Archive for October, 2011
Ventura County Tea Party Rally, April 2009
The answer is probably NEITHER.
That’s tricky. We asked the same “support” or “oppose” question of both in the aforementioned USA Today/Gallup poll. The results show broadly similar views, although the Tea Party, with a 22% supporter, 27% opponent response in this poll, is slightly more negative than the 26% supporter, 19% opponent profile for the OWS movement. Half or more of Americans are neither supporters nor opponents of these movements. That underscores the point made by my colleague Jeff Jones in his analysis — namely that the majority of Americans are not highly caught up in these movements that occupy so much of the news media’s time.
My friends and colleagues, by and large, could care less. So, this is probably correct.
Unless, of course, one of the demonstrations disrupts traffic, then that person will hate your group!
Tags: Occupy Wall Street, Polling, Tea Party
1 Comment »
These are my links for October 20th from 06:31 to 10:48:
- Cain’s troubles multiply – This time Over Abortion – This is simply bizarre. He’s eloquently described his “pro-life” views as synonymous with the standard pro-choice argument. Santorum leapt, releasing this statement: “Herman Cain said that he believes life begins at conception, but that it’s up to the individual to decide whether or not to terminate that life. And I find it gravely troubling that Herman believes it’s a life, but that he doesn’t consider it a life worth fighting for. As the author of the partial birth abortion ban and other pro-life pieces of legislation, this is the exact mentality myself and other true pro-life advocates fought against. In fact, Herman’s pro-choice position is similar to those held by John Kerry, Barack Obama and many others on the liberal left. No, Herman, it is not ‘whatever they decide,’ this is an innocent human life. It is unconscionable for Herman to run for the nomination of the Party that stands in defense of Life while showing disregard for the sanctity of Life. You cannot be both personally against abortion while condoning it – you can’t have it both ways. We must defend the defenseless, period.”
As with his 9-9-9 plan, it’s not clear Cain understands his own position on abortion. Once again, we have seen, not surprising to many of us, that a total political novice wilts under even mild scrutiny in a presidential race.
Moreover, this one will hurt him badly in Iowa, where his Christian conservative credentials were a major reason many voters supported him. Cain’s stumbles, like those of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, may become one long slide down in the polls. Unfortunately for him, he has neither the money nor the staff to help him correct course.
- Hillary Clinton and Hamid Karzai chuckle over Herman Cain – Secretary of State Clinton and Afghan President Hamid Karzai put international diplomacy aside Thursday during their meeting in Kabul to have a few laughs at Herman Cain’s expense.
According to the Associated Press, the two leaders began their meeting in the Afghanistan capital with a discussion about how the GOP presidential candidate recently responded to how he would handle “gotcha questions” from the media on foreign policy.
“When they ask me who’s the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I’m gonna say, ‘You know, I don’t know, do you know?’” Cain responded, raising eyebrows about his lack of foreign policy credentials.
Karzai told Clinton that Cain was talking about “all the ‘stans,” to which Clinton laughed and waved her hands, saying, “All the ‘stans places,” the wire said.
“That wasn’t right, but anyway, that’s how politics are,” Karzai responded.
The two leaders moved on to have a more serious discussion. According to the AP, Clinton called for a new partnership between the U.S., Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight insurgents and described a “fight, talk, build” strategy for the three countries.
- Teacher in famous Christie YouTube video running for N.J. Assembly – Marie Corfield didn’t know what to expect when she confronted Gov. Chris Christie at a town hall in Raritan last year.
The 52-year-old art teacher left Robert Hunter Elementary during her lunch break and walked across the street to the municipal building, where Christie was holding court.
"I said ‘Well, now’s my chance. Better go speak my mind,’" Corfield said.
She did, and the ensuing 10-minute argument would soon become a YouTube sensation for Christie, helping him burnish his national image as a tough talking, no nonsense executive. But it also touched off a groundswell of publicity for Corfield, making her a sort of unofficial spokeswoman for aggrieved New Jersey public school teachers and, eventually, a candidate for Assembly.
The September 2010 confrontation reverberated across the internet after the governor’s staff posted it to his YouTube channel. Corfield took to the mic and ripped into the governor’s cuts to school funding and what she saw as his rhetoric against teachers.
- Will Moving Out of a Poor Neighborhood Bring Down the Levels of Obesity and Diabetes? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Want to avoid Obesity and Diabetes = MOVE:
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: October 20, 2011 – Today's Health and Dentistry Headlines…..:
- Obama struggling in Ohio – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Obama can only hope for a Perry resurgence. Perry's fav in Ohio is 21/61! Obama leads him 50-41:
- 40 balloons for my 40th
– YouTube – > Happy Birthday! RT @justin_hart: Family surprised me with a 40-balloon salute: video here:
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: October 20, 2011 » Flap’s California Blog – Today's California Headlines……:
- Flap’s Links and Comments for October 19th through October 20th | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Today's sad morning American economic headlines….:
Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Abortion, Cain, Christie, Clinton, Pinboard Links, Pro-Life
Comments Off
According to the latest Rasmussen Iowa Caucus Poll.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Iowa caucus-goers shows that Cain is in front with 28% followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 21%. Congressman Ron Paul is a distant third at 10% followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 9%, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann at 8%, and Texas Governor Rick Perry at 7%. The sixth place finish for Perry is a sharp decline from early September when Perry was the frontrunner both nationally and in Iowa.
Only one-third of the caucus-goers (32%) are certain of their vote and don’t expect to change their mind. Among these voters, 30% prefer Cain, 22% Romney, and 17% Paul.
Among those absolutely certain they will show up and participate in the caucus, Cain leads Romney 31% to 18%. Many have criticized the Cain campaign for not having a strong organization in Iowa which is seen as essential to turning out the vote. According to such conventional analysis, Cain might be at risk of raising expectations too high and then underperforming.
Unanswered questions in Iowa are:
- Does Mitt Romney run ads attacking Cain or does he allow him finish off conservatives Bachmann and Perry?
- Will Perry contest in Iowa or wait until South Carolina and who does he attack: Romney or Cain?
Tags: Polling, President 2012
Comments Off
These are my links for October 19th through October 20th:
- Jobless Claims Straddle Key Level; Big Upturn Still Elusive – New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and a gauge of labor market trends hit a six-month low, a government report showed on Thursday, pointing to an improvement in the jobs market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 403,000, the Labor Department said, from an upwardly revised 409,000 the prior week.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 400,000 from the previously reported 404,000.
The claims data covered the survey week for the government's closely watched nonfarm payrolls count for October.
- An Unprecedented 26 Million Americans Are Now Underemployed – While the number of unemployed workers has held steady at around 14 million in recent months, another telling measure of frustration in the labor market—the number of underemployed individuals—rose for a third consecutive month in September, by almost a half of a million people.
Almost 9.3 million Americans are considered underemployed, defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as working part-time for economic reasons, such as unfavorable business conditions or seasonal declines in demand.
That's up from just over 8 million in July, but down from a peak of about 9.5 million in September 2010. In addition, about 2.5 million individuals are considered "marginally attached to the labor force," meaning they were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. (They are not counted as unemployed because they had not looked for a job in the past four weeks prior to the survey.)
- US ‘Misery Index’ Rises to Highest Since 1983 – An unofficial gauge of human misery in the United States rose last month to a 28-year high as Americans struggled with rising inflation and high unemployment.
The misery index — which is simply the sum of the country's inflation and unemployment rates — rose to 13.0, pushed up by higher price data the government reported on Wednesday.
The data underscores the extent that Americans continue to suffer even two years after a deep recession ended, with a weak economic recovery imperiling President Barack Obama's hopes of winning reelection next year.
Inez Stallworth, an underwriting assistant for a financial services company, recently gave up her car, in part because of rising costs for gasoline and groceries.
"I can't fit it in," said the 27-year-old Chicago resident, who said most of her extended family was getting by "paycheck-to-paycheck." Consumer prices rose 3.9 percent in the 12 months through September, the fastest pace in three years.
With gasoline prices high, consumers have less to spend on other things.
Moreover, a rise in overall prices saps economic growth, which is typically measured in inflation-adjusted terms.
The last time the misery index was at current levels was in 1983.
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-20 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-20 #tcot #catcot
- Update: Ad Pulled – President 2012: Mitt Romney Releases Rick Perry Debate Blopper Video Which Asks: Is Perry Ready to Lead? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Romney Pulls Perry Attack Ad which ridiculed his debate performance bloopers:
- President 2012: Mitt Romney Releases Rick Perry Debate Blopper Video Which Asks: Is Perry Ready to Lead? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Mitt Romney Releases Rick Perry Debate Blopper Video Which Asks: Is Perry Ready to Lead? #tcot #catcot
- President 2012: Rick Perry Attacks Mitt Romney on Immigration – Really? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Rick Perry Attacks Mitt Romney on Immigration – Really? #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Links and Comments for October 18th through October 19th | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for October 18th through October 19th #tcot #catcot
Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Economy, Pinboard Links
1 Comment »
Comments Off
+++++Update+++++
The video previously released by the Mitt Romney campaign has been pulled.
“Disgusting” isn’t too strong a word to use here. The ad isn’t a hit on policy or another candidate’s record in office. It’s a very personal hit, meant to suggesting without saying outright that the other candidate is a blithering idiot, by using selective video editing. That kind of treatment can literally be done to anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in the public eye over the past half century. It’s funny when Conan O’Brien does it as a comedy bit. Not so much, when a candidate does it to a competitor to suggest that another candidate is a fool.
I think Mitt was pissed off that Rick Perry mentioned the “illegal” gardener at the Las Vegas GOP debate last night and shot a message across the bow of Team Perry.
But, this won’t be the last nasty and ugly ad from Romney or Perry.  Republicans need to nominate someone who can challenge President Obama in a debate. Can Rick Perry?
Mitt Romney ridicules Rick Perry’s debate performances in this back-handed slap of a web video.
Looks like Mitt wants to go for a Perry knock out and early knock out at that. Well, after all, Perry is sitting on all of that campaign cash. Why give Perry any opening?
The airwaves are going to get nasty, personal and ugly pretty quick now. Tags: Mitt Romney, President 2012, Rick Perry
Comments Off
|
Entries (RSS)