links for 2010-04-08

The Obama administration is now denying U.S. visas to Israeli scientists who work at that nation’s Dimona nuclear reactor. This startling reversal of traditional policy was reported April 7, 2010, in the Israeli website/newspaper NRG/Maariv (link to the original Hebrew here and to an exclusive Pajamas Media translation here).

This could be yet another flashpoint in the increasingly sensitive relations between the administration, the American Jewish community, and Israel. The revelation in Maariv came only a day before the arrival in New York of Tariq Ramadan — controversial grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al Banna — whose visa was reportedly championed by Secretary of State Clinton. Yesterday as well, new rules disavowing the term “Islamic radicalism” were announced by Secretary of Defense Gates.
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Uh Oh……..

Americans' favorable rating of the Democratic Party dropped to 41% in a late March USA Today/Gallup poll, the lowest point in the 18-year history of this measure. Favorable impressions of the Republican Party are now at 42%, thus closing the gap between the two parties' images that has prevailed for the past four years.
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A referendum on President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid

Had enough of Kate Gosselin yet? Too bad.

The infamous mother of eight, who is currently searing our eyeballs with her excruciatingly bad performances on Dancing With the Stars, has just landed yet another TV series: Twist of Kate.

The new series will profile real women in "challenging situations," whatever that means, with Kate in the role of … empathetic friend/host/parenting expert? Details are vague, but the series will air on Kate-friendly TLC, home to the now defunct Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Kate has also signed on to star in several Kate Plus 8 specials featuring her home life with the Gosselin brood. We thought Jon had effectively killed any TV shows starring his children, but perhaps not.

The 12 episodes are scheduled to begin airing this summer. Meantime, Jon is still suing Kate for being an absentee mom while she appears on Dancing With the Stars. Not to worry Jon, she can't possibly last much longer.
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No and thank goodness.

While the new LAT/USC poll showed that Tom Campbell remains the nominal front-runner in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, the political landscape in the last two months of the campaign looks very treacherous for him for three key reasons:
1.The National Organization for Marriage, a leader in the fight to pass Proposition 8, has targeted Campbell. The group has announced it is spending $300,000 on ads that call attention to his opposition to Prop. 8 and support for same-sex marriage, positions that are sharply at odds with most Republicans.
2.The LAT poll shows that Carly Fiorina, Campbell’s chief rival, now holds a tiny lead, 30-to-28, among self described conservatives (who oppose gay marriage 70-to-22).
3. Campbell’s first-quarter fund-raising was less than stellar. Having announced a primary goal of $7 million, Dudley managed to raise only $1.6 million in the first quarter, which put him way behind Fiorina
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Enough said……

A new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania finds Pat Toomey (R) has moved ahead of Sen. Arlen Specter (D) in a seesaw race for U.S. Senate, 46% to 41%.

Just a month ago, Specter held a seven point lead. The two men have swapped the lead by small margins since last fall.

Said pollster Peter Brown: "A Toomey-Specter race could continue swinging back and forth until November because most voters won't begin to focus on it until after Labor Day. On paper, Sen. Specter is vulnerable in the general election because only 36 percent of voters say he deserves another term. But Toomey is so little known that the electorate is torn which way to go."
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Pat Toomey will stay ahead in this race. Specter is too old and his party switch too mistrustful