Things to Know - 24 July

1.  Mitt Romney is his own enemy.  He has his refusal to release any additional tax information, that is going to raise speculation on what he is hiding.  However, his part performances, pronouncements, and statements on what he supports and stands for are contrary to what he is saying now, which emphasizes his Etch-a-Sketch reputation.  Most damaging is the record video and audio history, that has captured him in the past, and which he cannot escape.  This is a 20-minute presentation of all of his flip-flops.   There is nothing negative about them - no slander - no edited re-arrangement, no chicanery - just Mitt being the congenital misspeaker (do we hear Liar):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_pgfWK3sxw&feature=g-vrec

2.  Russell Pearce (remember him - the crazy right-wing state Senator from Arizona?), well here he is again putting blame on the victims in the Aurora movie theater for not having guns to stop the killer.  Freedom of Speech is grand - Freedom to be stupid is included:

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/russell-pearce-blames-shooting-victims-facebook.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

3.  Speculation on Romney's finances is all that we can process, and to that end, each day brings forth another plausible tid-bit for you dining and dancing pleasure:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/07/18/how-a-prosecutor-would-attack-romneys-1999-retroactive-retirement/

4.  Thom Hartmann fills us in on a few other interesting stories:

http://truth-out.org/news/item/10490-on-the-news-with-thom-hartmann-libor-rigging-traders-may-face-arrest-soon-and-more?tmpl=component&print=1

5.  Richard Cohen points out that it is not what is in Romney's tax returns that is criminal or illegal.  It is the mere fact that he does not want to to - just plain refuses.  That in itself says enough about what kind of regular guy he is.  It would take months to deconstruct all of his returns, but one thing is sure is that he lives on another planet than we do.  I personally would prefer someone who puts up with the same issues regarding earning money, saving money, and paying taxes...kind of like I do:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/richard-cohen-the-secret-in-mitt-romneys-tax-returns/2012/07/23/gJQAVwbI5W_print.html

6.  David Brooks presents his views on on the melee killing and drifts away from the sociological blames, and concentrates on the psychological reasons, which is probably describes most of the perpetrators that have created the most sensational incidents.  It does offer a point to begin talking about fixes to the problem.   Why is it that weapons, munitions, and explosives can be legally purchased by disturbed people?   Who can tell who is and who is not disturbed prior to a massacres?   Why does anyone need to have an arsenal, in the first place?  Okay....start talking about the common ground and the fixes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/opinion/brooks-more-treatment-programs.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

7.  Just keep talking:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/opinion/6000-bullets-in-colorado.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

8.  Nobel Prize winning Economist, Joseph Stiglitz, has written a book, The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future, which I am working on right now.  You should make yourself familiar with the concepts that he promotes here in his article:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stiglitz-inequality-20120722,0,5402839,print.story

Juan

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