April 11-14, 2020
Apr 11 04:08 Moderation or stupidity? Apr 12 04:38 Happy Easter He is risen!!! Apr 12 11:13 Tim Walz's One Minnesota? Apr 12 14:03 Restarting America's economy now Apr 13 01:59 Lessons in socialism vs. capitalism, AOC, Omar vs. Friedman edition Apr 13 02:33 President Trump's latest victory Apr 13 16:25 Are we overwhelming Minnesota's medical resources? Apr 14 15:20 Tim Walz's ill-fated decisions
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Moderation or stupidity?
This article highlights the inflexibility and rigidity of Tim Walz's administration. On Friday, some Walz administration 'experts' insisted that their model held up well vs. more famous models. That isn't likely.
For instance, the article said "The recently updated [U of M] model projects 22,000 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota over the coming year." Later in the article, it says "Republican critics have pointed to a widely cited University of Washington model that projects just 456 Minnesota deaths through Aug. 4." It's a fair distance between 22,000 and 456.
First, the article said that 57 people have died in Minnesota of COVID-19. To reach 22,000 COVID-19 deaths by Aug. 4, Minnesota would have to average 191 deaths per day for the next 115 days. That's more than 3 times as many people per day who've died of COVID-19 in Minnesota thus far.
The point I'm making is that Gov. Walz isn't telling us the truth. That doesn't mean he's lying. It might mean that he's a terrible decision-maker. Compare Gov. Walz's decision-making with President Trump's, Secretary Clinton's or VP Biden's. Walz, Clinton and Biden haven't gotten a major decision right in decades. Name the last time that trio got a major decision right. This stunned me:
Malcolm and Gildemeister said the real value of the model is that it predicts trends, such as when demand for intensive care hospital beds is likely to peak, how social distancing reduces mortality, and how the state's strategy pushes the projected peak out until July.
Compare that with what Dr. Fauci said about models:
[Video no longer available]
We have tons of open ICU beds in hospital after hospital. By the end of July, I'm betting that most 'hot-spot' states will be written into the history books. They'll be icy cold by the end of July. Supplies will be virtually limitless by then. The chances that we'll still be paying daily attention to COVID-19 aren't high.
This is what happens when voters pick a Democrat instead of a talented candidate. We The People get screwed because the safe pick gets major decisions wrong. Picking safe is rarely right.
When the next budget forecast happens, don't be surprised if there's a major deficit. Don't be surprised if Gov. Walz proposes another massive tax increase. That proposal should be rejected immediately. How will raising Minnesota's taxes make Minnesota more economically competitive? Hint: it won't.
It's time to throw Walz out. His terrible decisions have cost us too much already.
Posted Saturday, April 11, 2020 4:08 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 11-Apr-20 07:20 AM
Report this morning now says deaths may have peaked. So what is it, are we going to have 2 million deaths or less deaths than the regular flu? And how is it that an isolated Amazon tribe member was just reported to have it? I would think they would be good at social distancing from the rest of the world.
This whole thing reeks of incompetence and fear mongering on the part of those who want to control the masses.
Happy Easter He is risen!!!
I really don't like the greeting Happy Easter even though I used it as part of the title. If I had a vote on what to call it, I'd vote for Victory Sunday because today is the day Christians celebrate the day Christ defeated sin. That doesn't mean that we've stopped sinning. (I wish that was true but it isn't.) It's the day Christ rose from the dead and paid for every sin that had been committed, was being committed at the time of His crucifixion and that would be committed in the future.
The 24th chapter of Luke opens by saying "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, [a]and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen ! "
Later in Luke, Jesus appeared to His believers:
So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?"
Then Cleopas explained to Christ what had happened. While he explained, he told Christ what his expectations were:
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.
What happens next was quite a moment. Cleopas and his friend got a personalized Bible study from Jesus:
Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Finally, Jesus reveals Himself in a most unique way:
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight."
Immediately, these disciples knew it was Jesus:
"Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
After the fact, Cleopas and his friend knew it was Jesus because, while they didn't recognize Jesus yet, their reaction to the Christ's words were immediate and intense.
That morning, the Tomb was empty because Christ paid the price for humanity's sins. The Tomb is empty because today is Victory Sunday!!!
This post will remain at the top of the page all of Easter day. Check below for additional posts.
Posted Sunday, April 12, 2020 10:34 PM
Comment 1 by John Palmer at 12-Apr-20 10:55 AM
He is risen indeed!
Comment 2 by Crimson Trace at 12-Apr-20 12:42 PM
Jesus paid the price for us to go to heaven if we believe he shed His blood for us. Without faith it is impossible to please God. I think everyone in hell fully realizes they missed the boat. For the nonbelievers, what's your excuse for rejecting this free gift of salvation? The time is now to make Jesus Lord of your life.
Comment 3 by Gretchen L Leisen at 13-Apr-20 08:55 AM
Thanks. Yes, Jesus Christ is risen indeed.
Tim Walz's One Minnesota?
Whatever happened to Gov. Tim Walz's One Minnesota that he campaigned on? Apparently, Gov. Walz is under the illusion that we're united behind his mitigation plan for the COVID-19 virus. That's the only conclusion I could reach from this tweet:
We know this is hard. But from the start, we responded to COVID-19 as #OneMinnesota. We've put our neighbors ahead of ourselves and because of that, Minnesota currently has the lowest national infection rate. Keep it up, Minnesota! #StayHomeMN #MNStrong https://t.co/cepKXe6sOc
- Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 11, 2020
Minnesota small businesses aren't united behind Gov. Walz's mitigation plan. House and Senate Republicans definitely aren't united behind Gov. Walz. Kevin Roche has written a blistering attack against Gov. Walz. In that article, Roche wrote this:
What the modelers did do that is very useful, is to run various mitigation strategy scenarios. That is exactly the approach that should be taken. How else do you know what the relative benefits and harms will be of whatever set of mitigation of spread tactics you adopt. And please, look at the PowerPoint slides and note that you get basically the exact same number of deaths regardless of the mitigation strategy. My favored approach, use basic mitigation for the bulk of the population, but isolate the at-risk groups, has the same outcome as making everyone stay at home.
This was posted to show Gov. Walz's table for determining which stores should be shut which can stay open:
This shows the IHME prediction for Minnesota:
The IHME model is predicting approximately 450 COVID-related deaths. The U of M model predicts 22,000 COVID-19-related deaths in Minnesota. Why is a tax preparing shop in Anoka considered safe but a 1-station beauty salon right next door is shut down? Why is a Walmart store considered safe but a Piggly Wiggly considered unsafe?
Gov. Walz has driven Minnesota's economy into the dirt with his foolish decisions. He's never paid a price for his terrible decisions. That's what happens when you hold a government job. What's required for Minnesota to prosper is someone with private sector experience. That's something that Tim Walz doesn't have. Let's change that the next time he's up for re-election.
Posted Sunday, April 12, 2020 11:13 AM
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Restarting America's economy now
Kelli Ward's op-ed in Newsweek contains the right medicine for restarting the U.S. economy. Dr. Ward writes that, just as the first COVID-19 task force has recommended regulations that slowed medical innovation, so must President Trump's economic task force eliminate regulations that cause economic stagnation:
Just as first task force identified places where our medical regulations sometimes hindered the swift action required (such as forcing the FDA to rapidly approve clinical trials for potential life-saving medicines), the new task force needs to identify the abundance of regulatory obstacles standing in the way of an economic jump start. From the start, the Trump Administration has done an exceptional job removing burdensome regulations to foster a booming economy. As America returns to work post-coronavirus, it is imperative that we finish the job by eliminating every remaining shred of unnecessary red tape that holds our economy back.
It's also critical that the task force represents diverse sectors of our economy, starting with a robust delegation of small businesses. In addition to mom-and-pop small businesses, the travel, hospitality and food service industries have been clobbered and all deserve to have a seat at the table. Other considerations should be given to restaurants, live events and sports leagues, as well as all other entertainment and leisure industries.
The first important step is rejecting Sen. Schumer's and Nancy Pelosi's government-centric initiatives. When was the last time regulations created a FedEx or a Microsoft? When did government interference help ignite an economic upswing? The answer to both questions is never.
Dr. Ward is right about this, too:
Furthermore, the task force should avoid making one-size-fits-all pronouncements on entire cities, states and regions. As someone who lives in flyover country, I can tell you that many Arizonans have felt inundated by a big-city-only perspective on the crisis. While our hearts are with our fellow citizens in New York City, I can assure you some parts of the country can and would reopen now if given the opportunity. The same approach should be applied to entire sectors of the economy. Many industries will have to enact new protocols to ensure the worker safety in order to restart. The second task force can and should provide guidance on those protocols.
One-size-fits-all policy-making is fantastic -- if everyone's needs are exactly the same. Thinking that the manufacturers' needs are the same as the financial industry's needs or the agribusiness's needs is foolish. The task force should have people who've built strong economies on it. It requires people like Larry Kudlow, Art Laffer, Steve Mnuchin. It requires small business entrepreneurs. Bernie Marcus and Steve Forbes should be part of the task force, too.
Speaking of one-size-fits-all vs. federalism:
Wow, states looking at their specific situation and tailoring policy to their jurisdictions? MADNESS!
- neontaster (@neontaster) April 11, 2020
I can't say it better than that. I'll leave it at that.
If President Trump staffs this task force on Tuesday, then it's imperative that they start the research on rebuilding the economy on Wednesday at the latest. While it's important to get people physically healthy, it's essential that we get people financially healthy, too. The best way to do that is to eliminate punishments on entrepreneurs. Imposing taxes are required to run a government. Imposing regulations are required for running an orderly society. Too much of either, though, leads to economic stagnation.
Posted Sunday, April 12, 2020 2:03 PM
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Lessons in socialism vs. capitalism, AOC, Omar vs. Friedman edition
Recently, AOC peddled some socialist BS , talking about how "the country" must "strip profit motive out of our decisions and reprioritize for the public good." That's the fastest path to poverty invented in human history. Isn't government prioritized "for the public good"? How often is government the source of our problems rather than the source of our solutions?
Let's be clear about this. If a bureaucrat fails, what's his/her incentive to improve? Better question: is there an incentive to improve? If schools fail, isn't it guaranteed that EdMinn will simply insist that it's a funding problem? There's currently a crisis within the MN Department of Human
There's been a problem for about 5+ years with MNLARS. It was 'only' supposed to cost $10,000,000-$15,000,000 total. It's supposedly getting fixed. The total cost to Minnesota's taxpayers has been approximately $186,000,000 as of May 1,2019. It'll certainly cost Minnesota's taxpayers another $100,000,000 or more.
Again, when there isn't a cost to the worker for failure, failure is inevitable or, at minimum, highly likely. It sounds good to move away from a profit motive -- until you realize that profits drive markets and that markets drive innovation. The best explanation of this comes from legendary economist Milton Friedman:
[Video no longer available]
Justin Haskins' question nails it perfectly:
Just ask any parent with a teenager whether people who don't have to work spend money as wisely as those who must earn it for themselves!
I'd think that's more of a rhetorical question than anything else. A politician friend of mine talks about OPM, aka Other People's Money. My friend says that spending other people's money is addictive without the requisite character, to the point that it's as addictive as another addictive drug, aka opium. Either way, it's pronounced O-P-M. Then there's this:
Omar, another far-left member of the "Squad," was perhaps even more direct about her socialist demands in her video, in which she directly called for the federal government to nationalize key industries. "And so, it is important for us to nationalize the supply chain, it's important for us to take action in nationalizing our health care system," Omar said.
Does nationalizing industries promote accountability? It hasn't happened yet that I've heard of. It's produced tons of thuggery but it hasn't produced accountability.
Posted Monday, April 13, 2020 1:59 AM
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President Trump's latest victory
According to this article , President Trump engineered a diplomatic/economic victory that will prevent hundreds of thousands of U.S. layoffs. At a time when the U.S. economy is faltering, this victory was important. First, it proves that President Trump is a skilled negotiator and diplomat. Next, it's proof that he isn't President Putin's puppet, though the MSM won't admit that. Third, it's proof that President Trump will fight for blue collar jobs. In battleground states, that's a huge commodity.
Christi Craddick, a regulator with the Texas Railroad Commission - which regulates oil in the U.S.' largest oil-producing state - said Mr. Trump's 'aggressive actions and continued engagement to bring Saudi Arabia and Russia to the table to reduce global oil production was crucial to defending the domestic energy industry' and avoiding a downward spiral in oil prices.
It's important for laid-off blue collar workers to know that President Trump will fight for their industries. That's true whether we're talking about the energy industry or infrastructure projects. At this point, he hasn't quite painted Democrats into a corner but he's getting there. If Pelosi and Schumer play obstructionist politics with infrastructure and with re-opening the economy, Democrats will pay a hefty price at the polls this November.
In the end, the U.S. appears to be yielding little, with Saudi Arabia, Russia and their other oil allies expected to bear the brunt of the work rebalancing a historic glut in the market. Some of the cuts are expected to coincide with a natural decline in production due to falling prices.
It isn't likely that Joe Biden would've engaged at this level. It's virtually certain that he couldn't have pulled this diplomatic victory off because he's a terrible negotiator.
[Video no longer available]
Posted Monday, April 13, 2020 2:33 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 13-Apr-20 09:51 AM
You do not favor low pump prices?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Apr-20 03:21 PM
Only to a point, Eric. Companies still have to make a profit, too.
PS- Without a profit motive, innovation dies.
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 15-Apr-20 06:21 PM
Prices can be $0 but if there's no incentive to produce, there won't be any product to buy. I'm sure that thought has never occurred to a progressive socialist though.
Are we overwhelming Minnesota's medical resources?
In the fight over what's the right strategy to fight the COVID-19 virus while not destroying Minnesota's economy, Gov. Tim Walz apparently has adopted a policy of killing small town businesses while restricting people who are following the CDC's guidelines. Increasingly, Gov. Walz is coming under attack for his irrational policies. Scott Jensen, John Hoffman and Jim Abeler criticized Gov. Walz's decisions in this op-ed :
A small insurance company in Anoka is open, since it provides financial services. Next to it, a hair salon with a single chair is shuttered by executive order. The insurance agency will be able to pay its rent and property tax on a home. The hair stylist with the salon may never open again.
If Gov. Walz and the DFL have a coherent strategy of fighting a two-front war against COVID-19, it's difficult to detect.
Thus far, Gov. Walz has tried painting this as purely a medical decision. The DFL should know better than that. What's required is keeping Minnesotans healthy and not destroying Minnesota's economy. Thus far, the DFL, led by Gov. Walz, has failed at not destroying Minnesota's economy. Sen. Abeler's example in Anoka shows the incoherence of Gov. Walz's policies. (It's impossible for me to call it a strategy.)
Enter Tina Smith to the conversation:
"We shouldn't be looking at this as a choice between our health and our economy," said Smith, who was appointed to the Senate at the beginning of 2018 to serve out the term of former Sen. Al Franken. "Without our health, we're going to not have a functioning economy."
That's a strawman argument if ever I saw one. At this point, the DFL, led by Gov. Walz and Sen. Smith, have pretended that it's all about people's health. Gov. Walz has even talked about saving lives over saving businesses. That sounds great in the abstract but it looks significantly different in real life when real people lose their life savings or their business collapses because of Gov. Walz's or Sen. Smith's decisions.
Minnesotans have done a fantastic job of following the CDC's guidelines. We've seen that other states have had success when they've followed the CDC's guidelines. Gov. Walz essentially insists that COVID-19 isn't reacting the same way in Minnesota as it is in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana or Illinoi. Why should I trust Gov. Walz's thinking?
The only person who sounds coherent in this is Jason Lewis. Democrats sound incoherent and scatterbrained. In a crisis, we can't afford scatterbrained. This townhall audio highlights Dean Phillips' and Tina Smith's COVID-19 priorities:
[Video no longer available]
It's clear that Phillips' and Smith's highest priority is health. The economy is an afterthought. Because Minnesotans did a great job following the CDC's guidelines, Minnesota's medical resources are in great shape. We aren't even close to running short.
Posted Monday, April 13, 2020 4:25 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 14-Apr-20 01:08 PM
Is it fair of you to link to Abeler, to the talk show host, and not give any link to Tina Smith? Some might view that as partisanship.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Apr-20 01:12 PM
The op-ed was written by Abeler, Hoffman & Jensen. The talk show host didn't have anything to do with the op-ed. Ditto with Tina Smith.
Comment 2 by John Palmer at 14-Apr-20 02:40 PM
I'll know the DFL really cares about the health and well being of humanity when they stop the inhuman practice of abortion. Many more lives are lost to abortion to any of the viral related illness.
Comment 3 by eric z at 15-Apr-20 09:27 AM
I'll know the GOP holds real Christians when they turn the other cheek.
Comment 4 by Chad Q at 15-Apr-20 06:36 PM
Not sure what you're talking about Eric as it makes no sense. But I guess if I try to follow your sentence, you think Christians should just sit back and take whatever the evil progressive left can dream up and dish out and be thankful for it? You are sadly mistaken.
Tim Walz's ill-fated decisions
When Gov. Walz initially issued his shelter-in-place order, he made a big deal of the model, aka science, he was using. It was apparent that he'd gotten trapped in Greg Gutfeld's "prison of 2 ideas." That's since been confirmed because, apparently, there are only 2 options. In Gov. Walz's thinking, one option is shutting Minnesota's economy down except for groceries and medical prescriptions. The other is no mitigation whatsoever.
Why hasn't Gov. Walz selected another option? Is he aware that other options exist? Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota implemented the CDC's mitigation standards without shutting down any businesses. Then again, I'd expect more from her. She's a Republican. Walz is a Democrat.
The model that Minnesota is using is essentially worthless. Last week, Gov. Walz said that it wasn't being used much for its accuracy as it's being used for giving him direction. That's word salad on steroids. If the model is off by orders of magnitude, how can you trust that it's pointing you in the right direction?
That's like putting a magnet next to a compass, then expecting a legitimate reading. The only reading you'll get is of the needle going around and around into infinity. Thus far, Gov. Walz has only talked about medical supplies and not running the hospital staff into the ground. That's the least of Gov. Walz's worries. We're nowhere close to using up our ventilators, PPE, N95 masks, etc.
It's like Hawaiians buying parkas, then worrying about not having a parka when you need it. At this point, it's becoming obvious that Gov. Walz isn't the right man to handle a crisis. He's made one terrible decision after another:
The Governor is apparently not paying attention to or doesn't believe the results of his own modeling, which is supposed to be incorporating all this expert advice. And he has his reasoning completely backward, the number of infections and deaths isn't determined by the amount of health resources, whether you have enough resources is determined by the number of cases you project. His current best projections are estimating a level of cases and deaths that the health system can handle. I would note in particular that while the original modeling said there were only around 235 ICU beds in the state, by the time of the reforecast that number had grown ten-fold. And the reality is the health system could handle more cases than the peak need now projected. So he can just stop using the weak excuse that we have to build health resources for a peak that isn't coming.
Gov. Walz isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. This is proof of it:
Mayo Clinic has unveiled a plan to cut $1.6 billion in pay, withdraw nearly $1 billion from its financial reserves and save another $700 million through a hiring freeze to counteract a $3 billion loss inflicted by the coronavirus. A large portion of this loss was the result of Governor Tim Walz's ban on non-essential procedures that has cost Mayo up to 75% of its business in some areas.
Way to go, Tim. By the 4th of July, you might kill Minnesota's economy to the point that it won't recover until the twenty-second century. Either that or until we get a principled Republican as governor. This should get Gov. Walz's attention but likely won't:
In both 2018 and 2019, the Clinic recorded a $700 million operating financial margin, meaning that it has reported this amount in profit. However, in the last week of March alone, Mayo says it lost $162 million, reports the post. Meanwhile, the Rochester campus is running at about 35% patient capacity and performing only about a quarter of the surgeries it normally would. This is because the majority of the procedures the world famous hospital provides have been forcibly canceled by Walz's executive order prohibiting non life saving treatments.
At this rate, Gov. Walz will kill more businesses than COVID-19 will kill people. That's a frightening thought. What's more is the thought that Gov. Walz still thinks he's doing the right thing. Might this be Gov. Walz's destiny:
Time will tell but he's off to a great start.
Posted Tuesday, April 14, 2020 3:20 PM
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