Unemployment Rises in Six of 10 Battleground States

◼ Unemployment rose in June in six of 10 battleground states that could play a pivotal role in the presidential election, reflecting job cuts in some cases and weak payroll growth in others. - Josh Mitchell/Wall St. Journal

◼ UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPPED IN EVERY STATE THAT ELECTED A REPUBLICAN GOV. IN 2010 - Tony Lee/Breitbart
◼ Daily KOS Rebuttal to "GOP governors are better on unemployment" story - Victor
◼ Unemployment has dropped in every state that elected a Republican governor in 2010 - HotAir

On the other hand, the unemployment rate in states that elected Democrats in 2010 dropped, on average, as much as the national rate decline and, in some states such as New York, the unemployment rate has risen since January of 2011. This is yet another example of how the so-called “blue state” model is not working.

◼ Romney notes better job creation in states with GOP governors - Mitchell Landsberg/LA Times

Obama Campaign Spends More than $2.6 Million for Polling—in June

◼ Campaign disclosure forms for Obama for America, President Obama's reelection team, reveal a heavy emphasis on public opinion polling. According to the forms, in the month of June alone, Obama for America spent a whopping $2,639,265.72 on polling. - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

Meanwhile, looking at the June numbers, the AP reports, "President Barack Obama's re-election campaign spent more than it collected in June."

◼ Obama Paid $93k for Half-Empty Stadium Kick-Off Event - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

The disclosure appears on records of the campaign's June spending, though the event took place May 5. And of course does not include other costs associated with the event; only the cost of renting the arena.

The event was widely considered a dud, and perhaps best remembered for images of the numerous empty seats...

Jon Lovitz to Obama about his Nobel Prize: 'You didn't earn that'

◼ "I didn't build my business, either," Lovitz tweeted yesterday, along with a photo of the president holding his Nobel Peace Prize with text over the photo reading, "Nobel Peace Prize? You didn't earn that. Somebody else made that happen." - CNN

Lovitz, a Democrat who voted for Obama in 2008, has taken some flak for his most recent comment, and has been responding to many users on Twitter. In particular, he called out The Huffington Post, writing, "I don't know who is in charge of comedy on the Huffington Post, but I do know they have no sense of humor."

California Goes Bankrupt: One California city after another becomes insolvent

◼ First Vallejo, then Stockton, then Mammoth Lakes, and now San Bernardino and soon possibly Compton. As Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach told Bloomberg News, the bankruptcy dominoes are starting to fall. - Steven Greenhut/Reason Magazine

As Steven Greenhut reports, one California city after another—following a decade-long spree of ramping up public-employee pay and pension benefits, as well as redevelopment debt—are becoming insolvent.

Not that the state’s legislators have anything constructive to offer. California’s Democratic leaders are not only unwilling to rein in the costs of benefits for their patrons, the public-sector unions, but they have been erecting roadblocks to those localities that want to fix the problem on their own. Yet all the political blockades in the world cannot fix the basic problem of insolvency....

Bankruptcy cannot stop future officials from wasting the taxpayer dollar. But when there’s no money, there’s nothing left to do. In Scranton, Pa., a judge issued an injunction to stop the mayor’s plan to begin paying all city employees minimum wage. But there’s no money left to pay any more than that, he said. The city will gladly pay more as soon as it has the cash to pay it.

Only when the money runs out will cities find the necessary solutions. That’s perhaps the saddest commentary on the situation in California cities these days.

◼ Huge budget deficit be damned: California Gov. signs funding bill for $68 billion high speed rail project - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin

California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned this morning and her second in command has been fired after officials learned the department has been sitting on nearly $54 million in surplus money for as long as 12 years

◼ The department sat on the money for unknown reasons even as it carried out, over the past year, the unprecedented closure of 70 parks to satisfy state budget cuts. - Matt Weiser/Sacramento Bee

The Bee began inquiring about rumors of a surplus when it learned about the buyout, and submitted a Public Records Act request for the fund data on Wednesday.

John Laird, secretary of the state Natural Resources Agency, which oversees State Parks, told The Bee that investigations have been launched by both the Attorney General's office and the Department of Finance to figure out how -- and why -- the Department of Parks and Recreation squirreled away so much money for so long....

The surplus money consists of $20.3 million in the Parks and Recreation Fund, and $33.5 million in the Off Highway Vehicle Fund, which are the two primary operating funds at the agency. This money was not reported to the state Finance Department, in contrast to normal budgeting procedures....

◼ Ruth Coleman's resignation letter (.pdf)
◼ Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown appoints interim parks chief in wake of scandal
◼ Editorial: Parks officials evaded rules, insulted public
◼ Unauthorized vacation buyouts secretly pushed through at state parks department, audit says
◼ Assemblywoman Gaines calls for fiscal probe of California parks agency
◼ Interactive: A guide to California state parks

As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided coverage because of President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.

◼ http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43082

CFRW: A Message from President Hadley

Dear CFRW Members,

Before we know it we will be attending the RNC Convention where it will be our honor to confirm the nomination of Mitt Romney as the Republican Nominee for President. We have 64 Federated Republican Women going as Delegates and Alternates. Currently we do not have a count of the number of Federated Women attending as Guests. Our presence will truly be felt.

We have several ways to accomplish the election of Mitt Romney as our next President. One is to organize "Phone Call Parties" in each and every Club. The other is to put a baseball mitt in the back window of your car with 2012 BOLDLY PRINTED ON IT. We need to be actively engaged in writing "Letters To The Editor" and calling talk shows. Look for talking points from NFRW, from the Romney Campaign and each week in the Capitol Update. We must not believe California is a BLUE STATE. Working together with all Republican organizations this year we can be a RED STATE in this Presidential election.

Please mark SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 on your calendars. This date is being proclaimed by the CRP as "JOIN THE FEDERATION DAY". We will be holding rallies in at least six areas throughout the state with one huge location being televised. We will also be highlighting the "Caring for America" aspect of the Federation on this day. We are asking the public to help us collect books for Kindergarten to 5th grade. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

We will elect Mitt Romney as we will become 100,000 strong because we are Federated Women. ONE TEAM, ONE PURPOSE, ONE GOAL - 100,000 STRONG AND MITT ROMNEY PRESIDENT 2013-2016.

Never ever forget you are the best of the best.

Carol Hadley
CFRW President

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Romney Calling Parties!

Speaking of November, we have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure that President Obama is a one term president! Your local RWF club can start organizing weekly “calling parties” for Mitt Romney with Operation Swing State. Here’s how you can help:

Do it at a home or office with a wireless connection. (Callers can call on their own from home but it's more fun at weekly calling parties.)
Each caller only needs a phone (cell or landline) and a computer (laptop, desktop, or iPad).
To make calls for Romney, either go to
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www.MittRomney.com and move your cursor on the Get Involved Tab at the top and then when the drop-down menu appears, click on Call From Home or for more detailed instructions, click on the Operation Swing State tab at the top of www.OperationSwingState.org and then click the Mitt Romney tab.

CFRW Legislative Alert

The United Nations, working hand in hand with members of the U.S. Senate, is hoping to have the treaty titled The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) ratified by July 26th. President Obama signed the treaty on July 30th, 2009.

There has been no real debate or consideration. This treaty addresses people with disabilities through an international bureaucracy which undermines the ability of families and communities to serve disabled people’s needs.

Senator Rick Santorum opposed the Treaty in a formal statement:
"The CRPD would usurp the rights and powers of parents here in the United States to do what is best for their special-needs child by placing the law of the UN about the rights of the parents. It is the job of our elected representatives to preserve these rights, not hand them off to unaccountable international bureaucrats."

There are more important items that should be on the Senate agenda. Any treaty with the United Nations needs a great deal of study and a lot of time.

If you wish to have your voice heard you can contact the following Senators

..............................Phone............Fax.....
Barbara Boxer...CA (202) 224-3553...(202) 224-0454
Bob Corker......TN (202) 224-3344...(202) 228-0566
Marco Rubio.....FL (202) 224-3041...(202) 228-0285
John Barrasso...WY (202) 224-6441...(202) 224-1724
John McCain.....AZ (202) 224-2235...(202) 228-2862
Jerry Moran.....KS (202) 224-6521...(202) 228-6966

Some of these Senators are on the Foreign Relations Committee and some are Republicans who support this treaty. You can let the Senators know how you feel even if they do not represent you. The Senatorial Campaign Committee is always willing to take money from anyone without regard to residence.

Thank you for your work.

Edelweiss Geary
Legislative Issues Chair Northern Division - CFRW ◼ www.cfrwnd.org

Michelle Taking on Major New Campaign Role

◼ The Obama campaign said Mrs. Obama would lead the “It Takes One” effort, which will include digital media, advertising and grassroots organizing. Campaign officials said Mrs. Obama would be the face of the effort and personally participate in many “It Takes One” events as she travels the country, recruiting neighborhood team leaders, speaking to groups of women to ask them to volunteer and stopping by voter registration events. - White House Dossier
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Which makes THIS all the more important:

Super-Easy Calling for Mitt Romney--From Your Home!



Would you like to help send Mitt Romney to the White House without ever leaving your home? The "Volunteer for Mitt" program is up and running for supporters who can spare a few minutes to make personal calls to other voters across the country.

◼ Click here to learn how you can get involved!
To learn more about Call From Home
◼ click here to view the instructional video or to
◼ view step-by-step written instructions, click here.
__________________
Mitt Romney
LIKE Mitt on Facebook
◼ Humboldt Romney Volunteers
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We can use your help - if you have the time or inclination to GET INVOLVED this election season, NOW is the time to do it. Give us a call at 442-2259

We're making calls to swing-states, for Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee. Sign on to help Elizabeth Emken and Dan Roberts in their races. Elizabeth is running against Dianne Feinstein, and Dan Roberts is running for what was Mike Thompson's seat.

Our GOTV (Get Out The Vote) effort is ramping up, and we can use your help there, too.

If nothing else, stop by our booth at the County Fair next month and see how you can help.

GOP resolution: Healthcare law violates Constitution for not originating in the House

◼ Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and 10 other House Republicans introduced a resolution Thursday arguing that the 2010 healthcare law violates the Constitution because it is a revenue measure that did not originate in the House. - The Hill

The resolution, H.Res. 735, plays off the June 28 Supreme Court ruling that said the individual mandate to by health insurance cannot be justified under the Commerce Clause, but is "within Congress's power to tax."

But if the law is a revenue measure, the resolution finds, it is one that violates Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the Constitution. That clause states simply, "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives."

KRAUTHAMMER: ‘HE IS MOCKING PEOPLE’

◼ Krauthammer's take on Obama's "You Didn't Build That' statement. - Becket Adams/The Blaze

KRAUTHAMMER: It’s all government. And this is his philosophy that government is the root of the success, individual and national and it’s not individual enterprise — he has to some extent to individual enterprise. But anybody who thinks it’s that, obviously is rewarding himself in a way that is undeserved, it’s the government. And that’s the heart of his philosophy. That is the real division between left and right in the country. That’s why Romney ought to hit it every day until election day.

The World Since Feinstein Last Debated

◼ Emken presses incumbent to accept invitation to debate for first time in 12 years

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken today called on Dianne Feinstein to ignore the hasty and predictable response by her campaign consultant, Bill Carrick to last week’s challenge, and accept the invitation to take part in a series of regional debates while the Senate is in recess. Each debate would focus on issues of local importance, such as national defense and the military in San Diego and water issues in Fresno, and would be moderated by local media.

SHOT: Carrick, Feinstein’s longtime political guru, arrogantly dismissed Emken’s debate offer when asked last week by the San Francisco Chronicle:

"No. No plans for debate. ‘I don’t know if this makes much sense.’ After all, Carrick said, DiFi didn’t debate state Sen. Dick Mountjoy in 2006 ‘and he was an elective office holder.’"

CHASER: In fact, the last time Feinstein faced the music in a public debate forum was against then-Congressman Tom Campbell in October 2000.

Let’s step into the Way Back Machine and see how much the world has changed since then. In October 2000:

Bill Clinton was President
Gray Davis was governor of California
Saddam Hussain was running Iraq
Most Americans had never heard of Osama bin Laden
Most Americans had never heard of Barack Obama, either
The World Trade Center towers dominated the Manhattan skyline
No one had ever seen a Harry Potter movie
No one had ever followed or friended anyone on Twitter or Facebook
No one had ever used an iPod, iPhone or iPad
Unemployment was…only 3.9%
The federal debt was…only $5.7 trillion
Gas was…only $1.79 a gallon

The world has changed. Dianne Feinstein hasn’t. It’s time for a fresh look at who should be our United States Senator. Let’s start with a debate.

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Elizabeth Emken

Strassel: Obama's Enemies List—Part II

◼ First an Obama campaign website called out Romney donor Frank Vandersloot. Next the IRS moved to audit him—and so did the Labor Department. - Wall St. Journal

...Mr. VanderSloot says he "expected the public beatings" from the left after the naming, but he "also wondered whether government agencies, anxious to please their boss, would take notice of the target he had apparently placed on me. Now that I'm being singled out for audits, I can't help but wonder whether there is a connection."

As for other Romney donors: "It is un-American and irresponsible for a president to target individual, law-abiding citizens for political retribution, and it is inconceivable that any U.S. agency would stoop to do the bidding for this campaign's silliness," says Louis Bacon, an investor and conservationist who also made the Obama list.

We don't know what happened, and that's the problem. Entrusted with extraordinary powers, Mr. Obama has the duty to protect and defend all Americans—regardless of political ideology. By having his campaign target a private citizen for his politics, the president forswore those obligations. He both undermined public faith in federal institutions and put his employees in an impossible situation....

If this isn't a chilling glimpse of a society Americans reject, it is hard to know what is. It's why presidents are held to different rules, and should not keep lists. And it's why Mr. Obama has some explaining to do.

◼ Strassel: The President Has a List

Barack Obama attempts to intimidate contributors to Mitt Romney's campaign.

◼ Strassel: Trolling for Dirt on the President's List

First a Romney supporter was named on an Obama campaign website. That was followed by the slimy trolling into a citizen's private life.

◼ The Things I Did to Get on Obama's 'Enemies List'

Details about Colorado shooter emerge as ABC apologizes for false Tea Party reporting Update: 71 shot Update: Obama and Romney video added

◼ “I stand before you today not as a man running for office, but as a father, a grandfather, a husband — an American…our hearts break for the victims and their families. We pray that the wounded will recover, and we pray that those who are grieving will know the nearness of God….What we do know is how evil is overcome, and we’re seeing that greater power today, in the goodness and compassion of a wounded community.” - HotAir

This video of Obama is not embeddable, but I’ll look for one that is.

◼ DaTechGuy Was With Mitt In Bow, NH - Smitty/The Other McCain

What’s in Romney’s Unreleased Tax Returns: He Overpaid His Taxes

◼ Ben Domenech has been doing some pretty solid reporting in The Transom... about what might be in Mitt Romney’s taxes. He offers this morning the best and most informed theory.

Why most informed? Well, he talked to people who were familiar with the veep vetting process for McCain in 2008.

Here’s what he reports: So what about the years before 2009? We know he turned over more than two decades of returns to the McCain campaign during the veepstakes vetting process. What was in them? “Mitt’s taxes were complex, but clean. He overpaid his taxes....

Obama’s Remorseless Attacks Having Little Effect

◼ Weeks of vicious attacks by the Obama campaign assailing Mitt Romney’s character and making questionable charges about his stewardship of Bain Capital have yielded the following result: the latest national poll, released by the New York Times, shows Romney with a slight edge. - White House Dossier

With little record to run on, an economy mired in slow growth, and unemployment stuck above eight percent, the Obama team must face the possibility that it is unloading some of its only rhetorical ammunition without result. And after burning through $100 million of his money on campaign ads, Obama has failed to establish a lead over his rival.

The poll suggests an extraordinarily dangerous possibility for the Obama campaign: that concerns about the dismal economy trump all other issues and provide Romney with a teflon coating with which he can deflect the bullets of the grinding Obama attack machine.

◼ Obama Returning to DC; Pulls Colo. Attack Ads - White House Dossier

Obama canceled a scheduled campaign event outside Orlando.

“He wants to be back in Washington to get further updates on this, and I think you can expect that he will upon arrival,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

...Carney, who appeared to choke up during a briefing for reporters aboard Air Force One, indicated that the shootings do not appear to be related to terrorism.

Tragedy in Colorado

◼ Suspect was neuroscience Ph.D student; photo released - Liz Goodwin/Yahoo News

◼ PANDEMONIUM: 13 SHOT DEAD AT 'BATMAN' - denver.cbslocal.com via Drudge
◼ To Be 'Exploited For Political Grist'... - Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com via Drudge
◼ ABC News speculates: Is Colorado shooter a member of the Tea Party? - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering
◼ ABCNEWS ALREADY LINKING 'TEA PARTY'? BACKTRACKS... - Politico

UPDATE: ABC News apologizes for 'incorrect' Tea party report:

ABC News and Brian Ross are apologizing for an "incorrect" report that James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting, may have had connections to the Tea Party.

"An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect," ABC News said in a statement. "ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."

In a similar statement released minutes earlier, ABC News said the report was "incorrect" but did not include the apology. "Several other local residents with similar names were also contacted via social media by members of the public who mistook them for the suspect," the initial statement read.

◼ INTERVIEW: HISPANIC TEA PARTY MEMBER FALSELY ACCUSED... - Joel B. Pollak/Breitbart

"It was freaky," said Holmes, describing his reaction when ABC News speculated that he was the culprit who entered a crowded theater and opened fire on dozens of innocent men, women, and children. He disconnected his telephone and says that he is worried about members of his family who might be contacted by the media.

ABC News has since corrected its initial report, but tried to share the blame with "social media" and "members of the public" at first.

◼ BREITBART: Shooter may be registered Democrat... - Joel B. Pollak/Breitbart
◼ CNN'S PIERS MORGAN EXPLOITS 'DARK KNIGHT' MASSACRE TO PUSH GUN CONTROL

If there's an American tragedy, within hours you can always expect our corrupt media to feast on the corpses of the victims in order to push their left-wing political agenda.

◼ Obama Prays For CO Victims: "What If Malia And Sasha Had Been At The Theater?" - Real Clear Politics
◼ Supporters Chant 'Four More Years'... - Buzzfeed

◼ Chronology: James Holmes Kills 14 Wounds 50 at Batman Movie Aurora Colorado - Maggie's Notebook
◼ "Colorado theater shooting suspect was neuroscience Ph.D student." - Althouse

Obama Ad Accuses Romney of 'Launching a False Attack' for Quoting Obama

◼ "Mitt Romney is launching a false attack," the ad's text states. But the weird thing is: The Obama campaign is purposefully trying to make it sound like Romney is misquoting the president, when the official White House transcript backs up Romney's quotation. - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

"Mitt Romney will say anything," the ad concludes. It turns out, he'll even say Obama's words when quoting him. Video at the link

◼ Mitt Romney: Saying Anything to Get Elected - Short Version

San Bernardino officials debate role of union money in decision-making

◼ As the public battle rages over how the city developed a $45 million deficit, much of the attention has focused on union contracts - and the blame for those contracts has included some explicit claims. - sbsun.com

"There are some members of this council who are bought by the unions,"

Mayor Pat Morris has said several times, using a phrase that has also been used by other City Council members.

They point to campaign contributions by the San Bernardino Police Officers Association and San Bernardino Professional Firefighters that in some cases paid for nearly all of a successful campaign, saying it's impossible to expect independent decisions from elected officials who depend on unions for their election.

But there's nothing inappropriate about accepting money from people who share your values - that's how campaigns are always funded, said Councilman Robert Jenkins.

"I received union support because I strongly believe the role of government is to provide protection for its residents," Jenkins said.

"Every single labor group that I have spoken to has encouraged me to do what's best for the city, and that is what I'm doing."

President George H.W. Bush is 88 years old today! Happy Birthday Mr. President!

JOIN US FOR LUNCH TODAY AT 11:30

Join us for lunch! We are so fortunate to have Kay Backer join us as our speaker this month. As the dynamics of the county are changing, it is very timely to have Kay present the General Plan and hear not only what we need to do, but how to get involved. The county’s General Plan is not yet a done deal and we need to be there to make our voices heard.
Where: We’re back at 445 Herrick Avenue, Eureka
When: Thursday, July 19th, 11:30 a.m. Lunch & Socializing; Meeting 12 - 1 p.m.
Details: Lunch & Speaker $14.50 (Tax and tip included) Your choice: Beverage & Speaker $4.00 Payable to HRWF

The Busiest President: New RNC ad hits Obama for not meeting with his Jobs Council

◼ Today the RNC came out with a solid ad hitting President Obama for White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s comments yesterday related to the President’s lack of public meetings with the Council. - HotAir

The ad...notes Obama has had 10 golf trips and 106 fundraisers in the last six months.

Homeland Security serving warrants in Humboldt

◼ On Tuesday, drug task force agents helped serve warrants on a property on Old Briceland Road near the Garberville Airport, according to sheriff's office Sgt. Wayne Hanson, and today agents assisted with the service of federal search warrants on one property in Petrolia and another near Bayside. - Times-Standard

As of 12:30 p.m., agents were waiting outside a house in the 1100 block of Old Arcata Road, where a U-Haul truck parked across the street reeked of marijuana. Hanson said officers were waiting on a search warrant before proceeding, but said three people had been detained at the scene.

Study shows Obama tax plan bad news for the economy — especially in blue states

◼ Two months ago, the Congressional Budget Office issued a stark warning to Congress over the fiscal impact of “Taxmageddon,” the upcoming expiration of the Bush-era tax rates at the end of this year. Allowing all of the tax rates to rise would push the US into recession - Ed Morrissey/HotAir

Republicans want to follow the CBO’s advice and cancel the tax hikes, while looking for other ways to reduce spending rather than the sequestration policies set to take effect in January. Democrats want to hold both hostage to force the GOP to agree to Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on earners over $250,000 — or $1 million, depending on which Democrats one asks, and when. Will the economic impact of those tax hikes be much different than that of the full fiscal cliff? According to a new study by Ernst and Young … no:

With the combination of these tax changes at the beginning of 2013 the top tax rate on ordinary income will rise from 35% in 2012 to 40.9%, the top tax rate on dividends will rise from 15% to 44.7% and the top tax rate on capital gains will rise from 15% to 24.7%.

These higher tax rates result in a significant increase in the average marginal tax rates (AMTR) on business, wage, and investment income, as well as the marginal effective tax rate (METR) on new business investment. This report finds that the AMTR increases significantly for wages (5.0%), flow-through business income (6.4%), interest (16.5%), dividends (157.1%) and capital gains (39.3%). The METR on new business investment increases by 15.8% for the corporate sector and 15.6% for flow-through businesses.

This report finds that these higher marginal tax rates result in a smaller economy, fewer jobs, less investment, and lower wages. Specifically, this report finds that the higher tax rates will have significant adverse economic effects in the long-run: lowering output, employment, investment, the capital stock, and real after-tax wages when the resulting revenue is used to finance additional government spending.

Through lower after-tax rewards to work, the higher tax rates on wages reduce work effort and labor force participation. The higher tax rates on capital gains and dividend increase the cost of equity capital, which discourages savings and reduces investment. Capital investment falls, which reduces labor productivity and means lower output and living standards in the long-run.

Output in the long-run would fall by 1.3%, or $200 billion, in today‟s economy.
Employment in the long-run would fall by 0.5% or, roughly 710,000 fewer jobs, in today‟s economy.
Capital stock and investment in the long-run would fall by 1.4% and 2.4%, respectively.
Real after-tax wages would fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers‟ living standards relative to what would have occurred otherwise.

◼ CBO: Taxmageddon would throw U.S. back into recession - Lori Montgomery/Washington Post
◼ Long-run macroeconomic impact of increasing tax rates on high-income taxpayers in 2013 - waysandmeans.house.gov
◼ Obama's Tax Hikes Could Hit Blue States Hardest - John Merline/Investor's Business Weekly
◼ Obama's Tax Plan Flunks Bernanke's 'Do No Harm' Test - IBD Editorial
◼ Obama Rings the Death Knell on Small Business - Ed Morrissey/The Fiscal Times

These Hands

__________________
Mitt Romney

“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, in the Republicans’ right wing social agenda that appeals to the American Jewish community,” she asserted.

“Not true,” a lone female voice was heard from the audience.

And from that moment on, there were repeated interruptions and isolated but persistent heckling, whenever the speaker veered into anti-Republican commentary. There were also open challenges to some assertions of the president’s stalwart support for Israel, especially that he has “unequivocally, publicly defended Israel on the world stage.”

There are some in the Jewish community who believe the United States has not done enough at the United Nations to support Israel from constant and unfair attacks.

And so the rest of the evening went, with a constant but muffled Greek chorus of “untrue” in response to some of the more extreme statements either praising Obama or bashing the Republicans.

An apparently unintentionally ironic Wasserman Schultz statement drew the biggest laugh of the evening. Following a ten minute talk liberally sprinkled with attacks on Republican values and on the Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney, she said, “I know we are all disturbed and troubled by those who make misleading statements for purely partisan gain.”

◼ Debbie Wasserman Schultz Touts Obama’s Creds, Many Remain Unconvinced - Lori Lowenthal Marcus/Jewish Press

"It makes people go ‘wow, I thought it was just college kids dancing.’"

◼ “Occupy Unmasked” is a movie that “exposes ties between the radical left and the supposedly more moderate counterpart”

According to “Occupy Unmasked,” a new film from Citizens United due later this summer, the Occupy movement was organized by radical leftist activists from the very beginning.

Steve Bannon — writer, producer and director of the film — told The Daily Caller in an interview that “Occupy was only spontaneous to the untrained eye. The radical left didn’t hijack it, they planned it out.”

...While many of the students were “well intentioned,” there were more radical elements at work, Bannon said. “Occupy would always need a continual flow of college kids to give it mass. Useful idiots. That’s why Occupy had no demands. They didn’t want to. It’s all about creating structured chaos.”

Part of the way that Occupy created this “structure,” according to Bannon, was through Lisa Fithian and other organizer’s three-tiered model adopted from the 2008 Republican National Convention protest.

One group, “green,” consisted of regular liberal citizens, who came to protest. A second “yellow” group was individuals willing to break the law, like handcuffing themselves across a road. The last “red” group of the most violent anarchist organizers and professional agitators was there to create a scene that swept innocent “greens” into confrontations with the police.... More at the link

Bohn appointed as interim supervisor

◼ Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday announced he appointed Rex Bohn to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. - Times-Standard

Bohn will fill the seat vacated by Supervisor Jimmy Smith, who will step down Aug. 3 to focus on treating his lymphoma.

They sacrificed, paid their bills, counted pennies to pay rent and purchase health care and food and not much else. And for their troubles they were muscled by the politicos, by the city inspectors and the chiselers and the weasels, all those smiling extortionists who held the government hammer over all of our heads.

◼ I thought about this after I heard what Obama told a campaign crowd the other day, speaking about business owners and why they were successful. - John Kass/Chicago Tribune

Obama's changed. Gone is that young knight drawing the sword from the stone, selling Hopium to the adoring media, preaching an end to the broken politics of the past.

(H)e offers an American dream much different from my father's. Open your eyes and you can see it too. He stands there at the front of the mob, in his shirt sleeves, swinging that government hammer, exhorting the crowd to use its votes and take what it wants.

How "You didn't build that" became "He didn't say that"

◼ How "You didn't build that" became "He didn't say that" - Tim Cavanaugh/Reason Mag

The president's supporters have a multipronged counterargument: Either he didn't make those comments or they were taken out of context or even if they are in context they don't matter because we should be reading between the lines.

◼ Obama tries to explain entrepreneurs comments - Dave Boyer/The Washington Times, Thursday, July 19

Facing more bad news on the housing front and a surge in the polls by his Republican rival, President Obama changed his tune Thursday night about some roundly criticized comments that entrepreneurs don’t build businesses on their own.

“I was saying the other day, we take pride in individual initiative and … we don’t like handouts,” Mr. Obama told supporters in West Palm Beach, Fla. “We don’t expect government to solve every problem and we don’t think the government should help people who don’t want to even help themselves."

The president’s message differed in style from the one he delivered last Friday in Roanoke, Va.

In California: City of Compton may declare bankruptcy by September: officials

◼ The City of Compton, a city of 93,000 people located on the outskirts of Los Angeles, must decide by September 1 whether to seek bankruptcy, according to its two most senior financial officials. - Reuters

Such a move would see it join a growing number of deficit-hobbled California cities that have used the filing to restructure onerous debt loads.

Compton, which has an accumulated $43 million deficit and has depleted what had been a $22 million reserve, will run out of cash to make its payroll on September 1 at its current cash consumption rate, city comptroller Steven Ajobiewe told the city council during a July 17 meeting.

"I have $3 million in the bank and $5 million in warrants due in the next 10 to 12 days," said city treasurer Doug Sanders. "By then, the council will have a decision to make: don't pay the bonds, default on them, or have a serious talk about bankruptcy."
The city council adjourned at 11 pm without discussing a potential bankruptcy filing....

A bankruptcy filing would follow one by San Bernardino, which on July 9 became the third California city this year to seek restructuring of its liabilities. Earlier, Stockton and Mammoth Lakes also said they would file....

Unemployment is worse in Compton than San Bernardino, he said, although both have seen property taxes fall precipitously due to rising home foreclosures.

Unlike San Bernardino, which has a large unfunded liability to pay its employees' pensions, Compton years ago increased its property tax to fund its workers' pension obligations, said Perrodin, and the retirement program is fully funded.

"Those other cities that went bankrupt all had huge pension liabilities that they couldn't meet," said the mayor. "Even so, we're in pretty dire straits."

Project Veritas: Legislators, Union Bosses Seek Funding for Digging Holes and Filling Them Back In

CBS/NYT POLL: ROMNEY PULLS INTO LEAD; CLOSE RACE

◼ Romney leads by eight points among men; the president leads by five points among women. - CBS

Forty-seven percent of registered voters nationwide who lean towards a candidate back Romney, while 46 percent support the president. Four percent are undecided. The one percentage point difference is within the survey's three point margin of error....

Fifty-four percent of registered voters cite the economy and jobs as "extremely" important in their presidential vote, more than any other issue. Here Romney has the edge: 49 percent of registered voters say he would do a better job handling the economy and jobs, while 41 percent cite Mr. Obama.

Romney is also seen as better on the federal budget deficit (50 percent to 36 percent), taxes (47 percent to 42 percent) and illegal immigration (46 percent to 38 percent). Mr. Obama as seen as better on foreign policy (47 percent to 40 percent) and social issues (48 percent to 37 percent). Views of the candidates on health care and terrorism were split.

Thirty-eight percent of registered voters say Mr. Obama cares a lot about their needs and problems, compared to 25 percent who say the same of Romney. Registered voters were slightly more likely to say that Mr. Obama says what he believes (45 percent) than to say that Romney says what he believes (37 percent).

Only 28 percent believe Mr. Obama has fulfilled his promise to deliver positive change for the country. Fifty-eight percent say he has not delivered change, while seven percent say he has delivered change that has been bad for the country.

Mr. Obama's overall approval rating stands at 44 percent, with 46 percent disapproving. His approval rating on the economy is just 39 percent - 55 percent disapprove - and his approval rating on foreign policy is 41 percent. His approval rating on the economy has dropped five points since April.

Former Navy SEAL Launches PAC To Fight Obama

◼ Today, Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL and Montana State Senator, announced the launch of Special Operations for America, a political action committee dedicated to “the election of Mitt Romney and like-minded candidates.” - Politicker

“Navy SEAL’s, Special Operations Personnel and Veteran’s across America have been outraged since Barack Obama conveniently took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden for political gain,” a statement announcing the launch of SOFA said. “The active duty military has no voice as they are forbidden to publicly engage in the political campaign process and it is career suicide for senior military leaders to speak out against the President.”

“The President has failed and he is jeopardizing the safety of our troops, their families and our National security for political gain. Obama has exposed the identity of special operations units, leaked classified information, and limited the rules of engagement of forces on the ground,” said Mr. Zinke. “For those who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, it is a call of duty to take back America from a Commander-in-Chief that is incapable of understanding the sacrifices that have been made for the values that have made America great.”

The Ultimate Takedown of Obama’s ‘You didn’t build that’ Speech

◼ President Obama’s instantly infamous “You didn’t build that” speech is a major turning point of the 2012 election not because it was a gaffe but because it was an accurate and concise summary of core progressive fiscal dogma. It was also a political blunder of epic proportions because in his speech Obama unintentionally proved the conservatives’ case for limited government. This essay will show you how. - Zombie

◼ It's a colossal and laughably transparent lie. The state provides nothing, because it possesses nothing on its own. The state is the perpetually dependent child of the taxpayer, and not the other way around. - LauraW/Ace Of Spades
◼ Give Us This Day Our Daily Debt - Richard Fernandez/PJM
◼ Paul Ryan rips Obama’s comment that ‘if you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen’ - James Pethokoukis/AEI
◼ Romney responds to Obama’s ‘you didn’t build that’ speech - Howard Portnoy/HotAir
◼ Obama Thinks it Takes a Village to Build a Business - Rick Moran/PJM

Romney: Obama Attacks Success

Awkward: President Obama's jobs panel missing in action

◼ President Barack Obama’s Jobs Council hasn’t met publicly for six months, even as the issue of job creation dominates the 2012 election. - Josh Gerstein/Politico

At this point, the hiatus — which reached the half-year mark Tuesday — might be less awkward than an official meeting, given the hornet’s nest of issues that could sting Obama and the council members if the private-sector panel gets together.

Barone: Obama believes success is a gift from government

◼ Perhaps the rain made the teleprompter unreadable. That's one thought I had on pondering Barack Obama's comments to a rain-soaked rally in Roanoke, Va., last Friday. - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner

Perhaps he didn't really mean what he said. Or perhaps -- as is often the case with people when unanchored from a prepared text -- he revealed what he really thinks....

The Obama Democrats seem to believe there's no downside risk in threatening huge tax increases for everyone and in asserting that if you're successful "someone else made that happen."

But the Wall Street Journal's Colleen McCain Nelson reported yesterday how affluent Denver suburbanites have soured on Obama. Obama tied John McCain 49 to 49 percent among voters with more than $100,000 income in 2008, but in NBC/WSJ polls this year, they've favored Mitt Romney 50 to 44 percent.

Affluent voters trended Democratic over two decades on cultural issues. But economic issues dominate this year, and they may not appreciate Obama's assertion that they don't deserve what they've earned.

◼ President Obama vs small business - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

What a disappointment to hear President Obama’s revealing comments challenging the significance of America’s entrepreneurs.

His unfortunate remarks over the weekend show an utter lack of understanding and appreciation for the people who take a huge personal risk and work endless hours to start a business and create jobs.

◼ Romney: Obama 'insulting' every innovator in America from Steve Jobs to Papa Johns - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering

◼ Morning Examiner: Obama’s “extraordinarily foreign” course for America - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

The Presidential election has a long way to go, but the line of the year so far is President Obama's on Friday: "You didn't build that." Rarely do politicians so clearly reveal their core beliefs.

◼ 'You Didn't Build That' - Wall St. Journal

...This burst of ideological candor is already resonating like nothing else Mr. Obama's said in years. The Internet is awash with images of the President telling the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and other innovators they didn't build that. Kevin Costner's famous line in "Field of Dreams," as adapted for Mr. Obama: "If you build it, we'll still say you didn't really build it."

Beneath the satire is the serious point that Mr. Obama's homily is the soul of his campaign message. The President who says he wants to be transformational may be succeeding—and subordinating to government the individual enterprise and risk-taking that underlies prosperity. The question is whether this is the America that most Americans want to build.

◼ Obama shows he's clueless about small business - Washington Examiner Editorial

...Obama did not make this statement to argue that government should invest more in basic research and infrastructure. He was calling for a tax hike to fund more failing solar firms, bullet trains to nowhere and most of all the budget-devouring entitlement programs he lacks the courage to fix. He seems to think successful entrepreneurs should be grateful and eager to pay more.

Only someone who has never signed the front of a paycheck could make such an ignorant comment....

POSSIBLE FRAUD INVOLVING 24,000 MINNESOTA DRIVER’S LICENSES

◼ The state of Minnesota has found nearly 24,000 possible cases of fraud involving driver’s licenses issued in the state, Fox Minneapolis reports. A facial recognition scan of the state’s 11 million photo database found nearly 1.3 million duplicates. - Washington Free Beacon Staff ◼ BULGARIA: HOMICIDE BOMBER USED FAKE DRIVERS LICENSE FROM MICHIGAN, DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO 8 - Pamela Geller/Atlas Shrugs

Could a single word undo ObamaCare?

◼ Wouldn’t that be nice? In the haste to pass ObamaCare through arcane parliamentary maneuvers — whoever heard of “reconciliation” outside of the Beltway before Scott Brown won a US Senate seat? — maybe the drafters of the Affordable Care Act made a one-word mistake in the 2800-page bill that would demolish the entire law.

According to an argument by two Cato Institute scholars, one word may make it impossible for the federal government to supply the subsidies needed to get people to use the exchanges. The extract gives the bare bones of their case:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of qualifying health insurance plans on state-run insurance exchanges. Contrary to expectations, many states are refusing or otherwise failing to create such exchanges. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule purports to extend these tax credits and subsidies to the purchase of health insurance in federal exchanges created in states without exchanges of their own. This rule lacks statutory authority. The text, structure, and history of the Act show that tax credits and subsidies are not available in federally run exchanges. The IRS rule is contrary to congressional intent and cannot be justified on other legal grounds. Because the granting of tax credits can trigger the imposition of fines on employers, the IRS rule is likely to be challenged in court....

There is... one word that will work to end ObamaCare: repeal. It’s time to stop looking for courtroom Deus ex machina arguments and start working on the political solution.

OBAMA DONORS WITH SOROS TIES PLOT TO USE EMINENT DOMAIN TO MAKE MONEY

◼ DEMOCRATIC DOMAIN - Andrew Stiles/Washington Free Beacon

Local officials in San Bernardino County, Calif., met last week to consider a controversial proposal to use eminent domain powers to seize and refinance underwater mortgages.

The plan, which is being championed by wealthy investors with deep ties to the Democratic Party, has drawn criticism from opponents who see it as an egregious violation of property rights and an exercise in political cronyism.

“This is a group of folks who want to come in and use the government to help acquire properties for them and provide an impressive return on their investment,” said Steven Greenhut, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank.

The meeting in San Bernadino took place amid revelations that the investors and county officials were involved in secret negotiations for nearly five months before the proposal became public.

The county, along with the cities of Ontario and Fontana, has created a joint authority to consider a plan to restructure mortgages for certain borrowers who are “underwater,” meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. Officials estimate that as many as 100,000 mortgages in San Bernardino County are underwater.

The new authority would apply eminent domain power, which allows governments to forcibly acquire private property for public benefit. However, rather than seizing the physical properties in this case, the authority effectively would be purchasing the mortgages owed by the property owners, with the aim of restructuring them and selling them to investors who could then turn a profit by flipping the homes.

Sununu: Obama "comes out of that murky political world in Chicago where politician and felony has become synonymous."

◼ John Sununu, a top surrogate to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, issued a withering attack against President Barack Obama Tuesday, accusing him and his campaign of being "a bunch of liars" for their attacks on the presumptive GOP nominee. - Yahoo News

"I’ve been tough on Mitt Romney and leaned hard on his campaign to take the gloves off, get in the fighting spirit, and push back against Obama narratives. Today in Irwin, Pennsylvania, Romney delivered." UPDATE

◼ Romney’s excellent speech (with video links) - Michelle Malkin

◼ The Right Scoop has both excerpts and full speech video clips.
__________________
Mitt Romney

UPDATE: Rush: "You know this was a good speech because you haven't seen it anywhere have ya?"

◼ Romney: Obama 'insulting' every innovator in America from Steve Jobs to Papa Johns - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering

◼ Morning Examiner: Obama’s “extraordinarily foreign” course for America - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

(AUDIO) Jerry Brown's bankrupt Calif. cities catch up with him

◼ In February of 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, declared to me at a National Governors Association meeting in Washington that California was not having bankruptcy problems and that he had not ceded too much to the California teachers’ unions. - Kerry Picket/Washington Times ◼ Follow @kerrypicket

Similarly employing President Obama’s 'blame the last guy in office' technique, Brown pointed to former Republican Governor Arnold Shwarzenegger for the fiscal crisis California finds itself in, but he made no mention of the state's Democratic led legislature. Both chambers have been in Democratic hands since 1970, except during the 1995-1996 year, when the Assembly was led by Republicans.

“I reduced the deficit that was left to me by a Republican governor from 26 billion to 9 billion. I have a plan to reduce it to zero. I’m working on it,” said Brown.

When I asked if California was having bankruptcy issues he said, “No, that’s not true. We’re going far. We’re doing quite well.”

Brown’s spokesman Gil Duran interrupted asking, “How about asking a question that’s based on truth?”

Six months later, California became the home of three cities: San Bernadino, Mammoth Lakes, and Stockton that are filing for bankruptcy. The S&P cautioned that it could very well reverse the positive rating it gave to California in February if the budget that Brown recently signed is not solid in the eyes of Standard and Poors. It should be noted even after that upgrade in February, California still has the lowest S&P credit rating of all 50 states.

In fact, the Sacramento Bee reported that a Pew study found that California has had the worse credit rating record in the entire country for past 11 years and highest rating California achieved during that period was amid Shwarzenegger's administration. The lowest rating occurred in 2003 during the state's budget crisis and Gov. Gray Davis's term... Audio and More at the link.

The real 'outsourcer': Obama sends jobs fleeing

◼ As President Obama was attacking Mitt Romney for supposedly “outsourcing” jobs when he ran Bain Capital (a charge disputed by The Washington Post’s fact checker), tens of thousands of Americans were fleeing the Obama economy to find work in Canada. - Union Leader Editorial

As President Obama was attacking Mitt Romney for supposedly “outsourcing” jobs when he ran Bain Capital (a charge disputed by The Washington Post’s fact checker), tens of thousands of Americans were fleeing the Obama economy to find work in Canada.

“Skilled U.S. workers are coming to Canada in ever greater numbers, driven out by high unemployment at home, and tempted in by job shortages in key sectors like Alberta’s growing energy sector,” Reuters reported last week.

“Government figures show that Canada issued 34,185 temporary work permits to Americans last year, just shy of the record 35,060 handed out in 2010, and officials expect that number to keep growing.”

Why will it keep growing? Because the U.S. job market is not growing, while Canada’s is....

President Obama offers nothing that will reverse these trends and bring employment and investment back to the United States. So he tries to distract the people by calling Romney an outsourcer. The irony is that America will continue losing jobs and workers to other countries, with no end in sight, if Obama’s trick works.

Video: NRCC hits Obama over small-business comments

◼ It asks how Americans can trust a man who clearly doesn’t understand the small-business world to fix what ails the American economy: - Ed Morrissey/HotAir



◼ http://www.nrcc.org | President Obama's recent remarks about American business owners is yet another reminder that the President is woefully out of touch. American entrepreneurs are the engine of job growth for our country -- they work hard, make sacrifices, and deserve their success.

Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Teaser Movie Trailer - "The Destroyer"

◼ more - atlasshruggedmovie.com
◼ Demand Atlas for your Town!

Shocking Report: Marriage is Good for Raising Kids!

◼ Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’ - Jason DeParle/New York Times

◼ DeParle’s piece was extremely well researched and despite his obvious class warfare angle, it was well written and compelling. - The Real Feminist

Sununu: Obama was ‘smoking something’ instead of understanding the American economy

◼ “He has no idea how the American system functions,” Sununu said. “And we shouldn’t be surprised about that, because he spent his early years in Hawaii smoking something, spent … another set of years in Indonesia, and frankly when he came to the US he worked as a community organizer, which is a socialized structure, and then got into politics in Chicago.” - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering

Another cyber espionage campaign found targeting Iran

◼ Security experts have uncovered an ongoing cyber espionage campaign targeting Iran and other Middle Eastern countries that they say stands out because it is the first such operation using communications tools written in Persian. - Reuters

"It's for sure somebody who is fluent in Persian, but we don't know the origin of those guys," said Seculert Chief Technology Officer Aviv Raff.

The Mahdi Trojan lets remote attackers steal files from infected PCs and monitor emails and instant messages, Seculert and Kaspersky said. It can also record audio, log keystrokes and take screen shots of activity on those computers.

The firms said they believed multiple gigabytes of data have been uploaded from targeted machines.

"Somebody is trying to build a dossier of a larger scale on something," Raff said. "We don't know what they are going to do at the end."

Not the Nanny State — the BULLY State

◼ link - David Bozeman/Net Right Daily

“Higher taxes have discouraged public consumption of whiskey and tobacco. Now it’s sugar’s turn.”

— Lead editorial, AARP Bulletin, June 2012

It is time we started calling liberal Democratic policymakers what they are. We all too frequently lament the ever-reaching ‘nanny state,’ but that term violates a cherished cultural staple — nannies are Mary Poppins or such maternal substitutes as the TV character played by Fran Drescher. Statists are not nannies, they are bullies.

Email shows ICE delayed deporting Obama’s illegal immigrant uncle

◼ Emails exchanged by top U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirm that ICE delayed the deportation of President Obama’s uncle, an illegal immigrant, and that they had a close eye on Mitt Romney’s view of the issue. - Joel Gehrke/Washington Examiner

The emails also show that Hale kept Morton apprised of how Onyango Obama’s case was playing in the media. When Mitt Romney said in December 2011 that he would deport Onyango Obama following his arrest for drunk driving, Hale sent the news report to Morton and other members of ICE leadership.

“It certainly appears that Obama’s uncle is receiving favorable treatment from the Obama administration, which explains that we had to sue in federal court to obtain this material,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “ICE should have deported Onyango immediately, especially after his DUI. We now know that the Obama administration decided not to deport Obama’s uncle despite his being a criminal and being on the lam for at least 20 years.”

Just Imagine What An Obama 2012 Ad Against An Incumbent Republican President Would Look Like

What is truth, after all, when the person telling audacious lies is a Democrat?

◼ OBAMA'S MEDIA ALLIES IN RETREAT: UNABLE TO DEFEND BAIN ATTACKS, THEY EMBRACE 'TRUTHINESS' - Joel B. Pollak/Breitbart

Remember "truthiness"? The Word of the Year 2006 that the left and the mainstream media used to attack President George W. Bush and his alleged dishonesty over weapons of mass destruction and just about everything else? Now the shoe is on the other foot--and President Barack Obama's lies are both willful and real. His attacks on Republican rival Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital have been exposed as malicious lies. So some of Obama's media allies, unable to defend his tactics, are questioning the notion of objective truth itself.

The New Yorker's Alex Koppelman, for example, takes up the Romney campaign's response to Obama's false claims--and instead of taking Obama to task, merely asks: "What Is Truth, Anyway?"

"Obama's a demagogue. The country will not survive four more years of him."

◼ Obama On American Achievement: You're Welcome - Ace of Spades
__________


Super-Easy Calling for Mitt Romney--From Your Home!

California may be a lost cause, but there's a battle going on for the swing states. You can make a differemce. The "Volunteer for Mitt" program is up and running for supporters who can spare a few minutes to make personal calls to other voters across the country.

◼ Click here to learn how you can Get Involved!
To learn more about Call From Home
◼ click here to view the instructional video or to
◼ view step-by-step written instructions, click here.
__________________
Mitt Romney
LIKE Mitt on Facebook
◼ Humboldt Romney Volunteers

LOST (LAW OF THE SEA TREATY) IS DEAD

◼ The U.N. Law of the Sea Convention has yet to get a committee vote, but Senate Republicans have gathered enough opposition to ensure it will be dead on arrival. - Hope Hodge/ Human Events @MissHedgeHodge

While a few moderate Republicans and members of the U.S. military have joined Senate Democrats and the Obama Administration in supporting the treaty, several conservative organizations have spearheaded an effective information campaign in opposition. Opponents argue the treaty could subject the U.S. to international environmental regulations, effectively tax seabed production through collection of trillions of dollars in royalties, and make the nation vulnerable to international litigation.

A strong push to kill Law of the Sea came from political action committee Heritage Action, which informed voters about the issue through emails and alerts.

“For months, constituents have called and emailed their Senators, requested meetings, submitted letters to the editor, and organized in an effort to sink this dangerous treaty,” the organization’s CEO, Michael Needham, said in a statement. “We commend the 34 Senators who stood with their constituents on the side of freedom.”

Obama to Americans: You don’t deserve what you’ve earned

President Barack Obama said in a speech at the weekend that governments and not individuals create jobs, telling entrepreneurs: 'If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.'

'You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.'

◼ The Smartest President Ever, speaking in Roanoke on Friday and writing the Romney campaign’s next ad for them. - Daily Caller

As Twitchy reported..., President Obama uttered an infuriating and offensive remark, in a seemingly endless list of infuriating and offensive things, during his speech in Virginia yesterday. The President decided to slam small business owners and give credit for their successes to the government. Talk to the hand, small business owners!

No, really; sadly, it is not a joke. President Obama said “If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Last night, some on Twitter gave him the business. His statement was infuriating enough on its face, but coming from a man who knows nothing about the real world outside of an Ivory Tower, it is downright maddening.

◼ Small business owners teach Obama a little something about who builds businesses; Update: #BuiltItMyself

"So Obama says I didn't build my landscaping business, someone else did. Who would that be, Mr. President? Wasn't aware I had a partner."

"I'm surprised Obama never went into business if it is this easy. Hey, everyone else does all the work!"

◼ 'And what do you know?': Business leaders hit back at Obama after he says the wealthy AREN'T responsible for their own success - Toby Harnden/Daily Mail

◼ Obama's Socialist Mantra: Risk Takers Are Free Riders - IBD Editorial

Welcome to California: America without Republicans

◼ Democrats have also enjoyed complete control of the state legislature since 1997. And they have governed exactly the way you'd expect Democrats to govern. - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

...Spending has more than doubled, from $45.4 billion in 1996 to more than $92.5 billion today. Income, sales and car taxes have all been hiked. As a result, California has the most progressive income tax system in the nation, with seven income tax brackets, and the second-highest top marginal rate.

Even with all those tax hikes, California's 2012 budget is still $15.7 billion in the red. So what does Gov. Jerry Brown want to do? Raise taxes again, of course. He has proposed a ballot initiative that would: 1) raise sales taxes on everyone and 2) raise incomes taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year (like Obama has proposed to do nationally). But even this $8.5 billion tax hike would still leave the state $7.5 billion short. Where will California get that money? Who knows?...

With all of this unfunded government spending, Keynesian-Democratic thinking would predict that California's economy should be booming.

It isn't.

At 10.8 percent, California has the third-highest unemployment rate in the country. There are fewer private-sector jobs in the state today, 11.9 million, then there were in 2000, 12.2 million.

And thanks to liberal welfare requirements, a third of all the nation's welfare recipients live in California despite the state only containing one-eighth of the national population.

Contrast those numbers with Republican-controlled Texas, where private-sector jobs have grown from 7.8 million in 2000 to 9 million today.

Long before it became the nation's 31st state in 1850, California had been a target destination for Americans looking for a better life. Not anymore.

...The California dream is dead. Democrats killed it. Middle-class families can't escape the state fast enough. Conservatives must fight Obama and his agenda at every turn so that Californians still have other states to flee to.

◼ California Demon - A state fast becoming America's version of Greece. - John Fund/American Spectator

Then there are taxes. Even middle-class families earning $48,000 a year pay a state tax rate of 9.3 percent, a higher rate than millionaires pay in 47 other states. A ballot measure backed by liberal legislators will ask state voters this fall if they want to raise the top rate on high earners to a staggering 13.3 percent.

Naturally, this economic version of Dante’s circles of hell has driven jobs from the state at an increasing pace. One relocation firm calculates that last year, a total of 254 California companies moved some of their work and jobs out of state—a number that is 26 percent higher than that of 2010 and five times higher than 2009.

Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company behind Hardee’s and Carl's Jr., is just one of the many corporate leaders who have been traumatized by California’s hostile business climate.

He tells me it takes six months to two years to secure permits to build a new Carl’s Jr. Restaurant in the Golden State, versus the six weeks it takes in Texas.

The President appears intent on focusing attention away from his record in the Oval Office, and on to Romney’s past. But both candidates have a past. So which do you prefer?

◼ Okay Mr. President, we can talk about the past - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

...the President has a long history of questionable relationships and conduct. Yet while President Obama was doing this, Mitt Romney was on a different path trying to save the troubled Salt Lake City Olympics, (h/t NewsMax):

Having faced a budget deficit of $379 million when he took over, Romney ended up with a surplus of $56 million. The money went to fund future Olympics.

When he took the job, Romney said he would accept the offered salary of $250,000 a year only if the Olympics made a profit. When it did, he turned his salary over to charity. In addition, he contributed $1 million to the games.

But the Obama campaign doesn’t want to talk about that. They’d rather focus on whether Bain outsourced jobs while Romney was salvaging the seemingly hopeless Salt Lake City Olympics, saving numerous domestic jobs in the process....

◼ After spending tens of millions of dollars on negative ads which have thus far only resulted in a close election remaining close, Team Obama has not only decided to double down on the nastiness but to push the very same outsourcing charges numerous media outlets have long ago declared untrue. (Video, Obama attack ad) - John Nolte/Breitbart

Though the media hasn't made Obama pay a price for this, Romney has begun to hit back with a narrative concerning the president's credibility, and this latest attack will only help to feed that narrative.

‘They’re Demoralized as Hell!’

◼ Why? Because, as one Republican source mentioned to me last week, while Team Obama admitted they got out-raised by $35 million in June, they didn’t report their cash-on-hand total. Hint, hint. - The Other McCain

What my GOP source was suggesting was that the Obama campaign’s burn rate is already so high — their staff overhead is enormous, and they’ve been pouring on the attack ads in battleground states — that they’ve substantially depleted the cash advantage they enjoyed in May, when they ended the month with more than $100 million cash on hand (compared to a mere $17 million for Romney, as I’ve previously explained). The Campaign to Re-Elect the SCOAMF had counted on that financial cushion as their ace in the hole. If nothing else worked, they could bury Romney in attack ads down the home stretch in October, but it’s only July and if the Obama campaign is already burning through that cash at an unsustaintable pace . . .

Well, there’s a good reason they’re “freaked out,” you see.

If the polls start shifting toward Romney now, the scenes inside Obama HQ in Chicago will be Hitler-in-the-bunker Downfall parody stuff.

◼ Full version at Battleground Virginia - Robert Stacy McCain at The American Spectator

◼ More Cause for Panic at Obama HQ - The Other McCain

◼ Mitt Romney’s “Restore Our Future” super-PAC raised a record $20 million in June, yet another signal that Team Obama’s hoped-for financial advantage in the 2012 campaign has failed to materialize. - Washington Post

Mr. Romney has reached a decision, his friends believe, and he may disclose it as soon as this week.

◼ In Pawlenty, Romney Campaign May Find Down-to-Earth Appeal - Jeff Zeleny/New York Times

...The vetting of possible vice-presidential candidates is approaching an end. It has been a deeply secretive process, but several Republicans close to the campaign believe Mr. Pawlenty and Mr. Portman stand out among those being considered....

◼ Obligatory “Romney may have already picked his running mate” post of the week - Ed Morrissey/HotAir

Pawlenty has received a lot of attention in the Veepstakes, and for good reason. The former Minnesota governor connects well with working-class voters, has excellent message discipline, is unquestionably prepared to be President should the need arise, and can play well in the Midwest and probably the Rust Belt, a quality Romney will need in November. Pawlenty gets a lot of criticism for not being exciting enough on the stump, but he improved his game considerably over the last two years, and delivers impressively in speeches.

ABC, on the other hand, hears that if Romney has made his decision, it may be Bobby Jindal who gets the nod:

◼ Veep Beat: Pawlenty Gets Second Look, Jindal Stock Rising - Arlette Saenz/ABC @ArletteSaenz

◼ Romney adviser: 'No decision's been made' on VP - Emily Schultheis/Politico

◼ Romney Camp: No Veep Pick Just Yet - Sara Murray/Wall St. Journal

POLL: OBAMA STRUGGLING WITH INDEPENDENTS

◼ TalkingPointsMemo today is trumpeting a new McClatchy/Marist poll showing Obama edging Romney on both the economy and foreign policy. The nationwide poll of registered voters shows Obama ahead 2-points...

Of course, the poll's sample undercounts GOP voters. Republicans make up 29% of the poll universe, a number far below their share of the electorate in recent elections. The overall sample is D +7, which would mirror the 2008 electorate. There is no way the composition of the electorate in 2012 is going to mirror 2008. Setting aside that and the fact that the poll is of registered voters--both of which suggest that Romney is probably a couple points ahead--the real story in the poll is Obama's continuing struggle with Independents....

Among true independents, who lean towards neither party, Romney is up 11-points over Obama, 44-33.

CFRW - SAVE THE DATES!

◼ MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND:
CFRW NORTHERN DIVISION FALL CONFERENCE!
Conference Chair Marlene Nelson and the clubs of Northeast Region.
"Where Do We Go From here/Our Next Step" (after victory in November!)
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sacramento Marriott/Rancho Cordova
11211 Point East Drive - Rancho Cordova, CA
Rooms $85 Single - $95 Double
A full one day schedule with 2 optional workshops on Friday afternoon, November 16, plus an early 6PM banquet on Saturday, November 17, including a special Christmas Bazaar Silent Auction!
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CFRW Northern Division 2013 Leadership Workshop
Leadership training for club officers and members!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Sacramento Marriott/Rancho Cordova
Rooms $85 Single - $95 Double
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CFRW Northern Division 2013 Spring Conference
Conference Chair Kerry Criss and the clubs of North Region!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Location: Redding, with details to follow.
A full one day schedule with 2 optional workshops on Friday afternoon, April 26, plus an early 6PM banquet on Saturday, April 27.
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CFRW Northern Division 2013 Biennial Convention
Convention Chair Pat Scott and the clubs of East Bay Region!
November 9-10, 2013
Sacramento Marriott/Rancho Cordova
Rooms $85 Single - $95 Double

END OF THE LINE FOR RON PAUL’S INSURGENT CAMPAIGN

◼ The Texas congressman won just two of Nebraska’s 35 delegates at the state party convention Saturday, dashing his final hope of having his name placed in contention for the Republican presidential nomination. - Madeleine Morgenstern/The Blaze

Paul’s loss means he will not be guaranteed a speaking slot at the convention in Tampa, Fla. next month, and will have to rely on Romney and convention organizers to grant him time instead. Paul said Friday he believes the Romney campaign is “insecure” about having him speak, possibly out of concern he would use it to rally his supporters.

According to ABC News, Paul’s campaign said it plans to bring about 500 supportive delegates to Tampa, guaranteeing his presence will still be felt. He is also planning to hold his own rally around Tampa, and his supporters have organized Paul Festival 2012, an independent event that will feature live music.

Republican Governors’ Message To Mitt Romney: Don’t Let Obama Lead You Down The ‘Rabbit Hole’

◼ “Campaigns can be very negative and ugly,” Fallin said in an interview with ABC News, and the key for Romney, she said, is “keeping focused on the main thing and that is families, their pocketbooks, economic issues.” - ABC

“If I’m Governor Romney,” (Scott) Walker said, “I keep coming back to saying, ‘Mr. President, defend your record and lay out what you’re going to do for the future’ and keep coming back to what I think most people want to hear which is what are you going to do?”

But after a week when the vitriol of the presidential race spiked as both sides accused the other of peddling lies and distortions, another swing-state governor, Virginia’s Bob McDonnell, cautioned Romney not to let the Obama campaign set the terms of the debate.

“Mitt Romney can’t — he’s not going to — respond to every single lame attack that the Obama administration makes,” McDonnell said in interview with ABC News. “If he starts to run down every rabbit hole the Obama administration wants to take him, we’re going to be off the message.”

McDonnell, whose state is likely to see some of the most intense trench warfare of the campaign, predicted that “voters are going to vote — especially the independents – -they’re going to vote on jobs, on spending, on energy and leadership.”