Month: May 2012
Tiny Fraction of American Population on Active Military Duty
0.5%
Of the American population has served on active duty at any given time, according to Pew Research. At the height of World War II, the comparable figure was nearly 9%.
Anderson Cooper Disgusted by ‘Human Barbie’
I try to be really polite to all my guests. I just think you’re dreadful, and I honestly don’t want to talk to you anymore.
— A disgusted Anderson Cooper yesterday on “Anderson,” cutting short his interview with “Human Barbie” Sarah Burge, a British mother who has reportedly spent $500,000 on plastic surgery and has been criticized for encouraging her young daughters to go under the knife as well.
Wrong As Usual, Mitt – Federal Spending Growth Is Radically Slower under Obama Than under Reagan, the Bushes or Clinton
Last week in Iowa, Mitt Romney criticized Pres. Obama for his purported runaway spending. “A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across Iowa and our nation,” Romney said, “and every day we fail to act we feed that fire with our own lack of resolve. This is not a Democratic or Republican problem. That fire could care less if you have a donkey or an elephant in your front lawn, it’s still coming for your house.”
But Romney’s basic assertion — that Obama administration economic policies have caused spending to grow faster than the policies of the last few presidents — is patently false:
Americans Split on Joe Biden
46%
Of Americans have a favorable opinion of Joe Biden, while 45% have an unfavorable opinion of him, which has been the case for most of his tenure as U.S. vice president.
Locking People Up for Marijuana is ‘Insane’
Do we believe, even for a second, that if Obama had been busted for marijuana — under the laws that he condones — would his life have been better? If Obama had been caught with the marijuana that he says he uses, and ‘maybe a little blow’… if he had been busted under his laws, he would have done hard fucking time. And if he had done time in prison, time in federal prison, time for his ‘weed’ and ‘a little blow,’ he would not be President of the United States of America. He would not have gone to his fancy-ass college, he would not have sold books that sold millions and millions of copies and made millions and millions of dollars, he would not have a beautiful, smart wife, he would not have a great job. He would have been in fucking prison, and it’s not a goddamn joke. People who smoke marijuana must be set free. It is insane to lock people up.
— Magician/comedian Penn Jillette, making the case for drug legalization.
Rattner ‘Clarifies’ His Position on Romney
On Monday, Mr. Obama struck the right balance, emphasizing that he wasn’t attacking private equity but was questioning Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital credentials to be the job creator in chief. That’s fair, particularly because Mr. Romney himself has been foolishly reweaving history to claim, as recently as last week, that he helped create 100,000 jobs during his time at Bain. In fact, Bain Capital — like other private equity firms — was founded and managed for profit: ideally, huge amounts of gain earned legally and legitimately. Any job creation was a welcome but secondary byproduct … Adding jobs was never Mitt Romney’s private sector agenda, and it’s appropriate to question his ability to do so.
— Steven Rattner, the former Obama administration official who criticized the president’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, clarifying his position in the New York Times, with attitude.
41%
Of Americans who identify themselves as “pro-choice,” down from 47% last July and is one point below the previous record low, according to Gallup. Fifty percent now call themselves “pro-life.” But a majority still says abortion should be legal.
This Smells Bad: Booker Took Campaign Money from Romney’s Company
For those trying to understand Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s tortured stance on whatever exactly he was trying to say that Pres. Obama should do in his campaign to defeat Mitt Romney, this sheds quite a bit of light.
Bain Capital was among Booker’s earliest and most generous backers
A ThinkProgress examination of New Jersey campaign finance records for Booker’s first run for Mayor — back in 2002 — suggests a possible reason for his unease with attacks on Bain Capital and venture capital. They were among his earliest and most generous backers.
Contributions to his 2002 campaign from venture capitalists, investors, and big Wall Street bankers brought him more than $115,000 for his 2002 campaign. Among those contributing to his campaign were John Connaughton ($2,000), Steve Pagliuca ($2,200), Jonathan Lavine ($1,000) — all of Bain Capital. While the forms are not totally clear, it appears the campaign raised less than $800,000 total, making this a significant percentage.
He and his slate also jointly raised funds for the “Booker Team for Newark” joint committee. They received more than $450,000 for the 2002 campaign from the sector — including a pair of $15,400 contributions from Bain Capital Managing Directors Joshua Bekenstein and Mark Nunnelly. It appears that for the initial campaign and runoff, the slate raised less than $4 million — again making this a sizable chunk.
In all — just in his first Mayoral run — Booker’s committees received more than $565,000 from the people he was defending. At least $36,000 of that came from folks at Romney’s old firm.
