• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 22nd on 14:42

    August 22, 2011 /

    These are my links for August 22nd from 14:42 to 14:45:

    • The Imperial Presidency By Mark Steyn – Rick Perry, governor of Texas, has only been in the presidential race for 20 minutes, but he’s already delivered one of the best lines in the campaign:

      “I’ll work every day to try to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as I can.”

      This will be grand news to Schylar Capo, eleven years old, of Virginia, who made the mistake of rescuing a woodpecker from the jaws of a cat and nursing him back to health for a couple of days, and for her pains, was visited by a federal Fish & Wildlife gauleiter (with accompanying state troopers) who charged her with illegal transportation of a protected species and issued her a $535 fine. If the federal child-abuser has that much time on his hands, he should have charged the cat, who was illegally transporting the protected species from his gullet to his intestine.

      =====

      Read it all

    • President 2012: Paul Ryan Won’t Run – After a week of rumors that he was consulting with advisers and family members on a possible presidential run, we have learned from the Ryan camp that the House Budget Committee chair has decided not to throw his hat into the ring. 

      More details soon from Bob Costa.

      UPDATE: Here’s the Ryan statement:

      “I sincerely appreciate the support from those eager to chart a brighter future for the next generation.  While humbled by the encouragement, I have not changed my mind, and therefore I am not seeking our party’s nomination for President.  I remain hopeful that our party will nominate a candidate committed to a pro-growth agenda of reform that restores the promise and prosperity of our exceptional nation.  I remain grateful to those I serve in Southern Wisconsin for the unique opportunity to advance this effort in Congress.”

      =======

      And, Palin will?

    • President 2012 Sarah Palin: ‘She Will Run’ – Political organizer Peter Singleton tells National Review Online that Sarah Palin will likely launch a presidential campaign by the end of September. “I believe that she will run,” he says. “I can’t see her sitting this election out.”

      Palin, a former Alaska governor, is scheduled to address a tea-party rally on September 3 in south-central Iowa. Singleton is one of the forces behind the event, working with grassroots groups. “Labor Day will kick off the Republican campaign for the nomination,” he hints. “She is going to make a major, major speech.”

      Since late last year, Singleton has crisscrossed the Hawkeye State, connecting a network of supporters at rubber-chicken dinners and Republican picnics. He has huddled with county GOP chairmen, spoken with a number of conservative state lawmakers, and assembled a close-knit team of pro-Palin activists.
      All of Singleton’s efforts have been self-directed, with no official involvement from Palin’s political apparatus. Still, he says, “We have not been on a lark. But we are happy, delighted even, to have people think that.”

      GOP presidential contenders, from Rick Perry to Mitt Romney, will be in for a shock when Palin makes her entry, he predicts. “When she gets in the race, I would not want to be the other candidates, who have shamelessly whispered to Iowa Republicans for months that she is not running,” he says. “There will probably be some defections.”

      ======

      Who really knows?

  • Barbara Boxer,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Ron Paul

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 48% Vs. Obama 46%, Perry 47% Vs. Obama 47%

    August 22, 2011 /

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    President Barack Obama is closely matched against each of four possible Republican opponents when registered voters are asked whom they would support if the 2012 presidential election were held today. Mitt Romney leads Obama by two percentage points, 48% to 46%, Rick Perry and Obama are tied at 47%, and Obama edges out Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann by two and four points, respectively.

    These prospective election ballots — measured Aug. 17-18, well over a year before the Nov. 6, 2012, election — indicate that the race for president at this point is generally competitive, with voters fairly evenly divided in their preference for giving Obama a second term or electing a Republican candidate. Even though the four Republican candidates tested have varying degrees of name recognition, they all fare roughly the same.

    Gallup’s generic presidential ballot — measured six times this year — shows a close race between Obama and a generic “Republican presidential candidate,” although there have been survey-to-survey variations on this measure, with the Republican candidate leading in June and July.

    This a poor poll for President Obama’s re-election efforts. Just about any GOP Presidential candidate, including Ron Paul are within striking distance.

    Plus, this poses a dilemma of sorts because who does the LEFT attack when any of the candidates that are running for the GOP nomination are in a good position to beat you.

    President Obama is at the moment in a rough parity position when registered voters are asked whether they would vote for him in election matchups against four potential Republican candidates. Romney fares slightly better than the other GOP candidates, and Bachmann slightly worse, but these are not large differences. Gallup research shows that these types of election measures at this stage in the campaign are not highly stable, and one can expect changes in the relative positioning of Obama and various GOP candidates in the months ahead.

  • Jason Chaffetz,  Orrin Hatch

    Update: Chaffetz Says NO to Run; UT-Sen: Rep. Jason Chaffetz to Announce Challenge to Sen. Orrin Hatch?

    August 22, 2011 /
    +++++Update+++++

    Report: Chaffetz won’t challenge Hatch in 2012 Republican Senate primary

    Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) will announce Monday that he won’t challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in a 2012 primary battle.

    After months of saber-rattling by the conservative, second-term lawmaker about a potential challenge to Hatch, Chaffetz will say later today that he won’t run, The Salt Lake Tribune reported this afternoon.


    Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Tea Party favorite

    Well, there will be an announcement this afternoon one way or another.

    Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah will announce Monday whether he will launch a primary challenge against Sen. Orrin Hatch next year.

    “Monday at 4:00pm MT (6:00pm ET) I plan to announce my intentions regarding my running for office in the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate,” Chaffetz said in a statement.

    Conservative activists in Utah, who wish to remain anonymous, tell CNN that Chaffetz appears to be leaning toward a bid for the Senate.

    The two-term congressman who represents Utah’s 3rd Congressional district enjoys strong support from many tea party activists and other grassroots conservatives.

    Hatch, who is running next year for a seventh term in the Senate, is facing opposition from some in the tea party movement, including FreedomWorks, a major DC-based conservative grassroots organization that is actively working to find a candidate to take on Hatch in next year’s primary.

    Last year FreedomWorks was one of the groups that targeted three-term Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah in the months leading up that state’s GOP convention. Bennett was defeated at the convention in his bid for his party’s re-nomination. Conservatives Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater advanced to the party primary, with Lee winning the GOP nod and then the general election.

    Regardless of the fact that Sarah Palin announced her support for Hatch, Chaffetz may very well feel that anti-incumbent sentiment is too great not to run.

    Politics, after all, is a game of opportunity.

  • Jason Chaffetz,  Orrin Hatch

    UT-Sen: Rep. Jason Chaffetz to Announce Challenge to Sen. Orrin Hatch?

    August 22, 2011 /

    Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Tea Party favorite

    Well, there will be an announcement this afternoon one way or another.

    Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah will announce Monday whether he will launch a primary challenge against Sen. Orrin Hatch next year.

    “Monday at 4:00pm MT (6:00pm ET) I plan to announce my intentions regarding my running for office in the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate,” Chaffetz said in a statement.

    Conservative activists in Utah, who wish to remain anonymous, tell CNN that Chaffetz appears to be leaning toward a bid for the Senate.

    The two-term congressman who represents Utah’s 3rd Congressional district enjoys strong support from many tea party activists and other grassroots conservatives.

    Hatch, who is running next year for a seventh term in the Senate, is facing opposition from some in the tea party movement, including FreedomWorks, a major DC-based conservative grassroots organization that is actively working to find a candidate to take on Hatch in next year’s primary.

    Last year FreedomWorks was one of the groups that targeted three-term Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah in the months leading up that state’s GOP convention. Bennett was defeated at the convention in his bid for his party’s re-nomination. Conservatives Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater advanced to the party primary, with Lee winning the GOP nod and then the general election.

    Regardless of the fact that Sarah Palin announced her support for Hatch, Chaffetz may very well feel that anti-incumbent sentiment is too great not to run.

    Politics, after all, is a game of opportunity.

  • President 2012,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012: Sarah Palin – “GAME ON!”

    August 22, 2011 /

    Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin greets guests following a television appearance at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa August 12, 2011

    Well, Sarah says it on a new radio ad, on air in Iowa today.

    An Iowa-based Tea Party group on Monday launched a radio advertising campaign in the nation’s first voting state to promote a Sept. 3 rally, which is expected to draw thousands of supporters to hear former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin give the keynote address.

    Tea Party of America’s 60-second radio ad opens with the famous response that Ben Franklin reportedly gave a woman who asked what kind of government had been formed at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787: “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”

    The campaign-style ad then highlights President Obama’s vow — infamous in Tea Party circles — to “fundamentally” transform the United States.

    “No, we must restore America and restore her honor,” Palin is heard saying in response.

    The ad’s narrator notes that Palin will speak at the Labor Day weekend rally at the National Balloon Classic field in Indianola, just south of Des Moines. “Tea Party of America will be joining with you to take our nation back,” the narrator says.

    The radio spot then directs interested parties to RSVP online for the free event and advises them to get there early, as the gates will open at 8 a.m. for the 11 a.m. event.

    “Game on!” Palin shouts at the end of the ad in a sound bite taken from a Tea Party rally in Madison, Wis., in April.

    I guess we will have to wait for the real deal on September 3rd. Either Sarah announces on this day or she is out.

  • California Republican Party,  Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    President 2012: Mitt Romney Expanding His Presence in California – Quadrupling Size of La Jolla Home

    August 22, 2011 /

    View from the beach of the 3,009-square-foot Romney home in La Jolla , which the GOP contender plans to demolish and replace with an 11,062-square-foot home. — Meg Roussos

    Yet, Mitt will NOT be attending the September Los Angeles California Republican Party Convention in a few weeks.

    GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, scheduled to attend a series of fundraisers this weekend in San Diego, is also working on plans to nearly quadruple the size of his $12 million oceanfront manse in La Jolla.

    Romney has filed an application with the city to bulldoze his 3,009-square-foot, single-story home at 311 Dunemere Dr. and replace it with a two-story, 11,062-square-foot structure. No date has been set to consider the proposed coastal development and site development permits, which must be approved by the city.

    The former governor of Massachusetts purchased the home three years ago. According to a description from the listing agent, the Spanish-style residence at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac is sophisticated and understated in its décor, “offering complete privacy and unsurpassed elegance.”

    Tentative plans call for new retaining walls and a relocated driveway, but would retain the existing lap pool and spa.

    “This offering represents a truly unique opportunity for a buyer who appreciates the scarcity of this caliber of real estate,” the listing said.

    Constructed in 1936, the three-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom home was among the first built in the Barber tract neighborhood, according to the La Jolla Historical Society, and has a stretch of lawn sloping to the white sand beach.

    “I wanted to be where I could hear the waves,” Romney told a gaggle of media last year at a book signing in University City. “As a boy we spent summers on Lake Huron and I could hear the crashing waves at night. It was one of my favorite things in the world; being near the water and the waves was something I very badly wanted to experience again.”

    Probably not the best timing in the world and not the best for his political image. Remember when Senator John McCain could not remember how many homes he owned?

    But, Mitt, you have to show up to the California GOP confab.

    Michele Bachmann will be speaking Friday night and Ron Paul has already said he would attend.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 19th through August 22nd

    August 22, 2011 /

    These are my links for August 19th through August 22nd:

    • NLRB and Labor Department regulations spell trouble – An obscure federal body, the National Labor Relations Board, along with the U.S. Department of Labor recently proposed regulations that will dramatically change how union representation elections are conducted.
      If finalized, these rules will significantly reduce the availability of legal counsel for employers and will limit the ability of employers to exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech.

      Here is how these rules working together will negatively affect businesses.

      One afternoon in 2012 a small-business owner receives notice from the NLRB that a local union has filed a petition for a unionization election. The owner had no idea that union activity was occurring and is shocked to learn that his whole world could dramatically change in just two weeks.

      The owner calls his long-time lawyer seeking legal advice on what he should do to keep the union out of his family business. The owner thinks he needs to give a speech to his employees and asks for help. The lawyer says, "Sorry, I'd love to help you edit a speech, but if I do so then, under the Labor Department's new 'persuader' regulation, I'll have to publicly disclose all of my labor relations clients and what they paid me last year. I can't do that because I'd lose them as clients."

      So, the business owner goes without legal advice. Since he hasn't been in this situation before, he doesn't know all the ways to get into trouble with the NLRB. He inadvertently commits a couple "unfair labor practices" by doing something as simple as disciplining an unruly employee.

      ======

      Read it all

    • South Carolina Governor Haley: NLRB is a ‘rogue agency’ – Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday blasted the National Labor Relations Board as a “rogue agency” for taking action against Boeing Co. for allegedly union busting by building a $1 billion plant in South Carolina.

      Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Haley said she strongly supports Boeing, which has been accused by the NLRB of locating the plant in South Carolina, where unions are weak, and shifting workers there to retaliate against employees in Washington state for past strikes at the aircraft maker’s facilities.

      Haley said she thinks the NLRB is out of bounds and wants to prevent the same thing from happening in other states.

      “I’m a governor that’s committed to making sure this doesn’t happen to other governors,” she said.

      Haley, a Republican, blamed President Barack Obama for the NLRB action against Boeing.

      “For a president who claims he’s about job creation, he’s done nothing but try to kill all our American jobs,” she said.

      Boeing, which is building the 787 Dreamliner at the South Carolina facility, has said there’s no basis for the NLRB case.

      ======

      Indeed they are.

    • Political dispute over Boeing plant escalates – The Republican-led battle against the chief federal labor agency is escalating, with the head of a key congressional oversight panel and the top lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board accusing each other of flouting constitutional and legal constraints.

      The fight is ostensibly over the NLRB's bid to prevent Boeing from opening a jet-manufacturing plant in South Carolina. But GOP lawmakers are portraying it as Exhibit A in their case against President Barack Obama's alleged regulatory overreach.

      The dispute began in April when NLRB acting general counsel Lafe Solomon said there was potential merit in a complaint by Boeing's main union that the aerospace giant built the North Charleston, S.C., factory in retaliation for past strikes at its large plant in Everett, Wash., near Seattle.

      Boeing says it decided to make 787 Dreamliner planes in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, because of legally protected business factors.

      Among the factors Boeing cites are the South Carolina state government's granting of $900 million in tax breaks, and concerns over delays in completing deliveries to airlines around the world that have ordered more than 800 of the next-generation aircraft.

      The dispute is now before NLRB administrative law judge Clifford Anderson. In June, he rejected Boeing's motion to dismiss it and is hearing evidence from the Chicago-based firm and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

      ======

      Read it all.

      As the Presidential campaign comes to South Carolina this will be an issue.

    • Burbank Man Arrested for Feeding Pigeons Posing Risks to Airplanes at Bob Hope Airport » Flap’s California Blog – Burbank Man Arrested for Feeding Pigeons Posing Risks to Airplanes at Bob Hope Airport
    • Welcome to Flap’s California Blog » Flap’s California Blog – Welcome to Flap’s California Blog
    • North Carolina Free Clinic Treats About 2,700 Dental Patients | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – North Carolina Free Clinic Treats About 2,700 Dental Patients
    • President 2012: Former New York Governor George Pataki to Run for President? | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Former New York Governor George Pataki to Run for President? #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Convicted Murderer Charged With Soliciting Murder Over Loan for Dental Work – Convicted Murderer Charged With Solicitng Murder Over Loan for Dental Work
    • Day By Day August 20, 2012 – Open Season | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day August 20, 2012 – Open Season #tcot #catcot
    • Day By Day August 21, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day August 21, 2011 #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-21 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-21 #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Links and Comments for August 19th on 12:31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for August 19th on 12:31 #tcot #catcot
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-20 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-20 #tcot #catcot
    • Gregory Flap Cole: "@CEP_Observer You do know …" « Deck.ly – @CEP_Observer You do know I am no longer in private practice? Yes, they are and are important for screening… (cont)
    • foursquare – Home after the long run. Now time for some Lock Up, Hard Time and Kool-Aid (@ Home)
    • foursquare – Post 14 mile run with Alice, Tara, Nancy, and Mary (@ Ronnie's Diner w/ 3 others)
    • Shocker: California State board finds very few pay tax on out-of-state goods – As Amazon.com gathers signatures to reverse a new online tax collection law, the state Board of Equalization said Friday that a mere 0.42 percent of personal income tax filers paid use tax on their 2009 out-of-state purchases.

      The board, which administers sales and use tax collection in California, issued a new four-page review of use tax behavior in 2009. The state collected $10.4 million in use tax payments from personal-income tax returns that year.

      Under long-standing California law, taxpayers are supposed to self-report use tax on remote purchases from out-of-state businesses, though very few do so. Democrats passed a different law in June that attempted to force out-of-state retailers like Amazon.com to collect those taxes.

      BOE researchers found that wealthier taxpayers participated in greater frequency and paid more use tax to the state. Their report showed that 1.12 percent of households making more than $100,000 in adjusted gross income paid use tax, compared to 0.15 percent of those reporting between $0 and $30,000. It also showed that those above $100,000 paid on average $311 in use tax, compared to $76 for those making between $0 and $30,000.

      ======

      What a shocker!

    • Jerry Brown removing GOP appointees from key water panel – In his latest move to reverse GOP appointments, Gov. Jerry Brown will replace former Sen. Dave Cogdill and water agency leader Paul Kelley on a key panel that will shape decisions on water storage and a possible Delta canal, the governor's spokesman confirmed Friday.

      Cogdill was the chief GOP legislative negotiator on the historic 2009 water deal that placed an $11 billion bond on a future statewide ballot and reconstituted the California Water Commission. His subsequent appointment by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the nine-member commission was considered part of the bipartisan deal struck that year by lawmakers and the former Republican governor.

      Kelley is a former Sonoma County supervisor and former director of the Sonoma County Water Agency. A Republican, he serves as president of the Association of California Water Agencies, a key player in the 2009 water talks.

      Brown and Republican lawmakers have been at odds, particularly since talks broke down over a state budget deal in June. Republicans have accused Brown of rescinding past promises made by Democrats in bipartisan agreements and see the Cogdill move as the latest example.

      ======

      So, what else is new?

      Jerry Brown is a cry-baby partisan who failed as Governor the forst time and is failing today.

    • Older Americans with a College Education Have Better Emotional Health After Age 65? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Older Americans with a College Education Have Better Emotional Health After Age 65?
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: There is an APP for Your Dental Lab Prescription Dentists: Dental Rx – There is an APP for Your Dental Lab Prescription Dentists: Dental Rx
  • Day By Day,  Sarah Palin

    Day By Day August 22, 2011 – Odds

    August 22, 2011 /


    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Chris, Sarah Palin may very well run but according to most polls would be running against “all” odds. In a multi-candidate field she will do well in the early proportional GOP primary elections, but whether she can win at the GOP Convention is another story.

    I guess we will see on September 3rd in Iowa, although reports are now coming out that are downplaying this event.

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