Democratic voters in three states went to the polls on Saturday in the Democratic nominating contest, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Kansas and Nebraska while frontrunner Hillary Clinton took Louisiana.
Here are the results:
Kansas (caucuses)
Bernie Sanders has won the Kansas Democratic caucuses.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders won 68 percent of the vote compared to 32 percent for Clinton. Delegates are allocated proportionally and there is a 15% threshold so both candidates will get delegates.
"The biggest states are yet to come. New York State, California, Oregon, Washington State. States that we think we can do very well in. Every state is important," Sanders said at a campaign event in Michigan on Saturday night. "Michigan is important. We’re going to win some, we’re going to lose some. But, I think basically that we have a path towards victory. I’m very proud, not only that we seem to be winning these states, but winning them with pretty big numbers.”
Nebraska (caucuses)
ABC News projects Bernie Sanders will win the Nebraska Democratic caucuses, based on analysis of the vote.
Louisiana (primary)
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting in, Hillary Clinton has won Louisiana Democratic primary.
Speaking Saturday night in Detroit, Michigan, Clinton congratulated Sanders for “running a strong campaign.”
“I am thrilled we are adding to our pledged delegate count. I am grateful to everyone who turned out to support us,” she said. “But now all eyes turn to Michigan. And I can tell you this we’re going to work for every vote.”
Clinton also criticized Republicans and said our politics has been “hijacked” by “extreme ideologues all across the country.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won an easy victory in the Kansas Republican caucuses Saturday, the Associated Press projected, as balloting continued in Louisiana, Kentucky and Maine.
It was Cruz's fifth win of the Republican primary season, easily fending off Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both of whom made forays into the state. Ohio Gov. John Kasich trailed the field, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson dropped out of the race Friday.
"God bless Kansas,'' Cruz told supporters in Idaho, moments after the first Saturday race was called. "And the scream you hear--the howl you hear from Washington, D.C.--is utter terror for what we the people are doing together.
What we’re seeing is conservatives coming together.''
Cruz, vying to solidify his candidacy as the alternative to Trump, also noted that early returns also showed him leading in Maine.
"I am here today with a word of hope and encouragement. I believe this election will center on three issues: jobs, freedom and security.’’
Trump skipped a scheduled Saturday appearance at a conference of conservatives near Washington, D.C., to push his unsuccessful bid in Kansas, making personal appeals for support at his trademark raucous rallies.
"If I lose, I'm going to be so angry at you," Trump told a crowd in Wichita on Saturday.
The Saturday contests — wedged between Super Tuesday voting earlier in the week and consequential battles later this month in Michigan, Ohio and Florida — did not garner the same hot spotlight, though Kansas voters showed up in force at caucus sites throughout the state.
In Kentucky, meanwhile, turnout was expected to be low as the state traditionally has not voted this early and Saturday marked the first time a presidential nominee was selected by caucus since 1984.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who bowed out of the Republican race last month, pushed for the change to a caucus that also allowed him to pursue re-election to his Senate seat, a decision that Saturday won decidedly mixed reviews.
Gov. Matt Bevin said the move helped bring early attention to state, where Trump headlined a rowdy gathering in Louisville.
"Look at this – there are lines of people waiting to vote," said Bevin, who declined to say which candidate he voted for. "For everybody who thinks that having a caucus in Kentucky was not a good thing, have you ever seen this kind of enthusiasm for a primary in the state of Kentucky? You never have."
Yet some voters said the Republican party failed to adequately publicize the change, leading to widespread confusion.
“There are so many uninformed Republicans! The Republican Party of KY has done a poor job of informing its voters of this change!'' Kentucky teacher Jamie Michelle Amburgey wrote on the state GOP Facebook page.
In Louisiana, with 800,000 registered Republicans, the campaign has been shadowed by serious economic troubles as state officials are struggling to reconcile yawning budget deficits that threatened basic public services.
Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, once among a formerly crowded field of Republican candidates, dropped out of the race in November after gaining little support.
Going into Saturday's voting, Trump led with 329 delegates. Cruz had 231, Rubio 110 and Kasich 25. In all, 155 GOP delegates were at stake in Saturday's races.
~ The Kansas governor makes a pick in the GOP presidential race.
Brownback supported Gov. Rick Perry in 2012 race, and was likely to do so again before Perry dropped out.
Impact of Brownback endorsement in Kansas caucuses Mar. 5 isn’t clear.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has become the first sitting governor to endorse Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for president.
The Rubio campaign announced the endorsement Monday. “Just like Governor Brownback, Marco has consistently defended life, small government and free enterprise throughout his career in public service,” Rubio midwest spokesman Jeremy Adler said in a statement.
Brownback, a Republican who once ran for president, endorsed then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2011. Perry was a candidate for the 2016 GOP nomination but withdrew.
“Marco Rubio has a proven track record of protecting life, defending religious liberty, and undoing Obamacare,” Brownback’s statement said. “He will be a wonderful president, and I am proud to offer him my full support.”
Brownback’s decision is a mild surprise. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is a favorite of many religious conservatives like Brownback. Jeff Roe is the campaign manager for Cruz, and he has had some influence in Kansas. Kansas is a caucus state, like Iowa, where Cruz prevailed.
He might have also endorsed fellow Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, or former Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush has appeared in Kansas with Brownback.
It’s possible Brownback may consider Rubio the most electable Republican in the GOP field.
Brownback will be looking for work after the 2018 election, and may have an interest in a position with the federal government.
A Republican in the White House would be a prerequisite for a federal job.
It isn’t clear what impact the endorsement will have on the Rubio effort in Kansas. Brownback is not a favorite with many moderate Republicans in the state, voters who might otherwise be drawn to the Rubio candidacy.
On the other hand, religious conservatives look to Brownback for cues — and may decide Rubio is an acceptable alternative to Cruz or Donald Trump. South Carolina holds its GOP primary Saturday, and word of the endorsement could give Rubio a small bump there.
In any case, it appears Rubio is happy to get the Brownback nod. “We are honored to have earned the Governor’s endorsement,” the campaign statement said.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article60470866.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article60470866.html#storylink=cpy
Someone in Maryland is about to have a wildly euphoric weekend.
A Winning ticket for the record-breaking $640 million Mega Millions jackpot was sold in Baltimore County, the Maryland Lottery said Saturday.
Lottery officials are waiting for information on potential jackpot winners from other Mega Millions states.
The winning numbers in the Mega Millions lottery Friday night were 2, 4, 23, 38, 46 with a Mega Ball of 23.
California Lottery Commission spokesman Alex Traverso said 29 tickets sold in that state matched five of the six winning numbers. He said the payout will be about $125,000 to $130,000.
The multistate jackpot caused long lines at convenience stores, with many dreaming of creative ways to quit their jobs if they get the lucky numbers.
Sales skyrocketed at Manhattan Tobacco, a New York convenience store, cashier Alex Shanahe said. He said the store has proved to be lucky before, having sold winning tickets of $3 million and $5 million.
"The sales have tripled. Everybody wants to win the Mega Millions," Shanahe said before the drawing.
A single winner could claim yearly payments or a one-time cash option of $462 million, Mega Millions spokeswoman Kelly Cripe said.
The Mega Millions lottery is played in 42 states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, lottery officials say.
The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 176 million, which means a person would have a better chance of getting struck by lightning.
Myra Langford, 70, a retired school administrator, said she knows the odds but still bought five tickets.
If she wins, Langford said, she will help fix the roof of her church and move out of the cramped Queens apartment she lived in for the past 47 years.
"You got to be in it to win it," she said, parroting a commercial.
Economist Austan Goolsbee, a professor at the University of Chicago who also chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the winner or winners should take the lump sum instead of the annuity.
The choice comes down to interest rates, and with interest rates at zero, the lump sum just makes better financial sense, he said.
"If you are fortunate enough to win the lottery, you most certainly want to take the lump sum," Goolsbee said.
Psychologist Scott Bea said if a winner is a poor money manager and has been unhappy in life before winning, that's likely to continue.
"It solves one problem, but it creates a half-billion others," he said. "You have about no chance at winning this, but it really gets people excited."
His wife asked him if the couple could spend $10 on lottery tickets.
"We could probably flush it down the toilet and have the same outcome, but if it gives you some hope, why not?" Bea said.
This just creates more problems for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan.
I repeat: Why is Pres. Obama giving in to Karzai's demands by Identifying an American Soldier? Karzai does NOT give a Darn about the United States or Our Troops!
Staff Sgt Robert Bales Enlisted in the U.S. Army out of Patriotism soon after the 9-11 Attack on the World Trade Center. After 4 Deployments & a Brain Injury he's now being treated like Trash.
Afghan Civilian Shooting Suspect Staff Sgt Robert Bales's Defense?
The U.S. Army is Liable because Bales has a Serious Case of PTSD & a Brain Injury yet he was serving in a Combat Zone on his 4th Deployment.
Please understand that I am NOT advocating Violence, nor am I Condoning what Staff Sgt. Bales did when he Shot those Afghan Civilians.
However under UCMJ Law Sgt. Bales still deserves a Fair Trial.
He also still deserves to be treated with the Dignity All U.S. Military Personnel are Worthy of.
Especially Military Personnel who served in War Zones, such My husband who retired after 23 Years of Service & Robert Bales.
I could be wrong but U.S. Officials choosing to release Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales' Identity (Afghan Killings Suspect) was NOT a Wise move Politically, nor Strategically.
I don't care about this Man's Ethnicity! WHITE, BLACK, Latino, Asian, etc.,
In the Army EVERYONE's Ethnicity is supposed to be GREEN!
I repeat: In the Army EVERYONE's Ethnicity is supposed to be GREEN!
U.S. Army Staff Sgt Robert Bales Should NOT be tried in the Media! He is Still Under UCMJ Law! He is Still a Soldier Deployed 4 Times!
So why are U.S. Officials doing things to Satisfy Afghanistan President Karzai’s demands when its obvious this Corrupt Middle East Leader does NOT give a Darn about the United States or our Troops?
Afghanistan is a Tribal Region ruled for Decades by the Taliban. This will NEVER Change! NEVER!
Karzai doesn’t want the U.S. to help him get rid of the Taliban.
Instead he just wants the U.S. to continue giving Afghanistan Billions of Dollars each year while still propping up the Opium Drug Trade & still allowing the Taliban to Control his Country.
And…..
Karzai also wants to continue Abusing Women & Children.
President Karzai can NOT be Trusted & he is Corrupt, so how is it possible for the U.S. to remain in Alliance with him?
Our Alliance with him has cost America at least a Trillion Dollars, Thousands of Lives of U.S. Troops & NATO Troops.
In fact we should just pull our troops out TODAY!
Osama Bin Laden is Dead so why are we staying there until 2014?
In 2011 Pres. Obama said All U.S. Troops would be pulled out by 2013. However now it appears he's pandering to GOP Lawmakers in Congress by choosing to NOT pull our troops out until 2014. Why?
Is this decision due to Political Reasons?
Our Troops remaining there until 2014 will NOT make any difference because Afghanistan will Always be a Corrupt Country governed by the Taliban, thus we will NEVER Win this Conflict just as we NEVER Won Conflicts in Cuba (Bay of Pigs) & Vietnam.
The military on Friday identified the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers earlier this week as Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a 38-year-old father of two who had been injured twice in combat over the course of four deployments and had, his lawyer said, an exemplary military record.
The release of Sergeant Bales’s name, first reported by Fox News, ended an extraordinary six-day blackout of public information about him from the Pentagon, which said it withheld his identity for so long because of concerns about his and his family’s security.
An official said on Friday that Sergeant Bales had been transferred from Kuwait to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he had a cell to himself in the medium-security prison there. His wife and children were moved from their home in Lake Tapps, Wash., east of Tacoma, onto Joint Base Lewis-McChord, his home base, earlier this week.
Military officials say Sergeant Bales, who has yet to be formally charged, left his small combat outpost in the volatile Panjwai district of Kandahar Province early in the morning last Sunday, walked into two nearby villages and there shot or stabbed 16 people, 9 of them children.
Little more than the outlines of Sergeant Bales’s life are publicly known. His family lived in Lake Tapps, a community about 20 miles northeast of his Army post. NBC News reported that he was from Ohio, and he may have lived there until he joined the Army at 27. Sergeant Bales’s Seattle-based lawyer, John Henry Browne, said several members of the sergeant’s family moved to Washington after he was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Mr. Browne said the sergeant joined the Army right after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and then spent almost all of his career at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he was part of the Third Stryker Brigade in the Second Infantry Division, named after the armored Stryker vehicles.
The killings have severely undermined longstanding NATO efforts to win support from villages in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and have shaken relations with the government of President Hamid Karzai, who this week told Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who was on a visit to Afghanistan, that he wanted American forces out of villages by next year.
Pentagon officials, who have been scouring the sergeant’s military and health records for clues, have said little about what they think motivated the killings. But one senior government official said Thursday that Sergeant Bales had been drinking alcohol before the killings and that he might have had marital problems.
“When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues — he just snapped,” said the official, who had been briefed on the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sergeant had not yet been charged.
Mr. Browne has disputed those assertions, telling reporters on Thursday that the sergeant’s marriage was sound and questioning reports about drinking. On the day before the shootings, he said, the sergeant had seen a fellow soldier lose his leg from a buried mine.
Mr. Browne, who said he had had a short conversation with Sergeant Bales because he was worried that their phone call was being monitored, added that the sergeant had thought he could avoid this deployment and was upset when he could not.
“The family was counting on him not being redeployed,” Mr. Browne said. “He and the family were told that his tours in the Middle East were over.”
He added, “I think that it would be fair to say that he and the family were not happy that he was going back.”
The Bales family lived in a two-story, wood-frame house beneath tall fir and cedar evergreens in Lake Tapps, an unincorporated section of Pierce County, Wash. Kassie Holland, a neighbor, said that as far as she could tell, they were a happy family and the sergeant was a devoted father to his young children, a daughter, Quincy, and a son, Bobby. “There were no signs,” Ms. Holland said when asked whether Mr. Bales seemed troubled.
The Baleses’ house had a lock box on the front door on Friday. Phillip Rodocker, a real estate agent, said that he was contacted by Ms. Bales on March 8, three days before the shooting in Afghanistan, and that she told him she wanted to sell the house in Lake Tapps.
“She told me she was behind in our payments,” Mr. Rodocker said. “She said he was on his fourth tour and it was getting kind of old and they needed to stabilize their finances.”
Mr. Rodocker said he and a colleague met with Ms. Bales at the house the next day. “It looked like it had been really, really neglected,” he said. “Four tours of duty and nobody around to take care of the exterior of the property.”
Because it took time for the paperwork to go through, the house was not officially put on the market until Monday, the day after the shooting. On Tuesday, Mr. Rodocker said, “She called and said needed to take the house off the market due to a family emergency.”
He said that the house remained on the market because he had not received a written request for it to be removed.
Zillow, the real estate Web site, shows the house listed for $229,000, about $50,000 less than the family paid for it in 2005. Mr. Rodocker said the house was going to be a short sale, meaning the Baleses owed more to the bank than what it would sell for.
Mr. Rodocker said Ms. Bales also asked his colleague to sell a second property, a house in Auburn, Wash., that he said she had bought before the Baleses were married.
Boxes were piled on the front porch at the house in Lake Tapps along with a snow sled, while toys, a barbecue grill and a weathered hot tub sat in the fenced backyard. Mr. Rodocker said Ms. Bales told him she was collecting boxes to prepare for a move.
Over the course of the decade, Sergeant Bales was deployed three times to Iraq, Army records show: between 2003 and 2004; for 15 months between June 2006 and September 2007, during the height of the civil war and at the beginning of what became known as the surge; and then between August 2009 and August 2010.
During his second tour, his unit, the Second Battalion, Third Infantry Regiment, was involved in a major battle in the city of Najaf while trying to recover a downed Apache helicopter.
On his third deployment, in 2010, a Humvee carrying Sergeant Bales flipped over, possibly because of a roadside bomb, Mr. Browne said. Sergeant Bales injured his head and probably sustained a minor traumatic brain injury, which in chronic cases can lead to cognitive problems, personality changes and a loss of impulse control. Mr. Browne said it was possible that Sergeant Bales also had post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr. Browne also said the sergeant lost part of a foot in another episode, also apparently from an explosive device. It was not clear whether he might have sustained a second traumatic brain injury then.
Court records show that Sergeant Bales was charged with assault in 2002, but that the charge was dismissed. In 2008, he was charged with a hit-and-run involving a parked car, but that too was dropped, the records indicate.
Though the Army has said nothing about the case, investigators have been poring over Sergeant Bales’s evaluations, health records and computers in search of telltale information. But Mr. Browne said his client’s record was good and that he had been awarded a number of medals.
“He’s never said anything antagonistic about Muslims,” Mr. Browne said. “He’s in general been very mild-mannered.”
Joint Base Lewis-McChord has come under scrutiny because of a string of problems in recent years. In 2010, rogue soldiers from another Stryker brigade murdered three Afghan civilians during combat episodes staged by the soldiers. This year, the Army opened investigations into the base’s Madigan Army Medical Center after soldiers complained that diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder were being changed or dismissed.
Some advocates for active-duty troops and veterans say the problems demonstrate that the sprawling base, the Army’s largest on the West Coast, with nearly 40,000 soldiers, was not prepared to handle the strain of repeated deployments. Between 2009 and 2010, when Sergeant Bales was on his third deployment to Iraq, about 18,000 soldiers from the post were sent to war zones, and almost all returned at roughly the same time, overwhelming base services, the critics contend.
But on Friday, the general in charge of managing military bases said that the installation was not under an exceptional amount of strain from multiple deployments and was not seeing an unusual number of crimes or mental health issues, at least when compared with other bases.
“There’s nothing different here than most places,” said Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the commanding general of the United States Army Forces Command. “Again, those things happen. Everybody knows that doesn’t reflect our standards and our values.”
Welcome to the BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ Blog. (Established 2008)
My name is Laurel. (Author & Publisher)
I Blog with a focus on POLITICS, Business, and occasionally Entertainment.
FACTS ABOUT LAUREL:
Wife,
Mother of a U.S. Soldier,
Sister,
Woman of GOD,
Loyal Friend,
Creative,
Blood-related to a nationally known Charlotte Politician.
Black Female, Intelligent,
Married,
Love to Travel,
Credentialed by the RNC and DNC.
Political Blogger/ Commentator
Grassroots Activist,
PROFESSIONAL STATUS:
Credential Political Blogger/ Commentator,
Registered Independent Voter
Original Native of BROOKLYN, NY
Currently reside in CHARLOTTE, NC
I’m Nice but don’t get it twisted because my Mind is Sharp!
Since You’ve Chosen to Visit and Read the Contents of this Blog by Personal Choice, and of Your Own Free Will,
Please don’t ask me to Compensate you for Expressing individual commentary/ Posted Articles, which are protected by the First Amendment, citing Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Expression.
No Intentionally Malicious Slander, Libel or Defamation of Character content will be published and I will always Credit all Sources.
NOTE TO ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS, APPOINTED OFFICIALS & PUBLIC FIGURES:
Per the Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case: 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan………
The Public has a Right to Criticize the People who Govern them, so the least Protection from Defamation is given to Public Officials. When officials are accused of something that involves their behavior in office, they have to prove all of the above elements of defamation and they must also prove that the defendant acted with “actual malice.” (For a definition of actual malice, see the “History of Defamation and the First Amendment, below.”)
People who aren’t Elected but who are Still Public Figures because they are influential or famous — like Actors, Actresses, Movie Stars, Singers & Entertainers, Journalists, TV Hosts, Bloggers, etc., — also have to Prove that Defamatory statements were made with Actual Malice, in most cases.
To the Associated Press and other Media Organizations:
When I use your Content Links., I’m also citing the Fair Use Doctrine (Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107) for further Copyright permission.
Posts and Links published on Black Political Buzz are not endorsed by Black Political Buzz Blog Author Laurel’s Employer, nor the Employers of other Black Political Buzz employees.
This includes Links, Posts and Comments posted on Black Political Buzz’s Facebook and Twitter account pages.
Comments, Links and Opinions of site visitors are Independently-Owned and not endorsed by Black Political Buzz employees, Blog Author Laurel or Laurel’s Employer.)
(No Personal Offense intended) Please know that Black Political Buzz is not responsible for nor do I endorse Requests for Donations from Third Parties on this Blog.
I will Only Endorse Requests for Donations made on behalf of BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ Blog for Business Purposes & Operating Expenses.
I will also Only Endorse Requests for Donations on behalf of Legitimate Politicians and Legitimate Political Candidates. PERIOD!!
If anyone else or another Organization wishes to post a link to Request Donations, I am NOT endorsing ANY of those Requests!
Unless I receive a personal Request to do so and I have Professionally Confirmed that the Third Party Organization or Charity is indeed a Legitimate Entity.
NOTE: Anyone who chooses to give to any Third Party Organization NOT Endorsed by BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ is doing so at his or her own risk.
BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ does NOT Discriminate against Politicians, Political Candidates, Organizations or Charities based on Race, Color, Nationality, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Faith, Disability, Political Affiliation, Creed, Education, Social Status, Age.
This disclaimer applies to ANY and All requests for Donations on this Blog. Thanks for understanding. Again No Personal Offense intended.
For Story Tips….Corrections…….. or Requests for Endorsements:
Please contact me via e-mail: blackpoliticalbuzz@gmail.com
or via my Facebook page: facebook.com/blackpoliticalbuzz
Thanks for stopping by
God Bless
Laurel @BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ
LINKS: POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE & INFORMATIONAL SITES
.jpg)
