Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

• California GOP Pins Hopes on Ex-CEOs -Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina
  After Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced a Democrat in 2003 to become California's governor, fellow Republicans were hopeful the former movie hero's popularity would help arrest a long decline here.

  But six years later, Republican voter registration continues to fall, and now many in the party are pegging their hopes on two former corporate chief executives: Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina.

  Ms. Whitman, former president and CEO of San Jose-based online-auction company eBay Inc., in February threw her hat into the ring for the 2010 race to succeed Mr. Schwarzenegger when his second and final term as governor ends in January 2011.

  (tags: Meg_Whitman carly_fiorina california_gop)
• Afghan conflict serious, 'deteriorating'-Admiral Mullen
  The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating along with U.S. public support for the war, Washington's top military officer said on Sunday as he left open the possibility of another increase in troops.

  "I think it is serious and it is deteriorating, and I've said that over the past couple of years — that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  U.S. combat deaths have risen since U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a troop buildup to confront a resurgent Taliban, with a record 44 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan in July.

  A new Washington Post-ABC News poll showed a majority of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, and just a quarter say more troops should be sent there.

  "Certainly the numbers are of concern," Mullen said on NBC's "Meet the Press." But he later added, "this is the war we're in."

  (tags: afghanistan)
• Freeway gap symbolizes California's political inertia – A Jerry Brown Legacy
  When Jerry Brown began his first stint as California's governor in 1975 – he apparently yearns for a reprise next year – he more or less shut down the highway construction program that had transformed the state, for better or worse, in the three decades following World War II.

  Despite legislative pressure, which included eliminating state Transportation Department Director Adriana Gianturco's salary, major highway construction was put on what turned out to be semi-permanent hiatus.

  A few new freeways were built, such as the Century Freeway in Los Angeles and Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Stockton. But dozens of projects, some of them in the works for decades, were erased, leaving Caltrans' last official freeway map a quaint artifact.

  (tags: Jerry_Brown California)
• California Congressman Herger calls Obama plan 'threat to democracy'
  Republican Congressman Wally Herger held a health care town hall meeting Aug. 18 at Simpson University in Redding, where a partisan crowd of over 2,000 people loudly cheered Herger’s position that a public option was “unacceptable.”
  Although Herger called several times for the audience to “respect each other’s opinions,” those opposed to president Obama’s health care were greeted with cheers while the few in favor were interrupted with catcalls.
  Herger did not hold back on his opinion of the health care plan and the administration’s appointment of “czars” to head various departments and task forces.
  “Our democracy has never been threatened as much as it is today,” Herger said to a loud standing ovation.
  (tags: Wally_Herger Obamacare)
• Hero's welcome for Lockerbie bomber Megrahi who slaughtered 270 – Britain Gets Trade Deal
  The international furore over the release of the Lockerbie bomber deepened today after he was seen embracing Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

  In scenes that will provoke outrage among victims' families and the U.S. government, TV footage showed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi meeting Gaddafi in Tripoli.

  It came as Gordon Brown faced fresh pressure after shocking claims by Libya that the release of the bomber was linked explicity to trade deals benefiting Britain.

  (tags: Lockerbie_Bomber Muammar_Gaddafi Gordon_Brown)
• Gordon Brown in new storm over freed Lockerbie bomber
  Gordon Brown faced fresh questions tonight after it emerged that he discussed with Colonel Gaddafi detailed conditions for the Lockerbie bomber's return nearly six weeks ago, while senior Labour figures warned of an economic backlash from angry Americans "costing our country dear".

  Downing Street released the text of a cordial letter sent to the Libyan leader on the day that Abdulbaset al-Megrahi was released, asking that the event be kept low key because a "high-profile" ceremony would distress his victims and their families.

  (tags: Gordon_Brown Muammar_Gaddafi Lockerbie_Bomber)

Day By Day by Chris

The HEADS that will roll will be the Democrat members of Congress who get too close to the “failed” Obama Presidency.

President Obama has overreached with the redistribution mantra and hard working American voters are NOT too impressed.

The only question remaining is whether the GOP can capitalize on Obama’s missteps.

Previous:

The Day By Day Archive

• Gov. David Paterson blames calls for him to step aside on race
  Gov. Paterson blamed a racist media Friday for trying to push him out of next year's election – launching into an angry rant that left even some black Democrats shaking their heads.

  "The whole idea is to get me not to run in the primary," Paterson complained on a morning radio show hosted by Daily News columnist Errol Louis.

  He suggested that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only other African-American governor, also is under fire because of his race.

  "We're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said.
  +++++++++
  Hello Rudy if Paterson runs and chases out Cuomo from the Democrat Primary/

  (tags: david_paterson)
• Sarah Palin: No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform
  So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.
  (tags: sarah_palin Obamacare)
• House Democrat Leader Steny Hoyer: Public option may have to go in Obamacare
  A day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that health reform won’t get through the House without a public option, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday that the public option may have to go in order to get a bill passed.

  “I’m for a public option but I’m also for passing a bill,” Hoyer told reporters on a conference call
  . “We believe the public option is a necessary, useful and very important aspect of this, but we’ll have to see because there are many other important aspects of the bill as well.”

  In San Francisco on Thursday, Pelosi said: "There's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option.”

  (tags: Obamacare steny_hoyer)
• California's unemployment rate hits record high — 11.9 Per Cent
  California's unemployment rate took an unexpected leap in July, reaching a new high of 11.9% and bucking a trend that saw the national rate drop over the same period.

  The state lost a net 35,800 jobs last month, shedding more jobs than any other state, the U.S. Labor Department said today. It has lost 760,000 jobs over the last year.

  California is tied with Oregon for the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, behind Michigan, Rhode Island and Nevada. June's unemployment rate of 11.6% had set a post- World War II record.

  (tags: California)
• GOP Chief Michael Steele Dares Democrats to Pass Health Overhaul On Their Own
  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Thursday dared Democrats to try a one-party push to overhaul the nation's health care system.

  Steele told reporters that he thinks if Democratic senators think they have the votes, they should try a tactic that would allow them to get around a bill-killing filibuster without the 60 votes usually needed. Steele said he didn't think Democrats would do it because of potential voter backlash.

  "Get it to the floor. Up or down, baby," Steele said at a news conference at the state GOP headquarters. "Put it on the table. And if you don't think you've got enough votes to get to 60, you've got the nuclear option. You've got 51."

  (tags: michael_steele Obamacare)
• Lawyers Showed Photos of Covert CIA Officers to Guantanamo Bay Detainees
  The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
  Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency's interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.

  If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.

  (tags: terrorists Guantanamo_Bay CIA)
• LA Times corrects 'Jackass' -Keith Olbermann mix-up – But Can't Explain Difference
  FOR THE RECORD

  TV listings: The Prime-Time TV grid in Thursday's Calendar section mistakenly listed MTV's "Jackass" show on the MSNBC cable schedule at 7 and 10 p.m. where instead MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" should have been listed.

  It's not the Worst Mistake in the World.

  But without this kind of correction, online too, a few thousand people might have tuned into MSNBC, the Obama administration's favorite cable channel, expecting to see a "Jackass" show, and instead they'd have found Olbermann.

  Worse, what if nobody noticed the difference?

  (tags: losangelestimes Keith_Olbermann)
• Poll Watch: Obama's Job Approval Sinks to Record Low 45%
  President Barack Obama's job approval rating has sunk to a record low of just 45%, the latest Zogby Interactive poll shows. Fifty-one percent of likely voters now say they disapprove of the President's job performance.

  "None of these numbers looks counter-intuitive to me. Gallup, NBC, and Pew all have Obama at record lows. Rasmussen also shows low approval. Things are volatile out there and news travels fast. There is a lot of anxiety over healthcare," said Zogby International President and CEO John Zogby. "The President let it get away from him and voters are scared right now. They are experiencing sacrifice overload and feel more threatened than empowered. The President is being forced to play defense and he is much better when he is in possession of the ball. But do not underestimate Obama. Last August he was toast."

  (tags: barack_obama polling)
• Another UK NHS Horror Story: Why I don't believe that the NHS is sacrosanct
  Of course, everyone loves the NHS now. It is officially sacrosanct. Our doctors are deities, our health care the envy of the world. And anyone who says anything different is an unpatriotic schmuck who should go and join those losers in the United States. (Although American doctors terrified of litigation would have done all the tests possible on my daughter if I'd sufficient insurance, and would think twice about lying to patients.)

  So forgive a harsh dose of reality. I used to share these delusional views, wrapped in a comforting blanket of national pride over Bevan's legacy. But that was before the birth of our daughter sent us hurtling into the hell of our health service. Since then, hours and days and months and years have been spent battling bureaucracy, fighting lethargy and observing inefficiency while all the time guarding against the latest outbreak of incompetence.
  +++++++
  The lying in this case is horrific as much pathetic

  (tags: NHS Obamacare)

• Obamacare: Canadians visit U.S. to get health care – Deal Lets Many Go to Michigan Hospitals
  Hospitals in border cities, including Detroit, are forging lucrative arrangements with Canadian health agencies to provide care not widely available across the border.

  Agreements between Detroit hospitals and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for heart, imaging tests, bariatric and other services provide access to some services not immediately available in the province, said ministry spokesman David Jensen.

  The agreements show how a country with a national care system — a proposal not part of the health care changes under discussion in Congress — copes with demand for care with U.S. partnerships, rather than building new facilities.

• Charlie Cook: Dem situation has 'slipped completely out of control' – GOP Can Recpature House Majority?
  Charlie Cook, one of the best political handicappers in the business, sent out a special update to Cook Political Report subscribers Thursday that should send shivers down Democratic spines.

  Reviewing recent polling and the 2010 election landscape, Cook can envision a scenario in which Democratic House losses could exceed 20 seats.

  "These data confirm anecdotal evidence, and our own view, that the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low," he wrote.

  (tags: Obamacare GOP democrats)
• Obama: GOP conspiracy out to kill health reform
  President Obama took to the conservative airwaves Thursday to charge that Republican leaders are engaged in a vast right-wing conspiracy to kill health care reform in order to repeat the 1994 mid-term takeover of Congress, which followed the defeat of President Clinton's reform plan.

  "I think early on, a decision was made by the Republican leadership that said, 'Look, let's not give him a victory, maybe we can have a replay of 1993, '94, when Clinton came in, he failed on health care and then we won in the mid-term elections and we got the majority. And I think there are some folks who are taking a page out that playbook," the president said.

• U.K. Kids Lose 1M Teeth in 1 Year Due to Poor Dental Care
  Children in the U.K. have had nearly one million teeth pulled out in a year as sugary diets and poor dental care took its toll. The number of tooth extractions carried out on children under 18-years-old has risen by 12 percent in five years, the country’s National Health Services Information Center said.

  The figures support recent warnings that thousands of children are ending up in hospital because of their teeth, with many requiring a general anesthetic.

  The latest data — the first to compare clinical activity before and after the British government’s recent overhaul of NHS dentistry — also showed that there were two million extractions carried out on adults in 2008 and 2009.

  Bad diets, poor brushing and shortfalls in dental care have all been blamed for the sharp rise in tooth extractions. The figures raise questions about the government’s efforts to improve access to preventive dental care, including regular check-ups and fluoride treatments.

  (tags: dentistry NHS)
• Shocker: Firms with Obama ties profit from health push
  President Barack Obama's push for a national health care overhaul is providing a financial windfall in the election offseason to Democratic consulting firms that are closely connected to the president and two top advisers.

  Coalitions of interest groups running at least $24 million in pro-overhaul ads hired GMMB, which worked for Obama's 2008 campaign and whose partners include a top Obama campaign strategist. They also hired AKPD Message and Media, which was founded by David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama's campaign and now to the White House. AKPD did work for Obama's campaign, and Axelrod's son Michael and Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe work there.

  (tags: Obamacare barack_obama)
• Iraq War: US pullout in doubt after day of slaughter on streets of Baghdad
  Extremists struck at the Iraqi Government with a wave of bombings and mortar attacks, killing at least 95 people and injuring more than 560 and raising new doubts about the withdrawal of US soldiers from the country.

  The bombings were directed against the main centres of power, including the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, health, education and housing, as well as the parliament and cabinet buildings.

  A lorry packed with explosives that went off within 30ft of the Foreign Ministry is reported to have killed up to 59 people and injured 250. The ministry’s compound wall was flattened and the ten-storey building all but destroyed. Cars and buildings in the vicinity were devastated and houses five miles away were shaken

  (tags: iraq iraqwar)
• Obamanomics: Jobless Claims Climb in Latest Week
  The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly climbed higher last week, suggesting that labor market conditions remain difficult despite some recent signs of stabilization.

  Meanwhile, total claims lasting more than one week also ticked up after plunging the previous week.

  Initial claims for jobless …

  (tags: barack_obama economic_stimulus)