Things to Know - 4 August

1.  Congress has taken off for its Summer break.  Not coming back until September.  John Boehner and his young guns have left the needs of the people undone.   Pre-occupied with blocking Obama at every move, GOP spent more time doing nothing rather than work on immigration, jobs, or a farm bill.  We the people are aware of their actions, and need to hold them accountable for their failure to work for the needs of the nation:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/us/politics/house-passes-short-term-farm-relief-bill.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120803&pagewanted=print

2.  This writer has studied Romney's preparation for foreign policy and assumption for the duties of commander-in-chief.  Miserable.   Romney does not know who our "enemies" are, and when he picks one, he changes his mind, and it becomes someone else.   For all the time Mitt has had to get ready for the job, he shows no command of being prepared.  He's toast:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/print/44704/

3.  Mitt is coming around to respond to claims that he has paid no taxes in the past.  He now says that he paid "a lot of taxes", which begs the question Mr. Romney what is a lot of taxes, and will you back up your claim that you paid a lot of taxes with showing your tax returns?:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/romney-call-reids-claims-a-diversion-from-jobs-report/?nl=us&emc=edit_cn_20120803&pagewanted=print

4.  Staying with the above story on Senator Reid's claim about Romney's taxes - the issue has been wallowing around on back burners, and not being paid much attention by the media.  However, when a fellow Mormon who knows about tithing to the church, and who knows a lot about politics, and who knows where the sources of string-pulling starts, he has the moxie and the gravitas to push this right up to the forefront.  Point being, Romney will hounded by all sorts from now until the end about claims that he is hiding stuff.  He's toast:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/harry-reid-romney-tax-source-_n_1735729.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

5.  Gail Collins summarizes the performance of the group that calls itself Congress - you know, the guys who had to take a break from doing nothing.  They left, and did not even attempt to address the problem that farmers are facing with ruined drought-stricken crops, and anything they could hope to help them out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/opinion/collins-congress-goes-postal.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

6.  I almost don;t want to include this, because there is a video clip of Cavett and Jack Benny that does not display or work, but I thought I would send it anyway.  It's about a writer for comics who depend on others for great lines:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/comedy-pain-and-comedy-pleasure/?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

7.  As a result of Romney's foray into Israel, and his subsequent put-down of the Palestinians, here is an op-ed to refute Mitt and set the record straight on what is their biggest problem - OCCUPATION:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/opinion/occupation-not-culture-is-holding-palestinians-back.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

8.  The LA TImes editorial points to a very distressing and inhumane problem when parents are arrested, mishandled and given no help, and wind up being deported.....all the time that their children are left behind:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-custody-immigrant-missouri-20120731,0,1967139,print.story


Juan

--

"God runs electromagnetics by wave theory on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the Devil runs them by quantum theory on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday." 
       -- Sir William Bragg

"Honesty is a good thing, but it is not profitable to its possessor unless it is kept under control." 
       -- Don Marquis

"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." 
       -- Anonymous

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." 
       -- Lucille Ball