The Rod Martin Report: January 8, 2016
You can read about the world anywhere. You read The Rod Martin Report to understand it.
by Rod D. Martin
January 8, 2016
Happy New Year to all of you.
The dominance of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz continues to be the story du jour, although Trump's bogus questioning of Cruz's citizenship is a story to watch (if only to see if birtherism will work on a Republican: it might).
But the more interesting political development may be on the other side. Hillary has slipped beneath 50% among Democrats, which for her -- positioned as a de facto incumbent -- is truly "the danger zone." Sanders is neck-and-neck in Iowa, ahead (pretty consistently) in New Hampshire, ahead of Barack Obama's 2008 fundraising and total number of donors: a couple of early upsets and the Clintons could prove a house of cards...again.
That's not a prediction. But it's a possibility. And that's a lot more than anyone was expecting 60 days ago. It's also why you're starting to hear rumblings about the FBI recommending a Clinton indictment, and about Biden regretting his decision not to run "every day." If Barack Obama determines that she can't make it and Sanders can't win, expect him to deliver the kill shot and let Biden play white knight.
Speaking of shots, did you notice that while the President was holding his fake town hall on gun control, police arrested two Iraqi refugees in Houston on charges of terrorism?
Good job, Mr. President. Always paying attention to what matters.
We've published a lot of great stuff at RodMartin.org in the past couple weeks. Some of the best is below. Let me know what you think.
For Freedom,
P.S. Be sure to check out the piece on the revolution -- and I really mean it -- in rocketry. All that stuff you used to dream of is about to happen.
P.P.S. Also, if someone is forwarding you this email, please subscribe. It's free!
We are constantly told of the demographic Armageddon that must shortly befall the Republican Party. But what if a different sort of realignment – a Republican one – comes first?
There is really only one thing holding humanity back from expanding across space: Earth’s gravity well. It is terribly expensive to lift anything all the way from Earth’s surface up into the beyond. Once there, space travel is like a game of pool: send something in a particular direction and it will keep going until something stops it. But first, you have to get there. And rocket launches cost close to $200 million.
Elon Musk may have just made it possible to cut that to $700,000. And if that doesn't release humanity from its terrestrial cage...
With Russia in Syria, attacking ISIS, conquering Crimea and generally swaggering on the world stage again, it's worth asking: what does Russia really want? And what is its long term strategy? We answer those questions and more.
So North Korea detonated what they call an H-Bomb. Our guys are saying it’s “just” an “enhanced” nuclear device. I’m sure you find that a comforting distinction. North Korea has done this on Barack Obama’s watch. And it got me thinking...
Earlier this month, the Telegraph published an astonishing map, showing exactly how long it took to travel from London to anywhere else in the world. The map was created for King George V in 1914 — just over 100 years ago.