"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. ...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."
--A Pennsylvanian, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 20 February 1788
Riddle me this....If a someone is $1.2 TRILLION in debt and you add another $1.3 Trillion in spending (TARP and Stimulus) what do you suppose you would get?
Now add another $4 TRILLION to the mix. Now can anyone tell me how we are going to CUT the budget deficit by half with all of this additional spending?
I've always been just a little fascinated with rays. I love watching them "fly" along the floor of the ocean (seem while snorkeling). I mean who can not stand in absolute awe when coming face to face with a sight like this...
(Photo credit: Sandra Critelli)
My first up close encounter with one of these magnificent creatures came about 15 years ago in Ocean City MD. While shark fishing off of one of the piers, a young man hooked (and battled) a "small" manta ray. After about two hours of fighting it (and the tide) he landed the ray long enough to take a couple of pictures and then he released it and we watched it glide away with the tide.
Now you know whythis storycaught my eye this morning.
It took 90 minutes to land, 13 men to heave it out of the water... and weighed 55 stone when they finally got it to the scales.
So it's little wonder that when Ian Welch first hooked the record stingray, it almost pulled him into the river...
Eventually the group towed the ray to the bank, put it in a paddling pool, tagged it and took DNA, before releasing it.
The giant freshwater ray is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
This one, 7ft long and wide, with a tail of 10ft, had its venomous barb wrapped in cloth on the bank.
Even better....she's pregnant!
After being weighed, measured and tagged, Mr. Welch and his crew released the giant ray back into the water where she will eventually give birth.
Here's to you Mr. Welch - you and your crew have helped expand our knowledge of this great big wonderful world.
Last night, the President gave his first major address to the country and Congress. While this is normally called the "State of the Union" address, the first one of a President's administration is not. I missed the speech itself last night (family matters come first after all) I did read it and everything I could on the speech. During the course of researching, I foundthis interestingAP piece.
President Barack Obama knows Americans are unhappy that their taxes will be used to rescue people who bought mansions beyond their means.
But his assurance Tuesday night that only the deserving will get help rang hollow.
Even officials in his administration, many supporters of the plan in Congress and the Federal Reserve chairman expect some of that money will go to people who used lousy judgment...
OBAMA: "We have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and refinance their mortgages. It's a plan that won't help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values."
THE FACTS: If the administration has come up with a way to ensure money only goes to those who got in honest trouble, it hasn't said so.
OK to the President's defense, there isn't much of a way to "ensure" that money only goes to those truly deserving. If you were to research each person who needed the money and their circumstances....well let's jus say that 10 years from now we would still be working on it...
OBAMA: "And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."
THE FACTS: Depends what your definition of automobiles, is. According to the Library of Congress, the inventor of the first true automobile was probably Germany's Karl Benz, who created the first auto powered by an internal combustion gasoline engine, in 1885 or 1886. In the U.S., Charles Duryea tested what library researchers called the first successful gas-powered car in 1893.
Oh come on....couldn't the President's speech writers have taken five minutes to GOOGLE this smal factiod before embarassing their guy so badly?
OBAMA: "We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before."
THE FACTS: Oil imports peaked in 2005 at just over 5 billion barrels, and have been declining slightly since. The figure in 2007 was 4.9 billion barrels, or about 58 percent of total consumption. The nation is on pace this year to import 4.7 billion barrels, and government projections are for imports to hold steady or decrease a bit over the next two decades.
Again - two minutes with Google would have saved the President a whole lot of embarrassment.
OBAMA: "We have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade."
THE FACTS: Although 10-year projections are common in government, they don't mean much. And at times, they are a way for a president to pass on the most painful steps to his successor, by putting off big tax increases or spending cuts until someone else is in the White House.
Obama only has a real say on spending during the four years of his term. He may not be president after that and he certainly won't be 10 years from now.
AP has a point. Politicians love to talk about how they are going to do this or do that but we won't see the effects for 10 years and 10 years later people have moved on to the next crisis de jour.
OBAMA: "Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."
THE FACTS: This may be so, but it isn't only Republicans who pushed for deregulation of the financial industries. The Clinton administration championed an easing of banking regulations, including legislation that ended the barrier between regular banks and Wall Street banks. That led to a deregulation that kept regular banks under tight federal regulation but extended lax regulation of Wall Street banks. Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, later an economic adviser to candidate Obama, was in the forefront in pushing for this deregulation.
OK this is something that many pointed out during the course of the election!!!!! Of course why let a few facts get in the way of "Hope and Change".
There is more. You should read it all.
FactCheck.org has their analysis out. If you don't get their updates, you should.
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States."
--Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 10 October 1787
On Friday February 20, at approximately 9:45am (on my way in to work) I was driving east on 4100 South. I pulled up to the stop light at Bangerter Highway one car behind and to the right of one of your fine officers. Shortly after I stopped, another of your fine officers pulled up immediately to my right. As we were sitting there, waiting for the light to change, I happened to glance to my right and to my shock and surprise, I saw the officer driving the car to my right TYPING ON HIS INBOARD COMPUTER. He also had the computer positioned in such a way that the monitor was blocking his view out the passenger side of his windshield. Curious, I looked at the police car to the left of me and through the rear window I could see that officer looking down and to his right as if he were writing (or typing?) on something in the seat next to him. As the light changed, both officers put two hands on the wheel and pulled away, but officer number 1 never did move the computer monitor that was blocking his view through the windshield.
Now imagine if the roles were reversed and the police office was behind someone texting while at the light or who had their vision out the front window blocked by something. Do you suppose that tickets might be issued?
There is this little thing in the Constitution about "equal protection" under the law and yet some people who are in charge of writing and enforcing the laws seem to think that the laws they write (tax laws) or enforce (speeding, driving while distracted) don't apply to them.
"[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, - who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia."
--George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 14 June 1778
Back in July, I took a look at how Minnesota and Utah differed vis a vis the economic downturn. Now I would like to take a look at the methods each legislature has used in handling their deficits.
First a quick reminder - both states have Constitutional mandates to operate under a balanced budget.
Now the Utah legislature spent the "good times"wisely setting aside money "just in case" lean times came....
Utah typically is ranked among the nation's best-managed states, and the Legislature deserves some credit for this. During the last session, lawmakers saw economic storm clouds on the horizon and made provisions. They appropriated $100 million for public schools that was not to be spent. It was set aside in case of a shortfall. They piled extra cash into the state's Rainy Day Fund, and they decided to pay for highway and capital needs with cash, leaving untapped bonding capacity in place for hard times.
Unlike their Minnesota counterparts, who spent like drunken sailors on shore leave, in spite of calls for restraint.
The differences do not stop there. Once the deficits were apparent (last spring and summer), the Utah Legislaturewas calledto a special session so that they could start working on a resolution to their budget woes. Committees met and ideas brought forward in the two day session. After the special session ended, sober minded Legislators hit the campaign trail talking about the need to make painful cuts to state budgets.
On January 26 (the start of the 2009 Legislative session) the Utah Legislature hit the ground running. BOTH parties got together and by February 2 the House, the Senate and the Governor had agreed on a budget deal. The Minnesota Legislature, on the other hand.....
It happened again Thursday. The Minnesota House was meeting in full session, running through some routine business, when Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, rose, cleared his throat and said to DFLers, "We've been here a month; why are we still waiting for your budget proposal?''
The Minnesota Legislature has been in session since January 6 and as of today there is still NO BUDGET PROPOSAL IN SIGHT!! Speaker Kelliher's excuse?
"We don't even have complete drafts of his bill yet,'' he said. "When we get the full proposal, we will work off what he has. You see what's doable and where there might be disagreement.''
Kelliher notes that the governor had all of the state's commissioners and finance experts working on the budget for months. The Legislature does not have those resources.
"He's had 7½ months. It's unrealistic to expect us to respond in just a few days,'' she said.
In the same 7 1/2 months that the governor spent putting together his budget proposals, the DFL majorities in the MN House and Senate were doing what exactly? My friend Gary Gross has the answer....
All summer long, DFL committee chairs held hearing after hearing. They got reports saying that the economy was getting worse. As far back as prior to the national conventions, legislators were being told that the deficit could hit $4,000,000,000. Instead of working on putting together a budget that would deal with the deficit, Democrats just ran up big per diem bills.
They had access to the same government employees and data that the Governor has. They have the power to summon the Governor's commissioners to come testify, but instead they ran around the state holding "meetings" and charging the bill to a budget that was already deeply in the red. That is not to say all Minnesota legislators were waiting for someone else to do the work. Back tomy friend Gary....
Here’s a joint statement released by Senate GOP Communications Director Michael Brodkorb (ed - yes that Michael Brodkorb) and House GOP Communications Director Kevin Watterson on one of the GOP’s reform proposals:
(St. Paul) – Responding to the likelihood that Minnesota budget deficit will be close to $7 billion, Republican members of the Minnesota House and Senate announced a legislative proposal today to cut the pay of legislators and constitutional officers by 5 percent.
If enacted into law, the base pay for legislators would drop from their current amounts to $29,583 per-year, with the estimated total savings per biennium of $676,441.20. [Please see the attached table for salary information for legislators and constitutional officers.]
“At a time when the budget deficit is growing larger by the minute, legislators need to set an example in St. Paul by cutting their own compensation and that of constitutional officers,” said Senator Geoff Michel (R-Edina). “The legislative branch must be part of the budget solution and before we go through the entire state budget, line by line, we should find savings in our own budget.”
Currently, Minnesota statutes (15A.082) establishes a 16-member Compensation Council to provide salary recommendations for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Attorney General, and legislators. The Legislature can adopt these recommendations, adopt with modifications (such as a percentage), or establish altogether different rates.
While the constitutional officer salary is a percentage of the Governor’s pay, this bill makes individual salaries independent. This bill also provides transparency to the public by placing actual compensation amounts in law.
“This plan should absolutely be part of the discussions that take place around Minnesota over the next two weeks. Legislators have to be willing to step up and show leadership in doing what it will take to balance the budget,” said Representative Dan Severson (R-Sauk Rapids). “If we’re not willing to put ourselves and our salaries up for debate, then we won’t have a lot of credibility among the people we hear from during these meetings.”
It is clear that serious legislators can find a way to get the job done for the people....it's just a pity that in the case of Minnesota, the majority leadership has decided that it is more important for them to court their special interests groups than it is to do the PEOPLES business.
From: Gene Pelowski [mailto:Rep.Gene.Pelowski@house.mn] Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:13 AM This Friday, February 20, there will be a bicameral hearing held in our region. Senators and Representatives from both political parties will be in Winona from 3:30 to 5:30 PM, Winona City Hall, 207 Lafayette St. The purpose of this hearing is to get testimony from affected programs in every level of government, education, health care or service impacted by the cuts suggested by the Governor’s state budget.
I am writing you to ask that you or a designee get scheduled to testify. You may do this by going to the House website at www.house.mn and clicking on “Town Meetings”.
We would ask you to focus your comments on the impact of the Governor’s budget including what is the harm to your area of government or program. Please be as precise as possible using facts such as number of lay offs, increases in property taxes, cuts in services, increases in tuition, elimination of programs. To be respectful of the time necessary to hear from a large number of constituents it would be advised to use no more than 3-5 minutes to convey your message. If you choose to provide handouts or printed materials, please plan to bring approximately 25 copies, enough for committee members and media.
Sincerely, Representative Gene Pelowski District 31A
President Obama was in Arizona on Wednesday.This report, from the East Valley Tribune, focused on the reaction to President Obama's speech by one class of high school kids from Mesa.
A Dobson High School Advanced Placement government class with strong opinions about Barack Obama watched the president’s speech Wednesday on a small, grainy TV in the corner of their classroom.
The students were unable to watch the historic event that was taking place in their own gymnasium because this was the ticket in town that day. Oh and for all of you out there who think that the schools are "forcing" this on the kids.....
The gymnasium’s events were shown simultaneously in rooms throughout the Mesa school, and teachers were given discretion on whether to show the speech, the students said.
To the students credit, these kids (for the most part) gave the President the credit his due by virtue of his position. They also made some pretty astute observations about the presentation and the policy.
The students in the class were hopeful things will work out but questioned whether Obama’s plan would actually work to dig the country out of its economic woes. They also expected a longer speech.
Senior Syna Daudfar took some notes during the speech and was among the most vocally opposed to Obama’s words.
At one point, when he talked about the costs of his stimulus plan, senior Maaike Albach and Daudfar looked at each other and said, “uh-oh.”
“Overall I think it’s a good idea, but he’s not addressing the issues of the economic crisis,” said Daudfar, a John McCain supporter who added he leans more toward being a moderate conservative. “The spending bill he just passed is just progressing the Democratic agenda rather than addressing the economic issues in the country.”
Daudfar thinks Obama’s plan is backward and deals with the “less important stuff” first. “Bailing out businesses” and “providing better regulatory systems for giving out money to businesses” should have been first, he said.
“If businesses can’t afford to hire people, then people won’t be able to work and pay off their mortgages,” he said. “It’s kind of like putting money into a funnel.”
That is the same complaint a lot of professional economists have been making about the "stimulus" bill.
Senior Brandon Miller wore a shirt with the words, “Hitler gave great speeches, too” above a picture of Obama.
Miller said he had been an Obama supporter “because of his speeches,” but after debating the issues in this class and looking more into Obama’s policies, his vote was swayed toward McCain.
First off I have to say, Brandon - lose the t-shirt. I understand that is how the left treated President Bush for the last 8 years, but just because they did it, doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. That said, I know a lot of folks like Brandon - hardcore Obama supporters until they actually started looking at his voting record and honestly considering the issues. Yes I understand that the true believers will never change their minds, but there are fair minded people out there who are today regretting their vote for Obama in November. They too, got caught up in the pretty speeches. However, they are starting to see that the speeches didn't match the actions. That happens in just about every election.
The kids teacher gets the last word in this article.
AP government teacher Jeff Sherrer said his students “feel very strongly about the issues, maybe more than the general population.” He thought at least one of his students was outside protesting, and he had planned to take his students outside as a class project to show them what was going on but didn’t get the chance.
“These kinds of kids really get into it,” Sherrer said. “During the election we had lots of debates on the issues.”
Kudos to Mr. Sherrer for teaching his kids to question and to think for themselves. Who knows where these kids may line up politically in 1 year or 10 years, but you can bet that where ever they are, these kids will be able to give up a better defense of their stands than many adults.
"[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it."
--Richard Henry Lee, Letters from the Federal Farmer, 1788
Emphasis mine....I think the founders intent is crystal clear in this particular passage as well as the one I posted yesterday...
That's what a lot of people are asking right now. Business Week had a one of the more balanced takes on the issue.
Yet while job creation is arguably the most important goal of the stimulus package, other parts of the bill will have a much more immediate and visible impact. Food stamp increases and extensions of unemployment benefits will be among the first noticeable effects of the package. Tax credit payments for individuals and families would follow, along with other tax breaks and incentives. Rising consumer confidence and lower unemployment will be far more gradual, and aren't likely to surface until late 2009 at the earliest.
I agree that the increased unemployment benefits will help people pay their bills and hopefully keep their homes. That was one of the things that I fully agreed with. The food stamps - I see, but I'm not sold that it is the right way to help the new jobless.
There's an understanding among many economists that the sooner a government intervenes in an economic crisis, the more effective it tends to be in getting the economy back on track. That doesn't mean that precise measurement of success is easy, however. "The problem is, we don't know what trajectory the economy would take without the stimulus package," says J. Bradford DeLong, an economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley. "We can't enter a Star Trek-like divided universe in which we compare what's happening with the stimulus versus without it. It's hard to precisely judge its impact."
Especially with this particular stimulus package. Many have argued that the projects funded in this stimulus were not "shovel ready" projects - which are the ones that will help the economy fastest. Much of the Republican Congressional criticism of the stimulus package has been that spending in 2011 or 2012 will not help the economy today and they are right. Many (myself included) have long argued that spending on groups like ACORN do not create jobs but tax cuts to job providers do! There are many flaws to this bill that are going to be "wild cards" in the success of the stimulus package.
However, President Obama holds the keys to the biggest wild card of all. White House Chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel has been quoted as saying "You don’t ever want to let a crisis go to waste: it’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.”. President Obama has gone out of his way to sell the crisis. However, this morning former President Bill Clinton offered President Obama better advice today when he said that the President needed to "sell the recovery"and former President Clinton IS RIGHT! President Obama is an excellent sales person. He needs to get out in front of the media now and start building up consumer confidence again. Instead of going from crisis to crisis saying "Oh we need to fix this crisis", President Obama can do more to help the economy by saying "yeah things are bad, but there is no need to panic. If we all chip in and work hard and continue to live our lives we will get through this as we have gotten through other crises. "
The media has (in some small part) helped the crisis get to the point it is at today. They media can help make it better or make it worse. If the President really wants to make it better he needs to start selling the fledgling recovery. It's the smart thing to do.
If any of you are not following the ongoing CNN webseries "Freshman Year" you should. Yes, I have to admit that my new Congressman, Jason Chaffetz (UT3) is one of the two featured freshmen (one from each party) in the series. However it is more a lesson in what our Congressmen and women have to face every single day in DC. It is a great montage of what happens on the floor and off.
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
--Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishment, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book, 1774-1776
Long time readers of this blog know that one of my "pet" issues is the issue of breed specific legislation. BSL's are usually geared around the so-called "bully breeds" - pit bulls, rottweillers, dobermans, german shepherds etc. My argument against BSL comes in large part from my days with the Junior Logician in dog training. One of the things we have learned in training is that ANY dog can become dangerous to people in the "wrong" set of circumstances. A story from myold stomping groundsbrings that point home.
The verdict is in – Bitsy the long-haired dachshund is a potentially dangerous dog.
The designation came about as a result of the first dangerous dog hearing where the city used an outside hearing officer to preside over a case, which was also the second time the updated ordinance was followed.
Hearing examiner Karen E. Marty handed down the ruling Feb. 3 after presiding over an appeal hearing of a potentially dangerous dog citation against Bitsy that involved two very different stories about what happened on the morning of Nov. 26, 2008.
Now I fully understand that a Rottie is going to do more damage to a child than a Dachshund if either was to bite one. The point here is that you can not legislate based on profiling. You have to legislate the action not the genes. I have known too many "bully" breed dogs who have been the sweetiest, kindest creatures - incapable of harming of harming a flea much less a child. I have actually had more bad experiences with small dogs. The bottom line is it is not the size of the dog...it's the training and work that the owner puts INTO the dog.
THEY may shout their green credentials from the rooftops, but some of Britain’s most prominent environmental champions are living in homes that produce up to half a ton of excess carbon dioxide a year.
An audit of properties, measuring heat loss, has revealed that Chris Martin, the pop star, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, and Sir David Attenborough, the broadcaster, are among those who reside in homes that are “leaking” energy. Some lack even the most basic energy saving measures such as cavity wall insulation and double glazing.
Thermal images of the residences of 10 high-profile green campaigners found that their heat loss was either worse or no better than that found in the average family home.
Now based on my experience in our new house this winter, I have to admit that my house is probably not much better. It was built in the early 1970's and the windows are original for the house. The basement is not finished (although it is insulated) and the attic could probably use another inch or two of insulation. However most of that will be fixed by the end of this year. Then again, I don't fly around the world in a private jet scolding the lesser beings on how they need to sacrifice more in order to save Mother Earth.
I've saidthis beforeand I'll say it again....I have more respect for enviromentalists like Ed Begley Jr and Robert Redford, who actually live their beliefs, than I do any of these superficial, hypocritical super-stars like Al Gore, Dave Matthews, Chris Martin (of Coldplay) and his wife Gywnneth Paltrow! When these "wanna-be's" start living the austere life that they are advocating for the rest of us peons, then I will listen. Until then.....
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife."
--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Spencer Roane, 9 March 1821
Last week, True North readers were treated to a couple of posts that were one half of the back and forth between contributor Craig Westover and Dave Mindeman of MNPACT. Politics In Minnesota carried the back and forth in theirTuesday and Wednesday editions. Today PIM carries another Dave Mindeman post- this one gloating over the fact that Scott County is facing commuter frustrations and gleefully proclaiming that they wouldn't be in this pickle if only.....
Huh. Scott County. The county who opted out of the 1/2% transit tax. Scott County.
One problem with that assumption Dave. Scott County wasnot in lineto get anything out of the "transit tax" anyway. Even if the county had signed on to that fiasco they would still be facing this problem. The other problem that Apple Valley resident Mindeman has is the assumption that mass transit would solve rural Scott County's problems. Let me clear that up for you Dave. It won't! Light rail going from Shakopee to Minnepolis won't help the Belle Plaine resident who works in Plymouth get to work. It won't help the Prior Lake resident who works in Minnetonka get there faster. It also won't help the Savage resident who works in Eagan get their car off of the road either. Most Scott County residents work in either the first ring suburbs (Richfield, Bloomington, Eagan and Plymouth) that are not served by light rail.
Mindeman's next comment is one that needs to be exposed for the fallacy that it is....
The county that has voted in representatives who are transit opponents time after time after time. Resistance that is still there as evidenced by Rep. Mike Beard's statement:
I will get to Rep. Beard's comment shortly, but I simply have to jump in here and say flat out that Scott County's representation are HARDLY anti-transit. As a matter of fact, Rep. Beard was one of the co-sponsors (along with Rep David Bly of Northfield a DFLer) ofHF 3440 that would have allowed the Met Council and the cities of Northfield and Prior Lake and Savage and Burnsvill and Lakeville to talk about the possibility of allowing a commuter rail corridor to be built on existing tracks through their communities....a bill that was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Claire Robling of Scott County and Sen. Kevin Dahle of Northfield. The bill was defeated in both conference by Hennepin County legislators (Republican and Democrat). While Senator Robling was (at the time) still torn on the need for commuter rail she was at least willing to talk about it - unlike her Hennepin County colleagues!
Now to the apparently egregious remark made by Rep. Beard.
"I don't want the transit people to run away with this, and undermine our chances to get another lane of traffic," said Republican Rep. Mike Beard.
Let's take a quick look at the context for that comment as provided by the Star Tribune....context that Mr. Mindeman conveniently left out of his screed.
But there also is high-level dissent over what Scott should do next. The Shakopee legislator who describes himself as allowing a bill for transit planning for the county to be drawn up "under my name" confesses that he worries about a heightened emphasis on transit.
"I don't want the transit people to run away with this, and undermine our chances to get another lane of traffic," said Republican Rep. Mike Beard.
Rep. Beard has been on of the few Minnesota legislators who has been all in favor of allowing the cities and the counties to decide FOR THEMSELVES which form of transit works best for their communities. As I mentioned before, he co-sponsored a bill that would have been a start to establishing commuter rail in the district. He has also been one of the very few in the legislature who are for a combination of transit answers - he has not been wedded to just one answer as the Hennepin and Ramsey County reps are. He "gets" the fact that there is no "one size fits all" answer to the transportation needs of the 7 county metro area.
Which leads us back to Mr. Mindeman's biggest assumption....that what works for Apple Valley or Eagan or Minneapolis will work for rural Jordan, Belle Plaine or Credit River Township. Simply put, Scott County is not nearly as developed as the northern half of Dakota County is. Any form of mass transit is only going to work for small portions of Scott County and only if that transit goes from where the people in Scott County live to where they work. For the majority of Scott County, the thing that gets people from where they are to where they need to be is ROADS. No amount of wishing and hoping and train related money is going to change that basic fact of life.
If you were to write an encyclopedia of geology and you were an expert in the field of geology, would you tone it down in case people who didn't like geology complained? Of course not - and yet a publisher haspulled a Christian encyclopediafor just that reason.....
Wiley-Blackwell, a major academic publisher, is recalling copies of Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization and scrapping the print run after critics said the entries were "too Christian" and "too anti-Muslim."
The publisher was set to release the four-volume encyclopedia this month after it was completed last September.
But a small group of critics that included contributors and some members of the editorial board objected to the final version.
"They determined that the Introduction and many of the entries were 'too Christian, too orthodox, too anti-secular and too anti-Muslim and not politically correct enough for being used in universities," said the encyclopedia’s editor, George Thomas Kurian, sounding angry in an e-mail sent last week to nearly 400 contributors.
What did the publisher expect when he contacted someone to create a Christian encyclopedia? A book about Buddahism? Perhaps a book on Geology? Can you imagine the outrage if this was done to any other "academic" tome? Or to a Koranic apologetic book?
One of the consequences of living in a free society is that you have to be adult enough to handle getting offended time to time. You also have to develop a thick enough hide that you can handle a book being published that does not cater to your likes and whims without calling for censorship of the book.
It's called tolerance - or does that no longer apply to the Christian community?????
Camille Paglia On The Return To The "Fairness Doctrine"
Camille Paglia is the prototypical 1960's "hippie chick". Reading her bio is a blast back to the days of the origins of a movement that has become legend. Allahpundit at HA has a link to an interview with Ms. Paglia on the subject of the Democrats renewed call for the "Fairness Doctrine" that is essential radio.
Some key quotes....
"I don't get it, I don't get it...ok...the essence of the 1960's...my generation was about FREE SPEECH...that's what Lenny Bruce was about...
The Democrats, they've, they've totally betrayed the soul of the party to even mention this...
Every true liberal Democrat should be speaking up in defense of talk radio.
It's immature...it's immature for people of one political party to try to squelch and erase, okay, the thoughts of another, okay, in fact it strengthens any party to hear, you know, an opposite view....
Go listen to the whole thing. Ms. Paglia speaks a lot of wisdom in this interview.
Well I figure since I have hit the topics of abortion and elder health care this week I might as well go for the trifecta....
Earlier this week, Governor Huntsman started a local firestorm by saying that hesupported civil unionsfor same sex couples. That led many of his supporters (from the past election) just a little upset. Several Legislators held a rally yesterday at the Capital to denounce the Governor, while a group of gay rights activists held their own rallies at the Capital and the Governor's Mansion. The rationale that gay rights activists use to push for gay marriage has to do (mostly) with the inheritance concerns and the ability to visit ones partner in the hospital as "family". This is a concern that many married couples and common law couples have. The good news is there is a way to solve these issues without getting the long arm of the Legislature involved. It's called hire a lawyer (it doesn't even have to be a "good" lawyer) and draw up a will (to take care of the inheritance concerns), apower of attorney(for making those life and death hospital decisions)and a trust(for other survivorship issues). A legal "guardianship" document may also be drawn up in advance for those times when (God forbid) one partner is incapacitated. The bottom line is your lawyer is far better suited to look out for your rights than nanny government will ever be!
Which is why so many people feel that the push for "gay marriage" is less about marriage and more about normalizing a lifestyle choice that the vast majority of Americans do not share. Based on the activities of the anti-Prop 8 advocates, many Americans are feeling like they are having this lifestyle choice "shoved" down their throats by the same people that excoriate the Mormons and Catholics for shoving their lifestyle choices down on them! That is probably the most ironic thing about this debate. The gay normalization advocates have no qualms about shoving their lifestyle choice down the throats of Christians all the while screaming at Christians not to shove "our" lifestyle choices on them. Here's a radical thought. Try showing a little respect to the Mormons and Christians. Their response just might surprise you.
I was going to post one last post on the subject of abortion - a conclusion to everything I had posted so far. However, I found someone who has said it all just brilliantly
Hidden in the depths of the President's "stimulus" package is something that should make all citizens cringe.
Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.
Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.
The author brings example after example...
Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).
The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.
But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”
Emphasis mine......think about that. Your doctor is no longer has the autonomy to treat you as an individual and as he sees fit. He has to turn first to a federal bureaucrat to see what treatments the government will allow!
Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)
What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment?
So if your doctor does not abide by their ill-defined rules he can be fined...and guess who pays those fines in the long run?
Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.
Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).
The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
HOLD THE PHONE!!!!! As long time readers of this blog know, senior care is a hot button issue for me because I am in dealing with aging parents and the problems that come with old age. You have also read more than a few posts about how the UK system has denied seniors the health care that they need. I have been "assured" time and time again by liberal commenters that we are not going toward a British style system and yet here is the President's ONLY CHOICE for HHS secretary saying that his system is modeled after the Brit's system! So much for those "assurances".....
Contrary to the President's threats, we have to slow this bill down. More permanent damage to the US economy will be done by passing this so-called "stimulus" then there will be by taking the time to pull out the non-stimulative portions of the bill. Send it through committee...let the "cooling saucer" of the Senate take the time to do what the "worlds greatest deliberative body" does best....debate and deliberate. Nothing that we do in a hurry will fix the economy - but (as we have seen from Wall Street of late) something done fact can certainly hurt the economy. Wall Streetdoes not like this bill andneither does Main Street. It's time for the President and the Legislature to listen to the people that put them into office.
Jason Chaffetz was on Glenn Beck's program talking about the Obama Administrations move to move the Census Department out of the Commerce Department and directly into the supervision of the White House!
HB 222 - the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act is probably the more "controversial" bill of the two pro-life bills in the Utah Legislature. I say that because there is just so much conflicting information on the subject. There has been an awful lotof study intothe subject - going back 20-30 years. One of the leaders in the research has beenDr. K.J.S Anandof the University of Arkansas. While his is not the only research done on this side of the pond, his has been the most extensive. However, the results of these studies have been so mixed that the definitive US medical source, The Journal of the American Medical Association, has taken the position that thejury is still out. Their British counterpart (British Medical Association) came to aslightly different conclusion. Congress has evenheld hearingson the debate on whether a fetus feels pain.
All of that said, the bill basically states that if a doctor is going to provide an abortion (an invasive surgical procedure by the way) on a woman who is more than 20 weeks pregnant, then the doctor must provide the woman with information on BOTH SIDES of the fetal pain argument. Now to me, I would think that the "pro-choice" people would be all about a woman making a choice based on all of the data necessary - but as with HB0090 that is not the case! They only want women to make one choice and only based on limited data.
Those are the facts of the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act. What is the history of the UCPPA? Utah's UCPPA is similar to the one that was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2005. The MN UCPPA was a bi-partisan bill introduced by Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba (D-Long Prairie) and Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Paynesville). The bill received on committee hearing before being included in an omnibus Health Policy bill. The bill passed the Minnesota Legislature with bi-partisan support and was the first state to pass such legislation.
One of the arguments against the fetal pain bill is the argument that the fetus does not feel pain because they weren't "human". That argument holds about as much weight as the argument that slaves didn't feel pain because they were not human!
It seems to me a reasonable thing that a little information will not hurt. It also seems reasonable (and the British Medical Journal agrees) that if we are going to err on any side, we should err on the side of a little extra precaution and if that means a little fetal anesthesia...After all, wasn't it Hippocrates (the founder of modern medicine) who wrote"As to diseases, make a habit of two things - to help, or at least to do no harm"?
Yesterday, I put up a post onmy Turning Point in the abortion debate. Today I want to start discussion on two bills that are making their way through the Utah Legislature. The first, HB90 S1, makes performing an “illegal” abortion in Utah (an abortion performed after the 20th week where the health of the mother was not at risk) a 2nd degree felony. The second, HB222 (which is for another post) would require physiciansCommon performing abortions to inform women seeking abortions of anesthesia options for the fetus. To hear the “pro-choice” crowd tell it, the Utah House – by passing these bills – forced every woman in this state to permanent slavery – perpetually barefoot and pregnant or so they say…
Since when does the government have the right to make laws to what a person can do to their own body. Did Something happen to America?
The consequences of making abortion illegal affects more than just the mother or the fetus. It affects all of society. Society will have to take care of those unaborted babies. In a perfect world there would be no need for abortions. We don't live in one.
…wrote one commenter on the Salt Lake Tribune…
When are these abortion-obsessed politicians going to understand that countries that allow sex education and access to contraceptives have fewer abortions, fewer perverts and better mental health than the police states like the one they are trying to create in UT. Yes, abortion is a sad and upsetting moment in any woman's life, but nobody WANTS to have an abortion. Life's path is never certain, and a lack of options and direction cause many couples to end up in a situation where they have to face the terrible question of bringing a child into a world where they can't support it, or ending a life before it starts. Education and privacy are the best solutions: not a scarlet letter and a back alley.
…wrote another.The problem is that what they are describing is simply not what either of the two bills are about.The legislature is not prohibiting ALL abortions – just those after the 20th week of development – a time where babies can now survive outside of the womb!Women are still able to get abortions through the 20thThat is well through the second trimester giving the woman who wishes to get an abortion plenty of time to do so. week.
This is one of the problems of the “pro-choice” movement.As with all political people (and yes I do include myself in this), they pick and choose what facts to tell.The “pro-choice” movement loves to tell you that Roe v. Wade prohibits restrictions and that ANY common sense compromise on conditions (parental notifications to late term abortion bans) are expressly prohibited by Roe, but as I showed you yesterday, that is simply not the case!We have to get past the half truths and hyperbole of the debate so that we can get to a just and honest answers.One of those just and honest answers has to be the recognition that abortion, for what ever reason is the taking of a human life.
My friend Gary Gross has a post upat LFRthis weekend about House Speaker Kelliher's unfortunate claim that they have only "had a few days" to deal with the realities of the Minnesota budget deficit and why the DFL doesnot have a proposal on the table while they take pot shots at the Governor's proposal.
Kelliher notes that the governor had all of the state's commissioners and finance experts working on the budget for months. The Legislature does not have those resources.
"He's had 7½ months. It's unrealistic to expect us to respond in just a few days,'' she said.
Speaker Kelliher's words are disingenuous at best. We knew, in January of 2008, that we would be facing a huge budget deficit in 2009. In spite of that, they went on a spending spree of epic proportions last session - making the deficit even larger than anyone could have imagined.
Where the Speaker's claims really fall flat is when you think back to the last time Minnesota faced a budget deficit. That was back in 2003 and the House Leadership (comprised of Rep. Steve Sviggum and Rep. Erik Paulsen) came to St. Paul in January ready to tackle the pending deficit. They didn't wait for the Governor's plan to be hand delivered to them as some today are doing....
(Larry) Pogemiller said the Legislature ALWAYS works from the governor's budget proposal. "We don't even have complete drafts of his bill yet,'' he said. "When we get the full proposal, we will work off what he has. You see what's doable and where there might be disagreement.''
The "leadership" of this Legislature has never been shy about blaming others for their shortcomings, so you really can't be surprised that they continue to blame others for their lack of commitment to fixing the problems that the state is facing. While other Minnesotans are doing the adult thing and making the hard choices, the Legislative leadership fiddles around with trivialities likebike trailsandparks and trails...andspending lots, lots,lots,LOTS more moneythat they do not have.
Emperor Nero has nothing on the DFL leadership in Minnesota.
There is one subject that I have yet to discuss in my 4 years of blogging.It is a subject that is THE political landmine topic….the one that is guaranteed to get people upset fastest…. And that subject is abortion.
Part of the reason why have I have not written on the subject is in large part because I was (until very recently) very torn on the subject.On one hand, the thought of killing an unborn child is absolutely abhorrent to me personally.On the other are the very realities of what happened when abortion was completely illegal.My mother, who is a registered nurse by training, did her Emergency Room residency at a southern Missouri Catholic Charity hospital that saw many a young life ended as the result of a botched illegal abortion.The stories that she told about what she experienced are enough to curl your hair.It made me very “libertarian” on the subject…a stand that was at odds, I knew in my heart, with my Christianity.
That changed a couple of weeks ago when our pastor gave a sermon on the subject.He laid out a lot of facts and figures that got me to thinking…and digging.
The first fact that he laid out was that Roe v. Wade allowed the states to regulate and restrict abortions in certain circumstances. Let me repeat that….the Roe decision gave the states the opportunity to restrict abortion assection 3 of the decision(below) states…
3. State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except from criminality only a life-saving procedure on the mother's behalf without regard to the stage of her pregnancy and other interests involved violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman's qualified right to terminate her pregnancy. Though the State cannot override that right, it has legitimate interests in protecting both the pregnant woman's health and the potentiality of human life, each of which interests grows and reaches a "compelling" point at various stages of the woman's approach to term. Pp. 147-164.
(c) For the stage subsequent to viability the State, in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life, may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother. Pp. 163-164; 164-165.
That is something that I never heard anyone talk about prior to that. That ability to restrict abortions wasupheld by the Webster v. Reproductive Health Services Planned Parenthood v. Casey rulings and was restricted slightly by the Stenberg v. Carhardt decision.
Another stat that he brought out somewhat surprised me. According to Johnston’s Archives(which is apparently THE place to go for accurate abortion statistics), thenumber 1 reason forabortion is not health of the mother (3% of all abortions performed in the US), it is not rape or incest (1%) or even fetal health (another 3%) it is pure and simply convenience for the mother – or birth control - a reason that the pro-choice advocates ASSURED US was never, ever, EVER the case! Broken down into categories, the convenience/birth control abortions are done because the mother can’t afford it or is “unready” for the responsibility (21% each), the mother is concerned about how having a baby will change her life (16%), the mother wants to avoid single parenthood (12%) or too immature to have a child (11%). That means 81% of all abortions performed in the US are “convenience” abortions or birth control abortions!
Then we talked about thesheer number of abortions performed in the United States every year. Since Roe v. Wade was adjudicated in 1973 the United States averaged over 1 million abortions a year (until 2002 when the number dropped down to 839+thousand) and 81% of those abortions were abortions of “convenience”!
Those are the facts of abortion in the United States of America, but there is one more disturbing fact about abortion that I have not discussed and it is probably the most disturbing one. It is the fact that politicians who claim to be Christian support abortion. As a Christian, you can not support abortion in light of Biblical teaching – especially in the light ofPsalms 139:13
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Christian theology, which all Christians profess to follow, says that God knew each human in the womb – long before “viability”…which is why pro-choice Christianity is an oxymoron.Because the belief that a fetus is “not human” goes against everything taught in the Bible and if you believe the Bible as quoted above, then aborting a fetus in the womb is indeed murder.There is no middle ground.
And therein came the turning point, the point where I knew that I could no longer stay "silent" on this subject - quietly laboring in the background to win hearts and minds and by electing the "right" people. I knew that it was time for me to use the platform that I have in order to proclaim the truths that are out there for those who seek to find. I expect that I will hear from those who disagree with me on this and so be it. However, I intend to show, in subsequent posts, why this is more truth than that which the "pro-choice" movement professes.
Remember a few weeks back when theCity Weekly(among others) chided Rep. Jason Chaffetz for signing on to Rep. Mike Pence's "Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009". We were told that the Republican concerns were an "obsession" and "heavy on hyperbole and light on reality". Well I wonder what those same people would say about these remarks from Senator Debbie Stabenow?
Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan told radio host Bill Press this week that she thought there needs to be more balance in broadcasting and suggested there would be hearings in the Senate during this Congress on possibly reinstating the fairness doctrine...
Asked whether it was time to bring back the fairness doctrine, she said “I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s called something else.”
Note the shift in verbiage. Sen. Stabenow knows that "Fairness Doctrine" will not fly with the American people, but who wouldn't support a "fairness standard". I mean after all - don't we all want fairness?????
But that's just talk you say. No legislation has been proposed - no hearings scheduled....RIGHT?????
Press asked her whether she could be counted on to push for hearings and she answered: “I have already had discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen, yep.”
Heavy on hyperbole you say???????
Of course Sen. Stabenow didn't tell Mr. Press about her conflict of interest in forcing the issue.....it appears that her husband is aVP of Air America!
In 2003, Stabenow married Tom Athans, now the executive vice president of Air America. By this marriage, she has a stepdaughter, Gina.
This is the SAME Air America that lauched with such spectacular press only to fail with the listening audiences. The thing is, there are successful liberal radio hosts out there. Fast Eddie Shultz comes to mind - along withAlan Colmes of Hannity and Colmes fame. Ed and Alan have succeeded is that they have managed to put forward a show that is political entertainment - they really are the "Liberal Rush Limbaugh's. They are not joyless, angry scolds like Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Jeanne Garafolo are. It's not that there is some conspiracy out there preventing the progressive word from getting out on the radio airwaves. The reason that these hosts are not gaining market share is because they are simply not good! If Air America were able to find more hosts like Ed Schultz or Alan Colmes their fortunes may have been much, much different!
Like him or not, Rush Limbaugh succeeds because he manages to make politics entertaining! He makes people think and makes them laugh at the same time. Silencing Rush and his ilk will not make it any easier for progessive radio to get a foothold...if anything it will do the opposite. Because by reinstating the "Fairness Doctrine" (or whatever you want to call it today) you will do nothing more than kill radio period. Because no one will take a chance with ANY political talk as long as there is the remotest of remote threats of federal intervention in programming. Killing the medium that saved AM radio from extinction will simply put even more people out of work at a time where any job at all is a plus.
As the details of the so-called stimulus package starts to trickle down to communities, many local officialsare already starting to lower the expectations within their own communities.
While a much-talked about $8.19 billion federal stimulus package is still in the works in Washington, D.C., how might the money promised in the bill impact cities, schools and the county?
While there are many possibilities and ideas out there, local officials say there are also many questions...
Savage City Administrator Barry Stock is known for his conservative budgeting style, so when asked if the stimulus package will have any local impact, he promptly shakes his head back and forth and frowns as he says “nope.”...
Prior Lake’s public works director, Steve Albrecht, said the city is not banking on a whole lot of money coming from state agencies via the stimulus package, but he’s “cautiously optimistic” about city-related projects getting funding via Scott County....
Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District’s Business Manager, Mark Stotts, is waiting for the final details to come out before he starts counting on the extra capital...
While Prior Lake-Savage Area School District officials are hopeful a federal stimulus package passes the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks, Director of Business Affairs Margo Nash says the district isn’t counting its chickens before the eggs hatch...
Shakopee Schools Superintendent Jon McBroom isn’t setting his hopes too high...
Why are these local administrators so pessimistic about the prospects of the "stimulus" money. Because they know that the money is not going to projects designed to stimulate the economy. Instead the money is goingto things like...
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children program
$300 million for grants to combat violence against women
$15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships
$650 million for digital-TV coupons;
$90 million to educate “vulnerable populations”
$1 billion for the Census Bureau
$89 billion for Medicaid
$850 million for Amtrak
$55 million for Historic Preservation Fund
$7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs”
$150 million for agricultural-commodity purchases
$79 billion for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
There is some spending in there that some have targeted as wasteful but it is questionable. Building projects do hire people, building projects do stimulate the economy....to a point.
That is why this "spendulus" package needs to be completely scrapped. Educating people about the GOVERNMENT MANDATED conversion to DTV is not going to create a single job. The NEA does not hire tradesmen or build houses. The money for Amtrak may save a few jobs, but that money could be better used in creating inner city jobs, don't you think? Instead of historic preservation, how about putting that money into much needed roads and bridges? Heaven knows Scott County is not the only county in this country with road needs!
My plea to the President and to the Senate is scrap this bill...get rid of the garbage and do it RIGHT - not fast! That really is what is best for the country.
