Will Arizona’s political reporters ask about Mitt’s off-shore tax shelters?
February 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Last week the New York Times was hot on the trail of Willard "Mittens" Romney's off-shore tax shelters. Will Arizona's political reporters follow-up? Romney’s Returns Revive Scrutiny of Offshore Tax Shelters – NYTimes.com:
Mitt Romney's tax returns have drawn political scrutiny on multiple fronts, like his relatively low tax rates and the money parked in a Swiss bank account. But on Capitol Hill, his returns have caught the eyes of members of both parties for what appears to be his use of a type of complex shelter that has been debated for years in battles over evasion and fairness in the tax code.
The technique in question allows nonprofit institutions and large retirement funds to exploit the advantages of shell companies set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands by investing money with private equity firms like Bain Capital, which Mr. Romney ran. Ordinarily, such private equity investments are frequently subject to something called the unrelated business income tax. But by going offshore, pension funds, universities, foundations and even large individual retirement accounts can structure those investments to avoid that heavy tax.
The technique has drawn bipartisan scrutiny from the Senate Finance Committee, complicating the confirmation of one of President Obama’s nominees, drawing negative attention to a Republican Treasury official and eliciting scathing criticism of a well-known charity, the Boys & Girls Club of America. The committee’s chairman, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, and its former ranking Republican, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, have moved to make it illegal.
Tax experts and former Finance Committee staff members say that Mr. Romney’s I.R.A. appears to have used the technique, and that he may have benefited personally.
* * *
In short, Mr. Romney . . . [would] have a difficult time making it through the Senate’s tax-sensitive confirmation process if he were merely a cabinet nominee.
Willard ‘Mittens’ Romney in Mesa today – time for tough questions
February 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Willard "Mittens" Romney will appear at a campaign rally at Mesa Amphitheatre in downtown Mesa on Monday. The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. AZ/DC Blog – Romney to rally supporters in Mesa on Monday.
As I posted awhile back, will political reporters ask "Mittens" the typical fluffer questions to merely take stenography for his campaign talking points? Or will they show some spine and ask him tough questions he does not want to answer about his family's Mexican roots and why he has taken the most extreme anti-immigrant position of any of the GOP presidential candidates? Mittens Romney runs from his Mexican roots (excerpt):
"Mittens" Romney proudly accepted the endorsement of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, one of the architects of Arizona's SB 1070, formerly with the anti-immigrant organization Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group. AZ/DC Blog – Kris Kobach, who helped write SB 1070, endorses Romney:
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney on Wednesday announced the endorsement of Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state who is better known in Arizona and in Latino communities for the legal assistance he gave former state Sen. Russell Pearce in writing Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's controversial 2010 immigration law.
The Romney news release on Kobach's support touts his work on Arizona's and Alabama's immigration laws.
“I’m so proud to earn Kris’s support,” Romney in a written statement. “Kris has been a true leader on securing our borders and stopping the flow of illegal immigration into this country. We need more conservative leaders like Kris willing to stand up for the rule of law. With Kris on the team, I look forward to working with him to take forceful steps to curtail illegal immigration and to support states like South Carolina and Arizona that are stepping forward to address this problem.”
Romney's announcement … came on the same day that the Republican National Committee is set to announce an expanded national Latino outreach effort. (Bwahahaha!)
Boss Tweed’s plan to do away with the civil service merit selection system to get fast-tracked this week
February 13, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Remember how Tea-Publicans incessantly whined about how the Affordable Care Act was being "rammed through" and "jammed through" the Congress? (Despite the fact that there were dozens of committee hearings and hundreds of Tea-Publican amendments — also it was originally a Republican proposal and based heavily on Romney Care).
That was then and this is now. Those same whiny Tea-Publicans who are in the Arizona legislature have been abusing their super-majority status to "ram through" and "jam through" their ideologically driven agenda items on a fast-track with limited opportunity for public testimony or time for thoughtful consideration, and no opportunity afforded to the minority Democrats to propose amendments.
The theme of the week this week is Gov. Jan Brewer's aka Boss Tweed's number one legislative priority, doing away with the civil service merit selection system and returning to the political Spoils system of political patronage and the days of Tammany Hall. Boss Tweed's plan to do away with the civil service merit selection system. What was only an outline last week is now a bill to be heard in the House Employment and Regulatory Affairs Committee on Thursday. (The Goldwater Institute and ALEC must have had to work over the weekend).
Michael Hicks’ letter to UA Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and my conversation with Hicks.
February 12, 2012
by
by David Safier
On Friday, I sent an email to each of the TUSD Board Members concerning Michael Hicks' statement on a radio show comparing TUSD middle school students attending a UA Mexican-American Studies course to the alleged sexual abuse at Penn State. You can read the text of my letter at the end of the post.
That same day, Michael Hicks sent me an email response:
Thank you for your email.
I had concerns about how the statement I made was interpreted by the public. I'm attaching a copy of a letter that I sent to the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Thank you again
I'm including a pdf of the letter Hicks wrote to Dr. John P. Jones, Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as an attachment.
Hicks also called me — I included my phone number in the email I sent to the Board. I wasn't home, so he left a message inviting me to call him back if I had any further questions.
I called him this afternoon. The phone call ended when, after a 10-15 minute conversation, Hicks decided he didn't want to talk with me anymore and hung up.
My summary of the phone conversation is going to take awhile. If you're interested, you can read it below the fold.
GOP primaries: complete lack of election integrity
February 12, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I had to laugh out loud last night when a D.C. media villager actually said that "Mitt Romney had a big win tonight in the Maine Caucuses." Romney won a narrow victory by 3 percentage points over Ron Paul, according to "official" results, and under the GOP primary rules that provide for apportionment of delegates in primaries and caucuses before April 1, this was even more narrow a win. But wait, there's more…
The media villagers keep parroting the GOP establishment talking points with the intent to frame the narrative of this election for Willard "Mittens" Romney. Only the GOP establishment propaganda fails entirely to inform the public what is really going on inside the GOP primaries.
Did Willard "Mittens" Romney really win the Maine caucuses? Maine GOP chairman say Romney wins caucuses – Boston.com:
The totals reflected about 84 percent of the state's precincts. Webster insisted that any caucus results that come in after Saturday wouldn't be counted no matter how close the vote.
"Some caucuses decided not to participate in this poll and will caucus after this announcement," Webster said. "Their results will not be factored in. The absent votes will not be factored into this announcement after the fact."
The Ron Paul people are claiming that the Maine Caucuses were rigged for Romney because the caucuses occur over several days and Washington County, purportedly Ron Paul territory, was not counted in the "official" Maine Republican Party caucus results reported by the media villagers last night. MAINE caucuses RIGGED, Ron Paul f***ed over — here's why. It would appear 16 percent of precincts were not counted according to the state party chair. Yet another black mark for election integrity in this GOP primary season.
Drinking Liberally with Mohur Sidwha and Victoria Steele, Dems for LD9
February 12, 2012
Come and meet and discuss politics with Democratic candidates for State Legislature for District 9, Mohur Sidwha and Victoria Steele. Drinking Liberally begins at 6pm today, Sunday, at The Shanty on 4th Avenue and 9th Street, across from the underpass.
Reminder: Conservationists for Nancy Young Wright this Thursday
February 12, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Former Rep. Nancy Young Wright (D-LD 26) is running for Pima County Board of Supervisors (District 1) this year. Below is an Announcement (.pdf) for a campaign event from her campaign.
