OBAMA-BIDEN For the WIN!: 2012

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Mitt Romney is PANNED by his father's former aide

The New York Times has published an essay by Walt DeVries, an aide to George Romney during his political career. In the essay, DeVries says he has tracked Mitt Romney's shifts in his positions on such issues as abortion, equal pay for women - sometimes by 180 degrees, sometimes by 360 - and counted 30 such shifts. This is in stark contrast, DeVries writes, to George Romney, whose "strength as a politician and public office holder was his ability and determination to develop and hold consistent policy positions over his life." DeVries further states that George Romney often campaigned in factories and union halls, and never would have been seen with the likes of Sheldon Adelson and Donald Trump. It is definitely worth reading this essay through.

THIS is the Mitt Romney America needs to see. The weasel, the snake-oil salesman. The man who will say anything, do anything to get elected. The man who has no core values, no real "dream" to share with the American people. The man who privately disparages half of America, who sees women in binders, not as productive members of the work force. The man who was for it before he was against it. The man who is willing to use the dead bodies of American servicemen and civil servants for political gain.

It is embarrassing that so many Americans are incapable of seeing through Mitt Romney. And to those you counter that President Obama has flaws as well, of course he does. But they are in the ways he has acted on his core beliefs, not on those core beliefs themselves.

Friday, October 5, 2012

KitchenAid's Political Tweet

On the evening of October 3, during the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the following Tweet was sent:

According to the LA Times,

"The appliance maker, which is owned by Whirlpool Corp., quickly deleted the tweet. Cynthia Soledad, a KitchenAid marketing executive, issued a series of apologies via Twitter and Facebook.

"I would like to personally apologize to President @BarackObama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier," she wrote. "It was carelessly sent in error by a member of our Twitter team who, needless to say, won't be tweeting for us anymore.""

Whether intentionally or not, yet another line has been crossed in the disrespectful treatment of the President of the United States . From Joe Wilson shouting out "You lie!" during the State of the Union, to Mitt Romney's blatant disrespect and dishonesty during the debate, and now to this stupid tweet which denigrated the President's family, there is a trend toward more and more open disrespect of both Barack Obama personally and the office he occupies.

Assuming that the US survives as a united nation, history will look back on this as America's Dark Ages, where knowledge, science, and fact are devalued, when racism rears its ugly head, and where corporate greed and selfishness have devastated the economy. One small tweet, but with repercussions that have yet to be fully measured. For shame, America. For shame, KitchenAid. For shame, Cynthia Soledad, for tolerating someone with so few values on your "team."

Friday, September 14, 2012

Romney a RISK to US Foreign Policy

As a person with a degree in Foreign Service (BSFS - Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University) I am appalled at the way Mitt Romney's behavior has negatively impacted the United States during this period of exacerbated unrest in the Middle East. Here is a list of characteristics required in a US Foreign Service Officer (FSO). There is a rigorous, highly competitive exam, with written and verbal components. Mitt Romney would not be an acceptable candidate for FSO, much less someone who would set foreign policy. His behavior during these last 3 days shows he cannot meet the first, second, sixth, and seventh requirements. To say the least.

Here is the list of FSO qualifications from the State Department:

Foreign Service Officer Qualifications - 13 DIMENSIONS

What qualities do we seek in FSO candidates? The successful candidate will demonstrate the following

dimensions that reflect the skills, abilities, and personal qualities deemed essential to the work of the Foreign Service:

1. Composure. To stay calm, poised, and effective in stressful or difficult situations; to think on one's feet, adjusting quickly to changing situations; to maintain self-control.

2. Cultural Adaptability. To work and communicate effectively and harmoniously with persons of other cultures, value systems, political beliefs, and economic circumstances; to recognize and respect differences in new and different cultural environments.

3. Experience and Motivation. To demonstrate knowledge, skills or other attributes gained from previous experience of relevance to the Foreign Service; to articulate appropriate motivation for joining the Foreign Service.

4. Information Integration and Analysis. To absorb and retain complex information drawn from a variety of sources; to draw reasoned conclusions from analysis and synthesis of available information; to evaluate the importance, reliability, and usefulness of information; to remember details of a meeting or event without the benefit of notes.

5. Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.

6. Judgment. To discern what is appropriate, practical, and realistic in a given situation; to weigh relative merits of competing demands.

7. Objectivity and Integrity. To be fair and honest; to avoid deceit, favoritism, and discrimination; to present issues frankly and fully, without injecting subjective bias; to work without letting personal bias prejudice actions.

8. Oral Communication. To speak fluently in a concise, grammatically correct, organized, precise, and persuasive manner; to convey nuances of meaning accurately; to use appropriate styles of communication to fit the audience and purpose.

9. Planning and Organizing. To prioritize and order tasks effectively, to employ a systematic approach to achieving objectives, to make appropriate use of limited resources.

10. Quantitative Analysis. To identify, compile, analyze, and draw correct conclusions from pertinent data; to recognize patterns or trends in numerical data; to perform simple mathematical operations.

11. Resourcefulness. To formulate creative alternatives or solutions to resolve problems, to show flexibility in response to unanticipated circumstances.

12. Working With Others. To interact in a constructive, cooperative, and harmonious manner; to work effectively as a team player; to establish positive relationships and gain the confidence of others; to use humor as appropriate.

13. Written Communication. To write concise, well organized, grammatically correct, effective and persuasive English in a limited amount of time.

Please note that we require no specific education level, academic major, or proficiency in a foreign language for appointment as a Foreign Service Officer.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

BOYCOTT PENNSYLVANIA

BOYCOTT PENNSYLVANIA, the anti-American, GESTAPO state. Donate to the ACLU to get this law overturned. IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY, YOU WILL ENFRANCHISE EVERYONE. This is the second WORST ABUSE of political power any party has perpetrated in my life time, right after George W. Bush sending our troops to die in Iraq. All businesses, sports groups, convention planners, travel agents, etc. should boycott PA.

Until this law is overturned, I will go across the river and give my patronage to *barf* New Jersey businesses.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Skanky film the Right made about President Obama.

Right-wing mouthpiece Dinesh D'Souza has made a "documentary" based on his latest book, called 2016: Obama's America. I hadn't heard of the film until I read this article, even though Fandango says it is #1 in pre-sales on their website.

In the above clip from his film, D'Souza baits George Obama to try to get him to say something bad about his brother. Can you imagine the uproar there would be if President Obama HAD helped his Kenyan relatives? The right can't have it both ways! Confronted by an obviously intelligent, thinking man, Dinesh D'Souza is reduced to a stammering child. Hw obviously doesn't understand what George Obama has written or said. Like the standard Republican of today, he isn't interested in having a productive discussion. He just wants George Obama to say something controversial that D-Souza can get attention for repeating.

To me, President Barack Obama is the quintessential American. He was not born with a silver spoon, as were George W. Bush and W. Mitt Romney. The money that he has, he earned - LITERALLY - with his own hands, by writing. Michelle Obama is literally the descendant of slaves. That Barack and Michelle became the President and First Lady of the US is a tribute to their hard work and strong values. It is a wonderful thing that the President has a half-brother living in a hut in Kenya, who doesn't feel that he needs help from his powerful brother.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Is Ryan LYING, or PREVARICATING???

This should be all over the news - why isn't it? Paul Ryan LIES - in public, and gets caught. Ryan has claimed repeatedly that he opposed the stimulus and would not take stimulus money. He even went as far as to say that “I’m not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money.”

Yet the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and now ABC News have confronted Ryan with letters he wrote to Cabinet members requesting money for two Wisconsin energy conservation projects.

Ryan's response? "They were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled,” Ryan said in a statement. “This is why I didn’t recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that."

Yuck.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ryan Retroactively Discloses ... and MORE

According to Politics USA, Mitt Romney could not be confirmed in a Cabinet position unless he disclosed more tax returns than he has to date. What this means is that we have higher standards for Cabinet officers than we do for the Presidency. Yikes.

But the main thrust of the article is Paul Ryan's "inadvertent" omission from his financial disclosure the existence of a trust worth between $1 and $5 million, with income between $100K and $1 million in 2010.

According to the article,

"The House Ethics folks aren’t worried about Mr. Ryan’s slip, but then we have to remember that the Republicans appeared to want to kill the Office of Congressional Ethics when they took over in 2010. Ethics are for Democrats. Both parties violate ethics rules, but only one party seeks to hold the offenders accountable. Remember the Republican outrage over Tom Daschle’s $140,000 in taxes owed for a car and driver provided by a donor? That inadvertent admission rendered Tom Daschle unfit for a cabinet position."

THIS is what is really divisive, the fundamental philosophy that divides the world into "us" and "them," with vastly different standards for each.

There is NO Obama Spending Spree

In a May article,

Forbes points out that Obama has the smallest amount of spending since Eisenhower. Real numbers. Real facts and figures. NO SPIN.

Here is their graph. Read it and weep, Romney.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

HA - Rudy Guiliani thinks Biden is STUPID

The Fix blog on the Washington Post site this morning talked about a speech yesterday by Vice-President Joe Biden:

"Campaigning in southern Virginia on Tuesday, Vice President Biden told an audience that Mitt Romney’s approach to regulating the financial industry will “put y’all back in chains,” a remark that triggered a flurry of Republican criticism, including a sharp rebuke from the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

BIDEN's RESPONSE:

‎“I got a message for them,” Biden said. “If you want to know what’s outrageous, it’s their policies and the effects of their policies on middle-class America. That’s what’s outrageous.”

Biden is exactly right. It kills me, that ANY Republican - after participating in the most DIVISIVE, PARTISAN session of Congress EVER - has the balls to call what Biden said divisive. Republicans in the House have refused to pass any legislation that would improve the economy and weaken their anti-Obama position. Romney's tax plan explicitly includes tax cuts for the rich. {According to Fox News, an August 1 study released by the Tax Policy Center projects that "taxpayers making more than $1 million would see tax cuts averaging $175,000. Those making between $75,000 and $100,000 would see an average tax cut of $1,800. And those making under $30,000 would see an average increase of $130, according to the report."}

Then again, the chief Republican strategy seems to be to repeat lies often enough that they become perceived as truth

Creepy Republican and former mayor of New York Rudy Guiliani seized on Biden's comment for another round in their on-going adversarial relationship (maybe better characterized as a spat). Here is the video:

Looking at the video, how can you conceivably categorize Biden as stupid? He has survived on his wits for long enough in Washington. Sure, he has Sarah Palin's tendency for verbal gaffes, but he also has a keen intellect to along with it. Get over yourself, Rudy.

President Obama's ad "The Choice" presents the CRUX of the matter

The Obama campaign has produced an ad that calmly, without name-calling, lays out the focal issue of this campaign - the economy - and the choice the voter has to make. Barack Obama doesn't get any better than this.

Old white men trying to make sure that old white men get back in charge

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert E. Simpson, presiding over the case challenging the PA Voter ID law, has refused to grant an injunction to stop the law from being enforced. In an article on Philly.com, his 70 page decision is quoted,

"Smpson said plaintiffs did not establish that "disenfranchisement was immediate or inevitable."

He also said plaintiffs did not prove that denying an injunction would cause "greater injury," and instead noted issuing one now would interfere with election machinery now in motion.

Simpson said the plaintiffs' lawyers "did an excellent job of 'putting a face' to this burdened by the voter ID requirement. "At the end of the day, however, I do not have the luxury of deciding this issue based on my sympathy for the witnesses or my esteem for counsel. Rather, I must analyze the law, and apply it . . . " he wrote."

This ruling comes despite the fact that Pennsylvania Republican House Leader Mike Turzai has publicly admitted that voter identification efforts are meant to suppress Democratic votes in this year’s election and that only 13 cases of in-person voter fraud have been prosecuted in PA in the last 10 years.

The article also quotes one of the Plaintiffs in the case, 93 year-old Viviette Applewhite, as saying,"I just can't believe it ..." Too many people have fought for the right to vote to have it taken away like this. All I want is to be able to vote this November like I always have. This law is just ridiculous."

ROMNEY IS A SPOILED BRAT

An article in the Washington Post cites Romney as saying in a speech, “Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America.” Doesn't that sound just like a kid from your childhood whining after losing a game, or not being picked to be on a team?

That article had some great comments. Here is one series of posts and replies:

Lee1865

11:52 AM EDT

I have to tell you all, I'm in the top 5%, and I am not hurting. My family's income went up by 50% in the past four years. Yes, the value of our house plummeted, but we're not moving, so it's irrelevant. It just means I pay less in property tax. Republican policies put me where I am. Am I grateful? No. Young graduates are un- or under-employed. The roads around me are full of pot-holes. My streets aren't plowed in the winter or swept in the summer. The local library, the local museums are dying ...See More

Friday, July 20, 2012

What is this Election ABOUT???

Two recent articles I like because they explain just what is the crux of the 2012 presidential election.

The first is an opinion piece on the "Politically Astute" blog on Phillyburbs.com called "Should we go at it alone or get through this together?" Blogger Tim McCann writes,

"As a nation, we have long been headed toward a showdown of two competing ideas on the role of government in America ... On the one hand, Republicans offer a call for smaller government. They claim that our economic woes and our high rate of unemployment is the result of over-regulation and over-taxation ... On the other hand, President Obama and the Democrats believe we can all get through this together ... The President calls for more stimulus spending in the form of infrastructure repair and additional investment in renewable energy technologies."

McCann's conclusion:

"Republicans' solutions strike me as mean-spirited and un-American. If Republican ideas were so good, why would they have to pass laws that could result in hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians not being allowed to vote because they do not have the right papers (sounds Kafkaesque, right?). Why would they feel the need to lie to Americans to sell their ideas (death panels, the ACA cuts Medicare benefits, gay marriage will ruin families - all nonsense)"

A second article in a similar vein is an opinion piece by Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post called"What voters are really choosing in November." Zakaria's premise:

"The presidential campaign has gotten so heated over the attacks and counterattacks from the Obama and Romney campaigns that it’s easy to forget that larger issues are at stake in November. That’s unfortunate because, beneath the froth, there is an important ideological debate to be had about America’s future."

Zakaria describes Obama's and Romney's positions in very similar terms to McCann's.

Zakaria's conclusion:

"Both views have merit. It would make for a great campaign if our nation had a sustained discussion around these ideas. Then the election would produce a mandate to move in one of these directions ... In other words, the great shift in the U.S. economy over the past 30 years has not been an increase in taxes and regulations but, rather, a decline in investment in human and physical capital. President Obama has real facts and a strong case — which makes it all the more depressing that his campaign has focused on half-truths and weak arguments."

Both articles highlight the failing of our 2-party system as it exists now. Each party is so focused on scoring off the other, that the critical goal of finding the best person to solve the country's problem has been lost. An actual debate based on facts cannot take place because each side is too politically welded to its position to be able make concessions or compromise to reach agreement.

You didn't build that ... FACT CHECK = TRUE

Take a look at this video on Fox News.
The panel of 3 people discuss whether or not President Obama's statement "You didn't build that ..." was taken out of context.

First, as is the norm with Fox, not one of the panelists is impartial, their conclusion is pre-determined by their political opinions.

Second, "that". I believe Obama was referring to bridges, roads, all the things he mentioned in the previous sentence. It's a lot simpler than people make it out to be. Just like Ann Romney's "you people" was referring to the media, IMO. Over-thinking to fill 24 hour news cycle strikes again.

Third, watching this video, one thing became immediately apparent to me. The analysts on the panel are either unable or unwilling to understand President Obama's complex thought process. The point Obama makes is that nothing occurs in a vacuum. On the surface, you see a successful business. BUT, if you have the ability to ANALYZE, SYNTHESIZE, and EXTRAPOLATE, you see below the surface and beyond the immediate focus to a myriad of support structures and systems that all contribute to a business' success. The President's point is that investment in these structures and systems is ESSENTIAL for American business to thrive. This is irrefutable. Mitt Romney's position - that businesses should not be taxed because they create jobs - is demonstrably flawed. Just look at the banking industry, the oil industry, and the pharmaceutical industry for examples of how record-breaking profits have failed to restore the US economy.

OBAMA-BIDEN For the WIN!