Author: Randy Slovacek

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Romney ad features business owner who took hundreds of thousands in government help – while he criticizes that help

In the Mitt Romney campaign web and television ads that received national attention last week, a blunt Jack Gilchrist of Gilchrist Metal Fabricating in Hudson tells President Barack Obama that he, his father and his son _ and not the government _ built his company.

But as it turns out, Gilchrist did receive some government help for his business.

In 1999, Gilchrist Metal received $800,000 in tax-exempt revenue bonds issued by the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority “to set up a second manufacturing plant and purchase equipment to produce high definition television broadcasting equipment,” according to a New Hampshire Union Leader report at the time.

Last year, Gilchrist Metal also received two U.S. Navy sub-contracts totaling about $83,000 and a smaller, $5,600 Coast Guard contract in 2008, according to a government web site that tracks spending.

Jack Gilchrist said today his message is not “compromised” by the fact that he received the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds made possible by the federal government.

But he did not shy away from the fact that he has utilized government programs.

He also said his company received a U.S. Small Business Administration loan totaling “somewhere south of” $500,000 in the late 1980s.

“I’m not stupid, I’m not going to say ‘no.’ Shame on me if I didn’t use what’s available,” he said. “As a matter of fact, right now, I’m driving on a road.

“So, no,” said Gilchrist, “I don’t feel as though I’ve compromised anything or misled anybody.”

Via Unionleader.com

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Romney agrees with President Obama – “a lot of people help you in a business”

Mitt Romney and the conservative blogosphere are pushing a selectively edited Obama campaign speech to suggest that the president believes that the government is solely responsible for the successes of small businesses.

Obama’s full remarks, which pointed out that taxpayer-funded infrastructure and services (like public roads) enable businesses to prosper, are true and represent a sentiment shared by Republican leaders. For instance, Mitt Romney himself made an almost identical point during his speech at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, crediting the community for helping individuals achieve the pinnacle of success:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

ROMNEY: You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities.

Obama echoed this sentiment in his misquoted campaign speech on July 13: “The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together,” he said.

Romney agreed with Obama as recently as last week, saying in a campaign appearance, “I know that you recognize a lot of people help you in a business. Perhaps the bank, the investors. There is no question your mom and dad, your school teachers. The people who provide roads, the fire, the police. A lot of people help.”

From ThinkProgress

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Mariah Carey announced as new judge on American Idol

Photo by lambsgohard

Fox wasted no time replacing one of their two empty chairs at “American Idol’s” judges panel. The network announced at the Television Critics Association press tour in Hollywood on Monday that Mariah Carey will be joining the singing competition for season 12.

“As a singer, songwriter and producer, it’s going to be fun and rewarding to help find new talent and give back with ‘American Idol,’ ” Mariah Carey said in a statement. “I’m currently in the studio working on my new album and its first single, ‘Triumphant,’ which will be out early next month. I can’t wait to channel my creative energy as a part of this show which is a massive global phenomenon.”

Mariah’s one year contract is reportedly worth $12 million.

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“It Could Happen To You” documentary fundraising breaks all Kickstarter records

On May 8th this year, I posted about Shane Bitney Crone’s video which marked the one-year anniversary of his boyfriend of six years, Tom Bridegroom, called “It could happen to you”, chronicling what happened to him after Tom’s sudden death.

After the video went viral, a producing team led by Linda Bloodworth Thomason sought funds on Kickstarter for a documentary about Tom’s story.

“The prejudice and bigotry that Shane and Tom experienced was not unlike what I witnessed in 1986 when my mother died of transfused AIDS,” said Bloodworth Thomason.

Now, GLAAD reports that fundraising for Bridegroom, An American Love Story, has broken all of Kickstarter’s records:

The fundraising website, which has helped to finance more than 7,400 films, confirmed that the indie documentary about marriage equality surpassed all previous fundraising efforts by netting $384,375 in four weeks.

I’ve written about Kickstarter many times on The Randy Report. I think it serves a valuable function to help people create community around a project and help see those projects to fruition.

Good luck Ms. Thomason and Shane on the documentary.

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Former AZ state senator claims Colorado victims lacked courage to stop gunman

In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, former GOP Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce criticized the people in the theater for a lack of courage and for not being armed, saying that if they had been, they could have saved lives. “All that was needed is one Courages/Brave [sic] man prepared mentally or otherwise to stop this it could have been done,” he posted:

Click pic to enlarge

Pearce is best known for having authored Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070. He was exposed just last week for writing hateful, racist emails about Latinos in his state.

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