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The Morning Flap: January 30, 2012
These are my links for January 27th through January 30th:
- Newt expressed support for Obama health care plan in ’09 – On a May 2009 conference call for the Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich called the health care reform debate “healthier” than in 1993 and said the model being discussed was “the kind of general model we’re going to be advocating”:
The good thing is that unlike the Hillarycare process of 1993, we don’t have 500 people in a room hiding in a room trying to write the magic bill that’s gonna go through on an up or down vote. We actually have a process underway where lots and lots of different players have a real opportunity to have input. And I think in that sense this is already a healthier process than we saw in 1993, and a more open process.
He also discussed the concept of a mandate:
We believe that there should be must carry – that is, everybody should either have health insurance or if you’re an absolute libertarian, we would allow you to post a bond, but we would not allow people to be free riders failing to insure themselves and then showing up at the emergency room with no means of payment.
- In Florida run-up, Chuck Norris battles for Gingrich – Chuck Norris isn’t “missing in action” in Florida, one day out from the state’s pivotal GOP presidential primary.
The tough-guy Hollywood star — perhaps best known for his role in “Delta Force” and TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger” — endorsed Newt Gingrich more than a week ago and on Monday the former House speaker’s campaign pointed to his words as evidence that the “mainstream media” and “Washington elite” are out of touch with the everyday voters.
“Proof! Voters are smarter than media, Washington elite,” reads the subject line of an email blast from R.C. Hammond, the Gingrich campaign spokesman.
In a new commentary Mr. Norris inked for WND.com, the Oklahoma native delivers a stinging rebuke of the “mainstream media” and “Washington Elite” while breaking down the state of the GOP contest between Mr. Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
- InsiderAdvantage Poll: Gingrich Surging, Race ‘Tighter Than Expected’ – A new InsiderAdvantage poll conducted Sunday night of likely Republican voters in the state of Florida shows a significant surge for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The poll has former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leading with 36 percent of voters, followed by Gingrich at 31 percent.
The Sunday results of 646 likely GOP voters are as follows:
Romney 36 percent
Gingrich 31 percent
Santorum 12 percent
Paul 12 percent
Other/Undecided 9 percent“The race will be tighter than expected,” Matt Towery, chief pollster of InsiderAdvantage told Newsmax.
- Cain: Finishing second a ‘win’ for Gingrich in Florida – Former presidential candidate and freshly minted Newt Gingrich surrogate Herman Cain downplayed the former Speaker’s chances for a win in Florida’s pivotal primary, citing the Romney campaign’s aggressive spending in the state.
“My expectation isn’t necessarily that he will win because of the sheer difference in spending. But my expectation is that he is going to have a much stronger showing than the weekend polls have been showing. There was one last night that showed that Gingrich is a lot closer to Romney,” Cain said during an interview Monday with Fox News. “So this thing is so dynamic, we won’t know until the votes are counted tomorrow night in Florida.”
Cain said that considering the circumstances, he would consider a second-place finish a “win” in the Florida primary — and reiterated Gingrich’s pledge to carry forward past Florida.
- January 30, Video: 2012 Health care expert Sally Pipes on what could replace Obamacare – “Repeal and replace” has been a conservative mantra ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. But while the process of getting rid of the law is somewhat straightforward, there’s been no consensus on what to actually replace it with.
Enter Sally Pipes, the renowned health care expert and president of the Pacific Research Institute. Pipes has a way to replace Obamacare’s expensive government health care bureaucracies with a market-driven system that she says would offer better treatment to patients while saving taxpayers money.
“I wanted to do a blueprint so politicians, staffers and people in the states could say ‘this is what I believe in,” Pipes said of her new book, “The Pipes Plan,” during an extensive interview with The Daily Caller.
- Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature – Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature
- Gingrich Looks Ahead to Super Tuesday – An internal Newt Gingrich campaign memo obtained by the Daily Caller claims “this race is just getting started.”
The memo stresses that Mitt Romney currently has just 33 of the 1144 delegates needed (Gingrich has 25 of 1144).
In addition, more than 20% of the available delegates (467) will be awarded on Super Tuesday March 6, 2012, and the memo notes that, one of the Super Tuesday states is Georgia, with 76 delegates at stake. To put that in perspective, “even if Romney wins Florida on Tuesday, he will only have 83 total delegates; Newt’s home state could effectively cancel out his entire delegate count to date.”
- President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Tied With Obama in Swing States – Gingrich Trails By 14 Points | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Tied With Obama in Swing States – Gingrich Trails By 14 Points
- President 2012 Video: Newt Gingrich Does Not Have a Conservative Ideological Core – Pat Buchanan | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Video: Newt Gingrich Does Not Have a Conservative Ideological Core – Pat Buchanan
- Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature – RT @CapitolAlert: AM Alert: Bills come due this week in California Legislature
- Election Day Tea Party 2012 – News – Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters: Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul Should Continue Past Florida – RT @michaelpleahy: Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters:Santorum,Gingrich& Paul Should Continue Past Florida #tcot
- Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran | ZeroHedge – RT @zerohedge: Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran
- Newsweek: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Won’t Apologize for Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Shooting | NewsBusters.org – Wow RT @mattsheffield: Newsweek: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Won’t Apologize for Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Shooting
- Gingrich memo downplays Florida; looks ahead to Super Tuesday | The Daily Caller – RT @JimPethokoukis RT @DailyBaller: Gingrich internal memo downplays Florida; looks ahead to Super Tuesday #tcot
- The Hill Poll: No benefit from tax holiday, say a majority of voters – TheHill.com – RT @thehill: The Hill Poll: Majority of voters see no benefit from tax holiday
- Log In – The New York Times – RT @charliespiering: Jeb Bush told Romney to tone it down on immigration
- Obama: The most polarizing president. Ever. – The Washington Post – Former senator Bob Kerrey tells The Fix that he is buying property in Nebraska, but that it’s not indication he’ll run
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-30 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-30
- Official Formspring for Android application available now | Android Central – Official Formspring for Android application available now
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Laid up in bed with a cold. Watching Lakers, Clippers and Dallas. Nap soon. Thank you Android! (@ Chez Cole)
- Official Formspring for Android application available now –
- Gingrich: I can beat Obama, ‘liberal’ Romney can’t | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Gingrich: I can beat Obama, ‘liberal’ Romney can’t: THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Newt Gingrich is painfully aware that …
- Florida paper backs a Gingrich presidency – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Florida paper backs a Gingrich presidency
- PFCs From Food Wrappers Could Reduce Effectiveness of Vaccines – Neil Wagner – Health – The Atlantic – PFCs — found in food wrappers, some clothing, more — could be reducing effectiveness of vaccines in kids:
- What Is Trisomy 18? – ABC News – Learn more abt Trisomy 18, the genetic disorder Rick Santorum’s daughter Bella suffers from:
- Obama, Democrats Facing Challenges in North Carolina – Hotline On Call –
Hotline On Call – RT @PounderFile: NJ: “Obama, Democrats Facing Challenges in North Carolina” - Romney Outspends Gingrich More Than 4-1 In Florida – It’s not just the message: Romney + friends spending 4X Newt+Adelson
- Newt: If Romney wins, it’s because of Santorum | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Newt: If Romney wins, it’s because of Santorum: Newt Gingrich suggested today that Rick Santorum could be, unint…
- Mark Levin: ‘Character Matters and Romney’s Worries Me’ | NewsBusters.org – Mark Levin: ‘Character Matters and Romney’s Worries Me’
- Day By Day January 29, 2012 – Executive Order | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 29, 2012 – Executive Order
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/29/president-2012-video-herman-cain-endorses-newt-gingrich/ – President 2012 Video: Herman Cain Endorses Newt Gingrich
- President 2012: Fred Thompson Says Romney Has Matt Drudge in His Back Pocket | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Fred Thompson Says Romney Has Matt Drudge in His Back Pocket
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/29/president-2012-video-sarah-palin-says-vote-for-newt-rage-against-the-machine/ – President 2012 Video: Sarah Palin Says Vote for Newt – Rage Against the Machine
- Day By Day January 28, 2012 – Competence an’ Stuff | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 28, 2012 – Competence an’ Stuff
- Robert Gibbs back on Obama payroll – POLITICO.com – Robert Gibbs is back on the Obama payroll, reports @glennthrush:
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-29
- War Room Logistics poll: Romney 40%, Gingrich 30% | Saint Petersblog – Florida: War Room Logistics poll: Romney 40%, Gingrich 30%,Santorum 15%
- Romney up in Florida – Public Policy Polling – Florida: Romney now leads with 40% to 32% for Gingrich, 15% for Rick Santorum, 9% for Ron Paul #tcot
- The non-endorsing endorsers – Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman – POLITICO.com – Huck pants-on-fire: his claim that comments in newt ad from ’08 were general and not about Mitt simply false. Deets:
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – 7 easy miles today. Here with Tara. Alice and Mary to join us after their 13 miler. (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-28
- Election Day Tea Party 2012: A New Beginning
– YouTube – RT @michaelpleahy: @Flap Inspiring video about what’s next for the #teaparty ! - News from The Associated Press – RT @AP: Nevada GOP to release presidential caucus results via Twitter and Google: -CC
- News from The Associated Press – RT @AP: Cynthia Nixon’s remarks on choosing to be gay, rejecting bisexual label, worry activists: -CC
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: January 27, 2011 – The Daily Extraction: January 27, 2011
- Little change in union affiliation in 2011 | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Little change in union affiliation in 2011
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Gingrich Maintaining National Poll Lead While Romney Slumps | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Gingrich Maintaining National Poll Lead While Romney Slumps
- Welch: Be nice to Paul, we need his supporters – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Jack Welch: Be nice to Ron Paul, we need his supporters
- Ron Paul signed off on racist 1990s newsletters, associates say – The Washington Post – Ron Paul signed off on racist newsletters in the 1990s, associates say
- CA-26: A Republican – Akiva Werbalowsky In and a Democrat – Zeke Ruelas Out | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: A Republican – Akiva Werbalowsky In and a Democrat – Zeke Ruelas Out
- Newt expressed support for Obama health care plan in ’09 – On a May 2009 conference call for the Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich called the health care reform debate “healthier” than in 1993 and said the model being discussed was “the kind of general model we’re going to be advocating”:
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The Morning Flap: January 27, 2012
Graphic from Investors Business Daily
These are my links for January 26th through January 27th:
- Obama admits his presidency has been flawed… but claims economy is stronger – Barack Obama said he makes mistakes on an hourly basis as President but stood firmly behind his administration’s work in bolstering the U.S. economy and jobs market.
The President was in Las Vegas to champion investment in clean energy, declaring the U.S. ‘the Saudia Arabia of natural gas’ in a speech to UPS workers.
However in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer last night, he said: ‘I second-guess constantly… I make a mistake, you know, every hour, every day.’
He added: ‘But when you look at the broad outlines of what we did, had it not been for the steps we took our economy would be profoundly weaker than we are right now.’
Obama spoke at a Las Vegas UPS center to showcase a refueling station that will permit vehicles that use liquefied natural gas to travel from the Port of Long Beach to Salt Lake City. The station was built with help from Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus plan.
He also announced the sale of oil and gas drilling leases for nearly 38 million acres in the Gulf Coast and promoted the completion of a highway corridor for vehicles that run on liquefied natural gas, a response to critics who say his policies have stifled domestic energy production.
- Obama: Bush Is Food Stamp President, Not Me – “First of all, I don’t put people on food stamps. People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me. Number three, when you have a disastrous economic crash that results in 8 million people losing their jobs, more people are going to need more support from government.”
- Obama: I Want An Economy “Where We’re Making Stuff And Selling Stuff And Moving It Around” – “On Tuesday at the State of the Union, I laid out my vision for how we move forward,” President Obama said at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada. “I laid out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last, that has a firm foundation. Where we’re making stuff and selling stuff and moving it around and UPS drivers are dropping things off everywhere.”
“That’s the economy we want. An economy built on American manufacturing, with more good jobs and more products made here in the United States of America,” he also said.
- Is Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents? Nearly Half Now Get Government Benefits – If the Republican primaries are any indication, one big debate in the upcoming election will be whether President Obama is pushing the country toward a European-style welfare culture.
Mitt Romney, for example, argues that “over the past three years, Barack Obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society.”
Newt Gingrich has taken to calling Obama “the best food-stamp president in American history.”
Obama, in contrast, says the government must play an increasing role — what he likes to call “shared responsibility” — to ensure a society that is fairer.
So is Obama turning the country into a welfare society and away from one focused on opportunity?
While it’s true that the country has been headed in this direction for many years — with the explosion in entitlements since the 1960s and the aging of the population — Obama has, in fact, greatly accelerated the trend.
- 1.7% – Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010
- Worst News Story of 2012? | Power Line – Reuters and Sen Marco Rubio: Worst News Story of 2012? #tcot
- Mitt Romney’s Struggle With Truth Continues – RT @LizMair: Hilarious video. RT @mattklewis ‘Mitt Romney’s Struggle With Truth Continues’
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/27/flap-twitter-updates-for-2012-01-27/ – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-27
- AD-38: Scott Wilk Vs. Patricia or Is It Rep. Buck McKeon? » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk Vs. Patricia or Is It Rep. Buck McKeon?
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News – Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News – Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News – Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News
- President 2012: GOP Debate Tonight – Long Knives Out for Newt Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: GOP Debate Tonight – Long Knives Out for Newt Gingrich
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News – Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income
- Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy – The Hill’s E2-Wire – Another one bites the dust | Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – Mitt Romney’s campaign is amending the financial disclosure forms he filed in 2007 and 2011 to acknowledge that a Romney trust held a Swiss bank account, a detail that had been missing from both reports.
“An amendment is being filed to address this minor discrepancy,” a campaign official told ABC News in an email Thursday in response to questions about the apparent omission.
The discovery that the Romneys had $3 million in an account with the Swiss bank UBS came only after the Republican presidential candidate released his tax returns for 2010 on Tuesday. The campaign had maintained that it was not necessary to disclose the Swiss account because Romney’s money manager, Brad Malt, had shuttered it in early 2010.
Several Republican election lawyers told ABC News Thursday that the account still needed to be disclosed because a Romney trust earned about $1,700 in income on the account during 2010. The campaign’s decision to amend the forms was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
- Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income – ABC News – OOPS | Romney Failed to Disclose Swiss Bank Account Income #tcot
- InsiderAdvantage Poll: Romney Surges to Florida Lead – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney apparently has reversed a surge by Newt Gingrich to retake the momentum in the Florida primary, according to the latest InsiderAdvantage/Florida Times-Union poll.
The poll shows that Republicans most likely to vote in the state’s closed primary now favor Romney over Gingrich by 40 to 32 percent. Rep. Ron Paul has 9 percent, while former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has 8 percent.
Nine percent of those surveyed were undecided. The poll, which was conducted Wednesday night, was weighted for age, race, and gender and has a margin of error of plus and minus 4 percent.
The poll’s result also is supported by other polls conducted Wednesday and earlier this week. A CNN/Time/ORC International Poll also indicates that, although Gingrich surged following his 12-point victory in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, his momentum appears to be cooling off.
- CA-26: Ventura County Republican Party Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Ventura County Republican Party Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress
- AD-38: Scott Wilk for Assembly Announces More Local Leaders on Campaign Team » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk for Assembly Announces More Local Leaders on Campaign Team
- Dole Unloads on Gingrich – Yes—>RT @politicalwire: Doesn’t having both McCain and Dole backing Romney actually help Gingrich make his point?
- Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
- HPV study finds human papilloma virus carried in mouths – latimes.com – RT @latimes: Study finds that 7% of U.S. teens and adults carry human papilloma virus in their mouths
- Untitled (http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/84/159/2147483694/2cb9cd86-960a-4443-bac6-116c400614fb.pdf) – RT @fivethirtyeight: New SurveyUSA/Monmouth poll has Romney up 7 in Florida.
- Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
- Reuters’ embarassing Rubio hit piece | Campaign 2012 | Washington Examiner – Reuters’ embarassing Sen Marco Rubio hit piece #tcot
- Log In – The New York Times – Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China
- Geithner Says Obama Won’t Ask Him to Lead Treasury if He Wins Re-Election- Bloomberg – Geithner Says Obama Won’t Ask Him to Lead Treasury if He Wins Re-Election
- The Morning Flap: January 26, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: January 26, 2012
- Obama admits his presidency has been flawed… but claims economy is stronger – Barack Obama said he makes mistakes on an hourly basis as President but stood firmly behind his administration’s work in bolstering the U.S. economy and jobs market.
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The Morning Flap: January 26, 2012
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Obama yesterday
These are my links for January 25th through January 26th:
- Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China – In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.
However, the workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems.
Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Under-age workers have helped build Apple’s products, and the company’s suppliers have improperly disposed of hazardous waste and falsified records, according to company reports and advocacy groups that, within China, are often considered reliable, independent monitors.
More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers’ disregard for workers’ health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning. - Thou Shalt Not Write Bad Things About Obama – Drudge has a story about Obama getting off of Air Force One in Arizona, greeting Republican governor Jan Brewer, and immediately giving her a piece of his mind. Evidently our president did not appreciate something Brewer wrote about him. According to the pool report, they had a testy exchange from which the president walked away as Brewer was still speaking.
Sound familiar? Bobby Jindal got the same treatment when Obama came to visit Louisiana and the governor met him on the tarmac
- Geithner Says Obama Won’t Ask Him to Lead Treasury if He Wins Re-Election – Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, the last remaining member of the Obama administration’s original economic team, said he doesn’t expect the president to ask him to stay in office if re-elected.
“He’s not going to ask me to stay on, I’m pretty confident,” Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. “I’m confident he’ll be president. But I’m also confident he’s going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury.”
Geithner, 50, has led President Barack Obama’s efforts to pull the U.S. economy out of the worst recession since World War II. Before joining the administration in 2009, Geithner was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, playing a key role in the U.S. government’s bailouts of banks including Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), and automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.
- President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Mitt Romney Has Jumped Back in Front of Newt Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Mitt Romney Has Jumped Back in Front of Newt Gingrich
- As Obama demands rich Americans pay more in taxes, the IRS reveals 36 Obama aides are far behind in their taxes – How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their “fair share” of taxes.
Because how unfair — indeed, un-American — it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet’s secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate.
Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.
A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama’s executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven’t paid any share, let alone their fair share.
Previous reports have shown how well-paid Obama’s White House staff is, with 457 aides pulling down more than $37 million last year. That’s up seven workers and nearly $4 million from the Bush administration’s last year.
Nearly one-third of Obama’s aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each.
The IRS’ 2010 delinquent tax revelations come as part of a required annual agency report on federal employees’ tax compliance. Turns out, an awful lot of folks being paid by taxpayers are not paying their own income taxes.
- Leak to media about House Ethics probes ignites chatter on source, motives – A leak to the media that identified three Republicans who are being investigated by the House Ethics Committee has lawmakers and staffers wondering who the source is, and his or her motive.
There are many theories on who, over a four-day period, forked over the names of GOP Reps. Pete Sessions (Texas), Buck McKeon (Calif.) and Elton Gallegly (Calif.) to media outlets in reference to an ongoing investigation into VIP loans given to lawmakers by Countrywide.
The leaks stunned the three legislators, who have all denied accepting special rates on the loans in exchange for political favors.
Some are pointing the finger at House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) for releasing the publicly sensitive information, though his office is pushing back at that notion.
- Post-State of the Union Analysis – Post-State of the Union Analysis Where Americans stand on 16 issues Pres. Obama raised in the State of the Union
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 26, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 26, 2012
- How Patrick Swayze died: Why we should care – When I finished my book on famous patients, the most common question I received was “Are the stories of sick celebrities really relevant to other patients?” My answer was that yes, with some caveats, these experiences are well-worth knowing.
The same can be said for the story of Patrick Swayze’s terminal pancreatic cancer, which has now been told by his widow, actress Lisa Niemi Swayze, in a new book, “Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss and Moving Forward.” Patrick Swayze, a dancer and actor best known for his roles in the films “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost,” was diagnosed in January 2008 and died of the disease in September 2009 at the age of 57. He was originally told he would live only a few months.
First, the caveats. Like most celebrities, Swayze had the means, as his wife says, to “think outside the box.” He enrolled in a clinical trial at Stanford University, traveling regularly to Palo Alto from Los Angeles for experimental chemotherapy. Swayze also was a VIP patient, getting first-class attention from top doctors and hospital staffs. Most patients experience greater hurdles.
Nor should pancreatic cancer patients who read “Worth Fighting For” assume that they, like Swazey, can beat the odds and survive longer if they take the same medications that he did. Every case of pancreatic cancer, like all cancers, is different.
- Many Patients Continue to Smoke Even After Being Diagnosed With Cancer | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Many Patients Continue to Smoke Even After Being Diagnosed With Cancer
- Florida’s Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick
| Reuters – Florida’s Rubio a star, but an unlikely VP pick - Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 26, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 26, 2012
- Day By Day January 26, 2012 – Da Damonator | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day by Day January 26, 2012 – Da Damonator
- The Buffett Ruse – WSJ.com – Remember the moment in 2008 when Charlie Gibson of ABC News asked Senator Barack Obama why he would support raising the capital gains tax even though “revenues from the tax increased” when the rate fell? Mr. Obama’s famous reply: “I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.” Well, we were warned.
Here we are four years later, and President Obama on Tuesday night linked the term “fair” to U.S. tax and economic policy seven times. The U.S. economy is still hobbling out of recession, real family incomes are falling and 14 million Americans are unemployed, but Mr. Obama declared that his top priority is not to reform the tax code to promote growth and job creation. His overriding goal is redistributing income.
Mr. Obama endorsed the political ruse he calls the Buffett rule, which asserts as a matter of moral principle that millionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than middle-class wage earners. Specifically, Mr. Obama is proposing that anyone earning more than $1 million pay at least 30% of that income to Uncle Barack.
The White House says that if a millionaire household’s effective tax rate falls below 30%, it would have to pay a surcharge—in essence a new Super Alternative Minimum Tax—to bring the tax liability to 30%. For those facing this new Super AMT, all deductions and exemptions would be eliminated except for charity.
- Review & Outlook: The Buffett Ruse – WSJ.com – The Buffett Ruse Obama’s ploy means the highest capital gains tax rate since 1978 #tcot
- Obama’s 30% millionaire tax – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – Obama’s 30% millionaire tax –
- Drudge, conservative media criticize Newt Gingrich – Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen – POLITICO.com – SIREN — The Newt bomb: Conservative media leaders see possible Gingrich win in FL; blast him to avoid “disaster”
- Digital download tax: O’Malley proposes digital downloads be subject to state sales tax – baltimoresun.com – Beyond Amazon taxes: @GovernorOMalley is considering a tax on iTunes and app downloads:
- Untitled (http://www.memeorandum.com/120126/p7#a120126p7) – Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 (Matt Dixon / Florida Times Union)
- Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 | jacksonville.com – Times-Union/Insider Advantage poll: Romney 40, Gingrich 32 (Matt Dixon / Florida Times Union)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-26 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-26
- Dick Armey: Daniels could still run – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @Students4Mitch: Dick Armey: Daniels could still run –
- When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – When Gingrich Tried, and Failed, to Intimidate Tom Coburn
- (404) http://t.co/T – RT @fivethirtyeight: We’ve got Romney back ahead in our FL forecast and gaining quickly. Newt needs a big debate tomorrow. …
- The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com – Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan –
- Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan – CSMonitor.com – Why Jerry Brown is standing firm on shaky California high-speed rail plan
- Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport – Oh My! | Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport – #tcot
- The Page by Mark Halperin | Gen Elex Match-Ups, Sunshine State Edition – President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 47% Vs. Obama 42% and Obama 49% Vs. Gingrich 40% Jan 22-24 Florida Likely Voters
- Warren Buffett’s Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year – Forbes – RICH | Warren Buffett’s Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year
- Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
- Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
- Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
- Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair
- Poll: Romney Regains Momentum in Florida – Steven Shepard – NationalJournal.com – RT @HotlineSteve: New CNN/Time/ORC Fla. poll: Romney 36, Gingrich 34. But Romney regained the momentum most recently:
- Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair – RT @gallupnews: Americans Divided on Whether U.S. Economic System Is Unfair…
- CA-26: California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro Endorses Tony Strickland for Congress
- For Smokers Seeing Arterial Plaque Makes No Difference on Whether They Quit Smoking | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – For Smokers Seeing Arterial Plaque Makes No Difference on Whether They Quit Smoking
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: California Dental Association Supporting Dental Mid-Level Providers? – California Dental Association Supporting Dental Mid-Level Providers?
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 25, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 25, 2012
- Scott Walker leads in Wisconsin recall poll – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is ahead in his likely recall election even as his campaign raises — and spends — millions of dollars in expectation of a tough race later this year.
According to a new Marquette Law School poll the governor leads Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a likely candidate, 50 percent to 44 percent. He leads former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the only declared Democratic candidate, 49 percent to 42 percent margin, former Rep. David Obey 49 percent to 43 percent and state Sen. Tim Cullen 50 percent to 40 percent.
Democrats started targeting Walker last year, when he spearheaded controversial legislation limiting collective bargaining for public employees. Under Wisconsin law, Walker was not eligible for a recall election until January of this year.
- President 2012: Pelosi Folds – No New Dirt on Gingrich | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Pelosi Folds – No New Dirt on Gingrich
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 25, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 25, 2012
- Gingrich says Pelosi is living in a fantasy world – The Hill’s Video – Gingrich says Pelosi is living in a fantasy world
- Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’ | Naked Politics – Rubio scolds Gingrich camp, says ad bashing ‘anti-immigrant’ Romney is ‘inaccurate, inflammatory’
- 33% of GOP Voters Say It Would Be Good If New Candidate Entered Presidential Race – Rasmussen Reports™ – 33% of GOP Voters Say It Would Be Good If New Candidate Entered Presidential Race
- Senior Runners Improve Marathon Performance | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Senior Runners Improve Marathon Performance
- The Morning Flap: January 25, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: January 25, 2012
- Apple’s iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China – In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.
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The Morning Flap: January 25, 2012
These are my links for January 23rd through January 25th:
- Newt Gingrich plays the Charlie Crist card – Once the Republican presidential campaign came to Florida, it was only a matter of time until someone played the Charlie Crist card.
In an attempt to tarnish Mitt Romney’s conservative credentials, Newt Gingrich on Tuesday connected Romney to Florida’s former governor, the once-ambitious moderate who fell so far out of favor with the GOP that in 2010 he left the GOP.
“We discovered last night that Mitt Romney has picked up Charlie Crist’s campaign manager,” Gingrich said Tuesday at the Tick Tock Restaurant in St. Petersburg. “I thought that told you everything you need to know about this primary.”
“As governor of Massachusetts [Romney] was pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-tax increase and pro- gun control,” he said. “Now that makes you a moderate in Massachusetts but it makes you pretty liberal in a Republican primary. That’s probably why he hired Charlie Crist’s staff.” - Gov. Daniels: Obama is ‘pro-poverty’ – Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) castigated President Obama’s policies as “pro-poverty” and extreme in his response to the State of the Union address.
The Indiana governor, who considered a run for the White House before deciding last year against a campaign, knocked Obama for imposing regulations on business and for rejecting the proposed Keystone oil pipeline.
He labeled Obama’s policies as “pro-poverty and extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature.”
Daniels said Obama’s “trickle-down government” policies has restrained the country’s economic growth.Daniels also criticized Obama for trying to divide people with class warfare. “No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others,” he said
- 11 things Obama didn’t tell you about tax fairness last night « The Enterprise Blog – RT @JimPethokoukis: 11 things Obama didn’t tell you about tax fariness ast night
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-25 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-25
- Mitch Daniels blasts Obama for ‘trickle-down government’ – latimes.com – RT @latimes: Mitch Daniels blasts Obama for ‘trickle-down government’ #SOTU #tcot
- Read the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union remarks – latimes.com – RT @latimes: Full text of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Republican Address to the Nation in response to #SOTU address:
- State of the Union 2012: Obama speech full text – The Washington Post – RT @FixAaron: Full text of Obama’s speech here: #tcot #catcot
- Excerpts from Governor Mitch Daniels’ Republican Address to the Nation | Speaker of the House John Boehner | speaker.gov – RT @Students4Mitch: Excerpts from Governor Mitch Daniels’ Republican Address to the Nation |Speaker of the House John..
- CA-Sen: Santa Monica Republican Businessman Al Ramirez to Challenge Senator Dianne Feinstein » Flap’s California Blog – CA-Sen: Santa Monica Republican Businessman Al Ramirez to Challenge Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: No California Deaths Due to Whooping Cough or Pertussis in 2011 – No California Deaths Due to Whooping Cough or Pertussis in 2011
- Do People Become More Conservative as They Age? : Discovery News – Do People Become More Conservative as They Age? Answer is No… #tcot
- Poll Watch: Americans Want Specific Proposals Not Vision from President Obama State of the Union Speech | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Poll Watch: Americans Want Specific Proposals Not Vision from President Obama State of the Union Speech
- Under Obama, Price of Gas Has Jumped 83 Percent, Ground Beef 24 Percent, Bacon 22 Percent | CNSnews.com – Obamanomics, Price of Gas Has Jumped 83 Percent, Ground Beef 24 Percent, Bacon 22 Percent
- California still has second-highest unemployment in U.S. – latimes.com – No surprise here RT @latimes: California still has second-highest unemployment in U.S.
- Stephens: The GOP Deserves to Lose – WSJ.com – The GOP Deserves to Lose – That’s what happens when you run with losers #tcot
- (500) http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-23/buffett-s-burlington-northern-among-winners-in-obama-rejection-of-pipeline.html – Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Among Winners From Keystone Denial #tcot
- Challenge Your Brain to Ward Off Alzheimer’s Disease? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Challenge Your Brain to Ward Off Alzheimer’s Disease?
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/24/president-2012-video-president-obama-a-warrior-for-the-middle-class/ – President 2012 Video: President Obama a Warrior for the Middle Class?
- AD-38: Scott Wilk Releases California State Senator Tony Strickland from Endorsement » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: Scott Wilk Releases California State Senator Tony Strickland from Endorsement
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: January 24, 2012 – The Morning Drill: January 24, 2012
- Day By Day January 24, 2012 – No Time Left For You | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 24, 2012 – No Time Left For You
- Riehl World View: Romney Adviser To Jen Rubin: Mitt’s Not A Man Of The People – That is a FACT | RT @DanRiehl: Romney Adviser To Jen Rubin: Mitt’s Not A Man Of The People
- Debate Winner: Mitch Daniels | The Weekly Standard – PERHAPS | RT @memeorandum Debate Winner: Mitch Daniels
- Untitled (http://www.memeorandum.com/120124/p18#a120124p18) – PERHAPS | RT @memeorandum Debate Winner: Mitch Daniels
- RNC ad takes on president over State of the Union – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RNC ad takes on president over State of the Union –
- Poll: Romney’s Unfavorability Skyrockets – Steven Shepard – NationalJournal.com – Understandable | RT @nationaljournal Poll: Romney’s unfavorability skyrockets
- Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat? – Elaine Schattner – Health – The Atlantic – Partly to blame – smoking too RT @TheAtlanticHLTH Is oral sex to blame for the surge in cancer of the mouth and throat?
- Introduction | Mitt Romney for President – If you want to look through details of Mitt Romney’s 2010 and 2011 taxes links at bottom
- Untitled (http://www.memeorandum.com/120124/p14#a120124p14) – Here it comes | RT @memeorandum Draft Jeb Bush
- Draft Jeb Bush – Artur Davis – National Review Online – Here it comes | RT @memeorandum Draft Jeb Bush
- One Thousand Days Without a Budget | The Weekly Standard – One Thousand Days Without a Budget: It has been 1,000 days since the Senate has produced a budget, and congressi…
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-24 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-24
- 9PM – Watch the NBC Republican Debate | The Right Scoop – @murphymike Go here Mike:
- Update: CA-26 Video: Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks Issues Two Challenges | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Update: CA-26 Video: Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks Issues Two Challenges
- President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Gingrich 38% Vs. Romney 33% Vs. Santorum 13% Vs. Paul 10% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Gingrich 38% Vs. Romney 33% Vs. Santorum 13% Vs. Paul 10%
- Newt up 5 in Florida – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Florida: Gingrich 38, Romney 33, Santorum 13, Paul 10:
- Gingrich releases Freddie Mac contract – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – RT @PoliticalTicker: Gingrich releases Freddie Mac contract –
- Citizen Kane | KFI NEWS – KFI AM 640 More Stimulating Talk Radio – RT @KFINEWS: Citizen Kane to be shown at Hearst Castle.
- Mark Levin blasts Christie for parroting old left-wing ethics propaganda against Newt | The Right Scoop – RT @trscoop: Mark Levin blasts Christie for parroting old left-wing ethics propaganda against Newt:
- Adelson to double contribution to help Newt’s presidential bid – Politics: Ralston’s Flash – Las Vegas Sun – RT @RalstonFlash: Adelson to double contribution to help Newt’s presidential bid
- GOP food fight: Sarah Palin slams Chris Christie for getting his “panties in a wad” over Gingrich | Politics Blog | an SFGate.com blog – RT @cmarinucci: .@SarahPalinUSA goes ballistic on Chris Christie for getting his “panties in a wad” on @newtgingrich
- California Election 2012: California Democratic Party Pre-Endorsement Conferences » Flap’s California Blog – California Election 2012: California Democratic Party Pre-Endorsement Conferences
- Posts – Liz Mair – A Fresh Voice – RT @JimPethokoukis: RT @LizMair: Some important things about Florida worth paying attention to:
- CA-26 Video: Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks Issues Two Challenges | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26 Video: Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks Issues Two Challenges
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Aspen Dental to Sponsor Ryan Newman’s Chevrolet for NASCAR – Aspen Dental to Sponsor Ryan Newman’s Chevrolet for NASCAR
- Romney’s National Lead Collapses – Romney’s National Lead Collapses –
- Newt Gingrich’s rise — in one chart – The Washington Post – Newt Gingrich’s rise — in one chart
- President 2012 GOP Florida Intrade Watch: Gingrich 61.4% Vs. Romney 38.1% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Florida Intrade Watch: Gingrich 61.4% Vs. Romney 38.1%
- Exercise To Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Exercise To Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?
- U.S. Economy Most Toxic of 24 Issues – Americans’ satisfaction with the nation’s economy has dropped by 23 points since January 2008 to 13% today
- Newt Gingrich plays the Charlie Crist card – Once the Republican presidential campaign came to Florida, it was only a matter of time until someone played the Charlie Crist card.
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The Morning Flap: January 12, 2012
These are my links for January 11th through January 12th:
- Mormons in America – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life – With a Mormon candidate among the front-runners for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, a musical about Mormons playing on Broadway and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) running television ads about ordinary Mormons, America is in the midst of what some media accounts have dubbed a “Mormon moment.” But how do Mormons themselves feel about the media spotlight, the election campaign and their place in America? A major new survey finds a mixed picture: Many Mormons feel they are misunderstood, discriminated against and not accepted by other Americans as part of mainstream society. Yet, at the same time, a majority of Mormons think that acceptance of Mormonism is rising. Overwhelmingly, they are satisfied with their lives and content with their communities. And most say they think the country is ready to elect a Mormon president.
- President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Romney With Commanding Lead – Mitt Romney is now running away with the race in the latest Rasmussen Reports’ survey of the end-of-the-month Florida Republican Primary.
Coming off his decisive win in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Primary, Romney earns 41% support with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich a distant second at 19%. A new telephone survey of Likely Florida Republican Primary Voters finds former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum running third with 15% of the vote.
- Laura Bush wanted Jeb to run for president in 2012 – Former first lady Laura Bush wishes there were one more candidate in the Republican presidential primary: Jeb Bush.
Speaking to a sold-out Sarasota audience on Wednesday, Bush said she had hoped that her brother-in-law and former Florida governor would have jumped into the race this year.
Husband George W. Bush “and I wish he would,” Laura Bush said when asked if Jeb Bush will run for president someday. “We wanted him to this time.”
Laura Bush singled out his work on education as a key reason he would make a good president. She said his commitment to public policy is evident.
Jeb Bush has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2012, though he has not ruled out a future campaign.
- 3 billionaires who’ll drag out the race – Meet the three billionaires who could drag out the GOP presidential primary, bloody up front-runner Mitt Romney and weaken the odds of defeating President Barack Obama: Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and Jon Huntsman, Sr.
The three men are contributing millions of dollars to a trio of outside groups flooding the airwaves in early voting states with brutal ads attacking Romney and ads backing the candidates they would prefer to win the Republican nomination.
- Homeland Security watches Twitter, social media – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.
A “privacy compliance review” issued by DHS last November says that since at least June 2010, its national operations center has been operating a “Social Networking/Media Capability” which involves regular monitoring of “publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards.”
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-12 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-12
- Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com – Buffett Challenges McConnell, Republicans on Tax Policy | Swampland |
- Gingrich Spokesman Stands Firm on Romney Criticism – By Brian Bolduc – The Corner – National Review Online – Gingrich Spokesman Stands Firm on Romney Criticism
- Mitt Romney’s top strategist first used “vulture” imagery in California: On Romney supporter Meg Whitman (VIDEO) | Politics Blog | an SFGate.com blog – Mitt Romney’s top strategist first used “vulture” imagery in California: On Romney supporter Meg Whitman (VIDEO)
- Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties – latimes.com – Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties
- Afternoon Fix: ‘King of Bain’ ads airing tomorrow – The Washington Post – RT @FixRachel: The ‘King of Bain’ ads to start airing tomorrow
- Buffett Challenges McConnell, Republicans on Tax Policy | Swampland | TIME.com – Warren Buffett Ready to Take Republicans’ Tax Challenge – Slams Romney and Bain #FB
- Warren Buffett Slams Mitt and Newt – In exclusive interview with TIME, Berkshire Hathaway boss blasts the two ’12ers, Romney for his time at Bain and Gingrich for his dealings with OWS/Freddie Mac.
On Mitt: “I don’t like what private equity firms do in terms of taking out every dime they can and leveraging [companies] up so that they really aren’t equipped, in some cases, for the future.”
- Crime renews lawmaker’s concerns about shifting felons to counties – A Republican lawmaker who opposes shifting supervision of many felons from the state to counties voiced concern Wednesday over the arrest of a Sacramento man this week on sexual assault charges a month after he was released from state prison.
Aaron Suggs had been designated a non-serious, nonviolent felon when he was released from state prison Dec. 8 after serving a sentence for drug possession. That designation resulted in his supervision, upon release, being assigned to the Sacramento County Probation Department rather than state parole agents under a program adopted by the state last year to cut its costs.
State prisons spokesman Luis Patino said last year’s change in state law shifting responsibilities for some felons to counties did not affect how long Suggs spent in prison. County officials also denied that the shifting of post-prison supervision had an effect on Suggs’ ability to commit the crime, although Suggs spent five days in county jail for not immediately reporting to his county probation officer after his release from prison.
Suggs was arrested Monday after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a house near the Capitol and stole some of her possessions.
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – When Mitt Romney Comes to Town….. – When Mitt Romney Comes to Town…..Mitt Romney | Gary Varvel | The Indianapolis Star |
- As Romney rises, Tea Party sees Senate as bulwark
| Reuters – As Romney rises, Tea Party sees Senate as “bulwark” #teaparty #tcot - When Mitt Romney Came to Town – The full video of When Mitt Romney Came to Town is Up:
- Untitled (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2012/01/rnc-announces-more-hispanic-outreach.html) – Congrats @BettinaInclan | The RNC has named Bettina Inclán as the Director of Hispanic Outreach
- DeMint tells Newt to drop negative hits on Mitt – POLITICO.com – Sell out DeMint RT @politico: Out of South Carolina: Jim DeMint tells Gingrich to drop negative hits on Mitt:
- Rush torches Perry: This is the way Fidel Castro thinks! | The Right Scoop – Yes | RT @DanRiehl: Limbaugh’s wrong. RT @trscoop: Rush torches Perry: ths is the way Fidel Castro thinks!
- Limbaugh, Defending Romney, Has Bain Tie – RT @DanRiehl: Limbaugh, Defending Romney, Has Bain Tie #tcot
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Good grief…..Axelrod defending Jeremiah Wright – they… – Good grief…..Axelrod defending Jeremiah Wright – they know that Mitt will use it, unlike McCain,,,
- (404) http://t.co/C1 – RT @joegarofoli: Don’t mention Bain! If you do, Sean Hannity sez to @RickPerry: You sound like Occupy Wall Street (VIDEO) …
- Three way tie with NC Republicans – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Head to heads- Santorum leads Mitt by 18 in NC, Newt leads by 1. Perry trails by 17, Paul by 46:
- Romney likens work at Bain Capital to Obama’s auto industry bailout – The Hill’s Video – Romney likens work at Bain Capital to Obama’s auto industry bailout
- Gingrich’s anti-Bain ad buy is tiny – Right Turn – The Washington Post – Oh Yeah – let Mitt Romney debate his days at Bain Capital with Newt and Perry – relish it.
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Yes, just like 2008 and likely the same results = an Obama… – Yes, just like 2008 and likely the same results = an Obama victory.Haven’t We Lived Through This Pri
- President 2012: Newt Gingrich anti-Romney Ad Asks “Who Let the Dogs Out?” | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Newt Gingrich anti-Romney Ad Asks “Who Let the Dogs Out?”
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/11/the-morning-flap-january-11-2012/ – The Morning Flap: January 11, 2012
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The Morning Flap: January 11, 2012
These are my links for January 5th through January 11th:
- Rush Loves Mitt; Hates Newt – Master-talk-master continues finger on the scale for frontrunner on Wednesday’s show.
Praises the Bay Stater: “Romney gave what may be his best speech ever last night.”
And/but: El Rushbo bashes Romney — GM/Obama comparison from CBS “This Morning” Wednesday interview.
Pans Gingrich: “Newt is so ticked off over the negative ad campaign…that right now, he is solely focused on taking Romney out, making sure Romney doesn’t win this thing.”
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Iran: What me worry?
From Michael Ramirez…… – Iran: What me worry?
From Michael Ramirez……Michael Ramirez Cartoon
- Savings from ‘3 strikes’ reform may be smaller than claimed | California Watch – Savings from California ‘3 strikes’ reform may be smaller than claimed
- Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 11, 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Morning Collection: January 11, 2012
- Will Mindful Eating Help Curb Obesity? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Will Mindful Eating Help Curb Obesity?
- Journalists’ campaign trail secrets revealed – The Washington Post – Journalists’ campaign-trail secrets revealed
- The Bain Capital Bonfire – About the best that can be said about the Republican attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital is that President Obama is going to do the same thing eventually, so GOP primary voters might as well know what’s coming. Yet that hardly absolves Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and others for their crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism.
Bain’s business model is little more than “rich people figuring out clever legal ways to loot a company,” says Mr. Gingrich, whose previous insights into free enterprise include years of defending the taxpayer-fed business of corn ethanol.
A super PAC supporting the former House Speaker plans to spend $3.4 million in TV ads in South Carolina portraying Mr. Romney as Gordon Gekko without the social conscience. The financing for these ads will come from a billionaire who made his money in the casino business, which Mr. Gingrich apparently considers morally superior to investing in companies in the hope of making a profit.
Mr. Perry, who has no problem using taxpayer financing to back his political allies in Texas, chimes in that “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out. Because his company Bain Capital, with all the jobs that they killed, I’m sure he was worried he’d run out of pink slips.”
- President 2012: Conservatives Scrambling to Block Romney | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Conservatives Scrambling to Block Romney
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/11/day-by-day-janaury-11-2012-reality-show/ – Day By Day Janaury 11, 2012 – Reality Show
- Riehl World View: Romney Has Lied, Maligned And Danced Away For Years, It’s Time He Paid For It – GOP will pay | RT @DanRiehl Romney Has Lied, Maligned And Danced Away For Years, It’s Time He Paid For It
- (404) http://t.co/DqN – RT @jpodhoretz: Romney may win the easiest nomination victory ever–even though he’s as weak a candidate as we’ve seen: …
- In Florida, Obama Trails Mitt By 3, Leads Rick By 2 – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online – Closer than you would expect RT @jimgeraghty In Florida, Obama Trails Mitt By 3, Leads Rick By 2 #tcot
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-11 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-11
- Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
- Log In – The New York Times – Log In – The New York Times
- Log In – The New York Times – As Romney Advances, Private Equity Becomes Part of the Debate
- As Romney Advances, Private Equity Becomes Part of the Debate – A working paper released in September shows that private equity-owned companies shed slightly more jobs than similar companies, though the difference was quite small. In total, they shed about 1 percent more jobs.
The study — by Steven J. Davis of the University of Chicago; John C. Haltiwanger of the University of Maryland; Josh Lerner of Harvard, and Ron S. Jarmin and Javier Miranda of the Census Bureau — looked at about 3,200 buyouts conducted between 1980 and 2005.
It found that companies bought by private equity firms let go a larger proportion of workers than similar firms, shrinking their work forces about 6 percent more over a five-year window. But companies bought by private equity firms also tend to open more new branches, offices and factories and hire more new staff members, partly offsetting the job losses.
Some economists also argue that private equity takeovers make good economic sense in the long term, even if they result in more layoffs in the short term, by making companies more efficient.
- Gingrich’s Own Close Tie to Buyout Industry – Newt Gingrich has ramped up his attacks on Mitt Romney as a heartless leveraged buyout executive for his years at Bain Capital, asking reporters in Manchester on Monday, “Is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of other people and walk off with the money? Or is that, somehow, a little bit of a flawed system?”
But Mr. Gingrich was himself on an advisory board for a major investment firm that had a similar business model, Forstmann Little, a pioneering private equity firm co-founded in 1978 by Theodore J. Forstmann that was, along with Mr. Romney’s Bain Capital and Henry R. Kravis’s Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, among the leading private equity firms during the 1980s and 1990s.
Forstmann Little earned billions of dollars in profits from its investments in companies including General Instrument and Gulfstream Aerospace. But the firm shut down most of its operations a decade ago after suffering losses from ill-timed bets on high-flying telecommunications companies at the height of that industry’s bubble.
Mr. Gingrich’s involvement with the firm could complicate his attacks on Mr. Romney.
Still, to be fair, Mr. Forstman bristled at some of the more aggressive tactics of his rivals, and once described them as “barbarians at the gate.” That phrase was used as the title of a bestselling book that detailed Mr. Forstmann’s buyout battle with Mr. Kravis for RJR Nabisco, a contest K.K.R. eventually won.
- President 2012: Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire But…. | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Mitt Romney Wins New Hampshire But….
- Film Attacking Romney Leaked Early – Film Attacking Romney Leaked Early – 0n to South Carolina #tcot
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/?s=Romney+and+Kennedy&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – Romney And Kennedy | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog:
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- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/10/president-2012-when-mitt-romney-came-to-town-or-will-come-crashing-down/ – President 2012: When Mitt Romney Came to Town or Will Come Crashing Down?
- The Wait Is Over: All Time Warner Cable Customers With HBO Can Now Use HBO GO/MAX GO « Time Warner Cable Untangled – RT @jeffTWC: The Wait Is Over: All Time Warner Cable Customers Can Now Use HBO GO/MAX GO – (Please RT)
- CA-26: Rep Elton Gallegly to Retire – Tony Strickland, Steve Bennett and Linda Parks to Run | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – CA-26: Rep Elton Gallegly to Retire – Tony Strickland, Steve Bennett and Linda Parks to Run
- Day By Day January 10, 2012 – Horse | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 10, 2012 – Horse
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-10
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-09 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-09
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-08 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-08
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Harrah’s Laughlin – Eating dinner and then football or poker. What debate? (@ Harrah’s Laughlin w/ 2 others)
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Arizona State line – On the way to Nevada! (@ Arizona State line)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-07 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-07
- MapMyRUN – Map New Run – MapMyRUN – Map New Run:
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- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Santa fe, NM – Leaving Santa Fe in the morning. Laughlin and poker here I come. (@ Santa fe, NM)
- Unemployment Rate Drop Is for Real – now 8.5% – The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.5% in December, while a broader measure dropped even further to 15.2% from 15.6% the prior month, both at their lowest levels since February 2009.
While the unemployment rate has been falling in part due to people leaving the labor force, a large portion of this month’s number appears to come from people finding jobs.
The unemployment rate is calculated based on people who are without jobs, who are available to work and who have actively sought work in the prior four weeks. The “actively looking for work” definition is fairly broad, including people who contacted an employer, employment agency, job center or friends; sent out resumes or filled out applications; or answered or placed ads, among other things. The rate is calculated by dividing that number by the total number of people in the labor force.
In December, the household survey showed the number of people employed rose by 176,000, as the population increased by 143,000 over the month. So even though the labor force — the number of people working or looking for work — fell by 50,000, job growth is outpacing the increase in the population.
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-06 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-06
- Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost- Bloomberg – Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost
- Brown Seeks 7% California Spending Boost – Governor Jerry Brown proposed $92.6 billion in spending for the year starting in July, an increase of about 7 percent, which will count on voters approving $7 billion of higher taxes in November.
The spending plan foresees a deficit of $9.2 billion through the next 18 months. Almost half of that is in the current fiscal year, he said. He called for $4.2 billion in cuts, mostly to welfare and programs for the poor. If the tax increase isn’t passed, Brown’s plan would cut another $4.8 billion in support for public schools and community colleges.
California is Standard & Poor’s lowest-rated state, at A-, six levels below AAA. Moody’s Investment Service grades it A1, four steps below the top rating, tied with Illinois (STOIL1) for the worst credit rating among states.
- Small Business: Doctors going broke – Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.
This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.
Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.
“A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues,” said Marc Lion, CEO of Lion & Company CPAs, LLC, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances.
Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.
- Employers close door on smokers – More job-seekers are facing an added requirement: no smoking — at work or anytime.
As bans on smoking sweep the USA, an increasing number of employers — primarily hospitals — are also imposing bans on smokers. They won’t hire applicants whose urine tests positive for nicotine use, whether cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or even patches.
Such tobacco-free hiring policies, designed to promote health and reduce insurance premiums, took effect this month at the Baylor Health Care System in Texas and will apply at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio, when it opens this year.
- New Pentagon strategy stresses Asia, cyber, drones – President Barack Obama unveiled a defense strategy on Thursday that would expand the U.S. military presence in Asia but shrink the overall size of the force as the Pentagon seeks to reduce spending by nearly half a trillion dollars after a decade of war.
The strategy, if carried out, would significantly reshape the world’s largest military from the one that executed President George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cyberwarfare and unmanned drones would continue to grow in priority, as would countering attempts by China and Iran to block U.S. power projection capabilities in areas like the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
But the size of the U.S. Army and Marines Corps would shrink. So too might the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the U.S. military footprint in Europe.
- Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles – The mighty American military machine that has for so long secured the country’s status as the world’s only superpower will have to be drastically reduced, Barack Obama warned yesterday as he set out a radical but more modest new set of priorities for the Pentagon over the next decade.
After the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that defined the first decade of the 21st century, Mr Obama’s blueprint for the military’s future acknowledged that America will no longer have the resources to conduct two such major operations simultaneously.
Instead, the US military will lose up to half a million troops and will focus on countering terrorism and meeting the new challenges of an emergent Asia dominated by China. America, the President said, was “turning the page on a decade of war” and now faced “a moment of transition”. The country’s armed forces would in future be leaner but, Mr Obama pointedly warned both friends and foes, sufficient to preserve US military superiority over any rival – “agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats”.
- Mitt Romney’s the nominee: The Republican primary race is over. – Is there anyone not annoyed by Mitt Romney’s narrow win in the Iowa caucus? Conservatives are disappointed because they recognize that the former Massachusetts governor, who used to be pro-choice and was for Obamacare before it was called that, is only pretending to be one of them. Seventy-five percent of Iowa’s Republican voters wanted someone further to the right. But because their votes were divided among too many weak and weird candidates, the only moderate running in their state came out on top.
Liberals are bummed because Romney is the strongest potential challenger to President Obama. This shows up clearly in head-to-head polls, which put Romney tied with or slightly ahead of Obama, while other Republican contenders trail by 10 points or more. It was hard for Obama campaign officials to suppress their glee last month when Newt Gingrich, the only even remotely plausible alternative to Romney, briefly ran at the head of the pack. But even they knew this was a momentary aberration. Short of Republicans committing collective suicide by picking someone else, Democrats would like to see Romney win the nomination after a protracted, costly struggle that would deplete his financial resources, sully his image, and drag him further to the right. Today, that scenario looks less likely.
- Richard Cordray & the Use and Abuse of Executive Power – Some think me a zealous advocate of executive power, and often I am when it comes to national security issues. But I think President Obama has exceeded his powers by making a recess appointment for Richard Cordray (whom I respect and have no problems with as a nominee) to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Any private party can challenge this nomination by refusing to obey any regulation issued by the agency as the act of an unconstitutional officer. As a result, this may be the first time that Richard Epstein and I get to represent someone in court together!
- Day By Day January 4, 2012 – Bupkis | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 4, 2012 – Bupkis
- Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval
- Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval
- Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval – RT @gallupnews: Obama Begins 2012 at 46% Job Approval… #Obama #Gallup
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Alburquerque, NM – On to Santa Fe (@ Alburquerque, NM)
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2012/01/05/flap-twitter-updates-for-2012-01-05/ – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-05
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Grants – Albuquerque here we come (@ Grants)
- Rush Loves Mitt; Hates Newt – Master-talk-master continues finger on the scale for frontrunner on Wednesday’s show.
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The Evening Flap: January 2, 2012
These are my links for December 29th through January 2nd:
- How Gingrich Blew His Second Chance – Jonathan Martin looks at how Newt Gingrich “learned all the wrong lessons from his campaign’s collapse this summer and none of the right ones from his remarkable comeback.”
“Instead of seizing the moment and making an aggressive case for why the contest was now a two-man race between a movement conservative and flip-flopping moderate — a unique opportunity afforded by the endorsement’s implicit-but-unmistakable critique of Mitt Romney in his firewall state — Gingrich fell back to his familiar habits, a routine marked by too much self-assurance and not enough discipline.”
“Between that and some other key factors — among them, Romney’s super PAC blitzkrieg and his own weak fundraising — a campaign that seemed on the cusp of stealing the nomination barely a month ago now faces an ignominious fourth place finish or worse.”
- Ron Paul’s Secret Plan To Actually Win – Ron Paul — poised to finish strong in the Iowa caucuses – has begun to implement a quiet, complex plan to force a long battle with Mitt Romney for delegates to the Republican National Convention in August. His advantages: Experience, organization, and the legacy of the 2010 Tea Party revival, which convinced Republicans that anti-government figures like Paul just aren’t as weird as they’d thought.
Paul is following the roadmap set by Barack Obama’s 2008 strategy: Start early, learn the rules, and use superior organization and devoted young supporters to dominate the arcane but crucial party procedures in states your rivals are ignoring — states where caucuses and conventions that elect the delegates who will ultimately choose the Republican candidate. The plan begins in places like Minnetonka, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb where Paul has based his state headquarters, and where staffers have already begun running “mock-auses” — practice runs for Minnesota’s February 7 caucuses.
Paul’s rivals dismiss his chances. “Ron Paul’s not going to be our nominee,” Mitt Romney said flatly in December. But Paul’s organization is girding for the long haul, and while the 76-year old Texan is vanishingly unlikely to be the nominee — primaries in big states like New York and California could shut him out — observers in the caucus states say they expect Paul to win, and perhaps sweep, dozens of delegates from unexpected corners of the map. Those delegates, in turn, will give him at least a prominent position at the Republican National Convention, and a plausible shot at emerging as a kingmaker if a strong mainstream challenger to Romney emerges.
- @SteveKingIA: I just announced on Simon Conway’s program on WHO Radio that I will not endorse a candidate in the Iowa Caucus. – I just announced on Simon Conway’s program on WHO Radio that I will not endorse a candidate in the Iowa Caucus.
- Sarah Palin Praises Santorum and Trump, Open to VP, Demurs on Late Entry – In Monday afternoon Fox News interview, ex-Alaska Guv praises Santorum again and adds “Donald Trump has a lot to offer.”
Palin: “I did praise Rick Santorum and I’ll praise him again…It’s no surprise that he has the support that he has.”
Adds, “the field is what it is at this point,” and/but will not shut the door on a second VP bid.
- Occupy protest follows 123rd annual Rose Parade – The 2012 Tournament of Roses brought its flowery floats and strutting bands to a worldwide audience Monday under clear blue skies, and in its wake came a scruffier parade – thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters.
The 123rd annual New Year’s Day event, with the theme “Just Imagine,” flowed along downtown Pasadena to the cheers of hundreds of thousands of sidewalk spectators.
An estimated 40 million people viewed this year’s procession of 44 floats, 16 marching bands and 22 equestrian troupes on U.S. television.
There were 10 arrests overnight, including four felonies, as thousands of spectators staked out viewing places along the route but that figure was down from the previous year, police said.
“Everything went very, very well. We’re very pleased,” police Lt. Phlunte Riddle said.
- Sinaloa Cartel Shifting Meth Production to Guatemala – The Sinaloa Cartel, already thought to be the largest supplier of methamphetamine to the US, may be shifting production southwards to Guatemala. This forms part of a larger trend, in which Mexican groups appear to be shifting many of their operations into Central America.
The Associated Press reports that the seizure of precursor chemicals to produce methamphetamine is spiking dramatically in Guatemala. In 2011, authorities seized about 1,600 tons of precursor chemicals, four times the amount seized in 2010. Much of the trade is thought to be controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel.
InSight Analysis
Such reports point to a key trend previously identified by InSight Crime: the shifting of drug production into Central American nations that are not prepared to confront the Mexican cartels. There have already been some signs that drug trafficking organizes have moved their cocaine-processing infrastructure into the region, with laboratories discovered in Honduras and Guatemala. Nicaragua saw its first ever meth lab dismantled in 2009. If Mexico’s meth production is moving southwards into the Northern Triangle, it is one more indication that the region is increasingly seen as a safer environment for the drug trade.
The shift into Guatemala could also be a sign sign that law enforcement efforts in Mexico are working. Both US and Mexican authorities seized a record amount of meth along the US-Mexico border last year. Another deterrent was Mexico’s decision to ban imports of pseudophedrine and ephedine, key ingredients in meth production, in 2008.
The AP report also supports the hypothesis that the Sinaloa Cartel is expanding its hold on the methamphetamine trade. This includes taking over the network once controlled by the Familia Michoacana. The Sinaloans are now thought to be the largest distributors of meth inside the US.
- Day By Day January 2, 2011 – Empire | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 2, 2011 – Empire
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-02 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-02
- Stock Investment Research & Education – Business & Financial News – IBD – Investors.com – Obama asleep at 3 AM – Indeed……Michael Ramirez Political Cartoons 12/29/2011 –
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Obama asleep at 3 AM – Indeed…… – Obama asleep at 3 AM – Indeed……Michael Ramirez Political Cartoons 12/29/2011 –
- Occupy Rose Parade Activist Leader Peter Thottam is a Convicted Thief, 9-11 Truther and Former California Democratic Party Candidate » Flap’s California Blog – Occupy Rose Parade Activist Leader Peter Thottam is a Convicted Thief, 9-11 Truther and Former California Democr…
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Ron Paul is at 20%,… – President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Ron Paul is at 20%, Mitt Romney at 19%, and Rick Santorum at 18%
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – Occupy Rose Parade led by a convicted thief – Oh My! – Occupy Rose Parade led by a convicted thief – Oh My! Occupy Rose Parade Activist Leader Peter Thottam
- Happy New Year – 2012 » Flap’s California Blog – Happy New Year – 2012
- Day By Day January 1, 2012 – Major League | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day January 1, 2012 – Major League
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Happy New Year – 2012 – Happy New Year – 2012
- Happy New Year – 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Happy New Year – 2012
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-01 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-01-01
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – Lunch with Tara and Maria Elena after 17 miles of LA Marathon training (@ Ronnie’s Diner w/ 3 others)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-31 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-31
- Nintendo, Sony back off of SOPA support | Electronista – About damn time | Nintendo, Sony back off of SOPA support
- Occupy’s Rose Parade float: 70-foot octopus of corporate greed – latimes.com – Who the frak cares? | Occupy’s Rose Parade float: 70-foot octopus of corporate greed
- Iowa kingmaker rips Ron Paul, hints at late endorsement in attempt to stop him – The Hill’s Ballot Box – Iowa kingmaker Rep. Steve King rips Ron Paul, hints at late endorsement in attempt to stop him #tcot
- Gingrich sees Sarah Palin as vice president, Cabinet secretary – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – Newt needs Sarah’s endorsement like tomorrow | Gingrich sees Sarah Palin as vice president, Cabinet secretary
- Why I Am Endorsing Newt Gingrich for President | Steve Deace – RT @fivethirtyeight: Newtmentum is back! / RT @allahpundit: Steve Deace: Why I Am Endorsing Newt Gingrich for President
- Paul Says He Would Have Trouble Backing GOP Rivals | Fox News – Ron Paul Says He Would Have Trouble Backing GOP Rivals
- California Cities and Redevelopment Agencies To Hope for 2012 Compromise After Supreme Court Decision » Flap’s California Blog – California Cities and Redevelopment Agencies To Hope for 2012 Compromise After Supreme Court Decision
- Occupy lone wolf stirs parade concerns – SGVTribune.com – Occupy Rose Parade: Occupy lone wolf stirs parade concerns #catcot
- Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/29/4151646/why-most-californians-need-to.html) – 25 percent of California adults were obese last year, up from 15 percent in 1995 Another 37 percent are overweight
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: California Dentist Arrested for Providing Drugs and Alcohol to Minors – California Dentist Arrested for Providing Drugs and Alcohol to Minors
- At CES, Expect More Gadgets Telling You to Get Off the Couch – Lauren Goode – News – AllThingsD – At CES, Expect More Gadgets Telling You to Get Off the Couch| So, get off!
- (404) http://t.co/1uQoLWq5%E2%80%9D – Why, of course they did &who was fired at Verizon?“@verge: Verizon drops $2 ‘convenience fee’ due to customer feedback
- Michele Bachmann’s hard fall – Maggie Haberman – POLITICO.com – Michele Bachmann’s hard fall – #tcot
- The PJ Tatler » America Deserves Answers on the Obama Administration’s Decision to Outsource the Next Generation of Light Attack Aircraft – America Deserves Answers on the Obama Decision to Outsource the Next Generation of Light Attack Aircraft
- Ron Paul Watch: AIDS Patients and Sexual Harassment – Oh My! | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Ron Paul Watch: AIDS Patients and Sexual Harassment – Oh My!
- Day By Day December 30, 2011 – Vercotti Virginia | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 30, 2011 – Vercotti Virginia
- Americans Who Have Health Insurance Have Better Health Habits | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Americans Who Have Health Insurance Have Better Health Habits
- Christie: “After Three Years Of Obama, We Are Hopeless And Changeless” | RealClearPolitics – Chris Christie: “After Three Years Of Obama, We Are Hopeless And Changeless” #tcot
- Latest Florida poll: Mitt Romney 27%, Newt Gingrich 26%; no one else in double digits | Saint Petersblog – Latest Florida poll: Mitt Romney 27%, Newt Gingrich 26%; no one else in double digits | Saint Petersblog – #tcot
- First Read – NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th – First Read – NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th –
- TRENDING: In early book, Rep. Ron Paul criticized AIDS patients, minority rights and sexual harassment victims – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs – OMG. Maybe Ron Paul didn’t write his own book either! via @cnn
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-30 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-30
- Ron Paul does interview with Iranian state TV, bashes Israel, defends Hamas
– YouTube – RT @DanRiehl: Ron Paul does interview with Iranian state TV, bashes Israel, defends Hamas - Ron Paul Watch: Don Black, David Duke, Stormfront.org 2012 Edition | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Ron Paul Watch: Don Black, David Duke, 2012 Edition
- Stormfront – White Nationalist Community – Ron Paul Watch: Don Black, David Duke, 2012 Edition
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Now Leading Gingrich in National Poll | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney Now Leading Gingrich in National Poll
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Teeth and Gums: The Gateway to Your Body and Health – Teeth and Gums: The Gateway to Your Body and Health
- Obesity in Older Adults Linked to Risk of Falls? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Obesity in Older Adults Linked to Risk of Falls?
- Gregory Flap Cole – Google+ – The web fight against SOPA has just barely started…. – The web fight against SOPA has just barely started…. #tcot #catcot
- No “Occupy Rose Parade” Say Tournament of Roses Parade Organizers » Flap’s California Blog – No “Occupy Rose Parade” Say Tournament of Roses Parade Organizers
- How Gingrich Blew His Second Chance – Jonathan Martin looks at how Newt Gingrich “learned all the wrong lessons from his campaign’s collapse this summer and none of the right ones from his remarkable comeback.”
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The Afternoon Flap: December 22, 2011
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas speaks during a campaign stop in Fort Madison, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011
These are my links for December 21st through December 22nd:
- Grappling With Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletters – Did you know about the racist newsletters published in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Ron Paul’s name? As the Texas Congressman surges in the GOP primary, the story of the newsletters is garnering headlines, as it did during his 1996 House campaign and his 2008 presidential run. He’s always insisted that he didn’t write the egregiously offensive material, and long ago repudiated it (though not as soon as he should have). Is this an old story voters will look beyond, like Newt Gingrich’s affairs? Or a new story for the vast majority of voters and the plurality of journalists who are less familiar with Paul than the other GOP frontrunners? Is it coming up now “for political reasons”? Or because it’s a legitimate subject of inquiry despite having been aired before in the media?
It seems to me that the story’s reemergence was inevitable and necessary to fully inform primary voters about their choices. This level of scrutiny is rightly what comes with contending for the presidency.
- Mayor Calls For Budget Cuts To Offset Millions In Occupy LA Costs – The City of Los Angeles reportedly faces millions of dollars in expenses brought about by the Occupy LA movement.
City agencies have been ordered to calculate what was spent on the Occupy LA protests.
Repairs to City Hall’s lawn where the Occupy group set up camp on Oct. 1 will require an estimated $400,000. The police action to clear out the encampment on Nov. 30 cost more than $700,000.
Additional expenses are attributed to hauling away debris from the camp, and cleaning up graffiti that defaced City Hall marble walls and trees.
- Romney refines comments about deporting Obama’s uncle – Mitt Romney was more nuanced Thursday when questioned about radio show comments he made regarding deporting President Barack Obama’s uncle.
According to The Hill, the former Massachusetts governor was asked by radio host Howie Carr if Onyango Obama, who is allegedly in violation of his immigration status and was arrested for drunk driving this summer, should be deported.
In the Wednesday interview, Romney said the law must be followed.
“Well, if the laws of the United States say he should be deported, and I presume they do, then of course we should follow those laws,” he said.
Asked to clarify those comments in a press conference Thursday, Romney said his stance was not affected by the man’s relationship to the president.
- Bush I: Read my lips, Romney’s the best choice – Former President George H.W. Bush, while stopping short of a formal endorsement, declared that Mitt Romney was the “best choice” for Republicans in 2012.
The Houston Chronicle reports:
“I think Romney is the best choice for us,” former President Bush told the Houston Chronicle this week. “I like Perry, but he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere; he’s not surging forward.”
Bush said he had known Romney for many years and also knew his father, George Romney, a former Republican governor of Michigan who ran for president in 1968.
Bush said he supported Romney because of his “stability, experience, principles.
He’s a fine person,” he said. “I just think he’s mature and reasonable – not a bomb-thrower.”
- Huffington Post Miami accused of over-aggregating – When Huffington Post Miami launched late last month, Arianna Huffington promised to “dig deeper in an effort to tell the stories of all the people who make up this unique city.”
And how many Miami-based HuffPo journalists are doing that? Two, according to Bill Cooke. He reports that Miami Herald staffers are complaining that the HuffPo duo are rewriting their newspaper stories for Huffington Post Miami.
Miami Herald managing editor Rick Hirsch declined to discuss this with Cooke. “I’ll say what I have to say directly to the Huffington Post. There are some things we’ll be discussing soon.”
- McConnell offers a way out of the payroll tax cut thicket – As I predicted, the perennial adult in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has stepped forward with a way out of the payroll tax box into which the House Republicans have climbed. He sent out this statement:
“The House and Senate have both passed bipartisan bills to require the President to quickly make a decision on whether to support thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs through the Keystone XL pipeline, and to extend unemployment insurance, the temporary payroll tax cut and seniors’ access to medical care. There is no reason why Congress and the President cannot accomplish all of these things before the end of the year. House Republicans sensibly want greater certainty about the duration of these provisions, while Senate Democrats want more time to negotiate the terms. These goals are not mutually exclusive. We can and should do both. Working Americans have suffered enough from the President’s failed economic policies and shouldn’t face the uncertainty of a New Year’s Day tax hike. Leader Reid should appoint conferees on the long-term bill and the House should pass an extension that locks in the thousands of Keystone XL pipeline jobs, prevents any disruption in the payroll tax holiday or other expiring provisions, and allows Congress to work on a solution for the longer extensions.”
- Ron Paul’s story changes on racial comments – Rep. Ron Paul has tried since 2001 to disavow racist and incendiary language published in Texas newsletters that bore his name, denying he wrote them and even walking out of an interview on CNN Wednesday. But he vouched for the accuracy of the writings and admitted writing at least some of the passages when first asked about them in an interview in 1996.
Some issues of the newsletters included racist, anti-Israel or anti-gay comments, including a 1992 newsletter in which he said 95% of black men in Washington “are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.”
Paul told TheDallas Morning News in 1996 that the contents of his newsletters were accurate but needed to be taken in context. Wednesday, he told CNN he didn’t write the newsletters and didn’t know what was in them. - Video: Ron Paul in 1995: Say, have you read my newsletters? – Mitt Romney can breathe a sigh of relief, because Andrew Kaczynksi has shifted his attention to Ron Paul this week. Andrew dug up a 1995 interview with C-SPAN, a year before running for Congress after a decade out of office. Paul tells C-SPAN that he was ready after the long hiatus to return to Washington, but that’s not the big catch in this clip. Starting at 1:45, Ron Paul explains that his private sector efforts are keeping him too busy — and starts plugging his newsletters:
- What Ron Paul Thinks of America – Ron Paul’s supporters are sure of one thing: Their candidate has always been consistent—a point Dr. Paul himself has been making with increasing frequency. It’s a thought that comes up with a certain inevitability now in those roundtables on the Republican field. One cable commentator genially instructed us last Friday, “You have to give Paul credit for sticking to his beliefs.”
He was speaking, it’s hardly necessary to say, of a man who holds some noteworthy views in a candidate for the presidency of the United States. One who is the best-known of our homegrown propagandists for our chief enemies in the world. One who has made himself a leading spokesman for, and recycler of, the long and familiar litany of charges that point to the United States as a leading agent of evil and injustice, the militarist victimizer of millions who want only to live in peace.
- (404) http://t.co/ceSW4wND%E2%80%9D – Shocker Flip Flop Mitt strikes again “@ByronYork: Romney changes stance on Iraq invasion. #tcot
- Flipper: Romney changes stance on Iraq invasion – Romney’s statement on MSNBC is not only a change from what he said on Fox a few days ago. It’s also a change from his position during his first run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2007-2008. In a January 2008 GOP debate in Florida, Romney was asked, “Was the war in Iraq a good idea worth the cost in blood and treasure we have spent?” Romney answered: “It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now.”
- Paul abandons interview concerning controversial newsletters – Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) took off his microphone and left a contentious interview on Wednesday when a CNN reporter asked repeatedly about racist articles published in his newsletter in the 1980s and 1990s.
“It’s been going on 20 years that I’ve been pestered about this and CNN does it every time,” Paul said, clearly adjitated by the line of questioning. “When are you going to wear yourself out?”
The Texas congressman said that the articles – which did not carry a byline – were written by his publishing staff and that he did not know about them at the time.
“I didn’t write them, I didn’t read them at the time, and I disavow them. That is the answer,” Paul said.
When CNN reporter Gloria Berger defended her questioning as legitimate – noting that some of the articles were “pretty incendiary” – Paul began to remove his microphone.
The newsletters, mainly a forum for essay’s on Paul’s brand of libertarianism, once referred to Martin Luther King Jr. as “the world-class philanderer who beat up his paramours” and who “seduced underage girls and boys.”
In another article, the author writes that “given the inefficiencies of what DC laughingly calls the criminal justice system, I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.”
- Mitt Romney Says ‘Yes’ To Deporting President Obama’s Uncle – Presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a Boston talk radio host on Wednesday that he supports the deportation of President Obama’s Kenyan-born uncle who was arrested this fall on drunken driving charges in Massachusetts.
When asked by Boston radio personality Howie Carr whether the president’s relative, Onyango Obama, should be deported, Romney said, “the answer is ‘yes.’”
“Well, if the laws of the United States say he should be deported, and I presume they do, then of course we should follow those laws,” Romney said. “And the answer is ‘yes.’”
When Carr brought up Onyango Obama case, Romney first sought clarification: “Who is Uncle Omar, Howie?” the former Massachusetts governor asked the radio host.
Carr explained that the uncle, nicknamed “Omar,” was recently arrested in Framingham, Mass.
“Now he’s claiming he’s got a Social Security number and drivers’ license and no one knows how he got them,” Carr told Romney, “but they’re apparently legit even though he’s in the country illegally.” (Onyango Obama had reportedly defied a 1992 deportation order.) - Oh My! Gingrich Challenges Romney to Debate – In an interview with NBC News, Newt Gingrich responded to Mitt Romney’s comments that he can’t take the heat of negative ads.
Said Gingrich: “I’ll tell you what. If he wants to test the heat, I’ll meet him anywhere in Iowa next week, one-on-one, 90 minutes no moderator, just a timekeeper. He wants to try out the kitchen? I’ll debate him anywhere. We’ll bring his ads, and he can defend [them].”
- Ron Paul Storms Out Of CNN Interview – Ron Paul walked out of an interview with CNN’s Gloria Borger, following a heated exchange over the controversy regarding racist newsletters sent in his name during the 1990s. Borger asked the Congressman if he had ever read the newsletters. “Did you ever object when you read them?”
“Why don’t you go back and look at what i said yesterday on CNN and what I’ve said for 20 something years. 22 years ago? I didn’t write them, I disavow them, That’s it.”
“But you made money off them,”
“I was still practicing medicine,” Paul responded. “That’s probably why I wasn’t a very good publisher, I had to make a living.”
- Tom Del Beccaro, Chairman of the California Republican Party Response to ProPublica Report – “The ProPublica report vindicates my repeated contention that the redistricting process was hijacked. That report, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. The corruption of the process went far beyond what was disclosed in that report. No fair minded person can now say the process or the result was fair. I am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation, by Congressional and State authorities, to get to the bottom of this obviously corrupted process. Beyond that, the Congressional and Senate lines as drawn by the Commission should not be used in any way for the upcoming elections.”
- How Democrats Fooled California’s Redistricting Commission – This spring, a group of California Democrats gathered at a modern, airy office building just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The meeting was House members only — no aides allowed — and the mission was seemingly impossible.
In previous years, the party had used its perennial control of California’s state Legislature to draw district maps that protected Democratic incumbents. But in 2010, California voters put redistricting in the hands of a citizens’ commission where decisions would be guided by public testimony and open debate.
- Democrats skew redistricting effort to their benefit, investigation finds – California’s congressional Democrats ran a secret effort earlier this year to manipulate the work of the independent citizen’s panel that drew the state’s new political districts, foiling the intent of reformers who sought to remove the redistricting process from the control of party bosses.
Democrats met behind closed doors at the party’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, hired consultants, drew their ideal districts and presented maps to the panel through proxies who never disclosed their party ties or “public interest” groups created specifically for the purpose. In many cases, the panel responded by doing just what the Democrats wanted.
The New York-based nonprofit investigative foundation ProPublica released findings Wednesday from a months-long reconstruction of the Democrats’ stealth redistricting strategy, relying on internal memos, emails, interviews and map analysis.
The success of the strategy has Democrats projecting they may pick up as many as seven congressional seats in 2012 under new district boundaries adopted last summer, far more than had been expected originally.
“Every member of the Northern California Democratic Caucus has a ticket back to D.C.,” crowed one internal memo. “This is a huge accomplishment that should be celebrated by advocates throughout the region.”
- All the Companies Supporting SOPA, the Awful Internet Censorship Law—and How to Contact Them – Who’s officially on the record backing what could be the worst thing to ever happen to the internet? All of these companies listed below. Don’t take our word for it—this list comes straight from Congress. Just FYI.
If you want to get in touch, we’ve provided a contact list below. Maybe you want to let them know how you feel about SOPA.
- Shocker: Californa Democrats Manipulated Citizen’s Redistricting Commission » Flap’s California Blog – Shocker: Californa Democrats Manipulated Citizen’s Redistricting Commission
- Rove: Republicans should fold in payroll tax cut standoff – The Hill’s Video – RT @TheRReport: Rove: Republicans should fold in payroll tax cut standoff
- (404) http://t.co/Q5Xc08br%E2%80%9D – IDIOTS “@politico: .@marincogan reports: GOP frosh dig in hard on payroll tax cut:
- NRSC Outraises Democratic Committee in November : Roll Call Politics – RT @rollcall: NRSC Outraises Democratic Committee in November. via @RollCallAbby
- The Afternoon Flap: December 21, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Afternoon Flap: December 21, 2011
- Grappling With Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletters – Did you know about the racist newsletters published in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Ron Paul’s name? As the Texas Congressman surges in the GOP primary, the story of the newsletters is garnering headlines, as it did during his 1996 House campaign and his 2008 presidential run. He’s always insisted that he didn’t write the egregiously offensive material, and long ago repudiated it (though not as soon as he should have). Is this an old story voters will look beyond, like Newt Gingrich’s affairs? Or a new story for the vast majority of voters and the plurality of journalists who are less familiar with Paul than the other GOP frontrunners? Is it coming up now “for political reasons”? Or because it’s a legitimate subject of inquiry despite having been aired before in the media?
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The Morning Flap: December 20, 2011
These are my links for December 15th through December 20th:
- Obama’s job-approval rating is highest since summer – After a difficult summer and a contentious fall, President Obama’s job-approval ratings are showing signs of improvement — a crucial indicator of his reelection chances as he seeks to overcome voters’ doubts about his economic stewardship.A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that Americans are still broadly disapproving of Obama’s handling of the economy and jobs, the top issues, but that views of his overall performance have recovered among key groups, including independents, young adults and seniors.
- Gingrich’s Lead Dries Up in National Polls – Newt Gingrich’s lead in the GOP presidential race is disappearing as the former House speaker comes under heavy attack from his rivals, according to three new national polls.Gingrich had surged to the top of the ballot in recent weeks, leading his fellow GOP candidates in several polls by double digits. But an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday finds him tied with Romney for first. They each receive 30 percent support from registered voters. The pair, though, holds a substantial lead over the rest of the field. Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has been running negative ads against Gingrich, has 15 percent. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann receives 7 percent, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has 6 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum garners 4 percent support. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman sits at the bottom of the poll with 2 percent.
- Obama is the Fourth Best President? – President Obama told 60 Minutes — in a portion of the interview that did not air — that his accomplishments so far as president rank pretty high historically.Said Obama: “The issue here is not gonna be a list of accomplishments. As you said yourself, Steve, you know, I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln — just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history. But, you know, but when it comes to the economy, we’ve got a lot more work to do. And we’re gonna keep on at it.”
- What if Ron Paul wins Iowa? – If he should win, Iowa caucus goers will rightly be the target of widespread anger and disdain from the mainstream and conservative media as well as a great many in the party, both from establishment and Tea Party quarters. An Iowa state operative, rather defensively, insisted to me that it would be wrong to take a Ron Paul win out on Iowa or strip it of its first-in-the-nation status. “Ron Paul proves a point — if you run the three-pronged traditional caucus approach: advertise here, send mailers and visit often — anyone can do well — EVEN Ron Paul. Iowa isn’t a place that ‘wins’ the nomination it’s a place that ‘winnows’ the path to the nomination.” That’s just not going to fly when the flogging of Republicans begins, labeling Iowans as a bunch of racist loons. If Iowa can’t sniff out such characters, why put it in charge of the winnowing?As far as the race itself goes, it will certainly burst the Newt Gingrich bubble, suggesting that his 15 minutes (four or five weeks?) of fame are over and casting down on his organizational abilities. For the candidates who finish back in the back (e.g., Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum), Iowa would be a reprieve, allowing them to argue, in essence, that the whole thing was an aberration, before they move on to “real” contests in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.
- The Company Ron Paul Keeps – Yet a subsequent report by Reason found that Ron Paul & Associates, the defunct company that published the newsletters and which counted Paul and his wife as officers, reported an income of nearly $1 million in 1993 alone. If this figure is reliable, Paul must have earned multiple millions of dollars over the two decades plus of the newsletters’ existence. It is incredible that he had less than an active interest in what was being printed as part of a subscription newsletter enterprise that earned him and his family millions of dollars. Ed Crane, the president of the Cato Institute, said Paul told him that “his best source of congressional campaign donations was the mailing list for the Spotlight, the conspiracy-mongering, anti-Semitic tabloid run by the Holocaust denier Willis Carto.”This sordid history would not bear repeating but for the fact that the media love to portray Paul as a truth-telling, antiwar Republican standing up to the “hawkish” conservative establishment. Otherwise, the newsletters, and Paul’s continued failure to name their author, would be mentioned in every story about him, and he would be relegated to the fringe where he belongs. But Paul has escaped the sort of media scrutiny that would bury other political figures. A December 15 profile of Paul in the Washington Post, for instance, affectionately described his love of gardening and The Sound of Music and judged that “world events have conspired to make him look increasingly on point”—all without any mention of the newsletter controversy. Though present at nearly every Republican debate, he has yet to be asked about the newsletters. Had Paul’s persona and views changed significantly since 2008, this oversight might be understandable. But he continues to say and do things suggesting that, far from disowning the statements he has claimed “do not represent what I believe or have ever believed,” he still believes them.
- Auto-insurance researchers: ‘Cell phone bans don’t help reduce crashes’ – All those fancy in-car docks and voice navigation? Utterly pointless. At least according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who reckons that it’s not the phone that’s the issue, but “the full spectrum of things that distract.” The IIHS (funded by a group of car insurers) compared crash data between states that had instituted cell phone bans and those that hadn’t. According to its research, while the ban had reduced phone use (whoa, really?), it hadn’t helped reduce crash rates. The National Transportation Safety Board has presented several studies linking cell phone use to an increased chance of crashing and their latest proposals would ban most hands-free systems found in major car makers’ vehicles today. Hear that? That was the sound of hundreds of third-party accessory manufacturers recoiling in horror.
The 25 Best Social Media Books of 2011 – It seems like only yesterday that I was writing my review of the best social media books of 2010, a list that included only 15 selections. Time flies so fast and 2012 is just around the corner, so it’s time to reveal my picks for best books of 2011. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for you, I had a hard time narrowing down the list to 15 so I have increased the number to 25 books. There were simply too many great additions to literature that exists on social in 2011 to be limiting. This is certainly a reflection of both the maturity of social media in the marketplace as well as the importance that certain publishers (notably Wiley) have placed on releasing books with social media as their main subject matter.Before I start off with my recommended social media books of the year, we always must first begin with those classics that were updated and revised for 2011 that should be on anyone’s wish list for the holidays. These include:
- Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies [Expanded and Revised Edition] by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
- Engage! The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate and Measure Success in the New Web. Revised and Updated by Brian Solis
- The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly [3rd Edition] by David Meerman Scott
- The Social Media Survival Guide: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay
- Another Poll Shows Gingrich Collapse in Iowa – President 2012 GOP Iowa Poll Watch: Paul 24% Vs. Romney 18% Vs. Perry 16% Vs. Gingrich 13% Vs. Bachmann 10% #tcot
- Is There Quality of Life After Cigarettes? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Is There Quality of Life After Cigarettes?
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Afternoon Drill: December 19, 2011 – The Afternoon Drill: December 19, 2011
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Gingrich Poll Lead Collapses | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Ginrich Poll Lead Collapses
- Day By Day December 29, 2011 – Living Room | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 29, 2011 – Living Room
- Day By Day December 18, 2011 – Hamlet on Wry | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 18, 2011 – Hamlet on Wry
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Chez Cole – Watching the Bronco vs. Patriots game (@ Chez Cole)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-18 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-18
- foursquare :: Gregory Flap @ Ronnie’s Diner – 15miles finished and it is now raining. Brunch with Alice, Tara, Mary And Nancy (@ Ronnie’s Diner)
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-17 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-17
- Complete Ban on Driver Cell Phones May Be Difficult to Enforce | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Complete Ban on Driver Cell Phones May Be Difficult to Enforce
- Day By Day December 16, 2011 – Whopper | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day December 16, 2011 – Whopper
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: December 16, 2011 – The Morning Drill: December 16, 2011
- GOP Debate: Fox gets glowing reviews – Given that some of those dastardly “mainstream media” reporters within the Beltway have been known to rib Fox News’ journalism from time to time, it’s been notable to see a clear trend emerge from the Republican debates in 2011: The faceoffs hosted by Fox have been some of the most lauded by media observers – even by some liberal commentators.Thursday’s debate in Sioux City, Iowa, won four-star reviews.
- President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Will Win Iowa and Romney Wins the Nomination | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Will Win Iowa and Romney Wins the Nomination
- In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011 – Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, when he was named contributing editor.
- AP-GfK Poll: Obama Re-Election Odds Roughly 50-50 – Entering 2012, President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects are essentially a 50-50 proposition, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. It found that most Americans say the president deserves to be voted out of office even though they have concerns about the Republican alternatives.Obama’s overall standing in the poll suggests he could be in jeopardy of losing re-election even as the survey showed that public’s outlook on the economy appears to be improving. For the first time since spring, more people said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse. The president’s approval rating on unemployment shifted upward — from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll — as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.
The poll found Americans were evenly divided over whether they expect Obama to be re-elected next year.
For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn’t deserve four more years.
Obama’s overall job approval stands at a new low, with 44 percent approving and 54 percent disapproving. The president’s standing among independents is worse: Thirty-eight percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he’s doing. - Nikki Haley to Endorse Romney – RT @politicalwire: Nikki Haley endorses Romney, giving him a potential boost in South Carolina…
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-16 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-12-16
- Carlos the Jackal sentenced to life, again – Carlos the Jackal, the flamboyant Venezuelan who symbolized Cold War terrorism, was sentenced to life in prison – again – in a Paris trial that ended late Thursday with him rallying for revolution and weeping for Moammar Gadhafi.Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, hasn’t seen freedom since French agents spirited him out of Sudan in a sack in 1994. He’s already serving a life sentence in a French prison for a triple murder in 1975, the worst punishment meted out in a country that does not have the death penalty.
Once one of world’s most-wanted men, the former gun-for-hire and self-proclaimed revolutionary was escorted out of his cell and back to court last month to face charges that he instigated four bombings in France in 1982 and 1983 that killed 11 people and injured more than 140 others.
Just before midnight Thursday, the court found Ramirez guilty in all four attacks, and sentenced him to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 18 years.
Combative and defiant throughout the six-week trial, the 62-year-old Ramirez denied any role in the attacks.
- Indefinite Detention: Cracking Freedom’s Foundation – Mr. Speaker:I rise in opposition to Section 1021 of the underlying Conference Report (H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act).
This section specifically affirms that the President has the authority to deny due process to any American it charges with “substantially supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban or any ‘associated forces’” – whatever that means.
Would “substantial support” of an “associated force,” mean linking a web-site to a web-site that links to a web-site affiliated with al-Qaeda? We don’t know. The question is, “do we really want to find out?”
We’re told not to worry – that the bill explicitly states that nothing in it shall alter existing law.
But wait.
There is no existing law that gives the President the power to ignore the Bill of Rights and detain Americans without due process. There is only an assertion by the last two presidents that this power is inherent in an open-ended and ill-defined war on terrorism. But it is a power not granted by any act of Congress. At least, not until now.
What this bill says is, “What Presidents have only asserted, Congress now affirms in statute.”
- Run, Newt, Run! – Rich Lowry – National Review Online – RT @marklevinshow: Run Newt Run, said NR’s boss Rich Lowry?
(A good friend, by the way.) - Riehl World View: Updated: Does Mitt Romney Have A Vietnam War Problem? – RT @DanRiehl: Does Mitt Romney Have A Vietnam War Problem?
- Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest – NYTimes.com – Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest
- US election 2012: Mitt Romney’s life as a poor Mormon missionary in France questioned – Telegraph – Mitt Romney’s life as a poor Mormon missionary in France questioned #tcot
- Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest – National polls are less important than those in Iowa and New Hampshire, but there’s a worrying number for Mr. Gingrich here as well. The Gallup tracking poll, which has a larger sample size than most other surveys, shows Mr. Gingrich’s lead over Mr. Romney down to 5 points, 29 percent to 24 percent. A week and a half ago, when the Gallup poll made its debut, Mr. Gingrich’s lead was 15 points.What’s interesting about the Gallup poll is that Mr. Romney’s support has not increased very much; instead, the number of undecided voters has grown, which is fairly unusual at a critical stage of a primary campaign. This suggests that the race remains quite fluid, but that fluidity may no longer be working to Mr. Gingrich’s benefit.
- Untitled (http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/AboutUS/NBC/NBCNews_online_publishing_guidelines.pdf) – If you are curious about the NBC News social media standards policy; we’ve published for all to see.
- Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest – NYTimes.com – RT @fivethirtyeight: [new article] Gingrich Momentum Slows, Polls Suggest
- Amazon selling more than 1 million Kindles a week – latimes.com – Wow! |”@latimes: Amazon selling more than 1 million Kindles a week
- The great Gingrich crash of ’11? – Primary doomsayers are a dime a dozen during the campaign season, but there’s enough evidence out this morning to suggest that Gingrich may — may — be going down in Iowa.First, the polls. On the Real Clear Politics aggregate polling data for Iowa, Gingrich has fallen from a 31-point high to 27.2. He’s still way out ahead of the pack (Romney has 18, Paul 16.7), but if history is any guide, falls in Iowa are irreversible. The three other candidates to surge in Iowa — Bachmann, Perry, and Cain — were never able to gain points on the RCP aggregate after they started losing them.
Second, the Intrade numbers: Over the last two days, Gingrich’s closing value crashed 15 points, his most precipitous fall on the online exchange site since his surge began.
- Newt’s loot: Billionaire commits $20M – Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is planning to direct $20 million to an outside group backing Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign, multiple sources told POLITICO – the first answer to urgent pleas from allies to the former speaker’s long-time billionaire supporters.After leaving Congress, Gingrich cultivated a network of a few dozen uber-wealthy backers who poured tens of millions of dollars into a network of groups that helped him maintain a foothold in politics. Now, operatives supporting his presidential campaign are asking those same donors to write fat checks to a suite of new super PACs they hope can spend big on ads to offset Gingrich campaign fundraising that had lagged behind his rivals.
- Does Caffeine Improve Your Skill and Performance in Sport? | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – Does Caffeine Improve Your Skill and Performance in Sport?
- U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare With Private Option- Bloomberg – U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare With Private Option
- (500) http://flapsblog.com/2011/12/15/the-morning-flap-december-15-2011/ – The Morning Flap: December 15, 2011
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The Morning Flap: December 15, 2011
These are my links for December 14th through December 15th:
- Payroll tax cut and spending bill stall in Senate, raising threat of shutdown – Negotiations over how to extend a payroll tax holiday for 160 million Americans and avoid a government shutdown this weekend ground to a halt Wednesday after a standoff in the Senate over how to proceed.
Amid the gridlock, Cabinet secretaries for the first time formally alerted affected federal workers Wednesday to the possibility of a shutdown — indicating in an e-mail that they would determine later which staffers are “essential” to maintain operations in the event of a funding disruption.
- Iraq war draws to a quiet close – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta paid solemn tribute on Thursday to an “independent, free and sovereign Iraq” and declared the official end to the Iraq war, formally wrapping up the U.S. military’s mission in the country after almost nine years.
“After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real,” Panetta said at a ceremony held under tight security at Baghdad’s international airport. “To be sure, the cost was high — in blood and treasure for the United States, and for the Iraqi people. Those lives were not lost in vain.”
- U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare With Private Option – A bipartisan proposal to give the elderly a choice between the government’s Medicare program and private insurance plans is intended as a “framework” to overhaul the entitlement, Representative Paul Ryan said today.
Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who heads the House Budget Committee, proposed replacing Medicare with a private insurance system in the spring. He has now teamed with Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, on a new plan to amend the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled.
The proposal, presented today by the lawmakers, may alter the debate in next year’s congressional campaign as both parties hope to sway voters with their arguments on Medicare’s future. The plan gives people turning 65 starting in 2022 the ability to choose between the existing system, where the government pays hospital and doctors’ bills for seniors, and an alternative system of regulated private insurance plans.
- Paul Ryan-Ron Wyden: Bipartisan Medicare reform – In an extraordinary policy and political breakthrough, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) announced a bipartisan reform deal. In doing so, they eviscerated the Democrats’ Medicare gambit, undermined President Obama complaints that progress is impossible with Republicans in Congress and gave Mitt Romney a huge political shot in the arm.
The Post reports: “ Working with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the Wisconsin Republican is developing a framework that would offer traditional, government-run Medicare as an option for future retirees along with a variety of private plans.”
In a press release, the duo explained the key elements of the bill:
- Obama nominates 2 for labor board – President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced plans to nominate two Democrats to the National Labor Relations Board, despite a Republican threat to block any appointments to the agency.
The president intends to nominate Sharon Block, deputy secretary for congressional affairs at the Labor Department, and Richard Griffin, currently the general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, to fill two vacancies on the board.
The move comes just days after the board’s top lawyer dropped a controversial lawsuit that charged Boeing with illegally retaliating against union members in Washington state by opening a new plant in South Carolina. That case — along with other union-friendly decisions — has made the board a target of Republicans who contend it has acted too favorably toward unions.
Obama’s nominees would have to be confirmed by the Senate, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last week he would block Obama from making any further appointments to the board. The agency usually has five members but has operated for months with three. It will lose another member by the end of the year, leaving it without enough members to conduct business.
- The Supremes v. Obamacare: Will the Court Decide the 2012 Presidential Election? – At least four justices recently agreed to review the centerpiece of President Obama’s domestic policy. Presuming for the moment that the court divided into its usual liberal and conservative quartets, what strategies might they have employed in deciding to determine the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPAACA)? U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th and 6th Circuits had upheld the law’s individual mandate, which requires all Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or pay a tax penalty for not doing so. Congress believed it had the authority to impose such a mandate under its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. Liberals assert that health care, constituting nearly one-fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product, is demonstrably within Congress’s economic regulatory purview. On the other hand, the 11th Circuit (in a Florida case brought by officials from 26 states) voided the individual mandate, while upholding the PPAACA’s expansion of Medicaid, employer mandates and insurance exchanges. Although all of these circuit decisions were appealed to the nation’s highest court, the justices accepted only the 11th Circuit decision for review. The Supremes have asked both sides to address the constitutionality of the individual mandate and Medicaid expansion, as well as whether the entire law falls if they void only one part of it. The court will also tackle whether the individual mandate penalty can even be legally challenged prior to its implementation.
- Romney boosters want a Republican campaign about nothing? – Kudos to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” for a terrific discussion Thursday morning between William Bennett (who seems to support Romney) and Rudy Giulaini (who had harsh words for Romney and kind words for Gingrich).
When the topic of conversation turns to, whom should win the Republican nomination? — I think we can agree their opinions are more relevant than having Tina Brown and Arianna Huffington weigh in (which happens all too frequently).
During the discussion, Bill Bennett made a point several times — which I found quite telling — inasmuch as it seems to be a key rationale for nominating Mitt Romney.
“What do we want the conversation to be about this summer and fall?,” Bennett asked rhetorically. “I’m worried the conversation will be about [Newt] … rather than about Barack Obama and his policies.”
This is an argument I’ve heard a lot, lately. And it strikes me as silly for a variety of reasons.
First, it is utterly naive to think Republicans can make this election solely a referendum on Barack Obama. Of course, they should attempt it, but the truth is that neither Obama (who might have a billion dollars to run in negative ads) nor the media will ever let that happen.
Whomever Republicans nominate will endure bitter attacks. If Newt Gingrich is the nominee, he will be cast as an insane and erratic cad. If Romney is the nominee, he will be cast as a rich flip-flopper who fired people for a living and belongs to a “weird” religion. I’m not sure which attack is better or worse for Republicans. In this economy, one might argue that the rich “Wall Street” attack on Romney would be more harmful in terms of attracting independent voters. But who knows?
- Giuliani slams Romney, likens Newt to Reagan – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani slammed Mitt Romney as an unelectable flip-flopper, and said Newt Gingrich, who he compared to Ronald Reagan, offers Republicans the best shot at unseating President Obama.
Speaking Thursday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Giuliani recalled his GOP candidacy in 2008 in which he ran against Romney.
“I’ve never seen a guy change his positions on so many things, so fast, on a dime, on everything,” Giuliani said. “Pro-choice, pro-life. And pro-choice because somebody, a close friend died, and he became pro-choice because this woman died of an abortion. Then he figures out there are embryos and he changes.”
“Then he was pro-gun control,” Giuliani continued. “Fine. Then he becomes a lifetime member of the NRA. Then he was pro cap-and-trade. Now he’s against cap-and-trade. He was pro-mandate for the whole country, then he becomes anti-mandate and he takes that page out of his book and republishes the book. I could go on and on.”
Giuliani said this opens Romney to an attack from President Obama in the general election that “this is a man without a core,” “a man without substance,” and “a man that will say anything to become President of the United States.” - Newt Gingrich’s general election prospects look bleak – If former House Speaker Newt Gingrich manages to win the Republican presidential nomination, he could jeopardize his party’s chances of ousting President Obama next November, according to several new national polls released this week.
Surveys from the NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, AP/GfK and Reuters/Ipsos all show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney running better than Gingrich in general election matchups against Obama.
“Electability will come into play for many Republican votes,” said one neutral GOP consultant who preferred to speak anonymously. “It’s going to become problematic. I think you’re starting to signs of it.
- Playbook 2012: The Right Fights Back (Politico Inside Election 2012) – Two of America’s most perceptive political reporters join forces for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the race for the White House in POLITICO’s Playbook 2012, a series of four instant digital books on the 2012 presidential election. The first edition, The Right Fights Back, follows the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
- Is Newt Gingrich taking Iowa seriously enough? – Newt Gingrich’s improbable comeback may fall short if he doesn’t win Iowa — and there are signs he’s not taking the threat seriously enough.
Gingrich is getting pounded on Iowa TV by both a pro-Mitt Romney super PAC and Ron Paul’s campaign and is doing little to fight back against ads which take direct aim at him. Less than three weeks before the caucuses, the former speaker is airing a single commercial with little money behind it.
- Mark Levin calls out Krauthammer, Will, Coulter, and Rubin – Mark Levin says that the attacks on Newt Gingrich reminds him of how Sarah Palin has been attacked, and he specifically criticizes Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Ann Coulter, and Jennifer Rubin for basically being over the top in their criticism of Newt and their silence on Romney:
- Winnowing the Field – National Review Online – RT @EWErickson: So I guess we go for Gingrich then. Or Perry or Huntsman.
- Washington Examiner backs Romney – Also Pans Newt Gingrich – OP White House hopeful Mitt Romney picked up the endorsement of the Washington Examiner Wednesday, a boost from an editorial page with a long history in conservative politics.
In an editorial that spends as much space slamming Newt Gingrich as it does praising Romney, the Examiner declares Obama “the only Republican who can beat Obama,” citing recent polls that show the former Massachusetts governor faring better against President Barack Obama than Gingrich.
“The Washington Examiner believes Romney can defeat Obama, but Gingrich cannot,” the newspaper wrote. “And Romney the businessman is far better suited to the nation’s highest office – by temperament, experience, and cast of mind – than Gingrich the consummate Washington insider. By fits and starts over the years, Romney has become the reliable conservative that America so badly needs at this crucial moment in her history.”
The editorial goes on to deride Gingrich’s role consulting with Freddie Mac after he left Congress.
“The fact is, Gingrich is part of the problem, not part of the solution,” the newspaper wrote. “He has tried mightily to shift attention away from his Washington insider status, saying, ‘I have never done lobbying of any kind.’ But that claim simply does not square with the facts, especially concerning Gingrich’s lobbying Republicans in Congress for a new Medicare entitlement in 2003.”
- Winnowing the Field – National Review Pans Newt Gingrich – We fear that to nominate former Speaker Newt Gingrich, the frontrunner in the polls, would be to blow this opportunity. We say that mindful of his opponents’ imperfections — and of his own virtues, which have been on display during his amazing comeback. Very few people with a personal history like his — two divorces, two marriages to former mistresses — have ever tried running for president. Gingrich himself has never run for a statewide office, let alone a national one, and has not run for anything since 1998. That year he was kicked out by his colleagues, the most conservative ones especially, who had lost confidence in him. During his time as Speaker, he was one of the most unpopular figures in public life. Just a few months ago his campaign seemed dead after a series of gaffes and resignations. That Gingrich now tops the polls is a tribute to his perseverance, and to Republicans’ admiration for his intellectual fecundity.
- Romney Plays Tiffany’s Card – Romney Plays Tiffany’s Card
- Romney Plays Tiffany’s Card – In an interview with Sean Hannity ahead of tomorrow’s GOP presidential debate, Mitt Romney sought to neutralize the gaffe he made in last weekend’s debate by taking a shot at Newt Gingrich.
Said Romney: “As for him trying to reference a $10,000 rhetorical bet, the Speaker, as I recall, probably shouldn’t be talking about that given a $500,000 bill at Tiffany’s.”
- MSNBC Likens Romney To The KKK With His “Keep America American” – MSNBC daytime anchor Thomas Roberts says Mitt Romney’s “Keep America American” slogan plays homage to the Ku Klux Klan. The patriotic slogan, which is used in this ad, was apparently used by the KKK in the early 1900s.
Somehow the folks at MSNBC believe Mitt Romney is acknowledging his Klan roots by using the slogan in his 2012 campaign for the presidency.
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: December 14, 2011 – The Daily Extraction: December 14, 2011
- Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: December 14, 2011 – The Morning Drill: December 14, 2011
- Rick Perry, Mitt Romney internals show Newt Gingrich slippage, sources say – A weeklong blitz of negative ads from Ron Paul and “Restore Our Future,” the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC, have taken a toll on Newt Gingrich’s standing in Iowa, internal numbers from the Rick Perry and Romney camps show, according to multiple sources.
Sources didn’t provide specific numbers on how far he’s slipped, but it’s perceptible in both camps’ numbers, the sources said.
Perry has been inching up, the sources said – in part thanks to his faith-based push but largely because of his controversial anti-gay rights ad, and the big question is whether he draws at all from Romney and pushes him down out of the top three finishers in the state.
The person who is holding strong, according to the internal numbers, is Paul, who has a true shot of winning the caucuses, according to several Iowa Republican insiders surveying ground games and energy.
- Romney Warns of Nominating ‘Zany’ Gingrich – Updated Mitt Romney is sharpening his warning to Republicans about the consequences of nominating Newt Gingrich, declaring in an interview on Wednesday: “Zany is not what we need in a president.”
“Zany is great in a campaign. It’s great on talk radio. It’s great in print, it makes for fun reading,” Mr. Romney told The New York Times. “But in terms of a president, we need a leader, and a leader needs to be someone who can bring Americans together.”
With 20 days before the voting begins at the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Romney is intensifying his forceful attack on the credibility of Mr. Gingrich, who has emerged as his leading rival in the Republican nominating fight. He has shed his year-long reluctance against doing interviews, hoping to change the narrative surrounding his candidacy before the holidays.
- L.A. International Is Facebook’s Most Social Airport – L.A. International Is Facebook’s Most Social Airport #fb
- Obama looking good in Virginia – Public Policy Polling – RT @ppppolls: Obama leads Romney by 6 and Gingrich by 7 in Virginia, just as much as he won the state by in 2008:
- The Study of Orangutans Deliver Insight Into Obesity of Homo Sapiens | Smiles For A Lifetime – Temporary (Locum Tenens) Dentistry – The Study of Orangutans Deliver Insight Into Obesity of Homo Sapiens
- » Maharaj named Los Angeles Times editor JIMROMENESKO.COM – Russ Stanton has resigned as Los Angeles Times editor. Davan Maharaj , formerly managing editor = new editor
- Uh Oh! Obama 49% Vs. Gingrich 39% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Uh Oh! Obama 49% Vs. Gingrich 39% #tcot #catcot
- At Least for Reid, Gingrich Is the 2012 Republican Pick – NYTimes.com – RT @RalstonFlash: So Harry Reid now says Newt is “the presumptive Republican nominee.” via @jestei. #kissofdeath
- The Morning Flap: December 14, 2011 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: December 14, 2011 #tcot #catcot
- Payroll tax cut and spending bill stall in Senate, raising threat of shutdown – Negotiations over how to extend a payroll tax holiday for 160 million Americans and avoid a government shutdown this weekend ground to a halt Wednesday after a standoff in the Senate over how to proceed.