February 8-17, 2013
Feb 08 00:53 What fate awaits Rep. Paymar's gun confiscation bills? Feb 08 08:25 President AWOL during Benghazi firefight Feb 10 10:30 Dirty deeds, done DFL style Feb 15 01:36 Pushing SCSU into the 21st Century of broadcasting Feb 15 10:15 Freshman Jeff Howe making his mark Feb 15 11:19 The Department of Killing Jobs? Feb 15 15:57 Juan Williams' accusation Feb 16 22:47 Gov. Dayton's middle class tax increase Feb 17 22:25 DC subtraction by addition
Prior Months: Jan
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
What fate awaits Rep. Paymar's gun confiscation bills?
This has been an intense week of hearings on Rep. Paymar's gun confiscation legislation. Tim Jazursky's testimony was particularly riveting. Not all of the testimony was intense. This testimony wasn't intense as much as it was educational:
After Rep. Hausman talked about how Second Amendment advocates don't talk about the opening words of the Amendment, Hamline law Professor Joseph Olson explained why. Here's what he told the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee:
I actually had one of my articles cited in Heller so I know Judge Scalia knows -- is familiar with my work. I've read the opinion a number of times. I teach it in my seminar at Hamline Law School. The Supreme Court did 2 things in the Heller case that are relevant to the discussion as Rep. Hausman brought it up.
One, in Heller, the Supreme Court made clear that the introductory clause of the Amendment isn't part of the normative statement. In other words, the introductory clause is not part of the rule of law. The rule of law is that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged."
The Paymar-Hausman gun confiscation hearings show why this issue is fraught with perils for the DFL. The DFL has been on the wrong side of this issue for most of my adult life. They're wedded ideologically to a failed set of policies.
Stricter gun control laws aren't the solution. Whether they've been implemented in Chicago, Washington, DC or elsewhere, they haven't solved the problem. The DFL's policy perscriptions are ideologically driven. Not only that but they're constitutionally questionable.
If any of these bills are signed into law, the DFL will be bigtime losers. Rural DFL legislators might get defeated simply by being tied to the metro DFL anti-gun extremists. That might also hurt Gov. Dayton's re-election chances. The DFL would be better off steering clear of this issue. They'd be better off figuring out solutions to the problem of violence in society.
It's easy to picture Minnesota Republicans praying that the DFL pushes this legislation. The DFL is all but guaranteeing a GOP majority in the House of Representatives in 2015.
Posted Friday, February 8, 2013 12:53 AM
Comment 1 by Michael Pekarik at 08-Feb-13 12:04 PM
You're assuming the end game is reducing crime and violence in society. I believe that the reason is much more nefarious than that. If you look at what the government is doing to the economy and the take over of many businesses, then you can see an uprising of the people on our near future. The government, both state and federal are trying to disarm us so that we can't rise up and defeat the tyranny we are now waking up to.
President AWOL during Benghazi firefight
According to Secretary Panetta's testimony, President Obama didn't bother to provide leadership while 4 American patriots died in Benghazi:
The Weekly Standard's article shows how little President Obama cared about those American patriots:
Panetta said, though he did meet with Obama at a 5 o'clock prescheduled gathering, the president left operational details, including knowledge of what resources were available to help the Americans under siege, "up to us."
In fact, Panetta says that the night of 9/11, he did not communicate with a single person at the White House. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Obama did not call or communicate in anyway with the defense secretary that night. There were no calls about what was going on in Benghazi. He never called to check-in.
President Obama is a pathetic imitation of a real commander-in-chief. When he greeted the flag-draped coffins, he pretended to care. When the firefight was happening, he was too busy finalizing things for his Las Vegas fundraiser to care about those diplomats.
While President Obama deserves tons of criticism for not providing leadership, Secretary Panetta and Secretary Clinton deserve tons of criticism for not having lifted a finger to save Christopher Stevens. Panetta didn't beef up the military presence in the region. Clinton didn't respond to Christopher Stevens' repeated requests to beef up the consulate's security.
The only thing more disgusting than Clinton's and Panetta's indifference to the Benghazi crisis is that President Obama didn't check with Panetta or Clinton for updates.
This truth is inescapable: Obama, Clinton and Panetta were there for the photo ops but they weren't there to prevent the horrific deaths of 4 American patriots.
Posted Friday, February 8, 2013 8:25 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 12-Feb-13 07:43 PM
Get real.
It is serious, but not a top level thing. It is not the Cuban Missle Crisis, Gary.
It is not the Berlin Airlift.
It is not Ike going to Korea.
It is not reading a My Pet Goat book to gradeschoolers, ...
Never mind, you know that one.
Comment 2 by Bob J. at 15-Feb-13 01:17 PM
And it's also not a Republican President, Eric. Which means you don't need to ask any more questions, right? You'd have let Bush skate, I'm sure. And your buddy Colin Powell if he were SecState.
After all, it's only a few dead Americans who might have been saved. Why would we want to ask questions about that?
Bumps in the road.
Dirty deeds, done DFL style
The sun rising in the east. Bill Gates making money. The government collecting taxes. These are among the most predictable things in the news. It's time to add another thing to that list: the DFL sending out a misleading mailer the last Friday before an election.
This time, DFL candidate Joanne Dorsher is featured on mailer with a firefighter. The implication is that she's been endorsed by the firefighters' union. According to a firefighter to received the mailer, they haven't endorsed anyone in the special election for HD-14A to replace Steve Gottwalt in the state legislature.
A quick review of history shows that the DFL is famous for these types of last-minute stunts. I wrote about their dirty tricks in this post . In 2010, the DFL sent out a mailer with a picture of King Banaian with a picture of him that made him look like a Middle East terrorist. The front of the mailer said "King Banaian: More Interested in Egypt and Macedonia than St. Cloud"; the back of the mailer said "St. Cloud needs a leader, not a King. King Banaian certainly has a resume- jetting across the globe to consult the governments of Egypt, Macedonia, Armenia, Ukraine and Indonesia." In another mailer that the DFL sent out, it said that pro-choice DFL candidate Carol Lewis was the "true pro-life candidate" in the race.
It's up to the citizens of HD-14A to punish Joanne Dorsher and the DFL for their last minute dirty tricks. The only way to do that is by voting for Tama Theis this Tuesday. If they don't do that, the DFL and Dorsher will be rewarded for their dirty tricks.
Posted Sunday, February 10, 2013 10:30 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 11-Feb-13 04:15 PM
Gary:
I was trying to use your tip line to tell you to try to get this video. Apparently a woman in Ohio said she cast a ballot in the Presidential election at her polling place because she was afraid that her absteen ballot wasn't going to to get there in time.
She also mention that she voted for someone using a power of attorney (um was the person legally able to vote).
It's an amazing coinincidence the black voter who voted for Obama was an election judge.
Makes you wonder how many thousands if not millions of Democrats votes nationwide were illegal.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Pushing SCSU into the 21st Century of broadcasting
For over 2 years, SCSU President Potter has talked about the need to supply employers with the high tech employees they need. It's impossible to believe that thoughtful people wouldn't question SCSU's commitment after reading this article :
St. Cloud State University said Thursday it plans to spend $4.8 million in broadcasting upgrades.
The upgrades will improve journalism, production and strategic communications offerings, expand student learning and improve brand promotion.
The investment will include a complete overhaul of TV cable and broadcast delivery systems to allow high definition broadcast from many areas on campus.
St. Cloud State's student-run TV station will expand its production and distribution of high-quality digital signals. The station, UTVS, also broadcasts St. Cloud State hockey games on Charter cable channel 87.
The Department of Mass Communications will revise its curriculum to reflect current journalism practices that include more digital journalism.
The last I looked, tons of private, for-profit colleges offered offered these types of programs. SCSU shouldn't be offering this type of program. They should offer STEM-related programs that they currently aren't offering.
Another troubling part of this article is the cost. Does President Potter think this type of money is a wise investment? If he does, then he needs to rethink that decision.
Finally, it's misguided thinking to believe these upgrades will help with SCSU's "brand promotion." With all of the controversies swirtling on campus, SCSU should worry about cleaning up those messes before spending $4,800,000 on brand promotion. A trademark of the Potter administration has been to pretend that SCSU's problems don't exist. Until that's changed, no amount of rebranding will help.
Tags: Earl Potter , STEM , Jobs of the Future , Rebranding , Mass Communications , Cable TV , High Definition TV , SCSU Huskies Hockey
Posted Friday, February 15, 2013 1:36 AM
Comment 1 by Jethro at 16-Feb-13 12:38 AM
Aviation does not fit in the mission of SCSU however broadcasting does?
Freshman Jeff Howe making his mark
This video shows why Rep. Jeff Howe is a rising star in the GOP:
Rep. Howe's weekly update highlights the fact that Gov. Dayton praised the work that the GOP Legislature did the last 2 years:
According to our Department of Employment and Economic Development, there are over 72,000 more jobs available in Minnesota today than when I took office two years ago. Almost 52,000 of those jobs were added in the past year.
That isn't because we passed a DFL-friendly budget. It's because the GOP legislature passed a host of pro-business reforms while they were the majority party. Speaking of reforms, now that Tom Dooher is the de facto chair of the K-12 financing and policy committee, he wants to gut teacher licensure reforms . The current law requires that teachers must "pass a basic skills examination in reading, writing, and mathematics as a condition for receiving a teaching license."
That's a pretty straightforward set of requirements for getting a teaching license. It's objective, which means it's quantifiable and verifiable. Here's what
(b) The board must adopt rules to approve teacher preparation programs. The board, upon the request of a postsecondary student preparing for teacher licensure or a licensed graduate of a teacher preparation program, shall assist in resolving a dispute between the person and a postsecondary institution providing a teacher preparation program when the dispute involves an institution's recommendation for licensure affecting the person or the person's credentials. At the board's discretion, assistance may include the application of chapter 14.
(c) The board must provide the leadership and adopt rules for the redesign of teacher education programs to implement a research based, results-oriented curriculum that focuses on the skills teachers need in order to be effective . The board shall implement new systems of teacher preparation program evaluation to assure program effectiveness based on proficiency of graduates in demonstrating attainment of program outcomes. Teacher preparation programs including alternative teacher preparation programs under section 122A.245, among other programs, must include a content-specific, board-approved, performance-based assessment that measures teacher candidates in three areas: planning for instruction and assessment; engaging students and supporting learning; and assessing student learning.
It's apparent that the DFL is intent on gutting the GOP' reforms to teacher licensure. They're intent on raising taxes on all Minnesotans, too. Additionally, they've proposed raising spending at a reckless rate. As Rep. Howe said in the video, what was passed is working. Doing a 180 at this point is foolish.
That won't stop the DFL from paying off their special interest allies. It just means that the DFL, including Gov. Dayton, will own their track record of economic failure. That record of failure will be their epitaph.
Rep. Howe is making his mark by simply making sensible statements and listening to his constituents. Rest assured that he's a rising star in the Minnesota GOP.
Tags: Jeff Howe , Tax Reform , Job Growth , Teacher Licensure Reform , GOP Majority , Special Interests , Education Minnesota , Tom Dooher , Lobbyist , Tax Increases , DFL
Posted Friday, February 15, 2013 10:17 AM
Comment 1 by Nick at 15-Feb-13 11:20 AM
Because of the Republicans, Great Lakes Aviation opened up a base in MSP last year.
Comment 2 by eric z at 17-Feb-13 08:17 PM
For Jeff Howe, online House page:
"Biographical Information
Home: Rockville * P.O. Box 84, 56369;
Occupation: Consultant
Education: B.A., elective studies, St. Cloud State University
Elected: 2012
Term: 1st
Family: Married, spouse Sheri, 4 children"
What specifically does "consultant" mean?
Is he like Gottwalt and Hann, at Boys and Tyler, and from that position of sin, setting healthcare policy?
Or is it innocuous? "Consultant."
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 17-Feb-13 10:11 PM
Jeff served 2 tours in Iraq. He also served as a county commissioner.
The Department of Killing Jobs?
After reading this Facebook post , I'm wondering if the Interior Department should be renamed the Department of Killing Jobs. Here's why I'm wondering that:
In a study released last week, Dr. Joseph Mason of LSU demonstrated the vast economic benefits of opening up federal lands to oil and gas development: 500,000 new jobs a year and more than $30 billion a year in federal, state, and local tax revenue over the next seven years alone. That's just for starters. The study also shows that opening new federal lands to oil and gas production will create a cumulative $14.4 trillion in economic activity. But instead of seizing the opportunity to unlock the benefits of expanding oil and natural gas exploration, the Interior Department on Feb. 6 identified 23 renewable energy projects for priority permitting.
Environmentalists have been making dire predictions about how fossil fuels destroy the environment for almost half a century. At minimum, the vast majority of those predictionsm have been off by orders of magnitude.
For instance, the president of the Sierra Club wrote an op-ed in Outdoor Life magazine in the mid-1970's about the trouble the Alaskan Pipeline would cause the Barrows caribou. He predicted that it would disrupt the migration route of the Barrows caribou for a maximum of 3-5 years of oil from Prudhoe Bay. The Alaskan Pipeline opened in 1978. It's still pumping oil from Prudhoe Bay. That's almost 35 years later.
That's just part of the consideration for these permits. The biggest reason why fossil fuel permits should be let at a more robust pace is because they make sense economically and environmentally. Permits for renewable energy projects don't make sense because renewable energy is expensive. People need high-priced energy like they need a heart attack.
It's a shame that the Obama administration is set in its ways. They're bypassing the opportunity to stabilize our energy supplies, which stabilizes energy prices. That's precisely what's needed right now.
This information should outrage people:
As the table below indicates, BLM's priority projects would be capable of producing about 44 trillion Btu of energy annually. To put that in perspective, oil wells in North Dakota produced more than 127 trillion Btu in Nov. 2012 alone. That's almost three times more energy in one month than BLM expects all of its priority wind, solar, and geothermal projects to produce in an entire year. Not only that, but in the last 14 months for which there is data, North Dakota's energy production, increased by 46 trillion Btus a month. In other words, the increase in North Dakota's monthly production over the last fourteen months was greater than what the Department of Interior's pet projects will produce over the course on an entire year. Plus, unlike solar or wind, oil can be used when and where it is needed.
Think about that. The Bakken created 3 times as many Btu's in a month as these solar and wind projects will create in a year.
Over the course of a year, the North Dakota oil fields would produce 1,524,000,000,000,000 Btu's. The BLM's priority projects would create 44,000,000,000,000 Btu's. That's a difference of more than 3400%. There's no justification for the Interior Department's decision making. There's only rationalizing their decisions, quickly followed by tons of alarmist-sounding spin.
Considering the fact that the Interior Department is preventing this much economic opportunity, there's no reason not to rename them the Department of Killing Jobs.
Tags: Interior Department , Energy , BTUs , Permits , Fossil Fuels , Job Growth , Economic Growth , Renewable Energy , Sierra Club , Environmental Activism , Alaskan Pipeline , Democrats
Posted Friday, February 15, 2013 11:19 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 17-Feb-13 08:38 AM
As for the caribou, the herd they worried about is now about 4 times the size it was before the pipeline. They enjoy coming right into the tiny town of Prudhoe, enjoy standing on the road or under the pipeline or up on the tiny remote pumping pads because it's warmer and there are fewer mosquitoes in those places.
Comment 2 by walter hanson at 17-Feb-13 02:00 PM
Gary:
Obama has a new Interior Secretary coming in. Any hope that Secretary sees the light? Or do we have to wait for 2017 when gasoline is like $8 a gallon to get the permits approved?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Feb-13 04:40 PM
Any hope that Secretary sees the light?You'd get better odds betting on the Twins winning the World Series this season.
Juan Williams' accusation
Juan Williams and Mary Katherine Ham normally get along with each other. This morning, Juan Williams accused Mary Katherine Ham of not caring about victims of violent crime:
Here's the spiciest exchange:
MKH: It's fairly clear that this wouldn't help in these situations, that very little gun crime comes from the things you're trying to regulate. Those things only impact people who are already law abiding and that's what we're talking about. You can't just pass laws...well, people do all the time, unfortunately, but federal laws shouldn't be passed, saying "Well, it might work."
JUAN WILLIAMS: I live in the District of Columbia and I can tell you theey have extremely strong gun control laws and yet we have a very high murder rate. And why is that? Because guns flow in from Virginia, which has lax gun laws.
MKH: We have lots of guns in Virginia and yet, we don't have a high murder rate so maybe there's a deeper social problem going on than lone gunmen and gangs and crime in big cities.
JUAN WILLIAMS: Oh so protecting my life and protecting my family means nothing to people in Virginia and I should....?
MKH: Oh, right. That's what I said, Juan.
Here's a hint to Juan Williams. Perhaps it's better to live in cities where you can protect yourself. If you don't want to move, then get DC to change their laws.
Saying that MKH doesn't care about Juan Williams protecting his family is downright irresponsible. That's as irresponsible as MKH saying that Juan Williams doesn't care about the Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment. It wouldn't be difficult to make a case that Juan Williams doesn't put a high enough priority on protecting people's Second Amendment rights. That wouldn't make it easy to make the case that Juan Williams doesn't care about the Bill of Rights.
In the end, Juan hinted that he planned on apologizing to MKH after the interview. To her credit, Mary Katherine Ham didn't lose her cool despite Juan's ill-advised accusations.
Tags: Second Amendment , Bill of Rights , Constitution , Gun Crime , Newtown , Mary Katherine Ham , Juan Williams , District of Columbia , Chicago , Gun Control , Virginia
Posted Friday, February 15, 2013 3:57 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 17-Feb-13 02:05 PM
Gary:
Here's another hint for Juan. If you're concerned about your safety maybe you should buy a gun to protect you and your family.
Maybe Juan should also consider how so call gun free zones work. After all I heard some movie theater in Aurora, Colorado was a gun free zone and it didn't stop a man from showing up and shoting people to death. I heard Fort Hood because of rules was a gun free zone where that terrorist killed 13 Americans.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Bob J. at 18-Feb-13 12:45 PM
"JUAN WILLIAMS: I live in the District of Columbia and I can tell you theey have extremely strong gun control laws and yet we have a very high murder rate. And why is that? Because guns flow in from Virginia, which has lax gun laws."
Actually, it's because gun control laws don't work, Juan. But thanks for playing.
Gov. Dayton's middle class tax increase
Gov. Dayton, the DFL and their puppeteers with the Alliance for a Better Minnesota have been telling people that the sales tax increase they're preparing to pass this session won't negatively affect the middle class or the working poor. This report from the Minnesota Department of Revenue indicates otherwise.
According to the Department of Revenue report, the proposed sales tax is projected to collect $198,700,000 from auto repairs in 2014-15. "The rich" don't pay that because they often trade their vehicles before their warranties expire. That means the vast majority of that $198,700,000 tax increase will be paid by the middle class and the working poor.
Another situation where the middle class will get hit with a sales tax increase is the area of personal services. According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue's projections, they'll collect $107,600,000 in sales tax revenues from barber shops, beauty salons, nail salons and from body piercings and tattoos. What's the likelihood that "the rich" will pay a significant percentage of those taxes? I'm betting it isn't likely that "the rich" will pay a significant portion of that tax increase.
The DFL isn't telling anyone that their sales tax increases will drive up property taxes on smaller cities. Imagine the outrage that people will express when find out that their cities (think Sauk Rapids, Sartell and similar-sized cities) will get charged sales tax when their city hires an auditor or a city attorney.
Some cities will have their sales tax bill double. Read that again. That isn't a typo. Some cities' sales tax bill will double as a direct result of Gov. Dayton's sales tax proposal. Those cities won't have an option that doesn't include either massive budget cuts or massive property tax hikes.
Comparatively speaking, cities getting LGA won't get hurt that bad by the DFL's sales tax expansion. That doesn't mean they won't get hit by this tax increase. Whenever the DFL has the legislature, one thing's always worth keeping in mind. In 2007, Rep. Cy Thao made this epic statement :
'When you guys win, you get to keep your money. When we win, we take your money.'
I don't see any proof that the DFL's mindset has changed since 2007.
Tags: Mark Dayton , Tax Increase , Sales Tax , Clothing , Services , Auto Repairs , Accountants , Audits , Attorneys , Property Taxes , City Budgets , DFL
Originally posted Saturday, February 16, 2013, revised 17-Feb 12:00 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 17-Feb-13 02:11 PM
Gary:
Did they bother how much more money Wisconsin might get when people go across the border for some services?
Or South Dakota might get if somebody manages to get their services sold via South Dakota to get a price advantage.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 18-Feb-13 09:43 AM
Sadly, the low information voter will blame the GOP and continue to vote for those who gave them the tax increases. Of course, the media will be compliant in helping the DFL blame the GOP for the mess and the GOP will let it all happen without a peep.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 18-Feb-13 11:12 AM
Of course, that's what will happen. Notice that the GOP is already staying silent. Oh wait. They aren't staying silent. They're speaking out on this.
That's that for that misguided theory.
Comment 4 by Bob J. at 18-Feb-13 12:44 PM
"The DFL isn't telling anyone that their sales tax increases will drive up property taxes on smaller cities. Imagine the outrage that people will express when find out that their cities (think Sauk Rapids, Sartell and similar-sized cities) will get charged sales tax when their city hires an auditor or a city attorney."
Interesting take, Gary, considering that the DFL's chanting point all through the Pawlenty Administration was that holding the line on state spending was driving up local property taxes.
Comment 5 by Nick at 20-Feb-13 06:08 PM
Ann Lenczewski's tax bill!! More taxes!!
Over the counter drugs get taxed! Clothing and more!
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0677.0.html&session=ls88
Comment 6 by Nick at 20-Feb-13 06:21 PM
This bill will increase alcohol taxes, watch out:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S0430.0.html&session=ls88
!!!!!
DC subtraction by addition
President Obama insisted that he's cut the deficit by $2,000,000,000,000 since he took office. That's laughable because his deficits have totalled $6,000,000,000,000 since he took office. Sen. Rand Paul's explanation to Chris Wallace is spot on:
Here's the transcript of Sen. Paul's reply:
He said in his speech that he's reduced the deficit by two trillion. Well, he added $6 trillion. That means that because he didn't add $8 trillion that he's reduced it by $2 trillion?? That's absurd. He listed about 50 new programs saying oh there not going to cost you anything. We're going to squeeze this money out of the rich. The problem is that whenever he tries to squeeze more money out of the economy, he's slowing it down.
First, the economy isn't improving. It isn't in a total tailspin but it isn't recovering, either. Second, Washington, DC is the only place where running $6,000,000,000,000 in deficits would be considered cutting the deficit. Third, President Obama's predictions aren't predictions. They're lies meant to keep the gullible trusting him.
The reality is that President Obama isn't about honesty. He's totally about implementing a radical leftist agenda, then using the rest of his term to cement that ideology into the citizens' minds. That would make it much more difficult for Republicans to repeal this administration's 'accomplishments'.
Posted Sunday, February 17, 2013 10:25 PM
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