Yeah, Well, There's That..

Mitchell: But, if you were president, it's not that hard to make a commitment that if you're elected President of the United States, that you would release the tax returns, every president does.

Romney: You know, if I become president, then I'll consider that. It's a little premature for me to be talking about that at this stage.

Mitchell: Is there some secret? People know you're wealthy.

Romney: Yeah, I understand.

Mitchell: There's nothing to hide?

Romney: No, I agree. (Pause) There's nothing to hide.

We'll except for the fact you got filthy rich by bankrupting American companies, screwing American workers out of their pensions and destroying American jobs.

America's Predicament

Nelson's predicament mirrors that of many students navigating the world of higher education in recent years. Community college degree programs, which have long provided affordable pathways to careers, have been overloaded by soaring demand, just as state governments grappling with budget crises have slashed support for such programs. Lack of public funding is among the more potent forces behind the surge in enrollment at for-profit colleges, which has turned their corporate parents into Wall Street darlings.

This dynamic has played out powerfully in California, where cuts to public education have been particularly deep, and where for-profit colleges have been notably aggressive, tacking up marketing notices on bulletin boards at community colleges where students are increasingly unable to enroll in classes.

Classic GOP: give huge tax cuts to the 1% and transnational corporations, destroy public education because "we can't afford it," force people to go to expensive for-profit colleges, rake in massive campaign contributions from said "colleges," and end up with wage slaves anyway because the for-profit scam artists don't teach very well. As with most things GOP, great for the party, bad for the country.

Shooters

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work."

These people... still on Reagan's dishonest narrative that there are huge amounts of fat black women sitting around having babies and eating bon bon's because they're too lazy to work. The reality of course, is that team 1% cut tax rates for the trans-national CEO's and their country club buddies, then made the rules that promoted outsourcing and offshoring, and now that the jobs are gone they slam people for not being able to find work. That's like shooting somebody in the back and then blaming them for bleeding on the floor.

Don't Like Democrats, Hate Democracy

Think Progress: A 93-year-old Tennessee woman who cleaned the state Capitol for 30 years, including the governor’s office, says she won’t be able to vote for the first time in decades after being told this week that her old state ID failed to meet new voter ID regulations.

Voter fraud, individual or otherwise is simply not something that goes on in this country. Millions of (taxpayer) dollars worth of Republican investigations have proven this beyond any doubt. Therefore the only other possible reason for their behavior is to steal elections.

These institutional Republican efforts to steal elections by systematically disenfranchising core, Demcoratic constituencies should be met with criminal prosecutions, lawsuits (what's the right to vote worth? Some disenfranchised Americans should sue the GOP and find out), recalls, and most importantly, complete rejection of the GOP by the electorate. This war on voters is an attack on all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. Anybody who values democracy would do well to remember that come election day (assuming you're still eligible to vote).

Some Of Your Lies Are Not The Point

Mitt Romney:

“I know that the Democrats will try and make this a campaign about Bain Capital; … 25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I’ll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs.”

“I’ll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs.”

Romney refuses to offer any support for his claim he created over 100,000 jobs. This is because there isn't any. The truth is Romney got filthy rich by ripping apart American companies, screwing American workers out of their pensions and destroying American jobs. But this particular lie is not the point. Romney is running for President of the United States so what we need to evaluate is his public policy. And the public policy he supports is killing this country.

This Romney lie is the point: 25 million people are not out of work because Obama. When Obama took over from Romney's "Team 1%" we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month. That's how bad Romney's public policy is. And despite constant GOP efforts to destroy public sector jobs and sabotage the economy, Obama turned that around and now we've gained jobs for 22 straight months.

Before Reagan, before the policies Romney supports and used to make his millions, we had a massive middle class and production capacity that was the apple of the worlds eye. The tax policy, (de)regulatory policy and fiscal policy which Romney supports has devastated the great American middle class, destroyed the tax base, and hollowed out our economy. Romney should not be allowed to lie his way around his record or the historical results of his horrific public policy.

Party Like It's 1959

Raw Story: In a move with significant implications for the 2012 elections, the Obama administration on Friday blocked a South Carolina voter ID law from taking effect because of concerns that it would have a disproportionate effect on minority voters.

The party of The Southern Strategy will never stop trying to defeat democracy through their corruption and racism. And if the constant Republican efforts to rob all manner of poor, elderly, and minority Americans of the right to vote don't convince you this is an institutional aim, check out the quote from Paul Weyrich we've posted on the front page of this blog. The whole lot is a clear and present danger to the republic. Vote for them at your peril (assuming they still let you vote).

Not Appeasing Blackwater Either

Think Progress: Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security. Barak, who last month characterized Obama as an “extremely strong supporter of Israel,” told Israel Radio:

We are asked, sometimes, whether Obama is really a soft appeaser. To that, I say: ‘Go ask Osama bin Laden.’

Not only that, but he didn't lie us into any unnecessary and hugely counter productive wars, thereby diverting massive national security resources from real threats and into the pockets of his crony, war profiteering trans-national corporate friends. All you need to do is listen to Romney's full throated defense of the Iraq debacle to know he too is capable of playing that dangerous game.