ROMNEY AS GOVERNOR: ‘WE’D BE A LOT BETTER OFF IN THIS COUNTRY IF WE HAD EUROPEAN GAS PRICES’

Republicans have criticized President Obama for rising gas prices during his administration, but as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney once remarked that “we’d be a lot better off in this country if we had European gas prices,” the New York Times reports. Romney also wrote that he “shared my own dream for a super-efficient commuter vehicle” when he met with an advocate for fuel-efficient vehicles and often talked about such a plan, Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) told the Times. “He was ahead of his time and very progressive,” a former Romney appointee said. As a candidate, though, Romney has backed off such advocacy, instead pushing for more domestic oil drilling.

Android Phones Vulnerable To Wipeout Attack, Galaxy S3 and Other Sumsung Devices Tageted : Says Ravi Borgaonkar

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cellphones using Google's Android operating system are at risk of being disabled or wiped clean of their data, including contacts, music and photos, because of a security flaw that was discovered several months ago but went unnoticed until now.

Afghanistan War: 2,000th U.S. Troop Killed In Insider Attack

KABUL, Afghanistan — A firefight broke out between U.S. forces and their Afghan army allies in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, killing two Americans and three Afghan soldiers and pushing the number of U.S. troops killed in the long-running war 2,000.

The Sunday September 30th 2012 Talking Heads

FOX NEWS SUNDAY

I like how when Chris Wallace stands on the set to introduce his show, they back-light him, so that he looks like a ghost or a hologram.

'It Would Take Me Too Long' To Explain Mitt Romney's Tax Plan: Paul Ryan (Translation: "I don't know either")

WASHINGTON -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan promised again on Sunday that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would bring lower tax rates for all Americans while remaining revenue-neutral, although he didn’t fully explain how it would accomplish that.

Texans Fight Back Against Suppression Efforts On National Voter Registration Day

HOUSTON, Texas — Last week, the nation learned about True The Vote, a Houston-based tea party group that fans out to heavily-minority precincts and challenges voters’ ballots.

Opelousas Massacre Occurred On This Date In 1868, Hundreds Of Blacks Slain Over Voting Rights (This is why we vote, This is why you should vote)

The Opelousas Massacre in St. Landry Parish, La., has baffled historians over the years. From varying accounts, hundreds of Blacks were reportedly killed, because of their desire to join a local political group that included racist White Democrats. The Seymour Knights violently drove potential Black voters away from the Democratic Party, prompting White Republican reporter Emerson Bentley to write that Blacks should remain loyal to the Republican Party in local paper The Progress.

US blocks Chinese firm's investment in wind farms

President Barack Obama has stopped a Chinese company from building wind turbines in the US state of Oregon, citing national security concerns, his administration said.

Tehrangeles: How Iranians made part of LA their own

Google maps recently recognised "Tehrangeles" as a neighborhood of central Los Angeles. How did this upmarket part of LA become home to the largest community of Iranians outside Iran?

Obama’s Judges Are Confirmed More Than Three Times Slower Than Reagan’s Judges

Over at Slate, Doug Kendall breaks down just how badly President Obama’s judicial nominees have been treated due to filibusters led by one or more Senate Republicans. “The average confirmation time for uncontroversial circuit court nominees rose from 64.5 days under Reagan to 227.3 days under Obama. . . . Similarly, the average waiting time for uncontroversial district court nominees increased from 69.9 days under Reagan to 204.8 days under President Obama. And the number of district court nominees who wait more than 200 days has doubled from George W.’s time to Obama’s.” Kendall uses the Congressional Research Service’s definition of an uncontroversial nominee to reach these numbers, which is a nominee who receives “little or no opposition when votes are actually cast in the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor.”

'Carmageddon 2' Starts Tonight

Over-hyped, you say? Even Los Angelenos admit that last year's "Carmageddon" ended with a whimper, but some say the sequel could be far worse,Reuters reports. A new 53-hour closure of the 405 Freeway north of the Getty Center starts tonight at midnight and drags on until Monday at 5am—so it's like last year, with one exception: No one seems to give a hoot this time. "If people don't think it's a problem, it will be one," says an city councilman.

Sam Jackson Says: "Wake The Fuck Up!"

“Pulp Fiction” meets politics in the uproariously funny President Barack Obama ad featuring foul-mouthed thespian Samuel L. Jackson.

Unemployment Study Offers More Evidence Nobody Wants To Hire The Long-Term Jobless

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have confirmed something that might have been obvious to unemployed people for a while: The longer a person is out of work, the less likely it is he or she will find a job.

Mitt Romney Favorability Lower Than George W. Bush, Poll Finds

If Mitt Romney was hoping to distance himself from former President George W. Bush, a new poll has some news that might trouble the Republican presidential nominee: Bush posted higher favorability ratings than Romney.

Fixed News Airs Suicide On Live TV, Apologizes

Fox News inadvertently showed a man commit suicide on live television Friday afternoon, leading host Shepard Smith to apologize to viewers.

Republican Party Paid $3.1 Million To FirmUnder Investigation For Voter Registration Fraud (Voter Fraud Point Lead: GOP: 2 DNC: 0)

The Republican National Committee is cutting ties to Strategic Allied Consulting, a voter registration firm under investigation for turning in fraudulent voter registration forms in Florida. The RNC hired the firm to do voter registration drives for $3.1 million this year.

Maine Mayor Loses It, Tells Immigrants ‘You Have To Accept Our Culture’

Bob Macdonald, the mayor of Lewiston, Maine, is attracting national attention after appearing in a BBC documentary and demanding that the Somali immigrants who live in his town “leave your culture at the door.” Lewiston has become a haven for Somali immigrants who have fled their war-torn and poverty stricken nation. In the BBC documentary, which aired September 11, Macdonald said:

Obama Versus Romney: Everything You Need To Know About Where The Candidates Stand On Energy Policy

Clean energy is an important part of the economy of Colorado, which is the location of the first presidential debate on October 3rd.

Top Catholic Bishop Affirms Need For Government Programs To Help The Poor

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its head, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, have stood fast in their support of government programs that benefit the poor as lawmakers in Washington move to cut funding for many of those programs in the name of debt and deficit reduction. In a blog post honoring the feast day of St. Vincent DePaul, “considered by many to be the ‘star’ saint of Christian charity and concern for the poor,” Cardinal Dolan issued a joint statement with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn that reaffirmed the importance of government programs in fighting poverty and helping low-income Americans.

Romney’s Approach To Medicare Reform Will Lead To Higher Costs, Study Finds

A new Urban Institute Health Policy Center study finds that premium support models, such as the proposed Romney/Ryan Medicare plan, are more likely to increase excess costs in the program.

What's The Deal With The Obama Phone Myth? (Oh, you mean the one started under Bush and Planned During the Reagan Years? Yes That One!)

On Thursday, the Drudge Report splashed a video of an undentified woman who claims to have recieved a free “Obama Phone.”

Police Chief Quits, Leaving Just Dog in the Force

(AP) – A drug-sniffing dog now is the only certified member of the police force in the small eastern New Mexico town of Vaughn. Police Chief Ernest "Chris" Armijo decided to step down yesterday after news stories reported that he wasn't allowed to carry a gun because of his criminal background—delinquent child support payments and felony weapons charges. That leaves Nikka the pooch as the only qualified member of the Vaughn Police Department. Vaughn's other officer isn't certified and pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery last year. Noncertified officers can't make arrests and can't carry firearms.

Stop Bytching About The Supposed "Rigged" Polls Showing The President Ahead!

No matter what poll you look at – local or national, non partisan or politically leaning – there’s an obvious pattern: In the polls, there’s an upswing for President Barack Obama and a downward spiral for his challenger, former-Governor Mitt Romney. With only a couple weeks left in the election, instead of joining the chorus of competent conservative critiques like Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonanand New York Times columnist David Brooks, other members of conservative media are peddling conspiracies: “Lamestream media is purposely skewing the poll numbers to hurt Romney due to their bias for all things Barack Hussein Obama.”

How The Tea Party Hopes To Purge Thousands of Ohio Voters

Members of an Ohio tea party group are taking it upon themselves to individually police alleged voter fraud, launching challenges to a targeted list of voters that includes hundreds of college students, trailer park residents, homeless people and African Americans in counties President Obama won in 2008. In all, the group has sought to remove from the voter rolls at least 2,100 registrations in 13 Ohio counties, nine of which Obama won in 2008, according to the Los Angeles Times.

German woman held on suspicion of killing five newborns

A woman in northern Germany has been arrested and charged with manslaughter over the killing of five of her newborn babies.

Hitachi Data Glass: New Glass-Based Data Storage System Would Last For 100 Million Years

Once upon a time, we worried about the sound of our records degrading as they aged. Then, CDs came along and we had to worry about them scratching. Even MP3s are destined to degrade over time.

Mia Love, Republican Mayor In Utah, Receives Photos Of KKK Member, Aborted Fetuses (This Broad is lying, when the hell did the Klan ever support President Obama? Black Conservatives )

Note:  Someone is using race cards drawn in crayola crayons on this one. Ms. Love look At Who Is Standing On Your Right First Before Trying to Slap The Guy Who Is On Your Left. Two very strong clues as to who the culprit is - the pictures of the hooded KKK guy and the aborted fetuses. Both of these issues are smack in the middle of the Grand Old Party's ideology. Keep Reaching!

Utah mayor and GOP congressional candidate Mia Love was sent an envelope containing racist and disturbing photos. The black, female Republican says she's become a target because she "poses a problem to the policies of the Obama administration."

Postal Service Set To Default On More Than $5 Billion Payment For Second Time Since August

The U.S. Postal Service may be able to deliver your bill payments, but it's having a little trouble delivering its own.

Panetta: Military's Handling Of Rape Is 'An Outrage'

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said in an interview this week with NBC's Natalie Morales that the military's tendency to sweep rape cases under the rug instead of prosecuting them is "an outrage" he intends to change.

Top US Banks Hit By Middle East Hackers

Customers of Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank of America, and other institutions briefly lost access to their online accounts amid an attack by a Middle East-based hacker group—even after the group warned banks of the impending attack, the Los Angeles Times reports. Account information wasn't compromised, the banks say, but the attacks have experts worried. "The banks put a lot of effort into cyber security. But they're so desirable as a target, even with all that effort they still have problems," notes an analyst.

Clinton & Co. Land Cheap Birth Control for World Poor

Prices for long-acting contraception will be halved for 27 million women in the developing world through a new partnership, Bill Clinton and other world leaders announced yesterday. The deal will help avoid almost 30 million unwanted pregnancies and save an estimated $250 million in health costs, the partnership said. By slowing down the pace of births and avoiding medical problems such as premature births, the partnership said about 30,000 maternal deaths and 280,000 child deaths can be avoided.

Florida Officially Restarts Voter Purge, Revised List Still Appears To Be Inaccurate

Florida has officially restarted it’s controversial purge of registered voters less than 6 weeks before election day. Governor Scott’s intention to resume the effort, detailed in a PowerPoint presentation, was first reported by ThinkProgress.

Romney’s Budget Plan Could Kill Millions Of Jobs Over The Next Two Years

The budget and tax proposals put forth by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would not lead to the economic prosperity and job growth he has claimed, according to a new study released this week. In fact, the Economic Policy Institute found that Romney’s plans would actually lead to a net loss of jobs over the first two years of his administration, and the losses could grow even larger if Romney were to stick to his promise of reaching a balanced budget.

Homophobia Tracker Finds ‘Faggot’ On Twitter Nearly 1 Million Times Per Month

What You Should Know In The Labor Deal Between The NFL And Its Officials

The era of replacement referees is over after the National Football League and its officials’ union reached an agreement late last night to end the league’s lockout. The deal, which follows months of fighting between the two sides and a lockout that kept officials off the field for all preseason games and the first three weeks of the NFL season, came amidst fan and player outrage about a blown call on Monday Night Football that changed the outcome of a game.

New Data Show Obama Net Positive For Job Creation Since He Took Office

According to new revisions released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy created 386,000 more jobs between March 2011 and March 2012 than shown by previous estimates. As economist Justin Wolfers noted, this means that President Obama is now net positive for job creation over his term in office, even taking into account the massive losses in January 2009:

Immigration Convictions In Record Numbers Fueling Corporate Profits With Private Prisons

This spring, a group of inmates at a privately operated federal prison in Mississippi -- most of them undocumented immigrants from Mexico -- rose up against their guards, setting fires, taking hostages and ultimately killing one correctional officer.

Antietam: Re-enacting a bloody 1862 US Civil War battle (A nearby spectator overhears my question and calls out: "States' rights!") Oh Well

The Civil War Battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest days in American history, with 23,000 dead, wounded or missing in a matter of hours. One hundred fifty years later, a group gathered to remember the battle - by re-enacting it.

Detroit Teen Sentenced In Killing Of 84-Year-Old Church Security Guard (I say put this fool under the jail for 84 years)

DETROIT — A teenager has been sentenced to at least 14 years in prison in the fatal shooting of an 84-year-old man who was killed while guarding a Detroit church.

NFIB Exposed: 'Voice Of Small Business' Is A Front, Group Charges

WASHINGTON -- The same group that exposed the previously little-known American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as a dominant force advancing corporate interests at the state level has now turned its sights on exposing the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

After Nearly A Decade Of Declines, Manufacturing Jobs Begin Rebound

After nearly a decade of steep declines, American manufacturing jobs have begun to rebound since the beginning of the Obama administration, as the slide that occurred under President George W. Bush and during the Great Recession has largely been reversed.

Who Needs Evidence? Congressman Pins Blame For Capitol Hill Burglaries On Undocumented Immigrants

Police on Capitol Hill are investigating a slew of thefts from House Members’ offices. The burglaries take place at night and the perpetrators usually steal “personal mementos and Congressional memorabilia that could be sold online.” The police say they “continue to investigate the thefts,” but at least one Republican Congressman already has his culprit: undocumented immigrants. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) tells Roll Call that maintenance staff with questionable immigration statuses may be responsible for the burglaries:

Chief Of Cherokee Nation Blasts Brown Staffers: ‘Downright Racist’

The Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation on Wednesday released a statement condemning the employees of Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) after a video surfaced of three campaign staffers mocking Brown’s opponent’s Native American heritage.

WORLD LEADERS STRIKE DEAL TO REDUCE PRICE OF CONTRACEPTION

Coinciding with World Contraception Day, former President Bill Clinton announced on Wednesday a new agreement that will reduce the price of long-acting birth control for millions of women worldwide. The trade deal, announced jointly with the Clinton Foundationand several world leaders at the UN, will cut the price of Bayer-manufactured progestrogen implants by half or more in exchange for a six-year purchasing commitment. Clinton described the arrangement as “a very big deal, and it will play itself out over and over again in the lives of citizens who will be safe, who will have healthier families and who will live longer lives.” — Nate Niemann

Proof Of Actual Voter FRAUD In Colorado, "Oh forgot to say for Romney Only"

Check out this voter fraud caught on camera. She claims to be an employee of the County Clerks office – but is only registering one particular party, in addition to exit polling. Why isn’t there harsher laws against voter fraud since the presidential elections are so important to this country.

Could gay marriage keep Black people from the polls?

Could gay marriage keep Black people from the polls? It was the subject of a segment this week on NPR, largely fueled by an article published by the Associated Press, entitled, “Some Black Christians Waver Over Vote.“ To save you time, the pieces basically argue that since clergymen of color can’t decide if they dislike the Mormon candidate more than the Black dude who dared to personally endorse same-sex marriage, they are encouraging Black congregants to stay home on Election Day.

7 IN 10 AMERICANS THINK OBAMACARE IS HERE TO STAY

A majority of Americans believe the Affordable Care Act will be implemented while just 12 percent believe it will be repealed, according to a new Associated Press-GFK poll. 63 percent of respondents were also in favor of the state-run insurance exchanges that many Republican governors are refusing to set up in case Mitt Romney wins the election and repeals the health reform law. Just 15 states and DC plan to run their own exchanges. Though they believe the law will not be repealed, many people still hold misconceptions about what exactly Obamacare does, with just 14 percent correctly identifying the provisions and feeling confident about their answers.

‘Little Rock Nine”’ Enter High School That Forcibly Banned Them On This Day In 1957

The events surrounding the controversial and moving spectacle of the “Little Rock Nine” still reverberates in the minds of many with its stark imagery and political implications. The barring of nine Black African-American students who were prevented from entering Arkansas’ Little Rock Central High School on September 4, 1957, became known historically as the “Little Rock Crisis,” with then-Governor Orval Faubus calling in the National Guard to stop the students at the door. On this date in 1957, the nine students would begin integration of Little Rock Central along with federal and nearby Army troops.

Has Europe Taken Online Privacy Far More Seriously Than The U.S.

Last week, Facebook announced it would cease using facial recognition technology on European Union users and delete all data following complaints from member states and an inquiry by the Irish Data Commissioner. While the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission here in the U.S. over Facebook’s use of the same technology, the complaint remains pending — repeating a familiar narrative of online giants facing higher levels of scrutiny in European Union countries than in the United States.

Five Facts About Voting In America For National Voter Registration Day

Today is National Voter Registration Day. With little more than a month remaining until the elections, time is running out for new voters or voters who moved since the last election to register to vote this November. Voters who need a registration form from their home state cansign up for one here.

Romney Unwittingly Explains Why Citizens United Was Wrong

At a forum on education policy on Tuesday morning, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney launched into an unexpected explanation of why big money should be kept out of our political system:

20 Dollar Per Ton Carbon Tax Could Reduce Deficit By $1.2 Trillion In 10 Years

Over the last year, there’s been increasing talk in Washington political circles — including conservative ones — about how to use a carbon tax as a deficit reduction tool. However, with an election season in full swing and a large number of Congressional Republicans campaigning against climate action, the current likelihood of getting a price on carbon is officially zero.

New Yorkers Plaster ‘Racist’ Stickers Over Islamophobic Subway Ads

After the anti-American protests erupted in the Middle East earlier this month, Pam Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) decided to re-up its anti-Muslim ad campaign in New York’s subway system. The ad, borrowing from an Ayn Rand quote, is meant to imply that Muslims are savages.

96 Percent Of People Have Received Some Government Assistance

Mitt Romney got himself in trouble when he wrote off 47 percent of Americans who “are dependent upon government.” But he also got his math wrong.

Nuns On A Bus: Romney’s 47 Percent Comments Show ‘He Has No Idea How Hard It Is’ To Be Poor

The leader of the Nuns On A Bus tour that has criss-crossed the nation highlighting the effect the House Republican budget would have on low-income Americans said Monday that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s recent comments about the “47 percent” “show that he is “out of touch” and “has no idea how hard it is at the margins of our society.”

iPhone 5 Problems: Users' Biggest Issues With Apple's New Handset

Apple says it sold a staggering 5 million iPhones in the device's first weekend in stores. That's faster than any iPhone has sold before.

The Real Reason Men Love Them: Breasts

Jokes about breasts, and men looking at breasts, are such a comedy staple they've become a kind of go-to cliché. How many times have we seen a man talking to a curvaceous woman only to have her point to her own eyes and say "Hey, buddy, up here!"?

NFL BoyCott May Be Coming After The Greenbay/Seattle Game

Boycott the NFL, everyone. Do it now.

I'm going to try not to belabor this point. Everyone who is a fan of the National Football League either witnessed last night's debacle in Seattle as it happened on live television or saw it afterwards in the copious coverage of the final play of the Green Bay-Seattle game. Right now, the National Football League is facing a crisis of leadership, all over a problem that does not even exist: As my colleague Arthur Delaney noted today, "The NFL doesn't even pretend it can't afford ref pensions." And the reporting of HuffPost's Dave Jamieson bears this out:

Chris Christie Not Using $300 Million In Federal Funds To Help Distressed Homeowners, WABC Reports

Is Chris Christie doing enough to help residents of New Jersey stave off foreclosure? A new report from WABC's Jim Hoffer suggests the answer might be "no."

Obama UN Speech Challenges World Leaders To Confront Intolerance At Home

It wasn't quite the sweeping narrative of past addresses, but in a strongly worded speech before the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama challenged the world leaders gathered before him to confront the forces of intolerance and extremism within their own countries and permit more freedom at home.

Jets Scramble After Planes Violate UN Airspace

Two fighter jets scrambled today after two small aircraft violated airspace restrictions in place for the UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders close to the time President Obama was speaking. North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman John Cornelio said the F-22s intercepted the small planes during two separate incidents over New Jersey around 11am.

Women Earn Less Than Men In 97 Percent Of Congressional Districts

Women are earning less than men in 97 percent of Congressional districts, the National Partnership for Women and Families has calculated. That means that only 13 members of Congress have the privilege of representing an area where women are out-earning or making equal pay to men.

Emergency Room As Health Care Option For Uninsured: Mitt Romney

WASHINGTON -- Downplaying the need for the government to ensure that every person has health insurance, Mitt Romney on Sunday suggested that emergency room care suffices as a substitute for the uninsured.

Hurricane Worker Spit On And Assaulted On Hurricane Cleanup Site, Called N-Word (The Young Turks Ask Questions That Make You Think)

Brandi Worley (pictured) was spit on, called the N-word and physically abused by a White male while monitoring hurricane cleanup in Grand Isle, La., last week, WBRZ-TV reports. She caught much of the assault on her cell phone.

Voter Suppression Laws May Discourage 10 Million Hispanics, Study Finds

A new study by the Advancement Project estimates that voter purges and ID requirements being enacted in over 20 states could disenfranchise at least 10 million Hispanic citizens. The analysis found about 6.3 million Hispanic citizens were not registered to vote in 2010, while 10.8 million, about half the voting bloc, said they did not vote. The number is bound to swell as new efforts to limit the vote in states with large Latino communities use outdated information to remove suspected non-citizens:

Millionaire Mitt: It’s ‘Fair’ For Me To Pay Lower Taxes Than Middle Class Americans

Mitt Romney told CBS’s 60 Minutes that it’s “fair” for him to pay a tax rate of just 14.1 percent on his investment income of $20 million, a lower rate than someone earning $50,000 a year in wage income:

Corporations’ Argument For Skyrocketing CEO Pay Proves False

CEO pay has increased 725 percent over three decades, while worker pay has essentially remained flat. Corporations argue that the excessive compensation is necessary to retain top talent, but a new study blows a hole in this highly-improbable theory:

How Facebook Plans On Tracking Your Prescription Drug Purchases, And How To Stop Them

In its quest to sell more and more specifically targeted ads, Facebook has embarked on a new partnership with data-mining company Datalogix, which tracks the real effect of online ads on consumer behavior. Datalogix compiled data on the purchasing habits of 70 million American households from loyalty card memberships of more than 1,000 retailers, including drugstores. Although Facebook and Datalogix claim not to share individual data with one another, they will match up Facebook accounts with real life identities to determine whether a Facebook ad led that person to buy a product — and Facebook will use this data to show advertisers what kinds of ads are most effective.

Obama Video Hits Mitt Romney On Tax Returns, Asks 'What Else Is He Hiding?'

The Obama campaign has released a new video attacking Mitt Romney for not releasing more tax returns.

"What else is he hiding?" the video asks, noting that "from his 2010 release, we knew about his Swiss bank account, and we knew he owned a corporation in Bermuda."

Town Buys Livestock to Go Green, Save Dough

Want to cut back on grass-cutting costs and go green at the same time? Buy a few sheep and goats to chomp on your lawn. That's been the solution in one Vermont town that wanted to save money without letting its cemeteries become overgrown with grass and weeds,NPR reports. The chair of the Cemetery Commission in Charlotte, Vermont, figures the town is saving at least $2,000 annually on fuel costs.

Voting Is “The March Of Our Time”: Michelle Obama Tells CBC

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama says protecting the right to vote has become the nation’s most important civil rights issue.

BILL KRISTOL: OBAMA HAS TURNED AROUND THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN ‘PRETTY WELL’

The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol advised the Mitt Romney to avoid making the election about the last four years, noting that the Obama administration inherited the crisis from Bush and has handled it well. “If this election is just about the last four years, that’s a muddy verdict. Bush was president during the financial meltdown. The Obama team has turned that around pretty well. Bill Clinton’s speech at the convention was very important in that way,” he said. Romney “has go to make it a choice about the next four years and explain what obama would do that would be bad for the country and what he would do to be good.”

Monthly Gift Intervention From The GOP: g.o.b. Republican Tampons

Women's reproductive rights are a hot-button issue this election season, and with so many people out there voicing their opinions, it's hard to figure out where each party stands on things.

Take A Quick Look At America's Poorest States: 24/7 Wall St.

From 24/7 Wall St: Median household income in the United States declined for the second straight year, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau today. Income was $50,502 in 2011, more than 8 percent below the 2007 pre-recession peak.

No President Could Have 'Magically' Fixed It In 1 Term: Bill Clinton On Economy

Former President Bill Clinton vouched for Barack Obama's economic record on Sunday, making his case for the president to have a second term.

In an appearance on CBS' "Face The Nation," Clinton reasoned that no president would have "magically" delivered a "fully healed" economy in four years.

The Sunday September 23Th, 2012 Talking Heads

FOX NEWS SUNDAY

So, we'll start off the day with Robert Gibbs and Scott Walker yelling at each other about politics and then have a panel discussion and...it's getting to be pretty routine, now. Just once I would like to have one of this shows starts with Chris Wallace saying, "Guys! Guys! Brit Hume has been playing stabscotch since about six this morning and he hasn't stabbed his fingers yet! YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS!" And then the rest of the show is just us watching to see if Brit Hume impales himself or not.

Two suburban men charged after checks stolen from Obama campaign

Bail was set at $100,000 and $75,000 today for two men charged with depositing two checks stolen from President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters into bank accounts they fraudulently opened.A judge Saturday set bail at $100,000 for Jessie Adams, who allegedly instructed Willard Elam and another unnamed man who remains at large to open up bank accounts at separate TCF bank branches in the south suburbs. Adams is charged with one count of organizing a financial criminal enterprise.

Maxine Waters Cleared By House Ethics Committee

WASHINGTON — California Democratic Rep.Maxine Waters won’t be charged with ethics violations following allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock.

House Ethics Committee members said Friday at a hearing their investigation found no violation by Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. She could become the panel’s senior Democrat next year, or the chairwoman, if Democrats win control of the House.

480-Pound Killer: I'm Too Fat for Execution

Convicted Ohio killer Ronald Post wants a delay of execution because, he says, his scar tissue and 480 pounds of body mass would make lethal injection far too painful, the AP reports. "There is a substantial risk that any attempt to execute him will result in serious physical and psychological pain to him, as well as an execution involving a torturous and lingering death," his lawyers said in a court filing. His lawyers even added that the 53-year-old is too big for an execution gurney.

Paul Ryan Tells Florida Seniors That Obamacare Includes Death Panels

Paul Ryan likened a mechanism to control health care spending to “death panels,” during a town hall at the University of Central Florida in Orlando on Saturday.

How Less Education Leads To Lower Life Expectancy

White Americans without high school diplomas have seen their life expectancy fall by four years since 1990, according to results from a recent Health Affairs study. The New York Times reports that the drop was sharpest among less-educated white women, whose life expectancy dropped by five years, as opposed to a three year decline for less-educated men.

Romney Threatened To Cancel Univision Forum If Organizers Didn’t Allow Him To Bus In Supporters

Mitt Romney packed the audience for a Univision forum earlier this week, BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins reports, busing in local supporters “after exhausting the few conservative groups on campus.” The campaign threatened to “reschedule” the event if organizers did not allow the “rowdy activists from around southern Florida in order to fill the extra seats at their town hall.”

Iran's State-Run 'Internet' Already Working: Report

Rumors of Iran building its own intranet are all too true, the Washington Post reports. Hoping to control online activity and deter cyber attacks from the US and Israel, Tehran has begun a nationwide network that would partly replace the Internet. The project is already "internally consistent and widely reachable," says a report by US researchers—which jibes with Tehran's claim that government agencies and military groups would be on a new network by the end of the month.

A CONSERVATIVE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

A "liberal version" of history might also make for good reading, but the New Yorker has apparently beaten conservatives to the punch by posting "A Conservative History of the United States." Among the key moments, supported by quotations:

Samsung child labor exposed

Dear Friends:

My name is Li Qiang and I lead a group called China Labor Watch that investigates and exposes worker exploitation. As a rights lawyer committed to knowing every detail of China's labor laws -- and how they're ignored and broken -- I was shocked when I learned what's happening in the Chinese factories supplying electronic giant Samsung.

Stealing An Election In A Grand Party Style

By:  Elizabeth Drew

The Republicans’ plan is that if they can’t buy the 2012 election they will steal it.

The plan, long in the making and now well into its execution, is to raise great gobs of money—in newly limitless amounts—so that they and their allies could outspend the president’s forces; and they would also place obstacles in the way of large swaths of citizens who traditionally support the Democrats and want to exercise their right to vote. The plan would disproportionately affect blacks, who were guaranteed the right to vote in 1870 by the Fifteenth Amendment; but then that right was negated by southern state legislatures; and after people marched, were beaten, and died in the civil rights movement, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now various state legislatures are coming up with new ways to try once again to nullify that right.

The Perils Of Campaigning For President In Spanish

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney hope throwing a little Spanish into their campaign pitches will help them win coveted Latino voters. But neither are fluent in the language.

This summer, a Cuban-American radio presenter in Florida asked Mitt Romney what his favourite types of fruit are.

Voter ID Laws Hit College-Student Voters

In Tennessee, a new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls explicitly excludes student IDs.

In Wisconsin, college students are newly disallowed from using university-provided housing lists or corroboration from other students to verify their residence.

REPORT: Expiration Of High-End Bush Tax Cuts Would Have Little Effect On Economic Growth

The United States is approaching the so-called “fiscal cliff” at the end of 2012, when a set of policies enacted by the debt deal reached in August 2011 will go into effect. In addition to massive spending cuts, several tax provisions will expire, including the full Bush tax cuts.

‘Strange Fruit’ Actress, Educator, Author Dorothy Carter Dies in NY

NEW YORK (AP) — Dorothy Carter, a former stage actress who starred in the adaptation of the groundbreaking novel “Strange Fruit” on Broadway and later became an educator and a children’s book author, has died after battling bladder cancer. She was 94.

REPUBLICAN REP: OBAMA ‘HAS HELPED JUMP START A NEW OTTOMAN EMPIRE’

Speaking on the House floor Friday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) claimed President Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East was “a massive beginning of a new Ottoman Empire that [he] can take great credit for.” Gohmert continued, “This president is trying to buy affection from people who are bullies, who are radical Islamists, who want to destroy us.” The Texas Republican has a history of Islamophobic behavior. Watch the clip:

Sikhs Argue For ‘The Dignity Of Being A Statistic’ At Senate Hearing

As people gathered on Capitol Hill earlier this week for a Senate hearing on hate crimes and domestic terrorism, many expected it to be an emotional affair. The meeting, which focused on the broader issue of hate crimes in the United States, was convened largely in response to the tragic mass shooting in August at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and many of the family members of the victims were among those in attendance.

10 Questions Romney Must Answer About His Taxes

On Friday afternoon, the Romney campaign released the candidate’s 2011 tax return, which showed that he paid a tax rate of approximately 14 percent on more than $13 million of reported income. The campaign also disclosed that Romney voluntarily forfeited about $1.8 million in charitable deductions to inflate the tax rate he would have to disclose to the public. The campaign continues to refuse to release returns prior to 2010, flunking an accepted standard of transparency, first established by Mitt’s father George Romney, of releasing multiple years’ returns.

Bridgewater Founder Ray Dalio: Second Adolf Hitler More Likely In Weak Economy

Ray Dalio, one of the world's richest hedge fund managers, fears that the weak economy could have disastrous social consequences. Specifically, he's worried about the possibility of a tyrant like Adolf Hitler rising to power.

Homer Simpson Votes For Mitt Romney In 'The Simpsons' 2012 Election Short

Is Homer Simpson a Republican?

No, he's not (and by the way, Springfield isn't in Oregon). But in this new clip uploaded to Fox's YouTube channel, Homer Simpson casts his vote for Romney.

Barack Obama Knocks Mitt Romney Over 47 Percent Comments At Virginia Campaign Event

President Barack Obama is stepping up his attack on Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's controversial 47 percent comments, taking his opponent to task over the issue in his first appearance on the stump since the video of Romney's remarks at a private fundraiser was uncovered earlier this week.

Mitt Romney Taxes: Campaign Releasing 2011 Returns

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney is releasing his 2011 tax returns.

The Associated Press reports:

Romney Tries To "Fit In" At Univision Event By Going Brown! Skin, That Is!

They say desperate times call for desperate measures, but this latest stunt from Cirque du Mittens is taking things to the extreme.

What happened to America's community spirit?

The secretly filmed video in which Mitt Romney appeared to disparage the 47% of Americans who do not pay income tax, was nothing compared to the harsh, divisive language used by some US politicians, radio hosts and bloggers. How did US politics become so polarized?

RYAN GETS BOOED AT THE AARP

On Friday afternoon, Paul Ryan addressed the AARP’s National Annual Conference in New Orleans. The GOP vice presidential candidate attacked Obamacare for taking $716 billion out of Medicare — the very same cuts he included in his budget — and made the case for transforming seniors’ health care from a guaranteed benefit into a premium support “voucher” program. The address didn’t go over well. One man called Ryan a “liar” and the audience repeatedly booed his critique of President Obama and health reform.

Watch it:

Study: Fox News Turned Congresspeople More Conservative

A new study has concluded that Fox News turned members of Congress more conservative in its early years.

Tea Party Threatens Revenge Against Pennsylvania Justices For Not Upholding Voter ID Law

Earlier this week, every single sitting Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice rejected a lower court decision allowing that state’s voter ID law to take effect. Four justices joined a majority opinion requiring the lower court judge to look at the case again due to concerns that voters were unable to obtain the IDs they were supposed to have easy access to as a matter of law, and two more justices joined a dissent arguing that the law should simply be suspended right away. Three of the justices in the majority were Republicans.

"Obama Cares" Will Help Seniors Save $5,000 Over The Next Decade

According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the health care reform law will help the average American under a traditional Medicare plan save $5,000 from 2010 to 2022.

Every State Taxes Its 1 Percent At A Lower Rate Than Low-Income Households

As ThinkProgress has noted, the “47 percent” that Mitt Romney derided for paying no federal income tax, and thus taking no “personal responsibility and care for their lives,” actually pay a slew of other taxes at rates higher than Romney himself pays. The lion’s share of the tax breaks handed out by the U.S. don’t go to low-income households or the middle class, but to the rich.

Issa Vows To Continue Anti-Holder Witchhunt Despite Report Exonerating The Attorney General

For nearly two years, House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) has tried to exploit the tragedy of a series of botched gun stings that led to a federal law enforcement agent’s death in order to score political points against Attorney General Eric Holder. The gun stings that are the focus of Issa’s witchhunt against Holder began when George W. Bush was president and Holder was an attorney in private practice. Nevertheless, Issa eventually forced the House Republican leadership to hold a contempt of Congress vote against Holder, although the leaders buried that vote on the same day that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in a likely attempt to prevent Issa’s witchhunt from receiving much media coverage.

Canada Deports Iraq War Objector to US

A soldier who fled the US to avoid serving a second tour in Iraq has lost her fight to stay in Canada. Kimberly Rivera complied with a deportation order yesterday and was arrested and transferred to military custody as soon as she crossed the American border, reports the Globe and Mail. Her husband and four children—two of whom were born after she fled to Toronto in 2007—crossed the border separately. "She didn’t want her children to see her arrested by the military," says a spokesman for the War Resisters Support Campaign .

BROWN MUM ON ROMNEY WHILE WARREN PRAISES OBAMA DURING DEBATE

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) didn’t mention GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney during Thursday night’s debate against challenger Elizabeth Warren. Warren reiterated her endorsement of President Obama at least three separate times, but Brown — who recently distanced himself from Romney’s claim that 47 percent of Americans are “dependent upon government” — wouldn’t say the GOP presidential candidate’s name. Instead, he praised Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “I think Secretary Clinton is doing a great job,” he said. “I’ve told her that and I think she’s really a bright star in that administration. And I appreciate all of her hard work, especially with what’s been happening in Libya and throughout that region. She’s a tireless worker.” Watch it:

Bank Of America Planning To Cut 16,000 Jobs By Year End

Bank of America Corp is planning to cut 16,000 jobs by year end as it speeds up a company-wide cost-cutting initiative amid declining revenues, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

A-Bomb National Park Bill Fails

A bill to create a national park at the sites where the first atomic bomb was created has stalled in the House after failing to get a two-thirds majority. Lawmakers voted 237-180 in favor of creating the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, with 112 Republicans concerned about the cost voting against the GOP-sponsored bill, reports the Los Angeles Times. "At a time when we should be organizing the world toward abolishing nuclear weapons before they abolish us, we are instead indulging in admiration at our cleverness as a species," said Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the park's most vocal critic.

New Mexico Gov. Requires Women Seeking Childcare Assistance To Prove They Were ‘Forcibly Raped’

After Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) asserted his belief that “legitimate rape” doesn’t often lead to pregnancy, Republican lawmakers were quick to attempt to configure his radical stance on women’s health as an outlier in their party. However, increasing numbers of GOP politicians’ language about the nature of sexual assault actually echoes Akin’s — including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R), whose state’s policies use language that effectively narrows the definition of rape.

Higher Unionization Rates Increase Economic Mobility

In the U.S., economic mobility — the ability of a person to move to a higher income bracket than her parents —
lags behind other industrialized nations. According to one study, “65 percent of Americans born in the bottom fifth stay in the bottom two-fifths as adults, while 62 percent of those born in the top fifth of incomes stay in the top two-fifths.”

President Obama Is A ‘Drug Dealer Of Welfare’?

Ever since GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney‘s slip showed this week, after a secret videotape emerged proving that he thinks at least 47 percent of Americans are freeloaders, many Republicans have been scrambling in desperation to change the narrative. Who’s up? Known White nationalist, anti-Semitic, and homophobe Pat Buchanan, who picked up where he left off in recent remarks about President Barack Obama, according to Politico.

Rural Minorities Ponder The American Dream From The Bottom Rung Of The Economic Ladder

About 22 miles northeast of Laredo, Texas, in an otherwise desolate and unincorporated stretch of Webb County, a roughed-out grid of unnamed dirt roads cuts through a maze of half-built cinderblock homes and dilapidated trailers.

Obama To Romney: 'There Are A Whole Bunch Of Millionaires Who Aren't Paying Taxes At All Either'

Speaking at the Univision candidate forum in Miami Thursday, President Barack Obama was asked about Mitt Romney's claim that he is campaigning for 100 percent of Americans and not just those who pay federal income taxes, despite his comments in a leaked fundraiser video.

Microsoft and HP rapped by US Senate over tax havens

The US Senate has criticised Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard for their use of tax avoidance schemes, which it says is rampant in the tech sector.

The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said the companies used places such as the Cayman Islands so they did not have to pay US taxes.

The Most Economically Diverse Colleges

College is rapidly becoming an expensive proposition. Student loan debt recently topped $1 trillion dollars, and in the past several years tuition rates have risen far past the rate of inflation. Is college turning into something that is just for the rich-- like a country club or a private island?

Postal Service's Newest Idea To Save Itself From Collapse: More Junk Mail

Imagine a world without junk mail. Now stop, because the one real one is about to have a lot more of it.

The United States Postal Service is cutting new deals with businesses and marketers in an effort to boost its junk mail, or standard mail business as it's more nicely known,The New York Times reports. With the postal service losing billions this year, the hope is that more junk mail will equal more revenue, building on the $17 billion its direct mail delivery service pulled in last year.

MSNBC Tops Fox News In The Demo Two Nights In A Row

Is a shift happening in the normally frozen-in-place world of cable news ratings?

It's hard to tell, but something unexpected has happened over the last two days: MSNBC has beaten Fox News in the all-important A25-54 category two nights in a row.

DOJ Report: North Carolina Sheriff Discriminates Against Latinos, Calls Them ‘Taco-Eaters’

A North Carolina Sheriff routinely discriminates against Latinos, whom he refers to as ‘taco-eaters,’ according to the recently released results of a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice. Terry S. Johnson, who runs the Alamance County sheriff’s department, is accused in the report of targeting Latino drivers for traffic stops (they are between four and ten times more likely to be stopped than non-Latinos in Alamance County), arresting them for crimes other drivers merely receive tickets for, and then intentionally covering up the evidence of discrimination when confronted with a DOJ inquiry. The report found that the source of this behavior was “deeply rooted…culture that begins with Sheriff Johnson and permeates the entire agency.” Some of the evidence for that claim from the full report:

Rand Paul’s Solution For Lowering Health Costs: Have Patients Pay In Cash

During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) declared, “capitalism has not been tried yet in health care,” and suggested that enrolling more Americans in high-deductible health plans would lower health care costs.

TEXAN LYNCHES INVISIBLE OBAMA (They do things big in Texas, specially Racism)

Burnt Orange Report published a picture of a chair hanging from a tree in front of a house in Austin, Texas. In a dark twist on Clint Eastwood’s empty chair meme, it appears the resident, Bud Johnson, lynched the chair as an effigy of President Obama. When asked about the unnerving racist display, Johnson, a Republican, responded, “I don’t really give a damn whether it disturbs you or not. You can take [your concerns] and go straight to hell and take Obama with you. I don’t give a shit. If you don’t like it, don’t come down my street.” Another chair was lynched last week in Virginia.

The Richer You Are, The More Tax Breaks You Get

A central premise of Mitt Romney’s now infamous speech to a room full of wealthy donors is that nearly half of the country relies heavily on the government for assistance with housing, food, and health care. Despite widespread criticism, Romney has stood by his claim that 47 percent of the country are “victims” who are “dependent upon the government.”

STUDY: American Schools Still Largely Segregated On Racial, Economic Lines

Nearly 60 years after American schools were desegregated by a landmark Supreme Court decision, they are still largely segregated along racial and socio-economic lines, an analysis of Department of Education found.

Economy Has Finally Stabilized

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is showing signs of finally bottoming out: Americans are on the move again after record numbers had stayed put, more young adults are leaving their parents’ homes to take a chance with college or the job market, once-sharp declines in births are leveling off, and poverty is slowing.

MLK Jr. Suffers First Assassination Attempt On This Day In 1958 By 42 year old Izola Curry

Celebrated Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as the premier spokesperson for the movement because his youth, oratory skill, and effective demonstrations proved he was at the forefront of changing times for Blacks in America. On the heels of his successful “Montgomery Bus Boycott” in 1955 and after forming theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with Ralph Abernathyand others, King’s star was on the rise. In 1958, however, things nearly came to a crashing halt, after an African-American woman plunged a knife in to the chest of King in Harlem on this day in 1958.

Arctic Ice Hits Drastic New Low

Sea ice in the Arctic shrank to a record low on August 27—and on the following 20 days. The sea has finally begun to refreeze after bottoming out on September 16 at 1.32 million square miles, almost 300,000 miles less than the record set at the end of melting season in 2007, reports the Washington Post. The ice retreated much faster than experts had predicted, shrinking at a record 35,400 square miles per day in August.

The Best Burger Place Says Consumers Is.......

The folks at Five Guys will be pretty happy with a new survey from Market Force Information. The chain easily ranked as the No. 1 burger joint in a poll of 7,600 consumers across the nation, reports the Huffington Post. It scored the best in taste, quality, service, cleanliness, and atmosphere. The only gold medal it didn't get was in value, where In-N-Out scored first. McDonald's and Burger King ended up near the bottom.

Black Male HS Graduation Rates Lag Behind Whites, Latinos

WASHINGTON – More than half the young Black men who graduated high school in 2010 earned their diploma in four years, an improved graduation rate that still lagged behind that of their White counterparts, according to an education group’s report released Wednesday.

Brian Banks Gets A Pro Team Deal!

LAS VEGAS — Brian Banks, a one-time high school football star who was recently exonerated in a California rape case in which he was falsely accused, is finally getting a chance to play professional football.

Forbes 400 Richest People In America (Top 5 Listed)

Forbes launched its definitive ranking of the nation’s superrich in 1982. Back then the price of admission into this most exclusive of clubs was a mere $75 million of net worth. Even after adjusting for inflation, this year’s entry fee ($1.1 billion) is roughly six times what it was thirty years ago.. There were just 13 billionaires at the time and the total worth of the 400 club was a mere $93 billion. Today the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans is $1.7 trillion, up from $1.5 trillion a year ago. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is a staggering $4.2 billion, up from $3.8 billion, and the highest in at least a decade, as two-thirds of the individuals added to their fortunes in the past year.

Wounded Combat Veterans Push Back On Mitt Romney 'Dependents'

Luana Schneider is not a freeloader.

Bobby Henline isn't dependent on government either, even though he received free medical care after he was catastrophically burned in a bomb blast in Iraq and -- like other severely wounded combat veterans -- received a tax-free $100,000 insurance payout from Uncle Sam.

A Romney-Netanyahu Alliance? Is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu On Team Romney?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has grown increasingly critical of the Obama administration, leading at least one Israeli opposition leader to suggest that he might be looking to oust President Obama and install Mitt Romney into the White House.

Trayvon Martin's DNA Not Found On George Zimmerman's Gun

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Fast And Furious Report: Justice Department At Fault In Gun-Trafficking Operation

The U.S. Justice Department's internal watchdog on Wednesday referred 14 employees, including senior official Lanny Breuer, for possible internal discipline in connection with a botched gun probe in Arizona.

How Romney’s Economic Plan Redistributes Wealth To The Wealthy

Mitt Romney yesterday attempted to turn attention away from the fallout of his comments regarding the “47 percent” by pointing to a video from 1998 in which President Obama, then a state senator, says, “I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure everybody’s got a shot.” The video was aggressively pushed by the Drudge Report and was detailed in a Romney campaign memo today.

10 Huge Issues Being Ignored In The Presidential Campaign

The media focus on political minutiae in the presidential campaign can often crowd out the substantive issues that the winner will have to deal with once taking office. And while the candidates themselves occasionally talk about these issues, there’s a number of critical concerns that get no attention, including some of the worst problems (in terms of the harm they cause to people’s lives) in the United States and the world. To address this lamentable state of affairs, ThinkProgress has compiled a list of ten of the most significant problems being severely underserved by the campaign and American political discourse more broadly. In no particular order:

Ten Republicans Who Have Spoken Out Against Mitt Romney’s Remarks On The 47%

Mitt Romney is facing huge backlash from the leaked videothat captured him saying 47 percent of people in the United States believe they are “victims” and that they will never vote for him. Republicans, particularly those in tight elections this year, and conservative pundits are criticizing Romney for the comments, disassociating themselves from his message. Here are 10 Republicans who have disavowed Romney in the last few days:

Four Years Later: Obama Hasn’t Been Very Good At Redistributing Wealth

The Romney campaign today is attempting to draw attention to a 1998 video in which President Obama, then a state senator, says, “I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure everybody’s got a shot.” Romney’s campaign responded with a statement saying, “Mitt Romney has a very different idea. He knows that we need to foster growth and create wealth, not redistribute wealth, if our economy is to grow the way it has in the past.”

Over Eight in Ten Americans Support Limiting Donations To Groups Seeking To Influence Elections

As billionaires like Sheldon Adelson or Joe Ricketts write six, seven or even eight figure checks seeking to buy congressional elections and the White House, the overwhelming majority of the nation believe that such election buying needs to be reigned in. According to a recent poll by the Associated Press and the National Constitution Center, more than 8 in 10 Americans — 85% of Democrats, 81% of Republicans and 78% of independents — believe there should be limits on the amount wealthy individuals and corporations can contribute to groups seeking to buy elections.

The President Works For Everybody Not Just For Some: Says President Barack Obama As He Speaks With David Letterman

SALT LAKE CITY — President Barack Obamadeclared Tuesday night the occupant of the Oval Office must “work for everyone, not just for some,” jabbing back at Mitt Romney‘s jarring statement that as a candidate, he doesn’t worry about the 47 percent of the country that pays no income taxes.

Chicago Police Horses Attacked while in their Stable

Chicago police horses are recovering after a late night attack in their stable. Some 27 of the 30 horses were released from their stalls and at least two were sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher or stuck with the extinguisher can, reports CBS. One 20-year-old horse suffered eye swelling, and another had injuries on a leg and flank. The rest were "very agitated and fearful," some "shaking," said a police spokesman.

Dark Money Groups Free To Spend Money Without Disclosure Again After Appeals Court Ruling

WASHINGTON -- An appeals court Tuesday overturned a ruling issued earlier this year that required independent groups spending money in elections to disclose their donors if they ran a certain type of campaign ad. The decision will immediately open the door for non-profit groups spending millions on this fall's election, like the Karl Rove-founded Crossroads GPS and the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, to shift their funds back to these ads in order to help protect their tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Service regulations.

American Airlines Warns 11K of Possible Layoffs

American Airlines is sending layoff warning notices to more than 11,000 employees, although a spokesman says the company expects job losses to be closer to 4,400. The notices went out to mechanics and ground workers whose jobs will be affected as American goes through a bankruptcy restructuring. American Airlines spokesman Bruce Hicks says fewer than 40% of those getting notices are expected to lose their jobs.

What Romney Won’t Tell You About The 47 Percent

The Romney campaign is in damage control mode today, trying to explain Romney telling wealthy donors in a private meeting that “there are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Puts Voter ID Law In Jeopardy

Last month, a Pennsylvania trial judge upheld that state’s Voter ID law, in an opinion that relied at least in part on Nineteenth Century precedent which claimed that vote suppressing laws may be permissible to protect against ‘rogues,’ ‘strumpets,’ and ‘wandering arabs.’ Today, the state supreme court vacated that order, noting that the law is not living up to its own promises of ensuring voters will have access to ID:

Thirty Seconds After Denying Court Is Politicized, Scalia Says Democrats Do ‘Not Stick To The Text’ Of The Constitution

Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia spent much of the last Supreme Court term behaving more like a politician than a judge. His dissent from an opinion striking down much of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070 included a rant against an irrelevant Obama Administration policy, and his questions during the Affordable Care Act were laced with conservative talking points more appropriate for Fox News than the Supreme Courtroom.

Did Secret Recording Of Romney Fundraiser Break Florida Wiretap Law?

The secret tape recording – was it illegal?Maybe yes (if they find who did it). But there are some intriguing defenses for the person who made the tape of Mitt Romney saying that 47 percent of Americans are “dependent upon government” and see themselves as “victims.”

NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR BREAKS WITH ROMNEY OVER 47 PERCENT REMARK

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) — who Mitt Romney quoted in a speech on Monday — has joined a growing number of Republicans in backing away from the former Massachusetts governor’s claim that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government and won’t vote for Republicans anyway. Asked if she was offended by the remarks, “Martinez said New Mexico has many people who are living at the poverty level and their votes count just as much as anyone else.”

Past philanthropists: How giving has evolved

"To promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world" and "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding".

Ridley Road Market Merchant's In The UK, Caught Selling Cane Rat Meat On Camera (Wow Halal Markets Too!)

Cane rats and "shocking" quantities of illegal and "potentially unsafe" meat have been sold to the public in east London, BBC London has found.

Anthony Mackie Set To Play 1st Black Marvel Comic Superhero!

After rumors and speculation that were later confirmed over the summer, it is reported that actor Anthony Mackie will be joining the cast as Marvel’s first African American superhero,Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon.

China to Protesters: Please Keep It 'Orderly'

Anti-Japan protests over the disputed East China Sea islands continued for a fourth day today in China, and Christian Science Monitor Beijing Bureau Chief Peter Ford describes the almost amusing orderliness of them. "The Beijing Public Security Bureau reminds you to please express your patriotism in a rational and orderly fashion and to follow police instructions. Thank you for your cooperation," reads a text message from the Beijing police. And protesters at the Japanese embassy did just that, forming small groups and waiting their turn to march past … as they threw water bottles at the gates. Meanwhile, a loudspeaker played a message on a loop: "The Chinese government shares the people’s feelings. The government has made it clear it will not accept any territorial infringement. But once you have expressed yourself, please move on."

Uganda Teen Wins Parliament Seat

A teenage girl fresh out of high school has won a seat in Uganda's parliament, adding to the ruling party's majority but embarrassing some who say her success lowers expectations of lawmakers in the East African country. Proscovia Oromait, 19, contested elections deep in eastern Uganda to fill the seat left vacant after her father's death. President Yoweri Museveni's ruling party had been desperate for a win there, having lost seven in eight parliamentary by-elections this year. The polls are widely seen as a test of Museveni's popularity, and some calculated that she would win with a sympathy vote. She is now Uganda's youngest lawmaker ever.

Debate Rages as Wolves Become Fair Prey Again

With wolves coming off federal assistance, they will soon become prey again—so officials, hunters, and wildlife activists are sniping at each other before the hunt begins, the Washington Post reports. "It’s hard to fathom that you can be deserving of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act on September 30 and on October 1 be open fire," says an activist. But officials say wolf-hunting is necessary now that America's wolf population has grown to roughly 6,000 (plus thousands more in Alaska) after 39 years as an endangered species.

Afghanistan Attacks: NATO Scales Back Operations With Afghan Troops

UPDATE: Fresh on the heels of NATO's decision to scale back operations with Afghan soldiers, the Pentagon has "suspended most joint field operations with Afghan forces because so many Americans are being killed by the men they are training," CBS News reports.

Amistad Leader Joseph Cinque Tried For Mutiny Today In 1840

Joseph Cinque (pictured) and his bold seizure of the La Amistad schooner is recognized as one of the most-symbolic moments in the slavery-abolishment movement. On this date in 1840, Cinque and the “Amistad Revolt” survivors would discover that their fight against their captors was in fact legal and just – but not without lengthy proceedings that eventually saw the freed slaves returning to Africa in 1842.

Republican Congressman Pushes For Unlimited Calorie School Lunches

Last week, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called calorie caps on school lunches “the nanny state personified.” This week, he is moving to eliminate the caps with his pleasantly-titled “No Hungry Kids Act,” H.R. 6418.

ROMNEY STANDS BY CLAIM THAT 47% OF AMERICANS ARE ‘DEPENDENT’ ON GOVERNMENT

Responding to an undercover video showing Mitt Romney claiming that President Obama’s voters — 47% of Americans — are “dependent upon government” and “believe they are victims,” the GOP presidential candidate’s campaign stood by the former governor’s claim. “As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six Americans in poverty, and the 23 million Americans who are struggling to find work,” Romney spokesperson Gail Gitcho said in a statement. RNC Chairman Reince Preibus agreed, telling CNN, “No, I don’t think the candidate’s off message at all.”

New Anti-Obama Billionaire To Spend $12 Million To Buy Elections For Republicans

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who spent tens of millions of dollars seeking to buy Congress and the White House for Republicans, now has anew partner in this effort:

Pre-Infected PCs Expose Flaws In Global Supply Chain

Experts offer all kinds of advice to protect computers from hackers: Use strong passwords. Keep your software updated. Don’t click on suspicious links or attachments.

5 SCOTUS Cases That Could Be Overruled In A Romney Court, And Five That Could Be Overruled Under Obama

On Monday, the Center for American Progress Action Fund released a report outlining many of the Supreme Court cases that could be overruled if President Obama appoints just one progressive to replace a member of the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc — or, alternatively, what happens if Gov. Romney makes the Court even more conservative. Here are five examples of cases that are likely to be overruled in an Obama Supreme Court or in a Romney Supreme Court:

Russia Sitting on Diamond Trove

Russia is now a girl's best friend: A 62-mile-wide crater in Siberia sits on top of a diamond field that's home to "trillions of carats," scientists say. "By comparison, present-day known reserves" in Russia's Yakutia diamond operations are thought to be in the neighborhood of 1 billion carats. The Siberia trove could supply the world's needs for 3,000 years—and the country has known about it since the 1970s, but kept it quiet since it was already making a mint off of its Yakutian diamonds. Officials are now permitting scientists to discuss it with journalists.

Tax Cuts For The Rich Cause Income Inequality, Not Economic Growth: New Study Finds

According to a new report by the Congressional Research Service, cutting taxes for the wealthiest does not cause economic growth, despite constant conservative claims that it will. Instead, tax cuts for the rich merely exacerbate income inequality, CRS found:

Republican Congressman Says Iraq Withdrawal Brought On Embassy Attacks

Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said that the attacks on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya last week were brought on by President Obama’s order to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq:

Occupy One Year Later: Ten Key Charts About Inequality

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests, and activists intend to mark the milestone by holding a new round of demonstrations. Dozens have already been arrested, even before the main protests began.

Newsweek Publishes Islamophobic ‘Muslim Rage’ Cover In Response To Embassy Attacks

Anti-Islam rhetoric in the United States has heated up this week in the wake of the violent protests in the Middle East. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough joined in the backlash this morning, saying the entire Muslim world hates the United States “because of their religion.”

Boy Scouts Face Release Of Damaging Child Sex Abuse Files

Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America could face a wave of bad publicity as decades of records of confirmed or alleged child molesters within the U.S. organization are expected to be released in coming weeks.

Shell's Alaska Offshore Drilling Plans Abandoned Until Next Year

Following a series of setbacks, Royal Dutch Shell PLC announced on Monday that it will be abandoning plans to drill for oil this year off Alaska's coast.