The Last Of The Millenniums
Just because it always has been, doesn't mean it always will be
Archive for the day “June 23, 2012”
Mitt Romney Lies #20- ‘Companies’ Ills Did Not Harm Romney’s Firm’
‘Mr. Romney’s experience at Bain is at the heart of his case for the presidency’.
‘He has repeatedly promoted his years working in the “real economy,” arguing that his success turning around troubled companies and helping to start new ones, producing jobs in the process, has prepared him to revive the country’s economy’.
‘But an examination of what happened when companies Bain controlled wound up in bankruptcy highlights just how different Bain and other private equity firms are from typical denizens of the real economy, from mom-and-pop stores to bootstrapping entrepreneurial ventures’.
‘The private equity firm, co-founded and run by Mitt Romney, held a majority stake in more than 40 United States-based companies from its inception in 1984 to early 1999, when Mr. Romney left Bain to lead the Salt Lake City Olympics’.
‘Cambridge Industries, an automotive plastics supplier whose losses had been building for three consecutive years, finally filed for bankruptcy in May 2000 under a mountain of debt that had ballooned to more than $300 million’.
‘Yet Bain Capital, the private equity firm that controlled the Michigan-based company, continued to religiously collect its $950,000-a-year “advisory fee” in quarterly installments, even to the very end, according to court documents’.
‘In all, Bain garnered more than $10 million in fees from Cambridge over five years, including a $2.25 million payment just for buying the company, according to bankruptcy records and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission’.
‘Meanwhile, Bain’s investors saw their $16 million investment in Cambridge wiped out’.
From : http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/us/politics/companies-ills-did-not-harm-romneys-firm.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Where Are The Jobs? – ‘Corporate Profits Just Hit An All-Time High, Wages Just Hit An All-Time Low’
Republican ‘Economic Plan’ :
1. Cut taxes for corporations so that will free up their money to reinvest in the economy.
2. Cut those ‘burdensome’ regulations so corporations are free to expand.
Real Life Economics :
1. Corporations are hoarding their profits not because of uncertainity but because 16%+ of the population are un or under employed and have no money to buy. NO DEMAND FOR PORDUCT.
2. Put PEOPLE back to work. They will buy products and create a DEMAND and corporations will make more money.
Republicans! STOP trying to solve our economy from the ‘top’ down.
Corporations are doing GREAT. Americans AREN’T. Put Americans Back To Work!.
Americans Are People Too Mitt Romney!
‘In case you needed more confirmation that the priorities of US companies and the US economy are screwed up (specifically, they’re engineered to create a country of a few million overlords and 300+ million serfs), here are three charts for you’:
1) ‘Corporate profit margins just hit an all-time high. Companies are making more per dollar of sales than they ever have before. (And some people are still saying that companies are suffering from “too much regulation” and “too many taxes.” Maybe little companies are, but big ones certainly aren’t)’.
2) ‘Fewer Americans are working than at any time in the past three decades. One reason corporations are so profitable is that they don’t employ as many Americans as they used to’.
3) ‘Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low. This is both cause and effect. One reason companies are so profitable is that they’re paying employees less than they ever have as a share of GDP. And that, in turn, is one reason the economy is so weak: Those “wages” are other companies’ revenue’.
‘Romney Tells Press To Call It ‘Offshoring’ Not ‘Outsourcing’
“You know, you can put lipstick on a pig,” Obama said, “but it’s still a pig.”
From : http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/09/obama-says-mc-1/
‘“This is a fundamentally flawed story that does not differentiate between domestic outsourcing versus offshoring’.
‘Technically, the campaign is correct. The official definition of outsourcing is pushing activities outside of the company that could have been performed in-house. A company can outsource, while keeping the activity domestic. Offshoring is the practice of sending jobs overseas’.
From : http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/06/22/504690/romney-doesnt-dispute-he-helped-send-jobs-overseas-tells-press-to-call-it-offshoring-not-outsourcing/
‘Actually, The Washington Post article is based on research of SEC disclosure forms that reveal that Romney was instrumental in moving American jobs overseas’.
‘The Romney campaign didn’t bother with disputing the facts and research in the article. Instead they adopted a Clintonesque ‘it all depends on what the definition is’ parsing of outsourcing versus offshoring’.
From : http://www.politicususa.com/mitt-romney-slides-panicked-free-fall-outsourcing-claims.html
Even for teabaggers, this is ‘crazy’ – ‘Republican Congressional Candidate Wants To Impeach Obama For ‘Giving Away’ Seven Arctic Islands’
‘Wes Riddle, a Republican tea party activist locked in a run-off with fellow GOPer Roger Williams in Texas’ 25th congressional district, is campaigning on a conspiracy theory even more bizarre than the fantasy that the United Nations and George Soros are conspiring to eliminate the game of golf’.
‘Riddle has promised to begin the impeachment process against President Obama the day he enters Congress — seemingly implying that he believes Obama will be reelected — because of a boundary treaty that was ratified by the Senate in 1991’.
‘Obama was 30 years old at the time and just finishing up law school’.
‘This paranoid fantasy appears to have been spawned by Tea Party favorite Joe Miller. According to his World Net Daily piece, the Obama administration gave away “seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands.” Miller was apoplectic: “We won the Cold War and should start acting like it.”
From : http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/06/22/504415/wes-riddle-conspiracy-theory/
“Obama’s State Department is giving away seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands to the Russians,” Miller wrote. “We won the Cold War and should start acting like it.” The following day, Miller posted an addendum to his piece conceding that he was raising “an old issue” and that he had been “assisted with this article” by Olson’s State Department Watch’.
‘It is an old issue indeed. In fact, World Net Daily itself published a July 29, 2008, article critical of the State Department for the “island giveaway.” Of course, George W. Bush — not Obama — was president at the time’.
From : http://www.factcheck.org/2012/03/alaskan-island-giveaway/
Mitt Romney – In Touch With The Common Man – Show Me The Money!
‘The home at 880 Maiden Lane in Southampton sits on 4 waterfront acres, and has 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, according to Zillow. It was last assessed in 2010 at a valuation of over $22 million’.
From : http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/david-koch-to-host-50000-a-person-dinner-for-rom
A ‘Conservative’ vision for America – Secret Donors – ‘Romney’s Republicanpalooza: How about a guest list’?
‘Selling access has become nearly universal in political campaigns. Seeking to do so in secret sets Mr. Romney apart’.
‘ON FRIDAY, Mitt Romney — along with an entourage of his most important donors and fundraisers — arrived at the tony Utah ski resort of Deer Valley. Whether the presumptive presidential nominee or his 700 close friends at this so-called Republicanpalooza are aware that the Works Progress Administration built the resort’s first ski trails in the mid-1930s is not known’.
‘Unfortunately, also unknown to most Americans are the identities of the “bundlers” present at this weekend fete, the fundraisers largely responsible for Mr. Romney’s unexpected outraising of President Obamain May’.
‘Campaign finance laws don’t require candidates to release the names of their bundlers, except in the case of registered federal lobbyists’.
‘But the Romney campaign’s refusal to identify those who bring in a quarter-million dollars or more differentiates it not only from the Obama campaign but also from those of the past two Republican contenders for the White House, President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Both released lists of their major fundraisers, along with the scale of their harvests’.
From : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/romneys-republicanpalooza-how-about-a-guest-list/2012/06/22/gJQAwoYlvV_story.html?hpid=z2
But it’s NOT Republican Obstructionism – ‘Senate Leaders Reach Agreement To Prevent Student Loan Rates From Doubling’
Republicans seem to like to bring parts of or for that matter ALL of America to it’s knees.
Yet the Republicans say it’s the Democrats that are creating all the uncertainity.
Really?
December 1, 2010
‘In fight over tax breaks, GOP senators threaten to shut down Congress’
From : http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/in-fight-over-tax-762864.html
April 8, 2011
‘GOP Willing To Shut Down Government Over Women’s Cancer Screenings, Breast Exams’
From : http://gothamist.com/2011/04/08/gop_willing_to_shut_down_government.php
September 24, 2011
‘Republicans Threaten To Shut Down The Government Again’
From : http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/09/24/republicans-threaten-to-shut-down-the-government-again/
April 27, 2012
‘Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem’.
From : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html
‘After two filibusters by Republicans’
May 8, 2012
‘Student Loan Vote: Republicans Block Bill To Extend Low Interest Rates’
‘In a partisan vote of 52 to 45, the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to begin debate on the Democratic bill’.
‘Republicans have called for nixing a preventive health fund to pay for it’.
From : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/student-loan-vote-fails_n_1499917.html
May 24, 2012
‘Senate Republicans Filibuster Student Loan Bill Again’
‘Senate Republicans filibustered a bill to extend the current interest rate on federal student loans, blocking an extension from moving forward by a vote of 51-43 (with 60 votes needed to advance the bill)’.
‘ Senate Republicans have falsely portrayed the Democratic plan to offset the cost of extending the current interest rate as a tax hike on job-creating small businesses’.
From : http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/24/490163/republicans-filibuster-student-loan/
‘it seems that the Senate has finally come to an agreement on freezing student loan rates’.
‘Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are apparently working out the final details on how they will cover the cost of the bill, which will prevent student loans from doubling this month’.
‘Methods to pay for it, according to the National Journal, “include Democratic proposals involving pensions. The deal also includes a GOP proposal to cut off subsidized student loans after six years, saving about $1.2 billion a year.”
From : http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/06/22/505100/senate-comes-to-agreement-over-student-loans/
Fast And Furious – ‘The Wild Conspiracy Theory Driving The Fast And Furious Investigation’
This : ‘ATF gun probe: Behind the fall of Operation Fast and Furious’ @ http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/11/12/20111112atf-gun-probe-operation-fast-and-furious-fall.html by far has done the best job at outlining this.
‘Here is theory that some Congressional Republicans believe: The Obama Administration intentionally handed over automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels, who they knew would commit violent acts, because they wanted to scare Americans into supporting stricter gun laws’.
‘That supposed series of events has now led Congress to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt’.
‘Here are the facts you should know about the conspiracy, and who’s behind it’:
1. ‘Issa defended Bush for the same thing of which he is accusing Holder. Issa has been tearing apart Holder for not wanting to hand over private communications from the Justice Department that could compromise ongoing criminal investigations. But when George Bush refused to do the same thing in 2007, Issa blasted the move as a “political witch hunt.”
‘ Issa Blasted Investigation Of Bush Attorney General As A ‘Political Witch Hunt”
‘An Issa spokeswoman attempted to explain away the discrepancy to ABC News claiming that the Bush administration used executive privilege in Gonzales’s case, while Holder has not done’.
From : http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/14/499506/issa-blasted-investigation-of-bush-attorney-general-as-a-political-witch-hunt/
2. ‘The NRA is driving the conspiracy theory paranoia though ads’.
‘The ads don’t specifically mention the gun control conspiracy, but the Executive Director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action is a full-throttle conspiracy believer’.
‘Obama Administration Endangered Lives to Justify Gun Control’ by Chris W. Cox, NRA-ILA Executive Director’
From : http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2011/obama-administration-endangered-lives-to-justify-gun-control.aspx?s=%22Chuck+Grassley%22&st=&ps=
‘The NRA also threatened members of Congress who voted on the contempt charge yesterday, saying that a vote against contempt would reflect poorly on that member’s pro-gun ratings’.
‘In a letter to leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is spearheading the investigation, the NRA’s chief lobbyist warned that the highly influential firearms advocate will be watching closely as lawmakers cast their votes on contempt’.
From : http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/233737-nra-to-score-house-contempt-vote-on-holder
3. ‘The man who started the conspiracy theory also rallied people to break congressional windows. Mike Vanderboegh, a man who once called for militias to break the windows of members of Congress because of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, started this conspiracy theory. Rachel Maddow uncovered that Vanderboegh has been encouraging members of Congress to embrace the theory’.
‘ATF gun probe: Behind the fall of Operation Fast and Furious’
‘Mike Vanderboegh runs a website, Sipsey Street Irregulars, which he identifies as a gathering place for the 3 percent of Americans willing to fight for the right to bear arms’.
‘Codrea and Vanderboegh began churning out essays on Fast and Furious, even giving the operation its sardonic nickname, “Project Gunwalker.”
‘Their reports, frequently quoting anonymous sources, exposed the dubious investigative strategy but went much further, speculating that the White House was involved. A typical posting by Vanderboegh carried the headline, “… Obama’s Gunwalker Was a Deliberate Conspiracy Vs. the 2nd Amendment.”
‘That hypothesis has gone viral in the gun-rights blogosphere’.
‘During a speech last month to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, acknowledged that the president “hasn’t pushed for new gun controls,” but said that was “a big, fat, stinking lie” designed to mislead Americans’.
“It’s all part of a massive Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment in our country,” LaPierre said’.
‘The problem for those who see gun-walking as a conspiracy of the Obama administration: Operation Wide Receiver was carried out during the Bush administration, under then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’.
‘Even Dobyns, one of the agents behind cleanupatf.org, discounts notions that the gun-walking tactic originated in Washington, D.C. He says Fast and Furious was concocted by an Arizona field agent and endorsed by ATF bosses up the line from Phoenix’.
“I think it was a ploy at self-glorification,” he said. “When the OIG report came out and said, ‘Hey, ATF, you’re failing miserably,’ I think they decided to prove him wrong. They said, ‘I’m going to get the big fish, and how do you like me now?’ ”
From : http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/11/12/20111112atf-gun-probe-operation-fast-and-furious-fall.html
4. ‘Major Republicans, including Darrell Issa, endorse this conspiracy theory. Among those are Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who is Chair of the House Oversight Committee and is heading up the investigation of Eric Holder. In an interview on FOX, Issa said, “very clearly, they made a crisis, and they’re using this crisis to somehow take away or limit people’s Second Amendment rights.”
From, of course, Fox ‘Exclusive: Rep. Darrell Issa on AG’s testimony on Capitol Hill’
From : http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannity/index.html#/v/1317212270001/holder-on-the-hot-seat-over-fast–furious/?playlist_id=86924
Article from : http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/06/22/504557/the-wild-conspiracy-theory-driving-the-fast-and-furious-investigation/
A ‘Conservative’ vision for America – Republicans Keeping the Lies Alive – ‘GOP Congressman: Police Should Target Muslims Because They’re Responsible For 90 Percent Of Terrorism’
‘Appearing on Fox News yesterday, King continued his factually challenged attack on Muslim Americans’:
“What I am very concerned about is that while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people, the fact is even though Muslims are 1 percent of the population, almost 90 percent of the terrorist crimes are carried out by the Muslim community. And there are not enough people in the community willing to step forward and speak out against this and cooperate with law enforcement”.
‘While the scope of King’s assertion is unclear, the reality is that a small percentage of terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. are the result of Islamic extremism — 56 percent have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, 30 percent by ecoterrorists and 12 percent by Islamic extremists’.
From : http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/06/22/504400/king-muslims-terrorism/
The Last Of The Millenniums 