Phoning It In

Q Comp is Governor Pawlenty's plan for merit based teachers pay. Because the plan rewards excellence in the workplace and (as a result) no bonuses to employees that do not meet the criteria of doing your job well, the teachers union has been dead set against Q Comp.

Well the state of Utah has implemented a plan similar to Q Comp. The reaction, from media and teachers alike, has been anything BUT similar to the reaction to Q Comp.

Deseret Morning News:

. . . the current 'one size fits all' approach doesn't offer enough incentive. It's time teachers who are worth their weight in gold get paid that gold. Just as it's time for teachers who simply 'phone it in' to be bucked from the horse so true professionals can run the show.

Salt Lake Tribune:
For the first time, Utah school districts are seriously considering how they can distribute bonuses or pay raises to teachers based on how well they do their jobs.

. . . That would benefit not only dedicated, talented teachers but also their students, as mediocre teachers would sharpen their skills in order to earn more money.

The Salt Lake Trib takes it one step further.

. . . [But] there are two myths that must be dispelled before merit systems can be effective. The first is that there are no mediocre or poor teachers in our schools. The second is that, even if there were, there is no way to differentiate between them and the excellent teachers. Both these myths have been used by teacher association leaders to undermine past efforts to adopt effective merit-pay plans.

These are the myths that Education Minnesota and their related teachers unions have long perpetuated. The Salt Lake Trib is right - merit pay for teachers will IMPROVE the system. It would make schools better for all children - regardless of what district they are in. The time has come to quit protecting the teachers that are just "phoning it in". Our children deserve better than this.

No We Can't

Democrats up and down the ticket have all echoed the talking point (taken directly from the TOP of the ticket) "We can't drill our way out of this oil crisis". With that comment in mind I would like to ask a question. If we can't fix the current situation with oil, how are we supposed to fix global warming?

As I said before, IF we take a well rounded approach to the problem (as has been proposed by Republicans like Rep. Michelle Bachmann) we can solve it. That means we need to look at alternative energy sources AND nuclear energy AND clean coal AND domestic oil production. That is the only way that we will ever be truly energy independent. Yes there is going to be a lot of innovation from the market, but the innovation is already there in some places.

Sadly for America, the Democrats don't think that the innovation will happen and therefore they echo the top of their ticket in saying "NO WE CAN'T!"

Trouble In Paradise

In a really lame attempt to bail out their guy, Democrats across the country are trying to paint Senator John McCain with the same (or is it McSame?) tax dodging brush that candidate Al Franken was tarred with.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) criticized his DFL opponent Al Franken when Al admitted to paying his taxes in MN and NY when they should have been spread over MN, NY and 17 other states. Al then corrected the problem. But now it comes to light that the Republican Presidential candidate Grandpa McSame owes back taxes on a California condo:

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front condo in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default, The Huffington Post has learned.

Under California law, once a residential property is in default for five years, it can be sold at a tax sale to recover the unpaid taxes for the taxpayers.
(Huffington Post)

Will Norm condemn Grandpa McSame as he did Al?

There is one teeny, tiny problem with that theory E......Senator McCain has NO CONTROL over Mrs. McCain's property, thanks to a nice little pre-nuptial agreement that he signed. Contrary to Senator McCain, Al Franken was CEO and COO of his company....AL WAS the Company where Sen. McCain has no say in the matter.

Meanwhile, MPR (of all places) just released a poll that shows that Angry Al, LOOSES many of the "moderate" voters that intend to vote for Senator Obama. Things are must be really bad for Al back in Minnesota if that is the case.

Seriously - if this is all the left can come up with (on Senator McCain) they are in real trouble. Maybe things are not going to be as bad for the Republic as some think it will be. Time will tell I suppose.

Unreal

On one hand, I really expected this editorial to come out of the Star Tribune. On the other, I can't say that I am all that surprised that it came out of the Chicago Tribune.

Repeal the 2nd Amendment

No, we don't suppose that's going to happen any time soon. But it should.

The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is evidence that, while the founding fathers were brilliant men, they could have used an editor.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

If the founders had limited themselves to the final 14 words, the amendment would have been an unambiguous declaration of the right to possess firearms. But they didn't, and it isn't. The amendment was intended to protect the authority of the states to organize militias.

Emphasis mine......So according to the Tribune editors, the 2nd Amendment was designed to do this (HT Capt Ed)?????

Leaked minutes of the Joint Operations Command (JOC), which has orchestrated the violence since Mugabe lost a first round of voting in March, revealed that it is willing to wipe out opposition supporters.

A 10,000-strong youth militia loyal to the Zanu-PF has been created to enforce its wishes in case regular army units refuse, according to Zimbabwean human rights agencies.

No, the Founding Fathers understood the abuses that dictatorial government could impose on the people....many of them lived it. They also understood the need for personal and community defense - thus the "well regulated militia" preface. My Chicago area public school taught me that....

Maybe the Tribune editors need to go back to high school and take a basic American History class. They just might learn something...

Truthful Dialog?

Rep. Sandy Wollschlager (DFL-Cannon Falls) had a letter in the Red Wing Republican Eagle this week in response to a previous letter to the editor.

I would like to comment on John Adams recent letter to the editor (R-E, June 20) regarding my work on tax relief in the Minnesota Legislature.

While I appreciate Mr. Adams participation in the opinion section of the newspaper, he does a disservice to readers when he uses this forum to confuse and mislead.

Rep. Wollschlager then goes on to completely mislead the Republican Eagle readers on the tax bill that she "worked" so hard for.

She goes on to talk about the $23m in tax "relief" to homeowners. Yet she doesn't talk about the increase in taxes to anyone who buys a can of paint in Minnesota or whose sales taxes were going up due to the Transit Funding Bill or the thousands of teen-agers who will not get summer jobs this year because of additional taxes (including an increase in the minimum wage) on those that employ them or the increased taxes on military wages and social security income or the increases in our utility rates...the list goes on and on. Most of these tax increases I covered in my multiple live blog posts on the goings on in the Minnesota legislature this past session.

I agree with Rep. Wollschlager that a truthful debate is necessary. It's just a pity that the DFL can't engage in a truthful debate. Because if they did, they would be forced to admit that their "revenue neutral" tax bill was anything but...

There Are No Winners Here

This is one of those stories where no one comes out looking "good".

LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. – The legal question in the battle between Adam Race and the Church of St. Joseph is not about the rights of an autistic child, church authority or freedom of religion.

The issue, according to Todd County District Court Judge Sally Ireland Robertson, is whether the noises and behaviors 13-year-old Adam Race displayed in church meet the legal definition of harassment.

For those of you who are not aware of the story, 13 year old Adam is autistic. According to parish officials at the Church of St. Joseph, Adam is a threat to fellow parishioners....so much so that the church filed for (and received) a restraining order to keep Adam out of church. According to church officials, Adam struck a child during Mass and bolted from Mass many times - including one time where he got into and managed to start another parishioners car!

Parenting a child like Adam is difficult to say the least. My brother in law is Down Syndrome and Autistic. We love him dearly but at 6 foot tall and 200+ pounds (like Adam) he can not only be a danger to himself, he is a danger to others. He does not mean to be, but when you have such childish impulses trapped in an adults body, it happens. My mother and father in law had their hands full raising him, but they did. However, the day came when (due to advanced age) my mother and father in law could no longer keep control of this dear young man and they made the hard decision to put him in a situation where he would not be a danger to himself and others.

Which leads us back to Adam's story. As much as I know it is going to break Mrs. Race's heart, if she can not control Adam, then she either needs to get assistance or she needs to make the hard decision to put Adam in a situation where he is not a threat to others.

Mrs. Race has a point in that Adam's actions probably do not meet up to the legal definition of "harassment" but he is a disruption to others and Mrs. Race is not doing herself, Adam or her fellow parishioners any favors by continuing to allow Adam's ill behavior to continue unchecked. At some point, the priest needs to step in (as this one did) and take control of a situation that Mrs. Race refused to do. While it is not his place to "discipline" Adam, it was his place to take control of the safety of the people in his "care". Since Mrs. Race refused to step up, the Priest did what he was forced to do. For everyone's sake - especially Adam - I hope that Mrs. Race drops this Quixotic quest and spends her time working with Adam to help him get the self control that is needed to sit in church.

Challengers CAN Win

The biggest story in Utah today has to be the story of Rep. Chris Cannon's primary defeat by a first time challenger.

Jason Chaffetz's promise to change Washington, starting with Rep. Chris Cannon, resonated with Republican voters, who ousted the six-term incumbent in a GOP primary Tuesday.
"We rocked the vote here in Utah and we rocked the Republican Party," Chaffetz told about 175 supporters gathered to celebrate the victory. "I think we've been given a mandate to return the Republican Party to its core conservative principles."
With 99 percent of the votes counted, Chaffetz led Cannon by about 20 points. Chaffetz now advances to face Democrat Bennion Spencer in November. The seat strongly favors Republicans.

Emphasis mine. Twenty points is a serious drubbing for any race - especially when the one getting drubbed is the incumbent. It also flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that you just can't challenge an incumbent legislator, even if you feel that he or she is no longer representing the district - as the voters of Utah's 3rd Congressional District resoundingly said yesterday.

The Cannon/Chaffetz race featured many of the same frustrations that voters (especially Republican voters) across the country have felt. Frustrations over illegal immigration, out of control federal spending, energy policy and a broken Republican Party were the hallmarks of the Chaffetz campaign. It must be stressed that Jason Chaffetz is a political newbie (at least when it comes to running for office himself). He was Chief of Staff for Utah Governor Huntsman so he had the policy formation experience but this was his first ever run for office. This is important. The voters of the 3rd district sent the Republican Party a very loud message. Chaffetz' victory yesterday is a victory for every Republican who is dis-satisfied with the direction the Party is going. He over came big name endorsements (President Bush and Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett all endorsed incumbent Cannon) and a 7-1 spending deficit to win. He beat the Party establishment resoundingly.

Chaffetz's victory yesterday should send shock waves through the Republican Party establishment - not only in DC but in all the state parties (big hint to my friends back in Minnesota). The base is NOT HAPPY with you and the way you are doing business. You are not representing the people and the time has come to either get back on track (representing the Party's core principles) or go home.

145 Who Get It

Earlier today, I wrote a rather long post on Energy policy and how a 4 pronged approach to energy cost relief is an absolute necessity. It seems like every politician out there (with the exception of Senators Coleman and McCain) gets one part of the prong. One of the more important prongs is that we absolutely must increase domestic oil production. Well today, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland challenged all 435 of his colleagues to sign a pledge to increase domestic oil production. Almost immediately 145 of his colleagues signed the pledge. This bi-partisan list (some Democrats DO GET the need) includes Minnesota's own Rep. John Kline and Michelle Bachmann!

If you look at the body of the petition, you see that Rep. Westmoreland (as well as Reps. Bachmann and Kline) gets the fact that a multiple pronged approach is necessary.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed petitions calling on Congress to increase U.S. oil supply to bring down prices. When constituents started calling me to say they had signed, I wanted a way for all Americans to know where their member of Congress stands on this issue. I created a ‘no-wiggle-room pledge’ that reads ‘I will vote to increase to U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans.’ It’s simple and it gets to the heart of the real solution. Yes, we need to conserve; yes, we need to develop alternative energy sources. But right now, we still need traditional energy and I want to put members of the House on record: Are you for helping American businesses and American families with their energy costs or not?

“More than 65 percent of Americans support more traditional energy exploration in this country. I’m saying: Explore offshore, open up U.S. lands and build more refineries. I encourage people all over this country will call their member of the House and encourage them to sign the Westmoreland petition to increase oil production. The petition is on the floor of the House during votes. Every congressional district is listed and we update our web site, www.house.gov/westmoreland regularly with everyone who has signed it.”

So to those of you in the remaining Minnesota districts - call your representatives and ask them to sign the Westmoreland petition. While you are at it, if you have not already signed a petition to add more domestic production, I would suggest that you sign here to let Congress and the President know how you feel about the energy issue.

UPDATE AND BUMP: Welcome all of you new readers who got here via Google searching the petition. Poke around and come back as often as you can! There are now 183 Congresspeople who are listening to We The People on energy.

UPDATE #2 - Attention voters in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District. Congressman Jim Ramsted (RINO - retiring) has refused to sign the petition. You should call his office and express your displeasure with his actions. Then take a few minutes to donate your time and money to his replacement, Erik Paulsen.

Help Wanted

Just before I left Minnesota for Utah, I got an email from the Minneapolis St. Paul Host Committee asking for help. Apparently (as you have seen in the local news lately), the host committee is still in need of volunteers for the convention. If you are interested at all in helping with the convention, please go here to let them know you are interested. The Host Committee needs to get 10,000 volunteers by the end of June so the odds are good that you will be put to work.

Promises Broken

Well it appears that the bloom is off of the "Hope and Change" rose...

MoveOn.org is taking a firm stand on a campaign promise that Barack Obama made to filibuster any wiretapping bill that had retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that let the feds listen in.

In a letter that is posted on the MoveOn website the progressive organization said that:

"On Friday, House Democrats caved to the Bush administration and passed a bill giving a get-out-of-jail-free card to phone companies that helped Bush illegally spy on innocent Americans.

"This Monday, the fight moves to the Senate. Senator Russ Feingold says the 'deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation.' Barack Obama announced his partial support for the bill, but said, 'It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.'

"Last year, after phone calls from MoveOn members and others, Obama vowed to 'support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.'"

MoveOn also said in the letter "We need him to honor that promise."

The Democrats base is starting to see Senator Obama as he is....another Chicago politician who is steeped in the tradition of say what ever is necessary to get elected.

The More Things Change, The More They REALLY Stay The Same

Back in November the Minnesota DFL won 85 seats, giving them a clear majority. A couple of days later, the House DFL leadership released their updated committee and sub committee list. King posted on it here and linked back to a HRCC spreadsheet that showed the committee set up.

Well today I get, in the inbox, a Session Update (I thought they adjourned Sine Dei last month?) relating information on House Committee testimony that they received today in the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee.

A cumbersome committee structure is a barrier to public participation and process transparency.

It’s a situation that concerns Geoff Barsch, president of the Minnesota Governmental Relations Council, who offered recommendations for change to the House Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. The committee is looking at ways to improve the legislative process.

Too many committees lead to overlap and bills not being fully vetted, Barsch said.

He said it is hard for an experienced lobbyist, like himself, to follow the process, but nearly impossible for the general public. “More and more bills are being sent from one committee to the next with work left to be done, and we keep hearing this phrase, ‘This bill has a lot of stops to make before it gets to the floor.’”

Now I don't know if this is new information to the House or not, but if it is new to them it is yet one more example of just how out of touch with the public the DFL leadership structure is. If this is not new to them, it shows voters the lengths that they (the DFL leadership) will go to in order to keep the involvement of the governed out of the business of governance. It shows how important it is to them to keep us like mushrooms....always in the dark.

I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this is not "new" to them but when I do that it still does not paint the House leadership in a good light. Actually - neither option portrays the House DFL leadership well, which in and of itself is a condemnation on their leadership.

Interactive

As we await the SCOTUS decision on the Heller case, I thought I would posit a question for all of you.

As you know, marriage licenses are honored as sacrosanct from state to state. A marriage license issued in Illinois is honored in every state of the Union - no questions asked. However, a firearms license issued in Utah is not honored in every state in the Union. Only 32 states will honor a legally issued firearms license issued by the state of Utah. This in spite of the 2nd Amendment that guarantees the right so the citizens in this country to keep and bear arms.

So I ask you, dear readers, why do you suppose this is? Why is a license for an activty that is not even mentioned in the Constitution given higher value than a Constitutionally guaranteed right?

Which Came First....

Michelle Malkin has a report from Senator McCain's private meeting with Chicago area Hispanics. What caught my eye in her correspondents report was this particular quote.

He said ” My state has been enriched by the Hispanic culture in Arizona.”

Then John McCain asked a question “Did you know this? I bet some of you did not know that Spanish was spoken in Arizona before English” …Loud cheers from the audience.

I'm wondering if the Senator (and his audience) really want to go down that particular road. Because if they WERE to go down that particular road, then we need to talk to the Mexican people about who was really there "first".

I am an American of Mexican decent. As best as I know from the genealogical research that has been done this far, my Mexican ancestors were actually Mayan or of a similar native tribe. Spain (where the Spanish language comes from) were the first oppressors of the Native Mexican people....especially "my" people. So, Senator McCain, if we are to go down that particular road, then you need to talk about the Hopi Indians and the Hopi language - they were in Arizona "first"....as were the Cocopa tribe and the Halchidhoma and the Halyikwamai and the Havasupai and the Kohuana and the Maricopa and the Mohave tribes (there are many more). They were all there LONG before the Spaniards gathered that territory FOR SPAIN (not Mexico BTW). All of these tribes (if there are any of their decedents left) have more of a historical claim on the land that the Spaniards and THEIR Mexican decedents do!

Look - a refresher course in history is obviously needed here. The territories that became the states of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado Nevada and Utah were PURCHASED by the United States of America for $15MILLION ($313million in 2006 dollars) under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that was signed in 1848 to end the Mexican American War....a war that was started when MEXICO invaded the sovereign territory of Texas (in response to their declaration of independence and subsequent annexation into the United States). Nothing was "stolen" from Mexico...as a matter of fact, numerous attempts were made by the French, British AND American governments to avoid conflict and to resolve the dispute between the US and Mexico. The Mexican Government had stated that the annexation of Texas would be considered an "act of war" but the citizens of Texas had made it quite clear that they wanted to be part of the United States....not part of Mexico (remember the Alamo?) .

If we are going to use history (Spanish was spoken in Arizona before English was) Senator McCain, let's give a complete telling of that history. Yes, the Mexican influence in the Western United States was an important influence. However, this is not Mexico....it has not been part of Mexico for 160 years. It is NOW a part of the United States of America. English is now spoken here and while it is vitally important to remember where we came from (the Yucatan Peninsula in my case) it is just as important to remember where we are and where we are going. We are never going to move forward AS A WHOLE COUNTRY if we are continuing to divide ourselves up (that is yet another post for the day). The Great Seal of the United States has a phrase on it that we need to remember - E Pluribus Unum.....our of many ONE. This nation must become one again - with common laws, goals and a common language - if we are ever going to move forward as a nation.

If you really want to lead a great American resurgence Senator McCain...quit dividing us!

Milestones

WOW - 1000 posts! Who would have thought that I would have had this much to say or such wonderful readers who read it.

Thanks to all of you who have made this journey entertaining, enlightening and just plain fun. And here is to the Logical Husband and the Junior Logician who put up with so much of my time and energy being wrapped up in this endeavor. I owe you both so much.

Here is to 1000 more posts!

Energy Follies

I thought I would start this post off on a lighter note (HT America's Small City Mayor) since it is a very important issue for a lot of people. The high cost of fuel and what it adds to our everyday goods and services has become issue number 1 for most voters. While the average citizen is making daily sacrifices in order to be able to afford to eat, the prelate of "Green" is hoarding enough energy to heat and cool 232 average households a month....and that does not include the fossil fuels that he burns to jet off to exotic locations to preach the gospel of global warming either.

Of course our current legislators are not much better. While they are jetting all over the country telling us that the drilling for domestic oil is not the answer and there really isn't that much domestic oil to be had in the first place, the average Joe is taking a second and third job just so they have the money to pay the mortgage AND the fuel bill. Meanwhile, the people that these politicians work for - the American people - are overwhelmingly in favor of domestic drilling.

Here are a few fuel facts to ponder as we enter this election cycle.

First - technology has made nuclear and coal power cleaner and safer than it has been in the past. Countries like Japan and France have made nuclear power a priority. Earthquake prone Japan is currently getting 30% of it's annual energy requirements from nuclear power and plan to increase it to 40% by 2017. France, meanwhile, gets 75% of it's power requirements from nuclear plants - and has become the worlds largest exporter of electrical power thanks to nuclear reactors. They are world leaders in the treatment of nuclear waste and nuclear safety. Speaking of safety, did you know that since 1950 there have been less than 1 1/2 dozen nuclear accidents IN THE WORLD? And that counts Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. That should be food for thought right there!

Clean coal technology is another option that deserves our support. The World Nuclear Association has all the info you will ever need on clean coal technologies....many of which (like electrostatic precipitators and lo-NOx burners) are in proven technologies TODAY! Several countries (including the US) are working on "zero-emissions" technologies that are close to being science "fact".

Outer Continental Shelf drilling - While there is much discussion over just how much oil was spilled after Hurricane Katrina (offical sources say there was none, but there are others who say that there was oil spilled) the bottom line is that the ecological damage done was much less than the damage done by the Exxon Valdez. There have been and are continuing safety improvements being made so that the ecological damage is lessened with each passing year. This is again an option whose time has come.

Shale oil - there is much debate on how accessible shale oil is. Here in Utah, shale oil is a huge issue because there is so much here. The Deseret News did an in-depth piece on shale oil that is a must read if you want to quickly learn about the subject and the local pros and cons. The bottom line is that the technology to extract shale oil appears to be there and with oil selling for around $140 a barrel, it is an affordable technology.

Lastly is the Bakken Oil Formation and ANWR. The Bakken Formation has (by USGS estimates) 3-4 BILLION barrels of recoverable oil in it. While that is less than half of what is available in ANWR, the logistics of getting that oil to market are better than what it would take to get ANWR's oil to market. IF as some say, Bakken holds up to 271 Billion barrels, (which is much, much more oil than ANWR) we are looking at a significant amount of oil that can get us off of imported oil altogether. True energy independence! What a novel thought.

We should not abandon all research in to alternative fuels - just to be clear. We will need alternatives as world wide demand for oil continues to grow. We can be a leader in alternative fuel technologies IF the state and federal governments would get out of deciding which alternative is the "preferred" one. This means (Governor Pawlenty) that we need to stop subsidizing corn ethanol and let the market decide if that is the best alternative fuel source or if sugar ethanol (cane or sugar beets Governor Pawlenty) would be a better bet. We need a national and a state legislature that is LESS in the pockets of environmental lobbying groups (like the Sierra Club) and more in the pockets of the poor beleaguered voters who are struggling to make ends meet today. We need a state and a national legislature that will do the RIGHT THING for the people. Is that too much to ask?

Quick Hits for A Friday

I had a lot of really good material hit the in box while I was in transit and unpacking. So rather than put up a dozen individual posts, I figured I would just throw a few into quick hits in one post.

St. Olaf College sold it's radio station (WCAL) to Minnesota Public Radio in a rather controversial manner. A group called SaveWCAL is pushing for AG Lori Swanson to get void the sale on the grounds that the large cash donations to the station were considered "charitable trust". On one hand, the college should be allowed to sell off assets as they see fit, on the other....well is there another hand?

The EU has decided that illegal immigration IS a problem that needs to be addressed. Hugo Chavez apparently does not appreciate the EU's decision and is making threats. Apparently he seems to think that he can dictate policy in Europe. Does that mean we can dictate policy in Venezuela?

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) says that paying income taxes is voluntary? I had no idea.....

Neil Cavuto took on Congress on his show Wednesday and he pulled no punches! The money line was the close.....

You're just petty politicians, who'd sooner sign onto the wisdom of a tyrant in another country, than the demands of ticked off voters in your own.

This was in response to yet another Dem coming out and saying that the government needs to take over the oil industry...

Minnesota's jobless rate is at a 17 year high and all Mayor Ryback can think about is pushing a ban on bottled water. What will this do to bring NON-GOVERNMENT JOBS into Minneapolis RT? Heaven knows that there are no murders, robberies and other crimes to be dealt with.

Two members of the "Religion of Peace" (patent pending) were arrested on conspiracy to commit murder charges in Denmark. Apparently they were out to kill a cartoonist who had the audacity to mock Allah. Yet Christians routinely put up with so-called artists mocking them.

The New York Times recognized the latest policy shift from the Obamassiah but that is about it...

Gas prices have gone up and the American public is driving less. The market at work. Now all we need to do is increase supply......

Last and by no means least - MoveOn.Org is closing it's 527 operations in deference to the Obama Campaign. While I agree (in principle) with the Obama campaign that 527's are the bane of political campaigns, I find it odd that as long as the majority of the 527's out there supported Democratic candidates they were ok, but as soon as the Swift Boat Vets came along to fight back they were suddenly a bad thing. They will still operate their PAC, but PAC's are limited to the amount a donor can give - unlike 527's where billionaires like George Soros could funnel millions in the hopes of dictating US policy.

Let us not forget who we can thank for the emergence of 527's......Senators Russ Feingold and JOHN MCCAIN. BTW Sen. McCain....how's that pledge to take public financing working out for you?

Denial of Health Care Comes To The US

Contrary to the protestations of the supporters of government run health care, rationing of services is a very real prospect. Just ask Barbara Wagner of Oregon.

EUGENE, Ore. — After weeks of bad news, things turned Barbara Wagner’s way this week.

Last month her lung cancer, in remission for about two years, was back. After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that could slow the cancer growth and extend her life, Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn’t cover it.

It would cover comfort and care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide.

According to administrators of the state run plan, treatment of advanced cancer that is meant to prolong life or change the course of the disease is not covered. Excuse me....isn't that why we WANT health care....to prolong our lives and change the course of diseases? No???? Silly me - what was I thinking???? What is worse is that this is a change in policy, contrary to what the plan administrators claim.

Officials of LIPA and the state policy-making Health Services Commission say they’ve not changed how they cover treatment of recurrent cancer.

But local oncologists say they’ve seen a change and that their Oregon Health Plan patients with advanced cancer no longer get coverage for chemotherapy if it is considered comfort care.

It doesn’t adhere to the standards of care set out in the oncology community, said Dr. John Caton, an oncologist at Willamette Valley Cancer Center.

Well DUH - of course it does not adhere to the "standards of care" set by the oncology community. The doctors in the oncology community want to CURE their patients...not kill them. Remember the Hippocratic Oath - first do no harm?????? Apparently that does not apply to state bureaucrats!

Thankfully for Ms. Wagner, the "evil" pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug has offered the treatment for free.

This is the kind of "care" that all Americans (not just Minnesotans and Utahns) can expect should government run health care become a reality. Is this really the kind of care we want for our aging parents or our children or even ourselves? Somehow I think the answer is a resounding no!

Friday Funnies

A quick poster to start your day. There will be more later.

Out In The Open

It is so nice that the Democrats are finally coming out and admitting that what they want for America IS socialism. First it was Rep. Maxine Waters, admitting in a recorded House Committee meeting that a government take over of the oil industry was necessary. Now Rep. Maurice Hinchley (D-NY) is calling for the government to take over an industry that "never should have been private in the first place.” (HT Allahpundit and Rick Moran). Rick asks the same questions on this government take over that I have been asking during the whole health care debate....name ONE thing that the federal government does now that it is good at? Health care? Look at the mess the Veterans Administration system is in. Running wars? Look at the mistakes made in Iraq. The IRS......puhlease! There is nothing that government bureaucrats do well or efficiently - what makes us think that a nationalized oil industry would be ANY different.

Rick asks another set of very pertinent questions as well.....

But to our Democratic Socialist friends (Can we start calling them that now? Can we?), the point is not supplying the American people with gasoline or heating oil but rather control – control of the industry so that it functions for “the benefit of the people.”

How often have we heard that battle cry in history? And oh how miserably those who have uttered it have failed to deliver promised benefits. From Lenin to Castro to Mugabe, the nationalization of industry to benefit “the people” has been a spectacular economic disaster. In the end, production in nationalized industry always declines. In the end, the industry has always fallen into ruins.

Rick is right - ALL of this talk of government taking over industries...whether it is health care OR petroleum production smacks of socialism and communism and maybe it is time to start calling this exactly what it is.....

Jazz Shaw and I will be discussing this with Rick Moran and possibly Ed Morrisey on Mid Stream Radio today over at Blog Talk Radio. Join us please.

I Made It!

Well I made it to Utah and I am finally getting settled in. Posting will resume shortly - as soon as I get caught up on the political world that is.....

Well My Bags Are Packed...

And I'm ready to go....While there is no taxi blowing his horn, I am finally leaving. No one knows more than I (except maybe the Logical Husband) how painfully long this has been, but this is my last post from within the confines of the Great State of Minnesota.

I just wanted to say a few quick words of thanks to a few important people before I go. First off - to Chief, Andy, Mitch, Nancy Brian and Matt - thanks for asking me to join you on this wild ride (forming True North). It has been a joy and an experience that I will never forget as I have learned so much. To the guys at Anti-Strib - thanks for the outlet for my internal witch and for giving me a larger outlet to talk about the perils of radical Islam. I will still have lots of media bias dispatches from the western frontier...the Salt Lake Trib is almost as biased as our beloved Red Star. To the rest of the MOB and contributors to TN - thank you for making me laugh and making me think. I firmly believe that you are never too old to learn and I seem to learn something new from you all every day. And thank you to Mike, Mark and Claire - the legislative team from Senate District 35. They taught me so much about the inner workings of the legislature and helped this "civilian" understand what it was that they did. To my many friends from the blogosphere and my newsgroups - even though we have not yet met (in person) I cherish your support and your friendship. It's a little ironic that this thing that the experts said would lead to greater isolation has led me to many new and dear friends.

Finally to you - dear readers. When I started blogging two years ago never, in my wildest dreams, imagined anyone would read my ramblings. Your affirmation and criticism and encouragement is driving me to continue to reach for the stars and to continue to try to make a difference in the world. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I will be on the road for the next three days and after that probably pretty busy unloading and organizing the apartment, so posting will be very light to non-existant until at least Wednesday or Thursday. However, I will still be following Minnesota politics and I will chime in from time to time with my thoughts. Signing off from the southern outpost and I will sign in from the western outpost as soon as I can.

All I Can Say Is...

IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE DID THIS! And thank God for us Sen. Coleman did it!

Yesterday Senator Coleman delivered a speech on the floor of the Senate where he outlined his new, comprehensive energy bill that aims to bring energy prices down. Notably, this legislation includes increased domestic drilling, more nuclear energy, clean coal technology and an increased use of renewable fuels.

I know that several of you are interested in both increasing domestic oil production and investing in more nuclear energy, so below you will find information on how Senator Coleman’s legislation would help in these areas.

Increased Domestic Drilling

With an estimated 2.8 million barrels of oil and 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas sitting under the Outer Continental Shelf, Senator Coleman feels it is essential that we tap this unused resource. As a way to lower oil prices. Unlike Democrats like Al Franken, Senator Coleman knows that with an ever-increasing demand for oil, the only way to see a decrease in the price-per-barrel is to increase the supply. This has the potential to offset foreign oil imports by as much as $145 billion dollars. This bill would give governors of affected coastal states a say in the matter and would allow them to negotiate deals that are in the best interests of their citizens.

Investing In More Nuclear Energy

As Senator Coleman is fond of saying, “the French are not braver than we are” when it comes to investing in nuclear. Senator Coleman’s legislation would implement a tax credit and loan guarantee system for nuclear production as well as training for an expanded nuclear workforce. And, he has been a strong advocate for lifting Minnesota’s moratorium on expanding nuclear power.

If passed, this legislation would go a long to help bring energy prices down and go a long way in securing our energy independence.

This is legislation whose time is here and now. Bravo Sen. Coleman!

Departing Advice

As I sit here amid boxes and on a very short deadline, I thought I would sit down and give a few parting words of advice to the MNGOP Party leadership. This not only includes the Chairman and the Executive Committee, but also the State Central Committee.

Remember who your base is! You have a grass roots base that would love to work for you, if you would quit shutting us out in favor of your friends in DC. Listen to us. We know what our friends and neighbors WHO VOTE are thinking. We know what issues are plaguing them the most.....and it ain't gay marriage, Iraq or abortion! To borrow from former President Clinton....IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID! Listen to your base, your grass roots and show that you appreciate the knowledge and hard work that we bring to the table. We are not the enemy....you can not do it all. At some point, you must take the advise of those of us in the trenches. Don't shut the grass roots out for too long - or they may never come back!

The fact of the matter is your friends in DC has no clue what is on the minds of the average voter in Minnesota. They don't know what issues are most important to the voters....you remember them don't you? They are the folks that you (and your candidates) are supposed to be courting in order WIN ELECTIONS. I use the term "courting" deliberately. You are supposed to be winning these people over - not scaring them into voting for you. We all know that Al Franken is a cad with a hair trigger temper. This is not news......tell us why we should vote for your guys (and gals) what makes them deserving of my precious vote. Your DC friends can't vote for you...Minnesota residents can. However we need to know why you deserve to be sent to DC - not why the other guy is a royal schmuck!

Listen to the voters. As I said, kitchen table conversation today does not revolve around gay marriage, abortion and Iraq. Today's kitchen table conversations are about why the idiots in DC don't allow us to drill for domestic oil when the price of gas is so high, the high cost of feeding the family and the fear of losing their homes because they can't afford to keep up with payments because of the high price of food and fuel! Throw away your silly surveys that ask if people are pro-life or pro-choice. IT IS NOT IMPORTANT TO VOTERS AT THIS TIME! Get out off the 1990's and into today! Take two seconds to ask the voters "what is important to you and what would be your ideal fix?" Our principles resonate with voters if you give it a chance. GIVE IT A CHANCE!

The Republican Party is not the about of "God, guns and gays". We are about solutions. Solutions that provide the most freedoms to the most people. Freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail! When you put it to the voters in that way - you will find out that you have more supporters in this purple blue state than you thought. It resonated in 2000 and 2004 - it will resonate again as long as you remember one simple lesson. Listen to the grass roots. They are your most valuable asset and right now they want nothing to do with you because you have nothing to do with them.

Bring...It...ON!

So Rep. Dennis Kucinich has filed Articles of Impeachment again. I find myself in agreement with The Anchoress (a very logical lady) when she says "Bring It!". When they do bring it, I hope that the President's team brings these quotes to the table. It puts to lie, once and for all, the meme that "Bush Lied" when it starts with quotes from President Clinton and members of his administration saying (in 1998) that Saddam Hussein most certainly had WMDs and intended to use them! It even has a quote of Senator Jay Rockefeller (this Jay Rockefeller) stating "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons." Then I hope that we see (again) the UN Documentation into Saddam's weapons program.

Except Speaker Pelosi will not let this issue come to the floor...probably because she knows that her words from the late 1990's will probably come out to haunt HER as well.

Windfall or Just Full of Hot Air

There has been much said in the last couple of days about the vote yesterday to tax Big Oil on their "windfall profits". I am not going to add to that though, because I found a couple of quotes that say things much better than I ever could.

“The five largest oil companies in this country have made $600 billion in profits since George W. Bush became president. Do we need a windfall profits tax? You bet we do.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders (I -VT)

“The oil companies need to know that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy.” —Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Contrast what these two learned gentlemen said with these two....

“Every new regulation concerning commerce or revenue; or in any manner affecting the value of the different species of property, presents a new harvest to those who watch the change and can trace its consequences; a harvest reared not by themselves but by the toils and cares of the great body of their fellow citizens.” —James Madison

“In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.” —Voltaire

I couldn't have said it any better Mr. Madison. Thank you.

When Is A Cure NOT A Cure?

Scott Fischbach from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life has an op-ed in the Star Tribune taking Rep. Phyllis Kahn to task for her advocacy of a bill that funds embryonic stem cell research in Minnesota. I wrote a little bit about the floor debate on Rep. Kahn's bill when the conference bill passed the House at the end of the session. What propmted Scott to write was a June 2 op-ed by Rep. Kahn herself, taking the governor to task for vetoing the bill. Rep. Kahn continues to insist many things about her stem cell bill but Mr. Fischbach obliterates the most disingenuous of Rep. Kahn's claims.

Kahn says her legislation "outlawed human cloning," but the bill explicitly authorizes "somatic cell nuclear transplantation" (SCNT), which is the technique by which cloning occurs. The National Institutes of Health calls SCNT "the scientific term for cloning."

Rep. Kahn suffered another blow to her argument for HESC research earlier this month. The Star Tribune reported on a mother whose drive and devotion to her sons led to the development of a cure for their very rare skin disorder.

Last fall doctors at the University of Minnesota did a bone marrow transplant on a 2-year-old boy in a risky attempt to treat his devastating genetic skin disease with stem cells. Until then, the technique had only been used in mice.

It worked.

The boy's doctors said Monday they think they have found a cure for the painful disease that, though rare, causes the skin to fall off at the slightest touch and inevitably leads to cancer. Most children who have it do not survive to adulthood.

It takes the Strib a while to get to it, but they finally do tell you where these stem cells come from....and it was not frozen embryos.

Researchers at the university, which specializes in adult stem cells, began experimenting with a variety of stem cells found in bone marrow and blood from umbilical cords. Dr. Jakub Tolar, a blood specialist at the university, said he tried 10 to 15 different classes of cells in the genetically engineered mice in the hopes that one would provide the missing protein.

Finally, one did.

This is just one more cure to add to the already long list of cures and potential cures that have come from adult and umbilical cord stem cells. We are still waiting for the first to come from embryonic stem cells. Perhaps Rep. Kahn should go back to school to learn a little more about the process. It should be awfully convenient for her...after all - the University IS in her district after all...

A Proven Record

Former ISD 719 School Board Member Sue Bruns is the DFL endorsed candidate for the Legislature in House District 35A against incumbent Mike Beard. Sue's entry into the race and her defeat of 2006 contender Doug Zila has certainly given Beard's supporters (of which I am one) an opportunity. Bruns has a record - 11 years on the school board...11 years in which the school board engaged in "negative fund balances" for 10 of those 11 years. It is that school board record that I would like to highlight.

Last fall, ISD 719 (Prior Lake/Savage) was looking to the taxpayers for additional funding to cover a multitude of needs. As the group "Citizens for Accountable Government" pointed out in their levy flyers last fall, the many of ISD 719s problems were self inflicted. Spending growth out paced student enrollment growth by 2-1! Many in the district questioned why spending grew so fast and far above the growth of the student population. When pressed on the issue in 2006, former school board member and Legislative candidate Sue Bruns said "We don’t have an expenditure problem, we have a revenue problem,” That is like the teen-ager saying "I can't be overdrawn...I still have checks in the check book.

ISD 719's issues were well known. There was a new school to open (a school that was not supposed to have been built until 2009), an over-crowded high school to deal with and elementary school classrooms at the brink of over crowding. Ms. Bruns' idea of solving the issue was to lobby St. Paul for more money. Any attempts to trim spending were met with excuses as to why it could not be done. When Board Chair Michael Murray suggested that the board reduce some of their expenses in order to lead by example Ms. Bruns was more concerned about devaluing the boards work than she was about the district's finances! When talk turned to trimming the budget by cutting student programs, Ms. Bruns' response was a typical one for her.

Making cuts is not a local issue, she added. “Our growth has helped us mask it all of these years…This is about an erosion of financial support in the state of Minnesota.”

In her mind, it is someone else's fault that the ISD719 school board can't live within their means. This is not to say that this mindset is all wrong. I have mentioned before that there are indeed inequities in the school funding formula. In spite of all of that, comparable cities (like Shakopee) are able to manage their growth and live well within their means.

When it comes to trying to reward schools that actually do their jobs, Ms. Bruns has this to say...

Bruns said the governor’s plan to reward star schools has been controversial.

“To reward successful schools when there are struggling school districts doesn’t make sense,” Bruns said.

The nice thing about Ms. Bruns' 11 year record on the ISD 719 School Board is that voters will be able to see exactly what they will get if they vote for her. What they will get is a legislator whose idea of solving problems is throwing endless money at the issue and then blaming others when that continues to fail.

I Am Woman....Hear Me Whine?

Oh the high drama has begun. With Hillary's withdrawal from the race, her supporters are up in arms. Over at the Hillary Clinton Blog, you can find comments like this from her ardent supporters.

I love you Hillary!!!

You are my sHero.

I am now a registered Republican in a show of defiance, our family ended our lifelong democratic party affliation on Friday and became Republicans.

We will support John McCain in November to help defeat Obama.

Yesterday I received an email from Sen Joe Lieberman asking us Hillary Supporters to vote for John McCain.

HILLARY - this may sound counter-productive to all you believe in, but it is about WOMEN'S RIGHTS and sending a message to the Democratic Party - "No You Can't".

Hillary YOU are my President.

by Nancy in Cali at 6/7/2008 12:39:01 PM

Hillary's campaign has also given birth to a new 527.... the PUMA (Party Unity My A$) PAC. In their post about what to do now, you will find commenters like "Asians4Hillary", "PA4Hill08","HillGirl" and "Im4Hill08" leaving comments like this:

My heart is broken……..i sobbed while she was giving this speech…..i will NOT vote for BO, i can’t!!! i don’t know what i’ll be doing come nov, maybe things will change in august…..i don’t know, it hurts too much to think about right now…..i want to make a difference, i thought that’s what i was doing this election period, the DNC is NOT going to give us a break………i will be here, support and donate and we’ll see what happens……

thanks for all the luv and support hillocrats

I have to give thanks to all of the Hillary supporters as well. While I certainly don't expect this to last, they are making my life (and this election season) entertaining to say the least...

Light Posting Day

To heck with politics...real history may be made today. Big Brown is in line to be the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. Then we have an open house tomorrow. Posting will be very light today.

Earth To Alix

I've written about Channel 9's Alix Kendall a couple of times in the past. For the most part, she reports the news straight up - until we get into campaign season and then the partisan in her slips into her reports. Todays report was on the 2008 Senate race. As all most Minnesotans know, the DFL State Convention is the weekend and they will probably endorse Al Franken at said convention. In her report this morning about the Senate race, she mentioned that in addition to Franken, Jesse Ventura and Dean Barkley (Independence Party) were considering running to "replace Paul Wellstone who died in office. What Alix didn't mention is that Senator Paul Wellstone died during the campaign six years ago!

If it were not for the fact that Channel 9 has the most "competent" weather department I wouldn't watch this state and if it were not for weather and traffic reports I doubt I would watch local news at all. However, Alix makes it all worth it. She is an endless source of media bias material.

You Just Don't "Get" Art

I know what you're thinking..."here comes another right-winger tsk-tsking about the sad state of the culture" and while you are correct that the culture is in a sad state, I think this is going to be more of a "stupid is as stupid does" type post.

Gary Gross tipped me off to a Drudge Report link on the story below.

This morning, a Boston-born performance artist, Yazmany Arboleda, tried to set up a provocative art exhibition in a vacant storefront on West 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan with the title, “The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/The Assassination of Barack Obama,” in neatly stenciled letters on the plate glass windows at street level.

By 9:30 a.m., New York City police detectives and Secret Service agents had shut down the exhibition, and building workers had quickly covered over the inflammatory title with large sheets of brown paper and blue masking tape.

I hate to say this but "provacative art exhibits" are really becoming passe. I mean everybody, it seems, does one now. Now I must admit that I was particularly drawn to this passage.

Later, Mr. Arboleda, who is 27, said in an interview: “It’s art. It’s not supposed to be harmful. It’s about character assassination — about how Obama and Hillary have been portrayed by the media.” He added, “It’s about the media.” ...The interview was abruptly ended as Mr. Arboleda was led off to the Midtown South police precinct for what he called an interrogation.

You don't understand....it's all about the MEEEEEEdiaaaaaaa. You can almost hear the whine now...However, it was not until I clicked over to the websites that were set up for the exhibit (one for Sen. Clinton and one for Sen. Obama) that you realize that this was simply the arrogance of a childish adult who just does not get that there are certain lines you just don't cross. The pictures of the "exhibit" are basically the ARTIST engaging in character assisination. Whether is is the one room that has the picture of a very long (covering 3 walls in the room) black male appendage with the caption "Once you've gone Barack..." to the ode to pant suits with a side panel "Hillary's Fashions" taking her to task for her "embrace of masculine attire" (trust me - I am the same way and it has nothing to do with wanting to look "androgynous"), this "art exhibit" is nothing more than a disappointed progressive who decided that he would "show the establishment" what he thought of them.

The problem is that there are just some lines that are not meant to be crossed. You simply do not talk "assisinating" someone running for President - especially when one of the someone's is an African American who has received very credible death threats! This is something that Yazmany's parents and teachers should have taught him. Heck if the young lad had paid ANY attention at all to anything other than himself to this past election cycle he would have seen that throwing the word assisination around lightly comes with very real consequences.

No, I seriously suspect that this exhibit is not about the media...it is the petulant posturing of a spoiled 20 something who wanted nothing more than to get his 15 minutes of fame. Well he got what he it....but is this really how he wanted to do it?

Introducing.....

Meet Ted. Ted is the patriarch of an old money family. Ted has everything that a person could want....wealth, a loving family, a great job with fantastic benefits....and brain cancer. The diagnosing doctors said that the tumor was inoperable and that Ted should get his effects in order. Ted took his great benefits and wealth and found an oncologist who specialized in "inoperable" tumors. The surgeon decided that the tumor was operable and today Ted is recovering from a successful surgery to remove the tumor.

Meet Kathy...Kathy is a cancer survivor. She chronicled her battle with "the Big C" at her blog Cake Eater Chronicles. Kathy also had the opportunity to get a second opinion when it came to her cancer treatment, something that was denied to a grandmother in the U.K. (as reported by Kathy H/T Mitch)

A Grandmother whose free NHS treatment was withdrawn because she paid privately for anti-cancer drugs has died.

Yesterday Linda O'Boyle's husband condemned the policy behind the decision and said it had made his dying wife's last months even more stressful.

Mrs O'Boyle, 64, had been receiving state-funded treatment - including chemotherapy - for colon cancer.

But when she took cetuximab, a drug which promised to extend her life but is not available on the NHS, her health trust made her start paying for her care.

Advocates of "single payer" health care here in the US claim that the program is not "government run" but as we saw during the health care debate here in Minnesota that is simply not the case. It is government run and the government will decide who gets what treatment and when....like they already do no

Meet Nancy. Nancy is a 71 year old woman with multiple chronic problems. Her daughters have seen her through bout after bout of hospitalizations due to mysterious collapses. After the last collapse (where she was taken to a different hospital), doctors determined that a weak heart, anemia and high blood pressure medication were combining to cause the mysterious black-outs. Nancy is on Medicare who has paid for some of her treatments, but most of the treatments have been paid for by private insurance and out of pocket. Nancy worries that Medicare (who will not pay for a much needed motorized scooter/wheelchair) will dump her because of the costs of her recent treatments.

Meet Linda - Linda was injured on the job (health care aid working with troubled children). Because of her injury to her knee, her back is now also injured. She has had multiple surgeries (including neck fusion) that has left her permanently disabled and on multiple strong pain medications. Recently it was discovered that she had Basel Cell Cancer in one eye. She was scheduled to have surgery to get the cancer removed when OUR government run health care dropped her. It has been one year since she lost her health care and the cancer still has not been removed and is probably spreading.

Is this really the kind of health care that we want to subject ourselves to? Is this what is best for our children and grandchildren...a system that tosses you out when you get to the point where you "cost too much" for the system...where you use too many resources? That is what Universal Health Care will give us if we are not careful!

Cross posted at State House Call a new place to find my Health Care Policy musings.

Pardon The Interruption

My hosting service went to upgrade their security software yesterday and computers being what they are, there was a conflict in the programming codes and one thing lead to another and as a result it was lights out here for the better part of 12 hours. We are back up and running and we'll have lots of new content to make up for lost time!

It's Out.

The non-partisan Legislative Auditors report into the allegations of wrongdoing in the Attorney General's office is out. The Legislative Auditor's preliminary letter can be found here. The report is a mixed bag. While Mr. Noble's preliminary recommendation is that there is no grounds for further investigation, it does tell what we already knew....that there are real problems in the AG's office.

The individuals we interviewed under oath testified that the events involved in the allegations did occur. The individuals said—as Representative Simon relayed to the commission—that they felt pressured to act inappropriately, and they gave detailed accounts of specific events. However, they also stated that no inappropriate, unethical, or illegal actions resulted from the pressure.
In addition, the individuals we interviewed did not cite direct and specific job-related threats from either former-Attorney General Hatch or Attorney General Swanson in connection to the events in the allegations. Rather, the individuals we interviewed linked the pressure they felt to the fact that attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office work “at the pleasure” of the Attorney General; in other words, they can be dismissed or demoted “at will” rather than “for cause.” In addition, they said it was “well-known” that termination, demotion, or reassignment often fell on an employee who lost favor with the Attorney General. Some of the individuals we interviewed said they thought his or her demotion or reassignment was retaliation for having not followed a directive from either former-Attorney General Hatch or Attorney General Swanson, but acknowledged they could not prove the connection.
The individuals we interviewed also linked the pressure they felt to an office environment that focused on obtaining favorable media attention rather than the methodical legal work required to successfully litigate cases. Several of the individuals we interviewed pointed to cases they thought had merit that were dropped in favor of new cases that would draw media attention.
The individuals we interviewed focused a large share of their criticism and discontent on Mike Hatch, both as Attorney General and during the time he served as a deputy to Attorney General Swanson.2 Indeed, a principal criticism they made of Attorney General Swanson was that she appointed Mr. Hatch to a position in the office after Attorney General Swanson was sworn into office in 2007. This—and Mr. Hatch’s continued influence on the office—was said to be the “tipping point” that caused some current and former employees to voice criticisms and accusations against Attorney General Swanson. Mr. Hatch resigned his position with the office in May 2007.

But wait, you say....if the testimony did show that there was undue pressure put on people to focus not on merit worthy cases but cases that would bring the most positive publicity to the office then why not investigate further? Well....

While the individuals we interviewed provided sworn statements based on first-hand knowledge, their testimony did not establish a basis for further investigation by OLA. OLA has authority to investigate alleged noncompliance with legal requirements related to the use of public funds.

Since there was no mis-use of public funds the OLA can not investigate further. That does not mean that the individuals involved (ie Ms. Lawler) can't do anything...we will have to wait and see what happens there.

Meanwhile the OLA does offer a common sense solution to the whole mess...a solution that I hope the Legislature will take to heart next session.

We understand that legislators do not want to become involved in the recent unionization dispute in the Attorney General’s Office. However, the “at will” status of attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office is a separate issue, and we think it should be considered by the appropriate legislative committees.
The status of employees that work for the state’s elected constitutional officials is mixed. All employees in the Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s offices are in the unclassified civil service (in other words, they are “at will” employees). In contrast, most employees (60 of 77) in the Secretary of State’s Office are in the classified civil service, and most employees (86 of 110) in the State Auditor’s Office are in the classified civil service. In the Attorney General’s Office, 87 employees (secretaries and administrative staff) are in the classified civil service, and 267 employees (attorneys, legal assistants, investigators, etc.) are in the unclassified civil service.3
Since a state employee’s status as either a classified or unclassified employee is largely determined by law, we think a legislative review of the current status of attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office would be appropriate. The question for the Legislature to consider is whether the legal services provided by the Attorney General’s Office require that all of the attorneys in the office serve “at the pleasure” of the Attorney General.

I am really not a huge fan of unions, however this is one place where unionization is a necessity. These attorney's should not be subject to the whims of partisan elected officials. They really should be above politics and all about what is best for the state. In this case, we can clearly see that if we want what is best for the state, the attorneys, legal assistants and investigators of the AG's office need to have union protection. Come on Ms. Swanson...what are you afraid of? After all, don't you belong to the Democrat, Farmer and LABOR Party?

Going To Extremes

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I was not at last week's Republican Party State Convention. I gave up my seat to a newcomer since I was not sure that I was going to be here for the convention or not (more on this later). However, I was following the action thanks to AM 1280 the Patriot and TN contributors AAA, Chief, Kevin, Martin and SCSU Scholars King and Janet. So even though I was not there in person, I do think I have a good take on what happened last weekend and because of that I am dismayed at the actions of my "fellow Republicans".

One of the first things that I heard about was Friday's attempt by the State Executive Committee to totally usurp the autonomy of the individual BPOU's. Andy has a letter posted from one of the BPOU leaders that was the target of this takeover. Shortly after I heard about that I read a story from the Star Tribune that quoted one of the newcomers from my district that I had given up my seat for.

"You had your shot," said former state representative Fran Bradley, who was chairing the convention. "What happened is the will of the majority and it's time to move on."

That irked Paul supporters who said they were victims of an undemocratic process. "We've been completely shut out of the process," said Lara Witte, a Paul supporter from Savage.

Emphasis mine. The irony of that statement is apparently lost on Ms. Witte (who has yet to show up for ANY activities in our BPOU other than the conventions and we have had LOTS of volunteer activities in the Savage Lands). She is so wrapped up in HER agenda that she does not see (none of the Paul supporters apparently see) that they are not the only ones being "shut out" by the State Party! Either that or she was so busy basking in the glow of her candidate's presence (more on THAT later) to pay attention to the floor battle on the Rules and Constitutional changes.

However, the State Party was not completely at fault. Yes, they made all the "right" procedural moves - moves that were guaranteed to shut ALL dissenting opinion out, but the Paul campaign does hold some blame for their being shut out of the Rules.

First and foremost was Marianne Stebbens (chair of Congressman Paul's MN Campaign) should have known to have someone parked at the Credentials table waiting for published copies of the agenda and the rules to be put out. After all, Marianne is (so she claims) to be a long time Republican Party activist. I have only been involved in the party for 6 years and I know that. She supposedly has 20 years on me - so why did she not know that? Her counterpart in Nevada certainly did. If she was going to wage an effective floor fight on the rules she needed to have her forces on the floor. Instead they were ALL out getting their pictures taken with their candidate. Then, when it was too late to make changes to the rules, the Paul supporters did everything in their power to turn the rest of the floor (many of whom were sympathetic after witnessing the Executive Committee's naked power grab and realizing that they could be next) against them and their candidate.

One of the first givens of politics is that it is a numbers game. He who has the most votes WINS. If you don't have the numbers, you are not going to win your battles - whether it is at the ballot box or on the convention floor. If the Paul campaign was smart, they would have had their candidate speak at a reception for supporters Thursday night so that their members could have all been on the floor, fresh and ready for the fight. If Ms. Witte wants to blame anyone for shutting the Paul supporters out, she needs to at least turn one eye toward the Paul campaign!

But again, the State Party needs to bear some of the blame. They made took every advantage that they had and used it against the Paul people. They made sure that agendas and copies of rules changes got out as "late" as possible so that as few convention attendees had them as possible. That should upset more than just the Paul supporters. They also made sure that there were no scheduled breaks. There was not even a break in the action for lunch! By manipulating what information got out and when and by manipulating the schedule, convention organizers made sure that the deck was always stacked in their favor.

One thing that was cemented in my mind as a result of the convention is this. The MNGOP is not about helping get Republicans get elected. If it was, they would be working with the BPOUs instead of against them. No, the state party - in it's current incarnation - is only out for itself. Self preservation is not always a bad thing, but in this case it does not instill much faith in the state party at all. I don't know what the motivation is, but that is the message that came out of Rochester last weekend.