Good Morning Kossacks and Welcome to Morning Open Thread (MOT)
We're known as the MOTley Crew and you can find us here every morning at 6:30am Eastern. Feel free to volunteer to take a day - permanently or just once in awhile. With the Auto Publish feature you can set it and forget it. Sometimes the diarist du jour shows up much later: that's the beauty of Open Thread...it carries on without you! Volunteer in the comment threads.
Click on the MOT - Morning Open Thread ♥ if you'd like us to show up in your stream!
In The News:
Michigan’s Republican Governor Vetoes Voter ‘Fraud’ Bills
Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has vetoed a set of bills passed by his state’s Republican-controlled legislature, which aimed to crack down on alleged voter fraud. Snyder said in voiding the measures that they could cause confusion among voters.
One measure would have required voters to reaffirm that they are U.S. citizens, and would have instituted photo-ID requirements for voters receiving an absentee ballot at a local government office. Another would have required training for people, companies and organizations participating in voter registration.
Michigan's GOP Governor Keeps To Middle Of The Road
~OO~
Walsh Slams Duckworth: ‘True Heroes’ Don’t Talk About Their Military Service
Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), knocked his Democratic opponent Tammy Duckworth — a veteran who lost both of her legs as a helicopter pilot in Iraq — for talking about her military career too much. Discussing her accomplishments, Walsh suggested, meant that Duckworth was not a “true [hero].”
Walsh said at a town hall meeting on Sunday that unlike Duckworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) rarely spoke about his military service during the 2008 presidential election — a claim that ignores the thrust of McCain’s campaign and his entire political career.
Veterans Group Condemns Rep. Joe Walsh For Attacking Duckworth
Rachel Maddow: "Walsh's memory about John McCain's rhetoric is very, very wrong."
~OO~
GOP In Disarray: Republican Party Chairman Claims Romney Thinks The Mandate ‘Is A Tax’
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus disagreed with his party’s presumptive presidential nominee during an appearance on CNN’s Starting Point Tuesday morning and said that the individual mandate at the heart of President Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s health care laws is, in fact, a tax. “The Supreme Court has stated that Obamacare is a tax and so since they have ruled that it’s a tax, it is a tax,” Priebus said, contradicting Romney’s top adviser, who on Monday insisted that the governor believes that the mandate is a penalty.
Mitt Romney Stands Alone On Health Care
~OO~
Quick Links:
Wrigley Field Renovation: Chicago Mayor Won't Take Ricketts' Phone Calls
Showing Vultures A Little Love
CERN Discovers A New Particle, Likely The Higgs Boson
Commence jibbering and jabbering!
Oh, and Happy Hump Day from Daisy and Lilly!