• Polling,  Unemployment Rate

    Gallup: Mid-October U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.3 Per Cent

    Gallup Polling Mid-October Unemployment Rate

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 7.3% in mid-October, down considerably from 7.9% at the end of September and at a new low since Gallup began collecting employment data in January 2010. Gallup’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 7.7%, also down from September. October’s adjusted mid-month measure is also more than a percentage point lower than October 2011.

    These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking surveys conducted by landline and cell phone with more than 30,000 U.S. adults from Sept. 16-Oct. 15. Gallup’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate incorporates the .04 upward adjustment used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in October of last year. The adjustment for September was an increase of .02, which explains the .04 drop in seasonally adjusted employment despite the .06 decline in the unadjusted number.

    Good news for Americans.

    Underemployment is also down.

    Gallup’s U.S. underemployment measure combines the unemployed with those working part time but wanting full-time work. The underemployment rate is at its lowest mid-month or monthly level Gallup has measured since it began collecting employment data in 2010.

    Here is the chart:

    Gallup Polling Mid-October Underemployment rateWhat does this mean?

    Remember this is Gallup’s own polling and is not the official goverment Bureau of Labor Statistics which will later this month have the official unemployment rate figures.

    There are three weeks left to the Presidential campaign and while this downward trend is substantial, it may be too little and too late to affect positively the public perception that the American economy is improving.

    The decline in unemployment but uptick in the number of Americans working part time but looking for full-time work is likely the result of seasonal hiring, which picks up in the fall for Halloween and continues through the end of the holiday season. Still, seasonally adjusted employment, which accounts for these types of periodic fluctuations, has declined modestly since the end of September. This is a promising sign that employers are adding jobs that will last into the new year.

    Gallup’s mid-month unemployment numbers are a good early predictor of the monthly numbers released by the BLS. The decline in Gallup’s unadjusted and adjusted employment rate suggests that the BLS may report another decline when it releases the October data on Nov. 2.

  • David Nicholls,  Heath Hendrickson,  Trooth.Com

    Trooth.Com – The David Nicholls DDS Interview Part Two

    Trooth Website Trooth.Com   The David Nicholls DDS Interview Part One

    From the website Trooth.Com

    You remember the FLAP.

    A number of Utah oral and maxillofacial surgeons have begun a dentistry turf war with a fellow dentist, Heath Hendrickson, over the extraction of wisdom teeth. The surgeons have sponsored a website (Trooth.com) and a billboard on I-15 in Utah County, Utah.

    The oral surgeons who are listed below have a beef with general dentist, Heath Hendrickson, who refers to himself as Dr. Wisdom Teeth.

    Monday afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak with David Nicholls, D.D.S., one of the oral and maxillofacial surgeons who comprise the Board of Trooth.Com.

    Part One of my interview with Dr. Nicholls is posted here.

    The interview continues:

    Flap: You are saying that you object to Dr. Hendrickson’s advertising. Are you saying it is false and misleading?

    Nicholls:

    I am not speaking to his intent. What I am saying is that his advertisement that he puts out, billboards and other advertisements, do not comply with the Utah State Dental Practice Act that clearly states that if you are a generalist, advertising specialty care you must put on your advertisement a general dentist is performing services – so the public knows. And, as to his intent, I cannot clearly speak.

    But, very clearly his advertising is not in compliance with the Utah State Dental Practice Act.

    If you look under the section of Unprofessional Conduct, the advertising not specifying the person is a generalist is under Unprofessional Conduct. And, it is the idea of making claims in your advertising that you are somehow better and a more competent clinician than others, while you are only trained as a generalist, if you are advertising in a specialty area, so if you pull up the section of the Dental Practice Act, it is only 14 pages long, and you read it under the section of Unprofessional Conduct, you will see very clearly that it is stated. And, just look at his billboards and his websites and it becomes clear that he is not complying.

    Flap: There is the advertising portion of your complaint and there is Dr. Hendrickson’s image in the community, and that the public would be confused with his advertising. Patient care is also an issue. You are saying that he is having complications and he is not managing the complications?

    Nicholls:

    Well, I can speak personally from a patient I saw from the practice who was a young woman, college aged student who had her wisdom teeth out there. A month post-op, she developed a swelling, a mass, in her lower jaw. The patient was concerned about it. She went back to Wisdom Teeth Only, according to the patient. She was told that whatever the specialist is going to do and we will do that.

    And, based on that interaction, she lost confidence in the practice. She went to her physician. The physician ordered a CT Scan. It showed a mass associated with a third molar site – the #32 position. And, then the patient showed up at our office for treatment.

    What she had was an acute osteomyelitis with destruction of the mandible in that area and the loss of both buccal and cortical plates in the area of the wisdom tooth.

    So, what it required was debridement, IV antibiotics and oral antibiotics. And, it eventually resolved.

    So, that is an example of something that we see where the patient needs treatment that they will not be allowed to be provided in that practice – or what he can’t provide.

    And, so, I am sure you are aware,that if you do oral surgery from time to time you see infection and complications that require hospitalization. and, oral surgeons as you know are dentally, medically trained. And, so all of the oral surgeons are able to manage those complications in the hospital and take the case to completion. Whereas, a generalist doing surgery is not able to do that because he does not have hospital privileges and operating room in order to make care of complications that arise from tooth removal.

    That by default falls to the oral surgeons.

    And, it somewhat akin to a family practice doctor who is exposed to tonsillectomy in his family practice residency setting up a clinic and saying well, I have done some tonsils and know how to do it, so I am going to do tonsils and that is all I am going to do. And, I am going to advertise that I am going to have people come see me for their tonsils. And, I am going to kind of underbid the ear, nose and throat surgeons so that I can ..since a lot of people need tonsils out.

    And, the reason it does not happen is in the medical community is because you have to do surgery in a hospital setting. A hospital demands proper credentialing and training in order for the person to do that type of service. Because dentistry is not regulated in the office setting, the dentist can pretty much do what he wants – as long as he does not get into trouble and the patient’s sue.

    There is no other way to regulate what a dentist is doing as far as a physician who says he wants to do ..and the first thing the hospital says, are you trained to do this? And, if you are trained we need to see the documentation of your training, before we let you do this.

    It is kind of an interesting dynamic since it is kind of unique to dentistry and there really is nothing equivalent in medicine because the hospitalization part of it, controls it.

    Flap: You are aware at least in California (where I am licensed), that as a general practitioner that you can obtain hospital privileges?

    Nicholls:

    We have some general dentists who are on staff here as well. They bring in mentally compromised patients, pediatric patients, bring in patients that need to be sedated and to take care of trauma – tooth trauma on an emergency basis. Dr. Hendrickson is not among that group. He does not have hospital privileges.

    In Part Three of my interview with Dr. Nicholls, we will discuss the remedies that these oral surgeons have taken against Dr. Hendrickson and about the impact to their own professional reputations.

    Yesterday afternoon, I did have a telephone conversation with Dr. Heath Hendrickson. He told me that he would like to respond to Dr. Nicholl’s interview and the other Board Members of Trooth.Com, after this series of interviews is posted. Also, he has legal counsel and is consulting them about his possible remedies.

    Stay tuned…..

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    The Trooth.Com Archive

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: October 17, 2012

    Obama and Romney Debate

    President Obama and Mitt Romney debate last night, October 16, 2012

    These are my links for October 16th through October 17th:

    • Internet Takes Off With Mitt Romney’s ‘Binders Full of Women’– Despite all the fireworks over taxes, oil and Libya, the most buzz-worthy social media moment of Tuesday night’s presidential debate was Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s comment about “binders full of women.”The inadvertently funny comment came in response to a question about pay equity for women from a member of the audience of the debate between Romney and President Obama at Hofstra University.Romney was explaining that as the governor of Massachusetts searching for qualified women to fill cabinet posts, women’s groups brought him “binders full of women” who were good candidates.“And I said, ‘Well, gosh, can’t we — can’t we find some — some women that are also qualified?” Romney said. “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”The response was swift.

      “‘They brought me whole binders full of women’ Did I just hear that? #debate,” tweeted @MichaelAusiello.”

      “‘They brought us binders full of women,’ doesn’t sound good in any setting,” added the New York Times’ Nick Bilton.

      It wasn’t long before the internet took the comment and ran with it.

      A new “Tumblr” account popped up with images inspired by the comment, including one from the now-famous “Texts from Hillary” meme.

    • CNN Poll: Slight Edge to Obama in Debate– Hempstead, New York (CNN) – Give a slight edge to President Barack Obama.Forty-six percent of voters who watched Tuesday night’s presidential debate said that the president won the showdown, according to a CNN/ORC International nationwide poll conducted right after Tuesday night’s faceoff here at Hofstra University on New York’s Long Island. Thirty-nine percent questioned said Republican nominee Mitt Romney did the better job.Obama’s seven-point advantage came among a debate audience that was somewhat more Republican than the country as a whole and is within the survey’s sampling error.The president’s edge on the question of who won the debate appears to be the result of his much better than expected performance and his advantage on likeability. But the poll also indicates that debate watchers said Romney would do a better job on economic issues. And the two candidates were tied on an important measure — whether the showdown would affect how the debate watchers will vote. Nearly half said the debate did not make them more likely to vote for either candidate, with the other half evenly divided between both men.
    • CBS Poll: Obama Edges Romney in Debate– Moments following the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., 37 percent of voters polled said the president won, 30 percent awarded the victory to Romney, and 33 percent called it a tie. After some particularly animated exchanges between the two candidates, 55 percent of voters said Mr. Obama gave direct answers, but 49 percent also said that about Romney.As for who would do a better job of handling the economy, the president made some headway on closing that gap. Before the debate, 71 percent said they believed Romney would, while only 27 percent said they thought Obama would; after the debate, 34 percent said the president would better handle the economy, with 65 percent saying Romney would.Obama would also be more likely to help the middle class, according to 56 percent of voters after the debate, compared with 43 percent who said that about Romney.The survey polled 525 voters who are undecided or who may still change their minds. Most of these uncommitted voters are not affiliated with a political party: 56 percent describe themselves as politically independent, 21 percent identify as Republicans, and 23 percent are Democrats.
    • Candy Crowley: He Was Right – Romney on Libya– After the debate, debate moderator Candy Crowley said Republican nominee Mitt Romney was “right in the main” but “picked the wrong word” on the Obama administration’s immediate response to the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.Crowley interrupted Romney during the debate, insisting that President Obama had in fact called the attack an “act of terror.”ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.OBAMA: Get the transcript.CROWLEY: It — it — it — he did in fact, sir. So let me — let me call it an act of terror…

      OBAMA: Can you say that a little louder, Candy?

      CROWLEY: He — he did call it an act of terror. It did as well take — it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.

      In a statement given in the Rose Garden on Sept. 12, Obama emphasized an anti-Islam video, before saying that “no acts of terror would shake the resolve of this great nation.”

      The administration’s narrative on the attack over the next two weeks was muddled.

    • Crowley skews hard for Obama in disastrous debate– Another debate, another debacle for America’s media.In the runup to the second presidential debate, CNN’s Candy Crowley declared that she would not just be a “fly on the wall” as she played the tiny role of moderator, that she would step in whenever she chose to say, “Hey, wait a second, what about X, Y, Z?”And boy did she, cutting off Republican Mitt Romney repeatedly and often throwing the floor to President Obama with an open “let me give the president a chance here.”More, she alone decided the topics for the debate, picking questions from the 80 so-called “undecided” voters chosen by the Gallup polling organization. Her selections were tailor-made for Mr. Obama — Mitt Romney’s tax plan, women’s rights and contraception, outsourcing, immigration, the Libya debacle (which gave Mr. Obama to finally say that the buck stops with him, not, as Hillary Clinton said, with her).She even chose this question, directed to both men: “I do attribute much of America’s economic and international problems to the failings and missteps of the Bush administration. Since both of you are Republicans, I fear the return to the policies of those years should you win this election. What is the biggest difference between you and George W. Bush, and how do you differentiate yourself from George W. Bush?”
    • Obama Scores the Most Debate Points, but Verdict Uncertain – Wednesday, October 17, 2012– Like two roughnecks squared off on a playground, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney invaded each other’s personal space, raised their voices, and fought. “It is just not true,” the president said. “It is true,” his rival replied. You could almost hear both men thinking: “Same to you and more of it.”If you like to see presidential candidates fight for the job, if you want a passionate dialogue over big issues that matter, you got what you wanted on Tuesday night. If it’s civility you seek, you’re sunk.Who won? The answer may be Obama, because his goal following a catastrophically sluggish first debate was so clear: Show some life. And, indeed, the president aggressively criticized Romney, labeling him a hypocrite and a liar who favors the rich at the expense of the middle class and poor.But Romney got his licks in, too, wrapping a miserable economy around the incumbent’s neck. “The middle class is getting crushed by the policies of a president who does not understand what it takes to get the economy working again,” Romney said.Bottom line: Obama and Romney scored points while turning off independent voters with their point-scoring. Democratic and Republican partisans will find reason to celebrate the debate but it likely did nothing to reshape the closely fought race.
    • Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-10-16 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-10-16 #tcot
    • My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-10-16 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-10-16
    • Remarks by the President on the Deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya | The White House – RT @EWErickson: Here’s the Rose Garden transcript. President blamed a video, not terrorists.
    • Gallup Poll: Obama Losing Momentum With Voters – Flap’s Blog – Gallup Poll: Obama Losing Momentum With Voters #tcot
    • Trooth.Com – The Billboard – Flap’s Blog – – The Billboard #tcot
    • CA-26: Stalking Continues To Plague Tony Strickland – Flap’s Blog – CA-26: Stalking Continues To Plague Tony Strickland #tcot
    • Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California – Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California #tcot
    • California: Botched Abortion Sends Bakersfield Woman to Hospital | LifeNews.com – Horrible! RT @StevenErtelt: California: Botched Abortion Sends Bakersfield Woman to Hospital #tcot
    • Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California – Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California #tcot
    • Quote of the Day – RT @politicalwire: Former Obama aide: “It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people.”
    • Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California – Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California #tcot
    • Trooth.Com – The David Nicholls DDS Interview Part One – Flap’s Blog – – The David Nicholls DDS Interview Part One #tcot
    • Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California – Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California #tcot
    • The Morning Flap: October 16, 2012 – Flap’s Blog – The Morning Flap: October 16, 2012 #tcot
    • Civic Report 72 | THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California – THE NAYS HAVE IT: When Public Sector Unions Win in California #tcot
    • Daily Kos: Daily Kos/SEIU State of the Nation poll: Romney’s best numbers of the week – Even the LEFT RT @ppppolls: This week’s Daily Kos/SEIU/PPP national poll finds Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama 50-46:
  • Twitter

    Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-10-16