I REALLY need your help to continue the blog…

…and, of course, I have a free gift for donations of $5.00 or more…

…you get my popular picture font:“Bill’s Victorian Ornaments” These images created from traditional and period sources are very usable at any size in designs and publications. The font comes for Mac and PC, and I usually sell it for $29.95. It’s my way of saying “Thank You” to offer it to $5 or more donors. Believe me, October is becoming a low income month and I HAVE to get some contributions to keep going.

So many of you have been following this blog since 2004 that I feel we’ve built a huge web community.

I have enjoyed bringing you the Cartoon(s) of the Week, the Quotes, the Political and Arts News, the Blogrolls of the best sites in America and beyond… They are all a joy to put together. Often we get the breaking political stories before you see them anywhere else. And our wide open communication channels with readers can’t be beat. I offer your participation at all times and appreciate the hundreds of subscribers who sign up every year.

Without  YOUR help to keep it going, I’m in big trouble. I’m hoping you will make a small contribution, by PayPal or credit/debit card, in support of Under The LobsterScope. You’d be amazed at how much $5.00 can do to help me bring more and more to these pages. And it is probably the LOWEST annual subscription fee you will make to any publication… interactive or not. I often receive larger contributions and I certainly appreciate those.

Remember, for a contribution of $5.00 (or MORE) you will receive a copy of my Picture Font, Bill’s Victorian Ornaments and the knowledge that this blog will continue onward.

(I send you font versions for both Macs and PCs by email, and include a typeface keyboard directory.

See the Sample Below.)

I should note that even a donation of $1.00 gets my thanks and helps to keep this blog going. By clicking on the DONATE button below, you tell me that Under The LobsterScope makes a difference in your time on the web.

Thanks,

– Bill T.

 

Ever wonder how some people get elected to Congress?

I know I do. The fact that there are Republicans who appear to be uneducated, anti-intellectual and just plain outrageous makes me have a very poor impression of the people who vote for them.

Here are 4 samples of what I’m referring to:

Science and Space Committee? Intelligence Committee? How do these mini-brains get put on committees they don’t seem to have any intellectual connection with?

If statements like these keep them from being re-elected to the House, then I’ll have a much better vision of the voting public. I don’t count on it, however.

Related articles

• When Romney questions Obama’s achievements, remember what the Congress did to most of his proposals. (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
• April Russo: GOP Sen. says he will cut scientific funding because scientists read too much (examiner.com)

 

Will Romney show where he really stands on issues in tonight’s debate?

Thanks to Margaret and Helen’s blog, we have a number of switcheroos from Mr. Flip-Flopper. Will they be resolved?

• “I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I never really called myself pro-choice.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “Roe v. Wade has gone too far.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “When I am asked if I am pro-choice or pro-life, I say I refuse to accept either label.” ~ Well. There seems to be a ring of truth in that one.
• “Immigrants should have a chance to obtain citizenship.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I think there should be no special pathway to citizenship. I feel that’s the course we ought to take.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I mean, I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I have a gun of my own. I go hunting myself. I’m a member of the NRA and believe firmly in the right to bear arms.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I don’t personally own a gun. My son does.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I think the global warming debate is now pretty much over and people recognize the need associated with providing sources which do not generate the heat that is currently provided by fossil fuels …” ~ Mitt Romney
• “I have to tell you with regards to global warming that that’s something, which, you’re right, the scientists haven’t entirely resolved…” ~ Yep. Him again.
• “This is a campaign about the 100 percent.” ~ Mitt Romney
• “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what… My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” ~ Some guy who looks an awful lot like Mitt Romney

How can anyone believe any position Romney takes?

Related articles

• I wonder which Mitt Romney will show up at the debate tonight? The one who talks out of the left side or the right side of his mouth? (margaretandhelen.com)
• Are Women Voters Really Abandoning Democrats? Not So Fast (point4counterpoint.wordpress.com)
• “Mitt Romney The Product”: A New Romney Appears On A Monthly, Weekly And Sometimes Daily Basis (mykeystrokes.com)
• Mitt Romney debates himself, round 2 (dailykos.com)
• Mitt Romney’s Constantly Evolving Stance On Abortion Rights (thinkprogress.org)
• Is he pro-life, pro-choice, or just pro-Mitt? – Boston Globe (bostonglobe.com)

 

Some stats we haven’t seen yet (hee hee)

These are from the Esquire/Yahoo poll:

Of course I wonder if the “tax advice” question means that folks who answered the survey are looking to duck responsibility as much as Romney.

I’ll heartily agree with the last question.

Romney elected would mean the end of Roe v. Wade and the criminalization of abortion…

From this morning’s editorial in the NY Times:

Mr. Romney has called for overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to make her own childbearing decisions and to legalized abortion nationwide. He has said that the issue should be thrown back to state legislatures. The actual impact of that radical rights rollback is worth considering.

It would not take much to overturn the Roe decision. With four of the nine members of the Supreme Court over 70 years old, the next occupant of the White House could have the opportunity to appoint one or more new justices. If say, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the oldest member, retired and Mr. Romney named a replacement hostile to abortion rights, the basic right to abortion might well not survive.

The result would turn back the clock to the days before Roe v. Wade when abortion was legal only in some states, but not in others. There is every indication that about half the states would make abortion illegal within a year of Roe being struck down, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The Center for Reproductive Rights, which challenges abortion restrictions around the country, puts the number at 30 states. For one thing, abortion bans already on the books in some states would suddenly kick in. And some Republican-controlled state legislatures would outlaw abortion immediately.

Even with Roe and subsequent decisions upholding abortion rights, more than half the states have enacted barriers like mandatory waiting periods, “counseling” sessions lacking a real medical justification; parental consent or notification laws; and onerous clinic “safety” rules intended to drive clinics out of business.

We do not need to guess about the brutal consequences of overturning Roe. We know from our own country’s pre-Roe history and from the experience around the world. Women desperate to end a pregnancy would find a way to do so. Well-to-do women living in places where abortion is illegal would travel to other states where it is legal to obtain the procedure. Women lacking the resources would either be forced by the government and politicians to go through with an unwanted or risky pregnancy, attempt to self-abort or turn to an illegal — and potentially unsafe — provider for help. Women’s health, privacy and equality would suffer. Some women would die.

…and women still have the ability to get Obama re-elected and protect their right to choose. I’m always amazed at middle-class Republican women who support Romney. Essentially they are making themselves potential victims.

Related articles

• NYT Editorial on Romney and a Future Without Roe v. Wade (lawprofessors.typepad.com)
• Romney: I Want the Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade via Life News.com (loopyloo305.com)
• Romney: Abortion is not ‘part of my agenda.’ Romney campaign: Oh yes it is. (dailykos.com)
• Romney Needs a Groin Shot (boomantribune.com)
• Ryan’s Roe v. Wade Bombshell (thedailybeast.com)
• Debate Moderator Candy Crowley Calls Out Romney ‘Then and Now’ on Abortion (politicususa.com)
• Women: Don’t Be Fooled by Mitt (thedailybeast.com)
• Mitt Romney’s Constantly Evolving Stance On Abortion Rights (thinkprogress.org)

 

Today’s swing state polls update…

Looks like Obama’a coming back in New Hampshire.

Here are the latest polls from the battleground states, updated as needed
Colorado: Romney 48%, Obama 47% (We Ask America)

Colorado: Obama 50%, Romney 45% (YouGov)

Florida: Obama 49%, Romney 47% (YouGov)

Iowa: Obama 49%, Romney 46% (We Ask America)

Iowa: Obama 50%, Romney 46% (YouGov)

Nevada: Obama 50%, Romney 45% (YouGov)

New Hampshire: Obama 47%, Romney 47% (Suffolk)

North Carolina: Romney 49%, Obama 48% (YouGov)

Ohio: Obama 50%, Romney 46% (YouGov)

Pennsylvania: Obama 50%, Romney 46% (Quinnipiac)

Pennsylvania: Obama 51%, Romney 45% (YouGov)

Virginia: Obama 46%, Romney 45% (YouGov)

Getting ready for tonight’s debate…

I really want to think about those things Romney is lying about so that when they pop up in the debate I can yell at the television and wish him ill results in the election.

For instance, when Mittens says Obama added more to the deficit than any previous President, we should look at the facts:

 

Did you see what those Repiglicans did?

 

It’s interesting, then, that Obama has the trust of Americans on most issues, but somehow Romney has labeled himself as the deficit reducer — given the things he seems to be representing, this is really impossible. I think people need to think this over and I hope Obama clarifies everything tonight.

 

Great lead for Obama on handling an unexpected crisis.

And look what Obama scored in government spending vs. the Repilicans’ great hero Reagan:

 

Ok… I have high expectations for Obama tonight. I hope you do, too.

Related articles

• Viewpoints: In tonight’s debate, Obama needs to lay out his vision (sacbee.com)
• Precision planning in the countdown to the next debate (itv.com)
• For Tonight’s Debate, Use #youngcons on Twitter (owenstrachan.com)
• Candidates Try To Sway Undecided Voters In Tonight’s Town Hall Debate (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
• Romney to get first question at debate (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)