The Big Apple Votes Today. Will Trump find it a fresh apple to bite into or will he find a worm in the apple of his eye, his home state? That’s the big question we want answered tonight.

Trump must win big tonight if he wants to avoid a contested convention. Given the rules and his competitors, I forecast that he will indeed come close to a sweep. But there’s a catch that could dent his apple. The primary is closed to Independents and Democrats, two of his cross-over voters in previous open primaries. That could stifle his numbers somewhat but of course Kasich can’t count on Indy’s either.

What does play in his favor is that a candidate must meet a 20% threshold to win any delegates. The biggest factor is reaching over 50% statewide to win the 14 At Large delegates, something he hasn’t done yet. Polls close at 9 PM EDT so we don’t have long to wait for answers.

Kasich Who?

God only knows Kasich’s reason for wasting our country’s time as a candidate. All we know is what he’s said and that is, he’s waited for this time in the primary process to put up some serious delegate numbers from states like NY and others in the northeast that meet his criteria for winning. Not so fast per some folks in Central Park:

“Starts with a K … Ka-not going to win,” a man said. “There you go. Ka-not going to win. Starts with a K.”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phEXRU_nKx4[/youtube]

Trump Jet Grounded

The best people money can buy can’t even register their bosses Cessna with the FAA before the certification expired in Jan. This is the jet he uses on the campaign to fly into smaller airports. From The Hill.com:

Registration for Trump’s Cessna jet expired on Jan. 31 and is not in good standing based on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Trump was warned by the FAA that the jet’s registration was set to expire and was informed by the agency when it lapsed, according to the report. [snip]
Aircraft generally must be registered in order to fly, and the FAA may impose a civil penalty of up to $27,500 or a criminal fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for up to three years if operators and owners are in violation.

Obama Creates Jobs

This must really chap the most anti-gun president ever! Obama has been the top performing salesman for gun sales in this country ever since he took office. Now, he can take pride in knowing that gun sales jobs are up nearly 75% since he took office. Is he silent due to the increase in tax revenue? From the FreeBeacon.com:

The number of full-time jobs in the firearms industry increased from about 166,000 in 2008 to nearly 288,000, according to a new report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, or NSSF. That represents a 73 percent increase. [snip]

The gun industry has also generated record amounts of tax revenue for both the federal government and state governments in the past eight years. In 2015, the federal government collected $3.7 billion in tax revenue, an increase of 144 percent since 2008. State governments saw nearly double the tax revenue over the same period. Excise taxes are also up 92 percent. [snip]

Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the gun industry’s growth was a direct result of gun control advocates’ push for new restrictions. “The answer is simple,” he said. “President Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrat Party leaders push to destroy Second Amendment rights.

 QuickHits:

–Critics are Critical (oxymoron I know). The new food critic of the New York Observer as well as a political critic quit their jobs after the paper endorsed Trump. They left their safe space and will have to criticize elsewhere.

–House Immigration and Border Subcommittee held yet another hearing on the subject and many families that lost loved ones by illegals testified again. The same woman that testified last July, who’s son was tortured and murdered, broke down in tears and pleaded for enforcement of our laws. She directed her comments to the Democrats who are more worried about illegals being fearful of being deported than protecting American lives. Powerful testimony indeed.

–The Remembrance Project is a network of families that have lost loved ones to illegal aliens in our country. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s the link to their website that lists so many stolen lives. Their front page has this:

Thank you to Chris Salcedo, a true Patriot, for featuring The Remembrance Project in your three-part series, “Illegal Immigration, NOT a Victimless Crime”.  

 

The Watercooler is your daily open thread. Feel free to take a bite out of one of the stories above or bring your own. We’ll stay open late for the election results and provide the refreshments. Happy Election Day!