Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Quite a Tuesday

Rich Galen

Wednesday March 23, 2016

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My Tuesday started well before dawn when a friend from California texted me

"Are you awake?"
"I am now."
"Turn on the news. Something horrible has happened in Brussels."
"What are you doing up?"
"I got up to pee and made the mistake of turning on the TV to check the news."

These are the conversations 70-year-old men have with one another.

There is no way to explain the mindless carnage that, it seems, has become far too easy for Islamic terror groups (current flavor is named ISIS) to visit on innocent people trying to get to work or get onto an airplane.

The situation is so unsettled that the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning for Americans traveling anywhere in Europe:

Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and transportation.

That warning is in effect until June 20.

While victims of attacks in Brussels were still being identified, President Barack Obama was in Havana attending an exhibition baseball game between a Cuban team and the Tampa Bay Rays of MLB.

Seated next to Obama in box seats behind home plate was that bright beacon of freedom, Raul Castro.

All right, this trip has been in the making for a long time. Not attending the game out of respect for Brussels would have wrecked whatever Obama is trying to accomplish, and there was a moment of silence in the stadium before the game.

But, the optics of Obama and Castro doing the wave were, at best, difficult to take in.

While all that was going on, there were elections and caucuses in Arizona (R and D), Utah (R and D) and Idaho (D).

Hillary Clinton went one-for-three (to continue the baseball flavor of this) but her one win, Arizona, added more to her delegate total than both of Bernie Sanders' wins in Utah and Idaho.

Over on the GOP side, Donald Trump won the Arizona primary and Ted Cruz won the Utah caucuses but, like the Dems, Arizona's 58 delegates out-stripped Utah's 40, so Trump also extended his lead.

The other Republican left in the field, John Kasich, won zero states yesterday and exactly that many delegates.

By my count (which may be slightly off), Kasich is now 1-for-38 (including contests in places like Guam and Northern Marianas). After he won Ohio, Kasich claimed the race was now "a whole new ballgame."

Maybe, but 1 for 38 is batting at a .028 level - way, WAY below the Mendoza Line (another baseball reference). In fact, that gets you sent back at least to a single-A minor league team, if not all the way back to the developmental league to ponder your future as a professional athlete.

I like Kasich. In fact, I voted for him in the Virginia Presidential Primary. But, as I Tweeted yesterday (@RichGalen), how does someone with few delegates [143] and little money continue to be taken seriously?

By the way, after last night Donald Trump has 739 delegates and Ted Cruz has 465 of the 1,237 needed for the nomination.

Kasich insists that he will stay in until the Republican convention begins in Cleveland on July 18 so that when the delegates come to their senses and look down the bench in the dugout to see who is still available (another baseball metaphor), they will send Gov. Kasich to the plate to be their nominee.

Two words: No chance.

Ok, so why is Bernie Sanders still in on the Democratic side?

First of all, he has money. He raised over $40 million in February alone. Second, even if he doesn't think he can climb past Clinton for the nomination, by staying in the race he keeps her having to sing from his songbook on income disparity, on trade, on Wall Street, on education, etc. etc.

Why? Because she can't afford to have all those young and energetic Sanders supporters take a hike during the general election campaign, or stay home next November 8.

Whew. Glad we made it to Wednesday.

On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Links to the State Deparment travel warning (which is chilling in its sterility) and to the Wikipedia entry for "Mendoza Line."

Also the Mullfoto is an example of why Washington, DC is known as such a well-run city/state.

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