Romney Book Oops, Chick-fil-A Protests, and More

Romney ‘Misrepresented’ Author:

Jared Diamond, the man who wrote “Guns, Germs and Steel,” called out Mitt Romney for mischaracterizing his book when the GOP presidential candidate used it to argue that Israelis are wealthier than Palestinians because of culture. In an Op-Ed in The New York Times on Wednesday, Diamond wrote: “That is so different from what my book actually says that I have to doubt whether Mr. Romney read it.” Romney may be back in the U.S., but the gaffes from his international trip keep on coming. (Read more)

Reid Continues Romney Tax Attacks: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is reiterating his accusations that the presumed Republican presidential nominee did not pay his taxes the past decade. Reid, who took his allegations to the Senate floor Thursday, declined to name sources, but said one was a Bain Capital investor. “I am not basing this on some figment of my imagination. I have had a number of people tell me that,” he said. Romney fired back against the Nevada senator, telling Sean Hannity on his radio program, “It’s time for Harry to put up or shut up.” You know, there’s a really simple solution for Mitt to disprove all of this: Release his tax returns. (Read more)

Candidates Argue Over Islamophobia: Who’s more Islamophobic? That’s the argument two GOP congressional candidates in Tennessee are trying to make—except they’re making the case for themselves! Yes, that’s right. They are trying to seem more bigoted than the other. Lou Ann Zelenik, who is challenging Rep. Diane Black for her seat, promised to “work to stop the Islamization of our society, and do everything possible to prevent Shariah law from circumventing our laws and our Constitution.” Black’s campaign responded: “No one is more opposed to Shariah law, radical Islam and terrorism than Diane Black.” The issue the two are fighting over? The construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, near Nashville. Best part about this, according to Gawker: “What makes the whole thing even dumber, if that’s possible, is that this ‘I’m more intolerant than you’ pissing contest isn’t even about Murfreesboro anymore; a 2010 redrawing of election maps put the community center and mosque in another district.” (Read more)

Chick-fil-A Protests: It looks like the frenzy over Chick-fil-A isn’t subsiding anytime soon. A day after the Mike Huckabee-dubbed “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” gay rights activists announced they will hold a “national same-sex kiss day at Chick-fil-A” on Friday to protest restaurant chain CEO Dan Cathy, who is staunchly against gay marriage. So far, more than 12,000 people have RSVPed on Facebook that they will be attending the event. On Wednesday, the purveyor of fast food chicken sandwiches set a sales record, as customers flocked to Chick-fil-A to show their support for Cathy. As one gay employee of the fast food chain said: “I call it hater appreciation day. It’s very, very depressing.” (Read more)

Video of the Day: It’s not exactly politics, but in case you missed it (and given NBC’s erratic coverage of the Olympics, you probably did), here’s video of Ann Romney’s horse Rafalca competing in the dressage competition Thursday. This Guardian headline says it best: “Ann Romney’s horse fails to win dressage but avoids offending British.” And for those who do not understand dressage (so, probably almost everyone), Stephen Colbert explains the sport in the video below.