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    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-18

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  • Polling,  Unemployment Rate

    Poll Watch: U.S. Unemployment Rate Increases in Mid-November

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 8.5% in mid-November — up from 8.3% in mid-October, but down significantly from 9.2% in mid-November 2010. Gallup’s mid-month unemployment measure suggests the government is likely to report no change in its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2011.

    An additional 9.7% of U.S. employees work part time but want full-time work, up from 9.2% in mid-October. The current reading is significantly higher than the 8.5% of mid-November 2010.

    And, underemployment has increased.

    The chart:

    Underemployment is a measure that combines the percentage of workers who are unemployed with the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work.

    So, what does this all mean?

    It appears that the unemployment rate is modestly improving because Americans are more accepting of part-time work. But, as Gallup says: a part-time job is better than NO job but there is no real sign that American unemployment is improving.

    How will this impact the upcoming 2012 elections?

    In most recent elections, an unemployment rate above 8% is a danger sign for a Presidential re-election.

  • Occupy Protests,  Occupy Wall Street,  Pinboard Links

    The Morning Flap: November 17, 2011

    These are my links for November 15th through November 17th:

    • Berkeley police break up Occupy Cal; tents removed, 2 arrested – Police moved in early Thursday to break up the Occupy Cal protest at UC Berkeley, arresting at least two protesters.

      Scores of officers conducted the raid, removing the tents and clearing the area.

      On Tuesday, more than 1,200 singing, sign-waving students and faculty members rallied for much of the day on Sproul Plaza, a site of the 1960s Free Speech Movement.

      At one point, the demonstrators chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, police violence has got to go,” a reference to an incident last week in which baton-wielding police officers stopped an Occupy camp from being set up on the campus. Dozens of protesters were arrested in last week’s confrontation, and several were injured.

    • Protesters prepare to take over downtown L.A. intersection – Organizers of a demonstration planned Thursday morning in downtown Los Angeles say protesters are prepared to be arrested by police for committing acts of civil disobedience — including shutting down an intersection.

      The march, which is timed to coincide with other demonstrations across the country to protest the imbalance of wealth and power in the country, is set to begin at 7 a.m. at Bank of America Plaza on Hope Street. It will then make its way through the Financial District to the corner of Figueroa and 4th streets, where demonstrators plan to shut down traffic by erecting tents in the middle of the street.

      Jacob Hay, a leader of the coalition of labor and community groups that helped organize the march, said the group has secured police permits, but that protesters are prepared to be arrested for blocking traffic.

    • Perry challenges Pelosi to debate part-time Congress plan – Rick Perry has challenged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to debate him next week about his plan for a part-time Congress.

      In a letter to Pelosi (D-Calif.) obtained by The Hill, the Texas governor wrote: “I am in Washington Monday and would love to engage you in a public debate about my Overhaul Washington plan versus the congressional status quo.

      “I think it would be a tremendous service to the American people to see a public airing of these differences,” he continued. “Let the people decide. If Monday doesn’t work, perhaps we could find a time in Iowa over the course of the next month to discuss these issues in front of the people of America’s heartland.”

    • San Franciso police arrest 100 in Bank of America protest – Protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement seized a Bank of America branch in the city’s financial district Wednesday, a demonstration that forced jittery customers and employees to flee and ended in nearly 100 arrests.

      It took about 40 police officers in riot gear nearly four hours to clear the bank, but no one was injured. Police said many of those arrested were UC Santa Cruz students who were protesting fee increases and budget cuts.

      Police removed the protesters methodically, placing them in plastic handcuffs, citing them for misdemeanor trespassing and sending them off in police wagons for further processing.

    • Wall Street clashes start Occupy’s day of action – Police arrested protesters who sat on the ground and blocked traffic into New York’s financial district on Thursday, part of a day of mass gatherings in response to efforts to break up Occupy Wall Street camps nationwide.

      Police in riot helmets hauled several protesters to their feet and handcuffed them one block from Wall Street.

      “All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!” the crowd chanted.

    • Occupy Wall Street protesters vow to wear suits, blend in and get revenge for the Zuccotti Park raid – Occupy Wall Street hoped to show there was life after Zuccotti Thursday by staging a series of marches and rallies – starting with a sneak attack on the Stock Exchange itself.

      As the city braced for a “sizeable” crowd, observers on both sides said the scale of the protest would show whether the two-month-old movement could regain momentum after Tuesday’s demoralizing defeat.

      OWS hoped anger over the NYPD raid that razed their iconic tent city at Zuccotti Park would breathe new life into a cause that had begun to sputter.

      The “day of action” is to begin early, with protesters converging on Wall Street camouflaged in business suits hoping to blend in with office workers trooping out of the subway.

    • Zuccotti Park protester Nkrumah Tinsley arrested after threatening to burn down city – A protester was arrested in Zuccotti Park Wednesday after he threatened to fire bomb the city — and his rant went viral on YouTube, police said.

      Nkrumah Tinsley, 29, was busted after cops saw a video of him claiming he would torch the city during Thursday’s mass protest posted online, police said.

      “On the 17th (of Nov.), we’re going to burn New York City to the f—ing ground,” an angry Tinsley told a crowd of demonstrators in the video posted on Tuesday.

      “In a few days, you’re going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy’s.”

      When officers from the NYPD’s intelligence division saw the video, they immediately began working on trying to identify the raging man, police said.

      “We didn’t want him out there [Thursday]. We wanted him in our custody,” said Paul Browne, top spokesman for the NYPD. “He was specific as to date, location and method for the fire bombing …maybe it was just a rant, but we didn’t want to take that chance.”

      Cops later spotted Tinsley at Zuccotti Park Wednesday and collared him about 5 p.m., police said. He was charged with making terroristic threats.

    • Romenesko Leaves Poynter After Conflict Over Quotes – Jim Romenesko, the blogger who developed a large and loyal following by chronicling and summarizing news in the media world, quit his post on Thursday evening after a bizarre spat with the institute that hosts his writing.

      An editor at Poynter, which purchased Mr. Romenesko’s blog 12 years ago, had questioned his failure to use quotation marks when summarizing articles in his daily round-ups of media stories — summaries that Mr. Romenesko never claimed credit for as his original work.

      In an e-mail to the institute on Thursday night, Mr. Romenesko said, “I’ve had a great dozen years at Poynter, and I look forward to my next chapter.”

    • Felix • A couple of points about Romeneskogate, for those who aren’t completely bored of it by now – The original Julie Moos post was highly misleading in one respect — she made it seem as though Romenesko hadn’t blockquoted two full paragraphs in this post, when in fact he had used blockquote. I know Moos was misleading because Jack Shafer said that she “pointed to a recent example from Romenesko’s work in which he ran whole sentences from a Chicago Tribune story in his summary of it without placing the words in quotation marks or block quotation”. I suspect that the problem here is that Poynter’s CSS has problems with blockquotes-within-blockquotes, but in any case Moos should have been much clearer that only a minority of the text in question was outside quote marks or blockquotes.
      Justin Peters managed to commit exactly the same sin that Moos did, when he reminisced about freelancing on Today’s Papers. “I knuckled down and found a way to say things in my own words, because I am a journalist, and that is my job,” he writes, managing to to completely miss the point of what an aggregator does. It’s not the job of a journalist, saying things in his own words: instead, it’s the job of a curator, linking to great content. If Peters thinks that Romenesko’s job was that of a journalist, writing things in his own words, he’s missing the point entirely.
    • Holding aggregators to journalistic standards – Moos is using the standards of original journalism, here, to judge a blogger who was never about original journalism. Copy-and-pasting other people’s stories is what Romenesko did, at high volume, and with astonishing speed and reliability, for many years. And the media community, including Poynter, loved him for it.

      Moos might have “spent weeks in 2004 developing explicit publishing guidelines with the understanding and expectation that they would be adopted”, but guidelines are always reverse-engineered from already-existing best practice. And Romenesko is a shining example of best practice in the aggregation world. If he’s violating the guidelines, then it’s the guidelines which are at fault, not Romenesko.

      Petty bureaucrats like Moos love to codify things, so that they can cite chapter and verse when telling people off. But if you’re running a grown-up media organization, please: follow Paton’s lead, and not Moos’s. Journalists will behave unethically, sometimes. When they do, they should be reprimanded or even fired. But basic common sense is always the best guide to whether a journalist has done something wrong. And when Julie Moos presumes to judge Jim Romenesko by the standards of a Moos-written rulebook, it’s right and proper that the wrath of the Twittersphere come down on her as a result.

    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Connecticut Mall Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneurs Sue the Connecticut Dental Commission – Connecticut Mall Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneurs Sue the Connecticut Dental Commission
    • Wisconsin’s Governor: Recall Drive Is About Unions Seeking ‘Power’ – Many of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s citizens may be signing petitions for his recall in reaction to the battle he led earlier in the year to weaken his state’s public-employee unions.

      But Walker doesn’t appear to be backing off one inch from his stance that he did what was right for his state.

      Indeed, in a conversation with Tell Me More host Michel Martin, Walker essentially blamed outside agitators in organized labor for the recall effort.

      He accused his political foes of really being after “power” while presumably camouflaging their true intent with platitudes about workers’ rights, among other things.

      Unions are in particular coming after him, Walker said, because the new budget law he and the the Republican-controlled state legislature in Madison enacted, gave workers a choice about whether or not to belong to a union.

    • California Appeals Court Rules: Cell Phones at Red Lights Are Not OK » Flap’s California Blog – California Appeals Court Rules: Cell Phones at Red Lights Are Not OK
    • The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Updated: The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton – The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton
    • CA-26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett to Announce Candidacy for Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett to Announce Candidacy for Congress #tcot #catcot
    • Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping? – Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping?
    • Gingrich Said to Be Paid $1.6M by Freddie Mac- Bloomberg – Gingrich Said to Be Paid at Least $1.6 Million by Freddie Mac
    • Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping? – Joe Klein says news of Newt Gingrich’s ties to Freddie Mac threaten to halt his recent recent rise in the polls.

      “You must understand: to Republican stalwarts, a relationship with Freddie Mac is the moral equivalent of satanism. Gingrich was a paid helper — and, believe me, he didn’t get paid $1.6 million to lecture the organization on the failures of government intervention in the market — in a ‘socialist’ effort to make home-buying easier for people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to afford houses, an effort that famously went off the rails when the government began supporting sub-prime and other highly questionable mortgages.”

      “In other words, Gingrich was supporting — the best guess was that Gingrich was hired to win some Republican support for Freddie — the very sort of program that he routinely excoriates. This sort of hypocrisy is astounding but, sadly, not unknown to Newt. After all, this was the guy who led the Republican Impeachment of Bill Clinton while having an extra-marital affair of his own.”

    • Gingrich Said to Be Paid at Least $1.6 Million by Freddie Mac – Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

      The total amount is significantly larger than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 9 sponsored by CNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.

      Gingrich’s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned a period of eight years. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he “offered them advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” and warned the company that its lending practices were “insane.” Former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.

      Gingrich’s first contract with the mortgage lender was in 1999, five months after he resigned from Congress and as House speaker, according to a Freddie Mac press release.

      His primary contact inside the organization was Mitchell Delk, Freddie Mac’s chief lobbyist, and he was paid a self- renewing, monthly retainer of $25,000 to $30,000 between May 1999 until 2002, according to three people familiar with aspects of the business agreement.

    • Poll Watch: Americans Favor Repealing ObamaCare 47% Vs. 42% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Americans Favor Repealing ObamaCare 47% Vs. 42% #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Has the MAGIC Mouthwash to Fight Tooth Decay Arrived? – Has the MAGIC Mouthwash to Fight Tooth Decay Arrived?
    • Dilbert November 16, 2011 – Goals for the Year » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert November 16, 2011 – Goals for the Year
    • U.K Doctors Call for Car Smoking Ban | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – U.K Doctors Call for Car Smoking Ban
    • Day By Day November 15, 2011 – Rule | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 15, 2011 – Rule #tcot #catcot
    • Untitled (http://www.businessweek.com/pdf/poll11-16-11.pdf) – RT @ByronYork: Bloomberg NH: Romney 40, Paul 17, Gingrich 11, Cain 8, Huntsman 7, Perry 3, Bachmann 2, Santorum 1.
    • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-16 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-16 #tcot #catcot
    • AD-66: Huey, Mintz and Muratsuchi Will Face Off In 2012 South Bay Assembly Race » Flap’s California Blog – AD-66: Huey, Mintz and Muratsuchi Will Face Off In 2012 South Bay Assembly Race
    • Amazon.com: Gregory Cole: Flap’s Wish List – I just wished for: ‘Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement’ by Michael… via @amazon
    • Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement – Due Out in March | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement – Due Out in March #tcot #catcot
    • Terror three plead not guilty – 38-year-old Iraqi-Kurd Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, Uzbek David Jakobsen, 33, and alleged Uighur (China) mastermind 40-year-old Mikael Davud, pleaded not guilty to planning an assault using explosives on Danish paper Jyllands-Posten at today’s opening of their trial in Oslo District Court.
      All also denied their guilt relating to charges of trying to obtain bomb ingredients, as well as plotting to assassinate Danish cartoonist and author of the contentious Prophet Mohammed caricatures, Kurt Westergaard.
      Police Security Service (PST) officials arrested now indicted Bujak, Jakobsen, and Davud  in Norway and Germany last year on suspicion of planning to blow up the Chinese Embassy in Oslo.
      The case is also believed to be connected with plans to bomb a New York subway and a shopping mall in Manchester, UK, in 2009.
      According to NRK, Prosecutor Geir Evanger said today that, “There is no doubt that David Jakobsen ordered hydrogen peroxide at a pharmacy on Jernbanetorget [in Oslo] on 02 September 2009. There is [also] no doubt that this can be used to make explosives.”
      “He picked it up on 04 September, and the bottle was handed over to Mikael Davud in his Oslo apartment the same evening. However, police had already replaced the contents of the bottle contents with something harmless,” he continued.
      All three men also have suspected links with al-Qaida. Officials believe Mr Davud had travelled to Pakistan and was trained by the extremist group how to make explosives, as well as agreeing he would commit acts of terror.
      “He made a deal with Bujak and Jakobsen to hit Jyllands-Posten’s offices when he came back to Norway,” alleged Geir Evanger.
    • Gallegly Has Decision To Make – Last November voters elected Elton Gallegly to a 13th term in the US. House of Representatives.

      Today the 24th District Representative told Key News he was humbled by phone calls urging him to run again.

      But redistricting being challenged in Federal court puts his Simi Valley hometown in the 25th district represented by Republican Buck McKeon.

      McKeon has already announced his run for re-election.

      Now Gallegly must decide whether to run against McKeon in the 25th or run again in the 24th, something he can legally do.

      To make an informed decision the Congressman wants to see what happens with the Federal lawsuit challenging redistricting.

      Members of the Camarillo Los Posas Republican Womans Federated group hope he will continue to represent them.

      Many business owners hope so too.

      Although would be challengers are anxious to see Gallegy will do, he has time to decide.

    • 3 plead not guilty as terror trial opens in Norway – Three men accused in Norway of an al-Qaida-linked plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad pleaded not guilty Tuesday to terror charges as their trial began.

      The trial of Mikael Davud, Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak and David Jakobsen is being seen as a key test of Norway’s anti-terror laws. The men had been under surveillance for more than a year when authorities moved to arrest them in July 2010.

      Norwegian investigators, who worked with their U.S. counterparts, say the defendants were building a bomb in a basement laboratory — a plot linked to the same al-Qaida planners behind 2009 schemes to blow up New York’s subway and a British shopping mall.

      The men deny the terror charges. Prosecutors must prove they worked together in a conspiracy, because a single individual plotting an attack is not covered by Norway’s anti-terror laws.

      Prosecutor Geir Evanger told the Oslo district court that Davud, the alleged ringleader, received explosives training in Pakistan. They said he conspired with al-Qaida operatives to attack the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, whose 12 cartoons of Muhammad triggered furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006.

    • Herdt: Opportunity knocks; is anyone home? – In the national struggle for control of Congress next year, both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that Ventura County’s new 26th Congressional District will be an important battlefield.

      It has all the key elements: voter registration that is closely divided, a healthy percentage of independents and a history of split results.

      It has all the elements, that is, except for this: very few warriors.

      There are two announced Democratic candidates, Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock and Westlake Village businessman David Cruz Thayne. Most observers are waiting for another to emerge — Supervisor Steve Bennett, or perhaps Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, or perhaps some other surprise candidate with proven fundraising ability.

      There are no announced Republican candidates because everyone is waiting on Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, to publicly reveal his intentions.

      The growing frustration over that uncertainty last week led Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, to issue what appeared to be a calculated poke at Gallegly to make up his mind. McKeon told his hometown newspaper that “as near as I can pin him down,” Gallegly intends to run in the 25th District against McKeon.

      Gallegly actually lives in the 25th District, but his Simi Valley home is only a couple hundred yards from the boundary, and most of the 26th District is made up of areas he now represents. As long as the 26th District remains an option for Gallegly, other Republicans are frozen out by the political protocol that frowns on challenging an incumbent in a primary.

    • AD-66: Craig Huey Will Run for California State Assembly » Flap’s California Blog – AD-66: Craig Huey Will Run for California State Assembly
    • Grow Elect and Rebuilding the California Republican Pary By Electing Local Latinos » Flap’s California Blog – Grow Elect and Rebuilding the California Republican Pary By Electing Local Latinos
    • Why Do Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Why Do Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media?
    • President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: As Cain Crashes – Newt Rises | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: As Cain Crashes – Newt Rises #tcot #catcot
    • President 2012 GOP California Poll Watch: Gingrich 33% Vs. Romney 23% Vs. Cain 22% Vs. Perry 6% Vs. Paul 5% » Flap’s California Blog – President 2012 GOP California Poll Watch: Gingrich 33% Vs. Romney 23% Vs. Cain 22% Vs. Perry 6% Vs. Paul 5%
    • Day By Day November 14, 2011 – School’s Out | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day November 14, 2011 – School’s Out #tcot #catcot
    • Election 2012: Generic Presidential Ballot – Rasmussen Reports™ – RT @RasmussenPoll: Election 2012: Generic Republican 46%, Obama 42%…
    • (404) http://t.co/tTc – RT @AP: AP Video: Sen. John McCain, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spar over decision to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq: …
    • » Sen. Feinstein Loaded up on Biotech Stock Just Before Company Received $24 Million Gov’t Grant – Big Government – RT @AndrewBreitbart: Sen. Feinstein Loaded up on Biotech Stock Just Before Company Received $24 Million Gov’t Grant:
    • President 2012: Rick Perry Proposes Making Congress Part-Time and Ending Lifetime Tenure for Federal Judges | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Rick Perry Proposes Making Congress Part-Time and Ending Lifetime Tenure for Feder… #tcot #catcot
    • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: November 15, 2011 – The Morning Drill: November 15, 2011
    • The Morning Flap: November 15, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: November 15, 2011 #tcot #catcot
  • Day By Day,  GOP

    Day By Day November 16, 2011 – Torture



    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    There is a definite disconnect between the television media and American voters. The REAL torture are the faux GOP debates.

    Plus, the televised GOP debates are nothing but “gotcha” stage shows without any real issue discussion. It is time for the Republican Party to set parameters for substantive and definitely fewer debates/discussions among its candidates.

    The medium should not be allowed to drive the narrative. Waterboarding indeed….

  • Twitter

    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-11-17

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  • Charles Denton "Tex" Watson,  Charles Manson,  Leslie Van Houten,  Patricia Krenwinkel,  Sharon Tate,  Susan Atkins

    Updated With Video: Charles Manson Family Accomplice Charles Denton “Tex” Watson Denied Parole

    Charles Denton “Tex “Watson – Charlie Manson’s Right-Hand Man

    And, rightly so.

    Charles Denton “Tex” Watson, one of the chief participants in the Manson Family murders in the summer of 1969, will stay in prison at least another five years, the California Board of Parole Hearings announced Wednesday.

    Watson, 65, was denied parole for the 16th time, the board said, and will not be considered again until 2016.

    Watson, along with Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian were convicted in 1971 of murder and sentenced to death for the killings of five people, including the eight-months pregnant movie actress Sharon Tate, on the night of August 9, 1969. They and their leader, Charles Manson, were convicted and sentenced for stabbing Leno and Rosemary La Bianca to death the night after the Tate killings.

    Sharon Tate

    “Tex” Watson who is known as Charlie Manson’s right-hand man physically committed the murders at the homes of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Susan Atkins was present with Watson at both murder scenes. Atkins died in prison in 2009.

    Charles Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkel also a Tate/La Bianca murder accomplice remains in prison and was denied parole earlier this year. Leslie Van Houten also remains in California prison.

    Linda Kasabian, who also was present at both murder scenes was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against Manson and his family of followers.

    Watson was convicted in 1971 of seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

    He will be considered for another parole review in five years, prison officials said.

    Family members of Watson’s murder victims attended the hearing on Wednesday at Mule Creek State Prison in rural Ione, California, where he is held on a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

    Charles Denton “Tex” Watson should have been executed decades ago along with Charles Manson and the rest of his scumbag followers. It is only because of the California Supreme Court’s decision, People V. Anderson that outlawed the death penalty (for a time) that saved his sorry ass from the gas chamber.

    Like Susan Atkins, Watson should NEVER be released and should die in prison. Here is one of the murder scene photos (Sharon Tate lies in her own blood):

    Charles Manson’s next parole hearing may be coming up in 2012.

  • Charles Denton "Tex" Watson,  Charles Manson,  Leslie Van Houten,  Patricia Krenwinkel,  Sharon Tate,  Susan Atkins

    Charles Manson Family Accomplice Charles Denton “Tex” Watson Denied Parole

    Charles Denton “Tex “Watson – Charlie Manson’s Right-Hand Man

    And, rightly so.

    Charles Denton “Tex” Watson, one of the chief participants in the Manson Family murders in the summer of 1969, will stay in prison at least another five years, the California Board of Parole Hearings announced Wednesday.

    Watson, 65, was denied parole for the 16th time, the board said, and will not be considered again until 2016.

    Watson, along with Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian were convicted in 1971 of murder and sentenced to death for the killings of five people, including the eight-months pregnant movie actress Sharon Tate, on the night of August 9, 1969. They and their leader, Charles Manson, were convicted and sentenced for stabbing Leno and Rosemary La Bianca to death the night after the Tate killings.

    Sharon Tate

    “Tex” Watson who is known as Charlie Manson’s right-hand man physically committed the murders at the homes of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Susan Atkins was present with Watson at both murder scenes. Atkins died in prison in 2009.

    Charles Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkel also a Tate/La Bianca murder accomplice remains in prison and was denied parole earlier this year. Leslie Van Houten also remains in California prison.

    Linda Kasabian, who also was present at both murder scenes was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against Manson and his family of followers.

    Watson was convicted in 1971 of seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

    He will be considered for another parole review in five years, prison officials said.

    Family members of Watson’s murder victims attended the hearing on Wednesday at Mule Creek State Prison in rural Ione, California, where he is held on a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

    Charles Denton “Tex” Watson should have been executed decades ago along with Charles Manson and the rest of his scumbag followers. It is only because of the California Supreme Court’s decision, People V. Anderson that outlawed the death penalty (for a time) that saved his sorry ass from the gas chamber.

    Like Susan Atkins, Watson should NEVER be released and should die in prison. Here is one of the murder scene photos (Sharon Tate lies in her own blood):

    Charles Manson’s next parole hearing may be coming up in 2012.

  • Dentistry

    The Cease and Desist Letter From the Smile Center of San Antonio and Dr. Stephen Simpton

    Today, after receiving my neat new crown (thank you, Dr. Dovidio), I went over to my old mailbox at The UPS Store (where my wife has a mailbox) and received an old certified letter (from two weeks ago) from a Texas law firm. It was a cease and desist letter over a link I posted here some time ago.I won’t bore you with the details of the letter, nor scan it, but it essentially said stop publishing nasty stuff about our client Dr. Stephen Simpton. Unfortunately, sir, Mr. Jon Michael Smith, Attorney at Law in Austin Texas, a free press does not quite work this way – as I am sure you really know.Here is a video of Dr. Simpton being interviewed by a local San Antonio TV station:

    Fair enough and here is the latest video from WOAI-TV and the some of the problems at the Smile Center.

    Apparently, there are criminal and civil investigations of the Smile Center.

    A criminal investigation is underway into a chain of dental clinics here in San Antonio that targets children on Medicaid. This comes after an investigation by News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Brian Collister uncovered complaints of poor treatment at The Smile Center.

    The Texas Attorney General now confirms it has launched criminal and civil investigations into The Smile Center.

    The Attorney General’s office wants to know if the clinics defrauded medicaid by billing for dental work that did not need to be done. The Trouble Shooters have been reporting since February about complaints from parents who say the clinics did unnecessary and shoddy work on their children.

    These parents were unhappy with dental work done on their children and paid with millions of your tax dollars through Medicaid.

    A representative from the Attorney General’s office confirms it’s Medicaid fraud control unit has 180 bankers boxes of records taken from The Smile Center locations here in San Antonio. The agency’s civil Medicaid department has also filed a complaint in civil court against the business. But we don’t know what’s in that complaint because it’s sealed.

    A local law firm is also just weeks away from filing a massive lawsuit against The Smile Center on behalf of the parents of one hundred former patients.The Smile Center’s owner, Doctor Stephen Simpton, recently filed a lawsuit against WOAI and reporter Brian Collister. Simpton claims our stories defamed and disparaged him and his business. Simpton did not respond to a request for comment for this report.

    The attorney for Dr. Simpton responded:

    The attorney for The Smile Center said in a statement. “The investigation to which you refer is a routine Medicaid audit. It has no criminal implications and is not the result of any prior allegations against Dr. Simpton or The Smile Center.  In regard to the lawsuit to which you refer, Dr. Simpton has no comment other than the litigation will take care of itself.”

    Now, a number of patients have filed lawsuits.

    A chain of dental clinics here in San Antonio is hit with a massive lawsuit filed by parents who took their children to The Smile Center.

    The court action is more fallout from my investigation into the clinics and allegations it did unnecessary work at taxpayers expense.

    The lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of 23 children alleges the Smile center would routinely recommend unnecessary and excessive dental services.

    The lawyer filing the suit says this is the first of many to come as they prepare to file on behalf of one-hundred children.

    “The lawsuit alleges and we intend to prove with substantial evidence that a lot of the dental care received by these children was unnecessary and improper”, says Attorney Tom Crosley.

    The lawsuit was filed against The Smile Center, owner Dr. Stephen Simpton and former Smile Center dentist Dr Mark Hong.

    It alleges Smile Center and its dentists would – “recommend unnecessary and excessive dental services, most commonly consisting of pulpotomies (baby root canals) and stainless steel crowns”.

    The lawsuit goes on to allege “The smile center subjected these children to its production machine for one primary reason — to bilk Medicaid for its financial gain”.

    The suit also alleges the clinics made $55 Million from Medicaid from 2008 to 2010.

    OK, now the reporting has been done on Dr. Simpton and the problems he is facing. If Dr. Simpton or his attorney wish to comment on these allegations, they are welcome to do so in the comments below or they can use the contact information above (please note, I have a new mailing address).

  • CA-26,  Elton Gallegly,  Steve Bennett,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett to Announce Candidacy for Congress

    Today, Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, a former Ojai High School teacher and administrator will announce he will run for Congress next year. The Ventura County Star has the full story.

    Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett has scheduled a speech at Patagonia headquarters at noon today at which he is expected to announce he will be a candidate for Congress next year.

    Bennett, a Democrat, is scheduled to speak with employees of the renowned Ventura-based outdoor gear company, and sources close to the supervisor said this morning he will make his announcement at that time.

    The announcement will end months of intense speculation as Bennett, who will be forced to end his service on the Board of Supervisors, has weighed the pros and cons of staking his political future on a run for the new 26th Congressional District seat.

    He will join Moorpark City Councilman David Pollock and Westlake Village businessman David Cruz Thayne as announced Democratic candidates in the race, which is expected to be highly competitive and attract national attention as one of the nation’s key congressional battlegrounds in 2012.

    No Republican has yet announced, as potential candidates await an announcement from Rep. Elton Gallegly of Simi Valley as to whether he will choose to seek a 14th term by running in that district.

    Bennett will likely face off against either incumbent GOP Rep. Elton Gallegly or GOP California State Senator Tony Strickland.

    My bet, although it is not the conventional wisdom, is that Gallegly will be running against Bennett come November 2012.

    Here are the demographics of the 26th Congressional District:

    And, how the CD performed:

    This race may very well be a key national battleground with a very competitive Congressional District. I look for an expensive campaign easily into the $ millions.
  • Obamacare,  Polling

    Poll Watch: Americans Favor Repealing ObamaCare 47% Vs. 42%



    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Given a choice, 47% of Americans favor repealing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while 42% want it kept in place. Views on this issue are highly partisan, with Republicans strongly in favor of repeal and the large majority of Democrats wanting the law kept in place.

    The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would review the healthcare law’s constitutionality, a case that is likely to be heard in March, with a ruling issued by next summer. Thus, the law’s ultimate fate may now be in the court’s hands, rather than in Congress’, although it will continue to be a dominant issue in the 2012 presidential campaign. Republicans and conservatives have continued to level criticism against the law since it was passed in March 2010, while President Obama has been just as vigorous in defending its objectives and future benefits.

    Americans’ views on repealing the healthcare law mirror their reactions to its passage. In October, Gallup found 40% of Americans saying passage of the healthcare law was a good thing and 48% a bad thing.

    The possible repeal of the healthcare law is highly important to Americans on both sides of the question, with 66% of those favoring its repeal saying it is very important that Congress take this action, and 60% of those who believe it should be kept in place saying it is very important that Congress not repeal it.

    This issue is now in the hands of the United States Supreme Court.

    If SCOTUS rules the law unconstitutional, then I believe President Obama will have an easier time for re-election. If not, and the law remains as is, there will be an increasing unrest in the country for Congress and a NEW President to repeal it.

    We will have to wait until early summer for a decision and unfortunately so will American business with any employment plans.