“What I’ve heard lately, that’s what troubles me the most. There’s something different in their voice, in their words. What I hear from them is diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures. I hear some people say that this is just ‘the new normal’. Higher unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is NOT a new normal.
“America is more than just a place. America is an idea. It’s the only country founded ON an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not from government. … We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. And this idea was founded on the principles of freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by CONSENT of the governed.”
By Larry JohnsoncloseAuthor: Larry JohnsonName: Larry Johnson Email: lcjohnson1@me.com Site:http://NoQuarterUSA.net About: Larry C. Johnson is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who moved subsequently in 1989 to the U.S. Department of State, where he served four years as the deputy director for transportation security, antiterrorism assistance training, and special operations in the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. He left government service in October 1993 and set up a consulting business. He currently is the co-owner and CEO of BERG Associates, LLC (Business Exposure Reduction Group) and is an expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, and crisis and risk management, and money laundering investigations. Johnson is the founder and main author of No Quarter, a weblog that addresses issues of terrorism and intelligence and politics. NoQuarterUSA was nominated as Best Political Blog of 2008.See Authors Posts (1879) on August 13, 2012 at 10:45 PM in Current Affairs | 57 Comments
Clearly, Obama does not know a damn thing about fighting. One of the key rules of fight club, “DON’T LEAD WITH YOUR CHIN.” Why? If you move your face towards your opponent’s on rushing fist and it connects with your chin–lights out.
That’s exactly what Obama did today (thanks harp2 for the tip). Obama tried to play “gangsta” and shoved his mug towards Ryan. Boom. Down goes Obama. Down goes Obama:
Watch Paul Ryan beat Obama bloody with this tomorrow. Read the rest
By Larry JohnsoncloseAuthor: Larry JohnsonName: Larry Johnson Email: lcjohnson1@me.com Site:http://NoQuarterUSA.net About: Larry C. Johnson is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who moved subsequently in 1989 to the U.S. Department of State, where he served four years as the deputy director for transportation security, antiterrorism assistance training, and special operations in the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. He left government service in October 1993 and set up a consulting business. He currently is the co-owner and CEO of BERG Associates, LLC (Business Exposure Reduction Group) and is an expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, and crisis and risk management, and money laundering investigations. Johnson is the founder and main author of No Quarter, a weblog that addresses issues of terrorism and intelligence and politics. NoQuarterUSA was nominated as Best Political Blog of 2008.See Authors Posts (1879) on August 13, 2012 at 3:48 PM in Current Affairs | 49 Comments
Obama, his campaign and many Democrat leaders, are fully embracing the belief that they are running the equivalent of a Wes Craven horror-fest and need only shriek that Romney and Ryan are trying to choke the life out of your GranGram in order to secure your vote. Pretty damn clueless.
So I came across this comment written by Dontgetmestartednow, which appeared on the The Washington Examiner, and thought it captured succinctly the problem confronting Obama and his gang:
I was an Obama supporter last election, donating the maximum to his primary and general election campaign. I was hoping for true healthcare reform. I’ve received every email, snail mail and phone call from not only the Obama campaign, but a plethora of other Obama PACS. I’ve reviewed not just the website, but the actual proposals/bills/voting records regarding healthcare. I have been in healthcare for 32 years working for emergency departments, NICU’s, PICU’s, ICU’s in indigent inner city locations, focusing on billing issues with Medicare and Medicaid in 11 states and Puerto Rico. I worked for 4 years for our regional Medicare administrator Anthem alone. I may not be considered an expert, but I do know this one issue really well, my livelihood depends on my knowledge.
I received 3 calls since Ryan was announced looking for donations, “because more than ever, we need to prevent the destruction of Medicare”. Baloney. I agree with the Wyden-Ryan plan. Medicare as it stands takes the consumer completely out of the picture, letting them stay ignorant to the costs verses the service. Forcing seniors into Medicare (you can not keep your employer paid plan once you’re eligible for Medicare as your primary, you can’t even elect to buy your own private insurance as your primary) eliminates competition. When you don’t have to be aware of the cost and you don’t have to worry about competition, costs go up and services go down. It’s simple economics. The bipartisan bill gives seniors a choice, keep their Medicare plan or get a voucher to select from a private carrier. Those that are poorer or sick, get a larger voucher. Those on the upper end of income get less if anything. The only argument against this would be that some poor and uneducated would stay with Medicare and get less services and a lower quality of care because of their choice. Does anyone else see the idiocy of this? In essence, we know Medicare sucks and think it’s more fair that everyone should be forced to have it.I wasn’t sure how I was going to vote this time, but I do now. Next time one of Obama’s PAC’s call looking for money, I’ll have to explain I don’t have anymore, I just gave it all to Romney/Ryan.
Yep. Obama got himself a heap of trouble. Read the rest
I first heard the phrase “Pretzel Logic” in the mid-1970s because it’s the title of a great Steely Dan album that I have listened to a thousand times and still love. I’ve always liked the phrase because it explains in two words how some people can twist perceived “facts” to fit the particular argument they wish to present, but which are laughably contradictory on examination.
I’m can’t get the phrase out of my mind this weekend since the announcement that Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney’s running mate. Is this an example of pretzel logic on Romney’s part, I wonder? I guess I’m thinking it might be because Paul Ryan makes perfect sense in some ways, and no sense at all in others.
Romney seems to be making his campaign about the economy, the whole economy, and nothing but the economy. Just like Bill Clinton did, according to folklore. The choice of Ryan also mimics the Clinton/Gore ticket in that it was a pairing of two youngish men who were wonky and seemed like business partners. So as regards the economy and businessmen pairing up to tackle the issues, it makes sense.
On the other hand, I think Ryan’s notoriety makes him a really bad choice as running mate. Ryan is making the Democrats happy because his budget proposals are well-known in a notorious way. They see him as an easy target for ridicule. I wince when I think how many times I’m going to hear “pushing Grandma off a cliff” this year. He’s a fricking lighting rod for criticism. I believe we’ll be hearing variations on that phrase a lot this year as well. So why would Romney take a gamble like that when he’s been running a very close race all on his own? It makes no sense.
These contradictions make my gut feel all twisted up like a pretzel. Read the rest
Waukesha – Brushing aside tears and responding to raucous cheers, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan returned to Wisconsin on Sunday for an emotional homecoming in front of thousands of people on the grounds of the Waukesha County Expo Center.
“It’s good to be home,” Ryan said in a speech that wove personal history and national aspiration.
A day after he was named Mitt Romney’s running mate and vaulted on to the Republican Party’s biggest political stage, Ryan spoke of his family’s deep roots in Wisconsin and his ties to Janesville, where “we live on the block I grew up on.”
“My veins run with cheese, bratwurst, a little Spotted Cow, Leinie’s and some Miller,” he said. “I was raised on the Packers, Badgers, Bucks and Brewers.
“I like to hunt here, I like to fish here, I like to snowmobile here. I even think ice fishing is interesting. I’m a Wisconsinite through and through.” … (Read all at the Journal-Sentinal, Wisconsin)
Mitt Romney laid down the law for Barack Obama: Read the rest
Romney and Ryan’s third stop as a team Saturday was just 30 miles from the White House in Manassas, Virginia, where thousands swamped the old town area to catch a glimpse and hear Romney and Ryan speak. I was among the thousands who decided this morning to make the last-minute trek.
For the area, this was a truly enormous crowd. Driving in from Vienna, once off I-66, the four-lane road south was over seven miles of pure gridlock to the Harris Pavilion. Then, upon parking about five blocks away, and lucky at that, we endured a nearly two-hour walking crawl through the old town streets in the 90+ degree sun to arrive at the pavilion.
Manassas completely shut down to welcome Romney and Ryan. Whoever mapped out the snaking lines to handle the incredible crowds should get some serious credit for their quick action. Remarkable too was that there were no complaints, just determination to get in and hear Romney and Ryan.
… Face the Nation‘s Bob Schieffer sat down with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on Sunday for their first interview. … Romney answered critics who say Ryan’s Medicare plan will hurt the ticket’s chances, especially in Florida.
“There’s only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare, $716 billion to pay for a new risky program of his own that we call Obamacare,” Romney said. Read the rest
For two men who are so different … President Obama and Mitt Romney have chosen running mates with strikingly similar cultural contours.
In 2008, the youthful, black, Democratic son of a single mother chose a white, Catholic, Irish-American running mate. On Saturday morning, the middle-aged, wealthy Republican son of a governor did exactly the same. [Mr. Stanage, do you detect any bias in your descriptions of the two men?]
So why did both men select “two people with near-identical demographic profiles”? Is it the voting bloc of “white working class voters” crucial in key swing states? (Yup, it’s white people’s fault — again.)
And what’s with one of the biggest rats in town gorging himself on the Secret Service’s (taxpayers’) dime? Read the rest
Special thanks to AlJazeeraEnglish‘s YouTube channel. That’s right. Al Jazeera posted Paul Ryan’s full speech. Other U.S. networks and channels? Still M.I.A. (at YouTube). Now, for photos of today’s event from Zimbio, the incomparable photo site, and Business Insider. If you click any image below, you’ll go to each source’s additional photos of today’s event.
Paul, Wife Janna and Three Children (Eliza, Charles, Sam) [Update: See Eliza's face in a new image below the fold.]
Newly announced Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is hugged by his children as his wife Janna Ryan looks on after Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced him as his running mate in front of the USS Wisconsin August 11, 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia. Ryan, a seven term congressman, is Chairman of the House Budget Committee and provides a strong contrast to the Obama administration on fiscal policy. (Getty Images via Zimbio)
BELOW, TWO NEW PHOTOS featuring the Ryans’ daughter Eliza as well as Paul’s wife and: Read the rest
The real news?“It’s the economy and we’re not stupid.” Mitt Romney has underlined “it’s the economy” with his selection of Paul Ryan, a budget whiz who is clearly “presidential timber.” And how.
The Obama camp claims it’s thrilled because they believe they can hammer Romney and Ryan on Social Security, Medicare, etc. But, warns Wolf Blitzer, Obama’s people had best be careful, and he reminded viewers how Ronald Reagan was minimized as a has-been actor, with Democrats elated that that ancient has-been codger would be their opponent. Blitzer’s message to Obama’s supporters? “Be careful what you wish for.”
H/t JRTerrier. CNN is carrying this live at this moment (9:26 p.m. PT). Fox News is airing a commercial (9:44 p.m. PT). MSNBC is carrying the story live with Andrea Mitchell (9:44 p.m. PT). Fox News’s coverage is the weakest of the three cable news channels by using some third-string anchor I’ve never seen before and a “reporter” (the digital political editor for the Web site – huh?). Surprising and disappointing.
MSNBC’s MITCHELL CONFIRMS it’s Paul Ryan. An MSNBC reporter says that Paul Ryan’s wife and his three children were seen at the Nauticus Museum, home of USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia.Read the rest
Oh Mitt. You knocked this one outta the park. Power Line Blog dubbed the ad “nuclear.” Better yet, you’re releasing this video as a 30-second TV ad. Mitt, I pray you’ll untie your purse strings and air this ad in every media market across the nation. This TV ad will be a springboard for innumerable conversations among neighbors, friends, relatives, and even co-workers. While Power Line wonders if enough people will know the ad’s background — a good point — instead, I trust that those who don’t know the back story will be so damn curious they’ll ask around until they find out WHY. (For any who don’t know why, see Reuter’s “Romney campaign calls wife-death ad a low blow,” Larry Johnson’s “Obama’s Campaign Goes Stupid,” or my “Part II: The Scurrilous Ad Defaming Mitt Romney (Lola Alert) [Updated]” ([Part I is here].)
Mitt, you know how we get at NoQuarterUSA when we’re riled. First, there’s Harp2 — she’s nobody to fool around with — who gave us the video link (locate Harp2′s comment here). Once I’d pasted your video code, I had to check your campaign site to see what you’d added since your humdinger of a press release yesterday. Read the rest
Writes Daniel Halper for the Weekly Standard “Yesterday, MSNBC also spent the morning talking about how the bad the Obama super PAC ad is. SAM STEIN IS ESPECIALLY STRONG, as is (will wonders ever cease) MARK HALPERIN:
Mark Halperin said then: “This is about as low as either side has gone … it’s a despicable ad.”
And even the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein said, “This is like so beyond what we need to discuss. … This just I think takes it too far.”(Read all.)
The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler aka the man who “awards” the dreaded “Pinocchios”: “As we noted, a case could be made that Bain’s involvement extended the life of a dying steel plant, in which case Soptic kept his insurance longer than he might have expected.”(Below the fold, see more from the WaPo‘s Glenn Kessler.)
As soon as I spotted Romney’s powerful collection of verifiable quotes, I asked myself why I should re-write what Romney’s press release already makes so very clear. So I left well enough alone, and am re-printing “What They’re Saying About The Disgraceful Obama Super PAC Ad,” along with some comments. (There’s also a “Lola alert” below).
At the very end, I also make some RUDE remarks [UPDATED] about Mr. Sostik’s insistence on blaming Mitt Romney for all that ails him, perhaps even his occasional need to consume prunes.
Former Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA): “Over The Edge.” “‘I thought the ad was wrong in terms of trying to tie a presidential candidate to a personal tragedy of a family,’ said former Congressman Joe Sestak, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. ‘This ad goes over the edge.’” (Peter Nicholas and Colleen McCain Nelson, “Star Of Anti-Romney Ad Explains His Stance,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/8/12)
Bronwyn’s Note: True-blue Democrat Joe Sestak was Bill Clinton’s Director for Defense on the National Security Council. During 30 years in the U.S. Navy, Vice Admiral Sestak commanded the USS George Washington carrier strike group during combat operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean” and, following 9/11, was “the first director of ‘Deep Blue’ (code name), the Navy’s top secret counter-terrorism unit.”Read the rest
America’s 34th president, belittled as the babysitter-in-chief, lifted the economy out of a recession, built an interstate highway system and the St. Lawrence Seaway, took on civil rights, turned 1953's $8 billion deficit into 1960's $500 million surplus. (Ike was the last President until Bill Clinton to leave his country in the black. )
Eisenhower: The White House Years
Skeptical author Jim Newton visited Ike's Abilene library and discovered in Ike's presidential papers "a blend of military acumen, diplomatic subtlety and presidential leadership" rivaled "only by George Washington." (Hyperbole? Surely. But …)
Bronwyn: A relative sent me this tumbler as a b'day gift. I'd assumed it was ordinary plastic. When I opened my present, I discovered the tumbler is ceramic (not plastic). It's attractive, large, and sturdy. And it's made in the U.S.A.
A friend told me that ceramic tumblers like this are expensive, but this isn't pricey. It's a handsome, useful desk or automobile tumbler that helps the campaign.
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I first heard the phrase “Pretzel Logic” in the mid-1970s because it’s the title of a great Steely Dan album that I have listened to a thousand times and still love. I’ve always liked the phrase because it explains in two words how some people can twist perceived “facts” to fit the particular argument they wish to present, but which are laughably contradictory on examination.
Authors: House Republicans, Paul Ryan, Barack Obama, Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
Browse books about Mitt Romney below and at 
By Stanley Kurtz, the author of 
, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The veteran journalist has written for the National Review, Policy Review, The Weekly Standard, and The Wall Street Journal. He has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Harvard.
by Fox News analyst 
The riveting film, starring Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Rooney Mara, is a superb adaptation of the trilogy's first novel. It's also the first of a three-picture adaptation. 
More novels by 
and 
by 
, another best seller, critical success, and winner of the 
about his Gravediggers (the platoon's code name), Bon Jovi cassettes mistaken for IEDs, "trash villages," and meetings with "cunning sheiks and sycophants."
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
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