• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 16th on 14:33

    These are my links for August 16th from 14:33 to 19:30:

  • Amazon Tax,  Internet Sales Taxes

    The Think Before You Click Campaign to Boycott Amazon.com Over Internet Sales Taxes



    Amazon.com cheating California. Are you serious?

    A coalition of advocates for improved health, welfare and social services is calling for a boycott of Amazon.com Inc. until the giant Internet retailer drops a referendum aimed at overturning a new law requiring it to collect sales taxes on goods purchased by Californians.

    At a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol on Monday, the organization, dubbed the Think Before You Click campaign, asked Amazon shoppers to cancel their accounts with the Seattle-based company. The group has launched a website, www.thinkbeforeyouclickca.com.

    “The $200 million in annual revenue that [the state of] California loses each year through Amazon’s tax loophole would have been enough to prevent the $90-million cut from California’s Adult Day Health Care program,” said Nan Brasmer, president of the California Alliance for Retired Americans.

    The members of the coalition are Health Access, the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the California Immigration Policy Center and the California Partnership, which deals with senior citizen health issues.

    The only way this campaign is going to get off the ground is with funding from the LEFT’S favorite foil, Wal-Mart.

    How ironic, eh?

    By the way, why aren’t they also boycotting Overstock.com or many of the other internet retailers who do not have a physical nexus in California?

    Are they not cheating Californians too?

    Really….how stupid.

    Boycott efforts toward Amazon, no matter how well intentioned, might have trouble getting wide public support, said industry analyst Jordan Rohan of Stifel Nicolaus in New York City.

    “I’m not sure if the emotional appeal is enough to keep people from saving money,” he said. “I don’t know how much traction they’re going to have on that…”

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 15th through August 16th

    These are my links for August 15th through August 16th:

  • Mitt Romney,  Paul Ryan,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Perry 29% Vs. Romney 18% Vs. Bachmann 13%

    According to the latest Rasmussen Poll.

    Texas Governor Rick Perry, the new face in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has jumped to a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann with the other announced candidates trailing even further behind.

    The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary voters, taken Monday night, finds Perry with 29% support. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, earns 18% of the vote, while Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who won the high-profile Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on Saturday, picks up 13%.

    Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who was a close second to Bachmann on Saturday, has the support of nine percent (9%) of Likely Primary Voters, followed by Georgia businessman Herman Cain at six percent (6%) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with five percent (5%). Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and ex-Utah Governor Jon Huntsman each get one percent (1%) support, while Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter comes in statistically at zero.

    Sixteen percent (16%) of primary voters remain undecided.

    An Uh Oh moment for the presumed front-runner Mitt Romney.

    Is there any wonder why Karl Rove said last night that he exepcted others to enter the race? In fact, rumors have been plentiful today that Representative Paul Ryan is now considering the race.

    Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months, is on vacation in Colorado discussing a prospective run with his family. Ryan’s concerns about the effects of a presidential campaign – and perhaps a presidency – on his family have been his primary focus as he thinks through his political future.

    Then, there continues to be the real wild card candidate, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani who likely would run, if Palin does.

    Stay tuned…….

  • Antonio Villaraigosa,  California,  Proposition 13,  Rick Perry

    Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Proposes Driving the Rest of California Business to Texas

    Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky hold souvenir concrete chips as they celebrate the demolition of two lanes of the Mulholland Drive bridge over Interstate 405 ahead of schedule in Los Angeles Sunday, July 17, 2011. The event that many feared would be the “Carmageddon” of epic traffic jams cruised calmly toward a finish Sunday as bridge work on the Los Angeles roadway was completed 16 hours ahead of schedule and officials reopened a 10-mile stretch of one of the nation’s busiest freeways

    Oh, I mean Mayor Villar has proposed to modify California’s Proposition 13 for business property taxes.

    In what could be an initial foray into statewide politics, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Tuesday for a renewal of progressive politics in California in the nation, including an overhaul of the state’s iconic limit on property taxes, Proposition 13.

    “Progressives have to start thinking – and acting – big again,” Villaraigosa declared in prepared remarks for the Sacramento Press Club, to counteract anti-tax and anti-government drives by the Tea Party and other conservative blocs.

    “If the Tea Party in Washington and their counterparts here in Sacramento are intent on pitching jobs overboard in the mindless pursuit of ideology over country, we have to be willing to stand and defend our people,” Villaraigosa said, adding, “And yes, that means making a case for new revenue to sustain long-term investment.”

    Villaraigosa was particularly critical of the spending cuts that Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature’s Democrats made to balance the state budget after their efforts to extend some state taxes were rejected by Republicans. Those cuts, he said, will damage California’s ability to educate its children and remain economically competitive.

    “Governor Brown, I say we need to have the courage to test the voltage in some of these so-called ‘third-rail’ issues, beginning with Proposition 13,” Villaraigosa told the press club. “We need to strengthen Proposition 13 and get it back to the original idea of protecting homeowners, Proposition 13 was never intended to be a corporate tax giveaway but that is what is has become.”

    Some Democrats have backed changes in Proposition 13 that would remove, or at least modify, its protections for business property, but Brown has not signed onto that drive. He was governor when Proposition 13 passed in 1978 and although he opposed it prior to the election, after its passage he declared himself to be a “born-again tax cutter” and became a champion of state tax cuts and spending limits.

    Does Villaraigosa who is termed out for another term as the Los Angeles Mayor, really think he has a shot at the California Governorship? And, by going to the LEFT of Jerry Brown, Lt. Governor and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and/or Attorney General Kamala Harris?

    I guess so.

    But, Texas Governor Rick Perry must be licking his chops for all of the California businesses planning to move out of state, once this massive property tax increase hits the ballot.

  • Amazon Tax,  Internet Sales Taxes

    California Amazon Internet Sales Tax Referendum Gaining Momentum

    It seems that the Amazon.com signature gatherers are having little trouble obtaining voter signatures to place the issue on the ballot.

    Despite radio commercials that try to scare voters not to sign ballot petitions, signatures calling for a referendum on the so-called Amazon tax law requiring out-of-state Internet companies to collect sales taxes from California buyers are piling up. The necessary signatures to put the referendum on the ballot will likely be in hand well before the 90-day deadline.

    The eager response on an opportunity to stop a tax comes at a time when tax talk may come back to the state capitol. Hoping for new revenue, the state budget included a failsafe — a trigger to be pulled mandating further cuts if billions in expected revenue does not show up.

    Given the condition of the economy and the recent gyrations of the stock market concern is that the hoped-for money will not materialize. A rumor circulated around the Capitol yesterday that to avoid the “trigger” cuts, the governor might call a special legislative session focused on taxation.

    The recently passed California Budget is a joke and based on false assumptions, including Amazon Internet Sales Taxes. There is little doubt that some adjustments will have to be made by the Governor and California Legislature since Amazon will not be collecting and remitting any taxes pror to the October 1 deadline (since by obtaining the necessary signatures, the tax is suspended.)

    Whether the rumor has any validity or not, the rapid collection of signatures on the Amazon referendum sends a clear message — taxes are not welcome.

    True, Amazon.com has invested $3 million in the signature effort and some argue that the financial support is what is driving the successful signature gathering.

    However, the uncertainty over the economy has voters lining up to sign the petitions. As one voter said, ‘Saving $5 in taxes buys me another gallon of gasoline.’

    Look for Amazon.com qualifying the referendum in record time and next June, Californians will vote on the issue – repealing the tax. One other interesting fact is that next June may see a record GOP turn out since it is possible that with a multi-candidate GOP Presidential Primary field, California will determine the Presidential nomination.

    Note, the tax was sponsored by FAR LEFT Legislative Democrats at the behest and support of Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble and Target.

    We will see if those corporations will want to team up with the LEFT (haven’t they opposed Wal-Mart store construction across California) to campaign against their Republican customers.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Why Rudy Giuliani Continues to Consider a Presidential Race

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been quietly but steadily traveling to New Hampshire discussing his long shot Presidential ambitions. But, is this a Quixotic attempt to stay relevant or is there something more?

    Looking at the GOP nomination calendar, it may indeed be something more.

    Now, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Rudy are friends. Perry endorsed Rudy’s Presidential race in 2008 and I do not know how this calculus works. Nor, do I know whether Sarah Palin will actually enter the Presidential arena.

    But, let us assume that Sarah Palin runs and Rudy enters the race as a moderate alternative to Sarah and Michele Bachmann.

    Can Rudy Giuliani win the nomination? Or, at least have a shot?

    The short answer is: Rudy Giuliani can either win or determine who the 2012 Presidential nominee will be.

    Let’s look at the GOP primary nomination calendar.

    Here are the early states.

    There are two things you really need to pay attention to here. First, note the states with asterisks. The RNC has decided to strip half of the delegates from any state that holds a primary or caucus before March 1, other than Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, or Nevada. Some states are considering pushing their primaries back, although these also tend to be the more moderate states, like Wisconsin and New Jersey. The more conservative states seem to be hanging tough, for now. In other words, you could end up with some of the more conservative states in the GOP electorate losing clout at the convention.

    Please note the states of New Hampshire, Florida and New Jersey in the early state category where Rudy Giuliani will definitely win some delegates (remember these races are proportional contests – not winner take all).

    I can see a scenario where the more conservative candidates of Perry, Bachmann, and Palin split the conservative wing of the party and Giuliani beats or remains a close second to Mitt Romney after the early contests.

    Next, come the next tier of elections in March:

    Here there are sufficient large and moderate GOP states to provide delegates to a Giuliani candidacy – Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts and Vermont. Remember again, that the Republican National Committee has ruled that states who conduct primaries prior to April 1 must allocate their delegates proportionately.

    Again, a Giuliani candidacy can remain credible with maybe not the plurality of delegates, but a sufficient amount leading into the post-April primaries:

    Note that these post-April primary contests are considerably more moderate on political orientation and include New York and California. These are both states that Giuliani could win all of the delegates since they might become winner take all contests. Rudy would also do well in the other Eastern and Far West states, including Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington.

    Giuliani could either gather a plurality of delegates by the end of the primary season and unite with a conservative candidate (namely Rick Perry, his friend) as his Vice President selection and go into the Florida GOP Convention with a majority of delegates.

    Or, Rudy could broker his delegates to the “will” of the convention and accept the Vice Presidency.

    Sean Trende over at Real Clear Politics begins his piece with the meme of how well Romney will do against Rick Perry.

    I think Sean has it a little wrong.

    He has just made the case for a Rudy Giuliani candidacy.

  • Chris Christie,  Karl Rove,  Paul Ryan,  President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Karl Rove Expects Sarah Palin, Chris Christie and/or Paul Ryan to Enter Presidential Race?

    GOP Political operative Karl Rove on Fox News Channel last night

    Texas Governor is the candidate of the hour, but Karl Rove makes the case that more may enter the Presidential arena.

    ROVE: We’ve got a good field. I don’t think that’s the end, though, of the field. I think we’re likely to see several other candidates think seriously about getting in, and frankly, they have time to do so.

    November 22 is the first deadline to file papers to get on a ballot — that’s the last day somebody could get in without starting to lose their place in some of the early primaries or caucuses.

    I suspect we’re likely to see an early September, late August — people taking it seriously.

    SEAN HANNITY: All right, who are these people you suspect might get in?

    ROVE: I think Palin.

    HANNITY: You do think Palin?

    ROVE: Well, I think she’s going to look seriously at it. I don’t know if any of these are going to actually get in, but I think that the nature of the field, and the fact that we’ve now got three candidates when we could have had four, five, or six major candidates is going to lead people to say “Well, I could be in that contest.”

    Palin has got a pretty active schedule in early September. I think Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are going to look at it again, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them gave serious consideration to it….

    HANNITY: I’ve talked to Governor Christie a lot and he says “No way”.

    I was more convinced Gov. Palin after I saw her and interviewed her Friday night at the Iowa state fair that she might get in now.

    Paul Ryan, I don’t think has given any indication. What makes you think those two will get in — meaning Ryan and Christie.

    ROVE: Well, two things. There was an event in New York — [co-founder of Home Depot] Ken Langone pulled together some big moneyraisers and met with Christie and said “you need to think seriously about this.”

    And it’s not just the meeting. What happened afterwards — from what I picked up around the country — I talked to a number of people who had picked up the phone and called Christie to tell him they thought that he ought to run. These are Republican activists, Republican donors, movers and shakers, activists around the country.

    And the same on Paul Ryan, and I’m starting to pick up some sort of vibrations that these kinds of conversations are causing Christie and Ryan to tell the people who are calling them “Well, you know what, I owe it to you. I think I will take a look at it.”

    Whether or not that happens or not, I don’t know, but I’m just picking that up that people have some sense, some belief that these two guys are going to take a look at it.

    I agree that Sarah Palin is a wild card in the race fro 2012 and should Sarah enter the race, the conservative field would be scattered all over the map. I, also, predict that should Palin run, so would Rudy Giuliani which would really divide the GOP Presidential delegate distribution.

    I can foresee a scenario where the GOP nomination comes down to the California GOP primary election in June (likely, a winner take all election) or a “brokered” convention – much like Ford Vs. Reagan in 1976.