• 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
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 16th through August 17th

    These are my links for August 16th through August 17th:

    • Is Rick Perry the new Fred Thompson? – Perry has criticized Arizona’s tough anti-illegal immigration laws, and is a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, a battery of legislation that would put over 10 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. Conservatives call this amnesty. They are so offended by the policy that they were able to stop its implementation when another Texas Republican tried to push it through with help from a Democratic congress. Conservatives never trusted Bush again.

      Perry has also issues with social conservatives. He approved mandatory HPV vaccinations for all Texas public school girls above the objections of the religious right. He says he is “Okay” with New York’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, a provocative position for a candidate who wants to appeal to religious conservaties, and one that could intensify the now-whispered accusation that Perry is a closeted homosexual.

      And moderates can find plenty to dislike as well. There was the governor’s well-publicized flirtation with secession in 2009 for starters. And Perry’s religiosity goes beyond investing common American political maxims with Biblical language the way Obama does. Perry has encouraged Texas residents to pray for rain, a decision that was widely mocked. And he is holding a Day of Prayer and Fasting on August 6 that will include a panoply of pastors whose views go beyond the Evangelical mainstream. Needless to say, DAR Republicans don’t want a candidate whose religious friends describe the Statue of Liberty as an “idol” or think Oprah’s career portends the arrival of the Antichrist.

      =====

      Read it all

    • Some conservatives not thrilled by Rick Perry – But the vaccine controversy isn’t Perry’s only break from conservative orthodoxy.

      “The Gardasil debacle is just one of many concerns a wide range of grassroots conservative activists have about Perry's record as governor,” said prominent conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, who wrote a post critical of Perry on Wednesday. “He’s soft on illegal immigration despite a few recent nods to border enforcement. He's prone to crony capitalism. And as the vaccine mandate scandal shows, he demonstrated Nanny State tendencies that are anathema to Tea Party core principles.”

      Perry has also ruffled feathers with social conservatives in recent days by saying that under 10th Amendment principles, gay marriage in New York didn’t bother him. After all, Perry endorsed former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential race, who is hardly considered a social conservative.

      Perry has also drawn criticism for his plans for the Trans-Texas Corridor, a failed cross-state toll road that drew criticism from rural property owners and immigration foes, because the plan involved a partnership with the Mexican government.

      ======

      Read it all.

      I am concerned with his past of handling illegal immigration and the Texas Dream Act in particular.

      The Crony Capitalism is also a non-starter for me.

      If it is a choice between Romney, Perry and Bachmann, the GOP had better team up two of the three or Obama wins.

    • President 2012 GOP Wisconsin Poll Watch: Perry 20% Vs. Bachmann 20% Vs. Romney 13% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Wisconsin Poll Watch: Perry 20% Vs. Bachmann 20% Vs. Romney 13% #tcot #catcot
    • Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Tax the rich – yeah right.

      Maybe the NFL and NBA should… – Tax the rich – yeah right.Maybe the NFL and NBA should add some more teams?

    • Warren Buffett’s Tax Dodge – The billionaire volunteers the middle class for a tax increase – Barney Kilgore, the man who made the Wall Street Journal into a national publication, was once asked why so many rich people favored higher taxes. That's easy, he replied. They already have their money.

      That insight is worth recalling amid the latest political duet from President Obama and Warren Buffett demanding higher taxes on "millionaires and billionaires." Mr. Buffett is repeating his now familiar argument this week, coinciding with Mr. Obama's Midwestern road trip on the economy. Since the media are treating Mr. Buffett as a tax oracle, let's take a closer look at some of the billionaire's intellectual tax dodges.

      • The double tax oversight. The Berkshire Hathaway magnate makes much of the fact that he paid only 17.4% of his income in taxes, which he considers unfair when salaried workers often pay more. But Mr. Buffett makes most of his income from his investments, in particular from dividends and capital gains that are taxed at a rate of 15%.

      What he doesn't say is that much of his income was already taxed once as corporate income, which is assessed at a 35% rate (less deductions). The 15% levy on capital gains and dividends to individuals is thus a double tax that takes the overall tax rate on that corporate income closer to 45%.

      This onerous tax on capital is a U.S. competitive disadvantage in the global economy, which is why Congress agreed in 2003 to cut the rates on dividends and capital gains. Even as the rest of the world is cutting tax rates on corporate income, Mr. Buffett wants to raise U.S. rates in a way that would make America less attractive for investment. Under a sensible tax reform, the feds would impose either a corporate tax or a dividend and capital gains tax, but not both.

      • The middle-class bait-and-switch. Like Mr. Obama, Mr. Buffett speaks about raising taxes only on the rich. But somehow he ignores that the President's tax increase starts at $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. Mr. Obama ought to call them "thousandaires," but that probably doesn't poll as well.

      The President needs to levy his tax increase at such a lower income level because that's where the money is. In 2009, 237,000 taxpayers reported income above $1 million and they paid $178 billion in taxes. A mere 8,274 filers reported income above $10 million, and they paid only $54 billion in taxes.

      But 3.92 million reported income above $200,000 in 2009, and they paid $434 billion in taxes. To put it another way, roughly 90% of the tax filers who would pay more under Mr. Obama's plan aren't millionaires, and 99.99% aren't billionaires.

      ======

      Read it all

    • Flap’s California Morning Collection: August 17, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: August 17, 2011 #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: August 17, 2011 – The Morning Drill: August 17, 2011
    • Poll Watch: American Unemployment Rate Up to 9.1% in Mid-August | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: American Unemployment Rate Up to 9.1% in Mid-August #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012: Obama’s NOT So Secret Economic Plan = Blame Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Obama’s NOT So Secret Economic Plan = Blame Congress #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-17 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-17 #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for August 16th on 14:33 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for August 16th on 14:33 #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 12th on 19:39

    These are my links for May 12th from 19:39 to 19:42:

    • The obligatory “still no idea if Mitch Daniels is running for president” post – Remember all those news stories this morning about Mrs. Daniels’s big speech to the Indiana GOP tonight and how it maybe hopefully possibly might finally offer an inkling as to whether the Hoosier Hamlet was ready to jump in?

      Nope:

      At an Indiana GOP dinner featuring first lady Cheri Daniels as keynote speaker, Mitch Daniels spoke for a few minutes — and gave little away about his 2012 plans.

      “This whole business of running for national office … I’m not saying I won’t do it,” he said, talking about how he had planned to go “to some quiet place … [like the] outdoors cable network” after his term as governor was over…

      Cheri Daniels said little that alluded to 2012 in her keynote speech. (Although Daniels fans may want to note that she said: “If Mitch wants me to do something and he thinks the answer’s going to be no, he tells Cindy [Hoye, the executive director of the Indiana State Fair Commission] to ask me.”)

      “Look, just make a decision. It’s time,” grumbled Larry Sabato afterwards.

      =======

      Daniels is running and after the reception he and Cheri received he will soon announce the formation of an exploratory committee.

      Look for it around Memorial Day.

    • Hispanic Students – The Education Crisis Everyone Is Ignoring – Hispanics now constitute 16% of the U.S. population, and the Census Bureau estimates they will account for 30% in 2050. This obviously means the number of Hispanic students in our public schools is increasing as well. From just 2001 to 2008, the percentage of Hispanics in public schools grew from 17% to 21%. In Texas, Hispanics already make up the majority of public school students.

      You'd think those numbers would grab the attention of policymakers and educators and spur action — but you'd be wrong. Our public schools are woefully unprepared to deal with the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. Only 17% of Hispanic fourth-graders score proficient or better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (a test given to samples of students each year) while 42% of non-Hispanic white students do. Nationally, the high school graduation rate for Hispanics is just 64%, and only 7% of incoming college students are Hispanic, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education.

      These two tectonic issues — our rocketing Hispanic population and the inadequate education of Hispanic students — are on a collision course that could either end in disaster or in another story of successful assimilation in America. The stakes are clear: how we meet this challenge will impact our politics, economy and our society.

      The Hispanic population boom understandably caught some states, communities and educators flat-footed. Places with few, if any, Hispanic students just a few years ago now have sizable populations. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that in North Carolina 16 of 100 counties are more than 10% Hispanic. Just four were in 2000. In Harrisonburg, Va., a sleepy university town in the Shenandoah Valley, about 40% of students in the city schools are Hispanic English-language learners, a figure that has soared over the past decade.

      Still, the demographic projections are so well known that no one should be surprised.

      =======

      Read it all.

      California is already feeling the budgetary effects and academic performance is very poor.

      One has to wonder where the next generation of California taxpayers are going to come from when very few of the "new" Hispanic majority have the skills or education to work at any high paying jobs.

      California high tech businesses are already moaning about easing VISA restrictions for foreign students to remain in the USA after they finish their educations because there are not sufficient numbers of indigenous highly educated workers.

      The fact is any illegal immigrant amnesty is going to guarantee the Mexican border is secure so that this same dilemma will not present itself again – America will be overrun by the third world if it does.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 12th on 10:38

    These are my links for May 12th from 10:38 to 13:38:

    • Mitt Romney: No apologies for Mass. RomneyCare plan – Mitt Romney offered no apologies and instead delivered a full-throated defense of his Massachusetts health care plan Thursday in a much-anticipated health care policy presentation at the University of Michigan.

      “I recognize that a lot pundits around the nation are saying that I should just stand up and say this whole thing was a mistake, that this was a boneheaded idea, and I should just admit it: it was a mistake, and walk away. I presume that a lot of folks think that if I did that it would be good for me politically, ” Romney said as he flipped through slides of a PowerPoint presentation he prepared himself. “There’s only one problem with that: it wouldn’t be honest.”

      =======

      Mitt Romney is putting lipstick on the pig of RomneyCare….

    • Why Don’t We Hear About Soros’ Ties to Over 30 Major News Organizations? – When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio , it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.

      Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Society of Professional Journalists' ethical code stating: “avoid all conflicts real or perceived.”

      This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Centers Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media.

      The investigative reporting start-up ProPublica is a prime example. ProPublica, which recently won its second Pulitzer Prize, initially was given millions of dollars from the Sandler Foundation to “strengthen the progressive infrastructure” – “progressive” being the code word for very liberal. In 2010, it also received a two-year contribution of $125,000 each year from the Open Society Foundations. In case you wonder where that money comes from, the OSF website is www.soros.org. It is a network of more than 30 international foundations, mostly funded by Soros, who has contributed more than $8 billion to those efforts.

      =====

      Read it all

      Because they are too busy going after the Koch Brothers…..ta da….

    • Flap’s Links and Comments for May 12th on 10:28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for May 12th on 10:28 #tcot #catcot
    • Kochs Get Slammed for Donating Money to Education | The Weekly Standard – Kochs Get Slammed for Donating Money to Education
    • Unlikely Cheri Daniels Will Mention 2012 in Speech Tonight – By Katrina Trinko – The Primary Event – National Review Online – Unlikely Cheri Daniels Will Mention 2012 in Speech Tonight
    • Dilbert May 6, 2011 – Respect and Admiration | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Dilbert May 6, 2011 – Respect and Admiration #tcot #catcot
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 10th on 08:44

    These are my links for May 10th from 08:44 to 08:50:

    • President 2012: The Tragedy of Sarah Palin? – From the moment Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech electrified the Republican convention, she was seen as an unbending, hard-charging, red-meat ideologue—to which soon was added “thin-skinned” and “vindictive.” But a look at what Palin did while in office in Alaska—the only record she has—shows a very different politician: one who worked with Democrats to tame Big Oil and solve the great problem at the heart of the state’s politics. That Sarah Palin might have set the nation on a different course. What went wrong?======

      An interesting analysis, read it all.

    • Chris Christie praises Mitch Daniels, might back him if he runs – As top Republican fundraisers head to New Jersey in the hopes of persuading Chris Christie to leap into the presidential race, the New Jersey governor is heaping praise on Indiana’s chief executive.Continue Reading
      In a radio interview on Monday morning, Christie said he’d like to see a governor in the Oval Office.

      “He’s certainly somebody who I have enormous respect for and would give real consideration to supporting” Christie told talk radio host Chris Stigall, speaking of Mitch Daniels.

      “If you look at it, governors have tended to be some of our best presidents. That’s why I would lean in that direction,” he said.

      Daniels is weighing a run and is expected to announce his decision soon.

      Stigall — who calls himself an “unabashed, gushing” fan of the New Jersey governor — noted the number of likely candidates courting Chrstie’s support in Princeton.

      He’s already met with Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, and is set to sit down with Jon Huntsman in the coming week.

      =======

      Read it all

      A courtesy shout out but would aid Daniels over the early start of Mitt Romney

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 9th on 19:00

    These are my links for May 9th from 19:00 to 19:04:

    • Waiting For Superman? GOP Searching For 2012’s ‘Plan B’ Candidate – What makes Christie unique is the fact that he is the only candidate who can claim both the serious executive ability of a Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and Mitch Daniels, and the gregarious, straight-talking personality of a Donald Trump or Sarah Palin.Will he get in? First there’s the issue of answering that question countless times the same way: no chance. “I don’t feel ready in my heart to be president. And unless I do, I don’t have any right offering myself to the people of this country,” Christie told ABC’s Diane Sawyer last month. http://abcn.ws/fSKMrY

      Then there’s the question of why he’d be more convinced to do it now. Killing Osama bin Laden does not make Obama invincible, but combine that with improving economic numbers and the path to beating the current occupant of the White House looks steeper every day.

      If not Christie, then who? Don’t count out former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has been thrust back into the spotlight post-bin Laden and who’s headed later this week to New Hampshire where the latest WMUR-University of New Hampshire poll showed him in third place behind Romney and Trump.

      ======

      Read it all.

      Mitch Daniels, Rudy Giuliani,Chris Christie = any of those three would make a good GOP nominee.

    • President 2012: If Mitch Daniels Runs – With only 23% hard name recognition (16-7 favorable), why would Mitch Daniels be a significant candidate with so many better known men and women in the potential field? There is, of course, his splendid record as governor of Indiana. He has done everything a governor could do. He took a deficit and produced a surplus with no tax increase (although he flirted with one early in his term but dropped the idea). His education choice legislation is the most advanced in the nation and will offer all Indiana children the ability to use state funds to go to the school of their choice after it phases in over three years. He has restricted collective bargaining with public workers a la Wisconsin and sharply limited teacher tenure. His landmark legislation replaces teacher pay based on seniority and advanced degrees with compensation determined by merit and student test scores. It allows school boards, in the event of layoffs, to waive the “last hired first fired” rule in favor of merit as criterion for dismissal. He allows state workers to enroll in Health Savings Accounts with an annual state grant of $2700 for all health care costs and lets the worker keep any unspent portion of the funds. Any medical spending over the flat fee gets a sliding scale of state assistance. Almost two-thirds of state workers have gotten money back at the end of the year. He blocked state funding of Planned Parenthood. With a record like that, he is probably the most successful conservative governor in America today.=====

      Read it all.

      I say he runs….

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for May 9th on 14:43

    These are my links for May 9th from 14:43 to 14:50:

    • U.S. Senate 2012: Is Olympia Snowe feeling the heat? – Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe has often been the Democrats’ favorite Republican — the first moderate on board when Democrats needed someone in the GOP to jump ship.But those days may be over as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Snowe have had an increasingly nasty falling out that could threaten future deals in the Senate.

      It started in 2009, when Snowe lamented being shut out of Democratic negotiations over the health care bill, continued as Reid bashed her in a 2010 magazine interview and culminated in recent weeks when the two engaged in a rare public spat on the Senate floor.

      The two sparred over a noncontroversial small-business reauthorization bill, with Reid accusing Snowe of “killing” the bill and Snowe saying Reid reneged on a promise to bring up her amendment.

      Reid’s frustration with Snowe might be about more than just a small-business bill.

      Snowe has been voting far more along Republican party lines as she faces the possibility of a tea party challenger in her 2012 Republican primary, making her a much less willing partner for Democrats in search of a Republican deal maker. Democrats also are targeting her seat in 2012, so Reid has less incentive to give her bipartisan cover.

      =======

      Well, Senator Snowe does feel the Tea Party heat but also knows Harry Reid is a snake and will likely not be majority leader come 2013.

      Sooooo, like any POL, she votes her conscious….

    • President 2012 and the Republican rescue fantasy – Talk to enough people around this key primary state and you’ll learn two lessons, over and over again. One is that there is absolutely, positively no unity among Republicans about any presidential candidate or potential candidate; there’s no such thing as a frontrunner. The other is that in the back of their minds, many Republicans are hoping that somewhere, somehow, a superhero candidate will swoop down out of the sky and rescue them from their current lackluster presidential field. They know it’s a fantasy, but they still hope.It’s not just dissatisfaction with the field — Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Gary Johnson — that took part in the first GOP debate on Thursday night. Even if the other would-be candidates — Mike Huckabee , Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Donald Trump — had all been onstage with the others Thursday, there still would have been plenty of unhappiness among South Carolina’s political professionals, activists, and ordinary people who just follow politics. Seeing each candidate as flawed, they focus on the unattainables — Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio — who they believe might bring a fresh face and new hope to the GOP.

      =====

      Read it all.

      If Mike Huckabee runs, he will win Iowa and South Carolina. Mitt Romney will have to rely upon New Hampshire, Nevada and then Florida.

      The race between the two may go on for some time unless Mitch Daniels runs. Then, the race will be anyone’s guess, especially since the Bush faction of the GOP will back Daniels.

      I figure there will be a deal with 2 of those three making up the ticket in some form or the other.

      Jon Huntsman is running for 2016.

      The rest are just noise.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 27th on 06:02

    These are my links for April 27th from 06:02 to 07:58:

    • Medicare As We’ve Known It Isn’t an Option – The Democratic Party is urging Americans to choose Medicare as we've always known it rather than a new plan by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) that would enroll seniors in private health insurance beginning in 2022. This choice is a hoax: Medicare as we've always known it is already gone. It was eviscerated by President Obama's health law. Yet if the president and the Democratic Party successfully bamboozle voters, they may win back independents and registered Democrats who voted for Republicans in 2010. The 2012 election could turn on this falsehood.

      The truth is that the Obama health law reduces future funding for Medicare by $575 billion over the next 10 years and spends the money on other programs, including a vast expansion of Medicaid. In 2019, Medicare spending under the Obama health law is projected to be $14,731 per senior, instead of $16,162 if the law had not passed, according to Medicare actuaries (Health Affairs, October 2010).

      Such cuts might be justifiable if the savings extended the financial life of Medicare. Mr. Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius frequently make that false claim. Indeed, even Medicare's mailings to seniors repeat the claim that reducing spending on Medicare will make it more financially secure for future years.

      The fact is that Mr. Obama's law raids Medicare. Mr. Ryan's plan, on the other hand, stops the Medicare heist and puts the funds "saved" in this decade toward health care for another generation of retirees.

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      Read it all

    • Is Paul Ryan Republicans’ dream presidential candidate? – There is a seventh reason as well: Everyone else is either horridly flawed (Newt Gingrich), a joke (Donald Trump) or just not that exciting ( Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels). That’s not to say one of these candidates couldn’t be “good enough,” but if you match each of the likely contenders up against Ryan, they look decidedly unattractive to many conservatives. The author of RomneyCare or the author of the “Roadmap for America”? The “social truce”advocate or the unabashed pro-life congressman? The disastrous former speaker of the House or the current, wonky budget committee chairman? You get the idea.

      With fewer candidates than expected in the race, there is plenty of campaign talent around. (And did anyone notice how professional and effective was the ‘campaign’ to roll out his budget?) And, I suspect, that should Ryan enter the race he’d have no problem raising the needed cash.

      Ryan has said he doesn’t want to run, but sometimes the question of “want to run” is a luxury. There are times when the moment presents itself, the party and the country are receptive, and there is no one else quite as compelling. Think Bill Clinton in 1992. Ryan has some time, though not much, to decide whether he wants to fill the obvious gap in the GOP field. And if party activists, insiders, Tea Partyers and operatives think Ryan is the man, then they’d better start making their wishes known.

      =====

      Paul Ryan and Mitch Daniels should both consider throwing their hats into the Presidency arena.

      And, Mike Huckabee has to fish or cut bait very soon.

    • Day By Day April 27, 2011 – Above His Pay Grade | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day April 27, 2011 – Above His Pay Grade #tcot #catcot
    • President Obama’s Long Form Birth Certificate | The White House – Here ya go folks : RT @rickklein: President Obama's long-form birth certificate: #tcot #catcot
    • Now Can We Call Him A RINO? – By Jonah Goldberg – The Corner – National Review Online – Donald Trump: Now Can We Call Him A RINO?
    • Donald Trump: Now Can We Call Him A RINO? – Recipients include Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), former Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell, and Rahm Emanuel, a former aide to President Obama who received $50,000 from Trump during his recent run to become Chicago’s mayor, records show. Many of the contributions have been concentrated in New York, Florida and other states where Trump has substantial real estate and casino interests….

      ….The Democratic recipients of Trump’s donations make up what looks like a Republican enemies list, including former senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), Rep. Charles B. Rangel (N.Y.), Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and the late liberal lion Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.).

      The biggest recipient of all has been the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee of New York, which has taken in more than $125,000 from Trump and his companies. Overall, Trump has given nearly $600,000 to New York state campaigns, with more than two-thirds going to Democrats.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 26th on 17:06

    These are my links for April 26th from 17:06 to 18:59:

    • President 2012: Why Rep Paul Ryan Could Enter the Presidential race – It’s not just Bill Kristol, gang. There’s desire at the highest ranks of the Republican Party, according to my reporting and sources, to see House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan seek the 2012 presidential nomination. Here’s why:

      1) Since Democrats are determined to hang Ryan’s bold “Path to Prosperity” budget plan around the neck of every Republican running for office in 2012, why not have its author and best salesman advocate for it directly vs. President Obama?

      2) Ryan — to borrow a favorite Simon Cowell phrase — is “current.” He’s smack in the middle of budgetary and ideological clash between Democrats and Republicans and would immediately energize conservative and Tea Party activists.

      3) Ryan is a strong national defense conservative, as well as pro-life.

      4) Ryan is from a battleground state, Wisconsin, and a battleground region, the upper Great Lakes.

      5) Ryan’s youth, vigor, likability and Jimmy Stewart persona — well, a wonky version of George Bailey — would be an immediate shorthand signal to voters that he’s a different kind of Republican. He also has a compelling life story to tell.

      6) Obama suddenly and unexpectedly to Washington insiders looks beatable — by the right candidate.

      ======

      I can easily see a Mitch Daniels/Paul Ryan ticket.

      Or a Mike Huckabee/Paul Ryan ticket

      Or going for broke: Paul Ryan/Rudy Giuliani ticket

    • We Respond to NPR’s Lighthearted Coverage of Koch Death Threats | – I am writing to raise deep concerns about a Morning Edition segment that aired on April 22 and apparently made light of death threats that had been leveled at gentleman in Iowa but that had been intended for our company.
      The item was read by hosts Mary Louise Kelly and Renee Montagne, billed as “our last word in business,” and was clearly framed as an amusing take on the news.  Kelly and Montagne made sport of the fact that a Mr. Dutch Koch shares the same surname as that of our company, even musing that he’s also been “confused with the big soda maker” – Coca-Cola, it seems.  Kelly quipped that “he does not say which cola he prefers” before cutting away to what sounds like bongo drum music.
      But there is nothing even remotely funny about a person’s life being threatened and NPR ought to be ashamed that simple fact of decency has to be pointed out. 

      =====

      More Koch Derangement Syndrome from the LEFTY NPR.

      Real funny = NOT

    • Janet Napolitano clarifies immigration program – disappoints sanctuary cities – Napolitano defended the program Monday as vital to immigration enforcement.

      "Where immigration is concerned, the federal government fundamentally sets the policy." She said communities will benefit from the tool.

      "Let's assume we have 11 million people in the country illegally," she said. If Congress can provide enough enforcement funding to remove perhaps 400,000 of them annually, she added, "How are we going to set those priorities? One big priority is who is violating criminal laws."

      =======

      The program is a good one and is a start only.

      Immigration is a federal perogative and the Obama Administration needs to do more.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 20th on 16:31

    These are my links for April 20th from 16:31 to 16:49:

    • Mike Murphy on the 2012 presidential election – Campaign season is upon us. I called my favorite Republican political consultant, Mike Murphy to get his quick-hit takes on all of the possible candidates for president. Murphy has worked for everyone from John Engler to John McCain to Mitt Romney to Meg Whitman. He has a great column in Time magazine on the state of the race that I urge everybody to read. Murphy told me Republicans are doing everything they can to make 2012 a difficult election, but “the best news is, one of them could actually win.” Let’s turn to the candidates:

      Mitt Romney: “Weak front-runner. But as others drop out, he becomes a stronger front-runner. His problems are all real, but he may be a little over-underrated, if you know what I mean. He may not be as vulnerable as the conventional wisdom thinks.”

      Tim Pawlenty: “Understudy. Decent shot to win. He’s in the old Lamar Alexander position, but he’s got a decent path. I watch his ads and I expect a huge alien to be slayed at the end.”

      Mitch Daniels: “Serious, formidable candidate — and not going to run.”

      Haley Barbour: “More campaign manager than candidate. Unknown how well he’ll do. Great operative. I know Haley could run a winning presidential campaign, just don’t know if he’s the candidate. BBQ / Twang-factor could be too high for general-election voters.”

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      Read it all.

      Mike Murphy is an interesting character and this is a funny, yet true analysis.

    • Papa Johns, Huggies, Vanguard Drop Ads on Wonkette Attacking Trig Palin – Three large companies have dropped their advertisements on the liberal, pro-abortion Wonkette blog after it ran a post earlier today bashing pro-life former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

      Conservative political activists are up in arms because the post, which Wonkette has defended, calls Palin’s son trig, who has Down syndrome, “retarded,” “somewhat alive,” and includes crass claims that Palin conceived her son as a victim of incest.

      Below are images of messages each company placed on Twitter responded to people who shared their concerns with the corporations in an impromptu conservative boycott of Wonkette’s advertisers that erupted on Twtter Wednesday afternoon.

      Papa Johns pizza confirmed it would not advertise with Wonkette.

      ======

      Boycott all of Wonkette's advertisers

    • Wonkette Editor Ken Layne Comments on Reprehensible Birthday Greeting to Trig Palin – Political humor website Wonkette has long been trending toward nihilistic snark for snark’s sake, but Jack Stuef’s column “honoring” Trig Palin’s birthday is about the most irredeemably vile, unfunny thing I’ve ever seen. As if jokes about Trig’s Down Syndrome aren’t bad enough on their own, Stuef goes the extra mile to pen kneeslappers about incest, child rape, and fetal alcohol syndrome. I don’t want to reproduce too much of it here, but this quote is fairly representative:

      Today is the day we come together to celebrate the snowbilly grifter’s magical journey from Texas to Alaska to deliver to the America the great gentleman scholar Trig Palin. Is Palin his true mother? Or was Bristol? (And why is it that nobody questions who the father is? Because, either way, Todd definitely did it.)

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      Read it all

      Think I will consider a boycott of anyone who advertises on the Wonkette site.