That was of this this isn't just at Western Illinois University has held mock elections out of accurately predicted the winner of the presidential election since 1975. They've been right.


At the university had Bernie Sanders winning the primary against Hillary Clinton by an almost 21 margin they predicting long way.


http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/mock-election-predicts-bernie-sanders-president-36168337

Fact Checker: Just how effective was Bernie Sanders with a Republican Congress?


“Bernie Sanders passed more amendments in a Republican Congress than any other member.”

Source of claim: “Effective,” an ad paid for by Bernie 2016 Campaign Committee in support of Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The research identifies the top 10 senators for 1995-2005. Sanders ranked No. 1 at sponsoring successful amendments, edging out Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, with 16; Rep. Christopher Smith, R-NJ, with 14; and Benjamin Gilman, R-NY, with 13, according to the data.

The Fact Checker independently researched the votes using a congressional database.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/politics/election/iowa-caucus/fact-checker-just-how-effective-was-bernie-sanders-with-a-republican-congress-20160108

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Even in Early Races, Poll Finds

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are deadlocked in both Iowa and New Hampshire three weeks before voting begins in the 2016 presidential race, while the Republican primary contest remains tight in Iowa, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll finds.

Mrs. Clinton holds a slim, 48%-to-45% lead over the Vermont senator among likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa, the survey finds. Mr. Sanders edges the former secretary of state among likely primary voters in New Hampshire, 50% to 46%. Both leads are within the poll’s margins of error.

On the Democratic side, Mr. Sanders has opened up big leads in Iowa and New Hampshire among independents who say they’ll participate in the Democratic contests, while Mrs. Clinton notches big edges among Democrats. In both states, Mrs. Clinton posts big leads among likely participants age 45 and older, while Mr. Sanders posts even bigger leads among younger voters.

The Journal/NBC/Marist poll suggests Mr. Sanders would be a stronger general-election candidate than Mrs. Clinton. Among registered voters, Mr. Sanders posts big leads over Messrs. Cruz, Rubio and Trump in New Hampshire and leads Messrs. Cruz and Trump in Iowa. He and Mr. Rubio are tied in Iowa.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-even-in-early-races-poll-finds-1452434581

Bernie Sanders in Clinton country

Massachusetts is Hillary Clinton country.

Except for Senator Elizabeth Warren, who coyly tweets sweet comments about Clinton rival Bernie Sanders but has yet to formally endorse in the 2016 presidential race.

And then there’s the band of local legislative supporters behind Sanders as the Vermont senator takes on Clinton and the Democratic establishment.

This weekend, the Sanders campaign plans to formally open a Massachusetts headquarters in Charlestown, with backing from state Senator Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, and a few other legislators: state Senator Pat Jehlen of Somerville; state Senator Dan Wolf of Harwich; and state Representatives Mary Keefe of Worcester and Paul Mark of Peru in Western Massachusetts

That contrasts with the list of 190 Massachusetts endorsements Clinton released in December. Her “Massachusetts Leadership Council” includes Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, US Senator Edward Markey, state Attorney General Maura Healey, all nine Massachusetts US representatives, and 23 state senators.



https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/01/07/sanders-clinton-country/GE1X2HedMDEHU1wOe6VLDP/story.html

Bernie Sanders' Popularity Making Hillary Clinton Campaign 'Nervous'


The Clinton campaign appears to be getting nervous.

While from the start Hillary Clinton's campaign has said they were not taking anything for granted, the Democratic frontrunner didn't always act that way -– for months carrying on as though her challenger, Bernie Sanders, didn’t exist.

Over time, however, the 74-year-old Vermont senator has risen in the polls and gained growing support that eventually became too big for Clinton to ignore.

Now, just a few weeks until the first voting begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, her campaign is showing signs they're more anxious than ever about the outcome of these races.

The most blatant sign came earlier this week when Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook sent a fundraising email to supporters with the subject line "nervous."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-popularity-making-hillary-clinton-campaign-nervous/story?id=36187078

First arrests in German New Year’s Eve chaos likely to inflame asylum debate

BERLIN —



German police Friday announced the arrests of two asylum seekers in a series of New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne, a development likely to inflame what already is a fierce battle over the status of hundreds of thousands of migrants who’ve flooded Europe in recent months.

The police said the two suspects were arrested around midnight in the same square outside the city’s central train station where the attacks reportedly took place. The police said that during the the arrests they’d uncovered photos and videos of sexual assaults as well as a list of threatening phrases to use to intimidate German women.



Federal police announced that they were investigating 31 other suspects – including an American – thought to be tied to the attacks. Eighteen of those are asylum seekers, police said.

Cologne police placed the number of suspects they were investigating at 21, and it was not immediately clear how or whether the two numbers overlapped. Under German law, the federal police are responsible for probing crimes that originated within the train station, while the city police are responsible for investigating acts outside.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article53710980.html#storylink=cpy

Crony Clintonism

Say this for a Hillary Clinton run for the Presidency. The prospect is already yielding an almost-weekly civics lesson in the crony government that feeds the Clinton machine: mining connections to public office for private profit.

The latest exhibit is a scathing report by the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security into abuses of the EB-5 investor visa program. Under this program, a foreigner who invests at least $500,000 to create jobs for American citizens can be granted permanent residency along with his family.

The IG was investigating complaints by career government employees that the number two man in Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, had used his earlier position as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to favor top Democrats seeking visas for foreign investors. In each of the three instances the IG investigated, the report says that “but for Mr. Mayorkas’ intervention, the matter would have been decided differently.”

One of those Mr. Mayorkas helped was Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who sought EB-5 approval for a Las Vegas hotel and casino. Another was former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who wanted approval for a Los Angeles film center.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/crony-clintonism-1427495169

Bernie VS. Hillary On The Economy: Only One Candidate Has A Workable Plan


At The Ring of Fire, we’ve pointed out that the differences between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on economic policies are a matter of degree, rather than approach. Both Democratic candidates agree that Wall Street is out of control, the financial industry wields far too much power, and that economic inequality in the U.S. is reaching crisis proportions.

Where Sanders and Clinton part ways is on which medicine is necessary – and how strong a dose is required. Generally speaking, Clinton, who has significant ties to Wall Street, favors an incremental approach and “greater monitoring.” Sanders on the other hand is prepared to take the gloves off. In a speech yesterday, Sanders pledged that as President, he would take immediate action to break up banks that are considered too big to fail.

In addition, Sanders is calling for an update of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act. This legislation which prohibited commercial banks from engaging in investment banking and the underwriting of insurance policies was repealed under Bill Clinton’s Administration in 1999, and as a result, bloated financial institutions nearly brought down the global economy less than a decade later. Addressing the proximate cause of that crisis, Sanders said, “Wall Street cannot continue to be an island unto itself, gambling trillions in risky financial instruments,” which, in a nutshell, is exactly what happened during the months leading up to October of 2008. During his first 100 days in office, Sanders will order the Secretary of the Treasury to compile a list of “commercial banks, shadow banks, and insurance companies whose failure would pose a catastrophic risk to the United States economy without a taxpayer bailout.”

Sanders’ economic plan is far more aggressive than Clintons in a number of other ways. Clinton plans to invest an additional $275 billion in public infrastructure projects over a five-year period. Sanders plans to invest over three times that amount, creating approximately one million new jobs while expediting the transition to a “green” economy. Sanders is also not afraid to impose higher taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. Clinton, largely beholden to corporate donors and the investment class, has been hesitant to burden them with the prospect of higher taxes.


http://trofire.com/2016/01/06/61857/

California Supreme Court Says Voters Can Advise on Citizens United


A California Supreme Court ruling will let the state’s voters offer their collective opinion on political campaign financing. The court decision, which was handed down Monday, allows Californians to urge their members of Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United.

The advisory measure, aka Proposition 49, had been struck from the state’s 2014 ballot by the same court after a challenge from a conservative group. This recent 6-1 decision puts the proposition back on the ballot, giving Californians the opportunity to speak out about the controversial campaign spending law.




“The reason this is going on the ballot is not because the legislature needs advice, but as a way of getting Democrats and others excited,” Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine, told the Los Angeles Times. “Citizens United was a polarizing opinion, and it is very unpopular.”

The United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission essentially lifted limits on corporate and union money in politics. It has resulted in an unprecedented amount of funds being used to affect the outcomes of political campaigns.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/california-supreme-court-says-voters-can-advise-citizens-united