September 11-14, 2016
Sep 11 10:44 Hillary faints at 9/11 ceremony Sep 12 10:57 ABM mailer: Dorholt is pro-special interest Sep 13 01:38 Dorholt's latest mailer Sep 14 01:33 Voting for their lives? Sep 14 02:44 Voting for their livelihoods? Sep 14 11:30 Hillary's latest post-collapse spin Sep 14 17:12 Newspaper pressures legislature Sep 14 20:05 Calling out the NFLPA's doubletalk
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Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Hillary faints at 9/11 ceremony
This morning, Rick Leventhal tweeted "BREAKING: law enf source: Hillary Clinton just left 9/11 ceremony w/medical episode, appeared to faint on way into van, helped by security" This isn't a tweet from someone from the fever swamps. This report is from an accomplished correspondent who has covered everything from hurricanes to wars to campaign events.
If ever there was a morning when a politician would want to raise their public profile, this morning is it. That's why it's curious that Hillary is nowhere to be found, not even on Twitter. It's more than a little justified to question whether Hillary's health will prevent her from serving a full term at the level that's required of presidents. At this point, it's reasonable to question the Team Clinton doctors' statements that she's in good health.
If ever there was a person whose word shouldn't be trusted, it's Hillary's. There's no reason to think that Team Hillary's medical team hasn't been corrupted to the point that they'd say whatever she'd want them to say. The MSM is protecting her so it's up to the RNC and, especially, the Trump campaign to make this a campaign issue. Clearly, Mrs. Clinton's health is questionable. If ever there was a position that required a person in top physical and mental shape, it's that of president of the United States, aka POTUS.
Fox News has now posted video of Leventhal's report of Mrs. Clinton's fainting spell :
The Democratic presidential nominee appeared to faint on her way into her van and had to be helped by her security, the source said. She was "clearly having some type of medical episode." After more than an hour of radio silence, Clinton's campaign issued a statement saying the former Secretary of State "felt overheated."
"Secretary Clinton attended the September 11th Commemoration Ceremony for just an hour and thirty minutes this morning to pay her respects and greet some of the families of the fallen," Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said. "During the ceremony, she felt overheated so departed to go to her daughter's apartment, and is feeling much better." But a witness told Fox News that Clinton stumbled off the curb, her "knees buckled" and she lost a shoe as she was helped into a van during her "unexpected early departure."
Here's the video of Leventhal's report:
UPDATE II: Watch this video . That doesn't look like Mrs. Clinton was overheated. It confirms she fainted.
Posted Sunday, September 11, 2016 10:50 AM
Comment 1 by JerryE9 at 11-Sep-16 11:35 AM
Seems to me this must be handled delicately. If anyone makes too much an issue of it, you're attacking a "sweet little old lady" and she gets sympathy votes. Say too little, and she might win the election. Best thing, I think, would be to wait and see if it becomes obvious, like in the first debate. If she "looks awful," the sympathy vote might be to let her lose, for her own good health. Meanwhile I wonder what the rules are if a candidate becomes incapacitated BEFORE the election? Before taking the oath?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 11-Sep-16 03:27 PM
This doesn't need to be handled delicately. It needs to be handled properly. This isn't something to be gleeful about. It's something to express worry about. It's something where it's legitimate to bring up her concussion history up. It's something where it's legitimate to question whether Mrs. Clinton's doctors told the truth when they said she was fine. Let everyone make up their own minds.
UPDATE: Chris Cillizza's article says that this morning's "overheating" makes HRC's health a legitimate issue the rest of the campaign. If liberal Cillizza says it's fair game, it's fair game.
Comment 2 by eric z at 11-Sep-16 08:11 PM
AP reports, pneumonia and on warfarin.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/05dcba3b4a5b42c1a6409fd85da54e9f/clinton-campaign-says-she-left-911-event-feeling-overheated
She is not as young as Trump.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 12-Sep-16 03:07 AM
FYI- HRC is 68 & Trump is 70.
Comment 3 by LadyLogician at 11-Sep-16 10:07 PM
Warfarin is a blood thinner and is not used unless you have serious heart issue or you are at major risk for a stroke. That is not something you give a person who is in good health.
Now that said, I had pneumonia back in 2007. It was the most miserable 3 month recovery I had ever experienced and I was a healthy person to start. So again, a 67 year old in already questionable health versus a 40 year old in decent health - the recovery period is going to be harder for her. This could easily take her off of the campaign trail for a large portion of the remainder of the campaign. That is not good.
LL
Comment 4 by LadyLogician at 11-Sep-16 10:11 PM
And another thing....if they diagnosed her with pneumonia 2 days ago, why was the campaigns FIRST response "she was overheated"? Why not just come out and say, she has mild pneumonia but was not going to miss this important event? WHY LIE?
LL
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 12-Sep-16 03:22 AM
LL, you asked "WHY LIE?" 2 reasons: First, she's a Clinton. That's what they do. Next, think of the phrase "consciousness of guilt." Ring any bells? LOL
ABM mailer: Dorholt is pro-special interest
Friday afternoon, I received a mailer that was paid for by the Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund. This mailer touted Zach Dorholt because he'll "protect a woman's right to choose, fight back against attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, work to pass paid family leave and make childcare more affordable."
The opening paragraph of the mailer sounds threatening, saying "Women make hundreds of decisions every day and should be able to make the most personal ones -- about their health, birth control and pregnancies -- without interference from their boss or from politicians." Let's examine that paragraph.
When was the last time a Minnesota legislator offered legislation that would invalidate Roe v. Wade? Let's be blunt, people. That's what it would take to outlaw "a woman's right to choose." Actually, that isn't enough because Roe v. Wade is a ruling from the US Supreme Court. In other words, there isn't a thing that state legislators can do to outlaw a woman's right to choose.
Later, it mentions that Dorholt would fight against defunding Planned Parenthood. Since that's never been proposed in Minnesota, who cares what Mr. Dorholt thinks about the issue? It's irrelevant. Finally, it mentions that Dorholt will work to "make childcare more affordable." That's code for he's voted to force unionization on in-home child care providers.
In other words, it means that Dorholt will fight for a woman's right to choose, something that he has utterly no control over and that he'll fight against anyone who wants to defund Planned Parenthood, something that nobody's attempted to do in Minnesota. Finally, he told everyone that he voted to force unionization down in-home child care providers' throats. That ended with a thud when in-home child care providers rejected AFSCME's 'offer' to represent them by a vote of 1,014-392.
Posted Monday, September 12, 2016 10:57 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 14-Sep-16 12:46 PM
He sounds like a good little apparatchik, doesn't he?
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Sep-16 04:06 PM
That's Dorholt alright.
Dorholt's latest mailer
According to Zach Dorholt's latest mailer, which is actually paid for by Dorholt's campaign, "Zach shares our priorities." It isn't surprising that he's making this claim. It's surprising what he thinks are "our priorities."
Listed first on Dorholt's priorities is that he'll "invest in our schools in Central Minnesota from pre-K to college and bring back the tuition freeze at SCSU." Next on Dorholt's list of priorities is to work "with both sides of the aisle to deliver on transportation funding for highways, roads and the Northstar Line." Last but not least, Dorholt promises to "stand up to special interests in both parties trying to buy our elections by putting a stop to secret campaign contributions from lobbyists and corporations."
Let's look at Dorholt's priorities. The tuition freeze might sound appealing but it's a PR game. Tuition is frozen but the taxpayers pay for the increased cost of college. If you want to stabilize the cost of college, you have to question the expenses. The first thing that should disappear to make college less costly are things like Senior-to-Sophomore, which gives high school students college credits for classes taught frequently by high school teachers.
That's terrible for multiple reasons. First, high school teachers aren't qualified to teach college-level classes in STEM-related subjects. The students get cheated because they're essentially told that they're prepared for college after they've taken glorified high school classes. Next, S2S classes steal tuition revenue from universities. Top that off with universities with additional expenses but a tuition 'freeze'.
Tell me how that math works budget-wise for the universities. Tell me how S2S helps prepare high school students for college-level classes.
Next on Dorholt's priorities is to raise the gas tax. That isn't what DFL legislators do. It's who DFL legislators are. Dorholt would also vote to raise the Metro sales tax to pay for Southwest Light Rail. Mr. Dorholt, how will raising the Metro sales tax fix a single pothole in St. Cloud? Why should we raise the gas tax when Republicans already have a plan that will fix Minnesota's roads and bridges that doesn't require raising anyone's taxes?
Finally, Dorholt insists that he'll fight the evil special interests that are trying to buy our elections. The bad news for Mr. Dorholt is that he's got a record he'll have to defend. He's already voted against in-home child care providers and in favor of the public employee unions, which are bigtime allies of the DFL. When it came time to choose between the people and the special interests that time, Mr. Dorholt chose the special interests.
When the Tax Bill was being debated, local businesses lobbied against the DFL's tax increases. Mr. Dorholt voted with the DFL and against his constituents. Then he returned home and got read the riot act by his constituents. In 2014, Dorholt voted to repeal part of the tax increases he voted to create in 2013.
If you're getting the impression that Dorholt isn't who his mailers say he is, don't fight that feeling. This is the only candidate in that race who does what his constituents want:
Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2016 1:38 AM
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Voting for their lives?
The central theme of Salena Zito's article is that rural Democrats are switching parties because they're voting for their lives. The chief setting for Ms. Zito's article is Lee Supply's training room, which is described as "a third-generation family-owned business" that's been "operating since 1954."
Geographically, it's described as being nestled "in a glen between the rolling hills of the Alleghenies and the Monongahela River." Its economic niche is that "it sells pipe and pumping systems used in everything from traditional applications, such as water distribution and sewage treatment, to highly specialized applications such as horizontal directional drilling, slip lining, leachate and methane collection, gas extraction and water transport."
The political impact of Lee Supply's training room might be election-changing. As Ms. Zito notes, "Every single person who walked into Lee Supply's training room, from the CEO down to the janitor, was a registered Democrat. And every single person pledged not only to vote for Trump and Toomey but to ask family, neighbors and friends to do the same."
It's important to note that this information is anecdotal. It isn't scientific. This information isn't anecdotal, though:
Paul Sracic, a Youngstown State University political scientist, believes there are two categories of voters rallying to support Trump. "First, there are people who don't normally vote," he said. "Nearly half the voting-age population was either not registered to vote, or was registered and decided not to vote in 2012. And if even 10 percent of that group was to show up and vote this year, it could easily change the outcome in the important swing states."
Sracic - who frankly admits he obsesses over opinion polls - wonders whether these voters are even represented in the endless presidential surveys: "If people aren't registered voters, they won't be picked up by most polls. If they are registered voters but don't normally vote, they may be eliminated by 'likely voter' screens pollsters use.' Romney lost Pennsylvania in 2012 by about 300,000 votes out of about 5.5 million cast; in Ohio, he lost by less than 200,000. "So bringing new people in can make a difference," Sracic said.
Potentially more significant, however, are those voters who "flip" - Sracic's second category. "Remember," he said, "taking a Democratic voter and having them vote Republican is both a +1 and a -1. In other words, if Romney lost Pennsylvania by 300,000 voters, all you have to do [this time] is flip slightly more than 150,000 votes." Between Ohio and Pennsylvania, if approximately 225,000 voters (out of the 11 million who are expected on Election Day) switch parties, they could tip the entire election.
It's unknown how many people are "voting for their lives" in swing states. If western Pennsylvania is an example, though, it's quite possible that the polling in Ohio and Pennsylvania won't pick up a Trump mini-wave. This sums things up perfectly:
"Nine years ago I was forced into retirement at Corning, and I needed a job with health care," said Paul Satranko, a lifelong Mon Valley resident. A Vietnam War veteran, he played Little League baseball 60 years ago with Lee Supply's CEO, he has been the company's janitor and all-around character ever since. "There is no room for apathy in this election," he said. "I think that is what people not from around here don't understand - we are voting for our lives." He plans to vote for Trump.
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2016 1:33 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 14-Sep-16 12:43 PM
It's easy for Democrats to vote Trump since his known policy positions, such as they are, dovetail so nicely with liberal orthodoxy. Touchback amnesty, Obamacare mandate, minimum wage, wealth redistribution through child care policy, yesterday's words on "global warming", nonsensical foreign policy views and above all a visceral hatred of conservatives -- why vote Clinton when you can vote for another Democrat who also wears a pants suit?
Oh, there's that Alt-Reich thing, but really, Democrat Don knows that Nazis are people too.
Voting for their livelihoods?
While I wrote this post , I couldn't stop thinking that the Iron Range would benefit if DFL activists from the Range started thinking like the Democrats who filed into Lee Supply's training room in Charleroi, PA, which is in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Democrats in southwestern Pennsylvania that filed into that training room entered as Democrats but left as Trump voters. Angela LeJohn isn't just voting for Donald Trump but for Pat Toomey, too. That's because, in her opinion, "voting to preserve their industry means voting for Trump and Toomey." Ms. LeJohn is employed by Lee Supply, which specializes in "pipe and pumping systems used in everything from traditional applications, such as water distribution and sewage treatment, to highly specialized applications such as horizontal directional drilling, slip lining, leachate and methane collection, gas extraction and water transport."
If the Iron Range got smart, they'd vote Republican for a few cycles. A few weeks ago, Rick Nolan and Ken Martin postponed a vote on something known on the Range as Resolution 54. The text of Resolution 54 reads "Oppose sulfide ore mining, which is significantly different from taconite mining, poses unacceptable environmental risks, threatens multiple watersheds (Lake Superior, BWCA/VNP, Mississippi) and should not be allowed in the sulfur-bearing rock of Minnesota."
Bill Hanna, the executive editor of the Mesabi Daily News, notes that "while mining opponents, most notably the DFL Environmental Caucus, are targeting nonferrous projects, they either fail to realize, or don't care, that all rock mined on the Range is 'sulfur-bearing rock,' including in taconite production. So Resolution 54 would put the DFL Party squarely against a 135-year history of mining in Minnesota and opposed to a proud traditional way of life for more than a century on the Iron Range."
As the people of Charleroi, PA have figured out, it's more important to vote for people you don't always agree with but who'll always "have your back" than it is to always vote for Democrats just because that's what you've always done. If the Range doesn't figure this out, they'll soon realize that they'll have to vote Republican to protect their livelihoods.
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2016 2:44 AM
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Hillary's latest post-collapse spin
It wouldn't be right if one of Hillary's liberal defenders didn't write a story about how the coverage of HRC's collapse was the product of "age-ism and sex-ism." This morning's article was written by Eleanor Clift, one of the most blindly partisan writers in DC.
When the article's first paragraph starts by saying "When Hillary Clinton began mapping out her presidential campaign, she knew that clearing the hurdle to become the first woman commander in chief would be paramount. What she didn't know or fully understand 18 months ago was how her age would work against her in subtle and cruel ways, and how ageism and sexism can combine in a double whammy undermining her candidacy", it's a safe bet it won't be objective. It'll be a compilation filled with spin and liberal ideology.
Here's the simple truth. There's a ton of media coverage of Mrs. Clinton's fainting because a) she's the first presidential candidate who's fainted at a campaign event in recent history and b) the video of her fainting was published. The same reaction would've happened had Bill Clinton been the candidate that'd collapsed.
Further, considering the fact that the Clinton campaign switched stories multiple times, the average person didn't buy the campaign's spin. They weren't doctors but they knew Mrs. Clinton wasn't a healthy person.
That's because the average person who saw Hillary faint while trying to get into that van knew that Mrs. Clinton was suffering from something other than a heat stroke. They might not have figured out that Mrs. Clinton likely had a neurological event but they knew she hadn't fainted because of the heat at the event. The people didn't buy the spin like the compliant media did, which is proof that the media's reporting on Mrs. Clinton shouldn't be trusted. Here's a perfect example of that bias:
Unfounded rumors spread by Donald Trump and his allies about Clinton's allegedly poor health and lack of stamina found their mark Sunday in a video gone viral that shows Clinton stumbling as aides help her into a waiting car.
Let's rewrite this accurately:
Rumors spread by Donald Trump and his allies about Clinton's well-documented severe health issues found their mark Sunday in a video gone viral that shows Clinton unconscious as aides help her into a waiting car.
Mrs. Clinton didn't stumble. People who've fainted don't stumble into a vehicle. They're dragged into a vehicle. The agenda media's devotion to Mrs. Clinton is unwavering. Thankfully, there are still enough people who question the Agenda Media's 'reporting'.
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2016 11:30 AM
Comment 1 by Rex Newman at 14-Sep-16 03:49 PM
I personally experienced a dehydration episode a few years ago in an over-crowded, very warm bar. Like Mrs. Clinton, I was conscious throughout but unable to stand, slumping to the floor as if drunk. My wife took no chances, called 911, and I spent that night in the hospital, my blood pressure dangerously low. Now - why would Mrs. Clinton or anyone else avoid the ER? If it was the first time for her, it was reckless by all concerned including Chelsea and that mystery doctor/nurse.
More likely - much more likely it would seem - this was not her first such episode. They gambled that this was no different and would pass, perhaps with medication, but still the wrong choice, and certainly not Presidential.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 14-Sep-16 04:05 PM
What I saw on that video, & I'm not a doctor by any stretch, looked like a seizure episode. I don't doubt that other things can look like that. I'm not willing to give the Clintons the benefit of any doubt when it comes to telling us about their health issues.
Newspaper pressures legislature
It's clear that the Grand Forks Herald won't hesitate in taking sides in the special session fight. Their editorial takes Gov. Dayton's side without hesitation.
That's stated emphatically when they wrote "The sticking point was Southwest Light Rail. And Southwest Light Rail now has been taken off the table. On Friday, Dayton and House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, met and talked about renewed prospects for a special session. Local Reps. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston, and Dan Fabian, R-Roseau, should encourage Daudt to come to terms with the governor at last."
Why isn't it Gov. Dayton's responsibility to come to terms with Speaker Daudt? The legislature passed a wildly popular tax bill that Gov. Dayton pocket-vetoed. The House passed a bonding bill that had significant bipartisan support. That legislation didn't get to Gov. Dayton's desk because DFL senators sabotaged the bill that would've paid for fixing some of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Minnesota.
If anyone is responsible for the bonding bill not getting passed and the Tax Bill getting vetoed, it's the DFL and Gov. Dayton. They're the ones that put a higher priority on funding SWLRT than on fixing dangerous highways. If people get injured on the highways that would've gotten funded by the bonding bill, it's on the DFL's heads.
Republicans' priorities were fine. I'm being charitable in saying that the DFL's priorities were misguided. It's as if Gov. Dayton wants to be an ideologue rather than being the governor of the entire state of Minnesota. Shame on him. Shame on the Grand Forks Herald for siding with Gov. Dayton.
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2016 5:12 PM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 14-Sep-16 06:42 PM
The SWLRT funding may be off the table for now but after the lawsuits are filed for how the money was obtained, the funding issue will be back on the table.
The GOP needs to let every voter know that Gov. Goofy held everyone in MN hostage over a tin can only the elite liberals in the metro want.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 14-Sep-16 08:14 PM
That's exactly right!
Calling out the NFLPA's doubletalk
I've been a Minnesota Vikings fan since 1966 so I'm more than a casual fan. During that time, I've heard lots of things from both management and the NFLPA, the players' union, that've disgusted me. This afternoon, I reached a boiling point. I won't take this duplicity anymore. This afternoon on ESPN's NFL Live, host Trey Wingo asked if the Broncos were dirty. Jeff Saturday, Peyton Manning's center, insisted that the Broncos weren't, insisting that it's the refs' fault because they didn't call penalties on the plays when the Broncos ignored the rules and intentionally hit Cam Newton in the head.
Saturday's arguments are intellectually infantile. As a member of the NFLPA's Executive Committee and as one of the chief negotiators of the current CBA, Saturday fought hard to put in rules to protect players from head traumas. He's been outspoken on this issue, criticizing the NFL for "talking out of both sides of their mouth" about protecting players from head trauma. The NFL hasn't been consistent in enforcing the rules that protect players from head trauma.
Saturday's insistence that it's the refs' fault because they didn't call penalties is only partially persuasive. It's indisputable that the refs didn't do their jobs. I won't dispute that because it's indisputable. That being said, it's equally indisputable that the players have a responsibility to not play dirty. And yes, the Broncos played dirty against Cam Newton. Watch this video and tell me that they didn't launch themselves and hit Cam Newton in the helmet without attempting to wrap him up with a proper form tackle:
There's no disputing that these were dirty plays. Von Miller, Brandon Marshall and Darian Stewart left the ground before hitting Cam Newton in the head. None of those players attempted to form tackle Newton.
There's another thing that can't be ignored. As a member of the NFLPA's Executive Committee, Saturday represents all of the players who are union members, not just members of the Super Bowl champions. If Saturday thinks that the players don't have a responsibility to play within the rules and protect their fellow players, then I'd recommend that he address all of the players and explain why the players don't have that affirmative responsibility.
These types of hits have the potential of ending or, at minimum, cutting a player's career short. Mr. Saturday, why isn't it the players' responsibility to play within the rules that you agreed to? Mr. Saturday, explain why the NFL is guilty of talking out of both sides of their mouth on player safety but the players aren't guilty of the same.
Saturday played most of his career for Coach Tony Dungy. Further, Saturday insists that he's a Christian. It's impossible for me to believe that Coach Dungy would've taught his players to play dirty like the Broncos played last Thursday. Likewise, it's impossible for me to believe that Christ would be ok with players playing dirty.
The Denver Broncos should've gotten a stiff fine for teaching their players to hit Cam Newton like that. The next collective bargaining agreement should include stiff fines and automatic suspensions of players who hit other players in the head, with the suspensions getting longer for each time that player gets called for hitting a player in the head.
Finally, the NFL shouldn't agree to a CBA with the refs' union if it doesn't give the NFL the authority to suspend and/or terminate refs who don't call these types of penalties. Players who have gotten hit frequently in the head have committed suicide. This isn't something to be taken lightly. It's time that the NFL, the NFLPA and the referees agree to stop dirty players and stop head trauma injuries. Period.
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2016 8:05 PM
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