July 9-11, 2014
Jul 09 00:50 President Obama's Crises Jul 09 01:45 Rosenstone still embracing secrecy, Part I Jul 09 11:46 Rosenstone still embracing secrecy, Part II Jul 10 04:14 Rick Nolan, Metrocrat in Iron Ranger's clothing Jul 10 05:57 Union elections with a Chicago touch Jul 10 09:39 MNsure rate increases inevitable Jul 11 01:41 Ken Martin, Carly Melin repeat Obamacare mantra Jul 11 02:20 Insurance premiums, Mark Dayton and Al Franken Jul 11 10:19 Rick Perry's border security
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
President Obama's Crises
President Obama is getting eaten alive by an avalanche of crises simultaneously. I've never seen a president getting eaten alive by this many crises. Richard Nixon had Watergate. Reagan had Iran-Contra. Bill Clinton had Monicagate. George Bush had Katrina.
President Obama's crises are crises of his own creation. The IRS scandal happened because he used the IRS as a weapon against his political adversaries. The border crisis happened because he told the world that he wouldn't enforce the borders. The Iraq/ISIS crisis happened because he told the terrorists that he was giving them the heart of the Middle East. Benghazi happened becausse he campaigned on the foolishness that al-Qa'ida was dead or dying, therefore, they didn't need to beef up security at the Benghazi compound. The VA crisis happened because he ignored the administrative corruption and the cooking of the books.
It's getting to the point that the American people, including some DC reporters, have noticed that President Obama isn't into governing or solving problems. When President Obama meets with Gov. Perry this week, it won't be good enough to show he cares. (That's a phrase Rep. Cuellar, D-TX, kept using in his interview with Megyn Kelly tonight.) President Obama needs to reach a solution by working with Republicans. If he doesn't solve that crisis, he'll be exposed as just another cheap politician who isn't interested in solving problems.
Further, if he continues to get slapped by the courts for his extremist unconstitutional agenda, he'll be seen as the biggest scofflaw in presidential history. If the Justice Department doesn't start prosecuting criminals like Lois Lerner, President Obama and Eric Holder will become known as the most lawless president/AG duo since Nixon and Mitchell. I didn't think that that was possible.
President Obama's crises are policy-driven crises. He's made one policy mistake after another. Those policy mistakes have caused crisis after crisis. They're proof that President Obama is the worst president in US history. This isn't about the color of President Obama's skin. It's about his ideology.
The border crisis is turning the American people off to immigration reform. While they like the thought of immigration reform in the abstract, they're against the lawlessness that's led to this crisis. The American people won't sign onto a policy reform until they're the administration is serious about enforcing the new laws.
At this point, people from across the political spectrum don't believe President Obama will enforce law. What's worse is that they've seen that Democrats in Congress and the Senate will protect him even when he's been exposed. The IRS scandal and Benghazi are proof of that.
Posted Wednesday, July 9, 2014 12:50 AM
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Rosenstone still embracing secrecy, Part I
After reading this article , people should question the wisdom of negotiating a new contract with Steven Rosenstone:
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has hired a consultant to help it launch a far-reaching overhaul. The $2 million contract with McKinsey & Co., though, comes as a surprise to students and faculty involved with Charting the Future, MnSCU's bid to spur innovation and collaboration among its 31 campuses.
Chancellor Steven Rosenstone did not bring up the arrangement with New York-based McKinsey when students asked about the plan's costs or when he updated the board of trustees about the initiative. "That seems like a detail that should have been made known to all stakeholders in this process," said Kari Cooper, who leads MnSCU's university student association.
Apparently, Chancellor Rosenstone doesn't like accountability or transparency. It's apparent because he's avoided both recently. He certainly was secretive about signing his contract extension . He's certainly escaped accountability for a plethora of problems he didn't monitor, much less fix. MnSCU's Board of Trustees negotiated a new contract with him before giving him a performance review .
Here's more proof that Chancellor Rosenstone prefers secrecy:
Cooper says association members asked Rosenstone about expenses Charting the Future is incurring during an April meeting. Rosenstone brought up staff time and stipends for students and faculty on the implementation teams.
"No mention of McKinsey was brought up when we point-blank asked," Cooper said.
Rosenstone said MnSCU did not publicize the McKinsey contract because the company prefers to "work in the background." He also said student leaders did not explicitly ask if the system had engaged an outside consultant.
Chancellor Rosenstone's response is filled with weasel words:
Rosenstone said MnSCU did not publicize the McKinsey contract because the company prefers to "work in the background." He also said student leaders did not explicitly ask if the system had engaged an outside consultant.
That's despicable on a multitude of levels. First, I don't care if a company hired with taxpayer dollars "prefers to 'work in the background.'" It's the taxpayers' money and they have a right to know how their money is getting spent. Period. The fact that this company prefers secrecy raises other questions, starting with wanting to know why they're uncomfortable with the spotlight. Have they been involved in a scandal elsewhere? Is it that they prefer not to have their work scrutinized?
Third, Rosenstone has an affirmative responsibility to fully inform the people he works for of the money he's spending on projects. Student leaders shouldn't need to ask whether MnSCU hired a consultant to implement their Charting the Future initiative.
In a court of law, the oath is to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Public servants should be held to that same standard. Not giving information because the precise, pinpoint question wasn't asked isn't acceptable.
Check back later today for Part II of this post.
Posted Wednesday, July 9, 2014 1:45 AM
Comment 1 by Crimson Trace at 09-Jul-14 09:48 AM
"While trustees did not vote on the McKinsey contract, Rosenstone said he consulted with the board's then-Chair Clarence Hightower." This is strikingly similar to Rosenstone's secret contract renewal. Essentially, it was a two man show. This was also priceless:
"A critic of overhead at MnSCU and the U, Pelowski questions the lack of public airing of the McKinsey contract and the need for such a sizable investment: "Do you not have enough administrators that you have to hire somebody for $2 million to figure out how to chart your future?"
Rosenstone still embracing secrecy, Part II
One of the sad things I realized in writing this post is that the people that theoretically provide oversight of MnSCU aren't consistently asking the right questions. It isn't that they never ask the right question. It's that they don't consistently ask them. Here's an example:
Meanwhile, Bonoff and Pelowski said they are working on legislation that would require the MnSCU Board of Trustees to publicly approve future chancellor contracts.
A critic of overhead at MnSCU and the U, Pelowski questions the lack of public airing of the McKinsey contract and the need for such a sizable investment: "Do you not have enough administrators that you have to hire somebody for $2 million to figure out how to chart your future?"
While it's true that the Board of Trustees has primary oversight responsibility, there's no denying the fact that the higher ed committees have oversight responsibilities, too. The fact is that the legislature hasn't paid enough attention to MnSCU headquarters or the universities. They've just trusted that things were working well.
That isn't oversight. That's blind faith. The reality is that Sen. Bonoff and Rep. Pelowski are reacting rather than being proactive. Meanwhile, millions of dollars were spent without oversight from the Trustees or the committee chairs. That's before talking about how the Trustees got taken by a chancellor who clearly isn't interested in transparency and accountability.
Hiring a consultant is one thing. Not telling the people with oversight responsibility is acting in bad faith. In my opinion, it's worthy of at least a public reprimand, if not termination. Rationalizing not telling people with oversight responsibility because the consultant prefers to stay out of the spotlight is, in my opinion, grounds for termination.
What's really needed is a housecleaning. Appointing a politician's cronies to an oversight board isn't just terrible policy. It's an invitation to the chancellor to do whatever he wants to do. That, in turn, gives university presidents license to do whatever they want to do.
Without major changes, MnSCU is destined to consistently fail.
First, Rosenstone wasn't the best candidate for the chancellor's job. He got the job because some of the trustees fell in love with Rosenstone's vision for MnSCU, not because he was the most qualified candidate.
Second, the Trustees need to know that they'll be spotlighted if they don't take their oversight responsibilities to the taxpayers seriously. If they're lax in that responsibility, they need to be terminated.
Third, the higher ed committees need to do regular oversight hearings. They need to make visits to the universities to talk with the faculty, the staff and lower level administrators before talking with high-ranking administrators. That way, the President Potters of the world won't be able to bamboozle them when they talk with him.
Fourth, MnSCU headquarters needs to be sent a signal that their wasteful ways must end immediately. MnSCU HQ needs to understand that the money they're pissing away is someone's hard-earned money. The least they can do is treat taxpayers with respect.
Fifth, the chancellor's office must be made transparent immediately. Having a chancellor say that he kept a consultant's job quiet because that's how the company prefers to operate that way should immediately disqualify that consultant from getting the job.
It's time MnSCU is scrutinized. That includes its chancellor, their presidents and the consultants they hire. In fact, they should be required to submit a cost-benefit analysis to the Trustees before the first interview can take place. Additionally, it should be required that the cost-benefit analysis be posted on the MnSCU or university website. That CBA should include a report on why existing staff can't do the job.
That's the only way we'll get rid of MnSCU's complacency, secrecy and unaccountability.
Posted Wednesday, July 9, 2014 11:46 AM
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Rick Nolan, Metrocrat in Iron Ranger's clothing
The Metrocrat wing of the DFL is the dominant wing of the party at the moment. Typically, Metrocrats love gun control and hate mining. Consider this post my argument that Rick Nolan's views align best with the Metrocrats, not with the Iron Range. This website exposes Rick Nolan as the anti-Second Amendment activist that he is. Check this out:
Rick Nolan On the Record
The NRA is 'very toxic in the effect they're having on the American public.' Rick Nolan, MSNBC, 2013
'I am concerned over the easy accessibility of small handguns: I will vote to prohibit the sale or manufacture of such weapons.' Rick Nolan, Constituent Letter, 1977
'I think we should outlaw assault rifles.' Rick Nolan, DFL Primary Debate, 2012
'I don't need an assault weapon to shoot a duck, and I think they ought to be banned' Rick Nolan, Face the Nation, 2013
'I think we need to put a ban on the amount of shells you can carry in a magazine.' Rick Nolan, Face the Nation, 2013
I transcribed Stuart Mills ad (titled 2nd Amemdment) for this article . Here's the key part of that ad:
Around election time, Rick will put on his hunter's orange and grab a rifle but in Washington, he's repeatedly voted to take away your rights.
Rick Nolan's views on guns are compatible with Michael Paymar's or Dianne Feinstein's. They aren't a fit with Eighth District voters. This video shows Nolan's true colors:
That's pretty emphatic. Nolan isn't in step with his pro-Second Amendment district. Based on this information from the Nolan for Congress Issues page, Nolan's anti-mining views don't fit with his district, either:
The Environment
The environment, our air, lakes, rivers and forests, are crucial to our 8th district economy. The degradation of our air and water, along with global warming, threaten the very survival of our species here on mother earth. We must protect the environment in order to preserve our way of life and our tourism industry.
In environmental activists' minds, there's only one way to degrade a the "air and water" in a lightly populated area like the Range. That's through mining. Apparently, Nolan's views on mining are more compatible with Al Franken's views than with Tommie Rukavina's view.
Based on how little he agrees with the Eighth District, it isn't difficult seeing him in the fight of his political life. I wouldn't be surprised if Mills defeats Nolan this November.
Posted Thursday, July 10, 2014 4:14 AM
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Union elections with a Chicago touch
It's bad enough that AFSCME is intent on forcing a unionization vote down child care providers' throats. What's worse is that the person overseeing the election is owned by AFSCME :
Governor Dayton appointed Josh Tilsen to be commissioner of the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) in Feburary 2011. As BMS commissioner, Tilsen administers union elections, resolves collective bargaining disputes, and oversees labor mediation and arbitration activities. He is paid more than $95,000 per year by the State of Minnesota for this full-time role.
In addition to Tilsen's full-time work as BMS commissioner, he also maintains an outside consulting business, acting as an arbitrator for the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). According to the official Iowa PERB website (updated March 25, 2013), Tilsen's per diem is $1,200. Notably, the office phone and fax number they list are Tilsen's official BMS numbers in Minnesota. In addition, under "Current Employment/Associations that could cause a conflict," it lists "None."
That's just part of it. There's more:
Tilsen's case in particular, though, seems riddled with real or potential conflicts of interest. While Tilsen technically consults for the State of Iowa, he is paid in part by labor unions, as both parties to arbitration cases share the cost of the arbitrator. To that point, according to U.S. Department of Labor records , Tilsen was paid $7,451 last year by AFSCME Council 61. Meanwhile, as Minnesota's BMS commissioner, Tilsen oversees union elections and helps resolve union disputes involving AFSCME affiliates. As such, one has to ask: How can a fulltime, government official who collects income directly from a labor union be expected to act as an impartial referee of labor disputes?
While this isn't illegal, it's more than suspect. Jeff Johnson, the MNGOP-endorsed candidate for governor, made this statement on the matter:
'Mark Dayton uses his office to pay back his union campaign contributors, and apparently his Commissioner in charge of dealing with unions is in their pocket as well,' said Jeff Johnson.
'This is a gross conflict of interest. Commissioners have a full time job and are paid a handsome full-time salary by the taxpayers. They shouldn't be doing outside work in any case, and certainly shouldn't be taking paychecks from the people they are supposed to regulate,' Johnson said.
'This is just another example of Dayton's sacrificing the interests of Minnesotans to those of his campaign contributors,' Johnson concluded.
It isn't a stretch to think that Democrats side with their special interest allies more frequently than they side with Minnesota's families. In fact, that's their identity.
At this point, it's reasonable to question the upcoming election's integrity.
First, Tilsen needs to recuse himself. Second, Gov. Dayton needs to put back in place Gov. Pawlenty's policy of prohibiting commissioners from having a side job. Third, the legislature should look into whether other commissioners in the Dayton administration are consultants. If other commissioners are consulting, they need to quit ASAP.
Posted Thursday, July 10, 2014 5:57 AM
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MNsure rate increases inevitable
According to this article , insurance premiums will be going up -- way up:
Julie Brunner is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, which is the professional association for the HMOs that offer health coverage through MNsure. Brunner recently told a University of Minnesota symposium that she would "not be surprised if the health plans increased their rates by 8, 10, or even 12 percent."
Gov. Mark Dayton tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he would be disappointed by such a large percentage increase in premiums, but the governor pointed out Minnesota still has the lowest rates in the country and that his goal is to keep it that way.
This isn't surprising. I reported here that MNsure rates for people renewing through the small group exchange were seeing shocking high rates:
This morning, in an exclusive interview with Examiner.com, Plombon went into detail about what's happening with insurance premiums. What Mr. Plombon said is that some people who get their insurance through the small group market are renewing their policies. Thus far, Advantage 1 has seen these clients' premiums increase from as 'little' as 30% to as much as 106%.
Gov. Dayton and the DFL keeps repeating the part about Minnesota has the "lowest rates in the country." It sounds great initially but it doesn't mean much. People won't care how we rank nationally if the rates are expensive.
If the rates are expensive, which they'll certainly be, people won't care where we rank as a state. They'll care that they can't afford health insurance. This part should worry Democrats, too:
Minnesota does not allow public disclosure of rate negotiations by law. University of Minnesota Professor Larry Jacobs says the public will start to get a very good idea of what the rates will be long before the November elections, even though the political strategy appears to indicate elected incumbents want the new rates withheld until after the elections.
Republicans aren't worried about getting the political blame for the high rates because they didn't vote for MNsure. Furthermore, they don't have control over when the rates are released because Minnesota government is run exclusively by Democrats.
If Democrats get caught before the election trying to hide the rates for purely political purposes, they'll get hurt by that desperate attempt. At the end of the campaign, Republicans will have repeatedly told Minnesotans that the DFL opted out of a system that was working quite well in order to implement a system a) that cost $160,000,000 to build, b) that's expensive and c) unreliable.
That isn't the type of trifecta that wins elections.
Posted Thursday, July 10, 2014 9:39 AM
Comment 1 by Sean at 11-Jul-14 09:20 AM
Of course, national statistics show that the average health care premium increase in the decade preceding the passage of the ACA was 13%. Context helps.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 11-Jul-14 10:28 AM
Here's some context for you. President Obama promised that families would see a $2,500 per year savings. In other words, he lied through his teeth to pass the bill.
Here's some more context. We didn't need to spend tens of billions of dollars on websites that don't work to get those 13% annual increases.
Here's one last bit of context. We didn't need the ACA because it didn't fix any problems. President Obama wanted the ACA for ideological purposes only.
Cut it any way you slice it. The ACA is a disaster.
Comment 3 by Sean at 11-Jul-14 02:45 PM
I'm not defending Obama's comments (they were never supported by any CBO analysis) nor am I defending the sloppy project management that continues to plague the websites.
But to say that the ACA didn't fix any problems? Really? Show me what the Republicans did to get this many new people insured. The answer is a big fat nothing. The only two things Republicans can take credit for in the health policy arena over the last 15 years are an giant unfunded new entitlement program and HSAs, which did nothing to reduce the number of uninsured.
Ken Martin, Carly Melin repeat Obamacare mantra
Thursday night, Ken Martin made the mistake of getting into a Twitter fight against Luke Hellier about health care. Predictably, Martin went straight for the DFL's chanting point of saying that Minnesota has the cheapest insurance rates in the nation.
Being the bashful man that I am, I jumped into the fight, saying that Martin didn't say that Minnesota's insurance premiums were cheap. Martin said they were the cheapest in the nation, which is a comparitive statement. Here's the exchange:
@
LFRGary
MN has the lowest premiums in the US, 95% of MN's are insured- the 2nd highest in the US, & a 40% decrease in the # of uninsured. - Ken Martin (@kenmartin73)
July 11, 2014
Cheapest is a comparitive term. Notice that
@kenmartin73
didn't say that they're cheap. In fact, they're expensive. They're just - LFRGary (@LFRGary)
July 11, 2014
the least terrible prices
brought to us by Obamacare/MNsure. They're still expensive. That's
#wrongforMN
&
@kenmartin73
knows it. - LFRGary (@LFRGary)
July 11, 2014
To be fair, Carly Melin favorited Chairman Martin's tweet. In the interest of full disclosure, my tweets were favorited a half dozen times. That silliness aside, the important point was made that Obamacare/MNsure is expensive on a multitude of fronts. Let me count the ways.
First, MNsure is expensive because the Dayton administration has already spent $160,000,000 on a failed website. That's just the tip of a Titanic-sized iceberg. It'll cost tens of millions dollars more to get MNsure fully functional.
Second, MNsure is expensive because it created another level of bureaucracy on top of Minnesota's Department of Human Services. Again, Minnesota's taxpayers are getting hit for a bureaucracy that isn't providing anything of value.
Third, insurance premiums are going up, costing Minnesotans money they don't have.
Let's talk, too, about how many people are insured now vs. how many were insured in 2012. According to Steve Gottwalt, then the chair of the House Health Care Reform Committee, 93% of Minnesotans were insured in 2012. Additionally, 60% of the people who weren't insured then were eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance.
In 2012, 4,929,000 people were insured. Of the 371,000 people who were't insured, 60% were eligible for taxpayer-subsidized insurance. That's another 222,600 people who could've been covered, meaning 5,151,600 people would've been insured in a state with a population of 5,300,000 at the time.
A simple ad campaign in 2012 could've brought the insured rate up to 97.2%.
Here's why that's significant. First, the advertising campaign wouldn't have cost $160,000,000. Next, we wouldn't be stuck with a website that doesn't work. Third, there's virtually no chance that the advertising campaign wouldn't have helped get more people insured.
In terms of which system is better, that isn't a fair fight. The system that we had prior to Obamacare/MNsure was light years superior to what we're stuck with now.
If the DFL wants to stick with their 95% are insured/Minnesota has the cheapest rates in the nation mantra, Republicans should clobber them with the statistics I just used.
Chairman Downey, let's make a point of telling people what they already know. Let's tell them that families can't afford Obamacare's expensive health insurance premium increases. Let's highlight the fact that MNsure a) is dysfunctional and b) won't work right unless we're willing to spend tens of millions of more dollars. Let's have Ken Martin and Carly Melin defend those things.
MNsure/Obamacare is a winner for Republicans if we make the important arguments. It's time we started consistently making those arguments.
Posted Friday, July 11, 2014 1:41 AM
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Insurance premiums, Mark Dayton and Al Franken
If there's anything that Sen. Franken and Gov. Dayton can't defend , it's the inevitable health insurance premium increase waiting for Minnesotans. Here's what Sen. Franken said about the ACA on the one-year anniversary of the signing:
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) "In Its First Year, The Affordable Care Act Has Made It Easier And Cheaper For People All Over The Country To Get Quality Health Care." Franken: "In its first year, the Affordable Care Act has made it easier and cheaper for people all over the country to get quality health care ... I'm particularly proud to say that a provision I fought successfully to include in the law is already reining in health care costs for working families."
(Press Release, Sen. Franken's Statement On One-Year Anniversary Of Health Reform, Sen. Al Franken ( https://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1403 ), March 22, 2011)
Here's what Gov. Dayton said while signing MNsure into law:
Gov. Mark Dayton: "Today we are taking a major step forward to improve the quality and affordability of health care for the people of Minnesota." (Press Release, 1.3 Million Minnesotans to Benefit from New Health Insurance Marketplace, Gov. Mark Dayton ( http://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/pressreleasedetail.jsp?id=102-56566 ), March 20, 2013)
Here's what I reported about health insurance premium increases:
This morning, in an exclusive interview with Examiner.com, Plombon went into detail about what's happening with insurance premiums. What Mr. Plombon said is that some people who get their insurance through the small group market are renewing their policies. Thus far, Advantage 1 has seen these clients' premiums increase from as 'little' as 30% to as much as 106%.
Gov. Dayton's and Sen. Franken's statements are wildly out of touch with reality. This statement is particularly out of touch with reality:
In its first year, the Affordable Care Act has made it easier and cheaper for people all over the country to get quality health care.
First, HealthCare.gov and MNsure still aren't working. That's before talking about all the people whose policies were canceled. The ACA didn't make it easier to buy health insurance. Further, the ACA didn't make health insurance cheaper. The ACA, aka Obamacare, caused health insurance premiums to spike. In light of these facts, it's difficult to believe that the bill's name is actually the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The stats show that health insurance isn't less expensive with Obamacare. The report commissioned by the MNsure Board of Trustees proves that the website is still dysfunctional.
Minnesota can't afford clowns like Al Franken and Mark Dayton. Their policies have cost Minnesota families millions of dollars.
Posted Friday, July 11, 2014 2:20 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 11-Jul-14 12:39 PM
Wow! If it was so easy to get insurance why was the public needing to use a website system that didn't work. If it was so easy they could pick up a phone and in less than 15 minutes (after all that is one claim a car insurance company is using right now) they will be insured.
I guess I missed that. Either that or thousands of Minnesotans shouldn't have had to go through hell on the MNsure site.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Rick Perry's border security
For people who want to get an education in border security, I'd recommend watching this video:
I've been a secure-the-border guy from the start. It makes tons of sense. It's the only thing that makes sense. I've been a build-the-wall guy, too. After watching Gov. Perry's interview with Sean Hannity, I'm still a build-the-fence guy but I wouldn't be if Rick Perry was president.
Rick Perry's understanding of border security is only surpassed by his commitment to border security. If President Obama was as committed to securing the border as Rick Perry is, the border crisis wouldn't have happened.
Also, Gov. Perry wants additional National Guard troops on the border so the Border Patrol "can do what they do best", which is interdict drug traffickers and gather intel into cartel operations. That's a show of commitment to border security that this president hasn't shown.
One of the things that impressed me during the video is Gov. Perry's understanding of the homeland security issues caused by illegal activities along the border. Gov. Perry's explanation of the equipment that's used along the border was informative. The gunboats that patrol the river are impressive. They are big, wide boats with 3 outboards mounted on jack plates. Each of the outboards are 300 hp. A boat that big usually needs lots of water to navigate. Gov. Perry said these specially-crafted rigs can operate in a foot of water.
Having fished in bass tournaments, I know a little about boats that can operate in extremely shallow water. Having fished walleyes in big water, I know a little about big, deep-water boats. A tournament walleye boat like the old Ranger 690 Fisherman required 16" of water to operate. That boat was 18' long.
By comparison, the gunboats that they use on the Rio Grande look like they're at least 24 feet long. They're loaded with some pretty lethal armaments, too, which weigh quite a bit. That these boats operate in a foot of water is astonishing.
I can't impress on people enough how informative this is. I'd strongly recommend that you watch Hannity's interview with Gov. Perry, too:
I've been impressed with Gov. Perry throughout these interviews. Yes, he's taken a couple shots at the president but he's mostly been focused on solving the border crisis. He's shown he's serious about securing the border. Most impressively, he's shown a great command of the issues.
It's understatement to say that Gov. Perry had a couple rough debate performancess in 2012. Predictably and justifiably, he got criticized for those performances. If this Rick Perry had shown up in those debates, he might've been the GOP presidential nominee. This Rick Perry is impressive.
Posted Friday, July 11, 2014 10:19 AM
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