Featured Stories
Taxes or tithing? Did Romney shortchange the Mormon Church?
August 6, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I did a post about the possibility that Willard "Mittens" Romney availed himself of the Swiss bank account amnesty program in 2009 — which I believe in more strongly now that Romney has publicly stated that he has been audited by the IRS. (The tax returns he is not releasing to the American people would be "amended" tax returns after this audit).
Bob Lord suggested in response that maybe what Romney is hiding is that he did not tithe to the Mormon Church at even the minimum amount of ten percent. It looks like Bob has company.
Bill Buck, a Democratic strategist, writes in his column "The Buck Starts Here" at CBS – Boston, Harry Reid Gives Mitt Hell:
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) shared something interesting in an interview with the Huffington Post yesterday: an investor in Bain told Reid that W. Mitt Romney had not paid any taxes over a ten year period.
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[T]he source coming to Harry Reid for these revelations adds a level of intrigue. Reid just happens to be the highest-ranking member of the Mormon Church in the history of this nation.
It is likely that Senator Reid’s source shares the Mormon religion with Reid and Romney.
That message will not be lost on Romney. If the Bain fortress is not a fortress; if people are talking, Romney knows that trouble lies ahead.
And the motivation for this leak may not be political. It is likely personal and tied to the Mormon Church.
Specifically, if Romney was hiding money from the IRS he may have hidden money from his church.
Abortion is a Real Difference Between Flake and Cardon, and Cardon’s Position is now the GOP Mainstream
August 6, 2012
By Michael Bryan I've been hugely entertained by the GOP primary between Flake and Cardon, but really I haven't seen much difference between them. Differences do exist, of course, and many Republicans can tell you all about them. Democrats generally won't be able to see a lick of difference. But there is one subject on … Read more
The GOP war on voting: Romney lies about Ohio early voting lawsuit
August 6, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
What else would you expect from a campaign that is built upon a Big Lie propaganda campaign, and a candidate who is a pathological liar. James Downie writes at the Plum Line, The Morning Plum: The Romney campaign’s disgraceful falsehood about military voting:
Willfully misleading attacks from Mitt Romney and his campaign aren’t new: “You didn’t build that” and “Obama’s apology tour” and so on have been a staple for the Romney camp. But the latest from the Romney camp just may be their lowest attack yet:
Despite a spate of headlines out of Ohio that push back on the notion that President Obama’s campaign is trying to strip military members of voting rights in the upcoming election, Mitt Romney’s campaign is drilling down on the claim.
In a memo out earlier from counsel Katie Biber, Romney’s camp insisted that the suit the Obama camp filed — to restore early in-person voting rights to every Ohio citizen — is targeting military members.
The suit doesn’t actually say this, and papers the campaign has filed called it “appropriate” to give three extra days to military members (more on that here). The suit argues against creating two classes of voters, using the legal term “arbitrary,” which Romney’s camp is seizing on to make its point — along with the argument that it’s “unconstitutional.”
The article cited in the quote, from Buzzfeed, points out that while fraternal military groups are opposing the Obama campaign’s lawsuit, the groups “make no suggestion that the Democrats’ suit would restrict Ohio soldiers’ votes.” Their objection is purely “that the Obama move might set a precedent that giving soldiers special consideration is unconstitutional.” Despite the plain text of the various motions, the Romney camp is calling the Obama lawsuit “despicable” and an “outrage.” Not only are Republicans misleading voters, but they’re using our soldiers to do so.
Such a disgraceful maneuver is just the latest sign that the Romney campaign has an increasingly weak hand.
Mars Rover ‘Curiosity’ successfully lands on the red planet
August 6, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Science geeks and Trekkies rejoice! NASA engineers threaded the eye of the needle and successfully navigated the "seven minutes of terror" descent to the surface of the red planet. The Mars Rover "Curiosity" has successfully landed on the surface and is sending back pictures. Curiosity rover touches down on Mars:
NASA’s rover Curiosity touched down deep in a Martian crater early Monday after a picture-perfect descent and landing, beginning what promises to be one of the most ambitious planetary missions in history.
Jubilant NASA engineers and scientists let out a loud and prolonged whoop when the data came in indicating that the one-ton rover had touched down. It remains unknown exactly what shape the $2.5 billion rover is in, but the fact that it survived its “seven minutes of terror” descent was cheered like the grandest Olympic triumph.
The descent and touchdown were tracked by the Mars orbiter Odyssey, which allowed Curiosity to send black-and-white “fisheye” (wide-angle) images within minutes of the rover’s wheels on the ground.
Described by top NASA officials as their “mission of the decade,” the just-delivered rover will search for the building blocks extraterrestrial life as well as investigate how and why Mars turned from a wet and warm planet into the dry and cold place it is now. The complex, precision landing and sophisticated instruments being used on the mission could hasten the day when humans fly to Mars as well.
“We’re on the surface of Mars,” said Allen Chen, voice of master control for the mission. (In this image from NASA TV, shot off a video screen, one of the first images from the Curiosity rover is pictured of its wheel after it successfully landed on Mars. HANDOUT – REUTERS).
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The many milestones in the descent were met with loud applause and relieved laughter as one bit of good news came in after another.
“We’re about to do something that I think is just huge for humankind — put this chemistry lab on the surface of Mars that can rove, that can see, and that’s going to provide scientists on Earth a glimpse into the past history of Mars,” NASA’s chief scientist John Grunsfeld concluded a few hours before the landing.
What Stephen Lemons says about the Maricopa County Sheriff race
August 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton recently endorsed Democratic candidate Paul Penzone for Maricopa County Sheriff. Stephen Lemons from the Phoenix New Times breaks down this race. Joe Arpaio Foe Paul Penzone Adds Greg Stanton's Endorsement to a Ton of Others – Phoenix New Times (excerpts): The Penzone camp has released a list of its … Read more
Joe Arpaio on Trial
August 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The civil trial for racial profiling by the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department ended on Thursday, with the parties to submit closing briefs to Judge Murray Snow
The best trial summary I have read so far comes from Stephen Lemons at the Phoenix New Times. Joe Arpaio's Racial Profiling Trial Ends, and Yes, Joe's Still Guilty as Sin – Phoenix New Times (excerpts):
As U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow explained what he wanted opposing counsel to address in their closing, written arguments in the ACLU's big racial-profiling case Melendres v. Arpaio, he mentioned that he didn't mean to "foreshadow" his ruling with the questions he was asking.
And yet, Snow seemed to do just that after the last witness left the stand a little before 3 p.m. Thursday, the final day of the trial.
An exacting jurist with an obsession for detail, Snow noted that in videotaped testimony Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawyers had played for the judge earlier, Alonzo Pena, former Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Phoenix office, said race could be used, along with other factors, in developing probable cause regarding an individual's immigration status.
Snow, who is both judge and jury in this bench trial, observed that in the Ninth Circuit, Pena is "dead wrong," according to a precedent set in U.S. v. Montero-Camargo, a 2000 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that eliminated race as a factor in most immigration stops.
If the MCSO used race as "one factor among many," does it matter if they believed they were following the law, as instructed by ICE? That is to say, if MCSO deputes intended to use race as a factor, does it matter if they did not intend to violate the law?
That was the inquiry put to lawyers for both sides, and yet, in his December ruling granting class action to all Hispanics stopped by the MCSO since January of 2007, Snow addressed the same issue.
Back then, Snow wrote:
"Defendants assert that in training 287(g) officers, ICE informs them that race or apparent ancestry may be used as one factor in evaluating whether officers have reasonable suspicion to stop an individual, although it cannot be considered the sole factor.
"Whether or not such information is provided by ICE to local law enforcement officers during their 287(g) training, the law in the Ninth Circuit is clear: `Hispanic appearance is of little or no use in determining which particular individuals among the vast Hispanic populace should be stopped by law enforcement officials on the lookout for illegal aliens.'"
Translation: the MCSO is up a creek sans paddle, flippers, or canoe.
Its officers have admitted under oath that they believed race could be considered as one among many factors, and even Arpaio has expressed this idea more than once in press conferences and interviews. The MCSO has insisted that ICE taught its officers to do just that.
That's just the beginning of the MCSO's woes. Snow stated that he was going to decide "what the policies of the MCSO are," and that, "I am also going to be determining what the practices of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are, regardless of what the policies state or may or may not state."
The Arizona Republic endorses Ron Barber in CD 2 Democratic primary
August 5, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: ICYMI, on Friday, The Arizona Republic endorsed Rep. Ron Barber in the CD 2 Demcoratic primary. Barber strong on compromise: The Democratic primary in Arizona's new 2nd Congressional District presents a choice between two good men. U.S. Rep. Ron Barber and state Rep. Matt Heinz are strong, intelligent candidates with records of … Read more
Tucson Shooting Survivors Demand a Plan to Control Gun Violence
August 5, 2012
By Michael Bryan
Survivors of Jared Laughner's horrific rampage in Tucson are calling on Obama and Romney to formulate a plan to reduce gun violence. They have released an ad and launched a website, DemandAPlan.org.
The site includes a tally of time passed since the last horrific rampage in Aurora and the number of Americans killed by gun violence. Perhaps the count will have to be reset today as we learn of a new gun rampage in an Oak Creek, Michigan Sihk temple, claiming the lives of seven.
The group is wisely not demanding adherence to or adoption of a specific plan, instead demanding that each candidate put forward ANY plan. You can sign the petition and more at the website.
See the ad after the click…
