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The Morning Flap: December 12, 2011

 

These are my links for December 9th through December 12th:

  • U.S. Supreme Court blocks court-drawn Texas map in win for Republicans – The U.S. Supreme Court has again thrown Texas’s new congressional map into a state of flux, temporarily blocking a court-drawn redistricting map late Friday and announcing that it would rule on the constitutionality of the map early next year.

    The ruling is a win for Republicans who had sought to hold up the map of the state’s 36 congressional districts. The map was drawn by a three-judge panel after a map drawn by Texas Republicans got caught up in the courts.

    The court also put a temporary hold on the state legislative districts drawn by the panel, and will decide on the constitutionality of those maps.

    The Supreme Court has called for an expedited hearing and will hear arguments on Jan. 9.

  • Supreme Court to decide Arizona immigration law – The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether Arizona’s tough law cracking down on illegal immigrants can take effect, a case arising from the fierce national debate on immigration policy ahead of next year’s presidential election.

    The high court agreed to review a ruling that put on hold the key parts of the law signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010. The case has been closely watched because several other states have adopted similar laws.

    The law requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected of being in the nation illegally. Other parts require immigrants to carry their papers at all times and ban people without proper documents from soliciting for work in public places.

    The justices are likely to hear arguments in the case in April, with a ruling due by July. It could produce another contentious election-year ruling for the court, which also will decide President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul law.

  • BuzzFeed Adds Politico Writer – Ben Smith – BuzzFeed, a site where the editors and algorithms sift the Web in search of viral articles elsewhere, has decided that it needs articles of its own.

    In a move that is sure to surprise the political and journalistic classes, the site is hiring Ben Smith, one of the foremost writers at Politico, to build a new breed of social news organization.

    As editor in chief, Mr. Smith will hire more than a dozen reporters right away, said Jonah Peretti, who founded BuzzFeed with Kenneth Lerer, “and then we will keep growing from there.” The reporters will be scoop generators, Mr. Peretti said. “By breaking scoops and drawing attention,” he added, they will help increase traffic and, by extension, advertising sales.

    It is a tenet of BuzzFeed that the Web pages users like to click are different from the pages they like to share with others. BuzzFeed encourages the second case, the sharing of links, articles and photos on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. The reporting by Mr. Smith and his staff will be produced with that sharing strategy in mind.

    “I already write for the social Web and consume most of my news on the social Web,” said Mr. Smith, who calls Twitter his main source of news.

  • Gingrich Ahead in Iowa by Double-Digits – A new University of Iowa Hawkeye poll shows Newt Gingrich leading among likely Iowa caucus-goers with 30%, followed by Mitt  Romney 20%, Ron Paul at 11%, Michele Bachmann at 9%, Rick Perry at 8% and Rick Santorum at 5%.

    Another 11% of likely caucus goers remain undecided.

  • Rick Perry going for broke in Iowa with 3 weeks to go – Seen just four months ago as conservatives’ potential savior, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is fighting for his life in Iowa.

    With three weeks until Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, the Texas governor has retooled his message from the strict jobs focus he began with in August to one promoting him as a conservative outsider.
    And he’s doubled down on television advertising for the home stretch, having already spent more than $2 million in Iowa only to see his support remain in single digits.

    Perry’s revamped charge to the Jan. 3 caucuses is a sign of the pressure he faces to revive his faltering national campaign. And it’s far from clear whether it’s working.

  • Record 64% Rate Honesty, Ethics of Members of Congress Low – Sixty-four percent of Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of members of Congress as “low” or “very low,” tying the record “low”/”very low” rating Gallup has measured for any profession historically. Gallup has asked Americans to rate the honesty and ethics of numerous professions since 1976, including annually since 1990. Lobbyists also received a 64% low honesty and ethics rating in 2008.
  • Under fire for bet, Mitt Romney recalls more austere times – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has faced criticism over the years for being too guarded and impersonal on the campaign trail.

    But on Sunday afternoon in Hudson, N.H., prompted by a voter who asked him to share an experience that had changed his world view, he opened up about how his experience as a Mormon missionary in France had given him an appreciation for the privileges of his upbringing.
     
    Romney – a wealthy former business consultant who has been under fire for offering rival Rick Perry a $10,000 bet in Saturday night’s debate – noted that he had grown up “with a great deal of affluence” as the son of an auto executive who became Michigan’s three-term governor.

  • William Jefferson Appeal Could Weaken Corruption Statute – A federal prosecutor warned Friday that if the conviction of former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) is reversed on appeal, it would place many fraudulent acts committed by lawmakers outside the scope of current bribery law.
    Jefferson was convicted of 11 corruption charges in 2009, but his legal team is arguing that since the former Congressman’s scheme to connect businesses in which he had a financial stake with foreign governments was not related to his formal legislative duties, his activities are not covered by the bribery statute under which he was prosecuted.
    Government prosecutors say agreeing with Jefferson’s argument would require a narrow interpretation of the law that is unprecedented.
  • President 2012: Rick Perry calls ‘Solynda’ a country – Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) stumbled over Solyndra, mispronouncing the company’s name and calling it a country.

    Perry was hitting President Obama for his green energy policy when the slip occurred at a campaign event Sunday in Iowa.

    “No greater example of it than this administration sending millions of dollars into the solar industry, and we lost that money,” he said. “I want to say it was over $500 million that went to the country Solynda.”

    Solyndra is a solar energy company that went bankrupt after receiving over $500 million in federal loan guarantees.

    The gaffe was the latest in what has become a pattern of verbal miscues for the Republican presidential candidate.

  • (404) http://shar.es/o9kaL–and – RT @jpodhoretz: Put the 10K line together with Jonathan Last’s piece in Standard today– Romney has had better days
  • TRENDING: Gingrich won’t use surrogates to go negative – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Gingrich won’t use surrogates to go negative
  • foursquare :: Ronnie’s Diner :: Los Angeles, CA – I just ousted Dan M. as the mayor of Ronnie’s Diner on @foursquare!
  • foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – Post 10 miler brunch with Alice, Tara, Mary And Nancy (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
  • | www.theacornonline.com | The Acorn Online – In Print and on the Web – | | The Acorn Online – In Print and on the Web
  • | www.theacornonline.com | The Acorn Online – In Print and on the Web – Santa’s elves | | Camarillo Acorn | | Camarillo Acorn
  • @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-10 #tcot #catcot
  • Feds crack down on HCG weight loss claims – latimes.com – Firms warned by Feds over sale of weight-loss hormone HCG
  • Poll Watch: Americans Health Habits Decline as Winter Approaches | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Poll Watch: Americans Health Habits Decline as Winter Approaches
  • Santa’s elves | www.thecamarilloacorn.com | Camarillo Acorn | www.thecamarilloacorn.com | Camarillo Acorn – Congressman Elton Gallegly and friends deliver toys to local military families #catcot #tcot #cagop
  • Like Father, Like Daughters – Charles C. W. Cooke – National Review Online – OUCH |Like Father, Like Daughters Jon Huntsman’s girls merely amplify his nondescript persona #tcot
  • Americans Set “Rich” Threshold at $150,000 in Annual Income – Americans Set “Rich” Threshold at $150,000 in Annual Income
  • Is Perry Moving Up in Iowa? – Is Perry Moving Up in Iowa?
  • Austin dentist gets 5 years for child porn possession |
    kvue.com Austin
    – Austin dentist gets 5 years for child porn possession
  • Americans Favor Televising Supreme Court Healthcare Case – RT @gallupnews: Americans Favor Televising Supreme Court Healthcare Case… #Supremecourt #Healthcare #Gallup
  • PSA testing: Information is better than ignorance – RT @kevinmd: PSA testing: Information is better than ignorance
  • Dilbert December 9, 2011 – Wrong Side » Flap’s California Blog – Dilbert December 9, 2011 – Wrong Side
  • The Morning Flap: December 9, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: December 9, 2011 #tcot #catcot