Featured Stories
Completely wrong
October 10, 2012
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by David Safier I have no idea how someone makes this kind of thing happen, but here's a screen shot of what you get when you type "completely wrong" in Google Images. Hat tip to Donna Gratehouse.
Vote counting machines flip races in Florida
October 10, 2012
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by David Safier Florida uses paper ballots,and the results are tallied by an optical scan election system. Sample auditing of the ballots is done after the elections are certified. In two recent races, the machines flipped the votes, awarding the victories to the wrong candidates. According to Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections, Susan Bucher, this … Read more
Bill Clinton: ‘Where you been boy? I missed you all these last two years’
October 10, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Nothing is more effective in political speech than mockery. And nobody uses it more effectively than President Bill Clinton.
At this campaign event in Nevada, President Bill Clinton destroys the shameless shapeshifter "Moderate Massachusetts Mitt."
"I thought, wow. Here's old moderate Mitt. Where you been boy? I missed you all these last two years." As Clinton points out, the media villagers' attempt to recast a new "Moderate Massachusetts Mitt" after the debate is a fraud. Romney is still the "severely conservative" Republican he claimed to be for the past two years.
Video below the fold. H/T Talkingpointsmemo.
The Bain of his existence: Romney’s money making ties to China and Russia
October 10, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Two investigative reports out today on Bain Capital and how Romney profited from business ties of which he has been critical on the campaign trail.
The New York Times reports Romney’s Trade Message and Bain’s China Ties:
[T]here is a twist to the Asimco story that would not fit neatly into a Romney stump speech: Since 2010, it has been owned by Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Mr. Romney, who has as much as $2.25 million invested in three Bain funds with large stakes in Asimco and at least seven other Chinese businesses, according to his 2012 candidate financial disclosure and other documents.
That and other China-related holdings by Bain funds in which Mr. Romney has invested are a reminder of how he inhabits two worlds that at times have come into conflict during his campaign for the White House.
As a candidate, Mr. Romney uses China as a punching bag. He accuses Beijing of unfairly subsidizing Chinese exports, artificially holding down the value of its currency to keep exports cheap, stealing American technology and hacking into corporate and government computers.
“How is it China’s been so successful in taking away our jobs?” he asked recently. “Well, let me tell you how: by cheating.”
But his private equity dealings, both while he headed Bain and since, complicate that message.
Mr. Romney’s campaign insists he has no control over his investments since they are held in a blind trust. That said, a confidential prospectus for one of the Bain funds, obtained by The New York Times, promotes China as a good investment for some of the same reasons that Mr. Romney has said concern him: “Strong fundamentals” like manufacturing wages 85 percent lower than what Americans earn, vast foreign exchange reserves and the likelihood that China will surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy.
“Accordingly, Bain Capital expects to see an increasing array of high-growth companies available for investment,” the prospectus says, noting the relative dearth of private equity in China.
Among the companies in which the Bain funds have invested is a global auto parts maker that is in the process of closing a factory in Illinois and moving most of the equipment and jobs to Jiangsu Province, where the Chinese government has built it a new plant; a Chinese electronics retailer accused by Microsoft of selling computers with pirated software; and a Hong Kong-based Chinese appliance maker that was sued for copying another company’s design for a deep-fat fryer.
Obama campaign ad: ‘Only Choice’
October 10, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I have posted about the Romney plan for Medicaid that President Bill Clinton addressed in his DNC convention speech. Romney's Medicaid cuts would be devastating to nursing home care and the disabled. Almost two-thirds of Medicaid is spent on nursing home care for seniors and on people with disabilities. (The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 63.5 percent – or $148 billion – of federal Medicaid spending ($251 billion in total) goes towards the elderly, blind and disabled.)
The Romney plan for Medicaid affects "dual eligibles," and would be devastating to nursing home care for the elderly, which many families simply cannot afford without Medicare and Medicaid. Bloomberg News reported Medicaid to Lose $1.26 Trillion Under Romney Block Grant – Bloomberg.
The Obama campaign is up with a new ad on this issue, entitled "Only Choice." From the ad description:
"It's one of the hardest decisions a family can make …realizing a nursing home is the only choice. For many middle class families, Medicaid is the only way to afford the care. But as a governor, Mitt Romney raised nursing home fees eight times. And as President, his budget cuts Medicaid by one-third. And Burdens families with the cost of nursing home care. We have a president who won't let that happen."
Video below the fold.
Dr. Richard Carmona interview on Hardball
October 10, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Dr. Richard Carmona was interviewed by Tweety Matthews on Hardball on Tuesday.
Video below the fold.
Horizon (PBS) on Prop. 116 and Prop. 117 – Property Taxes
October 10, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Horizon Eight (PBS) looks at Prop. 116 which raises the personal property tax exemption on newly-acquired business equipment and machinery. The measure has no organized opposition. Farrell Quinlan, Arizona State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, explains Prop 116, a constitutional amendment that was referred to the ballot by state lawmakers.
Horizon also looks at Prop. 117, a constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the Arizona Legislature that would limit – to 5% – annual increases in property value which is used to calculate property taxes. Guests are Arizona Tax Research Association President Kevin McCarthy, who supports Prop 117, and Maricopa County Treasurer Charles “Hos” Hoskins, who is opposed to the measure.
Videos below the fold.
Pima County Democratic Party recommendations on 2012 Ballot Measures
October 9, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Since people keep asking me about this, you can find it online here. RECOMMENDATIONS ON 2012 BALLOT MEASURES » Pima County Democratic Party. Early voting starts Thursday.
