December 20-23, 2018

Dec 20 00:26 MNLARS' profitability
Dec 20 14:16 Ramblin Rose talks PC Christmas spirit
Dec 20 14:43 Let the shutdown begin

Dec 21 00:50 Chuck & Nancy's hissy fit
Dec 21 10:28 A.B. Stoddard, partisan hack
Dec 21 14:23 Why can't it pass, Sen. Schumer?

Dec 22 03:47 Andy Biggs makes the case
Dec 22 21:46 Are you missing the government?

Dec 23 08:28 Stupid Democrat thinking

Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

MNLARS' profitability

The DFL commissioners in charge of fixing MNLARS are really dancing on the head of a pin in their attempt to justify more money to fix MNLARS. Wait times have improved but they're still unacceptable. Commissioners testifying this week said that "the workload for vehicle titles was at an all-time high at the beginning of 2018, taking the department about 90 days to turn around a title application. They say they are now able to get most titles issued in 40 days or less. As for driver's licenses, they're still working within a 120-day window."
[Video no longer available]
At this week's hearing, the IT commissioner said "To say that it isn't working is not correct. It does have problems but it is producing revenue for our state." If that's the commissioner's definition of working, it isn't a definition shared by people using MNLARS.

If the DFL thinks that MNLARS is working, the first question that needs to be asked is whether the people who've dealt with MNLARS are satisfied with MNLARS' proficiency. I'm betting the vast majority of people would say no. In the people's minds, the only metric that matters is whether MNLARS is quickly creates new drivers licenses with the smart chip and whether MNLARS quickly processes title transfers.

If the DFL can't proficiently process drivers licenses and title transfers, then they should be fired ASAP. Further, if this problem isn't fixed before the end of the budget session, then the DFL, including Gov. Walz, Lt. Gov. Flanagan and Speaker Hortman, should resign.

Check this out:

The system needs more money to bring on employees to fill holes in service, Dohman said. Part-time employees were brought on to help, but shortages still exist. It remains a question whether lawmakers will be willing to appropriate more funding to MNLARS, especially after footing the initial $93 million bill in 2017 and an additional $9 million in May.

In the private sector, this project would've been finished a year ago and under budget. In government, they're over their originally-anticipated budget by $100,000,000 and off on the start-up date by 14 months. Why should I think that the DFL is capable of efficiently running government?

Posted Thursday, December 20, 2018 12:26 AM

Comment 1 by Patrick at 21-Dec-18 08:16 AM
Wisconsin used to be like Minnesota, wait weeks and months to get things done but they fixed the system. Delays for drivers license and plates are practically non-existent. I changed my address this past summer and got a new Real ID DL, took less than a week from my office visit to getting the actual license. Sold a car November 2017 and the new owner had a new title with their old car plates same day! Going to local DMV building was a nightmare even 10 years ago but now not too bad.

Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 21-Dec-18 09:35 AM
That's what happens when you have someone with executive experience at the helm.

Ramblin Rose talks PC Christmas spirit

Christmas banned
Rambin' Rose

PC = Plain Crazy
Over several decades, leftists have worked unceasingly to remove Christ from Christmas. What is -mas? There is no Christmas without Christ. (-mas comes from 'mass' and that is also unacceptable to non-Christians.) Even atheists and members of non-Christian beliefs have happily celebrated the season for whatever personal pleasure that affirms their creed.

The majority of public schools (preschool through postsecondary) have banned 'Christmas' from their annual concerts and programs for the last four or five decades. That has meant the name, the content, and the message. The majority of the parents and teachers may not have agreed but did nothing to oppose those authoritarian decisions.

This year the attacks have multiplied and reached a new level of insanity. Now even the symbolic colors of Christmas are vilified. White is racist, and red and green are "Christmas colors." Principal Jennifer Sinclair of Manchester Elementary School in the Elkhorn Public Schools District near Omaha, Nebraska, imposed her personal hatred for everything Christmas by banning anything red or green, the carols, trees, reindeer, Santa, candy canes, Elf on the Shelf, all books with the Christmas theme: some of the items she prohibited by administrative mandate. Those items that were not banned by this grinch were hot chocolate, polar bears, penguins, yetis (bigfoots), Olaf, gifts, snowmen and gingerbread people.

Sinclair declared that candy canes were 'Historically, the shape is a 'J' for Jesus. The red is for the blood of Christ and the white is a symbol of his resurrection.'
With the intervention from Liberty Counsel, the First Amendment was again clarified as not a requirement to eliminate Christmas symbols in an injudicious attempt to eliminate the traditional aspects of a federally- and state-recognized holiday. The act was labeled Orwellian - as it should have been. Liberty Counsel explained that it is completely legal to have a mix of sacred and secular in school programs and decorations. It further interpreted the rights of parents who object to the inclusion of the Christmas traditions to allow their children to opt out of the Christmas activities without denying the opportunity for others to participate in the Christmas traditions.

Liberty Counsel reported that the Elkhorn Public Schools reversed the principal's unconstitutional directive following an investigation. The First Amendment prohibits censorship, not the elimination of religious practices.

Christmas favorites are under attack. Even Rudolph was claimed to demonstrate bullying, social misfits, shallow relationships, parental abuse, mental health issues, etc. Critics state that children who have bad childhoods will feel even more negative about themselves. On the other hand, commentators who admit to troublesome childhoods declared that this Christmas classic provided a Christmas escape.

Just a moment, was not the point of the Rudolph movie to celebrate diversity (a hallmark of the left)? Rudolph is different and marginalized until he gains his confidence and becomes "the leader of the pack." He is a role model for those who are different (aren't we all?). Should that not be celebrated instead of attacked? Even by the left? Oh, yes, he has another defect - he works for a white, Christian male. Yes, Santa is SAINT Nick.

A recent monthly columnist in the Times attacked the Hallmark Christmas classics as unrealistic. That may be true, but who does not enjoy a novel or a movie for a fancy-filled escape and does not assume that the plot is based on reality that should be attainable by all? The writer did not attack Star Wars. How many times has that movie had a sequel and great success at the box office? Who has seen Darth Vader at Crossroads or Tech HS lately?

The left seems out to destroy the entire cultural base of this country while embracing cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and sharia law of more recent arrivals that contradict our Constitution and identity.

Being a Minnesotan, I think I am familiar with snow - it's white as it falls from the sky and a blanket of pure brilliance as it covers the ground. It turns yellow and brown after animals and vehicles contaminate it. NO, not according to the left - it's racist. Let's examine a list (found on FB without a listed source) of the rejected and forbidden carols of the season.

So far in this year's War on Christmas, I have not heard/read that Frosty the Snowman will be banned for any reason than his gender. But I fear that someone soon will complain that he wears only a hat and smokes a pipe. But yet gender does not seem to be an issue in sports, public restrooms or even our schools.

The media have reported on community nativity scenes with two Josephs and another in Massachusetts with the Baby Jesus in a cage to protest the conflict on our Southern border (immigration). There is also a fence between the Magi and the Holy Family (deportation).

In both the Illinois Rotunda and the Cesar Chavez Park in San Jose, California, there are satanic displays in an attempt to legitimize the satanic-themed invasion of a Holy Christian celebration. They hope to minimize or even deny Christ's birth and victory over Satan.

Christ is and will be eternally triumphant. But the war and its ugly battles will continue until the Return of Christ. Until then, the world will endure attacks from the left.
PC = Progressive Chaos

Posted Thursday, December 20, 2018 2:16 PM

Comment 1 by Crimson Trace at 20-Dec-18 04:31 PM
Rambling Rose nailed it. This opinion article truly missed the boat!

https://www.sctimes.com/story/opinion/2018/12/19/christmas-season-celebration-humanity/2354754002/

Let the shutdown begin

It's looking more and more like there will be a partial government shutdown. Predictably, Democrats are portraying this as the end of Western civilization despite the fact that 75% of the discretionary budget is funded. I'm betting that people will barely notice if there's a government shutdown. The people who will notice if there's a shutdown are the people living in the southwestern states.

They'll notice because Democrats refuse to care about their needs. They'll notice because opioids will continue flowing into the nation. They'll notice because they'll continue seeing teenage girls get sold into sex slavery rings. They'll notice that Democrats are steadfast in their opposition to President Trump's border wall system.

Why do Democrats oppose it? Because their special interest campaign financiers instruct them to oppose the wall. The Democrats don't oppose it because wall systems don't work. Democrats oppose it because they work -- spectacularly. Steny Hoyer, the incoming Majority Leader, is already whining about the potential government shutdown:


First, shutting down 25% of the government isn't shutting "down a large part of the government." Next, President Trump isn't having a temper tantrum. He's trying to protect the American people, something that the Democrats seem indifferent to. I'll stipulate that Democrats talk about wanting border security. I won't stipulate, though, that that's what they want.

Democrats' words say one thing. The Democrats' actions say the exact opposite thing. What have Democrats done to enhance border security? To this day, I don't have an answer to that question.

Posted Thursday, December 20, 2018 2:43 PM

No comments.

Chuck & Nancy's hissy fit

Thursday night, Sen. Schumer and soon-to-be-Speaker Pelosi, aka Chuck & Nancy, criticized President Trump for being willing to shut down government while telling millions of Americans that their security wasn't important enough to them. While official DC mumbles about the need for border security, politicians sit on their hands while failing to build the wall.

I'm not praising GOP leadership for finding the votes to fund the rest of government while building President Trump's wall. I'm praising Rush Limbaugh for reminding President Trump that the American people are counting on him to fight. I'm praising President Trump for fighting for the American people. I'm praising President Trump for rubbing Pelosi's face in it:


Thursday night, Chuck & Nancy said some things that I suspect that they'll regret. Steve Scalise gave Democrats the option:


Let's be succinct about this. Up until now, Democrats have put a higher priority on keeping government open than they've put on preventing human trafficking. It's impossible for Democrats to be pro-border security and indifferent towards preventing human trafficking. Sen. Marco Rubio summarized things perfectly in this tweet:


It won't be surprising to see a shutdown Friday night at midnight. Democrats haven't budged an inch. They also haven't listened to the Israelis or the Border Patrol. That's because, apparently, Democrats think that they know better on border security than the border patrol and know better on stopping dangerous people than Israelis.

That's the personification of arrogance.

Posted Friday, December 21, 2018 12:50 AM

No comments.

A.B. Stoddard, partisan hack

This isn't a secret but A.B. Stoddard, who pretends to be unbiased politically, is actually a partisan hack. Yesterday on Special Report's All-Star Panel, Stoddard ripped off the mask when she said "A congressman, who is close to leadership and knows what's going on, told me : that they don't know what's going on, they weren't certain that they'd have the votes, and they were hoping that even if it failed, the president would come to his senses. There wasn't a Senate plan, there was a 'President Trump comes to his senses' plan. I think the nation's fourth-graders know this is no way to run a lemonade stand. This is completely irresponsible. The markets are rattling on the prospect of a shutdown that's turning on Ann Coulter's tweets."

Later, she criticized Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows for urging President Trump to stick to his insistence of getting border wall funding, saying that their advice amounted to "political malpractice."

Let's be clear about something. Securing the border is the right thing to do. Building a wall to help accomplish that is essential. That's immaterial to Stoddard, who apparently isn't interested in good policy. She's apparently only interested in whether the process is orderly.

Further, it's disrespectful to say that there's a need for a 'president comes to his senses deal'. He's the only one making sense in all this. It's impossible to secure the border without building the wall. The statistics bear that out. Democrats who oppose the wall, aka Chuck and Nancy, are the people who need help. They're putting the Democrats' special interest allies' wish list ahead of America's needs. How sad.

Posted Friday, December 21, 2018 10:28 AM

No comments.

Why can't it pass, Sen. Schumer?

Sen. Schumer repeatedly says that "Everyone knows that the House bill can't pass the Senate ." I don't doubt that Sen. Schumer, in this instance, is a better vote counter than Nancy Pelosi is. (Remember that Ms. Pelosi told President Trump didn't have the votes to pass funding for President Trump's border wall. Last night, Republicans passed the bill that Ms. Pelosi said they didn't have the votes to pass. PS- It passed by a 217-185 margin, hardly a nail-biter.) But I digress. Back to Sen. Schumer.

Sen. Schumer hasn't say why he isn't willing to push his members into doing the right thing. Make no mistake about this -- building the wall is the right thing. Sen. McConnell is right in making this statement :

Yesterday, the House passed an amended version of the continuing resolution to sustain government funding and sent it here for our consideration. In addition to giving the entire federal government the necessary resources to operate into the New Year, this legislation also provides much-needed investments in disaster relief for hard-hit communities and in our national security, particularly the integrity of our borders.

In my view, this is legislation that would be quite uncontroversial in a more normal political moment -- in a moment when both parties put the obvious national interest ahead of any personal spite for the president. I support the additional border security and disaster aid that the House added to the bill and I will proudly vote for it.

It's not a radical concept that the American people's government should be able to control the people and goods that flow into our country. It's not a radical concept that physical barriers play an important role in achieving security, unless there's a caucus of lawmakers who go to bed at night with their front doors wide open that I'm not aware of. What is radical, what is way out of the mainstream, is this absurd premise of the open-borders Far Left that achieving basic stability and law enforcement on our Southern border is somehow, in itself, uncompassionate, or discriminatory, or immoral.

It isn't controversial. It's quite sensible. Thanks to the MSM, Sen. Schumer hasn't had to explain why he won't contribute the votes to pass this bill. What he fails to understand is the fact that, while he's on the winning side temporarily, this is a long-term loser for Democrats.
[Video no longer available]
BTW, this afternoon, Sen. Jeff Flake voted against the House bill. That isn't surprising considering how much he hates President Trump. Good riddance to that maggot. He won't be missed.

Posted Friday, December 21, 2018 2:23 PM

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Andy Biggs makes the case

Tonight, after the shutdown, Rep. Andy Biggs, (R-AZ), made several compelling cases for building the wall. Rep. Biggs appeared with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi on Fox News @ Night. Here's a brief exchange between Rep. Biggs and host Shannon Bream:

Rep. Biggs: We just need a border wall because border security is imperative.
Shannon Bream: But you know that Democrats won't vote for that.
Rep. Biggs: Well, I don't know that yet. They're saying that.
Shannon Bream: We'll ask one soon enough.
Rep. Biggs: He didn't vote for it in the House. When they say they want border security, what do they think border security is? I live on the border in Arizona. I'm down on the border. I know what border security looks like. I talk to border patrol agents. I talk to ranchers who live along the border. I talk to people who live along the border and they want a wall. We know that when we built the San Diego/San Ysidro port, we know that it cut down illegal border crossings by 85%.

Rep. Krishnamoorthi never did define what he thought border security looked like.
[Video no longer available]
Rep. Biggs is a legitimate border security expert because he's constantly in contact with border patrol agents and people who deal with illegal immigration and the other things that are part of the criminal enterprise. Democrats won't admit it but illegal immigration is just a fraction of the cartels' enterprises. Human trafficking, sex trafficking, drug running, gun running and other things are part of the cartels' operation, too.

I'm tired of hearing Democrats saying that the wall won't stop illegal immigration. Nobody said that it would. We've just said that it's an essential tool in the illegal immigration toolbox. Finally, check out Bryan Dean Wright's interview with Tucker:
[Video no longer available]

Posted Saturday, December 22, 2018 3:47 AM

No comments.

Are you missing the government?

This afternoon, I sat down in front of my big-screen TV and watched a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel. Then I watched the Journal Editorial Report. At the end of the afternoon, I made myself a pizza before settling in and watching a pair of football games. The fact that the government was shut down only entered my mind during the Journal Editorial Report's segment on the government shutdown.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to church to worship the birth of the Messiah, then I'm coming home to watch the Vikings thump the Lions before taking a nap. Suffice it to say that I won't miss the government tomorrow, either. It simply isn't a big deal. I'm confident that I won't freak out over the Democrats' shutdown. Yes, you heard that right.

The Democrats own this shutdown. Hugh Hewitt explains why in this tweet :


Why isn't this Sen. Schumer's shutdown? This isn't President Trump's shutdown just because he said he'd be happy to own it. It's Sen. Schumer's shutdown because, in the words of Bryan Dean Wright, a Democrat, "Why are we doubling down on stupid?":
[Video no longer available]
What we've been doing isn't working. That isn't opinion. It's a statistical, verifiable fact. It's also a statistical, verifiable fact that Sen. Schumer has repeatedly said that he won't consider fixing the problem. In fact, Sen. Schumer, by saying that Democrats won't vote to build an inch of the wall, is essentially saying that Democrats are heading in the opposite direction of fixing the border security situation.

Let's be serious about something. I hope that Democrats hold out until the new year on the wall. At that point, they'll be responsible for half of the Legislative Branch. That means they'll be required to produce actual solutions . If there's anything that Democrats specialize in, it's kicking the can down the road and not fixing problems. Fixing problems just isn't part of the Democrats' DNA. Here's what Democrats are good at:


It's time to tell lazy Democrats and Republicans to fix the border. We're tired of watching caravans enter without getting punished. We're tired of watching sex traffickers and human traffickers make money.

Posted Saturday, December 22, 2018 9:46 PM

Comment 1 by Chad Q at 23-Dec-18 07:44 AM
First off, I wouldn't be so sure the Vikings will thump the motor city kitty's as they have had problems in the past with them.

Second, I agree that the government shutdown has not and will not affect me or most people for that matter.

Third, it amazes me that the democrats can be so obtuse in not even negotiating with the president in how much money should be spent on the wall and instead they say not one dollar will be spent to build something we know will work.

Lastly, it does not matter that this shutdown is a result of the president not caving in and Schumer being pig headed and not wanting to spend one dollar on boarder security, this will all fall on the president and the republicans because the MSM will spin it that way and most people are politically ignorant.

Stupid Democrat thinking

Doug Schoen is usually one of the more sensible Democrats. He's frequently calling for compromises on the issues. That's what he's doing in this op-ed about the partial government shutdown. In promoting this compromise, Schoen is promoting the continuation of failure.

In his op-ed, Schoen said "The president's strategy to shut down the government for the sake of a border wall only days before the Democrats assume majority control of the House is foolish and wrong." Shame on Schoen for such a foolish statement. It's apparent that doing the right thing isn't popular in Washington, DC. In fact, doing what's right frequently gets pushed aside in DC. Bryan Dean Wright illustrates that in this interview with Tucker Carlson:
[Video no longer available]
Here's how Wright exposes Democrats:

"between 1,000 and 3,000 people who cross the southern border every day. Now that should be a starting point to say 'what we're doing now isn't working.' Now the Democrats are proposing spending $1.3 billion, just like they did last year and years prior. What that tells me is that my party is saying 'look, let's keep doing business-as-usual' even though business-as-usual is getting us 1,000-3,000 people across the border every day. Now that's just crazy. Everybody watching this program, the most reasonable people, will say 'why are we doubling down on stupid? Why are we doubling down on broken.' That doesn't make any sense.

Actually, it makes perfect sense if you think things through. Throw aside the notion that Democrats want to secure the border. That's BS. Nothing they've done this year says that they're serious about that. In light of that startling truth, Schoen's 'compromise' looks more like total appeasement than compromise.

If Democrats wanted what's best for America, they'd immediately agree to close the asylum loopholes and other flaws in our immigration system. That should be immediately agreed to by Republicans, including President Trump. In fact, that should be demanded by the American people. Further, if this was based on doing what's right, the only debate about the wall should be about whether fully funding it immediately is best or whether it's fully funded after the blueprints are submitted and approved by the border patrol.

Sen. Schumer's demand that President Trump stop demanding a border wall is proof that Democrats are intent on not fixing the border security. It's impossible to compromise with people who don't share that important objective.

Posted Sunday, December 23, 2018 8:28 AM

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