Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

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These are my links for March 29th through April 2nd:

• Senior citizens continue to bear burden of student loans – The burden of paying for college is wreaking havoc on the finances of an unexpected demographic: senior citizens.

  New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans, providing a rare window into the dynamics of student debt. More than 10 percent of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.

• Palin to Couric: ‘Game On’ – When news broke that Katie Couric will be filling in for Robin Roberts next week on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the country yawned. Or, at least we did, until we learned that NBC plans to pit “The Rogue Warrior” against “The Perky One”: Sarah Palin will be guest-hosting “Today” this Tuesday.

  NBC’s decision to seat the former Alaska Governor-turned-multimedia star in their anchor chair should prove to be a fruitful one. Since coming onto the national scene in 2008, Palin has become one of the most charismatic figures in conservative America and will likely bring “Today” an entirely different demographic of viewers.

  “I see this as a good opportunity to bring an independent, common-sense conservative perspective to NBC. We’re ‘going rogue’ and infiltrating some turf for a day,” Palin told Breitbart News.

• Top Obama campaign donor accused of fraud – A major donor to President Barack Obama has been accused of defrauding a businessman and impersonating a bank official, creating new headaches for Obama’s re-election campaign as it deals with the questionable history of another top supporter.

  The New York donor, Abake Assongba, and her husband contributed more than $50,000 to Obama’s re-election effort this year, federal records show. But Assongba is also fending off a civil court case in Florida, where she’s accused of thieving more than $650,000 to help build a multimillion-dollar home in the state — a charge her husband denies.

  Obama is the only presidential contender this year who released his list of “bundlers,” the financiers who raise campaign money by soliciting high-dollar contributions from friends and associates. But that disclosure has not come without snags; his campaign returned $200,000 last month to Carlos and Alberto Cardona, the brothers of a Mexican fugitive wanted on federal drug charges.

• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 2, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 2, 2012
• Day By Day March 31- April 2, 2012 – Sam Gets a Grip | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 31- April 2, 2012 – Sam Gets a Grip
• How Keith ‘drove’ a network bonkers – What a way to treat broadcast royalty.

  Keith Olbermann was fired from Current TV after complaining that one of the peasants who drove his limo had the effrontery to try to talk to him.

  And that another one smelled.

  Suits at Al Gore’s fledgling cable network sacked the temperamental man-of-the-people after a series of on-the-job clashes, including the diva’s outrageous run of car services, network sources told The Post yesterday.

  “Current went through eight different [limo] companies with Keith. Each and every time . . . he didn’t like them,” a network insider said.

  “One time it was that the drivers talked to him, he did not like that the driver saw fit to speak to him. The other time he complained that the driver smelled.”

  Olbermann couldn’t even be bothered to put pen to paper, in exchange for his luxury rides.

• Bill Clinton says Romney needs ‘Etch A Sketch’ reboot to win general election – The Hill’s Video – RT @thehill: Bill Clinton: Romney will need an ‘Etch A Sketch’ reboot to beat Obama #tcot #obama #gop2012
• Romney speaks! My Q&A with Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney « The Enterprise Blog – Etcha Sketch flipper RT @JimPethokoukis ICYMI: My exclusive weekend interview with GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney
• GOP 12: Swing state poll makes key omissions – RT @GOP12: Why USA Today swing state poll is severely misleading.
• Poll: Obama pulling away from Romney in battleground states – President Obama has opened up a significant lead over GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney in 12 swing states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the election, according to the latest USA Today-Gallup poll.

  Obama leads Romney 51 percent to 42 percent in Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

• Former President Clinton on Mitt Romney: Etch-a-Sketch “Is What He’s Got to Do” – ABC News – RT @jaketapper Former President Clinton on Mitt Romney: Etch-a-Sketch “Is What He’s Got to Do” >
• Gallup: Obama leads Romney – 49 vs. 45 – President Barack Obama is pulling ahead with a 4-percentage-point lead over Mitt Romney in a general election matchup, according to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll Monday.

  Almost half of all registered voters, 49 percent, said they would vote for Obama for president, while 45 percent said they would pick Romney. The 4-point lead is within the poll’s margin of error but is still the biggest advantage the president has had against Romney in Gallup polling to date. Also, Obama has a solid 8-point lead among independents against Romney, 48 to 40 percent.

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-02 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-02
• Twitter – Twitter
• Twitter – Twitter
• Twitter – Twitter
• Twitter – Twitter
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/Fullosseousflap/stickers/amc/the_killing_season_2_premiere?s=ts&ref=Fullosseousflap) – I unlocked the The Killing Season 2 Premiere sticker on @GetGlue!
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/Fullosseousflap/stickers/amc/the_killing_season_2_coming_soon?s=ts&ref=Fullosseousflap) – I unlocked the The Killing Season 2 Coming Soon sticker on @GetGlue!
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-01 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-01
• Twitter – Twitter
• Twitter – Twitter
• Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – foursquare – A rainy morning in Marina Del Rey after our recovery 6 miler (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-31
• Update: Olbermann Responds – Keith Olbermann Fired by Current TV | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Update: Olbermann Responds – Keith Olbermann Fired by Current TV
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/tv_shows/whitechapel?s=tch&ref=Fullosseousflap) – On the DVR… @GetGlue #whitechapel
• Twitter – RT @ScottWGraves: MUST READ: 11 consecutive @KeithOlbermann tweets regarding his firing by @AlGore… #bitter #arrogant
• Unpaid bloggers’ lawsuit vs Huffington Post tossed – AOL Inc on Friday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by unpaid bloggers who complained they were deprived of their fair share of the roughly $315 million that the company paid last March to buy The Huffington Post website.

  U.S. District Judge John Koeltl rejected claims by social activist and commentator Jonathan Tasini and an estimated 9,000 other bloggers that they deserved $105 million, or about one-third, of the purchase price.

  The lawsuit contended that the work of unpaid content providers like bloggers gave The Huffington Post much of its value, and that the website’s sale allowed co-founder Arianna Huffington to profit at their expense. Tasini said he alone had made 216 submissions to the website over more than five years.

  But Koeltl said “no one forced” the bloggers to repeatedly provide their work with no expectation of being paid, and said they got what they bargained for when their works were published.

  “The principles of equity and good conscience do not justify giving the plaintiffs a piece of the purchase price when they never expected to be paid, repeatedly agreed to the same bargain, and went into the arrangement with eyes wide open,” the judge wrote.

• Police Recommend Medical Marijuana Delivery Service | NBC Bay Area – Daly City, California Police Recommend Medical Marijuana Delivery Service
• Daly City, California Police Recommend Medical Marijuana Delivery Service – Medical marijuana dispensaries are verboten in Daly City, Calif., following the City Council’s vote Monday to ban them. But delivery options are available to marijuana-seekers — just ask the police.

  Cops gave several reasons why medical marijuana dispensaries should be banned in the San Mateo County city just south of San Francisco, according to SF Weekly. One is that 25 indoor pot farms were discovered in Daly City in 2011, according to police. Another is that cannabis patients can drive to San Francisco — or get their medicine delivered. The cops mentioned one service by name.

• Keith Olbermann Fired by Current TV | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Keith Olbermann Fired by Current TV
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: @LPUN2KZ4AGZEEIQNC4W3ZSW3HY  Joe,

  The Democrats had a stellar (at least that is what they thought) in Ventura Co…

• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: @LPUN2KZ4AGZEEIQNC4W3ZSW3HY  Joe,

  What makes you think that Linda Parks will be able to bring both sides togethe…

• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: No Advantages for Low-Fluoride Toothpaste in Preventing Tooth Decay or Fluorosis – No Advantages for Low-Fluoride Toothpaste in Preventing Tooth Decay or Fluorosis
• Not-So-Smooth Operator – Obama increasingly comes across as devious and dishonest – Something’s happening to President Obama’s relationship with those who are inclined not to like his policies. They are now inclined not to like him. His supporters would say, “Nothing new there,” but actually I think there is. I’m referring to the broad, stable, nonradical, non-birther right. Among them the level of dislike for the president has ratcheted up sharply the past few months.

  It’s not due to the election, and it’s not because the Republican candidates are so compelling and making such brilliant cases against him. That, actually, isn’t happening.

  What is happening is that the president is coming across more and more as a trimmer, as an operator who’s not operating in good faith. This is hardening positions and leading to increased political bitterness. And it’s his fault, too. As an increase in polarization is a bad thing, it’s a big fault.

• Day By Day March 30, 2012 – Trash Talk | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 30, 2012 – Trash Talk
• Poll Watch: Oklahoma City Leads America in Job Creation for Metropolitan Areas – Pittsburgh Second | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Oklahoma City Leads America in Job Creation for Metropolitan Areas – Pittsburgh Second
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-30 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-30
• CA-26: Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley Picks Up Environmental Group’s Endorsement | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley Picks Up Environmental Group’s Endorsement
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog
• Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll – Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/tv_shows/nba_on_tnt?s=tch&ref=Fullosseousflap) – Lakers vs OKC @GetGlue @nbaontnt
• Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll – Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog
• Adelson says Gingrich ‘at the end of his line’ – Adelson says Gingrich ‘at the end of his line’
• CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks and Tony Strickland | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: @LPUN2KZ4AGZEEIQNC4W3ZSW3HY  No, Joe, I am not missing the point.

  A number of  Democrat activists have been quit…

• Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll – Gingrich hits new low in Gallup Poll
• Adelson says Gingrich ‘at the end of his line’ – Adelson says Gingrich ‘at the end of his line’

These are my links for October 20th from 10:51 to 18:19:

• Gallup.Com – Polling Matters by Frank Newport: Occupy Wall Street, Obama, Marijuana, and Facebook – 3. True or false: Presidential job approval ratings don’t rise between the fall of the year before an election and election year itself. In other words, it's unlikely that Obama’s job approval ratings will be much higher next year.

  That’s false. Clinton’s ratings went up over 10 percentage points between October 1995 and 1996. Reagan’s job approval ratings went up over 10 points between October 1983 and 1984. Carter’s ratings went up over 20 points between October 1979 and January 1980 (although they rapidly fell back down again). And George H.W. Bush’s job approval ratings fell more than 30 points between October 1991 and 1992.

  In other words, an incumbent president's job approval ratings can, in fact, change significantly between October of the year before an election and the election year itself. Obama’s job approval ratings are hovering right around 40%. History suggests it is in theory possible that his ratings could rise 10 points between now and next year, which would put him at or around 50% — the bottom range of where he would need to be based on history to win re-election.

  4. What percent of those aged 65 years and older say marijuana should be legalized?

  The answer to that question is 31%. That contrasts, of course to the overall average of 50% for all adults, and 62% among those aged 18-29 years who support legalizing pot. Perhaps some of those aged 65 and older are aging hippies who fondly remember the Flower Power days of the 1960s.

  5. True or False: Facebook users are almost entirely composed of those below age 50.

  False. While Facebook use certainly skews young, 18% of those we interviewed in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll who were 65 years and older said they have a Facebook page. That compares to 35% of those 50 to 64, 58% of those 30 to 49, and a whopping 74% of those 18 to 29 we interviewed. Overall, 48% of Americans say they have a Facebook page.

• Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland – With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

  Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.

  "There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here."

  Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.
  "We're not in the business of failing; we're in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business," Fisker said. "That's why we went to Finland."

  =======

  Read it all…..

• LifeNews.com – The Pro-Life News Source – Cain Releases Clarifying Statement: I'm Pro-Life on Abortion |
• Dilbert October 20, 2011 – Forbidden Planet » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert October 20, 2011 – Forbidden Planet
• Cain Releases Clarifying Statement: I’m Pro-Life on Abortion | LifeNews.com – RT @StevenErtelt: Cain Releases Clarifying Statement: I'm Pro-Life on Abortion
• Poll Watch: Who Has More Popular Support – The Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Who Has More Popular Support – The Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street? #tcot #catcot
• GOP 12: T. Boone Pickens doesn’t like GOP in-fighting – > But, they can't stop RT @GOP12: T. Boone Pickens to GOP field: Listen to Reagan, and quit pickin' on each other.
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Should the Federal Government Develop a New Nutritional Rating System for Food and Beverages? – A simpler, easier to use nutritional rating system for food and beverages is proposed…:
• California Veterinary Board Says NO to Dog Groomers Cleaning Teeth With Dental Scalers » Flap’s California Blog – California Veterinary Board Says No to Dog Groomers in Canine Dentistry issue..:
• Obama’s numbers down even in Hawaii – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Obama's Hawaii approval is 56/35. Down net 15 points from 64/29 in March:
• Flap’s Links and Comments for October 20th on 06:31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Chris Christie spurs a candidacy and Herman Cain mocked by Hillary Clinton…:

These are my links for September 9th through September 11th:

• More ground turkey recalled because of salmonella – Cargill Inc. announced a second recall of ground turkey products Sunday after a test showed salmonella in a sample from the same Arkansas plant tied to a recall issued last month.

  The second recall is much smaller than the one the company issued Aug. 3 for 36 million pounds of ground turkey. That recall followed a salmonella outbreak that federal health officials said had sickened 107 people in 31 states, killing one person.

  No illnesses have been tied to the second recall, which was initiated after a sample from the company's plant in Springdale, Ark., tested positive for salmonella, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

  Cargill halted production of ground turkey products at the plant Aug. 2 in anticipation of the recall announced the next day, spokesman Mike Martin said. Equipment was taken apart and steam-cleaned. Limited production resumed Aug. 10 after the USDA approved additional anti-bacterial safety measures, Martin said.

  The sample that tested positive for salmonella was taken Aug. 24, the USDA said. It was the same strain of salmonella tied to the earlier illnesses, the agency said.

  Martin said Cargill added two additional anti-bacterial washes to its processing process in Springdale after the first recall and instituted what he called "the most advanced sampling and monitoring system in the poultry industry."
  The problem, he said is that salmonella is "ubiquitous" and can come from soil, water, poultry feed and any number of sources. The challenge for Cargill and other food processors is to try to identify and eliminate the sources, reduce the amount during processing and then test for it.

• Marijuana Use Grows, While Methamphetamine Falls In USA – The main factor to push up overall figures was marijuana usage, the authors explained. From 2007 to 2010 the proportion of people aged 12 years or more to use marijuana rose from 5.8% to 6.9%.

  Below are some highlighted details of the survey:
  Illicit drug usage among people aged 18-25 years rose from 19.6% to 21.2% from 2008 to 2010 (marijuana usage increase was main factor)
  Non-medical use of prescription medicals, inhalants and hallucinogens were at similar levels in 2002, 2009 and 2010
  55% of people over 12 years of age who used prescription pain relievers for non-medical reasons during the previous 12 months, got them from a relative or friend for free
  Just 4.4% of pain reliever misusers received them from a drug dealer and 0.4% bought them online
  The number of methamphetamine users dropped by half from 2006 (353,000) to 2010 (731,000).
  Cocaine usage fell from 2.4 million users in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2010
  Drinking (alcohol) rates among 12-17 year olds fell from 14.7% in 2009 to 13.6% in 2010

• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-11 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-11 #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: 2012 Los Angeles Marathon: Los Angeles Roadrunners Expo – Los Angeles Roadrunner training for the Los Angeles Marathon begins next week:
• Dilbert September 10, 2011 – Bad at Math » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert September 10, 2011 – Bad at Math
• CLOSURE OF ANTRAL-ORAL FISTULA
  – YouTube – We have come along way baby!:
• Day By Day September 10, 2011 – Zoned Out | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – It is all in the hand…..:
• foursquare – Post six mile recovery run in Santa Monica with Alice, Tara and Nancy (@ Ronnie's Diner)
• Twitpic – Share photos and videos on Twitter – Off soon to run an easy 6 miles in Santa Monica and then off to LA Roadrunners Expo. Temps in 60's.
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-09-10 #tcot #catcot
• Main Street Disneyland
  – YouTube – Main Street Disneyland
  – YouTube
• Into Disneyland
  – YouTube – Into Disneyland
  – YouTube
• Main Street Disneyland
  – YouTube – I uploaded a @YouTube video Main Street Disneyland
• California State Senate Passes Amazon Internet Sales Tax Compromise Legislation » Flap’s California Blog – California State Senate Passes Amazon Internet Sales Tax Compromise Legislation
• Into Disneyland
  – YouTube – I uploaded a @YouTube video Into Disneyland
• Into California Adventure
  – YouTube – I uploaded a @YouTube video Into California Adventure
• Disneyland Half Marathon Start
  – YouTube – I uploaded a @YouTube video Disneyland Half Marathon Start
• Untitled (http://techland.time.com/2011/09/09/twitter-reveals-active-user-number-how-many-actually-say-something/) – 100 Million RT @TIME: How many people are using Twitter? Go ahead. Take a guess (hint: lots of zeroes) | (via @Techland)
• Meghan McCain | Romney | The Daily Caller – I knew I was waiting for this before I decided who to choose RT @DailyCaller: Meghan McCain backs Mitt Romney -
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: September 9, 2011 – The Daily Extraction: Tooth #7 with a very curved root tip
  :
• FDA Panel Says Bisphosphonates Need Label Changes on Use Duration | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – FDA Panel Says Bisphosphonates Need Label Changes on Use Duration #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Millionaire U.K Dentist Fined For Using Dead Man’s Parking Permit on His Ferrari – Millionaire U.K Dentist Fined For Using Dead Man's Parking Permit on His Ferrari
• Flap’s Links and Comments for September 8th through September 9th | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for September 8th through September 9th #tcot #catcot

Why, of course, Arnold would.

The California Governor, Schwarzenegger, who opposes Proposition 19, this morning signed a landmark bill in the state of California which decriminalizes the possession of marijuana. For those wondering, this does not make marijuana possession legal, but it no longer will be a misdemeanor offense. Instead of the mandatory fine of $100 as well as the mandatory appearance in front of a judge, the outcome of being caught with marijuana will now simply be a $100 fine. The new law will be in effect on January 1st and include anyone caught with up to an ounce of marijuana. Basically the possession of the drug is seen no different by California now than speeding is.

Schwarzenegger signed the bill because it will save the state a ton of money since there will no longer need to be a judge and attorneys appointed to each and every one of the misdemeanor offenses involving marijuana possession. Last year alone there were 60,000 Californians caught with the drug, and in the last decade approximately 500,000 offenders.

I am trying not to be cynical here but really isn’t this a ploy to make sure that Proposition 19 which legalizes marijuana on the November ballot will NOT pass? The fact is the medicinal marijuana law is a mockery and the use of marijuana is very common place – like alcohol in California.

I really don’t know how California will EVER solve its numerous problems with more stoned out citizens. But, the current law is really a joke anyway.