September 28, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed the UN General Assembly while holding a cartoon-like sign in an effort to establish a "red line" for Iran not to cross in its development of nuclear weapons (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/world/new-york-unga/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

- A 36 year old worker at a sign manufacturer in Minneapolis, Minnesota returned to his employer's building shortly after losing his job and killed 4 people including himself (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-minn-office-shooter-kills/story?id=17344310#.UGWDMpj7KWg

- The man behind the anti-Muslim film "The Innocence of Muslims" was held without bond Thursday evening on charges that were not related to his film (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57521939/man-behind-anti-muslim-film-ordered-jailed/?tag=AverageHero;leadHed

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September 27, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Market watchers, law enforcement, and Spanish citizens alike wait as Spain prepares to release the details of its budget proposal (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/business/spain-euro-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has suggested that the recent attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was the work of Al Qaeda (Fox News): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/business/spain-euro-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

- After many mistakes and fan heartaches, the regular NFL referees will return to work on Sunday (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/nfl-referees-reach-agreement-end-lockout/story?id=17334799

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September 26, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Two massive explosions rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier today. The attacks were held against a ministry building, and the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group, has claimed responsibility (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/26/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- Missouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin has vowed to stay in the race after his controversial comments about "legitimate rape" (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57520294/todd-akin-not-quitting-mo-senate-race/?tag=stack

- Libyan president Mohamed Magarief claims the recent attacks that killed US ambassador Chris Stevens had nothing to do with the anti-Muslim film the "Innocence of Muslims (NBC News): http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14105135-libyan-president-to-nbc-anti-islam-film-had-nothing-to-do-with-us-consulate-attack?lite

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September 25, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- President Obama will address the UN General Assembly today. It will be his fourth speech at the yearly meeting (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/25/world/new-york-unga/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- A wildfire in Southern California has scorched more than 2,400 acres. The blaze has left one man dead as it spreads through San Diego county (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/calif-wildfire-destroys-20-homes-threatens-17316999#.UGGOQ7KPVK8

- Disputes over uninhabited land have caused water fights on the seas between Japan and Taiwan (NBC News): http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/25/14087094-taiwanese-ships-clash-with-japanese-coast-guard-over-disputed-islands?lite

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LME Presidential Poll Tracker / Database

This page will be used as a storage location for polling analysis and will be updated often as possible. It is a follow-up to my recent post describing my view that I believe the left-leaning media intentionally over-samples democrats in their polls in an effort to discourage GOP voting. The theory is that if the race is presumed to be "out of reach" for Mitt Romney, republican voters would be more likely to abstain from voting if they feel their efforts would be futile. I wrote about this here: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/09/voter-suppression-look-no-further-than.html <- click here for analysis and methodology.

September 24, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Mitt Romney claims president Obama is trying to fool voters with lies and attacks (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/romney-says-obama-is-trying-to-fool-voters-with-inaccurate-attacks/

- In an interview, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed the anti-Islamic movie "The Innocence of Muslims" that has recently caused an uproar in the Middle East (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-ahmadinejad-interview/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

- Scientists have completed a major analysis of breast cancer, classifying the disease into four major groups. This could help lead to specific types of treatment for each group (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57518669/breast-cancer-genetics-study-dubbed-giant-step/?tag=stack

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September 21, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- As more anti-American protests erupt in the Middle East, US embassies are closing for precautionary reasons (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/anti-islam-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- The last of the 33,000 "surge" troops sent to Afghanistan 2 years ago are coming home (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/21/last-us-surge-troops-leave-afghanistan-officials-say/?test=latestnews

- Mitt Romney has seized the opportunity to claim that President Obama's "you can't change Washington from the inside" remark shows that Obama is weak (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57517286-503544/romney-ridicules-obama-on-change-remark/?tag=stack

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Barack Obama Logo on American Flag Mock-Up - Is This Going Too Far?

What do you think of the following item being sold at BarackObama.com? (https://store.barackobama.com/obama-2012-store-collections/artists-for-obama/our-stripes-flag-print.html) - Please vote using the buttons below. Instructions are in this post - click "Read More"

(Click the image for an expanded view)

For Voter Suppression: Look No Further Than The Media

I'm sure you've seen all the back and forth debate about voter ID laws. People on the right claim they're needed to preserve the integrity of voting while people on the left claim that they would hurt minorities and suppress their vote. We've had a reader write in a post about this:  http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/04/readers-post-14-voter-id-laws-racism-ha.html

I pose to you that there is a different kind of voter suppression occurring, and it's conducted by the media. First, an outline: I often discuss the concept of rhetoric... or, as I like to put it, "rhetoricing." Rhetoricing is the process the media uses to sway people's minds. If the media constantly headlines pro-Obama or anti-Mitt Romney headlines/articles, people will be swayed. ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC News, USA Today, and major print publications should be reporting news and not opinion. But that's not the way it is. Just take a look at cnn.com's front page from September 18th. If you visited the site, you instantly encountered the five following headlines: 

September 20, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- An expected 6 million Americans are expected to pay the penalty for being uninsured under Obamacare. The number was increased upward from 4 million payers for the 2014 law (CNN Money): http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/19/news/economy/healthcare-law-penalty/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

- Intelligence sources claim that an ex-Guantanamo bay detainee was involved in the attacked that killed US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens last week (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/19/top-administration-official-says-strike-in-libya-was-terror-attack/

- Colorado movie theater massacre suspect James Holmes is expected back in court today to face more charges (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/justice/colorado-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

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Don't Believe the "Red State" Lie

We conservatives say that one of the main reasons we should not re-elect President Obama is because of his failure to turn the country around. Often times we are met with the excuse, "well, it was soooooo messed up... George W. Bush left us with such a mess that Obama can't fix it in just four years."

Hmmm, what an interesting concept. If GWB was only president for 8 years, and it is unrealistic to expect the country to "turn" as we were promised it would... how long do you think it would take to turn a state or a group of states that have been blue for, oh, I don't know... many, many decades?

September 19, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- A French magazine has published cartoons that satirize the prophet Mohammed. Outrage in the Muslim world is expected (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/world/europe/france-mohammed-cartoon/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- The Mitt Romney campaign responded to its own secret tape release with release of a tape where Barack Obama claims he believes in redistribution (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/19/clip-purports-to-show-obama-embracing-redistribution-as-romney-slams-remarks/

- President Obama addressed Mitt Romney's "47% secret tape" on the David Letterman show last night (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/president-obamas-joking-romney-letterman-visit/story?id=17261753#.UFmlaLKPVK8

- The Chicago Teacher's Union has voted to end its strike and get back to work today (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57515221/chicago-teachers-suspend-strike-classes-to-resume/?tag=stack

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Open Forum: Mitt Romney's Secretly-Taped Comments

Open forums are a place for debate. That's really all this is about. A position is shared, there isn't much analysis, and the position is debated.

Today's topic: Mitt Romney's comments about the 47% of people that will not vote for him. I'm sure if you've turned on the TV or logged onto a news website today you've heard the latest. You were probably met with headlines of "Mitt Romney claims Obama supporters feel 'entitled'" or something along those lines. To get straight to the source, here are the videos from the socialist publication Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser

The biggest quote that is making its way through the headlines:

September 18, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Mitt Romney is responding to the release of a secretly-recorded tape of him speaking to campaign donors where he can be heard claiming that "There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing" (CNN): http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/17/controversial-private-fund-raiser-video-shows-candid-romney/?hpt=hp_t1

- Due to the increase of "insider attacks," the US forces in Afghanistan are suspending joint US-Afghan patrols (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57514546/u.s-military-suspends-joint-patrols-with-afghans/?tag=stack

- 132 Mexican inmates escaped from a prison in Piedras Negras, Mexico and fled to the US via a tunnel (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/18/132-inmates-escape-from-mexican-border-prison-officials-say/#ixzz26nGG7FFY?test=latestnews

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Quantitative Easing 3 (QE3) - Another Bad Move by The Fed

I'm sure by now you've heard the about the announcement by the Federal Reserve to start what it calls Quantitative Easing - Round 3. If you haven't, here is the an article from Bloomberg online that sums it up: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-13/fed-plans-to-buy-40-billion-in-mortgage-securities-each-month.html. Ron Paul supporters should be up in arms about this, and quite frankly, I am, too.

For my take, I will try my best to keep my thoughts simple. But first, I will attempt to explain this (who knows how this will go) with an analogy:

Have you ever had an issue with drafty windows in your house? It's a pain in the rear, isn't it? Have you ever tried to fix the issue by simply starting fires in your living room? Probably not. If you started a fire in the living room, sure, you'd be warm, but the draft would still exist, and most importantly, you'd have a new problem to worry about. As rough as this analogy is, it applies to QE3. The US has a problem (well, we have many problems). The economy is not recovering quickly enough, and too many Americans are out of work. So what does the Fed do? It creates another problem! It starts another fire for what it thinks will be a fix to the "drafty window" problem. It's bad policy, bad economics, and its potential benefit is certainly not worth the potential drawbacks. Let's get to some "technicals."

September 17, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- As the Chicago Teacher's Union remains on strike for at least the next two days, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking a court injunction that will force the teachers to get back to work (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/17/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

- Violence has increased in Afghanistan as the weekend was scarred with "insider attack" killings (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57513916/anti-u.s-protests-linger-after-deadly-weekend-of-insider-attacks-in-afghanistan/?tag=stack

- The US and Japan have agreed on a new missile defense system to counter threats from North Korea (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/17/us-and-japan-agree-on-new-missile-system-to-counter-north-korea-threat/#ixzz26hcPuPRe?test=latestnews

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Join LME on the Radio - Listen to The 405 Live at 10am

After a tumultuous week in the Middle East, join The Elephant in the Room's main contributor Mike, NewsNinja2012's Wayne, and Opinion TV's Jon Rollings, on the best Saturday morning political talk on the internet. Log on and listen to The 405 Live on the web from 10:00 - 11:00am EST on Saturday, September 15th. The show is hosted by @johng405.  Listen at the following link:

http://the405radio.com/

If you'd like to call in, please do so at 877-297-8022. Feedback on the segment is greatly appreciated.

September 14, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- The US braces for more violence aimed at its diplomatic missions across the Middle East. Demonstrations are expected to take place after the traditional weekly prayer (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/world/meast/embassy-attacks-main/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

- The Chicago Teacher's Union strike is set to resume Friday after some progress had been reported (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57512795/chicago-teachers-strike-talks-set-to-resume-after-progress-reported/?tag=stack

- The Federal Reserve announced another round of quantitative easing (QE3) where it will spend $40 billion per month buying mortgage-backed securities in an effort to drive interest rates lower in an attempt to spur lending (Bloomberg): http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-13/fed-plans-to-buy-40-billion-in-mortgage-securities-each-month.html

September 13, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Two days after angry mobs stormed the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing US Libyan ambassador Christopher Stevens, protesters have stormed the US embassy in Yemen (NBC News): http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/13/13840461-protesters-storm-us-embassy-in-yemeni-capital?lite

- Economists expect the Federal Reserve to undertake another bond-purchasing move in an attempt to stimulate the economy (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/13/many-expect-bold-action-from-federal-reserve-at-close-meeting/#ixzz26KAWqB13

- Fast food giant McDonald's has now started posting the calorie counts of all the food items on its menus (CNN): http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/09/12/mcdonalds-to-include-calorie-counts-on-menu-boards-but-will-that-deter-diners/?hpt=hp_c3

READER'S POST #20 - Romney Misguided on Egypt/Libya

By: whatsamattausa

Mere hours after Americans were killed in savage attacks in Libya and Egypt, Mitt Romney blasts the Obama administration for apologizing for freedom rather than condemning the attacks. Here is the 'apology' statement Romney is talking about: Link -  http://egypt.usembassy.gov/pr091112.html text:

September 11, 2012

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

Barack Obama Should Take His Own Advice - 2008 DNC Speech

Maybe you've seen this video. Maybe you haven't. This isn't an economic analysis, and this isn't something I can take credit for. Keep in mind, I don't blog for accolades, and I don't blog for attention. I blog to spread information. I blog to share truth. I blog to share that I'm a 29 year old conservative in a liberal world, and most importantly, I blog to share WHY I'm a 29 year old conservative in a liberal world. Sometimes I give conclusions. Sometimes I don't... but if I'm going to give information and data, it's to help people learn something. In this case, watch the following video clip of then candidate Obama's 2008 Democratic National Convention speech and make your own conclusions:

September 12, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, was killed along with three others in a series of rocket attacks against the American consulate in Benghazi.

     CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/libya-us-ambassador-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

     NBC News: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/11/13807579-american-killed-in-libya-during-protests-about-prophet-muhammad-video?lite

- The White House is claiming that allegations of its relationship with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have gone cold over issues with handling Iran (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/11/early-frost-white-house-gives-chilly-response-to-proposed-obama-netanyahu-talk/

- A German court has cleared the way for a German-sponsored financial bailout of troubled countries in the European Union (CBS News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/11/early-frost-white-house-gives-chilly-response-to-proposed-obama-netanyahu-talk/

September 11, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Though they are technically political foes, Paul Ryan has said publicly that he stands with Rahm Emanuel with regards to the teacher's strike in Chicago (CNN): http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/10/ryan-sides-with-emanuel-on-chicago-strike/?hpt=hp_t1

- For the first time since the tragedy, elected officials will not be speaking at a ceremony at ground zero (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57510117/turning-point-for-ground-zero-ceremony/?tag=stack

- Senator Rand Paul has promised to stall business on the Senate floor if the case of Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi is not addressed in session (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/10/sen-paul-vows-to-force-vote-on-pakistan-aid-cutoff-following-afridi-account/

*** 

In spite of our political divide, we hope that all Americans come together to remember those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2011, and we'd like to honor the first responders who worked so diligently to rescue the victims we're thankful to have today 

***

September 10, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Students in the third largest public school system in the country are about to get a lot of time off as teachers in Chicago go on strike (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- For the first time in months, President Obama has out-raised Mitt Romney in campaign contributions (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/09/obama-campaign-reportedly-raises-114-million-in-august/#ixzz262LCBDOw

- The US has formally handed over control of Bagram prison to Afghanistan (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bombs-kill-wound-16-western-afghanistan-17194030#.UE3INLKPVK8

The August 2012 Jobs Report

Here is the August 2012 employment situation report from the BLS: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Key Highlights:

- The unemployment rate fell to 8.1%. Non-farm employers added only 96,000 new jobs. 141,000 jobs were added in July. This was revised downward from 163,000 jobs created in the July report. The June jobs report was also revised downward. The original report claimed 64,000 jobs were created; the number dropped to 45,000 new jobs. For 2012, the economy has averaged about 139,000 new jobs per month. In 2011, the economy added 153,000 jobs per month.

- The number of unemployed persons fell to 12.5 million.

- The civilian labor force participation rate also dropped to 63.5% from 63.7% in July.

- The "Not in labor force" (those who have no job and have stopped looking for work) jumped 581,000 from 88,340,000 to 88,921,000.

Share your thoughts, feelings, and analysis below.

September 7, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- President Barack Obama has officially accepted his party's nomination for president of the United States (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/07/politics/five-things-we-learned-day-three/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

- Former Chicago police officer Drew Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife in 2004. The family of his fourth wife, now disappeared, asks about her whereabouts (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/07/family-stacy-peterson-hopes-for-justice-after-drew-peterson-convicted-third/#ixzz25m7E5QbR

- Great Britain's Prince Harry has returned to Afghanistan for a four-year tour as a helicopter pilot (USA Today): http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-09-07/prince-harry-afghanistan/57670942/1

*** Be sure to vote in the weekly LME Paul Ryan VP Nominee poll on the left side of this blog ***

September 6, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Bill Clinton, the Democratic National Convention's big-ticket speaker for Wednesday night, made his case for why the country should re-elect Barack Obama (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/05/bill-clinton-praises-obama-for-putting-america-on-long-road-to-recovery/

- The Secret Service is investigating an alleged theft of Mitt Romney's tax returns from PricewaterhouseCoopers (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57507097/secret-service-probing-claimed-theft-of-romney-tax-records-$1m-hush-money-demand/?tag=stack

- A new report by the Department of Labor shows that 15% of all Americans are now on Food Stamps (NBC News): http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/05/13682742-report-15-of-americans-on-food-stamps?lite

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The Official "Campaign" Slogan of This Blog: #Question

Designed by Pachyderm Pride

Why "Question?" Where does this come from? And why the similarities to the Obama "Forward" logo? All this will be explained. 

First, let me explain one of the original reasons I titled the blog The Elephant in the Room. As a sub-30 year old republican living in Maryland, I'm certainly a rare breed. Naturally, many of my friends (and yes, this definitely extends to Facebook) are democrats. Heck, my wife is a democrat, and I don't fault her for it. :-) Because of that, I'm obviously outnumbered not only in my age group, but in my social circles as well. I'm okay with this. I chose the screen name and web address "Loudmouth Elephant" because I care about politics and economics, and in order to be heard, that's what I have to be. Regardless, I tend to be the "elephant in the room" when it comes to political discussions.

September 5, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- During the first night of the Democratic National Convention, speakers took aim at Mitt Romney (CNN):  http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/politics/democratic-convention-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

- A gunman killed one and injured another at a midnight victory rally for Quebec's newly elected premier (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/quebec-separatist-party-return-power-17148107

- The Pentagon is alleging a newly-released book by a Navy SEAL who participated in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden released classified material (Fox News): http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/04/pentagon-book-on-bin-laden-raid-includes-classified-information/?test=latestnews

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READER'S POST #19 - Where's Waldo... And Obama?

By: 32slim32

Remember when that horrible, evil George Bush (who didn’t care about black people) didn’t go to New Orleans for two days after hurricane Katrina? Well, he flew over two days after because there was nowhere to land. He returned the next day. Remember all the outrage?

That makes you think that a president that actually cared about black people (you know, a Democrat) would be there much sooner. Right?

Hurricane Isaac hit the gulf coast late Tuesday evening. Where was President 0bama? Well let’s go to whitehouse.gov and check his itinerary for the days following the hurricane?

September 4, 2012 - Morning Headlines

- Less than a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up, the Democratic National Convention kicks off tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/04/politics/democratic-convention-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

- California Democratic Party chair John Burton is in hot water for comparing Paul Ryan to chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels (CBS News): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57505334/calif-democratic-leader-john-burton-gop-lies-similar-to-those-of-nazi-propagandist-joseph-goebbels/?tag=stack

- The price of oil has risen due to the weakening of the US dollar. Gulf Coast oil refineries coming back online has not helped reduce the price of a barrel of oil as of yet (ABC News): http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/oil-price-rises-dollar-softens-17145997#.UEXggMGPVK8

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