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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (517794)	10/2/2009 1:42:02 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583558

This is amazing....the Rs must be seriously thinking of running Palin. I am astounded they continue to think of her as presidential material. SCHMIDT WARNS PARTY ABOUT PALIN.... Steve Schmidt, the chief strategist for the John McCain's presidential campaign, has offered his party some sound advice in recent months. Schmidt, for example, has encouraged the GOP to support gay marriage. He's also encouraged Republicans not to "put public policy issues to a religious test." With that in mind, Schmidt reflected yesterday on the 2012 presidential campaign, and said it would be a disaster for the party to nominate Sarah Palin. "I think she has talents," Mr. Schmidt said. "My honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party and in fact were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic result." He said that Ms. Palin clearly has strong support among base voters -- witness the advance sales for her forthcoming political memoir, "Going Rogue" -- but that she had done nothing to expand her base since last November. "I don't think it's inconceivable that she could be the Republican nominee for president of the United States," Mr. Schmidt said. "I think it's almost inconceivable that she could be elected president of the United States." All of this sounds quite reasonable, but there's a small, nagging problem I have with Schmidt's concerns: it was his fault Palin was added to the '08 ticket in the first place. Well, perhaps "fault" is the wrong word. John McCain deserves the blame for choosing a ridiculous running mate whom he barely knew. But let's not forget that McCain didn't intend to give Palin the vice presidential nod until Steve Schmidt convinced him it was the right move. To be sure, I think Schmidt's right about Palin ... now. I just wish he'd applied a little more thought to the running mate selection process a year ago.

To: bentway who wrote (517794)	10/6/2009 7:47:40 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583558

Michael Moore, Closet Supply-Sider By PETER SCHWEIZER Investor's Business Daily Posted 10/05/2009 06:11 PM ET Michael Moore is at it again, attacking capitalism and corporate America, this time with the film "Capitalism: A Love Story." Capitalism is "legalized greed," and "anti-Jesus," he says. And he is sick and tired of special tax breaks for corporations. Or is he? Moore has found a tax break for corporations he actually likes. And his arguments in favor of it sound more like they're coming from a supply-sider than the populist he professes to be. Michigan, where Moore lives, offers the most generous tax breaks and subsidies for film producers in the country. For every dollar you spend making a movie in Michigan, taxpayers will give you back 42 cents. Moore actually relocated his postproduction team from New York City to Michigan just to take advantage of these tax credits. But Moore is not just a recipient of these tax credits. His hypocrisy goes deeper. As a member of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council he has been a cheerleader for them. Appointed to the post by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in September 2008, Moore sees himself as an ambassador who will help bring the film business into the state. And how does he profess to bring the film business to Michigan? By offering it tax breaks. In a revealing two-hour interview with the Michigan weekly Northern Express, Moore is candid about his support for tax credits (he calls them "incentives") that he disdains for any other business. Listen to him recount a conversation with his agent and Hollywood uberliberal Ari Emanuel when the tax credits were first introduced in early 2008: "When the new film incentives were established, some in Hollywood said that it was an Internet rumor," he told the paper's Rick Coates. "My agent Ari Emanuel called and asked if this was real. I told him, yes, it is real, and he responded, 'I am getting this out to all of my clients because no state has anything close to this.'" Apparently there is nothing like a generous tax credit to get Hollywood liberals motivated. Moore then goes on to report on the success of the program. "Just after the incentives went into effect, about a dozen projects came into play," he said. "Then two months ago we were at 20, and as of today I am aware of 32 projects being considered for Michigan." Tax credits apparently spur growth. But in this instance, Moore's generous tax credits amount to the working class in Michigan paying taxes to subsidize high-paying Hollywood jobs. Moore admits this, explaining that people can make $52,000 in six months with these jobs. My staff usually takes off a year after working a year because they have made the equivalent of two or three years' worth of wages in one year," he brags. "So then you have free time to maybe write that book you wanted or open that business you dreamed of." This is no doubt cold comfort to a Michigan middle class just trying to make ends meet with double-digit unemployment. But never mind. Moore is proud of the fact that Michigan has "the best incentive program anywhere" for Hollywood studios. Champion of the working man, always willing to stick it to corporate America, Moore then suddenly offers choice advice to his fellow citizens on how to deal with his Hollywood corporate friends. "When Hollywood comes calling, do not jack up your prices, or they will not be back," he told the paper. These generous tax credits mean that Michigan taxpayers are writing large checks to major Hollywood studios. For example, taxpayers sent $5.7 million to California-based Parallel Media for shooting "High School," a school stoner film, in the town of Howell. According to the Michigan Film Office 2008 annual report, taxpayers paid out close to $48 million to Hollywood studios to create 2,800 part-time jobs. According to Moore, these tax incentives — imagine it! — "will mean jobs and money being pulled into Michigan." That's a funny thing to say, given that Moore always professes to hate tax cuts and tax credits for corporations. But remember, Michael Moore hates capitalism and corporate welfare. He really does. He told us so on camera. • Schweizer is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of the just-released "Architects of Ruin: How Big Government Liberals Wrecked the Global Economy — And How They Will Do It Again If No One Stops Them" (Harper). investors.com