Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
The 2015-16 NFL season has narrowed things<span style="color: Red;">*</span>down to the final two teams, with no immediate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>chance to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pander<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to voters (Colorado's primary is March 1, North Carolina's is March 15.) So everyone stop asking Carly Fiorina who she's cheering for, guys.
Here at FTR headquarters, though, we're cheering for your favorite team, whichever one it is. Why not sign up for our daily newsletter as a show of solidarity? Go team! Now, let's go over all the non-football happenings from the weekend ...
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[h=2]The curse of high expectations[/h]Next week's third-place finish is going to feel like a disappointment now.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)
Thanks to all-too-frequent polling of the early states (and we admit it, we're addicted to them), we have a decent idea of who has a shot at winning in Iowa (Trump or Cruz;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Clinton)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and New Hampshire (Trump;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders). What candidates, voters and the media will be watching early is how well candidates do against their expectations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— i.e., a pair of fourth-place finishes might revitalize a Rick Santorum campaign while it might sink Marco<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rubio. The Des Moines Register just raised expectations for both Marco Rubio and Hillary Clinton in Iowa, endorsing the candidates in their respective caucuses. Rubio says the endorsement means he might have a shot in Iowa; Hillary, for her part, is courting the same Iowa voters who helped Barack Obama defeat her<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in 2008. Within a week, we'll know if the endorsements helped at all, or if the eventual winners will be holding up copies of the endorsements, "Dewey Defeats Truman"-style.
[h=2]Bernie Sanders vs. reality[/h]Any Supreme Court nominee of mine will make overturning Citizens United one of their first decisions.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 22, 2016
Bernie Sanders is locked in a bitter primary battle against Hillary Clinton and, in several instances, the structure of the federal government. Last Thursday, he implied that his first Supreme Court justice nominee would single-handedly turn over the Citizens United decision with one of their first decisions, which will work well if a) an appeal of the decision reaches the court at the right moment, and b) the other eight justices call in sick that day.
Among other things Bernie loves to talk about: universal health care, free college tuition, and genetically modified kittens that stay kittens forever. What remains unresolved: how it's all going to happen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“How do you propose to get your wishes pushed through?” asked one woman at a recent Iowa rally. The answer, Sanders says, involves a "political revolution" ... so, not right away, then. Clinton is less than optimistic about Bernie's chances:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“You hear a promise to build a whole new system, but that’s not what you’ll get,” Clinton said. “You’ll get gridlock, and an endless wait for advances that will never come.”
[h=2]Man threatens gun violence;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>supporters cheer[/h]Hey Trump, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
Donald Trump made headlines over the weekend at a Sioux Center, Iowa rally, speculating on the loyalty of his supporters:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>could stand in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wouldn't<span style="color: Red;">*</span>lose any voters, OK? It's,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>like, incredible." Someone should tell him<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>if he actually did so, all future rallies would be held in front of one-person audiences through a glass partition.
With the Iowa caucus next week, Trump's GOP rivals are still hoping that there's some line of attack that will dent his poll numbers, assuming that some combination of words exists in the English language that can take him down. Recent attempts in Iowa include his support for universal health care and higher taxes or the lack of detail provided for his initiatives.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Meanwhile, conservative icon Glenn Beck endorsed Ted Cruz, saying a Trump win would be a "snowball to hell." Coincidentally, "Snowball to Hell" is our favorite AC/DC-Idina Menzel collaboration.
[h=2]More from the campaign trail[/h][h=2]OK, here's who we're actually cheering for in the Super Bowl[/h]Marco Rubio and Iowa kid, our all-time favorite quarterback-receiver duo.
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