Yesterday I said "I shant be lingering to do extra tutoring or Costco runs." OK, I admit it, I lied. . . sort of. We did our English lesson and then the kids started arriving home from school. I ended up checking some math homework for Jonathan, filling out some school related forms for 2 of the kids, and snuggling Regina who got hit by a flying truck thrown by Simon (the baby) and was in tears. When I scolded Simon, he went into tears and lay claim to the other knee and arm! JD, I guess God is splitting a gut laughing!
Tomorrow is less busy, or should I say, less stressful.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — This is an interactive automaticupdateat the site where you can see in which precints a candidate leads or trails.
Iowa Democratic Caucus
Bernie Sanders was nearly tied with Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race, while O’Malley suspended his campaign before all results were counted.
Des MoinesCedar RapidsDavenportDes MoinesCedar RapidsDavenport
| Candidate | SDEs∗ | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
 Clinton |
667 | 28
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• |
 Sanders |
664 | 21
••••••••••••••••••••• |
 O'Malley |
8 |
0 |
∗ The Iowa Democratic Party doesn't report vote counts. It reports State Delegate Equivalents (SDEs), predictions of who will attend the state-wide party convention.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
3 of 52 delegates in play in Iowa.
HuffPost counts unpledged delegates who have publicly stated their intent to vote for a candidate.
1,604 of 1,681 precincts reporting
Last updated:
Iowa Republican Caucus
Republican voters in Iowa turned out in record numbers for the GOP caucus, showing strong support for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio finished a close third despite lagging well behind Donald Trump in the polls. Other candidates, like Jeb Bush, failed to gain traction with voters.
Des MoinesCedar RapidsDavenportDes MoinesCedar RapidsDavenport
| Candidate | Votes | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
 Cruz ✓ |
51,047 | 8
•••••••• |
 Trump |
44,837 | 7
••••••• |
 Rubio |
42,577 | 6
•••••• |
 Carson |
17,173 | 2
•• |
 Paul |
8,361 | 1
• |
 Bush |
5,165 |
0 |
 Fiorina |
3,442 |
0 |
 Kasich |
3,441 |
0 |
 Huckabee |
3,305 |
0 |
 Christie |
3,247 |
0 |
 Santorum |
1,768 |
0 |
 Gilmore |
12 |
0 |
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
6 of 30 delegates in play in Iowa.
HuffPost counts unpledged delegates who have publicly stated their intent to vote for a candidate.
1,655 of 1,681 precincts reporting
Last updated:
Mike Huckabee annouced that he has suspended his campaign. With Upchuck Huck out of the race, it remains to be seen who else will bow out, if any, before the next round of primaries. If you ask me, Gilmore, Santorum, and Fiorina should be bowing out next.
I won't go into an analysis as I am sure that TC will have the final results and his expert indepth analysis tomorrow.
BTW, a pollster here in Canada was asking people today about what they thought of Trump in the White House. Nationally, 65% of Canadians fear that, while 80% of British Columbians don't want Trump in the White House. He sure isn't making many friends north of the 49th!
CBC — The protection of B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest is now assured, after a decade of complex negotiations between the province, First Nations and industry.
Under terms of the agreement announced Monday morning by Premier Christy Clark, 85 per cent (3.1 million hectares) of the forested area of the northern wilderness will be completely — and permanently — protected from industrial logging. …
Spirit bears are the best known part of the unique flora and fauna of the Great Bear Rainforest that will be protected under an agreement finalized in B.C. Monday. Spirit bears, also known as Kermode bears, are black bears with a unique genetic variation that gives them their cream-coloured fur. (Ian McAllister)
The Great Bear Rainforest stretches from B.C.'s Discovery Islands, north to Alaska's Tongass Rainforest. Along with Haida Gwaii, parts of which are protected under other agreements, it represents the largest tracts of intact temperate rainforest on Earth. It is home to numerous species of plant and animals, including old growth trees, orcas, grizzlies and spirit bears.
Moss-covered trees stand the test of time. (Photo: National Geographic)
From Common Dreams:
It is "one of the most visionary forest conservation plans on Earth," said Valerie Langer, solutions director at ForestEthics, one of the groups that signed on to the deal. "It is a principled approach that sets a new legal and science-based standard for sustaining healthy forests and maintains intact, old-growth that will keep millions of tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere."
As old growth tropical rainforests in the Philipines and Indonesia have been decimated to provided space for palm plantations, so has the old growth temperate rainforest in Canada been decimated for its lumber. These are not replacable. I am very happy with this agreement and the process of inclusion that struck the agreement.
Raw Story — The New York Daily News wasted no time ripping Donald Trump’s surprise loss in Monday’s Iowa Republican caucus.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this is a full political science essay from the New York Daily News! Do you think that the paper is not sold on Trump?
The New Yorker — … Democrats have some messy internal business to deal with: Bernie Sanders, promoting an American version of People Power, has confirmed his capture of the Party’s under-forty wing, which means trouble for Hillary Clinton. …
Speaking on CNN as it got late, David Axelrod, President Obama’s former campaign manager, made an acute point. One of Hillary’s problems is that her campaign is largely about herself—her experience, her electability, and her toughness. “I will keep doing what I have done my entire life,” she said in her non-victory speech. “I will keep standing up for you. I will keep fighting for you.” Sanders, on the other hand, rarely mentions himself in his speeches. His campaign is all about his message of taking American back from the billionaires. And as Axelrod pointed out, it is often easier to inspire people, particularly young people, with an uplifting theme than with a resumé.
Bernie might be older than Clinton, but he is younger!
My Universe —
Celebrate the Great Bear Rainforest agreement!
10 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 01/02/2016”
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Very close race for both Dems. Almost a tie.
Bernie is speaking for an economy that for works for working families, not the “billionaire class.”
Next up the Feb 9th primary, and I'm excited !!! Go, Bernie, GO !!!!
CBC: Wonderful news!!
My Universe: Lovely picture!!! They're happy too!!
Those kids love you, keep up the good work!! Thanks, Lynn.
Hillary may claim victory but it's a squeaker and she should be worried. I heard David Axelrod's comment about Hillary being about Hillary and Bernie being about the people -excellent point! I hope it's enough to get to voters.
Awesome bear pictures…
If one added up the people present and who they chose, it might show even closer. Des Moines'county is the only county with a sizable city Clinton carried and the difference was less than the sum of the differences in Bernie's wins in the counties with Cedar Rapids and Davenport…and Bernie carried Story County, where Ames and Iowa State are by a large margin. Although the weather cooperated, many students could not travel home for a Monday caucus and back for Tuesday classes…given how many county differences were 20-50, that could well have made the difference for Clinton.
After the above data, Carly moved ahead of Kasich…
I celebrate with you the settlement protecting Great Bear and note it was concurrent with California's settlement stopping off-shore fracking.
clicked
oops–wrong window
I never new tutoring came with fostering a whole family, Lynn. It looks like you enjoy it too much to say no to 😉 Better luck next time with your intentions.
HuPo: O'Malley threw in the towel when he ended up with no delegate at all, and that is a wise thing to do, and it was for Huckabee too. However that is not something we expect of that sorry bunch of six Republican candidates who got no delegate either. Perhaps Gilmore can take a hint with only 12 people chosing his corner, but if he looks towards Carson who had 17,173 deluded Republicans on his side, he might as well give it another go in the next state and keep us all entertained just a little while longer.
CBC: The Great Bear Rainforest agreement is indeed a wonderfull agreement between all parties that have a stake in the area.
From what I read yesterday on the Pacific Wild site this agreement is the start of creating agreements on longlasting protection. In their view "This agreement puts some fights to rest, but only reframes or entrenches others, such as the logging of ancient old growth". "Releases and news reports are reporting "85% protected", when actual legislated level of protection is 38%. The remaining part of the coast – approximately 62% – will be placed under "Ecosystem Based Management” or EBM which is a land-use designation that will allow mining, logging, large-scale tourism and other industrial activities to occur."
So some more steps need to be taken yet, but this first agreement has opened up the possiblities to more and definitive agreement.
Raw Story: With an ego like Trump's, I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of the Donald yet. At least I hope not, because Ted Cruz is far more dangerous than loud-mouth but empty-headed Trump.
The New Yorker: Axelrod certainly has a point: if you've got (the) youth, then you've got the future and then it doesn't matter that you're in your seventies yourself like Barnie. I find it very hopeful that these younger generations want to hear someone talk about the future of America, their future, and not about how good he/she is, like all other candidates in this race. Bernie Sanders is the least "American" candidate in that respect too 😉
My Universe: Let's make it everyones universe!
"TeeHee" – God
Iowa – Now that results are in, don't forget to answer the poll.
Bears – I did just scan through my email befre coming here and I have (at least) one on the Great Bear Forest. Good news indeed. Now for some other sacred places.
Universe – Yes.
OK, I had a chance to watch the Greenpeace video on the forest, and it needs a hanky alert, and well worth it.
Big hurry today! Hugs!
CBC: That is great news about the Great Bear Forest. One down, hundreds more to protect.
Raw Story: Bet the Donald was writhing after that Headline.
The New Yorker: Her method of campaigning is one of the reasons Bernie has a good chance of winning
My Universe: Beautiful.