Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Why not?

Leadership by default.

These are my links for July 26th from 11:33 to 11:35:

• New polls confirm Obama’s Democratic base crumbles – With all of the spotlights on the high-stakes debt maneuverings by President Obama and Speaker John Boehner the last few days, few people noticed what Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders said:

  "I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition."

  This is political treason 469 days before a presidential election. Yes, yes, this is just a crusty old New England independent for now, albeit one who caucuses loyally with Harry Reid's Democratic posse.

  But while most of the media focuses on Republican Boehner and the tea party pressures on him to raise the debt limit not one Liberty dime, Sanders' mumblings are a useful reminder that hidden in the shadows of this left-handed presidency are militant progressives like Sanders who don't want to cut one Liberty dime of non-Pentagon spending.

  Closely read the transcript of Obama's Monday statement on the debt talks stalemate. The full transcript is right here. And the full transcript of Boehner's response is right here.

  An Unbalanced Approach to a Balanced Approach

  Using political forensics, notice any clues, perhaps telltale code words that reveal to whom he was really addressing his Monday message? Clearly, it wasn't congressional Republicans — or Democrats, for that matter.

  The nation's top talker uttered 4,526 words in those remarks. He said "balanced approach" seven times, three times in a single paragraph.

  That's the giveaway. Obviously, David Plouffe and the incumbent's strategists have been polling phrases for use in this ongoing debt duel, which is more about 2012 now than 2011. "Balanced approach" is no sweet talk for old Bernie or tea sippers on the other side.

  Obama is running for the center already, aiming for the independents who played such a crucial role in his victorious coalition in 2008. They were the first to start abandoning the good ship Obama back in 2009 when all the ex-state senator could do was talk about healthcare, when jobs and the economy were the peoples' priority.

• House GOP revolts against Boehner plan – House Republicans do not have enough support to pass their debt-ceiling increase plan on their own, a top conservative said Tuesday as his party’s leaders tried to cobble together a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to put the bill over the top.

  “There are not 218 Republicans in support of this plan,” Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who heads the powerful conservative caucus in the House, told reporters Tuesday morning.

  That means Speaker John A. Boehner will have to rely on Democrats to pass the $1.2 trillion spending cuts plan — support Democrats’ top vote-counter said he’ll be hard-pressed to gain. Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer said “very few” Democrats will vote for the Boehner plan, though he acknowledged there could be some.

  A vote in the House is expected Wednesday, and Republican leaders are trying to round up enough support to pass their version. They hope that if it can pass the House, that will pressure Senate Democrats to drop their alternative and accept the GOP’s plan.

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  Read it all.

  Going to be a tough vote tomorrow

According to the latest Basswood Research Poll.

A new poll conducted for the Club for Growth showed Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and his primary challenger, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, in a statistical dead heat.

Mourdock had a small advantage over Lugar, 34 percent to 32 percent, in the Basswood Research poll released Tuesday. But Mourdock’s 2-point lead is within the poll’s 4.4-point margin of error.

The conservative, anti-tax organization has not endorsed Mourdock, but the Club for Growth President Chris Chocola has frequently criticized Lugar’s record. Earlier this month, the club sponsored television advertisements blasting Lugar across Indiana.

“An incumbent who sits at 32 percent in his own party’s primary, and trails a much less known challenger, is in a world of trouble,” Chocola, a former Indiana Congressman, said in a statement. “Senator Lugar is a very decent man, but it’s clear from the poll that after 35 years, Hoosier Republicans are eager for a more conservative alternative.”

About one-third of those polled, 34 percent, said they were undecided about the GOP Senate primary field.

Basswood Research conducted the poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters July 23-24.

Richard Lugar is in trouble and although he has a ton of campaign cash, money will now flow to the Tea Party favorite and younger Mourdock.

Time for Lugar to retire and bow out gracefully.

Congressman David Wu of Oregon did some interesting things right before his re-election in last year’s midterm elections. He allegedly wandered around Oregon like an insane person, for one. Also, it appears he sent his staff e-mails like an insane person, along with photos of him dressing up like some kind of tiger furry

Put a fork in him – He’s done.

Democratic Rep. David Wu (Ore.) resigned from the House on Tuesday, just days after news broke that Wu had been accused of having an “unwanted sexual encounter” with a teenage girl.

The Taiwanese-born Wu, 56, said he was stepping down to protect his family while he responds to “these very serious allegations.”

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be a United States Congressman. Rare is the nation in which an immigrant child can become a national political figure. I thank God and my parents for the privilege of being an American,” said Wu in a statement released by his office.

“Now, however, the time has come to hand on the privilege of high office. I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations.”

Wu did not give a date for his departure, saying it will come “upon resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis.”

Wu added: “The wellbeing of my children must come before anything else. With great sadness, I therefore intend to resign effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis. This is the right decision for my family, the institution of the House, and my colleagues.

Wu called it “the only correct decision to avoid any distraction from the important work at hand in Washington. I intend to go forward with new resolve and love of family, the State of Oregon, and our nation.”

Wu does not face any criminal charges related to the incident, which took place over the Thanksgiving weekend in California last year.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had no immediate comment.

Oregon Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were about to call on Wu to resign, saying he had lost his ability to represent his constituents due to the growing scandal.

Which means Rep. Wu will linger on for a while and that probably peeves Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic Congressional leaders. So, another reason to resolve the debt-limit crisis = get rid of this moron.

Exit question: Will Wu now face criminal chrages?

These are my links for July 26th from 07:07 to 07:09:

• Dan Walters: Redistricting commission makes California’s divisions official – California's evolution into one of the planet's most economically, culturally and ethnically diverse societies sparks ceaseless political debate, touching everything from illegal immigration to the plight of public education.

  We Californians have been less willing to discuss a particularly sensitive aspect of that diversity – the emergence of what can only be called segregation.

  Although the state long ago abolished legal segregation, we nevertheless tend to collect ourselves into enclaves, sometimes due to economic necessity but more often reflecting personal preferences to live among others with similar cultural, economic, linguistic, ethnic, generational or even political traits.

  The geographic dividing lines among what are euphemistically called "communities" can be very stark, especially in densely populated urban areas, reaching an extreme level in the block-by-block turf wars of street gangs.
  They pose a particularly vexing problem for political policymakers: To what extent should they reinforce segregation by giving these enclaves official status in the name of community empowerment?

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  Read it all

• Poll: 70 percent unhappy with economy, want incumbents replaced – The 2012 election could prove to be another voter referendum on Congress' handling of the economy, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

  The new ABC News/Washington Post survey found that 70 percent of voters who are unhappy with the state of the economy are looking to replace incumbent members of Congress with someone new.

  Voters are blaming both Republicans and Democrats for the slow recovery and difficulty finding jobs.

  The election in 2010, in which the GOP took the majority in the House, was widely considered a referendum on the way Democrats were handling the government and specifically healthcare and the economy. But the survey finds that just 30 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of conservatives polled think the Republicans in Congress are making things better.

  Obama and Democrats still take some of the blame, with Obama’s approval rating now at 39 percent, the poll found. According to 37 percent of respondents, Obama’s actions have made the economy worse, while 41 percent approve of how he’s handling job creation—which is still higher than the 26 percent who approve of the GOP’s job creation efforts.

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  A POX on both of the parties

These are my links for July 25th through July 26th:

• California State Board of Equalization to Discuss Implementation of the Amazon Internet Sales Tax | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – California State Board of Equalization to Discuss Implementation of the Amazon Internet Sales Tax #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Are Cranberry Juice or Supplements a Useful Alternative in Urinary Tract Infections? – Are Cranberry Juice or Supplements a Useful Alternative in Urinary Tract Infections?
• Day By Day July 26, 2011 – Adult Party | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day July 26, 2011 – Adult Party #tcot #catcot
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-07-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-07-26 #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Links and Comments for July 25th on 20:38 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for July 25th on 20:38 #tcot #catcot