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Mitt Romney

To quote Groucho yet again, along with another raft of stuff.

Submitted by Roanman on Sat, 10/27/2012 - 09:15

 

I think we've been plain enough in our opposition to the candidates for President being offered up by America's two great political parties.

We cheerfully acknowledge the liklihood that in addition to being deeply opposed to many/most/if not all of the policies put forward by President Obama, Mr. Romney and their respective party platforms, this may reflect a personal problem on our part as we have internalized ... and then some ... the following credo first presented by the beloved Groucho Marx.

 

   

 

So anyway, the libertarian/anti-war types have sniffed us out and have been bombing us with the stuff.

So to speak.

The following are some of our favorites.

We begin with Terry D's hands down favorite, which mostly just creeps me out.

 

     

 

 

   

 

Our strongly held opinion is that the next couple whatevertheyares accurately depict the overwhelming tone of the 2012 election.

This year, America will be voting against.

 

     

 

Conan get's it.

 

 

 America's contempt for the political class continues to grow. 

 

    

 

Which in the case of Vice President Biden, that contempt is well earned.

 

 

Speaking of War, some people are beginning to notice that the supposed anti-war left has been AWOL for the past four years and have drawn some conclusions.

 

   

 

Bastiat Institute and Philosoarapter have some not unreasonable doubts ... if you ask us ... about all of it.

 

   

 

Finally, a warning.

 

 

Be afraid ..... Be very afraid.

 

Evidently, world public opinion favors President Obama

Submitted by Roanman on Wed, 10/24/2012 - 16:20

 

A new 21-nation poll for BBC World Service for World Pubic Opinion.org indicates that citizens around the world would strongly prefer to see Barack Obama re-elected as US President rather than his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

The poll of 21,797 people, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA between July 3 and September 3, 2012, indicates that Obama is preferred to Romney in 20 of the 21 countries polled. Overall, an average of 50 per cent would prefer to see Obama elected, compared to only 9 per cent who prefer Romney. The rest express no preference between the two.

Of all the countries polled, France is currently the most strongly pro-Obama, with 72 per cent wanting him to be re-elected and just 2 per cent preferring Romney. Australia (67%), Canada (66%), Nigeria (66%), and the UK (65%) are among the other countries with large majorities favouring Obama.

Pakistan, where 14 per cent want to see Romney elected compared to 11 per cent who prefer Obama, is the only country where the current President is not the favoured candidate--but here, three-quarters (75%) express no opinion. The countries with the largest proportions favouring Mitt Romney are Kenya (18%) and Poland (16%).

 

 

Which may just be one of the very few real good reasons to prefer Mitt Romney over Barack Obama.

 

More charts and stuff

Submitted by Roanman on Wed, 10/17/2012 - 07:59

 

On account of us having barely even put a dent in the pile of stuff we've collected recently, here's a little more.

Since it's the morning after the second debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in their contest to determine the next President of the United States, and the subject of "taxing the rich" is bound to have come up, let's start with tax rates.

Romney's 2011 tax rate was significantly lower at about 13.6% than was Obama's at about 21%.

Romney's giving exceeds that of Obama by a score of 29% to 24%. 

At the risk of being accused of beating a dead horse, we think everybody should be paying the same rate after a substantial personal deduction and that charitable giving should only be an issue if some selfish little turd who gives next to nothing out of his personal account happens to be running for the office of Vice President.

 

     

 

We know this and are positive that you know it as well, but it is certainly worth repeating. 

Charts like statistics can be fudged, as is pointed out in these two views of America's 'housing recovery.

 

 

We posted these two a while back.

Both employment/population and the labor force participation rate of men are in serious decline.

 

   

 

Not to worry though as our government with money provided by the American people supplies many, many, many of our poorest and less fortunate souls with food, clothing and shelter in abundance.

 

 

The following depiction accurately ... we think ... conveys how we determine who it is that needs the most help providing for their own living arrangements.

Fair is fair.

 

And many Americans need this help as large percentages of the American people have less than a $100 cash reserve for emergencies.

 

 

Part of the problem might just be that the value of the unit in which people are getting paid, the dollar, declines in value year after year after year after year after ......

Yeah, yeah you've seen this one before.

 

  

 

 

While the rate of change in average hourly earnings is also in decline.

 

  

 

I believe that we have mentioned that those scalawags over there at the government are living large.

 

  

 

We're guessing that not one word of any of this with the exception of that "tax the rich" thing was mentioned last night.

Out of time ..... gotta scoot.

 

Sometimes some charts, a couple of cartoons and a photo or two are all you need.

Submitted by Roanman on Sun, 10/14/2012 - 12:41

 

We have got the stuff today as we've been collecting without a post for probably the better part of three weeks now.

So, in no particular order of importance,

Recent Natural Gas pricing offers a primer on the law of supply and demand as supply of Nat Gas drilling rigs rises and falls with the price of Nat Gas.  

Prices for Liquid Natural Gas swing wildly from continent to continent as intercontinental transport of Natural Gas remains difficult, expensive and likely dangerous.

 

  

 

Some people took a less serious approach to the Presidential debates than did others.

 

 

  

 

While President Obama's epic poor performance in the first debate may not cost him the Presidency it most certainly has destroyed what little confidence the country had left in the abilities of the Telestrator in Chief.

 

 

 

When The New Yorker is taking cover shots at a sitting Democrat President, you gotta think all credibility is lost.

 

  

 

Spain has moved past debate as it's rate of unemplyment moves into the mid 20s.  The real dark red in the map below is Spain for those of you who are geographically challenged.

The light blue smack in the middle of Europe is Germany, who I'm thinking would really like to stay that color.

 

   

 

 

"Recortes Son Necesarios" translates as "Cuts Are Necessary" in reference to austerity measures allegedly being implemented by the Spanish governmnent.

We trust you can grasp the meaning in the artwork.

Order yours here.

 

    

 

Unbelievably to us among many, the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union despite the violence captured in the photos below.

We happen to be very comfortable laying the blame for that violence directly at the feet of the European Union, among some others.

 

    

 

Which award following that for President Obama inspired the following special offer.

 

 

Speaking of unemployment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate has fallen from 8.1 % in August to 7.8% in September on the strength of some 870,000 plus new jobs 563,000 of which were part time.  

This number has been widely mocked as cooked.

While not evidence of cooking on the part of the Labor Department, the following chart of the September Monthly Change to Workers Aged 20-24 reveals the first and only increase in employment in 28 years.  

Each bar in the chart below represents a September of some year.

The fact is that September of 2012 is the first month in history that this age group has ever experienced an increase in employment during the month of September ...... you're gonna have to take our word on that last part as I can't find a chart that works.

 

 

As demonstrated in this next chart, the number of unemployed and underemployed people for the month of September increased from 25.8 million in August to 26.2 million in September.

 

 

 

I don't know what this has to do with anything, but I thought it to be interesting and saved it to whip out the next time there is an uncomfortable lull in the conversation at some cocktail party I may be attending.

From The Pew Forum.

 

 

Finally, because I'm out of both time and energy for the moment, that's it for now.

We finish today's report with the fundamental difference between Mom and Dad.

 

 

Alan Keyes has a question.

Submitted by Roanman on Mon, 10/01/2012 - 21:10

 

The way Mr. Keyes sees it, one bank owned, neocon pawn is as good/bad as another.

So he asks himself, "Do you take the demonstrably competent candidate who will be elected with the mantle of conservative legitimacy that allows him to proceed with the identical agenda as the liberal stumblebum who has yet to demonstrate much in the way of any real competence at anything beyond getting himself elected and seems far more interested in his golf game than in implementing anything that resembles real policy anyway?"

 That there is one helluva question if you ask us.

 

 

Romney Foreign Policy Advisors

Submitted by Roanman on Tue, 08/28/2012 - 08:37

 

Much ..... Ok, Ok ..... some, is being made of the preponderance of US/Israeli dual citizens appointed to the Mitt Romney campaign's foreign policy team.

From the Washington Post and Fighting For Liberty.

We put the two lists together so you wouldn't have to.

A significantly more complete list of resume' items for each of these good people along with supporting links can be found at Active Post.

We way double recommend that you go there and read it all.

DO IT!!! THIS IS AMERICA, YOU'LL DO AS YOU'RE TOLD.

Just kidding ........... sort of.

 

Cofer Black, Vice President of Blackbird Technologies; Director of the CIA Counter-Terrorism Center (1999-2002); United States Department of State Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism (2002-2004)

Christopher Burnham, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank Asset Management; United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management (2005-2006); United States Under Secretary of State for Management (2001-2005)

Michael Chertoff, Chairman of the Chertoff Group; United States Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009); Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2003-2005) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Eliot Cohen, Director of the Strategic Studies Program at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Counselor to the United States Department of State (2007-2009); Defense Policy Advisory Board Member (2001-2009) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Board, American Action Network; Adviser to the Republican Jewish Coalition; United States Senator (R-MN) (2003-2009) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

John Danilovich, Member of the Trilantic European Advisory Council; CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation (2005-2009); Ambassador to Brazil (2004-2005); Ambassador to Costa Rica (2001-2004)

Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (2001-2009)

Eric Edelman, Visiting Scholar at School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005-2009); Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Michael Hayden, Principal of the Chertoff Group; Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009); Director of the National Security Agency (1999-2005)

Kerry Healey, President, Friends of the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan; Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007); Trustee, American University of Afghanistan

Kim Holmes, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation; Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (2001-2005)

Robert Joseph, Senior Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy; Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2005-2007)

Robert Kagan, Syndicated Columnist; Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Center on United States and Europe; Board Member of the Foreign Policy Initiative (Israeli Dual Citizen)

John Lehman, Chairman and Founding Partner, J. F. Lehman & Co.; National Security Advisory Counsel for the Center for Security Policy; Secretary of the Navy (1981-1987); Member of the 9/11 Commission (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Walid Phares, Professor of Global Strategies at the National Defense University in Washington; Member of the Advisory Board of the Task Force on Future Terrorism at the Department of Homeland Security (2006-2007)

Pierre Prosper, Partner at Arent Fox; United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (2001-2005); Special Counsel and Policy Adviser to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (1999-2001)

Mitchell Reiss, President of Washington College; Director of Policy Planning at State Department (2001-2005); Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (2005-2007)

Daniel Senor, Partner at Rosemont Capital; Coalition Provisional Authority Spokesman and Senior Advisor (2003-2004); Director and Co-Founder, Foreign Policy Initiative

Jim Talent, Distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation; United States Senator (R-MO) (2002-2007)

Vin Weber, Managing Partner, Clark & Weinstock; Member of the United States House of Representatives (R-Minn.) (1981-1993)

Richard Williamson, Partner at Winston & Strawn; United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (2004); Special Envoy to Sudan (2008-2009); Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (1988-1989)

Dov Zakheim, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (2001-2004); Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Planning and Resources (1985-1987) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

 

Romney’s 13 working groups and their leaders, as announced by the Romney campaign:

 

Afghanistan & Pakistan Working Group

James Shinn, Co-Chair, Lecturer at Princeton University; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (2007-2008)

Ashley Tellis, Co-Chair, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (2003)

Africa Working Group

Tibor Nagy, Chair, Vice Provost for International Affairs at Texas Tech University; Ambassador to Ethiopia (1999-2002); Ambassador to Guinea (1996-1999)

 

Asia-Pacific Working Group

Evan Feigenbaum, Co-Chair, Executive Director of the Paulson Institute; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia (2006-2009); Member for East Asia, Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff (2001-2006) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Aaron Friedberg, Co-Chair, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University; Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs and Director of Policy Planning, Office of the Vice President (2003-2005) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Kent Lucken, Co-Chair, Director at Citigroup Private Bank in Boston; Former Foreign Service Officer; Board Member for the US-Asia Institute (Israeli Dual Citizen)

 

Counter-Proliferation Working Group

Eric Edelman, Co-Chair, Visiting Scholar at School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005-2009); Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Robert Joseph, Co-Chair, Senior Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy; Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2005-2007)

Stephen Rademaker, Co-Chair, Principal at Podesta Group; Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation (2002-2006); Policy Director for National Security Affairs and Senior Counsel to Sen. Bill Frist (2006-2007)

 

Counterterrorism & Intelligence Working Group

Michael Chertoff, Co-Chair, Chairman of the Chertoff Group; Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009); Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2003-2005) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Michael Hayden, Co-Chair, Principal of the Chertoff Group; Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009); Director of the National Security Agency (1999-2005)

 

Defense Working Group

John Lehman, Co-Chair, Chairman and Founding Partner, J.F. Lehman & Co.; National Security Advisory Council for the Center for Security Policy; Secretary of the Navy (1981-1987); Member of the 9/11 Commission (Israeli Dual Citizen)

Roger Zakheim, Co-Chair, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (2008-2009) (Son of Dov ..... above)

 

Europe Working Group

Nile Gardiner, Co-Chair, Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom; Foreign Policy Researcher for British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (2000-2002)

Kristen Silverberg, Co-Chair, Chief Operating Officer at Vorbeck Materials; Ambassador to the European Union (2008-2009); Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (2005-2008) (Israeli Dual Citizen)

 

Human Rights Working Group

Pierre Prosper, Chair, Partner at Arent Fox; United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (2001-2005); Special Counsel and Policy Adviser to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues (1999-2001)

 

International Assistance Working Group

Grant Aldonas, Co-Chair, Senior Adviser at Center for Strategic and International Studies; Under Secretary for International Trade at the Commerce Department (2001-2005); Member of the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (2001-2005)

Daniel Runde, Co-Chair, Director of Prosperity and Development at Center for Strategic and International Studies; Former Director of the Office of Global Development Alliances at USAID (2005-2007); Head of Philanthropy Relations at the International Finance Corporation (2007-2010)

 

International Organizations Working Group

Christopher Burnham, Co-Chair, Vice Chairman Deutsche Bank Asset Management; United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management (2005-2006); United States Under Secretary of State for Management (2001-2005)

Paula Dobriansky, Co-Chair, Senior Fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government; Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (2001-2009)

Robert O’Brien, Co-Chair, Partner at Arent Fox; US Alternate Representative to the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly (2005-2006); Former legal officer with the United Nations Security Council (Compensation Commission) (2006-2008)

 

Latin America Working Group

Clifford Sobel, Co-Chair, Ambassador to Brazil (2006-2009); Ambassador to the Netherlands (2001-2005); Member United States Holocaust Memorial Council (1994-1998)

Ray Walser, Co-Chair, Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation; Director of the Foreign Service Institute’s Western Hemisphere Area Studies program (2005-2007); 27-year Foreign Service Officer

 

Middle East & North Africa Working Group

Mary Beth Long, Co-Chair, Senior Vice President at Neural IQ Government Services; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (2007-2009)

Meghan O’Sullivan, Co-Chair, Lecturer at Kennedy School of Government; Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan (2004-2007)

Walid Phares, Co-Chair, Professor of Global Strategies at the National Defense University in Washington; Member of the Advisory Board of the Task Force on Future Terrorism at the Department of Homeland Security (2006-2007)

 

Russia Working Group

Leon Aron, Co-Chair, Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; Author of Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life and other noted works; Contributed to The New Russian Foreign Policy

William Martel, Co-Chair, Associate Professor of International Security Studies at the Fletcher School, Tufts University

 
I duuno.  It seems statistically significant, especially in light of Mr. Romney's proposed foreign policy ideas.
 
 
 

The War for the White House 2012

Submitted by Roanman on Wed, 08/15/2012 - 18:19

 

From DemonOcracy.info ... way super double highly recommrnded ... who have prepared a half dozen or so extremely well done infographics on the issues of the day.

 

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, political twins

Submitted by Roanman on Thu, 05/31/2012 - 17:50

 

I stand corrected.

I had been of the opinion that Mitt Romney is nothing more than George W. Bush all over again.

My bad.

Really, he's Barack Obama all over again.

Don't believe it?

Watch this.

 

 

 

The only word of difference between them is coal.

 

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