• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th on 12:17

    These are my links for September 28th from 12:17 to 14:18:

    • Rick Perry to Newsmax: I Regret ‘Heartless’ Comment on Immigration – Presidential candidate Rick Perry on Wednesday apologized for saying that anyone who opposed giving tuition breaks to the children of illegal immigrants “did not have a heart.”

      In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, the Texas governor said he had made a poor choice of words during the Sept. 22 presidential debate, but he stood by his view that the decision in his state to extend tuition breaks was the right one.

      “I was probably a bit over-passionate by using that word and it was inappropriate,” Perry admitted. “In Texas in 2001 we had 181 members of the legislature – only four voted against this piece of legislation – because it wasn’t about immigration it was about education.”

      During the wide-ranging interview, Perry:

      • Opposed the idea of a fence stretching the entire length of the Mexican border;
      • Repeated his claim that social security is “a Ponzi scheme,” saying it’s so bad it “would make Bernie Madoff blush;”
      • Attacked challenger Mitt Romney as “a flip-flopper;’
      • Accused President Barack Obama of sending government agencies to “go to war” against business, and;
      • Said most voters want their president to be “a person of faith.”

    • Big Tobacco knew radioactive particles in cigarettes posed cancer risk but kept quiet, study suggests – Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contained radioactive alpha particles for more than four decades and developed "deep and intimate" knowledge of these particles' cancer-causing potential, but they deliberately kept their findings from the public, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.
    • Bristol Palin’s Bar Heckler Apologizes After Negative Media Coverage – The dust finally seems to be settling on the epic verbal battle that unraveled between Bristol Palin and heckler Stephen Hanks. Just days after Hanks got into an altercation with Palin, then reiterated his offensive comments, he is now curiously apologetic.

      As you may recall, the 47-year-old attacked Sarah Palin’s oldest daughter last week, calling her mother “evil” and a “whore,” among other unbelievably offensive insults. You can watch the original battle unfold here:

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      Read it all….

      A little late but accepted…..

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th on 11:46

    These are my links for September 28th from 11:46 to 12:13:

    • Defiant Team Perry’s plan: Hit Harder – Are You Kidding? – Rick Perry’s widely panned debate performances? Just a hiccup. Any major changes in debate prep? None planned. His unexpected and deflating Florida straw poll loss last weekend? Not a big deal.

      Even as some of his supporters grow anxious, the Texas governor’s top aides insist they have no plans for real or even symbolic changes to their campaign. The only pivot they’ll make, they say, is to become more aggressive with Mitt Romney.

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      Probably not a wise move….

    • Hispanic kids the largest group of children living in poverty – More Hispanic children are living in poverty than those of any other race or ethnicity, marking the first time in U.S. history that the largest group of poor children is not white, according to a new research study.

      In a report released Thursday, the Pew Hispanic Center said 6.1 million Hispanic children are poor, compared with 5 million non-Hispanic white children and 4.4 million black children. Pew said Hispanic poverty numbers have soared because of the impact of the recession on the growing number of Latinos in the country.

      Though the number of poor Hispanic children is at a record high, black children have a higher rate of poverty — 39 percent compared with 35 percent for Hispanic children. In contrast, the poverty rate for white children is about 12 percent.

      Nationwide, one in five children of all races and ethnicities is living in poverty, which is set at $22,113 for a family of four.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Romney 30% Vs. Perry 24% Vs. Gingrich 10%



    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    Rick Perry’s led the Republican field in every Southern state that we’ve polled since he entered the Presidential race…until now.  Mitt Romney continues to lead the way in Florida with 30% to 24% for Perry, 10% for Gingrich, 8% for Ron Paul, 7% for Herman Cain, 6% for Michele Bachmann, 3% for Jon Huntsman, 2% for Rick Santorum, and 1% for Gary Johnson.

    Perry had a poor debate performance in Florida Thursday night and our results suggest that the negative coverage he received from that did hurt him some in the state.  We started this poll on Thursday night before the debate and in those interviews the race was neck and neck with Romney at 33% and Perry at 31%.  But in interviews done Friday-Sunday Romney’s lead expanded to double digits at 29-19.  More telling might be what happened to Perry’s favorability numbers after the debate- on Thursday night he was at 63/23 with Florida Republicans.  Friday-Sunday he was at 48/36.  Perry’s poor performance may or may not prove to be a game changer nationally but it definitely appears to have hurt his image in the key state where it occurred.

    Perry was down in Florida even before the debate though and one thing that may be hurting him is his comments on Social Security. 49% of voters disagree with his ‘Ponzi Scheme’ comments to only 37% who agree and with the folks who dissent from that statement his deficit against Romney goes all the way up to 19 points at 35-16.  It’s also noteworthy that seniors are the age group where Perry faces the biggest deficit to Romney at 34-26.

    Rick Perry was hurt from his Florida debate performance. Perry may not be OUT but he is teetering on the brink.

    If Chris Christie finally decides not to run, then the GOP looks like they will SETTLE for Mitt Romney.

    Also, note that Michele Bachmann is in “free fall” and with today’s Iowa poll one wonders, if she is going to be able to raise sufficient funds to compete there.

  • President 2012

    President 2012: Florida Likely to Set January 31 as GOP Primary Date

    This will certainly shakeup the GOP Presidential primary season and forcing candidates to campaign during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

    Florida is now expected to hold its presidential primary on the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray and jumpstart the nominating process a month earlier than party leaders had hoped.

    Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon told CNN on Tuesday that a state commission exploring potential primary dates is likely to choose January 31 to hold the nominating contest.

    If that happens, it would almost certainly force the traditional early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to leapfrog Florida and move their primaries and caucuses into early- to mid-January.

    “We are expecting to meet on Friday from 11 to 12, and I expect that they will pick January 31 as Florida’s primary date,” said Cannon, who helped select members of the nine-member commission.

    So, then how would the GOP Presidential calendar look?

    The Republican National Committee is waiting on decisions from a handful of states, including: Florida, Georgia and Missouri. Those decisions will help decide the dates of the voting in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

    The presidential candidates still do not have exact dates for the contests, but they believe the first two months of the campaign will unfold like this:

    •     Iowa caucuses: first or second week of January
    •     New Hampshire primary: immediately after Iowa
    •     Nevada caucuses
    •     South Carolina primary
    •     Florida primary: likely Jan. 31, or immediately after South Carolina
    •     Colorado, Minnesota, Maine: Feb. 7, a non-binding preference poll.
    •     Missouri: Feb. 7, a primary
    •     Arizona and Michigan: Feb. 28.

    The dates of contests in Alaska, Georgia and North Dakota are in flux.

    Looks like the candidates had better be prepared for extreme weather conditions, campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire and then off to Nevada and Florida.

    Stay tuned…..

  • Barack Obama,  Herman Cain,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama 39% Vs. Cain 34%



    According to the latest Rasmussen Poll.

    Herman Cain did well in last week’s GOP debate and won a decisive straw poll victory in Florida, but his numbers in a general election match-up against President Obama are little changed.

    A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that Obama earns 39% support while Cain attracts 34%. In that match-up, 14% prefer some other candidate, and 14% are undecided

    A month ago,  the president led Cain by seven percentage points. In March  Obama held an 18 point advantage over the businessman and talk show host.

    Data released earlier today shows that voters nationwide are evenly divided as to whether or not Cain is qualified to be president  — 30% say yes, 33% no, and 37% are not sure. Republicans, by a 49% to 17% margin believe he is qualified while most Democrats disagree. Among Republicans, Cain’s numbers on this question are similar to Rick Perry’s but not as strong as Mitt Romney’s.

    Yet, these are fairly decent numbers from someone who is virtually unknown to the electorate.

    Here is a summary of Rasmussen head to head polling:

    Not a bad polling result from someone who just last week was considering withdrawal form the Presidential race.
  • Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Ohio Poll Watch: Perry 42% Vs. Romney 38%

    According to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

    Among the several candidates hoping to succeed the president, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the pack in Ohio, attracting 24 percent of the support. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is close behind with 20 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who still hasn’t announced her presidential intentions, rounds out the top three with 9 percent. Businessman Herman Cain garners 7 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul receives 6 percent. None of the remaining candidates polls above 4 percent. When the two Republican front-runners are paired against each other in a head-to-head matchup, 42 percent back Perry while 38 percent back Romney.

    All of the rest of the candidates are supperfluous at this point. If Chris Christie or Sarah Palin were to run then there might be a change. But, for now it is a race between Perry and Romney.

    For now, in Ohio, the two candidates are virtually tied.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th on 08:03

    These are my links for September 28th from 08:03 to 08:06:

    • Labor Secretary Hilda Solis To Headline AFL-CIO Union Organizing ‘Summit’ – In yet another example the Obama Administration’s pandering to its union cronies while thumbing its nose at the other 88% of America that is union free, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be headlining (at taxpayer expense) to an AFL-CIO “summit” later this week in Minneapolis. The subject of the conference? How to target and unionize young people (and others).

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      Read it all

    • Obama’s Labor Department Blasted in Public Comments Over Dangerous ‘Persuader’ Proposal – Last week, the public comment period closed on the Obama Labor Department’s proposed regulatory change to alter a 1959 law that would make employers and their service providers (attorneys and various consultants) file financial disclosure statements and make personal information public, all in order to give union bosses hit lists of individuals and companies to target. Prior to the closing of the public comment period, there were nearly 6,000 comments—4,000 of which came within the last ten days or so as more people became aware of  the union-backed proposed rule.

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      Read it all

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Politics,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 Ohio Poll Watch: Obama 44% Vs. Romney 42% or Obama 44% Vs. Perry 41%


    The 2008 Presidential Electoral College Results


    According to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

    In Ohio, voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president, 53 percent to 42 percent. Independents give the president a lower score: 56 percent disapprove of his job performance while 38 percent approve. He receives majority support from his base (77 percent approve) but 19 percent of Democrats give him a poor job-performance grade. Men disapprove by 58 percent to 39 percent while the disapproval rate among women is much narrower, 49 percent to 45 percent.

    By a 51 percent to 43 percent margin, Ohio voters say the president does not deserve to be re-elected. Again, he struggles among independents: 53 percent don’t want to give him a second term while 37 percent do.

    Obama maintains a slim edge over his top two challengers in Ohio, a state he won in 2008 by five points. The president  leads Romney, 44 percent to 42 percent, and tops Perry, 44 percent to 41 percent. Obama edges Perry among independents, 38 percent to 35 percent. But that group is split between Obama and Romney, each of whom takes 39 percent.

    In this key battleground state, that the GOP Presidential nominee needs to win in the Electoral College, the Republicans are licking their chops for a pick up. This probably reflects more displeasure with President Obama and his policies than a desire for the Republican candidates.

    Nevertheless, the President is upside in the approval ratings and by a 51% Vs. 43% margin, voters are saying he does not deserve re-election.