And Now For A Light Moment ...

STEPHANIE CUTTER "RETROACTIVELY" APOLOGIZES to the Romney camp ...
and her namesake Stephanie Miller has an orgasm:

Chris Jansing, MSNBC's Angel of Death

AFTER THE CARNAGE AND MASSACRE, while the bodies still haven't been identified or removed, she swoops down on the scene, like a vulture, to pick the traumatized bones of the survivors, feeding the unquenchable thirst of voyeuristic "reality TV" America. Special at 9 Eastern. Pipe in the somber tear-jerk music labeled "Sadness & Reflection."

There are plenty of Media vultures to keep her company, though, each doing exactly the same thing.

Quoting Chris Matthews: ONLY IN AMERICA!

THE COLORADO MASS MURDERER ORDERED 6,000 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION — ENOUGH TO EQUIP A SMALL ARMY — FROM THE INTERNET, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!?!!

What  a COUNTRY, eh? What a fucking GREAT country.

If The NRA Is A Corporation, Can We Indict It For Promoting Mass Murder By Gun Violence?

Actually, the NRA is described as "an American non-profit 501(c)(4) lobbying group that advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights, and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and self-defense in the United States."

A non-profit 501(c)(4)? Gee, according to IRS Publication 557, they're "Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees." Huh?! That seems like a misnomer to me. We know the NRA isn't a local association of employees. But a civic league or social welfare organization?!? What kind of sick joke is this ... What, are they the organizational equivalent of The JOKER?!

"[I]f the United States had the same gun murder rate as England or Canada, thousands of American men, women and children who were slaughtered by gunfire in 2011 might still be alive today. If the United States had the same gun murder rate as England since 2000, tens of thousands of slain American men, women and children might still be alive today. [...]

If the United States had the same gun murder rate as England or Canada, approximately 8,500 American men, women and children who were slaughtered by gunfire in 2011 might still be alive today. If the United States had the same gun murder rate as England since 2000, 100,000 murdered American men, women and children might still be alive today."

~ Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago.

"Why We Must Ban High-Capacity Gun Magazines"

BY NJ SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG AND NY CONGRESSWOMAN Carolyn McCarthy. Rep. McCarthy's political career was launched by a gun tragedy in her own life, when, on December 7, 1993, her husband, Dennis, was killed and her son, Kevin, severely injured on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train when a mass murderer, Colin Ferguson, opened fire on random unarmed passengers. Ferguson killed six and wounded 19 people. McCarthy responded to the crime by launching a campaign for more stringent gun control that eventually propelled her to Congress in 1996 on the Democratic ticket.

Here is their column in the Huffington Post: (Tragically, and so sadly, their rational common sense plea went for naught, and now we have 12 dead and 58 wounded, some in critical condition; and counting. There's this NRA mouthpiece with an ironically French-sounding name, Wayne LaPierre. All I can see is LaPierre covered from his head to his feet with the blood of innocent victims felled by NRA-sanctioned gun violence. What kind of country is this?!)

"We were honored last week to join James and Sarah Brady as they marked the 30th anniversary of a tragic moment in history - the shooting of President Reagan.

James Brady, who took one of the bullets meant for the president, has since dedicated his life to preventing gun violence.

It was in his name that Congress came together to pass the Brady law to require a background check for gun purchases.

It is time for Congress to come together once again to eliminate senseless violence and save lives.

We're determined to ban high-capacity gun magazines like the one Jared Lee Loughner allegedly used in Tucson, Arizona, when he was able to fire 31 bullets in 15 seconds because he supersized his Glock 19 handgun with a high-capacity magazine.

Loughner's massacre ended only when he stopped to reload and bystanders wrestled him to the ground. If he had used a standard magazine and was forced to reload earlier, some of his victims might have been spared.

High-capacity magazines -- devices that dramatically boost a weapon's firing power -- were prohibited from 1994 until 2004, when the federal assault weapons ban was in place. Since its lapse, high-capacity magazines have become easily accessible, turning up on shelves in gun shops and even some sporting goods stores.

As a recent investigation revealed, during the last year of the ban in 2004, just 10 percent of the crime-related guns seized by Virginia police were equipped with high-capacity magazines, a 10-year low. By last year, with the ban expired, the percentage had surged to 22 percent.

The fact is, guns are used to murder more than 9,500 people in our country in a single year. By comparison, about 5,900 American troops have died in Afghanistan and Iraq during the past 10 years.

Let's take a look at how gun-related murders affect some of our closest allies.

Altogether, Japan, Germany, England, Wales and Canada are home to 305 million people, and guns kill 450 people in these countries in an average year.

Again, the United States, which is home to 307 million people, suffers 9,500 murders by gun in one year. And that doesn't even include the approximately 20,000 annual other deaths and suicides with a gun.

It's time to end the bloodshed and restore common sense to our gun laws -- beginning with a permanent ban on high-capacity gun magazines.

These deadly devices are the weapon of choice for the deranged.

In the 1993 Long Island Railroad massacre, Colin Ferguson used a high-capacity magazine to kill six people and wound 19 others.

Major Nidal Hasan, the accused shooter in the Fort Hood tragedy, was armed with several high-capacity magazines and almost 400 rounds of ammunition when he went on his 2009 rampage, killing 13 people and wounding 34 others.

The onetime gun-shop employee who sold weaponry to Hasan testified that the alleged shooter told him he preferred extended ammunition clips because "he didn't like spending time loading magazines."

In addition to the Arizona, Long Island Railroad and Fort Hood shootings, high-capacity magazines were also used in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, as well as an incident in Manchester, Connecticut, last year, when a gunman killed eight people and wounded two others.

We introduced legislation in the Senate and House last month to ban the sale of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds at a time - just like the law that was in place until 2004.

This new legislation's goal is not to eliminate gun ownership in responsible hands; we simply want to restore a sensible safeguard that protects our families and children.

Robert Levy, a lawyer and prominent gun rights activist, has said our proposal is constitutional.

The National Rifle Association has called high-capacity magazines "standard equipment for self-defense handguns," but let's not kid ourselves: the only reason to supersize a handgun to two or three times its original bullet capacity is because you want to kill a lot of people very quickly.

In gun-friendly Washington, we need President Obama's leadership, reasonable gun laws, and policies that will save the tens of thousands of Americans who live with gun violence each year.

Even Dick Cheney is open to restoring the ban.

The former vice president, a staunch defender of gun rights, recently told NBC News with regard to restoring the high-capacity magazine ban: "We've had that in place before. Maybe it's appropriate to reestablish that kind of thing."

No one is arguing that a high-capacity magazine ban would have prevented our colleague Gabrielle Giffords from being shot -- but it might have spared the victims who were struck by bullets 11 through 31.

The bottom line: We shouldn't have to rely on innocent bystanders to protect lives when these lethal weapons are in the hands of killers.

This responsibility rests with Congress and President Obama -- and we shouldn't wait another day to get the job done.

Frank Lautenberg is a Democratic Senator from New Jersey. Carolyn McCarthy is a Democratic Congresswoman representing New York's 4th District.

Michael Moore, A Voice of Reason

MICHAEL RELEASED THE FOLLOWING statement from his website:

"Having spent much time in the Aurora/Denver/Littleton area over the years, I am too sad about this most recent tragedy to comment at the moment, other than to say this:

I fear anthropologists and historians will look back on us and simply say we were a violent nation, at home and abroad, but in due time human decency won out and the violence ceased, but not before many, many more died and the world had had its fill of us.

Thoughts, prayers, and whatever comfort can be found for the victims and their families..."

70 GUNSHOT VICTIMS — 12 DEAD — 58 WOUNDED — MULTIPLE CRITICAL

THE AURORA POLICE CHIEF HAS "NO IDEA" HOW many rounds were fired. It seems "SENSELESS" indeed that, as in the Gabby Giffords mass killing, the so-called "deranged" shooter inflicted massive carnage apparently using the high capacity magazine(s) that the NRA lobby has prevented from being limited to 10 or 12 rounds, BY LEGISLATION.

Common Sense Gun Control Measures

1. REINSTATE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN, ALLOWED BY CONGRESS TO EXPIRE IN 2004. What legitimate gun owner needs assault weapons for home protection and hunting?

2. BAN HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES, LIMITING number of bullets in a clip. Mass murders, as occurred today, in the Gabby Giffords and Georgia Tech tragedies could at least be limited in the number of dead and wounded victims.

 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS AND A WAITING PERIOD to keep guns out of the hands of felons and mentally disturbed individuals. It's common sense that even if such measures aren't foolproof, they are better than the no-holds-barred availability of firearms as exists today.

Romney Statement FAIL

"We are deeply saddened by the SENSELESS violence."

I grow weary of these Republicans cowering before the NRA, and refusing to address gun violence in our society. There's no such thing as "senseless" gun violence unless there is proof that the perpetrator(s) had lost such control of their "senses" as to be deemed legally insane to stand trial or to use it as a defense. Most gun violence is committed by individuals whose motivation, however monstrous and despicable, falls short of the legal definition of insanity, or "senselessness." The default fallback position by Republicans on gun violence is always that it was committed by "lone nut" cases.

P.S. — It should be noted that the President used the same word, "senseless," to describe this tragedy. That is a punt by both politicians. Mayor Bloomberg, and I should add, Gov. Ed Rendell, are among the few in the political class to show some courage.

SHOOTING IN COLORADO

A HORRIFYING SHOOTING at a midnight opening of the new "Dark Knight Rises" Batman movie in a theater outside Denver in Aurora, CO has left at least 12 people dead and 38 wounded with 9 in critical condition. The alleged shooter, 24-year-old James Holmes moved to Colorado from San Diego, California. He was a neuroscience Ph.D graduate student at the University of Colorado, before he dropped out. The motive is unknown, but his apartment is booby-trapped with explosives within, according to police, that are trying at this time to figure out how to defuse the "sophisticated" booby traps.

There are many questions, involving motive, opportunity, and easy access in this society to firearms. I'm with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to the presidential candidates: "What are they going to do about guns?"

Mayor Bloomberg (interviewed by a local NYC radio station): "You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says, ‘Isn’t it tragic,’ and you know, we look for was the guy, as you said, maybe trying to recreate Batman. I mean, there are so many murders with guns every day, it’s just got to stop. And instead of the two people — President Obama and Governor Romney — talking in broad things about they want to make the world a better place, okay, tell us how. And this is a real problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them concretely, not just in generalities — specifically what are they going to do about guns? I can tell you what we do here in New York. The State Legislature passed the toughest gun laws — some states may say no. That’s okay, what do you want to do? And maybe every Governor should stand up. But in the end, it is really the leadership at a national level, which is whoever is going to be President of the United States starting next January 1st — what are they going to do about guns?"

ANN RAWMONEY PULLS AN AUDIO ANTOINETTE

SOME MEDIA OUTLETS CLAIM the Queen of Privilege (DRESSAGE, or horse ballet) and Entitlement ("It's OUR TURN now") didn't say "YOU PEOPLE" in the typically condescending and patronizing Ann Romney quote one has come to expect from these people, below. It should be noted that, as soon as the question was asked, the Romney QUEEN visibly stiffened with a flash of anger in her demeanor which seemed to express a "How DARE you people" indignation. Maybe it's just me, but that's what came across watching the entire interview, and that's what I heard her say:

“And we’ve given all YOU PEOPLE need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how — you know, how we live our life.”

More to the point, releasing multiple year's tax returns has become a nonbinding requirement for any presidential candidate since Mitt Romney's father himself released 12 years' worth of returns in advance of running for president in 1968. Robin Roberts was a HORRIBLE interviewer; she didn't ask any pressing questions. The cognitive dissonance of Mitt Romney refusing to release his tax returns because he is wealthy and his tax returns are "complex," when that is exactly the point of full disclosure for ANY  presidential candidate, is ASTOUNDING in its ARROGANCE and insular sense of entitlement. Fears of "attacks" are only valid if Romney has something to hide; the unmitigated ARROGANCE and condescension of THESE PEOPLE to the longstanding practice of full disclosure of a candidate's medical and financial records, as if the public is incapable of making a fair judgment, is amazing. Their excuse is, the rules don't apply to them, because ... they're FILTHY RICH!

Finally, when those obnoxious rich Romney kids say they've had their trials, citing the Romney Queen's Multiple Sclerosis, we'd like to know what she has to say to the THOUSANDS of Americans diagnosed with this debilitating illness WHO DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE? "Good luck (I've got the best medical care, including dressage horse therapy, money can buy)," is Queen Ann's sentiment, after her husband repeals the Romneycare MIRROR IMAGE — Obamacare?!

America TEH STOOPID: THE CONSPIRACISTS ANTHEM

America TEH STOOPID: Bigoted, Ignorant, Anti-Science, Paranoid, Xenophobic, Conspiracist

HAVE THE PEEPS CAUGHT ON TO Mitt Romney's latest (desperate) line of attack against President Obama? Here's the Cliff Notes version, no doubt propagated without comment by MSNBC/Beltway Media mouthpiece Andrea Mitchell: According to Cuban-born, ethics-challenged Romney surrogate John Sununu, who once used the government's limousine service as Bush 41's Chief of Staff to travel to a New York stamp collectors show — President Obama "should learn to be an American."

The Beltway Media (no doubt echoed by Robo-Mitchell) later claimed Sununu "backtracked" by saying ... OOh, he even apologized:

"What I thought I said, but I guess I didn't say, is that the president has to learn the American formula for creating business. The American formula for creating business is not to have government create business. The American formula for creating business, that I wish he would get comfortable with, is to create a climate in which entrepreneurs can thrive. If I didn't give all of that detail I apologize."

(See, when people wonder why I go ALL CAPS BOLD ITALIC, it's so that the IGNORAMUSES in the Beltway Media can contemplate IN.THEIR.FACE their OWN STUPIDITY!) After getting his marching orders from the Pigman Limbaugh/FOX, Mitt Romney went on "offense:" The President, he whined, is "extraordinarily FOREIGN." Think Progress tracks the now familiar Republican SMEARS calling Barack Obama the "OTHER," i.e. "NOT ONE OF US." How ironic that the serial LIAR, rich outsourcer with his money in the Caymans and a Swiss bank account has the audacity to call the President "foreign." Here is Romney explaining "the American formula for creating business" in an interview with the National Review:

"The so-called offshore [Bain] account [Romney invested in] in the Cayman Islands, for instance, is an account established by a U.S. firm to allow foreign investors to invest in U.S. enterprises and not be subject to taxes outside of their own jurisdiction," Romney said. "So in many instances, the investments in something of that nature are brought back into the United States. The world of finance is not as simple as some would have you believe. Sometimes a foreign entity is formed to allow foreign investors to invest in the United States, which may well be the case with the entities that Democrats are describing as foreign accounts."

BUT WAIT, THERE's MORE! Let's see ... We've covered the Republican RACISM, BIGOTRY, all-encompassing IGNORANCE ... Let's turn to the PARANOIA, the CONSPIRACIES, the ANTI-SCIENCE:

RIGHT WING (GOP) PARANOID, ANTI-SCIENCE, XENOPHOBIC CONSPIRACIES. — (1) For the first time in history, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of the worst Congress in history. Why? Because the WINGNUT FRINGE GOP believes the conspiracy that the intent of the George W. Bush Fast and Furious gun-walking program is an Obama-Holder plot to take away the people's 2nd Amendment rights.

(2) Bankrolled by the oil and gas corporate behemoths, the GOP Congress, led by extreme Luddite Senator James Inhofe, is on record believing Global Warming is a "hoax." Naturally, all attempts to rescind the indecent taxpayer subsidies to the world's most profitable corporations (despite overwhelming taxpayer support) went for naught.

(3) Muslim Brotherhood "terrorists" are infiltrating our government. (And there are 83 communists from the "Democrat party" in Congress, etc.etc.etc.) The latest twist on this "aspirational" nation's culture of McCarthyism and xenophobia was too much, even, for Senator John McCain, who remains with one foot in and one foot outside the SHITHOUSE. Make up your mind, Gramps! He took to the Senate floor to slam Michele Bachmann and the latest Republican witch hunt against Sec. of State Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin (married to Anthony Weiner who, not that it should matter, is Jewish), to say Abedin "represents what is best about America." The incredibly disgusting and quite possibly clinically insane Bachmann refused to back down from her accusations. And to think that this woman sits on the Intelligence Committee, with access to classified secrets is truly ... comforting.

(4) The Pigman's BIZARRO Batman/Democratic CONSPIRACY through the AGES. Let Chris and Rachel BAT this CRAZY SHIT DOWN:

Am I picking on you, Andrea, to say SHAME! for facilitating this kind of garbage? REALLY?! At least Lady Alex is talking about this disgusting Republican McCarthyite vitriol with the kind of responsible sobriety that Andrea, after all these years inside the Beltway, has apparently forgotten.

America TEH STOOPID: Record Drought, Ag. Sec., GenXer Heads Up Collectivist Butts

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak promised, "If I had a rain dance I could do, I would do it." As for Global Warming causality, Sec. Vilsak said, "I'm not a scientist." Mostly, "I get on my knees everyday and I'm saying an extra prayer right now." But surely he has scientists in his employ, he must talk to them on a regular basis? Nope, he's worried about the "immediate impact" this will have on growers and consumers. They are working on drought-resistant seeds, though. In the news today, a glacier twice the size of Manhattan breaks off from Greenland.

 Meanwhile, GenXers are "surprisingly disengaged, dismissive or doubtful about whether global climate change is happening and they don't spend much time worrying about it." According to a poll, which surprised the experts, 66% of GenExers "said they aren't sure global warming is happening and 10% said they don't believe it's occurring." Only about 5% of Gen Xers, now 32 to 52 years old, are "alarmed" and 18% "concerned" about climate change. Maybe the next time imbecile GenExers go to the supermarket in the coming weeks, they'll be hit with a sticker shock dose of reality.

I keep hearing this ME-ME myself and I, twice now from one of Lady Alex's excellent girlfriends on NOW, and of course from MSNBC's resident Rand-fan la fascisti Italiana Sarah Eh (?) Cupp, "unlike Europe, we're an aspirational people." No muchachas, unlike Europe, we're TEH STOOPID people. Or, as Lady Alex, quoting Game of Thrones, said: "a hard Winter is coming." In every which way.

Is The Rebellious GOP Right Planning A Convention Coup Against Romney?

THERE ARE STIRRINGS IN THE RIGHT WING of the GOP base, its dominant wing, that are close to open rebellion against a Romney coronation at the Republican Convention. Romney is in a more perilous position than he may imagine considering the convergence of animus and distrust from the base with the ever more vociferous calls from the GOP elites and intelligentsia for Romney to release multiple years of tax returns and put the issue behind him.

Today, POLITICO has a front-page story aptly titled "Conservative Elites Club Mitt Romney." The high-profile conservative Romney critics include Rupert Murdoch, Rich Lowry, Peggy Noonan, Bill Kristol, and Charles Krauthammer. Meanwhile, the titular leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, is growing increasingly strident and crazy hysterical in his attacks on President Obama, projecting his anger it seems at having to defend Mitt Romney.

How long will their shaky united front hold? Not long, if they perceive that Mitt Romney is damaged goods, a distinct possibility the longer he refuses to release his tax returns. What's he got to hide? Implicit in his whining that releasing multiple years of tax returns will give Obama's opposition research "more to distort and lie about" is an admission that those 1040 forms contain information that is at least embarassing to Romney and potentially worse. Whatever that may be, assuming there is nothing that is illegal, Mitt Romney is committing the classic mistake of hubris by arrogant politicians: the coverup is always worse than the full disclosure.

Out in the right wing internets the rebellious whispers are growing. Consider that Tea Party champion Sarah Palin is making noises about her not-yet-forthcoming invitation to the Convention. She has not yet endorsed Mitt Romney and has said some good things about Dark Horse/White Knight Party savior Chris Christie. One Palin supporter has openly speculated of a Palin "coup" at the GOP Convention:

"There is big time talk about this at her 'Pac' and 'Conservatives4Palin' website and I believe it to be true. I worked in her campaign in 08 and I find that this is a high possibility for happening. The reason for this is that she hasn't endorsed Romney at all. The fact is that Romney is losing his base and he can't energize it at all, especially with conservatives to come out swinging for him. On the other hand, Palin can. She draws massive crowds and she invokes patriotism and enthusiasm in her speeches that stimulates the GOP, conservative base and independents. ... Now this could happen at the convention. Romney is severely wounded and conservatives and hardcore GOP voters are not impressed. Conservative talk show hosts like Mark Levin, Rush, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity are upset with Romney's refusal to go on the offensive against Obama and state he isn't even trying to fight back against Obama's attacks. Palin is fully vetted and is not afraid to attack Obama on any issue."

Meanwhile, Chris Christie's "prospects of being Mitt Romney’s No. 2 pick seem to be fading," according to the New York Times, "and the New Jersey governor is trying to reconcile pursuit of the spotlight with his job." How does the prospect of being No. 1 strike Gov. Christie? The Convention's keynote speaker is well positioned to pick up the pieces as the consensus unity choice should the perfect storm swirling around Mitt Romney and his tax returns reach critical mass. And it isn't lost on the Romney critics and haters that being a keynote speaker is a big springboard to the presidency. So what if it's four years sooner?

Mitt On A Spit: I AM NOT A CROOK!

HERE IS MOVEON.ORG's latest NIXONIAN contribution:

 

Rachel Retires Her MAD Obsession ...

SIGH ...



Or, as John Lennon said, "THE DREAM IS OVER."

MEDIA CESSPOOL ON DISPLAY: As I Was Saying ... AGAIN!

MEMO TO MARTIN BASHIR: PLEASE SLAP ANDREA MITCHELL DOWN. YEAH, I KNOW, NOT GONNA HAPPEN, SHE'S YOUR COLLEAGUE, but maybe you can drop her a word or two. Andrea Mitchell continues to PROPAGATE Mitt Romney's LIES. IT happened, AGAIN, TODAY as she broadcast Romney's stump speech in Pennsylvania and DID NOTHING TO CORRECT HIS LIES, even though they've been repeated TIME AND AGAIN and should be wholly familiar to any self-respecting news organization.

 So let us compare and contrast two roughly parallel political segments on Andrea's show, and her different "approach" (to coin a Luke word) to them. Last week, as emphatically stated in a couple of posts, I said Andrea "silently" hosted right wing VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli following the President's speech to basically trash it while she couldn't "even properly articulate the argument to counter the wingnut's LIES. We're not asking you to repeat talking points; just THE FACTS, MA'AM, from reliable nonpartisan sources like, e.g., the CBO. Republicans LIE consistently. Every single time they're on with Andrea Mitchell. And she says nothing. Much less act like the shadow of a journalist."

Today, Andrea reverted to the same format, broadcasting an extended portion of a Romney stump speech in Pennsylvania. I actually wondered to myself, "who will Andrea call upon on the other side to even the Cuccinelli scales?" Just half-listening to Romney's speech, I caught two FAMILIAR, OFT-REPEATED LIES right off the bat. Andrea SAID NOTHING to correct them after she cut away from the speech, given roughly the same time frame she gave the President. HERE'S THE FIRST LIE, and MARTIN BASHIR'S (PROXY) SLAPDOWN OF ANDREA MITCHELL — because, unlike his colleague and/or her staff, Martin does his DUE DILIGENCE:

HERE IS THE SECOND LIE, in which Romney keeps insisting directly from this LYING AD, CAUGHT BY POLITIFACTCHECK.ORG, that “half a billion [in stimulus funds went] to an electric car company that created hundreds of jobs in Finland.” Amazingly, rather than a surrogate for the President (all of whom, to my ears, lay off the talking points) Andrea trots out one of her POLITICO pets, Jonathan Martin, who looks ZONED OUT much of the time, to say, basically, NOTHING.

HERE'S THE REAL STORY, FROM POLITIFACTCHECK:

The Fisker loans came in two parts. The first part, according to a statement from Dan Leistikow, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, was a $169 million loan guarantee to support the development of Fisker’s first luxury electric car, called the Karma. The company has made about 1,400 of them so far (and sold 800 for about $97,000 apiece), all of them assembled in Finland. But the Department of Energy and Fisker insist the government loan money was spent exclusively in the United States “to support the engineers who developed the tools, equipment and manufacturing processes for Fisker’s first vehicle, the Fisker Karma.” According to Fisker officials, that work was done in Fisker’s U.S. facilities, including its headquarters in Irvine, Calif.,”which has 700 employees and plans to continue hiring.”

Fisker has raised over $1 billion in private equity, Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told us. That private money was used to finance the manufacture the cars in Finland, he said, while the DOE loan was used exclusively in the U.S. for engineering, design and marketing, and sales. That supported more than 600 jobs in the U.S., he said. 

“All of the DOE loan money that we got for the Karma project had to be spent in America,” Ormisher said. [Emphasis mine.]

In addition to the $169 million, the DOE approved a much larger, $359 million loan to help Fisker develop a lower-priced version of its car, called the Nina. The plan is to build those cars at a shuttered General Motors factory in Delaware. That project has hit some snags. In February, amid delays to the project, Fisker let go 26 employees from the Delaware factory.

However, Fisker still plans to move forward with the car, and the “first option” is still to build them at the factory in Delaware, Ormisher said. If it moves forward, the plant could employ up to 2,500 workers. A prototype of the car, renamed the Atlantic, was unveiled recently, but a launch date was not announced.

To date, Fisker has drawn down $193 million of the $529 million in government loan guarantees, Ormisher said. Fisker has been negotiating with DOE since last May regarding the future of this second part of the funding. 

 My point is — and I get blue in the face repeating it, hence my anger and frustration at MSNBC — there is NO CREDIBLE EXCUSE for Andrea Mitchell, and her staff, to not just DO ROUTINE DUE DILIGENCE on the credibility of Mitt Romney's claims/LIES. Everyone, it seems, in the political world, KNOWS THE MAN IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR, EXCEPT ANDREA MITCHELL. Like her, a lot of them behave as if Romney's LIES are par for the course, because he KEEPS REPEATING THEM. But then Andrea keeps broadcasting Romney's LIES to hundreds of thousands of people tuning in, WITHOUT THE LEAST REGARD FOR THE CANONS OF OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM.

WHAT I SAID. Not repeating it, there's no need. But SHAME ON YOU, Andrea. And Martin, Lawrence: You've done a GREAT JOB exposing Romney's LIES. WHY ON EARTH WON'T YOU HAVE A WORD WITH ANDREA and your so-called "news" team?! In case you haven't noticed, this disgraces your profession. SELF-RESPECT, at least, demands that you speak out. EMPHATICALLY.

QUESTIONS FOR MITT ON A SPIT ...

1. WILL THE (MYSTERY) VEEP nominee release just TWO YEARS of tax returns?! (Shades of Tom Eagleton/Sarah Palin); will Mitt attempt to carry his comic book Batman and Robin act to the GOP Convention ... Does he really think he's living on Planet KOLOB?!

2. WHAT IF THE VEEP NOMINEE HAS already released more than two years' returns ... Is that UPSTAGING the secretive MITT?!

3. HOW COME TIM PAWLENTY (ON ANDREA) Doesn't REMEMBER how many years of returns he released to John McCain ... says it's "two or five" ... REALLY?! (PSST ... Mitt, Tim, that can be verified.)

4. WILL MITT "RETROACTIVELY" VETO ROMNEYCARE in Massachusetts?! How about "retroactively" refunding his 100K yearly Bain CEO's salary for "doing nothing" after 1999?!

OBAMA GOING FOR THE JUGULAR — YEAH!

HERE ARE TWO ADS, FROM THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN AND THE DNC, with devastating punchlines. They work especially well back-to-back: What's Mitt Romney GOT TO HIDE; and what did John McCain, who got to see more of the returns than we did, KNOW THAT WE DON'T?!

BUSTED: Mark Halperin Responds To Being "USED" In Romney Ad!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!?!! (TRANS: LOL) Poor Bob Schieffer had a more dignified response, saying unequivocally (which Halperin, by the way, DID NOT SAY) "I have no connection with the Romney campaign." Here's Halperin's characteristically grandiose and pretentious TRINITY of tweets, comparing himself to Marbles Mouth and, funniest of all, to a journalist.

BUT ... Mark Halperin is ALMOST telling the truth, in his own way, by (a) omitting his connection to the Romney campaign, so technically, he didn't have to LIE; (b) since he didn't mention his role as a Romney campaign consultant/plant, likewise his role as a sometime journalist (in the way CIA agents, or in Halperin's case partisan political hacks, are "journalists") his TRUE role as a BIG-TIME (Mag) MEDIA PHONY wasn't "compromised" as he chose to express phony indignation about his role as a sometime "journalist." So, Mark Halperin told a half-truth about one half of his DUAL role.

Yup, it's convoluted. In short, Mark Halperin is a human PRETZEL MACHINE. SPIN-SPIN-SPIN!!! And yeah, he's MSNBC's "senior political analyst," which shamefully reinforces the MSNBC MEDIA CESSPOOL narrative. Right, NBC News media ZOMBIES?

A new advertisement from the Mitt Romney campaign — Schieffer, Halperin protest Romney ad
CBS News's Bob Schieffer and MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin have spoken out in opposition to a new Romney campaign ad that features them discussing negative attacks by the Obama administration.

On "Face the Nation" this morning, Schieffer said he was "shocked" by the ad. "That was a question that I posed to David Axelrod -- not a statement," he said. "I have no affiliation with the Romney campaign. This was done without our permission."

On Twitter, Halperin wrote, “To echo what NBC News’ Tom Brokaw said in January, when his image and voice were used in a Romney campaign TV ad: ‘I am extremely uncomfortable with the use of my personal image in this political ad. I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign.’”

Neither NBC nor MSNBC gave the Romney campaign permission to use the material, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt announced Sunday evening, and have asked the campaign to "refrain from doing so."

RAHMBO TO Romney: CRYBABY!!!

"WITH A LITTLE SOUNDTRACK HELP FROM CEE LO GREEN:

"We're two trains passing: I'm going LEFT, you're going right. Buh-bye ..."

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999

MITT ROMNEY, THE MORMON CRUSADER OF CAPITAL ACCUMULATION for the greater glory of the multi-billion enterprise Church of Latter-Day Saints and PLANET KOLOB thinks he can continue to party like it's 1999, claiming to have had ABSOLUTELY.NADA going with Bain ... this century.

First, BULLSHIT. You don't pull down a CEO's 100K salary to do nothing. Second, the evidence to the contrary keeps accumulating, from multiple sources, including the Boston Globe which has taken the lead on this story and says, rather generously, that Mitt's claims are "evolving." Now, Mitt's surrogate Ed Gillespie says Mitt "retroactively retired." Whaa ...?! More to the point, conservative narrative driver Bill Kristol bitched about Romney's "crazy" secrecy and said he should release multiple years of tax returns "tomorrow."

The President's BEST surrogates, meanwhile, are finally getting into gear, with mealy-mouthed LOSERS Ed Rendell and Cory Booker nowhere to be seen. (Gov. Fatso, of course, was still firing spitballs at the President from his glorified perch at MSNBC as Sweet Melissa and Lady Alex batted their eyelashes at him.)

Thankfully, this weekend the Obama A-TEAM was up: Chi-Town Mayor Rahmbo and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin in for batting practice, happily ripping the cover off the hapless Mittens. Senator Durbin had the best line: Mitt Romney is "running away from Bain like a scalded cat" because he doesn't want to be associated with outsourcing. Gotta LOVE this 'Mr. Nice Guy Goes For The Jugular' side of Senator Durbin! The Dems must do a whole lot more of that; not only do they have a better way with words, but they're smarter than Republicans!

The Mormon's truth is, Mitt Romney's no PRINCE of his wider universe. It just won't do. When Romney's secretive religious proclivities collide with the public interest, in the small matter of running for president, the public interest wins. Even when those religious demands feed the notion that the accumulation of great wealth is next to godliness, which is not exactly what Christ would, and did, say. And which explains why Romney just doesn't get it — he and his brethren are weird cats, and their religion is more cult-ish than most other major religions.

There, I said it; it happens to be true, and it brings up some important church-state issues, that are playing themselves out right now, with this Bain thing. Setting aside the weirdness of the religion, which has in turn engendered historic discrimination and persecution, some of it understandable where polygamy is concerned, Mitt Romney's expectation is that he can skate to the presidency under a veil of secrecy, protected by his millions and his cult-ish support structure. Well, he can't. Last I checked, this is still a secular nation. If you want to be president, you answer to the Constitution; not the Word handed down from the Planet Kolob.