Mitt Romney's ODD Orbit- Crazy, Stupid and Bizarre Quotes from Mitt

1.  “I was born and raised here. I love the state. It seems right here. Trees are the right height. I like — I like seeing the lakes. I love the lakes. Something very special here. The Great Lakes but also all the little inland lakes that dot the parts of Michigan. I love cars. I don’t know — I mean, I grew up totally in love with cars…. I love cars. I love American cars.”

 —Mitt Romney, campaigning in Michigan (February 2012)

Watch the video. The transcript doesn’t do it justice.

from shitrepublicancandidatessay.tumblr.com

2. ''Who let the dogs out? Who, who.''

—Mitt Romney, during an awkward photo op with a group of African Americans kids at a Martin Luther King Day parade (January 2008)

3. ''Can you see that one of those chocolate, um, uh, chocolate goodies finds its way to our ride?''

—Mitt Romney, struggling to identify a doughnut while visiting an Iowa restaurant, June 8, 2012.

Watch Mitt Romney struggle to identify a chocolate doughnut:

from underthemountainbunker.com

4. 'I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.''

—Mitt Romney, making fun of fans wearing plastic ponchos during a visit to the site of the Daytona 500 Nascar race in Florida, Feb. 26, 2012

5. Mitt Romney in 2002: ''I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose.''

Mitt Romney in 2007: ''Look, I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position. And I get tired of people that are holier-than-thou because they've been pro-life longer than I have.''

from mittromneyforpresident2012.org

6. ''When you have a fire in an aircraft, there's no place to go, exactly, there's no -- and you can't find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem.''

—Mitt Romney, suggesting it would be a good idea to crack a window in a pressurized cabin at 35,000 feet with 500-mile-an-hour winds (Beverly Hills fundraiser, Sept. 22, 2012)

7. ''We've always encouraged young people: Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.''

—Mitt Romney, offering advice to students, citing a friend who borrowed $20,000 from his parents to start and business and suggesting anyone in the audience could do the same (Otterbein University in Ohio, April 27, 2012)

from newser.com/

8. ''I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy — more free stuff. But don't forget nothing is really free. ''

—Mitt Romney, reacting to getting booed at his speech during the annual NAACP Convention after he pledged to repeal Obamacare, July 11, 2012.

9. ''When you give a speech you don't go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important.''

—Mitt Romney, when asked about failing to mention the troops in his nomination speech at the Republican National Convention, Fox News interview, Sept. 7, 2012

10. ''We have a president, who I think is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps.''

—Mitt Romney, who has two Harvard degrees (April 5, 2012)

from ivygateblog.com

Tags: Barack Obama, CNN, tweets , Obama/ Romney debate, Romney, debate, Zingers, Chris Christie, coal, Big Bird, Jim Lehrer, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Gangnam-style, bust a move , Lady Gaga, pop sensation, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Jeremy Lin , NBA stars , NBA , Mitt Romney

Amazing Anniversary Coincidence: Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech AND Obama's bin Laden death announcement.

Talk about an amazing anniversary coincidence from toptenz.net:  

May 1, 2003- Mission Accomplished?

May 1, 2003-George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Visible in the background was a banner stating “Mission Accomplished.” 

The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by the United States under President George W. Bush and the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Tony Blair. Two months after the war started, on May 1, 2003 following the speech, the image above became internationally recognized. Bush was criticized for suggesting the war was over, when in fact it was just beginning.

The controversy surrounding the speech and the banner made video clips and pictures of the speech famous. As criticism mounted, the White House released a statement saying that they didn't mean to imply the Iraq War was over. Pentagon said the banner referred to the aircraft carrier’s 10-month deployment and not the war itself. The banner and picture have come to symbolize the irony of the President giving a victory speech only a few weeks after the beginning of a relatively long war. 

May 1, 2011- Mission Accomplished!

May 1, 2011, exactly eight years after the speech, President Barack Obama announced
that U.S. Navy SEALs had killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. 

Tags: Mission Accomplished, George W. Bush , Bush , USS Abraham Lincoln, Iraq War, Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Tony Blair, Prime Minister , President Barack Obama , Barack Obama , Obama , Osama bin Laden, bin Laden

Superstorm Sandy breakout star- the sign language lady!

The sign language lady- one of the storm's biggest breakout stars!

Watch Lydia Callis in action ,  the sign-language interpreter who appeared at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's side whenever he made a public statement. Bloomberg's live storm updates were translated by Callis who underlined the drama with extremely committed facial expressions that became an immediate Twitter hit. Her mesmerizing display inspired gifs and her own Tumblr.

She's the mayor's official sign language interpreter, translating live on air as he delivers the latest news on Hurricane Sandy. Unlike Bloomberg's own stilted Spanish, Callis's signing is both lightning-fast and emotive, her animated face lighting up and contorting happily as she goes, not unlike a guitarist during a blistering solo. Callis already has quite the online fan club 

Tags: Superstorm Sandy, Superstorm, Sandy, Internet Sensation, Internet, The sign language lady, sign language lady, sign language, breakout star, Lydia Calas, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Tumblr

On This Week in History: Oct 29 - November 4

Oct 29, 1998 John Glenn returns to space

Back in Orbit: John Glenn's Return to Space

Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Hershel Glenn, Jr.,  is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a  NASA study on health problems associated with aging.

Oct 30, 1938 Welles scares nation

The New York Times headline from October 31, 1938

Orson Welles causes a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds"—a realistic radio  dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth. He was only 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company  decided to update H.G. Wells' 19th-century science fiction novel War of the Worlds for national radio. This  was not planned as a radio hoax, and Welles had little idea of the havoc it would cause.

The show began on Sunday, October 30, at 8 p.m. - prime-time in the golden age of radio with millions of  Americans tuned in. Welles introduced his radio play followed by a weather report. Then the scare began  with a report of explosions on the planet Mars followed by a large meteor crashed into Grovers Mills, New  Jersey. Soon, an announcer at the crash site described a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder,  Martians mounted walking war machines fired "heat-ray" weapons at humans and  annihilated 7,000 National Guardsman. The radio play was so realistic with sophisticated sound effects and actors portraying terrified announcers and other characters. As many as a million radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was underway. Panic broke out across the country. When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio, Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was just fiction.

The Federal Communications Commission investigated the program but found no law was broken. Welles feared that the controversy generated by "War of the Worlds" would ruin his career. In fact, the publicity  helped land him a contract with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote, produced, and starred  in Citizen Kane—a movie that many have called the greatest American film ever made.

Oct 31, 1517 Martin Luther posts 95 theses

Luther in 1533 by Lucas Cranach the Elder

On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in  Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would  begin the Protestant Reformation. In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the  papal practice of asking payment—called "indulgences"—for the forgiveness of sins.Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to purchase them. When they returned, they showed the pardons they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins.

The term "Protestant" first appeared in 1529, when Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of princes and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. They became known to their opponents as Protestants which gradually came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even outside Germany. By the time Luther died in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.

Nov 01, 1512 Sistine Chapel ceiling opens to public

Inside the Sistine Chapel, looking west to the entrance. Photo © Web Gallery of Art.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time. Michelangelo Buonarroti was the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists. He was called to Rome in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—the chief consecrated space in the Vatican. Michelangelo's epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works. Central in a 

complex system of decoration featuring numerous figures are nine panels devoted to biblical world history. The most famous of these is The Creation of Adam, a painting in which the arms of God and Adam are stretching toward each other. In 1512, Michelangelo completed the work. Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88.

Nov 02, 1947 Spruce Goose flies

Spruce Goose

The Hughes Flying Boat—the largest aircraft ever built—is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first  and only flight. With laminated birch and spruce, the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and designed to carry more than 700 men.

Following the U.S. entrance into World War II in 1941, the U.S. government commissioned Hughes Aircraft  Company to build a large flying boat capable of carrying men and materials over long distances. Because of wartime restrictions on steel, Hughes decided to build his aircraft out of wood laminated with plastic and covered with fabric. Although it was constructed mainly of birch, the use of spruce would later earn the aircraft the nickname Spruce Goose. It had a wingspan of 320 feet and was powered by eight giant propeller engines. Development cost a phenomenal $23 million and took so long that the war had ended by the time of  its completion in 1946. With many detractors from Congress demanding that Hughes prove the plane airworthy, Hughes took  the H-4 prototype out into Long Beach Harbor, CA for an unannounced flight test November 2, 1947, Thousands of onlookers had come to watch the aircraft taxi on the water and were surprised when Hughes lifted his wooden behemoth 70 feet above the water and flew for a mile before landing.

The Spruce Goose never went into production, primarily because critics alleged that its wooden framework was insufficient to support its weight during long flights. Nevertheless, Howard Hughes refused to neglect his greatest achievement in the aviation field as he kept from 1947 until his death in 1976, the Spruce Goose  prototype ready for flight in an enormous, climate-controlled hangar at a cost of $1 million per year. Today, the Spruce Goose is housed at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Nov 03, 1964 D.C. residents cast first presidential votes

The first election that D.C. voters cast their ballots in was between incumbent President
Johnson and challenger Barry Goldwater.  D.C. voters helped secure LBJ’s presidential win 47 years ago

On this day in 1964, residents of the District of Columbia cast their ballots in a presidential election for the first time. The passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961 gave citizens of the nation's capital the right to vote for a commander in chief and vice president. They went on to help Democrat Lyndon Johnson defeat Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964, the next presidential election.

In 1801, the District was put under the jurisdiction of Congress which terminated D.C. residents' voting  rights. In 1961, the 23rd Amendment restored these rights, allowing D.C. voters to choose electors for the  Electoral College based on population, with a maximum of as many electors as the least populated state. With a current population of over 550,000 residents, 61-square-mile D.C. has three electoral votes.

Nov 04, 1956 Soviets put brutal end to Hungarian revolution

A spontaneous national uprising that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks  and troops on this day in 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.

The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression.  In response,  Imre Nagy, the newpremier,  tried

to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Soviets did so, but Nagy then tried to push the Hungarian revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule and  announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact (the Soviet bloc's equivalent of NATO). On November 4, 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush, once and for all, the national uprising.  Vicious street fighting broke out, but the Soviets' great power ensured victory. At 5:20 a.m., Nagy sought  asylum at the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest. He was captured shortly thereafter and executed two years  later.

The Soviet action stunned many people in the West. An estimated 2,500 Hungarians died and 200,000 more fled as refugees. Sporadic armed resistance, strikes and mass arrests continued for months thereafter,  causing substantial economic disruption. Inaction on the part of the United States angered and frustrated  many Hungarians.  As Soviet tanks bore down on the protesters, theUnited States did nothing beyond issuing public statements of sympathy for their plight.

Tags: John Glenn, space shuttle Discovery, space shuttle , Discovery, NASA, Orson Welles, Orson Welles, "War of the Worlds", "War of the Worlds", Mercury Theater , Citizen Kane, Martin Luther , Germany, Wittenberg, Castle Church, Protestant Reformation, Protestant, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic , Prince Frederick III the Wise , Sistine Chapel in Rome, Sistine Chapel , Rome, Italian Renaissance, Italian , Renaissance, Michelangelo Buonarroti , Michelangelo, Spruce Goose, Evergreen Aviation Museum, Howard Hughes, D.C. residents cast first presidential votes, 23rd Amendment in 1961, Lyndon Johnson, Electoral College, Hungarian revolution, Soviets, Hungary, Imre Nagy

Popular Myths About Video Games

Below are the most common myths about video games from 10 Myths About Video Games by Josh Clark and Wesley Fenlon

1: Video Games Are For Kids

from eessfkntu.blogfa.com

While it is true that kids love video games there are many, many more gamers now adults who grew up playing older games like"Mario Bros.", "Sonic the Hedgehog" or even games on the Atari -- and still love video games. This group practically  grew up with the video game industry with the latter now offering more sophisticated and violent games to keep up and support the changing tastes of this demographic.

In 2011, 53 percent of gamers fell within the 18 to 49 age range and the average gamer within that range  was 37. Gamers 50 and older now represent 29 percent of the market . Only 18 percent of gamers are under the age of 18, according to the Entertainment Software Association [ESA]. There are plenty of games still out there for kids, but the average gamer has definitely grown up.

2: Video Games Lead to Social Isolation

from destructoid.com

The usual Video gamer stereotype of nerdy indoor hobby gamers, sitting in their rooms or their mothers' basements staring at the TV day in and day out, never going outside to socialize with their peers, etc. is no more. Though accurate for some gamers, the anti-social stigma of video gaming fans has never been less true. Thanks to high speed Internet connectivity, gamers can play with one another from across the globe. More and more games are designed with cooperative play or competitive multiplayer in mind; time spent playing games often means time spent socializing. While competitive gaming also brings out a lot of trash talk in online communities, online play gives gamers the opportunity to spend time with distant friends or make new ones.

3: Video Games Lead to Violence.

from gadgetaccess.com

When youths engage in violent behavior, the brutal video games they played before they committed their crimes are generally cited as reasons for their tendencies. Logic simply follows:Violent video games make kids violent.

This idea remains conventional wisdom, although some studies of kids and aggressive video games have turned up evidence to the contrary. One 2005 study of people ages 14 to 68 who were asked to play 56 hours of the massively multi-player role playing game (MMRPG) "Asheron's Call 2" in one month found no noticeable change in aggressive behavior among players after the game. Nor did the researchers turn up an increase in aggression among gamers when compared to the control group who didn't play [source: PhysOrg].

Furthermore some more real life and crime statistics belie this notion. While video games continue to sell -- sales rose from $5.5 billion to $9.5 billion from 1999 to 2007 -- violent crime among youth actually declined. In 1999, 1,763 people under age 18 were arrested for homicides in the U.S.; in 2007, that age group accounted for 1,063 murders there [source: Safe Youth, FBI].

4: Girls Don't Play Video Games

from sodahead.com

Public perception of video games as an almost-strictly boys' pastime still remains; the relative lack of popularity of even the most obvious effeminate titles supports this notion. But does the fact that "Metal Gear Solid" vastly outsells Barbie titles on PlayStation mean that girls just don't play video games? Absolutely not.

In fact, from January to August 2008, females ages 18 to 45 came in second only to males of the same age group as the biggest spenders in video game industry (37 percent versus 38 percent) [source: Lee].

5: Pong Was the First Video Game

An upright cabinet of Pong

The common conception that "Pong" was the world's first video game is actually a myth.

Actually, another arcade game had been released a full year prior to "Pong"'s debut at Sunnyvale, Calif.'s Andy Capp's Tavern on Nov. 29, 1972 [source: BartonandLoguidice]. Contrary to popular belief, it turns out that the relatively little-known "Computer Space" holds the title of world's first arcade video game [source: Barton and Loguidice]. It was based on a computer game called "Spacewar!" that was a bit too difficult for gamers since, at that time, every gamer was a novice. "Pong" was slightly more everyone's speed; its popularity blew the doors off of "Computer Space" and led to the myth that it was the first video game.

Tags: 10 Myths About Video Games, Myths , Video Games, Games, osh Clark, Josh Clark, Wesley Fenlon, Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic, Atari, Entertainment Software Association [ESA], Entertainment Software Association, ESA, Social Isolation, massively multi-player role playing game (MMRPG), role playing game , MMRPG, Asheron's Call 2, PhysOrg, Safe Youth, FBI, Safe Youth, FBI, Metal Gear Solid, Barbie, PlayStation, Pong, Computer Space, Barton and Loguidice, Spacewar!

Famous FAILED Doomsday Prophecies- FAILS then... HITs?

Below are the top 5 failed doomsday prophecy predictions of all time from smashinglists.com. Curiously, the Top 2 Doomsday failures are very much major parts of the history of 2 famous religious movements  today- well..not total failures after all...

5. Y2K Bug

In 2000, a there was a prediction that the Internet would crash and the entire world would fail to operate effectively with predictions of planes crashing, grocery stores being emptied, and bank accounts being drained. Because of this, many people believed that the turn of the new millennium would spell the end for the world as we know it. And on the morning of January 1^st, 2001, people quickly realized that the prediction was false and went back to living their lives as normal.

4. Late Great Planet Earth 1970

The Late Great Planet Earth in the 1970′s provided a dispensationalist
view of the establishment being a key component of the return of Christ 

This was a a bestseller book in 1970 written by Hal Lindsey which claimed Christ’s magnificent return  within the 80s- NO specific year.  and his reputation as a writer suffered mildly with the passing of the 80s without incident but he was able to go as far as to acquire his own cable TV show which speaks about the same thing.

3. Heaven’s Gate 1997

from harunyahya.com

On March 26, 1997, a mass suicide was discovered in San Diego by the police composed of 39 people individuals all wearing the same thing. The group known as “Heaven’s Gate” were part of a cult who believed that their only chance at salvation was to kill themselves which they wanted to do before the world broke out in mass destruction and famine. 

2. The Great Disappointment 1844

On October 22, 1844, the Millerite believers, lead by William Miller, awaited the second coming of Christ. When he did not come on that day, they were greatly disappointed.

William Miller believed that the world would end on October 22^nd, 1844 as this would be the day that Jesus would return and save all of those souls who were willing to accept his love guided which he deduced by doing a series of complex calculations. After his false predictions, he was never really seen or heard from much. His “Great Disappointment” proved to be too much for him and he lived the rest of his years in recluse and isolation. Out of this disappointment, however, the Seventh-day Adventist movement was born.

1. Jehovah’s Witnesses (Several Dates)

Charles Taze Russell the founder of The Jehovah Witnesses

Few can argue that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have claimed false doomsday predictions for a long time now. The group itself was discovered in 1874 by a man named Charles Taze Russell. After their inception, they had “predicted” several dates in which the world would end. These dates included 1874, 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, and 1975.

Tags: doomsday , predictions, prophecy, Y2K Bug, Y2K , Late Great Planet Earth 1970, Late Great Planet Earth , Hal Lindsey, Heaven’s Gate 1997, Heaven’s Gate , The Great Disappointment 1844, William Miller, Seventh-day Adventist , Jehovah’s Witnesses , Charles Taze Russell, Russell

Funniest Tweets: Final 2012 Presidential Debate

The following are selected Funniest Tweets on the final 212 Presidential Debate between President Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney from a cnn.com  and ibtimes.com articles:

PeterLandau -- Our presidential candidates should be doping. This debate would be greatly improved by performance-enhancing drugs.

from someecards.com

wheezywaiter -- This split screen is making it easy to imagine a Romney/Obama Siamese twin.

W. Kamau Bell -- President Obama has that "I have Bin Laden's head in a bag beneath the desk." look in his eyes. #mockthevote #debate

from thescottcarpdream.blogspot.com

Donald J. Trump -- Stop congratulating Obama for killing Bin Laden. The Navy Seals killed Bin Laden. #debate

Scary Beans ‏-- Stop congratulating The Navy Seals for killing Bin Laden. Some guns and also some bullets killed Bin Laden. #debate

Andy Borowitz -- Both candidates' use of the numbers 1 through 5 underscores the importance of keeping Sesame Street. #debate

from worldmeets.us

jamisonfoser -- Obama: "I know you haven't had a chance to execute foreign policy." FACT-CHECK: Romney organized multinational Luge competition.

Arianna Huffington ‏-- So no daylight at all btw the two on drones and Afghanistan. This is more of a meeting than a debate.

Matthew Reichbach -- Obama should have picked up a mic and dropped it after that #horsesandbayonets line.

azizansari -- "What are you guys going to be for Halloween?" #BetterDebateQuestions

Romney and Obama masks at the Halloween Adventure store. (Photo by David Crane/Staff Photographer)

nickgillespie -- Governor, you get a phone call that Candy Crowley is on her way to moderate a debate. What do YOU do?

Some Dude -- Did we get married to Pakistan during a drunken weekend in Vegas?? Was Zach Galifianakas involved? #debates

kumailn -- To divorce Pakistan, you'd just have to say "divorce" three times. #islamjoke #lookitup #debate

anamariecox -- I went on an apology tour once and I was sorry I did.

Matt Binder -- "Don't say Obama Bin Laden." - Bob Schieffer preparing for the debate "Obama Bin Laden" - Bob Schieffer at the debate #debates