I just returned to my office from the House Floor here at your State Capitol in St. Paul. I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives as we took our solemn oath of office to begin the 86th Session of the Minnesota Legislature. It is a deep honor and privilege to serve as your State Representative, and I will continue to do my very best for our area, and for the great state of Minnesota. We face unprecedented challenges as we work together to balance a state budget that is nearly $5 billion in deficit, while meeting priority needs for our state.
Today, as promised, I have signed on as co-author of a bill that would lift Minnesota's moratorium on considering development of new nuclear energy. We need new, clean, safe and inexpensive nuclear energy, and have had our heads in the sand for too long. I am co-authoring a bill removing the bad, eleventh hour changes made last session to the Green Acres program -- changes that would cost landowners in my district hundreds of thousands of dollars. I expect that will be one of the first measures approved this session. I have also co-authored a bill that would return dollars to the State Airports Fund that were inadvertently transferred to help balance the budget last year. The City of St. Cloud had to cover those funds intended for airport terminal expansion, and needs to have those funds returned.
Although we face a nearly $5 billion budget deficit, this is also an opportunity to re-think state government -- its priorities, size, scope, outcomes and efficiencies. I will also work with our local units of government to identify areas in which the state can help relieve the local burden. These include avenues for intergovernmental cooperation, joint delivery of services, elimination of burdensome and unfunded mandates, and more. We need everyone's creative input and energies to solve the current and long-term challenges facing Minnesota! I welcome your input throughout the year, especially during the legislative session, and will announce a series of local Town Hall meetings in the next few days.
Here are the committees to which I have been assigned. They reflect closely the priorities I heard from you and other constituents during this fall's campaign: Economic development for jobs creation and economic recovery; the pressing need for real, sustainable health care reform; and the need for government reform, efficiency and integrity of our elections.
● Bioscience and Workforce Development Policy & Oversight Division (on which I will be the Minority Lead) ● Health Care and Human Services Finance Division ● Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee ● State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology & Elections
I have also been recommended for re-appointment to the legislature's Health Care Access Commission, providing leadership for real health care reform.
Tomorrow, in addition to committee meetings, I will meet with Governor Pawlenty to discuss priorities for this session, and how we can work to solve the state's budget woes without increasing the tax burden. I will continue to keep you informed about what I see happening here at your State Legislature. Please keep in touch, and continue to let me know how I can help!
Those of us who follow politics and Democrats carefully knew something that first week in November. We knew that Frankenfraud would steal a Senate seat with the aid of political hack Mark Ritchie. We all know the truism "If it's close, they can't steal it". Well it was close. We'll never know how close, because the process has been corrupted beyond redemption. The only hope for our democratic process is a dose of major reform.
I am calling on our elected representatives to pass run-off election law. I don't really have a plan, but there are plenty of states already doing it. Work out the details, that is your job. But represent us, don't presume to rule us. We need to restore confidence in the system. The idea that a person of Dean Barkley's obvious worth could skew this election is simply galling. The fact that Mark Ritchie (a Soros stooge), presided over this joke of a recount should outrage all Minnesotans. The fact that 42% of voters may send an angry, disgusting little creep to Washington is beyond pathetic.
If we had a run-off and the Carpetbagger from New York got 51% of the vote, I would be satisfied. The fact that Mark Ritchie's crew counted more votes than voters is an outrage. If Coleman's legal challenge fails, we will be stuck with another national embarrassment. We need to make sure that never happens again. We need clear results, not Illinois politics. We need run-off elections.
Stop Press. David Strom is NOT going away From Saturday morning radio.
The buzz was that with Pat Anderson coming in as the new MFMI President, and the end of the year finding Margaret and David doing a repeat show, that this might be the end of Minnesota's favorite champion of Friedmanomics. No smoke, no fire, things were just vague. Was Strom's irrepressible chortle to be gone form the 1280 airwaves?
No sir, Get your bowl of Crunchberries, your cigar and bottle of scotch ready this Satrurday. Strom and Co. are back...
We are happy to announce that the show has a new sponsor for 2009! (More information on that when David returns to the airwaves on January 10th.)
If you are a podcast listener, you should not see any change as we will continue to podcast through libsyn.
You can subscribe to the show preview email list and get a heads up on who will be appearing on the show each week by sending an email to
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All the best in the New Year and thanks for listening!
...but it sucks to be a hack senator vice president from Deleware who no one knows or cares about.
He's a heartbeat away from the presidency, but that apparently didn't help Joe Biden get a movie ticket Saturday night.
Employees at the Regal Brandywine Cinemas say the vice president-elect and his wife, Jill, tried to attend the 7:45 showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" at the theater on Concord Pike but left after they were told the movie was sold out...
Inshirah Muhamut, an associate manager, said she closed her box-office line when she saw what appeared to be a Secret Service agent coming her way.
The man asked her about tickets for the movie, which stars Brad Pitt, then left.
A few minutes later, she said, the Bidens came into the lobby.
Jill Biden walked up to speak with Muhamut while Joe stood nearby.
"She was asking me about other shows, but they really wanted to see 'Benjamin Button,' " Muhamut said. "He was maybe five feet away, looking at her. He was standing with his other Secret Service men."
Somehow I don't think Sarah Palin would have had this same experience
How is it that a guy with no prior teaching experience, tools or money living in a tarp tent using only an old throw away set of encyclopedias and a Bible gave a 7th grader a 12th grade education, when I PAY TOP DOLLAR for one of the worst educational programs on earth, that indoctrinates my children and helps them fall behind the rest of the world every year?
And on top of that I am suppose to believe that money is going to fix the problem?
Let’s take a quick trip back to the campaign trail of young Barack Obama. In the summer of 2008, we saw the discarding of certain people as they became a “problem” for the Obama campaign. This became so much of a pattern, it is now assumed that if you do, say or think the wrong thing, you’re under the bus greasing the shocks. Stat.
It’s hard to remember who was first, but in rough order we saw the 20+ year mentor and father figure Pastor J. Wright tossed under for “God-damned” good reasons. Then Father Pflegger, Fannie Mae Exec and vice-president selecting aid, Jim Johnson took a dead cat bounce in June. Realty "helper" and now jailbird Tony Rezko had to go. Terrorist, William Ayers, became just a neighbor.
Let’s not forget Samantha Power’s comments on Israel, Ooops, see ya. And speaking of Israel, right hand man, Raum Emmanuel while not fully under the bus yet has been awfully quiet for the last 3 weeks considering the power player he is. In light of Gaza, Emmanuel would be a good man to have visible now. But then, that brings up the rest of this whole Chicago “situation”, you know (apologies to Caroline Kennedy)—Blagojevich who now has a Wikipedia page updates on the hour.
Astonishingly, The one Clinton in Obama's employ, seems to be the cleanest player. For now.
This weekend we learned of one more fellow to be thrown under the bus, Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson poised to be Commerce secretary. A fabulous choice for challenging economic times—another pay to player. Teflon is apparently not his suit of choice. Let's hear it for CHANGE!
I can hear you critics already: "None of this reflects on P-E Obama himself". These are just people he surrounds himself with... Confides in...Trusts with the highest power in the land. Um, yeah.
Next up? Reid? Pelosi? Rangel? Who knows. But it is hard to remember anything even close to this tossing of long time allies under the bus as the George W. Bush team came into office.
The WSJ has a Opinion piece free to non-subscribers this morning pointing out the charitable hand of Mr. Ritche. Read it here.
Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.
Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.
This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals.
Michael at MN Democrats Exposed puts up four very relevant reasons why Norm Coleman should not concede without a big fight in court:
#1 “Newly discovered” ballots from Maplewood that were found weeks after the election. To this day, Ramsey County election officials have been unable to reconcile the number of votes cast with the number of voters who signed in to vote, yet the State Canvassing Board allowed the votes to be counted in the recount.
#2 “Missing ballots” supposedly tallied on election night that could not be found during the recount process. In Hennepin County Ward 3 Precinct 1, when officials came up 133 votes shy of their Election Night totals, the Canvassing Board decided to use election night totals instead of the recount totals, resulting in 133 votes from a precinct near the University of Minnesota Minneapolis’ campus never being counted, inspected or even there to be challenged,
#3 “Double counting” of original and duplicate ballots of the same voter. The double counting occurred because all unmatched originals ballots were also counted during the recount upon instruction of the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office. That results in some voter’s vote being counted twice – an inaccurate and unacceptable result nonetheless currently included in the State Canvassing Board totals.
#4 “Wrongly rejected” absentee ballots. Team Franken and the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office came up with a list of about 1,350 potentially wrongly rejected absentee ballots. A review of all absentee ballot envelopes in the Minnesota by the Coleman’s campaign yielded an additional 650 envelopes that election officials rejected in error. Yet Team Franken, with the assistance of the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office, refused to review any of the ballots Coleman suggested. This is despite the fact that many of these ballots were precisely like ballot envelopes Team Franken wanted reconsidered with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office’s concurrence.
Imagine the media coverage, protests and legal actions if this were in Coleman's favor with Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer in charge. Fight, Norm, fight. It's for more than a senate seat, it's election integrity for voters in Minnesota.
This one really is a MUST READ on Al Gore and Global warming—And from the Huffington Post No less...
You are probably wondering whether President-elect Obama owes the world an apology for his actions regarding global warming. The answer is, not yet. There is one person, however, who does. You have probably guessed his name: Al Gore.
Mr. Gore has stated, regarding climate change, that "the science is in." Well, he is absolutely right about that, except for one tiny thing. It is the biggest whopper ever sold to the public in the history of humankind.
While many in Minnesota are losing their jobs and struggling, it's nice to know that U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, AFL-CIO president Ray Waldron, Bishop Craig Johnson of the ELCA and Bishop Grant Stevenson of ISAIAH gathered to support the rights of jailed victims of human trafficking from India...
... or were they there to promote unions? This gathering was given much coverage at WorkDay Minnesota, a union news site:
On Thursday, community leaders in Minnesota – including Congressman Keith Ellison and the Rev. Craig Johnson, bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – issued a call for the workers' release.
...
Some of the workers later got jobs in North Dakota, where they were picked up by immigration officials and have been held for nearly two months. The workers at the Fargo jail are currently engaged in a hunger strike. Showing support this week, Ellison and faith leaders joined in a 24-hour fast to show solidarity. They also contacted the Department of Justice to urge the workers' release and an investigation of Signal International.
It's nice that these groups came together to promote unions a cause. Did they join, fast and speak out against those involved with this human trafficking bust last year? While all human trafficking is unjust, I question their motives here. And riddle me this: what role does the ELCA and ISAIAH play with the AFL/CIO and the New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice? A curious "union," indeed.
In Affidavit, Attorney Kevin Hamilton Makes Repeated False Statements
“In an affidavit filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court today, one of the lead attorneys for the Franken for Senate campaign, provided false and inaccurate information misleading to the Court. Kevin Hamilton’s sworn statement was filed as part of the Franken campaign’s continuing attempt to keep valid votes from being counted in this process. Given the tight timelines involved in this process, we hope that Hamilton will acknowledge his false statements and quickly correct them.”
The specific false statements in Hamilton’s affidavit are that:
Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann “reminded” the Coleman and Franken campaigns of a 3:00 pm deadline for lists of rejected absentee ballots to be provided to counties at a 10:00 a.m. meeting on Monday, December 29. This assertion is false. At no time did Deputy Secretary of State Gelbmann inform the Coleman campaign of any 3:00 p.m. deadline for lists of rejected absentee ballots to be provided upon adjournment of the 10:00 meeting. If this was a communication by Gelbmann only to the Franken campaign, then Hamilton should admit that.
Gelbmann scheduled the 2:45 p.m. meeting upon adjournment of the 10:00 meeting – scheduling occurred later – this is evidenced by Gelbmann’s email at Exhibit E of Hamilton’s own Affidavit showing that Hamilton later asked Gelbmann when the meeting would reconvene and Gelbmann replied, by email, 2:45 p.m.
All counties again reviewed the Coleman proposals after receiving our spreadsheet and independently concluded that the envelopes were properly rejected, as asserted repeatedly in the Franken Parties Brief. The fact is, most counties did not so look at the ballots; only a handful did. Even the Hennepin Affidavit to the Court points out that Hennepin offered to look at the envelopes, but did not do so because the Franken campaign and Coleman campaign did not agree to look at them.
Ballots from the 2008 United States Senate race are the most examined ballots in the history of America is simply not true – most Minnesota counties looked at them only once during the Pile 5 sorting process and did not look at them again after the Court Order or at any other time.
Johnny Roosh asked me to take a nickel's worth of time to phototweak this perfect shot of our new SOS into the clown prince of crime. it didn't take much. As he says, she's a dead ringer as The Next Joker. Heath, Jack, Ceasar move over. One slip though Hill, and the joke's on you.
I was tipped by Lassie to a new national site of young, i.e. 18-25 year old Republicans looking to move the party out of the minority—NextGenGOP.com. I started following them on Twitter this morning. Patrick Ruffini and the Red State Boys are among those I have met in their ranks. Here is their mission statement:
The Republican brand is damaged and in need of change. In order to lead the Grand Old Party to greatness once again, fresh young faces need to step up and take the lead.
We are young, active Republicans with real political experience, and we are ready and willing to be a part of this. We are convinced that the Republican Party is the only party of freedom, economic prosperity, and national security. We believe that the GOP can return to eminence sooner rather than later. We are the The NextGenGOP. We are the future of the Republican Party.
NextGenGOP.com will provide analysis into the everyday happenings of our world. But more importantly, we will look to the future. We will bring new ideas to the table, and we will triumph over these trying times.
We are always looking for new contributors age 18-25 who will bring new ideas, thoughts, and analysis to the table. For more information on open contributor positions, please click here.
I want to make a similar pitch. If there are any Minnesota young GOP movers and shakers, I want to get to know you and get you started rolling in the blogs. If you have one already, great, let me know, and if you want to start contributing here at FD or at True North, leave me your contact in the comments. Team Obama did a great job with the youth vote and harnessing new tech. We must do the same.
We're one day into the New Year, and I'm seeing stealth city tax hikes and housing inspection ordinances (aka "Fees" and housing sweeps) creeping into our fair suburbs. A good friend in Robbinsdale sent me Exhibit A:
The city council will consider a proposed point of sale housing inspection ordinance at its meeting on January 6, beginning at 7:00pm at Robbinsdale city hall. MAAR has been talking with city council members and city staff about the proposed ordinance since late November. If the proposal is approved at the meeting, it can take effect 30 days later.
MAAR opposes point of sale ordinances for several reasons, including the fact that only a small percentage of homes in the city are "for sale" at any given time, most problem properties are not "for sale," many buyers hire third party inspectors to complete a thorough inspection of the property prior to purchase, and sellers are already required by law to disclose any known adverse property conditions.
If you agree with the MAAR position on this issue, plan to attend the city council meeting and speak against the proposed ordinance. Talk to other city residents. Ask them to attend as well. Without these efforts, the ordinance will be approved by the city council.
A copy of the MAAR position on point of sale inspections is linked here: http://www.mplsrealtor.com/public_time_of_sale.aspx
A link to the Robbinsdale city website: http://www.robbinsdalemn.com/
Bottom line: Concerned Robbinsdale residents need to be at their City Hall this Tuesday, Jan.6 at 7:00pm.
Exhibit B: From the MN Sun-Post's legal notice section I found "Electric Franchise Fees proposed in Golden Valley." A notice of public hearing to consider an ordinance requiring an "electric franchise fee" from Exel Energy for providing electric service.
The rate schedule, if adopted, would provide the City with approcimately $485,000 in annual revenue. The rate schedule is as follows:
Residential $2.50
Small C&I - Non-demand: S7.00
Small C&I - Demand: $13.50
Large C&I - (< 1 Mw): $80.00
If approved, the "fee" would begin charging Golden Valley residents around July of 2009.
Bottom Line: Golden Valley residents and business owners need to show up in force Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 pm at their City Hall.
Consider all the taxes passed and coming your way: the gas tax, school referendum, property tax hikes, the statewide arts/land tax — and others if the DFL-controlled state congress gets their way. It's time to fight back, and you must be present to win.
This news item arrived in my inbox today from One News Now:
[Retired U.S. Army Chaplain Lt. Col. E. Ray] Moore explains the proposal. "The Call to Dunkirk is a special emergency effort to try to get other ministries, churches, pastors, and the major Christian right and pro-family movement to join with us and the other K-12 home-school ministries in rescuing the children from the public schools during the year 2009," he says.
"The real target of the liberals and the left has always been the children. And we can see in California where the conservatives won Proposition 8 -- the vote [was] 52 to 48 [percent] -- but...when Proposition 22 was voted on [in March 2000], they had a 61-percent margin of victory. So the culture is turning against Christianity and against the pro-family movement primarily because we've allowed our children to be educated in their schools," he adds. "They're converting our children; we're not converting them."
Interesting points are made (amid the provocative imagery) for pulling kids out for one year. While I am not a fan of public school policy and many other reasons, I wonder how realistic this movement is. A poll at One News shows almost 71% put their kids in public education because it's easier and less-expensive than private or home schooling. I believe more conservatives need to fill positions in public education and government to reverse the liberal damage done to the public school system. Both tactics would help, and pulling kids out en masse would send a stronger, faster message.
Leo posted recently on saying goodbye to man's best friend. He reminded me of losing mighty Kuma 5 years ago with these notes:
I was with him and held his head in my arms as he died.
He was such a good dog, ... God I loved him.
Losing him was almost as bad as losing my dad earlier this year.
I hear you Leo and understand your pain. It won't be long now as I look at dear old GInger bear here laying on the floor mat. She is an Akita, a working breed—the big dogs for those who don't know AKC breakdowns. And being a big dog that means they are lucky to make it much past 10 years. Old Ginger is 13 now and I am amazed when I walk her how many people say "look at the puppy, how old is she?" I guess it's that pep in her step and happy racoon face. Always smiling as many dogs do.
In the last year, that pep is still there, but her walks are shorter nad shorter, and getting those rear legs off the floor is more of a chore. If we see another CHristmas with GInger, I will be surprised. But just like leo says, God I love that dog.
WSJ's Trent England describes our recount as a folly and sequel of the 2004 Washington state governor's election recount. It's an eerie sequel when our margin numbers match theirs:
By the end, 3,539 votes more than the number of voters who voted were tabulated. Four other swing counties provided an additional 4,880 mystery ballots. Ms. Gregoire was the victor by a margin of 133 votes.
That margin -- 133 votes -- happens to be the same number of ballots that Minneapolis election officials are currently missing. The initial vote tally in one Democrat-leaning precinct counted 133 more ballots than officials have been able to find for the Senate recounts. The Minnesota canvassing board decided on Dec. 12 to allow Minneapolis simply to ignore the recount and go with the original number. This provided a 46-vote boost for Mr. Franken, about the same as his current projected lead. The board also "requested" that counties reconsider rejected absentee ballots, a new and novel part of the recount procedure that is also expected to favor Mr. Franken.
Something is wrong when a victorious candidate owes more thanks to vote counters than to voters. Such was the case in Washington in 2004, and Minnesota is poised to follow in its footsteps in 2008.
Something is wrong indeed, and England's closing statement needs to be taken to heart by all Americans — specifically Minnesotans:
Close elections will always stir controversy. They will often require recounts to validate the results. Yet the Washington and Minnesota recounts offer cautionary tales. The democratic process is too important to be disregarded until a virtual tie forces us to pay attention. Regardless of which candidates win our elections, the voters -- not the vote counters -- should win every time.
This has bugged me for years. Here we are, just one week after a national holiday celebrating Christmas (an entire post unto itself), and we have another holiday celebrating the anniversary of Anno Domini. As a Christian, I'm flattered. As a practical person I have to wonder WTF?
Seriously, how does this nation observe the beginning of a new year? By taking the day off. Does this make sense? Add to the mix that this day is based on a pagan Roman calendar, revised by a Catholic Pope, ignored by half of the world and it really does become perplexing. We celebrate our new Anno Domini by sleeping late, watching football and, in many cases, nursing a hangover. Okay!
We Americans begin a new year of opportunity by not producing. Nothing like getting off to a running start. 2008 was such a banner year, we should all sit back and appreciate what a success it was. Maybe 2009 will be just as prosperous! Hand me the remote.
I like a day off as much as the next guy, but as a contractor I don't get paid for the privilege. Maybe it's time to look into guvmint work. And if I was in a gig that had two paid holidays in one week, I would much rather have the two of them back to back in, oh say, July. Not the DEAD OF FRIGGING WINTER!!!
Wow - based on this photo of Mr. Uber Cool POTUS #44, doesn't it just make you proud to be an American? 44 comes complete with the following bio:
How I roll: in the bullet-proof tinted-window black limo, tricked out with the sick hydraulic lifts, spinner rims, and the off-the-chain bass woofers
My posse: Hot Rod Blagojevich, Jeremiah "GDA" Wright, William "Billy Bomb" Ayers, Tony "Fo' Rezzle" Rezko, "Tri J" - Jesse Jackson Jr.
My look for '08: gangsta baseball cap on backwards..... showin' my sixpack at the beach, cig hanging out of my mouth as I leave the gym - "I'm uber cool!" and uber modest
My updated look for '09: gangsta cap (three sizes too large, on sideways, covering my gang-colors do rag, cap bill worn sideways). Girbaud baggy jeans with waistband at mid-thigh, showing my boxers, that also sport my gang colors. Raiders jacket. Add a little bling - a gold plated, diamond studded "44" neckchain, and a gold plated, diamond studded "BO" neckchain, and maybe a half dozen accompanying gold rope chains - don't want to come across as too modest.
Favorite drink: Gin juice, flavor: red
Favorite sport / athlete: dog fighting / Michael Vick
Favorite cultural role models: Snoop Dogg, Ludacris
Favorite ex-president: Slick Willie Clinton - "has earned serious street cred in scoring with women in his (White) House parties"
Favorite Bible quote: Yes I can
Thoughts on.....
my / staff's involvement with Hot Rod: "Don't waste your question"
being the commander-in-chief and leader of free world: "no comment"
sanctity of life: "above my pay grade"
leading country out of current economic challenge: "I will vote present" ["keepin' it real", just like I did in the Illinois Senate]
fighting the war on terror, and worldwide Islamic terrorist threats: "peace out, homeys"
the environment, and man-made global warming: "Give a shout out to my big green boy "Heavy G!!" (Al Gore)
foreign relations: me and my new fly girl "Hill- Dog" (Clinton) are takin' this mutha party GLOBAL!"
gun control: "every celebrity and every gangsta deserves to tuck a Glock down their pants, just like Plaxi Burress"
I remember a time not so long ago when we elected humble, responsibleadults to occupy the White House, and lead our nation. I can't ever recall a time when Americans clamored for a president that was "uber cool". But while the electorate was too pre-occupied, or too lazy, to pay attention, we willfully elected this guy. Now we get to live with the consequences. God help us.
I'm not saying the president is required to be a stiff. I just think this great, free nation should expect a leader that is a serious, responsible adult; and that our leader should be more concerned with the duties of his office that he will soon swear to uphold......vs. being most concerned about his image with the under-30 "happenin" crowd. How many 40-something people - let alone prominent leaders - do you know, who sport the "cap on backwards" look?
h/t: Hotair.com - my favorive comment from the Hot Air article: "I used to wear my cap backwards when I was under 30, then I realized I looked like an idiot.......... it looks GREAT on you though, Obama...."
![[Review & Outlook]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-CX111_oj_2mi_DV_20090104195040.jpg)
Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
I was tipped by Lassie to a new national site of young, i.e. 18-25 year old Republicans looking to move the party out of the minority—
