Word "Brexit" deemed key to victory as U.S. politicos comment

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BREXIT victory results in Remain soul searching

Not having a slogan deemed strategic error

In the aftermath of the stunning results of the vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, Britons on the remain in the EU side were licking their wounds and undertaking a serious post-mortem.

“Clearly, the BREXIT forces were more clever than us,” said a Nigel Oliver-Simon spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, referring to the phrase that signified British exit from the Union. “I mean ‘BREXIT.’ Short, telegraphic, easily recognizable. We had nothing to match it.”

The use of this easily identifiable slogan took on additional importance in the days following the vote when it was revealed that the second most “Googled” term in the UK was “What is the EU?” suggesting that voters had no idea what they were voting for but simply were intrigued by the word, “BREXIT.”

Mr. Oliver-Simon did say that there was consideration of a catchphrase for their side. 

“We seriously considered calling our campaign ‘BREMAIN’ for ‘Britain Remain’ but there was a big debate regarding how to pronounce the word. Some people felt it should be pronounced ‘Breeee-main’ (as in brie, the French cheese) while others wanted it pronounced ‘Breh-main’ (as in Breman, the German city). But the issue of using a phrase that sounded vaguely French or German was a problem and at the end of the day we couldn’t come to a consensus. That was a crucial mistake.”

In any event reaction to the vote in the U.S. was sure to impact the upcoming presidential race as key figures went public with statements.

President Obama, in a thoughtful statement regarding U.S. relations with the key stakeholders impacted by the vote said, “The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision.” He pledged that the U.K. and the E.U. would remain “indispensable partners of the United States” and that Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States would endure.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, looking to the future and the impact of the vote on the American people said, “We respect the choice the people of the United Kingdom have made. Our first task has to be to make sure that the economic uncertainty created by these events does not hurt working families here in America.”

And presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, immediately turned the BREXIT vote to a discussion about himself by saying, “I said this was going to happen, and I think that it’s a great thing.” Mr. Trump did not say why he thought, “that it’s a great thing.”

Further to the Trump statement however, rumors coming out of the Trump campaign suggest that win or lose the presidential race, Trump Productions is working on the details of a new reality TV show, starring Mr. Trump, which will be called “Donald J. Trump: I Said This Was Going to Happen” in which contestants will have to determine which breaking news events were predicted by Mr. Trump. According to sources, at the end of the season, the winning contestant will become the editor in chief of a new Trump predictive newspaper, “Trump’s Future News You Can Use.”

DNC source: Potential Clinton indictment fuels search for options

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Specter of Clinton indictment sparks DNC contingency plans

Sanders not a consideration sources say

Following big victories in the New Jersey and California primaries making Hillary Clinton the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, and the ensuing Clinton endorsement by President Obama, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is working on confidential contingency plans in the event that Mrs. Clinton is indicted. Clinton is under federal investigation for using a private server for her state department emails.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity because she wasn’t authorized to speak about the issue, a DNC source said, “The DNC is very concerned about the Clinton investigation and is looking at alternatives if Secretary Clinton is indicted.”

The source went on to say that while Bernie Sanders might seem to be the logical choice should Mrs. Clinton not be able to run, “the fact is many in the DNC dislike Senator Sanders and have promised he will not be the nominee on their watch.” According to the source, committee members agreed that they "didn't stack the deck against Sanders from the beginning for no reason.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the DNC, who has been criticized by Senator Sanders for favoring Mrs. Clinton throughout the primary campaign, declined requests for comment.

Given the confidential nature of the project, no potential alternative candidates have been identified. 

But Around the Block has learned that former vice-president Al Gore has enrolled at his local Jenny Craig weight loss center and signed up for a three-month introductory membership at 24-Hour Fitness, while staffers for current vice-president Joe Biden have been scouring Biden’s speeches, public statements and writings over the last 20 years to ensure that there are no recent evidence of plagiarism.

Sanders refuses to concede after big CA/NJ losses; says will flip superdelegates.

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Clinton wins huge victories in NJ and CA cinching the nomination

Sanders vows to fight on after overwhelming victory in ND caucus

Despite double-digit losses in the New Jersey and California primaries, Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders vowed to fight on, taking his movement to the Washington DC primary next week, the last primary prior to the Democratic National Convention in July.

Sanders downplayed his losses in New Jersey and California where over 4 million Democratic votes were cast (NJ: 858,000; CA: 3.2 million) and pointed to the momentum he was building after massive victories in Montana and North Dakota.

“The results speak for themselves. We took 51% of the 118,000 votes in Montana,” Sanders announced to an adoring crowd at a victory rally in Santa Monica, going on to say, “and an overwhelming 64% of the votes in the North Dakota caucus.”

Sanders was particularly pleased with the North Dakota results where he won 252 of the 354 votes cast in the caucus.

“I’ve spoken to each and every one of the 252 people who voted for me in North Dakota and they all said, ‘Don’t give up Bernie; take this revolution to Washington DC and then on to the convention where you’ll flip the superdelegates,’ so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Sanders, who lost the majority of states he competed in, won only 43% of the popular vote and only 45% of the pledged delegates, continued to rail about the corrupt Democratic party electoral system.

“This primary is corrupt and was stacked against me from the beginning. And the most egregious example of this corruption is superdelegates. In that regard, despite all this talk of my being behind in this and behind in that, and given my momentum coming out of North Dakota, I’m going to call every one of the superdelegates and ask them to…no demand…that they change their votes and support me at the convention, just like the good people of North Dakota said they should.”

AP/NBC Clinton declarations force CNN and Fox to make even bolder announcements

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AP and NBC declare Clinton the nominee prior to any final voting

CNN and Fox react in kind with their own surprise declarations

Following the unprecedented declarations by the AP and NBC News that Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic presidential race and will be the presumptive nominee of the party, other news organizations have been scrambling to keep up.

The announcements by the AP and NBC were not based on any additional primary voting and have been derided, particularly by Secretary Clinton’s rival, Bernie Sanders, as presumptuous and devious. 

Defending the declarations, NBC News director of elections, Peter Pollinberg, said, “Look, no matter how you slice it, Clinton is going to get the most delegates, pledged and/or super so we figured let’s call it on Monday given it was a slow news day and we needed a ratings boost.”

The AP, in keeping with its traditional policy, would not respond to questions about it’s journalism or, for that matter, why it still exists.

Despite the controversy of a premature election call, both CNN and Fox News have determined that they will not be left behind.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer announced on air early Tuesday morning that as soon as the polls close in California, it will declare that Hillary Clinton has defeated Donald Trump in the presidential election scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

Not to be outdone, Fox News decided not to wait for the polls to close, declaring on it’s morning show, Fox and Friends, that Donald J. Trump has won the election over Hillary Clinton and will be sworn in as the 45^th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. 

The Fox News announcement was made by one of the myriad of blonde women on the network. She was flanked on the couch by two anonymous middle-aged men who contributed hearty guffaws and applause. It was not clear which of the many Fox blondes made the announcement.

Post-workout photo shows Samsung's wireless fitness tracker will be a revelation

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Samsung announces fitness-tracking earbuds

Combine sensors for key fitness measures with music listening

In an announcement that is sure to bring joy to fitness buffs everywhere, Samsung unveiled the Gear IConX, a pair of wire-free earbuds that stand out because they combine health tracking with music listening. One bud fits into each ear, and they sync using a Bluetooth signal.

The $199 wearable, available in a couple of months, will include sensors to record heart rate, speed, distance, workout duration and calories burned. The buds will include 4 GB of memory to store music playable even without a smart-phone, but can also stream tunes from a nearby phone.

Samsung executive David Ng, wearables product manager for Samsung Electronics America, cited research that showed 75 percent of people listen to music while exercising. 

Ng, who has been using the IConX earbuds as part of a long-term exercise test said, “I’ve been using the IConX earbuds for six months now and let me tell you my workouts are going so well it hardly feels like I’m exercising,” showing off the results of his IConX workout program in this photo and adding, "Before I started wearing the IConX earbuds, I could hardly button this shirt. Look how well it fits now."