Pawlenty and Gore to Co-Host Live Earth Concert II

I yield (again) to Logical Lady Sue Jeffers


OK Governor Pawlenty, we know you have jumped on the green band wagon. We got it. We knew it with E-85, we knew it at the Governor's Convention, we knew it with the Renewable Energy Bill, and we knew it with the Global Warming Mitigation Act. We heard you say loud and clear that global warming is “a huge and defining issue of our time.” We got it.

But Governor Pawlenty let me make this really simple for you: you're wrong. The truth is that none of the suggested proposals to stop man made global warming enacted by the state, the nation, or the world, would have any noticeable impact on the climate for hundreds of years, if ever. The truth is no one can prove mankind causes global warming. There are many scientists who will tell you the global warming debate never even started before Al Gore announced it was over.

Pawlenty’s Next Generation Energy Initiative was signed into law earlier this year, it authorized the governor to appoint the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. Assorted special interest groups are well represented and they are charged with rubber stamping various strategies to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The group also includes the governor’s new buddy, Will Steger, who he refers to as “a Paul Revere-like figure”. It is a wonder that Al Gore was left off this committee.

The Climate Change Advisory Group’s report is due at the Capitol Feb. 8. It will include proposals for setting up a carbon trading market, reducing speed limits and increasing wetlands and forests. We will also see calls for more smart growth, higher fuel taxes and less consumption of fossil fuels. Count on electricity surcharges and more renewable fuels, wind and solar energy subsidies, iincreased subsidies for public transportation and even more restrictions on property rights. We might even see a tax for breathing, to reduce the CO2 of course.

The cost to anyone who uses energy will be staggering. Conveniently ignoring the fact that there is nothing Minnesota could reasonably do which would noticeably impact the climate. In fact there is no proof that these proposals will affect global warming, positive or negative, even if every state in the nation, and every country in the world, adopted them.

So Governor, hear this Conservative loud and clear: the defining moment will be when you find your backbone and lead and govern using conservative principles instead of supporting yet another invented liberal crisis. It would be much more effective if on your trip to the Arctic you would scope out the terrain and figure out the best spot to put the drilling rigs.

Ron Paul's Re-PORK Card - Record or Smear?

Well, I got one predictable response to my last post on Rep. Ron Paul.

A very effective smear job in full swing
I must say that this is not unexpected. With the success that Ron Paul is seeing in translating his grass roots support into actual real world support, the GOP-establishment had to start attacking him sooner or later.

As a Paul supporter myself this definitely worries me. Although anyone with a semblance of logic can see that this is a classic case of 'A believes in B, and A believes in C, therefore B believes in C'. A political tactic that has been used many times before. The unfortunate part is that the logical fallacy becomes all that much more effective due to the odiousness of 'A' (the truthers, neo-nazis, anarchists, and other fringe groups).

This tactic is so effective because it starts with an illogical basis meaning there is really no logical way out of it. Professional smear artist can play on this very easily. An example is Michael Medved's open letter post - he knows that if Dr. Paul responds, that he is now caught verifying that some of his supporters are fringe lunatics, lowering his credibility. If Dr. Paul doesn't respond, he lends credence to the claims set against him through inaction.

I genuinely think that silence is Dr. Paul's only option here, as either way is no-win. Personally I am torn as to how I feel about these new attacks. Should I feel good that Dr. Paul is putting the fear into the GOP-establishment, or should I be frightened that the first coordinated smear campaign is so effective (no matter how illogical)?

Sigh....the thing is I have no doubt that Congressman Paul's supporters are well meaning people. They DO want to do what is best for the country, but their hyperbolic defenses of a thoroughly flawed candidate really make it hard to take them seriously. For their response to every well documented, well researched look into the man's voting record results in one response...."SMEAR JOB".

Well going off of that, here is another "smear job" on Congressman Paul....another hard look at his voting record (as opposed to his talking points).

Today, the Club for Growth released its presidential white paper on Republican presidential candidate Representative Ron Paul (see PDF). The seventh in a series of white papers on the pro-growth records of presidential candidates, the attached report provides an extensive summary of Ron Paul's economic policies during his years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Ron Paul's record contains some very laudable components," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "On taxes, regulation, and political speech, his record is superb. His spending record is impressive, though Paul has recently embraced pork-barrel projects in direct contradiction to his vociferous opposition to unconstitutional appropriations by the federal government."

Included in the highlights was this look at Congressman Paul's embracing pork barrel spending.

Paul's record on pork was outstanding in 2006, voting for all 19 of Jeff Flake's anti-pork amendments in 2006,[28] but his record took a stark turn for the worse in 2007, in which Paul received an embarrassing 29% on the Club for Growth's RePORK Card, voting for only 12 of the 50 anti-pork amendments.[29]
Some of the outrageous pork projects Paul voted to keep include $231,000 for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association's Urban Center; $129,000 for the "perfect Christmas tree project;" $300,000 for the On Location Entertainment Industry Craft Technician Training Project in California; $150,000 for the South Carolina Aquarium; and $500,000 for the National Mule and Packers Museum in California.[30]
This year, Ron Paul requested more than sixty earmarks "worth tens of millions of dollars for causes as diverse as rebuilding a Texas theater, funding a local trolley, and helping his state's shrimp industry."[31]
In defense of his support for earmarks, Rep. Paul took the if you can't beat 'em,
join 'em position, arguing that "I don't think they should take our money in the
first place. But if they take it, I think we should ask for it back."[32]
This is a contradiction of Paul's self-proclaimed "opposition to appropriations
not authorized within the enumerated powers of the Constitution."[33]

One would think that if Congressman Paul really cared about keeping spending low, he would hold fast to his principles rather than taking an "if you can't beat them, join them" attitude.

There are more examples of the Congressman's principles of convenience.

I hate to say it this way, but if Rudy Giulliani is an unacceptable candidate because of his conservative "principles of convenience", then shouldn't we hold Congressman Paul to the same standard?

Project Valor IT Kick Off

Last year I took part in the Project Valor IT fundraising drive. The goal last year was (if I recall correctly) to raise $45,000 per branch (Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines) a total that was greatly exceeded by all branches.

This year the goal is $60,000 per branch and I am again taking part in the challenge, but I am also issuing a challenge to my fellow True North contributors. Pick a branch and add their widget to your site and let's all raise a ton of money for our wounded warriors. It's not hard....if I can do it anyone can and it doesn't take long.

So come on guys.....what do you say? Are you game?

Truthers for Paul!

A while back I wrote a post asking if Ron Paul was the answer for the Republican Party. It was in response to several of his supporters who insisted that Rep. Paul was "the only true Conservative" in the race. Well after seeing this slide show of photos taken at an International Answer/9-11 Truth rally in Los Angeles, I have to ask just WHAT is conservative about Congressman Paul's followers?

I pulled a couple of selected pictures because of the comments that were posted by Ron Paul supporters in response to Michael Medved's "Open Letter to Rep. Ron Paul"

Finally there is this photo.....

Since the conventional wisdom is that you are known by the company you keep I have to ask yet again - WHAT is "conservative" about Rep. Ron Paul or his supporters? Communism is the anti-thesis of conservatism so it is obvious, to me, that there is NOTHING conservative about Rep. Ron Paul or his supporters.

Drop Out?

Here is an interesting off-shoot (pun intended) of the Virginia Tech tragedy. (HT Best of the Web Today)

College students across the country have been strapping empty holsters around their waists this week to protest laws that prohibit concealed weapons on campus, citing concerns over campus shootings.
"People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left defenseless when on campus," said Ethan Bratt, a graduate student wearing an empty holster this week on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a group of college students, parents and citizens who organized after the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech University in April, launched the protest.

These students are taking on a mindset that simply refuses to compromise.

"You don't like the fact that you can't have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school," said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Oh so if Mr. Hamm doesn't mind violating Aled Baker's Consitutional rights?

Aled Baker, a junior, said he loses his constitutional right to protect himself and others when he steps on campus.
"It's null and void when you go on campus," the mechanical engineering student said.

I wonder if Mr. Hamm would have such a cavelier attitude about it if his free speech rights were what was being curtailed?

The Daily Collegian (a Penn State University student publication) had a very well balanced story on the protest.

Nathaniel Sheetz doesn't care if you notice the empty gun holster strapped to his right hip this week.
That's the point, he said.
"People who carry concealed weapons go about their daily lives just like anyone else would," Sheetz (graduate-industrial engineering) said. "We are trying to show people that just because we might be carrying weapons, that wouldn't impact how we go about our business."

I can't help but think that Hamline University student Troy Scheffler needs to hook up with these folks. If anyone needs their help it would be him as Mitch, Ed and King have shown.

It is nice to see these kids standing up for their rights. Heaven knows there are times when a trained, licensed conceal carry wholder ould have kept a bad situation from getting worse.

On the morning of Aug. 1, 1966, few people had ever considered the possibility that they might die in an indiscriminate shooting spree. But shortly before noon on that fateful day, a 25-year-old former Marine climbed to the top of the University of Texas bell tower and created a worldwide reference point for such fears.
As police rushed to the scene, officers already on the UT campus struggled to formulate a plan. At that time, the Austin Police Department had no SWAT team. Officers were armed only with service revolvers and shotguns, both useless against a sniper firing from a fortified position high above the ground.
Seeing that something had to be done, students quickly retrieved hunting rifles from dorm rooms and fraternity houses, took up defensive positions throughout the campus and returned fire. In the August 2006 edition of Texas Monthly magazine, Bill Helmer, a graduate student at UT during the shooting, recalled the experience to journalist Pamela Colloff: He said he remembered thinking, "All we need is a bunch of idiots running around with rifles." But what they did turned out to be brilliant. Once the shooter could no longer lean over the edge and fire, he was much more limited in what he could do. That's why he did most of his damage in the first 20 minutes.

It is certainly something to think about.

Minnesota's Bridge to Somewhere...Please Send Money

I yield the floor to Logical Lady - Sue Jeffers

Dear Congressman Oberstar,

In your Tribune Counter Point comments on Oct. 26 you stated it is “unfathomable to not be moved to act decisively” after the tragedy of the bridge collapse. Well, what are you waiting for?

On August 6 President Bush signed your bill to authorize $250 million in emergency transportation aid and $5 million in transit funding assistance to MN for the collapse of the 35W Bridge. MN needs the remaining $195 million promised immediately. Three months later MN is still waiting for the federal funding while behind the scenes state Democrats continue to play politics with state DOT funding.

As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee you stated traffic congestion in our metro area is costing the state economy $1.1 billion per year and commuters waste 43 hours and 30 gallons of gas just sitting in congestion. The bridge collapse has significantly compounded these problems in the north metro.As Chairman you know far too often politicians choose to spend our tax dollars on pork instead of priorities. You know we have a Highway trust fund, which gas taxes and other funds are to be deposited. These funds are most often not used for their stated purpose but added to the general fund for spending on pet projects including bike paths and light rail transit. You know our bridge money is tied up in an incredibly expensive transportation bill, so loaded with pork that President Bush is threatening to again veto it. It also includes $250,000 for more bike paths in your district.

As Chairman you know the Federal Highway Administration reported of the 594,000 bridges in the US, about 73,500 (12%) are structurally deficient. These bridges need significant rehabilitation, maintenance or replacement. As Chairman you know the Congressional Budget office reports infrastructure spending has accounted for about 3% of the total federal expenditures since 1987 and will continue to be so through 2009.

Voters still remember the 2005 Transportation Bill, over $286 billion including 6373 earmarks that totaled $24 billion. This bill also included the infamous Bridge to Nowhere, the $223 million bridge in rural Alaska. Rather than fund roads and bridges, your priorities included $16million for MN bike paths and $120 million for your district’s transportation projects and $600 million to encourage kids to walk or bike. Another $3 billion was for earmarked for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Congressman, your solution, to further punish Minnesota drivers, low income families, farmers, truckers and small businesses who rely on low transportation costs, is raising the gas tax. The public has, in large numbers, clearly stated that we oppose a gas tax increase. How about an explanation as to why the gas tax revenue is so poorly spent?

Congressman, as Chair and a representative for the people of Minnesota we need to know road and bridge safety funding is your priority. We do not need additional gas or other taxes. Federal and state monies must be spent first and foremost on infrastructure including road and bridge safety.

Transportation priorities should include safety, congestion and pollution, not light rail transit (LRT). As chairman you already know light rail transit does not eliminate congestion. LRT can not follow population or job growth and can never compete with the automobile of which 92% of us drive. LRT can not move goods and services or create economic growth. LRT is one of the most expensive and lowest return use of our transportation dollars. The Minnesota Department of Economic Development reports that only 2.8% of the state's commuters ride buses or rail to get to work, yet these projects get up to 25% of the funding.

MN is far from broke, our general fund has grown by over $2 billion in each of the last two budget cycles. Currently it is a whopping $34.5 billion in a state of 5 million people. MN started the year with a record $2 billion budget surplus, and a good economy added another $200 million of unexpected revenue. In recent years over $2 billion in potential funding has been diverted from road and bridge repair to the state’s light (and heavy) rail projects. Higher taxes will not make our roads and bridges safer if we don't spend the money on roads and bridges.

About the only thing both sides can agree on is that in spite of increased budgets, MnDOT has a significant backlog of road and bridge maintenance and expansion projects. Year after year legislators continue fund pork instead of bridges and roads. Money is not spent on roads and bridges but to art centers, zoos, sports stadiums and welfare benefits.

The MN gas tax is accurately called a user fee with 100% of the proceeds constitutionally dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund, meaning that the funds are not used to supplement the general fund or even to pay for mass transit. Ditto for license plate tabs fees. Unfortunately for the last 25 years the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) has been raided to supplement the general fund. Federal funding has also been directed away from bridges and roads.

Starting in 2012 the MVST will be 100% dedicated to transportation, the amendment passed in November 2006 has a goofy 60-40 formula for dividing money between roads and mass transit. It could be legally used entirely for mass transit. If history repeats itself, we can count on even more funding to be re-routed to mass transit instead of funding roads and bridges.

Minnesotans are very generous; we are one of the highest taxed states in the nation. Projects are, literally or figuratively, collapsing around us while Minnesotans wait for the promised federal funding. So while we are busy here trying to get our state legislators to make roads and bridges priorities please do your job and send our federal bridge money.

Sincerely,
Sue Jeffers

This Is Vision?

The Scott County Board released their "2030 Vision" in a town hall forum last night. Based on the reporting in todays Star Tribune, I wasn't sure how bad it would be.

"Scott County is unveiling this week what officials are calling the last best chance to "paint the picture" of its future in the decades to come. And they're bracing for hostile reaction.
The county's plan for the next quarter century, on display at an open house Tuesday night and on the Web on Wednesday, envisions a future in which farming almost disappears in the generations to come."

The Strib has the reputation of being a little less than accurate in it's reporting, so it is possible that this future devoid of farm land (in a very agricultural county) could be just a little hysterical...right? I mean slide 4 talks about how great the county will be in 2030 because of it's "natural beauty and rural character". Slide 5 talks about a "diversity of urban and rural lifestyles".

However, slide 28 starts the discussion of Land Use and it is there that (if you like the rural character of Scott County) things go south in a hurry. Slide 31 shows where the planned growth will be and how it will "include" family farms! There, just south and west of Belle Plaine, taking a whole 1/8th of the county is what the County Board has relegated to farm land! Everything else will be residential/municipalities (Shakopee, Prior Lake, Jordan etc). We are talking about the government of a county that is MOSTLY rural/farmland now, planning to become another inner ring concrete "smart growth"!

Now I have no problems with a retiring farmer selling his land to whomever he/she chooses. That is what property rights are all about. But government planning you out of your farm is another story entirely! To have our farmers know that in 20 years, the county will crowd them out of their land is unconscionable!

The charm of Scott County has been it's rural/farming identity. Family farms and hobby farms (10 acres and a horse as the Star Tribune called it) give the residents a reminder of what this state was founded on....a reminder of our history! To plan on paving that all under in roads and developments is a crime.

When Journalists Attack

Last month, I wrote a little something on the case of the Jena 6 over at Anti-Strib. I implied then that there was a lot of mis-reporting of the facts of the case. Today's Christian Science Monitor runs a lengthy piece written by the assistant editor of the Jena Louisiana Times. He lays out, in brutal detail, how badly the national media betrayed the trust of their readers and viewers. (HT Powerline).

By now, almost everyone in America has heard of Jena, La., because they've all heard the story of the "Jena 6." White students hanging nooses barely punished, a schoolyard fight, excessive punishment for the six black attackers, racist local officials, public outrage and protests – the outside media made sure everyone knew the basics.
There's just one problem: The media got most of the basics wrong. In fact, I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts, and journalists abdicated their solemn duty to investigate every claim because they were seduced by a powerfully appealing but false narrative of racial injustice.
I should know. I live in Jena. My wife has taught at Jena High School for many years. And most important, I am probably the only reporter who has covered these events
from the very beginning.

He then lays out the 12 Myths of the Jena case and what the truth really was. Here are some snippets.

Myth 1: The Whites-Only Tree. There has never been a "whites-only" tree at Jena High School. Students of all races sat underneath this tree...

Myth 2: Nooses a Signal to Black Students. An investigation by school officials, police, and an FBI agent revealed the true motivation behind the placing of two nooses in the tree the day after the assembly. According to the expulsion committee, the crudely constructed nooses were not aimed at black students. Instead, they were understood to be a prank by three white students aimed at their fellow white friends, members of the school rodeo team. (The students apparently got the idea from watching episodes of "Lonesome Dove.") The committee further concluded that the three young teens had no knowledge that nooses symbolize the terrible legacy of the lynchings of countless blacks in American history. When informed of this history by school officials, they became visibly remorseful because they had many black friends. Another myth concerns their punishment, which was not a three-day suspension, but rather nine days at an alternative facility followed by two weeks of in-school suspension, Saturday detentions, attendance at Discipline Court, and evaluation by licensed mental-health professionals.

Emphasis mine. I quoted all of Myth 2 because this is one of the main myths that the race baiters used to stir up tensions in Jena. There was no racism, just a case of a) totaly ignorance of history or b) a failure of the education system for not teaching these kids about the real racist past of this country.

Myth 3: Nooses Were a Hate Crime. Although many believe the three white students should have been prosecuted for a hate crime for hanging the nooses, the incident did not meet the legal criteria for a federal hate crime...

Myth 4: DA's Threat to Black Students. When District Attorney Reed Walters spoke to Jena High students at an assembly in September, he did not tell black students that he could make their life miserable with "the stroke of a pen." Instead, according to Walters, "two or three girls, white girls, were chit-chatting on their cellphones or playing with their cellphones right in the middle of my dissertation...

Myth 5: The Fair Barn Party Incident. On Dec. 1, 2006, a private party – not an all-white party as reported – was held at the local community center called the Fair Barn...

You have to go to the article to get all of the Fair Barn Party truth - it is rather lengthy and very detailed.

Myth 6: The "Gotta-Go" Grocery Incident. On Dec. 2, 2006, Bailey and two other black Jena High students were involved in an altercation at this local convenience store, stemming from the incident that occurred the night before...

Again you need to go to the article for the full details as this was a major part of the race case.

Myth 8: The Attack Is Linked to the Nooses. Nowhere in any of the evidence, including statements by witnesses and defendants, is there any reference to the noose incident that occurred three months prior...

Myth 9: Mychal Bell's All-White Jury...

Myth 10: Jena 6 as Model Youth...

I wrote about this last month.

Myth 11: Jena Is One of the Most Racist Towns in America...

Myth 12: Two Levels of Justice. Outside protesters were convinced that the prosecution of the Jena 6 was proof of a racially biased system of justice. But the US Justice Department's investigation found no evidence to support such a claim. In fact, the percentage of blacks and whites prosecuted matches the parish's population statistics.

The author's close says it all.

As with the Duke Lacrosse case, the truth about Jena will eventually be known. But the town of Jena isn't expecting any apologies from the media. They will probably never admit their error and have already moved on to the next "big" story. Meanwhile in Jena, residents are getting back to their regular routines, where friends are friends regardless of race. Just as it has been all along.

It is a condemnation of a media culture that is more befitting of the National Enquirer than it is the legacy of Edward R. Murrow. This culture is why the newspaper industry is dying on the vine and network news is fatally ill. It will not be revived until the day comes when the culture of "report it first" is replaced with a culture of "report it right!"

Cross posted at Anti-Strib

Jealousy

Lynn J. of Richfield has a problem with my neighbors.

Congratulations to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community again on its
generous gift to the Gophers football stadium.

If one thinks this through -- with the tribe making between $600 million and $1 billion a year and contributing $21 million a year on average, the tribe contributes at best 3 percent of its untaxed income each year total to its select causes.

Compare that with the average citizen who pays income taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, fees, licenses, etc., that the casino and tribe are exempt from. In my case, these taxes and fees easily add up to 50 percent or more of my income.

Who among us would not trade the right to donate 3 percent of our income (plus free PR and advertising) in exchange for paying nothing to the government?

When one looks at these kind of figures, one has to think that it's time to open up a state-run, regulated, taxpaying casino. Our roads, our schools and our overburdened taxpayers would all benefit. Perhaps it's time we let the taxpayers
of Minnesota vote on this.

Obviously Lynn does not live in the Savage Lands. If she did, she would have what I have here in my hot little hands. Let's take a look at the 2006 Annual Donation report that the SMSC sent to their neighbors.

They donated roughly $14 million to several different tribes in the area including the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Standing Rock Sioux and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. This money was used for a variety of community service projects like wellness centers, domestic violence shelters and energy assistance and veterans assistance! They donated 86 defibrilators - 66 of which went to the State of Minnesota for State Patrol Cars. They have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities like The American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, the Minneasota Zoo, Loaves and Fishes amd more. They donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to educational organizations, churches and college funds.

They have given millions of dollars to various Scott County Governmental organizations including roughly $300,000 annually to the City of Prior Lake for police and fire assistance, approximately $2 million toward repairs on County Road 82 and other county road repairs for roads leading into the reservation.

They employ 4100 Scott County residents making them the largest employer in the county. They have their own fire department, public works department, day care center, hotel, convenience store, health club, golf course and numerous other small businesses on the reservation!

All in all charitable donations from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community totalled just over $18,000,000 in 2006. These are normal "annual" contributions so you add that to the $21 million that they gave to the U and it is a wee bit more than 3 percent!

All in all the SMSC has given back over $75 million to the Community in the last 9 years Lynn! So the next time you want to go off on how the Tribe is not contributing "their fair share" (being the filthy "rich" that they are) maybe you should take a look at their donation report and requirements before you speak.

Courting the base

Last week, in response to a post from guest Sue Jeffers, Skipper left the comment.

Insisting on ideological purity isn't too bright an idea. Most Americans don't share your extremist right wing neocon philosophy!

To which I responded:

And I think that I can safely say that the vast majority of the voters don't share the extremist ideas of the far left either Skipper....

Yet if this story from today's Star Tribune political blog is any indication, that is exactly where the far left roots of the Democrat Party are going.

Mark Pera has a standard attack line against his incumbent congressional opponent, one he loves enough to repeat four times in a 10-minute interview.

"Every time Bush needs a vote," the Democratic attorney from Western Springs, Ill., says, "he turns to Dan Lipinski and gets it."

Independent ratings show Lipinski, a second-term Democrat, actually voted with the Republican president less than 20 percent of the time this year (down from about half the time in 2006). But he's backed the presidential position on at least one key vote over the Iraq war — and he's suggested war opponents are better served by working across party lines than by sending withdrawal timelines out for repeated presidential vetoes.

That, in the new Democratic Congress, is enough to draw Lipinski an Internet-fueled primary challenge from the left.

Frustrated with Democrats' failure to thwart Bush on Iraq and other issues after winning House and Senate control in 2006, Internet activists deride Lipinski and about 40 other Democratic members of Congress as "Bush Dogs" for their votes on the war and warrantless wiretapping. The activists have targeted those lawmakers with attack ads, scathing blog posts and, in Lipinski's case, financial help for his primary foe. Pera outraised Lipinski last quarter, a rarity for a challenger, thanks in part to the $30,000 he recently raised online over a two-week period.

So there you have it, Republicans and Democrats are doing what they have done for decades....courting the base as the base is demanding attention! This is what happens in the Primary season. Yet when Republicans (like Sue or I) do it, we are called "extremists". Therein lies the "do as we say not as we do" mentality of the leftist base of the Democratic Party.

Congressman Kline On SCHIP

I missed this last Wednesday when it came out, but Drew Emmer at Wright County Republican didn't!

Minnesotans understand that we have a responsibility to care for and support our children in need. As a father of two and a grandfather of four, I appreciate the importance of ensuring that health care is available to children. That is why I have been a supporter of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) since I was first elected to Congress in 2002.

However, I am not supporting the proposed expansion of SCHIP, because it fails to put poor kids first and relies on reckless funding schemes. This bill the president vetoed is a huge expansion of a government program extending coverage to illegal immigrants and those already insured.

SCHIP was created 10 years ago by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton to provide health care benefits for low-income children not covered by Medicaid. Ensuring that all children have access to the care they need remains a priority for me, which is why I co-sponsored legislation that would provide an 18-month extension of the current SCHIP plan. This measure provides a stop-gap, not a solution.

Most, if not all, Republicans and Democrats in Washington understand the value of SCHIP. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues in Congress are using uninsured children as a political bargaining chip. We must end this dangerous game of politics and come together in a bipartisan manner to expand the program with solid funding to ensure the children of the working poor do not fall through the cracks.

Instead, we have an SCHIP bill that is fatally flawed by funding schemes and budget gimmicks that should trouble anyone. The bill relies on a budgetary gimmick that drops SCHIP funding by nearly 80 percent in its sixth year - resulting in a "funding cliff" that will ultimately force a choice between increasing taxes dramatically or stripping health insurance from millions of children. Because it depends on a huge cigarette tax increase, its funding scheme would need 22 million Americans to start smoking a pack per day. While no one would like to see kids smoking, the fact remains that the funding mechanism for this SCHIP proposal is reliant on a dramatic increase in the smoking population.

As it was written the bill was a farce and a sham.....a legislative shell game and both Congressman Kline and Congresswoman Bachman showed their wisdom in voting to uphold the President's veto of the SCHIP reauthorization. Both stood up to the political gamesmanship of the left and did the right thing....killing a bad bill. Hopefully now a workable SCHIP reauthorization bill - one that really helps the children most in need - can pass through Congress.

Minnesota's Mr. Right Strikes Again

Jason Lewis is known for being "hard" on the GOP for not sticking to their principles. Well today he takes the microscope to his favorite target....the Minnesota DFL.

As is always the case, getting into a bidding war with big-spending liberals ends in defeat for conservatives. Especially when Democrats seem more willing than ever to exploit any calamity, however horrific, for political gain. Whether politicizing the Wellstone memorial, Hurricane Katrina or even the casualties of war, the motto of the majority party in Washington and St. Paul is now best described as "No Tragedy Left Behind."

Indeed, no sooner had Minnesota's Interstate 35W bridge collapsed than our liberal elite starting pointing fingers -- and they've been doing it ever since. Led by the state's twin deacons of demagoguery, U.S. Rep. James Oberstar and state Sen. Steve Murphy, the party of government wasted no time in going public with its shopworn answer to every conceivable catastrophe: more funding and more taxes.

Ten years ago, long before Tim Pawlenty or George W. Bush took office, Minnesota's Office of Legislative Auditor made clear in a report to lawmakers that there was a "backlog of bridges that are classified as having structural deficiencies." How could a bridge found "structurally deficient" by state inspectors as early as 1990 be the fault of Pawlenty or Bush?

The report also found that Minnesota had the fifth-largest road system in the nation and was spending 52 percent more per capita on roads than the national average. Since our total transportation budget (including federal funds) jumped from $1.9 billion in fiscal 2005 to $2.3 billion in fiscal 2006, it's doubtful this has changed much. Moreover, only 25 percent of the state's gasoline and vehicle registration taxes dedicated to the Trunk Highway Fund even reach the Twin Cities area. If Minnesota's highway funding formula accurately reflected lane miles traveled, the congested metro area, the site of last summer's tragedy, would be receiving a far larger share.

Jason then goes on to poke at a few liberal "sacred cows".

So where are the dollars going? To outstate districts like Murphy's, where local highway funding is more about public-works projects and less about transportation policy. No wonder the esteemed senator sponsored a bill last session that would have pushed the gas tax from 20 cents per gallon to more than 40 cents over the next decade.

For his part, Oberstar is no slouch when it comes to pork-barrel projects. When he isn't holding news conferences demanding a 23.4-cent federal gas tax, he's busy at his perch on the House Transportation Committee bringing home the bacon. The 2005 "bridge to nowhere" highway bill (one of the reasons the GOP lost control of Congress in '06) was loaded with $24 billion of earmarks, including some $500 million for Minnesota. Oberstar's office touted his achievement in allocating $12 million for the Eighth District, some $10 million of which was for non-road uses, including pedestrian trails and bicycle paths, not to mention mass-transit centers in that metropolis known as Duluth.

In fact, federal and state governments have diverted billions of dollars to a number of mass-transit schemes that make about as much sense in the sprawling Midwest as a freeway through Central Park. Since the Surface Transportation Act of 1982, Congress has dedicated 20 percent of each increase in the federal gas tax to the Mass Transit Account -- the effect of which resulted in $52 billion coming out of roads and bridges in the 2005 bill.

Last fall, Minnesota voters reluctantly backed a constitutional amendment dedicating the 6.5 percent motor-vehicle excise tax to "transportation." They should have read the fine print, which states that not more than 60 percent of the proceeds can be spent on highways and that at least 40 percent must be used for public transit. This means that all of the tax could conceivably be devoted to costly light-rail lines.

Such as the three-quarter-billion-dollar Hiawatha Line. Touted for its ridership success, it not only has failed to put a dent in traffic congestion, but already is running annual deficits (expenses less fares) of $10 million as far as the eye can see. The state is now the largest funding source for Metro Transit, spending $200 million annually for 2.8 percent of Minnesota commuters.

Just a few days before the spectacular bridge failure, Twin Cities transit advocates were putting the best spin on increased cost projections for the new Central Corridor line running between downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis. It seems that internal memos suggested the Washington Avenue bridge would not be strong enough for the new trains. Now, at the insistence of the city of Minneapolis, the new I-35W bridge will include capacity for -- you guessed it -- a light-rail line.

In addition to raising the gas tax, transit advocates have been pushing hard for a metrowide sales-tax increase to fund the Central Corridor line, one of the reasons Pawlenty vetoed this year's pork-laden transportation bill. Given all of the so-called "transportation" money going for non-road and -bridge uses, you'd think Oberstar and Murphy might be a bit embarrassed calling for significant increases in the gas tax.

Not a chance.

New taxes are not the answer. Reasonable, responsible priorities are. When are our representatives going to wake up to that fact?

This is one of many reasons why Jason is still called "Minnesota's Mister Right". You may not like his bombastic approach, but his rhetoric is based in cold hard facts....facts that our friends on the left would have you forget.

The Silencing of the Lambs

Our Founding Fathers are spinning in their respective graves today. For under the cover of darkness, the City of Chicago outlawed "free" news publications (HT Newsbusters).

Bizarre as it may seem, on Feb. 7, 2007, the City Council voted 50-0 to outlaw the distribution of free newspapers, periodicals, and directories inside the city limits. Better call 311 to get the phone number for your alderman if you’d like to complain about this because using a White or Yellow Pages phone book that was delivered to your door recently may also make you a partner to a crime.

According to Title 10, Chapter 8 of the Municipal Code, as amended in February, an effort by Chicago’s city fathers to control litter has now made it unlawful to distribute free “newspapers, periodicals and directories of any kind on any public way or other public place or on the premise of private property in the city in such a manner that it is reasonably foreseeable that such distribution will cause litter.”

How many times have we all seen pieces of newpaper blowing around our neighborhoods. We all know that this can be due to a number of factors including (but not limited to) twine that has come untied, paper blown out of an open recycling bin, less than accurate delivery reps...shoot the list could go on for days.

Inside Publications (a free neighborhood weekly and the outlet that broke the story) goes on to ask who and how the determination of "reasonably forseeable" could be made.

This leaves open the question of which newspapers could or would be considered “litter.” If a future issue of Hoy, a Spanish language newspaper owned by the Tribune Company that is delivered for free throughout much of the 1st Ward, endorses an opponent of Ald. Manny Flores (1st) for alderman in a future election, could it be considered “litter” by the incumbent? He was the lead sponsor of this legislation, along with Ald. Virginia Rugai (19th).

In typical Chicago fashion, word of this did not get out until just recently and now that the media has found out, the Aldermen that unamiously supported this measure are reluctant to discuss it on the record - at first.

Inside Publications talked to several other aldermen including Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) last week after discovering this legislation, but those conversations were off the record. This week we called back to speak on the record. Ald. Daley assured Inside that the amended legislation was aimed at the litter created by the distribution of fliers, coupons, and menus — not newspapers — and that she didn’t see a need to use this law to limit Inside Publications’ distribution in the 43rd Ward.

Two frightening aspects to this story. First is that Chicago is not the first city to enact such legislation.

Chicago’s legislation was modeled after similar legislation passed in Old Westbury Village, NY, Derby County, CN, Rosewell, NM, Patterson Township, PA,
and Statford, VA. The Virginia case was challenged by local campaign workers on
the basis of First Amendment free speech rights and overturned. Chicago’s legislation does not regulate political material, only commercial materials, in
deference to the Virginia case. “There has to be a balance between people’s [First Amendment] rights and the additional cost to the city to clean this up,” said Flores.

A close reading of this law shows that this legislation “shall apply only to commercial advertising matter.” Therefore anything that a politician, preacher, or community activist delivers to your door cannot be considered “litter.”

But what about newsletters and flyers? Are they safe from being considered "litter" if they are not "political" in nature?

Second is the fact that there was no advance notice to concerned residents of the city to come speak to the council in favor or against the measure.

It appears there was little debate or advance notice city-wide of the proposed legislation before the City Council determined that it is illegal to deliver circulars that others may consider litter. One North Side circulation company that wishes to remain anonymous said they were not made aware of the new legislation until one of their clients told them of it. And until recently there seemed to be little enforcement of the law, although two distribution companies told Inside Publications that they had recently been asked to stop delivery of their clients’ menus by ward uperintendents in two Northwest Side wards.

Most of the communities in the Minneapolis metro get some sort of free weekly newspaper that may or may not come in via USPS. Here in the Savage Lands, we have two such publications - one comes in the mail, the other is delivered. I could not imagine a week going by without these two publications as they are vital to the health of our community. Banning publications like this, under any guise, is a step toward silencing the independent media that this country was built on. We can not lose our weekly independents (or even the kooky single page tracts that we get from time to time). They are the only thing standing between us and the corporate media that only wants to tell you the news that they think is "fit to print".

Then again, that is where websites like this may someday soon be important. The internet cat is out of the bag. Government will be hard pressed to shut us down as easily as Chicago has shut down distribution of the little indy newspapers.

Of Celebrities and Dogs

A lot of people have commented on sad story of Ellen DeGeneres and Iggy the dog. The basic gist of the story is that Ellen's partner adopted a dog from a rescue and didn't read the contract that the rescue had her sign. One of the tenants* of the contract is that if you decide that you can not give the dog to anyone else should you decide that you can not keep the dog.

Under the Mutts and Moms contract agreement (section 3H discusses the “NO RIGHT TO TRANSFER”), which Access obtained a copy of, anyone accepting a dog agrees to “NOT give or sell ADOPTEE to another person, company, organization, medical research, pound or animal shelter,” or, “If ADOPTER fails to abide by the terms of this clause, ADOPTER will pay all costs, including any legal fees incurred, required to secure the return of ADOPTEE to RESCUE and will, in addition, be required to pay liquidated damages in the amount of $500.”

Lucky, the worlds best border collie, is a rescue dog. Jack, the wild and crazy puppy, came to us from a breeder. When we purchased both dogs, we had to sign similar contracts. I understand why they do this. Unscrupulous people would go to shelters and rescues, adopt pets and then turn around and sell them to research labs and dog fighting rings. Not that we would ever do something like that, but it is to protect the dog and it is a very common practice

What bothers me is how people are handling this. The owner of the rescue agency has received numerous threatening messages...including one from DeGeneres' publicist.

A publicist for DeGeneres, Kelly Bush, also allegedly took matters a step further by leaving what seemed like a threatening message for Mutts and Moms. “We’re filing a legal case against you. We’re going to be contacting the media. This is not going to be good for your store or your organization,” Bush said on the tape, which was first played by “Good Morning America.”

In another interview, DeGeneres accused the agency of "selectively" enforcing their rules all the while asking that they do so in her favor when, on her program today, she pleaded that her hairstylist be given the dog because the hairstylists children had already bonded on the dog.

This really is one of those sad no win situations. Ellen violated a contract, granted she did not know what was in the contract, but ignorance of the law is no excuse. Mutts and Moms, certainly could have handled it better, but then again, we don't know what (if any) action they took prior to siezing the dog from the "new family". The real losers are the kids. Kids and dogs are a timeless combination. Dogs are good for kids and vice versa.

Perhaps the ladies that run Mutts and Moms can act like moms and give the kids a chance. I understand that not all dogs are kid friendly and not all kids are dog friendly, but if you really did care about the well being of the dog and the adoptive family the extra work is worth it. Just ask Lucky and Jack.

* - Thanks to reader and commenter J.Ewing for correcting my horrible spelling!

The New Front in Nanny Statism

Expect this to become the newest front in the Nanny state's battle against personal responsibility.

"An Associated Press examination of states' vaccination records and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many states are seeing increases in the rate of religious exemptions claimed for kindergartners.
"Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default? Absolutely," said Dr.
Paul Offit, head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics of the anti-vaccine movement. He said the resistance to vaccines is "an irrational, fear-based decision."

There are legit religious reasons to object to vaccinations if you are of that particular faith (which I am not BTW). I personally believe that all of the inventions and progress we have made are due to the talent that God has infused into each and every one of us. I also recognize that there is a greater good that is served by the innoculations. As the article states...

But public health officials say it takes only a few people to cause an
outbreak that can put large numbers of lives at risk.

However, what worries me is this attitude.

"When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a choice for yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division."

Now if immunizations work, then the only people a non-vaccinated person will affect would be another non-immunized person right? Not necessarily and that goes to the crux of what the people who are against the vaccines are saying. I know a couple of people in this "movement" and their reasoning (again, I don't fully agree with it but I understand it) for not vaccinating their children stems from the possible side effects that these drugs have. Now if you have ever seen any of the advertisements for new drugs you have no doubt see the long list of potential side effects - some of which can be calamitous. Their argument is certainly compelling.

Captain Ed interviewed David Harsanyi, the author of "Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children" on his Blog Talk Radio program today. While most of their discussion turned to centered on food choices and exercise in the realm of universal health care, the vaccine issue certainly could fit into the discussion. If the government is paying for "your" health care there is certainly no reason why they can not (or will not) tell you what vaccinations that you will be required to take (since the vaccine is cheaper than paying for the cure to the disease).

We have this think in the Constitution called the "Establishment Clause". Universal healthcare forcing immunizations on specific religions will fall in direct violation of the Establishment Clause. This will be one more thing that will need to be ironed out before Universal Healthcare becomes a reality.

Some More Dog Bite Statistics

After a couple of highly politicized dog bite attacks in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) announced to great fanfare that he would propose legislation next session to ban 5 different breeds of dogs, including Pit Bulls. Both Chief and I wrote a couple of initial posts on the issue on our respective blogs. Since those posts in July, a couple of things have happened.

1) Rep. Lesch held a town hall meeting that many anti-breed ban legislation groups attended. A couple of people got out of line which put a very bad face on dog owners (see the comments in my post here).

2) Two more attacks occurred - one of them was fatal.

Here is some unemotional statistics (courtesy of the National Canine Research Council)

Over the past 42 years there have been three (3) fatal dog attacks in Minnesota or approximately one (1) dog attack fatality every 12 years.

Two different breeds of dogs have been involved in the three fatal attacks.

One of the three fatal attacks in Minnesota involved loose roaming dogs attacking a child on a bicyle, (1984). The other two fatal dog attacks were inflicted on unsupervised children attempting to interact with a chained dog, (1981, 2007).

The third and latest fatal attack (2007) occurred in Minneapolis with a intact, male dog chained in the basement. The dog had a history of biting and aggression. There was also a female dog on the premises, and a litter of puppies...

And despite the reckless ownership practices of some dog owners, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatal as demonstrated by the following statistics:

Fatal Dog Attacks in Minnesota as Compared to Other Selected Risks:

Fatalities in Minnesota over a 10-year-period: 1993 - 2002

Persons killed by dogs: 0

Persons killed by fireworks: 1

Killed by Mule: 1

Children killed by horses: 4

Adults killed by cattle: 7

Lightning deaths: 11

Persons drowned in swimming pool: 24*

Bicycle-related deaths: 39*

* Under reported - data only includes years 1999 - 2002.

More people (in bicycle and pool related incidents) died in 8 years than were killed by dogs in 10. That is something you didn't see reported by our local media! Another thing that our local media didn't report is that since 1965 only one death has been attributed to a pit bull and that is the one that just happened in August. Most of the reasons that the NCRC lists are contributing factors to attacks are reasons that I covered in my previous posts!

Sadly, I fear no amount of common sense will sink into the minds of our esteemed media. They are, today, wailing about how two girls on the White Earth Reservation were attacked by a Rottweiler this morning. On the radio there is not mention at all of the fact that the Star Tribune waits until the 5th paragraph of their story to report....that the dog was unrestrained - running loose in the neighborhood. That action alone (in a populated area) is a sure fire sign of an irresponsible owner. Of course that aspect will never get reported!

A Slow Road Or A Fast Road To Hell Is Still A Road To Hell

Local Logical Lady Sue Jeffers posted this over at True North and with her permission I am cross posting it here!

Tuning my crystal ball to 2008, I see a Minnesota firmly controlled by the Democrat Party. Obvious bright spots are when John Kline and Michelle Bachmann win reelection, once again demonstrating that conservatives who value life, liberty and property will succeed. These two understand the Republican message, can articulate it and make us proud.

Conservatives are getting weary of having to hold their noses in the voting booth. Anyone ever notice we never have to hold our nose and vote for Kline and Bachmann? These two always fight for the principles that once made the Republican Party strong.

It is clear, we still haven’t learned our lesson. The modern Republican Party invokes Reagan’s name at every turn, but has thrown his principles overboard in favor of the failed mires of Rockefeller Republicanism.

There are three key reasons Republicans in Minnesota will lose federal representation:

Conservatives and moderates alike can to recognize a phony Republican.The Minnesota GOP is losing it’s base.
Minnesota Republicans have no message and no plan.
Conservatives stand for values and principles that have made our country and party great. Few elected Republicans can even articulate these principles anymore, let alone how they apply within the scope of government.

The top of the Minnesota Republican ticket includes our leader, Governor Tim (the era of small government is over) Pawlenty. He has supported and signed into law the Global Warming Mitigation Act, the Renewable Energy bill, the Health Insurance Exchange, taxpayer funding for the Twins stadium, LRT funding, massive ethanol subsidies, JOBZ and now SEED programs, a smoking ban, the Clean Water Legacy Act, a gas tax increase, a pay raise for our tax-and-spend legislators and a $34.5 billion budget. Anyone need a copy of the Republican Party Platform, the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights?

Then we have Senator Norm Coleman. Senator Coleman’s Democratic roots clearly run deep as shown by his support for the Dream Act, SCHIP (the expansion of which amounts to the introduction of "Hillary-Care"), amnesty for illegal aliens and the expansion of the size, scope and expense of government. Lest we forget, Senator Coleman remains steadfastly opposed to reducing our dependence on foreign oil by drilling in our own backyard, ANWAR.

The Minnesota GOP leadership told me these "leaders" deserved my vote because, at least they were better than the other guy, they were "electable" and they would stand for 95% of our core values. They lied. The state party has become less effective, even obsolete as shown by the departure of ever-more disenchanted members. Instead of a "big tent" it has become more of a three-ring circus.

While it is foolish of me to expect the current state party leaders to hold our wayward elected officials accountable, citizens can. Demanding a caucus position on every platform item would help. A Contract with Minnesota to be signed by each candidate to uphold party principles would help. Talking points on important issues to educate citizens, candidates and lefties on why conservative principles work would help.

My message to the state party: not one dime. I will spend my time and money backing solid conservative candidates. Win or lose, at least I can hold my head high knowing I stand for principle. I just wonder how long I will have to wait.

Simply put, the Minnesota GOP needs conservatives much more than the conservatives need the MNGOP. While the state party is busy trying to get RINOs elected around the state, conservatives will be backing the likes of Michelle Bachmann and John Kline. We the people will be backing true conservatives in House races and take back control of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

History Lesson

One of the joys of having children is helping them study for tests. Today's study session was in American history...specifically the founding of our original 13 colonies. In the study session I was reminded of something that I had forgotten...something that many Americans apparently have forgotten.

From the Mayflower Compact:

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for
the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.

Emphasis mine. The 13 original colonies were founded by Puritans, religious separatists (Pilgrims), Quakers, Protestants, Catholics and other CHRISTIAN sects and Jews. They had all left Europe in order to have freedom to practice their religion in a freer manner than was allowed in Europe.

So the next time some liberal argues that the "Founding Fathers" were diest and not Christian per se, point them to the base of our US Constitution....The Mayflower Compact!

Fighting for principles

My friend Chief (from Freedom Dogs and True North) put up a post yesterday that dovetails off of my post from last May about ideological purity. Logical Lady Carol Platt Liebau has a column up at Townhall.com that discusses some of the potential repercussions of the third party threats that are being thrown out.

In short, if the religious right decided to support a third candidate, it would become the biggest loser in a Giuliani-Clinton contest, whatever the outcome. Even so, it is tempting for those opposed to Giuliani’s pro-choice stance to speculate that a Hillary Clinton presidency might shock the country into greater receptivity to policies espoused by people of faith. But it’s worth remembering that similar hopes, coupled with discontent with the presidency of George H.W. Bush, inspired some to vote for Ross Perot in 1992. As a result, America endured eight years of a Clinton presidency – and set Hillary Clinton on the path she’s pursuing now.
Ever since people of faith became politically active in the 1980’s, those who oppose their policy goals have consistently tried to portray them as rigid, judgmental and out of the mainstream. The threat of a boycott plays into their adversaries’ hands, allowing them to claim that all the least flattering stereotypes about the religious right have been confirmed.
Indeed, the disheartening truth is that many Americans across the political spectrum would like nothing more than the political marginalization of people of faith. So as the leaders of the religious right determine what conscience requires, those of us who admire their principle and convictions – and support many of their objectives – can only hope that they will not choose a course that will harm a very worthy movement for years to come.

It is not just the religious right that will be marginalized should some of our more ideologically driven friends sit this one out. The entire Reaganite movement in the Republican Party could suffer. The more the "principled" conservatives sit on their hands, the further left the "centrists" will take the Republican party. We have already seen that, if given the choice between a Democrat and a "lite" Democrat, the voters will take the real thing every time.

I have a challenge for all of you Republicans out there who think that staying home is a viable option - do you really think that doing nothing will change things? Are you not willing to stand up and fight for your ideology? IF you are willing to stand up and fight - NOW IS THE TIME to do so. Not after the nominee has been chosen!

If you are willing to fight for your party then save February 5 NOW! Get to caucuses. Or if you live in a primary state make sure you get to the polls on primary day! After the nominee is chosen it is too late for you to stand up and say "WAIT....I DON'T LIKE HIM". The time is now! Are you ready?

Deconstructing the SCHIP debate

I posted this at True North yesterday, but I forgot to post it here. It must be old age setting in!

Michele Bachmann fires back at her critics on the SCHIP debate in today's Star Tribune. In it she lays out the glaring flaws in the bill that the many critics of the legislation have been trying to get past the "gatekeepers" in the media.

Under the bill passed by Congress and vetoed by the president, SCHIP dollars could be used to cover childless adults and more-affluent families -- in some cases, households earning up to $83,000 per year. It also changes current law to make it easier for illegal immigrants to get SCHIP funds.
A Congressional Budget Office study shows that more than 77 percent of children affected by this expansion already have personal, private health insurance. So why create an incentive that pushes kids out of private insurance into a government-run
program, rather than focusing on low-income, uninsured children?
Worse, this legislation makes SCHIP financially unstable. In order to appear fiscally sound, it gives children health insurance for five years, then cuts SCHIP funding by
nearly 80 percent -- a classic bait and switch that will cause millions of American children to lose their health coverage.
And what are the taxpayers getting in return? According to the CBO, the bill will lead to only 800,000 eligible-but-unenrolled children being enrolled in SCHIP by 2012. The sad fact is that it would be cheaper to give each of these kids $72,000 than it would be to enact this bill, and it would probably show healthier results.

The other "lie" that Michele puts to rest is that the Republicans in Congress don't "care" about the children.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, several million SCHIP-eligible children are
uninsured. Surely, children in need should have the health insurance promised to
them before SCHIP is expanded further up the income ladder or before more of the
program's limited resources are used for adults.
Here's my idea: Let's cover the kids first. Let's focus on children in need who don't have access to health insurance and fund SCHIP as it was meant to be. I've publicly supported legislation that would accomplish these goals and keep SCHIP moving forward to help those it was intended to help.

Brava Rep. Bachmann. Brava.....it nice to see a Republican standing up to the attack dogs in this debate.

Inevitable?

It's been a long time since I have featured a "Logical Lady" of the media. Today we have Salena Zito, writing about a process that people who do not live in a "caucus state" understand. It seems that at least one Presidential candidate is trying to figure it out!

How do you stop the Bush-Clinton, Bush-Clinton inevitability?
Well, if you're Barack Obama, you continue to begin each speech in Iowa with the phrase, “If you haven’t signed up for our campaign, please do so now.”

Iowa remains political rocket fuel. It has the power to change the "inevitability"
that Hillary Clinton will be the next president. But first you have to win the
Hawkeye State. To win Iowa means understanding it. Many Americans likely don't understand the caucus process. And considering that only 124,000 of the state's nearly 2 million registered voters showed up to caucus in 2004, most Iowans don’t either.

Minnesota is a caucus state. Because I didn't grow up here, I think I have a little more of an appreciation of the process where the natives take it for granted. For those of you who don't know what the process is...

Caucusing is a very public and time-consuming process. Voters don't walk into a
private booth and pull a lever or touch a screen. Instead, they gather at meeting places and begin a night of horse trading. Voters begin by standing with the “preference group” representing the candidate they support. But before any
tallying begins, there could be some bartering among preference groups in an
attempt to persuade defections.
Finally, the tally: A candidate must hit a 15 percent threshold in each caucus group to be considered viable. If your first choice is not viable, then either you go for your second pick or walk around and shop among whatever viable candidates are left standing -- all under the watchful eye of friends and neighbors.

The key to the caucus process (if you are a candidate) is to get your people there! If you are running for an office that gets an endorsement, caucus night is where it begins. Delegates for the BPOU convention are picked on caucus night and the only way to go to the conventions up the line (Congressional District, State and National) are chosen at that lower level. You can go to state convention as a "first timer" (as I did). It's that simple! Senator Obama has learned this simple fact!

How does Obama entice his young demographic? By holding caucus “boot camps” --
mock caucuses to introduce them to the experience and make them comfortable with it. Obama's organization also is training precinct captains who can recruit
voters from other preference groups while holding the Obama preference group
intact.

Caucus night, in Minnesota, is February 5. If you are concerned about the direction of the Republican Party in Minnesota or if you just want to have a say in who Minnesota prefers for President then you need to set aside a few hours that night to go to your precinct Caucuses. The Minnesota GOP website will have a list of caucus locations at their precinct finder. Or keep your eye on your local newspaper. Caucus locations will be publicized in your local paper. Either way, set your VCR or Tivo to record your programs and get to caucuses. You will not regret it....and if you live in the Savage Lands, you just might see me there!

Ennui

Pity poor Susan...she is sorely disappointed.

A few weeks back I rode my bike to the State Capitol for a peace rally. It had
everything a rally should have -- labor, veterans and Gold Star mothers, respected speakers, a sunny day -- except people.
It was subdued and surreal, like the final scene from "On the Beach," the 1959 movie about nuclear annihilation, in which banners flutter over an outdoor stage and flyers scuttle across the flattened grass and no one is there.

In her typical over-reactionary style, Susan then goes on to talk about the peace rally that flopped and her hyper-imaginative reasons why it flopped.

OK, I exaggerate. Our rally had maybe 300 to 400 people, still pretty much
alive, but it seemed we all had an ashy coat of hopelessness.
In Ken Burns' recent series, "The War," a veteran says the military knew that the longest a person could endure combat before going totally nuts was 240 days. We've been in Iraq roughly 1,650 days now, and though God knows most of us haven't been asked to do much more than sell off our children's future, I think we're all going a little nuts.

I can think of a few folks who think you are already there Susan and this column does little to disuade the impression. Not once does it cross her mind that maybe, just maybe the people of Minnesota don't agree with her or that maybe, just mayber we have more important things to do on a sunny October afternoon.


She then descends into full scale drama queen mode.

We nod out as Hillary's machine rolls on toward the inevitable, fed by media reports of -- the inevitable. And as 2008 approaches, those of the liberal persuasion are filled with a familiar dread.
We agonize as Congress squabbles over who is more unpatriotic for calling which members of the military more unpatriotic -- and our president assures us that the American government does not torture people.
Iraq is a never-ending nightmare, and the Decider's mind seems decided on something catastrophic for Iran. We're drowning in debt.
Our health-care system is great -- for those who can afford it. It's October and
80 degrees outside. Creepy.

It must be horrible in Lenfesteyland. I don't think it is a place I would ever want to visit....so dark...so depressing....so not based in reality.

Then again, maybe I should take heart. Maybe if the ennui overtakes Susan and her ilk, they will stay home next November and then......

Journalism 101

Brent over at Anti-Strib points us to an investigative report that recently ran on Channel 9 News. This report digs into a lawsuit that was filed during the construction of the OLD 35W bridge - and sheds some light on a possible cause of collapse!

The lawsuit - filed by the first contractor Hur-Con against what was then the Highway Department - was for more money to cover extra drilling costs. It seems that Hur-Con (the contractor) ran into a problem with the location for Pier 6. As they were drilling core samples, they found granite and limestone boulders that needed to be removed in order to get to the bedrock below. However, the Army Corps of Engineers would not allow the contractors to do the blasting that was necessary to remove the boulders due to the pier's proximity to the lock and dam. Instead of removing the boulders, it appears that Pier 6 was built on or around the boulders (the documentation is incomplete from that era). What makes this information so important? Pier 6 is on the south bank of the river....the very place where investigators believe the fateful collapse may have begun!

Why is this investigation important? It is important because it showcases how our DFL led legislature is more concerned about headhunting for Lt. Governor Carol Molnau than they are about getting to the real answers behind the collapse. They are more interested in playing politics than they are about doing the peoples business.

Brent is absolutely correct when he states:

The lawsuit was settled out of court, and the documents that would shed light on
what was done to address the problem are either missing or incomplete…meaning
that it is entirely possible that pier 6, and maybe even pier 7, are resting not
of bedrock as needed for a stable structure, but rather on granite boulders. If
this is indeed the situation, no amount of funding and no amount of spending today could have stopped the bridge from falling…and it certainly isn’t Carol Molnau’s fault.

Emphasis mine. Lt. Gov. Molnau was NOT MN DOT commissioner back in 1964, when this bridge was built. Just an FYI to Senator Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing).

It is nice to know that the Cities have one local media outlet that is willing to investigate reality - not witch hunts. Kudos to Fox 9 and Tom Lyden for a well researched report. That is what journalism is all about!

School Daze

Others have posted about the upcoming school referendums in their communities. The Savage Lands are facing their own bonding and levy referendums. In years past, denizens of the Savage Lands have paid little attention to school referendums. In large part this was due to the fact that we knew that our school district was growing and needed to build more schools, hire more teachers etc. However, as our taxes have gone up and up and an insatiable local government (on all levels to be fair) has asked for more and more out of the taxpayers, people have started to pay attention and what they found may spell doom for the school board.

Based on the Minnesota Department of Education data (complied here) a friend of mine put together the following graph.



Eleven years of "negative fund balances" (as the school board calls it) is a good indicator that the board is not exactly paying attention to how much they are spending and how fast. The school board says that they have to have these "negative fund balances" because this is a rapidly growing district. You can not argue with the fact that this district IS rapidly growing. However, when you compare this school boards spending with the spending of other rapidly growing school districts in the area, you start to see even more clearly, what this board is doing wrong.

Shakopee is probably the closest to Prior Lake/Savage in size, growth and challenges in the state. Both have roughly 6000+ students registered, both have had to build new schools in order to accomodate the growth in their districts and Shakopee has a higher number of ESL Students (which is considered special education) due to a large Hispanic population and an even larger Russian population. Yet while Prior Lake/Savage have run deficits for 11 years, Shakopee has run budget surpluses! Similar challenges, similar funding (from the state AND property taxes) and yet very dissimilar results.

This is why the residents of the Savage Lands (and every school district) need to pay attention to what their local government entities are doing. If you let them go unscrutinized, as residents of the Savage Lands have done for the last decade) you get the results we see today! Every level of government needs the scrutiny of the electorate. Left unchecked, government gets a sense that they are more entitiled to your money than you are. They didn't work for it, the taxpayer did and as our Founding Fathers showed us - sometimes you have to fight to keep what you work so hard for!

The good news is that all we have to do today is get engaged and look up the information (as the concerned citizens at Citizens For Accountable Government did). It may be bad for your blood pressure momentarily, but if that information motivates you to get off of the couch and get involved, you will be better for it!

Childish adults.

What do you do when you are a bunch of adults intent on protesting the man you hate most in the world and you see a bunch of children who are simply there to sing a song for the man? Why you gather 'round them to yell at them! (HT Captain Ed and Mitch)

For protesters, President George W. Bush's visit Wednesday to Lancaster County
was an occasion to voice their opposition to the war in Iraq, as well as the president's early morning veto of a children's health care bill.

For supporters, it was a chance to catch a glimpse of a beloved world leader.

But for nearly three dozen youngsters from the U-Gro child care center, located just
off the president's motorcade route on Stony Battery Road, it was all about
waving hand-drawn flags, singing songs and holding banners welcoming to
Lancaster one of the most powerful men in the world.

"What an opportunity this is for our children," center director Liz Burkhard said while herding children ages 4 to 6 into a compact, orderly row behind the yellow police tape lining Stony Battery at Church Street.

One group of protesters quickly descended on the happy cluster, however, chanting and singing their own songs to drown out the children's voices.

"Stop brainwashing children to support a president who doesn't deserve our support," one man yelled through a bullhorn. Others told the kids to "educate yourselves" and said "your parents are killing you" by supporting Bush and the war.

Mitch said it best...

Now, let’s reiterate: I’m a greater proponent of free speech than any of my critics. Always.
But this story touches on something in a piece I’m writing for Monday, about the self-centered narcissism that’s behind so many “protesters” - how their ends justify their means, no matter who they crap on in the process.

Narcisissism - noun 1.inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity. 2. Psychoanalysis. erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development. I think the first defination fits perfectly!

These are kids in a DAY CARE CENTER...4 to 6 year olds...which means that they are too young to be in school. This begs the question why the director of the center didn't get the police involved? After all, the police were there lining the route. How hard would it have been to have flagged one of them down long enough to send the protesters packing?

Many people I know say they are stunned to see it go this far. Sadly I am not. I do not underestimate the depths of the hatred that the left has for President Bush. Because they are attacking their mortal "enemy" it's ok, in their minds, to frighten little children.

If it were my kid, I'd be taking names (of the protesters) and suing for mental distress.