The Republicans were eating themselves alive on Meet the Press today. They had a 4 to 2 numerical advantage and still lost.

Ayotte R. kept harping on the "fact" that Democrats controlled congress for the first 2 years of Obama's administration. More lies.

Republicans blocked the installation of Senator Frankin for all but 4 months of that. The Affordable Care Act took that 4 months to enact and the Republilcans have blocked everything since.

The Repubacons are trying to steal the White House like they did in 2000 with that interloper "W" !!!

I watched as Bachmann tried to make Romney look good and kept interrupting the people speaking. So typical and even Scarbough was pi$$ed at her! I like the comment that," Romney is a flawed candidate!"

It's not wrong to be pro-business, the question is - how? How to be pro-business - if the Middle class is shrinking, and 47% Mitt doesn't care about...then who can afford to buy goods and services businesses produce...with weakening purchasing power.

The greater the Middle Class, the more demand in the marketplace for goods and services, the better America will be.

Obama is for the Middle Class...and truly pro-business.

Since the New Deal, Republicans have been on the wrong side of every issue of concern to ordinary Americans; Social Security, the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan; equal rights, civil liberties, church-state separation, consumer issues, public education, reproductive freedom, national health care, labor issues, gun policy, campaign-finance reform, the environment and tax fairness.

No political party could remain so consistently wrong by accident.

The only rational conclusion is that, despite their cynical "family values" propaganda, the Republican Party is a criminal conspiracy to betray the interests of the American people in favor of plutocratic and corporate interests, and absolutist religious groups.

Wisconsin Republican Rep. and Tea Party lunatic Paul Ryan is frequently referred to in the corporate media as a "numbers guy" or a "deficit hawk." His proposals have been described as "bold."

But one must wonder by what standard these descriptors are conferred, since Ryan has done nothing but propose that the middle class and poor be screwed so that the wealthy may receive bigger tax cuts.

Ryan's character finally came under media scrutiny at the Republican National Convention, when instead of presenting "serious" policy proposals, Ryan merely recited a litany of lies about President Obama.

This came as no surprise to observers of this avid devotee of cult philospher Ayn Rand (despite his current denials).

For a Randian ubermensch like Ryan, his national TV audience consisted of "moochers" and "parasites" that were, like democracy itself, only worthy of his contempt.

A look at the demographics of the GOP tells you that the GOP will soon go the way of the Wiggs. The average age is old, and as more young people and minorities register to vote they are trending towards registering as Democrats. It would be hard to imagine why they wouldn't do so when they see a Republican party so out of touch and doing everything it can to undermine their interests.

Hopefully now with another Obama term we can turn the Supreme court around and start to clean up this mess.

When the New Deal created Social Security which included deduction on employee paychecks and matching by employers' contributions, Republicans cried about no constitutional basis for all these.

When Eisenhower became president, he decided to ignore Republicans' call to repeal social security, feeling that it's a good thing when the old were taken care of, contributing to social stability.

That's my grandpa's Republican party.

You don't see that kind of common sense any more in the GOP. I am sure there must be a lot of such Republicans with common sense, but at least not in the leadership role and not been interviewed on TV with Tea Potty soundbite.

has a vision for 100 percent of America.

MITT ROMNEY THINKS THAT THE COUNTRY IS HIS COMPANY, AND we ARE his WORKERS. HE FEELS THAT HE CAN FIRE ALL THE "UNDESIRABLES"ANY TIME THAT HE WANTS. WE ARE WORKING FOR HIM AND THE KOCH BROTHERS,

He is not WORKING FOR us.

isn't that obvious now?

Perhaps we should give all the Republican seats in the House and Senate to those, who are unemployed and could probably do a better job at getting the work done. It's easy for Kelly to shoot her big mouth off when she is the one with the job.

Romney is not only a manipulative liar; but also avoids paying his fair share of taxes owed.

I read Mitt's return and found how much their Self Employment tax and Earned Income were. They reported only $450,740 as Earned Income. For Self Employment tax, this is reduced to $416,258 to accommodate the tax effect related to a regular W2 employee. Social Security and Medicare taxes are based only on Earned Income. This is income that is based on personal physical effort. Interest, Capital gains, and Dividends are called Unearned Income. In the Romney's situation, the Earned Income was well more than the $106,800 Social Security maximum, so they only pay $11,107.20 in Social Security. Medicare tax does not have an income cap, so they pay 2.9% of $416,258 or $12,071.48. The sum of these two amounts to the nearest $ is 23,179. That is the amount they paid and the number I used to calculate the .1691% they pay as a percentage of the total income as compared to 13.3% that John Q Public pays.

This kind of disparity is similar for all of the investment bankers and rich folks, who have the bulk of their income in the form of interest, capital gains, and dividends. Get smart people and vote the Republican self-serving schmucks out. Maybe then, we can get some real working people into those offices to make the necessary reforms (i.e. taxes, benefits & salaries for the part-time Congress that accomplishes very little if any at all, aid to foreign countries, etc. etc.) to this tilted bureaucracy that leans to the elite.

I guess Republicans think that Veterans returning from war don't need jobs assistance.

The senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have put 1 billion towards putting veterans back to work. It must be more important to block employment this close to the election to assist Mr. Romney.

Shame on you Republicans !

Careful, when you use the words straight out of your little RWNJ playbook, it gives it away.

Nobody brought up that months ago Romney said, "that if I pay 41 more in taxes than I should that I shouldn't President!" What about $2,000,000 Mitt? A flawed candidate!

James,

Just to let you know that the left feels the FOX lies on here that are used by the right shows where the confusion is!

you Right wingers, Please go to FOX, I'm surprised you aren't there now, to see the story and headline "Romney's Medicare policy is still in Flux?" Where will it flip-flop and end up?

Julio, Da! What % of Vets do you think want to become teachers after there experiences in war? There are no direct programs for Vets except for the Vet Bill that the Republicans ignored in the House before they went home!

It would be nice if ROBMEHOOD would stop "Stalking our President !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JT,

The Republicans declared war on he middle class at the beginning of the Reagan Administration, with their assault on unions. The middle class has been losing ever since. The statistics are clear. The laffer curve, trickle down bulls^%#& have give to the rich and taken from the rest. Romney wants more of that, a lot more, $5 Trillion more.

Millionaires control 56% of the wealth in America (2010 Bloomberg) while in the rest of the G8, it averages 23%. The US's upward mobility is the lowest of the G8. Canada now has a higher averge family net worth than America and a higher valued dollar.

The reason is simple. The United States is the only G8 country without universal (single payer) healthcare, or a robust social safety net, the two greatest factors in upward mobility.

The rich (Republicans) refuse to acknowledge these facts because they would have to pay more and be slightly less rich.

Jesus was all about helping those who are less fortunate. If you claim to be Christian, keep that in mind when you vote.

Hey PIG, it is obvious from your ramblings with YOUrself that YOU do not understand the first thing about Economics or Obama's destruction of the Middle Class . .

And you do? Okay, tell us how Romney and Lyin' Ryan are going to save the middle class?

Arthur,

But $3,000,000 went to the Church of the Latter Days Saints Cult!

I believe the left is very confused.

No, we didn't pick Mitt Romney as our candidate, lol.

Romney... His only private sector job was that of a robber and a thief, He also is responsible for murder when he closed down plants and lost people jobs and health insurance. He should wear a suit that has concentric circles drawn in red and white.

Hey, Mitt, where are your tax returns of last 10 years?

Arthur,

Giving $4 mil to the Mormons is not what I would call Charity. It is used to help Mormons, to try and convert others around the world to Mormonism, and to buy business and real estate.

Romney is also required to tythe 10% to the Mormon 'Church'.

Arthur66

tony, there *is* no "middle class".

Republicans have been trying to destroy the middle class since Reagan, and have largely succeeded. Some of the middle class do cling to existence, in spite of Republican efforts.

Romney advocate Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R- N.H. told NBC’s David Gregory that Romney’s comments at the fundraiser were “not a governing philosophy” and that he “has a vision for 100 percent of America.”

It is not a "governing philosophy"? Then why this comment? “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

The job he is talking about is president of the US.

But here's the real problem with his comments:

Bloomberg Businessweek, Sep 18, 2012:

Eleven years ago, eliminating income taxes for low-income Americans was an applause line for a Republican president. Mitt Romney in 2012 sees the number of people paying nothing as a political problem.

“The working people who don’t pay income tax, that is by and large the result of Republican policies,” said Michael Linden, director of tax and budget policy at the Center for American Progress...

Further, a large number of those people who aren't paying income taxes are out of work. How many of those out of work were put there by the Bush recession? And don't start with crap about that being Obama's fault for not hastening a recovery. There wouldn't be any need for a recovery were it not for a recession brought on by Republican policies!

The real problem with Romney's attitude about the people that Romney shows such contempt for with his comment that "I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” is that Republican policies put them in that position in the first place! It was not their "lack of personal responsibility" or their inability to "care for their lives" it was Republican policy and incompetence!

So, Republicans created a problem and now use that problem to completely disregard almost 1/2 of the voters in the US. What a wonderful Bizarro world they live in!

And this same tact is taken with another of Kelly Ayotte's next statement:

“I see 15 million more people on food stamps that don’t want to be there….These people want to get off of food stamps and have those good jobs, but where the economy is right now so many people have lost hope."

Well, where did the jobs go, Kelly? Why aren't there any jobs? More than 8 million of those jobs were lost in the Bush recession. The contraction of the economy and new entries into an economy that just didn't have any jobs for them led to the rest. How do we fix that?

To howabout this (Post # 1.21)

Excellent comment! I don't belong to either Party, but I do feel the same way about the Republicans self-serving attitudes, contempt, bigotry against the Pres., and scorn for the people. I, too, will not ever again vote for one Republican again. If the day comes when they change their arrogant, self-serving ideas, and are willing to get down to serious work, compromise, and come up with some valid concrete ideas, then and only then will I consider supporting them. Too many Congressmen/women think that the constituents are the ones, who should serve those in Congress. The Republicans created this Recession/Depression out of their own greed by allowing the SuperPacs, lobbyists, etc. to buy their votes favoring their special interests. Honesty and integrity just aren't words that exist in their vocabulary. Now we have the world's biggest overnight flip-flopper, who thinks he can buy the Oval Office to further his agenda favoring only the 2%. He is a known liar as well about his own Tax Evasion.

The major teach point we need to make everyone regardless of political leaning, understand has to do with Earned Income vs Unearned Income and how that affects the payroll tax. Here are some numbers that are completely lost amid the uproar about Mitt's overall tax burden. As a percentage of income, those folks earn when making $50,000 to $75,000, they were paying about 13%. But does that include the 15.3% they wind up paying for Social Security and Medicare? I doubt it. Now, we must remember that half of that is paid by the employer for the W2 employees, but it is in all reality part of their income. As a comparison, Mitt's 2011 return indicated a Self Employment tax of $23,179.00. This is .1691% of his income, which is about 1-100th of that, which the middle income folks pay as a percentage of their income. In terms of total tax burden, I think this should be added to the 13% which would be the effective 15.3% Payroll Tax burden to get 28.3%. You see Romney only had $450,740 Earned Income. The other $13,258,260 was Unearned Income, which is not taxed for Social Security or Medicare. He manipulates, lies, cheats with tax evasion. Just think what he'd do if elected Pres.

In this country, the top 10% wealthiest control / own 80% of the total wealth of the country. However, and The Heritage Foundation has quoted it, this group only pays 50% of the collected federal tax. In contrast, the other 90% also pay 50% of the tax but only control 20%of the wealth. How is this for equitable distribution of responsibility to the nation?

Finally, let me say this: It took the Republicans 8 full years to totally destroy our economy, have 2 wars going, use up the surplus left by Clinton, and create a huge deficit while leaving the workers in the trenches. Yet, the Republicans not only think (if that's possible), but they expect the new incoming Pres. to have fixed all of their pile of ---- (left by the Republicans) in 2 years time , or 4 years time at the most. Nothing like being short of a miracle for their inept in-competencies..

The Romney's decline to disclose tax returns from previous years shows Mitt & Annie have something to hid, I would like to see just eight years, I would also like to see Mitt Romney's Birth Certificate and his College Transcripts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When Rmoney said "the 47%" he meant everyone else but not his own kind. He was targeting the poor, the Seniors, the middle class, everyone that may have needed Government assistance during the debacle that was caused by the Repugs since the GOPBaggers decreed the middle class was an enemy. Rmoney showed us what he really thought...anyone that is not a 1% was not even in his sight to be helped.

clwyd

What about this program? Or the others on the Dept. of Labor web page?

On November 7, 2002, the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) was signed into law. One provision of the JVA establishes a priority of service requirement for covered persons (i.e., veterans and eligible spouses, including widows and widowers) in qualified job training programs. Since the passage of the JVA, the Employment and Training Administration has provided policy guidance to the workforce system regarding implementation of priority of service.

http://www.doleta.gov/programs/vets/

Do the right thing for the workers. Let's not forget the Veterans, who Republicans could care less about; but have no concerns with sending them off to wars to be possibly killed or injured while the Republicans sit on their behinds scheming their next dirty move on the middle class, the poor,the elderly, and the disabled. Vote all the Republicans out of office this Nov. Register and vote a straight Democratic ticket in Nov. Blast your Congressmen/women with calls and mails about being fed up with their trench like behavior and start showing the Constituents and Veterans with some respect for a change. Demand that reforms be accomplished for the good of everyone and not just the 2% elite schmucks, who think they can buy D.C. And if you don't push for these changes, then don't complain later. It's time to show them that we mean business even if we are not in office.

Well, you don't really have to worry about Mitt, he has a great life, with great wealth, and a trophy wife.

After November, he is going to go back to Bain, causing more pain to the struggling Middle Class ...and the bottom 47% to which he already said 'screw you.'

Arthur666 said

"ED, there *is* no "middle class"

You are getting suckered into Obama and the left's campaign of divisiveness, where Americans are split up by race, class, income and gender and pitted against each other.

We're all Americans."

Spoken like a rich person, out of touch with the plight of most Americans.

.

Our complacency with the inept incompetency in Congress accomplishes nothing for the good of people. Vote the for the "NO" and "DO NOTHING" Republicans out of office this next Nov. Just as the Tea Party did nothing with creating the new jobs they promised in 2010.

Arthur,

Are you talking about Reagan the 'great divider'

or Bush the 'greatest divider'.

And seriously, a religion based on aliens and magic underwear, please forgive my laughter.

Patriotic, Romney was a Baker scholar at Harvard. We KNOW he got A's in school.

What we don't know are Obama's grades.

We also know that Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review.

Why isn't that at least as good?

You're dividing people by income.

We're all Americans, worthy of respect, regardless of income lev

It's Romney who was dividing people by income and declaring those in the lower half will never be convinced to "take responsibility and care for their own lives."

It doesn't get more cynical than that. Or wrong.

RON PAUL Called Romney a Phony to his Face at the debate, What is that telling you !!!!!!!!!

Romney never said he didn't care about the 47%; he simply said he didn't need to worry about them in this election because they will vote for Obama no matter what. Look it up if you want, and remember...facts count, Piggy!

Yes, they do, so it's critical to your credibility not to leave out the most important facts. It's true he never said he didn't care about the 47%, but he actually said something much worse. Here is the transcript of what he actually said, which goes well beyond his election strategy:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. And he'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

Arthur66 - Mitt Romney gave FOUR MILLION DOLLARS in charitable donations last year.

How do you know this, Arthur? Because Mitt "said so"?

His tax return only shows $2,250,772 in charitable donations (out of income of $14.5 million).

Was there something about the others that he didn't want to have to itemize? Like who they were paid to?

Notice, too, that Mitt claimed $0 as wages.

Which means he paid $0 in payroll taxes.

Every working man in America paid 7.65%, no matter how little he made.

Funny how republicans keep talking about creating jobs, yet I have not heard a single policy from them that might create any. even the woman in the above interview said Romney wanted to create jobs, yet she offered no policy on how other then tax cuts. I'm sure that Romney wants America to do well. the problem is he dose not know how to do that. Obama does not get an A from me. But he certainly has not failed. Unless Romney has a better plan, I'm going to vote for slow recovery over no recovery.

I'm with Clinton. These people sure have got brass.

They spend 12 years passing along every break in the book that they can manage to big business so it can funnel jobs overseas or replace American's in America with cheap labor then they blame Obama for not getting everyone employed in good paying jobs.

For once I'd like to hear a Republican tell us what those good paying jobs might be for the people who aren't college material.

They will never do that. No solutions. Just finger pointing.

Here's a few facts that we can glean from the "tax summary" Mitt released:

1) He has BOATLOADS of money stashed with Goldman Sachs. (How would that affect how he governs them as President?)

2) He's a partner in at least 30 overseas partnerships. (How would that affect his foreign policies?)

3) In 2005, his foreign taxes were $333,149. 2006 was $276,386. 2007 was $275,488. 2008 was $151,015. (How much money must he have overseas to owe that much in foreign taxes?)

4) And, apparently, Mitt paid NO U.S. income tax in 2009, since he has an $18,937 foreign tax credit left over from that year that he applied to his 2011 U.S. taxes.

Very, very interesting!!!

You might be a republican if you want to provide billions of dollars to oil companies
for corporate welfare but don't think it's a good idea to give a penny to those in
poverty.

You might be a Republican if you think it is OK to have our troops at daily risk in the Middle East, but when they come home, they are forced into the 47% who are lazy, do-nothings, and filibuster the Veterans’ Jobs Bill as a way to say "Thank you"

You might be a republican if you believe that the institutions that got us into our
financial crisis would be better off being deregulated.

You might be a republican if you think that laying off workers to boost profits is a
good thing, and then you complain about lazy unemployed people.

Bite me arthur, Romney shows me no respect as a senior, you show me no respect by backing Romney. We might be all American's but the republicans in congress showed the president no respect by obstructing America and the middle class from growing. To the point of treason in my opinion. So really Athur, you are the problem here, not the answer.

Romney required 10 years of taxes from his VP, Ryan, yet he places himself above everyone else with promising to produce 2 years of taxes (even Obama showed 12 years of taxes according to the news media). If elected, what is he going to do with our taxes, since he claims that 47% of us pay nothing???? If you want to pay more of nothing that we already pay now, then vote for the duo buffoonish clowns. Otherwise, kick them down the street along with all the other Republicans. Maybe then they'll get the message that we the people are fed up with behavior and want some work done for a change.

Republicans have wanted to destroy SS since around 1935. And if they ever do, do you honestly think the thieves will ever refund all the money we put into SS for 50 plus years?? Now R & R want to turn all elderly Medicare into a public voucher to invest in the stock market to boost their profits in their greedy pockets. Then when it fails due to crooked Wall Street/Finance Street tactics, guess who gets stuck with the loss and no money for healthcare? Ah-h-h, but the Republicans won't even discuss that. We all know it is us, who will be left with holding the bag and more taxes for us with less for the 2% elite.

As for voting: 12 States started yesterday, 30 states will start by the end of Sept. Then there is the Voter's Suppression in FL (Tea Party Gov. guilty of Medicare Fraud with his FL hospitals while serving as the inept CEO) that won't let the voting start in FL until mid-Oct.

Arthur66 - Patriotic, Romney was a Baker scholar at Harvard. We KNOW he got A's in school.

And Obama graduated magna cum laude. So we know he had at least a 3.5 GPA. None of which matters a bit.

The big difference is -- we have 11 years of Obama's tax returns.

And just one year and a summary for Romney.

Don't you wonder why it's 2009 that Romney has fought so hard against releasing? Just coincidence, do you think, that 2009 was the year the IRS gave overseas tax cheats amnesty if they reported their holdings?

We know he's been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars of foreign taxes - money that came straight out of the U.S. Treasury. So how much is overseas? In what countries?

Don't you think you should know which countries your President has his money stashed in? Don't you think that might affect his foreign policy?

Read ahead to see the 10 states with the highest number of people who pay no
federal income tax. The rankings are from the Tax Foundation
and are from 2010, the nonpartisan tax research group’s most recent
list.

Eight of the states are considered red, one is leaning
toward President Barack Obama and one is a swing state.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

When you have NOTHING to stand on, you act arrogant and bluff a lot... that's what both the GOP and the Republican posters here are doing. It's all they got.

Twist and turn and add words and rephrase and interpret all you want. He said what he said. Yes, it IS debatable whether he meant he didn't care about the 47% or, instead, didn't want to bother focusing on their vote. But, that aside, he still insulted half the country with his remarks. It was the REASON he didn't care, not the "what" that was important... he didn't care because he thinks that the 47% will not get off their dead asses (yes, my interpretation).

I'm not worried about the other 47% of the nation..just elect me to be president and I'll take care of the people I need to take care of!!!

In fact, the last jobs report showed that for every job added, four people have left the workforce,” she said.

Ironic isn't it but before Ronnie Ray-Guns administration change how the unemployment rate was calculated NO ONE was dropped from the labor force. BTW----when bush left office the number of people dropped was 450,000 a month plus a loss of 750,000 jobs per month. You want that again eloect Romney.

---------------------------------

Bobby-2359554

Obama has had four years to get this economy moving.

Bobby, Obama has gotten the economy moving. Whether you like it or not the economy has GROWN for over three years. If the rethugli-cons had gotten their way we still wouldn't have a growing economy. Pull your head out.

Whether Romney has money or not is irrelevant. What does matter is how he will use his job experience to turn this nations' economy around. Let's face it, Obama has never been good with money. He doesn't know how to make it( shovel jobs), doesn't know where to invest it( Solyndra), and doesn't know how to get out of this mess that we are in.

It's the same as taking care of a family..... You first provide for the food, utilities, and housing.... all the things needed to run a household;comparable to the US govt.spending FIRST for our defense (house), our economy(food), and energy (utilities).These are the basics.... any President should realize that.

Only when those things are met do you provide for other "internal" things such as Medical care ( aka birth control), education(aka illegal immigration) and helping others (aka Middle East).

The President has gotten it backward for far too long. Increasing taxes so that you have more for internal matters and cutting our defense isn't going to help anybody.

Arthur 66

Maybe you should spend some time doing some really in-depth research on Mr. Romney. You have stooped to even questioning President Obama's grades now?? Really??? Here are some facts Arthur. Yes indeed Ann and Mitt met in the 12th grade of a private school full of rich young people. They fell in love and wanted to get married after graduation, but then....OH NO!!! Mitt became eligible for the Draft and we had a little thing going on called VIETMAN at the time. So his father made him leave Michigan and enroll in Stanford University. He spent only one year there because the draft that year amended college furloughs for the lottery pick in the Draft, Mitt's number was so low that he was then sent to France for the next 30 months and 2 more consecutive Draft lotteries on "MISSIONARY WORK" to make him exempt and only returned to enroll in BYU when he drew a number over 195 and knew he could not be drafted.

So not only is Mitt Romney a liar,he is also a "Draft Dodger", he holds disdain for most of the American people, he did in fact gain his wealth from his father through Bain Capitol. He hasn't earned anything but his right full seat at the board of directors table of his father's company to go on and make Millions.

And you're concerned about Obama's grades....well Sir, put your mind at ease. You need atleast a 3.5 GPA to get into Harvard Law School in the Juris Doctorate Program and a 4.0 to be considered for the Harvard Law Review. And Mr. Obama....well, he was President of the Harvard Law Review. So I think your concerns about his intellectual capabilities can be satisfied. However, Mr. Romney on the other hand has many issues people should be deeply concerned about.

And your comments about John Kerry and John F. Kennedy are offensive and should be to anyone who served in the armed forces. Mentioning them in contrast to a draft dodger is offensive. They did their duty with honor, they served our country with dignity, and did not have to have daddy write a letter from the LDS church to save their son from serving and send them off to France to do "missionary" work.

Wake up, you may be able to add, but you have a little problem with common sense. Because it was called a socialist party does not mean it was, and as a matter of fact was a far right philosophy much like the republican party has evolved too. Fascism isn't any better then socialism and in many ways is worse. The republican party with the advent of the tea party has become fascist leaning at best and fascist at worse.

Okay, all you GOP supporters. Not one of you has been willing to answer this so far.

Why are the House Republicans spending their time giving away American jobs instead of fixing the economy?

This is one of only 61 bills they've passed this year:

The United States House of Representatives passed a bill — House Resolution 3012 — which favors highly skilled workers by removing country-specific caps on immigrant engineers, computer scientists and other professionals.

House representatives voted 389 to 15 in favor of HR 3012 or the "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act." The bill is also expected to pass in the Senate.

By eliminating the cap from each country on high-skilled working visa, talented immigrants from India, Philippines, China and other emerging economies can work in the US, the report said.

117,460 American jobs were given to foreigners on these H1B visas in 2010.

Can you tell me why, with our unemployment rate so high, Americans weren't hired instead? Or why the GOP wants to give MORE jobs away?

Wakeupnow,

The Nazis used National Socialism as their title in the same way Bush called No child left behind which left 100s of thousands behind, or the Patroit act which removed basic rights of Americans.

Calling something a name to get popular support, then doing the opposite is something the Republicans have in common with the Nazis.

The Republican propaganda machine makes the Nazis look like amateurs.

So Mitt and the GOP want to reduce the 47% paying no taxes, and the way to do this is to reduce unemployment. What is Mitt's plan for this? He cites his experience with Bain as a job creator. Do a little research. Do you remember Kay Bee Toys, that nice little toy store you would see at most malls? You probably bought your children a few toys there, I know I did. They just disappeared from the mall, a quick liquidation sale and then they were gone. Google "Kay Bee Toys" and do a little reading. Bain acquired the toy store, saddled it with insurmountable debt, and they went bankrupt. Bain made a fortune, as did the investment bank they used to complete the aquisition. Bain, under Romney's leadership, did this repeatedly. Is this how he creates jobs? If so, I want no part of it.

While you are at it, do a little reading on his religion. The Mormon faith seems to have a lot to do with tithing by its members, acquiring wealth on the part of the church, and offering little in the way of charity to those less fortunate. They are good at buying real estate and opening shopping malls. Did the conservative Christian wing of the GOP give him a free pass?

Personally, I want no part of him.

John in Battle Creek,

Stop with your revisionist history, are you really that ignorant? Fascism, like Hitlers Germany, was the government overpowering and control of private business. EXACTLY what the Democrats stand for. Every time Obama attack big companies and "the rich" he is demonizing them. Hitler hated private companies. The tea party is about taxation without representation, another subject your completely taking out of context and reversing. What lies can you fabricate next?

Obama doesn't attack the rich. He includes himself among them whenever he's on the subject.

I read some of these blog comments and boy alot of of bias narrow minded people who will believe anything they want to hear especially from the Left. Hey! Liberals hows that hope and change? Hey Liberals who care for that Obamacare, keep saving your money because when all of it kicks in, your taxes will be on the plate like people who need a wheelchair or any other medical devices you will be tax and if you don't believe me look it all up morons. Obama did raise taxes on everyone just to keep Obamacare. Mitt what right that 47% don't taxes but he wasn't putting people down and you Liberals can spin this all you want. Mitt spoke the truth and if you can't handle it then two bad buddies. The voters will want all this free stuff handed to them and will vote for Obama because the voters will not give it up. Hey to all you Obama lovers were are the jobs?, how come unemployment is still to high?. Were's that stimulous package that was supposed to work? and what happen to Solyndra and all that tax payers money getting flush down the toilet?. Obama promise that the deficit would be cut in half, I guess Obama changed his mind so he can keep spending to put out more welfare and food stamps for everyone. Hows that Arab spring working for or this President? His Ideas are really working that's why 4 people died in Lybia and spinning it and playing bame games that this movie was the cause of. If it was the movie then the uprising in the middle east would of happened back a couple of months ago not on 9-11. Obama lied to the American people to cover his own butt because this President couldn't face up to the fact that his way got innocent people killed by his lack of leadership. When you have our people in these hostile countries , you always have security no matter what. MSNBC,ABC,CBS,CNN ECT............... ARE ALL BIAS AND SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR NOT BEING FARE AND BALANCED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.OBAMA AND HIS BASE CAN STICK THEIR TRANSPARENCY WERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE.!!!!!

don_draper

Obama doesn't attack the rich. He includes himself among them whenever he's on the subject

He says that because fools like you actually believe that he "cares" about you. Your free all right, free to rattle your chains.

Wake up, that is a right wing fallacy, the very definition of fascism is far right philosophy, which doesn't mean a takeover of business. Democrats, and more specifically Obama has taken nothing over. You are wrong as a republican can be. Revisionist history my butt.

piegan - I hear GOP'ers like yourself screaming to cut off food stamps, welfare and Medicaid.

So is your party going to have jobs for all those people your first week in office?

No?

So what are they going to eat? You know, until there are enough jobs for all of them?

How long do you estimate that might take?

Less time than starvation? Or are you going to reduce unemployment by getting rid of that portion of the American population?

It's one or the other - and I haven't heard the first plan for putting them to work before they starve.

And you're concerned about Obama's grades....well Sir, put your mind at ease. You need atleast a 3.5 GPA to get into Harvard Law School in the Juris Doctorate Program and a 4.0 to be considered for the Harvard Law Review. And Mr. Obama....well, he was President of the Harvard Law Review. So I think your concerns about his intellectual capabilities can be satisfied.

LorraineH: Actually I question how he got those grades..... They use to post his grades on the internet; now you can't find them anymore. As for him getting into law school, everyone knows they lower the expectations when dealing with minority students. Whites and asians they penalize more for wrong answers, while blacks and hispanics they don't.

And this is coming from someone who isn't white, I might add.They do the same thing with Medical School.

Second, everyone knows Obama stole the Fullbright Scholarship which is a scholarship given to only those students in the US who go oversees to study or for FOREIGN students to come here to study. Why else would there be so much speculation of him being foreign born? You have to ask yourself how truthful the President we now have before you start putting blame on others.

Wakeup,

From the World English Dictionary.

fascism (ˈfæʃɪzəm)

— n

1.
any ideology or movement inspired by Italian Fascism, such as German National Socialism; any right-wing nationalist ideology or movement with an authoritarian and hierarchical structure that is fundamentally opposed to democracy and liberalism

2.
any ideology, movement, programme, tendency, etc, that may be characterized as right-wing, chauvinist, authoritarian, etc

3.

prejudice in relation to the subject specified: body fascism

Now might be the time for you to STFU.

In the end, none of this pointless bickering matters. The repubs can say whatever they want about Obama and it won't change the fact that they nominated a completely inept buffoon to run against Obama and Romney doesn't have any hope of winning. Sorry repubs, if I were you I would start mentally preparing for 4 more years of Obama now rather then cling to your inept nominee to the bitter end.

John in Battlecreek,

Fascism takes influences from both the left and right. Obama did take over GM and is trying to take over the private medical industry by pricing insurance companies out of the market. Maxine Waters would love to socialize the oil industry in order to regulate fuel prices. Look it up on youtube...

PatrioticAmerican

Ron Paul called it correct at the debate when he called Romney a phony. Newt Gingrich called him a liar to his face, Jon Huntsman (former Gov. of Utah) called him untruthful, Gov. Rick Perry referred to him to his face as being out of touch with American voters, and Rick Santorium called him shameful. And these were his fellow Republican candidates. Tim Pawlenty was a bit more refined and just agreed to disagree with Romney's policies and indicated they were incorrect numbers and indicated he needed to go back and re-do his math. Maybe these men were all telling it like it is about this candidate who wants to be President. Hopefully, the American people will remember those debates, Mitt did not do so well, I think his upcoming debate with Obama is going to be a slaughter and Mitt is going to take a beating on national television (AGAIN).

Bobby, see your doctor. Looks like a case of Foxitis.

GM is still a publicly traded company.

The U.S. just owns some stock.

GM hasn't been "taken over" any more than Berkshire Hathaway has been "taken over" by Warren Buffett.

I thought ya'll liked capitalism?

piegan (post # 1.93)

Obviously, the truth hurts you (even with your own ignorant, trashy trench mouth comments, and invalid thinking skills). Spend more time reading some factual history books, clear the wax out of your ears, and take your blind folders off. So much for your, "Everybody else is always wrong, except for the Republicans." Talk about others being narrow minded, you yourself put a new twist to the definition. So typical of "You People" belonging to the Rethuglican Party.

But Romney advocate Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R- N.H. told NBC’s David Gregory that Romney’s comments at the fundraiser were “not a governing philosophy” and that he “has a vision for 100 percent of America.”

Yeah; give massive tax cuts to the top 1% and tell the 99% to go @!$%# themselves. Romney's tax plan is merely a bigger and more expensive rehash of the Bush policies; enact more tax cuts for the wealthy, cut some more regulations, and then say "It's up to the almighty job creators now" for jobs to be created.

spider-737231

Wow, Pigotry, you ought to be working for the DNC or the media whores the way you make s**t up! Romney never said he didn't care about the 47%; he simply said he didn't need to worry about them in this election because they will vote for Obama no matter what. Look it up if you want, and remember...facts count, Piggy!

Actually, a large part of those 47% of Americans are traditionally REPUBLICAN constituencies; seniors, poor white conservatives, members of the armed services; so how the hell is he correct???

Oh, by the way, Romney was 100% right about these lemmings. They'll vote for the Great Inept One, no matter what. For the life of me, I don't know why anybody would want to extend our current economic misery, but then again, I'm not sucking at the federal teat.

Hahahaha; so apparently seniors who paid federal taxes all their lives, soldiers who have been sent to war and saw fellow soldiers massacred, and poor people who got fired from their jobs because of a financial crisis started by CONSERVATIVE regulatory policies are sucking the federal teat??? EVERY AMERICAN is getting a benefit from the government, just like virtually every developed country in world. Millions of Americans drive on GOVERNMENT-PAVED roads and highways, enjoy FEDERAL tax breaks (many of them that I would gladly eliminate), use FEDERAL or federally-regulated services such as water and electrical utilities, and take advantage of GOVERNMENT regulations when purchasing products. EVERY American is dependent on the federal (and state and local) government(s), and that is not necessarily a good thing. I gladly recall the inspiring words of Abe Lincoln where government "should only do those things that we cannot do for ourselves." And frankly, there are a lot of things that we cannot do by ourselves, like protecting resources that we are dependent on or educating an entire generation to prosper in a world that we only dreamed of. Government is not inherently bad or inherently good; it's morality and virtue is decided by the people who control it (aka the American people).

My fellow Americans, Romney is little more than a puppet-head for the domineering faction of the Republican Party that seeks to destroy what an entire generation of Americans fought and died to establish and protect. Ever since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan rallied his party around a platform of ultra-low tax rates for the rich, deregulation, and an ever-shrinking social safety net for the rest of the nation, the GOP have sought to dismantle every single progressive program and law since the days of the Great Depression. Hell, if it were up to Grover Norquist, we'd all be back in the 1880s. Mitt Romney will merely tow the line of the far right, which is no taxes for the rich, not regulations on businesses and Wall Street, and a two-class system in America. Obama ain't perfect; hell, I'd wished that he would let the Bush tax cuts expire, demand that any tax reform plan raises rates for those at the top, and institute a single-payer health insurance system instead of an individual mandate without a public option. But I admire the steps made to reform America's energy and healthcare systems, the slow but steady progress on the economy, and the resolve that Obama has shown in taking the fight to the GOP on taxes and the deficit. And I would rather have slow-and-steady economic recovery than a simple return to the policies of the last 30 years that has fattened the wallets of the rich while sending millions of Americans below poverty and to the unemployment office.

OBAMA BIDEN 2012

By the way, don't you wonder what the relationship of the President would be to Bain Capital if Romney won?

Since he still gets tens of millions of $$ from them every year.

Wouldn't that equate to a "government takeover" of Bain?

I am also very much looking forward to the debates. I hope that Obama succeeds in either getting Romney to give some specifics about his budget proposals or to lay bare to the American people how clueless Romney really is concerning how to fix things.

Wake up, you have a problem with reading comprehension? There is nothing socialist about fascism, nothing. YouTube as opposed to a dictionary, I now know it is true that republicans have a small IQ to go with their little penis.

True conservatives are turning their back on the current GOP and their masters. 2012 will be a landslide due to no-shows.

Mitt is a closet liberal with no spine, serving those that have no concern about the people.

Frankly, I'd hate to be in Mitt's shoes right now.

The Godfathers (Sheldon Adelson, Karl Rove, and the Koch brothers) have poured BILLIONS into his coffers.

It was an INVESTMENT, and they expect to get their RETURN.

Now Mitt can't deliver. We'll see what the goons do to him.

Should be entertaining, at least.

Wakeup,

"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." Benito Moussilinni

John in Battle Creek'

You have proven to the audience that you are incapable of a free flowing debate. Why don't you just call me a racist and get it over with?

Ed, that is another great post. You have had several today. People like Wake up spout revisionist history when in fact they either don't know what they are talking about or they simply make stuff up.

If the republicans could just cut loose the bigots, racists, and bible-thumpers their party would be a hell of a lot more palatable. They just have a 1950's black and white TV image of women in the kitchen, blacks in their place, dad bringing home the bacon, churches on every corner and no gays to be found anywhere. It seems like the GOP just can't seem to let go of their perpetual perverted utopia.

Looks like the paid Republican trollers are out again. They obviously have nothing better to do with their time, and need more money regardless if earned honestly.

Wake up is an ignorant troll. Just don't respond to him.

Wake up, our discussion was over when you said I was revising history, from that point on it was me trying to teach you what fascism was so you would not use it out of context nor would you consider NAZI Germany socialist. But you have a little problem. Right.

Romney has been employed as a tax evading cheat for the last 10 years... perfect Republican candidate! Put him in jail, not the White House!

Lorraine... Are you saying that we don't need another draft dodger as president? Oh, wait, George W. only went AWOL and deserted. My mistake. BTW, I was always under the assumption that desertion in time of war (Viet Nam) was considered a treasonable offence. Geez, that's two mistakes.

Don, I can't help it, I like to slap back guys like wake up. They not only don't have a clue when posting but are completely stupid and vote against themselves when voting.

To piegan:

Do read an excellent post from don_draper #1.115 to learn more of what people think of your Republican Party's perpetual perverted utopia.

Unhappy

I can understand your comment board name now....unfortunately, you've spent all this time and effort regarding a post and concerns that were proven by the Supreme Court to have been a HOAX. The information regarding the Fulbright Scholarship was an April Fools Day Joke from April 1st, 2009 directed and labeled to look like an "AP" bulletin which spread as a hoax chain e-mail. A law suit was brought by a New Jersey man and proven to be a Hoax. People still believe it, people still believe he was born in Kenya, people will believe what makes them feel the most comfortable or serves whatever purpose or desire for distress they need.

The Fulbright Scholarship Hoax was settled a long time ago, but so was Obama's birth certificate. But people believe what they want, and philandering liars like the Koch brothers and Donald Trump make sure the prey in our society continue to keep those beliefs no matter what.

And your comments about "lowering the bar" for non-whites and Asians is a nothing short of shear ignorance and bigotry. Anyone who has ever applied, entered, or been admitted to a Graduate program (which by your comment you probably have not) knows that the GRE Test (Graduate Test Examination) does not ask for race, sex, or age.

There is at least 45% of the voters that will not vote for the other candidate every presidential election and that's a fact. But only a fool would single them out in some demeaning way.

So friggin funny to read all the forgetful people raving about who caused the economic melt down we are still in. You continue to point fingers at the wrong group and the wrong President. You have selective short term memories . But I still remember a few years back telling us " we will hear a large sucking sound as our jobs leave" That man was Ross Perot and he was campaining against Bill Clinton. Clinton was the President who signed NAFTA and other trade agreements and the incentives for our manufacturers to take our good jobs out of the country. He also signed bills that allowed mortgage lending regulations to be relaxed so everyone could buy a home. Of course when the effects of our good jobs being shipped out started to take it's toll he was out of office so it it's his fault right ?. You all may be brain dead and not be willing to face facts. But had those trade deals not been signed and the banks hadn't padded some pockets to get lending laws relaxed we woulod not be in the mess we are in today. gthe jobs that left won't be back EVER. Al Gore is getting his clean air and soon it will even be cleaner if we don't act soon. Obama has proven he does not have a clue how to fix our economy. Obama did nothing but pad the pockets of big bankers and big auto makerCEO'S pockets but you contend it is the republicans who are for the wealthy.....lol.....What is your favorite flavor of koolaid ?

I employ you all to put aside your biases and think for yourselves. QE3 was announced and the national debt is above $16Trillion, yes I blame Regan, Bush (Sr & Jr), Clinton, and Obama for this mess we are in. When the world dumps the dollar as the reserve currency we will all be pushing paper money in wheelbarrows, just like in 1930's Germany. It will be full circle and you can say "far right" or "far left" all day until your blue in the face but the outcome will still be the same. The American voter has become complacent as ever and has shown that we are incapable of a free society.

Can any Republican supporter of Mittwitt Romney say.

Bush had a surplus and after 8 years left with a deficit?

Of course not because Mittwitt supporter think bush was never in office and President Obama created this mess. They continue to say it over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Word like President Obama did not fix the unemployment rate fast enough as to say "This is for the stupid MFs who forgot bush caused this collapse"

Believe Mittwitt and don't believe President Obama, trust me I will take care of everything for the the rest of you.

Who ever votes for mittwitt is a disgrace to America because because America cares for people. We do not throw them in the trash and hope they just die.

President Obama

John in Battle Creek,

If you are looking for an emotional reaction from me on here I am sorry to disappoint you.

Mark Twain was once criticized for being friends of the "rich".

A less fortunate friend of Twain's said that their money was tainted.

Twain replied: "Of course their money is tainted. It taint yours and it taint mine!"

No wakeup, I don't expect an emotional answer, but I would expect an apology, I didn't revise history, I do know what I am talking about and I do know the direction the republican party has taken, you see I have been alive all those years and witnessed the transformation with my own eyes.

Avenger,

Clinton was the President who signed NAFTA and other trade agreements and the incentives for our manufacturers to take our good jobs out of the country. He also signed bills that allowed mortgage lending regulations to be relaxed so everyone could buy a home.

It was done under the ideas of "fairness". The banks were forced to give loans to unqualified people. Can you blame them for trying to, god forbid, make money and not lose it?

How selective people can be. dji says that Romney said if he paid $1 more in taxes, he would be disqualified. Now we find that he deliberately took less charitable deductions that he could have and paid more in tax. To dji, that means he should be disqualified. Of course he ignores Pres Obama saying that if he didn't get the economy under control in 4 years, he would be a 1 term president. Based on dji's thought process (?), we have to find 2 other people to run.

When are people going to stop with such foolish remarks and comment on facts (not the facts manufactured by the parties and their surrogates).

Sam

I'm simply saying that the real Mitt Romney is not such an all American guy. Facts are Facts and people can choose to ignore their relevance or accept what is......is. With Mitt Romney, unfortunately what you see is exactly what you get if you vote for this man for President. He did dodge the draft for Vietnam. And for someone on this site to comment and make any comparison to him and Sen. John Kerry or President Kennedy regardless of party politics is offensive to anyone who has served or has a son or daughter who is currently serving our country.

In his farewell address, outgoing Republican president Eisenhower warned about the military industrial complex having undue influence on the ways and policies of government. We spend more than than all the other major countries combined. This is a major part of the reasons for the size of our deficit. The republicans have become closely tied to the defense industry as well as other large industries such as oil.

The Iraq war cost our country in national treasure and lives to support both the defense industry as well as the oil interests in the middle east.

The Republicans, Ron Paul and the Tea Party have been influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Her book, Atlas Shrugged (1957) touts the idea of the selfish pursuit of money is no vice, the "thieving poor" are takers in society and the wealthy are makers.

The idea, that the rich are entitled to wealth and the poor are entitled to nothing but what the rich choose to let them have, is what lead to "trickle down" economics. The powerful feel they are superior to the less fortunate. That hard work is all you need to succeed. The truth is the top of the pyramid is a very narrow and exclusive place. Romney had the advantage of wealth. His high school education at Cranbrook isn't exactly available to anyone. The private school tuition for grades 9-12 is currently $28,000 per year. As Romney pointed out. If you want to start a business just "borrow the money from your parents". It helps if you have rich parents.

Success through hard work is mostly a Hollywood screen play, but an exception in real life. If you are born poor you are more likely to remain poor and if you are born rich you are more likely to remain rich.

The rich and powerful want to control politics, regulation and economics to ensure the flow of money continues upward. They have no problem stirring the pot to inflame sentiment to give them the power they need to rape and pillage America's coffers. The 47% comment was directed to people that think all Blacks and Hispanics are "takers" and on welfare.

Fox News sole purpose is to influence the American public. They perpetuate anti-Obama hatred. Republican strategist, Karl Rove, invented dirty politics of "Swift boating" a candidate with negative spin. His "Citizens United" superpac funds many negative ad campaigns and was the centerpiece of the Supreme court decision that corporations have the same rights as individuals and money is "free speech".

Three fictional propaganda movies are released in time to try to influence the election outcome: Obama 2016, Atlas Shrugged Part 2, and the Arabic translation of the trailer for the "Innocence of the Muslims" which cost the life of a US ambassador. Was he just unfortunate collateral damage in the war to control opinions and influence future defense spending?

The Republicans proclaimed sole goal is to make Obama a "one-term president" so they can regain power. They've blocked recovery bills to prolong the downturn to defeat the President. Congress is incapable of doing anything as a result.

Eisenhower was right to warn us about the shift in power away from Democratic majority rule to elite, corporate rule. This election is probably the most important one in many decades. I hope the true majority of this country speaks with a very loud voice this fall. Even Ayn Rand admits that power can't be seized without the sanction of the victim. Don't stay home on election day and be a victim.

Avenger - Obama did nothing but pad the pockets of big bankers

Bush passed TARP, not Obama.

And Goldman Sachs is donating to Romney 70% to 30% for Obama.

Romney has hundreds of millions of $$ stashed with Goldman Sachs.

You want to see a true friend of big bankers? Look at Romney.

Senator Ayotte was more than a little disingenuous when she said President Obama had a majority in congress so could do anything he wanted. She failed to point out - big surprise - that he only had a filibuster proof majority for 44 days due to Ted Kennedy's illness and numerous recesses. And, as we all know, Republicans filibustered EVERYTHING the President proposed unless they could add their pork to it.

To the person who stated that President Obama had only worked as a part time professor and had no real work history - wrong. President Obama was an attorney and worked as one for several years, as well as being a professor of Constitutional Law at The University of Chicago - a private university.

The Republican party has sunk to a new low and will not recover until they get rid of the extremists; stop signing loyalty oaths to Norquist (who does he think he is?); and get back to working for the good of the country - not just a select few.

Obama/Biden 2012

I see in the politcal cartoon this week a pie graph in Mitts face. This pie graph supposedly shows how wrong he is! Well you got the graph all wrong! It shows that 53% pay federal taxes, but they also show 28% paying payroll taxes.

This means they pay no federal income taxes and are more then likely getting back thousands through earned income! Paying no federal income means you contribute nothing to the national welfare but your vote!

As for the person that questions those of religious faith on the question of rights of welfare handouts! Perhaps you should trying reading the Bible! Jesus said," give a man a fish and you feed him for one day! Teach a man to fish and he can feed himself forever"! In every village, hamlet or city the locals can easily point out those whose only wish is to ride on the backs of others!

In certain blogs I see the right compared to Fascist and I have to laugh. This is coming from soon to be Communist!

When I talk to older people who emigrated from the former USSR they tell me a different story. They tell me that what Obama is doing is the same thing that happened to them under Communism!

Avenger

Obama did nothing but pad the pockets of big bankers

Excuse me but if history serves me correctly, it was President Obama who signed into law the most sweeping Bank Reform bill this country has seen since the great depression. Including consumer protection laws from fee gouging, credit card protection for consumers, and regulations regarding the repayment of TARP. And to date, over 95% of that government bail out money to bail out the banks during the Bush administration has been re-paid. So exactly how did you come up with your statement? Republicans called him a socialist for doing what he did in controlling the spiraling abuses set in place under the banking deregulation of the Bush Administration that nearly caused the collapse of our financial system in October of 2008.

For those who think Mitt is so "charitable" with his money:

Vetting Romney's Charity

Just over half of Romney's giving went to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Romneys didn't have much choice there: The church requires Mormons to tithe 10 percent of their income to remain members in good standing. The rest of the money went to the Tyler Foundation, a 501(c3) nonprofit funded exclusively by the Romneys. Though most of its donations defy criticism, others aren't exactly middle of the road.

In 2006, for instance, Romney's foundation gave $10,000 to the anti-gay Massachusetts Family Institute, which believes that sexual orientation is a choice that can be cured by what critics call "pray away the gay" programs. In 2009, it gave $25,000 to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a year after its chairman, Seamus Hasson, compared marriage-equality activists to Al Qaeda. And of course, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints heavily campaigned in favor of Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage but was later deemed unconstitutional.

What follows is a complete list of the 2010 charitable donations disclosed by Romney's Tyler Foundation, with notes about the ones that pull double duty as political statements. (Click here for a look at Newt Gingrich's charitable donations.)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: $145,000

Belmont Hill School: $5,000
All five of Romney's sons attended the Belmont Hill School For Boys, in Belmont, Mass.

Best Friends Foundation: $5,000
A program for troubled adolescents that advocates sexual abstinence. It is run by the wife of William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan. Bennett's syndicated radio program, Morning in America, has been known to incite controversy. Responding to a listener in 2005, Bennett said that aborting all African-American babies would be "a morally reprehensible thing to do, but the crime rate would go down."

Boys and Girls Club of Boston: $10,000
Romney campaigned at a Boys and Girls Club last month in New Hampshire.

Brigham Young University: $25,000
Romney's alma mater

Center for the Treatment of Pediatric MS: $75,000

Romney's wife, Ann, was diagnosed with MS in 1998.

Also: MS Cure: $10,000

City Year: $5,000
A tutoring program for at-risk youth in Boston. Its board of directors is dominated by executives from high finance, including Bain & Company, Romney's former private equity fund.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute: $10,000
In 2010, Ann Romney was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer

Dana Farber Pan Mass Challenge: $20,000

Deseret International: $25,000
Provides medical services to the blind, lame, and disfigured in the developing world. It has close ties to the LDS church.

Friends of the Belmont Council: $20,000
Boston-based charity offering services to senior citizens

George W. Bush Library: $100,000
Romney "wanted to show his appreciation to George W. Bush," a Romney advisor explained last month.

Harvard Business School: $10,000
Romney is an alum.

Camp High Hopes: $5,000
A camp for special-needs children

Homes for Our Troops: $20,000
Builds specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans

Inner City Scholarship Fund: $10,000

Joey Fund for Cystic Fibrosis: $20,000

MMOFRA TROM Foundation: $30,000
Provides humanitarian aid to countries damaged by natural disasters and war

Operation Kids: $65,000
Directs money to other charities that serve children

Right to Play: $10,000
Promotes youth sports in developing countries

US Equestrian Team Foundation: $10,000
Helps fund training of the US equestrian team for the Olympics. Romney first gained fame for his handling of the Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Wright Museum: $2,500
Museum of WWII history

Note that Romney is using his foundation to fund things like his sons' private school, Ann's horse team and the Mormon Church. Oh, and the George W. Bush library - which can't have more than one or two books in it.

A whole of hate and some down right sickening jealousy of the fact that Romney has money. NONE Of you mention just how wealthy Obama is or the fact that the wealthiest in Congress are dems. Too many of you are just programed by the media etc.. to believe whatever comes out of Obama's motuh. Your so certain that only older people will vote republican. I have kids between the ages of 18 and 31 and they have a whole lot of friends that can't stand Obama, that can see the damage he's done, doing and will continue to do and will be voting for Romney.

As long as the "news media" and the Obama campaign can keep this on the front burner the longer they can avoid the important issues that this Nation faces and it also protects Obama from dealing with his failed presidency.

This has been the theme of the campaign and the media from the outset while ignoring all negative issues that arise in the Obama camp.

Obama is more concerned with getting reelected than handling the job for which is was elected. He finds time to appear on Dave Letterman, The View, Beyonce, etc, but can't find time for handling foreign policy which is deteriorating rapidly.

Sadly, some folks think he is cool, charming, and just "a good ole down to earth guy" and deserves another 4 years to finish the job.

If reelected, will spend his next four years on the golf course and laughing at the fools who gave hime the opportunity to finish the job and destroy America as we know it.

Save America!!! Defeat Communist Obama and the GOD-less Demon-crats!!!

Romney / Ryan 2012 in a conservative Landslide!!! Patriotic Americans are leading the Pollsters around by their noses . . . LOL!!!

I've talked to people describing themselves as independents and they say the famous secretly recorded 47% speech is actually helping Romney. If you look at what Romney said from an independent view, you would have to be really mad at how Obama has taken this country and turned half the population into non taxable citizens. Romney's plan to reduce taxes do not sell well with people not paying any taxes.

Have you noticed Romney is getting a bump from this issue? Today both Gallup and Rassmussen has Obama and Romney tied!

"But the most recent Gallup national tracking poll shows the race exactly tied, with 47 percent favoring Romney and 47 percent favoring Obama."

I hope MSNBC keeps telling and retelling this story all the way to election day. If I was Obama, I would not be proud of the fact that half the country does not pay taxes unless he is a communist then he will not be happy until 70% is dependent on the government.

Bobby, Vote Bonehead Boehner and the Do Nothing republicans out of office. We don't need them back to do nothing again like this year. Tell them to pass some of the many laws that the Senate sen to the House and they added the keystone Pipeline to these Bills so they would be defeated. They are the ones that need to be defeated!

Jt,

I hope there's someone to keep you away from sharp things the day after the election.

And your comments about "lowering the bar" for non-whites and Asians is a nothing short of shear ignorance and bigotry. Anyone who has ever applied, entered, or been admitted to a Graduate program (which by your comment you probably have not) knows that the GRE Test (Graduate Test Examination) does not ask for race, sex, or age.

LORRAINEH: You are confusing grad/business school(GRE) with Law school( LSAT)..... they are not the same. Anyone who HAS attended a secondary school would know the difference.

It's obviously not you.

As for your other observations, I think he was born in Kenya. But that would not necessarily bar him from american citizenship because his mother already had citizenship. However, I'm pretty sure he is hiding something.

Did anybody catch the blatant lie?

the last jobs report showed that for every job added, four people have left the workforce,

Somehow the unemployment rate is going down despite her claim otherwise. If what she said was true, the unemployment rate would be going up. This is basic math.

That and the last jobs report reflected summer jobs ending for high school and college age individuals.

skrewdworld (apt moniker for someone voting for Romney) - "NONE Of you mention just how wealthy Obama is"

Here ya go:

Obama net worth $9 million (all self-made)

Romney net worth $250 million (including a big chunk of inheritance)

Now, back to the important stuff. Like where they KEEP that money.

Somehow the unemployment rate is going down despite her claim otherwise. If what she said was true, the unemployment rate would be going up. This is basic math.

Flyingenergy: It means that people are no longer collecting unemployment and therefore no longer counted. It does not mean they found a job. I know several people in this position.

Skrewdworld

We're discussing Mr. Romney's wealth because Mr. Romney has made his wealth front and center in his campaign. When President Obama took office, his 2008 tax returns showed his income at $2,736,107.00 that year and paid $881,337.00 in taxes, which is a tax rate of 32.2%. He had no off-shore accounts in the Cayman Islands and was forth coming with all his tax returns for the American public to see prior to the election. Mr. Romney just showed American voters (once again) how the tax structure he functions under, unlike the rest of the majority of Americans he wants votes from, works for him. He deliberately manipulated the numbers to delete a 1.7 million dollar deduction as not to make him seem a liar because he needed to show the public he paid atleast that 14% figure. Had he taken the deduction properly on his return, his rate would have dropped to about 9.9% and that would have looked very bad for him on top of an already horribly fumbled week. He pays less than a single kid working at Burger King full time.

And those 18 - 31 year old voters who want to vote for Mr. Romney, I hope none of them rely on Pell Grants for college, or student loans for college, or staying on their parents health insurance for health care and realize that the man you profess they are so excited to put into office will change their lives dramatically. Mr. Romney's answer during one debate regarding the student loan issue was that "kids need to go to their parents to borrow the money". How many of those young adults you write about are you going to lend money to so that they can receive a college education. Or will they be working full time at a minimum wage job in order to afford it only to pay as much in taxes as the man who wants to be their President. I hope for those young people's sake, they can read well and do a bit of research and critical thinking, if so.....they may change their mind.

Skrewdworld, I have the same experience with my kids as well. One will vote for the first time and the other his second, and he voted Obama. They have come to realize on their own, that kids their age ( 18-22 yr olds) are getting by only because of the wealth of their parents. My son was reeled in by a great speaker who made tremendous promises only to realize it was all a sales-pitch. There are just to few job opportunities out here in Chicago and the collar counties. Don't even try to mention Barack Obama to any Union member either (unless they're State workers), his bull$hit has worn thin. I know guys that have worked in the building trades 20-25 yrs that have been off work going on 3 years! They are either to young to take their pension or they haven't worked enough hours to do so. And with this economy and it's lack of leadership, full of false promises and reckless spending, those workers are set to loose all. The Electrician's Union Apprentice School in Aurora,Il that was built about 8 years ago is," For Sale". That news is just insane! WE ARE NOT GETTING FOOLED AGAIN,AMERICA! ROMNEY/RYAN '12 JANUARY 20,13 THE END OF AN ERROR!

fenderbluesjr - THE END OF AN ERROR!

hahahahaha

The Republicans can't even come up with original insults - they have to plagiarize them.

See, "End of an error" was funny - back when somebody made it up IN 2008.

Because that's how Bush said "era".

hahahahaha

How many of these "poor" people can still afford internet service and cable and cell phones. Everyone who has an income should pay some income tax, even if it's only a couple hundred dollars a year.

Unhappy

Your comment was regarding "lowering standards for admission" to Harvard. Not necessarily law school, and I am well aware between the difference of the GRE and the LSAT. My comment was directed to the fact that standards for Graduate programs are not lowered based upon race. That is an absolute bigoted ideology. And with your vast knowledge you must certainly know that one would need to take the GRE for entrance and acceptance into a Graduate Program prior to taking the LSAT. And I obviously DO KNOW.

As a USC Alumni of the Gould School of Law, my GPA, application, letter of intent and GRE for admission requirements for Graduate curriculum in Business was required and after completion of that Graduate Program and upon receipt of my Masters, the LSAT is required for J.D.(Juris Doctorate) application. So you know the old saying "to assume makes an xxx out of you". But after all....you're

pretty sure he's hiding something

Sad.....very sad. No actual facts....in fact, comprehensive documentation of his United States Birth, official evidence of his birth and people like you still think he's born in Kenya. Just your belief that you're " pretty sure" he's hiding something.

Look, this is pretty easy. If you have anything to do with business, you should be able to follow.

Bush started 2 wars, created the ever expanding Homeland Security, and signed in Medicaid WITHOUT funding anything, which created a $500 Billion annual deficit that will last at least a decade NO MATTER WHO's in office.

That same administration then handed us a collapsed economy that both lowered tax revenues by another $500 Billion a year AND demanded more spending to both stimulate the economy (to save it) and to support those that lost their jobs or all their belongings because of that economy. I don't care who you blame, but deregulation and lax enforcement CAUSED THE COLLAPSE.

That's roughly $1.5 Trillion in debt per year that was unstoppable regardless of who was elected. And guess what? The ONLY was to retire debt is to recover the economy... something the GOP has been blocking since day 1.

During this recession, the rich have gained 13% in net worth.
During this recession the middle class has lost 40% of their net worth.
During this recession, the Fortune 500 companies have had record breaking profits.
During the same period, they spent record breaking lows on business reinvestment and JOBS.
During the same period, their executives received record breaking paydays.
During this same period, record amounts of earnings went to these same executives' off-shore accounts... with totals nearing $100 Trillion.
And here's the deal... artificially low taxes at the top ENCOURAGE this behavior and DISCOURAGES job creation.

So, sure, let's all vote for Romney and lower the taxes for the rich even more and kill any regulations that mean anything. Let's bring in the guy that blames the lower 47% for all our woes, when the facts reveal that it was the GOP that put them there.

I am FAR from socialist. But if you can't smell the bull coming from the right, you are either blind, rich, or stupid and voting against your and our interests

fenderbluesjr

Unlike the Robinson's and I guess the President's grandparent's, I started a college savings plan the moment the test strip was "positive". That's something you and your parents and the rest of you Libby nut-jobs cannot and will not comprehend. I don't ask America to cover what my d*ck did!

Well, you just insulted another 30% of Americans with your ignorant d!ckless rant. Let's see... that gets you up to 77% insulted. Keep it up. Got any old white guy insults?... it's about all you got left... and not all of those either... I'm one.

get-Real Americansfirst, We leave the insults to you lib's because rhetoric is all you have! My post was the truth that there are Real American workers that are set to lose everything and you can even laugh at that? OK,OK, I'll come down to your level. When Obama rants about inheriting the economic woes from George Bush that is now in part his problem as well,we'll call it," OBUSH*T". So when your guy starts off with his blaming GWB rant,you can just say," the President's OBU$HITTING again"! Hahahahaha

argumentativebutfair

How many of these "poor" people can still afford internet service and cable and cell phones. Everyone who has an income should pay some income tax, even if it's only a couple hundred dollars a year.

And let's say we agree with you... then change the law. Do you expect them to pay more than the law provides? (ala Romney)

If you've ever been in a position to scrape up every penny you could, you would never take such a position.

Read my post above regarding the rich, then continue your complaint against the poor.

REPUBS CAUSE THE ECONOMY TO GROW SLOW, THEN WHINE THAT IT IS NOT GROWING!

RYAN SABOTAGES THE ECONOMY. REPUBS BLOCK BRINGING OFFSHORE JOBS BACK TO AMERICA.

REPUBS DO THEIR BEST TO MAKE AMERICA WORSE!

From dailykos.com 9/6/12 by keepemhonest Story : MAtt APPUZZO FACT CHECK THIS.2009 PAUL RYAN PLOTTED TO SABOTAGE THE ECONOMY.

So, allow me to educate Matt Apuzzo with real facts that really led to the Republican's plotted obstruction to guarantee legislative cluster-f@ck.

FACT 1. In Robert Draper's book, "Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives" Draper wrote that on inauguration night, 2009, during a four hour, "invitation only" meeting with GOP Hate-Propaganda Minister, Frank Luntz, the below listed Senior GOP Law Writers literally plotted to sabotage, undermine and destroy America's Economy.

FACT 2: Draper wrote the guest list included:

The Guest List:
Frank Luntz - GOP Minister of Propaganda
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA),
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX),
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX),
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA),
Sen. Jim DeMint (SC-R),
Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ-R),
Sen. Tom Coburn (OK-R),
Sen. John Ensign (NV-R) and
Sen. Bob Corker (TN-R).
Non-lawmakers present Newt Gingrich

FACT 3: Newt Gingrich confirms meeting took place in an interview with Al Sharpton's Politics Nation on June 12, 2012

SHARPTON: In fact, let`s go to a book that Mr. Draper wrote about the night of the inauguration. There was a meeting at a hotel near the inaugural ball, about a mile away ... He writes about that night the plan was to show united and unyielding
opposition to the president`s economic policies ... And Draper writes that you told the group -- you, Newt Gingrich, "You will remember this day...you will remember this day the seeds of 2012 were sown."
If there was a commitment from day one, before he ever took a seat
behind the desk of the Oval Office, that everyone was going to obstruct
him, then what he`s done has been almost unbelievable, against those kind
of odds, Speaker Gingrich.
NEWT: it was an important meeting and I was glad and honored
to be part of it.
SHARPTON: I`m glad you admit you had it.

FACT 4: Two months after Paul Ryan's covert meeting where they plotted to sabotage the US Economy, in March 2009, Rep. Pete Sessions said Republicans should follow the model of the Taliban in its battles against President Obama.
In the March 2009 interview with National Journal Rep Sessions said:

"Taliban Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban. Insurgency is the way they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes. And these Taliban -- is an example of how you go about to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that Insurgency may be required when [dealing with] the other side"
~Rep Pete Sessions, March 2009 to National Journal

Rep Pete Sessions went on to say:

"If they [democrats] do not give us those options or opportunities then we will then become Insurgency ... I think Insurgency is a mindset and an attitude that we're going to have to search for and find ways to get our message out and to be prepared to see things for what they are, rather than trying to do something about them"

FACT 5: Also, at the January 20, 2009 meeting they plotted to suddenly stop supporting any Stimulus Legislation, even though, they all supported Bush/Cheney Stimulus legislation.

At the meeting, Rep Kevin McCarthy said,
"We've gotta challenge them on every single bill."
"Show united and unyielding opposition to the president's economic policies."

FACT 6: Remember, these same Republican members of Congress supported the very Bush/Cheney policies that caused America to teeter on the brink of the 2nd Great Depression and caused the 2007 US Economic Meltdown.

Here's how they all voted:
-- "Yes" to Bush/Cheney January 2008 Stimulus
-- "Yes" to Bush/Cheney bailing out Bear Stern
-- "Yes" to Bush/Cheney bailing out AIG
-- "Yes" to Bush/Cheney TARP (sept 2008)
-- "Yes" to Bush/Cheney TARP (oct 2008)

And these same Republican members of Congress:

Supported Bush/Cheney keeping cost of two wars out of the Budget.
Supported Bush/Cheney spending $4Trillion while giving Top 1% Tax Cuts; ignoring the fact that taxes pay for wars.

Not only did these Senior members of Congress plot to destroy the American Economy more than it already was destroyed? They actually carried out their mission:

Every one of these Senior members of Congress have threatened Government Shutdown over things like:
- Funding planned parenthood,
- Raising the Debt Ceiling which, in-and-of-itself, would cause US Economic turmoil.

FACT 7: Last year, during the Debt Ceiling negotiations, Eric Cantor and Sen. Jon Kyl abruptly walked out of negotiations and refused to renew discussions with Democrats. As a result, America's credit rating was lowered which put a smile on Republican's faces.
FACT 8: Meanwhile, the 2009 Sabotage the U.S. Economy covert meeting members, Senators: Jim DeMint, Jon Kyl, Tom Coburn, John Ensign, and Bob Corker have:

- Filibustered more Bills (over 300) than any Congress combined in US History.
- Voted NO on every single piece of Legislation brought to the Floor including:
NO on Al Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment,
NO on Lilly Ledbetter,
NO on Fair Pay Act,
NO on Anti-Outsourcing Bill (2010)

FACT 9: The House members who attended the 2009 Sabotage America meeting have been busy rejecting legislation that helps victims of natural disaster.

Representatives: Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Pete Sessions, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra and Dan Lungren have voted NO on every single piece of Legislation including:
NO on increasing FEMA during natural disasters.

FACT 10: Paul Ryan and these other same failed Congressmen have been on tv constantly chanting the lie that they were guilty of ... the lie that "President Obama's policies undermine the US Economy."

There are more facts listed...but I think you get the point. repubs obstruct for the greed of money and for their own party to benefit from the greedy rich!

fenderbluesjr

That's something you and your parents and the rest of yoyu Libby nut-jobs cannot and will not comprehend"

What gives you the right on a comment board to make assumptions about me? I have stated nothing in my discussion today but facts and have made no generalizations regarding my political beliefs what-so-ever. You assume my parents did not have a college fund for me, you assume my husband and I did not have a college fund for my sons, and you assume to know what political party I belong to. Perhaps it's your own comprehension here that needs a reality check. I am a Republican and have a right to participate in general comment forums regarding specific topics, just like you do. But where do you get the nerve to start slamming people for comments calling them "Libby nut-jobs". I am a Republican without a party right now. The Republican candidate that was most qualified and suited for this election was Jon Huntsman and because he remained true to real Reagan economics and policies which the far right conservatives of this party have forgotten, left him out in the cold. YOU and PEOPLE LIKE YOU who have fallen victim to the ridiculousness of Rush Limbaugh and the Tea party have hijacked the Republican Party and because of that, we end up with an unsuitable candidate for Presidency who will NOT WIN. He brings way too much baggage to the table, a misserably failed record as Govenor, does not know how to handle diplomacy. In a 8 day period in August he insulted Great Britian, our closest allie, Israell, and the Palistinian people.

So I'm happy that in all of your wisdom and literary finess that you:

don't ask America to cover what your d'ck did!

Because neither do I. And by the way....what have you done for your country exactly? And on a side note, you wanted to know how the Obama's income jumped to $1.9 million on a Senators Salary....it's called Royalties from writing a book....same a Newt Gingrich did.

Too many people read way too much into statements and make the statement say anything they want.

I am against the perfectly able bodied person who claims that the government 'owes' them a free ride in perpetuity because of some past event the claimant says did him/her damage.

I am against welfare cheats who deliberately suck funds out our system because it 'pays better than a job'.

These are the people Romney was disgusted with and observing that they would principally vote for the 'free money party', the Democrats.

The freeloaders should be ashamed of themselves.

Notice how the rt wingers always cheer if something bad happens to the United states and whine when something good happens to the united States?

So programmed that way since Rove and Norquist took over the republican party along with the extreme rt wingers Tea Baggers.

WELL ALL YOU RIGHTIES MUST FEEL PRETTY BAD ABOUT YOURSELVES AFTER THE REPUBS JUST WALKED OUT ON AMERICA! Now you Teabaggers realize Ryan and Romney are going after your social security, medicare, and medicaid you have a job to do. Vote them out and vote for your own self interest. repubs didn't lie to you, they said they would do that last election....why you voted against your self?....DUH!

Old Mittster is calling 1/2 the nation freeloaders etc. Doesn't give a Patoot about you because you might not be paying income taxes. Mitt wants to kill your Social Security, your Medicare, your Medicaid, and your Post Office! Yikes Christmas cards and cookies coming via fed ex or not at all because you won't have any local delivery?....On top of that the ol Mittster wants to deduct you prancing dancing supporters as a tax write off like his prancing ponies!

So why not come down to the Chatterbox cafe tonight and have a big piece of BeBop a Rebop rhubarb pie?

Wouldn't this be a great time for a piece of rhubarb pie? Yes, nothing gets the taste of shame and humiliation out of your mouth quite like Be Bop a ReBop Rhubarb pie!

RealAmericanFirst...re post # 1.88 I have been complaining and writing to senators and congressmen/women about this H1-B program since 2010 to get suspended while we have high unemployment.

I have also suggested that for every worker under H1-B that is brought in, an American worker is hired and trained for the job so the H1-B worker leaves in 2 or 4 years and have an American worker in place to take over.

In reference to illegal immigration, most of these H1-B workers do not leave anyway and apply to become permanent resident aliens under sponsorship of the company. When they get the green card, they leave for another company. Hence the need to get american workers hired and trained for the job because the cycle begins again. It becomes a way to bypass the long immigration line and unfair to those who wait their turn.

"Bill Clinton commented on Romney’s 47 percent remarks, saying some of the people who pay no federal income tax do pay Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes"

What Clinton DIDN'T say was that those Social Security and Medicare taxes are supposed to be put into each individual workers 'Trust Accounts' to build up a reserve for their future retirement and health care needs when they retire, so not one dime of it is supposed to pay for the cost of running the Federal government or Defense. That cost to run the government is paid entirely by the 'rich' (who pay 70%) and the Middle Class (who pay 30%).

Of course, the government ignores their fiduciary responsibility to protect those Trust Funds and borrows them to spend foolishly - giving paper IOUs in return, which means that they are 'spending our children's future', and our children will have to pay those taxes a second time to pay off those IOUs.

As a USC Alumni of the Gould School of Law, my GPA, application, letter of intent and GRE for admission requirements for Graduate curriculum in Business was required and after completion of that Graduate Program and upon receipt of my Masters, the LSAT is required for J.D.(Juris Doctorate) application.

Lorraine H: You only need to take GRE if you plan to use your master's degree as part of your Law School in order to save credits. Which is what you obviously did.

Those who did not get their Master's degrees can still go to law school, using LSAT, it would just take longer. Obama did not say he had an MBA, therefore GRE's don't count.

And just for the record, Romney does have an MBA, making him more educated than our President.

So you know the old saying "to assume makes an xxx out of you". But after all....you're

Yeah, I do know. It is so sad that people like you help to decide the laws in our country and don't even know what the requirements are. Very... very.....sad.

You fail.... Try again.

Romney never said that none of the 47% who pay no income taxes would vote for him - only that they would vote overwhelmingly for Democrats because the Democrats promise them lots of 'Entitlements' that would be paid for by the people who actually DO pay income taxes (Somebody Else).

He's right in this regard, because Exit Polls conducted by the N Y Times showed that 64% of the 'poor' (those making $30,000 or less) voted for Obama in 2008, while only 33% voted for McCain.

I guess the truth gets lost in the partisan rhetoric.

About fascism or its cousin nazism -

If it's worth anything, let me tell you that fascism and nazism are both ultra-conservative- extreme right-wing, that is.

In the bad time of post-World War I Europe, many losers yearned for validation of life by searching in their past for glories of their traditions.

Both fascists and nazis rejected both marxism and orthodox western liberalism - the second of which is still today's west's orthodox.

dji - Are you really saying Romney should be disqualified for giving the government more money than he had to? First Harry Reid says he should be disqualified because his "sources" had proof he didn't pay any taxes. Now you're saying he should be disqualified because he paid too much?

You personify the 47% Romney was referencing in the "secret video". The same 47% that has been seduced into believing Obama will take care of you. The same Obama that has been president for nearly 4 years. The statistics of his failed presidency are available to everyone who will look at them.The fewest percentage of Americans in the workforce since the early 80s. The highest ever number of Americans dependent on food stamps. Even the chairman of the Congressional Black caucus admits that they have basically given Obama a pass on the 14% unemployment rate for blacks while also noting that if it were a white president they would be picketing the White House.

Lucky for people like you dji, if Obama gets re-elected you can continue to delude yourself into believing he and his ilk will nurture and protect you even as the economy continues to slide into depression and the truly needy get cast aside. If Romney gets elected the truly needy will be taken care of. Those that desire to move up the ladder will be assisted. Those that aren't truly needy will be required to engage in productive pursuits. In which category are you?

It's interesting that the media is totally absorbed by a silly comment by Romney, which also happens to be true (See #1.169), but totally ignores the irresponsibility by the Obama Administration in failing to provide security for our Ambassador and his staff in Libya, despite warnings by the late Ambassador. This resulted in the murder of the Ambassador and 3 other Americans - whose blood has to be on Obama's hands.

And then, to top it off, Obama's spokespeople (Carney and Rice) insisted that it was a 'spontaneous' attack that they didn't anticipate. Then, when the truth came out that it was a carefully planned attack by terrorists and their 'cover' was exposed, they then switched their story. If this happened under Bush, it would be front page news in all of the media - but under Obama, it only get's passing mention.

The media is so much 'In the tank' for Obama that they should be embarrassed.

Hey, Lorraine... I was being sarcastic. I don't think either George W or "Mitt" Romney are fit to polish those boy's boots.

Not only does Romney not know what's going on, he wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.

Bill Clinton commented on Romney's 47% remarks, saying some of the people who pay no federal income tax do pay social Security and Medicare payroll taxes

Well, that is completely true. But no where in the HHS regulations for social Security and Medicare tax does it say that the money is supposed to be put into each individual workers trust accounts to build up a reserve for their future retirment and health care needs. It simply does not work that way. Every worker in this country from a hostess at Denny's to a nurse at a hospital has absolutely no control or choice but to have FICA and Medicare Tax taken out of their payroll checks. FICA gets deposited into a general trust fund and Medicare Tax gets deposited into a general trust fund.

Out of the FICA trust fund 85 cents per dollar pays current social security benefits to retirees,and death benefits to surviving spouses and children. 15 cents per dollar pays for benefits for the disabled and their families. Any excess remains in the Trust. The Medicare Trust Fund pays out benefits for Medicare medical costs. And lets not forget that people on social security PAY FOR MEDICARE PART A AND B BENEFITS as an insurance premium each month off the top of their social security check as well. Excess funds remain in the Trust fund. No where is it appropriated that the Social Security and Medicare Taxes we all pay are supposed to be deposited into an individual worker's Trust Account to build up specifically for them.

fenderbluesjr

I'm not thin skinned at all, I'm also not stupid and am quite a free will thinker. Just because a candidate runs on the Repubican ticket does not make them fit for the office. And when people in this country cast their precious vote based strickly upon party politics and not upon making an intellectual decision, we have a real problem here. Your comments to me are insulting in nature and only shows your own ignorance and lack of ability to maintain a comprehensive level of civility in a conversation. Because, isn't this what newsvine is supposed to be about. A discussion board for comments on issues to address thoughts and ideas. Not sarcastic rants and attacks on other people's points of view or opinions. You are a very closed minded individual and quite angry I might add...No I have not read any book by Obama nor would I want to, and yes....I do vote, with mindful common sense regarding the issues. Face it fenderbluesjr, you are a right-wing ultra conservative who probably tunes into Rush Limbaugh each morning and sees things from one vantage point only with limited ideas and much hatred for others with different beliefs and opinions than your own to the point you find it necessary to "try" to berate a stranger on a website to make yourself feel bigger and stronger, so out of your need to win here and have the last word...here you go, have it and feel like a big boy now.

Spider you are truely ignorant. Do you realize that 44% of those 47% you claim are sucking off the government teat are seniors? They tend to vote republican. Do you realize that the southern states, for the most part, are the ones that dont pay income tax, they tend to vote republican. The top 10 states with people that dont pay income taxes are red states, 1 is dem leaning and the other is Florida which is a swing state. The top 10 states that pay the most income taxes are all blue states. So when Romney says that the 47% that dont take personal reponsibility are Obama supporters, he is wrong, they are republicans because most of them are low informed voters. Which also means they must watch Fox Notnews.

Unhappy

Thank you for the accolades, now I know I am as educated as the candidate seeking the highest office in our country. I appreciate the effort and interest.

Bobby-2359554

What do you want? A good paying job in a land of opportunity....or continuing government handouts.

Bobby, do you know how much a minimum wage worker earns in America? At $7.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year it adds up to $15,080 annually. In other words, chickenfeed.

Millions of Americans earn minimum wage. You see them every day, the guy who works the counter at the gas station or the coffee shop, the clerk at the supermarket, the janitor at your kids' school.

Many people work full time jobs and then work at a part-time job evenings and weekends, just to make ends meet. They can't afford healthcare and they don't get paid vacations.

Everyone who works responsibly at a full time job deserves to earn enough to money to live independently of government assistance.

American corporations are earning record profits, but are they sharing those profits with their bottom-tier employees? No. Meanwhile, the average CEO takes home millions annually, plus stock options and platinum perks.

Corporations which refuse to pay their workers a livable wage are the root cause of people needing government assistance (like food stamps) just to eat.

Demand that corporations pay their workers a livable wage if you want to end dependance on government. Don't add insult to injury by blaming people who work their butts off but continue to fall further and further behind.

Is America the Land of Opportunity or not?

Unhappy

I don't quite know what set you off on your rant toward me today, but get a life pal...you are a small human being who still thinks our President was born in Kenya...thinks colleges rig underprivileged and minorities over you, you are small minded and can't quite grasp the concept of the original post I made and want to continue your banter of nonsense. How do you in your imaginary world of "I'm pretty sure he's hiding something" have the audacity to confront me about my education. I have spoken of my experience and you have picked it apart, literally...I'm on your side buddy....I'm a Republican disgusted with Congress and the entire political arena surrounding this election. Romney is an idiot and should never have been the Republican candidate...why, because he CAN'T WIN!! So get a grip now fella about your GRE's and Law Degrees and stop taking your hatred out on me, because now you're not only embarrasing yourself and showing yourself to be ridiculous, but also boring and ignorant. I have not insulted you one time or taken one cheap shot at you, but you have and now you're blocked.

Actually I question how he got those grades..... They use to post his grades on the internet; now you can't find them anymore.

College grades are confidential; the student must sign a release for his or her OWN PARENTS to see their grades. FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), passed in 1974, requires a written, signed release from a current student or alumnus to release transcripts and other student records. No one's grades are posted on the internet.

You have zero credibility, Unhappy.

As for him getting into law school, everyone knows they lower the expectations when dealing with minority students.

Ask the Dean of Admissions at Harvard about that. It's complete poppycock. You are insulting bright, hardworking minority students while displaying your ignorance. Minus 1.

Ask the Whites and asians they penalize more for wrong answers, while blacks and hispanics they don't.

Clearly, you have not had the benefit of a higher education. Your lies might work on others as ignorant as you, but not on most of your audience here.

And this is coming from someone who isn't white, I might add.They do the same thing with Medical School.

Now you're insulting medical students? Have you ever applied to medical school? Don't bother answering...obviously you're clueless about what it takes to be admitted to medical school. It has nothing whatsoever to do with skin color. Minus 2

Second, everyone knows Obama stole the Fullbright Scholarship which is a scholarship given to only those students in the US who go oversees to study or for FOREIGN students to come here to study. Why else would there be so much speculation of him being foreign born? You have to ask yourself how truthful the President we now have before you start putting blame on others.

More lunacy! Yet another lie! President Obama never applied for nor received a Fullbright Scholarship. He was not a foreign student. He graduated from the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, a private, co-educational, college preparatory school.

Your score is minus 3! You got it all wrong, lied like a rug, and fooled absolutely nobody.

"47%".....Obama doesn't give a rat's ass about the 47% or 99% any more than Romney does.

They are both servants of the rich and corporations.

Here's what's going to happen after the election no matter which stooge wins.

There is going to be a Bi-partisan attack on the living standards of the middle class and poor by cutting federal spending using the deficit as an excuse. (most people don't understand the deficit, it has been higher with no ill effects and cutting spending makes it worse anyway)

This will cause the economy to tank as it has in Southern Europe which will cause the deficit to get worse which will cause them to say we have to cut it more...along with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, your wages and benefits, etc, etc.

"Austerity" that's what they have been doing to Europe and thats what the elites want to do here.

It's called Class Warfare kids. They want to make the world safe for billionaires and who knows maybe even trillionaires.

They want to reverse all of the gains made by the Middle Class and Poor in the first half of the last century.

But Obama is smart and knows that if he is the one to do it many americans will just say he was forced to by the Republicans and the size of the debt (made worse by the fact that the Democrats didn't end the Tax cuts for the Rich done during Bush's term, when they could have).

Obama will also throw in a slight rise in taxes for the rich which will be meaningless compared to the amount he is going to cut (3-4 trillion $) which will further distract people from what he's really doing.

If Romney gets in he will do the same thing he just won't be as round about as it and he will dispense with the window dressing like slightly higher taxes on the rich.

Of course if you get off of your butts and demonstrate, protest, yell and scream at them when they appear in public and generally make yourself a pain in the ass (and JOIN AN ORGANIZATION) that can throw a monkey wrench in their plans.

That's how black people got their rights in the 1960's and it can still work today.

Funny that people will sit all night and day in a line to get the new Iphone but not to protect their standard of living (so they can afford a new iPhone).

RealAmericansFirst

For those who think Mitt is so "charitable" with his money:

Vetting Romney's Charity

Just over half of Romney's giving went to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Romneys didn't have much choice there: The church requires Mormons to tithe 10 percent of their income to remain members in good standing. The rest of the money went to the Tyler Foundation, a 501(c3) nonprofit funded exclusively by the Romneys. Though most of its donations defy criticism, others aren't exactly middle of the road.

In 2006, for instance, Romney's foundation gave $10,000 to the anti-gay Massachusetts Family Institute, whichbelieves that sexual orientation is a choice that can be cured by what critics call "pray away the gay" programs. In 2009, it gave $25,000 to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a year after its chairman, Seamus Hasson,compared marriage-equality activists to Al Qaeda. And of course, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints heavily campaigned in favor of Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage but was later deemed unconstitutional.

What follows is a complete list of the 2010 charitable donations disclosed by Romney's Tyler Foundation, with notes about the ones that pull double duty as political statements. (Click here for a look at Newt Gingrich's charitable donations.)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: $145,000

Belmont Hill School: $5,000
All five of Romney's sons attended the Belmont Hill School For Boys, in Belmont, Mass.

Best Friends Foundation: $5,000
A program for troubled adolescents that advocates sexual abstinence. It is run by the wife of William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan. Bennett's syndicated radio program, Morning in America, has been known to incite controversy. Responding to a listener in 2005, Bennett said that aborting all African-American babies would be "a morally reprehensible thing to do, but the crime rate would go down."

Boys and Girls Club of Boston: $10,000
Romney campaigned at a Boys and Girls Club last month in New Hampshire.

Brigham Young University: $25,000
Romney's alma mater

Center for the Treatment of Pediatric MS: $75,000

Romney's wife, Ann, was diagnosed with MS in 1998.

Also: MS Cure: $10,000

City Year: $5,000
A tutoring program for at-risk youth in Boston. Its board of directors is dominated by executives from high finance, including Bain & Company, Romney's former private equity fund.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute: $10,000
In 2010, Ann Romney was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer

Dana Farber Pan Mass Challenge: $20,000

Deseret International: $25,000
Provides medical services to the blind, lame, and disfigured in the developing world. It has close ties to the LDS church.

Friends of the Belmont Council: $20,000
Boston-based charity offering services to senior citizens

George W. Bush Library: $100,000
Romney "wanted to show his appreciation to George W. Bush," a Romney advisor explained last month.

Harvard Business School: $10,000
Romney is an alum.

Camp High Hopes: $5,000
A camp for special-needs children

Homes for Our Troops: $20,000
Builds specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans

Inner City Scholarship Fund: $10,000

Joey Fund for Cystic Fibrosis: $20,000

MMOFRA TROM Foundation: $30,000
Provides humanitarian aid to countries damaged by natural disasters and war

Operation Kids: $65,000
Directs money to other charities that serve children

Right to Play: $10,000
Promotes youth sports in developing countries

US Equestrian Team Foundation: $10,000
Helps fund training of the US equestrian team for the Olympics. Romney first gained fame for his handling of the Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Wright Museum: $2,500
Museum of WWII history

Note that Romney is using his foundation to fund things like his sons' private school, Ann's horse team and the Mormon Church. Oh, and the George W. Bush library - which can't have more than one or two books in it.

OH MY GOD!! Romney Gave money to all these charities?? how evil of him!!

All those charities are really evil, especially the ones like the WW2 Museum, Dana Farber, Camp High hopes and the Homes for troops.

Maybe Romney Gave money to MS, because it's a personal issue for him, same with his church and Belmont high.

Obama gave almost 54k to Reverend Wright's church, and only stopped when Wright started to make him look bad. Your not on here crying about him donating to HIS church. It's a private matter between him and his church.Obama also gave to CARE, Habitat for Humanity, Fisher House, United Negro College Fund and the Congressional Black Caucus. I'm sure he has personal reasons for donating to these, and who cares, point is he did and they are better off with his help.

I don't care who your voting for, but for you to come on here and belittle someone because they gave money to many great causes, It shows your a petty, one-sided DB.

Find a better argument next time..

To Paul W (Post # 1.135)

To quote you:

"In his farewell address, outgoing Republican president Eisenhower warned about the military industrial complex having undue influence on the ways and policies of government. We spend more than than all the other major countries combined. This is a major part of the reasons for the size of our deficit. The republicans have become closely tied to the defense industry as well as other large industries such as oil.

The Iraq war cost our country in national treasure and lives to support both the defense industry as well as the oil interests in the middle east.

The Republicans, Ron Paul and the Tea Party have been influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Her book, Atlas Shrugged (1957) touts the idea of the selfish pursuit of money is no vice, the "thieving poor" are takers in society and the wealthy are makers.

The idea, that the rich are entitled to wealth and the poor are entitled to nothing but what the rich choose to let them have, is what lead to "trickle down" economics. The powerful feel they are superior to the less fortunate. That hard work is all you need to succeed. The truth is the top of the pyramid is a very narrow and exclusive place. Romney had the advantage of wealth. His high school education at Cranbrook isn't exactly available to anyone. The private school tuition for grades 9-12 is currently $28,000 per year. As Romney pointed out. If you want to start a business just "borrow the money from your parents". It helps if you have rich parents.

Success through hard work is mostly a Hollywood screen play, but an exception in real life. If you are born poor you are more likely to remain poor and if you are born rich you are more likely to remain rich.

The rich and powerful want to control politics, regulation and economics to ensure the flow of money continues upward. They have no problem stirring the pot to inflame sentiment to give them the power they need to rape and pillage America's coffers. The 47% comment was directed to people that think all Blacks and Hispanics are "takers" and on welfare.

Fox News sole purpose is to influence the American public. They perpetuate anti-Obama hatred. Republican strategist, Karl Rove, invented dirty politics of "Swift boating" a candidate with negative spin. His "Citizens United" superpac funds many negative ad campaigns and was the centerpiece of the Supreme court decision that corporations have the same rights as individuals and money is "free speech".

Three fictional propaganda movies are released in time to try to influence the election outcome: Obama 2016, Atlas Shrugged Part 2, and the Arabic translation of the trailer for the "Innocence of the Muslims" which cost the life of a US ambassador. Was he just unfortunate collateral damage in the war to control opinions and influence future defense spending?

The Republicans proclaimed sole goal is to make Obama a "one-term president" so they can regain power. They've blocked recovery bills to prolong the downturn to defeat the President. Congress is incapable of doing anything as a result.

Eisenhower was right to warn us about the shift in power away from Democratic majority rule to elite, corporate rule. This election is probably the most important one in many decades. I hope the true majority of this country speaks with a very loud voice this fall. Even Ayn Rand admits that power can't be seized without the sanction of the victim. Don't stay home on election day and be a victim."

Now here are some outstanding and well spoken thoughts. Please everyone do read Paul's factual message. It's nice to know that someone has finally done their research without peeling off the cuff with trench mouth name calling. Just how many of you remember back to when Ike spoke those words? I do and I was there. He knew so well what would happen today, which was well before his time. Thus, the gentle message from the giant soldier. Too many young people are sacrificed today at the hands of a reckless, uncaring Congress, whose house just turned down a Vet Bill last Friday to assist the struggling returning soldiers. Yet, look at how quick Congress was to send the young off to war to protect the lies made up by the Bush Administration, and to provide contract incentives for Chaney's company that earned billions in profits without ever having to do a compete contract with others bidding to do the same work for less money. That's just more of the trench pandering by the Republicans, who are never to blame for anything at any time.

Don't be the "whipped boy" anymore and get out there to vote even if you have to walk there. Vote all the Republicans out of office until they straighten up their Party philosophy and to be a more respectable group of people with honesty and integrity as standards for their Party.

Kaybee: You are obviously a little kid, so can you please get off this line. The adults are talking.

So, Unhappy... lame insults on top of lame lies. I'm just devastated by your put-down. LOL

Insult me all the livelong day if it makes you happy, Unhappy. But do all of us a favor and quit with the lies about the President of the United States. You might convince some feeble-minded twit, but he or she was already supporting Romney anyway. Your ranting serves no useful purpose.

If you have a legitimate point to make, fine, but no one wants to waste time reading your lies. You only make yourself look foolish.

Quit with the bigotry and resentment. Show some respect for your fellow man. Strive to be bigger than you are. Maybe if you were proud of who you were as a human being, you would not be Unhappy.

Arthur 66 why don't you just change your ID to Arthur 666? It would be more fitting for where you are coming from. Maybe Roy should also be Roy 666?

kaybeetoys "As for him getting into law school, everyone knows they lower the expectations when dealing with minority students.............Ask the Dean of Admissions at Harvard about that. It's complete poppycock."

So you're saying that Affirmative Action didn't exist at Harvard?

SAT scores for Blacks admitted to Harvard when Obama was admitted were approximately 200 points below those of other admitted students and they were admitted ahead of far more qualified students in an attempt at 'diversity' - Without Affirmative Action, very few Blacks and Hispanics would have been admitted - which was the core reason for Affirmative Action.

Interestingly, Asians score highest of any racial group, principally because of superior Math skills. According to the College Board, which administers the SAT, here are the average SAT scores by Race for 2009 (latest I could find);

Asians = 1623

Whites (non-Hispanic) = 1581

Hispanics = 1362

Blacks = 1276

People can argue over the causes, but these are the facts.

ROY WILSON, how's this for affirmative action?

BYU is not exactly a top 10 school, and back in 1971 it was even less so. Like Liberty University, BYU is a faith specific school and extremely conservative, so conservative in fact that the school's president enlisted students "to spy on professors deemed to be liberals" (The Real Romney, p.90). It is unclear whether Romney spied on his professors or not.

Although Romney did well at BYU, earning a degree in English, so did tens of thousands of other students across the country, many from much tougher schools with better reputations and a more rigorous curriculum. So how did Romney get accepted into Harvard?

Simple answer, his father. George Romney, the former Governor of Michigan and a big wheel in the Nixon administration at the time, was a well-known figure who had a lot of clout. Mitt benefited from his family background, his "privileged pedigree was common knowledge to many of his classmates" (p.91). It appears that Romney may have gotten accepted to Harvard because of his birthright and because of his family name. Romney seems to have moved ahead of everyone else through affirmative action, the worst kind of affirmative action, the kind that rewards the sons of the wealthy and well-connected over everyone else.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094103/-Did-Mitt-Romney-Benefit-From-Affirmative-Action-At-Harvard

kaybeetoys

BRAVO.....I've been reading the posts and MR. UNHAPPY obviously has lots of reasons to be unhappy. Talk about an arrogant, moronic, ridiculous liar. He has thrown more crap around here and most of it off subject. Completely violating the code of honor for Newsvine with his attacks, lame insults, and lies. His post 1.98 stating:

everyone knows they lower the expectations when dealing with minority students.....blaaaaa....blaaaaa.....blaaaaaaa I've got an engineering degree and was taught to think logically

Well, we all see how that worked out for him. He's a small gerble with flawd ideas and no respect for others.