Ari Berman: Mitt Romney’s Neocon war cabinet

October 22, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

As I have been posting about for some time, the foreign policy advisers to Willard "Mittens" Romney are the very same Bush-Cheney regime Neocon war mongers responsible for the greatest intelligence failures in U.S. history and for propagandizing this country into an unnecesary and illegal war in Iraq. Romney is getting the boys in the band back together for another tour, this time in Syria and Iran.

Ari Berman at The Nation writes Mitt Romney's Neocon War Cabinet:

Romney is loath to mention Bush on the campaign trail, for obvious reasons, but today they sound like ideological soul mates on foreign policy. Listening to Romney, you’d never know that Bush left office bogged down by two unpopular wars that cost America dearly in blood and treasure. Of Romney’s forty identified foreign policy advisers, more than 70 percent worked for Bush. Many hail from the neoconservative wing of the party, were enthusiastic backers of the Iraq War and are proponents of a US or Israeli attack on Iran. Christopher Preble, a foreign policy expert at the Cato Institute, says, “Romney’s likely to be in the mold of George W. Bush when it comes to foreign policy if he were elected.” On some key issues, like Iran, Romney and his team are to the right of Bush. Romney’s embrace of the neoconservative cause—even if done cynically to woo the right—could turn into a policy nightmare if he becomes president. […]

Vernon Parker, The Issue Kyrsten Sinema Raised is That You Support Ryan’s Entitlement Reforms, Not His Entire Budget

October 22, 2012

I hope Parker doesn't look too dark in this picture, so I am not accused of racism by the GOP… By Michael Bryan I recently took a close look at the CD9 Congressional Debate between Vernon Parker and Kyrsten Sinema (and some obnoxious Libertarian perennial candidate), and one exchange really stood out for me: Kyrsten … Read more

Obama campaign ad: ‘Mitt Romney’s Easy Five-Step Approach to Foreign Policy’

October 22, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Obama campaign is up with a new web ad in advance of Monday night's foreign policy debate, "Mitt Romney's Easy Five-Step Approach to Foreign Policy." Description:

Mitt Romney's easy five-step approach to foreign policy:

Step 1: Get the facts wrong.
Step 2: Undermine long-standing relationships with your allies.
Step 3: Frequently highlight your lack of experience.
Step 4: Assemble a team of ideologues committed to endless war.
Step 5: Mistake your enemies.

Video below the fold.

GOP attempts to politicize Libya response are falling apart

October 22, 2012

Posted by AzBluemeanie: I previously posted about the New York Times report Election-Year Stakes Overshadow Nuances of Benghazi Investigation – NYTimes.com, and the Washington Post's national security pundit David ignatius' column that CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks. On Sunday, the L.A. Times also confirmed the New York Times report in No … Read more

‘It’s not the votes that count. It’s who counts the votes’

October 22, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The caption above is frequently attributed to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Hat tip to urbanlegends.about.com for this source:

A historical source has been found for one variant of this quote. The source is Boris Bazhanov's Memoirs of Stalin's Former Secretary, published in 1992 and only available, so far as I know, in Russian. The pertinent passage, which appears near the end of chapter five, reads as follows (loosely translated):

You know, comrades," says Stalin, "that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how.

So with what the media villagers tell us is a "tied" election based upon their unscientific polling and media narrative, it should raise concern that many of the voting machines in several critical "battleground" states are owned by a subsidiary of Bain Capital. All Voices:

Romney family buys voting machines through Bain Capital investment

Tagg Romney, the son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has purchased electronic voting machines that will be used in the 2012 elections in Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington and Colorado.

"Late last month, Gerry Bello and Bob Fitrakis at FreePress.org broke the story of the Mitt Romney/Bain Capital investment team involved in H.I.G. Capital which, in July of 2011, completed a "strategic investment" to take over a fair share of the Austin-based e-voting machine company Hart Intercivic," according to independent journalist Brad Friedman.

But Friedman is not the only one to discover the connection between the Romney family, Bain Capital, and ownership of voting machines.

Truth out reports:

"Through a closely held equity fund called Solamere, Mitt Romney and his wife, son and brother are major investors in an investment firm called H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. in turn holds a majority share and three out of five board members in Hart Intercivic, a company that owns the notoriously faulty electronic voting machines that will count the ballots in swing state Ohio November 7. Hart machines will also be used elsewhere in the United States.

In other words, a candidate for the presidency of the United States, and his brother, wife and son, have a straight-line financial interest in the voting machines that could decide this fall's election. These machines cannot be monitored by the public. But they will help decide who "owns" the White House."

Both The Nation and New York Times confirm the connection between the Romney family, Solamere and the Bain Capital investment in the voting machine company, Hart Intercivic, whose board of directors serve H.I.G. Capital.

In Memoriam: Senator George McGovern

October 21, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Walter R. Mears, who reported on government and politics for The Associated Press in Washington for 40 years and covered George McGovern in the Senate and in his 1972 presidential campaign, writes this memoriam for Senator George McGovern who passed away today. George McGovern dies; lost 1972 presidential bid:

George McGovern once joked that he had wanted to run for president in the worst way - and that he had done so.

It was a campaign in 1972 dishonored by Watergate, a scandal that fully unfurled too late to knock Republican President Richard M. Nixon from his place as a commanding favorite for re-election. The South Dakota senator tried to make an issue out of the bungled attempt to wiretap the offices of the Democratic National Committee, calling Nixon the most corrupt president in history.

A proud liberal who had argued fervently against Vietnam War as a Democratic senator from South Dakota and three-time candidate for president, McGovern died at 5:15 a.m. local time Sunday at a Sioux Falls hospice, surrounded by family and lifelong friends, family spokesman Steve Hildebrand told The Associated Press. McGovern was 90.

The family had said late last week that McGovern had become unresponsive while in hospice care.

"We are blessed to know that our father lived a long, successful and productive life advocating for the hungry, being a progressive voice for millions and fighting for peace. He continued giving speeches, writing and advising all the way up to and past his 90th birthday, which he celebrated this summer," the family said in the statement.

Hildebrand said funeral services were to be held in Sioux Falls and details would be announced shortly.

* * *

After a hard day's campaigning - Nixon did virtually none - McGovern would complain to those around him that nobody was paying attention. With R. Sargent Shriver as his running mate, he went on to carry only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, winning just 38 percent of the popular vote in one of the biggest landslides losses in American presidential history.

"Tom and I ran into a little snag back in 1972 that in the light of my much advanced wisdom today, I think was vastly exaggerated," McGovern said at an event with Eagleton in 2005. Noting that Nixon and his running mate, Spiro Agnew, would both ultimately resign, he joked, "If we had run in `74 instead of `72, it would have been a piece of cake."

Early Voting Month – return your early ballots!

October 21, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Early voting runs from Thursday, October 11 to Friday, November 2, 2012. The Last day to request an early ballot by mail is Friday, October 26, 2012. There will be emergency voting on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at some locations, and Monday, November 5, 2012 only at the Downtown location.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN AND DATE THE AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPE before inserting it into the outer envelope for mailing. Your ballot cannot be counted without a signed and dated affidavit.

If you plan to vote at a voting location on Election Day, please verify your correct voting location before going to vote. See Pima County Recorder's Office or call the Recorder's Office at (520) 724-4330. You will need to show required ID. Pima County Elections Required Identification at the Polls.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Early Voting locations:

DOWNTOWN
Recorder’s Main Office
115 N. Church Ave.
520-724-4330
Located downtown in the historic
Old Pink Courthouse with the tiled dome

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Monday, 11/5/2012- Downtown Only
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EASTSIDE
Recorder’s Eastside Annex
6920 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite D
520-724-4330
Located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Kolb Rd.
behind Bring’s Funeral Home

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.