Saturday, March 5, 2016

Donald Trump pulled out of CPAC forum


Huma Abedin Cartoon


Carson suspends presidential campaign


Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson dropped out the 2016 presidential race Friday, days after declaring there was “no political path forward” for his campaign.
In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Carson said “I am leaving the campaign trail,” but promised he would remain heavily involved “in saving our nation.”
The announcement was widely expected. On Wednesday Carson sent a message to supporters saying, “I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results” and he did not attend Thursday’s Fox News debate in Detroit.
In Friday's wide-ranging speech, Carson warned against a growing debt, overreaching government social programs and a general breakdown of morals in the country.
“Our pillars of strength are faith and family,” Carson said. “As those things are being eroded, you see what is happening to our nation.”
Carson also announced Friday that he is taking up the role of chairman of “My Faith Votes,” a nonpartisan organization to “inspire and motivate” Christians to vote.
The consummate outsider, Carson enjoyed a surge in the polls last year, at one point becoming competitive with Donald Trump. But his numbers later plunged, and he has not won a single contest; he was solidly in last place in the delegate count following Super Tuesday.
Known for his affable, soft-spoken, and sometimes awkward speaking style, he was an unpredictable presence on the debate stage and at rallies.
Carson entered the political spotlight in 2013 when at the National Prayer Breakfast he tore into the Affordable Care Act just feet away from President Obama, gaining fame among conservatives in the process.
He announced his decision to run for the White House in May from his hometown of Detroit.

Cruz blasts Trump as phony conservative in front of CPAC crowd


Republican presidential candidate Sen.Ted Cruz blasted Donald Trump Friday as a phony conservative who must be stopped before he wins the presidential nomination.
In a speech to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Cruz said, “It’s easy to talk about making America great again -- you can even put that on a baseball cap.
“But do you understand the principles that make America great in the first place?”
Cruz said Trump was in no position to answer that question.
Fresh from a bitter Super Tuesday battle and rancorous debate Thursday night, Cruz appeared relaxed in jeans. He took full advantage of Trump’s announcement earlier in the day that he would be skipping the event, which is typically considered a required stop for Republican candidates seeking to woo the conservative base.
Dr. Ben Carson, who spoke after Cruz on Friday, announced he was formally leaving the race. Sen. Marco Rubio was expected  to appear on Saturday, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich spoke earlier on Friday.
Citing rallies in Kansas and Florida, where there are upcoming primary battles, Trump demurred, leaving a hole in the CPAC schedule.
“I think someone told him (Fox News host) Megyn Kelly was going to be here,” Cruz said, joking. “But worse, he was told conservatives were going to be here. Even worse, he was told there would be libertarians here. Even worse, young people were going to be here.”
“I hope none of you have a degree from Trump University,” he said, referring to the lawsuits against Trump’s now defunct online school.
Cruz was only interrupted once by audience members chanting “Trump! Trump! Trump!” The audience applause was otherwise enthusiastic as Cruz revived a key charge against Trump from Thursday night - that he has been funding and cozying up to Democrats for years.
Referring to the loss of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, Cruz warned that the court is now “one justice away” from the loss of religious liberty and the second amendment right to bear arms.
“Let me be very clear to every man and woman here at CPAC, I will not compromise away your religious liberty. I will not compromise away your second amendment right to keep and bear arms,” Cruz said.
He also poked at Trump, whom he said suggested in a previous debate that the U.S. should be neutral in order to negotiate in the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. “As president I have no intention of being neutral. America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel.”
Joking on stage with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Cruz also suggested Hillary Clinton should get used to “orange pant suits” in case she's indicted in the ongoing email controversy and that for the first time, a general election debate may be “convened in Leavenworth.”

Conservative Political Action Conference or CPAC Donald Trump Cancels Speech at Conservative Conference


The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; /ˈspæk/ SEE-pak) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.

Organizers of a high-profile conservative conference in Washington DC say that Donald Trump has abruptly cancelled his planned appearance tomorrow.
Trump was scheduled to address activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) early Saturday morning.
In a statement, Trump's campaign said he would be campaigning in Kansas Saturday in advance of that state's caucuses.
"The Donald J. Trump for President Campaign has just announced it will be in Witchita, Kanasas for a major rally on Saturday prior to Caucus," the statement read, misspelling the name of both the city and the state where he will appear. "He will also be speaking at the Kansas Caucus and then departing for Orlando, Florida and a crowd of approximately 20,000 people or more. Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years."
Donald Trump put in the hot seat as GOP debate gets dirty 3:47
The conference has long been a destination for Republican presidential candidates as well as other conservative lawmakers and media stars. Presidential hopefuls John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are all slated to participate, and Ben Carson is expected to use his address Friday to speak about his "political future."
The crowd at CPAC may not have been a uniformly friendly one for Trump. The conference this year has already featured appearances by some of the GOP figures with whom Trump has warred, including RNC chairman Reince Priebus and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse.
The abrupt cancellation is not the first time Trump has dropped out of a conservative cattle call at the last minute.
He also cancelled a Heritage Action event in South Carolina earlier this cycle, citing a last minute business deal that needed his attention. He was also uninvited from Erick Erickson's Red State Gathering in August.

Harvard Law School might remove official seal over links to slavery More Political Correct Crap.


A committee recommended Harvard Law School remove its official seal Friday, following months of scrutiny surrounding the symbol that has ties to an 18th-century slave owner.
The committee’s 10-2 recommendation was backed by Dean Martha Minow, but it wasn’t immediately clear when Harvard Corp., one of the university’s governing boards, will make its final decision.
“We believe that if the Law School is to have an official symbol, it must more closely represent the values of the Law School, which the current shield does not," the committee made up of professors, alumni, students and staff wrote in its recommendation.
The shield's meaning has changed over time, said Bruce Mann, committee chairman and Harvard Law professor.
"Too many people think the shield has become an impediment," he said. "Too many people see the association with slavery."
The shield, officially adopted in 1937, depicts three bundles of wheat, an image borrowed from the family crest of Isaac Royall Jr., under the university's motto "Veritas."
Royall donated his estate to create the first law professorship at Harvard University. His father, Isaac Royall Sr., made much of the family wealth on the backs of slaves on Caribbean sugar plantations and Massachusetts farms.
Minow created the committee after some law school students formed a group called Royall Must Fall to denounce the shield.
"I endorse the recommendation to retire the shield because its association with slavery does not represent the values and aspirations of the Harvard Law School and because it has become a source of division rather than commonality in our community," she wrote to students and alumni.
However, not everyone is agreeing with the decision. One professor on the committee, joined by a student, said keeping the current shield was a way to honor the slaves whose sacrifice provided the Royall family with its wealth.
They said the current shield should be tied "to a historically sound interpretative narrative about it" and suggested adding the word "Iustitia" — justice in Latin — below the word "Veritas."
According to The Guardian, the decision to remove the shields comes after Harvard University announced it would chance the title “house master,” used to describe the Ivy League’s residential administrators,” and use the term “faculty dean” instead.

GOP, Dem candidates gear up for weekend of primaries, caucuses


Can be Bought :-)
Challengers to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are gearing up for another full weekend of primaries and caucuses across the country.
Saturday caucuses will be held in Kansas, Kentucky, Maine and Nebraska along with a primary in Louisiana. On Sunday, Maine holds a caucus for Democrats, while Republicans duke it out in a primary in Puerto Rico.
On Friday, Trump pulled out of the annual D.C. conservative confab CPAC. Trump had been scheduled to speak at the four-day gathering but said he would be campaigning instead in Kansas and Florida. Florida holds its primaries on March 15.
"Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years," the campaign said. "Mr. Trump would like to thank Matt Schlapp and all of the executives at CPAC and looks forward to returning to next year, hopefully as president of the United States."
Schlapp seemed to challenge Trump’s excuse on Friday, telling Fox News that Trump was “uncomfortable” with the format at CPAC.
The CPAC controversy follows a raucous Fox News Republican debate Thursday night in Detroit, where Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich teamed up against Trump in a concerted effort to cast him as a political salesman willing to say anything and take any position to win the nomination.
They hammered him on alleged inconsistences on his policy details and business dealings, including the now-defunct Trump University, which is being sued for scamming students out of thousands of dollars.
Over on the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders is shaping up to be the weekend’s big winner.
Sanders is favored to win the Kansas and Nebraska caucuses.
Clinton’s campaign manager braced supporters for the potential setback in a Wednesday memo that predicted the former secretary of state may lose the caucus states this weekend.
“Sen. Sanders has clear advantages and is investing heavily in two upcoming caucuses (Kansas and Nebraska),” Robby Mook wrote in a memo.
Kansas will hold caucuses for both parties Saturday.  Also on Saturday, Kentucky and Maine will hold their Republican caucuses while Nebraska holds its Democratic caucus. Louisiana holds primaries for both parties.
On Sunday, Maine holds its Democratic caucus, while Puerto Rico has its Republican caucus.

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