Monday Reads
Posted: October 22, 2012 Filed under: morning reads | Tags: fiscal clif, gender gap, Republican Party Voter Registration Fraud, Sexist Republicans 64 Comments
Good Morning!
We’ve been watching the polls here off and on with a lot of questions as well as interest. One of the things that’s very apparent is the Gender Gap. Nate Silver finds that its near historic highs. It’s an interesting read with some great wonky graphs.
The large gender gap comes despite the fact that men and women’s economic roles are becoming more equal — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women represented 47 percent of the labor force as of September — and that women suffered at least as much as men in the recent economic downturn.
The unemployment rate among women was 7.5 percent as of September — up from 7.0 percent when Mr. Obama took office in January 2009.
The unemployment rate among men is higher — 8.0 percent as of September — but it has declined rather than increased since Mr. Obama took office. It had been 8.6 percent in January 2009, and peaked at as high as 11.2 percent later that year.
This suggests the gender gap instead has more to do with partisan ideology than with pocketbook voting; apart from their views on abortion, women also take more liberal stances than men on social issues ranging from same-sex marriage to gun
control.
It seems that the Republican party is good at attracting white men these days. Nothing surprising there. Just this weekend Republicans managed to insult women several times. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) appeared on Dancin Dave’s Disco Show to explain that women seeking pay equity were being taken in by trial lawyers in search of big money.
RUBIO: But just because they call a piece of legislation an equal pay bill doesn’t make it so. In fact, much of this legislation is in many respects nothing but an effort to help trial lawyers collect their fees and file lawsuits, which may have nothing to do whatsoever to increasing pay equity in the workplace.
Nasty Republican Tihadist troll Todd Akin used a dog metaphor to describe Senator Claire McCaskill.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin said Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill has fetched expansive government policies “like a dog” during her tenure in Washington.
Akin made the comparison during a fundraising event in Springfield, where he featured support from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, one of the few national Republicans still backing Akin after much of the party establishment distanced themselves from his candidacy following the controversy earlier in the race surrounding his comments about “legitimate rape.”
“She goes to Washington, D.C., it’s a little bit like one of those dogs, ‘fetch,’” he said. “She goes to Washington, D.C., and get all of these taxes and red tape and bureaucracy and executive orders and agencies and brings all of this stuff and dumps it on us in Missouri.”
So my grave site of the week news hasn’t so much to do with the find itself but the finder. A house cat in Rome discovered a 2,000 year old grave catacomb. The intrepid little adventurer find a very interesting burial site.
Curti and a friend were following the cat at 10pm on Tuesday when it scampered towards a low tufa rock cliff close to his home near Via di Pietralata in a residential area of the city. “The cat managed to get into a grotto and we followed the sound of its miaowing,” he said.
Inside the small opening in the cliff the two men found themselves surrounded by niches dug into the rock similar to those used by the Romans to hold funeral urns, while what appeared to be human bones littered the floor.
Archaeologists called to the scene said the tomb probably dated from between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. Given that niches were used to store ashes in urns, the bones had probably tumbled into the tomb from a separate burial space higher up inside the cliff.
Heavy rains at the start of the week had probably caused rocks concealing the entrance to the tomb to crumble, they added.
There’s more evidence that the ones committing the voter registration fraud are Republicans. When is some one going to arrest Reince Preibus and the folks he hired to steal elections?
But there is more to the story, as evidence emerges to document that it ties into a still-expanding nationwide GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal that the BRAD BLOG first began reporting in late September , after we’d learned that the Republican Party of Florida had turned in more than 100 allegedly fraudulent and otherwise suspect voter registration forms in Palm Beach County. The story has continued to widen ever since, to a dozen Florida counties and several other states, now including Virginia, and even to the upper-echelons of the Republican Party itself.
If you haven’t been following this story, the man behind most of this fraud across the country is well known for committing registration fraud but as told by Preibus to hide himself well in the corporate structure so he could be awarded all these contracts to register voters. You may remember that 4 year ago they led a witch hunt against ACORN. Well, it appears they are much more guilty of registration fraud than ACORN.
Strategic Allied is owned by Nathan Sproul, an Arizona political consultant for Republicans whose companies have faced charges in past elections of submitting forged forms and of dumping Democratic registrations. None of the charges were proved, and Sproul continues to do get-out-the-vote work for conservative causes this election.
“We can’t speculate what happened in Virginia,” said David Leibowitz, a spokesman for Sproul, adding that the firm was fired on Sept. 28. “Anything that happened after that did not happen on Strategic Allied’s watch.”
After Sproul was dumped, the registration operation that he assembled continued working under the supervision of party officials, Spicer said. He said the workers will continue to do get-out-the-vote work until the election.
Rachel Maddow has been following this story.
What’s more, before the RNC tries to blame Sproul’s firm alone for hiring Small, let’s note that the accused describes himself as a “grassroots field director for the Republican National Committee,” though the RNC’s Spicer denies this. It’s not yet clear which of the two is telling the truth.
Also keep in mind, the L.A. Timesreported that Sproul “created Strategic Allied Consulting at the request of the Republican National Committee because of the bad publicity stemming from the past allegations.” I’ve seen some reports that this is a “new” Republican firm working with the state and national parties on grassroots activities, but it would appear Strategic Allied Consulting is new in name only.
Tonight is the final presidential debate of 2012 on foreign policy. We’ll be live blogging the debate as usual. Here’s some potential questions for each of the candidates. Here’s my favorite questions to put to POTUS.
- Drone strikes you’ve ordered against targets in Pakistan have killed, by some estimates, several hundred innocent civilians, including many children. Is this a moral strategy to defeat terrorists?
- You intervened to stop civilian massacres in Libya, where no U.S. national security interest was at stake. In Syria, far more people have been killed by their government, and U.S. interests are clearly at stake. America’s Muslim allies, including Turkey, are asking the U.S. to do more to bring an end to Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Why have you stayed on the sidelines?
Here’s my favorites for Chicken Mittens who managed to insult our two best allies–Japan and the UK–within a few short weeks.
- You did not serve in the military. Did you encourage any of your five sons to serve in the military?
- How do you plan to keep Pakistan from imploding?
- You said recently, “America must have confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose, and resolve in our might.” What is America’s purpose?
- You and your running mate have no foreign policy experience. Name the three people you would listen to most on matters of foreign policy and national security if you become president.
All of Romney’s economic advisors are former Bush advisors and all of Romney’s foreign policy advisors are Bush NeoCons. How the hell is he going to be any different? Well, my guess is he’ll be worse.
One thing I’ve meant to cover here and haven’t yet is the so-called “Fiscal Cliff” which is basically the term for the expiration of all the Bush tax cuts along with the Obama payroll tax moratoriums that have provided stimulus recently along with some spending cuts because there’s be no ability to get a budget agreement recently. Here’s a Q&A to get the conversation started. I’ll focus on this more after the election because it will likely give a re-elected Obama some leverage over Republicans and if-elected Romney a panic attack.
Almost everyone who pays taxes would see a hit to take-home pay in the first paycheck of January. The lowest income tax rate would rise to 15 percent from 10 percent. The highest rate would rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. The 25 percent, 28 percent, and 33 percent rates would rise to 28 percent, 31 percent and 36 percent respectively. Most capital gains taxes would rise to 20 percent from 15 percent. The tax rate on dividends, now set at 15 percent, would jump to ordinary income tax rates, and since most dividend taxes are paid by the wealthy, that would mean a new dividend tax rate of 39.6 percent. The exemption on taxation of inherited estates would drop to $1 million from $5 million. The tax rate above that exemption would jump to 55 percent from 35 percent.
Even many of the working poor who do not earn enough to face such taxes would take a hit when a temporary, two-percentage-point cut to the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare expires on Jan. 1. In all, taxes would rise by as much as $6 trillion over 10 years, $347 billion in 2013 alone, if the Bush-era tax cuts expire along with the payroll tax cut, and Congress fails to deal with the expanding alternative minimum tax, according to the Congressional Budget Office and Decision Economics Inc., a private economic forecaster.
On the spending side, most defense programs would be sliced by 9.4 percent. Most nondefense programs outside the big entitlements — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — would be cut by 8.2 percent. Medicare would be trimmed by 2 percent. Social Security, veterans benefits, military personnel, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program would be exempt.
So, that’s my offerings today! What’s on your reading and blogging list?
Sima
peej
Carissa
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
fiscalliberal
grayslady
Minkoff Minx
mablue2
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Chris Hayes had a good segment on defense spending. He also had an interesting graph. Here’s a link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46979738/ns/msnbc-up_with_chris_hayes/#49493421 It’s really worth watching, I think.
Over a month ago, Lawrence O’Donnell was trying to start a movement – Over the Cliff – to give Obama/Dems leverage with the Rethugs.
Love the cat story. So cool to find such an ancient burial site.
Here is the graph I am talking about. It compares defense spending for Romney, Obama & Sequestration: http://upwithchris.tumblr.com/post/34024090111/this-is-what-defense-spending-over-the-next-10
I watched Chris yesterday, it was excellent. I especially liked the conversation about Iran and the ME. It was good to listen to an informative discussion between people who know the region and the politics of the region, instead of hearing the propaganda pushers of the GOP talking out of their arse.
Apparently it all comes down to is this from Mark Halperin on Morning Joe today:
The debate and its aftermath will be dependent upon “how presidential” Mitt Romney appears to the audience.
“How presidential”? Are you kidding me? After months and months of shifting positions and essentially lying with a straight face over and over again, forget what has come before tonight, just make your own determination as to how “presidential” Mitt Romney comes across.
Why bother with debates? Why not just an “auditon” for the role of POTUS a week or so before the election and let the public decide who “looks more” confortable in reading lines. It worked for Martin Sheen and Henry Fonda when they went up for the role of whatever movie or tv series they auditioned for.
If this is all it takes then why bother spending millions of dollars over an insufferable period of time that is nothing but distracting anyway?
Just line them up, let them read their lines, and allow the audience to judge on just who did or did not look more “presidential”
We have reached the level of such insipid stupidity that little else matters.
Question: Is Mark Halperin a high school graduate?
Obviously not, BB. That close to one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard him say.
Over the weekend I had a conversation with a Romney supporter. He is unconcerned about the multiple lies, changing positions, and vague answers to the specifics that the R/R ticket represents.
On the issue of women’s rights this man felt that women should still have a “choice” but that if they require an abortion they should pay for it out of pocket since in today’s day and age there is no excuse for being “unprotected”. In his version, contraception should also remain untouched but paid for out of pocket, especially more so if an employer refuses to cover it under an insurance plan. People need to be “held accountable” for their own lifestyle according to his theory and the government has no place “dictating” terms.
He does not believe that there has been any real sign of a recovery. Under Romney jobs wlll somehow materialize as he will “rid” the government of petty regulations that hamper the average business owner and allow the business to expand thus creating those 12 million jobs Romney promises when elected.
The Ryan Budget is not an “austere” measure but a reform of the current system that “pretends” to protect. People will be forced to “plan ahead” for healthcare catastrophes, social security, and “save” for the future when considering home buying and college educations.
As far as this man is concerned, the federal government has turned us into “babies” when it comes to dependence. He even goes back to the time when “pioneers” set out to tame the nation and looked only to themselves for survival.
Romney’s lies do not bother him. All politicians are guilty of this same behavior. He “trusts” Romney because he was a successful businessman and can bring the same success to the nation based on that one theory.
I was left with a severe headache and a belief that regardless of the facts, aside from the issues, there is a certain mindset out there that cannot be swayed.
Amazing.
Does this misogynist know that the 12 millions jobs are predicted to materialize no matter who is elected? Probably not.
Halperin isn’t stupid, he’s become a backdoor shill, and he’s not even a good one. He doesn’t like Obama, in fact he was suspended for a few weeks from MSNBC for basically calling Obama a “dick”. My question is Does MSNBC actually pay him to say stupid things?
That’s what elections are to the well paid scum inside the beltway. Their lives won’t change that much no matter who gets elected so they can afford to be cavalier about it. You would think that the general public would eventually get tired of their crap and turn them off. Then their lives might change for the worst. I refuse to watch that drivel.
“That’s what elections are to the well paid scum inside the beltway. Their lives won’t change that much no matter who gets elected so they can afford to be cavalier about it.”
How true…..If the slope become to slippery in the one direction they can just attach their lips to another nozzle going in the opposite direction.
Interesting post by Nate Silver, but I think he’s missing a couple of points. 1. Women may be working in equal numbers to men, but they don’t have pay equity. 2. Reproductive rights are economic issues.
I have no idea why men don’t figure out that women use birth control to have sex with them and its in their best interests not to bring children no one can afford into the word. I also have no idea why they wouldn’t consider getting more of their wives better pay is also in their best interests. That’s just in THEIR interests and assumes their selfish morons. If they’re enlightened, why would they want their wives, mothers, and daughters treated so obviously bad?
And also, why don’t men know Obama care makes it illegal for insurance company’s to charge more for women. At one time mine was almost $300.00 more than my husband’s.
My starting to really worry about this registration fraud, check this headline out at CNN.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/10/wow_cnn.php?ref=fpblg
That’s pathetic!
Christina Romer on the stimulus: Flawed but valuable.
Interesting, and helpful, post about our recovery from a systemic financial crisis takes longer than Romney, and a few op-ed writers, would have you believe:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-15/sorry-u-s-recoveries-really-aren-t-different.html
That’s an excellent article. Thanks!
No wonder. I just noticed the authors are Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff.
This is a very revealing article. For some women denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Molly Ball: Revenge of the Soccer Moms: Why Are Women Abandoning Obama?
How can any woman take Romney at his word? He has changed positions on this one issue alone over the years that it is impossible to keep up.
How do you trust a man who does this? How is it possible to overlook his past comments? They are all on You Tube for one thing and can be easily verifiied if one chooses to look.
These women are willling to “trust” a man who never served in the military, who fled to France to avoid the draft, and whose sons have never volunteered for military service but are able to spend their time appearing with their father because they are all privileged with having a multi million dollar trust fund at their disposal which makes it possible. Money they themselves have never earned to begin with! The same man who thinks nothing of sending their sons to war?
I just don’t get it and probably never will.
Those women are just as crazy as the man you posted about above. It seems we have lost all common sense. I don’t get it either and I don’t want to ever get it!
Given the number of women that fall into the marriage trap with emotionally or physically abusive men and are basically held down and back for huge periods of their lives my guess is they don’t want to see it.
I wish interviewers would ask at the end what news or political tv programs, newspapers, or online sites do these people watch and read regularly. I suspect more than ever people are watching fox news because they are hurting from the recession and they want to hear that someone will fix the economy, pronto!
Here’s a good example of women that are missing a few brain cells.
http://bit.ly/QO2vON Taylor Swift suggests that women aren’t equal with men because women suck more.
Zandar has a better view of the gender gap and the AP story. According to Nate Silver the gender gap is at near record levels. Not withstanding Molly Ball’s anecdotes.
balloon-juice: Mind The Gap, Ladies
There is only so much time to talk about Libya in tonight’s debate. One thing I found out was Chris Stevens was very much liked in Benghazi, he moved about freely, eating out, and visiting businesses without having security with him. That says something. I also noticed this weekend that Giuliana is out saying it was bombed in April. He’s doing what all the other republicans are doing, passing around information that is not true. The consulate was not established in Benghazi until August…….They had started in a Hotel there back in May, and then finally decided on location in August. The bombing he talks about was in Tripoli and not in Benghazi, but hey, there point is to confused everybody, and say it’s Obama’s fault that the ambassador is dead. I am reminded of the Pioneers and and the Wild Wild West………….tell government that the Indians did it, and go get them. Not giving details of just which tribe should be gone after, considering the thousands we had at that time, just get them.
I hope Obama points out that the right-wingers are acting as if the embassy in Tripoli and the consulate in Benghazi are identical.
The NYT explains Benghazi again. From comments, the right are going to push it forever.
After Benghazi Attack, Talk Lagged Behind Intelligence
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/us/politics/explanation-for-benghazi-attack-under-scrutiny.html?pagewanted=all
Sorry, but my pessimism is rising by the day. With the polls indicating a 47% tie between the two candidates this indicates that half the population believes in Mitt Romney.
We are talking half the voting populaton here and with voter suppression, tampering, and huge money rolling in that is allowing false ads to surge the airwaves, I’m almost convinced that Romney and the GOP candidates can actually pull this off.
It is also my belief that people want to see a “winner” overall regardless of how horrible his positions, or how much lying he has engaged in over the course of the campaign, it all hinges on “appearance” or the “perspective” of the press and talking heads that could tip the race in his favor.
Not unlike American Idol where you don’t have to even hit the high notes, a presidential campaign full of lies and radical tactics has no meaning beyond “looking presidential” if the audience “likes” you enough.
Obama “blew it” in the first debate and Biden’s grinning and laughing did not help in his. The issues fell by the wayside and two weeks out there is nothing left but voting based on the “likability” factor that is worrisome.
Few people follow this stuff like some of us here who know full well what is at stake. It is just mind boggling to consider that half the voting populaton is willing to place its future in the hands of this man and what he represents that is a result of an indifferent challenge from the present POTUS and a “silly” response from his v.p.
But this is what it has come down to.
Pat. It would help your blood pressure a little to stay away from National Polls since they don’t matter at all, unless one candidate is running away with it. We still use the electoral college and that looks much better though it’s still going to be a dogfight down to the wire and GOTV will decide in the end. Hopefully, Obama’s ground game really is better as it really was in 2008.
I agree. It’s also important to remember that the media focuses on the polls that favor Romney. I don’t know if that’s because the wealthy reporters want tax cuts or because they want to keep the election interesting.
“I don’t know if that’s because the wealthy reporters want tax cuts or because they want to keep the election interesting”
Probably a little of both, but I suspect Management is encouraging the talking heads to play up the horse race scenario. There’s big advertising dollars and viewer ratings on the line. The tighter the race, the more people pay attention.
Pat, you have been expressing my exact feelings the past few days…thank you!
Thinking of polls, last year the question was asked who was the greatest president ever? Ronald Reagan, that was the only poll that he was in the top 5%- that being the Gallup Poll, Lyndon Johnson rated 0%………………….polls are mushy right now that we are so close to the election……..like me, alot of people have already voted. Ohio is going to be the key, that much I agree.
Some people have strange definitions of “greatest.”
Exactly Luna…………strange
Until they figure out how to contact people that don’t have or pick up home phones, I really don’t put much faith in much of anything other than the statistically significant movements they show. We never actually even get real statistical analysis anyway. These journalists that hang on day to day movements in polls are math illiterate and that’s all have to say about that … any movement within a band within the statistical ‘error’ is irrelevant. It takes 7 distinct ups or 7 distinct downs to be a trend. Otherwise, it’s totally random movement.
Go Ohio! There’s a boatload of information in this poll and the crosstabs.
Quinnipiac: October 22, 2012 – Women Put Obama Up 5 Points In Ohio, Quinnipiac University/CBS News Poll Finds Democrat Sherrod Brown Up 9 Points In Senate Race
Among those who have already voted, Obama is ahead 54 to 39.
Well this is wonderful. CBS headline for their poll is “Obama’s lead in Ohio narrows”. I think that pretty well sets the media spin for everything ahead.
“I think that pretty well sets the media spin for everything ahead.”
Indeed it does
FWIW, Michelle Malkin has a post on memeorandum listing Bob Schieffer’s top 7 moments of bias. Preparing the field for more blaming of the moderator I guess.
Here are the latest polls from the battleground:
Colorado: Romney 50%, Obama 46% (Rasmussen)
Michigan: Obama 52%, Romney 43% (Angus Reid)
Ohio: Obama 48%, Romney 48% (Angus Reid)
Ohio: Obama 50%, Romney 45% (CBS News/Quinnipiac)
Pennsylvania: Obama 50%, Romney 45% (Morning Call/Muhlenberg)
Pennsylvania: Obama 48%, Romney 44% (Pulse Opinion Research)*
Virginia: Obama 47%, Romney 46% (Pulse Opinion Research)
Wisconsin: Obama 51%, Romney 46% (Angus Reid)
Wisconsin: Obama 50%, Romney 47% (Pulse Opinion Research)*
Pulse Opinion Research is Scott Rasmussen by another name 🙂
Dak, here are the subjects for tonight’s debate: Andrew Sullivan The Dish
No questions about women’s issues or human trafficking, of course; and none of the male critics noticed.
My thoughts also.
I am currently reading a book, “Unbroken” by Lauren Hilenbrand that is about a man who had once been an Olympic runner from CA that took him to the Berlin event in the 30s and who was eventually drafted into the Armed Services as a bombadier during WW2.
The book covers his extraordinary survival for drifting over 40 days in the Pacific after his plane crashed and his time in a Japanese POW camp where he was tortured, starved and beaten for several years thereafter.
As tragic as this book is – and it is our November Book Club selection – it is far more enjoyable than contemplating a Mitt Romney/GOP election triumph.
All it does is force me to shut off the tv and the talking heads pondering the “handicapping” of this race that for me makes absolutely no sense considering what is at stake.
The sheer boldness of the amount of lies being thrown out there is demoralizing.
We could be looking at the possible presidency of a Cain, Santorum, Bachmann, Perry or Gingrich as there is no difference whatsoever in what Romney supports and what they stood for.
The scenario is bleak considering the 47% tie currently at play. It is essentially in Romney’s advantage.
That was one of the first books I read when I got my first Kindle! What an amazing man Louis Zamperini was. I was so surprised and inspired by this true story; surprised that I had never heard of him before reading the book.
Matt Taibbi with an excellent analysis and the problem Obama faces running against an unrepentant lying snake.
Rolling Stone: Finally Liberated From Facts, Mitt Romney the Pure Bull Artist Takes Flight
great share! thanks! I can’t believe people don’t reject this man just on his pathological lying. It does appear that major news paper op eds are rejecting him for that reason. Just wish stupid voters would wake up.
It’s so blatantly, in your face obvious that everyone has to see it. That may be the problem though. People don’t want to believe a person could possibly run for president that way, so they just reject the very idea. It’s an amazing thing to see people deny their own eyes!
I have to agree, that was brilliant. I wonder if there is any way for Obama to counter the Romney bullshit? Maybe this is going to work for him.
I can’t believe it, just thinking of American Indians, and just read where Russell Means has passed on in South Dakota……………..R.I.P., I have some photos of him back in early ’70’s when I was in DC and the AIM was protesting there. That really sadden me.
This is special.
truthout: Employees of Romney Family’s Secret Bank Tied to Fraud, Money Laundering and Drug Cartels
Big surprise, eh?
Thomas Edsall: The Undisclosed Mitt Romney
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/the-undisclosed-mitt-romney/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20121022
Great piece!
What price is a life without cancer?
Romney would doubtless consider the amount excessive. And the workers irresponsible for getting cancer.
Laura Rozen has an interview which should be read before the foreign policy debate. h/t tpm
Al-Monitor: Former Israeli Spymaster: We Need To Talk to Iran
I had to go to a dental appointment so I’m back everthing looks good for now. Yea. I’m not sure if anyone has put this up.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/29/121029fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all