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19:00:09 02/05/12
GOP Debates Exposing Conservative Dislike of Romney, Not So For '08 Dem Field
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 19:00:09 02/05/12
So Romney and his PACmen spent over fifteen million dollars worth of smear ads against Newt Gingrich in Florida to seal the deal of beating him in the third primary. Romney was upbeat afterward, but many movement conservatives were not.
Jonah Goldberg: What is Wrong With This Guy? >
Congratulations to Mitt Romney for his big win last night. It was a win that, Romney supporters hoped, would help bury concerns about his ability to seal the deal to do what it takes. But I’m not so sure. If you’re a straight-laced grown-up with money to burn, burying Newt Gingrich shouldn’t be that hard. Romney talked about the economy, Newt about lunar statehood (which I favor!). Romney drowned Gingrich in negative ads and Gingrich supplied endless fodder for the accurate ones and plausibility for the inaccurate ones. Was that really the test of his political chops everyone is saying?As a bunch of us have been writing around here for a while, the under-emphasized dynamic in this race isn’t that Romney isn’t conservative enough (though that’s obviously a real concern out there) it’s that he’s simply not a good enough politician.
Jonah and many other conservatives are really pissed that Mitt on the next day said that he's ' not very concerned about the poor.' >
“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there,” Romney told CNN. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.
Oh, dear. That wasn't too bright. Bill O'Reilly was trying to downplay this flub on The Factor by saying the Democrats will seize on any single word by Mitt that they can take out of context to smear him. Nice try, Bill. It was a bonehead move. >
But great politicians on the morning after a big win, don’t force their supporters to go around defending the candidate from the charge that he doesn’t care about the poor. They just don’t.
You would think after all the rigorous training Mormons are known to subject their children to when it comes to speaking to large groups of people at a young age and then sending them out on two year conversion missions to hone their craft of convincing people to like them, Mitt is one big flop in that category. Unlike his father, who was legendary for his two years in European mission work, Romney just has a problem with connecting and he's making his base nervous.
A recent Pew Poll shows Mitt's unfavorable rating is up to 47% . I believe the GOP thought that having so many debates would give them a chance to constantly bash President Obama without supplying much substance other than lunar bases, hating the gay, electrocutions and building electric fences against Latinos, but what has happened is America is watching and the GOP is being hurt by the added attention. Many republicans really dislike Romney, but view him as the only one to able challenge Obama. I still am surprised by this poll since the country is suffering from the 2008 global financial meltdown. And before Florida's results were in the GOP elites were freaking out over Gingrich's rise and then his attacks of their anointed one.
I know many progressives are feeling very antsy right now with these GOP circus debates and primary days dominating the news cycles so I did a little research into how our base felt about our candidates to contrast the GOP contest at about the same time. Democratic voters were very pleased with the field of candidates that were running for election.
via Gallup Politics on 02/03/08 >
The new poll indicates that whatever the outcome, Democrats nationwide will be equally satisfied with their nominee. They show equal levels of enthusiasm for the prospects of Clinton and Obama each being on the ballot in November. In addition, they are no more likely to believe one of the candidates is more electable in the fall than the other.
Specifically:
Fifty-five percent of Democrats (including independents who lean to the Democratic Party) say they would vote for Obama "enthusiastically" in November were he the Democratic nominee; 53% say the same of Clinton.
Forty-five percent of Democrats think Clinton has the better chance of beating the Republican candidate for president in November; 43% choose Obama.
By contrast, Gallup finds more lopsided attitudes among Republicans -- working strongly in McCain's favor. Republicans are less enthusiastic about voting for each of the leading potential nominees than the Democrats are about theirs; however, McCain is the clear leader on this score over Romney. McCain also beats Romney handily in perceptions of which of the two has the better chance of winning in November.
In the Florida returns there is another troubling number that was revealed about Mitt and the rest of the current field. >
Another warning sign for Romney: Nearly 4 in 10 GOPers want someone else to run: And this also has to worry Romney and his team a bit, too: 38% of Florida Republican primary voters said they’d like to see someone else run for the GOP nomination, versus 58% who said they’re satisfied with the field. It’s a striking number, because these are Republicans who TURNED OUT and voted.
38% are hoping for a brokered convention I guess. Wow. Things are tough in this country and many on our side have been very disappointed, but if we elect a phony conservative like Romney at this point in time, the middle class may never, ever recover. GOP unrest is a good thing.
0 Views
02:10:36 12/10/08
A3458 Hearing Voting Machine Upgrade To Be Delayed Again To November 2010
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 02:10:36 12/10/08
This is a hearing of the NJ Assembly Appropriations Committee on A3458 http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A3500/3458_S1.HTMBriefly, this is an attempt to change the existing law requires a voter verifiable paper trail machine by January 0f 2009 so that that mandate is pushed to November 2010. As a smoke screen the law also calls for a pilot program that allows for the testing of the retrofit of the old Sequoia touchscreen machines so that they can print out the required voter verifiable paper trail...and it allows for testing some optical scanner type machines on a limited basis.This was just introduced on November 13th. If this bill is approved by the Senate committee on Thursday and then then passed in both houses and signed by Governor Corzine; we will have gone just about FOUR YEARS since the original bill to achieve these ends was passed in 2005.The original state agency tasked to get this done was the Attorney General's office. It got delayed when the original mandate was changed and now it's in the hands of the NJ Secretary of State's office. Meanwhile the vendor, Sequoia, has been (supposedly) working on this continuosly for all these years. Many millions of dollars have been spent....and we are now at a point where it seems we are virtually starting from scratch.The federal monies appropriated to get this done were in response to the 2001 Gore v Bush fiasco. Here we are 8 years later and New Jersey STILL doesn't have a truly secure machine that empowers voters to verify their votes by seeing them printed out on paper....which could, if required, be used as the basis for a credible recount. Meanwhile, other states have managed to resolve this in various ways and to have those ways certified.The questions arise.....Why has this taken so very long?Why has NJ been paying millions of dollars to a vendor to fail at meeting a legislatively mandated schedule?Where is the documentation of all the efforts made and who made them and when they were made?Project managers need to be brought before an investigative body and made to testify under oath on the particulars of just how and why this has taken four years with no certifiable system.Why was Sequoia given this open ended contract with no deadline and no consequeces for failing to meet that deadline?Why should they get paid for failure? Why are we retrofitting technology from the 1980's on a machine by machine basis in the first place?Imagine what it would cost to bioengineer an elephant into becoming a horse? Why not simply go out and buy a horse??? Meanwhile, from many reports, what Sequoia has come up with is a Rube Goldberg contraption that is STILL not ready for prime time. And, no doubt, the NJ taxpayers have been paying them millions of dollars for this "result"This is the whole hearing. If you have the time, watch it all.Apologies for the video and audio quality as this was shot in a large space with a very tiny Casio pocket camera...but much of it is audible if you crank up the volume.The testimony of the progressive activists will be put up separately.
2 Views
09:13:00 11/12/08
Imaginary Money Graveyard
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 09:13:00 11/12/08
Imaginary Money Graveyard by d-oo-b.cc Music: Ghosts by http://nin.com flickr.com/photos/arcorosca/sets/72157608868260247/show/w... www.flickr.com/photos/roxelo/3020310910 The recent Financial Global climate is affecting us all in some way. From mortgage prices to investments, businesses fail and people loose their homes, jobs and lives as a result. The severe lack of forsight by those in control this has led to the potential crash of the neo-conservatives. We now see the wealth of the world in a different light. An uncertain future is all we have to look forward to. Europe was caught out by the financial crisis and did not see recession looming, the head of the Eurogroup of nations conceded today, amid estimates that the EU has plunged into a downturn. OCt 08 'Recession awaits us, and we didn't think that recession lay in waiting,' euro zone chairman Jean-Claude Juncker told members of the European Parliament in Brussels. Oct 08 'We were badly mistaken with the different sequences of this crisis,' said Juncker, who is also the premier and finance minister of Luxembourg. Oct 08 The European Commission in early November 2008 warned that the worst financial crisis for generations has driven the EU economy into recession and that economic growth would come close to a standstill next year. "Increasingly, the signs point to a deep and synchronised global recession that began last quarter and has gathered momentum," said Bruce Kasman, an economist at JPMorgan Chase in New York. November 08 The eurozone’s second-biggest economy will grow by just 0.2-0.5 percent next year instead of the 1 percent previously predicted, Economy and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told the Senate. The minister said the growth forecast for next year 2009 was “the lowest ever by a government in France” but that it was realistic. “The international economic outlook has deteriorated much more than was expected, which will impact growth in Switzerland over the next several quarters,” the Swiss National Bank said in a statement in October 08 The sharp falls came after the Dow Jones index slid 5.05 percent on Wall Street November 7th 08 as investors braced for a gloomy economic ride after the euphoria of Obama’s election victory faded. “Now that the event is over, investors are sobering up and looking at the economic gloom,” said Mizuho Investors Securities broker Masatoshi Sato. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros conceded in OCtober 08 that US influence was waning: "It has already declined. For the past 25 years, we have been running a constant current account deficit. The Chinese and the oil-producing countries have been running a surplus. We have consumed more than we produced. While we have run up debt, they have acquired wealth with their savings. Increasingly, the Chinese will own a lot more of the world because they will be converting their dollar reserves and US government bonds into real assets." Japan By James Kirkup and Julian Ryall in Tokyo Last Updated: 4:00PM BST 16 Oct 2008 Telegraph.co.uk "To cope with the current crisis, further steps may be needed," Mr Aso told members of the Japanese parliament. "However, I still believe this package will be effective to a certain degree." Mr Aso's budget package will be mean direct financial support for farmers and fishermen paying higher fuel bills, and for Japanese consumers. The emergency budget is part of a wider 11.7-trillion-yen package announced in August. The Bank of Japan also made another 300 billion-yen of emergency loans to Japanese banks, hoping to unblock the Tokyo money markets. The central bank has been offering extra liquidity on an almost daily basis for a month. euro Author: ČTK www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=338324 Prague - The current situation on financial markets will affect the agenda of Czech EU presidency in the first half of 2009, deputy prime minister for EU affairs Alexandr Vondra said. The financial crisis has become a new priority of the European Union, Vondra said. "When you are making preparations for a football match, you sometimes base your tactics more on offensive while another time you are more defensive. It is evident that in the economic situation in which Europe will be finding itself next year, emphasis will be rather placed on the protection and defence of what has already been attained," Vondra said. Posted by Kevin Anderson Sunday October 12 2008 06.50 BST Homelessness, the economic crisis and voting Homelessness is on the rise in the US, and the newly homeless could find their votes challenged. In Reno Nevada, joblessness has jumped 60% and a tent city of 170 people grew. Reno is trying to shut down the tent city and move people to newly opened shelters. CBS News has reported tent cities in Seattle, Portland, Fresno, Columbus, and Chattanooga. There are also reports of encampments in Seattle, San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio, Santa Barbara and Fresno California. The wave of foreclosures, which in some areas of the country disproportionately affect black voters, could also come into play. The Republican Party of Macomb County Michigan, one of three counties that make up Detroit, is planning to use list of foreclosed homes to challenge people who try to vote using those addresses. Republicans claim that they are trying to prevent voter fraud. Homeless and voting rights advocates are trying to make sure that people don't lose their homes and their right to vote. USA As veteran curator of that realm of American national power upon which all others ultimately depend, Greenspan has inspired remarkable deference. He long ago tamed the legislature, to the point that, instead of exercising oversight over his tenure, Congress has ritually idolized rather than interrogated him. Greenspan's aura has extended even to presidents of the United States. Bill Clinton went so far as to ask Greenspan in 2000 if he would like to be appointed to a fourth term as chairman, or whether he'd prefer to "go out now on top." The then 73-year-old replied: "Oh, no. This is the greatest job in the world. It's like eating peanuts. You keep doing it, keep doing it, and you never get tired." BY PETER HARTCHER American Interests www.the-american-interest.com Winter Issue “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.” Mr. Greenspan said that he had publicly warned about the “underpricing of risk” in 2005 but that he had never expected the crisis that began to sweep the entire financial system in 2007. “This crisis,” he told lawmakers, “has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined. It has morphed from one gripped by liquidity restraints to one in which fears of insolvency are now paramount.” NEW YORK TIMES (US) Greenspan’s sins return to haunt us By David Blake Published: September 18 2008 18:39 | Last updated: September 18 2008 18:39 Back in 2002, when his reputation as “The Man Who Saved the World” was at its peak, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, came to Britain to pick up his knighthood. His biggest fan, Gordon Brown, now the UK prime minister, had ensured that the citation said it was being awarded for promoting “economic stability”. Even as things went completely wild, Mr Greenspan dismissed those who warned that a new bubble was emerging. It was just a case of a little “froth” in a few areas. Later, after waiting until 2007, two years after he left office, he conceded that “froth” had been his euphemism for “bubble”. “All the froth bubbles add up to an aggregate bubble,” he told the Financial Times...... Mr Greenspan realises that something big has happened and describes it as a “once in a hundred years” event. But then, you do not get Alan Greenspans coming along every day. Finincial Times (UK) Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 Neoliberalism, White (Male) Privilege & the Current Financial Crisis by Jessie on Sep 30, 2008 at 11:29 am Make no mistake, all the available evidence suggests that the American political economy is headed for a major crash. Some are even speculating that this is the end of American economic dominance in the world’s financial market. But don’t be deceived by the blame-the-victim rationalizing that’s being floated now. Let’s be clear about what policies and which people are behind the current financial crisis: neoliberal policies and the overwhelmingly majority of economically privileged white men (photo from same link) who created, implemented and benefited from those policies. Neoliberalism refers to a set of policies that encourage “less government” and unfettered (and unregulated) capitalism. The key elements of neoliberalism include: 1) the rule of the market, 2) reducing government expenditures on social services, 3) deregulation, 4) privatization, and 5) gutting the notion of “the public good.” The end result of neoliberal policies is that while a handful of people get very, very rich, these policies simultaneously exacerbate the suffering of just about everyone else and increase domestic and international instability. So, what we’re seeing now is just the logical, perhaps inevitable, result of these policies.
2 Views
09:13:00 11/12/08
Imaginary Money Graveyard
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 09:13:00 11/12/08
Imaginary Money Graveyard by d-oo-b.cc Music: Ghosts by http://nin.com flickr.com/photos/arcorosca/sets/72157608868260247/show/w... www.flickr.com/photos/roxelo/3020310910 The recent Financial Global climate is affecting us all in some way. From mortgage prices to investments, businesses fail and people loose their homes, jobs and lives as a result. The severe lack of forsight by those in control this has led to the potential crash of the neo-conservatives. We now see the wealth of the world in a different light. An uncertain future is all we have to look forward to. Europe was caught out by the financial crisis and did not see recession looming, the head of the Eurogroup of nations conceded today, amid estimates that the EU has plunged into a downturn. OCt 08 'Recession awaits us, and we didn't think that recession lay in waiting,' euro zone chairman Jean-Claude Juncker told members of the European Parliament in Brussels. Oct 08 'We were badly mistaken with the different sequences of this crisis,' said Juncker, who is also the premier and finance minister of Luxembourg. Oct 08 The European Commission in early November 2008 warned that the worst financial crisis for generations has driven the EU economy into recession and that economic growth would come close to a standstill next year. "Increasingly, the signs point to a deep and synchronised global recession that began last quarter and has gathered momentum," said Bruce Kasman, an economist at JPMorgan Chase in New York. November 08 The eurozone’s second-biggest economy will grow by just 0.2-0.5 percent next year instead of the 1 percent previously predicted, Economy and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told the Senate. The minister said the growth forecast for next year 2009 was “the lowest ever by a government in France” but that it was realistic. “The international economic outlook has deteriorated much more than was expected, which will impact growth in Switzerland over the next several quarters,” the Swiss National Bank said in a statement in October 08 The sharp falls came after the Dow Jones index slid 5.05 percent on Wall Street November 7th 08 as investors braced for a gloomy economic ride after the euphoria of Obama’s election victory faded. “Now that the event is over, investors are sobering up and looking at the economic gloom,” said Mizuho Investors Securities broker Masatoshi Sato. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros conceded in OCtober 08 that US influence was waning: "It has already declined. For the past 25 years, we have been running a constant current account deficit. The Chinese and the oil-producing countries have been running a surplus. We have consumed more than we produced. While we have run up debt, they have acquired wealth with their savings. Increasingly, the Chinese will own a lot more of the world because they will be converting their dollar reserves and US government bonds into real assets." Japan By James Kirkup and Julian Ryall in Tokyo Last Updated: 4:00PM BST 16 Oct 2008 Telegraph.co.uk "To cope with the current crisis, further steps may be needed," Mr Aso told members of the Japanese parliament. "However, I still believe this package will be effective to a certain degree." Mr Aso's budget package will be mean direct financial support for farmers and fishermen paying higher fuel bills, and for Japanese consumers. The emergency budget is part of a wider 11.7-trillion-yen package announced in August. The Bank of Japan also made another 300 billion-yen of emergency loans to Japanese banks, hoping to unblock the Tokyo money markets. The central bank has been offering extra liquidity on an almost daily basis for a month. euro Author: ČTK www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=338324 Prague - The current situation on financial markets will affect the agenda of Czech EU presidency in the first half of 2009, deputy prime minister for EU affairs Alexandr Vondra said. The financial crisis has become a new priority of the European Union, Vondra said. "When you are making preparations for a football match, you sometimes base your tactics more on offensive while another time you are more defensive. It is evident that in the economic situation in which Europe will be finding itself next year, emphasis will be rather placed on the protection and defence of what has already been attained," Vondra said. Posted by Kevin Anderson Sunday October 12 2008 06.50 BST Homelessness, the economic crisis and voting Homelessness is on the rise in the US, and the newly homeless could find their votes challenged. In Reno Nevada, joblessness has jumped 60% and a tent city of 170 people grew. Reno is trying to shut down the tent city and move people to newly opened shelters. CBS News has reported tent cities in Seattle, Portland, Fresno, Columbus, and Chattanooga. There are also reports of encampments in Seattle, San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio, Santa Barbara and Fresno California. The wave of foreclosures, which in some areas of the country disproportionately affect black voters, could also come into play. The Republican Party of Macomb County Michigan, one of three counties that make up Detroit, is planning to use list of foreclosed homes to challenge people who try to vote using those addresses. Republicans claim that they are trying to prevent voter fraud. Homeless and voting rights advocates are trying to make sure that people don't lose their homes and their right to vote. USA As veteran curator of that realm of American national power upon which all others ultimately depend, Greenspan has inspired remarkable deference. He long ago tamed the legislature, to the point that, instead of exercising oversight over his tenure, Congress has ritually idolized rather than interrogated him. Greenspan's aura has extended even to presidents of the United States. Bill Clinton went so far as to ask Greenspan in 2000 if he would like to be appointed to a fourth term as chairman, or whether he'd prefer to "go out now on top." The then 73-year-old replied: "Oh, no. This is the greatest job in the world. It's like eating peanuts. You keep doing it, keep doing it, and you never get tired." BY PETER HARTCHER American Interests www.the-american-interest.com Winter Issue “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.” Mr. Greenspan said that he had publicly warned about the “underpricing of risk” in 2005 but that he had never expected the crisis that began to sweep the entire financial system in 2007. “This crisis,” he told lawmakers, “has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined. It has morphed from one gripped by liquidity restraints to one in which fears of insolvency are now paramount.” NEW YORK TIMES (US) Greenspan’s sins return to haunt us By David Blake Published: September 18 2008 18:39 | Last updated: September 18 2008 18:39 Back in 2002, when his reputation as “The Man Who Saved the World” was at its peak, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, came to Britain to pick up his knighthood. His biggest fan, Gordon Brown, now the UK prime minister, had ensured that the citation said it was being awarded for promoting “economic stability”. Even as things went completely wild, Mr Greenspan dismissed those who warned that a new bubble was emerging. It was just a case of a little “froth” in a few areas. Later, after waiting until 2007, two years after he left office, he conceded that “froth” had been his euphemism for “bubble”. “All the froth bubbles add up to an aggregate bubble,” he told the Financial Times...... Mr Greenspan realises that something big has happened and describes it as a “once in a hundred years” event. But then, you do not get Alan Greenspans coming along every day. Finincial Times (UK) Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 Neoliberalism, White (Male) Privilege & the Current Financial Crisis by Jessie on Sep 30, 2008 at 11:29 am Make no mistake, all the available evidence suggests that the American political economy is headed for a major crash. Some are even speculating that this is the end of American economic dominance in the world’s financial market. But don’t be deceived by the blame-the-victim rationalizing that’s being floated now. Let’s be clear about what policies and which people are behind the current financial crisis: neoliberal policies and the overwhelmingly majority of economically privileged white men (photo from same link) who created, implemented and benefited from those policies. Neoliberalism refers to a set of policies that encourage “less government” and unfettered (and unregulated) capitalism. The key elements of neoliberalism include: 1) the rule of the market, 2) reducing government expenditures on social services, 3) deregulation, 4) privatization, and 5) gutting the notion of “the public good.” The end result of neoliberal policies is that while a handful of people get very, very rich, these policies simultaneously exacerbate the suffering of just about everyone else and increase domestic and international instability. So, what we’re seeing now is just the logical, perhaps inevitable, result of these policies.
