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Welcome to our Super Duper Tuesday Open Thread. We'll be updating all afternoon until around 7:00 PM EST when our live primary results post hits the internet. Be sure to refresh your browser for the latest updates.

Donald Trump wins Northern Mariana Island caucuses

Add 9 more delegates to The Donald's total.

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Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism, the movement that led to the creation of Israel, wrote in 1902, “Once I have witnessed the redemption of the Jews, my people, I wish also to assist in the redemption of the Africans.” Today, the State of Israel is fulfilling Herzl's dream in the continent of Africa. The chief architect of Israel’s Africa Policy, Prime Minister Golda Meir regarded Israel's support for Africa as a “Jewish imperative”. Since 1950s, Israel has been involved in areas like agriculture, water management, higher education, vocational training, healthcare and industrial development in several African countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Now the Jewish State is seeking to renew its historic bond with the African continent.

Hillary Clinton is apparently planning to continue President Obama's war on coal if elected. She said as much at a CNN town hall event on Sunday night. The Daily Wire reports:
Hillary Pledges To Put Coal Miners Out Of Business Promising to kill the coal industry and its jobs via regulation and taxation if elected President, Hillary Clinton called for economic revitalization via the creation of an industry for “clean renewable energy" as a substitute. Speaking at the CNN-hosted Democratic town hall event in Columbus, Ohio, Clinton sanctioned the narrative of anthropogenic global warming in calling for the cessation of consumption of fossil fuels.

Well, now we know. Defunct presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, raised many an eyebrow when he endorsed Donald Trump for president. Of course the assumption was the obvious -- Carson "sold out" for an administrative promise. Those who believed the speculation were less cynical and more right, apparently. Speaking to Newsmax Monday, Carson said he would be joining the Trump administration should it become a reality:
Dr. Ben Carson revealed on Newsmax TV Monday that he will work in Donald Trump's administration — at least in an "advisory capacity" — if the Republican presidential front-runner is elected to the White House.

At one level, you could put this post in the "tell me something I don't already know" category. For several years I have been documenting anti-Israel activity on campus, typically part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and carried out by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). At the same time, I've pointed out many instances where such anti-Israel activity crossed-over into overt anti-Semitism, including at places like Oberlin and Vassar. (And that's putting aside whether the radical extremist anti-Israelism itself is anti-Semitic.) So the correlation between anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism seems obvious. When the only Jewish-majority nation in the world is demonized and dehumanized based on factual falsehoods and distortions under standards applied to no one else, it is no surprise that the hate manifests itself in hatred not just of Israel, but of Jews.

While early reports of a potential Hillary VP pick centered on former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, top Democrats in the (increasingly large) progressive wing of the party are reportedly rallying behind a relatively unknown, but reliably progressive, Tom Perez to run as Hillary's VP. Who is Tom Perez? Listen: Politico reports:
Aside from the wonkiest of Washington circles and the most progressive corners of the left, no one’s heard of Tom Perez. He isn’t young or handsome. He has zero foreign policy experience. The highest office he’s been elected to is a suburban county council. Yet the labor secretary has emerged as a sleeper pick for vice president, with chatter building among top Democrats — including Elizabeth Warren.

It's Super Tuesday (again) Eve! Tomorrow, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have will hold their primary elections. Florida and Ohio are winner-take-all states; no delegate splitting in either. Here's the latest from the wild world of campaigns:

Florida's Attorney General endorses Trump

I haven't covered this before, but there was a movement at Harvard Law School to remove three sheaths of wheat from its shield, because the sheaths of wheat represent the family crest of the slave-owning Royall Family. I've probably seen the shield a million times, and never once until this controversy associated it with the Royall Family, much less slavery. They were just sheaths of wheat. Background music at most. But nothing is non-political anymore. After research revealed the origins of the symbol, a movement arose calling itself Royall Must Fall. HLS Dean Martha Minow announced the decision in an email today (and an announcement), which reads in part:

This is actually a big deal, if for real. The Russian air force and associated troops manning the airfield and anti-aircraft systems have been responsible for many of the recent gains by Syrian, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed foreign militias fighting to keep Assad in power. Russia Today, generally perceived as pro-Putin, reports:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to start the withdrawal of forces from Syria starting Tuesday. “I consider the objectives that have been set for the Defense Ministry to be generally accomplished. That is why I order to start withdrawal of the main part of our military group from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic starting from tomorrow,” Putin said on Monday during a meeting with Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. To control the observation of ceasefire agreements in the region, Moscow will keep its Hmeymim airbase in Latakia province, Putin said.

I knew that the 2016 election would be filled with black swans, events that deviate beyond what normally occurs during typical campaign seasons. However, the disruption of Donald Trump's rallies is not such a creature. Leftist operators have been a staple at conservative, grassroots events ever since I began organizing tea party rallies with our San Diego group in 2009. During the first year of the Tea Party, for which we obtained all the necessary permits and arranged for top-notch security, among our most consistent attendees were progressive counter-protesters who blasted bullhorns during speeches given by our guests. When Tea Party didn't disappear, anarchists in black coats began mingling with our crowds in search of opportunities to make trouble. Threats of harassment cast a shadow on these events. The direction of the threats were always one way: Toward us, as a group of average citizens who were over-taxed, over-burdened by regulations, and over-tired of being dismissed by the establishment.

This story continues to get uglier. To catch up on the Michelle Fields/Trump Campaign/Breitbart News saga, see here, here, and here. Sunday night. Breitbart News' editor-at-large, Ben Shapiro, along with reporter, Michelle Fields, resigned. Breitbart's Spokesman resigned last week. Fields alleges that Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's campaign manager, manhandled her after asking Trump a race-related question. Lewandowski and the Trump campaign deny it. Since the allegations were made public, Breitbart News has seen internal turmoil over whether to defend Fields, and if so, to what extent. Buzzfeed broke the story of the resignations Sunday night, including Shapiro's resignation statement, which reads in full:

Mitt Romney has entered the next phase of his stop Trump crusade and will campaign with Ohio governor John Kasich in the state Monday. NBC News reported:
Mitt Romney to Campaign with John Kasich in Ohio Mitt Romney will campaign with John Kasich Monday at two stops in Ohio, NBC News has learned from a source familiar with the plans. Romney is not expected to endorse the Ohio governor during the campaign swing, the source said, but it will be the first time Romney has campaigned on behalf of a Republican candidate this cycle.

By now you undoubtedly have heard of the controversy over whether Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields with sufficient force to cause her bruising on her arm. And whether Breitbart News sacrificed her so as to maintain pro-Trump coverage and good relations with Trump's campaign. If you have not heard of it, welcome back from the rock under which you've been hiding the past few days. I'm not going to rehash the back and forth. Kemberlee has comprehensive coverage of the allegations and counter-allegations in Part 1 and Part 2 of her coverage. I'm going to focus on why it has been such a big deal. I see four main reasons: (1) good faith concern for Michelle Fields' well-being, (2) a desire to defend the freedom of the press, (3) trying to gain political advantage against Trump, and (4) a dislike of Breitbart News.

Apparently, Bernie Sanders' supporters can't stop themselves from expressing their thoughts about how great socialism is. The former former Soviet chess champion has taken to Facebook to express his thoughts about being lectured by the uninformed about something he knows all too well. Garry Kasparov writes:
I'm enjoying the irony of American Sanders supporters lecturing me, a former Soviet citizen, on the glories of Socialism and what it really means! Socialism sounds great in speech soundbites and on Facebook, but please keep it there. In practice, it corrodes not only the economy but the human spirit itself, and the ambition and achievement that made modern capitalism possible and brought billions of people out of poverty. Talking about Socialism is a huge luxury, a luxury that was paid for by the successes of capitalism. Income inequality is a huge problem, absolutely. But the idea that the solution is more government, more regulation, more debt, and less risk is dangerously absurd.