From the NY Times ...

That study found, in short, that Mr. Romney could not keep all of the promises he had made on individual tax reform: including cutting marginal tax rates by 20 percent, keeping protections for investment income, not widening the deficit and not increasing the tax burden on the poor or middle class. It concluded that Mr. Romney’s plan, on its face, would cut taxes for rich families and raise them for everyone else.

Tax Policy Center in Spotlight for Its Romney

From Yahoo News ...

The BBC World Service opinion poll, conducted between June and September, indicated an average 50 percent preference for the current president and just 9 percent for his Republican challenger. A majority of people surveyed in all countries preferred that the incumbent win the election, except in Pakistan which favors Romney.

What the World Thinks of U.S. Elections

The Smoky Mountain Blues Society has their final of the year Blues Cruises this Sunday, October 28th on the Star of Knoxville Riverboat. Join us for three hours of great blues music with Slow Blind Hill from Knoxville.
Tickets are $13 in advance and $18 day of show. Boarding at 2PM, cruise from 3 to 6. Hope to see you there. Call the Riverboat Company at 865-525-7827 | 800-509-2628 for tickets
Check out the SMBS website for more info.
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Slow Blind Hill link
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What is Romney's stance on climate change?

From NBC News ...

A changing Gulf Stream off the East Coast has destabilized frozen methane deposits trapped under nearly 4,000 square miles of seafloor, scientists reported Wednesday. And since methane is even more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas, the researchers said, any large-scale release could have significant climate impacts.

Temperature changes in the Gulf Stream are "rapidly destabilizing methane hydrate along a broad swathe of the North American margin," the experts said in a study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

Climate changing methane rapidly destabilizing off east coast

Romney makes an endorsement...

Right...

"High turnout" in Eagle Rock...

Here it is.

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Today, Baker Center, 3pm - 5:30pm

Join us as we get an inside look at American politics from Chip Saltsman. Chip (born March 24, 1968) is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001, senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and manager of Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for the Chuck Fleischmann campaign in Tennessee’s 3rd district from 2009 to 2010. Chip frequently appears on CNN and other news media, commenting on politics.

Invitation and RSVP link: bit.ly/TsQDbh

Discuss. I've already voted, so nothing can change my mind. At any rate, is it just me,or is Romney coming across as "me too" with regard to Obama's foreign policy?

I guess people already knew this, but some detailed data that might be of interest.

From NY Times and Brookings Institute ...

a family would have to pay more per year to move into a good public school zone than for their children to attend some private schools. Translated into an average home price, the gap works out to an average of $205,000 more for a home near a high-performing school.

“We think of public education as being free, and we think of the main divide in education between public and private schools,” Mr. Rothwell said in an interview. “But it turns out that it’s actually very expensive to enroll your children in a high- scoring public school.

Test Scores and Housing Costs

Housing costs, zoning, and access to high scoring schools

Both Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson will respond to the debate questions tonight on DemocracyNow's coverage

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Pat McGinley will be at the Baker Forum on Energy and the Environment Thursday, 25 October, 2012 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Do we have any of these sort of billboards in the Knoxville area?

From Reuters ...

The billboards, which show a large judge's gavel and read "Voter Fraud is a felony - up to 3 ½ years and a $10,000 fine," went up primarily in low-income minority neighborhoods in early October, just weeks before the November 6 elections, and were immediately criticized by voter rights groups as an attempt to intimidate minority voters.

Ohio voter fraud billboards to come down, sponsor stays unnamed

Just read through the KNS voter guide. no favorite movies or books, thank goodness. And a nice job on summarizing the County charter amendments.

But not a single word about the City charter amendment? Srsly? What's up with that?

Why is the purchase of the Ohio voting machines by Tagg Romney 1) legal and 2) not all over the news?

What if:

• The Obama family bought voter machines in battleground states. Remember, Ohio is crucial. No Republican has won without winning Ohio.
• Democrat CEOs urged employees to vote for President Obama, or they would be fired.
• Obama was caught asking independent business owners to apply pressure to their employees to influence their votes.
• Obama had knowingly invested in a brutal Chinese sweatshop, while campaigning against China.
• Obama had at least $250,000 in the Bain Capital Asia Fund and as much as $1 million each in Bain Capital Funds IX and X, all Cayman Islands entities used by Bain to make sizable investments in China.
• A noted war monger supported Obama, publicly.
• Obama tried to suppress the Republican vote, while Democrats cheered it on.
• Joe Biden swore an oath to cease any effort by the newly minted President, to better the nation.
• Obama's tax plan was disproven time and time again as mathematically incorrect/incoherent, but cheered on by 'fiscal Democrats' anyway.

What if our churches put up signs stating, 'Get the Mormon out of our White House.' What if. Imagine the uproar.

Saving the best for last: What if, after considering the ramifications of the aforementioned, Obama refused to release his tax returns?

[Source, FreakOutNation, Hypocrisy: If the President's Family Purchased Voter Machines, the Uproar Would be Deafening]

Statement from his family: "We are blessed to know that our father lived a long, successful and productive life advocating for the hungry, being a progressive voice for millions and fighting for peace." CNN...

But we're capable. Are we allowed to be cautiously optimistic?

I have a tendency to go overboard when opining on this subject, but this goes way beyond any sense of decency and should be reported and known.

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The Salt Lake City Tribune says that Romney did good by Utah with the olympics, but that the country wouldn't know who it would get if he were elected because he panders so. And they praise Obama for staying to course has he has fought steadily to right the country in his first term, endorsing him for a second.