Fox Bashes Trump, but he still Wins

A poll by popular vote at the Drudge Report scores Donald Trump the big winner in the late GOP debate last night — but media pundits disagree. The Fox News moderators went after Donald Trump harder than any of his opponents during last night’s debate. He started the debate on the defensive over his refusal to rule out an independent bid. Megyn Kelly, one of three moderators, then memorably pushed him on his history of misogynistic comments: “You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.” Later, Megyn Kelly wondered when Trump had decided to become a Republican, and asked about his flip-flops on abortion. The other moderators, Chris Wallace and Breit Baier, forced Trump to defend his past support for a single-payer health-care system, his contributions to Hillary Clinton and the bankruptcies of his companies. They also pressed him for evidence that the Mexican government is sending criminals over the border. Members of the rock band Aerosmith scored tickets to GOP presidential debate. Steven Tyler was a guest of Trump himself; and guitarist Joe Perry has publicly identified himself as an “old-school Republican". [Some super-wealthy rock stars don't want to pay taxes either.] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2015/08/06/aerosmith-scored-tickets-to-gop-presidential-debate/  Just hours after three Rand Paul associates were indicted on federal charges that they worked to cover up an attempt to buy an Iowa state senator's endorsement for the 2012 Ron Paul campaign, the Paul camp is claiming that the indictments are timed to trip up the Kentucky senator on the eve of the first GOP presidential debate. The facts suggest otherwise. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/were-paul-indictments-suspicously-timed  Carly Fiorina's Economic Growth Plan from 2010. (Be afraid. Be very afraid.) http://carlyforca.com/downloads/carlys_economic_growth_plan.pdf In other news... GOOD READ: America is on the Wrong Side of History — by Joseph Stiglitz @ The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/06/joseph-stiglitz-america-wrong-side-of-history In June, when Gov. García Padilla called on Congress to pass legislation that would allow Puerto Rico to get its debt in order under the US bankruptcy laws that apply to the 50 states, the idea that the island would default on loan payments was mostly theoretical. That's not the case anymore. The island's government paid just $628,000 of a $58 million debt payment due this week, triggering the first default since the island was taken over by the US in 1898. No state has defaulted since Arkansas failed to make its bond payments during the Great Depression in 1933. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/things-keep-getting-worse-puerto-rico  Bankruptcy protection is usually a legal status granted to qualifying taxation districts, towns, cities and counties — but not to entire states (or countries). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/weekinreview/23davey.html The Securities and Exchange Commission finalized a long delayed rule that will force all publicly traded companies to publish a ratio between the amount it pays its CEO and the median salary at the company. The rule was finalized by a 3-2 vote. Companies will need to start revealing this information starting in 2017. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/sec-ceo-median-pay-rule Speaking in Hanoi overnight, Secretary of State John Kerry expressed confidence that the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be finalized “by the end of this year.” [Nike has a lot of factories in Vietnam. Just sayin'.] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/us-trade-tpp-kerry-idUSKCN0QC0AR20150807 So it's not old people retiring that's driving the decline in the labor force participation rate. Washington Post: "A surprising number of parents scaling back at work to care for kids." http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-surprising-number-of-moms-and-dads-scaling-back-at-work-to-care-for-their-kids/2015/08/06/c7134c50-3ab7-11e5-b3ac-8a79bc44e5e2_story.html  Watch: Some of Jon Stewart's biggest targets say goodbye. Sometimes with puppets. http://www.vox.com/2015/8/7/9114911/jon-stewart-targets-say-goodbye  [Left] Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got a selfie with Hillary Clinton at her fundraiser in New York last night [Right] Hillary with Kris Jenner, the ex of Bruce Caitlyn Jenner.