It's going to be a big weekend in the world of big conservative money: Both Mitt Romney and billionaire industrialist brothers David and Charles Koch are holding hush-hush events with wealthy donors designed to keep the dollars coming in.Read the rest of this post...
Romney's three-day retreat, which is being held at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, is an opportunity for about 700 Romney's biggest fundraisers to get some face time with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. (Many of them are "bundlers" - wealthy and well-connected individuals who call on their family, friends and associates to max out their contributions to Romney and the GOP - who have raised in the area of $250,000 for Romney.) Some of the biggest names in the Republican Party, and many of the top contenders to be Romney's running mate, are also coming to Park City: CBS News has confirmed that attendees will include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Republican strategist Karl Rove, former Reagan chief of staff James Baker, Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker.
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Friday, June 22, 2012
Romney to attend secret retreat with billionaires, including Koch brothers, in Utah
From CBS News:
2012 to be a record year for women running for Congress
These numbers should be improving every year until we reach a 50/50 ratio in both houses of Congress. There's no reason why the number of women should be as low as it is today.
More on the big year for women at the Huffington Post:
More on the big year for women at the Huffington Post:
Women currently hold 73 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Four states -- Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi and Vermont -- have never had a woman serving in their congressional delegation.Read the rest of this post...
"Research shows that women leaders introduce more bills, bring more resources home to their districts and advocate for new issues on the legislative agenda," said Mary Hughes, founder of the 2012 Project, in a statement.
Already in this election cycle, 294 women have filed to run for House seats, with four more expected to do so, breaking the previous record set in 2010 of 262 women.
There are also a record number of Democratic women running for Senate seats in the 2012 elections.
Video: I could imagine some good practical jokes with this
Great comment left on YouTube:
They should make a few hundreds of these and then launch them when the next 'scheduled' rapture is to occur.Read the rest of this post...
Mary Cheney marries her girlfriend, Dick is "delighted"
Regardless of your feelings about dad (or mom, or that other sister - or Mary for that matter), this is helpful, as is Dick Cheney's response.
Read the rest of this post...
David Koch hosts $50,000-per-person dinner for Romney
Via Buzzfeed, an invitation:
Save on the couples rate.
Of course, by "You are cordially invited" he means "You are not cordially invited." Another example of the 180 Tell. You are not even uncordially invited.
You can't even get into the neighborhood. This is the neighborhood.
Yes, you counted the number of tennis courts correctly.
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
Save on the couples rate.
Of course, by "You are cordially invited" he means "You are not cordially invited." Another example of the 180 Tell. You are not even uncordially invited.
You can't even get into the neighborhood. This is the neighborhood.
Yes, you counted the number of tennis courts correctly.
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
TSA rolling out "Gumby" non-porno-scanners
For reasons which can only make sense at the TSA, the TSA believes the Gumby-scanners will solve all of their problems. Maybe they won't be the same porno-scanners that are now used to send attractive women through multiple times, but they still don't resolve the fundamental problems that have been shown in 2010 and then in 2012.
The Gumby-scanners also don't change the silly policies of humiliating the elderly or ban 18 month kids from flying. And no, Rep. Mica's private TSA hires fail to address any of these issues either. (Though they do add a chunk of change to his campaign coffers.)
This is not progress, but it's probably coming to an airport near you.
The Gumby-scanners also don't change the silly policies of humiliating the elderly or ban 18 month kids from flying. And no, Rep. Mica's private TSA hires fail to address any of these issues either. (Though they do add a chunk of change to his campaign coffers.)
This is not progress, but it's probably coming to an airport near you.
It's the enhanced version of a technology that caused quite a stir by allowing screeners to actually see passengers' private parts while screening for other things.Read the rest of this post...
"That software, called Automatic Target Recognition, has gotten rid of the image associated with Advanced Image Technology. When you go through this unit at Roanoke Regional Airport, no one is going to see an image of your body," said Kawika Riley, a TSA spokesperson.
"Bias" against a Mormon presidential candidate?
Interesting that no one calls it "bias" when you're against a Republican presidential candidate.
Calling it "bias" suggests that it's a benign characteristic that has no impact on who you are as a person. If someone were a Mormon by birth, and not practicing, then their faith would be benign. But if someone embraces their faith then is it fair to suggest that their faith has no impact on who they are, how they think, what decisions they would make in life and in office?
If a chief tenet of modern Mormonism is anti-gay advocacy, and you're gay, or know gay people, and don't want a politician in office who is going to make anti-gay advocacy a major part of his governance, then why is it "bias" to vote against him?
I think people of faith, and pollsters like Gallup, are playing a cute game by claiming that their faith is everything to them, but please don't judge them by their faith. I suspect that if the poll asked how you'd feel about a liberal Democrat Mormon, the poll numbers in support of the candidate would be significantly higher. Read the rest of this post...
Calling it "bias" suggests that it's a benign characteristic that has no impact on who you are as a person. If someone were a Mormon by birth, and not practicing, then their faith would be benign. But if someone embraces their faith then is it fair to suggest that their faith has no impact on who they are, how they think, what decisions they would make in life and in office?
If a chief tenet of modern Mormonism is anti-gay advocacy, and you're gay, or know gay people, and don't want a politician in office who is going to make anti-gay advocacy a major part of his governance, then why is it "bias" to vote against him?
I think people of faith, and pollsters like Gallup, are playing a cute game by claiming that their faith is everything to them, but please don't judge them by their faith. I suspect that if the poll asked how you'd feel about a liberal Democrat Mormon, the poll numbers in support of the candidate would be significantly higher. Read the rest of this post...
Can you plagiarize yourself?
It seems that wunderkind writer Jonah Lehrer (who I probably shouldn't call a wunderkind since I'd never heard of him, but then again, when you've got three books under your belt at 30, and one's a best-seller, blog for the New Yorker, and have been published in the NYT, that's ain't nothing) is in trouble for, what most are calling, self-plagiarism.
It's not really plagiarism at all, but rather, he was caught recycling some of his old pieces from one publication and using them in another, which is considered not very nice in the journalistic world (since you're paying someone to write new stuff, not clandestinely quote old stuff and hope no one notices).
And if you look at the example that got the ball rolling, one that Jim Romanesko found, it is pretty bad. He didn't borrow a sentence, he borrowed the first three grafs of the story. So in essence, it really was the same story written in slightly different words.
To his credit, as Erik Wemple at the Post notes, when called on it, Lehrer did own his mistake, quickly and fully.
I agree with those who say that calling this self-plagiarism is perhaps a bit too strong. Then again, is it true that he didn't steal any content? The article he wrote for the New Yorker was in fact borrowed from the Wall Street Journal, which one assumes owns the copyright on that piece. Lehrer may not have self-plagiarized, but he may have in fact plagiarized from the Wall Street Journal, even if the author was himself.
Either way, I know it's tempting to re-use your own stuff. I've had what I've thought are killer one-liners that don't get picked up by anyone else, and I've wanted to re-use them again (and I just may have). But being paid to write two different stories (I'm assuming he was paid), and using the same three intro paragraphs, albeit phrased slightly differently, is a clear no-no.
The author of a runaway best-seller should know better. Read the rest of this post...
It's not really plagiarism at all, but rather, he was caught recycling some of his old pieces from one publication and using them in another, which is considered not very nice in the journalistic world (since you're paying someone to write new stuff, not clandestinely quote old stuff and hope no one notices).
And if you look at the example that got the ball rolling, one that Jim Romanesko found, it is pretty bad. He didn't borrow a sentence, he borrowed the first three grafs of the story. So in essence, it really was the same story written in slightly different words.
To his credit, as Erik Wemple at the Post notes, when called on it, Lehrer did own his mistake, quickly and fully.
I agree with those who say that calling this self-plagiarism is perhaps a bit too strong. Then again, is it true that he didn't steal any content? The article he wrote for the New Yorker was in fact borrowed from the Wall Street Journal, which one assumes owns the copyright on that piece. Lehrer may not have self-plagiarized, but he may have in fact plagiarized from the Wall Street Journal, even if the author was himself.
Either way, I know it's tempting to re-use your own stuff. I've had what I've thought are killer one-liners that don't get picked up by anyone else, and I've wanted to re-use them again (and I just may have). But being paid to write two different stories (I'm assuming he was paid), and using the same three intro paragraphs, albeit phrased slightly differently, is a clear no-no.
The author of a runaway best-seller should know better. Read the rest of this post...
Most Republicans still believe Iraq had WMD
Do these people not even try to educate themselves or are they proud to be ignorant? How does anyone have a rational discussion with people as irrational as this? Dan Froomkin at the Huffington Post:
How misinformed are Republicans about world affairs? If presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's assertion that Russia is "without question our number one geopolitical foe" is any indication, then the answer would appear to be very.Read the rest of this post...
A new poll supports that theory.
The poll, constructed by Dartmouth government professor Benjamin Valentino and conducted by YouGov from April 26 to May 2, found that fully 63 percent of Republican respondents still believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded in 2003. By contrast, 27 percent of independents and 15 percent of Democrats shared that view.
Sen. Jeff Merkley puts the wood to Jamie Dimon in the Senate Banking Committee hearing
There have been a number of stories about Jamie Dimon's recent appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.
Most of them, including Matt Taibbi's, comment on the shameful and ignorant performance of almost every senator in the room — especially, but not exclusively, the Republicans.
(Side note — I have an imaginary political cartoon in mind. It shows smooth-haired Dimon at the table testifying, a pair of feet and senatorial hindquarters sticking out from under the table in front of him, and senators leaving the questioning dias to stand in line, waiting their turn. Beside them is a machine like you see at Baskin-Robbins — "Take a number.")
But enough of this foolishness. Buried in Taibbi's article detailing the corrupt and the feckless, is the following, about Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), a man of whom much good can be said.
I want to highlight the good when it occurs. Taibbi (my emphasis and reparagraphing):
One man — and if Taibbi is right, just one — was prepared, smart, aggressive, and on-point.
This post is about that one man. We appreciate your doing your actual job, Sen. Merkley. A lonely nation thanks you.
I really am, you know; looking for an honest man.
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
Most of them, including Matt Taibbi's, comment on the shameful and ignorant performance of almost every senator in the room — especially, but not exclusively, the Republicans.
(Side note — I have an imaginary political cartoon in mind. It shows smooth-haired Dimon at the table testifying, a pair of feet and senatorial hindquarters sticking out from under the table in front of him, and senators leaving the questioning dias to stand in line, waiting their turn. Beside them is a machine like you see at Baskin-Robbins — "Take a number.")
But enough of this foolishness. Buried in Taibbi's article detailing the corrupt and the feckless, is the following, about Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), a man of whom much good can be said.
I want to highlight the good when it occurs. Taibbi (my emphasis and reparagraphing):
136:17 Finally, someone restores order.After more from Taibbi about Merkley and Dimon, we find this:
Oregon's [Sen. Jeff] Merkley leads off his questions by asking Dimon if his company would have gone out of business in 2008 without TARP and other forms of federal assistance, including monies from the AIG bailout.
Dimon snaps: "You are misinformed, and that misinformation is causing a lot of the problems we're having today." He then trots out the well-worn rhetorical line ... "[The Fed] said, 'Please use these facilities [take our money], because it makes it easier for other people'" ...
"And we were not bailed out by AIG," he snaps, feverishly jotting notes in between sharp phrases. "We would have had a direct loss of about a billion or two billion dollars if AIG went down. And we would have been okay."
"Well, then," Merkley begins to say, "you have a difference of opinion with many analysts of the situation who thought the AIG bailout did benefit you enormously. And I'm not going to argue –"
"They're wrong," snaps Dimon, who wants to finish his point, and tries to talk over Merkley’s question."They're factually wrong. They're –"
Merkley, God bless him, points at Dimon and says, "Sir, this is not your hearing. You’re here to answer questions. And I only have five minutes." ... It’s taken over two hours for someone to explain to Dimon that this is the floor of the senate, not a cocktail reception at Davos. That he's a witness here, not the boss.
You can either be a commercial bank, with all the federal support that entails, or you can be a high-risk gambler. But you shouldn't be allowed to be both. ... The real answer, from Jamie Dimon’s point of view, is simple – there’s no way he could have a $350 billion hedge fund if he didn’t have mountains of federally-insured money to play with, and a steady stream of low-interest loans from the Fed.Again, there's more, but this will get you started.
Merkley points this out: "How many companies on the planet have been offered half a trillion dollars in low-interest loans? Not many," he says. "But the basic concept of the Volcker rule is that banks are in the lending business, not the hedge fund business. Would you agree?"
Dimon, taking his time with this dangerous question, answers: "We’re not in the hedge fund business."
This is an obvious lie ... "That sounds like operating a hedge fund," says Merkley, "and doing so at your direction, with government-insured deposits."
One man — and if Taibbi is right, just one — was prepared, smart, aggressive, and on-point.
This post is about that one man. We appreciate your doing your actual job, Sen. Merkley. A lonely nation thanks you.
 |
| Diogenes looking for an honest man |
GP
To follow or send links: @Gaius_Publius
Read the rest of this post...
Washington Post finds that Romney was a job creator at Bain... for India and China
Oops.
So I guess it was relevant for the President to bring up Romney's involvement in Bain. And it was anyway, since Romney is claiming that this experience proves he's a job creator. And in fact, we now know that he was a job creator.
In India and China.
Washington Post:
So I guess it was relevant for the President to bring up Romney's involvement in Bain. And it was anyway, since Romney is claiming that this experience proves he's a job creator. And in fact, we now know that he was a job creator.
In India and China.
Washington Post:
Mitt Romney’s financial company, Bain Capital, invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India.Read the rest of this post...
During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
EU economy softens as German numbers decline
If the German economy slips, there's going to be even more misery in Europe than exists today. Unfortunately there are signs of a GDP drop there which should not be a surprise for the export driven economy. If your export markets are all suffering, who is going to be buying?
Meanwhile Italian PM Mario Monti is telling everyone that the Eurozone has one week to save itself. Dramatic, but maybe he's not too far off either.
On top of this, the ratings agency Moody's just downgraded 15 of the largest global banks. Not that the ratings agencies have much of a respected track record, but the report does suggest things are not going as well as the banks suggest. Keep in mind too that the report is based on six month old data, so the situation is likely worse off for many of the banks.
While some of the banks on the list were hit harder than others, a few of the big name Spanish banks failed to make the bad list. In light of the deteriorating economy there, their claims of good health sound as unbelievable as JPMorgan's previous claim that no, they didn't need the TARP money. So the banking system all around is crumbling and they think it's not going to be a problem? Does anyone honestly believe that line anymore?
So lots of problems and very few answers right now for Europe. Germany has enjoyed the luxury of a growing economy but those days may be ending soon. A troubled German economy won't be helpful, though it may help wake up the hard liners who have been unproductive to date with repairing the eurozone. Read the rest of this post...
Meanwhile Italian PM Mario Monti is telling everyone that the Eurozone has one week to save itself. Dramatic, but maybe he's not too far off either.
On top of this, the ratings agency Moody's just downgraded 15 of the largest global banks. Not that the ratings agencies have much of a respected track record, but the report does suggest things are not going as well as the banks suggest. Keep in mind too that the report is based on six month old data, so the situation is likely worse off for many of the banks.
While some of the banks on the list were hit harder than others, a few of the big name Spanish banks failed to make the bad list. In light of the deteriorating economy there, their claims of good health sound as unbelievable as JPMorgan's previous claim that no, they didn't need the TARP money. So the banking system all around is crumbling and they think it's not going to be a problem? Does anyone honestly believe that line anymore?
So lots of problems and very few answers right now for Europe. Germany has enjoyed the luxury of a growing economy but those days may be ending soon. A troubled German economy won't be helpful, though it may help wake up the hard liners who have been unproductive to date with repairing the eurozone. Read the rest of this post...
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