Thom --

I thought your insight on how business people have a different view of the responsibility to the truth was very important. As you know, business leaders know the most of the time all they have to do when they make a big mistake is to pay a fine and they can reverse the consequences of most of their actions. But in the real world, making mistakes leads to harm, to deaths, both hidden and apparent.

I don't think that Romney is aware that his behaviors will lead to terrible consequences that cannot be reversed. In Romney world, everything can be reversed.

Great show again! Also, it was a lot of fun being on the chat line last night when the debate was on live.

Yours,

Caleb

It's a shame that President Obama does not have any military experience in his past. That would give him cachet to go after another draft dodging, neo-con, Republican, Chicken Hawk. The biggest threat Romney faced on his five draft deferments to do missionry work in France was drinking Beaujolais Nouveau before it had fully matured. He joins a long line of distiguished Chicken Hawks from the previous administration. It seems he is getting a lot of his talking points from them. I'm a very slow typist so I won't start listing them all.

As I've queried in the past:

Q: "What's the major difference between both John Kerry along with Al Gore and the entire Bush administration?"

A: "After 5 minutes in Viet Nam each had more foreign military experience than all the Bush Administration combined."

Apropos Romney and many like minded Republicans clamoring for big government to get out of the way and let the "free market" take care of the economy, why does Romney want big government to step into the China "fair trade" argument? Either you are for free markets or you're not. I think big government has a valuable role to play in our increasingly complicated lives.

I'm disappointed that there wasn't a more made of our presence in the Middle East having less to do with Isreal and terrorist threats and more about protecting access to oil.

Wasn't it Obama that sent the troops to Afghanistan? About 30,000 I beleive. Was Obama using Bush's advisors to.

EmpathyStrengthVoter here on women's rights and issues.

Look at my blog on the Republican war on women and consider forwarding and posting. Every woman, especially those in swing states, should look at this blog before the election. Here's the link:

forwardNOTbackward.wordpress.com

Best regards. Fede

Arlington, VA

202-841-2749 cell

EmpathyStrengthVoter here on BIG news on the values front that came out today.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/news/2012/10/01/40145/the-new-values-voters-5-issues-that-expand-the-notion-of-what-it-means-to-vote-your-values/

Here's a paragraph from the great article:

Since 2004 the notion of what constitutes values issues has expanded. Concerns about economic inequality and fairness, poverty, climate change and the environment, immigration (it's about dignity and respect for a fellow human being), gay and transgender rights (civil union equality is about love and commitment), and health insurance reform (which is a moral and economic issue) are now commonly cited as issues grounded in a moral and ethical framework. This is due in part to the tireless work of faith leaders and advocates such as Faith in Public Life, Sojourners, PICO, NETWORK, Interfaith Worker Justice, Progressive Christians Uniting, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Interfaith Alliance—all of which, along with many others, are addressing social and economic issues through a moral lens.

Remember George Lakoff and Jeffrey Feldman?Remember the phrase? The budget is a moral document.Remember President Obama emphasizing "empathy" when he was talking about Sonia Sotomayor? Democrats are slowly learning that values and morality, NOT policy proposals, get to the gut of the swing voter out there and push the right buttons. Republicans know this well and have used it for years to tell the world that they are the moral people. George Bush seemed like a master at framing because he used buzz words from message guru Frank Luntz to convince people of all kinds of crazy things.

We should constantly educate the public about our values. We should never let the other side highjack "values" and convince people that pregnancy termination and same-sex discrimination are the only values to be had and what defines a moral person. Using war as a first resort is a moral issue. Allowing people to buy as many automatic weapons in a month as they want, as the GOP legislated in Virginia, in a moral issue. Mistreating or unfairly attacking the poor and the immigrant is a moral issue. Denying a DNA test to a person in death row is also a moral issue. Rep. Ryan should know that redefining rape to recognize only forcible rape is a moral issue. Lying to the American public the way Romney and Ryan have been doing is also a moral issue. Misleading Catholics that Plan B/morning-after pill causes abortion is a moral issue.

It did not come up, but there's still an opportunity for Obama to make a case in point. If they are still protesting, Obama could make a stop there, stand with the workers and put more national attention on the issue. MSNBC has spotlighted the protests a couple times.

The thing that has me shocked, is the gop candidate's obvious """blatent""" lying. How unamerican can you get, lying to the voters. Romney will govern exactly like bush2, because Romney is in lock step with """whatever""" big business wants to do for profit (poisoning the environment, using up non-renewable resources).. Much worse than Obama. likewise bush2 thought hecwas in control, but he was tapped by big money behind the scenes to become the GOP candidate.. But I'm only voting for Obama as a vote against Romney.

We haven't had a real democrat since carter. Even Obama is lying (to a much lesser degree thanh Romney).. Very interesting how broth candidates lie to look like progressives (obviously Romney has to lie his ass off to pull that off, and Obama not nearly as much)..

Still quite interesting that both parties move to the left at election time. This says to me, loud and clear: voters what the voters want, bc big money is really in control. Is there any other explanation for both moving left during the d?

Ross Perot? I don't know if I ever liked him. Another millionaire; but, who knows?? Obama has to show what a BAD leader Romney would make!! I hope he attacks him; but, I know it's just not in Obama's character. Too bad. I worked several places with CEO's like Romney - I always felt intimidated. Whenever I had to discuss anything with them, I always pretended like they were sitting there in their underwear, lol. At any rate, I am sick & tired of Romney's ignorance towards our POTUS and hope this whole election gets STOPPED!! There are 3 different petitions going around right now to do that. Since Tagg owns Hart Intercivic which many states use and 4 of those states eliminated Exit Polls...it's totally ridiculous to hold this election!

The only wasted vote is one that goes unusedPOSTED BY JILL STEIN FOR PRESIDENT 2061.80PC ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2012 · FLAG

Though, if you prefer to see America continue on its current path, a vote for Green Party Candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, would be a wasted vote.

Holding both parties accountable for 30 years of this country's largest transfer of wealth to the rich means coming to terms with the fact that neither are in a position to solve the challenges we face. While some partisan Democrats are once again claiming that a vote for the Greens is a vote for the Republicans, that argument falls flat with millions of disenfranchised voters who believe we can do better.

These are Americans who believe we must stop our descent into economic disparity, the erosion of our civil liberties, and the corruption of our political system by corporate power and massive wealth. They are Americans who understand the Democratic Party has been complacent, if not complicit, in this process and is now, as evidenced by an administration that has kept the policies of George W. Bush largely in place, institutionally incapable of any real reform.

The fact is, political parties change over time, so why shouldn't our votes change as well?

This is not the Democracy the revolutionaries of 1776 envisioned. They had just lived through a long, bloody war to throw off the shackles of an oppressive regime that had denied them rights and representation while pillaging their resources and their labor. It was not their intention that we live under a duopoly political system where a tiny handful of people control the pursestrings and allegiances of both parties.

Votes aren't being stolen, they are being bought.

Hundreds of millions of dollars from a small group of individuals are being spent by the two establishment parties to control the national conversation and convince Americans they have a clear choice. That sum of money and their record provide clarity enough. It is not a choice, it is maintenance of the status quo. It is a further grab for power by those who are threatened by recent cracks in the national conversation opening to issues of money and politics, the polarization of wealth, ecological responsibility, and the preservation of civil liberties.

The choice to be made is: Do we wish to be truly represented? Do we need to set a new course as a country? Do we need a real opposition party immediately capable of new ideas and energy, that isn't subject to the approval of the most rich and powerful?

Evil vs. Eviler.

Choosing the lesser of two evils keeps things exactly as they are. Fear tactics have worked well in the past to keep party stragglers and independent voters in check. But today's America is not the the America of 2000. We've seen first hand that the lesser of two evils isn't lesser at all. Arguably, it is worse because we are encouraged to hope against history, yet the outcome is the same.

If Democratic operatives were only concerned with the 2012 election results, they would not be aggressively fighting to keep people from voting Green in states like New York, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, and many more, that have absolutely no chance of going GOP due to the Electoral College system. These tired tactics and failed arguments of the two dominating parties are beginning to be seen for what they are: the last remnants of a fear-based political landscape that is changing.

The election IS spoiled, but not by the Greens.

Even though the Republican and Democratic Parties were once third parties themselves, they have shored up the political system to keep third parties out. This battle continues over the issue of the presidential debates. Neither of the establishment candidates wishes to share to stage with a candidate like Dr. Stein who freely speaks truth to power - a candidate who stands on a platform of building a sustainable economy and creating a future that puts the dignity of Americans ahead of corporate interests.

Including Dr. Stein in the debates would do something unthinkable to the Democrats and Republican candidates: show them as two peas from the same, spoiled, pod. An alternative voice is urgently needed and Dr. Stein's deserves to be heard.

Vote what you believe.

A simple enough statement. If we all found the courage to do so, we would begin to rebuild the country we deserve instead of settling for what gets left behind.

The Green Party and our 2004 presidential nominee made the Ohio Recount possible. If not for the continued determination of elected Greens, we would not have municipal sick leave or minimum wage and living wage policies in cities across the country. There would be no movement to amend the Constitution to overturn the Citizens United ruling and end the toxic influence of money in our political system. The cause of equal marriage rights would not be as far along as it is (because of Green mayors and mayoral candidates defying anti-marriage laws in CA and NY). And the 100s of cities that passed anti-war and anti-PATRIOT Act resolutions would likely have been many fewer, since those efforts were also led by Green elected officials.

Meanwhile the establishment parties try to avoid our discontent by changing the subject from the real problems we face, and making elections all about preventing the other party from winning. In a way, the Democrats and Republicans are each correct. Either one of them winning would mean more of the same for America: maintaining a status quo that continues to ruin what is best about the United States.

The Green Party and the Green New Deal will shatter the status quo by addressing the real economic, social, and political challenges we face at their root causes with specific and already proven solutions. Vote for Jill Stein for President. Give a mandate for the Green New Deal.

Is it true that employees of Romney's family's secret bank is tied to fraud, money laundering & drug cartels?