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The Morning Flap: November 29, 2011

These are my links for November 25th through November 29th:

  • BREAKING: Cain ‘Reassessing’ Candidacy – In a conference call this morning, Herman Cain told his senior staff that he is “reassessing” whether to remain in the race. He will make his final decision “over the next several days.”

    UPDATE: National Review was on the call. It lasted 5 minutes.

    “Obviously, you’re all aware of this recent firestorm that hit the news yesterday,” Cain began, his voice somber. “First thing I want to do is say to you what I have said publicly: I deny those charges, unequivocally. Secondly, I have known this lady for a number of years. And thirdly, I have been attempting to help her financially because she was out of work and destitute, desperate. So thinking that she was a  friend, and I have helped many friends, I now know that she wasn’t the friend that I thought she was. But it was a just a friendship relationship.”

  • Why Mitt Romney needs Herman Cain – The latest allegation swirling around businessman Herman Cain — that he conducted a 13-year long extramarital affair with a woman named Ginger White — could well amount to a political death blow for his already-reeling presidential campaign. And that’s bad news for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
  • Federal suit challenges California’s new congressional districts – Rebuffed by the California Supreme Court, a former Republican congressman and four others filed suit this week in federal court to overturn the state’s newly drawn congressional maps.

    The lawsuit by Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, who left Congress in January, marks the latest of numerous attacks by GOP interests against districts drawn for the first time by an independent citizens commission.

    Radanovich’s federal suit contends that the panel violated federal voting-rights law and the U.S. Constitution by seeking to protect three African American incumbents in the drawing of three Los Angeles congressional districts.

  • What if the individual mandate was unconstitutional? – An alarming article in Politico.com looks at what could happen if the Supreme Court determines that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provision is unconstitutional—something that the current conservative leaning of the Court seems to indicate is somewhat more likely than not.

    Assuming that such a possible decision by the Court follows that of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in ruling that the mandate is unconstitutional but the remainder of the ACA may stand, the Politico.com article anticipates some potentially disastrous consequences.

    The provisions of the ACA—some of them already in force—include guaranteed issue, elimination of annual and lifetime limits, and a ban on basing premiums on health status, essentially decoupling coverage and premiums from insurance risk. Without the requirement for almost everyone to have coverage, there will be nothing to ensure that the risk pool contains a large percentage of individuals in good health as well as those with medical problems, and nothing to stop anyone from waiting until they’re sick or injured to demand coverage.

  • Dilbert November 27, 2011- The Lesser of Two Evils » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 27, 2011- The Lesser of Two Evils
  • Day By Day November 28, 2011 – Here Come the Drones | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 28, 2011 – Here Come the Drones #tcot #catcot
  • Chris Christie: President Obama’s just a ‘bystander’ – Gov. Chris Christie on Monday tore into President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the supercommittee’s failure to reach an agreement on debt reduction last week, asking the president, “What the hell are we paying you for?”

    Calling Obama “a bystander in the Oval Office,” the outspoken New Jersey governor said the White House spent the weekend tossing out a whole lot of “spin” about the supercommittee’s inability to come to an agreement before the Nov. 23 deadline.

    “I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the supercommittee, and that the president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved. Well then what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said during a press conference in Camden, N.J. “It’s doomed for failure so I’m not getting involved? Well, what have you been doing, exactly?”

  • Obama Abandons the Working Class – The timing may be a little embarrassing, appearing as it does on the eve of Mr. Obama’s visit to Scranton. Still, the authors are probably correct. For all of Joe Biden’s nostalgia about the blue-collar virtues of his home town (where he hasn’t lived since the early days of the Eisenhower administration), the coal mines shut down years ago and many in the white working class have been drifting to the Republican Party.

    The authors therefore suggest that Mr. Obama’s best demographic bet for 2012 lies in holding white college graduates. They are also up front about the vulnerability. Mostly they phrase it politely—”the perceived inability of the Obama administration’s policies to spark real recovery”; “serious doubts about Democratic stewardship of the economy”; or “disenchantment on the economy.”

    That shouldn’t be a hard sell in places like Scranton, where the 9.7% unemployment rate is the worst in the state. When the Obama stimulus came, Lackawanna County spent nearly half of the $39 million it received on education, which means teachers. The city has been deemed “finally distressed” for two decades, and just this month the mayor released a new budget that includes a 29% hike in property taxes.

  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Breakfast first and then a day of writing/blogging. (@ Chez Cole)
  • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-29 #tcot #catcot
  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Moorpark, California Metrolink Station – Waiting to pick up Alice from the train. (@ Moorpark, California Metrolink Station)
  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Department of Motor Vehicles – Waiting to complete Lexus registration. Oh my! (@ Department of Motor Vehicles)
  • Day By Day November 27, 2011 – The Ride | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 27, 2011 – The Ride #tcot #catcot
  • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-28 #tcot #catcot
  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Waiting for more turkey… (@ Chez Cole)
  • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-27 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-27 #tcot #catcot
  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – A nice tapering 10 miles at Venice Beach today. Now with Alice, Tara and Nancy at Ronnie’s (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
  • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-26 #tcot #catcot
  • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
  • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
  • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
  • The Afternoon Flap: November 25, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: November 25, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing