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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)
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)
Ann Romney’s biggest worry: Mitt may go nuts in office…
Nevada television station KTVN interviewed Mitt’s wife, Ann Romney, who revealed that her biggest concern is her husband’s mental well-being” if he becomes president.
Her statement:
“I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for his mental well-being. I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy. …So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it.”
So… is Ann’s lack of confidence her husband’s ability to mentally handle the job as the President of the United States going to instill confidence in voters? Well, she still supported his run even though it might produce this emotional distress.
Related articles
- Ann Romney: Biggest Concern For Mitt In White House Would Be His ‘Mental Well-Being’ (mediaite.com)
- Ann Romney: Mitt’s ‘mental well-being’ would be her biggest concern if elected (thehill.com)
- Ann Romney worries about Mitt’s ‘mental well-being’ if he wins election (rawstory.com)
- Ann Romney Expresses Concern About Mitt’s ‘Mental Well-Being’ if Elected President: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- Ann Romney has one concern (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
- Video: Ann Romney worried about Mitt’s ‘mental well-being’ (nyaltnews.com)
Statement from United Wisconsin…
Who knows Ryan better? This from United Wisconsin:
“Wisconsin is once again at the epicenter of the battle between big-money special interests and hard-working families. Today’s announcement that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan has been tapped for Mitt Romney’s running mate will bring more big money and heated rhetoric to our already deeply divided state.
“As Governor Scott Walker has spent the last year and a half working to destroy our progressive Wisconsin tradition, Rep. Paul Ryan has stood by his side and defended his actions. After Scott Walker introduced his anti-working family budget repair bill, Paul Ryan told the media that he supports Walker’s union-busting laws and claimed that the peaceful protests that broke out in response to the bill were ‘riots,’ a claim later debunked by Politifact.
“In Congress, Ryan has proposed a budget that would end Medicare as we know it while handing out millions in tax giveaways to wealthy special interests at the expense of working families. Ryan has consistently opposed policies to improve health care, public education, and economic opportunity for working people. These are not Wisconsin values, but they are Paul Ryan’s values.
With Paul Ryan taking a more visible place on the national stage, all eyes will once again be on Wisconsin, but the eyes of Wisconsinites – and the progressive movement we have built – will be focused directly on Paul Ryan. We will hold Ryan accountable for his statements and actions on the campaign trail, ensuring he does not take Scott Walker’s failed policies to the White House.”
We’ll keep our eyes on Wisconsin. Of course, many of us wish we could have rid ourselves of Scott Walker when we had a chance.
Related articles
- Rep. Paul Ryan: Will also run in November for his Wisconsin House seat (blogs.suntimes.com)
- Ryan will excite the GOP base, Walker says (jsonline.com)
- Wisconsin: Capital of the Obama resistance (politico.com)
Is Romney Ready for Foreign Policy?
If you’ve been watching the news concerning Willard’s visit to London, you may have heard that he has made a number of gaffes – enough so that the Mayor of London has compared him to Sarah Palin, and thought Palin was the more accomplished candidate.
You can review all the gaffes so far HERE, including videos and statements. It makes you a little ashamed to be an American since the Brits are now looking at Romney as an example of us all.
Here’s one of the gaffes that hit on Mitt’s preparedness for the whole thing:
BBC News quoted Romney:
“To look out of the back side of 10 Downing Street and see a venue having been constructed, knowing that athletes will be carrying out their activities almost in the back yard of the prime minister is really quite an accomplishment.”
So what’s wrong with that, you say. Well… The Guardian responds:
Firstly, in Britain, “backside” means “ass”. As in the part of the body. Secondly, “10 Downing Street” is often used in political reporting as a synonym for a press spokesman for the prime minister, in the same way as “the White House” can say things or have opinions.
Imagine what he’s going to do (or say) in Poland and Israel.
Related articles
- Mitt Romney Makes ‘Disconcerting’ Olympic Gaffe In London (ibtimes.com)
- Ten Reasons Romney is Dangerous On Foreign Policy (davidmixner.com)
- Romney under fire for comments about London Olympics (news.yahoo.com)
- David Cameron Praises Marriage Equality Right Before Romney Visit (towleroad.com)
- After ‘Anglo-Saxon’ gaffe, Mitt Romney and British PM trade barbs over Olympics (news.nationalpost.com)
- Romney Campaign Shames America By Criticizing POTUS on Foreign Soil (politicususa.com)
- Romney tells public of secret meeting with MI6 spy chief (rawstory.com)
- Romney Questions London’s Readiness for Olympics – Media Has a Conniption (thegatewaypundit.com)
- Romney Plays Loud American Tourist in London (theatlanticwire.com)
I listened to Repub candidates propose that we could be invaded from Iran…
…but, although the USA professes itself menaced by Iran, it rather has Iran encircled by military bases:
(thanks to Juan Cole‘s Informed Comment.)
So what I want to know is which of these Repub candidates has any kind of grasp on mid-east policy? Certainly Iran knows that they can be completely wiped out by us with little or no provocation.
Related articles
- US, Europe cautious on Iran offer for nuke talks (sfgate.com)
- GOP candidates take hard line on Mideast (politico.com)
- Can the US stop Iran going nuclear? (americablog.com)
- Russia is preparing to respond to Israeli or US military strike on Iran (irannewpearlharbour.wordpress.com)
Monsanto Attempts to Lockout Socially Responsible Shareholder at Annual Meeting…
CLICK HERE
In the Organic Consumers Association blog, the report concerns Monsanto shareholder (and organic food activist) Adam Eidinger. A clip:
Eidinger, who organized last October’s a 100 person, 313 mile “Right2Know March” from New York City to the White House for federally mandated GMO food labeling says: “With the rise or
Round-Up resistant ‘superweeds‘ the company is simply telling farmers to spray even more toxic herbicides including 2,4 D, the main ingredient in Agent Orange.
I urge you to go read the article and to contact your representatives about Monsanto poisoning (and hiding their actions concerning) our food.
Obama stands up to Boehner on Payroll Tax vote…
Today, the President made separate calls to Speaker Boehner and Leader Reid. In his call to Speaker Boehner, the President reiterated the need and his commitment to work with Congress to extend the payroll tax cut for the entire year, and the fact that the short-term bipartisan compromise passed by almost the entire Senate is the only option to ensure that middle class families aren’t hit with a tax hike in 10 days and gives both sides the time needed to work out a full year solution. The President urged the Speaker to take up the bipartisan compromise passed in the Senate with overwhelming Democratic and Republican support that would prevent 160 million working Americans from being hit with a holiday tax hike on January 1st.
The President also spoke with Leader Reid and again applauded him for the work he conducted with Minority Leader McConnell to achieve a successful bipartisan compromise that passed overwhelmingly in the Senate on Saturday, and Senator Reid reaffirmed his commitment to secure a bipartisan year long tax cut after the House passes the two month extension. The President urged the Speaker to allow a vote on the one compromise that Democrats and Republicans passed together to give the American people the assurance they need during this holiday season that they won’t see a significant tax hike in just 10 days.
Boehner and the Tea Party folks are now getting the worst of the press, and they are even being criticized by other Republicans, none of whom would like the Middle Class on their tails come election time. Meanwhile, the Senate is on vacation and it doesn’t look like they are coming back to renegotiate before the short-term bill is passed.
Looks like the rest of the week will be interesting. Ho Ho Ho.
Related articles
- Obama Phones Boehner (thepage.time.com)
- Harry Reid: It’s ‘unconscionable’ that Speaker Boehner is blocking bipartisan payroll tax cut deal (dailykos.com)
- Joe Peyronnin: Ebenezer Boehner (huffingtonpost.com)
- Obama calls Boehner, urges him to allow vote on Senate payroll bill (thehill.com)
- Harry Reid to John Boehner on payroll tax cut: Put people before politics (dailykos.com)
- Obama urges Hill leaders to extend payroll tax cut (newsok.com)
Ban Fracking on 9/13 — Spread the Word!
Mark your calendar: Call the White House at (888) 498-2945 tomorrow and tell the President to Ban Fracking!
Don’t think that what has happened in Pennsylvania and new York State can’t happen in West Virginia!
Help build the momentum by spreading the word for the National Call-in Day to Ban Fracking — Tuesday, Sept. 13th! (THAT’S TOMORROW!)
Related articles
- Blood Tribe Members Set Up Anti-fracking Blockade (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
- Fracking: A Tale Of Two States (themoderatevoice.com)
- Part of New York State’s Fracking Regulations Already Trails Industry Practice (treehugger.com)
- Environmental Groups Seek Fracking Rule (businesslawdaily.wordpress.com)
- Ball: ‘Over my dead body’ will fracking create Penn-type problems (timesunion.com)