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Hissyspit
Hissyspit's Journal
Hissyspit's Journal
October 24, 2012
Dave Letterman Getting a Dig in at Romney for Refusing to Come On His Show
"Is there any point in continuing the show," he said.
Also, Rachel Maddow coming up soon.
October 23, 2012
Romney’s Major Flip-Flops in the Third Debate
Published on October 23rd, 2012
Written by: Juan
- snip -
On the Egyptian Revolution
Romney said:
“But once it exploded, I felt the same as the president did, which is these — these freedom voices in the — the streets of Egypt where the people who were speaking of our principles and the — the — President Mubarak had done things which were unimaginable, and the idea of him crushing his people was not something that we could possibly support.”
But on Feb. 1, 2011, Romney had refused to call Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “a dictator:”
VIDEO AT LINK
So during the uprising Romney avoided the word “dictator,” but now he admits that Mubarak had done things that were unimaginable (i.e. dictatorial things?)
Verdict: Flip-Flop
Romney said Monday, “We don’t want another Iraq."
He said it in the context of diplomatic efforts to convince Muslims to abandon radicalism. He seems to be admitting that the Iraq War was an error.
But in 2003, Romney supported the Iraq War.
If Romney views the Iraq War has having been about religious extremism, he should be reminded that the Baath regime in Iraq, horrible as it was, was a secular nationalist one that repressed religious fundamentalism.
Verdict: Flip-flop.
REST AT LINK[p]
Juan Cole: Romney's Major Flip-Flops in the Third Debate
http://www.juancole.com/2012/10/romneys-major-flip-flops-in-the-third-debate.htmlRomney’s Major Flip-Flops in the Third Debate
Published on October 23rd, 2012
Written by: Juan
- snip -
On the Egyptian Revolution
Romney said:
“But once it exploded, I felt the same as the president did, which is these — these freedom voices in the — the streets of Egypt where the people who were speaking of our principles and the — the — President Mubarak had done things which were unimaginable, and the idea of him crushing his people was not something that we could possibly support.”
But on Feb. 1, 2011, Romney had refused to call Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “a dictator:”
VIDEO AT LINK
So during the uprising Romney avoided the word “dictator,” but now he admits that Mubarak had done things that were unimaginable (i.e. dictatorial things?)
Verdict: Flip-Flop
Romney said Monday, “We don’t want another Iraq."
He said it in the context of diplomatic efforts to convince Muslims to abandon radicalism. He seems to be admitting that the Iraq War was an error.
But in 2003, Romney supported the Iraq War.
If Romney views the Iraq War has having been about religious extremism, he should be reminded that the Baath regime in Iraq, horrible as it was, was a secular nationalist one that repressed religious fundamentalism.
Verdict: Flip-flop.
REST AT LINK[p]
October 23, 2012
President Obama Slams A Passive Mitt Romney as ‘Reckless’ on Foreign Policy
by Howard Kurtz Oct 22, 2012 10:35 PM EDT
President rips his rival for being “all over the map” while Romney barely fights back. Howard Kurtz on why the Republican played rope-a-dope.
President Obama accused Mitt Romney of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map” at their final debate Monday night, while Romney took a strikingly sober and subdued approach in response.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) debates with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as moderator Bob Schieffer (C) of CBS looks on at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The focus for the final presidential debate before Election Day on November 6 is foreign policy. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
Uncorking a half-dozen attacks within minutes as his rival sat across the table in Boca Raton, the president tried to eviscerate Romney on foreign policy. He said the Republican wanted to leave 10,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, had sent mixed signals on withdrawing from Afghanistan and proclaimed America’s top enemy to be Russia.
- snip -
It was a rope-a-dope strategy in which Romney had his gloves up but left little substantive distance between himself and his rival.
By the half-hour mark, Romney was getting so little traction on foreign policy that he pivoted to the domestic economy and how America is heading on “the road to Greece.” Obama followed suit, talking about the need for smaller class sizes.
MORE[p]
Howard Kurtz: President Obama Slams a Passive Mitt Romney
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/22/president-obama-slams-a-passive-mitt-romney-as-reckless-on-foreign-policy.htmlPresident Obama Slams A Passive Mitt Romney as ‘Reckless’ on Foreign Policy
by Howard Kurtz Oct 22, 2012 10:35 PM EDT
President rips his rival for being “all over the map” while Romney barely fights back. Howard Kurtz on why the Republican played rope-a-dope.
President Obama accused Mitt Romney of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map” at their final debate Monday night, while Romney took a strikingly sober and subdued approach in response.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) debates with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as moderator Bob Schieffer (C) of CBS looks on at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The focus for the final presidential debate before Election Day on November 6 is foreign policy. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
Uncorking a half-dozen attacks within minutes as his rival sat across the table in Boca Raton, the president tried to eviscerate Romney on foreign policy. He said the Republican wanted to leave 10,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, had sent mixed signals on withdrawing from Afghanistan and proclaimed America’s top enemy to be Russia.
- snip -
It was a rope-a-dope strategy in which Romney had his gloves up but left little substantive distance between himself and his rival.
By the half-hour mark, Romney was getting so little traction on foreign policy that he pivoted to the domestic economy and how America is heading on “the road to Greece.” Obama followed suit, talking about the need for smaller class sizes.
MORE[p]
October 22, 2012
Daily Kos Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/22/1147972/-The-end-is-near
Tom Tomorrow's newest book is AVAILABLE NOW!
Tom Tomorrow: The End Is Near! And It All Comes Down To...
Daily Kos Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/22/1147972/-The-end-is-near
Tom Tomorrow's newest book is AVAILABLE NOW!
October 22, 2012
Why Greg Smith Left Goldman Sachs (Former Goldman Sachs VP New Book Released Monday)
Source: Associated Press
WHY GREG SMITH LEFT GOLDMAN SACHS
By CHRISTINA REXRODE
— Oct. 22 12:54 AM EDT
Greg Smith wrote the essay that echoed across Wall Street like a thunderclap.
Smith was a vice president at Goldman Sachs until March. He announced his departure from the investment bank with a blistering editorial in The New York Times, accusing Goldman of routinely deceiving clients and relentlessly pursuing profit at the expense of morality.
And he struck a nerve. The essay went viral in the financial world and beyond. Smith was praised for uncloaking corruption that was crying out to be addressed, and also derided as a disgruntled employee.
- snip -
Smith's book, "Why I Left Goldman Sachs," is being released Monday. It's a window into a company that is notoriously tight-lipped, with stories about a swaggering place where interns arise for 5 a.m. meetings and business trips mean slapping down $150 for one person's dinner.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/why-greg-smith-left-goldman-sachs#overlay-context=article/obama-take-campaign-tonight-show-wednesday
October 22, 2012
Kansas Teen Files Climate Change Lawsuit
By Michael Ricciardi
(Topeka, Kansas) – In the current ‘political climate’ of disinformation regarding human-caused climate change, and the pervasive political (Congressional) inertia to do anything substantive about it, it is quite heartening to know that some of the most serious, legal pushes to take action are coming from young people. This should not be as surprising at it may seem at first — young folks (and their future off-spring) will be the direct inheritors of the impacts of anthropogenic climate change — and our generation’s failure to act now.
On Thursday (Oct. 18), 14 year old Samantha Farb of Lecompton, Kansas, became the latest U.S. youngster to file suit (District Court of Shawnee County) against her State under what’s known as the Public Trust Doctrine. The doctrine rests upon a long-standing legal principle that requires all branches of government to protect and maintain certain shared resources fundamental for human health and survival.
- snip -
Her stated goal in this litigation is to prevent further increases in her state’s CO2 emissions, and, to compel the State of Kansas to reduce CO2 emissions to levels consistent with what current scientific analysis deems necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens — including future generations.
- snip -
“I live in an agricultural area,” said Samantha, “I’ve noticed how climate change is affecting crops, and I can see how it’s affecting the garden in my backyard. I’m filing this lawsuit to demand that my state take the necessary steps to combat climate [change] to protect our way of life and preserve the state’s resources for future generations.”
MORE[p]
Kansas Teen Files Climate Change Lawsuit
http://planetsave.com/2012/10/21/kansas-teen-files-climate-change-lawsuitKansas Teen Files Climate Change Lawsuit
By Michael Ricciardi
(Topeka, Kansas) – In the current ‘political climate’ of disinformation regarding human-caused climate change, and the pervasive political (Congressional) inertia to do anything substantive about it, it is quite heartening to know that some of the most serious, legal pushes to take action are coming from young people. This should not be as surprising at it may seem at first — young folks (and their future off-spring) will be the direct inheritors of the impacts of anthropogenic climate change — and our generation’s failure to act now.
On Thursday (Oct. 18), 14 year old Samantha Farb of Lecompton, Kansas, became the latest U.S. youngster to file suit (District Court of Shawnee County) against her State under what’s known as the Public Trust Doctrine. The doctrine rests upon a long-standing legal principle that requires all branches of government to protect and maintain certain shared resources fundamental for human health and survival.
- snip -
Her stated goal in this litigation is to prevent further increases in her state’s CO2 emissions, and, to compel the State of Kansas to reduce CO2 emissions to levels consistent with what current scientific analysis deems necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens — including future generations.
- snip -
“I live in an agricultural area,” said Samantha, “I’ve noticed how climate change is affecting crops, and I can see how it’s affecting the garden in my backyard. I’m filing this lawsuit to demand that my state take the necessary steps to combat climate [change] to protect our way of life and preserve the state’s resources for future generations.”
MORE[p]
October 22, 2012
http://firedoglake.com/2012/10/21/sunday-late-night-george-mcgovern-saved-my-life/
Sunday Late Night: George McGovern Saved My Life
By: Teddy Partridge
Sunday October 21, 2012 8:01 pm
- snip -
I was awed by George McGovern’s courage. Knowing full well the moment I read that Washington Post right after high school graduation that those burglars at the Watergate were probably Richard Nixon’s own idea, I watched Senator McGovern struggle with his own probable knowledge of Nixon’s complicity as he tried to help America understand the rot at the core of our government, in an ultimately futile presidential campaign that came to define him for many Americans.
- snip -
But, more than anything else, I owe George McGovern the past fifteen years. He and his wife Eleanor suffered the unbearable pain of losing their child Teresa to alcoholism; she froze to death in Madison, Wisconsin. His book, “Terry: My Daughter’s Life-and-Death Struggle With Alcoholism,” brought him to the McLean Community Center one evening for a book chat, which my parents attended. They had an estranged son struggling with addiction all the way across the country, who rarely reached out. They did not know how to help him. Hearing George McGovern talk about how he and his wife worked so hard to get Terry help meant so much to my parents. They were inspired by the McGoverns’ tragedy.
My mom went up to him afterwards and told Senator McGovern their own story, about how I had begun my national political activism in his 1972 campaign and was now trapped in a cycle of dependency and addiction far away in a world they did not understand. He listened carefully and comforted them, but he challenged them as well. “Three words,” George McGovern said. “I have only three words for you: Never. Give. Up.”
Shortly afterwards, my parents flew cross-country despite their own health worries, accompanied by my cousin, without whom they could never have made the trip. They challenged my grandiose addict’s world view with their love. They continued to reach out. They let me know I was cherished. They went home to Virginia without me; I had abandoned them practically at the airport gate. But they never gave up. They took George McGovern’s advice, enrolling me in a special United Airlines program for lost family members that required only a keyword to board a plane from anywhere in the United States, as long as it was bound for Dulles. They made sure I knew the secret keyword and how to use it at the airport.
I remembered that keyword; the next spring, I used it. The airline called my parents and told them what plane I would be on. They met me at the airport and took me to their home in McLean. My parents never gave up. Given their own challenges at the time, they had come very close to giving up on me. But when they heard George McGovern (whose personal hell wasn’t giving up but knowing he hadn’t and he still couldn’t save Terry) tell them not to give up, they acted.
- snip -
I became a productive citizen again, thanks to the advice George McGovern gave my folks.
MORE[p]
"George McGovern Saved My Life"
Great tribute from Teddy Partridge:http://firedoglake.com/2012/10/21/sunday-late-night-george-mcgovern-saved-my-life/
Sunday Late Night: George McGovern Saved My Life
By: Teddy Partridge
Sunday October 21, 2012 8:01 pm
- snip -
I was awed by George McGovern’s courage. Knowing full well the moment I read that Washington Post right after high school graduation that those burglars at the Watergate were probably Richard Nixon’s own idea, I watched Senator McGovern struggle with his own probable knowledge of Nixon’s complicity as he tried to help America understand the rot at the core of our government, in an ultimately futile presidential campaign that came to define him for many Americans.
- snip -
But, more than anything else, I owe George McGovern the past fifteen years. He and his wife Eleanor suffered the unbearable pain of losing their child Teresa to alcoholism; she froze to death in Madison, Wisconsin. His book, “Terry: My Daughter’s Life-and-Death Struggle With Alcoholism,” brought him to the McLean Community Center one evening for a book chat, which my parents attended. They had an estranged son struggling with addiction all the way across the country, who rarely reached out. They did not know how to help him. Hearing George McGovern talk about how he and his wife worked so hard to get Terry help meant so much to my parents. They were inspired by the McGoverns’ tragedy.
My mom went up to him afterwards and told Senator McGovern their own story, about how I had begun my national political activism in his 1972 campaign and was now trapped in a cycle of dependency and addiction far away in a world they did not understand. He listened carefully and comforted them, but he challenged them as well. “Three words,” George McGovern said. “I have only three words for you: Never. Give. Up.”
Shortly afterwards, my parents flew cross-country despite their own health worries, accompanied by my cousin, without whom they could never have made the trip. They challenged my grandiose addict’s world view with their love. They continued to reach out. They let me know I was cherished. They went home to Virginia without me; I had abandoned them practically at the airport gate. But they never gave up. They took George McGovern’s advice, enrolling me in a special United Airlines program for lost family members that required only a keyword to board a plane from anywhere in the United States, as long as it was bound for Dulles. They made sure I knew the secret keyword and how to use it at the airport.
I remembered that keyword; the next spring, I used it. The airline called my parents and told them what plane I would be on. They met me at the airport and took me to their home in McLean. My parents never gave up. Given their own challenges at the time, they had come very close to giving up on me. But when they heard George McGovern (whose personal hell wasn’t giving up but knowing he hadn’t and he still couldn’t save Terry) tell them not to give up, they acted.
- snip -
I became a productive citizen again, thanks to the advice George McGovern gave my folks.
MORE[p]
October 22, 2012
Paul Abrams
What Romney's Hiding: 'It's the Amnesty, Stupid'
Posted: 09/23/2012 8:40 pm
Why does the press feign puzzlement about what Romney is hiding by not revealing his 2009 tax returns?
- snip-
His disclosure of his 2010 account omitted information about his Swiss bank account at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). Why is the press not asking for this form? UBS was fined $760 million for putting Americans into abusive tax shelters and forced to reveal more than 4000 Americans who banked with them under numbered accounts.
The 4000+ Americans who were exposed by UBS were offered amnesty from criminal prosecution for tax evasion if they closed their Swiss Account, recalculated and paid all back taxes and paid a 25 percent penalty on the largest amount.
- snip -
To review, here is the circumstantial evidence:
i) Romney closed ONLY his Swiss UBS Account, not Caymans or Bermuda or Luxembourg. Hence, he cannot claim "bad optics for a campaign" as the alternative explanation;
ii) Romney closed the UBS account during the time required to receive amnesty;
iii) Romney omitted from his public disclosure of his 2010 returns the specific information about the UBS account;
iv) Romney took six extra months to prepare his 2011 returns, disclosing them in the countdown to the election, whereas he could have disclosed 2009 immediately with 2010, getting all that bad news out at once, during the primary, so that it would be ancient history by now. That is strong evidence that 2009, that would have shown the amnesty with flashing lights, was too toxic.
The press should be pressing for answers to each of these questions, as well as the over-arching question of amnesty. Otherwise, there is a real chance that a man who committed a federal crime and received amnesty could be occupying the nation's highest office.
- snip -
There is also some "softer" evidence. Why do the Romneys keep insisting that their finances were all handled by a blind trust? If they have done nothing wrong, why even mention it?
MORE[p]
What Romney's Hiding: 'It's the Amnesty, Stupid'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/what-romneys-hiding-its-t_b_1908104.htmlPaul Abrams
What Romney's Hiding: 'It's the Amnesty, Stupid'
Posted: 09/23/2012 8:40 pm
Why does the press feign puzzlement about what Romney is hiding by not revealing his 2009 tax returns?
- snip-
His disclosure of his 2010 account omitted information about his Swiss bank account at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). Why is the press not asking for this form? UBS was fined $760 million for putting Americans into abusive tax shelters and forced to reveal more than 4000 Americans who banked with them under numbered accounts.
The 4000+ Americans who were exposed by UBS were offered amnesty from criminal prosecution for tax evasion if they closed their Swiss Account, recalculated and paid all back taxes and paid a 25 percent penalty on the largest amount.
- snip -
To review, here is the circumstantial evidence:
i) Romney closed ONLY his Swiss UBS Account, not Caymans or Bermuda or Luxembourg. Hence, he cannot claim "bad optics for a campaign" as the alternative explanation;
ii) Romney closed the UBS account during the time required to receive amnesty;
iii) Romney omitted from his public disclosure of his 2010 returns the specific information about the UBS account;
iv) Romney took six extra months to prepare his 2011 returns, disclosing them in the countdown to the election, whereas he could have disclosed 2009 immediately with 2010, getting all that bad news out at once, during the primary, so that it would be ancient history by now. That is strong evidence that 2009, that would have shown the amnesty with flashing lights, was too toxic.
The press should be pressing for answers to each of these questions, as well as the over-arching question of amnesty. Otherwise, there is a real chance that a man who committed a federal crime and received amnesty could be occupying the nation's highest office.
- snip -
There is also some "softer" evidence. Why do the Romneys keep insisting that their finances were all handled by a blind trust? If they have done nothing wrong, why even mention it?
MORE[p]
October 20, 2012
As other polls show tight race, Gallup stands apart
WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:08pm EDT
By Andy Sullivan
- snip -
Questions about the gap between Gallup's findings and those of other pollsters is the latest fuss this election season over polling methodology as partisan passions come to a boil in the heated final weeks before the November 6 presidential contest.
With a record of correctly predicting all but three of the 19 presidential races stretching back to 1936, Gallup is one of the most prestigious names in the business and its outlier status has other polling experts scratching their heads.
- snip -
When Obama opened up a wide lead in polls last month, Republicans accused researchers of interviewing too many Democrats. Those complaints evaporated when Romney surged ahead after his strong October 3 debate performance.
Now, the Obama campaign is questioning the validity of Gallup's methods after it released a poll earlier this week that showed Romney leading among likely voters in the handful of battleground states that will decide the election.
Obama pollster Joel Benenson called the Gallup survey an "extreme outlier" and said its formula to determine likely voters created a bias against Obama supporters. "Gallup's data is once again far out of line with other public pollsters," he wrote in a memo on Monday.
MORE AT LINK[p]
Reuters: As Other Polls Show Tight Race, Gallup Stands Apart
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89J02720121020As other polls show tight race, Gallup stands apart
WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:08pm EDT
By Andy Sullivan
- snip -
Questions about the gap between Gallup's findings and those of other pollsters is the latest fuss this election season over polling methodology as partisan passions come to a boil in the heated final weeks before the November 6 presidential contest.
With a record of correctly predicting all but three of the 19 presidential races stretching back to 1936, Gallup is one of the most prestigious names in the business and its outlier status has other polling experts scratching their heads.
- snip -
When Obama opened up a wide lead in polls last month, Republicans accused researchers of interviewing too many Democrats. Those complaints evaporated when Romney surged ahead after his strong October 3 debate performance.
Now, the Obama campaign is questioning the validity of Gallup's methods after it released a poll earlier this week that showed Romney leading among likely voters in the handful of battleground states that will decide the election.
Obama pollster Joel Benenson called the Gallup survey an "extreme outlier" and said its formula to determine likely voters created a bias against Obama supporters. "Gallup's data is once again far out of line with other public pollsters," he wrote in a memo on Monday.
MORE AT LINK[p]
October 20, 2012
AP: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/free/20121019arizona-planned-parenthood-ruling-funding.html
Judge bars Arizona action against Planned Parenthood
By Paul Davenport
Associated Press
Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:08 PM
- snip -
The preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake bars the state from applying a new state anti-abortion law to Planned Parenthood Arizona and a physician with his own practice.
The law was enacted earlier this year but it hasn’t been implemented.
Arizona already bars public funding for most abortions, but the new law would go beyond that by barring public funding for general health care services provided by abortion clinics and doctors.
Grounds cited by Wake in his ruling include that federal law doesn’t allow states to exclude Medicaid providers for reasons other than their qualifications to provide services.
BREAKING: Federal Judge Blocks Arizona Law That Bars Funding to Planned Parenthood
Source: Reuters
Judge blocks Arizona law that bars funding to Planned Parenthood
Reuters – 10 mins ago
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge barred Arizona on Friday from applying a new law that bars Planned Parenthood's health clinics from receiving money through the state because the organization also performs abortions.
District Court Neil Wake granted a temporary injunction to Planned Parenthood, which had sued Arizona to block the law in July. He denied the state's motion to dismiss the case.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-blocks-arizona-law-bars-funding-planned-parenthood-002128026.html
AP: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/free/20121019arizona-planned-parenthood-ruling-funding.html
Judge bars Arizona action against Planned Parenthood
By Paul Davenport
Associated Press
Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:08 PM
- snip -
The preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake bars the state from applying a new state anti-abortion law to Planned Parenthood Arizona and a physician with his own practice.
The law was enacted earlier this year but it hasn’t been implemented.
Arizona already bars public funding for most abortions, but the new law would go beyond that by barring public funding for general health care services provided by abortion clinics and doctors.
Grounds cited by Wake in his ruling include that federal law doesn’t allow states to exclude Medicaid providers for reasons other than their qualifications to provide services.
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