Today's edition of quick hits:
* To appreciate the effects of Hurricane Sandy, take a look at the remarkable aerial footage of the devastation up and down the East coast.
* According to the most recent counts, the storm has killed 122 people -- 67 in the Caribbean, 54 in the United States and one in Canada.
* President Obama toured New Jersey today with Gov. Chris Christie (R), who continues to be quite effusive in his praise of the president.
* Syria: "The Obama administration on Wednesday renounced the proclaimed leaders of the Syrian political opposition and said any group seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad must reject attempts by extremists to 'hijack' a legitimate revolution."
* As of this afternoon, roughly 6.2 million homes and businesses in 16 states remained without power.
* I'm starting to get the impression that austerity doesn't work: "Euro zone unemployment set another record in September, official data showed Wednesday, with 18.49 million people out of work in a weakening economy. The jobless rate in the 17-nation currency union ticked up to 11.6 percent from the 11.5 percent in August."
* On a related note, though there was talk of possible delays, the Labor Department announced today that U.S. unemployment figures will be released on Friday morning, as scheduled.
* FEMA's disgraced former director, Michael Brown, complained yesterday that the agency was responding too quickly to the Sandy crisis. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate responded this morning, "Better to be fast than to be late."
* As Republicans get a little hysterical about Benghazi, Condoleezza Rice thinks it's better not to "jump to conclusions."
* And Ezra Klein did a terrific job creating an interactive tool trying to make Mitt Romney's ridiculous tax plan add up. Take a look; it's really well done.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Leave a Comment:
Christie with Obama touring New Jersey, where Obama is the President and makes presidential decisions trumps all the lies Romoney can spew all week.
Heck of it is, I tend to stay away from Pop Culture but this Jersey Shore thing kept popping up, something about a Snookie and Orange Skins , so I tried watching the show. Once. Took about 5 minutes before tossing lunch.
On the one hand I think there wouldn't be too much a loss to SawZall the Jersey Shore loose and towing it out to sea,
OTOH it wouldn't be very American to drown some form of humanoid life with orange skin because ... because ... Give me a minute, I'll figure out some reason.
Yeah, I know it's a Reality Show which like reality shows has little to do with reality.
.
If you really want scares, this All Hallow's Eve,
Don't worry about what goes bump in the night.
I'd worry about what Republicans believe;
Their plans for this country induce quite the fright!
Mitt Romney believes he rides the White Horse.
To save the country, that "hangs by a thread".
He thinks he's the Messiah to bring us on course,
That Obama would steer us with intent unsaid,
He wants the wealthy, to have all the wealth,
The middle class lives, to serve their success.
The White House belongs to he who has stealth,
The Black Hat deserves to have less and less.
The nation shouldn't go to this masked stranger,
A thief masquerading as the Lone Ranger.
They understand that Syria, like its neighbor Lebanon, is a society composed of many different fragments. In Syria's case, these fragments have been held together for decades by the Assad dictatorship, just as Iraq was held together by Saddam Hussein. The supporters of Assad aren't all bloodthirsty, corrupt monsters. They fear for their safety in a post-Assad regime. But even they are ambivalent about and increasingly horrified by the atrocities being committed by the regime's desire to hold onto power by any means.
That's what the administration understands, and that's what those who say "let's set up a no-fly zone" or "let's arm the rebels," don't.
Nor should we forget giving the Afghans Stinger missiles against the Soviets in the 80's.
I think Gov Christie recently realized that his life will be much easier in 2016, if Romney loses this election.
Yeah right. Like, what was he supposed to do? Refuse to see the President during a natural disaster or still criticize him during this? Both the Governor and the President were doing their jobs. That's all.
Which makes the first time a Republican's done his job since 2008.
Skip, what you said would mean something if the Republicans hadn't made opposition their number 1 priority over "doing their jobs."
Brownie knows all about being too late to a disaster. Brownie was late and a lot of people suffered. FEMA and the President are on the job, getting 'er done. If they are too early so what? Fugate is right.
FEMA, National security, foreign-policy and every other aspect of leadership that the Pres. doesn't have to work with Congress on is always a demonstration of what strong and effective leadership can mean for the critical functions of our government.
Re: #6.1
And this is why the demonstrable weakness of Gov. Romney in these areas is so incredibly scary!!!
Right on! I can't believe the amount of people buying the made up crap about Obama, that are going to vote for Romney. I am so saddened by that, and angered. Mostly it makes me sad that people are so full of hatred that they want to believe the lies, which is clear because even when you show them a clip and facts they don't believe. So that either means they are incredibly prejudiced or stupid! They need to pick which one they are and proclaim it with pride or accept the truth.
All those who believe that the gov't did not help them build their business, please opt out of FEMA help to allow those who know the gov't is their partner to get the help they deserve.
I have seen some hesitance within some network coverage to point out what Mitt Romney actually said about privatizing FEMA for fear it might give Pres. Obama an advantage. However, the press that is actually following Mitt Romney has done it right and I hope they keep pushing hard for an answer to why Mitt Romney believes in privatizing FEMA.
It's not political to ask hard questions if they're factually based on relevant issues, it's the critical public service that journalism is supposed to carry out. It's political NOT to press for answers to questions that matter. These questions are not political games to the people who are at risk from such disasters and they deserve answers before Tuesday on why Mitt Romney so strongly supports the privatization of FEMA.
I especially hope people in Florida are paying attention because Mitt Romney will privatize Medicare, FEMA and anything else he can because, like he said, “…every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states and if you go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better.” Believe this and vote appropriately!
So the cost of everything will go up. Name one time that a "private company" did something ess expensive than the public secter.
Here's an article from BusinessInsider that you might be interested in. BusinessInsider usually tends to be quite conservative in its outlook, so the trolls can hardly call it or Henry Blodget mouthpieces for the liberal. I don't necessarily care for Henry Blodget, but this time, he is right on:
http://www.businessinsider.com/romney-disaster-relief-immoral-2012-10
In Romney's primary debate he said eliminate FEMA, turn it over to the states, or better, to private enterprise. That was on national TV.
Even conservatives are afraid of how Mitt Romney has one mode of operation. They understand that the Bain philosophy doesn't work everywhere and are afraid if Mitt Romney gets in office and their stuck in the middle of a disaster that they will be left out in the cold, just like the workers of companies that Bain drowned.
I really wish that people would wake up and see how (R) policies are killing our middle class, and in turn the entire country.
Larry, uhm, can't believe you asked that question. Start with schools. Then go to prisons. Yep, private prisons that the states supply prisoners for. There is a reason the soviet union collapsed and china is making a more open economy.
It's slipping away from the GOP. They can feel it as well as us. Even the suburban newspapers in my predominantly Republican district are endorsing some Democrats this time. First time I've seen that happen since we moved here in the early 1980s.
Young families are moving in with other interests than the Reagan supporters who are either dying off or being moved to nursing homes. The times they are a changing but the GOP isn't. I really have hope for that change coming sooner rather than later now.
Iowa's largest newspaper has endorsed Mitt Romney, delivering a blow to President Barack Obama, who it endorsed in 2008.
The Des Moines Register's editorial board wrote that Obama's "best efforts to resuscitate the stumbling economy have fallen short. Nothing indicates it would change with a second term in the White House."
Romney becomes the first Republican the paper has endorsed since 1972.
And you have to swallow all that with the fact that iowas economy has been booming ...Also , the editorial says balancing the budget was why they chose mit , with absolutely nothing to back up that assertion , just like romneys campaign .......lets just say these editors where well paid buy romney ...... the american free press is no more
Yeah nolaughing
In 1972 the Des Moines Register endorsed Richard Nixon... How did that work out?
It is only when things get bad, that you find who your real friends are.
Why is it that states that have Republican Governors are outperforming the nation?
Patango want some cheese with that whine?
Maria
Better then when Jimmy Carter was President
The largest suburban newpaper in the Chicago area just endorsed Romney. That surprised me.
Oh, and Maria I don't get your Nixon question. I mean he did win the election.
nolaughing
Carter didn't resign in disgrace. History has given Carter a far more postive view than Nixon.
The Des Moines Register readers need to try the Ezra Klein's an interactive tool to see if the numbers add up. They don't. Good tool. Thanks!
Re: #9.7
Nixon did win the election. But then resigned in disgrace.
Hey nolaugingmatter, is that the paper who hasn't endorsed a (R) since Nixon? Look at what a good pick they made their. They contradicted everything they said previously when they backed Nixon then and they did the same thing now. Pathetic! They are worried about global warming but they endorse they guy who laughs at trying to help the environment.
Maria, good point. In fact, in 2008 they endorsed Obama and that didn't work out very well. You've made your point very well.
Hey! Nolaughingmatter-
States Vary Widely in Number of Tax Filers with No Income Tax Liability
May 24, 2010
By
Scott A. Hodge
Fiscal Fact No. 229
Note: Updated data for 2010 is available here.
Fiscal Fact No. 229
Southern States Have Highest Percentages of "Nonpayers"
One of the most reported topics during the latest tax filing season was the record number of Americans who filed an income tax return but had no income tax liability after taking their credits and deductions.
According to the latest IRS figures for 2008, a record 52 million filers—36 percent of the 143 million who filed a tax return—had no tax liability because their credits and deductions reduced their liability to zero. Indeed, tax credits such as the child tax credit and earned income tax credit have become so generous that a family of four earning up to about $52,000 can expect to have their income tax liability erased entirely.1
There are millions of other Americans who have some income but not enough to be required to file a tax return. The Tax Policy Center has estimated that when these people are added to the 52 million nonpaying filers, some 47 percent of all households pay no income taxes at all.2
New data from the IRS allow us to calculate the number of nonpayers in each state who filed a tax return. Here we compare the percentage of nonpayers in each state, both the absolute number of returns and the percentage of returns filed in each state.
Generally speaking, the most populated states have the most nonpayers. More than 6 million tax-filing Californians paid nothing to Uncle Sam for the 2008 tax year. That was 37 percent of the 16.4 million tax filers in California.
The map on page 1 and the table below show the percentage of tax filers in each state who have no income tax liability as well as the state's rank among the other 50 states. Nine of the ten states with the largest percentage of nonpayers are in the South and Southwest. In Mississippi, 45 percent of federal tax returns remit nothing or receive money with their federal tax returns; that is the highest percentage nationally. Georgia is next at 41 percent, followed by Arkansas at 41 percent, and Alabama, South Carolina, and New Mexico at 40 percent.
All of the top 10 ranking states have among the lowest median family incomes in the country. Of this group, Georgia has the highest median family income at $60,268. Mississippi has the lowest at $46,668.
By contrast, the states with the lowest percentage of nonpayers are not as geographically concentrated. What they tend to have in common is higher incomes. Half of the 10 with the lowest percentage of nonpayers are in the Northeast and half are in the West and Northern Plains states. Alaska has the lowest percentage of nonpayers, 21 percent of filers. Massachusetts has the second lowest at 27 percent, followed by Connecticut (27 percent), New Hampshire (28 percent), and Wyoming (28 percent) to round out the bottom five.
Nonpayers of Federal Income Taxes by State
Calendar Year 2008
State
Total Filers
Filers with
a Tax Liability
Filers with No Tax Liability
Percentage
of Filers with
No Liability
Rank (Most to Least)
US Total
143,490,468
95,520,933
51,045,911
36%
Mississippi
1,254,942
719,916
567,195
45%
1
Georgia
4,255,054
2,598,415
1,753,675
41%
2
Arkansas
1,223,637
755,772
498,682
41%
3
New Mexico
923,431
573,865
372,148
40%
4
Alabama
2,076,195
1,288,134
833,877
40%
5
South Carolina
2,047,201
1,273,969
818,631
40%
6
Louisiana
1,983,957
1,250,519
780,097
39%
7
Texas
10,792,258
6,822,725
4,226,513
39%
8
Florida
8,875,483
5,645,900
3,468,156
39%
9
Idaho
666,723
423,714
258,528
39%
10
Tennessee
2,842,898
1,814,965
1,100,304
39%
11
North Carolina
4,180,091
2,664,444
1,607,594
38%
12
Utah
1,145,303
730,938
432,744
38%
13
Arizona
2,714,182
1,756,481
1,010,982
37%
14
Kentucky
1,869,439
1,218,223
694,890
37%
15
California
16,478,215
10,809,941
6,083,777
37%
16
Oklahoma
1,605,411
1,051,298
591,878
37%
17
Montana
477,153
314,174
174,568
37%
18
Indiana
3,019,320
1,992,138
1,083,040
36%
19
Michigan
4,626,365
3,059,154
1,659,010
36%
20
Missouri
2,739,220
1,832,981
963,611
35%
21
West Virginia
785,966
527,282
275,876
35%
22
New York
9,203,531
6,233,030
3,223,814
35%
23
Oregon
1,753,860
1,182,640
608,311
35%
24
Nevada
1,272,433
854,584
441,251
35%
25
Illinois
6,112,426
4,128,709
2,100,258
34%
26
South Dakota
389,575
266,064
131,608
34%
27
Kansas
1,328,944
905,922
446,675
34%
28
Nebraska
857,622
591,594
282,150
33%
29
Maine
633,674
443,576
206,378
33%
30
Vermont
320,162
224,748
103,669
32%
31
Hawaii
656,452
459,268
211,696
32%
32
Pennsylvania
6,130,055
4,264,743
1,975,694
32%
33
Ohio
5,562,764
3,876,376
1,789,893
32%
34
Wisconsin
2,767,859
1,940,996
873,884
32%
35
Colorado
2,340,854
1,654,661
731,210
31%
36
Iowa
1,415,088
1,000,188
441,887
31%
37
Rhode Island
510,709
361,016
159,378
31%
38
Delaware
425,490
303,666
129,186
30%
39
New Jersey
4,304,848
3,077,401
1,301,727
30%
40
Virginia
3,727,792
2,674,714
1,120,668
30%
41
Minnesota
2,569,679
1,850,504
764,698
30%
42
Washington
3,185,705
2,302,518
939,240
29%
43
Maryland
2,776,026
2,012,029
811,278
29%
44
North Dakota
322,761
235,533
92,955
29%
45
Wyoming
274,041
201,684
77,085
28%
46
New Hampshire
668,971
497,127
184,299
28%
47
Connecticut
1,742,470
1,296,183
474,410
27%
48
Massachusetts
3,197,925
2,387,861
866,220
27%
49
Alaska
359,709
290,564
74,876
21%
50
Dist. of Columbia
302,531
223,339
84,641
28%
Source: Tax Foundation calculations based on IRS data.
Adjustments were made to account for EITC recipients in the nonpayer estimate.
Notes
1 Scott A. Hodge, "Record Numbers of People Paying No Income Tax; Over 50 Million 'Nonpayers' Include Families Making over $50,000," Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact, No. 214, March 10, 2010.
2 http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/federal-taxes-households.cfm.
http://taxfoundation.org/article/states-vary-widely-number-tax-filers-no-income-tax-liability
Trc- I would suppose some liberal somewhere will at least lie to you and act like he read your paste. In fact, you and one other must have liked it.
It is appropriate that the GOP is supported by Vegas gambling. After suckering the least fortunate and crashing the banks, our winner-takes-all GOP does not wish to still sit at the table.
Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run. For the GOP it is time to run. I got mine, bye, bye.
ABC Night Lines Jake Tapper was reporting from the hurricane monday night , with the rain blowing all around , he manged to bring up Benghazi and obama .... then mentioned romney was holding a fund raiser for disaster relief , and never mentioned the fact he wants to completely dismantle FEMA , dems must never forget the msm they are dealing with
For low infor-folk that is playing with fire.
Disaster Relief in Romney's world
Business and First Class: Helicopters are standing by, please board as soon as you can with your unlimited stuff
Economy Class: Stand in the line. Boats will arrive when last trip is complete. Remember no meals, no checked baggage
And the 47% : Why the hell are you looking at me. Swim your way out if you can.
This is total CRAP! Wow...
In crucial Ohio, anti-Obama activists out in force...
http://news.msn.com/politics/in-crucial-ohio-anti-obama-activists-out-in-force
Have any of you been getting text messages from ccAdvertising? I was spammed last night by them and now there is a copycat out there and I was spammed by them too!!
I don't read the messages, I just delete them, but this crap is getting OLD!!
No but I'm getting trolled .....where did these new ones come from?
I deleted them because they were coming in on my business cell - I should have written down the address but I didn't!
Rusty
Do you really think things would have been better under angry old man McCain? Really?
Just out of curiosity how many of those Republican Governors have balanced budget amendments that actually require them by LAW to keep their books in line.
The think is most of the time the Governor has F'k all to do with the budget it's the legislatures that send it to them...just ask Arnold.
As a a governor Mitt Romney Sucked Ask the people of Massachusetts they will tell you. He was Governor for ONE term. His highest approval rating was 66% in the middle of his term and when it ended it was 39%.
When Carter was president he was trying to deal with the economic fallout from the end of Viet Nam and all the crap that got dumped on him by the Ford Administration who didn't get anyhing because they were to busy trying to show Gerry where eeastern europe was on a MAP!
LOL
awww yes Under a Ford Administration there will be no Soviet domination of eastern Europa.
LOL
Gerry you do understand its is already under Soviet domination? it is the western side we are trying to keep from the Soviets.
Gerry >>> his best Roseanne Roseanndana " Oh Never Mind"
RIP Gilda.
I am going to say this again Rosaanne Roseandana never said "Never mind". That was Emily Letella. Roseane Roeannadana said "You know it's always something. If it's not one thing it's another" Though both quotes would apply here. Please everyone get your Gild Radner characters correct!
((((((Gilda))))))
Rachel, your prgram is first class. You're on top of all the stories that matter. The biggest story of late, for me (aside from the superstorm) is Romney's stated intention to privatize FEMA. Imagine that. Dish out block grants to prviate companies and hope that fraud doesn't run rampant. Imagine Halliburton running FEMA in Florida.
I think Romney's religious beliefs heavily influence his statements on disaster relief and on welfare etc...
The Mormon religion is heavy into stockpiling and the goal of being able to be self-reliant for a few days at the least and up to 6 months or more. This would be in case
of natural disasters, sickness, etc... While the Mormons are very well known
for taking care of their own they are also very much into being self-reliant.
Most Mormon homes have a stockpile pantry and the church itself has a huge
amount in warehouse like structures.
I think he has a fundamental religious issue with those who need some help, especially those who he percieves as not helping themselves.
I LOVE Ezra Klein's interactive tax thing.
Isn't ironic that Mitt Romney, the candidate that I, and many, have categorized as the vivid example of an used car salesman would have as his final argument a national ad campaign selling us lemons about the very same car industry in the US? Romney's misleading GM and Chrysler ad running nationwide is the final ultimate prove that we cannot trust a word coming out of the mouth of slick Mitt.
The other disaster American is facing?
Stephen Einhorn & his idiot silver spoon son Daniel must be punished for their disgusting brand of voter suppression. They lied to and insulted whole communities of American citizens for WHAT? Because they
don't want to pay a few more dollars in taxes? COME ON! Where I'm from that's a good reason to drag these TRAITORS out to the alley and make them cry like school girls. I'm not your daddy's Liberal mf******ers, spoact.blogspot.c**
I see Daniel Einhorn is of age why isn't the little bugger over there in the Middle East serving in the military. What about the 5 Romney trust fund babies. After Bush Jr I'm starting to think the biggest threat to the USA are these vain, self-serving power mad greed stricken silver spoon trust fund baby CON ARTISTS who seem to gather in the GOP.
WHO YOU SAY?:
Tagg Romney has been buying voting machines… COME ON?
VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has refused to press charges against Colin Small for throwing away the voter registration forms filled out by Democrats. JEEZ!
On December 19, 2008, 45 year old Republican operative Michael Connell, accused of vote rigging in Ohio, was killed in a small plane crash into a home near Akron. Karl Rove was heard by witnesses threatening to kill Connell if he testified against the Bush/Cheney Administration… OH MY GOD!
IMPORTANT: VOTE! Please don’t forget to vote against Republicans in Senate, House, state and local government elections. We must put the stake in the heart of this life sucking vampire known as the GOP before they shame us all.
smiling fun playing with Ezra `s interactive tool (smiling have to make sure the interactive is there)
its kind of like the add where you try to click on Mitts plan and it moves.
LOL
I saw a Rachel video where she said the Koch brothers make 50 billion a year.
The estimated cost to rebuild the damage from this storm is around 35 billion to 40 billion.
The Koch boys could give 35 billion and still have 15 billion left (if they gave the lower end of the estimation amount.)
The problem is, the one thing that they don't give is a @!$%#.
Since your show seems to be able to draw attention to areas in need of federal help, like Hoboken, please mention the terrible problems facing the people on Hatteras Island, NC. The island in the Outer Banks is entirely cut off from the mainland and was ravaged by Sandy early in the storms progress.
The difference between Katrina and Sandy: If you would look back to Katrina, it was the poor, those who had nowhere else to go, who were not only herded like cattle and treated with disdain, but who were soundly condemned afterwards for failing to do what they couldn't do -- find somewhere else to stay. When the poor and middle class experience the same hardships, we have empathy toward the middle class folks, and we want to help. But if they're poor, America's response is very different. Granted, we have a VERY different president now, but the bottom line is America's response to the victims of these two storms define this generation, and it's a pretty ugly picture.
Romney gave the wrong date speaking at his donation campaign rally with Wal-Mart cans: HE SAID NOVEMBER 7TH!!! Nice goin Mitt!