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maddezmom's JournalPresident Obama’s campaign repeats call for more Mitt Romney tax returns, citing tax shelter used by
Source: Boston Globe
President Obama’s campaign repeats call for more Mitt Romney tax returns, citing tax shelter used by Marriott when Romney was on board
President Obama’s reelection campaign repeated its call for Mitt Romney to release additional tax returns Thursday, citing renewed interest in a tax shelter used by the Marriott hotel chain when Romney chaired the company’s audit committee in the 1990s.
In an op-ed published Wednesday by CNN, Peter C. Canellos, former chair of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section, and Edward D. Kleinbard, former chief of staff of Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation, described Romney as “an executive who was willing to go to the edge, if not beyond, to bend the rules to seek an unfair advantage.”
Canellos donated $2,300 to Obama in 2008.
He and Kleinbard noted that a federal appeals court ruled in 2009 that Marriott used “fictitious” losses to artificially reduce its taxable income during the period when Romney led the audit committee charged with ensuring tax code compliance. The scheme was known as “Son of BOSS.”
Canellos and Kleinbard concluded that Romney showed “insensitivity to tax obligations” while on the Marriott board and wrote that the company’s engagement in Son of BOSS raises a question about Romney’s personal tax compliance: “Did he augment his wealth through highly aggressive tax stratagems of questionable validity?”
Read more: http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/08/09/president-obama-campaign-repeats-call-for-more-mitt-romney-tax-returns-citing-tax-shelter-used-marriott-when-romney-was-board/oXkbpYDEbE1kdJvyGgGzSJ/story.html
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Romney as Audit Chair Saw Marriott Son of BOSS Shelter Defy IRS
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101635749
Economists to Romney campaign: That’s not what our research says
Posted by Ezra Klein on August 8, 2012 at 11:58 am
On Tuesday, the Romney campaign responded to the fire it’s taking from economic analysts by unleashing some artillery of their own. They released a paper by four decorated economists associated with the campaign — Glenn Hubbard, Greg Mankiw, John Taylor, and Kevin Hassett — that tried to lend some empirical backing to “The Romney Program for Economic Recovery, Growth, and Jobs.”
Hubbard, Mankiw, Taylor and Hassett make three main points: The first is that this recovery has been terribly slow, even by the standards of post-financial crisis recoveries. The second is that the Obama administration made a grievous error by relying on stimulus. And the third is that Romney’s tax and economic plans would usher in an era of rapid growth that would both be good for the country and provide the boost to revenues and employment necessary to make their numbers work out.
Each of these sections include supporting documents from independent economists. And so I contacted some of the named economists to ask what they thought of the Romney campaign’s interpretation of their research. In every case, they responded with a polite version of Marshall McLuhan’s famous riposte. The Romney campaign, they said, knows little of their work. Or of their policy proposals.
“The historical record is clear,” write the Romney campaign’s economists. “Our economy usually recovers quickly from recessions, and the more severe the recession, the faster the subsequent catch-up growth.” The paper they’re relying on here is “Deep Recessions, Fast Recoveries, and Financial Crises: Evidence from the American Record,” by Michael Bordo of Rutgers University and Joseph Haubrich of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. So I asked Bordo whether he agreed that this recovery had been inexplicably sluggish, and whether a different set of policies could have dramatically shortened it.
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/08/economists-to-romney-campaign-thats-not-what-our-research-says/
Romney still faces conservative doubts as convention approaches
Washington (CNN) -- Like a lion trained on its prey, conservatives are tracking certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney for any gaffe, policy shift or other signal that shows he is really the moderate they fear instead of the right-wing ideologue they want.
The continuing distrust of Romney by some on the political right will be one of the most interesting dynamics at the upcoming Republican National Convention that will formally anoint the former Massachusetts governor as President Barack Obama's challenger in November.
Conservative angst over Romney skyrocketed Wednesday when his campaign press secretary highlighted the health care law Romney championed in Massachusetts, which served as a model for Obama's national reforms that are detested by the political right.
Influential talk show host Rush Limbaugh blasted the remark by chief Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul as a "potential gold mine" for Obama supporters, while conservative commentator Erick Erickson wrote on his RedState.com website that Romney was like a puppy that needs to be house-trained.
more:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/09/politics/romney-conservatives/index.html
FBI: Right-wing terror is real
TUESDAY, AUG 7, 2012 06:45 AM CDT
FBI: Right-wing terror is real
Documents show that the FBI has been constantly worried about right-wing terrorism -- including suicide attacks
BY JORDAN MICHAEL SMITH
When Homeland Security director Janet Napolitano released a report in April 2009 identifying right-wing extremists as a threat to the country, conservatives howled. The general sentiment was expressed by Michelle Malkin, who declared the report a “piece of crap … propaganda … an Obama hit job.” Jonah Goldberg complained that the DHS report failed to stick “to the practice of describing these groups with more specificity and without the catchall, ideologically loaded descriptors.” Well, now that we have learned the murderer of six people at a Wisconsin Sikh temple was a well-known white supremacist, conservatives might want to consider reexamining their claims that terrorists don’t exist on the right side of the political spectrum.
Conservatives might be shocked that someone else besides a Muslim can commit an act of terrorism, but white supremacists and neo-Nazis have been recognized as genuine threats for years. FBI documents declassified in July reveal that the bureau has been worried about right-wing extremists for a long time — so many years, in fact, that many seem to have forgotten that white supremacists, who pioneered homegrown terrorism with the Ku Klux Klan, have not gone away.
The documents, which were collected by the invaluable National Security Archive and obtained partly through Freedom of Information Act requests, shed light on the problems coming from the extreme right. According to a 2004 FBI report, “right-wing terrorists pose a significant threat due to their propensity for violence” (note the FBI’s use of the term “right-wing” to define these terrorists, the phrase that so enraged conservatives when Napolitano employed it). These groups increased their recruitment efforts and rhetoric after 9/11, according to the report. White supremacists groups relied on broader anti-immigrant sentiment throughout the country to advance their efforts.
more:http://www.salon.com/2012/08/07/fbi_right_wing_terror_is_real/
New Violence Prompts Criticism Of Anti-Muslim Lawmakers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sunday’s terror attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin has prompted some civil rights leaders and members of Congress to say aloud what has long been whispered on Capitol Hill: That the words and conspiracy theories of some of the most anti-Muslim legislators have grown dangerous.
No one has suggested any direct ties between the statements of lawmakers like Rep. Michele Bachmann and the attack on Sunday, which left six victims dead and several others injured. Indeed, the attacker, Wade Michael Page, had longstanding ties to white supremacist groups and deep roots in the racist fringe.
But voices, including those of her colleagues and leading civil rights figures, said the shooting — and a suspected arson attack at a Joplin, Missouri mosque that has previously be the target of anti-Muslim violence — added an urgency to Republican leaders’ efforts to tone down the rhetoric of lawmakers like Bachmann and Reps. Louis Gohmert and Steve King.
Bachmann, Gohmert and King declined to comment for this story, as did the offices of GOP leaders in the House and Senate.
more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/new-violence-prompts-criticism-of-anti-muslim-lawm
Whitman Criticizes Romney’s Failure To Stand Up To Right-Wing August 8, 2012 STATE — Former New Je
Whitman Criticizes Romney’s Failure To Stand Up To Right-Wing
August 8, 2012
STATE — Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman is saying presidential candidate Mitt Romney has not shown the character to stand up to extremist elements in his own party.
During an appearance on CNN, Whitman was critical of Romney for failing to speak out when an audience jeered a gay soldier during a September debate.
Romney has repeatedly refused to criticize the right-wing, ducking opportunities to condemn Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) Islamophobic witch hunt against a Hillary Clinton aide and refusing to directly repudiate Donald Trump’s claims that President Obama was born in Kenya.
He also wouldn’t decry Rush Limbaugh for calling Sandra Fluke a “slut” or speak out against social conservatives who opposed his decision to hire an openly-gay national security spokesperson.
Read more: http://njtoday.net/2012/08/08/whitman-criticizes-romneys-failure-to-stand-up-to-right-wing/#ixzz233vn3130
Tell everyone to get New Jersey News from WWW.NJTODAY.NET
Gingrich Defends Investigations Into Links Between Obama Administration And Muslim Brotherhood
ppearing on C-SPAN on Thursday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich defended a recent report which said that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood had significant influence over certain agencies within the United States government. Gingrich said that the negative reaction to those reports has been based in emotion. He went on to say that it is appropriate for the American people to want to know how much influence the Brotherhood has over President Barack Obama’s administration.
“It’s not about an individual person,” said Gingrich. He went on to says that it was “totally appropriate” to investigate certain departments in the government and their potential links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
“I think the Muslim Brotherhood is a very, very dangerous organization,” said Gingrich. He cited former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who recently said that the West has turned a blind eye to the aims of radical Islamist elements abroad to infiltrate foreign governments.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/gingrich-defends-investigations-into-links-between-obama-administration-and-muslim-brotherhood/
and yesterday on CNN:
Gingrich Glorifies McCarthyism To Defend His Support Of Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt
Today on CNN, Newt Gingrich applauded the central tenants of McCarthyism to justify his support for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) baseless campaign to root out alleged Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the U.S. government.
Host Wolf Blitzer singled out Bachmann target Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, telling Gingrich that it’s “ridiculous” to include her and that the whole thing reeks of McCarthyism. But the former House Speaker — and Mitt Romney supporter — wouldn’t back down, praising McCarthyism for rooting out communists and defending Abedin’s inclusion in Bachmann’s witch hunt. “This State Department has been amazingly pro-Muslim Brotherhood,” he said, “American citizens have the right to have the Congress ask the question.” Watch the clip:
Bachmann has been widely criticized for her anti-Muslim campaign, including by some top Republicans, particularly for singling out Abedin. But the Minnesota congresswoman has yet to offer substantial proof of any Muslim Brotherhood plot. In fact, actual members of the Islamist group have recently lamented that they can’t even take over the Egyptian government.
more:http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/08/08/662331/gingrich-mccarthyism-bachmann/
Romney Spokesperson Touts The Health Care Benefits He Seeks To Repeal
Mitt Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul appeared on Fox News Wednesday morning to criticize a controversial Priorities USA ad, which implies that the former Bain Capital executive is to blame for a woman’s death after her husband was laid off by the company. But in absolving Romney of responsibility, Saul awkwardly embraced the individual mandate and other provisions in the Massachusetts health care law that Romney has pledged to repeal for the nation as part of his attack on Obamacare.
`snip`
SAUL: To that point, you know, if people had been in Massachusetts under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care. There are a lot of people losing their jobs and their health care in President Obama’s economy.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/08/658311/romney-spokesperson-touts-the-health-care-benefits-he-seeks-to-repeal/
Hate groups have uneasy history with military base
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published: August 7, 2012
A billboard along the main road into Fort Bragg, N.C., in the mid-1990s read: "Enough! Let's start taking back America." Below the slogan was the telephone number for the National Alliance, a white-supremacist group.
Wade Michael Page, who killed six on Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, must have driven by that billboard dozens of times while stationed at the base back then. It was paid for by an active-duty soldier at Fort Bragg who served as a recruiter for the hate group.
Page was at Fort Bragg in 1995 when two neo-Nazi soldiers from the 82nd Airborne killed a black couple in nearby Fayetteville, according to a former soldier who served with him.
At the time, Page was assigned to a unit that specialized in Latin American affairs. Many members were fluent in Spanish, but Page wanted only to learn German, said Fred Allen Lucas, 43, who served with him in A Company, 9th Psychological Operations Battalion.
Once, while on temporary duty in Germany, Page got drunk and started goose-stepping down the street Nazi-style.
more:http://www.stripes.com/mobile/news/us/hate-groups-have-uneasy-history-with-military-base-1.185075
Sikh temple shooter promoted extremist views during his Army years
OAK CREEK, Wis. — The gunman in the Sikh temple shooting here was steeped in white supremacy during his Army days and spouted his racist views on the job as a soldier, according to some who served with him.
“It’s kind of amazing he was able to stay in, especially given what was going on around base at the time,” said Fred Lucas, a former soldier who served with Page at Fort Bragg, N.C., in the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion.
¬snip¬
Page, a soldier from 1992 to 1998, did little to hide his white-supremacist beliefs, Lucas said, but he could not have predicted that Page would act out violently.
Among the open signs of Page’s extremism were his tattoos. Officials at Fort Bragg — where 21 soldiers were identified as white supremacists after a skinhead soldier was convicted of murdering a black couple in 1995 — conducted tattoo inspections to track down anybody with extremist markings. Yet a tattoo on Page’s left shoulder referencing the 14-word mantra of skinheads apparently went unnoticed.
The credo reads: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
Page drove a Volkswagen Thing, a boxy vehicle resembling a Nazi staff car, that he had repainted from orange to red. With white trim and black tires, it mirrored the colors of the Nazi flag, Lucas said.
more: http://www.stripes.com/mobile/news/sikh-temple-shooter-promoted-extremist-views-during-his-army-years-1.185085
Exclusive: Interview With Professor Who Extensively Studied Alleged Wisconsin Mass
Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism Advisory Board member and University of Nebraska at Omaha Criminology professor Pete Simi had extensive long term contact with alleged Wisconsin mass killer Wade Michael Page when he was conducting a multi-year study of the hate rock music scene in Southern California. Page was a prominent figure in the hate rock world who had links to different hate groups. Dr. Simi recently co-authored (with Robert Futrell, University of Nevada, Las Vegas) the book American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate. His research on extremist movements has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. The interview was conducted this morning by Center director Prof. Brian Levin, who has also studied hate rock and was formerly the Associate Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Klanwatch and Militia Task Force in the 1990s. Both will appear on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews this evening at 7PM EST
When did you first meet Wade Page and what was he generally like at that time?
I met Page in 2001 while I was conducting fieldwork studying white supremacist groups in Southern California. Page had recently moved to Orange County, California and was living with another research subject I already knew. Wade was immediately friendly and didn't seem to have any problems with me hanging around doing research. He actually seemed to enjoy talking about his beliefs and at times I think he hoped to convert me. There were times when he was a little quiet and awkward but other times he seemed to loosen up and would joke around a lot. He definitely had a drinking problem and would pass out regularly. His heavy drinking made it hard for him to get to work.
Who was Page affiliated with and what types of activities was he involved in?
When I first met Page he was new to Southern California but he'd been around the white supremacist movement for a while. In Southern California he was spending time with a lot of different groups and was very involved in the white power music scene playing guitar in bands and trying to help promote shows. He had contacts with the National Alliance, Hammerskin Nation, different Klan groups, Volksfront and various other groups active in the white supremacist movement.
more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-levin-jd/exclusive-interview-with_b_1751181.html
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