From Benghazi to Washington It Is All About Politics

Fresh from his foreign policy gaffe during the London Olympics, Mitt Romney, yesterday, took on the Middle East, using the anti-American riots in Cairo and Benghazi as an opportunity to criticize the Obama Administration. Romney ended up looking like an  insensitive, ill informed  political opportunist.Obama ended up looking, well, er,  ' Presidential"

By now, with flag burnings and angry demonstrations having taken place in Cairo, Yemen, and Iran, it is starting to become clear that this was not just a spontaneous popular uprising, but is possibly a carefully orchestrated  political operation in which the Muslim masses were manipulated by a small militaristic group who planned to eliminate the Ambassador and American officials under cover of a popular demonstration at the Embassy.

It also looks like the anti-Muslim film which  supposedly started the whole thing, was not a legitimate film at all. The actors and crew hired for it were not told what it was about.  Nobody got to read an entire script or knew the whole story. In fact, the American actors and crew who were in the film (which was titled Desert Warrior) are very upset and were grossly mislead.  They have issued a statement. Here's a quote from the Sidney Morning Herald 

''The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer,'' the Los Angeles Times quoted them as saying. ''We are 100 per cent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred.''

Several of the principals and backers of the film seem to have melted away into thin air. Who actually funded and masterminded the making of the film and promoted it( translated into Arabic) online is unclear, however, somehow, the Arab street seems to have the impression that the American government somehow sanctioned the film..... wonder how they got that idea, don't you?

 And then there is the fact that it all happened on the eleventh anniversary of the September eleventh attacks and we all know how important " numbers" are to Al Quaida and their ilk.  This is all starting to smell like a politically motivated rat to me. What political movement could possibly benefit from this situation? Not the new democratic governments in Egypt and Libya, that's for sure.

I'm thinking there is a lot more here than meets the eye. Too bad Mitt Romney didn't realize that before he opened his mouth.

 I hope he stays home and keeps his mouth shut for awhile.

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Mitt Romney's Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day in London

 Yo, Mitt-- how do you screw up a trip to LONDON? Jon Stewart wants to know and so does all of America.   I mean, familiar culture, no foreign language, special relationship and all that... special buddy bonding during WWII included.  How did you go up against all that to insult and alienate the Brits on a trip designed to show off your foreign affairs expertise to potential voters in America?

Way to go, buddy.  This Obama mama  is enjoying the gift.  Take a look at what Jon Stewart had to say on The Daily Show-- hilarious.

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The " Bain" of Romney's Existance

 I'm getting a little tired of the bruhaha about Bain and I bet you are too.  Does it really matter how long Romney worked there and when he left?  The Romney folks say that Romney " retroactively retired from Bain in 1999.  The Obama campaign says:

"Mitt Romney is trying to insist that he is not responsible for his buyout firm after 1999, even though he remained the CEO, Chairman, and sole sharholder through 2001. Rushing to his aid, the Romney campaign said that Romney was not responsible because he “retroactively retired.”

 And what about those millions in personal money transferred offshore to the Caymen Islands, or that Swiss bank account?  What's up with that, Mitt? 

I don't know about you-- but I think truth does matter and I think Romney ought to release all the documentation necessary to clear up this matter.  There may not be anything illegal about a rich man  transferring his fortune offshore to avoid personal income taxes.  And there may not be anything illegal about  remaining CEO, chairman and chief shareholder of a  corporate entity charged with destroying American jobs-- but what about morality?  That is the real question.

Mitt can clear this up by revealing his tax returns and financial records regarding Bain.  I wonder why he won't do it?  Don't you?

Vanity Fair Gets the Goods on Mitt Romney and His Offshore Money

The  Vanity Fair Article by Nicolas Shaxson that hit the internet the other day dropped a real bomb into the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney.  It kind of torpedos any thoughts Mitt had of continuing to portray himself as Mr. Middle America.

Not that there is much of a financial breadcrumb trail when it comes to Mitt's money.  He's pretty secretive about that sort of thing.  Here are a few highlights from the Vanity Fair article to whet your appetite.

• There is a Bermuda-based entity called Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd., which has been described in securities filings as “a Bermuda corporation wholly owned by W. Mitt Romney."The director and president of this entity is R. Bradford Malt, the trustee of the blind trust and Romney’s personal lawyer.

•  Though he left Bain Capital in 1999, Romney has continued to receive large payments from it—in early June he revealed more than $2 million in new Bain income. The firm today has at least 138 funds organized in the Cayman Islands, and Romney himself has personal interests in at least 12, worth as much as $30 million

• In 2010 and 2011, Mitt and Ann paid $6.2 million in federal tax on $42.5 million in income, for an average tax rate just shy of 15 percent, substantially less than what most middle-income Americans pay. Romney manages this low rate because he takes his payments from Bain Capital as investment income, which is taxed at a maximum 15 percent, instead of the 35 percent he would pay on “ordinary” income, such as salaries and wages. 

Oh, did I mention that Mitt has a  $3 million dollar Swiss bank account ?  It's a little tacky to be looking for tax loopholes when you are running for President and trying to identify with ordinary Americans.  Don't you agree?

Shaxson has done a great job of investigative reporting.   It just gets juicier and juicier.  You really ought to go on over to the Vanity Fair Website and read the whole thing for yourself.


H/T selfdeprecate.com for the graphic

Fact Checking Mitt Romney on Obamacare

cartoon source About.com

MItt Romney is not a happy camper in the wake of the Supreme Court Decision on Obamacare.  On the eve of America's Independence day celebrations,  Mitt and the GOP are telling some real whoppers in order to scare the pants off the American public.   It's all fabricated doom and gloom about how the founding fathers are spinning in their graves( they're not) and  Americans will lose their freedoms (they won't)  and creeping socialism will ruin the country (for the last time, Obama is NOT a socialist).

These guys keep trying the same lies over and over again.  It all reminds me of Sarah Palin and her " Death Panels"  back in 2009 during the original  debates. Makes me wish they would come up with a new approach.

 According to Politifact.com's Truth o'Meter, here's  the whopper Mitt was telling on the trail  over the week-end.  It got lots of attention and was totally debunked, but I am sure the faithful base still believes it anyway.

.  Right after the Supreme Court decision came down, Mitt said:

"Obamacare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion. Obamacare cuts Medicare -- cuts Medicare by approximately $500 billion," Romney said. "And even with those cuts and tax increases, Obamacare adds trillions to our deficits and to our national debt, and pushes those obligations on to coming generations."

The fact is that, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare will  actually lower the deficit by about $124 billion over 10 years.  Read the entire article here.

As for cutting Medicare-- according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, benefits over the next decade will not be cut for recipients nor will spending. what will happen is that growth will be slowed.ABC News did a very complete rundown on this. Check it out

Playing games with numbers is one thing-- but outright lies are something else.  Mitt must be getting desperate.  I think I see his nose growing longer, don't you?

Wifers are the New Birthers. Just Ask Bill Maher

Leave it to Bill Mahar to nail the right wing conspiracy theorists right where they live.   The other night on "Late NIght" he brought up the newest conspiracy theory-- wiferism--and asked the question " How many wives does Mitt Romney really have?"

 The video clip from the show is hilarious.  Hey, relax folks-- it isn't a slam at Mitt or his religion-- it's a riff on racist conspiracy theorists who are sure Obama was born in Kenya in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.

God  bless America-- especially in an election year-- and God will have to help us all get through it without a breakdown too.  Oh well, at least some of us can still laugh.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

The Republican clown car moves on and on, commanding the attention of the American media and the American public-- Newt, Mitt, Rick Santorum and the ever present Ron Paul are in the arena jousting at the moment.  Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Jon Huntsman have already gotten the thumbs down.

Meanwhile, out in the real world, Europe is foundering and the financial future of the Euro is in danger, not to mention the future of the European Union itself.  In the Middle East,  the Arab Spring has turned to a rather violent winter with Syria becoming a slaughterhouse and Iran  rattling a big nuclear sabre , 
Meanwhile the US and EU are  trying to pursuede the world to boycott Iranian oil. ( Good luck folks) Russia is sitting this dance out, but seems ready to leap into the fray at a moment's notice to defend its friend, Iran. 

Has anybody in America noticed the  war drums beating in the background?  Probably not, because we are too busy watching the GOP in action on the campaign trail like it was some kind of sporting event or reality TV.  The 1% are still very firmly in control.

Guess what-- it doesn't matter who wins the Republican nomination  because the fix is in.  The average American is being entertained and getting screwed and if we Americans don't wake up we are going to deserve everything  we get.  But pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.  Just sit back and enjoy the show.

Oh, and if you want to see more wonderful cartoons like the one above, hie yourself on over to  Paulfellcartoons.com

Mitt Romney Won Iowa. Why Am I Not Surprised?

Mitt Romney winning Iowa is a real so what-- a big, fat yawn.  Didn't we know this would be the outcome?  The media were ginning up the competition like it was an episode of  Survivor, but really there was never any doubt. The only thing of relatively minor interest is that he won by only eight votes and that Rick Santorum came in a close second-- but I'm not really surprised at that either and in the long run it makes no difference.

The dirty little secret is that the Iowa Caucuses have little to do with electing a Republican candidate.   They are more media merchandising opportunity and entertainment than political primary or a chance to  evaluate a potential president. Their purpose goes back to ancient Rome and the bread and circuses provided to keep the masses pliant while the emperor and his minions made the real decisions.

MItt runs on D-cell batteries and looks for all the world like he should have a wind up key in his back.  He's been called a Ken doll and worse, but it doesn't matter. He'll support the corporate and governmental establishment.  He's got the money and the connections and he is the most broadly palatable candidate in the Republican clown car so he is gonna get the brass ring. Santorum may play well in the boonies( and outside of  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the boonies) but the cigar smoking Washington boys in the back room are definitely not going to let him into the club-- at least not this year.

It's already been decided, so lean back, pass the popcorn and enjoy the show.  This all bodes very well for Obama.  Thank you, Iowa

cartoon source:: donkeyhotey via flickr creative commons