Things to Know - 3 August

1.  The News Bureau of Santa Monica ("The Home of the Homeless"), has done some journalistic investigation, and has found that there are many at the economic bottom who have reason to be very happy where they are:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nations-lower-class-at-least-grateful-it-not-part,28999/

2.  The subject matter of Romney and his taxes comes up every day now, and in different shades of seriousness.   This article has ten reasons as to why Romney is not saying a thing, and none of them are good.  He's toast:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/print/44687/

3.  Rachel Maddow fans saw this last night, and now it is all out for the rest to see.  Romney's tax plan places an additional $2,000 burden on an average family, while taking in more money to allow the wealthy to have a tax cut.  Here are more factoids on Romney's own personal tax behavior.   You want jam or jelly with that toast?:

http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/01/13077163-youre-going-to-have-to-take-my-word-for-it-mitt-romney-tax-returns-and-a-decade-of-evasion?lite

4.  Schools are closing, teachers are being let go, and the youth of this nation are getting less of an education from our public system.  Meanwhile, the Republicans are engineering budget cuts on all the programs that made this country great,,,while trying to engineer more tax breaks and greater slices of wealth than ever before.  Is that what we do in our Democracy?:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10640-a-democratic-country-should-put-public-education-before-corporate-profitshttp://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10640-a-democratic-country-should-put-public-education-before-corporate-profits

5.  Romney campaign admits that their policy is to let subsidies and tax incentives for wind power would go away under his leadership.   Germany is an outstanding example of a nation that has benefited greatly from wind and solar power, which has enabled them to maintain their manufacturing and production superiority while not getting hit by the volatility and harm from dependence on foreign oil.   Romney has committed to the Koch Brothers and the reset of the Big Energy boys who fund the Super Pacs - Romney is just a slut:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/02/mitt-romney-end-us-wind-subsidies?INTCMP=SRCH

6.  The pickle that the GOP got itself into (preserving Bush tax cuts for future budget cuts), has now resulted in the Military-Industrial Complex going into apoplexy.  The biggest corporate welfare program going (MIC) is panicked, and now resorts to calling it all Obama's fault.  It does not wash:

http://truth-out.org/news/item/10648-congress-as-enabler-defense-companies-use-congress-to-save-their-money-no-matter-the-consequences-part-one?tmpl=component&print=1

7.  The Thom Hartmann news format:

http://truth-out.org/news/item/10667-on-the-news-with-thom-hartmann-a-21-year-old-in-arkansas-was-shot-in-the-head-while-handcuffed-in-the-back-of-a-police-car-and-more?tmpl=component&print=1

8.  Here is a video and text discussion of the health care system, using the State of Maryland, as an actual discussion base, and comparing it to Canada.   I think you will learn the distinction between single-payer vs, insurance companies in the talk:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10641-what-a-single-payer-health-insurance-plan-looks-like

--
Juan

"I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it." 
       -- G. K. Chesterton

"About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment." 
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"Speak the truth, but leave immediately after." 
       -- Slovenian Proverb

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       -- Alfred A. Knopf