Daily Kos

Carly Fiorina is developing a nasty little habit of embellishing lying about nearly everything.

Another fact-turned-fiction turn of events came Sunday when Fiorina insisted that an SEC investigation had "proved" she had no knowledge of Hewlett-Packard's extensive printer sales in Iran, which were illegal, when she led the company from 1999 to 2005.

“In fact, the SEC investigation proved that neither I nor anyone else in management knew about it…” she insisted, adding,  “...when the company discovered this three years after I left, they cut off all ties. The SEC investigated very thoroughly and concluded that no one in management was aware.”  

Turns out that "investigation" never happened. Rather, the SEC inquired about HP's printer sales in Iran, HP execs responded, and the SEC ultimately didn't open an investigation, reports Eric Schmeltzer:

There is no record of the Enforcement Division -- the only division that performs investigations -- taking up the matter. Thus, no investigation was performed.

In fact, her 2010 Senate campaign team seemed a little more burdened by the truth in its framing of the issue.

"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquired about the matter, but the company has never been found in violation of U.S. trade embargoes."

The notion that HP ended up dominating 41 percent of Iran's printer market by 2007 and Fiorina allegedly had no knowledge of that is beyond suspect. (A 2003 press release from the foreign subsidiary that sold the printers in Iran, Redington Gulf, stated that its relationship with HP had begun in 1997 to concentrate on "one market—Iran.")  But in her Sunday interview with Wallace, Fiorina actually used the SEC "investigation" as a deflection tactic, failing to ever answer directly whether she had any knowledge of the sales to Iran. I'd like to hear that question asked again and again until she actually answers it ... without lying.

For too many years, the Catholic teachings that have gotten the most attention in the United States have been limited to sex and related topics. The broader sweep of Catholic teaching has continued to include much more, such as the rights of workers and opposition to the death penalty, but it's been easy for Republicans to ignore while loudly calling out the issues on which they agreed with the church. Pope Francis has changed that balance, to the discomfort of Republicans, and Thursday he took his message straight to Congress.

Republicans still got lines they liked—or thought they did—such as "The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development." But of course they weren't quite so enthusiastic about the "at every stage" part; Francis continued:

This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes.

That wasn't the only part of the speech bound to give congressional Republicans heartburn, in the politest and most elegant way possible. On inequality and the economy:

If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort.

"It cannot be a slave to the economy and finance." Oof. On immigration and the refugee crisis:

Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions. On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome.

"Common temptation" ... or happily embraced policy? On poverty:

How much has been done in these first years of the third millennium to raise people out of extreme poverty! I know that you share my conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in times of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost. At the same time I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. They too need to be given hope. The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes.

But in this country, one of our political parties wants the minimum wage at a poverty level—when it's not outright opposing any minimum wage—and seeks to cut food stamps and other important pieces of the safety net. On climate change and inequality:

n Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous and responsible effort to "redirect our steps" (ibid., 61), and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a "culture of care" (ibid., 231) and "an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature" (ibid., 139).

Pope Francis is no liberal, but he's forcing Americans to pay attention to issues his recent predecessors had allowed to take a back seat. And you could see on their faces how uncomfortable that was for congressional Republicans.

David Daleiden and his "Center for Medical Progress" want to keep it secret how they secretly filmed and deceptively edited videos attacking Planned Parenthood over legal fetal tissue donation practices, but the courts are not going along with that secrecy agenda. A panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the CMP would have to participate in discovery, which would mean turning over a lot of information to the National Abortion Federation in one case, and:

In a separate case against CMP brought by StemExpress, the tissue procurement company featured in some of Daleiden's videos, a judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court said Tuesday that Daleiden has to turn over documents in that case as well.

The ruling allows StemExpress — which worked with Planned Parenthood clinics before becoming embroiled by the scandal — to obtain documents, communications and certain unedited footage from the Center for Medical Progress.

The CMP can appeal the 9th Circuit decision to the Supreme Court, but it looks likely that one way or another, we'll be finding out a lot more of what went on behind the scenes as these James O'Keefe wannabes built their deception and teed up a widespread attack on Planned Parenthood by congressional Republicans, Republican presidential candidates, and Republican governors.

House Democrats are playing their cards close to their chests in the latest soap opera in the Republican conference. Overthrow Speaker Boehner or don't, they are telling Republicans because it's their problem. In the meantime, however, maybe they ought to try governing.

"It's not our responsibility to try to solve their divisions," Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Hoyer, the minority whip, said Democratic leaders have had no formal discussions on how they'd approach a potential coup to topple Boehner, as some conservatives are threatening. He suggested the Democrats would steer clear of the issue until forced to do otherwise.

"We'll have to respond to them when they manifest themselves in a way that it makes it necessary for us to respond," he said. "And we'll do that." […]

"We don't know what the Republicans are going to do, and our experience has been that the Republicans are somewhat unpredictable," he said.

"The thing you can usually predict is that they'll create chaos in some fashion or another."

Hoyer did, however, extend a little help to Boehner. Sort of. He said that House Democrats would likely be happy to vote for a stop-gap funding bill at current levels to avoid a shutdown, depending on what the Senate, which is acting first, puts in the bill. "We have been clear that we want to keep the government open," he told reporters. "Under the circumstances, it might [get] our support, but I don't want to say that until I see what the Senate does."

Whether Boehner considers that help, though, is the big question. If he passes a "clean" funding bill as Democrats are demanding and with Democratic votes, then he's probably going to be subjected to a coup attempt. If he acquiesces to the hard-liners in his conference, and goes for the shutdown, he will inevitably have to capitulate to President Obama and Democrats soon thereafter to avoid total disaster for the party. Either way, Boehner is screwed as speaker. He might as well accept that and actually do what's right for the country.

Sign if you agree: Democrats must stand strong. No cuts to Planned Parenthood. No government shutdowns.

The knives are out, the sharks are circling, reporters and establishment Republicans everywhere are licking their lips at the thought ... is Donald Trump's campaign finally stalling? The evidence: He appeared before some partly empty rooms in South Carolina, seeming defensive and less confident than usual. And while he's still leading in the polls, his numbers may be leveling off or dropping slightly:

The latest national Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday provided some fuel to wishful rivals. Trump still leads among registered Republican voters with 25 percent, statistically unchanged from last month's Quinnipiac survey that put him at 28 percent. Yet it's the second major national poll this week showing a slight decrease from last month — Trump experienced an 8-point drop in the CNN/ORC survey released Sunday. (A Fox poll released Wednesday evening also showed Trump with relatively stalled momentum, and a Bloomberg survey of the GOP field showed Trump in a holding pattern at 21 percent).

The thing is, those polls all still do show him leading by healthy margins. So while Trump may be entering a downturn, he may also just have hit a ceiling—that's higher than any of his competitors have reached. It's hard to know, especially with a media that's  been predicting his imminent fall since he first started rising in the polls and a Republican establishment that wants to make it happen. Trump and Fox News are on the outs again, and recent primary drop-out Scott Walker is actively organizing against Trump, attributing his decision to leave the race to the feeling that it would help bring Trump down, and arguing that other trailing candidates should do the same. He told donors that he's "challenging others in this race to consider making this decision because I believe in the end if we narrow the field to just a few quality, positive alternatives to the frontrunner, it's not only good for the party it's good for the country." (This is also a great way for Walker to suck up to top Republican donors and any eventual non-Trump nominee.)

Trump may be decisively falling. He may be in a brief slump that could provide Walker, Republican donors, the other candidates, and the media a chance to bring him down ... or from which he could recover as quickly as he can find a new outrageous way to hit the sweet spot of the Republican base. But considering that political reporters have been predicting his crash all along, it's hard to trust their assessments this time around.

The Pope goes to Congress, and is spending a great deal of time telling the Congress to stop all the infighting and actually do something to help people. Let's hope they listen.

Watch live here.

7:24 AM PT: Hmmm.... McConnell didn't clap when asked for "respect for our differences."

7:25 AM PT: Now he's speaking of Martin Luther King and his dream. "That dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of "dreams". Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people."

7:29 AM PT: Now a bit of a lesson about immigration: "In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners." He reminds them that he is the son of immigrants, and that pretty much everybody in the room can say the same. He perhaps speaks a bit obliquely about the controversy over the canonization of Junipero Serra, recognizing that the "the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected."

7:31 AM PT: He is tying the refugee crisis in Europe to immigration: "On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children?" We must "view them as persons, see their faces, listen to their stories" and try to "respond as best we can" to them, "in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal." He cites the Golden Rule, and gets a standing ovation. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

7:35 AM PT: "In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities." He is now moving  to the death penalty and abortion. "The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development." He says that bishops in the United States "renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation." Too bad Scalia and Alito are missing this.

7:39 AM PT: He now speaks about Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement and her efforts for social justice. The "encourage[s] you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty." They must also be given hope. He goes on to say "that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth."

7:42 AM PT: The common good also must include the Earth, he says. He cites his encylical, "We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all." Definitely one side in the chamber did not like that one, did not applaud that. Democrats rise to their feet for when he calls for a "courageous and responsible effort to redirect our steps, and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity." Use technology, he says, and put it "at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral."

7:47 AM PT: Now he talks about Cistercian monk Thomas Merton, "a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people [...] a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions." He wants to extend this dialogue, he says, "to recognize the efforts made in recent months to help overcome historic differences linked to painful episodes of the past," presumably referring to the Iran nuclear deal. Remember that handshake reserved for John Kerry? "When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue – a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons – new opportunities open up for all. This has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility."

7:49 AM PT: "Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade."

7:54 AM PT: Now he's moving on to the "family," which is "threatened perhaps as never before from within and without." Now's the marriage equality bit: "Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life." That's as close as he's going to get, turning now to "the young," and "a future filled with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair." He says that " we live in a culture which pressures young people not to start a family, because they lack possibilities for the future. Yet this same culture presents others with so many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family." And once again returns to his theme: "A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to "dream" of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton."

7:55 AM PT: He concludes: "It is my desire that this spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many young people as possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has inspired so many people to dream." And, of course, "God bless America."

Pope Francis goes to Congress this morning, addressing a joint meeting of the House and Senate.

What will Pope Francis say?

As Capitol Hill buzzes in anticipation of the pope’s speech to Congress Thursday  — the first ever of its kind — the fever and fanfare ushering in the event is rivaled only by the suspense and expectation surrounding his ultimate message to lawmakers.

Francis is hardly one to shy away from politics, routinely infusing spiritual themes of a shared humanity with advocacy for bolder global action on issues as diverse as economic inequality, environmental degradation, abortion and the plight of migrants.

He hit the issues of immigration and global warming clearly yesterday when visiting the White House, undoubtedly making Republicans grumble. But then he visited the Little Sisters of the Poor as "a sign of support for them in their legal battle, Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, told reporters." So there's a little bit to make everyone happy. Or mad. Who knows what we'll get today?

The speech will begin at 10:00 ET and you can watch a livestream here.

6:50 AM PT: The chamber has been gaveled in and the place is buzzing as everyone looks for a seat. Looks as though the Pope is going to be on time.

6:57 AM PT: The SCOTUS and the cabinet are now in the chamber. Curiously, neither Justice Scalia or Alito is in attendance.

7:03 AM PT: Members have been advised that they are only supposed to shake hands with the Pope if he initiates it. They were all very well behaved and there was no inappropriate touching on his way down the aisle between members. He only shook Sec. of State John Kerry's hand. Maybe a nod toward the Iran agreement? And, btw, this is a punctual Pope.

7:05 AM PT: He is addressing the Congress in English, and tells the adoring crowd he is pleased to be "in the land of the free and the home of the brave."

7:08 AM PT: The Pope tells them that "the common good... is the chief aim of all politics." A bit awkward, since the next thing the Congress will probably do is shut down government.

7:12 AM PT: Thus far, his focus has been on issues of income inequality, emphasizing the important job this body has in protecting the poor. "Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you."

7:15 AM PT: He's speaking now about four great Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, noting significant anniversaries of each. "They shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people. A people with this spirit can live through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to move forward, and to do so with dignity. "

7:16 AM PT: This is the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. He says, calling back to Lincoln, "building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity."

7:18 AM PT: He warns against religious fundamentalism, of all kinds. "A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms." He specifically warns against "the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners."

7:20 AM PT: He warns against "every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps," telling the Congress that "our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice." "Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good."

7:24 AM PT (Barbara Morrill): New thread here.

Reposted from Daily Kos Elections by Daily Kos Elections Leading Off:

• LA-Gov: If you've been waiting anxiously for new data in the forthcoming battle to determine the next governor of Louisiana, wait no more: In roughly a daylong span, we were treated to three different surveys of the October 24 primary down on the bayou. Two of the polls bear fairly close resemblance, in that they forecast the same "top two"—remember that the first round is merely an all-party primary, with the top two vote getters advancing to a runoff. They do disagree on the order of finish, however.

The Triumph Campaigns poll, which has been a regular fixture this cycle, has Democratic state Rep. John Bel Edwards out to a fairly decent lead over Republican Sen. David Vitter (36-29), with Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle (12 percent) and Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne (11 percent) well behind. (Angelle and Dardenne are also both Republicans.) Meanwhile, a MarblePort poll for the local blog The Hayride shows Vitter leading Edwards (29-26), with Angelle (15 percent) and Dardenne (14 percent) well back.

But one of these ones is not like the others. A new poll from Causeway Solutions had an all-GOP final two as Vitter (24 percent) and Angelle (21 percent), with Edwards, the lone Democrat in the field, just missing the cutoff at 20 percent. (Dardenne's at a distant 10 percent.) Causeway was also the only firm to poll a hypothetical runoff, finding Angelle up double digits on Vitter (43-32). Given the lofty status for Angelle in this poll, perhaps it will not surprise you that the poll was commissioned" by Louisiana Rising, which happens to be a pro-Angelle super PAC.

In addition to all the new polling, we've got a trio of new ads as the campaign shifts into the final stretch. The Louisiana Water Coalition once again goes negative on Republican Sen. David Vitter with an ad clearly targeted at female voters, while both Edwards and Angelle go positive with self-narrated 30-second spots in front of smiling, applauding audiences.

We're back with a live show, post holiday. But we're in a bit of a spot. I didn't get to pay much attention to the news yesterday, and Greg Dworkin has got a morning meeting. Which means we're flying a little blind today.

I figure we can probably get by with a few Pope jokes, saying Trump is a jerk, and predicting a government shutdown, though. Ta da! I'm a Beltway pundit! (But I'll try to do better.)

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David Waldman is observing Yom Kippur today. He has pre-recorded an all-new show for today: There was just too much left to say about the bizarre drug price-raising CEO story to let it drop at the end of yesterday's show, so we plow forward with that one, which really becomes completely nuts. At first glance, Martin Shkreli comes off as the typical multimillionaire boy-genius. But, a look at his history shows a streak of diabolical fiendishness. After all that,will he change? Sticking with a theme of business follies—and hey, why not run the government like this, right?—we start to examine the business record of Carly Fiorina, both at HP and in her previous job at Lucent, which also pretty much collapsed. Hmm! And of course, we have to ask WTF, VW? Finally, in our Entrepreneurial Spirit corner: who says you have to "own" or "have rights in" the property you put on AirBnB? Don't be a dinosaur, man!

Thanks again to Scott Anderson for the show summary!

Need more info on how to listen? Find it below the fold.

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You

Opens next Friday and I can see this generating a bit of box office mojo:

He Named Me Malala is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The film gives us an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl’s life – from her close relationship with her father who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the UN, to her everyday life with her parents and brothers.

Here's the new trailer:

The official movie site is here and you can read reviews (90 percent positive) at Rotten Tomatoes.

Bonus programming note: Malala will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tomorrow night.

And a special word for Ben Carson. America has its own share of Muslims who have the intelligence, grace, wit and forward-thinking vision as Malala Yousafzai. I hope one of them becomes president someday. And I hope you're still around to see it.

Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Peter Wehner:

It’s still early – more than four months before the first vote is cast – but the Republican Party is showing signs it is intent on kicking away a very winnable election in 2016.

It’s doing so by presenting a picture of the party to the American people that is intolerant, bigoted and nativist...

The message being sent to voters is this: The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable with the changing (and inevitable) demographic nature of our nation. The GOP is longing to return to the past and is fearful of the future. It is a party that is characterized by resentments and grievances, by distress and dismay, by the belief that America is irredeemably corrupt and past the point of no return. “The American dream is dead,” in the emphatic words of Mr. Trump.

This is all quite troubling to those of us who are Republicans and find these attitudes repellant.

NY Times:

Perhaps conscious of the empty seats in the back of the room, he repeatedly commented on the size of the audience and said he had added the event to his schedule with little notice.

But, more troubling for a candidate who is heavily reliant on television coverage, there were only a handful of TV cameras in the back of the room, and the national cable stations spent little time on the event. MSNBC carried it for less than four minutes, CNN around six minutes and Fox did not carry the speech at all.

Chris Cillizza:

Wehner, whose honesty and insight about his party and its prospects I've praised before in this space, nails a sentiment I've heard expressed by countless Republicans in the summer of Trump. The concern is that a candidate like Trump is running a campaign based on the 1980 electorate, not the 2016 one.

Sure, appealing to white voters with a message that things aren't as good as they used to be -- the boiled-down appeal that Trump represents -- might work in a Republican primary. But, there is NO mystery or debate that the changing demographic face of the country makes an appeal to the "old ways" an almost-certain electoral loser.

The above is a good part of why I don't believe Donald Trump will win. But more of that below the fold.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is going to stand behind no one in the race to take health care away from hundreds of thousands of women by defunding Planned Parenthood and, while he's at it, taking food away from 45 million by shutting down government. That, he says, is just the by-product of standing up for human rights. And when he says human, you can presume he means "man" and "fetus." Cuz ladies, you're just incubators.

When asked how far he will go as President to defund Planned Parenthood, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) said during a Tuesday interview on "Special Report with Bret Baier," that defunding the healthcare organization is not a "political issue" for him, but a "human rights issue."

“To me that’s not even a political issue, that’s a human rights issue," Rubio told anchor Bret Baier.

He went on and on to explain his views of the "sanctity of life, and how "someone, just because they haven't been born and don't have a birth certificate and haven't yet been named, doesn't mean they don't have rights." And then, of course since he's a Republican and a piece of shit, he lied, saying Planned Parenthood has "been caught repeatedly and now on video trafficking in fetal tissue of aborted children. It's an outrageous practice." No, Rubio. It's an outrageous lie. No number of cooked videos by so-called undercover journalists and deranged fellow candidates will ever make that true.

But, ladies, he does think your health is still "important," (he's not Jeb!, after all) so he says the money should go to "federally qualified health centers." Which we already know can't take on the additional burden of all the women who would lose care. So that's utter crap.

It's fetus rights. Just fetus rights. As usual. Once that kid is born, it can starve to death for all he cares. And might.

Sign if you agree: Democrats must stand strong. No cuts to Planned Parenthood. No government shutdowns.

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Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2012—Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and Conservative Economics:

If Mitt Romney were to declare that his plan for Medicare relied on fairy dust, people would laugh. If he said that he was waiting for Superman—literally Superman, the one with the blue red 'S' and the dangling spit curl—to teach America's children, everyone would assume it was a joke. If Romney swore that bug-eyed aliens were central to his foreign policy, it would generate well-deserved snickers.

And if he said any one of these things over and over, if he insisted they were true, if he included them in nearly every speech, proudly repeated them to the press, and made them the centerpiece of his campaign... if he did that, the laughter would turn sour. Surely Romney wouldn't be able to give a speech without being met with derision. He wouldn't make it through an interview without the media tearing into his ridiculous and unworkable plans. He'd be laughed right out of the race.

So when Mitt Romney declares that his economic plan involves reducing taxes on the wealthy as a means of growing the economy... where's the laughter?

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Tweet of the Day

An actual Christian comes to America and Conservatives be like...

#PopeInDC #PopeFrancis #PopeInUSA pic.twitter.com/bRS8DcjVYL

— Jade Helm Commander (@Anomaly100) September 23, 2015

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On today's Kagro in the Morning show: There was just too much left to say about the bizarre drug price-raising CEO story to let it drop. At first glance, Martin Shkreli comes off as the typical multimillionaire boy-genius. But a look at his history shows a streak of diabolical fiendishness. After all that, will he change? In other business follies—and hey, why not run the government like this, right?—we examine the record of Carly Fiorina, both at HP and in her previous job at Lucent, which also pretty much collapsed. Hmm! And of course, we have to ask WTF, VW? Finally, in our Entrepreneurial Spirit corner: who says you have to "own" or "have rights in" property you put on AirBnB? Find us on iTunes | Find us on Stitcher | RSS | Donate to support the show!

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