underpants
underpants's JournalNewt Gingrich drops quest for Virginia ballot
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has dropped his legal quest for a slot on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Virginia next month.
On Saturday, lawyers for Gingrich filed paperwork giving up the fight with a federal district court in Virginia. They confirmed the decision on Monday afternoon in a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
In the filings, Gingrich gave no explanation for throwing the in the towel on the legal battle for a spot on the March 6 ballot. However, recent rulings in the dispute have not gone his way. On Jan 13, U.S. District Court Judge John Gibney ruled that Gingrich and three other candidates who failed to make the ballot: John Huntsman, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum, waited too long to challenge Virginia's procedures. Gibney said a Virginia requirement limiting petition circulators to residents of the state was probably unconstitutional, but there was not enough time to sort that out before the election. On Jan. 18, a three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the thrust of the lower court's ruling.
Gingrich could have sought to have the appeals court's decision reviewed by the full bench of that court, or he could have asked the Supreme Court to step in. (Chief Justice John Roberts is assigned to handle emergency applications from the Fourth Circuit.) A lawyer for Gingrich did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment for this post.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/
Payroll tax cut splinters GOP
It’s a dilemma that’s splitting the party and threatening to give leadership another bout of migraines.
But the split in strategy could have repercussions beyond the likelihood of another Capitol Hill drama in the heat of campaign season. It has senior Republicans on the Hill more pessimistic about the prospect of an agreement — especially as a House-Senate conference committee struggles to bridge the partisan divide.
Failure would play directly into Obama’s campaign theme of an inept Congress and an opposition party unwilling to cut taxes for middle-class Americans who need relief the most.
“I think the election needs to be about President Obama, his policies and his economy and his enablers, obviously,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of Republican leadership who in December opposed the Senate GOP’s yearlong tax cut extensions. “He’s going to try to make it about Congress — so I’m for removing any distraction that we can and keeping the focus on his economy and his policies and his enablers.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72482.html#ixzz1leOyIYIF
John Fleming (R- obviously - La.) links to Onion story on Facebook -
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) has deleted his Facebook post linking to an article in The Onion about a fictional Planned Parenthood “Abortionplex.”
In a Facebook status on Friday, Fleming alerted his followers to The Onion’s May 18, 2011 article, “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex” and wrote “More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale.” Fleming’s spokesman Doug Sachtleben confirmed to POLITICO the post has since been removed from the congressman’s Facebook page and said the office had no further comment.
The blog Literally Unbelievable — which posts Facebook statuses from users who think Onion articles are real — picked up Fleming’s status before the congressman removed it from the social networking site. Four users liked the post and eight left comments, with one person writing, “The Onion is satire. How exactly did you get elected?”
The May 2011 Onion article details the opening of a “sprawling abortion facility that will allow the organization to terminate unborn lives with an efficiency never before thought possible.” The fictional Abortionplex includes more than 2,000 rooms dedicated to the procedure, as well as “coffee shops, bars, dozens of restaurants and retail outlets, a three-story nightclub, and a 10-screen multiplex theater — features intended not only to help clients relax, but to foster a sense of community and make abortion more of a social event.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72507.html#ixzz1leK9isKw
RW radio hack (Beck fill -in ) loses two jobs in 8 days... while on his honeymoon
Doc Thompson, let go at WLW Cincinnati, is also out at WRVA Richmond
As the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Kiesewetter observes, talk personality Doc Thompson "lost both his radio jobs in eight days.” First came the phone call while Thompson was on his honeymoon, saying he was off his 9am-noon shift on "Big One" WLW, Cincinnati (700). Now here is Thompson's Friday evening (Feb. 3) posting on Facebook: “I am no longer hosting my Richmond show. In the world of radio broadcasting…sometimes these things happen.” Thompson had been doing 3-6pm for Richmond talker WRVA (1140) when he got the opportunity at WLW, so he moved, but continued doing his WRVA show out of the Queen City. His girlfriend followed him, and she recently landed a job at a Dayton TV station. They recently bought a house together.
http://www.radio-info.com/news/doc-thompson-let-go-at-wlw-cincinnati-is-also-out-at-wrva-richmond
Just saw "Big Miracle" - hilarious cameo at the end of the movie *SPOILER* of sorts
Big Miracle is the story of three gray whale stranded in the ice near Point Barrow Alaska. I had completely forgotten about this story.
It happens in 1988 and there is more politics in the movie - Greenpeace (Drew Barrymore), big oil (Ted Danson) and the end of the Reagan administration.
At the end of the movie the lead character - John Krasinski from "The Office" - doesn't go for the big network reporting jobs but stays in Anchorage. He is the anchorman for the local news and he segues to sports....
Sarah, it's not all Iditarod news is it?
My wife and I cracked up 
She was barely recognizable.
Meanwhile in Virginia - the GOP legislature has gone nuts
Assembly's right turn forces gov's hard choices
Coming McDonnell's way soon are bills that would radically curb abortion availability, bar same-sex couples from adopting children, require photo identification of voters and force drug tests of welfare recipients.
Another would repeal a 20-year-old law that brought an end to Virginia's reputation as a gun-runner's paradise, supplying weapons that found their ways into the hands of criminals as far up the Eastern Seaboard as Boston.
http://www.necn.com/02/05/12/Assemblys-right-turn-forces-govs-hard-ch/landing_politics.html?&apID=ebc8cd827448468da39eabee9296b564
All of these went through just this week. They also slashed funding for bike trails and routes - my two wheeling friends are flipping their lids over this and they should.
Jose (6 years old) posts on DU
my name is josie . i like cats and dogs . i love you . ok byebye .
VOTER FRAUD!! theft. perjury. INVALID. - Mitch Daniel's Repub Indiana Sec. of State CONVICTED
LMFAO
Yesterday, a jury found Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R) guilty on six felony counts of voter fraud, theft, and perjury. The conviction cost White his job, though he plans to ask the judge to reduce the charges to misdemeanors and hopes to perhaps regain the position.
In a statement, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) announced White’s deputy will take over on an interim basis:
I have chosen not to make a permanent appointment today out of respect for the judge’s authority to lessen the verdict to a misdemeanor and reinstate the elected office holder… If the felony convictions are not altered, I anticipate making a permanent appointment quickly.
But a second court case could ultimately give the job to Democrat Vop Osili, who lost to White in November 2010. A judge’s December 2011 ruling — currently on hold, pending appeal — held that due to the voter fraud charges, White’s election was invalid. Should that ruling survive the appeals process, Osili would assume the office.
Ironically, White’s now-removed 2010 campaign website listed election integrity as among his top concerns, and promised he would “protect and defend Indiana’s Voter ID law to ensure our elections are fair and protect the most basic and precious right and responsibility of our democracy-voting.”
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/02/04/418963/indiana-secretary-of-state-convicted-of-voter-fraud/
Modern medicine - the dog solved it (sort of)- true story from my life in the last 24 hours
2/2/12 3:58 I get a call from daycare - "Josie fell backwards and hit her head she is very woozy..." I am shutting my computer and say to my boss "I am out of here Josie hit her head on the playground". She, of course, is cool with that.
4:18 completed the 25 minute ride to daycare and have Josie in my arms. Headed to the hospital. Josie is nodding off but I keep her awake from the front seat.
4:35 Mom meets us at the entrance to the ER and carries Josie in.
4:37 Josie throws up into a bag in the lobby of the ER
Okay enough of the timeline.
EKG - fine
CT Scan - fine
No one can figure it out. I have told all the staff ( who were FANTASTIC as usual) that the kids at daycare saw Josie walking by herself, stop, knees wobble, falls backwards like a tree onto the back of her head in the tree bark playground.
The ER doc thinks she might have a stomach virus that is going around.
They want to keep her for the night for observation. Old school, old south (complete with bowtie) neurologist comes into our room in the pediatrics ward. [font color = red]My child is seeing a neurologist[/font]. He can't figure it out. He says that most likely she fainted. Since being at the hospital she has complained about her tummy being sore. He says (and he is great with her) that fainting in caused by low blood pressure. The sight of blood or a spider or sudden abdominal pain could cause this. Her foggy behavior since then could be either an adrenaline drop or concussion (what I assumed it was) OR her sleepy mode since the accident could be a sign of seizure. [font color = red]SEIZURE[/font]. He says there is no reason for a healthy child with no family history to have a seizure but we will need an EEG.
This morning - Mom stayed with her in the room because there was only one fold out chair.
EEG. The tech, who has been doing this for 12 years, says that he doesn't see anything wrong on the EEG.
During the EEG a volunteer came by with her therapy dog. I asked if she come back in 20 minutes or so.
She returns with Gracie. One of 9 sheltie's she and her husband have. 3- or was it 7? -are trained and certified as therapy dogs.
Gracie is in the hospital bed with Josie. Josie is loving all over her so I say to the owner/handler, "She was just walking in the playground and got wobbly knees and fell backwards onto her head"
Josie: "That's not what happened!"
Me: "It isn't?"
Josie: "Well.... I was climbing up the ladder on the playground and my foot slipped. I hit my tummy and it hurt. I got off the ladder. It was tough to breath. I started walking to the teachers when I guess that is when it happened".
Me: "That's what happened?"
Josie: "Yep" she goes back to playing with Gracie
I look up at the handler "Well how about that? Gracie got us the whole story"
Handler: " You wouldn't believe how often that happens"
WOW just WOW
The neurologist and ER doc pretty much had it right but we didn't know about the ladder until Josie was coherent (the next day) and had Gracie to help her. Personally I think she had the wind knocked out of her. It has happened to me playing football a couple of times and suddenly not breathing is a bit of a shock - Josie kept it together enough to get off the ladder which is saying something.
Thank you Gracie. Just, thank you.
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