links for 2009-05-23

Forty-four states lost jobs in April, led by California where employers slashed 63,700 positions, as the recession took a further toll on U.S. workers.

Trailing California in over-the-month job losses were: Texas, which saw 39,500 jobs vanish; Michigan, which lost 38,400 jobs; and Ohio, where payrolls fell 25,200, according to a U.S. Labor Department report issued Friday.

The few winners included Arkansas and Montana, followed by Florida—a dose of good news for a state that's been battered by the housing collapse.

In conclusion, the American Dental Education Association thanks the Committee for
considering our recommendations with regard to addressing access and dental
workforce issues. A sustained federal commitment is needed to meet the challenges
oral disease poses to our nation’s citizens including children, the vulnerable and
disadvantaged. Congress must address the growing needs in educating and training the
oral health care and health professions workforce to meet the growing and diverse
needs of the future. ADEA stands ready to partner with you to develop and implement a
national oral health plan that guarantees access to dental care for everyone, eliminates
oral health disparities, bolsters the nation’s oral health infrastructure, eliminates
academic and dental workforce shortages, and ensures continued dental health
research.

Despite all the jawboning about healthcare reform in Washington, DC, these days, politicians have said very little about teeth. That shouldn't surprise anyone. Dentistry has resided outside the main body of U.S. healthcare almost as long as there have been doctors. But now that's starting to change.

Founded in the decade before the Civil War as the Northern voice of union, the Republican Party today is more electorally dependent on the South than at any point in its past.

In the House and Senate, nearly half of all Republicans were elected from that region, defined as the 11 states of the Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Oklahoma. In each chamber, Southerners are a larger share of the Republican caucus than ever before. Similarly, beginning with the 1992 presidential election, the South has provided at least 59 percent of the Electoral College votes won by the GOP nominee, including by George W. Bush in his 2000 and 2004 victories. That percentage is nearly double the South's share of all Electoral College votes and by far the most that GOP presidential nominees have relied on the region over any sustained period.
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Ron Brownstein, A Lefty journalist writes a lengthy but full of holes treatise on the South and the Republican Party.
Look at the Congressional District Maps.

In the interview with CNN, set to air in full on State of The Union with John King Sunday, Ridge said he disagrees with "the approach both men are taking."

"It's just the whole notion of a Republican vice president giving a speech after the incumbent Democratic president," he said. "It's gotta go beyond the politics of either party."

The former Pennsylvania governor also took issue with a portion of Obama's speech, during which he said some Bush national security decisions were based on "fear, rather than foresight."

"I'm surprised that President Obama, who I really, truly believe knows better, would make such a statement," said Ridge. "The men and women in charge of America's security, whether they're military, or the intelligence community — the president, the vice president, the attorney general, the FBI director — did everything they could at the time to prevent another attack on America. And did it consistent with the Constitution and the rule of law."

California's political and financial vise tightened Thursday as the Legislature's budget analyst forecast bigger deficits, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared that he wouldn't increase taxes to cover them and gave up on borrowing $5.5 billion – and the Obama administration refused to guarantee short-term loans to keep the state functioning as it runs out of cash in July.

"There's one thing for sure," Schwarzenegger told reporters, citing Tuesday's election. "There will be no revenue increases. This means cuts, cuts, cuts and living within our means. That was the message of the people."

In the first bit of good news in almost a year, unemployment in California essentially flattened out in April at 11%, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

Though the Golden State led the country in the number of jobs lost for the month — 63,700 — the preliminary unemployment rate actually crept down a fraction from March's 11.2%.

In all, California has lost 842,800 jobs since April 2008, when the jobless rate stood at just 6.6%. The state currently has the fifth-worst employment climate, ranking behind Michigan at 12.9%, Oregon at 12%, South Carolina at 11.5% and Rhode Island at 11.1%.

This document is based on polling results and Instant Response dial sessions conducted
in April 2009. It captures not just what Americans want to see but exactly what they want to
hear. The Words That Work boxes that follow are already being used by a few Congressional
and Senatorial Republicans. From today forward, they should be used by everyone.
But don’t expect to reach everyone. More than one quarter of the population will back
significant government involvement in healthcare and a third support “universal” care. The
primary message of this document is to focus on the persuadables and generate support among
wayward Republicans and conservatives.

Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz has circulated a memo which attempts to
teach Republicans how to kill health care reform by misleading people. Because they
know they cannot win the argument honestly, Republicans are resorting to mendacity.
Democrats must not let them get away with it.

Democratic strategist Paul Begala is circulating a point-by-point rebuttal of GOP consultant Frank Luntz’s widely read strategy memo on health care – with Begala urging congressional Democrats to push back hard against “Republican Orwellian rhetoric.”

“Because they know they cannot win the argument honestly, Republicans are resorting to mendacity,” Begala wrote in the memo obtained by POLITICO. “Democrats must not let them get away with it.”

Begala argues that the Luntz strategy aims to confuse voters about which party wants reform. He warns Democrats that they risk seeing their message co-opted and a health overhaul die this year unless they aggressively confront Luntz’s tactics.

“Your job is to smoke them out,” wrote Begala, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton and CNN commentator. He is scheduled to brief Hill staff on the memo Friday.

The Bush policies in the war on terror won't have to await vindication by historians. Obama is doing it day by day. His denials mean nothing. Look at his deeds.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said prices may rise 2.5 percent in 2011, a rate well above central bankers’ preferred range, and cautioned against complacency on inflation.

“The economy may be at greater risk of inflation than the conventional wisdom indicates,” Plosser said in a speech yesterday in New York. “While inflation expectations appear to remain anchored, we should not become sanguine about our credibility. It can be easily lost.”
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Does this remind anyone of Jimmy Carter and his disasterous economic policies?

North Korea appears to be preparing to test-fire short-range missiles after banning ships from waters off its northeast coast, a report said Friday.

A vehicle mounted with a missile launcher has been seen moving around for the past two or three days in an eastern coastal area of Hamkyong province, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying.

"Judging from an analysis of the movements, the North appears to be preparing to test-launch short-range missiles," the source was quoted as saying.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) played odds-maker on healthcare reform over breakfast Thursday, predicting a 75 percent to 80 percent chance that his panel will advance a bipartisan bill next month.

Asked by a reporter what were the chances he would succeed in winning the support of senators from both parties, Baucus responded: “Very high. Very, very high. If you want me to put a percentage on that, I’d say it’s about 75, 80 percent. It’s very high.”