• Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2010-11-05

    • A newly empowered House GOP lawmaker said he hopes to advance legislation to end the right of U.S. citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

      Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a staunch opponent of illegal immigration who will become chairman of a key subcommittee handling immigration rules, said that he thinks he'll be able to pass a bill out of the House to end the U.S. Constitution's birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

      "I think we are at least in the House," King told the conservative website Newsmax when asked if the new Congress would pass legislation to address so-called "anchor babies."
      ++++++
      Illegal immigration has to be stopped or the rest of the country will end up like California and Nevada = balkanized with third world populations

    • Here in California, we've grown accustomed to voters from all parts of the country — some of them more consequential than others -– second-guessing our elections (perhaps because we have so many). This election, in which California somehow missed the cresting anti-Democrat wave, was no exception.

      Several writers to letters@latimes.com accused Californians of electing the very people who imperiled our state in the first place. Many also expressed dismay that California took a pass on two prominent business executives (Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina) in favor of Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer.
      Albert Einstein once said insanity is "…doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Congratulations, California, for becoming the largest mental hospital on Earth (or shall attempt California-style political correctness and call it a special needs facility).

      Voters in the state keep electing the same politicians into office and expect different results?
      +++++
      LOL

      (tags: California)
    • Keith Olbermann, MSNBC's primetime firebrand host, has been suspended indefinitely for violating the ethics policies of his employer earlier this year when he donated to three Democrats seeking federal office, MSNBC announced Friday.

      "I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay," MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement.

      First reported by Politico and confirmed by Federal Election Commission filings, the primetime television host gave $2,400 – the maximum individual amount allowed – to each of the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords
      ++++++
      Couldn't keep it in his pants, eh?

    • * Senator Harry Reid was trailing Tea Party icon Sharron Angle going into Tuesday's election. In fact, Reid beat Angle by over 6 percent.. The big difference was the Latino vote. Reid beat Angle among Latinos a whopping 90% to 8%, and Latino turnout was up from 12% of the electorate in the 2006 Mid-Terms to 15% in 2010.

      * In Colorado's Senate race, the consensus polls showed Democrat Michael Bennet losing by about 1% in a close race. Instead he won by 1%. His margin among Latinos was 81% to 19% and Latino turnout was up from 9% of the electorate in 2006 to 13% in 2010.

      * In the California Senate race, Barbara Boxer beat Carly Fiorina among Latinos 86% to 14%, and Latino turnout was up from 19% of the electorate in 2006 to 22% in 2010. Fiorina lost despite having spent a record-setting140 million of her own money on the campaign.
      +++++
      Fiorina did not put in $140 million of her own money but Latinos turned out for the Dems – a warning for GOP

      (tags: GOP)
    • In interviews in New Zealand, the failed 2008 presidential candidate made clear she had no plans to run again despite talk — fueled partly by her fellow Democrats' losses in Tuesday's U.S. mid-term elections — she might embark on a new race.

      Asked by TV3 New Zealand whether she ruled out standing for the top U.S. office through 2016, Clinton, according to a U.S. reporter, replied: "Oh yes, yes. I'm very pleased to be doing what I'm doing as secretary of state."

      In a separate interview with TV New Zealand, Clinton said she hoped the United States was ready for a female president, adding "it should be."

      Asked if it might be her, she replied: "Well, not me. But it will be someone and it is nice coming to countries that have already proven that they can elect women to the highest governing positions that they have in their systems."
      +++++++
      Don't believe a word…..

    • Every election cycle has its winners and losers: not just the among the candidates, but also the pollsters.

      On Tuesday, polls conducted by the firm Rasmussen Reports — which released more than 100 surveys in the final three weeks of the campaign, including some commissioned under a subsidiary on behalf of Fox News — badly missed the margin in many states, and also exhibited a considerable bias toward Republican candidates.

      Other polling firms, like SurveyUSA and Quinnipiac University, produced more reliable results in Senate and gubernatorial races. A firm that conducts surveys by Internet, YouGov, also performed relatively well.
      ++++++
      Read all of the analysis. Rasmussen must tighten up their operations.

    • Cynics will argue that, even if Obama can be given the bum's rush in 2012, that doesn't guarantee the success of this three-stage vaccine. And it is certainly true that it didn't permanently inoculate the Bay State from new and more virulent strains of health "reform." But that's hardly an argument for supinely allowing the PPACA to spread or waiting for the Supreme Court to provide a miracle cure. This contagion must be eradicated now. John Boehner was right when he said, "[W]e have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill…" And, if outright repeal isn't possible, then the MA vaccine is the next best alternative.
      ++++++
      Read it all.
      (tags: Obamacare)
  • Dentistry

    Study: Toothache More Common Among Minority and Special Needs Children

    The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says that frequent consumption of liquids containing fermentable carbohydrates (e.g., juice, milk, formula, soda) increases the risk of dental caries due to prolonged contact between sugars in the liquid and cariogenic bacteria on the teeth

    Well, DUH. Education, diet and the ability to pay for early childhood dental care are all factors that hurt poor children.

    Poor, minority and special needs children are more likely to be affected by toothache, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

    Toothache is a source of chronic and often severe pain that interferes with a child’s ability to play, eat and pay attention in school,” the authors write as background information in the study. The authors also note that “the most common cause of toothache is dental decay” and the “process of dental decay is one that optimally would be prevented or, at the very least, identified early and then arrested through provision of regular professional dental care. However, for some U.S. children, including those who are Medicaid-insured, access to preventive and restorative dental care is more difficult.”

    So, what is the remedy?

    Free dental care ala ObamaCare?

    More $ millions spent by the government on public health dentistry and dental health education?

    Obviously, those remedies are infeasible or have been ineffective.

    How about personal responsibility, education and an enforceable federal immigration policy for a start?

  • Election 2012

    Presidential Election 2012: The First 2012 Map of Battleground States



    Election 2010 Map as of today from electoral-vote.org


    The first pundit map is out for the 2102 Presidential race.

    As we begin turning our attention to the 2012 presidential contest, we debut our initial presidential battleground map. Note: This is based on where we believe things will be a year from now, with the GOP candidates headed into home stretch in IA. It essentially combines what we know from ’04, ’06, ’08 and ’10, and factors it ALL in. Here’s another way to look at this: The lean Dem states are winnable by a Republican if things break, say, 53%-47% nationally for the nominee. And the lean GOP states are winnable by a Democrat if things break, well, 53%-47% nationally for the president. And you can guarantee BOTH parties will play in every lean and toss-up state so the BIG battleground for 2012 begins with 17 states. We fully expect a David Plouffe to attempt to argue GA and AZ should be in lean. And we expect a GOP strategist to argue they can put one EV in ME and, say, OR in play. But here you go…

    Solid Dem: DE, HI, MD, MA, NY, RI, VT
    Likely Dem: CA, CT, IL, ME, WA, OR
    Lean Dem: IA, MI, MN, NJ, PA
    Toss-up: CO, FL, NV, NH, NM, OH, VA, WI
    Lean GOP: MO, MT, NE (one EV), NC,
    Likely GOP: AL, AR, AZ, GA, IN, LA, MS, NE (four EVs), ND, SC, SD, TX
    DC Solid GOP: AK, ID, KS, KY, OK, TN, UT, WV, WY

    Of course, this depends entirely on the economy and it will be interesting to revisit this in about a year. But, as of today, I would say the key battleground states will be:

    • Ohio – 20 (electoral votes)
    • Virginia – 13
    • Colorado – 9
    • Florida -27
    • Nevada – 5
    • Wisconsin -10
    • New Hampshire – 4
    • Indiana – 11
    • North Carolina – 15

    Remembering Obama/Biden won 365 electoral votes Vs. McCain/Palin 173. The battleground states above would have 114 electoral votes in play. A sufficient number for a GOP contender to flip and win the Presidency.

    The race for 2012 has already started.

    Stay tuned……

  • Calfornia Election 2010

    Election 2010: The Uncalled House Races

    Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is seen between a pair of campaign signs for Republican congressional candidate David Harmer, during a rally in Stockton, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. Steele visited California’s Central Valley as part of the RNC’s national ‘Fire Pelosi’ bus tour.

    Here is the list:

    — CA-20: 100% in; Vidak (R) up 51-49 or 1,823 votes of 63K
    — NY-25: 100% in; 50-50, Buerkle (R) up 659 votes of 189K
    — IL-8: 100% in Walsh (R) up 49-48 or 559 votes of 194K
    — TX-27: 100% in; Farenthold (R) up 48-47, or 799 votes of 101K
    — CA-11: 100% in; 47-47 McNerney (D) up by just 134 votes of 164K
    — KY-6: 100% in; 50-50 Chandler (D) up 600 votes of 140K
    — VA-11: 100% in; 49-49 Connolly (D) up 920 votes out of 222K
    — WA-2: 80% in; 50-50 Larsen (D) up 1,451 out of 220K
    — AZ-8: 100% in; Giffords (D) up 49-47, or 3,055 votes of 239K

    In California, it appears that Republican Andy Vidak may be a pickup for the GOP.  He is leading 51.5% Vs. Jim Costa’s (D-Rep) 48.5%. Here is the results page from the California Secretary of State.

    It is closer in the CA-11 CD: Democrat Rep. Jerry McNerney leads Republican David Harmer by ONLY 134 votes. Stay tuned for a probable recount on this race.

    So, the GOP has captured 60 House seats from the Democrats in election 2010 with a possibility of a few more.

  • Calfornia Election 2010

    California Election 2010: The Post Mortem and How Bad Is It in California

    The midterm elections turned into a sweeping repudiation of the Democrats’ failed status quo — except, that is, in California. There, not only did the Democrats not lose, they gained clout.

    Even as voters in other states said they’d had enough of ever bigger, more intrusive and higher-cost government by the Democrats, California voters said, “More please.”

    With the exception of the governor’s office, California has been a virtual one-party state since the 1960s. Now, thanks to decades of anti-business policies promulgated by a series of left-leaning legislatures, its economy and finances are a mess, and it’s hemorrhaging jobs, businesses and productive entrepreneurs to other states.

    California and the California Republican Party has been broken for some time. Now, it is just more obvious. Read on as the Investors Business Daily lays out the case for “giving up” in Blue California and moving business operations to another state.

    How bad has it gotten in California?

    • Some 2.3 million Californians are without jobs, for a 12.4% unemployment rate — one of the highest in the country.
    • From 2001 to 2010, factory jobs plummeted from 1.87 million to 1.23 million — a loss of 34% of the state’s industrial base. Ask any company, and it’ll tell you the same thing: It’s now almost impossible to build a big factory in California.
    • With just 12% of the U.S. population, California has almost a third of the nation’s welfare recipients. Some joke the state motto should be changed from “The Golden State” to “The Welfare State.” Meanwhile, 15.3% of all Californians live in poverty.
    • The state budget gap for 2009-10 was $45.5 billion, or 53% of total state spending — the largest in any state’s history.
    • The state’s sales tax is the nation’s highest, and its income tax the third-highest, the BusinessInsider.com Web site recently noted. Meanwhile, the Tax Foundation’s “State Business Tax Climate Index” ranks California 48th.
    • In a ranking by corporate relocation expert Ronald Pollina of the 50 states based on 31 factors for job creation, California finished dead last.
    • In another ranking, this one by the Beacon Hill Institute on state competitiveness, California came in 32nd — down seven spots in just one year.
    • California is home to 25% of America’s 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants. A 2004 study estimated that illegals cost the state’s citizens $10.5 billion a year — roughly $1,200 per family.
    • Unfunded pension liabilities for California’s state and public employees may be as much as $500 billion — roughly 17% of the nation’s total $3 trillion at the state and local level.

    So, that is how bad it is in California. But, what really happened in last Tuesday’s election. Why were California Republicans shellacked or wiped out in every statewide race, except maybe one?

    Population demographics for one. Look at Los Angeles County.

    A large part of the state’s Democratic tilt comes from its massive Latino population. The Los Angeles Times noted that it made up 22% of the voting pool, “a record tally that mortally wounded many Republicans.”

    Indeed, Latinos went for Democrats by 2-to-1 — perhaps ending the naive idea of some in the GOP of a New Majority built on the burgeoning Latino population.

    Illegal immigration has been ignored for decades by California and the federal government and these “illegal” Californians have had generations of now “legal” and VOTING Californians. And, they, like African-Americans and Jews vote primarily Democratic. Unfortunately for the GOP this may not change for generations and decades as this Hispanic population assimilates. Or, it may become even more polarized and Latinos may drift towards the African-American lock with the Democrats. Voting blocks that approach 40% of the population are very hard to beat in elections – period.

    And, there is more.

    Latino voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats Brown and Boxer over their respective Republican rivals Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, according to polls conducted by Latino Decisions and sponsored by the National Council of La Raza, Service Employees International Union and America’s Voice.

    Brown won election with nearly 54% of the overall vote, while Boxer took a 52% edge in her race. But their support among Latino voters was in the 80 percents.

    What will happen next?

    For many, it’s as simple as ABC — Anywhere But California. This is an issue near and dear to our hearts. Investor’s Business Daily was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles — and for a quarter of a century has proudly called California its home.

    But we too have been affected by the state’s poisonous, anti-business political environment. With de facto one-party rule in the state since the 1960s and few signs of change anytime soon, our optimism about the state’s future has begun to wane.

    As a result, sad to say, much of IBD’s future growth will happen at a new facility in Texas — where local and state authorities have bent over backwards to make us feel welcome.

    Many more business enterprises will be of the same opinion and simply give up and leave California. There will be an increasingly burdensome population that either does not work or who are not skilled enough to participate in 21st century business. California will go to the federal government which will be dominated by Republicans for a bailout.

    None will be forthcoming and California will either change or slide loudly in to a Greece-like abyss of default and bankruptcy.

    California can no longer be considered a “Golden State.”

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day by Day November 5, 2010 – Enemies

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Chris, President Obama would be better served if he talked less about America’s enemies, meaning fellow Republican countrymen. Did you see the racial context in which the President placed the Republican Party as an enemy of the Latino/Hispanic Community?

    Obama’s original comments came during an interview with Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, a Hispanic radio personality. Piolin questioned how Obama could ask Latinos for their vote when many don’t believe he’s worked hard to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

    Obama responded: “If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder.”

    Of course, the President walked back the blatant racial comments, but the sentiment was out there. Latinos should vote for the Democratic Party and its candidates because the Republicans are your enemies.

    So, let’s see, Obama wants to divide America along racial lines for voting purposes. African-Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asians should all vote Democratic against the “White-Anglo” Party of the Republicans who are your enemies.

    Not an interesting prospect and certainly NOT the American Way.

    The Founding Fathers would hang their heads in shame.

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