Romney would go after Free Government Money… doesn’t that contradict the Romney who was nominated?

From Mashed Potato Bulletin:

In what could become Mitt Romney’s J.D. Hayworth moment this ABC News video utterly contradicts the Republican presidential candidates calls to severely cut government spending. As with J.D. Hayworth – John McCain’s Tea Party challenger in 2010 who was caught in “Free Government Money” informercial which contributed to his election loss - this video may be the metaphorical topper to the ex-governor’s campaign of flip-flopping. Depending on the coverage it receives, Mitt may have essentially shot himself in the foot.

Listen here:

 

Reviewing the “junk” or “spam” that comes into this blog…

 

Every so often instead of just trashing the entries that Akismet builds up during the course of the say, I take a quick review of where this stuff is coming from. Since I average about 9,500 of these bothersome bits a month, reviewing them is pretty much a waste of time, but it tells me what some people out in the blogosphere are trying to do.

Would you believe that this costs $1500.00?

For the most part they are trying to get free advertising posted as comments to blog entries. Last year the big pushers were porn sites, but this year I am swamped by women’s accessories – primarily Gucci leather products (mostly handbags) and various brands of ladies’ shoes.

Who do these people think this blog serves? Why do they think I’ll post this stuff?

I’d like to think the posters are wasting their time, but since I am sure this garbage is being put out by some kind of automatic list pushed across the web, I doubt that they are taking up anyone’s time at all.

Thankfully, Akismet has a great memory for spammers and removes them immediately. I recommend it highly.

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Tom Brokaw rushed to hospital in Charlotte this morning…

 

The former Nightly News anchor was reportedly transported to a hospital after an appearance on MSNBC‘s Morning Joe. Brokaw felt “light-headed” and taking great caution, he was removed to the hospital for evaluation.

Somewhat later, a tweet came from Brokaw in the hospital laying the blame on a sleeping pill:

“All is well Early AM I mistakenly took a half dose of Ambien and made less sense than usual. Made a better comeback than Giants…”

Brokaw, 72, has been contributing to a number of NBC and MSNBC discussion panels on both the Republican and Democratic conventions. He should be back at it soon.

 

 

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The Republican Guide to Female Anatomy:

 

Hey there folks… ever wonder how the Akins and Ryans and Tom Smiths come to their considered conclusions on rape and incest and the general needs of women?

Why, they have precise technical information like this:

Of course, the statements of “experts” are much appreciated.

My thanks to Rosie Fenton at pic.twitter.com/sReVt96H.

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Cartoon(s) of the Week – Is anything what it seems?

 

Drew Sheneman in the Newark Star-Ledger:

Reasons or excuses… we’re still in the dark…

-and -

Joe Heller in the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

Danger or stupidity… there are so many morons…

-and -

Steve Sack in the Star Tribune:

Evil or evil… there is no difference…

-and -

Jim Morin in The Miami Herald:

Investigation or Reputation… we are known far and wide…

-and -

David Horsey in the Los Angeles Times.

Tuned in or tuned out… communication lost in technology…

 

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Apple Computer may be acquiring Twitter

 

This was on Reuters‘ web site this morning:

(Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) held discussions in recent months about possibly investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Twitter to gain a social networking presence, the New York Times on Friday, cited people briefed on the matter as saying.

The iPhone and iPad maker, which has never delved deeply into a social media space dominated by Facebook Inc (FB.O), at one point considered an investment that would have valued the microblogging service at $10 billion but the two were not in negotiations now, the newspaper reported.

Apple declined comment. Twitter did not respond to requests for comment on the deal, which the newspaper said might presage closer ties between the two.

Let’s keep an eye on this. It could be a big deal.

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A Quote for the Day – Watch what you tweet!

“If you post a tweet, just like if you scream it out the window, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.”

- Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino Jr.

Sciarrino ruled Monday that Twitter must turn over some three months’ worth of data from the account of an Occupy Wall Street protester who is being prosecuted on charges of disorderly conduct.

This raises all new questions about freedom of speech as relates to communication technology and will probably lead to even more extreme rulings in the future.

Today, June 14, We remember our flag…

Happy Flag Day

Mexican author Carlos Fuentes dead at 83

The Mexican writer who received  international acclaim for “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” a novel about a post-revolutionary Mexico, has died in Mexico City.

His other classics included “Aura,” ”Terra Nostra” and “The Good Conscience.” Many American readers know him for “The Old Gringo,” a novel about San Francisco journalist Ambrose Bierce, who disappeared at the height of the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution. That book was later made into a 1989 film starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda.

Fuentes was a contemporary of other Latin American authors like  Colombia’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa who together drew global readership and attention to their culture during a period when strongmen ruled much of the region.

Mexican writer Hector Aguilar Camin said on his Twitter account: “One of a kind. An era, his own genre. A writer for all seasons. To Silvia, all my affection.”

Fuentes himself ventured into Twitter only one day, March 19, 2011.

His last message there read: “There must be something beyond slaughter and barbarism to support the existence of mankind and we must all help search for it.”

 

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We’re supposed to have fireworks tonight…

…but we are currently being hit by a string of thunder storms passing over us toward Hagerstown. The Fire Department Carnival, which is supposed to present the fireworks at 10:45 PM,  hasn’t announced a cancellation yet… if they do, tomorrow night is the rain date.

The Weather Channel, however, is predicting a 70% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow and tomorrow night. Shepherdstown Fire Department has not listed another rain date…yet… so maybe we will or won’t have fireworks this year. These are the ones I really like, since Elly and I can sit on our back deck and not have to leave the house or find parking.

Oh well, we’ll see what happens.

Why I love (and support) Bernie Sanders…

As the debate over deficits ramped up in Washington today, Sen. Bernie Sanders laid out the compelling case not to slash programs for working families. Any deficit reduction package must rely on new revenue for at least half the reduction in red ink, he added in a major address in the Senate. Sanders spoke at length about what caused deficits (wars, Wall Street bailouts, tax breaks for the rich) and how to shrink them (more revenue from the wealthiest Americans to match spending cuts). He urged fellow senators not to yield to Republican congressional leaders who “acted like schoolyard bullies” when they walked out of budget negotiations. And he urged President Obama not to accommodate them again on the backs of working Americans, the poor and the Elderly. He summed up the situation in a letter to the president that had been signed by more than 18,700 people by the time he completed his speech.

Sign the letter »

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Educate yourself – learn about Monsanto, GMO foods and industry lobbying…

Most Americans go rambling through their grocery stores with no concept of what they are buying as it relates to the poison Monsanto and other chemical companies has spread through our fruits, vegetables and even meats. If YOU are unaware of this situation, then watch the video that follows…

Now look at the Top 10 Facts about Monsanto from the Organic Consumers Association:

1. No GMO Labeling Laws in the USA!
2. Lack of Adequate FDA / USDA Safety Testing
3. Monsanto Puts Small Farmers out of Business
   Farmer Suicides After GMO Crop Failures
4. Monsanto Products Pollute the Developing World
   500,000 Agent Orange Babies
5. Monsanto Blocking Government Regulations
6. Monsanto Guilty of False Advertising & Scientific FRAUD
7. Consumers Reject Bovine Growth Hormone rBGH in Milk
8. GMO Crops Do NOT Increase Yields
9. Monsanto Controls U.S. Soy Market
10. Monsanto’s GMO Foods Cause NEW Food Allergies

In 2009 a documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto – A documentary that you won’t see on American television. . . but you can see it HERE.

Got the picture? Now figure out what you are going to do about this. Start by educating others.

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It feels so good to have Olbermann back!

OK… It’s the first day of Keith Olbermann‘s Countdown on the Current TV Network, and I am watching him Interview Michael Moore on Obama’s ethical and legal avoidance of the War Powers Act in Libya. I’m thrilled that the first thing Keith did was show that he wasn’t a front for the current Administration… or Democrats in general.

When you compare him to Fox News with its talking heads adhering to the Roger Ailes Daily List of attacks that will be made on the left and no connection with the truth, you find the kind of independent thought that we have missed since Keith went off MSNBC.

It is great to hear again a Special Comment, this one giving the definition of his program’s point of view:

“The weakest citizen in this country is more important than the strongest corporation.”

John Dean is here to comment on Justice Clarence Thomas taking gifts and his wife taking funding from a conservative Texas millionaire and seeing how this affects his Supreme Court decisions, like the Walmart/ women employees class action suit which came down against the female employees of the big-time retailer. As Dean said

Markos Moulitsas (before Daily Kos)

about the Court, this is a great day for big business.

And Markos Moulitsas (of the Daily Kos) is back as a regular commentator after having been bounced off the tube by MSNBC a year ago for comments that network ( and especially Joe Scarborough) apparently didn’t agree with.

Welcome back, Keith. I’ll be watching.

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Quote for the Morning – Tim Pawlenty learns his lesson…

From Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire:

Tim Pawlenty said he made a mistake dodging the chance during their debate to once again tie Mitt Romney to “Obamneycar” – but he corrected it on Fox last night:

“I think in response to that direct question I should have been much more clear during the debate… I don’t think we can have a nominee that was involved in the development and construction of Obamacare and then continues to defend it and that was the question, I should have answered it directly and instead I stayed focused on Obama…I should have been more clear, I should have made the point that (Romney) was involved in developing it, he really laid the groundwork…

I don’t think you can prosecute the political case against President Obama if you are a co-conspirator in one of the main charges against the president, on the political level.”

He then used his Obomneycare phrase again… and apparently he’s is letting this stuff out on Twitter – perhaps he should remember what Twitter did to Anthony Weiner.

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Should Anthony Weiner resign?

Rep. Anthony Weiner

I have said that I would lay off on the Anthony Weiner brouhaha, but it doesn’t seem to go away… and now some major Democrats are joining virtually all Republicans in saying Weiner should resign his post. I expect that from Republicans… even though they didn’t express the same kinds of thoughts when their officeholders were revealed to have sexual affairs in the past year or so (I’m thinking especially of creeps like Eric Cantor who, it would seem, thinks the main fault with Weiner is that he is a Democrat.

His constituency, on the other hand, as polled doesn’t seem to want the resignation as much as his colleagues. The last figures on the news last night put Keep Weiner at 50% and Dump Weiner at 28% with the remaining 22% undecided. In interviews on the street in Brooklyn and Queens, television reporters found many who said they would vote for Weiner again.

Of the 500 voters surveyed, 61 percent say Weiner’s behavior was unethical, but not illegal. Only Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz shared kind words for Weiner with NY1 on Wednesday, but he also expressed some relief that he was not in the same predicament.

However, 56 percent of those polled say he should not run for City Hall. Weiner was thought to be a front runner for mayor before the scandal broke.

So far, there has been no comment from Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, who is on a European tour with her boss, Hillary Clinton. It is thought that she is the last judgement on the situation and that Weiner would resign if she wanted him to. What kind of advice do you think she is getting from Hillary, who stood behind her husband who didn’t resign during the scandal that almost brought him down?

In my opinion, what he did was both extremely stupid and amazingly juvenile. It was not, however, a crime. It was more of an embarassment, and, as such has no legal grounds for his leaving office. There is the social stigma that this affair puts on Weiner’s character which some would find insufferable… but Weiner seems ready to, as they say, stick it out. It is highly doybtful that he will be able to run for Mayor of NYC in 2013 as he had intended.

So I think he should stay in and see if he can get reelected in 2012. I think his constituents should decide his future and his republican colleagues should support him (unless they are as personally clean as they claim.)

One big result of the Weiner scandal is the drop in use of Twitter by the Congressman’s colleagues. Elected officials tweeted about 28 percent less the week of May 30 to June 3 than the previous week, according to a study by TweetCongress.

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I’m not thrilled with the quality of this morning’s podcast…

… due to a lousy set of connections from AT&T (both cellphone and network). However, in replaying it (if you ignore the first minute where there seems to be no connection… stay on, however…please!), it still covers most of what I wanted to… so give a listen if you didn’t heatr it live.

Go to it HERE at BlogTalk Radio

And please come back to hear it online next Tuesday at 10 AM.   You can call in during the half hour that it’s on at 1 (661) 554-9186. I’ll be glad to discuss just about anything with you.

And tune in live next Tuesday at 10 AM by going HERE.

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A Quote for the Afternoon (and I am deeply disappointed)

I regret to say that Anthony Weiner, a man I have defended to those I discuss politics with… and on this blog, admitted today that he had sent the photo of himself in his underwear via twitter to a woman he didn’t know, and that, furthermore he had lied about it. Apparently he had done this with aroud half a dozen women over the last three years.

This quote from his press conference this afternoon:

“I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people I care about the most and I’m deeply sorry. I have not been honest with myself, my family, my constituents, my friends and supporters and the media.”

Weiner, who just about came to tears apologizing to his wife and family in the press conference, also stated that he would not resign.

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Following Egypt…

The protests are still going on. I’ve been looking at the Tweets coming in to Democracy Now and other places from people who are in Cairo.

It looks like there are no significant leaders in the protesters… nobody that they can build any kind of revolution on. Plus, the protestors are breaking down into two major factions: The Muslim Brotherhood and everyone else.

This from Twitter frpm an hour ago:

@sharifkouddous: Muslim Brotherhood chanting Allah Akbar. Crowd stopped them chanting louder: Muslim, Christian, we’re all Egyptian

Perhaps someone will rise out of the second group… I don’t know, but I’ll keep looking.

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