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if they didn't graduate from their respective institutions, the schools really would just say so, no?
Aestu's actually the one that made that charge...
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It's not a crime to get shitty grades, nor are good grades requisite of being elected. It's not a crime to write papers in support of communism, nor does being a communist disqualify you from office.
His writings and grades aren't the concern. Some people are saying, and have been for years, that Obama should release his school papers, specifically financial aid or applications, because they think it'll reveal that he said he was applying as an Indonesian student. If this accusation is true then he'd be: 1) Possibly guilty of perjury, since he's an American but may have lied about nationality on an official form, or 2) An Indonesian student, legally applying for assistance as an Indonesian, but then that would raise questions about his eligibility for office.
As Fanta pointed out, there is no reason to believe Obama is guilty of perjury or that he's an Indonesian... or at least there wasn't UNTIL
he himself had provided us with one - not releasing his Oxy/Columbia records. (Thanks for the line, Fanta <3)
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Finally, with regards to McCain, it was enough then because there was no glaring reason or stereotype to make people believe he'd cheat on taxes. He isn't wealthy (and therefore doesn't belong to the class of people who stereo-typically cheat on taxes) and doesn't have offshore bank accounts (a method employed primarily to avoid taxes).
The public-opinion prosecution of an individual based on stereotypes is... sad. The reasons I think this is an issue now isn't because of some stereotype or because there's a clashing of ideals. I think it's simply politics -- Democrats see Romney as a threat to Obama so they start a controversy. The reason people think Romney cheated on his taxes is because Harry Reid, a man who is being used as an attack dog since he isn't running for re-election, said that because
someone who remains unknown and un-named allegedly told him that. Mr. Reid, himself, said he couldn't attest to the credibility of that statement... however, he parroted it. This is, literally, no different than someone saying, "Someone told me Obama is a Kenyan so he's a Kenyan." Now, Reid is suggesting that Romney had so little income, and had so many deductions, that his taxes paid were literally at 0% for 10 years... or he's suggesting that Romney pulled a Marrion Barry and flat-out refused to pay taxes.
For the first angle, it's theoretically possible that Romney didn't pay anything in taxes because of the way the tax code is structured,
but based on some tax experts that talked with the Washington Post, this is improbable. They said that he might have been able to work his deductions in a way where he could have a year or two of
almost no taxes. Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, said that Romney “probably reported income every year” but that he might have paid as low as a 2 percent tax rate in one year. “That’s close enough to zero for me,” McIntyre said. "Close enough to zero" some years isn't the same as "...he hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years.” Regardless, if he did pay two percent for a few years, and if he did it in a completely legal way by using the overly-complicated tax code to his advantage... would he still be an evil man or would he be, as Aestu would say, stealing from the American public? (I guess this is a good time to remind you guys that the Republicans have been floating the ideas of fair taxes and consumption taxes so income taxes wouldn't be players anymore... based on some Republican alternatives, this wouldn't be an issue.)
The other angle... well,
we've seen his returns and we know that he's paid over $6,000,000 between 2010-2011... I guess Reid could be saying, "...he hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years back in the 1990s", but that wasn't explicitly stated. Harry Reid's informant is someone that worked with Romney at Bain Capital, but Romney left Bain in 1999. That means it's likely this person is referring to something from 1989-1999, at the latest. I guess, because of Reid's hollow accusation, we're supposed to get the tax returns of all presidential candidates from birth until now? If so, I demand Obama release his tax returns all the way back to 1984 when Romney co-founded Bain Capital. It's only fair all candidates go back to the same point, right? You know, just to be sure since they're all rich...
Battletard wrote:
Our foundation hinges on the two clashing values of freedom and justice.
Can't people be free and just? Maybe those two can clash with themselves, like those who value freedom and those who don't... or those who are morally different?
