Koch Brother Will Be Official Romney Delegate At
Republican National Convention

post from ThinkProgress on 09 August 2012 02:00:05 PM. © ThinkProgress

David Koch will be an official delegate for Mitt Romney at this month’s Republican National Convention and will represent the New York Republican Party, according to National Journal. Koch, an oil billionaire currently ranked number five on the Forbes U.S. billionaire list, has pledged along with his brother Charles to spend $100 million in their effort to oust President Obama this November. For years, the Koch brothers have used their vast wealth to finance the tea party and attack progressive policies on health reform, Wall Street reform, and climate change. It’s unclear if David Koch will attend the RNC in person, which kicks off August 27.

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http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/09/666081/david-koch-rnc/

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Colorado Republican Candidates Won’t
Endorse Radical Personhood Amendment

post from ThinkProgress on 09 August 2012 02:00:05 PM. © ThinkProgress

Now that an anti-abortion group is poised to put a radical personhood amendment on Colorado’s ballot, potentially marking the state’s third vote on whether to amend its constitution to define a fertilized egg as a person and outlaw contraception and invitro fertilization, GOP politicians are being forced to articulate where they stand on the issue. At least two Colorado Republicans running for Congress have already said they won’t endorse personhood if it comes up for a vote.

The Denver Post reports that Joe Coors and Mike Coffers — the Republican candidates running in Colorado’s 7th and 6th congressional districts, respectively — will not come out in favor of the personhood amendment if it ends up on the ballot this fall:

This time around Joe Coors, now a Republican candidate for the 7th congressional district, will not endorse the personhood initiative, which would ban all abortions in the state, the campaign told the Post Wednesday.
“After its two failed attempts on the ballot, Coloradans have made their decision on this issue,” campaign spokeswoman Michelle Yi said. “Joe respects the voters’ decision and, for the next 90 days, will continue to focus on ideas to get our economy back on track by helping job creators start new businesses and expand their payrolls.” [...]
“I am against all abortions, except when it is necessary to protect the life of the mother,” Coffman told the Post. “Given the fact I’m running for federal office, I will not be endorsing nor opposing any state or local ballot questions.”

Despite the fact that it could make it on the ballot for the third time, personhood remains deeply unpopular in Colorado. Recent polling in the state reports that just 30 percent of voters say they would voter for a personhood initiative on the ballot in November. Most pertinent for Republicans like Corrs and Coffman is the fact that the measure’s unpopularity has the potential to turn voters away from politicians who support it: among independent voters, 47 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who is against personhood, while 19 percent say they would be more likely to vote for one who is for it.

As personhood initiatives made their way into proposed legislation across the country over the past year, Mitt Romney has continued to refrain from taking a firm stance on the issue. Similarly to its previous failures in Colorado, the personhood movement has not yet passed legislation in any state.

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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/09/665371/colorado-republican-candidates-
wont-endorse-radical-personhood-amendment/

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Ex-Councilman Denies Being Racist After Using
Racist Obama Statue

post from Crooks and Liars on 09 August 2012 02:00:00 PM. © Crooks and Liars

enlarge Credit: Newark PatchRacist Obama Monkey Statue

Racism is dead. So decreed the late Tony Snow on his radio program almost a decade ago. So when we see racism, it's really not since it no longer exists. That's why rich white republicans can use formerly racist imagery. It's all just good-natured fun!

The owner of a Cedar Grove storage business who dressed a monkey statue in an anti-Obama T-shirt said Wednesday that the statement was not racially-motivated
?It was not meant to be racial," business owner Rick Bond told Patch.
Rick Bond, a former councilman and police officer, placed the statue in front of his business, Don-Ric Self Storage at 405 Little Falls Road but removed it Tuesday afternoon after people started complaining.
?I absolutely never thought of it as racial,? Bond said. ?It?s ridiculous.?
The monkey statue sported a t-shirt saying ?OMG Obama Must Go.? The statue was in front of Bond?s business for at least a few days, but was removed after neighbors called the statue offensive.
Bond is a former Cedar Grove council member who served on the board from 1999 through 2003, and was also a police officer. Because the statue is near Route 3, it caught the attention of several passers-by, some of whom posted photos of it on their Facebook pages.
Bond would not say who dressed the statue, but added it was previously dressed in a Mets jersey. He said the statue was put up to scare away geese from coming close to his business.
He said other businesses ? such as car dealerships - do the same, ?What?s the difference between the things they put on telephone pole? and what I did??

See, Bond doesn't consider it racist so what's the big deal? Did you see what those telephone polls covered in Monkey-Obama Posters? I'm sure more anti-Obama gear will show up to do all sort of things, We'll see cotton-picking Obamas next, right? No racism here. Move along.

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http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/ex-councilman-denies-being-racist-after

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Ha ha! This could have paid for your wife's
health care! Ha ha!

post from Daily Kos on 09 August 2012 01:57:34 PM. © Daily Kos

Mitt the twit. Ha ha! Oncology is expensive! Ha ha! This is so much better than your wife surviving!In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Mitt Romney looked back (less distantly than previously believed, of course) at his time at Bain Capital. Among the moments upon which he is asked to reflect: the infamous photo, seen above.

When you look at it now, does that photo of you and your Bain colleagues posing with money in your pinstripe suits make you laugh or make you cringe?
Oh, that was a moment of humor as we had just done what we thought was impossible. We had raised $37 million from other people and institutions who entrusted us with their funds, and we thought it was a miracle that our group had been able to be so successful in fundraising. And ultimately we were able to yield for them a very attractive return by such investments as Staples (SPLS), which was in our very first fund.
So it?s a happy memory.
We had a great group of people, each one of whom I think of fondly.

I'm sure it was just a moment of humor, at the time. After all, Bain hadn't yet death paneled Joe Soptic's wife. They were just raising the first round of the death squad money that would later make it possible to death panel Mrs. Soptic.

But looking back on things, isn't that a perfect example of Mitt Romney's sense of humor? Ha ha! Look at this money! I bet it could pay for a lot of cancer treatment! But it won't, because I'm going to use it for a horse and a car elevator! Ha ha!

I wonder if we'll ever see a photo like this, full of employees laid off by Bain. Maybe with their pockets turned out, and holding up their unpaid bills, and photos of deceased family members. After all, I'm sure that with the way this campaign is going, Mitt could use a good laugh.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/pkK9__lE_CI/-Ha-ha-This-could-have
-paid-for-your-wife-s-health-care-Ha-ha

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They finally did it: Fox News clones blonde
bobbleheads

post from Daily Kos on 09 August 2012 01:43:16 PM. © Daily Kos

We've joked for years that Fox News clones their female bobbleheads, and it's been funny because it's practically true! See this screencap from earlier today:

What we didn't know is that they were actually cloning them! Also from earlier today:
Two look alike blondes on Fox

Now they don't need to worry about their supply running dry when they, you know, get old.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/ZjPud-vxSYU/-They-finally-did-it-F
ox-News-clones-blonde-bobbleheads

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Karl Rove says Obama is winning, except that it's
tied

post from Daily Kos on 09 August 2012 01:40:56 PM. © Daily Kos

Karl Rove, in the Wall Street Journal:

Wednesday's Gallup poll had President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney essentially tied, with Mr. Obama at 47% and Mr. Romney at 46%.

Karl Rove, on his website:
Karl Rove electoral map, 7/30, showing Obama 280, Romney 182

That's Pres. Barack Obama 280, Mitt Romney 182 ... using Karl Rove's math.

So Karl Rove says the race is tied, and Karl Rove says that Obama has a lead so commanding, that all the undecided states wouldn't be enough to change the outcome.

What, did the WSJ reject the column with the reality in it?

p.s. South Carolina is not a tossup.

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is-winning-except-that-it-s-tied

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Jon Walker and Radical Russ Discuss Facebooks War
on Weed

post from Firedoglake on 09 August 2012 01:40:43 PM. © Firedoglake

Just Say Now's Jon Walker discusses the upcoming marijuana ballot measures on Radical Russ Belleville's radio show, and they both scratch their heads at how out of step with popular opinion the elite drug warriors at Facebook are.Tell Facebook To Stop[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/MGGwSWgqVKE/

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Romney declares religious freedom for me, not
thee

post from Daily Kos on 09 August 2012 01:33:38 PM. © Daily Kos

Mitt Romney's new ad accusing President Obama of declaring a "war on religion" with the Affordable Care Act isn't without risks for the Republican presidential nominee. Even leaving aside the over-the-top hyperbole, it turns out that Romney put similar contraception policies in place during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts. But much more dangerous for Romney is his de facto religious test for true membership in the American community, one in which Jews, Muslims and non-believers have second-class status?or simply no status at all.

Romney's double-standard starts with the voting bloc he has pursued most vigorously over the last month: Jewish Americans. (It is worth noting that the Romney campaign tests the fairness of press coverage by substituting "Jew" or "Jewish" for "Mormon.") While no fan of the kibbutzim so critical to the successful establishment of Israel, in Jerusalem and again on the pages of the National Review Mitt insisted "culture makes all the difference" in understanding "the accomplishments of the people of this nation."

But in the United States, it turns out that for Mitt Romney, something else matters much more. In May, Romney explained what "it" was to the graduates of the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.

During a speech in which he never mentioned the word "Mormon" (he used it once in his "Faith in America" address in 2007), Romney tried to explain to his evangelical audience "where we can meet in common purpose." Surely, Romney suggested to applause, they could agree on this (around the 9:00 minute mark above):

It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government.
But from the beginning, this nation trusted in God, not man. Religious liberty is the first freedom in our Constitution. And whether the cause is justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the sick, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action. [Emphasis mine.]

Romney's message?No Jesus, No Dice?must have come as a surprise to the millions of Jews, atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and myriad other non-Christians in the United States of America. But it shouldn't have.

Four and a half years ago during his much-hyped "Faith in America" speech, Romney explained that "No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith" and warned:

"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution."

Sadly, Romney during his last presidential bid endorsed precisely that very religious test for followers of Islam or no faith at all.

In November 2007, the former Massachusetts governor said as much to Mansoor Ijaz at a fundraiser in Las Vegas. As Ijaz recounted:

I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that "jihadism" is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. He answered, "...based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration."

Despite Romney's subsequent denials, Greg Sargent and Steve Benen documented other witnesses and other occasions during which Mitt repeated his No Muslims Need Apply policy.

(Continue reading below the fold.)

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/rSsoWQGZWX0/-Romney-declares-relig
ious-freedom-for-me-not-thee

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Think Long Term and Win Big with Small Biotechs:
Hugh Cleland

The Life Sciences Report: Are your investors exclusively Canadians?

Hugh Cleland: Yes. Our funds currently are registered for Canadian investors only. That will likely change with our next fund, however.

TLSR: Are the holdings . . . → Read More: Think Long Term and Win Big with Small Biotechs: Hugh Cleland

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http://jutiagroup.com/20120809-think-long-term-and-win-big-with-small-biotechs-hu
gh-cleland/

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More Memories of the Kerry Campaign

Is Romneycare Mitt's Iraq War? From TPM Reader WB ...I was volunteering for Kerry when he made the comment about how he would have authorized the use of force in Iraq even knowing what we knew then. I still vividly remember the anguished conversations I[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/qKUHqaN0Y-U/more_memories_o
f_the_kerry_campaign.php

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