This Morning’s Must Know News — September 18, 2012

Mitt Romney Disses Half of America

In case you missed it, Mitt Romney put his foot in his mouth again, this time disparaging people who don’t pay income taxes. Mother Jones posted audiotape of him grousing at a private campaign event that he doesn’t care about those voters because they vote for Obama.

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what ….These are people who pay no income tax.

Maybe some of them did vote for Obama, but a lot of them probably vote Republican. That’s because 8 of the 10 states with the highest numbers of non-payers are red states, according to TheAtlantic.com. I’m guessing you won’t hear that fact on Fox News.

TheAtlantic.com also says:

It’s important to remember that just because people aren’t paying income tax doesn’t mean they’re not paying taxes — they pay federal payroll taxes and state and local sales taxes, for example. One those taxes are factored in, the tax regime is basically flat.

One of the best critiques of Romney comes from conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, who said:

This comment suggests a few things. First, it suggests that he really doesn’t know much about the country he inhabits. Who are these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq war veteran who goes to the V.A.? Is it the student getting a loan to go to college? Is it the retiree on Social Security or Medicare?

It suggests that Romney doesn’t know much about the culture of America. Yes, the entitlement state has expanded, but America remains one of the hardest-working nations on earth. Americans work longer hours than just about anyone else. Americans believe in work more than almost any other people. Ninety-two percent say that hard work is the key to success, according to a 2009 Pew Research Survey.

Romney defended himself during a press conference late yesterday evening.

Romney’s gaffe just cost him the election, concludes Bloomberg.com writer Josh Barro. Do you agree?

Subway Pervert Walks Free After Grinding & Orgasming on Three Women

New York State’s Court of Appeals has a strange way of interpreting the state’s sexual assault laws. The court has ruled that grinding against an unconsenting person in a packed subway car — even to the point of orgasm — is not a felony, because the assailants don’t use force while committing a crime. Because the crime is just a misdemeanor, a 27-year-old man arrested and charged in connection with 3 counts of it, will avoid prison time and receive 3 years probation instead.

Jumaane Williams Attacked by Police … Again

City Councilman Jumaane Williams got into another dustup with the NYPD — this time a photo showed a cop shoving him in the chest during an Occupy Wall Street rally Monday night.

About the Author

Kelly Virella

Kelly Virella lives in an East Harlem walk-up with her husband, her bicycle and her books. She's worked as a journalist for 11 years and started this website during the summer of 2011. She fell in love with New York City during her first visit here as a 16-year-old and finally made good on her promise to move here in April 2010.