Blue Mass Group

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D’oh! ABC:

Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income

Mitt Romney’s campaign is amending the financial disclosure form he filed in 2011 to acknowledge that a Romney trust earned interest income from a Swiss bank account, a detail that had been missing from the report. … The discovery that the Romneys had $3 million in an account with the Swiss bank UBS came only after the Republican presidential candidate released his tax returns for 2010 on Tuesday.

And of all the banks in the world, of course, UBS is perhaps the worst possible one in which to have a hidden bank account. Wikipedia:

In July 2008, a United States Senate panel accused Swiss banks, including UBS and LGT Group, of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes through offshore accounts. … UBS agreed on February 18, 2009 to pay a fine of $780 million to the U.S. government and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by impeding the Internal Revenue Service. … The day after settling its criminal case on February 19, 2009, the U.S. government filed a civil suit against UBS to reveal the names of all 52,000 American customers, alleging that the bank and these customers conspired to defraud the IRS and federal government of legitimately owed tax revenue.

Oh, Mitt. Never enough, never enough.

This Monday evening, I’ll be sharing the stage as a guest speaker with an all-star lineup at Clark University to discuss “Corporations Are Not People: People’s Rights, Corporate Money, and What Comes Next.”

Joining me on stage will be State Senator Jamie Eldridge, longtime national voting rights expert and Director of “Free Speech for People” John Bonifaz, and Jeff Clements, also a FSFP co-founder, and author of Corporations Are Not People.

I’m thrilled to be invited to be a part of this incredible group and event, and I hope you’ll join us. For more information, visit our Facebook event here.

Last night’s State of the Union address was the perfect example of why Barack Obama is going to win re-election in November.  Let’s ignore for a moment that BO is polling extraordinarily well nationwide (this in spite of the fact that all of the media attention is on the Republicans).  Let’s ignore for a moment that Newt Gingrich is surging, meaning that the Republicans are in for a long primary season that is sure to hurt whoever ends up being the nominee.  Let’s imagine a perfect world for the Republicans and why, even in such a world, neither Mitt Romney nor Newt Gingrich stand a chance.  And let’s examine why BO’s speech last night makes that even more clear.

First of all, what do Republicans like to do more than anything else when criticizing Obama?  Call him a socialist.  Of course, liberals know that this sort of rhetoric is ridiculous, but alas, many people do, for better or for worse, buy into it.  Republicans accuse Obama’s desire for increased upward mobility with an ideology that most Americans equate with Fascism.  How does Barack respond to these accusations last night?

Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.

The key words here, of course, are “leaving no one behind”.  Four short words that have so many political implications.  Here, Obama is able to equate upward social mobility with fighting the War on Terror.  Obviously, fighting a War on Terror is a decidedly anti-socialist idea, which on its own refutes the accusations he has been receiving, but he takes it a step further.  He challenges Americans to leave nobody behind.  In doing this, he says, in effect, “upward social mobility is not socialism; rather, it is the obligation of a democratic society: look to our soldiers as an example”.  In doing this, he is able to shift the dialogue completely.  No longer is helping others a radical socialist idea; now, it is what is expected of every American, just as it is expected of every soldier.

Elizabeth Warren, the leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts and strong supporter of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, draws on her personal experiences as a teacher in a new It Gets Better video.

Professor Warren introduces her video with this message on her Facebook page:

MA has been the nation’s leader in protecting and promoting equality, but there’s more to do. Speak out against bullying this No Name Calling Week. Watch our new It Gets Better video and remember: you are not alone, there are people who love you, and if it feels too hard, you can call the Trevor Project at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

Watch the video here.

Last summer the entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation — minus Sen. Scott Brown (R) — posted an It Gets Better message of encouragement and support for LGBTQ youth.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has announced that today is “No Name Calling Day” in the Bay State.

Cross-posted at Pam’s House Blend.

UMASS tents went up in the University Student Center today, with its first general assembly tonight.  With Governor Patrick doing his “State of the State” address tonight, and Senator Brown and senate candidate Warren doing their historic agreement to try and rein in spending by PACs, and state parties, and others, it is a rather busy evening.  Some astrologer might talk about the alignment of the stars to explain why all three events happened the same evening, and of course, each will play out and be covered by the media, both main stream and citizen journalist.  Quite a media buffet!

To follow the UMASS occupation on twitter,@occupyUMASS, to follow coverage by Occupy Boston, http://www.occupyboston.org/2012/01/23/umass-boston-ccupied/

As to the historic attempt by the Brown and Warren campaign to rein in the attack advertisements and have the focus be on who they are and what they say, I give them an “A for effort” and hope that this effort succeeds.

As for the State of the State address, somehow, I doubt there will be good news for the Judicial Branch or indigent defense (not many votes there!) but am none the less grateful that return of capitol (what has been termed, in Orwellian language “local aid”) will not be cut.  I say “Orwellian language” because Beacon Hill does not create capitol.  There are no state manufacturing or other enterprises; in fact Beacon Hill collects capitol from citizens in cities and towns, and then doles it back out in dollops while pretending that these dolled out dollops are charity or aid.  I say “pretending” because $145 million plus is given away in “movie tax credits” to be resold, making $33 million in profits to middleman while the state chops away at the entire Judicial Branch as if it were a mere agency, and eviscerates a once proud system of indigent defense, and pushes for 225 cases per public defender while nickle and diming the bar advocate.

In this state, far more is spent to incarcerate than to educate, and far more on prosecution and incarceration than on defense or eradication of addiction or treatment of mental illness.  This matters because secure civil commitment of addicts happens in prisons, more mentally ill are incarcerated than treated.  And as for the no-holds-barred assualt on the private indigent defense bar, I don’t expect that to be reined in at all.  Further, the disparate impact of poorly designed “three strike bills” are ripping apart entire communities and rendering a generation fatherless.  This does not serve either public safety, or the future of this Commonwealth.

As for the Occupation of UMASS Boston, the $450,000 haul made by Jack Wilson as his retirement was probably the last straw.  With student debt approaching a trillion dollars nationwide, and our Commonwealth’s support for public higher education in the gutter at 45th per capita in the nation, it was only a matter of time before the combination of $25,000+ debt, excessive salaries for administrators, and lackluster job prospects led to some form of visible activism, where the legislature treats public higher education in the Commonwealth with as much disrespect as it does the entire Judicial Branch.

Does anybody care about this story? Have we passed into the territory where innocent people in other countries are no longer officially human? Have we given up, once and for all, on the idea that there are “rules of war” that apply to the United States? Is that Obama’s attitude, and Eric Holder’s as well? Is intentionally killing women and children now acceptable conduct overseas?

This judicial proceeding seems like it was a complete and utter joke- note the apparently lackadaisical attitude of the presiding “judge”, or whatever the hell he is. I guess this is what happens when you’re the only superpower- you can get away with this stuff because there’s nobody else strong enough to hold you accountable. America runs the world- which would be a happy ending to history if America had a conscience. These women and children who were murdered in their own homes by our troops didn’t deserve what happened to them any more than the U.S. civilians who died on 9/11. They didn’t ask to have their country invaded by a foreign army, and they didn’t deserve to be slaughtered like animals because of faulty intelligence or the derangement of burnt-out soldiers.

It’s sickening that we think so little of these people that their deaths mean nothing. They are beneath the necessity of justice, because they’re Iraqis (or Afghans, Pakistanis, etc). Merely living in an ill-favored country is now a crime punishable by death. It seems so much of the Left has lost its imagination, or perhaps everybody’s just given up. But this stuff should matter. There is still such a thing as right and wrong. Killing innocent women and children is evil- whether it’s done by terrorists, serial killers, or the United States military.

If there’s to be no regard for human rights, or human life, or justice, then what’s the point of politics? What’s the point of America? What’s the point of anything?

Yeah, hyperbole and half. But really, isn’t that what being in love with the community you chose to live in is all about?

I normally would not post about a post on Left in Lowell that really is only of interest to us Lowellians, except I know there are public transit fanatics here and you might want to hear about the study outlining an incredible vision for Lowell and public transit – a return to trolleys. This has been talked about for a few years, ever since we broke ground on the redevelopment of the Hamilton Canal District (which is adjacent to downtown Lowell). A taste:

The report proposes (and mind you, it’s an initial proposal, so lots of changes could happen between here and build out, if it happens at all) to have a trolley line from the Gallahger, through Hamilton Canal District to downtown, and using the existing LNHP track (which they use mostly as historic ambiance than moving people from place to place), the trolley would split and a small branch heads to Middlesex College, and the other down Father Morressette Blvd past University Ave Bridge, then down Fletcher to Broadway to UML’s South Campus. Other stops include the Inn & Conference Center, the Tsongas Arena, and LeLacheur Park, as well as existing locations such as Boott Cotton Mills and the Mogan Center.

Go check it out and be awed by the awesomeness that is Lowell when it’s at its absolute best!

And while we’re at it, please ignore my last 10 tweets which are about Lowell at its worst…LOL.

Scott Brown launched his revamped website today. It’s very well done as you’d expect for a candidate with millions in the bank.

I found something to be very interesting – the Scott Brown Timeline featured on the homepage.It contains events referred to as “the highlights of Scott’s life and career.”

It has the following events with a blurb about each:

• 1959: Scott Brown Born
• 1977: Graduates High School
• 1979: Joins Mass Army National Guard
• 1981: Graduates Tufts
• 1982: Wins centerfold contest
• 1986: Marries Gail Huff
• 1988: Ayla Brown born
• 1990: Arianna Brown born
• 1995: Scott takes up duathlons and triathlons
• 2004: Elected to state senate
• 2010: Elected to US Senate
• 2010: Sworn in to US Senate
• 2010 – Present: US Senator

Since this is a list of life and career accomplishments I think it’s safe to say that Scott Brown is now and plans to continue being a “career politician”… No accomplishments to highlight from his time in private practice? Only a centerfold and a few elections?

Is it just me or does it seem strange that Brown’s campaign is highlighting his winning of a centerfold contest as a highlight of his life? They even took the time to post the letter Brown received from Cosmo notifying him of his win and clarify that his sister entered the pictures into the contest. Based on the question about Scott Brown’s centerfold asked by the GOP plant at the UMass Lowell Debate I guess it’s clear that Brown’s team sees a benefit from keeping the centerfold on the minds of voters.

Some really hideous advice for Obama on how to “reach common ground” with Republicans in tonight’s State of the Union address, from former GOP Congressman Vin Weber:

Vin Weber: There’s a huge opportunity for us now in terms of conventional fossil fuels. Offshore drilling, fracking and natural gas, that have the potential to change the equation favorably in the energy marketplace for the country. If the president took couple steps on any aspect of that toward the Republicans, I think that would be pretty well received.

Ah yes, drill baby drill, frack baby frack. Never mind earthquakes, flammable tap water, and rising sea levels.

Insane.

I’m sure many of you in the Blue Mass community will be watching the State of the Union tonight. And I’m just as sure that you’ll be brimming with comments and insights about what the President says (and what it means).

Tonight, MassUniting is joining with activists from across the country in an online chat LIVE as the President is speaking, and continuing once the speech has concluded.

We would love to have you all join the us online tonight. And we hope that by engaging with people from across the country, we can have a real discussion about what it means to have an economy that works for everyone, not just the richest 1% of Americans.

Click here to learn more about the discussion tonight.

We hope that you’ll join us tonight, and happy viewing!

Is Newt Gingrich a PROFOUNDLY, FUNDAMENTALLY, shameless hypocrite? Does it even need to be pointed out? GOP, you’ve got toilet paper on your shoe. Actually, your pants are down. Actually, you’ve got no clothes at all.

Jon Stewart Loses His Marbles Over Newt’s Hypocrisy | TPM2012.

I’ve never seen a political party attempt suicide en masse before. But this primary is shaping up to be the GOP Jonestown. Shocking, baffling, and morbidly intriguing.

I couldn’t listen to it live, so I’m reading it now. Heard some of the post-game hash and commentary, notably the Gov himself on WBUR this morning.

I share his impatience with the legislature’s pace of action on health care cost containment. He’s right to praise the slowing of inflation, which has been accomplished by market actors — i.e. the insurers, emboldened by the backup threat of state action, like last year’s freeze on insurance premiums. The governor cites an increase of 2.3% this year; however, premiums were up somewhere between 4%-8%, as opposed to 9% nationwide. [Not sure where the Governor's number comes from, and what's an apples to apples comparison -- someone feel free to chime in.] Anyway, the beast is hardly tamed.

Is there any more important issue — for businesses large and small; for municipalities and school systems; for teachers; for retirees; for the health care system itself? DeLeo et al have slow-rolled this thing long enough. It’s time to get it done.

The Governor did not address the MBTA death spiral, or the protests on Monday against service cuts. But this issue is here. It’s on the table, because people feel the fare increases and service cuts in their daily lives. Doubtless we’ll hear a lot of moaning about a “big lift” for the legislature, and complaining from the Herald and ‘RKO about big spending, and whining from the public about having to ever pay for the things it uses and benefits from. The Governor should address the listlessness, fear and inertia among legislators, and the fear (partly justified) among the public that any new support and expansion of the MBTA will be throwing good money after bad. We need to come together on this. We need to demand the service we need; and imagine the kind of service we’re going to need in the future.

This isn’t some kind of bonbon or would-be-nice trinket: It’s about getting to work, on time, reliably. The MBTA must be fixed.

Full text here, and below the fold.