O...M...G... check out this video of femto-photography, which can capture the movement of light at a trillion frames per second.
Canon, your move.
Meanwhile, in the slow-motion world....
Romney now speaks for Ryan on Medicare, only problem with that is Romney isn't making any sense on Medicare. The AP destroys Romney's campaign pandering about restoring the $716B, pointing out that the program becomes insolvent sooner without the savings.
The lies about Medicare are making the problem impossible to solve. Greg Sargent points out that only one side is demagogic and spreading falsehoods, and it goes beyond the Medicare argument:"More broadly, the GOP ticket is proposing a tax plan that they say they is revenue neutral without telling you how its deep tax cuts for the rich would be paid for. And only one side is actually willing to take real steps towards compromise on the deficit. As the supercommittee talks showed, Dems are willing to accept Medicare cuts — to a fault, in the minds of liberals — in exchange for tax hikes on the rich. Republicans are not willing to accept tax hikes on the rich in exchange for Medicare cuts."
The media is disgusted with the campaigns for the nasty rhetoric, but apparently no one has told the media they really do have a choice on what aspects of this campaign they want to report on. Sooooo... not sure what we are going to do about that.
Oops! Looks like Congressman Ryan failed to disclose all his income on his regular Congressional disclosure statements. Just a small error about the wife's trust fund, you see, and even though it's "one of the couple's largest assets", it was a minor oversight. Really. Happens all the time. Nothing to see here, move along.
The Dems are coming after the Ryan budget, first lucky contestant is Dan Benishek up in MI-01. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy in a nicer state.
And on that note, Ezra sounds the warning about a Republican "mandate" if the Dems lose - and it's pretty darn scary. "But if Obama loses, Republicans will have won the presidency with a mandate to enact a deeply conservative agenda. Left to his own devices, Romney might have been a relatively pragmatic and cautious president. Instead, the Obama administration’s three-year effort to enshrine the Ryan budget at the heart of the Republican Party would prove to have been a crucial push toward enacting that budget into law." And then you can get ready for that revolution you always dreamed about, because the American people are going to be severely pissed when it all falls apart, as Republican trickle-down economies always do. I would quibble with Klein about the "elevation" of Ryan's budget being all Obama's fault though - the plans have been out there in some shape or form for years, and the Repubs purging of the moderates is what brought them into solid shape.
That rumbling you hear coming out of Brighton? That's George Romney, rolling over in his grave. Alec MacGillis has a great piece on how Mitt Romney is stoking racial resentment with a blatant lie about welfare and seemingly getting away with it.
Jeffrey Sachs at the Financial Times reminds of a painful truth: No matter who wins on Nov. 6th, spending cuts are likely to throw the country into another recession - if not worse. "In bemoaning Mr Obama’s budget, I do not mean to equate it with Mr Ryan’s. Mr Ryan’s budget is nothing short of heartless in the face of the dire crisis facing America’s poor. It is also reckless, guaranteed to leave millions of children without the quality of education and skills they will need as adults. Yet the sad truth is that the Democrats offer no progressive alternative. Both parties are accomplices to the premeditated asphyxiation of the state." With Obama, we have a chance though. With Romney (and a Republican Congress), it will be utter devastation. That's the difference.
Positive signs on the economy, as factory orders rise and builders are feeling confident. "The nation’s economy looked more resilient on Wednesday after reports that factories produced more goods in July and that home builders grew more confident in the housing recovery. At the same time, consumer prices were flat last month, a development that could lift consumer spending and increase growth in the second half of the year."
Serious energy wonks are going to want to check out Energy Secretary Dr. Chu's newest paper on a "sustainable energy future" at Nature.com. Politico's Morning Energy has a breakdown here that's a little easier to digest.
Gotta run. Have a great Thursday.