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This Was Just Revealed About Iowa Caucus Goers’ Phones – They’re Not Going to Like It

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Who needs exit polls when you can track caucusgoers’ phones?

That’s what one company did. Dstillery, which has been called “Picasso in the dark art of digital advertising,” turned its intelligence-collection capabilities to the Iowa caucuses last week.

The company used location data to identify more than 16,000 devices at caucus locations across the state.

“We can take a population in a discrete location — in this case a polling, a caucus site — and sample that population and go and then look at characteristics of that population that no one’s been able to discern before, because we have this incredibly rich behavioral view of American consumers based on all the digital behaviors we observe,” Dstillery CEO Tom Phillips said in an interview.

The results are interesting, if scientifically inexact. The company could not tell how individual caucusgoers came down by candidate but could determine, in counties decisively won by certain candidates, the dominant online behaviors of attendees. (Read more from “This Was Just Revealed About Iowa Caucus Goers’ Phones – They’re Not Going to Like It” HERE)

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Something Major Was Just Revealed About Ted Cruz’s Iowa Mailers

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By Ryan Lizza. Ted Cruz’s Presidential campaign prides itself on being data-centric and on integrating insights from political science into its tactics. In 2008, academics at Yale published an influential paper showing that one of the most effective ways to get voters to the polls was “social pressure.” Researchers found that registered voters in a 2006 primary election in Michigan voted at a higher rate if they received mailers indicating that their participation in the election would be publicized. The mailer that had the biggest impact included information about the two previous elections and whether the recipient and his or her neighbors participated or not. “We intend to mail an updated chart,” the mailer warned. “You and your neighbors will all know who voted and who did not” . . .

After looking at several mailers posted online, I was more curious about how the Cruz campaign came up with its scores. On all the mailers I saw, every voter listed had only one of three possible scores: fifty-five per cent, sixty-five per cent, or seventy-five per cent, which translate to F, D, and C grades, respectively. Iowans take voting pretty seriously. Why was it that nobody had a higher grade?

In Iowa, although voter-registration information is free and available to the public, voter history is not. That information is maintained by the secretary of state, who licenses it to campaigns, super PACs, polling firms, and any other entity that might want it. So was the Cruz campaign accurately portraying the voter histories of Iowans? Or did it simply make up the numbers?

It seems to have made them up. Dave Peterson, a political scientist at Iowa State University who is well-acquainted with the research on “social pressure” turnout techniques, received a mailer last week. The Cruz campaign pegged his voting percentage at fifty-five per cent, which seems to be the most common score that the campaign gives out. (All of the neighbors listed on Peterson’s mailer also received a score of fifty-five per cent.) (Read more from “Something Major Was Just Revealed About Ted Cruz’s Iowa Mailers” HERE)

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Donald Trump: ‘Ted Cruz Is a Total Liar’

By Jeremy Diamond. Donald Trump on Sunday repeatedly slammed his chief presidential rival Sen. Ted Cruz as a “total liar” as the Texas senator and his allies have claimed in the final stretch to the Iowa caucuses that Trump favors government-run, universal health care.

Cruz, meanwhile, pressed forward Sunday with the line of attack, proclaiming: “A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for Obamacare.”

“Look, Ted Cruz is a total liar. I am so against Obamacare. I’ve been saying it for two years in my speeches, I’m going to repeal and replace Obamacare,” Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I don’t even know where he gets this.”

The back-and-forth comes as Trump has pulled ahead of Cruz in the final days of campaigning in Iowa, where Cruz had been surging until Trump began lobbing attacks at Cruz, most notably raising the issue of Cruz’s Canadian birthplace. (Read more from “Donald Trump: ‘Ted Cruz Is a Total Liar'” HERE)

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The GOP’s Condemnation of ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Is Surprisingly Awkward in Iowa

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By Robert Samuels. Illegal immigration makes Bill Hartzell seethe. The memories are fresh from the afternoon in October 2013 when he saw his wife’s 93-year-old grandmother bloodied and unconscious, after being beaten and raped in her house by a 19-year-old Mexican who crossed the border and never left.

His outrage is driving Hartzell to vote in Monday’s Iowa presidential caucuses for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who has vowed to battle the “sanctuary cities” that refuse to help the feds deport illegal immigrants. Cruz has said that he would block these localities from receiving federal funds for law enforcement — an idea that makes perfect sense to Hartzell.

Except for when it applies to the place where he lives.

Pottawattamie County’s sheriff adopted a sanctuary policy in 2014. Hartzell knows the sheriff. He trusts the sheriff. And he is uncomfortable with how his county, which includes Council Bluffs, would lose at least a million dollars should a President Cruz carry out his threat . . .

With illegal immigration roiling the GOP electorate, the party’s presidential candidates have spent months blasting sanctuary cities as bastions of liberal naiv­ete and bleeding-heartedness gone awry. No place symbolized this mind-set better, they have said, than San Francisco, where last year, 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was allegedly murdered by an illegal Mexican migrant. (Read more from “The GOP’s Condemnation of ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Is Surprisingly Awkward in Iowa” HERE)

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Iowa Town Embodies Immigrant Divide

By Thomas Fitzgerald. At the 3 p.m. shift change Friday, compact cars rimmed with road salt and dirt rolled up to the JBS Swift meatpacking plant, ranchera and salsa music trickling from a few rolled-down windows.

Hundreds of mostly brown-skinned men walked double-time into the plant, part of the wave of Latino immigrants who, over the last two decades, have transformed this city from a traditional farming community to what could be the most diverse municipality in overwhelmingly white Iowa . . .

In the week leading to Iowa’s presidential caucuses, seven candidates from both parties descended on Marshalltown, about an hour northeast of Des Moines. After services at New Hope Christian Church last Sunday, the pastor and his wife handed out tip sheets listing each event and urged congregants to go.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican, held a town hall in the church auditorium that day. Later in the afternoon, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, briefly the front-runner in the Iowa GOP race, spoke at the Best Western Regency Inn. In quick succession last week came Republicans: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former high-tech CEO Carly Fiorina. (Read more from “Iowa Town Embodies Immigrant Divide” HERE)

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Iowa Oil Company Allegedly Tried to Bribe Man With a Teen Prostitute for Access to His Land

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Photo Credit: Latest

Photo Credit: Latest

A southeast Iowa landowner claims he was offered the services of a prostitute in exchange for allowing a crude oil pipeline to go through his property.

Hughie Tweedy of rural Montrose told reporters Monday that a regional representative of Dakota Access LLC on three separate occasions offered “the sexual services of a woman” if Tweedy would allow the pipeline to run through his property . . .

Dakota Access, a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, wants to construct a 1,134-mile pipeline to carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. The $3.8 billion pipeline would span 343 miles and 18 counties in Iowa, from the state’s northwest corner to the southeast corner . . .

Tweedy said he has expressed his position multiple times to Dakota Access officials. Tweedy said the company’s regional representative offered “a $1,200 teenage prostitute” in exchange for his cooperation.

Tweedy also claims the company representative, whom Tweedy would not name, told Tweedy an archaeological survey performed on Tweedy’s property was illegal, fake and, in Tweedy’s words, “nothing more than a hoop Dakota Access was jumping through” for the state utilities board that is considering whether to approve the pipeline project. (Read more from “Iowa Oil Company Bribed a Man With a Prostitute for Access to His Land” HERE)

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Iowa High School Principal Prohibits Students From Creating a Pro-Life Club

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Photo Credit: Life News

Photo Credit: Life News

Principal Steve Madson of Hampton-Dumont High School has received a demand letter from Students for Life of America’s law firm, the Thomas More Society, on behalf of student Isabell Akers and Students for Life of America. The letter charges that Principal Madson has unconstitutionally discriminated against Isabell by denying her the right to form a Students for Life club at Hampton-Dumont High School.

“The pro-life students are simply asking for equal treatment,” said Jocelyn Floyd, Associate Counsel of Thomas More Society. “Here the school is trying to claim that its lesser treatment is justified because Isabell’s club doesn’t tie in with the school’s curriculum—but neither do most of the school’s other clubs, such as the book club, mock trial, or SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving). By law, Hampton-Dumont High School administrators must give their pro-life students the same opportunities as they give all these other school clubs.”

Isabell Akers, a senior at Hampton-Dumont High School, attempted to start a Students for Life club when she was a sophomore, but she met resistance from school administrators. After a series of delays and denials, the school eventually allowed Isabell’s club to meet periodically in the spring and fall of 2014, but not to advertise or host events. As Isabell will soon graduate, she tried once again in February to acquire school club status for her Students for Life club, to leave an established club in place for future high school leaders. However, the principal once again denied Isabell’s application, claiming that the Students for Life club is too “controversial.” (Read more from “Iowa High School Principal Prohibits Students From Creating a Pro-Life Club” HERE)

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Iowa House Starts Day With Wiccan Invocation

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iowaThe Iowa House began its work session on Thursday with a modern pagan blessing by a Wiccan faith leader as a group of Christians elsewhere in the state Capitol solemnly recited their own prayers.

Wiccan priestess Deborah Maynard of Cedar Rapids stood at the podium in the House chamber and issued a call to “God, Goddess, Universe, that which is greater than ourselves to be here today.” She spoke of the fire that “gives us light and passion” to help people be passionate about their work for the people of Iowa, and by the “water that flows through our blood and stirs our emotions,” to help see the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Maynard, who is also known as a “cabot witch,” is believed to be the first Wiccan leader to offer an invocation at the Iowa Legislature. After she spoke, House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, shook Maynard’s hand, but more than half of the 100 House members were not present for the opening prayer with some reportedly boycotting her remarks. Rep. Rob Taylor, R-West Des Moines, who is a Protestant, turned his back to the podium as Maynard spoke, saying it was a way for him to peacefully protest.

Wicca is a neopagan, witchcraft religion developed in the 20th century that is symbolized by a five-pointed star within a circle. It is considered a diverse religion with no central authority. Many Wiccans believe in magic. Maynard, 43, who works as a project manager for an eastern Iowa business, is the leader of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans in Cedar Rapids.

Rep. Liz Bennett, D-Cedar Rapids, who invited Maynard to offer the invocation, says she considers the House chamber to be a place that should be open to everyone. She says she’s known Maynard for years, adding that she has also invited two Christian pastors and a Jewish rabbi who have offered daily prayers in the House. (Read more from “Iowa House Starts Day With Wiccan Invocation” HERE)

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Obamacare Taxpayer Funded Insurance Company Insolvent

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Don't Tread On ObamacareAn Obamacare-created and taxpayer-funded insurance company in Iowa has been taken over by the state due to a financial crisis.

CoOportunity Health is Iowa’s insurance cooperative — a nonprofit insurance company created by the Affordable Care Act to supposedly undercut the large, for-profit insurers that Democrats castigated as “greedy” and “evil” during the debate over health care reform.

After just beginning to offer plans in 2013, the company’s already insolvent and has now been taken over by the state of Iowa, insurance commissioner Nick Gerhart announced Wednesday. CoOpportunity doesn’t have enough cash on hand to be sure it can pay claims for its 120,000 customers, if necessary. The company has only $17 million in cash and assets, Gerhart said.

The federal government’s Obamacare administrator the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services initially gave CoOportunity a $112 million loan award in Feb. 2012, but doled out an additional $32.7 million emergency award to keep the company solvent in September of this year.

That wasn’t enough to keep it in business. CoOpportunity’s management expected to receive more federal money than they did, putting them in continuing financial peril.

Read more about how this Obamacare taxpayer funded insurance company went insolvent HERE.

Hillary Clinton in Iowa Stirs 2016 Speculation

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsHillary Clinton returned to Iowa on Sunday for the first time since her 2008 Democratic presidential primary loss in the state, telling the crowd at the 37th annual Harkin Steak Fry — “I’m back.”

Clinton, the clear Democratic frontrunner should she make a 2016 White House bid, was greeted with loud cheers at the fundraising event. The event was held in honor of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who is retiring from Congress this year.

The former secretary of state told the crowd of several hundred that her immediate focus is helping fellow Democrats in the midterm elections but that she also thinks about “that other thing,” hinting at a 2016 run.

“It’s true, I’ve been thinking about it,” she said. “People get excited about presidential campaigns, look I get excited about presidential campaigns, too.”

Missing in her speech were remarks on President Obama’s recent efforts to destroy the Islamic State militant group and on other pressing foreign policy issues.

Read more from this story HERE.

Police: Iowa State Representative’s Sisters Found Dead in Apparent Homicide

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Photo Credit: AP/PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTETwo sisters of an Iowa state representative have been found dead of apparent gunshot wounds in the Pittsburgh home they shared in what police are investigating as a double homicide.

The bodies of 44-year-old Susan Wolfe and 38-year-old Sarah Wolfe were found Friday afternoon in their basement after they didn’t show up for work, authorities said. Police found Sarah Wolfe’s car around 1:15 a.m. Saturday parked nearly a mile away.

Pittsburgh police Lt. Daniel Herrmann said they don’t have a motive for the killings, and there were no signs of forced entry. The two sisters died of single gunshot wounds to the head, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

The Allegheny County medical examiner said Sunday that the two women sustained “other injuries,” but didn’t elaborate. He also wouldn’t answer whether the women were sexually assaulted, the Post-Gazette reported.

Sarah Wolfe was a psychiatrist for Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and Susan Wolfe was a teacher’s aide at Hillel Academy in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Read more from this story HERE.

Ted Cruz to Iowa Republicans: This Fight is ‘Path to Victory’

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Photo Credit: Gage SkidmoreRepublican Senator Ted Cruz, who incited a standoff over Obamacare culminating in a 16-day U.S. government shutdown, told party activists in Iowa that fighting the health law will pay dividends in the 2014 midterm elections.

The junior senator from Texas, just nine months in office, won a warm reception during a 45-minute speech last night in which he said that his attempt to defund President Barack Obama’s signature health-care program has made a difference, even if it has cost his party in the polls.

“Collectively, we accomplished a great deal,” Cruz told about 600 Republican activists at a downtown convention hall in Des Moines. “We elevated the national debate over what a disaster, what a train-wreck, how much Obamacare is hurting millions of Americans.”

He told the party faithful the prescription for unifying the GOP in the wake of the bitter congressional battle that triggered the shutdown was to ignore both the media and Washington strategists.

“This fight is worth it,” he said. “It is the path to victory.”

Read more from this story HERE.