Janice Hahn Faces Prospect of Defeat in Congressional Runoff

Here's the tag for LAT's coverage of the runoff election in CA-36 on Tuesday. And here's the latest headline: "Vitriolic South Bay congressional race nears combative finish." Not mentioned is Hahn's backing of the gang intervention program, nor are the efforts of the Hahn campaign to get Fox News 11 to STFU. See: "Gang Intervention Money Controversy Not Over Yet":

Watch the whole thing. It's riveting and real.

And see Jim Geraghty, at National Review, "Ganging Up in California's Special Election."

AP's not touching it, however. See NewsBusters, "In CA-36 Race, AP Ignores Democrat Hahn's Gang-Intervention Scandal, TV Station Intimidation."

More at The Other McCain: "CA-36: GAME-CHANGER! L.A. Station’s Report Destroys Democrat Janice Hahn."

More on Amazon Affiliates

I know I've posted on this, but I'm still bothered by the Democrat budget in California, which imposes taxes on online sales from the state, also known as the "Amazon tax," since one of the biggest companies affected is Amazon.com. One of the things I miss about being an affiliate, is that whenever I mentioned a book --- which is pretty often --- I would link to Amazon's associate's link and I could earn a referral commission. That's not an option any more. So now it seems weird linking books knowing that a referral fee could be earned --- and an earning opportunity lost. Anyway, Robert Stacy McCain wrote about his referral success. Every now and then a reader will buy an expensive product through a referral link and that sends a large commission to the blogger. Some time back a reader bought an $800 bunk bed through my links, and I received a hefty commission for the purchase. That was nice. And Robert writes on those as well:

Somebody got a sweet deal — only $499! — on that piece of high-end home video equipment via one of the Amazon links here, which earned me a sweet $20 commission through the Amazon Associates program.

And Robert shares this video of Jeff Bezos:

Meanwhile, I rarely link him but I'll break my rule to send readers to Little Green Footballs for some lulz. Charles Johnson is perterbed by Amazon's decision to pull out of the state, but not so much that Democrat tax hikes are destroying free enterprise in California.

Typical. Charles Johnson's a bleeding-heart progressive with psychological problems. No surprise he'd back big government over business.

Anyway, Common Sense Political Thought has an entry, "Amazon.com going Galt Updated, Saturday morning."

And at Los Angeles Times, "Amazon, California play waiting game in sales tax fight":

Amazon.com Inc. is sticking by its vow not to collect California sales tax on Internet purchases — and state officials must decide what to do about it.

But the showdown over the new tax collection law that took effect Friday could be months away. Companies don't send the taxes to the state until the end of each quarter, which means the California Board of Equalization won't know officially about Amazon's refusal to collect them until Oct. 1.

The tax-collecting agency said Amazon accounts for about half the Internet sales in California from large out-of-state firms that, prior to the new law, did not have to collect sales tax for the state. It said the new law would capture about $317 million a year in sales taxes that previously went uncollected.

Amazon, based in Seattle, has said repeatedly that it would not collect the California sales tax, calling it an unconstitutional infringement on interstate commerce.

Such defiance sets up a major legal battle by this fall, though Amazon could first challenge the law in court, as it has in New York. It has lost a trial court ruling there and has an appeal pending.

Amazon is "going to fight in every state where it can fight," said Tracey G. Sellers, managing director of the Tampa, Fla., office of tax firm True Partners Consulting. "It's going to be years before this whole issue is settled" in the courts.

Amazon declined to say whether it would sue to overturn the new California statute, though state officials expect a lawsuit.

More at that link above, but California officials are looking to novel ways at making this unconstitutional law work:

The new law also gives the Board of Equalization the authority to develop new theories that would establish a nexus or legal connection, making Amazon liable for collecting California sales taxes.

"This swings the gate wide open to establish nexus as we see fit," said Betty Yee, a board member who spearheaded the agency's support for the law. But she acknowledged that any other theories the board devises would probably be tested in court.

As wee see fit? Gotcha.

Michele Bachmann on John Quincy Adams

Nothing Michele Bachmann said was factually wrong. The controversy hinges on whether John Quincy Adams was part of the Founding generation. He was. President George Washington appointed John Quincy Adams Minister to the Netherlands in 1794. The Bill of Rights to the Constitution was ratified in 1791 during the same presidential administration. And John Quincy Adams traveled to Paris with his father John Adams, when the latter served as America's Ambassador to France from 1778 until 1779. Hence, Congresswoman Bachmann's statements aren't all that off the mark. John Quincy Adams was not a signer of the Declaration of Independence or Constitution, but certainly was serving importantly as a member of the era, as Bachmann states after George Stephanopoulos tries to elicit a misstatement:

John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.

I try to like Stephanopoulos, despite the fact that he was a top adviser to President Bill Clinton. See, "John Quincy Adams a Founding Father? Michele Bachmann Says Yes" (via Memeorandum). Was John Quincy Adams a Founder as in a signer of our founding documents? No? Was he a member of the Founding generation who would have a substantial impact on the course of American history? Absolutely. Yes.

Wouldn't it be nice if folks like Stephanopoulos went after Democrats just an aggressively?

ADDED: I've got some progressive idiots visiting from Instaputz's stinkhole, and one of these idiots writes:

That 57 states gaffe said THREE YEARS AGO is still giving you wingers serious mileage isn't it?

The number of gaffes Obama has made compared to the number of gaffes Bush made... anyone? ...

Well, folks can check out how many gaffes Bush made, but he never made one like this:

I wrote on this last week, but Michael Barone points out today the wicked media double standards when it comes to political misstatements, "Mainstream media covers up horrifying Obama mistake" (at Memeorandum):

It’s interesting that mainstream media journalists who are so eager to zing Michele Bachmann for getting John Wayne’s birthplace wrong, have not been interested in asking whether this was a mistake Obama made in ad libbing or whether the White House speechwriters and fact-checkers fell down on the job. You might think that their chief motive is to make Obama look good and to suppress facts that make him look bad.

Well, yeah, you might think. Idiots.

Update on Allegations Against David Prosser

Reading at Althouse's yesterday, some sockpuppet left this comment:

Althouse would like you to believe that Bradley is to blame because her neck got in the way of Prosser's fists. And note too, how AA turns the story around to shoot the messenger. I'm just waiting for the dirt to be dug up on Bradley now. There doesn't seem to be much but there's plenty on Prosser's violence against women. But AA won't let that get in the way of a good smear on the writer now and Bradley next.

I responded at the thread, demanding evidence for the claim of "Prosser's violence against women." That's pretty strong, and while tooling around yesterday for videos I came across this clip from One Wisconsin Now, a far left Soros-styled thug outfit:

Turns out Prosser's apparently got a temper, although I don't see anywhere about alleged violence against women: "Prosser’s conduct unbefitting a justice." This might explain why progressives jumped on the allegations before anything was really known. It's an epic smear job designed to force Prosser from office, not unlike some of the other stories I've been reporting earlier, like the PC attack against Paul Mirengoff in January, and the recent campaign against me at my college, in which progressive bloggers have falsely accused me of sexual harassment.

Anyway, Althouse has a new report, "'D]o you think that a woman like Bradley, who seriously considered calling the cops because Prosser used a profanity about another justice...'" Althouse links to Darleen Click at Protein Wisdom, and here's the full context:

It appears Bradley is now upping the ante by specifically alleging to the press that, Prosser put her in a “choke hold.”

Funny thing, though …

Prosser told the newspaper in March that he had used profanity in a meeting the month before and threatened to destroy Abrahamson.

Bradley sent all the justices an email after that meeting, saying Prosser’s behavior was unacceptable. She said later that she considered making a report to law enforcement but decided against it.

… do you think that a woman like Bradley, who seriously considered calling the cops because Prosser used a profanity about another justice would not call the cops if she was the victim of an unprovoked, physical assault in front of witnesses?

Yeah, me neither.

So, Prosser uses profanity in public. It's not something I'd do, but he's on the up and ups about it, which is admirable. But Darleen really gets to the nub here, which is that Justice Bradley certainly would like to have Prosser hauled into the dock. There's some extreme animosity going on at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and it's going to be playing out for some time. Indeed, William Jacobson makes a prediction: "Wisconsin will be losing a Supreme Court Justice, we just don’t know which one yet." There's a police investigation going on, so stayed tuned. See also, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Dane County Sheriff's office investigating Bradley claim."

Sarah Palin Heads to Iowa on Tuesday

For the premiere of "The Undefeated," the big new documentary that's perfectly timed for a major Palin announcement.

At National Journal, "Palin to Iowa Tuesday":

Just as some pundits were counting her out as a presidential candidate, Sarah Palin has laid on plans to visit Iowa next week -- one day after her tea party soul mate and potential rival, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is set to launch her presidential campaign in the same state.

Distributors of The Undefeated, a flattering documentary about Palin's political career, announced Saturday that the former Alaska governor and her husband, Todd, will attend a premiere of the movie Tuesday in Pella, Iowa.

The town, about 40 miles east of Des Moines, is home to an historic opera house where the movie will be shown.

"We are very excited to visit historic Pella and its opera house and look forward to seeing the finished film for the first time with fellow Americans from the heartland," Palin is quoted as saying in a release announcing her plans to attend the event.

The national rollout for the movie begins July 15.

Also at the Victory Film Group, "GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN TO ATTEND PREMIERE OF THE UNDEFEATED AT PELLA OPERA HOUSE IN PELLA, IOWA" (via Memeorandum).

Weiner Admits He Lied

The headline's long at NYT, "Weiner Admits He Sent Lewd Photos; Seeks Not to Resign." Just read the whole thing. Amazingly good piece. I especially like the suggestion that by the standards of Rep. Christopher Lee, who resigned from his own shirtless scandal, there's really no reason Weiner should stay in the House. And Nancy Pelosi's not pleased. She's promised an ethics investigation, and while normally that's a joke, I think Weiner's travails are hurting Democratic prospects for 2012, and they know it.