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Another Dick Cheny ‘STFU’ Moment

Another Dick Cheny 'STFU' Moment

From a political party overflowing with sociopaths and creeps, none other than Dick Cheney encapsulates to a greater degree what it is the Republican party has become. The blood of ...

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Scandals: Real and Imagined

Scandals: Real and Imagined

It can be debated as to whether the filibuster came about as a political accident or was created to give minority parties a stronger say in opposing specific legislation they ...

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The Crazy, The Scum and The Dead

The Crazy, The Scum and The Dead

While gun nuts sink a little deeper into madness with each passing day, Seattle is turning guns into bricks. The Seattle Police Department collected more than 700 guns during a buyback ...

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To Infinity and Beyond!

To Infinity and Beyond!

Had enough of right-wing political crap and find yourself with a deep desire to get as far from the madding crowd as you can? Read on... The opportunity to travel to Mars ...

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In Leviticus v. Deuteronomy, There is No Winner

In Leviticus v. Deuteronomy, There is No Winner

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NRA – The Blood on Their Hands

NRA - The Blood on Their Hands

  LaPierre's speech of lunacy here. ___ Follow MarioPiperniDotCom on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. .

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Guns ‘n Kids and NRA Loons

Guns 'n Kids and NRA Loons

Here's the full quote from Charles P. Pierce. If your "way of life" involves handing deadly weapons to five-year olds, your way of life is completely screwed up and you should ...

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America The Brave…or is it America the Fearful?

America The Brave...or is it America the Fearful?

A guest post from James Fidlerten. ___ After September 11, 2011, America became united, as it grieved the loss of so many lives on American soil. The tragic event also changed so ...

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Gun Crazy Arizona Does it Again

Gun Crazy Arizona Does it Again

I'm not sure that 'crazy' is strong enough an adjective to describe the many (or few) who go to the absurd lengths they do in defending America's out-of-control gun culture. ...

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Popes, Pedophiles and Saints-to-be

Popes, Pedophiles and Saints-to-be

When an enabler of sexual abuse directed at children sits on the threshold of sainthood, you know you're living in a world of screwed-up priorities. The canonisation of Wojtyla is getting ...

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What if Bush v. Gore Never Happened?

What if Bush v. Gore Never Happened?

Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, ponders Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 presidential election. Looking back, O'Connor said, she isn't sure the high court should have ...

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No More Bushes

No More Bushes

Barbara Bush on a Jeb run in 2016. "We've had enough Bushes." An entire planet concurs. __ Follow MarioPiperniDotCom on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. .

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Boston and Bush

Boston and Bush

Today we learn... The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has told interrogators that the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated him and his brother to carry out the ...

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Maureen Dowd’s Drivel

Maureen Dowd's Drivel

The above is in response to Maureen Dowd's ridiculous assertion that President Obama is incompetent for failing to get the 60 votes the Senate required to move the gun background ...

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Guns, Gays and Immigration

Guns, Gays and Immigration

In desperate need of an excuse for voting against background checks, here's the one an unnamed Democratic senator is using. “Guns, gays and immigration — it’s too much. I can be ...

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Congress and the NRA Makes Sure That America Loses…Again

Congress and the NRA Makes Sure That America Loses...Again

The vote came in at 55 to 45 in favor of expanding background checks for gun sales. In most institutes of democracy, that would have been more than enough to ...

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Louie Gohmert – Idiot in a Box

Louie Gohmert - Idiot in a Box

Even for Louie Gohmert apologists who can't quite grasp the fact that the man is a complete moron whose Idiot Quotient rivals that of Michele Bachmann, it has to be ...

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Boston…and believing

Boston...and believing

Exactly. Boston. Fucking horrible. I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity." But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be ...

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The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects

Less than 24 hours after the tragedy at Boston and without a clue as to whom the perpetrator might be, the bigots have crawled out from under the rocks they ...

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When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View?

When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View?

When did ignorance become a point of view? ~Dilbert Is it time yet to make a double-digit IQ a prerequisite to running for public office? Via Foolocracy: Texas Rep. Joe Barton doesn’t believe ...

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Romney Scrabble

Mitt Romney - Scrabble    :     http://mariopiperni.com/

I played Scrabble last night and actually used the words vulture, taxes and haven. None of the words helped me win (although I did get 32 points for vulture, which was nice) but it did get me thinking that it might be time for a vacation.

From Swampland comes one of the better takes on the Romney tax issue that I’ve come across.

Romney should release his returns on principle alone. Full financial disclosure is important in politics because you never know what tomfoolery human beings interested in power might have gotten up to. This isn’t case-specific: Romney strikes me as an upstanding guy who’s probably never so much as jay walked in his life. He’s an eagle scout. Just a rich one with a low tax rate. But as a general rule, we’re much better off erring on the side of disclosure with our leaders. We’re handing off the nuclear football, after all. If that’s not compelling enough, there’s policy value in seeing how little he paid. Call it a teachable moment for American revenue.

Isn’t common sense a beautiful thing?

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Comments

  1. john liming says:

    The thing is that I do not feel the compelling force of these tax returns so much as I sense something strange and unsettling in the refusal to disclose.

    It gives a sensitive soul like myself pause and makes me wonder what there might be to hide that might raise the hackles of The American People if it were made known?

    I think the problem is deeper than mere tax returns. I think there is something else.

    That is what disturbs me far more than any mere tax information.

  2. Carol says:

    WHO’S handing off the nuclear football…or anything else to Mitt Romney? Not me.
    Cudo’s John Liming…trust your gut. A secretive candidate, Eagle Scout or not, doesn’t deserve ours.
    Another spectacularly ingenious illustration, Mario.

  3. E.A. Blair says:

    It’s the height of hypocricy to demand extreme disclosure from the President (his school records, travel itineraries, professional credentials) while giving Romney a pass on something so basic as his taxes. Maybe full disclosure should be required by law.

  4. Karen Weston says:

    I read an article in the Huffington-Post that several current and former Bain executives have said Romney would never have run for President if he had thought he’d be pressed to release his tax returns. If that is true, I find it hard to believe he could be that naive and ignorant. When you run for the highest office in the land, your life becomes an open book and you are going to be subjected to intense public scrutiny of every detail of your life, past and present.

    I’m with you John Liming — I find it unsettling and disturbing that he is refusing to disclose the information. If you have nothing to hide, what’s the problem???

  5. dinamic says:

    My problem and real concern with both of the Romneys is the obvious entitlement that they feel “it is our turn” and expect us to acknowledge. “We have given you people all that you need” blah blah blah. Do they not have an inkling of the honor that it is to be even considered to become the leader of our country? They are somehow special and above us and the laws that apply to us. I sense a lack of empathy and no understanding or interest in anyone outside their own small circle of family and maybe close friends. This is not the mark of a leader. He has proven with his flip flops and willingness to take any position on any issue that will gain the job that he wants. He wants the position of president not the job as we think of it. He wants only the title, the prestige, he will be more than willing to let others set policy.

    He is The Hollow Man, a one trick pony who can only spot assets and exploit them.

    Mitt Romney has never created anything on his own nor has he invested in a good idea and helped to foster it. He has only latched on to others hard earned assets and milked them dry. If that is the American Dream I learned the whole thing wrong.

  6. JOHN LIMING says:

    Think “Re-Hash” of Bushism!

  7. Janice Stewart says:

    Very well stated, dinamic.

  8. Karen Weston says:

    Very true, dinamic — “you people” did not set well with me for all the reasons you have stated. Would we, the people, want leaders with that demeanor and attitude to work FOR us?? I hardly think so. Ann Romney’s comment couldn’t be more revealing.

  9. E.A. Blair says:

    When I heard that “you people…” comment, the second thing I thought of was Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean and her comment that “Only little people pay taxes”. The first thing I thought was that it was an extremely bitchy thing to say.