Savage Republican

Did you hear where Howard Dean went on the 700 Club and told Pat Robertson that the Democratic Platform opposed gay marriage? Well that angered members of the Gay lobby including the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and they withdrew a $5000 pledge to the DNC. That led the DNC to come out with a “clarification” of what Mr. Dean said. They re-iterated the platform which reads as follows:

“We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits and protection for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush’s divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a ‘Federal Marriage Amendment.’”

Hot on the heels of Howard’s latest case of foot in mouth disease, comes our favorite RINO from Arizona.

“On Fox News Sunday, Sen. John McCain announced: “I will vote against it because I believe very strongly, first of all, in the sanctity of union between man and woman, but I also believe that the states should make these decisions.”

Now technically the senior Senator from Arizona is correct, it IS a states rights issue. Then again so was abortion, but the judiciary took that right away from the states 30 years ago.

“From Oregon to Louisiana, wherever the American people have had a chance to vote, strong majorities have voted to keep marriage as a union of husband and wife. It is the courts that are redefining common sense as bigotry and hate-mongering. Judges in one state have already imposed gay marriage (Massachusetts). Judges in two states (Nebraska and Georgia) have already struck down state marriage amendments. Courts in eight states will soon rule on gay marriage as a civil right.”

That is one reason why it is so imperative to get a Marriage Amendment on the ballot in Minnesota. A handful of DFL Senators, including Majority Leader Dean Johnson have bottled up the Marriage Amendment in the Senate for long enough. It is time to send home the DFL’s in the Senate who refuse to let the people vote on important issues like marriage! Senator Bachman will not be around to push her bill through the Senate (hopefully she will be in DC representing the 6th CD) next year, so lets replace her with a bunch of Senators that are not afraid to hear the voices of the people!

Thanks to Amendment X, I listened to the Jason Lewis program via the internet today. I had forgotten how totally spot on that man is. How prescient, how intelligent, how unbelievably right he is.

One of the things that Jason was rolling on about today is covered in this, from the always wonderful Walter E. Williams!

“Mr. Secretary: This is an example of the disgusting abuse of state power. Each of us owns himself, and it follows that we should have the liberty to take risks with our own lives but not that of others. That means it’s a legitimate use of state power to mandate that cars have working brakes because if my car has poorly functioning brakes, I risk the lives of others and I have no right to do so. If I don’t wear a seatbelt I risk my own life, which is well within my rights. As to your statement ‘Lack of safety belt use is a growing public health issue that . . . also costs us all billions of dollars every year,’ that’s not a problem of liberty. It’s a problem of socialism. No human should be coerced by the state to bear the medical expense, or any other expense, for his fellow man. In other words, the forcible use of one person to serve the purposes of another is morally offensive.” (emphasis added)

Such clarity….Jason took it a step further today, upbraiding smoking bans, car/booster seat laws, and other regulations designed to intrude into the personal life of the individual. He said that speed limits, mandating working equipment is acceptable for the same reason that Mr. Williams states above, but the state has no business dictating what a business owner will or will not allow (smoking) in his place of business!

Jason, I know that your listeners in Charlotte will miss you as dearly as we in Minnesota missed you when you left 3 years ago. However, I eagerly await the day when I can turn on my radio and hear the intro that we all know and love and hear the clarity that you will bring back to Minnesota politics.

Welcome back Jason! Hurry home soon!!!!!

Following on the heels of my post yesterday, is this from Herman Cain.

“The ignorance strategy apparently worked so well last year to stifle any attempt to restructure the Social Security system that liberals – from both political parties – have extended this game plan to other issues. In George Orwell’s 1984, Big Brother constantly reminded the citizens that “ignorance is strength” to diminish the public’s desire to know the truth. Adherence to this principle kept the government in control and the citizens in the dark. Liberals now employ the ignorance strategy to distort the truth and deceive the public on all manner of issues, including the global war on terrorism, the economy and tax policy, border security and illegal aliens.
In 2005, liberals used the ignorance strategy to deny the fact that the Social Security system is near fiscal insolvency, despite numerous reports to the contrary conducted during past and present presidential administrations. Liberals continue to deny the crisis, and now claim Republicans manufactured a crisis where one doesn’t really exist. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) even said, “Social Security remains sound for decades to come.” The new liberal math evidently rounds up – a lot. The Social Security Trustees recently reported that in 2017 the program begins to pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes. Senator Reid, that is 11 years from now, not decades. “

Read it all and become aware of the games that BOTH sides are playing with the truth. Whether it be Social Security, gas prices, the global war on terror, the economy or tax cuts both sides are playing fast and loose with the facts! It is your responsibility as a citizen, a taxpayer and a voter to educate yourself on what the truth is. By whatever means possible!

Governor Pawlenty:
I read today where you’ll be signing the horrible Twins Stadium Bill this Friday.
I will urge you to show incredible political courage and even an even greater display of the principle that we as Republicans are supposed to show by not only not signing the bill but by vetoing it outright.
It is immoral and unethical to force people to pay for something they will not use let alone enjoy. The people of the state of Minnesota depend on the finality, the rule and the integrity of the law to be able to live their lives as they see fit. This bill has come into being only because those laws have been specifically circumvented not by the courts, but by those we trusted to keep those laws, as we trust you to enforce them. The legislature has betrayed the trust of the people. I would urge you not to join them in that betrayal.
I will be a delegate to the Minnesota Republican State Convention in just over a week.
Should you sign this bill, I will ask you at the convention to justify why you would force my widowed mother to pay even a dime for a new stadium for Karl Pohlad and the Twins. She depended on you. She and others trusted you to be a man of integrity, a governor for the people who would honor his oath of office to faithfully discharge the duties of his office.
I will also ask to justify the intellectual discrepancy between the Twins Stadium bill and Eminent Domain bill you signed and that Lt. Governor Molnau said prevented government from taking property from one person and giving it to another. I will ask you to justify that in signing both bills how you are being intellectually consistent.
I will await your decision by Friday.

I remember Tom Barnard at KQRS once saying “I would just once like to read an editorial from the Star Tribune that I couldn’t have predicted.”
So, this editorial title really grabbed my interest “Stadiums Give State a Competitive Boost” Well, I had to read it. And as I did, there was so much wrong with it, I decided to do an analysis:

Not even in the World Series have the Twins scored a victory as important as last weekend’s triumph at the State Capitol. – True enough, they did. The taxpayers lost. Score Carl Pohlad 122, Taxpayers 0. A new open-air ballpark in downtown Minneapolis secures baseball in Minnesota for generations to come. Really? Generations? Promise? The Metrodome is one generation old. In twenty plus years, this debate will raise its head again. The benefits will flow not to team owner Carl Pohlad (he’s 90) or to wealthy players (they can always find a new city), but to millions of ordinary people throughout the Upper Midwest for whom the Twins are a part of life’s fabric. Believe me, the people in Tomahawk, Wisconsin do not even have a single thread called The Twins in their fabric of life. Neither do I. Without a new home the team would not have survived many more seasons in Minnesota. Maybe. So?

Bolstered also is the competitive posture of the Twin Cities. I’m holding my breath here, editor girl or boy. Make your best case! In blessing the Twins-Hennepin County project, legislators affirmed this state’s intention to compete for jobs and talent in a national marketplace where people can choose their city and where amenities — including arts and sports — matter increasingly. “Hey Shirley. I’m thinking we should move, you and me and the kids to Minnesota. Now, they have a horrible business climate, a high personal tax along with a state sales tax. The possible snowfall season is nine months long and the summertime entertainment is watching the dogfights between small airplanes and the mosquitoes. But, look, they suspend laws they’ve already passed to force their income earners to pay another tax so they can have a professional baseball team. Good enough for me. Start packing Shirley!”

The Metrodome, for all its sterile practicality, killed the poetry so essential to baseball –I KNEW something was wrong. Now I know why I never heard Frost or Tennyson at the Dome. Hey, wait a minute editorial girl or boy. If we pipe e.e.cummings into the PA. system at The Dome, well, World Series and BCS Championship-HERE WE COME! And we can waste all that citizens’ money on something else just as stupid and vapid. and to another atmospheric sport: college football. Glenn Mason is the best NCAA Division I Coach in being able to squander a third quarter lead into a losing game. This alone is why he deserves a new stadium. By also approving a new on-campus stadium at the University of Minnesota, legislators affirmed that higher-education investment is not a zero-sum proposition. Yup. Nothing increases the GPA of Gopher Basketball players as much as a bottom of the Big Ten finish in a new stadium by their football brethren. A lively and engaging sports program produces a spirit and a loyalty which, in turn, can help propel a university’s popularity, academic success and economic impact. I want whatever you’re drinking, smoking ,eating.

But the Twins’ victory and income earning citizens defeat was especially sweet considering their torturous stadium odyssey stretching back to 1995. Gov. Tim Pawlenty deserves credit for crafting the framework and prodding behind the scenes Oh trust me. I give him all the credit he deserves in this. House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Rep. Brad Finstad, R-New Ulm, the bill’s sponsor, were stalwarts, and Senate DFL Leader Dean Johnson came through in the late innings. And seems to me that all these people, including the Timmy, are all Hennepin County residents. Whoops. No, not any of them are. And they get shared credit too. Nice of them to take a state governed by laws and make it to one governed by men and their desires.

But the real heroes sit on the Hennepin County Board. There are heroes in this? I see many victims. The real heroes are the ones who voted principles. Not these sycophants. Future generations should be especially grateful to commissioners Mike Opat, Peter McLaughlin, Mark Stenglein and Chairman Randy Johnson. They supplied the true courage and foresight. They cast the tough votes. I know it’s tough to spend other people’s money. And when you do you become a hero from doing this and encouraging others to by-pass la
ws? I’m sure they agonized for milli-seconds on how hard it was to force people to spend their money on something they don’t want, don’t need and will never use. They stepped forward and unfortunately found solid footing rather than a 1000 foot drop-off. where the Legislature had failed. And unfortunately did not keep failing. McLaughlin’s insistence that the project benefit youth sports and libraries was important. Johnson and Stenglein built bridges to the governor and the Republican House. Ah yes, the infamous bridges to nowhere.

But Opat did the heaviest lifting. And in so doing developed hernias of the brain, ethics, morals and principles He negotiated a tough deal with the Twins and a tough luck deal for the citizens. Yup, that was some tough deal. Gave Karl only a miserly and bare bones 97% of what he wanted and 0% of what the citizens wanted. I bet Karl and Jerry Bell cursed the day they ever crossed paths with that hard negotiator Mike Opat! Obviously a graduate, with honors, of the Neville Chamberlain School of Hard Negotiations. and never wavered in placing Minnesota‘s future ahead of day-to-day politics. Never wavered, but certainly waffled when it came to small items such as leadership, principles, ethics, real world economics etc. “We had forgotten how to dream in this state. We need to dream. (His dream, our nightmare) We need sometimes to do the things we want to do, not just the things we have to do,” he said.” Things we want to do not just the things we have to do.” Seems to me that isn’t the difference between adults and children is that adults do what they need to do and children do what they want to do. So, Opat admits he’s a child leading adults. “Not everything revolves around adding social services or cutting taxes.” In your mind it involves adding things we don’t need, want, etc AND increasing taxes.

The ballpark, along with light rail, Light rail… now, we finally have the absolute clinching comparative argument that puts all debate to rest represent a turning point for Minnesota in recognizing the need to renew its civic infrastructure, he said. “Civic infrastructure”? Like the politics of meaning, gravitas, speaking truth to power and whatever the next cutsie pootsie left wing turn of phrase might be? We also hope that corner has been turned. And we hope they turn the corner right into oncoming traffic populated by runaway fuel and cement trucks, curb to curb. Life will be better in these parts with Twins baseball under the sun and stars, and with Gophers football back on campus. Minnesotans will one day appreciate these decisions. Of course we will.You know us SO well. Ignore the fact that we loathe all you pukes and what you’ve forced us to do. After all, don’t you know what’s best for us? We’re such idiots. Please tell me when to floss my teeth. Will you let me tie my shoes? Or, being that I’m so incompetent to run my life, will you buy me slip ons?

I came across this article from Anti-Strib on what your legislators think of your gross incompetence after viewing the miserable results of your life so far. Fall on your face in humble gratitude whenever you hear the name of any Minnesota legislator, you dolts! Be pleased that these enlightened people deign look after the likes of us. Oh what have we ever done to deserve their solicitude, let alone such favor?

I called Jason’s VM and left my name, number and this blog address. And he called back.
We talked for about 10 minutes. And he is very much up to date on what’s happening here in Minnesota. We talked about the vast intellectual hypocrisy between the eminent domain bill and the stadium bill. He went on to mention that as bad as the stadium bill is, light rail including the North Star Line is even worse. We talked about the departure of Ron Ebensteiner a year ago and a number of other topics.
He recommended that we keep in contact and gave me his direct contact information.

Lefties and RINO’s beware.
He’s BAAAaaack.

And he’s got a five year contract at KTLK 100.3.

After hearing the speeches at the 2nd Congressional District Convention I decided to look up where Harold Shudlick and Sue Jeffers stood on the issues. So I went to their respective websites to see where they stand.

Here is Sue Jeffers issues page. She does a really good job laying out some of the problems here in Minnesota. There are a couple of minor details, like how she is going to get the Taxpayers Bill of Rights and the FAIR Tax implimented, but at least she put the effort into writing out a long descriptions of what is wrong.

Then there is Harold Shudlick’s issues page. I really don’t know what to say other than, I guess I am going to have to ask him directly what he would do about illegal immigration and spending and tax relief…Stay tuned.

During one recent conversation on the DaVinci Code that I was involved in, one of the group said “I don’t see what the big deal is. IT’S A PIECE OF FICTION.”

True enough, except for the fact that the author, Dan Brown, has claimed to have based his fictional work on truth. However, the exchange got me to thinking about all the other supposed “facts” that we have been told recently.

There is the “George Bush lied us into this war fact”. This fact does not take into account the fact that several other governments believed the same things about Saddam that President Bush did. Does that mean they ALL LIED?

There is the “Saddam had no WMD’s fact”. This fact too has been debunked time and time again. Most recently by Saddam’s own documents!

There is the “Bush pressured the intelligence agencies to doctor the intelligence fact”. So President Bush was able to pressure the intelligence agencies of Britian, France, and Russia? Not exactly logical thinking there….

Then there is the lie about the NSA contracts with BellSouth, Verizon and AT&T. BellSouth and Verizon have denied giving the NSA the data. It seems to me that with 3 of the 4 parties involved denying that the arrangement ever happened what are we to think about those that continue to peddle this untruth.

The bottom line is, all lovers of truth need to stand up to anyone who knowingly peddles lies disguised as the truth. Regardless of what lie is being told, we need to stand up to the lies!