Friday, August 31, 2012

Best tweets from Mitt Romney speech...

Best tweets from Mitt Romney speech...


Romney comes into arena through the crowd. Shakes hands getting to stage. Nice bit of stage-craft there. 

"I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed." -- Romney. 

Romney: We can stand and say, "I'm an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better!"  

RT : Who sent Neil Armstrong to the moon? The government did. With tax dollars.

When this is over, I think people will feel they do know Romney. Not a speech to quote; a speech that works.

15 minutes in and no substance. I guess his polls/focus groups say that is what he most needs to do: humanize himself 

"You know there's something wrong with the job he's done as president if the best feeling you had is the day you voted for him." Devastating

Romney's biggest applause line so far: "We don't apologize for success"

I gotta say, Romney picked a good time to give his best speech ever.

Glad to hear Romney talk about poverty. Indisputable that Romney's budget would hugely cut spending on programs for the poor.

We must rein in the high cost of health care by repealing the Medicare cuts in Obamacare.

Romney: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family."

People are laughing at Obsma's promise to address global warming. That will be shown in some PBS documentary in 2050.

This is, for Romney, a very good speech. It tees up that OTHER (non-economy) knock against Obama: restore America's greatness in the world.

Strongest part of Mitt's Strong Speech: Weaved in "jobs" top to bottom. Weakest: Tried to do too much, meandered.

I've been to every convention since 2000. Inside the arena, this was most tepid crowd response for a nominee's speech I've seen.

It ticks me off that GOP acts as if it has monopoly on pride in America and on the symbols of American nation.

Romney said Obama began his presidency "with an apology tour." Pants on Fire!  



















Best Tweets from Marco Rubio Speech...

Best Tweets from Marco Rubio Speech...


Deafening cheer for Rubio as he takes the stage. "Marco!" some in the stands shout

Rubio is a talented orator. Needs to be careful not to outshine Romney. 

Rubio by contrast is ready for prime time.

I am not of having an easy time concentrating on Rubio after watching Eastwood.

Rubio = good speaker.

"Our problem is not that he's a bad person. Our problem is that he's a bad president." -- Rubio 

They picked the right guy to introduce Romney.

Much stronger hope message than Ryan offered, never mind Christie

A quick thing about Rubio: He is every bit as well-spoken when you corner him with a question in the Senate. 

In terms of 2016/2020 folks who have spoken at GOP convention, Rubio seems to me to be HEAD and SHOULDERS above them.











GOP Day Three: Best Tweets from Clint Eastwood Speech...

Coming up, a hat trick of tweet highlights:

First, tweets on Clint Eastwood's remarks...

Where is this going?

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Best Tweets from the Paul Ryan Speech...

Best Tweets from the Paul Ryan speech...


Paul Ryan really doing everything right with this speech. The GOP base is in mad, hot love with him.

Ryan never thought of himself as "stuck in some station in life," possibly because he grew up in a rich family.

"America is greatest force for freedom and liberty the world has ever known" -Ryan ,Obama & every other American leader ever

Ryan, the man who killed the Bowles-Simpson plan, now says it was "an urgent report" but Obama "did exactly nothing." 

Ryan says he wants a clean break from Bush-era fiscal policies. All of which he supported.

Sturdy, valuable speech by Ryan -- very lucid articulation of the argument against Obama. Cutting without being mean.

RT : Ryan first speaker to hold all Delegates attention. This place is hanging on every word.

this new debt commission Ryan is extoling? Ryan was on it and voted against its report.

Republican who speaks of debt crisis while (a) voting for GWB's deficits + (b) proposing new round of regressive tax cuts isn't credible.

Biggest applause line "We have suffered no shortage of words in the White House. What we are missing is leadership in the White House" Ryan

Sarah Palin makes Paul Ryan look like an amateur and they had the same speechwriter

"Our nation needs this debate. We want this debate. We will win this debate." -- Ryan on Medicare. 

RT : Ryan: Let's make "the safety net safe again" By wrecking food stamps and Medicaid? Seriously, I'm speechless.

I agree with : Ryan's speech was perfectly fine, but Condi's speech was the stronger of the two. Felt more vice-presidential.

Was Ryan's the most brazenly dishonest convention speech ever? Here are 5 times he twisted the truth

Fact checkers are going to have a field day with Ryan's speech















Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Best Tweets from First Night of GOP Convention...

Some of the more entertaining tweets I've seen after tonight's speeches at the GOP Convention in Tampa...

Comments on Gov. Christie's speech:

From : ROMNEY HAILED AS REGULAR GUY BY WOMAN WITH HORSE IN OLYMPICS: 

Christie used "I" 35+ times; MT : Since it's been asked, Christie used Romney's name 7 times;

.: "This was Chris Christie accepting the Republican nomination for 2016."


A few words on the Republican / Democratic Conventions...


I have no essay prepared for either political convention. I have no long-winded thoughts to share on either Party's group hugfest. These are nothing more than political pep rallies where each Party will demonize the other Party's nominee's to no end, describe the fall of a nation that will surely transpire if "fill in the blank" is or isn't elected. This election will be described as the most important election in our lifetimes. There will be praise aimed at the nominees from each of their Party's-much of which is undeserved. 

This week, if you're a Republican or to a lessor degree a Conservative, you'll probably enjoy the speeches, the feigned drama, etc. unfolding in Tampa. You'll hear all the great things about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and all the terrible things about Barack Obama and Joe Biden. You'll hear countless speeches from fellow Party members all basically saying the same things. There is a Party line that needs to be adhered to, and woe to anyone (Todd Akin?) who wanders too far off the reservation. 

Next week, if you're a Democrat or to a lessor degree a Progressive, you'll probably enjoy the speeches, the feigned drama, etc. unfolding in Charlotte. You'll hear all the great things about Barack Obama and Joe Biden and all the terrible things about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. You'll hear countless speeches from fellow Party members all basically saying the same things. There is a Party line that needs to be adhered to, and woe to anyone (Joe Biden?) who wanders too far off the reservation. 

We'll meet Mrs. Romney and Mrs. Obama. Both will take time to paint their husbands as the consummate husband, father, partner. They will share stories they reflect sides of their personalities that we don't often get to see. Mrs. Romney especially will drive home the warmth and character of her husband, who has been portrayed as a cold, money-grabbing sort. The real Mr. Romney lies somewhere in between the two representations of him.

This week, various attack dogs will be unleashed upon Barack Obama's record. Tonight Rick Santorum and then in the headliner speech of the evening, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will pull no punches. I suspect Mr. Santorum will address Obama's alleged "war on religion", while Christie hammers him on everything else. (This is batting practice for Christie...I suspect it to be quite rough and the crowd to be in an absolute frenzy by the time he's done.)

Next week, various attack dogs from the Left will attack the Romney/Ryan ticket with equal fervor. I'm not sure of the order, but we'll be hearing from former President Bill Clinton, former Chief of Staff and current Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, plus Elizabeth Warren, Caroline Kennedy and Sandra Fluke. (I suspect Emanuel will be the Democratic attack dog...)

There is no question as to whom each Party will officially nominate as its candidate. None. There will be a slight bump in the polls, a temporary one, for each candidate after the conventions are over. I'm aware of no political scientist or pundit who feels the election will be won or lost over the next two weeks. Yes, if Romney can re-introduce himself as a caring, compassionate, warm, capable executive it'll help his cause. If he can't, it won't help his cause. Barack Obama is mostly well-known to his supporters and has no such challenge before him. I suppose in that vein, the Convention is more important to Mr. Romney than it is to Mr. Obama. 

After the Conventions, we'll spend a month of more stump speeches and a few interviews, which bring us to the debates, the first of which is scheduled for Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012. There will be two additional Presidential Debates and one Vice Presidential Debate by October 22, 2012. 

The debates will be far more important to determining the outcome on Election Day than either of the Conventions. I caution supporters on both sides of the debate to take the next two weeks with a grain of salt. They are pep rallies and you're supposed to walk away from those feeling like there's no way in the world your team candidate can lose. Republican's will be on cloud nine by late Thursday evening, as Democrats will be by late next week. Look for a heightened level of rhetoric on facebook and your favorite message boards. Take that too with a grain of salt. Or put another way, I'll share a favorite quote from Mr. Shakespeare:
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
 — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)



Sunday, August 26, 2012

Ron Paul Passing Torch to a Libertarian Legion - NYTimes.com

“It wouldn’t be my speech,” Mr. Paul said. “That would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.”"

Congressman Ron Paul declines the invitation and conditions set forth by the Romney campaign to speak at the upcoming Republican Convention this week in Florida...

Read the whole thing here: Ron Paul Passing Torch to a Libertarian Legion - NYTimes.com:

Friday, August 24, 2012

Brandon Raub: Freedom of Speech Issue or Public Safety Issue?


Brandon Raub, 26, is a decorated Marine, who served two tours of duty as a combat engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a former straight-A student, and has been awarded medals for his military service. He was questioned several days ago by a group of law enforcement officers and agents including Chesterfield County, Virginia  police, FBI and Secret Service agents. Ultimately, he was taken away in handcuffs at the recommendation of a mental health professional for a more lengthy mental health evaluation. To be clear, he was handcuffed because he resisted being taken away for the longer pysch eval, which is perfectly legal under Virginia State law. There are no criminal charges pending for him.

At a hearing Monday at the end of the three day evaluation to decide if Raub should be held for a longer, more thorough evaluation, it was determined that he should remain an additional thirty days. As of yesterday, August 23rd, 2012 - a circuit court judge over-ruled the decision to hold Raub longer and ordered his release. The substantive reason the judge ordered his release is laid out in an excerpt from the decision:

"The government's power to involuntarily admit an individual for evaluation of a mental illness is a creation of statute. Because an order providing for such admission deprives a citizen of his liberty, to protect citizens from an overreaching government the Virginia legislature has created a specific, detailed procedure, set forth in Virginia Code  § 37.2-800, that must be followed before an individual can be involuntarily admitted. In the present case, that procedure was not followed. As such, the District Court's August 20, 2012 order is void."

The Government appears to have acted within its rights initially, but then failed to follow proper procedural requirements that the circuit court judge then corrected. Put another way, the government then corrected...

Brandon Raub feels quite strongly that the United States Government and our elected officials, including President George Bush are basically enemies of the State. He believes that our Government was behind the 9/11 tragedy. He believes a revolution of sorts may be the only way for us to reclaim our rights and liberties. In the last few weeks, he has posted several comments on his facebook on his belief that our government has betrayed us. What sort of comments? Here are a few...

July 28, 2012If you are my friend, you deserve to know the truth. This world is secretly run by a shadow organization of people who among other things enjoy raping children. Some of leaders were involved with the bombing of the twin towers. It was a sacrifice and a complete inside job. Also the Bush's are very sick twisted problems. I believe they have a secret Castle in Colorado where they have been raping and sacrificing children for many years. Think I'm crazy? Think again.

August 5, 2012
If you are unaware of the great amount of evil perpetrated by the American Government I suggest you take your head out of the sand. The day of reckoning is almost at hand.


August 9, 2012
This is the part where I tell the Federal Government to go f*** itself. This is the part where I tell Generals, training our young men to fight Americans, I am coming for you. The Veterans will be with me.


August 10, 2012
Im starting the revolution. Im done waiting.


August 12, 2012
Do you know why the American people will win the civil war that is coming? Because we are Americans.


August 13, 2012
Sharpen up my axe; Im here to sever heads.


Here is a longer from post dated November 11, 2011, titled "The Truth."...

Most of us have seen posts on facebook like this before from conspiracy theorists. Generally, these people have shaky credibility at best as most conspiracies have been debunked long ago. Rarely are these people taken away on an involuntary psychiatric evaluation hold. What was different about Raub? Many, many websites are posting stories that suggest that government/President Obama is suppressing free speech and Raub's detention is proof that if your cross the government, you run the risk of being apprehended, detained and possibly eliminated from society. Most of us have read George Orwell's 1984 and the notion of "big brother" isn't a concept most people walk around in fear of on a daily basis. Does the government over-reach sometimes? Sure. Does the government sometimes screw its own citizens into the ground? You bet. Does the average American wish the government would back off in some cases? Of course. Those things may be realities, but scores of missing dissidents isn't. You can wring your hands about government at times but I've yet to hear a compelling case that its actually committing overt acts of treason against its citizens. We're not Iraq, Libya or Syria. While it may serve a political purpose to strike fear into the populace, its not a reality of life in the United States. It just isn't.

Is this really a freedom of speech issue or it it a public safety issue? We all appreciate our right to freedom of speech. On any given day, there are hundreds if not thousands of anti-government comments made or posted to social websites like facebook, message boards and the media, of course. Give a listen to Sean Hannity, Glen Beck or Mike Malloy and you'll hear what I mean. Some of these programs, and others often advertise emergency food supply storage for when the shit hits the fan and our government possibly attacks us. For all the anti-government rhetoric and over the top crazy talk aimed at both George Bush and Barack Obama, you rarely hear any story about a well known critic of either man being dragged away or assassinated like in other countries. Full stop. You never hear that kind of story, do you? You know why? Because it doesn't happen here...

Mr. Raub has a Constitutional right to post oddball thoughts on his facebook page. Absolutely. But, when your writings get reported by readers to the authorities and when professionals review them, and your words stand out among the crazy crowd, guess what? You're now a problem. You've morphed from some guy who just thinks he has something to say into a public safety concern. Depending on who or what you're writing about, you're likely to get a visit from a law enforcement agency. Maybe its just a local sheriff who sees you say you're going to kill so & so the next time they show up at a certain watering hole. Maybe its a state level official who's been alerted to your blog about someone oughta put a target on the Governor's head. You've hit the jackpot if you wind up getting local police, the FBI and the Secret Service all knocking on your door. Congrats. You better have all the right answers to their questions. Just ask Ted Nugent. Mr. Raub apparently didn't do so well with his answers. Given this Country's growing intolerance of public shootings whether they be directed at Congressmen at shopping centers like in the Gabby Giffords case or in the Batman premier in Aurora, CO just a few months ago, most Americans have had it up to here with people going crazy and killing our neighbors. If Raub isn't crazy and just playing "cute" with the law enforcement types, then its what you get. Mind you, it appears that if the local authorities had filed their paperwork sooner, he may very well still be under observation. Being evaluated by mental health professionals, which is fine by me. Obviously, if he is mentally disturbed, then isn't that exactly where society wants a guy like that?

It isn't free speech once it raises the ire of ordinary citizens and then fails to convince authorities you're not a threat to anyone. Its a public safety issue and most people realize that. Something Brandon Raub wrote or said got him special attention. Upon further review, we can conclude, he turned out to be considered more of a threat than Ted Nugent did. Now that he's a free man, maybe he'll enjoy the limelight that I'm confident is about to shine upon him. Maybe he'll start a movement or be embraced by the Tea Party. Perhaps Governor Romney will introduce him to the nation during the upcoming Republican Convention in Florida next week. (I doubt it.) His comments are far more damning of President Bush (who he accuses of raping and sacrificing children in secret castles in Colorado) than current president Obama. Unless you've somehow concocted a theory that as a favor to former President Bush, President Obama is leaning on this guy, there's no plausible explanation that makes sense.

So, why is the far right so worked up about this? Well, its pretty good scary-talk, I must admit and good scary-talk almost always work to fire up the fringes. Death panels, Bush pulled off 9/11, Muslims overthrowing our government from within, Shariah Law, etc. The fringes love this sort of thing. It sustains them. Far better to explain the complex world we live in with a wild, crazy impossible to believe fairy tale than do the hard, frustrating, time consuming work of understanding the nuance of our country. Its similar to the abuse President's receive while in office. Rather than read and learn about various policies, some prefer to rush to judgement and connect dots that could never, ever be connected.

We welcome free speech, which by definition includes divergent opinions. Its not about eliminating dissent. Not at all. (When Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and Alex Jones dissapear, then I'll listen.) Toned down, and a more Ted Nugent like response from Mr. Raub and he probably never would've been escorted to the mental health facility.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/va-veteran-detained-strident-facebook-posts-224322544.html

http://joemiller.us/2012/08/video-fox-news-interview-with-veteran-brandon-raubs-attorney-reveals-info-about-marines-background-circumstances/

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29271203/why-is-there-so-much-misinformation-about-this-brandon-raub-loon

http://www.businessinsider.com/lawyer-for-detained-marine-says-he-is-being-held-illegally-2012-8#ixzz24V51WrAt

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/miller/120823

http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/08/23/ex-marine-held-without-charge-over-facebook-posts-is-finally-released/

http://beforeitsnews.com/tea-party/2012/08/the-strange-case-of-brandon-raub-2450478.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/0419/Ted-Nugent-meets-Secret-Service-Was-he-singled-out