Glenn Beck v. Donald Trump – Evidence for the Multiverse Hypothesis

Late yesterday on his Facebook page, Glenn Beck went off on Donald Trump somewhat in defense of his pal David Barton’s candidate Ted Cruz.
I can’t make much sense of the whole thing except that Beck hopes to defuse the win Trump had in answering Ted Cruz’s ill-advised attack on “New York values” during Thursday’s GOP debate. Beck brings the non sequitur like no one else.
On thing is sure, Beck is sure it is all about him:

He tried to cozy up to me. The blaze reporter that covered him as part of their beat can recall several conversations where he claimed I was “a genius” etc.

We laughed between ourselves at the time because I know that I am no genius and we suspected he was saying those things because we knew he was going to run.

But I must ask: Donald, Were you Lying then or now?

Just like you admitted with Cruz last week during the debate to justify your flip flop: “He is doing well in the polls now”, were you saying kind things about me then in hopes to ‘befriend and ‘purchase’ my silence?’

Or are you only trying to destroy me now because I will not be bullied away from the facts of who you are politically?

Make no mistake, I do not dislike you as an entertainer, or even a politician. To me you are irrelevant but I believe progressivism is a cancer to the constitution and you sir are the definition of a big government progressive.

You are more Phillip Drew or Father Couglin than a simple builder of Golf Courses.

To all those who truly claim to be constitutional conservatives who have also said “without question Cruz is the conservative in the race” and my personal favorite “Donald Trump is by no means or measurement a conservative”, what is it you are you getting out of remaining silent on the corruption of your principles? What is it you hope to gain? Access? A seat at the table? A round of golf with the president?

We know what Hillary, Anthony wiener, Charley Rangle and Harry Reid got: money.

Billionaires who use their money, connections and microphone don’t frighten me.

George Soros tried to silence me with smears, lies and intimidation.

It didn’t stop me then.

Donald Trump won’t stop me or the truth now.

His policies of progressivism and the tactics of Saul Alinsky are the same.

But, Mr Trump I know ‘spooky dude’ and you sir, are no spooky dude.

These guys are playing in some other universe. Spooky.

Marco Rubio Leads in Poll of Evangelicals; Donald Trump Ties with Hillary Clinton

World magazine is regularly polling 103 leaders/insiders regarding their views of the 2016 presidential contenders. This month Marco Rubio and  Carly Fiorina gained ground among the poll participants.
Rubio was considered first choice by 34.5% of the participants while Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Fiorina and John Kasich round out the top five. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each got two votes to tie with 2.3% of the participants. Eighty-one percent said they would not vote for Trump, tops among GOP candidates.
Clearly, this group of evangelicals aren’t in sync with GOP voters being polled now. Trump leads the field with 23.5% in Real Clear Politics’ average of tracking polls.
See the World survey results here.
 

New York Times Stands by Claims on Ted Cruz's; Says Book Could Make the List Next Week

The New York Times told me this morning that Ted Cruz’s book could make the best seller list next reporting period if sales warrant. The paper also stands behind the claim that “the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.”
Times spokeswoman Denise Rhoades Ha said this morning that “The book could appear on a future list. Every week is a new sales reporting period and could have a different outcome.” Thus, if strong sales have resulted from this dust up with the Times, Cruz might find himself on the list next week.
The Times won’t release or discuss their evidence because those details might lead to further manipulation of the list.  Ms. Rhodes Ha added that the Times stands by their comment on the matter released earlier:

We have uniform standards that we apply to our best seller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold.
This book didn’t meet that standard this week.
Our goal is that the list reflect authentic best sellers so we look at and analyze not just numbers, but patterns of sales for every book.
In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.

I also contacted HarperCollins earlier today and asked if the company planned to release evidence which would support Cruz’s denial. HC has not replied as yet. Publishers are aware of where bulk orders go and could provide relevance evidence on bulk sales or lack thereof. Last Friday, a HarperCollins’ spokeswoman said the company found no evidence of bulk orders.
See my post from yesterday for more background.
 

Matt Barber Proposes Back Room Deal to Choose GOP Nominee

The grassroots are great except when they aren’t.
Matt Barber wants all the religious right candidates to go on holiday somewhere to “an undisclosed location,” fast and pray and then vote on who will run against Jeb Bush.  In a way, without the delegates, it would be the beginning of a Christian party choosing a candidate to run against the GOP and Democrats. Barber apparently thinks the problem with religious right candidates is that there are too many of them, not the fact that their message isn’t going to win over the nation.
And then if the Christian party wins, all the spoils goes to those guys who sacrificially supported the other guy.
The problem for the GOP is that any of the people Barber mentioned would lose large in the general election.
However, this “can the far right win?” question is going to be a big story line in the 2016 election so maybe those Christian right candidates should squeeze their egos into one room and hash it out. Let the GOP voters then decide if it is the Christian Party or the Republican Party.

Uganda Monitor: $300 Million Lost to Corruption Per Year; Much Foreign Aid Gets Into Wrong Hands

While the Ugandan Parliament sounds a defiant tone to threats of removal of donor aid over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, the government would be hard pressed to make up the loss of funds. According to this Monitor (Uganda) report, Uganda relies on funds from donor nations to account for 29% of the national budget. A significant portion of money, $300 million, is lost to corruption according to the World Bank.

On point, The Monitor also recently revealed that MPs get the equivalent of just over$44,000 to purchase a car. This news sparked outrage among civil society in Uganda. The Monitor reported:

Outpourings of disbelief mixed with anger at a House which has been applauded for taking a firm stand against waste in government clouded the re-opening of Parliament as members struggled to defend themselves.

Civil society leaders described the MPs’ gleeful acceptance of the cash as “greed of the highest order”.

“This issue of the vehicles for MPs shows that the 9th Parliament is no different from the rest. It is a shame that they too have turned into vultures,” the Executive Director Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda, Ms Cissy Kagaba, said.

“These MPs should walk the talk about being pro-people. The opposition too shouldn’t be part of the loot. This money should be returned and used to increase teachers’ salaries.”

Such public extravagance might concern American taxpayers who are also tightening their belts amid a bleak economy and are worried that their dollars support a government poised to impose the death penalty on HIV positive gay people, with life in prison for others. In fiscal year 2010, the United States pledged over $382 million in economic aid. That does not include over $36 million in military aid. Overall, Uganda is within the top 25 recipients of American foreign assistance.

While donor nations have a significant investment in Uganda and the region, there might be a point at which the American public will voice concern. A lack of respect for basic human rights, corruption and cronyism are factors that may work together to extend the budget tightening from here to Uganda.