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The Morning Flap: May 9, 2012
The Morning Flap: These are my links for May 7th through May 9th:
- Wave of violence in Germany over party’s use of anti-Muslim cartoons– GERMANY is beginning to regret its decision to allow a far-right political party to display anti-Muslim cartoons near mosques as part of an electioneering campaign.Spikes in violence at recent gatherings – including a major riot on Saturday that left two police officers seriously injured with stab wounds – have triggered fears of more bloodshed.Courts in Germany took the view that cartoon images of the Prophet Mohammed and Allah – both outlawed under Islam – were acceptable in a country where freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitution. But with resistance growing to the tactics of the radical Pro NRW party, Germany is looking to defuse tensions.More than 100 people were arrested at the protest in Bonn on Saturday where the police officers were stabbed in the legs; a further 27 officers were injured. One man has been charged with trying to incite the deaths of three policemen among the crowd of 600 Salafist Muslim demonstrators outside the King Fahd Academy in Bonn.The far-right Pro NRW party has said it intends to send activists to 25 mosques in the run-up to the state election in North Rhine-Westphalia on 13 May, staging protests in Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen, Wuppertal and Solingen.
- Roots of Lugar’s Defeat Began Back Home – The tea party, an unsteady movement that was beginning to resemble a wayward ship in 2012, found its north star in Indiana on Tuesday night.
State Treasurer Richard Mourdock defeated six-term Sen. Richard Lugar in the Republican primary, a victory owing to the incumbent’s inept campaign, the outside groups that lashed him on the air, and a story about his out-of-state residency that would not go away. But well before those issues got a foothold, a grassroots-driven, local movement to unseat Lugar was well under way.
Sixteen months ago, a collection of tea party organizers met in the city of Tipton. Their goal was to address flaws in the movement that were exposed in 2010, when infighting and competing agendas largely driven by national groups and consultants hindered its ability to make lasting gains. What resulted was “Hoosiers for a Conservative Senate,” a network of 60 tea party groups dedicated to retiring Lugar.
“We didn’t have the unity [in 2010]. Once we built the foundation of unity, we went out and educated people about Lugar’s voting record,” said Monica Boyer, one of the group’s cofounders.
The group endorsed Mourdock after a September straw poll showed that he was the preferred choice of conservative activists. National groups like the Tea Party Express that in 2010 were responsible for the rise of Christine O’Donnell in Delaware and Joe Miller in Alaska had yet to enter fray in a major way. The national group FreedomWorks had met with Boyer’s organization, but it didn’t jump in with full force until Mourdock emerged as the consensus candidate. - Elizabeth Warren Ancestor Rounded Up Cherokees For Trail of Tears –
- Will gay marriage haunt Obama in November?– Gay marriage is in the news — because Vice President Joe Biden put it there. He let the genie out of the bottle and got ahead of his boss on an issue the president has been trying to straddle for the last year and a half.President Obama’s coalition — minority voters and young voters — have very different views about gay marriage, evidenced in 2008 in California, when young voters came out to oppose an amendment that would ban gay marriage, while African Americans supported it.And then there’s the money, according to the Washington Post, one in six bundlers — the people who raise the big bucks for the Obama campaign — is gay. They are still raising money for a man who continues to twist himself into a pretzel over gay marriage, and whose White House still can’t figure out how to message it. Why? Because they believe wholeheartedly that he actually supports gay marriage, and if re-elected he will come out in full support of it and flip his position.
- Christie won’t say whether he’ll seek re-election –
- Why Dick Lugar lost –
- Lugar unloads on ‘unrelenting’ partisanship –
- Carville: Wake up Democrats; you could lose –
- Obama ‘disappointed’ by North Carolina same-sex marriage ban– President Obama’s campaign said he was “disappointed” that North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state.”The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples,” Obama North Carolina campaign spokesman Cameron French said, in a Tuesday statement on the vote over Amendment 1.
- Lugar loss has lessons for Republicans, Democrats –
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day May 7 & 8, 2012 – Base Voters – Day By Day May 7 & 8, 2012 – Base Voters
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-08 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-08
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day May 6, 2012 – Phat Future – Day By Day May 6, 2012 – Phat Future
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama and Romney in a Dead Heat – President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama and Romney in a Dead Heat
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll Watch: Race Close in 12 Swing States – President 2012 Poll Watch: Race Close in 12 Swing States
- Capitol Alert: Tobacco firms chip in another $15 million against Prop 29 – RT @CapitolAlert: Tobacco firms chip in another $15 million against Prop 29
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: May 7, 2012 – The Morning Flap: May 7, 2012
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The Morning Flap: May 1, 2012
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker raises $13 Million since January
These are my links for April 30th through May 1st:
- Ex-CIA counterterror chief says Pelosi ‘reinventing the truth’ about waterboarding – In an explosive memoir released today, former CIA counterterrorism chief Jose Rodriguez provides new evidence that Rep. Nancy Pelosi lied when she declared she had not been briefed about the use of waterboarding.
Recall that in a Capitol Hill news conference three years ago, Pelosi (D-Calif.) vehemently denied being told about the use of waterboarding at a CIA briefing in September 2002. “We were not — I repeat — were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used,” Pelosi said. She later changed her story, telling reporters, “We were told explicitly that waterboarding was not being used.” She claimed she learned about the use of waterboarding the following year, only after other lawmakers were told by the CIA. “I wasn’t briefed, I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it,” she said.
- Elizabeth Warren’s embattled campaign: Cherokee tie found 5 generations ago – Desperately scrambling to validate Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage amid questions about whether she used her minority status to further her career, the Harvard Law professor’s campaign last night finally came up with what they claim is a Cherokee connection — her great-great-great-grandmother.
“She would be 1⁄32nd of Elizabeth Warren’s total ancestry,” noted genealogist Christopher Child said, referring to the candidate’s great-great-great-grandmother, O.C. Sarah Smith, who is listed on an Oklahoma marriage certificate as Cherokee. Smith is an ancestor on Warren’s mother’s side, Child said.
The missing link comes after Warren’s embattled campaign faced sharp questions about her Native American background in the wake of Herald stories that showed both Harvard Law School and Warren herself had touted her tribal lineage and claimed she was a member of a minority for years.
- Norman Ornstein to the Press Corps: Stop Covering the GOP Fairly to Stop Their Success – Norman Ornstein is the in house pet liberal at the American Enterprise Institute who they let out of his cage once in a while to lament the free market, conservatives, and the like. I’m not sure why groups like the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute ever allow their supposed scholars to team up with the Brookings Institute, but whenever they do it results in intellectual underwear stains for both organizations.
In today’s quasi-bipartisan inane ramblings, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute want the Washington Press Corps to know the GOP is extremist, destroying the country, and they should all stop paying attention to the GOP or treating them with balance.
Nothing says marginal extremism like holding the US House, most statehouses, most governorships, and a plurality of national party ID.
- Elizabeth Warren has lost her standing as chief female savior – Oh Liz, Liz, my heart is broken.
We on the Estrogen Express thought we’d finally found our Golden Girl.
And now?
This could be your Seamus moment.
This could be the beginning of your end — like when Rim Tim Tim Murray rope-a-doped about releasing his cellphone calls.
I just can’t shake the ridiculous image of you, Liz — a blue-eyed blonde almost as pasty white as me — letting yourself be described as a minority professor, a Native American, for years.
You’ve played the Indian card. You’ve grabbed for minority cred without enduring the minority grief. It’s poached diversity. It’s glommed onto, what, five generations removed, assuming there were some facts way, way back when, as your campaign aides claimed last night.
How long before wise guys in feathered headdresses start dancing around parking lots at your events? Somebody told me yesterday your campaign needs to lie low and “circle the wagons.” Whoops. That same someone quickly realized it was the pioneers who circled the wagons when your Cherokee ancestors were blazing across the prairie on the warpath.
Here’s the problem for you, Liz: We’re not talking some elaborate, arcane, confusing financial irregularity here that nobody can understand. Everybody gets this. It’s letting everyone think you’re something that you’re not. It’s letting stand the idea that you’re part of an aggrieved class of people. It’s a sin of omission, which is not as bad as a sin of commission — like, you know, the typical political ploy of pumping up resumes with fake claims of combat heroism and purple hearts. But it’s a huge problem nonetheless.
- IN-Sen: Indiana – Is it already over? – The PAC that was supporting Richard Lugar, the American Action Network, has pulled its ads. They officially come down today. “We’ve decied to let this race play out,” Dan Conston, spokesman for the group, confirms. The group spent about two-thirds of the $600,000 it booked. Republican thinking is that they are coming to grips with the idea that state Treasurer Richard Mourdock is the very likely nominee, and the party now doesn’t want to damage him. Strategists say Lugar didn’t started campaigning in earnest until too late and waited too long to define Mourdock. They didn’t know what to do with him.
- Walker raises $13 million since January – Gov. Scott Walker raised an unprecedented $13.2 million over three months to fight off the recall bid against him, outdistancing his Democratic challengers and driving home the challenge they will have in beating the Republican incumbent.
Crisscrossing the country on fundraising trips, Walker has raised more than $25 million since January 2011 and has $4.9 million in cash on hand – numbers unlike any that have been seen for a political candidate in Wisconsin. Two-thirds of Walker’s money came from out of state.
His stores of cash dwarf what his Democratic rivals have raised. But a report filed Monday showed an independent group supporting Democrat Kathleen Falk received $4.5 million, nearly all of it from unions and about a third of it from out of state.
Walker’s fundraising is on par with that of second-tier presidential candidates. For instance, Rick Santorum raised $18.5 million between Jan. 1 and March 31, and Newt Gingrich raised a little less than $10 million during that period.
Walker has been able to raise so much because of the national appeal he developed with conservatives after his high-profile fight with labor unions and a quirk in Wisconsin law that allows unlimited fundraising while recalls are pending.
Conservative billionaire Diane Hendricks gave Walker $500,000. Hendricks co-founded Beloit-based ABC Supply, a roofing wholesaler and siding distributor, with her husband, Ken, who died in a 2007 fall.
Her donation was the single largest ever to a gubernatorial candidate in the state and tied the $500,000 given to Walker over recent months by Bob Perry, owner of Houston-based Perry Homes and a chief backer of the Swift Boat Veterans ads against Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 race for president.
- Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012 – The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012 – Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 1, 2012
- Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
- McCain on Bin Laden raid: ‘The thing about heroes, they don’t brag’ – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) continued to hammer the Obama re-election team over its use of the death of Osama bin Laden in a campaign commercial, echoing Mitt Romney’s statement that any president – including Jimmy Carter – would have made the same call.
“I say any president, Jimmy Carter, anybody, any president would have, obviously, under those circumstances, done the same thing. And to now take credit for something that any president would do is indicative of take over campaign we’re under — we’re — we’re seeing…So all I can say is that this is going to be a very rough campaign,” McCain told Fox News in an interview set to air Monday night. “And I’ve had the great honor of serving in the company of heroes. And, you know the thing about heroes, they don’t brag.”
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day May 1, 2012 – DrEvil – Day By Day May 1, 2012 – DrEvil
- Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News
- British lawmakers: Rupert Murdoch ‘not a fit person’ to lead – Darius Dixon – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is “not a fit person” to run News Corp., British lawmakers say:
- The Tea Party’s Moment – The Tea Party movement shook up the Congressional campaign landscape in 2010, electing a slew of unconventional candidates, pushing Republican candidates rightward, all while upsetting a few establishment favorites in the process.
But the next month could prove to be even more consequential for the movement, with major Senate primaries coming up, pitting conservative favorites against candidates backed by the GOP establishment. Already Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is looking like the underdog against Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock in the state’s May 8 primary. Meanwhile, three other insurgent conservatives are looking to pull off upsets by winning their party’s nomination in Texas, Utah, and Nebraska
- Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool – ABC News – RT @jaketapper: RT @rickklein: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on New Facebook Organ Donation Tool ( …
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-01 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-01
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 30, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 30, 2012
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Romney Might Convince Me to Accept Vice Presidency – Chris Christie – President 2012: Romney Might Convince Me to Accept Vice Presidency – Chris Christie
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani Team Up on Bin Laden Anniversary Date – President 2012: Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani Team Up on Bin Laden Anniversary Date
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-30: Rep Howard Berman Receives Two Important Endorsements Today – CA-30: Rep Howard Berman Receives Two Important Endorsements Today
- Occupy Wall Street Plans Global Protests in May Day Resurgence- Bloomberg – Occupy Wall Street Plans Global Protests in May Day Resurgence
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 30, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 30, 2012
- Ex-CIA counterterror chief says Pelosi ‘reinventing the truth’ about waterboarding – In an explosive memoir released today, former CIA counterterrorism chief Jose Rodriguez provides new evidence that Rep. Nancy Pelosi lied when she declared she had not been briefed about the use of waterboarding.
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The Morning Flap: April 26, 2012
These are my links for April 25th through April 26th:
- Biden: ‘The president has a big stick’ – Referring to President Roosevelt’s foreign policy quote about “speaking softly and carrying a big stick,” Biden told the crowd that Obama followed a similar path while negotiating with Iran.
“I promise you, the president has a big stick. I promise you,” Biden said as the crowd laughed.
- Dick Lugar trails by 5, poll says – Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar has fallen behind state Treasurer Richard Mourdock by five points, according to a new poll released Thursday.
The survey, taken Tuesday and Wednesday by Wenzel Strategies on behalf of Citizens United, places Mourdock at 44 percent and Lugar at 39 percent. Nearly 17 percent remain undecided with just 12 days to go until the Indiana Senate primary.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Larry Sabato Lays Out the Electoral College Battle for the White House – President 2012: Larry Sabato Lays Out the Electoral College Battle for the White House
- Old Troubles Dog GSA Official Jeff Neely – Jeff Neely, the embattled General Services Administration official at the center of a scandal over a lavish Las Vegas conference, was reprimanded in 2011 for appearing in a campaign ad for Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), documents obtained by Roll Call show.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Neely’s participation in the ad for Inouye’s 2010 re-election campaign violated the Hatch Act, but it did not discipline him beyond a warning.
The footage of Neely used in the ad was from a June 2010 groundbreaking ceremony heralding the $212 million renovation of the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and Courthouse in Honolulu. - Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 26, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 26, 2012
- Running / The Runner’s High…. – The Runner’s High….
- Dentistry / Even Hippos enjoy getting their teeth cleaned…. – Even Hippos enjoy getting their teeth cleaned….
- Humor / Watch out Alice is texting….. – Watch out Alice is texting…..
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 26, 2012 – Russian Away – Day By Day April 26, 2012 – Russian Away
- Partially blind triathlete sues over requirement he wear blackout glasses – CNN.com – Partially blind triathlete sues over requirement he wear blackout glasses
- More Evidence Running Makes You Smarter | News – Running makes you smarter?
- US House passes bill to make federal spending data available online | The Verge – RT @verge: US House passes bill to make federal spending data available online
- Partially blind triathlete sues over requirement he wear blackout glasses – nd athlete is suing three triathlon groups over a rule that makes him and other vision-impaired runners wear blackout glasses — leaving them temporarily sightless — in a controversial effort to “level the playing field.”
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Aaron Scheidies, a 30-year-old athlete. Scheidies says the rule violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Having a legally blind person compete in the running portion of a triathlon with blackout glasses “poses substantial danger to not only the competitor but those around them,” the complaint says.
- Andrew Cuomo vs. Hillary Clinton in 2016? – Maggie Haberman – “Welcome to my announcement to run for president of Malta,” Hillary Clinton joked Wednesday night as she took the stage at Lincoln Center, where she was one of 100 luminaries honored by Time magazine.
Surveying the crowd, the globe-trotting secretary of state added: “I was delighted to see our wonderful governor Andrew Cuomo is on the Time 100 list, along with others, like Marco Rubio, and … the two of them and I have ended up on some other lists this past couple of months.”
Clinton had barely finished the sentence before the crowd laughed knowingly. Yet with that coy nod to two other people who are frequently mentioned as 2016 presidential contenders, Clinton fanned the speculation about whether she’s planning to make a second-act presidential run in four years.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-26 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-26
- PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education (PPIC Publication) – RT @johnmyers: Link to #PPIC poll on Brown’s tax initiative, voter desires 2 protect school funding & more: #cabudget
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26 Video: David Cruz Thayne Releases First Online Ad – CA-26 Video: David Cruz Thayne Releases First Online Ad
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » IN-Sen Video: Richard Mourdock Up With New Ad Linking Sen Lugar as President Obama’s Favorite Republican – IN-Sen Video: Richard Mourdock Up With New Ad Linking Sen Lugar as President Obama’s Favorite Republican
- AD-38: Patricia and Rep. Buck McKeon Still Trying to Shut Down Critical Blog » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia and Rep. Buck McKeon Still Trying to Shut Down Critical Blog
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: AAOMR Criticizes Study Which Links Dental X-rays and Brain Tumors – AAOMR Criticizes Study Which Links Dental X-rays and Brain Tumors
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Decides to Meet With REAL VOTERS and Refuses to Attend Debates or Forums » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Decides to Meet With REAL VOTERS and Refuses to Attend Debates or Forums
- AD-48: California Assemblyman Roger Hernandez Legally Drunk When Arrested for DUI » Flap’s California Blog – AD-48: California Assemblyman Roger Hernandez Legally Drunk When Arrested for DUI
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » MT-Sen Video: GOP Super PAC Links Sen Jon Tester and Obama – MT-Sen Video: GOP Super PAC Links Sen Jon Tester and Obama
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 25, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 25, 2012
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Mitt Romney Now the Presumptive Republican Nominee for President – President 2012: Mitt Romney Now the Presumptive Republican Nominee for President
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: State of the Race for the Presidency: April 25, 2012 – President 2012: State of the Race for the Presidency: April 25, 2012
- Humor / But, what will snap? My bet is the teeth on the denture…. – But, what will snap? My bet is the teeth on the denture….
- Gingrich to end White House bid – Newt Gingrich will officially end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and formally express his support for Mitt Romney next week, two sources close to Gingrich tell CNN.
While details are still being worked out, Gingrich is likely to hold his final campaign event Tuesday in Washington, DC where he will make the announcement surrounded by his family and supporters.
It is not surprising that Gingrich is suspending his campaign for the White House as he has all but acknowledged it is winding down and Romney is the presumptive GOP nominee.
“When he says he is transitioning, what he means is that he is trying to determine as a citizen how he will pro-actively help Mitt Romney become president and the Republican Party win back the Senate and help (House Speaker) John Boehner keep his majority in the House,” said one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It appears that Gingrich’s focus will be much broader than the presidential campaign, as the former speaker, who made his name and career in the House, plans to be actively involved in helping the GOP take back control of both sides of Capitol Hill.
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 25, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 25, 2012
- Conservative consumers: Stand your ground – This fringe chump is wielding a disturbing amount of political power to silence free-market, limited government voices. What are you doing about it?
My column this week is a follow-up to last week’s piece on ALEC vs. the progressive mob/corporate appeasers. Be sure to read the entire column (plus my e-mail exchanges with several cowardly businesses that caved to the Van Jones crowd), click on all the links, get educated, educate others, and use this information to help fight back. The conservative movement needs all hands on deck.
Related: ALEC now faces a frivolous IRS complaint from longtime nemesis and anti-ALEC mob partner Common Cause.
Update: Color of Change is now targeting Amazon.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 25, 2012 – Taking Liberties – Day By Day April 25, 2012 – Taking Liberties
- Biden: ‘The president has a big stick’ – Referring to President Roosevelt’s foreign policy quote about “speaking softly and carrying a big stick,” Biden told the crowd that Obama followed a similar path while negotiating with Iran.
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The Morning Flap: April 23, 2012
Assembly member Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) putts on the 18th green as other attendees shake hands during the Speakers Cup, a golf tournament fundraiser hosted by AT&T at Pebble Beach. Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times
These are my links for April 20th through April 23rd:
As the sun set behind Monterey Bay on a cool night last year, dozens of the state’s top lawmakers and lobbyists ambled onto the 17th fairway at Pebble Beach for a round of glow-in-the-dark golf.
With luminescent balls soaring into the sky, the annual fundraiser known as the Speaker’s Cup was in full swing.
Lawmakers, labor-union champions and lobbyists gather each year at the storied course to schmooze, show their skill on the links and rejuvenate at a 22,000-square-foot spa. The affair, which typically raises more than $1 million for California Democrats, has been sponsored for more than a decade by telecommunications giant AT&T.
At the 2010 event, AT&T’s president and the state Assembly speaker toured Pebble Beach together in a golf cart, shaking hands with every lawmaker, lobbyist and other VIP in attendance.
The Speaker’s Cup is the centerpiece of a corporate lobbying strategy so comprehensive and successful that it has rewritten the special-interest playbook in Sacramento. When it comes to state government, AT&T spends more money, in more places, than any other company.
- President Obama’s Medicare slush fund – An $8 Billion ObamaCare Trick? – Call it President Obama’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President — a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department.
Only this isn’t some little fund from shadowy private sources; this is taxpayer money, redirected to help Obama win another term. A massive amount of it, too — $8.3 billion. Yes, that’s billion, with a B.
Here is how it works.
The most oppressive aspects of the ObamaCare law don’t kick in until after the 2012 election, when the president will no longer be answerable to voters. More “flexibility,” he recently explained to the Russians.
- Flood of fundraising under way in 26th Congressional race – Of the 1,347 men and women running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, only eight have raised more money this year in support of their quest than state Sen. Tony Strickland, of Moorpark.
Of them, six are incumbents and one is a Democratic candidate in Massachusetts by the name of Joseph P. Kennedy III.
Only one Republican challenger nationwide outpaced Strickland — Joseph Carvin, of New York, a partner in a hedge fund who outpaced Strickland only because he wrote himself a $1 million check.
Strickland, the lone Republican among six candidates running in Ventura County’s 26th Congressional District, raised $781,804 from the day he entered the race, Jan. 17, through the end of the first quarter, March 31 — an average of $10,424 a day.
- How much Hispanics matter in 2012 — in one chart – Republicans have a Hispanic problem.
Unless they can find ways to begin convincing the nation’s fastest growing population — Hispanics accounted for half of all the growth of the U.S. population over the last decade — that the GOP is a potential political home for them, they won’t remain a credible national party in 2016, 2020 and beyond.
Some within their party understand this. Take Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who is pushing a Republican “Dream Act” designed to show the Hispanic community that the entirety of the party is not lined up against them. And even former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who took a hardline stance against illegal immigration in the presidential primary, is starting to moderate his positions.
Resurgent Republic, a conservative-aligned, polling conglomerate has produced a snappy infographic that details everything you need to know about the Hispanic vote including the fascinating chart below that allows you to experiment with how much of the 2012 electorate will be Hispanic, how much of it Republicans will win and what that means for the outcome of the contest.
- Republicans making effort to speak to Latino priorities – For the Republican Party’s future, there is no greater strategic imperative than improving its performance with Hispanic voters for this election and for the foreseeable future.
A 2006 report from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates the explosive growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. From around 15 percent of the population today, it is on pace to grow to nearly a quarter of the population 40 years from now. Just 40 years ago, Hispanics were only 4.7 percent of the population.
The Washington Post recently identified nine swing states that will decide the 2012 presidential election. Three of them have major Hispanic populations: Florida (primarily Cuban and Puerto Rican), Nevada and Colorado. According to estimates by Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions, only eight states have Hispanic voting-age populations greater than 13 percent, and among those, five are likely to be hotly contested in 2012: New Mexico (42.5 percent Latino), Arizona (21.3 percent), Florida (19.2 percent), Nevada (17.3 percent) and Colorado (13.4 percent). If Republican former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wins 31 percent of the Hispanic vote in those five states, the rate that McCain won nationally in 2008, he will likely lose four of them, and perhaps even Arizona.
- Schweitzer Stands by ‘Polygamy Commune’ Remark About the Romneys –
- Untitled (http://richardmourdock.com/sites/default/files/FactCheckRadio.mp3) – RT @jameshohmann: #INSen is red hot. Daniels ad for Lugar: . Mourdock radio ad: . Lugar mailer: …
- On the Job
– YouTube – RT @jameshohmann: #INSen is red hot. Daniels ad for Lugar: . Mourdock radio ad: . Lugar mailer: … - With GOP Race Settled, Will Republicans Turn Out for Romney? – What if they held an election and no one came?
That could happen Tuesday, when five states will hold the first presidential primaries since a daunting delegate lead and Rick Santorum’s exit from the race made Mitt Romney the presumptive Republican nominee. For voters in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the put-a-fork-in-it race at the top of the ticket isn’t much of a draw.
Except that history shows there’s a group of hardcore voters who show up even when the presidential primary has been settled. George Mason University associate professor Michael McDonald, who specializes in turnout, calls them “expressive voters.’’ For a candidate like Romney, viewed in some Republican circles as a consolation prize in an election year in which stronger and more conservative politicians took a pass, Tuesday’s turnout could help “express’’ the enthusiasm gap, if it exists
- Can the Tea Party Defeat Dick Lugar? – ‘You can’t beat up on Grandpa. You shouldn’t beat up on Grandpa. But still, there comes a time when it’s time.” So declares Richard Mourdock, the Indiana treasurer who is trying to unseat 80-year-old Sen. Dick Lugar in the May 8 GOP primary.
It’s hard to find a better symbol of the “Washington establishment” than Mr. Lugar, who has lived in D.C. since he was first sworn into office in 1977. But the avuncular senator is beloved by many Hoosiers—and for the very reason that tea partiers want to send him home: He’s a statesman, not a warrior.
An early test of the tea party’s strength this year will be whether Mr. Mourdock can unseat the iconic incumbent. At 60, the challenger is no spring chicken, nor is he a national rock star like freshman Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But he’s “capable, competent, and conservative,” as he says.
Mr. Mourdock spent 30 years in the energy business as a geologist, executive and consultant. A heightened sense of civic pride spurred him to run for Vanderburgh County commissioner in 1995. Ten years later, impressed by his business background and political service, Gov. Mitch Daniels recruited him to run for treasurer. “I am known as a hard-working politician,” says Mr. Mourdock. “I go everywhere in Indiana to help the local Republican parties.
- Rubio is latest to join Romney on campaign trail – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Rubio is latest to join Romney on campaign trail –
- New York Times Backs Romney in N.Y. Primary – Lara Seligman – NationalJournal.com – RT @nationaljournal: New York Times backs Romney in NY Republican primary.
- 6 things to watch for at the John Edwards trial – John Edwards’s trial is the latest chapter in a “sex, lies and videotape” saga involving a politician’s reckless affair, a brazen cover-up and a spurned wife who later lost her battle with cancer.
But to those in the world of campaign finance, it’s also about the fuzzy line between the political and the personal, vague legal standards and questions of prosecutorial overreach.
- New York Times features piece on Mormons: In Salt Lake City, Museum Show – The president, according to Mormon doctrine, is literally a seer, a prophet – the president, that is, of the church. Usually American presidents have a somewhat lower reputation.
Now that Mitt Romney, an active Mormon, is aspiring to the more mundane office, new attention has come upon the faith that guides him. And much of that attention has been accompanied by controversy, confusion and concern about how Mormonism fits into American society.
For a glimpse of how Mormons see themselves, though, it’s worth visiting the Church History Museum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. Created by believers, for believers, the museum shows how close to the center of American life Mormons consider themselves to be.
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-23 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-23
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 22, 2012 – Choose – Day By Day April 22, 2012 – Choose
- Humor / Dissing the engineer – what? – Dilbert on a Sunday Dissing the engineer – what?
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein puts re-election campaign on cruise control – Millions of dollars were embezzled from her campaign. Twenty-two challengers are trying to knock her off in the June primary. And the stakes in the November election are nothing less than control of Capitol Hill.
But U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein isn’t a bit worried. Her campaign is on cruise control, her re-election all but certain — yet again.
After holding elected office for all but five of the last 42 years, Feinstein is the doyenne of California Democrats. She’s so politically bulletproof that no A-list candidates are wasting their time and money trying to dethrone her.
At 78, Feinstein has become the rare lawmaker who plays to her own political base while not overly riling her opponents. “She should have her easiest re-election ever,” said Gary Jacobson, a UC San Diego political science professor.
- Senator Rubio wants DREAM Act in time for fall semester – Rubio, in two separate events in Washington D.C., said his plan is still being hammered out, and important details – such as the minimum and maximum age of those who would qualify – were yet to be determined.
“We’re involving the DREAMers” in the drafting of the measure, he said, using the term that refers to undocumented youth brought to the country by their parents. “We’re involving the kids themselves.”Asked by a reporter when it will be introduced in the Senate, Rubio said: “When it’s ready. It won’t be next week.”He said he hopes it gets introduced by summer and passed by fall.
“There are a bunch of kids. . .who want to go to school this fall,” Rubio said at an appearance at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.. “I’m also cognizant that this is an election year,” he added, saying it wouldn’t be easy to get bi-partisan support as the parties vie for elective offices.
The number of undocumented youth who would benefit from the DREAM Act has been estimated at between 1 million and 2 million. An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States.
Rubio said at different events throughout Thursday in the nation’s capital that criticism about his plan creating “a permanent underclass” was “not true.”
The senator said that critics who dismiss his plan before it is even finalized are just interested in keeping the inability of undocumented youth to attend college “a political wedge issue,” and are not really serious about finding a bipartisan solution.“The general concept is that [students] would receive the equivalent of a non-immigrant visa, it legitimizes you,” he said of his alternate DREAM Act proposal. “It doesn’t allow you to to become a resident or citizen, however it doesn’t prohibit you from applying.”
“There’s no limbo” that the students will be stuck in under his plan, he said. “The limbo is what they’re in now.”
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Drops OPPO Bomb on Linda Parks – CA-26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Drops OPPO Bomb on Linda Parks
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-21 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-21
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-22 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-22
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Who Can Out Nanny State on Grocery Bags Tony Strickland or Julia Brownley? – CA-26: Who Can Out Nanny State on Grocery Bags Tony Strickland or Julia Brownley?
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Approval Up, But Below Other Presidents Who Were Re-Elected – President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Approval Up, But Below Other Presidents Who Were Re-Elected
- Political Cartoons / Amateurs indeed – just like the Secret Service and their Columbian Hookers…. – Amateurs indeed – just like the Secret Service and their Columbian Hookers….
- Orrin Hatch pushed into primary in Utah Senate race – Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch will face off against conservative former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist in a June primary after the six-term incumbent failed to win 60 percent of the vote at the state Republican convention on Saturday.
- The Weekend Interview with Joel Kotkin: The Great California Exodus – Now, however, the Golden State’s fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn’t Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere.
Nearly four million more people have left the Golden State in the last two decades than have come from other states. This is a sharp reversal from the 1980s, when 100,000 more Americans were settling in California each year than were leaving. According to Mr. Kotkin, most of those leaving are between the ages of 5 and 14 or 34 to 45. In other words, young families.
- Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – foursquare – Finished 12 miler and thank goodness for the clouds. Not too hot but humid. With Alice, Nancy and Mary
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 20, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 20, 2012
- What swing states? Senate majority hinges on red states and blue states – The Washington Post – RT @RalstonFlash: NV is 7th most likely Senate seat to switch hands, says that Berkley ethics issue could be key.
- (500) http://pinterest.com/pin/114138171776344451/ – Love that Buffett…..Rule…..
- (500) http://pinterest.com/pin/114138171776344439/ – Bribe a blogger? Hummmm…..
- Awesome: Breitbart’s ‘Occupy Unmasked’ trailer released » The Right Scoop – – RT @trscoop: *** Awesome: Breitbart’s ‘Occupy Unmasked’ trailer released
- California Assemblyman Roger Hernandez was driving state car when arrested in DUI case – Assemblyman Roger Hernandez did not have permission of the Assembly to take a state car out of the Sacramento area last month when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Concord.
The Toyota Camry hybrid that Hernandez was driving the night of his arrest, March 27, was an Assembly pool car assigned to the West Covina Democrat for travel in the Capitol area, according to Jon Waldie, Assembly administrator.
Lawmakers are making more extensive use of personal vehicles or pool cars after California’s independent salary-setting commission eliminated a lease-car program serving Assembly and Senate officeholders.
The general rule is that Assembly members not take pool cars out of Sacramento without prior permission. Officials prefer that out-of-area trips be for a legislative or governmental purpose, Waldie said.
- Romney campaign hits Obama on Hispanic unemployment rate – The Hill’s Ballot Box – RT @thehill: Romney campaign hits Obama on Hispanic unemployment rate
- Poll Watch: American cities favorability poll – The Pacific Northwest has a good reputation nationwide–the two most popular of the 21 prominent cities we asked about in our national poll last weekend are Seattle and Portland, OR. 57% of American voters see Seattle favorably and only 14% unfavorably, edging out Portland (52-12) by three points on the margin.
The most unpopular is Detroit, which only 22% see positively and 49% negatively. Americans have net-negative impressions of only two other of these cities, and both are in California: Oakland (21-39) and Los Angeles (33-40). In February, PPP found California to be the least popular state in the union. It does have the 11th most popular city, though: San Francisco (48-29).
Between the pack are Boston (52-17), Atlanta (51-19), Phoenix (49-18), Dallas (48-21), New York (49-23), New Orleans (47-24), Houston (45-22), Salt Lake City (43-20), Philadelphia (42-22), Baltimore (37-24), Las Vegas (43-33), Chicago (42-33), Cleveland (32-25), Washington, D.C. (44-39), and Miami (36-33).
- Untitled (http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/20/local-employers-add-3300-jobs-in-march/) – RT @vcstar: Ventura County employers add 3,300 jobs in March, but unemployment rate stays same.
- MA Dem Congressman Proposes Amendment to Strip Most Newspapers, Churches, Nonprofits, and Other Corporations of All Constitutional Rights – That’s the People’s Rights Amendment:
Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people’s rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable.
So just as Congress could therefore ban the speech of nonmedia business corporations, it could ban publications by corporate-run newspapers and magazines — which I think includes nearly all such newspapers and magazines in the country (and for good reason, since organizing a major publications as a partnership or sole proprietorship would make it much harder for it to get investors and to operate). Nor does this proposal leave room for the possibility, in my view dubious, that the Free Press Clause would protect newspapers organized by corporations but not other corporations that want to use mass communications technology. Section 3 makes clear that the preservation of the “freedom of the press” applies only to “the people,” and section 2 expressly provides that corporations aren’t protected as “the people.”
- Untitled (http://www.snsanalytics.com/Zmf9y7) – RT @SacramentoDaily: California unemployment jumps to 11 percent; 11.6 percent in Sacramento #tcot #catcot
- The PJ Tatler » Hey Tommy Christopher, You Can Thank Maggie Thatcher for Romney’s ‘Obama Isn’t Working’ Slogan – RACIST! RT @PJTatler: Hey Tommy Christopher,you Can Thank Maggie Thatcher for Romney’s Obama Isn’t Working Slogan #tcot
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Update: Obama’s Father Has a Polygamist Past: Montana Democrat Governor Brian Schweitzer Calls Out Mitt Romney’s Mormon “Polygamy” Past – No apology yet from Democrat Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer about Romney polygamy comment: #tcot
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 20, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 20, 2012
- President Obama’s Medicare slush fund – An $8 Billion ObamaCare Trick? – Call it President Obama’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President — a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department.
-
The Morning Flap: April 19, 2012
The Obamas and Bo, their dog – A Chilling Photo?
These are my links for April 18th through April 19th:
- Bam Bites Dog – The political perils of personal attacks – One time Barack Obama went to an Indian restaurant and ordered the lassi. Was he ever disappointed when the waiter brought him a yogurt drink!
We’ll be here all week. But seriously, folks, we have a man-bites-dog story for you today.
First, some background. Last week Byron York of the Washington Examiner reported that “some Obama staffers are reportedly obsessing over a nearly 30-year-old story about [Mitt] Romney’s dog”:
In 1983, Romney took his family on vacation and, faced with a packed station wagon, put his Irish setter Seamus in a travel kennel strapped to the roof of the car. Romney constructed a special windshield in an effort to make the dog more comfortable, but Seamus ended up relieving himself on the roof, which reportedly caused much consternation among the Romney boys. Ever since the story got out–it was reported by the Boston Globe in 2007, during Romney’s first run for president–Romney opponents have used it in semiserious and sometimes fully serious ways to portray him as insensitive.
“I have heard, in focus groups, the dog story totally tanks Mitt Romney’s approval rating,” Chris Hayes said on his MSNBC show. The Washington Post reported last month that the Seamus story “is ballooning into a narrative of epic proportions”:Late-night host David Letterman has been giving the dog near-nightly shout-outs. There are parody Web videos, “Dogs Aren’t Luggage” T-shirts and Facebook groups. (“Dogs Against Romney,” which protested outside last month’s Westminster dog show, has more than 38,000 Facebook fans.) The New Yorker featured a cartoon, with Rick Santorum riding in Romney’s rooftop dog carrier, on its cover last week. In the five years since the story was revealed, New York Times columnist Gail Collins has mentioned Seamus in at least 50 columns.
- The Dog Days of the Presidential Campaign Begin – I would note that in 2008, John McCain’s presidential campaign wouldn’t have touched this anecdote with a ten-foot pole. Between this and the Romney camp’s rapid response to the Rosen comments, we are seeing a Republican presidential campaign that is exponentially faster on its feet and way more nimble than the previous general-election campaign against Obama.
- IN-Sen: Don’t Believe the Anti-Incumbent Narrative – A few weeks after that primary, on May 8, Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar will either lose to state Treasurer Richard Mourdock or squeeze by him in the GOP primary.
Lugar’s problems, however, have nothing to do with the “anti-incumbent” mood or Congress’ poor reputation. Instead, they have everything to do with his record and his horrible campaign.
Lugar’s record and style don’t fit comfortably with where his party now is, yet he made little or no effort to sooth conservatives or to prepare for a battle. If he had, he might, for example, have purchased a house or condo in the state so that he wouldn’t need to stay in a hotel when he returns to the state to campaign.
More than a year ago, I wrote in this space about Lugar’s vulnerability in a possible one-on-one primary. Almost immediately, I received a call from a Lugar staffer telling me how wrong I was and pointing out that the Senator was hugely popular and had a large campaign war chest.
In other words, Lugar’s team didn’t understand what could happen if voters were presented with a credible opponent who either had money or would be supported by outside groups willing to spend heavily to defeat the Senator. And later, the campaign didn’t understand why anyone would care that Lugar didn’t own a residence in the state.
- Weiner a jerk before crotchgate, craved media attention: book – Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner was behaving like a jerk long before the world got a glimpse of his crotch.
A new book offering an inside look at the US House of Representatives depicts Weiner as a desperately ambitious loudmouth who berated his staff and would do or say anything for TV airtime.
Weiner “would enter his office in the Rayburn Building screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Why the f–k am I not on MSNBC?!’” journalist Robert Draper wrote in “Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives.”
He finally got his wish, Draper wrote, when Weiner pushed to become the liberal spokesman for ObamaCare.
“He was now on MSNBC every week, sometimes every day — to the point where he was carrying his own makeup kit. (Or rather, his press guy was.)” Draper wrote.
Excerpts of the book, due out Tuesday, surfaced yesterday on the Web site Politico.
- Daily exercise can reduce risk of developing Alzheimer¿s, study finds – latimes.com – RT @latimesmost: You’re never too old to reduce Alzheimer’s risk with exercise
- Hydration for Runners – Run to Your Best – RT @Racerunningtips: Hydration for Runners: Hydrating for Optimal Performance
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-19 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-19
- The Top 10 Most Expensive Obamacare Taxes and Fees – Yesterday was tax day, serving as a special reminder of how big the federal government has become. As Heritage has warned before, Obamacare is on track to makes things a lot worse.
The President’s health law will be partially paid for by tax increases and the creation of new taxes. When Obamacare first passed, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that its tax hikes would total $502 billion over the next 10 years. But most of the new, higher taxes don’t kick in until later in the decade, which means that once all of the law is fully implemented, the taxpayers’ tab will be much bigger than originally estimated.
A new study by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) revealed today that Obamacare will impose higher taxes totaling $4 trillion between now and 2035, with substantial hits on working Americans. That works out to more than $1.7 trillion over a decade—more than triple the original 10-year score.
Below is a list of 10 of Obamacare’s most costly taxes and fees, drawn from research by Heritage tax policy expert Curtis Dubay:
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » R.I.P. Dick Clark 1929-2012 – R.I.P. Dick Clark 1929-2012
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Study: No Independent Association of Periodontal and Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease? – Study: No Independent Association of Periodontal and Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease?
- In-Sen: Mourdock Leads Lugar in Internal Poll – Indiana state treasurer Richard Mourdock leads Senator Dick Lugar by one point according to a poll commissioned by the Mourdock campaign. Conducted between April 16 and 17 by the firm McLaughlin and Associates, the poll surveyed 400 likely Republican primary voters and found Mourdock in the lead, 42–41, against Lugar. The poll had a 4.9 percent margin of error.
Since January, Lugar’s favorability rating has fallen ten points, from 57 to 47 percent, while Mourdock’s has risen by eleven, from 35 to 46 percent. “These results clearly demonstrate that Richard Mourdock has the momentum to win,” a memo from pollsters John McLaughlin and Stuart Polk notes.
- Is stagnation good enough for Obama’s reelection? « The Enterprise Blog – RT @JimPethokoukis: I plugged in Citi’s new econ forecast into 2 election models. Obama losses under both
- Untitled (http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2012/04/la_churches_being_fo.php) – RT @LAObserved: L.A. churches being foreclosed on in record numbers. @LABizObserved
- AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog
- Gallup Presidential Election Trial Heat Results: Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney – RT @gallupnews: Presidential Election: Romney 48% (+1), Obama 44% (+1). Get the full trend… #Gallup
- Gavin Newsom Gets Current TV Show — What About the Equal Time Rule? | TheWrap TV – California’s Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom gets a TV show on Current TV – whether you like it or not #catcot #tcot
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Romney Up With Web Ad About Unemployment in Key Battleground State of North Carolina – President 2012: Romney Up With Web Ad About Unemployment in Key Battleground State of North Carolina
- AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog – RE: Yes, last August seems a long time ago for Senator Tony Strickland…
- Medscape: Medscape Access – Menthol Cigarettes Double Stroke Risk
- Menthol Cigarettes Double Stroke Risk – Menthol cigarettes more than double the risk for stroke compared with regular cigarettes, a new study shows. In women and nonblack smokers, the risk for stroke was more than tripled.
No significant associations were observed between the tobacco additive and other forms of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The mechanism by which menthol may increase stroke risk remains unclear.
One potential mechanism is that menthol stimulates upper-airway cold receptors, which can increase breath-holding time, which may in turn facilitate the entrance of cigarette particulate matter into the lungs, notes Nicholas Vozoris, MD, from St. Michael’s Hospital, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Another possibility is that menthol cigarettes exert some selective effects on the cerebrovascular system.
- Potential VP pick Mitch Daniels endorses Mitt Romney – Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, frequently mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate, is the latest Republican leader to formally endorse Mitt Romney.
“It must be a slow news day if this has made the air,” Daniels told Fox News on Wednesday. “But for what it’s worth, I did send a congratulatory note to Gov. Romney the other day offering to anything I could to help him, and here I am.”
It didn’t come across as a particularly strong endorsement, and the Fox News anchor noted that Daniels has a dry, self-deprecating manner.
“He’s already won our nomination,” Daniels continued. “He’s earned it, he’s proven himself the best nominee we could put forward, and I’m just happy to sign on and help him.”
- Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 18, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 18, 2012
- Bam Bites Dog – The political perils of personal attacks – One time Barack Obama went to an Indian restaurant and ordered the lassi. Was he ever disappointed when the waiter brought him a yogurt drink!
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The Morning Flap: March 22, 2012
These are my links for March 15th through March 22nd:
- Romney advisor says his conservatism can be erased – Ever since he launched his first bid for the presidency over five years ago, critics have argued that Mitt Romney’s conservative positions aren’t sincere, and that he would start to abandon them once he was no longer trying to appeal to the Republican primary electorate. I just never expected one of his chief campaign staffers to openly admit it. Yet feeling cocky after Mitt Romney’s strong victory in Illinois, top advisor Eric Fehrnstrom did just that.
Here’s the stunning exchange on CNN (via Greg Sargent):
HOST: Is there a concern that Santorum and Gingrich might force the governor to tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election?
FEHRNSTROM: Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.
- ‘Etch A Sketch’ Latest Gaffe From Romney Campaign – For a candidate who has spent months battling the title of “flip-flopper,” perhaps the last thing he would want associated with his name is an Etch A Sketch, those do-over drawing boards that let you shake your scribbles away with the flick of a wrist.
Unfortunately Mitt Romney won’t be able to shake away this comparison any time soon. When his campaign spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom was asked this morning on CNN how the GOP frontrunner would make the pivot to the general election, Fehrnstrom compared Romney’s primary campaign to an Etch A Sketch, a gaffe that spread like wildfire to Romney’s rival’s stump speeches.
- Jeb Bush: It’s time to support Romney as Republican candidate – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says Republican front-runner Mitt Romney has earned the right to take on President Obama in November.
“It is time to get behind the nominee,” Bush told the Tribune-Review on Wednesday during a visit to Pittsburgh. “And it is time for the country to focus on the most important thing, which is to elect a president who will create a climate for high growth and job-creating abilities for our country.”
Bush called for the Republican Party to unite behind the former Massachusetts governor, who won the Illinois primary this week with 46.7 percent of the vote to 35 percent for Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania.
GOP strategist Bruce Haynes said the Bush endorsement is worth a lot to the Romney campaign.
“It’s literally the sound of the referee’s whistle calling the game to an end,” Haynes said.
Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas have declared that they will remain in the race until the Republican National Convention in August in Tampa.
- Jeb Bush: Romney should pick Sen. Rubio as running mate – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who endorsed Mitt Romney for president on Wednesday, wants Romney to pick Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his running mate if the former Massachusetts governor wins the nomination.
Bush, speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, said that the junior Florida senator is “dynamic, joyful, disciplined and principled.”
- Obama’s Speedy Keystone Review Won’t Accelerate Cushing Pipeline –
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-22 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-22
- Los Angeles Marathon 2012: Race Report | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Los Angeles Marathon 2012: Race Report
- Basno – 2012 Honda LA Marathon Finisher Medal – Gregory Flap Cole – I love L.A.
- AD-38: College of the Canyons Associated Student Government to Host 38th Assembly Candidate Forum – Patricia McKeon Declines » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: College of the Canyons Associated Student Government to Host 38th Assembly Candidate Forum – Patricia McK…
- Los Angeles Maraton 2012 Start
– YouTube – Los Angeles Maraton 2012 Start
– YouTube - Los Angeles Marathon 2012: The Expo | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Los Angeles Marathon 2012: The Expo
- Los Angeles Maraton 2012 Start
– YouTube – I uploaded a @YouTube video Los Angeles Maraton 2012 Start - Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-21 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-21
- Former Rosemead mayor pleads guilty to federal bribery charge – Former Rosemead mayor pleads guilty to federal bribery charge
- El Monte Union board selects educator for seat vacated by Tran – El Monte Union board selects educator for seat vacated by Tran
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-21 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-21
- Holtz-Eakin and Smith: ObamaCare’s Flawed Economic Foundations – Holtz-Eakin and Smith: ObamaCare’s Flawed Economic Foundations
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: ObamaCare Dental Regulations Issued by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – ObamaCare Dental Regulations Issued by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Assembly candidate John Tran agrees to plead guilty to bribery – Whittier Daily News – Assembly candidate John Tran agrees to plead guilty to bribery – Whittier Daily News
- President 2012 Virginia (VA) Poll Obama Back On Top In Virginia – Quinnipiac University ? Hamden, Connecticut – President Barack Obama leads all the Republican presidential candidates in Virginia, with his 50 – 42 percent margin over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney his biggest lead over Romney in this election cycle, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Putting Gov. Bob McDonnell on the ticket as the GOP vice-presidential nominee does not help the Republicans carry the state, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. In a matchup of President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden against Romney and McDonnell, the Democrats win 50 – 43 percent.
Obama wins head to head against other Republican contenders:
54 – 35 percent over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; 49 – 40 percent over former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum; 49 – 39 percent over Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.
- Republicans Attack Health Law as Supreme Court Hearing Nears – NYTimes.com – RT @chucktodd: GOP seems a lot more organized on the P.R. front re: health care SCOTUS focus than the Dems.
- Republicans Attack Health Law as Supreme Court Hearing Nears – NYTimes.com – GOP seems a lot more organized on the P.R. front re: health care SCOTUS focus than the Dems.
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-20 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-20
- El Monte Union Board of Trustees to interview, select replacement for Tran – El Monte Union Board of Trustees to interview, select replacement for Tran
- El Monte Union appoints new board member to fill vacancy – El Monte Union appoints new board member to fill vacancy
- “Higher Costs” (TV Ad)
– YouTube – MUST WATCH: New RNC TV ad on Obamacare — #tcot #RS - @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-20 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-20
- Green Bay Press Gazette | Green Bay news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Green Bay, Wisconsin | greenbaypressgazette.com – Green Bay Press Gazette | Green Bay news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Green …
- Untitled (http://getglue.com/tv_shows/killing?s=tch&ref=Fullosseousflap) – On Demand works for me while I heal up from marathon. @GetGlue @TheKilling_AMC
- Green Bay Press Gazette | Green Bay news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Green Bay, Wisconsin | greenbaypressgazette.com – 29 Wisconsin judges sign recall petitions | Green Bay Press Gazette |
- 29 Wisconsin judges sign recall petitions | Green Bay Press Gazette | greenbaypressgazette.com – 29 Wisconsin judges sign recall petitions | Green Bay Press Gazette |
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-19 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-19
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-19 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-19
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-18 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-18
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-18 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-18
- On the way home from San Diego to run @LAMarathon tomorrow and then to return – On the way home from San Diego to run @LAMarathon tomorrow and then to return
- In San Diego where my daughter Allison just delivered my first grandson James Phillip – In San Diego where my daughter Allison just delivered my first grandson James Phillip
- Why Your Company Is Screwed If You Don’t Go Social – Why Your Company Is Screwed If You Don’t Go Social
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-17 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-17
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-17 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-17
- Gregory Flap @ TAIX French Restaurant – foursquare – After LA Marathon Expo lunch with the LA Roadrunners gang (@ TAIX French Restaurant)
- Re: Sen Ted Stevens: Report Details Inner Workings – Re: Sen Ted Stevens: Report Details Inner Workings
- Hatch Supporters Make Strong Showing in Utah Caucuses – The Tea Party-inspired drive to oust Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a six-term Republican, got a bit more complicated on Thursday night.
Supporters of Mr. Hatch turned up in strong numbers at some packed Republican caucus meetings around the state, where delegates were elected to next month’s state party convention.
And here in Utah County, a deeply conservative area in the backyard of Brigham Young University, and hotbed of anti-Hatch sentiment, some prominent opponents of the senator failed to win delegate seats.
“It’s going to be a very good night for Hatch,” said Dave Hansen, Mr. Hatch’s campaign manager.
- Dick Lugar vows to appeal ruling – For the moment, Dick Lugar can’t even vote to save himself.
A local election board ruled Thursday that the six-term senator has abandoned his Indiana home and cannot cast a ballot in the state he represents. The Indiana Republican is up for re-election this year and faces a conservative challenger in the state’s May 8 primary.
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-16 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-16
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-16 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-16
- Untitled (http://getglue.com/Fullosseousflap/stickers/cbs_sports/2012_ncaa_second_round?s=ts&ref=Fullosseousflap) – I unlocked the 2012 NCAA Second Round sticker on @GetGlue! #MarchMadness @MarchMadness
- Untitled (http://getglue.com/topics/p/2012_ncaa_mens_division_i_basketball_tournament?s=tch&ref=Fullosseousflap) – Hoosiers! @GetGlue #2012NCAAMensDivisionIBasketballTournament
- Race Weekend Details & Cold Weather Plan – Thank you @LAMarathon for your rain and warming station plan for runner safety!
- AD-38: Ventura County Lincoln Club Endorses Republican Scott Wilk for California Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Ventura County Lincoln Club Endorses Republican Scott Wilk for California Assembly
- Romney advisor says his conservatism can be erased – Ever since he launched his first bid for the presidency over five years ago, critics have argued that Mitt Romney’s conservative positions aren’t sincere, and that he would start to abandon them once he was no longer trying to appeal to the Republican primary electorate. I just never expected one of his chief campaign staffers to openly admit it. Yet feeling cocky after Mitt Romney’s strong victory in Illinois, top advisor Eric Fehrnstrom did just that.
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The Morning Flap: February 22, 2012
These are my links for February 21st through February 22nd:
- Santorum: ‘I believe in good and evil’ – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Rick Santorum offered no apologies Tuesday for a controversial speech he gave in 2008 when he talked about the threat of Satan in America.
“I’m a person of faith. I believe in good and evil,” Santorum said in response to questions from CNN.
- DRUDGE: SANTORUM’S SATAN WARNING – “Satan has his sights on the United States of America!” Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has declared.
“Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition.”
MORE
The former senator from Pennsylvania warned in 2008 how politics and government are falling to Satan.
“This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country – the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?”
“He attacks all of us and he attacks all of our institutions.”
Santorum made the provocative comments to students at Ave Maria University in Florida.
MORE
The White House contender described how Satan is even taking hold of some religions.
“We look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.”
Developing…
- Who Won Baseball’s Off-Season? – WSJ.com –
- 50p tax rate ‘failing to boost revenues’ – Telegraph –
- Economy in recovery? Not so fast – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs –
- Lugar Defends Himself On Residency Question – Indiana News Story – WRTV Indianapolis –
- Boxer goes for Berman following mailer – POLITICO.com –
- Obama donations fall short of ’08 – Nation – The Boston Globe –
- BBC News – The myth of the eight-hour sleep –
- Poll: Romney holds lead but Santorum gains in California –
- RealClearWorld – Portugal in Danger of Being Next Greece – Portugal in Danger of Being Next Greece
- RealClearWorld – Is Bibi’s Silence a Cause for Concern? – Is Bibi’s Silence a Cause for Concern?
- RealClearWorld – Iran Attack a Disastrous Option for Israel – Iran Attack a Disastrous Option for Israel
- (404) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/22/obama-to-offer-corporate-tax-reform-plan-2/ – Obama to offer corporate tax reform plan –
- The Stump | The New Republic – MacGillis: Drudge has been giving @JRubinBlogger a run for her money in the blatant Romney boosterism department…
- Untitled (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/22/139576/poll-romney-holds-lead-but-santorum.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=news) – RT @McClatchyDC Poll: Romney holds lead but Santorum gains in California:
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-22 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-22
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/02/21/president-2012-gop-poll-watch-republican-voters-dont-want-a-brokered-convention/ – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Republican Voters Don’t Want a Brokered Convention
- California Proposition 8 Supporters Seek En Banc 9th Circuit Review » Flap’s California Blog – California Proposition 8 Supporters Seek En Banc 9th Circuit Review
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Church Street Health Management Files for Bankruptcy – Church Street Health Management Files for Bankruptcy
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/02/21/ca-26-democrat-rep-brad-sherman-is-out-and-assemblywoman-julia-brownley-is-in/ – CA-26: Democrat Rep Brad Sherman is OUT and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley Is IN
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Santorum Leading Romney But Romney Leads in Electability | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Santorum Leading Romney But Romney Leads in Electability
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: February 21, 2012 – The Morning Drill: February 21, 2012
- (500) http://flapsblog.org/2012/02/21/flaps-california-morning-collection-february-21-2012/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=flaps-california-morning-collection-february-21-2012&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – Flap’s California Morning Collection: February 21, 2012
- Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/21/4278335/tax-plans-would-boost-schools.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter) – untitled
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/02/21/day-by-day-february-19-2012-transformers/ – Day By Day February 19, 2012 – Transformers
- From senators to animals: Lawmaker who fell from grace now working as a vet – CNN.com – From senators to animals: Lawmaker who fell from grace now working as a vet –
- From senators to animals: Lawmaker who fell from grace now working as a vet – CNN.com –
- Here Are All The CRAZY Things Rick Santorum Said This Weekend – Here Are All The CRAZY Things Rick Santorum Said This Weekend
- Untitled (http://www.memeorandum.com/120221/p11#a120221p11) – Europe seals new Greek bailout to avert default (Reuters)
- Europe seals new Greek bailout but doubts remain
| Reuters – Europe seals new Greek bailout to avert default (Reuters) - NYT: Growth of Catholic Hospitals M – NYT: Growth of Catholic Hospitals M
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-21 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-21
- Gingrich: Obama Most Dangerous President, Incapable of Defending U.S. – Sarah Huisenga – NationalJournal.com – Gingrich calls Obama the “most dangerous president,” says he is incapable of defending the U.S.
- McGurn: Sex, Lies and Rick Santorum – WSJ.com – McGurn: Sex, Lies and Rick Santorum –
- Log In – The New York Times – Boston has dispatched Florida state director Molly Donlin to Ohio to oversee @MittRomney operation there, per NYT.
- Swiss Watch Sales Surge All Over The World – Swiss Watch Sales Surge All Over The World
- MIRS Michigan Poll: Romney Back on Top? – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – BREAKING: MIRS poll puts Romney narrowly ahead in Michigan. Santorum had led the past nine straight.
- Newseum | Today’s Front Pages | The Plain Dealer – Cleveland Plain Dealer Front Page: “Gasoline prices jump 10 cents in a week, are likely to go higher”
- RealClearPolitics – Election 2012 – Michigan Republican Presidential Primary – New poll shows Romney back ahead – barely – in Michigan. Santo’s lead shrinks again…
- Who are the top VP picks? – Tim Mak – POLITICO.com – New poll shows Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Chris Christie top VP picks:
- Ten Years Ago . . . – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – RT @jimgeraghty: Ten years ago, environmentalists warned us it would take ten years to bring ANWR oil to refineries.
- Corruption puts strain on South Africa budget
| Top News
| Reuters – Corruption puts strain on South Africa budget: - McConnell risks political capital to show solidarity with Boehner in payroll fight – TheHill.com – McConnell risks political capital to show solidarity with @JohnBoehner #tcot
- Stuart Varney Discusses Gas Prices and Greece
– YouTube – Gas prices up to $3.57 this morning. Worse for truckers. We’ll talk to @ataeconbob about it, but first today’s video: - News from The Associated Press – Federal workers among biggest losers as government extends payroll tax cut; their advocates cry foul: -BW
- Shifting focus, Obama campaign targets Santorum on economy
| Reuters – In shift, Obama campaign targets Santorum on economy - News from The Associated Press – Republican “super PACs” become more powerful than the campaigns they support, overtaking them in fundraising: -BW
- Democrats warn: Let’s not get cocky – Jonathan Allen – POLITICO.com – Leading POLITICO this morning — Democrats warn: Don’t get cocky:
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/02/21/flap-twitter-updates-for-2012-02-21-2/ – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-21
- Santorum: ‘I believe in good and evil’ – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Rick Santorum offered no apologies Tuesday for a controversial speech he gave in 2008 when he talked about the threat of Satan in America.
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The Morning Flap: February 1, 2012
These are my links for January 30th through February 1st:
- HBO’s Game Change portrays “meltdown” Palin – The latest trailer for HBO’s “Game Change” portrays Sarah Palin as natural disaster mistakenly unleashed by the McCain campaign.”Oh my god what have we done.” Woody Harrelson’s Steve Schmidt says, “I can’t control her anymore.” — “She’s on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown.”
Julianne Moore’s Sarah Palin repeats lines like “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” and “It’s not my fault, I was not properly prepped.” — “I miss my baby, I miss sleeping with my baby.”
At the end she whispers, “We have to win this thing, I so don’t want to go back to Alaska.”
- Ted Olson compares Obama to Nixon, McCarthy – President Obama’s first ad of his reelection campaign didn’t mention David and Charles Koch by name, but everyone knows that they are the “secretive oil billionaires” who “attack President Obama” mentioned in the ad’s opening lines. With so much else going on both domestically and internationally kicking off his reelection campaign with a personal attack on private citizens did seem like an odd choice. But former solicitor general of the United States Ted Olson sees some darker forces involved. He writes in today’s Wall Street Journal:Olson doesn’t mention it, but there is a very simple reason Obama is targeting the Koch’s: he can’t run on his record. With unemployment still higher than when he took office, and the Congressional Budget Office now certifying he will fail to cut the deficit in half as he promised, he has no accomplishments to run on. All he can really do is identify villains and ask his supporters to punish them. That is what Obama’s Buffett Rule is really all about. And that is why he is attacking the Koch’s.
- Greek PM seeks backing for reforms key to bailout – Greece’s prime minister is calling the country’s political leaders in the next few days to seek backing for more austerity after the International Monetary Fund warned this was key to securing the new bailout Athens needs to avoid a messy default.With a long-delayed deal with private sector creditors to cut Greece’s debt mountain by 100 billion euros nearly wrapped up, the government is now racing to complete talks on the 130-billion euro ($170.18 billion) bailout by the end of the week.
To do so, Athens must first persuade the European Union and IMF – which have grown increasingly exasperated with its repeated failures to meet deficit and reform targets – that it will implement long-delayed reforms and slash spending further.
- Dick Lugar: From top target to tea party pal? – Last year, Sen. Dick Lugar was the tea party’s top target — a 35-year veteran who lives in Washington, strays from conservative orthodoxy and even criticized the right-wing movement in the wake of the 2010 elections.But last week, Lugar was the tea party’s dining companion.
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-01 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-01
- Mitt Romney’s Florida sweep — and how it changes the presidential race – The Washington Post – RT @washingtonpost: Romney’s clear win hurts Gingrich’s try to call race choice between establishment & people:
- FiveThirtyEight: Live-Coverage of the Florida Primary – NYTimes.com – RT @fivethirtyeight: No Edge for Gingrich Along Georgia Border
- Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation – Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation
- Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation – Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation
- SD-27: Bob Hertzberg Decides Not to Run for California State Senate » Flap’s California Blog – SD-27: Bob Hertzberg Decides Not to Run for California State Senate
- Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation – Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation
- Marijuana Mouth Spray: Will Cancer Pain Reliever Be Abused?: Scientific American – RT @sciam: Marijuana Mouth Spray: Will Cancer Pain Reliever Be Abused?
- Capitol Alert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation – RT @CapitolAlert: Assembly changes mind and passes three-strikes legislation
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Trouble Ahead for Romney After Florida? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Trouble Ahead for Romney After Florida?
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 31, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 31, 2012
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 31, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 31, 2012
- Day By Day January 30, 2012 – Rino Call | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 30, 2012 – Rino Call
- (404) http://t.co/Rz – RT @MysteryPollster: Latest FL Pollster update including the final PPP #s: Mitt 41.8, Newt 21.1, Paul 11.8, Santorum 10.9 …
- Florida Primary 2012: Live Updates From The Sunshine State – Latest FL Pollster update including the final PPP #s: Mitt 41.8, Newt 21.1, Paul 11.8, Santorum 10.9
- Poll finds Romney holding steady lead in Florida – The Hill’s Ballot Box – Latest Florida poll has Romney with 8 point lead over Gingrich #tcot #FLGOP #FLprimary
- Romney sees big win in Florida – TheHill.com – Confident Romney sees big win in Florida #tcot #FLGOP #FLprimary #GOP2012
- CBO says federal employees rake in much more pay – Washington Times – CBO says federal employees rake in much more pay.
- Fox News Channel set to make ratings milestone with 10 years atop the Nielsen charts – NY Daily News – Domination: Today marks the 10 straight year Fox News Channel has been the highest rated cable network.
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-31
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s Cali…
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s Cali…
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s Cali…
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – RE: Patricia McKeon had better explain what job she did for the extra 50K a year. I am positive she will be asked.M…
- AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon Has Received Washington Defense Lobbyist Money for California Assembly Race
- President 2012 Poll Watch: Republicans Increasingly Unhappy With GOP Presidential Field | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Poll Watch: Republicans Increasingly Unhappy With GOP Presidential Field
- Democrats Take Lead in Congressional Ballot – Uh Oh! For the first time in about two-and-a-half years Democrats Take Lead in Congressional Ballot #tcot
- President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Viewed as More Presidential Than Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Viewed as More Presidential Than Gingrich
- Michelle Malkin » For Santorum – Lest we forget, this election is not about choosing a showboat candidate to run against John King or Juan Williams or Wolf Blitzer.It’s not about “raging against” some arbitrarily defined GOP “machine.”
For many grass-roots conservatives across the country, Romney and Gingrich are the machine.
And at this point in the game, Rick Santorum represents the most conservative candidate still standing who can articulate both fiscal and social conservative values — and live them.
- Michelle Malkin Endorses Santorum, Torches Newt – For months, super star conservative author and blogger Michelle Malkin has described the Republican presidential primary as a “pageant of the imperfects,” lamenting that the GOP field represents an uninspiring, “nose plugs” choice for conservatives. Despite her public misgivings, she’s finally donned the requisite odor blockers and made her selection: Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The entire piece is worth a thorough read, but here is a small sampling of Malkin’s pro-Santorum case:
- Untitled (https://plus.google.com/105353644409523560325/posts/DN4NkgETF9Q) – As if Obama needs even more than the $ 1 Billion he has already raised…
- Nevada officials: Luxor guests had Legionnaires’ – Health officials in Las Vegas said Monday that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia.The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.
The Las Vegas Strip resort’s water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.
Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.
MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.
- Untitled (https://plus.google.com/105353644409523560325/posts/HhQAyUHgkuW) – The poor Colts as the Patriots take over their practice facility for the Super Bowl
- SD-19 Poll Watch: Mike Stoker Beating Hannah-Beth Jackson in Jason Hodge Sponsored Poll » Flap’s California Blog – SD-19 Poll Watch: Mike Stoker Beating Hannah-Beth Jackson in Jason Hodge Sponsored Poll
- Most Americans Fudge on Weight and Height Surveys? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Most Americans Fudge on Weight and Height Surveys?
- The Morning Flap: January 30, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: January 30, 2012
- HBO’s Game Change portrays “meltdown” Palin – The latest trailer for HBO’s “Game Change” portrays Sarah Palin as natural disaster mistakenly unleashed by the McCain campaign.”Oh my god what have we done.” Woody Harrelson’s Steve Schmidt says, “I can’t control her anymore.” — “She’s on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown.”
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Flap’s Links and Comments for May 3rd on 12:40
These are my links for May 3rd from 12:40 to 13:49:
- In-Sen: Richard Lugar Calls For Afghanistan Endgame – At a time when many Republicans are praising President Obama following the U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) is doubling down on his effort to press the president on an endgame for the war in Afghanistan.
"Clearly it would not be in our national security interest to have the Taliban take over the government or have Afghanistan reestablished as a terrorist safe haven," Lugar said in a Tuesday statement. "But the President has not offered a vision of what success in Afghanistan would entail or how progress toward success would be measured."
On Monday, Lugar welcomed the news that bin Laden had been killed but said his death should also serve as a reminder. "The reported death of Osama bin Laden is welcome news, but it in no way eliminates the threat from the terrorism he espoused," he said. "This is another reminder that Americans cannot hide from global affairs."
Lugar's questioning of the strategy in Afghanistan isn't new, but it shows that his team expects the news of bin Laden's death to bring more attention to the debate over the mission in Afghanistan.
"If anything, the attack on bin Laden proves that maybe we are more successful and should be putting our money and resources in those kinds of operations wherever al Qaida is, which is in Yemen and in Africa and not necessarily in Afghanistan," said Lugar adviser Mark Helmke.
=======
The rationale for continued troop presence in Afghanistan may very well have disappeared with Bin Laden's death.
Lugar is trying to bolster favor with voters in Indiana, while he best do that with domestic matters and then retire.
- President 2012 Arizona Poll Watch: Mitt Romney 48% Vs. Barack Obama 44% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Arizona Poll Watch: Mitt Romney 48% Vs. Barack Obama 44% #tcot #catcot
- Another Version of the Osama Bin Laden Courier Story | The Weekly Standard – Another Version of the Osama Bin Laden Courier Story
- Another Version of the Osama Bin Laden Courier Story – Yet another version of how U.S. intelligence officials identified Osama bin Laden’s courier has been published. Again, we need confirmation from intelligence officials to determine which details are true. It is not at all clear at this point how this went down.
The Associated Press reports that “detainees in the CIA’s secret prison network told interrogators about an important courier with the nom de guerre Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti who was close to bin Laden.” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed later “confirmed knowing al-Kuwaiti but denied he had anything to do with al-Qaida.”
A new tip came in 2004, when “top al-Qaida operative Hassan Ghul was captured in Iraq.” According to the AP’s account:
Ghul told the CIA that al-Kuwaiti was a courier, someone crucial to the terrorist organization. In particular, Ghul said, the courier was close to Faraj al-Libi, who replaced Mohammed as al-Qaida's operational commander. It was a key break in the hunt for in bin Laden's personal courier.
Then, after al-Libi was captured in May 2005:
Under CIA interrogation, al-Libi admitted that when he was promoted to succeed Mohammed, he received the word through a courier. But he made up a name for the courier and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti, a denial that was so adamant and unbelievable that the CIA took it as confirmation that he and Mohammed were protecting the courier. It only reinforced the idea that al-Kuwaiti was very important to al-Qaida.
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- In-Sen: Richard Lugar Calls For Afghanistan Endgame – At a time when many Republicans are praising President Obama following the U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) is doubling down on his effort to press the president on an endgame for the war in Afghanistan.
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Flap’s Links and Comments for March 30th on 11:06
These are my links for March 30th from 11:06 to 14:25:
- Video: California Democrats Go Saul Alinsky Over Rep. Dan Lungren and Styrofoam | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: California Democrats Go Saul Alinsky Over Rep. Dan Lungren and Styrofoam #tcot #catcot
- FL-Sen Poll Watch: Sen. Bill Nelson in Decent Shape? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – FL-Sen Poll Watch: Sen. Bill Nelson in Decent Shape? #tcot #catcot
- Dilbert – March 30, 2011 – Low Opinion | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Dilbert – March 30, 2011 – Low Opinion #tcot #catcot
- Why Lugar’s Primary Challenger Is No Sharron Angle – Hotline On Call – In-Sen: Why Sen. richard Lugar's Primary Challenger Is No Sharron Angle
- Immelt Must Go | Progressives United – Oh come on Russ – say what you really feel – Obama MUST go! #tcot
- In-Sen: Why Sen. richard Lugar’s Primary Challenger Is No Sharron Angle – Democratic campaign officials are looking at closely at contesting the Senate race in Indiana, where Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) is at risk of losing the Republican nomination to a candidate running to his right, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R).
They liken the situation in Indiana to the 2010 Senate races in Delaware and Nevada, where weak conservative candidates emerged and ended up losing winnable races.
But while Mourdock upsetting the longtime senator would give Democrats a better shot at picking up the seat – no Democrat even challenged Lugar in 2006 – the party still would face a tough task winning in a Republican-friendly state. Here's why:
Mourdock's Part Of The Establishment: While Mourdock does not have the experience Lugar has winning Senate races, he is a statewide officeholder in his second term. Mourdock was elected treasurer in 2006 and cruised to reelection in 2010. Neither Christine O'Donnell (R) nor Sharron Angle (R) had that record of success going into their respective races.
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