Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Mitt Romney/GOP Campaign Playing on Racism To Attack President Obama And More


Mitt Romney's race baiting and appeal to racist whites who are offended by having a Black man for president things getting down right ugly in the GOP campaign against President Obama.



Dog-whistling "Dixie."
Mitt Romney wants to " keep America America ." The dropping of one letter from the Ku Klux Klan’s slogan, “Keep America American,” does not remove the intent behind Romney’s repeated use of such a virulently bigoted phrase. While Mitt Romney can claim ignorance of the slogan’s origins, he is intentionally channeling its energy.


 The "lazy Negro" theme. At the end of May, the Romney campaign rolled out a new campaign based around the theme, "Obama Isn't Working." It was a neat little double entendre, with a surface-level, grammatically tortured meaning that Obama's policies aren't working, while its grammatically correct meaning implied that the African American president is, well, shiftless -- a notion that is a persistent racial stereotype of American black people.


Above quotes from :
12 Bigoted Taunts Peddled By Romney Camp and Allies by Adele M. Stan at Alternet.org, July 26,2012



Some crazy and offensive statements by Conervatives and uber-Evangelical Christians after the Aurora Mass Murder include:



“Ultimately,” (Mike)Huckabee concluded, “We don't have a crime problem or a gun problem – or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem. And since we ordered God out of our schools and communities, the military and public conversations, you know, we really shouldn't act so surprised when all hell breaks loose.”

...Extremist evangelicals Jerry Newcombe and Fred Jackson blame the liberal media, say victims who aren't Christian are in hell:




...from the American Family Association's Fred Jackson: "Whether it’s the Hollywood movies, whether it’s what we see on the Internet, whether it’s liberal bias in the media, whether it’s our politicians changing public policy, I think all of those somehow have fit together—and I have to say also churches who are leaving the authority of Scripture and losing their fear of God" are what "give us these kinds of incidents."

Above quotes two of the... The 6 Most Offensive Things Said in the Wake of the Aurora Shooting by Sarah Seltzer via Alternet.org, July 24, 2012

Topics of the day:

1.#ows update: widespread misconduct by police in their role in policing the Occupy Movement

2. #Gun Control/Aurora Movie Massacre: Some Democrats on their own initiative ignoring President Obama have proposed a bill to control large capacity gun magazines

3.and examples of the worse comments made mainly by conservatives and other conspiracy theory nutters.

4. Mitt Romney to appeal to a larger base employs the coded language and racist Dog-whistles to appeal to the bigotry ,racism, nativism ,xenophobia ,white supremacism , homophobia, Islamophobia etc. of large numbewrs of Republicans and other voters.

5. Ann Romney's gaffes

6. Bachmann's Stealth Jihad conspiracy criticized by 41 Religious groups but not by Romney


While President Obama after the Aurora Mass Murder hasn't taken the prudent and logical step in proposing better gun control laws in America some courageous Democrats in the Senate have proposed a new Gun Control Bill.

Democratic Senators Introduce Ban on High Capacity Gun Magazines Like the One Used in the Aurora Shooting by Avia Shen at ThinkProgress via Alternet.org,July 28, 2012

A group of Democratic senators are bucking President Obama and calling on Congress to pass new legislation that would establish federal restrictions on large capacity gun magazines. Identical to a separate bill introduced by amendment sponsor Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), the senators’ amendment to the Cybersecurity Act would ban the sale or transfer of large capacity feeders like magazines, belts, feed stripes and drums that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition with the exception of .22 caliber rim fire ammunition.

The amendment was introduced amid growing outcry from police and gun control advocates who want Washington to take a stand on gun control. New York City Mayor Bloomberg prominently demanded action hours after the Aurora theater shooting. The White House pledged to strengthen existing gun rules but has since clarified that the administration will not promote new legislation.


A collaborative investigation launched by law clinics at four top universities has assembled damning evidence of widespread misconduct.



Sarah Seltzer at Alternet points out 6 of the most offensive said by public figures after the Midnight Movie Massacre in Aurora. These statement reveal how those against gun control or who buy into the secualr humanist conspiracy or some other outlandish conspiracy such as the Illuminati conspiracy thory or the various conspiracies created to explain how Obama a black American became president ie "birthers", Obama as Manchurian Candidade as a secret pro-Jihadist Muslim or out to destroy white Christian America.



The 6 Most Offensive Things Said in the Wake of the Aurora Shooting by Sarah Seltzer via Alternet.org, July 24, 2012


Conservatives accuse liberals of politicizing the tragedy, but here are the worst examples of people using Aurora to push an extreme agenda.

After reeling in shock from the horrifying details of the Aurora, Colorado massacre, many of us were soon reeling from the callous, exploitative reactions.

I'm perhaps not the only person who was aghast by the number and intensity of responses declaring the problem with Aurora was that not enough citizens were armed. There is a race to come up with the most farfetched things to blame--anything, essentially, besides the ease of purchasing firearms and a system that doesn't provide for the mentally ill.

Even Mitt Romney has gone on the record saying he doesn't think gun laws had anything to do with the tragedy--even though the alleged perpetrator easily purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition and deadly weapons with complete legal immunity.


...1. Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says the attack is the result of an attack on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and that the killings might have been avoided if the country returned to the ways of God.

...2. Mike Huckabee blames sin.

“Ultimately,” Huckabee concluded, “We don't have a crime problem or a gun problem – or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem. And since we ordered God out of our schools and communities, the military and public conversations, you know, we really shouldn't act so surprised when all hell breaks loose.”

...3. Extremist evangelicals Jerry Newcombe and Fred Jackson blame the liberal media, say victims who aren't Christian are in hell:


...from the American Family Association's Fred Jackson: "Whether it’s the Hollywood movies, whether it’s what we see on the Internet, whether it’s liberal bias in the media, whether it’s our politicians changing public policy, I think all of those somehow have fit together—and I have to say also churches who are leaving the authority of Scripture and losing their fear of God" are what "give us these kinds of incidents."

...4. Internet conspiracy theorists blame government, Obama, Illuminati.

"This is somebody who was selected for a mission, given equipment to carry it out, then somehow brainwashed into getting it done." Okay then. There's also the guy who declared [sic] "Not one week from the rumored Obama signing of the UN Gun Ban Treaty, on Friday the 27th and Obama is 'Gift Wrapped' this horrific slaughter, that he can take and use to Obliterate our God given Second Ammendment Right's."

...5. Russell Pearce blames victims:

“Where were the men of flight 93???? Someone should have stopped this man,” he wrote. “…All that was needed is one Courageous/ Brave man prepared mentally or otherwise to stop this it could have been done.”

...6. The Daily Mail blames women. A common, and irritating, media narrative surrounding violence is that it's fueled by sexual rejection: had some woman just taken pity on the poor man, he wouldn't have acted out.

...7 (sorta). Rick Warren appears to blame the massacre on evolution: " When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it ."


and more quotes from Ann Romney which underscore her elitism and the gab between herself and her class and average citizens. Lynn Parramore in her article at think progress dissects 5 of Ann Romney's most reidiculous public statements .

5 Most Ridiculously Offensive Quotes From Ann Romney
Keep talking, Ann. The little people are all ears. July 26, 2012



By now, Lady Romney’s serene indifference to the world of – oh, just about anybody who doesn’t do horse ballet-- has reached legendary status. On her privileged planet, income inequality is a noble thing and you get through college on your man's stock portfolio. For a tour of her best foot-in-mouth musings, we’ve assembled a list of items filed under, “Wow. She really said that!”



1. What, Me Rich?
2. It’s Great That Some Women Don’t Have a Choice
3. College, Wall Street-Style
4. Unzip Mitt
5. Enough of You People

And a critique from Adele M. Stan at Alternet.org on Mitt Romney coded and Dog Whistle bigotry and racism.
So it appears given Mitt Romney coded language that the Republicans have revived their campaign strategy which they used against Obama in 2008.





12 Bigoted Taunts Peddled By Romney Camp and Allies by Adele M. Stan at Alternet.org, July 26,2012


Corporate media largely ignored the subtext of Romney's earliest race-coded comments, and have been content to let more recent and blatant examples die after a day in the news cycle.

1. Mitt Romney's named campaign advisers want you to know that they had nothing, nada -- oops, didn't mean to use a foreign word -- to do with the assertion of an unnamed campaign adviser that Barack Obama just doesn't get that special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States on account of his father being from Kenya. From the Telegraph:

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.

2. Dog-whistling "Dixie."

Mitt Romney wants to " keep America America ." The dropping of one letter from the Ku Klux Klan’s slogan, “Keep America American,” does not remove the intent behind Romney’s repeated use of such a virulently bigoted phrase. While Mitt Romney can claim ignorance of the slogan’s origins, he is intentionally channeling its energy.


3. The "lazy Negro" theme. At the end of May, the Romney campaign rolled out a new campaign based around the theme, "Obama Isn't Working." It was a neat little double entendre, with a surface-level, grammatically tortured meaning that Obama's policies aren't working, while its grammatically correct meaning implied that the African American president is, well, shiftless -- a notion that is a persistent racial stereotype of American black people.


4. Using homophobia in a race-based, anti-Obama ploy.

As it turns out, this strategy has been less effective than partisans on either side would have predicted. Since Obama announced that he personally favors the legalization of same-sex marriage -- following an endorsement of same-sex marriage by the NAACP, African American opinion has moved significantly in the direction of approval of marriage equality


5. The booing strategy. And speaking of the NAACP, when one considers that Romney is still playing for the racially resentful Republican base, one has to view his seemingly hapless appearance before the civil rights group's national convention as a stroke of mastery. First of all, the kind of white people who are afraid of black people are likely to view one's appearance before a nearly all-black audience as an act of bravery. Secondly, if you say something that insults that black audience in a way that is lost on your target living-room white audience, one can be guaranteed a vociferous response from the black audience that will be viewed as impolite by the target scaredy-cat white audience. Roll 'em.

6. "Free stuff": the 21st-century "welfare queen." If you think I'm reading too much into the thinking behind Romney's NAACP strategy, consider what he told supporters at a fundraiser later that same day, when discussing the audience reaction to his speech. From my earlier report:

"I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy -- more free stuff," Romney said, according to a pool report. "But don't forget nothing is really free."

7. Subliminal reduction. ... Mitt Romney and his message gurus have displayed a diabolical cleverness in word choices that appear to be benign on the surface, but provoke a more precise and malevolent meaning, often subconsciously, in the minds of their target audience. And because of their subtle evocations -- nay, their inherent deniability -- of malicious content...


... I have been struck by the consistency with which Romney claims that Barack Obama "denigrates" things. He doesn't ever, in Romney's lexicon, "demean" these things, or "disparage" them: he "denigrates" them. Here's a bit from Romney's victory speech in Florida, from my AlterNet report:

"Like his colleagues in the faculty lounge who think they know better, President Obama demonizes and denigrates almost every sector of our economy," Romney said.

In Ohio earlier this month, Romney said:

“Barack Obama’s attempt to denigrate and diminish the achievement of the individual diminishes us all.”
Last week, speaking in New Hampshire, Romney twisted his own syntax into a pretzel in order to accommodate the insertion of that word, saying that Obama was "denigrating making America strong." Now, check out the etymology of the word "denigrate":

denigrate --1520s, from L. denigratus, pp. of denigrare "to blacken, defame," from de- "completely" (see de-) + nigr-, stem of niger "black" (see Negro). of unknown origin. "Apparently disused in 18th c. and revived in 19th c." [OED]. Related: Denigrated; denigrating.

8. Explaining America to the black guy. In a story that barely survived the 24-hour news cycle, Romney surrogate John Sununu, the former New Hampshire governor and chief of staff in the George H.W. Bush administration, said of Obama: "I wish this president would learn how to be an American."


9. Painting president with African father as "third world."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in his guise as Romney surrogate and running-mate hopeful, to describe Obama. As the Romney campaign's resident Latino, it was left to Rubio to challenge Obama's assessment of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez as not such a big threat to the U.S., as he did on July 11.

But after Sununu's stellar performance, Rubio, not to be upstaged, took to Twitter to compare Obama to Chavez and his ilk:

Listening to @barackobama wage #classwarfare in #Jacksonville #Florida.Parts of it sound like speech by left-wing 3rd world leader.#sayfie

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 19, 2012

10. "Foreigner" affairs. And in case those angry white people didn't get the message that Romney and his pals just "know" that the black president with the Kenyan father and the internationalist mother who says he's from Hawaii isn't, like, really from here...

11. Courting the birther vote.

...On the very day he hosted a fundraiser for Romney, casino owner, reality show star and failed presidential candidate Donald Trump took to the airwaves to assert the perennial trope Barack Obama's birth certificate is not authentic and that Obama is ineligible for the presidency. That didn't stop Romney from appearing at Trump's side later in the day. On his campaign plane, Romney told reporters, according to Reuters:
"You know, I don't agree with all the people who support me," Romney said. "My guess is they don't agree with everything I believe in. But I need to get 50.1 percent or more and I'm appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people."


12. Michele Bachmann's Islamophobic crusade

...Bachmann endorsed Romney, with the presidential candidate at her side, at a high-profile event in May, and Romney hasn't uttered a peep about the Tea Party leader's preposterous attack against State Department aide Huma Abedin, who Bachmann has suggested is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. (She also alleges a broader infiltration of the Brotherhood into the U.S. government.)

It's hardly a subtle attack; Obama has been a target of Islamophobes since it was learned that his father's family is Muslim. The timing of its revival seems geared to energize the anti-Muslim segment of the GOP base just in time for the election, and to stoke fears among swing voters.

Its not just a few Republicans such as John McCain, John Boener who publicly have decried Bachmann's Islamophobia Conspiracy Theory AKA Stealth Jihad but also a number of Christian religious groups.

Michele Bachmann's Muslim Brotherhood Claims Condemned By Catholic Bishops, 41 Other Groups by Amanda Terkel at Huffington Post, July 26,2012


WASHINGTON -- Forty-two religious and secular organizations united on Thursday in condemning conservative lawmakers' allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.


They directed their criticisms at Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who recently wrote to various government agencies and asked them to investigate the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In their letters, the lawmakers targeted top State Department official Huma Abedin and several advisers to the Department of Homeland Security.


"[W]e write to raise our voices in protest of your recent letters regarding prominent American Muslim individuals and organizations," the 42 organizations wrote in a letter to the lawmakers on Thursday. "These letters question the loyalty of faithful Americans based on nothing more than their religious affiliations and what is at best tenuous evidence of their associations. As such, your actions have serious implications for religious freedom and the health of our democracy."


The signatories include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often sides with Republicans on social issues, along with the Interfaith Alliance, American Civil Liberties Union, American Baptist Churches USA, NAACP and United Church of Christ.


"Far from supporting the safety of our country, these accusations distract us from examining legitimate threats using proven, evidence-based security strategies," the groups wrote. "Moreover, we know all too well the danger of casting suspicion on loyal and innocent Americans simply because they hold particular beliefs. We will not stand idly by and allow our country to revive federal investigations into innocent individuals based on their religious adherence."


The Anti-Defamation League has already condemned the lawmakers, calling their allegations "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."


The accusations stem from a report by the Center for Security Policy, a group run by Frank Gaffney, who has been crusading against the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia law for years.


Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have condemned their colleagues' accusations.


Sunday, July 29, 2012

America #FAIL...Families protest at Daley Center Plaza against police brutality - Chicago Sun-Times


Families protest at Daley Center Plaza against police brutality - Chicago Sun-Times:

'via Blog this'


The sister of a 15-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome who was fatally shot by Calumet City officers was among a group of 30 people who marched Saturday at Daley Center Plaza to protest police brutality.

“The police were called to the house for a disturbance, and two police officers pretty much shot and killed him,” said Renee Watts, sister of Stephon Watts. Watts was among one of several families at the protest who claimed their relatives were victimized by police. The demonstration was organized by a group called the Illinois Campaign to End the New Jim Crow.

At the time of the Feb. 1 shooting, Calumet City Police said Stephon Watts had lunged at officers with a knife, cutting one in the forearm. Renee Watts said Saturday that the knife was a butter knife.

Officers had been called to the home 10 times for domestic disturbances involving the teen — usually, when he was off his medication — and many of those incidents were violent, according to Calumet City Police.

Less than two months before he was shot, police said, officers responded to a report that the youth had punched his mother in the face. In that case, he tried to cut them with a knife, and officers used a Taser to subdue him, according to Calumet City Police.

“The police officers knew Stephon,” his sister said.

The family has filed a lawsuit in the case. Asperger’s syndrome is sometimes referred to as a form of high-functioning autism. People with Asperger’s often are of high intelligence but struggle with social skills.


"A collaborative investigation launched by law clinics at four top universities has assembled damning evidence of widespread misconduct."



14 Specific Allegations of NYPD Brutality During Occupy Wall Street by Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic, JUL 25 2012



An investigation undertaken by law clinics at NYU, Fordham, Harvard, and Stanford has concluded, after eight months of study, that the NYPD abused Occupy Wall Street protesters and violated their rights on numerous occasions during the 2011 protests that radiated out from Zuccotti Park. Their report, Suppressing Protest: Human Rights Violations in the U.S. Response to Occupy Wall Street, was released today. It focuses on transgressions against international law...

...The report concludes that "In U.S. cities with significant abuse allegations and no major reviews of police practice, including New York City, independent official reviews are urgently needed to assess past practice ...." It's difficult to disagree with that conclusion, especially given all the video footage available to adjudicate some of the incidents at issue. More detailed reports about police misconduct during Occupy protests in other cities are on the way.

Police Brutality Anaheim PD Kills A Man With Hands Still Behind His Back

Published on 23 Jul 2012 by OperationLeakS
Manuel Diaz was shot and killed by Anaheim PD July 22 2012. As you can see from the footage he died with his hands still behind his back... The Anaheiem PD later tried to buy the footage you are now looking at http://rt.com/usa/news/anaheim-police-brutality-evidence-buying-812/ This is a Mirror of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIwjUQYnWMM by AnaheimWatch.




Anaheim Police Brutality sparks Outrage after 2 Latinos shot dead and Demonstrators attacked

Published on 24 Jul 2012 by Sundrumify
Further informations about topics addressed are available in favourites, play lists on my channel and complementary video responses. Published with the permission of "DemocracyNow.org - Police in the California city of Anaheim are facing allegations of murder and brutality after fatally shooting two Latino men over the weekend and firing rubber bullets at crowds of protestors.

On Saturday, Anaheim police shot and killed 24-year-old Manuel Diaz after he reportedly ran away from a group of officers who confronted him in the street. Diaz was unarmed. Hours after his death, a chaotic scene broke out when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at a crowd of local residents protesting the shooting. Another Latino resident, Joel Acevedo, was shot dead by police the following day.

Police say Acevedo was suspected in a car robbery, but the circumstances around his death remain unconfirmed. We discuss the situation in Anaheim with Gustavo Arellano, editor of the alternative newspaper, OC Weekly; and Teresa Smith, who has worked with families to call for police accountability in Anaheim since 2009, when officers shot and killed her son Cesar Cruz, a 35-year-old father of five. "Given the fact that this is the eighth officer-involved shooting within one year in the city of Anaheim ... the community's going to be very upset," Arellano says. "There's a lot of angry residents, and rightfully so."





Police Brutality and The Citizens' weapon the Videotaping/vidphones
From The Truth Be known Revolution video which I edited as a movie trailer-





Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Real America Unleashing Dogs on Protesters :ANAHEIM & Dallas POLICE SHOOTINGs SPARKS PROTESTS



Anaheim protesters demand investigation of police brutality

Published on 24 Jul 2012 by RTAmerica
Recently a chain of police violence has broken out on the streets of Anaheim, California. After police officers shot at an unarmed man on Saturday, non-violent protests erupted and women and children were targeted by the cops. Police were filmed abusing their power again, letting a dog loose on a woman with a baby and attacking other unarmed civilians with rubber bullets. On Sunday, the Anaheim PD executed their second person in only two days. By Tuesday afternoon, the Southern California city was preparing to see it's fourth straight day of protests. RT's Ramon Galindo brings the latest from the ground.




Deadly Officer-Involved Shootings Spark Anaheim Police Protests


Published on 24 Jul 2012 by TheYoungTurks
"Police have stepped up patrols in preparation for more protests after two deadly shootings by police officers over the weekend, including one of an unarmed man that sparked fiery clashes just a few miles up the road from Disneyland. On Tuesday, the man's family filed a civil rights lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages from the city of Anaheim and its police department, claiming 25-year-old Manuel Diaz was wrongfully shot, said lawyer James Rumm. A protest was planned in front of City Hall for Tuesday afternoon by residents who question what made officers resort to deadly force and later crack down on demonstrators by firing pepper-spray projectiles and bean bag rounds. The killing of Diaz and another man have taken the tally of shootings by police officers to six so far this year in this Orange County city, up from four a year before, said police Sgt. Bob Dunn. Five of the incidents have been fatal...".* Cenk Uygur, and former prosecutor Steve Oh discuss on The Young Turks.

*Read more here from AMY TAXIN and GILLIAN FLACCUS via AP/Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/anaheim-police-protest_n_1698091.html

Support The Young Turks by Subscribing http://bit.ly/TYTonYouTube




Dallas residents protest police brutality

Published on 25 Jul 2012 by RTAmerica
As the mainstream media catches up to the chaos in Anaheim, similar outrage is brewing in Dallas - hundreds of protesters there have been taking to the streets after an officer shot and killed a suspect that reportedly was unarmed. According to police, the victim - James Harper -was shot after leading cops on a chase. The officer claims though that he feared for his life. Some protesters believe it was racially motivated and is
just one example of a corrupt police force. Anna Merlan of the Dallas Observer joins RT's Liz Wahl for an update.

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San Francisco ignores the on going problems with "Stop and Frisk" in New York the mayor wants to institute this racist policy of "Stop and Frisk" which has been used mainly to harass and intimidate Black and Latino males.

"This Is What Racial Profiling Looks Like" SF Mayor Uses Aurora Shooting To Justify Stop And Frisk

Published on 27 Jul 2012 by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
July 27, 2012 MSNBC News
http://MOXNews.com




Friday, July 27, 2012

OlympicUpdates:Police Brutality Event: Policeman assault and pepper-spray disabled man



Irony of tribute to people Power and the British People and yet those outside stadium arrested and beaten for driving bicycles through London as they do last Friday of every month organized by CriticalMass.org


critical mass cyclists arrested & beaten outside Olympic ceremony 27 july 2012

#OWS Update NYPD Sytematic Suppression Of #OWS Human Rights and Bill Moyers and Amy Goodman On The Need For Better Gun Control Laws & Romney /GOP Racist Dog-Whistles


OWS Update:

Report released chastises NYPD for their abuses of the basic human rights of #OWS

...“The abusive practices documented in this report violate international law and suppress and chill protest rights, not only by undermining individual liberty, but also by causing both minor and serious physical injuries, inhibiting collective debate and the capacity to effectively press for social and economic change, and making people afraid to attend otherwise peaceful assemblies.”

Above quote from:
Did the NYPD Break International Law in Suppressing Protest?
A new report just out documents how the NYPD used excessive force, arrested reporters, and concludes that police broke international law in their handling of Occupy
.July 25, 2012



The Romney campaign got the memo: Race-baiting and xenophobia work -- at least among the segment of the electorate former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney hopes to capture in his quest for the presidency.

Above quote from: Romney Campaign's Race-Baiting Strategy Could Have Dire Consequences for America Romney's strategy has incorporated racial and cultural cues, both subtle and blatant, as a means of deflection from the Obama campaign's questions about Bain Capital. by Adele M. Stan at Alternet.org ,July 22, 2012

we have become so gun loving, so gun crazy, so blasé about home-grown violence that far more Americans have been casualties of domestic gunfire than have died in all our wars combined...


...We are fooling ourselves. Fooling ourselves that the law could allow even an inflamed lunatic to easily acquire murderous weapons and not expect murderous consequences. Fooling ourselves that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of a “well-regulated militia” be construed as a God-given right to purchase and own just about any weapon of destruction you like, a license for murder and mayhem. A great fraud has entered our history.

Above quote by Bill Moyers from:
Colorado Shootings: Latest Evidence That America Is Poisoned by the NRA's Dark Gun Culture
There are some 300 million guns in the United States, one in four adult Americans owns at least one and most of them are men.by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship at Alternet.com, July 20, 2012


Today's Topics:

#OWS update NYPD accused of suppressing the basic human rights of Occupy participants

#Romney's Uses racism to appeal to Republican base

# more calls for gun control: Amy Goodman and Bill Moyers

OWS Update

International human rights advocates condemn NYPD for its total disregard for the basic human rights as defined by International Law of Occupy participants.
Obama and Romney ignore the issue per usual.

As president of the United States Obama is supposed to uphold its constitution and Bill of Rights and any international laws including those on human rights which the USA has signed unto.

The problem is that President Obama has followed the ignoble path of former President George W. Bush in ignoring US laws and international laws on human rights when it did or does not fit with unilateral US policies such as redefining torture , redefining who constitutes a POW or Enemy Combatant and how they are to be treated,the use of indefinite detention, the use of prolonged solitary confinement attacking the rights of a free-press ,the right of citizens to peacefully protest and air their grievances and undermining legal constructs and practices which have centuries old tradition such as Habeas Corpus , the right to a fair trial, the right to face one's accusers or the obligations the government has to those incarcerated to provide prisoners with food and medical care and so forth .

Did the NYPD Break International Law in Suppressing Protest? A new report just out documents how the NYPD used excessive force, arrested reporters, and concludes that police broke international law in their handling of Occupy.July 25, 2012


A report by a group of civil and human rights attorneys released Wednesday morning paints the clearest picture yet of the New York City police department’s aggressive tactics and over-policing, all of which resulted in the systemic suppression of the basic rights of Occupy protesters.

The report, which chronicles events from late September 2011 up to July of 2012, extensively documents numerous ways in which the NYPD acted with excessive force, attempted to intimidate and harass members of the press, expelled activists from public space due to the content of their speech, and ultimately concludes that authorities broke international law in their handling of Occupy Wall Street.

The executive summary states, in plain language:

“The abusive practices documented in this report violate international law and suppress and chill protest rights, not only by undermining individual liberty, but also by causing both minor and serious physical injuries, inhibiting collective debate and the capacity to effectively press for social and economic change, and making people afraid to attend otherwise peaceful assemblies.”

The executive summary states, in plain language:

“The abusive practices documented in this report violate international law and suppress and chill protest rights, not only by undermining individual liberty, but also by causing both minor and serious physical injuries, inhibiting collective debate and the capacity to effectively press for social and economic change, and making people afraid to attend otherwise peaceful assemblies.”


Mitt Romney in his campaign against President Obama has taken to using racial stereotypes to appeal to a large portion of the Republican base who are racist.
Romney has attacked Obama supporters as just being interested in getting more free stuff ie Obamacare ,welfare, extended unemployment benefits etc.

His use of overt racism and the more fine tuned use of racist Dog-Whistles/ code words to appeal to voters if anything should in fact undermine his appeal to more moderate voters who may be uncomfortable voting for a candidate who uses the race card against Obama.

Romney Campaign's Race-Baiting Strategy Could Have Dire Consequences for America Romney's strategy has incorporated racial and cultural cues, both subtle and blatant, as a means of deflection from the Obama campaign's questions about Bain Capital. by Adele M. Stan at Alternet.org ,July 22, 2012

The Romney campaign got the memo: Race-baiting and xenophobia work -- at least among the segment of the electorate former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney hopes to capture in his quest for the presidency.

Over the course of the last two weeks, Romney's strategy has incorporated racial and cultural cues, both subtle and blatant, as a means of deflection from the Obama campaign's relentless offensive based on questions about Romney's tenure at Bain Capital...

... Romney, an elite member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has suffered difficulties from the start among elements of the Republican base, especially right-wing Christian evangelicals, who view Mormonism as a cult and doubt Romney's conservative bona fides, especially on abortion, given the fact that he was, at one time, pro-choice.

Searching for a theme that would unify the base of the Republican Party, the Romney camp sought to find its footing in voter sentiment verified this week in a Washington Post/ABC News poll: Race-based reservations about Obama trump religion-based reservations about Romney.

In short, the theme boiled down to this: remind those core voters that the stakes in this election include another four years with a black guy in the White House -- and you know what those people are like.

The poll, conducted by Langer Research, found that among the non-black adults it surveyed, 62 percent "think blacks in their community don’t experience racial discrimination ...

Romney's most recent spate of race plays began with his visit to the NAACP convention, where he dangled some bait in front of an almost all-black audience that had, up until that point, received him politely.

He had to know that trotting out his "promise to repeal Obamacare" line would generate a negative response, and the audience delivered with a chorus of boos -- just as he had to know that his right-wing base would love to watch that video clip on instant replay. And when he patronizingly asserted himself as the best candidate "for African American families," Romney was clearly playing to the the white Republican base, whose leaders often express purported knowledge of what's best for black people.

His intention became clear when, later that day, Romney referred to the disapproval aimed his way at the NAACP event. "I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy -- more free stuff"...

As Amy Goodman in her recent article explains that better gun control laws may not have prevented the latest Mass Murder they might have reduced the carnage by regulating and banning assault rifles and large gun magazines.

" US gun laws: guilty by reason of insanity James Holmes bought his weaponry with relative ease. If better gun control laws were in place, perhaps fewer would have died" By Amy Goodman at The Guardian .co.uk, July 26, 2012

Holmes allegedly had an AR-15, equipped with a 100-round drum magazine, as well as one or two Glock pistols with 40-round extended magazines and a Remington 870 shotgun that can fire up to seven shells without reloading. The AR-15 can fire from 50 to 60 rounds per minute. Holmes had a massive arsenal, easily acquired at retail stores and online.

Carolyn McCarthy is a member of Congress from Long Island, NY. Her husband was shot in the head and among the six killed in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre. Her son also was shot in the head, but survived and remains partially paralyzed. She was a nurse back then, but when her congressman voted against the assault-weapons ban, she ran against him. She won and has been in Congress ever since.

McCarthy has introduced HR 308, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act. It would ban the sale or transfer of these large-capacity clips that enabled the massive casualties in Aurora, and in Tucson, Arizona, in January 2011 when Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot and six were killed.

McCarthy told me: "The problem is, politicians, legislators across this country are intimidated by the NRA and the gun manufacturers who put so much money out there to say that 'we will take you down in an election if you go against us.' Common sense will say we can take prudent gun-safety legislation and try to save people's lives. That is the bottom line."

One group pushing the large-magazine ban is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, named for Jim Brady, who was shot in the head and severely disabled during the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. I spoke with Colin Goddard, who works for the group. He survived the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, where 32 people were killed. Goddard was shot four times. I asked him about the refrain so commonly uttered now on television, that it's political opportunism to discuss gun control before the Aurora victims are even buried.

"This conversation should have happened before this shooting in the first place," Goddard replied. "This is when people are outraged. This is when people realize that this could happen to them. We cannot wait ... Now is the time for a change. We are better than this."

Bill Moyers wonders aloud about why Americans in general and the Media act surprised each time a new mass murder is committed in America when the US has a Wild West style Gun culture which encourages citizens to buy more guns and body armour in a futile attempt to protect themselves from their fellow citizens. USA is stuck in a vicious irrational cycle of violence the more mass murders the more gun sales go up and is then followed by more mass murders.


Colorado Shootings: Latest Evidence That America Is Poisoned by the NRA's Dark Gun Culture
There are some 300 million guns in the United States, one in four adult Americans owns at least one and most of them are men.by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship at Alternet.com, July 20, 2012



You might think Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of and spokesman for the mighty American gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, has an almost cosmic sense of timing. In 2007, at the NRA’s annual convention in St. Louis, he warned the crowd that, “Today, there is not one firearm owner whose freedom is secure.” Two days later, a young man opened fire on the campus of Virginia Tech, killing 32 students, staff and teachers.

Just last week LaPierre showed up at the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty here in New York and spoke out against what he called “anti-freedom policies that disregard American citizens’ right to self-defense.” Now at least 12 are dead in Aurora, Colorado, gunned down at a showing of the new film, “The Dark Knight Rises,” a Batman movie filled with make-believe violence. One of the guns the shooter reportedly used was an AK-47 type assault weapon that was banned in 1994. The NRA pressured Congress to let the ban run out in 2004.


So why do we always act so surprised? Violence is our alter ego, wired into our Stone Age brains, so intrinsic its toxic eruptions no longer shock, except momentarily when we hear of a mass shooting like this latest in Colorado. But this, too, will pass as the nation of the short attention span quickly finds the next thing to divert us from the hard realities of America in 2012.

We are a country which began with the forced subjugation into slavery of millions of Africans and the reliance on arms against Native Americans for its westward expansion. In truth, more settlers traveling the Oregon Trail died from accidental, self-inflicted gunshots wounds than Indian attacks – we were not only bloodthirsty but also inept.

Nonetheless, we have become so gun loving, so gun crazy, so blas̩ about home-grown violence that far more Americans have been casualties of domestic gunfire than have died in all our wars combined. In Arizona last year, just days after the Gabby Giffords shooting, sales of the weapon used in the slaughter Рa 9 millimeter Glock semi-automatic pistol Рdoubled.

We are fooling ourselves. Fooling ourselves that the law could allow even an inflamed lunatic to easily acquire murderous weapons and not expect murderous consequences. Fooling ourselves that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of a “well-regulated militia” be construed as a God-given right to purchase and own just about any weapon of destruction you like, a license for murder and mayhem. A great fraud has entered our history.




Thursday, July 26, 2012

Wild West Returns : "Stand Your Ground" Pro-Gun "No Retreat " Laws Promoted By NRA ,GOP, Tea Party ,Mitt Romney And Other Pro-Gun Lobbyists


America's murder rate is among the highest in the world and the NRA, ALEC and the GOP and Mitt Romney want even more lax gun laws giving all American citizens the right to bare arms including assault weapons with armour piercing bullets .
So one can easily imagine an America where everybody has a hand gun at least while in public places while many others would have an assault rifle slung over their shoulder or even an UZI or other small machine gun.

Once these pro-gun laws are passed each state that has such laws should be required to post these laws at the border crossings of each of these states.
They further should be required to inform all potential travellers including tourists that these states do not have regulate fire-arms laws but rather a pro-anarchist style laws regarding fire-arms.
Since over 25 states have these pro-gun laws travellers coming from outside the USA should be in no uncertain terms be fore warned about such laws long before they leave their country of origin.

Travel agencies in America and in other nations should be required to let their potential customers know about such laws . This information should not be merely presented to potential travellers in a bit of fine prints but written in large print on brochures , guide books , or other media commercials aimed at tourists from outside the USA.

So their solution as said previously is to arm all Citizens of America and allow them to use assault weapons and wear full body armour in any public place or what have you where it is legal for a person to be so this includes movie theaters , malls, bars, Casinos, schools, universities, libraries , the local coffe shop or diner, churches, Synagogues, Mosques, on subways and public buses , trains , on public beaches and parks and so forth.

"No duty to retreat" aka " Stand Your Ground Laws "
If an individuals feels threatened even in a public place they have the right to not retreat and to stand their ground and use deadly force if they feel threatened.
A return to the romantacized wild west years in America

In Florida and other parts of the American Southern states the pro-gun organization is that of the "Unified sportsmen of America" organization which is equivalent to the NRA National Riflemen Association and other pro-gun organizations and lobbyists.

For some reason the logic of the NRA and pro-gun fanatics they somehow believe that those who carry these weapons will act responsibly. But the way these "Stand Your Ground" laws are written the person who feels threatened is given the benefit of the doubt if they shoot and wound or even kill someone because "they had a feeling".
No more proof or legal justification is necessary.

So if the individual feels threatened whenever people of a different colour come close to them they are in their right to blast away and not worry about killing other innocent citizens who happened to be in the way of the bullets being sprayed around by the person supposedly defending themselves with an assault weapon shooting a hundred rounds a minute.

25 States Use Identical Language in "Stand Your Ground" Laws

Published on 12 Jul 2012 by PRWatch
PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton, June 11, 2012: Rev. Al Sharpton points out that the language "no duty to retreat" is used in 25 different "Stand Your Ground" laws, and that this is not a coincidence. ALEC and NRA have used Florida's bill as a template across the country. Adam Weinstein of Mother Jones, and Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy discuss the relationship between ALEC and the NRA.




Studies Show More People Shot to Death with ALEC/NRA “Stand Your Ground” Laws by Harriet Rowan at The Center For Media and Democracy's PRWatch,July 10, 2012

Two recent studies have found that so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws lead to more deaths. These findings contradict some claims made by right-wing politicians that have pushed these bills into law, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). These laws have come under increased scrutiny since Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law was initially cited to protect Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private non-profit and the largest economics research organization in the United States, recently released a working paper that examines the claims of those who say "Stand Your Ground" laws make our streets safer, and concludes that states that pass Stand Your Ground laws see a combined increase of between 4 and 8 additional deaths each month. Researchers from Texas A&M University also released a study last month finding states that passed the laws saw an increase in homicides between 7 and 9 percent annually, which amounts to between 500 and 700 homicides cumulatively, with no drop in violent crime rates.

As the Center for Media and Democracy has reported, Florida passed a "Stand Your Ground" law in 2005 at the behest of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its lobbyist Marion Hammer. Hammer promptly brought the law to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where it was adopted unanimously as a "model" bill. ALEC and the NRA then helped promote its passage in statehouses around the country.

The laws alter the common law "Castle Doctrine" that for decades has recognized a right of self-defense in one's home. The ALEC/NRA model bill changes state law from recognizing a right to assert self-defense in front of a jury, to one that grants legal immunity in criminal or civil cases for people who claim they believed the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or grave harm to themselves or others. The laws make it harder to prosecute killings and make it more difficult for a victim's family to pursue a civil case.

Florida State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), an ALEC member and a sponsor of the 2005 "Stand Your Ground" bill, said in an interview shortly after the passage of the law that by passing the law, "I hope to minimize the number of victims, that's what I'm after." Earlier this year, speaking on the Lehrer News Hour, Rep. Baxley claimed that the law has "saved thousands of people's lives."

"Stand Your Ground" Laws Equal More Deaths

Chandler B. McClellan and Erdal Tekin, the authors of the NBER working paper, found that the law's provision that extends the doctrine "to any place a person has a legal right to be ... causes the increase in homicides." They looked at the 18 states that closely followed the ALEC/NRA "model" bill and extended immunity to people who use force anywhere they have a "right to be," and compared them to states that passed versions of the law without such provisions.

McClellan and Tekin claim their analysis ruled out other explanations for their findings, such as national homicide rates. "Trends in homicide rates are fairly similar across states that passed SYG laws and those that did not prior to passage of these laws," they wrote.

In the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing, issues of race surrounded the controversial "Stand Your Ground" laws (Martin was African-American and his killer George Zimmerman is a white Hispanic). However, McClellan and Tekin found that Stand Your Ground laws primarily result in an increase in firearm-related deaths among whites, particularly white males. "We find no evidence these laws cause an increase in homicides among blacks," the authors wrote.

Another Study Finds Similar Increase in Homicide and No Drop in Other Crimes

Researchers Cheng Cheng and Mark Hoekstra of Texas A&M's Department of Economics conducted a similar analysis, and considered whether the laws reduce annual homicides and crime rates based on FBI Uniform Crime Reports (McClellan and Tekin used monthly data from the U.S. Vital Statistics).

Cheng and Hoekstra stated: "We find the [Stand Your Ground] laws increase murder and manslaughter by a statistically significant 7 to 9 percent, which translates into an additional 500 to 700 homicides per year nationally across the states that adopted [the laws]." Additionally, the authors said they found "no evidence of deterrence effects on burglary, robbery, or aggravated assault."

The laws "do not appear to offer any hidden spillover benefit to society at large," the report says.

Florida has created a special commission to review the state's Stand Your Ground law, but according to statements made by politicians defending the law so far, it appears that the NRA's rhetoric about the law continues to be deployed without regard to the empirical evidence about the actual effects of the laws. Not surprisingly, Florida's commission is stacked with ALEC members.


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mitt Romney's Flip-Flopping on Gun Control and NRA Versus US Citizens :Gun Sales Up In USA After Movie Massacre But Little Discussion About Regulating Guns in The USA


As for Mitt Romney's flip-flopping on gun control while governor of Massachusetts
As governor of Massachusetts, he signed the first permanent state ban on assault weapons.


“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said at the bill-signing ceremony in 2004, according to a news release issued by the governor’s office at the time. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

above quote via : Colorado shooting renews focus on Romney's gun-control stance
By Seema Mehta at LA Times, July 22,2012


The fact is that the NRA and other gun lobbyists are not concerned about the deaths of innocent citizens what they care about is having gun manufacturers maximize their profits. Gun Control for them and their cowed politicians is a matter of cutting into their profit share and for the politicians votes and campaign contributions.

As we have seen in the past week President Obama is absolutely on the side of the Gun Manufacturers and pro-gun lobbyists and the NRA and he is not on the side of the citizenry of the USA.
No one expects Mitt Romney to be in favour of any sort real gun control because he is a republican and believes every citizen should be armed .

If Gun ownership is an absolute right for each and every American shouldn't the NRA and GOP be lobbying for a gunfare program that is to supply at least a small hand gun to those who can't afford to purchase a gun or at least make the purchase of a gun a tax write-off or have federal vouchers for people to buy guns???-

So is corporate interests in a 60 billion dollar arms industry crushing any chance of real gun control in America.

America is no.1 in the world in number of deaths /murders by guns.
Over 9,000 are murdered in USA per year.
While Canada which has tougher gun control has just over 200 gun related deaths. If corrected for population this would mean a death toll of over 2000 deaths.
That's a far cry from the deaths toll of 9,000 in the USA.

Inside Story Americas - Does the US need stricter gun control laws

Published on 21 Jul 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

Not again - that was the cry of many Americans when they turned on their morning news on Friday. At least 12 people were killed and dozens wounded when a man wearing a gas mask and body armour opened fire and tossed a tear gas cannister into a cinema auditorium in the town of Aurora in Colorado. People were watching a midnight showing of the latest Batman movie, The Dark Night Rises. A 24-year-old former student named James Holmes was arrested shortly after. Police officers recovered four guns including a rifle, a shotgun and two glock handguns.

This latest shooting took place just 30km away from Columbine High School where 13 people were shot dead by two students in 1999. For many Americans the right to bear arms is regarded as an essential freedom protected by the second amendment of the constitution. Politicians have been reluctant even to call for tougher gun control laws.

But in a country where nearly 9,000 were murdered with guns in 2010, could that be about to change? Does the US need tough gun control laws? Inside Story Americas, with presenter Anand Naidoo, is joined by guests: Colin Goddard, who survived the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and works for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Hubert Williams, the president of the Police Foundation who also chairs the National Law Enforcement Partnership to prevent gun violence; and Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the Second Amendent Foundation who argues for the rights of Americans to bear arms.




So after the Aurora Movie Massacre Americans are buying even more guns-What a country? But you would think there would be more discussion over gun control.

The thing of it is that the shooter in Aurora used a semi-automatic assault rifle not a six shooter hand gun.

So the discussion should begin by asking whether citizens need to own or be permitted to own assault rifles or even heavy duty body armour . Should they be permitted to own 6,000 rounds of bullets .

Having more regulations does not mean citizens would not be allowed to purchase guns but rather certain types of weapons and quantity of bullets.

And it seems the USA needs to have better laws on the books about back ground checks of those wishing to purchase guns.

And yet Mitt Romney and Obama are keeping mum over gun control.

Others argue that after such an horrendous shooting it should not be politicized especially it appears by those in favour of better gun control then when is a good time to discuss the issue .

Instead what we mainly hear is the Talking Points and propaganda of the NRA who claim the problem is not guns and that if more people had guns there would be fewer murders in the USA. This is a load of crap but still US politicians are afraid to go up against the NRA and other pro-gun groups. Obama fears for instance he might lose votes if he goes on a crusade for better regulations on guns in America. So the facts and the reality of gun violence in the USA is ignored by these spineless do nothing politicians who are cowed by the NRA .

So my prediction is that the USA will just continue to have these Mass Murders . And if so either call for better gun control and stop the hand wringing and the Media and public's faux disingenuous shock each time another Mass Murder takes place.

As for our country that is Canada we need better control at our border with the USA to stop these guns from entering our country from the USA.

"Aurora theater shooting: Gun sales up since tragedy Firearm interest spikes as some seek protection" by Sara Burnett, the Denver Post July 23/updated July 25 2012

Background checks for people wanting to buy guns in Colorado jumped more than 41 percent after Friday morning's shooting at an Aurora movie theater, and firearms instructors say they're also seeing increased interest in the training required for a concealed-carry permit.

"It's been insane," Jake Meyers, an employee at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo in Parker, said Monday. When he arrived at work Friday morning — just hours after a gunman killed 12 and injured 58 others at the Century Aurora 16 theater — there already were 15 to 20 people waiting outside the store, Meyers said. He called Monday "probably the busiest Monday all year" and said the basic firearms classes that he and the store's owner teach are booked solid for the next three weeks, something that hadn't happened all year. "A lot of it is people saying, 'I didn't think I needed a gun, but now I do,' " Meyers said. "When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — 'Hey, I go to the movies.' "

Between Friday and Sunday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm — a 43 percent increase over the previous Friday through Sunday and a 39 percent jump over those same days on the first weekend of July. The biggest spike was on Friday, when there were 1,216 checks, a 43 percent increase over the average number for the previous two Fridays.




also see :

Gun sales surge following Colorado shooting from AP via CTVnews.ca

And as Joy Strickland who lost her son to gun violence argues that for all the hand wringing going on after such tragedies the probability is that new regulations on gun control will not even be considered by politicians for fear of losing votes or campaign contributions.

When will the US get real gun control? Despite the US history of mass shootings, lobbies with deep pockets will continue to block sensible gun legislation. By
Joy Strickland via AlJazeera ,24 Jul 2012


According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, there have been 60 mass shootings in the United States since the January 8, 2011, massacre in Tucson, Arizona.

No new legislation

Not one piece of legislation has passed in the wake of those shootings. In fact, earlier this year the National Rifle Association (NRA) attempted to weaken already permissive gun laws in Colorado, by backing a bill that would have eliminated the state's background check system. The bill passed the Republican-controlled House, but stalled in the Senate, controlled by Democrats.


Does the US need stricter gun control laws?
The NRA opposes sensible gun laws. Criminal background checks, waiting periods, and bans on assault weapons are an abomination in their eyes. In 2010, the NRA's clout was bolstered when the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the second amendment provides individuals with a fundamental right to bear arms that cannot be abridged by federal or state governments.

The NRA reports annual revenues exceeding $250m. They are masters at cashing in on fear and intolerance under the guise of protecting the right to bear arms. And their influence over gun policy is peerless. During the 2010 election cycle, the NRA spent more than $7.2m to primarily support Republican candidates and oppose Democrats, according to OpenSecrets.

They say guns don't kill people; people kill people. But there can be no doubt that guns make killing throngs of people relatively easy.

The NRA also claims that the president wants to take away your guns. That couldn't be further from the truth. In January 2010, the Brady Campaign gave President Obama a failing grade on gun laws. According to the report card: "President Obama signed legislation letting people carry concealed weapons in national parks and in checked luggage on Amtrak trains, adopted the gun lobby's empty rhetoric about just 'enforcing the laws on the books', muzzled Cabinet members who expressed any support for stronger gun laws and failed to appoint permanent leadership at the agency that polices the gun industry. This White House even voiced no objection to people carrying guns near presidential events."

Preventing gun violence

Of course, no amount of legislation can prevent gun violence. With cash and the right connections, guns, like drugs, are readily available in most communities. Personal responsibility has an important role to play. Gratuitous violence in the media should not be ignored. If mental health services were as accessible as firearms, then we could all breathe easier.

Despite these challenges, there is a strong case to be made for reasonable gun laws. It is unfortunate that the NRA's stranglehold on federal and state lawmakers prevents the conversation from taking place. Fear of being targeted by the NRA has silenced too many politicians who know in their hearts that gun control is a better way.


And Mitt Romney over the years has flip flopped over gun control as he courted the NRA and other pro-gun lobbyists to get their campaign funding contributions and to appeal to the Tea Party crowd and other gun nuts.

" Colorado shooting renews focus on Romney's gun-control stance " By Seema Mehta at LA Times, July 22,2012

And Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is sure to face scrutiny, given the varied positions he has taken about the legality of assault weapons, as well as gun control in general.

As governor of Massachusetts, he signed the first permanent state ban on assault weapons.

“Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts,” Romney said at the bill-signing ceremony in 2004, according to a news release issued by the governor’s office at the time. “These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

The law mirrored a federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 and has not been renewed. When Romney ran for president in 2008, he offered conflicting statements, saying that as president he would have signed a law renewing the federal ban. But he also said he did not believe any new gun restriction laws were necessary.

“I do not support any new legislation of an assault weapon ban nature, including that against semiautomatic weapons,” Romney said during a Florida debate in 2008. “I instead believe that we have laws in place that, if they’re implemented and enforced, will provide the protection and the safety of the American people.”

That is the same stance he holds today.

“Gov. Romney believes that the best way to prevent gun violence is to vigorously enforce our laws,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Saturday.

The AR-15 police say was used in the theater shooting is a semiautomatic rifle that is modeled on the military M-16. Versions of it were banned in the Massachusetts and federal laws, though there were loopholes that allowed modified AR-15s to be legally sold under both laws. The manufacturer and details of the AR-15 recovered in Aurora, Colo., have yet to be revealed. The high-capacity magazine that police said Holmes purchased before the shooting remains illegal in Massachusetts under the law Romney signed and was prohibited under the federal ban that expired.

Specifics of the weapons aside, the tragedy renews focus on Romney’s broader shift on gun control.

When Romney ran against Sen. Edward Kennedy in Massachusetts in 1994, he backed gun-control measures strongly opposed by the gun-rights lobby, including the Brady Bill. He told reporters then that he didn’t “line up” with the National Rifle Assn., and he pledged not to chip away at gun control laws in Massachusetts.

“That’s not going to make me the hero of the NRA,” he said in an interview with the Boston Herald then.

He has changed his tone as he sought the highest office in the land, joining the group as a “lifetime member” in 2006.

“It’s great to be with so many friends from the National Rifle Association. This fine organization is sometimes called a single-issue group. That’s high praise when the single issue is freedom,” Romney said at an NRA convention last April. “All of you can be proud of your long and unwavering defense of our constitutional rights and liberties.”

For his part, President Obama has done little to press for gun control measures, bowing to the political opposition that has struck at any elected official who has pressed to limit access to guns.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mitt Romney and The Bain Connection to Brutal anti-democratic Regimes and "Death Squads " & #FAIL : Mitt's Crony Capitalism Attack on Obama Misfires


I went down to the market
Where all the people shop
I pulled out my machete
And I began to chop
I went down to the park
Where all the children play
I took out my machine gun
And I began to spray

---Chant taught to U.S. troops to march to when they are in basic training
Quote from Veterans and Soldiers Against The War via The WE



Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or
a communist dictatorship.

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
Quote attributed to Hermann Goering from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/hermann_goering/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is no real surprise that As a true blue American and capitalist and Christian /Mormon Mitt Romney of course supports authoritarian and brutally oppressive regimes that are friendly to American businesses and are extremeley anti-labor & anti-Union.

Thom Hartmann and guest Mike Papantonio discuss Mitt Romney's company's ties to "death squads" in El Salvadore and his support for various Latin American brutal anti-democratic regimes from the 1980s and beyond..

Hartmann also discusses Romney's wife unfortunate use of the term "you people" with Mike Papantonio which Papantonio says being from the South himself the term "you people" is used as an insult characterizing others as somehow beneath the speakers contempt.


The Bain and Mitt Romney Connection to Death Squads...

Published on 20 Jul 2012 by TheBigPictureRT

Mike Papantonio, Attorney, Host, Ring of Fire Radio joins Thom Hartmann. We already know Mitt Romney's run for the Presidency has received financial help from Chinese gangs - but now it turns out he's got past connections to El Salvadorian death squads too.

Can Romney stay in the presidential race with new bombshells dropping every day?



Thom Hartmann
We're #1 in Billionaires but not in Top 10 for Median Wealth

Published on 20 Jul 2012 by TheBigPictureRT
America likes to think of itself as the richest nation on the planet. It's basically considered common knowledge - which country is the richest on earth? America, of course! We hear it from our politicians, our school teachers, or news media. And looking strictly at total combined wealth, we are the richest....by a lot.

According to a 2011 study by Allianz - the United States has over $41 trillion in combined wealth. Second is Japan - with far less than half the wealth of the United States at just over $14 trillion. So we're number one right?!

Well, not exactly...Our nation's combined wealth IS astronomically high. But that's only because there are a heck of a lot of billionaires living here.

In fact, about a third of the world's billionaires live in America. That's 412 billionaires that live in America - and second on the list is China with only 115 billionaires.

So our total wealth is inflated by all the billionaires that live here. If you want a true measure of how wealthy the United States ACTUALLY is - then you have to look at median wealth, or how much Americans in the middle are making. Under that criteria - the United

States doesn't even crack the top ten in the world. According to a report by Credit Suisse, 15 OECD nations have a higher median wealth than the United States. That includes nations like Australia, Japan, and Israel. It also includes European nations that are in crisis like the Spain, Italy, and Ireland.



Rachel Maddow: Mitt Romney misfires by attacking pro-electric car program first started by George W. Bush .
The program was started to help fund high end electric cars to make electric cars more acceptable and "cool" for average Americans . This was supposed to stimulate more demand for electric cars and thereby encourage auto industry to build more modest affordable yet stylish electric cars that would be more appealing for average Americans.

Mitt Romney fails by characterizes this program as a government give away to the auto industry. But he doesn't know or doesn't mention that the program was first begun under President George W. Bush .

Meanwhile Mitt Romney is still refusing to make his tax returns public even though Romney's father when running for senate released 12 years of his taxes.

And Mitt's wife makes it all worse as we have seen with her preposterous defence that she and her husband are not obliged to share his tax returns to the American citizenry whom she unfortunately referred to as "You People" as pointed out by various commentators .

Rachel Maddow - Romney2012 a campaign in distress

Published on 20 Jul 2012 by Licentiathe8th
July 19, 2012
Rachel Maddow demonstrates the flimsiness of the latest "crony capitalism" attack by the Romney campaign on President Obama, as well as the terrible job Romney surrogates are doing explaining his refusal to be open about his tax returns, all pointing to the conclusion that Mitt Romney's is a campaign in distress...




Monday, July 23, 2012

Brad's Blog NRA A Terrorist Organization and Congressman Louis Gohmert Blaming Midnight Movie Massacre On Liberals Attacks on Religious Beliefs


"Nearly 100,000 people get shot every year. That's 270 people a day and 87 dead because of gun violence every day. That's seven Colorado shootings per day!"
Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks




And The Brad Blog makes a credible argument that the NRA should be classified at the least as Terrorists enablers as he comments on the NRA's tactics and propaganda and the inevitable forseen consequences:

... In this case, of course, it's mostly just political terrorism. But in the real world, given the carnage they continue to enable year after year and tear after tear, it's difficult to say whether the NRA should best be described as terrorist enablers, or just plain terrorists, for the all of the indescribable violence they help perpetuate and, arguably, even help to fund...
...There can be no limits placed on the number of rounds in any high-capacity magazine used with any weapon. Thanks, NRA!


There can be no tracking of someone who buys 6,000 bullets on the Internet, no questions asked. Thanks, NRA!


And, worse, there may not even be any legitimate debate in the U.S. Congress about any of it, because best of luck to the soon-to-be-former elected official who tries it.
Because "freedom" and "liberty"-- and thanks, NRA!
above quotes from Congress Cowers to Terrorist-Enabling NRA The Brad Blog July 22, 2012


So according to the NRA each and every citizen should be heavily armed not just some wimpy little pistol  but a semi-automatic rifle and given what happened in Aurora they should be wearing protective gear from head to foot and carry a gas mask .  This sounds ridiculous to most people but the NRA and its most dedicated followers are often paranoid and somewhat delusional like Glenn Beck or Limbaugh and Michael Savage and the cast of Fox News such as Hannity & co.

Congressman Louis Gohmert Blames Midnight Movie Massacre On Liberals Attacks on Religious Beliefs and traditional American values

Published on 20 Jul 2012 by TheYoungTurks "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Friday that the shootings that took place in an Aurora, Colo. movie theater hours earlier were a result of "ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs" and questioned why nobody else in the theater had a gun to take down the shooter." Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/louie-gohmert-aurora-shootings_n_168...



Also from The Young Turks Cenk explores what constitutes an act of terrorism a political or ideological or religious agenda or connection to extremist organizations of the left or right. Was Aurura Shooting Terrorism?






Congress Cowers to Terrorist-Enabling NRA The Brad Blog July 22, 2012

The fact that they haven't yet been labeled a terrorist-associated group is due only to the fact that if they were, they would rain down hellfire --- and one of the mightiest propaganda and lying campaigns you've ever seen --- against those associated with having made that decision.

That, of course, is how any terrorist group worth its assault plies its trade: Scare the hell out of those who might oppose them. Let them know there will be serious consequences to those who even try, to those who even discuss it. So that anyone even thinking of it becomes crippled with fear to the point they won't do a thing to even appear to threaten the terrorists' agenda in any way.

In this case, of course, it's mostly just political terrorism. But in the real world, given the carnage they continue to enable year after year and tear after tear, it's difficult to say whether the NRA should best be described as terrorist enablers, or just plain terrorists, for the all of the indescribable violence they help perpetuate and, arguably, even help to fund.

Without the help of the NRA and those who fund them, James Holmes, the alleged gunman of Colorado's latest massacre, might not have been able to shoot nearly 70 Americans in a matter of minutes, killing 12 of them, in a sold-out movie theater just after midnight last Friday night. Neither would it have been so simple for Jared Loughner to shoot 19 Americans and kill 6 of them, including nearly murdering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, AZ just over a year ago, leading to her eventual resignation from Congress.

Thanks to years of terror-enabling by the National Rifle Association, both the AZ and CO sociopaths were able to maximize their rage through a maximum of carnage against their fellow citizens. And both incidents are just a drop of blood in the NRA's great American bucket.

Despite AZ and CO and the tens of thousands of deaths by firearm in this country each year, despite even coming within a hair's breadth of losing one of their own last year in the bargain, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress are unable and unwilling to lift a finger to do a damn thing about any of it. Neither is the President of the United States. They are all cowards, shriveling in abject fear of the almighty menace to sanity and common-sense and domestic tranquility that is today's NRA...


...Remember, the NRA is the same organization which has been fighting for years to ensure that those on the government's "terrorist watch list", who may not even board a commercial airplane without triggering extra security scrutiny, may go out and buy any number of deadly weapons they like without even being flagged. Because, ya know, "freedom"! And if they make their purchases at a gun show, they may do so without even the need to pass a minimal criminal background check.

Thanks in no small part to the NRA, the apparent CO shooter was able to legally buy some 6,000 rounds of ammo and a 100-round drum clip for use with his semi-automatic AR-15 (which he also purchased legally), enabling him to fire on some 50 to 60 Americans per minute, according to the Aurora Police Chief left to clean up the mess. Holmes was even able to pick up 150 lbs. of ammunition from FedEx, without ever having to answer a question.

But want to buy Nicotine patches? Be prepared to have your drivers license scanned at the point of purchase.

Holmes' Friday Night "freedom", of course, was nothing short of a great victory for the NRA, which has worked for years to make sure the modest, almost entirely useless restrictions on some automatic weapons and large, multiple round magazines contained in the Brady Law (named for Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary, who was nearly killed by a would-be assassin soon after Reagan took office in 1981) would not be renewed, after those modest ten-year restrictions had sunsetted in 2004.


...As noted by my friend Cenk Uygur yesterday, "Nearly 100,000 people get shot every year. That's 270 people a day and 87 dead because of gun violence every day. That's seven Colorado shootings per day!"

Imagine how many countries we'd have to go war against if even one day's worth of gun deaths in this nation were caused by a foreigner with dark skin.

And yet, despite all of that, and despite the fact that even the majority of gun owners and NRA members believe there should be common sense regulation on the sale of guns, there can, and will, be no such thing.

There can be no limits placed on the number of rounds in any high-capacity magazine used with any weapon. Thanks, NRA! There can be no tracking of someone who buys 6,000 bullets on the Internet, no questions asked. Thanks, NRA! And, worse, there may not even be any legitimate debate in the U.S. Congress about any of it, because best of luck to the soon-to-be-former elected official who tries it. Because "freedom" and "liberty"-- and thanks, NRA!

Thanks to the patriotic works of the NRA, there are now, apparently, millions of gullible Americans who believe that Obama will be signing a U.N. treaty to take away your guns because the NRA would very much like them to believe that, thanks, and remember to send them some money so they can keep protecting your rights against imaginary threats.

How imaginary? Well, according to Politico, within the past few hours, on his way out to comfort the victims of the Aurora, CO Massacre, "White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One...that the Obama administration has no plans to push new gun control measures in the wake of the deadly shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater."

Of course he doesn't. Very courageous, Mr. President. The terrorists of the NRA win again.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Midnite Movie Massacre Shooter in Battle Gear and " UnAmerican " Mitt Romney 's Losing GOP Enthusiasm And His Sarah Palin Problem



"Fire arm deaths are significantly lower in states with stricter gun control legislation."

Quote by urbanologist Richard Florida America's Gun Violence Map by Noah Kristula-Green at Daily Beast,July 20, 2012

and update Romney
Mitt still hasn’t invited Sarah to the GOP’s nomination assembly in Tampa, and the Tea Party is livid. Peter J. Boyer on how the snub could sabotage Romney’s tenuous ties to the grassroots—and why Palin is keeping the week open, just in case.
Noah Kristula-Green illustrates by use of stats and maps which establish a link between gun control legislation and murders and mass murders committed in America . It appears that states with the least gun control regulations also tend to have a much higher murder rate than those which have tougher gun control legislation.
above quote from : Romney’s Palin Problem: Where’s Her Convention Invite? by peter J. Boyer Newsweek Magazine via Daily Beast July 16, 2012

Former Arizona state Senator ultraconservative with connections to white supremacists Russell Pearce uses the Batman Midnite Movie Massacre as an occasion to defend abolishing gun control laws and to question the courage of those in the theatre for not taking action against the shooter.

Being a conservative and therefore fact-challenged Pearce ignores the fact that the shooter was in full battle gear and tossed tear-gas into the crowd of people in a darkened theatre.

But in reality if some patrons were armed and fired back in a smoky darkened theatre with a crowd of panicking people would they hit the shooter or someone else. Would another armed individual or the police be able to distinguish who is the "bad guy". The result most likely more wounded and dead.

as one veteran Gil Bagnell who actually fought in a war commented about the article that people like Pearce don't know what they are talking about as Bagnell soberly points out :

Gil Bagnell
Another hypocritical comment by a chicken-hawk who ducked Viet Nam by joining the national guard (which didn't have to fight back then). Speaking as a vet who was drafted, when guns start going off the noise and commotion makes it hard even for trained soldiers to think, and even in crack units a large proportion do not fire or do not fire meaningfully. In the dark it is worse. I recall sitting along a bunker line and watching a three way firefight break out, with tracers going between two locations in the paddies and then in and out of a bunker down the line. Turned out all three were on the same side. To think that untrained people packing guns in a surprise attack in a darkened movie theater could accomplish anything other than more slaughter is a total fantasy.

Russell Pearce Blames Aurora Victims, Then Blames Gun Control, For Massacre by Sahil Kapur at Talking Points Memo ,July 22, 2012

Former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce wrote a missive Saturday highlighting the collective failure of the victims of the Aurora, Colo. massacre to stop the shooter who left 12 people dead and nearly 60 wounded in a movie theater.

The outspoken conservative — known for his ardent pro-gun and anti-illegal-immigration views — later sought to clarify that he was merely blaming gun control laws.

Early Saturday morning, the former Republican lawmaker took to Facebook to mourn the victims. He then wondered why none were “[b]rave” enough to stop the atrocity.

“Where were the men of flight 93???? Someone should have stopped this man,” he wrote. “…All that was needed is one Courages/Brave man prepared mentally or otherwise to stop this it could have been done.”

And of course Sen. John McCain had to step into the fray claiming that gun control has nothing to do with this mass murder or any other killing by someone using a semi-automatic military style rifle which has a clip of a hundred rounds. Yeah this guy or any other citizen needs such armour and weapons just in case they are attacked in a theatre or a bar or bank or mall or a school or playground or in a mall church especially I guess in one those one stop spiritual shopping Mega-Churches.

One can imagine the innocent blood spilled in a mall by someone defending themselves by spraying the crowded mall with a hundred rounds from a semi-automatic.

Of course the next thing to wait for are for the ultraright spokespersons such as Limbaugh or Beck to claim the shooter in their world view was of course a liberal or progressive or someone on the left at least. The public reactions of those who are pro-gun and anti-liberal and anti-Obama are all too easy to predict.

McCain: Not ‘Proved’ That Tougher Gun Laws Would Prevent Shootings at TPM,July 22, 2012

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Sunday downplayed the relevance of gun laws to the Aurora, Colo. massacre that left a dozen people dead and at least 58 wounded.

“Everything should be looked at, but to think that somehow gun control is – or increased gun control is – the answer, in my view that would have to be proved,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The senator said gun-rights advocates “would be glad to have a conversation.” But “to somehow lead to the conclusion that this was somehow caused by the fact that we don’t have more gun control legislation – I don’t think it’s been proved.”




America's Gun Violence Map by Noah Kristula-Green at Daily Beast,Jul 20, 2012

After the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in January of last year, urbanologist Richard Florida compiled several maps to plot the correlations between gun violence, gun laws, and other social indicators. They make for urgent reading after this latest mass-casualty shooting.

So what are the factors that are associated with firearm deaths at the state level?

Poverty is one. The correlation between death by gun and poverty at the state level is .59.

An economy dominated by working class jobs is another. Having a high percentage of working class jobs is closely associated with firearm deaths (.55).

And, not surprisingly, firearm-related deaths are positively correlated with the rates of high school students that carry weapons on school property (.54).

and : "Fire arm deaths are significantly lower in states with stricter gun control legislation."

Update: Mitt Romney

"Michael Tomasky on Romney: the Un-American in the Presidential Race" by Michael Tomasky Jul 19, 2012

Republicans have questioned the patriotism of Democrats for nearly a hundred years. But now, at long last, Barack Obama is turning the tables on the GOP.

John Sununu opened the “American” door the other day, and now the Romney campaign is barging through it, plotting attacks on Barack Obama’s “biography,” which will inevitably include veiled accusations about his alleged alien cast, his lack of American-ness.

So now that it’s open, let’s stroll through it ourselves. What’s taking place in the room on the other side of that door?

Republicans and conservatives are bouncing off the walls because they face a serious risk for the first time in a generation that their definitions of patriotism and Americanism are losing. And not just losing—losing to, of all people, Barack Hussein Obama!

Then comes Obama. I don’t have to rehearse for you all the things that were said in 2008. More salient is the fact that the Republicans are still saying them now, after the man has been president for three-and-a-half years and after he executed Osama bin Laden. Obama apologizes for America. If we give this man four more years, Romney has warned repeatedly, the America we’ve come to know and love will no longer exist.

Health care, higher taxes at the top of the income ladder—these aren’t just bad ideas. They’re un-American and threaten the very body and blood of Uncle Sam.

Romney said just two days ago in Pennsylvania: “The course we’re on right now is foreign to us. It changes America.”

Romney's Palin Problem

Romney’s Palin Problem: Where’s Her Convention Invite? by peter J. Boyer Newsweek Magazine via Daily Beast July 16, 2012

Mitt still hasn’t invited Sarah to the GOP’s nomination assembly in Tampa, and the Tea Party is livid. Peter J. Boyer on how the snub could sabotage Romney’s tenuous ties to the grassroots—and why Palin is keeping the week open, just in case.


On the day that Mitt Romney formally announced his run for the presidency last year, he found himself competing with a stiff New Hampshire wind, which stood his hair on end and played havoc with his microphones. What blew in later was even more distracting: the red, white, and blue bus bearing Sarah Palin on her “One Nation” tour. Palin stole the headlines, and Romney’s buzz, that day (“Coincidence,” she said), and beyond. Through much of the summer, she hovered at the edge of the Republican primary campaign as a shadow candidate, once predicting that she could not only beat Romney, but President Obama, too, before finally declaring herself out of the race last fall.

But Palin continued to vex Romney’s candidacy, questioning his conservatism, encouraging the non-Romneys still in the race, and publicly cheering for the prospect of an open convention. Even after Romney clinched the race in late spring, Palin remained pointedly hesitant about the presumed Republican nominee. She has not yet extended to Romney her full endorsement, and, while she speaks animatedly of the urgency of defeating President Obama in November, her support for Romney derives from the fact that Romney meets Palin’s threshold qualification—as “anybody but Obama.”

In that regard, Palin reflects the abiding unease that many conservatives, especially the grassroots activists associated with the Tea Party movement, still feel about Romney. A poll published by The Washington Post last week showed Romney dead even with the president, but it also revealed that Obama holds a startling enthusiasm advantage over Romney. More than half of Obama’s backers, 51 percent, said they’ll vote for him “very enthusiastically,” compared with just 38 percent of Romney’s supporters expressing similar eagerness. Republican energy and enthusiasm resides within the Tea Party, which delivered the House of Representatives to the GOP in 2010, and this year defeated six-term Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in a primary and helped save Gov. Scott Walker’s job in Wisconsin. Romney has failed, so far, to connect with that energy. “Quite honestly, we have been focused on the Senate races, rather than the presidential race,” says Amy Kremer, chair of the Tea Party Express, “and that is what I’ve seen from everybody across the country.”



And even disenchanted Neoconservative David Frum chimes in: Why is the Romney Campaign Talking So Crazy? by David Frum at Daily Beast.com,Jul 18, 2012

...It's probably hopeless by now to try to excite the GOP's conservative base about Romney, not only because of ideology, but even more because of sociology. Romney's life, career, and manner all combine to remind the white working class why their parents and grandparents voted Democratic.


But what can be done is to rev up fear and dislike of the president. Which is what is happening.


Last month's pundit wisdom was that it was President Obama who had no choice but to go negative: Like George W. Bush in 2004, Obama has a weak re-elect narrative, and must therefore define his opponent as unacceptable.


All true.


But his opponent has exactly the same problem!


Which is why the race is heading straight to the mud … and why an election that partisans describe (as they always do) as the "most important of our lifetimes" is being conducted as mindlessly as if it were the least important.

Also see David Frum's article on Romney Defend Capitalism? by David Frum at Daily Beast, Jul 18, 2012

and


Update Bachmann' Muslim Conspiracy Theory