An Airplane Window on Mitt's Thinking
Let me start by saying I'm grateful that Ann Romney--as well as the pilot and co-pilot who were in the cockpit of Ann's chartered plane where a fire broke out Friday, forcing them to make an emergency landing--are safe. I'm sure the entire episode…
Health and Workers Dying to Feed Us
This article in Scientific American is unusual among the articles defending the results of the Stanford University study finding no nutritional benefit in eating organic food in that it at least mentions the people on whom pesticides have an…
Pakistan Denounces Railway Minister for Filmmaker Bounty, US Joins Condemnation, Ignoring Own Bounties
On Saturday, Pakistan's Federal Railway Minister made headlines around the world by offering a $100,000 bounty for the killing of the maker of "The Innocence of the Muslims" after riots related to the film resulted in 21 deaths in Pakistan…
Poking Our Eyes Out in Libya
The NYT reports that--as already happened in Lebanon and Iran in the last year or so--the attack on the Consulate in Benghazi seriously set back CIA's intelligence gathering efforts in Libya.
“It’s a catastrophic intelligence loss,” said…
Irish Trash
Trashing the Irish from Notre Dame is always fun. Nothing will ever approach the drama of five years ago where the battle between Michigan and the Domers was between a pair of unvictorious and untied teams. Ah, those were the good old days.…
How Does a Paper Personal Journal Survive a Fire?
Michael Calderone catches CNN not disclosing that their reporting purportedly based on "a source familiar with Ambassador Stevens' thinking" was actually working off his personal journal which they had obtained and not disclosed to the FBI team…
How to Make Mitt's Tax Rate Look 3.5% Higher Than It Was
As you've surely heard, Mitt has finally released his tax return for 2011 along with a statement signed by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and certified by its General Counsel, Diana Weiss, summarizing what he paid for a 20 year span of time: 1990-2009.
Mitt's…
Now That Latif Has Died But His Precedent Lives, DOD Releases List He Would Have Been On
As Josh Gerstein reported, the government has released a list of 55 Gitmo detainees who have been cleared for release.
The list was dated September 21--almost two weeks after Adnan Farhan abd al Latif died. Note, the list makes it clear there…
Mitt's DOES Have a View of Workers
While I'm happy that Paul Krugman is observing the same thing I did here--that Republicans don't care much about workers--I disagree with his observation that Mitt said nothing about workers in his RNC speech.
Lest you think that this was just…
And What Will MEK Be Doing in Baghdad While Waiting for Resettlement?
CNN has a funny story reporting that Hillary Clinton will inform Congress she's delisting the MEK from State's foreign terrorist organization list.
It botches the key paragraph explaining that MEK has done what Hillary said they'd have to…
Panetta Continues to Ignore Reality, Calls Surge a Success
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta looks as though he is going to be the last person on the planet to realize what a failure US strategy in Afghanistan has become. Today, while visiting New Zealand, he announced that the final surge troops have…
It's Actually Not about the West Wing--It's about Rule of Law
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I have a confession: I never, ever watched the West Wing. I don't think I've watched a single episode.
So many of you will probably enjoy--or at least understand--this video more than me.
But if it has…
Mitt Romney Guilty Of A Hate Crime
Yes, I am absolutely serious about the implication in the title of this post.
I was scrolling through my twitter feed about lunchtime here, after doing some work, and found this exchange between two people I follow, Carrie Johnson and Dan…
Fox News Blames Benghazi Attack on Gitmo Detainee
Fox News quotes sources claiming that former Gitmo detainee Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamouda Bin Qumu was involved in--and may have planned--the attack on American's Consulate in Benghazi.
Intelligence sources tell Fox News they are convinced…
As Failure Language Creeps into Afghanistan Discussion, McCain, Young Call for Accelerated Withdrawal
Now that most joint operations involving US and Afghan forces have been put on hold, there are major developments in both media discussions of the war and in opinions among prominent Republicans in Washington on how the US should move forward…
Tim Pawlenty Gives Mitt the Bain Treatment
Here's part of how Mitt would make money at Bain Capital: He'd get a organization that had real value. He'd suck that value out of the organization. It would go into debt. And often, before the organization lost too much of its value, Mitt and…
Latif, the NDAA, and Mitt's Moochers
Amy Goodman is doing a 100 city tour to support public outlets that carry Democracy Now. She also gave a talk about the importance of independent media at Grand Rapids Community Media Center.
And, she had me--live!--on her show.
Man…
Now that MI's Unemployment Has Gone Up over 1%, Will the Press Report It?
I've been a little mystified by reporting on Michigan's unemployment of late. There was this NYT story that gave credit to Rick Snyder credit for, "presiding over an employment rebound in a state that not long ago had the highest jobless rate…
The Missing Two Minutes: Mitt's Case for Permawar
In an effort to excuse Mitt's disdain for 47% of the country, Republicans are pointing out there's a break in the tape from the Mitt fundraiser. MoJo explains the break this way.
According to the source, the recording device was inadvertently…
An Auspiciously Timed Republican Meltdown
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The Republican party is in a bit of a meltdown in response to the leak of Mitt's comments about the 47% of the country he disdains. Some--mostly the pundits not facing voters in November--are embracing his claim…
