ICYMI: 57-year-old Scarface actor Steven Bauer is dating 18-year-old Lyda Loudon http://t.co/sIIByzont3 pic.twitter.com/aHuCFi0BzT
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) July 28, 2014
With 100 days to go until the midterm election, unexpectedly strong bids by several Republican candidates and President Barack Obama's continued sagging approval ratings are boosting GOP chances of capturing a Senate majority.There's a great graphic at the click through.
A battery of recent polling shows Republican candidates mounting competitive bids for at least 10 Senate seats now held by Democrats, including in Iowa and Colorado, states that have been leaning Democratic in recent years. Many Republican candidates have narrowed their opponents' fundraising advantage, according to the latest campaign-finance reports. And a series of international crises has dealt the president some of the lowest approval marks of his second term, weighing on his party's candidates.
"A lot of times, a party has to run an inside-straight to win the majority," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report who handicaps congressional campaigns. "Instead of having five cards in their hand, the Republicans have about 10."
The GOP needs a net gain of six seats for a majority in the Senate, which now has 55 Democrats and allied independents. Republicans have long been expected to contest seven Democratic-held seats in states that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. But now the GOP is also waging solid campaigns in at least three states that backed Mr. Obama.
Still, Democratic incumbents have remained resilient after weathering millions of dollars in negative advertising. North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan, for example, holds a narrow lead in publicly available polling after absorbing $18 million in negative ads, far more than the amount spent on ads supporting her, her campaign said. Democratic prospects also are making serious bids for Republican seats in Georgia and Kentucky, the only two GOP-held seats that are thought to be possible Democratic pickups this year.
But Republicans are favored to win Democratic seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, and GOP challengers are pushing incumbent Democrats to the brink in Alaska, Arkansas and Louisiana, as well as North Carolina. Races for Democratic seats in Colorado and Iowa are now genuine tossups, with some analysts saying the same of Michigan.
This year's map clearly favors the GOP even as Democrats continue to lead on the question of which party Americans would rather see control Congress, according to a compilation of polls by the website Real Clear Politics. The Republican Party also remains far less popular than the president or the Democratic Party, public-opinion surveys show, particularly among women.
But Republicans this year are betting on an anti-Obama message, linking Democratic candidates to a president who is unpopular in many of the battleground states. Democrats, meanwhile, are doing what incumbents typically do when facing a negative election environment: building campaigns around local issues and reminding voters of all the things they do in Washington to help people back home.
Republicans have been here before. In each of the past two elections, the party failed to capitalize on a favorable map to recapture the majority. And to win this year, Republicans would likely have to do something the party hasn't done since 1980: beat more than two incumbents.
Sitting Democratic senators in the four most competitive battlegrounds—Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina—remain at risk but carry financial advantages and, in three cases, family names that are identified with long service to the state. Polls show close contests in each race, and all four Democrats ended June with more money in their campaign accounts than the Republicans running against them, according to Federal Election Commission data.
"All of these red-state Democrats knew they would have difficult campaigns. They've prepared for difficult campaigns, and they're all experienced politicians," said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, who is working for Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu. "They all have a path to win."
By the end of June, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had raised $25 million more than its Republican counterpart, allowing the committee to spend freely on television ads and turnout opeartions. Democrats in seven of the 10 most competitive races also ended June with more money than their Republican rivals.
But the edge is diminishing in some states. In Colorado, where Democratic Sen. Mark Udall is defending his seat, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner trails in cash on hand by $2.3 million, according to campaign-finance reports. That gap is smaller than the $3.8 million lead that Mr. Udall held at the end of March.
Disagreeing with 1+ Israelis because of what they do (as opposed to who they are) does NOT make one an anti-Semite. pic.twitter.com/aDi3Mg6pYj
— W. James Casper (@repsac3) July 18, 2014Jewish people in Britain are enduring a backlash of attacks, bomb threats and anti-semitic insults fuelled by the bloodshed in Gaza.More.
More than 100 hate crimes have been recorded by police and community groups this month, more than double the usual number.
Community safety groups fear the total could be the second highest ever recorded, after an explosion of violence during the 2009 Gaza war.
In several disturbing cases attackers have invoked the Holocaust and even shouted: ‘Heil Hitler’ at victims...
Huge damage in #gaza. But didnt see hamas men out helping with relief and recovery. pic.twitter.com/2rlfwuj2Yu
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014Shejaiya devastated. But still unclear if hamas will accept ceasefire. Increasingly hearing in #gaza they should. pic.twitter.com/UCLeAvJfhu
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014Entire blocks devastated in #gaza. Increasingly hearing calls for hamas to accept ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/z5HOjjF2c1
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014gazans can't afford to rebuild all of this. an analyst asked me: will hamas help? or buy more weapons + tunnels? pic.twitter.com/Dv0iqxlDYs
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014Gazans say this - the 3rd recent Israel-Hamas war - has been the most destructive yet pic.twitter.com/nFgqoxOQAt
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014Israel agrees to extend fighting pause in Gaza by four hours http://t.co/4lZOJC7hcR
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 26, 2014Sr Israeli official tells NBC cabinet approved a humanitarian ceasefire until tomorrow midnight, while Israel continues anti-tunnel mission
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014still very fluid. tonight is quiet. not hearing explosions in gaza. just the wind, sea (and drones)
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 26, 2014two big Israeli strikes in central gaza city short time ago. at least one woman killed. one man injured man. #Israel. #Gaza
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 27, 2014This is no precision war vs Hamas- it's punishment. Israel telling Gaza: you fire rockets, you will pay. http://t.co/ZIooh56Bzd
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 27, 2014Still no clarity abt ceasefire. How long. If.. But it feels different in gaza. A sense perhaps its winding down..(could change quickly)
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) July 27, 2014Witnesses react after #lightning strike injures at least nine, kills one at #Venice Beach: http://t.co/ul3wufKoPJ
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) July 28, 2014Crazy Eyes Bachmann Wants Central American Children Put In Indoctrination Camps (UPDATED) http://t.co/2y2k2y9y1d http://t.co/8vBOOzQI8a
— memeorandum (@memeorandum) July 27, 2014Now that's a correction http://t.co/RjMXtAHjob (h/t @mt_newman)
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 27, 2014
Irvine Councilman Larry Agran is brushing off scathing testimony from current and former Orange County Great Park executives that allege millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted through poor budget planning and incompetence under a dysfunctional management system.Right.
Among the allegations are that powerful consultants, one with close political ties to Agran, were authorized to run the project above the direction of city staff members.
The allegations were revealed July 21 through the release of testimony given over the past three months as part of the Great Park forensic audit approved by the Irvine City Council last year. The audit is examining more than $200 million spent on the Great Park so far.
The cost of the audit has risen to more than $1 million, and a final report is expected by September. Four of the audit depositions were released July 21 on a public records request.
Agran served as chairman of the Great Park Corp. for five of the seven years, 2005-12, covered by the audit. The corporation was folded into city operations in 2013.
"It's the kind of gossip and backbiting that's part of any major project," Agran said after stating he had not read the depositions two days after they were released.
Assistant city manager Mike Ellzey has functioned as the Great Park chief executive since shortly after he was hired by Agran in 2008. Ellzey told investigators he immediately encountered an unusual power structure in which consultant Arnold Forde, under a contract to his PR firm Forde & Mollrich, had more decision-making power than he did as CEO. Forde has served as a strategist in several of Agran's City Council and mayoral campaigns.
Ellzey submitted that with Forde as his right-hand man, and Yuhedi Gaffen of the design management firm Gafco, Agran created a "triumvirate of power" within the Great Park Design Studio. He testified the Design Studio routinely operated ahead of proper oversight by city staff members.
"That was just wrong," Ellzey stated in his deposition on June 18. "It was just wrong that a contractor/consultant was directing a public body."
Similar testimony was offered by former Great Park CEO Walter Kreutzen, former Chief Financial Officer Colleen Clark and former Manager Mary Ann Burgess. Ellzey is the only one among the four that remains attached to the Great Park project.
Ellzey said excessive contracts, with sloppy invoicing and design work that often could not produce deliverables, churned through millions of Great Park funds. Forde & Mollrich was paid $100,000 per month for public relations work — a figure Ellzey placed as much as 300% too high.
The release of the depositions hasn't moved Agran from his stance that the entire forensic audit is nothing more than a "political witch hunt," as he has stated in the past.
4000-5000 demonstrators at "Hungary supports Israel" rally in downtown Budapest pic.twitter.com/IIa1NvHWvw
— FreeHungary (@FreeHungary2014) July 27, 2014
"Anti-Israel is the new form of anti-Semitism". Participants at #proisrael rally #budapest pic.twitter.com/Szn1J4mpal
— Laci Molnar (@Laci_Molnar) July 27, 2014
Pro-Israeli rally: Israel's ambassador amidst thunderous applause: http://t.co/6MWm2ergp5 @YouTube által
— Laci Molnar (@Laci_Molnar) July 27, 2014
Hundreds of #Zionists hold pro-Israel rally in #Budapest http://t.co/fu6IClk5br
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) July 27, 2014
Earlier this week 10 Gaza terrorists dressed in Israeli army uniforms popped out of the ground less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away. They killed four Israeli soldiers before an airstrike killed them, preventing them from moving deeper into the country.At the video, Dana Bar-on, who lives at Mir Am, shares her experiences and feelings --- and note especially how she's heartbroken at the civilian casualties in Gaza. She cries. But she explains that she loves the IDF --- who are friends and brothers and uncles --- as they always try to protect civilian lives, while protecting Israeli citizens from the Hamas terrorists burrowing below, attempting to murder the Jews in their homes.
Most of Nir Am’s 350 residents had already been relocated to safer areas in central and northern Israel, as happened in two previous wars with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, kibbutz spokesman Ofer Liberman said. Those remaining were shocked as Israeli troops entered the agricultural community in full combat gear fearing that gunmen had sneaked inside.
.@RSMcCain I don't understand today's feminists -- because they can't write http://t.co/X8tQij1JQh via @MeanCharlotte #RadFem
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) July 27, 2014Sex Trouble: Feminists Worry That Disney Movies Are Making Girls Heterosexual http://t.co/6z231JRdqQ #tcot pic.twitter.com/bBWSW1eApy
— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) July 27, 2014
