The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

It's started and so far:

QuoteRush Limbaugh, while repeatedly insisting he is "not alleging a conspiracy," suggested Monday that the National Hurricane Center's forecast models for Tropical Storm Isaac were altered to help President Barack Obama and "cast a pall" over the Republican National Convention.

Rush Limbaugh: Hurricane Center is 'Obama'

QuoteRush Limbaugh, while repeatedly insisting he is "not alleging a conspiracy," suggested Monday that the National Hurricane Center's forecast models for Tropical Storm Isaac were altered to help President Barack Obama and "cast a pall" over the Republican National Convention.
"I'm not alleging conspiracies here. The Hurricane Center is the regime; the Hurricane Center is the Commerce Department," Limbaugh said on his talk show. "It's the government. It's Obama."


The conservative talker suggested early forecasts, which showed the storm hitting Tampa, the convention's host city, were intended to cause Republicans to cancel the first day of their convention. Newer models showing the storm striking New Orleans, he said, are intended to link the convention to memories of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall seven years ago this week.

In between the models showing the storm striking Tampa and the models showing the storm striking New Orleans, Limbaugh claimed there was "one of the biggest, one of the largest shifts in model forecast I have seen since 1997 when I moved down [to Florida] and started caring about this stuff."

"I know full well that if you give these people the slightest chance and they're gonna turn this into Katrina and they're gonna scare the hell out of New Orleans and they're gonna revive, 'Bush doesn't care about people' and revive all of it," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript. "They're gonna politicize everything 'cause they do it. And now they had the model runs allowing them to do it."

A spokesman for the National Hurricane Center hasn't responded to an email seeking comment.

So shoot yeah, dude.

Hmmm, I guess he's still not off the oxycontin.

They don't need no hurricanes to cast a pall over their convention.

Too many clowns.

You can hear the smell but you see little conductivity....

Are the delegates in place?

QuoteRepublican Convention Taking Place In City With America's Highest Homeless Rate
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/27/751981/tampa-bay-homeless-convention/
As Republicans gather for their national party convention in Tampa, they will be aware of the stormy weather but may not see another issue clouding the city.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area has the highest rate of homelessness in the nation, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness in a report issued earlier this year — 57 homeless for every 10,000 residents.
There are about 16,000 homeless people in the Tampa area, and one in five of them are children.

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/538538_408617115864874_756524498_n.jpg)



circus....

What exactly would be considered a job creation bill?

Quote from: erfalf on August 28, 2012, 11:10:14 AM
What exactly would be considered a job creation bill?

Rebuilding the overpasses in Tulsa's IDL?

Quote from: erfalf on August 28, 2012, 11:10:14 AM
What exactly would be considered a job creation bill?

I guess we could build some guns and ammo factories

Quote from: erfalf on August 28, 2012, 11:10:14 AM
What exactly would be considered a job creation bill?

Closing tax loopholes that hurt employment by allowing corporations to move their operations overseas yet still receive preferential grants and loans?

Passing laws that discourage companies from buying other companies and raiding their assets, converting them to cash which is then kept overseas in Swiss accounts?

Rebuilding the infrastructure of the country that has been decaying?

Passing a jobs bill?

Passing anything other than morality laws? Like a budget?

Nah. Those things make "that one" look good. We'll just wait.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 28, 2012, 12:29:46 PM
Closing tax loopholes that hurt employment by allowing corporations to move their operations overseas yet still receive preferential grants and loans?

Passing laws that discourage companies from buying other companies and raiding their assets, converting them to cash which is then kept overseas in Swiss accounts?

Rebuilding the infrastructure of the country that has been decaying?

Passing a jobs bill?

Passing anything other than morality laws? Like a budget?

Nah. Those things make "that one" look good. We'll just wait.

Remember who you're talking with here. The guy who thinks the current Republican party is more liberal than Reagan. Bizarro.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

What an idiot.

Looks like a direct hit on New Orleans to me
(http://i.imwx.com/images/sat/regions/spec_sat4_600_en.jpg)

Quote from: AquaMan on August 28, 2012, 12:29:46 PM
Closing tax loopholes that hurt employment by allowing corporations to move their operations overseas yet still receive preferential grants and loans?

Passing laws that discourage companies from buying other companies and raiding their assets, converting them to cash which is then kept overseas in Swiss accounts?

Rebuilding the infrastructure of the country that has been decaying?

Passing a jobs bill?

Passing anything other than morality laws? Like a budget?

Nah. Those things make "that one" look good. We'll just wait.

So I guess to make a more fair assessment, I would need to know how many tax bill the democrats have authored.

Quote from: erfalf on August 28, 2012, 12:52:48 PM
So I guess to make a more fair assessment, I would need to know how many tax bill the democrats have authored.

http://www.govtrack.us/ (http://www.govtrack.us/)

Read much Erfalf? None of what we are saying is state secrets. Type in Boehner way back in 2008 and see what his plans for Obama legislation were. No. Ixnay. Nyet. Lots of opportunity squandered with silly stuff.

They can't even pass a budget.

Rush Limbaugh: Democrats want Hurricane Isaac to hit New Orleans

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80284.html (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80284.html)

QuoteDemocrats are hoping Hurricane Isaac strikes New Orleans, Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday, farcically suggesting the GOP send "bags filled with money to the shore up the levees."
"It's the Democrats' wet dream that this thing hit New Orleans," he said, according to a transcript.

"It will show our compassion," the conservative radio host added later. "And it'll do something else: Once we publicize that we have sent 500 bags of money — well, whatever number of bags — bags filled with money to shore up the levees, what will happen? The poor of New Orleans will storm the levees and steal the bags, thereby putting themselves at risk for the eventual flooding that'll happen once they remove the bags. That way Republicans can get rid of even more Democrats in Louisiana and shore up the state for themselves."
On Monday's show, Limbaugh suggested the National Hurricane Center, which is part of the Commerce Department, was manipulating their Isaac forecasts to help President Barack Obama

His producers and he must think his audience is full of loons.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 28, 2012, 01:13:03 PM
Read much Erfalf? None of what we are saying is state secrets. Type in Boehner way back in 2008 and see what his plans for Obama legislation were. No. Ixnay. Nyet. Lots of opportunity squandered with silly stuff.

They can't even pass a budget.

Possibly he thought the Obama plans were pretty bad. And in 2008, Boehner was nothing more than a minority leader in the house. If you want to pick on him though, he did author the 1996 Farm Bill, the 2006 Pension Reform Act, No Child Left Behind in 2001, and a successful school voucher program in D.C. While I may not agree with all of those pieces of legislation I would hardly consider any of them a waste of time.

Oh, and in 2008 he was voting for TARP and the bailout.

As promised ... dancing vaginas protest at RNC

http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/28/13530562-as-promised-dancing-vaginas-protest-at-rnc?lite (http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/28/13530562-as-promised-dancing-vaginas-protest-at-rnc?lite)

(http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=rose-gordon-sala6775B9E4-38B0-8A28-234E-B80ED3523E26.jpg&width=600)(http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=rose-gordon-sala27CE44D9-34FD-6442-6B65-4D3F0E3802AF.jpg&width=600)

QuoteAs activist group CodePink promised, it brought a bit of political theater to its protests at the Republican Convention in Tampa. The anti-war group had a number of activities planned, including one against former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice.

To protest the "GOP's War on Women," the group donned homemade vagina costumes. Earlier this year, a Michigan state legislator was banned from speaking on the House floor after saying "vagina" during her objection to a new abortion bill.

Rae Abileah, co-director for CodePink, previously told Lean Forward that the idea was to "do something a little more creative and flamboyant," while working to "send a strong message to end the war on women."

MOre dumbassedness...(language and required whining)

Mitt Romney is the candidate in case you were wondering.

NJ just shoved him over the wall.

The Republican and Democratic Party Conventions are just television ads....

QuoteMONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2012
From Miami Beach to Tampa, 40 years of fearing and loathing democracy
The last time they held the political conventions in Florida was 1972. It was the summer that I turned 13 years old, and I was falling in love for the first time.

With politics, that is.

Forty years ago, Miami Beach -- a half-day's swamp drive across the sweltering Sunshine State from the hockey-rink home of the 2012 Republican convention – was the pulsating heart of U.S. politics. Terrified by the violence and unrest of the 1968 Democratic confab in Chicago, both parties saw the beachside city, with its gated, spread-out rococo resorts, hippie-friendly police chief and its distance from the hubs of campus protest, as the last safe place in America.

Indeed, the GOP convention was utterly forgettable but for the sight of Sammy Davis Jr. hugging the awkward President Richard Nixon. But the Democratic gathering in mid-July was a completely different affair.

The hook was that the party bosses were threatening to derail the likely – but far from assured – nomination of the anti-war, anti-establishment candidate Sen. George McGovern, even though the South Dakotan had won the most primaries.  The "McGoos," as the left-leaning McGovern acolytes were beat back the challenge – but what sideshows!

"The streets of '68 are the aisles of '72!" shouted gleeful reformers, as recounted by author Rick Perlstein in his epic tale of the era's politics, Nixonland. Battles over the party platform and issues like women's rights and abortion were waged not behind closed doors but on the podium, where America heard a delegate plead for gay rights for the first time. The cast of characters in Miami Beach included Abbie Hoffman, Shirley MacLaine, Arthur Miller...and George Wallace, all of recorded, in a purple haze, by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

It was impossible for me to avert my adolescent eyes. The tiny 9-inch black and white TV set in my bedroom flickered until 4 in the morning, when the delegates stopped squabbling long enough for the networks to finally play the Star Spangled Banner and cut to the test pattern. On the final night, a roll call for vice presidentlasted for hours as votes were cast not just for McGovern's doomed choice Thomas Eagleton but Yippie Jerry Rubin, newsman Roger Mudd, even Mao Zedong.

It was crazy. It was messy. It was weirdly beautiful. It was democracy.

And so they made sure it never happened again. When Nixon trounced McGovern – who'd given his acceptance speech at 2:45 in the morning, because of the whacked-out VP balloting – in November, leaders of both parties took extraordinary steps to guarantee that TV viewers would never see dissent, a.k.a. free speech, a.k.a. democracy. Platform fights were moved out of prime time and into what Mitt Romney would call "quiet rooms."

The notion of debating policy in the public forum of a convention became a quaint relic of the era before television and before the Vince Lombardiazation of American politics, before winning wasn't everything but the only thing.

I've thought about 1972 a lot this week, especially when I saw that Romney's forces down in Tampa were using the excuse of Tropical Storm Isaac to go extreme lengths to keep shut down challenges from a small band of a couple of hundred delegates supporting libertarian Ron Paul – who hasn't fully endorsed the ex-Massachusetts governor.

The Republican Party has already imposed a rule that a candidate's name can't even be placed in nomination without a majority of delegates in 5 states (Paul has but three). Now, Team Romney wants to move up by one day the roll call of the states – where the candidate actually claims the nomination, a one-time highlight that's going the way of the manual typewriter – because it's afraid Paul's small band of backers will raise a ruckus.

The funny thing is that conventions are where candidates are supposed to show voters there the kind of guy who can stand up to the Iranians or the Chinese or the American enemy du jour. Yet here is Mitt Romney, practically cowering  under a table at the idea of giving the Paulities 10 minutes to talk about the gold standard or their fence to keep Americans from fleeing to Mexico.

How sad.

It's been a long, strange trip in the decades since reporters saw Hunter Thompson peeling out from the driveway of his Miami Beach hotel in his red convertible, a six-pack of beer in the front seat. Democracy was in his rear-view mirror.   

Quote from: erfalf on August 28, 2012, 12:52:48 PM
So I guess to make a more fair assessment, I would need to know how many tax bill the democrats have authored.

You would need to know SO much more than that.  You would have to know a little something about Ronald Reagan (Raygun...)  And then George HW Bush, Jimmy Carter, Jerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dwight, Truman, Roosevelt.  And on and on... 

You would have to know about history. 

You would have to be able to read the Federal debt history page (http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm).

You would have to know how to read a graph about some...any...economic activity (http://www.crgraphs.com/).

You would have to know why the latest Republicontin "proposal" to go back to the gold standard is just one more of incredibly stupid ideas.  Want a hint?  Goes to the fact that only about $6 trillion worth (at todays prices) of gold has been mined in the history of the world...  Ready, set, go!  Learn something!

Just so much....

What a yawner. I should tape my outbursts....you'd love them. My friends are in stitches. We're going to have a drinking game (sorta).
Every time the word "Reagan" comes up, we're indulging. ;)

(http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/M/g/4/GOP-Party-Platform.jpg)

(http://static.globalgrind.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_images_540/images/2012_august/150886322_0.jpg)

The GOP's ugly side revealed itself during the Republican National Convention last night, as an attendee in Tampa, Florida allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN, taunting, "This is how we feed animals" before she was removed from the convention.

Quote from: patric on August 29, 2012, 10:19:37 AM

The GOP's ugly side revealed itself during the Republican National Convention last night, as an attendee in Tampa, Florida allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN, taunting, "This is how we feed animals" before she was removed from the convention.

Slate reported:

RNC Attendees Tossed After Reportedly Heckling Black Camerawoman

QuoteHere's a story from last night's GOP convention that Republicans could no doubt live without as they make their pitch to the American public this week. CNN reports:

"Two people were removed from the Republican National Convention Tuesday after they threw nuts at an African-American CNN camera operator and said, 'This is how we feed animals.'
"Multiple witnesses observed the exchange and RNC security and police immediately removed the two people from the Tampa Bay Times Forum."
The cable news network isn't giving the story a lot of play this morning, and only posted an item on it after Talking Points Memo first reported the news last night. Nonetheless, it is probably worth pointing out that the CNN post makes no effort to soften its lede with "allegedly" or anything similar.
The official statements coming from RNC organizers and the CNN brass last night provide only vague details of what happened.

Convention organizers: "Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."

And CNN's statement: "CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment."

The first account of the incident, unsurprisingly, came via Twitter in the form of a tweet from former MSNBC and Current anchor David Shuster: "GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying 'This is how we feed animals.'"

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/08/29/rnc_attendees_heckle_black_cnn_camerawoman_toss_peanuts_at_her_report_.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/08/29/rnc_attendees_heckle_black_cnn_camerawoman_toss_peanuts_at_her_report_.html)

Diane Rheam was unable to get any kind of confirmation from her guests today.  Her guests are attending the RNC.

From what I understand the RNC has now allowed Bachmann and Fallin back in if they promise to stay sober.  Bazinga

Quote from: Townsend on August 28, 2012, 03:12:16 PM

As promised ... dancing vaginas protest at RNC

http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/28/13530562-as-promised-dancing-vaginas-protest-at-rnc?lite (http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/28/13530562-as-promised-dancing-vaginas-protest-at-rnc?lite)

(http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=rose-gordon-sala6775B9E4-38B0-8A28-234E-B80ED3523E26.jpg&width=600)(http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=rose-gordon-sala27CE44D9-34FD-6442-6B65-4D3F0E3802AF.jpg&width=600)

Dancing Vaginas!! My GAWD! That is the funniest thing I've seen in years!

However, I had a little deja vu. It reminds me of some dreams I've had.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 29, 2012, 11:09:04 AM
Dancing Vaginas!! My GAWD! That is the funniest thing I've seen in years!

However, I had a little deja vu. It reminds me of some dreams I've had.

Except these vaginas aren't taunting you.

Quote from: Townsend on August 29, 2012, 11:10:14 AM
Except these vaginas aren't taunting you.

Taunt me, laugh at me, challenge my manhood, whatever. Just notice me!!

Two people threw peanuts at a black camera woman.

Absolutely proves beyond doubt that all Republicans are racist.

Check.

Quote from: Conan71 on August 29, 2012, 11:52:52 AM
Two people threw peanuts at a black camera woman.

Absolutely proves beyond doubt that all Republicans are racist.

Check.

The story being tried is that they were referring to the media not race.

Quote from: Townsend on August 29, 2012, 11:55:38 AM
The story being tried is that they were referring to the media not race.

And the significance of peanuts? They were thinking of the press as squirrels rather than apes?

Conan, singularly, none of these activities means much. At some point, they aggregate into a personality. Its not easy to get seats at the convention. These aren't skinheads or trailer trash. These are workers in the party. It is getting uncomfortable to see them react to the well placed seeds of hate the party leaders have planted. Stuff like the press being their enemy (Rush even blamed the National Weather center for playing up Isaac to remind people of Katrina). Yelling "Liar" at the president during a State address. Censuring a representative for using the word "vagina" in the House. Liberals being godless and the president a closet Muslim. That's a small sample of stupid, sexist, racist, ignorant behavior.

Its even more embarrassing to see the press ignore the story.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 29, 2012, 12:39:05 PM

Its even more embarrassing to see the press ignore the story.

I will point you to twitter.  The press isn't ignoring it.

Quote from: Townsend on August 29, 2012, 12:49:00 PM
I will point you to twitter.  The press isn't ignoring it.

Good. Maybe they can spare some time to enlighten the masses as to the Sea of Gallilee party. Its been pretty quiet except for the Quail connection. You don't just strip down naked in front of your staffers to swim in the waters Jesus walked on without having done some serious partying beforehand. Good demonstration of how Republicans support Israel I guess.

I'm just a little bit perturbed at the lackluster coverage of such events when the press is supposedly so biased against this party.

 OK...seriously...

QuoteGov. Mitt Romney's campaign toasted its top donors Wednesday aboard a 150-foot yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.

The floating party, hosted by a Florida developer on his yacht "Cracker Bay,"  (Really?) was one of a dozen exclusive events meant to nurture those who have raised more than $1 million for Romney's bid.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/romney-party-yacht-flies-caymans-flag/story?id=17105028#.UD5Xi9ZlTYg (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/romney-party-yacht-flies-caymans-flag/story?id=17105028#.UD5Xi9ZlTYg)

Onion story?

And it's not a coincidence that she works for CNN and just happens to be black.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 29, 2012, 01:05:58 PM
Onion story?

Man, you'd think.

Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 28, 2012, 05:56:32 PM

You would need to know SO much more than that.  You would have to know a little something about Ronald Reagan (Raygun...)  And then George HW Bush, Jimmy Carter, Jerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Dwight, Truman, Roosevelt.  And on and on... 

You would have to know about history. 

You would have to be able to read the Federal debt history page (http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm).

You would have to know how to read a graph about some...any...economic activity (http://www.crgraphs.com/).

You would have to know why the latest Republicontin "proposal" to go back to the gold standard is just one more of incredibly stupid ideas.  Want a hint?  Goes to the fact that only about $6 trillion worth (at todays prices) of gold has been mined in the history of the world...  Ready, set, go!  Learn something!

Just so much....

Look, my point was that I wanted to know who was focusing on the economy more, because the post earlier was insinuating that Republicans are only focused on the social issues, while ignoring what most would argue should be the priority. So I don't need to know what Democrats did 40 years ago. I want to know what they are doing now. Because it would seem to me that Democrats wasted most of the time they had in power on social issues as well (Obamacare/DADT) and totally ignored the fiscal plight of our economy (no budgets in either year, although they did pass the bailout). That's the point I was trying to make.

Quote from: Townsend on August 29, 2012, 01:14:02 PM
Man, you'd think.

USA Today has picked it up now.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/gop-ejects-people-who-threw-nuts-at-camerwoman/1#.UD5ilNZlSRI

Quote"Yesterday two attendees exhibited deplorable behavior," said a Republican statement, posted by Talking Points Memo. "Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."

Properly dealt with and repudiated.  Why does it need to evolve into a media circus circle jerk?

Oh, I remember!!! Keeps the focus off 14.6% U-6 unemployment rate, almost $16 trillion in debt, and Obama punting when he had the chance to let the Bush tax cuts expire.

Quote from: Conan71 on August 29, 2012, 02:27:49 PM
Properly dealt with and repudiated.  Why does it need to evolve into a media circus circle jerk?

Oh, I remember!!! Keeps the focus off 14.6% U-6 unemployment rate, almost $16 trillion in debt, and Obama punting when he had the chance to let the Bush tax cuts expire.

Another way to look at it is it's a reminder of stances taken by some.

If they hit her should they have been charged with battery?  If it had been the other way, the radio whack jobs would demand it.

Each side is going to take any opportunity to light the other in a negative way.  The DNC will have colorful stories reported as well.

Speaking of corrupt political parties. Has anyone heard that the RNC seems to be trying to finagle the primary process by front loading with all the winner take all states. This would more or less shorten the primary season, and lengthen the general season (as if we need that).

Is it just me or does everyone else think primaries ought to be like the general, one fell swoop and done? I think it would slightly neutralize the advantage the money gives some candidates. I don't necessarily think it would have changed the outcome this year.

He's coming to terms with it:

Rush Limbaugh: I'm 'literally going insane'

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80366.html (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80366.html)

QuoteRush Limbaugh slammed Karl Rove on Wednesday and said he was "literally going insane" over GOP strategists' advice that the party not attack President Barack Obama during their convention.
"Do you want to talk about the overall tone of the convention?" Limbaugh facetiously asked his radio show audience. "Do you want me to say, 'My gosh, what a bunch of wimps. Don't even have the guts to mention Obama's name. Christie didn't have the guts to mention his name?' Do you want me to tell you how this bunch seems to be afraid to be critical of a party that's destroying the country? Or do you agree with the party, 'No, we don't need to mention that because everybody already knows it and we're trying to attract swing voters, and they don't want to hear that stuff?'"

The conservative talker signaled out Karl Rove, the Bush administration political guru who leads several outside spending groups, and Ed Rollins, who managed Rep. Michele Bachmann's failed GOP primary bid this year, for criticism.
Rollins said on Fox News that ignoring Obama's record was "the perfect way to go" since most voters are already familiar with it. Rove agreed with Democratic strategist Joe Trippi when he made a similar statement.
"Where was the beef?" Limbaugh implored. "Where was the red meat? There wasn't any. Everybody doesn't know about Obama's terrible record! I'm gonna tell you something. Mr. Rollins, if everybody knew Obama's record, he'd be down 20 points."
The conservative talker questioned the strategists' logic.
"Folks, I'm literally going insane hearing this," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript. "I want to know why these independents don't get turned off when Obama calls Romney a murderer and a felon. Why is it that independents only get turned off? Why is it that the independents only get turned off when we're critical?"

Obama has never called Romney a murderer or a felon. A super PAC backing Obama misleadingly linked Romney to the cancer death of the wife of a steelworker who was laid off by Bain Capital during Romney's tenure, and Obama's deputy campaign manager said SEC documents showing Romney had a role at Bain in 2002 — three years after Romney said he retired — meant Romney was either a felon or lying to the American people.
And while the major speeches by Ann Romney and Gov. Chris Christie did not include major criticisms of the president, earlier addresses from former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and others did.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80366.html#ixzz24y3Q8Tr0

Somebody post it please. Chris Christie as "Fat guy in a little coat"

Oklahoma's National Committeeman intends to join the ranks of "Recovering Republican" after ditching the GOP convention this week.  He's in good company.

QuoteOKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Republican Party's national committeeman skipped this week's GOP convention in Tampa, Fla., and said Tuesday he plans to resign from the party and register as an independent.

National Committeeman James Dunn told The Associated Press he was upset with the nation's two-party system and "totally disagrees" with much of the GOP's state and national platforms.

"I don't like the Republican Party any more than the Democratic Party. It's come to the point with me that I think both parties have left the public," Dunn told the AP in an exclusive interview. "I think they're not looking out for the best interests of the public. They're looking out for the best interest of the wealthy and the lobbyists."

His absence from the Republican National Convention was noticed during a roll call Tuesday, when Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin announced votes from 40 of the state's 43 delegates. Two Ron Paul supporters who refused to vote for presidential nominee Mitt Romney, despite being obligated to do so, had their votes voided.

Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Matt Pinnell said he was not aware of Dunn's plans to skip the convention.

"I tried to reach him (about picking up his convention credentials)," Pinnell told the AP. "He didn't return a text message."

Dunn, 51, an Oklahoma City attorney and a lifelong Republican, was elected to a four-year term as the state's national committeeman in 2008. He didn't seek re-election to the post at this year's state convention.

Dunn, a Paul supporter, said he's particularly troubled with the Republican Party's push to overhaul Oklahoma's civil justice system, commonly referred to as tort reform, to limit the amount that injured people can receive in damages.

"It's just wrong what they're doing," Dunn said. "A jury should decide what people's damages are."

He said he's also against the GOP's position to oppose any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

"Throwing these people out is not the answer, and we know it's not going to work," Dunn said. "I don't want illegal criminals and drug dealers — no one wants that. But what about these people who have families and established lives in our country?"

Dunn said he hopes to push to open the state's current closed primary system to allow independents to vote in primaries and encourage more voter participation in elections.

"Everybody is tired of the political partisanship fighting," Dunn said. "I think what we've got to do is stand up for voters and voter rights. Maybe the politicians would stop worrying about what the party says and do what's right for the state."

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press


Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20120829_16_0_OKLAHO762702

Quote from: erfalf on August 29, 2012, 01:17:15 PM
totally ignored the fiscal plight of our economy.

This is completely out of touch with reality. Before the Republicans took over the House, Obama and the Democrats passed tax cut after tax cut, mostly targeted at companies who hire and invest in new production. Interestingly, the only one allowed to expire thus far was one of the payroll tax holidays. You may have noticed your paycheck get a few bucks smaller some months back. (If you're a W-2 employee, anyway)

You may not have noticed, but manufacturing jobs have been growing at a rate not seen in more than 20 years.

It would be defensible to say that Obama and the Democrats have not spent enough time/energy on the economy, but to say they've completely ignored it is patently ridiculous.

Just now catching up on todaze news and find only one thing worth posting about the convention:
http://www.businessinsider.com/senators-daughter-sings-anthem-at-opening-of-republican-convention-2012-8

I won't bother watching Condi (why is she an authority?):
Condi Rice Can't Name A Specific Obama Foreign Policy Failure
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/08/29/765771/rice-obama-foreign-policy/

Liars convention. How could anybody trust these freaks?
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/08/28/758981/rnc-tuesday/

Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

Great Ryan soundbyte:
"President Obama is the kind of politician who puts promises on the record, and then calls that the record!  But we are four years into this presidency. The issue is not the economy as Barack Obama inherited it, not the economy as he envisions it, but this economy as we are living it.
 
College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.  Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now.  And I hope you understand this too, if you're feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we're spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate. . .

I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life.  I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.  That's what we do in this country.  That's the American Dream.  That's freedom, and I'll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners." 

Willing to bet that Clint Eastwood is going to be the mystery speaker tonight.

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM

Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

Great Ryan soundbyte:
"President Obama is the kind of politician who puts promises on the record, and then calls that the record!  But we are four years into this presidency. The issue is not the economy as Barack Obama inherited it, not the economy as he envisions it, but this economy as we are living it.
 
College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.  Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now.  And I hope you understand this too, if you're feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we're spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate. . .

I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life.  I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.  That's what we do in this country.  That's the American Dream.  That's freedom, and I'll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners." 

Notice he left out the lie about Obama allegedly removing the work requirement for welfare.  Where was that at?  Hmm?

Whats with Ryan's constant throat clearing? Does he have tourettes? His speech was boilerplate: he blamed a factory closing on President Obama that was actually closed before he took office. He lied about the about the Medicare cuts and he lied about his own budget's plan for Medicare.

Dr Rice's speech was excellent, I truly admire her.

I noticed that some audience members booed when NM Governor Susana Martinez spoke espanol...bad form folks.

Quote from: carltonplace on August 30, 2012, 08:22:33 AM
Whats with Ryan's constant throat clearing? Does he have tourettes? His speech was boilerplate: he blamed a factory closing on President Obama that was actually closed before he took office. He lied about the about the Medicare cuts and he lied about his own budget's plan for Medicare.

Dr Rice's speech was excellent, I truly admire her.

I noticed that some audience members booed when NM Governor Susana Martinez spoke espanol...bad form folks.

He lied about it because he is a liar.

Booing?  Well, to paraphrase, "it's the Republicans, stupid..."
And I guarantee there will be a similar event where I get to say, "it's the Democrats, stupid..."

Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 30, 2012, 08:30:30 AM

He lied about it because he is a liar.

Booing?  Well, to paraphrase, "it's the Republicans, stupid..."
And I guarantee there will be a similar event where I get to say, "it's the Democrats, stupid..."

I think any gathering of the magnitude of the conventions is going to have its fair share of jerks and egg heads. Hopefully most are in the audience though.

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM

Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

Apparently a park of mis-truths.



Fact check: Paul Ryan at the RNC

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-30/paul-ryan-fact-check-republican-convention/57432326/1?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=206567 (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-30/paul-ryan-fact-check-republican-convention/57432326/1?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=206567)

QuoteTAMPA, Fla. – Paul Ryan's acceptance speech at the Republican convention contained several false claims and misleading statements. Delegates cheered as the vice presidential nominee:

•Accused President Obama's health care law of funneling money away from Medicare "at the expense of the elderly." In fact, Medicare's chief actuary says the law "substantially improves" the system's finances, and Ryan himself has embraced the same savings.
•Accused Obama of doing "exactly nothing" about recommendations of a bipartisan deficit commission — which Ryan himself helped scuttle.
MORE: Full coverage of the Republican National Convention
STORY: News analysis: Ryan says 'America needs a turnaround'
•Claimed the American people were "cut out" of stimulus spending. Actually, more than a quarter of all stimulus dollars went for tax relief for workers.
•Faulted Obama for failing to deliver a 2008 campaign promise to keep a Wisconsin plant open. It closed less than a month before Obama took office.
•Blamed Obama for the loss of a AAA credit rating for the U.S. Actually, Standard & Poor's blamed the downgrade on the uncompromising stands of both Republicans and Democrats.
And when he wasn't attacking Obama, Ryan was puffing up the record of his running mate, Mitt Romney, on taxes and unemployment.
Taking money from Medicare?
Ryan continued the campaign's false line of attack that Obama had "funneled" money out of Medicare to pay for the federal health care law "at the expense of the elderly." But that's contradicted by Medicare's chief actuary, in a statement at the end of the most recent report of the system's trustees (our emphasis added):
Medicare Actuary, April 23, 2012: [Obama's] Affordable Care Act makes important changes to the Medicare program and substantially improves its financial outlook ...
Medicare's money isn't being taken away. The Affordable Care Act calls for slowing the growth in spending, a move that — if successful — would keep the hospital insurance trust fund solvent for longer than if the reductions didn't happen.
Ryan himself proposed keeping most of these same spending cuts in his most recent "Path to Prosperity" budget. Yet, Ryan criticized Obama's cuts as "the biggest, coldest power play of all" and suggested seniors would suffer as a result.
Ryan, Aug. 29: And the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly. ... [T]hey just took it all away from Medicare, $716 billion funneled out of Medicare by President Obama.
The Affordable Care Act calls for a $716 billion reduction in the future growth of Medicare spending over 10 years, with most of that —about $415 billion— coming from a reduction in the future growth of payments to hospitals through Medicare Part A. And Medicare Part A's trust fund, as we've explained before, is in trouble financially. It's set to be insolvent in 2024, even with these spending cuts. Without them, the trust fund wouldn't be able to fully pay projected benefits in 2016, the Medicare trustees estimate.
Deficit commission
Ryan accused Obama of doing "exactly nothing" about recommendations from a bipartisan presidential commission to reduce the deficit. But Ryan himself was among a minority of commission members whose opposition scuttled the plan and prevented it from being sent automatically to Congress for action.
Ryan: He created a new bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanks them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing. Republicans stepped up with good-faith reforms and solutions equal to the problems. How did the president respond? By doing nothing — nothing except to dodge and demagogue the issue.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's report proposed deep spending cuts in both domestic and military spending, and an overhaul of the tax code that would have lowered rates but raised revenues — all in an attempt to slow the growth of government by $4 trillion over 10 years.
Many Republicans, including Ryan, opposed the military cuts and new tax revenue, while many Democrats opposed changes to Social Security that included raising the full retirement age.
The 18-member commission needed a super majority of 14 votes in order to bring the report to a vote in Congress. But it received the support of just 11 members. Seven members, including Ryan, opposed it, thus blocking congressional action.
In a statement on the final report, Ryan said he "could not support the plan in its entirety," but said some elements of it were "worthy of further pursuit."
Ryan opposed the commission's approach to paying for lower federal income tax rates by taxing capital gains and dividends as ordinary income (see footnote on page 29). In his own latest budget plan, Ryan proposed to keep the current capital gains tax rate, arguing that to do otherwise "could precipitate a flight of capital away from job-creating businesses."
Like Ryan, Obama thanked the commission in a Dec. 3, 2010, statement that promised to "study closely" its proposals for possible inclusion in his own budget plans. Nine months later, Obama submitted a deficit reduction plan to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that was designed to reduce the deficit by $3.6 trillion over 10 years through a package of spending cuts and tax hikes.
Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, tried to work out a so-called "Grand Bargain" that would have reduced the deficit through a mix of tax hikes and spending cuts — and even changes to Social Security. The New York Times reported that the Grand Bargain would have raised the retirement age and changed the formula for calculating benefits. But, as the Times reported, the deal fell through as members of Boehner's caucus objected to raising taxes.
In short, both Ryan and Obama have proposed deficit-reduction plans — and each opposed the other's plan.
Stimulus deceit
Ryan falsely claimed that the stimulus failed to help taxpayers and that it "cut out" the American people. Actually, more than 25% of stimulus dollars went to provide tax relief for workers.
Ryan: [The stimulus] cost $831 billion. The largest one-time expenditure ever by our federal government. ... You, the American people of this country, were cut out of the deal.
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation calculated that about $230 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided tax relief. Much of that money, about $116 billion, funded the Making Work Pay tax credit for workers. In 2009 and 2010, the credit gave up to $400 to individuals earning up to $75,000, and gave up to $800 to couples earning up to $150,000.
Janesville plant closing
Ryan cited the closing of a GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wis., as evidence of Obama's failing to deliver on promises made in the 2008 presidential campaign. But as it happens, the plant closed before Obama even took office.
Ryan: My own state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory.
A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: "I believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another hundred years." That's what he said in 2008.
Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that's how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.
Here's what Obama told workers during a campaign stop at the struggling GM plant in Janesville back in 2008:
Obama, Feb. 13, 2008: And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it's where it will thrive. I want it to thrive ...
It's true that the plant didn't last another year, as Ryan said. In fact, the Business Journal in Milwaukee wrote that the assembly plant shut down on Dec. 23, 2008, at the tail end of the Bush administration, a victim of the financial crisis and dwindling demand for the SUVs produced at the plant. That's nearly one month before Obama was sworn into office.
About 100 workers were kept on in 2009 to finish a truck order and help shut down the plant, according to the Associated Press.
'Downgraded America'
Ryan faulted Obama for a credit downgrade for which Ryan's own party shares equal responsibility. Ryan said that "a presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a disappointing close," adding:
Ryan, Aug. 29: [Obama's presidency] began with a perfect AAA credit rating for the United States; it ends with the downgraded America.
Ryan refers to the decision of Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, to downgrade its score for U.S. Treasury obligations from AAA to AA+ on Aug. 5, 2011. That took place just four days after Congress voted to raise the federal debt ceiling, following lengthy negotiations in which House Republicans sought to force concessions from Obama and Senate Democrats as the price for raising the ceiling and averting the first default on Treasury debt payments in U.S. history.
In its report, Standard & Poor's blamed both Republicans and Democrats for failing to come to agreement on spending cuts or revenue increases sufficient to reduce U.S. deficits significantly. It said:
S&P, Aug. 5, 2011: The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. ...
Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee [of Congress] decisions on more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.
Ryan, of course, is among those Republicans opposed to any "new revenues" from tax increases.
Puffing up Romney's record
Running through Romney's credentials, Ryan boasted about Romney's fiscal and jobs record as governor of Massachusetts. But there's a bit less there than Ryan lets on.
Ryan: He was the Republican governor of a state where almost nine in 10 legislators are Democrats, and yet he balanced the budget without raising taxes. Unemployment went down, household incomes went up, and Massachusetts, under Gov. Mitt Romney, saw its credit rating upgraded.
It's true that Romney balanced the state budget every year — as Massachusetts' Constitution requires— and Romney never raised personal income taxes. But as we have notedwhenever this claim has arisen — which has been frequently — Romney did hike government fees by hundreds of millions of dollars, and he also closed loopholes on some corporate taxes.
Ryan also said that under Romney, "unemployment went down." That's true. According to unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts went from 5.6%when Romney took office in January 2003 to 4.6% when he left office in January 2007.
But when considered in light of an improving national economy, Romney's record on unemployment is a bit less impressive. Massachusetts' unemployment rate was slightly lower than the national rate when Romney took office, and it was roughly the same as the national rate when he left

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM

Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

Romney campaign having to defend Ryan's speech:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/30/romney-campaign-defends-ryans-speech/ (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/30/romney-campaign-defends-ryans-speech/)

Quote(CNN) – Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser for Mitt Romney's campaign, defended Paul Ryan against criticism of his speech, saying the vice presidential hopeful was not inaccurate when he blamed President Barack Obama for the failure of a General Motors plant in Wisconsin.

"He didn't talk about Obama closing the plant. He said that candidate Obama went there in 2008, and what he said was 'With government assistance, we can keep this plant open for another 100 years.' Here we are four years into his administration. That plant is still closed," Fehrnstrom said Thursday on CNN's "Starting Point."

Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker, catch the latest updates from the GOP convention on CNN's 2012 Conventions Live Blog, and check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator to game out your own strategy for November.

During his speech Wednesday night, Ryan told a story about then-presidential candidate Obama sharing with auto workers his hope that government could help keep their plant open. In his speech, Ryan quoted Obama as saying "if our government is there to support you ... this plant will be here for another hundred years."

The plant, however, was shut down within a year–a decision made in June 2008, prior to Obama winning election to the White House.

"That plant didn't last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day," Ryan said at the convention.

According to a CNN Fact Check, Ryan may have been misleading on the facts, as there is little evidence suggesting Obama actually promised workers the plant would remain open.

"I know how hard your governor has fought to keep jobs in this plant," he said according to an account kept by the Council on Foreign Relations. "But I also know how much progress you've made - how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you're churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years."

While most of the plant's work had come to an end by December 2008, the Detroit News Gazette reported the plant didn't fully close until April 2009. CNN concluded in its research that while Ryan's statement was true-in the sense that the factory closed down while Obama was president-his speech was incomplete.

"To fairly evaluate Obama's statement, at least two pieces of context - missing from Ryan's account - would be useful: First, that Obama wasn't telling this plant that he'd save it from a pending closure. He wasn't addressing a plant that he knew to be closing, because the closure announcement didn't come until four months after his speech. Second, although the plant's last bit of production stopped early in Obama's presidency and the plant remains closed, the closure was planned before Obama became president."
Fehrnstrom also said Ryan wasn't arguing that Obama had closed the plant.

"What (Obama) said was with his recovery program, with government assistance, we can keep that plant open for 100 years. Four years later, it's still shuttered. I think it's a symbol of a broken economy under this president," Fehrnstrom said on CNN's "Starting Point."

The Romney campaign also stood by Ryan on claims that the congressman was misleading on his jab against the president over the so-called Simpson-Bowles plan.

"He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing," Ryan, who served on that panel, told the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.

Ryan, however, left out that he helped kill the proposed report that the commission produced nearly two years ago.

Ryan was one of eight Republicans on the 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which Obama established in 2010. The commission was led by Erskine Bowles, who served as White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration, and former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson.
Bowles and Simpson proposed a sweeping program of spending cuts and a radical overhaul of the U.S. tax code, aimed at cutting projected budget deficits by a total of $4 trillion by 2020. The plan included changes to Social Security and substantial cuts in defense and discretionary spending.

But for their proposal to be adopted as official recommendations to Congress, the Bowles-Simpson commission needed 14 of the 18 votes. It failed on an 11-7 vote, with four Democrats and three Republicans, including Ryan, voting no.

Ryan was then the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, soon to be its chairman. He called the plan "serious and credible" - but said it relied too heavily on tax increases and failed to restructure federal health care programs like Medicare.

Obama never fully embraced the Bowles-Simpson recommendations. But he incorporated some of the recommendations the co-chairs made in a plan he sent to Congress the following April, one that called for a mix of spending reductions and tax hikes. And in August 2011, after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives balked at raising the federal debt ceiling, he signed a deficit-reduction plan that sets in motion $1.2 trillion in automatic, across-the-board cuts over the next decade. A congressional "supercommittee" that was supposed to find an alternative to those cuts failed to reach agreement in November.

The verdict:

Misleading. Obama didn't sign onto the Bowles-Simpson recommendations wholeheartedly, but he did take some of their suggestions to Congress in 2011. And Ryan ignores his own role in the failure of the Bowles-Simpson panel.

Defending Ryan, Fehrnstrom said the House Budget chairman "brought forth his own deficit reduction plan."

"That's not something this president did," he said. "Instead, he kicked the can down the road. This is why so many people have lost faith in this president."

Pressed further, Fehrnstrom added: "There's an obligation on the part of people in Congress if they reject Simpson-Bowles to talk about what they will put in its place. Paul Ryan did that. What this president did was what so many people before him have done, which is to form a commission."

**YAWN**

Some one wake me up when the election is over.

Liars, cheats, chiselers and thieves.

How can that be boring?

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM

Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

ABC's take on it also disagrees with you.  3 pages of it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/wireStory/fact-check-convention-speakers-stray-reality-17110536#.UD-EgtZlTYg (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/wireStory/fact-check-convention-speakers-stray-reality-17110536#.UD-EgtZlTYg)

FACT CHECK: Ryan Takes Factual Shortcuts in Speech

QuoteLaying out the first plans for his party's presidential ticket, GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took some factual shortcuts Wednesday night when he attacked President Barack Obama's policies on Medicare, the economic stimulus and the budget deficit.

Sen. Rob Portman, a former U.S. trade representative, glossed over his own problems when critiquing Obama's trade dealings with China. A day earlier, the convention's keynote speaker, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, bucked reality in promising that GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney will lay out for the American people the painful budget cuts it will take to wrestle the government's debt and deficit woes under control.

And former senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum stretched the truth in taking Obama to task over his administration supposedly waiving work requirements in the nation's landmark welfare-to-work law.

A closer look at some of the words spoken at the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla.:

RYAN: "And the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly. ... So they just took it all away from Medicare. Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama."

THE FACTS: Ryan's claim ignores the fact that Ryan himself incorporated the same cuts into budgets he steered through the House in the past two years as chairman of its Budget Committee, using the money for deficit reduction. And the cuts do not affect Medicare recipients directly, but rather reduce payments to hospitals, health insurance plans and other service providers.

In addition, Ryan's own plan to remake Medicare would squeeze the program's spending even more than the changes Obama made, shifting future retirees into a system in which they would get a fixed payment to shop for coverage among private insurance plans. Critics charge that would expose the elderly to more out-of-pocket costs.

———

RYAN: "The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare and cronyism at their worst. You, the working men and women of this country, were cut out of the deal."

THE FACTS: Ryan himself asked for stimulus funds shortly after Congress approved the $800 billion plan, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Ryan's pleas to federal agencies included letters to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis seeking stimulus grant money for two Wisconsin energy conservation companies.

One of them, the nonprofit Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp., received $20.3 million from the Energy Department to help homes and businesses improve energy efficiency, according to federal records. That company, he said in his letter, would build "sustainable demand for green jobs." Another eventual recipient, the Energy Center of Wisconsin, received about $365,000.

———

RYAN: Said Obama misled people in Ryan's hometown of Janesville, Wis., by making them think a General Motors plant there threatened with closure could be saved. "A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: 'I believe that if our government is there to support you ... this plant will be here for another hundred years.' That's what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year."

THE FACTS: The plant halted production in December 2008, weeks before Obama took office and well before he enacted a more robust auto industry bailout that rescued GM and Chrysler and allowed the majority of their plants — though not the Janesville facility — to stay in operation. Ryan himself voted for an auto bailout under President George W. Bush that was designed to help GM, but he was a vocal critic of the one pushed through by Obama that has been widely credited with revitalizing both GM and Chrysler.

———

RYAN: Obama "created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way and then did exactly nothing."

THE FACTS: It's true that Obama hasn't heeded his commission's recommendations, but Ryan's not the best one to complain. He was a member of the commission and voted against its final report.

———

The article continues on if you're interested...http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/wireStory/fact-check-convention-speakers-stray-reality-17110536#.UD-EgtZlTYg (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/wireStory/fact-check-convention-speakers-stray-reality-17110536#.UD-EgtZlTYg)

Quote from: AquaMan on August 30, 2012, 10:28:55 AM
Liars, cheats, chiselers and thieves.

How can that be boring?

The Democrat convention hasn't happened yet.

Quote from: Conan71 on August 30, 2012, 10:37:54 AM
The Democrat convention hasn't happened yet.

I wonder if the dancing vaginas will show up.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 30, 2012, 10:49:01 AM
I wonder if the dancing vaginas will show up.

You mean Eastwood's neck waddle?  They'll be at the RNC this eve.  Uh-how-ya-doin'?

(http://www.usnews.com/pubdbimages/image/36018/FE_DA_120830ClintEastwood425x283.jpg)

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/08/30/close-friend-of-romney-clint-eastwood-is-thursdays-mystery-speaker (http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/08/30/close-friend-of-romney-clint-eastwood-is-thursdays-mystery-speaker)

QuoteA close friend of Mitt and Ann Romney confirmed to Whispers Wednesday night that Clint Eastwood is indeed Thursday's mystery speaker at the Republican National Convention.

"It's him," said Paul Gilbert, who has known the Romney family for nearly a decade and served as the GOP presidential candidate's Arizona state chair. "I can confirm that, 100 percent."

Eastwood, a long-time Republican and former mayor of his hometown in California, Carmel, endorsed Romney earlier this year. At an August fundraiser, Eastwood said he believed Romney would "restore a decent tax system" to create "fairness."

Quote from: Conan71 on August 30, 2012, 10:37:54 AM
The Democrat convention hasn't happened yet.

When it does, you can bet there will be styrofoam Greek columns, fog machines, and lots and lots of promises.  Every camera will be trained on a supporter as they sob uncontrollably.  Every speech will mandate equality, legislate fairness, and discount failure.  There will be puppies, rainbows, and of course the magic unicorns of President Obama's economic acuity.

No one will mention the debt.  There will be very little discussion if any of Obamacare, GM, or the stimulus.  Any discussion of the economy will be on the basis that it's someone else's fault. It's going to have to be Cirque du Obama, with a Chris Matthews diaper change every 20 minutes.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LTkxoqrkp4/TcE6rmT1H9I/AAAAAAAAAOY/wwMcwKtSz8o/s640/Obama_Unicorn_Whisperer_thumb.jpg)

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 11:06:19 AM
When it does, you can bet there will be styrofoam Greek columns, fog machines, and lots and lots of promises.  Every camera will be trained on a supporter as they sob uncontrollably.  Every speech will mandate equality, legislate fairness, and discount failure.  There will be puppies, rainbows, and of course the magic unicorns of President Obama's economic acuity.

No one will mention the debt.  There will be very little discussion if any of Obamacare, GM, or the stimulus.  Any discussion of the economy will be on the basis that it's someone else's fault. It's going to have to be Cirque du Obama, with a Chris Matthews diaper change every 20 minutes.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LTkxoqrkp4/TcE6rmT1H9I/AAAAAAAAAOY/wwMcwKtSz8o/s640/Obama_Unicorn_Whisperer_thumb.jpg)

Probably won't be serving peanuts...just in case.

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 11:06:19 AM
with a Chris Matthews diaper change every 20 minutes.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LTkxoqrkp4/TcE6rmT1H9I/AAAAAAAAAOY/wwMcwKtSz8o/s640/Obama_Unicorn_Whisperer_thumb.jpg)

That's histerical. Thanks!

We better check voter photo ID's before they enter the Dem convention to weed out planted peanut throwers. PPT's.

Quote from: AquaMan on August 30, 2012, 11:16:51 AM
We better check voter photo ID's before they enter the Dem convention to weed out planted peanut throwers. PPT's.

Democrat photo ID's won't be accepted this year.

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM
Ryan hit it out of the park!

Ouch!

The BBC disagrees:

Paul Ryan Republican speech 'contained errors'

QuoteRepublican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan has come under fire for alleged inaccuracies during his convention debut in Tampa, Florida.

Mr Ryan attacked the president for making cuts to the Medicare healthcare programme, but did not say that his own budget plan includes the same savings.

He complained that proposals by a budget commission were not adopted, but did not mention he opposed its report.

Thursday sees Mitt Romney formally accept the Republican nomination.

Mr Romney's speech to the convention is the challenger's biggest opportunity yet to make his case to the nation and is one of the set-piece events of the US election calendar.

He and Mr Ryan will challenge President Barack Obama and his Vice-President Joe Biden on election day, 6 November.

Facts in dispute
In a barnstorming speech to a rapt audience, Mr Ryan promised a "turnaround" for America and said Mr Obama's administration was tired and out of ideas.

The Wisconsin congressman said he and Mitt Romney would not duck the tough issues.

Mr Ryan, who serves as chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, is known as a leading Washington policy "wonk", responsible for the budget plans backed by Mr Romney and Republicans in Congress.

But fact-checkers listening to his speech on Wednesday night quickly alleged that he had been slack with his facts.

On a key area of debate, the future of Medicare, the government-run health programme for over-65s, Mr Ryan accused the White House of slashing $716bn (£450bn) from the much-loved scheme.

But FactCheck.org, amongst others, said Mr Obama's 2010 healthcare reform law does not cut money from Medicare, but simply reduces the growth in spending on the scheme in an effort to keep it solvent.

In addition, Mr Ryan - who described the Obama plan as "the biggest, coldest, power play of all" - failed to note that he proposed virtually the same cuts in his own budget plans.

He accused the president of "political patronage" via his $800bn stimulus plan, passed in 2008. However, he neglected in his speech to mention that he sought to procure stimulus dollars for energy firms in his home state of Wisconsin, the Associated Press notes.

The vice-presidential hopeful was also accused of misleading his audience over the timing of the closure of a GM plant in his home town of Janesville, Wisconsin.

That statement earned Mr Ryan a "false" rating from PolitiFact.com, having failed to note that the plant closed under the previous administration of President George W Bush.

The Obama campaign released a web video on Thursday highlighting Mr Ryan's contentious statements, and dubbing him the "wrong choice for the middle class".


Despite the arguments over Mr Ryan's choice of facts, his speech won a rousing reception from the audience in Tampa.

The 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman, already a seven-term Washington veteran, is a hugely popular figure for many conservatives in the Republican fold because of his determination to take a hard line on fiscal issues facing the US.

Correspondents say the choice of Mr Ryan has made Mitt Romney's candidacy more palatable to conservatives who doubted his credentials during a long primary process.

He tore into the president on Wednesday night, accusing him of running out of ideas and waging a negative campaign.

"Fear and division are all they've got left," he said, adding: "Now all that's left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed.

"We will not duck the tough issues - we will lead," Mr Ryan said. "We will not spend four years blaming others - we will take responsibility.


"The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us - all of us - but we can do this."

In one of the biggest applause lines of the night, Mr Ryan said: "College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life."

He pledged that a Romney-Ryan administration would create 12 million American jobs in its first term and cap federal spending at 20% of gross domestic product.

Speaking earlier, Senator McCain lambasted the Obama foreign policy, saying the president was not true to American values, and that he had abandoned Syria's people to a "savage and unfair fight".

"The demand for our leadership in the world has never been greater," the senator said. "People don't want less of America. They want more."

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the Republican ticket in a speech that made no overt mention of President Obama.

"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild us at home and inspire us to lead abroad," she said. "They will provide an answer to the question, 'where does America stand?"'

President Obama's re-nomination will be confirmed next week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Building trust internationally.

Check out the look an Andrea's face at 3:28

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/#48837319 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/#48837319)

Quote from: Gaspar on August 30, 2012, 07:35:05 AM
Ryan hit it out of the park!

Well, if you like outright lies he certainly did. He might also mention that his budget does nothing different to current Medicare than Obama's does, but that would be too honest.

And to answer the other question that seemed to be a theme (where are the jobs?), you may notice that private sector job growth has been stronger under Obama than it was under Bush at the same point after his recession. Go figure. The difference, as I've harped on before, is that the public sector is losing jobs like mad. That should make you guys happy. It should not, however, lead you to cry "where are the jobs" when private sector recovery is looking rather decent for having been subject to smile like the debt ceiling debate.

The GOP "they" are now spinning the Ryan speech.

"He got the libs attention."

Apparently blatantly lying is a good way to grab people's attention.

When the DNC happens, I have a feeling they'll disagree with that.

I watched 3 minutes tonight. Long enough to see Jeb Bush make an idiot of himself.  :o

@BarackObama  This seat's taken. http://OFA.BO/c2gbfi , pic.twitter.com/jgGZTb02

(http://9.mshcdn.com/wp-content/gallery/clint-eastwood-chair-at-rnc/30564617987.png)(http://4.mshcdn.com/wp-content/gallery/clint-eastwood-chair-at-rnc/eastwood-chair-4.jpg)

'Honey Boo Boo' ratings top Republican National Convention
http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13575475-honey-boo-boo-ratings-top-republican-national-convention

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 30, 2012, 11:49:44 PM
'Honey Boo Boo' ratings top Republican National Convention
http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13575475-honey-boo-boo-ratings-top-republican-national-convention

What do you expect? 
There's got to be an alternative for the Dems to watch.

Eastwood was funny at times but he was painful to watch.

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 30, 2012, 11:49:44 PM
'Honey Boo Boo' ratings top Republican National Convention
http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13575475-honey-boo-boo-ratings-top-republican-national-convention

If you combined all the cable networks that carried it, it didn't.

Why did the networks not carry any coverage of the final night anyways?

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 08:21:28 AM
Eastwood was funny at times but he was painful to watch.

I wanted to walk him back to his chair and get him an applesauce.

Quote from: erfalf on August 31, 2012, 08:37:49 AM
If you combined all the cable networks that carried it, it didn't.

Why did the networks not carry any coverage of the final night anyways?

Who didn't carry it?

Quote from: swake on August 31, 2012, 08:56:57 AM
Who didn't carry it?

I didn't think I saw anything on NBC, CBS or ABC. Was I wrong or just not checking at the right times?

We watched it on CBS, I think.

I watched it on CBS

It was everywhere. I tried to find something else to watch and ended up on 792 watching a TNT classic.

That darned liberal media. Tricked into carrying it no doubt.

My mistake, I was watching most of the earlier stuff. The networks didn't pick it up until 9. I just didn't bother to swith by then.

Although I did go back and look at the schedules and noticed ABC was carrying an NFL game. Priorities :)

Quote from: erfalf on August 31, 2012, 09:40:09 AM
My mistake, I was watching most of the earlier stuff. The networks didn't pick it up until 9. I just didn't bother to swith by then.

Although I did go back and look at the schedules and noticed ABC was carrying an NFL game. Priorities :)

So you missed Eastwood, Rubio and Romney, you know, the main speakers of the evening.


Eastwood was strange, maybe drunk and somewhat entertaining. Everything was downhill from there.

Rubio is a very talented speaker for a Tea Party hack. He's going to go places.

Romney was ok, very paint by numbers and way too long. Very short on specifics, as always, but no stumbles and nothing out of place. He did what he had to do.

He'd better be telling the truth about that Rose story or his whole campaign is over. If it comes out that it was a pandering fabrication to win female voters he's going to get torched.

Quote from: swake on August 31, 2012, 11:11:05 AM
Eastwood was strange, maybe drunk and somewhat entertaining.

I heard or maybe read in the TW that Eastwood ad-libbed his routine.  True, he is older than we remember him in Dirty Harry and the Spaghetti Westerns.

Quote
Romney was ok, very paint by numbers and way too long. Very short on specifics,

Unlike Obama 4 years ago.  I mostly remember "Hope and Change".  You hoped you knew what he wanted to change.

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 11:19:24 AM
I heard or maybe read in the TW that Eastwood ad-libbed his routine. 

I'd heard the same on NPR.  Supposed to be a 3 minute speech and stretched it to 15.

Quote from: swake on August 31, 2012, 11:11:05 AM

Rubio is a very talented speaker for a Tea Party hack. He's going to go places.

Look how far it's gotten Obama with no other particular talent or leadership skills.

Quote from: swake on August 31, 2012, 11:11:05 AM
So you missed Eastwood, Rubio and Romney, you know, the main speakers of the evening.

Just watched on a cable channel as opposed to one of the networks. I didn't see them all, but I saw enough.

My wife's take (who is not political at all) on Romney was that he just seems like an all around nice guy, although a bit robotic. A guy you would want to teach your kids or something. Believe it or not there are quit a few Mormons in Bartlesville and every one that we have met have been some of the most upstanding people. Those impressions stick with you. And the stories of Romney's thoughtfulness toward his fellow human beings only seem to reinforce that impression.

Now, none of what I just said means that he would be a good President, but it's not nothing. People like people like themselves, and I think in general, people are good.

Quote from: erfalf on August 31, 2012, 12:39:59 PM
My wife's take (who is not political at all) on Romney was that he just seems like an all around nice guy, although a bit robotic. A guy you would want to teach your kids or something. Believe it or not there are quit a few Mormons in Bartlesville and every one that we have met have been some of the most upstanding people. Those impressions stick with you. And the stories of Romney's thoughtfulness toward his fellow human beings only seem to reinforce that impression.

Now, none of what I just said means that he would be a good President, but it's not nothing. People like people like themselves, and I think in general, people are good.

Yep, I'm sure most people are going to relate with a guy who has a $100 million dollar retirement fund and spent some of his time this week on a yacht named "Cracker Bay".  LOL.

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 01:01:50 PM
Yep, I'm sure most people are going to relate with a guy who has a $100 million dollar retirement fund and spent some of his time this week on a yacht named "Cracker Bay".  LOL.

I don't relate to our current President either.

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 01:14:55 PM
I don't relate to our current President either.

Good one.  Not.   ;D

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 01:01:50 PM
Yep, I'm sure most people are going to relate with a guy who has a $100 million dollar retirement fund and spent some of his time this week on a yacht named "Cracker Bay".  LOL.

Seriously though, are you going to hang your hat on wealth envy? As if every single person that has run for President has not been wealthy.

Quote from: erfalf on August 31, 2012, 01:38:05 PM
Seriously though, are you going to hang your hat on wealth envy? As if every single person that has run for President has not been wealthy.

Most in the last two decades however haven't been afraid to let people see their tax returns.  Oh, except Romney, that is.

Most people in the country aren't wealthy.

Most people in the country can't be so flippant as to bet a co-worker $10,000 on something he thinks he's right on.

That may be 3 to 6 months wages for many.

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 01:40:24 PM
Most in the last two decades however haven't been afraid to let people see their tax returns.  Oh, except Romney, that is.

Most people in the country aren't wealthy.

Most people in the country can't be so flippant as to bet a co-worker $10,000 on something he thinks he's right on.

That may be 3 to 6 months wages for many.

I don't see how Obama is any more relatable.

Obama lives a life of decided luxury, he takes lavish trips, and he's a millionaire unlike most Americans.  He's a "1%'er" as well. 

The majority of Americans didn't attend private prep schools nor Ivy League colleges.  Something both of these candidates have in common as well.

I think it's unrealistic and probably unwise to have someone "average" as the President

Quote from: swake on August 31, 2012, 03:10:42 PM
I think it's unrealistic and probably unwise to have someone "average" as the President

No?

(http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj255/t1dbits/joe_dirt.jpg)

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 03:08:58 PM
I don't see how Obama is any more relatable.

Obama lives a life of decided luxury, he takes lavish trips, and he's a millionaire unlike most Americans.  He's a "1%'er" as well. 

The majority of Americans didn't attend private prep schools nor Ivy League colleges.  Something both of these candidates have in common as well.

Last I checked, he wasn't betting colleagues $10,000 on national TV.  You have to admit, that won't come off as seeming more like the common man than, say, a man who'll put a pint back?

(http://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Obama-beer.jpg)

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 03:26:07 PM
Last I checked, he wasn't betting colleagues $10,000 on national TV.  You have to admit, that won't come off as seeming more like the common man than, say, a man who'll put a pint back?

(http://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Obama-beer.jpg)

How many folks in the black community are out on the links on the weekends with their wealthy Hollywood buddies or the CEO of GE?  Obama is no more connected to the average person than Romney.

And Mitt will knock a pint back.

Of water.  ;D

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 03:39:56 PM
How many folks in the black community are out on the links on the weekends with their wealthy Hollywood buddies or the CEO of GE?  Obama is no more connected to the average person than Romney.

And Mitt will knock a pint back.

Of water.  ;D

It will probably be that froofy mineral water.

;D

Mitt should drop some money on a couple of new ties. It seems like he has three: The boring Red one, the boring Blue one and the Blue and White oxford stripe.

Quote from: carltonplace on August 31, 2012, 03:48:42 PM
Mitt should drop some money on a couple of new ties. It seems like he has three: The boring Red one, the boring Blue one and the Blue and White oxford stripe.

He used to have many but Mrs. Romney found out someone likes four poster beds and some kink.

My big problem with Mormonism is the no caffeine and no alcohol policy.  Can you imagine waking up in the morning and saying to yourself:

"Is this is good as it's going to get today?"

(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/539429_411449465571632_1085512935_n.jpg)

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 03:26:07 PM
Last I checked, he wasn't betting colleagues $10,000 on national TV.  You have to admit, that won't come off as seeming more like the common man than, say, a man who'll put a pint back?

(http://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Obama-beer.jpg)

That's got to be some of that nasty White House swill.

And before I forget. Marshalls..... ;D

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 03:08:58 PM
I don't see how Obama is any more relatable.

Polls are pretty clear that people feel like Obama understands their problems more. Probably because he's only lived a life of wealth and extravagance for around 6 years so far. Polls show a lot of different things, mostly bad for Romney so far. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, convention bounce he gets.

Quote from: DolfanBob on August 31, 2012, 04:37:29 PM
That's got to be some of that nasty White House swill.

How do you know it's nasty swill?  Had some?  I've brewed some pretty good stuff and competition scores validate my opinion.

Quote from: Townsend on August 31, 2012, 04:06:19 PM
(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/539429_411449465571632_1085512935_n.jpg)

Have some audio to go with that?

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 04:01:55 PM
My big problem with Mormonism is the no caffeine and no alcohol policy.  Can you imagine waking up in the morning and saying to yourself:
"Is this is good as it's going to get today?"

I gave up coffee in 1986 but have not completely cut out caffeine.  I still like chocolate (Doves Dark is one of my favorites).   I cannot remember really wanting an alcoholic drink in the AM. It must be social conditioning and working the day shift.   I used to mop the floors etc at my favorite bar when I was in the Navy.  I worked the 4-11 shift (really short dinner break) and clean up at the bar in the AM.  I saw the guys getting off the midnight shift come in for a beer or two and realize it was their "5 PM".

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 01:18:14 PM
Good one.  Not.   ;D

Perhaps you will regale us on how you relate to President Obama on a personal basis.

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 11:23:04 AM
Look how far it's gotten Obama with no other particular talent or leadership skills.

(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTRGf8A8j2Oa-dfoK4i7D-KJgHoIIsOLJUTavH7IbPjq55OURGk&t=1)

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 06:57:03 PM
Perhaps you will regale us on how you relate to President Obama on a personal basis.

As soon as you regale us on how you relate to Romney.  On a personal basis.

Quote from: Conan71 on August 31, 2012, 03:39:56 PM
How many folks in the black community are out on the links on the weekends with their wealthy Hollywood buddies or the CEO of GE?  Obama is no more connected to the average person than Romney.

Wrong answer.

Obama worked in poor neighborhoods on the southside of Chicago.... Romney spent his youth as a mormon missionary in Paris, avoiding military service in Vietnam... Barack Obama was the son of a single mother of modest means... Romney was the privileged legacy son of a prominent Republican politician...

Like Most Neocons, Mitt Romney Avoided the Draft During Vietnam
Unlike most, however, he has changed his story about it
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2012/06/08/like-other-neocons-mitt-romney-dodged-the-draft-during-vietnam/

Quote from: Townsend on August 31, 2012, 04:06:19 PM
(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/539429_411449465571632_1085512935_n.jpg)

(http://7.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/eastwooding-600.jpg)

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 31, 2012, 07:41:08 PM
Wrong answer.

Obama worked in poor neighborhoods on the southside of Chicago.... Romney spent his youth as a mormon missionary in Paris, avoiding military service in Vietnam... Barack Obama was the son of a single mother of modest means... Romney was the privileged legacy son of a prominent Republican politician...

Like Most Neocons, Mitt Romney Avoided the Draft During Vietnam
Unlike most, however, he has changed his story about it
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2012/06/08/like-other-neocons-mitt-romney-dodged-the-draft-during-vietnam/

Romney worked with poor people before he FIRED them! ;)

How could he ignore our military? http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/08/31/783701/kristol-romney-afghanistan/
Only a draft dodger would be timid on the subject of veterans.




A good argument for why we need to preserve medicare!

What an embarrassment...Mitt goes over seas and can't make a credible display of his ability to lead the international community. Then his birther jokes. Then his people blow the number one moment in the campaign. If this is any indication of these morons running the executive branch we better be prepared to undergo chaos.

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 07:36:17 PM
As soon as you regale us on how you relate to Romney.  On a personal basis.

What a cop out.

I don't personally relate to Romney.  I just believe he has a better solution to our country's problems than Obama does.  You are the one that seems to be hung up on personal relating.

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 31, 2012, 07:41:08 PM
Wrong answer.

Not wrong, just one you don't like.

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 09:17:44 PM
What a cop out.

I don't personally relate to Romney.  I just believe he has a better solution to our country's problems than Obama does.  You are the one that seems to be hung up on personal relating.

Really?  A cop out?

I simply ask you to relate to Romney.  Where's the cop out now?

I've also never said I was going to vote for Obama.  I'm damn sure not voting for Romney though.

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 10:01:40 PM
Really?  A cop out?

Yep.

QuoteI simply ask you to relate to Romney.  Where's the cop out now?

I never claimed to personally relate to Romney.  You seemed to think it was important to relate to the candidate.  I asked first.  You spun the question back to me.  I call that a cop out.

QuoteI've also never said I was going to vote for Obama.  I'm damn sure not voting for Romney though.

True.  Can I assume that you are going to abstain?  I can actually understand that.  If someone like Michelle Bachman  had been the party choice, I couldn't vote for either candidate either.

Quote from: Teatownclown on August 31, 2012, 08:52:29 PM
If this is any indication of these morons running the executive branch we better be prepared to undergo chaos.

As compared to?

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 10:17:23 PM
Yep.

I never claimed to personally relate to Romney.  You seemed to think it was important to relate to the candidate.  I asked first.  You spun the question back to me.  I call that a cop out.

True.  Can I assume that you are going to abstain?  I can actually understand that.  If someone like Michelle Bachman  had been the party choice, I couldn't vote for either candidate either.

It is important for me to relate to a candidate.  That's why I won't vote for either.

You seem to be hung up on why I'm voting or not voting for whoever.

I will say this.  Any person running for office should be as transparent about their past as possible.  I know who hasn't in this cycle.

He's also been like the Republican version of Al Gore as far as being authentic goes.

I don't really have to explain to anyone my reasons for voting or not voting.  Anyone.

This is my last response on the subject.  And likely my very last response to you.

Quote from: Hoss on August 31, 2012, 10:22:08 PM
It is important for me to relate to a candidate.  That's why I won't vote for either.

Fair enough.  I don't care if I am not part of the group of the people capable of running this country as long as I agree with what they want to do.  Do you think you are qualified to be President of the USA?

QuoteYou seem to be hung up on why I'm voting or not voting for whoever.

You are too impressed with your self importance.

QuoteI will say this.  Any person running for office should be as transparent about their past as possible.  I know who hasn't in this cycle.

I think you are being penny wise and pound foolish.  JMO.

QuoteI don't really have to explain to anyone my reasons for voting or not voting.  Anyone.

True, but don't then ask for someone else's reasons for the same.

QuoteThis is my last response on the subject.  And likely my very last response to you.

I doubt it. You are just like the rest of us an cannot resist trying to get in the last word.

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 09:26:08 PM
Not wrong, just one you don't like.

(http://pzrservices.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451ccbc69e2017615d0842a970c-400wi)

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 31, 2012, 10:48:08 PM
(http://pzrservices.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451ccbc69e2017615d0842a970c-400wi)

You do better sticking to Soccer (which I don't care about).

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 10:54:56 PM
You do better sticking to Soccer (which I don't care about).

(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m06y95wo5j1ropvbwo1_500.png)

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 31, 2012, 10:55:33 PM
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m06y95wo5j1ropvbwo1_500.png)

I personally find you more annoying than relevant too.

Quote from: TulsaRufnex on August 31, 2012, 11:04:48 PM
Good.  We have something in common.  Now shuddup.   ::)

No, you shuddup first.   ;D

Quote from: Red Arrow on August 31, 2012, 09:17:44 PM
I just believe he has a better solution to our country's problems than Obama does.

What solutions would those be? I've seen no details.

Quote from: nathanm on September 01, 2012, 02:04:47 AM
What solutions would those be? I've seen no details.

Kinda like the lack of tax returns, then gets his wife to tell everyone 'we won't be releasing any more'.

Also, I found this increcibly hilarious:

Romney tells flood victim who lost her home to 'go home and call 211' (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOFVt9aCswIOkxnluwqt_IFNDecA?docId=0f05b088823c459d8f36f191d9e76774)

Once again, THIS is the best the Republican'ts could come up with?

Matt Miller wrote this for the Washington Post. Here are a few excerpts, but the whole column is worth your time:

================

What Romney wanted to say: 'Now that I've been nominated, I can stop talking crazy'

Though the analogy isn't precise, Mitt Romney still feels like the Manchurian candidate in this race, the Massachusetts moderate disguised as a staunch conservative who wins the GOP nomination before he is revealed. I'm just speculating -- at this point, no one can have any idea what Mr. Romney really thinks about anything -- but it's possible that what follows is the acceptance speech in Mitt's head that he obviously couldn't deliver last night.

My fellow Republicans -- boy, you sure make it tough on a guy! I knew it would be hard to run the gantlet of a Republican primary process. But knowing you'll have to twist yourself into a pretzel and actually doing it are two very different things.

Not so long ago I was a "pro-choice progressive" who supported indexing the minimum wage to inflation -- something even Ted Kennedy didn't endorse. I said that smart regulation was essential to make markets work. I believed in public investment in critical research and development and infrastructure.

...Then I had to deal with you people. And I'll be honest -- you're crazy! You've made me pretend all year that making sure every Massachusetts resident had secure access to health insurance was somehow bad, and that Barack Obama's desire to do this for the country is worse. You made me stand up and say that a deficit-cutting deal with $10 in spending cuts for every $1 in taxes wasn't good enough! And don't get me started on gays, guns or God.

But I've done everything you've asked. And you've rewarded me for telling you what you wanted to hear. Why did I say a bunch of stuff I don't believe? Because I know this: Once I get the power, it won't matter what I've said before.

...Well, my father was my hero. But you know what Dad never did? Dad never became the GOP nominee or the president. See if you can figure out the lessons I drew about the payoff for purity in American public life.

...Winning the prize comes first. What I'll do with the power -- well, let's talk about that on Nov. 7.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/what-romney-wanted-to-say-now-that-ive-been-nominated-i-can-stop-talking-crazy-651306/#ixzz25FqvoM00 (http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/what-romney-wanted-to-say-now-that-ive-been-nominated-i-can-stop-talking-crazy-651306/#ixzz25FqvoM00)

Comedy Central checks in... Leonard Nimoy gives a logical narration...

RNC 2012 - The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 - Mitt Romney: A Human Being Who Built That
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-30-2012/rnc-2012---the-road-to-jeb-bush-2016---mitt-romney--a-human-who-built-that

"Willard "Mitt" Romney won the coveted position only by outcompeting thousands of less motivated sperm."   :o

Maher's take: http://rackjite.com/mill-maher-alexandra-pelosis-2012-gop-convention-video-of-republican-ignorance-and-anger/

she sounds like an Okie....

Photos of National Empty Chair Day.


http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/09/national-empty-chair-day-photos-from-around-country/

My current fav:

(http://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Carolyn-Virginia-Beach1.jpg)

Quote from: guido911 on September 03, 2012, 04:04:42 PM
Photos of National Empty Chair Day.


http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/09/national-empty-chair-day-photos-from-around-country/

My current fav:

(http://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Carolyn-Virginia-Beach1.jpg)

(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/575018_10151140397732593_970499974_n.jpg)

(http://media.caglecartoons.com/media/cartoons/61/2012/09/01/117970_600.jpg)

Quote from: Hoss on September 01, 2012, 12:20:24 PM
Kinda like the lack of tax returns, then gets his wife to tell everyone 'we won't be releasing any more'.

Also, I found this increcibly hilarious:

Romney tells flood victim who lost her home to 'go home and call 211' (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOFVt9aCswIOkxnluwqt_IFNDecA?docId=0f05b088823c459d8f36f191d9e76774)

Once again, THIS is the best the Republican'ts could come up with?

Go home to her flooded home, swim through the front door, dive down and find the phone and press 211. Sounds reasonable.

Quote from: Townsend on August 31, 2012, 11:22:25 AM
I'd heard the same on NPR.  Supposed to be a 3 minute speech and stretched it to 15.

The version of the speech omitted by the networks.

(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/387061_432215960157453_1633309283_n.jpg)