By Bob Eschliman
Editor
The deadline is fast approaching for candidates to “earn” their way into the next Republican presidential primary debate, and Vice President Joe Biden has the lamestream media tied up in knots, waiting and waiting for his inevitable entry into the Democrat field. Meanwhile, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” broke the Internet.
But don’t blame me … I missed most of it, sorta. No Internet access, and a 3G signal so weak it takes almost 15 minutes to load a text-only email. I’ve got it fixed, sorta. So, let’s get to work.
And as always, be sure to keep things straight.
Five Things You Need to Know Today
- Pop the Corn — In what will no doubt be a coup for “Saturday Night Live” and late-night television around the world, Vice President Joe Biden is running for President. No, he hasn’t announced — yet — but he will. CLICK HERE for the full story.
- Protected — One made the biggest drug lord in the Western Hemisphere mad, the other ticked off most of the Muslim world, and now both Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson have Secret Service protection. According to one source, threats against Carson are actually “off the charts.” CLICK HERE for the full story.
- Busted — No, it’s not politics, but it was perhaps the biggest story of the day, so you should at least know about it. The folks at Disney marketing earned their helmet stickers yesterday, unveiling a new movie poster and a third trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (on ESPN, which they also own, during halftime of a football game most of America didn’t want to watch). Demand for tickets for the film is so strong that it crashed the Fandango online ticketing website. CLICK HERE for the full story.
- Smoldering Event — An underground fire — known in the waste management business as a “smoldering event” — has been going on at a suburban Saint Louis landfill for five years now. The new development, however, is that the fire is now approaching a large deposit of World War II-era nuclear waste. CLICK HERE for the full story.
- Time Running Out — With the Treasury Secretary now saying the federal government will run out of money on Nov. 3, there’s a scramble in Congress to get another continuing resolution — with an increase in the debt limit — passed to avoid another government shutdown. Outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner, who is sticking to his guns that he’s leaving at the end of the month, still doesn’t have enough Republican votes to get a new CR. CLICK HERE for the full story.
The Story No One is Talking About Today (But Should Be)
That Canada took a surprising and hard turn to the left politically last night is among the lead headlines throughout the western world today. But what isn’t being talked about is how Justin Trudeau pulled off the biggest upset in modern politics.
During his victory speech last night, Trudeau made sure to get in a big thank-you to his buddy Barack Obama, who provided “technical support” to his campaign. That’s a code word for the same kind of electioneering shenanigans we saw here in the U.S. in both 2008 and 2012.
So, what does this mean? Well, if I were Donald Trump, I’d start talking about a really big fence on the northern border to match the “yuge” one he’s planning to build on the southern border. Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada enacted a number of laws that had a secondary effect of making the U.S. safer, too.
Trudeau has already pledged to undo them all before Christmas.
CLICK HERE for the full story.
Quote of the Day
And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot sleep forever.
— Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia,” Query 18, 1781
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The Daily Bob is posted each weekday at TheIowaStatesman.com. For more Iowa news and politics from a conservative viewpoint, visit our website, “like” us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
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