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1.) Madame Moneybags –– The Democrats attack Mitt Romney for being rich and putting some money overseas (though perhaps that’s redundant). TheDC’s Matt Lewis reports that Nancy Pelosi, the highest ranking female Democrat, knows a thing or two about sending her money abroad:
“On the heels of The Weekly Standard’s report yesterday that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz — a vocal critic of Mitt Romney‘s investing practices, had herself dabbled in the foreign markets — we can add Nancy Pelosi to the list of prominent Democrats to profit from overseas investments. According to Pelosi’s 2011 financial disclosure statement, the Democratic House Minority Leader received between $1 million and $5 million in partnership income from ‘Matthews International Capital Management LLC,’ a group that emphasizes that it has a ‘A Singular Focus on Investing in Asia.’ A quick trip to the company website reveals a featured post extolling the virtues of outsourcing.”
But enough of this on either side. Whatever happened to defending free trade?
2.) Hola, would you like some food stamps? — TheDC’s Caroline May reports on an interesting marketing strategy by the government:
“The government has been targeting Spanish speakers with radio ‘novelas’ promoting food stamp usage as part of a stated mission to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps … While the United States Department of Agriculture encourages their outreach partners not to stereotype SNAP applicants, the agency’s use of novelas is interesting. The USDA is not promoting an equivalent English-language drama series and telenovelas are a popular form of entertainment in Latin American countries and a culturally relevant way to appeal to potential applicants.”
3.) Get me outta here! — There are many reasons one might want to get the hell out of Canada. One of them is their universal health care system, reports TheDC News Foundation’s Michael Bastasch:
“A Canadian study released Wednesday found that many provinces in our neighbor to the north have seen patients fleeing the country and opting for medical treatment in the United States. The nonpartisan Fraser Institute reported that 46,159 Canadians sought medical treatment outside of Canada in 2011, as wait times increased 104 percent — more than double — compared with statistics from 1993.”
Follow the traffic. It can tell you a lot.
4.) How about Romney-Ryan or Romney-Christie? — Mitt Romney may pick his running mate soon. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!) opines that it ought to be Paul Ryan or Chris Christie:
“But merely winning isn’t sufficient. America’s fiscal trajectory is unsustainable. Our entitlement programs contain tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities that make our $15 trillion debt look manageable by comparison. Major entitlement reform will have to be the central domestic focus of our next president …This is why of all the choices he has for his vice presidential pick, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are far and away his best to signal the type of choice election we need to have.”
5.) Poll of the Day: Paul Ryan could make Wisconsin competitive for Romney — PPP polls of Wisconsin voters: 50% say they support President Obama, 44% say they support Mitt Romney, 6% were unsure. But when asked who they would support if Romney picked Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, the race tightens with 47% saying they would support Obama-Biden, 46% saying they would support Romney-Ryan and 7% unsure.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Fake AP Stylebook: If your story is about ninjas, be sure to mention them in the first sentence. If it’s not, why isn’t it?
VIDEO: Romney rips Obama for saying Hugo Chavez not a serious national threat