Roadside Rape By Texas Police Caught On Tape

(See the full uncensored police video at the bottom of the page)

I am a former New York City police officer. Crime is crime, no matter who perpetrates it. Being a police officer does not put you above the law. You cannot commit a crime to prevent one. In Texas, two women were pulled over for discharging a cigarette on the highway. After being pulled over, suspected of possessing marijuana, they were forced to submit to an extreme cavity search on the side of the road in full view of passersby. When your genitalia is penetrated against your will, that is rape. Rape is rape, even if you are a cop.

I have a wife, mother, sister, daughter, nieces, female cousins and a granddaughter; I can’t imagine this happening to any of them. An assault on women anywhere is an assault on all women. Please speak up about this injustice. Contact your President, State and Local Representatives, and the Texas Department of Public Safety at (281) 486-8242. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again. Below is the news report and actual police car video. Warning it is disturbing.

Update: Last night, 12/19/12, one of the troopers was suspended with pay. This occurred on July 13. 2012. The article doesn't say which trooper or why.

A Texas woman and her niece are suing a pair of Texas state troopers and the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety for what they claim was an unconstitutional and "humiliating" roadside body cavity search earlier this year.

According to NBC News, 38-year-old Angel Dobbs and 24-year-old Ashley Dobbs from Irving, Tex., were driving along Highway 161 on July 13, when they were stopped for allegedly littering by State Trooper David Farrell.

"In the dashcam video released by the women and their attorney, Farrell can be heard telling the women they would both be cited for littering for throwing cigarette butts out of the car," the news agency reports.

After stopping the women, Farrell -- who claims to have "smelled marijuana" in their vehicle -- reportedly questioned the women about the drug and searched their car for traces of pot.

Angel and Ashley claim that they were then subjected to a very public and "humiliating" roadside body cavity search. They both claim that they were not warned beforehand that the "intrusive" search was about to take place.

KVUE writes:

The lawsuit alleges that Helleson used her fingers to search inside each woman's genital areas. The suit also says that the trooper did not change the glove she was wearing and performed the search without consent.

The body cavity search is also said to have taken place "on the side of a public freeway illuminated by lights from the police vehicle in full view of the passing public," the women alleged, according to KVUE.

"I was molested, I was violated, I was humiliated in front of other traffic," said Angel. "I had to watch my niece go through the same thing and I could not protect her at that point."

Angel also alleges that while Helleson searched her anus, the state trooper "irritated one of the cysts she suffers from," causing her "severe and continuing pain and discomfort."

"I don't think anybody needs to have to feel, or go through what we went through," Ashley told NBC News. "It crosses my mind every day. It's humiliating."

Scott H. Palmer, the women's attorney, said that the searches were "basically a sexual assault" on the side of a road, according to Dallas Morning News.

Watch full uncensored police video below.
WARNING: Some viewers may find content in this video disturbing.

Why Arming Teachers Won't Work

Republicans are calling for arming teachers and/or principals. Consider what that means. First, teachers are neither trained nor screened to use firearms. Police officers must pass extensive background checks and 2 psychological exams before being admitted to the academy.

Secondly, you would be asking an administrator who loves kids to possibly shoot one of their own students. How many teachers could shoot a 12 year old? Or a 10 year old? Or even an 8 year old with a gun?


Third, by arming teachers you are adding guns in an environment were that teacher could be overpowered, disarmed and possibly killed with their own gun. That's why guns are not allowed inside of prisons. What if that teacher accidently shot the wrong kid?


And finally, could a teacher deal with the aftermath if they killed someone. What if the teacher was the one who was unstable like with the Alabama professor who came to school and shot her colleagues because she was passed over for tenure. All in all it would be a recipe for disaster.

 

#My2K Thunkisms About The Fiscal Cliff

Twitter Nation: Time to tell the GOP WE ARE MAD AS HELL AND NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE. #My2K Or CUT YOUR PAY. Earn your check.

GOP think unemployed benefits make ppl lazy. Stats show TAX CUTS 4 RICH MAKES THEM NOT CREATE JOBS. #My2K

Whosoever knows causing a debt ceiling fight costs US 19B yet wont speak out now; is just as bad as those who sat by and watched slavery. #My2K

TeaPartiers are to Conservatism what Obstructionism is to Progress. Speak Up. Enough is Enough. You've seen this movie B4 so now you know. #My2k

Job Creators paying unlivable wages want tax cuts; THEN cut wages and benefits NOW want to hold the US hostage. That’s ECONOMIC TERRORISM.


GOP Dilemma; have one problem named Grover or 62M problems named WE THE PEOPLE? Choose wisely. #My2K

GOP you gotta know when to hold them and know when to fold them. You CANT WIN with a LOSING HAND. #My2K

ALL those in favor of US progress say #My2k. Those in favor of the Economic Terrorists shut up and be quiet.

Ppl gave full support knowing w/out a doubt Mitt would win BC GOP Leaders insisted. GOP says Thanks by RAISING their taxes. 2 Smart.

I PLEDGE ALLIGANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF GROVER. And to the Republic for which He Stands…

My Dogma can beat up your Dogma. Watch. We will raise all taxes and shut down the Govt to show you how strong our Dogma is.

Hey Economy GET OVER HERE. If I cant have you the way I want then NOBODY WILL. Don’t make me prove how much I love you.

Economy, sometimes I hate you and others I love you. You make me so mad. I’m gonna quit you. I don’t care what happens to you. You should’ve listened to me.

At GOP meeting. We told them if they elected him they would get 4 more years of gridlock. We’ll teach’em . Next time they’ll listen. #My2K

If you don’t add fuel, it wont run. That’s dumb; like saying if we don’t stimulate the economy it will stop growing. #My2K

GOPer; He says that ppl will stop shopping if we don’t give them tax cuts. They’re not stupid enough to want to be blamed for messing up the economy. #My2K

Boehner: I SAID we are willing to compromise as long as we get what we want. It’s so simple even an idiot can understand. #My2K

Boehner: Yes we are willing to put Revenues on the table. You can look at them and pet them. When we leave they leave. #My2K

Boehner: The President knows I am a responsible guy. But I will not be held responsible for his failure to lead. Some can, some cant. #My2K

Boehner to Aide: If that’s the US ppl calling; Im not in. Don’t have time to deal w/ their problems I got my own issues to deal with. #My2k

Wake Up conservatives: As Debt Ceiling Looms, Last Year’s Debacle Cost Taxpayers $18.9 Billion http://flpbd.it/IEKs7 via @thinkprogress

Is This America?

With roughly seven million voters effectively prevented from voting in 2008, according to the Co-operative Congressional Election Study, and perhaps five million more imperiled by new voter-suppression measures, according to another study in 2011, this should be a dominant campaign story. But it’s not. Is This America?

A Tampa school teacher who routinely registered her students to vote was threatened with felony charges, just for doing exactly what she'd been doing for years before the law was put into place. Rather than expose its volunteers to such risks, the League of Voters suspended its voter registration activities in Florida for the first time in over 70 years. Is This America?

Some members of the military serving in Afghanistan were given “incorrect ballots” and may not be allowed to vote in the presidential election, according to the father of one of those soldiers. Michael Boynton, of Valrico, Fla., told Fox News said his son, who is in the Army, had a chance to look at the disputed ballots and they seemed correct. He said it’s an outrage that his son and other members of the military may not be able to vote. “As a parent I find this appalling and unconstitutional,” he said. “Not to allow our men and women who are putting their lives in danger on a daily basis to vote?” Really? Is This America?

An intense and dramatically new pattern of procedural barriers such as specially-tailored registration requirements and shifting voting times are being employed to suppress the votes of urban, primarily poor, low-income, and/or young voters. Is This America?

Laws in more than half of states mean that some people won’t be able to cast a ballot simply because they have a disability. Voting rights of People with Disabilities are being denied as well. Is This America?

After the election of the first Black President, Barack Obama, in a hurried and haphazard attempt to prevent a re-election the GOP pushed through New Voter ID laws with some unintended consequences.

Ian Millhiser, an Editor of ThinkProgress Justice reported the following examples:

•Ricky Tyrone Lewis is a 58 year-old Marine Corps veteran. Despite the fact that he was able to offer Wisconsin voting officials proof of his honorable discharge from the Marines, Milwaukee County has been unable to find the record of his birth that he needs in order to obtain a voter ID card. Is This America?

•Ruthelle Frank is an 84 year-old former elected official who voted in every election for the last 63 years, yet she will be unable to obtain a voter ID unless she pays a fee to obtain a birth certificate from the Wisconsin government — despite the fact that the Constitution explicitly forbids any voter from being charged a fee in order to vote. Worse, because the attending physician at her birth misspelled her name on her original birth certificate, she may need to pay hundreds of dollars in court fees to petition the state judiciary to correct her certificate before she can obtain a voter ID. Is This America?

•Paul Carroll is an 86-year-old World War II veteran who has lived in the same Ohio town for four decades. Yet, when he attempted to vote in the recent Ohio primary, he was told his photo ID from the Department of Veterans Affairs was not good enough because it did not include his address. Is This America?

•Dorothy Cooper is a 96-year-old African-American woman who says she has voted in every election but one since she became eligible to vote. Yet, when she attempted to obtain a voter ID, she was turned away because she did not have a copy of her marriage license. In a subsequent interview, Cooper said that she didn’t even have problems voting in Tennessee “during Jim Crow days” — only now under Voter ID. Is This America?

•Thelma Mitchell is a 93-year-old woman who cleaned the Tennessee Capitol for 30 years. She never received a birth certificate, however, because she was delivered by a midwife in Alabama in 1918 and there was no record of her birth. When she attempted to obtain a voter ID, she was turned away for lack of a birth certificate by a clerk who suggested she could be an illegal immigrant. Is This America?

•Virginia Lasater is a 91-year-old woman who has been active in political campaigns for 70 years. Because of her advanced age, however, she is no longer able to stand for extended periods of time. When she attempted to obtain a voter ID, she was confronted with lines that stretched for several hours and no place to sit while she waited — forcing her to abandon her effort to obtain an ID due to her physical constraints. Is This America?

•Darwin Spinks is an 86 year-old World War II veteran. He was told to pay a fee before he could obtain a voter ID in Tennessee, despite the fact that charging someone to vote is unconstitutional. Is This America?

•Rita Platt is a Wisconsin resident who was turned away from her attempt to obtain a voter ID because she required either a birth certificate or a passport to obtain one — both of which can only be obtained if the voter pays a fee. Worse, in Wisconsin, voters must fill out a misleading form which suggests that they cannot obtain the birth certificate they need to obtain a photo ID unless they already have a photo ID. Is This America?

•Jessica Cohen is a Texas resident who lost her license and other identification papers in a burglary. She now must also pay an unconstitutional fee in order to obtain the birth certificate she needs to obtain a new voter ID. Because Cohen lives in Texas, she will likely be able to vote in 2012 because the Department of Justice blocked Texas’ law under the Voting Rights Act — although there is a high risk that the Supreme Court’s conservatives will declare the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. Is This America?

Supporters of Voter ID laws routinely justify them by claiming they are necessary to combat an epidemic of people showing up at the polls and claiming to be someone else. And yet, when asked to prove that such an epidemic exists, their case immediately falls apart. When the Supreme Court abdicated its responsibility to strike down these unconstitutional assaults on the franchise four years ago, it was only able to cite one actual example of voter fraud in the last 140 years. Is This America?

The evidence of such voter-suppression is overwhelming, most notably in the form of dozens of laws creating just such obstacles. A tidal wave of state laws have been proposed to counter this non-existent problem, ever since the 2010 mid-term elections, when Republicans won the largest number of state legislative seats they've ever held since 1928. According to the Brennan Centre for Justice, since the mid-term elections: 41 states introduced 180 restrictive laws; 34 states introduced Photo ID laws; 17 states introduced proof of citizenship requirements; 16 states introduced bills to limit registration; 9 states introduced bills to reduce early voting periods. Is This America?

Disenfranchising specific groups of voters should be politically unacceptable. The Media should be all over this. Instead, the story gets marginalized. Could it be because it can't be squeezed into the US media's sacred "both sides do it" frame, and because those most impacted are primarily poor, low-income, and young? How could any individual be anything other than abjectly ashamed to be associated with a political party so thuggish, as to try to win elections like this? It’s sad and sickening; also it delegitimizes everything else about the Republican Party. But not only does it affect the GOP brand, it also tarnishes the image of America and American Democracy.

 We should be a shining beacon of Democracy. The world is watching. We should be coming together to effect an historic expansion of the franchise. In a true democracy, everyone should have a voice through their vote. People have fought and died for that right to vote. However, voter suppression combined with Citizens United spells the potential dawn of a new dark age in American politics, with those on the bottom having less than zero say in how they are governed IN THIS AMERICA.

RedState Paradox

RedState Paradox: They are the welfare states in the nation supported by the blue states. But flip-out about false welfare ads. GOP Govs asked for waivers not Dems.

RedState Paradox: They are the hardest hit by drought, floods, heat waves, wildfires, tornados, hurricanes, n blizzards in recent yrs but deny Climate Science.

RedState Paradox: Believers of small government but want Congress to have control of Women’s bodies.

RedState Paradox: Believe Mormonism is a Cult, but won’t support the only Christian Candidate PBO for president.

RedState Paradox: Talk about taking their country back and giving it to a Guy who bets AGAINST America.

RedState Paradox: Loves our Troops but supports the only candidate who REFUSES to mention Our Heroes in debates or convention speech.

RedState Paradox: Majority Working Class yet Romney HAS $ off-shore, outsourced jobs, likes firing ppl n hanging out w/ Corporations.

RedState Paradox: Believe in less Govt spending but want Bush policies back w/ Ryan who voted for 2 wars, drug bill, n tax cuts on CREDIT.

RedState Paradox: Ridicule “Obama Phones” but don’t realize the Lifeline Program for low incomes was started under Pres. Reagan.

RedState Paradox: Applaud Romney’s 47% tape even deriding those ppl but don’t realize they are laughing at themselves.

RedState Paradox: Laugh n Applaud when Romney says “He did build that” but every biz used as example took Govt $ at some point.

RedState Paradox: They “wanna take their country back” RIGHT BACK to the Bush debacle that almost caused a global depression.

RedState Paradox: Complain about Govt NOT working and then send Teapartiers to DC to make sure it STOPPED working.

RedState Paradox: They tried to impeach Clinton for lying, yet Romney has told more verifiable outright bold face lies than any Pol in history of US.

RedState Paradox: They accused the President of Lying, and sent Romney to attack him by lying about his statements. Major Fail.

RedState Paradox: They denounced Todd Akin for “Legitimate Rape.” But chose his Co-Sponsor of Personhood Bills as VP.

RedState Paradox: Tried to fix non-existent voter fraud by committing voter fraud, suppression, and buying voting machines.

RedState Paradox: To make sure “legitimate VOTES” don’t get diluted, passed VOTER ID laws to make some legitimate VOTERS NON-Voters.

RedState Paradox: They know Tax Cuts for the Rich doesn’t work but want to try One more time just to be sure.

RedState Paradox: They  Love to Hate Obama but don’t realize it’s like drinking poison and hoping it kills him.

RedState Paradox: They affirm that all Polls are wrong and Romney will win but We Know, They Know, IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN.

Here's Why:

Madoff Only Stole Billions Not A Whole Country

Bernie Madoff stole Billions but he didn't steal a Country and possibly TRILLIONS. Through a closely held equity fund called Solamere, Mitt Romney, his wife, son Tagg and brother G. Scott Romney are major investors in an investment firm called H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. in turn holds a majority share and three out of five board members in Hart Intercivic, a company that owns the notoriously faulty electronic voting machines that will count the ballots in swing state Ohio November 7. Hart machines will also be used elsewhere in the United States. This could be the biggest crime in history.

Please sign our petition here at WhiteHouse.gov to call on AG Holder to investigate the connection between the Romneys and Hart Intercivic.

Read: Tagg Team: The Romney Family Recipe for Crony Capitalism

In Lee Fang's article in The Nation, he explains in detail how Solamere and its partners are inextricably tied to a Mitt Romney’s victory.

Here are some excerpts:

The Scooter Store

Marc Leder, a wealthy investor, played host to Mitt Romney last May (where the secret video tape was recorded) at a private fundraiser at his $4 million home in Boca Raton. Leder, whose Sun Capital firm bought a stake in the Scooter Store last year. The company, known for its ubiquitous television ads promising seemingly free motorized wheelchairs for Medicare beneficiaries, has struggled as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that governs the programs, implements rules to curb rampant billing fraud. As a CMS report noted last year, 80 percent of the claims for scooters and power wheelchairs did not meet Medicare requirements, meaning that $492 million a year is being improperly spent.

A Romney administration, for example, would have a role in the fate of a recently launched pilot program ensuring that patients see a doctor face to face to determine if a Medicare scooter is medically necessary—a program that has reportedly already reduced billings to the Scooter Store. Another challenge for the company is Section 3136 of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act. If Romney wins and repeals significant portions of the ACA, would he retain this provision, which compels Medicare to have a competitive bidding process for motorized wheelchairs?

Solamere

Solamere, a firm predicated on its founders’ relationship with Romney, presents a channel for powerful investors to influence the White House if he wins. Private equity executives looking to lobby a Romney administration may very well have a leg up if they are already doing business with the firm that the president created for his son, Tagg.

The looming conflicts range from general matters that affect all private equity firms—such as tax changes or the new rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill—to more specific concerns relating to businesses owned or controlled by Solamere’s partner firms. Many of these businesses, in fact, depend on government contracts; indeed, some have been accused of fleecing taxpayers (which is ironic given that many private equity titans claim to support Romney for his unabashed belief in small government and free enterprise). A Romney administration could directly affect the profitability of these companies—and, by extension, potentially the success of Tagg’s venture.

“It’s absolutely a conflict of interest,” says Adam Smith, the communications director for the group Public Campaign, which works on issues concerning money in politics. “Romney can’t un-know that his son’s investment company could benefit financially from his policies. And the other investors—many of whom are likely Romney campaign donors—will have extra access and influence in a Romney administration.”

Private Equity Owned Dental Firms

Meanwhile, HIG Capital—one of the largest Solamere partners, with nearly $10 billion of equity capital—owns a number of other firms that are closely monitoring the federal government. One area where private equity firms have made lucrative investments is the new industry of dental management companies that bill Medicaid. In November 2011, Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Max Baucus of Montana opened an investigation in response to allegations that these corporate-controlled dentists have abused children. As PBS’s Frontline reported, several private equity–owned dental management firms have illegally coerced dentists to perform unnecessary and expensive procedures on low-income children, because Medicaid will reimburse such work. The scandal has provoked a flurry of congressional activity, as well as legislative reforms at the state level. In North Carolina, for example, the legislature debated a highly contentious bill that sought to curtail the ownership of dentists’ offices by private equity firms.

HIG Capital, betting that it could beat the controversy, purchased the dental management firm InterDent for an undisclosed sum in August of this year. InterDent hasn’t been named in the current fraud investigation, but the company has been implicated in other ethics problems in the past. In 2008, InterDent signed a corporate integrity agreement after it was caught overbilling the government at some of its offices in California. This year, the company provided $50,000 for an effort to lobby legislators against the dental management reform bill in North Carolina.

Making Billions off Taxpayers and Veterans

It’s already clear how the Solamere nexus of influence would work to advance such companies under a Romney administration. Romney has voiced his support, for example, for expanding federal aid to proprietary colleges, which have been cited for waste, fraud and abuse, not to mention rising levels of student debt—and the for-profit college he has singled out for praise on several occasions is directly linked to Solamere.

Asked about the rising cost of colleges at a town hall event in New Hampshire in December 2011, Romney said that students should take a look at for-profit colleges like Full Sail University, a career college for the entertainment and production industry. Weeks later, in an interview with the Ames Tribune, Romney hailed the “advent of for-profit institutions of higher learning” for providing competition with public and private universities. He again volunteered Full Sail University as a good example of how students can “hold down the cost of their education.”

What Romney neglected to mention is that Full Sail University—in fact the third most expensive college in the United States—is owned by TA Associates. Indeed, TA Associates has viewed the for-profit college industry—a $40 billion market where 85 percent of the funds are supplied by taxpayers—as an excellent opportunity for growth. The firm has invested in other for-profit colleges, including the Rocky Mountain School of Design, the Los Angeles Film School and Vatterott Educational Centers Inc. Like most profit-driven colleges, which account for only 10 percent of all students but about half of all loan defaults, TA Associates’ schools do not boast a stellar track record. Leaked documents for Vatterott show that recruiters were instructed to use “pain” when targeting students—who, the recruiters are told, decide on college “based more on emotion than logic.” Within three years of dropping out or graduating, 26.6 percent of Vatterott students default on their loans.

Romney would have the ultimate power, through his Education Department, to decide if the current loopholes in federal lending policy continue to benefit for-profit colleges regardless of their track record. The Romney campaign’s education policy outline already makes clear that he would roll back the few regulations requiring for-profit colleges to demonstrate that a percentage of their students are able to find jobs after graduation as a basis for receiving aid.

He would also have the power to rescind President Obama’s recent executive order limiting for-profit college recruitment at military bases. Summit Partners, a Solamere private equity fund, owns Trident University, a for-profit college that targets veterans. “The fact that Mitt Romney praised an overpriced, underperforming college that is owned by his son’s investment partners, and whose owners have contributed a quarter-million dollars to his campaign and Super PAC, shows how he embodies the corrupting influence of money on politics,” asserts David Halperin, a college affordability advocate and attorney who has covered the for-profit industry for years. “It shows how his administration could, as a matter of course, allow special interests—the interests of his rich friends—to skew important policy decisions and harm the public interest.”

Possible Tax Evasion

It seems that Tagg has taken after his father, whose former firm Bain Capital also uses these offshore structures. Most of the offshore entities do not have to file a tax return in the US or anywhere else in the world, making them an ideal shelter for Solamere’s investors, says Wilkins. “To me, the most egregious part of this is that they’re facilitating tax evasion.”

Me, My Brother's Keeper? No Way! says Mitt Romney on Secret Video

In his own words once again, Presidential Candidate Romney's comments reveal an insight into his soul. This is about character. The more you get to know about the candidate, the more you realize that there is something off-putting about his character and/or core beliefs. It's ok to criticize your opponent’s views, policies and plans. Yet in this country, all Presidents accept Christian principles about our need to help our Brethren. Stating privately that you would not sacrifice for your own brother's college education is a jaw-dropping revelation to some. This statement isn’t inconsistent with the proposed policies of the Romney Ryan ticket.

They want to kill Medicare, slash Medicaid by 1/3, cut Food Stamps for poor, take away a women's control over her body, repeal ObamaCare, and lower taxes on the top 1% of income earners. As Americans we have a clear choice to make in this election. There is no more pretense of what the GOP wants to do for themselves and theirs donors. If you believe you are one who will benefit from Romney's plans and policies, think about what happens if you are wrong. Remember, he wants you to trust him with your house, job, retirement, healthcare, and your children's future. Romney has invested only about $50,000 of his own money in this campaign. His estimated personal net worth is over $250 million dollars. He is the richest Presidential candidate ever. So rich, that he is twice as rich as the past 8 presidents combined. But he pays about 14% in taxes. He has about $100 in his retirement fund. His 5 sons each have a $100 million trust fund set up. They have nothing to worry about financially.

Going back to the old tried and failed “trickle down” policies of the Bush administration, we are at risk of repeating history.  If the economy crashes again, the Romneys will be OK. Most of their money is off-shore, or overseas in foreign banks. It would seem as though Romney doesn’t believe in America. Further, if would seem he doesn’t even believe in himself too much. Gov. Romney has so little “skin in the game” as compared to you.  You know that you won’t let your family down, but can you say the same for Mr. Romney. Do you trust him with your future? What does your gut tell you about his character? What are you willing to wager? Your job? Your house? Your health? Your Retirement? Or  your kids’ future? Choose wisely because the choice you make will follow you the rest of your life.

True Cost of the Romney Ryan Budget

Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee, Congressman Paul Ryan is a WONK. A 'wonk' is a person who looks into all the technical details of implementing a political policy; a nerd, a bookworm, a number cruncher, or a politically connected, know-it-all. He is the type of guy who actually reads those hundred- paged bills voted on in Congress. Yes, that Congress, aka the Do-Nothing-Congress. The GOP Tea Party led Congress which voted to repeal ObamaCare also known as The Affordable Care Act some 33 times costing taxpayers $30 million each time. The insanity of that fruitless endeavor is that they knew full well they would not get it passed the Democratic led Senate or the President of these United States, Barack Obama. Remember, he DOES care. No way would he repeal a piece of history that was 100 years in the making. But I digress.

Mr. Ryan. Oh yes. If you want to know how much something will cost taxpayers, he's the guy to ask. (Whether or not he will tell you, depends on who you are.)   He is not only on the Budget Committee; he is the Chairman. He wrote the Path to Prosperity aka The Ryan Budget. It was voted for twice by almost all Republican members in the House of Representatives with again, no chance of becoming law. By choosing to adopt Ryan and his Plan, GOP Presidential Candidate Willard Mitt Romney is hoping that they can sneak into the Whitehouse by confusing the American People. One Big Problem we have a wonk too. 

Former Congressmen, Tom Perriello of Virginia is also a "Wonk." The difference is he explains, rather than confuse you with the numbers. There are a lot of numbers but you can take your time and pause it to digest it in small doses. Use this video to compare and contrast the gobbledygook coming from Mr. Paul Ryan in his debate.

Round One Goes to Romney

Gov. Romney did win the so called debate on style. He was assertive, confident, knowledgeable, and well-prepared. Congratulations on the win. Good for him. The problem is what is good for him is not good for us. Remember this is about your kids’ future. Let’s see what we know now about him.

· He is the first presidential candidate with off shore accounts --with 137 investments in the Cayman Islands alone. Only showed 2 years of his tax returns (another first.) Paid 14% of his income in taxes (which he said is fair because he is a job creator.) Has over $100 million dollars in his IRA (the maximum yearly input is $6000.) He is 2 times richer than all 8 previous presidents combined. Being rich is no problem, but he hides his wealth in at least 8 different countries. Probably doesn’t believe in America or our banks.

· At BAIN, he accumulated his wealth by outsourcing jobs and offshoring profits to reap huge tax savings. Claimed to have created 100,000 jobs with Bain capital. Most of these jobs were in other countries. The companies in the U.S. that have generated jobs — Duane Reade, Staples and Dominos, for example — also share a common factor: the majority of the jobs in those companies are low-wage jobs in the service sector, the types of jobs that frequently put workers in Romney's derided 47 percent of "entitled" Americans. Staples is closing many of its stores as we speak. But success for Bain was about one thing: Making money for shareholders. Whether the companies Bain was involved in succeeded or failed made little difference to those profiting off Bain's investments. When he and Bain closed companies they loaded them with debt; fired workers; shipped jobs overseas and/or made the company file for bankruptcy. They left thousands of people without health care, pensions or jobs. And subsequently dependent on government for help. Nonetheless Bain got paid. So did Mitt, during the 2 years he “left to go save the Olympics;” yet he remained the sole Managing director, CEO, President and Owner of Bain Capital and collected a salary of at least $100,000 for doing “nothing.”

· What about his term as Governor, you ask? During the campaign for the governorship in 2002, Romney proposed a plan that he said would balance the Massachusetts budget without raising taxes (sound familiar.) He said that he would be able to save $1 billion (out of a $23 billion budget) by reducing waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Upon entering office, his initial emergency budget proposal for fy 2003 called for $343 million in immediate funding cuts, necessitating layoffs of state employees and cuts in aid to cities and towns for public safety and education. He also proposed cuts in state expenditures for Medicaid, the government program providing health care for seniors and the poorest residents. Some 36,000 Massachusetts residents lost their Medicaid eligibility. Romney’s austerity budget for fy 2004 included even more substantial cuts in state funding for cities and towns by as much as 20 percent. Already struggling communities across the state were forced to cut services and hike fees, while laying off teachers, police officers, and other municipal workers. To compensate for lost revenue from the state, communities raised local property tax rates, helping drive up the average residential property tax bill by 22 percent over the course of Romney’s tenure. In addition to proposing reductions in payments to hospitals and nursing homes for care of Medicaid patients, and restrictions on Medicaid patients' access to prescription drugs and eligibility for nursing homes admission, Romney proposed that the low-income Medicaid patients be charged monthly fees for participation in the program, along with co-payments for visits to doctors' offices. Public colleges and universities responded to funding cuts during Romney's tenure by raising tuition fees 63 percent. Romney proposed 33 new fees along with increases in 57 existing fees, resulting in higher costs for birth certificates, new car purchases, driver’s learning permits, firearms permits, professional licenses, and billboards advertising, as well as for many state services. Critics, including some conservatives, complained that Romney was using these fees increases as a tax increase in disguise after having promised he would not raise taxes. See a pattern here? Saying he won’t raise taxes, doesn’t mean the middle class won’t pay more. BTW, Massachusetts was 47th of the 50 states in new job creation over the course of Romney’s term. So much for a job creator. Maybe that explains a 40 pt deficit to Obama in Mass. now. They know him.

· Last night in the debates, Romney told some whoppers of lies. He has been campaigning for 18 months saying he would cut taxes 20% across the board. According to the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) the best they can figure because of lack of specific details from Romney, which amounts to a $5 Trillion budget increase. Add $2 trillion in additional Defense Spending (which they did not ask for) and extend the Bush tax cuts which is another Trillion, you got a bill of $8 Trillion dollars. You’re a smart guy. Getting rid of PBS aint gonna come close. BTW, be gentle when you tell your kids that Big Bird is getting fired by the nice guy. The only way he can even begin to make a dent is to get rid of your mortgage deduction you now enjoy. It’s not a tax but it will surely feel like one. He can also take away your earned income tax deduction, child credit or charitable deductions. What happens if people stop giving to churches and other non-profits?

It’s not a tax but it will surely feel like one to a lot of people. Come on, you’re smart. Try to keep up. This is serious.

· Let’s talk about ObamaCare. Let’s make this simple. It’s the exact same plan Romney instituted in Mass. Written by the exact same people. The $716 Billion Obama “takes” from Medicare is the same amount in the Ryan Budget. The main difference is Obama takes the savings from providers not seniors and uses the savings to extend the life of the program by 8 years. If Romney repeals the program it will go broke by 2016. Romney-Ryan’s plan doesn’t get started until 2023. OK. Let’s say it together. It will end the program before he fixes it. You’re getting it.

· It’s hard to beat a guy in a debate when he keeps shape-shifting. It’s like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. (Even your kids can understand that.) So enjoy his victory but remember what’s good for him is not necessarily good for you or your kids. Be smart. Do your own research or follow me on twitter @tomthunkit.

PS As a Mormon Pastor, Romney has a callous disregard for the poor, weak and disabled. Remember, Matthew 25:45 ^“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Go figure. Maybe we worship a different God.