Kowabunga

It should come as no surprise that the leading DFL candidates running for the U.S. Senate next year here in Minnesota are of a universal mind when it comes to health care. They do phrase things a bit differently. The Strib reports that they are varying on the issue, but really what they are saying is the same thing; the difference is how to get there.

Here's the statement from Al Franken:

It's absolutely crucial that we get to universal health care. ... I would mandate that every state go to universal health care, and they do it the way they like -- 51 different laboratories. But I'd mandate one thing, and that's that they do single-payer for all kids. That'll give us a point of comparison, five years out, to say, how does single-payer work, compared with non-single-payer, with a large population ... I don't want the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

Aside from the fact that Franken doesn't know how many States there are in the Union (there are 50, not 51), he comes down on the side of socializing medicine, starting with our children then foisting it on the rest of us. Anytime government mandates something, it reduces Liberty and raises the costs of what ever service they are mandating.

Here's what jack Nelson-Pellmeyer said:

I'm going to work with every ounce of my being for a national single-payer health care system. The people are way ahead of the politicians on this. If we turn it over to the states, the states are already strapped for funds. ... We have to pay for it with progressive taxes, because the rich in this country have insulated themselves from the common good, and we need to bring them back in. ... If we can't get there, then you compromise. But you don't compromise before you fight.

Again, he wants to socialize medicine and pay for it with a Marxist tax policy at the federal level at pushing an agenda of class warfare. Typical leftist thinking. Let's give everyone a free lunch and make someone else pay for it.

Jim Cohen said:

There needs to be a single-payer, publicly funded, universal health care system in this country. ... This is a moral and constitutional civil right that we have. Everyone should be able to have quality and affordable health care, and we need a system that changes the disastrous administrative costs that we are paying. ... Our insurance companies are bilking the American people.

Again, he is calling for socialized medicine, this time falsely claiming that it is a constitutional civil right. There is no such right anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. As for his claim that everyone should be able to afford quality health care, he is right. The problem is that many people are so addicted to employer provided medical insurance that they have concluded that when you take a job (such as a high tech contractor) where the employer does not provide you health coverage, they are faced with a choice of purchasing their own health coverage, or not buying any. To force the rest of the working Americans to provide that which they are unwilling to provide themselves is contrary with the founding principles of this great country.

As for the bilking of Amercans by the insurance companies: government intervention and the implementation of HMOs has done more to arm the health care system than the individual insurance companies he accuses of "bilking" us. It's also another push for socialist class warfare by demonizing a capitalistic system.

Question: What did Americans do for health care before employers began to routinely offer medical insurance? Answer: They paid for what they used as they used it.

Mike Ciresi is rated as having the more benign position on health care with this statement:

Everybody's arguing about who pays, but nobody is talking about delivering good, effective, universal, accessible health care to people. ... We're spending 70 cents of every dollar on diseases that are preventable, towards the last six months of life. We have to get good preventive health care. ... My plan is to have a federal health board, equivalent to the Federal Reserve Board, that says [to insurers], you want to be a payer? Here's what you have to offer: Cover all preexisting conditions. Covers all essential benefits. It's portable. And it caps administrative costs.

Ciresi's message is a trifle confusing on his 70 cents of every dollar…"towards the last six months of life." I am not sure what he is getting at here. Is he saying that spending money on people in their "last six months of life" is a waste of money and health care resources? Weird statement. Not sure if I want to speculate on what he is getting at, but this could be very important.

His solution: create more Federal Bureaucracy, which means more tax dollars being spent on bureaucrats attempting to find ways to control how Americans live, then dictating to private insurance companies the products they must offer.

Sure, I think insurers should cover preexisting conditions and people that want those types of conditions should expect to pay more for their insurance, just as smokers tend to be charged higher premiums than non-smokers.

Ciresi wants more preventative measures taken. Does this mean he is going to push teaching children that abstinence is the best way to avoid STDs and unwanted pregnancies?

Sure, preventative action will go a long ways to reducing the amount of health care usage in this country. Will it be mandated, or will incentives be made to encourage people to adopt a better style of living?

No matter how you slice and dice the four responses, they all come down to wanting to have more government and more taxes and taking away Americans right to control their lives.

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DFL Liberal Health Care Senate Franken Ciresi

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This was in the Opinion pages of the Star Tribune the other day. It's by a left-wingnut complaining about the lack of participation at a recent rally to support terrorism (they call them "peace" rallies). In it she writes:

In Ken Burns' recent series, "The War," a veteran says the military knew that the longest a person could endure combat before going totally nuts was 240 days. We've been in Iraq roughly 1,650 days now, and though God knows most of us haven't been asked to do much more than sell off our children's future, I think we're all going a little nuts.

When people talk about the longest time a person can withstand the stresses of combat as being 240 days, they are talking 240 consecutive days on the battle lines without any rest and recreation time. The same logic she uses to come up with 1,650 days in Iraq as being equivalent to 240 consecutive days of combat would mean that the 1,346 days of WW2 for the U.S. would mean that every serviceman during that war should have gone nuts. She also fails to acknowledge that our troops serving in Iraq (and Afghanistan) receive regular R and R. They even had a gaming convention back in June (and a successful one at that).

This is not to say our troops in Iraq (or Afghanistan, or Kosovo, where we have been involved even longer) are not under substantial stress, 'cause thy are. This is why the deployments are limited in duration, anywhere from four months to 16 months (last I heard, that's the max). Then they come back to the States. After a chance to recuperate and rearm, they are sometimes deployed for a second (or third) tour. But all during the time of their deployment they get time off to kick back and relax (as best as one can under these circumstances).

She also claims that we are selling off our children's futures, yet Congress does exactly that when they increase taxes to provide welfare to people to lazy to get a job, or insists on top-down management of our local schools when it should be left to the municipality involved (the more layers of bureaucracy, the more things cost and the less you get for your bucks), or fails to secure our borders and deal with the illegal immigrant problem.

Then she rants about how Republicans don't care about children, health care and schooling. The fact of the matter is that we do care. Health care is a parental responsibility (something I take serious where my daughter is concerned) and education is very important and parents should have the right to choose the best education for their children and pay for that which they use. What I mean by that is that school vouchers should be implemented so that all parents have a choice and maybe the public schools will get their act together. We also need to get the Feds out of our public schools. They cause dramatic increases in the costs for zero benefit.

Iraq is a never-ending nightmare, and the Decider's mind seems decided on something catastrophic for Iran. We're drowning in debt. Our health-care system is great -- for those who can afford it. It's October and 80 degrees outside. Creepy.

Nightmare? She hasn't been over there so how would she know what it is like (I haven't either). It may well be a nightmare for the Iraqis being targeted by al Qaeda terrorists there and the sectarian death squads. It is certainly becoming a nightmare for those murdering thugs that insist on killing innocent Iraqi civilians.

Something catastrophic for Iran? We have Jimmy Carter to thank for that if we do have to go into Iran to stop them from becoming the purveyor of nuclear materials to al-Qaeda.

Drowning in debt? Yep, that has been the American way for way to long, and our government isn't any better. That's one point we agree on, but for differing reasons. I suspect she is ticked off about the cost of the war whereas I am concerned about all the wasteful spending like that bridge to nowhere in Alaska, the need to reform welfare so that people are not simply getting a handout, privatizing Social Security so that my children will have something to bank on rather than getting bilked as my generation is. Our health-care system is great, and no one has ever been denied emergency medical services, regardless of ability to pay. That's why Mexico sends ambulances across the border to border town hospitals and dumps their poor on our system.

October and 80 degrees? Maybe I missed something the first week of October here in Minnesota, but it didn't hit that while I was in California, and it hasn't been much above 50 since I got back a week ago.

I could go on (and on), but why bother.

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Susan Lenfestey Moonbat Star Tribune Iraq

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Townhall meetup was sparely attended, probably due to the close proximately to the long weekend and people still off doing summer things. Even with only some ten people there, we had some good discussions on current events.

Pretty much all of the current issues in the news were touched on, including Norman Hsu, the major Democratic backer who has been a fugitive from justice for some 15 years and how all of the Dems he has supported are now having to distance themselves from Hsu and his money. Kind of reminds me of the Abromoff (spell?) scandal last year.

A round robin survey of who people like of the various candidates seems to have Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter as two of the favorites. General agreement is that Hunter would also make one heckuva V.P. Huckabee is still well liked and there was also mention of Obama and Giuliani.

Obama is interesting to talk about as the hard-left keep claiming that his race will play a role in his electability, as well as his name being Islamic (Obama is a Christian). So far, form what I have seen, it’s only the Dems and the hard-left that are making an agenda out of those minor points. It’s where he stands on the issues (he is and out-of-closet Marxist, while Hillary is Marxist in sheep’s clothing) that will defeat him.

Quite frankly, I rather hope Obama tops Hillary in the primaries. I don’t know if he can do it, but I hope he pulls it off. He is far more beatable on the issues because he is so blatantly far-left. He is also not as smart or Machiavellian as Hillary, so even if he were to be President, I don’t think he could do as much damage to this country as Hillary.

All of it depends on who is selected to move forward by the GOP and who the running mates for both parties will be.

It was a splattering of topics and a good time.

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Hillary Obama Thompson Duncan Hunter

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Al Frank-N-Furter and his Campaign Committee

Gotta wonder where he stands on the issues.

Oh yeah, surrender Iraq to Muqtada al-Sadr and his sectarian thugs.
Socialized Health Care which will further degrade our health care system.
Inflation and increased unemployment via higher minimum wage laws.
And accountability means keeping corrupt politicians like William Jefferson, and his freezer of money, in office.
Al Franken Frank-N-Furter Senate

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It comes as no surprise to me that once again the Red Star Tribune is publishing an opinion piece pushing for a tax increase. This time it is blaming Republicans and conservatives for not wanting to increase taxes to pay for roads and infrastructure. That's what we already pay taxes for. Let's keep in mind that this year Minnesota had a $2 Billion surplus that the Democrats used for a spree of new spending rather than returning it to the tax payers. More on that later as we get into the opinion piece.

Conservatives are exceptionally good at politicizing emotion. From the headlong rush toward a half-trillion-dollar misadventure in Iraq to attacks on immigrants, gays and abortion rights, emotional appeals have brought to power conservatives whose bedrock ideology is no new taxes, no matter what, and shrinking government.

Actually, it is the Liberal/Progressive/Whatever Democrats who are the real experts at manipulating the emotions of voters by using lines like "it's for the kids" when it comes to huge increases in education spending while refusing taxpayers the option of "school choice" via a voucher system. They play on emotions where health care is concerned by claiming millions of Americans cannot afford insurance and thus getting health care, yet there isn't a hospital emergency room in the country that would refuse to treat an uninsured person for illness or injuries. They call the liberation of Iraq a "misadventure" yet millions Iraqis have been able to vote in a democracy for the first time, and live in a free society, albeit one that has to deal with terrorists and sectarian death squads. The right to kill your children is another hot button issue for Liberal/Progressive Democrats as they claim it is "reproductive rights," rather than pushing for personal responsibility and ensuring that all Americans, even those in the womb, will be able to enjoy our unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Conservatives have never "attacked" immigrants, but rather have pushed for enforcing our immigration laws, including the deportation of illegal aliens and securing our nations borders. Nor have conservatives "attacked" gays; there is a call to pass the Marriage Amendment that defines marriage as being between one woman and one man, which is what has been the norm throughout human history (with the exception of some cultures that have practiced polygamy, but that was still between man and woman, not man and man or woman and woman).

On the flip side of the coin Progressive/Liberal Democrats keep trying to change society through judicial fiat as with gay "marriage" in Massachusetts, or "royal" decree as was done in San Francisco. The claim that illegal aliens are just immigrant trying to make a living, yet these people have and do break our laws by violating immigration law, using forged documents and stealing the identities (and social security numbers) of working Americans. I could go on (and on), but you get the point.

But now that Minnesotans' tears are being shed and their fears heightened over the deadly collapse of the Interstate 35W river bridge, state Rep. Mark Buesgens tells us in his Aug. 10 commentary that this is no time to let emotions rule our collective response. It's a hypocritical ploy from a conservative legislator who has long prospered in the political marketplace of emotions.

Not even 24 hours had passed since the bridge collapse before the Lefties began calling for tax increases and blaming tax cuts for the disaster, yet it isn't transportation taxes that had been cut, but other taxes, and Minnesota ended up with a $2 Billion surplus, not a shortfall due to tax cuts. Who's playing with people's emotions? The Progressive/Liberal left.

Along with strong emotions, however, an unexpected bridge collapse legitimately and reasonably raises concrete questions about safety, maintenance, design, construction and political funding. Elected officials, after all, propose, authorize and administer transportation funds. And the public has a right to know about those decisions and to judge the results. That's democracy's ultimate check and balance.

Yep, here he is right, and with a $2 Billion surplus that COULD have been used for infrastructure, the Democrats went "whoohoo" and went on a spending spree like a bunch of drunken Liberals.

If the government has a surplus, we must cut taxes. If there is an ensuing deficit, we can't raise taxes back up, because that would hurt an already weakened economy. If pressing needs arise and public safety is at stake, we must reprioritize government spending, robbing health care or education to fill the gap.

Yep, and as has been shown, the tax cuts helped the economy and revenues grew, and Minnesota had a $2 Billion surplus, because people have more money to spend thus stimulating economic growth and job creation . Raising taxes has an inverse result, depressing tax revenues as people do not have as much to spend which causes economic stagnation and increased unemployment.

As for reprioritizing government spending, Liberals have been very good at robbing tax payers to support Liberal ideas rather than taking care of existing infrastructure. Instead of encouraging those in need to seek a helping hand up, they give them hand outs, thus keeping them on the public dole and encouraging bad behavior.

This is nonsense when pump prices often fluctuate daily by far more than the nickel or dime by which bipartisan legislators proposed hiking the gas tax. There's another difference: When drivers dig deeper for those market increases in the price of fuel, not a penny goes to easing traffic congestion that costs Twin Cities commuters hundreds of dollars a year or to maintaining bridges whose structural integrity is a matter of life and death.

Yep, and the price of a gasoline includes sales tax, so as the price of gas increases, people are paying more in taxes. That does not go towards infrastructure but into the general fund.

Facts, although they are stubborn things, haven't persuaded us to fix Minnesota's neglected transportation infrastructure, even as the funding shortfall approaches $2 billion a year. Maybe it's time to inject some good old-fashioned emotion into the debate.

Yep, facts are stubborn things, like a $2 Billion surplus squandered on new spending rather than used to cover the transportation infrastructure shortfall that deFiebre points out. Minnesota has spent a heckuva lot of money on light rail rather than on roads and bridges where we need to use it. And that $2 Billion surplus, as part of the State's general fund, could, and should, have been shifted to transportation uses.

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Star Tribune Minneapolis Bridge

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Minnesota's Keith Ellison, the hard-left Democrat elected to Congress in 2006, is finally showing his true beliefs. From the Telegraph:

America's first Muslim congressman has provoked outrage by apparently comparing President George W Bush to Adolf Hitler and hinting that he might have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.

Addressing a gathering of atheists in his home state of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a Democrat, compared the 9/11 atrocities to the destruction of the Reichstag, the German parliament, in 1933. This was probably burned down by the Nazis in order to justify Hitler's later seizure of emergency powers.

"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that," Mr Ellison said. "After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it, and it put the leader [Hitler] of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted."

Comparing Bush to Hitler, and Republicans to Nazis in general is nothing new on the part of the hard-left. What is new is having a sitting Congressman make these kinds of comparisons. Regardless, it is repugnant and shows a level of hatred for Republicans and ignorance of history and facts.

There is also a significant difference between the Reichstag Fire and the events of 9/11.

The Reichstag Fire was blamed on communists; there is significant evidence that Goring was involved with the planning and execution of the fire, as well as the plot to frame the communists. The point of the Reichstag Fire was to get the Enabling Act, which would hand Hitler significant dictatorial powers, passed.

After the Reichstag Fire, thousands of communists were arrested; the death penalty reinstated and concentration camps were set up. The Communist party, which at that time held 17% of the seats in the German Parliament, was banned, further aiding in the consolidation of Nazi power.

9/11 has been proven, repeatedly, to have been planned and executed by Osama bin Laden and his terrorist organization, al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is an organization bent on destroying Western ideals and implementing a Caliphate world-wide.

Since the events of 9/11, there have been no similar acts within the United States against Muslims, nor has there been infringement of civil liberties (despite the claims to the contrary by the Left). No Muslim has been denied the ability to hold office, nor has any member of an opposing party.

President Bush does not have, nor has he ever asked for, the power to enact laws by presidential Decree as was given to Hitler in the aftermath of the Reichstag Fire (or as was recently given to the dictator of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, for no particular reason at all). Bush would not be able to get such power even if he were to ask for it, nor do I believe he would ever ask for such power even if he thought he could get such from Congress; the American people would be outraged beyond all belief should there be such an attempt by any President of any party.

The kickoff on Ellison's statements actually hit the wire on Friday. This goes to show you one can no longer take a weekend off from watching what goes on in the world.

The Red Star Tribune, always ready to push its anti-Bush agenda, published an editorial that had this to say about the incident:

Although he was careful to keep his comments in context, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., took predictable flak for alluding to the Nazi era during recent comments about the Bush administration. It's a lesson that keeps being learned the hard way: Unless you're talking about some other murderer of millions, comparisons to Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust or even the Reichstag fire are inappropriate. The author Reza Aslan proposed that as a rule of civil dialogue in a Westminster Town Hall speech in Minneapolis last year, and he was right.(emphasis added)

Apparently, in the eyes of the Red Star Tribune, President Bush (and by extension, our Armed Forces) is a mass-murder of millions of people. This is very troubling, especially when you combine it with the word play of a Congressman who has sparked the current round of comparisons.

The editorial asks the questions would the Patriot Act or the authorization to invade Iraq would have passed if 9/11 never took place? Probably not. However 9/11 did, in fact, happen. I can't always say I am in agreement with the Patriot Act, however I sure haven't experienced any infringement on my civil liberties since Congress and the President enacted it some years back. I have yet to see any documented incidents where an American has had their civil liberties suspended since 9/11, whether as a part of the Patriot Act, or any other law that has been implemented or as a result of other activities, such as the monitoring of international cell phone calls involving known terrorists (the so-called wire-tapping of the last few years).

No credible observer believes that the attacks were some kind of inside job (though an alarming number of people in Muslim countries are happy to think so). But neither is it credible to suppose that the Bush administration has failed to take advantage of the popular support presidents enjoy in times of crisis. Any president would do so.

Few, however, would go as far as this president has gone. Bush and his team seem intent on enlarging his authority and defying those who would challenge him or his administration. Geneva Conventions? Quaint. Habeas corpus? Flexible. Court approval of wiretaps? Outmoded. Rising calls to replace a secretary of defense? "I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."

The Strib implies that the administration believes that the Geneva conventions as being "quaint." This is probably in response to the holding of hundreds of Taliban fighters and other foreign terrorists captured in Afghanistan and Iraq. I think the Strib editors, as well as the Left-wing nuts that abound in this country, believe that these terrorists should be accorded the same treatment accorded to uniformed members of a nation's armed forces. Actually they would be subject to the same treatment that mercenaries are accorded, which is zilch, or, more accurately, a bullet in the head (which is what happened to a number of Americans who fought in Rhodesia as mercenaries when the country finally collapsed to the communist insurgency and became Zimbabwe).

They also believe that the writ of habeas corpus, which the Constitution guarantees in Article 1, Section 9, applies to foreign nationals captured on the battle field in foreign lands. Nope, it does not apply to them under the U.S. Constitution.

So far as I am aware, President Bush has not done anything that any of his predecessors have done where the U.S. constitution is concerned.

Once again, the editorial staff of the Red Star Tribune, as well as the hard-left Moonbats show their utter contempt for America and President Bush.

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Keith Ellison Moonbat

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Al Franken is sharpening his anti-war credentials with an open letter to Senator Norm Coleman published in the Star Tribune on Tuesday:

"Since this war began, you have voted to support the president's policy of endless war and demonized those who stood up in opposition. Meanwhile, 3,600 of our men and women have died in Iraq, including 54 from Minnesota. Tens of thousands more American troops have been wounded. ... Several of your Republican colleagues have, in recent days, admitted that the president's current strategy is not working and called for a change of course. Unfortunately, you have not taken this step. It's time to do what's right for the country."

In Franken's mind, doing what is right for America is to let the terrorists win in Iraq, and allow that country to fall into total chaos and let it become a despotic tyranny once again.

The tragic loss of American lives should not be used as a benchmark on when and why we should end military operations. If it were, we would have surrendered to Japan before Christmas 1941. Perhaps if the likes of Franken were in control of Congress we would have.

To the hard-left, for which Franken is a drug-abusing poster child of, we are in an endless war. I guess if one were living in 1942, with 10s of thousands of dead, and even more wounded, one could call it an endless war and capitulate to the enemies of freedom. Again, if they were in charge, would we have given in to Germany and Japan?

For America, and the people of Iraq, to win, we must persevere and destroy the sectarian death squads, the terrorist groups and those who support them. For the terrorists and death squads to win, all they have to do is wait until America loses the will to win and elects more people like Al Franken.

If Al Franken wins, he will be one more member of the "We Surrender" Caucus in the U.S. Senate. This would be bad for America as well as for the people of Iraq who dream of living in peace and prosperity.

As for the current strategy, it didn't take long for the hard-left to condemn it as being a failure, even though it has only had a few weeks since being fully implemented. They waste no time at claiming failure, but are long on pushing for victory.

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Franken Iraq War Moonbat

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The Frater's gang have posted Al Franken's first quarter 2007 campaign finance report. These reports to the FEC are public information and contain a great deal of information about who is backing a candidate, in this case, Franken.

Many of those contributing big bucks to the Frank-N-Furter for U.S. Senate are really not a surprise and include such far-lefties as: Tom Hanks, bill Maher, and Paul Newman. We'll set aside the fact that a lot of the campaign contributions Frank-N-Furter is receiving are from people who don't live in Minnesota and won't get to vote for him - unless they happen to visit the Minnesota on election day and find someone to vouch for them as living here.

What gets my goat is the two entries on page 198: Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame, has given $4,000 to Frank-N-Furter. I didn't know Spock lives in Beverly Hills. I'm waiting for Google Earth, as much as I think it is invasive of people's privacy, to include Beverly Hills. Just so I can get a better view.

I always figured that Spock was Democrat, but I didn't realized that he was a far-left leftie who would support Al Frank-N-Furter. Egads Mr. Spock, how could you?

It get's better…there is a large contribution from the COO of a company that sells sex toys! I wonder if their contribution came in the form of inflatable sheep. Gives me an idea for a story.

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Al Franken FEC Frank-N-Furter Spock Nimoy

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The DFL controlled Legislature here in Minnesota voted to increase the gas and other taxes, costing Minnesotans upwards of $500 per year (guesstimated, which means it will be more). Pawlenty has promised a veto, so it looks like it is time to contact your representatives and let them know they need to sustain it.

Although some of the taxes would be leveraged for roads and bridges solely, there is also a lot of the hoped for revenue would be used to support transit, a.k.a. the light rail boondoggle.

The estimates for revenue raised would be over $6 BILLION, which means the people of Minnesota will have that much less money to spend (or invest) as they choose, stifling economic growth in the state.

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Gas Tax Minnesota

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It was a real struggle to get these uploaded as they kept stalling out, however, I finally got the darn things up. I had to split them into two videos due to length.

Part 1:

Lot's of jabs being poked at the sierra Club and the Global Warming rally taking place a few hundred feet away.

Part 2 (may still be getting processed by youtube...should be availble sometime today):

Part 2 features most of the anti-tax parody of "Green Eggs and Ham." My camera ran out of memory close to the end of it. I definitely need to buy a real video camera and not rely on my digital camera for video as I missed out on a lot of other good stuff.

Tax Cut Coalition Tax Cut Rally Minnesota Jason Lewis Sierra Club Global Warming

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Today was the Tax Cut Coalition Rally at the Minnesota State Capitol, and I am very glad I headed up early as there was a competing event on the Capital Mall sponsored by the Sierra Club. When I arrived, there were already about a hundred people at the State Capitol for the rally. That was the tip of the iceberg.

By the time the rally actually started, the gathering crowd hit some 5,000 people in size, greatly dwarfing the "Global Warming" rally that was held a few hundred feet away.

Two cohorts from the Townhall Meetup made an appearance. After a bit of chit-chat with Mark and Linda, I drifted off to pursue some additional photo ops.

There was quite a bit of signage, many of which were quite novel in their statements; some poked fun at Al gore, while others were blunt and to the point on taxation.

The list of speakers was extensive, and included several Minnesota State Reps including Mark Buesgens, Mary Liz Holberg, Marty Seifert and a couple of others, followed by Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann and Congressman John Kline, then, last but not least, Jason Lewis of KLTK and the main driving force for the Tax Cut coalition and this rally. And yes, there were several speakers from various allied organizations.

With the Sierra Club pushing its "Global Warming" alarmist agenda within hearing range of the sound system, much fun was poked at them, all of it was good natured.

The running theme of the event was the need for cutting taxes in Minnesota, and reducing state spending, which is destined to bloom by over $3 BILLION in new spending during the next biennium budget. This includes spending the $2 BILLION surplus plus over $800 MILLION in new confiscation, er, taxes.

Although Pawlenty has pledged to veto new taxes, it is clear that he will need the help of all Minnesotans in contacting their State Reps and Senators in order to assure that his vetoes will be sustained.

All in all, it was a great deal of fun and I am very glad I went. Next time, I'll have a real digital video camera instead of relying on my digital camera, which I managed to fill up the memory card in the middle of the rally. I didn't have enough memory to shoot even one picture of the "Global Warming" rally.

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Tax Cut Coalition Tax Cut Rally Minnesota Jason Lewis Sierra Club Global Warming

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Just received a reminder via email that next Saturday, April 14th, is the Tax Cut Coalition's rally at the Minnesota State Capitol. I'll be there, will you?

The gathering is being led by Jason Lewis, and will take place on the Captitol steps at 11 AM.

Be sure to sign up for the Tax Cut Coalition.

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Once upon a time, the United States amended its Constitution so as to allow Congress to implement an income tax. This bill of goods was sold with the understanding that such income taxes would only be applied to the rich. It only took a few years for Congress to use the 16th Amendment to go from taxing the rich to taxing every working American. The same is true when the state of Minnesota changed its own state Constitution to allow for its own income tax plan.

Now, in the state of Minnesota, which has realized some $2 BILLION in tax surpluses, that's where the amount of revenues received exceeds the budget, the Leftists now in control of both legislative houses are planning to not only spend the extra $2 Billion, but also increase taxes so as to justify spending an additional $800 Million.

Their plan to pay for it all includes another "soak the rich" scheme, claiming that the new upper bracket income tax would only impact people above a certain income threshold.

Welcome to Minnesota! Warning: Liberal Leadership at Work!

According the Red Star Tribune's editorial on the matter, this really isn't soaking the rich, merely demanding, I mean asking, that the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Sales taxes, are, in their opinion, not "progressive" enough.

Among the state's major taxes, Stinson says, the personal income tax isn't the underperformer. The sales tax, corporate income tax and business property tax are the slow-growers, relative to growth in the economy. They're regressive to boot. They fall harder on low- and middle-earners than on the wealthy.

First, sales taxes are not regressive, nor do they unfairly hit low- and middle-income earners more than the wealthy. Sales taxes (and their sibling, excise taxes) hits all consumers at the same rate. In Minnesota, food and clothing are not subject to sales taxes, which is where most low- and middle-income earners spend their money. It is, as it should be, neutral in how it is applied to whom. Wealthy people may spend more on consumer goods, even buying more expensive cars (like Mercedes-Benz) than the rest of us, and pay more sales taxes. There is a serious problem with sales taxes, and that is using it, as is being done in Hennepin county, to provide welfare to billionaires who own professional sports teams, and provide these super-rich athletes a place to earn their living at taxpayer expense. Sales taxes are not regressive as the Red Star Tribune would have you believe, but are flat tax rates, and based on how much is spent on taxable consumer goods.

As for property taxes, those are also not regressive. Relaitviley flat in nature, everyone in a given community is taxed on their property at the same tax rate, whether it is 1% of valuation or some other fraction. Nothing regressive about that.

Now, if we were to say that everyone pays the same amount in actual dollars, say $10,000 per person, regardless of their personal income, then that would be a regressive tax. A flat tax rate, say 5% of income (or a 6% sales tax rate on what you consume), would mean that the more you earn (or spend) compared to other people means the more in taxes you will pay. In other words, using the income tax example, if everyone paid a 5% income tax rate, regardless of income, a person making $100,000 per year would pay $5,000 in income taxes whereas a person earning $20,000 per year would pay $1,000 in income taxes. Same principle holds true with sales taxes and property taxes; the more you spend (or higher your property valuation), the more you will pay.

Increasing income taxes will not solve Minnesota's budget woes (as if, with a $2 Billion dollar surplus, there could be any woes). All it succeeds in doing is taking money from hard working Minnesotans, reducing their standard of living and enjoy the fruits of their labor. It will also reduce the amount of money available for investment that will spur economic growth with all of its additional benefits, including greater tax revenues.

Although taxation is necessary to provide for the common good (law enforcement, judicial systems and a few other state/local functions), it should never be so excessive so as to violate our rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and a $3 Billion increase in spending, with its accompanying increases in taxes, will do just that. If anything, the Minnesota State Senate and House should be devising plans to return the $2 Billion dollar surplus to the working Minnesotans that made that abundance possible, and work towards being responsible custodians of the public trust, reducing, not increasing, taxes.

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Star Tribune Taxes Minnesota

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Al Franken has been stomping around rural Minnesota (haven’t seen him in my township, though) campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2008. In the report on the Independent, he is said to be learning about alfalfa. He admits that there is a lot for him to learn.

He compares rural Minnesotans to the rest of America, stating that we are concerned about healthcare, education, jobs, and the war in Iraq. I think he is missing a few points. for one, most of the people I know, both in rural Minnesota and elsewhere in the country, are concerned about WINNING the war in Iraq. Cutting and running, leaving a fledgling ally dangling without our support, making them a juicy morsel for the Ayatollahs and Mullahs in Iran to take over, is not an option. He also left out that we’re concerned, as are most Americans, about high taxes. As for education, many would like to see school vouchers finally implemented, and bringing our public schools under the control of the local population, instead of control usurped by big government. Healthcare? Sure, we’re concerned about healthcare, but not supportive of socialized healthcare (better known as Hillarycare, universal healthcare, or single-payer systems) in which only the wealthy will be able to get the best medical care, while leaving working class Americans having to deal with a healthcare system similar to Canada, where it is rationed. It is also very expensive, bringing higher taxes and resulting in a reduced standard of living.

Franken also talks about the business his father started in Albert Lea when his family first moved to Minnesota. The business failed, and, according to the story by Franken, it was the fault of the railroad as it did not stop in Albert Lea, thus dictating where businesses could be successful, instead of saying his father didn’t perform his due diligence in deciding where to start a business.

When rail lines dictate how much grain can be shipped and from where and when, ag products suffer.

Simple solution: move your ag products by truck to where the rail lines do stop to get your products shipped. It may not always be convenient, but then, what’s stopping a group of farmers from getting together, forming a co-op, and starting their own rail line to service their particular community? If it is that important, and that valuable, then there should be no reason not to do so.

Still, Franken’s father must have done pretty good to be able to afford to send his son to Harvard, a University most Americans cannot afford to send their kids to. Most of us had to make do with their respective State University systems.

Franken was also asked if he saw his values - he's often associated with New York City or the Twin Cities - as being similar to rural Minnesotans. He said he thinks he stands up better for the middle class than Republicans have while they held power in Congress and the White House.

"It just seems to me one of the differences we’ve seen in the Republicans in Congress and the White House is that they are much more interested in special interests and big interests," Franken said. "And I am with the little guy."

"I am with the little guy" is the standard Leftist mantra, so his claim is not surprising. The problem is, a U.S. Senator, and any one elected to any office, is expected to represent all of the people, not just the "little guy." Let’s face it; his idea of helping the "little guy" is to tax working class Americans into the doghouse.

Does anybody know if this guy ever served in the military?
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Al Franken Minnesota

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Looks like I'll be sticking around on the Sciota Township Board of Supervisors. It was a tight election with the stealth write-in campaign going on. One of the things that bugs me about the other candidates is that they were A) not at the annual township meeting last night and B) I've never sen them at an annual township meeting. I've only missed one since moving here, and that was the part-2 of a meeting; I missed it as I was traveling to see my Mom in Oregon for her birthday. Kind of figured that was more important.

It also looks like we got a dose of what the motivation for replacing me is: there may be a push by one of the locals to allow dewatering as part of agregate mining operations. I don't have a clear understanding of what it entails, but it does not sound good. I'll be doing some research into this so as to get a good understanding of what it means and its impact on water tables and water quality for rural residential wells.

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Today is election day for townships in innesota. I'm up for re-election. No worries. It's not so important to me that I will lose any sleep if not re-elected.

The intersting thing that I found out last night one of my "freinds" and neighbors is pushing a stealth right-in candidate aganst me, so we have a 3-way race for the seat. Not sure what brought on this move, however not saying anything about it to me in advance, says a lot about him. You can't keep things like this a secret in a community of 300.

Tonight is also the annual town meeting, at which the community sets the annual levy to manage the township. We usually get things started in March, and wrap it up in a second session in August. I suspect this will be true this year as wel. At least we won't have to push on building a new townhall, as that project is completed.

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The House of Representatives voted on a non-binding resolution of surrender to terrorist and death squad militias operating in Iraq. From FoxNews:

House Democrats on Friday sent President Bush the clearest message to date on his Iraq policy by passing a resolution that opposes a plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to the war-ravaged country.

"Today, in a loud voice, the Congress of the United States said to the president: 'We need a new direction in Iraq,'" said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., after the 246-182 vote.

There were 17 White Flag Republicans siding with the anti-free Iraq Dems, while two Democrats stood tall on the side of liberty. The two maverick Democrats were Jim Marshall of Georgia and Gene Taylor of Mississippi. Kudos to them for standing up for what is right.

It is sad to see that one of the White Flag Republicans is Jim Ramstad of Minnesota. There is some hope that his district will field a real Republican and not one who is pandering to the "let's surrender to the enemy" crowd.

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Gene Taylor Jim Marshall Jim Ramstad Congress War On Terror

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Keith Ellison, Freshman Moonbat, er, Congressman, from Minnesota has a very weird way of reaching out and meeting his colleagues in Congress. From The Hill:

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn’t believe it’s Rep. Tom Tancredo’s (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

Ellison’s office called the Capitol Hill Police on Tancredo last Wednesday night as Tancredo was in his office smoking a cigar. The lawmakers have neighboring offices on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building.

According to the piece, Ellison was informed that Tancredo is permitted to smoke in his office. The complaint stems from a claim that the smoke is passing through the walls (despite three air purifiers Tancredo has installed in his office). Sounds like the walls in the halls of Congress must be pretty thin. Or maybe Ellison and his staff simply don’t like being next door to a Republican.

Regardless of the reasons, Ellison would have done better to have gone next door and visited with Tancredo, expressing his concerns about the smoking rather than calling the cops. Sure, tobacco smoke stinks, but so does Ellison’s whining the cops.

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Keith Ellison Congress Tancredo Moonbat

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As if ramming a stadium tax down the throats of Hennepin County voters wasn't bad enough, the Vikings want to tax all metro counties. From the Star Tribune:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty clipped the wings off the latest concept for building a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, saying Monday there is no political support for a seven-county metrowide sales tax to finance a $900 million stadium with a retractable roof.

Such a tax "isn't going to fly," Pawlenty told reporters in response to questions after an event in St. Paul. "The counties aren't going to support it. The people in the metro region aren't going to support it. I'm not going to support it."

Pawlenty also said the Vikings are "in a real pickle" because they don't have a host community where public officials are united in accepting the financing burden.

Pawlenty has been veering a bit to the left lately, so reading that he plans to say no to any 7-county tax for a Vikings stadium is a breath of fresh air.

I admit that I am not a big spectator sports fan, except for women's beach volleyball, and the Olympics, so I really don't care where they build the stadium, as long as I am not forced to pay for it.

The biggest problem with these stadiums is that the franchise owners have grown accustomed to using various extortionistic tactics (build us a stadium or we'll move to another state) to get their way. Instead, I would really like to see these owners do something creative: pay for the stadiums themselves. It is, after all, a business investment.

Unfortunately, since the 1950s, they have grown accustomed to being able to pressure communities to tax their citizens in order to build their playgrounds for their million players. In a way, it's disgusting, as even the lowest played professional athlete makes many more times in salary than the average citizen they expect to foot the bill for these stadiums. Add to that the fact that these buildings are not much more than white elephants; anchors around the necks of the communities that build them.

I wish Pawlenty had had the cojones to say no to the Twins last year. Unfortunately, he lent them to Carl Pohlad instead.

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Tim Pawlenty Taxes Vikings Stadium

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It's the first full week of business in the Minnesota State House of Representatives, and already, the DFL is shooting down tax cuts, this time tax cuts that would help those on the lower end of the income scale. The amendment that the DFL shot down was put forth on a tax bill called for a .5 percent cut in the rate for those in the lowest income brackets. This after all their claims of wanting to help the poor. The DFL labeled "germain" five other amendments to thier tax bill.

It is becoming obvious that the DFL agenda includes tax increases across the board.

One plan to watch out for is an expansion of the Transit Taxing District. The word floating around is that Shelly Madore (DFL - St.Paul), is pushing to expand the taxing district to include all of the counties in the 7-county metro area, eliminating exemptions for portions of counties that lay in more rural areas, such as Lakeville, Farmington and all rural townships.

Also being floated is a change in the levy to allow property taxes raised for transit to be used for operating expenses as well as investment for infrastruture. Currently, these levies can only be used for infrastucture. If this lna goes through, watch out, as the amound of tax monies needed to operate light rail will escalate the property tax burden on all home owners in the taxing district.

This week, DFL Representatives voted themselves a pay increase by using rules to increase per diem. For many representatives, per diem is not taxed. For those members that live more than 50 miles from the capitol, this also includes a housing allowance change, from the historical January-June period, when the House is in session, to a year round allowance. At a rate of $1200 per month, TAX FREE.

I'll try and get more info on this in the next week.

Democrats, gotta love 'em. Tell you they are there for the little guy, and they are the little guy that they are looking out for.

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It's been a while since I have attended my district's BPOU meeting. After the election, I figured I had best not miss it. Glad I made it.

After the general business of the meeting, including getting reports from my State Legislator, Pat Garofalo, discussion of what happened in the election (election fallout) and what to change. The general consensus seems to be that the Conservative Message wasn't there during the campaign.

One of the guys at the meeting summed what has to be done quite loud. Th message is "limited government." That's what drove the GOP into the majority party in the '90s. Since then, some Republicans have strayed from that message and have been spending the public monies like, as Laura Ingraham says, drunken sailors.

The campaign for 2008 has begun at the local district level. We didn't lose, all our state reps in our district won their elections, as did Congressman John Kline. The rest of the state did not fair as well by a long shot. Minnesota, like the Federal level, has both houses in the control of the Democrats, the executive is a Republican. We have time to reverse some of November's elections, to rebuild and energize the base, and help the other districts in the state find electable candidates.

It is doable.

The main thing to do is get the Conservative Message out, consistently, while fielding candidates who will deliver on that message.

The process has already begun.

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Conservative Message
Limited Government

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Two days after the election, and the Internet and Airwaves continue to be dominated by the impact that the Democratic takeover of Congress will have, and what the future will look like. I guess my blog is no different.

Last night, Hugh Hewitt interviewed his good friend, John Campbell, on the aftermath. Some of the discussion I heard revolved around who will be the GOP’s selection for House Minority Leader. Hewitt pointed out that whoever accepts that honor will need to be dedicated to the House of Representatives for the long haul, over the next 10 years. This is a point I had never thought about, and I have no doubt that Hewitt is right on this point. There will be much work to be done, even in the next two years in order to insure that the Democrats do not retain control of both houses in the event that Hillary (or some other Democrat) is elected President in '08. This is an imperative.

Nancy Pelosi, who is considered to be the de facto Speaker of the House in the next Congress, should make the job easy, providing the GOP selects the right set of leaders to illustrate that she is a nut, by providing the intellectual power and integrity that can withstand the criticisms and allegations that plagued several GOP congressman in the past year.

There is little doubt that the Democrats will seek to undermine the GOP leadership by using the "DeLay Effect," so it is critical that we have someone that is beyond their reach in this regard.

I was glad to hear on Hewitt’s broadcast a caller recommend Congressman John Kline, of Minnesota’s 2nd District. It echoes my thoughts. Not because he is my Congressman, but because he is the right man for this job.

Kline is a fine man, an excellent Congressman, and has the integrity and intelligence needed to lead the GOP in the House of Representatives. As a retired Marine Corps Colonel, who served in Vietnam, they cannot attack as being a "chicken hawk" due to his position on the War in Iraq (or the Global War on Terror). He has the ability to provide a sharp counter-point to the shrillness that Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, will bring to the political dialog. Kline is a proven leader, both in the Marines and in Congress. I hope that he is considering pursuing the post of House Minority Leader. Congress and America needs Kline, and people like him, now more than ever.

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House of Representatives
Congress

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There is a lot being written and said about yesterday’s elections and what the next two years will bring. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to determine some of what the next few years will be like. Higher taxes.

With the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, and the time I am writing this piece, possibly the Senate as well, many Americans are asking themselves, "what happened?"

Good question. Lot’s of speculation out there, some of which I agree with.

The Democrats ran on the platform of "hate Bush," which resonates well with the hard-left (Coleen Rowley, Nancy Pelosi, Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore crowd). They didn’t field candidates willing to share their ideas on a number of issues, from winning the War in Iraq (and the Global War on Terror), to reforming and salvaging the Social Security System. Okay, some did say they wanted to raise our taxes.

Republicans used fear, their mantra: "Think what will happen with Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House!" Looks like we’re going to find out. And many tried to distance them from President Bush and the War in Iraq. End result: power shift on Capitol Hill.

In Minnesota, it looks as though Mark Kennedy’s campaign was poorly handled, as it focused on the shortcomings of his opponent, Amy Klobuchar, and not focusing enough on what Kennedy will do as a Senator. End result: Klobuchar won the open seat hands-down. As I mentioned earlier, none of Kennedy’s radio spots did anything to inspire me to vote for him. Others I know, specifically in my Townhall Meetup group, felt the same way. Kennedy botched his run for the Senate. Maybe the Minnesota GOP would have been better supporting Harold Shudlick instead of Kennedy. 20/20 hindsight doesn’t help.

I have no idea what happened to Rick Santorum, one of the finest leaders in the U.S. Senate. It is interesting to note that several GOP incumbents to the House were also voted out of office.

At this point, it is still questionable whether or not George Allen will continue in the Senate, or if Virginia has truly elected Jim Webb to represent them instead.

There were also several uncontested seats that the Dems won because the GOP was a "no show" party. That didn’t help matters. Unless you wanted Pelosi as Speaker of the House, in which case it did.

What is in store for the future? A few easy predictions:

Higher taxes combined with increases in the minimum wage will result in greater unemployment and possibly a recession.

Abandon Iraq to civil war, al-Qaeda will view as a renewed sign of American weakness, and spur new attacks on America.

Iran will become a nuclear armed nation.

More and new gun control laws, combined with amnesty for illegal aliens, will spur an increased crime rate.

That’s just a start. It could be worse.

On the flip side, it looks like I will have plenty of inspiration to write.

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Minnesota Politics
2006 Election

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It's now the morning after. In Minnesota, one trend has reversed, putting Tim Pawlenty out in front, with 98% of polls reporting. Pawlenty has a thin lead over Hatch as the Independence Party candidate, Peter Hutchinson, continues to act as a spoiler in favor of Hatch. The only reason I can see why Hutchinson is being a successful spoiler is that there are a lot of people I know that are still ticked at Pawlenty for signing off on the cigarette tax. Or was it a fee. Protest voting rarely helps. Let's hope that Pawlenty squeaks by the Perot Effect.

Kennedy has gone down in flames in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. This is unfortunate, as he is a smart guy. Smarter than Klobuchar. During the dinner last night, I recall that someone thought Kennedy's campaign was not handled very well. I don't know if I agree with that assessment, as I was not directly involved with the campaign. However, when seeing him on the tube, I often thought he came across as a bit geeky. Some of the radio ads I heard (okay, MOST of the radio ads I heard) supporting Kennedy, did not inspire me to vote for him, which goes back to the campaign that was run. Perhaps that was the bigger problem.

On the upside, John Kline will continue to serve as my congressman, defeating whistling Rowley with a 16 point margin.

Unfortunately, the Democrats are picking up a House seat from Minnesota, as Gil Gutknecht is defeated by Tim Walz.

Probably the worst defeat is the U.S. senate race in Pennsylvania, where Rick Santorum was defeated. This is a tough loss for America as Santorum is one of the best leaders in the Senate, from either party.

On the even exchange side, Joe Lieberman will return to the Senate after being purged from the Democratic Party during primary season. He owes his re-election to large numbers of Republicans voting to keep him in. Let us hope he recognizes that fact, regardless of which party he caucuses with. Maybe he'll wake up and smell the coffee and become a Republican.

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John Kline
Mark Kennedy
Tim Pawlenty
Minnesota Politics
2006 Election

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It looks like it will be a long night here in Minnesota, and not a very good one. Fox News has called the Senate seat for Amy Klobuchar, and she is way out in front with 34% of precincts reporting in at this time (10:21PM). It is not looking good for Mark Kennedy.

Pawlenty and Hatch are too close to call at this point, with Peter Hutchinson of the Independence Party acting as a spoiler in favor of Hatch. Not good!

Congressional District 2, my district, has been called for John Kline, with 43% of precincts reporting and Kline at 58% of the votes. Looks good in this race, which makes me very happy a