Thank you for joining us for this, the second night of our Obama Nightly News.
Welcome !!! The purpose of this regular series is to promote enthusiasm and action among Daily Kos members. Willard will likely outraise President Obama. However, we believe that we can still win if (1) we can remain competitive financially and (2) we volunteer more (GOTV, canvassing, phonebanking, LTE, ...) .
Every Tuesday, we provide information on how to register to vote in different swing states and what you need to bring on election day. However, today, I thought we might present the registration and voting information on the nine swing states considered thus far. They are : PA, FL, OH, IA, CO, VA, NC, NM, NV.
Here is the
link to information on how to register in those states and what to bring on election day to be able to vote.
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If you have questions about voting requirements or how to get registered or what id is needed, kosmail me : If I don't know, I will find out !
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Economics and Taxes
hat tip to BrainWrap
WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has what he says is an informed explanation for why Mitt Romney refuses to release additional tax returns. According a Bain investor, Reid charged, Romney didn't pay any taxes for 10 years.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Huffington Post from his office on Capitol Hill, Reid saved some of his toughest words for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Romney couldn't make it through a Senate confirmation process as a mere Cabinet nominee, the majority leader insisted, owing to the opaqueness of his personal finances
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Rmoney Economics
It didnâÂÂt work in Massachusetts, and it wonâÂÂt work now.
Mitt Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts promising more jobs, less debt, and smaller government. HereâÂÂs what Massachusetts got instead:
Jobs: 47th out of 50 states in job creation
Taxes and fees: Increased by $750 million per year
Long-term debt: Increased more than $2.6 billion
Outsourcing: State jobs outsourced overseas
Manufacturing: Jobs declined at twice the national rate
Romney Economics didn't work then, and won't work now.
Let us remember that he ran in 2002 in Massachusetts on his business record just like he is doing now. He claimed that his business expertise, based upon his "business experience in the private sector", would enable him to create jobs in Massachusetts and improve the economy there for most people. And it simply did not happen.
Prior to the inauguration of President Obama, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month under the George Bush / Mitt Romney economic philosophy. We still feel the effects of their economic policies. Nevertheless, we have had 29 straight months of job creation. The Affordable Care Act will help the American economy. Dodd - Frank help prevent us from the disastrous effects of deregulation , a lynch pin of Republican economics.
I had orientation at Wal mart today for my $7.65 / hr part time job.
While going through orientation, we had to watch a number of videos. The last video that we, as new employees, were required to watch was an anti union diatribe full of misinformation. I did point out to my fellow new employees that what was being said was a bunch of "bunk". I said Walmart is interested in Walmart - making as much money for themselves as possible. They want to pay as little as is legal in wages and as much as possible in benefits (no health insurance for part time employees - pretty much every new employee and every non manager in general is part time). And with 2.1 million employees and tons of profit, individual employees have no bargaining power at all. But as part of a union, you have collective bargaining power and get better pay and benefits. I said that this is why they don't like unions. If they have to pay more, they make less in profits. I feel confident that the personnel manager giving the training and the store manager who was there appreciated my comments :-) . However, they said nothing to me even though they heard it. I am very easygoing but forcing us to watch this anti union diatribe was absurd.
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Willard's foibles
Willard is struggling with the consequences of his bigoted comments.
Willard is fighting the media : not a good place for a Presidential candidate to be.
In one week abroad, Mitt Romney has managed to enrage both the Brits and the Palestinians. Now add to that roster his own press corps.
Over seven days in the UK, Israel and Poland, Romney held just one media availability for the U.S. traveling press â and even then, standing outside 10 Downing St. in London, he answered only three questions. While he gave a series of interviews to the major television networks, he granted no interviews to other U.S. outlets.
The snub has become the straw that broke the back of an already bitter press corps, long frustrated by limited access to the Republican candidate on the campaign trail.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
âÂÂKiss my ass; this is a holy site for the Polish people,â shouted Rick Gorka, a traveling press aide who has tussled with reporters before. âÂÂShow some respect.âÂÂ
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POTUS :
Here is President Obama's contrast ad :
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Testimony : I am going to give my testimony. heh ! :-)
As an undergraduate, I became a Christian. As a born again Christian, I adopted the political views of the conservative Christian leaders I listened to and knew of. Consequently, I was anti choice. My spiritual leaders listened to and admired Rush Limbaugh and others of his ilk. I had uncritically accepted so much and that included climate change denial.
However, I have hated racism and discrimination for as long as I can remember. In graduate school, for study in my minor, I researched discrimination in education to a great extent. I contemplated the history of our country. I could only account for the unequal outcomes by structural discrimination and historical inequality. Structural inequality if not addressed by strong corrective action will not change in and of itself.
Again, there were only two explanation for the unequal outcomes, in my view. Either was one racist and thought Hispanics and African Americans had less academic ability or the unequal outcomes were due to playing fields that were not equal.
My mom has always been a progressive democrat as is my sister. She gave me good principles; it just took me a little while to bring those principles to their proper conclusion.
I rejected as ignorant the proposition that the unequal outcomes had anything to do with intrinsic ability (I find the concept of multiple intelligences credible). With our history, I had an explanation with plenty of explanatory power and quite satisfying on every level. Equality became my guiding political philosophy. This applied to education. It also applied to economics and government. It applied to health care... Ought an American be relegated to, on average, ten years less of longevity simply due to being an African American male ? I also realized that theonomy was untenable. Thus, one could not take controversial dictates from the Christian Bible and impose them upon others. I would not wish it done to me; I will not do it to others. I was also free to open my mind to evidence regarding climate change. Furthermore, while earning my master's degree in mathematics, I was trained to reason logically. Almost all of higher mathematics is writing proofs. Proving a math theorem is not look proving a case in court - beyond a reasonable doubt. No, in mathematics, one proves that a given conclusion must necessarily follow from the premises. This is what we do in almost all of higher mathematics, the calculations like in differential equations, Cal I, Cal II, Cal III, are computational and we all had those in undergraduate school.
Therefore, my world view, my political philosophy moved together, to become more consistent. I gradually began the process of applying the concept of equality to all of humanity and life. I still have a long ways to go in trying to apply this. However, the important thing, I hope, is that I am moving in the right direction, towards equality, helping bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice.
By 2006, I stopped voting Republican and became a Democrat. I became active here around 2007. During a time of great personal pain, my divorce, I wrestled with some of my beliefs. In the end, despite some stumbles, my convictions, though, could not be moved: I am compelled to fight for equality, I love my party, and I love my President. I am a Democrat and the principles that I described above are what makes my heart beat. These principles are what my life is all about.
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We already heard the Rmoney Economics argument before :
Willard has flip flopped on pretty much every important issue there is :
Mitt Romney is not up to the task of foreign diplomacy :
Does anyone remember when February was for Dreamers ? I do. This was a great video and it had an accompanying web page that was very moving. Amazing times !
Harlem when Barack won !
Europe was happy too !
I still get chills from Keith announcing Barack Obama won ! Who better ?
For me, President Obama is still the One. He ended the war in Iraq. He got The Affordable Care Act passed. He got Dodd - Frank passed. He got Sotomayor and Kagan confirmed. He helped stop the recession from turning into a depression. He saved the Auto Industry. He got Osama Bin Laden. He restored our prestige in the world. He affirmed support for marriage equality. He stopped deportations of those 16 and under. He got Lilly Ledbetter Act passed and signed.
So, I am amped for his reelection - President Obama has been a great President ! He deserves reelection ! Willard must be defeated.
I can't help but think of the past: I didn't think my marriage would end or that all of my conservative Christian friends would desert me , I guess in some ways I was an unlikely Democrat given my circles and being a white guy, but my respect and admiration for my President has deepened and my love and commitment to my party has strengthened. What I did not think would ever end, did. And when I had decided to become a Democrat, I did not tell my "friends" or family for a year to make sure I was not going back. This was back in 2006. But I stuck with my President, my party, and my principles. I lost my wife and the Christian circle I used to run in. But, despite some stumbles, at least I did not leave the principles and convictions that form the core of my being and my life.
Thinking of what has come and what is gone - but I cannot go back. I will not go back.
These are my principles and they are here to stay. I believe that they are right.
Now, let's look at what our President has guided us through :
If you are able, please donate to President Obama's campaign, any amount would be helpful ! Thank you so much !!!
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Darcy Burner
Having this person in Congress (WA-01) would be great for President Obama !
So, please if you are able, consider a
donation to her campaign ! Thank you very much !
3:39 PM PT: A great idea to help us overcome the voter suppression attempts of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania : sponsor Marabout 40 to help get voters registered .
She is a great and long time Kossack and needs our help !
For more info, please go to the following url :
http://www.dailykos.com/...