Friday Reads
Posted: August 3, 2012 Filed under: Mitt Romney, morning reads, Syria | Tags: Chavis Carter, Harry Reid, Jonesboro Police, Kofi Annan, Nobody likes Mitt Romney, Romney's taxes 53 CommentsGood Morning!
I want to start with something high-minded today since so much of the political news is the usual crazy season gutter stuff. Kofi Annan has quit his positions at the UN and has left some departing advice at the FT on what to do with disintegrating situation in Syria. As you may know, Syria has real chemical weapons. The regime is committing atrocities and coming apart at the seams. It’s a very disturbing situation. We may have to act just make sure that the very dangerous stockpiles don’t fall into terrorist hands or the hand of a rogue regime. This time, we should act, however, with more than a handful of lapdog allies and with clear support from the Arab League. Hopefully, our commitment would be limited.
Military means alone will not end the crisis. Similarly, a political agenda that is neither inclusive nor comprehensive will fail. The distribution of force and the divisions in Syrian society are such that only a serious negotiated political transition can hope to end the repressive rule of the past and avoid a future descent into a vengeful sectarian war.
For a challenge as great as this, only a united international community can compel both sides to engage in a peaceful political transition. But a political process is difficult, if not impossible, while all sides – within and without Syria – see opportunity to advance their narrow agendas by military means. International division means support for proxy agendas and the fuelling of violent competition on the ground.
This is why I have consistently sought to help the international community to work together to end this destructive dynamic and to focus the minds of the parties on the ground into engaging in a political process. Early in my mandate we won international backing for this, with Security Council resolutions, which authorised UN military observers to deploy in Syria. After a ceasefire on April 12, contrary to some claims, the government’s shelling of civilian communities stopped, demonstrating the impact this unity could have.
Sustained international support did not follow, however. The ceasefire quickly unravelled and the government, realising there would be no consequences if it returned to an overt military campaign, reverted to using heavy weapons on towns. In response I sought to re-energise the drive for unity in June by creating the international Action Group for Syria, establishing a framework for a transition to support Syrians’ efforts to move to a transitional governing body with full executive powers. Transition means a managed but full change of government – a change in who leads Syria and how.
On the Jane Velez Mitchell show Wednesday evening, Jonesboro Police Chief Michael Yates revealed more details about the ongoing investigation into the strange case of Chavis Carter, who allegedly shot himself in the temple while handcuffed in a police car. The chief, who said the situation was “bizarre” and “defies logic at first glance,” has reviewed the car’s dashboard camera and spoken to witnesses who say the officers were outside the car when Carter was shot:
YATES: There’s no indication of any projectiles coming from outside the vehicle. We’ve reviewed the dashcam video and as late as today managed to have some witnesses come forward that observed the incident from start to finish. And their statements tend to support that whatever transpired in the back of that police car transpired in the back with the officers in a different location.
In a private meeting with local black community leaders, Yates reportedly said the FBI is also involved in the investigation.
Here’s the police take on the alleged suicide.
Police said he committed suicide with a gun officers failed to find when they searched him. His family members said they believe he was killed by police who are attempting to cover it up.
Carter suffered a single, fatal gunshot wound to the head. He was detained on Saturday night following a traffic stop in Jonesboro, about 2 1/2 hours north of Little Rock, after officers said they found marijuana and empty baggies. Officers searched him twice, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police car, police said. Not long after, police said, he was found slumped over, with his head in his lap and a gunshot wound to the head.
“We’ve been asked to get involved,” Kim Brunell, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Little Rock office, told The Huffington Post on Thursday. The bureau’s ballistics experts will join the probe, she said.
Police said Carter retrieved a gun that he’d concealed, raised it to his head and pulled the trigger. A clear case of suicide, they said. The handcuffs, they said, were “double locked.”
“Any given officer has missed something on a search, you know, be it drugs, be it knives, be it razor blades,” Sgt. Lyle Waterworth of the Jonesboro police told a local news station. “This instance, it happened to be a gun.”
Several calls to the Jonesboro Police Department were not returned. But Chief Michale Yates told Jane Velez Mitchell on HLN that the death is “definitely bizarre and defies logic at first glance.”
The police report shows that the young black man had $10 of pot on him at the time of arrest and that was about it.
By a 52% to 37% margin, more voters say they have an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney. The poll, conducted prior to Romney’s recent overseas trip, represents the sixth consecutive survey over the past nine months in which his image has been in negative territory. While Romney’s personal favorability improved substantially between March and June – as Republican voters rallied behind him after the primary season ended– his image has again slipped over the past month.
Barack Obama’s image remains, by comparison, more positive – 50% offer a favorable assessment of the president, 45% an unfavorable one. Even so, Obama’s personal ratings are lower than most presidential candidates in recent elections.
A review of final pre-election surveys of voters since 1988 finds that all candidates enjoyed considerably higher personal ratings going into the final days of their campaigns than does Mitt Romney currently. In fact, only three, Michael Dukakis in 1988, George H.W. Bush in 1992 and Bob Dole in 1996, were not rated favorably by a majority of voters.
Even Nate Silver’s analysis gives Obama a huge edge in the electoral college count.
Barack Obama’s standing in the FiveThirtyEight forecast reached its strongest position to date on Tuesday as a result of favorable polls in a set of swing states. The forecast model now gives Mr. Obama a 70.8 percent chance of winning the Electoral College, up from 69.0 percent on Monday and from 65.0 percent last Tuesday.
Three of the polls were conducted by Quinnipiac University in conjunction with The New York Times and CBS News. The polls gave Mr. Obama leads of 6 points in each of Ohio and Florida, and an 11-point lead in Pennsylvania.
In each state, the polls are at the high end of the range of numbers produced by other polling firms. As we frequently advise, no one set of polls — no matter how reputable the pollster — should be read as gospel. Differences in the numbers from survey firm to survey firm often reflect sampling error or methodological differences rather than any fundamental change in the condition of the race.
Nevertheless, Ohio and Pennsylvania polls are part of a consensus of polls showing Mr. Obama ahead in these states by varying margins. Mr. Obama has led 11 of the 13 polls in Ohio since May 1, and he has led all 11 polls conducted in Pennsylvania during this period.
The Florida polls have been more equivocal: Mr. Obama has held 10 leads, versus six for Mitt Romney.
There is a controversy because the Republican presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney, refuses to release his tax returns. As I said before, I was told by an extremely credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for ten years. People who make as much money as Mitt Romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes. We already know that Romney has exploited many of these loopholes, stashing his money in secret, overseas accounts in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
“Last weekend, Governor Romney promised that he would check his tax returns and let the American people know whether he ever paid a rate lower than 13.9 percent. One day later, his campaign raced to say he had no intention of putting out any further information.
“When it comes to answering the legitimate questions the American people have about whether he avoided paying his fair share in taxes or why he opened a Swiss bank account, Romney has shut up. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his obligation to put up, and release several years’ worth of tax returns just like nominees of both parties have done for decades.
“It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is. Whatever Romney’s hiding probably speaks volumes about how he would approach issues that directly impact middle-class families, like tax reform and the economy. When you are running for president, you should be an open book.
“I understand Romney is concerned that many people, Democrats and Republicans, have been calling on him to release his tax returns. He has so far refused. There is only one thing he can do to clear this up, and that’s release his tax returns.”
Romney thinks that he doesn’t have to prove Reid wrong. What a patronizing ass!
Mitt Romney on Thursday said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) needs to “put up or shut up” when it comes to charges the presumptive GOP nominee did not pay his taxes.
Romney also accused the White House of being behind the allegation.
“It’s time for Harry to put up or shut up,” Romney said on Sean Hannity’s radio show. “Harry’s going to have to describe who it is he spoke with because that’s totally and completely wrong. It’s untrue, dishonest and inaccurate. It’s wrong. So I’m looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources and we’ll probably find out it’s the White House.”
The reason Romney’s plan doesn’t work is very simple. The size of the tax cut he’s proposing for the rich is larger than all of the tax expenditures that go to the rich put together. As such, it is mathematically impossible for him to keep his promise to make sure the top one percent keeps paying the same or more.
Romney is reintroducing the five elements of his tax plan: energy independence, skills development, trade that works for America, deficit reduction and championing small business. He has proposed reducing tax rates by 20 percent, eliminating the alternative minimum tax, ending the real estate tax and giving lower- and middle-income families a larger tax break for investment income — all the while keeping it revenue neutral.
A study by the Tax Policy Center estimated unspecified tax exemptions for individuals, deductions and credits would have to be slashed by as much as 66 percent to cover the $360 billion annual cost of the proposed Romney tax code. Campaign economic adviser Kevin Hassett disputed that analysis saying, “Governor Romney has a plan to reduce taxes of all Americans. That’s where the job creation will come from.”
Okay, that’s it for me today. What’s on your reading and blogging list?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Well, I’m with Anderson Cooper on the Reid/Romney thing…the fact that a US Senator would get up on the Senate floor and make these accusations without offering any proof is despicable…there’s politics and then there’s this…
Surprise, surprise, surprise…..
Dana Bash has a source that confirms Harry Reid’s. But Romney could shut him up in a minute by releasing several years of tax returns, as every presidential candidate in the modern era has.
Fortunately, it’s looking like you won’t get your fondest wish–to pay higher taxes and lose your social safety net under Willard “I’ve got mine, so fuck you” Rmoney.
Rmoney needs to put up or shut up. It’s his move now.
I loved the exchange between Romney and Chucklehead Hannity.
Romney trying to sound “tough” was as entertaining as Palin trying to sound intelligent.
And where better to exercise both persona’s then with the dumbest shill on tv, Sean Hannity.
It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is
Yes, and had we pressed O to divulge everything perhaps Hill would have kept the votes she’d garnered
That is really not my fondest wish. I do wish, however, that accusations would only come with proof. If there is proof, fine. But if you aren’t willing to produce the proof, then all you are doing is spreading rumors. I would like to think that the Senate Majority Leader wouldn’t participate in such activities…especially on the floor of the Senate. I suppose there really are no ethics or principles when it comes to politics.
Then that should hold true for Rmoney too, right? He should have to PROVE that Obama hates small business. He should have to PROVE that businesses can get along without infrastructure. And he should have to prove that he paid taxes and how much. He should PROVE that the Swiss bank account that he hid for years wasn’t closed because of the amnesty. And PROVE all his other lies. If he can’t do that, then he should go back to the “private sector.”
Oh, and all the wingnuts who say Obama is a muslim born in Kenya? PROVE it. Michelle Bachmann claiming Huma is a spy for the Muslim Brotherhood? PROVE it. Right?
As for your feigned horror about what is said on the Senate floor? Please. Come back when you’re ready to say the same thing about Mitch McConnell.
The problem with this “shame on Harry Reid” meme is the notion that comments that come from the House or the Senate Floor are or even should be unimpeachable, fact driven and should never be riddled with hyperbole, conjecture. politically intentions or the result of unproven conclusions. This meme demonstrates that the person with this notion has spent little to no time actually watching proceedings in either of the bodies. CSPAN & CSPAN2 would be a good start.
BB – why do you always have to come back at me with such venom??? I come on here occasionally, make a polite statement about something that is being discussed and you always seem to be the first one up at the plate to verbally bitch slap me.
Yes, all claims and accusations should have proof. But comparing a statement like “Obama doesn’t like small businesses” and “Romney hasn’t paid taxes in 10 years” don’t really seem to be apples to apples. But that’s probably just my twisted right wingnut (still registered democrat) lunatic thinking, right?
OK, I get it…I will never say anything that will be met with a modicum of respect from you unless i repeat exactly what has been said and say I totally agree. At least this time, my “feigned horror” is shared by someone like Anderson Cooper – who usually gets a lot of respect from the “lefties”.
I try to extend respect and courtesy to all…even those I don’t agree with. Apparently, you missed out on that somewhere.
Peace.
Because you only show up to defend Republicans. IMO, Anderson Cooper is just another one of the “both sides do it” crowd. If you ever showed up when we’re discussing women’s issues or any other issue besides “anyone but Obama” …. but you don’t.
If you really believe that I don’t respect people who disagree with me, then you clearly know nothing about me.
BTW, I’m a registered Independent. But I know Romney, and I know he is dangerous. Anyone who defends him is also dangerous as far as I’m concerned. If that’s “venom,” so be it.
Personally, I’m just ready for November so this Cavalcade of Fools will cease for at least a moment. Obama’s speech at Rollins College in Winter Park yesterday was streamed live. I watched it and he, definitely next to Romney, is an exciting & animated campaigner. Then I left work to pick up Crockett, one of my cats, at the vet. I got stuck on the interstate for 40 minutes – parked, no movement. I’m assuming it was due to the president’s motorcade. I got a dose of why so many Americans are just tuned out of politics – personal concerns make the political games seem like noise & inconvenience.
Syria is, at least to me, an unsolvable conundrum. NPR had what I found to be a very disturbing interview with Robert Fowler, former Canadian diplomat, yesterday (http://www.npr.org/2012/08/02/157713415/a-diplomats-extended-visit-with-al-qaida-in-mali) who had been held hostage by al-Qaida in Niger. These are the same al-Qaida who have found a foothold in Mali. Religious fanaticism & zealotry is the biggest threat to the world, imho. Obviously, it isn’t limited to radical Muslims, but those of many religions around the world & here at home.
In my opinion, I believe both Reid & Romney on the tax front. I don’t think Romney paid any taxes and I believe it was all legal. There are so many loopholes, tax breaks, deductions for the wealthy that a high paid CPA can craft a tax return to avoid paying taxes. Just look at GE and some other corporations who either don’t pay taxes or get more back than they paid in. So when the Republicans say X% of Americans pay no taxes, implying it’s the “little people” not paying their taxes, I wonder what percentage of the 1% are in the No Taxes group.
Thanks for the morning “pick me up”, kat.
It may be legal and it may not be legal. If you read the NYT op-ed that I posted yesterday, you know that the odds are Rmoney did something very shady with his IRA and most likely his $100 million gifts to his sons. We can’t know until he releases his tax returns.
The hysterically funny thing (to me, at least) is that now that he has been stonewalling for so long (not only on his tax returns, but on any specifics on his policies) he’s in a position where if the returns are not released, he’ll very likely lose the election and if they are released the consequences may be even worse.
That horrible poll on Rmoney’s likability was taken BEFORE the trip overseas. Imagine how the next on is going to look after all the embarrassing gaffes and the revelations that his tax plan will raise taxes on 95% of Americans!
I don’t disagree with you, however it just seems to me that “legal” includes things, in many instances, that are designed to benefit the powerful/wealthy only. I don’t doubt that by releasing his returns that many, many people will be outraged. I would be interested to know if he took advantage of the Swiss account amnesty or not & if so, did he modify his previous returns.
If you have the NYT link, I’ll check it out. Between work & nursing a recovering cat yesterday & last night, I did very little reading yesterday.
Just posted a link below to a TPM article concerning RMoneys IRA. If you haven’t read it I think you will enjoy it. I’m a bit behind the curve on everything that going on with Romney. I need to start reading to get back in the loop. I’ve been doing a bit of baby sitting for my 4 year old great-grandson I’ve had him 3 out of 5 days and I’m pooped. 🙂 He has more energy in his little finger than I have in my entire body.
That’s a very interesting link, Mouse. Thank you !!
Thanks for the good morning lineup.
I wonder why RMoney has decided not to use the term “trickle down”? Maybe it’s because we’ve all come to understand, many of us the hard way, that “trickle down” really means “trickled on”. But, as long as it works for the those on the top rung they’ll keep repackaging it and trying to force it on us.
It’s still working on the Obama haters (see above), but there aren’t as many of those as there used to be.
Yep…..I noticed. Sad!!
Just read this piece about RMoney’s IRA at TPM and thought it worth sharing.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/mitt-romney-ira-taxes-retirement.php?ref=fpb
This issue has been discussed here on a number of occasions, (maybe even this latest development) but to my mind, it is a centerpiece of the argument concerning the legal, but immoral tricks used by those at the top to avoid paying their fair share. Undervaluing assets in order to invest those assets in an investment vehicle that is tax-sheltered.
Now, if a starving man runs into a 7-11 and steals a loaf of bread and a can of beans for him and his family, he goes to jail, but if Mitt Romney dodges millions of dollars in tax obligation by lying about the value of an asset and then shelters that asset in a vehicle designed to help lower income Americans save for retirement, he is exalted as a great business man? What a total load of BS.
From Mouse’s link:
Romney’s most recent financial disclosure form revealed that his tax-deferred individual retirement account holds upwards of $100 million — an amount that awkwardly showcases his enormous wealth but also raises legal and ethical questions.
IRAs are intended to allow workers to put away modest sums of money each year in order to help finance a middle class retirement. The savings are tax deferred, but there’s a legal limit — now $6,000 — on how much each IRA holder can contribute annually.
Now top Democrats on the Budget, Ways and Means, and Education and Workforce Committees want to know how people of Romney’s wealth can end up with 100,000 times that much money in a single IRA, and how much the tax and investment strategies they employ cost the Treasury in revenue every year.
I’m still waiting for a valid reason why anyone would vote for Mitt Romney. First and foremost, he is a serial liar.
And the release of his tax forms is a serious matter. No doubt that it was all legal. The question is is it fair?
How can one propose raising taxes on the middle class, already struggling, while having the advantage of hiding their assets in foreign countries and offshore banks and do this with a straight face?
He is “hiding” the contents from the public who will certainly be stunned by the amount of money he has managed to save through various tax schemes regardless of the legality because none of us are anywhere near the level of earning power that he enjoys that permits him to take advantage of those loopholes.
When he was seeking the nomination for governor of MA the question of his “residency” came up. He had a home in Utah from which he was able to file his tax returns using that state as his place of residency while still maintaining a home in Belmont, MA. It was determined that this home was only used during that time as his stopover when he attended meetings that involved Bain.
The requirements for residency in MA was not actually met for him to declare himself a serious challenger but was waived at that time to give him a platform to establish his run for as a future POTUS candidate. This was all that MA stood for at that time. An opening for governor that would propel him into the WH.
Where will he be casting his vote in November? Michigan, Utah, MA, NH, California?
Hillary took a bashing from the press when she declared that she was “always” a NY Yankee fan but it will be interesting to see which state Mitt “claims” as his own seeing he has so many to choose from.
I’m no longer convinced that everything RMoney did was legal. There is something very bad in those returns or he would have released them. One possibility is that he accepted the amnesty for people who were concealing their Swiss bank accounts. Another possibility is there was something hinky about his transfer of millions to his kids. Another possibility is there is something very off about the black box in Bermuda that he transferred to his wife one day before becoming governor.
RMoney is a dishonest man. We can tell that by his blatant lying and his ridiculous claims about when he left Bain. He is also a psychopath, judging by what some of his Bain colleagues said about his lack of empathy for all the people whose lives he destroyed.
The trail of lies, his constant “dodging and weaving” about the issues, and his inability to “connect” with the public after so many years running after the nomination validates your theory to a large extent.
One thing for certain is that he has repeatedly proven that he cannot be trusted on anything.
Have you ever noticed their is a line in the sand that only republicans can cross, according to “the very serious people”? Democrats are never to cross the line. I was glad to see a Democrat turn into Honey Badger for a change.
The word is that Reid never goes Honey Badger unless he has something real.
I heard that ,too.
Democrats playing hard ball is very heartening to me. It’s been a long time coming!
Ditto…..Both Gore & Kerry allowed the GOP to run roughshod over their campaign. You can’t dance with the devil, you have to beat him over the head with a rock.
July jobs report beats expectations.
Overall, private employers added 172,000 jobs in July while governments cut 9,000, the Labor Department reported.
Little good news for the country, bad news for Rmoney. A win win.
Mitt Romney says the increase in unemployment by .1% is a “hammer blow the the middle class.” Of course if we hadn’t lost government jobs, that might not have happened, but whatever.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/mitt-romney-jobs-report_n_1737001.html
Rmoney knows the increase in that unemployment number is due to more people re-entering the market to search for jobs. He’s totally full of crap.
“He’s totally full of crap.”
Obviously the guy doesn’t live on the same planet you and I inhabit. He’s just repeating what some sort-of-regular-person advisor has told him to say.
Next up: When is suicide not a suicide?
When you are sitting in the backseat of a police car after having been searched not once, but twice, handcuffed with your hands behind your back, and you shoot yourself on the right side of your head but are actually left handed.
If so, then this needs to be included as an Olympic sport for the magnitude of the effort involved in having achieved the impossible.
Do they really think we are buying that excuse? This wasn’t even some big time criminal they had on their hands but a dumb kid arrested for marijuana possession.
This ‘suicide’ sounds so implausible. What kind of gun could a cop miss while searching a suspect? a derringer? I think the guy said something or saw something that made a cop shoot him. Another Trayvon Martin?
The guy was left handed and supposedly shot himself in the right temple. Plus the cops didn’t “miss” the $10.00 worth of weed they arrested him for. And they missed a GUN? Give me a break!
I’m waiting to see the pathologist’s report. His hands should have some sort of trace evidence from “firing” the gun. But he had his hands behind his back — which makes it impossible to shoot himself. I was reading the comments someplace — and one was by a cop and he went into technical details how it is physically impossible.
Someone else was from that town — was bullied and threatened with what would happen if he stayed (he was gay).
Logically it would seem that something else was going down.
Pat, it reminds me of a suicide in the county next to ours. The woman who worked in the county’s tax commissioners office was having an affair with the sheriff. Her husband was found in the woods with a shotgun blast to the back of his head. It was ruled a suicide.
“back of his head” That’s an awful neat trick.
Are we having fun yet? Yes, I believe we should. Internet speculation is unavoidable.
TBogg: Harry’s Game
I keep forgetting Reid is a Mormon. Interesting that Huntsman hates Mitt too. And very telling.
I like this part:
That whole piece was funny and true as all get out. Those “house democrats” should really STFU.
Some people “conveniently” forget that these men are running to be POTUS which also includes the “leader of the free world” among others.
The public has every right to know as much about their critical thinking, the management of their own finances, the policies they promote, the friends they keep, and right down to the books and publications they read simply because this is one of the few ways to judge them overall.
When you agree to put yourself out there, fair or otherwise, you will take the hits along with the praise so best be prepared to answer the questions no matter how trivial or intrusive they may be. That is your job.
For someone running for that position to rely on “I don’t recall, it wasn’t me, it is none of your business, I refuse to comment” while performing every act of contortion imaginable to avoid what really is the public’s right to know is unacceptable.
A teen filling out an application for his/her first job has to fill in the blanks just for the opportunity to take your McDonald’s order so why is it we should expect less from a guy who wants to command the armed forces of the USA? Or whose finger may find itself on the button that activates a nuclear war?
Romney seems focused on buying his way into the role of POTUS but then what comes after? What do we really know about him other than his refusal to inform without resorting to outright lies that have been proven as such? Is this the man we look to for answers when he himself refuses to do the same?
I don’t care who is running for office, the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, their gender, or what party affiliation they hold. They are there to serve us, and if it means examining every facet of their lives for the opportunity to do so, they owe us that much.
Defending Mitt Romney and what he has not revealed so far is indefensible IMHO.
He thinks he can stonewall the American people on everything, including his policies, until November. He’s got another think coming, IMO.
YES!
True dat!
You know, my husband had to have a background check and that included finances and credit. It kept him from getting a good job…the same should go with the office of the president, albeit the other way around. Meaning that his finances should be looked at to get the job too.
During my career I worked at 2 jobs where I had access to secure government info and government databases. I had to pass security and background screening that included talking to neighbors, previous co-workers and people from my past. I’m sure they had access to my income tax records too. Romney should face no less, but because he’s uber-wealthy we’re suppose to trust Lord RMoney, take his word for it and allow him to skate on past scrutiny because he values his privacy? NO WAY!
You wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to work for the FED and to be a consultant to the Global Weather Wing of the Air Force because they had satellite intel and it was during the first Gulf War. They’d watch for sandstorms and move troops, etc . based on that so I had to have all kinds of things looked into including my finances, taxes, credit, etc. They consider your more likely to be vulnerable to blackmail if your finances are shady so they really dig into that. They also talk to your friends and family and ask if you have any weird religious inclinations or political views. I can’t believe a potential POTUS should be held to a lower level of scrutiny than your average government contractor, can you?
“I can’t believe a potential POTUS should be held to a lower level of scrutiny than your average government contractor, can you?”
No I can’t. There are two set of rules. One set for the mega-wealthy and another for we, Teh Peons. I’ve always known it, but I’ve never seen it smashed into the faces of the American Public quite like Mitt has done it. 🙂
New SuperPAC, FightBigotry.com, Smears President Obama For ‘Racism Against White Folks’
WTF?!!
That is silly — 0bama grew up in Hawaii. I may not agree with much of what he does and I’m voting Green. But what I do know is that he is NOT a racist. In Hawaii I had two teachers who were in fact racist — any of their haole students got a full dose of “payback” from these teachers.
From his childhood in Indonesia — 0bama was “different” and so probably has a lot of empathy and dislike of racism. That is something he retains from going to school in Hawaii.
What I do detect from him is a bit of classism — because he grew up in the upper part of Hawaii’s cultural privileged. 0bama doesn’t understand rural — he is an urban creature. I don’t detect any pidgin accent in his speech — not surprising since Punahoe graduates don’t learn the local pidgin.
Damn — for anyone who’s keeping track — this is the second time I’ve come to the defense of 0bama’s character.