• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 14th through August 15th

    August 15, 2011 /

    These are my links for August 14th through August 15th:

    • President 2012: Perry schools Bachmann in Waterloo – Rick Perry came to Michele Bachmann’s hometown Sunday evening and schooled the newly minted Iowa front-runner in her native state’s demanding retail political culture.

      The day after Perry announced his candidacy and Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll, the two candidates spoke to the Black Hawk County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner, the sort of endless regional event that is a staple of the long Iowa campaign.

      Both candidates offered conservative standards, promising to slash government spending and ease regulations to jump-start the private sector economy. Perry promised to use his presidential veto pen “until all ink runs out to get the message across that we’re not spending all the money.” Bachmann pledged to keep faith with evangelical Republicans.

      The duo also went to great lengths to burnish their local credentials, with Bachmann celebrating her Waterloo roots repeatedly and Perry name-checking Iowa companies, recalling his own 4-H gold star status and Eagle Scout upbringing, and paying repeated respect to senior Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who maintains a hog farm nearby and was seated in the crowd.

      But the contrast that may lift Perry and undermine Bachmann in their high stakes battle for Iowa had less to do with what they said than how they said it — and what they did before and after speaking.

      ======

      Read it all.

      Rick Perry has more big time campaign experience than Bachmann having run for Governor of Texas (a very large state) three times.

      Unless Perry makes a gaffe or something disqualifying comes out, Perry will overwhelm Bachmann and after Florida it will be Romney vs. Perry going into Super Tuesday.

      Watch Rudy Giuliani and see if he endorses Perry early or late to get a sense of the direction of the Perry campaign.

    • President 2012: Bachmann-Perry Overdrive – The fight for the Republican Presidential nomination is finally getting underway in earnest, with Texas Governor Rick Perry bull-riding his way into the race and Michele Bachmann winning Saturday's straw poll in Iowa. Both events show how unsettled the GOP contest still is, as voters search for a candidate who can beat a vulnerable President Obama.

      Mrs. Bachmann, the Minnesota Congresswoman, has emerged from cable-TV land in recent months to be a viable competitor. She is telegenic, a hard worker, and has planted herself at the front of the tea party parade in hostility to all things Washington. This posture matches the current public mood and helps to explain why she surpassed fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race yesterday despite a far better record of accomplishment as a fiscally conservative two-term Governor of a left-leaning state. Mrs. Bachmann is a canny politician.

      At the same time, winning a straw poll of activists is a long way from persuading voters she has the experience and judgment to sit in the Oval Office. (Libertarian Ron Paul, who has no chance to win the nomination, finished a close second.) Mrs. Bachmann has a record of errant statements (see Battle of Lexington and Concord, history of) that are forgiven by Fox Nation but won't be if she makes them as a GOP standard-bearer.

      ======

      Read it all.

      The GOP has a weak field but Obama will be weaker.

      A Perry and Rubio ticket will probably be the strongest.

    • Flap’s California Morning Collection: August 15, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: August 15, 2011 #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: August 15, 2011 – The Morning Drill: August 15, 2011
    • Day By Day August 15, 2011 – All the World’s a Stage | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day August 15, 2011 – All the World’s a Stage #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-15 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-15 #tcot #catcot
    • Pakistan lets China see US helicopter – FT.com – Pakistan lets China see US Stealth helicopter from Bin Laden Raid
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for August 14th on 12:49 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for August 14th on 12:49 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 20th on 13:25

    July 20, 2011 /

    These are my links for July 20th from 13:25 to 13:28:

    • Ami Bera machine in gear for rematch against Dan Lungren – The new maps aren't done quite yet and he may well have to navigate a primary this time, but Democrat Ami Bera continues to post big fundraising numbers for a possible re-match for Rep. Dan Lungren's congressional seat.

      Federal campaign reports show Bera raised $534,009 through the first six months of the year. The report shows he's still carrying a $262,289 debt from his 2010 loss to Lungren, but $250,000 of that is money he lent himself. He had $450,508 in cash on hand as of June 30.

      The Elk Grove physician continues to tap donors from the medical and Indian-American communities — and family members. Sixteen donors named Bera each gave between $4,500 and $5,000 to the campaign during the first six months of the year.

      Lungren, meanwhile, raised $417,418 for the six-month period — about half of it from political action committees — and had $328,002 on hand as of June 30. The Gold River Republican's numbers are nearly identical to his fundraising output two years ago during the the first six months of 2009.

    • Michele Bachmann is going to be giving headaches – When it became known that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) gets migraine headaches, the sniping by those in the pressand Democrats reached a boil. Staunch defenders of the Americans with Disabilities Act ironically suggested that this would be a barrier to her serving as president.

      But as often happens with Bachmann, she came out a winner. She released this statement:

      “Like nearly 30 million other Americans, I experience migraines that are easily controlled with medication. I am a wife, a mother, a lawyer who worked her way through law school, a former state senator who achieved the repeal of a harmful piece of education policy in Minnesota, and a congresswoman who has worked tirelessly fighting against the expansion of government and wasteful spending.
      “Since entering the campaign, I have maintained a full schedule between my duties as a congresswoman and as a presidential candidate traveling across the nation to meet with voters in the key, early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. I have prescription medication that I take whenever symptoms arise and they keep the migraines under control. Let me be abundantly clear – my ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines and will not affect my ability to serve as Commander in Chief.
      “The many questions I have received on this subject have allowed me to discuss this important condition that impacts individuals in nearly one in four households. However, as a presidential candidate and office holder, I am focused on performing my job, which has never been more important given the state of our economy and the millions of Americans that are out of work. While I appreciate the concern for me and my health, the greater concern should be the debate that is occurring in Washington over whether or not we will increase our debt, spending and taxes.”
      That’s about as pitch-perfect a response as you are going to find. She is forthright, and she makes her statement a bonding moment with ordinary Americans. Moreover, she stays on message, highlighting her battle against debt, excess spending and tax increases.

    • Michele Bachmann’s Migraines Not the Only Headache for Her Campaign – “I'm not sure the story would have gotten the same traction had it been a male candidate. My gut says it would have been treated as less of a big deal if the information pertained to, say, Mitt Romney than Michele Bachmann,” said Republican political consultant Liz Mair, who advised Republican Carly Fiorina during her unsuccessful campaign to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., in 2010. “It is fair to say that women in politics often face challenges where the media is concerned that are somewhat different to those faced by men.”
      Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, has been doing research on the media coverage for male and female political candidates for the last 20 years. Her work shows that in the 1980s and 1990s, female candidates running for office at all levels of government received markedly different treatment in the press, with a focus on their appearance, their families, and so-called “feminine issues.” Those differences in treatment have faded over the last 30 years for most all offices—except for one.
      “That doesn’t seem to be happening when a woman runs for president,” Bystrom said. “That same equity does not run over. We still see the gender stereotypes that we did in the early 1980s.”
      Perhaps one among them: delicate Minnesotan congresswomen can’t handle their headaches.

      =======
      I never heard a man's migraine headaches ever mentioned in a campaign before.

      Liz Mair has it right here.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 8th on 17:24

    July 8, 2011 /

    These are my links for July 8th from 17:24 to 17:29:

    • Media Bias 101: How liberal lies seep into our pop culture and become “fact” – I know there are people who have issues with Michele Bachmann, primarily due to her stance on social issues like gay marriage and abortion. I understand that and can respect those disagreements. But what I will NOT respect nor tolerate is when mainstream media outlets accept without question the bogus “reporting” done by prominent liberal blogs and websites, which is clearly what has happened here. As a result, their lack of reading the actual document itself and instead relying on a liberal blog whose reputation is questionable at best has poisoned the information stream that Average Joes who do NOT follow politics like you and I do rely on to help them form opinions on both issues and candidates.

      This is unacceptable.

      ======

      The LEFT and MSM are trying to Palinize Michele Bachmann. But, I believe it will slide off like Teflon.

      I have asked the Washington Post, Liz Flock, ABC News, and Russell Goldman to issue corrections but at this point, even if they were gracious enough to do so, the damage has already been done. The “porn ban pledge” lie has seeped into the pop culture and this is the gross misinformation we get as a result. Mission Accomplished? You betcha.

    • Did Michele Bachmann Sign a Pledge to “Ban Pornography”? – When I read that, it’s not clear to me that a ban on porn is what is intended. It may be, but it also could be interpreted to say that candidates are expected to work against the “seduction into…pornography” of women and girls, which is not the same thing as calling for a ban.

      Notice that footnote at the end of the quote? If you scan down, footnote 17 provides further evidence that this is not about banning porn:

      17 Human trafficking, child pornography and prostitution, pimping, sexual slavery and forced abortion are inherently coercive of vulnerable females. Infanticide and abortion are inherently coercive of the babies who are killed…

      The rest of the footnote is about their opposition to various abortion procedures.

      I’m waiting for someone to confirm this, but it looks as if the Family Leader pledge is not calling for a ban on porn. Indeed the word “ban” does not appear in the pledge. It appears to be calling for candidates to work against the abuse of children and women for purposes of porn and prostitution. The footnote seems to emphasize situations (trafficking, child porn, sex slavery) that are coercive in nature.

      Now it’s possible this group is completely against pornography of any kind. In fact, I would bet they are. But being against something and desiring to protect children and women from it is not the same as calling for a legal “ban” on it. It seems to me Think Progress is overreaching here. I guess we’ll see.

      Update: Just noticed that Sister Toldjah beat me to all of these points by at least an hour. She’s as outraged by this as I am.

      =====

      Yeah the LEFT is going wildly after Bachmann like they did Palin.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 3rd on 12:31

    July 3, 2011 /

    These are my links for July 3rd from 12:31 to 13:29:

    • Republicans May Take ‘Mini’ Debt-Ceiling Deal – Republicans would accept a “mini” deal with the Obama administration on raising the debt limit, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican leader, said.

      Cornyn said today on “Fox News Sunday” that while Republicans would prefer a long-term settlement, they would accept a shorter-term agreement if that’s all they could get done. The U.S. Treasury Department has projected that on Aug. 2 the U.S. will no longer be able to meet obligations if the legal debt ceiling isn’t raised.

      “The problem with a mini-deal is we have a maxi problem,” said Cornyn, who is in charge of the 2012 Republican Senate campaign strategy. “We’ll take the savings we can get now, and we will re-litigate this as we get closer to the election.”

      The Senate shortened its July 4 recess and will remain in Washington to discuss a deal this week to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit. The Obama administration is negotiating with Congress on reducing the long-term budget deficit as part of a plan to raise the limit before borrowing authority expires.

      ======

      Accepting the mini-deal makes the GOP look reasonable and takes away a tool Obama can use to demagogue the issue early while the GOP are fighting Presidential primary wars.

    • President 2012: Bill Clinton at Aspen – BILL CLINTON agreed to a last-minute appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival (he was in town to meet with Clinton Foundation donors), and held forth for just over an hour last evening in an onstage interview with Ron Brownstein, then hung around for 30 minutes to sign programs and kibitz. He didn’t even wait for people to greet him, but lunged for Playbook, who was hanging back to give others a chance. The trim, ruddy former president wore crisp white slacks, a tan jacket and a white golf shirt. The front two rows included Justice Stephen Breyer, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Chris and Kathleen Matthews, Andrea Mitchell and Alan Greenspan, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Hank and Wendy Paulson, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Also in the house: Doug Band. Clinton spoke to a tent jammed with 800 people, and an overflow room held another 200 (including Walter Isaacson, who sportingly went over to keep them company). Choice excerpts:

      –Handicapping the current GOP 2012 field: “I’m always reluctant to say the strongest candidates, because I’m afraid I’ll kill ’em, and I don’t have the right to do that. [audience chuckles] But, y’know, I like the governors: I like Huntsman and Romney. Romney’s a MUCH better candidate than he was last time, because he’s not apologizing for signing the health-care bill. He’s got another creative way of saying we oughta repeal Obamacare, but that’s prob’ly the price of gettin’ the nomination. Huntsman hasn’t said what he’s for yet, but I just kinda like him. [laughter] He LOOKS authentic – he looks like a real guy. [laughter] I mean, a real human being. I like his family, I like his kind of iconoclastic way. And he was a pretty good governor. And he wasn’t a right-wing ideologue.

      “Bachmann’s been a better candidate than I THOUGHT she’d be, and I don’t agree with her on nearly anything. But she’s got a very compelling personal story, and she gotta lot of juice, and she turns [on] a lot of those anti-government crowd.”

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for July 1st on 11:38

    July 1, 2011 /

    These are my links for July 1st from 11:38 to 11:54:

    • Official Calls For Riverside, 12 Other Counties To Secede From California – Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone apparently thinks so, after proposing that the county lead a campaign for as many as 13 Southern California counties to secede from the state.

      Stone said in a statement late Thursday that Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties should form the new state of South California.

      The creation of the new state would allow officials to focus on securing borders, balancing budgets, improving schools and creating a vibrant economy, he said.

      “Our taxes are too high, our schools don’t educate our children well enough, unions and other special interests have more clout in the Legislature than the general public,” Stone said in his statement.

      =======

      Shame there is no Ventura County mentioned but LA County is in between geographically.

    • Union curbs rescue a Wisconsin school district – "This is a disaster," said Mark Miller, the Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader, in February after Republican Gov. Scott Walker proposed a budget bill that would curtail the collective bargaining powers of some public employees. Miller predicted catastrophe if the bill were to become law — a charge repeated thousands of times by his fellow Democrats, union officials, and protesters in the streets.
      Now the bill is law, and we have some very early evidence of how it is working. And for one beleaguered Wisconsin school district, it's a godsend, not a disaster.

      The Kaukauna School District, in the Fox River Valley of Wisconsin near Appleton, has about 4,200 students and about 400 employees. It has struggled in recent times and this year faced a deficit of $400,000. But after the law went into effect, at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, school officials put in place new policies they estimate will turn that $400,000 deficit into a $1.5 million surplus. And it's all because of the very provisions that union leaders predicted would be disastrous.

      In the past, teachers and other staff at Kaukauna were required to pay 10 percent of the cost of their health insurance coverage and none of their pension costs. Now, they'll pay 12.6 percent of the cost of their coverage (still well below rates in much of the private sector) and also contribute 5.8 percent of salary to their pensions. The changes will save the school board an estimated $1.2 million this year, according to board President Todd Arnoldussen.

      Of course, Wisconsin unions had offered to make benefit concessions during the budget fight. Wouldn't Kaukauna's money problems have been solved if Walker had just accepted those concessions and not demanded cutbacks in collective bargaining powers?

      "The monetary part of it is not the entire issue," says Arnoldussen, a political independent who won a spot on the board in a nonpartisan election. Indeed, some of the most important improvements in Kaukauna's outlook are because of the new limits on collective bargaining.

      In the past, Kaukauna's agreement with the teachers union required the school district to purchase health insurance coverage from something called WEA Trust — a company created by the Wisconsin teachers union. "It was in the collective bargaining agreement that we could only negotiate with them," says Arnoldussen. "Well, you know what happens when you can only negotiate with one vendor." This year, WEA Trust told Kaukauna that it would face a significant increase in premiums.

      ======

      Read it all

    • President 2012: Bachmann gets nod from fourth Iowa Senator – The presidential hopes of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) received a third nod from the ranks of the Iowa Senate. Late Thursday the Bachmann campaign announced that it had received the endorsement of Iowa Sen. Nancy Boettger, a Harlan Republican.

      “I’m excited to have Nancy’s support,” Bachman said in a prepared statement. “As a former educator, Nancy understands the importance of raising children to be good stewards in the future.”
      The Boettger family are farmers and also run a bed and breakfast.

      “Michele is the kind of no-nonsense leader that America needs,” Boettger said. “Michele will stand up for what is right in any situation and I’m proud to lend my support to her campaign.”

      The endorsement marks the fourth that Bachmann has received from the Iowa Senate, with Kent Sorenson and Brad Zaun also making their support official this week and Jack Whitver providing his endorsement in advance of Bachmann’s campaign kick-off event in Waterloo

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for June 29th on 10:49

    June 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for June 29th from 10:49 to 18:29:

    • Liberals, not Bachmann, are hypocrites on Medicaid – Any outspoken, pro-life, conservative woman will be the target of unfair, almost rabid attacks by liberals in the media. But the latest left-wing talking point against Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is perhaps the stupidest criticism any politician has endured this year.
      It turns out that Bachmann's husband, who runs a mental health clinic, has helped Medicaid patients. What's wrong with that? Well, you see, Bachmann has opposed the expansion of Medicaid, and she generally favors limited government.

      This makes her a hypocrite, NBC News reporter Michael Isikoff suggested in an article this week. Isikoff went to universal health care activist Ron Pollock for his money quote: "She's giving hypocrisy a bad name. … It's clear when it feathers her nest she's happy for Medicaid expenditures. But people that really need it — folks with disabilities and seniors — she's turning their backs on them."

      Pollock knows about businesses that "feather [their] nest" with government health care spending, because those businesses are the moneymen for his campaigns to expand government's role in health care. Pollock's group, Families USA, partnered in 2009 and 2010 with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — the nation's largest single-industry lobby — to support President Obama's health care legislation. PhRMA, representing drug companies, backed the bill because it expanded subsidies for prescription drugs, required state governments to cover drugs under Medicaid, imposed mandates on individuals and employers that would effectively subsidize drugs, established lengthy exclusivity periods for biologic drugs (keeping generics off the market for 12 years), and didn't touch the industry's other government favors.

      Families USA also teamed up with health insurers and drug makers in 2008 and 2009 to lobby for a more generous State Children's Health Insurance Program, which was created to subsidize health insurance for poor children and expanded in 2009 to cover the middle class and young adults.

      So, by the logic of Pollock and Bachmann's other liberal critics, these profitable and politically connected industries are being noble and consistent by lobbying for the very policies that profit them, while Bachmann is a hypocrite for opposing policies that would profit her husband.

      When liberals advocate policies supposedly contrary to their own economic interests, it's heralded as selflessness. Warren Buffett and Barack Obama want a higher tax rate? How public-spirited! Michele Bachmann thinks her husband is too subsidized? Hypocrite!

      ======

      Read it all

    • Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th through June 29th | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th through June 29th #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th through June 29th

    June 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for June 28th through June 29th:

    • Michele Bachmann’s Polling Can’t Be Dismissed – You know the Republican presidential race has changed when you start seeing headlines wondering “How To Stop Bachmann.” That was the title of a Jonathan Chait piece in the New Republic yesterday that came only a day after Ed Kilgore wrote on the same site asking whether Bachmann could “Survive Being Taken Seriously?”

      The reason for this hysteria can be found in the poll numbers that demonstrate the Minnesota congresswoman has evolved in the last month from a marginal player in the GOP presidential race to a major contender. The latest such survey came from the liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling that shows Bachmann leading in both Oregon and Montana. While it was possible to rationalize her surge in Iowa, a state where Christian conservative activists have always been highly influential and where she has some roots, it is difficult to dismiss her lead in Oregon.

      The question for the moment is how seriously to take these polls.

      On the one hand, any poll this far in advance of the first votes being cast has to be taken with a shovelful of salt. Four years ago at this time, Hillary Clinton was the certain Democratic nominee, John McCain’s candidacy had crashed and burned and Rudy Giuliani was looking like a strong contender in 2008.

      Like those 2007 surveys, polls at this point in the election cycle say more about name recognition than anything else. That’s why Clinton and Giuliani were doing so well four years ago and why someone like Mitt Romney is considered a frontrunner today. But those arguments don’t tell us much about Bachmann’s surge. Unlike Romney, who has been running for president for more than five years, Bachmann was a relative unknown outside of the Tea Party movement until just a few weeks ago. Her poll numbers are not the product of longstanding name recognition. Rather, they say everything about the way she has burst upon the scene looking and sounding like a confident, smart woman who isn’t afraid to take on either Obama or her Republican rivals. While other candidates, such as Tim Pawlenty, have presented far stronger positions on the economy and foreign policy, there’s no getting around the fact Republicans seem to like Bachmann better so far.

      =======

      Actually, no it cannot be dismisseed…..

    • ObamaCare: Divided Sixth Circuit Panel Upholds Individual Mandate – A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Martin, has upheld the individual mandate against a Commerce Clause challenge.  The same panel, in an opinion by Judge Sutton, rejected the argument that the mandate can be sustained as an exercise of the federal government’s taxing power (which means, to date, no court has accepted the taxing power argument).  Senior District Judge Graham, sitting by designation, dissented from the court’s Commerce Clause holding.

      ======

      On to the Supreme Court eventually…..

    • Michele Bachmann reponds to Medicaid payout report – Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann responded Wednesday to a report by NBC that the mental health clinic run by her husband has collected annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000, while she has criticized the program for swelling the "welfare rolls."
      "Medicaid is a valuable form of insurance for many Americans and it would be discriminatory not to accept Medicaid as a form of payment," Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told CNN. "As a state-sponsored counseling service, Bachmann and Associates has a responsibility to provide Medicaid and medical assistance, regardless of a patients financial situation."

      ======
      And, she would be criticized if her husband turned away Medicaid patients.

      How do you win with the MSM?

      Answer: As a conservative you don't.

    • Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th on 12:20 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th on 12:20 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th on 11:00

    June 28, 2011 /

    These are my links for June 28th from 11:00 to 11:07:

    • More Details Emerge in Wisconsin’s ‘Chokegate’ – To date, Bradley has not filed any kind of charges against Prosser. Instead, the story was leaked to the George Soros–funded Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, who used three anonymous sources to back up Bradley’s story. There were six justices present at the time of the incident, four of whom would be more likely to back Prosser’s version of the story. That leaves Abrahamson and Bradley as the only two remaining justices present. One source present speculated the third source may have been Bradley’s law clerk, who likely didn’t actually see the confrontation but may have head Bradley shout “I was choked.”

      Speculation is abundant as to why Bradley decided to forgo a criminal complaint against Prosser, deciding instead to go to the press ten days after the event. Some say Bradley’s complaint wouldn’t have stood up if given the scrutiny of a criminal investigation. Furthermore, others speculate that if any formal criminal proceedings had moved forward (a restraining-order filing, for instance), Prosser would be afforded evidentiary hearings, testimony, and discovery.

      Furthermore, sources unanimously believed that it was Shirley Abrahamson who has been the impetus behind the story, managing the press operation from behind the scenes. Justices had been working together regularly since the incident without any signs of rancor until Abrahamson decided to make this an issue, sources believe.

      While Bradley has not filed any charges against Prosser, an investigation was initiated by the Capitol Police, who then quickly turned the case over to the Dane County Sheriff, David Mahoney — who once actually appeared in a campaign ad supporting the reelection of Chief Justice Abrahamson. The ad also included not-yet-famous circuit-court judge Maryann Sumi, whose ruling the Supreme Court had to vacate in order to allow Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining bill to stand.

    • Tom Petty reportedly issuing cease and desist letter to Michele Bachmann – Tom Petty may be taking legal action to make sure Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann stops using his songs at her campaign events.

      “NBC News: @TomPetty unhappy with Michele Bachmann’s use of ‘American Girl’ and in process of issuing [a cease and desist] letter,” Matt Ortega reported on Twitter only hours after hours after Bachmann used the popular song to kick off her campaign.

      NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell confirmed that report Monday night.

      “And details matter, and when Bachmann left the stage here, her campaign played the Tom Petty hit song, ‘American Girl,’” O’Donnell said. “Turns out petty isn’t pleased. His manager says they will ask the Bachmann campaign not to use that song.”

      Petty also issued a cease and desist letter to then-Governor George W. Bush for illegally using “I won’t back down” at his rallies.

      “The impression that you and your campaign have been endorsed by Tom Petty, which is not true,” music publisher Wixen Music Publishing Inc. told the Bush campaign.

      To make matters worse for Bachmann, former RNC Online Communications Director Liz Mair made this observation about the use of the Petty’s tune: “Isn’t that what the kidnapped politician’s daughter was singing in ‘Silence of the Lambs?’

      Mair appears to have since deleted that tweet.

      ======

      Big deal – all of the old has-been rock stars are old lefties. Tom Petty is no exception.

    • NBC Nightly News Reports Bachmann’s John Wayne Gaffe, Ignores Obama’s Fallen Soldier Error – As NewsBusters reported last week, President Obama on Thursday said he had literally awarded a Medal of Honor to one Jared Monti, meaning in person while he was alive.

      Unfortunately, Monti was bestowed this honor posthumously in 2009 having been killed in Afghanistan three years prior. Obama later apologized to the family for his misstatement.

      Despite the seriousness of this gaffe, MSNBC and NBC have yet to report it. In fact, according to LexisNexis, through Sunday, not one television news network has.

      It appears a Republican presidential candidate confusing the names of two small Iowa towns most people have never heard of is far more important than a sitting president mistaking a fallen hero for a live one.

      But O'Donnell wasn't done with the Bachmann bashing:

      O'DONNELL: Bachmann told me she expects greater scrutiny and needs to be more careful.

      BACHMANN: I will make mistakes. It will happen. But I will tell you to the very best of my ability, I'll try and get everything right that is coming out of my mouth.

      O’DONNELL: And details matter, and when Bachmann left the stage here, her campaign played the Tom Petty hit song, “American Girl." Turns out petty isn't pleased. His manager says they will ask the Bachmann campaign not to use that song. They also asked George W. Bush not to use any of his music. But Hillary Clinton did use "American Girl" throughout her campaign in 2008

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for June 28th on 08:24

    June 28, 2011 /

    These are my links for June 28th from 08:24 to 09:02:

    • Simi, Moorpark formally oppose congressional redistricting plan – The cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark on Monday formally urged the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to rethink its proposal to place them in a congressional district that includes parts of Los Angeles County.

      The Simi Valley City Council adopted a resolution to that effect. Moorpark Mayor Janice Parvin sent a letter to the commission outlining her opposition.

      The Simi council's resolution also urged the commission to modify its proposal to place about 2,000 Simi residents in a different congressional district than the rest of the city.

      "To lop us off makes no sense whatsoever," Mayor Bob Huber said at a special meeting of the council he convened Monday morning because of what he said was the urgency of the matter. "It's just so wrong what they're doing. My strong feeling is we keep the whole county together."

      Noting the city has previously expressed its opposition to the proposals in letters to the commission, Huber said, "I think we need something a little stronger like an actual resolution that they can see and understand how strong we feel."

    • Bachmann is so not ready for presidency, but Pawlenty has the judgment and skills – In early 2012, Iowans in all 99 counties will bundle up, brave the cold night air, and join neighbors and fellow Republicans in casting their vote for the next president of the United States. Being Iowa, many caucus attendees will have personally met some or all of the candidates, will have had a chance to participate in town hall meetings, to ask questions, and to compare backgrounds and experience in this crucial race for the White House.

      I, too, have gotten to know some of the candidates. It is safe to say that I am one of just a handful of people who have worked closely with two of the candidates for president.

      As the former chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party during the tenure of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as well as the former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, I have watched both candidates from behind the public scene. I've seen how they handle the pressures of the job; I've seen how they lead a staff; and I've seen how they would govern if elected to the most powerful office in the world.

      Having seen the two of them, up close and over a long period of time, it is clear to me that while Tim Pawlenty possesses the judgment, the demeanor, and the readiness to serve as president, Michele Bachmann decidedly does not.

      =======

      The long knives are out for Michele Bachmann. But, will it roll off of her back or will the real beneficiary be Mitt Romney?

    • President 2012: Michele Bachmann accepts Chris Wallace’s apology – In an interview by Sean Hannity’s last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann said she had gotten a call early last evening from Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, who apologized for the way he put the “flake” question during Sunday’s interview. She recounted that she was happy to accept the apology and that “we’re moving on.”

      ======

      Move along….

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for June 27th on 14:03

    June 27, 2011 /

    These are my links for June 27th from 14:03 to 14:41:

    • House Subcommittee Expected to Introduce Mandatory E-Verify – A U.S. House subcommittee is expected to discuss a bill that will make the E-Verify, the federal program that verified whether a worker has authorization to work in the U.S., mandatory and permanent. Introduced by the chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Policy Enforcement, Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), the "Legal Workforce Act" is expected to be debated by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. 

      In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, Smith and the co-author of the bill, Elton Gallegly (R-CA), said that they were pushing for Congress to expand E-Verify because “while 26 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, 7 million individuals work illegally in the United States. On top of all the challenges Americans face today, it is inexcusable that Americans and legal workers have to compete with illegal immigrants for scarce jobs.”

    • Empire State Blues – What’s Next for Marriage? – Maggie Gallagher is the chairman of the National Organization for Marriage. But that is only the beginning of the introduction. A longtime and courageous advocate, researcher, and laborer for marriage, she is a nationally syndicated columnist. She spoke with National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez about the marriage law Andrew Cuomo signed Friday night in Albany.

      KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ: What’s your best explanation of what happened in New York on Friday night?

      MAGGIE GALLAGHER: Governor Cuomo pushed hard for something he a) believed in and b) knew would help his national profile and political prospects. The Republican party inexplicably decided to help him, despite knowing its own base disapproved.

    • John Wayne’s birthplace no secret in Iowa – If Michele Bachmann lived in Iowa, she would have known better.

      The Minnesota congresswoman cited John Wayne as an inspiration during her campaign kickoff in Waterloo, Iowa, Monday, saying the actor hailed from the town. In fact, Wayne hailed from Winterset, while serial killer John Wayne Gacy came from Waterloo.

      Continue Reading
      It was a simple gaffe, but a telling one for a candidate whose whole campaign launch played up her childhood in Iowa.

      Wayne's origins are well known to actual residents of the state, said Brian Downes, director of the John Wayne Birthplace Society.

      "You can't go anywhere near this part of the country without seeing signs for John Wayne's birthplace," Downes told POLITICO.  "We've been misidentified before … It happens, but the information is posted on Interstates 80 and 35," two major routes that meet around Des Moines.

      Downes sounded forgiving of Bachmann's blunder, acknowledging that "every last one of us misspeaks" and recalling: "John Wayne himself would mangle names like crazy — longtime friends and co-stars."

      ======

      Simply a gaffe…move on.

    • LA Times story on Michele Bachmann benefitting from federal aid mostly overblown – Liberals are in an uproar over a Los Angeles Times story portraying Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., as a hypocrite because she personally benefitted from federal government aid despite campaigning as somebody who wants to rein in spending. While the article does raise several fair criticisms, its central charges of hypocrisy are mostly overblown.

      Here’s is the crux of it:

      (T)he Minnesota Republican and her family have benefited personally from government aid, an examination of her record and finances shows. A counseling clinic run by her husband has received nearly $30,000 from the state of Minnesota in the last five years, money that in part came from the federal government. A family farm in Wisconsin, in which the congresswoman is a partner, received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies.

      It’s been a popular theme of liberals for some time, particularly over the past few years, to raise alarms every time any conservative accepts any form of government aid. The problem with this line of argument is that no matter how conservative or even libertarian people are, they still have to live in the world of big government and pay taxes to support it. Therefore, it would be absurd for them to unilaterally decide not to receive any benefits that are going to exist – and that they’ll help pay for – regardless of whether or not they accept them.

      Applying this standard to everybody would mean that libertarians should not collect a penny of Social Security benefits, even if they spent a lifetime sending payroll taxes to Washington. It would mean that if you favor a flat tax, to be consistent, you couldn’t take advantage of any deductions or tax credits when filing returns under the current system.