Your weekend open thread

(From the Yakima Herald)  "More than a week after the Supreme Court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna is trying to clarify statements he made at a news conference immediately following the ruling.

Democrats and conservative Republicans made political hay out of McKenna's statement June 28 that Congress shouldn't repeal the entire act and the individual mandate should be kept "for now" because it is so closely tied to other parts of the reform package.

Speaking to the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce in Yakima on Monday, McKenna said the reports were a misinterpretation by "Seattle media" and that his position on the Affordable Care Act hasn't changed.

"I wish I had been better prepared with a better articulated response than the one I gave at the press conference," McKenna told the luncheon audience after an attendee accused him of changing his stance. "Frankly I didn't think we were going to lose so I wasn't ready for that question."

McKenna insisted he was only asked whether Congress would go forward with repealing the act, not whether he thinks it should be repealed. But a recording of the June 28 news conference shows Seattle Times reporter Jim Brunner clearly asking McKenna, "Do you support it being repealed?"

"No," McKenna said.

At the news conference McKenna did say Congress should review parts of the act and that without more reforms it will ultimately drive up prices.

"We continue to have concerns on how much this is going to cost the state and how the heck we're going to implement it successfully," McKenna told the Chamber.

McKenna said his campaign intends to publish an op-ed on his policy regarding the Affordable Care Act now that it has been upheld, but did not say when that would be released.

Jaime Smith, a spokeswoman for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee, said McKenna's statements Monday are the latest in a pattern of contradictory remarks regarding the health care law.

"He's had a couple weeks now to clarify what he wanted to say," Smith said. "Clearly he's struggling with the politics of this."

David Catanese, a national politics reporter for POLITICO, the online political news organization, who has been following governors' races nationally, said McKenna would do better in a blue state such as Washington to steer away from the health care issue. While McKenna rates higher among voters on issues such as jobs and education, Catanese said allowing the health care issue to linger could help Democrats label him as conservative. (ya think?  RR)

"It'll be interesting to see if the Democrats can pick up the ball and run with it, because a lot of the attacks on McKenna have fallen flat so far," Catanese said. "Health care could cost him among people who haven't made up their minds."

The gubernatorial race has tightened up in recent months after McKenna enjoyed as much as a 10 percent advantage over Inslee among voters earlier this year. Surveys from Elway, Public Policy Polling and SurveyUSA conducted in June have McKenna garnering 40 percent to 43 percent of the vote, with Inslee's support ranging from 38 percent to 40 percent, well within the margin of error. The polls estimate between 17 percent and 22 percent of voters statewide are undecided."

Talkers.com poses the question, " When is a Death Threat Free Speech?"

The recent decision of Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm to charge Timothy Demeuse merely with disorderly conduct with regard to Demeuse’s Facebook posting about talk radio host Vicki McKenna has many people, including Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, upset.

The Facebook posting read “I’m going to kill Vicki McKenna; come and get me coppers, because there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. Here’s the real f***ing death threat bitch. Come get me.  I don’t even own a gun. I can make as many death threats as I want, and I hope someone kills you. I’m going to shoot you in the face and rape your dead corpse. I love this country and hate its citizens…”

This was accompanied by even more profanity and ranting that got much worse.
When McKenna saw the posting, she obviously became alarmed.   Immediately, she made the comparison to Gerald Laughner in Arizona, whose internet ranting was followed by the shooting of 13 people – including US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. She contacted Sheriff Clarke to ask what to do, since Demeuse was from the Milwaukee area. Sheriff Clarke had detectives pursue the matter and referred the case to the DA’s office for prosecution.

According to the District Attorney the posting did not qualify for more serious criminal charges.  According to Chisholm, “The people we talked to, his circle of friends, said they did not take it as a true threat.” This leaves us to beg the question, "Just what do you consider a true threat?"

There often is a very fine line between protected free speech even if it is inflammatory and criminal threats of imminent violence.  In its landmark case of Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969 the Supreme Court ruled that inflammatory speech cannot be punished unless it is likely to incite imminent violence.  In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that an Ohio law that prohibited merely advocating violence was unconstitutional.  But can such restraint result in tragic circumstances?  Is that the price of the First Amendment?  It often would appear so.

However, in 2010 blogger Hal Turner was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his posting in response to the ruling of 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals judges, Frank Easterbook, Richard Posner and William Bauer’s upholding a law banning handguns in Chicago in which he wrote, “Let me be the first to say this plainly.  These judges deserve to be killed.”  He went on to quote Thomas Jefferson that, “The tree of liberty must be replenished from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”  Turner then added his own words, “It is time to replenish the tree.”  It is perhaps noteworthy that the Jefferson quote was on a t-shirt that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was wearing when he was arrested.  Turner also went on to write, “These judges deserve to be made such an example of as to send a message to the entire judiciary:  Obey the Constitution or die.”

Today came the news of a District of Columbia police officer who has been taken off a motorcycle escort for White House officials after he allegedly said he'd shoot first lady Michelle Obama and "then used his phone to retrieve a picture of the firearm he said he would use," according to The Washington Post.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating and the Secret Service has been told of the alleged threat, the Post reports:

The motorman allegedly made the comments Wednesday morning as several officers from the Special Operations Division discussed threats against President Obama. It was not immediately clear where the alleged conversation took place or exactly how many officers took part in the conversation.

During that conversation, the officials said, the officer allegedly said he would shoot the First Lady and then used his phone to retrieve a picture of the firearm he said he would use. It was not immediately clear what type of firearm was allegedly shown.

An officer overheard the alleged threat and reported it to a police lieutenant at the Division, who immediately notified superiors, the officials said.  Police officials declined to identify the officer. Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office declined comment."

What was disturbing to officialls was that this particular officer has previously been a part of official motorcades involving the First Lady, giving him close access to her on several occassions.

Comments

[Walt]

Alabama’s GOP Governor Calls On Romney To Release More Tax Returns: ‘Release Everything To The American People’ On the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting in Williamsburg, Alabama’s Republican governor, Robert Bentley, called on Romney to release all the documents requested of him.

“If you have things to hide, then maybe you’re doing things wrong,” Bentley said. “I think you ought to be willing to release everything to the American people.“

“There is no whining in politics. Stop demanding an apology, release your tax returns.” — John Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist, after presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney said anew that he won’t go beyond releasing his 2010 tax records and, before the election, his 2011 taxes.

"On Thursday, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), who heads all House GOP campaign efforts, told reporters that questions about Romney’s holdings were on target, according to CNN."

“His personal finances, the way he does things, his record, are fair game,” Sessions said.

"Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) flatly told CNN Thursday that Romney needed to make at least six years’ worth of returns public — and soon."

“I think he should release his financial records and I think if he does it in July it would be a lot better than in October,” Jones said. “Whenever you are asking for the vote of the American people that you need to fully disclose what your holdings are, if you have any.”

"Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who considered running against Romney in the Republican primaries and advises the conservative American Crossroads on its election strategy, said this week that he saw value in disclosure as well."

[T-S]

I heard today that before the Massachusetts governor's election, Romney released tax records and they had been revised from the originals. Guess he thought a little cosmetic surgery was i order.

Hate speech. It is unbelievable that we regard Hate speech as okay under the First Amendment. It is like the obscenity charge you may not be able to describe it but you know it when you hear it.

Our country has run amock when it comes to irresponsible freedom. When someone talks about killing someone else, it should be looked at as threat and there should be a criminal code for threats if there isn't now. That might stop some of this talk.

Freedom of speech - fine; Threats - no way.

[I love green beans]

Romney's an idiot if he thinks Obama doesn't already know something explosive.

They've only been planning for this opponent since November 2008.

Thing is, if I'm Romney and I know there's some shit out there on me (which he does, he's not stupid, that's why he won't release the returns) I'm thinking October surprise.

I mean, does anybody here believe that four years of oppo research by the Obama team hasn't found at least one campaign-nuking thing? And that they're just holding back until October 14th? I mean really. I think that all the weak and late endorsements, many coming after Mitt had clearly become the person who would win the nomination, show that the number one goal is to blame the upcoming loss on Mitt, not on the shitty agenda or the disappearance of the R party as anything more than a front for big money.

[T-S]

I hope you're right. Didn't seem like Obama was prepared for the kind politicking he encountered. His learning curve was pretty long.

[I love green beans]

I guess someone accidentally forgot to tell Mitt the tiny lesson we all took away from Watergate, that it's usually not the crime, it's the cover-up.

[T-S]

Regarding McKenna, his running off to join the right-wing hysteria over Obamacare will catch up with him. He deserves to be faced with all kinds of question about this and why he spent so much money chasing an opinion that he should have been able to predict at the beginning. Some lawyer. Not one we need in Washington State. Nothing but an opportunist and one with poor judgment at that.

Christine knew better. Our excellent lawyer-governor who won the cigarette case would squash this pip-squeak in any courtroom.

[Coiler]

"Seattle Media" But doesn't he need King County to win?

[T-S]

Probably so. I hope he doesn't get it. Charters are a big topic of discussion in this city and he's for them so he's using that a leverage. It might work. The Seattle Times and several supported-by-big-money individuals (like Gates and Hanouer) and groups are pushing charters like mad. They are just schools but with a built-in profit. People never learn it seems. Everyone worships money.

[T-S]

Elizabeth Walters, who teaches in St. Bernard parish in Louisiana, offered a very different perspective on the Jindal law.

Walters pointed out that Louisiana is ranked 49th in the nation on children's quality of life measures by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She notes that the legislation provides no new funds for any of its programs. When children leave to go to charters or voucher schools, their departure will diminish the funding of already underfunded schools. And it goes without saying that the legislation does nothing to address the poverty, hunger, and ill health that afflict the lives of so many children in Louisiana. The new law will create many new charter authorizers, each of whom is expected to approve at least five charters. For their trouble, the charter boards will collect a commission of about $100 for each child who enrolls in one of their schools, which translates into a windfall of a quarter-million dollars for boards that manage to attract 2,500 students from public schools. This is money out of the public schools' budget, of course.

The south. And that's not even Mississippi.

[T-S]

You think the west coast should secede from the Union, Coiler? We might look a little like Italy...

[Puget Sound Blathers]

yeah, with all of California's debt you'll look a LOT like Italy...no thanks.

[KS]

McKenna has taken a more moderate position on Obamacare. He would like to retain some of the more popular aspects and not gut the whole thing - repeal and replace. Unlike that leviathan bill that the Democrats could never tell us about the details - because that's where the devil is, I'd like to see step by step what they will replace each measure with and why it will improve public access to health care.

[T-S]

So he says. . . now.

[Hedge Fund Hal]

Charters Charters Charter...yes yes yes.....an alternative to schools run by union- ptotected firing-proofed hack teachers........it's called alternative....no one is saying get rid of the union...hahaTS..

[T-S]

A sixty year old woman with over twenty years in the classroom was fired by my principal mostly because the principal didn't like her. Another teacher I know went through the same experience but fought it in court and won.

Teachers are let go as often as a principal is determined to do so. It isn't that hard. Principals have a lot of power.

A quarter of a million dollars in the pockets of profiteers that won't be going into the classrooms. But then I'm sure you think Jamie Dimond who doesn't have a clue what's going on in his own bank is still worth his paycheck.

And another public institution that made America the great country it used to be is going down the drain. Thank you very much.

[Mentor]

I think Pres Obama's latest volley (in terms of TV ads) about Romney being in charge at Bain (when he wasn't) has backfired on him. His team would be wise to do their home work. When even friends (like Wash Post) and coharts (like were on MTP this morning) consider this a stretch, one must conclude the ad to be a dud. Still looking for genuine arguments and especially plans for fixing the economy. Mud-slinging has somewhat lost it's effectiveness with an ever-increasingly sophistic voting public.

[Hedge Fund Hal]

My own personal hedge Fund is called Tycoon's Villa Road Ltd., T-S. A secluded luxury villa fit for a tycoon, built at the end of a long, climbing, winding private road in Monaco or Lake Como , Switzerland. This is what is best in life. I will be looking into this charter schools to see if there is a publicly traded company in this business sector that TVR Ltd. can invest in.

[Hedge Fund Hal]

No parents living in Seattle proper, who are even moderately affluent, have their kids attending the various train wrecks know as Seattle Public Schools.

[Hedge Fund Hal]

i think The Seattle Public School District is one of the prime reasons that Seattle either is number one or in the top five on the "most childless big cities in America" list. It certainly isn't the crime rate, which is low. These things happen for reasons.

[I love green beans]

Well thank God you haven't spawned.

[Mike D]

Mentor, that you believe the Washington Post and Meet The Press are Obama's "friends" shows that you're totally clueless.

Romney was CEO of Bain until 2002 according to Romney's own SEC filing. Got it?

Definition of a CEO: The highest ranking executive in a company whose main responsibilities include developing and implementing high-level strategies, making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and the corporate operations.

Them's the facts. What you hear from those criticizing Obama's ad is SPIN. Got it?

[KS]

There is nothing. Owebama is trying to get into Romney's head by doing this. His ad in itself is spin because it has already been debunked by fact check.

Time to ask why he invoked executive privilege on Fast and Furious. Why ? Because he is hiding something.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander...

[Mike D]

"There is nothing"

Saying it doesn't make it so, my friend.

[KS]

If you/they don't agree, then it's on them to prove otherwise. The records speak for themselves.

Another obfuscation tactic. Avoid talking straight about the mess we are in at all costs seems to be motto of the Owebama campaign.

[KS]

There's alot of the pot meet kettle going on here. Just sayin'

[Mike D]

"The records speak for themselves."

Yes they do.

According to his SEC filing, Romney was CEO of Bain until 2002. There is no factual record that proves he wasn't.

His claim that he wasn't the "real" CEO doesn't mean shit if his SEC filing says he was. Otherwise what's the point of SEC filings? If people can just claim 'A' when their own records say 'B' and get away with it then our legal system means nothing.

This story is not going away.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

There's alot of the pot meet kettle going on here. Just sayin'

Posted by: KS | July 15, 2012 at 08:07 PM

spot on,KS. spot on. the bigger and more important story is Fast and Furious. Why the claims of executive priv? What did he know and when did he know it...

folks don't care as much about Bain Capital as they do about Fast and Furious.

'Cept up here in uber blue Seattle...

[BlackRhino]

The perfect campaign ad. This will be the talk of the town Monday.

[KS]

Mitt doesn't carry that bad of a tune LOL. Distractions and it will be overshadowed in the following news cycle. It had its 15 minutes of fame redistribution.

So, explain why did Obama claim executive privilege unless he had something to hide in Fast and Furious ?

[BlackRhino]

It must hurt bad…Mittens is in T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

[KS]

In your own mind BR. This will blow over. Once the Romney campaign goes on the offense toward Obama, the hapless bullshitter, this will dissipate in reality, but this misperception will continue to linger in your own world (MSNBC, NYTImes and Media Matters).

Low information voters are waking up. Keep up the militant leftism, BR.

[Mike D]

"Yeah, he’s got a responsibility to protect executive privilege. That’s just part of preserving the powers of the presidency… He should do what he thinks is the right thing with regards to members of his team but preserve executive privilege."

- Mitt Romney in 2007, defending the executive privelege invoked by Prez Bush (which was virtually identical to Obama's recent one). :)

[BlackRhino]

"semantic infiltration" = never repeat their talking points.

[BlackRhino]

It’s getting worst KS, Walt posted the reaction from GOP heavy weights. And it’s getting worst, Rmoney has something to hide. And it will be exposed one way or another.

[KS]

getting worst ? nice grammar. LMAO

- Mitt Romney in 2007, defending the executive privelege invoked by Prez Bush (which was virtually identical to Obama's recent one). :)

Posted by: Mike D | July 15, 2012 at 09:46 PM

Do you think Bush had something to hide then ??

[Mike D]

"Do you think Bush had something to hide then ??"

I don't care. Bush was a horrible president for much bigger reasons. The point is Romney is an unabashed hypocrite and folks like you are fools for defending him.

[KS]

You did not answer the question. The point is that you are being a coward by not answering the question because it would incriminate the current and worst president in the last 60 years. BTW, I did not defend Mr. Bush. I thought he was tied for being the 2nd worst president in that period- with Jiimah Carter.

The point is Romney is an unabashed hypocrite and folks like you are fools for defending him.

Posted by: Mike D | July 15, 2012 at 10:49 PM

Look at yourself in the mirror while saying that about Owebama - you are defending unaccountability from the man-child narcissist. Its up to Romney to defend himself who has been rather ineffectual up to this point- He was not my candidate of choice in the first place. My candidate of choice; Chris Christie did not run this time. Mr. Romney needs to stop resorting to Marquis of Queensbury rules - looking foolish, while the other guy is playing hardball, gutter politics. Perception is reality.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

Yeah, he’s got a responsibility to protect executive privilege. That’s just part of preserving the powers of the presidency… He should do what he thinks is the right thing with regards to members of his team but preserve executive privilege."

- Mitt Romney in 2007, defending the executive privelege invoked by Prez Bush (which was virtually identical to Obama's recent one). :)

Posted by: Mike D | July 15, 2012 at 09:46 PM

nice try, Mike.
it has to be a responsible use of executive priv. not to shield wrong doing on the part of the executive branch.
now that President Obama has asserted executive priv, it means he OWNS it. as you know,
executive priv is qualified so the Courts can breach it.

[T-S]

Mike, there is no evidence good enough for these guys. They bend the argument to fit their beliefs. It is called "circular." When you get tired of chasing your tail with them, you'll just shake your head and quit trying.

[sparky]

I wonder if any of the people who are shrieking about the Made In China Olympic uniforms went shopping at WalMart this weekend?

I heard this morning that Romney gave MacCain 20 years worth of tax returns when he was being considered for VP. Does anyone know if it is true?

Romney seems to forget the number one rule for politicians--it is never about the "crime"..it is all about the coverup. Even Bill Kristol and George Will are telling him to release his taxes.

[sparky]

I saw this on Bloomberg.."In 1992, Bain Capital bought American Pad & Paper by financing 87 percent of the purchase price. In the next three years, Ampad borrowed to make acquisitions, repay existing debt and pay Bain Capital and its investors $60 million in dividends.

As a result, the company’s debt swelled from $11 million in 1993 to $444 million by 1995. The $14 million in annual interest expense on this debt dwarfed the company’s $4.7 million operating cash flow. The proceeds of an initial public offering in July 1996 were used to pay Bain Capital $48 million for part of its stake and to reduce the company’s debt to $270 million.

From 1993 to 1999, Bain Capital charged Ampad about $18 million in various fees. By 1999, the company’s debt was back up to $400 million. Unable to pay the interest costs and drained of cash paid to Bain Capital in fees and dividends, Ampad filed for bankruptcy the following year. Senior secured lenders got less than 50 cents on the dollar, unsecured lenders received two- tenths of a cent on the dollar, and several hundred jobs were lost. Bain Capital had reaped capital gains of $107 million on its $5.1 million investment. "

Now some people are hinting that Romney's personal wealth is closer to the billions mark that previously expected. How much of that is stashed in the Bahamas, the Caymans, and Swiss banks? I don't think he will ever tell us.

[mw]

Once the Romney campaign goes on the offense toward Obama, the hapless bullshitter, this will dissipate in reality, but this misperception will continue to linger in your own world (MSNBC, NYTImes and Media Matters).

Low information voters are waking up. Keep up the militant leftism, BR.

Posted by: KS | July 15, 2012 at 09:43 PM

Once Willard gets the dog crate off his head...

[Puget Sound Blathers on T-S B-S....]

Mike, there is no evidence good enough for these guys. They bend the argument to fit their beliefs. It is called "circular." When you get tired of chasing your tail with them, you'll just shake your head and quit trying.

Posted by: T-S | July 16, 2012 at 10:27 AM

more T-S B-S.
only with T-S would facts and reason be called 'circular.'
that those who engage in T-S B-S end up chasing their own tail is their own fault.
and you know that...

[T-S]

And on Ed today, he said that Kerry had put out twenty years of tax returns. Where's there's smoke there's fire.

Hartmann is postulating that perhaps Romney won't be his party's nominee. But I think the right is too stupid to actually put out there a viable candidate.

[sparky]

Ruh-Roh...

From The Slog
"Rob McKenna's Assistant: "shut up and speak english #asians"
Posted by Dominic Holden on Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 12:35 PM

Kathlyn Ehl is a staffer for the Rob McKenna for governor campaign, according to the campaign's Twitter feed. And her own bio Twitter, which includes a regular patter of campaign updates, describes her as a "recent @uw grad and policy assistant for @robmckenna on the @mckennacampaign for #wagov."

So we know Ms. Ehl supports McKenna's positions on health care and gays. Does McKenna share her positions on Asians and the elderly? Let's look at some of her past tweets:

Shut up and speak english #Asians

If it takes you an entire green light to cross in front my my car GET A WHEELCHAIR #toooldtowalk

Ehl has not replied to an attempt to reach her. And McKenna's entire campaign staff is in a meeting—literally every single one of them, the receptionist insists—so we left a message but they haven't responded.

But hey, Kathlyn! #classy.?"

[sparky]

I love Twitter

David Waldman ‏@KagroX

This is not your father's Republican party. Your father's Republicans paid 50% taxes.

[T-S]

Earlier Thom was telling a story about a German being interviewed by a report. The guy said he paid 51% in taxes and the reporter kept asking him why he would do that the the German finally responded he didn't want to live in a poor country.

That's someone with a broadr understanding that how well we all live affects how each one of us lives.

I remodeled last year and my architect said something interesting: you need to keep things fixed; it wears at you when you live in an environment that needs fixing all the time.

I think that applies to our currect situation in this country. BTW, the happiness index is out and we are in twelfth position. The northern European countries beat us again.

[Elitist Liberal]

Can you I M A G I N E if the Kenyan Muslim Kommie refused to release his tax returns?

[Stupid Conservataive]

No.

[T-S]

Happiness Report