Names to Remember

* When I shop, I always consider the political leanings of the stores/businesses. If I've read about unfair practices in the way a company treats employees, or some odd behavior on the part of the owners, that particular store is not where I'll spend my money. For example, I do not shop at Walmart or stores that want to deny their employees certain parts of the Affordable Care Act.  Here is news you can use.....

Raw Story:

An attorney representing the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores said that the company intends to defy a court order that it comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s provisions regarding contraceptives, the so-called “morning after pill” and employee health coverage. According to Associated Press, the company says that it is willing to face the up to $1.3 million in fines it will accrue per day by not providing coverage for the medications.

The arch conservative Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby and the religious bookstore chain Mardel, maintains that allowing anti-conception medications like the “morning after” and “week after” pills is tantamount to supporting abortion. The family is being represented in court by Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Christian legal group dedicated to fighting issues of this kind of the nation’s courts......

.....Emergency Contraception (EC) drugs do not induce abortions, but rather prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.  An abortion terminates a pregnancy, whereas with EC medications, if used properly, pregnancy never began......

I guess a lot of us will be avoiding Hobby Lobby.  Some people are avoiding other businesses, according to ThinkProgress:

Ever since Darden Restaurants — the owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains — first announced its anti-Obamacare campaign, the company has had a tough couple of months. Darden admitted as much when it revised its predictions for latest quarterly earnings down in December, attributing the drop to “recent negative media coverage on Darden [...] and how we might accommodate healthcare reform.” The negative press led the company to reverse course on its threat to shift employees to part-time status to avoid covering them under Obamacare. The latest report on Darden’s earnings prove that was a good move, since the restaurants did take a turn for the worse as a result of their bad publicity. Its net income fell 37 percent.....

*****

>>>  The Republican-loving Columbus Dispatch has come out against an Ohio elected official--- State Senator Chris Widener, a Republican. 



Columbus Dispatch:

Sen. Chris Widener wields great power at the Statehouse, where he is supposed to use his position to better the interests of his constituents — not, as appears to be the case, to bail out his associates. Or himself.

The Springfield Republican, set to be the Senate's No. 2 leader, says he did nothing wrong in 2009 when he sponsored a bill that authorized a financially troubled livestock-exposition center to levy a special tax to bail itself out of financial difficulties.....

Never mind that he helped found the nonprofit association that built the center.....

....Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he's discussing the situation with the state legislative inspector general.....

Uh-oh.  You know there is real trouble when the Dispatch goes after an Ohio Republican!

****** 

*****  If milk prices go up, you can blame it on John Boehner and the Republicans!

Dayton Daily News:


For Ohio farmers, it is not the fiscal cliff that’s made them nervous, but the farm bill held hostage to fiscal cliff wrangling, said Adam Sharp, vice president of public policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based think-tank, estimates Ohio could lose more than $18.5 million in aid.

The farm bill has serious implications for a giant share of the economy since there’s funding for farm conservation, research, price safety nets and insurance.

If Congress does not pass a farm bill to replace one that expired in September, analysts also predict price hikes for grocery store items, including losing the 1949 milk law that could lead to doubling the price of a gallon of milk to $7.....

Boehner and his pals probably don't care if milk goes to $7/gallon.  They probably put champagne on their morning cereal!

Extreme

* Americans are looking at Republicans in a different way.

PolitickerblogCNN:

Just over half the public says that the GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country's problems, according to a new national survey. 

And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that a slight majority of Americans sees the Republican party's policies and views as too extreme, a first for the GOP, and fewer than a third say they trust congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama to deal with the major issues facing the nation.....

.....According to the survey, 53% say the GOP should compromise more, with 41% saying the Democratic Party should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.....


This poll also gave President Obama and approval rating of 52%. The Republicans are more worried about protecting the rich than providing security for our elderly, disabled, and school children. The GOP's arrogance is absolutely disgusting.

The Good News vs. The Bad

* This is good news---

HuffingtonPost:

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is set to become the first woman to chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, a position left open this week by the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.

A Democrat, Mikulski was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after serving 10 years in the House. Last year, she became the longest-serving woman in Senate history.

With her ascendancy to the chairmanship of Appropriations, she enters a male-dominated realm that in the past has had sweeping power in deciding how federal dollars will be dispersed around the country....

Congratulations, Sen. Mikulski, on your new assignment!

• The bad news comes just after the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

USAToday:

Residents of this eastern Hamilton County, Ohio, community are in an uproar over plans to open an indoor gun range just 100 yards away from more than 1,000 students in two Loveland, Ohio, elementary schools, an issue especially controversial in light of last week's massacre at a Connecticut school.

The proposed range is across the block from Loveland Primary School, which educates about 500 students in grades 1 and 2, and the attached Loveland Elementary School with about 700 third and fourth graders.....

City leaders should listen to citizens and look for an alternate location.

There You Have It...

• It appears that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's approval rating is in the toilet.

HuffingtonPost:

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's (R) popularity has dropped precipitously since he signed right-to-work legislation, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Snyder's approval rating has sunk to 38 percent, down a net 28 points since November, PPP found....

Wow! I guess Snyder's honeymoon is over with his state's voters. Of course, it doesn't help that he broke his promises to the workers.

>>>> Well, well, well. It appears that the right wing, holier than thou, religious, family-first group has a problem.

HuffingtonPost:

The former director of women’s and reproductive health at the Family Research Council, a prominent Christian conservative advocacy group, is suing the organization, claiming it retaliated against her and fired her after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss. 

According to court documents first obtained and reported by journalist Evan Gahr, former FRC employee Moira Gaul, 42, filed a complaint in 2009 with the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission in which she accused her supervisor of gender discrimination. She claimed that her boss, the director of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics at the time, referred to the use of birth control pills as "whoring around," addressed emails to her with the words "hi cutie," pressured her to attend parties, and referred to her as a "young, attractive woman."

....Gahr identified Gaul's former supervisor as prominent anti-abortion lawyer William Saunders, who now works at the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. Saunders and his attorney, William J. Hickey, did not respond to requests for comment on the case....

Very interesting.

*** Sometimes, when Republicans do or say things, the words come back to haunt them. When Mitt Romney said that he didn't care about 47% of the American people when he spoke at a private fundraiser, voters kept that in mind throughout the election. In Texas, the lack of thoughtful deliberations about the consequences of their actions has resulted in major problems.

NYTimes:

When state lawmakers passed a two-year budget in 2011 that moved $73 million from family planning services to other programs, the goal was largely political: halt the flow of taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood clinics....

....The latest Health and Human Services Commission projections being circulated among Texas lawmakers indicate that during the 2014-15 biennium, poor women will deliver an estimated 23,760 more babies than they would have, as a result of their reduced access to state-subsidized birth control. The additional cost to taxpayers is expected to be as much as $273 million — $103 million to $108 million to the state’s general revenue budget alone — and the bulk of it is the cost of caring for those infants under Medicaid.....

....The health agency’s numbers, while alarming to some state lawmakers, are not unexpected. Last legislative session, while lawmakers debated the cuts, the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board estimated that they would lead 284,000 women to lose family planning services, resulting in 20,000 additional unplanned births at a cost to taxpayers of $231 million. The cuts passed anyway, a price that socially conservative legislators were willing to pay in their referendum on Planned Parenthood....

What did these Republican lawmakers think would happen when they ended this area of women's health care? How many poor women have had to go without cancer screenings because of the decisions of Texas lawmakers?  Have any women died because of their lack of medical treatment?

Tragedy in Connecticut

America weeps tonight.  We are all shocked about shootings of the children and adults at the school in Connecticut.  There are no words to adequately convey our profound sorrow at this event other than to offer our prayers for all.

What do you think?

Which U.S. Senator has some polling problems? Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky!

NationalMemo:

According to Public Policy Polling’s latest Kentucky survey, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is now the least popular senator in America.

The poll finds that only 37 percent of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell, while 55 percent disapprove. His negative 18 percent net approval puts him below outgoing Nebraska senator Ben Nelson, who had been the Senate’s least popular member.

Perhaps due to his extremely public role as the face of congressional dysfunction, both Democrats and independents strongly disapprove of McConnell — 23 percent of Democrats approve of him, with 73 percent disapproving, and just 33 percent of independents approve, compared to 58 percent who disapprove....

PPP then explains that he could easily get re-elected. OMG! Sen. McConnell is the main person stopping legislation. He even filibustered his own bill!  What are McConnell's accomplishments? Has he improved your life and those of your children? No.

••••• Gov. John Kasich said he wouldn't lease the Ohio Turnpike, but perhaps there were no interested parties following the massive money bomb Kasich gave to KPMG for a "study" on a possible lease. Those of us that live in Ohio are worried about the cockamamie deal that Gov. John Kasich has hatched concerning the Ohio Turnpike. 

Businessweek:

The Ohio Turnpike Commission would issue as much as $1.5 billion in new debt backed by toll revenue to help pay for state road and bridge projects under a proposal Governor John Kasich will announce today. 

The plan, which requires legislative approval, calls for the Turnpike Commission to issue about $1 billion in bonds as soon as next year, and about an additional $500 million in the coming years, according to an administration official, who asked not to be named ahead of Kasich’s announcement. The proceeds would be used to increase available funding for highway projects in northern Ohio and elsewhere in the state, as well as refurbish the turnpike, the official said.....


Ohioans have to ask ourselves the following questions:

1.  Why does Kasich want to get the state in further debt?
2.  Does this involve a plan to get rid of the unionized Turnpike employees?
3.  Is this "plan" related to similar plans Kasich allegedly "offered" to retirement funds when he was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers?
4.  Which of Kasich's cronies will benefit from this?
5.  How will farmers, small and large Ohio manufacturers, and citizens suffer with higher tolls?
6.  When Kasich runs for re-election, he will claim he reduced taxes. Will he admit that he is hitting us with increased fees, toll, and other charges?

It is time to stand in opposition to this stupid idea.  It is also time to look for a solid Democratic opponent to run against Kasich.

More Baloney from Boehner

Are Boehner and the Republicans serious or just repeating their propaganda?

HuffingtonPost:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama still has not gotten serious about dealing with the impending "fiscal cliff," saying the White House has yet to offer anything that can pass muster with the GOP.....

"If the president doesn't agree with our approach, he's got an obligation to put forward a plan that can pass both chambers of Congress," said Boehner. "Right now, the American people have to be scratching their heads and wondering when is the president going to get serious."

President Obama has put through a plan, but John Boehner refuses to acknowledge it because it raises taxes on all those making more than $250,000/year. Is Boehner being dismissive because he doesn't like what the President has offered? That is the only conclusion the American people can have.

Big Money Still Trying

Do you remember when Karl Rove, Americans for (their own) Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the Chamber of Commerce, and Sheldon Adelson tried to buy the election for the Mitt Romney and failed? They haven't given up yet.

When the Republican governors went to Las Vegas for their big meeting, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio went on a pilgrimage to the man with all the money, Sheldon Adelson. Kasich went to pay respects and bow at the feet of Adelson, while he laid the groundwork for some possible campaign money for his future. Kasich plans to run for re-election, but many would agree that he'd like to run for President again.  Adelson, apparently, hasn't given up on trying to influence politics.

ReviewJournal:

After contributing as much as $150 million to Republican campaigns and causes to become the top GOP political donor this year, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson isn't putting away his checkbook.

Instead, the billionaire casino magnate has vowed to double his contributions during the 2016 wide-open White House contest, becoming an unparalleled political power broker courted by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and presidential hopefuls alike....

.....At a post-election Republican Governors Association convention in November, state leaders paid their respects to Adelson while meeting at The Venetian, his hotel-casino on the Strip. Governors who visited Adelson included Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, John Kasich of Ohio, and outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia....


These Republican governors have paid more respect to some rich guy in Vegas than to their own people in their states. Shame.  While they beg, and kiss the hand of Adelson, they beg for money for their far right, ideological-driven campaigns, that strips rights away from middle class workers, teachers, women, and others.  Wouldn't we all like to have seen these Republicans kowtow at the feet of Adelson? Those pictures would be priceless.

Will Americans dismiss the money behind the Republican Party and vote for their own good-----better public education, the rights and safety of workers, fair pay, health care for women, equal rights, the safety net, etc.? We will see.

His Surrender?

Three years ago a member of the Senate said this about President Obama and the Affordable Care Act ---

Politico:

"If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him," he said....

Tea Party Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said that in 2009. Senator DeMint who has been a staunch conservative, and a thorn in the side of all Progressives, is bailing out, running away, giving up his fight. I guess DeMint has met his 'Waterloo' in the fact that President Obama won re-election (yippeee!) and the Affordable Care Act was declared constitutional (Yeah). 

See ya!!!!!

******

John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the Republicans in the House would rather go off the 'fiscal cliff' than help the middle class.  They are definitely a bunch of clowns.

One more thing......Eric Cantor has scheduled 126 work days in 2013 for the House of Representatives, according to the AuburnPub.  126 days!!!! That is half the number of days that an employed person works each year. Cantor's schedule is pathetic and proves once again that the Republicans in the House want something for nothing---their paycheck for hardly any work.

Send a Message!!!!

Back to work, people! The election might be over but some Republicans need to be sent a message!

DailyKos:

John Boehner's worse nightmare.  The phones, faxes and e-mails of Republican representatives being flooded with contacts from voters in their Districts demanding that the Representatives sign the discharge petition filed by Nancy Pelosi.

You can make it happen by contacting your Representative and demanding that he or she sign the discharge petition (if he or she has not already done so).  Then you should send an an e-mail to everyone in your address book asking them to contact their Representative as well.   And you should also post it on your Facebook page, send tweets, and use other social media to get the word out.  

To find out if your Representative has signed the discharge petition
http://clerk.house.gov/112/lrc/pd/petitions/DisPet0006.xml......

Here is a list of Representatives and their contact information:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Let them know we expect them to sign the discharge petition now. You might also let them know that you are tired of being ignored by the Republican Party while they focus their attention on millionaires and billionaires.

Contact page for Republican Rep. Steve Stivers: http://stivers.house.gov/contact/
Contact page for Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi: http://tiberi.house.gov/contact/

---------------

>>>>>>  Why would he do this?  What future plans does John Kasich have for himself?

Dispatch:

While in Las Vegas last month for a meeting of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. John Kasich stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino for a private meeting with its owner, Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire whose family donated a record of at least $84 million to Republican groups in the 2012 presidential campaign cycle.

"He's a big Republican activist so I went over to talk with him," Kasich acknowledged Monday....

Yeah. Sure. Is this Kasich's pilgrimage to lay the groundwork for future money requests for a campaign for the White House, a Senate run, or just cash for his re-election campaign?

Get the Picture, Republicans?

* Republicans refuse to take responsibility for the fact that their behavior created the financial disaster our country faces.  When you start two wars, and give tax breaks to people, the money goes out, but nothing comes into the treasury.

Sen. Rob Portman (OH-R) ran into a little turbulence at a recent speech.

HuffPost:

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was shouted down by a large group of demonstrators Tuesday, temporarily preventing him from delivering an address at a "Campaign to Fix the Debt" roundtable in Washington, D.C.

BuzzFeed reports that Portman had prepared a speech about the importance of following Republican-backed plans to reform the tax code in order to bring about a longer-term solution to prevent deficit reduction measures, such as the fiscal cliff, from becoming commonplace. As he stood before the crowd however, four protesters took turns touting the importance of Medicare and Social Security and arguing against steps to slash the programs......

.....The event's host, "The Campaign to Fix the Debt," is a coalition of influential CEOs, politicians and policy makers who are seeking to muster public support for reducing the debt, which they're attempting to do while simultaneously putting Social Security and Medicare cuts at the forefront of deficit reduction negotiations.....

Rob Portman, a multi-millionaire, is no friend of the middle class, women's rights, or  average Americans. Portman was also the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the administration of George W. Bush. We know what happened under his guidance.


>>>>  Some people might wonder how Dick Armey gets $8 million as he leaves the FreedomWorks, a group that is part of the Tea Party.  Read the Washington Post for some information on Armey's haul.

Republicans Haven't Learned Anything!

It might be hard to believe, but Republicans just are not good learners. With the American people demanding higher taxes for the wealthy, John Boehner and his Republican elected members of the House apparently have not gotten the message.

President Obama made an offer to the Republican on how to avoid the fiscal cliff, and Republicans, after quite a delay, have presented their offer.

The Washington Post has the important facts about the GOP offer:

...That framework aims to raise new revenue through an overhaul of the tax code. It also calls for slicing $600 billion from federal health programs, in part by increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67, and saving $200 billion by applying a less-generous measure of inflation to all federal programs, including Social Security benefits, according to GOP aides....

...Republicans say they are willing to extract all the new tax money from households earning more than $250,000 a year, the same group Obama wants to target with higher tax rates. But the GOP plan raises the money by wiping out deductions instead of raising rates...

.....But Democrats said that the proposed cuts to social safety-net programs would outweigh higher taxes. And they said Republicans had yet to make clear how they would raise the additional tax revenue without imposing new burdens on the middle class.....

Republicans just don't give a s*** about the American middle class. It is very disgusting that Republicans are more interested in protecting the rich over the elderly and the middle class.  

GOP: Work With the President!

•   Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell wants to raise the eligibility age for Social Security. In order to protect the tax cuts for the rich, Mitch McConnell wants to raise the qualifying age to 70? 75? 80? McConnell is going to be 70, but he doesn't need to worry about relying only on Social Security. McConnell will have his pension from the federal government, but he also has considerable personal wealth. McConnell is just another rich Republicans that don't care about those people nearing retirement and depending on Social Security.


*  Republican leader John Boehner has been a real disappointment. He is unwilling to help the middle class retain tax cuts because he is so busy defending millionaires and billionaires. 

Personally, I'm sick of these games by Republicans as they defend the rich. I'm sick of their talking points and their arrogance.

•  Gov. John Kasich spent $1.5 million to create an ad that talks about the new jobs in Ohio.  However, recent information shows that jobs brought into the state by JobsOhio have an annual salary of $30,000/yr. 

GOP Lacking Women in Leadership

***  Does Republican Speaker of the U.S. House John Boehner know that there are women in the Republican Party that could be assigned as chairpersons for committees? Boehner has not yet assigned one woman from the GOP to be the lead on committees. That is quite unbelievable. Why are women overlooked by Boehner for House leadership positions? Is it possible that Boehner, and Cantor just don't see women as equals or as qualified as the men in their party?  That is very sad and disturbing.

* I thought the same thing about this news about Braxton Miller as reported by the
BleacherReport:

The Big Ten announced its superlative awards on Tuesday, lauding Ohio State by granting DE John Simon the Defensive Player of the Year award and hailing QB Braxton Miller as the Offensive Player of the Year. Both men are obviously deserving of their respective awards.
It is worth pointing out, however, that Braxton Miller wasn't even the first-team QB on the coaches' All-Big Ten ballot released Monday.... 

What is up with that?

Naked People Visit Boehner

How is it possible that Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais remains in office?

HuffingtonPost:

An ethics watchdog asked Congress on Tuesday to investigate whether Tennessee Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais lied about an audio recording he made with his wife of a phone call during which he urged his mistress to get an abortion.

In 2000, when DesJarlais was trying to patch up his disintegrating marriage, he recorded a phone call with a woman he had sex with while she was his patient.....

....The "family values," anti-abortion DesJarlais also admitted in the divorce proceedings that he and his then-wife mutually agreed to two abortions, one for health reasons and one because their relationship was fairing poorly.....

Tennessee Department of Health has listed no ethics charges against DesJarlais who is a licensed physician in the state. 

* * * * *

* There was a little excitement in the office of John Boehner.
TheHill:

Multiple protesters stripped naked in Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office on Tuesday afternoon to protest possible cuts to AIDS research.

The protest happened in Boehner’s office in the Longworth House Office Building, not the Speaker’s office where he works in the Capitol. Boehner's office confirmed that he was not in the office at the time....

Too bad Boehner was not there.

Sick of Ohio GOP and Kasich?

Gov. John Kasich is spending state money to promote himself. As OhioDailyBlog points out, Kasich is really not responsible for the new jobs.

OhioDailyBlog:

Apparently preparing for his re-election campaign in 2014, our gov has started to run ads in Ohio boasting what a big success his privatized Department of Development Replacement, JobsOhio, has been....

....First of all, it's very hard to tie the slowly improving economy of Ohio to anything JobsOhio did. So far, it seems like it's mostly given money to Kasich cronies. It's hard to tell how many jobs they actually created. It's more likely that the recovering economy is due to national factors that Kasich resisted, such as the auto industry bailout. It's unclear that the shaky JobsOhio has had any impact at all. If anything, the governor's policies have fought against Ohio's economic comeback, as his cuts to local governments and public schools have forced layoffs in some communities. His bragging is extremely unseemly....

Instead of spending $1.4 million on the ad, it would have been better to give money back to the schools, the local governments, or the food pantries that have all lost money because of Kasich's budget cuts.  I just hope that there is a strong Democrat that will oppose Kasich in 2014. I'm just sick of these pro-business, pro-charter school, anti-women, anti-middle class legislation coming from Kasich and his puppets in the GOP.

Beyond Understanding

What is going on with Sen. John McCain? Why has he continued to go after the U.S.  Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice?  Sen. McCain's attacks have been ruthless, full of bitterness, and a clear display of unbridled anger. McCain has said Rice is "not qualified" to be Secretary of State (LA Times).

John McCain has no room to talk. He picked Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. Palin as Vice President of the U.S. was one of the most frightening prospects of that election. She wasn't qualified, but McCain had full faith in her.

Ambassador Rice is highly qualified, educated at Stanford, a Rhodes Scholar, and mentored by Madeline Albright, according to Biography.com. She is not "stupid" as some Republicans have suggested. It might be best if McCain and other Republicans stop their disrespectful, verbal assaults against Ambassador Rice.  The Republicans just lost an election during which they were accused of racism, and sexism.  Unfortunately, McCain and the Republicans have continued with their campaign against women and minorities.

Stop the hatred, Republicans and Sen. McCain!

Still Confused? Stop Listening to R.W.M.

Republicans and Romney seem unable to understand how they lost the election. There are actually facts out there if the Republicans care to listen, but they won't. If you want to know how the Republicans were blindsided, here are a few facts----

Republicans believe the information coming from Fox and Limbaugh. It isn't news. The info coming from Fox, Limbaugh, and right wing media outlets should be classified as right wing propaganda. It is not based on facts.

Republican candidates/platform
(a) insulted working men and women,
(b) called people "moochers" that are on Social Security/Medicare/military pensions,
(c) tried to take away women's reproductive decisions,
(d) pushed for "trickle down economics" that would only benefit the rich, and
(e) disregarded the science, and math, of real, non-partisan polls.

A line that Republican pundits kept saying was that the other polls had too many Democrats. I guess it was hard to believe that the country has more Democrats than Republicans.

Republicans and their R.W.M. (right wing media) are not interested in the truth. They are only interested in pushing an agenda.  Hopefully, the Republicans and their party will destroy itself over their hatred, racist, and anti-science/anti-math beliefs.

If you listen to Fox, Limbaugh, ant the pro-rich party GOP talkers, change the channel.

Birthers Changing Tactics

> It looks like the birthers have changed tactics. Now some Republicans are trying to secede from the U.S.A.  See ya!  Let them go! If they do leave, we won't be sending your Social Security, Medicare, college grants, SBA loans, road construction money, or anything else.  We don't need people that are so racist and uninformed. Keep watching Fox News for more misleading propaganda.

> Republicans are upset about the lack of security at Benghazi. Right wingers should ask the Republican House members why they voted to cut $300 million from from the State Department's security budget that covers protection for our ambassadors and embassies.  View CS Monitor for details of the cuts, and the noise coming from Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Rep. Darrell Issa, who supported the cuts.

> Grumpy old Sen. John McCain said he is not getting information on Benghazi, but he held a press conference instead of going to a Benghazi briefing.

WTSP:

While Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was leading a press conference Wednesday to condemn the administration's lack of transparency regarding the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, it turns out he could have been attending a classified briefing on the subject....
 
...McCain told CBS News he hadn't yet viewed the thousands of pages of classified emails, telegrams, and intelligence reports that the State Department made available to the committee. As a member, he can access the documents by visiting a secure room on the Hill....

Ever since he lost in 2008, McCain has gotten grumpier and grumpier.

Republicans vs. Women's Rights

Mitt Romney lost the women's vote by 11 points in Ohio. Apparently, Ohio Republicans do not care that women in the country and the state voted for the re-election of President Obama because he respects the rights of women. Today, the Republican-controlled General Assembly went after women's reproductive rights and health care again in their vote to de-fund Planned Parenthood. Over 100,000 Ohio women depend on Planned Parenthood for gynecological exams, pap tests, breast exams, and routine medical tests. Gov. John Kasich and the Republicans don't give a damn about the rights of women or their health.

Democratic State Senator Nina Turner expressed the feelings of Ohio women with her shirt today.
(pic from TheGrio)

Farm Bill???

> Farmers need to get on the telephone and their computers and make contact with Republican Rep. Eric Cantor.  Apparently, Eric Cantor, has not scheduled a vote for the farm bill. KFYI notes that the 2008 bill expired in September. You can contact Eric Cantor Here or Here.  Let your voice be heard.


> The Republicans just noticed that they've lost voters like Latinos, women, military, Jews, middle class, college educated, etc., and those that don't want to return to the 1950's.


> Some people in Texas want to secede from the United States. The Examiner has the story. If Texas would become an independent country, students would not be able to attend colleges out of their state, join the American military, travel with out a passport to a nearby state, call on FEMA for disaster relief, receive support from the federal government, etc.

Standing Together Against Neanderthals

* Thankfully, we can all breathe a little easier because RomneyRyan, Mourdock, Akin, and other Neanderthals were not elected.  However, we must remain on guard for those that will try to carry on their war against women, Latinos, LGBT, college students, the elderly, and children. Don't give an inch to the right wing radical haters.

>>>> Guess we won't be ordering any Papa John Pizza----

Courier-Journal:

Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter, who previously said that President Obama’s health care program would force the company to raise the price of pizza, now says the health care law could cause franchises to slice full-time employees’ hours.

Schnatter, who supported Republican Mitt Romney, made the comments Wednesday night to students at Edison State College in Naples, Fla., where Schnatter has a vacation home.



The Anchorage resident’s initial comment came in August when he told stock analysts during a conference call that the cost of the Affordable Care Act will lead the company to raise its prices 11 to 14 cents per pizza.....

Wow! 11-14 cents/pizza????? So what? Shouldn't an employer, especially someone in the food business, be concerned about the health of his/her employees?

>>>>  I wonder if that huge Romney flag at a Columbus business on Jasonway, south of Bethel Road, (behind Olentangy Square Shopping Center) is down. Personally, I thought it was gross.

Time to Get to Work

* Now that President Obama has a mandate, we are all hoping that Republicans get off their rear ends and do some cooperation. The President wants to put people to work. Americans want to get to work. The Republicans would rather vote to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act over 30 times than do any meaningful work for their constituents. If Republicans still refuse to move, it might take a march on Washington, DC to get our message across to them.

* I'm hoping that Republican Josh Mandel will take down all his campaign signs across the state. I didn't like them before the election, and I like them even less now.

* In the sadness that enveloped the entire Republican Party, some of them still do not understand why they lost. I saw a C-SPAN program that showed some right wing groups that suggested continuing their promotion of their right wing causes. They want to push for more restrictions on women's health, lower taxes on the wealthy, and abolish regulations.  It is apparent that these groups must live in a little bubble filled with only right wing Republicans. If they had an exposure to the real world, they might have an inkling of how other people feel about these issues.

Obama!

• Thank you, everyone, that voted for President Obama! Yeah!

•  The success of the ObamaBiden ticket can be attributed to women, volunteers, union workers, middle class voters, and all that worked for this election.

• In case you are interested----- Ari Fleischer indicates the future of the Republican Party. Raw Story:

After a stinging election night defeat, President George W. Bush’s former White House secretary still says that the Republican Party will never support LGBT rights and reproductive rights for women.

“The big issue that Republicans are going to have to wrestle with is the Hispanic issue,” Ari Fleischer explained after President Barack Obama’s defeat of GOP hopeful Mitt Romney made it clear that the country was more liberal than he had expected. 

“It’s not the social issues,” he insisted. “You’re not going to make the party pro-choice and pro-gay rights and think you’ve made the Republican party the party that’s the popular party. We have a party like that. It’s the Democratic Party.”

Thank you, Ari, for confirming the backward-thinking of the old white guys in the Republican Party. We'll remember your words for the future.

VOTE

The word of the day is VOTE.  If you have an absentee ballot that you have not mailed, fill it out, sign it and mail it today. Get to your polling location.

Vote for President Obama and Democrats!

Did you know...

**  Who was the last candidate with a business background that was elected President?
answer:  Herbert Hoover

 • • • • •

>>>>Plunderbund has an interesting bit of news on some recent attacks on Democratic candidates:

 
 
 

   
    Michelle Rhee funds Ohio Republicans, campaigns against Ohio Teacher of the Year (via PlunderBund)
   

       Michelle Rhee is the national education reformer most well-known for her cross-country tour promoting the anti-public education film “Waiting for Superman”, including an appearance at a screening with Ohio’s own John Kasich.  Prior to that, Rhee spent a couple of years at the head of the D.C…
   

 

 

Michele Bachmann is Hilarious!

* I am not one of her constituents, but I have watched her disgusting, right wing, hate-filled rants on TV.  Sometimes it seemed as though she was just living in some other reality. Republican Rep. Bachmann is in a tight race with challenger, Democrat Jim Graves.

HuffingtonPost has an update on the latest from Rep. Michele Bachmann:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) describes herself as a bipartisan "independent voice" in a pitch to voters in a campaign ad....

Bachmann, who founded the House Tea Party caucus and made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination earlier this year, went as far as to call the president "anti-American" four years ago. 

Bachmann tells voters in the ad released by her campaign, however, that she's been "an independent voice working for you, to create jobs and accomplish great things for our part of the country."

Bachmann's disrespectful attacks on President Obama and the Democratic Party have been disgraceful and inappropriate. It is time for Michele Bachmann to retire, and I sincerely hope that the voters in her district agree.

Ohio Senate

>  Looks like Republican Josh Mandel cannot even tell the truth to his supporters.

The latest Quinnipiac Poll has Sen. Sherrod Brown up at 51% and Josh Mandel, Ohio's Republican absent Treasurer at 42%.

>>>> MTV has announced that there will be a fundraiser to help victims of Hurricane Sandy:


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Billy Joel are all set to appear on "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together," a benefit concert to aid the victims of the storm that devastated the Northeast.

The special will air Friday at 8 p.m. ET on the networks of NBC Universal. The "Today" show's Matt Lauer will serve as host, with NBC News' Brian Williams and "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon also set to make appearances.

Money collected will be donated to the American Red Cross relief efforts, which are providing food, shelter, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by Hurricane Sandy as well as other disasters. To make a donation, visit RedCross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 contribution to their cause.....


Tune in and contribute!

Sandy and the Polls

Those on the east coast that were hit by Hurricane Sandy should know that all Americans are offering our prayers for you and our financial support to the Red Cross. We should all be thankful that we have President Obama who prepared emergency responders before the storm, and has continued to provide FEMA and assistance to those that need it.

Visit the American Red Cross donation page and offer your financial assistance.

>>>> Quinnipiac Poll has a new poll out this morning which shows that

•  President Obama has the lead in Florida, Obama, and Florida.
•  Sen. Sherrod Brown has a 9 point lead over Ohio's absent Treasurer, Mandel.
•  President Obama holds a lead in all three states with early voters.

Visit the Quinnipiac Poll for details.

Polls in Ohio

• A new PPP poll has this information for Ohioans:

PPP's newest Ohio poll finds Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 51-47, up from a 49-48 margin a week ago....

...The Senate race really appears to be getting away from Josh Mandel in the closing stages. Sherrod Brown's opened up a 53/42 lead....

• A Quinnipiac University Poll has these numbers for Ohio:   Women put Obama up 5 Points in Ohio, Quinnipiac University/CBS Poll Finds Democrat Sherrod Brown Up 9 Points In Senate Race

Romney Would Abolish Fema

* Mitt Romney believes that hurricane/tornado/flood emergency response teams should not be provided by FEMA. Romney thinks states should provide emergency services, not FEMA, a federal agency. 

Here in Ohio, when a tornado hit southern Ohio, Gov. Kasich first said that a federal response was not necessary because he believed the state could provide assistance and clean up. In March, Kasich tried to use only state agencies to help serve citizens and manage the clean up. A March 2012 post at Daily Kos reminds us of what happens when states try to go it alone:

...But here in Ohio, Kasich has responded to the disaster with the type of "leadership" we've come to expect from him:

Kasich says no need for federal help

Gov. John Kasich said he’s not planning to request that Clermont County be declared a federal disaster area. Speaking at New Richmond High School, Kasich said he believes Ohio has its own resources to deal with the disaster. “I believe that we can handle this,” he said.

Unbelievable. An entire Ohio town has been wiped off the map, but Gov. Kasich refuses to declare Clermont County area a disaster area, because that would make it eligible for federal help. And by "unbelievable," I mean totally believable for a teabag-waving sociopath like Kasich....
Romney is completely out of touch with what happens to real people during catastrophic events.  People without dressage horses, elevators for cars, and vacation homes often have difficulty recovering after a major disaster.

A Future With Romney Ryan?

Mitt Romney has had at least nine different issues on abortion. BuzzFeed has the videos to prove it.  Buzzfeed: A Mitt Romney Abortion Timeline

The future with RomneyRyan, Republican Party, along with their bus of right wing, anti-worker, anti-Pell Grant, anti-Medicare, anti-public education, anti-fair pay, anti-regulation, anti-equality group of out of touch old white guys, will look like this----


(h/t DailyKos)

Clay Bennett's Facebook Page/TimelinePhotos

Corporations to Own Schools

The Rachel Maddow blog has chronicled some of Mitt Romney's lies, and here is one that will bother a lot of parents and teachers:

...7. Romney went on to say, "Paul Ryan and I have a plan with five simple steps. These steps are going to get America's economy just cooking again."

The five-point plan -- oil drilling, trade, privatizing K-12 education, vague assertions about debt reduction, and ambiguous promises about doing nice things for small businesses -- is a rehash of Bush/Cheney promises. No credible analysis of the vague agenda has found it capable of boosting the economy...

Are parents more interested in their child's success or a corporation making profits off your child's education?

Romney

What kind of jobs were created by Romney and his Bain Capital?  Romney continues to be a majority stockholder in the country.

PR Watch:

...If you have ever asked yourself, how can an American company do this to fellow Americans? Edward Conard, Bain Capital's former head of manufacturing, explains:

Let's not kid ourselves about just how cheap offshore labor really is. We not only pay substantially less per hour, we also avoid the costs we would incur if these workers immigrated here. We don't pay for their medical expenses when they show up in the emergency room without insurance. We don't pay for their pension costs if they don't save for retirement. We don't pay for their children's public education. Nor do we pay for their out-of-wedlock children, their unemployment benefits and workers' compensation, their slip and fall torts, their wear and tear on our public infrastructure, and the cost of their drunk driving, drug use and other crimes. We outsource pollution, its adverse effects on our health, and its clean-up costs. Neither the employees nor their employers are here to vote and seek political handouts.

Amazing.

Josh Mandel Supports Mourdock?

Tea Party Republican Josh Mandel had the following words about Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock----TPM:

While national Republicans have done their best to shore up Indiana Senate nominee Richard Mourdock after his statements on rape, conception and God’s will, many Republicans in tight Senate races have backed away from Mourdock’s comments, trying to keep the negative headlines that have followed Mourdock’s statements out of their races....

“Listen, I’ve gotten to know Richard [Mourdock] because we’re both state treasurers and — we’re treasures in states next door to each other,” Mandel told radio host Laura Ingraham Thursday. “He’s a gentleman. He’s a class act. He’s a thoughtful guy. He’ll make a great United States Senator.”
Here’s audio of the quote, sent to TPM by Ohio Democrats.



Josh Mandel is wrong for women and for all voters in Ohio.

***** Today is Friday, October 26th. What racist comment did Republican surrogate John Sununu say in the last 24 hours? Frank Bruni of the NY Times has the facts:

>>>> Votamatic has some information on some polling in the presidential election:

• Forecasts and Polling Analysis for the 2012 Presidential Election
• 

Guess who made money on auto bailout?

Did you correctly guess that Mr. Mitt "let Detroit go bankrupt" Romney made big bucks on the auto bailout?

TheInvestigativeFund:

Mitt Romney's opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney's November 2008 New York Times op-ed, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout — and a few of Romney's most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys', were astronomical — more than 3,000 percent on their investment....

Of course, Delphi workers lost most of their pensions.

>>> Mitt Romney endorsed far right Republican Richard Mourdock, even after Mourdock made some comments about abortions....



What does Republican Josh Mandel think of the comment by Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock?

Marc Kovac of the Ohio Capital Blog got this answer (YouTube):

The Truth about Romney

* When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he had taxpayers in the state facing fees on nearly everything.

Gather:

 

...Jobs outsourced overseas: As governor of Massachusetts, Romney drew on his experience as a CEO and outsourced state jobs. Today, Romney has proposed eliminating all taxes on companies’ foreign profits—which would actually encourage companies to send more jobs overseas.

• Governor Romney vetoed a bill that would have banned state contractors from outsourcing state work overseas. [Boston Globe, 6.26.04]
• Under Romney, Massachusetts outsourced jobs in child support enforcement, food stamps, and unemployment insurance overseas. [GAO report, “Offshoring In Six Human Services Programs,” 3.1.2006]

"When Romney was governor of Massachusetts, his administration signed a $160,000-per-month contract with Citigroup to operate an electronic food stamp system that included a consumer call center in India.'

Boston Globe, Political Intelligence, 5.1.12

Note: Check out the increased fees that  Romney had in Massachusetts, which included barbers, chiropractors, gun owners, real estate licenses, plumbers, licenses for manicurists, licenses for hairdressers, life support ambulance license, elevator firms, increased licensing fees for hospitals and nursing homes, electricians, etc., etc., etc. Also from Gather: See the full list of more than 1,000 fees....

-----------------------

Republican Josh Mandel, Ohio's absent Treasurer, was against fair pay for women and the auto rescue plan. How horrible! Why is Josh Mandel against rights for women and jobs for our citizens?

"Horses and Bayonets"

YouTube:



How many times did Mitt Romney mention our troops?  Zero times. Mitt Romney once again showed his lack of respect for our men and women in uniform.

LA Times:

If Mitt Romney’s foreign policy was an unknown to average voters, President Obama came to the table for the third presidential debate ready to sum it up in one word: dated....

....“And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War's been over for 20 years,” Obama said, reviving a bit of snark he’s used on the campaign trail. “But, governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.”...

....“Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines,” he said. “And so the question is not a game of Battleship where we're counting ships. It's — it's what are our capabilities.”

Mitt Romney clearly is not prepared to be the Commander-in-Chief of our military. Romney doesn't even respect them and wants to privatize veterans health care.

> Sen. John Kerry had this tweet tonight:

John Kerry ‏@JohnKerry

I think POTUS just sank Romney's battleship

Exactly.

Oh, dear.

Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri is on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yes, ladies, the man that said this... (WashingtonPost):

In an interview that aired Sunday, Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R) said: “From what I understand from doctors ... if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” 


....serves on a committee having to do with science. I'm so disgusted that a man that knows absolutely nothing about science was placed on a committee that deals with it. Then again, everything is a joke to the Republicans unless it has to do with their pet causes, or their special contributors.

*     *     *

**** In Illinois, a Republican leaning super PAC made a terrible statement.
Chicago Sun-Times: (h/t TPM)

A conservative SuperPAC touting Duckworth rival Joe Walsh is preparing to dump an extra $2.5 million into the heated 8th Congressional District race — on top of $2 million it has already spent, a source familiar with the plan told the Chicago Sun-Times. 

The idea is to “bury Duckworth,” the source said.

The revelation comes a day after Duckworth reported that she personally raised more than five times as much as Walsh did in the last quarter — about $1.5 million to the Republican’s $251,000. That means that the Now or Never SuperPAC spent eight times what Walsh was able to raise himself in the last quarter....

I'm not certain which right wingers are behind the Now or Never Super PAC. Any 

person/ group using words like "bury" in referring to a veteran that gave several of her body parts in war, shows a shocking lack of class with those associated with this Now or Never Super PAC.

Senator George McGovern

Many years ago, I was a volunteer for the presidential campaign of Sen. George McGovern. It was the first campaign in which I became actively involved. Sen. McGovern had been a war hero in World War II, served three terms in the U.S. Senate, and bravely opposed the policies of Richard Nixon.

I offer my sympathies to the McGovern family at his passing.

One of Josh Mandel's Sponsors- Karl Rove

• It is amazing how things sometimes just start to unravel. Republican Josh Mandel has received millions of dollars from Karl Rove's American Crossroads. What is Karl Rove up to these days?

CrooksandLiars:

Well, well, well. Karl Rove's American Crossroads and "fired" voter registration fraudster Nathan Sproul seem to share far, far more than a party affiliation.
Via Salon, the beginning of the trail:

So what does Sproul have to do with Karl Rove? According to a report by Brad Friedman that appeared in Salon and on his own site, BradBlog, American Crossroads has paid at least $750,000 for Sproul’s services. On October 9, Representative Gonzalez’s letter to Rove inquired about American Crossroads’ relationship to Sproul and his companies in the past and whether Crossroads has ongoing ties with Sproul during the current election cycle. Among other questions, Gonzalez asked Rove what services Sproul provided for American Crossroads, why he was hired, why Rove would associate with someone who had a reputation for participating in voter fraud, whether Crossroads has severed its relationship with Sproul, and whether it has worked with him under other names. Gonzalez urged Rove to respond by October 23.

Brad Friedman picks it up from there with even more juicy details:
It now appears that Strategic Allied Consulting has the same corporate mailing address in Virginia as Rove's American Crossroads PAC. Imagine that...

...business address of 45 North Hill Drive, Suite 100, Warrenton, VA....

Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

There is even more-----
From NotLarrySabato:

On Monday I saw a really interesting story coming out of Harrisonburg on Facebook:

"I just saw a guy throw a bag of trash in my cardboard dumpster and speed off. I went to get the bag and throw it in the trash dumpster. In the bag was a folder containing FILLED OUT VIRGINIA VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS!! I called the Harrisonburg Registrars office and they sent the police who said they really didn't know what to do in a case like this because its never happened before. The police took the forms and left. I'm really concerned because today is the last day in Virginia to register to vote and if these forms are tied up while trying to figure out what to do, will these people be allowed to vote??? I'm tagging you Lowell since I thought you might want to follow up on this. I spoke with Debbie at the Harrisonburg office and police spoke with Doug at the Rockingham county registrars office"
Who would drive up to a dumpster on the registration deadline day to throw away completed voter registration forms and why?....
Destroying voter registration forms??? OMG!

>>> If you missed the statewide broadcast of the debate for Ohio's U.S. Senate, I can sum it up very briefly:

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown stood up for the middle class, the 800,000 related auto jobs, women's rights, fairness, college students, Medicare, Social Security, and every person in Ohio, etc.

On the other hand, Republican Josh Mandel, Ohio's absent Treasurer, continued to repeat the talking points given to him by Karl Rove, Jim Demint, and far right PAC/527 people that want to destroy the middle class, and give more tax cuts to the rich. Mandel's performance was on par with a 3rd grader in a debate.

Josh Mandel also said he was against the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and against marriage equality, but said he'd "....represent all the people of Ohio...."  Come on, Joshie. You just told us that you don't respect the rights of LGBT Ohioans!  

Josh Mandel just doesn't care about all Ohioans.

"Please proceed......"

The AtlanticWire highlights The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart:

Jon Stewart reviewed Tuesday's debate last night on The Daily Show, and with Libya attack, the one spot Mitt Romney could've had "an ace in the hole," Romney flubbed and ended up looking like Wile E. the Coyote the Coyote to Barack Obama's roadrunner.....

....Romney seemed to doubt that Obama said it was an act of terror at all. Obama's response? Please proceed, Governor. "There's your first clue," Stewart said. "When you're feel you're about to spring what you, Governor Romney, think is the checkmate moment of the debate, and your debate opponent says to you, 'Please, proceed,' 'Hold on, are you trying to open that door? Let me open it wider. The door you appear to want to walk through.

"You might want wonder if, a la Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, that door your opponent your door is pointing to is merely paint on a rock." And indeed, Romney got fact-checked: Moderator Candy Crowley confirmed that Obama said it was an act of terror...

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

*   *  *

****  Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, did not know any highly-qualified, highly-educated, women with job experience to fill jobs in his cabinet? Does he live in a cave?  Where does Mitt Romney think women belong?

It is even more disturbing that Romney doesn't believe in pay equity (and neither does Josh Mandel, Ohio's absent Treasurer). What is wrong with these guys?!!!!!!

President Obama Wins Debate

Tonight, President Obama won the debate with Mitt Romney on issues such as immigration, taxes, Libya, women's rights, foreign policy, etc., etc.

Here is the most important clip from tonight's debate where President Obama shows his ability to set the record straight:





LA Times:

A newly energetic and aggressive President Obama went directly after his Republican challenger starting with the first minutes of their second presidential debate Tuesday night, attacking Mitt Romney’s business record and accusing him of offering a meek “me, too” to conservative Republicans in Congress.

“Gov. Romney says he's got a five-point plan. Gov. Romney doesn't have a five-point plan; he has a one-point plan,” Obama said during his answer to the debate’s first question.

Romney’s plan was to “make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules,” he added, making quick references to lower tax rates for the wealthy, companies sending jobs overseas and corporate takeovers that “strip away” pensions from workers and “still make money” for owners.....

President Obama did a fabulous job tonight!

Greed is not a Family Value

Mitt Romney is like that brother-in-law that brags that he pays less taxes, even though you know he makes three times more money than you do. Romney appears to have figured out all the angles, loopholes, and tax dodges to reduce his own taxes.  This not only displays his avarice, but it is just not fair. Mitt Romney believes that he should pay lower taxes because he takes financial risks.  Romney doesn't pour all of his money into an investment. Whatever he does invest is a pittance compared to what he has. Our military men and women, police, and fire fighters take real risks every single day, but they pay a higher tax rate than Romney.

>>>  Mitt Romney's tax plan has been judged as a mathematical impossibility. An economist at Moody's has his opinion about the Romney tax plan:

ThinkProgress:

The fact that Mitt Romney’s tax plan is mathematically impossible was reinforced again on Friday, when Mark Zandi, a former John McCain campaign adviser and Chief Economist at Moody’s Economy, admitted as much. 
 
Speaking on CNN’s “Starting Point,” Zandi acknowledged a study by the Tax Policy Center that shows Romney’s plan to lower taxes by 20 percent across the board, while making up those losses in government revenue by closing loopholes on the wealthy, doesn’t add up. Zandi even went so far as to say that “the arithmetic doesn’t work as it is right now”:

ZANDI: Yeah, I think the Tax Policy Center study is the definitive study. They’re non-partisan, they’re very good. They say given the numbers that they’ve been provided by the Romney campaign, no, it will not add up. Now, the Romney campaign could adjust their plan. They could say okay I’m not going to lower tax rates as much as I’m saying right now and they could make the arithmetic work. But under the current plan, with the current numbers, no it doesn’t. I’ll say one other thing, though. I think it is important that we do focus on the so-called tax expenditures in the tax code. Those are the deductions, and credits, and loopholes in the code. We need to reduce those, because if we do we’re going to make the tax system fairer, easier to understand and ultimately lead to stronger growth. So that’s the right place to focus. But, no, the arithmetic doesn’t work as it is right now.

While Romney and his wealthy friends find ways to avoid taxes, the middle class has to make up the difference. While Romney's money heads to the Cayman Islands, Ireland, and other tax shelters, the tax money coming from the middle class helps pay for teachers, roads, defense, etc., etc. This only spotlights why Romney's "we built that" is so wrong. If a majority of Romney's taxes are going somewhere else, his claims to helping the USA are hollow. Romney serves his own greed and that of his fat cat friends.

------------------

Sen. Sherrod Brown will debate his Republican opponent, Ohio's absent Treasurer, Josh Mandel. The debate will take place at the Cleveland City Club.

Hypocrisy at $450,000/week

While Republican Mitt Romney says he'll do something about sending jobs to China, Americans have noticed that Romney's investment in Bain companies that send jobs to China are making some nice profits for Romney.  As Romney talks about saving American jobs, he is still involved in Bain and their outsourcing.  How else does Romney explain his $450,000/week from Bain?

Truthout has the details about the latest Bain Capital outsourcing of American jobs at Sensata:

On the campaign trail Romney says we shouldn't ship jobs to China and should "crack down" on China trade problems. But he refuses to help or even meet with the Sensata workers whose jobs are being shipped to China right now.

Why the refusal to line up his actions with his promises? A must-read, must-read, must-read news report explains how part of Romney's $450,000/week income comes from ... get this ... shipping jobs to China!...

See the article at the NY Times about Bain's outsourcing and Romney's profits.

Those people that think Romney will create American jobs have to wonder why Romney won't even bother to stop the latest outsourcing of American jobs from Sensata.

Ohio Debate on Monday

>>>>  Sen. Sherrod Brown will meet his Republican opponent in a debate at the Cleveland City Club.  The debate is scheduled for Monday, October 15th, at 12:30pm. It might be available through streaming at the media link on the City Club page.

* Who would vote against a bill that would notify tenants that their rental home/apartment is in foreclosure and they might lose their residence?

During the 128th General Assembly, H.B. 9 sought protections for tenants in buildings that were in foreclosure. Republican Josh Mandel voted against H.B.9 on May 6, 2009 (128th General Assembly).  I guess Josh Mandel just doesn't care about regular people living in apartments and rental houses.

GOP Cut Money to Embassy Security

Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz was interviewed today by Soledad O'Brien of CNN.

 CNN:

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) criticizes the handling of Libyan consulate security despite voting to cut embassy funding.

Rep. Chaffetz says, “I think what we’re going to hear is that we didn’t meet the basic, minimum standards required for a facility such as the one we had in Benghazi. And the request for more security personnel went unheeded, unanswered, and consequently, you know, you have the death of four Americans. We [have to] make sure that that doesn’t happen again in Libya. But we also [have to] make sure it doesn’t happen in other places around the world…. We [have to] get at the truth, but thus far it’s been a slippery attempt to try to get the truth because the White House and the Obama administration’s been very slow in giving us the facts.”

Later in the interview, CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien asks, “Is it true that you voted to cut the funding for embassy security?”

Chaffetz answers, “Absolutely. Look we have to make priorities and choices in this country...."
Chaffetz says you have to have "priorities" on the budget. Chaffetz and the Republicans have priorities--- give tax cuts to the rich, tax cuts for oil companies, end corporate taxes, etc., but apparently they don't want to spend money to protect Americans in foreign countries serving in embassies.

Soledad O'Brien has become the toughest interviewer in journalism. Some people should watch her and learn!