Happy FRY-day, Everyone! We’re wrapping up Oleta Adams week with…
GET HERE
Romney Invested Millions in Firms That Pioneered High-Tech Outsourcing **
SNIP- In March 1999, shortly after Romney left Bain to take over the troubled Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Brookside Capital Investors Inc., a Bain-related entity wholly owned by Romney, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that listed dozens of companies in which Brookside held a stake the previous quarter. The roster included investments in Singapore-based Flextronics International ($13 million) and Florida-headquartered Jabil Circuit Inc. ($41 million), two companies that were leaders in the fast-growing field of outsourcing electronics manufacturing and offshoring production to low-wage countries. Together, these two investments represented almost 10 percent of Brookside’s $559 million portfolio. Read the rest here at: [Mother Jones]
Obama campaign raises $46M in June; Romney takes in $33M
Mitt Romney’s campaign raised $33 million in June, according to its Federal Election Commission filing on Friday, accounting for about a third of the $106 million Republicans had boasted raising last month.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s haul was his largest monthly total to date, but fell well short of the $46 million raised by President Obama’s campaign during the same period.
Two weeks ago, the Romney campaign boasted its Victory Committee — a combination of the campaign, the Republican National Committee and state committees — had raised $106 million in June. Today’s finance report reflects the likelihood that this total was boosted by a large number of high-dollar contributions to Romney and his allies versus a larger number of small-dollar donations that are seen as indicative of grassroots support.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12861041-obama-campaign-raises-46m-in-june-romney-takes-in-33m?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Federal grand jury probing Rep. Grimm
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:44 PM EDT.
We’ve been keeping an eye on freshman Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican, who’s found himself facing all kinds of trouble in advance of his first re-election bid. This week appears to be a good-news/bad-news situation for the conservative lawmaker.
The good news is the Office of Congressional Ethics wrapped up its investigation of Grimm, and said it will not pursue any formal charges. The OCE makes recommendations to the House Ethics Committee, so this appears to be one less thing for Grimm to worry about.
The bad news is, the House ethics panel isn’t Grimm’s only problem.
A federal Brooklyn grand jury is probing alleged fundraising shenanigans in freshman Congressman Michael Grimm’s 2010 campaign, the Daily News has learned.
The FBI’s public corruption unit has interviewed at least four campaign workers investigating allegations that Grimm accepted illegal campaign contributions, law enforcement sources said.
At least two of those workers have received subpoenas to testify before a grand jury, but both volunteered to answer questions.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12859217-federal-grand-jury-probing-rep-grimm?lite
Romney kept reins on Bain, bargained hard on severance during absence
Shortly after Mitt Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital to run the Olympics in February 1999, he made a trip to Palm Beach, Fla. The firm Romney founded was meeting to celebrate its 15th anniversary as well as the men he had helped make extraordinarily wealthy.
Romney and his partners had decided that, in his absence, five managing directors would oversee the company. And in Palm Beach it became clearer that Romney was unlikely to return — but would retain his title as chief executive officer and sole shareholder.
The Palm Beach meeting, which has not been previously reported, demonstrates the duality of Romney’s role as he parted ways with Bain, an issue that has sparked controversy in his presidential campaign. Romney has said in financial disclosure statements that he “was not involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way” after Feb. 11, 1999. But he was still legally the CEO, with numerous duties and obligations that were his alone, until early 2002.
Interviews with a half-dozen of Romney’s former partners and associates, as well as public records, show that he was not merely an absentee owner during this period. He signed dozens of company documents, including filings with regulators on a vast array of Bain’s investment entities. And he drove the complex negotiations over his own large severance package, a deal that was critical to the firm’s future without him, according to his former associates.
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Related
■Special section: Romney’s record
■More Globe investigations
Indeed, by remaining CEO and sole shareholder, Romney held on to his leverage in the talks that resulted in his generous 10-year retirement package, according to former associates.
‘The elephant in the room was not whether Mitt was involved in investment decisions but Mitt’s retention of control.’
‘He’d created a lot of franchise value, and we were going to pay him for that.’
“The elephant in the room was not whether Mitt was involved in investment decisions but Mitt’s retention of control of the firm and therefore his ability to extract a huge economic benefit by delaying his giving up of that control,” said one former associate, who, like some other Romney associates, spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the company.
Romney had a lot at stake because Bain had become hugely valuable under his leadership. Romney established Bain Capital in 1984, and in the 15 years that followed, the company had invested $260 million in its 10 largest deals (out of more than 100 during that period) and had reaped a nearly $3 billion return.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/07/20/what-happened-when-mitt-romney-left-bain-capital-romney-kept-reins-bargained-hard-severance/ZWC9cWdfp0Oh6KbatsCy0K/story.html#share-nav
Posted at 08:09 AM ET, 07/20/2012
The Morning Plum: Bain won’t detail Romney’s post-1999 role
By Greg Sargent
First off, our thoughts are with the victims of the horrific shooting in Colorado and their families. Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s reactions are right here. This tweet seems worth thinking about:
We don’t have to accept mass shootings as an inevitable part of our culture. We can change this if we discuss it as more than just politics.
And now, on to other news…
*****************************************
Much of the battle over Mitt Romney’s Bain years turns on a simple question: Is it fair to hold Romney partly responsible for — or associate him with — the deals that took place at Bain after 1999, when he continued to be listed as the company’s CEO and chairman, but severed his direct managerial role at the company?
Here’s something that will add to the discussion: Bain is refusing to detail whether Romney played a role in company board meetings during the disputed period.
Post fact checker Glenn Kessler, one of the toughest critics of Obama’s Bain attacks, has taken another deep look at the situation, and has concluded that there’s no basis for saying Romney had no role whatsoever at the company or bears no responsibility at all for its activities. Here’s the key bit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line
Following is the transcript of President Obama’s remarks on the shootings in Aurora, Colo., as released by the White House:
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, let me, first of all, say how grateful I am for all of you being here, and how much we appreciate everything that you’ve done. I know that there are a lot of people here who have been so engaged in the campaign, have sacrificed so much, people who’ve been involved back since 2007. (Applause.) And so I want all of you to know how appreciative I am.
And I know many of you came here today for a campaign event. I was looking forward to having a fun conversation with you about some really important matters that we face as a country and the differences between myself and my opponent in this election. But this morning, we woke up to news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways that we are united as one American family.
By now, many of you know, many of you have heard that a few miles outside of Denver in a town call Aurora, at least 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a movie theater, and dozens more are being treated for injuries at a local hospital. Some of the victims are being treated at a children’s hospital.
We’re still gathering all the facts about what happened in Aurora, but what we do know is that the police have one suspect in custody. And the federal government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice. (Applause.) And we will take every step possible to ensure the safety of all of our people.
We’re going to stand by our neighbors in Colorado during this extraordinarily difficult time. And I had a chance to speak with the Mayor of Aurora as well as the Governor of Colorado to express, not just on behalf of Michelle and myself, but the entire American family, how heartbroken we are.
Now, even as we learn how this happened and who’s responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living. The people we lost in Aurora loved and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers; they were husbands and wives; sisters and brothers; sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.
And if there’s anything to take away from this tragedy it’s the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another. (Applause.)
It’s what we do on a daily basis to give our lives meaning and to give our lives purpose. That’s what matters. At the end of the day, what we’ll remember will be those we loved and what we did for others. That’s why we’re here.
I’m sure that many of you who are parents here had the same reaction that I did when I heard this news. My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater, as so many of our kids do every day? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight, and I’m sure you will do the same with your children. But for those parents who may not be so lucky, we have to embrace them and let them know we will be there for them as a nation.
So, again, I am so grateful that all of you are here. I am so moved by your support. But there are going to be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection.
So what I’d ask everybody to do, I’d like us to pause in a moment of silence for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover, and for all the victims of less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities every single day. So if everybody can just take a moment.
(Moment of silence.)
Thank you, everybody. I hope all of you will keep the people of Aurora in your hearts and minds today. May the Lord bring them comfort and healing in hard days to come.
I am grateful to all of you, and I hope that as a consequence of today’s events, as you leave here, you spend a little time thinking about the incredible blessings that God has given us.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
Quote For The Day II
“The elephant in the room was not whether Mitt was involved in investment decisions but Mitt’s retention of control of the firm and therefore his ability to extract a huge economic benefit by delaying his giving up of that control,” – a former Bain associate to the Boston Globe.
The whole story is a must-read for Bain-wonks. Kessler needs to read this Money quote:
Interviews with a half-dozen of Romney’s former partners and associates, as well as public records, show that he was not merely an absentee owner during this period [1999 – 2002]. He signed dozens of company documents, including filings with regulators on a vast array of Bain’s investment entities. And he drove the complex negotiations over his own large severance package, a deal that was critical to the firm’s future without him, according to his former associates.
Indeed, by remaining CEO and sole shareholder, Romney held on to his leverage in the talks that resulted in his generous 10-year retirement package, according to former associates.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/
Amoore walks back Obama attack
By Chris Brennan
Daily News Staff Writer
Philadelphia Daily News
The FINANCIAL impact, Renee Amoore explained, was painful.
Speaking Monday in LOVE Park for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Amoore said she was forced to lay off 200 of her 500 employees.
The blame, Amoore said, fell on President Obama’s handling of the economy — specifically, increases in federal taxes on payroll, health care and business.
Something there sounded off-kilter. We’ll come back to that.
Amoore, deputy chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party for 16 years, was playing a leading role in Romney’s efforts to shift the focus from his business record to Obama’s time in the White House. The driving message: Obama hands out political payoffs to pals while the middle-class faces layoffs.
Amoore insisted the layoffs at her company, the Amoore Group in King of Prussia, resulted from new federal taxes — not state or local levies — and preached about the problem as a dozen Romney supporters crowded around her to listen and commiserate.
On Tuesday, the Romney campaign hosted a national conference call for media members with Amoore and business owners from three other states to keep pressing the message. Again, Amoore said her business was suffering, citing layoffs.
But on Wednesday, Amoore admitted her claims about Obama and taxes and layoffs in her company were wrong, that she “made a mistake about numbers.”
Amoore explained that her human-resources staff told her the 200 layoffs resulted from programs her company had closed in South Africa, Italy and Greece.
“They’re not related to President Obama and the whole economy thing,” Amoore said.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/clout/163137426.html
MSNBC Responds to Sean Hannity Comment Regarding Al Sharpton
By Alex Weprin on July 19, 2012 2:18 PM
MSNBC is taking issue with a comment Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity made in his interview last night with George Zimmerman. Hannity asked Zimmerman about Al Sharpton, who hosts “PoliticsNation” on MSNBC.
“What do you say to Al Sharpton, and those that rushed to judgment?” Hannity asked Zimmerman.
MSNBC responds:
MSNBC would like to set the record straight following some misinformation presented by Fox News during the interview with George Zimmerman last night. Reverend Al Sharpton never “rushed to judgment,” as stated by Mr. Hannity. Reverend Sharpton repeatedly called for calm and for a more thorough investigation in the wake of the tragic events. Ultimately, the authorities agreed an arrest was warranted.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc-responds-to-sean-hannity-comment-regarding-al-sharpton_b138310
July 20, 2012, 1:04 pm8 Comments
Al Green, Threat to the American Way of Life
Gary Silverman makes a remarkable catch. He asks why the Romney counter-attack on the “America the Beautiful” ad featured Obama singing Al Green, and pretty well too. Well, it turns out that this is how the other .01% think:
One of the better answers I have found comes from a well-known supporter of Mr Romney – Suzy Welch, former editor in chief of the Harvard Business Review, and wife of Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. In an appearance on CNN with her husband, Mrs Welch suggested that Mr Obama’s personal style and choice of musical material define him as a member of a “different America”. I would imagine this is why Mr Romney’s campaign included the snippet of Mr Obama singing “Let’s Stay Together” at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. They hoped it would convey his otherness.
“It’s the difference between the songs that they’re singing,” Mrs Welch said. “Mitt Romney didn’t exactly do a beautiful job on that song, but think about what he’s singing, OK? I mean it’s that patriotic song and he goes all the way through it. Then you’ve got the very cool Barack Obama singing Al Green. That is the two different Americas. Isn’t it?”
How “other” is Al Green? So other, so alien, that, well, he’s included on the Muzak they play in Red Lobster restaurants.
Somebody is alien and out of touch with America here, that’s for sure. But I don’t think it’s the president.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/al-green-threat-to-the-american-way-of-life/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto
Mr. Obama, eh? These fools can’t address him as PRESIDENT Obama. So indicative of their acceptance of him as their PRESIDENT.
The difference Suzy Q is that President BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA was not born to a black man born in America, with all probability, if he had, he would’ve been a descendent of SLAVES. And even if daddy Obama had been born here, his ancestors MADE AMERICA what it is through all that generous LABOR, BLOOD SWEAT, AND TEARS.
Don’t you love it, when white folks try to analyze the President, because he doesn’t fit into their warped, white universe.
July 20, 2012
Romney Claims Dog Ate Tax Returns and Ran Bain Capital for Three Years
Posted by Andy Borowitz
N. H. (The Borowitz Report)—In a new effort to settle nagging questions about his finances, Republican Presidential pick Mitt Romney today told reporters that his dog ate his tax returns and also served as C.E.O. of Bain Capital from 1999 to 2002.
Mr. Romney’s narrative about the Irish setter Seamus Romney, shared with reporters during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, was perhaps the most emotional invocation of a pet by a politician since Richard M. Nixon’s famed Checkers speech of 1952.
“Seamus was more than a dog,” Mr. Romney said, his voice beginning to quaver. “As C.E.O. of Bain, he was a job creator.”
But Mr. Romney’s revelations about his dog’s career in private equity may have raised more questions than it answered, as a spokesperson for People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) questioned the G.O.P. candidate’s latest version of events.
“If we are to believe Mitt Romney, in 2002 while Seamus was supposedly running Bain Capital he would have been at least 140 years old [in dog years],” said PETA’s Carol Foyler. “This shaggy-dog story represents Mitt Romney’s latest act of animal cruelty.”
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/07/romney-claims-dog-ate-tax-returns-and-ran-bain-capital-for-three-years.html#ixzz21BmU7oD9
The president is speaking on the Colorado masacre and offered prayers to all the victims and families.
New Bain questions to dog Romney
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:54 AM EDT.
Though much of the nation’s attention has shifted the tragic overnight violence in Aurora, Colorado, the political world will apparently move forward. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney had already scheduled a campaign event in New Hampshire, and his staff alerted reporters this morning that their plans have not changed.
With that in mind, there are new questions about the candidate’s controversial private-sector background that deserve answers. The Boston Globe has this new report, for example, noting Romney’s ongoing ties to Bain Capital after his departure in February 1999.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12855194-new-bain-questions-to-dog-romney?lite
anyone read 50 Shades of Gray?
it’s the new rage at the office and I’m wondering if I should get it.
No; I haven’t read it. I’m working on my own HOT summer romance with my hubby! LOL
What Did Ann Romney Actually Say?
The quote from this morning was:
“We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life.”
It has now been amended for some reason to erase the “you” from the “you people” phrase. I’ve watched the tape a few times now and I don’t honestly see why the change was made (the “you”, by the way, seems to me to suggest journalists, rather than the masses, so the quote isn’t that damning anyway.) Judge for yourself:
I should add, of course, that the general argument she is making is ludicrous. We shouldn’t ask for more information because Mitt Romney is self-evidently beyond any moral reproach? Why are we all not simply smitten with his pure holiness?
The sheer sense of entitlement of some in the 0.1 percent is pretty gobsmacking at times. I go with the Reagan doctrine: Trust But Verify.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/what-did-ann-romney-actually-say.html
Sorry Andy, you don’t get to tell US BLACK FOLKS that “You People” is not DAMMING. Now had Miss Ann addressed you with “You People” while talking about same sex marriage, GET MY POINT?
The contraception fight makes a comeback
By Steve Benen
Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:16 PM EDT.
For much of the spring, Republicans were quite annoyed by talk of the GOP’s “war on women.” By late April, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had just about had enough and delivered an angry tirade on the House floor. For Boehner and other Republicans, the very idea is trumped-up “fiction,” based on bogus misconceptions cooked up by Democrats and sympathetic reporters.
But if the right wants to see fewer reports about Republican policymakers acting against the interests of American women, then Republican policymakers should stop taking actions that undermine the interests of American women
This spring’s political contretemps over access to contraception are returning to Capitol Hill — and this time Republicans are trying to tie the issue to must-pass legislation, foreshadowing a possible government shutdown standoff unless conservatives back down and temporarily agree to set aside earlier grievances.
House Republicans renewed their effort Wednesday by advancing a measure through the Labor-HHS appropriations subcommittee with a rider to roll back President Obama’s contraception mandate. Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the rule requires employer-provided health insurance plans to cover contraception without co-pays, with carve-outs for churches and religious non-profits. Republicans on the panel defeated a Democratic amendment to strip the provision, suggesting they’re willing to pick the fight.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12837688-the-contraception-fight-makes-a-comeback?lite
WWACD…
By Dennis G. July 19th, 2012
Mitt Romney is a CRAVEN. It really is all you need to know about him.
If you wish to know what Mitt will say or do in any situation or when faced with any challenge, all you have to do is ask WWACD (What Would A Craven Do) and you’ll have your answer.
A woman calls President Obama a “monster” and Mitt is unable to confront her. The best he can manage is to meekly comment that “That’s Not The Term I Would Use…” though his weird nervous laugh. He is afraid of her. He let’s her talk over him and leaves folks watching the clip with the impression that he saw nothing wrong with her comment. His response is a straight up craven move. No surprise. It is the same response he has for all Birthers, racists and crazies attracted to his campaign because they HATE President Obama. There is nothing any of these folks can say that Mitt would clearly condemn. The best he might do is like he did with the “Monster” comment and hope that his deflection accompanied by nervous laughter will be spun as “courage” by a lazy press hoping to keep the horse race competative.
The WWACD standard will accurately predict Romney’s behavior every time something like this comes up.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/07/19/wwacd/
Dan Rather: ‘Quote approval’ a media sellout
By Dan Rather, Special to CNN
A New York Times front-page article Monday detailed a new phenomenon in news coverage of the presidential campaign: candidates insisting on “quote approval,” telling reporters what they can and cannot use in some stories. And, stunningly, reporters agreeing to it.
This, folks, is news. Any way you look at it, this is a jaw-dropping turn in journalism, and it raises a lot of questions. Among them: Can you trust the reporters and news organizations who do this? Is it ever justified on the candidate’s side or on the reporter’s side? Where is this leading us?
As someone who’s been covering presidential campaigns since the 1950s, I have no delusions about political reporting. Candidates bargaining access to get the kind of news coverage they want is nothing new. The thicket of attribution and disclosure deals is a deep maze reporters have been picking their way through even before my time. But this latest tactic by candidates revealed by the Times gives me, to say the least, great pause. It should give every citizen pause.
Essentially, what the Times described was the rapid rise of “quote approval” — a strategy deployed by campaigns requiring reporters to send quotations they intend to use to candidates’ press officers, to be sliced, diced, edited and drained of color or unwanted consequences, and reporters going along, fearing that if they don’t, they won’t get access.
A look at media coverage of Romney’s Bain pain
Here’s how it works: Let’s say a reporter is granted an interview with a senior strategist of the Obama or Romney campaign. A condition for the interview would be that before the reporter could send the story to the editor, he or she would have to agree to submit for approval every quote intended to be used to the campaign press staff.
Let us mark well this Faustian bargain. It is for the benefit of the politicians, at the expense of readers, listeners and viewers. It is not in the public interest; it is designed to further the candidates’ interests.
Political operatives cannot be blamed for wanting this. We, the press, should be held accountable for letting them have it.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/opinion/rather-quote-approval-reporting/
White House To GOP: Stop Whining About Our Welfare Waivers — You Asked For Them
Sahil Kapur-July 20, 2012, 5:31 AM
Republican anger over President Obama’s directive to grant states flexibility on implementing welfare reform has hit the campaign trail, and the White House is offering rankled Republicans a response: Get over it — your own party’s leaders, including Romney himself, asked for those waivers.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote a letter to Republicans (PDF) reminding them of their party’s own prior support for state leniency in implementing welfare reform. She argued that in 2005, Republican governors wanted even more flexibility than Obama is now willing to grant.
“For years, Republicans and Democratic Governors have requested more flexibility in implementing welfare reform so they can meet their states’ specific needs,” she wrote Wednesday to House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-WI) and Senate Finance Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who have unveiled legislation to block the move. “In 2005, 29 Republican governors requested ‘[i]ncreased waiver authority, allowable work activities, availability of partial work credit’ so they might more ‘effectively serve low-income’ Americans. Certain elements of the proposal endorsed by the 2005 Republican governors were very far-reaching and would not be approved under the Department’s proposed waivers.”
Romney, then the governor of Massachusetts, was a signatory to that letter. It was also signed by other prominent Republican governors and recent presidential candidates such as Mike Huckabee, Jeb Bush, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, Mark Sanford, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/kathleen-sebelius-letter-welfare-reform-mitt-romney-republicans.php?ref=fpb
LOL Sound & lokk familiar?
Libor fraud exposes Wall Street’s rotten core
By Elizabeth Warren, Published: July 19
Elizabeth Warren chaired the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel from 2008 to 2010. She is the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts.
The Libor scandal is more than just the latest financial deception to come to light. It exposes a fraud that runs to the heart of our financial system.
The London interbank offered rate is a benchmark for a range of interest rates, and the misdeeds making headlines have to do with how those rates are set. If insiders can manipulate the basic measurement of a loan — the interest rate — there is rot at the core of the financial system.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/elizabeth-warren-libor-fraud-exposes-a-rotten-financial-system/2012/07/19/gJQAvDnDwW_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions
Good Morning, Everyone! :-)
Good Morning, Ametia and Everyone :)