February 6-8, 2018
Feb 06 00:09 MNLARS is Minnesotaspeak for DFL ineptitude Feb 06 11:38 Walz-Flanagan's priorities Feb 06 13:36 Is Tim Pawlenty running? Feb 07 10:14 Johnson, Walz win straw polls Feb 07 17:54 Verifying Schiff's shiftiness Feb 08 03:16 What Obama economic boom? Feb 08 09:31 Memo to Democrats: so what? Feb 08 17:46 #RandPaulShutdown?
Prior Months: Jan
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
MNLARS is Minnesotaspeak for DFL ineptitude
This editorial opens by saying what Minnesotans who've had to deal with renewing license tabs, transferring vehicle titles or get new license plates have said. The editorial states "There's no question the development and rollout of a new computer system for the state's licensing offices has been a disaster."
What it didn't say is that this disaster is the fault of the Party of Government; it didn't say that it's the DFL's fault. It didn't say that the Party of Government, aka the DFL, doesn't know how to fix the mess. Instead, the Editorial Board of the Mankato Free Press said "Last week state officials laid out a road map to fix the MNLARS system at a cost of another $43 million. The report comes from Dana Bailey, who was tapped by Gov. Mark Dayton late last year to come in and find a fix for the system. Bailey worked with state IT staff and traveled the state talking to officials at license bureaus."
Later, the Mankato Free Press said "The Republican-controlled Legislature must approve the appropriation. The GOP, along with plenty of DFLers, have lambasted state agency officials and Dayton for the bungled MNLARS system. That criticism is justified."
Actually, Republicans shouldn't appropriate money for a "road map" with little chance of success. The MFP is right in that the system must be fixed. What needs to be done is to turn this project over to competent people. Taxpayers are getting overcharged for mediocre (or worse) performance. Spending more money on incompetent people is insanity. (The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.)
This collection of incompetents have gotten things wrong for 8 years. We've already spent $93,000,000 on this disaster. Why should we think that these idiots will fix things in a timely fashion? The point is that the private sector does this stuff all the time at a much cheaper price and in a much shorter time period.
I understand that reactionary liberals will scream at the thought of privatization. That's fine. It's time to start demanding accountability and professionalism. The days of accepting DFL incompetence, then paying extra for that incompetence, needs to stop. Immediately. DFL incompetence already cost us too much.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 12:09 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Feb-18 07:59 AM
"Competent people," name one. It is easy to criticize, but will the GOP have some crony firm/person in mind to be the knight on the white steed to fix things at little or no cost, or will it be dole out our pork, not theirs?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Feb-18 09:56 AM
The great thing about hiring a private firm to fix MNLARS is that you can fire the politician if it doesn't work. If you assume government can fix it & they don't, then you're stuck with a bunch of idiots still on the payroll.
Comment 2 by John Palmer at 06-Feb-18 12:43 PM
Amazon comes to mind as do virtually every retailer with an online sales operation as companies that have been successful in launching data management systems that serve customer needs. You can buy almost anything online and have it at your door in a matter of days and make a taxable profit doing it. Maybe the state should just let those who have the expertise in serving customers serve those needing tabs, plates and titles?
Comment 3 by eric z at 06-Feb-18 02:54 PM
John Palmer - The ubiquitous Jeff Bezos. Get your new plates or stickers, and license delivered to your home by drone. He has yet to sell autos too on Amazon, but wait, it's coming.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Feb-18 04:22 PM
Eric, let me know when you're capable of making a substantive argument. What you just wrote there isn't substantive or worthy of consideration.
Comment 4 by Chad Q at 06-Feb-18 05:29 PM
Let's see, a $93 million dollar senate building, a $250 million dollar MnSURE website that didn't work and a $93 million dollar MnLARS computer program that didn't work and will take millions more to work, the Vikings funding debacle, the elder abuse scandal, etc. all under Gov. Goofy's reign. How this idiot got elected twice is beyond me.
While I dislike Bezos for his political leanings, I give him credit for producing something that people want at a cost they can afford, unlike our state government.
Walz-Flanagan's priorities
A loyal reader of LFR forwarded me a fundraising e-letter from Tim Walz. In the e-letter, Walz wrote a section titled "If a Republican wins this election." The second bullet-point says "If a Republican wins this election, Republicans will do everything they can to circumvent and undermine our environmental review processes that exist to keep our environment and workers safe."
That's the polite way for DFL politicians to say that they hate mining and miners. The DFL knows that their system of regulations has literally delayed the start of the PolyMet mining project by more than a decade. Rangers know this. City slickers don't.
The point is that Walz just inadvertently told the Range that he wants their votes but that he won't be their advocate. Question for miners: why waste a vote on the DFL? Another of their priorities reads "If a Republican wins this election, anti-trans bathroom bills will be introduced and passed in the Minnesota legislature." As for himself and his running mate, if they're elected, "we'll stand up for LGBTQ+ Minnesotans."
Another bullet-point says "If Peggy and I win, we'll fight for common sense gun violence legislation here in Minnesota." For years, Tim Walz bragged about his A rating with the NRA. The minute Walz became a candidate for statewide office, though, his positions 'evolved':
[Video no longer available]
That's politicspeak for not having principles to begin with.
In short, Walz is a typical spineless DFL politician who won't hesitate in selling out his past constituents to gain higher office. He stands for nothing. He's unprincipled. We don't need another windbag politician.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 11:38 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Feb-18 02:50 PM
Could you either post an image of the letter, or email it to me? Walz would not be my first DFL choice, but he could emerge the DFL candidate. Of interest, what besides environmental consideration is in the letter?
Is Tim Pawlenty running?
Based on this article , I'm betting that Gov. Tim Pawlenty wants his old job back. The article opens by saying "Tim Pawlenty is stepping down as the leader of the Financial Services Roundtable, the industry group announced on Tuesday, as speculation grows about his possible entry into the Minnesota governor's race."
I can't picture this article as anything but an unofficial announcement of his candidacy. You don't leave a lucrative position if you aren't running for office.
Last week, a former top aide to Pawlenty, Brian McClung, told Fox News that he is seeking more input. "Gov. Pawlenty is considering running for governor and will be talking with Minnesotans over the coming weeks to assess support and gather advice," he said, according to Fox.
That was last week. I suspect this announcement isn't accidental in that today is the day of Minnesota's precinct caucuses, the official start of the election cycle.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 1:36 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Feb-18 02:46 PM
Emailed you the Strib link. Walking from a $2.6 million per annum, he's up to something, that's for sure.
Now, if Miclele Bachmann were to only get a tweet from God to do as she did in Iowa, it would be pop the popcorn and watch the show.
He even looks a bit like Scott Walker. Back from the country club to Sam's Club?
Comment 2 by Rex Newman at 06-Feb-18 10:25 PM
If he's running, timing seems bad, wasn't on straw poll at tonight's caucus. On the other hand, he wouldn't have done well. Going straight to convention? Like Jen Bush was planning?
Slogan: Tim!
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Feb-18 11:03 PM
I think that's largely irrelevant, Rex. His name recognition is 100%. This time, he'll be compared with Gov. Goofy, which isn't a high bar. The other thing that's changed is that he had to deal with a mediocre economy and a DFL supermajority his entire 2nd term. This time, it's likely that, if he's elected, he'd have a unified GOP legislature.
Slogan: I'm not Gov. Goofy.
Comment 3 by eric z at 07-Feb-18 04:18 PM
Vlad Putin has name recognition, and is our President.
Comment 4 by Rexnewman at 09-Feb-18 08:04 PM
That's TPaw's problem, his 100% name recognition. 'Oh yeah, the guy who gave Northstar, got rolled by Senate DFL, flipped on stadium, tip credit, biofuels, betrayed his early supporters - name calling in fact. Paw-lenty of video for DFL ads and for once they won't even have to lie!
Johnson, Walz win straw polls
Jeff Johnson and Tim Walz won their party's non-binding straw polls at Tuesday night's precinct caucuses. Unfortunately for both men, that won't get nearly as much publicity as the breaking news from earlier in the day. The other noteworthy news from Tuesday night's straw polls is that Keith Downey underperformed, losing to Commissioner Johnson by a 45.4% - 14.6% margin. Perhaps, more embarrassing for Downey is the fact that he lost to "Undecided" by a 15.6% - 14.6% margin.
After such a lackluster performance in the straw poll, the Downey campaign must ask themselves if there's a legitimate pathway to the endorsement. At this point, nothing seems to suggest that there is a path to the endorsement.
Full disclosure: I'm still undecided so I don't have a dog in this fight at this point. At some point, I'm sure that will change. It's just that it hasn't changed yet.
On the DFL side, it appears as though Paul Thissen, Tina Liebling and Chris Coleman have difficult paths to the DFL endorsement, with Walz, Rebecca Otto and Erin Murphy having the strongest finishes:
Here's the unofficial results of the GOP straw poll:
Turnout at Republican precinct caucuses were significantly smaller than at DFL, which can't please Republicans. Still, tonight was the night when initial assessments were made. This isn't the night when final decisions are made.
If Walz is the DFL-endorsed candidate, it isn't likely that he'll have much of an enthusiasm gap in his favor. The Bernie Sanders wing of the DFL is dominant. That's where the enthusiasm comes from. That isn't where Tim Walz is from. Further, like I said earlier this week, Walz alienated NRA voters and the Iron Range. OF the 3 DFL finalists, all have difficult paths to the governor's mansion. Erin Murphy is little known outside the Twin Cities. Further, she's hated in rural Minnesota. Rebecca Otto is hated on the Range, especially after fundraising off of her decision to vote against approving mining exploration leases.
Posted Wednesday, February 7, 2018 10:14 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:30 AM
A good tight report. Why was Downey ever promoted as fit to be Governor? What agenda? Whose agenda? What group or cabal? Is there a GOP inner party story at play, and if you've the answer, please share. Is there a civil war in the GOP still, regular money vs Tea Party, or is there a truce? I remember days of Never Trump; and then with that tax robbery of the people for the elite, the fawning all over trump was distastefully excessive. Some folks grow their perspective, some contract theirs, and some do log rolling for one another. We need an effective Paul Revere to warn of bad directions, and the consolidated media is not it.
Verifying Schiff's shiftiness
Listening to Democrats, you'd think that Devin Nunes was the devil himself. House Democrats insist that the Nunes Memo is a political document, not an intelligence document. Rep. Schiff will have difficulty selling that story in light of the criminal referral by Sen. Grassley and Sen. Graham .
Their referral "[appears] to back up [Chairman Nunes] claims, though, in a criminal referral sent in early January to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The surveillance applications, they said, 'relied heavily on Mr. Steele's dossier claims.'" Sen. Grassley's and Sen. Graham's referral states that the application also didn't admit that "the identities of Mr. Simpson's ultimate clients were the Clinton campaign and the DNC."
Mr. Schiff has spent his time telling everyone that Devin Nunes is a hyper-conservative. He's been somewhat effective in making that stick. Convincing people that Sen. Grassley is a bitterly partisan person will be quite a bit more difficult to prove. Check out this timeline:
Now that additional credible people have stepped forward as being on the case, Counsel Mueller has to know that his work will be scrutinized. I like the thought of investigating the investigators. Nobody is beyond scrutiny.
Posted Wednesday, February 7, 2018 5:54 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:16 AM
Have you seen any evidence of falsehoods in that dossier. When the facts are against you, argue procedure is an old lawyers' dodge. What happened Trump/Russia, others/Russia is the question, and already there have been pleas congruent with dossier allegations. This attempt to divert attention is unpatriotic. It imperils national security to impede an investigation with collateral junk.
And, Nunes is not evil. Just an unprincipled hack. A tool.
Comment 2 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:24 AM
The two party system is at fault. The surveillance state is a reality. FISA is flawed because stuff is kept under wraps allowing abuse, even encouraging it. The Patriot Act is nothing more than a breach of citizen privacy, as well as privacy of people worldwide. And Nunes is not actively advocating fixing all that stuff.
The biggest lesson from that Nunes Republican Staff memo, wtf was it ever marked "Top Secret?" That offends. Sunshine being the disinfectant, all that.
Taking on the surveillance state, if that were actually being done, Bravo. But it's not being done. Your cell phone can track you. Your newer automobiles can track you. You have no privacy. If you use encrypted data that only draws attention to you that otherwise would be focused elsewhere. We live in bad times.
But the answer is bipartisan roll-back of the offenses against citizen privacy. War on Terror BS is a euphemism for War on People, War on Privacy.
Do we need NSA, CIA, FBI multiple spy agencies operating domestically and worldwide. It will worsen.
Comment 3 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:38 AM
Your guy. Not mine.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/08/george-w-bush-russia-election-meddling-398173
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/08/george-w-bush-clear-evidence-russians-meddled-election/318620002/
So wtf care a whit about Nunes attempted misdirection, despite its being unpatriotic. It's largely irrelevant.
Those are links above to your guy who instituted the War on Terror excuse for boosting a surveillance state; and Obama kicked the can down the road. The needed systemic reform is being ignored, circus is being substituted.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 08-Feb-18 08:12 AM
First, it's an insult & a lie to say that Nunes attempted to mislead anyone. You don't have proof of that accusation. Thus far, everything he's said has been verified by the forensic evidence that's come out. In terms of Mr. Schiff, however, he's always stopped short of providing forensic evidence. Often, he's told anchors that he's got the proof but that he can't reveal it because it's classified.
Trey Gowdy is the most nonpartisan member of Congress. He's truly a straight shooter. He's refuted Schiff multiple times.
Finally, the links to the articles mean nothing. Trump's disagreement has been that Russia's tampering in the election wouldn't have changed the outcome of the election, which is true. Right after the election, multiple tinfoil hat Democrats insisted that the voting machines were hacked into and vote totals changed. That's been BS from the start.
What Obama economic boom?
Andy Puzder's WSJ op-ed questions whether President Obama should take credit for the Trump Bump. In his op-ed, Puzder wrote "In 2010 the Obama White House forecast gross domestic product growth would 'accelerate in 2011 to 3.8%' and 'exceed 4% per year in 2012-2014,' consistent with the 4.3% growth rate in the other 10 recoveries since World War II. That never happened. Actual post-recession growth averaged an anemic 2.1%. And Mr. Obama's last year in office saw measly 1.5% GDP growth - hardly the springboard to our current expansion."
While Mr. Puzder's GDP figures tell the story that economic growth during the Obama administration was anemic, that's only part of the story. Besides tepid economic growth during the Obama administration, another hallmark of the administration's economic record was wage stagnation. It's difficult to argue that the wage increases that we're seeing now are because of President Obama's policies. Simply put, wages didn't start increasing until after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed and long after the Trump administration cut regulations.
Further, the fact that the administration said that GDP "growth would 'accelerate in 2011 to 3.8%' and 'exceed 4% per year in 2012-2014'" indicates that these figures were either made up or that the forecasters were utterly incompetent. At this point, I'm leaning towards the figures were made up.
Austan Goolsbee has called Mr. Trump's growth goals unrealistic. In May Larry Summers declared that accepting the Trump administration's forecast of 3% GDP growth was like believing "in tooth fairies."
Call me foolish but I think that 3% GDP has nothing to do with tooth fairies. It just requires the right policies. This is what happens when the right policies are put in place:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people working full time increased by 2.4 million in 2017, compared with only 1.6 million in 2016. In other words, the overall number of jobs added was lower in 2017, but only because hundreds of thousands of people left part-time for full-time jobs.
Wages are up, too. The CEOs that are announcing these wage increases are attributing them directly to the Trump tax cuts. How can the Obama administration take credit to wage increases that happened because of a tax bill that President Obama hates?
Finally, there's this information:
Both 2016 and 2017 set some year-end records. In 2016, BLS recorded the highest number of people working part time at year's end since it began recording the data in 1968. In 2017, it recorded the highest number of people working full time at year's end since 1968 and the fewest working part-time since 2011.
The good news is that President Trump's policies are working beautifully. He's unleashed the economy's animal spirits. Don't take my word on that. Just ask Art Laffer:
[Video no longer available]
Posted Thursday, February 8, 2018 3:16 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:09 AM
Republicans held back pump-priming funding. They deliberately dragged things out to hurt people and by that to generate dissatisfaction with Trump. Wall Street got bipartisan tons of money. They, the Republicans funded TARP, with the Fed operating largely autonomously but there was insufficient funding for Main Street.
It was McConnell's equivalant of "The Resistance" now being aimed to discredit and constrain Trump. His party has all the levers now, and that will be used to propagandize the "tax relief" a/k/a deficit spending, as a fix for everybody when it's top heavy.
Both parties are full of liers loving Wall Street and the banks. In the context of the banks getting what they want when they want it, Pawlenty.
Comment 2 by eric z at 08-Feb-18 07:11 AM
Sorry, first sentence, "Trump" on my mind because he wants a parade. First sentence, "Obama" was meant, it's first morning coffee, and I am not good at proof reading even when awake midday.
Comment 3 by Chad Q at 08-Feb-18 05:37 PM
The government held back pump priming funding? The government spent billions and trillions of dollars priming the pump with quantitative easing and spent billions more on "shovel ready jobs" that were nothing more than kickbacks to the unions and democratic donor. Keynesian economics never has and never will work.
Memo to Democrats: so what?
This Reuters article reports that "Senate Democrats said they had identified more than two dozen buyback programs announced since Jan. 5 by banking, energy, manufacturing, retailing and other companies." It continues, saying "The buybacks show that the first priority of corporations is to use their windfall from the tax overhaul to 'line the pockets of powerful senior executives and shareholders,' said Senator Ron Wyden, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee."
My question to Sen. Wyden is simple: so what? After all, the money put into buyback programs doesn't negate the benefits that employees have received through bonuses, pay raises and improved benefits. That's what makes this statement so interesting:
The new tax law and its impact on workers and the wealthy are likely to play a major role in this year's congressional mid-term election campaign, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
That ship has sailed. Before the tax cuts were passed, Democrats held a 15 point lead in the generic ballot question in Monmouth's monthly poll. In their first poll after the tax cuts passed, Democrats held a 2 point advantage.
The new tax law and its impact on workers and the wealthy are likely to play a major role in this year's congressional mid-term election campaign, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their control of the Senate and House of Representatives. "The American people deserve an honest accounting of how this tax law is working," he told reporters.
Knock yourself out, Sen. Wyden. Millions of people have benefitted from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Millions of people got bonuses. Tens of millions receive more money in their paychecks as a result of lower marginal rates.
The other thing Democrats haven't admitted is that the economy is much stronger than it was during the Obama years. They don't care whether that's the result of the tax cuts or if it's the result of other policy changes. They're just thankful the economy is stronger and wages are increasing.
It's worth noting that Sen. Wyden is the idiot that criticized the tax cuts, saying that "There is no magical growth fairy":
[Video no longer available]
Apparently, the growth fairy union didn't get Sen. Wyden's memo. The economy is strong and strengthening. Sen. Wyden's hatred of the Trump/GOP tax cuts have blinded him to the benefits people are experiencing.
Posted Thursday, February 8, 2018 9:31 AM
No comments.
#RandPaulShutdown?
Apparently, Rand Paul is intent on shutting down the government because he didn't get to offer his amendments to a 700-page bill he says nobody has read. Sen. Paul is intent on hurting the military because his spokesperson, Sergio Gor, said "Senator Rand Paul is asking for is a 15-minute vote on his amendment to restore the budget caps." Those caps will devastate the military.
This stunt by Sen. Paul will earn him the distinction of being more dovish than Amy Klobuchar. Check this out:
All Senator Rand Paul is asking for is a 15-minute vote on his amendment to restore the budget caps. He is ready to proceed at any time. https://t.co/GhCO6I1OFm
- Sergio Gor (@SergioGor) February 8, 2018
The massive budget deal, which includes a stopgap temporary measure to prevent a government shutdown, includes $300 billion for the military. The agreement also adds $89 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions.
Sen. Paul will earn the distinction of having a hashtag named after him: #RandPaulShutdown
Rand Paul insists that he's a constitutionalist. That's odd considering he won't vote to fund the military. How can you stop funding the military and still call yourself a constitutionalist?
Posted Thursday, February 8, 2018 5:46 PM
Comment 1 by Liberty at 09-Feb-18 06:46 AM
You are so wrong here. Rand is heroic on trying to stop a massive increase in spending.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 09-Feb-18 07:31 AM
Let's get serious here. Sen. Paul's actions said that he didn't give a damn about the military. Bad priorities from a jackass.
