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Brett Kimberlin, Director Justice Through Music

Here is my contribution to Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day!

These are my links for May 24th through May 25th:

• Kimberlin Funders Stunned to Discover they Fund Kimberlin

A Breitbart News investigation has revealed that many of the funders of the Justice Through Music Project (JTMP), a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization of which convicted “Speedway bomber” Brett Kimberlin is a director, do not know about his criminal past. Those foundations and funds listed as donors that responded to request for comment also indicated that they had not been contacted by media other than Breitbart News.

• CA Senate passes bill protecting social media passwords- A bill that would prohibit public and private postsecondary schools or employers from asking students to provide a user name and password for personal social media accounts passed in the California State Senate today.”The reality is that in a social media account there is a lot of private information,” said Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Fransisco, the author of the bill. Yee added that there is information such as religion on social media accounts that “is protected by state and federal law.”The bill was opposed by Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, who said he was concerned that the bill would hinder employers from intervening to prevent the escalation of workplace harassment. “I want to make sure we are protecting people’s privacy,” Gaines said. “I have a concern with being able to address early harassment issues.”The bill passed 28-5 and now heads to the Assembly.
• Interviewing Robert Stacy McCain About Brett Kimberlin

Robert Stacy McCain, who blogs at RWN on occasion, has become a story himself this week. After reporting on “Speedway Bomber” Brett Kimberlin, Stacy announced to the world that Kimberlin had been in touch with his wife’s employer and that he had moved his family out of their house as a result. Quite naturally, this caught people’s attention — and that was before this article from Patterico came out today credibly alleging that Kimberlin and his allies had engaged in harassment that included having a SWAT team called to his house. So, I got in touch with Stacy on Wednesday night, set up an impromptu interview, and what follows is the transcript of our roughly 30 minute long conversation, which was edited down for brevity’s sake.

Brett Kimberlin: Meet the Soros-Funded Domestic Who Is Terrorizing Bloggers Into Silence

• Drug dealer, alleged child molester, and convicted perjurer, forger and Indiana Speedway Bomber (who is also believed to have played a role in the assassination of a grandmother), Brett Kimberlin, spent 17 years in prison before his ultimate re-absorption into American society
• He started a non-profit dubbed “Justice Through Music (JTM)” that has, since at least 2005, been funded by George Soros’ Tides Foundation and Barbara Streisand among other leftists
• Along with his associate, Kimberlin also started an organization called “Velvet Revolution” that supports the Occupy movement
• JTM’s goal is to use music to foster “social justice” and fight Republican “voter fraud” (like the kind George Bush allegedly used to “steal” the Florida election)
• Any blogger — conservative and liberal alike — who has written the truth about Kimberlin has come under vicious attack by either Kimberlin or his minions, suffering death threats (veiled and unveiled), multiple lawsuits, loss of jobs and worse
• He has filed over 100 frivolous lawsuits against anything that isn’t nailed down and somehow is being allowed to continue unchecked
• This story has never been reported on in the mainstream media

• Convicted Bomber Brett Kimberlin, Neal Rauhauser, Ron Brynaert, and Their Campaign of Political Terrorism- You’re about to listen to one of the most bone-chilling pieces of audio you will ever hear. At least, it was to me when I first heard it.It’s a phone call that could have gotten me killed.In this post you will hear that audio clip. You will also read about a months-long campaign of harassment carried out by at least three individuals: Ron Brynaert, Neal Rauhauser, and Brett Kimberlin — much of it directed at critics of Brett Kimberlin. This harassment includes repeated references to critics’ family members, workplace complaints, publication of personal information such as home addresses and pictures of residences, bogus allegations of criminal activity, whisper campaigns, frivolous legal actions, and frivolous State Bar complaints.And finally, you will hear a comparison of one of those men’s voices to that of the man who made the call that sent police to my home. And you’ll read a declaration from a forensic audio expert comparing those two voices.
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 25, 2012 – Day By Day Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 25, 2012
• Election Law Center: Did Brett Kimberlin Break Federal Law (18 USC 241)? – RT @michellemalkin: Christian Adams @electionlawctr asks: Did Brett Kimberlin Break Federal Law (18 USC 241)?==>
• (500) http://patterico.com/2012/05/25/convicted-bomber-brett-kimberlin-neal-rauhauser-ron-brynaert-and-their-campaign-of-political-terrorism – RT @sistertoldjah RT @MelissaTweets: Leftists who are friends with #BrettKimberlin what say you? #despicable #tcot
• Dental student ‘ironman’ bikes for kids – American Dental Association – ADA.org – RT @ADANews: Dental student ‘ironman’ bikes for kids – American Dental Association – :
• Dental Medicaid report available – American Dental Association – ADA.org – Dental Medicaid report available – American Dental Association – :
• Obama keeps a low public profile in Wisconsin recall fight – JSOnline – Obama keeps a low public profile in Wisconsin recall fight – JSOnline
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-25 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-25
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Pakistan Restores Twitter Access After Blocking It Over Mohammed Caricature Contest – Pakistan Restores Twitter Access After Blocking It Over Mohammed Caricature Contest
• Obama keeps a low public profile in Wisconsin recall fight – JSOnline – Obama keeps a low public profile in Wisconsin recall fight – JSOnline
• American Conservative Union PAC Endorses Tony Strickland for U.S. Congress | The American Conservative Union – American Conservative Union PAC Endorses Tony Strickland for U.S. Congress #tcot #catcot
• Obama keeps a low public profile in Wisconsin recall fight – JSOnline – Obama Keeps Low Profile in Wisconsin which means Scott Walker is ahead in the polls and likely the winner: #tcot
• Health / Think it should be more? – Think it should be more?
• Running / My Los Angeles Roadrunner friends Erika and Janet during the 80 degree heat of the Pasadena Marathon on May 20, 2012. – My Los Angeles Roadrunner friends Erika and Janet during the 80 degree heat of the Pasadena Marathon
• Running / We have some beautiful country in which to run here in Ventura County, California…. – We have some beautiful country in which to run here in Ventura County, California….
• Sports / Sort of says it all for the 2012 LA Lakers season…. – Sort of says it all for the 2012 LA Lakers season….
• Flapsblog Posts / Bill Clinton: I did NOT ave sex with these women….. – Bill Clinton: I did NOT ave sex with these women…..
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Tony Strickland Goes Positive in Political Mailer – CA-26: Tony Strickland Goes Positive in Political Mailer
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 24, 2012 – The Morning Flap Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 24, 2012
• Political Cartoons / Jumping off with Obama…. – Jumping off with Obama….
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Heartland Dental Care Expands Corporate Office in Effingham, Illinois – Heartland Dental Care Expands Corporate Office in Effingham, Illinois
• Flapsblog Posts / Who the hell is Brett Kimberlin? – Who the hell is Brett Kimberlin? #tcot #catcot
• Flapsblog Posts / Come on Larry Flynt….you really jumped the shark on this one….. – Come on Larry Flynt….you really jumped the shark on this one…..
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 24, 2012 – Day By Day Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 24, 2012

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Brett Kimberlin, BrettKimberlin, California, despicable, Kimberlin, Pinboard Links, Social_Media, The Afternoon Flap

Brett Kimberlin

These are my links for May 23rd through May 24th:

• Walker Looks Likely to Avoid Recall – Up By 5 and 8 points in different polls | Scott Walker Looks Likely to Avoid Recall #tcot
• Michelle Malkin » S.E. Cupp, Hustler, and the four stages of conservative female abuse – S.E. Cupp, Hustler, and the four stages of conservative female abuse #tcot
• Bomber Turned Left Wing Activist, Brett Kimberlin, Tries to Silence Conservative Opposition- Tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin, whose May 23 column does one of the best jobs I’ve seen of laying out the convoluted tale of a low-level Democratic activist named Brett Kimberlin and his attempts to shut down those who criticize him. She applies the “disinfectant of sunshine” to a seamy story that deserves mainstream play.Brett Kimberlin, subject of the book Citizen K, is the Speedway Bomber. If that is not familiar to you, you might remember him as the man who claimed he sold Vice President Dan Quayle drugs. Kimberlin is also, now, decades later, a left of center activist, former Independent Music Awards Industry Judge, involved in organizations getting Tides Foundation and Heinz Family Foundation grants, and is back in the media for harassing and bullying anyone who mentions his past.
• Leftist Blogger’s Criminal Past Raises Questions About His Real Intent- Even before his release from prison 10 years ago, Brett Kimberlin had learned a lesson that has served him well: If you publicly accuse a well-known political figure of crimes or misdeeds — even without proof — publicity and money will follow.Kimberlin, a convicted bomber and drug dealer, learned that lesson in 1988, when he claimed from his prison cell that he had been Dan Quayle’s marijuana dealer in college. The claim got a lot of attention because Quayle was running for vice president of the United States at the time.Now, 22 years later, Kimberlin has taken that lesson and made unfounded accusations a profession of sorts. Using two popular leftist blogs, the 56-year-old from Bethesda, Md., has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from the public and left-leaning foundations by promising to put conservatives he disagrees with in jail, often with offers of large rewards. So far — without success — he has called for the arrest of Karl Rove, Andrew Breitbart, Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, Massey Energy Chairman Don Blankenship and other high-profile public figures.A review of tax filings for Kimberlin’s blogs, “Velvet Revolution” and “Justice Through Music,” raises troubling questions about whether his “nonprofit” operations are dedicated to public activism — or are just a new facade for a longtime con artist.
• Obama Spends $20 Mil In Taxpayer Money To Tell Taxpayers How Great ObamaCare Is- The Obama administration just inked a $20 million deal with PR firm Porter Novelli to help promote ObamaCare. Why do they need to promote a law that was supposed to get more popular once it passed?According to news accounts, the multimedia campaign is mandated by ObamaCare as a way to educate the public about how to stay healthy and prevent illnesses.Right. Like another $20 million will make a difference on top of the avalanche of public health news already out there.A Health and Human Services official let slip the real reason, telling Roll Call that the PR effort is meant “to inform the American people about the many preventive benefits now available … as a result of the Affordable Care Act.”

  In other words, this is more about burnishing ObamaCare’s image before the election than meeting some public health imperative.

• Republicans’ Hispanic problem — in 2 charts- New data from an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll that show President Obama leading former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney by 34 points among Hispanics set off a new round of speculation about whether Republicans can win in November if they can’t narrow that margin.And rightfully so. But focusing just on 2012 actually underestimates the depth of the political problem for Republicans when it comes to the Hispanic community.In short: Republicans’ Hispanic problem didn’t happen overnight and they won’t be able to fix it overnight either. That means that regardless of what happens in 2012, Republicans need to find ways to begin growing their support among Hispanics, or they run the risk of struggling to build majority national coalitions in 2016, 2020 and beyond
• Rove: Romney’s Roads to the White House- On Tuesday, Gallup’s seven-day tracking poll had Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tied at 46%. With the incumbent stuck below 50% on the ballot and Mr. Romney’s favorability rising, the Republican challenger has a good shot at winning.To take the White House, Mr. Romney needs 270 votes in the Electoral College. A “3-2-1″ strategy will get him there.
• Obama leads big with Latinos- Less than six months before November’s presidential election, President Obama enjoys a sizable lead over Mitt Romney among Latino voters, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll of Latino respondents.The challenge for the Obama campaign, however, will be turning out these voters, who aren’t as interested in the election as all other Americans are.
• Actually, the Obama spending binge really did happen- Until Barack Obama took office in 2009, the United States had never spent more than 23.5% of GDP, with the exception of the World War II years of 1942-1946. Here’s the Obama spending record:– 25.2% of GDP in 2009– 24.1% of GDP in 2010– 24.1% of GDP in 2011

  – 24.3% (estimates by the White House ) in 2012

  What’s more, if Obama wins another term, spending—according to his own budget—would never drop below 22.3% of GDP. If that forecast is right, spending during Obama’s eight years in office would average 23.6% of GDP. That’s higher than any single previous non-war year.

• Florida (FL) Poll * May 24, 2012 * Mack Has Big Lead In Florida G – Quinnipiac University ? Hamden, Connecticut – RT @FixAaron Poll shock of the day: Quinnipiac shows Mack 42, Nelson 41 in #FLSEN. #tcot
• First Read – NBC polls: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states – RT @conncarroll so MSNBC has Obama over Romney in VA and FL by an identical 4 points 11 point diff from Q Poll #tcot
• Has recall election made Scott Walker a GOP hero? – Robin Bravender – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: Leading POLITICO: Has the recall election in Wisconsin made Gov. Scott Walker a GOP hero?
• First Read – NBC-Marist polls: Dems have slight edge in three key Senate races – RT @mpoindc NBC/Marist: OH: Brown 51, Mandel 37 — VA: Kaine 49, Allen 43 — FL: Nelson 46, Mack 42 #tcot
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-24 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-24
• Russia tests new missile, in warning over U.S. shield- Russia tested a new long-range missile on Wednesday that should improve its ability to penetrate missile defense systems, the military said, in Moscow’s latest warning to Washington over deployment of a missile shield in Europe.The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was successfully launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia and its dummy warhead landed on target on the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific coast, the Defense Ministry said.The new missile is expected to improve Russia’s offensive arsenal, “including by increasing the capability to overcome missile defense systems that are being created”, the ministry said in a statement.Russia opposes a missile shield the United States and NATO are deploying in Europe, saying it will be able to intercept Russian warheads by about 2018, weakening Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and upsetting the post-Cold War balance of power.
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Updated: Americans Have Mixed Views of Vice President Joe Biden But Swing State Voters Disapprove – Updated: Americans Have Mixed Views of Vice President Joe Biden But Swing State Voters Disapprove
• HP plans to cut 27,000 jobs, plow savings into R&D | Business Tech – CNET News – HP plans to cut 27,000 jobs | Business Tech – CNET News
• Political Cartoons / Oh Nancy…….. – Oh Nancy……..
• HP plans to cut 27,000 jobs | Business Tech – CNET News – RT @CNETNews: HP now plans to lay off 27,000 employees by 2014 as part of CEO Meg Whitman’s official turnaround plan
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Americans Have Mixed Views of Vice President Joe Biden – Americans Have Mixed Views of Vice President Joe Biden
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: May 23, 2012 – The Morning Flap: May 23, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks Independent Challenge – CA-26: Handicapping Linda Parks Independent Challenge
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 23, 2012 – The Morning Drill: May 23, 2012
• Romney Narrows Obama Fund-Raising Edge – NYTimes.com – Not surprising as Romney starts to pull away…RT @justin_hart: Yep! Romney edging Obama on fundraising. -
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: May 23, 2012 – Flapsblog.org » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: May 23, 2012 #tcot #catcot

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Brett Kimberlin, FLSEN, Hispanics, Kimberlin, Missle_Defense, Obama, Obamacare, Pinboard Links, Polling, President_2012, Romney, Russia, The Morning Flap

These are my links for May 18th through May 21st:

• Romney nearly matches Obama in April money-grabbing- No reported fundraisers for President Obama during this past weekend of G-8 and NATO summits. European leaders have enough trouble passing the beret for Greece.But we did get some new fundraising numbers that reveal a newfound money momentum for Republican Mitt Romney and the grassroots strategy of the Democrat who’d like to win reelection so he could have more flexibility offering missile defense concessions to the Russians.In April, with his  party’s nomination tied up, Romney and the Republican National Committee could focus on money-raising for the general election. They increased his money haul to $40.1 million, suddenly not far behind the $43.6 million that Obama and the Democratic National Committee raised. The incumbent’s total fell about $10 million from the previous month.

  Obama campaign officials naturally chose to distract attention from the drop and emphasize instead the large number of small donors he got, more than 430,000.

  But the decline appeared to confirm rumors and anecdotal evidence that Obama’s large-sum donors were less enthusiastic this time around and holding back the checks or reducing their size. One California Democrat said bundlers, who simply stacked the free-flowing checks in 2008, were now having to convince many to give.

• Cory Booker walks back criticism of Obama tactics as ‘nauseating’- Newark Mayor Cory Booker released a Web video Sunday emphasizing his support for President Obama and clarifying remarks he made earlier in the day where he criticized the president’s campaign tactics as “nauseating.”“I used the word ‘nauseating’ on Meet the Press because that’s really how I feel, when I see people in my city struggling with real issues,” said Booker in the video. “I get very upset when I see such a level of dialogue that calls us to our lowest common denominators and not the kind of things that can unify us as a nation and move us forward as a nation.”“I also expressed on Meet the Press my profound frustration with the kind of campaigning which I think is becoming too much of the norm in our nation, which is generally negative campaigning,” Booker continued.
  On NBC’s Meet the Press earlier on Sunday, Booker had strongly criticized an Obama campaign ad which attacked presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s tenure at private-equity firm Bain Capital.

  “This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides,” Booker said.

• Cory Booker commits the classic Washington gaffe – n Washington, there’s an old cliche: A gaffe is when a politician is accidentally honest.
  That’s what happened to Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Booker, who is widely regarded as a fast riser in Democratic politics, veered badly off message when he defended Bain Capital — the longtime employer of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney — and described the negative tone of the campaign as “nauseating”.
• Bain Capitalism 101- Watching Obama campaign ads or MSNBC, one could easily come to the conclusion that Bain Capital makes money by destroying the companies it owns. So for voters unsure about the business that Mitt Romney founded but still reluctant to trust the financial analysis offered by community organizers, some perspective might be helpful.The basic Obama-liberal critique goes like this: Bain buys a company, loads it with debt and then sucks out cash before foisting the wounded business upon an unsuspecting buyer or a bankruptcy court. In the risk-taking world of private equity such a scenario can certainly happen, and it’s true that Bain likes management fees and dividends as much as the next partnership
• How Another Electoral Split Decision Could Divide America – In looking ahead toward the November election, Republican strategists should take proactive steps to avoid a damaging, dangerous conclusion to the presidential race and to prevent the very real chance that Mitt Romney will win the Electoral College even while losing the popular vote badly to Barack Obama.
• Hillary Clinton will be the 2012 veep candidate – Washington Times- Show of hands: Who here still thinks Vice President Joseph R. Biden will be on the 2012 ticket?Really? All of you? So wrong. The Great One, Sir Barack Hussein Obama, will replace the bumbling, buffoonish Mr. Biden with Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, maybe at the Democratic convention, maybe just before, in a last-ditch effort to win re-election.The wild and crazy move is all the talk outside the Beltway. One state Democratic leader even tells me the bumper stickers are already printed, sitting in a warehouse in (where else?) Little Rock, Ark. Another party bigwig says she is “99.9 percent sure” the increasingly desperate president planned the whole thing from the beginning. (“C’mon, Hill, be Secretary of State for one term and I’ll make you veep the next!”)
• Obama Pursues Higher Tax Rates, Growth Be Damned- Over the past three years, Obama has pursued the goal of higher tax rates as relentlessly as Captain Ahab pursued the great white whale.Never mind that by some measures the United States, even with the “Bush tax cuts,” already has the most progressive tax system in advanced economies. About 40 percent of federal income tax revenues come from the top 1 percent.And we know from experience that when top rates are increased above Bill Clinton’s 39.6 percent, the intake is always less than projected. Since World War II, federal revenues have never risen much over 20 percent of gross domestic product, whether the top rate was 28 percent or 91 percent.

  The reason is that when rates get high enough, investors’ animal spirits (John Maynard Keynes’ term) are directed less at increasing productivity and creating wealth and more at avoiding taxes. And without increased productivity, you don’t get robust economic growth — which hurts everyone.

  There’s another problem. High tax rates mean a volatile revenue stream, as California Gov. Jerry Brown is finding out. When times are bad, revenues dry up just when government needs money. California’s budget deficit has zoomed from $9 billion to $16 billion in a few months.

• Will Harvard Law School Condemn Elizabeth Warren for Pow Wow Chow Plagiarism?- Breitbart reported on Friday that two of Elizabeth Warren’s recipe contributions to the 1984 Pow Wow Chow cookbook edited by her cousin included word for word copies of a 1979 article written for the New York Times News Service by famous French cook Pierre Franey. Sunday morning, attention turned to Harvard Law School, where Ms. Warren has been employed as a professor since 1992.Plagiarism of an academic paper while employed by Harvard Law School, or while employed previously at another law school, would clearly be grounds for her dismissal under Harvard University’s code of conduct for professors. But does plagiarism of a 1984 cookbook when she was 35 years old and employed as a research associate and teacher at the University of Texas Law School constitute grounds for dismissal?
• Obama super PAC slump continues- The pro-Barack Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action is still struggling to keep up with GOP super PACs preparing to unleash millions of dollars in independent advertisements.Priorities USA Action raised $1.6 million in April, according to federal records released late Sunday. It’s the smallest haul the group has pulled in since the meager $59,000 the group raised in January.
• Hernandez faces two challengers for 48th District Assembly race- Two challengers are hoping for a chance to unseat incumbent Roger Hernandez, a Democrat who is running for re-election as a representative for the state’s 48th AssemblyDistrict.Hernandez previously represented the 57th District, before the 48th District was created under redistricting.Running against Hernandez is Republican Joe Gardner, a 57-year-old West Covina resident, and Covina resident Mike Meza, 60, who is running with no party affiliation.

  The 48th District,which hasa population of about 460,000, covers Duarte, Azusa, Glendora, Covina, West Covina, Baldwin Park, Irwindale, part of El Monte, and the unincorporated communities Charter Oak, Bassett and Valinda.

  The top two vote-getters in the June 5 primary election will advanceto the November election.

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-21 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-21
• Untitled (http://getglue.com/Fullosseousflap/stickers/amc/the_killing_sayonara_hiawatha?s=ts&ref=Fullosseousflap) – I unlocked the The Killing: Sayonara, Hiawatha sticker on @GetGlue!
• Finished the Pasadena Half Marathon with a PR! YAY! on Twitpic – Finished the Pasadena Half Marathon with a PR! YAY!
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-20 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-20
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-19 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-19
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Is Linda Parks a Republican? – CA-26: Is Linda Parks a Republican?
• Did Elizabeth Warren Plagiarize Her ‘Pow Wow Chow’ Recipes?- The credibility of Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren took another hit today as Boston radio talk show host Howie Carr released evidence that appears to confirm Ms. Warren may have plagiarized at least three of the five recipes she submitted to the 1984 Pow Wow Chow cookbook edited by her cousin Candy Rowsey.Two of the possibly plagiarized recipes, said in the Pow Wow Chow cookbook to have been passed down through generations of Oklahoma Native American members of the Cherokee tribe, are described in a New York Times News Service story as originating at Le Pavilion, a fabulously expensive French restaurant in Manhattan. The dishes were said to be particular favorites of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Cole Porter.The two recipes, “Cold Omelets with Crab Meat” and “Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing,” appear in an article titled “Cold Omelets with Crab Meat,” written by Pierre Franey of the New York Times News Service that was published in the August 22, 1979 edition of the Virgin Islands Daily News, a copy of which can be seen here.

  Ms. Warren’s 1984 recipe for Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing is a word-for-word copy of Mr. Franey’s 1979 recipe.

• Youngstown News, Biden snubs are getting old- For the past several months, editors and reporters with The Vindicator have asked the campaign of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to provide us access to the two officeholders if/when they come here.Our ultimate goal was an editorial board meeting, but even a few minutes for a one-on-one interview would be something.With Biden coming to Youngstown, the requests were made again, and politely denied — as they were during the 2008 campaign.

  I was told Biden couldn’t spare three to four minutes even though he ended up staying at M7 Technologies for about 90 minutes after his speech before going to his next campaign stop.

  Consolation prize

  As a consolation prize, the campaign offered me the job of being the local pool reporter.

  I initially declined because the job’s main responsibility is to spend a lot of time covering a secondary event — in this case, Biden’s visit to the Salem Fire Department — and share all the information you obtain with other reporters.

• California’s legislative analyst says deficit may be even higher – latimes.com – RT @LATPoliticsCA: California’s legislative analyst says deficit may be even bigger
• Flesh-Eating Bacteria Consumed Man’s Penis After Surgery, Says Lawsuit | Fox News Latino – Really! | RT @GayPatriot: DUDE!!!! –> Flesh-Eating Bacteria Consumed Man’s Penis, Says Lawsuit
• Jerry Brown to unveil $14-billion water project – latimes.com – Where is the money coming from? | Jerry Brown to unveil $14-billion water project #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: May 18, 2012 – The Morning Flap: May 18, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Mitt Romney Unveils First General Election Television Ad – Mitt Romney Unveils First General Election Television Ad
• Dental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments- Bloomberg – Dental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Bain, Biden, Booker, Brown, Clinton, Hernandez, Obama, Pinboard Links, Romney, Taxes, The Morning Flap, Warren

These are my links for May 15th through May 16th:

• Regina’s Work in Progress: Environments Plus: We Are Attending NeoCon – RT @reginacordell: Environments Plus: We Are Attending NeoCon
• Romney Leads By 8 Points in North Carolina- Mitt Romney has moved out to an eight-point lead over President Obama in North Carolina after the two men were virtually tied a month ago.The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Tar Heel State shows the putative Republican nominee earning 51% of the vote to Obama’s 43%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided
• California : The war of the few against the many – If there was a familiar feeling to Gov. Jerry Brown’s warning of a $16 billion hole in the 2012-13 budget and his release of an ostensibly severe spending plan, there should have been. It was quite similar to the spiels we’ve gotten almost every spring from governors for the past decade, whether it was Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Gray Davis – a plea for higher taxes, a call for more cuts to health and welfare programs, small impositions on state workers, short-term accounting tricks, but no plan that leads to a downsized, sustainable state government without a structural deficit.
• Is Pennsylvania In Play for November? Maybe- I never include the Keystone State in my list of presidential swing states for November. Am I making a mistake? Possibly.There are plenty of reasons to leave the commonwealth of Pennsylvania off any list of the most competitive states that will decide the next president.While the 2000 national election split the country almost down the middle — then-Vice President Al Gore (D) beat George W. Bush (R) in the popular vote by one-half of 1 percent —Pennsylvania went for the Democrat by more than 4 points.
• Fordham piece called Elizabeth Warren Harvard Law’s ‘first woman of color’- Elizabeth Warren has pushed back hard on questions about a Harvard Crimson piece in 1996 that described her as Native American, saying she had no idea the school where she taught law was billing her that way and saying it never came up during her hiring a year earlier, which others have backed up.But a 1997 Fordham Law Review piece described her as Harvard Law School’s “first woman of color,” based, according to the notes at the bottom of the story, on a “telephone interview with Michael Chmura, News Director, Harvard Law (Aug. 6, 1996).”The mention was in the middle of a lengthy and heavily-annotated Fordham piece on diversity and affirmative action and women. The title of the piece, by Laura Padilla, was “Intersectionality and positionality: Situating women of color in the affirmative action dialogue.”
• Doug Hampton’s plea could hurt John Ensign- — An independent group favoring Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney is launching a $25 million, monthlong advertising campaign in 10 states against President Barack Obama, further escalating an expensive TV ad war in presidential battlegrounds six months before Election Day.Crossroads GPS plans to open the effort Thursday by spending $8 million on a TV ad that castigates Obama on the economy by using his own words against him.”We need solutions, not just promises,” says a 60-second commercial that’s to run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
• Crossroads GPS Launching New Anti-Obama Ad Campaign- — An independent group favoring Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney is launching a $25 million, monthlong advertising campaign in 10 states against President Barack Obama, further escalating an expensive TV ad war in presidential battlegrounds six months before Election Day.Crossroads GPS plans to open the effort Thursday by spending $8 million on a TV ad that castigates Obama on the economy by using his own words against him.”We need solutions, not just promises,” says a 60-second commercial that’s to run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
• Deb Fischer wins in Nebraska GOP Senate race – In a dramatic, come-from-behind dash to the finish line late Tuesday evening, state Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine laid claim to the Republican Senate nomination. Her late surge, perhaps unprecedented in modern-day Nebraska political history, upended a Senate race that appeared to be settled as recently as 10 days ago with the GOP prize within the grasp of Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. Fischer suddenly gained momentum with late endorsements from 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln, then rode the momentum of a weekend TV ad blitz mounted by Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and his political action committee.
• Democratic Poll Shows Romney and Obama Nearly Tied in Wisconsin – A newly released PPP/Daily Kos poll shows President Obama and Mitt Romney locked in essentially a dead-heat in Wisconsin — where Obama beat John McCain by 14 percentage points in 2008. The poll (which was taken shortly after Obama came out in favor of redefining marriage) shows Obama with 47 percent support and Romney with 46 percent support. The previous PPP/Daily Kos poll from Wisconsin, taken a month ago, showed Obama leading Romney by 6 points (50 to 44 percent).
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-16 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-05-16
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS
• World News – Cross-border methamphetamine trade booms amid Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’ – World News – Cross-border methamphetamine trade booms amid Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS
• World News – Cross-border methamphetamine trade booms amid Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’ – RT @frontlinepbs: Mexico seized 22 #meth labs in 2007. That number increased to 206 in 2011.
• PJ Media – RT @PJTatler: Gallup: Obama Approval Rating Above 50%…in a Whopping 10 States #tcot
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS
• Deb Fischer wins Nebraska Senate race – David Catanese – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: Deb Fischer has won the Nebraska Republican Senate primary.
• Untitled (http://www.oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/meth/pdfs/1003meth_abuse.pdf) – RT @frontlinepbs: How does #meth purity affect abuse trends? @SteveSuo explains: His chart: #F …
• Interviews – Steve Suo | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS – RT @frontlinepbs: How does #meth purity affect abuse trends? @SteveSuo explains: His chart: #F …
• Analysis: Gay marriage decision not working in Obama’s favor so far – latimes.com – RT @latimes: Analysis: Gay marriage decision not working in Obama’s favor so far
• 2012 Edition — Top 10 Dentists in Social Media- You may be a dental expert when it comes to treatments and procedures, but does your expertise carry over into the social aspect of your practice? Are you a Facebook aficionado or are you still trying to figure out what a “tweet” even is? Last year, we compiled a list of who we thought were some of the top dentists in social media. These dentists go the extra mile to interact with their patients and spread the latest dental news, so we wanted to honor them again this year. With some new additions and some returning favorites, these dentists not only excel in the dental world, but the social media world as well. Check out why we chose these well-connected dentists to make the top 10 list this year. 1. Dr. Gregory Cole. Returning from lastyear is the California-based dentist and blogger, Dr. “Flap” Cole. Dr. Cole consistently updates his Flap’s Dentistry Blog with all the latest news in the dental industry and other current events in health (and that’s not even his only website!). His posts are very informative and thorough. He continues to be a part of the Twitter and Facebook community, updating frequently for more than 36,000 Twitter followers.
• Nebraska Secretary of State – Election Night Results – May 15th, 2012 – RT @michellemalkin: NE Secretary of State website with updated GOP primary results==>
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Michael Ramirez on the Obama Gay Marriage Flip Flop – Michael Ramirez on the Obama Gay Marriage Flip Flop
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll: Romney Leads Obama With Women – President 2012 Poll: Romney Leads Obama With Women
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: May 15, 2012 – The Morning Drill: May 15, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: May 15, 2012 – The Morning Flap: May 15, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day May 15, 2012 – No Quarter – Day By Day May 15, 2012 – No Quarter

Tags: #tcot, Brown, California, Crossroads, Dentistry, Ensign, Fischer, meth, Nebraska, Obama, Pinboard Links, Polling, Romney, Social_Media, Warren

Assembly member Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) putts on the 18th green as other attendees shake hands during the Speakers Cup, a golf tournament fundraiser hosted by AT&T at Pebble Beach. Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times

These are my links for April 20th through April 23rd:

• AT&T wields enormous power in Sacramento

As the sun set behind Monterey Bay on a cool night last year, dozens of the state’s top lawmakers and lobbyists ambled onto the 17th fairway at Pebble Beach for a round of glow-in-the-dark golf. 

With luminescent balls soaring into the sky, the annual fundraiser known as the Speaker’s Cup was in full swing. 

Lawmakers, labor-union champions and lobbyists gather each year at the storied course to schmooze, show their skill on the links and rejuvenate at a 22,000-square-foot spa. The affair, which typically raises more than $1 million for California Democrats, has been sponsored for more than a decade by telecommunications giant AT&T. 

At the 2010 event, AT&T’s president and the state Assembly speaker toured Pebble Beach together in a golf cart, shaking hands with every lawmaker, lobbyist and other VIP in attendance. 

The Speaker’s Cup is the centerpiece of a corporate lobbying strategy so comprehensive and successful that it has rewritten the special-interest playbook in Sacramento. When it comes to state government, AT&T spends more money, in more places, than any other company.

 

• President Obama’s Medicare slush fund – An $8 Billion ObamaCare Trick? – Call it President Obama’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President — a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department.

  Only this isn’t some little fund from shadowy private sources; this is taxpayer money, redirected to help Obama win another term. A massive amount of it, too — $8.3 billion. Yes, that’s billion, with a B.

  Here is how it works.

  The most oppressive aspects of the ObamaCare law don’t kick in until after the 2012 election, when the president will no longer be answerable to voters. More “flexibility,” he recently explained to the Russians.

• Flood of fundraising under way in 26th Congressional race – Of the 1,347 men and women running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, only eight have raised more money this year in support of their quest than state Sen. Tony Strickland, of Moorpark.

  Of them, six are incumbents and one is a Democratic candidate in Massachusetts by the name of Joseph P. Kennedy III.

  Only one Republican challenger nationwide outpaced Strickland — Joseph Carvin, of New York, a partner in a hedge fund who outpaced Strickland only because he wrote himself a $1 million check.

  Strickland, the lone Republican among six candidates running in Ventura County’s 26th Congressional District, raised $781,804 from the day he entered the race, Jan. 17, through the end of the first quarter, March 31 — an average of $10,424 a day.

• How much Hispanics matter in 2012 — in one chart – Republicans have a Hispanic problem.

  Unless they can find ways to begin convincing the nation’s fastest growing population — Hispanics accounted for half of all the growth of the U.S. population over the last decade — that the GOP is a potential political home for them, they won’t remain a credible national party in 2016, 2020 and beyond.

  Some within their party understand this. Take Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who is pushing a Republican “Dream Act” designed to show the Hispanic community that the entirety of the party is not lined up against them. And even former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who took a hardline stance against illegal immigration in the presidential primary, is starting to moderate his positions.

  Resurgent Republic, a conservative-aligned, polling conglomerate has produced a snappy infographic that details everything you need to know about the Hispanic vote including the fascinating chart below that allows you to experiment with how much of the 2012 electorate will be Hispanic, how much of it Republicans will win and what that means for the outcome of the contest.

• Republicans making effort to speak to Latino priorities – For the Republican Party’s future, there is no greater strategic imperative than improving its performance with Hispanic voters for this election and for the foreseeable future.

  A 2006 report from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates the explosive growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. From around 15 percent of the population today, it is on pace to grow to nearly a quarter of the population 40 years from now. Just 40 years ago, Hispanics were only 4.7 percent of the population.

  The Washington Post recently identified nine swing states that will decide the 2012 presidential election. Three of them have major Hispanic populations: Florida (primarily Cuban and Puerto Rican), Nevada and Colorado. According to estimates by Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions, only eight states have Hispanic voting-age populations greater than 13 percent, and among those, five are likely to be hotly contested in 2012: New Mexico (42.5 percent Latino), Arizona (21.3 percent), Florida (19.2 percent), Nevada (17.3 percent) and Colorado (13.4 percent). If Republican former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wins 31 percent of the Hispanic vote in those five states, the rate that McCain won nationally in 2008, he will likely lose four of them, and perhaps even Arizona.

• Schweitzer Stands by ‘Polygamy Commune’ Remark About the Romneys –
• Untitled (http://richardmourdock.com/sites/default/files/FactCheckRadio.mp3) – RT @jameshohmann: #INSen is red hot. Daniels ad for Lugar: . Mourdock radio ad: . Lugar mailer: …
• On the Job
  – YouTube – RT @jameshohmann: #INSen is red hot. Daniels ad for Lugar: . Mourdock radio ad: . Lugar mailer: …
• With GOP Race Settled, Will Republicans Turn Out for Romney? – What if they held an election and no one came?

  That could happen Tuesday, when five states will hold the first presidential primaries since a daunting delegate lead and Rick Santorum’s exit from the race made Mitt Romney the presumptive Republican nominee. For voters in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the put-a-fork-in-it race at the top of the ticket isn’t much of a draw.

  Except that history shows there’s a group of hardcore voters who show up even when the presidential primary has been settled. George Mason University associate professor Michael McDonald, who specializes in turnout, calls them “expressive voters.’’ For a candidate like Romney, viewed in some Republican circles as a consolation prize in an election year in which stronger and more conservative politicians took a pass, Tuesday’s turnout could help “express’’ the enthusiasm gap, if it exists

• Can the Tea Party Defeat Dick Lugar? – ‘You can’t beat up on Grandpa. You shouldn’t beat up on Grandpa. But still, there comes a time when it’s time.” So declares Richard Mourdock, the Indiana treasurer who is trying to unseat 80-year-old Sen. Dick Lugar in the May 8 GOP primary.

  It’s hard to find a better symbol of the “Washington establishment” than Mr. Lugar, who has lived in D.C. since he was first sworn into office in 1977. But the avuncular senator is beloved by many Hoosiers—and for the very reason that tea partiers want to send him home: He’s a statesman, not a warrior.

  An early test of the tea party’s strength this year will be whether Mr. Mourdock can unseat the iconic incumbent. At 60, the challenger is no spring chicken, nor is he a national rock star like freshman Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But he’s “capable, competent, and conservative,” as he says.

  Mr. Mourdock spent 30 years in the energy business as a geologist, executive and consultant. A heightened sense of civic pride spurred him to run for Vanderburgh County commissioner in 1995. Ten years later, impressed by his business background and political service, Gov. Mitch Daniels recruited him to run for treasurer. “I am known as a hard-working politician,” says Mr. Mourdock. “I go everywhere in Indiana to help the local Republican parties.

• Rubio is latest to join Romney on campaign trail – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Rubio is latest to join Romney on campaign trail -
• New York Times Backs Romney in N.Y. Primary – Lara Seligman – NationalJournal.com – RT @nationaljournal: New York Times backs Romney in NY Republican primary.
• 6 things to watch for at the John Edwards trial – John Edwards’s trial is the latest chapter in a “sex, lies and videotape” saga involving a politician’s reckless affair, a brazen cover-up and a spurned wife who later lost her battle with cancer.

  But to those in the world of campaign finance, it’s also about the fuzzy line between the political and the personal, vague legal standards and questions of prosecutorial overreach.

• New York Times features piece on Mormons: In Salt Lake City, Museum Show – The president, according to Mormon doctrine, is literally a seer, a prophet – the president, that is, of the church. Usually American presidents have a somewhat lower reputation.

  Now that Mitt Romney, an active Mormon, is aspiring to the more mundane office, new attention has come upon the faith that guides him. And much of that attention has been accompanied by controversy, confusion and concern about how Mormonism fits into American society.

  For a glimpse of how Mormons see themselves, though, it’s worth visiting the Church History Museum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. Created by believers, for believers, the museum shows how close to the center of American life Mormons consider themselves to be.

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-23 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-23
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 22, 2012 – Choose – Day By Day April 22, 2012 – Choose
• Humor / Dissing the engineer – what? – Dilbert on a Sunday Dissing the engineer – what?
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein puts re-election campaign on cruise control – Millions of dollars were embezzled from her campaign. Twenty-two challengers are trying to knock her off in the June primary. And the stakes in the November election are nothing less than control of Capitol Hill.

  But U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein isn’t a bit worried. Her campaign is on cruise control, her re-election all but certain — yet again.

  After holding elected office for all but five of the last 42 years, Feinstein is the doyenne of California Democrats. She’s so politically bulletproof that no A-list candidates are wasting their time and money trying to dethrone her.

  At 78, Feinstein has become the rare lawmaker who plays to her own political base while not overly riling her opponents. “She should have her easiest re-election ever,” said Gary Jacobson, a UC San Diego political science professor.

• Senator Rubio wants DREAM Act in time for fall semester – Rubio, in two separate events in Washington D.C., said his plan is still being hammered out, and important details – such as the minimum and maximum age of those who would qualify – were yet to be determined.
  “We’re involving the DREAMers” in the drafting of the measure, he said, using the term that refers to undocumented youth brought to the country by their parents. “We’re involving the kids themselves.”

   

  Asked by a reporter when it will be introduced in the Senate, Rubio said: “When it’s ready. It won’t be next week.”He said he hopes it gets introduced by summer and passed by fall.

  “There are a bunch of kids. . .who want to go to school this fall,” Rubio said at an appearance at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.. “I’m also cognizant that this is an election year,” he added, saying it wouldn’t be easy to get bi-partisan support as the parties vie for elective offices.

  The number of undocumented youth who would benefit from the DREAM Act has been estimated at between 1 million and 2 million. An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States.

  Rubio said at different events throughout Thursday in the nation’s capital that criticism about his plan creating “a permanent underclass” was “not true.”
  The senator said that critics who dismiss his plan before it is even finalized are just interested in keeping the inability of undocumented youth to attend college “a political wedge issue,” and are not really serious about finding a bipartisan solution.

  “The general concept is that [students] would receive the equivalent of a non-immigrant visa, it legitimizes you,” he said of his alternate DREAM Act proposal. “It doesn’t allow you to to become a resident or citizen, however it doesn’t prohibit you from applying.”

  “There’s no limbo” that the students will be stuck in under his plan, he said. “The limbo is what they’re in now.”

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Drops OPPO Bomb on Linda Parks – CA-26: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Drops OPPO Bomb on Linda Parks
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-21 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-21
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-22 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-22
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » CA-26: Who Can Out Nanny State on Grocery Bags Tony Strickland or Julia Brownley? – CA-26: Who Can Out Nanny State on Grocery Bags Tony Strickland or Julia Brownley?
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Approval Up, But Below Other Presidents Who Were Re-Elected – President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Approval Up, But Below Other Presidents Who Were Re-Elected
• Political Cartoons / Amateurs indeed – just like the Secret Service and their Columbian Hookers…. – Amateurs indeed – just like the Secret Service and their Columbian Hookers….
• Orrin Hatch pushed into primary in Utah Senate race – Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch will face off against conservative former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist in a June primary after the six-term incumbent failed to win 60 percent of the vote at the state Republican convention on Saturday.
• The Weekend Interview with Joel Kotkin: The Great California Exodus – Now, however, the Golden State’s fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn’t Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere.

  Nearly four million more people have left the Golden State in the last two decades than have come from other states. This is a sharp reversal from the 1980s, when 100,000 more Americans were settling in California each year than were leaving. According to Mr. Kotkin, most of those leaving are between the ages of 5 and 14 or 34 to 45. In other words, young families.

• Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – foursquare – Finished 12 miler and thank goodness for the clouds. Not too hot but humid. With Alice, Nancy and Mary
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: April 20, 2012 – The Morning Drill: April 20, 2012
• What swing states? Senate majority hinges on red states and blue states – The Washington Post – RT @RalstonFlash: NV is 7th most likely Senate seat to switch hands, says that Berkley ethics issue could be key.
• (500) http://pinterest.com/pin/114138171776344451/ – Love that Buffett…..Rule…..
• (500) http://pinterest.com/pin/114138171776344439/ – Bribe a blogger? Hummmm…..
• Awesome: Breitbart’s ‘Occupy Unmasked’ trailer released » The Right Scoop - – RT @trscoop: *** Awesome: Breitbart’s ‘Occupy Unmasked’ trailer released
• California Assemblyman Roger Hernandez was driving state car when arrested in DUI case – Assemblyman Roger Hernandez did not have permission of the Assembly to take a state car out of the Sacramento area last month when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Concord.

  The Toyota Camry hybrid that Hernandez was driving the night of his arrest, March 27, was an Assembly pool car assigned to the West Covina Democrat for travel in the Capitol area, according to Jon Waldie, Assembly administrator.

  Lawmakers are making more extensive use of personal vehicles or pool cars after California’s independent salary-setting commission eliminated a lease-car program serving Assembly and Senate officeholders.

  The general rule is that Assembly members not take pool cars out of Sacramento without prior permission. Officials prefer that out-of-area trips be for a legislative or governmental purpose, Waldie said.

• Romney campaign hits Obama on Hispanic unemployment rate – The Hill’s Ballot Box – RT @thehill: Romney campaign hits Obama on Hispanic unemployment rate
• Poll Watch: American cities favorability poll – The Pacific Northwest has a good reputation nationwide–the two most popular of the 21 prominent cities we asked about in our national poll last weekend are Seattle and Portland, OR. 57% of American voters see Seattle favorably and only 14% unfavorably, edging out Portland (52-12) by three points on the margin.

  The most unpopular is Detroit, which only 22% see positively and 49% negatively. Americans have net-negative impressions of only two other of these cities, and both are in California: Oakland (21-39) and Los Angeles (33-40). In February, PPP found California to be the least popular state in the union. It does have the 11th most popular city, though: San Francisco (48-29).

  Between the pack are Boston (52-17), Atlanta (51-19), Phoenix (49-18), Dallas (48-21), New York (49-23), New Orleans (47-24), Houston (45-22), Salt Lake City (43-20), Philadelphia (42-22), Baltimore (37-24), Las Vegas (43-33), Chicago (42-33), Cleveland (32-25), Washington, D.C. (44-39), and Miami (36-33).

• Untitled (http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/20/local-employers-add-3300-jobs-in-march/) – RT @vcstar: Ventura County employers add 3,300 jobs in March, but unemployment rate stays same.
• MA Dem Congressman Proposes Amendment to Strip Most Newspapers, Churches, Nonprofits, and Other Corporations of All Constitutional Rights – That’s the People’s Rights Amendment:

  Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.

  Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.

  Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people’s rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable.

  So just as Congress could therefore ban the speech of nonmedia business corporations, it could ban publications by corporate-run newspapers and magazines — which I think includes nearly all such newspapers and magazines in the country (and for good reason, since organizing a major publications as a partnership or sole proprietorship would make it much harder for it to get investors and to operate). Nor does this proposal leave room for the possibility, in my view dubious, that the Free Press Clause would protect newspapers organized by corporations but not other corporations that want to use mass communications technology. Section 3 makes clear that the preservation of the “freedom of the press” applies only to “the people,” and section 2 expressly provides that corporations aren’t protected as “the people.”

• Untitled (http://www.snsanalytics.com/Zmf9y7) – RT @SacramentoDaily: California unemployment jumps to 11 percent; 11.6 percent in Sacramento #tcot #catcot
• The PJ Tatler » Hey Tommy Christopher, You Can Thank Maggie Thatcher for Romney’s ‘Obama Isn’t Working’ Slogan – RACIST! RT @PJTatler: Hey Tommy Christopher,you Can Thank Maggie Thatcher for Romney’s Obama Isn’t Working Slogan #tcot
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Update: Obama’s Father Has a Polygamist Past: Montana Democrat Governor Brian Schweitzer Calls Out Mitt Romney’s Mormon “Polygamy” Past – No apology yet from Democrat Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer about Romney polygamy comment: #tcot
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 20, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 20, 2012

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, ATT, Brownley, CA-26, California, Cities, Corporations, Dream_Act, Edwards, Feinstein, GOP, Hatch, Hernandez, Hispanics, immigration, INSen, Kotkin, Latinos, LDS, Liberty, Lugar, McGovern, Mormon, Mourdock, Obamacare, Parks, Pinboard Links, Polling, Romney, Rubio, Strickland, Tea_Party, The Morning Flap

The Obamas and Bo, their dog – A Chilling Photo?

These are my links for April 18th through April 19th:

• Bam Bites Dog – The political perils of personal attacks – One time Barack Obama went to an Indian restaurant and ordered the lassi. Was he ever disappointed when the waiter brought him a yogurt drink!

  We’ll be here all week. But seriously, folks, we have a man-bites-dog story for you today.

  First, some background. Last week Byron York of the Washington Examiner reported that “some Obama staffers are reportedly obsessing over a nearly 30-year-old story about [Mitt] Romney’s dog”:

  In 1983, Romney took his family on vacation and, faced with a packed station wagon, put his Irish setter Seamus in a travel kennel strapped to the roof of the car. Romney constructed a special windshield in an effort to make the dog more comfortable, but Seamus ended up relieving himself on the roof, which reportedly caused much consternation among the Romney boys. Ever since the story got out–it was reported by the Boston Globe in 2007, during Romney’s first run for president–Romney opponents have used it in semiserious and sometimes fully serious ways to portray him as insensitive.
  “I have heard, in focus groups, the dog story totally tanks Mitt Romney’s approval rating,” Chris Hayes said on his MSNBC show. The Washington Post reported last month that the Seamus story “is ballooning into a narrative of epic proportions”:

  Late-night host David Letterman has been giving the dog near-nightly shout-outs. There are parody Web videos, “Dogs Aren’t Luggage” T-shirts and Facebook groups. (“Dogs Against Romney,” which protested outside last month’s Westminster dog show, has more than 38,000 Facebook fans.) The New Yorker featured a cartoon, with Rick Santorum riding in Romney’s rooftop dog carrier, on its cover last week. In the five years since the story was revealed, New York Times columnist Gail Collins has mentioned Seamus in at least 50 columns.

• The Dog Days of the Presidential Campaign Begin – I would note that in 2008, John McCain’s presidential campaign wouldn’t have touched this anecdote with a ten-foot pole. Between this and the Romney camp’s rapid response to the Rosen comments, we are seeing a Republican presidential campaign that is exponentially faster on its feet and way more nimble than the previous general-election campaign against Obama.
• IN-Sen: Don’t Believe the Anti-Incumbent Narrative – A few weeks after that primary, on May 8, Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar will either lose to state Treasurer Richard Mourdock or squeeze by him in the GOP primary.

  Lugar’s problems, however, have nothing to do with the “anti-incumbent” mood or Congress’ poor reputation. Instead, they have everything to do with his record and his horrible campaign.

  Lugar’s record and style don’t fit comfortably with where his party now is, yet he made little or no effort to sooth conservatives or to prepare for a battle. If he had, he might, for example, have purchased a house or condo in the state so that he wouldn’t need to stay in a hotel when he returns to the state to campaign.

  More than a year ago, I wrote in this space about Lugar’s vulnerability in a possible one-on-one primary. Almost immediately, I received a call from a Lugar staffer telling me how wrong I was and pointing out that the Senator was hugely popular and had a large campaign war chest.

  In other words, Lugar’s team didn’t understand what could happen if voters were presented with a credible opponent who either had money or would be supported by outside groups willing to spend heavily to defeat the Senator. And later, the campaign didn’t understand why anyone would care that Lugar didn’t own a residence in the state.

• Weiner a jerk before crotchgate, craved media attention: book – Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner was behaving like a jerk long before the world got a glimpse of his crotch.

  A new book offering an inside look at the US House of Representatives depicts Weiner as a desperately ambitious loudmouth who berated his staff and would do or say anything for TV airtime.

  Weiner “would enter his office in the Rayburn Building screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Why the f–k am I not on MSNBC?!’” journalist Robert Draper wrote in “Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives.”

  He finally got his wish, Draper wrote, when Weiner pushed to become the liberal spokesman for ObamaCare.

  “He was now on MSNBC every week, sometimes every day — to the point where he was carrying his own makeup kit. (Or rather, his press guy was.)” Draper wrote.

  Excerpts of the book, due out Tuesday, surfaced yesterday on the Web site Politico.

• Daily exercise can reduce risk of developing Alzheimer¿s, study finds – latimes.com – RT @latimesmost: You’re never too old to reduce Alzheimer’s risk with exercise
• Hydration for Runners – Run to Your Best – RT @Racerunningtips: Hydration for Runners: Hydrating for Optimal Performance
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-19 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-19
• The Top 10 Most Expensive Obamacare Taxes and Fees – Yesterday was tax day, serving as a special reminder of how big the federal government has become. As Heritage has warned before, Obamacare is on track to makes things a lot worse.

  The President’s health law will be partially paid for by tax increases and the creation of new taxes. When Obamacare first passed, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that its tax hikes would total $502 billion over the next 10 years. But most of the new, higher taxes don’t kick in until later in the decade, which means that once all of the law is fully implemented, the taxpayers’ tab will be much bigger than originally estimated.

  A new study by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) revealed today that Obamacare will impose higher taxes totaling $4 trillion between now and 2035, with substantial hits on working Americans. That works out to more than $1.7 trillion over a decade—more than triple the original 10-year score.

  Below is a list of 10 of Obamacare’s most costly taxes and fees, drawn from research by Heritage tax policy expert Curtis Dubay:

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » R.I.P. Dick Clark 1929-2012 – R.I.P. Dick Clark 1929-2012
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Study: No Independent Association of Periodontal and Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease? – Study: No Independent Association of Periodontal and Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease?
• In-Sen: Mourdock Leads Lugar in Internal Poll – Indiana state treasurer Richard Mourdock leads Senator Dick Lugar by one point according to a poll commissioned by the Mourdock campaign. Conducted between April 16 and 17 by the firm McLaughlin and Associates, the poll surveyed 400 likely Republican primary voters and found Mourdock in the lead, 42–41, against Lugar. The poll had a 4.9 percent margin of error.

  Since January, Lugar’s favorability rating has fallen ten points, from 57 to 47 percent, while Mourdock’s has risen by eleven, from 35 to 46 percent. “These results clearly demonstrate that Richard Mourdock has the momentum to win,” a memo from pollsters John McLaughlin and Stuart Polk notes.

• Is stagnation good enough for Obama’s reelection? « The Enterprise Blog – RT @JimPethokoukis: I plugged in Citi’s new econ forecast into 2 election models. Obama losses under both
• Untitled (http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2012/04/la_churches_being_fo.php) – RT @LAObserved: L.A. churches being foreclosed on in record numbers. @LABizObserved
• AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog
• Gallup Presidential Election Trial Heat Results: Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney – RT @gallupnews: Presidential Election: Romney 48% (+1), Obama 44% (+1). Get the full trend… #Gallup
• Gavin Newsom Gets Current TV Show — What About the Equal Time Rule? | TheWrap TV – California’s Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom gets a TV show on Current TV – whether you like it or not #catcot #tcot
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012: Romney Up With Web Ad About Unemployment in Key Battleground State of North Carolina – President 2012: Romney Up With Web Ad About Unemployment in Key Battleground State of North Carolina
• AD-38: Scott Wilk Signs Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge » Flap’s California Blog – RE:  Yes, last August seems a long time ago for Senator Tony Strickland…
• Medscape: Medscape Access – Menthol Cigarettes Double Stroke Risk
• Menthol Cigarettes Double Stroke Risk – Menthol cigarettes more than double the risk for stroke compared with regular cigarettes, a new study shows. In women and nonblack smokers, the risk for stroke was more than tripled.

  No significant associations were observed between the tobacco additive and other forms of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

  The mechanism by which menthol may increase stroke risk remains unclear.

  One potential mechanism is that menthol stimulates upper-airway cold receptors, which can increase breath-holding time, which may in turn facilitate the entrance of cigarette particulate matter into the lungs, notes Nicholas Vozoris, MD, from St. Michael’s Hospital, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

  Another possibility is that menthol cigarettes exert some selective effects on the cerebrovascular system.

• Potential VP pick Mitch Daniels endorses Mitt Romney – Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, frequently mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate, is the latest Republican leader to formally endorse Mitt Romney.

  “It must be a slow news day if this has made the air,” Daniels told Fox News on Wednesday. “But for what it’s worth, I did send a congratulatory note to Gov. Romney the other day offering to anything I could to help him, and here I am.”

  It didn’t come across as a particularly strong endorsement, and the Fox News anchor noted that Daniels has a dry, self-deprecating manner.

  “He’s already won our nomination,” Daniels continued. “He’s earned it, he’s proven himself the best nominee we could put forward, and I’m just happy to sign on and help him.”

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 18, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 18, 2012

Tags: #catcot, #tcot, Cigarettes, Daniels, Dogs, Gallup, Lugar, Mourdock, Obama, Obamacare, Pinboard Links, Romney, Smoking, The Morning Flap, Tobacco, Weiner

These are my links for April 17th through April 18th:

• The $5 Trillion Man: Debt Has Increased Under Obama by $5,027,761,476,484.56 – In the 39 months since Barack Obama took the oath of office as president of the United States, the federal government’s debt has increased by $5,027,761,476,484.56.

  Although he has served less than a term, Obama is now the first American president to see the federal government’s debt increase by more than $5 trillion during his time in office.

  During the full eight years that George W. Bush served as president, the federal government’s debt increased by $4,899,100,310,608.44. (Rising from $5,727,776,738,304.64 to $10,626,877,048,913.08.)

  The $5,027,761,476,484.56 that the debt has increased during Obama’s presidency equals $16,043.39 for every one of the 313,385,295 people the Census Bureau now estimates live in the United States.

• Panetta says he regrets cost of trips home – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday he regrets the cost to taxpayers for his weekend trips to his Carmel Valley home, but says it’s important “just to get your mind straight and your perspective straight.”
  Panetta said he’d try to find some savings, with each round trip costing approximately $32,000.
  “I regret … that it does add costs that the taxpayer has to pick up,” Panetta said during a Pentagon briefing Monday, speaking publicly for the first time about the flight costs. “A taxpayer would have to pick up those costs with any secretary of state or secretary of defense. But having said that, I am trying to look at what are … the alternatives here that I can look at that might possibly be able to save funds and, at the same time, be able to fulfill my responsibilities, not only to my job, but to my family.”
  The Associated Press earlier this month detailed the costs of the 27 roundtrip flights home Panetta has taken since he became Pentagon chief last July, as well as the amount he has reimbursed the government for the trips.
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Day By Day April 18, 2012 – The Game – Day By Day April 18, 2012 – The Game
• Walker makes his case before Illinois Chamber of Commerce – Gov. Scott Walker came to the capital city of Illinois on Tuesday to make the case that he should be retained as Wisconsin’s chief executive.

  He told the Illinois Chamber of Commerce that Wisconsin made the tough decisions to close its budget deficit, while Illinois continued to be burdened by an $8.5 billion deficit despite a 66% increase in the personal income tax rate.

  “The simple reality is, Illinois and Wisconsin, like nearly every other state, had big deficits to deal with. In our case, it was a $3.6 billion deficit. . . . And we looked around, other states are going to make poor decisions, we want to avoid that in Wisconsin,” Walker said.

  “We avoided a tax increase,” he said, recalling how after Illinois passed its increase, he came to Chicago with a bumper sticker that read, “Escape to Wisconsin.”

  “When you raise taxes on individuals, on businesses, that wealth, opportunity and jobs go somewhere else,” he said.

  Walker was greeted with three standing ovations from the crowd of 250 business leaders assembled at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center.

• The Campaign Against Systemic Sleaze: Team Romney Needs A Broom Pin – Solyndra. Fast and Furious. EPA and the Sacketts. Now GSA and the Secret Service.

  The federal government is suffering from systemic sleaze, the sort of excess that builds and builds and builds and then flows over from every corner. Chicago rules came to town and the result is a catastrophe for ethics in the public sector, a catastrophe which has many manifestations across the country in state and local government as well, with vast pension outlays resulting from swetheart deals with public employee unions and enormous expenditures on special interests and self-serving contracts, the sort of sleaze that reached a crescendo in the City of Bell, California scandals of last year.

• Find Out How Fit You Are at Runner’s World – RT @runnersworld: How’s your overall fitness? These tests will help you determine what you need to work on.
• Romney says ‘vast left wing conspiracy’ in media is attacking him – Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said a “vast left wing conspiracy” in the media was working with the Obama campaign to coordinate attacks against him.

  “There will be an effort by the quote vast left wing conspiracy to work together to put out their message and to attack me,” Romney said in an interview with Breitbart.com. “They’re going to do everything they can to divert from the issue people care about, which is a growing economy that creates more jobs and rising incomes. That’s what people care about.”

• Voters like President Obama to lead but prefer Romney on economic issues – A smattering of new polls shows an important divide developing: Voters like Mitt Romney on the economy but not much else. Meanwhile, they like President Obama on everything else but not nearly as much on the economy.

  So far, polls are showing a consistent, compelling divide between President Obama and the likely Republican nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R). Romney often runs stronger than Obama on the question of who can better handle the economy, yet Obama’s favorability rating is usually higher — sometimes dramatically higher.

  In other words, they like Obama leading the country, Romney running it.

  The evidence is ample.

• Bill Clinton enters 2012 race — to back his wife’s supporters – The congressional candidates former President Clinton is supporting in 2012 have something in common: They all backed his wife’s presidential bid four years ago.

  Sources close to Clinton said he wants to help those who put themselves on the line to support the former first lady’s campaign for the White House. But with Hillary Clinton serving in the Obama administration and Chelsea Clinton working for NBC News, Bill Clinton is the only member of the family in a position to hit the campaign trail.

• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-18 – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-04-18
• Conservatives Respond To Seamus-Gate: Barack Obama Ate A Dog – Business Insider – RT @businessinsider: Now Everyone’s Talking About How Barack Obama Ate A Dog by @grace_lightning #tcot
• Obama Bites Dog | Dreams From My Father – Hey, if we’re going to talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago, let’s talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago.

  Can you name the author of this quote?

  “With Lolo, I learned how to eat small green chill peppers raw with dinner (plenty of rice), and, away from the dinner table, I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy). Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths. He explained that a man took on the powers of whatever he ate: One day soon, he promised, he would bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share.”

• Memeorandum Colors 2012: Visualizing Bias on Political Blogs | Epicenter | Wired.com – Memeorandum Colors 2012: Visualizing Bias on Political Blogs | Epicenter |
• Wired.com – Memeorandum Colors 2012: Visualizing Bias on Political Blogs | Epicenter |
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Video: President 2012: Who Will Be Mitt Romney’s Vice President? – Video: President 2012: Who Will Be Mitt Romney’s Vice President?
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Oral Rinse Shown to Significantly Reduce Plaque – Oral Rinse Shown to Significantly Reduce Plaque
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The AFternoon Drill: April 17, 2012 – The AFternoon Drill: April 17, 2012
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 48% Vs. Obama 43% – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 48% Vs. Obama 43%
• Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » The Morning Flap: April 17, 2012 – The Morning Flap: April 17, 2012

Tags: #tcot, Clinton, debt, Obama, Panetta, Pinboard Links, Romney, The Morning Flap, Walker, Wisconsin