September 10-11, 2017
Sep 10 10:05 2018 midterm prediction time Sep 10 15:41 Franken's fact-checking failures Sep 10 21:21 Mark Dayton won't enforce laws Sep 11 08:37 Democrats criticize Jason Lewis Sep 11 09:58 Democrats attack DeVos Sep 11 11:38 The NFL's patriotism problem, part II Sep 11 14:34 Minnesota premiums drop Sep 11 22:13 Vikings dominate Saints
Prior Months: Jan Feb ~ May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2018 midterm prediction time
The Democrats won't retake the majority in the US House of Representatives. They won't because Democrats have a Martha Plimpton problem. As usual, Salena Zito identified the problem in her latest column . The opening paragraph of Ms. Zito's column says "A clip of Martha Plimpton's exuberance over the 'best' abortion she ever had played out on the television overhead of a gas-station counter somewhere along U.S. Route 422 between Ohio and Pennsylvania."
To the average person, that's a little too cold-hearted sounding. That image is amplified in this article . The opening paragraphs say "The days of abortion advocates calling abortion 'rare' and 'unfortunate' are clearly over. So are the days of being able to claim, 'No one is really pro-abortion. No one actually likes it.'
Enter self-proclaimed 'Christian' abortionist Willie Parker and actress Martha Plimpton. Sadly, these (and other) abortion advocates do openly celebrate the violence of killing a preborn child. Between movements like #ShoutYourAbortion and Planned Parenthood fighting for abortion like it's saving someone's life instead of taking it, abortion has become a symbol of pride for many. Actress Martha Plimpton, however, has taken the pride of having an abortion to an incredulous level."
In the 1990s, Bill Clinton famously said that abortions "should be safe, legal and rare." That Democratic Party doesn't exist anymore. Tom Perez, Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren killed that Democratic Party.
Ms. Zito's column continues:
After saying Seattle was the home of some of her family, she went on to cheer what she did in her teens: "I also had my first abortion at the Seattle Planned Parenthood. Yay!" With equal exuberance, she also revealed that her Seattle abortion wasn't her last.
Later, she writes:
"Democrats used to debate the legal right to have one, and that was a point of view that was shared by most voters," said Michael Wear, a theologically conservative evangelical Christian and Democrat who served in Barack Obama's faith outreach office in the White House. "I don't understand why, 14 months before a midterm election, why would you push 20 percent of voters who would love to support Democrats out the door? Better yet, why would you speak of pro-life Democrats as though they were some extraterrestrial who just landed on earth?" he said.
It is rare that anyone who has had an abortion celebrates it - Plimpton seems to fail to understand few in this country do. Maybe the privileged class celebrates abortions? Even if they did, that won't help the Democratic Party win back voters. Or is it the intellectual class that celebrates them? Even if they did, that doesn't win back majorities either. Or maybe it's the celebrity class that does? If so, there's not enough of them to win back the House or Senate.
In short, this is not the message you want to win every down-ballot seat the party has let waste away under the thrust of identity politics.
When Republican strategists talk about San Francisco liberals or tie candidates directly to Nancy Pelosi, that's the image they're trying to plant. It's the image of a heartless, machine-like woman. (Barbara Boxer fit that image, too.)
Between driving away Catholics with these pro-abortion fanatics and blue collar workers in the Midwest and Rust Belt with their love of environmental activists, Democrats have ceded America's heartland. That's why the Democratic Party is a bi-coastal, urban political party.
Posted Sunday, September 10, 2017 10:05 AM
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Franken's fact-checking failures
Al Franken's anti-religious bigotry is getting more disgusting by the day. Last week, Franken criticized Amy Coney-Barrett, President Trump's nominee to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, for being associated with a civil rights law firm that the Southern Poverty Law Center, aka SPLC, has designated as a hate group.
First, the name of the civil rights group is the Alliance for the Defense of Freedom, aka ADF. ADF represented Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, MO in the Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer in the Supreme Court. According to that ruling , the Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center ran a "preschool and daycare center." The Center applied to "replace a large portion of the pea gravel with a pour-in-place rubber surface by participating in Missouri's Scrap Tire Program." ADF not only won the case. They won by a 7-2 margin, meaning it was a pretty clear-cut case.
After Ms. Barrett's confirmation hearing, "ADF president, CEO and general counsel Michael Farris" issued this statement . The statement said "It is deeply regrettable that Sen. Franken is misinformed about our work on behalf of religious freedom, something so 'extreme' that even seven justices of the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with our position three months ago in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer. There is a real danger of conflating genuine hate groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, with mainstream religious beliefs that are shared by millions of Americans and people from all walks of life across the world. As a member of Congress, Sen. Franken needs to fact-check before parroting discredited attacks by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a once-proud civil rights organization that is now a left-wing smear machine known to incite violence. Alliance Defending Freedom is the largest religious liberty legal advocacy organization in the world and advocates for the freedom of all people - including Sen. Franken's constituents - to peacefully live, speak, and work consistently with their convictions without fear of government punishment."
Greg Gutfeld summed up the SPLC perfectly in this segment:
This week, Sen. Franken's credibility as a legislator took a major hit. You wouldn't know that by the Twin Cities media but it's there. Franken is still pouring through the handful of Minnesota Supreme Court rulings that Justice David Stras participated in but the SPLC has gotten a total pass by Franken. Sen. Franken accepts the SPLC's hateful statements as though they were carved on stone tablets without examining their principles but he criticizes organizations he knows nothing about because they don't share his warped ideology.
Sen. Franken is a shill and ideologue. He isn't a serious legislator. His accomplishments are virtually nonexistent. He reflexively rejects opinions held by people he ideologically disagrees with. This is consistent with the alt-left's practices. Sen. Franken and the alt-left don't believe in compromise, discussion or coming together based on principle. This is the end result:
Based on Sen. Franken's affiliation with Antifa's thugs, it's fair to ask if we have more to fear from Sen. Franken and Antifa than we have to fear from Prof. Coney-Barrett and ADF.
Posted Sunday, September 10, 2017 3:41 PM
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Mark Dayton won't enforce laws
If Minnesotans needed additional proof that Emperor Dayton doesn't understand the importance of enforcing our nation's laws, we got it this week. This past Tuesday, Emperor Dayton said that enforcing our nation's immigration laws was "lunacy." While greeting students outside Meadow Lake Elementary School in New Hope, Emperor Dayton said "It's just shameful. I mean you have Republican members of Congress as well as Democrats saying this is the wrong way to go. Here in Minnesota we have a shortage of skilled workers. So we're going to take some 6,200 that are here under DACA and send them away? It's lunacy."
I know that some Republicans don't believe in enforcing this nation's immigration laws, too. Names like John McCain and Lindsey Graham immediately leap to mind. The term "comprehensive immigration reform" immediately pops into my mind, too. Most importantly, the term open borders comes to mind because that's essentially what we've had the past 16 years. This CIS report says that the "total number of illegal immigrants (11 to 12 million) has held roughly constant in recent years because the number arriving has roughly balanced the number going home or getting legal status. This has created the mistaken impression that the problem is largely over. The most recent estimates from the Center for Migration Studies indicate that 1.7 million aliens joined the illegal population from 2009 to 2013 and Pew Research Center estimates indicate 1.5 million, 300,000 to 400,000 a year. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates an additional 790,000 joined the illegal population since 2013 for a total of 2.5 million new illegal immigrants since President Obama took office."
I'd love to hear Emperor Dayton explain why consistent enforcement of our nation's laws is lunacy. I'd love to hear him explain why turning a blind eye to illegal immigration is acceptable. President Obama and Emperor Dayton have turned a blind eye towards this problem. As a result, wages have stagnated and economic growth has been pathetic.
When President Obama and Emperor Dayton turned a blind eye towards illegal immigration, things got worse, not better. When Rahm Emanuel turned a blind eye towards gun violence, things got worse, not better. That's the history of pacifism. Things get worse, not better. Pacifism told Ayatollah Khomeini he could start an Islamic revolution. Pacifism told Hitler that he could conquer Europe without much of a fight. Now, pacifism is telling illegal immigrants that they're welcome to stay here without impunity.
Pacifism is lunacy. Consistently enforcing the law is the start of sanity.
Posted Sunday, September 10, 2017 9:21 PM
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Democrats criticize Jason Lewis
As certain as death and taxes, Democrats have started attacking Jason Lewis a year before he's re-elected. In her LTE, Rachel Garaghty of Cottage Grove said "Lewis also consistently votes against our values. He voted to strip health care from 28,500 people in Washington and Dakota counties. He voted to loosen restrictions on banks that gamble with our savings and investments. He voted to let pollution clog our lakes and rivers. Lewis is voting against the very things that keep us healthy, wealthy and happy."
It isn't surprising that Democrats' criticisms of Lewis are dishonest. That isn't just what Democrats do. It's who they are. Saying that any Republican has "voted to let pollution clog our lakes and rivers" is over the top in the extreme.
Later in her LTE, Garaghty said "The people who were brave enough to stand up to Lewis through their peaceful protest were just local moms and dads, grandparents and young people who are rightly concerned about Lewis' undemocratic tendencies." That's utterly dishonest. Jason Lewis's neighbors called the police. They obviously felt threatened :
But my neighbors saw 20, 25 people, nobody knows the real count, outside. Their daughters were home alone, got scared, called their dad. He called the police, which, by the way, in the suburb I live in, it's a violation of a city ordinance to what, not to mention trespassing.
Jason Lewis isn't afraid of debating people. It's a strength of his. Lewis said he won't waste his time, though, providing DFL activists the opportunity to create a "spectacle."
TakeAction Minnesota activists aren't civic-minded people who want to start a dialogue. They're hard-core activists who want to create a spectacle. As we've seen in the past, if they have to frighten people and trespass to make their point, they won't hesitate in doing that.
Posted Monday, September 11, 2017 8:37 AM
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Democrats attack DeVos
Democrats have started attacking Education Secretary Betsy DeVos because she's announced that she's rewriting the guidance on how universities handle sexual assaults on campus. Lucia Graves' article starts off with a ridiculous premise, then gets worse after that.
The opening paragraphs to Ms. Graves' article say "As she announced the rollback of Obama-era rules on campus sexual assault, education secretary Betsy DeVos seemed at times less like the head of the Department of Education than the department of rape apologists. 'The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students,' DeVos said in a speech at George Mason University on Thursday afternoon. 'Survivors, victims of a lack of due process and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved. 'It's notable that the 'victims' she seems most worried about aren't those of sexual assault - they're 'victims of a lack of due process.'
What a stunning accusation. Let's look at what life has looked like for men who've been accused of sexual assault during the last few years. Student defendants don't have the right to an attorney, not that it would do them much good since the defense attorneys haven't been allowed to cross-examine the accuser. This is the criteria used in convicting these students:
Under 2011 rules that establish a low standard of proof, Kaminer says, "students accused of harassment are to be convicted in the absence of clear and convincing evidence of guilt, if guilt merely seems more likely than not. ' And schools are enjoined to 'take immediate steps to protect the complainant from further harassment,' including 'taking disciplinary action against the harasser' prior to adjudication. So the OCR-DOJ 'blueprint' and related rules not only violate the First Amendment guarantee of free speech but are, to be polite, casual about due process.
Perhaps Ms. Graves likes the thought of students getting railroaded, their lives ruined forever. When people don't have the right to confront their accusers, they're essentially defenseless. The prosecutor doesn't have to present evidence proving that an assault happened. The defendant can't question his accuser's credibility. The verdict is essentially rendered when the accuser files the complaint.
How would Ms. Graves like it if she was accused of sexually assaulting a man, then not be able to defend herself? Would she be ok with not being able to question her accuser? Would she be fine with having her career ruined by someone who accused her of doing something she didn't do?
It's apparent that Ms. Graves hasn't thought about the impact due process has had. Due process has protected people from dishonest accusers. It's also made sure that accusers didn't ruin honest people's lives.
She didn't talk about the fact that according to US Department of Justice reports, an estimated 19% of college-age women will suffer attempted or completed sexual assault, but that only 12% of those cases ever get reported - or that only between two and 10% of campus sexual assault accusations are actually false, per the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Those aren't the victims she seems to care about.
Ms. Lucia, how will taking people's due process rights lead to more women reporting sexual assault? Further, when sexual assault is defined as "making 'sexual or dirty jokes' that are 'unwelcome' or disseminate 'sexual rumors' that are 'unwelcome'" that's expanding the definition of sexual assault.
Posted Monday, September 11, 2017 9:58 AM
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The NFL's patriotism problem, part II
Last Friday, I wrote this post about the NFL's "patriotism problem." This article serves as a continuation of that theme.
According to the article, "Bennett sat as teammate Justin Britt stood next to him with his hand on his shoulder while another teammate, Thomas Rawls, stood on Bennett's other side before the game against the Green Bay Packers. Bennett's brother, Martellus, who plays for the Packers, stood at the end of the Green Bay bench with his right fist in the air."
What a bunch of losers. These men have made millions of dollars each but they're refusing to honor the US flag. That's the definition of a total loser. The article continues, saying "Two weeks ago, Bennett was detained on a Las Vegas street for about 10 minutes by police who were investigating the firing of gunshots in the area. Bennett has alleged that he had been the victim of racial discrimination after being threatened at gunpoint by the police. He said they singled him out for nothing more than being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Police denied the charge and said Bennett was detained briefly because he was spotted running from the police before jumping over a wall. Bennett was handcuffed but police did not arrest or charge him."
The NFL shouldn't tolerate this type of disrespect:
At tonight's Vikings game, there's a good chance that they'll honor those killed during the terrorist attacks of 9/11. That tribute will ring more than a little hollow considering how many NFL players apparently hate the United States.
The owners could stop this in an instant. They have the ability to suspend each player. The owners also have the ability to dictate team rules to the players through the head coach. What these ungrateful players haven't noticed is the fact that what they do on the field on game day is considered work product.
If owners won't tell players that their mindless protests don't stop, fans should interpret that as meaning that they're ok with their players not being patriotic.
Finally, I wonder if these players even understand what their actions mean. I can respect Jim Brown. He's a patriot. Mike and Martellus Bennett are just a pair of spoiled brats that didn't put their activism into action. They're whiners, not problem solvers.
Posted Monday, September 11, 2017 11:38 AM
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Minnesota premiums drop
Rep. Brian Daniels' guest column in the Owatonna newspaper brought lots of good news.
Rep. Daniels wrote "In last month's column, I discussed a reason for optimism surrounding Minnesota's individual health insurance market, which late last year was on the verge of implosion. If approved by the federal government, the Minnesota Premium Security Plan that was passed during the 2017 Legislative Session will result in significant premium decreases for tens of thousands of Minnesotans who purchase coverage off the individual health insurance market."
Then he continued, saying "if this legislation would not have been signed into law and if we do not receive approval from the federal government, Medica customers could see as much as a 29 percent increase in their premiums. However, if this legislation does go into effect, Medica customers could see up to a 5 percent decrease, saving these Minnesotans a considerable amount of money."
Despite the positive things this legislature did, Emperor Dayton still wasn't satisfied. He's still insisting that Republicans trim their tax relief package. Here's hoping that Speaker Daudt and Sen. Gazelka remind Emperor Dayton of the good things that Republicans did for Minnesota families.
In the past, Emperor Dayton hasn't put a high priority on families' budgets. He's put his highest priorities on the government's budget. Compare that with Republicans' priorities. The DFL apparently hates trickle-down economics but they're fine with trickle-down government. Thankfully, Rep. Daniels isn't buying into the DFL's economic theories.
Posted Monday, September 11, 2017 2:34 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 11-Sep-17 05:26 PM
So legislators thought it was a good idea to use over taxation money to prop up an imploding insurance system? Premiums are still going up, now it's just spread over more people and now to those who aren't even part of Obamacare.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 12-Sep-17 08:10 AM
Actually, they'll start to stabilize once this re-insurance gets fully implemented. That's what happened when Minnesota had this program before. Minnesota's health insurance premiums were the cheapest in the nation. Everyone benefitted.
Vikings dominate Saints
The only thing you can say about the Vikings' season opener is that they dominated the New Orleans Saints in every facet of the game. Sam Bradford completed 27 of 32 passes for 346 yards. (That's an 84.4% completion percentage and a QB rating of 143.) Stefon Diggs caught 7 passes, including 2 for touchdowns, worth 93 yards. What's frightening is that he wasn't the best wideout on the field for the Vikings. That was Adam Thielen. Thielen walked on at D-3 Minnesota State, Mankato. Then he wasn't drafted so he tried out for the Vikings. He spent his rookie season on the practice squad. Tonight, Thielen caught 9 passes worth 157 yards.
Rumor has it that former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was in the house tonight. Rumor also has it that future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees was in the house tonight, too. Adrian's first run was his longest of the night. It was for 9 yards. Brees played valiantly but it wasn't nearly enough. He didn't throw for a touchdown until New Orleans had all but officially lost.
The national media played up the Adrian Peterson vs. Dalvin Cook matchup. That wasn't fair ... to Adrian. While Adrian rushed for 18 yards on 6 carries, Dalvin Cook ran the ball 22 times for 127 yards, including a 33-yard run on third-and-7 that sealed the game:
The other major story from tonight's season opener was the Vikings' offensive line play. They protected Sam Bradford. They opened holes for Dalvin Cook. You know the line is playing well when the QB completes 85% of his passes and 8 of those completions were for more than 20 yards. The Vikings ran the ball 28 times and averaged 4.7 yards-per-carry. There were lots of Vikings fans that worried how they'd play. I'm one of them.
The offensive line had 5 new starters. Berger moved from center to right guard to make room for Ohio State rookie Pat Elflein. It's easy to see why the Vikings traded up in this year's draft to pick him. That kid's got lots of Pro Bowls in his future. The free agent tackles played well at times, though Remmers still had some unsteady moments. LT Riley Rieff played a strong game.
The thing that's obvious is that this unit is significantly more athletic than any offensive line during the Zimmer era. During the game, they flashed a graphic that said tonight's opening game was the first time those 5 players played together. It certainly didn't look that way.
Notice what I haven't mentioned thus far. I haven't mentioned the Vikings defense. That isn't because they didn't play well. There's no denying that Brees was fairly productive. He threw for 273 yards and a late touchdown. Everson Griffen got the Vikings only sack of the night. That doesn't come close to telling the story, though. The Vikings' secondary contested every throw Brees made. The defensive line surrounded Brees much of the night. Brees felt claustrophobic all night, like he was throwing from inside a phone booth.
Next up for the Vikings are the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. Let the trash-talking begin.
Posted Monday, September 11, 2017 10:13 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 12-Sep-17 05:03 PM
Sure they looked impressive but they were playing the Saints, a beefier version of the Eden Prairie HS team. This team went 5-0 last year and then imploded so I wouldn't get too excited about 1 game against the 31st ranked defense from last year.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 13-Sep-17 01:28 AM
Nawlins has more defensive talent than you think. Rankins & Jordan are Pro Bowl quality linemen. It won't take long for A.J. Klein to turn into a quality MLB & their secondary is improving. If you watch the tape, some of Sam's completions came when he had lots of time, which means the corners had to cover Thielen & Diggs for 4+ seconds. Other of Sam's completions, especially Thielen's 2nd chunk play, came when the DB had near-perfect coverage & Sam dropped the ball in perfect.
The o-line was a major improvement over last year but they still have things to work on. Cook did something Monday night that AP never did: pick up a blitz. The kid's got talent.
