July 6-7, 2016
Jul 06 01:45 Board of Teaching's dysfunction Jul 06 07:44 Oligarchs vs. the peasants Jul 06 11:28 Al Franken: E-Democracy's legacy? Jul 06 14:18 Hillary won't quit lying Jul 06 16:21 Clintonistas in spin mode Jul 06 20:16 Twin Cities DFL shafts Iron Range Jul 07 00:51 Kresha opponent hearts farmers? Jul 07 03:37 Democrats vote for lawlessness
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Board of Teaching's dysfunction
According to this article , Jim Nobles, Minnesota's legislative auditor, thinks the Board of Teaching is dysfunctional. He's published this report , complete with findings of facts and recommendations.
One of Nobles' finding of fact is that "the Board of Teaching (BoT) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) - share responsibility for licensing teachers. In general, BoT establishes requirements for teacher licensure, and MDE reviews license applications, makes licensure decisions, and issues teaching licenses." His recommendation that "The Legislature should consolidate all teacher-licensure activities into one state entity" certainly makes sense. Sharing responsibilities doesn't work. Both parties point fingers at the other.
When I wrote this post , I highlighted the fact that "Ramsey County Judge Shawn Bartsh 'blasted the state's Board of Teaching'" for "suddenly stopping a program that allowed experienced teachers, often from out of state, to get teaching licenses through an alternate method called 'licensure via portfolio.' The judge ordered the agency to resume the program, as required by law."
It's clear that the BoT and MDE aren't solutions-oriented. The people working in those departments clearly haven't communicated the need to simplify the licensure procedures. They're still pointing fingers at each other instead of fixing the problem or obeying clearly written law. Further, it's clear that they've let different institutions decide what out-of-state credentialed teachers must do to get licensed in Minnesota.
When the U of M requires a teacher who's taught 12 years in another state and who has a Master's degree to do student teaching again, that's ridiculous. Further, when Minnesota State University, Mankato says the same teacher doesn't need to do a semester of student teaching, something's totally off kilter. It's one thing for the U to require different courses than Mankato requires. It's a different thing to require a credentialed teacher to do student teaching. That's more than a significant difference.
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 1:45 AM
No comments.
Oligarchs vs. the peasants
When James Comey announced that the FBI wouldn't recommend that the Justice Department shouldn't prosecute Hillary Clinton, he essentially said that the United States justice system be a two-tiered justice system. In addition to him effectively rewriting existing and clearly-written federal statutes , Dir. Comey essentially said that the elitists, aka the American oligarchs, should be given preferential treatment as opposed to the peasants.
It's ironic he'd do that the day after we'd celebrated our nation's birthday. Comey's logic, if it can be called that, goes against our nation's founding principles. There's a reason why Lady Justice is blindfolded.
The definition of oligarchy is "a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few." The definition of peasant is "a member of a class of persons, as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank" or "a coarse, unsophisticated, boorish, uneducated person of little financial means."
The Clintons have always thought of themselves as oligarchs. Hillary has especially thought of those not in her social class as peasants. When Hillary talked about the "politics of meaning", she talked about how "even janitors" lives have meaning. The liberal media at the time (1993-94) suggested that she was onto something new and meaningful. That's Hillary's perspective. It's the type of 'justice system' that we should expect from a Hillary administration.
Here's a hint: Hillary's type of justice is long on using the word, short on acting justly. If Hillary was truly interested in justice, she would've confessed to telling the massive lies she told during the FBI's investigation.
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 7:44 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Jul-16 09:15 AM
Do you think Comey might be a closet Muslim? Larry Klayman's published reaction is close to that here. He deplores the decision being the day after July 4. But Larry does not suggest Muslim feelings played a role. Just same old pattern he says he has seen.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Jul-16 10:13 AM
I think that Comey either made the worst decision an FBI director has made in 50 years or that he knew Lynch wouldn't prosecute her future boss. As for Larry Klayman's statement, I think he's spot on.
Al Franken: E-Democracy's legacy?
It figures that E-Democracy is promoting Al Franken to be Hillary's running mate. A member of E-Democracy appears to have posted this link of a Politico article, which is accompanied by this commentary "This is not a joke: Hillary needs someone like Franken if she's going to beat Trump. This is not a joke. Senator Al Franken should be the Democratic Party's
choice for vice president."
Sen. Franken is a joke. The thought of Franken being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office will frighten anyone. That aside, it's entirely fitting. Yesterday, FBI Director Comey called Hillary a liar without using that exact language. Meanwhile, Franken wrote a book about Hillary in 2003. It's titled " Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them ."
The book wasn't intended to be about Hillary. It's just that it fits perfectly. In his book, Franken made lots of dishonest statements. Here's the fact-check of one of Franken's dishonest accusations . In other words, Hillary lies and Franken swears to it. What could be more fitting from the Democrats' presidential ticket?
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 11:28 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Jul-16 03:25 PM
I see that ticket about as likely as Donald Trump and Web Hubbell.
Neither will happen.
Less likely, by a thread, Hillary and Vince Foster.
Hillary won't quit lying
People, myself included, have said that Donald Trump won't pivot to being 'presidential'. It simply isn't in his DNA. Think WYSIWYG as a politician. This post isn't about Trump, though. It's about Hillary, the woman to whom the laws don't apply. She's always thought that the laws don't apply to her. I'm certain that Hillary thinks yesterday's announcement was simply fate. It wasn't. It was proof that another official made a terrible decision. Suffice it to say that people across the political spectrum vehemently disagreed with Director Comey's decision. The best illustration of bipartisan anger is found in this CNN article . There's a little bit of commentary and reporting from the CNN reporter, then tons of negative reaction from Bernie Sanders' supporters.
Rosario Dawson tweeted "The #SystemIsRigged indeed. So disgusted. #Demexit #Dexit #BernieOrBust #OurRevolution #NotMeUs #UpToUs #TimeIsNow" Later, BernieFacts tweeted "Retweet if the Democratic Party is dead to you." StarStuff might've tweeted the nastiest thing, saying "#MoreTrustedThanHillary: Michael J. Fox as a tattoo artist."
Suffice it to say that Hillary is incompetent, corrupt and arrogant. She should be getting fitted for prison wear but FBI Director Comey screwed that up. Hillary won't change. The day Hillary stops lying is the day Lucifer starts handing out ice skates. It ain't happening in my lifetime.
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 2:18 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 06-Jul-16 03:06 PM
Your troika of characteristics, I disagree.
She is competent. At what she does. At how she does it.
She's no Sarah Palin of ineptness in all things.
The competence going with the remainder of the personality cross section; the other traits of will and of character; is what is worrisome.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 06-Jul-16 04:32 PM
Competent people don't expose intelligence sources & methods to the Russians, Chinese & Iranians. Competent people don't start their career as America's top diplomat by telling the Russians that they can do pretty much whatever they want. Competent people don't get ambassadors needlessly killed.
Palin is a blithering idiot but Hillary is incompetent.
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 07-Jul-16 04:48 PM
And sadly, this incompetent fool will be running the country come January.
Clintonistas in spin mode
For those who aren't old enough to remember Bill Clinton's term in office, CNN commentator David Gergen served as an advisor. That's why it isn't surprising to see him putting the best spin possible on Hillary's Stay Out of Prison Day. Gergen actually had the chutzpah to say "the more one studies the Comey statement, the more scathing it becomes -- and the more suggestive that their decision on prosecution was a close call ."
The decision wasn't that close of a call. The title of Shannen Coffin's article makes that clear. Andy McCarthy, a former US attorney who was the lead prosecutor in the trial of the Blind Sheikh, essentially said that FBI Director Comey rewrote the statute to keep Hillary from being prosecuted.
First, McCarthy wrote "According to Director James Comey (disclosure: a former colleague and longtime friend of mine), Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was 'extremely careless' and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services."
Then he wrote this:
In essence, in order to give Mrs. Clinton a pass, the FBI rewrote the statute, inserting an intent element that Congress did not require. The added intent element, moreover, makes no sense: The point of having a statute that criminalizes gross negligence is to underscore that government officials have a special obligation to safeguard national defense secrets.
How can Gergen read this professional prosecutor say that FBI Director Comey all but did backflips to avoid prosecuting Hillary, then say that the decision not to prosecute Hillary was "a close call"? How can Gergen read this and say it was a close call?
I would point out, moreover, that there are other statutes that criminalize unlawfully removing and transmitting highly classified information with intent to harm the United States .
Torching straw man arguments isn't difficult but it's sometimes effective. Let's hope this isn't one of those times.
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 4:22 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 07-Jul-16 07:45 AM
Job security as an intent element. Comey's intent.
Twin Cities DFL shafts Iron Range
Once again, the Twin Cities DFL shows its indifference towards the Iron Range's blue collar workers. This post is the latest thumb in the Iron Range's eye.
ABM's first paragraph starts by saying "Minnesota has seen many victories for working families this year. On August 1, the minimum wage increase that Governor Dayton and Democratic legislators fought for in 2014 will be fully implemented, raising the wage to $9.50 an hour - one of the highest in the nation."
I'd love hearing ABM hold a townhall meeting in Virginia, Hibbing or Hoyt Lakes. I'd love hearing them say that the Iron Range's working families have "seen many victories." If Brooke Wallington or Susie Merthan opened a meeting on the Range with that type of statement, they'd be advised to duck first, then hightail it to the nearest exit.
The second paragraph says "In May, paid sick leave passed in Minneapolis, allowing workers to better take care of themselves and their families. More recently, the Shakopee City Council voted unanimously to increase the minimum wage at subsidized businesses to $19 an hour. Now, Minneapolis is close to placing a $15 an hour minimum wage proposal on the ballot." I'm not from the Iron Range but I can't imagine them getting excited to hear that Minneapolis and Shakopee have new minimum wage laws. How does that help anyone in Buhl, Ely, Eveleth or Hibbing?
What's interesting is the fact that there's nothing in ABM's post that talks about high-paying mining jobs. In fact, there's nothing about high-paying mining jobs on ABM's website . That's rather stunning.
It's stunning but it isn't surprising. It isn't surprising because Metro DFL activists care about the Twin Cities. It isn't that these DFL activists just hate the Iron Range. It's that they're indifferent about the Iron Range. The Metro DFL is indifferent to the Iron Range because the Metro DFL's agenda is all about what's important to the Metro DFL.
That's the way it's been. That's the way it'll be for the foreseeable future. It won't change until the Iron Range starts voting for Republicans. It won't change when Iron Rangers stay home. It'll change when Iron Rangers start making the DFL pay for their metro-centric agenda.
Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2016 8:16 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 07-Jul-16 07:25 AM
Bakkian.
Kresha opponent hearts farmers?
Ron Kresha represents Little Falls in the House of Representatives. Rep. Kresha is the incumbent running for re-election in District 9B. (The main cities in Rep. Kresha's district are Little Falls, Long Prairie and Pierz.) It's safe to say that HD-9B is a district with tons of farmers. Though the district has changed since I last visited the area, I'm still able to identify most of the cities and towns in the District.
Now that I've laid out the history of the district, let's dive into the editorial Rep. Kresha's opponent wrote . Rep. Kresha's opponent made a point of saying "I will listen to farmers. I will stand up for our farmers, and I will fight for our farmers because I know that without them, our communities would not survive. As state representative, I will make sure our farmers are not forgotten in St. Paul. That is why I am running as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate. I want to shed light on the struggles our farmers deal with and thank them for their hard work."
Of course, Rep. Kresha's opponent had to throw in the cheap shot of saying "My opponent in Minnesota House 9B has done very little to preserve farms and to make certain farmers are treated like the first-class citizens they are."
With all due respect, the DFL hasn't done much to help farmers. The DFL opposes building pipelines that would free up rail space so farmers could get their crops to market faster. In fact, the DFL is ruled by environmental activists who love regulating farms to death. Metro Democrats tried and succeeded in killing a major proposed farming operation in western Minnesota through the use of the now-defunct Citizens Advisory Board. The DFL killed this proposed farming operation so Republicans killed the advisory board because "the Citizens Board had stopped projects that had gotten their MPCA permits."
Does anyone seriously think Rep. Thissen will let Rep. Kresha's opponent fight for farmers? There's a better chance that the king's horses and king's men will put Humpty Dumpty back together again than there is of Rep. Thissen will let any pro-farmer legislation get a committee hearing. If you're living in rural Minnesota, voting for the DFL is a wasted voted.
Posted Thursday, July 7, 2016 12:51 AM
No comments.
Democrats vote for lawlessness
If people paid attention, they weren't surprised that Senate Democrats voted to continue the violence in sanctuary cities . The Democratic Party is quickly becoming known as the political party that doesn't protect its citizens. It's quickly becoming the political party that thinks that laws are for other people.
Certainly, Hillary doesn't think that this nation's laws pertain to her. After making the case to indict Hillary on multiple counts of violating the Espionage Act, FBI Director Jim Comey essentially said that Hillary Clinton and her senior advisors weren't subject to this nation's laws.
Wednesday, Senate Democrats voted to preserve funding for sanctuary cities . According to the article, "The Republican-controlled Senate failed Wednesday to advance efforts to change federal immigration law -- including one to cut funding to so-called sanctuary cities" by a vote of 53-44.
Democrats better not say that they're the party of the little guy. That's BS. They're the party that's a wholly owned subsidiary of La Raza, aka NCLR.
Senate Republicans also failed to get enough votes to advance their proposed Kate's Law, named after Kate Steinle, who was fatally shot in July 2015, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who had multiple felony convictions and was deported several times prior to the incident.
Afterward, Harry Reid spoke:
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said they put presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's "ant-immigration rhetoric into action. These bills follow Trump's lead in demonizing, criminalizing immigrant, Latino families," the Nevada Democrat said before the votes.
The White House also issued this statement:
The bill fails to offer the comprehensive reforms needed to fix the Nation's broken immigration laws and would impose severe and unprecedented mandatory minimum sentences that would undermine the discretion of federal judges to make sure the punishment fits the crime in each case.
That's insulting. Kate's Law imposes mandatory minimum sentences because liberal judges frequently let violent illegal aliens off with a slap on the wrist, if they appear at all.
If the Democratic Party wants the reputation of being unwilling to protect its citizens, then it deserves to get blown out of the water this November. I don't know what will happen this far out but, from a policy standpoint, Democrats deserve to be trounced. Thus far, they've failed to protect Americans. That's true with terrorists. It's true with illegal aliens, too.
Originally posted Thursday, July 7, 2016, revised 09-Jul 7:32 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 07-Jul-16 07:24 AM
Trumpian.
