The Iowa caucus is tomorrow, Feb 1.  Finally!  Now let’s get this over with so we can move on the 2020 Iowa caucus.

Islam burning children.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/31/boko-haram-burns-kids-alive-in-northeast-nigeria-witness.html?intcmp=hplnws

 

I am so old that I remember when none of the Clinton emails were secret.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/29/official-some-clinton-emails-too-damaging-to-release.html

Re my comment on “make sure the steps we have taken are ones we can lock down and not be subjected to undoing through [Congress] or otherwise” yesterday.  The sure way that steps cannot be subjected to ‘undoing’ would be for the President to issue his own amendments to the Constitution.  I bet he is really thinking about how he can issue a constitutional amendment via executive order.  One catch: if he can do it, then future president could rescind under same lame reasoning.  Maybe there will have to be some sort of legal “no tagbacks” language, whatever that would be.  Or the word “perpetuity” in the amendment might help.

“White House chief of staff Denis McDonough this week said “audacious” executive actions on tap for 2016 are being carefully crafted to “make sure the steps we have taken are ones we can lock down and not be subjected to undoing through [Congress] or otherwise.”  [my emphasis].  I suspect that the President’s ‘constitutional law course’ (or whatever) is fake.

Source: http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/266133-obama-eyes-audacious-use-of-executive-power-in-final-year.  Hat tip: http://thefederalist.com/2016/01/26/obamas-chief-of-staff-admits-they-want-tyranny/

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of NY is proposing caps on some drug prices (http://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/01/22/new-york-andrew-cuomo-drug-prices/).  LIkely effect is drug shortages.  And who will be hurt most? Not the rich, believe-you-me.  They will get necessary treatment in other states.  This is really not the most intelligent governor that NY has ever had.

I wonder if grocery stores experience net gains, net losses, or neither from snowstorms.  The rush on grocery stores before the storm is well-accepted; I think it is overstated.  But, as in this weekend, normal Saturday shoppers might shift to Friday, making Friday busier than ever.  Proverbially staples like bread, milk, and eggs are wiped out; but barring power outages all that food is still OK, only now at customers’ homes, so demand is less for a few days.  I bet the effect on stores is a slight negative; they lose some sales from cleaned out counters before the storm, but do not quite recover post-storm.

I read yesterday some complicated spat circling around the President’s apparent consideration to run for UN Secretary General after he leaves the White House.  I guessed this 2 years ago, but regrettably have no paper record to prove it.  Sad.

In the middle of the sudden Flint water crisis, an explanation and a timeline of events.  Perhaps more details will shift focus, but well done and a good voice to hear: http://gregbranchwords.com/2016/01/17/the-real-tragedy-in-flint/  (courtesy overlawyered.com).

I pushed back on a friend’s FB post, citing 1-2 facts in my support.  This was a post with 1000’s of responses, so no surprise that a stranger disagrees.  I understand disagreement.  But he starts his rebuttal, “You fool” before citing his facts, facts that I accept as true not too relevant to the argument.  I did not respond.  Such a person is more interested in yelling than in mutual exchange of disagreements.