Fighting the culture war

post from Daily Kos on 08 August 2012 05:50:02 PM. © Daily Kos

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Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 08 August 2012 05:35:34 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Our regular featured content-On This Day In History August 8 by TheMomCatPunting the Pundits by TheMomCatThese featured articles-Summer in the City by ek hornbeckAlbatross! Albatross! by ek hornbeckSleeping with the Enemy by TheMomCatThis special[...]

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Romney campaign manages to lose conservatives and
normal people at the same time

post from Daily Kos on 08 August 2012 05:34:46 PM. © Daily Kos

Mitt Romney flip flopping heads Equal opportunity irritantAs you might have seen, Mitt Romney's campaign is defending Romneycare by saying that people like Joe Soptic, the former steelworker who lost his job and his health care insurance when Bain Capital closed his factory, should move to Massachusetts if they want health care:

A Mitt Romney spokesperson offered an unusual counterattack Tuesday to an ad in which a laid-off steelworker blames the presumptive GOP nominee for his family losing health care: If that family had lived in Massachusetts, it would have been covered by the former governor?s universal health care law.
?To that point, if people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney?s health care plan, they would have had health care,? Andrea Saul, Romney?s campaign press secretary, said during an appearance on Fox News. ?There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President [Barack] Obama?s economy.?

In other words, Mitt Romney thinks Romneycare is such a good idea that everybody without health insurance should move to Boston. Of course, that would be ridiculous, so no one will actually interpret those remarks to mean that.

Instead, when conservatives hear what the Romney campaign is saying, the question they ask themselves is this: "If Mitt Romney thinks Romneycare is such a good idea, why should I believe he'll try to repeal Obamacare?"

Meanwhile, when normal people hear it, the question they ask is: "If Mitt Romney thinks Romneycare is such a good idea, why does he keep on promising the tea party that he'll repeal it at the national level?"

And people who don't have insurance?the Joe Soptics of the world?they just don't want to live in a country in which they need to move in order to get health care coverage.

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es-to-lose-conservatives-and-normal-people-at-the-same-time

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A Drinking Festival Without Transit Means
Pretending Drunk Driving Doesn't Exist

post from TheGreenMiles.com on 08 August 2012 05:31:00 PM. © TheGreenMiles.com

The Green Miles went to the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament in New Bedford last weekend, billed as the world's largest Portuguese feast with over 100,000 visitors expected. It's also one of Massachusetts' largest drinking events, with two full days and two additional nights of beer, liquor, and strong madeira wine imported exclusively for the Feast.

There is no transit to this event after 6pm, when local bus service ends .While some people walk to the event, but most drive. (And many attendees pay $5-10 for parking. Not just bad for the environment and potentially dangerous, but also inconvenient and expensive. What's not to like?)

Much like last year's Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival at National Harbor south of DC, if you're hosting a drinking event with limited or no transit, you're turning a blind eye to drunk driving. In New Bedford's case, how much would it cost to run a bus for the weekend between the site and nearby downtowns? Isn't that cost worth preventing even one drunk driving incident?

But hey, at least the Portuguese Feast stopped selling giant 20 ounce cups of 38-proof madeira, so, problem solved, amirite?

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ithout-transit.html

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Democratic chances of holding the Senate improve.
Dramatically.

post from Daily Kos on 08 August 2012 05:15:04 PM. © Daily Kos

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Sherrod Brown (L) talks with patrons of Tommy's Diner during a campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio, November 6, 2006. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown's strength has put a damper on GOP efforts to win control of the Senate this November.The early conventional wisdom was that Democrats would have a tall order holding the Senate in 2012. Not only did they have few pickoff opportunities of their own, but they were playing defense in some seriously tough territory.

These days, however, the Senate is looking much safer. Follow me below the fold for a complete rundown.

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-holding-the-Senate-improve-Dramatically

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Sherrod Brown, David Vitter Team Up to Press
Federal Reserve About Capital Requirements

post from Firedoglake on 08 August 2012 05:14:40 PM. © Firedoglake

On financial regulatory issues, Republicans have recently retreated back to the idea that all we need to do is to ensure adequate capital requirements at the largest banks. If they can handle anything that comes across with their own reserves, then[...]

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It's primary week in Hawaii: Let's send Mazie
Hirono on to November

post from Daily Kos on 08 August 2012 05:03:18 PM. © Daily Kos

Mazie Hirono at farmers market Mazie Hirono shopping at a local farmers' market.
Saturday is primary day in Hawaii, a big day for Orange to Blue candidate Rep. Mazie Hirono. She has to beat bad Blue Dog Ed Case to win the nomination, and the polling in the race right now makes the outcome just a little bit unpredictable.

According to Hirono's internal polling, from Benenson Strategy Group, she has a commanding lead over Case, 17 points, with Hirono drawing 50 percent to Case's 33 percent. That bolsters a Star-Advertiser poll from late July that gave her an 18-point lead.

But, and there's always a "but" when it comes to polls, other polling isn't so generous to Hirono. In fact, a new poll from Civil Beat has Case with a very narrow edge, echoing their previous results.

Case's 47-46 edge is within the margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent, making the race a statistical dead heat. Case has more support from those who decided recently, but Hirono banked more votes in the first days of early voting. Seven percent remain undecided. [...]

The poll's neck-and-neck results for the leading Democrats are consistent with two previous Civil Beat surveys taken in June and January. Those polls found a 46-46 tie and 41-39 Case lead, respectively.

The one thing you can't do, if you're a campaign, is take for granted a big lead in any poll. That's particularly true in the days leading up to the election. So right now is crunch time for the Hirono campaign, as they work to get every Hirono voter to the polls on Saturday. That takes a lot of volunteer support, but it also takes money.

Help the Hirono campaign GOTV. Please donate $3 to Mazie Hirono on ActBlue.

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As governor, Mitt Romney used same work
requirement waiver he now claims will gut welfare reform

You know how Mitt Romney says the Obama administration has a secret plan to give states special waivers that will let lazy welfare people steal your hard-earned money without even pretending to work?

Well, I know you'll be shocked to learn that Romney is part of the plot, but according to page 144 of the eighth annual report to Congress on welfare reform, when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he took advantage of the very same waivers from work requirements that he now says will gut welfare reform:

Page 144 of the 8th Report to Congress on TANF

Romney didn't request the waivers (his Republican predecessor did), but he chose to continue them. And despite what he's saying now, these were waivers to the exact same legislative provisions the new Obama administration memo covers.

There are really only two options here. Either Mitt Romney is part of Barack Obama's conspiracy to give every welfare queen a free Cadillac (or heck, maybe a couple of 'em) ... or he's so desperate to find an issue that works that he doesn't care if he comes off looking like Lee Atwater or Jesse Helms.

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ey-used-same-work-requirement-waiver-he-now-claims-will-gut-welfare-reform

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There Is More to Gold than Mere Capital
Appreciation: John Hathaway

The Gold Report: John, you predicted $2,000/ounce (oz) gold prices. After rising to $1,900/oz last fall, the price has hovered at $1,500?1,600/oz much of 2012. What will cause it to take the next leg . . . → Read More: There Is More to Gold than Mere Capital Appreciation: John Hathaway

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on-john-hathaway/

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Crosstabs - August 8

An appropriate day for TPM's PollTracker Editor Kyle Leighton to get into the Crosstabs of Mitt Romney's favorability. [...]

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ust_8.php

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