• Pinboard Links,  The Afternoon Flap

    The Afternoon Flap: December 6, 2011

    December 6, 2011 /

    These are my links for December 1st through December 6th:

    • Senate Republican filibuster blocks Obama D.C. Circuit nominee Caitlin Halligan – Tuesday’s vote is notable in that it marks the second time that Senate Republicans have blocked an Obama judicial nominee. In May, Republicans filibustered Obama’s nomination of Goodwin Liu to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit following a protracted battle over what GOP senators cited as the University of California at Berkeley law professor’s liberal views.

      Six years ago, a bipartisan “Gang of 14” senators negotiated an agreement aimed at preventing filibusters of judicial nominees except under what they termed “extraordinary circumstances.” On Tuesday, as in May’s vote on Liu, the four Republican members of that group who remain in the Senate – Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) – voted “no,” a sign that Republicans as well as Democrats have now come to view filibusters of judicial nominations as fair game.

    • Glenn Beck the latest GOPer to take on Gingrich – Conservative radio host Glenn Beck became the latest Republican to go after newly minted presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich Tuesday.

      After saying the radio segment would not be a “gotcha interview,” Beck aggressively questioned the former House speaker over issues including climate change and health care reform.

      Gingrich somewhat famously recorded a public service announcement in 2008 with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about steps to combat climate change, something Beck in the interview called “the dumbest moment.” In response, Gingrich toed the line on the issue, saying he believed “in the environment in general,” and that evidence exists on both sides of the climate change argument.

      “I never believed in Al Gore’s fantasies,” Gingrich said, before adding that he worked against cap and trade legislation as a member of Congress.

      Criticism of his long record in public office has increased with his recent rise in polling of Republican voters, something Beck perpetuated during his questioning over Gingrich’s stance on health care, and more specifically the changes to Medicare he would or would not support.

      Gingrich said he promotes a practical approach to changing the program, instead of completely overhauling or dismantling it, as some, including House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan and Beck have suggested.

      “I think what you want to have is a system where people voluntarily migrate to better outcomes, better solutions, better options, not one where you suddenly impose upon,” Gingrich said. “I’m against ‘ObamaCare,’ which is imposing radical change and I would be against a conservative imposing radical change.”

    • Heartbreak Awaits Republicans Who Love Gingrich – Before Republicans put Newt Gingrich at the top of their party, they should consider what happened the last time he led it.
      In the mid-1990s, Gingrich was the de facto head of the Republican Party. He helped lead it to victory in the congressional elections of 1994, which brought about real accomplishments such as welfare reform. But once he attained power, both his popularity and that of his party started to plummet. In the aftermath of his leadership, a Republican was able to take the presidency only by pointedly distancing himself from Gingrich.
      Conservatives who dislike George W. Bush’s compassionate conservatism have Gingrich to thank for it. After Gingrich lost the budget battles with President Bill Clinton, it took 15 years for any politician to take up the cause of limited-government conservatism that he had discredited.
      Although Gingrich isn’t solely responsible for the Republican policy defeats of those years, his erratic behavior, lack of discipline and self-absorption had a lot to do with them. He explained that one reason the federal government shut down in 1995 was that he was angry that Clinton had snubbed him during an international flight. The Clinton White House then released pictures of the two men gabbing on the plane. Later negotiations didn’t go well, with Gingrich saying, “I melt when I’m around him.”
    • Poll Shows Age Gap in G.O.P. on Immigration – With immigration now a front-burner issue in the Republican presidential contest, a new poll shows a substantial age gap among Republican voters over whether there should be a path to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

      A majority – 57 percent — of Republicans who are 65 and older say that tighter border security and tough law enforcement should be the only focus of immigration policy, with no path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, a nonpartisan group in Washington. Only about one-quarter of this group, or 24 percent, favor combining strict enforcement with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

      Among Republicans who are younger than 30, the poll found, 42 percent favor a combined approach of tough enforcement against illegal immigration with a path to citizenship, while 30 percent wanted only enforcement. Among these younger Republicans, another 26 percent said that opening a path to citizenship should be the immigration priority, with or without tougher enforcement.

      The poll showed other differences. Among Republican voters who agreed with the Tea Party, 52 percent favored a policy based only on tougher enforcement. Among Republicans who disagreed with the Tea Party or had no opinion, 36 percent wanted only enforcement, while 44 percent favored policies pairing enforcement with a path to citizenship.

    • (500) http://flapsblog.com/2011/12/06/president-2012-gop-poll-watch-gingrich-37-vs-romney-22-vs-paul-8-vs-perry-7/ – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Gingrich 37% Vs. Romney 22% Vs. Paul 8% Vs. Perry 7% #tcot #catcot
    • Bachmann: Newt Gingrich is a frugal socialist – Responding to Newt’s justification of his support of the Prescription Drug entitlement that was passed under the Bush administration, Bachmann said:

      It doesn’t help to have a frugal socialist. That’s really what we’re talking about is managing socialism and trying to be a frugal socialist.

      Beck, recognizing that a headline had just been made sought to clarify, asking Bachmann “Did you just say that Newt Gingrich is a socialist?” Bachmann responded:

      What I’m saying is that – I’m saying a frugal socialist, yes! Because you’re looking at proposals and programs that are in effect redistribution of wealth and socialism-based, and are we going to have real change in the country or are we going to have frugal socialists?

    • Why Newt Gingrich is an easy target—John Podhoretz – One of the pithiest quotes in American history may also be the dumbest: “There are no second acts in American lives.”

      F. Scott Fitzgerald said it and promptly died before he could have a second act — but he would have had one, because that’s what tends to happen to famous and accomplished people in the United States. It’s happening to Newt Gingrich right now.

      For those of us who live and breathe politics and make our livings in and around it, the words “Newt Gingrich” mean something entirely different than they do to the Republican primary voters who are now shifting over to him in droves.

    • President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Gingrich Leading in Yet Another Poll | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: Good question. But, Gingrich’s baggage has been around for a long time.
    • Dilbert December 4, 2011 – Carpool Poser » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert December 4, 2011 – Carpool Poser
    • President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Gingrich Leading in Yet Another Poll | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Gingrich Leading in Yet Another Poll #tcot #catcot
    • Osteoporosis drugs helped astronauts, scientists say – Researchers have confirmed that five astronauts who stayed long term at the International Space Station were able to prevent bone-density loss by taking osteoporosis drugs.

      Astronauts in a weightless environment usually lose 5 to 7 percent of their bone density in six months even while exercising two hours a day. In the study conducted by researchers of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tokushima University and others, five astronauts who stayed in space for up to 163 days exercised daily and took bisphosphonates used to treat osteoporosis once a week during their stay on the space station. As a result, researchers found almost no bone-density loss in the astronauts.

    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: December 6, 2011 – The Morning Drill: December 6, 2011
    • Day By Day December 6, 2011 – Proud | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 6, 2011 – Proud #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-06 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-06 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Starbucks – On the way home from Vegas (@ Starbucks)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Cancun Resort – Soon will leave Las Vegas to return home in Thousand Oaks (@ Cancun Resort)
    • foursquare :: Cancun Resort :: Las Vegas, NV – I just ousted Ryry as the mayor of Cancun Resort on @foursquare!
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-05 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-05 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Cancun Resort – Up, Starbucks completed & ready for Las Vegas Half Marathon. #rnrlv #stripatnight (@ Cancun Resort)
    • First Read – Gingrich takes control in Iowa – RT @ZekeJMiller: NBC Marist poll in NH: Romney 29, Gingrch 23, Paul 16, Huntsman 9.
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-04 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-04 #tcot #catcot
    • The Cain Solutions – RT @katieharbath: now up
    • The Cain Solutions – RT @katieharbath: now up
    • (500) http://www.hermancain.com/livestream – RT @THEHermanCain Team HC: Livestream coverage of Mr. Cain’s announcement begins at 1:00 pm ET. #tcot
    • Barbour Says Perry Still Has a Chance – Barbour Says Perry Still Has a Chance
    • Romney and Gingrich, from bad to worse – Republicans are more conservative than at any time since their 1980 dismay about another floundering president. They are more ideologically homogenous than ever in 156 years of competing for the presidency. They anticipated choosing between Mitt Romney, a conservative of convenience, and a conviction politician to his right. The choice, however, could be between Romney and the least conservative candidate, Newt Gingrich.

      Romney’s main objection to contemporary Washington seems to be that he is not administering it. God has 10 commandments, Woodrow Wilson had 14 points, Heinz had 57 varieties, but Romney’s economic platform has 59 planks — 56 more than necessary if you have low taxes, free trade and fewer regulatory burdens. Still, his conservatism-as-managerialism would be a marked improvement upon today’s bewildered liberalism.

    • Barbour Says Perry Still Has a Chance – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) tells the New York Times that it’s not clear Mitt Romney will be the Republican presidential nominee.

      Said Barbour: “I don’t think it’s clear. I think people make the mistake of writing off Rick Perry and believe he can’t come back. He’s got a mountain to get over, but I don’t think it’s impossible. Both Newt and Romney have a lot of support, but I don’t think it’s a two-man race. I think Perry could get back in it with Gingrich and Romney. I can’t look you in the eye and say nobody else can come up. You’ve got to learn your lesson this year not to say that about anybody.”

      He added: “I haven’t decided who is the best nominee for the party. I can see how either one of them could be the best nominee. But I think it is premature to write off Perry. He is a very successful governor. This is very unpredictable. I’ve never seen a nomination on our side like this.”

    • Mitt Romney looks to outlast and outwork Gingrich to GOP nomination – The Romney campaign believes organization will be particularly critical because of changes in the nominating process. In the past, the winner of a state — or, in some cases, the top vote-getter in each congressional district — won all the delegates. But in 2012, most of the 30 states that hold contests before April 1 will award delegates proportionally. The ones that will come after will still be winner-takes-all.

      That means a candidate could lose a number of states but still remain competitive in the race to gain the majority of the 2,427 delegates at stake.

      As a reminder to take the long view, Romney’s political director, Rich Beeson, walks around headquarters carrying a matrix in his pocket charting which states award delegates proportionally and which are winner-takes-all.

      “We’re not Kentucky Fried Chicken,” Beeson said. “We don’t have the luxury to just do one thing and do it right.”

    • Day By Day December 3, 2011 – Weaning | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 3, 2011 – Weaning #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Cancun Resort – Drinking Starbucks with Alice listening to the Las Vegas wind. (@ Cancun Resort)
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-03 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-03 #tcot #catcot
    • yfrog Photo : http://yfrog.com/ntl8kej Shared by Flap – At Las Vegas Rock and Roll Expo
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Sands Convention Center – Rock and Roll Expo is very big and full of runners #rnrlv (@ Sands Convention Center w/ 21 others)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Sands Expo Convention Center Hall B – At the Rock and Roll Expo #rnrlv (@ Sands Expo Convention Center Hall B)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap’s Badges :: Overshare – I just unlocked the “Overshare” badge on @foursquare!
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ The Palazzo Resort Hotel & Casino – Almost at the Rock and Roll Expo #rnrlv (@ The Palazzo Resort Hotel & Casino w/ 5 others)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Mandalay Bay Casino – Where the half marathon will start on Sunday night #rnrlv (@ Mandalay Bay Casino)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ M Resort Spa Casino – We have arrived in Vegas. Heading to Rock n Roll Expo #rnrlv (@ M Resort Spa Casino w/ 2 others)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ I See Vegas!! – I see it (@ I See Vegas!!)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Almost Vegas Baby! – Almost…. (@ Almost Vegas Baby!)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap’s Badges :: Mall Rat – I just unlocked the “Mall Rat” badge on @foursquare! Time for a fancy pretzel.
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Primm Fashion Outlet – On our way to Las Vegas Rock n Roll Expo #rnrlv (@ Primm Fashion Outlet)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Baker, CA – Civilization? (@ Baker, CA)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Zzyzzx, Solve For Z – On the road to Vegas (@ Zzyzzx, Solve For Z)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Starbucks – On the way to Vegas with Tara and Alice (@ Starbucks)
    • President 2012: The Question – Mitt or Newt? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: The Question – Mitt or Newt? #tcot #catcot
    • U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.6 % From 9% – But…. | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.6 % From 9% – But…. #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-02 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-02 #tcot #catcot
    • Unauthorized Immigrants: Length of Residency, Patterns of Parenthood – Nearly two-thirds of the 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States have lived in this country for at least 10 years and nearly half are parents of minor children, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

      These estimates are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2010 Current Population Survey, augmented with the Center’s analysis of the demographic characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population using a “residual estimation methodology”1 that the Center has employed for many years.

    • Leno Ad
      – YouTube       – I like this ad from Rick Perry Can Perry make a come back, if Newt heads downward in the polls?
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 25th on 17:30

    April 25, 2011 /

    These are my links for April 25th from 17:30 to 17:32:

    • Mitch Daniels: I would have backed Haley Barbour – In a statement sure to stoke speculation about his presidential intentions, Mitch Daniels said Monday that he would have backed Haley Barbour had the Mississippi governor not opted out of a White House bid.

      “Haley Barbour is a great citizen; he’d have made a great president," Daniels, the Indiana governor, said in a statement. "I’d have been proud to try to help him had he chosen to run."

      Continue Reading
      Daniels, who first became friends with Barbour when they served together as 30-somethings in the Reagan White House added: "The Barbours have been close and true friends to the Daniels family, and we will always be 100 percent supportive of any decision they believe is best for them.”

      Daniels has said in the past that he would likely not run if Barbour is in the race.

      =====

      Now, will Haley Barbour reciprocate?

    • Motion to Vacate Judge Walker’s Anti-Prop 8 Judgment for Failure to Recuse – It is important to emphasize at the outset that we are not suggesting that a gay or lesbian judge could not sit on this case.  Rather, our submission is grounded in the fundamental principle, reiterated in the governing statute, that no judge “is permitted to try cases where he has an interest in the outcome.”  Surely, no one would suggest that Chief Judge Walker could issue an injunction directing a state official to issue a marriage license to him.  Yet on this record, it must be presumed that that is precisely what has occurred.  At a bare minimum, “[r]ecusal is required” because former Chief Judge Walker’s long-term committed relationship, his failure to disclose that relationship at the outset of the case, his failure to disclose whether he has any interest in marriage should his injunction be affirmed, and his actions over the course of this lawsuit give rise to “a genuine question concerning [his] impartiality.” 

      We deeply regret the necessity of this motion.  But as the Supreme Court emphasized earlier in this very case, “[b]y insisting that courts comply with the law, parties vindicate not only the rights they assert but also the law’s own insistence on neutrality and fidelity to principle.…  If courts are to require that others follow regular procedures, courts must do so as well.”  The “regular procedure” here requires adherence to the principles that a judge may not sit on a case when “his impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), and certainly not when he has an “interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding,” 28 U.S.C. § 455(b)(4).  Proponents ask only that these principles be applied faithfully and neutrally here as in any other case.

      ======

      The failure to disclose will doom this case

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 17th on 12:53

    March 17, 2011 /

    These are my links for March 17th from 12:53 to 15:00:

    • Sen. Rand Paul Unveils 5-Year Budget Plan: Eliminates Four Federal Agencies – Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., unveiled today his five-year path to a balanced budget, leaving several federal agencies behind. Among the items on the cutting room floor are the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development.

      “There’s a lot of things in here that everybody could agree to, Republicans and Democrats, but nobody’s leading on the president’s side and on our side we felt we needed to put this forward to get the debate started, at the very least,” the freshman Senator explained at a Capitol Hill press conference this afternoon.

      The proposal also calls for the repeal of “Obamacare,” but leaves entitlements untouched.

      ======

      Hard to argue with this plan.

    • OH, HILL NO – WWW.THEDAILY.COM – OH, HILL NO – Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge
    • OH, HILL NO – Obama’s indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge – Fed up with a president “who can’t make his mind up” as Libyan rebels are on the brink of defeat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is looking to the exits.

      At the tail end of her mission to bolster the Libyan opposition, which has suffered days of losses to Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces, Clinton announced that she’s done with Obama after 2012 — even if he wins again.

      “Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a Clinton insider told The Daily. “She’s exhausted, tired.”

      He went on, “If you take a look at what’s on her plate as compared with what’s on the plates of previous Secretaries of State — there’s more going on now at this particular moment, and it’s like playing sports with a bunch of amateurs. And she doesn’t have any power. She’s trying to do what she can to keep things from imploding.”

      Clinton is said to be especially peeved with the president’s waffling over how to encourage the kinds of Arab uprisings that have recently toppled regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, and in particular his refusal to back a no-fly zone over Libya.

      In the past week, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s former top adviser Anne-Marie Slaughter lashed out at Obama for the same reason.

      The tension has even spilled over into her dealings with European diplomats, with whom she met early this week.

      When French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged her to press the White House to take more aggressive action in Libya, Clinton repeatedly replied only, “There are difficulties,” according to Foreign Policy magazine.

      “Frankly we are just completely puzzled,” one of the diplomats told Foreign Policy magazine. “We are wondering if this is a priority for the United States.”

      Or as the insider described Obama’s foreign policy shop: “It’s amateur night.”

      =======

      If the GOP can just nominate a decent candidate, they will have Obama for lunch in 2012.

      A big if though.

    • President 2012 Video: Is Mitch Daniels Being Unfairly Attacked from the Right? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Video: Is Mitch Daniels Being Unfairly Attacked from the Right? #tcot #catcot
    • T-Paw v. Hee-Haw | The Weekly Standard – President 2012: T-Paw v. Hee-Haw
    • Glenn Reynolds Interviews Mickey Kaus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Glenn Reynolds Interviews Mickey Kaus #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012: T-Paw v. Hee-Haw – The skirmish between Haley Barbour and Tim Pawlenty on defense spending and Afghanistan is more enlightening for what it says about GOP 2012 politics than for what it says about the substance of foreign and defense policy.

      Barbour's comments, at a GOP dinner in Iowa, were … comments—and certainly didn't constitute any kind of serious presentation of a foreign policy agenda. His case for cutting defense spending was more political than substantive—"We can save money on defense and if we Republicans don't propose saving money on defense, we'll have no credibility on anything else,"—and not very smart politics, either. What's more, according to Kasie Hunt's report, "After the speech, Barbour told reporters that he couldn't identify specific programs that should be cut from the Pentagon budget." Barbour's only substantive argument seemed to be this: "Anybody who says you can't save money at the Pentagon has never been to the Pentagon." This is a) childish, b) slightly offensive, and c) raises the question of how much time Barbour has spent at the Pentagon—apart from time spent lobbying for defense contractors or foreign governments.

      =====

      Does anyone really consider Haley Barbour besides Haley Barbour a serious candidate for President?