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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker raises $13 Million since January

These are my links for April 30th through May 1st:

• Ex-CIA counterterror chief says Pelosi ‘reinventing the truth’ about waterboarding – In an explosive memoir released today, former CIA counterterrorism chief Jose Rodriguez provides new evidence that Rep. Nancy Pelosi lied when she declared she had not been briefed about the use of waterboarding.

  Recall that in a Capitol Hill news conference three years ago, Pelosi (D-Calif.) vehemently denied being told about the use of waterboarding at a CIA briefing in September 2002. “We were not — I repeat — were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used,” Pelosi said. She later changed her story, telling reporters, “We were told explicitly that waterboarding was not being used.” She claimed she learned about the use of waterboarding the following year, only after other lawmakers were told by the CIA. “I wasn’t briefed, I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it,” she said.

• Elizabeth Warren’s embattled campaign: Cherokee tie found 5 generations ago – Desperately scrambling to validate Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage amid questions about whether she used her minority status to further her career, the Harvard Law professor’s campaign last night finally came up with what they claim is a Cherokee connection — her great-great-great-grandmother.

  “She would be 1⁄32nd of Elizabeth Warren’s total ancestry,” noted genealogist Christopher Child said, referring to the candidate’s great-great-great-grandmother, O.C. Sarah Smith, who is listed on an Oklahoma marriage certificate as Cherokee. Smith is an ancestor on Warren’s mother’s side, Child said.

  The missing link comes after Warren’s embattled campaign faced sharp questions about her Native American background in the wake of Herald stories that showed both Harvard Law School and Warren herself had touted her tribal lineage and claimed she was a member of a minority for years.

• Norman Ornstein to the Press Corps: Stop Covering the GOP Fairly to Stop Their Success – Norman Ornstein is the in house pet liberal at the American Enterprise Institute who they let out of his cage once in a while to lament the free market, conservatives, and the like. I’m not sure why groups like the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute ever allow their supposed scholars to team up with the Brookings Institute, but whenever they do it results in intellectual underwear stains for both organizations.

  In today’s quasi-bipartisan inane ramblings, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute want the Washington Press Corps to know the GOP is extremist, destroying the country, and they should all stop paying attention to the GOP or treating them with balance.

  Nothing says marginal extremism like holding the US House, most statehouses, most governorships, and a plurality of national party ID.

• Elizabeth Warren has lost her standing as chief female savior – Oh Liz, Liz, my heart is broken.

  We on the Estrogen Express thought we’d finally found our Golden Girl.

  And now?

  This could be your Seamus moment.

  This could be the beginning of your end — like when Rim Tim Tim Murray rope-a-doped about releasing his cellphone calls.

  I just can’t shake the ridiculous image of you, Liz — a blue-eyed blonde almost as pasty white as me — letting yourself be described as a minority professor, a Native American, for years.

  You’ve played the Indian card. You’ve grabbed for minority cred without enduring the minority grief. It’s poached diversity. It’s glommed onto, what, five generations removed, assuming there were some facts way, way back when, as your campaign aides claimed last night.

  How long before wise guys in feathered headdresses start dancing around parking lots at your events? Somebody told me yesterday your campaign needs to lie low and “circle the wagons.” Whoops. That same someone quickly realized it was the pioneers who circled the wagons when your Cherokee ancestors were blazing across the prairie on the warpath.

  Here’s the problem for you, Liz: We’re not talking some elaborate, arcane, confusing financial irregularity here that nobody can understand. Everybody gets this. It’s letting everyone think you’re something that you’re not. It’s letting stand the idea that you’re part of an aggrieved class of people. It’s a sin of omission, which is not as bad as a sin of commission — like, you know, the typical political ploy of pumping up resumes with fake claims of combat heroism and purple hearts. But it’s a huge problem nonetheless.

• IN-Sen: Indiana – Is it already over? – The PAC that was supporting Richard Lugar, the American Action Network, has pulled its ads. They officially come down today. “We’ve decied to let this race play out,” Dan Conston, spokesman for the group, confirms. The group spent about two-thirds of the $600,000 it booked. Republican thinking is that they are coming to grips with the idea that state Treasurer Richard Mourdock is the very likely nominee, and the party now doesn’t want to damage him. Strategists say Lugar didn’t started campaigning in earnest until too late and waited too long to define Mourdock. They didn’t know what to do with him.
• Walker raises $13 million since January – Gov. Scott Walker raised an unprecedented $13.2 million over three months to fight off the recall bid against him, outdistancing his Democratic challengers and driving home the challenge they will have in beating the Republican incumbent.

  Crisscrossing the country on fundraising trips, Walker has raised more than $25 million since January 2011 and has $4.9 million in cash on hand – numbers unlike any that have been seen for a political candidate in Wisconsin. Two-thirds of Walker’s money came from out of state.

  His stores of cash dwarf what his Democratic rivals have raised. But a report filed Monday showed an independent group supporting Democrat Kathleen Falk received $4.5 million, nearly all of it from unions and about a third of it from out of state.

  Walker’s fundraising is on par with that of second-tier presidential candidates. For instance, Rick Santorum raised $18.5 million between Jan. 1 and March 31, and Newt Gingrich raised a little less than $10 million during that period.

  Walker has been able to raise so much because of the national appeal he developed with conservatives after his high-profile fight with labor unions and a quirk in Wisconsin law that allows unlimited fundraising while recalls are pending.

  Conservative billionaire Diane Hendricks gave Walker $500,000. Hendricks co-founded Beloit-based ABC Supply, a roofing wholesaler and siding distributor, with her husband, Ken, who died in a 2007 fall.

  Her donation was the single largest ever to a gubernatorial candidate in the state and tied the $500,000 given to Walker over recent months by Bob Perry, owner of Houston-based Perry Homes and a chief backer of the Swift Boat Veterans ads against Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 race for president.

• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012 – The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012 – Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012
• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
• McCain on Bin Laden raid: ‘The thing about heroes, they don’t brag’ – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) continued to hammer the Obama re-election team over its use of the death of Osama bin Laden in a campaign commercial, echoing Mitt Romney’s statement that any president – including Jimmy Carter – would have made the same call.

  “I say any president, Jimmy Carter, anybody, any president would have, obviously, under those circumstances, done the same thing.  And to now take credit for something that any president would do is indicative of take over campaign we’re under — we’re — we’re seeing…So all I can say is that this is going to be a very rough campaign,” McCain told Fox News in an interview set to air Monday night. “And I’ve had the great honor of serving in the company of heroes.  And, you know the thing about heroes, they don’t brag.”

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day May 1, 2012 – DrEvil – Day By Day May 1, 2012 – DrEvil
• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
• British lawmakers: Rupert Murdoch ‘not a fit person’ to lead – Darius Dixon – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is “not a fit person” to run News Corp., British lawmakers say:
• The Tea Party’s Moment – The Tea Party movement shook up the Congressional campaign landscape in 2010, electing a slew of unconventional candidates, pushing Republican candidates rightward, all while upsetting a few establishment favorites in the process.

  But the next month could prove to be even more consequential for the movement, with major Senate primaries coming up, pitting conservative favorites against candidates backed by the GOP establishment. Already Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is looking like the underdog against Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock in the state’s May 8 primary. Meanwhile, three other insurgent conservatives are looking to pull off upsets by winning their party’s nomination in Texas, Utah, and Nebraska

• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – RT @jaketapper: RT @rickklein: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool ( …
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-01 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-01
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 30, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 30, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Romney Might Convince Me to Accept Vice Presidency – Chris Christie – President 2012: Romney Might Convince Me to Accept Vice Presidency – Chris Christie
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani Team Up on Bin Laden Anniversary Date – President 2012: Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani Team Up on Bin Laden Anniversary Date
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-30: Rep Howard Berman Receives Two Important Endorsements Today – CA-30: Rep Howard Berman Receives Two Important Endorsements Today
• Occupy Wall Street Plans Global Protests in May Day Resurgence- Bloomberg – Occupy Wall Street Plans Global Protests in May Day Resurgence
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 30, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 30, 2012

Tags: Brown, Erickson, GOP, Lugar, McCain, Mourdock, Obama, Orenstein, Pelosi, Pinboard Links, Rodriguez, Tea_Party, The Morning Flap, Walker, Warren, Waterboarding, Wisconsin

President Barack Obama speaks at the southern site of the Keystone XL pipeline, on March 22, in Cushing, Oklahoma. Obama was pressing federal agencies to expedite the section of the Keystone XL pipeline between Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast.

These are my links for April 19th through April 20th:

• Obama faces defeat on Keystone pipeline – While much of the political world obsesses over Twitter fights and Seamus the dog, Barack Obama has set himself up for a high-profile defeat on one of the most important issues of the campaign.

  The president has put his feet in cement in opposition to the Keystone oil pipeline. But on Capitol Hill, more and more Democrats are joining Republicans to force approval of the pipeline, whether Obama wants it or not.

  The latest action happened Wednesday, when the House passed a measure to move the pipeline forward. Before the vote, Obama issued a veto threat. The House approved the pipeline anyway — by a veto-proof majority, 293 to 127. Sixty-nine Democrats abandoned the president to vote with Republicans. That’s a lot of defections.

  When the House voted on the pipeline in July of last year, 47 Democrats broke with the president. Now that it’s an election year and the number is up to 69, look for Republicans to hold more pipeline votes before November. GOP leaders expect even more Democrats to join them.

• Tommy Christopher: Don’t Say Obama Is Not Working, Or You Are a Racist – Ah, good old Tommy Christopher. Don’t criticize the black president, you damn racists!

  Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney rolled out a new accessory at a speech in Ohio today, delivering his remarks in front of a black banner that said “Obama Isn’t Working,” which is also the name of a website his campaign set up several months ago (in case you didn’t get the message from the banner, it was also on the front of Romney’s podium).

  The slogan is a multiple entendre, but one of those entendres, intentionally or not, is evocative of a nasty racial stereotype about black men.

• Flap’s California Morning Collection: April 20, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: April 20, 2012 via @flap
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Montana Democrat Governor Brian Schweitzer Calls Out Mitt Romney’s Mormon “Polygamy” Past – Montana Democrat Governor Brian Schweitzer Calls Out Mitt Romney’s Mormon “Polygamy” Past
• Brian Schweitzer: Mitt Romney’s ‘Family Came From a Polygamy Commune in Mexico’ – The Daily Beast – Some Civility: Democrat Montana Gov Brian Schweitzer: Mitt Romney’s ‘Family Came From a Polygamy Commune in Mexico’
• Mitt Romney’s challenge: Convincing GOP he can win – An increasing number of Democrats are taking potshots at President Obama’s healthcare law ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could overturn it.

  The public grievances have come from centrists and liberals and reflect rising anxiety ahead of November’s elections.

• High Testosterone – Charlie Cook – NationalJournal.com – RT @nationaljournal: Cook: Romney’s Got Men in the Bag; Time to Focus on Women.
• Democrats expressing buyers’ remorse on Obama’s healthcare law – An increasing number of Democrats are taking potshots at President Obama’s healthcare law ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could overturn it.

  The public grievances have come from centrists and liberals and reflect rising anxiety ahead of November’s elections.

• Matthew Tully: Daniels has a few suggestions | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com – RT @chucktodd: Mitch Daniels critiques Romney for not talking enough about folks who haven’t yet “achieved.” // #of …
• RNC looks to Facebook for political edge – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: RNC looks to Facebook for political edge
• Romney’s Father Came from “Polygamy Commune” – Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) told the Daily Beast that Mittt Romney would have a “tall order to position Hispanics to vote for him” even though his father was born in Mexico.

  Schweitzer admitted that it is “kinda ironic given that his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico, but then he’d have to talk about his family coming from a polygamy commune in Mexico, given the gender discrepancy.”

  Schweitzer noted that women are “not great fans of polygamy, 86 percent were not great fans of polygamy. I am not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and approves of [the] polygamy lifestyle, but his father was born into [a] polygamy commune in Mexico.”

• Mickey Kaus: No Romney Immigration Pivot Needed – Thank You! – No Pivot Needed: Mitt Romney has taken a harder line on illegal immigration than expected, which has led many commentators to declare that the primaries have hurt his chances by drawing him too far in that direction (costing him support among Latino voters, especially). Yet today’s Quinnipiac poll finds Romney favored over Obama on the issue of … immigration (by a margin of 43% to 39%, about the same lead that Romney has on “the economy”). He’s ahead by fifteen points on the immigration issue among independents. … So why is a “pivot” on immigration needed, again? … What good is Hispandering if it wins Romney New Mexico but costs him Ohio? …
• AD-38: Scott Wilk Announces Republican Assembly Endorsements » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk Announces Republican Assembly Endorsements via @flap
• California Lottery “Lady Luck” Ad Under Fire from Legislative Women’s Caucus » Flap’s California Blog – California Lottery via @flap
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » California Fair Political Practices Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel Calls for Blogger Political Disclosure – California Fair Political Practices Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel Calls for Blogger Political Disclosure
• The 2012–13 California Budget: Unwinding Redevelopment – On February 1, 2012, all redevelopment agencies in California were dissolved and the process for unwinding their financial affairs began. Given the scope of these agencies’ funds, assets, and financial obligations, the unwinding process will take time. Prior to their dissolution, redevelopment agencies (RDAs) received over $5 billion in property tax revenues annually and had tens of billions of dollars of outstanding bonds, contracts, and loans.

  This report reviews the history of RDAs, the events that led to their dissolution, and the process communities are using to resolve their financial obligations. Over time, as these obligations are paid off, schools and other local agencies will receive the property tax revenues formerly distributed to RDAs.

  The report discusses these major findings:

  Although ending redevelopment was not the Legislature’s objective, the state had few practical alternatives.
  Ending redevelopment changes the distribution of property tax revenues among local agencies, but not the amount of tax revenues raised.
  Decisions about redevelopment replacement programs merit careful review.
  The decentralized process for unwinding redevelopment promotes a needed local debate over the use of the property tax.
  Key state and local choices will drive the state fiscal effect.
  The report recommends the Legislature amend the redevelopment dissolution legislation to address timing issues, clarify the treatment of pass–through payments, and address key concerns of redevelopment bond investors.

• California Recovery: No, It Is Not East vs. West – There are two reasonable measures of recovery, jobs and real estate values. You can forget the real estate values measure. Values throughout California are down from pre-recession highs. They are down a lot. Only San Francisco and Marin counties, with median home prices down 27.7 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively, have seen net median home price declines of less than 40 percent. Monterey and Madera counties top the state in median home price declines, in excess of 67 percent.

  So let’s use jobs. An area has recovered if it has as many jobs today as it had at the beginning of the recession, December 2008.

  We monitor 37 California MSAs. Combined they represent about 96 percent of California’s population. By jobs, only one of California’s larger MSAs has recovered, and that county does not fit the story. Not only is Kings County not on the ocean, it doesn’t even border or have a naturally occurring year-round piece of water. Kings County, with 37,700 jobs, has about 900 more jobs than it had at the beginning of the recession. Still, Kings County’s unemployment rate is 17 percent. Some recovery!

• Power of Direct Mail to Qualify Initiatives Highlighted in Brown’s Desperate Move – Jerry Brown’s decision to mail petitions in support of his tax Increase ballot measure, discussed by George Skelton in a recent column, was made out of fear or desperation. Fear that the street gathered signatures would fall short of those needed, or desperation because they know there will otherwise be a shortfall.

  For Brown the last minute decision to go with a compromise initiative prohibited a choice on the use of direct mail. However, foolishly for most ballot measure proponents, fear or desperation is now the moving factor in virtually all use of large-scale ballot qualification petition mailings.

  Even when time permits, ballot measure proponents rarely even test mailed petitions. Why? Because it is just so bloody easy to place one call to any of several very capable companies that handle every aspect of paid signature qualification. For the consultants, no muss, no fuss, virtually no work and probably the same fees will be realized. And it is an easy sell to the measure’s proponents, as the initial cost of paid signature gathering is often lower. Paid signatures are the conventional, accepted way to go…no need to think or act outside the box.

  But the hidden price paid is very dear indeed!

  My former partners Arnold Forde and Stu Mollrich and I started using mailed petitions as a first option, and were the first to entirely qualify ballot measures by mail. The reason we did so was simply because it so much better served our client’s interests.

• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Periodontal Disease Causing Heart Disease: Not Worth Stressing Out About It – Periodontal Disease Causing Heart Disease: Not Worth Stressing Out About It
• Police: Woman arrested for biting during parking spot fight in San Francisco – San Jose Mercury News – Not More Dog Stuff – no, wait…Police: Woman arrested for biting during parking spot fight in San Francisco
• Christie Would Help Romney the Most – Abs. Correct RT @politicalwire: New poll finds the running mate who would help Mitt Romney the most is Chris Christie
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Video: Civility in the Wisconsin Recall of Scott Walker? Uh No… – Video: Civility in the Wisconsin Recall of Scott Walker? Uh No…
• Penis picture, gay sex descriptions among sexual harassment allegations against NC Democrat – A bombshell letter from the former North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) communications staffer to now-former NCDP Executive Director Jay Parmley detailing the allegations of sexual harassment has surfaced.

  In the letter, dated Dec. 8, 2011 — which local news outlet WRAL first published with redactions of alleged victim Adriadn Ortega’s name — Ortega alleges that Parmley “frequently gave me unwanted shoulder rubs despite my verbal objections” and that Parmley “often solicited my opinion on his clothes.”

  “He would point both hands to his crotch area and ask me how his crotch looked in those pants that day,” Ortega wrote, adding that Parmley “would frequently pretend to punch my crotch and make a popping noise with his mouth.”

  “On July 28, 2011, the executive director discussed, in detail, his sexual activities from the past when he was living in South Carolina,” Ortega then said. “In addition, he discussed in detail his sexual activities from when he moved to North Carolina, where he solicited sex from gay websites such as [REDACTED].”

  The next day — on July 29, 2011 — Ortega alleged that Parmley “showed me a picture of a penis.”

• Cantor: GOP will expand majority – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Thursday he is confident that Republicans will not just hold but will expand their majority in the lower chamber in November.

  “I’m very bullish on the House,” Cantor said at an event in downtown Washington. “I am very confident that we will strengthen our majority.”

  The second-ranking House Republican said he believes the GOP will be on offense in 30 to 40 districts with the goal of adding to its 242 House seats. His comments stand in contrast to those of many political analysts, who project that Democrats will gain seats in November but fall short of wresting back control of the House.

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: The Coming Conservative Landslide? – President 2012: The Coming Conservative Landslide?
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 19, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 19, 2012
• Marco Rubio Says He Would Turn Down VP Slot If Asked – Sen. Marco Rubio said today he would decline any offer from Mitt Romney to be a part of the GOP ticket this fall.

  “I don’t want to be the vice president,” the Florida Republican said during an interview with Major Garrett of the National Journal.

  “So, if Mitt Romney asks, you will you say no?” Garrett asked.

  “Yes. But you know he’s not going to ask. That doesn’t work. He’s watching this interview right now,” Rubio, 40, responded.

  Rubio even went as far as suggesting another U.S. Senator for Romney to consider in his VP vetting – Ohio Senator Rob Portman.

  “The bigger point is we’ve got a lot of really talented people out there that Mitt Romney can get to pick from. And I think a lot, Senator Rob Portman would be a phenomenal choice for vice president, that’s where I would encourage him to look because I’m enjoying my service in the senate.”

  Rubio’s name is often floated in the top tier list of potential vice presidential candidates, but the Florida senator has not been shy about his disinterest in the position. Rubio instead says he wants to focus on advancing policy in the senate, joking that if he were running as vice president, he’d have to answer a lot of questions about dogs, a topic which has consumed both parties in the past week.

• Obama and Romney campaigns go to dogs with canine cracks – NYPOST.com – Ha Ha Bam Bites Dog RT @jamestaranto: The Sean Delonas cartoon is sublime.
• Rubio: Arizona Immigration Law is Not Model for Nation – Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Thursday that he did not view Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration as a “model,’’ distancing himself from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has embraced the legislation.

  The Cuban-American senator, who spoke at The University of Phoenix/National Journal’s Next America’ forum in Washington, D.C., is viewed as a top name on Romney’s vice presidential shortlist.

  Rubio said he understood why frustration with illegal immigration led Arizona to pass a law allowing local police to demand proof of citizenship. He also disagreed with the Obama administration’s contention that the law is unconstitutional. But he added, “I do not believe (laws like the one in Arizona) should be a model for the country.’’

  As a Senate candidate in 2010, Rubio vacillated on the Arizona law. He initially expressed some concerns but later said he would have voted for it.

  Rubio’s reservations about the law come at a time when polls show the Republican Party facing a yawning deficit of support among Hispanic voters. Both national parties have launched national campaigns to reach out to the Hispanic community, the fastest growing part of the electorate and the key to victory in a number of swing states.

  Democrats have been zealously attacking Republican opposition to the DREAM Act, potentially popular legislation that would grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants who go to college or enroll in the military. In recent weeks, Rubio has started countering the criticism by proposing an alternative that would allow these children to obtain legal status but not citizenship.

• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 19, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 19, 2012
• Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/19/4425366/calderon-family-looks-to-extend.html#mi_rss=State%20Politics) – Calderon family looks to extend legacy in California Legislature #catcot
• Rasmussen Consumer Index – Rasmussen Reports™ – RT @RasmussenPoll: 13% Rate U.S. #Economy As Good or Excellent…
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 19, 2012 – What is it Good For? – Day By Day April 19, 2012 – What is it Good For?

Tags: #catcot, Brown, California, Cantor, Democrats, Economy, GOP, House, immigration, Initiative, Kaus, Keystone, Obama, Obamacare, of, Pinboard Links, Racist, RDA, Redevelopment, Romney, Rubio, The Morning Flap

These are my links for March 23rd through March 26th:

• Poll: 47% disapprove of Obama health care law – As the Supreme Court embarks on three days of historic arguments over President Obama’s health care law – two years after the law was enacted – Americans remain skeptical about the legislation.

  A CBS News/New York Times poll shows 47 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s Affordable Care Act, including 30 percent who strongly disapprove. In the poll, conducted March 21-25, only 36 percent of those questioned said they support the law either somewhat or strongly.

• 5 things to watch in health law oral arguments – The Super Bowl for Supreme Court watchers kicks off this week as the justices hear three days of oral arguments in what could be the blockbuster case of a generation: whether President Barack Obama’s signature law overhauling the American health care system is constitutional.

  The stakes couldn’t be higher for Obama, for the balance of power between the states and federal government and for the reputation of the court itself.

• Day By Day March 26, 2012 – Back in the Hood | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 26, 2012 – Back in the Hood
• El Monte Union High School District Fills Vacant Seat Left by Tran – With a vacant seat open for over a month, the El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees has chosen to appoint Maria-Elena Talamantes to replace former board member John Tran.

  Currently, Talamantes is a special education teacher at Margaret Heath Elementary School in Baldwin Park. Talamantas was selected out of nine possible candidates.

  In early February former board member John Tran resigned from office, do to allegations of soliciting and accepting more than $10,000 in bribes from a developer. Yesterday morning, Tran appearing in U.S Central District Court, pleaded guilty to bribing a developer who had intentions of building a mixed-use office and residential project in Rosemead. Awaiting his August 6th sentencing, Tran may face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

  According to sources, the El Monte Union High School District is happy to have Mrs. Maria-Elena Talamantes as a colleague and looks forward in helping their students throughout the district.

• Open mic catches Obama asking Russian president for space on missile defense – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Open mic catches Obama asking Russian president for space on missile defense -
• Governor 13.3% – Jerry Brown – It’s hard to believe now, but Jerry Brown once ran for President as a reformer who favored a flat tax with a 13% top federal rate. That was 1992. Nowadays in his second stint as Governor, he’s running to give California alone a higher top income-tax rate.

  The incredible shifting Governor recently agreed to adjust his November ballot initiative to include an even higher top tax rate. Previously he favored an increase to 12.3% from 10.3% today. But the government-unions that live off tax revenues had threatened to sponsor their own ballot measure raising the top rate even higher.

  The Governor feared that divided support might doom both. So he and the unions agreed to back only one initiative with a top rate of 13.3%. The measure would also raise the state sales tax by a quarter of a percentage point to 7.5%, or more than 9% including the sales tax in some cities. Oh, and instead of lasting five years, the income-tax increase would last for seven.

• VIDEO: Santorum blasts New York Times reporter | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – RT @dcexaminer: VIDEO: Santorum blasts New York Times reporter
• Sen. Mike Lee to endorse Romney – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – RT @briefingroom: Sen. Mike Lee to endorse Romney
• Poll: 47% disapprove of Obama health care law – Political Hotsheet – CBS News – RT @KNX1070: Poll: 47% disapprove of Obama health care law – Political Hotsheet via @CBSNews
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-26
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-25 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-25
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-25 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-25
• Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – foursquare – With Alice and Tara after LA Running Club recovery run (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-24 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-24
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-24 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-24
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: March 23, 2012 – The Morning Drill: March 23, 2012
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/tv_shows/sweet_16_ncaa_tournament?s=tch&ref=Fullosseousflap) – Indiana vs. Kentucky @GetGlue #Sweet16
• President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Expands National Lead to 40% Vs. 26% for Santorum Vs. 14% for Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Expands National Lead to 40% Vs. 26% for Santorum Vs. 14% for Gingrich
• L.A. jobless rate is unchanged at 11.8%, but payrolls are up – February’s 11.8 percent rate is still very high – nearly a full percentage higher than California’s jobless rate of 10.9 percent (also unchanged from January). The U.S. unemployment rate in February was 8.3 percent. Somewhat better news: the separate payroll survey shows that L.A. gained 28,900 jobs in February; in all of California, the increase was 4,000.
• Facebook warns employers not to demand passwords – Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it’s an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities.

  The social networking company is also threatening legal action.

  An Associated Press story this week documented cases of job applicants who are being asked, at the interview table, to reveal their Facebook passwords so their prospective employers can check their backgrounds.

  In a post on Friday, Facebook’s chief privacy officer cautions that if an employer discovers that a job applicant is a member of a protected group, the employer may open itself up to claims of discrimination if it doesn’t hire that person.

  “If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your password,” Erin Egan wrote.

• AD-38: Patricia McKeon Leads in Fundraising With Scott Wilk Second » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Leads in Fundraising With Scott Wilk Second
• Physicians are gloomy about health reform – Fully 60% of respondents believe that health care reform will negatively affect patient care. Comments included “too much interference with patient care”, “without private practice, quality of patient care or choices for patients goes away,” and “physicians have no input/control in providing care.”
• Capitol Alert: Bill would stop requests for job seekers’ social media logins – RT @CapitolAlert: Bill would stop requests for job seekers’ social media logins
• California Unemployment Rate Unchanged At 10.9 Percent « CBS Sacramento – RT @CBSSacramento: California unemployment rate unchanged at 10.9 percent
• The 2012 U.S. Senate Races That Will Determine Who Controls the Senate | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The 2012 U.S. Senate Races That Will Determine Who Controls the Senate
• Untitled (http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/districts/AD38/) – AD-38: Fundraising Report: McKeon and Wilk
• The Morning Flap: March 23, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: March 23, 2012
• Texas and the Feds Take Action on Orthodontic Medicaid Fraud | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Texas and the Feds Take Action on Orthodontic Medicaid Fraud
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: March 23, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: March 23, 2012

Tags: Brown, California, Facebook, HCR, LA, Obamacare, Pinboard Links, Sweet16, Talamantes, The Morning Flap, Unemployment

These are my links for March 2nd through March 6th:

• Sandra Fluke Argued for Mandatory Coverage for Sex-Change Surgery – Rather belatedly, we are becoming aware that this supposedly typical Georgetown coed is not very typical at all:
  [B]irth control is not all that Ms. Fluke believes private health insurance must cover. She also, apparently, believes that it is discrimination deserving of legal action if “gender reassignment” surgeries are not covered by employer provided health insurance. She makes these views clear in an article she co-edited with Karen Hu in the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.
  The title of the article . . . is “Employment Discrimination Against LGBTQ Persons” and was published in the Journal’s 2011 Annual Review.

  Remember, as Byron York previously reported, Fluke was rejected as a last-minute substitute witness at a Feb. 16 committee hearing because staffers for Chairman Issa were unable to discover Fluke’s claim to expertise relevant to the subject of the hearing. This law school journal article is the sort of thing that might have been discovered about Fluke’s background, had the Democrats who put Fluke forward as a witness done so with the usual 72-hour advance notice.

• Call Them Out By Name: Sandra Fluke, David Gregory and David Friend – After going to an Andrew Breitbart memorial event on Saturday, I am more inspired than ever to fight back against the Left.  Three things that were said stood out to me in that regard.  Number one, Dana Loesch said we need to follow Breitbart and hit Leftists by “calling them out by name.”  Then Brandon Darby mentioned that the Left was taking advantage of our grief and we were losing on Limbaugh.  Finally, I’m struck with the image of Breitbart himself in this tribute video looking straight at the camera and simply saying, “War.”

  This is war.  I am going to defend Limbaugh from the radical Leftists who want to take him off the air.  And I am going to call out our opponents by name.  Starting with Sandra Fluke, David Gregory and David Friend.

• Sandra Fluke, Gender Reassignment, and Health Insurance – Sandra Fluke is being sold by the left as something she’s not. Namely a random co-ed from Georgetown law who found herself mixed up in the latest front of the culture war who was simply looking to make sure needy women had access to birth control. That, of course, is not the case.

  As many have already uncovered Sandra Fluke she is, in reality, a 30 year old long time liberal activist who enrolled at Georgetown with the express purpose of fighting for the school to pay for students’ birth control. She has been pushing for mandated coverage of contraceptives at Georgetown for at least three years according to the Washington Post.

• 2011 total: 254 companies leave California – In 2011, 254 California companies moved some or all of their work and jobs out of state, 26% more than in 2010, according to Irvine business consultant Joe Vranich who has been tracking these departures since 2009.
  Twenty-eight of these companies were in Orange County. Seven of them moved or expanded to Texas, three to Mexico, two to Washington and one each to 16 other states, said Vranich, who has changed the name of his business from The Relocation Coach to Spectrum Location Solutions, which helps companies define their goals, find new locations and coordinate the move.

  The pace is accelerating, Vranich said. An average of 4.9 businesses left California each week of 2011, compared to 3.9 per week (202 total) in 2010 and one a week (51 total) in 2009. In what he calls “disinvestment events,” Vranich counts companies that move jobs, facilities or headquarters out of California and “in carefully selected instances, companies making major capital investments in plants elsewhere that in the past would have been built in California,” Vranich said.

• Contraceptive corporate welfare –
• Flip This White House! –
• GOP focus on control of Congress amid presidential doubts this fall –
• Re: Rush Limbaugh: They don’t want an apology, they want a confession – Ann Althouse gets deep into the weeds on apologies, and finds that some apologies are more equal than others in the eyes of the Democratic Commisariate (emphasis in original):

  Now, I believe in general principles, and I want to know what the general principle is about accepting apologies. I’d like to nail down people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Eric Boehlert, because their candidate, Barack Obama, is one of the greatest purveyors of apologies in the history of the world!

  There is a difference between heartfelt apology, and a political confession.  An apology would not be enough to obtain release from prison, while a confession, which is a political statement that has nothing to do with the heart, held out the possibility of getting one out of prison:

• MoveOn.Org – Carbonite CEO tied to : time for conservatives to fight blacklisting?
• Carbonite CEO tied to MoveOn.org: time for conservatives to fight blacklisting? – So. Did you hear about Carbonite and Rush Limbaugh?

  No, you didn’t. Not the way you will in a minute. But first?

  It’s time to turn the tables.

  It’s time to stand up to the bullies.

  It’s time to Rally for Rush.

  Rush Limbaugh has discussed at length — at length — what Sandra Fluke and her statist cronies are up to. Yes, he used the words “slut” and “prostitute” — using the ludicrous to make his point. Ms. Fluke, in one of the most pathetic, shamelessly whining stories in recent memory, demands to be paid for her sex life because it costs $3,000 for three years of birth control while she’s at law school. She demands that a Catholic university violate its fundamental right to religious liberty so she can have others pay for her sex life. So Rush asked the farcical obvious about somebody who demands that someone else pay her for her apparent, self-admitted prolific sex life. He spent two solid days relating her greed for other people’s money and a lack of personal responsibility to the oldest of principles.

  Right on cue, the blacklisting crowd came out of their Stalinist caves. Having driven Lou Dobbs from CNN, cut off Beck’s windpipe at Fox, severed Pat Buchanan from MSNBC, thus emboldened they have now set their sights on Rush.

• Sandra Fluke Defenders Target Rush Limbaugh, Not Bill Maher Or Ed Schultz – When the left savages the right, it’s OK. When America’s top conservative questions why taxpayers must subsidize the sex life of a coed, the sky falls in. Bill Maher, call your office.

  When the late, great Andrew Breitbart was asked in a Twitter conversation whether he’d apologize for his website’s posting of a video of a speech by Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod that led to her forced resignation, Breitbart replied, “Apologize for what?”

  Breitbart knew the sensitivities and the hypocrisy of the left when their sacred cows and double standards were under attack.

  Hell hath no fury, he knew, like a liberal whose dogma stands exposed. He wondered why those on the right always had to apologize for saying liberal emperors had no clothes, when the left never had to apologize for anything no matter how outrageous or offensive.

• Re: Rush Limbaugh – Should Conservatives Make an Example of Carbonite and ProFlowers? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Re: Rush Limbaugh – Should Conservatives Make an Example of Carbonite and ProFlowers? | Flap’s Blog – Fullosseou…
• Video: Occupy Education Protesters “OCCUPY” the California State Capitol » Flap’s California Blog – Video: Occupy Education Protesters “OCCUPY” the California State Capitol
• Re: Rush Limbaugh – Should Conservatives Make an Example of Carbonite and ProFlowers? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE:  You have a very good point…
• L.A. Times Attempting Suicide – Today the Los Angeles Times is charging for visiting its site online. This is a suicide attempt that will severely damage the paper. Its parent company, Tribune Co., long has been in bankruptcy, running up $233 million in legal fees.
• California Students Protest Education Entitlement Cuts – Middle-aged, greying 1960s radicals, pimply faced kids, teachers, throngs of SEIU members, angry Occupy protestors, and union members of all kinds descended upon the state Capitol Monday. They demanded, “Wall Street and the wealthy 1 percent, pay to refund education, jobs, essential services, and a better future.”

  The protest was sponsored by the California Teachers Association and the Occupy movement.

  The protest even included roving bands of gang-attired youth probably not connected to education, dreadlock-wearing Rastafarians, earth children and the unmistakable sweet smell of marijuana wafting about. Vapid stares, body odor, anger and an abundant use of the “F” word, some attended the rally with an express purpose in mind, while others appeared less committed and just were there for the chanting and day off of school. “Enough is enough,” came the rally cry from college student body presidents. “We stand in solidarity,” said one speaker as Che Guevara signs waived wildly.

• Conejo Valley development icon Joe Brown dies at 86 – Funeral services will be held Saturday March 10 for a fifth-generation Californian who had a hand in shaping the Conejo Valley.

  Services will begin at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Thousand Oaks for retired Realtor Joseph “Joe” Brown.

  Brown died Thursday in his Thousand Oaks home at age 86 with his wife, Dolly, by his side. He had been suffering from heart problems for some time, but Dolly Brown, 65, said his death was somewhat sudden.

  “He was lying in his hospital bed about a week ago and he said, ‘I’m not being very productive,’ ” she said with a smile.

  By all accounts, “productive” was an understatement when it came to Joe Brown. Among his many accomplishments was helping to establish Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Home in Newbury Park, the Conejo Valley Association of Realtors and the Ventura County Community Foundation in Camarillo, to name a few of his efforts.

• Lenny Dykstra gets 3 years in California prison – Disgraced ex-New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra on Monday was sentenced to three years in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.

  Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ulfig sentenced Dykstra after refusing to allow him to withdraw his plea and said the scam to lease high-end automobiles from dealerships by providing fraudulent information and claiming credit through a phony business showed sophistication and extensive planning.

  “He obviously didn’t have the money to get the vehicles,” Ulfig said. “His conduct was indeed criminal.”

• New California Legislative Information Website Makes Tracking Bills Easier » Flap’s California Blog – New California Legislative Information Website Makes Tracking Bills Easier
• Thousands of Students Protest Education Cuts … Bill Would Add Options in Evaluating Schools: KQED News | KQED Public Media for Northern CA – RT @KQED: From @KQEDnews: several thousand college students protest education cuts in Sacramento #OccupyCapitol
• GOP Hopefuls Losing Ground to Obama Among Latinos, Poll Says – Despite growing disappointment in his handling of immigration issues, Latino voters favor President Barack Obama by six-to-one over any of the Republican presidential hopefuls, showed a Fox News Latino poll conducted under the direction of Latin Insights and released Monday.

  The national poll of likely Latino voters indicated that 73 percent of them approved of Obama’s performance in office, with over half those questioned looking favorably upon his handling of the healthcare debate and the economy, at 66 percent and 58 percent respectively.

  Released on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries in the race for the GOP nomination, the Fox News Latino poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 35 percent of Latino voter support, to Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s 13 percent, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s 12 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s 9 percent. 

• Re: Rush Limbaugh – Should Conservatives Make an Example of Carbonite and ProFlowers? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Re: Rush Limbaugh – Should Conservatives Make an Example of Carbonite and ProFlowers?
• CA-26: Is NPP – No Party Preference a Passing Fad in California Elections? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Is NPP – No Party Preference a Passing Fad in California Elections?
• Scott Walker Video: Promises Kept | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Scott Walker Video: Promises Kept
• Welcome to total political war – Re: Rush Limbaugh – And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to stop advertising on Rush Limbaugh’s show, or Fox News, although that would be bad enough.

  I’m talking about the second-tier of the warfare, the attempt to intimidate those removed by one or more degrees of separation from the dispute, and to use them as tools against the target.

  And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to stop advertising on Rush Limbaugh’s show, or Fox News, although that would be bad enough. I’m talking about the second-tier of the warfare, the attempt to intimidate those removed by one or more degrees of separation from the dispute, and to use them as tools against the target.

  I would not be surprised to see a similar reaction from the right to the left’s attacks on advertisers, but that would be a mistake. What is happening goes beyond Obama’s call for people to argue with their neighbors and get in their faces.  It goes far beyond Bill Clinton’s politics of personal destruction directed at accusers, and beyond name-calling by right wing pundits. This total war, in which no one is allowed to be non-political and neighbors and clients become mere pressure points, is a dangerous development.

• Breitbart.Com Relaunches | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Relaunches
• AD-44: California Assemblyman Jeff Gorell’s Welcome Home Rescheduled to April 4 » Flap’s California Blog – AD-44: California Assemblyman Jeff Gorell’s Welcome Home Rescheduled to April 4
• Day By Day March 5, 2012 – Star Wars | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 5, 2012 – Star Wars
• The China Threat – Increasing Defense Spending – The China Threat – Increasing Defense Spending
• Gingrich: Romney can’t ‘close the deal’ – Gingrich: Romney can’t ‘close the deal’
• GA-2012 Primary: 38% Gingrich, 24% Romney, 22% santorum, 3% Paul (Mason-Dixon 2/29-3/2) – RT @pollsterpolls: GA-2012 Primary: 38% Gingrich, 24% Romney, 22% santorum, 3% Paul (Mason-Dixon 2/29-3/2)
• OH-2012 Primary: 34% Romney 31% Santorum 15% Gingrich 12% Paul (Quinnipiac 3/2-4) – RT @pollsterpolls: OH-2012 Primary: 34% Romney 31% Santorum 15% Gingrich 12% Paul (Quinnipiac 3/2-4)
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-05 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-05
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-05 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-05
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Starbucks Coffee – On the way to San Diego! (@ Starbucks Coffee)
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-04 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-04
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-04 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-04
• Rush: “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke”; Update: Ironic tweet of the day – I think Rush did the right thing in apologizing to Fluke. However, let’s keep in mind that it was Fluke who made her sexual activity a matter of national political debate by insisting that the government pass laws and regulations forcing employers and insurers to provide her free contraception, and apparently as much as she and others demand. It’s Republicans who believe that contraception should remain a private affair, and that employers and insurers should be free to decide whether to cover contraception for their employees and customers or not. Democrats used Fluke to demand that those choices be stripped from private enterprises and instead be forced by the executive branch to entirely subsidize contraception.

  That is the argument we should be making, as Republicans and conservatives. If you want your sexual choices to remain private, don’t use the government to force other people to subsidize them. Then we won’t have to turn the sex lives of Georgetown law school students into topics for political speculation.

• A Statement from Rush – The Rush Limbaugh Show – RT @DanRiehl: A Statement from Rush RT @DavidLimbaugh:
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-03 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-03
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-03 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-03
• AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Asks the Ventura County Republican Party For an Endorsement » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Asks the Ventura County Republican Party For an Endorsement
• Day By Day March 2, 2012 – Think Big, America | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 2, 2012 – Think Big, America
• Gallup’s Unadjusted Unemployment Data Suggest Increase in BLS Adjusted Figure – Gallup finds U.S. unemployment, as measured without seasonal adjustment, to be 9.1% in February, based on almost 30,000 interviews with a random sample of Americans. When Gallup applies the 0.5-percentage-point seasonal adjustment that the government applied to its unadjusted data for February last year, it produces an adjusted unemployment rate for February 2012 of 8.6% –a substantial increase from the 8.3% adjusted rate the government reported for January.
• Ohio GOP Race Going Down To The Wire- Quinnipiac University – Ohio GOP Race Going Down To The Wire- Quinnipiac University
• Sandra Fluke’s Appearance Is No Fluke – Sandra Fluke’s Appearance Is No Fluke
• Sandra Fluke is not a “slut.” She’s a femme-agogue tool; DCCC, Emily’s list fund-raise off of Rush –
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-02 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-02
• Kentucky to Settle for Compromise Methamphetamine Legislation? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Kentucky to Settle for Compromise Methamphetamine Legislation? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-02 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-02

Tags: Brown, California, China, Congress, Contraception, Democrats, Dykstra, Economy, Fluke, Friend, Gingrich, GOP, Gregory, Hispanics, Latinos, LA_Times, Limbaugh, Obama, Occupy, OccupyCapitol, Ohio, Pinboard Links, Polling, President_2012, Romney, The Morning Flap, Unemployment, USA

These are my links for February 27th through February 28th:

• Santorum robocall makes appeal to Michigan’s Democrats for votes

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum hopes Michigan Democrats can help him earn a victory in Tuesday’s primary.   That’s right. The former Pennsylvania senator’s campaign paid for a robocall asking Democrats to vote for him in Tuesday’s primary.   Recent polls show chief rival and Michigan native Mitt Romney and Santorum virtually even heading into the primary.   “We know that if we can get a Reagan Democrat in the primary, we can get them in the fall,” said Hogan Gidley, communications director for Santorum. He confirmed the campaign paid for the call.   Political observers say the move is just another sign of how close the GOP race is — and a “logical ploy.”   As Santorum has done during numerous Michigan visits the past two weeks, the call attacked Romney’s stance on the auto bailouts, saying the former Massachusetts governor’s opposition “was a slap in the face” to Michigan workers, according to audio obtained by online political news outlet Talking Points Memo.  Santorum also opposed the auto bailout, but said his consistent stance against all bailouts, including the Wall Street bailout, sets him above Romney.

• Will California’s Central Valley Bloom Again? – Is sanity finally coming to California’s Central Valley? America’s breadbasket has long been victim of capricious water cutoffs to “save” the environment. A bill in Congress puts an end to this man-made drought. It should pass.

  Rep. Devin Nunes of Visalia, Calif., has come forward with a legislative remedy for the policies that have turned fertile fields into hollowed-out dust bowls in the name of “being green.”

  Nunes’ Sacramento-San Joaquin Water Reliability Act goes to a vote in the House Wednesday and if it passes, it will guarantee that water the farmers paid for finally gets to the parched Central Valley. It will put an end to the sorry stream of shriveled vineyards, blackened almond groves and unemployed farm workers standing in alms lines for bagged carrots from China.

  The insanity of the current policies against some of America’s most productive farmers in one of the world’s richest farm belts is largely the work leftist politicians from the wealthy enclaves of the San Francisco Bay Area. This group has exerted its political muscle on the less politically powerful region that produces more than half the fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S. — with $26 billion in annual sales.

• TransCanada Corp. to begin construction of Keystone pipeline – TransCanada Corp. said Monday it plans to begin building a major portion of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline despite the Obama administration’s decision to reject a key permit for the project.

  The company told the State Department in a letter Monday that it will begin construction of a section of the pipeline that runs from Cushing, Okla., to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The stand-alone portion of the project, which TransCanada dubbed the Gulf Coast Project, will cost $2.3 billion and will be completed in mid-to-late 2013, according to the company. The project must still receive other regulatory approvals.

  Separately, TransCanada said it would reapply “in the near future” for a permit that would allow the Keystone XL pipeline to cross from Alberta, Canada, into the United States.

• 7,000 sign ex-Giffords aide’s petitions – 7,000 sign ex-Giffords aide’s petitions
• Kerrey rethinking Nebraska Senate bid – Kerrey rethinking Nebraska Senate bid
• Bob Kerrey changes his mind, will run for Senate, source says – Bob Kerrey changes his mind, will run for Senate, source says
• The fight for the Senate majority headed for deadlock –
• Boehner’s hands-off style backfires on bill –
• Cliffhanger Michigan Primary Holds Key to GOP Nomination Race – Tuesday, February 28, 2012 – Cliffhanger Michigan Primary Holds Key to GOP Nomination Race – Tuesday, February 28, 2012
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-28 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-28
• Californians Freak As Gas Prices Jump 26 Cents In A Week – Californians Freak As Gas Prices Jump 26 Cents In A Week
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-28
• President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Regains National Poll Lead | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Regains National Poll Lead
• Momentum back toward Santorum in MI? – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Romney’s bad last impression. Favorability in Monday interviews was 47/48. On Sunday it was 57/36:
• Dodgers sale: Magic Johnson Dodgers bidding group advances – latimes.com – RT @latimesbaseball: Magic Johnson leads one of seven Dodgers bidding groups to advance
• Updated: AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Tells the Tea Party Why She is Running for the California Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – Updated: AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Tells the Tea Party Why She is Running for the California Assembly
• AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Tells the Tea Party Why She is Running for the California Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38 Video: Patricia McKeon Tells the Tea Party Why She is Running for the California Assembly
• Feds seize additional computers in Kinde Durkee case – latimes.com – Federal prosecutors have seized several additional computers as part of their investigation into allegations that campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee misused the political funds of clients, according to documents released Monday.

  The seizures were cited as a reason for seeking another month’s delay in a preliminary hearing in the case. A hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday in federal court has now been set for March 16.

  “The investigation has continued, and since the last continuance in this case, the government has seized a significant number of computers which need to be processed,” said a court filing by Assistant U.S. Atty. John K. Vincent. The filing does not identify whose computers were confiscated. “The government needs additional time to review, analyze, and synthesize materials that it has obtained during the course of this investigation,” the filing said.

• Maloofs pledge to contribute $75 million upfront for new downtown arena – The city of Sacramento and the Kings announced a tentative deal today to build a new arena in the downtown railyard. More than half the money would come from leasing the city’s parking to a private operator, but the team’s owners say they’ve also agreed to pay $75 million upfront.

  George Maloof, the family member who pushed the hardest to move to Anaheim last year, said he believes the deal with Sacramento will allow the team to sustain itself financially for years in Sacramento, a small-market city. “We’re going to have a new building, we’ll be able to attract players. It will be much easier.”

• In high desert district, a mirror image of Ventura County situation? – If Democrats in Ventura County think Supervisor Linda Parks might create headaches for them by running as a “no party preference” candidate in the 26th Congressional District, perhaps they can get together with Republicans in the San Bernardino County-based 8th Congressional District to commisserate.

  Former Assemblyman Anthony Adams, a moderate Republican who was assailed by conservatives because of his vote for a 2009 compromise that produced a state budget balanced with both spending cuts and temporary tax increases that have since expired, announced today he will be running as a “no party preference” candidate in the heavily Republican 8th District. The potential problem for the GOP is that there are five announced Republican candidates already, and only one Democrat. Like Ventura County’s 26th District, the 8th is an open seat with no incumbent.

• Jerry Brown presses Obama on Medi-Cal, meets with labor – Gov. Jerry Brown continued to press President Barack Obama today for authorization to enact further cuts to Medi-Cal to help balance California’s budget, even as the administration showed no sign of relenting and complained about the severity of state budget cuts in other areas.

  Obama told governors in a meeting this morning that too many states are cutting education programs too deeply, citing teacher layoffs and rising college tuition.

  “We’ve all faced some stark choices over the past several years,” Obama said. “But that is no excuse to lose sight of what matters most. And the fact is that too many states are making cuts to education that I believe are simply too big.”

• CA-26: Democrat David Cruz Thayne Mocks Assemblywoman Julia Brownley – Imported From Santa Monica | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Democrat David Cruz Thayne Mocks Assemblywoman Julia Brownley – Imported From Santa Monica
• Untitled (http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/secondhand-smoke) – Bob Beckel the smoking Lefty on FNC thinks second hand smoke studies are bogus. Sorry Bob, you are wrong:
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: February 27, 2012 – The Morning Drill: February 27, 2012
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Fluoridated Water and Dentistry: The Ongoing Debate – Fluoridated Water and Dentistry: The Ongoing Debate
• Buffett: Banks Victimized by Evicted Homeowners- Bloomberg – Buffett: Banks Victimized by Evicted Homeowners
• Two minutes after scheduled start of session, just six of 40 members on floor – RT @CapitolAlert: Two minutes after scheduled start of session, just six of 40 members on floor
• The Afternoon Flap: February 27, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: February 27, 2012
• Hill Poll: Likely voters prefer lower individual, business tax rates – Three-quarters of likely voters believe the nation’s top earners should pay lower, not higher, tax rates, according to a new poll for The Hill.

  The big majority opted for a lower tax bill when asked to choose specific rates; precisely 75 percent said the right level for top earners was 30 percent or below.

  The current rate for top earners is 35 percent. Only 4 percent thought it was appropriate to take 40 percent, which is approximately the level that President Obama is seeking from January 2013 onward.

• Buffett: Banks Victimized by Evicted Homeowners – Warren Buffett, who controls the biggest shareholding of the No. 1 U.S. mortgage lender, said banks were victimized by some homeowners who refinanced their loans before getting evicted.

  “Large numbers of people who have ‘lost’ their house through foreclosure have actually realized a profit because they carried out refinancings earlier that gave them cash in excess of their cost,” Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said Feb. 25 in his annual letter. “In these cases, the evicted homeowner was the winner, and the victim was the lender.”

• Diane Sawyer, Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams are America’s Favorite News Personalities – Looking at a list of 26 current affairs personalities, when asked which three are their favorites, almost one-quarter say ABC News’ Diane Sawyer (23%), while one in five each say CNN’s Anderson Cooper (19%) and NBC’s Brian Williams (19%). Rounding out the top five favorite current affairs personalities is Bill O’Reilly (15%) and Barbara Walters (15%). A little further down the list are George Stephanopoulos (14%), Matt Lauer (13%), Katie Couric (13%), Rush Limbaugh (9%) and Sean Hannity (9%).

  These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,016 adults surveyed online between January 16 and 23, 2012 by Harris Interactive.

  Looking at the flip side, which three of the 26 news personalities are America’s least favorite, almost half say Rush Limbaugh (46%). Three in ten say Bill O’Reilly (31%) and almost one-quarter say their least favorite is Nancy Grace (23%). Rounding out the top ten least favorite news personalities are Sean Hannity (14%), Katie Couric (10%), Piers Morgan (10%), Barbara Walters (10%), Chris Matthews (10%), Rachel Maddow (7%) and Wolf Blitzer (7%).

Tags: Adams, Banks, Boehner, Brown, Buffett, CA-8, California, Congress, Durkee, Gas, Giffords, Kerrey, Keystone, Kings, Maloofs, NBA, Nebraska, News, Nunes, Obama, Oil, Pinboard Links, Polling, Romney, Santorum, Senate, Taxes, Television, The Morning Flap, Water

These are my links for January 5th through January 11th:

• Rush Loves Mitt; Hates Newt – Master-talk-master continues finger on the scale for frontrunner on Wednesday’s show.

  Praises the Bay Stater: “Romney gave what may be his best speech ever last night.”

  And/but: El Rushbo bashes Romney — GM/Obama comparison from CBS “This Morning” Wednesday interview.

  Pans Gingrich: “Newt is so ticked off over the negative ad campaign…that right now, he is solely focused on taking Romney out, making sure Romney doesn’t win this thing.”

• Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Iran: What me worry?

  From Michael Ramirez…… – Iran: What me worry?

  From Michael Ramirez……Michael Ramirez Cartoon

• Savings from ’3 strikes’ reform may be smaller than claimed | California Watch – Savings from California ’3 strikes’ reform may be smaller than claimed
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 11, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 11, 2012
• Will Mindful Eating Help Curb Obesity? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Will Mindful Eating Help Curb Obesity?
• Journalists’ campaign trail secrets revealed – The Washington Post – Journalists’ campaign-trail secrets revealed
• The Bain Capital Bonfire – About the best that can be said about the Republican attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital is that President Obama is going to do the same thing eventually, so GOP primary voters might as well know what’s coming. Yet that hardly absolves Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and others for their crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism.

  Bain’s business model is little more than “rich people figuring out clever legal ways to loot a company,” says Mr. Gingrich, whose previous insights into free enterprise include years of defending the taxpayer-fed business of corn ethanol.

  A super PAC supporting the former House Speaker plans to spend $3.4 million in TV ads in South Carolina portraying Mr. Romney as Gordon Gekko without the social conscience. The financing for these ads will come from a billionaire who made his money in the casino business, which Mr. Gingrich apparently considers morally superior to investing in companies in the hope of making a profit.

  Mr. Perry, who has no problem using taxpayer financing to back his political allies in Texas, chimes in that “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out. Because his company Bain Capital, with all the jobs that they killed, I’m sure he was worried he’d run out of pink slips.”

• President 2012: Conservatives Scrambling to Block Romney | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Conservatives Scrambling to Block Romney
• (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/11/day-by-day-janaury-11-2012-reality-show/ – Day By Day Janaury 11, 2012 – Reality Show
• Riehl World View: Romney Has Lied, Maligned And Danced Away For Years, It’s Time He Paid For It – GOP will pay | RT @DanRiehl Romney Has Lied, Maligned And Danced Away For Years, It’s Time He Paid For It
• (404) http://t.co/DqN – RT @jpodhoretz: Romney may win the easiest nomination victory ever–even though he’s as weak a candidate as we’ve seen: …
• In Florida, Obama Trails Mitt By 3, Leads Rick By 2 – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – Closer than you would expect RT @jimgeraghty In Florida, Obama Trails Mitt By 3, Leads Rick By 2 #tcot
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-11 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-11
• Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
• Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
• Log In – The New York Times – As Romney Advances, Private Equity Becomes Part of the Debate
• As Romney Advances, Private Equity Becomes Part of the Debate – A working paper released in September shows that private equity-owned companies shed slightly more jobs than similar companies, though the difference was quite small. In total, they shed about 1 percent more jobs.

  The study — by Steven J. Davis of the University of Chicago; John C. Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland; Josh Lerner of Harvard, and Ron S. Jarmin and Javier Miranda of the Census Bureau — looked at about 3,200 buyouts conducted between 1980 and 2005.

  It found that companies bought by private equity firms let go a larger proportion of workers than similar firms, shrinking their work forces about 6 percent more over a five-year window. But companies bought by private equity firms also tend to open more new branches, offices and factories and hire more new staff members, partly offsetting the job losses.

  Some economists also argue that private equity takeovers make good economic sense in the long term, even if they result in more layoffs in the short term, by making companies more efficient.

• Gingrich’s Own Close Tie to Buyout Industry – Newt Gingrich has ramped up his attacks on Mitt Romney as a heartless leveraged buyout executive for his years at Bain Capital, asking reporters in Manchester on Monday, “Is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of other people and walk off with the money? Or is that, somehow, a little bit of a flawed system?”

  But Mr. Gingrich was himself on an advisory board for a major investment firm that had a similar business model, Forstmann Little, a pioneering private equity firm co-founded in 1978 by Theodore J. Forstmann that was, along with Mr. Romney’s Bain Capital and Henry R. Kravis’s Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, among the leading private equity firms during the 1980s and 1990s.

  Forstmann Little earned billions of dollars in profits from its investments in companies including General Instrument and Gulfstream Aerospace. But the firm shut down most of its operations a decade ago after suffering losses from ill-timed bets on high-flying telecommunications companies at the height of that industry’s bubble.

  Mr. Gingrich’s involvement with the firm could complicate his attacks on Mr. Romney.

  Still, to be fair, Mr. Forstman bristled at some of the more aggressive tactics of his rivals, and once described them as “barbarians at the gate.” That phrase was used as the title of a bestselling book that detailed Mr. Forstmann’s buyout battle with Mr. Kravis for RJR Nabisco, a contest K.K.R. eventually won.

• President 2012: Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire But…. | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire But….
• Film Attacking Romney Leaked Early – Film Attacking Romney Leaked Early – 0n to South Carolina #tcot
• (500) http://flapsblog.com/?s=Romney+and+Kennedy&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – Romney And Kennedy | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog:

  Annotations:

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• (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/10/president-2012-when-mitt-romney-came-to-town-or-will-come-crashing-down/ – President 2012: When Mitt Romney Came to Town or Will Come Crashing Down?
• The Wait Is Over: All Time Warner Cable Customers With HBO Can Now Use HBO GO/MAX GO « Time Warner Cable Untangled – RT @jeffTWC: The Wait Is Over: All Time Warner Cable Customers Can Now Use HBO GO/MAX GO – (Please RT)
• CA-26: Rep Elton Gallegly to Retire – Tony Strickland, Steve Bennett and Linda Parks to Run | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Rep Elton Gallegly to Retire – Tony Strickland, Steve Bennett and Linda Parks to Run
• Day By Day January 10, 2012 – Horse | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 10, 2012 – Horse
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-10
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-09 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-09
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-08 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-08
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Harrah’s Laughlin – Eating dinner and then football or poker. What debate? (@ Harrah’s Laughlin w/ 2 others)
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Arizona State line – On the way to Nevada! (@ Arizona State line)
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-07 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-07
• MapMyRUN – Map New Run – MapMyRUN – Map New Run:

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• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Santa fe, NM – Leaving Santa Fe in the morning. Laughlin and poker here I come. (@ Santa fe, NM)
• Unemployment Rate Drop Is for Real – now 8.5% – The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.5% in December, while a broader measure dropped even further to 15.2% from 15.6% the prior month, both at their lowest levels since February 2009.

  While the unemployment rate has been falling in part due to people leaving the labor force, a large portion of this month’s number appears to come from people finding jobs.

  The unemployment rate is calculated based on people who are without jobs, who are available to work and who have actively sought work in the prior four weeks. The “actively looking for work” definition is fairly broad, including people who contacted an employer, employment agency, job center or friends; sent out resumes or filled out applications; or answered or placed ads, among other things. The rate is calculated by dividing that number by the total number of people in the labor force.

  In December, the household survey showed the number of people employed rose by 176,000, as the population increased by 143,000 over the month. So even though the labor force — the number of people working or looking for work — fell by 50,000, job growth is outpacing the increase in the population.

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-06 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-06
• Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost- Bloomberg – Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost
• Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost – Governor Jerry Brown proposed $92.6 billion in spending for the year starting in July, an increase of about 7 percent, which will count on voters approving $7 billion of higher taxes in November.

  The spending plan foresees a deficit of $9.2 billion through the next 18 months. Almost half of that is in the current fiscal year, he said. He called for $4.2 billion in cuts, mostly to welfare and programs for the poor. If the tax increase isn’t passed, Brown’s plan would cut another $4.8 billion in support for public schools and community colleges.

  California is Standard & Poor’s lowest-rated state, at A-, six levels below AAA. Moody’s Investment Service grades it A1, four steps below the top rating, tied with Illinois (STOIL1) for the worst credit rating among states.

• Small Business: Doctors going broke – Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.

  This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.

  Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.

  “A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues,” said Marc Lion, CEO of Lion & Company CPAs, LLC, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances.

  Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.

• Employers close door on smokers – More job-seekers are facing an added requirement: no smoking — at work or anytime.

  As bans on smoking sweep the USA, an increasing number of employers — primarily hospitals — are also imposing bans on smokers. They won’t hire applicants whose urine tests positive for nicotine use, whether cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or even patches.

  Such tobacco-free hiring policies, designed to promote health and reduce insurance premiums, took effect this month at the Baylor Health Care System in Texas and will apply at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio, when it opens this year.

• New Pentagon strategy stresses Asia, cyber, drones – President Barack Obama unveiled a defense strategy on Thursday that would expand the U.S. military presence in Asia but shrink the overall size of the force as the Pentagon seeks to reduce spending by nearly half a trillion dollars after a decade of war.

  The strategy, if carried out, would significantly reshape the world’s largest military from the one that executed President George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  Cyberwarfare and unmanned drones would continue to grow in priority, as would countering attempts by China and Iran to block U.S. power projection capabilities in areas like the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

  But the size of the U.S. Army and Marines Corps would shrink. So too might the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the U.S. military footprint in Europe.

• Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles – The mighty American military machine that has for so long secured the country’s status as the world’s only superpower will have to be drastically reduced, Barack Obama warned yesterday as he set out a radical but more modest new set of priorities for the Pentagon over the next decade.

  After the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that defined the first decade of the 21st century, Mr Obama’s blueprint for the military’s future acknowledged that America will no longer have the resources to conduct two such major operations simultaneously.

  Instead, the US military will lose up to half a million troops and will focus on countering terrorism and meeting the new challenges of an emergent Asia dominated by China. America, the President said, was “turning the page on a decade of war” and now faced “a moment of transition”. The country’s armed forces would in future be leaner but, Mr Obama pointedly warned both friends and foes, sufficient to preserve US military superiority over any rival – “agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats”.

• Mitt Romney’s the nominee: The Republican primary race is over. – Is there anyone not annoyed by Mitt Romney’s narrow win in the Iowa caucus? Conservatives are disappointed because they recognize that the former Massachusetts governor, who used to be pro-choice and was for Obamacare before it was called that, is only pretending to be one of them. Seventy-five percent of Iowa’s Republican voters wanted someone further to the right. But because their votes were divided among too many weak and weird candidates, the only moderate running in their state came out on top.

  Liberals are bummed because Romney is the strongest potential challenger to President Obama. This shows up clearly in head-to-head polls, which put Romney tied with or slightly ahead of Obama, while other Republican contenders trail by 10 points or more. It was hard for Obama campaign officials to suppress their glee last month when Newt Gingrich, the only even remotely plausible alternative to Romney, briefly ran at the head of the pack. But even they knew this was a momentary aberration. Short of Republicans committing collective suicide by picking someone else, Democrats would like to see Romney win the nomination after a protracted, costly struggle that would deplete his financial resources, sully his image, and drag him further to the right. Today, that scenario looks less likely.

• Richard Cordray & the Use and Abuse of Executive Power – Some think me a zealous advocate of executive power, and often I am when it comes to national security issues. But I think President Obama has exceeded his powers by making a recess appointment for Richard Cordray (whom I respect and have no problems with as a nominee) to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Any private party can challenge this nomination by refusing to obey any regulation issued by the agency as the act of an unconstitutional officer. As a result, this may be the first time that Richard Epstein and I get to represent someone in court together!
• Day By Day January 4, 2012 – Bupkis | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 4, 2012 – Bupkis
• Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval
• Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval
• Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – RT @gallupnews: Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval… #Obama #Gallup
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Alburquerque, NM – On to Santa Fe (@ Alburquerque, NM)
• (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/05/flap-twitter-updates-for-2012-01-05/ – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-05
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Grants – Albuquerque here we come (@ Grants)

Tags: #tcot, Bain, Brown, California, Cordray, Defense, Gallup, Gingrich, GOP, Health, Limbaugh, Medicine, Obama, Obama.Defense, Perry, Pinboard Links, Romney, Smoking, The Morning Flap, Tobacco, Unemployment

These are my links for December 7th through December 8th:

• The Associated Press: Study: Twitter users tough on Republicans, Obama – The 2012 presidential contenders have had a rough go of it on Twitter, according to an analysis of the political conversation taking place on the popular social network.

  The study released Thursday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism found Twitter to be a hotbed of opinionated discussion about the campaign. But a majority of the candidates, including President Barack Obama, have received more negative than positive coverage on Twitter than in regular news coverage or blogs.

  Among the findings:

  —Texas Rep. Ron Paul has been more popular on Twitter than any of the other candidates, even though he’s received relatively limited press coverage. Fully 55 percent of tweets about Paul have been positive, the study found, compared with 15 percent that were negative.

  —Negative tweets about the rest of the Republican field have outweighed positive tweets by at least a 2-1 margin. Obama has fared even worse, with negative assessments outweighing positive by a 3-1 margin.

  —Tweets about three Republican candidates — Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain, who suspended his campaign last Saturday — grew increasingly negative since October, the study found. Newt Gingrich, who has surged to the top of many polls in recent weeks, became the subject of more positive than negative tweets the week of Oct. 24.

  —Obama far outpaced the Republican field in the number of tweets about him. The Democratic president was the subject of about 15 million mentions, compared with Cain, who was the subject of 2.1 million tweets. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, placed third with 1.5 million. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was fourth with 1.4 million mentions.

  —The study found the language used on Twitter to be “very personal and pungent and even profane … leveling allegations that would be off-limits in more traditional news coverage.”

• Gallup Poll Shows Narrowing Enthusiasm Gap – Republicans are less enthusiastic about voting for president in 2012, according to a new Gallup survey released early Thursday, suggesting that the turnout advantage they enjoyed in last year’s midterm elections may be waning.

  Forty-nine percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting, compared to 44 percent who say they are less enthusiastic. In a mid-September survey, 58 percent of Republicans were more enthusiastic, while just 30 percent said they were less enthusiastic.

  While the gap may be narrowing, Democrats’ enthusiasm has not increased accordingly: 44 percent say they are more enthusiastic (compared to 45 percent in September), while 47 percent say they are less enthusiastic.

  Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport posits that the closing of the enthusiasm gap — from 13 points to 5 — “could reflect the intensive and bruising battle” for the GOP presidential nomination and “the rapid rise and fall of various candidates” therein. But if enthusiasm among Republicans continues to decrease, it could have effects beyond the presidential election, potentially threatening the GOP’s ability to take control of the Senate and maintain or increase its majority in the House.

• Abramoff says Gingrich was lobbying – Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff hit Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich for his claims that he did no lobbying on behalf of the mortgage and health care companies that paid him millions in consulting fees, calling the system of providing “strategic advice” corrupt.

  “I don’t want to say he’s lying, he may believe what he’s saying, but people have to understand that lobbying isn’t just going to meet with members,” Abramoff said.

  Abramoff served more than three years in prison following a conviction for corruption and fraud stemming from gifts he provided in exchange for votes to benefit Native American tribes and casinos.

• Democrats: Gingrich Negatives Could Mute Economy Negatives in 2012 – The suddenly plausible chance that Newt Gingrich could run against President Obama in next year’s election has Democratic strategists scrambling to determine which lines of attack would work best against the former speaker of the House.

  Their ideas are split into two strategic camps: Focus on his congressional career, which was marked by partisanship and, at times, his embrace of very conservative positions, or, highlight Gingrich’s tumultuous personal history and uneven temperament.

  A strategy focused on Gingrich the man would give Democrats a chance to shift the campaign away from a conversation about Obama’s handling of the economy, where he continues to receive low marks, to a battle of personalities. Gingrich’s history of adultery and his three marriages have already caused problems for him in the GOP primary, and those issues could linger into the fall. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released late last month showed that only 35 percent of a general-election audience holds a favorable view of him, while 42 percent hold an unfavorable view.

• DCCC Going On TV In OR-01 Special Election – Democrats Worried? – Anybody nervous?

  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is buying television advertising in Oregon’s First Congressional District, an indication that the race to sew up ex-Rep. David Wu’s old seat may not be in the bag.

  The Democratic ad attacks businessman Rob Cornilles (R) for alleged ties to the tea party movement, a theme that Democrats have been hammering throughout the special election. The ad buy will run beginning Thursday through the weekend, at a cost of $124,280 — a significant investment in the Portland media market.

  “In this environment, we’re not taking anything for granted especially when the Republican is an untrustworthy self-funder who is trying to rewrite his extreme Tea Party positions,” a DCCC spokeswoman said.

  The Democratic nominee, former state Sen. Suzane Bonamici, is up with her own advertisement, a positive ad that features Bonamici meeting voters and railing against debt and subsidies for oil companies. Bonamici’s ad was produced by Dixon Davis Media, the prominent Washington-based firm.

• Transcript of Washington Examiner interview with Mitt Romney – MARK TAPSCOTT: From the very beginning of this race you’ve drawn support from about 25 percent of Republican voters and there’s been a succession of “not Romney” shooting stars, if you will, who shot up and then down. What do you think is the reason you’ve stayed in this 25 percent area of support?

  MITT ROMNEY: I don’t know the answer, in part because I am not a political scientist, a pundit who evaluates why people move in one direction or another. I am a conservative business guy with a message to the American people that I think is compelling. And if so I’ll be the nominee and the president, and if not I’ll go back to business. And so I have theories that I hear various people say different things. I hear some say, ‘look, you’re well known,’ – I’m well known – ‘people know who you are, they saw you last time around, there’s an image of who you are, as other people come around they project on them a sense that they are exactly like who we are as voters, and we give them a lot of support, and then comes the agonizing reappraisal as we get to know them and their strengths and their weaknesses and their numbers may trail off. Some trail off more precipitously. Others will come off in a more gentle manner.’ But I stay about the same.

• MA-Sen Poll Watch: Elizabeth Warren soars 7 up over Scott Brown – Democrat Elizabeth Warren has opened up a lead against Republican incumbent Scott Brown for the first time in their U.S. Senate showdown, but a barrage of attack ads appears to have damaged Warren and Brown’s standing among Massachusetts voters, a new University of Massachusetts at Lowell/Boston Herald poll shows.

  Warren leads Brown by a 49-42 percent margin, outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points. That number includes voters who say they are “leaning” for either candidate. But even without the “leaners,” Warren still leads by a 46-41 percent margin, barely within the margin of error.

• For Romney, Mormon question rears its ugly head in Iowa – For Romney, Mormon question rears its ugly head in Iowa

  Religion just got re-injected into the presidential race thanks to new ads from Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. But really, it never left.

  New polls in Iowa suggest Romney’s Mormon religion continues to be a sticking point among all-important evangelical Christians there. And that’s bad news for a Romney campaign that is trying desperately to prevent Newt Gingrich from scoring a big victory in the state’s caucuses.

  A new CNN/Time poll out Wednesday showed Romney trailing Gingrich 33 percent to 20 percent in the Hawkeye State. A look at the crosstabs suggests religion is a big reason why.

• Read his lips: John Sununu hates Newt Gingrich – With former Speaker Newt Gingrich surging in the polls, former Gov. Mitt Romney has finally decided it’s time to go on the offensive. One of the men Romney has lined up to attack Gingrich is former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu.

  The feud is not new.

  As a former chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, Sununu has a long-held grudge against Gingrich — who fought Bush’s budget deal that included raising taxes.

  Here’s an excerpt from a 1990 Fred Barnes article that describes a meeting for Bush’s re-election efforts:

  Sununu attacked congressional Republicans for abandoning the president. House Republican whip Newt Gingrich, who led the opposition to the budget deal, wasn’t invited to the meeting. But he was on Sununu’s and [former OMB director Richard] Darman’s mind. “You could see the Newt chip on their shoulders,” said one Bush adviser. “It was a strikingly bad discussion. The death embrace [of Sununu and Darman] grew tighter.”

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-08 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-08 #tcot #catcot
• December 4, 2011 Las Vegas Half Marathon Race Report and Recap | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – December 4, 2011 Las Vegas Half Marathon Race Report and Recap
• The Afternoon Flap: December 7, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: December 7, 2011 #tcot #catcot

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Abramoff, Brown, DCCC, Democrats, Gingrich, GOP, Iowa, Mormon, Pinboard Links, Polling, Romney, Social_Media, Sununu, The Morning Flap, Twiiter, Warren, Wu