Reid: Bain Capital investor told me Romney didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years

An investor with Bain Capital told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes for 10 years, Reid said.

About a month ago, Reid said, someone who had previously invested with the venture capital firm called him to say that the former Massachusetts governor and presidential hopeful hadn’t payed taxes for a decade.

“Harry, he didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years,” Reid said he was told, according to The Huffington Post on Tuesday.

Reid said he wasn’t sure if the tip was true or not.

“He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” Reid said. “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?”

Reid refused to say who the investor was, according to the Huffington Post.

Democrats have repeatedly criticized Romney for not releasing enough of his tax returns. They say Romney’s hesitance to release less than two years’ worth of returns indicates he’s hiding something. Romney, meanwhile, has denied that he’s hiding anything.

“That trustee follows all U.S. laws. All the taxes are paid, as appropriate. All of them have been reported to the government. There’s nothing hidden there,” Romney said in a recent interview with Radio Iowa.

 

Feds: Florida’s voter purge violates federal law

The Justice Department says Florida never submitted the new “citizenship list maintenance practices” to them for approval.

 

TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. government wants to block Florida from resuming its purge of suspected noncitizens from the voter rolls, saying it would violate federal law.

The Justice Department filed papers in U.S. District Court in Tampa accusing the state of ignoring a requirement that it first obtain approval for such action because five Florida counties are subject to federal pre-clearance of changes in voting procedures: Hillsborough, Collier, Hardee, Hendry and Monroe.

The removal of noncitizens in a presidential election year has mushroomed into a major controversy, with Democrats and left-leaning voter advocacy groups accusing Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party of using the purge to suppress voter turnout in a state widely seen as a must-win for both presidential candidates.

At issue is whether Florida’s on-again, off-again purge of noncitizens is subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The feds say it is. The state says it isn’t.

The federal claim was filed Friday in a case brought by the ACLU of Florida and Lawyers Committee for Justice Under Law, seeking to halt any more purging of voter rolls. The case is before U.S. District Judge James Whittemore.

Directing its argument at Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Justice Department attorney John Albert Russ IV argued: “The Secretary of State cannot now allege that the voting practice he initiated (and that the covered counties implemented at his direction) is completely abandoned, because the change has already affected voters in the covered counties. The implementation of these new practices and procedures without preclearance violates Section 5.”

The feds say Florida never submitted the new “citizenship list maintenance practices” for approval, even though the state did submit an unrelated change for review in 2011: the use of Social Security numbers to verify that voters had died.

The state says it plans to resume the removal process, with more recent and reliable citizenship data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But state laws requiring notices and hearings for any suspected noncitizens make it unlikely that the program can move forward before the Nov. 6 general election.

It’s the second time in recent weeks that the federal government has sought court intervention to stop the voter purge. Gov. Scott’s administration prevailed June 28 when U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that a law preventing systematic removal of voters from the rolls less than 90 days before a federal election did not include noncitizens.

 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/31/2923382/feds-floridas-voter-purge-violates.html#storylink=cpy

 

Mitt Romney Trip an ‘Embarrassing Disaster,’ Obama Aide Say

Mitt Romney shrugged off one final blow-up today, as his three-country international tour ended with a top aide cursing out the press in Poland and a senior adviser to President Obama’s campaign calling the Republican’s turn on the world stage an “embarrassing disaster.”

The crude outburst came on the final day of a tumultuous trip that has featured a controversy at every stop along the way, from Britain to Israel and Poland.

When reporters lobbed questions at Romney about the gaffes earlier today, campaign spokesman Rich Gorka told reporters that they could “kiss my a**” and, to one in particular: “Shove it.”

The exchange occurred as Romney left the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and Gorka told the reporters to “have some respect…This is a holy site for the Polish people.”

Gorka has since apologized for the “inappropriate” choice of words.

Romney told Fox News today that the controversies on the trip were the result of the press “trying to find anything else” to write about.

More

 

Florida man charged with hate crime says he ‘only shot a n*gger’

Super-Racist Walton Henry Butler Shoots Black Man in Face, Eats Dinner, Cops Say

Today’s egregious Florida gun crime comes to you from Port St. Joe, where police say 59-year-old Walton Henry Butler shot a man in the head, then sat down and ate dinner while the victim lie bleeding at his door.

The victim, 32-year-old Everett Gant, had gone to Butler’s apartment to confront him about calling a child a “nigger” and making “several racial remarks to the black children in the apartment complex,” according to the police report. Butler allegedly responded by shooting him in the face with a .22-caliber rifle.

The rest can be best explained by the probable cause affidavit from the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office:

After Walt Butler shot Everett Gant he stated he shut the sliding glass door with Everett Gant lying outside the door, called 911 then funished cooking supper, sat at the kitchen table and began eating.

When Sheriff Nugent arrived on scene he made contact with Butler by phone. Butler told him to come in he was eating dinner and had put up the gun. Butler was sitting at the table and acted as if it was an inconvenienced [sic] when he was asked to stand up and handcuffs were put on. He said he did not understand the problem he had only shot a nigger.

Charming, Mr. Butler. That will be a charge of attempted murder with a hate crime enhancement for you sir

Source

 

Romney to announce VP choice through a smartphone app

Four years ago, then-Sen. Barack Obama made his vice presidential choice public by sending a mass text message to supporters. On Tuesday, Mitt Romney’s campaign announced it will make its announcement through a smartphone app.

The campaign launched an app called “Mitt’s VP,” which will send the news straight to a smartphone using push notifications and then allow the user to easily spread the word on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

“The first official way to learn the name of the Republican Vice Presidential candidate is by using our new ‘Mitt’s VP’ app,” said Romney’s digital director, Zac Moffatt, in a statement.  “Users of the app will be the first to get the news on the biggest political decision of the year through an instantaneous alert on the one device most people carry around the clock—their phone.”

The campaign promises supporters that they will receive the news “before the press,” although in 2008, word leaked out that Obama had chosen Joe Biden before the campaign was able to send the text message.

Beth Myers, the campaign adviser in charge of Romney’s search for a running mate, said the decision would be announced “soon.”

“Soon everyone will know who Mitt Romney selects as his vice presidential running mate,” Myers said. “With this new app, users can be the first to know the second member of America’s comeback team.”

The app is available on iPhone and Android phones.

Source

 

Mitt Romney Spokesman Tells Reporters ‘Kiss My ***’ at Polish Holy Site

WARSAW, Poland – A Mitt Romney spokesman reprimanded reporters traveling with the candidate on his six-day foreign trip this morning, telling them to  “kiss my a**” after they shouted questions from behind a rope line.

As Romney left the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and walked toward his motorcade parked in Pilsudski Square, reporters began shouting questions from the line where campaign staffers had told them to stay behind, prompting traveling press secretary Rick Gorka to tell a group of reporters to “kiss my a**” and “shove it.”

He later apologized.

 

 

Shellie Zimmerman Won’t Appear In Court Tuesday On Perjury Charges

The wife of the man charged in the death of Trayvon Martin will not appear at a scheduled arraignment Tuesday after pleading not guilty to lying about the couple’s finances.

Shellie Zimmerman’s new attorney Kelly Sims filed last week a bevy of documents, including a written not-guilty plea and a waiver of personal appearance at her arraignment.

Monday morning, a Florida state attorney prosecuting the case said those documents mean neither Shellie Zimmerman nor Sims will be required to appear before a judge Tuesday.

Shellie Zimmerman was arrested last month after prosecutors claimed she lied about how much money the Zimmermans had at their disposal as a way to secure a lower bond for George Zimmerman.

The judge overseeing the case is expected to issue a ruling later this week, the state attorney said.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/shellie-zimmerman-wont-appear-in-court-tomorrow-for-her-arraignment-2012-7#ixzz256y20Qtb

 

Whiplash-Mitt Romney Lavishes Praise On Israel’s Socialist, Government Controlled Healthcare System

Mitt Romney seems to be laboring under the impression that whatever he says in a foreign country will—like a weekend in Las Vegas—somehow stay in that foreign country.

Either that or he figures nobody back home is paying any attention.

Speaking today to a small group of Israeli contributors to his campaign, the GOP presidential candidate—and supposed sworn enemy of government controlled healthcare—had kind words for the success of Israel’s healthcare system.

When our health care costs are completely out of control. Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? 8 percent. You spend 8 percent of GDP on health care. And you’re a pretty healthy nation”

A healthy nation, indeed.

With a life-expectancy rate that is the 4^th best in the world  (the United States is 38^th) and a reputation for delivering high-quality care to all of its citizens by utilizing the most advanced medical technology available in a hospital system we can only envy from afar, Governor Romney is right to be impressed with the Israelis’ ability to deliver excellent care while keeping spending down to 8 percent of GDP as compared to 18 percent here in the United States.

If only Romney’s appreciation of Israel’s success did not fly smack in the face of his constant, ideologically based rhetoric guaranteed to insure that only the wealthiest Americans get a taste of the healthcare Israelis receive as their birthright.

Or does the Governor simply not understand that Israel’s healthcare success story—including their ability to control costs— is the direct result of the nation’s socialized healthcare system that has existed since the country’s founding in 1948 and institutionalized by law in 1995?

Today, the nation of Israel requires that every Israeli belong to one of four health maintenance organizations (that’s right…mandated participation)—each operating as a non-profit and each funded by the Israeli government via a progressive tax that every citizen is obligated to pay based on their earnings.

What’s more, the uniform benefits offered by the HMOs are established by the central government and must be made available to every single citizen—regardless of their medical circumstances (the phrase ‘pre-existing condition’ apparently does not exist in the Hebrew language.)

And those basic benefits made available to all Israelis are pretty darn good.

They include medical diagnosis and treatment, preventative medicine, any required hospitalization for any reason whatsoever, surgery, organ transplants, ambulance or transport service, treatment for drug abuse and alcoholism, medical equipment and appliances, obstetrics and fertility treatments, all prescribed pharmaceuticals, and physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Next Page

 

‘Zombies’ show up to counter Westboro Baptist Church protestors

Hundreds of protestors dressed as zombies turned out to support the troops (KIRO-TV.com)After reading this story, you may begin to see zombies in a whole new light. While they get a lot of criticism for their love of human flesh, it turns out that some zombies also go out of their way to support the troops.

The Westboro Baptist Church had recently announced that it would be holding one of its protests outside the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in DuPont, Washington. But last Friday, the controversial group was met with a far larger group of counterprotesters—dressed as zombies.

The controversial, Kansas-based church did not explain exactly why it was protesting in DuPont, but it has  held a number of similar protests outside of military funerals in objection to gay rights.

That’s when Melissa Neace and three of her friends organized the Facebook event “Zombie’ing Westboro Baptist Church AWAY from Fort Lewis!”

“I have decided that the most violent free way to protest back is simple… a zombie apocalypse. So I ask EVERYONE who is able to attend that day, please come dressed in your finest zombie outfit,” Neace wrote on the page.

The event page received such a positive response that the zombies outnumbered the protestors by a reported level of 300 to 8, the News Tribune reported.

“We wanted to turn something negative around, into something people could laugh at and poke fun at,” Neace told the paper. “It was the easiest way to divert attention from something so hateful.”

“I think that their message is very hateful, and Jesus was not a hateful person. He loved everybody,” counter-protestor Ashley Winslow told KIRO-TV.

Here’s the video of the protest and counter protest from KIRO.

Using zombie makeup to protest anti-military demonstrators (KIRO-TV.com)

 

Blogger who outed ‘Witness 9′ in George Zimmerman unmasked, Known on the Internet only as “Sundance Cracker,

The blogger who revealed the name, address, and photos of a cousin of George Zimmerman, the man charged with killing Trayvon Martin, has carefully guarded his own privacy. Known on the Internet only as “Sundance Cracker,” the anonymous blogger has posted potentially embarrassing personal information about several figures in the Martin case — people who fellow posters at “Cracker’s” website derisively call “Trayvonites.” The punishment for supporting Martin’s family, or for opposing Zimmerman, who has developed a following on some conservative blogs, is often to have intimate details, including photos, posted to the site.

This month, the site, which theGrio will not name, published photos and personal information about the woman known publicly as Witness 9 — a female cousin of Zimmerman, who contacted Sanford, Florida police two days after Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, a Miami teenager visiting Sanford with his father. She told the officer she spoke with that Zimmerman and his family dislike black people, and that from the time she was eight years old, until around age sixteen, Zimmerman — who is two years older — sexually molested her.

The charges drew outrage among Zimmerman’s supporters, including “Sundance Cracker,” who runs a conservative blog whose members spend time perusing evidence in the case, critiquing Zimmerman’s lawyer, Mark O’Mara, and posting negative information about Martin, has family, and his family’s lawyers. O’Mara has taken notice, and even emailed a frequent reader of the site seeking a “chat session” with the bloggers.

Now, it appears “Sundance Cracker” has been outed himself.

A new website, posted anonymously on July 20th, claims that “Sundance Cracker’s” real name is Mark Ivor Bradman, a 46-year-old from Florida. The person who created the site, calling him or herself only “dagmarcleftjaw” — an apparent reference to a character on the HBO series Game of Thrones, said of Bradman: “The blogger who disclosed the identity of the person (a possible victim of sexual abuse) listed as Witness #9 in various court documents associated with the State of Florida’s investigation of Trayvon Martin’s shooting works as a store manager at a Publix Supermarket in the vicinity of Cape Coral, FL His name is Mark Bradman (aka Mark Ivor Bradman and Mark I. Bradman). He is 46, has an unhealthy obsession with George Zimmerman, and is overcome with racial paranoia.”

Part 2