Romney campaign outraises Obama in Big Money

This is from Talking Points Memo:

Mitt Romney and the RNC raised $76.8 million in May, easily outpacing $60 million from President Obama’s campaign and the DNC. With outside conservative groups alone already outspending the Obama campaign in swing states and Democrats begging donors for help, the money race is tilting quickly toward the GOP.

Romney and the RNC now have $107 million cash on hand, with $12 million of their monthly haul coming from donations less than $250.

 “We are encouraged by the financial support from a broad range of voters,” Romney’s National Finance Chairman Spencer Zwick said in a statement. ”To them, whether they are Republican, Democrat, Independent, a first time political donor, or a former Obama donor, this is not just a campaign; it’s an opportunity for the country. It is clear that people aren’t willing to buy into ‘hope & change’ again. Voters are making an investment because they believe that it will benefit the country.”

The Obama camp minimized the gap, with press secretary Ben LaBolt tweeting that it was expected now that Romney has entered the general election and can collect a new round of maximum donations from his top primary backers. As TPM previously reported, this is especially relevant to Romney since his new joint Victory Fund with the RNC can take donations of up to $75,800, far above the primary campaign’s $2,500 limits. It’s possible Romney’s latest haul is a one-time trick that represents these big money backers making their investment in the general election, but combined with Republicans’ success luring a handful of billionaires to single handedly match Obama’s own spending, it looks like trouble for Obama ahead either way.

Again, we're looking at the effects of Citizens United, where corporations and billionaire donors can buy their own elections.  Out of the $107 million in the Romney and RNC campaign coffers, only $12 million came from donations of $250 or less.  Small donors are not giving to the Romney campaign--corporations and the super rich are.  And with Romney out raising President Obama in the money field, you can bet that Romney will be spending a good chunk in negative advertising to smear Obama, while refusing to tell the nation's voters his vision and policy issues when he is elected.  Mitt Romney is an empty suit, just waiting to be instructed by his overlords, once he gets into the White House.  And with the kind of money Romney is raising, this could become a disaster for the country.

Then again, we have the best democracy that money can buy.  Those without the money are screwed.

Money won in the Wisconsin recall elections

This is from the Washington Post.com:

If the Wisconsin recall battle was a test of the power of political spending, the big money won big.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who survived an effort by the state’s Democrats to unseat him in a special election on Tuesday, outspent his opponent by more than 7 to 1 and easily overcame massive get-out-the-vote efforts by Democrats. The recall contest ranks as the most expensive race in Wisconsin history, with the candidates and interest groups spending more than $63 million combined.

Walker was bolstered by wealthy out-of-state donors who gave as much as $500,000 each under state rules that allow incumbents to ignore contribution limits in a recall election. He raised $30.5 million, while his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, raised $3.9 million, according to data compiled by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

The big spending was made possible in part by the landmark Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , which allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on elections and made it easier for wealthy individuals to bankroll such efforts. Wisconsin is among a number of states that previously banned direct election spending by corporations and labor groups.

Welcome to the new world of Citizens United elections.  Big corporate money and billionaire donors have the ability to give massive amounts of money to pretty much purchase their own candidates.  This is a reflection of what will happen in the presidential elections in November.  You can bet the corporate and billionaire donors will be flooding the Romney campaign coffers with dollars to purchase their new, empty suit.  And that money will pay for a flood of negative advertising against President Barack Obama.  Will it be enough to purchase the votes?  I can't say.  

 

Milky Way Galaxy to collide with Andromeda Galaxy

Sound collision alert!!! From Talking Points Memo:

Earth’s home, the Milky Way Galaxy, will collide with a nearby galaxy called Andromeda in 4 billion years, according to new observations made using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope announced Thursday.

“Our findings are statistically consistent with a head-on collision between the Andromeda galaxy and our Milky Way galaxy,” said Roeland van der Marel of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, in a press release.

Andromeda, which is located 2.5 million light-years away, is moving rapidly towards the Milky Way at a rate of 250,000 milers-per-hour, a clip that will only increase as the galaxies approach.

The great galactic union isn’t expected to result in the destruction of Earth, the Sun, or any other planet in the solar system. In fact, no stars whatsoever are expected to collide becauase they are so far apart within each system.

But because the Milky Way is flatter than Andromeda, when the two spiral-shaped galaxies collide, they’ll form a single new elliptical-shaped galaxy that is more “three dimensional” in shape, with the merging complete 6 billion years from now.

During the course of the collision and merging, Earth’s Sun, and our entire solar system, will be flung from its current position to a new position on the outer edge of the new galaxy.

I guess we'll need to start building the "Noah's Ark" Rocket Ship;

Mitt Romney fears Obama conspiracy to sabotage his press conference

This is just insane. From Talking Points Memo:

Mitt Romney’s campaign justified its secrecy in setting up a press conference in front of Solyndra’s California headquarters Thursday by warning of a conspiracy by White House officials to potentially sabotage their efforts.

“We knew, if word got out, that Solyndra would do everything in their power, and the Obama administration would do everything in their power, to stop us from having this news conference,”an unnamed adviser told reporters, per CNN.

Reporters raised the question of how this devious plot to derail the event would work, given that the freedom to hold a press conference in public is a fairly basic right.

“Well, he’s only the president of the United States,” the adviser replied. “I mean, they could work with town officials to deny us access.”

Romney alluded to similar concerns in his press conference.

“I think there are people who don’t want to see this event occur, don’t want to have questions asked about this particular investment,” Romney told reporters when asked about the secrecy behind the event, according to the New York Times.

DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse dismissed the claim of conspiracy as a fringe notion.

“It’s actually bizarre,” he said. “I don’t want to use the term ‘weird,’ but I don't know where he would get that idea from.”

Woodhouse noted the irony that Romney supporters actually interrupted an Obama campaign press conference in Boston with chants and a bubble machine earlier the same day.

“He’s delusional,” another Democratic aide told TPM when asked about the charge.

WTF???? Mitt Romney has to hold a super-secret press conference in front of Solyndra's headquarters because the Obama campaign may intentionally sabotage the Romney campaign's efforts to hold a press conference in front of Solyndra's headquarters? This does not make any sense. If Mitt Romney wants to hold a press conference in front of Solyndra's HQ, then he can hold as many press conferences as he wishes. Why would the Obama campaign try to stop him--because of the Solyndra loan controversy? President Barack Obama can relentlessly attack Romney on his Bain Capital record, or even his record as Massachusetts governor. Why would the Obama campaign want to stop a Romney press conference? Then again, perhaps the Romney campaign is really that paranoid. This could be another attempt by the Romney campaign to connect with conservative, conspiracy-theory crazies, while at the same time projecting the Obama campaign as engaging in such secret conspiracies. This certainly is a classic, Karl Rove trick of using your candidate's weakness against your opponent. It is also ironic that Romney campaign aids disrupted an Obama press conference today in Boston. So the question I would have to ask is really, who is the more paranoid, delusional, conspiracy-minded, and willing to crash an opposing candidate's press conference? I'll give you a hint--it ain't Barack Obama.

Update: Now Mitt Romney is accusing the Obama campaign of sending staffers to disrupt Romney campaign rallies. So Mitt Romney is supposedly justified in disrupting Obama press conferences. From YouTube:

Strangely enough, I have not seen any reports of Obama campaign staffers disrupting Romney campaign rallies or press conferences though.

Appeals Court rules DOMA Act unconstitutional

This will soon go to the Supreme Court. From MSNBC News:

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that denies a host of federal benefits to same-sex married couples, is unconstitutional.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled Thursday that the act known as DoMA, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples.

The law was passed in 1996 at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004, and followed by Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington state and the District of Columbia. Maryland and Washington’s laws are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums.

The appeals court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns.

The 1st Circuit said its ruling wouldn’t be enforced until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case, meaning that same-sex married couples will not be eligible to receive the economic benefits denied by DOMA until the high court rules.

I'm thinking for the Supreme Court, it becomes a question of looking at this case from a social issue, or from a benefits issue. The social issue would be that marriage is a religious pact between a man and a woman. The benefits issue are insurance, visitation, and tax benefits that federal and state governments provide for married couples. Conservatives are arguing this is a social and religious issue for heterosexual couples--no gay couples allowed! Gay couples are demanding they should have the same benefits that married couples enjoy. With the Court so evenly divided, it becomes a question of how will Justice Anthony Kennedy decide?

This also brings gay marriage in the front of the presidential elections. Whoever will be elected president this November, will probably select one or two Supreme Court slots in the next four years. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will obviously choose a hard-line conservative to the Court. President Obama will probably choose a moderate-conservative to the Court. So it becomes a question of how far right will the Court be tilted in the next four years?

Romney endorses constitutional amendment requiring presidents to have three years business experience

I saw this making the rounds on the internet, and I should make a comment on it. Apparently Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is endorsing a constitutional amendment requiring presidents to have three years of business experience. From The New York Times:

LAS VEGAS — Mitt Romney, who is trying to distance himself from Donald J. Trump’s remarks about President Obama’s citizenship, joked about a new constitutional requirement for the presidency on Tuesday evening: business experience.

In the process, Mr. Romney mentioned the requirement that all presidents be born in the United States, an unexpected reference to the simmering issue on a night when he is having a closely watched fund-raiser with Mr. Trump.

Speaking to a crowd at a furniture warehouse here, Mr. Romney recalled a suggestion from a man he had recently met on the campaign trail.

“I’d like to have a provision in the Constitution,” he recalled the man saying, “that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birthplace of the president being set by the Constitution, I’d like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become president of the United States.”

Mr. Romney did not endorse the idea, but he seemed to like it.

“You see, then he or she would understand that the policies they’re putting in place have to encourage small business, make it easier for business to grow.”

As a joke, Romney's business remark falls six feet underground. U.S. News states that "good businessmen rarely make good presidents." Out of the 20 presidents since 1900, only five presidents had significant business careers before entering politics. Presidents who never had a career in business include Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, and Bill Clinton. U.S. News did name three president with business experience--Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and George W. Bush. Three of the worst presidents in modern history.

I'm thinking here is that Mitt Romney is throwing monkey poo on the wall, and using whatever poo will stick as part of his campaign. This constitutional amendment requiring presidents to have business experience is just another piece of poo. Unfortunately for Romney, he's not very good at throwing monkey poo. Perhaps he should look at these guys for experience:

Snake-handling Pastor dies of rattlesnake bite

All I can say here is that if you play around with rattlesnakes, you're going to get bit. From Yahoo News:

Mack Wolford, a flamboyant Pentecostal pastor from West Virginia whose serpent-handling talents were profiled last November in The Washington Post Magazine , hoped the outdoor service he had planned for Sunday at an isolated state park would be a “homecoming like the old days,” full of folks speaking in tongues, handling snakes and having a “great time.” But it was not the sort of homecoming he foresaw.

Instead, Wolford, who turned 44 the previous day, was bitten by a rattlesnake he owned for years. He died late Sunday.

Mark Randall “Mack” Wolford was known all over Appalachia as a daring man of conviction. He believed that the Bible mandates that Christians handle serpents to test their faith in God — and that, if they are bitten, they trust in God alone to heal them.

He and other adherents cited Mark 16:17-18 as the reason for their practice: “And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

I have to wonder about the religious fanatics, and why they feel it is important to their religion to handle snakes. Do they really believe that the snake is a manifestation of evil, or a part of the devil? The snake is an animal, doing what it should do when it feels threatened--the snake bites!

There is a couple interesting items in this story. The first is that Wolford's father was also a snake handler, who died in 1983 of a rattlesnake bite. Wolford was apparently trying to keep the practice alive in the West Virginia area, where it is still legal. The second is that this incident took place in an isolated part of a stake park. After Wolford was bitten, he was taken back to a relative's home in Bluefiled to recover. When his situation got worst, messages began flying through Facebook, asking for prayer. Instead of asking for prayer, why didn't Wolford go to the hospital for treatment of the rattlesnake bite? Isn't that why God created anti-venom? Finally, had state park officials known that Wolford was playing his snake-handling game, they "would have never allowed it."

Could Mitt Romney also not be an American Citizen?

With Tea Party candidates and crazies now jumping back on the birther bandwagon, both Americablog and the Daily Kos have discovered that Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's father, former Michigan governor and Republican presidential candidate George Romney, was actually born in Mexico! Does this mean that Mitt Romney is not an American citizen?

Senate candidate Hoekstra wants to create a National Birther Office

I'm trying to wrap my head around Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) crazy idea of creating a "national birther office." From Talking Points Memo:

Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), who is running for Senate to take on Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, told a tea party town hall last month that the federal government should establish an official committee to review presidential candidates’ birth certificates.

The full-length video of the Q&A was posted online four weeks ago by the Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots. An excerpt, in which Hoekstra is asked about Obama’s birth certificate, has been posted online by the Michigan Democrats, injecting Hoekstra into a recent resurgence in birther theories espoused by Donald Trump, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett and Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). A man in the audience complained to Hoekstra about President Obama’s birth certificate, “It’s on the computer, it’s everywhere, you hear people talking about it,” but nobody is doing anything about it, and he wanted Hoekstra’s thoughts on the matter.

“Sure. I mean, I think — you know, I think, throw something at me if you want, I think with this president, the book is closed, all right?” Hoekstra tells the man. “It’s kind of like, I hate to say it, but I think the debate’s over — we lost that debate, and we lost that debate in 2008, when our presidential nominee said, ‘I ain’t talking about it.’ OK, I’m sorry.

“But I do now believe that I’d like to establish a three-person office in Washington, D.C., OK — knowing it, we’ll go to five (audience laughs). But there’s no reason why we should have this kind of question, you know, for the president of the United States. So that at any future election, all right, that someone would have to walk into that office, and prove that they meet the minimum qualifications to be president of the United States.”

Hoekstra then defended his national birther office position on CNN, saying:

“Well, what happened is you’re still having this ongoing debate with some people moving this forward,” he said. “I’m not participating in that debate, I think this issue has been settled and, you know, I just want to make sure in future elections — and this is not a top priority for me, OK? This is kind of like, you know, this can take care of itself.”

As far as I can recall, we've never had the issue of a presidential candidate's citizenship, or birth record come up in a presidential campaign--at least not until an African American became a serious contender for the White House. Even after President Barack Obama's birth certificate was released, the right-wing crazies are still questioning President Obama's citizenship. And now we've got a crazy GOP senate candidate claiming it is now time to create a federal office to determine future candidates' citizenship? It is like the Tea Party crazies can not accept that a minority individual, or in their view a black, Kenyan, Muslim, can be elected into the Oval Office. They hate the fact that Obama is president, and must keep their hatred fresh with this rotten garbage. Hoekstra keeps this garbage alive to stay on the crazies' good side, and garner their votes. Donald Trump jumped on the birther bandwagon because...does Donald Trump need a reason to get more press attention to his egotistical, arrogant self? Then there is Mitt Romney. On Tuesday, the Trump hosted a fundraiser for the Republican presidential candidate in Las Vegas. Trump told CNN that "A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate," just hours before the fundraiser began. Trump's remarks place the Romney campaign squarely into this birther morass, which should have became a non-issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, but is still being kept alive by the Tea Party crazies. What was Mitt Romney's response to Trump's remarks? According to CBS News:

Romney did not address the issue directly at separate events in Colorado and Nevada, but on Monday night he told reporters aboard his campaign plane that Trump is entitled to his opinion.

[....]

"I don't agree with all the people who support me. And my guess is they don't all agree with everything I believe in," Romney said. "But I need to get 50.1 percent or more. And I'm appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people."

The birth question wasn't brought up at the Las Vegas fundraiser, and Romney spoke highly of Trump's efforts on his behalf.

"Mr. Trump, thank you for letting us come to this beautiful hotel and being with so many friends," Romney said. "Thank you for twisting the arms that it takes to bring a fundraiser together. I appreciate your help."

So Mitt Romney does not agree with Trump and the Tea Party crazies, but he's apparently happy for them to spout their crazy ideas regarding President Obama's citizenship status. Bravo Mittens! Again you show the country just how much of an empty suit you are, with no morals or convictions--other than what will propel you into the Oval Office, and help the 1 percenters, like Donald Trump, twist your arm after you get there.

Mitt Romney's new iPhone app--A Better Amercia

Someone on the Romney campaign forgot to use their spell checker. From Gizmodo.com:

Mitt Romney's new iPhone app, With Mitt, "lets you customize photos with a variety of Mitt-inspired artistic frames." Slogans like "Believe in America," "Obama Isn't Working," and "I'm a Mom for Mitt" are just a few of the Mitt-tastic phrases that can be slapped on your iPhone photos, proudly pronouncing your support of the GOP candidate. If only he was equally as concerned with supporting our great nation. Much to the delighted displeasure of Twitter, one particular frame option betrays Romney's secret agenda working toward bettering a place known as Amercia. Yes, that's A-M-E-R-C-I-A.

A Tumblr page, Amercia is with Mitt, is ripping into this Romney campaign gaffe. Which brings me to the question of is this really how to run a presidential campaign? This is a gaffe goes beyond clumsy and enters into the realm of stupidity. I can see a programmer creating this application, and making this error. But this error should have been caught by higher level supervisors and managers, and quickly corrected before being placed on the net. This WaPo article states that the Romney campaign "submitted a corrected version of the app to Apple," telling me the campaign created the application itself. And they performed no proofreading of the final product. Stupid mistakes like this tell me that either the Romney campaign cannot find qualified people to produce these applications, or maybe the campaign just does not care and is going through the motions here.

Mitt Romney's "The Promise of America"

I saw this post through the Daily Kos, and went to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Youtube page. I watched the video with the sound off, and wanted to look at the images in this latest Romney political ad. This video is creepy: There is not one close up of an African-American, Hispanic, or any minority individual face in this video. The faces in this video are all white. Disturbing.

Newt Gingrich wins South Carolina primary

Continuing with the Republican presidential race here, Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary on January 10, which was not much of a surprise, considering Ronmey was governor of Massachusetts. However, the South Carolina primary, on Saturday, was a serious upset for the Romney campaign. It seems that Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina:

Newt Gingrich has won the South Carolina Republican primary, capping off a remarkable comeback for his presidential bid that reshapes the trajectory of the battle for the GOP nomination as the race now heads to Florida and beyond.

The results mark the end of a tumultuous week in politics that saw Gingrich erase and then overcome the lead former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had in the Palmetto State following his victory in the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary. Gingrich came on strong in the closing days of the campaign, looking to rally under his banner the many conservatives unwilling to get behind Romney, who had sought to posture himself as the eventual nominee.

So what's happening in South Carolina? I think we're seeing the fruition of what happens when the GOP gets into bed with the extremist wing of their base. The Republican Party has been doing this since the Nixon Administration's "Southern Strategy," in courting the fears of African American racism, the rise of the Religious Right and fundamentalism in the 80s, the social issues of school prayer, abortion, flag burning, and gay hatred. The GOP has stoked the fires of hate speech through nationally-syndicated talk radio and television hosts of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and the entire Fox News propaganda outlet. And while this strategy was good for getting votes, the base has become even more radicalized and crazy--demanding that the GOP place their own looney candidates for president. Instead of voting for establishment GOP's amoral, corporatist, empty-suit candidate of Mitt Romney, the South Carolina Republican voters choose a three-time adulterer who can speak and connect to their kind of crazy. Florida is next on the list. Will the crazies continue to vote for Gingrich?

Thoughts on Mitt Romney's win in the Iowa Caucuses

The 2012 presidential race has been going on for a year now, and I have not really said much of the issue. I've been watching the race with a fascinating interest. President Barack Obama is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, although from reading the different liberal blogs, there is a lot of anger against Obama from liberals and progressives. On the Republican side, there have been a cornucopia of candidates running--from Tea Party crazies Michele Bauchmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Libertarian Ron Paul, and corporatist candihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifdate Mitt Romney. The Republican candidates have ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifll said and done some of the most insane things, which you can review here.

But for now, the Iowa caucuses took place last Tuesday. And the results have been interesting. From the Des Moines Register:

Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum waged a down-to-the-wire battle for the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday, but shortly after 1:30 a.m. today, Romney was declared the victor by eight votes.

Romney won 30,015 votes, compared with 30,007 for Santorum, out of 122,255 cast.

Each of the men won 25 percent of the vote and proclaimed victory.

Ron Paul was third, followed by Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman.

[...]

Last night’s decision was hardly a knockout, though – Romney got almost the same number of votes as four years ago.

This was by far the closest contest in the modern history of the Iowa Republican caucuses (since 1976). In the previous closest race, George H. W. Bush edged Ronald Reagan in 1980 by 2.1 percentage points, or 2,182 votes of the 106,051 cast.

So Romney and Santorum came into a statistical tie, with Romney only eight votes ahead. It is not much of a victory, as both candidates pick up 11 delegates each. But what I find especially interesting is that Romney got almost the same number of votes as he did in 2008. What's more, the number of people who voted against Romney, by choosing Santorum, Gingrich, Bauchmann, Paul and such are certainly greater than the number of people who voted for Romney. There are a lot of Republican voters who are just not thrilled with Mitt Romney--they were more interested in their own favorite, extremist candidate than the corporate candidate.

Next Tuesday is the New Hampshire primary. The NBC / Marist poll is showing Romney having a 20-point lead over Santorum. I'm pretty sure Romney will win big in New Hampshire. I would be more curious as to how the South Carolina primary will shape up, considering the Religious Right and hard-core conservative voters there. Will they choose Romney, or go with the Anybody-But-Romney?

China factory growth suggests contraction

I found this story through Americablog, with the source story coming from CNBC.Com:

China factories expanded in June at their slowest pace in 11 months while price pressures eased, a purchasing managers' survey showed on Thursday, the latest evidence the economy is losing steam in response to a spate of tightening steps.

The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), the earliest available indicator of China's industrial activity, eased to 50.1 in June, which was the lowest since July 2010 and close to indicating a contraction in the sector.

That compares with the final reading of 51.6 in the HSBC PMI for May. A figure above 50 points to expansion on the month.

"Demand is cooling thanks to the effect of tightening measures and the slackness in external markets," said Qu Hongbin, the chief China economist at HSBC.

I'd certainly say that demand is cooling--especially with the U.S. consumer, where China sends a ton of their exports. The American consumers are not buying, as they do not have any money to spend. The unemployment rate is at 9 percent here--possibly double if you add in the underemployed or those who have dropped out of the labor market. Housing is still in the pits. Food and energy prices have stayed relatively high. We've been the big market for China's products for years. Now that we have no money to buy China's products, where is China going to sell their stuff? So in some ways, it does not surprise me that China's factory index has dropped. I'll certainly be curious to see what the next quarter's index is--will it go below 50, to measure a real contraction?

Sarah Palin just quit her bus tour

I guess midnight has arrived, Paul Revere had warned the British that the British were going to take away all our guns, and Sarah Palin's bus tour has turned into a pumpkin. From Real Clear Politics:

Less than a month after she appeared poised to shake up the Republican presidential campaign, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has once again receded from the 2012 limelight.

When Palin launched her "One Nation" bus tour on Memorial Day amid a swirl of media attention and excitement from her fervent fan base, many political observers who had once dismissed her were reminded of the jolt that her candidacy could provide to what has thus far been a relatively sleepy GOP nominating fight.

Less than a month after she appeared poised to shake up the Republican presidential campaign, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has once again receded from the 2012 limelight.

When Palin launched her "One Nation" bus tour on Memorial Day amid a swirl of media attention and excitement from her fervent fan base, many political observers who had once dismissed her were reminded of the jolt that her candidacy could provide to what has thus far been a relatively sleepy GOP nominating fight.

The question I would have to ask is why did Sarah Palin even embark on this "One Nation" bus tour before quitting after a month? I'm guessing that Sarah Palin wanted the media attention. She announces a big bus tour, and the media salivates like Pavlov's dogs--will Sarah Palin run in 2012? Palin makes a gaffe on Paul Revere's ride, and the media speculates as to whether the British were warned that they were going to take our guns. Or was it Sarah Palin's guns? The media hype on Palin starts to die down. Palin's bus tour becomes a snooze, and the next thing you know, Sarah Palin's back in Alaska, planning her next publicity stunt.

If only she'll just stay in Alaska.

Harrisburg praying God can pull them out of financial ruin

I found this story through Americablog, and even I can't believe it. The source story is from CNBC.com:

If all the brightest minds in Harrisburg’s government can’t solve the city’s financial problems, maybe God can.

That seems to be the thinking in Pennsylvania’s capital city, where Mayor Linda Thompson and a host of other religious leaders are about to embark on a three-day fast and prayer campaign to cure the city’s daunting money woes.

Maybe Greece should have thought of this.

“Things that are above and beyond my control, I need God,” Thompson told WHTM TV, the region’s ABC news affiliate. “I depend on Him for guidance. Spiritual guidance. That’s why it’s really no struggle for me to join this fast and prayer.”

But judging by its financial picture, the city of 49,000 in the central part of the Keystone State may not even have a prayer.

According to a recent analysis from the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development, Harrisburg is likely to end the year with a nearly $3.5 million deficit in its $58 million budget, and things are only expected to get worse.

All I can think of is this:



Instead of prayer, why doesn't the mayor bring some economists or financial experts in to propose tough solutions to fix Harrisburg's financial situation--even if that may include a combination of budget cuts and tax increases?

Newt Gingrich's campaign finance team quits

About two weeks ago, top campaign aides for Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich resigned en mass, on "differences over the direction of the campaign." Gingrich promised he would continue "running the substantive, solutions-oriented campaign I set out to run earlier this spring," in spite of the resignations.

Well, it appears that Gingrich's finance team has also quit: From The Associated Press:

The top fundraisers for Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign have abandoned his struggling bid amid anemic fundraising and heavy spending.

Campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond is confirming to The Associated Press that fundraising director Jody Thomas and fundraising consultant Mary Heitman have left the team.

The former House speaker's campaign has been on life support since earlier this month when 16 top aides and advisers resigned en masse over disagreements with the Republican candidate.

People familiar with Gingrich's campaign spending say his fundraising has been weak since he launched his bid and that he has racked up large travel bills. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk openly about campaign inner workings.

Gingrich has insisted that he will stay in the race.

I'm starting to wonder how long Newt Gingrich can stay in the race, now that his top campaign staff has already left him. This makes me wonder where the top staff will go to now? Will they join President Barack Obama's former ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman? Or will they go to Mitten's Romney? Or Michele Bachmann? The Republicans have a huge field of candidates, some are just about perfect to entice the right-wing crazies of the party, while others are still flirting with bus tours to preach that Paul Revere was warning the British that the British will take away all our guns. I'm not looking at a GOP presidential campaign to oust Obama--I'm watching a slow-motion clown show of a three-ring circus!

And as for Newt? I don't think he ever had his heart in the campaign for the White House. He still has some serious baggage to contend with, with his polarizing speaker record in the late 90s, and his attempt to impeach Bill Clinton from the White House. Instead, I see Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign as a way to keep Newt Gingrich in the media spotlight, possibly picking up whatever cash he can get to continue playing the spotlight (And possibly enrich himself as well). The question we have to ask now is when will this clown be finally kicked out of the ring?

Guy robs bank of $1 to get health care coverage

There is something seriously wrong in this country, where a guy has to rob a bank in order to get health care coverage. From ABC News:

A 59-year-old man has been jailed in Gastonia, N.C., on charges of larceny after allegedly robbing an RBC Bank for $1 so he could get health care in prison. Richard James Verone handed a female teller a note demanding the money and claiming that he had a gun, according to the police report.

He then sat down and waited for police to arrive. "I say, 'I'll be sitting right over here, on the chair, waiting for the police,'" Verone told reporters, recalling the June 9 robbery in an interview from Gaston County Jail.

And wait for the police, he did.

"He's sitting on the sofa as you walk in the front door," the bank teller said in a 911 call.

Police arrested Verone where he sat. He was unarmed.

Verone said he asked for $1 to show that his motives were medical, not monetary, according to news reports. With a growth in his chest, two ruptured disks and no job, Verone hoped a three-year stint in prison would afford him the health care he needed.

"I'm sort of a logical person and that was my logic, what I came up with," Verone told reporters. "If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care."

But the charge of larceny, not armed robbery, is unlikely to keep Verone behind bars for more than 12 months. He is being held in Gaston County Jail on a $2,000 bond, according to a spokesman for the jail, and is scheduled to appear in court June 28.

Would you spend $100,000 on a razor?

Yes, this is a $100,000 razor. From Yahoo News.

This is just insane. Then again, I guess the ubber-rich have got to buy something to entertain themselves. From Yahoo.com:

$100,000 can buy many things: a brand new sports car, a boat, or a ridiculously luxurious vacation, just to name a few. But if you already have a new Audi in your driveway, a yacht at the marina, and just got back from a trip around the world, perhaps you'd rather drop your cold hard cash on a limited edition iridium razor. The pricey item is crafted by Zafirro, a company which seems to have just one product in its lineup, and just 99 of the "Zafirro Iridium" razors will be made.

The handle of the razor is made entirely of iridium, an extremely scarce and expensive metal that is so dense it could survive a drop into molten lava. Most iridium that appears on Earth is the result of crashed meteorites.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif The blades of thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif beast are made from artifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gificially grown sapphire, making them hypoallergenic, not to mention many orders of magnitude sharper than your average Bic. The company boasts a 10-year blade life, and backs it up with free sharpening for a decade if the razor ever dulls.

The Zafirro Iridium, while promising "generations" of enjoyable use, is clearly made for the millionaire who already has everything. The company says the upgrade from a traditional razor to the $100,000 model is like changing from a CB radio to an iPhone, but unless your morning shave takes place at the mouth of a volcano, we're not sure it's worth it.

Zafirro via Laughing Squid

Florida Governor Rick Scott Writes Letters So You Don't Have To

I found this through the Washington Monthly, and I'm just amazed. The original source story is through the Orlando Sentinel:

For a guy who claims not read newspapers — or care what the polls say or the public thinks — Rick Scott sure is putting a lot of effort into trying to score some good publicity.

In fact, if regular old rank-and-file Floridians won’t write nice things about him in letters to the editor, Scott has decided to write the words for them.

One of the newest features on www.rickscottforflorida.com is a page where Scott supporters can send pre-written letters of praise for Scott … written by Scott’s campaign team. Just pick the newspaper you want to contact. (Yes, the Sentinel is one of the seven.) And then you can add your name to a letter that says: “While politicians usually disappoint us and rarely keep their promises,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Rick is refreshing because he’s keeping his word. His policies are helping to attract businesses http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifto our state and get people back to work.”

It’d be even more refreshing to read letters sent by people who actually wrote them themselves. But it appears that Scott has reached the point where he doesn’t care about such nuances.

You can read the full pre-written letter – and attach your own signature to it – here: http://www.rickscottforflorida.com/2011/06/14/email-a-newspaper-editor/

I'm having trouble trying to wrap my head around this. Apparently Rick Scott is one of the least popular governors in the U.S., drawing a 57 percent disapproval rating from Florida voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, on May 26, 2011. Rick Scott has been a disaster for Florida. He's cut unemployment benefits, teacher's pay, and low income health services to fund corporate tax cuts. Scott has rejected Florida's receiving federal funds to build a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. Scott has signed legislation, creating a pilot program that will place "hundreds of thousands of low-income and elderly Floridians into managed-care plans" as a Medicaid overhaul. This pilot program allows a company called Solantic, a chain of urgent-care clinics, to receive funds from this pilot program. Solantic was founded by none other than Florida's governor Rick Scott. There are even more reports of fraud that took place at a Columbia/HCA, when Scott was head of the company. It is no wonder that Scott has a disapproval rating of 57 percent.

So Rick Scott wants to improve his publicity. He could try to create legislation to benefit the people of Florida, rather than himself, the corporate, or ubber-rich monied interests. Forget that--let's create web-based, formed email letters that Florida's citizens can sent to their local newspapers! It is beyond ridiculous! What is even more crazy is that it is Rick Scott's staff that wrote the emails--you just have to sign your name and email address, allowing the Rick Scott for Florida campaign to bombard your email address for campaign donations. It is almost like a publicity stunt that the Scott campaign has created for the 30-percent conservative crazies to accept their marching orders from Der Leader.

If you write it, the crazies will come.