• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 7th on 17:55

    These are my links for April 7th from 17:55 to 18:38:

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 7th on 17:48

    These are my links for April 7th from 17:48 to 17:52:

    • Prosser Vs. Kloppenberg – Wild One in Waukesha, Wisconsin – At a press conference just moments ago, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus explained how “human error” caused nearly 15,000 votes from the city of Brookfield to be excluded from early county tabulations.

      A clearly nervous Nickolaus said that she first discovered that data for Brookfield was missing when she uploaded a database of county votes  to a state system, and noticed that all rows and columns for the city contained zeros. On Wednesday, the county’s bipartisan canvassing board began reviewing those unofficial results — which didn’t contain the Brookfield numbers — with official tape totals from voting machines throughout the county. They found a discrepancy.

      “I discovered that the data that was sent to me from the city of Brookfield was not transferred to the final report that was given to the media on Tuesday night,” Nickolaus said. Heavily red Brookfield, she said, had cast 10,859 for Prosser and 3,456 for Kloppenberg, netting the incumbent over 7,000 votes and a lead that could put him beyond the legal trigger for a mandatory recount.

      Nickolaus assured reporters repeatedly that “This is not a a case of extra votes or extra ballots being found.” The canvassing process is a standard part of election results certification in the state, and its purpose is to catch errors just like this one.

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      Wow, what a fortuitious error.

    • House passes funding bill that could get Senate majority – President Obama in the Box – The House of Representatives did its job, passing a funding bill to keep the government open a week and cover the Defense Department for the balance of the FY 2011. A senior Senate source told me flatly, “I am confident all members of the caucus would support House bill.” It is inconceivable to me that a few Democrats wouldn’t go along. But Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is likely to refuse to bring it to the floor. Why? He won’t say. Well, because the president said he’d veto it. Why? He won’t say. The bill is precisely the “clean bill” he wanted.

      Obama has backed himself, and now Reid, into a corner. Are the Senate Democrats and the White House going to shut down the government for no good reason? Perhaps. What we see here is a transparent and slightly pathetic attempt by the president to take charge. Maybe he should have been paying attention for all of 2011 when the Democratic-controlled Congress didn’t do its job. Maybe he should have gotten into the negotiations sooner. But for now we’ll wait and see.

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      The Senate is working on it – so wait and see.

  • Charles Koch,  David Koch,  George Soros

    Outrage Alert: George Soros Sponsoring Two Events to Remake the Financial Order and Media

    The MSM or Lamestream Media were all over Charles and David Koch for their political conference in Rancho Mirage, California but where is the reporting for George Soros, darling and funding sponsor for the Far LEFT two conferences this weekend?

    Apparently, megalomaniacs need schedulers.

    Just ask George Soros. The left-wing billionaire is helping fund two major conferences that start on the same day, in two different locations just a three hours apart by car. Two liberal events packed into one long weekend. God created the world in six days. Apparently, Soros, who sees himself as “some kind of god,”needs just a long weekend to start remaking today’s world in his image.

    The emphasis of both conferences is a familiar one to American voters – change. Soros wants to begin changing the global economy in one event. In the other, his flunkies want to “Change the world. Change the media.”

    Now that is change you can believe in. Sadly, those who actually report the news must believe in it because they sure as heck aren’t reporting on Soros or either event. And that’s even though staffers or even executives from Reuters, the Financial Times, NPR, PBS, The Washington Post and other major media outlets are speaking at one event or the other.

    But, George Soros is on the LEFT and not the RIGHT – so I guess, it is not reportable – even though the media organizations are featured speakers.

    How hypocritical is this?

    Read more – especially about remaking the media or should I say have the government pay for it. Recognize the cast of characters from the California Koch protests?

    Just down the road in Boston, a Soros-funded media conference is trying to manipulate that emerging order as well. Close to 350 left-wingers from a variety of organizations are gathering there for the National Conference for Media Reform.

    That “change the world” conference includes two commissioners from the FCC, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, four Democratic representatives, the head of Columbia University, and assorted left-wing journalist types, from Salon’s Glenn Greenwald to disgraced former MSNBC host David Shuster, who now works for a Soros-funded investigative operation.

    The rest of the list reads like a “Who’s Who” of left-wing organizations and talking heads, including the president of PBS, a senior vice president with American Public Media, an Al Jazeera English executive, the president of the Newspaper Guild – CWA and Washington Post columnist Rob Pegoraro. Many others have Soros connections, such as:

    Common Cause, which has been going after conservative Supreme Court justices who have some connection to the Koch brothers. Common Cause seems immune to similar investigations of their own gravy train.

    Columbia Journalism Review’s Dean Starkman. He is chief of the review’s “The Audit” section and a 2006 Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, the primary Soros charitable foundation.

    Free Press, which is holding the conference. Free Press has received more than $1 million from Soros since 2003 and has 18 presenters pushing for things like “strong public media” or an extremely expensive national broadband plan they quaintly describe as “universal access to communications.”

    Think Progress’s Koch-hating Lee Fang. Think Progress is a project of Democrat John Podesta’s Center for American Progress, which was founded with Soros money. Fang is on the panel for: “Real Issues vs. Astroturf: Confronting the Koch Brothers,” and makes the laughable claim “this is not about liberals versus conservatives” when the entire goal of the left is to shut down the Kochs to defund the right.

    Everywhere you they go in Boston, they’ll be making more left turns than NASCAR. It’s an event filled with lefties dissatisfied that the news media aren’t even more liberal, and their goal will be to make that happen. Whether it’s “Beyond Pronouns: Creating Real Stories About Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People” or pushing for illegal immigrant rights, the conference is a predictable liberal take on pretty much everything.

    But the over-arching theme is getting government to fix the media. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, whose school also includes the well-known and partly Soros-funded Columbia School of Journalism, is one of several speakers advocating for increased government funding for media. He called for federal funding of the media in a 2010 Wall Street Journal piece with the terrifying headline: “Journalism Needs Government Help.” Bollinger pushed for the creation of a public media that combines NPR, PBS and Voice of America. He also wants to “end to the regulation of ‘indecent’ language and images in broadcast programming” and return to the Fairness Doctrine.

  • Charles Koch,  David Koch,  Democrats,  GOP

    Hypocrisy Alert: Democrats Now Following Republicans into Undisclosed Donor Field

    The Los Angeles Times has the story about how independent political organizations which can accept unlimited cash and not disclose its donors are being formed by the Democrats for the next election cycle. And, remember how the LEFT criticized the Koch Brothers out in Palm Springs?

    Democrats putting together new independent political organizations for the 2012 campaign are embracing a model that will allow them to conceal their donors — the very tactic for which they criticized Republicans in 2010.

    Majority PAC, a new group aimed at electing Democrats to the Senate, and American Bridge 21st Century, which will serve as a research hub, are being organized as so-called super political action committees that can raise unlimited amounts of money from contributors whose donations are reported to the Federal Election Commission. But both are also affiliated with nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare groups that can raise money from undisclosed donors and give money directly to super PACs.

    The same dual structure is being considered by Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, two former White House aides who are likely to launch their own independent expenditure effort in support of President Obama’s reelection, according to people familiar with the plans.

    What is good for the goose is also good for the gander, I suppose. But, why not cut the pretense and allow anyone to give unlimited amounts of political contributions as along as they are timely disclosed on the internet?

    Then, all of the machinations can go by the wayside.

    Otherwise, it is just hypocrisy.

  • George Allen,  Tim Kaine

    VA-Sen Poll Watch: George Allen 45% Tim Kaine 32% With 23% Undecided

    According to the Roanoke College Poll.

    • 45% Allen (R), 32% Kaine (D)

    In a very early look at the possible battle for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Webb, registered voters in the Commonwealth preferred former Gov. and U.S. Sen. George Allen, a Republican, over former Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, by 45 percent to 32 percent with 23 percent undecided. [Please note that the margin of error for this question was + 5.2 percent because it was asked only of the 360 registered voters in the sample.]

    Among the battleground groups, Kaine led among political moderates (41%-34%), while Allen led among Independent voters (40%-35%). Not surprisingly, Allen led among Republicans (78%-4%) and conservatives (68%-10%) while Kaine led among Democrats (79%-12%) and liberals (83%-10%). Allen’s lead could be attributed to the large number of conservatives in Virginia, a finding that closely matches the December, 2010 Roanoke College Poll.

    Also,

    Job Approval Vs. Disapproval:

    • President Obama 34% Vs. 57%

    Certainly, this is a good poll for the Republicans but remember it is very early and the poll was taken prior to Tim Kaine officially announcing his candidacy (although it was widley anticipated).

    Perceptions of the Commonwealth have improved since the December poll, with almost half (49%) saying that things in Virginia are going in the right direction and 36 percent saying things are on the wrong track. (December results were 45 percent right direction and 43 percent wrong track.) At the same time, Governor Bob McDonnell’s approval rating is now 66 percent, up from 57 percent in December.

    With regard to the nation, 71 percent of respondents believe that things are on the wrong track with only 20 percent believing that things are going in the right direction. This is essentially unchanged from December. President Obama’s approval rating is now 34 percent, compared to 36 percent in December, well within the polls’ margin of error.

  • Donald Trump,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Donald Trump 43% Favorable Vs. 47% Unfavorable

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Americans have mixed opinions about businessman, television personality, and potential presidential candidate Donald Trump, with 43% saying their opinion is favorable and 47% holding an unfavorable opinion. Trump’s public image is roughly the same now as it was in September 1999, just before the real estate mogul formed an exploratory committee to investigate the possibility of running for president on the Reform Party ticket.

    Heartbreak…..But, then again, I stopped watching the Celebrity Apprentice a few years ago.

    By the way, the chances of Donald Trump obtaining the GOP Presidential nomination are slim to none, irrespective of some polls showing otherwise.

    At this point, no one except perhaps Trump himself knows how serious he is about running for president. Although Trump has a more positive image among Republicans than among independents or in particular among Democrats, his 52% favorable rating among Republicans is relatively modest. The competitive field for 2012 is generally fairly open, however, given that no major candidate has formally declared that he or she is running, and there is no dominant front-runner.

    Trump does enjoy what many candidates strive hard to develop — 90% name recognition among all Americans and among Republicans. This generally makes him one of the most recognized potential GOP candidates Gallup tracks, in the same general territory as Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney. Whether Trump could parlay that familiarity into voter support in primaries and caucuses is an open question.

    A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released on Wednesday showed Trump does generate some support from Republicans. The poll found Trump essentially tied with Huckabee for second place behind Mitt Romney in a trial-heat test for the nomination among Republicans.

    Trump has been critical of President Obama in recent weeks, particularly focusing on the “birther” issue of whether Obama was actually born in the United States. At this point, the president’s image among Americans is more positive than Trump’s. Fifty-four percent of Americans in the March 25-27 survey rate the president favorably, compared with the 43% who view Trump favorably.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 7th on 09:39

    These are my links for April 7th from 09:39 to 10:07:

  • Scott Brown

    MA-Sen Poll Watch: Scott Brown 45% Vs. Joseph Kennedy 40%

    According to the latest Suffolk Poll.

    Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:

    • Deval Patrick: 52 / 36
    • Scott Brown: 58 / 22
    • Setti Warren: 5 / 4
    • Tim Murray: 31 / 16
    • Ed Markey: 37 / 19
    • Joe Kennedy: 58 / 26
    • Mike Capuano: 29 / 16
    • Barack Obama: 57 / 35
    • Hillary Clinton: 74 / 19
    • Vicki Kennedy: 42 / 22

    Note: Senator Scott Brown fairs better than President Obama.

    Head to Head:

    • 52% Brown (R), 37% Patrick (D)
    • 52% Brown (R), 26% Capuano (D)
    • 51% Brown (R), 23% Murray (D)
    • 45% Brown (R), 40% Joe Kennedy (D)
    • 52% Brown (R), 9% Warren (D)
    • 53% Brown (R), 26% Markey (R)
    • 52% Brown (R), 30% Vicki Kennedy (D)

    Republican Senator Scott Brown is popular, has plenty of campaign cash and looks at this point an almost lock for re-election to a full six year term in very blue Massachusetts.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for April 7th on 09:17

    These are my links for April 7th from 09:17 to 09:38:

    • Budget Veto Threat From the White House – The White House has issued a veto threat against a Republican plan that would extend the federal budget for one week, make $12 billion in cuts and fully fund the military for the rest of this fiscal year.

      Here is the release from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

      =

      STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

      H.R. 1363 – Department of Defense and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011

      (Rep. Rogers, R-Kentucky)

       

      The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 1363, making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes. As the President stated on April 5, 2011, if negotiations are making significant progress, the Administration would support a short-term, clean Continuing Resolution to allow for enactment of a final bill.

      For the past several weeks, the Administration has worked diligently and in good faith to find common ground on the shared goal of cutting spending. After giving the Congress more time by signing short-term extensions into law, the President believes that we need to put politics aside and work out our differences for a bill that covers the rest of the fiscal year. This bill is a distraction from the real work that would bring us closer to a reasonable compromise for funding the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011 and avert a disruptive Federal Government shutdown that would put the Nation’s economic recovery in jeopardy. The Administration will continue to work with the Congress to arrive at a compromise that will fund the Government for the remainder of the fiscal year in a way that does not undermine future growth and job creation and that averts a costly Government shutdown. It is critical that the Congress send a final bill to the President’s desk that provides certainty to our men and women in military uniform, their families, small businesses, homeowners, taxpayers, and all Americans.  H.R. 1363 simply delays that critical final outcome. 

      If presented with this bill, the President will veto it.

    • George Allen asks Craig Melvin his position (UPDATE: And apologizes) – NBC 4’s reporter-anchor Craig Melvin is a tall African-American. Which apparently led to this exchange with former Sen. George Allen, according to Melvin’s Twitter account Tuesday night:

      “For the 2nd time in 5 months, fmr. gov. and sen candidate George Allen asks me,”what position did you play?” I did not a play a sport.”

      And we’re off!

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      Obviously, the Washington Post does not like George Allen but jeez how about a race card playing hit piece.

      Shame on WAPO and Craig Melvin for being a tool of the Democrats

    • Democrats fundraising off threat of government shutdown – A fundraising appeal from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee warns supporters that "Tea Party Republicans are threatening to shut down the government on Friday unless we surrender to their outrageous demands."

      The fundraising email, penned by DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.), went out late Wednesday and asks for small donations to the committee's "GOP Accountability Fund," setting a goal of raising $50,000 by Friday "so we can hold Speaker Boehner and his Tea Party fringe Republicans immediately accountable for shutting down the government."

      "The world is watching our next move," Israel wrote. "Will we cave to the Tea Party's disgraceful act of political extortion or will we fight back with the full force of our grassroots strength?" 

      The email says the GOP's posture in the shutdown standoff amounts to "blackmail." 

      The National Republican Congressional Committee responded to the fundraising appeal Wednesday, accusing Democrats of "exploiting" the nation's financial crisis.

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      Naturally