• Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: March 29, 2012

    These are my links for March 28th through March 29th:

    • Blame Palin? ‘Kill Zimmerman’ Twitter Account Launched – Barack Obama has remained silent as the usual suspects have been busy stirring up hate aimed at George Zimmerman, the Florida Hispanic involved in the shooting death of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. Now the anger has taken a new twist, breaking out on Twitter with an account named “Kill Zimmerman.” It features an image of Zimmerman in crosshairs.
    • Report: Zimmerman Told Police Teen Punched Him Before Fatal Shooting – The core of Trayvon Martin’s story has been told again and again in recent days — about how the 17-year-old went out to a Sanford, Florida, convenience store, only to be killed on his way back to his father’s fiance’s home.

      Yet one month later, questions persist as to exactly how and why that happened. The man who admitted shooting the teen has not been charged in connection to the case, much to the dismay of Martin’s parents and thousands of strangers nationwide who’ve rallied behind them.

      On Monday, the story continued to gain both complexity, and clarity, thanks to details of the account that Martin’s shooter gave to police after the shooting.

      George Zimmerman’s description is outlined in an Orlando Sentinel article that cited “authorities” as the source of its information. The Sanford Police Department subsequently released a statement that, while condemning what it called”unauthorized leaks,” confirmed the newspaper account “is consistent with the information provided to the State Attorney’s office by the police department.”

      Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, told police he was on his way to the grocery store when he saw Martin, a black male, walking through his gated community, according to the Sentinel report.

      “Something’s wrong with him,” he told a 911 dispatcher, according to the contents of a call released last week. “Yep. He’s coming to check me out. He’s got something in his hands.”

      The teen started to run, Zimmerman said. When he said he was following the boy, the dispatcher told him, “We don’t need you to do that.”

      Shortly afterward, neighbors began calling 911 to report an apparent altercation, then a gunshot.

      The Orlando Sentinel report fills in some blanks, purportedly from Zimmerman’s perspective, of what transpired in the meantime.

    • EXCLUSIVE: Robert Zimmerman interview – For the first time since that fateful night on February 26, the father of a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager sat down for a television interview.

      Robert Zimmerman, father of George Zimmerman, said he decided it was time to speak out for his son, against the advice of others. He shared with us what George said happened on the night that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin died.

      “It’s my understanding that Trayvon Martin got on top of him and just started beating him,” the 64-year-old Robert Zimmerman said.

      He said he felt his son has been portrayed in the wrong way. He also said he and his family have received death threats and asked that we not show his face on camera.

      Because there has been a lot of break-ins in the area, Robert said George thought it suspicious that someone would not be walking on the street or the sidewalk on a rainy night — that Martin would be walking between the town homes. He said after making those observations, his son decided to call the police.

    • San Francisco Plastic Bag Ban to Go National? – Hide your kids, hide your wife: the scourge of the grocery market remains on the lam. Fortunately, courageous legislators have assumed the burden of this great responsibility to ban plastic bags nationwide and, in the process, throttle the manufacturing sector.

      San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors earned the ignominy in 2007 of introducing the first legislative proscription of plastic bags in supermarkets and chain pharmacies. Last month, the same Board extended the landmark ban to all retail establishments and restaurants. North of 50 municipalities have taken similar action to eliminate the bags in the interim, either through an outright ban or taxes on those businesses that use them.

      “This effort’s no longer confined to San Francisco,” remarked an environmental politics watchdog with whom Capitol Confidential spoke. “How any nanny state legislation with roots in the City by the Bay can be seen as a legitimate tactic to be pursued in places like Texas is a truly frightening commentary on the nation’s political landscape.”

      By Big Government’s count, three state legislatures are considering statewide bans on these 100 percent recyclable shopping bags. Another 90 jurisdictions still are considering mirrored legislation.

    • Rubio: I’m not going to be vice president – For the record, it’s still no. But is Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio leaving his vice presidential options open? Consider how he answered the question Thursday to CNN.

      “My answer hasn’t changed on the vice presidential stuff. I know people keep asking me but my answer hasn’t changed,” Rubio told CNN one day after announcing his endorsement of GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney.

    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-29
    • Video: Rep Bobby Rush Wears a Hoodie in Congress – Kicked Off the Floor | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: Rep Bobby Rush Wears a Hoodie in Congress – Kicked Off the Floor
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-28
    • The Morning Flap: March 28, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: March 28, 2012
    • Day By Day March 28, 2012 – Made | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 28, 2012 – Made
    • AD-38: B.J. Atkins Republican Central Committee Member Calls on Patricia McKeon to Release Steve Cooley Documents » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: B.J. Atkins Republican Central Committee Member Calls on Patricia McKeon to Release Steve Cooley Documents
    • Justices poised to strike down entire healthcare law – The Supreme Court’s conservative justices said Wednesday they are prepared to strike down President Obama’s healthcare law entirely.

      Picking up where they left off Tuesday, the conservatives said they thought a decision striking down the law’s controversial individual mandate to purchase health insurance means the whole statute should fall with it.

      The court’s conservatives sounded as though they had determined for themselves that the 2,700-page measure must be declared unconstitutional.

      “One way or another, Congress will have to revisit it in toto,” said Justice Antonin Scalia.

      Agreeing, Justice Anthony Kennedy said it would be an “extreme proposition” to allow the various insurance regulations to stand after the mandate was struck down.

      Meanwhile, the court’s liberal justices argued for restraint. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the court should do a “salvage job,” not undertake a “wrecking operation.” But she looked to be out-voted.

    • Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles – Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: March 28, 2012 – The Daily Extraction: March 28, 2012
    • Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles – Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time
    • Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time
    • Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/28/4372454/fletcher-leaves-gop-before-san.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#mi_rss=Latest%20News) – RT @sacbee_news: APNewsBreak: Fletcher bolts GOP in San Diego
  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: February 15, 2012

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

    • How Likely Is a Brokered Convention? – Last week, I wrote that a path to a brokered convention was beginning to emerge in the Republican electorate. I was purposely vague as to how likely such an occurrence is. I called the path “very narrow” and said it is “beginning to emerge,” outlining the various contingencies required. But the truth is, at this point, the entire endeavor is pretty speculative; we won’t really know how viable the path is until after Super Tuesday.

      But with polls now showing Rick Santorum running well in Michigan — a key state if he really is going to dominate in the Midwest — the topic is worth revisiting. Because if Santorum can win Michigan and Mitt Romney can take Arizona without knocking Newt Gingrich into irrelevance, then a brokered convention becomes much more likely.

    • Department of Home-Lunch Security – By Mark Steyn – The home-made lunch having been ruled illegal by officials*, the preschooler was given a federally-approved lunch, for which her mother has been sent a bill. The girl didn’t care for the substitute lunch, ate only the three chicken nuggets, and left everything else on her tray untouched. It may not have worked out all that nutritious for her, but at least it’s compliant with DCDEE/DHHS/USDA paperwork, and that’s what matters.
    • The GOP’s emerging Bob Dole problem – A flood of new data points to one clear conclusion: At least for now, President Obama and his Republican opponents are heading in opposite directions.

      A CBS News/New York Times poll released last night puts Obama’s approval rating at 50 percent — his best performance in that survey since the spring of 2010 (not counting last May’s brief bin Laden bounce). The poll also shows Obama enjoying his best score since the summer of ’10 on his handling of the economy and his best score since at least late 2009 (when the question was first asked) on job creation, and finds voters voters more optimistic than they’ve been in nearly two years on the overall direction of the economy.

    • Why Republicans Don’t Trust Romney – Why can’t Mitt Romney make the sale to conservatives? And why is Rick Santorum, the ultimate long shot at the start of this race, now in a position to be a viable alternative?

      Mitt Romney used the word conservative and conservatism more than two dozen times, according to the Washington Post’s Dan Balz , in his speech last week at the CPAC convention. That rhetoric is quite different from ten years ago when he was running for Governor of Massachusetts. 

      He stated during that campaign that he was “not a partisan Republican” but rather a “moderate” with “progressive” views.” 

    • Michael Boskin: Washington’s Knack for Picking Losers – WSJ.com
    • Rivkin and Whelan: Birth-Control Mandate—Unconstitutional and Illegal – WSJ.com
    • Romney Surrogate Attacks Santorum for Voting the Same Way He Did – Mitt Romney’s campaign is now targeting GOP rival Rick Santorum as a big-spending Washington insider. On a conference call Tuesday afternoon, former Missouri senator and Romney surrogate Jim Talent criticized Santorum’s support for expanding government spending, including his vote for the Medicare Part D in 2003—a program for which Talent himself voted.

      “Senator Santorum is running in Missouri as a trusted and comprehensive conservative,” Talent said. “He certainly has been outspoken on social issues, and we honor his record in that regard, but when you get outside those issues into fiscal, spending, regulatory issues, his record shows that he’s been in the liberal wing of the Republican party.”

      Talent continued, pointing to a few votes that show Santorum’s “liberal” spending record. “I want to note that Senator Santorum voted for No Child Left Behind, which was a big expansion of federal power over local education,” he said. “He voted for Medicare Part D, a big expansion of a federal entitlement.”

    • President 2012 Video: Romney Super PAC Hits Rick Santorum in Michigan, Arizona and Ohio | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Video: Romney Super PAC Hits Rick Santorum in Michigan, Arizona and Ohio
    • Energy Conversion Devices files for bankruptcy as solar energy lags – In the latest setback for the solar energy industry, Auburn Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices said today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and intends to sell its assets, including its main subsidiary United Solar Ovonic.

      “We firmly believe there is a strong and sustainable commercial market for Uni-Solar products,” Julian Hawkins, ECD’s CEO and president, said in a statement. “However our current capital structure and legacy costs are preventing USO from making the investments necessary for the future of the business without restructuring through the bankruptcy process.”

      The maker of solar roofing materials, which will continue to operate, employs 750 workers, 60% of them in Michigan. They will remain active employees during the sales process though some have been furloughed, said company spokesman Michael Schostak.

      ECD also said it has sold its Ovonic Battery Co. to BASF Corp. for $58 million in cash before transaction fees and other factors. The battery subsidiary’s 35 employees have been hired by BASF.

    • Cold Hands During Runs | Ask the Sports Doc – RT @runnersworld: What to do about cold hands during a run: #runningtips
    • Nuking our Nukes – Obama and Cutting America’s Nuclear Forces – President Obama has ordered the Pentagon to consider cutting U.S. strategic nuclear forces to as low as 300 deployed warheads—below the number believed to be in China’s arsenal and far fewer than current Russian strategic warhead stocks.

      Pentagon and military planners were asked to develop three force levels for the U.S. arsenal of deployed strategic nuclear warheads: a force of 1,100 to 1,000 warheads; a second scenario of between 700 and 800 warheads; and the lowest level of between 300 and 400 warheads.

      A congressional official said no president in the past ever told the Pentagon to conduct a review based on specific numbers of warheads.

      “In the past, the way it worked was, ‘tell me what the world is like and then tell me what the force should be,’” the official said. “That is not happening in this review.”

      The plan for a radical cut in warheads is contained in a review of nuclear weapons ordered by the president in an August directive. The review called the Nuclear Posture Review Implementation Study is nearing completion and could be presented to the president as early as next month.

    • US weighing steep nuclear arms cuts – The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned.

      Even the most modest option now under consideration would be an historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Barack Obama’s 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons.

    • Politico reporter Ben Smith withheld information about liberal Media Matters For America – About a year ago, the organization Media Matters For America gave Politico reporter Ben Smith a 2010 planning memo for a profile he was writing on the liberal advocacy group.

      But Smith curiously withheld key parts of the 89-page document when he published his story, “Media Matters’ war against Fox,” in March 2011.

      The Daily Caller became aware of this after obtaining the same document while reporting the series “Inside Media Matters,” which debuted here late Sunday night.

      Smith made no mention of Media Matters targeting organizations other than Fox News, such as the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Nor does he reveal that, according to the memo, Media Matters was intent on researching Republican political figures like Republican former U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and Republican Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, and the prominent libertarian political donor Peter Thiel.

      “An opposition research team will serve to hold Thiel and others like him accountable,” the memo states. Smith made no mention of such efforts in his story.

      He also failed to disclose Media Matters’ interest in marginalizing political news websites including Newsmax and Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government, saying only that the organization had narrowed its focus to “Fox and a handful of conservative websites.”

    • Peggy Noonan Schools Mika Brzezinski on Obama Contraception Mandate During ‘Morning Joe’ Panel Discussion | Video | TheBlaze.com – Peggy Noonan Schools Mika Brzezinski on Obama ‘Mischievously’ Misinforming Public About Contraceptives
    • Fox News ‘course correction’ rankles some – Keach Hagey – POLITICO.com – Fox News ‘course correction’ rankles some
    • President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Is Mitt Romney Electable? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Is Mitt Romney Electable?
    • Poll Watch: 46 Per Cent of Catholics Approve of President Obama | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: 46 Per Cent of Catholics Approve of President Obama
    • Poll Watch: 59 Per Cent of Catholics Disapprove of President Obama | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: 59 Per Cent of Catholics Disapprove of President Obama
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: California Legislature Pushes Dentistry For All Socialism – California Legislature Pushes Dentistry For All Socialism
    • (404) http://t.co/x9C – RT @ppppolls: Gingrich would be the biggest GOP general election disaster trailing Obama 52-40, incl. 19 pts with indys: …
    • AD-38: Rep Buck McKeon’s Staff Says Memo Leak Was a Computer HACK » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Rep Buck McKeon’s Staff Says Memo Leak Was a Computer HACK
    • Flap’s California Morning Collection: February 14, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: February 14, 2012
    • The Morning Flap: February 14, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: February 14, 2012
  • Chuck DeVore,  Nanny State

    CA-Sen: Chuck DeVore A Nanny State HYPOCRITE?

    From California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s Twitter Stream

    Afraid so.

    As Chuck who is running for the United States Senate while an incumbent member of the California Legislature, rails about the NANNY STATE re: solid brass fittings for his house, it is EASY to point out that DeVore himself did the same with regards to pregnant women.

    DeVore’s idea was to give pregnant and post-pregnant women some special so-called “handicapped” parking privileges. More specifically, a bill recently introduced by DeVore, AB 1940, would have defined women’s last trimester of pregnancy and the first two months after birth as a time of “temporary disability,” which would have entitled them to obtain handicapped placards and to park in most handicapped spots during that five-month period.

    I mean for a so-called small government conservative as DeVore considers himself how stupid is this?

    But, good ol’ Chuck is undeterred – at least on Twitter as he fires again.

    From DeVore’s Twitter Stream

    And, even writes a piece for the Andrew Breitbart’s blog, Big Government, about what?

    Yeah, those damn brass plumbing fixtures for HIS house.

    Last night was one of those nights when I was mad as hell at the California State government and their foolish, micro-managing, Big-Nanny ways.  (Caution, dear reader, such rage at the machine has been known to cause the temporary insanity of running for public office.)

    The cause of my extended rant?  AB 1953, a law passed in 2006 that goes into effect on January 1, 2010, the purpose of which was to define lead-free plumbing from 4% in fixtures down to the European Union standard of 0.25%.  Not that the science supported this change.  Once lead was removed as a gasoline additive, taken out of paints, and removed from plumbing (the Latin word for plumbing is where we get the chemical symbol for lead: Pb), human lead exposure dropped significantly.  Having a small percentage of lead bound up in a brass alloy plumbing fixture isn’t going to add a statistically meaningful amount of lead exposure to anyone.

    But, Chuck what about your own bill for pregnant women?

    We’re pleased a Nanny State intrusion wisely was rejected Monday in a legislative committee vote that killed Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s plan to extend special parking privileges to pregnant women.

    Mr. DeVore, R-Irvine, often has lambasted Nanny Staters for their know-it-all intrusions into peoples’ lives. But apparently he isn’t immune to the “fix-everyone’s-problem” syndrome. His bill would have extended temporary handicapped parking passes to pregnant women, despite the obvious fact pregnant women aren’t handicapped. This GOP version of Nanny Statism had the usual flaw we see when Big Brother “helps.” It’s entirely arbitrary.

    Assembly Bill 1940 would have extended special privileges to 500,000 pregnant women a year in California, but not at once. It was only for the last three months of pregnancy. Why not the last four? Why not all nine? It was also for women for two more after giving birth. Why not four months? Why not a year? Why at all?

    We like pregnant women. In fact, we’re indebted to them. But Mr. DeVore’s bill was just another intrusion into places the government should not go. When government doles out privileges, they are not only arbitrary, they instantly create a subclass dependent on government for continuing the special consideration denied to others. This is typical of Democratic politics, which divvies the population into interest groups, each relying on government to fund or protect its special privilege.

    It sounds to me like Nanny state for ME but NOT for thee.

    And, this guy is running for the United States Senate? Someone who becomes unhinged because of plumbing fixtures and then exposes his own hypocrisy?

    Wow, just weird!


    Technorati Tags: ,