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The Morning Flap: April 12, 2012
These are my links for April 11th through April 12th:
- Ann Romney Fights Back: Debuts on Twitter to Counter DNC Advisor’s Insult – Ann Romney’s debut on Twitter couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
Ann’s first tweet came just moments after Democratic strategist and DNC adviser Hilary Rosen lobbed an insult at Ann Romney, suggesting that the 64-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 16 had never held a job.
“Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life,” said Rosen, who was being interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the “war on women.”
And then, just like that, a familiar name popped up on Twitter: @AnnDRomney.
“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work,” Ann tweeted.
The Romney campaign confirmed to ABC News that the account belongs to Ann Romney.
The tweet came just as husband Mitt wrapped up a second day of campaigning that all but entirely focused on the “war against women,” packing events with female business leaders and accusing the Obama administration’s economic policies of hurting women.
“I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a tweet.
Top Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod also tweeted his disapproval: “Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive.”
- Democrat’s comment about Ann Romney creates firestorm on Twitter – Democratic Strategist Hilary Rosen generated instant bipartisan criticism Wednesday night for her statement that Ann Romney has “actually never worked a day in her life.”
The reaction on Twitter from high level politicos was instant and virtually unanimous: Rosen had gone too far.
Rosen’s comment also prompted Ann Romney herself to make her twitter debut.
“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys,” Romney tweeted. “Believe me, it was hard work.”
Rosen, also a CNN political contributor and a working mother, made her comments on CNN’s “AC360.”
“What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country, saying, ‘Well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.’ Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life,” Rosen said.
- Hilary Rosen: Ann Romney and Working Moms – My Twitter feed was on fire after an appearance last night on CNN’s AC360, where I said that I thought it was wrong for Mitt Romney to be using his wife as his guide to women’s economic struggles when she “had never worked a day in her life.” Oh my, you should read the tweets and the hate mail I got after that. The accusations were flying. I don’t know what it means to be a mom (I have 2 children). I obviously don’t value the work that a mother does and how hard it is (the hardest job I have ever had); and I absolutely hate anyone who doesn’t have the same views as I do (hate is a strong word).
Spare me the faux anger from the right who view the issue of women’s rights and advancement as a way to score political points. When it comes to supporting policies that would actually help women, their silence has been deafening. I don’t need lectures from the RNC on supporting women and fighting to increase opportunities for women; I’ve been doing it my whole career. If they want to attack me and distract the public’s attention away from their nominee’s woeful record, it just demonstrates how much they just don’t get it.
- President Obama: Quoting Reagan out of context – The Washington Post – President Obama: Quoting Reagan out of context – The Washington Post
- Caffeine Helps Muscles in Morning Workouts | News – RT @runnersworld: Drink that pre-workout java: Study finds caffeine improves AM muscle performance.
- A graphic of the Twitter aftermath following Hilary Rosen’s jab at Ann Romney – RT @jamiedupree: A graphic of the Twitter aftermath following Hilary Rosen’s jab at Ann Romney
- President Obama: Quoting Reagan out of context – The Washington Post – President Obama cited two specific Reagan speeches — one (June 28, 1985) in which Reagan quoted from a letter he had received from a wealthy executive and another (June 6, 1985) in which he said it was “crazy” for some multimillionaires to pay zero in taxes.
Why did Reagan give those speeches? Contrary to Obama’s suggestion that he was specifically arguing for a new tax provision aimed at the superwealthy, Reagan was barnstorming the country in an effort to reduce taxes for all Americans, mainly by cutting rates, simplifying the tax system and eliminating tax shelters that allowed some people to avoid paying any taxes at all.
In other words, Reagan was pushing for a tax cut for everyone, not just an increase on a few. (The highest tax bracket at the time was 50 percent.) He even wanted to cut the tax rate on capital gains from 20 percent to 17.5 percent.
- This Will Be The Highest Stakes Poker Game In History – A never-before-seen $1 million buy-in tournament at the World Series of Poker this year will generate the richest top prize in poker history at more than $12 million —and potentially more if additional players get in.
Series officials planned to announce Thursday that 30 players are committed to participate in the Big One for One Drop starting July 1 in Las Vegas
- Running Tips – Tips For Post Race DepressionThe Streaking Runner – RT @Racerunningtips: Running Tips – Tips For Post Race Depression
- Stuart Varney is Furious about the Misleading Information on the Buffett Rule
– YouTube – RT @Varneyco: I have never seen Stuart this angry. He’s furious about misleading media reports on the Buffett Rule: - Democrat Hilary Rosen Sparks Twitter Uproar Over Ann Romney Comments – Alexandra Jaffe – NationalJournal.com – RT @nationaljournal: Ann Romney joins Twitter, responding to an attack from a Democratic strategist.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-12 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-12
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26 Video: Linda Parks Up First With Television Ads – CA-26 Video: Linda Parks Up First With Television Ads
- Dem senator: Buffett Rule ‘isn’t going to balance the budget’ – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – RT @StewSays: (The Hill) Dem senator: Buffett Rule ‘isn’t going to balance the budget’ #BuffettTax
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Colorado Poll Watch: Obama Leading Romney 53% Vs. 40% – President 2012 Colorado Poll Watch: Obama Leading Romney 53% Vs. 40%
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 11, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 11, 2012
- Google+ gets major redesign with simpler UI and more customization – Google announced this morning that Google+ is set to receive a massive redesign over the next few days that will make it easier to use and much more intuitive. The company has been innovating quickly with its social network, and this is just another example of their commitment to the platform.
For starters, the main page has seen a complete overhaul. Rather than your tabs bring up top as well as along the side, you’ll get icons along the left panel. These are also customizable, so if you don’t want the Games icon, you can simply move it. There are also quick actions that you can access for each icon by hovering over them.
Posting photos and videos is getting an upgrade as well. Larger content will appear in your Stream now whether you’re sharing it yourself or viewing pictures from your friends. Google is adding a feature that they’re calling ‘cards’, which are streams of conversations that you can join. There will also be an activity drawer to highlight important content.
- Great news: Subprime lending escalating again – Hey, who’s up for the hair of the dog that nearly destroyed the American financial system in 2008? The good news is that the sudden increase in subprime lending hasn’t hit the mortgage market yet. The bad news is that it’s hitting just about everywhere else:
But as financial institutions recover from the losses on loans made to troubled borrowers, some of the largest lenders to the less than creditworthy, including Capital One and GM Financial, are trying to woo them back, while HSBC and JPMorgan Chase are among those tiptoeing again into subprime lending.
Credit card lenders gave out 1.1 million new cards to borrowers with damaged credit in December, up 12.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to Equifax’s credit trends report released in March. These borrowers accounted for 23 percent of new auto loans in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 17 percent in the same period of 2009, Experian, a credit scoring firm, said.
Consumer advocates and lawyers worry that the financial institutions are again preying on the most vulnerable and least financially sophisticated borrowers, who are often willing to take out credit at any cost.
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: via @flap
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Plasma-rich Growth Factor Can Help Cancer IV Bisphosphonate Using Patients With Tooth Extractions – Plasma-rich Growth Factor Can Help Cancer IV Bisphosphonate Using Patients With Tooth Extractions
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: New Epidemiology Study Links Dental X-Rays and Brain Tumors – New Epidemiology Study Links Dental X-Rays and Brain Tumors
- Ann Romney Fights Back: Debuts on Twitter to Counter DNC Advisor’s Insult – Ann Romney’s debut on Twitter couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
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The Morning Flap: January 30, 2012
These are my links for January 27th through January 30th:
- Newt expressed support for Obama health care plan in ’09 – On a May 2009 conference call for the Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich called the health care reform debate “healthier” than in 1993 and said the model being discussed was “the kind of general model we’re going to be advocating”:
The good thing is that unlike the Hillarycare process of 1993, we don’t have 500 people in a room hiding in a room trying to write the magic bill that’s gonna go through on an up or down vote. We actually have a process underway where lots and lots of different players have a real opportunity to have input. And I think in that sense this is already a healthier process than we saw in 1993, and a more open process.
He also discussed the concept of a mandate:
We believe that there should be must carry – that is, everybody should either have health insurance or if you’re an absolute libertarian, we would allow you to post a bond, but we would not allow people to be free riders failing to insure themselves and then showing up at the emergency room with no means of payment.
- In Florida run-up, Chuck Norris battles for Gingrich – Chuck Norris isn’t “missing in action” in Florida, one day out from the state’s pivotal GOP presidential primary.
The tough-guy Hollywood star — perhaps best known for his role in “Delta Force” and TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger” — endorsed Newt Gingrich more than a week ago and on Monday the former House speaker’s campaign pointed to his words as evidence that the “mainstream media” and “Washington elite” are out of touch with the everyday voters.
“Proof! Voters are smarter than media, Washington elite,” reads the subject line of an email blast from R.C. Hammond, the Gingrich campaign spokesman.
In a new commentary Mr. Norris inked for WND.com, the Oklahoma native delivers a stinging rebuke of the “mainstream media” and “Washington Elite” while breaking down the state of the GOP contest between Mr. Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
- InsiderAdvantage Poll: Gingrich Surging, Race ‘Tighter Than Expected’ – A new InsiderAdvantage poll conducted Sunday night of likely Republican voters in the state of Florida shows a significant surge for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The poll has former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading with 36 percent of voters, followed by Gingrich at 31 percent.
The Sunday results of 646 likely GOP voters are as follows:
Romney 36 percent
Gingrich 31 percent
Santorum 12 percent
Paul 12 percent
Other/Undecided 9 percent“The race will be tighter than expected,” Matt Towery, chief pollster of InsiderAdvantage told Newsmax.
- Cain: Finishing second a ‘win’ for Gingrich in Florida – Former presidential candidate and freshly minted Newt Gingrich surrogate Herman Cain downplayed the former Speaker’s chances for a win in Florida’s pivotal primary, citing the Romney campaign’s aggressive spending in the state.
“My expectation isn’t necessarily that he will win because of the sheer difference in spending. But my expectation is that he is going to have a much stronger showing than the weekend polls have been showing. There was one last night that showed that Gingrich is a lot closer to Romney,” Cain said during an interview Monday with Fox News. “So this thing is so dynamic, we won’t know until the votes are counted tomorrow night in Florida.”
Cain said that considering the circumstances, he would consider a second-place finish a “win” in the Florida primary — and reiterated Gingrich’s pledge to carry forward past Florida.
- January 30, Video: 2012 Health care expert Sally Pipes on what could replace Obamacare – “Repeal and replace” has been a conservative mantra ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. But while the process of getting rid of the law is somewhat straightforward, there’s been no consensus on what to actually replace it with.
Enter Sally Pipes, the renowned health care expert and president of the Pacific Research Institute. Pipes has a way to replace Obamacare’s expensive government health care bureaucracies with a market-driven system that she says would offer better treatment to patients while saving taxpayers money.
“I wanted to do a blueprint so politicians, staffers and people in the states could say ‘this is what I believe in,” Pipes said of her new book, “The Pipes Plan,” during an extensive interview with The Daily Caller.
- Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature – Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature
- Gingrich Looks Ahead to Super Tuesday – An internal Newt Gingrich campaign memo obtained by the Daily Caller claims “this race is just getting started.”
The memo stresses that Mitt Romney currently has just 33 of the 1144 delegates needed (Gingrich has 25 of 1144).
In addition, more than 20% of the available delegates (467) will be awarded on Super Tuesday March 6, 2012, and the memo notes that, one of the Super Tuesday states is Georgia, with 76 delegates at stake. To put that in perspective, “even if Romney wins Florida on Tuesday, he will only have 83 total delegates; Newt’s home state could effectively cancel out his entire delegate count to date.”
- President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Tied With Obama in Swing States – Gingrich Trails By 14 Points | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Tied With Obama in Swing States – Gingrich Trails By 14 Points
- President 2012 Video: Newt Gingrich Does Not Have a Conservative Ideological Core – Pat Buchanan | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Video: Newt Gingrich Does Not Have a Conservative Ideological Core – Pat Buchanan
- Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature – RT @CapitolAlert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature
- Election Day Tea Party 2012 – News – Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters: Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul Should Continue Past Florida – RT @michaelpleahy: Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters:Santorum,Gingrich& Paul Should Continue Past Florida #tcot
- Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran | ZeroHedge – RT @zerohedge: Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran
- Newsweek: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Won’t Apologize for Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Shooting | NewsBusters.org – Wow RT @mattsheffield: Newsweek: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Won’t Apologize for Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Shooting
- Gingrich memo downplays Florida; looks ahead to Super Tuesday | The Daily Caller – RT @JimPethokoukis RT @DailyBaller: Gingrich internal memo downplays Florida; looks ahead to Super Tuesday #tcot
- The Hill Poll: No benefit from tax holiday, say a majority of voters – TheHill.com – RT @thehill: The Hill Poll: Majority of voters see no benefit from tax holiday
- Log In – The New York Times – RT @charliespiering: Jeb Bush told Romney to tone it down on immigration
- Obama: The most polarizing president. Ever. – The Washington Post – Former senator Bob Kerrey tells The Fix that he is buying property in Nebraska, but that it’s not indication he’ll run
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-30 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-30
- Official Formspring for Android application available now | Android Central – Official Formspring for Android application available now
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Laid up in bed with a cold. Watching Lakers, Clippers and Dallas. Nap soon. Thank you Android! (@ Chez Cole)
- Official Formspring for Android application available now –
- Gingrich: I can beat Obama, ‘liberal’ Romney can’t | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Gingrich: I can beat Obama, ‘liberal’ Romney can’t: THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Newt Gingrich is painfully aware that …
- Florida paper backs a Gingrich presidency – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Florida paper backs a Gingrich presidency
- PFCs From Food Wrappers Could Reduce Effectiveness of Vaccines – Neil Wagner – Health – The Atlantic – PFCs — found in food wrappers, some clothing, more — could be reducing effectiveness of vaccines in kids:
- What Is Trisomy 18? – ABC News – Learn more abt Trisomy 18, the genetic disorder Rick Santorum’s daughter Bella suffers from:
- Obama, Democrats Facing Challenges in North Carolina – Hotline On Call –
Hotline On Call – RT @PounderFile: NJ: “Obama, Democrats Facing Challenges in North Carolina” - Romney Outspends Gingrich More Than 4-1 In Florida – It’s not just the message: Romney + friends spending 4X Newt+Adelson
- Newt: If Romney wins, it’s because of Santorum | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Newt: If Romney wins, it’s because of Santorum: Newt Gingrich suggested today that Rick Santorum could be, unint…
- Mark Levin: ‘Character Matters and Romney’s Worries Me’ | NewsBusters.org – Mark Levin: ‘Character Matters and Romney’s Worries Me’
- Day By Day January 29, 2012 – Executive Order | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 29, 2012 – Executive Order
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/29/president-2012-video-herman-cain-endorses-newt-gingrich/ – President 2012 Video: Herman Cain Endorses Newt Gingrich
- President 2012: Fred Thompson Says Romney Has Matt Drudge in His Back Pocket | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Fred Thompson Says Romney Has Matt Drudge in His Back Pocket
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/29/president-2012-video-sarah-palin-says-vote-for-newt-rage-against-the-machine/ – President 2012 Video: Sarah Palin Says Vote for Newt – Rage Against the Machine
- Day By Day January 28, 2012 – Competence an’ Stuff | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 28, 2012 – Competence an’ Stuff
- Robert Gibbs back on Obama payroll – POLITICO.com – Robert Gibbs is back on the Obama payroll, reports @glennthrush:
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-29
- War Room Logistics poll: Romney 40%, Gingrich 30% | Saint Petersblog – Florida: War Room Logistics poll: Romney 40%, Gingrich 30%,Santorum 15%
- Romney up in Florida – Public Policy Polling – Florida: Romney now leads with 40% to 32% for Gingrich, 15% for Rick Santorum, 9% for Ron Paul #tcot
- The non-endorsing endorsers – Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman – POLITICO.com – Huck pants-on-fire: his claim that comments in newt ad from ’08 were general and not about Mitt simply false. Deets:
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – 7 easy miles today. Here with Tara. Alice and Mary to join us after their 13 miler. (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-28
- Election Day Tea Party 2012: A New Beginning
– YouTube – RT @michaelpleahy: @Flap Inspiring video about what’s next for the #teaparty ! - News from The Associated Press – RT @AP: Nevada GOP to release presidential caucus results via Twitter and Google: -CC
- News from The Associated Press – RT @AP: Cynthia Nixon’s remarks on choosing to be gay, rejecting bisexual label, worry activists: -CC
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: January 27, 2011 – The Daily Extraction: January 27, 2011
- Little change in union affiliation in 2011 | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Little change in union affiliation in 2011
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Gingrich Maintaining National Poll Lead While Romney Slumps | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Gingrich Maintaining National Poll Lead While Romney Slumps
- Welch: Be nice to Paul, we need his supporters – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Jack Welch: Be nice to Ron Paul, we need his supporters
- Ron Paul signed off on racist 1990s newsletters, associates say – The Washington Post – Ron Paul signed off on racist newsletters in the 1990s, associates say
- CA-26: A Republican – Akiva Werbalowsky In and a Democrat – Zeke Ruelas Out | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: A Republican – Akiva Werbalowsky In and a Democrat – Zeke Ruelas Out
- Newt expressed support for Obama health care plan in ’09 – On a May 2009 conference call for the Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich called the health care reform debate “healthier” than in 1993 and said the model being discussed was “the kind of general model we’re going to be advocating”: