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Subscribe to RSSNBC/WSJ poll: The Obama-Romney is looking like 2004 (or maybe even 1996), but it won’t be 1992… Obama running strong with his base and swing voters, but Romney has the edge on the economy… Testing Obama’s and Romney’s economic messages… The health-care albatross… Muncie and the story of America… Politicians behaving badly (we’re looking at you, McCain and Schweitzer)… Romney raises almost $12.6 million in March… Veepstakes: Time to cross Mitch Daniels off the list?... Daniels praises Lugar… And “Meet the Press” has Axelrod, Issa, and King.
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U.S. President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
*** Lookin’ like ’04 or maybe ’96: Now exactly 200 days out until Election Day, a poll isn’t going to tell you who will win the presidential contest. But it can give you a good idea what it’s going to look like. And according to our brand-new NBC/WSJ survey, the Obama-Romney race appears it will resemble the close 2004 campaign, or maybe the 1996 contest. But it isn’t going to be 1992, when the incumbent got routed out of office. Per the NBC/WSJ survey, Obama leads Romney by six points among registered voters, 49%-43%, and the president’s approval rating stands at 49%-46% among all adults. Get this: At this very same point in the ’04 cycle, George W. Bush’s approval rating in our poll was a nearly identical 50%-46% with registered voters. Bill Clinton’s approval in April ’96 was slightly better than Obama’s, at 51%-41%. But at this point in ’92, you could already tell that George H.W. Bush was in serious trouble with an approval rating of 43%-52%. “It is going to look like 2004 or 2000,” said NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) added. “There are plenty of things that suggest it has a long, long way to go.”
*** Obama running strong with his base, swing voters; Romney with the edge on the economy: Digging inside our crosstabs, Obama holds an advantage with African Americans (90%-4%), Latinos (69%-22%), voters ages 18-34 (60%-34%) and women (53%-41%). In addition, he edges Romney among key swing groups like PURE independents who don’t even LEAN to any party (44%-34%), Midwest voters (47%-44%) and suburban women (48% -45%). Meanwhile, Romney is ahead among whites (52%-40%), suburban voters (49%-44%) and those expressing high interest in the election (49%-46%). Yet Romney’s real strength is on the issue that happens to be Obama’s weakness: the economy. By a 40%-34% margin, respondents believe Romney would be better when it comes to having good ideas for improving the economy. And Romney also edges Obama on changing business as usual in Washington. If you could lead on just two issues, those would be the two you’d pick if you’re Team Romney. The president, however, bests Romney on all other qualities/attributes – including being easygoing and likeable, caring about average people, dealing with issues of concern to women, looking out for the middle class, and being a good commander-in-chief.
The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd shares details from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which suggests that President Barack Obama will start the general election campaign with only a 49-43 lead over Mitt Romney.
*** Testing Obama’s economic message: Our NBC/WSJ poll also tested the Obama and Romney economic messages (though without mentioning their names). The conclusion: Obama’s tests better than Romney’s for the most part. More than three-quarters of respondents (including nearly 70% of independents and Republicans) say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who “will fight for balance and fairness and encourage the investments needed to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class,” which has become a standard line for Obama. In addition, seven in 10 say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who “says America is better off when everyone gets a fair shot, does their fair share, and plays by the same rules” -- another Obama line. But what tested the worst was this line: “What drags down our entire economy is an ever-widening gap between the ultra-rich and everybody else.” That got just 45%. There’s clearly a line between touting “fairness” and attacking the rich.
*** Testing Romney’s: By comparison, 64% of all respondents (but 55% of indies and 46% of Dems) would be more likely to support a candidate who wants “to restore the values of economic freedom, opportunity, and small government,” which is pretty much Romney’s economic messaging. And 61% would be more likely to support a candidate who says “free enterprise has done more to lift people out of poverty, help build a strong middle class, and more our lives better than all of the government’s programs put together,” which is something that Romney tends to say. As our NBC/WSJ pollsters put it, Romney message still appears to be more geared to Republicans than a broader audience. By the way, most of Romney’s actions this week and many of the events he’s planning still smack of a campaign more worried about talking to Republicans than swing voters. Campaign messaging really has NOT pivoted yet.
*** The health-care albatross: While Obama’s economic messaging might be better than Romney’s, health care remains a problem for the president. In the poll, 36% call the health-care reform a good idea, while 45% call it a bad idea. That’s down from the 39%-39% split in January. What’s more 49% favor repealing and eliminating the law, while 42% oppose that. And get this: 59% say the ultimate Supreme Court decision on the law will be based “mostly on politics,” versus 32% who say it will be based “mostly on the law.” By the way, within the three ideological groups (liberals/moderates/conservatives) the group of folks who are MOST likely to believe the court will base their decision on the “law” vs. “politics are conservatives. Tells you liberals and moderates appear to believe the law will get overturned, which was the tone of the media coverage of the hearings.
*** Muncie and the story of America: Be sure not to miss National Journal’s latest cover story, which tells the tale about Muncie, IN. “Muncie is the story of America. In this place—dubbed ‘Middletown’ by early 20th-century sociologists—people have lost faith in their institutions. Government, politics, corporations, the media, organized religion, organized labor, banks, businesses, and other mainstays of a healthy society are failing. It’s not just that the institutions are corrupt or broken; those clichés oversimplify an existential problem: With few notable exceptions, the nation’s onetime social pillars are ill-equipped for the 21st century. Most critically, they are failing to adapt quickly enough for a population buffeted by wrenching economic, technological, and demographic change.” There are a lot of depressing aspects to this piece, but the one that struck us was how polarized and petty the LOCAL politics had become, imitating the national toxic tone. Sad.
*** Politicians behaving badly: Yesterday we saw this tweet: “Good pic of my son Jimmy's bulldog, Apollo - I'm sorry Mr. President, he's not on the menu!” -- in reference to Obama eating dog while a child when he lived abroad in Indonesia. Guess what: The tweet wasn’t from a random tweeter or even a GOP strategist. Instead, it was from Sen. John McCain, someone who once wrote after the 2011 Arizona shootings that, “Our political discourse should be more civil than it currently is, and we all, myself included, bear some responsibility for it not being so.” Meanwhile, we couldn’t count how many times Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said the words “polygamy” in this Daily Beast interview about Romney. “Schweitzer replied that [Romney’s struggles with Latinos are] ‘kinda ironic given that his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico, but then he’d have to talk about his family coming from a polygamy commune in Mexico, given the gender discrepancy.’ Women, he said, are ‘not great fans of polygamy, 86 percent were not great fans of polygamy. I am not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and approves of [the] polygamy lifestyle, but his father was born into [a] polygamy commune in Mexico.’” And these cheap hits were from McCain and Schweitzer, not cable TV or the Twitters
*** On the trail: Speaking of McCain, he and Mitt Romney address the RNC State Chair meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. (Pegged to this, the DNC has produced a new web video of McCain criticizing Romney during the ’08 campaign.) Afterward, Romney heads to Tempe, where he holds a Hispanic business roundtable discussion and then a rally.
*** Romney raises almost $12.6 million in March: Today’s the FEC deadline for the March fundraising reports, and the Romney camp says it raised $12.6 million in primary money last month -- his highest monthly total so far. The campaign also has $10 million in the bank as of March 31. The Obama campaign said earlier in the week that it has raised $53 million in March, but today we’ll find out what the campaign-DNC split is, as well as the campaign’s cash on hand.
*** Veepstakes watch: Time to cross Mitch Daniels off the list? We’ve already crossed Susana Martinez off our veepstakes list (due to her care for her developmentally disabled sister). And should we cross off Mitch Daniels? Here’s why: Not only did he wait until this week to endorse Romney, but he said this about the former Massachusetts governor in an interview with the Indianapolis Star: “‘You have to campaign to govern, not just to win,’ he said. ‘. . . Spend the precious time and dollars explaining what's at stake and a constructive program to make life better. And as I say, look at everything through the lens of folks who have yet to achieve." After a pause, Daniels added with disappointment: ‘Romney doesn't talk that way.’ ‘You don't change one thing about the policies you advocate or your principles,’ he said, noting instead that candidates should simply make clear how their policies would lift up those who are struggling. For instance, he said, at fundraisers Romney's message shouldn't be about how his policies affect the well-heeled people listening in the audience, but rather those who can't afford a ticket to get in.” Ouch.
*** Daniels praises Lugar: Also in that Indy Star interview, Daniels praised Sen. Dick Lugar (R), who’s in the fight of his political life in the May 8 GOP primary in Indiana. “‘I make the argument that I'm not for this guy because of what he's done; I'm for him because of what he can do,’ Daniels said. Pointing to major challenges facing the nation, he added: ‘To address problems that big we're going to need people who represent our point of view very effectively and can get the ear of other people. And I think (Lugar) is one such person -- one of not too many.’” The Lugar campaign is also passing around this story from the AP: “An Indiana Republican Party leader investigating how Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's campaign used a party database said Thursday he won't face any possible party sanctions before the May 8 primary. Jennifer Ping said Mourdock campaign manager Jim Holden likely violated a user agreement with the state party when he shared a logon to the database with an outside vendor. The party immediately caught the violation and locked the Mourdock campaign out of the database, said Ping, who chairs the party's technology and communication committee.”
*** On “Meet the Press”: NBC’s David Gregory interviews David Axelrod, as well as Darrell Issa and Peter King. And for Meet’s weekly “Press Pass” segment, Gregory spoke with comedian Jay Leno, who talked politics.
Countdown to the CT, DE, NY, PA, and RI primaries: 4 days
Countdown to Election Day: 200 days
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From the First Lady Wannaba.
When she isn’t in the kitchen whipping up a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies for Willard, this is
what’s on her pampered mind;
From FreeWood;
Now granted this was written as satire, but if I close my eyes I could hear little orphan
Annie speaking this as clear as day!
*cookie*?
Stuck on the Right:
Relationships are based on trust and when you frequently lie, you are not trustworthy. That's a fact whether it is in a marriage or in politics. Conservatives don't trust Romney, as well they shouldn't. Willard has no moral compass.
At this point in the campaign Willard would like to move to the middle to seek moderate and independent voters. But to do so would anger his rather restless, unstable conservative base. So Romney will not have much wiggle-room to modify his thinking on the Ryan budget, taxes, and hostile policies toward women and the Latino community. Indeed, he will be stuck on the right and that is exactly why he will not criticize Ted Nugent.
The general election will be a clear choice between conservative ideology and a moderate vision. Now let's be clear: if you are a member of the flat earth society and ready to fall off the right edge, you might consider President Obama a socialist. Liberals wish he were more liberal, but in fact Obama is a moderate.
In the months to come President Obama will take populist positions. He will talk about repairing our infrastructure, improving education, supporting scientific advances, finding alternative energy sources, improving the electric grid and yes, creating jobs for middle-class Americans. He will support the "Dream Act" and equal pay for women. These ideas are opposed by the conservative right.
If Democrats work to GOTV, President Obama will be elected for a second term. Romney once said, "Corporations are people too." But what was left unsaid is corporations can give a lot of money and they don't care if you lie. But corporations are no match for the will of the American people.
Happy Friday all!
fired up...ready to go!
GO Obaaahhhhma 2012!
Looks like after all the FR lefty liberal whining and complaining about what Ted Nugent said at the NRA convention, it is considered a total nontroversy by the Secret Service.
I wonder if the agents asked him for an autograph??
Secret Service: Nugent no threat
By: MJ Lee
April 19, 2012 05:22 PM EDT
Ted Nugent says Secret Service agents concluded Thursday that he did not, in fact, threaten President Barack Obama.
“I met with two fine, professional Secret Service agents in [Oklahoma] today,” Nugent said in a statement to the press. “Good, solid, professional meeting concluding that I have never made any threats of violence towards anyone.”
The rocker caught the attention of the press — and then the authorities — when he declared at the National Rifle Association convention: “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” He also said, “We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.… Our president, attorney general, our vice president, Hillary Clinton — they’re criminals, they’re criminals.”
Even though he clarified afterward that he didn’t mean to threaten anyone’s life, the Secret Service wanted to chat with the musician anyway.
“The meeting could not have gone better,” Nugent said. “I thanked them for their service, we shook hands and went about our business.” Meanwhile, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the “issue has been resolved,” and that the agency “does not anticipate any further action.”
Nugent has endorsed Mitt Romney for president.
“Mitt Romney’s visit to Fenway Park earlier this week has prompted renewed focus on a 2006 comment in which he reportedly told an Air Force pilot he was in Fenway Park when the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years,” the Boston Globe writes.
Problem: “The team won the clinching Game 4 of the 2004 World Series not in Boston but at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.”
*********
Just like all his other lies. His comment on the cookies was something else as well. Pretty ungracious. Wonder what he will say to foreign leaders, if he's invited, and they offer him a meal.
As someone on DailyKos said last night, how can Romney fix the economy? He has spent a lifetime destroying it for his own personal benefit.
Chuck Todd and David Gregory always give the GOPs a break. Always. Why is that? We see tons of articles written about the truth of Romney's business experience, and it's not pretty. Yet Todd and Gregory never go into detail about it.
There is a lot of good news in the polls for President Obama, yet here we only concentrate on the negative.
Ted Nugent says a lot of things. Most of them are bat-crazy Conservative BS of the worst kind.
Joe in Albany
Is there no standard of decency a conservative will respect? How would you like it if a celebrity supporter threatened Romney's life? How would you like knowing there are groups of unstable people out there,who felt a Romney presidency would be a threat to them personally? How would you like it if Democratic leaders stood silently while the leftwing incited violence towards your candidate?
“If Mitt Romney becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” He also said, “We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.… Mitt Romney, Bobbie Jindal, Sarah Palin — they’re criminals, they’re criminals.”
Tweet over at The Obama Diary:
The Secret Service screw a few, hell breaks loose, Wall St screws the world, no problem.
Back into the kitchen with you women... Ann Romney had no problems running her household with lots of (hired) help and money...you can do it too
O_O;
Sorry, Joe...doesn't change the fact that the Secret Service isn't doing its job if they don't investigate.
Good Morning Pat:
Good to see your post this morning. Congratulations to Fenway Park and may BoSox fans celebrate another 100 years on baseball's sacred ground.
Ron, Romney wins and the future of this country is over. As Lawrence O'Donnell read last night from the page of a biography on Romney, the author quoted someone as saying about Romney:
Lies are insignificant to Romney. Lies are just a business plan.
So true.
How would you like it if a celebrity supporter threatened Romney's life?
_______________________________________
Maybe you didn't get the memo, but, the Secret Service has concluded there were no threats on the President's life made by Ted Nugent:
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the “issue has been resolved,” and that the agency “does not anticipate any further action.”
CD,MI:
It will be nice to see you go.
And be sure to take him with you.
You know what is NOT satire???? The fact that you liberal women on this board go ON and ON and ON about equal pay for women , when we ALL KNOW DAMN WELL that many of you are at work when you are making these posts. What kind of NERVE do you have to demand "equal" pay when we all know that you spend MOST of your "working" day on the internet??? Getting paid by a boss who mistakelny thinks you're working!!! Why the hell should any employer pay Feisty Dumbfux (or any other of you whiny women on here) equal pay? He ought to fire your ass for fraud and theft.
I wonder if the dem stategist was interviewed after saying they are going to kill Romney??
Pat:
I saw Lawrence O'Donnell as well. Perhaps lies are a business plan. I may write a piece on Romney's lies. Right now I'm thinking that he lies so often, he doesn't remember what he said or who he said it to. So he just makes it up as he goes along.
Pat:
I saw Lawrence O'Donnell as well. Perhaps lies are a business plan. I may write a piece on Romney's lies. Right now I'm thinking that he lies so often, he doesn't remember what he said or who he said it to. So he just makes it up as he goes along.
x
How would you like it if a celebrity supporter threatened Romney's life?
______________________________________________
Maybe you didn't get the memo, but, the Secret Service has concluded that Ted Nugent did not threaten anyones life, including Barry's:
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the “issue has been resolved,” and that the agency “does not anticipate any further action.”
Uh, Joe, you seem to have missed the point...you would still demand that the Secret Service investigate the matter.
You're posting fiction now? Talk about off topic. So far the discourse has been who hates dogs more and Mitt's rich so he can't be President.
Any other phony controversies you want to share.
@Pat
So what's Obama's excuse for destroying the economy?
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/mar/14/ohio-coal-association/ohio-coal-industry-says-obama-promised-bankrupt-co/
Polls from Gallup: http://www.gallup.com/poll/154007/Obama-Trusted-Romney-Leaders-Economy.aspx
Obama Trusted More Than Romney, Other Leaders on Economy
By a 50% to 42% margin, more Americans have confidence in Obama than in Romney on economy.
Actually, Joe, I'll take that back. I just realized I do want to ride into that battlefield and chop the heads off Republicans, I hate them that much. My bad! Politics makes hypocrites of all of us, I guess.
That is the hallmark of great satire, Feisty---that you think it could be true. I could totally hear Ann Romney saying something like this. Prior to last week's "gift" remark and the "our turn" interview I had thought she seemed savvy but not any more.
...but...but...but...
...I thought we Liberals were just a bunch of deadbeat loafers who don't have jobs because we just want to live off of welfare and have the Government give us free stuff.
Oh, well, so much for that stereotype.
Say, "Damaged", what are you doing when YOU make these posts?
Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
".....From the First Lady Wannaba.
When she isn’t in the kitchen whipping up a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies for Willard, this is what’s on her pampered mind;........."
OMG! You are a disgusting piece of $#!+, Feisty!
Mrs. Romney is a breast cancer survivor, and LIVES every day of her life with Multiple Sclerosis!
This woman is TEN times the human being you are, and ten times as strong as you!
What's more she worked her ass off, bringing up five kids that she and her husband paid for! As opposed to going on welfare & food stamps, and letting the government pick up their bills!!!!!!!
You are a low life piece of @!$%#, and you make normal, psychologically healthy people sick to their stomachs!
Sorry for the double post, but FT just went crazy.
J. Merle Stanley-2759623
CHILL OUT. You Republicans are so uptight.
So are you unemployed Damage123?
Ron, Romney's base doesn't care if he lies. After all, they are liars themselves.
Some in the media do care. Like Rev. Al, Martin Bashir, Ed, Lawrence, Rachel, EJ Dionne, Eugene Robinson.
That isn't a whole lot is it?
Too bad Martin Bashir couldn't be on at night. He's passionate, intelligent and refuses to buy the spin coming out of the Romney camp. He does a great job of nailing their lies.
His videos go viral around the net pretty quickly, which shows how much interest we have in him. Two hours of Matthews? Not necessary.
Wouldn't you think that someone should investigate and arrest the Members of the New Black Panther party. I personally attended a Detroit city council meeting where two "members" threatened to "Burn Detroit to the ground if "whitey" took over. On top of the two that were inciting hate crimes and blood shed on the NBP Travyon Martin conference call. Is it now legal in the country to put a dead or Alive bounty on anyone's head?
@Alan
What part of the economy has he destroyed?
Pretty sure that's obvious.
No problem. Your post are GREAT and should be posted twice as many.
Feisty, terrific post.
Tongue in cheek or not, Dear Mrs. Romney:
While you were fortunate to marry into wealth, and nothing bad happened to your husband, good for you. I speak for the many who were and are not as lucky. Two weeks after my 9th birthday, my Mom who had been provided for by my Dad became a widow. No skills, little education and suddenly she's a young, single mom with a daughter to raise without the luxury of inherited wealth and without her husband.
I also speak from personal experience having work at equal jobs as men and been paid less money for it because those equal pay laws were nonexistent and/or mostly ignored. I once had a male boss tell me he gave most of my raise to John Doe because he was the breadwinner. What was I, chopped liver?
No one is saying that women doing lesser jobs should be paid the same as men doing higher level jobs but merely that women doing the same jobs as men should be paid the same as those men. Why is that such an affront to those like Mrs. Romney? Why should women work the same hours at the same job as their male counterparts only to be paid lower wages just became they aren't considered "providers"? My Mom became the "provider" and the idea that in today's world, she should be paid a lower wage for equal work should anger any woman.
Perhaps, you, Mrs. Romney should spend more time talking to women beyond the circle of those who think as you do for some real perspective about working outside the home.
Actually, Joe, I'll take that back. I just realized I do want to ride into that battlefield and chop the heads off Republicans, I hate them that much. My bad! Politics makes hypocrites of all of us, I guess.
_________________________________________________
Then it's good that all those hated Republican's have fought to defend their Second Amendment rights and are well armed for repelling your attacks. LOL!!!
I see the always articulate & cheerful J. Merle has joined us this morning!
*waves to Stanley*
Alan,
Sorry to see you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I hope the rest of the day goes better for you! ☺
Is feigned outrage listed anywhere amongst the Rovian tactics? I don't have the list at my fingertips at this moment.
Pat, Boston says....
Tweet over at The Obama Diary:
The Secret Service screw a few, hell breaks loose, Wall St screws the world, no problem.
Yeah. And you know what Pat? If, while they are "screwing" their hookers, they screw up some vital security procedure which leads to the attempted (or worse) assassination of the POTUS or some other security breach...you'd be the FIRST one on here crying that the Secret Service didn't do their job or take it seriously because Obama is the first White-African American President. You're a joke.
By the way, polls are showing that Obama is QUICKLY losing ground among Canine-Americans. after the revelations of his taste for dog meat. "Fluffy", a Pomeranian from Atlanta, Georgia says "I'm really disgusted by this whole thing. I thought when Obama got Bo it meant he really loved us. You know, just like he loves all the other minorities." "But now, Fluffy says, shaking his head, "I just don't know. I mean, those poor dogs down in Indonesia"...his voice trails off. "If I had a litter of puppies, they'd look just like those Indonesian dogs that Obama ate"....
http://www.blackpanther.org/newsalert.htm
" There Is No New Black Panther Party: An Open Letter From the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation
In response from numerous requests from individual's seeking information on the "New Black Panthers," the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation issues this public statement to correct the distorted record being made in the media by a small band of African Americans calling themselves the New Black Panthers. As guardian of the true history of the Black Panther Party, the Foundation, which includes former leading members of the Party, denounces this group's exploitation of the Party's name and history. Failing to find its own legitimacy in the black community, this band would graft the Party's name upon itself, which we condemn.
Firstly, the people in the New Black Panthers were never members of the Black Panther Party and have no legitimate claim on the Party's name. On the contrary, they would steal the names and pretend to walk in the footsteps of the Party's true heroes, such as Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton, George Jackson and Jonathan Jackson, Bunchy Carter, John Huggins, Fred Hampton, Mark Cark, and so many others who gave their very lives to the black liberation struggle under the Party's banner.
Secondly, they denigrate the Party's name by promoting concepts absolutely counter to the revolutionary principles on which the Party was founded. Their alleged media assault on the Ku Klux Klan serves to incite hatred rather than resolve it. The Party's fundamental principle, as best articulated by the great revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, was: "A true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love." The Black Panthers were never a group of angry young militants full of fury toward the "white establishment." The Party operated on love for black people, not hatred of white people."
The same part that Romney did, the fictional part. If Romney destroyed jobs as part of Bain Capital then what did Obama do to GM and the dealerships. Slimmed it down to save the majority of jobs.
However, Obama does have a bias against fossil fuels at time that there is no immediate replacement. His Administration is on record as wanting to raise the price of energy for everyone in the economy. I do not think that is a policy that will create jobs.
Another "newsworthy ? " story about nothing. It sort of reminds me of some Seinfeld episodes. Of course, Feisty as usual has the first post and again takes a swipe at Ann Romney ...... and then her fellow libtards follow with an outpouring of useless and irrelevant comments.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our country is about $16 trillion in debt with no budget as constitutionally mandated. Obama continues with snippy comments trying to divide the country along lines of income and race. His leadership style is woefully inept. Making our country thrive once again will require someone capable of finding common ground and then building upon that. Obama brings out division and animosity.
Just getting my Starbucks now...but seriously fiction?
Here you go JohnB:
TACTICS FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATIVE BLOGGING By Karl Rove
@Alan
Well, to get a replacement you need to realize there is a problem in the first place. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Previous presidents (of both parties) were just content to sit back and let it go. Obama is the first POTUS I can remember even speaking out against our addiction to oil.
Rick-546746
.........."Back into the kitchen with you women... Ann Romney had no problems running her household with lots of (hired) help and money...you can do it too .........."
Money that her husband WORKED FOR. You're a real @!$%#, and a prime example of ultra liberal misogyny.
Ann Romney raised five kids with her husband, and they did it without seeking "government assistance." You seem to think that's "bad." You seem to think success is "bad."
I guess you'd like her if they had twice as many kids and were on welfare.
What's more, she a breast cancer survivor, and lives everyday of her life with multiple sclerosis.
You don't hear her whine, moan or complain about that.
Yet you still attack her viciously, only because her husband DARES to take on Obama in the political arena.
You are a filthy SWINE, and you are a woman-hating misogynist.
Feisty Redhead............how do you far on equal pay? Are you paid the same as your male coworkers?
This is the piece by Richard Cohen of the Washington Post. I posted it earlier this week, so in case you missed it:
Mitt Romney, a man of falsehoods
By Richard Cohen, Published: April 16
Among the attributes I most envy in a public man (or woman) is the ability to lie. If that ability is coupled with no sense of humor, you have the sort of man who can be a successful football coach, a CEO or, when you come right down to it, a presidential candidate. Such a man is Mitt Romney.
Time and time again, Romney has been called a liar during this campaign. (The various fact-checking organizations have had to work overtime on him alone.) A significant moment, sure to surface in the general election campaign, came during a debate held in New Hampshire in January. David Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press,” turned to Newt Gingrich and said, “You have agreed with the characterization that Governor Romney is a liar. Look at him now. Do you stand by that claim?”
Gingrich did not flinch. “Sure, governor,” he started off, and then accused Romney of running ads that were not true and, moreover, pretending he knew nothing about them. “It is your millionaire friends giving to the PAC. And you know some of the ads aren’t true. Just say that straightforward.”
Me, I would have confessed and begged for forgiveness. Not Romney, though — and herein is the reason he will be such a formidable general-election candidate. He concedes nothing. He had seen none of the ads, he said. They were done by others, he added. Of course, they are his supporters, but he had no control over them. All this time he was saying this rubbish, he seemed calm, sincere — matter of fact.
And then he brought up an ad he said he did see. It was about Gingrich’s heretical support for a climate-change bill. He dropped the name of the extremely evil Nancy Pelosi. He accused Gingrich of criticizing Paul Ryan’s first budget plan, an Ayn Randish document whose great virtue is a terrible honesty. (We are indeed going broke.) He added that Gingrich had been in ethics trouble in the House and ended with a promise to make sure his ads were as truthful as could be. Pow! Pow! Pow! Gingrich was on the canvas.
I watched, impressed. I admire a smooth liar, and Romney is among the best. His technique is to explain — that bit about not knowing what was in the ads — and then counterattack. He maintains the bulletproof demeanor of a man who is barely suffering fools, in this case Gingrich. His message is not so much what he says, but what he is: You cannot touch me. I have the organization and the money. Especially the money. (Even the hair.) You’re a loser.
There are those who maintain that President Obama, too, is a liar. The president’s recent attack on Ryan’s new budget proposal sent countless critics scurrying to their thesauruses for ways to say lie — “comprehensively misrepresenting” is the way George F. Will put it. (He also said Obama “is not nearly as well educated as many thought.”) Obama does indeed sometimes play politics with the truth, as when he declared that a Supreme Court reversal of his health care law would be unprecedented. He then backed down. Not what he meant, he said.
But where Romney is different is that he is not honest about himself. He could, as he did just recently, stand before the National Rifle Association as if he were, in spirit as well as membership, one of them. In body language, in the blinking of the eyes, in the nonexistent pounding pulse, there was not the tiniest suggestion that here was a man who just as confidently once embodied the anti-gun ethic of Massachusetts, the distant land he once governed. Instead, he tore into Obama for the (nonexistent) threat the president posed to Second Amendment rights — a false accusation from a false champion.
A marathon of debates and an eon of campaigning have toughened and honed Romney. He commands the heights of great assurance, and he knows, as some of us learn too late in life, that the truth is not always a moral obligation but sometimes merely what works. He often cites his business background as commending him for the presidency. That’s his forgivable absurdity. Instead, what his career has given him is the businessman’s concept of self — that what he does is not who he is. This is what enables the slumlord to be a charitable man. This is what enables the corporate raider to endow his university. Business is business. It’s what you do. It is not who you are. Lying isn’t a sin. It’s a business plan.
cohenr@washpost.com
So who are you Mitt? You are definitely not who you present yourself to be and therein lies one of your biggest problems. Will we ever know the real Mitt Romney? Will we ever know what are any of your plans? Being a successful businessman as you label yourself, is one thing, if you made your millions by causing others dreams to be shattered, then I have to ask is this your model for being President? It is easy to make harsh decisions about people’s lives, when you don’t have to look them in the eye and know a little about them, your work didn’t involve, “it is not personal, its business” yours was, you made the bullets and someone else fired them, right? That’s why you live a very insulated life, that’s why when Governor you had a special entrance allotted to you alone…wouldn’t want to have to meet up with any of the unwashed masses, whose lives you ruined. You have had no experience with interacting with ordinary everyday working people….and it shows.
You are a fraud and a phony and the polls consistently show this. If you vote for this hollow, coreless individual, it is only because you hate his opponent, not because you think he will be better. What a choice!!!
This is not good news for Barry’s re-election, and it’s originally from the NY Times so lefty liberals are required to believe it’s the truth. Especially since the NBC/WSJ poll says Barry is a nice guy, but, American’s believe Romney would do a better job on the economy.
From CNBC.com:
Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter in the Spring
The New York Times
| 20 Apr 2012 | 09:46 AM ET
Some of the same spoilers that interrupted the recovery in 2010 and 2011 have emerged again, raising fears that the winter’s economic strength might dissipate in the spring.
In recent weeks, European bond yields have started climbing. In the United States and elsewhere, high oil prices have sapped spending power. American employers remain skittish about hiring new workers, and new claims for unemployment insurance have risen. And stocks have declined.
There is a “light recovery blowing in a spring wind” with “dark clouds on the horizon,” Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund , said Thursday, at the start of meetings here that will focus on Europe’s troubles and global growth. Ms. Lagarde implored world leaders not to become complacent.
Forecasters have said that the trends point to a moderation of economic growth in the United States, but they still expect the recovery to continue this year. The slowdown in part reflects an unusually warm winter, which pulled forward economic activity, making January and February seem artificially good and perhaps making recent weeks look worse than they truly were.
Still, the breadth of the recent weakening of activity shows that the economy remains fragile, as is typical in the years following a financial crisis.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index had been generally rising from last summer through March, but has fallen more than 3 percent since early April. Initial jobless claims had been on a long, slow fall since 2011, but have jumped about 6 percent in the last three weeks, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday.
To those smartasses concerned about my employment status: Ole Damaged works a later shift. Full time. I have my mornings free. This is why I often make several posts in the A.M. when First Read first comes up, then I'm not heard from pretty much after 11am or so. Did that even occur to any of you fraudsters and slackers? I doubt it.
Again with the "Ann Romney is pampered" crap? Hmmm. We DO know that she doesn't spend half the day on the internet while she's supposedly "working", don't we? I agree with Merle. Feisty Dumbfux WISHES she could be HALF the woman Ann Romney is. That says a lot because I don't even know much about Ann Romney but I know enough to know that she's infinitely more of a pleasant person than Feisty Dumbfux, has accomplished more in life, is stronger and classier, and the list goes on...
Think about that Fesity (and you other Dumbfux). You blast someone else all day long (while stealing from your boss) while it never occurs to you that you are nothing more than a pathetic, angry , bitter liberal in her curlers and bathrobe. Get a life and get the f**k back to work.
Ron, Pat Boston, well said.
Lawrence reading from a book about Romney written by a fellow Bain guy was revealing. Romney lies daily, he literally just makes stuff up and the next day says more lies. I don't care what party affiliation one has, how could anyone trust this man?
Would love to see Martin Bashir on at the 5 PM ET slot. One Hardball is enough.
From George W Bush SOTU speech January 2006
I think if President Obama had made this speech you would be singing its praises. The only difference is he didn't threaten to bankrupt energy producers who used fossil fuels.
Naw.
We have careers where we don't have 'shifts', but instead are responsible for getting our work down on time.
Could I have a link please to a threat Alan?
Also I'm sort of bias against fossil fuels myself, as I am a strong AGW believer. Just letting you know before we continue further :)
Job1
"..........J. Merle Stanley-2759623
CHILL OUT. You Republicans are so uptight..........."
Sorry to disappoint you, "(I don't have a)Job1"
But, I am a card carrying Democrat, and have been for 36 years.
It's a shame @!$%#s like you equate being angry over watching someone attack a cancer and an MS survivor with being "uptight."
Posted above but here it is again
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/mar/14/ohio-coal-association/ohio-coal-industry-says-obama-promised-bankrupt-co/
I don't know on AGW and I want to see some real cost/benefits before we attempt to transform our economy. The IPCC Impact report was so full of flaws and hyperbole it did not help their case for change. If AGW is true we are screwed in my opinion because it's already too late, and any changes we do make will be too little too late. On the other hand the Impact report only dwelled on the negative. There are some positive implications such as a longer growing season.
Bottom line is that the earth has been changing for eons so we're not going to stop that.
Dumb FUX -- excellent job of cut and paste!
I look most days to see if you have anything in the way of a contribution to a conversation and once again today see that you do not.
But please keep posting your inane, irrelevant, viscous, woman-hating, race-baiting, juvenile name calling, dismissive comments as it presents the best view many have into what the lefty liberals think of most Americans.
Gallup studies for 2011 show that 75% of Americans are conservative or moderate (40; 35) while 21% say they are liberal.
Try being somewhat civil if you choose to respond.
Romney is so out of touch with the real world that it's almost laughable. He sits down at a picnic table with a group of locals (all hand picked Republican supporters by the way) and INSULTS one of their towns famous businesses, a Cookie Company. He looks at the cookie in front of him with a look of disgust, as if it was covered with maggots. And he says "where did these come from, Seven Eleven?" What an egotistical, uncaring jerk he is. He not only insults the people at his table as well as the whole Town, but all of us who live in rural America. How insensitive can he be, how uncaring for the common American? What do you think he REALLY feels about you and me?
We're nothing in his eyes. Please don't even think about voting for this fool.
Obama 2012.
Pat Boston MA.
Quite true...isn't it interesting that someone who would pass himself off as a Christian is so comfortable playing fast and loose with the truth? If I were a cynic, I might even call him a liar or hypocrit...
Do you feel better now that you got that off your chest?
No worries... I plan to, they tend to bring out the best of the Dumbfux on the right! ☺
Why - thank you!
BTW: Do you own a mirror? lol
Jolly,
They burn Detroit to the ground about every five years anyway.
Everyone Else,
Hello, and I'm happy to inform you I'm capable of turning my neck a solid two inches in both directions today, lol.
As for Ted Nugent. What a dip sh**. I'm mad at myself for even liking his music, but alas Stranglehold is too good to deny.
I actually got in a very heated debate with a plumber buddy of mine the other day about physical capability and equal pay. I think, what many people don't realize is that the gender pay gap, isn't necessarily for jobs that require physicality. Not too mention, that as a female of child bearing years, I face scrutiny in job interviews that men never will, which is just inherently unfair.
Why should I be punished for carrying your children?
JMerle,
She didn't attack them for HAVING cancer and MS. There's a difference. Being ill, or surviving/overcoming things, doesn't morph you into a saint, above any and all criticism. There are many cancer/MS survivors who are still dickheads. Not saying Anne is necessarily one, but she doesn't get a "Get out of Stupid Free" card, just for having survived.
Pat Boston:
I saw the video clip of that, and it was even worse seeing it than reading what he said. Unbelievably rude, and to members of his own party, yet. For some reason, the pundits used to say that George Bush was the kind of guy you'd want to have a beer with. Romney is the kind of guy you wouldn't even want to have a glass of lemonade with. He can't even relate to Republicans if they're "little people." Just imagine how he will relate to the majority of the population of non-wealthy people who aren't Republicans. If his super PACs manage to buy him the White House, the U.S. is in for a callous, uncaring creep who has no concern for anyone but himself and his wealthy friends.
Unions have always respected a women's right to make equal pay for the same job as a man, they pay a scale wage rate, men and women are paid the exact same scale for the same job classification, it's only right and fair.
Take a good look below people, for a glimpse of ultra-liberal, extremist-left "logic." Feisty attacks Anne Romney, a woman who raised five (5) kids, and then survived BOTH breast cancer, and multiple sclerosis. Then Feisty responds to people like myself who tell her what a piece of @!$%# she is by saying this..............
"..........Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
I see the always articulate & cheerful J. Merle has joined us this morning! *waves to Stanley* Any other phony controversies you want to share. .........."
So in essence, Feisty thinks that criticizing people who attack woman, and those who attack cancer and MS survivors is a "phony controversy."
Like I said before Feisty, you are a worthless piece of @!$%#.
HEY FOLKS........Is this REALLY, the kind of mentality we want running this country?
WAKE UP AMERICA, BECAUSE THIS IS THE KIND OF GARBAGE WHO'LL BE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY IF YOU PUT OBAMA BACK IN OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!
@Alan
Indeed, I fear we may also be too late. But I'd like to at least try, and not roll over and die without a fight.
On the coal thing: I have no doubt that it would increase the cost of running coal. However, I like to look at it like this: coal power is archaic. It's dirty (not just CO2) and it's just another sign of an industry that doesn't want to adapt. But eventually they will have to. The cost of keeping older plants running increases anyway. Power companies just want to ring out the sponge longer and get pissed when government demands them to clean up their act.
One thing that does piss me off is the lack of modern nuclear (fission) facilities. In the long term fission is cheaper than "clean" coal anyway! So why don't we build it? The fanatic environmentalists.
Sorry, I am probably not making much sense today. I haven't had my morning soda yet.
A Fiesty, yet more fiction
Of course there is no such document. There is however a university paper that it is based on, in theory.
http://www.webster.edu/medialiteracy/journal/FINALKARLROVE.pdf
Houston,
I don't know if he's intentionally callous or uncaring. I just think he has zero communication skills and relatability. He's shooting himself in the foot, because instead of just aknowledging and making light of that, he's trying to convince people he's one of "them".
He should be making fun of himself in this area, not attempting to fit in with middle America.
Ladies:
Lilly Ledbeter Act of 2009. Equal pay for women.
All the GOP voted NO.
Fired up and ready to go.
Obama 2012
Sarah -- Men!!!! They only know what they don't know sometimes. Us women, well, we're perfect. lol What's with the plumber? A clogged pipe perhaps? ; )
DCIA,
Well, they're going to remain "clogged", if you get my drift, until he learns how to breathe through his nose and pick his knuckles off the ground when he walks. Lol.
It may be theory, however, YOU & the rest of the RWNJ's authenticate it daily...
Alan NJ apparent didn't notice the following two paragraphs in the Politifact article he linked to:
Of course, anything that will cost the coal industry a penny in profits will anger them. The bosses of a Massey coal mine were so angry at all those burdensome government regulations that they violated them, causing the deaths of over 20 coal miners.
Obama's idea was phasing out NEW coal-fired plants by making them prohibitively expensive to start up, not to force existing coal plants into bankruptcy. That idea may have been too radical and unrealistic, but phasing out dirty coal is something that needs to be done.
Houston -- Nice catch and well said!
"..........Sarah-3043284
JMerle,
She didn't attack them for HAVING cancer and MS. There's a difference. Being ill, or surviving/overcoming things, doesn't morph you into a saint, above any and all criticism. There are many cancer/MS survivors who are still dickheads. Not saying Anne is necessarily one, but she doesn't get a "Get out of Stupid Free" card, just for having survived. .........."
Oh, well that makes it okay then, Sarah.
LOL.........Are you @!$%#ing kidding me? Attacking ANYONE who has survived BOTH cancer and MS is an absolute TRAVESTY!
What's worse, is doing it for pure political gain!!!!!!!!
I see you have a nice picture of a young woman with a kid on your profile. How'd would you like it, if it was YOU, or worse, YOUR KID who got that sick....and someone called you or them a "dickhead"?
Are you really that psychologically ill, or are you just saying what you just said for politcal gain?
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE..........PAY ATTENTION TO ALL OF THIS AMERICA....BECAUSE SARAH'S AND FEISTY'S KIND OF "THINKING" WILL BE RUNNING OUR COUNTRY THE NEXT FOUR YEARS IF OBAMA GETS BACK IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would it bother me to find out that Ted Nugent was in jail next year?
No.
Does it surprise me that a mega-millionaire like Nugent would support a tax-dodging, draft-dodging mega-millionaire like Romney?
Not really.
Ladies:
Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009
All the GOP voted NO.
Romney does not seem real supportive of the law.
Fired up and ready to go.
OBAMA 2012
Houston,
If you'd heard Lawrence O'Donnell last night reading a few passages from a book entitled The Real Mitt Romney about the way he treated employees at companies taken over by Bain Capital, you'd have no doubt that he is callous and uncaring about everything except making money for himself and his wealthy friends.
I absolutely do not understand how anyone can advocate FOR more fossil fuels. It seems like their arguments boil down to, "Well we don't have the full and total technology yet, so what's the point?" The point is, we have SOME technology and capability. We definitly have enough to get us started, and the more we use and convert to renewable resources and green technology, the more we will innovate, develop, and manufacture.
Fact: Fossil fuels will run out.
Fact: Fossil fuels will become increasingly more expensive.
Does anyone really enjoy smog and putting gas in their car? Let's at least begin to take the steps to getting off of this crack. The fact that anyone defends the use of these fuels is a testimony to the strength and success of money in politics.
Merle,
Well first, because it's not a kid, it's my sister, who by the way also has MS, and is sitting in the picture. Do you think for a second I give her a "Get Out of Stupid Free" card? No, because her surviving MS is only one aspect of her personality. And trust me, I love her, but she more than has the capability of being a pain in my ass, and I make sure to tell her when she is one.
Attacking her FOR being sick, isn't okay, but neither is excusing bad behavior because of it. That's what we call ENABLING. You're looking to attack Fiesty, and you think you have the golden ticket here. You don't.
No, it's fiction just like everything else you write.
Couldn't agree more. There's also the NIMBY problem. Look at the wind farm they tried to build up a Martha's Vineyard. All the proponents of green energy didn't want their view spoiled.
I know I'm always criticizing but to me one of the failures of the stimulus was that they did not propose upgrading the national grid.
Also, and I think this was done in conjunction with NRDC, is to green buildings like the Empire State. It should not need government help because the ROI is verifiable. I think the green lobby made a mistake by trying to get government to be the driver instead of the profit motive.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/09/13/empire-state-buildings-green-transformation-earns-leed-gold
And what do you suggest we power our cars with? Where does electricity come from? It's this nonsense approach where fossil fuels are demonized as if there is an alternative, that wouldn't destroy the economy. Can I ask what do you think the unemployment rate would be if gas was $8 a gallon (as wished for by the current Energy Secretary) and if there were no coal burning power stations?
J. Merle.....is unhinged....again.
Dumb FUX -- "It may be theory, however, YOU & the rest of the RWNJ's authenticate it daily..."
So you admit to telling a lie to make the left's point. How very appropriate.
Geez Merle how much coffee have you had this morning, you might need to switch to decaf. You are going to give yourself a stroke at this rate, then you might miss all the fun when Obama is reelected.
Sarah, my favorite Democrat! What happened to you for the stiff neck?
Yes, gender bias does exist in lots of forms. But how could anybody be biased against you :-)
Alan,
You're making my point exactly. From my first post...
Well we don't have the full and total capability of curing cancer, either, does that mean we shouldn't start applying/testing the newest advances and treatments?
We DO have the technology to start moving in that direction. Why wouldn't we?
Big,
You weren't on here yesterday, but I was in one hell of a car accident. Not my fault. This time. Lol.
Well, that explains it...that lack of sleep must hinder your thought processes.
No Houston I read it all decided post the link so everyone could make up their own mind. I don't need to edit information. The only reason that the statement is marked as "Mostly True" is because President Obama has not gone as far as candidate Obama. But after healthcare and the "I won't force people to buy insurance" statement we can be pretty sure that candidate Obama and President Obama are two different people.
From PolitiFact
The Nuge took too many acid trips while being an irrelevant rocker.
Think Progress:
Yesterday, presumed GOP nominee Mitt Romney made a major campaign stop at the shuttered factory where then-candidate Obama spoke in 2008. The National Gypsum plant has since closed, and Romney said that fact “underscores the failure of this president’s policies with regards to getting the economy working again.”
But Romney’s implication that the plant’s closing is a result of Obama’s economic policies is undercut by the fact that the plant closed before Obama took office. The factory closed in June 2008, when George W. Bush was still president.
This isn’t the first time the Romney campaign has tried to blame Obama for something that happened under his predecessor. The campaign’s central piece of evidence in arguing that Obama has been bad for women — that 92 percent of job losses under Obama were from women — counts job losses that occurred from the beginning of January 2009, even though Obama wasn’t sworn in until the end of that month.
A fool flatters himself, a wise man flatters the fool.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
It is only April and the GOP primary isn't over yet. These polls mean nothing until the fall. Everyone calm down.
The name calling and degrading of individuals in the comment section is embarrassing (It is always the same individuals, you know who you are and so does everyone else). At least the politicians have the decency to show their face and name when they call out or degrade someone. You are all hiding behind a fake name and fake picture.
You know ladies if you vote republican they will never respect you, friends don't let friends vote republican, it is too much like driving drunk. Take their keys away ladies, vote democratic, vote for fair treatment, the fairer sex deserves to be treated more fairly.
Michelle Obama put it very neatly in an NPR interview I heard recently: Family in politics should be off limits.
Michelle refused to comment on Ann Romney's remark that this mommy wars brouhahah was an "early birthday gift." Michelle refused to comment. Let's leave Ann Romney alone, already.
Now Michelle Bachmann: fire away, I can't stand that jerk.
Had one of those a while back hit from behind. Woke up the next morning and let out a loud explitive when i could barely lift my head off the pillow. Funny, didn't hurt much the day of, but the next day .... hello.
I think everybody would like off the fossil stuff, but how far should the govt should go into it is the million dollar question.
And we will if there is an ROI. See my post regarding the Empire State Building.
You can't beat the market particularly in a global economy. Say the Government mandates 20% of energy comes from current green technology and that technology is 10% more expensive. That makes the cost of our goods greater and the costs of imports cheaper. So how many jobs are lost through a mandate?
If however a manufacturing facility is retrofitted to save energy such that there is an ROI and the costs of production are reduced then our goods are cheaper and imports are more expensive.
Basically you are arguing for a top-down approach facilitated by the government. I am arguing that a market based bottom-up approach will produce better and sustainable results.
____is rich? ____is a rich Republican? ____agrees with J. Merle?
That's pretty much what you meant, isn't it?
My advice is to buy one of those little plastic contraptions that has the days of the week written on seven little compartments and put your meds in those. That way you can check every day and make sure your taking your daily allotment and not too little or too much.
Sarah's stiff neck reminded me of this:
An old man is sitting on the back porch with no pants on, and his little grandkid says grandpa how come you are sitting out here with no pants on? The old guy says well the other day I was out here with no shirt on and I got a stiff neck, this is your grandmother's idea.
Yep, there's no way we would vote an egotistical uncaring jerk into the White House
Alan,
I am??? Where?
Here's the deal. Right now, big fossil fuel producing, corporations buy our politicians. Lobbying, campaign donations, job offers once they're done with their service... In return for these things, the politicians screw with the tax code, allowing for the prices of certain fossil fuels to be artificially low, as opposed to reflecting what the cost of a barrel of oil actually is.
So the sh** is running down both sides of the mountain. If you really want a market based approach, end the subsidies and get the money out of politics. The price of fossil fuels will rise, the public will demand, the innovaters will invent, and the manufacturers will supply.
If you took the politics and speculation out of fossil fuels the price would fall.
My solution. End Corporation tax. Removes the need for lobbyists and loopholes. Cost of Production/Capital Investment can written off against revenue. Tax dividends and Capital Gains of the individual.
Removing tax would not eliminate lobbyist, loopholes yes.
Funny how divided the republican party has become. Their lack of rightous honorable leadership is clearly the problem. Although their tactic of division amoung americans is working well, they are causing their own base to divide. Makes the whole bunch look so stupid its actually laughable. In reality its not laughable, its very sad. We ALL have to endure this shameful, phony and wasteful history the republicans are bringing to our political process. We voted for hope and change and all the republicans have done since is piss on it. You republicans have morphed into completely lame polarized idiots. Not the honorable party our forefathers knew. That is a fact! A member of the party voting republican today is a sorry excuse for an american.
My Idea -
Pass a Constitutional Amendment overturning Valeo and Citizen's. Make both the politicians and the corporations beholden to only the people and the market. This will not only solve our energy issues, it will solve our issues in general.
The price of gas will always increase, it always has, be serious, how many people here remember when gas was 30 cents a gallon, then 60 cents, then a buck, then a buck and a half, then two bucks, then $3.50, you know gas will never do anything but increase, because it never has done anything else, and it does not matter who is the president or where the oil comes from. If you think gas prices will ever drop significantly you must be about ten years old.
Innovators are very much going right now for a fossil fuel replacement. First one to do so on an economical basis will have more riches than oil producers. I will be the first in line when they do.
The subsidies the oil companies get go into other industries as well. Higher gas prices would have a very detrimental effect on the economy and those barely scarping by. Only half of a barrel of oil goes to gas, the other goes into consumer products. I understand where you come from Sarah, but what if it takes 30 to 50 years to get the innovations needed? We have natural gas that is the equivalent of $2 gallon now. If we don't use our resources to bridge the gap until the technology is there to get us off there will be a lot of suffering going on in this country.
Alan -- It's opinions like yours that keep us from moving forward in the energy sector. You sound like a paid lobbyist for the industry. Sarah's correct in that we enjoy artificially low costs for our fuel. It isn't market based when subsidized. That said, of course we have to continue using coal and oil, but we need to invest in finding other healthier and sustainable sources to meet our energy needs, pronto. The competition for limited resources is not going away and in fact will only increase as China and India expand their economies thus increasing more end users. We need to get busy. Cost is secondary. In the meantime we MUST make every effort to mitigate pollution while extracting from the dinosaurs such as coal and oil. Again, cost is secondary. Health and safety is number one.
Yes the price of gas will always trend up. However the price of gas has never been stable which is a bigger problem.
Convert all semi trucks to run on natural gas instead of gasoline and we would be paying half the price we are paying to fill up now.
TO: Joe in Albany who wrote:
"FR lefty liberal"?!? "FR" stands for "Far Right" which would be Republican Territory.
You've got yourself a real live oxymoron there Joe, which is probably Republicans have talking points in the first place.
As for Ted Nugent, he's loaded with hate speech and venom, which is no doubt what the Republican Party loves most about its members.
Obama / Biden 2012
Big ATC,
Flex fuels, ethonal, eco-boost cars. I'm not saying cut off the supply tomorrow. I'm saying reduce it gradually, like a meth clinic, lol.
Focus on urban areas, increase public transportation... Sure the folks in the middle of Montana won't be driving around in a hybrid anytime soon, but if we target certain areas and make it a mix of renewable energy, hybrid energy, and flex fuels, we can take a considerable step forward.
@Sarah:
My concerns about ethanol are that it may be no better than fossil fuels in terms of AGW, in addition it's more expensive.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ethanol-not-cut-emissions
So what is an acceptable form of energy to supply to the electric cars? Nuclear? Solar will never supply the amount of energy needed to run the entire U.S.
I take issue with 2 points in your post. "Cost is Secondary" and Health and Safety is number one. No, cost is primary. If it is uneconomic then it is not sustainable. If cost is secondary who is going to pay for the subsidies? As to H & S what do you mean. Are you saying we cannot produce any goods that involve risk to someone? are you saying we cannot extract oil or coal (or even store grain in elevators) because of the risk? You'll have to explain your context.
Nobody is subsidizing oil or coal. We are not giving them money to drill. we are allowing them to write off costs against their tax liability. That's why if you end corporation tax you end the loopholes. BobbyJonesBia is right though there would still be lobbyists around looking for taxpayer money
I can relate to Meth :-)
Ethanol, from the green sense, actually produces more bad stuff than gas through the manufacturing part of it.
What about the green subsidies? Solyndra had to sell its panels at $3/watt to be competitive. It cost them $6/watt just to MAKE it. Don't remember the guys name, but someone actually did the math and predicted over a year in advance the exact month Solyndra would go bankrupt. It wasn't R & D money, but $500 million of mine and your money just for production. And have you seen the sweet building they built?
GM released their internal data on the volt. The average salary of Volt buyers was somewhere around $176,000 a year. Yes mine and your tax money subsidized dollar for dollar $7,500 of each of those to people in the 5% upper income. And i seriously doubt it was a main car, probably sets next to a Beemer.
"FR lefty liberal"?!? "FR" stands for "Far Right" which would be Republican Territory.
_________________________________________
FR stands for First Read.
Moron.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big,
Solyndra's issue was with managment. The problem wasn't green energy, the problem was that the people running it had sh** for brains. If money wasn't in politics, R & D money, and tax susbsidies would go to the company's who meet with the approval of the populace. You know the one's that provide quality goods, that are in demand, at the lowest possible costs. They wouldn't go to the company able to best buy off our politicians.
Problems with ethanol aside, my point is that this needs to be a multi-pronged operation thingy (yes that's a technical term), and it will take public/private cooperation. We just need to allign the interests of both of those sectors with those of the people.
Alan -- As if we can afford not to. Both with respect to health/safety and to our future. We are rich country when we put our minds to the task at hand. On the tax issue, clean taxes for everyone should be a priority as well, on that we agree. As for the safety aspect, if we jailed the offenders who blatantly ignore the meager regulations in place already then perhaps they will think twice when cutting corners that cost people their lives. BTW I noticed you refuse to acknowledge the competition aspect. Care to comment? Let me also clarify my market based comments. Oil and coal have been around forever. No need to subsidize any further, whether is through tax breaks or any other means. New technology will only be brought forth by someone stepping up and willing to invest in it. If the private sector fails in doing that then government has a responsibility to do so for our future and our children's future.
We can't give up on any kind of research and development. Not in energy, health, communication, weather, conservation, the environment.
Bell and Edison went through countless tries to perfect the telephone and the light bulb. If they had been trying in today's climate, they would have not been allowed to persevere and we would not have had thier contributions.
Certaily, the initial ROI will be less than ideal. Certainly there will be failures. And there will be naysayers. All progress endures these things. We have to try. Who knows what we might accomplish? Who knows what new procedures, products and theories we might uncover?
Ok. Obama's got the lead.
Romney scored higher on the economy.
Obama scored higher on being likable.
... You don't have to be retarded to be a liberal, but it sure helps.
oh, and to you tards that keep calling Romney, Willard, you're as big of a douche bag as the idiots that call Obama, B. Hussain Obama.
Feisty Red-Head. You insult Ann Romney for "Doing Nothing" but its obvious YOU do absolutely nothing at all with your life. You must sit on the msn home page hitting refresh waiting for new articles. Sounds like tough work. You are always the first to comment on any political article. I would be, but guess what IM BUSY. Its obvious you do nothing, stop bashing others who actually do something with their lives!
Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
Well, if it isn't the SHILL from IL......still the first to post the BS you call truth, are you? Do yourself a favor and just give up - everyone knows what you do, if you had any usable brains you would see that in the posted responses to your banalities - btw banality is a lacking in freshness or originality, hackneyed - just thought I'd put the definition in so you wouldn't have to look it up..
I call him Mitt, that is short for unmitigated liar.
On the Solyndra issue, I believe part of the problem was they used a different technology that cost more to produce than the lower end products coming out from China. In addition to the management problems.
Romney is a despicable liar and a fraud. No way this election looks anything like any previous presidential election. Romney to be exposed for the Etch-a-sketch lying vulture capitalist that he manifestly is. As a liberal progressive and rational person I look forward to this election like none before. Romney is encumbered by his volcanic eruptions of lies and hate, the Ryan Budget, attacks on minorities and women, Robert Bork, Grover Norquist, the Republican legacy and the fact that Romney is NOT qualified to be president. Did I mention he lies so much even he doesn't know what is true?
It will be fun to watch him crash and burn and I would like nothing more than to see him humiliated in the general election - along with his Teabag Republican party.
Alan NJ:
The "war on coal" accusation was a load of crap. If you still want to believe Obama ever wanted to start one, that's your business.
Obama didn't want the individual mandate, but in get a health insurance reform bill passed, he accepted it as a compromise with Republicans, who immediately pretended they never backed it and it wasn't their own idea in the first place. As for Obama's changes of position, compare that to Mitt Romney, who now says he was a "severely conservative" of Massachusetts to pander to the teabag people, but back then, he called himself a "moderate with progressive views" to pander to the moderates and liberals of that state. Obama makes compromises in order to govern. Romney lies in order to win the election.
Sarah, you are correct about 2 things. Their management was horrible and "thingy" is indeed a word. "Buttload" is also a word people don't believe, an official govt term meaning ... more than 72.
The underlying problem was the product wasn't financially viable. If i were your neighbor, (could i be that lucky) and told you i had the perfect burger to compete with the big mac and could make it for $6 each, would you give me a $5,000 loan to go against McKieD's? You would tell me to take that thingy elsewhere. That's what our govt does, and how the guy was able to predict the exact month they would go bankrupt.
IF i had my choice there would be zero deductions, with the possible exception of charity, and one flat rate for everybody at a lower rate. Then everyone would have a 1 or 2 page tax return and i wouldn't have a bout with depression with my tax guy every year. Don't remember the country, i think one of the ex-soviet ones, but it has no deductions and a 12% rate and seems to be doing ok. But then one would have to spend what one takes in, and the likelyhood of that is slim.
Stop trying to re-write history. The individual mandate was a comprise with his own party. Even then it was too far for Blanche Lincoln and Arkansas. She lost a primary to a more left-wing candidate who promptly lost the general election. Scott Brown won in MA by running as the 41st vote against ACA. Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu insisted there would be no Public Option. Ben nelson is now retiring rather than face his constituents. If you cannot get the representatives of these states to support the mandate, nor the citizens of MA why do you insist it was the Republicans who managed to insert this into the bill. They did not vote for it and judging by the reaction of the electorate it seems they made the correct political decision.
Lets try some logic.
President Obama is against a mandate.
Even by including the mandate in the ACA no Republicans are willing to vote for it.
At that point does logic not dictate that you can remove the mandate and have the same number of votes? Unless of course the mandate was inserted to satisfy Democrats who would not vote for a Public Option.
And never claimed a "War on Coal". That's the Democratic strategy right now ... War on Women, Dogs, Poor, Middle Class.....
What I did say was that this Administration is on record as wanting to increase the cost of energy and that if they succeeded then unemployment would be higher.
The upcoming campaigning promises to be the dirtiest (particularly by the Dems) in my lifetime. The Dems concocted the class warfare crap well in advance. How socialist. Certainly doesn't demonstrate leadership. Sounds like the Bolshevik Revolution, and I think we know how that turned out. Like most such revolutions, the poor stayed poor, the small middle class was comprised of certain favored professions, and the rich were politicians and chosen oligarchs. Shall we be totally stupid, whack the golden geese, and put ourselves out of work?
My new favorite bumber sticker: Blind Faith in Bad Leadership is NOT Patriotism! Well said. So where has our president been leading us? Nowhere good that I can see except possibly down the hopper faster than Greece.
Such hatred, such anger, such childishness...I worry for our country based on these message boards.
Nice paragraph. You seem to have got all the key phrases in but I can't give you a perfect score as you omitted any reference to teabagging, teabagger or tea party/GNOP.
Houston, if you think most every politician out there, including Romney and Obama, doesn't pander and tell people what they want to hear you are kidding yourself. All candidates run towards the left or right in primaries, then towards the middle in the general. But somehow i get the feeling you know that.
Obama did the same thing when he ran (as will Mitt) by promising .....
no taxes raised under 250k
close guantanimo
immigration bill first year
renegotiate NAFTA
oppose columbian free trade (just passed it)
cut deficit in half
no lobbyists in white house
putting bills online
raise minimum wage
end no bid contracts over 25k
I could go search and find more if you want. To think Obama is any different is not true. This is what we have to deal with on every politician and i doubt it will change anytime soon. Both sides.
You don't understand what socialism is, socialism is where the government owns big business, we now have a system where big business owns the government.
BTW it is republican governors and legislators that want to make every accommodation and extend every generosity to the wealthy businessman, while depriving regular working people of their collective bargaining rights, to reduce their ability to make a fair wage and benefit package, that is fact class warfare, it's not just an expression since republicans want to legislate it, it is a fact. recognizing and expressing the truth just seems like dirty politics when the truth about your opponents is so dirty.
Not sure what I missed on the competition. I said end corporation tax and then its market based decisions. Much easier than Sarah's constitutional amendment. I disagree with your last point that it's the government's responsibility to step up. Why? Do they have fill in for every hole the private sector does not cover? I am for basic research but subsidies (real money not tax breaks) that were passed to the ethanol industry illustrates that Government should not try and pick an individual industry. Did government back oil in the late 1800's when it started to replace kerosene? How about when electricity replaced oil lamps. Did the Government or the market decide?
Mari,
You have no idea what the Bolshevik Revolution was. Obviously. Call us when peasants show up at your door carrying torches and pitchforks.
Let's see, how to make this easier for you...
When you wake up in your government owned home, get on the government provided transportation, to go to the government owned grocery store, where the government grown produce is and use your government alloted food tickets, to purchase your dinner.
You MIGHT have a point.
Trico
Your avatar is at the very least offensive and will only serve to legitimize the left wing argument. As a fiscal conservative, take it down and grow some respect for those who's opinion and governance differ from your view.
Now Joe...
You know that REALITY has no relevance here at FR... nor does it impact the twisted view of the lefty loons that post here.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Uh, Noid... you seem to have missed the news.... THEY DID INVESTIGATE THE MATTER!
Firstly, the people in the New Black Panthers were never members of the Black Panther Party and have no legitimate claim on the Party's name.
Nonetheless... They ARE black and they ARE HATERS/RACISTS! (you can't deny that old buddy old pal!)
Hey Ruken... your comment sound a lot like a union guy...
Did you ever think that you may get your work "down" (as you say) on time... but if you were not pissing away that internet time at work how much more you could get done and how that increased productivity might help your company AND your career?
Oh... but then that might lead to you becoming a "rich" guy... maybe even a 1%'er.... and who wants to be hated like that?
(show me the clown nose, fisty!)
So what you are saying is that it was a losing venture and doomed from the beginning... yet Obama was strongly in favor of it.
(show me the clown nose, fisty!)
Come election day, this will look nothing like 2004 or 1996, but exactly like 1980 when Carter got his a$$ handed to him for dragging out the recession for 4 long years. Now his understudy, Obama has mirrored that, and the results will be the same, in spiteof Mitt. By late Summer it will be painfully obvious to everyone but those on the far left that Obozo doesn't have a clue, nor the cabinet he installed, as the economy heads south.
So does this mean the DOJ is going to reign in the black panthers this time?
President Harry Truman in 1948: “The Republicans … will try to make people
believe that everything the Government has done for the country is socialism.
They will go to the people and say: "Did you see that social security check you
received the other day—you thought that was good for you, didn't you? That's
just too bad! That's nothing in the world but socialism. Did you see that new
flood control dam the Government is building over there for the protection of
your property? Sorry—that's awful socialism! That new hospital that they are
building is socialism. Price supports, more socialism for the farmers! Minimum
wage laws? Socialism for labor! Socialism is bad for you, my friend. Everybody
knows that. And here you are, with your new car, and your home, and better
opportunities for the kids, and a television set—you are just surrounded by
socialism! Now the Republicans say, ‘That's a terrible thing, my friend, and the
only way out of this sinkhole of socialism is to vote for the Republican
ticket.’".....AND!!! That was 64YEARS AGO!!! The republicanCrimeCartel IS STILL doing the same thing NOW BUT with THEIR NEW SOLDIER: MittTaxPittanceRommel, WHO WILL START A VERY PROFITABLE WAR WITH IRAN, as He and his Confederates SHUT DOWN Social Security and Stuff YOUR Monies in HIS Pockets. That is what he did as head of Bain Financial!!! Those of you who are STILL considering voting for romney, Elect Rommel and THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE MEANING OF REAL PAIN!! I KNOW IT AND I PROMISE IT!!!
I can't believe the visciousness on this site. It seems that during the day all the liberals are out in full force. Probably because they don't have a job and are on the government dole in some way which is why they like Commie Obama. Got to keep the entitlements going. In the evening the postings lean towards the right. Probably because they were all out during the day working earning a living. Obama supporters just don't get it. This isn't a popularity contest, America is at stake here, Obama's agenda is the same radical agenda that he has been involved with since his college days. Community organizing, hung around with the likes of Bill Ayers and let's don't forget his hate filled pastor Jerimiah Wright. They all hate America. This is his experience and this is what he will fundamentally change America to. I would rather have Romney as President because he isn't a commie.
How can so many people be sooo ignorant to the failure that is Obama??? Thats right folks...keep voting to run your country further into Dictatorship and further down the $hitter. There are more than just Obama and Romney running for President....stop letting the big spenders influence your decision.
For Libya alone, he should have been impeached, the War Powers Act of 1973 did not grant him authority to make the decision, alone, to send the U.S. military into Libya. The War Powers Act state that the conflict must be in some way a threat to the U.S. Libya was in no way a threat to our national security.
You thought Newt Gingrich was a crook for making money off of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac?? Look who is number two on the list on this list. Keep in mind nearly everyone was donated too to make it look fair but the amount to Obama is rediculous. Not in it for the special interests huh...
2 billion to Brazilian oil company after banning drilling off our own coast...campaign funder to the Obama Administration, George Soros, is invested into the Brazilian company Petrobras.
Obama pushes Green energy companies while regulating other energy sources. As the investments fail or these green companies go bankrupt, only the company CEO's benefit from the billions of taxpayer dollars. You can check out Solyndra as an example. Or you can check out the 700 million+ dollars that the Obama Admin gave to a company with ties to Nancy Pelosi. Google it!
Auto Industry payback to unions. Obama uses taxpayer dollars to payback the unions for their generous campaign donations.
Chrysler companies shut down...788 of the 789 donated to the
republican party Coincidence?
Wall Street Obama slaps wrist of donors:
EPA Carbon Offsets to Cronies:
Obama job losses. The Obama administration maintains that the stimulus plans were successful yet there are 2 million less jobs since he's been in office. 1 trillion dollars and 2 million less jobs???
The housing stimulus alone is basically the government buying up all of the failed mortgages and then who is left to pay for, not only the stimulus but the maintenance on these homes??? The taxpayer. Just last year alone cost the taxpayers over 500 million dollars to maintain foreclosed homes.
Obama Government dependency. The number of dependant Americans has gone up while Obama has been in office. Milk and cookies for everyone...
National Debt
The National deficit has increased by nearly 5 trillion dollars in the 3 and a half years Obama has been in office compared to Bush's 5 trillion dollar increase in the 8 years he was in office. You can youtube the video of Obama promising to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.
Troop Withdraw
Obama promised to bring all of our troops home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (youtube the video) but only moved the troops from Iraq to Afghanistan increasing the troop count there significantly. Since the increase troop deaths have spiked and we are still no where near bringing them home. If only they cared about our own borders as much as the Afg/Pakistan borders.
Immigration
The Obama Administration, to gain the vote of Hispanics, offered amnesty and entitlements to illegal aliens..key word...ILLEGAL... why are illegal aliens offered incentives for breaking the law? Just the opposite of National Security.
Obama openly admits he is a Muslim and believes that the US owes the structuring of America to the many Muslims that have helped build this country. Youtube it...straight from the horses mouth. Not to mention he is the only U.S. President in history to BOW!!!! to a Saudi King yet ignores the Queen of England. Despicable..... Youtube that as well.
Obama extended the Patriot act another 4 years, signed the NDAA and HR347 along with many other new laws that are nothing more than violations to our rights and the Constitution.
Obama promises in a campaign speech that he will make the government "transparent" and that there will be no more secrecy in the government and that any new law that comes across his desk will first be available to the public, for 5 days, online to review and give feedback....There has been no such viewing and the government is in more secrecy today than it's ever been.
He told everyone exactly what they wanted to hear and then has done nothing but the opposite while in office only setting up more campaign donors for his next campaign in 2012. These are just some of the reason's he is not fit to run the country along with reasons he should be impeached and prosecuted.
Ron Paul 2012!!!
They took all of my links out of that last comment...BS!! Google or youtube it, if you don't believe it!
From The Leadership Conference, 2009-
"The number of hate groups operating in the United States continued to rise in 2008 and has grown by 54 percent since 2000 — an increase fueled last year by immigration fears, a failing economy, and the successful campaign of Barack Obama, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC identified 926 hate groups active in 2008, up more than four percent from the 888 groups in 2007 and far above the 602 groups documented in 2000."
To paraphrase you SOtB-
"They ARE WHITE and they ARE HATERS/RACISTS! (you can't deny that old buddy old pal!)"
I wish.
Support Ron Paul. Pass on his message. Tell you friends about him. But accept the reality that This time around Paul doesn't have a chance, and vote for Romney. He sucks. But he is the lesser evil.
With Ron Paul we would move forward. With Romney we will most likely stagnate. But with Obama, we will go down. Until people understand the libertarian party, and it grows big enough, a vote for Ron Paul, is just one less against Obama.
President Harry Truman in 1948: "The Republicans … will try to make people
believe that everything the Government has done for the country is socialism.
They will go to the people and say: "Did you see that social security check you
received the other day—you thought that was good for you, didn't you? That's
just too bad! That's nothing in the world but socialism. Did you see that new
flood control dam the Government is building over there for the protection of
your property? Sorry—that's awful socialism! That new hospital that they are
building is socialism. Price supports, more socialism for the farmers! Minimum
wage laws? Socialism for labor! Socialism is bad for you, my friend. Everybody
knows that. And here you are, with your new car, and your home, and better
opportunities for the kids, and a television set—you are just surrounded by
socialism! Now the Republicans say, 'That's a terrible thing, my friend, and the
only way out of this sinkhole of socialism is to vote for the Republican
ticket.'".....AND!!! That was 64YEARS AGO!!! The republicanCrimeCartel IS STILL doing the same thing NOW BUT with THEIR NEW SOLDIER: MittTaxPittanceRommel, WHO WILL START A VERY PROFITABLE WAR WITH IRAN, as He and his Confederates SHUT DOWN Social Security and Stuff YOUR Monies in HIS Pockets. That is what he did as head of Bain Financial!!! Those of you who are STILL considering voting for romney, GO AHEAD!!!Elect Rommel and THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE MEANING OF REAL PAIN!! I KNOW IT AND I PROMISE IT!!!
Only a sick, perverted mind would continue to put blame on child for what the parents did. The continued degrading of Obama regarding eating dog meat when he was a child, by the right wing ding bats, is more than an example of the right's lack of substance on any issue worth while; thus, they latch on to meaningless issues in order to appease their in-bred hatred.
What better evidence do we need that these right-wing fanatics are pathetic losers.......??
A little something for those who like to bash unions and believe right to work for less and less and less laws will help them. The median income in Texas is $10.80 an hour that's $21,600 for 2000 hours work a year, that means over half the people in Texas do not pay any federal taxes, that's an awful lot of republicans not paying any federal taxes. Ok lets give them a about a $5000 a year raise, the person who made the 26,400 paid 1,491 in employment tax, no fed. For 2000 hrs per year he/she made 13.20 per hour. That's way above minimum wage. Let's say he or she was union and made twice as much 26.40 in wages per hour ie 52.800 per year, same standard deductions as the person making 26,400 the union person would pay 2983 employment tax also fed tax of 3,168 total 6,151 that goes a lot further to pay down the national dept. The union guy paid over 4 times as much to the government. He would also have some extra money to spend to help out the capitalist, and trickle up some jobs, to make those products. So basically everybody wins, when decent wages are paid, benefits would be icing on the cake if you are trying to raise a healthy secure family, but most non union employers are loath to pay any benefits to supplement the ridiculous low wages. Unions make America strong and prosperous, that is a fact, unions rock.
Show me the brown nose SOTB!
"..........J Merle whomever: having a disease does not confer sainthood. That little Annie did not get the lesson that other people might like to have access to the best medical treatment by having insurance tells us who and what she is. I started off liking Ann Romney, but in all honesty? She is wearing badly. Your problem is not how Ann Romney is being spoken of, but that your crush Hilary did not get the nomination for President. That was her failure, not your Presidents. You are so angry and bitter, that a caring person must worry about you. .........."
Showme, just once, where I said Ann Romney should be cannonized.
You can't, because I didn't.
But, I still cannot believe the crap I'm seeing from people who scream about having compassion for the poor.
I guess there was something I didn't see prior to this.
That something is; you ONLY have compassion for the poor. You don't give a damn about humanity, or human life itself.
And in THAT sense, you are all @!$%#ing PHONIES!
You hate Ann Romney for two reasons.
One, because she is WHITE, and two, because she and her husband have some money......and you want her to die because of that.
There are NO circumstances under which someone who's survived one life threatening disease, and who suffers from anothee debilitating one, should be subject to the kind of hate speak you @!$%#s have thrown out about her. And you did it for no other reason than the fact that she supports her husbands candidacy.
For years, I could never understand why Ronald Reagan opted out of the Democratic party. But, now I can see why he did it.
You are hypocritical, envious, lazy-assed @!$%#wads who just want free "stuff" from the government. You are jealous, and hateful of anyone who's actually "made it" in this world; and in that sense you would claw at, and tear down someone else's success, just to drag them down to your own miserable level of existence.
......and this is best exemplified by your shameless defamation of a cancer and m.s. victim, who did nothing more than to support her own husband.
You really ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
The fact that you aren't means there are TWO things wrong with you.
Can't we all ignore political affiliations and vote for political candidates that make the best moral, ethical, prosperous, etc., etc. decisions for this country...
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty."
Alan NJ:
Why don't YOU stop rewriting history. The individual mandate was a Republican idea to begin with, and there was no reason for them not to vote for it except to deny Obama a major accomplishment. But that's beside the point, even thoug it did ultimately turn out to be a compromise within the Democratic Party, because of Republican extremism, it still was a compromise made as a very ordinary part of governing, not a flip-flop like the myriad Mitt Etch-A-Sketch has made to pander to teabaggers. You're trying furiously to avoid acknowledging the two are vastly different, but everyone knows it. That's why Obama gets far high marks for integrity compared to Romney in the opinion polls. Mittens may be able to confuse people with his song and dance about how he'll "fix" the economy, but his fundamental dishonesty is painfully obvious.
SOB -- What I am saying is that Solyndra had a costly innovative technology but China trumped them with cheap panels requiring a different technology. Not better. That said, they may have mislead people on their ability to succeed in the sector, If they did their homework, thus the raid on their facilities. Couple that with the fact that prices dropped 50% in one year in the solar panel market and it equals a failed venture.
Additionally, when setting up this loan program, the government set aside a vast amount of money to cover the losses knowing that risk was involved when investing in these type of innovations.
The nose thing is rather silly btw.
Rewriting history? Here's history from the Republican's own mouths;
Let's roll back time to 1993 and read what Republicans had to say about this socialistic and tyrannical provision then.
http://www.sierrastar.com/2012/04/04/57834/the-individual-mandate.html
"How about when electricity replaced oil lamps. Did the Government or the market decide?"
Actually Alan the government decided, it was because of "The rural electrification program" started by Roosevelt and continued into the 1970's it is responsible for things like the TVA. Many people in rural areas to this day would not have electricity if the government did not pay for the original installations because it was not profitable for the free market to run thousands of miles of wire and poles to sell electricity to a relatively few people who would never have bought enough to make it profitable. Without that government investment many people still would be using kerosene lamps in remote sparsely populated areas.
You call it “Liberal Media”
ABC – CBS – FOX – NBC
Sunday Talk Shows Guests (Over the last 8 months)
Republicans = 70% vs Democrats = 30%
Men = 86% vs Women = 14%
White = 92% vs Minorities = 8%
Since when are Republican white men considered Liberal?
Dennis, everyone recognizes what's going on with these Sunday programs. I haven't watched them for a few years myself. Boring and insufferable. Hosts and most guests.
Great statistics Dennis, and they support the reality of what's going on in the Beltway Media.
Only because they no longer cave to the left. Its like this place when someone says something you dont like or something that is not aligned with your thoughts you put them on Ignore. Thats akin to being in combat and covering your eyes and pretending that the "bad guys" will go away. They wont there coming, stand up and face it.
Then you're also aware that the "Liberal media" has become the "Conservative media." Thanks for chiming in on that.
So what Dennis? It's a straw dog argument. Liberals don't want to interview liberals, they want the meat, and to them, that's the republicans and conservatives. They are always looking for the "gotcha" moment so that's why liberal talk shows interview republicans. The same holds true of conservative interviewers. They want liberals to argue with. It's show business.
Well debates amongst people with the same ideologies tend to be somewhat boring.
Dennis---I've given up on Sunday talk shows---too unbalanced for me. I love Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris Perry on MSNBC. Interesting topics, different guests and intelligent discussions.
Dennis, so much for that liberal media bias. Like Pat Boston and Steeler Fan, I have given up on the Sunday talk shows. Instead I watch/listen to MSNBC's UP with Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris Perry. With 2 hours each both days, there is time for indepth discussions, real examination of issues, honest arguments instead of 10 minutes of he said/she said. They have republican guests along with democratic guests.
John B -- Good point. The Sunday talk shows used to be something I looked forward to. Pretty much the only time I tuned in to politics. Over the past year or so I find myself tuning out. What happened?? It's become very skewed to the right. You are correct. Perhaps in their effort to balance they lost their way. Too bad as they are also losing their viewers. For me it's become a waste of time to watch any more.
I'd have to say that while I like MSNBC overall, and really like Chris Mathews, Lawrence O'Donnell, and Karen Finney (she's awesome) , I think they're in danger of becoming water-carriers for the DNC. That would be a mistake. You can't be a cheerleader and objective at the same time. Look at Faux News. I have nothing against Al Sharpton, but he has about as much business hosting a news hour as I'd have performing brain surgery on myself. It was literally painful the first time I watched him railing on the Trayvon Martin case repeatedly- maybe a dozen times- talking about Trayvon being armed only with a "skillet". He should stick to his real calling and stay off of TV. And MSNBC should avoid always automatically being pro-Obama or pro-Dem. I'd hate to see them become a dem version of Faux.
I agree with all about Melissa and Chris Hayes. They are so refreshing! I love the fact that they bring on guests we aren't familiar with. These two hosts are obviously all about new voices, new perspectives. So badly needed.
The regular Sunday shows are nothing but retreads for the last 10 years. Same over the hill pundits week after week after week after week. Who never got a damn thing right.
Let's see...what has been going on the past 8 months? Hummmm... A REPUBLICAN primary!
Sorry guys but it is still liberal media. My brother is a long time newspaper editor and even he admits that while they like to believe they are fair and balanced most are left leaning. Not saying all outlets are like this but the majority are. The other thing today is the "gotcha" style of journalism where stories are edited to slant one way or the other with pertinent facts left out to drive the emotion.
I've got a thing for those left leaning elitists. They're pretty smart it seems. ; )
DailyKos:
The worst-performing message was the one focused entirely on the wealth gap, which probably explains why President Obama isn't using it. (I suspect the reason it performs poorly is that many people see the gap as a symptom, not a cause.)
The remaining three messages are ones advanced by Mitt Romney, and each performs more poorly than fairness argument advanced by President Obama. Of the three, the worst performing argument is the centerpiece of Romney's campaign: shrinking government.
Convention wisdom is that if the campaign is about the economy, Mitt Romney will win. But polls like this—combined with the recent New York Times/CBS survey—suggest the conventional wisdom is wrong.
ABC seems more and more conservative to me ever since the death of Peter Jennings and the Disney takeover.
Dennis, your numbers are ridiculous and mean nothing.
1.) As been pointed out there has been a Republican Primary going on.
2.) How is being questioned, scrutinized, and vetted by the media helped? I would rather they question and vet Obama and the Democrats and instead of giving them a pass as you have so convincingly pointed out they have been given.
3.) As noticed by anyone who reads First Read the stories have been mainly about Romney or Republicans, have almost always been negative, (Example - Romney's Hot Mic Moment, Santorums Letter, And something about Romney's troubles in the polls.) Does all of these stories about Republicans by a white journalist help Romney? Can you find me any stories that question or call into question anything about Obama? The only story they have is a quote about Obama not being born rich, and then the story goes on to parrot Obama's statement, no vetting of his past, no questioning of his policies, no stories of previous campaign promises, all fluff and bias, so please save your sorry a$$ numbers for the idiots of the world, knowledgeable people know better.
The Headline should read "Hoping for an 04' or maybe 96' election! Where just by a funny coincidence the incumbent won both of those elections. First Read is written and edited by Democrats, you can tell by looking at the Headlines. Look in the Archives and see how many negative headlines about Republicans there are compared with all the favorable headlines for Democrats, it's laughable. Just scroll down and you will see 2 negative Romney linked stories and one Obama story that does nothing more then push the message of a recent speech he gave.
Hell, I even think one of First Reads employees post liberal comments. (Fiesty) - She some how is always the first poster of political stories (Just look at today and this story as an example) I have posted 100's of times and have never been first, yet she is the first poster on over 50% of the stories about Republicans.
Come on people this $h!t is joke!
Yeah. the Republicans are telling LIES left and right, and they hope every person's memory in the US has a span of less than 4 years, unable to recall that the last REPUBLICAN MORON in the White House, along with a Republican Congress, TANKED our Economy and destroyed the housing and banking markets.
So yeah, it's shaping up in Familiar Ways...
Feisty Red-Head. You insult Ann Romney for "Doing Nothing" but its obvious YOU do absolutely nothing at all with your life. You must sit on the msn home page hitting refresh waiting for new articles. Sounds like tough work. You are always the first to comment on any political article. Most people have lives and therefore miss most articles. Its obvious you do nothing, stop bashing others who actually do something with their lives!
Feisty Redhead - The Insider
Today's 04' - 96' story - Feisty is the FIRST poster.
NBC/WSJ Poll Obama leads Romney - Feisty is again the FIRST poster.
Romney's Hot Mic Moment - Yes, you guessed it, the FIRST poster is Feisty.
Think about all the times you have posted and how many times you were first? She has been First at least three times just this week, and all on negative Republican stories. HACKS, YOUR ALL POLITICAL HACKS!!!!!
Okay Fiesty, you just made a fool of yourself just like Hilary. The Prez's attitude is Hilary who? Then says "some consultant makng comments", even though she has been to the White House more times than some of you are old. He so busy campaigning and a "politickin", he has no idea what a stay at home mom with kids like Ann Romney does. Even the First Lady defended Ann Romney's stance which is commendable.
People should make up their mind before the election. If you would like to keep SS, medicare, etc, you should pay more tax and vote for Obama. If you do not like to pay more tax, you should also forget about medicare, SS, healthcare, etc. and vote for Romney. It is impossible to have both low tax and balanced budget without killing medicare, SS, healthcare, etc. It does not matter what the politicians say.
There is no free lunch!
How many liberal guests has Fox News had?
In which the candidates have been constantly and consistently bashing the Democrats. What's your point?
It was pointed out in this forum yesterday that liberal thinking (not political liberal but liberal in general) tends to be more inquisitive and tends to entertain more points of view. Conservative thinking (again, not political conservative) tends to be more closed. Liberal thinking is more in line with what journalism, investigation and reporting is all about.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/09/07/your-brain-on-politics-the-cognitive-neuroscience-of-liberals-and-conservatives/
Do you have a point to make?
Or are you just here to whine?
If so, you are cordially invited to a grape stomping contest, today @ Millenium Park - 3 PM sharp!
When it's over, you should have plenty of new material to work with! ☺
Logic, Tad, John,
If you understood how to navigate First Read you to could be first on many articles.
But I’m not going to tell you what to look for when it is right in front of your face.
Dennis said,
You call it “Liberal Media”
ABC – CBS – FOX – NBC
Sunday Talk Shows Guests (Over the last 8 months)
Republicans = 70% vs Democrats = 30%
Men = 86% vs Women = 14%
White = 92% vs Minorities = 8%
Since when are Republican white men considered Liberal?
I think this just shows who's informed on Sunday talk show issues...
More to the point... I don't see anything about the content of the show(s) so your claim
"You call it “Liberal Media” is hard to prove because we don't know the issues involved when this research was done.
Conclusion: Bovine fecal matter!!
Everybody knows the media is in the tank for Obama!!
Just because they have Republicans on the Sunday news shows doesn't mean they won't campaign for Obama like they did in 2008. They have to protect there reputation of putting him in office the first time. Fortunately, I think (Hope) that most Americans are smart enough not to buy into the false spin the White House is attempting to put on his lack of success (or complete failure, depending on who you listen too) and all the distractions as opposed to the Real issues.
Romney 2012
LOL! "I know the answer but I'm not telling!" What is this third grade? Oh wait, I'm debating liberals, so it is kind of like the third grade.
Do you have a point to make? I made my point, several times actually.
Or are you just here to whine? You mean like post some numbers and complain that the media is obviously biased in the Republicans favor kind of whining, or the type of whining that goes to every Republican story and adds my own negative postof the Republican to make myself fell better. Which kind of Whining are you referring to?
If so, you are cordially invited to a grape stomping contest, today @ Millenium Park - 3 PM sharp!
When it's over, you should have plenty of new material to work with! ☺ I see your attempt to deflect and raise you a whatever.
Interesting stat. I would like to see a link and then compare that to the make up of the senate/house/staff in (X) party and see if there is an actual bias, or if that is an honest sample.
I can't believe the visciousness on this site. It seems that during the day all the liberals are out in full force. Probably because they don't have a job and are on the government dole in some way which is why they like Commie Obama. Got to keep the entitlements going. In the evening the postings lean towards the right. Probably because they were all out during the day working earning a living. Obama supporters just don't get it. This isn't a popularity contest, America is at stake here, Obama's agenda is the same radical agenda that he has been involved with since his college days. Community organizing, hung around with the likes of Bill Ayers and let's don't forget his hate filled pastor Jerimiah Wright. They all hate America. This is his experience and this is what he will fundamentally change America to. I would rather have Romney as President because he isn't a commie.
I conduct 10 interviews, 80% of the time I talk to Democrats and ask them why they are so divisive, why are their ideas so bad, why is it they continue to hurt the economy. The other 20% of the time I interview Republicans and ask them how they got so smart, why is it they care so much for everyday people, and why do mean Democrats continue to block their forward looking legislation.
Now according to Dennis because 80% of the time was spent with Democrats I am biased towards them and treat Republicans unfairly.
Bottom line is context matters, and your numbers have no context and mean nothing.
It is called … Unbalanced
You are right Dennis, it is unbalanced. So I'm glad you agree with me the Media needs to do some reporting on Obama and the Democrats, get them in on their shows and ask some tough questions instead of giving them a pass like they have over the last four years. I want both sides asked tough questions, and I want both sides to be vetted, I don't believe that has happened yet.
Only a sick, perverted mind would continue to put blame on child for what the parents did. The continued degrading of Obama regarding eating dog meat when he was a child, by the right wing ding bats, is more than an example of the right's lack of substance on any issue worth while; thus, they latch on to meaningless issues in order to appease their in-bred hatred.
What better evidence do we need that these right-wing fanatics are pathetic losers.......??
Why don't you right wing nut jobs focus on the candidates and their ethics, such as Willard's stance on any issue:
"I'm pro choice....err,....I'm pro life.....err, actually I'm pro anything that will get me your vote."
"Obama should look to the health care bill I singed while governor of Mass.....err, Obamacare is poison, it should be abolished.....err, If you don't like my current new position, give me a few days and I'll change it to whatever will win me your vote...."
"I discuss women's economic issues on a daily basis with Ann. Form her homemaker point of view, she is best suited to advice me on this issue......"
"I will shrink government by abolishing many departments....but I can't tell you which ones; so, you should elect me based on my clear positions on such issues--'check is in the mail'...."
"I have the business experience to turn the economy around and create jobs; Just look at me past--I've destroyed multiple companies, caused thousand of workers to loose their jobs, and made millions in the process. Elect me and I will use that experience to do the same with the national economy" I hope you all have your resumes updated......
Not all republican men or women are going to vote GOP in November. I am one of the independents who will vote a Democratic ticket in November. That softens the 70 percent number of Republican men cited in this post. The figures do not include Hispanic Americans, blacks, and other groups turned off by the behavior of the GOP this year. If only wealthy americans support Romney, then the odds are stacked against the GOP for the general election.
Logic,
Not just Presidential Candidates but all the Senators up for election/reelection and their opponents.
Candidate Obama went on FOX (Bill-O) and as President has given FOX 2 or 3 interviews as he has the other news outlets (ABC, CBS and NBC). So why has Mitt Romney only given interviews to FOX ?
I'm not a fan of Mitch Daniels, but that's good advise. And since Romney thinks he's God's gift to the world and only surrounds himself with Yes Men, we can cross Daniels off the VP list.
What might be constructive...is for conservatives in this forum to explain/prove (concrete examples) why Romney would be better with the economy. Romney is failing to make this point to most of us.
At #2.10 Thomas blue, Msnbc is critical of Obama and others when it is merited. Rachel Maddow praised the vetoing of a bill, that would allow guns to be carried concealed any where, by Jan Brewer. Has Fox condemned any of the GOP politicians it reports on for anything?
Patriot, all one can do is look at a person's past. He was a state govenor, ran a business and ran the Olympics. Each person will then have to decide. None of that matters to you and others as he doesn't have a (D) in front of his name. A lot of people from both parties i talk to don't like either one. Myself included.
BigATC -- Romney negotiated with Bill Bain to head up operations with NO personal risk, no capital, job, or reputation on the line. Go read about it, and it won't seem so impressive. Also, go to PolitiFact and read about the Winter Olympics and you'll see this has been overstated as well. As for Romney's one-term stint as governor, the only thing he could take credit for is Romneycare.
Romney is out of date and out of touch, and most of all lacks any kind of foreign policy understanding -- let alone the correct temperament, or courage to show leadership needed to be POTUS and leader of the free world. The shameless way in which he lies is most disconcerting (e.g., his father was not "poor").
Never said i was impressed with him. He did some good, some not as most people do. His father wasn't born wealthy but did OK in later life. I could care less about the size of one's bank account anyway. Except mine :-)
He did have risk in some deals when he put up his own money. It's not all about resume, or BO wouldn't have got elected having professional politician and community organizer as his. A lot is name recognition, charisma and popularity. BO had the name recognition and is a very charismatic guy behind a podium.
He could have done a better job of the people around him. Academics and lobbyists are everywhere. One thing that stands out i don't like is the deviding nature of the Presidential office that i haven't seen since i have followed politics since the 80's. Oil, bad. Insurance..bad, Bankers ..bad, Wall st fatcats ...bad, House ...bad, people hate women, people hate blacks, people hate babies, people hate hispanics, people hate elderly. I want the Prez to be an optimistic cheerleader for the country and his pessimism is just old for me.
No, George Romney was not even born poor. Only rich Mormons had multiple wives, and when these families returned to the US after being thrown out of Mexico by Pancho Villa, the government gave them 100k, which was a lot in those days. The point is Romney lies, constantly. Rubio lies about his family too, plus the Mormon gig -- makes him a good match!
When did Romney risk his own money--prove it. Also Mitt DID get money from his father, just as his own sons don't pay taxes on the money he gives them. They're just good at laundering money legally so to speak.
The politics of hate and fear that started to divide this nation began with Republicans (especially Dubya/Karl Rove and religious wedge issues, which continues now with the War on Women), and which took off with FOX Noise in the 1990s. And that goes for class warfare, and bigotry of all kinds as well. Romney and Paul Ryan's plan is doom and gloom pandering to scare you and others into cutting programs for the working poor and middle class (voting against your own interests).
There is nothing wrong with President Obama's resume, and in fact it IS impressive that he became POTUS despite all odds. But what's really important is President Obama stands up for the 99%, the way the Kennedy's did -- listen to some of Ted Kennedy's speeches that are very moving. Romney is a plutocrat stuck in the past and everyone knows it.
OBAMA ADMITTS NOT REAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Watch the trial!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OwmfisorUcc#!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHKJQ__W_4k&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JohAu0BR_w0
BYE BYE OBAMA,,, YOUR NOT AMERICAN
O'bama was born in Hawaii. He admitted no such thing, Liar.
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/200907280002
The
Definitive Birther Takedown
July 28, 2009 10:07 am ET
A growing chorus of fringe conservatives, ranging from members
of Congress to Lou Dobbs, have started echoing the "birthers'" claims
that Barack Obama's eligibility for office needs to be examined. Media
Matters Action Network decided to take up the challenge. Needless to say, we found
their evidence rather uncompelling.
MYTH: The
Certification Of Live Birth Is Not Enough Evidence To Confirm His Birth In
Hawaii
Birther Movement Claim:
Obama has NOT provided a certified copy of an original, typed,
vault copy, long-form, birth certificate, signed by his mother and delivering
doctor with the name of the hospital thereon, to be used to conclusively prove
one of the two key elements used in determining his "natural born"
citizenship status per the U.S. Constitution, i.e., where he was born. All he
has provided to the electorate and public to see is a digital image on the
internet of a purported copy of a short, summary, computer printed form called
a Certification of Live Birth, aka COLB, which is not a Birth Certificate. No
one in any controlling legal authority and official expert capacity has ever
been allowed to examine the purported computer made paper document displayed in
the digital images and digital pictures on the internet.
[ObamaCitizenshipFacts.org, accessed 7/27/09]
FACT: Not Only Has The Certificate Of Live Birth Been Verified
By Numerous Officials, Other Primary Source Documents Verify Contents
FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and
photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of
the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims
that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted
high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents"
to this article. [Factcheck.org, 11/1/08]
But the evidence of Barack Obama's birth in Hawaii does not stop
there. Dr. Chiyome Fukino, Hawaii's State Health Director, examined the
document. As reported by the Honolulu Advertiser:
So, in what likely will be a vain attempt to halt the inquiries,
Fukino yesterday issued a statement saying that she and the registrar of vital
statistics personally inspected Obama's birth certificate and found it to be
valid. . . .
Fukino issued her statement to try to stomp out persistent
rumors that Obama was not born in Honolulu - and is therefore not a U.S.
citizen and thus ineligible to run for president.
Fukino, however, repeated the Health Department's position that
state law prohibits her or any other officials from actually releasing the
birth certificate, which Obama's campaign says shows he was born in Honolulu on
Aug. 4, 1961.
"There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein
Obama's official birth certificate," Fukino said in the statement.
"State law (Hawai'i Revised Statutes¤338-18) prohibits the release of a
certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in
the vital record. ... No state official, including Gov. Linda Lingle, has ever
instructed that this vital record be handled in a manner different from any
other vital record in the possession of the State of Hawai'i." [Honolulu
Advertiser,
11/1/08]
MYTH: Barack Obama Can
Direct The State Of Hawaii To Release His Long Form Birth Certificate
Birther Movement Claim:
The lawsuit has not been dismissed (and others, including one in
Hawaii, have been filed). But it could be quickly settled by Obama and the DNC.
All they need to do is show a certified, long form "Certificate of Live Birth" to the court. [WorldNetDaily, 10/28/08]
FACT: The State Department Of Health No Longer Issues Copies Of
Paper Birth Certificates
As reported by the Honolulu Star Bulletin:
No, you can't obtain a "certificate of live birth"
anymore.
The state Department of Health no longer issues copies of paper birth
certificates as was done in the past, said spokeswoman Janice Okubo.
The department only issues "certifications" of live
births, and that is the "official birth certificate" issued by the
state of Hawaii, she said.
And, it's only available in electronic form.
Okubo explained that the Health Department went paperless in
2001.
"At that time, all information for births from 1908 (on)
was put into electronic files for consistent reporting," she said. [Honolulu
Star Bulletin, 6/6/09]
MYTH: The Certificate
Of Live Birth Posted By The Obama Campaign (And Above) Is Forged
Birther Movement Claim:
Additionally, statements by Ron Polarik and private investigator
Jose Barro, showed numerous signs of forgery on the short version COLB posted
by Obama/Soetoro, and Forensic Document expert Sandra Line has issued an
affidavit that Obama's place of birth cannot be ascertained without seeing the
original birth certificate. [DefendOurFreedoms.org, accessed 7/27/09]
FACT: FactCheck.org Viewed The Original Document, Attested To
Its Authenticity
Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some
time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real
and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago. We can
assure readers that the certificate does bear a raised seal, and that it's
stamped on the back by Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a
signature stamp rather than signing individual birth certificates). We even
brought home a few photographs. [FactCheck.org, 11/1/08]
MYTH: Foreign-Born
Children Could Acquire Hawaiian Certificates Of Live Birth (COLB)
Birther Movement Claim: According to the Orange
County Weekly:
Taitz and others say they have reason to doubt the veracity of
Obama's COLB. Forensic experts have set up web pages and signed affidavits
saying it's a forgery. There's a law on the books in Hawaii that allows
foreign-born children to obtain a Hawaiian COLB. And the information on a
late-registered COLB doesn't need to be verified by anyone; it's based solely
on the testimony of one parent. [Orange County Weekly, 6/18/09]
FACT: The Law In Question Did Not Exist Until 20 Years Later
The law allowing foreign-born children to obtain Hawaiian COLBs
didn't exist until 20 years after Obama was born, while Obama's published COLB
says his birth information was recorded four days after his birth in 1961. [OC
Weekly,6/18/09]
MYTH: Obama Renounced
His Citizenship While In Indonesia
Birther Movement Claim:
The problem Obama has with that issue is whether his
step-father, who moved the family to Indonesia after marrying his mother,
legally "adopted" him or "acknowledged" him as his son in
Indonesia with the mother's concurrence, thereby renouncing his U.S.
citizenship while living in Indonesia. [ObamaCitizenshipFacts.org, accessed 7/27/09]
FACT: Barack Obama Never Renounced His Citizenship
The primary piece of evidence birthers cite to support this
claim is Barack Obama's Indonesian School Record referenced above. Line 3 of
the document does ask for Barack Obama's country of citizenship and does say
Indonesia. However, Barack Obama's parents' completion of this document does
not mean he renounced his citizenship. In fact, Title
8 > Chapter 12 > Subchapter III > Part III > Section 1481
of the U.S. Code is very clear on this point:
§ 1481. Loss of
nationality by native-born or naturalized citizen; voluntary action; burden of
proof; presumptions
(a) A person who is a national of the United States whether by
birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily performing
any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States
nationality-
(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own
application or upon an application filed by a duly authorized agent, after
having attained the age of eighteen years; or
(2) taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal
declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a political subdivision
thereof, after having attained the age of eighteen years; or
(3) entering, or serving in, the armed forces of a foreign state
if
(A) such armed forces are engaged in hostilities against the
United States, or
(B) such persons serve as a commissioned or non-commissioned
officer; or
(4)
(A) accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any
office, post, or employment under the government of a foreign state or a
political subdivision thereof, after attaining the age of eighteen years if he
has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state; or
(B) accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any
office, post, or employment under the government of a foreign state or a
political subdivision thereof, after attaining the age of eighteen years for
which office, post, or employment an oath, affirmation, or declaration of
allegiance is required; or
(5) making a formal renunciation of nationality before a
diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state, in such
form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State; or
(6) making in the United States a formal written renunciation of
nationality in such form as may be prescribed by, and before such officer as
may be designated by, the Attorney General, whenever the United States shall be
in a state of war and the Attorney General shall approve such renunciation as
not contrary to the interests of national defense; or
(7) committing any act of treason against, or attempting by
force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States, violating or
conspiring to violate any of the provisions of section 2383of
title 18,
or willfully performing any act in violation of section 2385of
title 18,
or violating section 2384of
title 18by
engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the
Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, if and when he is
convicted thereof by a court martial or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
In addition, according to the State Department website:
B. ELEMENTS OF
RENUNCIATION
A person wishing to
renounce his or her U.S. citizenship must voluntarily and with intent to
relinquish U.S. citizenship:
1. appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic
officer,
2. in a foreign country (normally at a U.S. Embassy or
Consulate); and
3. sign an oath of renunciation
Renunciations that do
not meet the conditions described above have no legal effect. [State.gov, accessed 7/27/09;
emphasis added]
Furthermore:
Parents Cannot
Renounce U.S. Citizenship On Behalf Of Their Minor Children. Before an oath of
renunciation will be administered under Section 349(a)(5) of the INA, a person
under the age of eighteen must convince a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer
that he/she fully understands the nature and consequences of the oath of
renunciation, is not subject to duress or undue influence, and is voluntarily
seeking to renounce his/her U.S. citizenship. [State.gov, accessed 7/27/09;
emphasis added]
Update: The relevant law at the time was the 1952 Immigration
and Naturalization Act. (However the conclusions are the same.)
LOSS OF NATIONALITY BY NATIVE-BORN OR NATURALIZED CITIZEN
SEC. 349. (a) From and after the effective date of this Act a
person is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization,
shall lose his nationality by
(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own
application, upon an application filed in his behalf by a parent, guardian, or
duly authorized agent, or through the naturalization of a parent having legal
custody of such person: Provided, That nationality shall not be lost by any
person under this section as the result of the naturalization of a parent or
parents while such person is under the age of twenty-one years, or as the
result of a naturalization obtained on behalf of a person under twenty-one
years of age by a parent, guardian, or duly authorized agent, unless such
person shall fail to enter the United States to establish a permanent residence
prior to his twenty-fifth birthday:
Since a school application filled out by his parents meets none
of the above requirements, and a parent cannot renounce citizenship on behalf
of a minor, the birthers' point is moot.
MYTH: Barack Obama Is
Not Eligible To Become President Because Only One Of His Parents Is A U.S.
Citizen
Birther Movement Claim: According to the Orange
County Weekly:
Even if Obama's long-form, original birth certificate were to be
made public, though, the questions from Taitz and others wouldn't stop. There's
a second argument: that there's no way that Obama could fit the definition of a
"natural-born citizen." By turning to Swiss philosophy texts read by
the Founding Fathers, citing the infamous Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court
decision as precedent (which denied citizenship to former slave Dred Scott and
was later overturned) and disqualifying the presidency of Chester A. Arthur,
Taitz is able to claim that a baby can only be a natural-born citizen if both
parents were American citizens at the time of the baby's birth. [OC
Weekly,
6/18/09]
FACT: Barack Obama Qualifies As A Natural Born Citizen Under The
Constitution And Court Precedents
Article 1
Section 2 of the Constitution:
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be
eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to
that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and
been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
14thAmendment:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
In addition,United States v.
Wong Kim Ark established the precedent in this case:
Wong Kim Ark's demand for a writ ofhabeas
corpus,
however, was granted because of his contention that he was a United States
citizen. He charged that the Collector of Customs of the Port of San Francisco
and the manager of the steamship company had deprived him of his liberty
without due process. The U.S. District Court for Northern California agreed
that Wong's Fourteenth Amendment rights had been violated. His detention was
ruled illegal and he was released.
The U.S. government appealed the writ, implicitly challenging
Wong's citizenship before the Supreme Court on 5 and 8 March 1897. Ironically,
both sides accepted most of the basic facts of Wong's life. It was agreed that
he had been born in San Francisco in 1873, while his Chinese parents were
considered permanent residents of the city. He had visited China temporarily in
1890 and had returned to San Francisco with no difficulty in passing through
customs. It was further agreed that since his birth, Wong had never had any
other place of residence except California nor had he ever claimed to be
anything other than a United States citizen. Although his parents had returned
to China in 1890, Wong worked in San Francisco, paid his taxes, and had never
participated in any criminal acts. Most significantly, the government's appeal
conceded that the Chinese Exclusion Acts under which Wong had been detained
should not apply to him if he was indeed a U.S. citizen.
A Question of
Birthright
The government claimed that Wong's parentage should determine
his citizenship. Wong's parents were subjects of the Emperor of China at the
time of his birth. Therefore, Wong was likewise a foreign subject. According to
the appeal, Wong was also Chinese by reason of his "race, language, color
and dress." Because he did not belong to any of the classes of Chinese
allowed entry under immigration rules, he was technically considered to be a
laborer and liable to the terms of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
These arguments were no more successful in Washington D.C. than
they had been in San Francisco. The Court rejected the appeal on 28 March 1898,
over a year after hearing the case. Writing for the majority, Justice Gray
noted the Constitution's deep roots in English common law. By this tradition,
all persons born within England's domain could expect protection from the King,
to whom they were expected to owe their allegiance. Gray traced the lineage of
this concept of determining citizenship by birthplace from its English origins
to standard practice in the American states.
The Court found its strongest reason for affirming Wong's
citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment. Ratified by Congress in 1868, the
amendment was designed to grant the rights of citizenship to persons of African
descent who had been slaves prior to the Civil War. To the majority, Section I
of the amendment was unequivocal:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the State in which they reside.
It should be noted that the Dred Scott case cited by Taitz and
other birthers was decided in 1857,
a decade before the 14th amendment was ratified.
MYTH: Barack Obama's
Grandmother Witnessed His Birth in Kenya
Birther Movement Claim:
The Pennsylvania Democrat who has sued Sen. Barack Obama
demanding he prove his American citizenship - and therefore qualification to
run for president - has confirmed he has a recording of a telephone call from
the senator's paternal grandmother confirming his birthin Kenya. . .
"This has been a real sham he's pulled off for the last 20
months," Berg told Savage. "I'll release it [the tape] in a day or
two, affidavits from her talking to a certain person. I heard
the tape. She was speaking [to someone] here in the United States." He
said the telephone call was from Obama's paternal grandmother affirming she
"was in the delivery room in Kenya when he was born Aug. 4, 1961." [WorldNetDaily,October 23, 2008]
FACT: This Is A Myth Based On A Cropped Version Of An Interview
With Obama's Grandmother Sarah:
From Salon.com's War Room:
In that interview, Sarah Obama does in fact say at one point
that she was there for her grandson's birth. But that was a mistake, a
confusion in translation. As soon as a jubilant McRae began to press her for
further details about her grandson being born in Kenya, the family realized the
mistake and corrected him. And corrected him. (The audio is available for
download here.)
No matter, though, because people who believe in a conspiracy
theory simply hear what
they want to hear. So some Birther sites have posted transcripts
and YouTube clips that end abruptly with the mistranslation
and don't include the corrections. McRae, for his part, included the full
translation in his affidavit -- he thinks it's all just part of the conspiracy.
"Some few younger relatives, including [translator Vitalis Akech
Ogombe]," McRae wrote in his court filing, "have obviously been
versed to counter such facts with the common purported information from the
American news media that Obama was born in Hawaii."
Here's the conversation:
MCRAE: Could I ask her about his actual birthplace? I would like
to see his birthplace when I come to Kenya in December. Was she present when he
was born in Kenya?
OGOMBE: Yes. She says, yes, she was, she was present when Obama
was born.
MCRAE: When I come in December. I would like to come by the
place, the hospital, where he was born. Could you tell me where he was born?
Was he born in Mombasa?
OGOMBE: No, Obama was not born in Mombasa. He was born in
America.
MCRAE: Whereabouts was he born? I thought he was born in Kenya.
OGOMBE: No, he was born in America, not in Mombasa.
MCRAE: Do you know where he was born? I thought he was born in
Kenya. I was going to go by and see where he was born.
OGOMBE: Hawaii. Hawaii. Sir, she says he was born in Hawaii. In
the state of Hawaii, where his father was also learning, there. The state of
Hawaii. [Salon.com, 6/27/09]
MYTH: Obama Travelled
To Pakistan At A Time When There Was A Ban On U.S. Passport Holders Entering
That Country.
Birther Movement Claim: Obama Traveled to
Indonesia, Pakistan and India in 1981, when he was Twenty (20) Years Old on his
Indonesian Passport
Obama traveled to Indonesia, Pakistan and Southern India in
1981. The relations between Pakistan and India were extremely tense and
Pakistan was in turmoil and under martial law. The country was filled with
Afghan refugees; and Pakistan's Islamist-leaning Interservices Intelligence
Agency (ISI) had begun to provide arms to the Afghan mujahideen and to assist
the process of recruiting radicalized Muslim men--jihadists-from around the
world to fight against the Soviet Union. Pakistan was so dangerous that it was
on the State Department's travel ban list for U.S. Citizens. [ObamaCrimes.com,
accessed 7/26/09]
FACT: No Such Ban Existed
From FactCheck.org:
But that claim is quite false. There was no such ban. Americans
traveled there without incident, as shown by a travel piece
that appeared in the New
York Times in 1981, dated June 14. Barbara Crossette,
an assistant news editor of the Times, told her mostly
American readers they could travel to Lahore, Pakistan, by air, rail or road,
adding: "Tourists can obtain a free, 30-day visa (necessary for Americans)
at border crossings and airports."
Her article prompted a letter to the Times from the U.S. consul
general in Lahore saying he would "welcome an influx of Americans" to
Lahore. He cautioned only that in addition to getting a visa for Pakistan,
American visitors also should be careful to line up an Indian visa for the
return trip if they planned to travel overland. The letter is dated Aug. 23,
1981.
Also, a travel advisory from the State Department dated Aug. 17,
1981 notes that Americans traveling to Pakistan require a 30-day visa, and that
any staying longer must check in with Pakistan's Foreigner Registration Office.
A digital copy of
the advisory is archived at the Electronic Research Collection,
a partnership between the State Department and the Federal Depository Library
at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [FactCheck.org, 6/5/09]
MYTH: The Military
Revoked The Deployment Papers Of A Major Scheduled To Deploy To Afghanistan
After Arguing He Should Not Be Required To Serve Under A President Who Has Not
Proven His Eligibility For Office.
Birther Movement Claim: WorldNetDaily
wrote:
A U.S. Army Reserve major from Florida scheduled to report for
deployment to Afghanistan within days has had his military orders revoked after
arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven
his eligibility for office.
His attorney, Orly Taitz, confirmed to WND the military has
rescinded his impending deployment orders. [WorldNetDaily, 7/14/09]
FACT: Major Cook Volunteered For A One-Year Assignment In
Afghanistan In May And Only Brought His Suit In June.
Lt. Comm. William Speaks, a spokesman for Centcom stated:
"Maj. Cook volunteered for the one year assignment to
Afghanistan, in May of this year," said Speaks. "After he brought
this stuff to the fore, the unit that owned his billet canceled his
orders."
Speaks dismissed comments that Cook's attorney Orly Taitz, made
to WorldNetDaily, specifically her claim that "the military has directly
responded by saying Obama is illegitimate."
"This in no way
validates any of the outlandish claims made by Maj. Cook or his attorney,"
said Speaks. "The idea that this validates those charges about the
president's fitness for office is simply false." [Washington
Independent, 7/15/09]
Wade Tampa Florida - you cannot explain facts to fools. The birther group chooses to hate Obama and have hung their hats on nonsense. It doesn't matter how many times it is proved he was born in Hawaii - they are not convinced. They will go to their deaths believing he is not a citizen. It is what they base their hatred on since they are not willing to admit they hate him because he is black. They are the uneducated; the unabashedly racists; the ignorant; the pathetic. Your excellent post and points will do nothing to change them. Frankly, they're not worth the effort. Because, when you look at their hatred and their stupidity, it is them who are not Americans - because of their abject hatred.
I was never a birth-er... TILL NOW.... Why won't his lawyer allow the copy in court? The lawyer says in the hearing.. the one online document that was told to us by Obama to be authentic will not be submittable.. What is going on here? The lawyer changes its stance that the doccument is NOT needed to run for President... The lawyer says micky mouse can run for president...LOL.. JUST SUPPLY THE DOCUMENT IF ITS REAL.... This is something much bigger than I ever dreamed..
Ever hear of a "frivolous lawsuit", Birthers?
Wade, Tampa Florida, SeekingSanity -- The latest nontroversy about eating dog meat -- Like Rednecks haven't eaten crocodile, armadillo, or critters from the rodent family (think Romney hunting and you get the drift). Cats and all kinds of critters are eaten in China, horses in France, dogs in Indonesia (where the president lived for a time as a boy), and this is socially acceptable in some areas of the world because of immense poverty. Heck, south of our border, or even in Texas you may have eaten dog yourself. Idiots.
In regard to my comments above about George Romney, with reflection Romney may really think his father was born poor -- In comparison to the privileged life he lives with home-made cookies that their domestic help makes special for him.
Anywho, get ready for some more Crossroads Super PAC muddying of the waters...
Seeking Sanity, I don't care if care4mycountry,mychildren,myparents ever admits that birtherism is nonsence. I didn't just respond to the one post here. I posted the same lengthy response to every instance I could find of that post by care4mycountry,mychildren,myparents. My intent was to highlight the idiocy of the post. Not convince a birther zealot.
Yes TruePatriot, Americans eat pigs, and pigs are pets to some people.
"And that's the way it is".....this week
Mitt Romney performed the GOP required kissing up to the NRA Friday. He's been a life-time member since 2006, likely the year he first decided to run for president. "We need a President who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners. President Obama has not, I will." Will what, Willard? Enforce the current laws or add new ones to burden those "lawful gun owners" or both? Multiple choice, Mitt.
Herman Cain held a big Tea Party rally in DC; about two hundred showed up. Cain had several thousand brochures left and six empty buses. TP enthusiasm has left the building.
Arizona added a 24-hour wait time after the "mandatory ultrasound" in order to obtain an abortion. Plus they're trying another version of the bill to allow employers to ask women if they're on birth control. No War on Women waged by the GOP though; it's fiction, you betcha.
GOPers Foster Friess, "now that they have trained their barrels on President Obama, I hope his teleprompters are bullet proof." GOPer Ted Nugent at the NRA, "if Barack Obama becomes president again in November, I will either be dead or in jail." He told attendes go to the polls and chop their heads off; the "Obama administration is America-Hating." But for the Romneys, right-wing mediaand the GOP, outrage is reserved for Hilary Rosen who said Ann "has never worked a day in her life"??????
Mitt Romney filed for an extension on his 2011 tax returns. What? A guy who earns $57K a day couldn't hire enough tax attorneys to get his taxes done on time. What you hidin', Willard? Where's the other 11 years of returns that your father saw as necessary when he ran for president?
Listening to Iowa's Governor Terry Branstad's speech about "pink slime" had this Iowan longing for the days of Bush 43's wonderous oratory. Inane drone comes to mind.
Cheers to Diane Sawyer for repeatedly asking Romney about the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act although Mitt managed to speak from both sides of his mouth at the same time rather than answer.
During that same interview, Mitt and Ann Romney spoke as if they were entitled to the presidency. Ann, "it's our time"; Mitt, the Obamas should "start packing, heh heh heh". They may be wealthy but apparently tacky and inartful runs in the family.
Mitt Romney had his own "hot mic" night. He told the $50K a plate donors his secret plans that he refuses to tell voters--most likely because they won't like it. As David Axelrod said, the Romney campaign should be called I've Got a Secret.
After Mitt's faux Ann never worked outrage, Chris Hayes' UP found Romney's words in January, "I want individuals to have the dignity of work...even if a child is 2 years of age, you should go to work..." Monday, Mitt pretended to misunderstand the questions about his comments. Dodge ball, anyone?
44 GOP Senators and 1 democrat, Mark Pryor, filibustered the "Buffett Rule". These days the Constitution's established majority rule is a pipe dream replaced by the tyranny of the minority.
Mitt Romney has yet to personally respond to questions about Nugent's hate-rant. The yellow streak down Mitt's back is two feet wider for his display of cowardice. Leadership? He's not leader. A leader has the courage to call out Nugent's (or anyone else's) remarks for what they were--violence-laced, hate speech. What are you afraid of Etch-a-Sketch? Afraid Nugent and the NRA will take back their endorsements that you slobbered all over yourself to get? Bwaack, bwaack bwaack.
The World Bank named Iowa's own, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, to be its new President. That sound is buttons popping all over his hometown.
Orly Taitz filed another suit in Mississippi against President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the MS democratic party. She says Obama's birth certificate is a forgery and that he's using a fake social security number; Pelosi and MS dems are in cahoots! Here's a thought, how about the Court throw Ms Taitz's rearend in jail for repeatedly filing bogus, nuisance law suits which clog the system and cost taxpayers money and bill her for the cost.
President Obama announced steps his administration is taking to stop oil speculation and called on Congress to enact measures as well. Michele Bachmann, "this is just about waving a tar baby in the air and saying something else is the problem." And conservatives wonder why liberals think they have a prejudice, dog-whistle blowing problem--never mind that President Bush said almost the same thing in 2008.
John Boehner displayed "testy" when reporters asked him about the Catholic Bishop letters protesting the Ryan budget. He spouted something about them being eliminated without it and left the podium. Must have been close to Happy Hour.
Two visions in contrast this week. Video 1: Mitt Romney at a picnic table with hand-picked republican supporters, white shirt, tie, sitting stiff as a board, hands in prayer mode trying to appear interested, nodding his head, merely repeating their words and criticizing the cookies. Video 2: President Obama, white shirt, no tie, sleeves rolled up, elbows on the table, relaxed, clearly engaged with the older students--who were not hand picked democrats--listening and asking questions.
At that Video 1 PA picnic table summit, Romney's small talk was that the cookies weren't "homemade", maybe "7/11" thus insulting those at the table and the beloved Bethel Bakery renowned for their baked treats. There's serious outrage in PA. The bakery is having a "Cookie Gate" special in honor of Mitt--buy a dozen, get a dozen free. Mitt needs a lesson from Miss Manners.
Weeks past the deadline, the Virginia Senate passed a two-year budget. Maybe if the GOP had spent less time vaginal probing, they could have passed it on time.
GOP Rep Allen West said "there's a very thin line between communism, progressive-ism, Marxism, socialism...it's about nationalizing production...it's about the idea of social and economic justice...it's about the creation of a secular state." Mr. West, there's a very thin line between conservatism and fascism, too; it seem the GOPTP suffers Paranoid Delutional Fear-Phobia-ism, more commonly known as looney-ism.
For the right-wingers who became obsessed with dog meat this week, there's this. Wealthy GOPer Fred Malek, who hosted Sunday's birthday fund-raising event for Ann Romney, once took party in the skinning and bar-b-queing of a dog on a rotating spit in an Illinois city park. He and his friends were arrested and charged with animal cruelty. In addition, Malek was hired by President Nixon to purge Jews from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oops, there's that very thin line between conservatism and fascism.
Marco Rubio plans to introduce a conservative version of the DREAM Act. Illegals can "maybe" stay here, go to college or offer their lives to serve the only country they know but darned if the GOPers will make them citizens--then they could vote and the GOPers fear who they would choose.
Dick Clark died at age 82. Spent lots of afternoons hurrying home after school for "Bandstand". Clark provided teenagers with many happy hours of the best of Rock N' Roll. Levon Helm, The Band, died at 71--The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down. Rest in peace.
President Obama received thunderous applause from the 600 attendees at his speech in Dearborn, MI, Wednesday. Mitt Romney's staged "pre-buttal" speech to take place on a rooftop overlooking the Bank of America Stadium received a thunderstorm forcing he and his 150 attendees inside. Shades of 2008 James Dodson urging prayer for a mighty deluge in Denver only to have God punt the deluge to interfere with the GOP Convention instead!
Happy Birthday, Fenway Park!! There are few of the grand old baseball parks left. Let's hope Fenway and Wrigley remain for many years to come.
The Bachmann "Chitspa" Award goes to former VP Dick Cheney. He may have a new heart but he remains one mean, bitter, crank. "I think he's (Obama) been an unmitigated disaster for the country." It takes a boat-load of chutzpah for Cheeeeeney to make that statement since he, Bush and the GOP left "unmitigated disaster" in massive piles of UNFUNDED, CHARGED to the US Credit Card, GOP-Elephant dung for President Obama to clean up.
Jody: Good to see you up and early this morning. Excellent as always.
Multiple choice! That's Willard's favorite kind of question!
When Romney goes on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" his favorite lifeline is "Ask the Audience".
Ahh... " And that's the way it is" .....this week, Fenway turns 100 today and...
Doesn't get much better than that.
Excellant as usual Jody. Thanks.
Another home run, Jody! And the First Read crowd goes wild! Yea!!
Thank you Jody. I know you put a lot of effort into bringing these to us every Fri. morning. I so enjoy reading them.
@ John B
only if he can pick all of the above AND none of the above
Jody -- Outstanding! The Nugent rant pissed me off. But what made me furious was Romney not coming out with a strong statement condemning remarks like that. He scores a zero when it comes to leadership. To top it off this candidate thinks he is exempt from releasing past tax returns. Does he think he's special or something. This guy is hiding something. No doubt about it. May he fail in his bid to be President. He doesn't deserve it.
Great post as always Jody!
I believe that the more people see and hear of Mitt Romney the less they will be inclined to vote for him. I predict he will get the ABO vote but little else - he has offended almost every other constituency and I don't see very many independents or moderates voting for him.
Jody,
A Great wrap up report for the week:-)
I think Willard is more of a Wheel of Fortune kinda guy...
Standing before the wheel clapping like a trained seal hollering "BIG MONEY" "BIG MONEY"...
Of course, even with all of his earnings he is unable to buy a
vowelclue!Jody - you are like a fine wine - you get better with each passing week! ;o)
Yet more from Gallup: http://www.gallup.com/poll/153995/Stay-Home-Moms-Lean-Independent-Lower-Income.aspx
Stay-at-Home Moms in U.S. Lean Independent, Lower-Income
Fourteen percent of U.S. women are stay-at-home moms, while 24% are working moms
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Fourteen percent of American women currently have a child under age 18 in their household and aren't formally employed. While few in this group would be able to identify with Mitt and Ann Romney's wealth, it is the segment of the population that could potentially be offended by recent commentary that Ann Romney's lack of work experience -- she stayed home to raise their five now-adult sons -- makes her unqualified to advise her husband on economic matters.
Here is what else happened this week-
For the second week in a row, Initial Claims For Unemployment- an actual, rather than surveyed, measure- were unacceptably high- a sign that unemployment is, again, on the rise. This week's number, 386,000 was a decrease of 2000 from the prior week. Those keeping score might wonder how on earth 386,000 is a decrease from 380,000. Well, the little elves at BLS have, once again, jammed their adding machines, so the prior week's number of 380,000-a 10,000 upward adjustment from the week prior to that- was adjusted up by 8000.
That news did not make First Read.
Speaking in Columbia, Obama sought to arrogantly insult our closest ally- the UK- and wound up proving his ignorance of geography. Attempting to refer to the Falkland Islands by the Argentinians' preferred name- the Malvinas- he called the islands the Maldives- a sovereign nation of islands off the coast of India.
Not surprisingly, NBC did not notice.
Also this week, Obama weighed in on the harassment scandal/cover- up roiling the North Carolina Democratic Party, by advising David Parker to "fall on his sword".
http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/04/a-final-push-from-dnc-121082.html
This case came to light when internal emails were given to a North Carolina newspaper, the News and Observer, and picked up by the Daily Caller. It made the Miami Herald, the Baltimore Sun, the Sacramento Bee, the Huffington Post, Politico- a whole host of news outlets- before it got a line, yesterday, on this site. One might assume that a story that involved workplace harassment, as well as criminal violations of the law, (the settlement paid was paid with no knowledge or authorization from the Executive Committee;indeed, no one, including embattled Chairman Parker who arranged the settlement, knows where the settlement funds came from), might have gotten more of a mention here- particularly since Chuck Todd was tweeting about it, trying to discern Chicago's "take" on the situation.
Maybe NBC could do a story on the money elves that show up in North Carolina.
In other news-Things got a little nasty when Obama, exhibiting none of the dignity and comportment we expect of a president, shrilly intoned that neither he nor his wife were born with "silver spoons" in their mouths. NBC reported on that.
When, however, Romney challenged him- saying that he was proud of his father's success, and that it was disconcerting for the president to be attacking Americans for succeeding in this country, Obama, as is his wont, turned tail and ran.
Claimed he was not talking about Romney. I guess he was talking about some other opponent. NBC did not notice Romney's response, or Obama's response to the response- or else, they, alone, believed Obama.
The week was not without redeeming value, however, because one brave soul actually took enough NoDoze to read Obama's first autobiography, and revealed that Obama had, actually, informed the world, (proudly, I might add, having listened to a clip from the audio book), that he was "introduced" to dog (meat) in Indonesia. He does not say he ate it once, and was traumatized- nor that it was his only form of sustenance. He takes great pains to mention that it was "away from the dinner table", so, perhaps, his mother might have been less than supportive of his ingesting pooch kabobs.
I am not judging him. I intend to make it very clear, to every dog owner I meet, that I am not judging him, nor am I suggesting that the food offerings at State Dinners have anything whatsoever to do with why Speaker Boehner is always otherwise engaged when invited to attend. And, of course, it goes without saying that Bo, the dog, having been named by him after himself, is, undoubtedly, safe from his gustatory enjoyment. Anyway, he's never left alone with him, right?
This revelation did, however, make the "licorice and marshmallow" Bo Christmas decoration pretty creepy. One hopes that, if the dog mysteriously disappears, NBC will report on it. Little word of advice, guys- at the press barbecue? Stick to the veggies- except for the collieflower.
We also learned this week that our tax dollars are working overtime- going to Vegas, Napa Valley, giving out awards, funding mocking videos, (of us!). . .
And that a former Senate staffer of Obama's, Mike Robertson, who got the job of Chief of Staff at GSA, (reporting to Martha Johnson, the Obama appointee who ran the GSA), informed a pretty high ranking Obama aide, Kimberly Harris, (Deputy Assistant to the President, as well as Deputy Counsel to the President), that there was a really bad IG report coming down the pike. Outlined the Vegas trip, the awards, and a whole lot of other shenanigans.
Congressman Mica took some heat for telling the press that the White House knew about this waste, fraud, and abuse - then forced Robertson to testify, under oath, what Mica already knew- that he had informed Harris in May of 2011 about the IG report.
Why is this important? It was before the Napa Valley trip, that's why. It was before almost a year's worth of waste, fraud, and abuse, that's why. But, as usual, Obama did what he does best- campaigned, and played golf. Oh, and took a few vacations.
NBC missed that story, too.
Ah, well- Obama will go around the country complaining that it is republicans that stop him from rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. He will blame Bush. He will tell us he needs More Time To Finish The Job, WTF, and we should just Trust Him, because it is not Fair that he gets the blame for things that happen during his term in office.
To which I say
Obama shelved in 2012.
More fiction from Jody
Doesn't sound entitled and tacky. Seems pleasant but competitive and supportive of her husband.
NJNB -- You are quite disgusting. Garbage in garbage out.
Great post by no joe, no bo nj at #3.13 ! Wow !! When you start showing what DOES NOT make the headlines here on this libbie website, it exposes the leg-humping Obama media !
Meanwhile, our country is up to its proverbial ass in debt (about $16 trillion) and the retiring Senate Democrat caved-in and did not follow through on his proposed mark up of a budget. Obama swore to uphold the Constitution, but the little "budget thingy" seems to get in his way .... so he just ignores it !
Obama has proven again he is all about taxing and spending and any concept of the U.S. living within a budget is unimportant to him. If Obama wins a second term, the U.S. will hit a financial stone wall before the end of his second term ..... and the result will be financial chaos !
Couldn't agree more!
The nut job from NJ has a serious reading comprehension issue.
Please almighty knowing NJ - give us one of you infamous 'links' to prove the President has EVER been arrested for animal cruelty... in a city park no less...
We won't hold our breath!
Oh, and I'm sure McNasty was dining on filet mignon while vacationing at the Hanoi Hilton...
However, I am beginning to understand NJNB's obsession with strangling puppies & kittens!
Good catch Alan! The liberals will always try to paint a picture. Instead of using oils, they use watercolors so most of the time you can see right through it.
Great conservative rebuttal No Jo. I noticed that Jody never mentioned any of the liberal negatives in his rant. Of course the liberals all rallied to his defense with cheers and fists held high in the air... as usual. Liberals aren't looking for fairness, they are looking for every angle they can to put conservatives in a negative light while doing the very same things they blame others for.
Could be worse, they could be a fan of Impressionism in order to hide the real picture.
Dumfux said: Please almighty knowing NJ - give us one of you infamous 'links' to prove the President has EVER been arrested for animal cruelty... in a city park no less...
So dumfux is trying to put words where they were not. Apparently dumfux has a reading comprehension problem. No mention of an arrest was ever made, but dumfux has to make an untrue implication. I think she does this to aggravate and annoy... and to prove to her supporters that she simply cares enough to provide the very best lies.
Ruken said: Could be worse, they could be a fan of Impressionism in order to hide the real picture.
I believe you are on to something Ruken! You must be paying attention to their words... words they just slather all over these boards with no resemblance to truth.
I've seen posters on both sides guilty of that.
NJNB-independents favor Obama by 10%. Game over.
Too easy...
*yawn*
Jody, great post , as always. In addition to all the great recaps on the political scene, thank you for mentioning Fenway Park's 100th birthday celebration. this morning Morning Joe had a great show from there to kickoff the birthday celebrations.
JohnB.....great to see you here, hope all is well.
I will move on now, as we need to bring in the cleanup crew to remove from the porch, the mess from NJ courtesy of the characterless nojo and of course Alan also from NJ, (must be something in the water there as their loudmouth governor has the same problem) Well said DCIA and so true.
Back hoe will be around in a minute Jody. We have just got to do something about all this Horsesh!t that is stacking up down at the DDI Garden Center.
Thanks, everyone minus the naysayers who just cannot stand the truth. I didn't cover the Secret Service fiasco or GSA and a few other things because there's been enough coverage of that on TV and First Read. As for "our time" or "our turn"; I'm hearing impaired so once in awhile I misunderstand a word. No matter how the right wants to slice it, that interview spoke as if they were both entitled to the job.
The liberals will always try to paint a picture. Instead of using oils, they use watercolors so most of the time you can see right through it. I prefer watercolors for the transparency--Mitt Romney is thick, laid on oil covering up his real self, his real intentions, his policies; I use watercolor to reveal the real Mitt. He won't even tell voters what his plans are. Yep, thick oil paint instead of transparency.
dumfux, post the paragraph in njnb's post that says that. Funny, maybe your screen reads different than mine does so I'd like to see the surrounding sentences of her post so I can compare what your screen says to what mine says... Maybe you have a special program running that inserts lines that aren't really there.
Ruken said: I've seen posters on both sides guilty of that.
You are correct. Both sides are guilty of it but, considering there is about a 10 to 1 ratio of liberal vs conservative posters on this board, it's slightly more noticeable coming from one side only due to the sheer numbers. Most of us have written what we believe to be true, only to find out later that we've been scammed by someone else, or had bad information. Opinions don't count... we all have them and most of us are unchangeable in the way we believe.
Dumb FUX has been caught a couple of times today exaggerating (some might say she / he lies) and is reverting to single word nonsense posts. Should be quite entertaining if he / she sticks around.
IR, glad the backhoe is coming; looks as if it will be kept running extra duty today.
GBM, I did catch some of Morning Joe at Fenway and thought it was a terrific idea to celebrate 100 years that way. I really do think the old ball parks have something special that is missing in today's mega-sized, multi-purpose stadiums--ambience for one thing, history and tradition for another.
Wow, lots of stench from FR this morning, the "teabaggers" are out in DROVES.
Jody: isn't it sad that poor no jo tries so hard to get attention that she mimics you every Friday? She has two problems. First, she can't write. Second, she has no sense of humor.
No jo: I will be checking back today to see if there is ANY honesty in your soul. I expect you to write an essay about Amy Koch, the MN Republican who had an affair with a subordinate and the subsequent events leading to her resignation from leadership, and how that ties into Mitt Romney and the Republican Party. At least 50 words, and spelling and punctuation, as well as a sense of humor counts.
J Merle whomever: having a disease does not confer sainthood. That little Annie did not get the lesson that other people might like to have access to the best medical treatment by having insurance tells us who and what she is. I started off liking Ann Romney, but in all honesty? She is wearing badly. Your problem is not how Ann Romney is being spoken of, but that your crush Hilary did not get the nomination for President. That was her failure, not your Presidents. You are so angry and bitter, that a caring person must worry about you.
Reb: your personal attacks add nothing to FR. Do try to develop a conscience.
But, that's it for me today. Too nice a day to spin around in the dregs with the rightwing.
Jody: great wrap up as usual.
Jody - as always - great job - can't wait for the best of...
Let's not forget Mitties pick to his administration to help him with his Supreme Court Justices selection, none other than Robert (No bigger bigot in the World) Bork.
Ladies:
Why can't Willard be more supportive of the Lilly Ledbetter act?
All the GOP in Congress voted NO for this law.
Like every word that you utter BrianB? Still name-calling i see. Good for you. Still wearing my badge of honor from having you place me on ignore. Ignore, it's not just for cowards anymore?
Great job, Jody
Makes Friday lunchtime a special treat.
About an hour ago, I heard that Rubio made a Freudian slip that indicated he would accept the VP slot if asked. I thought he was smarter and would wait for 2016. I understand he followed Mormanism as a youth so it will be very interesting to see if the evangelicals buy into the ticket.
Jody,
Some folks come around to chew bubble gum and kick ass. I'm glad you were all out of bubble gum.
The Weak that was...
Of course the most vital and important news first; the Treasury Dept.'s Secret Service personnel with some military folks generated a heated imbroglio, when some "soiled doves" had a dispute about payment for "services rendered". It turns out that the whole matter could have been avoided had the "gentlemen" in question taken the G.S.A.'s advice and gotten 47 $1 hookers instead of 1 $47 dollar hooker or in G.S.A. parlance, "more bang for the buck". Conservative Congressmen Darrell Issa and Peter King immediately wanted an investigation with lots and lots of pictures, no doubt to forward to Rush Limbaugh. All of this was in keeping with Colombia's new tourist motto; "Come for the conferences, stay for the hookers...wait, that's backwards".
The U.S. jobless claims fell this week by 2,000, prompting conservatives once again to cry "the economy is getting better, but it's not getting better fast enough and that's failure". Of course, if the ladies followed Ann Rombot's advice and just didn't work at all because, of course, it ruins them for marriage, then things would obviously be a whole lot better.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called out Paul Ryan's budget plan as "unjustified and wrong" and that cuts don't follow the long-haired radical leader of their establishments credo to help "the least of these". To which Ryan hastily replied,"Do you want a probing? I'll probe you good boy, Virginia style, then Texas style, then Virginia style again! Don't test me." Afterwards, Ryan stared at a gallon of milk until it curdled (approximately 3 seconds).
Republicans gloomily trudged into line this week, led by Speaker John Boehner's sobs and snuffling to endorse putative nominee Willamic Mittronic Rombot. Endorsement's ran from a desultory, "Yeah, I guess this is our guy", to a lukewarm, " Ummm, uhhhh, okay, whatever." followed by a hearty round of "Not It" when it came to Vice Presidential nominations.
The National Weather Service predicted increased severity of drought throughout the Southwest as the Chihuahuan desert merges with the Mojave to become our new "super desert". Climate change deniers pointed out the opportunity to enjoy cactus butter "sand"wiches, which easily have as much fiber as the rocks in their heads. Conservatives pointed out the great opportunity created for fire fighting and prevention jobs, if, of course, Ryan doesn't cut those too. Many conservatives hope the desert will deport itself, leaving the land available to white ash, white pine and white oak.
As the President is leading in the polls and with campaign cash, many conservatives are hoping for a summer of misery and disaster for the American people. Unnamed sources are quoted as saying,"If we could have three recessions, $6.00 a gallon gas and half a 9/11, that would be awesome, because what we got now ain't making it." Republicans may be right as polls show Americans would rather have their re-runs on T.B.S. and not in the White House.
And that...was the Weak that was.
Jody:
Just got back to town. Settled in and got to the important stuff........The week that was. Thanks.
Newday:
You hit the nail on the head. Low info no jo, just like her right-wing counterparts.....Absolutely no sense of humor.
Conservatism has long been a topsy turvy world, one where up is down and day is night. Perhaps one of the most insidious representations of this is the tendency of the Right to define inability to impose their will on others as somehow being an infringement on their rights. Such a case is the GOPTP war on women. In particular that's true of their belief that imposing religious beliefs on a secular insurance system and denying contraceptive care to employees of other faiths. Even employees who work at hospitals, charities, and other non-church facilities that are operated by the church.
Now Daniel Jenky, Catholic Bishop of Peoria has demonstrated that jumping the shark in a long, flowing robe represents an extreme tripping hazard. In his eyes government regulation of a secular insurance market as it applies to non-church activities is somehow comparable to the Holocaust!
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Peoria-Bishop-Compares-Obama-to-Stalin-Hitler-148099495.html#ixzz1saEd2zg0
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/bishop-of-peoria-compares-obama-and-contraception-mandates-to-hitler-and-stalin.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/daniel-jenky-peoria-catho_n_1438393.html
Quite ignoring the fact that Hitler considered himself a Catholic, and the fact that over 95% of CATHOLIC women use birth control at some point in their life, the shear audacity of these statements is breathtaking. I've got news for you, Bishop. You have a right to practice the faith of your calling. The First Amendment doesn't guarantee you the right to impose that faith on Doctors, nurses, orderlies, cafetieria workers, janitors, and others who work in basically secular enterprises you control.
Worse yet, the Bishop's statement is nearly unremarkable, so common is it for Conservatives to compare the duly elected President of these United States to Hitler. That's how unhinged the Conservative Movement has become.
History will not look well upon this time when the Republican Party mainstreamed crazy.
JohnB,
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I almost threw a shoe at the TV last night when our local affiliate ran the story!
And yet, the Catholic Church continues to enjoy their tax exempt status!!!
Unbelievable...
Just like Media Matters.
Psychologists refer to that as "random verbal emissions", REB. you should really get that checked out.
Reverend Wright's church has tax exempt status too. Even though he says "God damn America", and '911 was just everything America did coming home to roost.' (or, words to that affect)
I am a Catholic so I found Bishop Jenky's statemetns especially troubling.
I have been blessed - my local parish priests have always stayed non-partisian, and pointed out the hypocrisy of some political views - such as being Pro Life but also in favor of Capital Punishment, or "love your neighbor" but discriminating against gays.
I was proud to see the US Conference of Catholic Bishops take Boehner, Ryan and the Republicans to task for the Ryan budget and it's attack on social programs and the "safety net". The bishops said the budget fails to meet certain "moral criteria" by disproportionately cutting programs that "serve poor and vulnerable people." They added the cuts are "unjustified and wrong."
Of course Boehner and Ryan were dismissive of the church's stance - unlike how they reacted to the contraceptive issue. Hypocrites.
John B, Des Moines, IA
I was commenting on Miss F's post. I have no idea what you are talking about. Perhaps you should get that checked out. Are you hearing the footsteps behind you??
J. Merle Stanley-2759623
So true. These people can't even keep their bias straight. So really sad.
BTW - Where's Bev ?- I could use a laugh this morning.
J Merle Stanley -
I heard several evangelical preachers say 911 was a punishment from God for America's "sins" such as homosexuality, etc. They also have tax exempt status.
How is it that the IRS doesn't investigate the tax-exempt status of the Catholic Church (or any church that would do the same thing)?
John B said: History will not look well upon this time when the Republican Party mainstreamed crazy.
Nor will history look well upon the time when a president and the democrats ran up $5 trillion in national debt in a short 4 years. Ooops, did I say that? Sorry John, I didn't mean to rain on your parade.
But...history will also show that the U.S. was already in debt when Obama took office, thanks to mismanagement by the Bush Administration. Even if Obama left his successor with a $128 billion-dollar surplus as Clinton left Bush, we would still be in debt. History will give him a break on that one.
John B.......super post. I found it hard to believe that came from a Bishop from the pulpit! When are these outrageous statements and activities by the Catholic Church and other denominations going to be seriously challenged for their tax exempt status. Clearly this latest incident crosses the line.
Feisty...don't even get me started on the Catholic Church. I was born, baptized and raised Catholic. They are the nastiest, bloodiest, lyingest, most self-serving "religion" in the world, including Judaism and that says a lot. Jackie Kennedy was ex-communicated for marrying outside the church but Hitler was never even admonished for the deaths of millions of people. Can we say "pedophiles"??? You could write a set of books on what a joke they are. No surprise then that Sanitarium is one- a diehard at that. Fortunately, most Catholics are so in label only and don't really take the Vatican seriously.
Don't judge the entire Catholic Church based on the deluded ramblings of one bishop.
Most local parishes and priests do a tremendous amount of good, and for the most part remove themselves from the political debates and deal with the true issues of poverty and education.
I was born and raised Baptist, and was taught that other religions are a cult and their members would all "burn in hell". I offer no defense for the actions of the upper-level leaders of the Catholic Church, especially throughout history. I do know that at the local level they offer an inclusiveness and love that in my opinion for the most part are absent in other religions.
I dont go to church at the Vatican, and a Bishop doesn't conduct my weekly Mass. I am still proud to be a Catholic.
Thomas,
I too am a recovering Catholic!
I recognized the hypocrisy at the tender age of 13, walked out & have NEVER looked back!
Michael said: But...history will also show that the U.S. was already in debt when Obama took office, thanks to mismanagement by the Bush Administration. Even if Obama left his successor with a $128 billion-dollar surplus as Clinton left Bush, we would still be in debt. History will give him a break on that one.
Who was in charge of congress after 2006 Michael? When did the housing and banking crisis begin? Who was in charge of the banking committee and the housing department? 15 months after the democrats took charge, the bubbles burst. I guess you forgot that little tidbit of information. Also you forgot to mention that prior to 2007, Bush had a record number of months of domestic economic growth. What was the game changer Michael? The election of 2006. The year the democrats took control of congress. While Bush was signing, the democrats wrote them and approved them... but you, in your absence of mind, only blame Bush.
It's really funny how the liberal perception of events seem to forget that congress rules the purse strings of this country... and since the two sectors of the economy that failed were controlled by democrats, the natural thing for liberals to do is blame the republican.
Bravo, John B! Excellent.
It is such hypocrisy to demand religious freedom while imposing one religious belief on those who do not share their view. The Church has a right to impose their beliefs within the confines of their church but they do not have the right to impose their beliefs on those businesses and institutions outside the confines of their church. That is a violation of the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of and freedom from any particular religion.
John B -- Terrific post! Yesterday I was very upset reading the article on the Bishop from Peoria and his outlandish views. I went to post several times but could not edit myself enough. So thanks for saying what I could not. I'm glad you are back on the boards, your voice was missed.
Thomas Blue, thanks for the note the other day; it was much appreciated.
J. Merle, did you ever listen to the entire Rev Wright video? You should. While his God Damn words were over the top, the rest so often quoted and shown by the media failed to take what he said in context. Rev Wright was talking about the US interference in other foreign governments, our meddling in and replacing of foreign leaders, and then Americans wondered why 9/11 happened but the "chickens came home to roost." I would remind the conservative posters who continue to rant about Rev Wright to take a good close look at the rantings of Hagge, Paisley, Copeland, Robertson, Jeffress and so many others who claim to be righteous and moral Christians.
Jody said: I would remind the conservative posters who continue to rant about Rev Wright to take a good close look at the rantings of Hagge, Paisley, Copeland, Robertson, Jeffress and so many others who claim to be righteous and moral Christians.
I have taken a close look at Hagge, Paisley, Copeland, Robertson, Jeffress and so many others that claim to be righteous and moral Christians and have come to the conclusion that they are all after one thing. The dollar. The mega-churches and tele-evangelists have huge expenses and while proclaiming to spread the gospel, they are always begging donations. That being said, I have not heard one of them condemning America. I've heard Robertson and others say God is judging America by allowing natural disasters and incidents like 911 to occur... I've heard them say God has lifted His protection from us because of our sins... Maybe they are right... Never have I heard them say God Damn America... in such a way as to provoke. The meaning and the words have totally different ambiance.
TNSEVOL, raised a baptist myself and everything you said is true--they teach that other faiths are not real, honest to goodness God-fearing, bible believing Christians, whatever that's supposed to mean.
Brian b, so preaching hell and damnation for other faiths and others who disagree with them is fine but damning a country for it's meddling is not. Did you ever listen to the entire Rev Wright sermon? Please note, I did comment that I felt his choice of God Damn America was over-the-top but I did listen to his entire sermon and within the context of its entirity, his reasons--despite poor choice of words--made sense.
My guess is that none of those who are so quick to bring up Rev Wright have ever really listened to the entire sermon.
I don't. But I do judge it based upon the tens of thousands of children raped, abused and molested by it's priests, etc. I do judge it based upon the church-wide conspiracy that protected all those rapists for decades, moving them around to new hunting grounds to even rape more kids. I do judge it based upon the fact that it involves itself in politics though it is a tax-exempt entity which should be removed from the political arena.
For those reasons, and many more, THAT is why I judge the Filthy, foul Pedophile Catholic Cult.
That filthy goddam cult should have been shut down and auctioned off long ago -- with every dime going to the people and families it has destroyed over the years.
The irony here is that when Senator McCain was running for President in 2008 his National Finance Committee Co-Chair was Fred Malek (who just so happened to host a birthday party for Ann Romney / fund-raiser for Mitt Romney on Monday).
Uh, Senator McCain, you are aware of this story, yes?
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031001843.html
The hate and disdain Senator McCain exhibits for the President every time he's interviewed on TV (almost daily) has been totall off-putting. Once upon a time I had respect for John McCain even though we usually see the issues from opposite sides. His vendetta for Barack Obama exposes McCain as just a hateful old man.
John B,
I've never had respect for McCain since he came back from Vietnam. His wife was in a bad car accident and was disfigured, so, he filed for divorce and left her for Miss Pepsi.
There was a time when I did respect McCain on some things such as his stand against the second round of Bush tax cuts while fighting a war (and another in the making), torture and waterboarding, immigration reform until he was admonished. But these days he is nothing but an old crank who remains angry that he lost the presidency first to George W. Bush and then to Barack Obama. He is so stuck in the Reagan mentality of continual war and his criticism of President Obama on all things makes me turn off the TV or leave the room when I see him being interviewed. His (and the GOP's) resentment of President Obama is so great that he and they would rather see the country fail and our people suffer just to get even. How pathetic and sad that is.
I just hope that another Ethics Breach causing a recount doesn't happen again as it did in 04'.
Questioning this think back to the former political Lady down in Florida back then!
I think it looks a lot like 1980 shaping up here.
trico-the people who really know say it looks like 96 and 04. Left cancels right and independents vote for the incumbant. Sorry. I hope this small wave takes out as many tea party nutballs with it. They have demonstrated their lack of ability to even understand how government works. They bow to Grover norquist and the Reagan myth. American needs to progress.
I don't think it looks like 1980 at all.
Romney is not even close to being Reagan, people liked and trusted Reagan.
Obama is not close to being Carter. The economy is getting better, not worse. The Seals took out Bin Laden, unlike the Iran hostage rescue attempt fiasco.
Dulles rail line is Gov. McDonnell's transportation test
By Editorial Board, Published: April 16
SIX YEARS AGO, then-Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) jump-started the Metro system's Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport and points west, a massive project whose first phase is chugging toward an on-time, on-budget finish. Will Mr. Kaine's successor, Robert F. McDonnell, now kill it halfway to completion?
That's the question facing Mr. McDonnell (R) in the wake of his decision to deny critical funding to Dulles rail, one of the nation's biggest infrastructure ventures. Even though it is vital to the Washington region's economic vigor, to the airport's success and to Virginia's future, the state has all but turned its back on helping to pay for it.
Of the project's total cost, now estimated at about $5.6 billion, Virginia's contribution so far comes to a paltry $275 million — about 5 percent. Some of that was in the form of federal dollars for highway maintenance that the state simply repurposed, robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Mr. McDonnell has consented, grudgingly, to allocate another $150 million for the rail project. But after initially signaling that he would consider an additional $300 million, he apparently changed his mind in the face of opposition from downstate Republican lawmakers, to whom Northern Virginia and mass transit are terra incognita.
By denying the Silver Line the additional funding, Mr. McDonnell sharply increases the odds of two bad outcomes — and a third that would be even worse.
One is that commuters on the Dulles Toll Road, who are already on the hook for a lion's share of the Silver Line's overall cost, may face such severe toll increases that it forces many of them off the road and onto already clogged local arteries. Another is that the governor's stinginess may prompt Loudoun County, one of the Silver Line's funding partners, to withdraw from the project. Loudoun's all-Republican Board of Supervisors is already wavering at the county's $260 million commitment; if it pulls out before a July deadline, that would throw the project's financing into disarray.
The real risk, particularly if tolls spiral out of control and Loudoun walks away, is that the second half of the Silver Line, from Reston to the airport, could unravel. That would be a staggering setback for the regional and state economies — and an enormous black mark on Mr. McDonnell's legacy.
The underlying problem is that Mr. McDonnell's transportation policy has been a failure. He campaigned on the promise of finding massive, ongoing funding for what he has frequently acknowledged is a system on the brink of crisis. Yet he has done little more than accelerate borrowing that Mr. Kaine already put in motion. That money will run out around the time Mr. McDonnell leaves office in 2014.
In the absence of reliable, ongoing new revenue — and yes, that means taxes — Virginia's transportation network will continue to be chronically underfunded, and thus subject to repeated crises of the sort now threatening the Silver Line. And yet Mr. McDonnell, even as he recognizes the need for more revenue, will not challenge his fellow Republicans to seek it through taxes.
In their more partisan moments, some Virginia Republicans like to lash out at Mr. Kaine for his decision, in 2006, to hand control of the Silver Line project to the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, along with control of the toll road. It is Mr. Kaine's fault, they say, that tolls may now become unaffordable for thousands of commuters.
But the fact is that the Silver Line was nothing more than a moribund plan on paper before Mr. Kaine's move — which, by the way, was made in conjunction with key Republicans such as Rep. Frank Wolf (Va.) and then-Sen. John Warner. Today the Silver Line is nearly halfway to the finish line. It's up to Mr. McDonnell to bring it home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dulles-rail-line-is-gov-mcdonnells-transportation-test/2012/04/16/gIQAoN8TMT_story.html?hpid=z3
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gov-mcdonnell-punts-on-roads-plan/2012/01/20/gIQAHpVxGQ_story.html?tid=sm_btn_tw
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/half-measures-on-virginias-transportation-crisis/2011/12/08/gIQA2v8XgO_story.html
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Let me tell you a little story about a Guv named Bob. He was going to burnish his Conservative Cred's with a little stint as Gov of my fine State.
First he was going to Privatize all the state Liquor Stores and that was going to pay for all the Transportation improvements that he deemed were so desperately ( and they were)needed. That little idea died a'borning and I still have to go down to Aunt Bertha's Café for my little Saturday morning toddy.
So then he decided to take some money out of Medicare and Aid for Dependent Children putting some 1500 long term care patients on the street. That gave him about enough to reopen the Rest Areas that were closed to save money.
So then he tried borrowing 600 million out of the State Employee's Pension funds. That maybe would of helped if he'd had a plan for paying it back and his Supporters up in Wine Country didn't demand that they get paid off for supporting him. So now we've got the finest ad campaign for visiting Va. (It's no longer for Lovers) that 600 million can buy and no plan for playing back the Pension funds. What do you want to bet that The Yahoo's are just going to forget about that because a fellow that has worked for the state for 30 years don't deserve no Pension.
So then he fell in with a bunch of fellows that said they were from ALEC and were going to prewrite a bunch of Laws that would fit the bill. Only thing was they wanted a bunch of State Money for flying around the country and going to seminars and such like. Turns out none of the laws they had prewritten dealt with Transportation Issues being slanted more to Stand your Ground and Overturning Abortion and such like. So He ended up a little deeper in the Hole.
Not being one to waste money Old Bob decided to try a little deflection with one of Alec's pet projects. So he decided that He needed to check the entire Lady's of Va. orifices with ultra sound in the hopes that He would find some of the money that he so desperately sought. We all know how that worked out but suffice it to say that not only didn't he find any money but it didn't deflect things quite as well as he thought it would.
So here we set. Old Bob has given all the Contractors Tax Breaks for locating in Northern Va. and promised the rest that he won't raise taxes on them. And he don't have any way to pay off the promises that he made for Infrastructure and all the things that go with it. Not to mention that regular folks might get a job working on those Projects and we couldn't have that. I mean somebody might start doing a little better.
He could in his first year shuffle some money around and blame it (gasp) on his Predecessor. Not anymore. This Budget is all his. And it lasts for two years. But it don't raise Taxes. Don't raise any Revenue either. The scope of just how big a mess he's made should become clear for Folks in the next couple of years. And it's a big one because Northern Va. is the engine that drives the Va. economy. What started out as a big Locomotive is going to turn into a little Yard Switch Engine real quick.
His only hope for salvation and one that he's angling for most wholeheartedly is for Mr. Romney to choose him for V.P. Now I do think that Mr. Romney isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but even he ain't dumb enough to pull Old Bob's chestnuts out of the fire.
No us Virginian's will do the honorable thing and keep him on over here a long way from where he can affect so many lives and livelihoods for a couple of more years. When his term is up he can go be the V.P. of something for Northrup Grumman. They ought to have enough money in Tax Breaks to keep him in the style to which he's become accustomed and cover up his messes.
Bob McDonnell is one of the most popular Governors in the country, despite the Obama-poodle Washington Post 's best efforts.
No one cares what the Post thinks, it is a discredited publication.
Proof McDonnell is a serious credible VP candidate: the number of nasty attacks on Bob McDonnell by liberals.. they know he can make the case for the success of economic conservative policies.
Virginia's unemployment rate: 5.7%
So governors can take credit for good unemployment rates in their state, but the national unemployment rate (i.e. all of the states) is Obama's fault?
Bob old buddy hate to bust your bubble but Mr. McDonnell isn't all that popular outside Yahoo circles and as I pointed out the low unemployment rate comes from Northern Va. which is almost recession proof due to the fact that most of the jobs are GOVERNMENT Jobs. Get your head out of your behind and see what the rest of the State thinks about Mr. McDonnell. Two years from now when Va.'s realize that Mr. McDonnell hasn't helped out anybody but Himself and his Yahoo Buddies and has in fact made a bigger mess than Old Kaine he going to have a hard time getting elected Dogcatcher. Time for him to take his Pay Off to keep him and his family in the style to which he has become accustomed and just fade away into that long good night.
Ruken,
Some states have had the wisdom to recognize that having business and industries are valuable and to be encouraged. They have provided tax incentives to attract business, encouraged them to look at their states assets, made sure there was an educated workforce available and they even recruit them, sometimes internationally.
Obama, on the other hand, has talked about businesses "not paying their fair share" which is a thinly veiled threat to raise taxes. Then he wants Cap and Trade which will raise energy costs, particularly in regions where coal produces electricity. Then, he wants to heap on the mandates of Obamacare which puts further demands on industry and will raise health care costs of having employees while the federal government "subsidizes" (welfare) those who cannot afford to pay.
Attempting to "redistribute the wealth" does not encourage "for-profit" businesses to take risks so the government can take away the profits generated.
Yes, some states have lower rates than the national which further highlights Obama's incompetence at creating anything other than more government jobs, which are parasitic in nature.
Thanks for sharing this local story IR. One of my favorite things about FR is getting the view points of people on the ground for these stories.
I just can't imagine your governor getting the VP nod from Mitt Romney---do they really want to have questions about transvaginal probes every day when they're trying to say that the GOP isn't waging a war against women?
@Jim
Then why are government job numbers decreasing?
http://hvstatic8.hypervocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/jobs-1.jpg
ruken -- that is correct. The President takes the blame for things that are not his fault and gets the credit for things in which he has no role.
That's politics.
Bobin Virginia-seriously-transvaginal probes. Poor people should pay taxes. The only reason McDonnell isn't held up for national derision is the large number of Republican Governors that are even worse-Scott Walker in Wisconsin is probably the worst but has a lot of competition from Jan Brewer in Arizona, John Kasich from Ohio, Rick Scott in Florida and then McDonnell. As you can see-with this large of a group of whackos someone who is only posing to gain national attention isn't going to make it. Your governor justed isn't right wing enough, sorry.
Your graph looks like something from the 3rd grade. Does it include only federal jobs or does it include state jobs ? Where is the legend ? If your statement is correct, then I am wondering why a recent article on this website said something about an increase of 151,000 government jobs !
Besides, when Obamacare kicks in, if it does, the massive explosion of new federal bureaus and agencies to administer the law, increase in IRS officers as well, will blow your graph off the charts !!
DOES IT INCLUDE THE MILITARY ? Seems like they have been considered "government employees" on this website in the past.
Still have no guts to honestly face the "NO BUDGET" reality, do you .......???????????
There are goo gobs of Federal employees (including Eric of Can't) living in Virginia, especially northern Virginia. ...and let's not forget about all those Defense Contracts.
Gov Vaginal Probe evaded those very real facts when he touted his unemployment number.
IR-- We hear Bobby McDee raving about this man, always. Nice to hear the other side of things. Happy Friday to you friend!
IR, great post. What a lying, sneaky, thief of a jerkwad he is; in that respect he and Romney have a great deal in common. So nice to hear the inside scoop on old McDonnell who will never be VP despite all poor Bob's lobbying on his behalf.
IR, great post, your information really tells the real story. As this empty suit of a republican troll, trying to sell himself as a 'great' VP candidate all the time letting his beautiful state rot.
Methinks, his shill, ol' Bob is a transplant and doesn't appreciate Virginia's beauty and history. Years ago, I always wanted to live there as it seemed to me to have all that makes it a great place to live and raise children. It greatly saddens me to hear how much it has changed thanks to the likes of Mc Donnell, who himself is not a native Virginian and another right wing Catholic!
"Digging inside our crosstabs"
Dig inside your crosstabs and tell us what percentage of Democrats vs Republicans you polled, NBC!
Will it be biased like the ABC/WaPost poll, which had a plus 11% advantage toward Democrats?
First Read/MSNBC credibility= close to zero..
The poll was conducted for the Wall Street Journal and NBC by Hart McInturff. The poll interview 1000 adults at random by phone (250 by cell phone).
You did not know that. Now you do.
their message is that "the election will be close". I think that's fair and seems consistent with most expert opinions.
I wish they'd post the poll questions so we could confirm for ourselves whether the poll shows any inherent bias toward certain answers based on diction, order of questions, etc. My favorite part of this article was the poll results that can basically be summed up as:
"OK, John Q. Public, who do you think would handle the economy better?"
"Uh... Romney."
"All Right, and in this blind taste test, which economic policy do you prefer? The 'Free' one or the 'Fair' one?"
"Um... the 'fair' one."
"OK, and now the big reveal... you chose Obama's."
"..."
In short...
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
-Tommy Lee Jones, "Men In Black"
Gee it's almost as if we've never had an indepth discussion here of how pollsters adjust for variations in their random contacts that differ from the population at large.
Why would that be? Because it doesn't fit the Conservative narrative/tissue of lies, that's why.
Does anyone know what Romney's economic plan is, besides vague platitudes?
I would be curious to know exactly how much he would cut where in the budget. Its easy to say "we're spending too much', a lot harder to say 'where'. He's been running for president for 7 or 8 years, the GOP has been whining about obama's spending for 3 years, there is no excuse not to have specifics at this point.
The only specific I'm aware of (and in all fairness maybe i've missed something, since I didn't focus much on specifics of the GOP candidates while they were still beating each other up), was that he wanted MORE defense spending.
He has a 3 step plan. Tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for the rich, and tax cuts for the rich.
He plans to attack unions, so that middle class workers get fewer benefits and fat cat executives get bigger bonuses.
His plan is "Obama is bad". Seriously, it's what he says for everything.
The answer is NO. And no one will until we get to the debates. And then its questionable considering in the last presidential cycle, Palin set a new standard. If you don't like the question, just ask yourself one and answer that.
My guess is, you won't here policy nuts and bolts from the Romney camp until/if he gets elected. And like I said in a previous post: If he gets elected and you are not rich, buy stock in KY Jelly.....it'll be flyin' off the shelves.
As opposed to Obama's plan to spend himself into popularity with the "free money" crowd! No budget in over three years? What a joke.
There hasn't been a budget because in DC, compromise is suddenly a word so horrible, it must not be spoken. Hence, no budget.
well, crystal, if romney is so stupid that at this point he can't propose some specifics, I think we should stick with obama. As I said, the one specific i've heard from romney is to spend himself into popularity with the "defense spending is great" crowd and to cut taxes to INCREASE our deficit.
You have to blame Congress for that one, not Obama.
Obama's job is to submit a budget to Congress, he's done that.
Please place the blame where it belongs.
Now, that is FUNNY!
Ruken, That's pretty silly of you ..... Obama's last budget proposal was voted down 97 to 0 in the Senate with NO DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT FROM HIS OWN PARTY !!!
This year's proposal is even worse, it calls for more spending increases, some even above what was requested ...... and Harry Reid is sitting on it.
The blame for the lack of a realistic budget rests squarely on the President and Harry Reid. Any concept to the contrary is only the usual blame game from the left.
Look to the Ryan plan for a credible route to fiscal sanity.
Repealing ObamaCare would save us untold billions also.
Liberals claim the GOP has no plan to keep us froom becoming Greece, then in the next breath do their usual demagoging about "the poor and elderly starving in the streets" ...
Jim-it had revenue increases in it. Read tax increases-Grover owns all the R's and the D's are pussies.
Bob - Va
The only thing missing in Ryans budget is a "mandatory vaginal ultrasound" you repubs insist upon adding to each piece of legislation!
Still, it's a constitutional requirement and Obama is the chief executive.
Dunebuggy, I have learned to expect one-line tripe like that from you. Since you are so focused on vaginas, maybe you could publish your thesis for all of us to see.
thanks for the shout out there Jim...
I'm the one vixated on vaginas? Guess you don't get our much or stay informed, eh?
Best for you teapublicans to always look in a mirror before casting asperions on others - GOP: The Only Party that Demands Vaginal Ultrasounds"!
Simple enough there jim - disprove the statement!
btw - I try to keep things short for teapublicans Jim - since you can only remember one line gop sound bites - I don't want things to get to complicated....
you and Bob from VA make a good team.....you communicate in one sylllables!
But did the Senate pass a different budget?
No.
The blame still falls on Congress, not the POTUS.
jim:
Obama sent a budget to the House. The House threw it away and sent Ryan's budget to the Senate for confirmation. The Senate sits on it because the House is not serious about negotiating a budget.
I'd say the Ryan Plan probably does have some decent ideas in it. And some that are not so much.
Same with "Obamacare".
So Romney likes the Ryan plan. Will he try to push it through as it is, or take the good stuff and leave the ridiculous on the cutting room floor? My guess is both. It just depends on who's in the crowd he happens to be talking at. Romney talks out of both sides of his mouth. Period. Unless its a friendly news source, he ain't talkin' at all. That is not gonna fly much longer. His keepers are gonna have to let him out of his jar sooner or later. Let him get some serious questions and then just sit back and watch. If this guy can't put away severely flawed candidates with ease in the primary, how is he gonna unseat a sitting president? Face it, the Republican primary was a big joke. Newt Gingrich? Rick Santorum? Herman Cain? Any sane person can tell these are not hot properties in the GOP, or even second tier candidates. Mitt's gonna try and buy the oval office. Problem is, the person in there now is just as smart......and funded just as well. Yep, this is gonna be fun. Mitt wants the Ryan plan, Obama makes him own it. Mitt's super pac's try and smear Obama, Team O will make Team Romney own it. Bush playbook '04.
Bob
Do like you usually do...
Pick a poll that has numbers you like and go with that!
btw - FOX News polls - that's objectivity, eh? What do you think the +/- is with repubs in those?
Who will Mitt Romney pick as his running mate?
He wants that little kid from Florida.
He's looking for someone whose personality won't overshadow his own.....
That's narrowed his options drastically - too bad Harry Reid isn't a republican!
No thank you, dunebuggy ........ Harry Reid is Democratic all the way allowing you leftards to scream "obstructionsim" while he sits on a pile of bills passed in the House .... not even allowing consideration.
Saw a FL poll last week that even if Mitt Romney picks Rubio, it does nothing to improve his percentage of the Latino vote in Florida--never mind the rest of the country. Romney has 14% of the Latino vote, McCain got 31% in 2008 and lost. The trouble with the strategy to pick a Latino as a running mate is that because of the GOP stand on illegals and minorities in general, it's the equivalent of McCain picking Sarah Palin thinking the Hillary supporters would flock to his side. To paraphrase Romney's dilemma, it's the anti-Latino policies, stupid just as it was the anti-women's rights policies in 08.
Awesome wrap up as usual Jody.......Thanks !!!
Obama/Biden 2012
Yesterday the junior Senator from Florida said he is not ready to be Vice President.
8 years ago the junior Senator from Illinois said he was not ready to be President and that he would absolutely complete his very first term in the US Senate.
We will have to wait for a bit to see if the junior Senator from Florida keeps his word or if it turns out he is a liar just as the junior Senator from Illinois proved to be liar.
god help this country if it is a close loss for my man! There will be race riots in the streets of every metropolitan city in this country. There will be no way this will be a peaceful transition. No one on the left will see this as a defeat of a man that has not provided ONE thing positive for this country economically. He hasn't led he has blamed and found fault. No budget to work from since he took office, everything is the current house republicans fault? He has a white wash of democratic legislation to implement any of his plans that would have turned this country around....and we still have nothing to show for it. Our personal inflation rate is astronomical, and he has changed the reporting to exclude food and energy! Where does 50% of our paycheck go each month? More yachts and planes? He is out of touch....he couldn't tell you the price of a gallon of milk if his life depended on it.
Great post's as always, and great weekend wrap-up Jody!!
Bob I'm sure faux's credibility is more to your liking!
Everyone have a great weekend!
Thanks, hummbird. You have a great weekend, too!
"Obama running strong with his base and swing voters"????? What a bunch of bull! Obama is hanging on by his teeth, and the only ones he is strong with are the brain dead obot minions who refuse to admit they screwed up!!!!
I believe you..your post is credible, full of intelligent facts, with absolutely no bias. lol.
and the trough feeders.
I agree, the best post of the day.
Crystal-569996--- What a typical PavRovian response.
Crystal,
Hang in there, the hypocrites here are still in shock that there messiah is even having to be put through an election. We should just go ahead and count it over and him king. But PSMBC wants this to shape up like 96 and '04 because the incumbent wins.
Crystal-the poll quoted was done by one R and 1 D consultant. Sorry that reality doesn't match your world view.
Unless you want to incur the wrath of Limbaugh (whom you are trying to quote), you'd best get the terminology correct. Its PMSNBC ! PS is normally assigned to Limbaugh but usually expressed POS.
Sorry Jim,
Thank you for point out my type-o. PMSNBC. But seems the point was made.
Here is evidence of Barack Hussein Obama being a citizen of Indonesia. Indonesia does not allow duel citizenship.
Ref:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yro63c7B7A&feature=related
lol. Most birthers have slunk away. But a few deadenders remain!
Example 1341 of media bias.
"During Romney's term as governor Massachusetts ranked 47 out of 50 in job growth"
No mention that the unemployment rate went from 5.6% to 4.7% (considered full employment by most economists) during the same time frame?
Why is that?
"Why is that?"
The unemployment rate dropped because of the mass exodus of working age people in Romney's state while he was governor. They left to find work in one of the 46 states that were doing better than his.
You didn't know that. Now you do.
Massachusetts added 51,362 jobs during Romney's tenure, while its population grew by 26,500 residents during that same period. Massachusetts therefore added two jobs for every resident gained.
Nice try Therm.
The US economy was growing strongly, and Massachusetts lagged behind the rest.
You believe what you want TNSEVOL. 4.7% unemployment is VERY strong. Not much room for improvement there.
Massachusetts is one of the richest states in the union. That's why unemployment is always lower.
"Massachusetts added 51,362 jobs during Romney's tenure,"
For a state with a population of 6 million that comes out to .25% per year. That is pitiful, and is why it rated 47th out of 50 during a time when other states were adding a significantly better number of jobs. Although the U.S. job growth during the years that Romney was governor rated an anemic 1.25% average, that was still 5 times the pace of Romney's state.
Do dice.
Balance the jobs created in Massachusetts with the tens of thousands he scuttled through Bain Capital acquisitions. Not just those directly axed by Bain, the also the thousands of ancillary jobs lost in the service and support industries accommodating those enterprises. Remember ~ one of every five companies bought up by Bain wound up in bankruptcy. Romney is 62 years old ~ too old a leopard to change his spots and too well entrenched in his business methods to develop new approaches to matters of the economy ~ ~ nor will he try. Romney sees the United States government as merely the next acquisition and if it should become the next bankruptcy in his long list of wreckage and carnage, he will manifest the same concern as with those in the private sector ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ he won't give a $hit.
Romney is right to be talking about job creation considering the unemployment rate, but his record in the private sector is one of job destruction. As Politico detailed, Romney’s company, Bain Capital, was in the business of buying up distressed companies, slashing them to bits, and then selling them off, resulting in lots of job losses:
– In 1992, the firm acquired American Pad & Paper. By 1999, the year Romney left Bain, two American plants were closed, 385 jobs had been cut and the company was $392 million in debt. The next year, Ampad was forced into bankruptcy.
– Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs bought Dade International for about $450 million in 1994. The firm quickly fired or relocated at least 900 workers. Over the next several years, it sunk increasingly into debt and laid off 1,000 workers. In 2002 — after Romney had left Bain — it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
– A 1997 buyout of LIVE Entertainment for $150 million resulted in 40 layoffs, roughly one in four of the company’s 166 workers. The job cuts affected all aspects of the company, from production and acquisition to legal and public relations.
– In 1997, Bain bought a stake in DDI Corp., a maker of electronic circuit boards. Three years later, Bain took the company public and collected a $36 million payout. But by August 2003, the company filed for bankruptcy protection, laying off more than 2,100 workers.
22 percent of the money Bain Capital raised from 1987 to 1995 was invested in five businesses — Stage Stores, American Pad & Paper, GS Indusries, Dade, and Details. These five made Bain $578 million in profit, even as all five eventually went bankrupt.
As the New York Post’s Josh Koshman wrote, “there’s little question made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy.” Travis Waldron noted today that Romney’s company also boosted its profits — and thus enriched Romney — by abusing offshore tax havens.
By Pat Garofalo
One sided stories don't impress me. Why is it that you can't read an article, left or right, with the whole truth? Have you read any positive stories on Romney? There are plenty out there.
When you put the two sides together you get a better picture. I've read both sides of the Romney argument and I will defiantly be voting for Romney.
On and that statical analysis you laid down was lame. 4.7% unemployment rate was only .1% above the national average for that year. NON-ISSUE
Romney 2012!
You must have poor reading comprehension. Mass. ranked near the bottom compared to the other 50 states (47th). And your little talking point of 50,000 jobs in 4 years for a state with a population of 6 million explains why it was ranked near the bottom.
Now, name what Romney accomplished as governor.
When Romney left unemployment was 4.7% in Massachusetts. Nobody gives a hoot about rankings.
Obama would give his left nut just to get to 7.8%.
But please feel free to continue the conversation about unemployment. It will only help Romney by reminding voters how big a failure Obama has been.
So you agree that Bain saved these companies although jobs were lost in the restructuring. Can I ask what is your alternative? When Obama saved GM were there job losses or did he save every job? He was doing the rescue with basically unlimited funds but GM laid off thousands and closed hundreds of dealerships. Bain had finite resources and from another post had an 80% success rate. That means they saved 4 out of 5 companies.
1 out 2 new businesses fail within 3 years. The Bain record is outstanding. You can try and paint it any way you want but businesses that are profitable survive and sometimes it takes tough medicine to achieve recovery. Something the current Administration found out in the case of GM.
Alan-that spin does not change the fact that Romney was a corporate raider or to quote Newt "a Vulture Capitalist". The challengers in the Republican primaries have provided the future sound bites that show Mitt destroyed American Companies and needed American jobs-all in the name of Mitt's fortune which he then dodged taxes on. You can't spin these facts.
realist pondering - but Alan and Rob in ma will continue trying to spin it so Romney is an acceptable candidate - which the educated know he is not!
Hell, Mitt doesn't have to go to any great lengths to alienate the female voters, his wife does and excellent job for him. They better keep her under wraps if he hopes to have any chance at all.
One can Learn much from the ladies not liking Romney. We can see how the world has changed. Women without facts and views he is just not "their cup of tea." It saddens me that the News is always democratic, the blacks are always democratic, and most women are democratic. Not for any reason. Look at reasons? What is the real accomplishment of this socialist. Hillary never had a chance against a black man. There were better Black candidates this is not a race issue it is an ability issue.
Lets be honest women have children, they endure more pain, they vote Democratic. Thank God there are more women than men in the USA but they would never vote for themselves. The press is right in line with Carl Marx. The communist turns out to be correct. It lies for the new King. The problem this time around is the men do not appreciate women. Today look at how many rapists there are. Lets be honest as soon as OBAMA is re-elected all you emotional ladies are noting him or this nation (I will still love you). I wonder about respect?
This time around think. Ask what this president has done for America and how many of your Children he has killed. Look at what he lied on his first time. How now he has turned around for not you but for his re-election. He was asked if he would be put on OBAMA Care by a press organization and his answer was no. It is your Children that are going to pay for your inability to see through the Democratic Press, the presidents flip flops and lies that are going to pay. Their Future if he is re-elected is gone. America might as well Join the EU and follow Greece, Spain, and Italy next down the drain.
All I ask as an independent is for people men and women to think of what he is saying now and what he said in the past. It would be impossible for NBC, MSNBC, TIME, CBS, ABC to look at the American dream and understand how he has killed it.
I will vote some democrats some republicans but never OBAMA and Biden again. Why did OBAMA not at least offer Hillary or a women the VP. Biden has been in office since before I was born taking taxpayer money. He gave how much to Charity? Women get out of the Green Kitchen and research what these men are doing. Facts not what the socialist news is telling you. Try being a women in China under Mr. Mao compared to being a Lady in China today driving a Ford with money that is worth something.
JG-independent? probably not. your idea of a discussion with women is right there with rush.
JG - as a woman I find your post particularly insulting. You are totally clueless. Don't embarrass those of us who actually look at facts and know issues.
When anyone talks about flip-flopping they are totally referring to Mitt Romney who has never held a position he has not changed his mind about. He has done more - as a venture capitalist to destroy this country - one company at a time - than any other person who has ever run for President.
President Obama selected the right person for VP. Joe Biden has excellent credentials on foreign policy and excels in that area. Even the GOP admit as much.
Putting Hillary Clinton in as Secretary of State was a very smart move. He gave her a great position and is actually helping her put her credentials together for a strong presidential run in 2016.
Your using the "socialist" word in your post shows how totally ignorant you are. Your lack of intelligence is overwhelming and totally insulting.
For women who actually think and have intelligence, there is no way they are voting for Romney. The GOP has taken every chance to belittle and downgrade women in society today. My guess is you're a man who not only doesn't like women but couldn't get one if he tried! You are definitely NOT an intelligent woman!
This article should be required reading for anyone who plans to vote in the November general election. It offers an inside glimpse of how Mitt Romney would approach his presidency ~ ~ and our economy.
www.dallasobserver/2012-4-19/news/mitt-romney-american-parasite/
Read ~ ~ then form your own uncoached opinion.
Jim Bob. This has been posted several times. Quick hint. Any time you read an article that slanted you probably should ask yourself, Is this the whole truth, or just the partial truth, or am I being lied to?
Your general denial is expected, yet in denying there is (as usual) no specific evidence offered that refutes the article's content. It is "slanted" because it is not complimentary of the object conservative of its focus. But I am open minded ~ at least I try to be. Take the claims contained in the article and disprove them. I'll wait patiently for your illumination on why the article and its content are bogus. Take your time. I have all day.
Explain to me why Obama refuses to produce his actual birth certificate in court! Why is he spending lawyer fees to keep from showing it, and the rest of his documentation. The only thing he has produced is the phony one he put on line. They will use a Mickey Mouse defense rather than produce the real document. I have never run into anyone who would refuse to show their birth certificate, there is nothing on it that shouldn't be public knowledge, unless you really don't have one.
http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/obama-attorney-mickey-mouse-could-be-on-ballot/
I thought the "birther" stupdity was put to bed.
Guess not.
Lee-really still a birther. Write in donald trump. Or any other pandering whacko-conspiracy theorist of your choice. Even Mitt doesn't buy your delusion.
I wonder why Obama has his college records under wrap. Why is this being hidden from the public ? I seriously would like to see if the POTUS ever had a course in basic accounting 101. If he did not, it might at least give some understanding why he refuses to present anything even closely resembling a realistic budget proposal.
I t also might be interesting to see if he took any sociology or philosophical courses that might be deemed unusual or radical.
Its a political ploy ~ Obama will begin releasing his transcript information in equal proportion to Romney's release of his tax returns. He will release his academic papers in equal proportion to Romney's release of his equity capital partners. Of course its important to know who Romney has been doing business with. It was, after all, important in Obama's case ~ ~ where he went to church, what his pastor preached, what domestic terrorist he was neighboring with, etc.
jim -- not so confident as you. he did not release much the last time and got a free pass. why should we believe it will be different this time?
i do not believe that Romney's partners have to show their information.
What do you hope to see in his tax returns? we already know that he is very wealthy, most of his income derives from investments which Congress said should be taxed at a lower rate so that is what we are going to see.
Help me to understand the benefits of seeing any candidate's return?
James-to show that Mitt is a serial tax dodger. The leader of the Great americans is a criminal tax evader that will bring back the name BEBE Rebozo (the real rebozo) and the Nixon morass.
Lee,
Turn off FOX. Then CLUE UP!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-long-form.pdf
Sheesh, you make all of America look like IDIOTS. Like you are!
What is the writer smoking? Shaping up to be like 2004 or 1996? Obama has edge on swing voters?
First of all, Obama is losing swing voters who voted for him in 2008 by 69%. The change they had hoped for never happened. The nation is divided like no other time. Bush and Clinton got re-elected in 96 and 04 because the economy was roaring along. This is nothing like those elections.
Road Warrior-we know where these stats came from-where did you get yours?
Realist,
The part about the economy roaring in 1996 and 2004, or the part about Obama losing swing voters?
Anyone who was alive in 96 and 04 knew unemployment was around 5%. Everyone had a job. As to the swing voters, google "Reuters Obama losing luster with independents".
jim-1455434 - again with the ignorance about President Obama's college transcripts. Let's see - he attended Harvard and was head of Harvard Law Review - something few people ever get to do because you must be very intelligent to do it. Sorta leaves you out, doesn't it Jim?
Road Warrior - bulls**t! Obama will again get the Independent vote. We're certainly not about to vote for Romney - who would take our country backward by about 100 years!
Hanging your hat on a poll from early January, Road Warrior? How about something a little more recent, within the last few weeks?
http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/317579/20120322/obama-romney-santorum-swing-states-2012.htm
as i read some of these dumb ass comments im just thinking if you libs win this election i dont think you are going to like the country this lier is going to give you. im talking of the working people now the peo[ple laying on the couch waiting the mailman to delivery his check he is going to be alright with every thing because he would give all his freedom for a free check this is really sad and im a conserative and you know what your probably going to win kinda makes me sick to my stomach
Shouldn't you be at work right now?
jockland - your ignorance is showing - once again. Your stupidity and lack of intelligence is totally sickening. But, that and hatred for intelligence and education is all you have so go ahead and post your nonsense.
Yea, you go right ahead and vote for Obama. Here's what he's STRONGLY supporting at the upcoming Rio UN conference in June:
--More than $2.1 trillion a year in wealth transfers from rich countries to poorer ones, in the name of fostering “green infrastructure, ” “climate adaptation” and other “green economy” measures.
--New carbon taxes for industrialized countries that could cost about $250 billion a year, or 0.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product, by 2020. Other environmental taxes are mentioned, but not specified.
--Further unspecified price hikes that extend beyond fossil fuels to anything derived from agriculture, fisheries, forestry, or other kinds of land and water use, all of which would be radically reorganized. These cost changes would “contribute to a more level playing field between established, 'brown' technologies and newer, greener ones."
-- Major global social spending programs, including a "social protection floor" and "social safety nets" for the world's most vulnerable social groups for reasons of “equity.”
--Even more social benefits for those displaced by the green economy revolution—including those put out of work in undesirable fossil fuel industries. The benefits, called “investments,” would include “access to nutritious food, health services, education, training and retraining, and unemployment benefits."
--A guarantee that if those sweeping benefits weren’t enough, more would be granted. As one of the U.N. documents puts it: “Any adverse effects of changes in prices of goods and services vital to the welfare of vulnerable groups must be compensated for and new livelihood opportunities provided."
You all just go right ahead and vote for Obama and four years later there won't be a USA. The USA will be fully merged with the UN and we will have only "privileges" (not rights) granted to us by the UN. And, we'll all be paying more and more taxes, because they will be built into everything we buy.
Do you have any proof?
golfslep first 3 1/2 years is enough for me
So jockland, ending the recession, ending the war in Iraq, getting Ben Laden and creating more than 3 million jobs in the last 2 years is what to you?
Where do you nuts come from? Does he have a hidden 3rd eye? Is he from the Mormon home planet? Is he secretly a cannibal?
golfsleft, ending the recession??? are you serious!!?... Please do your home work, look this up!
In the 39 months since Barack Obama took the oath of office as presidentof the United States, the federal government’s debt has increased by OVER 5 TRILLION
Although he has served less than a term, Obama is now the first American president to see the federal government's debt increase by more than $5 trillion during his time in office.
During the full EIGHT YEARS that George W. Bush served as president, the federal government's debt increased by 4.8 Trillion
WE NEED THIS RECKLESS IDIOT OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE!!!
MQ, you are very correct in your statement of facts. The other thing that Golfsleft seems to ignore is that 2 million of the 3 million jobs came from the $800 billion stimulus. That is $400,000 per job, wouldn't tax credits to the private sector have created a lot more jobs. Maybe, 6 million or 8 million. It is obvious the current administration does not know what it is doing.
Enough of the same old same old. There is still time to get Independent Candidate Tim Wiford on the ballot. Wiford is a small business owner with practical and innovative solutions to the economic problems of our time. Please check him out at www.wifordforamerica.org. Plus, he's not bad looking either and he looks like a decent kind guy next door type.
Your little globalization rant started back in the 80's and keeps going, slightly disingenuous to blame it all on Obama, Romey's career field was all about dismantling businesses and decreasing labor costs by shipping jobs over seas. and the Bush 4.8 trillion is slightly misleading since he wasted 2 trillion in two worthless wars and tax breaks that cost this country 4 trillion in missing revenue, so add that to your low ball 4.8 trillion, you'll come up with over 10 trillion and then your punk so called up and coming future Republican Paul Ryan wants to cut 6 trillion off the debt by ripping into intitlements, that's right screw the common man, that's what Republicanism is all about.
You're right on target, Paul. Where did more of those jobs go than anywhere else? China. Much of our trouble with globalization trace to Most Favored Nation trade status for China, a project of Republicans in the 1980s. All the predictions of bad consequences from that -- technology theft, lack of compliance with intellectual property and trademark laws, near-slave level wages at some factories, an entirely one way trade relationship, rampant pollution -- ALL OF THEM have come true in China.
John and Paul - clearly you guys are on target. Republican policies sent the jobs overseas. Interesting that GE is now bringing back 70% of it's production to the US by 2014 - under Obama, no less. They are building 4 production centers.
MQ1968 - you are totally clueless!
The 2 common political fallacies of the last 40 years. The Democrats somehow have the answers to welfare and Republicans are the "fiscally" responsible party. Both are left open with much interpretation.
Merril,
Christ,
Why can't you delusional Pubbies back up your claims with some friggin' links to FACTS???
Because you HAVE NONE???
Merril,
Nice talking points from your Masters, but can you back up any of your CRAP?
I think not, so prove me wrong.
What?? You're going silent on the Vine tonight?
Paul/Shiff 2012
Alan,
Another GOP kookie...
Good luck!
Like I said,.. willard doesn't even impress other teapublicans..
Here's mitch daniels being "unimpressed" with willard..
""“‘You have to campaign to govern, not just to win,’ he said. ‘. . . Spend the precious time and dollars explaining what's at stake and a constructive program to make life better. And as I say, look at everything through the lens of folks who have yet to achieve." After a pause, Daniels added with disappointment: ‘Romney doesn't talk that way.’""
yel and he is endorsing lugar tell you anything
All that matters is Repubs are even more unimpressed with Obama. I didn't vote for McCain in 2008, but I will vote for anyone but Obama this time.
are you sure Road Warrior, because you'll vote to bring back bush's policies which will bring back the depression even harder. Romney will cut the education, Housing he even said it, he will get the rich richer and the poor poorer. the're will be no middle class and he will prolong the Afghanistan war just to please the republicans which is what's going on right now. McCain wants to prolong the war and is asking Romney to get his back which he will. I bet everybody that Romney will bring Destruction on our economy and future. He even said that hell let the housing crash, I think he has a plan to get and get himself and others filthy rich.
merrill in my post your saying what i was trying to say only you did a much better job these people who are drinking the cool aid arent going to like what they are going to get