Mitt Romney and the Veto

The Romney Record: Governor Romney's Top Ten Line-Item Vetoes

"I had the line-item veto. We ought to have that in Washington. It allows you to pick out the pork and pick out the waste and to zero in on it." – Governor Romney (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 4/4/07)

VETO #1: More Than 800 Budget Line-Items:

For All Four Of The Fiscal-Year Budgets That Crossed His Desk, Governor Romney Used The Line-Item Veto Power More Than 800 Times. Over the course of four budgets, Governor Romney made over 300 line-item reductions, 350 line-item eliminations and struck language 150 times. (Chapter 26 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2003, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/ 2003; Chapter 149 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2004, Governor's Veto Message, 6/25/2004; Chapter 45 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2005, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/ 2005; Governor Mitt Romney, Memo To The Senate And House Of Representatives Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts; Fiscal Year 2007 General Appropriations Act Veto Items: Line Item Accounts, 7/8/06)

- Beacon Hill Institute Executive Director David Terck: "He Vetoed Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Spending." WALL STREET JOURNAL'S PAUL GIGOT: "Was Governor Romney willing to use his veto pen to do that in Massachusetts?" BEACON HILL INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID TERCK: "He most certainly was. He vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars in spending." (Fox News' "Journal Editorial Report," 3/31/07)

VETO #2: In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants:

In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants. "Romney also vetoed a number of outside sections of the budget, including: ... A plan that would have permitted illegal aliens to pay the same in-state tuition rate at our public colleges and universities as Massachusetts citizens." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 'No New Tax' Budget," Press Release, 6/25/ 2004)

VETO #3: A Moratorium On Charter Schools:

In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Moratorium On Opening New Charter Schools . "Romney also vetoed a number of outside sections of the budget, including: ... A moratorium on the opening of five new Charter Schools in North Adams, Lynn, Salem, Marlborough and Cambridge." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 'No New Tax' Budget," Press Release, 06-25-2004)

VETO #4: A Tax On Prescription Drugs:

In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Renewed A Prescription Drug Tax. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Renewed the ill-conceived $1.30 pharmacy tax levied on every prescription filled, which has a disproportionate impact on senior citizens and others who live on fixed incomes. This tax was scheduled to be reduced to 65 cents on July 1, 2004, but with Romney's veto will no longer be imposed." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/ 2003)

VETO #5: A Provision That Would Have Weakened Massachusetts' English Immersion Program:

In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Created "A Major Loophole" In Massachusetts' English Immersion Law. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Changed the English immersion ballot initiative to permit 'two-way' bilingual programs, creating a major loophole in the new law." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/ 2003)

VETO #6: $150,000 To Study The Winter Moth:

In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $150,000 For The University Of Massachusetts To Study The Winter Moth. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)

VETO #7: $4 Million To Research The Efficiency Of The Internal Combustion Engine:

In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $4 Million To Research The Efficiency Of The Internal Combustion Engine. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)

VETO #8: $100,000 To Build A Gazebo In Braintree:

In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $100,000 For A Gazebo On Sunset Lake In Braintree. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)

VETO #9: A Provision Watering Down The Welfare Work Requirement:

In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Weakened The Work Requirement For Welfare Recipients. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Allowed education and training to substitute for the 20-hour per week work requirement for able-bodied welfare recipients. This veto saves $8 million and preserves the cornerstone of welfare reform, which has been the work requirement. Romney signed into law a provision expanding the work requirement to recipients who have children between the ages of two and five." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/ 2003)

VETO #10: Retroactive Pay Increases For State Employees:

In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed Retroactive Pay Increases For State Employees. "The largest veto was $32 million to pay for retroactive pay raises for state employees at public colleges and universities. Romney noted the labor contracts are funded on a going forward basis, but said: 'Taxpayers who are trying to make ends meet, and who have been denied the tax cut they voted for in 2000, should not be asked to pay for retroactive salary increases for state employees.'" (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $439 Million Supplemental Budget Bill," Press Release, 9/17/ 2004)
YESTERDAY I vetoed a bill that the Legislature forwarded to my desk. Though described by its sponsors as a measure relating to contraception, there is more to it than that. The bill does not involve only the prevention of conception: The drug it authorizes would also terminate life after conception.

Blogs about Mitt Romney and the Veto

http://illinoisans4mitt.blogspot.com/2006/08/mmmm-bacon_11.html

http://www.mass.gov/eoaf/fy06gov_veto_docs.htm

Governor's FY04 Budget Vetoes
Governor's FY05 Budget Vetoes
Governor's FY06 Budget Vetoes

Google Search

http://reason4romney.blogspot.com/search/label/Veto

"I Like Vetoes"
Gov. Romney's second Campaign Ad

Script For "I Like Vetoes":

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "If I'm elected President, I'm going to cap non-defense discretionary spending at inflation minus one percent.

"That would save $300 billion in 10 years.

"And if Congress sends me a budget that exceeds that cap, I will veto that budget.

"And I know how to veto. I like vetoes. I've vetoed hundreds of spending appropriations as Governor.

"And frankly, I can't wait to get my hands on Washington!!

"I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

2007

• Apr 04, [2007] Romney For President Launches New TV Ad, " I Like Vetoes"

2006

• 06-24-2006; Governor Mitt Romney vetoes wasteful spending, cites need to maintain fiscal discipline
• 06-30-2006; Governor Mitt Romney vetoes needles bill

2005

• 11-21-2005; Governor Mitt Romney stands up for consumers, vetoes wine bill

2004

• 05-05-2004; Governor Mitt Romney vowscharter school moratorium veto
• 06-23-2004; Governor Mitt Romney to veto charter school moratorium
• 07-23-2004; Governor Mitt Romney; decrying politics, vetoes senate vacancy bill

http://www.vote-smart.org/official_veto.php?can_id=CNIP7799

The Romney Record: A Record Of Reducing Crime In Massachusetts

GIULIANI'S INCREASINGLY "FUZZY" STATS

Giuliani Falsely Claims That "Violent Crime" Went Up In Massachusetts :

Yesterday, Giuliani Falsely Claimed That "Violent Crime" Went Up In Massachusetts. "'Gov. Romney did not have a good record in dealing with violent crime.' Giuliani pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket that listed FBI crime statistics for Massachusetts while Romney was governor. Murders were up 7.5 percent, robbery was up 12 percent, he said. 'He had an increase in murder and violent crime while he was governor,' Giuliani said. 'So it's not so much the isolated situation which he and the judge will have to explain _ he's kind of thrown her under the bus, so it's hard to know how this is all going to come out. But the reality is, he did not have a record of reducing violent crime.'" (Charles Babington, "Romney Calls On Judge He Appointed To Resign After Washington State Murders," The Associated Press, 11/24/07)

FACT: According To The FBI Statistics, Overall "Violent Crime" Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:

Under Governor Romney, the violent crime rate in Massachusetts decreased by over 7%. The violent crime rate was lower than the national average. Prior to Governor Romney, the violent crime rate was increasing.

FACT: According To FBI Statistics, The Overall Crime Rate Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:

Under Governor Romney, The Overall Crime Rate Fell By 8% Over His Four Years In Office. "Car thefts and larcenies also were down, in line with national trends, and helped contribute to an overall 8 percent decline in crime during Romney's four years, according to the FBI stats." (Dave Wedge, "Crime Up During Romney Tenure," The Boston Herald, 9/26/07)

FACT: According To FBI Statistics, Other Crimes Were Down Under Governor Romney (2002-2006):

- Assaults Down 15%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)

- Rape Down 2%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)

- Larceny/Theft Down 6%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr , Accessed 10/12/07)

- Motor Vehicle Theft Down 32%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)

FACT: This Isn't The First Time Giuliani Has Used "Fuzzy ... Math":

ABC News: Giuliani Uses "Fuzzy Healthcare Math" In Radio Ad. "To hear Rudy Giuliani describe it in his new radio ad, the British medical system is a scary place. 'My chance of surviving prostate cancer – and thank God I was cured of it – in the United States: 82 percent,' Giuliani says in a new radio spot airing in New Hampshire. 'My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England: Only 44 percent, under socialized medicine.' But the data Giuliani cites comes from a single study published eight years ago by a not-for-profit group, and is contradicted by official data from the British government. According to the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics, for men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1999 and 2003, the 'five-year survival rate' – a common measurement in cancer statistics – was 74.4 percent." (Rick Klein, "Rudy's Fuzzy Healthcare Math," ABC News, 10/29/07)

The Annenberg Public Policy Center: Giuliani Wrongly Claims He Left A Budget Surplus. "Giuliani's radio ad also asserts that he 'turned a 2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus' in New York. Well, not if you're comparing what he inherited with what he left, which would be a logical way to look at it. When he took office in 1994, Giuliani was indeed facing a $2.3 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. But Giuliani's last budget, issued in May 2001 – before 9/11 – for fiscal 2002, projected a deficit of nearly $2.8 billion in fiscal 2003, the first budget year the new mayor would face. The IBO estimated the deficit would be even larger, about $3.3 billion." ("Giuliani's Tax Puffery," FactCheck.org Website, http://www.factcheck.org/, 7/27/07)

The Washington Times: Giuliani Exaggerates Tax Cutting Number. "Mr. Giuliani repeated his claim that he 'cut taxes 23 times when I was mayor of New York.' It turns out that many of those cuts were instigated by Republican Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature. One of several glaring flaws in Mr. Giuliani's record on taxes was, as the Club for Growth says, his 1994 'opposition to Republican [gubernatorial] candidate George Pataki's proposed cut in the state income tax,' whose rates were among the highest in the country." (Editorial, "Romney And Giuliani," The Washington Times, 10/14/07)

Newsweek: "Growing Up Giuliani"

This article helped convince me that Romney, not McCain was the best presidential candidate.

 

Now I have tons of great reasons not to vote for Giuliani...

 

This latest article from Newsweek is a must read for anyone who is following the presidential election. It is in the Dec, 03 2007 Issue and is by Evan Thomas and Suzanne Smalley of NEWSWEEK.

 

Here are some of my favorite parts, but you need to read the whole thing.

 

 http://www.newsweek.com/id/72121/page/1

On Sept. 16, 1992, the police in New York City held a rally that spun out of control. The cops wanted a new collective-bargaining agreement, and they were angry at Mayor David Dinkins for proposing a civilian review board and for refusing to issue patrolmen 9mm guns. More than a few of them tipsy or drunk, the cops jumped on cars near city hall and blocked traffic near the Brooklyn Bridge. According to some witnesses, they waved placards crudely mocking Mayor Dinkins, the first black mayor of New York, on racial grounds, while at the same time chanting "Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!" to welcome Rudy Giuliani, the crime-busting former U.S. attorney who had arrived in their midst to shore up his political base.

It is not clear Giuliani knew exactly what he was getting himself into—he later denied that he did—but video shows him wildly gesticulating and shouting a profanity-laced diatribe against Dinkins...

Can you see Romney "wildly gesticulating" and "shouting a profanity-laced diatribe against Dinkins". We republicans are the stupid party, and I am going to laugh when we nominate this idiot, and Hillary kills him with a video of that "wildly gesticulating" and "profanity-laced diatribe" against Dinkins. Howard Dean's uncooth scream did him, in. I just can't wait till the republican party nominates this moron, and Hillary lets loose, and good bye Republican party...

 

Can you see Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, or Ronald Reagan, "wildly gesticulating" and "shouting a profanity-laced diatribe against" someone they just beat? 

 

What does this story tell you about a guy? Sure drunken mobs love this stuff, but is the republican party a drunken mob?

...The next day the New York newspapers were sharply critical of Giuliani (a Daily News editorial called his behavior "shameful"), and Dinkins, years later, accused him of trying to stir up "white cops to riot." At the time, Giuliani refused to back down or apologize for his remarks, saying only: "I had four uncles who were cops. So maybe I was more emotional than I usually am."

But this is not the only time Rudy acted like a mad-man... Going to page 5

Michael Lubin on Rudy: "As far as I'm concerned, we were watching a madman"

 

Loyalty has always been the greatest virtue to Giuliani, sometimes trumping all others. By loyalty, Giuliani's critics contend, he means "loyalty to Rudy." Disloyal subordinates learned this the hard way, even if they thought they were serving some higher master, like truth and justice. By the early '80s, Giuliani had risen to claim a top job in the Reagan administration Justice Department. At the time, the department was investigating McDonnell Douglas, the aircraft manufacturer, for making foreign bribes. Without telling career prosecutors who had been working on the case for months, Giuliani met with McDonnell Douglas defense lawyers. The career prosecutors were upset that a top official had gone over their heads, and wrote a letter to Giuliani expressing "shock" and "dismay," and warning that his secret meeting with the defense could undermine the prosecution's case. The letter leaked. Giuliani summoned the prosecutors, Michael Lubin and George Mendelson, to his office—and exploded.

 

"As far as I'm concerned, we were watching a madman," Lubin told Jim Stewart for his book "The Prosecutors." "I've never heard or seen anything like it, even in the movies . He ranted and raved for a full twenty minutes." Giuliani, who later dropped criminal indictments against four McDonnell Douglas executives as part of a plea agreement in which the company paid $1.2 million in fines, dismissed Lubin and Mendelson as "jerks." With petty vindictiveness, he withdrew a special Justice Department commendation awarded the two prosecutors.

When we have this guy as our Republican nominee, and Hillary kills him, don't say that we didn't warn you. You think Hillary isn't going to contact these people? You don't think Opera won't have them on her show? You think their won't be some Hollywood producer put together a YouTube video of them telling their story in dramatic fashion? The republican party is so stupid sometimes, and watching Rudy's high approval ratings, is like watching a slow moving accident... luckily people are starting to get to know him better, and they are coming down, but come on people!

 

According to TIME (a very respected magazine): "Loyalty to Giuliani means staying out of his limelight"

"Loyalty to Giuliani means staying out of his limelight. Police Commissioner William Bratton discovered that in January 1996, when he made the mistake of posing for the cover of Time magazine in a trench coat to tout New York's astonishing success at fighting crime. Giuliani was not pleased; he ordered city hall's lawyers to start investigating Bratton's expenses, and the commissioner was gone in a couple of months...  In truth, both men deserve credit for New York's turnaround. Bratton was a vocal apostle of the "broken window" theory of crime—that small acts of vandalism can create a lawless climate conducive to bigger crimes."

Rudy's one claim to fame was that he reduced crime, but Rudy got red of the police commissioner who had the most to with getting red of crime in New York. Rudy put his own ego infront of the safety of New York citizens. The next police commissioner was far from as effective...

Giuliani never found an equal to Bratton. The next commissioner, Howard Safir, was regarded as a "Yes Rudy" who tried too hard to please his master. ("I am very loyal to Rudy," Safir tells NEWSWEEK. "However, when I disagreed with him … I made sure I did it in private.") The police stepped up their stop-and-frisk campaign in poor, largely minority neighborhoods. A series of ugly police-brutality cases besmirched Giuliani's crimefighting record and alienated blacks and Hispanics. In 2000, when an undercover narcotics detective killed an unarmed security guard named Patrick Dorismond, who was black, Giuliani scoffed that Dorismond was no "altar boy." Actually, he was an altar boy—and had attended Bishop Loughlin high school.

So in order to KEEP YOUR JOB you had to kiss Rudy's butt... and if you are a guy like William Bratton, who is a vocal apostle of the "broken window" theory of crime, and you take any credit for it's success, Rudy gets red of you... Contrast this to the way that Romny gives Tom Stemberg credit for inspiring him to " get everyone health insurance" even though it was Romney who "assembled a team from business, academia and government and asked them first to find out who was uninsured, and why."

 

I think this is a great example. Rudy gets red of the guy who pushed the "broken window" theory, and takes credit, while Romney gives credit to Tom, and experts from business, academia, and government.

 

Then their is Bernard Kerik. This is what time adds to the story...

"Giuliani's loyalty to his last police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, bordered on the blind. The two men had come to know each other when Kerik, acting as an off-duty cop, drove Giuliani during his first mayoral campaign in 1989 (Giuliani lost to Dinkins). Kerik was the sort of diamond in the rough Giuliani appreciated—a tough street cop who got things done. Giuliani has insisted that he did not know about Kerik's questionable dealings with two businessmen with alleged mob connections. City hall records reviewed by NEWSWEEK suggest that the mayor may have been briefed on some of these problems just before Kerik was appointed commissioner. But Giuliani has said he has no memory, and his tight palace guard remains close-mouthed. ("There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik," Giuliani said earlier this month, adding that Kerik's wrongdoing should not outweigh his crimefighting successes.)"

I like how, Giuliani, "...said he has no memory". I don't think politicians should be allowed to lie to the public. People talk about the YouTube debate, but what we really need is a lie-detector debate.

Politicians should wear lie detectors.

Reasons to agree:

1. A lot of government and military leaders have been able to convince their people to die, based upon a lie. (reasons to agree & disagree)
2. It is wrong to lie.
3. We should use technology to our fullest advantage. We should have instant re-play at our football games, and if you want to be a politician in our country, you should have to wear a lie detector when ever you speak. We have the technology to stop people from lying to us, why the heck hasn't some one thought of this earlier.
4. Even if it doesn't stop all of the lying, it will serve the same purpose of the radar gun. People drive slowly knowing that they might get caught.
5. It aught to be used in at least one presidential debate.

There are a lot of other times Rudy lies.

 

Rudy Lies

Reasons to agree

1. In March of 2007, The New York Times reported that Kerik was likely to also be indicted for tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping, and also disclosed that Giuliani had testified under oath in April 2006 that he had in fact been briefed on Kerik's mob links in 2000 — prior to his appointment of Kerik as Corrections Commissioner. Giuliani had previously denied knowing of these connections until years later (NYT Article).
2. Mayor Giuliani inherited a $2.3 billion deficit from his predecessor, David Dinkins. He left a $4.8 billion deficit for his successor, Michael Bloomberg. However, he has broadcast campaign advertisements in Iowa and other states, asserting that he "turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus." Michael Cooper: Giuliani Boasts of Surplus; Reality Is More Complex, New York Times, August 25, 2007
3. In May 2007, Giuliani put responsibility for selecting the location of the Office of Emergency Management in the World Trade Center (long time a target of Ilsamist) on Jerome M. Hauer, New York City's first Director of Emergency Management director who had been appointed by Giuliani himself and had served under Giuliani from 1996 to 2000. Hauer has taken exception to that account in interviews and has provided FoxNews and New York Magazine with a memo demonstrating that he recommended a location in Brooklyn but was overruled by Giuliani. Television journalist Chris Wallace interviewed Giuliani on May 13, 2007, about his 1997 decision to locate the command center at the World Trade Center. Giuliani laughed during Wallace's questions and said that Hauer recommended the World Trade Center site and claimed that Hauer said that the WTC site was the best location. Wallace presented Giuliani a photocopy of Hauer directive letter. The letter urged Giuliani to locate the command center in Brooklyn, instead of lower Manhattan, because "not as visible a target as buildings in lower Manhattan." Transcript: Rudy Giuliani on Fox News Sunday (2007-05-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-29, Onetime Giuliani Insider Is Now a Critic. Retrieved on June 12, 2007, Angry Giuliani Aide Lashes Back. Retrieved on June 12, 2007 , Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins, \"The Real Rudy, September 11, 2006 The February 1996 memo read, "The Brooklyn building is secure and not as visible a target as buildings in Lower Manhattan." Giuliani Blames Aide for Poor Emergency Planning

 

 

"GIULIANI TAKES LIBERTIES ON HIS NYC RECORD"

"Both the Citizens Budget Commission, a pro-business watchdog group, and the Independent Budget Office, a city-funded fiscal watchdog organization, said Giuliani left his successor, Michael Bloomberg, a projected budget deficit equal to or larger than the one Giuliani inherited from David Dinkins, the previous mayor." (Brian C. Mooney, "Giuliani Takes Liberties On His NYC Record," The Boston Globe, 11/16/07)

FACT: Mayor Giuliani Left New York City With A Massive Budget Deficit:

Giuliani Left New York With A $2.8 Billion Dollar Deficit, Pre-9/11. "Giuliani and his campaign often say that he 'turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus.' But both the Citizens Budget Commission, a pro-business watchdog group, and the Independent Budget Office, a city-funded fiscal watchdog organization, said Giuliani left his successor, Michael Bloomberg, a projected budget deficit equal to or larger than the one Giuliani inherited from David Dinkins, the previous mayor. 'Even before 9/11, the Giuliani administration was projecting the next mayor would be facing a deficit of $2.8 billion the following fiscal year that would have to be remedied,' said Ronnie Lowenstein, director of the Independent Budget Office. 'Because of 9/11, it climbed to $4.8 billion.'" (Brian C. Mooney, "Giuliani Takes Liberties On His NYC Record," The Boston Globe, 11/16/07)

But the last straw that breaks the camel's back is Rudy's personal life. It must drive Romney crazy that he is in 2nd place to such a smuck...

"While Giuliani was ranting at moral decay, his personal life was a shambles. In Giuliani's last year in office, Donna Hanover learned that her husband was divorcing her when he gave a press conference. Giuliani's third wife, Judith Nathan, has provided fodder for the tabloids by wearing a tiara to a charity ball and seeming to enjoy Giuliani's perks and power a little too much."

Time on Donna Hanover (#2) and Judith Nathan (#3)

It must be infuriating for Romney to be in 2nd place to such a putz:

"While Giuliani was ranting at moral decay, his personal life was a shambles. In Giuliani's last year in office, Donna Hanover learned that her husband was divorcing her when he gave a press conference. Giuliani's third wife, Judith Nathan, has provided fodder for the tabloids by wearing a tiara to a charity ball and seeming to enjoy Giuliani's perks and power a little too much."

 

 

Time on Giuliani and Bernard Kerik

From Time:

"Giuliani's loyalty to his last police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, bordered on the blind. The two men had come to know each other when Kerik, acting as an off-duty cop, drove Giuliani during his first mayoral campaign in 1989 (Giuliani lost to Dinkins). Kerik was the sort of diamond in the rough Giuliani appreciated—a tough street cop who got things done. Giuliani has insisted that he did not know about Kerik's questionable dealings with two businessmen with alleged mob connections. City hall records reviewed by NEWSWEEK suggest that the mayor may have been briefed on some of these problems just before Kerik was appointed commissioner. But Giuliani has said he has no memory, and his tight palace guard remains close-mouthed. ("There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik," Giuliani said earlier this month, adding that Kerik's wrongdoing should not outweigh his crimefighting successes.)"

Rudy to alter boy: "your no altar boy"

Giuliani never found an equal to Bratton. The next commissioner, Howard Safir, was regarded as a "Yes Rudy" who tried too hard to please his master. ("I am very loyal to Rudy," Safir tells NEWSWEEK. "However, when I disagreed with him … I made sure I did it in private.") The police stepped up their stop-and-frisk campaign in poor, largely minority neighborhoods. A series of ugly police-brutality cases besmirched Giuliani's crimefighting record and alienated blacks and Hispanics. In 2000, when an undercover narcotics detective killed an unarmed security guard named Patrick Dorismond, who was black, Giuliani scoffed that Dorismond was no "altar boy." Actually, he was an altar boy—and had attended Bishop Loughlin high school.

 

From the Time article

Time: "Loyalty to Giuliani means staying out of his limelight"

More from the Time Article:

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/72121/page/6

"Loyalty to Giuliani means staying out of his limelight. Police Commissioner William Bratton discovered that in January 1996, when he made the mistake of posing for the cover of Time magazine in a trench coat to tout New York's astonishing success at fighting crime. Giuliani was not pleased; he ordered city hall's lawyers to start investigating Bratton's expenses, and the commissioner was gone in a couple of months...  In truth, both men deserve credit for New York's turnaround. Bratton was a vocal apostle of the "broken window" theory of crime—that small acts of vandalism can create a lawless climate conducive to bigger crimes."

But really, do you have to say anything else but:

 

Giuliani endorsed liberal Democrat Mario Cuomo

Michael Lubin on Rudy: "As far as I'm concerned, we were watching a madman"

From Newsweek:

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/72121/page/5

 

Loyalty has always been the greatest virtue to Giuliani, sometimes trumping all others. By loyalty, Giuliani's critics contend, he means "loyalty to Rudy." Disloyal subordinates learned this the hard way, even if they thought they were serving some higher master, like truth and justice. By the early '80s, Giuliani had risen to claim a top job in the Reagan administrationJustice Department. At the time, the department was investigating McDonnell Douglas, the aircraft manufacturer, for making foreign bribes. Without telling career prosecutors who had been working on the case for months, Giuliani met with McDonnell Douglas defense lawyers. The career prosecutors were upset that a top official had gone over their heads, and wrote a letter to Giuliani expressing "shock" and "dismay," and warning that his secret meeting with the defense could undermine the prosecution's case. The letter leaked. Giuliani summoned the prosecutors, Michael Lubin and George Mendelson, to his office—and exploded.

 

"As far as I'm concerned, we were watching a madman," Lubin told Jim Stewart for his book "The Prosecutors." "I've never heard or seen anything like it, even in the movies. He ranted and raved for a full twenty minutes." Giuliani, who later dropped criminal indictments against four McDonnell Douglas executives as part of a plea agreement in which the company paid $1.2 million in fines, dismissed Lubin and Mendelson as "jerks." With petty vindictiveness, he withdrew a special Justice Department commendation awarded the two prosecutors

Rudy's nasty side...

"The mayor's nasty side becomes more apparent once desperation sets
in, and with all of the slipping poll numbers, it is certainly
apparent that these negative attacks are coming for a reason," Madden
said.

"There is only one candidate in this race who has actually achieved
health-care reform, and that's Gov. Romney. Mayor Giuliani can only
recite talking points provided to him because he has neither a record
or even a basic understanding of how health care markets work or how
reform is achieved."

A RECORD OF REDUCING CRIME IN MASSACHUSETTS

GIULIANI'S INCREASINGLY "FUZZY" STATS

Giuliani Falsely Claims That "Violent Crime" Went Up In Massachusetts:

Yesterday, Giuliani Falsely Claimed That "Violent Crime" Went Up In
Massachusetts. "'Gov. Romney did not have a good record in dealing
with violent crime.' Giuliani pulled a sheet of paper out of his
pocket that listed FBI crime statistics for Massachusetts while Romney
was governor. Murders were up 7.5 percent, robbery was up 12 percent,
he said. 'He had an increase in murder and violent crime while he was
governor,' Giuliani said. 'So it's not so much the isolated situation
which he and the judge will have to explain _ he's kind of thrown her
under the bus, so it's hard to know how this is all going to come out.
But the reality is, he did not have a record of reducing violent
crime.'" (Charles Babington, "Romney Calls On Judge He Appointed To
Resign After Washington State Murders," The Associated Press,
11/24/07)

FACT: According To The FBI Statistics, Overall "Violent Crime"
Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:
Under Governor Romney, the violent crime rate in Massachusetts
decreased by over 7%. The violent crime rate was lower than the
national average. Prior to Governor Romney, the violent crime rate
was increasing.

Violent Crime Rate Per 100,000 Residents

Massachusetts National Rate

2002 – 484.42002 – 494.4
2003 – 473.12003 – 475.9
2004 – 458.82004 – 463.2
2005 – 4572005 – 469
2006 – 4472006 – 473.5

Source: FBI Crime in the United States Website, "Crime in the United
States, 1987-2006,"
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html, Accessed 10/12/07

FACT: According To FBI Statistics, The Overall Crime Rate Decreased
In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:

Under Governor Romney, The Overall Crime Rate Fell By 8% Over His Four
Years In Office. "Car thefts and larcenies also were down, in line
with national trends, and helped contribute to an overall 8 percent
decline in crime during Romney's four years, according to the
FBI stats." (Dave Wedge, "Crime Up During Romney Tenure," The Boston
Herald, 9/26/07)

FACT: According To FBI Statistics, Other Crimes Were Down Under
Governor Romney (2002-2006):
Assaults Down 15%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website,
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)
Rape Down 2%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website,
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)
Larceny/Theft Down 6%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website,
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)
Motor Vehicle Theft Down 32%. (FBI Crime in the United States
Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)

FACT: This Isn't The First Time Giuliani Has Used "Fuzzy … Math":

ABC News: Giuliani Uses "Fuzzy Healthcare Math" In Radio Ad. "To
hear Rudy Giuliani describe it in his new radio ad, the British
medical system is a scary place. 'My chance of surviving prostate
cancer – and thank God I was cured of it – in the United States: 82
percent,' Giuliani says in a new radio spot airing in New Hampshire.
'My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England: Only 44 percent,
under socialized medicine.' But the data Giuliani cites comes from a
single study published eight years ago by a not-for-profit group, and
is contradicted by official data from the British government.
According to the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics, for
men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1999 and 2003, the
'five-year survival rate' – a common measurement in cancer statistics
– was 74.4 percent." (Rick Klein, "Rudy's Fuzzy Healthcare Math," ABC
News, 10/29/07)

The Annenberg Public Policy Center: Giuliani Wrongly Claims He Left A
Budget Surplus. "Giuliani's radio ad also asserts that he 'turned a
2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus' in New York.
Well, not if you're comparing what he inherited with what he left,
which would be a logical way to look at it. When he took office in
1994, Giuliani was indeed facing a $2.3 billion deficit for the next
fiscal year. But Giuliani's last budget, issued in May 2001 – before
9/11 – for fiscal 2002, projected a deficit of nearly $2.8 billion in
fiscal 2003, the first budget year the new mayor would face. The IBO
estimated the deficit would be even larger, about $3.3 billion."
("Giuliani's Tax Puffery," FactCheck.org Website, www.factcheck.org/,
7/27/07)

The Washington Times: Giuliani Exaggerates Tax Cutting Number. "Mr.
Giuliani repeated his claim that he 'cut taxes 23 times when I was
mayor of New York.' It turns out that many of those cuts were
instigated by Republican Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature.
One of several glaring flaws in Mr. Giuliani's record on taxes was, as
the Club for Growth says, his 1994 'opposition to Republican
[gubernatorial] candidate George Pataki's proposed cut in the state
income tax,' whose rates were among the highest in the country."
(Editorial, "Romney And Giuliani," The Washington Times, 10/14/07)

A Record Of Reducing Crime In Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 25, 2007	CONTACT: Romney Press Shop (857) 288-6390
A RECORD OF REDUCING CRIME IN MASSACHUSETTS GIULIANI'S INCREASINGLY "FUZZY" STATS Giuliani Falsely Claims That "Violent Crime" Went Up In Massachusetts: Yesterday, Giuliani Falsely Claimed That "Violent Crime" Went Up In Massachusetts.  "'Gov. Romney did not have a good record in dealing with violent crime.' Giuliani pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket that listed FBI crime statistics for Massachusetts while Romney was governor. Murders were up 7.5 percent, robbery was up 12 percent, he said.  'He had an increase in murder and violent crime while he was governor,' Giuliani said. 'So it's not so much the isolated situation which he and the judge will have to explain _ he's kind of thrown her under the bus, so it's hard to know how this is all going to come out. But the reality is, he did not have a record of reducing violent crime.'"  (Charles Babington, "Romney Calls On Judge He Appointed To Resign After Washington State Murders," The Associated Press , 11/24/07) FACT: According To The FBI Statistics, Overall "Violent Crime" Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney: Under Governor Romney, the violent crime rate in Massachusetts decreased by over 7%.  The violent crime rate was lower than the national average.  Prior to Governor Romney, the violent crime rate was increasing. Violent Crime Rate Per 100,000 Residents Massachusetts National Rate 2002 – 484.4 2002 – 494.4 2003 – 473.1 2003 – 475.9 2004 – 458.8 2004 – 463.2 2005 – 457 2005 – 469 2006 – 447 2006 – 473.5 Source:  FBI Crime in the United States Website, "Crime in the United States, 1987-2006," http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html, Accessed 10/12/07 FACT:  According To FBI Statistics, The Overall Crime Rate Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney: Under Governor Romney, The Overall Crime Rate Fell By 8% Over His Four Years In Office.  "Car thefts and larcenies also were down, in line with national trends, and helped contribute to an overall 8 percent decline in crime during Romney's four years, according to the FBI stats."  (Dave Wedge, "Crime Up During Romney Tenure," The Boston Herald, 9/26/07) FACT:  According To FBI Statistics, Other Crimes Were Down Under Governor Romney (2002-2006): Assaults Down 15%.  (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr , Accessed 10/12/07) Rape Down 2%.  (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr , Accessed 10/12/07) Larceny/Theft Down 6%.   (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr , Accessed 10/12/07) Motor Vehicle Theft Down 32%.  (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07) FACT:  This Isn't The First Time Giuliani Has Used "Fuzzy …  Math": ABC News:  Giuliani Uses "Fuzzy Healthcare Math" In Radio Ad.  "To hear Rudy Giuliani describe it in his new radio ad, the British medical system is a scary place.  'My chance of surviving prostate cancer – and thank God I was cured of it – in the United States: 82 percent,' Giuliani says in a new radio spot airing in New Hampshire. 'My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England: Only 44 percent, under socialized medicine.'  But the data Giuliani cites comes from a single study published eight years ago by a not-for-profit group, and is contradicted by official data from the British government.  According to the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics, for men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1999 and 2003, the 'five-year survival rate' – a common measurement in cancer statistics – was 74.4 percent." (Rick Klein, "Rudy's Fuzzy Healthcare Math," ABC News, 10/29/07) The Annenberg Public Policy Center: Giuliani Wrongly Claims He Left A Budget Surplus.  "Giuliani's radio ad also asserts that he 'turned a 2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus' in New York. Well, not if you're comparing what he inherited with what he left, which would be a logical way to look at it. When he took office in 1994, Giuliani was indeed facing a $2.3 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. But Giuliani's last budget, issued in May 2001 – before 9/11 – for fiscal 2002, projected a deficit of nearly $2.8 billion in fiscal 2003, the first budget year the new mayor would face. The IBO estimated the deficit would be even larger, about $3.3 billion." ("Giuliani's Tax Puffery," FactCheck.org Website, www.factcheck.org/, 7/27/07) The Washington Times : Giuliani Exaggerates Tax Cutting Number.  "Mr. Giuliani repeated his claim that he 'cut taxes 23 times when I was mayor of New York.' It turns out that many of those cuts were instigated by Republican Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature. One of several glaring flaws in Mr. Giuliani's record on taxes was, as the Club for Growth says, his 1994 'opposition to Republican [gubernatorial] candidate George Pataki's proposed cut in the state income tax,' whose rates were among the highest in the country."  (Editorial, "Romney And Giuliani," The Washington Times, 10/14/07)

Creeping Socialism

In a recent Glen Beck interview Mitt Romney spoke about his Health Care initive, explaining how we are currently on the road to socialized medicine, and how his plan steers us away from a government takeover of health care.



You don't have to look far to see the effects of socialism creeping into our health care system.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is moving ahead with a broad expansion of state-subsidized health care even though a legislative oversight panel told him "no" last week.

Blagojevich is expanding FamilyCare income eligibility to $82,600 for a family of four to give more people medical coverage. Previously, the income cutoff was $38,202 per year for that same family.

On Tuesday, a legislative rule-making panel voted to block Blagojevich's attempt to enact the health-care expansion. But Abby Ottenhoff, a Blagojevich spokeswoman, insisted the panel is not legally empowered to block the governor's actions.

"[The panel's] role is merely advisory," Ottenhoff wrote in an e-mail response to the Tribune late Friday. "It does not have the constitutional authority to suspend the regulation."

Lawmakers who thought they had blocked the governor last week were caught off guard by Blagojevich's decision to press ahead despite the rejection.

So, if a family making 80K a year will now be covered by government health care, where's the cutoff going to be in a decade? Eventually there won't be a cutoff, because government programs push the expenses of the non-insured to the insured, through higher taxes, higher health care costs, and higher premiums. In turn this makes it harder for people to afford insurance, which makes more people who need to be covered by government programs.

It is worth the effort that caring for animals takes in order to keep them part of our lives -0.5

Killer whales should not be kept in captivity.

Reasons to agree:

Over seas zoos are cooler,
because they let you have
more of an experience with animals

1. Our pets put up with our kids playing with (tormenting) them. See video below for proof.
2. Cats are good on a farm for killing mice.
3. Dogs are good for scaring away possums  raccoon  and field mice.  
4. No one's house needs to be so clean that they don't have animals. 
5. Having animals can help you prepare for your death, and the deaths of those you love. Animals usually have a shorter life span than we do. We don't talk about death enough.
6. It is true that the sun will burn out, and we are the only species that has a chance to escape this earth, but we will be lonely if we can't take any other species with us.
7. Animals experience human emotions. 

Reasons to agree: 

1. Pets are a mess.
1. Pets shed.
2. Pets poop and pee in your house or in your yard.
3. Pets kill grass, when walking on it all winter long
2. Animals are work. If you think the work is worth it, good for you. If you don't, then you will probably have time for other stuff. You shouldn't feel bad if your not an animal person. You aren't missing anything that great.  For instance if you have young kids, you can just know that your life will already be frazzled, dirty, and chaotic. Perhaps you can wait until your kids are a little older for a dog, or your house is better suited for an animal. 
3. Cats make people crazy. They actually give you a disease that makes you crazy. 

Score:

# of reasons to agree: +4

# of reasons to disagree: -3

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -3/2 = -1/5

Total Idea Score: 4-2-3/2 = -0.5

Videos that agree: +2

My son chasing our dog on his tricycle 

"Well, bless my soul! Take it out! Take it out! Take it out! Remove it!" James and I noticed this on the way to drop him off at day care.

Kids get all excited about geese at the zoo

Wolves, at the zoo

Kids want to have interactions with the natural world around them, including anmils. 

Dred

I am trying to paint a picture of me being a sophisticated-Idahoan. Me telling stories that involve the use of the barter system may not be a dandy way for me to implement the sophisticated-Idahoan campaign. Oh well.

My Dad taught drivers-ed during the summer. Some guy gave us a baby cow instead of paying us with regular money. So we called the calf "Dred" for Drivers Education.

Dred was a childhood pet of mine. For a cow, he made a very good pet. I remember having a leash and walking him around the pasture. When we installed an electric fence we put some food on it to draw the cow to it.

We did not realize how long it would take for the electric elements to warm up. By the time the fence turned on Dred had wrapped his tough completely around the food and was trying to swallow it.

It did not take long for Dred to realize the basic operations of the electric fence. Dred jumped with such surprise that he nearly knocked over the fence. Needless to say Dred was never the same after that, and never seemed to trust those who witnessed what has come to be known as the "shockening".

Images that agree: +7

Walking around a pasture without shoes! Not too smart. 

I didn't have dogs growing up but we had a couple
of cats

Megan's dog Finley wearing my glasses

James enjoying Finnley's new dog house

Me in my back yard with my cat, about the age that my son is now. She had a great back porch that it lived under. I had a great back yard, and a pasture, and a cool tree near the ditch that I had a tree fort in. I had a telescope and could watch the birds from my tree fort. I think I had the perfect balance of living right on the outskirts of town... Perhaps I'm overly nostalgic about how important it was for me to have unsupervised time outside to just think, and wander along the ditch, and go for walks, away from buildings, and people... I remember going in the winter time, through the snow too... I mean there is nothing that I can point at and say how it has helped me in my life for sure, but I miss it. I miss the time out of time... the time with just the earth, sky, water, plants, and me. I feel guilty living in a neighborhood. for my kids... I wish for them to have the exact childhood I had. It seems weird not being able to go back in time, and bring them up in the same house, and place that I knew... I feel like a stranger in my neighborhood away from my family, and I don't know how to point to the world, and say this is something I understand kids, go enjoy it... I am hear for a job, I got this house, because it had more room than some of the other houses, I don't know any of our neighbors, and I don't really like the cars that drive up the road, and I don't want to let you wander around the neighborhood, but we can do the best we can with this place that is thousand of miles from where I grew up, where your grandparents are from, and hopefully you can make wherever you are feel like home, and hopefully wherever you go you can find people that understand, respect, and make room in their lives for you...

Finley was a very good dog, and a great friend for our son

Portrait of Steve Irwin with his daughter by Hugh Stewart. He experienced animals in their natural habitat, and gave his family a good life. So great that he took his daughter with him into nature, but let her still be a princess.

Websites that agree:

1. http://www.peta.org/
2. http://www.succeedsocially.com/coolanimals

Related Posts:

• Its alright to let your young kids chase geese +5 
• The Shed Aquarium is cool
• Trips to the zoo are good for kids
• Kids like (are are like) wild animals

All Paths to Conservative Health Care

All Paths to Conservative Health Care seem to lead through Mitt Romney. Though none of the other canidates seem willing to give Romney any praise for innovating the consumer-centered approach, the all seem to have adopted it into their plans.

“Credit for starting from a consumer-centered approach goes principally to former Governor Mitt Romney and his administration.”-Edmund F. Haislmaier, Heritage Foundation

Fred Thompson

"Every American should be able to get health insurance coverage that is affordable, fully accessible, and portable. Coverage should meet their individual needs and put them in control."

"I am committed to a healthcare system that:""Increases competition and consumer choice while streamlining regulations through free-market solutions that benefit individuals and reduce costs for employers."

Rudy Giuliani

"The radio ad which begins running in New Hampshire tomorrow emphasizes the need to find free-market solutions that facilitate consumer-driven health care"

Mike Huckabee

"I value the states' role as laboratories for new market-based approaches."

"It is time to recognize that jobs don't need health care, people do, and move from employer-based to consumer-based health care."

John McCain

"I offer a genuinely conservative vision for health care reform, which preserves the most essential value of American lives - freedom."

"When an American family controls its own health care financing, has a wide variety of low-cost, innovative choices, and receives insurance through a sponsor they trust"