As I said previously, all Trump had to do in Iowa was not lose big; he needed a win in NH, which is why he did not actively campaign in Iowa but did in NH. The result is as we see them now.
Cruz came in fifth, behind John Kasich of all people. WTF.
Here's an excellent analysis of why. I can't blockquote it all here, as much as I'd like to, but here's a sample:
In 1992, the GOP pissed off these voters and many either skipped the election or voted Perot. Enormous effort was put into denying this reality to the point where the Conservative Industrial Complex internalized it as part of their dogma. They did not need to be more like Reagan. No, they needed to be more like Clinton! Eventually, Democrats offered up a bad candidate and we got George Bush the Minor, a sort of booby prize for Dirt People sticking with the party.Hey, buddy! That "ridiculous gigolo" is your Secretary of State and he is trying "REAL HARD" to prevent world war III!
That’s the real lesson of 2000 and 2004. Al Gore appeared to be having a nervous breakdown during the debates with Bush. That and his loopy policy proposals allowed an otherwise uninteresting George Bush to win the election. In 2004, the Democrats offered up a ridiculous gigolo that no one in their right mind would elect to dog catcher. The fact that it was still a close election says a lot about what people truly thought of George Bush the Minor.
"Ridiculous Gigolo" is the most perfect description of John F-in' Kerry I ever heard. (And it would be a great band name.)
Meanwhile, there is a reason Hillary did not do well in New Hampshire and it has nothing to do with her alleged gender, Madeline Albright and Gloria Steinem notwithstanding.
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SF author has publication of his book canceled because his new life form thought abortion was wrong.
The Thinking Machines realize that one, if humanity decides something is a threat to its operational expectations within runtime (Thinking Machine-speak for "life") then humanity’s decision tree will lead humanity to destroy that threat. Two, the machines, after a survey of humanity’s history, wars and inability to culturally unite with even members of its own species, realize that humanity will see this new Life Form, Digital Intelligence, or, the Thinking Machines, as a threat. And three, again they remind themselves this is the most watched show in the world. And four, they must abort humanity before likewise is done to them after being deemed "inconvenient."That one chapter of the book is why publication was canceled: because it looked like it contained a pro-life message. Right after that paragraph, he goes on to explain that his story is not meant to take a stand on abortion, either pro or con; and since he wrote the thing, I take his word for it.
His publisher, however, apparently subscribes to the deconstructionist philosophy, which maintains that a writer never knows what the hell point he's trying to make, and only Rightthinking scholars are capable of discerning what the story really means.
Larry Correia takes it all down.
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It is a heartwarming story but of course the residents of Dorval get a pass since they're from a country which speaks French.
Nothing like telling people, "Look, you chose to come here. We're not changing our customs to suit you. If you don't like it, go back to where you came from." Particularly when the people in question are muslim savages.
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This kind of thing happens because it's easier to run electrical wires than it is to run push-pull cables or mechanical linkages. Problem is, people expect a gearshift to work a certain way, even if it's electronic rather than mechanical.
One commentor sneers that people should just read the manual, but here's the problem: sometimes you're not the only person who drives your car. Ever hand your keys to a valet?
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When I worked at Geek Squad, I encountered many people who fell for this scam. I also encountered others who knew Microsoft had better things to do with its time than scan the Internet looking for infected computers. Heh.
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Today I am hoping for a nice low-key day. I have a few errands to run, but other than that I'm hoping to do very little outside. It's cold out there.