mission to find more Jumanos and encountered a large group of Indians in Texas who also claimed to have been visited by the Woman in Blue who told them they would be met by Christian missionaries.  When interviewed by church authorities, Sister Maria acknowledged that she was the Woman in Blue.

Dutch Police Train Eagles to Take Down Drones

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The Verge reports that Dutch Police are training eagles to take down drones.

The country’s law enforcement has teamed up with a raptor training company named Guard From Above to see if birds of prey can be used to safely intercept quadcopters.

In the video demonstration above, an eagle is seen easily plucking what looks like a DJI Phantom out of the air. However, it’s not clear how dangerous this is for the bird. Raptors’ talons are incredibly sharp and their grip is strong enough to crush bone, but that doesn’t meant they’re indestructible and carbon fiber props spinning at full speed can easily cut human flesh. In the video, one of the handlers says that the scales on the eagle’s legs and feet keeps them safe, but also mentions the possibility of creating some sort of extra protection for them.

Red now knows what he wants for his next birthday – his own personal drone-killing eagle.  Make it so.

 

Is there Anything Ted Cruz Doesn’t Lie About (cont.)?

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Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas) is turning to desperate measures to win in Iowa.  The junior Senator from Texas is apparently afraid his campaign is in serious danger of implosion without a bravo showing in the Hawkeye State.  The smell of desperation was apparent when the Tea Party hero’s campaign sent out the following mailer to Iowa voters.

You are receiving this election notice because of low expected voter turnout in your area. Your individual voting history as well as your neighbors’ are public record. Their scores are published below, and many of them will see your score as well. CAUCUS ON MONDAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE and please encourage your neighbors to caucus as well. A follow-up notice may be issued following Monday’s caucuses.

If that weren’t misleading enough, the mailer also included a chart with the name of the voter and his or her neighbors and their voting “grade” and “score.”

Voter registration and voter history records are public records distributed by the Iowa Secretary of State and/or county election clerks. This data is not available for use for commercial purposes – use is limited by law. Scores reflect participation in recent elections. 

This is wrong on so many levels.  First, it was specifically designed to look like an official government document.  This raised the ire of Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate, who issued his rejoinder.

 Today I was shown a piece of literature from the Cruz for President campaign that misrepresents the role of my office, and worse, misrepresents Iowa election law. Accusing citizens of Iowa of a “voting violation” based on Iowa Caucus participation, or lack thereof, is false representation of an official act. There is no such thing as an election violation related to frequency of voting. Any insinuation or statement to the contrary is wrong and I believe it is not in keeping in the spirit of the Iowa Caucuses.

And if that weren’t enough, Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker has done some more investigation and it appears that the voting scores given to the targeted voter and his or her neighbors were simply made up by Cruz staffers.

After looking at several mailers posted online, I was more curious about how the Cruz campaign came up with its scores. On all the mailers I saw, every voter listed had only one of three possible scores: fifty-five per cent, sixty-five per cent, or seventy-five per cent, which translate to F, D, and C grades, respectively. Iowans take voting pretty seriously. Why was it that nobody had a higher grade?

In Iowa, although voter-registration information is free and available to the public, voter history is not. That information is maintained by the secretary of state, who licenses it to campaigns, super PACs, polling firms, and any other entity that might want it. So was the Cruz campaign accurately portraying the voter histories of Iowans? Or did it simply make up the numbers?

It’s Ted Cruz for crying out loud!  Of course he made it up.  That’s what he does.

Image from bloviatingzeppelin.net.

Last Day to Register to Vote

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Today is the last day that Texans can register to vote in the March 1 primary elections.  While Red thinks that it is absurd that we don’t have same day voter registration, he understands that the rules must be followed.  You have until 5 pm today to hand deliver your voter registration application to your local county clerk’s office or put it in the mail to be postmarked today.  You can get the application at www.votetexas.gov.  Or find out if you are already registered here.

Today in Texas History – February 1

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From the Annals of Granite – In 1882, building commissioners Nimrod Norton and Joseph Lee dug the ceremonial first hole for the Texas Capitol.  The cost of construction was financed by the sale of three million acres of public land in the Panhandle – which became the famed XIT Ranch. The Capitol was built from red granite from Marble Mountain near Marble Falls.   The Nations Capitol was the model for the Renaissance Revival structure.  Construction took over six years and cost approximately $3.75 million.  The Capitol was the tallest building in Texas until the building of the San Jacinto Monument.

Is there Anything Ted Cruz Doesn’t Lie About(cont.)?

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“You know who one of those millions of Americans who’s lost their health care because of Obamacare? That would be me. I don’t have health care right now. I had purchased an individual policy and Blue Cross Blue Shield canceled all their individual policies in the state of Texas effective December 31st. So our health care got canceled.”     Sen. Ted Cruz (TP-Texas).

A very moving story, that is if it wasn’t completely fabricated. The whole tale smelled from the beginning.  You don’t lose your health care with a single letter.  Moreover, if true, then Cruz is a moron for not securing another plan from the many choices.  More importantly, it was pure bullshit as a part of Cruz’s agenda to destroy the American healthcare system.   The Cruz campaign had to quickly fess up and throw Ted’s insurance broker under the bus.  Cruz was automatically enrolled in another plan by his provider.  Since the Affordable Care Act is actually working, Cruz has to lie and make up stuff to paint a picture of failure.