View Full Version : Mitt Romney -- whaddaya think???
I'm not a fan of either party.
But Mitt Romney seems the sanest among the so-called top three: Mitt, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. (Remember the mainstream [or corporate] media is ignoring Ron Raul. Because, in part, of his anti war stance, I think -- :)
Mitt Romney: Angry At New Hampshire Town Hall - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YbTiwtktBA)
Mitt Romney Looking A Little Flustered On The Campaign Trail - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u39oV5rRjhE)
NaughtyJane
08-27-2011, 02:55 AM
Really can't trust ANY of them or the system they work in,
thanking our selves for our complacency in fostering
national failure.
It is gonna be a long way to anyplace
that resembled our more optimistic times.
robertlouis
08-27-2011, 04:54 AM
I'm not a fan of either party.
But Mitt Romney seems the sanest among the so-called top three: Mitt, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. (Remember the mainstream [or corporate] media is ignoring Ron Raul. Because, in part, of his anti war stance, I think -- :)
Mitt Romney: Angry At New Hampshire Town Hall - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YbTiwtktBA)
Being the sanest of a trio that includes Michele Bachmann isn't exactly an endorsement lol.
Being the sanest of a trio that includes Michele Bachmann isn't exactly an endorsement lol.
No. Not an endorsement -- ha ha!
Part of the game of politics is to compromise -- and, too, to flip-flop. I mean, I've no idea where Romney stands on the issue of climate change. Maybe he doesn't even know -- ha ha! :)
I mean, the art of politics, too, is to position oneself, well, just right. Plus he has a Republican right-wing base that he has to appeal to.
Mitt Romney Flip Flops on Climate Change - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKqhFJUmgXM)
hippifried
08-28-2011, 08:53 PM
Vote for me! I'm farther out on the fringe than anyone else!
That's my story & I'm sticking to it...
until my handlers decide to change it.
Vote for me! I'm farther out on the fringe than anyone else!
That's my story & I'm sticking to it...
until my handlers decide to change it.
hippifried, good point. I mean, how far right does the Republican Party have to go -- or is willing to go. I mean, is there no, say, Stop Sign, as it were?
I mean, the Republican Party is becoming the Crazy Party.
I guess being rational, intellectual, thoughtful, calm, science-minded, steeped in historical perspective, um, economically rational... just doesn't cut it in the Republican Party.
And I'm not talking about conservative people. I'm merely talking about the Party itself... :)
Helvis2012
08-29-2011, 04:10 AM
He's a social retard....at least in public.
hippifried
08-29-2011, 06:05 AM
Well Ben,
It's primary season early. Primaries are just withing the parties. Last year, a bunch of conservative Republicans got knocked off by reactionary teabaggers in the primaries. Now the party's running scared. Romney's willing to say anything to whatever group he's fishing for votes from. I can't see any principles in the guy at all.
robertlouis
08-29-2011, 06:15 AM
hippifried, good point. I mean, how far right does the Republican Party have to go -- or is willing to go. I mean, is there no, say, Stop Sign, as it were?
I mean, the Republican Party is becoming the Crazy Party.
I guess being rational, intellectual, thoughtful, calm, science-minded, steeped in historical perspective, um, economically rational... just doesn't cut it in the Republican Party.
And I'm not talking about conservative people. I'm merely talking about the Party itself... :)
:iagree: That's certainly how it looks from this side of the pond.
Nicole Dupre
08-29-2011, 06:30 AM
Mitt Romney & His Mormon Religion Exposed - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08IAs-ngX2s)
Mitt Romney & His Mormon Religion Exposed - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08IAs-ngX2s)
Interesting vid clip. Thanks Nicole....
Bobby Domino
08-30-2011, 12:46 AM
I would appreciate him more if he were gagged & bounded:praying:
Mitt Romney & His Mormon Religion Exposed - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08IAs-ngX2s)
Will Obama Make Romney's Mormonism an Issue? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgKarlHpuCA)
JPMorgan's CEO embraces Mitt Romney
By Alex Pareene (http://www.salon.com/author/alex_pareene/index.html)
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/09/28/dimon_romney/md_horiz.jpg AP
Jamie Dimon and Mitt Romney
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is not supposed to endorse a presidential candidate, because he sits on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, but he is out partying (http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/obama_top_fat_cat_strays_C9qcrURkB9L9JkImemgBwL?ut m_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha) and attending fundraisers with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/09/jamie_dimon_may_have_left_obam.html) (Of course, Dimon also probably shouldn't have accepted billions of dollars from the Fed while sitting on the New York Fed board either, but that happened. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/business/economy/06fed.html))
Dimon is a Democrat and former BFF of President Barack Obama, but one day Obama said "fat cat bankers" and everyone on Wall Street threw a tremendous tantrum. The president has gone on to lightly criticize the financial industry and endorse a plan to slightly raise income taxes on very wealthy people, which has reportedly driven scores of Democratic backers from the finance industry into the open arms of the GOP.
Here's someone explaining the switch (http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/obama_top_fat_cat_strays_C9qcrURkB9L9JkImemgBwL?ut m_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha) (this is an anonymous source talking to the New York Post, which has a vested interest in presenting the Democratic Party and Barack Obama as avowed enemies of capitalism and free enterprise, but I assume this is a fairly accurate explanation of Dimon's thinking):
One insider said, “There is not a person on Wall Street, with the exception of the genetic Democrats, who would get anywhere near supporting Obama. The hostility to the administration is huge. Dimon will continue to look bipartisan, then work behind the scenes to get a Republican elected.”
Dimon supporting a Republican is only natural. Billionaire financial executives have obvious reasons to support a Republican presidential candidate. The Republican party line is that rich people should keep more of their money and the financial sector should be lightly or not-at-all regulated. But when the "longtime Democrats" who also happen to be bank executives make the switch to the Republican party, they for some reason feel the need to come up with justifications beyond material self-interest. Thus, flailing attempts at sustaining the Democratic party's disappearing middle-class base by lightly soaking the rich are seen as horrific personal attacks on innocent bankers. This makes these billionaires seem like hypersensitive children, but that is apparently preferable to being seen as attempting to maximize their profit by directing political support to the people most likely to allow them to continue vacuuming up and hoarding the world's wealth.
The Democratic party has been extraordinarily friendly to the interests of the financial sector since the Clinton era, but they are learning now what should've been obvious all along: It is impossible to be more billionaire-friendly than the Republican Party, because the Republican Party's entire political philosophy is that government should exist solely to serve the interests of the wealthy.
Dimon's argument hinges on the idea that it's unfair to tarnish his industry as a whole because of the actions of a few bad apples. JPMorgan Chase, you see, is one of the "good banks," which means it is one of the banks that survived the 2008 financial crisis and remains incredibly profitable. It does not mean that the bank is in any sense a positive force for good or a productive arm of a healthy economy, unless you think illegally foreclosing on military families (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jpmorgan-testifes-congress-apologizes-foreclosures-hiking-interest-rates-soldiers/story?id=12873749) and driving counties to the brink of bankruptcy (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/looting-main-street-20100331) while bribing officials (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/business/05derivatives.html) are good, productive things for Jamie Dimon's firm to be doing with its billions of dollars of revenue.
The moral is that we as a nation must never spook the skittish "job-creators" like Dimon, lest they leave us for greener pastures, as Dimon has left Obama for Romney.
Faldur
09-29-2011, 04:58 AM
He'd be a second choice.. yes we Cain! Oh wait I'm a Tea Party member... ahh... can we get a white guy here!
Bill Maher 'Wanting to be rich is a fantasy' - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV03_4hQh9w)
Bill Maher on the Super Rich - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU5rMO65ZTg)
beandip
10-03-2011, 01:41 AM
Romney = moron.
Status quo.
Bankster cocksucker.
Hartmann: If a politician lies on corporate TV...did he really lie? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGbbZxrZaQ)
arnie666
11-24-2011, 09:25 PM
I have become a newt fan, to get things done in washington in the coming years ,you are going to need a totally corrupt psychopathic cunt who can wheel and deal,bit like clinton. I personally think he would wipe the floor with Obama in a debate, I just hope he can bear the lethal hatchet job the media is doing to every republican candidate other than romney (they want mitt vs obama,because they know where romneys support will come from and romneys support while stable hasn't increased in six years ,they have prepped for romney) ,they totally destroyed cain, even went into the gutter with racism ,mscbc was like a klan meeting.
Since newt got to the top,the negative spin machine both from the left leaning networks, his rivals and his enemies in the republican party has gone into overdrive. Thats newts main weakness,he is a long time washington insider and has been in the sewer ,and sadly some of that shit will stick. His other weakness is his looks, a fat old white man, against the hip and jive still quite young looking tanned Obama. In todays politics appearance matters far more.,although the plastic fake looks of romney and perry are taking it too far.
Dino Velvet
11-24-2011, 11:09 PM
If the 2 remaining are Romney and Obama that will be an easy decision.
http://ldsblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/moroni-mormon2.jpg
I have become a newt fan, to get things done in washington in the coming years ,you are going to need a totally corrupt psychopathic cunt who can wheel and deal,bit like clinton. I personally think he would wipe the floor with Obama in a debate, I just hope he can bear the lethal hatchet job the media is doing to every republican candidate other than romney (they want mitt vs obama,because they know where romneys support will come from and romneys support while stable hasn't increased in six years ,they have prepped for romney) ,they totally destroyed cain, even went into the gutter with racism ,mscbc was like a klan meeting.
Since newt got to the top,the negative spin machine both from the left leaning networks, his rivals and his enemies in the republican party has gone into overdrive. Thats newts main weakness,he is a long time washington insider and has been in the sewer ,and sadly some of that shit will stick. His other weakness is his looks, a fat old white man, against the hip and jive still quite young looking tanned Obama. In todays politics appearance matters far more.,although the plastic fake looks of romney and perry are taking it too far.
A, to quote you, "totally corrupt psychopathic cunt who can wheel and deal,bit like clinton..." is quite frightening.
There was an interesting study done up in Canada. It stated that people in positions of power (and power, from a libertarian perspective, is exceedingly dangerous) come to believe in the justness or goodness and merit or importance of their own elevated status. And with that comes the belief that they're above the law.
Plus we've been inculcated or taught to think/believe that politicians are above the law.
Clinton lied under oath. Which is a felony. And carries a 5 year prison sentence. What happened? Well, nothing. Because we have a two-tier justice system. One for the financial and political elite and another for the rest of us. (Think: Nixon. And how he was pardoned by Ford. Think: Casper Weinberger and the whole illicit Iran-Contra affair and how he was pardoned by the first president Bush... and it goes on and on.)
Government is essentially a lawless institution... as it presently exists.
And Newt, like all the rest, will serve the top 0.01 percent. He doesn't care about working Americans. Truck Drivers. Nurses. Firefighters. Cops. He's in it for himself and his rich corporate buddies. (I mean, that applies to pretty much every politician. And, too, the political system has been usurped by the powerful business sector. We - all - know - that.)
Ron Paul Educates Newt Gingrich on The Patriot Act (unedited) - CNN Debate 11/22/11 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es-hpxj01uQ)
fred41
11-25-2011, 06:12 AM
Ron Paul Educates Newt Gingrich on The Patriot Act (unedited) - CNN Debate 11/22/11 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es-hpxj01uQ)
I find it interesting that YouTube headlines are almost always wrong. Ron Paul didn't "educate" anyone, and he clearly lost the audience in a back and forth that Gingrich clearly won with a perfect "snapshot" answer.
Mitt Romney: I'm Progressive:
Mitt Romney: I'm Progressive - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2XkKK1mio4&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ&index=6&feature=plcp)
trish
12-16-2011, 01:28 AM
I heard Christine Connolly turned Gingrich into a newt. He never got better :)
Mitt believes the Angel Moroni left Joe Smith 200 pounds of gold plates buried in the ground just outside Palmyra, NY. They were inscribed with what Joe, who had no knowledge of ancient languages, said was Egyptian. The plates were placed on a table. Joe put a special divining stone in a hat, buried his face in the hat and dictated the plates to an assistant. When the dictation was lost, Joe went through the procedure again, with somewhat different results! Still the result of that "translation" is called the book of Mormon. It difficult to believe that there were ever any adults who accepted this book as divine truth. Mitt is one of them.
I have no faith in men of faith. Then again, Mitt's not as zany as Newt.
onmyknees
12-16-2011, 02:43 AM
[QUOTE=trish;1063520]
I have no faith in men of faith. .
I think I understand.....what you're saying is for the 20 years Barry sat in The Rev. Wright's church, ( "He's like an Uncle") you were not the sycophant you are now. It was only after he threw him under the bus because of the political heat, and distanced himself from any church or faith that you became a " true believer"?
hippifried
12-16-2011, 02:45 AM
I heard Christine Connolly turned Gingrich into a newt. He never got better :)
Mitt believes the Angel Moroni left Joe Smith 200 pounds of gold plates buried in the ground just outside Palmyra, NY. They were inscribed with what Joe, who had no knowledge of ancient languages, said was Egyptian. The plates were placed on a table. Joe put a special divining stone in a hat, buried his face in the hat and dictated the plates to an assistant. When the dictation was lost, Joe went through the procedure again, with somewhat different results! Still the result of that "translation" is called the book of Mormon. It difficult to believe that there were ever any adults who accepted this book as divine truth. Mitt is one of them.
I have no faith in men of faith. Then again, Mitt's not as zany as Newt.
You mean Christine O'Donnell?
I always thought she was kinda hot, Wouldn't mind checking out the orgies that her coven surely throws.
Anyway: The Angel Macaroni must've used disappearing gold, because the tablets didn't even make it to Missouri. Well that's the story anyway. I always wondered (always since 2 minutes ago) if the Mormon Brigade didn't just haul them down to Tiajuana, & blow it all in the local whorehouse. Mitt could probably go either way on that contentin.
trish
12-16-2011, 03:31 AM
[QUOTE=trish;1063520]
I have no faith in men of faith. .
I think I understand.....what you're saying is for the 20 years Barry sat in The Rev. Wright's church, ( "He's like an Uncle") you were not the sycophant you are now. It was only after he threw him under the bus because of the political heat, and distanced himself from any church or faith that you became a " true believer"?
Wha..? Couldn't understand a word you posted. Try fixing some of those pronoun references and punctuate your phrasing. I'm sure it was a zinger and we all hate to miss it.
trish
12-16-2011, 03:36 AM
You mean Christine O'Donnell?
I always thought she was kinda hot, Wouldn't mind checking out the orgies that her coven surely throws.
Anyway: The Angel Macaroni must've used disappearing gold, because the tablets didn't even make it to Missouri. Well that's the story anyway. I always wondered (always since 2 minutes ago) if the Mormon Brigade didn't just haul them down to Tiajuana, & blow it all in the local whorehouse. Mitt could probably go either way on that contentin.
Yeah, Christine O'Donnell...the one who's not a witch.
Besides the Book of Mormon there's the Doctrine and Covenants which were revealed by the god of this planet at convenient moments in Joe's life. :smh The god of the earth told him Mormon men should practice polygamy. When it finally became clear the LSD (oops! LDS) was never going to rise in political influence unless they ditched that particular revelation, God's word was expunged from Doctrine and Covenants.
Amazon.com: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (9780385509510): Jon Krakauer: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51aTAGmAgYL.@@AMEPARAM@@51aTAGmAgYL (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Banner-Heaven-Story-Violent/dp/0385509510)
a fascinating read.
Mitt Romney Gets Ass Handed to Him by Gay Veteran in New Hampshire - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H9FKfECKDk)
Romney Vs Vietnam Vet on Gay Marriage - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fShnC2SQc94)
Christine O'Donnell Endorses Romney: "He's Been Consistent Since He Changed His Mind" - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqx3gs1ik60&feature=channel_video_title)
Mitt Romney will be whatever he has to be.
He's a complete and utter phony. Is he like Obama? Meaning does he lack any principles whatsoever. You be the judge.
He's the consummate flip-flopper. Which means he has no values, no backbone, no conception for the country, as it were.
He's: total big business malarky. He's trying to get into politics purely to enrich himself and his close colleagues....
He represents no change from Obama. His campaign slogan should be: "Vote for Mitt 'cause I'm a nit... wit." ha ha! :)
Mitt Romney Flip Flop # 2,367 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D61tYkQ2cEM&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ&index=13&feature=plcp)
Mitt Romney: Perfect tough guy for right-wing war cheerleaders (http://www.salon.com/2007/11/15/romney_9/singleton)
By Glenn Greenwald (http://www.salon.com/writer/glenn_greenwald/)
A New York Times profile this morning (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/us/politics/15romney.html?pagewanted=1&hp&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1195120994-UMSlHdWPeKGb6xP4aKIg0A) details what Mitt Romney was doing during the Vietnam War. Although the article reflects quite poorly on his character, it demonstrates why his candidacy is resonating among our country’s right-wing war-cheerleading faction. Romney’s life reflects that faction’s perverse “values” perfectly.
While many of his fellow citizens from 1966 to 1969 were being killed in Vietnam, Romney — “a sheltered child of privilege” — spent those years in Paris and other cities in France trying to convert the French to Mormonism, which enabled him to obtain a “missionary” deferment. When Romney and his fellow Mormon missionaries encountered anti-American sentiment from war opponents, they decided that the French — unlike Romney and his war-supporting, war-avoiding friends — were “weak”:
The missionaries had often met with hostility over the Vietnam War. “Are you an American?” was a common greeting, Mr. Romney recalled, followed by, “‘Get out of Vietnam! Bang!’ The door would slam.” But such opposition only hardened their hawkish views. “We felt the French were pretty weak-kneed,” [Romney's fellow missionary Byron] Hansen said. So early on, Romney shared one of the defining values of the political movement he now wants to lead: namely, the belief that those who want to send other people off to fight wars are “strong” and “courageous,” while those who oppose sending others off to war are “weak.” As Romney’s co-missionary put it, perfectly encapsulating the right-wing war-cheerleaders of both then and now:
Most of the missionaries, though, were also relieved that their service meant a draft deferment. “I am sorry, but no one was excited to go and get killed in Vietnam,” Mr. Hansen said, acknowledging, “In hindsight, it is easy to be for the war when you don’t have to worry about going to Vietnam.”What’s particularly reprehensible about all of this is that so much of the Republican Party spent years mauling Bill Clinton for avoiding service in a war that he opposed. But for years, Romney emphatically supported the Vietnam War, yet actively avoided service and never enlisted:
Many church leaders considered the war a godly cause, and Mr. Romney said at the time he thought that it was essential to holding back Communism. . . . Eventually, the great debates of the day intruded even at Brigham Young. In the fall of 1970, the student government president and others distributed a pamphlet encouraging opposition to the Vietnam conflict by quoting past Mormon leaders on the evils of war, stirring a predictable campus fury.
Mr. Romney wanted no part of such things. “If we had asked Mitt to sign that pamphlet, he would have had a heart attack,” said Terrell E. Hunt, a fellow Cougar who signed it.
Mitt Romney, then and now: showing what a super-tough patriot he is by cheering on wars that other people — but never he nor his family (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/08/politics/main3147321.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_3147321) — risk their lives to fight. What makes it all the more repellent is that while many Mormons did enlist — Brigham Young was one of the few campuses that was a hotbed of pro-war activism — Romney actively avoided service, first with his missionary deferment, and then by obtaining a student deferment once he got back from France.
And now, he has the audacity to claim that he wanted to fight, but cites his high lottery number as a reason why his supposed desire was never fulfilled — as though there was no such thing as voluntarily enlisting:
Mr. Romney, though, said that he sometimes had wished he were in Vietnam instead of France. “There were surely times on my mission when I was having a particularly difficult time accomplishing very little when I would have longed for the chance to be serving in the military,” he said in an interview, “but that was not to be.”Note the lack of agency that he tries to insinuate — military service “was not to be,” as though he so desperately wanted to fight but it was just a matter of bad luck, having nothing to do with his own actions, that he never managed to make it to the glorious combat fields of Vietnam. It’s exactly the same, deceitful little act which we recently heard (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/09/17/BL2007091700952_pf.html) from our brave, combat-avoiding Warrior-in-Chief whom Romney wants to replace:
President Bush wishes that he could be alongside the troops in Iraq — except that he’s too old. At least that’s what he reportedly told a blogger embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. . . . ” N.Z. Bear,” one of the eight guests sitting around a table with Bush at the White House, reported: “Responding to one of the bloggers in Iraq he expressed envy that they could be there, and said he’d like to be there but ‘One, I’m too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me.’”
Poor Mitt Romney and George Bush, such frustrated would-be warriors, wanting so badly to fight in combat but thwarted at every turn by circumstances beyond their control.
So what exactly was it that prevented Romney — along with his powerful “shoulders [that] you could land a 737 on,” as The Politico‘s Roger Simon droolingly put it (http://mediamatters.org/items/200706060004) — from fulfilling his wishes to fight? A video narration accompanying the NYT article contains an interview with one of Romney’s fellow missionaries at the time. He playfully explains how he and Romney found zany costumes and dressed up in them and formed a group that had a “fun time doing little Vaudeville routines” — all while Romney’s fellow citizens were being slaughtered in the Vietnam War that he so believed in:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/Rzwe-1GeTHI/AAAAAAAAAYE/1tiGgg-Yo7k/s400/romney.png (http://bp3.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/Rzwe-1GeTHI/AAAAAAAAAYE/1tiGgg-Yo7k/s1600-h/romney.png)By rather stark contrast, these were the costumes which Romney’s fellow citizens were forced to wear because of the war he supported:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/RzwjAlGeTKI/AAAAAAAAAYc/WqlT1EU8JhM/s320/vietnam1.png (http://bp2.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/RzwjAlGeTKI/AAAAAAAAAYc/WqlT1EU8JhM/s1600-h/vietnam1.png)
http://bp3.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/Rzwiq1GeTJI/AAAAAAAAAYU/UD9PBCOWoss/s320/vietnam2.png (http://bp3.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/Rzwiq1GeTJI/AAAAAAAAAYU/UD9PBCOWoss/s1600-h/vietnam2.png) http://bp2.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/RzwjglGeTLI/AAAAAAAAAYk/khaJawQlhE8/s320/vietnam3.png (http://bp2.blogger.com/_MnYI3_FRbbQ/RzwjglGeTLI/AAAAAAAAAYk/khaJawQlhE8/s1600-h/vietnam3.png)[photo credits: here (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/do_history/decisions/images/vietnam.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/do_history/decisions/vietnam.html&h=401&w=523&sz=43&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=fJmiE5H3YgUseM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvietnam%2Bamerican%2Bsoldiers%26svnum %3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den), here (http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=78358&rendTypeId=4), here (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/arch/1968/68Images/Mike12.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/arch/1968/1968-1.html&h=480&w=570&sz=272&hl=en&start=35&um=1&tbnid=yzWXtsm4pXUxTM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvietnam%2Bamerican%2Bsoldiers%26start %3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den% 26sa%3DN)]
More repugnantly still, both the NYT article and accompanying video contain all sorts of quotes from Romney and his co-missionaries complaining about how very hard life was for them in France because it was so difficult to convert people, without any sense of how that “hardship” compared to their fellow citizens’ fighting and dying in the Vietnam jungle. It’s hard to put into words what twisted self-absorption and lack of empathy is required to wallow in such self-pity — exactly the same strain that led Romney earlier this year to equate his sheltered sons’ work on his presidential campaign (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/08/politics/main3147321.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_3147321) with other Americans’ sons and daughters who are in the Iraq war that Romney so loves and exploits for political gain.
Romney’s draft-avoidance isn’t quite as shameful as Super Tough Guy Rudy Giuliani’s, whose deferment request was denied in 1969, thus placing him at imminent risk of being drafted, when he somehow convinced the federal judge (http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2007/07/20/rudy_and_romney/print.html) for whom he was clerking “to write to the draft board, asking them to grant him a fresh deferment and reclassification as an ‘essential’ civilian employee.” The very idea that a first-year judicial clerk, just out law school, is “essential” for anything is absurd on its face. Yet the swaggering tough guy Rudy Giuliani used that blatant lie to ensure that someone other than himself was sent to fight in Vietnam.
But Romney’s record is hardly better. Although he claims he was ultimately convinced by his dad that the war was wrong, he spent most of the war cheering it on — from the same safe and sheltered distance where one finds most of our right-wing tough guy warriors today, the ones who understandably recognize themselves in both Romney and Giuliani. Needless to say, a centerpiece of both of their campaigns (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21268556/) is how “tough” and courageously pro-war they are.
Mitt Romney’s ‘Buffett Rule’ Problem: His Tax Rate Is 14 Percent: (http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334305/romney-buffett-rule-14-percent-tax-rate/)
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334305/romney-buffett-rule-14-percent-tax-rate/?mobile=nc
onmyknees
01-06-2012, 06:35 AM
Mitt Romney’s ‘Buffett Rule’ Problem: His Tax Rate Is 14 Percent: (http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334305/romney-buffett-rule-14-percent-tax-rate/)
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/10/03/334305/romney-buffett-rule-14-percent-tax-rate/?mobile=nc
Fact checking you is becoming a full time job Ben. You tell us you don't particularly like either party, but all your copy and pastes are from far left sites. I think I can smell what you're cookin' ! Not only did Romney voice displeasure with Obama's class ware fare, but Buffet himself called it "disingenuous" and urged Obama to stop it. While your friends at Think Progress did attempt to explain that capitol gains were taxed at a lower rate, they don't explain the economic reason behind it. Nor do they explain why anybody living off his capitol gains ( and having already paid taxes on it as income once, more than likely) would in his right mind list it as "earned income". These folks didn't get rich by being idiots. Your fact checker calls this a "stretch".
Mark Williams - Will the Tea Party ever accept Mitt Romney? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFCKBr0_SNw&feature=channel_video_title)
Mitt Romney's TOP contributors:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/contrib.php?cycle=2012&id=N00000286
Mitt Romney is the perfect politician: he has no principles and doesn't care about issues. He's also a strict opportunist. He has a lot in common with Obama.
Romney says he's a man of: "steadiness and constancy." Exactly. Constancy. He IS definitely unwavering -- as the YouTube clips clearly show -- ha ha ha!
He's an empty vessel. Romney is merely a banker and backed by the big banks and will serve them dutifully.
Mitt Romney Flip-Flop on Abortion - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFMdK0TWtks)
Mitt Romney lies about Ronald Reagan - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc-adaxs148)
The Real Congressman Mitt Romney - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWS-i8epmLs)
And of course the grand liar: Bill Clinton. Who, actually, committed perjury. The maximum sentence is: bein' thrown in a cage for 5 years. But, of course, he didn't spend a day in jail.
We've been inculcated to think that politicians are above the law. Clinton broke the law. But, well, who cares, eh?
Bill Clinton lies about his affair with Monica Lewinsky then later admits it. - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUDppdVXeMw)
Clinton testify - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClfpG2-1Bv4)
Mitt Romney slipping up.... (Now, Mitt is the moderate in the race. But if you go all the way back to 2000, well, George Bush's platform was to the left of Romney's. Bush talked about a humble foreign policy and compassionate conservatism. This is how far right the Republicans have gotten as a party. Well, they have to appeal to their base. Who are their base? Well, fundamentalist Christians. So, Romney has to placate that base by changing/altering his positions to satisfy fundamentalist Christians.... So, ya gotta be anti gay, anti abortion etc., etc.)
The George Bush You Forgot - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9SOVzMV2bc)
Mitt Romney Likes Firing People - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_hweG2zIrg)
Romney's Bain Capital comes under fire - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4bZ_jHQDAM)
Winning Our Future | King of Bain "When Mitt Romney Came To Town" [Trailer] - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_evS-T-c35M)
From Rupert Murdoch's New York Post....
Romney's past is more a working class zero:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/ad_mitt_mistakes_jRmd2LHaPIb0bbNn1ZkgaJ
LET DETROIT GO BANKRUPT by Mitt Romney:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html
And Thomas Frank:
Republicans Didn't Learn Lessons of Past - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ePxNziHw9c)
trish
01-12-2012, 12:41 AM
He's got the best dogone hair of all the rest.
He's got the best dogone hair of all the rest.
The so-called contest should be decided on: who has the best hair and strongest hairline... :)
Prospero
01-12-2012, 10:01 AM
Thought and Republican are not words that sit comfortably together. Their appeal goes beneath thought to some of the most basic and vile prejudices. That's their USP. It is also why maybe the rump of the party will not happily want a Mormon as their leader.
Faldur
01-12-2012, 03:53 PM
Thought and Republican are not words that sit comfortably together. Their appeal goes beneath thought to some of the most basic and vile prejudices. That's their USP. It is also why maybe the rump of the party will not happily want a Mormon as their leader.
You forgot "it's Bush's fault"..
trish
01-12-2012, 04:38 PM
If you're talking about the economic collapse you're correct, that's all Bush's fault. If you mean the slowness of the recovery, that's the fault of the GOP obstructionists.
Prospero
01-12-2012, 04:40 PM
Indeed Bush's fault - but also others before him who helped de-regulate the banks and financial institutions.
Prospero
01-12-2012, 04:42 PM
So Faldur and your ilk - can you offer an articulate argument in favour of Rick Santorum's ideas - ie a ban on abortion in all cases (including rape), on contraception, a total outlawing of homosexuality. Let's hear how these make sense in our modern world (or are the GOP and the Taliban now in accord on social policy).
Stavros
01-12-2012, 05:14 PM
Santorum's positions on social issues are surely for electoral support, in practical terms a President cannot change policy just because he doesn't like it. Changing the law on civil partnerships, abortion, and homosexuality would have to be part of the legislative process in Congress, so I don't see how easy it can be for a President to get these changes unless I suppose there is an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the House and Senate who railroad new legislation through, AND a compliant Supreme Court which does not reject as unconstitutional the new laws when they are taken to apppeal. My understanding is that States can impose their own rules on law, for example I believe some states make abortion easier than others, just as some states allow civil partnerships and others do not, but at some point a citizen has the right to appeal to the State and the Federal Supreme Courts, so that real change takes time. I don't have a perfect understanding of the way the American system works, but the powers of the President are, I think, exaggerated on these issues.
Prospero
01-12-2012, 05:22 PM
You are right Stavros - but I was seeking to find out from American right wingers here their view on this clutch of ideas. I wonder how they square these with their membership of a forum about what Santorum and a very wide swathe of far right folk would consider deeply deviant sexuality.
Silcc69
01-12-2012, 05:31 PM
Santorum's positions on social issues are surely for electoral support, in practical terms a President cannot change policy just because he doesn't like it. Changing the law on civil partnerships, abortion, and homosexuality would have to be part of the legislative process in Congress, so I don't see how easy it can be for a President to get these changes unless I suppose there is an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the House and Senate who railroad new legislation through, AND a compliant Supreme Court which does not reject as unconstitutional the new laws when they are taken to apppeal. My understanding is that States can impose their own rules on law, for example I believe some states make abortion easier than others, just as some states allow civil partnerships and others do not, but at some point a citizen has the right to appeal to the State and the Federal Supreme Courts, so that real change takes time. I don't have a perfect understanding of the way the American system works, but the powers of the President are, I think, exaggerated on these issues.
Federal law trumps state laws. But yeah I do believe most of the time the GOP guys are simply appealing to there base. Even when Bush got in office abortion number's were the same. They would probably start another war and keep taxes low for the rich. :)
trish
01-12-2012, 05:38 PM
You are right Stavros - but I was seeking to find out from American right wingers here their view on this clutch of ideas.We believe that every sperm is sacred. That's why we worship fountains of hot steaming cum spewed high into the air over tits, over asses, over open mouths and reaching tongues. Each wiggling spermatozoa is a potential, nay an actual, human life. Half a set of chromosomes is sufficient information to construct a full human being. Each sperm alone is a gift from god (oops God), as is each egg. You realize Jesus himself was born of a virgin via Divinely induced parthenogenesis; i.e. He had one set of chromosomes, not two. It also means He was really a She. And that's precisely why we conservative fundamentalist AMERICANS just adore transgenders of all persuasions just as much as we love and adore Jesus (we just wish He was less of a limp wrist and more a man).
Oh, almost forgot...here's some more relevant humor. I love what Gail says about Romney ->
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/opinion/collins-the-primary-primer.html
muh_muh
01-12-2012, 10:29 PM
And that's precisely why we conservative fundamentalist AMERICANS just adore transgenders of all persuasions just as much as we love and adore Jesus (we just wish He was less of a limp wrist and more a man).
speaking of which what type of transsexual is ok with homophobes? im mean those with the pretty typical gays are icky but lesbians are a-ok views
from that perspective are mtfs icky cause theyre genetically male or are they ok cause theyre girls and is a gg having sex with a ftm transsexual man supremely hot cause genetically its 2 females having sex?
im confused
trish
01-12-2012, 10:50 PM
...what type of transsexual is ok with homophobes?The kind that pass and are still undiscovered. (I'm joking of course. You can scratch the "and are still undiscovered" and the statement will remain true of a large number of homophobes. Indeed there are quite a few gay homophobes who adore transgender women because the female secondary sexual characteristics, cosmetics, clothing etc. reduce the sexual dissonance of the admirer's own confusion. This is NOT a general remark applying all admirers by any means. Of course this site as already seen endless discussions on that topic. So I'll just stick to making jokes.)
muh_muh
01-12-2012, 11:14 PM
ah right i forgot about a lot of homophobes being in the closet
what about those who arent though?
Faldur
01-13-2012, 12:31 AM
So Faldur and your ilk - can you offer an articulate argument in favour of Rick Santorum's ideas - ie a ban on abortion in all cases (including rape), on contraception, a total outlawing of homosexuality. Let's hear how these make sense in our modern world (or are the GOP and the Taliban now in accord on social policy).
Well I'm not sure what "ilk" I belong to, but would happy to give you my opinion.
1) Ban on abortion: I disagree, personal belief I would love to see the number of abortions come way down. But I believe in changing minds, not laws. Do you realize abortions kill more Democrats than Republicans?
2) Banning contraception: completely insane, nuff said.
3) Outlawing homosexuality: Again this is insane, I may have an opinion on same sex marriage although not something I wish to impose on anyone else. Its my opinion.
Know thats not going to help you much, but Rick has never been anyone I have considered a viable candidate.
Silcc69
01-13-2012, 12:49 AM
Well I'm not sure what "ilk" I belong to, but would happy to give you my opinion.
1) Ban on abortion: I disagree, personal belief I would love to see the number of abortions come way down. But I believe in changing minds, not laws. Do you realize abortions kill more Democrats than Republicans?
2) Banning contraception: completely insane, nuff said.
3) Outlawing homosexuality: Again this is insane, I may have an opinion on same sex marriage although not something I wish to impose on anyone else. Its my opinion.
Know thats not going to help you much, but Rick has never been anyone I have considered a viable candidate.
Why can't the GOP think like you? Rationally lol.
onmyknees
01-13-2012, 12:56 AM
If you're talking about the economic collapse you're correct, that's all Bush's fault. If you mean the slowness of the recovery, that's the fault of the GOP obstructionists.
Beware of the Zombies....they're alive and well on here...
2 years ( that's 730 days) with total control of the executive and legislative branches, Republicans couldn't stop a thing...and your guys failed, and failed miserably...... so much so the electorate tossed them out on their asses....They failed, and so did your post.
trish
01-13-2012, 01:16 AM
If you mean meaningful health care is now available to more Americans than ever before, then Obama is to blame.
onmyknees
01-13-2012, 01:32 AM
So Faldur and your ilk - can you offer an articulate argument in favour of Rick Santorum's ideas - ie a ban on abortion in all cases (including rape), on contraception, a total outlawing of homosexuality. Let's hear how these make sense in our modern world (or are the GOP and the Taliban now in accord on social policy).
I can make a case for anything.....
the question is can you open your mind even a sliver to understand ( not agree) it?
I'm not of Santorum's ilk, but I understand his position on abortion. He believes that every life is sacred, as do many....if not a majority of Americans. Even a life conceived in rape. He follows his Catholicism teachings literally, as opposed to say Catholics like Mario Como and John Kerry who professed and practiced thier Catholic faith, but carefully mitigated it by saying they wouldn't let thier religious beliefs interfere with political beliefs. Some wonder how that could be. You either believe life is sacred, or you don't....where's the gray area in that? Either you have a set of deep beliefs or you don't. Liberal Christians like Cuomo always told us "I believe there are too many abortions" but did nothing politically to bolster that point of view. It was a throw away line. In fact they did the opposite. Let's say there was 500,000 abortions in the US last year. Santorum might offer this....at some point in time, one has to start asking what does that say about us as a nation whose founders forged the country on a belief in god.
Why don't you listen to Santorum in his own words explain the realities of what you refer to as a "modern" world.
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/video/2012/01/02/what-is-rick-santorums-position-on-abortion
As far as the rest of his social conservatism....I'm not one, so I can't speak to it.
trish
01-13-2012, 01:46 AM
Basing law on what is Sacred breeches the separation of religion and state. That life is Sacred cannot be cited as a justification for any law.
Gingrich and Perry attack Wall St. -- what?!?!?!?
Rush, Fox News Rip Gingrich Over Romney Bain Capital Attacks - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPSZQsxC8k&feature=endscreen&NR=1)
Mitt Romney: Don't Talk About Income Inequality In Front of the Peasants - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqJ2POGT_zo&feature=channel_video_title)
Romney and the pathology of Bain:
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/romney_and_the_sociopathology_of_bain/singleton/
Faldur
01-14-2012, 03:23 AM
Coming on 3 years this president can't bother himself to produce a budget for the country. Have we really reached the point where the president just sheepishly asks for "another $1.2 trillion", after adding more than $5 trillion to our countries debt in 3 years. How about getting off your ass and putting together a budget that will provide a guideline for spending over the next year Potus?
Newt correctly defines Mitt as a moderate.
Newt Gingrich blasts Romney with personal attacks - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3EjK2xrCN0)
As Newt's ad clearly states: private equity leaders gettin' rich at the expense of American workers. Why is Newt Gingrich waging class warfare? I don't understand.
Gingrich "King of Bain" ad 2012 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB8WwWGa7Vk)
Again, is Newt merely envious of Mitt's ultra richness? I don't understand why Newt is wickedly waging this class warfare. What's Newt's problem?
Newt Gingrich Isn't Backing Off Attacking Romney On Bain: Political Buzz 1.12 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6owCZmPACU)
The Shadowy World of Private Equity - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqj57_QowL4)
Dino Velvet
01-17-2012, 07:06 AM
Santorum pushed Romney's shit in up past his lungs and really worked him over for a few minutes tonight.
http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2012/01/16/21/45/295-1qicjq.St.55.jpg
trish
01-17-2012, 07:13 AM
Actually Santorum just packed his own shit in on top of Romney's. It was pretty disgusting. Almost made me vomit. They should get a room. :)
Dino Velvet
01-17-2012, 07:20 AM
Actually Santorum just packed his own shit in on top of Romney's. It was pretty disgusting. Almost made me vomit. They should get a room. :)
I stand by my words. Pretty accurate and a darn good headline. What you said is called Turd Rubbing.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Turd%20Rubber
Mitt Romney Stashing Millions In Offshore Banks - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zveBlmsZCk)
Papantonio: Romney The King of Government Bailouts - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK6s32H0VjM)
onmyknees
01-20-2012, 06:07 AM
Mitt Romney Stashing Millions In Offshore Banks - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zveBlmsZCk)
Papantonio: Romney The King of Government Bailouts - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK6s32H0VjM)
you see what you're doing here Ben? You're the one who's constantly whining about both parties not addressing issues that are fundamental to everyday people, and here you are getting sucked in by a left wing media who does this constantly. It's sorta like a dog chasing it's tail. Tomorrow you'll be back to whining about both parties, but today...you busy feeding off the bottom, and getting email alerts from your far left websites. Since when did it become a crime to in this country to become wealthy? When did that occur because when I grew up, rich people were admired and aspired. You act as if it's illegal ( and of course that's the inference) that Romney has money in a trust in the Caymans. I saw the crawl on the bottom of the screen tonight on MSNBC "Romney's money in the Caymans" ....hint, hint ..that's where cartels dump all their cash. From what I understand he's paying the same rate as if it was in bank of America.... Shit man....we have at least 6 folks that I can recall the were either nominated, or withdrew their nominations to the Obama Administration because of Tax evasion. Where the fuck were you when Kathleen Sebilius suddenly discovered that her tax returns for the previous 3 years were in error ? not to worry...a quick check to the IRS resolved all that, and she was on her way to confirmation, same with Geitner. How can the head of the NY Fed fuck up his turbo tax forms? Memo to Ben....Google that and see what you come up with. It's laughable....and here you are busting on Romney for putting his money in perfectly legitimate places. Where were you, Noam Chomsky and Brian Ross when Obama was getting sweetheart land deals in Chicago from now imprisoned Tony Resko? Where was all the YouTube lectures from your left wing friends on that? Where were you when John Kerry was moving his Yacht to nearby Rhode Island to avoid the Mass tax levy?? You fuckers are so hypocritical it makes me sick. There isn't a whiff that anything Romney did, or is doing is illegal, evasive, or immoral. You're a bottom feeder just like the rest of them Ben, and stop giving me this bilge about being even handed.....I don't give a rat's ass about who you do or don't support, or why, that's your choice...just be honest about it.
trish
01-20-2012, 07:24 AM
...when I grew up, rich people were admired... Rich people like Thurston Howell III?
Wealth is fine. Being wealthy is great.
Not knowing the value of 374 grand to the ordinary American family is fine too. But it's not the kind of ignorance we look for in our candidates for the Presidency.
Faldur
01-20-2012, 04:39 PM
It's all a conspiracy, newly appointed Director of OMB former CEO of .. (cue scary music).. Bain Capitol. I say Bush is behind it.
Romney...uses our roads & bridges but won't pay - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFhD3QvpJcE)
David Stockman, Reagan's Budget Director, and Bill Moyers talk about crony capitalism -- and, too, how Obama simply serves the banking sector....
I mean, how corrupt is the political and economic system -- ha ha!
Bill Moyers and David Stockman discuss crony capitalism embedded in Obama administration - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJqDxTIxqQ)
Kid Rock Endorses Romney - Where Is Fox News? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPyoepqBNnQ&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ&index=6&feature=plcp)
Gouki
03-01-2012, 04:08 AM
Goldman Sachs owns both Mitt and Barack so it does not really matter which one wins
robertlouis
03-01-2012, 04:23 AM
Kid Rock Endorses Romney - Where Is Fox News? - YouTube[/url]
Kid Rock is a talentless wanker. What's your point, Ben lol?
Goldman Sachs owns both Mitt and Barack so it does not really matter which one wins
You could be right. But I think Obama is more moderate (albeit just slightly) than Romney.
It's true though. Political officials serve power systems. And the most dominant power system in our society are corporations. (So, how can we say we have a meaningful democracy in America? I mean, we certainly have elections. But the idea of profound democracy is a joke if, as you say, the big banks own, choose and guide the candidates. Which they do. Remember Paul has said he wouldn't bail the banks out. That's a big no no in the game of politics. Because the powerful financial sector -- Goldman -- will not back Paul or support his candidacy. Why would they? It wouldn't be rational from their perspective.)
And the financial institutions are extremely powerful today. But you can't forget about the oil companies as well -- :)
When Clinton left office he mentioned to David Letterman that oil companies have such a tight grip on the overall economy. And that's why there isn't a free or competitive market with respect to alternative sources of energy. Plus the oil sector is heavily subsidized.
GAS PRICES BOOST EXXON MOBIL PROFITS - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e44TKJ97QQ)
Bill Clinton: How to create a TRILLION dollar industry! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLPpINP5B2w)
buttslinger
03-03-2012, 12:27 AM
I used to think he wasn't really one of us until I saw him in blue jeans.
Silcc69
03-03-2012, 12:45 AM
Kid Rock Endorses Romney - Where Is Fox News? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPyoepqBNnQ&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ&index=6&feature=plcp)
Good find I had NO clue about that one.
Can Romney buy himself victory? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_TraGjgELU&list=UUY8x1K2FMBw-jm-WCPbcHEg&index=23&feature=plcp)
robertlouis
03-09-2012, 05:17 AM
Can Romney buy himself victory? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_TraGjgELU&list=UUY8x1K2FMBw-jm-WCPbcHEg&index=23&feature=plcp)
I'd say that the answer to that is an unequivocal yes - it's the only reason that he's won everywhere so far.
BluegrassCat
03-09-2012, 05:27 AM
As much of a friend to Wall Street as Obama has been, no one can touch Romney, who has deeply burrowed himself up the fat-cat asshole as his donor base reveals.
I'd say that the answer to that is an unequivocal yes - it's the only reason that he's won everywhere so far.
Are you saying the presidency can be bought -- ha ha ha! :)
America has been called a plutocracy. Or rule by wealth. Or do we have what corporate raider Charles Hurwitz said: government by the golden rule. The one with the gold (Mitt, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon etc.,) makes the rules -- :)
Yes, we have elections. But do we have meaningful and profound democracy?
No. Of course not.
The idea and notion of the majority making the decisions should terrify -- and does -- the ruling elite. Or as C. Wright Mills called them: The Power Elite -- :)
buttslinger
03-09-2012, 06:29 AM
One good thing about Romney winning the nomination- Teabaggers are officially exposed as jokes by their own party.
HRC to Romney: Ditch Anti-LGBT Finance Chair:
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/03/10/HRC_to_Romney_Ditch_AntiLGBT_Finance_Chair/
Dino Velvet
03-11-2012, 09:08 PM
If they remake Green Acres Mitt Romney has to be Eddie Albert. Ron Paul can be Mr Haney and Gingrich can be Arnold. Alabama can play Iowa too. Love seeing Romney down South.
http://1389blog.com/pix/Hillbilly-Heaven-logo.jpghttp://www.delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Romney1.png
http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/images/Anim_Homepage.gif
http://media.thestate.com/smedia/2012/03/05/20/29/511-Q0PYm.St.55.jpg
http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/political-pictures-john-cindy-mccain-green-acres-off-lawn.jpg
buttslinger
03-14-2012, 09:55 PM
Romney should have traded in his blue jeans for bib jeans. One thing is for sure. Presidential elections make for the best TV ever.
Romney Flustered By Megyn Kelly Interview On Fox News - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXmhIwI7IEw&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ&index=14&feature=plcp)
buttslinger
03-17-2012, 06:41 PM
Megyn won't suck dick for a measly $250K a year. (that's Hannity's job)
buttslinger
03-24-2012, 04:46 AM
President Etch-A-Sketch
nonnonnon
03-27-2012, 06:29 PM
Will The Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up (feat. Eminem) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxch-yi14BE)
buttslinger
03-29-2012, 07:22 PM
Three Amigos
buttslinger
03-30-2012, 09:34 PM
Voting is what losers do. Winners profit off an election! Call your bookie, on my Knees.........
The Etch-A-Sketching begins
Hesitantly, Mitt breaks with his party on equal pay:
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/11/the_etch_a_sketching_begins/singleton/
Another interesting article from Salon.
Of course most Americans don't know anything about socialism.
Noam Chomsky elucidates -- bottom YT clip -- the core of socialism. Which is rooted in people running their own lives.
We don't know anything about socialism because this is a business-run society.
When Mormons were socialists:
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/15/when_mormons_were_socialists/singleton/
Chomsky on Socialism - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Tq4VE8eHQ)
Interesting. Is it true? Who knows. Anything is possible in politics -- :)
Is Ahmadinejad funding the Romeny campaign? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQo2MdNt-0M)
Mitt Romney, Bully:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/05/mitt-romney-bully.html
Mitt Romney Responds To Bullying Allegations On Your World With Neil Cavuto 5/10/2012 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra2uH5xsk_I)
Romney on Reagan, abortion etc...
The Real Romney? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI)
2004 Mitt Romney RNC interview - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG390fJwi0Q)
buttslinger
05-12-2012, 06:09 PM
Mitt Romney, Bully:
buttslinger
05-12-2012, 06:21 PM
Less than two months ago, to today, look how Romney is surging on the Vegas betting line!!! Should have gotten your bet down then OMK!!! I told ya!
broncofan
05-12-2012, 08:18 PM
I find this story very interesting. Yes, it's one thing if a person did something stupid when they were in high school. But what do you guys think about a President who held someone down and cut off pieces of their hair because they were gay.
I did think Mitt Romney was the most sane, but that's pretty appalling is it not?
I find this story very interesting. Yes, it's one thing if a person did something stupid when they were in high school. But what do you guys think about a President who held someone down and cut off pieces of their hair because they were gay.
I did think Mitt Romney was the most sane, but that's pretty appalling is it not?
His personality type, if true, is usually drawn into business and politics. I should underscore: NOT ALL. But a lot.
Interview with John Dean on Book: Conservatives Without Conscience - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmQuUS1YJg)
broncofan
05-12-2012, 09:19 PM
His personality type, if true, is usually drawn into business and politics. I should underscore: NOT ALL. But a lot.
Interview with John Dean on Book: Conservatives Without Conscience - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmQuUS1YJg)
I haven't watched the youtube yet, but I plan on doing it. You are probably right and I agree not all, but more than average. But I think this is a particularly heinous thing to do; maybe even a bit of an outlier as far as ordinary business and political narcissists and sociopaths go.
I could imagine McCain doing something similar, I can even imagine GW Bush being a part of such a scheme (though perhaps not the one who came up with the idea), but I can't imagine Barack Obama doing something similar. Am I just saying this because I'm a Democrat? Or am I a Democrat because I believe that?
His personality type, if true, is usually drawn into business and politics. I should underscore: NOT ALL. But a lot.
Interview with John Dean on Book: Conservatives Without Conscience - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmQuUS1YJg)
Bloomberg TV's Shannon Pettypiece reports on psychopath executives - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUstdYTtw0k)
broncofan
05-12-2012, 09:31 PM
Amazon.com: Conservatives Without Conscience: John W. Dean: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ixXGeeMhL.@@AMEPARAM@@51ixXGeeMhL (http://www.amazon.com/Conservatives-Without-Conscience-John-Dean/dp/B001G8WNEG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336850841&sr=8-1)
Just in case anyone's interested! Next on my reading list. A good nonpartisan treatise;) on the major problems in the Republican party.
But I always love political treatises that include scientific analysis as a bootstrap to support their political views. Robert Trivers recent book comes to mind, as does the odious/racist The Bell Curve. But I think I'll give Conservatives Without Conscience a look. Nothing wrong with a little psychoanalysis here and there.
Amazon.com: Conservatives Without Conscience: John W. Dean: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Conservatives-Without-Conscience-John-Dean/dp/B001G8WNEG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336850841&sr=8-1)
Just in case anyone's interested! Next on my reading list. A good nonpartisan treatise;) on the major problems in the Republican party.
But I always love political treatises that include scientific analysis as a bootstrap to support their political views. Robert Trivers recent book comes to mind, as does the odious/racist The Bell Curve. But I think I'll give Conservatives Without Conscience a look. Nothing wrong with a little psychoanalysis here and there.
There's another good book by the British writer Jon Ronson called The Psychopath Test. He interviews a CEO who might be a psychopath.... It's frightening because these are by all accounts the most powerful people in our society.
And, too, what character traits would an ideal CEO have to have? Well, a person who could layoff 10,000 working men and women and sleep soundly at night? A psychopath.
And if one examines the internal structure of a corporation -- how it is set up and functions -- it resembles a psychopath. This according to Dr. Robert Hare.
:: Corporation : Clinical Diagnosis (PCLR) :: - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui9C6xVpVf0)
jimbo1974
05-14-2012, 08:52 PM
The bloke is a spastic.
The Rachel Maddow Show - Inappropriate laughter calls Romney sincerity into question - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp6qjI0j4b0&feature=relmfu)
robertlouis
05-17-2012, 07:21 AM
The Rachel Maddow Show - Inappropriate laughter calls Romney sincerity into question - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp6qjI0j4b0&feature=relmfu)
It's actually quite sad and a savage commentary on the available talent in the GOP that this shambling fool turned out to be the "safest" option they could put up against Obama.
Failure of nerve, because if they went by the rhetoric of their core support, Michele Bachmann would probably have been more representative.
Now how scary is THAT?
Prospero
05-17-2012, 01:13 PM
The dirty players prepare to sidestep Romney to smear Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/us/politics/major-republican-super-pac-prepares-to-take-on-obama.html?_r=1
fred41
05-17-2012, 02:26 PM
almost 50 yrs. ago in high school....I'm not in love with Romney but you guys gotta be kidding me.
Prospero
05-17-2012, 05:04 PM
It's gonna get dirty. leaked superpac plan to attack Obama
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/05/17/us/politics/17donate-document.html
If Romney Wins, Will The Economy Win? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJYmYdg1K4E&feature=relmfu)
The Rachel Maddow Show - Romney's bane: Bain - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSxv_ImlnMg)
GrimFusion
05-21-2012, 07:17 AM
I think he's Gordon Gekko.
I think he's Gordon Gekko.
He is.
FBI Public Service Announcement with Michael Douglas on Insider Trading - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvuCGvziCVI)
Gordon Gekko - "I create nothing, I own." - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9mWAxHpeew&feature=related)
Democrats and Bain (http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/democrats_and_bain_2/singleton/)
Executives at Romney's old private-equity firm have donated more to the Democratic Party than the GOP. Why?
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/democrats_and_bain_2/singleton/
An interesting film (documentary) about the heavily corrupt nature of Washington:
Casino Jack And The US of Money - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRqvrHw2G2w)
robertlouis
05-22-2012, 05:54 AM
Democrats and Bain (http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/democrats_and_bain_2/singleton/)
Executives at Romney's old private-equity firm have donated more to the Democratic Party than the GOP. Why?
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/democrats_and_bain_2/singleton/
Because they know Obama is going to win, silly! :dancing:
robertlouis
05-22-2012, 05:56 AM
I think he's Gordon Gekko.
Nah. Gekko only flip-flopped if it gave him an advantage.
Mitt, poor guy, just can't help it.
Prospero
05-22-2012, 11:11 AM
If money plays a significant role in buying electoral success, then an Obama win is less certain this time around. In 2008 the Democrats vastly outspent the Republicans.
Today's NYTimes reports that Romney and the GOP (since the Citizens First win at the Supreme Court) are now likely to match or outspend the Democrats with the growth of super PACS.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/us/politics/romney-narrows-obama-fund-raising-edge.html
robertlouis
05-22-2012, 02:00 PM
If money plays a significant role in buying electoral success, then an Obama win is less certain this time around. In 2008 the Democrats vastly outspent the Republicans.
Today's NYTimes reports that Romney and the GOP (since the Citizens First win at the Supreme Court) are now likely to match or outspend the Democrats with the growth of super PACS.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/us/politics/romney-narrows-obama-fund-raising-edge.html
In politics, the money tends to follow the likely winner. Do these guys know something that the rest of the world doesn't, or is this a case of political wishful thinking overwhelming logic?
Prospero
05-23-2012, 02:49 PM
Some of the coverae that Mr Romney has been getting in the UK Press.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-bain-of-mitt-romneys-life-7778721.html
When Romney Messes Up and Tells the Truth About Austerity:
http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/05/when-romney-messes-up-and-tells-the-truth-about-austerity.html
broncofan
05-28-2012, 03:48 AM
Good article Ben. Austerity is exactly what is exacerbating the recession in a lot of European countries. It depresses demand, resulting in layoffs and lower GDP. It will be interesting to see how Mitt Romney balances common sense about what fiscal policy we should use to get us out of a recession and the Republican hardline about balanced budgets. I don't know how we can balance the budget if we allow our economy to collapse.
robertlouis
05-28-2012, 04:20 AM
Good article Ben. Austerity is exactly what is exacerbating the recession in a lot of European countries. It depresses demand, resulting in layoffs and lower GDP. It will be interesting to see how Mitt Romney balances common sense about what fiscal policy we should use to get us out of a recession and the Republican hardline about balanced budgets. I don't know how we can balance the budget if we allow our economy to collapse.
......which is the downward spiral that the vulnerable Eurozone economies are in, because austerity as a single policy eliminates consumer confidence, reduces tax receipts and stifles growth. The US with its government driven stimulus is just about the only G8 country that has shown any worthwhile signs of recovery, no matter how weak and inconsistent they have been. I despair of the closed minds of our PM and his chancellor with their insistence that their way is the only way when all they are doing is driving us in the UK ever closer to a lengthy and uncertain recession.
And their approach is pretty much what Romney and the Republicans are recommending. You've been warned.
broncofan
05-28-2012, 04:38 AM
......which is the downward spiral that the vulnerable Eurozone economies are in, because austerity as a single policy eliminates consumer confidence, reduces tax receipts and stifles growth. The US with its government driven stimulus is just about the only G8 country that has shown any worthwhile signs of recovery, no matter how weak and inconsistent they have been. I despair of the closed minds of our PM and his chancellor with their insistence that their way is the only way when all they are doing is driving us in the UK ever closer to a lengthy and uncertain recession.
And their approach is pretty much what Romney and the Republicans are recommending. You've been warned.
I agree with everything you say. And you touch on all the sound reasons that is the case. Yet it seems politically safer to do nothing. Our economic failures had everything to do with bad lending regulation, securitization of loans, irresponsible ratings agencies. The world is not in a recession because of sovereign debt, but rather that is the result of unsound banking practices.
Yet I'm afraid it's tough to sell the neo-keynesian argument of how to deal with recession.
Good article Ben. Austerity is exactly what is exacerbating the recession in a lot of European countries. It depresses demand, resulting in layoffs and lower GDP. It will be interesting to see how Mitt Romney balances common sense about what fiscal policy we should use to get us out of a recession and the Republican hardline about balanced budgets. I don't know how we can balance the budget if we allow our economy to collapse.
Broncofan, you should enjoy this:
The Business of Government is not Business - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvNMk3lTJ4o&feature=plcp)
Does Mitt Romney Understand Economics? (http://reason.com/archives/2012/05/31/does-mitt-romney-understand-economics)
The GOP frontrunner's comments about Bain Capital suggest a shallow understanding of basic economics.
http://reason.com/archives/2012/05/31/does-mitt-romney-understand-economics
Bilderberg 2012: were Mitt Romney and Bill Gates there?
Another conference over. Charlie Skelton talks to some of the 800 activists outside the gates to find out what they learned:
(This sorta borders on conspiracy kookiness but what the hell... ha ha! :))
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/jun/05/bilderberg-2012-chantilly-occupy?newsfeed=true
robertlouis
06-08-2012, 02:43 AM
Bilderberg 2012: were Mitt Romney and Bill Gates there?
Another conference over. Charlie Skelton talks to some of the 800 activists outside the gates to find out what they learned:
(This sorta borders on conspiracy kookiness but what the hell... ha ha! :))
I was staying at the Bilderberg Hotel in Amsterdam around ten years ago when big guys in dark glasses and suits arrived and we were all moved immediately - almost like a forced evacuation - to other hotels nearby. The Bilderberg conference was in town. I don't know if it always happens like that, but I'll always remember the arrogance and fuck you attitude both of those attending and their minions.
Prospero
06-08-2012, 10:50 AM
It's what power does Robert. i was in Beijing and took time out from work to visit the Forbidden City. A Chinese VIP arrived with guys in dark suits and dark glasses and they literally pushed tourists out of the way to allow their VIP through.
Fox News Rips Romney Olympics Gaffe - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbyGcerFDho&feature=plcp)
Mitt Romney: Universal Healthcare is Great...For Everyone But America! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UIA-0oqUOc&feature=plcp)
He should maybe come out as a no tax guy -- :) Ya know, simply say: I believe in perfect capitalism. Meaning: no taxes.
That would completely change the discourse of the presidential campaign.
But he does believe in government. He believes in government that serves the interests of the top 0.01 percent.
A government that serves the super-rich is a government that works well. (And, too, a lot believe that government should run and operate like the so-called free market. Meaning: you should be able to buy your government. I mean, if you're a billionaire why can't you buy the government that you want? I mean, I thought America is a free market paradise. So, why should government be excluded from the free market. You know, elections and so-called democracy go AGAINST free market capitalist orthodoxy. It's absurd that the mega rich can't just buy their government.)
Harry Reid is Right to Question Mitt Romney's Taxes - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EdvoCP1L80&feature=plcp)
Prospero
08-06-2012, 10:06 AM
Great piece about Mormonism in the very latest New Yorker. Key point is what a perfect fit it is for the American right... with its uniquely American series of revelations. According to the Mormons Jesus even stopped off in America before heading home to be with God the father.
Prospero
08-07-2012, 08:40 AM
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/08/13/120813crat_atlarge_gopnik?currentPage=all
Stavros
08-24-2012, 08:24 PM
Reviving the 'Birther' controversy in Michigan; but has Romney proved he was born in the USA?
Romney says he was never asked about his birth certificate - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg8DwAj-QLU&feature=BFa&list=UUupvZG-5ko_eiXAupbDfxWw)
Not entirely sure if Mitt is a moderate anymore. He seems to have embraced the far right positions of his ol' Party....
Mitt Romney Flip Flops AGAIN on Birth Control & Abortion - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZL5pJZMtfk&feature=plcp)
Romney and Trickle Down Economics:
Romney and Trickle Down Economics - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKqiQmatd0c&feature=plcp)
Glenn Hubbard, a key economic adviser to Romney, talks about economic growth....
As the Canadian scientist David Suzuki points out: "... this constant demand for growth is suicidal."
But corporations, because of their legal responsibilities, need to keep growing and growing and growing.
You simply cannot have INFINITE growth on a FINITE planet.
The End of the world! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebNAPfndI0k)
David Suzuki Talks Biodiversity - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3df8RVIBVk)
Mitt Romney Abortion Views - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF-VTzIEy7k&feature=plcp)
Silcc69
09-01-2012, 04:51 PM
Not entirely sure if Mitt is a moderate anymore. He seems to have embraced the far right positions of his ol' Party....
Mitt Romney Flip Flops AGAIN on Birth Control & Abortion - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZL5pJZMtfk&feature=plcp)
Samething that happened to McCain in 08.
buttslinger
09-01-2012, 06:44 PM
no no no....don't touch me!!! he he
Ann Romney donated money to Planned Parenthood in the past, Romney believes whatever they tell him to believe.
Bain’s secret bailout (http://www.salon.com/2012/08/30/bains_secret_government_bailout/)
Rolling Stone reveals the government deal that saved Mitt Romney's career:
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/30/bains_secret_government_bailout/
If Romney Is Leading In 2 Weeks He'll Probably Win Election:
If Romney Is Leading In 2 Weeks He'll Probably Win Election - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE7m8xryR5A&feature=plcp)
American women don’t want Romney-Ryan “up in their business”: (http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2012/08/american-women-dont-want-romney-ryan-up-in-their-business/)
http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2012/08/american-women-dont-want-romney-ryan-up-in-their-business/
Mitt Built It: Bain & Company Got FDIC Bailout to Stay Afloat! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4JRfMCida4&feature=plcp)
CNN: During Vietnam, It Was Brave of Mitt Romney to be in France - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGKWSRBQRqY&feature=plcp)
SHOCK VIDEO: Romney Lying About Millions of Dollars, Admits to Scamming! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnyRHfvAKD0&feature=plcp)
Winkle
09-07-2012, 10:35 PM
Good article Ben. Austerity is exactly what is exacerbating the recession in a lot of European countries. It depresses demand, resulting in layoffs and lower GDP. It will be interesting to see how Mitt Romney balances common sense about what fiscal policy we should use to get us out of a recession and the Republican hardline about balanced budgets. I don't know how we can balance the budget if we allow our economy to collapse.
Things are bad here in the UK with our austerity plan, it bogles my mind that some Americans want to follow suit. With Romneys views on Russia, WW3 doesn't look that far away......
How Mitt Dodged the Draft
by H. BRUCE FRANKLIN
May 1966. Mitt Romney is just finishing his first—and only—year at Stanford. I’m a 32-year-old ex-Strategic Air Command navigator and intelligence officer, now an associate professor in Stanford’s English Department and something of an anti-Vietnam War activist.
About a quarter of a million young American men are already being abducted each year to fight the rapidly-escalating Vietnam War. Many college students, however, are protected by their 2S student deferments, which blatantly discriminate against all those millions of other young men unable to afford college. As if this privileging of the relatively privileged were not sufficient, an outcry about “inequity” arises from administrations of some elite universities. Since the 2S deferment is contingent on relatively high class rank (meaning, of course, academic class rank), they argue that this unfairly discriminates against some of the “best” students, i. e., all those attending schools like Stanford. A man in the bottom quarter at an elite university might end up being drafted, even though he might be more “intelligent” than a man in the top quarter of some state college.
To address such claims of injustice, the Selective Service was rolling out that month the College Qualification Test, a.k.a. the Selective Service Examination, an “objective” assessment of each test taker’s verbal and mathematical skills, to be used by local draft boards, together with college grades and class rank, to determine who was entitled to that precious 2S deferment and who should be shipped off to Vietnam. But this deferment test actually spotlighted the true inequities of the draft. It also offered an opportunity for direct action against the war itself, right on the college campus.
One of the many myths that have buried the true history of the Vietnam War is that the anti-war movement was motivated by selfish desire, especially among college students, to avoid the draft (a view that conveniently ignores the movement’s throngs of female participants, whose gender automatically exempted them from the draft). Quite to the contrary, students demonstrating against the draft deferment tests were specifically undermining and targeting their own privileges and exemptions, which, as they passionately argued, came at the expense of poor and working class people. At Stanford, a number of people actually disrupted the test. The young men involved thus proved that their goal was not to avoid the draft but to end it, since they had been explicitly warned that their actions would jeopardize their own deferments. When students filed in to take the Selective Service test, other demonstrators handed them the SDS “alternative test” on the history of U.S.-Vietnam relations. About ninety students organized a sit-in in the President’s office. In a manifesto issued from the sit-in they denounced their own privileged status: “We oppose the administration of the Selective Service Examination . . . because it discriminates against those who by virtue of economic deprivation are at a severe disadvantage in taking such a test. . . . [The] less privileged, Negroes, Spanish-Americans, and poor whites, must fight a war in the name of principles such as freedom and equality of opportunity which their own nation has denied them.” “Conscription,” they declared, has throughout American history “invariably been biased in favor of the wealthy and privileged.”
Enter young Mitt Romney, right on cue, waving a sign denouncing the anti-war students. He, like his fellow almost all-male participants in this pro-war demonstration, fervently argued in support of the war and the draft. But not, of course, for himself.
When Mitt enrolled at Stanford back in the spring of 1965, the official and overt U.S. war (as distinct from the previous forms of proxy, clandestine, and “adviser” warfare waged in Vietnam for more than a decade) had just begun. Operation Rolling Thunder, the sustained U.S. bombing of the north, had started on March 2. The first officially acknowledged U.S. combat units were the Marines who went ashore at Da Nang on March 8 (joining the 24,000 U.S. military personnel already fighting in Vietnam). Draftees were not yet being used in combat. So Mitt and his dad clearly intended the fall of 1965 to be the beginning of a fine four-year career at Stanford for the young man. But Mitt’s last month as a Stanford student was May 1966. Why?
Although the Selective Service Exam radically reduced the chances of college men, especially those with the test-taking skills of most Stanford students, to be conscripted into the Vietnam War, it was no guarantee of long-lasting deferment. There were other, surer, escapes from the Vietnam nightmare. One of the very best was the ministry. In 1966, young men flooded into divinity schools, embarking on careers to be ministers, priests, and rabbis. The Mormons had an even better deal than most religions, because The Church of Latter-Day Saints required each and every one of its young men to become, for at least two years, a “minister of religion.” Thus all Mormon young men could claim deferments as ministers. When the inequity of this arrangement became too blatant, the Selective Service entered into an agreement with the LDS that required the church to specify just one “minister” for each geographical district. Since there were relatively few Mormons in Michigan, and Governor George Romney had considerable influence in the church, Mitt quickly received an official appointment as a Mormon “minister of religion,” consecrated by a draft deferment from the Selective Service. So instead of returning to Stanford, Mitt went off to become a Mormon missionary in France, where he would spend the next two and a half years—while Vietnam became a slaughterhouse for the Vietnamese and many Americans drafted to slaughter them.
So who says that Mitt Romney is inconsistent? After all, what may have been his first recorded public political act was supporting the draft for ordinary Americans, forcing them to participate in a war waged in the interest of his own class.
H. Bruce Franklin is the John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies at Rutgers University.
Is there really a difference between, say, Romney and Bill Clinton?
We demonize Romney for making boatloads of cash. But then seem to praise Clinton.
However, Billy Boy is makin' boatloads of cash for, um, speaking.... Actually, it's payments by bankers for a job well done as President. Ya know, put in place policies that harm the 99 percent... and really enrich the 0.01 percent. Much like Romney did when he was orchestrating corporate policies at Bain. So, is there a difference between these two:
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/03/politics/clinton-speaking-fees/index.html
buttslinger
09-10-2012, 06:26 PM
Kindness may be the measure of Humanity, but you can measure somebody's cash value down to point zero zero dollars.
Mitt's a good son, good husband, father, has lots of republican friends and does lots of work for the Mormon Church.
But as a politician he signs what Grover Norquist puts in front of him and says what Peggy Noonan writes for him. The only reason he's running is because Big GOP Money decided he was the least offensive of the Republican Stable.
The USA isn't number one because we're all sweethearts, the USA has the greatest economy because we flattened every city in Germany anf Japan and then made friends with them. Kinda.
THE law of nature says the big fish swallow the little fish. So does the law of money. There's another fixed Law of the Universe:
There are no janitors in the republican party.
Bill Clinton:
The Great Deregulator:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_great_deregulator_20120910/
The people at the top (the, say, 0.01 percentile) will do very well under Romney. (Anyway, Romney doesn't concern me. It's the Republican Party -- who are moving more and more to the right. And, too, will Romney bring back the Neoconservatives... into his administration.)
A so-called economy hinges on demand. Demand comes from a burgeoning middle class. The middle class in America is shrinking and shrinking.
So, where does the demand come from?
Well, there's about 300 million middle class in China.
And 200 million middle class in India.
Remember these are transnational companies. They've no allegiance to any specific country. Nor should they.
I mean, why should they rationally care about America or any country for that matter when their objective is profits. I mean, it ain't: we're in business to be concerned about America and American workers.
Romney has to appeal to and show concern for working class and middle class Americans -- and Obama too -- because they vote.
It's acting. It's performance. But their objective is to serve the interests of capital. Not Americans.
Is it worrisome? Yes. But these corporations are rational entities. And when a corporation is rational it doesn't care about borders or people or anything but maximizing money.
Sheldon Adelson's Tax Cut If Romney Is Elected Is... - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzl_n3mJ_nY&feature=plcp)
As Jenna Jameson said:
Porn Star Jenna Jameson: If You're Rich, Vote Republican, Romney - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVe92DB4eGk)
Does this explicate Romney?
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/27/greed/
One should acknowledge that corporate culture does change one.
I, too, found this when I was playing, well, semi-competitive sports. I became aggressive. I, actually, didn't like myself.
Plus the homophobia/transphobia/misogyny was quite rampant, too:
Noam Chomsky has an interesting take on sports:
Noam Chomsky on the role of sports in propaganda-based authority - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1nIHv6P6Q)
pantybulge69
09-21-2012, 07:46 AM
despite koch brothers,special interest lobbyists and casino owners pledging, dishing out 100 of millions to combat obama, it's going to be about the middle class of america,that's gonna decide the true presidency. mitt & co are not going to get away with simply "buying" the presidency.
with a very unfavorable,non-appealing candidate (who has openly said he doesn't care about the very poor)...that's not going to help him win this.
Closer Than You Think: Top 15 Things Romney and Obama Agree On:
http://blackagendareport.com/content/closer-you-think-top-15-things-romney-and-obama-agree
despite koch brothers,special interest lobbyists and casino owners pledging, dishing out 100 of millions to combat obama, it's going to be about the middle class of america,that's gonna decide the true presidency. mitt & co are not going to get away with simply "buying" the presidency.
with a very unfavorable,non-appealing candidate (who has openly said he doesn't care about the very poor)...that's not going to help him win this.
Now, of course, it's merely about who raises the most money. The financial sector backed Obama in '08. Now, it appears, they're -- the financial establishment -- are siding with Romney. As he is one of them.
Does anyone think we live in a meaningful democracy???????
So-called elections are simply about ratifying elite decision-making. Obama and Romney are the elites.
So, by casting our votes we merely ratify that the elites will make the decisions. That's not meaningful democracy.
Much like corporations are elite institutions. As they're run by the elites. Well, the senior executives etc.
As Noam Chomsky pointed out: "Concentration of executive power, unless it's very temporary and for specific circumstances, let's say fighting WWII, is an assault on democracy."
I don't think Americans care that much about democracy. We're too busy watching MOB WIVES and football and baseball.
It's Bread and Circuses. Give the people enough food and plenty of entertainment and they won't give a damn about politics.
ROMNEY AND THE NEOCONS COURT NUCLEAR DISASTER: (http://ericmargolis.com/2012/09/romney-and-the-neocons-court-nuclear-disaster/)
http://ericmargolis.com/2012/09/romney-and-the-neocons-court-nuclear-disaster/
15 Issues This Election is Not About
Neither Candidate
by BILL QUIGLEY
Neither candidate is interested in stopping the use of the death penalty for federal or state crimes.
Neither candidate is interested in eliminating or reducing the 5,113 US nuclear warheads.
Neither candidate is campaigning to close Guantanamo prison.
Neither candidate has called for arresting and prosecuting high ranking people on Wall Street for the subprime mortgage catastrophe.
Neither candidate is interested in holding anyone in the Bush administration accountable for the torture committed by US personnel against prisoners in Guantanamo or in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Neither candidate is interested in stopping the use of drones to assassinate people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia.
Neither candidate is against warrantless surveillance, indefinite detention, or racial profiling in fighting “terrorism.”
Neither candidate is interested in fighting for a living wage. In fact neither are really committed beyond lip service to raising the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour – which, if it kept pace with inflation since the 1960s should be about $10 an hour.
Neither candidate was interested in arresting Osama bin Laden and having him tried in court.
Neither candidate will declare they refuse to bomb Iran.
Neither candidate is refusing to take huge campaign contributions from people and organizations.
Neither candidate proposes any significant specific steps to reverse global warming.
Neither candidate is talking about the over 2 million people in jails and prisons in the US.
Neither candidate proposes to create public jobs so everyone who wants to work can.
Neither candidate opposes the nuclear power industry. In fact both support expansion.
Bill Quigley teaches law at Loyola University New Orleans and is Associate Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Mitt Romney and the myth of self-created millionaires:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/24/mitt-romney-self-creation-myth
How Do You Take Your Poison?
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/how_do_you_take_your_poison_20120924/?ln
robertlouis
09-25-2012, 04:45 AM
Romney is too rational for the Republican Party - Gary Younge in Monday's Guardian.
http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/23/romney-us-presidential-elections-republicans?CMP=twt_fd
trish
09-25-2012, 05:36 PM
The other day Mrs. Romney's plane was forced to land, apparently because of an electrical fire on board.
Talking out loud after the event Mitt wondered why "...the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem. So it's very dangerous." Apparently he never heard about cabin pressure and the lack of oxygen at high altitudes. Worse, Mitt proceeded to explain that letting in more oxygen from outside would have alleviated the electrical fire.
Is this guy stupid or what? The only thing dumber than roll down windows on a jet airplane is trickle down economic theory. Romney and Ryan now have to wear matching Tees that say, "<- I'm with Stupid ->"
natina
09-25-2012, 10:44 PM
Mitt Romney and the myth of self-created millionaires: PART #2
the last video tells it all
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
Mitt Romney and the myth of self-created millionaires:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/24/mitt-romney-self-creation-myth
How Do You Take Your Poison?
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/how_do_you_take_your_poison_20120924/?ln
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134497/-Fox-News-is-about-to-erupt
fred41
09-26-2012, 01:42 AM
The other day Mrs. Romney's plane was forced to land, apparently because of an electrical fire on board.
Talking out loud after the event Mitt wondered why "...the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem. So it's very dangerous." Apparently he never heard about cabin pressure and the lack of oxygen at high altitudes. Worse, Mitt proceeded to explain that letting in more oxygen from outside would have alleviated the electrical fire.
Is this guy stupid or what? The only thing dumber than roll down windows on a jet airplane is trickle down economic theory. Romney and Ryan now have to wear matching Tees that say, "<- I'm with Stupid ->"
According to the reporter...it was a joke.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/mitt-romney-joke-joking-airplane-windows.html
trish
09-26-2012, 01:53 AM
According to the reporter...it was a joke.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/mitt-romney-joke-joking-airplane-windows.htmlThank the Angel Moroni is was only a joke and thank you fred for the correction. If HA would let me, I'd delete the post.
fred41
09-26-2012, 02:48 AM
Thank the Angel Moroni is was only a joke and thank you fred for the correction. If HA would let me, I'd delete the post.
Your welcome Trish.
I try to follow the physics/religion debate between you and Jamie but it's a bit over my head. I do believe you clearly won the debate about religion in the "Discussion" section of the site a while back.
(...just say you got the Romney story from a set of golden plates buried in your back yard and it's all good..)
Prospero
09-26-2012, 12:01 PM
Hey tea party supporters. Why look, your spiritual fathers, the Koch brothers, are joint fourth on the richest people in America list.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#page:1_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20 industries_filter:All%20states_filter:All%20catego ries
Prospero
09-26-2012, 12:04 PM
And the Waltons from Arkansas who champion anti-union rights in education are high up there too - along with the casino boss Sheldon Adelson who has pledged all the money Romney needs to win the election.
Prospero
09-26-2012, 07:21 PM
Hopefully your guys will keep the President and dump the guys who've blocked everything since the midterms.
buttslinger
09-28-2012, 02:06 AM
Four score and seven years ago -Abraham Lincoln.
I wanna be rich and famous -Mitt Romney
Beck: A Romney Victory Is The Work Of God:
Beck: A Romney Victory Is The Work Of God - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDv-X8d-RKk)
robertlouis
10-03-2012, 04:38 AM
Beck: A Romney Victory Is The Work Of God:
Beck: A Romney Victory Is The Work Of God - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDv-X8d-RKk)
And Beck is the work of God only knows what....
The Reaganization of Romney
The Reaganization of Romney - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDirtEUtcLg&feature=plcp)
US Politics: Illusion of Choice...
RT: "Abby Martin interviews Bruce Dixon of the Black Agenda Report about the state of American politics and the false illusion of choice when it comes to electing our leaders."
Addendum (from me -- :)): Under Dems Wall Street do better. And, too, Obama is more bellicose than Bush. Bush, I believe, is a moderate. Cheney, the de facto President, was the hawkish one. That doesn't excuse ol' Bush....
US Politics: Illusion of Choice | Interview with Bruce Dixon - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4VtUYIO0s&feature=plcp)
sexyasianescorts
10-05-2012, 06:19 PM
I think that if Romney gets in he is going to cause you guys all sorts of political problems with other countries. However Obama needs to realise that you cannot spend your way out of an economic crisis!
thombergeron
10-05-2012, 09:45 PM
However Obama needs to realise that you cannot spend your way out of an economic crisis!
Why not? The current rate on 10-year U.S. treasuries is 1.732% That's pretty much exactly the current rate of inflation in the U.S.
Lenders are currently willing to loan funds to the U.S. government for free. Why would we not take that free money and use it to employ people in public works?
trish
10-05-2012, 10:05 PM
Lenders are currently willing to loan funds to the U.S. government for free. Why would we not take that free money and use it to employ people in public works?Exactly:iagree::iagree:
broncofan
10-06-2012, 01:21 AM
Romney needs to realize that you cannot tighten fiscal and monetary policy during a recession. The national debt has not been the cause of our current crisis but in part (that part that has grown) a result of the severe recession. One needs to carefully calibrate the use of tax benefits that do not cost too much revenue and useful spending as a stimulus.
But recessions are often exacerbated by a lack of demand. There is a limit to how much you can encourage capital owners to produce without customers with disposable income to sell to. If there is nothing fundamental underlying the economic crisis and it continues because of low consumer confidence and little new home development then you absolutely need to spend your way out of it. By tightening fiscal and monetary policy right now you paralyze the system. Thombergeron is right, the government should increase the size of its own workforce; they not only get useful things done with a low borrowing rate but they employ people and this is crucial to breaking the cycle of continued depressed demand.
Maybe Romney should listen to the Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein. I don't support her or the Green Party. But we certainly need a viable 3rd. -- or even 2nd. -- party.
I mean, the Republican Party is barely a political party. And the Dems are moving in that direction.
Point being: we need to eradicate the stark democratic deficit. The democratic deficit is: the wide gap between American public opinion and American public policy. Public policy does not reflect public opinion.
American public opinion is way to the left of both the Dems and the Republicans. But, of course, they don't serve the American people. They serve corporate power. Which Americans know -- and understand.
More parties would hopefully address this longstanding democratic deficiency....
Politics and Money: Jill Stein Offers Green Party's Solution to U.S. Economic Issues - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5r8qWwBChY)
Or even Rocky Anderson:
Rocky Anderson "Obama Has Betrayed The American People On The MIC, Afghanistan, Medical Marijuana... - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apZ5fVHR9j8)
Prospero
10-06-2012, 05:44 PM
This is a review from a british newspaper of a book I've been reading these last few days - which has made my bleak view of your American future even more bleak. A collective insanity now seems to grip a large part of the US population - many of whom would put back into power the very people who took your nation and the world to the brink of economic disaster and who will, if returned to power, topple it further towards catastrophe with their still greater ideological fervour.
This review gives only a hint of the appalling situation its' author chronicles - further evidence of what most people here feel and fear (though the rabid ideological right wingers where will scoff. Anything that challenges their headlong tumble into a collapse of civilisational values is simple "lies" by the Liberal media - the loathed elite).
Pity the Billionaire by Thomas Frank - review
The evil roots of the American right
Does anyone know how truly evil Ayn Rand was? I once tried, a long time ago, to get through Atlas Shrugged, but gave up pretty quickly, on the grounds that life was too short to spend a chunk of it in the company of a wicked lunatic who can't write "bum" on a wall. So I missed this bit, summarised here by Thomas Frank, who has read the book so we don't have to: at one point, in what would appear to be the most clunking symbolism, a train crashes because – this is always happening on trains – a powerful politician insists on the crew driving into a dangerous tunnel.
"And then, in a notorious passage, the narrator goes through all the other passenger cars on the train and tells us why each casualty-to-be deserves the fate that is coming to him or her. One of them, she points out, received government loans; another doesn't like businessmen; a third is married to a federal regulator; a fourth foolishly thinks she has a right to ride on a train even when she doesn't personally own the train in question."
I am going to trust Frank's precis; it certainly does not contradict what I already knew of Rand's opinions, even though it seems improbably extreme. (But it's not. It really is in the book, and our own George Monbiot was recently denounced by a Randian – frighteningly, former ambassador George Crawford – for taking issue with the passage. The problem with Rand is that she is still hugely popular among Americans of certain political convictions. This is also our problem, too, as Frank, in his astute assessment of her, shows.
The title and subtitle of his book give you a pretty good idea of what to expect: a horrific catalogue of the Tea Party's hijacking of populist outrage at the crash of 2008, when audiences were invited – in true Randian fashion – to save their pity and their sympathy for the very architects of that crash. There are also plenty of revealing asides. Because we are nice herbivores on this paper, we have been sheltered from, for example, the spending advice given in a 2007 edition of Trader Monthly, which gave as one compelling reason for buying a $300,000 turntable, the opportunity to give "a huge middle finger to everyone who enters your home".
Frank does not pussyfoot around the implications we can draw about the soul of such a person. "A trader was not just an überconsumer but a bullying, self-maximising, wealth-extracting he-man: a lout, in full."
It is, for some chapters, an extremely depressing read, but a very compelling one, and useful to place the otherwise mystifying ascendancy of the Tea Party movement, and its subsequent near-takeover of the Republican party, in context. Frank has a breezy way with comparative history: his description of the differences between how Roosevelt managed the 1929 crash, and how the 2008 disaster was handled, is concise – and enough to make you weep. As, too, is his explanation of how it came about that the Democrats have become so removed from what should have been their grass-roots support. (This, admittedly, is not a phenomenon we are unaware of over here.)
There is hope – the Occupy movement, the reclamation of some level of proper populist outrage (the 99% v the 1%), and – although Frank's book came out too early for this – the astonishing stupidity and crassness of just about everything Mitt Romney has said during his election campaign. Then again, when you have people claiming that universal healthcare is tantamount to communism or euthanasia, or both, or that Europe, in its adoption of "socialism" after the second world war, became, in its entirety, a stranger to freedom of speech and thought ever after; and when you have any number of flat-earthers and Fox news ranters who peddle similar distortions – you really have to worry. This is a deeply troubling book, and at times I felt like the Jewish kids in Howard Jacobson's Kalooki Nights, with their fascination for books about the Third Reich; but as a clear picture of the problem, it's important.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/oct/02/pity-the-billionaire-thomas-frank-review
This is a review from a british newspaper of a book I've been reading these last few days - which has made my bleak view of your American future even more bleak. A collective insanity now seems to grip a large part of the US population - many of whom would put back into power the very people who took your nation and the world to the brink of economic disaster and who will, if returned to power, topple it further towards catastrophe with their still greater ideological fervour.
This review gives only a hint of the appalling situation its' author chronicles - further evidence of what most people here feel and fear (though the rabid ideological right wingers where will scoff. Anything that challenges their headlong tumble into a collapse of civilisational values is simple "lies" by the Liberal media - the loathed elite).
Pity the Billionaire by Thomas Frank - review
The evil roots of the American right
Thomas Frank is a very good writer. All his books are worth reading. Especially What's the matter w/ Kansas?
Papantonio: What's STILL The Matter With Kansas? - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD-IXkcxHTU)
Prospero
10-06-2012, 09:02 PM
His Kansas book was the last one he wrote before this
His Kansas book was the last one he wrote before this
The Wrecking Crew (how the right wing, the ultra right, have effectively taken the reins of government to serve their own parochial interests -- and why wouldn't they, eh? ;)) came out in '08....
The majority of Americans are social democrats -- if you look at public opinion polls -- and big business knows this.
So, unleashing propaganda helps their interests. And ultimately controlling government REALLY helps their interests -- :)
Anyway, it's for our benefit that the Koch brothers, the Pritzker family and the Hilton clan are in charge. Paris for President, anyone -- ha ha! :)
Don’t Feel Bad, Mitt Romney Never Wanted to be President:
http://gawker.com/5970853/dont-feel-bad-mitt-romney-never-wanted-to-be-president
fivekatz
01-13-2013, 01:23 AM
Mitt never had a chance. In order to win the Republican nomination he had to become in his own words a "severe conservative".
What entertains me is the aftermath of the general election defeat and the various reactions amongst the GOP.
Some of them realize that if you demonize people of color, women, LGTB community that you may have trouble with a base mostly made up of the 1% and angry old white folks.
But there are many who think they lost because they did not bash people of color, women, the LGTB community enough and they did not do enough to supress there votes.
The food fight in the party should make for fun TV.
As for Mitt if he ran as the Governor of MA instead of the guy just right of Rick Perry and then tried to swing to the center in the debates he might have had a decent shot at Obama who through no fault of his own was presiding over the worst economy since the Great Depression (fairly well actually) and who had found that his most lofty goals whether they be eliminating Gitmo or creating bi-partsainship were pipe dreams.
BTW I don't by for a minute Tagg's BS about Willard not wanting to be President, the dude ran for 6 years, spent over $40M of his own money in "08" and change positions more often than his underware trying to get the job. He may have never wanted the work but he sure did want the power IMHO.
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