St. Paul Police handed a march route to the Coalition to March on the RNC & Stop the War. The PiPress reports that the protesters rejected it for not letting them get closer to the Xcel.
"The Republican Party has made a lot of people in this country angry, and they have a right to express that anger at the Xcel Center," said Meredith Aby, one of the organizers of the Sept. 1 march.
Ms. Aby, a Bloomington Jefferson high school teacher who seems more interested in protesting than teaching, also protested the timing:
In addition, Aby and other organizers said they would be required to march too early in the day and not have enough time. The protest is to begin at noon and be past the Xcel Center by 2 p.m.
Noon is too early on Labor Day? Call the waaaahmbulance. Why don't they make a federal case out of it? Oh that's right — they have.
All eyes now turn to a Friday hearing in a Minneapolis federal courtroom. The previously scheduled hearing was set as part of a lawsuit brought by protesters frustrated in earlier attempts to secure a route. The suit is spearheaded by local law firms, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyer's Guild.
All lawyered up to bring down a peaceful assembly, and will offer their services to those who get arrested. A police federation official is not keen on the route, for different reasons:
"It appears to be a recipe for disaster," said St. Paul Police Federation head Dave Titus.
Titus said he was worried what would happen if protesters sat down along the route or if some were determined to create anarchy.
"There's very little time and there's very little space, and there doesn't appear to be anywhere for people to go when they're done," he said.
I'm sure many in the St. Paul area would LOVE to tell them where to go. For extra security, it looks like there'll be a "safety net" around the Xcel;
Bostrom said there would likely be a barrier between protesters and conventioneers entering the Xcel Center. But he did not specify what it would look like.
Lawyers for protesters said they've been told the barrier would be a mesh material that allows protesters to see the building.
While Bostrom admitted unease with how close the protesters would be to Xcel — "You don't even need a good arm" to throw a rock and hit the convention center, he joked — he said he believed the route could be managed safely and satisfy federal requirements that protesters be within "sight and sound" of the convention.
This will be one interesting event to watch and experience— and one many may want to forget.
Written by Diamond Dog
Thursday, 15 May 2008 07:49
Barbara Davis White grows on you. She has a dynamic, big-hearted personality that refuses to hide in the corner and stay quiet. And if you don't know by now, she is challenging Keith Ellison in the upcoming election for Representative to the U.S. Congress' Minnesota Fifth District.
Barb will be holding a fund-raiser event today at the Local Bar, downtown Minneapolis. The Local is located at the corner of 10th Street and the Nicollet Mall. The event launches at 5 o'clock. A $50 donation is recommended. But don't let that scare you if you spent a pile for your Mom last Sunday and can't quite justify parting with fifty bones today. I'm going and I will be tossing $20 into the basket. Barb will gladly receive you and whatever you want to bring in the way of a donation.
It looks like today is just a superfantastic Spring day to be out and about. The Local has tables on the sidewalk and this will be a terrific opportunity to meet the candidate and hang, baby.
Written by Diamond Dog
Wednesday, 14 May 2008 09:03
Freedom Dogs is not trying to become your Catholic News blog 24/7, but nevertheless, it was learned yesterday that the Church allows that Catholics may believe in aliens;
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God.
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
In an interview published Tuesday by Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes says that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures.
The interview was headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother." Funes said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom.
This is not news to me however, as every Sunday, my pastor tells us in Mass, "Let no one be an alien as we welcome all to this church"...or something to that affect.
There is no confirmation with this report, however, as to whether the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes is, himself, an alien. With a name like that, he might well be.
UPDATE: It must be noted that the word Catholic means universal. Therefore, when we meet aliens from the universe we should not be the least bit surprised to learn that they are already Roman Catholics, speak fluent Latin and refuse to marry our women unless they convert. It could happen.
Pastor John Hagee, the fire and brimstone televangelist preacher, has apologized for his past anti-Catholic remarks and the president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights has accepted this apology;
John Hagee, an influential Texas televangelist who endorsed John McCain, apologized to Catholics Tuesday for his stinging criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and for having "emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews."
Hagee's support for McCain has drawn cries of outrage from some Catholic leaders who have called on McCain to reject Hagee's endorsement. The likely Republican nominee has said he does not agree with some of Hagee's past comments, but did not reject his support.
In a letter to William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, Hagee wrote: "Out of a desire to advance a greater unity among Catholics and evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful."
Donohue, one of Hagee's sharpest critics, said he accepted the apology and planned to meet with Hagee Thursday in New York.
"I got what I wanted," Donohue said in an interview. "He's seen the light, as they like to say. So for me it's over."
The controversy had threatened to pursue McCain throughout the campaign, potentially hurting his standing with Catholic voters. A majority of Roman Catholics voted for President Bush in the past two presidential elections, critical votes in close elections.
McCain is going to be in some trouble in this election due to many factors. The msm is in the tank for his apparent opponent, BarackObama. The nation is polling in favor of a change from the Republican Party in the White House. Ron Paul is planning on hijacking the GOP convention. McCain is not trusted by conservatives in his own party. John McCain will be 72 on Election Day.
I suppose there are other negatives for McCain. So getting the Catholic vote on board with McCain is good news for him.
This subject brings up a bit of a painful subject for myself. I have now come to believe that my previous support for Rudy Giuliani was a mistake because he campaigned as a Pro-Choice candidate. I'm relatively new to the Catholic Church (I reverted just 3 years ago) and I had been under the belief that I could triangulate the abortion issue, be pro-Giuliani and be pro-choice and be a good Catholic in communion with the Church all at the same time.
I was wrong. It was my misunderstanding that a good Catholic could support such a candidate so long as he/she does not personally engage in funding or aiding the act of a specific abortion or abortions.
This is a bit of an uncomfortable realm for me, in the mixing of politics and religion, as I now wonder if I may one day come to learn that in order to be in communion with my Church and with Christ, perhaps I must also be in favor of immigration amnesty and pacifism and the Nanny State. I very much doubt that scenario will arise, but then, I did not understand the specific requirements in regards to abortion and the Church while I was on board with Giuliani either.
So, Rudy...listen up, pal. I admire you, but if you're going to run for president again, you can forget about my vote unless you change to Pro-Life.
You have to eat your greens we were always told when we were young. Some creative moms would offer you choices. Do you want them steamed, fresh in a salad, with melted cheese, perhaps? No, thank you, I don't want greens [cue kicking and screaming].
That's how I feel today. We have the choice of Obama, Clinton or McCain all pushing greens greens greens, and McCain's speech yesterday sealed it with a sloppy green kiss [Groan]. So take it anyway you want to take it, but you're gonna take it. Let's not confuse the big problem here—it's not just that this global warming business is a sham based on evidence that is contrary to what the by GW theorists actually lecture on. No, the real problem comes from the do-something virus that stems from the junk science that will result in a massive world-wide money and power grab with terrible consequences for the U.S. economy.
Will the results from Cap 'n Trade™ do anything positive for the environment? Who knows, it may just as well do the opposite of what is hoped. Color me highly skeptical. But as sure as polar bears can swim it will put in place yet another big government bureaucracy to shuffle papers on carbon credits like currency. Meanwhile, I'm still wearing fleeces and my crabapple trees have still not flowered on May 13th.
Warming... Really. Man made? Has anyone seen the images of the Chilean volcano? Is that man made. I'm rambling, but this has gone off the rails. I can't turn on the tele, radio, or open a single magazine without seeing over the top, predictable green marketing on every product from car sales, maid service, higher ed, dog food, and Barbie dolls.
Roy Spencer at NRO today had a great deconstruction in Assault on Reason.
What worries me is the widespread misperception that we can do anything substantial about carbon emissions without seriously compromising economic growth. To be sure, forcing a reduction in CO2 emissions will help spur investment in new energy technologies. But so does a price tag of $126 for a barrel of oil. Finding a replacement for carbon-based energy will require a huge investment of wealth, and destroying wealth is not a very good first step toward that goal.
When the public finds out how much any legislation that punishes energy use is going to cost them, with no guarantee that anything we do will have a measurable impact on future climate, there will be a revolt just like the one now materializing in the U.K. and the EU. At some point, as they are faced with the stark reality that mankind’s requirement for an abundant source of energy cannot simply be legislated out of existence, the public will begin asking, “Just how sure are we that humans are causing global warming?”
And this is where the science establishment has, in my view, betrayed the public’s trust.
Even though there has never been a single scientific paper published that has ruled out natural variability for most of the warming we’ve seen since 1850, Big Science has managed to convince politicians and much of the public that the science is settled. Apparently, our addition of nine molecules of carbon dioxide to each 100,000 molecules of air over the last 150 years can now be blamed for anything and everything we choose. Hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, floods, glaciers flowing toward the sea…. all of these used to happen naturally, but no more.
The warming that allowed the Vikings to farm in Greenland 1,000 years ago was surely natural. But we are now told that warming in Greenland today is surely manmade. Glaciers retreating in western Canada have revealed evidence of previous forests, showing that warming and cooling cycles do indeed occur, even without SUVs. Yet the SUV is now the scapegoat for retreating glaciers.
McCain pointed to shrinking Arctic sea ice and collapsing Antarctic ice shelves as obvious evidence that humans are to blame, even though the sea ice did the same thing in the 1920s and 1930s, and those ice shelves must break off eventually, as new glacial ice flows toward the sea to take their place.
But McCain has made it clear that the science really does not matter anyway because, even if humans are not to blame for global warming, stopping carbon-dioxide emissions is the right thing to do. And if we had another choice for most of our energy needs, I might be willing to accept such a claim as harmless enough.
But carbon dioxide is necessary for life on Earth, and I have a difficult time calling something so fundamentally important a “pollutant.” Maybe the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is higher now than it has been in hundreds of thousands of years. So what? I am increasingly convinced that its influence on climate pales in comparison to the influence that natural climate events like El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation have on regional climate. Indeed, most of the warming we’ve seen in the last century might well be due to these natural modes of climate variability alone.
Frankly, the best thing McCain can hope for is to lose and lose big. Because whoever puts this policy into play will be remembered for initiating the biggest train wreck since the Carter years.
Written by The Big Stink
Monday, 12 May 2008 07:54
Science is supposed to be about the acquisition of knowledge. It is supposed to be free from political, artistic or cultural influences. Science is supposed to be the tool by which we quantify our universe and use that data to make our lives more meaningful and productive.
But, we know better, don’t we? Science is being used constantly as a means of bludgeoning humanity into accepting half-truths in order to further political, cultural and social agenda. One need look no further than the misappropriated data being used to peddle global climate change. (The mean temperature, globally, was down a full degree in April – where has that been reported in the MSM?)
Perhaps as a result of Ben Stein’s film, “Expelled,” there is legislation afoot which might actually allow for a full debate of life's origins in public schools without handcuffing teachers from implying Design as an option that cannot be ruled out. Today, Christian Post Reporter, Alexander Sheffrin reports:
Lawmakers in Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, and Michigan said that the efforts to pass the bills were a response to the concerns of teachers and students who reportedly felt marginalized, discriminated, or ostracized if they shared personal views that ran counter to Darwinism.
Darrell White, co-director of the Louisiana Family Forum summed up the intentions of the recent legislation drives as an opportunity that would "free up teachers and students [to] fully explore various scientific weaknesses of Darwinism as well as other areas of science.
Scientific weaknesses in Darwinism? Tell that to the lady anthropologist I listened to on MPR yesterday who basically spouted a three minute Darwinian sermon over the publicly-financed airwaves. She summed up her dogmatic thesis by declaring we are all related to the ladybugs and the cockroaches and the bunny rabbits through evolution - and she found that exciting!
Her inflated belief that random chance is life's legacy is an opinion which currently enjoys the legal protection of our public school systems. It is an opinion whose challenge is long overdue. Science, after all, cannot be agenda driven. Nor, can it be practiced in a vacuum - particularly if the evidence points scientists in directions they may not be comfortable with - which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the essence of the scientific method?
Finally got to see Iron Man last night and despite being sandwiched in-between a Beavis-and-Butthead high schooler on my right and a pregnant woman about to give birth on my left (oops, sorry honey), it was pretty good. The first pleasant surprise patriotic film-goers will notice is the villains: they are actual Muslims. Yes, that's right. Rag-heads. Camel-huggers. Sand-monkeys. The same barbarous murderers that we are at war with in real life. Go figure. How did this faux pas make it past the Hollywood PC filters? It didn't. Marvel Studios financed this superhero drama themselves. I suspect this was because of the Hollywood suit that wouldn't allow The Thing to smoke cigars when Fantastic Four was produced. That would piss me off and that is why another pleasant surprise awaits you; manly men who drink scotch, smoke cigars and chase women. AAARRR!
I liked the casting. MOBsters will instantly recognize Tom "Swiftie" Swift as the rebellious and irreverent Tony Stark, Mitch "Iron Monger" Berg as the lumbering evil Obidiah Stane and Guy "GuyDog" Collins as the soft-spoken agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. I liked the CGI, too. Much better than the cartoonish Spiderman films. But other than that, I found that Iron Man just didn't "pop". Not like Blade Runner watered your eyes with its set design. Or Matrix could keep rolling down your socks after seeing it for the umpteenth time. For example, the writing on Iron Man just wasn't suspenseful. It wasn't as antiseptic as say, a 24, but not even the climax will put you at the edge of your seat so don't expect anything revolutionary or even evolutionary here (heart-plugs? Come on. That's so Dune). Equally underwhelming was the music. I have been humming the Black Sabbath riff since I saw the first preview. How awesome would it have been to have torqued up that heavy-metal fugue as Tony Stark walked out of the dark terrorist cave in his earth-shaking pig-iron prototype. Answer: VERY awesome. How equally disappointing it was then when it wasn't played at all (and 20 seconds during the closing credits don't count).
All in all, Iron Man really had the potential of forging some new cinemagraphic ground but in the end, the new studio startup combined with a light-weight actor-turned-director proved to be too much to overcome. But keep your eyes out. With Marvel Studio's upcoming slate, things can only go up from here.
Helen Hudgens is 93 years young. She's the best Grandma a person could have. I gave my daughter her middle name. And talk about longevitythe longer she goes, the longer I can keep ducking the title "middle age."
This morning, she passed away, may she rest in peace. We knew it was not long away and though it might happen two weeks ago when she went to the hospital with complications. My sister, mother and I all started thinking, how close it was to her husband, Grandpa Jack's, final day. It was almost exactly 10 years—May 10th 1998.
Well she pulled through and recovered somewhat, but still remained very weak and returned to the assisted care home. My mother, an only child, who has been by her side for the last several years had scheduled a trip up here to Minnesota from Illinois for Mother's day weekend. There's a bit of irony there, but I am very glad to be here for her, even though she needs to get back soon to take care of things. I will be making a trip back there too some time this week. It's too soon to have things planned out yet.
In the end she did it. Call it fate, planning, or a bizarre coincindence, but there it is. Jack Hudgens: May 10th 1998, Helen V. Hudgens: May 10th 2008, 10 years to the day.
Here are a couple of my favorite images. The top one is the last photo of her form this March, with my son Asa. The other two are of Helen and Jack in the great days.
Helen was born July 15, 1914 to Cleveland and Edith Pendleton near Bellflower, Illinois. She had a close and large family with 6 sisters and 2 brothers. She married Jack E. Hudgens in 1932 and he preceded her in 1998.
Helen will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She was active in assisting her husband with his building business, as well as being a real estate broker in the Bloomington area. She was a great lover of music and once entertained on the radio with her sister Ruth, as the Melodie Maids, and was active in golf, bowling, and other exercise. The family is greatly thankful to the staff at McLean County Nursing Home for their care and thoughtfulness. Memorials can to given to charities of choice.
I don't think any conservative believed that 2007's session would end as well as it did, And I don't think any conservative believes this one will even come close to another 2007-like happy ending.
I'll stop short of saying come on out and drown your sorrows, but having a pint, tumbler, glass or snifter, and looking at what has happend and what can be done sounds like a good idea. The Taxpayers League is planning an event at the Metropolitan Clubroom in Golden Valley.
They planned it strategically right in between the close of the session and the GOP Rochester Convention for Tuesday, May 27th 5pm.
I know Phil Krinkie will be giving a talk, and to be sure more names will be added to the speaking roster as this firms up. So mark the calendar and tell a friend.
$25 per person. RSVP to jordanmATtaxpayersleagueDOTorg. Stay stay tuned to www.taxpayersleague.org for updates
[As a fellow SD45 Republican member of the community, I was asked by Scott if I would post this policy paper. If you would like to contact him, here is his email:
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] —ChiefThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
As conservatives, we value the free market, personal responsibility, and limited government. I also subscribe to these principles. However, I live with cerebral palsy. It’s saddens me that we are not talking about a comprehensive policy for the millions of Americans that go through life with a disability. It angers me, however, that this is true of both sides of the aisle. No one is talking about the needs of the disabled. Throughout history, we have been seen as being either punished by God or special angels, people that need to be cured, or nuisances.
Through my own experience and analysis, I will attempt to describe the current problems as I see them. I will also offer a critique of some current views by other conservatives. Finally, I hope to present a framework to encourage discussion and, hopefully, lead to creation of a more unified and conservative plan for the disabled. The Current State Who Are These People According to the 2000 census 49.7 million people reported having a disability (Waldop & Stern, 2002). One could write volumes about the make-up of this group. However, for the sake of simplicity, the ratio of 1 in 5 people having some kind of disability is a good measure. Before we get too carried away on numbers, keep in mind that this includes physical, emotional, developmental, and learning disability. We would be right as well in saying that both in general and with specific diagnoses, the phenomenon of disability is “not an equal opportunity” idea. For example, on paper, my wife and I both have the same disability, spastic athetoid cerebral palsy. Yet we could not be more different, I can walk, she can’t. She is prone to seizures, I am not. She is more understandable speaking, I am harder to understand. The list can go on.
However, we must examine this issue from the perspective of public policy. Overall, at this time, the disabled are seen either as “clients” or “patients” or need “services” or as “dollar signs.” In the first case, often called the medical or human service model, the safety and well being of the individual is primary. Here, there is a tendency to “pre-package” services into a one size fits all approach. Since people with disabilities have different needs, not everyone will need the same set of supports. Yet as we will see later, this approach can lead to more loss of control over personal life.
The second view is more of a knee jerk reaction to the first. Under the current state, support services with disabilities are costly. There is no way around it. Naturally, we believe in a low tax burden. However, what can happen is that only the numbers that are in the budget. The natural tendency is to cut the number which, in turn, can leave disabled individual worried about getting needs met. In addition, it fosters the notion the the disabled are drains on public resources or objects of charity, further preventing an inclusion of the disabled in society.
Fox News reports that the Code Pink womyn are arriving on their brooms in Berkeley and casting magic spells to end war. It's not a joke (except maybe for the broom part).
The women's anti-war group has told ralliers to come equipped with spells and pointy hats Friday for "witches, crones and sirens" day, the last of the group's weeklong homage to Mother's Day.
"Women are coming to cast spells and do rituals and to impart wisdom to figure out how we're going to end war," Zanne Sam Joi of Bay Area Code Pink told FOXNews.com
Attendance is down, and this latest gimmick doesn't seem to be helping. Fox News installed a 24-hour "Berkeley Protest Cam" aimed at the Marine recruiting center entrance.
A FOX News camera, which has a 24/7 live shot of the recruiting center's front door, recorded little action, and the gatherings have, until this point, been ill attended.
They should rename it "FAIL cam." I'll try a long distance spell: Expelliarmus Hagosis!
Michael at MDE is uncovering more about Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak's suspended driver's license last year, and reported that Rybak received the speeding ticket on the second day of the DFL convention taking place in Rochester. WCCO-TV reports he didn't pay the complete fine for a speeding ticket received last year in Olmsted County, but seems to handle the Mayor with kid gloves (compared to Fox 9 News) as to how his car got to City Hall. Caroline Lowe's report at 'CCO:
The mayor says he only learned of the suspended license late Thursday afternoon. He was confronted by cameras when he slid into his car parked outside the Minneapolis City Hall Thursday evening. Rybak said he did not intend to drive, and that he was only getting in the car to pick up some paperwork.
If Rybak had been stopped by police after his license was suspended in February, he could have gotten another ticket and had his city car towed.
He left his car behind at city hall Thursday night and planned to take the bus or call his wife for a ride home.
Rybak, who also has a driver, said he already planned to take the bus to work on Friday when he will also take steps to clear up his license and fine issues. He also says he will not get behind the wheel of a car until those issues are resolved and he has a valid Minnesota driver's license.
Fox 9 News also reported that he was sent a notice of the suspension in March. The mayor doesn't recall seeing that notice in the mail. Their video catches him off guard when asked if he was driving around since then, while he's holding the car keys.
"I don't know. Let me think about it for a second. Have I been?"
This is priceless. Beth McDonough may have reached the Mayor before Caroline did — which may explain his smoother responses to WCCO. Check back to MN Democrats Exposed for the latest.
A SuperAmerica worker helped a fellow employee in the midst of a robbery and assault. He may have saved a life. His "speedy reward" from his employer, SA? A pink slip. KSTP-TV has the story and video.
Mark Beverly was one of two employees inside a Roseville Super America when a robber came into the store on March 26.
Beverly was cleaning the bathroom when he heard the store clerk cry out. He came out to find a robber attacking the female employee.
"I just jumped on his back and trying to hit his head and pushed him over the counter. I jumped back over and he was out of there," he said.
Later that day, Beverly returned to work only to be punished for his actions.
"I didn't think I was going to get fired for it," he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
SA allegedly gave him a robbery prevention packet after the incident and denied employment. Beverly is appealing the action, but I bet a lawsuit is brewing already. Score: Beverly 1, Robber and SA 0.
Written by Michael Mannske
Wednesday, 07 May 2008 12:51
It's fun watching liberals eat their own, like when environmentalists refuse to allow wind turbines near their homes for fear the blades will either go sailing through their living rooms or decapitate migratory birds. Last night's report had a similar edge when the mother of an eight-year old blamed her son's injuries from a automobile collision not on said son darting into traffic without looking but on an evil Toyota Prius hybrid running on silent-mode.
"We're conditioned to hear car noises," mother cannibal said. "This is a big safety issue."
I agree, it is. These over-priced social-statements should be mandated to travel over 15 mph. That way, the next time they hit a tone-deaf lib it will be lethal. In the mean time, the legislature will be taking suggestions on what hybrid noise-makers will best send oblivious pedestrians diving for cover. My suggestion: a cackling loop of Hillary laughter.
More from Golden Valley's media monolith:
Wisconsin Envy: After fielding a story on The Dairy State's prestigious number #1 ranking in alcohol abuse, KARE continues to be kludo on how we Cheeseheads can continually sleep through fires, shoot their toddlers with BB guns on a dare or produce two-nosed cows. Are they trying to disparage us with these stories? Sounds like jealousy to me.
Wal-bashing: Another child fondled in Wal-Mart. Duh. You don't hear about this at Targets. How about this for a public service announcement: "DON'T SHOP AT WAL-MART!"
Rick "HDTV-head" Kupchella: This guy is all over the board so I am going to make a little sub-category just for him. This week, in an attempt to score points after his gas-tax backlash last month, HDTVH comes out for taxpayers by exposing Minnesota's prevailing wage, claiming the state overpays unexceptional construction workers some 32% with little productivity increase to show for it. The next day, his station proceeded to frag their earnest lieutenant by reporting construction on the I35W bridge was going along quite exceptionally, thank you, to the tune of being 3 months ahead of schedule. Oops. STORY PROVERB: When redeeming oneself, take it slow.
Perk at Play: Get rid of this guy. Not even his I'm-so-unfunny-I'm-funny schtick is funny. I hear CCO has an opening for meteorologist.
You've heard the old saying "strike while the iron is hot"? With the Democrat Presidential campaign now headed almost irretrievably over the cliff of electoral disaster, now would be the time for Republicans to strike-- to set aside our differences over John McCain (giving enough support so he can take the "high road" to the Presidency as is his wont anyway), and concentrate on advancing our conservative principles by giving him a majority Republican Congress!
McCain naturally leans conservative, but his maverick streak compels him to reach across the aisle and "get things done." Imagine what he would do if Republicans controlled the Senate and the House and the agenda? That's right, he would try to "get things done" by working with the conservative majority. And since the next President will appoint at least one Supreme Court justice, if we do NOT get a Senate majority, the conservative cause may be set back for another generation. If you are one of those still saying you will vote "principle over party" then here is the best opportunity in 20 years to get BOTH.
While we're in the voting booth anyway, there is a simple matter of self-preservation at stake, too. We must take back the Minnesota House for Republicans, and here again the Democrats have given us more than enough ammunition if we will just use it-- telling the truth about what they have done and the clear truth of what we will do better. If we cannot do that, then we probably aren't smart enough to govern anyway. We do NOT deserve to lose, so shouldn't we try to win it ALL, while the iron is hot?
His teleprompter is set about 10 clicks too fast tonight at the NC celebration speech.
It really is awkward to watch and listen to. I feel sorry for the guy. He’s sweating this speech out looking left, then right fast, fast, fast. And he has to look up too high to look natural. Some tech guy is in for a beating tomorrow.
One bonus: his typical hour long speech will only be half as long tonight.
Hillary's speech on the other hand, can not be short or fast enough tonight.
The Admiral at Lake Minnetonka Liberty has posted this report by channel 5 showing some very tough numbers for Al Franken. For those of you that think this recent MDE-covered tax payment problem is just a minor accounting oversight, maybe you can consider these polling numbers the culmination of that added to a rotten personality, utter lack of experience, carpetbaggery, and conflicted policy positions.
And as a topper, here's Al's good friend Bill O' with a qucik shot to the ribs.
Thousands of disgruntled libertarian Americans are in for a huge let-down this fall. Ron Paul's supporters have been misled into believing that they can still get their candidate on the Republican ballot for president this November. They've been told so by Ron Paul's leadership. And telling these rock heads the truth doesn't do much good because they are conspiracy-phobic and think that Republican officers are lying to them. The party has a system for electing its presidential nominee and that person is Senator John McCain.
It can be said, as a generality that these followers of Ron Paul do not play well with others. This explains why they go about their methods of hijacking conventions in the delusion that Dr. Paul will be the nominee simply because they are naive fools.
And now, Ron Paul has come out with a book...a manifesto. I imagine that with thousands of robots across the country following under Ron Paul's spell, he will make a lot of money on this book. But ultimately, all his followers will be able to say, come this September is;
I suppose the Ron Paul Revolutionaries will cry out in their anguish that they'd been cheated. But the GOP will be right when it points out to these simpletons, "We told you so."
I have been struggling for weeks to find a way to apply Coach Vince Lombardi's maxim "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" to politics. It just seemed there should be a connection, and there is. I've been trying to tell every Republican I know, including myself, to vote for John McCain and Norm Coleman in November. The rest of my ticket looks good, with solid conservatives all up and down, but there are still some well-known and well-aired "concerns" about these two. Certainly most of us would prefer they be more conservative, and there is nothing wrong with holding up a "price" for your support-- that's the way politics works, squeaky wheel and all that. But in the end, you have to vote for them or the other "team" wins, and that would be a very bad thing. There is absolutely nothing these candidates can do for you unless they win. Winning isn't everything, but it's the only thing that isn't losing.
St. Paul Police handed a march route to the Coalition to March on the RNC & Stop the War. The 
3-1/2 cigars (Great CGI/interesting casting/unimaginative script)
Lasy July, I wrote this:
Well she pulled through and recovered somewhat, but still remained very weak and returned to the assisted care home. My mother, an only child, who has been by her side for the last several years had scheduled a trip up here to Minnesota from Illinois for Mother's day weekend. There's a bit of irony there, but I am very glad to be here for her, even though she needs to get back soon to take care of things. I will be making a trip back there too some time this week. It's too soon to have things planned out yet.
Helen will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She was active in assisting her husband with his building business, as well as being a real estate broker in the Bloomington area. She was a great lover of music and once entertained on the radio with her sister Ruth, as the Melodie Maids, and was active in golf, bowling, and other exercise. The family is greatly thankful to the staff at McLean County Nursing Home for their care and thoughtfulness. Memorials can to given to charities of choice. 
I don't think any conservative believed that 2007's session would end as well as it did, And I don't think any conservative believes this one will even come close to another 2007-like happy ending. 
Michael at 
It's fun watching liberals eat their own, like when environmentalists refuse to allow wind turbines near their homes for fear the blades will either go sailing through their living rooms or decapitate migratory birds. Last night's report had a similar edge when the mother of an eight-year old blamed her son's injuries from a automobile collision not on said son darting into traffic without looking but on an 
