• Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry,  Rudy Giuliani,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Perry 27% Vs. Romney 14% Vs. Palin 10% Vs. Bachmann and Giuliani 9%

    August 29, 2011 /

    According to the latest CNN Poll.

    The survey, released Monday, indicates that 27 percent of Republicans nationwide support Perry for their party’s nomination, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s making his second bid for the White House, at 14 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin follows at ten percent, with Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at nine percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who’s making his third bid for the presidency, at six percent. Every one else listed on the questionnaire registered in the low single digits.

    Another national poll, like Gallup, last week that shows Texas Governor Rick Perry as the front-runner.

    The momentum has been clear and it is all Perry. 

    Wonder what Sarah Palin is thinking now?

  • Dentistry,  Fosamax,  Oral Bisphosphonates,  Osteonecrosis

    Fosamax Osteonecrosis of the Jaw Lawsuit Set for Trial September 7

    August 29, 2011 /

    Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ)

    Another oral bisphosphonate (Fosamax with ONJ) lawsuit trial set.

    The next trial date for a Fosamax lawsuit involving jaw necrosis is scheduled to begin early next month.

    The Fosamax trial will involve a complaint brought by Linda Secrest, of Florida, who alleges that Merck failed to adequately warn that side effects of Fosamax, the popular osteoporosis drug, can lead to severe jaw bone decay. Trial is scheduled to begin on September 7, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

    Fosamax is an osteoporosis drug that belongs to a family of similar medications known as bisphosphonates. Long-term use of oral bisphosphonates has been linked to an increased risk of serious and debilitating jaw problems, known as osteonecrosis of the jaw. The condition causes the jaw bone to decay and rot, often resulting in the need for surgery to remove portions of the jaw.

    Merck currently faces more than 1,100 Fosamax jaw lawsuits, most of which have been consolidated and centralized for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York as part of an MDL or multidistrict litigation.

    There have already been several trials for Fosamax jaw necrosis lawsuits that have been held in the federal MDL over the last two years. While Merck has successfully defended its medication in three cases, one lawsuit resulted in an $8 million jury award for Fosamax jaw damage last year, finding that Merck failed to adequately research the potential side effects of warn about the risk of jaw necrosis from Fosamax.

    A few more cases and Merck will probably propose some industry-wide settlement agreement.

    Next up will be the lawsuits over bone fractures from Fosamax.

  • Colin Powell,  Dick Cheney,  Scooter Libby,  Valerie Plame

    Doesn’t Colin Powell Owe Scooter Libby an Apology?

    August 29, 2011 /

    Scooter Libby

    Jen rubin explains why in this excellent piece on Colin Powell, Richard Armitage, Vice President Cheney and his Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby.

    The extent of the dishonesty is quite stunning. In a Cabinet meeting on October 7, 2003, the White House press corps bombarded President George W. Bush with questions about who the leaker was. Bush said he didn’t know, but there would be an investigation to get to the bottom of it. Powell, who had been told by Armitage just days earlier that Armitage was the leaker, sat there next to the president, stone silent. Not very loyal or honest, was it?

    Moreover, the notion that Armitage’s slip was somehow inadvertent is belied by Bob Woodward’s taped interview in which Armitage repeatedly mentions Joe Wilson’s wife, evidently doing his best to get Plame’s identity out there. This was no slip of the tongue. Woodward testified that when he spoke to Libby sometime later that Libby never said anything about Plame.

    At issue here is not simply Powell and Armitage’s deception and undermining of their commander in chief. There was a victim, one whom neither Powell or Armitage has ever apologized to. The person who ultimately paid the price for this was Scooter Libby. Had the president and the country known about Armitage, a special prosecutor would never have been appointed. Libby was eventually convicted on the basis of a he-said-he-said dispute between his recollection and that of the late Tim Russert. (Charges concerning Libby’s alleged comments to Judy Miller were dismissed, and he was acquitted on the count involving Matt Cooper.) A compelling case for Libby’s innocence can be found in this account by Stan Crock.

    Powell may be peeved at being fingered by Cheney. But on this one Cheney has him dead to rights. The Plame is a blot on his record and that of Armitage. Maybe it is time to own up and make amends rather than bristling at Libby’s former boss.

    Dick Cheney said that when his book, In My Time, was released that heads would explode in D.C. It appears that Colin Powell’s has and he should apologize to Libby and Cheney for his despicable conduct in the Valerie Plame matter.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 29th on 08:31

    August 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for August 29th from 08:31 to 08:55:

    • Workplace Notice Poster for Worker’s Rights – WORKPLACE NOTICE
      Worker Rights The National Labor
      Relations Board May Not Tell You About
      For additional information:
      www.workforcefairness.org
      The Right to Decide Workers have a right to decide whether or not
      they want to be represented by a collective
      bargaining unit.
      A Secret Ballot Workers have a right to a secret ballot vote to
      decide whether or not they want to form a
      collective bargaining unit.
      A Vote on Contracts Workers have a right to vote on contracts that
      affect their salaries, benefits and workplace rules.
      Workplace Fairness Workers have a right to know that penalties for
      violating their rights will be assessed equally
      against both employers and organized labor.
      The Right to Decertify Workers have a right to vote via secret ballot to
      decertify a collective bargaining unit.
      You Control Your Dues Workers have a right to prohibit their dues from
      going to organizations that use them for political
      causes they do not agree with.
    • An EPA Moratorium – Since everyone has a suggestion or three about what President Obama can do to get the economy cooking again, here's one of ours: Immediately suspend the Environmental Protection Agency's bid to reorganize the U.S. electricity industry, and impose a moratorium on EPA rules at least until hiring and investment rebound for an extended period.

      The EPA is currently pushing an unprecedented rewrite of air-pollution rules in an attempt to shut down a large portion of the coal-fired power fleet. Though these regulations are among the most expensive in the agency's history, none were demanded by the late Pelosi Congress. They're all the result of purely bureaucratic discretion under the Clean Air Act, last revised in 1990.

      As it happens, those 1990 amendments contain an overlooked proviso that would let Mr. Obama overrule EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's agenda. With an executive order, he could exempt all power plants "from compliance with any standard or limitation" for two years, or even longer using rolling two-year periods. All he has to declare is "that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so."

      Both criteria are easily met. Most important, the EPA's regulatory cascade is a clear and present danger to the reliability and stability of the U.S. power system and grid. The spree affects plants that provide 40% of U.S. baseload capacity in the U.S., and almost half of U.S. net generation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, which is charged with ensuring the integrity of the power supply, reported this month in a letter to the Senate that 81 gigawatts of generating capacity is "very likely" or "likely" to be subtracted by 2018 amid coal plant retirements and downgrades.

      That's about 8% of all U.S. generating capacity. Merely losing 56 gigawatts—a midrange scenario in line with FERC and industry estimates—is the equivalent of wiping out all power generation for Florida and Mississippi.

      =====

      Read it all….

    • Eric Cantor – Memo On Upcoming Jobs Agenda – As you know, we released The House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators earlier this year. While the debt crisis has demanded much of our attention, our new majority has passed over a dozen pro-growth measures to address the equally troubling jobs crisis, such as the Energy Tax Prevention Act and the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act. Aside from repeal of the 1099 reporting requirement in ObamaCare, however, each House Republican jobs bill now sits dormant in the Democrat-controlled Senate. You can view the progress of our jobs bills at MajorityLeader.gov/JobsTracker.

      When we return next week, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will begin meeting to take an additional incremental step towards addressing our debt crisis. During this time, it is essential that the House continue our focus on the jobs crisis. Below are two areas of our jobs agenda that I want to bring to your attention for our upcoming fall and winter legislative schedule.

      REPEAL OF JOB-DESTROYING REGULATIONS TO CREATE MIDDLE CLASS JOBS

      Since passage of H.Res. 72 on February 11, our committee chairmen have been investigating and inventorying regulatory burdens to job creators. They’ve found many that have tied the hands of small business people and prevented job growth. By pursuing a steady repeal of job-destroying regulations, we can help lift the cloud of uncertainty hanging over small and large employers alike, empowering them to hire more workers.

      Our regulatory relief agenda will include repeal of specific regulations, as well as fundamental and structural reform of the rule-making system through legislation like the REINS Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, and reform of the Administrative Procedures Act (all three bills are expected on the floor in late November and early December).

      The following is a list of the 10 most harmful job-destroying regulations that our committee chairmen have identified, as well as a selective calendar for their repeal. These regulations are reflective of the types of costly bureaucratic handcuffs that Washington has imposed upon business people who want to create jobs.

      ======

      Read it all for the top ten job-destroying regulations

  • Amazon Tax,  California Citizens Redistricting Commission,  California Republican Party,  California State Senate,  Internet Sales Taxes

    Update: Americans for Tax Reform Call AB 155 a Pledge Violation; California Republican State Senators to Support Internet Sales Taxes?

    August 29, 2011 /

    I have a new post up over at Flap’s California Blog on the Flap.

    Go here and read which California State Senators might FLIP.

    Kind of interesting that the California Republican Party is asking Republican donors to support a referendum to overturn the California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission’s State Senate Redistricting Maps and these Senators FLIP to support a Democratic position anyway.

    I mean, why bother, when all of the Republicans become RINOS (Republican in Name Only)?

    By the way, the legislation which will likely be heard in the California State Senate tomorrow, requires three (3) Republican Senators to FLIP (NB: none voted for the Amazon Tax when it first came through the California Legislature).

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for August 26th through August 29th

    August 29, 2011 /

    These are my links for August 26th through August 29th:

  • Amazon Tax,  California Citizens Redistricting Commission,  California Republican Party,  California State Senate,  Internet Sales Taxes

    California Republican State Senators to Support Internet Sales Taxes?

    August 29, 2011 /

    I have a new post up over at Flap’s California Blog on the Flap.

    Go here and read which California State Senators might FLIP.

    Kind of interesting that the California Republican Party is asking Republican donors to support a referendum to overturn the California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission’s State Senate Redistricting Maps and these Senators FLIP to support a Democratic position anyway.

    I mean, why bother, when all of the Republicans become RINOS (Republican in Name Only)?

    By the way, the legislation which will likely be heard in the California State Senate tomorrow, requires three (3) Republican Senators to FLIP (NB: none voted for the Amazon Tax when it first came through the California Legislature).

  • Twitter

    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-08-29

    August 29, 2011 /

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