Hard to believe, but it is true.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1638065,00.html
The reporter intended the anecdote that opened part four of the Boston Globe's profile of Mitt Romney to illustrate, as the story said, "emotion-free crisis management": Father deals with minor — but gross — incident during a 1983 family vacation, and saves the day. But the details of the event are more than unseemly — they may, in fact, be illegal.
The incident: dog excrement found on the roof and windows of the Romney station wagon. How it got there: Romney strapped a dog carrier — with the family dog Seamus, an Irish Setter, in it — to the roof of the family station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario, which the family apparently completed, despite Seamus's rather visceral protest.
Massachusetts's animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the animal carried thereon." An officer for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to a description of the situation saying "it's definitely something I'd want to check out." The officer, Nadia Branca, declined to give a definitive opinion on whether Romney broke the law but did note that it's against state law to have a dog in an open bed of a pick-up truck, and "if the dog was being carried in a way that endangers it, that would be illegal." And while it appears that the statute of limitations has probably passed, Stacey Wolf, attorney and legislative director for the ASPCA, said "even if it turns out to not be against the law at the time, in the district, we'd hope that people would use common sense...Any manner of transporting a dog that places the animal in serious danger is something that we'd think is inappropriate...I can't speak to the accuracy of the case, but it raises concerns about the judgment used in this particular situation."
Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was less circumspect. PETA does not have a position on Romney's candidacy per se, but Newkirk called the incident "a lesson in cruelty that was ... wrong for [his children] to witness...Thinking of the wind, the weather, the speed, the vulnerability, the isolation on the roof, it is commonsense that any dog who's under extreme stress might show that stress by losing control of his bowels: that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured." Romney, of course, has expressed support for the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques when it comes to terrorists; his campaign refused to comment about the treatment of his dog.
Twelve hours? Anyone see parallels to National Lampoon's "Vacation"?
Now that I mention it I can't get the image out of my head of Mitt as Chevy Chase (Sparky).
Quote from: AquaMan on January 12, 2012, 10:35:02 AM
Now that I mention it I can't get the image out of my head of Mitt as Chevy Chase.
You think he'd tell his family they'd be whistling "Dixie" out their A-holes?
Quote from: Townsend on January 12, 2012, 10:36:45 AM
You think he'd tell his family they'd be whistling "Dixie" out their A-holes?
Mormons don't do that.
Quote from: AquaMan on January 12, 2012, 10:44:35 AM
Mormons don't do that.
Is that what the moose outside told you?
Wiki says that movie was based on a story written in the late fifties by a guy whose family drove to Disneyland. Never tire of watching it. I feel certain someone is going to tag Mitt with it. You heard it here first!
I see that it is illegal to let a dog ride in the open back of a pickup truck in Mass. Good thing we don't have that kind of unwarranted government intrusion here...
Carriers I have seen are pretty open and would not be suitable for that. Did they put a tarp or wind break in front of the carrier? The carriers so many hunters here use are much more enclosed and even though there are open slots, there is still means of protection from the wind. Mitt blew it big time.
12 hours? How often did they stop? And did he feed/water the dog while in transit? No way he was able to go very long with kids in the car, so there were plenty of stopping opportunities.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on January 13, 2012, 07:09:15 AM
I see that it is illegal to let a dog ride in the open back of a pickup truck in Mass. Good thing we don't have that kind of unwarranted government intrusion here...
Carriers I have seen are pretty open and would not be suitable for that. Did they put a tarp or wind break in front of the carrier? The carriers so many hunters here use are much more enclosed and even though there are open slots, there is still means of protection from the wind. Mitt blew it big time.
12 hours? How often did they stop? And did he feed/water the dog while in transit? No way he was able to go very long with kids in the car, so there were plenty of stopping opportunities.
My dad made plenty of trips with minimum stops. You would be surprised how long you can make a kid go without stopping, especially if your drive at night and the kids sleep
IIRC, the poly style carriers we use now weren't around in the early 1980's. I believe they were much more like the type hunters use in the back of their trucks, constructed from aluminum. Not unlike what animal control uses as well. But RM likes to pull out sophomoric facts on GOP front-runner as if it's going to make one whit of difference in Oklahoma.
Quote from: Conan71 on January 13, 2012, 02:32:19 PM
IIRC, the poly style carriers we use now weren't around in the early 1980's. I believe they were much more like the type hunters use in the back of their trucks, constructed from aluminum. Not unlike what animal control uses as well. But RM likes to pull out sophomoric facts on GOP front-runner as if it's going to make one whit of difference in Oklahoma.
Sophomoric facts?
At least you admit that what I post are facts. The dog carriers used in the early 1980s were more like suitcases or trunks with air holes in the ends. You couldn't tell what kind of animal was inside.
Animal abuse is not sophomoric and says a lot about his character. Play it off as some partisan attack if you can't deal with this any other way. Romney abused that dog and what he did is now illegal.
http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/lots-humans-against-romney-dogs-against-romney-rally-204043816.html
NEW YORK--Kitty Hendrix doesn't even own a dog. But the New York City-based actress led a rally Tuesday to call attention to what she described as one of the "most inhumane" and "horrifying" instances of animal treatment she said she'd ever heard of: The increasingly legendary tale of how Mitt Romney once drove from Boston to Canada with the family dog in a carrier strapped on top of the car.
The incident, mentioned in a 2007 Boston Globe profile of the Republican presidential candidate, occurred in 1983, when Romney, his wife, and his five sons took off on a jaunt to Ontario. Romney installed Seamus, the family's Irish Setter, in a dog crate equipped with a makeshift windshield that Romney designed, on top of the family station wagon. At some point during the trip, Seamus soiled himself—as the Romney sons discovered when they saw a brown liquid dripping down the car windows. Their father quickly pulled over, hosed the dog and the car down, and jumped right back on the road, speeding toward Canada.
The story, which made the rounds during the 2008 campaign--and is mentioned seemingly in every Gail Collins column in the New York Times about Romney--has gained new life in recent months. A group called "Dogs Against Romney" has trailed the candidate in protest around the country—parking a car outside campaign events with a stuffed dog strapped on top.
The group was set to make its biggest news splash yet on Tuesday—holding a rally outside the Westminster Kennel Dog Club Show at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan—this time with real dogs. The event attracted at least 15 reporters, 10 photographers and five camera crews—but as the clock inched past the noon start time, there was one major thing missing: actual dogs.
"They'll be here, they'll be here," Hendrix--who says she fondly recalls the time she used to own a dog--insisted, surveying the scene a bit nervously. "I mean, it's New York. It's tough to get dogs around the city sometimes." As six people waved anti-Romney signs that read "Mitt is Mean!" and "Dogs Aren't Luggage," bored-looking photographers stood idly by.
"No dogs is not good," CNN's Jeanne Moos declared. Alan Charney, a protester, sauntered by, reassuring the media that dogs would be on the scene. "I'll tell you what, if they don't, I'll get on all fours!" he said. "At least I have a backup story," Moos replied. Hendrix killed time, recanting the story of Seamus to reporters. "He disappeared after that, you know," she said, conspiratorially. "The boys told someone he ran away when they got to Canada." Asked how she knew—since the Romney campaign hasn't publicly addressed Seamus's fate—Hendrix replied, "I read it online."
She told reporters the story was "repulsive." "What was he thinking? He couldn't let the dog ride in the back seat?" Hendrix declared. "I just think it's horrible. There were other options. He wouldn't have put one of his kids up there." The tale, she said, should convince voters that Romney is not presidential material and pointed to President Obama's relationship with the first dog, Bo. "When his family had already gone on vacation, he took his dog Christmas shopping," she said. "That's how you treat a pet."
A few feet away, a man and a woman approached, pushing a dog crate—prompting Charney and his fellow activists to get excited. "Are you here with us?" Charney asked. The man shook his head, and continued toward the Garden entrance where the show dogs and their owners have been gathering for the final day of judging before tonight's Westminster finals. A few minutes later, a young man walked up to join the protestors. As he turned, he revealed a plump pug stuffed into the pocket of his backpack.
"A dog is here," Hendrix exhaled in a breathy voice. "THANK god." As photographers and reporters surrounded the lonely pug, identified by her owner as "Saki," Charney cracked, "One dog represents millions!"
Eventually two more dogs appeared on the scene, including an English bull terrier named "Petey"—named after the dog from "Little Rascals," his owner helpfully noted. Moos leaned down and stuck a CNN microphone near Petey's snout. "What do you think?" she asked. The dog yawned and turned its rear end toward the camera.
I'm sorry, who is Kitty Hendrix other than a publicity whore?
I am sure you are correct.
Ask yourself these two questions...was it wrong for Romney to crate his dog on top of his car? Remember that the dog was so scared that he pooped so much that it was running down the windows of the car. Mitt stopped the car, cleaned the crate a washed and ran through a car wash, then put the dog back into the crate. And the second question...would you vote for a guy who is cruel to animals?
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 15, 2012, 12:15:33 AM
Ask yourself these two questions...was it wrong for Romney to crate his dog on top of his car?
It is also wrong to put your dog loose in the bed of a pickup truck. It is also wrong to let your dog stick its head out the window of a moving vehicle due to potential eye and ear injury.
[/quote]Remember that the dog was so scared that he pooped so much that it was running down the windows of the car.[/quote]
We don't really
know why the dog pooped so much. Maybe is was time to go or the dog had the runs.
Quote from: custosnox on January 13, 2012, 09:31:52 AM
My dad made plenty of trips with minimum stops. You would be surprised how long you can make a kid go without stopping, especially if your drive at night and the kids sleep
A little Dramamine or Benadryl goes a long way.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 15, 2012, 12:15:33 AM
I am sure you are correct.
Ask yourself these two questions...was it wrong for Romney to crate his dog on top of his car? Remember that the dog was so scared that he pooped so much that it was running down the windows of the car. Mitt stopped the car, cleaned the crate a washed and ran through a car wash, then put the dog back into the crate. And the second question...would you vote for a guy who is cruel to animals?
This is a whole lot of bed-wetting over nothing. No different than people who cage their bird dogs in the beds of pickups in freezing weather. I'm sure many of those crap themselves, yet I've never heard any outrage over it.
I'm not a single issue voter and if I were, it wouldn't revolve around dogshit rolling down the windows of a station wagon.
Fortunately, many people care about mistreating animals.
I think what Romney did was animal abuse, and the fact that he likes to tell the story makes me not like him.
Of course, people see this issue differently and you are entitled to not think it is a big deal. I remember that many people tried to justify Michael Vick dog-fighting and killing dogs saying it was a sport that bred dogs to fight. Some people think that bull fighting rodeos are cruel to bulls and horse racing as cruel to horses.
I enjoy horse racing and avoid bull-fighting and rodeos, but draw the line on fighting dogs.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 15, 2012, 02:56:28 PM
Fortunately, many people care about mistreating animals.
I think what Romney did was animal abuse, and the fact that he likes to tell the story makes me not like him.
Of course, people see this issue differently and you are entitled to not think it is a big deal. I remember that many people tried to justify Michael Vick dog-fighting and killing dogs saying it was a sport that bred dogs to fight. Some people think that bull fighting rodeos are cruel to bulls and horse racing as cruel to horses.
I enjoy horse racing and avoid bull-fighting and rodeos, but draw the line on fighting dogs.
Should horses be confined to small pens, then beaten, drugged to go faster, and so highly stressed that fatal injuries are not uncommon in the sport? I don't think so.
I never heard anyone say what Vick was doing was okay or come to his defense saying dog fighting was no big deal. You keep making it sound like Romney used one of these plastic pet taxis. I suspect back when this happened that it would have been something similar to what people put their bird dogs in. As far as crap running everywhere, ever dawn on anyone the dog might have had an intestinal bug?
You wouldn't support Romney with this story or without. If this is the worst you can come up with and you have to keep bumping this worthless topic in an attempt to sway anyone away from him who might not otherwise be swayed, then this topic is a FAIL.
I think it provides an excellent reason to vote for President Obama. He is obviously the candidate of "not putting your dog on top of your car."
For some that will be the primary issue of this election, so I think it's important that the President position himself as firmly against roof-mounted canine automotive travel!
Bo travels in a G5. That's all that matters!
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01384/Dog3_1384172c.jpg)
Quote from: Conan71 on February 15, 2012, 03:16:10 PM
If this is the worst you can come up with and you have to keep bumping this worthless topic in an attempt to sway anyone away from him who might not otherwise be swayed, then this topic is a FAIL.
Santorum's leading in the recent polls. So that and the dog thing...
You seem extra sensitive on this. I have posted other things about other people and don't remember this passionate defense from you before. You seem to want to defend him even to the point of making up what you think the box on top of his car looked like. Now you are even guessing that the dog must have had an illness.
Next you will write that the dog volunteered for the duty and wouldn't come out of the box because he loved it so much.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 15, 2012, 03:36:12 PM
You seem extra sensitive on this. I have posted other things about other people and don't remember this passionate defense from you before. You seem to want to defend him even to the point of making up what you think the box on top of his car looked like. Now you are even guessing that the dog must have had an illness.
Next you will write that the dog volunteered for the duty and wouldn't come out of the box because he loved it so much.
What they fail to report is that the dog eventually died.
There was no autopsy, so the events surrounding his death are suspect.
There could have been ligature marks around his neck, but without exhuming the body we may never know.
Michael, did you know the dog volunteered for the duty and wouldn't come out of the box because he loved it so much?
Whoa! Did you catch the symbolism in that?
Romney had a dog in a box. That really means he was closeted.
ROMNEY'S DOG WAS GAY!
Quote from: Conan71 on February 15, 2012, 03:52:00 PM
Michael, did you know the dog volunteered for the duty and wouldn't come out of the box because he loved it so much?
Whoa! Did you catch the symbolism in that?
Romney had a dog in a box. That really means he was closeted.
ROMNEY'S DOG WAS GAY!
He was obviously too phobic to allow his gay dog to ride in the car with the 5 kids.
I hear that the dog was also Irish. :o
Thanks for continuing this thread.
Have I posted this link? http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/
I've reported it to the Truth Team. http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team
NPR says it just won't die. Think ol' Romper room is punching his son in the face for telling the story in the first place?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/02/15/146929766/why-romneys-shaggy-dog-story-wont-die?sc=fb&cc=fp (http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/02/15/146929766/why-romneys-shaggy-dog-story-wont-die?sc=fb&cc=fp)
Quote...But Romney's opponents clearly see the story as a potential weakness. Newt Gingrich used Seamus in one of his attack ads against Romney, and has launched a "Pets with Newt2012" Web page.
And David Axelrod, President Obama's campaign communications director, recently tweeted a picture of first dog Bo riding inside the presidential limousine with the president and the caption "how loving owners transport their pets."
That doesn't surprise Michael Markarian of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
"Two-thirds of American households have pets," he said. "And the pet care industry is a $51 billion a year industry. That's more than movies, recorded music and video games combined."
At the same time, he adds, "there are more than 20,000 animal protection groups in the U.S.," that support local animal shelters or wildlife or breed rescues. "And they collectively raise about $2 billion a year. It's an incredible expression of philanthropy from people who care about animals and want to see them protected from harm."
And many of them won't vote for someone who they perceive mistreated his dog, regardless of party. About the only good news for Romney and his dog story? Last year President Obama got only a C minus from the Humane Society for his work helping animals.
Oh Townsend. Didn't you read that gaspar and conan don't think this is an issue?
They must know more than NPR on this matter.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 16, 2012, 10:07:42 AM
Oh Townsend. Didn't you read that gaspar and conan don't think this is an issue?
They must know more than NPR on this matter.
It pisses me off when I see dogs in the back of a truck on the highway. That was a stupid thing he did.
If someone finds it unimportant how someone treats a dog then I think they're wrong. Someone for President, a football player, a boyscout, a future psychopath. I think you can tell a person by how they treat a dog.
Quote from: Townsend on February 16, 2012, 10:13:29 AM
It pisses me off when I see dogs in the back of a truck on the highway. That was a stupid thing he did.
If someone finds it unimportant how someone treats a dog then I think they're wrong. Someone for President, a football player, a boyscout, a future psychopath. I think you can tell a person by how they treat a dog.
Ahhh, so it's the associative theory that Romney will strap America on the top of his limo and let it smile itself, eh?
Quote from: Conan71 on February 16, 2012, 10:32:07 AM
Ahhh, so it's the associative theory that Romney will strap America on the top of his limo and let it smile itself, eh?
Probably only 99% of it.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 16, 2012, 10:07:42 AM
Oh Townsend. Didn't you read that gaspar and conan don't think this is an issue?
They must know more than NPR on this matter.
What's your obsession with this anyhow? It's tabloid politics at it's worst.
You are a whole lot smarter than this, RM.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 16, 2012, 10:34:01 AM
What's your obsession with this anyhow? It's tabloid politics at it's worst.
You are a whole lot smarter than this, RM.
OKokok..have you read our politics threads?
Quote from: Townsend on February 16, 2012, 10:34:50 AM
OKokok..have you read our politics threads?
What are you getting at buttmunch?
It matters to me because he bragged about it. He really thinks it was funny and I don't.
I can disagree with tax policy or budget priorities and be fine. But being mean to to kids or dogs is wrong.
It is just an issue with me.
Bragged? Are you sure he wasn't being self-deprecating and working the crowd for a blue-collar laugh? I haven't heard him relay the story, just the reports. I can't help but believe this guy is a lot like Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies. He just isn't comfortable with what humor is so he just keeps looking uncomfortable.
On a related note. He may actually be relating a story a lot of boomer's parents and blue collars can identify with. We love our dogs like children today but that generation saw them as a half-step above farm animals. Heck, if my dad had thought of it he would have put us kids into the cage and strapped it to the roof.
Today I feel the same way as Townsend when I see a dog in the back of a truck, leaning out the window or in the airbag position on the driver's lap. Think of it this way though. A dog loves to lean out the window of a car because most of his perception is sensory through taste, hearing and smell. Not much visual. When he hangs out the window, he is being bombarded with those smells, sounds and tastes. Its like a trip on LSD for them!
So in reality, Romney liked to get his dog high. There's your presidential candidate. He's no better than a drug dealer. ;)
With 5 kids there is the distinct possibility that he did at one time made one of them sit on top of the car. We should look into that. Interview the kids. Perhaps with a small model of a station wagon so that they can point to where daddy made them sit.
...he strapped me there, and there, and over there...
Quote from: nathanm on February 16, 2012, 02:32:30 PM
...he strapped me there, and there, and over there...
There is no evidence that straps were used.
"Hold on kid!"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-22/roof-rover-dogs-romney-humanization-drive-commentary-by-margaret-carlson.html
Roofed Rover Dogs Romney's Humanization Drive:
By Margaret CarlsonFeb 21, 2012 6:03 PM CT
Mitt Romney's enduring problem is that we don't know what lies beneath the eager-to-please demeanor that leads him to emit impenetrable lines like the one this weekend about loving Michigan because its "trees are the right height." This creates a vacuum that inevitably gets filled with morsels of insight like the old story about his onetime dog, Seamus. In a web ad deployed last month during the South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich resurrected a 2007 Boston Globe article telling the tale of how Romney strapped the family's Irish setter to the roof of the car for a 12-hour drive to Canada. According to the candidate's son Tagg, stops were carefully calculated to allow the hound to answer the call of nature, but Seamus didn't get the memo. Dad calmly pulled into a gas station, hosed down the dog, the car and the crate, and the terrifying ride resumed.
The son apparently shared the anecdote as an illustration of his father's gifts as an emotion-free crisis manager. But grace under pressure isn't the image of the former Massachusetts governor that emerged with the retelling. Much in the same way John Edwards came to rue his $400 haircut, and John McCain had trouble living down his inability to count the number of houses he owned, Seamus dogs Romney.
Late-Night Fodder
The story has at least four legs. "Saturday Night Live" recently featured Seamus in a skit; it's a running joke on David Letterman's late-night show; and a parked car with a big stuffed dog on top routinely shows up at the candidate's rallies. Fox News' Chris Wallace joined the New York Times columnist Gail Collins in expressing incredulity. "I have a yellow Lab named Winston," Wallace said to Romney. "I would no sooner put him in a kennel on the roof of my car than I would one of my children."
Romney insists Seamus loved his crate and appreciated fresh air, even at 60 miles per hour. That hasn't appeased Dogs Against Romney, a group whose human founder, Scott Crider, is trying to get word out to the country's 43 million dog owners, who represent all political breeds. Dogs Against Romney, which had more than 1 million visitors to its website in its first 10 days, recently organized an anti-Romney protest at the Westminster dog show. It also awarded a congratulatory "woof" to Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Bill Clinton, who wrote in The Hill newspaper that a man who would insist his dog enjoyed such abuse is unfit to be president.
Although Romney says Seamus lived happily ever after on a farm, New York Observer blogger Hunter Walker reported that two of the Romney sons had said the dog ran away upon reaching Canada. This tale of seeking asylum with our good neighbor makes sense when you consider the possibility that Seamus may have picked up some French from his master, who performed more than two years of Mormon missionary service in France as a young man.
Zut alors! It was only a matter of time before the Obama re-election campaign saw a puppy in the manure. A few weeks ago, the chief strategist, David Axelrod, put a picture on Twitter of the president scratching the neck of his dog, Bo, who was sitting in the plush back seat of the presidential limo. The caption: "How loving owners transport their dogs."
The White House website is a shrine to all things Bo ("Meet Bo," "Bo's First Month," "Bo: The Photo Gallery") and he makes the perfect campaign surrogate. With a dog, there's no risk of evoking the kind of complicated family tableau that appears when Gingrich's daughters from his first marriage defend him against accusations the second wife has made about the third.
Silent Partner
Nor is a dog about to blunder like Foster Friess, the fundraiser whose comments added fuel to the furor over Rick Santorum's controversial views on insurance coverage for contraceptives. It took days for Santorum to stop the snickers after Friess told NBC's Andrea Mitchell that in his day an aspirin squeezed between the legs served as cheap and accessible birth control.
Santorum has his own canine problem -- his comments comparing homosexuality to "man on dog" still get more attention than the legislation he sponsored in the Senate to regulate scandalous puppy mills -- and he shouldn't try to go paw to paw with Bo. The cuddly Portuguese waterdog is never going to make a bad joke. He has no record to explain, no earmarks to disavow, no insider status to hide because much of his business takes place outdoors, even if he does live in the White House.
Bo's Every canine is better at humanizing a candidate than props such as Joe the Plumber, who ruined things as soon as he opened his mouth. The First Hound isn't the least bit aloof and has no intellectual pretentions.
Seamus is another story. His travails resonate because, despite all the debates, position papers and campaigning, voters don't know much about Romney. He comes to us largely in gauzy ads, protected by a cocoon of advisers whose greatest fear is that he might reveal himself. There are so many things that might humanize the candidate and that he won't discuss: How being a Mormon shapes his worldview; how it felt to close businesses while at Bain Capital LLC; what it was like for a Republican to govern a state as blue as Massachusetts; what he feels when a maid without health insurance is cleaning his hotel room; what movies make him laugh or cry.
As long as we're left to guess about so much, it's easy to fill the void about what's inside the man with the story of the dog he left outside.
Wow, that's quite a screed.
I fear that if Romney is elected, he will strap us all on to the top of his car.
I HOPE WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY LAND!
Quote from: Gaspar on February 23, 2012, 10:28:16 AM
I fear that if Romney is elected, he will strap us all on to the top of his car.
And drive us all over a cliff I'd imagine.
Quote from: Townsend on February 23, 2012, 11:47:44 AM
And drive us all over a cliff I'd imagine.
??? ??? ???
Well damn it, search "family trickster over cliff" on youtube.
I wonder if this is what Rick Santorum had in mind when he brought up that "man on dog" thing?
I hear dog on woman is completely legal in Tijuana. Or Donkey, or horse, or wombat, or...
Quote from: Conan71 on February 23, 2012, 10:47:34 PM
I hear dog on woman is completely legal in Tijuana. Or Donkey, or horse, or wombat, or...
All more difficult to strap to the top of a car.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 23, 2012, 10:47:34 PM
I hear dog on woman is completely legal in Tijuana. Or Donkey, or horse, or wombat, or...
Don't know why, but the word wombat always makes me LOL.
They're cute in a hobbit sort of way
(http://geniusbeauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/wombat-5.jpg)
Quote from: Conan71 on February 24, 2012, 09:32:08 AM
They're cute in a hobbit sort of way
(http://geniusbeauty.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/wombat-5.jpg)
How could you strap that cute little thing to the top of your car?
And for the record, I never strap Butch to the top of the car. He gets leashed to the trailer hitch. Keeps his nails filed down really close that way.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=491&articleid=20120224_491_0_PatBag723220
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 24, 2012, 09:41:35 AM
http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=491&articleid=20120224_491_0_PatBag723220
That's an exaggeration. A motor vehicle would crush your average golden retriever if inverted.
yes. Captain Obvious.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 24, 2012, 09:50:03 AM
yes. Captain Obvious.
Just trying to help keep this thread alive. ;)
I realize that dog abuse is not important to you if it is done by a republican.
Wait.
If Romney is the nominee, this story will cost him the election.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 24, 2012, 11:04:50 AM
If Romney is the nominee, this story will cost him the election.
It might be tough to zero it down to just this one story but I believe it will contribute to his huge loss.
That and who the "they" stick him with for VP.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 24, 2012, 11:04:50 AM
I realize that dog abuse is not important to you if it is done by a republican.
Wait.
If Romney is the nominee, this story will cost him the election.
Because it's certainly more important than job creation, reducing the deficit, and stable energy policy. You know, the irrelevant stuff.
Quote from: Townsend on February 24, 2012, 11:07:17 AM
It might be tough to zero it down to just this one story but I believe it will contribute to his huge loss.
That and who the "they" stick him with for VP.
If the "they" pick Bachmann, you know they are throwing it over to Obama.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 24, 2012, 11:13:18 AM
If the "they" pick Bachmann, you know they are throwing it over to Obama.
If that happens, it means someone lost a bet.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 24, 2012, 11:12:36 AM
Because it's certainly more important than job creation, reducing the deficit, and stable energy policy. You know, the irrelevant stuff.
No, it isn't more important. But those are complex issues that require critical thinking and homework. The American voter doesn't decide who they will vote for on these issues. They want things black or white. Pro-life or pro-choice is a good example. That determines many a vote.
40% of Americans will vote for any republican and 40% will vote for any democrat. The other 20% decide who wins and many of those 20% are undecided because they don't want to think about politics. They choose based on how they feel about a candidate.
Go ahead and make fun of this issue forever. You refuse to comprehend how a little thing like abusing the family dog will decide whether people like Romney or not. If he is not likable, he loses.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 24, 2012, 11:12:36 AM
Because it's certainly more important than job creation, reducing the deficit, and stable energy policy. You know, the irrelevant stuff.
I wonder how many thousands people have ended up dead, incarcerated, addicted, or disabled as result of continued bad policy and economic failure? I wonder how may dogs have gone homeless, been euthanized, or crushed in the street because their families could no longer care for them?
It's not that this stuff is irrelevant, because there are people who spend their lives focused on surface issues. It's simply less relevant than the important issues that have deeper impact on more people.
Quote from: Gaspar on February 24, 2012, 01:56:55 PM
It's not that this stuff is irrelevant, because there are people who spend their lives focused on surface issues. It's simply less relevant than the important issues that have deeper impact on more people.
One politician points at another and says "we need to fix the economy."
The other politician points back and says "you torture dogs."
Wonder which will become more relevant on the 24/7 cycle and will remain in people's minds?
Will they interview economists or will they interview PETA?
Quote from: Townsend on February 24, 2012, 02:03:56 PM
One politician points at another and says "we need to fix the economy."
The other politician points back and says "you torture dogs."
Wonder which will become more relevant on the 24/7 cycle and will remain in people's minds?
Will they interview economists or will they interview PETA?
It's not a question of who "they" will interview. Its a question of what "we" find important.
As I said, I have no doubt that the PETA war dance will work many into a froth. In fact the narrative has already changed from dog on a car in a carrier with a windshield, to animal torture. That's going to make a strong impact on many. The question is, will it have as strong and lasting impact as massive economic failure, and continued national despair?
Quote from: Gaspar on February 24, 2012, 02:12:07 PM
The question is, will it have as strong and lasting impact as massive economic failure, and continued national despair?
Only needs to for a week or two coming up to election night. I think that's RM's point.
The media does a story about the economy every day. There is a complete business section in the newspaper (which by the way the Tulsa World will focus on the business of recycling this Sunday).
I am saying that you guys follow issues and make up your minds based on your perception of the candidate's ability to work on your issues. Most of the undecided voters don't. You don't remember when they said Americans would rather have a beer with GW Bush over Al Gore?
McCain was seen as too old and out of touch. John Kerry was seen as indecisive. They both lost. It had nothing to do with their economic policies.
This is going to hang around and get repeated as long as Mitt is in the race. It is just the kind of thing that undecided and uninformed voters will judge him by.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on February 24, 2012, 02:36:05 PM
This is going to hang around and get repeated as long as Mitt is in the race. It is just the kind of thing that undecided and uninformed voters will judge him by.
And Santorum will be known for being all up in your wife's bidness.
Quote from: Gaspar on February 24, 2012, 01:56:55 PM
It's not that this stuff is irrelevant, because there are people who spend their lives focused on surface issues. It's simply less relevant than the important issues that have deeper impact on more people.
Its not so much an issue as it is an indicator -- sort of a sneak peak into one's decision making process.
Quote from: patric on February 24, 2012, 02:45:14 PM
Its not so much an issue as it is an indicator -- sort of a sneak peak into one's decision making process.
I think you are exactly right.
Stuff like this is grabbed and told to the voters over and over.
Quote"Ann Drives a Couple of Cadillacs"
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/02/24/_ann_drives_a_couple_of_cadillacs_.html?wpisrc=twitter_socialflow
Hoi Polloi: (Ancient Greek: οἱ πολλοί, hoi polloi, "the many"), an expression meaning "the many", or in the strictest sense, "the majority" in Greek, is used in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include "... commoners, great unwashed, minions, multitude, plebeians, the plebs, rank and file, riff-raff, the common people, the herd, the many, the proletariat, the proles, the peons, the working class".[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoi_polloi
We are a nation (nominally) run by the hoi polloi. Everybody -- plebes included -- get to vote. So yes, anecdotes about Romney's supposed cruelty to his dog have a very real chance of doing him harm.
It provides insight into his psyche. Not because he actually did this, which would suggest his lack of empathy for those below him and might be correlated to his lack of empathy about the companies he butchered, but because he chose to relay this story as something positive and humorous. That indicates he has little understanding of the common folk.
One wonders just what he though was important about this story and who would find it humorous. Just one more thread in his fabric.
Dog...It's what's for dinner!
Best comic line so far:
"Are you on the team who throws the dog on the car, or the one that throws the dog on the hibachi?"
Of course there will be no uproar over this since other than those having fun with this aren't being "culturally-sensitive".
Let's see:
Dog rides on car and shits himself.
Dog gets eaten for dinner.
Sorry, I know false equivalency!
For those who have not heard or didn't read President Obama's memoir:
QuoteAnybody who has gotten as far as chapter two of Barack Obama's book, "Dreams From My Father," knows that, as a child living in Indonesia, he ate some dog meat.
http://www.ohmidog.com/2012/04/18/meaty-matters-barack-obama-ate-dog/
Romney's people have suffered a lot of butt kicking the last 6 months (Etch-a-sketch, betcha' $10K etc). They deserve to have some fun. The best to me was the one showing the President petting his dog.
If I were President Obama, I would fire back by saying "What was I going to do, I was six, and I was angry because that dog ate my birth certificate."
Quote from: AquaMan on April 19, 2012, 11:19:02 AM
Romney's people have suffered a lot of butt kicking the last 6 months (Etch-a-sketch, betcha' $10K etc). They deserve to have some fun. The best to me was the one showing the President petting his dog.
I like the one showing the first lady prepping the dog.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7079/7094358077_c4ed275287.jpg)
All joking aside. The one thing I can never fault President Obama on is how he treats his family and the love that he shows his dog. He is a great father, and I bet that dog sleeps in the bed every night, just like mine. . . but the picture is funny!
Why not.
(http://iowntheworld.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/418MMH+uUxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Quote from: guido911 on April 19, 2012, 04:01:17 PM
Why not.
(http://iowntheworld.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/418MMH+uUxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Is that Ted in the red pickup truck??
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on April 19, 2012, 04:10:07 PM
Is that Ted in the red pickup truck??
I thought so, which is why I posted the pic since Ted somehow became part of this thread.
Quote from: Teatownclown on April 19, 2012, 12:37:13 PM
and Ted was too.....
Ted's deferments from Selective Service record - near the bottom - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nugent
Regardless of what he told High Times, and that he got the numbers reversed, the record shows he had both.
I got a 362 exemption....won the lottery!
Rush's boil on his butt was a less severe version of the same condition his father had. When Dad managed to serve honorably in World War II.....
A link to pics of "Obama eating dogs". In related news, I read a report that one of the SS guys booted in hooker-gate was in charge of a canine training corps. What is it with Obama, his staff, and dogs? Sheesh :P
https://www.google.com/search?q=obama+eating+dog&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&authuser=0&ei=K-WQT_KKJuTL2QXPoNH4BA&biw=1366&bih=622&sei=MOWQT52tLOKC2AW8tvHoBA
"Let me be clear: I'm saying that the extreme language we hear from the far right is qualitatively different from the extreme language we hear from the far left — and far more damaging to the ties that bind us as a nation. Tut-tutting that both sides should tone it down is meaningless. For all intents and purposes, one side is the problem."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republican-rhetoric-that-damages-the-nation/2012/04/19/gIQAlPH8TT_story.html?hpid=z2
Quote from: Teatownclown on April 19, 2012, 11:34:02 PM
"Let me be clear: I'm saying that the extreme language we hear from the far right is qualitatively different from the extreme language we hear from the far left — and far more damaging to the ties that bind us as a nation. Tut-tutting that both sides should tone it down is meaningless. For all intents and purposes, one side is the problem."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republican-rhetoric-that-damages-the-nation/2012/04/19/gIQAlPH8TT_story.html?hpid=z2
Oh well if Eugene Robinson says so, then the debate is over...Thanks for more genius tainttownclown. Now, back to something more important:
(http://thisistwitchy.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/zz7cdc4b7a.jpg?w=430)
Quote from: guido911 on April 19, 2012, 04:01:17 PM
Why not.
(http://iowntheworld.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/418MMH+uUxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Olbermann: Dog-Gate Exponentially Raises 'Absurdity' of Campaignhttp://news.yahoo.com/olbermann-dog-gate-exponentially-raises-absurdity-campaign-170340662--abc-news-politics.html
"With so many valuable questions going on, we're wasting most of the time dealing with the dogs,"
What kind of dog are you? KO's a bloodhound.
Beat back the bozo's!
Palin weighs in. Yes, I know that sound is left wing shrinkage. :o
Looks like Obama may have it in for a poodle now...
(http://www.thenationalpatriot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/dws-poodle.jpg)
QuoteIt's no secret that Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is one of the most polarizing politicians in the country. Wasserman Schultz is also a member of Congress who represents the 20th congressional district in Florida.
Her position of DNC Chairwoman affords her the opportunity to be regularly seen on national television and broadcast her party's talking points and message, however skewered it may be. But how did Wasseman Schultz become the titular head of the Democratic Party?
Rumors have been swirling around that Wasserman Schultz was not in President Obama's top tier of candidates to sit at the helm of the Democratic National Committee.
http://shark-tank.net/2012/04/20/28406/
This is funny. A little late for apologies, Mitty.
QuoteMitt Romney apologizes for the 'dumb things' he did in prep school
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mitt-romney-apologizes-dumb-things-did-prep-school-152935856.html
Mitt Romney has apologized for incidents described in a Washington Post story about his prep school years in Michigan. Some of the events include forcibly cutting a boy's hair and hassling a closeted gay student in English class.
"Back in high school, I did some dumb things," Romney said in an interview on the "Kilmeade and Friends" talk show on Fox News radio Thursday. "And if anybody was hurt by that or offended by that, I apologize." He added: "There is no question I became a very different person since then."
Romney emphasized that he had no idea the boy was gay. "I certainly don't believe that I thought the fellow was homosexual," said Romney in the radio interview. "That was the furthest thing from our minds back in the 1960s."
According to the Washington Post, which conducted interviews with the presidential candidate's former classmates at the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Romney forcibly cut the "bleached-blond hair that draped over one eye" of a "soft-spoken" new kid because he felt the boy didn't belong. The story is a 5,400-word profile of Romney's formative years; the incident occurred in 1965.
"He can't look like that," an "incensed" Romney told one of his friends upon seeing John Lauber's hair, according to the friend's account. "That's wrong. Just look at him!"
A few days later in a dorm room, several other students pinned down Lauber—who was "perpetually teased for his nonconformity and presumed homosexuality"—while the presumptive Republican nominee "clipped his hair with a pair of scissors." A "terrified" Lauber was crying and screaming, according to the paper.
"It was a hack job," Phillip Maxwell, a student who witnessed the incident, told the Post. "It was vicious." Lauber died in 2004.
Romney also chided another student presumed to be gay, wrote the Post:
In an English class, Gary Hummel, who was a closeted gay student at the time, recalled that his efforts to speak out in class were punctuated with Romney shouting, "Atta girl!" In the culture of that time and place, that was not entirely out of the norm. Hummel recalled some teachers using similar language.
According to his campaign, Romney doesn't recall the incidents.
"Anyone who knows Mitt Romney knows that he doesn't have a mean-spirited bone in his body," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement to the Post. "The stories of fifty years ago seem exaggerated and off base and Governor Romney has no memory of participating in these incidents."
It's worth noting that the Romney campaign, itself, is notorious for its pranks.
On April 1, Romney's campaign staff scheduled a speech for the former Massachusetts governor in a completely empty room.
"I think they're much funnier when I do them on other people than when they do them on me," Romney later said of the prank, captured by a campaign staffer on video. "But this was very good. This was classic."
Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign, recently told the Hill that Romney is a "closet prankster." When Romney was governor, a state trooper on his security detail "short-sheeted" the bed in his hotel room, Fehrnstrom said. Romney retaliated by composing a fake letter from the hotel that said the maid staff had been fired.
Mitt's UNFIT!
I can believe he wasn't thinking about people being gay. Or anyone not in his little rich boy preppy world...
I just want him to have grown up by this point.