August 12, 2012

If Tweets Were Votes

August 12, 2012 Trish

35,460

Number of new followers on Twitter that Pres. Obama picked up in the 24 hours after Rep. Paul Ryan joined the Mitt Romney ticket. Romney picked up 10,157, or about a third as many, in the same period. During the same time, the president had 30,898 retweets, while Romney had 2,144 — even with his big announcement.

Paul Ryan’s Private Sector Experience: Driving the Weinermobile in College

August 12, 2012August 12, 2012 Jon Ponder

photo-weinermobile

True story: Paul Ryan’s only real for-profit, private-sector job was in college as a salesman for Oscar Meyer, for whom he drove Wienermobile at least once:

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Presence of A Second Midwestern White Guy Thrills Republican Base

August 12, 2012August 12, 2012 Trish

$3.5 million

The amount the Romney campaign says it raised in the first 24 hours after announcing Rep. Paul Ryan as the running mate. The announcement came before 24 hours was up, so the figure will presumably increase.

And It Already Smells Bad

August 12, 2012 Trish

#RomneyRyan2012 is not so much a slogan as an expiration date.

@HermanCainsHat, commenting on Twitter.

Mormons are Killing the Boy Scouts

August 12, 2012August 12, 2012 Trish

15

Percentage of Boy Scouts who are Mormon, compared to 2 percent of the American population. Mormons, who also largely bankrolled the reversal of same-sex marriage in California, are taking over the Boy Scouts even as the group’s numbers have shrunk in the face of anti-gay activism by the group. In the 1970s, the Boy Scouts had 4.8 million members; today the figure is 2.7 million.

Day: August 12, 2012

If Tweets Were Votes

35,460

Paul Ryan’s Private Sector Experience: Driving the Weinermobile in College

Presence of A Second Midwestern White Guy Thrills Republican Base

$3.5 million

The amount the Romney campaign says it raised in the first 24 hours after announcing Rep. Paul Ryan as the running mate. The announcement came before 24 hours was up, so the figure will presumably increase.

And It Already Smells Bad

#RomneyRyan2012 is not so much a slogan as an expiration date.

@HermanCainsHat, commenting on Twitter.

Mormons are Killing the Boy Scouts

15

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.