abitleftofcenter

Remember the politician in The Best Little Wh*rehouse in Texas:

" Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep,

now they see me now they don't- I've come and gone

and, ooh I love to sweep around the wide step,

cut a little swathe and lead the people on.

Now my good friends, it behooves me to be solemn and declare,

I'm for goodness and for profit and for living clean and saying daily prayer.

And now, my good friends, you can sleep nights,

I'll continue to stand tall.

You can trust me, for I promise,

I shall keep a watchful eye upon ya'll...

Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep,

now they see me now they don't- I've come and gone

and, ooh I love to sweep around the wide step,

cut a little swathe and lead the people on.

Obama labeled the attack an act or terror within 24 hours. The conservatives' apparent complaint is that he didn't immedidately say that it was not in response to the video but a completely unconnected event. I fail to understand why conservatives apaprently think a terrorist attack can't have a trigger. The following quote says that Libyan witnesses at the time said that the attackers were expressing outrage at the video as they left their compound.

"To Libyans who witnessed the assault and know the attackers, there is little doubt what occurred: a well-known group of local Islamist militants struck the United States Mission without any warning or protest, and they did it in retaliation for the video. That is what the fighters said at the time, speaking emotionally of their anger at the video without mentioning Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or the terrorist strikes of 11 years earlier. And it is an explanation that tracks with their history as members of a local militant group determined to protect Libya from Western influence.

United States intelligence agencies have reserved final judgment pending a full investigation, leaving open the possibility that anger at the video might have provided an opportunity for militants who already harbored anti-American feelings. But so far the intelligence assessments appear to square largely with local accounts. Whether the attackers are labeled “Al Qaeda cells” or “aligned with Al Qaeda,” as Republicans have suggested, depends on whether that label can be used as a generic term for a broad spectrum of Islamist militants, encompassing groups like Ansar al-Shariah whose goals were primarily local, as well as those who aspire to join a broader jihad against the West."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/world/africa/ele...

O'Donnell, an adviser to Bachman, says, "Governor Romney began a pattern of complaining about time limits, interrupting both the moderator and the president with rules protests that would last throughout the debate and act as his own self-induced distraction."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/toles?hpid=...

Maybe candidates for political office should review all written and verbal statements they made for the thirty years prior to announcing their candidacy?

How many times has each candidate's opponent been able to find a tape or transcript or written statement contradicting what the candidate's are saying today?

Given the multi-billion $$$ cost of each of the various explorations: each moon shot, each shuttle missions, each Mars Rover or other unmanned vehicle?

Don't get me wrong. I followed all of them and loved it. I would love to see it continue. I am just wondering, where in the Romney/Ryan budget, they plan to find the funds. What cuts would they make to pay for the program if they keep it?

Could this serve as a voter ID? In 2005 Congress passed a national ID law called REAL ID. Every state must be in compliance by January 15, 2013. The announced intent is greater security and faster processing at airports, government facilities, etc.

To get REAL ID you must present proof of the following: full legal name, date of birth, legal address, and Social Security Number.

Those born before 1964 can keep their current ID for now, but must have the REAL ID by September 2017. I am assuming that, if they plan to travel, they may want to get the REAL ID sooner.

Critics of the law expressed concerns about the government ability to use the IDS to track ordinary citizens.

http://www.dhs.gov/secure-drivers-licenses

Real Clear Politics averages major polls. These are the lastest averages. (Electoral votes are in parentheses.)

Caveat: polls can and do change, sometimes drastically. And they do not always predict the actual outcome.

Colorado (9): Obama, 1.3

Florida (29): Obama +2.1

Iowa (6): Obama, +0.2

Nevada (6): Obama +2.3

New Hampshire (4): Obama +2.3

North Carolina (15): Romney +4.8

Ohio (18): Obama, +4.8

Virginia (13): Obama, +4.8

Presently, the RCP electoral map shows Obama needing 23 of these electoral votes and Romney needing 77. I would see that as giving Obama the edge in where to target advertising. If you were your candidate, where, when, and how would you target advertising?

Last March, a bipartisan bill (Cooper-Latourette) got only 38 votes. It was signficantly more to the right than either Simpson-Bowles or Rankin-Domenici: deeper cuts in social programs, significantly less cuts in defense, and considerably less in new revenue.

If that wouldn't fly then, would it fly before January 2, 2013? And if not, what's left?

$20 million, apparently. I thought he was supposed to be way ahead in fund-raising?

ABC News and the Washington Post

I caught a mention in passing but don't know the context.

Romney attacks Obama for failing to stop China . . . but Bain invested in China while Romney ran it and still profits from it, as does Romney.

and say they may not vote for the Romney ticket if Romney wins their state.

The article is in the Washington Post. I could not get the URL to work.

Some seem to go into voting in just a few hours, and others are days old before they do.

Medicare as it is in terms of premiums and benefits, but with savings from raising the retirement age, removing or raising the income cap, slowing the growth of payments to providers, eliminating or restructuring Medicare Advantage plans so that their costs are no higher than other regular plans, etc.

A choice between traditional Medicare and a voucher system, with the voucher tied to the cost of living even though premiums traditionally increase by much more. And if this is your choice, would you choose the voucher?

George Will, conservative columnist, says that Romney's plan cannot work unless he significantly cuts the deductions that affect the middle class.

Does he believe they exist. Yes

Maybe from the CBO estimates that will be the number created if Obama's policies continue?

Since the only way to create jobs is to make creating them profitable (meaning demand), how will Romney create demand as he takes away the safety nets that keep the unemployed and the low income people purchasing?

They have one on display at the convention. However, what they are hoping no one understands are the causes of the debt: Bush's tax cuts, Bush's wars and their aftermath, recession-caused loss of revenue, and recession-caused demand on social safety net programs. Add in interest on Obama's predecessors' debt.

Bush's tax cuts account for over half of the debt during Obama's term. Now Romney wants to enact even more tax cuts.

Revenue loss and demand for the safety net caused by the recession account for around 15% of the debt. The wars account for about another 15%.

Obama's stimulus accounts for about 20%. ACA adds nothing to the cost as Obama built in sources to pay for it. In fact the CBO expects ACA to lead to reduced deficits. They expect repeal of ACA, a major GOP goal, to add to deficits.

If the tax cuts, the recession impact, and the wars are removed from the equation, the debt would be about 15% of GDP, an acceptable number in the past.

Also keep in mind that much of the spending on things other than the above are built into previous policies and government activities: Social Security, Medicare, defense, Congressional salaries, disaster aid, etc.

Apparently the GOP is counting heavily on either ignorance, apathy, or blind belief.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/...

Scroll down until you find the article about the debt chart.

A Texas owner just lost her challenge against the use of eminent domain to seize her property for the pipeline . . . to a foreign private company that will not commit to allowing other producers to use the pipeline and that will not commit any of the oil to the US.