Things to Consider This Election and Beyond

The stakes are high.  So high, former NY Times columnist Frank Rich gave a startling interview to salon.com.  Should be mandatory reading for those on the Left and the Right.  

Who Calls the Shots on a Woman's Right to Choose?

While I realize abortion is not THE primary concern nationally, it is important to women, myself included and it is important in the battleground aka "swing" states.  

On October 22, Gallup reported, "Abortion was the top issue named by women voters in 12 key swing states as 'the most important issue.p for women in this election,' according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll. By contrast, 1% of women and less than 1% of men, nationally, consider it the most important problem facing the nation."

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-hadro/2012/10/23/new-gallup-poll-shreds-cnns-speculation-women-abortion-and-gop#ixzz2AEKFzeFJ

Abortion rights, a woman's right to choose, the Roe v Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court don't seem to matter to the men running for office.  Paul Ryan is pro-Life, conceding only to Mitt Romney's less radical position because Romney, not Ryan, is the Presidential candidate. If Ryan becomes president, all bets are off.  After the Biden/Ryan debate, the Washington Post had this to say: 

But the position Ryan articulated Thursday — “the policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortions with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother” — is different from Ryan’s earlier position of no abortions, except possibly in cases where mother’s life was endangered.

Todd Akin...hoo boy, we know his story. He's reduced his lead in the state of Missouri to a virtual tie with incumbent Claire McCaskill.

And then there's THIS guy.    

Candidate Romney was for him before he was against him.  Sound familiar?

"All Over the Map"...and the Internet

THIS makes me uncomfortable.

Romney Family Investment Ties To Voting Machine Company That Could Decide The Election Causing Concern

And THIS makes me laugh.

http://www.romneytaxplan.com/


And, after last night's debate, you're gonna see plenty of THIS

Romney had best get out the "horses and bayonets" because with a Defense Spending Plan like his, THIS is all we'll be able to afford.

Debate Highlight Moment

Romney showed his willingness to say anything to win including lying to the American people about his position on the issues and his sudden departure from his previously hawkish positions on foreign policy and military intervention. President Obama gave him his comeuppance in one entertaining moment. Rachel Maddow called Romney a "shameless shape shifter". It might be funny if it weren't so damn scary.

Mitt 's Flipbook of Women

Some people are so clever.

Binders Full of Broads? Please proceed...

Yeah.  I was offended.  But Romney's debate response to helping women succeed in the work place illustrates his total lack of interest in what was, by that time, no longer a movement.  Women were breaking glass ceilings, albeit slowly.  Somehow, as Governor, he missed that.   

Oh, and, by the way, he LIED about seeking out those women.

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As much as this debate tied my stomach in knots with its lack of decorum, rude gestures, lack of respect towards the Office of the President if not the man.  I longed for it to be over.

Then came the great faux pas.

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Some things just get better with repetition.

Barack & Mitt Smackdown

Time for levity.

    

Give A Gal A Chance

Not only do we have a presidential debate tonight, there's a debate about the debate process.  Candy Crowley is the chief political correspondent for CNN; highly respected and knowledgeable.     There's concern her agenda differs from that of the Commission on Presidential Debates and whether or not she'll break the rules.  (fingers crossed!)

 

Politico 10/15/12

Letterman's Top 10: Paul Ryan, Weightlifter

Numbers 6 and 5 are my favorites.

SNL Nails it...Twice!

Big Bird & the Political Theatre of Presidential Politics

While I was disappointed in the President's debate performance last night, I was also surprised by the over-the-top reaction of the "talking heads" on both sides of the political spectrum.  I actually thought the Democratic leaning press were more critical than the Republican leaning press who seemed elated and relieved.

Before I fell into a stupor, I perked up when Romney said the following:

He said to moderator Jim Lehrer, who works for PBS: “I’m sorry, Jim. I’m going to the stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too. But I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.”  Washington Post  10-4-12

I was surprised he said this.  I was surprised because it was coyly defiant; a slap in the face, really to the moderator and, possibly, many undecideds who grew up on or raised their children on Sesame Street.

While criticisms of Obama's such as "listless" and "he looked as though he didn't want to be there" are accurate, they don't address the substance of the debates.  I heard a politico on NHPR this morning say he thought Romney looked "amped".  A Massachusetts caller who teaches public speaking and body language, thought Romney showed "agitation" while the President appeared "calm".  In the end, it was theatre.

... it seems to me Romney thrived in large part because he abandoned the pretense of honesty. And as it turns out, winning a debate is surprisingly easy when a candidate decides he can say anything and expect to get away with it.

Romney told viewers his proposed $5 trillion tax cut isn't really his proposed $5 trillion tax cut. He suggested he could eliminate a $1 trillion deficit by going after Big Bird. He said his non-existent health care plan protects those with pre-existing conditions when in reality the exact opposite is true. He cited trumped up "studies" from far-right ideologues as if they're legitimate, assuming the public won't know the difference. He said a deficit that's shrunk has actually "doubled."   The Maddow Blog 10-4-12

All in all, it may be best summed up with the following cartoon seen on the internet today.

First Day of My Favorite Month

I love the header photograph I've just posted behind my blog title.  It's a gorgeous shot of a Native American sculpture erected on a tiny island on Lake Winnipesaukee, Meredith, NH.  According to a Facebook entry by Edward Phelps Grace III

Glenn Hines of Houlton, Maine and his wife, Diane, crafted the imposing 11,000-pound eight-foot tall replica of the Native American that graces Indian Island in Meredith Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee by day’s end.

Local residents and businesses collectively donated some $58,000 to fund the creation of the bronze and another $5,000 to restore the badly eroded island. 

The small island was originally home to a zinc sculpture of an Indian that had been part of a collection owned by local coal magnate Edward H. Clough. Given to the town around 1924, the war-like Indian was dubbed "Chief Chocorua" by the locals.

Pretty glorious, don't you think?

I live in such a beautiful place.