January 1-2, 2018
Jan 01 06:46 Tina Smith, environmentalists' shill Jan 01 08:30 Aggravating DFL tax spin Jan 02 01:53 BLM's misdirection and miscommunications Jan 02 02:49 St. Cloud Times' gossip page? Jan 02 11:16 Public trust in government Jan 02 12:19 Franken-Fischbach follies Jan 02 15:17 Orrin Hatch announces retirement
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Tina Smith, environmentalists' shill
If Bill Hanna's op-ed makes anything clear, it's that Tina Smith likely will replace Al Franken as a shill for anti-mining environmentalists. Hanna wrote "Prettner-Solon was a strong advocate for issues so vital to the Range. Smith was a great big question mark. And Smith did little to allay my concerns during that initial meeting. She admitted to not knowing much about the proposed PolyMet and Twin Metals copper/nickel mining projects and had yet to even talk or meet with officials of those two companies. But she would be doing so, she assured. Not exactly a vote of confidence for a new era of mining on the Range. Smith has since been the dutiful lieutenant governor in line with Dayton on issues, while doing what she does best, raising political funds. So on mining, Smith was in step with Dayton, eventually supporting PolyMet in the footprint of the former LTV Mining plant near Aurora and Hoyt Lakes while giving a thumbs-down to the desired Twin Metals underground copper/nickel/strategic metals venture near Ely and Babbitt."
It's clear that Gov. Dayton's intention in picking Smith was to stay away from picking a Range DFLer like Tony Sertich. Sertich would've been qualified (from a DFL policy standpoint) with the exception that he might've been too pro-mining for the Metrocrats' liking.
But the Range needs a modern-day mining/logging/land use promoter in the Senate, not a reluctant follower or, worse yet, a reliable 'no' vote. Smith connects well with Twin Cities Progressives who show off their penmanship when writing checks for liberal causes. She will definitely do the same on a national level.
But Progressives don't like mining, even though they relish their computers, vehicles, medical devices and cell phones that are only made possible by minerals extracted from below the ground. It's all so odd; don't you dare mine, but do make sure we've got plenty of tools to connect with the Internet. And you better not mess with my Facebook Page abilities. It's like believing milk just magically appears in stores in cartons, without the aid of cows.
Come Election Day, 2018, the Iron Range, as well as the rest of the Eighth District, Sixth District and Second District, better turn out in huge numbers. Further, they'd better vote for Karin Housley. Unlike Smith, Housley will represent the entire state.
She won't pay lip service to the Range. She's already speaking out in favor of the Range:
Compare that with this blather from Tina Smith:
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It's clear that Smith isn't interested in the Iron Range or the construction industries. Smith is for these unions except when they want to mine ore, precious metals or want to build pipelines. When they want that, Smith is a less-than-enthusiastic supporter of those unions.
Posted Monday, January 1, 2018 6:46 AM
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Aggravating DFL tax spin
This LTE is disgustingly deceitful in explaining the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Frank Clemente of the Americans for Tax Fairness wrote "Imagine being promised a new doll or Xbox, only to unwrap the package on Christmas morning to find an empty box - empty, that is, except for an unpaid bill from the toy store. That's how 92 million middle-class families will feel when, thanks to the temporary nature of individual tax cuts in the GOP law, their taxes will actually be higher than they are now."
First, that's totally dishonest. By the start of March, millions of middle class taxpayers will see bigger paychecks thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Period. Mr. Clemente doesn't attempt to dispute that. Instead, as with most con artists, Mr. Clemente tries to distract attention away from that fact by saying that Americans might be worse off because the personal tax cut might be allowed to expire 10 years from now.
How many taxpayers would accept 10 years of major tax cuts, then a return to today's status quo? I'm betting that the overwhelming majority of taxpayers would accept that deal without hesitating.
Later, Clemente wrote "Finally, imagine discovering that Santa can only afford his generous gifts to the rich by stealing from everyone else. That's what the GOP tax overhaul does: it steals from the American people in the form of drastic budget cuts to vital services in order to give huge tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations."
That isn't what's happening. Yes, corporations are getting a major tax cut. I'm not disputing that. In fact, I'm perfectly willing to defend the corporate tax cuts. The tax rates that the Obama imposed sent companies fleeing to other countries, where those corporations created jobs in those nations. What Mr. Clemente and other socialists won't tell taxpayers is that their tax-the-rich scheme has been tried before and that it's failed every time it's been tried.
The socialists' policies failed the past 8 years. Companies moved overseas, taking with them tens of thousands of jobs. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants moved into the United States, driving down wages for the middle class.
Finally, there's this BS:
What's the thought behind this terrible Christmas present? The idea is that giving even more money to those who already have a lot - wealthy individuals and profit-laden corporations - somehow helps working families.
Clemente should feel ashamed of himself, especially after this:
What will Clemente say to this ?
Telecom giant AT&T and other corporations pledged to give each of their employees $1,000 bonuses after Congress approved tax cut reform. AT&T was the first to announce plans to distribute $1,000 bonuses to 200,000 employees after President Donald Trump signs the GOP tax reform legislation into law.
The House and the Senate approved the sweeping tax cut measure on Tuesday and early Wednesday morning. Not one Democrat approved tax cuts for hard working Americans. "Congress, working closely with the President, took a monumental step to bring taxes paid by U.S. businesses in line with the rest of the industrialized world," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement on Wednesday. "This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs. In fact, we will increase our U.S. investment and pay a special bonus to our U.S. employees."
AT&T said it will also invest $1 billion into the American economy. Late Wednesday, Comcast NBCUniversal, Boeing, and others also pledged to give their employees $1,000 bonuses. Additionally, Comcast is pledging at least $50 billion over the next five years to boost the economy.
Forgive me if I'm skeptical of Mr. Clemente's statements. I'll trust in these corporations' actions, not Mr. Clemente's empty accusations.
Posted Monday, January 1, 2018 8:30 AM
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BLM's misdirection and miscommunications
When the American Mining Rights Association, aka AMRA, tried planning an event near Barstow, Calif., the BLM posted Route Closed signs on the trail event participants were scheduled to take . When "AMRA President Shannon Poe caught wind of the BLM scheme", he called "the BLM office in Barstow and spoke to a guy by the name of Jeff Childers. And Childers, while he presented himself as the manager of the BLM office, was not : but he told me that they put the signs in the roads there and that the roads were now closed as part of the WEMO Plan."
Unfortunately for Mr. Childers, a multitude of laws were against him. For instance, "the Mining Law of 1872 as amended" makes "blocking access to an active mining claim ... illegal." That isn't the only statute that the BLM ignored. When Poe spoke with Childers, Poe "explained to Mr. Childers in a rather lengthy - probably a 45-minute call - that they cannot lock and block mining claim owners for a variety of reasons, the first being the Americans with Disabilities Act. Making a 70-year-old man with a fake knee and a fake hip pack in and walk two miles through the Mojave Desert to access his mining claim isn't just immoral; it is illegal under the ADA as well as under the RS 2477 or Revised Statue 2477 law which states that all roads prior to 1976 must remain open ."
The night before the event, Katrina Symons, the "field manager of the Barstow District Office" of the BLM, met with Mr. Poe:
Symons agreed to meet Poe at his campsite at the Slash X Ranch on Friday, Oct. 13, preceding the outing. When Symons arrived about 5:30 p.m., she met with Poe and two senior members of the AMRA board of directors, Jere and Connie Clements, at a picnic table. "She had Jeff Childers with her and we talked for about 15 minutes about the desert tortoise and how we could protect them - just common sense stuff, and she had a big stack of pamphlets," Poe said. According to Poe, Symons said the BLM would go a step further and check the roads the miners planned to use for tortoises on the Saturday morning of the outing. "I said, 'Great. We'll be out there at 9 o'clock. That's fantastic! We'll wait until you guys clear the road, and then we'll go in.'"
Problem solved. Or, so he thought.
Then, in a shocking turn of events according to Poe, Symons threatened Poe with criminal prosecution, adding she would take photos of his vehicle and license plate once he had driven past the BLM road closure signs.
Poe then asked Symons to explain her sudden about-face change in position, he said. "She said: 'I'm going to take picture of your truck, fill out an affidavit and send it to our law enforcement division for criminal prosecution,'" Poe said. "So, I said: 'Last night, Katrina, you told me on the phone - and I have a witness - that you were going to give us unrestricted access,'" Poe said.
Predictably, Symons insists that there's been a misunderstanding:
Federal misdirection?
"Well, I believe that Mr. Poe misunderstood," said Symons. "Because, as I understand it, Mr. Poe had sent Mr. Childers a Utah Supreme Court ruling . Mr. Childers had informed him that it was basically a state ruling; it's not federal - and that BLM will and does comply with the 1872 Mining Law and the associated mining regulations. So, I think that was more of a miscommunication or misunderstanding." In a follow-up interview Dec. 1, Poe responded that the Utah case involving RS 2477 laws on rights-of-way and the Hicks case are two separate cases, and that the United States v. Steve A. Hicks case is obviously federal .
AMRA appears to know its rights based on federal law. It's difficult to believe that they'd highlight a tangential state court ruling as the centerpiece of their argument. A state court case might or might not be applicable. The U.S. v. Steve Hicks isn't just important. It's on point, too.
Based on AMRA's detailed understanding of the laws applicable to their mining claims, it's difficult to believe the BLM's statements. I'm inclined to believe AMRA's statements because the BLM's statements seem to be federal misdirection.
Posted Tuesday, January 2, 2018 1:53 AM
Comment 1 by Candace Oathout at 02-Jan-18 07:36 PM
Having had many dealings with BLM on the West Mohave planning process I can assure you that this is not just a miscommunication. There has been a determined effort by federal land management agencies since the late 1980's. They will deny, misdirect, falsify documents and make it as difficult as possible to attend supposedly public meetings to nonagency representatives to the point of holding the meetings on military bases with limited access.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 03-Jan-18 02:36 AM
Candace, I don't doubt you a bit. That's why I put misdirection in bold font, then put a delete stroke through it. The intent was to tell people I really thought BLM's intent was to misdirect, not inform.
St. Cloud Times' gossip page?
The first thought I had after reading this article is that the St. Cloud Times isn't interested in in-depth reporting. Instead, I'm left with the impression that the article is more about gossip than about in-depth reporting.
I base that statement on the opening paragraph of the article, which says "A banner posted in the dark of night two days before Christmas may mark the emergence of a new player in Central Minnesota's refugee conflict." Later in the article, Natalie Ringsmuth is quoted as saying "Their real goal is to get it spread around social media. Does it mean that there is (an Identity Evropa group) here, or they're just trying to start one here? We don't know. But it does seem like an escalation move."
The article doesn't say whether there's a local chapter of Identity Evropa in St. Cloud or Central Minnesota. In the comments section of the online article, Don Casey said "Mission accomplished. Stunts like this are designed to attract attention -- and the Times provides it in spades. A story 745 words long (700+ is the Associated Press standard for '"very top global stories of the day"). The story includes information on the goals of Identity Evropa -- even information on how to join ( open to men and women of all ages ... application on website ... members allowed to register with an alias). The banner hangers (probably 2-3 non--locals) couldn't have hoped for more."
Actually, there's another explanation that's possible. Imagine if you're organizing a group that promotes a welcoming community. Planting a provocative poster on a bridge might help with fundraising for an organization like Unite Cloud. I'm not accusing them of doing this. I'm just suggesting that, based on the Times' reporting , it's a possibility.
Posted Tuesday, January 2, 2018 2:49 AM
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Public trust in government
This MPR article tells a worrisome tale. It starts by talking about "only a minority of Minnesotans trust their state government to usually do the right thing. Far more say they trust the government only sometimes or never." According to MPR's polling, "5 percent say they always or almost always trust state government to do what's right, while 8 percent say they never trust it. The vast majority say they're in the middle, but more of them lean toward skepticism."
That's the least terrible news of the article. The terrible news of the article is that "an average of 18 percent of Americans say the same about the federal government in surveys tracked by the Pew Research Center." This graphic is horrifying:
Notice that the lowest points in public trust happened during the Carter, Clinton and Obama administrations. President Clinton was able to rebuild his rating but President Obama's trustworthy ratings hit rock bottom as a result of Obamacare and never recovered.
The sample size for President Trump is obviously small. Still, it's difficult to raise trust levels when the media dishonestly covers your actions to the extent that they have. The DC media has underemphasized positive stories like the economy, the stock market and deregulation while overemphasizing the Trump-Russia collusion story. Further, the MSM hasn't done an honest job with the tax cuts legislation. Steve Daines' explanation of the impact the tax cuts will have on Montana will help restore trust in the federal government:
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Republicans said that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will positively impact the middle class. According to the Montana Department of Revenue, individuals will receive $700,000,000 of tax relief per year as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
It's impossible to rebuild trust when the dominant media culture repeatedly lies about what politicians are doing.
Posted Tuesday, January 2, 2018 11:16 AM
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Franken-Fischbach follies
The DFL has made it clear that they hope to retake the majority in the Minnesota Senate by 'capitalizing' on Sen. Franken's impending resignation. The bad news for them is that their too-clever-by-half strategy is destined for failure.
The Minnesota Constitution states quite clearly that the president of the Senate will replace the lieutenant governor if there's a vacancy . In this instance, Sen. Fischbach would replace Tina Smith as lieutenant governor. Here's where things start getting complicated. The minute Sen. Fischbach becomes Lt. Gov. Fischbach, Gov. Dayton has to call a special election to fill Fischbach's seat. The minute that special election is announced, Fischbach has announced that she'll resign as Lt. Gov., then file to run for the seat she still holds.
Thanks to Sen. Franken's disgusting behavior, the next step potentially gets messy. With a 33-33 tie in the Senate, the DFL has made clear that they wouldn't vote for a DFL politician to become the Senate President. Their goal is to become the majority party. Period. They won't achieve that goal. Period. That's my prediction and I'd bet the proverbial ranch on it. The DFL doesn't stand a snowball's prayer in hell of flipping Sen. Fischbach's seat:
But their hopes for a majority would then depend on winning a special election for Fischbach's seat - something Republicans scoff at. She won the conservative district by more than 37 percentage points in 2016. And Fischbach told KSTP-TV she'll run for her seat in another special election if she's forced out of office.
This would become moot, however, if Republicans flip Sen. Schoen's seat in a Feb. 12 special election:
The Feb. 12 special election in Cottage Grove is to replace Democratic Sen. Dan Schoen, who resigned last month after sexual harassment allegations. The district has been in Democratic hands for more than a decade, but Republicans have made inroads in the area and recruited a longtime former House member to run.
That longtime House member is Denny McNamara and he's a great fit for the district. Republicans should get behind McNamara for a couple reasons. First, flipping that seat guarantees that Republicans maintain their majority in the Senate at least until 2020. Further, while McNamara isn't a hardline conservative, he's a reliable vote on the important issues. I'll take a reliable majority over a purist minority 100% of the time. In fact, that isn't a difficult decision. But I digress.
If Republicans suddenly gain a 34-32 majority, Gov. Dayton's and Sen. Bakk's plans immediately get thwarted. There's nothing I'd enjoy better than seeing their too-clever-by-half strategy fail miserably. Any Republican that doesn't appreciate that needs to rethink their priorities and motivations.
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In November, let's topple the DFL's sick plans by defeating Tina Smith, flipping Tim Walz's seat, replacing Gov. Dayton with a Republican, re-electing Jason Lewis and maintaining a Republican majority in the Minnesota House.
Posted Tuesday, January 2, 2018 12:19 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 04-Jan-18 08:39 AM
Last paragraph: Usually in forecasting a horse race, the identity of the proposed winning horses is not left up in the air. Who are your flippers? Bachmann for Senate? What?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 04-Jan-18 09:24 AM
I'd be surprised if Michele runs. There's no disputing that she's a prolific fundraiser. What isn't proven is whether she'd win enough votes in the suburbs. She'd crush Smith in the exurbs & rural Minnesota, though.
Orrin Hatch announces retirement
This afternoon, Sen. Orrin Hatch announced that he'll retire from the Senate rather than seek re-election. This opens the door for former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to run for Sen. Hatch's seat.
I can't help but contrast the difference between Sen. Hatch and Sen. Franken, who resigned in disgrace earlier this afternoon. Sen. Franken was a hot-headed malcontent who didn't get along with others. Sen. Hatch, though, was well-liked by all of his colleagues, including Democrats. Sen. Hatch figured out a way to work with liberals like Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Ted Kennedy. By comparison, there isn't a Minnesotan who could picture Sen. Franken working with Ted Cruz or Mike Lee.
In typical Hatch fashion, Sen. Hatch graciously exited the stage, saying "every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. I may be leaving the Senate, but the next chapter in my public service is just beginning." By comparison, Sen. Franken was as defiant as he was disgusting, even suggesting that he'd been unfairly accused. With all due respect, Sen. Franken, if you were innocent, why didn't you fight to clear your name? Perhaps, it's because you weren't that innocent?
Here's Sen. Hatch's gracious retirement speech:
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As I said earlier, that opens the door for Mitt Romney to run for Sen. Hatch's seat :
Mr. Hatch's decision clears the way for the political resurrection of Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee who is now a Utah resident and is popular in the Mormon-heavy state. Mr. Romney has told associates he would likely run if Mr. Hatch retires. "It would be difficult to defeat Mitt Romney if he were running here," said David Hansen, a longtime Utah Republican strategist and chairman of Mr. Hatch's political organization.
After the 2018 elections and Congress is wrapping up business, politicians from both sides of the aisle will praise Orrin Hatch. At the end of business today and Al Franken leaves the Senate, few people will remember him a month from now.
Posted Tuesday, January 2, 2018 3:17 PM
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