PA Voters: 1-877-VotesPA. Do your grandparents have photo ID? Do your kids in college have photo Id? 1-877-VotesPA.

One of the most ridiculous practices of the campaign press corps is agreeing to let campaigns, already on the record, to edit their quotes after the fact:

Last week, The New York Times revealed that “quote approval” has become standard practice when reporters deal with both the Obama and Romney campaigns as well as with the Obama administration. The way it works is that a reporter interviews an official, then submits the quotes she intends to use in her stories back to the campaign, which only appear if the campaign approves them. Not only that, the campaign often edits the quotes to make them more to their liking.

source: The Power of Shame.

This is actually a both sides do it problem.

When does the fact that a sitting congressperson used her office to call for official investigations based on conspiracy theories that accuse a current state department official and a sitting congress person of being a clandestine agent for a foreign nation’s ruling political group merit censure?

After it inspires angry protests against the Secretary of State while on a diplomatic mission to that nation?

That’s right — Bachmann’s ludicrous allegation that the Muslim Brotherhood has “penetrated” the United States government convinced anti-Islamist Egyptians that the U.S. is backing their domestic Islamist opponents. The source for Bachmann’s ravings is Frank Gaffney, a conspiracy theorist who claims that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the government and that shari’a law is coming to the U.S.

Non-coincidentally, one Egyptian blogger, Sara Ahmed, said that retired Lieutenant General William Boykin had evidence that the U.S. was in cahoots with the Muslim Brotherhood, pointing to an episode of Gaffney’s radio show in which he hosted Boykin. The retired military officer has claimed that there ought be “no mosques in America” and that Muslims are “under an obligation to destroy our Constitution.” Underscoring why such rhetoric is so dangerous, Ahmed said that a senior official of Boykin’s level “wouldn’t say such thing without proof!”

source: Bachmann’s Islamophobic Conspiracy Theory Fuels Egyptians’ Anti-Clinton Protest | ThinkProgress.

After it incites some nut in New Jersey to threaten the life of a State Department official?

The New York Post is reporting a Muslim man from New Jersey threatened Abedin after Michelle Bachman accused her of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The man was questioned by the NYPD but charges haven’t been filed.

source: Muslim Brotherhood Accusation Leads to Threat Against Huma Abedin – National – The Atlantic Wire.

When people talk about how Washington isn’t working because congressmen are pretending they don’t get along on camera or because they don’t have assigned bi-partisan seating while in session should consider the fact that Michelle Bachmann, Joe Wilson and Allen West are some of the people hanging around the water cooler.

Also, all three of those candidates are shoe-ins to be re-elected and raise money in spades every time they say that Washington is being secretly infiltrated by Muslim loving, baby killing, America hating socialist communist marxist traitor.

In the meantime, we are to believe that in being a decent human being by taking the time to defend State Dept Aide Huma Abedin Senator John McCain is showing extraordinary honor rather than asking wtf is wrong with the other 287 Republicans in congress who say nothing against Bachmann’s formal demagoguery.

I don’t think Romney cares about the potential backlash a zero or near zero effective tax rate would have for the average undecided or independent voter. I really do believe that his campaign feels they can effectively win the amount of votes they need.

What I am wondering, and this may be me being stupid or re-stating something that may be obvious to everyone else, is if Romney has something in his tax base that would piss of his base. Maybe something in the charitable donation category that is just too liberal for tea baggers? Maybe a business deal with someone who may be a rival to a super-Pac sugar daddy like Sheldon Adelson? Or maybe he is just hiding some extreme earnings hidden from the IRS in foreign tax havens.

Mitt Romney wants it both ways: money talk when it’s brought up by the Obama campaign or reporters is bad. Romney won’t tell us what spending he would cut to balance the budget in his economic plan and Romney scolds everyone and says all this money talk beginning with everyone else is for private, “quiet rooms”:

To sum up, for the video impaired: Romney thinks gripes about income inequality reflect nothing but envy, and that such topics should only be discussed in “quiet rooms.” What Romney is saying is, maybe we can debate income inequality and the abuses of Wall Street, if you insist on it, but it’s nothing to get upset about.

When Romney talks about money, he vigorously states that we should implicitly accept that he knows what’s best for the economy because of the nature of his tenure at Bain capital:

My whole life has been learning to lead, from my parents, to my education, to the experience I had in the private sector, to helping run the Olympics, and then of course helping guide a state. Those experiences in totality have given me an understanding of how America works and how the economy works. Twenty five years in business, including business with other nations, competing with companies across the world, has given me an understanding of what it is that makes America a good place to grow and add jobs, and why jobs leave America – why businesses decide to locate here, and why they decide to locate somewhere else. What outsourcing causes – what it’s caused by, rather. I understand, for instance, how to read a balance sheet. I happen to believe that having been in the private sector for twenty-five years gives me a perspective on how jobs are created – that someone who’s never spent a day in the private sector, like President Obama, simply doesn’t understand.

It’s clear what Romney is saying is that this money talks is not for the rest of us.

The Affordable Care Act is not “the largest tax increase in the history of the world,” despite what you might have heard on The Rush Limbaugh Show. In fact, it’s not even the largest tax increase in the history of The Rush Limbaugh Show. Two years after Rush’s national syndication, President George H. W. Bush signed a slightly bigger tax increase in 1990. And Reagan’s tax increase from 1982 was bigger than both of them.

source: Business – Derek Thompson – 2 of the Last 3 GOP Presidents Signed Larger Tax Increases Than Obamacare – The Atlantic.

Just the facts.

If JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon is the smartest or one of the smartest CEOs on wall street, I think Matt Yglesias’ question is pertinent:

Which reminds me that in all the ruckus around these events there’s been remarkably little focus on what I think is the most important political issue of them all—does the Dodd-Frank bill provide a workable framework for resolving the bankruptcy of a large multinational bank or doesn’ it?

source: What Really Matters In JP Morgan’s Trading Losses.

If Jamie Dimon is one of the best, and for the sake of argument I’ll take the word of those folks who’ve said that he is, then what JP Morgan’s “ironclad balance sheet” shows that even for geniuses the desire to roll the dice and bet big also matters. Money Makin’ Dimon made JP Morgan 15b, $2b $9b in loss was all due to Dice Rollin’ Jamie.

If he’s the smartest and that happened: shouldn’t we expect to learn of some other bank CEO who is letting risk run amok for the thrill of the bet and the upside of being right? After the last 10 years, I would say yes. Can we expect them to be less of a money maker and more of dice roller than Dimon? I would say yes.

Probably. So again, this question is key: in practice, not theory, if a bank of this size fails can the CFPB properly wind them down and protect the economy?

When I see Romney white knuckle the back of that jet ski while Ann Romney squires him about the bay, all I can think is: Mittens, you’ve come a long way baby! What a way to show women that he considers them equals. Especially when it becomes clear, Ann Romney is the Romney most likely to mount up and regulate and Mitt’s okay with that. Especially when Ann is all: “kill Romney? Best not bring that mess in my houses!”:

This campaign shake up has done wonders already! more Ann in Charge here.

And it’s not echos of John Kerry. John Kerry was windsurfing. Romney is luxuriating while riding along while Ann jet skis.

ladies and gentlemen, the daily caller.

Tax Policy, Messaging, News and Ideology. Norquist, Luntz, Murdoch and Limbaugh are the people that dictate Republican politics. Luntz is at it again:

I can’t give it a Catch of the Day because I’ve already done one of those today, but I’ll note a nice item by Dave Weigel pointing out all the Republicans using a Frank Luntz-tested phrase about health care reform: “patient-centered health care.”

A plain blog about politics: Ach, Luntz.

It’s not that health care doesn’t focus on patients, it’s that it is too expensive and confusing for patients to actually utilize health care.

It kinda shocks me that the author of the very excellent “Eyes on the Prize” is sitting on Fox News debating against propoganda. Note his statement in response to his firing from NPR:

He accused the organization of trying to “demean me and make me appear like a lunatic” when he was dismissed, said that NPR — in its statement about Weiss — treated her far better than he was treated, and said that “the real story is that you can’t go around treating people like trash.”

source: Review Of Juan Williams’ Firing Done; NPR News Exec Resigns : The Two-Way : NPR.

Keep that in mind and watch Juan Williams squabbling with Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin:

Voter ID laws combat voter participation, not voter fraud. These laws may prevent 10% of people who are supposed to vote and addresses a problem that is generally non existent. The real design is to drive down Democratic base participation.

And the truth, at least in the Keystone State, is that Republicans are prepared to block a huge chunk of the voting-age population from participating in their own democracy.

Nearly 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s registered voters do not have photo identification cards from the state transportation department and could be ineligible to vote in November under the state’s new Republican-backed voter ID law.

The Pennsylvania Department of State reported Tuesday that more than 758,000 registered voters lack a standard driver’s license or a non-driver photo ID. That’s 9.2 percent of the state’s 8.2 million voters.

In Philadelphia, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 6-1, 18 percent of the city’s registered voters do not have the state photo ID, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

source: Widespread disenfranchising in Pennsylvania – The Maddow Blog.

In 2008: 132,653,958 out of 213,313,508 elligible people voted in 2008 (around 62.2%). 131,304,731 voted for the highest office (federal or statewide executive). There are 10% of voters who don’t have voter ID (via Ari Berman at Rolling Stone):

More than 10 percent of U.S. citizens lack such identification, and the numbers are even higher among constituencies that traditionally lean Democratic – including 18 percent of young voters and 25 percent of African-Americans.

[…]

Even at the time, there was no evidence to back up such outlandish claims. A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility.

source: The GOP War on Voting | Politics News | Rolling Stone.

86 out of 300m voters convicted of voter fraud. That’s when George W Bush appointee Attorney General John Ashcroft was beating the couch cushions to show there was a problem. 2.866666666666667e-7 cases of voter fraud. Literally, the problem has no discernible affect on our Democracy.

More on PSU’s administration covering up Sandusky

The alleged e-mails among Spanier, Schultz, 62, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, never mention Sandusky by name, instead referring to him as “the subject” and “the person.” Children that Sandusky brought on campus –some of whom might have been victims — are referred to as “guests.”

[…]

In an alleged e-mail dated February 26, 2001, Schultz writes to Curley that he assumes Curley’s “got the ball” about a three-part plan to “talk with the subject asap regarding the future appropriate use of the University facility,” … “contacting the chair of the charitable organization” and “contacting the Department of Welfare,” according to a source with knowledge of the case.

Schultz refers to Sandusky as the “subject” and Sandusky’s Second Mile charity as the “charitable organization,” according to a source with knowledge of the e-mails.

Pennsylvania law requires suspected child abuse be reported to outside authorities, including the state’s child welfare agencies.

[…]

Curley refers to a meeting scheduled that day with Spanier and indicates they apparently discussed the Sandusky incident two days earlier.

Curley indicates he no longer wants to contact child welfare authorities just yet. He refers to a conversation the day before with Paterno. It’s not known what Paterno may have said to Curley.

Curley writes: “After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps.”

The athletic director apparently preferred to keep the situation an internal affair and talk things over with Sandusky instead of notifying the state’s child welfare agency to investigate Sandusky’s suspicious activity.

“I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved,” Curley allegedly continues.

source: Disturbing e-mails could spell more trouble for Penn State officials – CNN.com.

After these people are tried (and hopefully convicted) the NCAA needs to look at serious sanctions for the football program.

How many bonuses were paid before this was revealed?

JPMorgan Chase stock declined more than 2 percent on Thursday, making it one of the worst-performing banks, after a published report said its loss on a bad trade could be far higher than the bank first estimated.

The New York Times, citing an internal report at the bank, reported that the loss could reach $9 billion. JPMorgan’s initial estimate was $2 billion when it disclosed the trade in May, although CEO Jamie Dimon said then that the loss could grow.

source: JPMorgan Chase shares fall after report that trading loss may reach $9B – The Washington Post.

The only reason secret prisons are used is to deny prisoners due process and human rights. Under any name (internment, rendition) it’s nothing we should do. But because one party is far right and the other is mostly moderate and then liberal, these secret prisons are still accepted as neccessary evils to stop evil.

Which awful CEO or despot needs advice on how to talk like a principled centrist, blame “both sides” and determine how much they need to donate to Super PACs or Crossroads GPS?

“I had a bad experience trying to convert a non-democracy to a democracy for the State Department, Davis told Flock. “And I learned that no good deed goes unpunished.”

Steele and Davis said they don’t have any clients yet, but are in talks with a multinational corporation “in crisis” and a “great democracy” seeking increased tourism.

Lanny Davis, Michael Steele defend their new firm against criticism | TPMDC.

Again, if Bain Capital is his rationale for being President of the country during a tenuous recovery, Romney should be challenged on the relevancy of that experience to the American employment picture:

While economists debate whether the massive outsourcing of American jobs over the last generation was inevitable, Romney in recent months has lamented the toll it’s taken on the U.S. economy. He has repeatedly pledged he would protect American employment by getting tough on China.

“They’ve been able to put American businesses out of business and kill American jobs,” he told workers at a Toledo fence factory in February. “If I’m president of the United States, that’s going to end.”

Speaking at a metalworking factory in Cincinnati last week, Romney cited his experience as a businessman, saying he knows what it would take to bring employers back to the United States. “For me it’s all about good jobs for the American people and a bright and prosperous future,” he said.

[…]

Campaign officials have said it is unfair to criticize Romney for investments made by Bain after he left the firm but did not address those made on his watch. In response to detailed questions about outsourcing investments, Bain spokesman Alex Stanton said, “Bain Capital’s business model has always been to build great companies and improve their operations. We have helped the 350 companies in which we have invested, which include over 100 start-up businesses, produce $80 billion of revenue growth in the United States while growing their revenues well over twice as fast as both the S&P and the U.S. economy over the last 28 years.”

source: Romney’s Bain Capital invested in companies that moved jobs overseas – The Washington Post.

The folks still with Bain Capital are honest about their record: they make money by shearing labor costs. Bain’s business model is more often than not dependent on layoffs, benefit cuts, outsourcing/off-shoring. That’s simple. The President never has begrudged them that or intimated that it was illegal or immoral to do. He’s been clear that Bain’s purpose wasn’t job creation for Americans, it was profits for investors:

And let’s take a look at the record specifically of Bain Capital, which Romney owned from 1992 to 2001.

• 1988: Bain put $10 million down to buy Stage Stores, and in the mid-’90s took it public, collecting $184 million from stock offerings. Stage filed for bankruptcy in 2000.
• 1992: Bain bought American Pad & Paper, investing $5 million, and collected $107 million from dividends. The business filed for bankruptcy in 2000.
• 1993: Bain invested $25 million when buying GS Industries, and received $58 million from dividends. GS filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
• 1994: Bain put $27 million down to buy medical equipment maker Dade Behring. Dade borrowed $230 million to buy some of its shares. Dade went bankrupt in 2002.
• 1997: Bain invested $41 million when buying Details, and collected at least $70 million from stock offerings. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

Romney owned 100 percent of Bain Capital making him involved in all these deals, which represented more than 20 percent of the money Bain made from its investment funds between 1987 and 1995. Bain’s focus during all this time was leveraged buyouts, and it had not made venture investments since its earliest days.

Romney says he will get jobs back because he knows why companies send jobs overseas and that’s because he used to buy companies and build strategy for them which included outsourcing. That’s like saying you can stop heroin abuse because you know why people get addicted to it and you used to teach people how to shoot it in their veins. Regardless, Bain Capital is sending in the big guns to Romney’s donor, VP vetting retreat in Park City, Utah this weekend. But, according to Cory Booker, Harold Ford, Ed Rendell and others: no one should talk about Romney’s experience working for Bain except for Mitt Romney, it’s too negative. That’s a foolish generality. Romney spent most of his adult life at Bain prior to politics. It’s his rationale for why he can fix the economy. He made it the centerpiece of Romney 2012, he should have to defend it and if Obama doesn’t make him defend it, then he is committing campaign malpractice.