Monday, February 29, 2016

Rand Corp. survey: Greatest factor uniting Trump supporters is: “People like me don't have any say about what the government does.” Exceeds all other characteristics including education level, gender, age, race, job status, income, immigration views-Rand Corp., 1/27/16

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 "Figure 6: Percent Change in Odds of Preferring Candidate, if Respondent Agrees with the Statement, "People Like Me Don't Have Any Say""...  

Survey dates: Dec. 13, 2015-Jan. 6, 2016
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1/27/16, "RAND Kicks Off 2016 Presidential Election Panel Survey," rand.org.blog, by Michael Pollard and Joshua Mendelsohn, commentary

(scroll to parag. after fig. 5): "Among people likely to vote in the Republican primary, people are 86.5 percent more likely to prefer Donald Trump as the first-choice nominee relative to all the others if they “somewhat” or “strongly agree” that “people like me don't have any say about what the government does. Using statistical techniques, we can conclude that this increased preference for Trump is over and beyond any preferences based on respondent gender, age, race/ethnicity, employment status, educational attainment, household income, attitudes towards Muslims, attitudes towards illegal immigrants, or attitudes towards Hispanics.

The role of “people like me don't have any say…” is not significantly related to preference for Cruz, Rubio, Clinton, or Sanders as the first choice for party nominee (where Clinton and Sanders are rated by likely Democratic primary voters). (See Figure 6.) [Above]................. 

Current Survey......... 

We surveyed 3,037 members of the ALP between December 13, 2015 and January 6, 2016. As with other surveys, we weight responses to ensure that our results are representative of the U.S. (citizen) population, matching to the 2015 Current Population Survey. This survey comprises the baseline of the PEPS, and these ALP members will continue to be surveyed throughout the election cycle. Administering the baseline survey this early will enhance our ability to say with confidence whether opinions have or have not changed over the course of the campaign once the candidates start advertising, and the nominations become clear. These early measures will also help shed light on when an individual's position influences their choice of candidate, versus when a candidate's position influences an individual's views or position about issues.

Because this is only the baseline wave of PEPS data, the major contribution of the effort — the longitudinal, panel aspect — is yet to be realized. However, even with the initial baseline wave, the PEPS can help shed light on unexplored and underexplored aspects of this election, a few of which are illustrated below."...Chart above from rand.org.blog
 
 
 
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Trump rally at Radford University, Radford Virginia, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016

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2/29/16, "Donald Trump gestures while speaking during a rally on Monday at Radford University in Radford, Va.," photo via US News, 2/29/16, "Clinton, Trump Poised to Win Big Battles in Virginia," USNews, Joseph P Williams, Richmond, Va.




















2/29/16, Trump rally in Radford, Virginia, "THANK YOU VIRGINIA! Get out and tomorrow! Off to Georgia now! Daniel Scavino twitter




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Pennsylvania Rep. Marino becomes 5th Republican lawmaker to endorse Trump, says Trump has 'overwhelming support' in his district -Politico

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Rep. Marino "said Trump has “overwhelming support” in his district because “he’s the man for the unprotected...not the protected, not for the Wall Street people, not for the DC insiders, but for the hard-working taxpayers.”"

2/29/16, "Trump nabs endorsement from Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Marino," Politico, Daniel Lippman

"Marino is the fifth member of Congress to declare support for Trump."

"Rep. Tom Marino, a Republican from the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, is jumping on the Trump train.

Marino on Monday became the fifth sitting member of Congress to publicly throw his support to Donald Trump, as the Republican front-runner rolls toward Super Tuesday. In an exclusive interview Monday with POLITICO, Marino, a former prosecutor, said Trump has “overwhelming support” in his district because “he’s the man for the unprotected...not the protected, not for the Wall Street people, not for the DC insiders, but for the hard-working taxpayers.

The congressman called endorsing Trump “one of my life-changing moments” — along with quitting his job at 30 to go to college and law school, adopting his children, and deciding to run for Congress in 2010....

“Donald Trump is saying what the voters agree on and what the voters are feeling,” Marino said, adding that voters are angry at the political system generally....

Marino contrasted Trump's startling success this primary season with an event several years ago that he said epitomized the disdain Washington elites have for average voters. During debate on a border security bill nearly two years ago, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Marino he was "insignificant."

Marino said he wasn't courted by Trump or anyone else, nor is he looking for anything from Trump. “No one’s courted me," he said. "I’m just a third term congressman from rural Pennsylvania.”

He joins Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter (Calif.) and Chris Collins (N.Y.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) in officially endorsing Trump, while Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) declared Monday that he voted for Trump in his state's primary."...















In red, Pennsylvania district #10, google maps



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Trump surging in Georgia ahead of Super Tuesday, now at 39 among Georgia registered Republican voters, wide support across all demographics-WSB TV, Atlanta, 2/29/16

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Trump 39
Rubio 20
Cruz 15

No link to poll

2/29/16, "POLL: Trump widens Republican lead ahead of Super Tuesday," WSB TV, Atlanta, Ga.

"Super Tuesday is less than 24-hours away and a new Channel 2 Action News / Landmark RosettaStone poll is showing support for Republican front-runner Donald Trump is growing in Georgia.

Despite an onslaught of attacks, Trump is surging in the polls, up 7 points in a week, leading with 39 percent amongst registered Republican voters.

Trumps gains come at the expense of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, at 20 percent and 15 percent respectively. Both men have lost ground since the last poll done by Channel 2 Action News."

Trump:

Age groups:

18-39 39.5

40-64 36.7

65+ 41.6
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Race

White 39.6

African American 28.8

Other 27.8




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Two Benghazi heroes endorse Donald Trump. Mark Geist: 'Mr. Trump is the bold, decisive leader America needs at this time. Under President Trump, many conflicts will be avoided because our enemies will fear the United States and our military'-Breitbart

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Mark “Oz” Geist and John “TIG” Tiegen are among those portrayed in the film, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."

2/28/16, "Benghazi Heroes Endorse Donald Trump," Breitbart, Michelle Fields

"Mark “Oz” Geist and John “TIG” Tiegen, two members of the security team that helped rescue dozens of Americans during the Benghazi terror attacks, have endorsed Donald Trump for president. 

According to a statement released Sunday:

Mr. Trump stated, “I am truly honored to have the support of these American heroes, the best of their generation. The American people can know with certainty, I will always place their interest above all else. I am the most militaristic person and it is so important to me to strengthen our military and protect American families and freedoms.”
Mark “Oz” Geist said, “We, perhaps more than any Americans, know the absolute and imperative reason that we elect Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. First and foremost, under a Trump administration, the request for additional security by an ambassador would have been heeded, and second, there is no question, when the attack came, he would have moved heaven and earth to provide the necessary forces to protect and reinforce our warriors. Mr. Trump is the bold, decisive leader America needs at this time.” Oz added, “Under President Trump, many conflicts will be avoided because our enemies will fear the United States and our military.
John Tiegen added, “It is very clear to see the groundswell of support, never seen before in recent politics. Americans want a strong leader, one who cares more about the safety and freedom of the American people than he does winning elections, or what the press might think. In honor of those we have fought with, I am proud to endorse the next President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.""




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Sunday, February 28, 2016

RNC Chair Priebus says it doesn't matter if televised GOP debates are fair or not, no one forces candidates to appear: 'You know what? It really doesn’t matter whether it’s fair or not.'

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Like a royal dismissing peasants in 1775, RNC Chair Priebus in 2015 says it doesn't matter if televised GOP primary debates are fair or not:

Fox News and Facebook sponsored 8/6/15 GOP 'debate' in Cleveland.

August 2015 article: 

8/11/2015, "Reince Priebus Stands By Hugh Hewitt, Megyn Kelly As ‘Fair’," Breitbart, Matthew Boyle

"Despite the obvious efforts by Fox News to swipe at Trump—efforts that clearly failed as evidenced by post-debate polling—RNC chairman Reince Priebus defended moderators Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace and Bret Baier on the spin room floor after the (8/6/15) debate.

“Yeah, I think the moderators were fair,” Priebus said when asked by Breitbart News if he thought Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier and Chris Wallace were fair in the questions they asked. “The candidates have availed themselves to the process. So no one forced candidates to come on stage and answer questions so when candidates availed themselves to the process and availed themselves to the press, they opened themselves up to the process. So you know what? It really doesn’t matter whether it’s fair or not.”"...






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Senator Jeff Sessions endorses Donald Trump, saying, 'This election is our last chance to save U.S. sovereignty and to end the domination of the political establishment over the interests of working Americans'-2/28/16

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2/28/16, "A prominent US senator just threw his support to Donald Trump," Business Insider, Colin Campbell







"Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama endorsed Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's campaign on Sunday.
 
Trump announced the endorsement alongside Sessions at a massive campaign rally in Madison, Alabama.

"At this time in America's history, we need to make America great again!" Sessions exclaimed, echoing Trump's campaign slogan. "I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for the presidency of the United States."

Sessions, known for his hard-line stance against illegal immigration, is popular in some conservative circles.

Sen. Ted Cruz, another presidential candidate, frequently invoked Sessions in order to defend his record on immigration. On Sunday, Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge called Sessions the "conservative soul" of the US Senate.

Several other notable politicians have also recently thrown their support to Trump, though another GOP candidate, Marco Rubio, has grabbed the lion's share of recent endorsements from elected officials.

Last Friday, former presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Trump. And former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, whose own record on illegal immigration once caused a national firestorm, announced her support for Trump on Saturday.
 
The Trump campaign emailed reporters the following statement hailing Sessions' endorsement:

Today Donald J. Trump received the endorsement of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. Senator Sessions is widely recognized as the nation's most highly respected official on the issue of illegal immigration.

Mr. Trump stated, “I am deeply honored to have the endorsement of Senator Jeff Sessions, leader of congressional conservatives. He has been called the Senate's indispensable man and the gold standard. He led the fight against the Gang of Eight, against Obama's trade deal, against Obama's judges, and for American sovereignty. He has stood up to special interests as few have. There is no more respected man in Congress and we are closely aligned on many issues, including trade and illegal immigration, and I am proud to consider Jeff Sessions an advisor, friend and ally.”

Mr. Trump and Senator Sessions surprised the massive crowd at the frontrunner’s Alabama rally just days before Super Tuesday Primary contest.

Senator Sessions added, “I am thrilled today to offer my endorsement of Donald J. Trump for President. This election is our last chance to save U.S. sovereignty and to end the domination of the political establishment over the interests of working Americans. Trump alone has rejected the donor class, defending America’s jobs and wages from open borders, uncontrolled immigration and the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership that will cede U.S. authority to foreign powers. Trump’s trade and immigration plans will revitalize our shrinking middle class, keeping jobs and wealth and income inside the United States of America. Trump understands that a nation must always place the interests of its own people first.”

Senator Sessions continued, “We are nearing fast the point of no return. The people are hurting. Their wages are declining. Their schools are overburdened. Their hospitals are stretched past the breaking point. Crime is up, and community confidence is down. Americans of all backgrounds and ethnicities, immigrant and US-born, are crying out for leadership that puts their needs first, that takes care of those living and dreaming here today, leadership that understands that there is no constituency other than the American constituency. Mr. Trump is that leader.

We are witnessing an incredible movement, arising from the people.

The events of history have aligned to give the people this fleeting chance to bust up the oligarchy – to take back control from the ‘Masters of the Universe’ return it to the good and decent and patriotic citizens of the United States.”"


Image above: 2/28/16, "Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions Endorses Trump," ABC News, Emily Shapiro






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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Trump more than double Republican field at 43 in Massachusetts, Suffolk University poll, Feb. 24-26, 2016. Strength across regions and demographics including self-described union households. 84% of Trump supporters say decision is firm-Boston Globe, Politico

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Trump 43
Rubio 20 
Kasich 17
Cruz 9
Carson 4

Feb. 24-26, 2016 (W-F), 500 Likely Republican Primary voters, land line and cell phone, 4.4 error margin. "Fully half of those polled said they expect Trump will become the next president." No link to poll.

2/27/16, "Poll shows huge lead for Trump among Mass. GOP voters," Boston Globe, Jim O'Sullivan

"Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has opened up a broad lead in Massachusetts before Tuesday’s GOP primary, getting double the support of his closest competitor, according to a new poll.

With 43 percent support among likely Republican voters, Trump shows strength across a range of demographics that reflects his performance in states that have already voted. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is running second with 20 percent, and Ohio Governor John Kasich a close third with 17 percent, according to the Suffolk University survey. 

Trump has drawn almost no institutional support from Massachusetts Republicans, but the state appears on the verge of handing him his most lopsided victory yet. The billionaire leads in all regions of the state and across all age cohorts, and commands majority support in self-described union households.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who won the Iowa caucuses before Trump went on a spree of three straight victories, lagged in fourth place, at 9 percent, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson captured just 4 percent. Only 7 percent said they were undecided.

He’s got a unique blend of strength, leadership, independence, and anti-Washington that’s resonating among Republican primary voters in Massachusetts, and it’s different than in other states, because Cruz is not a factor, said Suffolk pollster David Paleologos. “The end result is you’ve got this big lead, this big landslide lead.”

The results show more moderate Republican and unenrolled voters split between Rubio and Kasich, echoing the party’s inability nationally to coalesce firmly behind an alternative to Trump. At 60 percent, Kasich drew the survey’s highest favorability ratings.

Fully half of those polled said they expect Trump will become the next president, while 18 percent said they expect Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, to win the White House. Just 5 percent thought Rubio would prevail in November.

With primaries across the country, more delegates are at stake on Super Tuesday than in any other day of the nominating contest, and Trump’s dominance in states that voted previously have positioned him to consolidate an already hefty delegate lead. Trump’s largest victory margin came in the most recent contest, a 22-point win over Rubio in the Feb. 23 Nevada caucuses.

While the nominating contest tops the ticket, GOP primary voters will also vote for state committee candidates Tuesday. Governor Charlie Baker, seeking to wrest seats away from conservatives and increase control of the party apparatus, has launched a slate of more moderate challengers.
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Baker draws a favorability rating of 78 percent in the GOP poll, with just 9 percent disapproving. Nearly three-quarters of those with an unfavorable view of the governor say they will vote for Trump.

Baker has occasionally criticized Trump and has said he does not expect to vote for him. But his chosen candidate, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, rocked the Republican Party on Friday by endorsing Trump, after dropping out because of his disappointing finish in New Hampshire.

Baker’s effort to pull out moderate voters could change the jockeying for second place here, Paleologos said.

“If Baker’s revolution that he’s waging in all these state committee districts is successful, he’s going to draw out more [voters] against the core state committee Republicans, and that could help Kasich. I don’t know if that’s going to get him to second place,” he said.
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Trump is viewed favorably by 56 percent of those polled, with 35 percent reporting unfavorable opinions. Cruz is “under water” in public opinion, with just 37 percent holding favorable opinions of the first term-senator, and nearly half viewing him negatively.
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Trump leads among both male and female voters, though he does better with men. Kasich performs better with women, while Rubio is even, according to the poll.

The survey of 500 likely Massachusetts Republican primary voters was conducted Wednesday through Friday (2/24-2/26) and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points."


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Politico article on Massachusetts Suffolk poll results:

2/27/16, "Poll: Trump blowout in Massachusetts," Politico, Nick Gass

"Donald Trump's lead in a new Suffolk University poll among likely Republican primary voters in Massachusetts days voters head to the polls on Super Tuesday is, in a word, huge.

Trump leads the field with 43 percent, more than 20 points ahead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who finished in second with 20 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich finished close behind with 17 percent, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 9 percent and Ben Carson with 4 percent. Just 7 percent of voters remain undecided among those candidates.

Kasich is the best-liked candidate in Massachusetts, however, with a net positive rating of +39 points (60 percent favorable to 21 percent unfavorable), while Trump's net favorability is at +22 points (56 percent to 34 percent) and Rubio's is at +19 points (51 percent to 32 percent). Cruz's favorability is underwater, at -11 points (37 percent favorable to 48 percent unfavorable).

Roughly seven-in-10 voters (68 percent) said they are decided on their choice, while 28 percent said they could change their mind before they head to the polls Tuesday. Among Trump supporters, a full 84 percent said they are set on voting for their candidate.

The poll was conducted via landlines and cellphones from Feb. 24-26, surveying 500 likely Republican primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points."




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NAFTA deepened racial divide in Mexico; the day NAFTA took effect, Indian natives in one Mexican state 'took up arms.' Those with Indian features feel intolerance all over Mexico-NY Times, June 1995 article

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1995 NY Times article: "Maya Indians in the state of Chiapas who took up arms on the very day Nafta took effect."

6/11/1995, "Racism? Mexico's in Denial." NY Times, Anthony DePalma, Mexico City

"Shrouded in mystery and myth, the heroes of Mexico's Aztec past are honored in glorious monuments all over the country. But the living descendants of Moctezuma are not allowed to eat in some of Mexico City's best restaurants

Although all Mexicans are considered equal under the country's Constitution, Mexican society remains deeply divided on racial lines. And as the richest and poorest of the 91 million Mexicans are driven farther apart by such sweeping changes as the North American Free Trade Agreement, many Mexicans are starting to discover the dangers of their own deeply ingrained -- yet rarely acknowledged -- brand of bigotry. 

The racial inequities are not just limited to the Maya Indians in the state of Chiapas who took up arms on the very day Nafta took effect more than a year ago, in what is slowly taking on shades of a national civil rights movement for Indians. Indigenous people all over Mexico, and those with Indian features -- and dark skins -- all feel a degree of the same kind of intolerance. 
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Bigotry? What Bigotry? 
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While Mexicans typically deny that discrimination exists, the not-so-subtle racial undertones of their society are apparent to foreigners who live and work here since Nafta was passed. When Henry B. McDonald, director of the Cushman and Wakefield Real Estate office in Mexico City took his family out for dinner last November, he didn't think twice about inviting his 45-year-old housekeeper,  Gabriela Miranda, an Indian. It was a Friday night and they went to a popular Italian restaurant called Prego in the Polanco section of Mexico City. 

"We got there early by Mexican standards, around 7:45, and the place was empty," Mr. McDonald said. "But we stood there waiting and waiting until finally the maitre'd came along and told me, in English, that domestics are not served here." Mrs. Miranda was not wearing a uniform, Mr. McDonald said. The restaurant simply assumed that because she was an Indian she was a maid. 

The restaurant manager, Mario Padilla, acknowledged that it is policy at Prego and other top restaurants to prohibit servants and drivers, many of whom are Indians. "The type of people who usually come to restaurants of this class all have servants, but they usually leave them at home," Mr. Padilla said. He said the restriction was needed to protect patrons against people who "lack discretion" and try to bring their servants. He denied the policy was discriminatory. "We're not racists," he said. "We're just trying to protect the image of the restaurant." 

Social Tension 

Now that Mexico is struggling to overcome an economic crisis caused by the peso's devaluation last December, there is concern that racial tensions will flare. More than half a million Mexicans have been thrown out of work in the last six months, and the struggle to survive is likely to be decided on the basis of education, access to money and cultural connections, all of which are based in large part on racial identity

"There is going to be a sharp increase in social tensions," said Sergio Aguayo, a human rights activist in Mexico City, "and some of it is going to be racially inspired." 

Bias against Indians has long been more economic than personal. Sixty percent of Indians over 12 are already unemployed and of those who work most earn less than the minimum wage of about $2.50 a day. 

But most Mexicans say bigotry does not exist here. Schoolchildren are drilled on the life of Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian who was President of Mexico in the 19th century, and told that his election proves all Mexicans are equal. Mexico has no affirmative action laws. The National Commission of Human Rights has never received a discrimination complaint and does not even have a process to handle one. 

Complicating questions of race is the mixed lineage of most Mexicans. From the Spanish founding of Mexico, social class has been determined by racial purity, with those born in Spain at the top, and full-blooded Indians on the bottom. But over centuries of intermarriage, nearly all Mexicans are considered part Indian. 

Now it is the degree of Indianness, or the darkness of brown skin, that determines status. Many Mexicans living in the cities rely on hair dyes, skin lighteners and blue or green contact lenses to appear more white or European and less Indian. 

"Yes, Mexicans honor their Indian roots with statues," said Miguel Acosta, an investigator at the Mexican Academy of Human Rights at the Autonomous National University of Mexico, "but historic roots are not at all useful when it comes to eating or just living today." 

Mexico City has the highest concentration of Indians in the country, yet most times they are nearly invisible, showing up only in knots of beggars at busy intersections and among the feathered dancers who perform for tourists. No Indians serve in the Cabinet of President Ernesto Zedillo and only a handful are in the Congress, although 1 in 10 Mexicans is considered Indian. 

The racial insensitivity extends to blacks, although few live in Mexico. A recent commercial on national television featured a dark-skinned man in a white tuxedo telling viewers that at Comex, a Mexican paint company, "they're working like niggers to offer you a white sale." 

There were no complaints about the ad "because we don't have a racism problem -- that's the key to it all," said Marisela Vergada, an account executive at Alazraki Agency, the large Mexican advertising firm that produced the 20-second spot. "It is simply an expression that everyone uses."

Such "expressions" pop up in a commercial for packaged toast that features a black baker boasting that his skin color gives him the expertise to recognize the right shade of toast. Aunt Jemima pancake mix goes by the brand name "La Negrita" here. 

'Racial Hierarchy' 

The few blacks who live in Mexico are either immigrants or the descendants of about 200,000 African slaves brought here before slavery was abolished in 1829. While researching a book about African slaves in Mexico, Colin A. Palmer, a history professor at the graduate center of the City University of New York, said he quickly noticed that beneath an initial friendliness "a racial hierarchy existed in Mexico." 

"It is based on skin color, with white the higher value as opposed to those who are brown and those, God forbid, who are black," Professor Palmer said. 

Mexican society's denial that discrimination exists makes it more difficult to combat. "In that regard it is worse than in the United States, where it is recognized and a lot of people of good will are trying to change it," Professor Palmer said. "By and large in Mexico it is unrecognized and unaddressed, which leads to a perpetuation of the status quo and a continuing assault on people of African or Indian descent." 

Visiting Americans sometimes get a taste of the same bigotry. Michael Waller, president of Cleveland Telecomunications Corp., of Solon, Ohio, accompanied United States Commerce Secretary Ron Brown on a Nafta-related business trip to Mexico a year ago. He said Mexicans were eager to talk to an American businessman on the telephone. But that changed when he arrived. 
 
"It was obvious from the moment I came into the airport and people reacted as if I had been beamed down from the Enterprise," Mr. Waller, who is black, said. "I guess what they expected was what they saw on TV, the Crips and the Bloods, you know, that kind of thing." 
 
He said that when he did not receive a single follow-up letter, he decided to focus on multiracial Brazil, where he now has several deals pending." 
 
 

 
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Political class of both US and Texas have ceded American lives and land to terror state of Mexico. US Border Patrol in Texas is fired on by Mexican side, area of Texas now 'no man's land'-KRGV TV report, 2/26/16. (High, thick wall is only way to protect America and Americans from terror state of Mexico)

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2/26/16, "Residents Concerned with Spillover Gunfire," krgv.com ABC, near Rio Grande City

"A Starr County community said they are tired of gunfire spilling over from Mexico.

Border Patrol reported shots fired on Friday morning. At around 8:30 a.m., neighbors in Refugio, a small community by Rio Grande City, said a dead-end street was full of Border Patrol agents and Department of Public Safety officials.

Resident Rene Garza said his community has learned to live with all the violence
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Garza said he grew up in the border community. “Before we wouldn't see shootings,” he said. “Now, if you stand here at night, you will hear shootings. It's normal.

Garza said many of his neighbors won’t talk about the illegal activity, because they fear retaliation. He said he’s tired of looking the other way.

“It was around eight this morning, I heard it was from the other side,” Garza said about the shots he heard. “The army on the other side was shooting someone, and they crossed over.”

Border Patrol was investigating the shooting by the river, not far from Garza’s home.

A field outside of Garza’s house used to be his playground. Now, he said it’s no man’s land.

"As soon as you step out in this field, you will have a Border Patrol watching us,” he said. “The more military, the more police, the more security they put here, well, they are going to get across. It’s a cat and mouse game. It is the way it is for them.”

Garza said he is glad law enforcement officials patrol the area. However, he said he feels he’s on edge, lately.

The area that separates El Refugio and the river is a thick, bushy terrain. It’s hard to patrol and easy for smugglers to hide in. Border Patrol released this statement about the shooting:

"On Friday, at approximately 8:30 a.m. CST, Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station, reported being fired upon from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande near El Refugio, Texas. An agent returned fire using his service-issued weapon and retreated to a safer location. No injuries to a CBP employee were reported. No other agent fired their weapon. The Government of Mexico was notified of the incident. The Government of Mexico has not reported any injuries to anyone on the Mexican side of the river. No apprehensions were made. No contraband was found. The incident is currently under investigation by the Starr County Sheriff's Office."

Above image from krgv.com
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"Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again

 
The three core principles of Donald J. Trump's immigration plan."...

"A nation without borders is not a nation."  













 
Map of Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas







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Fox News Channel hits 3 year perception low in core audience in Feb. 2016. Fox News slide corresponds with Trump rise-YouGov Brand Index

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2/24/16, "Fox News Hits Three Year Perception Low With Republicans," YouGov Brand Index, Ted Marzilli

"Since the first GOP presidential debate last August, Fox News Channel seems to have lost its perception mojo with its core right-leaning audience.

By mid February, FNC’s perception by Republican adults 18 and over had reached its lowest point in more than three years, and has declined by approximately 50% since January of this year.

Coinciding with Trump’s rise to front-runner in the GOP presidential race, Fox News Channel has seen its perception by Republicans slide. In early August 2015, right after the first GOP debate aired on Fox News Channel,Trump went on a Twitter war with moderator Megyn Kelly, saying she “bombed” and calling her “a lightweight reporter.”

The picture hasn’t been rosy in terms of the general population either: since last May, Fox News Channel’s perception levels with adults 18+ have uncharacteristically been drawing significantly more negative feedback than positive. At this point, both FNC and CNN are scoring at similar perception levels and they are both negative.

To measure perception of the two networks, YouGov BrandIndex used its Buzz score, which asks respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" A score can range from 100 to -100 with a zero score equaling a neutral position.

On January 1, 2013, Fox News Channel’s Buzz score with Republican adults 18 and over was 49. By the first GOP debate last August, the score had dropped to 38. The downward momentum accelerated earlier this year when Fox News Channel’s score dropped from 36 on January 18th to 14 on February 12th (2016). Trump declined to participate in FNC’s sanctioned GOP debate on January 28th. Fox News Channel’s current Buzz score is 17."...


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Trump rose because we have an unprotected country and unprotected people who are told to get with the program little racist. A country can't continue this way-Peggy Noonan, Wall St. Journal

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"I don’t know if the protected see how serious this moment is, or their role in it."

2/25/16, "Trump and the Rise of the Unprotected," Peggy Noonan, Wall St. Journal column, via LetterstotheEditor.yuku.com

"Why political professionals are struggling to make sense of the world they created."

"We’re in a funny moment. Those who do politics for a living, some of them quite brilliant, are struggling to comprehend the central fact Republican primary race, while regular people have already absorbed what has happened and is happening. Journalists and politicos have been sharing schemes for how Marco parlays a victory out of winning nowhere, or Ted roars back, or Kasich has to finish second in Ohio. But in my experience any nonpolitical person on the street, when asked who will win, not only knows but gets a look as if you’re teasing him. Trump, they say.

I had such a conversation again Tuesday with a friend who repairs shoes in a shop on Lexington Avenue. Jimmy asked me, conversationally, what was going to happen. I deflected and asked who he thinks is going to win. “Troomp!” He’s a very nice man, an elderly, old-school Italian-American, but I saw impatience flick across his face: Aren’t you supposed to know these things? 
 
In America now only normal people are capable of seeing the obvious. 

But actually that’s been true for a while, and is how we got in the position we’re in.

Last October I wrote of the five stages of Trump, based on the Kübler-Ross stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Most of the professionals I know are stuck somewhere between four and five. 

But I keep thinking of how Donald Trump got to be the very likely Republican nominee. There are many answers and reasons, but my thoughts keep revolving around the idea of protection. It is a theme that has been something of a preoccupation in this space over the years, but I think I am seeing it now grow into an overall political dynamic throughout the West.

There are the protected and the unprotected. The protected make public policy. The unprotected live in it. The unprotected are starting to push back, powerfully.

The protected are the accomplished, the secure, the successful—those who have power or access to it. They are protected from much of the roughness of the world. More to the point, they are protected from the world they have created. Again, they make public policy and have for some time. 

I want to call them the elite to load the rhetorical dice, but let’s stick with the protected.

They are figures in government, politics and media. They live in nice neighborhoods, safe ones. Their families function, their kids go to good schools, they’ve got some money. All of these things tend to isolate them, or provide buffers. Some of them—in Washington it is important officials in the executive branch or on the Hill; in Brussels, significant figures in the European Union—literally have their own security details. 

Because they are protected they feel they can do pretty much anything, impose any reality. They’re insulated from many of the effects of their own decisions.
One issue obviously roiling the U.S. and western Europe is immigration. It is THE issue of the moment, a real and concrete one but also a symbolic one: It stands for all the distance between governments and their citizens

It is of course the issue that made Donald Trump.

Britain will probably leave the European Union over it. In truth immigration is one front in that battle, but it is the most salient because of the European refugee crisis and the failure of the protected class to address it realistically and in a way that offers safety to the unprotected.

If you are an unprotected American—one with limited resources and negligible access to power—you have absorbed some lessons from the past 20 years’ experience of illegal immigration. You know the Democrats won’t protect you and the Republicans won’t help you. Both parties refused to control the border. The Republicans were afraid of being called illiberal, racist, of losing a demographic for a generation. The Democrats wanted to keep the issue alive to use it as a wedge against the Republicans and to establish themselves as owners of the Hispanic vote.

Many Americans suffered from illegal immigration—its impact on labor markets, financial costs, crime, the sense that the rule of law was collapsing. But the protected did fine—more workers at lower wages
. No effect of illegal immigration was likely to hurt them personally.
It was good for the protected. But the unprotected watched and saw. They realized the protected were not looking out for them, and they inferred that they were not looking out for the country, either.

The unprotected came to think they owed the establishment—another word for the protected—nothing, no particular loyalty, no old allegiance.
Mr. Trump came from that. 

Similarly in Europe, citizens on the ground in member nations came to see the EU apparatus as a racket—an elite that operated in splendid isolation, looking after its own while looking down on the people. 

In Germany the incident that tipped public opinion against the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s liberal refugee policy happened on New Year’s Eve in the public square of Cologne. Packs of men said to be recent migrants groped and molested groups of young women. It was called a clash of cultures, and it was that, but it was also wholly predictable if any policy maker had cared to think about it. And it was not the protected who were the victims—not a daughter of EU officials or members of the Bundestag. It was middle- and working-class girls—the unprotected, who didn’t even immediately protest what had happened to them. They must have understood that in the general scheme of things they’re nobodies. 

What marks this political moment, in Europe and the U.S., is the rise of the unprotected. It is the rise of people who don’t have all that much against those who’ve been given many blessings and seem to believe they have them not because they’re fortunate but because they’re better. 

You see the dynamic in many spheres. In Hollywood, as we still call it, where they make our rough culture, they are careful to protect their own children from its ill effects. In places with failing schools, they choose not to help them through the school liberation movement—charter schools, choice, etc.—because they fear to go up against the most reactionary professional group in America, the teachers unions. They let the public schools flounder. But their children go to the best private schools. 

This is a terrible feature of our age—that we are governed by protected people who don’t seem to care that much about their unprotected fellow citizens.

And a country really can’t continue this way.

In wise governments the top is attentive to the realities of the lives of normal people, and careful about their anxieties. That’s more or less how America used to be. There didn’t seem to be so much distance between the top and the bottom.

Now is seems the attitude of the top half is: You’re on your own. Get with the program, little racist

Social philosophers are always saying the underclass must re-moralize. Maybe it is the overclass that must re-moralize. 

I don’t know if the protected see how serious this moment is, or their role in it."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-and-the-rise-of-the-unprotected-1456448550


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Friday, February 26, 2016

GOP Establishment freely states membership in Republican Party is only open to those they approve

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2/26/16, "Tripwire Alert – The RNC, GOPe, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Donald Trump…," tcth, sundance

"Yesterday, four times -and most notably on the debate stage- RNC Head Reince Preibus said: “the candidates are applying to join the republican party and gain the benefit of the national party apparatus. Think about this very carefully. The key takeaway is the RNC now saying all the candidates are outside the party, and the party will determine who leads it. The candidates are mere applicants to the group for the position of nominee."...

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Added: Same "admissions committee of private club" attitude expressed in 2010 by GOP E during Florida gubernatorial primary when "outsider" Rick Scott won the primary over Establishment candidate McCollum. Florida GOP establishment said it would have to examine winner Rick Scott more closely before deciding whether or not to support him against the democrat:

8/25/2010, "Florida primary results: Can Rick Scott, GOP 'insiders' unite?" Orlando Sentinel, Aaron Deslatte

""There are still questions about him," said Seminole County GOP Chairman Jason Brodeur, who won a legislative primary Tuesday night. "If he answers the questions correctly, we'll have no problems getting out the grass roots for him."...

"I think he has to show us his credentials," said Bill Bunting, chairman of Pasco County's McCollum team. "He's going to need the party to win this election; I think he knows that. He only took this by a small margin, despite all the money he spent."...

Republican National Committeeman Paul Senft said Scott had expressed frustrations to him before the primary that the party was being "unfairly" used to help McCollum.

"His (Scott's) big problem was we were not impartial and should have been in the primary," said Senft, a Haines City businessman. "Internally there were people in the party that felt the same way.""...


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Rick Scott became Fla. governor in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014

11/5/2014, "Scott stays in office, 1/3 Amendments pass," eaglenews.org, by Nina Barbero












 
Above, 8/24/2010, Outsider Rick Scott beats GOP insider Bill McCollum in Florida Governor primary, ap photo. Rick Scott went on to beat democrat nominee Alex Sink and became Florida Governor. Top photo via Palm Beach Post, ap photo

   

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On federal level Trump has given more to Republicans than Democrats over 20 year period, 1991-2011. He gave $50,000 to Karl Rove group in 2010; on single day in 1996, Trump companies gave $250,000 to Republican National Committee-Politico, 6/3/2011

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June 2011 Politico article: 

Trump has given more on a federal level to the GOP than Democrats over past 20 years, 1991-2011: $508,000 to $392,000, including $50,000 to Karl Rove's group in 2010 [per FEC database]. "On a single day in July 1996, four Trump companies gave a total of $250,000 to the Republican National Committee."

6/3/2011, "Trump out of race, but not his money," Politico, Molly Ball and Lucy McCalmont
 

"A Politico analysis of Trump's history as a donor sheds light on the way the New York developer could shape coming elections-much more so than by lashing out on cable news or appearing at events like the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in D.C. on Friday.

Despite his sharp rhetoric during his brief time on the campaign trail, Trump’s donations signal he has no particular partisan bias....

At the state level, he gave more than $680,000 to Democratic candidates and committees and less than $420,000 to Republicans.


At the federal level, however, Trump’s gifts to GOP candidates and committees exceeded those to Democrats, $508,000 to $392,000, and he has also donated to Republican-focused PACs like American Crossroads, to which he gave $50,000 in October 2010. [Per FEC database]

These totals include gifts by Trump’s companies, which gave large sums of unlimited soft money in the 1990s. On a single day in July 1996, four Trump companies gave a total of $250,000 to the Republican National Committee. At the same time, he donated to more individual federal Democratic candidates (47) than to Republican candidates (38). 

The POLITICO analysis found Trump heavily involved in politics in his native New York but also making contributions in state-level campaigns in California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Like a lot of very wealthy businesspeople, Trump has not only donated to one political party but to both, in an attempt to curry favor with both sides of the aisle,” said Dave Levinthal of the Center for Responsive Politics, which has tracked Trump’s federal donations.


There is a different model for business magnates who give generously in politics — that of Charles and David Koch, wide-ranging funders of economically conservative causes, or George Soros on the left. Trump, it is made clear from his donations, isn’t that kind of political businessman....

The bulk of Trump’s giving to politicians and to party committees has been where he has the most business: New York. His New York donations total about $850,000 at the state level going back to the mid-1990s, plus another $61,500 to federal candidates from New York since 1990. Of that, $660,000-more than 70 percent-went to Democrats and Democratic committees....

page 2


Trump defended his giving by noting that the Democratic Party is in power in his home state. In New York, he told Fox News, “Everyone’s Democratic. So what am I going to do, contribute to Republicans?…I’m not stupid.”...

While Trump ranks among the Empire State’s biggest political donors, Mahoney said, the pattern of his giving reveals no consistent philosophy but, rather, a businessman hoping to stay in government’s good graces."...

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Added: It would be nice to believe a donation to NY State Republicans would do any good. A "Republican" in NY State managed to get elected and rise to NY State Senate Majority Leader, but now
Republican Dean Skelos is expected to be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison after conviction on 
 






















 

12/29/2015, Front page of New York Daily News for Dec. 12 (2015) featuring, from left, Dean Skelos (R-NY), Adam Skelos, his son, and Sheldon Silver (D-NY)

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12/29/2015, "Dean Skelos files retirement papes after corruption conviction, could get pension of more than 95G a year," NY Daily News, Glenn Blain

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2/17/2016, "Corrupt ex-NY Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos will receive $96G pension, despite likely prison term on horizon," NY Daily News, Glenn Blain

"Disgraced ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is likely headed to the big house, but not the poor house. Skelos, who was convicted in December on federal corruption charges, will receive an annual pension of $95,832 regardless of whether he’s sentenced-as expected-to prison later this spring, the state controller’s office confirmed Wednesday.
 
The Nassau County Republican put in for his retirement just days after a federal jury in Manhattan convicted him and his son Adam on eight counts of bribery, extortion and conspiracy. They face up to 120 years in prison."...




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