Archive for July 31st, 2007
Tabloid Prodigy Marlise Elizabeth Kast
Marlise Kast bitch slaps Luke Ford but his interview with her is good.
Luke,
I just read your blog and was somewhat saddened by your introduction to the interview. Although I considered your questions extremely insightful, I’m not sure I quite understand your ultimate purpose in including me on lukeford.net. The fact that you “wanted a chance at my virginity” is not only insulting but extremely rude and unprofessional. Perhaps you can understand why I have no intention of answering any more of your questions.
Of course, Kevin Roderick is happy to dish the dust-up.
Standard……
Linked to Electric VenomÂ
Tabloid Prodigy
Technorati Tags: Luke Ford, Marlise Elizabeth Kast, Kevin Roderick
1 Comment »
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
Last Friday Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s office cleared Anthony Sandstrom of the ‘Tuff Fish’ in YouTube.com poker comedies (see above and below) to circulate the following initiative:
Internet Poker. Statute.
Summary Date: 7/27/07 Circulation Deadline: 12/24/07 Signatures Required: 433,971
Proponent: Anthony Sandstrom
Creates a State-owned Internet poker site. Provides that 90 percent of net revenues be distributed to cities and counties for street repairs and 10 percent of net revenues be allocated to the California Gambling Addiction Program Fund. Allows players age 21 and over to participate. Requires Governor to appoint a Director responsible for the site. Requires that games be similar to prevailing online and live poker room practices. Allows participation from outside the State where not prohibited by law. Authorizes revenue sharing and player base agreements with states, localities and California Indian tribes. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown increase in revenues for (1) cities and counties to use for pothole and street repair and (2) the state to use for gambling addiction assistance programs. This increase could easily be in the tens of millions of dollars annually. Unknown reduction in other tax and gambling-related revenues for the state and local governments. This reduction could offset a significant amount of the net revenues from the state poker site. (Initiative 07-0017.) (Full Text).
It looks like a tough road to ballot qualification since federal law has cast a pale on internet gaming banking transactions and every gambling special interest in California will be opposed.
Flatly opposed were card rooms in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, anti-gambling expansion activists and educators who fear diversion and loss of lottery funds.
“A pox on the initiative,” said Fred Glass, a spokesman for the California Federation of Teachers, whose members depend partially on the flow of funds from state-run lottery gamblers.
The California Online Poker Initiative is here.
Does anyone think Tuff Fish will be able to obtain the necessary signatures?
Fold……
Technorati Tags: Anthony Sandstrom, Tuff Fish, California Online Poker Initiative, poker
Comments Off
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
The Los Angeles District Attorney is reviewing complaints that Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke lives in her Brentwood home which is located outside her Supervisoral district.
This story was “PUSHED” by the Los Angeles Times last Friday in an investigative piece that involved stalking and videotaping the Supervisor as she drove and was driven to and from work.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Monday it is reviewing allegations that Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke is living in a gated Brentwood home rather than in her predominantly South Los Angeles district, where she must live by law.
A district attorney’s spokeswoman said the office has received at least one complaint after a Times report Friday that Burke has been staying overnight in a 4,000-square-foot residence with a swimming pool and tennis court, even though the supervisor said she considers a townhouse in Mar Vista, on the edge of her district, her principal residence.
In an effort to defuse the controversy, Burke on Monday allowed The Times to review checks and other documents from a kitchen remodeling project at the 1,200-square-foot townhouse on busy Centinela Avenue in the 2nd District.
She said the renovation — knocking down a wall and replacing cabinets and tile, among other work, prevented her from staying overnight at the townhouse.
As Flap has written before, this is a tempest in a teapot. Ok, The Los Angeles Times caught the 74 year old Los Angeles County Supervisor who has over thirty years of government service sleeping with her husband in their Brentwood home. Burke has already stated she will not seek re-election next year.
So, Flap asks what is the BFD here?
The Los Angeles District Attorney will NOT be able to investigate this matter without the consent of the California Attorney General Jerry Brown. There is a conflict of interest inherent in any investigation and it will have to be done by the AG’s office. Do you REALLY think Attorney General Jerry Brown, who wants to run for Governor in 2010 will expeditiously dispose of this matter?
And how long will that take?
A long time.
Again, Flap writes: Supervisor Burke will NOT be running for re-election next year.
You ask what will the result of this “big investigation” by the Times?
- The Los Angeles District Attorney and California Attorney General’s office will waste staff resources and money launching a meaningless investigation and will eventually make findings.
- Supervisor Burke will sleep in her condominium most weeknights for appearances sake but return to her Brentwood home on the weekends and when she is on holiday.
- And, you may have some reform legislation started in the California Legislature in a few years.
Here is video of the Supervisor defending herself yesterday. Note how she addresses the issue of “INTENT.”
Yesterday, the Supervisor had this to say:
Burke released a statement on Monday that said she was notified by The Times “about a possible investigation into my residency by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.”
“I welcome the DA’s thorough investigation into my residency in the Second District,” Burke said. “At this point, I am no longer commenting on this matter.”
Stay tuned…….
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Previous:
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke Watch: Los Angeles County Supervisor Lives in Brentwood – Out of Her District? Part Two
Yvonne B. Burke Watch: Los Angeles County Supervisor Lives in Brentwood – Out of Her District?
Technorati Tags: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Steve Cooley, Jerry Brown
2 Comments »
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
Warning: preg_replace() [ function.preg-replace]: Compilation failed: unknown option bit(s) set at offset 0 in /home/flapster/public_html/wp-includes/shortcodes.php on line 257
Republican presidential hopeful, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, surprised shoppers by making a campaitgn stop at R.M. Heath Market in Moultonborough, N.H., Monday, July 30, 2007.
In a press release from the Giuliani campaign:
In remarks today at a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, Mayor Rudy Giuliani will further detail his 12 Commitments to the American People by unveiling his commitment to give Americans more control over, and access to, health care.
To increase the quality, affordability, and portability of health care, the Mayor will reform the current system by using free-market solutions that facilitate consumer-driven health care and end failed big-government mandates and wasteful administrative bureaucracies.
More of the details of Giuliani’s commitment are here:
Hizzoner favors a free market approach which uses changes in the tax code to shift health insurance from an employer based model to one where individuals will have financial incentives to purchase their own insurance.
The Mayor’s proposal also has (among others):
1. Improve and expand Health Savings Accounts
2. Reform of the Medical Liability Legal System
3. Eliminate State mandates to assure lower cost insurance options
This is a interesting and innovative proposal that needs further study.
The goals are worthwhile but a massive shift from the current employer-based model may create anxiety among voters who already have good health care insurance. This anxiety about Hillary Care in Bill Clinton’s first term helped deliver up a GOP take over of the Congress two years after his election.
Of course, the universal mandated government health care as proposed by the Democrats is far more ominous. As a campaign contrast, then, this is a good start for discussion.
Note: No other GOP candidates have proposed ANY healthcare reform measures during this Presidential campaign – not even Mitt Romney who as Governor of Massachusetts promoted mandatory health insurance.
John Harwood from CNBC today on Rudy’s Plan for Health Care:
Here is Rudy describing his health care reform plan in Iowa a few days ago:
Previous:
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Democrats Want NANNY Government to Control Your Life
Rudy Giuliani Watch: The You Tube Debate Flap Continues With CNN Attempting to Reschedule Debate
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Healthcare Reform Conference Call
Rudy Giuliani Watch: The You Tube Debate Flap Continues
Rudy Giuliani Watch: A Nationwide Electoral College Strategy
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Why Rudy Will Say NO to GOP You Tube Debate; Update: The You Tube Questions Keep Rolling In
Rudy Giuliani is Electable – Obvious Statement of the Day
Rudy Giuliani Watch: California Dreamin’ – Summer in the Inland Empire
Giuliani Notes: Rudy Continues Commanding Double Digit Lead in Latest Washington Post – ABC News National GOP Presidential Poll
The Rudy Giuliani Archive
Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani
Stay tuned….
1 Comment »
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa poses with his wife Corina prior to an event in Hollywood, California, November 2005. Villaraigosa is in the full glare of the media feeding frenzy, as he confessed that he had been unfaithful to Corina, his wife of 20 years, who filed for divorce last month.
Rick Orlov over at the Los Angeles Daily News discusses the attempt of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to shift the focus away from the Mirthala Salinas, Universal City Development and Univision scandals and back to his accomplishments in office.
Swamped in controversy over his personal life, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been frustrated in his attempts to shift attention back to his accomplishments during his first two years in office.
So, like any good salesman, he is sending his troops on the road to try to get the message out, as well as gather feedback on what community leaders would like to see.
Deputy Mayor Larry Frank, the affable liaison to neighborhood councils, has been meeting with various leaders in quasi-focus groups, accompanied by department heads from city agencies including Transportation, Environmental Affairs and Public Works.
The Mayor has an uphill fight.
Everyone is waiting for the NBC Telemundo decision on the fate of his girl friend, Mirthala Salinas.
And his soon to be ex-wife, Corina Villaraigosa, is doing events and seemingly enjoys putting the knife into his back and twisting.
In the meantime, rumors abound about former Mayor James Hahn looking at challenging Villaraigosa in two years. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yarolslavsky is also looking at the race.
Stay tuned……..
City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa is interviewed by reporter Mirthala Salinas of Telemundo at Factor’s Famous Deli on May 19, 2005 in Los Angeles
Previous:
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: NBC Telemundo Expected to Announce Results This Week
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Corina Villaraigosa Speaks About Commitment
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Telemundo Ethics Probe of Mirthala Salinas Completed
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Mayor Heckled at Transportation Meeting
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Scandal Plagued Mayor Allows Governor to Cut LA Rail Transit Funds
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: NBC Universal Development Surrounds Villaraigosa – Salinas Scandal
Hillary Clinton Watch: Feinstein Endorsement Interrupted By Questions About Mayor Villaraigosa – Mirthala Salinas Affair
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Villaraigosa on WHOSE Side?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Will Telemundo Decide Mirthala’s Fate Today?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Mayor Denies Affair With Anita Moreno #2
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Still Smitten; Update: Eric Leonard Investigating Documentary Evidence Mayor’s Office Has Different Press Rules for Spanish Language Media
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Watch: Mayor Denies Affair With LAPD Officer Anita Moreno
And a print rendering of this original cartoon by Patrick O’Connor of the Los Angeles Daily News can be purchased by clicking the link here.
Technorati Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, Mirthala Salinas, Telemundo, Univision, James Hahn, Zev Yaroslavsky
1 Comment »
The Sacramento Bee has picked up on Anthony York’s scoop on California Superinendent of Public Instruction’s Jack O’ Connell’s foray into 2010 Gubernatorial politics.
The story:
Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix has deposited almost $ 1 million into an independent expenditure account to propel O’Connell into the Governor’s race in 2010.
O’Connell is termed out in 2010 after serving eight years as California’s school chief.
The quotes:
“Jack and Reed have a long history together,” said Mollie Culver, a political adviser to O’Connell. “A lot of Jack’s supporters have encouraged him to look at all of his options, including running for governor.”
Culver said fundraising is “always a major challenge, and it is very nice to have such friends encouraging him.”
The probable opposition:
- Jerry Brown – current California Attorney General, former Mayor of Oakland and former California Governor.
- Steve Westly – former California Controller who lost to Phil Angelides last year in the Democrat primary for Governor.
- Phil Angelides – former California Treasuerer and Democrat Party Chairman who lost to Arnold Schwarzengger last year in the general election.
- Gavin Newsom – current Mayor of San Francisco who admits to sleeping with his campaign manager’s wife and carrying on a sordid affair.
- Antonio Villaraigosa – current Mayor of Los Angeles who admits to an affair with Mirthala Salinas, a Telemundo political reporter and who is in the middle of a divorce.
- John Garramendi – current Lt. Governor of California who many Democrat activists describe as yesterday’s news.
The $992,220 in stock from Hastings would have to be spent independently of any organized campaign to elect O’Connell governor. O’Connell presently has a little less than $1 million of cash on hand with no debt in his own campaign account.
Will this be a serious candidacy?
Yes, until Jerry Brown enters the race and dries up ALL of the union money.
Stay tuned…….
Previous:
Jack O’Connell Watch: California Governor in 2010?
Jerry Brown Watch: California Governor in 2010?
Technorati Tags: Reed Hastings, Netflix, Jack O’Connell, Jerry Brown, Steve Westly, Phil Angelides, Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, John Garramendi
Comments Off
Posted by Flap in Day By Day
Comments Off
|
Entries (RSS)