Romney in New York

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYforMitt/

 

On Thursday, April 26, Governor Mitt Romney traveled to New York, NY, to deliver the keynote address at the Yeshiva University Sy Syms School of Business Gala.

 

 

 

http://myclob.pbwiki.com/New-York

New to Team Mitt

Hi, I am new to Team Mitt. I live in Morton Grove. I would love to know about campaign activities in my area.

Questions for Governor Mitt Romney

 

Actual questions asked from Mitt Romney Interviews, organized by subject. Click on the question for the answer.

This would make a great tool for anyone who is interviewing Mitt. You can see the questions that have already been asked a number of times, and which ones still need to be asked.

Ann and Mitt's Relationship

1. Do you remember the first time you saw the governor ?
2. Why did you marry Ann?
3. How many children do you have?

 Abortion

1. So do you now believe that abortion is murder ?
2. should women who have abortions and doctors who perform them be jailed ?
3. if it's killing, why should states have leeway ?
4. what do you believe the punishment should be for an abortion ?
5. Have you changed your opinion on Abortion ?
6. What is your current position on abortion ?
7. How do you account for your change on abortion ?
8. Were you faking it when you said you were pro-choice ?
9. Do you support making abortion illegal ?
10. What do you think about the partial-birth abortion ban ?

Asia

1. Governor, you recently got back from a trip to Asia. What were you doing there ?
2. Did you have qualms going to China?

Business

1. What does Bain do?
2. what impact did you have on the creation of Staples ?
3. how old were you when the Staples thing started ?
4. What other boards have you served on ?
5. Have you had a failure that you can talk about in business ?

Bush

1. Do you have any problems with the president's policy on Iraq ?
2. Where do you disagree with Bush on Iraq ?

Brain Washing

1. Well, you know, if you ever look at the history of your father and running for president, they all say the same thing, it's all the "brainwashing" comment. Why would that have been the issue? I mean, why would he have been accused of saying something stupid about being brainwashed in Vietnam?

Background

1. Why did you pick Mitt over Willard?
2. Where were you born?

Character

1. How do you convince voters that some of these changes are sincere, coming from conviction?

Campaign

1. So how's the campaign going for you so far ?
2. What's the question you get asked most ?
3. How do you turn your money advantage into a win ?

Conservatives

1. What are some of the things you would offer conservatives ?
2. Do you regret comments you made about Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan ?

Decision to Run for President

1. When you decided not to run again for governor, how much did your thought of running for president enter into that discussion?

Divorce

1. Is divorse something voters should take into account ?

Education

1. In you history, it includes Stanford for how long ?
2. You finished first in your class at Brigham Young University in Utah ?
3. Why did you go to Brigham Young?
4. How did you -- how were able to get an MBA and a law degree at the same time?
5. And clearly it would be why you did well and, as you know, you finished well enough to give the valedictory address -- the question I want to ask you though is why do you think you did well? Other than having a lot of brainpower, did you have an approach to education?

George Romney

1. Why did your father not give you any of his inheritance ?
2. Did he have a philosophy that he didn't want to pass on a lot of money to his kids.
3. When you father thought of running for president in '64, and then actually ran for a while in '68, how old were you in those years and what did you experience during that time?
4. You can't be born out of the country and run for president, how did that work?
5. And when did he move to Utah?
6. At some point I noticed you were on the Points of Light Foundation board, but you go back to either your father starting the volunteer organization that merged into Points of Light? Explain that.
7. How are you different from your father ?

Gay Rights

1. Should gays and lesbians be able to serve openly and honestly in the military?
2. Do you want to tell our viewers why you disagree with Mary Cheney ?
3. Would you accept another endorsement from the Log Cabin Republicans if it was offered to you?
4. Have your positions on gay rights changed ?
5. Do you want to change don't ask don't tell ?

Governorship

1. Do you regret at all not running for reelection as governor ?

Guns

1. When did you join the NRA?

Judges

1. Would you appoint judges like Scalia, Thomas, and Alito .

Healthcare

1. Do you think the country should have a Massachusetts healthcare plan .
2. How did the president miss an opportunity when he created the Medicare prescription drug benefit?
3. What are you doing for the half million uninsured in Massachusetts ?
4. Are garnishing of wages even and tax penalties part of your plan ?
5. What is the penalty of not having health insurance ?
6. Where is the pushback coming back on this proposal ?
7. What is your health insurance plan?

Iraq

1. Do you keep Bush or let him go?
2. But how do you explain why all that planning wasn't done ?
3. Yet, you support the president's decision to send more troops right now?
4. Are you confident the surge is going to work ?
5. Would you agree that we can't stop the Iraqi from killing each other?
6. What's your impression of the job Rumsfeld did ?
7. Do you believe it's still fixable at this point ?
8. What happens if Iraq is not successful ?
9. Where do you disagree with Bush on Iraq ?
10. Do you have a time frame in mind?
11. Do you support sending more troops into that country ?
12. Do you think right now the US is losing the war in Iraq ?
13. What did you make of the Iraq Study Group ?
14. What do you think about Harry Reid saying the war is lost ?
15. Would you have gone into Iraq?
16. Do you think enough questions were asked in March of 2003 ?

Iran

1. Does the president have the authority he needs to take military action against Iran?
2. what are the big issues?
3. How could you fix the budget?
4. Now you describe yourself as a Reagan Republican Describe the journey .
5. Would you go to war if the Iranians say, we're going to develop a nuclear weapon, you can't stop us ?
6. Would Iran acquire nuclear weapons under a Romney administration ?

Immigration

1. Are you in favor of a fence?

Internet

1. Why do you think it is important to dedicate resources to the internet.

Khatami visit to Harvard

1. Can you explain to the audience your reaction to the visa issued to the Ayatollah?
2. What does Massachusetts typically extend to Harvard in terms of assistance when such a dignitary arrives?

Law

1. What do you think of the Supreme Court's decision on eminent domain?

Massachusetts

1. Why did you pick Massachusetts as a place to stay after school ?

Mormonism

1. Who was Brigham Young?
2. Well, if you go back -- and I found the name Pratt in your background who was some circuitous route related to Joseph Smith who was one of the founders of Mormonism.
3. Are you prepared to deal with attacks on your religion ?
4. Do you have an evangelical problem?
5. Has there been a mood change in the country about the importance of talking about religion?
6. Has there been a mood change in the country about the importance of talking about religion?
7. How does your faith inform your politics ?
8. One place that I found that you almost died (His Mission)
9. Are you a cultist?
10. How do you deal with the fact that you are a Mormon ?
11. Are you prepared to deal with what is bound to be attacks from the media and opponents about your religious faith ?
12. Will evangelicals support a Mormon?
13. Will an exposé on Mormon Christmas celebrations hurt you in the primaries?
14. You are 47 now?

Media

1. Does the mainstream media have double standards for Republicans ?

MSM

1. What was your worst moments with the MSM ?

North Korea

1. Is the president nuclear deal with North Korea a good one .

Politics

1. How did you get elected governor of the state of Massachusetts ?
2. Are you a flip-flopper?
3. Your response to the fight between Rove, Hillary, Durbin, and Pataki ?
4. What do you think of Massachusetts politics ?

Personality

1. What type of leader are you?

Personalities

1. What would you copy from what Bush has done, if anything ?
2. Why is Dwight Eisenhower one of your favorite presidents ?

Personal

1. What's a normal day like?
2. What time do you get up?
3. What's the toughest personal crisis you've ever had to face ?
4. Are you worried that the stress of the campaign may inflame the MS ?
5. Tell me something about yourself that only people who know you well know?
6. Who is your favorite President?
7. Do you like any Democratic presidents ?
8. How tech savvy are you?

Politics

1. For people who don't know much about you, where do you stand on the political spectrum?
2. How do you beat Republicans who are so much better known than you are?
3. Are you really running for vice president ?

Presidency

1. Why would you like to be president?

Religion

1. Does the country know enough about radical islam ?
2. Do you stand by your use of the word Islamic-facism ?

Romney administration

1. What would be the role of bloggers in a Romney administration ?

Security

1. How has the Bush administration handled this whole ports deal ?

Sports

1. What do you think of what happened to Bode Miller and his attitude ?

Stem Cells

1. Do you oppose embryonic stem cell research ?

Taxes

1. Why did you sign a pledge ruling out any tax increases ?

Va Tech tragedy

1. Should NBC have shown the Cho video ?
2. What security changes that need to happen on college campuses ?
3. What changes should we make to our gun control laws ?
4. What would your stance be on a federal assault weapons ban (in light of Va Tech)?

Romney should join flickr.

 

Reasons to agree

1. Flickr is a free way to store photos.
2. Flickr is owned by Yahoo. Yahoo has thousands of employees. Yahoo employees would be more likely to look at Romney photos, and therefore learn about him, if he used flickr.
3. Thousands of people use flickr. Flickr users would be more likely to look at Romney photos if he had a flickr account, and therefore learn about him, if he used flickr.
4. Barak Obama has a flickr account link featured prominently on his front page.
5. Mitt Romney's photos have some major problems. Users can not tag them, identify themselves if they are in the or comment on them. When users "tag" a photo in flickr, they help organize the photo, so Google, Yahoo, and MSN will know where that photo is, and what it is, and promote it in a Google, Yahoo, or MSN image search. If Romney got his picture taken with some Iowa students, and put that picture on his Flickr account, the Iowa students could identify themselves in the photo, and help promote the photo, out of their own interest. Putting photos into flickr is just one more way that a candidate can interact with the user. People can comment on the photo, give you feedback, and interact with you. It makes looking at your photos more interesting, because it is a game for them, that they can participate in... they can comment on, and discuss your photos, and interact with them.

Click here for more advice for Romney.

Click here to see my flickr account.

Here are all the tags that I have used to describe my photos. If you click here you will see the photos I have taken in Idaho. If Mitt Romney did that, and you could see all of his photos in Iowa, I think he would get more Iowa supporters.

Romney needs to embrace all these new technologies that let people find information about him faster, easier, and in a fun way.

 

http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Advice

Mitt Romney and the Estate Tax.

 

 

The estate tax is an interesting issue for Mitt Romney. Romney was a CEO that saved Bain Capital, and the 2002 Winter Olympics, but his father was credited for saving American Motor Company from bankruptcy (until he left). Anyways his dad had a lot of money but didn't give him any. I guess Romney had stocks his dad had given him, that he sold to help pay for his education, and then his dad gave some money to Mitt's kids, but Romney didn't get any of it.

 

When asked by Brian Lamb, "By the way, why did your father not give you any of his inheritance?" Romney said; "Well, he didn't have as much as I think some people anticipated. And I did get a check from my dad when he passed away. I shouldn't say a check, but I did inherit some funds from my dad. But I turned and gave that away to charity. In this case I gave it to a school which Brigham Young University established in his honor, the George W. Romney School of Public Management. And as an institute of public management, it helps young people learn about government and about serving in public service. And that's where his inheritance ended up."

 

So I'm kind of confused. I guess Mitt didn't get much money from his dad while George was alive, and I guess Mitt gave his portion of the money, when George died, to BYU. I don't know if Mitt's brothers and sisters got some money or not.

 

I guess Brian Lamb was still kind of confused and asked, "Did he have a philosophy that he didn't want to pass on a lot of money to his kids?" To which Mitt said, "Well, I don't think he had as much as some people might have imagined. And he spent his money on things he cared about (he didn't care about his kids?) . He was a real champion of volunteerism (George Romney started the organization that latter become the points of light foundation). So he funded volunteer efforts and worked to support the things he cared about. My kids got some money from my mom and dad. They are happy that they were able to receive some funds. That helped them in their education and getting started in life. But in my case, I figured we had enough of our own."

 

Mitt never really answered why his dad hadn't given more money to him why he was alive, and I don't feel like I fully understood the contents of George Romney's will.

 

But still their is enough information to be very interesting. Mitt Romney is a self made billionaire. He never worked for his father's company, and his father was retired from business, and serving his country by the time Mitt even started college. Mitt worked his way up the strategic business consulting ladder, from the as far down the bottom of a ladder as someone a Cume Laude graduates from Harvard business and Law School can start. Now he is a billionaire after making a very good salary as a CEO and investing very well. What is he going to do with his money, when he dies?

 

Here is a hint:

 

• Apr 19, 2007; Policy Briefing: Abolishing The Death Tax

 

 

Questions for Romney

1. Why did your father not give you any of his inheritance ?
2. Did he have a philosophy that he didn't want to pass on a lot of money to his kids?

 

 

The estate tax is good.

 

Background

 

The federal estate-tax rate is 45% on every dollar above a $1.5 million exemption. In many states the combined federal/state tax on dying rises above 50%. This means that the government can take a larger share of the business, home and savings that a citizen builds up over a lifetime than would go to his heirs.

 

People who don't like the estate tax call it the death tax, because it sounds kind of morbid taking money from a dead guy/girl.

 

People who like the estate tax, call it the estate tax, because none of us like the rich.

 

Reasons to agree

1. The estate tax is a great way to ensure that those in the aristocracy, and that end up ruling over us, deserve to rule over us. There is always going to be an aristocracy, but I want it to be those who really are better than us, not those who's parents were better than our parents.
2. Thomas Paine supported the estate tax .
3. Andrew Carnegie supported the estate tax .
4. Theodore Roosevelt supported the estate tax .
5. Warren Buffett supports the estate tax .
6. The fact that Paris Hilton is a billionaire, proves that our society is unfair.
7. It is not healthy for a country to have a group of people that never have to work a day in their lives .
8. Most people would rather get taxed after they are dead.
9. Even with the estate tax parents can pass billions of dollars onto their children.
10. Even with the estate tax parents can pass the first 1.5 million dollars onto their kids tax free.
11. Parents can still help their children without having to let parents hand billions to their kids tax free .
12. Work is good.
13. If it was bad for welfare-moms to be idle, then it is bad for estate-kids to be idle.
14. Too many Americans live with a sense of entitlement because of their wealth.

 

Reasons to disagree

1. The estate tax breaks the bonds between generations .
2. It is wrong to tax money twice.
3. The money the government would take when collecting the estate taxed was already taxed when the parents earned the money.
4. Maybe the kids don't deserve the money, but governments don't have the right to just step in and take it .
5. Spreading the money equally between citizens is called socialism .
6. Russia eliminated its inheritance tax in 2005.
7. Sweden, the birthplace of the modern-day welfare state, eliminated its estate tax in 2005.
8. The estate tax tax is unjust.
9. The estate tax is economically counterproductive .
10. Argentina does not have an estate tax.
11. Australia does not have an estate tax.
12. Canada does not have an estate tax.
13. Mexico does not have an estate tax.
14. Switzerland does not have an estate tax.
15. India does not have an estate tax.
16. The US has the largest death tax in the industrialized world.
17. The third policy plank of Marx's Communist Manifesto is taxation of all inheritance.
18. The more power you give the government, the more power it will take.
19. the Death Tax unfairly impacts families, farmers, ranchers and small businesses.

More Romney in SC photos

Governor Mitt Romney traveled to South Carolina to share breakfast with campaign supporters at Sunset Grill in West Columbia, meet with business leaders at Hudson's Smokehouse in Lexington and announce the support of Lieutenant General Claudius "Bud" Elmer Watts III and Brigadier General Thomas R. Mikolajcik at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. Romney finished they day by speaking at the Charleston County GOP Convention.

 http://myclob.pbwiki.com/South-Carolina

One year ago...Revision 2

One year ago...

I was listening to Michael Savage talk aobut the need for better mental health care, in relation to what has happened with this Cho. Cho was ruled Mentally ill by court; but let go after a hospital visit. It seems to me that we don't want to tell anyone that there is anything wrong with them. Like we don't want to hurt their feelings...

Apparently Virginia Tech knew he had health problems, but didn't tell his room-mate!

I have an adopted brother who is homeless in LA who has schizophrenia. The issue of mental health care means a lot to me. My brother was told by a psychologist that he had schizophrenia, while he was living with my parents. My parents tried for years to figure out what was wrong with him, and this information from the psycologist would have helped.

Hillary is right. It does take a village or community. I'm glad their was a professional psychologist. Romney is also right. It takes a family. My parents can not take care of my brother. They are 72 years old. They need help, but they need to be included. I wish that this psychologist had worked better with my parents. I wish Cho's psychologist, who said that he was mentally ill, had worked better to protect the community from him.

The problem is that no one seems to look at our institutions holistically. That, I guess, is the lesson learned from Thomas P. Barnett's, The Pentagon's New Map. That is also what Mitt Romney is trying to get to when he says; " Goldwater-Nichols Act removed barriers to unify efforts across the services. This included establishing "joint commands ".

The whole system needs a stem-to-stern review.

Those who have read his book turnaround, or witnessed him first hand at the 2002 winter olympics, can't help but support Romney, because of the wholistic approach that he brings to problem solving.

Do you see a pattern from the following statement?

Too often we struggle to integrate our military and civilian instruments of national power into coherent, timely and effective operations. When facing the need to strengthen the democratic underpinnings of a country like Lebanon, our education, health, banking, energy, commerce, law enforcement and diplomatic resources are in separate bureaucracies, all under separate leadership, all protecting their own powers and their own prerogatives. So while we watched, Hezbollah brought healthcare and schools to the Lebanese. Guess who the people followed when conflict ensued? The same thing happened with Hamas and the Palestinians.

What does any of this have to do with Cho or my brother?

Read the following:

"As the Haleigh Poutre case demonstrates, errors in human judgment occur. What is unusual is how many people involved in Haleigh's care – medical professionals, case workers and administrators from many disciplines – made errors. I welcome new systems and processes that will identify and guard against circumstances where human error may have severe consequences."
Governr Mitt Romney, 03-21-2006 Press Release

Do you see the similarities? It's not a specific healthcare, military, or mental health problem. There is a problem with everything. Everything in America is a beurocratic nightmare where "administrators from many disciplines – made errors. [Romney] welcome new systems and processes that will identify and guard against circumstances where human error may have severe consequences."

No one seems to understand this or point it out. They would rather talk about Romney's positions in his church as a former CEO of a STRATIGIC BUSINESS CONSULTING FIRM, THAT CHARGED OTHER BUSINESSES MONEY TO TELL THEM WHAT TO DO. ROMNEY WAS A CEO FOR A COMPANY THAT FIXED OTHER COMPANIES. HE IS Winston 'The Wolf' Wolfe FROM PULP FICTION.

The Wolf: You're... Jimmie, right? This is your house?
Jimmie: Sure is.
The Wolf: I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.

and

The Wolf: Jimmie, lead the way. Boys, get to work.
Vincent: A please would be nice.
The Wolf: Come again?
Vincent: I said a please would be nice.
The Wolf: Get it straight buster - I'm not here to say please, I'm here to tell you what to do and if self-preservation is an instinct you possess you'd better f----- do it and do it quick! I'm here to help - if my help's not appreciated then lotsa luck, gentlemen.
Jules: No, Mr. Wolf, it ain't like that...
Vincent: I don't mean any disrespect, I just don't like people barking orders at me.
The Wolf: If I'm curt with you it's because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you wanna get out of this. So, pretty please... with sugar on top. Clean the car!

Well, Romney is a little nicer.

It seems that the psychologist who worked with my brother viewed my parents as an enemy, but not a partner. Oh! But they are adults! We can't violate their privacy, or their rights!

If my crazy brother wants to live on the streets, we have to let him! If Cho, or others who have been ruled, "mentally ill" wants to get degrees in our schools, we have to let them!

My parents could have helped my brother a lot more, if it wasn't for patient-client privilege.

I was a life guard (click for picture) on a lake for 3 summers. You had to pass a swimmer's test in order to go into the swimmers area (click link for picture). Those who do not have the ability to survive in the swimmer's area, and those who cannot function in today's society, should not be treated as though they can. It would be wrong of me to let non-swimmers into the deep portion of the lake. Cho was a non swimmer. It was wrong to pretend that he was OK. It was wrong to tell him, that I'm OK, your OK, we are all OK. It was wrong to say that he should be treated the same as everyone else, just as it is wrong for me to let non swimmer go to the middle of the lake.

This from Romneym about 1 year ago:

"As the Haleigh Poutre case demonstrates, errors in human judgment occur. What is unusual is how many people involved in Haleigh's care – medical professionals, case workers and administrators from many disciplines – made errors. I welcome new systems and processes that will identify and guard against circumstances where human error may have severe consequences."
Governr Mitt Romney, 03-21-2006 Press Release

"A tragic crisis shone a spotlight last year on the operations and culture of the Department of Correction. This group of experts worked long and hard to identify areas of weakness in our state prison network. Their conclusion is clear: It is time to correct our system of correction."
Governor Mitt Romney, 06-30-2004 Press Release
Accepting the commission's report at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center

2003
04-18-2003; Governor Mitt Romney names dr. Childs mental health commissioner
02-14-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES COMMISSION TO PREVENT HOMELESSNESS; Tasked with coordinating state services to homeless
02-24-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES HHS REORGANIZATION AS PART OF BUDGET; Plan closes more than 30 under-utilized local offices, achieves $90 million in savings
03-10-2003; HHS CONSOLIDATIONS TO SAVE MILLIONS AND IMPROVE SERVICE; Closing 36 underutilized offices will save the state $2.3 million in FY04
08-01-2003; ROMNEY ANNOUNCES $8.9 MILLION TO CREATE 825 MORE HOMES

2004
09-15-2004; ROMNEY CREATES ADVISORY COUNCIL ON CORRECTIONS REFORM
06-30-2004; HARSHBARGER COMMISSION RECOMMENDS BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM

2005
02-14-2005; LT. GOV. HEALEY FILES BILL TO MANDATE POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION; Move will cut down on recidivism among former inmates

2006
04-13-2006; HEALEY ANNOUNCES MASSACHUSETTS' FIRST RECOVERY HIGH SCHOOL
03-21-2006; Poutre Panel Recommends Reforms in Child Welfare System

~ Mike