• Craig Huey,  Janice Hahn

    CA-36: Final Election Tally Released for Special Congressional Race – Janice Hahn Vs. Craig Huey in the July 12 Run Off

    The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office released the final results today for the special Congressional Election to fill retiring Democrat Rep. Jane Harman’s 36th Congressional District seat.

    The results are here.

    Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a Democrat, was the top vote-getter with 15,647 votes, 24.6 percent, and was followed by Republican canidate Craig Huey, who had 14,116, 22.2 percent. The top two vote-getters advance to a runoff election if no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, so Hahn and Huey will face off in a July 12 special election.

    California Secretary of State Debra Bowen finished in third with 13,407 votes, 21.1 percent, and was 709 votes behind Huey.

    The election drew a wide field of candidates that included five Democrats, six Republicans, a Peace and Freedom, a Libertarian and three candidates who stated no party preference. The candidates were vying to replace longtime Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who resigned in February to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The 36th Congressional District includes Marina del Rey, Venice, Mar Vista, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and surrounding communities.

    Huey, a Torrance businessman and tea party candidate who lives outside the district in Rolling Hills Estates, surprised election watchers late Tuesday night when he overtook Bowen as the final precincts were counted and took a 206-vote lead. The registrar’s office counted more than 10,000 ballots Thursday and Huey increased his lead over Bowen, prompting her to concede defeat.

    It is expected to be a tough race for Republican/Libertaran Huey since the Congressional District is overwhelmingly Democratic in registration. But, turnout is also expected to be low and Huey is well known in conservative circles in the district.

    Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said there were 64,183 total votes cast in the election and 35,183, 54.8 percent, were vote by mail ballots and 29,000, 45.2 percent, were cast at precinct polling stations. Voter turnout for the election was 18.6 percent, which is lower than the 2010 primary turnout of 27 percent.

    Craig, a high school friend of mine from El Segundo and the owner of a Torrance marketing/PR business is expected to give Hahn a tough campaign.

    Stay tuned….

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 20th on 14:29

    These are my links for May 20th from 14:29 to 15:39:

  • Craig Huey,  Janice Hahn

    CA-36: The Long Knives and Satan Are Already Out for Craig Huey

    LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) and Businessman Craig Huey (R) who will face off on July 12, 2011 in CA-36, Jane Harman’s Congressional District

    The long knives are already out for Craig Huey on this ridiculous attempt to portray Craig as some sort of nutter.

    Even before the results of California’s special House jungle primary have been certified, Democrats are already bringing out the knives for surprise second-place finishing tea party candidate Craig Huey.

    Huey, who finished just ahead of Secretary of State Debra Bowen to advance to the July runoff, penned a letter nine years ago that inferred opponents of a church expansion were working at the behest of Satan.

    In the December 2002 letter to his neighboring Rolling Hill Estates residents obtained by POLITICO, Huey explains he supports the expansion of a local church “to expand the positive influence of the Gospel throughout the Hill.”

    But he also warned that a “small group of organized lawyers and residents” were exaggerating fears to “cast doubt” on the project.

    “I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised,” Huey wrote.  “Throughout history Satan has stirred up opposition to God’s purposes and plans.  It reminds me of Nehemiah in the Bible.  You’ll recall how he faces intense opposition to God’s work.”

    When the city council later voted against the church’s expansion, he called it “pure religious discrimination.”

    Well, I will await Craig’s official response but there really is nothing there. But, the Far Left in California like to demonize their opponents.

    The LEFT and unions know that Craig who is native to CA-36 will mount a solid campaign against the failed policies of California Democrats and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with whom Councilwoman Hahn is aligned.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 20th on 13:58

    These are my links for May 20th from 13:58 to 14:29:

    • Building up to a possible campaign, Mitch Daniels is in stitches – Hit by Door – It simply hasn't been a good week to be a Republican presidential hopeful.

      The latest: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels received 16 stitches to his forehead Friday after what his office described as a "post-workout accident."

      "As he concluded a workout at about 1:30 p.m., he was standing near a door. The door suddenly swung open and struck the governor in the forehead," a statement from Daniels' office reads.

      Daniels' security detail brought him to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was treated and released. He's now recovering at home, his office says.

      The incident comes amid frenzied speculation in GOP circles about whether the two-term Hoosier State governor and former George W. Bush budget director will enter the presidential sweepstakes.

      =====

      I won't delay anything…..

    • Mitch Daniels Is the Tea Party’s Dream Candidate – Alternatively, the talk radio right (and neocons who want to expand America's global footprint no matter the cost) might succeed in keeping Mitch Daniels out of the race, and elevating a Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann — candidates who flatter them, make them feel important, and calm their intellectual insecurity at every opportunity. The irony is that this time, if the conservative movement prevails over the establishment, it won't be to put a more substantively conservative candidate before the people — what they'll have succeeded at is the most absurd elevation of style over substance in memory, and the nominee that results will likely be less reliably conservative and alienating in a way that makes them less likely to actually beat Barack Obama.   

      Thus your choice, GOP primary voter: Do you want a nominee who'll zealously shrink the size of government and address the deficit if elected? Or a nominee whose verbal attacks on liberals feel cathartic? "The underlying theory behind the talk radio critique of Daniels is basically that you can't trust a man who disarms liberals with his seeming reasonability, and what you need instead is somebody who takes the fight to the left at every opportunity," Ross Douthat writes. "This is an excellent description of the qualities required … to be a good talk radio host. But when applied to the presidential scene, it amounts to a kind of politics of schadenfreude, in which actual conservative accomplishments count for nothing, the ability to woo undecided voters is downgraded or dismissed, and all that matters is how much a prospective candidate irritates liberals."

      Put another way, today's conservative entertainers are selling out their professed beliefs for an emotional high and a ratings boost — and perhaps with the realization that effective conservative governance, achieved without intellectually dishonest bombast, is an implicit repudiation of their whole worldview. Tea partiers, many of whom revere talk radio, are being misled into thinking that Daniels isn't a desirable conservative candidate. If they are earnest in what they say about America's fiscal situation, however, a Daniels Administration is the best triumph for which they can reasonably hope.

      ======

      But, the carping has already begun against Daniels but who will the hard Right coalesce behind?

      Cain, Bachmann or Palin?

      And. when they lose to Romney and Daniels, then who?

  • Bisphosphonates,  Dentistry,  Osteonecrosis

    Osteonecrosis of the Jaw Associated With Bisphosphonate Agent Zoledronic Acid and Chemotherapy Combined With the Antiangiogenic Agent Bevacizumab

    Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ)

    This study has just appeared in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Here is the abstract.

    Background. The authors investigated the incidence of and risk factors for osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in patients with metastases to the bone who received the bisphosphonate agent zoledronic acid (ZOL) and chemotherapy combined with the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab (BEV).

    Methods. The authors evaluated 59 participants (34 with breast cancer and 25 with nonsmall-cell lung cancer). All of the participants received 4 milligrams of ZOL via intravenous (IV) infusion every four weeks and 15 mg per kilogram of BEV every three weeks. They conducted a dental examination in participants at baseline and every three months until the patients died or were lost to follow-up. If needed, participants received periodontal disease treatment and underwent tooth extraction before they started receiving ZOL and BEV.

    Results. The median time the participants received ZOL therapy was 18.8 months (range, 3.1–28.9 months); 36 participants (61.0 percent) received ZOL therapy for more than one year. The median time participants received BEV therapy was 16.7 months (range, 2.8–29.6 months). None of the participants required dentoalveolar surgery while undergoing cancer treatment. After a median follow-up period of 19.7 months, none of the participants developed bisphosphonate-related ONJ.

    Conclusions and Clinical Implications.
    ZOL combined with BEV did not predispose to ONJ participants with cancer that had metastasized to the bone who underwent a baseline dental examination and preventive dental measures. The study results must be considered in the context of the study’s protocols and the follow-up period.

    So, the question is whether these patients were prevented from developing osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) because of the drug therapy or because of dental treatment protocols?

    The researchers took several measures to reduce the study participants’ risk of developing ONJ, including the following:

    • Dental caries and periodontal disease were treated before starting study treatment.
    • Mouth rinses with chlorhexidine and local antibiotic agents were administered before baseline oral hygiene.
    • Recommendations were made for maintaining good oral hygiene.
    • Teeth were extracted at least four weeks before starting ZOL and BEV therapy.
    • Invasive dental procedures were avoided during treatment.
    • If invasive dental procedures were needed during treatment, ZOL and BEV were readministered after at least four weeks.

    All the patients received a dental exam and panoramic x-rays before starting treatment and every three months until the patients died or were lost to follow-up. After a median follow-up period of 19 months, none of the study participants had developed ONJ.

    So, antiangiogenesis or treating the patient dentally prior to IV ZOL treatment?

    The jury continues to be out.

    But, preventive dental measures, including baseline dental examinations and follow-up are simple to institute and probably prudent, in any case.

    “Although further research is needed, the results of our study suggest that ZOL combined with the antiangiogenic agent BEV does not predispose patients with metastases to the bone from breast and NSCL cancer to ONJ if they undergo a baseline dental examination,” they concluded. “Nevertheless, the results of the study must be considered in the context of the follow-up period used in the study and the use of the preventive dental protocol.”

    Tanja Fehm, MD, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Tübingen in Germany, has done similar research (Gynecologic Oncology, March 2009, Vol. 112:3, pp. 605-609). She told DrBicuspid.com that the incidence of ONJ is low — between 1% and 4% — in metastatic breast cancer patients receiving bisphosphonates.

    “Therefore, the number of patients (59) investigated in this study is too low to make meaningful conclusions,” she added. “However, the paper summarizes the preventive measures that can help avoid ONJ.”

    Previous:

    Oral Bisphosphonates: Study – Absolute Risk for Femur Fracture Low with Bisphosphonates

    Revisiting Bisphosphonates and Femur Fractures

    Oral Bisphosphonates Associated with a SLIGHTLY Elevated Risk of Developing Osteonecrosis of the Jaw?

    New Dentistry Cause for Alarm for Patients Who Use Bisphosphonates – Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva?

    Dentistry Today: Bisphosphonates: Zometa (zoledronic acid) & Aredia (pamidronate disodium) Associated with Osteonecrosis of Jaw – REDUX

    Bisphosphonates: Zometa (zoledronic acid) & Aredia (pamidronate dis odium) Associated with Osteonecrosis of Jaw

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 20th on 12:03

    These are my links for May 20th from 12:03 to 12:31:

    • Bell’s Palsy Linked to Stroke Risk – Bell's palsy (BP) may be associated with an increased risk for stroke, a new study suggests.

      The relationship may relate to exposure to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) or varicella-zoster viruses (VZVs), they speculate.

      Ya-Ning Chiu, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues, used data from a national database to compare the risk for stroke between a group of patients with a diagnostic code of BP and found an increase in risk for stroke in these patients vs controls.

      Both HSV-1 and VZVs have been linked to risk for stroke, the study authors point out. These pathogens are thought to cause inflammation, promoting atherosclerosis and vasculopathy in the cerebral vasculature. Both viruses have also been linked to BP.

      "Therefore, we speculated that the increased risk of stroke after BP may be due, at least in part, to the etiological link between viral reactivation and BP and the connection between viral infection and stroke," the study authors write.

      The study was published online May 6 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

    • Gambling Problems to Increase Worldwide, Experts Warn – With the burgeoning availability of gambling opportunities, the prevalence of gambling disorders, including pathological gambling and problem gambling, is likely to increase, new research suggests.

      "Gambling disorders cause significant impairment," first study author David Hodgins, PhD, psychology professor at University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, told Medscape Medical News. It's important to note that treatment for gambling disorders "works and is available in many jurisdictions. Many countries have gambling helplines that provide treatment options for individuals."

      He also noted that because gambling problems are often accompanied by other problems and disorders, "numerous professionals, including physicians, mental health therapists, substance abuse counselors, and financial counselors, are well positioned to screen and refer. We also have validated, easy to use, screening questions."

      The seminar is published online May 19 in The Lancet.

      In the article, Dr. Hodgins and 2 coauthors review prevalence of gambling disorders, as well as causes and associated features, screening and diagnosis, and treatment approaches.

      For most people, they point out, gambling is a merely an enjoyable social activity. It's only a "small group of people [who] become too seriously involved in terms of time invested and money wagered, and they continue to gamble despite substantial and negative personal, social, family, and financial effects," the study authors note.

      Gambling disorders have garnered increased attention from clinicians and researchers during the past 3 decades as gambling opportunities have expanded. Internet gambling, for example, now provides around-the-clock home access to several types of gambling activities to an increasing number of people around the world.

      The prevalence of gambling disorders varies widely across the globe. For example, rates of problem gambling range from 0.2% in Norway to 5.3% in Hong Kong. In the United States, rates of pathological gambling range from 0.4% to 1.1% of adults, with an additional 1% to 2% identified as problem gamblers.

      Increasing evidence implicates multiple neurotransmitter systems, including dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic, in the pathophysiology of gambling disorders. Genetic factors are also thought to play a part, with evidence from twin studies suggesting some level of shared risk between identical twins. Environmental factors are also clearly involved, including accessibility to gambling and growing up with a parent with a gambling a gambling addiction.

      ======

      Read it all then shuffle up and deal….

    • Heavy Smoking Accompanies Postpartum Depression – Cigarette smoking should be a tip-off for the possibility of postpartum depression, according to a survey from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Results of a study suggesting this were presented here at American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 59th Annual Clinical Meeting.

      The large survey showed that nearly 1 of every 3 mothers who reported smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day also had symptoms of clinical depression. Depression was more likely among heavier smokers who were younger, who were non-Hispanic black, and who had low levels of education.

      "Our study suggests that screening and treatment of depression should be considered in all smoking-cessation programs that target new mothers," lead author Diana Cheng, MD, from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Baltimore, told meeting attendees. The findings also suggest that healthcare workers should be alert to the possibility of postpartum depression in new mothers who are heavy smokers, and prescribe treatment accordingly, she added.

      The study was based on a survey of a random sample of 8074 new mothers in Maryland who delivered babies between 2004 and 2008. Participants completed the survey between 2 and 9 months after delivery.

    • Eating Disorder Guidelines Released – The Academy of Eating Disorders (AED) has published guidelines for detecting and managing eating disorders in primary care practice.

      "Eating disorders are generally first picked up in primary care physicians' offices, but there is very little training in recognition, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of eating disorders in either medical school or residency," Mark Warren, MD, cochair of the task force that wrote the guidelines, noted in an interview with Medscape Medical News.

      Eating Disorders: Critical Points for Early Recognition and Medical Risk Management in the Care of Individuals with Eating Disorders can be downloaded from the academy's Web site. There is also a brochure that can be downloaded for printing and distribution.

      Designed to be user-friendly, the document provides a list of signs and symptoms and strategies to help general practitioners make an early diagnosis, medically stabilize patients, and initiate evidence-based care for patients with eating disorders.

      Sections include what the physical examination should include; what laboratory and imaging studies to obtain; risk factors and prevention strategies for the refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal shift of fluid and electrolytes that can occur when refeeding (orally, enterally, or parenterally) a malnourished patient; timely interventions; goals of treatment; and ongoing management.

      Eating disorders can have life-threatening physical and psychological consequences, the task force notes, and they affect not only girls and women but also boys and men, people from all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, and people with a variety of body shapes, weights, and sizes.

      "It is important to remember that eating disorders do not only affect females at low weight," the authors note, and that weight is not the only clinical marker of an eating disorder; people who are at normal weight can have an eating disorder.

    • Social Media Proves a Powerful Measure of Voter Sentiment and Accurate Predictor of California Gubernatorial Race – My company, Activate Direct, teamed up with Tulchin Research and PWSMC Social Media consulting, to release a detailed study of social media content related to the 2010 California governor's race between candidates Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown. The study demonstrates how campaigns can use techniques of "social listening" as both a real-time poll and an ongoing focus group, augmenting traditional public opinion research methods and identifying potential crises early.

      Study Highlights
      The analysis unlocked several key findings:

      Social and polling data were closely correlated.
      The ratio of positive to negative social sentiment was very much in line with the ratio of favorable to unfavorable ratings shown by traditional polling.
      Social chatter was driven by key campaign events.

      By analyzing the daily volume of social media chatter over the campaign timeline, it is clearly evident that peaks in social conversation volume coincided with major campaign events. There were three major peaks the team observed:

      Brown's announcement that he would run for Governor
      The primary election
      The largest peak of all, the Nannygate scandal

      The impact of Nannygate was significant. While Brown also had a negative spike during this time because of a related scandal ("Whoregate"), the overall gap between his positives and negatives is not nearly as far apart as Whitman's during this time, nor did Brown's negatives spike nearly to the same degree as Whitman's did over the same period.

      ======

      Read it all

      Will campaigns now hire news curator and social media consultants?

    • Arsenic in Drinking Water Ups Risk of Heart Disease – Exposure to even moderate amounts of arsenic in drinking water increases the risk of heart disease, new research from Bangladesh shows, and this risk is further exacerbated in anyone who has ever smoked [1].

      This is one of the first studies to quantify the risks of moderate exposure to arsenic in terms of cardiovascular disease and also the first time that a synergistic effect of smoking and arsenic exposure on CVD has been demonstrated, lead author of the new prospective cohort study, Dr Yu Chen (New York University School of Medicine, NY), told heartwire.

      She explained that arsenic is a natural element that can enter drinking water supplies in areas where water is primarily sourced from groundwater, and previous studies have shown that high levels of arsenic (>500 µg/L) are associated with an increased risk of many cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and ischemic heart disease, as well as cancer. "But it is not well established whether there is an association between low (<100 µg/L) or moderate levels (<300 µg/L) of arsenic exposure and cardiovascular mortality and subtypes of mortality, so we aimed to investigate this, and we also wanted to see whether the risks due to arsenic exposure were higher among smokers than nonsmokers," she commented. Chen and colleagues report their findings online May 5, 2011 in BMJ

    • Cervical Cancer Screening Every 3 Years for Most Women – A single test for the human papillomavirus (HPV) was found to be superior in predicting cervical cancer or high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia than a single Pap test, according to a new study.

      The results, which were highlighted at a press briefing held in advance of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), confirmed that for women with a negative HPV test and normal cytology, a 3-year follow-up appears to be safe and appropriate.

      Women who tested negative for HPV had a 5-year cancer risk that was similar to those who tested negative for HPV and had normal cytology (3.8 vs 3.2 per 100,000 women per year; P = .8). This was half the cancer risk of women who had a negative result on Pap testing only (3.8 vs 7.5 per 100,000 women per year; P = .3).

      Concurrent HPV testing and cervical cytology (cotesting) is an approved and promising alternative to cytology alone in women 30 years and older. Screening guidelines from organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Cancer Society have endorsed the use of cotesting in this age group as a safe alternative to Pap testing alone.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 20th on 11:37

    These are my links for May 20th from 11:37 to 11:38:

    • Union ‘card-check’ bill for farmworkers could put Jerry Brown in tough spot – In 1975, about five months into his first go-round as governor, Jerry Brown signed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which for the first time in U.S. history established for farmworkers in any state a right to form a union.

      Now, about five months into his second go-round, it appears Brown will face a second historic decision regarding farmworkers: whether to give them the ability, unprecedented in the private sector, to certify a union without the need for an election.

      After an Assembly vote earlier this week, both houses of the Legislature have now passed a bill that would allow agricultural workers to unionize if a majority of them sign cards attesting to their desire to do so. Under current law — including the National Labor Relations Act, which governs all other industries — a petition signed by a majority of workers triggers a secret-ballot election on whether to certify a union, supervised by government labor boards.

      ======

      Read it all

      E-verify for farm workers and then mechanize the fields. Think it will ever happen?

    • Michael Steele in talks to join MSNBC – Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is in negotiations with MSNBC to be a political analyst, according to sources.

      Steele would be a prominent Republican voice on a network known for its liberal television hosts. If the deal goes through, he would join the cable network in time to offer commentary on the 2012 elections.

      Steele was ousted as head of the Republican Party in its January election. He signed on as a monthly columnist at The Root, an African-American news site owned by The Washington Post, earlier this month.

      The former chairman has been a cable TV presence on several networks since leaving the RNC. The New York Post reported in January that Steele was in talks with Fox News and CNN about possible gigs.

      ======

      Guess he won't take Beck's spot on Fox.

  • Barack Obama,  Eliot Abrams,  Israel,  John McCain,  Mitch Daniels,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Tim Pawlenty

    President 2012: Obama’s Speech on Middle East and North Africa – The Reaction

    U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talk with invited guests after his speech about the United States policy on the Middle East and North Africa at the State Department in Washington, May 19, 2011. Obama on Thursday invoked the killing of Osama bin Laden as a chance to recast relations with the Arab world and said the top U.S. priority was to promote democratic change across the region. Obama, in his much-anticipated “Arab spring” speech, also ratcheted up pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, saying for the first time that he must stop a crackdown on protests and lead a democratic transition “or get out of the way”

    The reaction to President Obama’s speech (transcript) yesterday (video) was swift and certain from his potential 2012 GOP opponents. Here is a sampling.

    • Mitt Romney – “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.”
    • Tim Pawlenty – “To send a signal to the Palestinians that America will increase its demands on our ally Israel, on the heels of the Palestinian Authority’s agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization, is a disaster waiting to happen. At this time of upheaval in the Middle East, it’s never been more important for America to stand strong for Israel and for a united Jerusalem.”
    • Mitch Daniels – “What is going on in the Arab world these days has little or nothing to do with Israel or Palestine, it has to do with tyrannical regimes which have really stifled prospects for their people who are now restless for a better life… I don’t think right now it pays very much of a dividend to try to cut the Gordian Knot of Israel and Palestine.”
    • John McCain – This is setting a limitation on the boundaries of the state of Israel without regard to the Israelis having a country that they can defend militarily..” http://bit.ly/m4lMyx
    • Eliot Abrams – “On the whole, the president’s comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will lead nowhere. It is striking that he suggested no action: no meeting, no envoy, no Quartet session, no invitations to Washington.” http://on.cfr.org/mxSqsG

    My take on this is that most Americans don’t give a flying flip about this issue. They object to their tax money being used to adjudicate a dispute that has been going on for thousands of years.

    So, this will not hurt Obama (execpt with his left-wing Jewish donors) and certainly not help the GOP candidates (since Jewish voters go about 75% for the Dems and are concentrted in New York and California – states which won’t be in play in the Electoral College.)

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 20th on 00:47

    These are my links for May 20th from 00:47 to 07:47: