The Morning Flap: January 12, 2012

These are my links for January 11th through January 12th:

• Mormons in America – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life – With a Mormon candidate among the front-runners for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, a musical about Mormons playing on Broadway and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) running television ads about ordinary Mormons, America is in the midst of what some media accounts have dubbed a “Mormon moment.” But how do Mormons themselves feel about the media spotlight, the election campaign and their place in America? A major new survey finds a mixed picture: Many Mormons feel they are misunderstood, discriminated against and not accepted by other Americans as part of mainstream society. Yet, at the same time, a majority of Mormons think that acceptance of Mormonism is rising. Overwhelmingly, they are satisfied with their lives and content with their communities. And most say they think the country is ready to elect a Mormon president.
• President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Romney With Commanding Lead – Mitt Romney is now running away with the race in the latest Rasmussen Reports’ survey of the end-of-the-month Florida Republican Primary.

  Coming off his decisive win in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Primary, Romney earns 41% support with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a distant second at 19%. A new telephone survey of Likely Florida Republican Primary Voters finds former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum running third with 15% of the vote.

• Laura Bush wanted Jeb to run for president in 2012 – Former first lady Laura Bush wishes there were one more candidate in the Republican presidential primary: Jeb Bush.

  Speaking to a sold-out Sarasota audience on Wednesday, Bush said she had hoped that her brother-in-law and former Florida governor would have jumped into the race this year.

  Husband George W. Bush “and I wish he would,” Laura Bush said when asked if Jeb Bush will run for president someday. “We wanted him to this time.”

  Laura Bush singled out his work on education as a key reason he would make a good president. She said his commitment to public policy is evident.

  Jeb Bush has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2012, though he has not ruled out a future campaign.

• 3 billionaires who’ll drag out the race – Meet the three billionaires who could drag out the GOP presidential primary, bloody up front-runner Mitt Romney and weaken the odds of defeating President Barack Obama: Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and Jon Huntsman, Sr.

  The three men are contributing millions of dollars to a trio of outside groups flooding the airwaves in early voting states with brutal ads attacking Romney and ads backing the candidates they would prefer to win the Republican nomination.

• Homeland Security watches Twitter, social media – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

  A “privacy compliance review” issued by DHS last November says that since at least June 2010, its national operations center has been operating a “Social Networking/Media Capability” which involves regular monitoring of “publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards.”

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-12 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-12
• Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com – Buffett Challenges McConnell, Republicans on Tax Policy | Swampland |
• Gingrich Spokesman Stands Firm on Romney Criticism – By Brian Bolduc – The Corner – National Review Online – Gingrich Spokesman Stands Firm on Romney Criticism
• Mitt Romney’s top strategist first used “vulture” imagery in California: On Romney supporter Meg Whitman (VIDEO) | Politics Blog | an SFGate.com blog – Mitt Romney’s top strategist first used “vulture” imagery in California: On Romney supporter Meg Whitman (VIDEO)
• Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties – latimes.com – Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties
• Afternoon Fix: ‘King of Bain’ ads airing tomorrow – The Washington Post – RT @FixRachel: The ‘King of Bain’ ads to start airing tomorrow
• Buffett Challenges McConnell, Republicans on Tax Policy | Swampland | TIME.com – Warren Buffett Ready to Take Republicans’ Tax Challenge – Slams Romney and Bain #FB
• Warren Buffett Slams Mitt and Newt – In exclusive interview with TIME, Berkshire Hathaway boss blasts the two ’12ers, Romney for his time at Bain and Gingrich for his dealings with OWS/Freddie Mac.

  On Mitt: “I don’t like what private equity firms do in terms of taking out every dime they can and leveraging [companies] up so that they really aren’t equipped, in some cases, for the future.”

• Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties – A Republican lawmaker who opposes shifting supervision of many felons from the state to counties voiced concern Wednesday over the arrest of a Sacramento man this week on sexual assault charges a month after he was released from state prison.

  Aaron Suggs had been designated a non-serious, nonviolent felon when he was released from state prison Dec. 8 after serving a sentence for drug possession. That designation resulted in his supervision, upon release, being assigned to the Sacramento County Probation Department rather than state parole agents under a program adopted by the state last year to cut its costs.

  State prisons spokesman Luis Patino said last year’s change in state law shifting responsibilities for some felons to counties did not affect how long Suggs spent in prison. County officials also denied that the shifting of post-prison supervision had an effect on Suggs’ ability to commit the crime, although Suggs spent five days in county jail for not immediately reporting to his county probation officer after his release from prison.

  Suggs was arrested Monday after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a house near the Capitol and stole some of her possessions.

• Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – When Mitt Romney Comes to Town….. – When Mitt Romney Comes to Town…..Mitt Romney | Gary Varvel | The Indianapolis Star |
• As Romney rises, Tea Party sees Senate as bulwark
  | Reuters – As Romney rises, Tea Party sees Senate as “bulwark” #teaparty #tcot
• When Mitt Romney Came to Town – The full video of When Mitt Romney Came to Town is Up:
• Untitled (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2012/01/rnc-announces-more-hispanic-outreach.html) – Congrats @BettinaInclan | The RNC has named Bettina Inclán as the Director of Hispanic Outreach
• DeMint tells Newt to drop negative hits on Mitt – POLITICO.com – Sell out DeMint RT @politico: Out of South Carolina: Jim DeMint tells Gingrich to drop negative hits on Mitt:
• Rush torches Perry: This is the way Fidel Castro thinks! | The Right Scoop – Yes | RT @DanRiehl: Limbaugh’s wrong. RT @trscoop: Rush torches Perry: ths is the way Fidel Castro thinks!
• Limbaugh, Defending Romney, Has Bain Tie – RT @DanRiehl: Limbaugh, Defending Romney, Has Bain Tie #tcot
• Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Good grief…..Axelrod defending Jeremiah Wright – they… – Good grief…..Axelrod defending Jeremiah Wright – they know that Mitt will use it, unlike McCain,,,
• (404) http://t.co/C1 – RT @joegarofoli: Don’t mention Bain! If you do, Sean Hannity sez to @RickPerry: You sound like Occupy Wall Street (VIDEO) …
• Three way tie with NC Republicans – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Head to heads- Santorum leads Mitt by 18 in NC, Newt leads by 1. Perry trails by 17, Paul by 46:
• Romney likens work at Bain Capital to Obama’s auto industry bailout – The Hill’s Video – Romney likens work at Bain Capital to Obama’s auto industry bailout
• Gingrich’s anti-Bain ad buy is tiny – Right Turn – The Washington Post – Oh Yeah – let Mitt Romney debate his days at Bain Capital with Newt and Perry – relish it.
• Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Yes, just like 2008 and likely the same results = an Obama… – Yes, just like 2008 and likely the same results = an Obama victory.Haven’t We Lived Through This Pri
• President 2012: Newt Gingrich anti-Romney Ad Asks “Who Let the Dogs Out?” | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Newt Gingrich anti-Romney Ad Asks “Who Let the Dogs Out?”
• (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/11/the-morning-flap-january-11-2012/ – The Morning Flap: January 11, 2012