Occupy “Wherever”: Small Vendors Are The Ones Getting Hurt

from the LA Times:

The Occupy movement came to Los Angeles aiming for Wall Street titans, but farmers market vendors are the first to take a real hit.

Two weeks ago, about 40 vendors who sell on the City Hall lawn every Thursday were forced off the property after protesters refused to remove their city of tents.

The mini-businesses — produce farmers, popcorn poppers, flower sellers — were abruptly moved by city officials to a new and less visible location across Main Street. Since that relocation, profits have plummeted, vendors have pulled out and shoppers have become scarce.

for full article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-occupy-farmers-20111031,0,3865505.story

“Pesky Polls” Show Palin on the Rise, and Cheney too; Obama team quietly Putting Palin polls into Their future Strategy

The Los Angeles Times is reporting a several new polls:

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, look what the pollsters just brought in.

A pair of new surveys revealing that President Obama is still declining and has hit a new low in job approval among Americans just 56 weeks after they elected him with a decided margin.

And — wait for it — Republican Sarah Palin is successfully selling a whole lot more than books out there on the road. Even among those not lining up in 10-degree weather to catch a glimpse of pretty much the only political celebrity the GOP has these days.

First, el jefe. Facing double-digit unemployment, rising spending, deficits and Afghan war casualties plus a keystone but stalled healthcare reform effort that caused a rare Sunday presidential visit to Capitol Hill, Obama recently fell below 50% job approval for the first time.

Then, last week’s deft dance of rhetoric over sending reinforcements to Afghanistan but, on the other foot, bringing them home quickly maybe gave him a brief boost. That, however, collapsed with equal rapidity.

Obama’s new Gallup Poll job approval number is 47%. Last month it was 53%.

Regular Ticket readers will recall how in this space in late November we pointed out that Obama’s closely watched job approval slide was coinciding with Palin’s little-noticed rise in favorability. And it appeared they might cross somewhere in the 40s.

Well, ex-Sen. Obama, meet ex-Gov. Palin.

The new CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows Palin now at 46% favorable, just one point below her fellow basketball fan.

(The same poll, btw, has bad news for Dick Cheney-haters; the outspoken former VP has climbed out of the 29% basement, back up to 39% now. How do you suppose he’s done that without a new book? But that’s another story.)

Not that either Palin or Obama will admit caring about such trivial things as disparate political polls….

 …1,071 days before the 2012 election, when Republicans will have the concept of change on their side. Obama’s camp is already using the looming Palin pall as a fundraising tool. Never let any potential threat go unmonetized.

See article at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/12/sarah-palin-barack-obama-poll-gap-narrows.html

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Of course, a lot can change on the political landscape between now and Election day, and the results of 2010 will help some make their 2012 decisions. My prediction is that in 2012 you will see even more political “unknowns” challenging the career politicians, and WINNING!

“Old Guard” Press Begin Questioning Obama’s Dithering

“Three weeks ago, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused Obama of “dithering.” At the time, the charge sounded premature and partisan — but now some of Obama’s own supporters have begun to wonder whether Cheney was right.”

 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-mcmanus15-2009nov15,0,381782.column

 

 

Glen Beck and ColorOfChange.Org in full battle

LA Times is writing about Beck, but the comment below calls them out for their slant.

 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/08/glenn-beck-ignores-ad-boycott.html

 “Your article reads “Beck’s assault on Jones came as Color of Change announced that it has secured commitments…”. Shouldn’t it read “Color of Change’s assault on Beck came after Beck exposed Jones…” since the events occurred in reverse order. Kind of changes the intent of the article though.
 

Posted by: Truth Beagle | August 24, 2009 at 04:20 PM

Obama Press Conference: Too Little, Too Late; Obama and Jimmy Carter Comparisons Begin

You don’t need to be a basketball-loving president of the United States to know that if you’re trying to block opponents’ shots in your end, you sure aren’t increasing your own totals. You can’t score points on D.

So President Obama’s news conference this morning is his bid to steal the ball from his opponents and scoot down the court for his own layup. It’s a classic political reset of the play clock. At 9:30 a.m. Pacific (12:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30 p.m. GMT), Obama will make a statement in the White House Rose Garden and then take questions.

Obama has lost some mojo in recent days on this month’s pressing issues, especially Iran’s ongoing protests and healthcare reform. Obama’s printed Saturday statement about Iran on his way out the White House door for ice cream with his daughters was insufficient media competition for the appallingly graphic video of the young woman Neda dying on a Tehran street. Some called the presidential statement ineffective and “mealy-mouthed.“

On Father’s Day, while the president played golf out of camera-sight, others were on TV declaring the U.S. must say more to support the unarmed protesters in Iran.

Here’s the scary thing for the new White House: the terrifying words “Jimmy Carter” have started appearing in print and on the air, recalling the ex-Georgia governor’s ineptness and….

…apparent powerlessness in handling his Iranian (hostage) issues in the late 1970s. That impression lead to 12 years of Reagan-Bush Republican White Houses.

For the full LA Times article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/06/obama-news-conference-neda-iran-mccain.html

 

Farrah’s Story

     

     “Charlie’s Angels” star Farah Fawcett became an icon and the number one pinup of the late 1970′s. Her posters are probably in the top 5 of bestsellers. Today, at 62, she lays in her home, basically under hospice care. Tomorrow, a documentary produced by Alana Stewart, will air, called “Farrah’s Story”. Her longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal has appeared on several talk shows, breaking his silence on his love’s disease.

     For the story an Farrah: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520164,00.html

Update: Farrah’s father, 91 year old James Fawcett has flown to California to be with his daughter. Her son, Redmond O’Neal, presently in jail on probation violations, has been brought to see her (in prison garb and shackles).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/05/farrah-fawcett-worsens-her-father-91-comes-to-say-goodbye.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/04/farrah-fawcetts-son-redmond-let-out-of-jail-to-visit-his-sick-mom.html