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Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, flanked by his wife Karen, right, and daughter Elizabeth, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

These are my links for February 9th through February 13th:

• Congressman wants Afghanistan study group – Citing an Army lieutenant colonel’s claims that there is no progress being made in Afghanistan, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., is urging Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to create an independent study group to review U.S. strategy in the sandbox.

  In a letter dated Friday, Wolf wrote he is deeply troubled by the conclusions reached by Lt. Col. Daniel Davis and asks Panetta to immediately create an Afghanistan/Pakistan Study Group.

  In 2010 and 2011, Davis traveled to Afghanistan on assignment with the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, an organization tasked with getting urgently needed equipment to soldiers in the field.

  “What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground,” Davis wrote in an opinion piece titled “Truth, lies and Afghanistan,” published online Feb. 5 by Armed Forces Journal.

  Rather than the gradual progress described by top U.S. officials, Davis wrote he saw, “the absence of success on virtually every level.”

  During a yearlong deployment that began in late 2010, Davis wrote, his job sent him around the country to talk, travel and patrol with troops in Kandahar, Kunar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika, Kunduz, Balkh, Nangarhar and other provinces. It was his fourth combat deployment, and his second in Afghanistan.

  Davis wrote a classified and unclassified report. He has not released either report publicly. On his website, he says he will publish the full unclassified version as soon as Army public affairs completes its review and grants permission for release.

  On Feb. 10, Rolling Stone magazine published a copy of the unclassified version on its website.

  Davis has provided the reports to members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans, senators and House members. He has also sent his reports to the Defense Department’s inspector general.

  He declined to comment for this story.

  The Pentagon maintains that the security environment in Afghanistan continues to improve.

  During a briefing this week, Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, deputy commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, described steady progress in the country, from local and national government to the development of Afghan security forces. Responding to a question about Davis’ report, Scaparrotti said, “it’s one person’s view of this,” adding that he thought the Defense Department’s outlook is accurate.

  Wolf has written similar letters to Panetta over the past several months.

  The congressman is the author of the legislation that created the Iraq Study Group and has been pushing for the Obama administration to conduct a similar review of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• Santorum surges into the lead – Public Policy Polling – Riding a wave of momentum from his trio of victories on Tuesday Rick Santorum has opened up a wide lead in PPP’s newest national poll. He’s at 38% to 23% for Mitt Romney, 17% for Newt Gingrich, and 13% for Ron Paul.

  Part of the reason for Santorum’s surge is his own high level of popularity. 64% of voters see him favorably to only 22% with a negative one. But the other, and maybe more important, reason is that Republicans are significantly souring on both Romney and Gingrich. Romney’s favorability is barely above water at 44/43, representing a 23 point net decline from our December national poll when he was +24 (55/31). Gingrich has fallen even further. A 44% plurality of GOP voters now hold a negative opinion of him to only 42% with a positive one. That’s a 34 point drop from 2 months ago when he was at +32 (60/28).

  Santorum is now completely dominating with several key segments of the electorate, especially the most right leaning parts of the party. With those describing themselves as ‘very conservative,’ he’s now winning a majority of voters at 53% to 20% for Gingrich and 15% for Romney. Santorum gets a majority with Tea Party voters as well at 51% to 24% for Gingrich and 12% for Romney. And with Evangelicals he falls just short of a majority with 45% to 21% for Gingrich and 18% for Romney.
  It used to be that Gingrich was leading with all these groups and Romney was staying competitive enough with them to hold the overall lead. No more- a consensus conservative candidate finally seems to be emerging and it’s Santorum.

• Labor unions left sour with President Obama set to sign FAA funding bill – Labor’s division over the bill funding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has helped clear the way for President Obama to sign it.

  Unions are split in their opposition to the measure, with some fearing its provision on union election rules endangers organizing.

  Union officials say they were kept in the dark about the negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that helped pass the bill.

• Does Indiana Need a Pro-Teapot Museum GOP Senator? – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – RT @jimgeraghty: In Indiana’s GOP Senate primary, Richard Mourdock releases new statewide ad hitting Lugar on earmarks:
• Day By Day February 12, 2012 – Logic | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day February 12, 2012 – Logic
• Romney and Birth Control: a Shift – WSJ.com – RT @LizMair: Rough news day for Mitt Romney on many counts, but especially this one:
• Shrinking Senate Hopes – for 2012 – Three other Democratic seats are vulnerable. No state has trended Republican in recent years more than Missouri. John McCain narrowly beat Obama in Missouri in 2008. Roy Blunt won the open Senate seat there in 2010 by 14 percentage points. So it’s no surprise that Democratic senator Claire McCaskill is in deep trouble this year. The Republican Senate primary is August 7.

  Wisconsin is more Democratic, but it offers Republicans a great opportunity. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic candidate, is gay, liberal, and a zealous campaigner. Either of the GOP candidates, former governor Tommy Thompson or ex-House member Mark Neumann, could beat her. When Neumann gave up his House seat in 1998 to run (unsuccessfully) for the Senate, by the way, he was replaced by Paul Ryan.

  In Hawaii, Democrat Dan Akaka is stepping down after three terms, and there’s only one Republican with a realistic chance of winning his seat, former governor Linda Lingle. Fortunately for Republicans, Lingle is running. She didn’t have to buck a Democratic tide in a presidential year when she won the governorship in 2002 and 2006. With Obama, a native of Hawaii, leading the ticket, she’ll have to overcome a strong partisan headwind.

  Where does this leave us? Duffy projects a Republican gain of three to six seats. The Rothenberg Report says two to five. A year ago, I’d have said four to seven. Today, three to six seems about right, with emphasis on the three. But my rule of politics is that the future is never a straight line projection of the present. In November, Republican prospects may look better—or worse.

• Canada’s Harper talks oil with China as U.S. faces $4 gas | Washington Examiner – RT @mtapscott: Canada’s Harper talks oil with China as U.S. faces $4 gas | Washington Examiner: #TCOT #TEAPARTY #SG …
• AD-38: California Assemblyman Cameron Smyth Endorses Scott Wilk for Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: California Assemblyman Cameron Smyth Endorses Scott Wilk for Assembly
• Media Matters | Sources | David Brock | The Daily Caller – Inside Media Matters: Sources, memos reveal erratic behavior, close coordination with White House & news organizations
• SNL Parodies of Clint Eastwood’s Half Time in America Are Really Stupid | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – SNL Parodies of Clint Eastwood’s Half time in America Are Really Stupid
• Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Occupy Oakland Burns The American Flag For The Third Week In A Row… – Occupy Oakland Burns The American Flag For The Third Week In A Row…
• Merkel taking Europe in wrong direction: Soros – Merkel taking Europe in wrong direction: George Soros
• Greek lawmakers approve austerity bill as Athens burns
  | Reuters – Greek lawmakers approve austerity bill as Athens burns
• Day By Day February 11, 2012 – Listing | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day February 11, 2012 – Listing
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-12 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-12
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-12 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-12
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap’s Badges :: Greasy Spoon – I just unlocked the “Greasy Spoon” badge on @foursquare! Bring on the burgers!
• foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – Finished @LAMarathon 20 miler! Yay! (@ Ronnie’s Diner w/ 6 others)
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-11 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-11
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-11 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-11
• The Afghanistan Report the Pentagon Doesn’t Want You to Read – Earlier this week, the New York Times’ Scott Shane published a bombshell piece about Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis, a 17-year Army veteran recently returned from a second tour in Afghanistan. According to the Times, the 48-year-old Davis had written an 84-page unclassified report, as well as a classified report, offering his assessment of the decade-long war. That assessment is essentially that the war has been a disaster and the military’s top brass has not leveled with the American public about just how badly it’s been going. “How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding?” Davis boldly asks in an article summarizing his views in The Armed Forces Journal.

  Davis last month submitted the unclassified report –titled “Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leader’s Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort” – for an internal Army review. Such a report could then be released to the public. However, according to U.S. military officials familiar with the situation, the Pentagon is refusing to do so. Rolling Stone has now obtained a full copy of the 84-page unclassified version, which has been making the rounds within the U.S. government, including the White House. We’ve decided to publish it in full; it’s well worth reading for yourself. It is, in my estimation, one of the most significant documents published by an active-duty officer in the past ten years.

• Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: February 10, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: February 10, 2012
• Poll Watch: Americans View China as Leading Economic Power | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Americans View China as Leading Economic Power
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Afternoon Drill: February 10, 2012 – The Afternoon Drill: February 10, 2012
• Teachers union defends endorsement of Falk – The state’s largest public teachers union is standing behind its endorsement of Kathleen Falk for governor despite controversy among Democrats and some union members.

  Some complained the endorsement came too early: A recall election hasn’t been ordered, and many expect other prominent candidates to join the race. Others felt the unions shouldn’t play kingmaker before a primary or give the impression that the election is about only collective bargaining rights.

  Mary Bell, Wisconsin Education Association Council president, said she understood the passionate feelings but said the recommendation was made with input from union leaders throughout the state.

  “It’s not surprising,” she said. “Our members have a lot invested in what’s happening.”

  Though acknowledging other candidates may enter the race, Bell said she is confident the former Dane County executive is the best choice to beat Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

  Bell said the short and uncertain time frame of a recall made it necessary to put out a recommendation early.

  Mike Tate, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said the party is proud to work closely with organized labor – which he called “the backbone” of the party – though he said the election is about much more.

  “A million Wisconsinites signed a recall petition; each one has their own reason,” he said. “There’s a number of reasons to recall Scott Walker.”

  He shrugged off the significance of the WEAC decision.

  “Unions make endorsements,” Tate said Thursday. “That’s what they do.”

• Day By Day February 10, 2012 – The Useful | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day February 10, 2012 – The Useful
• Here’s A Peek At What Falk As Governor Would Look Like – Don’t say you haven’t been warned!

  Kathleen Falk, the candidate from WEAC, says she wants to “undo the harm” that Governor Walker has done and is apparently willing to devastate Wisconsin in order to advance her agenda.

  Want to see what “undoing the harm” would look like?

  A year ago Pat Quinn, the ultra-liberal Governor of Illinois, faced many of the same challenges that Scott Walker faced. Instead of standing up to public employee unions and reining in spending, Quinn pushed for massive tax increases and business as usual.

  So how did that work out?

  In contrast to Governor Walker (who has an approval rating over 50%), Quinn has an approval rating of 30%! That’s right! 30%.

  Let’s be real clear. Kathleen Falk is a slightly more opportunistic version of Pat Quinn with a Madison mailing address. The policies of Quinn have decimated Illinois. There’s absolutely no reason to think that they’d work any better in Wisconsin under Kathleen Falk.

  Want to see what Wisconsin would look like one year after Kathleen Falk became Governor? Just look at Illinois today.

  It’s not a pretty sight.

• Nearly 1 in 20 US adults over 50 have fake knees – Nearly 1 in 20 Americans older than 50 have artificial knees, or more than 4 million people, according to the first national estimate showing how common these replacement joints have become in an aging population.

  Doctors know the number of knee replacement operations has surged in the past decade, especially in baby boomers. But until now, there was no good fix on the total number of people living with them.

  The estimate is important because it shows that a big segment of the population might need future knee-related care, said Dr. Daniel Berry, president of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and chairman of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He was not involved in the research.

• Medscape: Medscape Access – Midlife smoking in men linked to more rapid cognitive decline in later life i
• Majority of Search Queries Go Mobile By 2016 — Bernstein – Peter Kafka – Mobile – AllThingsD – RT @allthingsd: Here’s What Apple and Google Are Fighting Over: Search Goes Mobile By 2016 -by @pkafka
• Report: Adelson done giving to Gingrich as funding dries up – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – Report: Sheldon Adelson done giving to #Gingrich as funding dries up #tcot #GOP12
• Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-10 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-10
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-02-10
• ObamaCare: The Catholic Epiphany | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – ObamaCare: The Catholic Epiphany
• AD-38: Patricia McKeon to Address Simi Valley Moorpark Tea Party » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Patricia McKeon to Address Simi Valley Moorpark Tea Party » Flap’s California Blog
• Untitled (https://plus.google.com/105353644409523560325/posts/VtTyPoGT4nP) – Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass it to find out what is in it,” referring to the Health Care bill
• AD-38 Video: Rep Buck McKeon Doesn’t Want to Answer Questions About Defense Contractors Contributing to His Wife Patricia McKeon’s Assembly Campaign » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38 Video: Rep Buck McKeon Doesn’t Want to Answer Questions About Defense Contractors Contributing to His Wife…
• AD-38: Patricia McKeon to Address Simi Valley Moorpark Tea Party » Flap’s California Blog – (500) …
• (500) http://flapsblog.org/2012/02/09/ad-38-patricia-mckeon-to-address-simi-valley-moorpark-tea-party/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ad-38-patricia-mckeon-to-address-simi-valley-moorpark-tea-party&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – AD-38: Patricia McKeon to Address Simi Valley Moorpark Tea Party
• President 2012: The GOP Presidential Delegate Calculator | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: The GOP Presidential Delegate Calculator
• Obama administration reaffirms support for California high-speed rail – latimes.com – Obama administration reaffirms support for California high-speed rail
• Carmen Trutanich will run for L.A. district attorney – latimes.com – Carmen Trutanich will run for L.A. district attorney
• How the housing settlement might affect you | HealthyCal – How the housing settlement might affect you
• Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: February 9, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Afternoon Collection: February 9, 2012
• Sen Jim DeMint Video: Brokered GOP Convention Possible | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Sen Jim DeMint Video: Brokered GOP Convention Possible
• Poll Watch: 22 Per Cent of Americans Satisfied With the Way Things Are Going | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: 22 Per Cent of Americans Satisfied With the Way Things Are Going
• President 2012 Ohio Poll Watch: Santorum Tied With Obama While Romney Trails | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Ohio Poll Watch: Santorum Tied With Obama While Romney Trails
• Updated: President 2012 Video: Mitt Romney’s Greatest Hits | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Updated: President 2012 Video: Mitt Romney’s Greatest Hits
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Tom’s of Maine to Award Five $20K Grants to Non-Profit Dental Clinics – Tom’s of Maine to Award Five $20K Grants to Non-Profit Dental Clinics

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Obama yesterday

These are my links for January 25th through January 26th:

• Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China – In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.

  However, the workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems.

  Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Under-age workers have helped build Apple’s products, and the company’s suppliers have improperly disposed of hazardous waste and falsified records, according to company reports and advocacy groups that, within China, are often considered reliable, independent monitors.
  More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers’ disregard for workers’ health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning.

• Thou Shalt Not Write Bad Things About Obama – Drudge has a story about Obama getting off of Air Force One in Arizona, greeting Republican governor Jan Brewer, and immediately giving her a piece of his mind. Evidently our president did not appreciate something Brewer wrote about him. According to the pool report, they had a testy exchange from which the president walked away as Brewer was still speaking.

  Sound familiar? Bobby Jindal got the same treatment when Obama came to visit Louisiana and the governor met him on the tarmac

• Geithner Says Obama Won’t Ask Him to Lead Treasury if He Wins Re-Election – Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, the last remaining member of the Obama administration’s original economic team, said he doesn’t expect the president to ask him to stay in office if re-elected.

  “He’s not going to ask me to stay on, I’m pretty confident,” Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. “I’m confident he’ll be president. But I’m also confident he’s going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury.”

  Geithner, 50, has led President Barack Obama’s efforts to pull the U.S. economy out of the worst recession since World War II. Before joining the administration in 2009, Geithner was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, playing a key role in the U.S. government’s bailouts of banks including Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), and automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

• President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Mitt Romney Has Jumped Back in Front of Newt Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Mitt Romney Has Jumped Back in Front of Newt Gingrich
• As Obama demands rich Americans pay more in taxes, the IRS reveals 36 Obama aides are far behind in their taxes – How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their “fair share” of taxes.

  Because how unfair — indeed, un-American — it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet’s secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate.

  Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.

  A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama’s executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven’t paid any share, let alone their fair share.

  Previous reports have shown how well-paid Obama’s White House staff is, with 457 aides pulling down more than $37 million last year. That’s up seven workers and nearly $4 million from the Bush administration’s last year.

  Nearly one-third of Obama’s aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each.

  The IRS’ 2010 delinquent tax revelations come as part of a required annual agency report on federal employees’ tax compliance. Turns out, an awful lot of folks being paid by taxpayers are not paying their own income taxes.

• Leak to media about House Ethics probes ignites chatter on source, motives – A leak to the media that identified three Republicans who are being investigated by the House Ethics Committee has lawmakers and staffers wondering who the source is, and his or her motive.

  There are many theories on who, over a four-day period, forked over the names of GOP Reps. Pete Sessions (Texas), Buck McKeon (Calif.) and Elton Gallegly (Calif.) to media outlets in reference to an ongoing investigation into VIP loans given to lawmakers by Countrywide.

  The leaks stunned the three legislators, who have all denied accepting special rates on the loans in exchange for political favors.

  Some are pointing the finger at House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) for releasing the publicly sensitive information, though his office is pushing back at that notion.

• Post-State of the Union Analysis – Post-State of the Union Analysis Where Americans stand on 16 issues Pres. Obama raised in the State of the Union
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 26, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 26, 2012
• How Patrick Swayze died: Why we should care – When I finished my book on famous patients, the most common question I received was “Are the stories of sick celebrities really relevant to other patients?” My answer was that yes, with some caveats, these experiences are well-worth knowing.

  The same can be said for the story of Patrick Swayze’s terminal pancreatic cancer, which has now been told by his widow, actress Lisa Niemi Swayze, in a new book, “Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss and Moving Forward.” Patrick Swayze, a dancer and actor best known for his roles in the films “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost,” was diagnosed in January 2008 and died of the disease in September 2009 at the age of 57. He was originally told he would live only a few months.

  First, the caveats. Like most celebrities, Swayze had the means, as his wife says, to “think outside the box.” He enrolled in a clinical trial at Stanford University, traveling regularly to Palo Alto from Los Angeles for experimental chemotherapy. Swayze also was a VIP patient, getting first-class attention from top doctors and hospital staffs. Most patients experience greater hurdles.

  Nor should pancreatic cancer patients who read “Worth Fighting For” assume that they, like Swazey, can beat the odds and survive longer if they take the same medications that he did. Every case of pancreatic cancer, like all cancers, is different.

• Many Patients Continue to Smoke Even After Being Diagnosed With Cancer | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Many Patients Continue to Smoke Even After Being Diagnosed With Cancer
• Florida’s Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick
  | Reuters – Florida’s Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 26, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 26, 2012
• Day By Day January 26, 2012 – Da Damonator | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day by Day January 26, 2012 – Da Damonator
• The Buffett Ruse – WSJ.com – Remember the moment in 2008 when Charlie Gibson of ABC News asked Senator Barack Obama why he would support raising the capital gains tax even though “revenues from the tax increased” when the rate fell? Mr. Obama’s famous reply: “I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.” Well, we were warned.

  Here we are four years later, and President Obama on Tuesday night linked the term “fair” to U.S. tax and economic policy seven times. The U.S. economy is still hobbling out of recession, real family incomes are falling and 14 million Americans are unemployed, but Mr. Obama declared that his top priority is not to reform the tax code to promote growth and job creation. His overriding goal is redistributing income.

  Mr. Obama endorsed the political ruse he calls the Buffett rule, which asserts as a matter of moral principle that millionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than middle-class wage earners. Specifically, Mr. Obama is proposing that anyone earning more than $1 million pay at least 30% of that income to Uncle Barack.

  The White House says that if a millionaire household’s effective tax rate falls below 30%, it would have to pay a surcharge—in essence a new Super Alternative Minimum Tax—to bring the tax liability to 30%. For those facing this new Super AMT, all deductions and exemptions would be eliminated except for charity.

• Review & Outlook: The Buffett Ruse – WSJ.com – The Buffett Ruse Obama’s ploy means the highest capital gains tax rate since 1978 #tcot
• Obama’s 30% millionaire tax – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Obama’s 30% millionaire tax -
• Drudge, conservative media criticize Newt Gingrich – Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen – POLITICO.com – SIREN — The Newt bomb: Conservative media leaders see possible Gingrich win in FL; blast him to avoid “disaster”
• Digital download tax: O’Malley proposes digital downloads be subject to state sales tax – baltimoresun.com – Beyond Amazon taxes: @GovernorOMalley is considering a tax on iTunes and app downloads:
• Untitled (http://www.memeorandum.com/120126/p7#a120126p7) – Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 (Matt Dixon / Florida Times Union)
• Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 | jacksonville.com – Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 (Matt Dixon / Florida Times Union)
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-26
• Dick Armey: Daniels could still run – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @Students4Mitch: Dick Armey: Daniels could still run –
• When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn
• (404) http://t.co/T – RT @fivethirtyeight: We’ve got Romney back ahead in our FL forecast and gaining quickly. Newt needs a big debate tomorrow. …
• The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com – Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan -
• Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan – CSMonitor.com – Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan
• Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport – Oh My! | Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport – #tcot
• The Page by Mark Halperin | Gen Elex Match-Ups, Sunshine State Edition – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 47% Vs. Obama 42% and Obama 49% Vs. Gingrich 40% Jan 22-24 Florida Likely Voters
• Warren Buffett’s Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year – Forbes – RICH | Warren Buffett’s Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year
• Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
• Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
• Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
• Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
• Poll: Romney Regains Momentum in Florida – Steven Shepard – NationalJournal.com – RT @HotlineSteve: New CNN/Time/ORC Fla. poll: Romney 36, Gingrich 34. But Romney regained the momentum most recently:
• Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – RT @gallupnews: Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair…
• CA-26: California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress
• For Smokers Seeing Arterial Plaque Makes No Difference on Whether They Quit Smoking | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – For Smokers Seeing Arterial Plaque Makes No Difference on Whether They Quit Smoking
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: California Dental Association Supporting Dental Mid-Level Providers? – California Dental Association Supporting Dental Mid-Level Providers?
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 25, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 25, 2012
• Scott Walker leads in Wisconsin recall poll – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is ahead in his likely recall election even as his campaign raises — and spends — millions of dollars in expectation of a tough race later this year.

  According to a new Marquette Law School poll the governor leads Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a likely candidate, 50 percent to 44 percent. He leads former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the only declared Democratic candidate, 49 percent to 42 percent margin, former Rep. David Obey 49 percent to 43 percent and state Sen. Tim Cullen 50 percent to 40 percent.

  Democrats started targeting Walker last year, when he spearheaded controversial legislation limiting collective bargaining for public employees. Under Wisconsin law, Walker was not eligible for a recall election until January of this year.

• President 2012: Pelosi Folds – No New Dirt on Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Pelosi Folds – No New Dirt on Gingrich
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 25, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 25, 2012
• Gingrich says Pelosi is living in a fantasy world – The Hill’s Video – Gingrich says Pelosi is living in a fantasy world
• Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’ | Naked Politics – Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’
• 33% of GOP Voters Say It Would Be Good If New Candidate Entered Presidential Race – Rasmussen Reports™ – 33% of GOP Voters Say It Would Be Good If New Candidate Entered Presidential Race
• Senior Runners Improve Marathon Performance | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Senior Runners Improve Marathon Performance
• The Morning Flap: January 25, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: January 25, 2012

These are my links for November 15th through November 17th:

• Berkeley police break up Occupy Cal; tents removed, 2 arrested – Police moved in early Thursday to break up the Occupy Cal protest at UC Berkeley, arresting at least two protesters.

  Scores of officers conducted the raid, removing the tents and clearing the area.

  On Tuesday, more than 1,200 singing, sign-waving students and faculty members rallied for much of the day on Sproul Plaza, a site of the 1960s Free Speech Movement.

  At one point, the demonstrators chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, police violence has got to go,” a reference to an incident last week in which baton-wielding police officers stopped an Occupy camp from being set up on the campus. Dozens of protesters were arrested in last week’s confrontation, and several were injured.

• Protesters prepare to take over downtown L.A. intersection – Organizers of a demonstration planned Thursday morning in downtown Los Angeles say protesters are prepared to be arrested by police for committing acts of civil disobedience — including shutting down an intersection.

  The march, which is timed to coincide with other demonstrations across the country to protest the imbalance of wealth and power in the country, is set to begin at 7 a.m. at Bank of America Plaza on Hope Street. It will then make its way through the Financial District to the corner of Figueroa and 4th streets, where demonstrators plan to shut down traffic by erecting tents in the middle of the street.

  Jacob Hay, a leader of the coalition of labor and community groups that helped organize the march, said the group has secured police permits, but that protesters are prepared to be arrested for blocking traffic.

• Perry challenges Pelosi to debate part-time Congress plan – Rick Perry has challenged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to debate him next week about his plan for a part-time Congress.

  In a letter to Pelosi (D-Calif.) obtained by The Hill, the Texas governor wrote: “I am in Washington Monday and would love to engage you in a public debate about my Overhaul Washington plan versus the congressional status quo.

  “I think it would be a tremendous service to the American people to see a public airing of these differences,” he continued. “Let the people decide. If Monday doesn’t work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America’s heartland.”

• San Franciso police arrest 100 in Bank of America protest – Protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement seized a Bank of America branch in the city’s financial district Wednesday, a demonstration that forced jittery customers and employees to flee and ended in nearly 100 arrests.

  It took about 40 police officers in riot gear nearly four hours to clear the bank, but no one was injured. Police said many of those arrested were UC Santa Cruz students who were protesting fee increases and budget cuts.

  Police removed the protesters methodically, placing them in plastic handcuffs, citing them for misdemeanor trespassing and sending them off in police wagons for further processing.

• Wall Street clashes start Occupy’s day of action – Police arrested protesters who sat on the ground and blocked traffic into New York’s financial district on Thursday, part of a day of mass gatherings in response to efforts to break up Occupy Wall Street camps nationwide.

  Police in riot helmets hauled several protesters to their feet and handcuffed them one block from Wall Street.

  “All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!” the crowd chanted.

• Occupy Wall Street protesters vow to wear suits, blend in and get revenge for the Zuccotti Park raid – Occupy Wall Street hoped to show there was life after Zuccotti Thursday by staging a series of marches and rallies – starting with a sneak attack on the Stock Exchange itself.

  As the city braced for a “sizeable” crowd, observers on both sides said the scale of the protest would show whether the two-month-old movement could regain momentum after Tuesday’s demoralizing defeat.

  OWS hoped anger over the NYPD raid that razed their iconic tent city at Zuccotti Park would breathe new life into a cause that had begun to sputter.

  The “day of action” is to begin early, with protesters converging on Wall Street camouflaged in business suits hoping to blend in with office workers trooping out of the subway.

• Zuccotti Park protester Nkrumah Tinsley arrested after threatening to burn down city – A protester was arrested in Zuccotti Park Wednesday after he threatened to fire bomb the city — and his rant went viral on YouTube, police said.

  Nkrumah Tinsley, 29, was busted after cops saw a video of him claiming he would torch the city during Thursday’s mass protest posted online, police said.

  “On the 17th (of Nov.), we’re going to burn New York City to the f—ing ground,” an angry Tinsley told a crowd of demonstrators in the video posted on Tuesday.

  “In a few days, you’re going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy’s.”

  When officers from the NYPD’s intelligence division saw the video, they immediately began working on trying to identify the raging man, police said.

  “We didn’t want him out there [Thursday]. We wanted him in our custody,” said Paul Browne, top spokesman for the NYPD. “He was specific as to date, location and method for the fire bombing …maybe it was just a rant, but we didn’t want to take that chance.”

  Cops later spotted Tinsley at Zuccotti Park Wednesday and collared him about 5 p.m., police said. He was charged with making terroristic threats.

• Romenesko Leaves Poynter After Conflict Over Quotes – Jim Romenesko, the blogger who developed a large and loyal following by chronicling and summarizing news in the media world, quit his post on Thursday evening after a bizarre spat with the institute that hosts his writing.

  An editor at Poynter, which purchased Mr. Romenesko’s blog 12 years ago, had questioned his failure to use quotation marks when summarizing articles in his daily round-ups of media stories — summaries that Mr. Romenesko never claimed credit for as his original work.

  In an e-mail to the institute on Thursday night, Mr. Romenesko said, “I’ve had a great dozen years at Poynter, and I look forward to my next chapter.”

• Felix • A couple of points about Romeneskogate, for those who aren’t completely bored of it by now – The original Julie Moos post was highly misleading in one respect — she made it seem as though Romenesko hadn’t blockquoted two full paragraphs in this post, when in fact he had used blockquote. I know Moos was misleading because Jack Shafer said that she “pointed to a recent example from Romenesko’s work in which he ran whole sentences from a Chicago Tribune story in his summary of it without placing the words in quotation marks or block quotation”. I suspect that the problem here is that Poynter’s CSS has problems with blockquotes-within-blockquotes, but in any case Moos should have been much clearer that only a minority of the text in question was outside quote marks or blockquotes.
  Justin Peters managed to commit exactly the same sin that Moos did, when he reminisced about freelancing on Today’s Papers. “I knuckled down and found a way to say things in my own words, because I am a journalist, and that is my job,” he writes, managing to to completely miss the point of what an aggregator does. It’s not the job of a journalist, saying things in his own words: instead, it’s the job of a curator, linking to great content. If Peters thinks that Romenesko’s job was that of a journalist, writing things in his own words, he’s missing the point entirely.
• Holding aggregators to journalistic standards – Moos is using the standards of original journalism, here, to judge a blogger who was never about original journalism. Copy-and-pasting other people’s stories is what Romenesko did, at high volume, and with astonishing speed and reliability, for many years. And the media community, including Poynter, loved him for it.

  Moos might have “spent weeks in 2004 developing explicit publishing guidelines with the understanding and expectation that they would be adopted”, but guidelines are always reverse-engineered from already-existing best practice. And Romenesko is a shining example of best practice in the aggregation world. If he’s violating the guidelines, then it’s the guidelines which are at fault, not Romenesko.

  Petty bureaucrats like Moos love to codify things, so that they can cite chapter and verse when telling people off. But if you’re running a grown-up media organization, please: follow Paton’s lead, and not Moos’s. Journalists will behave unethically, sometimes. When they do, they should be reprimanded or even fired. But basic common sense is always the best guide to whether a journalist has done something wrong. And when Julie Moos presumes to judge Jim Romenesko by the standards of a Moos-written rulebook, it’s right and proper that the wrath of the Twittersphere come down on her as a result.

• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Connecticut Mall Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneurs Sue the Connecticut Dental Commission – Connecticut Mall Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneurs Sue the Connecticut Dental Commission
• Wisconsin’s Governor: Recall Drive Is About Unions Seeking ‘Power’ – Many of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s citizens may be signing petitions for his recall in reaction to the battle he led earlier in the year to weaken his state’s public-employee unions.

  But Walker doesn’t appear to be backing off one inch from his stance that he did what was right for his state.

  Indeed, in a conversation with Tell Me More host Michel Martin, Walker essentially blamed outside agitators in organized labor for the recall effort.

  He accused his political foes of really being after “power” while presumably camouflaging their true intent with platitudes about workers’ rights, among other things.

  Unions are in particular coming after him, Walker said, because the new budget law he and the the Republican-controlled state legislature in Madison enacted, gave workers a choice about whether or not to belong to a union.

• California Appeals Court Rules: Cell Phones at Red Lights Are Not OK » Flap’s California Blog – California Appeals Court Rules: Cell Phones at Red Lights Are Not OK
• The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Updated: The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton – The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton
• CA-26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett to Announce Candidacy for Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett to Announce Candidacy for Congress #tcot #catcot
• Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping? – Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping?
• Gingrich Said to Be Paid $1.6M by Freddie Mac- Bloomberg – Gingrich Said to Be Paid at Least $1.6 Million by Freddie Mac
• Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping? – Joe Klein says news of Newt Gingrich’s ties to Freddie Mac threaten to halt his recent recent rise in the polls.

  “You must understand: to Republican stalwarts, a relationship with Freddie Mac is the moral equivalent of satanism. Gingrich was a paid helper — and, believe me, he didn’t get paid $1.6 million to lecture the organization on the failures of government intervention in the market — in a ‘socialist’ effort to make home-buying easier for people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to afford houses, an effort that famously went off the rails when the government began supporting sub-prime and other highly questionable mortgages.”

  “In other words, Gingrich was supporting — the best guess was that Gingrich was hired to win some Republican support for Freddie — the very sort of program that he routinely excoriates. This sort of hypocrisy is astounding but, sadly, not unknown to Newt. After all, this was the guy who led the Republican Impeachment of Bill Clinton while having an extra-marital affair of his own.”

• Gingrich Said to Be Paid at Least $1.6 Million by Freddie Mac – Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

  The total amount is significantly larger than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 9 sponsored by CNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.

  Gingrich’s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned a period of eight years. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he “offered them advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” and warned the company that its lending practices were “insane.” Former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.

  Gingrich’s first contract with the mortgage lender was in 1999, five months after he resigned from Congress and as House speaker, according to a Freddie Mac press release.

  His primary contact inside the organization was Mitchell Delk, Freddie Mac’s chief lobbyist, and he was paid a self- renewing, monthly retainer of $25,000 to $30,000 between May 1999 until 2002, according to three people familiar with aspects of the business agreement.

• Poll Watch: Americans Favor Repealing ObamaCare 47% Vs. 42% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Americans Favor Repealing ObamaCare 47% Vs. 42% #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Has the MAGIC Mouthwash to Fight Tooth Decay Arrived? – Has the MAGIC Mouthwash to Fight Tooth Decay Arrived?
• Dilbert November 16, 2011 – Goals for the Year » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 16, 2011 – Goals for the Year
• U.K Doctors Call for Car Smoking Ban | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – U.K Doctors Call for Car Smoking Ban
• Day By Day November 15, 2011 – Rule | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 15, 2011 – Rule #tcot #catcot
• Untitled (http://www.businessweek.com/pdf/poll11-16-11.pdf) – RT @ByronYork: Bloomberg NH: Romney 40, Paul 17, Gingrich 11, Cain 8, Huntsman 7, Perry 3, Bachmann 2, Santorum 1.
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-16 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-16 #tcot #catcot
• AD-66: Huey, Mintz and Muratsuchi Will Face Off In 2012 South Bay Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-66: Huey, Mintz and Muratsuchi Will Face Off In 2012 South Bay Assembly Race
• Amazon.com: Gregory Cole: Flap’s Wish List – I just wished for: ‘Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement’ by Michael… via @amazon
• Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement – Due Out in March | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement – Due Out in March #tcot #catcot
• Terror three plead not guilty – 38-year-old Iraqi-Kurd Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, Uzbek David Jakobsen, 33, and alleged Uighur (China) mastermind 40-year-old Mikael Davud, pleaded not guilty to planning an assault using explosives on Danish paper Jyllands-Posten at today’s opening of their trial in Oslo District Court.
  All also denied their guilt relating to charges of trying to obtain bomb ingredients, as well as plotting to assassinate Danish cartoonist and author of the contentious Prophet Mohammed caricatures, Kurt Westergaard.
  Police Security Service (PST) officials arrested now indicted Bujak, Jakobsen, and Davud  in Norway and Germany last year on suspicion of planning to blow up the Chinese Embassy in Oslo.
  The case is also believed to be connected with plans to bomb a New York subway and a shopping mall in Manchester, UK, in 2009.
  According to NRK, Prosecutor Geir Evanger said today that, “There is no doubt that David Jakobsen ordered hydrogen peroxide at a pharmacy on Jernbanetorget [in Oslo] on 02 September 2009. There is [also] no doubt that this can be used to make explosives.”
  “He picked it up on 04 September, and the bottle was handed over to Mikael Davud in his Oslo apartment the same evening. However, police had already replaced the contents of the bottle contents with something harmless,” he continued.
  All three men also have suspected links with al-Qaida. Officials believe Mr Davud had travelled to Pakistan and was trained by the extremist group how to make explosives, as well as agreeing he would commit acts of terror.
  “He made a deal with Bujak and Jakobsen to hit Jyllands-Posten’s offices when he came back to Norway,” alleged Geir Evanger.
• Gallegly Has Decision To Make – Last November voters elected Elton Gallegly to a 13th term in the US. House of Representatives.

  Today the 24th District Representative told Key News he was humbled by phone calls urging him to run again.

  But redistricting being challenged in Federal court puts his Simi Valley hometown in the 25th district represented by Republican Buck McKeon.

  McKeon has already announced his run for re-election.

  Now Gallegly must decide whether to run against McKeon in the 25th or run again in the 24th, something he can legally do.

  To make an informed decision the Congressman wants to see what happens with the Federal lawsuit challenging redistricting.

  Members of the Camarillo Los Posas Republican Womans Federated group hope he will continue to represent them.

  Many business owners hope so too.

  Although would be challengers are anxious to see Gallegy will do, he has time to decide.

• 3 plead not guilty as terror trial opens in Norway – Three men accused in Norway of an al-Qaida-linked plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad pleaded not guilty Tuesday to terror charges as their trial began.

  The trial of Mikael Davud, Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak and David Jakobsen is being seen as a key test of Norway’s anti-terror laws. The men had been under surveillance for more than a year when authorities moved to arrest them in July 2010.

  Norwegian investigators, who worked with their U.S. counterparts, say the defendants were building a bomb in a basement laboratory — a plot linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind 2009 schemes to blow up New York’s subway and a British shopping mall.

  The men deny the terror charges. Prosecutors must prove they worked together in a conspiracy, because a single individual plotting an attack is not covered by Norway’s anti-terror laws.

  Prosecutor Geir Evanger told the Oslo district court that Davud, the alleged ringleader, received explosives training in Pakistan. They said he conspired with al-Qaida operatives to attack the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, whose 12 cartoons of Muhammad triggered furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006.

• Herdt: Opportunity knocks; is anyone home? – In the national struggle for control of Congress next year, both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that Ventura County’s new 26th Congressional District will be an important battlefield.

  It has all the key elements: voter registration that is closely divided, a healthy percentage of independents and a history of split results.

  It has all the elements, that is, except for this: very few warriors.

  There are two announced Democratic candidates, Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock and Westlake Village businessman David Cruz Thayne. Most observers are waiting for another to emerge — Supervisor Steve Bennett, or perhaps Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, or perhaps some other surprise candidate with proven fundraising ability.

  There are no announced Republican candidates because everyone is waiting on Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, to publicly reveal his intentions.

  The growing frustration over that uncertainty last week led Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, to issue what appeared to be a calculated poke at Gallegly to make up his mind. McKeon told his hometown newspaper that “as near as I can pin him down,” Gallegly intends to run in the 25th District against McKeon.

  Gallegly actually lives in the 25th District, but his Simi Valley home is only a couple hundred yards from the boundary, and most of the 26th District is made up of areas he now represents. As long as the 26th District remains an option for Gallegly, other Republicans are frozen out by the political protocol that frowns on challenging an incumbent in a primary.

• AD-66: Craig Huey Will Run for California State Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – AD-66: Craig Huey Will Run for California State Assembly
• Grow Elect and Rebuilding the California Republican Pary By Electing Local Latinos » Flap’s California Blog – Grow Elect and Rebuilding the California Republican Pary By Electing Local Latinos
• Why Do Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Why Do Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media?
• President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: As Cain Crashes – Newt Rises | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: As Cain Crashes – Newt Rises #tcot #catcot
• President 2012 GOP California Poll Watch: Gingrich 33% Vs. Romney 23% Vs. Cain 22% Vs. Perry 6% Vs. Paul 5% » Flap’s California Blog – President 2012 GOP California Poll Watch: Gingrich 33% Vs. Romney 23% Vs. Cain 22% Vs. Perry 6% Vs. Paul 5%
• Day By Day November 14, 2011 – School’s Out | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 14, 2011 – School’s Out #tcot #catcot
• Election 2012: Generic Presidential Ballot – Rasmussen Reports™ – RT @RasmussenPoll: Election 2012: Generic Republican 46%, Obama 42%…
• (404) http://t.co/tTc – RT @AP: AP Video: Sen. John McCain, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spar over decision to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq: …
• » Sen. Feinstein Loaded up on Biotech Stock Just Before Company Received $24 Million Gov’t Grant – Big Government – RT @AndrewBreitbart: Sen. Feinstein Loaded up on Biotech Stock Just Before Company Received $24 Million Gov’t Grant:
• President 2012: Rick Perry Proposes Making Congress Part-Time and Ending Lifetime Tenure for Federal Judges | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Rick Perry Proposes Making Congress Part-Time and Ending Lifetime Tenure for Feder… #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: November 15, 2011 – The Morning Drill: November 15, 2011
• The Morning Flap: November 15, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 15, 2011 #tcot #catcot

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

• Issa: NLRB is Acting as a Rogue Agency – House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa snapped at National Labor Relations Board general counsel Lafe Solomon for openly defying his congressional subpoena.

  Not complying with congressional subpoena is technically an illegal act, and Solomon could be charged with contempt of Congress if Issa, a leading Republican, chooses to proceed down that path.

  “Your continued personal obstruction, lack of compliance with a validly issued congressional subpoena and false statements to the committee are unacceptable,” Issa said in a Monday letter to Solomon. “The NLRB is acting as a rogue agency that believes it does not have to fully answer to Congress.”

  Issa’s subpoenas relate to the NLRB’s ongoing case against the Boeing Company. The NLRB has echoed allegations by the International Association of Machinists union that Boeing committed an “unfair labor practice” by opening a new production plant in South Carolina instead of in Washington State, where the company’s other production lines are located. Since the allegations were made, Boeing has added more jobs in both Washington and South Carolina, but the Machinists union and the NLRB think the company’s chosen location for the new line was a “retaliation” against the union because South Carolina is a right to work state.

• WI Dems kick out reporter during recall Walker training  – The campaign to recall Gov. Scott Walker may be a grassroots effort as its organizers insist, but it proved less than transparent Tuesday evening when Wisconsin Reporter showed up to report on a recall training session.
  Graeme Zielinski, a Democratic Party spokesman with a history of threats against Wisconsin Reporter, ranted at the news organization’s reporter in attendance by phone and threatened Wisconsin Reporter again.
  More than 100 supporters turned out to the event at the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 40 office on Madison’s west side. The session, led by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, is designed to ensure that recall volunteers know how to collect signatures properly.
  Within minutes of arriving, however, a Wisconsin Reporter journalist who identified herself as a member of the media was asked to leave by an organizer who cited the campaign’s desire to keep the information out of the media.
  The reporter agreed to leave, but asked to speak with the person making the request. The reporter was then put on the phone with Zielinski.
  Zielinski called the reporter unprofessional, accused her of sneaking into a party function and then threatened to discuss the incident Wednesday with the statehouse press corps, of which Wisconsin Reporter is a member.
  “Get out,” Zielinski shouted. “Don’t come to our party functions anymore.”
  He then hung up the phone.
  The Wisconsin Reporter staff writer had signed up to attend the event on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s website, using her name and wisconsinreporter.com email address.
  Tuesday wasn’t the first time Zielinski has threatened Wisconsin Reporter.
• Amnesty by Any Means – Analysis of a series of leaked memos from within the Department of Homeland Security’s highest ranks shows that the Obama administration has sought for the last year and a half to form a strategy to achieve amnesty for the illegal population without input from Congress. The goal? Ultimately, according to a June 2010 memo, the administration seeks to “reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization.” Well aware of the potential political fallout among both Congress and the American people, the administration provided internal briefs on the pros and cons of varying strategies to gain an administrative amnesty.

  The course eventually decided on appears to be the now infamous June 2011 “prosecutorial discretion” memo issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton. This memo, embraced by the White House a few weeks ago, sets a course that prevents the enforcement of immigration law, provides a de facto amnesty, and is effectively worker authorization for much of the current illegal population. The current course of non-enforcement is in contrast to the initial proposed strategies of proactive immigration law rewrites.

  In this memo is a thorough analysis of the extent the Obama administration is willing to go to deceive America into accepting unprecedented executive branch immigration law rewrites and changes in immigration processing to get around their federal responsibility to enforce immigration law. Obama administration actions taken to peel back visa interviews abroad, reduce enforcement on our physical borders, replace worksite enforcement to worksite audits, take actions against states seeking to enforce the law but no action against sanctuary cities, and support of only two immigration enforcement programs — Secure Communities and E-Verify — make sense when placed against the backdrop of these memos. On September 29, 2011, more evidence that this agenda is on track came in a Washington Post front page story describing the Obama administration’s overt actions to discourage states from attempting to get their illegal populations under control:

• Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• Couple On The Run – > Nice Jeff RT @JeffGalloway: I was honored to write an "afterword" for a great new book about couples running to…:
• Untitled (http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/19/amgen-is-cutting-226-jobs-in-thousand-oaks/) – > Not good news for T.O. ! RT @vcstar: Amgen is cutting 226 jobs in Thousand Oaks, 380 jobs worldwide
• Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• GOP Ad Ties Democrat Rep. John Garamendi to Obama and a Bankrupt Solyndra | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – GOP Ad Ties Democrat Rep. John Garamendi to Obama and a Bankrupt Solyndra #tcot #catcot
• Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• Full-Court Press by California Republican Party for State Senate Redistricting Referendum » Flap’s California Blog – Full-Court Press by California Republican Party for State Senate Redistricting Referendum
• Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
• MORE Facebook Friends Linked to BIGGER Brain Areas? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – MORE Facebook Friends Linked to BIGGER Brain Areas?
• Dilbert October 19, 2011 – Feed the Werewolf » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert October 19, 2011 – Feed the Werewolf
• Photo of the Day: Obama’s Canadian Made Bus | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – RE: I think Sen. McCain has been criticized for that as well.
• (500) http://flapsblog.com/2011/10/19/president-2012-gop-poll-watch-one-word-that-comes-to-mind-oh-my-rick-perry/ – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: One Word that Comes to Mind – Oh My Rick Perry! #tcot #catcot
• President 2012: Las Vegas GOP Debate – Winners and Losers | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Las Vegas GOP Debate – Winners and Losers #tcot #catcot
• Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: October 19, 2011 – The Morning Drill: October 19, 2011
• Flap’s California Morning Collection: October 19, 2011 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: October 19, 2011
• Day By Day October 19, 2011 – Gaming the System | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day October 19, 2011 – Gaming the System #tcot #catcot
• Politics, Political News – POLITICO.com – Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney: Now it's personal – Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith -
• Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney: Now it’s personal – Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith – POLITICO.com – RT @jmartpolitico: With @benpolitico, how Vegas revealed guts of the gop race to come:
• News from The Associated Press – RT @AP: BREAKING: Social Security recipients to receive 3.6 pct. cost-of-living increase, first since 2009: -ldh
• @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-19 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-10-19 #tcot #catcot
• CNN.com International – Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News – - Transcripts
• CNN.com – Transcripts – >FWIW RT @michellemalkin: FYI: CNN has full transcript of the GOP brawl in Vegas
• Rick Perry Wrote Letter Urging TARP Passage | National Confidential – RT @mleewelch: Perry's letter: . Santorum's right, and Perry was lying.
• BBC News – John Lennon’s tooth expected to make £10,000 at auction – Tired of the 9-9-9 discussion on the Presidential debate. How about this for raising capital?:
• President 2012: Las Vegas GOP Presidential Debate Tonight | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – I will be covering tonight's 8 PM Las Vegas Presidential debate on Twitter. Follow along @Flap
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• California Conservatives Propose 2012 Initiative to Limit Services to Illegal Immigrants » Flap’s California Blog – California Conservatives Propose 2012 Initiative to Limit Services to Illegal Immigrants
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Quite possible in the latest PPP Poll.

The Wisconsin Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl is looking like a genuine Republican pick up opportunity, with both Tommy Thompson and Mark Neumann leading all the potential Democratic candidates we tested besides Russ Feingold.

Feingold, who doesn’t seem terribly interested in running, would still be the strongest potential candidate. He has the best favorability rating of anyone we looked at both overall (49/43) and specifically with independents (52/37). He would have the slightest advantage over Thompson, 48-47, and a more healthy one over Neumann at 51-44. Feingold led them by 10 and 12 points respectively when PPP first looked at this race in May so there’s been a good amount of movement toward the Republicans since that time.

Good news for the GOP and if former Senator Feingold does NOT run, this will likely be a gain for the GOP next year.

The entire poll is here.

According to the latest PPP Poll.

Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are tied for the Republican Presidential lead in Wisconsin at 20%…with Mitt Romney all the way back at 13%. Sarah Palin at 11%, Herman Cain at 7%, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul at 6%, Tim Pawlenty (the poll was conducted before he dropped out) at 3%, and Jon Huntsman at 1% round out the field. 

These numbers make it clear that Bachmann and Perry have all the momentum in the state, while all the other candidates are losing steam. Perry wasn’t even tested when we polled Wisconsin in May and Bachmann’s up 9 points now from her 11% standing then. Everyone else is on the decline- Pawlenty’s fall was the worst, down 8 points from 11% in May to now 3%. You can see why he dropped out. 

Palin’s support is down 5 points, Romney, Paul, and Gingrich are each down 4, Cain’s down 3, and Huntsman’s down 1. At least in Wisconsin Perry and Bachmann are clearly sucking the wind out of the rest of the field and it’s going to be interesting to see if that’s the case everywhere in polling over the next couple weeks.

Another poor showing for Mitt Romney in an early GOP primary state after Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent entrance into the Presidential race.

And, this poll assumes a Sarah Palin candidacy which at this time would likely be siphoning votes away from Bachmann and Perry.

If you take Palin out of the picture Bachmann gains even more steam, getting 24% to 20% for Perry, 17% for Romney, and 10% for Gingrich.

The entire poll is here.