• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for September 29th on 09:07

    September 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for September 29th from 09:07 to 21:41:

    • Gov. Rick Perry greeted by protestors in Charlotte – Texas Governor Rick Perry made a stop on his fundraising trail in Charlotte on Thursday, but it wasn't his supporters who made the most noise. Protestors took to the streets outside San Antonio’s Mexican Grill at SouthPark.
      It was anything but a southern hospitality welcome.
       
      "Rick Perry is the only candidate that signed in state tuition for illegal immigrants into law, " said William Gheen, President of Americans for Legal Immigration, or ALIPAC.
       
      “The reason that states have to deal with this is because of the failure of federal government," countered Gov. Perry.
       
      Texas signed a version of the Dream Act into law, allowing many undocumented students who grew up and received a high school education in the United States to receive in-state tuition for college, and Perry stood by his support for the issue.
       
      "The federal government demands we give them healthcare, we educate them.  So in Texas we've decided we want them to be part of the work force and not part of the problem," said Gov. Perry.
       
      But Gheen says it doesn't matter how long the kids have been in the U.S.  They shouldn't have the same rights as American students when it comes to education.
    • Rick Perry: My wife prodded me to enter presidential race – Speaking at a fundraising event for campaign donors in Beverly Hills, California on September 8th, Mr Perry praised his wife Anita, stating that "we grow beautiful women in Texas" and it was 45 years since they had first met at a piano recital near his home in Paint Creek, Texas.
      "And actually, the reason I'm standing before you is that, I was quite comfortable and happy being the governor of the state of Texas, and as she shared with me, 'You know, you're reasonably good at it'," he said.
      "But she said, 'You do not have the privilege to stand on the sidelines. Our country is in trouble and you have to do your duty'. And so honey I want to say thank you for prodding me across the line."
      Some of Mr Perry's detractors have said that he was pushed into running for president and that his poor debate performances reflect a lack of motivation. A senior adviser to Mitt Romney, the Texan's main rival, said that Mr Perry had embarked on "a careless candidacy prompted by his wife" and campaign consultants.
    • Why Romney Hasn’t Caught On – The New York Times and Washington Post both take a look at Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and wonder why he hasn't been able to excite Republican primary voters.

      First Read: "Yet here's one reason both articles don't really mention: his past positions on issues… Only six years ago, he supported abortion rights; in 1994, he sent a letter saying he'd be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Ted Kennedy; according to a 2006 article, he supported a path to citizenship for law-abiding illegal immigrants; he has said that his Massachusetts health-care law should be a model for other states; and he said back in June that humans have contributed to the world getting warmer — and that it's important to reduce emissions to combat that. All of those positions are anathema to conservatives. A question: Does this Republican electorate want to 'settle,' gravitate behind the most electable? When they've 'settled in the past, many conservative leaders have regretted it (see McCain or Dole or Bush 41)."

  • Gibson Guitars,  Lacey Act

    The Gibson Guitar Regulation FLAP

    September 29, 2011 /

    “Gibson is a well-respected American company,” John Boehner said

    Come On! What is going on here?

    Last month’s federal raids on the company that makes Gibson electric guitars were a gift to Republicans who have spent years railing about more obscure issues like boiler MACT regulations and particulate emissions standards.

    Here, at last, was a controversy the average person could grasp: Overreaching regulators were out to kill rock ‘n’ roll.

    Still, House Republicans are having some trouble getting the issue to gain traction on the Hill.

    The Justice and Interior departments have rebuffed the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s request for a briefing on the Gibson raid, with the agencies refusing to comment on their ongoing investigation into the possible importation of illegally harvested ebony and other woods from countries such as Madagascar and India.

    Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), chairwoman of the committee’s Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the raid but hasn’t ruled one out, said her senior adviser Ken Johnson.

    “American jobs are at stake, and Bono Mack hopes the Justice Department takes into account common sense and not just the letter of the law,” he said.

    The fight between the government and the Gibson Guitar Corp., maker of instruments such as the Gibson Les Paul, features some similarities with the GOP’s typical complaints about the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda — especially in the impact on jobs.

    “Gibson is a well-respected American company that employs thousands of people,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a speech this month to the Economic Club of Washington. “The company’s costs as a result of the raid? An estimated $2-3 million. Why? Because Gibson bought wood overseas to make guitars in America. Seriously.”

    Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz sounded a similar theme when complaining to reporters about the roughly $1 million in wood and instruments that the federal agents seized in August from company facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn.

    “We aren’t in the wrong, yet our entire operation has effectively been noticed to be shut down,” Juszkiewicz said during a news conference after the raid. “Over the last two years, we’ve hired 580 American workers. Just in the last two years. We’re one company that’s manufacturing in the U.S., hiring people and yet, the government is spending millions of dollars on this issue.”

    Home-state Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn further raised Juszkiewicz’s political profile by inviting him to be her guest during President Barack Obama’s Sept. 8 jobs speech to Congress.

    Blackburn is also scheduled to appear at an Oct. 8 “We Stand With Gibson” rally and concert that dozens of tea party, libertarian and other conservative groups are sponsoring in Nashville.

    The House needs to have the Obama Administration officials in for a little chat and Rep Mary Bono Mack should expedite the hearings as soon as possible. This is typical BS from the Feds and it has to stop harassing American businesses.

    Here is a piece on the original 2009 raid on Gibson guitars.

    Looks to me an easy solution will be to relocate the factory offshore and import into the USA, a finished product. I am sure some of those countries that export the wood would love to have a new factory in their country.

    I mean, how stupid is that because of a law first meant to regulate bird feathers in hats, the Lacey Act.

  • Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Florida Poll Watch: Obama 46% Vs. Romney 45%, Obama 45% Vs. Paul 44%, Obama 50% Vs. Perry 43%

    September 29, 2011 /

    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    Mitt Romney’s return to the top of the GOP field is very good news for Republicans if they want to knock off Barack Obama next year.  Our newest Florida poll finds that Romney would be in a toss up with Obama in the critical swing state but that Perry trails Obama by 7 points, which would be the biggest margin of defeat for a Republican candidate in Florida since Harry Truman blew out Thomas Dewey in 1948.

    Obama’s not popular in Florida- only 46% of voters approve of him to 51% who disapprove.  His numbers with independents are particularly bad at 41/52 and there are twice as many Democrats who disapprove of him as there are Republicans who think he’s doing a good job.  His numbers look great compared to Perry though.  Only 29% of voters see him favorably to 58% with a negative opinion.  Independents split against him 22/61 and he’s already established himself as the candidate Democrats hate the most with 83% giving him a negative rating.  Social Security’s a big issue in Florida and only 25% of voters agree with Perry’s statement that it’s a ‘Ponzi Scheme’ to 63% who disagree with his point of view.

    Perry trails Obama 50-43, including a 53-40 deficit with independents.  Other Republicans make it very close though.  Romney trails only 46-45 and Ron Paul actually does just as well, trailing 45-44.  58% of undecideds in the Obama/Romney match and 72% in the Obama/Paul match disapprove of the President’s job performance so odds are those folks would split against him in the end and put the state into the GOP column.  This may be the most positive poll for Paul that we’ve ever conducted- he leads by 15 points with independents even as the rest of the Republican candidates trail Obama with that voting group. The problem for Paul is that independents like him a lot more than Republicans do and that puts his chances for the nomination at slim to none…but he might really be able to make a dent if he ended up running as an independent instead.

    Continuing evidence that Rick Perry crashed and burned in the Florida debate.

    The GOP Presidential nominee needs to win Florida and they are within range with Romney.

    It looks like Perry has sunk so fast and deeply in the polls that he may be done.

    The entire poll is here.

  • Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Romney 27% Vs. Cain 25% Vs. Perry 13%

    September 29, 2011 /

    According to the latest Survey USA Poll.

    In the Florida Republican Primary for President, Mitt Romney at 27% edges Herman Cain at 25%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WFLA-TV Tampa. Rick Perry finishes 3rd with 13%, others further back. The Primary is tentatively, and controversially, scheduled for 4 months from today, on 01/31/12,

    Romney is strong among older voters, women, moderates and in Southeast Florida. Cain is strong among men, younger voters, Tea Party members, affluent voters and in Northeast Florida. Perry is strong among those who say they are “very conservative,” among those who attend religious services regularly, among Evangelicals and in Northwest Florida.

    Newt Gingrich at 6%, and Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul at 5%, effectively tie for 4th place. Jon Huntsman, in 7th place, finishes ahead of Rick Santorum.

    Interviews for this survey were conducted 09/24/11 through 09/27/11, in the days immediately after Cain won the Florida Straw Poll on 09/24/11, and in the week following televised debates in Tampa and Orlando. The results may reflect a genuine surge for Cain or may reflect the fact Cain was on the front page of every Florida newspaper on Sunday 09/25/11 and at the top of many Florida newscasts during the field period for the survey. More clear is that Romney emerges from the 2 Florida debates and the Florida Straw Poll with twice the support of Perry. Romney today has a Plus 36 favorability rating in Florida, 4 times greater than Perry, who has a Plus 8 favorability rating.

    Now, you know, why former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is considering a jump into the race. Rudy certainly could come in at least second in Florida while winning in the Northeast and Far West GOP primary elections.

  • President 2012,  Rudy Giuliani

    President 2012: Is There Room in the Race for Rudy Giuliani?

    September 29, 2011 /

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his wife Judith Nathan pay their respects at the north reflection pool near the bronze-etched names of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the National September 11 Memorial during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks at World Trade Center, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 in New York

    Yes, especially with the implosion of Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry.

    Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani dispatched a key emissary to New Hampshire on Wednesday to gauge their interest in his possible presidential bid.

    One of the mayor’s closest political advisers, Jake Menges, hosted private meetings with a host of key Republicans in the state, including Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, likely gubernatorial candidate Kevin Smith, Congressman Charlie Bass and GOP activist Stephen Talarico, owner of Manchester Harley-Davidson.

    “Jake said to me, ‘Just keep your powder dry for another few weeks,'” Talarico told The Associated Press.

    Giuliani has visited the first-in-the-nation primary state four times already this year and advisers have maintained regular contact with potential staffers in the event he decides to seek the presidency. During his last trip in July, Giuliani said he wasn’t convinced any of the candidates were strong enough to defeat President Barack Obama. Until he is, he said he wouldn’t rule out a run of his own.

    Rudy has the executive experience, been battle tested and is no more moderate than Mitt Romney or Rick Perry. Plus, unlike Rick Perry he can actually hold his own during a debate.

    On social issues, Giuliani is NOT a conservative, but a moderate. But, so is Romney. Rudy does not have the albatross of RomneyCare hanging around his heck.

    There is a path to the nomination, if the GOP will nominate a moderate on the social issues.

    But, it looks like they will anyway with Romney, if Rudy does not run.

    Compared to the rest of the field, Giuliani is definitely a top tier contender and one who can beat President Obama.

  • Methamphetamine

    While Washington Methamphetamine Labs Have Dwindled Challenges Remain

    September 29, 2011 /

    Methamphetamine Lab Incidents, 2004-2010

    Good news and bad news.

    Ten years ago, this newspaper sponsored a community town hall meeting on the use and abuse of methamphetamine in South Sound. The illegal drug was consuming an incredible amount of law enforcement and court time and meth labs posed a significant environmental and public health risk.

    The statistics for the highly addictive stimulant were staggering. More meth labs were cleaned up statewide in the first nine months of 2001 than in all of 2000. Thurston County logged 105 meth lab cleanups between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2001, while neighboring Pierce County was the state’ s leader with 486 labs. King County busted 200 labs, while Spokane broke up 193 labs.

    Nationally, Washington state ranked second behind California in meth raids.

    Law enforcement officers and treatment professionals were warning people that they could get hooked on the insidious drug from the very first time they used it. Doctors were seeing more patients move from meth addiction to heroin addiction.

    In addition, every time law enforcement officers dismantled a meth lab, they had to safely dispose of hazardous materials. Sometimes it was a mobile meth lab operated out of a van. Other times, it was homes where children were subjected to great health risks every time their parents cooked a new batch of the drug. And just days before the town hall meeting, Lacey police were called to a motel to dispose of toxic chemicals from a meth lab set up in one of the rooms.

    But, in the ten years, there has been success in reducing the number of Meth Labs.

    Tonight, county officials will meet at the courthouse for another town hall meeting on meth sponsored by the Thurston County Action Team. Speakers will discuss the methamphetamine situation in South Sound 10 years after that first town hall meeting.

    They will report on their successes – primarily the decrease in meth labs. Thurston County has gone from a high of 150 meth raids a year to fewer than five in the last couple of years.

    Much of the success can be credited to a federal grant that led to the formation of a local enforcement team that made meth its top priority. Laws were changed to take ingredients for meth off the store shelves. Other laws were passed to increase penalties for those caught making and distributing the drug. Parents who brew meth in the presence of their children now face child endangerment charges that carry more jail time than manufacturing charges.

    But, there is also work to do.

    Sheriff John Snaza says, “ While we may have mostly licked the lab problem, meth is still an epidemic in Thurston County.” Local labs have simply given way to the Mexican drug cartels who import meth to South Sound in large quantities. “ We’ re seeing crazy numbers on that, ” Snaza said.

    More young people are using marijuana, Snaza said, and there has been an explosion in prescription drug abuse, mostly opiates like Oxycodone that are as addictive as heroin.

    Local young people are attending “ punch bowl parties” where they take their parents’ or grandparents’ prescription drugs, throw then into a bowl and party guests select unknown pills for consumption. “ They don’ t know what they are getting themselves into, ” Snaza said.

    The message from tonight’ s town hall meeting must be one of continued vigilance. While the meth lab problem is mostly behind us, other drug problems exist, and, in fact, are growing in severity and impacting the lives of our young people. We, as a community, cannot back away from these challenges.

    On the methamphetamine front, the federal government must better secure the border with Mexico and more strictly monitor precursor chemical manufacture offshore. Some states are now adopting an electronic database to monitor and prevent the smurphing of meth precursor chemicals like pseudoephedrine.

    Whatever it takes…..

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th through September 29th

    September 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for September 28th through September 29th:

    • Liberal group sues FCC, claiming net-neutrality rules unfair to wireless – Free Press, a liberal advocacy group, sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday, arguing its recently published net-neutrality rules do not do enough to protect wireless Internet access.

      The rules prevent Internet service providers from discriminating between two similar content providers by slowing down or speeding up access to their sites. Wireless carriers are banned from blocking lawful websites or applications that compete with their services.

      The commission approved the rules last December in a partisan vote, and conservatives have characterized the move as an attempt to regulate the Internet.

      But Free Press argues the rules do not go far enough.

      Its lawsuit alleges the rules arbitrarily provide less protection for wireless Internet access, such as through smartphones, than traditional wired Internet access.

      “Our challenge will show that there is no evidence in the record to justify this arbitrary distinction between wired and wireless Internet access," Free Press policy director Matt Wood said in a news release. "The disparity that the FCC's rules create is unjust and unjustified. And it's especially problematic because of the increasing popularity of wireless, along with its increasing importance for younger demographics and diverse populations who rely on mobile devices as their primary means for getting online."

      The petition asks a federal court to find that the rules are "arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise contrary to law."

      =======

      Incredible – not enough of a power grab.

    • Social media jobs getting more plentiful – Like many people, Evan Cunningham spends time on Facebook and Twitter while at the office. He sends out party invitations or chats about beer.

      But unlike most people, he gets paid for it. And he gets a title.

      Cunningham's job is one of the newest in corporate America: social media manager. It's also known, depending on the company, as social media wizard, social media ninja, social media diva or just plain online communities manager.

      No matter what they're called, experts in marketing a company's name and wares on social network sites — such as Facebook, Twitter and special interest forums — are in demand.

      "This was the year when companies large and small began to realize the importance of social media, and there has been lots of investment in social media," said Augie Ray, a former Forrester Research analyst who now handles social media for insurance group USAA.

      No one knows exactly how many social media jobs exist, but a quick scan of online recruitment sites shows a bounty of businesses looking to hire.

      "On any given week, we may see hundreds of new social media jobs posted," said Kathy O'Reilly, director of social media relations for job recruitment site Monster.

    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-29 #tcot #catcot
    • Superman Vs. Warm Body – In Defense of Rick Perry – One of the problems in trying to select a leader for any large organization or institution is the tendency to start out looking for Superman, passing up many good people who fail to meet that standard, and eventually ending up settling for a warm body.

      Some Republicans seem to be longing for another Ronald Reagan. Good luck on that one, unless you are prepared to wait for several generations. Moreover, even Ronald Reagan himself did not always act like Ronald Reagan.

      The current outbreak of "gotcha" attacks on Texas Governor Rick Perry show one of the other pitfalls for those who are trying to pick a national leader. The three big sound-bite issues used against him during the TV "debates" have involved Social Security, immigration and a vaccine against cervical cancer.

      Where these three issues have been discussed at length, whether in a few media accounts or in Governor Perry's own more extended discussions in an interview on Sean Hannity's program, his position was far more reasonable than it appeared to be in either his opponents' sound bites or even in his own abbreviated accounts during the limited time available in the TV "debate" format.

      On Social Security, Governor Perry was not only right to call it a "Ponzi scheme," but was also right to point out that this did not mean welshing on the government's obligation to continue paying retirees what they had been promised.

      Even those of us who still disagree with particular decisions made by Governor Perry can see some of those decisions as simply the errors of a decent man who realized that he was faced not with a theory but with a situation.

      For example, the ability to save young people from cervical cancer with a stroke of a pen was a temptation that any decent and humane individual would find hard to resist, even if Governor Perry himself now admits to second thoughts about how it was done.

      =====

      Read it all

    • Frontloading HQ: Alaska GOP to Hold March 6 District Conventions – RT @FHQ: Alaska GOP to Hold March 6 District Conventions:
    • President 2012: Herman Cain – “I Couldn’t Support Rick Perry as GOP Nominee Today” | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Herman Cain – “I Couldn’t Support Rick Perry as GOP Nominee Today #tcot #catcot
    • Why Rick Perry should take his immigration problem very seriously | The Daily Caller – Why Rick Perry should take his immigration problem very seriously #tcot #teaparty
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th on 12:17 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for September 28th on 12:17 #tcot #catcot
  • Barack Obama,  Pakistan

    Pakistanis Burn Obama Effigy as America Increases Pressure on Pakistan

    September 29, 2011 /


    The Obama international honeymoon is definitely over.

    The United States on Tuesday demanded that Pakistan dismantle a terrorist network blamed for attacking a U.S. embassy as Pakistanis defended efforts to fight militants and demonstrated against the increasing U.S. pressure.

    White House spokesman Jay Carney said Pakistan “needs to take action to deal with the links” that U.S. officials say exist between the Pakistani intelligence agency and the Haqqani Network, based along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

    He repeated claims by other U.S. officials that the Haqqani terrorists are “responsible for attacks on the U.S. Embassy” in Afghanistan and on other Western targets.

    The United States has been publicly increasing pressure on Pakistan since Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress last week that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency helped plan the attacks on the embassy and NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, two weeks ago.

    Pakistan defended its efforts to fight terrorism Tuesday, when Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told the U.N. General Assembly that her country has lost more than 30,000 people to terrorist attacks over the past decade.

    But, never fear, the weak-kneed Obama Administration is now walking back on Mullen’s statements.

    Adm. Mike Mullen’s assertion last week that an anti-American insurgent group in Afghanistan is a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s spy service was overstated and contributed to overheated reactions in Pakistan and misperceptions in Washington, according to American officials involved in U.S. policy in the region.

    The internal criticism by the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to challenge Mullen openly, reflects concern over the accuracy of Mullen’s characterizations at a time when Obama administration officials have been frustrated in their efforts to persuade Pakistan to break its ties to Afghan insurgent groups.

    A ship of fools = the Obama foreign policy.

    Come on guys, get your stories and facts straight.

  • Twitter

    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-29

    September 29, 2011 /

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