A New American Independent

07/29/2012 EDIT: This is a post I recently made on a discussion about Mitt Romney over at Politico:

Bwah ha ha ha! Thank You Kevin Schmelzlen! Imagine my horror when I double checked your assertion and found out that The American Independent Party is not for independents. WOW! Color me chagrined. I have rectified that and will be mailing out my non party designation Monday. I assumed American Independent would be for independents. Thank you very much for pointing out my error. I think I need a shower... LOL!

 But to your other assertion; I have no malice in my heart towards Christians. I believe a lot, if not most, or all of what Jesus preached. I do not know of anything that he spoke of that I would disagree with. What I have a problem with is the hypocrisy of politicians who use a supposed faith in Jesus to get elected and then turn around and vote the exact opposite way in which a living Christ would most likely vote.

And if you read my blog carefully you will note the many times I have prefaced things with disclaimers of absolute knowledge. I barely know enough to pick the right political party. But I do know enough to know a rat when I see one. It's all about perspective.

YIKES! I cannot believe how naive I was to not research what the American Independent Party was really about. I just assumed it was for independents. As I can't find an official Independent Party, I will have to go with undeclared... How embarrassing... D'OH!

07/29/2012 /END EDIT

The confession of a former republican. Please forgive me.

I had been registered as a Republican for 20+ years. When I voted in the recent primary I cringed when the guy checking me in said in a loud voice to the person that was preparing the ballots: "He needs a Republican ballot." I felt shame. I was holding on to my republican voter card to make sure I could vote for some sort of reasonableness. But on that day, I felt shame in being called a republican.

I got a form after voting and switched my party affiliation to American Independent  [changed to undeclared I had no Idea The American Independent Party was what it is... blech. I cannot believe I made such a foolish mistake.] that same day. I've received my new voter card and, I have ID. No one can challenge my right to vote. And, I do not see myself ever voting for anyone in the republican party again.

The only Republican I will ever vote for is one who knows the value of compromise and can stand up against the hateful elements within the party. What the Republicans are saying and doing has disgusted me. If they keep lurching to the right with hate and vitriol, I cannot imagine ever voting for them again.

I have been calling myself an Independent for a couple years now. The last couple years has made my decision to abandon the Republican Party a relief. I am embarrassed to have ever been associated with the Republican Party. The Grand Old Party is a new breed of contempt that I cannot support. It seems almost palpable. When I read the comment sections of many articles I am mesmerized by the hate, bigotry, and racism that is filling up the page.

I remember wanting to believe in the Compassionate Conservative, but I always had a weary eye out for the Christian Coalition. They have now been reborn once again as the teavangelicals. The religiosity that has been bleeding into republican politics over the last couple decades is disconcerting to say the least. Our forefathers fought and died for religious freedom. I will not stand by and watch the dream of a free America be decimated by religious zealots of any faith.

It is apparent in their deeds that many politicians who campaign as Christians are only paying lip service to the words. When I see politicians speak of protecting the wealthy at the expense of the poor, I know in my heart that they do not believe in the God of which they say they do. The duplicity of their actions and behavior is disgusting.

Those Republicans who profess to want smaller government and rail against 'sharia law' are usually the first to vote for their own christian brand of sharia. It is pathetic. the blowhards of small government are the ones who are producing more laws governing sex, morals, and faith than any we've seen before.

How does your small government fit into female bodies? I am a man, and it makes me recoil in disgust when I see what other men are trying to do to the women of our country. I learned about forced inter-uterine vaginal ultra sound probes this past year. Republicans lost me a long time ago. But legislating the rape of a woman is absolutely reprehensible. I am disgusted by what the Republican Party has become...

whttevrr works ‏@Whttevrr

When will we call #colorfullanguage what it really is?

Dear Mr. Romney, What About Global Tech?

OK, let's say Romney had nothing to do with Bain after 99'. Well, what about this?

On April 17, 1998, Brookside Capital Partners Fund, a Bain Capital affiliate, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission noting that it had acquired 6.13 percent of Hong Kong-based Global-Tech Appliances, which manufactured household appliances in a production facility in the industrial city of Dongguan, China. That August, according to another SEC filing, Brookside upped its interest in Global-Tech to 10.3 percent. Both SEC filings identified Romney as the person in control of this investment: "Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, sole director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookside Inc. and thus is the controlling person of Brookside Inc." Each of these documents was signed by Domenic Ferrante, a managing director of Brookside and Bain.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/bain-capital-mitt-romney-outsourcing-china-global-tech

Would that be profiting from outsourcing American jobs?

Oops.... March 25, 1999?
Some excerpts from an SEC filing:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1028348/0000927016-99-001166.txt

This filing is also being made by Sankaty High Yield Asset Partners, L.P. (the "Sankaty Fund"). Together, Brookside Capital Partners Fund, L.P. and Sankaty Fund own 1,101,000 shares, or 9.11%, of the Common Stock of Global-Tech Appliances, Inc.



*snicker*



As of the close of business on March 25, 1999, the Brookside Fund owned 1,053,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company.  The Brookside Fund has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares of Common Stock. The Brookside Fund acts by and through its general partner, Brookside Investors.  Brookside Investors acts by and through its general partner, Brookside Inc. Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, sole director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookside Inc. and thus is the controlling person of Brookside Inc. No person other than the respective owner referred to herein of shares of Common Stock is known to have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from or the proceeds from the sale of such shares of Common Stock.

                                  Page 5 of 8


As of the close of business on March 25, 1999, the Sankaty Fund owned 48,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company. The Sankaty Fund has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares of Common Stock. The Sankaty Fund acts by and through its general partner, Sankaty Investors. Sankaty Investors acts by and through its managing member, Sankaty Ltd. Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, a director, and President of Sankaty Ltd. and thus is the controlling person of Sankaty Ltd. No person other than the respective owner referred to herein of shares of Common Stock is known to have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from or the proceeds from the sale of such shares of Common Stock.

EDIT:: 09/21/2012

Does anyone wonder if this is Global-Tech that Romney is talking about?

"When I was back in my private equity days, we went to China to buy a factory there. It employed about 20,000 people. And they were almost all young women between the ages of about 18 and 22 or 23. They were saving for potentially becoming married. And they work in these huge factories, they made various small appliances. And as we were walking through this facility, seeing them work, the number of hours they worked per day, the pittance they earned, living in dormitories with little bathrooms at the end of maybe 10 rooms. And the rooms, they had 12 girls per room, three bunk beds on top of each other. You’ve seen, you’ve seen them? And around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed wire and guard towers. And we said gosh, I can’t believe that you, you know, keep these girls in. And they said, no, no, no. This is to keep other people from coming in. Because people want so badly to work in this factory that we have to keep them out. " 

Mediate and Ben LaBolt seem to think so:

Over the weekend, Obama For America Press Secretary Ben LaBolt released this statement, pegged to the Globe‘s reporting and the video:

“As Mitt Romney tries to convince Americans he is a modern day trade warrior, it’s clear that his hypocrisy knows no bounds.  Before Mitt Romney started claiming he’d stand up to China and its unfair trade practices, he was profiting off of them.  Governor Romney even maintained his investment in a Chinese manufacturing company that relied on outsourcing American jobs after seeing its poor work conditions, which he described as surrounded by barbed wire and packed with 12 women per dormitory room.  When our competitors started a global race to the bottom, rather than placing a premium on creating American jobs and lifting the middle class, Mitt Romney dove in head first.”

 

I Hope Mitt Romney Does Not Get Elected As President Of The United States.

One can only judge a man by his words and deeds. It is apparent that Mitt Romney’s words and deeds are not what are best for The United States Of America.


“Corporations are people, my friend.”(Mitt Romney)

This statement strikes me as a form of Psychopathy. I’ve never personally known a person who has chased someone down, had them held, and then cut their hair with scissors. I have known some marines who ran with knives. And, I have actually run a short distance with scissors. But have never witnessed the cruelty that Mitt Romney is purported to inflict upon a classmate. It shows a distinct lack of empathy. It is incomprehensible that someone would so carelessly put someone in danger just for laughs. Or what, discrimination based on orientation?

Who could believe that corporations are people? Only a psychopath could believe this. Can a corporation stub its toe? No, and not only can corporations not stub a toe; they also can’t feel the pain that throbs through the foot and into a brain.  Can a corporation miss a loved one? No, a corporation cannot love. Can they feel the pain of longing that at times strikes into their core for the one that got away? No, corporations can’t even get married. Can a corporation cry?

Can a corporation be imprisoned for a crime? No, as a matter of fact, I do believe they are a legal entity that separates their human owners from liability. If corporations are people, my friend; then those who own corporations should be prosecuted for violating the laws against slavery. If owning people is against the law then corporations cannot be people, my friend.


“I like being able to fire people”(Mitt Romney)

Really? No one I know has ever said this or insinuated that this was a truism for them. Most supervisors truly dislike the prospect of firing someone. It means stripping them of their primary survival tool. It strips bare a person and makes them vulnerable. It is the epitome of emasculating a man. As for a woman; I do not have that perspective. But I imagine that women cherish the independence and survivability that is afforded by meaningful employment in just the same way as men.

It is incomprehensible that anyone, excepting the dysfunctional, would like firing people. What supervisor would enjoy firing someone and then go through the process of rehiring and retraining a new employee? Hiring replacements does not make things easier for supervisors. It cost time and money to train new hires.

Most supervisors I know use rationalizations to remove themselves from the process by saying something like “They fired themselves.” Liking the act of firing people is not a general sentiment that is found in caring humans. Some individuals might innervate a person to the point that they hope they do something ignorant enough to justify firing them. But, it is more likely a personal conflict that brings a person to that kind of animosity. For the most part, I see supervisors shake their head and do what needs to be done when someone has to be fired. It is almost never a joyful occasion.



“I should tell my story, I’m also unemployed.”(Mitt Romney)

It’s not the same in any way, shape, or form. Mitt Romney cannot comprehend the pain of true unemployment. This statement puts him in the ‘Alien’ category. Most unemployed people would be overjoyed to be making $2,473/hr. while not working. That is $59,346.50 in a day while being unemployed. Could you be OK for $50,000 per day?  For Mitt Romney to equate the largess of his ‘unemployment’ with the real suffering of the unemployed in America is a clear disassociation from the human condition. This man has no idea what people are suffering from. He is condescending and a bit frightening in his inability to understand the pain of others. Mitt Romney is not going to The Presidency with Americans in mind. It is a narcissistic lark for him. He is not interviewing for a job and trying to secure employment. He is looking for a trophy on his mantle.

It is this mantelpiece that should scare people. What price will America pay? This man was a pioneer of outsourcing. He made millions laying people off and saddling corporations with enormous amounts of debt in order to extract from that debt a heavy management fee for him and his partners. What kind of leveraged buyout will Mr. Romney do for America?

This man touts his business resume as a reason for people to vote for him. His experience is in extracting wealth. Who will get the wealth that he extracts from America? Will it be the American Workers or the Elite Investors he is plying for campaign contributions? Does his past performance say that he will invest in our future, or does it say that he will make sure America turns a profit for his investors? I think it will be the latter.

I do not think America can afford Mitt Romney as the next President of the United States.