Posts Tagged ‘politics’

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin

Feb 5th, 12 / 0 Comments

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Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin, The Raw Story, February 4, 2012, by Megan Carpentier, copied verbatim: Logos57: A Caring Community is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you cutting edge news, Image via Gage Skidmore on Flickr, Creative Commons licensed:

Former governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) scored his most decisive win to date in the Nevada Republican caucus tonight, winning the race by more than 15 percent and leaving former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) to battle for second place again with former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) again a distant fourth.

Creative Commons photograph of Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in Nevada by Gage Skidmore

But despite Paul’s expectation that the caucus format would benefit his campaign, Paul looked to place a significant distance behind Gingrich.

Romney took the stage just before 10:40 ET, introduced again by his wife, Ann, to thank supporters and slam Obama, reminding voters that Obama encouraged people to avoid coming to Nevada for conventions and meetings. Romney then took aim at Friday’s encouraging unemployment statistics, suggesting that the “real” unemployment rate was closer to 15 percent, a nod to the underemployment rate, which is down from 17.2 percent in January 2010.

In what is now a frequent refrain, Romney told his audience, “This president began his presidency by apologizing for America, now he should apologize to America” adding that the president should stop making excuses for the ongoing economic crisis. “Our vision for the future could not be more different from his,” Romney said, promising to cut government, reduce the government’s share of the total economy and balance the federal budget without raising taxes. In another statement common to his speeches, Romney said that Obama “demonizes and denigrates” entrepreneurs that his Administration would promote. And, of course, he promised to repeal “Obamacare” and rescind the recent Obama Administration ruling that forces employer insurance to provide coverage for birth control, which has been under fire from religious employers and religious groups — a point Romney made in his Tuesday night speech after the Florida primary. He then asked people to remember that their ancestors came to American “for the pursuit of happiness, not the pursuit of hand-outs,” and asked them to vote for him in November, making this one of his shortest speeches to date.

[This post will be updated as results come in.]

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Megan Carpentier is the executive editor of Raw Story. She previously served as an associate editor at Talking Points Memo; the editor of news and politics at Air America; an editor at Jezebel.com; and an associate editor at Wonkette. Her published works include pieces for the Washington Post, the Washington Independent, Ms Magazine, RH Reality Check, the Women’s Media Center, On the Issues, the New York Press, Bitch and Women’s eNews.

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Paying For Cancer Treatment for Children in America With a Car Wash, Bake Sale and Fish Fry

Feb 4th, 12 / 0 Comments

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Paying For Cancer Treatment for Children
in America With a Car Wash, Bake Sale and Fish Fry

Paying For Cancer Treatment for Children in America With a Car Wash, Bake Sale and Fish Fry, Common Dreams.org, February 3, 2012, by Wendell Potter, quoted verbatim:

“It shouldn’t be this way,” read the subject line of an email I received Friday morning from a conservative friend and fellow Southerner. “People shouldn’t have to beg for money to pay for medical care.”

At first, I thought he was referring to my column last week in which I wrote about the fundraising effort to cover the bills, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, that the husband of Canadian skier Sarah Burke is now facing. Burke died on January 19, nine days after sustaining severe head injuries in a skiing accident in Park City, Utah. I noted that had the accident occurred in Burke’s native Canada, which has a system of universal coverage, the fundraiser would not have been necessary.

beautiful inspiring image of an empty wheelchair at the bottom of a toplit flight of stairs

But my friend was not writing about Sarah Burke. He wanted to alert me to another fundraiser, this one on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, to help pay for the mounting medical expenses for a beautiful 13-year-old girl fighting for her life at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Ala.

In late November, Caroline Richmond was rushed to the hospital after collapsing on the way home from school. Doctors quickly determined she’d had a stroke and required immediate surgery. The bad news just kept coming. The stroke had been caused by leukemia.

In the weeks following brain surgery, Caroline had to undergo chemotherapy. She later became so ill that she was put on a ventilator and had to be fed through tubes. Although she is still listed in critical condition and faces a bone marrow transplant, Caroline has made progress. She was taken off the ventilator and tubes last week, and is now eating solid food for the first time since the stroke.

As it turns out, Caroline is one of more than 50 million men, women and children who do not have health insurance in the United States, which is why her family is in the same predicament as Sarah Burke’s. Caroline’s father, Dallas, is self-employed and, like millions of other Americans who do not work for a company that offers health benefits, has not been able to find affordable coverage for his family.

A friend of the Richmonds, Robin Smith, told me Dallas is one of the hardest working people she’s ever met. She said he owns a coin-operated laundry and has “two or three” other jobs to make ends meet. “He works round the clock,” she said. “You never see him when he’s not working.”

Knowing that Dallas and his wife, Christy, are worried not only about their daughter but also about the real possibility they might be forced into bankruptcy and lose their home because of the medical bills, Smith has joined other friends of the family to raise money. Caroline’s classmates and teachers have put “Cups for Caroline” in all the homerooms at Fairhope Middle School, where Caroline is an eighth-grader. They’ve also held car washes.

Last night they were scheduled to host a bake sale and fish fry at the American Legion Post in Fairhope. It was that event, also posted on a Facebook support page, that my friend brought to my attention. Until then, I had never heard of Caroline Richmond. I suspect you hadn’t heard of her either. I am writing not only to spread the word, but also to ask that you think for a moment about walking in the Richmond family’s shoes.

It is important to understand that almost all of us who do have health coverage through the workplace are just a layoff or plant closing away from joining the Richmonds among the uninsured. Those of us who are self-employed like Dallas Richmond or who work for small businesses that can no longer pay for coverage are increasingly unlikely to find decent coverage that we can afford.

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Hundreds of thousands of families file for bankruptcy and lose their homes every year nationwide because of medical debt. Many of those people actually have what they thought was adequate insurance, but find that they still have to pay far more out of their own pockets to cover thousands of dollars in bills than their budgets will allow.

My column on Sarah Burke provoked many comments, some from people who essentially wrote, “too bad, so sad.” In their opinion, Burke shouldn’t have been taking risks on the ski slopes in Utah in the first place. She should have bought coverage that would have protected her in the U.S.

Maybe so. But I wonder what those people, all of whom condemned “Obamacare,” will say about Caroline Richmond. When the reform law is fully implemented in a couple of years — assuming it goes forward — the Richmonds should be able to find coverage at an affordable price. That’s what reform was all about. To make sure that American families don’t have to lose their homes when someone gets sick and to make sure that insurance firms can no longer engage in practices that have swelled the ranks of the uninsured and underinsured.

Caroline’s story is not unique. Tragedies like her’s occur so often, in fact, that they rarely make the news anymore. But it is precisely because they are an everyday occurrence that health care reform was so urgently needed. We have been led to believe by opponents of reform that our health care system is the best in the world. The reality, of course, is that, while we do indeed have some of the world’s best doctors and hospitals, the system in which they operate has become increasingly dysfunctional and unnecessarily expensive. This is why the reform law, despite its flaws, must go forward.

To learn more about Caroline Richmond and how to make a donation, visit the Facebook page established by her family’s friends.

Wendell Potter is former Vice President of corporate communications at CIGNA, one of the United States’ largest health insurance companies. In June 2009, he testified against the HMO industry in the U.S. Senate as a whistleblower. He is now the Senior Fellow on Health Care for the Center for Media and Democracy in Madison, Wisconsin.

Also See When Medicare Isn’t Medicare, The Huffington Post, December 26, 2011, by Wendell Potter.

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Newt Gingrich: Down in Florida and On the Way Out

Jan 31st, 12 / 0 Comments

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Newt Gingrich: Down in Florida
and On the Way Out


If (or When) Gingrich is Eliminated
From this race, it won’t be for lack of funding

Logos57: A Caring Community, January 31, 2012, news on the Florida primary compiled and with commentary by Paul Evans:

NEW! Election Results: FL Primary Results: Mitt Romney Scores Huge Florida Win, But Primary Looks Far From Finished, The Huffington Post, January 31, 2011, by Jon Ward:

…Romney’s overwhelming win here Tuesday night was a big moment for the former Massachusetts governor that fully restored him to frontrunner status, and dealt a major blow to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Romney won convincingly, with 47.5 percent to Gingrich’s 31.2 percent, with 51 percent of the vote counted. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) trailed behind, with 13.1 and 6.9 percent, respectively.

NEW! See Bolstered by Latino Vote, Romney Poised to Regain Momentum With Florida Victory, ABC News on Yahoo News, January 31, 2012, by Matthew Jaffe.

NEW! See Mitt Romney leads exit polls in Florida, KSDK, January 30, 2011, by NBC:

(NBC) – Mitt Romney’s sounding like he’s already won Florida and the GOP presidential nomination. … A half million Floridians have voted early, and Romney leads two-to-one in exit polls.

>
Commentary by Paul Evans: In the Florida primary, in my opinion, the contest will end most of the opportunity for Gingrich to get the nomination. There is plenty of news around the web that is pointing that way. We’ll start off with the NPR and The Huffington Post and then move along to Mother Jones and then Politico. (Everything you need to know from four sources!) Even if we left it at that, it appears likely that Newt’s chances are fading. The more I read about this guy, the more I can’t understand exactly how he got to be a serious candidate for the Republican nomination. So put on your thinking caps and hold on: it’s not hard to find articles from the last day or so which underline my contention:

For starters, see Logos57: A Caring Community’s own article Accused of ‘Grandiosity,’ Gingrich steps back and …proposes a moon base (Updated). This contains news coverage on the Florida election from yesterday and the day before. Pay special attention to our excerpt from Obama Vs. Gingrich? More Reasons GOP Fears The Matchup, NPR, January 30, 2012, by Liz Halloran. This article offers compelling evidence about the general election, specifically, match-ups of either Romney or Gingrich vs. Obama. Romney is in an electoral college dead heat with Obama, while Gingrich probably would get “clobbered:”

Rothenberg’s latest presidential race calculations show that Gingrich would get clobbered by Obama in the tally of all-important state Electoral College votes, 328-180, with only 30 votes seen as tossups. Those estimates are unchanged since Rothenberg’s similar analysis a month ago.

There are a total of 538 electoral votes; 270 are needed to secure the presidency.

Paul Evans: And, it turns out, the whole moon colony proposal of Gingrich isn’t the only news item which really gives you pause. You have to ask yourself, “Should this man really get the Republican nomination, or wouldn’t he (and the Republican Party) be a lot better off with Newt quietly professing these weird ideas of his in some well funded think tank somewhere?” Here is what we mean:

See Newt’s New-Age Love Gurus: This article reports on some really strong aspects of Gingrich’s past which social conservatives would really be appalled by, if they knews the facts. The article’s introductions states that “Gingrich’s intellectual mentors are former Marxist organizers who envisioned a future full of serial marriages and open relationships.” Amazing. Of course, Gingrich is on his third wife now, with some proven …indiscretions, shall we say.


If (or When) Newt’s Campaign “Goes Down,” It Won’t Be for Lack of Funding

Remember when Gingrich’s billionaire friend pumped $5 million into his campaign as the election in South Carolina entered its final week? Well, here we gio again. This will be truly last minute funding, but at a level of $10 million. You can buy quite a bit of TV airtime with $10 million, if South Carolina is any example:

See ‘Joe Kennedy helped his son,’ Gingrich funder says, Catholic Online, January 27, 2012, by Catholic Online (News Consortium):

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson who is bankrolling Newt Gingrich’s super PAC to the tune of $10 million, says he isn’t trying to “buy” a presidency. Adelson says he’s just following in the footsteps of another powerful business tycoon, Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F. Kennedy.

…

The 78-year-old Adelson has a personal fortune estimated at $21 billion, according to Rogich, “plays to win” and “puts his money where his mouth is.”

Adelson and his Israeli-born wife Miriam have pumped $10 million in the last three weeks into the Winning Our Future Super PAC. The cash has provided crucial cash infusion that helped revive Gingrich’s candidacy, bankrolling attack ads against Mitt Romney in South Carolina and now Florida.

Paul Evans: OK, 1.) How do socially conservative Republicans feel about Gingrich getting his funding via a billionaire casino owner and 2.) as a Democrat and a liberal, I find the comparison between Joe Kennedy’s funding JFK’s campaign and this billionaire casino type offensive, don’t you?

Watch a video on Gingrich’s unethical behavior when he was Speaker of the House, here. This is a devastating attack ad that Romney is saturating Florida with currently.

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Here’s a side note Here’s an article you may want to pay attention to, especially if you are a Latino. See Gingrich and Romney Want to Say Adios to Bilingual Ballots, Mother Jones, January 30, 2012, by Adam Serwer. So, both these guys including the more socially reasonable Romney want to disenfranchise maybe a million or so Latinos? Liberals have been trying to tell the Hispanic community that this is the basic way all Republicans feel about voters rights. Some time ago the Tea Party types were actually proposing that voting should be a privilege that only those Americans who own property should have. It’s simple. The more you cut poor and underprivileged citizens out of the voting picture, the better the Republicans do in elections everywhere. Florida Pay Attention?

Also See The Newt I Know, Politico, January 27, 2012, by Joe Scarborough:

Yeah, yeah. I know. Newt Gingrich had a lousy week and will probably lose the Florida primary on Tuesday. But for those tempted to once again predict the speedy collapse of his campaign, consider yourselves forewarned. I’ve known this guy long enough to realize that the only three species destined to survive a nuclear holocaust will be cockroaches, Cher and Newton Leroy Gingrich.

Important: See Final PPP poll: Romney 39, Gingrich 31 in Florida, Politico, January 30, 2012, by Burns and Haberman.

Finally, See The Daisy Commercial of 2012, Huffington Post, January 30, 2012, by Adam Hanft:

As Romney’s lead in Florida solidifies, and an unfocused Gingrich rages in all directions — he’s his own attack dog — I want to come right out and say it. Romney’s Brokaw commercial is one of the most devastatingly effective negative spots I’ve seen in years. I believe it will go down with the LBJ “Daisy” spot in the annals of fatal, thunderbolt blows.

…By contrast (to LBJ’s commercial), the Brokaw spot’s strength – it’s called, in deadpan fashion, “History Lesson — springs from its unconstructed simplicity. It opens on a television screen with a super that reads “NBC Nightly News, January 21st, 1997.”

Brokaw intones the following, in a voice that if not dripping with irony, is certainly maximally saturated:

“Newt Gingrich, who came to power, after all, preaching a higher standard in American politics, a man who brought down another Speaker on ethics accusations, tonight he has on his own record, the judgment of his peers Democrats and Republicans alike, by an overwhelming vote they found him guilty of ethics violations, they charged him a very large financial penalty, and several of them raised serious questions about his future effectiveness.”

That’s it. It doesn’t parse perfectly, but it wounds deeply. Every word Brokaw utters is deadly for Gingrich; the devastating indictment hurtles from the past into the mental decision box that has been in such Floridian turmoil for the last two weeks.

Paul Evans: Well, that’s a sampling of some of the “dirt” on Gingrich, in fact just from four websites, with commentary — NPR, Huffington Post, Mother Jones and Politico. I’m sure you can find lots of live reporting on the election results later today. We’ll try to provide a link one here, later today.

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Accused of ‘Grandiosity,’ Gingrich steps back and …proposes a moon base (Updated)

Jan 30th, 12 / 0 Comments

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Accused of ‘Grandiosity,’ Gingrich
steps back and …proposes a moon base (updated)

Late Night: Stewart, Colbert
ridicule Gingrich’s moon base idea

Updates on Romney/Gingrich
in Florida Below

Late Night: Stewart, Colbert ridicule Gingrich’s moon base idea, The LA Times, January 27, 2012, by Show Tracker staff, excerpt quoted verbatim (with videos):

insignia of Apollo 11 space mission

Earlier this week, presidential ca)candidate New Gingrich promised that, if elected, he would establish a permanent American colony on the moon by the year 2020. On Thursday night, Gingrich’s ambitious proposal drew the jeers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The moon colony idea was Gingrich’s way of embracing contentions leveled by his rival Rick Santorum in South Carolina last week that he is a “grandiose” thinker.

Stewart marveled at Gingrich’s audacity: “A moon base?! Your solution to being accused of grandiosity is ‘Give me eight years and I’ll have a…moon base?! Did you start with Death Star and got kind of reined in?”

Both hosts blasted Gingrich’s suggestion that the moon colony could eventually become a state. Stewart pointed to remarks Gingrich made in 1993, when he dismissed efforts to make Washington, D.C., a state “crazy.”

Colbert also found some bitter irony in Gingrich’s idea that the moon could become a new manufacturing hub. “America will bring manufacturing to the moon. Ohio? [Totally] out of luck.”

See John McCain: Send Newt Gingrich To the Moon!, ABC News The Note, January 27, 2012, by Arlette Saenz:

LAKELAND, Fla. – Get your space suit ready Newt. John McCain wants to send you to the moon.

“I think we ought to send Newt Gingrich to the moon and Mitt Romney to the White House,” McCain said at a town hall here as he proudly unveiled a newly minted joke. “What do you think about that?”

Also See Gingrich can’t be taken seriously after weird Moon base views and other crazy ideas, Huliq, January 27, 2012, by Dave Masko.

On the Other Hand See Colonizing The Moon: Not Totally Crazy?, The New Republic, January 27, 2012, by Nathan Pippenger.

Comment by Paul Evans: Let’s see: Obama himself enjoined Congress in cutting $500 billion from Medicare, with hundreds of billions more to follow, the Republicans seriously pushed ending National Public Radio (I guess it’s too factual), as well as anything which could be described as a liberal “favorite.” People like Ron Paul want to eliminate half or more of Federal departments (including Education, Commerce and Labor). By all means, let’s line up a hundred billion or so to push a moon colony. Man, some of these Republicans really are nut jobs. Florida, are you paying attention?? Sometimes I wonder if anyone among Republican voters really pays attention, or do they just vote exactly as their preacher or their boss or the local Chamber of Commerce tells them to. Nice going, Newt! As a Democrat I appreciate the opportunity to attack this “lunacy.” Oops, well maybe it really IS lunacy.

Updates on Romney/Gingrich in Florida

UPDATE: Obama Vs. Gingrich? More Reasons GOP Fears The Matchup, NPR, January 29, 2012 by Liz Halloran, excerpts quoted verbatim:

Rothenberg’s latest presidential race calculations show that Gingrich would get clobbered by Obama in the tally of all-important state Electoral College votes, 328-180, with only 30 votes seen as tossups. Those estimates are unchanged since Rothenberg’s similar analysis a month ago.

There are a total of 538 electoral votes; 270 are needed to secure the presidency.

And Rothenberg is now projecting that Romney has lost electoral vote ground to Obama and would be in a dead heat with the president, 237-237, with 64 votes still viewed as tossups.

Obama has picked up strength since Rothenberg’s December presidential rating, which had Romney leading the president 275-217, with 46 tossup votes.

Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, titled his analysis from earlier this week: “Will GOP Risk Goldwater II With Newt Gingrich in 2012?”

UPDATE: Romney lead over Gingrich up in Florida: Reuters/Ipsos poll, Reuters on Yahoo News, January 29, 2012, by Patricia Zengerle, excerpt quoted verbatim:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney’s lead over rival Newt Gingrich edged up to 12 percentage points in Florida, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll results on Sunday, as Romney’s front-runner status stabilized and Gingrich continued to slip.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive, was supported by 42 percent of likely Florida voters surveyed in the online three-day tracking poll, just down from 43 percent in the same poll on Saturday. Romney was at 41 percent on Friday.

But with just two days before the state’s primary on Tuesday, Gingrich’s support was at 30 percent, down from 32 percent in Saturday’s results and 33 percent on Friday.

UPDATE — See Also: Gingrich defiant as Romney’s lead grows in Florida, LA Times, January 30, 2012, by Paul West, Seema Mehta and Maeve Reston.

UPDATE: Santorum’s Hypocrisy
Highlighted by Daughter’s Illness, Yahoo News Commentary, January 29, 2012, by Andrew Riggio, excerpt quoted verbatim:

COMMENTARY | Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum suspended his bid for the GOP nod to run against Barack Obama when his daughter, Bella Santorum, was hospitalized, according to the Associated Press. Bella suffers from Trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder in which a baby has some or all of an extra chromosome. While it is always tragic for a parent to face losing a child, the situation highlights a political issue: Santorum’s hypocrisy on health care, abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

InformIT (Pearson Education)

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Soros: Not much difference between Obama and Romney

Jan 26th, 12 / 1 Comment

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Soros: Not much difference
between Obama and Romney

Soros: Not much difference between Obama and Romney, The Raw Story, January 25, 2012, by Eric W. Dolan, used with permission, quoted verbatim: Logos57: a Caring Community is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you cuttiing edge news.

Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros told Reuters Global Editor-at-Large Chrystia Freeland that he still supported President Barack Obama, but predicted voters would not be very enthusiastic about the 2012 elections if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was nominated by Republicans.

Soros on Romney vs. Obama

“Well, look, either you’ll have an extremist conservative, be it Gingrich or Santorum, in which case I think it will make a big difference which of the two comes in,” he said. “If it’s between Obama and Romney, there isn’t all that much difference except for the crowd that they bring with them.”

But he acknowledged that a major difference between Romney and Obama would be their potential Supreme Court nominations and their stance on taxation.

“That is the big difference, and that has led my hedge fund community to abandon Obama in favor of any Republican because they don’t like to be taxed,” Soros explained. “I personally believe that when it comes to policy, you shouldn’t be pursuing self-interest, but the public interest. And I think that the income differentials are too wide and ought to be narrowed.”

Soros has been demonized by some, most notably Lyndon LaRouche and Glenn Beck, for his liberal views and influence. He has donated millions to the Center for American Progress, MoveOn.org and the Drug Policy Alliance.

“Are you one of Lenin’s useful idiots in the view of your fellow hedge fund billionaires?” Freeland asked.

“Well, I suppose so,” he replied. “I am a traitor to my class.”

Comment by Paul Evans: It does seem to me that Ms. Freeland, the interviewer, went too far when she refered to Soros as “one of Lenin’s useful idiots.” The man courageously advocates for a fair and progressive system of taxation. That hardly makes him anyone’s “useful idiot.” As to the comparison of Romney with Obama, the fact of Obama’s advocacy of a fairer system of taxations has ramifications through much of the budgetary process. If a more progressive system of taxation could somehow be put in place, for example, the political pressure to cut entitlements would be much less (and the Democrats’ ability to succesfully oppose such cuts would be stronger). To liberals and progressives everywhere, this should be understood as a huge difference. Obama only advocates bringing the level of taxation back to what it was under Clinton. It may be noted that Clinton balanced the budget and that during his Presidency the economy grew at 4 percent per year. For the very rich, it was in fact not much of a burden at all.

Recommended: Feeling Heat From Gingrich, Romney Enters Attack Mode, The NY Times, January 25, 2012, by Michael D. Shear.

Also Recommended: Candidates Scramble to Win Hispanic Votes in Florida, The NY Times, January 26, 2012, by Michael D. Shear and Trip Gabriel.

Watch Colbert: ‘Gingrich would totally win a wet t-shirt contest’, Comedy Central on The Raw Story, January 25, 2012, by Andrew Jones — Paul Evans: That’s the funniest claim I’ve heard yet this year, maybe longer. Gingrich? Win a wet t-shirt contest??? ROTFL… The guy is about as ripped as a stuffed elephant!

Also See: Obama and GOP candidates offer a campaign preview, AP News on CenturyLink, January 26, 2012, by David Espo.

Also See: Obama Calls for Wealthy to Pay More Taxes to Restore Fairness, Bloomberg Businessweek, January 25, 2012, by Catherine Dodge and Kate Andersen Brower.

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2012 – Campaign Chronicles: Newt’s Florida Game Plan (Updated)

Jan 24th, 12 / 1 Comment

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January 23, 2012

 

2012 – Campaign Chronicles:
Newt’s Florida Game Plan (Updated)

Comment by Paul Evans: The way I see it, the fiscally conservative and rich (traditional) Republicans are basically with Romney. Tea Party types would prefer Gingrich. Socially conservative Republicans in general really don’t have much to choose from between these two candidates. One would think that Gingrich, while supporting socially conservative positions, is somewhat at risk over his own litany of three marriages, infidelity and the ethics violation from his time in the House. However, so long as he talks a good game, he seems to be getting away with the rough spots from his own personal life.

With Gingrich’s somewhat stunning win in South Carolina, Florida seems up for grabs. The South Carolina win to a good extent arises from the ($5 million) backing from one extremely rich supporter via a SuperPac, although if Gingrich wins Florida, you can see the financial backing lining up behind him and abandoning Romney, whom many Republicans consider too moderate. But it does seem to me like the race now boils down to these two candidates, and Florida’s outcome may prove decisive. At this time, Gingrich in fact has a 9 percent lead in the polls in Florida, and a win there could prove decisive for him.

Watch: Heated Charges, Counter-Charges in Fla. Debate, AP YouTube video: 2:18.

Watch: Romney to Gingrich: The Problem Is You Were An Influence Peddler, Talking Points Memo YouTube video: 2:43.

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UPDATE: See Romney’s Tax Returns Show $21.6 Million Income in ’10, NY Times, January 24, 2012, by David Kocieniewski — Paul Evans: O.K. can we all get past the fact that Romney is rich? I mean, the man is a big time Republican businessman. Are we supposed to think differently about him because of his wealth? He is what he is. He has some moderate ideas, as far as the right wing of the Republican Party is concerned, but he still projects the corporate, pro-wealthy identity that Republicans at the national level all basically embody. Still, as the following opinion piece from the NY Times claims, questions about him basically being too “nice” (and too moderate) persist. It should not be overlooked (and it cannot be stressed enough), that Romney may well be the better nominee in a race against Obama, among all voters.

UPDATE Also See Romney Can’t Rumble, NY Times, January 24, 2012, by Charles M. Blow — Paul Evans: This opinion piece appears to me to be pro-Gingrich propaganda. I’ve watched the videos of the latest debate and it appeared to me that Romney held his ground and in fact fairly successfully attacked Newt about his influence peddling. What is curious to me is exactly why a piece like this was featured in the NY Times. Basically, if not all Republicans from the neocon wing of the GOP realize it yet, Gingrich does seem to me like the proper choice between these two candidates (for them). But perhaps this is grasped by those people at a high level and yet not much written about, at least so far. It seems obvious to me, though. Romney seems reasonable (as a Republican), but Newt is a chameleon and an artist with words, and one who so far has successfully dogded questions about his past, as well as his exact postion on important matters. Why is it that nobody really seems to be talking about Gingrich’s positions on critical matters? He certainly has an admirable ability to avoid being pinned down. Attacking him based on his history and personal life is one thing, making him defend his position on important matters seems to be something that hasn’t been tried much yet. It seems to be mainly Gingrich who is attacking Romney on his (Romney’s) positions. Obviously, if Newt is the Republican nominee, both sorts of attacks on him would be fair game. That is why it is still basically valid to ask which of these two Republicans would have a better chance against Obama. Maybe that is a question that Florida voters should be asking themselves, and other voters in the South, as well.

2012: Newt’s Florida Game Plan

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Our Internet: Stop SOPA and PIPA Now

Jan 20th, 12 / 1 Comment

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January 21, 2012

 

Our Internet
Stop SOPA and PIPA Now

Logos57: A Caring Community, January 21, 2012, complilation by Paul Evans:

  • End Piracy, Not Liberty, Google, with petition, ongoing:

    Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

    The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

  • End American Censorship, Write Congress Now!, another petition.
  • How SOPA affects you, FAQ, CNET, January 18, 2012, by Declan McCullagh.
  • PIPA, SOPA put on hold in wake of protests, CBS News, January 20, 2011, by Stephanie Condon. (latest news)

Please also visit http://stopthewall.us

Our Internet
(YouTube video, 1:53)

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Report: US Preparing for an Israeli Strike on Iran (Updated, with Commentary)

Jan 18th, 12 / 1 Comment

Logos57: A Caring Community
Updated January 18, 2012

 

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Latest News on the Iran Confrontation

Iran – News Update of January 18, 2012

Note by Paul Evans: I don’t know quite what’s gotten into the media late Tuesday and now into Wednesday. Doing Google searches and visiting most of my news sources, I find that, for some reason, a cruise ship disaster in which about a dozen died is somehow far more important and newsworthy than a conflict that may potentially turn into World War 3. News on the Iran crisis is for some reason hard to find on the web. This makes me want to report to you everything I can find on the web about the developing crisis. We’ll do the best we can.

Telegraph.co.uk: Europe set to announce a ban on Iranian oil

Europe will agree sanctions banning the purchase of oil from Iran by the end of the month, William Hague, the foreign secretary, said on Sunday as Saudi Arabia promised it could boost output to make up the shortfall.

Telegraph.co.uk: Oil prices rise on Iran’s threats
to cut off Strait of Hormuz:

Oil prices climbed 70 cents to $111.14 a barrel on Monday, after Iran issued fresh threats to cut off up to 17m barrels per day of oil supply from world markets by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

CBS News: Why Iran sanctions are doomed to fail

(TomDispatch): Let’s start with red lines. Here it is, Washington’s ultimate red line, straight from the lion’s mouth. Only last week Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said of the Iranians, “Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that’s what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is do not develop a nuclear weapon. That’s a red line for us.”

Reuters: India says not seeking Iran oil waiver from U.S.

Iran – News Update of January 17, 2012

UPDATE: The Myth of “Isolated” Iran
Huffington Post, January 17, 2012, by Pepe Escobar

Is There Evidence Iran Is Building A Nuclear Weapon?
(Why Did Def. Sec. Panetta Say Iran Not Building Nukes?)

Iran’s nuclear scientists are not
being assassinated. They are being murdered: (Guardian.co.uk):

Killing our enemies abroad is just state-sponsored terror – whatever euphemism western leaders like to use.

On the morning of 11 January Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the deputy head of Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, was in his car on his way to work when he was blown up by a magnetic bomb attached to his car door. He was 32 and married with a young son. He wasn’t armed, or anywhere near a battlefield.

Since 2010, three other Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in similar circumstances, including Darioush Rezaeinejad, a 35-year-old electronics expert shot dead outside his daughter’s nursery in Tehran last July. But instead of outrage or condemnation, we have been treated to expressions of undisguised glee.

Santorum in favor of assassination
of Iranian Scientists:

“On occasion, scientists working on the nuclear programme in Iran turn up dead,” bragged the Republican nomination candidate Rick Santorum in October. “I think that’s a wonderful thing, candidly.”

Israel Divided Over Plan to Attack Iran, The Real News Network, November 30, 2011.

Iran nuclear: Ali Larijani accepts
Turkey talks offer:

BBC News: Iran has said it has agreed to talks with six world powers on its controversial nuclear programme, days after the UN confirmed Tehran was producing 20% enriched uranium. (It takes 90 percent pure uranium to make a nuclear weapon ~ Paul Evans)

Tense Triangle: Iran, Israel and US

Missile defense activated in Turkey

Iran – News Update of January 16, 2012

Iran Face-Off Testing Obama the Candidate: (NY Times):

WASHINGTON — The escalating American confrontation with Iran poses a major new political threat to President Obama as he heads into his campaign for re-election, presenting him with choices that could harm either the economic recovery or his image as a firm leader.

Iran, the U.S. and Israel: Blind Man’s Buff :(  (Huffington Post):


In a perilous spiral of assassinations, threats and counter-threats, the leaders of Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran keep ratcheting the tension. What is most alarming about the situation, is that the principle players and their advisers are engaged in an incredibly dangerous three-way game of blind man’s buff.

None of them expresses a real understanding of the others: of their motives, their concerns, nor their likely reactions. That’s true even with Israel and the United States: though the U.S. risks being sucked into any conflict between Israel and Iran, the Obama administration is currently forced to guess what its supposed Israeli allies are planning.

What would America or Israel — or any country — do if five of its scientists were assassinated by an enemy power? How would they react if, at the same time, the mightiest country on the planet dispatched its forces towards their borders even as it tightened a blockade to garrote their economy?

William Hague: Iran Sanctions To Be Adopted By European Nations: (Huffington Post).

US did not kill Iranian nuclear scientist, claims Leon Panetta – video: (Guardian.co.uk).

Iran could face UK military action over nuclear programme, says Hague: (Guardian.co.uk).

Commentary by Paul Evans:

Opinion from January 15, 2012: I am posting this because in reality, this is very much potentially the biggest story of the last year and this one, at least. Insofar as I can reason, we don’t send our chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff over to Israel just to tell them we won’t support them if they attack Iran. We now have 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and there are not one but two of our aircraft carriers in position to intervene.

All this sounds a lot like a strong effort to coordinate our support of Israel, rather than to push them not to attack. The U.S. is describing the various moves it is making in the middle east as efforts to defend American interests there, not as moves to strengthen a coordinated attack with Israel. I believe personally that at the least, we will provide some logistical support for Israel’s attack. And the effort to support Israel logistically has been going on for some time, now. For example, over the last couple of years we have been providing Israel with a large number of Patriot antimissle missle batteries. And then, as mentioned above, two of our Aircraft carriers stand ready in the Persian Gulf. This is just some of the evidence that we will support Israel. There is also news to the effect that the United States is prepared to make strong efforts to bring about regime change in Iran and also Syria.

Frankly, if (or when) the attack takes place, the whole middle east is going to be in flames. This is potentially World War 3. Israel has to already have realized that at the least there will be a regional war they will have to defend themselves against, that is to say, war with Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. What will happen in the vicinity of Iran is an even worse wild card.

A year ago, Iran had 1,500 intermediate range (conventional warhead) missiles. O.K., probably (I have read), Iran cannot keep the Straits of Hormuz closed for very long. However, keep in mind that Saudi Arabia has two (and only two) oil terminals. Iran’s missiles will also reach Israel, where there are only two cities of any size (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), and they will provide targets for destruction, as well. Iran’s missiles are fairly evidently going to do a lot of damage and it will take a considerable time to get Saudi oil flowing again, depending on the situation in the Straits of Hormuz. All this may be somewhat to pretty extensively mitigated by abundant new weapons possessed by Israel which promise extensive jamming of Iran’s communications gear and perhaps a shutdown of the entire electrical grid there.

Experts are describing the effects on gasoline prices should the Straits of Hormuz remained closed for any considerable length of time as probably amounting to a doubling in price. Also, I do not have the feeling that we have any kind of real idea how long the Straits of Hormuz will remain closed. One sixth of the world’s oil flows through there, including the Saudi oil.

If anyone doesn’t know it by now, Israel has wargamed the attack on Iran at least twice, the second time accompanied by fighters equipped with special fuel tanks to let them go the whole distance to Iran and return. Israel possesses the fourth largest air force in the world currently. And it has been about a year since the Saudis gave Israel permission to use Saudi air space in any attack on Iran.

Also, about six months ago, we were fairly certain that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program had reached the level of 20 percent pure. That is a level consistent with medical and other peaceful uses of uranium. It takes 90 percent purity before an enrichment facility produces weapons grade uranium, and we have no evidence of any level of enrichment by Iran anywhere near that.

While I do not wish to continue to closely follow political news any longer, I would think that the potential start of World War 3 warrants my full efforts to report it as best I can. ~ Paul Evans

Report: US Preparing
for an Israeli Strike on Iran
(Updated, with Commentary)

Iran: We have proof US behind assassination

Report: US Preparing for an Israeli Strike on Iran, Common Dreams.org, January 14, 2012, by Common Dreams staff, large excerpt quoted verbatim, Updated, with Commentary):

Iran is looking at “punishing” those behind the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists, a senior military official said, pointing the finger at the United States, Israel and Britain

“We consider committing a terrorist act of killing a scientist to be a threat to the nation… We are looking at punishing those who were behind the scenes of the martyrdom (assassination) of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan,” the deputy chief of Iran’s joint armed forces, Masoud Jazayeri, was quoted as saying by several media.

Iran’s response will be “tormenting” for those responsible, he said, adding: “The enemies of the Iranian nation, such as the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime, should be made accountable for their actions.”

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today:

photo of Israeli jets parked in a row

WASHINGTON—U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.[...]

Despite the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel, U.S. officials have consistently puzzled over Israeli intentions. “It’s hard to know what’s bluster and what’s not with the Israelis,” said a former U.S. official.

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Inside the Israeli security establishment, a sort of good cop, bad cop routine, in which Israeli officials rattle sabers amid a U.S. scramble to restrain them, has assumed its own name: “Hold Me Back.”

Some American intelligence officials complain that Israel represents a blind spot in U.S. intelligence, which devotes little resources to Israel. Some officials have long argued that, given the potential for Israel to drag the U.S. into potentially explosive situations, the U.S. should devote more resources to divining Israel’s true intentions.

Two US Aircraft Carriers Opposite Iran, 15,000 Troops in Kuwait

DEBKAfile, the Jerusalem-based English language Israeli military intelligence website, is reporting:

US President Barack Obama is busy aligning Middle East allies with the next US steps on Iran. Contributing to the mounting sense in Washington of an approaching US-Iranian confrontation, the Pentagon is substantially building up its combat power around Iran, stationing nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait – two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit – and keeping two aircraft carriers the region. The USS Carl Vinson, the USS John Stennis which was to have returned to home base and their strike groups will stay in the Arabian Sea. ….

Read the full article here.

See U.S. army chief heads to Israel as fears over attack on Iran mount, Haaretz, January 15, 2012, by Barak Ravid:

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and other senior defense and intelligence officials.

Recommended: The Apocalyptics, Truth-Out, January 10, 2012, by John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus.K

See Dennis Ross: Obama will strike Iran if necessary, JTA, January 11, 2012:

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Dennis Ross, President Obama’s former top Iran adviser, said the president would strike Iran to keep the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“The Iranians should never think that there’s a reluctance to use the force,” Ross, who has returned to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, told Bloomberg News in an interview published Tuesday.

Obama administration officials in recent weeks have edged closer to warning Iran that a strike is in the cards if it does not make transparent a suspected nuclear weapons program.

“They need to know that if they take that step, they’re going to get stopped,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said over the weekend.

The United States has increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf and in the coming weeks will launch its largest-ever joint anti-missile defense exercise with Israel. The Obama administration also has ratcheted up sanctions, targeting Iran’s Central Bank.

On Tuesday, the administration condemned Iran’s declared intention to launch uranium enrichment at a site it had kept secret until recently.

Also See Former Mossad chief: Israeli attack on Iran must be stopped to avert catastrophe, Infowars, December 2, 2011, by Amos Harel:

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Iran, saying such a move would likely lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria.

Israel’s Secret Iran Attack Plan: Electronic Warfare, The Daily Beast, November 16, 2011, by Eli Lake:

For much of the last decade, as Iran methodically built its nuclear program, Israel has been assembling a multibillion-dollar array of high-tech weapons that would allow it to jam, blind, and deafen Tehran’s defenses in the case of a pre-emptive aerial strike.

A U.S. intelligence assessment this summer, described to The Daily Beast by current and former U.S. intelligence officials, concluded that any Israeli attack on hardened nuclear sites in Iran would go far beyond airstrikes from F-15 and F-16 fighter planes and likely include electronic warfare against Iran’s electric grid, Internet, cellphone network, and emergency frequencies for firemen and police officers.

Also See News About Iran, Logos57: A Caring Community, ongoing. This was an attempt at continuous coverage of what was happening in Iran. There is quite a lot of news here that was not generally reported, certainly not in the mainstream media.

UPDATE: See Raising new concerns, Iran warns Gulf Arab producers to not ramp up production, Associated Press on The Washington Post, January 14(?), by AP.

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