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deminks
deminks's Journal
deminks's Journal
January 14, 2012
Robert William Beaulieu is 23-years-old, lives in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is a registered Democrat. He’s also very much not dead.
But you wouldn’t have known that if you watched the lastest undercover sting video from James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas, which featured a man with an Irish accent attempting to obtain a ballot on behalf of a Robert Beaulieu who lives on Cassandra Lane.
That’s the home University of New Hampshire graduate Robert W. Beaulieu, pictured above, shares with his parents. Robert P. Beaulieu, unrelated, died a few months back at the age of 84, and is apparently the man Project Vertitas’ investigator intended to impersonate. By all appearances, they got the wrong guy.
(snip)
“There’s four of us, everyone is alive,” joked Beaulieu’s brother Timothy William Beaulieu, who first noticed that his brother’s name and address being used by a man with an Irish accent during a segment on Current TV this week.
(end snip)
So, let me get this straight, Little Jimmy O sets out to impersonate dead people voting, but gets the wrong guy, who's living, and whose family watches Current TV.
Sometimes comedy writes itself.
Which carries a longer jail sentence? Impersonating a dead person at the polls, filming people without their knowledge, or impersonating living people?
‘Dead’ Voter Talking: O’Keefe Voter Fraud Stunt Confused 23-Year-Old For Dead 84-Year-Old
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/okeefe_voter_fraud_stunt_confused_23-year-old_for_dead_84-year-old.phpRobert William Beaulieu is 23-years-old, lives in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is a registered Democrat. He’s also very much not dead.
But you wouldn’t have known that if you watched the lastest undercover sting video from James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas, which featured a man with an Irish accent attempting to obtain a ballot on behalf of a Robert Beaulieu who lives on Cassandra Lane.
That’s the home University of New Hampshire graduate Robert W. Beaulieu, pictured above, shares with his parents. Robert P. Beaulieu, unrelated, died a few months back at the age of 84, and is apparently the man Project Vertitas’ investigator intended to impersonate. By all appearances, they got the wrong guy.
(snip)
“There’s four of us, everyone is alive,” joked Beaulieu’s brother Timothy William Beaulieu, who first noticed that his brother’s name and address being used by a man with an Irish accent during a segment on Current TV this week.
(end snip)
So, let me get this straight, Little Jimmy O sets out to impersonate dead people voting, but gets the wrong guy, who's living, and whose family watches Current TV.
Sometimes comedy writes itself.
Which carries a longer jail sentence? Impersonating a dead person at the polls, filming people without their knowledge, or impersonating living people?
January 12, 2012
A grieving New Hampshire widow said she was stunned to learn her beloved husband’s identity was used for a political gotcha — just 10 days after his death.
“That’s awful,” Rachel Groux said. “Why should they use his name? They shouldn’t use anybody’s name — alive or deceased.”
Activist filmmaker James O’Keefe secretly recorded video showing his operative using Roger Groux’s name and address to obtain a Republican ballot at Manchester polls Tuesday. The U.S. Navy veteran died Dec. 31 at an assisted living home. His family held funeral services Monday, his widow said. “Oh my God, I know what he would say, ‘Call the cops, call the police,’ ” Rachel Groux said.
City officials may have not received notification in time to remove Groux from voter lists, said Manchester City Clerk Matthew Normand.
(end snip)
O'Keefe is despicable.
N.H. widow shocked by ploy at polls
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/20220112id_theft_at_polls_stuns_nh_widow/A grieving New Hampshire widow said she was stunned to learn her beloved husband’s identity was used for a political gotcha — just 10 days after his death.
“That’s awful,” Rachel Groux said. “Why should they use his name? They shouldn’t use anybody’s name — alive or deceased.”
Activist filmmaker James O’Keefe secretly recorded video showing his operative using Roger Groux’s name and address to obtain a Republican ballot at Manchester polls Tuesday. The U.S. Navy veteran died Dec. 31 at an assisted living home. His family held funeral services Monday, his widow said. “Oh my God, I know what he would say, ‘Call the cops, call the police,’ ” Rachel Groux said.
City officials may have not received notification in time to remove Groux from voter lists, said Manchester City Clerk Matthew Normand.
(end snip)
O'Keefe is despicable.
January 11, 2012
(snip)
The Book of Mitt
If Romney is exceedingly comfortable around family and close friends, he’s much less so around those he doesn’t know well, drawing a boundary that’s difficult to traverse. It’s a strict social order—us and them—that has put co-workers, political aides, casual acquaintances, and others in his professional circles, even people who have worked with or known him for years, outside the bubble. As a result, he has numerous admirers but, by several accounts, not a long list of close pals. “He’s very engaging and charming in a small group of friends he’s comfortable with,” said one former aide. “When he’s with people he doesn’t know, he gets more formal. And if it’s a political thing where he doesn’t know anybody, he has a mask.” For those outside the inner circle, Romney comes across as all business. Colleagues at work or political staffers are there to do a job, not to bond. “Mitt is always the star,” said one Massachusetts Republican. “And everybody else is a bit player.” He has little patience for idle chatter or small talk, little interest in mingling at cocktail parties, at social functions, or even in the crowded hallway. He is not fed by, and does not crave, casual social interaction, often displaying little desire to know who people are and what makes them tick. “He wasn’t overly interested in people’s personal details or their kids or spouses or team building or their career path,” said another former aide. “It was all very friendly but not very deep.” Or, as one fellow Republican put it, “He has that invisible wall between ‘me’ and ‘you.’” Referring to the time later when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, a Democratic lawmaker recalls, “You remember Richard Nixon and the imperial presidency? Well, this was the imperial governor.” There were the ropes that often curtailed access to Romney and his chambers. The elevator settings restricted access to his office. The tape on the floor told people exactly where to stand during events. This was the controlled environment that Romney created. His orbit was his own. “We always would talk about how, among the legislators, he had no idea what our names were—none,” the lawmaker said, “because he was so far removed from the day-to-day operations of state government.”
(snip)
Hayes was deeply insulted. She told him she would never surrender her child. Sure, her life wasn’t exactly the picture of Rockwellian harmony, but she felt she was on a path to stability. In that moment, she also felt intimidated. Here was Romney, who held great power as her church leader and was the head of a wealthy, prominent Belmont family, sitting in her gritty apartment making grave demands. “And then he says, ‘Well, this is what the church wants you to do, and if you don’t, then you could be excommunicated for failing to follow the leadership of the church,’?” Hayes recalled. It was a serious threat. At that point Hayes still valued her place within the Mormon Church. “This is not playing around,” she said. “This is not like ‘You don’t get to take Communion.’ This is like ‘You will not be saved. You will never see the face of God.’?” Romney would later deny that he had threatened Hayes with excommunication, but Hayes said his message was crystal clear: “Give up your son or give up your God.”
Not long after, Hayes gave birth to a son. She named him Dane. At nine months old, Dane needed serious, and risky, surgery. The bones in his head were fused together, restricting the growth of his brain, and would need to be separated. Hayes was scared. She sought emotional and spiritual support from the church once again. Looking past their uncomfortable conversation before Dane’s birth, she called Romney and asked him to come to the hospital to confer a blessing on her baby. Hayes was expecting him. Instead, two people she didn’t know showed up. She was crushed. “I needed him,” she said. “It was very significant that he didn’t come.” Sitting there in the hospital, Hayes decided she was finished with the Mormon Church. The decision was easy, yet she made it with a heavy heart. To this day, she remains grateful to Romney and others in the church for all they did for her family. But she shudders at what they were asking her to do in return, especially when she pulls out pictures of Dane, now a 27-year-old electrician in Salt Lake City. “There’s my baby,” she said.
(snip)
Ladies and Gents, the Lead Clown in the Clown Car.
Vanity Fair: The Meaning of Mitt
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/02/mitt-romney-201202(snip)
The Book of Mitt
If Romney is exceedingly comfortable around family and close friends, he’s much less so around those he doesn’t know well, drawing a boundary that’s difficult to traverse. It’s a strict social order—us and them—that has put co-workers, political aides, casual acquaintances, and others in his professional circles, even people who have worked with or known him for years, outside the bubble. As a result, he has numerous admirers but, by several accounts, not a long list of close pals. “He’s very engaging and charming in a small group of friends he’s comfortable with,” said one former aide. “When he’s with people he doesn’t know, he gets more formal. And if it’s a political thing where he doesn’t know anybody, he has a mask.” For those outside the inner circle, Romney comes across as all business. Colleagues at work or political staffers are there to do a job, not to bond. “Mitt is always the star,” said one Massachusetts Republican. “And everybody else is a bit player.” He has little patience for idle chatter or small talk, little interest in mingling at cocktail parties, at social functions, or even in the crowded hallway. He is not fed by, and does not crave, casual social interaction, often displaying little desire to know who people are and what makes them tick. “He wasn’t overly interested in people’s personal details or their kids or spouses or team building or their career path,” said another former aide. “It was all very friendly but not very deep.” Or, as one fellow Republican put it, “He has that invisible wall between ‘me’ and ‘you.’” Referring to the time later when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, a Democratic lawmaker recalls, “You remember Richard Nixon and the imperial presidency? Well, this was the imperial governor.” There were the ropes that often curtailed access to Romney and his chambers. The elevator settings restricted access to his office. The tape on the floor told people exactly where to stand during events. This was the controlled environment that Romney created. His orbit was his own. “We always would talk about how, among the legislators, he had no idea what our names were—none,” the lawmaker said, “because he was so far removed from the day-to-day operations of state government.”
(snip)
Hayes was deeply insulted. She told him she would never surrender her child. Sure, her life wasn’t exactly the picture of Rockwellian harmony, but she felt she was on a path to stability. In that moment, she also felt intimidated. Here was Romney, who held great power as her church leader and was the head of a wealthy, prominent Belmont family, sitting in her gritty apartment making grave demands. “And then he says, ‘Well, this is what the church wants you to do, and if you don’t, then you could be excommunicated for failing to follow the leadership of the church,’?” Hayes recalled. It was a serious threat. At that point Hayes still valued her place within the Mormon Church. “This is not playing around,” she said. “This is not like ‘You don’t get to take Communion.’ This is like ‘You will not be saved. You will never see the face of God.’?” Romney would later deny that he had threatened Hayes with excommunication, but Hayes said his message was crystal clear: “Give up your son or give up your God.”
Not long after, Hayes gave birth to a son. She named him Dane. At nine months old, Dane needed serious, and risky, surgery. The bones in his head were fused together, restricting the growth of his brain, and would need to be separated. Hayes was scared. She sought emotional and spiritual support from the church once again. Looking past their uncomfortable conversation before Dane’s birth, she called Romney and asked him to come to the hospital to confer a blessing on her baby. Hayes was expecting him. Instead, two people she didn’t know showed up. She was crushed. “I needed him,” she said. “It was very significant that he didn’t come.” Sitting there in the hospital, Hayes decided she was finished with the Mormon Church. The decision was easy, yet she made it with a heavy heart. To this day, she remains grateful to Romney and others in the church for all they did for her family. But she shudders at what they were asking her to do in return, especially when she pulls out pictures of Dane, now a 27-year-old electrician in Salt Lake City. “There’s my baby,” she said.
(snip)
Ladies and Gents, the Lead Clown in the Clown Car.
January 3, 2012
Karl Rove: “Climate Is Gone”
from 2010 first thing out of KKKarl's mouth after the 2010 mid term election.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2010/11/05/206992/karl-rove-climate-is-gone/
Karl Rove, former consigliere to the worst president of the modern era, who has done as much as anyone to help destroy a livable climate for our children, blurted out the awful truth this week. Brad Johnson has the the story.
Republican strategist Karl Rove, who helped organize the outside groups that spent millions to install Republicans in the midterm elections, spent election day celebrating with Pennsylvania’s growing drilling industry. Like other corporate sectors, the fossil industry is hoping that Republicans will be able to roll back regulations that limit their profit-seeking at the expense of people’s health and safety. Rove told the attendees of a shale-gas conference in Philadelphia that the incoming Republican House of Representatives “sure as heck” won’t pass legislation to limit greenhouse pollution from fossil fuels:
“Climate is gone,” said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening day of a two-day shale-gas conference sponsored by Hart Energy Publishing L.L.P. And Rove told the trade show, “I don’t think you need to worry” the new Congress will consider proposed legislation to put the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal rather than state regulation. The procedure, known as “fracking,” is responsible for the dramatic growth of shale-gas drilling in formations such as Pennsylvania’s vast Marcellus Shale.
January 2, 2012
Speaking to Republicans in Iowa on Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said his administration would reform welfare to the point that it would offer no welfare at all.
After suggesting that an expansion of Medicare is really just a plot to make voters more “dependent” on Washington, Santorum added: ”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money.”
“I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn their money and provide for themselves and their families,” he added. “The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling.”
(end snip)
and the crowd cheers.
video at the link.
Santorum tells Iowans: ‘I don’t want to make black people’s lives better’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/02/santorum-tells-iowans-i-dont-want-to-make-black-peoples-lives-better/Speaking to Republicans in Iowa on Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said his administration would reform welfare to the point that it would offer no welfare at all.
After suggesting that an expansion of Medicare is really just a plot to make voters more “dependent” on Washington, Santorum added: ”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money.”
“I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn their money and provide for themselves and their families,” he added. “The best way to do that is to get the manufacturing sector of the economy rolling.”
(end snip)
and the crowd cheers.
video at the link.
January 2, 2012
Mitt does NOT like to be interrupted when he thinks he is speaking. Anderson??!!!1!!!
DNC Top 5 Mitt Fits of 2011.
Mitt does NOT like to be interrupted when he thinks he is speaking. Anderson??!!!1!!!
December 28, 2011
The DLC was hired by the US Chamber of Commerce under Tom Donahue
to make certain right wing ideology was pervasive in both parties.
http://mydd.com/2006/12/13/tom-donahue-the-gang-of-6-and-red-america
(snip)
Donahue is really smart, and the Chamber isn't going away. If you read the full article, you'll see that he hired Al From, head of the DLC, to make sure that right-wing policies succeed in both parties.
(end snip)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64725-2005Feb4?language=printer
(snip)
The chamber has hired the Swiss Guard of paid consultants from both political parties. Several showed up at a recent dinner hosted by Donohue at the chamber, including Al From, chief executive of the Democratic Leadership Council; Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty, who was White House chief of staff in the Clinton administration; and Scott W. Reed, who was Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign manager.
(end snip)
Koch money? Probably. The Dark Side? Most certainly.
December 17, 2011
A retired surgeon campaigning for a full coroner’s inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly will have his case heard by a High Court judge on Monday.
David Halpin, 71, is seeking permission to challenge the Government’s decision in June not to order a coroner’s inquest into the controversial death.
Dr Kelly, a government weapons inspector, allegedly slashed his wrist and swallowed painkillers in an Oxfordshire wood in July 2003, after being named as the source of a BBC report accusing Tony Blair’s government of lying to take Britain into the Iraq war.
(snip)
Monday’s hearing, which is open to the public, will last two hours and marks the first time that matters relating to the Iraq war, Dr Kelly’s death and the Blair government’s handling of both issues will be before a court rather than a public inquiry.
Judge to hear campaigner's plea for inquest into Dr Kelly's controversial death
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2075353/Judge-hear-campaigners-plea-inquest-Dr-Kellys-controversial-death.html?ito=feeds-newsxmlA retired surgeon campaigning for a full coroner’s inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly will have his case heard by a High Court judge on Monday.
David Halpin, 71, is seeking permission to challenge the Government’s decision in June not to order a coroner’s inquest into the controversial death.
Dr Kelly, a government weapons inspector, allegedly slashed his wrist and swallowed painkillers in an Oxfordshire wood in July 2003, after being named as the source of a BBC report accusing Tony Blair’s government of lying to take Britain into the Iraq war.
(snip)
Monday’s hearing, which is open to the public, will last two hours and marks the first time that matters relating to the Iraq war, Dr Kelly’s death and the Blair government’s handling of both issues will be before a court rather than a public inquiry.
December 16, 2011
Once upon a time in a country far, far away, truth was told. Prevaricating trolls were locked away in prison towers. The sun shined. There was clean water. Everyone lived happily ever after.
That is a fairy tale. So are the jobs we are being told will be created by the Keystone XL Pipeline. Republicans attached approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline to a bill that would extend the payroll tax holiday for workers and jobless benefits for the unemployed, effectively holding the 99% hostage to a fairy tale.
(snip)
The problem facing Canada is that they can't get all of their potential production to global markets unless they can get it to a seaport and pump it into super tankers. They can't get it to the international marketplace without going through the U.S., because the First Nations People of Canada won't allow the product to be piped across their land into British Columbia. They fear the corrosive nature of the product. For some strange reason, the Republican Governor of Nebraska has the same concern about piping the product through the Ogallala Aquifer.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is simply an extension of an already existing pipeline. The developer's estimate of jobs has a lot of fuzzy math: Some of the jobs would be in Canada; if a job lasts for two years, it was counted as two jobs — one for each year; if stays at a hotel go up or meals served in a restaurant go up during the construction, jobs in the hotel and restaurant are counted as new jobs.
The U.S. State department estimates that the actual jobs created in the U.S. would be 5,000 temporary jobs. So, actual job creation would be 2.5% of the jobs being discussed by Republicans and Fox News. It is not exactly a lie that jobs would be created, but we have been given a big fat fairy tale about the number of jobs.
(snip)
Temporary jobs a fraction of what is promoted, higher oil prices in the midwest of course to pay for the pipeline, and most of the oil will be shipped overseas - the pipeline just gets it to the ports faster...it's all been just a great big fairy tale.
Move on...got to move on
A modern-day fairy tale peddled by Republicans
http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20111216/COLUMNISTS/111219977/1001&parentprofile=1059Once upon a time in a country far, far away, truth was told. Prevaricating trolls were locked away in prison towers. The sun shined. There was clean water. Everyone lived happily ever after.
That is a fairy tale. So are the jobs we are being told will be created by the Keystone XL Pipeline. Republicans attached approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline to a bill that would extend the payroll tax holiday for workers and jobless benefits for the unemployed, effectively holding the 99% hostage to a fairy tale.
(snip)
The problem facing Canada is that they can't get all of their potential production to global markets unless they can get it to a seaport and pump it into super tankers. They can't get it to the international marketplace without going through the U.S., because the First Nations People of Canada won't allow the product to be piped across their land into British Columbia. They fear the corrosive nature of the product. For some strange reason, the Republican Governor of Nebraska has the same concern about piping the product through the Ogallala Aquifer.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is simply an extension of an already existing pipeline. The developer's estimate of jobs has a lot of fuzzy math: Some of the jobs would be in Canada; if a job lasts for two years, it was counted as two jobs — one for each year; if stays at a hotel go up or meals served in a restaurant go up during the construction, jobs in the hotel and restaurant are counted as new jobs.
The U.S. State department estimates that the actual jobs created in the U.S. would be 5,000 temporary jobs. So, actual job creation would be 2.5% of the jobs being discussed by Republicans and Fox News. It is not exactly a lie that jobs would be created, but we have been given a big fat fairy tale about the number of jobs.
(snip)
Temporary jobs a fraction of what is promoted, higher oil prices in the midwest of course to pay for the pipeline, and most of the oil will be shipped overseas - the pipeline just gets it to the ports faster...it's all been just a great big fairy tale.
Move on...got to move on
December 15, 2011
To hear Chris Matthews tell it yesterday, MSNBC went way overboard on something. Here’s what he said on his “Hardball” program on Wednesday afternoon:
It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this, and it showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign.
(snip)
Part 1: Was the allegedly offending statement accurate?
Yes, but let’s break this down into its constituent parts. First, Roberts implied that Romney had used the term “Keep America American.” Based on this story in the Los Angeles Times, that looks accurate. Roberts also linked that phrase to the KKK. Again, there’s solid ground for that conclusion.
(snip)
The unfortunate upshot of that moment is that Romney used a phrase deployed by the KKK in proximity to a reference to immigration policy. Therefore, the reference on MSNBC was fair, even if it lacked a response from the Romney people.
(end snip)
See apology here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/100218659
Tweety is saying (was told to say) we're sorry we reported that Mitt is using a phrase in his campaign that the KKK has previously used. We caused him embarrassment and for that we are not going to get access to his sorry a**, unless we grovel right fricking now.
Did MSNBC overapologize to Mitt Romney?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/did-msnbc-overapologize-to-mitt-romney/2011/12/14/gIQAhbnEwO_blog.htmlTo hear Chris Matthews tell it yesterday, MSNBC went way overboard on something. Here’s what he said on his “Hardball” program on Wednesday afternoon:
It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this, and it showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign.
(snip)
Part 1: Was the allegedly offending statement accurate?
Yes, but let’s break this down into its constituent parts. First, Roberts implied that Romney had used the term “Keep America American.” Based on this story in the Los Angeles Times, that looks accurate. Roberts also linked that phrase to the KKK. Again, there’s solid ground for that conclusion.
(snip)
The unfortunate upshot of that moment is that Romney used a phrase deployed by the KKK in proximity to a reference to immigration policy. Therefore, the reference on MSNBC was fair, even if it lacked a response from the Romney people.
(end snip)
See apology here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/100218659
Tweety is saying (was told to say) we're sorry we reported that Mitt is using a phrase in his campaign that the KKK has previously used. We caused him embarrassment and for that we are not going to get access to his sorry a**, unless we grovel right fricking now.
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