June 16-26, 2013
Jun 16 09:54 Distrust killing immigration reform Jun 16 23:28 St. Cloud Times goes full delusional Jun 17 22:03 The day the First and Second Amendments died Jun 24 02:30 It's good to be back Jun 24 03:13 What idiots trust Janet Napolitano? Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and John McCain Jun 24 12:11 Immigration reform done right Jun 26 02:36 Rep. Ryan Winkler WAS a rising DFL star Jun 26 11:45 More Winkler musings
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Distrust killing immigration reform
Each week, people are bombarded with another scandal. Right now, the NSA surveillance is the one capturing the people's attention most, followed by the IRS targeting of conservatives placing second. According to this article , distrust with the federal government is killing immigration reform:
On immigration, there is broad popular support for comprehensive immigration reform. Most Americans believe legal immigration is good for the country, but most do not trust the government to enforce any provisions in the new law that would improve border security and reduce illegal immigration. Only 7 percent believe that enforcement is "very likely" to happen.
This is not just Republicans grumbling about Barack Obama in the White House. The same skepticism was there when George W. Bush was president. Unless the government does something to address the border problem, it will be there for the next president, as well. Because of that distrust, prospects for passing serious immigration reform this year are slim indeed.
That isn't good news for Sen. Schumer and the Gang of Eight. As Scott Rasmussen says, support for immigration reform is broad, with an asterisk. The American people want it provided the border is secured. They don't want a 21st century replay of Simpson-Mazoli.
Change is needed in Washington but not the type Democrats and Republicans are pushing:
Many in Washington are frustrated by the public distrust. They dream of public relations programs to overcome it. What's needed, though, is for the government to change its behavior so that it can earn the trust of the people it serves.
The concept of doing the right thing is, unfortunately, a foreign thing in DC these days. Slick PR games won't cut it. People are demanding solutions. Washington's insiders are pushing PR gimmicks. That's why the disconnect between real people and DC is growing.
If DC doesn't start doing what the American people expect of them, starting with protecting them from terrorists and illegal immigrants, immigration reform will still be a problem a decade from now.
Posted Sunday, June 16, 2013 9:54 AM
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St. Cloud Times goes full delusional
During the last couple of weeks, I've highlighted how the St. Cloud Times editorial staff gone overboard. I'd hoped they'd gotten it out of their system. Unfortunately, this editorial proves that the Times isn't just occasionally foolish. It's more a way of life. Here's what I'm talking about:
That statement is factually inaccurate. The seat currently held by Tama Theis is definitely a GOP seat. By contrast, the seat now held by Zach Dorholt, who isn't anything close to a moderate, has been represented by Democrats, with King Banaian the sole exception for the past 20 years. Sauk Rapids and Sartell are pretty reliably liberal at the local level. Ditto with Waite Park.
Though Republicans have generally represented the St. Cloud area, this race may serve as a reality check for the party.
This statement deserves additional scrutiny, too:
Can it find a moderate candidate, or will it resort to another flamethrower backed by the big money of special interest groups? We can cross our fingers for the former.Talk to King Banaian about the special interest money the DFL spent to defeat him. The DFL's attack/smear operation spent tens of thousands of dollars last year to defeat King. I haven't seen the Times editorial page utter a thing about the tons of DFL special interest money spent to defeat King.
Further, this obsession with moderates is overrated. This past election, the DFL legislative candidates ran as moderates. Then the DFL legislature passed the biggest budget in state history. Then the DFL legislature passed the biggest tax increase in state history, too. In addition to those things, the DFL legislature ignored federal labor law, specifically the NLRA, when it passed a bill that seeks to turn private sector employers into public employees.
It's worth noting that Michele Bachmann is an expert on regulations, banking procedures, taxes, health care and national security. The Times won't admit that because of their outright hatred of her.
The reality is that people want politicians who either stop bad things from happening or politicians who gets positive things accomplished. In Michele's 8 years in Congress, she's either been in the minority or she's had to deal with a corrupt, inept Democrat president. It's difficult getting positive things done in that environment.
Finally, there's this laugher:
Unlike Democrats, the Republican Party has everything to lose in this election.I have a simple question for the Times. What are they smoking?
Originally posted Sunday, June 16, 2013, revised 06-Jul 3:44 AM
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The day the First and Second Amendments died
This NRO article is both maddening and frightening:
Perhaps a suddenly firearm-friendly President Obama can put in a good word for Jared Marcum. In April, Marcum, an eighth-grader at Logan Middle School in Logan, W. Va., was arrested when he refused to take off his NRA t-shirt. The New York Daily News reports:
The clothing kerfuffle began when Marcum wore a shirt bearing the NRA's logo and a hunting rifle. As he stood in line in the cafeteria, a teacher ordered him to either change shirts or turn it inside out.
Marcum declined and was sent to the office, where an officer was dispatched after he again refused to comply with the school's request.
Cops arrested him and charged him with disrupting the educational process and obstructing an officer.
The teacher who told Marcum he shouldn't wear the t-shirt apparently doesn't care about the First Amendment. It's pretty clear that the teacher doesn't like the Second Amendment, either. With that in mind, perhaps this teacher should learn from people smarter than him. I'd submit that this young lady could teach this teacher a ton about the Constitution:
First, the school didn't have the right to tell the student he couldn't wear that t-shirt. The First Amendment trumps everything else. That should be case closed.
Second, this teacher should be disciplined for teaching a student through his actions that the Constitution should be ignored. After that, this student should put the fear of God into this teacher and the school district for violating this student's constitutional rights.
Posted Monday, June 17, 2013 10:03 PM
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It's good to be back
It's been awhile since I posted on LFR. Thanks to the second biggest storm that's ever hit my house, I was without power for almost 55 hours to the minute. The official determination is that we were hit by straight line winds that exceeded 70 mph. Perhaps that's what happened but I couldn't prove it by the destruction in my neighborhood.
First, I was fortunate. I had three broken branches, 2 of which were 'politely' deposited on the roof of my garage. The other is still up in the tree. The house to my north had 2 big branches on its rooftop. The house across my alley lost 3 trees. One tree is still standing, sorta. It's a box elder that had been there since the 1960s. The house across the street from me lost a monster blue spruce and another tree.
The irony is that the home with the most trees down didn't lose power. Apparently, they're on a different grid than I'm on. A block to the south of me, the wind snapped off 2 power line poles like twigs. What's wierd is that they snapped 6-8 feet from the top of the poles.
The neighborhood made it through the storm fairly well considering. The neighbors across the street, Brian and Craig, let us tap into their electrical outlet. That helped save almost all of the food in the refrigerator, with a couple of eggs and a thing of breakfast sausage being the only things that went bad in the fridge.
We actually ate pretty good during the outage. Saturday, Jim and I ate a couple of steaks made on the grill for lunch. We ate some Hannah Lake walleyes made on Jim's propane single-burner stove for supper. FYI- Hannah Lake walleye is what our family has called the sunfish and crappies from Hannah Lake for decades.
Personally, I'd rather have stayed at a nice hotel with wi-fi, a nice restaurant and electricity than deal with the comforts of home. Though my home didn't get blasted like it could've, I can definitely empathize with the thousands of people still without power, especially those in the Cities.
My prayers are definitely with them.
Finally, I want to praise the professionals who've spent the weekend cleaning up from this nasty storm. The city employees who got rid of the trees that littered the intersections were efficient and informative. The professionals who restored power worked quickly until they had to quit. Work rules prohibit them from working more than 16 straight hours. The team of professionals who restored power came here from Kansas City, MO.
It's impossible to call this weekend fun but everyone got through it ok without injuries. Considering the winds of Friday morning, I'd call that a miracle.
Posted Monday, June 24, 2013 2:30 AM
Comment 1 by Speed Gibson at 24-Jun-13 06:07 PM
We're at hour 86 without power, usual Xcel practice of no trucks in sight until at least day four. Good news is fairly minimal tree damage, none against house or cars.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 25-Jun-13 01:49 AM
I didn't go that long without electricity but I can definitely empathize. Thanks for calling. It's always fun talking with you. Take care.
Comment 2 by Patrick-M at 25-Jun-13 12:14 PM
Gary - welcome back.
What idiots trust Janet Napolitano? Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and John McCain
Why would anyone trust Janet Napolitano on building the fence? Apparently, there's a bunch of idiots masquerading as GOP senators who think she can be trusted to build the fence. Chief among these idiots are Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Marco Rubio, Bob Corker and John Hoeven.
What's appalling is that Lindsey Graham was foolish enough to say that the bill's security measures are better than he could've imagined. While that might be true, that's only testimony to the fact that Sen. Graham sets a low bar to be impressed with. Check out Matthew Boyle's article to see what's allowed:
On page 35, line 24 of the new bill, a provision was inserted that says Napolitano--who already believes the border is secure--can decide against building a fence if she chooses not to erect one:
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), nothing in this subsection shall require the Secretary to install fencing, or infrastructure that directly results from the installation of such fencing, in a particular location along the Southern border, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain effective control over the Southern border at such location.
This should be a poison pill for Republicans. Sen. Graham, however, thinks it's reasonable because requiring a border fence is a deal breaker with Democrats. I think that's spin. I'd bet they'd cave if Republicans forced them to defend against securing the border first.
Let's suppose I'm wrong, though. Let's suppose that it's a deal breaker with Democrats. That's fine. If they want the US-Mexican border to be as secure as the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, let them defend that position. I'd love hearing Sen. Schumer and Sen. Reid explain why a fence isn't needed to secure the border.
Personally, I'd love to see Sen. Graham get defeated in a primary, preferably by Rep. Trey Gowdy. It's one thing to have a big tent party. It's quite another to have politicians who cave and give their opponents everything they wanted from the start.
This is nothing more than Simpson-Mazoli, Part II. It doesn't stop illegal immigration. It helps import tons of low-skill, low-wage illegal immigrants into the United States at a time when unemployment is still high, wages are stagnant and the economy is still struggling.
Posted Monday, June 24, 2013 3:13 AM
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Immigration reform done right
When the Senate votes on the immigration bill, they'll be voting for a 1,200 page monstrosity. They won't be voting on a solution to the immigration problem. Unserious politicians like Harry Reid, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, John Hoeven and Bob Corker will say that their bill is the solution but it isn't. I wrote about it in this post . John Hinderaker wrote about the bill's glaring shortcomings in this post . Thankfully, Greta van Susteren wrote the outline to a true immigration solution in this post :
1/ PROBLEM: every day we get people entering the USA illegally (or staying beyond visas - I will get to this later.)
SIMPLE SOLUTION: SEAL THE BORDERS. Don't tell me we don't have the money - we do. We can stop doing stupid thinks like the IRS, in just 2 years, spending $50 million on conferences involving line dancing and trinkets. (They don't have receipts for the other years and you can expect the same absurd waste.) We can sell empty government buildings (the number of buildings is staggering!) and everyone, including the President, can tighten the belt (is this really the right time to be going to Africa to the tune of $60-100 million dollars?) Cost overruns and waste at the Pentagon are breathtakingly large: and I could go on and on and on. We just need to start being smart about our money.
We can figure out how to seal the borders (it just isn't that hard!) and we can afford it.
Greta's post highlights the problem. Money isn't the problem. Political will is the problem.
2/ PROBLEM: What about the 11 MILLION IN THE USA ILLEGALLY NOW? If you speak to the 11 million, you know their big fear and that is that ICE will deport them. That is what THEY want solved.
SIMPLE SOLUTION: give them green cards (we already know how to do that and have a mechanism) but make them ineligible for citizenship since there should be some price for violating our laws. They can stay and work forever and be good neighbors with green cards, but they can't be citizens for violating our immigration law and then getting lucky.
This is sensible. If people knowingly came to the US illegally, they shouldn't have a path to citizenship.
ICE is criticizing the Corker-Hoeven amendment:
After Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) admitted the amendment he and Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) offered to the immigration bill will not improve immigration law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) National Council president Chris Crane told Breitbart News he is shocked lawmakers would still want to pass the bill.
"So that's the answer from U.S. Senators,' Crane, an ICE agent and a former Marine, told Breitbart News exclusively on Sunday morning. 'They know the bill is bad but plan to pass it anyway? With billions of taxpayer dollars to be spent and the safety of the public on the line, Senators plan to pass the buck to the House with hopes they might fix it? Anti-enforcement special interests have succeeded in pressuring the Senate from doing what's best for America. This is why America has lost faith in its lawmakers."
Crane is right. This bill is fatally flawed. It doesn't secure the border. It isn't that it doesn't secure it enough. It's that it doesn't secure the border. Period.
Finally, Hugh Hewitt is right about this :
If the answer is 'We don't want to waste money on unnecessary double fencing,' my response is that the bill should die because the amendments' sponsors simply do not understand the importance of this provision and thus have no real intention of meeting the demands of the border-security conservatives. Fence-proponents do not care about a few more hundreds of millions or even billions, and they really don't believe that cost is driving the opposition.
I and almost every double-sided fence-advocate I know or have talked with don't trust anyone in D.C. to do anything not specifically written into the law and done so with exacting detail. In fact, they believe every authority to water down border security will in fact be employed -as has been the case since 2006. This is the rational, indeed compelling attitude to have towards this draft law: The rhetoric about it means nothing. The legislative language means everything.
Why would we trust the government at this point? More to the point: Why would we trust Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham, Harry Reid, Janet Napolitano and Bob Corker? I wouldn't trust those people if my life depended on it.
Posted Monday, June 24, 2013 12:11 PM
Comment 1 by eric z. at 25-Jun-13 02:09 PM
"Why would we trust the government at this point? More to the point: Why would we trust Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham, Harry Reid, Janet Napolitano and Bob Corker? I wouldn't trust those people if my life depended on it."
Your life does depend on what Washington DC produces.
So, who does expect this batch of sow's ears to produce a silk purse? It's a no-silk-purse cabal, be it about spying on Americans, or handling those wanting to become Americans. If a Pied Piper ever went through DC, the children might stay, but think of all the rats clogging every street, path, and byway.
Comment 2 by hardrockminer at 27-Jun-13 02:30 AM
No amnesty. Deportation. Until we have full employment, no guest workers either. Sick and tired of press 2 for Spanish.
Rep. Ryan Winkler WAS a rising DFL star
Prior to his putting his political foot in his mouth, Rep. Ryan Winkler was just an obnoxious liberal who thought of himself as a rising star in the DFL. Yesterday morning, Rep. Winkler put his foot into his mouth bigtime. This tweet touched off a firestorm:
Instead of quitting while he was behind, Rep. Winkler thought it'd be best to issue this non-apology apology :
'I did not understand 'Uncle Tom' as a racist term, and there seems to be some debate about it. I do apologize for it, however,' he said.
That's BS. Rep. Winkler graduated with a B.A. in history from Harvard University in 1998. If Rep. Winkler thinks that we'll buy the fact that he didn't learn about Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic from 1852, he'd better think again. Allan West, the former congressman from Florida, isn't buying Rep. Winkler's BS:
Former Rep. Allen West, a prominent black Republican, poured scorn on Mr. Winkler's explanation and said the lawmaker should resign, noting the precedent of cooking-show host Paula Deen being fired and losing endorsement deals for admitting long-ago use of racial epithets.
'If Paula Deen must resign so should MN Rep Winkler. Didn't know Uncle Tom is a racist slur? I'm sick of liberal hypocrisy,' he said on his Twitter account.
I don't think Winkler is a racist. That said, Rep. Winkler has a reputation of speaking first, thinking later. He's earned the reputation of being a loose cannon who says lippy things that he thinks fires up the DFL base. Saying that he isn't particularly well-respected on policy issues is understatement.
Prior to Tuesday morning, Rep. Winkler had been thinking about running for Minnesota Secretary of State. Those plans died abruptly in less than 140 characters.
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2013 2:36 AM
Comment 1 by gmw at 26-Jun-13 08:44 AM
He's a democrat...this won't even slow him down
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 26-Jun-13 08:44 PM
Agreed gmw. Democrats do not care what their so called leaders say or do, as the ends justify the means. Look at Weiner in NY, he's leading the pack for mayor.
Comment 3 by MtkaMoose at 27-Jun-13 12:47 AM
Winkler is a racist because he obviously believes that all non-white people should think the same way. What else can you call judging someone by their skin color other than racist?
More Winkler musings
While trying his best to put out the fire caused by his tweet calling Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Rep. Winkler's attempt at damage control is pathetic at best. Based on his quote in this article , Rep. Ryan Winkler doesn't think people should judge him by words he said were made in haste:
Asked if he believes his use of the term on social media will hurt his future political career, he said: 'I don't know. I hope people judge people on the merits of what they do in public office and not on the firestorm of a term that is used hastily but with no malintent.'
The thing is that most of Rep. Winkler's statements are flippant, spur-of-the-moment comments. Few of his statements are thoroughly thought through. Few of his statements are taken seriously in terms of policy. That type of statement is part of his hit-and-run tactics of communicating. (Some might say he's better at agitating than at communicating.)
Still, that isn't the most cringe-worthy statement in the article. This is:
Winkler, who had been considering a bid for secretary of state, has called off his plans. He said it was a decision he made before 'Uncle Thomas' started trending on Twitter and making headlines around the country, although not one he had voiced publicly.
I can smell the stench from that BS in St. Cloud, which is amazing considering it was made in St. Louis Park, more than 50 miles away.
The reality is that Rep. Winkler's tweet ended Rep. Winkler's bid for higher office in the future. I don't think Rep. Winkler hates minorities, though I agree with much of what Michelle Malkin wrote in this article :
This Ivy League-trained public official and attorney relied on smug bigotry to make his case against a Supreme Court justice who happens to be black. 'Uncle Thomas' wasn't a typo. Denigration was the goal, not an accident. It was a knowing, deliberate smear.
While I don't think Rep. Winkler hates people of color, I think he's been exposed as a less-than-serious politician who lives by the code ready -- fire -- aim.
Rep. Winkler can now join Tarryl Clark in living in anonymity after supposedly being the DFL's rising star.
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2013 11:45 AM
Comment 1 by Jethro at 26-Jun-13 04:07 PM
Winkler is an educated man. Using the term that he did and then pleading ignorance is inexcusable. Character matters.
Comment 2 by hardrockminer at 27-Jun-13 02:25 AM
So- can Paula D. keep her job too?
