• Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: January 30, 2012

     

    These are my links for January 27th through January 30th:

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 30, 2011

     

    These are my links for November 29th through November 30th:

    • When Newt Was for the Individual Mandate – So now there’s video of Newt explicitly recommending an individual mandate. Hard to see this enhancing Newt’s appeal as the not-Romney.
    • Re: Newt and Individual Mandate – Thanks to Joe for posting this latest example of Gingrich’s utter disdain for real individual liberty. The way I have described it, Republicans/conservatives considering voting for Gingrich are showing a massive case of collective amnesia or, worse, a massive procilivity to (political) suicide that is so strong that they may as well OD on pills, stand at the top edge of a 1,000-foot building, and fire a gun at themselves, just to make sure that if one method of suicide doesn’t work another one will. As an observer of politics, from a purely neutral standpoint, Gingrich’s rise in the polls is astonishing, especially in a year when Republicans are supposedly absolutely desperate for a winner above all else — for somebody who can beat Obama, regardless of philosophical purity. How can a guy who absolutely imploded the only time he was in power, a guy around whom Bill Clinton ran rings, a guy who can’t keep himself from absurdly grandiose statements and from major verbal gaffes at least every six months (MAJOR, not just minor), possibly be expected to defeat Obama?
    • Herman Cain’s campaign a study in ineptitude – Herman Cain is in the midst of “reassessing” whether to continue his 2012 bid, but its legacy is already settled: His campaign will go down as one of the most hapless and bumbling operations in modern presidential politics, setting a new standard for how to turn damaging press coverage into something far worse.

      The botched responses to allegations of marital infidelity, sexual impropriety and his own gaffes — not to mention the puzzling strategic decisions — have, in the eyes of many veteran strategists, reached record levels of ineptitude.

    • Rove: GOP Faces Most ‘Vicious’ Election Battle Ever – Highly respected political analyst Karl Rove tells Newsmax that Republicans stand a 55 percent chance of regaining the White House in 2012 but warns that President Barack Obama’s “hard-nosed Chicago pols” will run a vicious campaign to smear the GOP nominee.

      In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Newsmax.TV, Rove says the president has “walked out on his daytime job” to focus exclusively on re-election, predicts Obama won’t jettison Vice President Joe Biden in 2012, and doubts that a third-party candidate will emerge in the presidential race.

      The 2012 race will be the toughest the GOP has seen, Rove warned, adding that Obama’s Chicago-run operation “is going to take the Republican nominee and subject him or her to the worst beating of their life, every day for roughly 11 months.”

    • Karl Rove: I agree with Newt on illegal immigration – Karl Rove dishes to Newsmax.

      “It’s going to cause him problems in Iowa, which is an immigration-sensitive state, and I, frankly, personally agree with him that there needs to be a practical way to resolve the situation of people who are in the United States.”

      And interestingly, Rove then says that Newt told him that he was — in Roves’s description — “persuaded by the arguments of John McCain and Mike Huckabee that we need to find a humane and practical way to do this.”

    • Conservatives should think twice about Newt – Newt Gingrich’s surge to the top of the Republican presidential field has some conservatives imagining the former House Speaker as the anti-Romney. Gingrich is encouraging such a view with his claim that he is “certainly more conservative” than the former Massachusetts governor. The Manchester (N.H.) Union-Leader’s endorsement added to the perception of a growing “newt-mentum” to anoint Gingrich as the preferred conservative in the Republican presidential field. But there are substantial reasons why thoughtful conservatives should think very carefully before jumping on this bandwagon.
      There are, for example, gaping holes in Gingrich’s conservative credentials. As the American Spectator’s David Catron pointed out Monday, Gingrich has long been a fan of Dr. Donald Berwick. Berwick just resigned as President Obama’s director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees Obamacare. Obama put Berwick there because of his professed love for Britain’s socialized medicine.

       

      Berwick’s views are so radical that not even a Democratic Senate would confirm him, yet Gingrich wrote this in a Washington Post op-ed published in 2000: “Don Berwick at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has worked for years to spread the word that the same systematic approach to quality control that has worked so well in manufacturing could create a dramatically safer, less expensive and more effective system of health and health care.”

      Gingrich’s wonkish delight in industrially rationed health care may come as a sho

    • The Indianapolis Star | Indianapolis news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Indianapolis, Ind. | indystar.com – Derailed | Gary Varvel | The Indianapolis Star |
    • Derailed | Gary Varvel | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com – The Herman Cain train wreck of a Presidential campaign… #tcot
    • Audio: Mark Steyn Pans Newt Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Audio: Mark Steyn Pans Newt Gingrich #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012: Rick Perry Flubs the Voting Age | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Rick Perry Flubs the Voting Age #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Gingrich Leading in Iowa and South Carolina – Closing the Gap in New Hampshire | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: The answer is YES. But, Romney and Perry are also “soft” on illegal immigration.
    • President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Gingrich Surges to the Lead as Romney Sinks | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Gingrich Surges to the Lead as Romney Sinks #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Rancho Conejo Playfield – On a cross-training walk (@ Rancho Conejo Playfield)
    • Flap’s California Morning Collection: November 29, 2011 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: November 29, 2011
    • The Morning Flap: November 29, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 29, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 29, 2011

    These are my links for November 25th through November 29th:

    • BREAKING: Cain ‘Reassessing’ Candidacy – In a conference call this morning, Herman Cain told his senior staff that he is “reassessing” whether to remain in the race. He will make his final decision “over the next several days.”

      UPDATE: National Review was on the call. It lasted 5 minutes.

      “Obviously, you’re all aware of this recent firestorm that hit the news yesterday,” Cain began, his voice somber. “First thing I want to do is say to you what I have said publicly: I deny those charges, unequivocally. Secondly, I have known this lady for a number of years. And thirdly, I have been attempting to help her financially because she was out of work and destitute, desperate. So thinking that she was a  friend, and I have helped many friends, I now know that she wasn’t the friend that I thought she was. But it was a just a friendship relationship.”

    • Why Mitt Romney needs Herman Cain – The latest allegation swirling around businessman Herman Cain — that he conducted a 13-year long extramarital affair with a woman named Ginger White — could well amount to a political death blow for his already-reeling presidential campaign. And that’s bad news for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
    • Federal suit challenges California’s new congressional districts – Rebuffed by the California Supreme Court, a former Republican congressman and four others filed suit this week in federal court to overturn the state’s newly drawn congressional maps.

      The lawsuit by Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, who left Congress in January, marks the latest of numerous attacks by GOP interests against districts drawn for the first time by an independent citizens commission.

      Radanovich’s federal suit contends that the panel violated federal voting-rights law and the U.S. Constitution by seeking to protect three African American incumbents in the drawing of three Los Angeles congressional districts.

    • What if the individual mandate was unconstitutional? – An alarming article in Politico.com looks at what could happen if the Supreme Court determines that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provision is unconstitutional—something that the current conservative leaning of the Court seems to indicate is somewhat more likely than not.

      Assuming that such a possible decision by the Court follows that of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in ruling that the mandate is unconstitutional but the remainder of the ACA may stand, the Politico.com article anticipates some potentially disastrous consequences.

      The provisions of the ACA—some of them already in force—include guaranteed issue, elimination of annual and lifetime limits, and a ban on basing premiums on health status, essentially decoupling coverage and premiums from insurance risk. Without the requirement for almost everyone to have coverage, there will be nothing to ensure that the risk pool contains a large percentage of individuals in good health as well as those with medical problems, and nothing to stop anyone from waiting until they’re sick or injured to demand coverage.

    • Dilbert November 27, 2011- The Lesser of Two Evils » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 27, 2011- The Lesser of Two Evils
    • Day By Day November 28, 2011 – Here Come the Drones | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 28, 2011 – Here Come the Drones #tcot #catcot
    • Chris Christie: President Obama’s just a ‘bystander’ – Gov. Chris Christie on Monday tore into President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the supercommittee’s failure to reach an agreement on debt reduction last week, asking the president, “What the hell are we paying you for?”

      Calling Obama “a bystander in the Oval Office,” the outspoken New Jersey governor said the White House spent the weekend tossing out a whole lot of “spin” about the supercommittee’s inability to come to an agreement before the Nov. 23 deadline.

      “I was angry this weekend, listening to the spin coming out of the administration, about the failure of the supercommittee, and that the president knew it was doomed for failure, so he didn’t get involved. Well then what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said during a press conference in Camden, N.J. “It’s doomed for failure so I’m not getting involved? Well, what have you been doing, exactly?”

    • Obama Abandons the Working Class – The timing may be a little embarrassing, appearing as it does on the eve of Mr. Obama’s visit to Scranton. Still, the authors are probably correct. For all of Joe Biden’s nostalgia about the blue-collar virtues of his home town (where he hasn’t lived since the early days of the Eisenhower administration), the coal mines shut down years ago and many in the white working class have been drifting to the Republican Party.

      The authors therefore suggest that Mr. Obama’s best demographic bet for 2012 lies in holding white college graduates. They are also up front about the vulnerability. Mostly they phrase it politely—”the perceived inability of the Obama administration’s policies to spark real recovery”; “serious doubts about Democratic stewardship of the economy”; or “disenchantment on the economy.”

      That shouldn’t be a hard sell in places like Scranton, where the 9.7% unemployment rate is the worst in the state. When the Obama stimulus came, Lackawanna County spent nearly half of the $39 million it received on education, which means teachers. The city has been deemed “finally distressed” for two decades, and just this month the mayor released a new budget that includes a 29% hike in property taxes.

    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Breakfast first and then a day of writing/blogging. (@ Chez Cole)
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-29 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Moorpark, California Metrolink Station – Waiting to pick up Alice from the train. (@ Moorpark, California Metrolink Station)
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Department of Motor Vehicles – Waiting to complete Lexus registration. Oh my! (@ Department of Motor Vehicles)
    • Day By Day November 27, 2011 – The Ride | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 27, 2011 – The Ride #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-28 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Waiting for more turkey… (@ Chez Cole)
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-27 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-27 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – A nice tapering 10 miles at Venice Beach today. Now with Alice, Tara and Nancy at Ronnie’s (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-26 #tcot #catcot
    • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
    • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
    • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing –
    • The Afternoon Flap: November 25, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: November 25, 2011 #tcot #catcot
    • An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing – NYTimes.com – An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 15, 2011

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

    • Dr. Coburn Releases Report Exposing Billions in Giveaways for Millionaires – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released a new report “Subsidies of the Rich and Famous” illustrating how, under the current tax code, the federal government is giving billions of dollars to individuals with an Annual Gross Income (AGI) of at least $1 million, subsidizing their lavish lifestyles with the taxes of the less fortunate.

      “All Americans are facing tough times, with many working two jobs just to make ends meet and more families turning to the government for financial assistance. From tax write-offs for gambling losses, vacation homes, and luxury yachts to subsidies for their ranches and estates, the government is subsidizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Multi-millionaires are even receiving government checks for not working.

      “This welfare for the well-off – costing billions of dollars a year – is being paid for with the taxes of the less fortunate, many who are working two jobs just to make ends meet, and IOUs to be paid off by future generations. We should never demonize those who are successful. Nor should we pamper them with unnecessary welfare to create an appearance everyone is benefiting from federal programs,” Dr. Coburn said.

      These billions of dollars for millionaires include $74 million of unemployment checks, $316 million in farm subsidies, $89 million for preservation of ranches and estates, $9 billion of retirement checks, $75.6 million in residential energy tax credits, and $7.5 million to compensate for damages caused by emergencies to property that should have been insured. All and all, over $9.5 billion in government benefits have been paid to millionaires since 2003. Additionally, millionaires borrowed $16 million in government backed education loans to attend college. On average, each year, this report found that millionaires enjoy benefits from tax giveaways and federal grant programs totaling $30 billion. As a result, almost 1,500 millionaires paid no federal income tax in 2009.

    • ObamaCare and the Limits of Government – The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether ObamaCare is constitutional, granting certiorari in a case brought by 26 states shortly after that law was enacted in March of last year. In so doing, it will be ruling upon the very nature of our federal union.

      The Constitution limits federal power by granting Congress authority in certain defined areas, such as the regulation of interstate and foreign commerce. Those powers not specifically vested in the federal government by the Constitution or, as stated in the 10th Amendment, “prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” The court will now determine whether those words still have meaning.

      As we argued two years ago in these pages, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (aka ObamaCare) is unconstitutional. First and foremost, the law requires virtually every American to have health insurance. Congress purported to impose this unprecedented “individual mandate” pursuant to its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, but the requirement is not limited to those who engage in any particular commercial or economic activity (or any activity at all). Rather, the mandate applies to everyone lawfully present in the United States who does not fall within one of the law’s narrow exclusions.

    • Dems fear Supreme Court will rule against Obama on healthcare reform – Democrats on Capitol Hill are worried that the Supreme Court will rule against President Obama’s healthcare reform law. 

      Over the last couple weeks, congressional Democrats have told The Hill that the law faces danger in the hands of the Supreme Court, which The New York Times editorial page recently labeled the most conservative high court since the 1950s.

      While the lawmakers are not second-guessing the administration’s legal strategy, some are clearly bracing for defeat.

      “Of course I’m concerned,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). The justices “decide for insurance companies, they decide for oil companies, they decide for the wealthy too often.”

      The pessimism is fueled in part by the John Roberts court’s decision in the 2010 Citizens United case on corporate spending in elections, which Brown has called the “worst” in his memory.

      The comments underscore the gamble the White House took when it opted not to seek to delay the high court’s review until after the 2012 election. That decision leaves the fate of Democrats’ signature domestic achievement in the hands of a right-leaning court that has consistently ruled against liberals on everything from campaign finance to the District of Columbia’s gun ban to Bush v. Gore.

    • Kagan to Tribe on Day Obamacare Passed: ‘I Hear They Have the Votes, Larry!! – On Sunday, March 21, 2010, the day the House of Representatives passed President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan and famed Supreme Court litigator and Harvard Law Prof. Laurence Tribe, who was then serving in the Justice Department, had an email exchange in which they discussed the pending health-care vote, according to documents the Department of Justice released late Wednesday to the Media Research Center, CNSNews.com’s parent organization, and to Judicial Watch.

      “I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing,” Kagan said to Tribe in one of the emails.

      The Justice Department released a new batch of emails on Wednesday evening as its latest response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by CNSNews.com and Judicial Watch. Both organizations filed federal lawsuits against DOJ after the department did not initially respond to the requests. CNSNews.com originally filed its FOIA request on May 25, 2010–before Elena Kagan’s June 2010 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

      The March 2010 email exchange between Kagan and Tribe raises new questions about whether Kagan must recuse herself from judging cases involving the health-care law that Obama signed–and which became the target of legal challenges–while Kagan was serving as Obama’s solicitor general and was responsible for defending his administration’s positions in court disputes.

      According to 28 USC 455, a Supreme Court justice must recuse from “any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” The law also says a justice must recuse anytime he has “expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the particular case in controversy” while he “served in governmental employment.”

    • Occupy Wall Street – How Long, How Many, Which Cities? – How is Occupy Wall Street faring—not broadly, but at this very moment? Below, we’ve compiled a few indicators that attempt to answer this question, from conditions in Zuccotti Park to the movement’s global spread. The metrics, which update every five minutes, are admittedly imperfect and far from comprehensive, but we hope they give you a sense of how things are going. If you would like to see a particular datapoint included, let us know in the comments.
    • The real Wall Street occupation is online – The Occupy Wall Street movement, now that it has broadened in scope beyond the financial district of Manhattan to attain a truly national — even global — scale has the potential to lay the groundwork for a new generation of start-ups capable of reshaping the financial system in radically new ways. These tech start-ups, while officially unaffiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, are nonetheless responding to the unmet needs of these protesters, individuals who feel abandoned by the current financial system.

      The breakout company of the Occupy Wall Street movement thus far has been Palo Alto-based WePay, a start-up largely unknown until the protest movement began September 17. Over the past 45 days, WePay has become the de facto official way to send money to the “Occupy” protesters while simultaneously bypassing the largest financial institutions. At a time when many payment alternatives already exist, it’s more than a coincidence that an unknown technology player, free of any associations with the banking establishment, has emerged as the financial intermediary of choice. Just a few months ago, the obvious choice for sending money to an organization like Occupy Wall Street would have been PayPal, but that was before the company decided to cooperate with the financial embargo against WikiLeaks.

    • Immigration from Mexico in fast retreat, data show – North of the U.S.-Mexico border, Republican presidential candidates are talking tough on illegal immigration, with one proposing — perhaps in jest — an electrified fence to deter migrants.

      But data from both sides of the border suggest that illegal immigration from Mexico is already in fast retreat, as U.S. job shortages, tighter border enforcement and the frightening presence of criminal gangs on the Mexican side dissuade many from making the trip.

      Mexican census figures show that fewer Mexicans are setting out and many are returning — leaving net migration at close to zero, Mexican officials say. Arrests by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwestern frontier, a common gauge of how many people try to cross without papers, tumbled to 304,755 during the 11 months ended in August, extending a nearly steady drop since a peak of 1.6 million in 2000.

      The scale of the fall has prompted some to suggest that a decades-long migration boom may be ending, even as others argue that the decline is only momentary.

      “Our country is not experiencing the population loss due to migration that was seen for nearly 50 years,” Rene Zenteno, a deputy Mexico interior secretary for migration matters, has said.

      Douglas Massey, an immigration scholar at Princeton University, said surveys of residents in Mexican migrant towns he has studied for many years found that the number of people making their first trip north had dwindled to near zero.

    • Some Residents Cheer the Clearing of Zuccotti Park – Some Residents Cheer Clearing of Zuccotti Park
      As residents and office workers woke to a Zuccotti Park cleared of its protest encampment, some cheered the removal while others objected to the tough police action that brought it about, my colleague Cara Buckley reports:

       

      One young father, pushing his toddler son in a stroller, gave police officers guarding Zuccotti Park a thumbs up. Another man, rushing by in a cream suit, flashed them a mega-watt grin. The sight of the park, freshly cleared and washed, stopped a blonde woman walking by in her tracks. “Ooooooh, good,” she cooed.

      The clearing of Zuccotti Park struck a deep blow to the Occupy Wall Street movement, which had used the site as its physical and spiritual heart. But as the newly ousted protesters gathered in Foley Square to decide what to do next, many residents, workers and business owners near the park felt deep relief. ” Super ecstatic,” said a young office worker. “Definitely relieved,” said a young woman working behind the counter at Panini & Co., a cafe overlooking the park.

      Paul Bruno, 54, who lives in the Bronx but has serviced elevators in Lower Manhattan for 30 years, had lunched daily in the park. He agreed with the protesters’ message, he said, but not their means. “The movement is the right movement,” he said, “but the movement got lost.”

      Another man, who worked nearby and said he could not give his name because it was against his company’s rules, said it was time for the park to be cleared.

      “It started out as a cool grassroots movement, he said, ” and then it turned into a big homeless camp.”

      Still residents described a frightening scene last night, with police rushing into the park, bright lights glaring and helicopters whirring above. Mark Scherzer, a lawyer who lives half a block from the park, said he found the clearing deeply upsetting.

      “I think the protesters were doing a valuable service,” he said, “And I think it was lawful for them to be there.”

    • More Republicans say Cain allegations are “serious matter” – Most Republicans now see the allegations of sexual harassment against Herman Cain as a serious matter, according to a new Post-ABC poll, a switch from a poll taken just after the charges were first reported. And while two-thirds continue to say the accusations are not going to determine their vote, there’s also still a deep split between GOP men and women.

      Just after the harassment allegations surfaced publicly, 54 percent of all Republicans were skeptical of their seriousness. Now, by contrast, 64 percent assess the situation as a serious one, with the biggest shift among women.

      Fully 74 percent of Republican women call the charges serious, up from 39 percent in early November. Men are also reflecting the trend, but less dramatically so, rising from 36 to 53 percent.

    • Why Do I Need a Google+ Business Page? – Yesterday Google+ rolled out the much-anticipated Google+ Page feature, and now businesses, brands, products, entertainers, and lots of other entities can have their own accounts.

      I know what you’re thinking: Great, another social media page I have to manage for my company.

      Hey, I’m with you — just when you think you’ve figured out how to make business gains from Twitter and Facebook, along comes Google+, another widespread social tool that’s a big, wide-open question mark.

      But you know what? Reserving your spot for your brand now is probably a good idea, even if you haven’t figured out what you’re doing with it. I did.

      You can register a Google+ business page here, but keep in mind that you have to have a personal Google+ account first. Only one user per account so far, and vanity URLs are not available yet. But why?

    • Court order allows Occupy Wall St. protesters back – Hundreds of police officers in riot gear raided Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, evicting dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters from what has become the epicenter of the worldwide movement protesting corporate greed and economic inequality.

      Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to the park. The guild said the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters.

      At a morning news conference at City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city knew about the court order but had not seen it and would go to court to fight it. He said the city wants to protect people’s rights, but if a choice must be made, it will protect public safety.

      About 70 people were arrested overnight, including some who chained themselves together, while officers cleared the park so that sanitation crews could clean it.

      By 9 a.m., the park was power-washed clean. Police in riot gear still ringed the public space, waiting for orders to reopen it.

    • Gingrich: I’m auditioning to be “conservative alternative” to Romney – On Fox News this morning, Newt Gingrich jabbed Mitt Romney while responding to polls showing him vaulting into the top-tier.

      “I think you’ve had a series of people — it started with Tim Pawlenty, and then Michele Bachmann, and then Rick Perry, then Herman Cain — there’ve been a series of people who’ve, sort of, auditioning for being the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney.

      And Mitt Romney’s being very stable and very steady, and now, we’re in a situation where — to some extent — people are looking at Newt Gingrich and having to decide: do they like the solutions I’m offering?”

      So far, Gingrich has shown great restraint in hitting Romney, but this might be the beginnings of his case.

      Yesterday, a Public Policy Polling survey showed Newt leading Romney by 10%, while a CNN poll had Romney up by 2%.

      That earned Gingrich the rare distinction of being the lead story on both The Drudge Report and Huffington Post at the same time.

    • Twitter Can Predict Who’s Winning the GOP Presidential Race [Study] – Political candidates do better in the polls when they gain more Twitter followers, new research reveals. National polls happen all the time but it’s possible to predict when certain candidates will climb in the rankings based the rate they are followed.

      Zach Green, CEO of Twitter election researcher 140elect, wrote in a blog post Friday that he anticipated this trend, but now has the stats to prove it.

      “A lot of people were surprised [Newt] Gingrich is now in second place, but we’ve seen that coming since Sep. 7,” Green told Mashable. “Twitter indicates he’ll continue to pick up.”

      Gingrich (visualized below) gained a slew of new followers when he announced his candidacy on May 11 and on Sept. 7 after an impressive GOP debate performance. Both events led to poll gains. The candidate’s Twitter momentum has steadily increased over the last two months, which Green predicts will lead to continued poll gains.

    • Day By Day November 13, 2011 – Zombies | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 13, 2011 – Zombies #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-15 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-15 #tcot #catcot
    • Dilbert November 13, 2011 – The Invisible Man » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 13, 2011 – The Invisible Man
    • The Afternoon Flap: November 14, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: November 14, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • The Afternoon Flap

    The Afternoon Flap: November 14, 2011

     

    These are my links for November 14th from 06:42 to 16:16:

    • USC enrolls the most international students in the nation – For the 10th year in a row, USC held on to a championship that has nothing to do with sports: The Los Angeles campus once again enrolled the most foreign students of any college or university in the United States, according to a new study. UCLA had the sixth-highest international enrollment, up from seventh place the year before.

      Across the country, the ranks of international students enrolled in American higher education last year increased 5%, to 723,277, according to the annual report by the Institute of International Education, a New York nonprofit, in partnership with the U.S. State Department.

      China, for the second consecutive year, sent the largest group, which was up 22% to about 158,000. Indian students were the next-biggest contingent, followed by those from South Korea, Canada, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey, the report found.

      USC enrolled 8,615 international students last year, up from 7,987 the previous year, said the study, “Open Doors,” which is being released Monday. UCLA enrolled 6,249 international students, compared with 5,685 the prior year. Aside from the Los Angeles campuses, the other schools in the top 10 were: the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, New York University, Purdue University, Columbia University, Ohio State University, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan State University and Harvard University.

      USC has recruiting offices in Shanghai; Seoul; Mumbai, India; Taipei, Taiwan; and Mexico City, said Timothy Brunold, the university’s admission dean. About 70% of international students at USC are in graduate programs, heavily concentrated in engineering, computer science and business, he added.

    • Herman Cain collapsing in new CNN poll – For weeks, polls have shown former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain holding strong despite the revelation of sexual harassment allegations against him. Now, his support is starting to collapse.

      A new CNN poll finds Cain dropping 11 points among Republicans, from 25 percent in October to 14 percent on Monday. That puts him in a statistical tie for third place in the GOP nominating contest with Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

      Even as most Republicans continue to say that the allegations have no effect on their vote, Cain is sliding downward.

      “Roughly four in 10 Republicans think this is a serious matter and tend to believe the women who made those charges,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

      The likely explanation: Cain supporters were looking for a viable conservative alternative before jumping ship. Polls had shown growing concern over the allegations for weeks, even as the Republican’s overall numbers stayed strong.

      Those supporters appear to have settled on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich , who jumped from 8 percent to 22 percent in the CNN poll.

      Other polls found Cain slipping, although not as dramatically as in the CNN survey.

    • Newt Gingrich vs. debt supercommittee on campaign trail – Newt Gingrich is a major player in the GOP presidential contest again, and he’s using that platform to position himself as the biggest critic of the congressional debt-reduction “supercommittee.”

      Gingrich, who placed second nationally in a poll released Monday by CNN and Opinion Research, said at an event here this morning that the supercommittee is “maniacally stupid” and “an invitation to economic catastrophe.”

      The former House speaker said the panel should drop the provision passed by Congress during the summer that would trigger broad cuts if it can’t reach a deal by its Nov. 23 deadline. He said that Americans should be skeptical of any plan produced by the supercommittee and shouldn’t settle for a halfway measure just because of the trigger provision.

      “We should reject any effort to blackmail us into accepting a dumb idea on the grounds that in July we accepted an even dumber idea,” Gingrich said.

      Gingrich said a threat of massive cuts to defense and domestic program was totally artificial anyway and that the creation of the special debt-reduction panel in the first place is a reflection of Washington’s problems.

    • Bialek’s ex-boyfriend, Victor Zuckerman, speaks about Herman Cain – The ex-boyfriend of Sharon Bialek corroborated the sexual harassment allegations that Bialek made against Herman Cain, saying at a Monday press conference that Cain did in fact know the Chicago woman, something he has repeatedly denied.

      Victor Zuckerman, who identified himself as a pediatrician and a registered Republican, said that Bialek spent time with Cain, and that he remembers her saying that she was seated next to Cain at a dinner, and ”had opportunities to speak to him at length.”

      “She told me I needed to meet this man of warmth, of wit,” he recalled, adding that Cain later told them about the release of his gospel album in 1997.

      After Bialek lost her job at the fundraising arm of the educational foundation at the National Restaurant Association, it was Zuckerman who advised her to reach out to Cain, the former head of the NRA in the mid 1990s, for help.

      Bialek claims that during her trip to Washington for job advice, Cain groped her in a car.

      “I can confirm that when she returned, she was upset, she said that something had happened and the Mr. Cain had touched her in an inappropriate manner,” Zuckerman said. “She said she had handled it.”

      Zuckerman said that more recently, he and Bialek talked about Cain after the allegations came to light, and Bialek said that the accusations didn’t surprise her.

    • foursquare

      :: Gregory Flap @ Starbucks – Going to a comedy club in Pasadena after Alice gets off work. (@ Starbucks)

    • foursquare

      :: Gregory Flap’s Badges :: Fresh Brew – I just unlocked the “Fresh Brew” badge on @foursquare! Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffee.

    • CA-25: Rep. Elton Gallegly to Face Off Against Rep. Buck McKeon? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-25: Rep. Elton Gallegly to Face Off Against Rep. Buck McKeon? #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Run for Her 5 K Race Report: November 13, 2011 – Run for Her 5 K Race Report: November 13, 2011
    • Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Tell Anyone! | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Tell Anyone!
    • President 2012 California Poll Watch: All Obama – All of the Time » Flap’s California Blog – President 2012 California Poll Watch: All Obama – All of the Time
    • Isakson introduces bill to reverse NLRB decision – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson has introduced legislation that would reverse a recent decision from the National Labor Relations Board on collective bargaining.
      The board in August said that as few as two or three employees could form micro-bargaining units, or “mini-unions,” to engage in collective bargaining with employers. Isakson said the administration’s decision to allow micro-bargaining units “recklessly disregards the long-standing principles of collective bargaining” and said President Barack Obama’s appointees at the NLRB are tipping the scales in favor of unions.
      Isakson’s legislation would reinstate the traditional standard for determining which employees make up an appropriate bargaining unit.
      The Georgia Republican’s bill -The Representation Fairness Restoration Act – has 28 cosponsors.
    • Boeing: Union Reneged On Deal; NLRB Emails Shed Light – Newly released documents regarding the National Labor Relations Board complaint vs. Boeing reveal that extensive, though ultimately futile, efforts were made to avoid litigation.

      Boeing (BA) officials say the documents relate to a settlement that they thought they had made with the International Association of Machinists, the union that brought the complaint.

      The aerospace giant claims IAM revoked the offer after Boeing had accepted it. If true, that would suggest that IAM was interested in pursuing the case as a test of the NLRB’s power under the Obama administration.

    • Despite Senate victory, court battle looms for net-neutrality rules – Advocates of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules celebrated a major victory on Thursday as the Senate rejected a Republican bid to repeal the rules.
      But with a lawsuit pending in the D.C. Court of Appeals, the victory may prove to be short-lived.

       

      The rules, approved by the FCC in December, prohibit Internet service providers from slowing down or blocking access to legitimate websites. Supporters of the rules say they preserve competition and consumer choice, but opponents argue they are an unnecessary burden on businesses and amount to government control of the Internet.

    • President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Cain 20% Vs. Gingrich 19% Vs. Romney 14% Vs. Bachmann and Paul 10% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Cain 20% Vs. Gingrich 19% Vs. Romney 14% Vs. Bachmann and Paul 10% #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012 California Poll Watch: All Obama – All of the Time | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 California Poll Watch: All Obama – All of the Time #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses – The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: November 14, 2011 – The Morning Drill: November 14, 2011
    • Day By Day November 12, 2011 – Word | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 12, 2011 – Word #tcot #catcot
    • The Morning Flap: November 14, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 14, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 14, 2011

    These are my links for November 10th through November 14th:

    • CHELSEA CLINTON TO SHARE “MAKING A DIFFERENCE” STORIES FOR “NBC NIGHTLY NEWS” AND “ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS”– Chelsea Clinton is teaming up with “Rock Center with Brian Williams” and “NBC Nightly News” as a Special Correspondent, the network announced today. Clinton’s role with the shows and the network will be to highlight stories within the “Making a Difference” franchise.”Making a Difference” segments have a history of profiling organizations and individuals who represent the best of what works in the United States and around the world, frequently emphasizing stories about everyday people doing extraordinary things. Clinton’s dedication to public service, solution-based advocacy and focus on empowering people across the country and around the globe resonates with the purpose and content of “Making a Difference.” Her position with NBC News will still allow Clinton to continue her work with the Clinton Foundation and her studies in parallel.

      “Chelsea is a remarkable woman who will be a great addition to NBC News. Given her vast experiences, it’s as though Chelsea has been preparing for this opportunity her entire life,” said Steve Capus, President of NBC News. “We are proud she will be bringing her considerable, unique talents and dedication to NBC News.”

      “Our Making a Difference segments have become a signature of the broadcast. They adhere to a simple goal of highlighting the good works being done across the country and around the world,” said Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor of Nightly News and Rock Center. “Chelsea Clinton has led a remarkable life. She possesses an uncommon understanding of humanity — on city streets, across this country and around the globe. We are so excited she’s joining us to tell the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

    • Friday question answered – The Pros and Cons of Newt Gingrich– Yet there are still conservatives entranced with his patter and admiring of his intellect. PBS727 declares, “You bet he can. Strongest candidate out there. To hell with with his personal baggage. Just look at [Bill] Clinton, [John F.] Kennedy.” Carldahlmann argues: “Gingrich knows history, and he knows Congress. He’s smart and quick — he would kill Obama in any debate. In spite of his personal baggage, I think he’d make a dynamite President, and would create a very effective troika with Boehner and McConnell — this would be the Democrats’ worst nightmare, which is why I like it.”I agree that Gingrich will benefit for some time from Herman Cain’s and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s woes. It is ironic that the feisty base, which wants to fight, fight, fight against the Democrats, would consider the last GOP speaker of the House to get badly rolled by the White House. But in short order not only his personal baggage but his embrace of decidedly unconservative ideas and ethical problems will become a turnoff for many evangelicals, the group the not-Romney candidate must capture. For all of his flash and humor, Gingrich remains a loose cannon and an inconsistent conservative — not exactly what the not-Romney crowd is looking for.
    • Democrats obsessed with Romney?– Borrowing the title from a popular new wave song from the 1980s, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign is out Monday with an email that highlights the numerous recent attacks on the Republican presidential candidate by national Democrats.In an email with the heading “You’re My Obsession,” the Romney campaign states that “President Obama’s political machine has developed an obsession with attacking Governor Romney.”

      The former Massachusetts governor, who’s making his second bid for the White House, has been at or near the top of most national polls this year in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, and he’s also currently at or near the top in surveys in crucial early voting states.

      For months, Romney’s been the target of Web videos and emails from the Obama re-election campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and Priorities USA, an independent group that is supporting the president’s re-election bid. But the efforts seem to have stepped up in recent weeks.

      Many of the emails and Web videos highlight what the Democrats call Romney’s “flip-flop” on numerous issues.

    • Canada Will Sell Oil To China If US Keeps Delaying The Pipeline – The Obama administration put off the decision to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline until 2013.
      But that won’t stop Canada from trying to find another buyer, namely China, according to AFP.
      Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has already spoken with Chinese President Hu Jintao about possible oil exports this past Saturday.
      Harper told reporters, “This does underscore the necessity of Canada making sure that we are able to access Asian markets for our energy products.”
      With plans for the Keystone XL oil pipeline on the rocks, and China looking to diversify its energy supplier portfolio, this might be the perfect opportunity for Canada to get its foot in the door of the Chinese energy market.
    • Poll Watch: Voters split on harassment charges, favor lie detector test– Likely voters are split over whether to believe Herman Cain or the women who accused him of sexual harassment, but a plurality would like him to take a lie detector test to help decide the issue.According to The Hill Poll, likely voters are split, 39 percent to 40 percent respectively, on whether they believe Cain or his accusers. Another 21 percent aren’t sure whom to believe.

      Forty-seven percent of likely voters would like him to follow through on his professed willingness to take a lie detector test, while 35 percent said he should not and 18 percent were not sure.

    • Obama says U.S. has been ‘lazy’ about attracting business– Does President Obama believe the country he leads has the right stuff?Every now and then Obama lets slip that he doesn’t believe his countrymen are all that tough.

      Back in September he told a TV station that the U.S. had “gotten a little soft’’ when it came to competing in international markets.

      On Saturday, speaking at a business forum on the sidelines of an economic summit in Honolulu, he said the U.S. had been “lazy’’ when it came to enticing businesses to invest in America.

      “But we’ve been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades,’’ the president said. “We’ve kind of taken for granted — well, people will want to come here and we aren’t out there hungry, selling America and trying to attract new business into America.”

      Soft and lazy. Sounds like America could use a few months on Parris Island.

      Not that he’s lost hope. In the first year of his term, he gave a healthcare speech and proclaimed that “we can do great things.’’

      This year, in his State of the Union speech, he was no less optimistic.

      Americans, he said, are a people who “do big things.’’

      “Lazy’’ is a strong word, though, and in a staid talk about trade and currency policy, it caused a bit of a stir.

    • Washington’s unwelcome delay in the Keystone XL pipeline project– EARLY LAST WEEK, as the Obama administration prepared to announce a delay in deciding whether to permit the construction of the Canada-U.S. Keystone XL oil pipeline, Joe Oliver, Canada’s natural resources minister, was in Asia to discuss cooperation with the energy-hungry and cash-flush Chinese on extracting his nation’s oil reserves. Given that China already has an $11 billion stake in Canadian oil production, Mr. Oliver should have little trouble getting the help.Despite the passion among environmentalists against Keystone XL, Mr. Oliver’s travels illustrate the critical point: Canada’s oil will come out of the ground, and someone somewhere will refine it and burn it.
    • Video: FINALLY: Warren Buffett Reveals What HIS Tax Plan Would Look Like – Warren Buffett is on CNBC this morning talking about the Buffett tax.
      As he’s indicated before, what Obama calls the “Buffett Rule” (higher taxes on the rich, basically) differs from his real proposal for such a tax.
      His idea is really simple.
      He says his tax would require earners making over $1 million to pay 30% of their income in taxes and those making more than $10 million to pay 35%—something he admits most people are already doing.
      The difference between the current progressive system, and his idea is that his scheme wouldn’t give any breaks to people who get much of their money from capital gains.
    • President Newt?– Newt Gingrich did very well for himself in the foreign policy debate Saturday, especially when he put down a smug Scott Pelley on the issue of whether killing Al-Awlaki comported with the “rule of law.”  …  Jennifer Rubin and I discuss what a Gingrich Presidency might be like in our most recent Ricochet podcast here (starting about 4:20 in).  Rubin also has a detailed post on why Gingrich is not a “conservative dreamboat.”  … A key point not addressed by issues papers is his firmness in negotiation, or lack thereof. During the welfare reform debate of 1995-6, my impression was that Gingrich always wants to be the hero who walks into the room and cuts the grand deal. As a result he is all-too-ready to make dramatic concessions, which is one reason Clinton cleaned his clock in the post-1994 budget negotiations. Fastest sellout in the West! …KEYWORDS: INFANTILE, EGOMANIAC
    • Some Democrats refuse to back President Obama– Sen. Joe Lieberman was treated like an outcast back in 2008 when he broke from the Senate Democratic Caucus and openly opposed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House.Asked last week if he’d back Obama in 2012, the Connecticut independent said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

      This time around, there may be more Liebermans.

      A number of moderate Democrats like Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders are declining to give their unqualified support for the president, saying they’re either too focused on their own races or are calling on the White House to cater to their agendas before they will offer an endorsement. Some up for reelection in red states or in swing districts fear that even showing up on stage with Obama will give their opponents an image to seize upon — much as Democrats did in 2008 when they repeatedly flashed shots of Sen. John McCain hugging President George W. Bush.

      So as the president faces the dual challenges of energizing his base while wooing moderates, some Democrats in Congress are keeping their distance, with the president’s approval rating hovering in the mid-40s — and even lower in states like West Virginia, where moderate Sen. Joe Manchin is up for reelection.

    • Obama Dings Republicans On Waterboarding, Says Jobs Bill May Have To Wait Until After Election – President Barack Obama took one of his first swings at his Republican opponents on Sunday, criticizing Rep. Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain for supporting the use of waterboarding.
      In an afternoon press conference at the APEC summit in Hawaii, Obama was read comments from the two aspiring presidents, and set aside his vow not to comment on the Republican race until they have a nominee to categorically defend his administration’s stance on the issue:
      “Let me just say this: They’re wrong. Waterboarding is torture,” he said. “It’s contrary to America’s traditions. It’s contrary to our ideals. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we operate. We don’t need it in order to prosecute the war on terrorism. And we did the right thing by ending that practice. ”
      “If we want to lead around the world, part of our leadership is setting a good example. And anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that’s not something we do — period.”
      But Obama refused to attack former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for criticizing his record dealing with Iran, saying only that it’s a complicated issue — and anyone who says otherwise “is either politicking or doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-14 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-14 #tcot #catcot
    • Run For Her 5K Part 2
      – YouTube
      – I uploaded a @YouTube video Run For Her 5K Part 2
    • Anti-Newt Gingrich chatter begins– A conservative source forwards an anti-Newt Gingrich email making the rounds this weekend, drawing Republicans’ attention to the former House speaker’s history of off-message and ideologically erratic comments.The email is a reminder of the challenge Gingrich faces ahead of him, if he really has to go through the same level of vetting as other credible GOP presidential candidates — like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann did when they were on the upswing in the polls. But it’s also a sign that Gingrich’s rise is being taken seriously by his opponents inside the party. The email reads, in part:

      Fellow Conservatives I urge all of to take a hard look at the real Newt Gingrich. Take 10 minutes of your time to read this email and pass it around as we can’t afford another faux president.

      Continue Reading
      *The Newt Gingrich Files: Does he know where he stands?*

      *MUST KNOW QUOTES*

      • Gingrich: “There Are Parts Of The DREAM Act That Are Actually Quite Useful.” (“Newt And Callista Gingrich On Al Punto With Jorge Ramos,” Newt.org, 10/13/10)

      • In A 2007 Interview With PBS, Gingrich Came Out In Favor Of A Cap And Trade System, Saying “It’s Something I Would Strongly Support.” (PBS’ “Frontline,” 4/24/07)

    • How Gingrich Can Win– Rich Galen explains how Newt Gingrich can win the GOP presidential nomination.”The two candidates who are stable in their numbers are Romney (with a ceiling of about 25 percent of GOP voters) and Ron Paul (who will stay between six and 10 percent). That leaves about 65 percent of Republican voters looking for a home. Cain will continue to drift downward (my words, not Newt’s); Santorum, Huntsman, and Bachman are, and will continue to be minor players.”

      “So, Newt’s thinking goes, he doesn’t need to beat Romney — he needs to consolidate the non-Romney vote and he’s the only one who can do that.”

      An example from recent history: “Sixty-two percent of Iowa voters wanted someone other than Barack Obama four years ago. The only reason he won was because Hillary and Edwards almost precisely split 60 percent of the votes.”

    • Run for Her Part 1
      – YouTube
      – Run for Her Part 1
      – YouTube
    • Run for Her Part 1
      – YouTube
      – I uploaded a @YouTube video Run for Her Part 1
    • run for her 2011 – 5K Run & Friendship Walk – Home – Off soon to run a 5K for Run for Her supporting ovarian cancer research in Los Angeles
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-13 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-13 #tcot #catcot
    • foursquare:: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner

      – Breakfast after 8 miles with Alice Tara, Nancy, Mary and 4 more from Roadrunners (@ Ronnie’s Diner)

    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-12 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-12 #tcot #catcot
    • The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses
    • Day By Day November 11, 2011 – The Mean | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 11, 2011 – The Mean #tcot #catcot
    • The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Daily Extraction: Dr. Tommy Murph’s Costa Rica Extraction Courses #tcot #catcot
    • Dilbert November 9, 2011 – Full Body » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 9, 2011 – Full Body
    • Happy Veterans Day – 2011 » Flap’s California Blog – Happy Veterans Day – 2011
    • President 2012: Is Newt Gingrich the Next Conservative Anti-Romney Candidate? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Is Newt Gingrich the Next Conservative Anti-Romney Candidate? #tcot #catcot
    • Happy Veterans Day – 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Happy Veterans Day – 2011 #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-11 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-11 #tcot #catcot
    • The American Spectator : Charlie Hebdo, Free Speech, and Islam – Unfortunately, the persistence of such sentiments only invites one to state principles that might seem obvious, but never grow unworthy of affirmation. There is no moral equivalence between those exercising their right to free speech and Islamists who wish to impose the standards of traditional Sharia (Islamic law) on society and are prepared to harm physically others and their property to achieve that end.
      More generally, this affair — along with the attack on a Tunisian TV station for broadcasting the film Persepolis, and the  death threats that forced the flight from Pakistan of the judge who convicted the assassin of Salman Taseer, the Punjab governor who opposed the blasphemy law — demonstrates that Islam as a whole still has a long way to go to come towards accepting basic standards of toleration of criticism.
      In short, one hopes that the following principle — well summed up by a prominent Melkite Greek Catholic deacon — will come to be accepted as mainstream in Islam: ‘[O]ne’s response to someone else’s provocative action is entirely one’s own responsibility. If you do something that offends me, I am under no obligation to kill you, or to run to the United Nations to try to get laws passed that will silence you. I am free to ignore you, or laugh at you, or to respond with charity, or any number of reactions.’
    • After Firebombing French Magazine Returns with Gay Muhammad Cover | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – After Firebombing French Magazine Returns with Gay Muhammad Cover #tcot #catcot
    • Facing Eurocollapse – As the world financial crisis deepens, it is unlikely that it can be alleviated without carefully reviewing the infelicitous confluence of mistakes in Europe and the United States that has brought it to its present extreme state. The European Monetary Union, involving 17 countries, was based on a number of generally admirable premises, but also on a couple of false assumptions. All civilized people were grateful at the extension of European cooperation to this new level of intimacy, as ancient foes led by France and Germany reached an ever-closer community of national interest. For German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who did not trust Germany’s political instincts to cause his country to act responsibly when alone and not in the company of allies of less erratic recent history, an ever-closer union was an insurance policy of constructive peer-group thinking. He was sincere in espousing “a European Germany and not a German Europe.”
    • Romney and Gingrich Shine; Perry Doesn’t – No one touched Romney. He was unflappable and knowledgeable. He again showed the right political instinct to want to address the struggles of the middle class, although his tax plan doesn’t do it. His China-bashing will probably play well in the Midwest, although it’s foolhardy on the merits. He consistently got applause. I remember one of the early debates when Romney was flying above the other candidates and Pawlenty — I think — attacked him and he declined to reply, saying “that’s fine.” He said the same thing tonight when Santorum went after him. After all the churning in the race, Romney is in the same basically comfortable place he was in several months ago.
    • Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites – As social media use has become pervasive in the lives of American teens, a new study finds that 69% of the teenagers who use social networking sites say their peers are mostly kind to one another on such sites. Still, 88% of these teens say they have witnessed people being mean and cruel to another person on the sites, and 15% report that they have been the target of mean or cruel behavior on social network sites.
    • Chewing Xylitol Gum Decreases Risk for Ear Infection in Children | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Chewing Xylitol Gum Decreases Risk for Ear Infection in Children
    • Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: November 10, 2011 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: November 10, 2011
    • Effort to repeal new Senate districts advances – Total Buzz : The Orange County Register – Effort to repeal new Senate districts advances –
    • Capitol Alert: Controller John Chiang says California has $1.5 billion cash gap – Controller John Chiang says California has $1.5 billion cash gap
    • Poll Watch: Americans Ability to Afford Food Falls to Near Three Year Low | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Americans Ability to Afford Food Falls to Near Three Year Low #tcot #catcot
    • (500) http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2011/11/do-local-tax-election-results-foreshadow-2012-state-tax-fight/?utm_source=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – Do Local Tax Election Results Foreshadow 2012 State Tax Fight?
    • Police arrest UC Berkeley students, professor over Occupy camp – San Jose Mercury News – Police arrest UC Berkeley students, professor over Occupy camp – San Jose Mercury News
    • Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/09/4040604/dan-walters-new-california-senate.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter) – Dan Walters: New California Senate maps still not settled
    • GOP senators praise Boxer on highway bill – GOP senators praise Boxer on highway bill
    • GOP senators praise Boxer on highway bill– California Sen. Barbara Boxer won rare praise from Republicans on Wednesday for unanimously passing an overhaul of federal highway programs bill out of her committee.Boxer, a liberal Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, worked hand-in-hand with conservative Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe to consolidate 90 federal highway programs into 30, grant states more flexibility in spending highway money and expand a pilot program to leverage taxpayer money with private investment.

      The two-year, $84 billion bill has no earmarks for pet projects and aims to offset all new spending with trims in other areas of the government. The 18-0 vote was a rare moment in the bitterly partisan climate on Capitol Hill and provides a template for infrastructure investment that has been sought by the Obama administration but rebuffed by Republicans.

      The Senate last week defeated President Obama’s proposal for $50 billion in infrastructure spending.

    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The United States to Have Policy Goal to Wipe Out AIDS – The United States to Have Policy Goal to Wipe Out AIDS
    • Poll Watch: Most Republicans See Mitt Romney as the Presidential Nominee | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Most Republicans See Mitt Romney as the Presidential Nominee #tcot #catcot
    • Former Football Players Prone to Late-Life Health Problems? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Former Football Players Prone to Late-Life Health Problems?
    • Occupy Protest Movement to Focus on New Year’s Rose Parade? » Flap’s California Blog – Occupy Protest Movement to Focus on New Year’s Rose Parade?
    • Cain Sinking in Iowa – Cain Sinking in Iowa
    • The Morning Flap: November 10, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 10, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 10, 2011

    These are my links for November 9th through November 10th:

    • Senate Dems preserve FCC’s ‘net neutrality’ rule– Senate Democrats banded together to block a measure seeking to invalidate the Federal Communication Commission’s so-called “net neutrality” rule to regulate Internet service providers.The resolution of disapproval, which was pushed by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Tex., failed in a 46 to 52 vote, with Democrats voting to preserve the rule.

      “Under these mandates, broadband companies would lose control over the traffic and technology flowing through their infrastructure,” Hutchinson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had argued in an op-ed. “Government bureaucrats would tell companies what is and is not a “reasonable” way to operate their systems. These regulatory burdens would discourage Internet service providers from innovating and investing, inject uncertainty into a thriving sector of our economy, and jeopardize the information industry’s vast potential for growth.”

    • Cain Sinking in Iowa – Private polling shared with the Associated Press shows Herman Cain’s support in Iowa “has declined since last month. Internal polls of likely Republican caucus-goers showed Cain’s support consistent with The Des Moines Register’s poll in late October, which showed him narrowly leading in the state with 23 percent. The private polls showed Cain still in double digits in Iowa, but markedly lower.”
    • Will Perry’s Stumble Lead to the End of His Campaign?– Almost immediately after what will probably be remembered as the Bill Buckner moment of primary debates, when Gov. Rick Perry of Texas literally forgot which governmental agencies he would cut and concluded his answer with a sheepish “Oops,” Mr. Perry’s stock on the betting market Intrade dropped in half. Tabbed as having about a 9 percent chance of winning the Republican nomination before the debate, the market revised his odds downward to 4 percent just moments after the gaffe.This seems like a sensible enough reaction. The primary debates are not watched by all that many people, but the big moments are replayed for days afterward by the news networks and on the Web. This was a big moment; the presidential scholar Larry Sabato wrote that it was “the most devastating moment of any modern primary debate.” It will reinforce some core negative perceptions about Mr. Perry: that he is a bad debater, that he is a lightweight, and that he is someone who is not quite ready for prime time. Had another candidate made the same mistake, that candidate might have gotten a mulligan. But Mr. Perry used his mulligans up long ago after stammering answers and poor overall performances in several of his previous debates.

      At the same time, it should be remembered how volatile the Republican primary process has been. This week’s comeback kid — Newt Gingrich — once had a campaign so moribund that many assumed it would end at some point during the summer. Herman Cain’s numbers had slumped in the summer, before he suddenly rocketed toward the front of the pack five or six weeks ago.

    • Why MSNBC Analyst Pat Buchanan Won’t be on MSNBC to Promote his Book– Buchanan is doing the rounds promoting his new book Suicide of a Superpower. He’s been on CNN, with Erin Burnett, and on Fox News, with Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly and he was on FBN last night (anchor David Asman called it “a terrific new book”). But the MSNBC political analyst has not — and will not — be on MSNBC to talk about the book, which is #18 on the New York Times Best Seller list.An MSNBC executive told HuffPo‘s Michael Calderone that there had been a conscious decision not to have Buchanan on air because of the views expressed in the book which is described this way on Amazon.com:

      America was born a Western Christian republic but is being transformed into a multiracial, multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic stew of a nation that has no successful precedent in the history of the world.

      The groups CREDO Action and ColorofChange.org — which took credit for the beginning of the end of Glenn Beck on Fox News — is going one further. Today the groups announced they have delivered 275,000 signatures on a petition demanding the network fire Buchanan for his “long history of bigoted rhetoric.”

    • President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Cain 30% Vs. Romney 24% Vs. Gingrich 19% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Cain 30% Vs. Romney 24% Vs. Gingrich 19% #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012 GOP South Carolina Poll Watch: Romney 22% Vs. Cain 20% Vs. Gingrich 10% Vs. Perry 9% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP South Carolina Poll Watch: Romney 22% Vs. Cain 20% Vs. Gingrich 10% Vs. Perry 9% #tcot #catcot
    • Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News – Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News
    • Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News – Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News
    • Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News – Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News
    • A Vaccine Against Breast and Ovarian Cancer? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – A Vaccine Against Breast and Ovarian Cancer?
    • President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: 51 Per Cent Say Accusations Against Herman Cain Likely Serious and True | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: 51 Per Cent Say Accusations Against Herman Cain Likely Serious and True #tcot #catcot
    • Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate | Fox News – Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate
    • The Morning Flap: November 9, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 9, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 9, 2011

    These are my links for November 8th through November 9th:

    • Court will draw Texas map in boon to Democrats – In a boost to Democrats’ chances of retaking the House next year, federal judges in Texas will draw a map for the state’s 2012 congressional races.

      A Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday declined to sign off on redistricting plan spearheaded by the state Republican Party. The D.C. court ruled that the Republican line-drawers “used an improper standard or methodology to determine which districts afford minority voters the ability to elect their preferred candidates of choice.”

      The decision means the issue is headed for a lengthy court battle, which, in turn, means the map won’t be ready in time for the 2012 election. Because of this, the DC court tasked a panel of federal judges in San Antonio to draw an interim 2012 map — which could lead to significant Democratic gains — by the end of the month.

      “This most likely means three additional Democratic seats in Texas,” said former congressman Martin Frost (D), a victim of the GOP’s last redistricting map. “The GOP overreached one time too often in Texas.”

      Republicans had drafted a map on which they would likely win three of the four new seats the state is gaining in reapportionment — despite already having a 23-to-9 edge in the state’s congressional delegation and much of the state’s growth over the last decade occurring among minority communities.

      Democrats say a court-drawn map could net them an extra two or three seats in Congress, bringing their gains to three or four seats and reducing GOP gains to one or zero seats. Republicans expect the new map to include one new GOP seat and three new Democratic ones.

      Democrats nationally need to win 25 seats to retake the majority.

    • David Gregory: No “Grand Wizard” In GOP To Force Cain Out – On Wednesday’s “Today” show, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” David Gregory says there is no “Grand Wizard” right now in the GOP to “force” Cain out of the primary. Transcript below:

      Ann Curry, NBC News: “He’s not stepping down, continuing to suck the air out of the narrative the Republican party really wants to tell. Does the party now wish he would just go away?”

      David Gregory, NBC News: “Well there is no, you know, Grand Wizard in the party right now who can really force the issue. I’ve talked to Cain’s advisers in Iowa, they think their support is still strong there, that it’s not falling. There may be cracks in the foundation according to pollsters I’m talking to, that his numbers may be starting to shift but right now core support remains there.”

      UPDATE: David Gregory has apologized and tweeted the following: “‘Wizard’ remark this morning was a very poor choice of words. Did not mean to make that connection at all. Was not thinking. I apologize”

    • Ohio Voters Choose To Opt Out Of Health Care Mandate – Voters in Ohio have approved a ballot measure intended to keep government from requiring Ohioans to participate in any health care system.

      The constitutional amendment passed is largely symbolic, coming in response to the 2009 federal health care overhaul, a provision of which mandates that most Americans purchase health care.

      Supporters hope it will prompt a challenge of the overhaul before the U.S. Supreme Court.

      The tea party and Republican groups backing the amendment say the Affordable Care Act was an overreach by the Obama administration and Congress.

      They hope approval of the ballot issue will bar Ohio from instituting a state-mandated health insurance program like that of Massachusetts.

      Opponents argued state law can’t trump federal law and that the amendment’s wording could unintentionally jeopardize state health programs.

    • Cain aide wrongly insists they’ve ‘confirmed’ accuser’s son works for POLITICO – Herman Cain campaign manager Mark Block, in an appearance with Sean Hannity on Fox News just now, insisted that a relative of the second woman to publicly accuse the candidate of sexual harassment in the 1990s works at POLITICO.

      “Her son works at POLITICO,” Block said of Karen Kraushaar, whose name POLITICO printed earlier today after other media outlets made her identity public.
      Continue Reading

      “I’ve been hearing that all day – you’ve confirmed that now?” Hannity asked.

      “We’ve confirmed that he does indeed work at POLITICO and that’s his mother, yes,” said Block.

      Block appeared to be referring to former POLITICO reporter Josh Kraushaar, who left for another outlet, National Journal, in 2010.

      Josh Kraushaar tweeted earlier in the day, apparently after getting questions, that he’s in fact not related to Karen Kraushaar, and simply has the same last name.

    • Herman Cain Accuser filed complaint in next job – A woman who settled a sexual harassment complaint against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain in 1999 complained three years later at her next job about unfair treatment, saying she should be allowed to work from home after a serious car accident and accusing a manager of circulating a sexually charged email, The Associated Press has learned.

      Karen Kraushaar, 55, filed the complaint while working as a spokeswoman at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Justice Department in late 2002 or early 2003, with the assistance of her lawyer, Joel Bennett, who also handled her earlier sexual harassment complaint against Cain in 1999. Three former supervisors familiar with Kraushaar’s complaint, which did not include a claim of sexual harassment, described it for the AP under condition of anonymity because the matter was handled internally by the agency and was not public.

      To settle the complaint at the immigration service, Kraushaar initially demanded thousands of dollars in payment, a reinstatement of leave she used after the accident earlier in 2002, promotion on the federal pay scale and a one-year fellowship to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, according to a former supervisor familiar with the complaint. The promotion itself would have increased her annual salary between $12,000 and $16,000, according to salary tables in 2002 from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

      Kraushaar told the AP she considered her employment complaint “relatively minor” and she later dropped it.

    • Craig Huey to Run for Office in 2012 – AD 66? » Flap’s California Blog – Craig Huey to announce candidacy for California AD-66? #tcot #catcot #teaparty
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: November 9, 2011 – The Morning Drill: November 9, 2011
    • Day By Day November 9, 2011 – Pussies | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 9, 2011 – Pussies #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-09 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-09 #tcot #catcot
    • Banning Soda at School Ineffective In Curbing Consumption? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Banning Soda at School Ineffective In Curbing Consumption?
    • Dilbert November 8, 2011 – The Lie » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 8, 2011 – The Lie
    • The Afternoon and Evening Flap: November 8, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon and Evening Flap: November 8, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Afternoon Flap

    The Afternoon and Evening Flap: November 8, 2011

    These are my links for November 8 in the PM

    • Obama Couldn’t Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax – President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

      In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

      To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52). And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees.

      Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government” (76 CFR 69102). The Federal government mandates that the Christmas tree sellers pay the 15-cents per tree, whether they want to or not. The Federal government directs that the revenue generated by the 15-cent fee goes to the Board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Christmas tree program established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. President, that’s a new 15-cent tax to pay for a Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

      Nobody is saying President Obama doesn’t have authority to impose his new Christmas Tree Tax — his Administration cites the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996. Just because the Obama Administration has the legal power to impose its Christmas Tree Tax doesn’t mean it should do so.

    • Mitt Romney as the Nominee: Conservatism Dies and Barack Obama Wins – Why Romney Will Be The Nominee

      Mitt Romney will be the nominee because the other candidates, right now, are a pretty pathetic lot.

      The base will not forgive Rick Perry his immigration sins. In fact, that has hurt him far more than his debate performances, but his debate performances have hurt him badly. Perry, who came out principled and fiery with a record others could only envy, has left others with the impression that he’s a poor man’s version of the village idiot, which in the SEC we call “Aggies”. Maybe he can turn it around.

      Newt Gingrich will not be the nominee because, despite his daughter’s rebuttals to the horror stories of how Gingrich divorced his first of three wives, Jackie Gingrich told the Washington Post on January 3, 1985, “He walked out in the spring of 1980 and I returned to Georgia. By September, I went into the hospital for my third surgery. The two girls came to see me, and said Daddy is downstairs and could he come up? When he got there, he wanted to discuss the terms of the divorce while I was recovering from the surgery.”

      Gingrich went on to cheat on the second wife with the third. Regardless of the actual facts or even the spin, he won’t win women.

      Herman Cain won’t be the nominee because he can’t win women either. Regardless of what you think of the Politico story, Cain’s handling of the story has been an epic disaster. He’s down at least 10 points with women in Iowa. He’s falling even further and doesn’t even realize it. He’s largely been emboldened by a conservative media that is so used to standing by its men that too few are telling Herman that he is now at the point where he must actually sit and answer questions whether he wants to or not and whether he feels maligned or not and whether I think he should have to or not. If he loses women by as big as he is starting to lose the women, he cannot win.

      So Mitt Romney will be the nominee. Conservatives will not rally together with the least of the bad alternatives and Romney, like John McCain before him, will run up the middle to the nomination. But, just like McCain, Romney will not beat Barack Obama.

    • Issue 2 falls, Ohio collective bargaining law repealed – Ohioans voted Tuesday night to repeal a Republican-backed law that restricted collective bargaining for public workers, a victory for Democrats and labor organizers both nationally and in the state.

      AP has declared Issue 2 (as the law was called on the ballot) dead. As of this writing, with about a quarter of precincts in, repeal led by a whopping 63 to 37 percent margin.

      Gov. John Kasich (R) took office in January vowing to curb unions’ power. But he appears to have overstepped his hand in curtailing the rights of 350,000 public workers — including firefighters and police officers — to negotiate over benefits, equipment and other issues.

      The backlash against the law began as soon as Kasich signed it, in March. By August, when the governor asked for a compromise with unions, it was too late.

      As in other states, the law became a battleground for an ongoing fight between labor and conservative groups over collective bargaining. In Wisconsin, after Gov. Scott Walker (R) eliminated collective bargaining for many public employees, Democrats and labor failed to take back the state Senate in recall elections. Now, unions have their first bonafide win.

      By including firefighters and police officers in the legislation, Republicans in Ohio set themselves up for a far more difficult fight. Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law made exceptions for both.

    • Herman Cain: Harassment charge is ‘baseless, bogus and false’ – Republican Herman Cain directly confronted allegations on Tuesday that he had sexually harassed women, saying his latest accuser had lied and promising to continue his quest for the presidency.

      Addressing the controversy before a throng of reporters in suburban Phoenix, Cain said he had no recollection of ever meeting Sharon Bialek, the woman who went public Monday and accused him of groping her in a car after the two dined together in Washington 14 years ago. Cain called her account “baseless, bogus and false” and said Bialek and three other women who have accused him of sexual harassment are part of a coordinated effort to attack his character and derail his campaign.

      “We are not going to allow Washington or politics to deny me the opportunity to represent this great nation,” Cain said, adding that he would be willing to take a lie-detector test. “As far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdraw from this presidential primary race — ain’t gonna happen.”

      The controversy over the charges escalated just minutes before Cain’s news conference, when one of the previously anonymous women accusing him of inappropriate behavior decided to reveal her name after it appeared on news sites. She urged the other accusers to hold a news conference with her.

      Karen Kraushaar, 55, now a communications official for the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, filed a claim of sexual harassment against Cain when he headed the National Restaurant Association and she was an employee there in the 1990s. She received a payment when she left the organization, but Cain, who disputed the allegations at the time, was not a party to the agreement.

      “The reason sexual harassment is so difficult to prove is that workplace sexual predators try to make sure the victim is alone when the harassment takes place,” she wrote in an e-mail after Cain’s news conference.

    • Herman Cain sex harassment questions not barred at Michigan debate tomorrow night – When Herman Cain debated Newt Gingrich solo in Texas over the weekend, questions about the sex harassment allegations from his NRA tenure were off-limits.

      Continue Reading
      But a CNBC spokesman tells me that the cable network has reserved the right to ask such questions at tomorrow’s debate in Michigan, which is supposed to be focused on the economy.

      “The debate will focus on jobs, taxes, the deficit and the health of our national economy, but there are no restrictions on questions,” spokesman Brian Steel wrote me in an email. “As for Herman Cain, he is scheduled to attend.”

      Asked whether the Cain campaign had requested any question restrictions, Steel said all conversations with the various campaigns are off the record and declined to say one way or the other.

    • DeMint endorses Stenberg, sponsors fund-raising drive – Republican Senate candidate Don Stenberg on Tuesday got the endorsement he wanted.
      South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, sometimes described as a kingmaker for candidates seeking conservative support, said Stenberg is “a lifelong conservative with the principles, integrity and courage needed to stand up to the big spenders in both political parties in Washington.”
      Stenberg is “not only the strongest conservative in the race, but we also believe he’s the most electable,” DeMint said in a statement issued through his Senate Conservatives Fund website.
      The five-candidate 2012 GOP Senate field includes Attorney General Jon Bruning, state Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine, Pat Flynn of Schuyler and Spencer Zimmerman of Omaha.
      Stenberg, Nebraska’s state treasurer, is a candidate with strong name recognition numbers, but scarce financial support. 
      A Senate candidate for the fourth time — he was the Republican nominee in 2000 — Stenberg entered October with $18,000 in campaign cash on hand compared to $1.6 million available to Bruning, the presumed Republican frontrunner.
    • Ron Paul and the GOP’s third-party nightmare scenario – Ron Paul is a powerful man.

      The Texas Republican Congressman says he has no intention of launching an independent run for president if he loses the GOP presidential primary next year. But, if he happens to change his mind, polling suggests he could have a major impact on the identity of the next president.

      A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that an independent bid from Paul would garner 18 percent of the national vote. Perhaps more important, it would swing the popular vote toward President Obama by a large margin — 44 percent to 32 percent in a hypothetical three-way matchup that also includes former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

      In a head-to-head race with Romney, Obama leads by a far more narrow 49 percent to 43 percent.

      “Dr. Paul has strong crossover appeal, and could do very well as an independent,” Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton told The Fix. “He has, however, decided to remain in the GOP, as he has for over 20 years in Congress, and use that appeal to beat President Obama as the Republican nominee.”

      But, what if Paul doesn’t wind up as the GOP nominee? It’s not hard to see how a Paul third-party candidacy could create a nightmare scenario — albeit an unlikely one — for Republicans.

      As we’ve discussed previously on this blog, a third-party bid is a very difficult undertaking, and there are relatively few politicians — we’re thinking Paul, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and self-promoter Donald Trump here — who could actually pull it off. A politician essentially needs vast personal wealth, name recognition or an extremely devoted following — and ideally all three. And, even then, they have precious little chance of winning.

    • Karen Kraushaar, second Cain accuser wants ‘joint press conference’ – A second woman — Karen Kraushaar, a communications official at the Treasury Department – has come forward to identify herself as a woman who says she was sexually harassed by Herman Cain.

      Kraushaar was one of the two women originally mentioned in a POLITICO story that appeared Oct. 30. Kraushaar and another employee of the National Restaurant Association had complained about Cain’s behavior to colleagues and senior officials at the NRA, and both women left the trade group with a cash settlement. Kraushaar received about $45,000.

      POLITICO initially had shielded Kraushaar’s identity to protect her privacy, but on Tuesday, Kraushaar agreed that her identity could be revealed.

      Kraushaar, 55, said in an interview with POLITICO that she would like to band together with the other three women accusing Cain of harassment.

      “That would be my preference, that we all go together in a joint press conference,” she said, noting that she’s turned down interview requests from a number of TV news shows.

      Kraushaar said she had not talked to the other women about such an idea and that such a plan would be executed by their attorneys.

      Now the spokesperson for IRS’s Inspector General, Kraushaar has worked as a career federal government official for different agencies in Washington. A Brown graduate, Kraushaar received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and began her career as a print journalist.

      On the details of Cain’s allegedly inappropriate behavior with the two women, POLITICO had a half-dozen sources shedding light on different aspects of the complaints.

    • Poll: Cain favorability slips with Republicans as allegations mount – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – Poll: Cain favorability slips with Republicans as allegations mount
    • Poll: Cain favorability slips with Republicans as allegations mount – Forty percent of Republicans have a less favorable view of Herman Cain after watching the press conference in which Sheila Bialek accused the GOP presidential candidate of groping her in a car, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

      39 percent of Republicans polled said they believe the allegations against the candidate are true. On Tuesday Cain accused Bialeck of lying, and said he doesn’t “remember knowing her.”

      While recent polls show that Cain continues to match up well against his GOP rivals, a Gallup poll released on Tuesday showed Cain’s “positive intensity score” has plummeted in the week’s since the sexual harassment allegations were first made public.

      Bialek is the fourth woman to accuse Cain of sexual harassment but the first to do so publicly. Cain has strongly denied the accusations, and his campaign responded by attacking Bialeck’s credibility on Tuesday, saying she has a “long and troubled” history.

    • Herman Cain holds news conference on sexual harassment accusations (Live video, tweets) – Election 2012 – The Washington Post – RT @washingtonpost: Herman Cain now: “I tried to remember if I recognized her. And I didn’t.” #video
    • Need To Know Videos – NationalJournal.com – RT @nationaljournal: Cain: The charges, and accusations, I absolutely reject. They simply didn’t happen.
    • (403) http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/11/08/nbc-to-air-the-biggest-loser-where-are-they-now-special-on-wed – (403) …
    • President 2012: Let’s Get this Done | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Let’s Get this Done #tcot #catcot
    • (403) http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/11/08/nbc-to-air-the-biggest-loser-where-are-they-now-special-on-wednesday-november-23/110032/?&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – NBC to Air ‘The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now” Special on Wednesday, November 23
    • NBC to Air ‘The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now” Special on Wednesday, November 23 – November 8, 2011 – It’s an inspiring Thanksgiving special unlike any before on “The Biggest Loser,” when the holiday treat “The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?” premieres on Wednesday, November 23 (9-11 p.m. ET). Viewers can catch up with some of their favorite contestants from past seasons of the series, but they’ll also be treated for the first time ever to hilarious bloopers featuring the trainers, host Alison Sweeney and the contestants.

      Alison Sweeney hosts the special, filmed before a live audience, and trainers Bob Harper, Anna Kournikova and Dolvett Quince will all be on hand to share their thoughts about the current season of the show. Cameras will also follow trainer Bob Harper through “a day in the life.” And a blooper reel adds to the fun, giving viewers a backstage pass to some of the funniest behind-the-scenes moments with the host, trainers and season 12 contestants.

      One contestant makes a big surprise announcement, and another shares her emotional story of competing in one of the most difficult competitions in the world. And “The Biggest Loser” family comes together to help one of their own – season nine contestant Sam Poueu – and give an update on his condition following his terrible accident. Plus, cooking expert Aida Mollenkamp will prepare a healthy Thanksgiving feast for the trainers and past season contestants, and share great cooking tips as well.

      Fan favorites like Abby Rike (season eight), Tara Costa (season seven), O’Neal Hampton (season nine) and season five winner Ali Vincent will reveal what they are up to now, along with season eight champ Danny Cahill and season 11 winner Olivia Ward. Viewers can also catch up with Hannah Curlee (season 11) and Jesse Atkins (season 10) as well as other popular players like season seven’s Sione Fa and Jerry and Estella Hayes, who give their updates via personal videos.

      I attended the taping!

    • Cain surrogate warns “elites in conservative media” – Niger Innis, the national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality and a “volunteer adviser” for Herman Cain’s campaign, goes on Fox News to attack a group that hasn’t been terribly sympathetic to Cain’s woes — the “elites in the conservative media.”

      “I would caution Karl [Rove], I would caution members of the conservative elite that sexual harassment today is being used as a powerful, political weapon the same way that the race card today is used as a powerful, political weapon.

      And I would caution these elites in the conservative media, as well as in the liberal media: do you really think it’s just going to end — this political tool — with Herman Cain? I caution them to be careful about what they say.”

      A little risky. Cain needs all the friends he can get right now, and this won’t make an already leery portion of the media think more hospitably of him.

      By the way, here’s some more small evidence of the Cain campaign’s notoriously inept handling of all this.

      At the beginning of the interview, Innis takes care to say he’s not speaking for the Cain campaign, but Fox News host Jon Scott later objected, saying that Fox News was told he was speaking for the campaign. By the end of the chat, it was unclear whom Innis was actually speaking for.

    • Herman Cain accuser has history of financial troubles, legal squabbles – The emerging portrait of Herman Cain’s most recent accuser shows a suburban homemaker with a history of financial and legal troubles, but one who supporters say has the guts to do the right thing.

      Sharon Bialek, 50, is the fourth woman — and the first publicly — to accuse the Republican presidential hopeful of sexual harassment. In a dramatic news conference Monday in New York, Bialek, a former employee of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, said she had sought Cain’s help in finding a new job in July 1997 shortly after the organization had fired her.

      Instead, Bialek said, Cain, who was then head of the restaurant association, reached under her skirt while the two were seated in a parked car and attempted to move her head toward his crotch. Cain’s campaign quickly issued a denial, calling her allegations “completely false.”

      Bialek said she shared her allegations with her then-boyfriend and another male friend shortly after her meeting with Cain. However, the man she is now engaged to said she did not tell him about her history with the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO until Friday night, when she told him she was going to New York for the news conference.

      Her fiance, Mark Harwood, said he was in “a bit of shock” but admired her decision to come forward.

      “It’s not an anti-political thing. It’s not a money thing,” said Harwood, who shares a large, five-bedroom home with Bialek in north suburban Mundelein. “She’s just trying to do the right thing, and that takes guts.”

    • Cain attacks accuser, cites woman’s ‘long and troubled history’ – Herman Cain’s campaign on Tuesday challenged the credibility of Sharon Bialek, who has publicly accused the GOP presidential candidate of making an unwanted sexual advance.

      The campaign released a memo to the press detailing what it characterized as Bialek’s “long and troubled” history, including a 1999 paternity dispute, to argue the public should trust Cain over his latest accuser.

      “In stark contrast to Mr. Cain’s four decades spent climbing the corporate ladder rising to the level of CEO at multiple successful business enterprises, Ms. Bialek has taken a far different path,” the Cain release said.

      “The fact is that Ms. Bialek has had a long and troubled history, from the courts to personal finances – which may help explain why she has come forward 14 years after an alleged incident with Mr. Cain, powered by celebrity attorney and long term Democrat donor Gloria Allred.”

      The Cain campaign goes after Bialek’s employment history and legal record in making its case against her. It lists six civil lawsuits against Bialek, and suggests she has had a troubled worklife.

      “Ms. Bialek has worked for nine employers over the last seventeen years,” the campaign writes.

      Bialek on Monday held a New York press conference to highlight an incident in 1997 in which she said Cain sexually harassed and attempted to grope her. Cain has denied the charges.

      At the time, Cain headed the National Restaurant Association, where Bialek worked for a short time in 1996 and 1997.

      Bialek said she approached Cain for help in finding another job after she left the National Restaurant Association.

      With Allred at her side, Bialek said Cain, after a dinner in Washington, had put his hand under her skirt and reached for her genitals. She also said Cain had taken her head and moved it toward his crotch.

      When Bialek asked Cain to top, she said Cain said, “You want a job, right?”

    • Herman Cain campaign launches attack on accuser Sharon Bialek – Alexander Burns – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: From @aburnspolitico: The Cain camp launches a lengthy attack via email on Sharon Bialek —
    • The Morning Flap: November 8, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 8, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: November 8, 2011

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

    • Cain Accuser: ‘SHE IS VERY RELIABLE’ – Herman Cain claims sexual harassment accusations threatening to derail his presidential campaign are a smear campaign. But friends and family of one accuser say she is a principled and dedicated professional who was only trying to right a wrong no woman should suffer in the workplace.

      Karen Kraushaar, a 55-year-old former journalist and seasoned government spokeswoman who served on the front lines of the Elian Gonzalez custody battle, is a competitive equestrian and lover of golden retrievers. She has been married for more than two decades.

      “She wouldn’t be the type to make false allegations,” brother-in-law Ned Kraushaar, a Georgia software consultant, told The Daily. “This happened [more than] 10 years ago. It’s not like she wanted to try and hurt the Republican Party.”

      Karen Kraushaar currently serves as a communications director at the Inspector General’s Office of the Treasury Department, a position she has held since last year. She did not return phone messages left by The Daily.

      She is “an extraordinarily good person,” said Jennie Williams, a friend and Atlanta equestrian. “She is very reliable and has lots of integrity. I don’t know what happened. I don’t want to know. Enough is enough. She is quality.”

      A former colleague at the National Restaurant Association who asked not to be identified said of Kraushaar, “The woman is a consummate professional. What I saw was an extremely talented woman. A professional, knowledgeable woman and nothing more.”On Oct. 30, Politico first reported that two women had accused Cain, who leads many polls in the Republican presidential race, of inappropriate comments and sexual advances in the 1990s. A fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, came forward yesterday, flanked by high-profile attorney Gloria Allred.

      Kraushaar, who lives in Maryland, has no desire to speak publicly about the complaint she filed against Cain, letting her superiors know “about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the CEO,” her attorney, Joel Bennett, said recently.

    • Mitt Romney Winning Fundraising Contest For Bush, McCain Bundlers – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the crucial race for big-money fundraisers in the Republican presidential primary. Since April, he has received contributions from 204 donors who previously bundled millions of dollars for the campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain.

      Romney is trouncing the rest of the field in winning the support of these influential party insiders. He has raised $798,987 in campaign contributions from the 204 bundlers and their families. His closest competitor in this race is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has raised $231,400 from 59 bundlers and their families.

      “People in the Republican Party who are good fundraisers, good bundlers, want someone who can win and someone they can trust,” said Lawrence Finder, a Houston-based partner at the law firm Haynes and Boone who raised more than $500,000 for the McCain campaign and now backs Romney. “I think that’s why they’re gravitating towards Romney.”

      Bundlers are donors who raise money for campaigns by tapping their own networks of friends, relations and co-workers. Campaigns routinely offer bundlers incentives for their fundraising, including special access to the campaign and involvement in strategy. But the real prize comes if the candidate wins the White House. Traditionally, a number of plum positions, including ambassadorships, go to supporters who helped raise the most money.

      Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said it’s no surprise that Romney leads the Republican field in this crucial contest.

      “This is smart money,” Sabato explained. “These are people who know what they’re doing. They’ve assessed the candidates well. Many of them are in the influence business, and they don’t like backing losers. It hurts their business.”

      Bundlers giving to Romney include hotel magnate John Marriott, senior-community owner H. Gary Morse, lobbyist Wayne Berman and Florida lobbyist Brian Ballard, who also serves as Romney’s Florida finance co-chair.

    • NJ Gov. Christie heads to NH to campaign for Mitt Romney – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will make his first surrogate campaign appearance for presidential candidate Mitt Romney in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

      The Granite Status has learned that Christie will make two public stops in the Granite State before heading to Boston for a debate-watching party at Romney’s national headquarters.

      We’ve also learned that Romney has picked up the endorsement of prominent Nashua businessman and former state Republican Party Chairman John Stabile, who will host Christie at a house party.

      A week after announcing that he would not be a candidate for President, Christie endorsed Romney on Oct. 11 at Dartmouth College prior to a presidential candidates’ debate.

      Wednesday’s visit will be the first time Christie will go on the road for Romney since the announcement. Romney’s campaign emphasized that while Christie will campaign across the country for Romney, his first stop on Romney’s behalf will be in New Hampshire.

      Christie will visit Romney’s Manchester campaign headquarters at 361 Elm St., at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. He will then head to Stabile’s home in Nashua for a house party that evening.

      Christie will then go to Boston to watch the Michigan debate with the winner of a Romney campaign contest. He is the “special guest” the campaign advertised in soliciting small donations.

      Stabile, meanwhile, becomes the fifth former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party to back Romney, joining John H. and Nancy Sununu, Donna Sytek, and Jerry Carmen.

    • Former President Bill Clinton headed to Las Vegas to campaign for Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley – Former President Bill Clinton is bringing his political star power to Las Vegas to campaign for Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.

      Clinton is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Berkley on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas.

      Berkley is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Dean Heller in next year’s U.S. Senate race. The contest is considered one of the most important in the nation because it could determine whether Democrats keep control of the Senate.

      Clinton is no stranger to Las Vegas. He campaigned here last year for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid lost to Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.

      Berkley is known as a fierce fundraiser. She raised $1.2 million in the last fundraising quarter, compared to Heller’s $675,000 campaign haul.

    • 39% Think Cain Allegations True, 24% False – Americans who have heard about the sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, on balance, think they are true rather than false. At the same time, a plurality thinks that recent coverage of Cain has been fair.

      Three-quarters of the public say they have heard a lot (51%) or a little (24%) about accusations that Cain harassed several women during his tenure in the late 1990s as president of the National Restaurant Association.

      Of those who had heard about the allegations, about four-in-ten (39%) say that, from what they have read and heard, they think the allegations are true. Roughly a quarter (24%) say they think the claims are false, according to the latest weekly survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Nov. 3-6 among 1,005 adults. Another 36% say they do not know (31%) or refuse to answer (5%). The survey was completed before a Chicago woman went public with a new accusation against Cain on Monday.

    • Video: Carly Fiorina Speaks at Americans United for Life 40th Anniversary Gala | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: Carly Fiorina Speaks at Americans United for Life 40th Anniversary Gala #tcot #catcot
    • Day By Day November 8, 2011 – Tech Support | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 8, 2011 – Tech Support #tcot #catcot
    • Gingrich Gains 21 Points on Obama among Independents | The Weekly Standard – Gingrich Gains 21 Points on Obama among Independents |
    • Gingrich Gains 21 Points on Obama among Independents | – Three weeks ago, Rasmussen’s poll of likely voters showed Speaker Newt Gingrich trailing President Barack Obama by a whopping 27 percentage points (51 to 24 percent) among independent voters. Now, Rasmussen shows, Obama’s lead over Gingrich has shrunk to just 6 points (41 to 35 percent) among independents. Obama also leads Gingrich by 6 points (44 to 38 percent) among all likely voters.
    • Cain Visits Jimmy Kimmel; Will Address 4th Accuser in Presser Tuesday – In the midst of a barrage sexual harassment allegations, including a fourth accuser speaking out, Herman Cain made an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC.
      Kimmel devoted much of his opening monologue Monday to the allegations made by Sharon Bialek, who is the latest woman to accuse Cain of sexual harassment during his tenure at the National Restaurant Association, and the first woman to come forward publicly in a press conference.
      “Well all things considered, I’m still alive. It got off to somewhat of a rough start. We had a little surprise show up on TV,” Cain said.
    • Report: Cain sought dinner date with fifth woman – A former USAID worker claims Herman Cain asked her to set up dinner with a woman who attended a speech he gave in 2002, the Washington Examiner is reporting tonight.

      The worker — 40-year-old Donna Donella, of Arlington, Va. — told the paper that the moment came after Cain gave a paid speech in Egypt that year. A woman in the crowd posed a query to Cain during the speech, the Examiner said.

      Continue Reading
      Donella told them: “And after the seminar was over, Cain came over to me and a colleague and said, ‘Could you put me in touch with that lovely young lady who asked the question, so I can give her a more thorough answer over dinner?’”

      She was “suspicious of Cain’s motives and delined to set up the date,” the Examiner reporter wrote.

      That prompted Cain to reply, “Then you and I can have dinner.” Instead, some of Donella’s co-workers suggested a group outing.

      “I couldn’t swear that he had some untoward intentions, but we all thought his tone was suspect and we didn’t feel comfortable putting him in touch with that woman,” Donella, whom the Examiner identified as an independent who voted for President Barack Obama in the last election, was quoted as saying.

      She said she didn’t witness any “inappropriate sexual behavior” at the group dinner. But she claimed he asked the waiter for two $400 bottles of wine, and then stiffed the rest of the group when it came time to pay.

    • Fifth woman raises questions about Cain’s behavior | – A former employee of the United States Agency for International Development says Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain asked her to help arrange a dinner date for him with a female audience member following a speech he delivered nine years ago.

      Donna Donella, 40, of Arlington, said the USAID paid Cain to deliver a speech to businessmen and women in Egypt in 2002, during which an Egyptian businesswoman in her 30s asked Cain a question.

      “And after the seminar was over,” Donella told The Washington Examiner, “Cain came over to me and a colleague and said, ‘Could you put me in touch with that lovely young lady who asked the question, so I can give her a more thorough answer over dinner?'”

      Donella, who no longer works for USAID, said they were suspicious of Cain’s motives and declined to set up the date. Cain responded, “Then you and I can have dinner.” That’s when two female colleagues intervened and suggested they all go to dinner together, Donella said.

      Cain exhibited no inappropriate sexual behavior during the dinner, though he did order two $400 bottles of wine and stuck the women with the bill, she said.

      The next time the women heard from Cain was Christmas, when he sent them his gospel CD

    • (404) http://t.co/nky9qAVH%E2%80%9D – > Indeed congrats Mindy RT @KevinMaddenDC Congrats to @mindyfinn …
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-08 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-08 #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012: Congressional Supercommittees – Deal or No Deal? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Congressional Supercommittees – Deal or No Deal? #tcot #catcot
    • Cain emails his list: ‘Media obsessed’ with harassment story – Maggie Haberman – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: Herman Cain emails his list, says the media is “obsessed” with the harassment story:
    • Intrade – Markets – More Intrade: Romney 70% chance he wins GOP Presidential nomination; Perry 10%, Newt 8% #tcot
    • Intrade – Herman Cain to be Republican Presidential Nominee in 2012 is 3.0% probable – FWIW: Intrade has Herman Cain at 3% chance of winning GOP Presidential nomination down almost 55% #tcot
    • CA-Sen: Will Rep. Devin Nunes Run Against Senator Dianne Feinstein? » Flap’s California Blog – CA-Sen: Will Rep. Devin Nunes Run Against Senator Dianne Feinstein?
    • Federal Judge Blocks Graphic Ads on Cigarette Packages | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Federal Judge Blocks Graphic Ads on Cigarette Packages
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Are Vintage Football Helmets as Protective as Modern Helmets? – Are Vintage Football Helmets as Protective as Modern Helmets?
    • Accuser Details Lewd Behavior by Cain – NYTimes.com – Accuser Details Lewd Behavior by Cain – Attorney Says Corroborates Claim
    • The Afternoon Flap: November 7, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: November 7, 2011 #tcot #catcot