Happy Fry-day, folks! Hope you’ve enjoyed Mr. Terence Trent D’Arby this week.
HOLDING ON TO YOU
*President Obama addresses the 2012 NALEO CONFERENCE this afternoon.
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Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
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Below are excerpts of his remarks as prepared for delivery —
“We’re going to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion. I have a detailed plan that will cut spending we can’t afford, strengthen programs like Medicare for the long haul, and reform our tax code in a way that’s fair and responsible.
“My plan will stop giving tax breaks to businesses that ship jobs and factories overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs and manufacturing right here in the United States of America.
“Now, not only does Governor Romney disagree with this plan, today it was reported inThe Washington Post that the companies his firm owned were ‘pioneers’ in the outsourcing of American jobs to places like China and India. Pioneers!
“Tampa, we don’t need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office. We need a President who will fight for American jobs and American manufacturing. And that’s what my plan will do.”
Romney Would Rescind Obama Immigration Directive
Mr Walser, told The Daily Telegraph: “My anticipation is that he would probably rescind this directive were he to be elected in November.” Mr Walser, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation and veteran US diplomat, said such a decision would be in line with the “very tough” stance taken on illegal migration by Mr Romney so far. After Walser’s comments to The Daily Telegraph, the reporter followed up with the Romney campaign. It refused to repond to his inquiry. But Walser got back in touch with the reporter and begged not to be quoted: “I’ve now had a little conversation with people from the campaign and they are concerned… They would really prefer that if you’re going to quote the Romney position, you get it from someone other than me.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9347335/US-election-Mitt-Romney-likely-to-scrap-Barack-Obamas-immigration-order.html
guilty on 45 of 48 charges
This pediphile thought he was going to get away with making these young boys the victim. Send his azz up the river.
Verdict Reached in the Sandusky trial
A good plan vs. no plan
By Steve Benen – Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:41 PM EDT
.If you read only one op-ed today, I’d recommend this item from Obama campaign advisor Jeffrey Liebman in the Wall Street Journal. It’s tough to summarize the nature of the debate over jobs and its connection to the presidential race in 800 words, but Liebman, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, pulls it together nicely.
The defense of President Obama’s jobs agenda is pretty straightforward: the economy lacks demand, is held back by public-sector layoffs, and desperately needs infrastructure investments, and the White House plan addresses exactly what’s ailing us. But what stands out is Liebman’s assessment of the president’s challenger.
What would Gov. Romney do to create jobs now? In a word, nothing. In fact, the proposals he has put forward would slow the recovery, reversing the gains we have made since the recession ended.
Gov. Romney himself has acknowledged that excessive spending cuts can have a damaging impact on the economy…. If Gov. Romney is correct about the impact of spending cuts, then the House budget, which cuts spending by $187 billion in 2013 relative to the president’s budget, would reduce economic output by about 1%. That would shrink employment next year by more than one million jobs.
The rest of Gov. Romney’s economic agenda — $5 trillion in deficit-increasing tax cuts with no plausible path to pay for them, divesting from clean energy, and repealing rules of the road for Wall Street — would almost certainly undermine confidence in the U.S. economy and reduce employment further. But even if you dismiss this risk, what is clear is that there is no plausible argument for how Mr. Romney’s policies would address the jobs crisis we face today.
That strikes me as unambiguously true. In fact, in my dream, head-in-the-clouds, hopelessly-naive vision of how the 2012 presidential race should play out, voters would be presented with two competing options on the nation’s top issue: Obama would explain the economic benefits of his plan, while Romney would highlight the benefits of his plan.
Voters would consider the two options and choose the superior plan.
Of course, at least at this point, that’s impossible — not because voters wouldn’t bother to evaluate two competing economic agendas, but because Romney doesn’t dare offer a detailed plan. As Ari Berman recently put it, “Obama Has a Jobs Plan. Romney Doesn’t.”
——————————————————————————–
This isn’t to say Romney’s platform is a complete mystery. We know from his speeches, ads, and website what he intends to do in a general sense: roll back access to health care, slash taxes, increase military spending, relax Wall Street safeguards, expand oil drilling, etc. The Republican candidate avoids specifics and policy details, but we can analyze Romney’s intended plan based on the broad outline.
We can also take what we know and determine whether Romney’s approach would lower unemployment. There’s no great mystery here: while independent analysis found Obama’s Americans Jobs Act would create as many as 1.9 million jobs in 2012, independent analysis also finds that Romney really doesn’t have a jobs plan at all.
As Greg Sargent recently talked to two nonpartisan economists about Romney’s stated goals.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/22/12359311-a-good-plan-vs-no-plan?lite
Will Text-Message Contributions Save Obama’s Reelection Effort?
by Miranda Green Jun 22, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
A new FEC ruling opens the door for political contributions by text message. Miranda Green on why the shift favors small donors—and the president.
In the summer of 2008, Barack Obama texted an estimated 3 million phone numbers to announce Joe Biden as his new running mate. The unprecedented move solidified cellphones as critical political tools.
Jae C. Hong / AP Photo ; Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Now the Federal Election Commission’s ruling to allow text-message contributions to political candidates again puts mobile technology at the forefront. Politicians and advocacy groups vow that the new technique will make doling out money easier for individuals and collecting money cheaper for candidates. And analysts say the real winner will be Obama, who will gain another edge in small-donor contributions.
“The opportunities are there for both candidates to gain equally, but the Obama campaign has a demonstrated record of success in using new technologies,” says Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group. “And given what we know about Obama, he would benefit the most.”
The president’s team has built on the 2008 campaign by sending untold numbers of “personal” text messages to presumed supporters.
“My gut tells me that the Democrat side is slightly more advanced in using technology, and that has to do with list development and their cohesive early start,” says Alex Patton, a Republican campaign strategist. “They have been developing their list over the last six years, and [Mitt] Romney’s just now kicking it into gear.”
The FEC’s unanimous ruling last week opened the doors for political candidates to gather money through a single text message. Supporters will be able to donate between $10 and $50 a month when the service is up and running in the coming weeks.
“The simplicity of making a small contribution using a device that most of us carry in our pockets is the chief virtue of these contributions,” says Paul Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. “Not everyone is invited to big-dollar campaign fundraising events. This is a really low-cost way for candidates to engage with the average person.”
Watchdog groups advocated for the ruling, saying text contributions will give candidates more venues to raise money and let individuals play a larger role in campaign fundraising. Both the Romney and Obama camps also pushed for the use of the tool.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/22/will-text-message-contributions-save-obama-s-reelection-effort.html
3 Chics can’t REPOST Enough on this issue:
Today’s Washington Post lays out Mitt Romney’s jobs record: as the head of Bain Capital, Mitt Romney owned companies that were early pioneers in the outsourcing and offshoring of American jobs.
We already knew that Mitt Romney plans to create a whole new incentive to ship jobs overseas, by completely eliminating US taxes on foreign profits earned by US companies. Now, we know why: he’s made a career out of shipping American jobs all over the world. This goes to the heart of the defining issue in this race – which is why so many bloggers are already focusing on this critical issue:
· Randy Johnson, a former employee of Ampad until it was closed by Bain, writes in Penn Live ”Romney and his buddies play by their own rules“ http://bit.ly/LGTvsq
· Blogging Blue:“If you’re a fan of large corporations maximizing their profits by undercutting the economic security of the middle class and shipping their jobs overseas, then Mitt Romney is most definitely the presidential candidate for you.” http://bit.ly/MoVvXc
· The Reaction: “It’s not that Romney has made a fortune. This isn’t about punishing the rich or criticizing capitalism. It’s about how Romney made a fortune, about criticizing a certain strain of capitalism that makes the rich richer at the expense ofeveryone else.” http://bit.ly/MoVuSR
· Liberal OC:“Unfortunately for Romney the jobs he specialized in creating were located overseas and replaced the jobs of American workers.” http://bit.ly/MAbZ0X
· Democracy Now:“Bain’s holdings spanned a number of firms that were known as pioneers in the practice of sending jobs to call centers and factories making computer parts abroad.” http://bit.ly/MchAM0
· Balloon Juice:“But also because the public deserve an honest discussion of issues around globalization and what it means to make a company more efficient… If Romney’s time at Bain Capital isn’t “fair game”, then I don’t know what is.” http://bit.ly/O0K4Jn
· Bark Bark, Woof Woof:“Let’s see him weasel out of this one.” http://bit.ly/KDh2P4
· Plunderbund: “If Kasich and Romney truly want to see the practice of outsourcing ended, they should tell us were they stand onrecent legislation to end government contracts and other assistance to firms that send jobs overseas.” http://bit.ly/MBSpPZ
· Think Progress:“As one of Romney’s former partners put it,”I never thought of what I do for a living as job creation…The primary goal of private equity is to create wealth for your investors.” And that’s what Bain did, even if it meant helping companies move operations to the same countryRomney now blasts for stealing American jobs.” http://bit.ly/LGTbtO
· Nevada Progressive: “Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated with the failure of Congress to agree to anything to help boost the economy. And asMitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital comes into clearer view, he’s not being viewed as the “economic messiah” many pundits assumed he would.” http://bit.ly/MdUHG6
· Blue Mass Group: “The fact that Bain was actively involved in businesses that were not just shipping their own jobs overseas, but whose entire business model was to help other companies do so – well, that speaks volumes.” http://bit.ly/MBScML
· Greg Sargent: “In the past, Romney has dismissed criticism of his Bain years as an assault onfree enterprise itself. But that might be a trickier case to make this time, because Romney himself has criticized the impact outsourcing has had on theAmerican economy.” http://wapo.st/Ns3fKV
· Steve Benen:“Romney would have voters believe criticism of his vulture-capital firm is somehow evidence of hostility towards capitalism, but this morning, that leaves the Republican in the untenable position of saying profits are more important than people, and investors are more important than American jobs This one’s going to leave a mark.” http://on.msnbc.com/MBRXRD
ROMNEY “RESPONDS:”
From Think Progress:
“Rather than dispute the substance of the article, the Romney campaign has responded to the Post piece by parsing words, claiming that the story is “fundamentally flawed” for not differentiating between the technical definitions of “outsourcing” and “offshoring”
http://bit.ly/Lo30QF
Romney Doesn’t Dispute He Helped Send Jobs Overseas, Tells Press To Call It ‘Offshoring’ Not ‘Outsourcing’
By Pat Garofalo and Igor Volsky on Jun 22, 2012 at 12:25 pm
The Washington Post reported today that Bain Capital, the private equity firm Mitt Romney headed for 15 years, invested extensively in companies that moved jobs overseas to low-wage countries like China. The practice contradicts the rhetoric of candidate Romney, who since announcing his presidential ambitions, has criticized government policies that have led to jobs, particularly those in manufacturing, moving offshore.
Rather than dispute the substance of the article, the Romney campaign has responded to the Post piece by parsing words, claiming that the story is “fundamentally flawed” for not differentiating between the technical definitions of “outsourcing” and “offshoring”:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/06/22/504690/romney-doesnt-dispute-he-helped-send-jobs-overseas-tells-press-to-call-it-offshoring-not-outsourcing/
* In five key 2012 battlegrounds, a new poll from Latino Decisions finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney by 36 points, 63% to 27%. In Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, Obama’s lead is even larger.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/
Mitt, you cannot win without the LATINO vote. Or are you going to buy them ALL?
Flawed Voter Purge Underway In Georgia
By Josh Israel on Jun 22, 2012 at 8:59 am
One of the most troubling aspects of Gov. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) likely illegal attempt to purge people his administration said were non-citizen voters from the voter rolls was the error-riddled list of alleged non-citizens on which it relied. Though the Scott administration told election supervisors that it had a list of “sure-fire” non-citizens, hundreds proved to be naturalized — or even natural-born U.S. citizens. A new voter purge effort in Georgia is running into the same problem: bad data.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that after a state-level investigation, Fulton County, Georgia identified at least 2,400 voters it believed to be registered to vote at vacant lots. Like with the Florida purge, county elections officials began sending letters to those voters to determine whether they lived at those address. Unfortunately, as with Florida, they ran into a major problem:
State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, has cried foul, citing the county’s embarrassment when it sent letters to residents of a senior high-rise earlier this month telling them that their building doesn’t exist and that, to prove otherwise, they needed to show up for a hearing. Elections Director Sam Westmoreland apologized, but Fort said the error proves his process is flawed.
Like with Florida, this purge apparently comes within 90 days of a federal election — likely putting it in conflict with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act. Like with parts of Florida, Georgia is covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, meaning this move could require pre-clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice. Like with Florida, the elections department said it was acting on a request from the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp (R). And, like with Florida, this purge could disproportionately affect minority voters — given the racial diversity of Fulton County.
Westmoreland conceded that about half of the people on the list have already responded and shown that they indeed live at the addresses they claim. Fort notes that many of the remaining 1,200 people could also still be legitimate voters.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/22/504370/flawed-voter-purge-underway-in-georgia/
Florida’s Scott ignores Romney’s advice
By Steve Benen – Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:36 AM EDT.
For months, Mitt Romney has been contradicted by Republican governors in key swing states — he’s trying to convince voters to feel depressed and pessimistic; they’re doing the opposite, talking up the improvements in their states’ economies.
The conflict reached a new level with reports that Romney urged Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) to “tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message.”
By yesterday afternoon, the relevant players were denying such talks took place, but whether you believe the accounts or not, it’s worth noting that the far-right Florida governor doesn’t seem to mind stepping all over Romney’s message. Just yesterday, Scott’s state Republican Party sent out a press statement along with this chart, showing the growth in Florida’s private-sector job market.
It was accompanied by text heralding the “increases in job creation and economic growth” in Florida, the drop in Florida’s unemployment rate, and the boast that Florida “is heading in the right direction.”
Of course, the GOP statement credits Rick Scott for the developments, not President Obama, but the point is, the Florida governor wants voters in the nation’s largest swing state to feel great about Florida’s growing economy — and Romney doesn’t.
Remember, it’s not just Florida. Maddow Blog has been documenting the trend for over a month, but as other news outlets pick up on this, we see the examples of conflict between Romney and his ostensible gubernatorial allies grow. The New York Times reports today that the Republican presidential nominee is “on a collision course” with GOP governors in states like Virginia, Ohio and Iowa. The Daily Beast noted the concerns in Wisconsin, too
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/22/12357099-floridas-scott-ignores-romneys-advice?lite
Republicans’ Voter Suppression Project Grinds On
By Jonathan Alter Jun 21, 2012 6:30 PM CT
Mitt Romney was in Michigan this week trying to make it competitive in the presidential election. It’s a steep climb for the native Michigander because President Barack Obama’s auto bailout, which Romney opposed, has helped bring the state’s unemployment rate down by 5.7 points since 2009.
But Romney has a strong ally there: legislation being pushed this month by his fellow Republicans aimed at preventing the nonpartisan League of Women Voters from undertaking the voter-registration drives it has sponsored for nearly a century.
Across the country, the Republicans’ carefully orchestrated plan to make voting harder — let’s call it the Voter Suppression Project — may keep just enough young people and minorities from the polls that Republicans will soon be in charge of all three branches of the federal government.
Yes, both sides try to change voting laws to favor their team. The 1993 “motor voter” law that made voting more convenient by extending registration to the Department of Motor Vehicles helped mostly Democrats. That was at least in the long American tradition of expanding the franchise.
The Republican effort to restrict voting isn’t just anti- Democrat, it’s anti-democratic. No fair-minded person believes the tall tales of voters pretending they were someone else, which have been debunked by the Brennan Center for Justice and others. What fool would risk prison or deportation to cast a single vote?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-21/republicans-voter-suppression-project-grinds-on.html
CEO Romney Helped Outsource Manufacturing Jobs To China, Candidate Romney Routinely Blasts Practice
By Pat Garofalo on Jun 22, 2012 at 10:30 am
During a February speech in Toledo, Ohio, Mitt Romney blasted China for taking American jobs. “They’ve been able to put American businesses out of business and kill American jobs,” Romney said. And that was certainly not the only time that Romney lamented that jobs, specifically in manufacturing, have been moving to China.
“Thirty years ago, America was overwhelmingly the largest manufacturing economy in the world,” he said during a speech in Nevada last year. “This year, China is slated to pass us.” Romney’s jobs plan is also heavy on anti-China rhetoric.
But as the Washington Post reported, Bain Capital, the private equity firm that Romney headed, played its own part in sending jobs to low-wage countries, including China. In fact, Bain “invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India.”
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/06/22/504480/romney-outsource-china/
Why did you have to tell the TRUTH, JOE?
Politico Suspends White House Reporter For Racially-Tinged Remarks About Mitt Romney
VIDEO:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/politico-suspends-white-house-reporter-for-racially-tinged-remarks-about-mitt-romney/
WE SEE YOU, POLITICO. Can’t have da house negro telling TRUTHS about Mittens.
we knew this was coming. Joe’s been telling a lot of truth lately.
Did you see this?
Mary Cheney, the openly-gay daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has married her long time partner Heather Poe. The wedding took place in Washington, D.C., and in a statement provided to The Daily Caller, the former VP and his wife, Lynne, expressed delight that the couple could have their “relationship recognized.”
“Mary and Heather have been in a committed relationship for many years, and we are delighted that they were able to take advantage of the opportunity to have that relationship recognized,” the Cheneys said. “Mary and Heather and their children are very important and much loved members of our family and we wish them every happiness.”
Mary Cheney’s sexual orientation became a national issue when she took flak for supporting the George W. Bush administration despite its stance on gay marriage. Despite his avowed conservatism, her former VP father has openly endorsed gay marriage, lobbying for it recently in the state of Maryland.
Cheney and Poe have two children together. “This is a baby,” Mary Cheney told Glamour Magazine in 2007 about her son Samuel. “This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.”
We at Mediaite would like to extend our congratulations to the newly-weds!
http://www.mediaite.com/online/dick-cheneys-daughter-mary-marries-her-long-time-partner/
YEAH HEAT! CONGRATULATIONS
LeBron James and Miami Heat Throttle OKC Thunder to Win 2012 NBA Championship
Jun 22, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
They did it in four straight. Shrugging off talk of a tight seven-game series, LeBron James led Miami to a 15-point Game 5 blowout of Oklahoma City to seize King James’s first—and the Heat’s second—NBA title.
And that’s it. LeBron James has his ring—121-106, Miami.
It seemed like just minutes ago certain not-great-at-prognosticating commentators were predicting an epic seven-game series. But it’s over. The Miami Heat won four straight. James got his. The Oklahoma City Thunder, while they probably had a long, painful flight back home, can still look forward to years of Western Conference dominance—and a ring or two of their own—if they can keep their supremely talented core intact and grow up just a little.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/22/lebron-james-and-miami-heat-throttle-okc-thunder-to-win-2012-nba-championship.html
What It Will Mean If the Supreme Court Strikes Down Obamacare
—By Kevin Drum
| Mon Jun. 18, 2012 9:34 AM PDT
Two years ago, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the idea that its individual mandate provision was unconstitutional was laughable. There was no case law, no precedent, and frankly, no serious argument that the federal government’s Commerce Clause power didn’t give it the authority to mandate purchase of health insurance if it wanted to. That’s why Democrats didn’t bother looking for a clever alternative—many of which were available—in order to avoid including an explicit mandate in the law. They didn’t think they needed to. Of course it was constitutional. Even Randy Barnett, the law professor who popularized the activity/inactivity distinction that opponents latched onto as their best bet against the mandate, initially didn’t really think it was anything but a long shot.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/06/clock-ticks-down-whether-weve-entered-new-era-american-politics
THIS.ALL.OF.THIS
Taliban Attack at Resort Hotel Near Kabul Kills 20
QARGHA LAKE, Afghanistan — Twenty people were killed when seven Taliban militants shot their way into a much-visited lakeside resort here and took scores of hostages during an 11-hour siege, Afghan officials said on Friday.
The 20 victims included the hotel’s manager, several private security guards and a police officer, officials said, and the seven attackers died as Afghan security forces battled into the compound. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Afghans drank alcohol there and that there was prostitution and dancing. “These acts are illegal and strictly prohibited in Islam,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman. He added that: “Women dancers were sexually misused there.”
Police officials described the sprawling resort at Qargha Lake and the Spozhmai Hotel, where the drama unfolded, as a daunting place to mount a rescue operation because it is wooded and provides easy cover for attackers. “There are lots of trees; it’s like a jungle, which makes it difficult for us to spot the attackers,” said a security official as the siege unfolded. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the news media.
In addition to the main hotel, the resort includes at least one other hotel and numerous small cottages.
“The Afghan security forces managed to evacuate 250 to 300 customers at the hotel in the initial hours of the attack and in the morning we resumed our operation, and so far we’ve managed to rescue 40 more hostages including women and children,” said General Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul police chief.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/world/asia/26-die-as-afghan-forces-fight-taliban-at-hotel.html?_r=1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet
CHECK OUT THE BLOG ROLL OF MITT’S GREATEST HITS VOL. GAZILLION!
Blue Virginia: “In short, this story utterly demolishes the core of Willard’s argument for why he should be president of the UnitedStates. Unless, of course, you’re a big fan of maximizing profits to corporations by undercutting middle class security and shipping their jobs overseas.”
http://bit.ly/Mbgarj
Eclectablog: “Mitt Romney is not only UNqualified to run the country, in fact, his background makes him uniquely and frighteningly harmful to our country if he ever became president.
http://bit.ly/Nrk6gR
Cognitive Dissidence: “In other words, just like Walker, Rmoney would sell us out in a heartbeat if he thought he couldturn a profit.” http://bit.ly/O44Id1
AmericaBlog: “Romney is claiming that this experience proves he’s a job creator. And in fact, we now know that he was a job creator. In India and China.” http://bit.ly/MdevZX
Dirigo Blue:“WaPo: Romney’s Bain Capital Invested in Companies that Moved Jobs Overseas”
http://bit.ly/MBfYs9
Balloon Juice: “I would have thought they’d have some kind of re-branding strategy, saying that those jobs “self-deported” or something like that.” http://bit.ly/MBfVww
Fair Treatment
View Romney’s stance
President Obama believes our country is strongest when everybody has a fair shot and plays by the same rules. From supporting women in the fight for equal pay to ending insurance company discrimination, the President is working to support a fair economy where everyone—from Wall Street to Main Street—plays by the same rules.
When women make less than men for the same work, it hurts the entire family—especially since mothers are the primary or co-breadwinners in most households, yet still earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That’s why President Obama:
http://www.barackobama.com/our-vote/fighting-for-fairness?source=ssn_20120621_FL_TW_FIGHTING_FOR_FAIRNESS_OTHER&utm_medium=tw&utm_source=ssn_fl&utm_campaign=ssn_20120621_FL_TW_FIGHTING_FOR_FAIRNESS_OTHER
Posted at 08:49 AM ET, 06/21/2012
Obama administration warns federal agencies that monitoring employees’ e-mail could violate law
By Lisa Rein
The Obama administration warned federal agencies Wednesday that monitoring their employees’ personal e-mail communications could violate the law if the intent is to retaliate against whistleblowers.
A memo to chief information officers and general counsels across government from the Office of Management and Budget sets out guidelines from Special Counsel Carolyn N. Lerner that agencies should heed when they consider surveillance of employee communications.
The legal guidance— from the head of the independent office that represents whistleblowers— comes five months after the Washington Post reported that the Food and Drug Administration secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of scientists who warned Congress and others that the agency was approving medical devices they considered dangerous.
The FDA surveillance, detailed in e-mails and memos written by six medical device reviewers, took place over two years as they accessed their personal Gmail accounts from government computers. The FDA took electronic snapshots of the employees’ computer desktops and reviewed documents they saved on their computers’ hard drives.
The scientists have filed a lawsuit against the FDA in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleging that the monitoring contributed to the harassment or dismissal of all six of them. They say the government violated their constitutional privacy rights by reading communications with Congress, journalists, the inspector general’s office and the Office of Special Counsel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/obama-administration-warns-federal-agencies-that-monitoring-employees-e-mail-could-violate-law/2012/06/21/gJQARdWbsV_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_fedinsider
Romney owes nation straight answer on immigration
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Presidents do not get to dodge issues, and candidates for the nation’s highest office should not get into that bad habit. Voters deserve a straight answer from Mitt Romney on whether he would continue President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy or overturn it if he is elected. The Republican danced around the issue over the weekend, and he will have another opportunity to be more candid when he appears this week at a conference of Hispanic officials in Orlando.
Romney bobbed and weaved on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, failing three times to directly answer how he would deal with the Obama policy as president. The new policy Obama announced on Friday allows an estimated 800,000 younger illegal immigrants to remain in the United States legally if they meet certain conditions. They have to have arrived in this country before they turned 16 years old and be younger than 30 years old, graduate from high school or hold a GED, or have served in the military. They must have been here for five straight years and cannot have a criminal record.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1236025.ece
The Slave-Catchers’ Trifecta
22 Jun 2012 Author: The Christian Progressive Liberal
My colleague, Rikyrah, asked me why hadn’t I checked in about former Rep. Artur Davis’ defection to the ReThug Party.
Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought because given what was discovered about Mr. Davis before and after his ill-fated bid to become ‘Bama’s first African-American Governor, the bitterness he displayed after his defeat indicated very strongly to me that he was ripe for recruitment by the Republican Party. So, it wasn’t a surprise to me that he defected parties.
The only surprise is that he did it before former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. Honestly, I think familial ties are what’s keeping Harold in the Democratic Party, because he has just as much, if not more incentive to defect parties as well. He even defended Booker’s remarks against President Obama regarding Bain Capital; could it be that both guys are looking to hook up with other venture capitalists firms that will further jack up America’s economy?
Then Newark Mayor Cory Booker surprised us all by going after the POTUS when the POTUS went after Bain Capital. Well, you can’t say you weren’t warned. Black Agenda Report sounded the warning signal about Booker’s ties years ago; only we dismissed it because Booker represented “New Black Leadership” (whatever the hell that IS), and as part of the “New Black Leadership”, we got distracted by the shiny object he presented. In case you still want to deny you were warned, peep this:
http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2012/06/the-slave-catchers-trifecta/
It’s good to have CPL back. She NAILED these Slave-catcher BIG TIME.
Romney’s history of shipping jobs overseas
By Steve Benen
Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:59 AM EDT.
President Obama’s re-election campaign unveiled a new television ad yesterday, targeting Mitt Romney for having shipped jobs abroad. “[A]s a corporate raider,” the ad says, “he shipped jobs to China and Mexico. As governor, he did the same thing: Outsourcing state jobs to India.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVaw5cTjxmk&feature=player_embedded
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler was unkind in his analysis: “On just about every level, this ad is misleading, unfair and untrue.” Kessler gave the ad “Four Pinocchios” — a rating reserved the most brazen and offensive political falsehoods.
Just 14 hours later, the Washington Post published a very different piece, making clear that the message of Obama’s ad was accurate after all.
Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India.
During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kessler may want to take back some of those Pinocchios.
More important, though, is what a story like this tells us about Romney’s policies and approach to business.
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We’ve known all along that there’s a disconnect between Romney’s experience and his policy goals — he has a background in maximizing profits for his investors, not creating jobs and/or acting to improve the public good. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the former, except to note that it has nothing to do with the latter.
And that’s what makes today’s report documenting Romney’s work moving jobs out of the U.S. so important: it’s a reminder of just how little his private-sector background applies to sound government policy.
Romney would have voters believe criticism of his vulture-capital firm is somehow evidence of hostility towards capitalism, but this morning, that leaves the Republican in the untenable position of saying profits are more important than people, and investors are more important than American jobs.
This one’s going to leave a mark.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/22/12356657-romneys-history-of-shipping-jobs-overseas?lite
He forgot to mention ‘self-deportation’
By Steve Benen
–
Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:00 AM EDT.
We talked yesterday about Mitt Romney’s speech to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and the fact that the Republican candidate still refuses to comment on President Obama’s new immigration policy. But it’s worth pausing to appreciate the fact that this part of the immigration debate wasn’t the only element on which Romney was vague.
Most of the media accounts of the remarks note Romney’s shift in “tone.” At a surface level, that’s certainly true — as Rachel explained last night, during the GOP primaries, the former governor positioned himself as one of the most anti-immigrant competitive candidates in decades, vowing to veto the DREAM Act, endorsing “self-deportation, and palling around with Pete Wilson and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
Yesterday, Romney neglected to mention all of this. What a surprise.
But if he avoided a position on the goals of the DREAM Act, and chose not to address all of the positions he took before securing his party’s nomination, what is Romney’s position on immigration policy? As Adam Serwer reported, “Heading into the general election, Romney’s position on immigration now sounds more like a relationship status on Facebook: It’s complicated.”
The Romney campaign suggested this week that Romney’s speech to NALEO would finally fill in the gaps, making it clear what the candidate would do if elected. If so, perhaps the wrong speech was loaded into Romney’s teleprompter — we still have no idea what he intends to do about the millions of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States.
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Serwer’s report characterized yesterday’s speech as “a parade of sidesteps and distortions.”
For example, Mitt Romney’s web page states that “Illegal immigrants who apply for legal status should not be given any advantage over those who are following the law and waiting their turn. Mitt absolutely opposes any policy that would allow illegal immigrants to ‘cut in line.'” In his speech however, Romney said “As president, I will reallocate green cards to those seeking to keep their families under one roof. We will exempt from caps the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents. And we will eliminate other forms of bureaucratic red tape that keep families from being together.”
Like much of Romney’s speech, this is just vague enough to give the impression that Romney has moderated on immigration policy without making an actual commitment to any policy changes. But does his statement about green cards mean that he’d allow the undocumented relatives of legal permanent residents to stay, which would be a dramatic shift from his prior position? It’s unclear.
Keep in mind, this satisfies no one, on either side of the political divide.
Less ambiguous, however, was the dishonesty driving Romney’s attacks on President Obama. Romney equated the recovery of the early ’80s to today’s recovery, assuming his audience wouldn’t understand the qualitative differences between the recessions’; he said health care reform “depresses job growth” despite all evidence to the contrary; he pretended the U.S. trade agreement with Panama doesn’t exist; and he claimed Obama didn’t act on immigration policy until last month, ignoring the Republican filibusters that killed earlier attempts at legislating.
In other words, Mitt Romney tried to play the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials for fools, hoping they’re not smart enough to know the difference between fact and fiction.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/22/12355715-he-forgot-to-mention-self-deportation?lite
Evangelicals Not Satisfied With Romney’s Vague Immigration Position
Pema Levy-June 22, 2012, 5:35 AM
Mitt Romney’s immigration address before Latino leaders on Thursday didn’t appease one important constituency lining up behind comprehensive immigration reform: evangelicals.
In a speech to The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in Orlando Thursday, Romney said he would “replace” President Obama’s recent immigration policy change with something permanent and a commitment to let young immigrants who serve in the military stay in the country. While touting a commitment to legal immigration, Romney remained vague on what should be done for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country. “I will address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner,” he said without further explanation.
Last week, a coalition of evangelical organizations, many led by Latino religious leaders, formed the Evangelical Immigration Table to mobilize support for immigration reform among the evangelical community and put pressure on legislators to pass reform. Members of the group met last week with President Obama’s staff as well as with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. They told TPM that what Romney laid out Thursday was not enough.
“We want real, you know, muscle and details,” said the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and one of nine heads of the new coalition. “What are we going to do with the 11 to 12 million [undocumented] people here?” he said. “Right now what we lack is details on policy. Everyone is speaking in generalities. We want details.”
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/evangelicals-romney-obama-immigration-reform-naleo.php?ref=fpb
REPOST, REPOST, REPOST
Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas
Tom Hamburger
During the nearly 15 years that Mitt Romney was actively involved in running Bain Capital, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the U.S. to overseas facilities, according to SEC filings.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-that-moved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
Obama for America Senior Strategist David Axelrod released the following statement in reaction to tonight’s story in theWashington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-that-moved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_print.html
“Tonight’s story in the Washington Post exposed Mitt Romney’s breathtaking hypocrisy. He has campaigned all over this country, vowing that he would be an advocate for American jobs. But tonight we learned that he made a fortune advising companies on how to outsource jobs to China and India. Maybe that explains why, despite his campaign rhetoric, Romney continues to support tax policies that would reward companies who send American jobs overseas.”
Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas
By Tom Hamburger, Thursday, June 21, 7:53 PM
Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India.
During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While economists debate whether the massive outsourcing of American jobs over the last generation was inevitable, Romney in recent months has lamented the toll it’s taken on the U.S. economy. He has repeatedly pledged he would protect American employment by getting tough on China.
“They’ve been able to put American businesses out of business and kill American jobs,” he told workers at a Toledo fence factory in February. “If I’m president of the United States, that’s going to end.”
Speaking at a metalworking factory in Cincinnati last week, Romney cited his experience as a businessman, saying he knows what it would take to bring employers back to the United States. “For me it’s all about good jobs for the American people and a bright and prosperous future,” he said.
For years, Romney’s political opponents have tried to tie him to the practice of outsourcing American jobs. These political attacks have often focused on Bain’s involvement in specific business deals that resulted in job losses.
But a Washington Post examination of securities filings shows the extent of Bain’s investment in firms that specialized in helping other companies move or expand operations overseas. While Bain was not the largest player in the outsourcing field, the private equity firm was involved early on, at a time when the departure of jobs from the United States was beginning to accelerate and new companies were emerging as handmaidens to this outflow of employment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-that-moved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html
HERE IS the core of Romney’s argument for why he should be president of the United States. His version of economic growth and job creation maximizes profits by undercutting middle class security. And in case you thought he left those economic values behind at Bain keep in mind: the Romney-Ryan budget touted by Romneyincludes tax breaks and economic rewards for companies that move jobs overseas.
GOP budget will break the middle class
By Tom Perriello, Special to CNN
updated 5:32 PM EDT, Fri March 23, 2012
CNN) — This week, Republicans announced their new budget with a highly produced video full of great rhetoric and patriotic music, but one major piece of Americana is missing — a single mention of the middle class.
The narrator, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, had promised to offer a “path to prosperity” but instead introduces economic policies that represent a dead end for America’s middle class and American manufacturing. Rarely has a budget been so brazen about protecting the richest and most powerful at the expense of the rest.
Ryan, considered by many to be an ideological leader of conservative thought, correctly asserts that this is a moment for America to choose between different futures. He then outlines the conservative vision that Americans have rejected over and over again — increasing U.S. debt through special deals to protect the most powerful corporations and dumping that burden onto the already struggling middle class.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/opinion/perriello-gop-budget/index.html
SNIP
Though Ryan’s plan has deliberately avoided explaining how the tax numbers add up, in order to pay for the massive tax cuts at the top, everyone else would have to pay more. It’s likely that a middle-class family with two kids making about $70,000 a year would pay about $1,150 more in income tax, according to calculations made by the Center for American Progress. That’s an 80% increase over what they pay now, while millionaires will pay less.
http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2012/03/ryan_budget_plan_would_cut_income_taxes_for_millionaires_by_at_least_187000_annually_and_facilitate.php
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning, rikyrah & Everyone! :-)