The bipartisan Tax Policy Center reports what serious economists seem to have been saying, Romney's tax plan does not add up. Ronmey's saying it adds up does not make it so.
Useful reading from the New York Times: Romney's tax plan
And here is TPC's original report: The TPC report

Barack, didn't you watch Bill?

One would think Obama would have taken advantage of Bill Clinton's bravura speech at the DNC as a guide for promoting his own candidacy. But no. So where go the mojo? Alas, no pinch hitters in presidential debates.

David Firestone's piece in the NYT characterizes last Wednesday night as a debate without substance. No, The Debate Was Not Substantive Seems to me there was substance. However the substance comprised mostly untruths (e.g. $716 billion Medicare cut) or total amnesia (I never promoted a $5 trillion tax cut). Didn't Romney know there's footage! The fact checkers have exposed a number of Romney's doozies (read: untruths) although the recants don't make headlines like those of his debate "victory". Debate lesson: You can blaze away with made up data because people will remeber the false claim not the retraction.
Presidential Debate Fact Check
Romney's Impossible Tax Promise

A couple of days ago David Brooks wrote a very clear eyed critique of Mitt Romney in the NY Times. Brooks, who normally comes down on the Republican/Conservative side, writes a revealingly titled op-ed piece "Thurston Howell Romney"
Romney's recently exposed video marginalizing large swaths of the American electorate only serves to reinforce his (mis)understanding of "most folks".
Read on Lovey

The RNC was quite a spectacle. Not unexpected was the amount of false and misleading statements, especially from the under cards at the convention. Paul Ryan stands out as having the most swings-and-a-miss with the facts. Santorum and Christie came off the bench and whiffed at accuracy too.

Again, thank you FactCheck.org for taking the time to square what was said and what is. From its home page FactCheck  you can select the batting averages for Romney, Ryan, Santorum ("profoundly misleading" and Christie on the left side. Clint Eastwood's loopy soliloquy doesn't deserve mention.

Untangling some of the spurious political rhetoric

After an extra long hiatus, I saw a piece in the Sunday Aug. 19 NY Times that seems quite useful. It takes recent comments about Medicare from the Romney/Ryan ticket and holds then up to scrutiny. Truth and accuracy are often casualties of politicians' rhetoric and this editorial does a nice job of sorting things out regarding Medicare.
Worthwhile reading: Truth and Lies About Medicare

Much has happened since my last post over a month ago.
Facebook's IPO fizzled, Groupon's downward spiral reaches new depths, Europe's hope that fiscal austerity would foster growth is revealed for the magical thinking it is, real discussion about the abandonment or truncation of the Euro is heard, JP Morgan Chase looses billions on a market hedge ..... quite a spring!

Is there no good news throughout the land?
Yes, at least two.

From the south, Eckerd College minted a tent full of terrific new grads. Some of the grads were in my WHGC as freshmen four years ago and it was nice to see then taking their diplomas. (Eckerd alum, remember WHGC?)

From the north, my niece was a hands-down hit delivering an address at her Harvard graduation ceremonies.(Uncle pride)
Jacqueline Rossi at Harvard

I'll take up the Facebook, Groupon, et.al. news soon.

The latest about Groupon

 As Alice once said, "Curiouser and curiouser!"

Like the Republican presidential candidates who provided endless comedy material so too is Groupon a target-rich topic for financial head shaking.

The latest installment of Groupon's excellent adventure is CEO Andrew Mason's admonition to employees that the company needs to grow up ...... while he was drinking beer.

You can't make this up!
WSJ story