September 15-16, 2016
Sep 15 09:25 Nolan votes against VA accountability Sep 15 15:30 Mrs. Clinton's medical documents Sep 16 01:05 Steelworkers praise Nolan? Sep 16 03:23 Another environmental activist? Sep 16 05:00 Saying no to the environmentalists
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Nolan votes against VA accountability
According to this roll call vote , Rick Nolan voted against a bill that a) had broad bipartisan support and that b) would have held VA officials accountable. Why Nolan voted against accountability is inexplicable, especially in light of the fact that Nolan's congressional website issues page on veterans insists that "America's obligation to our veterans is permanent and sacred. We must leave no stone unturned to ensure that the men and women who have put themselves in harm's way to protect and serve us have the very best medical care, counseling, housing, job training, and educational opportunities a grateful nation can provide."
In light of this vote, Rep. Nolan's statement should read "America's obligation to our veterans is permanent and sacred except if it includes punishing VA employees who commit work-related felonies." HR5620 would "provide for the removal or demotion of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, and for other purposes."
Nolan was one of 116 votes against the bill. Other high-profile liberals that voted against passage of the bill were Nancy Pelosi, Charlie Rangel, Keith Ellison, Maxine Waters, Raul Grijalva, Luis 'Open Borders' Gutierrez, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Jim McDermott, Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
As with other things, Nolan's sacred promises come with an asterisk. That asterisk apparently applies when it involves holding government bureaucrats accountable. Apparently, Rep. Nolan's sacred promise to veterans isn't sacred whatsoever.
Posted Thursday, September 15, 2016 9:25 AM
Comment 1 by Terry Stone at 15-Sep-16 10:09 AM
On the face of it, it looks like Nolan is throwing the veterans under the bus and is protecting the unions. The unions donate to his campaign, pound signs for him, door knock and send direct mail pieces for him.
Conflicts of special interest are nothing new to Nolan. His environmental patrons also got thrown under the bus as Nolan superficially supports the union contractors and minors who favor copper mining on the Range.
Mrs. Clinton's medical documents
By now, people have read Dr. Bardack's executive summary letter in which Dr. Bardack says that "My overall impression is that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia. She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."
It isn't that I think Dr. Bardack is outright lying. It's that I think she's omitting lots of information that would paint a different picture of Mrs. Clinton's ability to fulfill her responsibilities if she were elected president. The only thing that will suffice is the release of all documentation showing what tests have been performed and the results of those specific tests.
Dr. Bardack's credibility is questionable. Team Clinton's credibility is nonexistent after Sunday's silence and their changing stories. I won't trust executive summaries from a presidential candidate that are self-serving, especially from someone with Mrs. Clinton's history of twisting the truth.
The burden on Mrs. Clinton to produce her medical records is higher because she's the first presidential candidate who fainted at a campaign event, not because she's the first female presidential candidate as some have insisted:
Posted Thursday, September 15, 2016 3:30 PM
Comment 1 by MtkaMoose at 15-Sep-16 04:10 PM
This whole fainting incident is proof that Obamacare has ruined the health care system in this country. Clinton's team broke emergency protocol by going to Chelsea's apartment instead of a hospital. She was treated by a private physician instead lot someone in network on her health plan.
She certainly doesn't want to be treated like us even though she & Obama want everybody else to have a "one size fits all" health plan with extremely limited choices of physicians. This is basic proof the system is broken and Obamacare needs to be repealed.
Comment 2 by eric z at 16-Sep-16 01:28 PM
Foundation records. Speech transcripts. Emails. Things worth seeing queued up ahead of med records.
I want to see Mike Pence's mental health records, so there.
Steelworkers praise Nolan?
If there's something that's mind-boggling, it's how steelworkers still praise the man who isn't consistently fighting for them . What's important to understand is that this isn't about mining. It's about the liberal agenda, at least with the union leadership.
Picture the union president saying "Because of his unabashed and outspoken support for our members, we are proud to stand with our congressman and present him with an award to recognize his commitment to our community, not only because of his work on trade, but for leading the fight to equalize pay for women, among other important issues."
If I'm a miner who's unemployed, and there are lots of people that fit that description, my first priority wouldn't be to praise a politician "for leading the fight to equalize pay for women." Further, I wouldn't praise a guy who's fought for high tariffs on countries that illegally dumped steel, then quietly supported Resolution 54, which would shut down mining.
People will take exception with that last statement. I'm perfectly prepared to defend it. It's been reported that Rep. Nolan worked hard to not have the DFL Central Committee vote on Resolution 54. It's been reported that "delegates voted unanimously to form an ad hoc committee comprised of the Iron Range Legislative Delegation and representatives of labor, the environmental caucus of the DFL Central Committee, and the Native American tribes to work out compromise wording on a mining resolution to be presented at the committee's December meeting."
Nolan knows there won't be a compromise between the miners and environmental activists. Those groups mix together like oil and water. At the DFL State Central Committee meeting, the environmental activists will propose an anti-mining resolution and it will have the votes to pass. It'll pass because the environmental activists have the vote to pass it.
It's clear that the DFL's leadership sides consistently with the environmental activists. Rep. Nolan knows this. If Range workers are satisfied with inconsistent representation that occasionally sides with them but sides with the environmental activists most of the time, then they deserve representation like Nolan.
If they want someone that'll consistently fight for them, though, then Stewart Mills is their only option this November.
Posted Friday, September 16, 2016 1:05 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 16-Sep-16 01:23 PM
Mills III has a skill set that tops out at helping somebody find router bits at one of dad's stores. He can help customers with simple questions, not union members with needs and hopes. Sorry, Mills III is being pushed hard, but form over substance won't sell. Stew, show me where the DeWalt tools are, please ...
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 16-Sep-16 07:44 PM
Oh do tell us what Nolan's skill set is besides puckering up and kissing the asses of the environmentalists? Nolan is as worthless to the miners as tits are to a boar.
Another environmental activist?
Though I'm not the go-to expert of the Cuyuna Range or its politics, it's difficult to picture the DFL defeating Dale Lueck this November. After reading this LTE in the Brainerd Dispatch , it's difficult to picture people getting persuaded by it.
The premise of the LTE is that they need to elect the DFL candidate to protect the environment. The part that's stunning is when the LTE says "we still have time to protect our northern lakes from over-development, pipeline spills, and runoff, but to do this, we need knowledgeable legislators who care, not the current 'exploit it all' mentality."
Let's get this straight. Voters in the Aitkin/Cuyuna area "need" to elect Erin Wagner to the legislature because sometime in the future, the water in their lakes might not be gin-clear and there might be a pipeline running through HD-10B. This is proof that the only thing that the DFL has to offer in outstate Minnesota is fear itself.
Now that Enbridge has cancelled the Sandpiper Pipeline project thanks to the environmental activist wing of the DFL always getting their way, the likelihood of a pipeline getting built in northern Minnesota is pretty much nonexistent. The chances that the waters in Big Trout Lake, Cross Lake or Ossawinnamakee will get stained are pretty much nonexistent, too.
Voters should reject Ms. Wagner because "Conservation Minnesota has endorsed" Ms. Wagner. Conservation Minnesota is fighting mining of all sorts, though it won't admit it. Here's what it says about mining :
As a member of the Mining Truth coalition, we're working with partners and members throughout the state to educate Minnesotans on the difference between traditional iron mining and unproven and high-risk sulfide mining.
That's an outright lie. Conservation Minnesota can't fight iron mining because it's well-established. It can't admit, though, that sulfide is embedded in the rock all across the Range. It isn't just found in precious metal deposits. It's also found in taconite deposits.
In other words, a vote for Ms. Wagner is a vote for another DFL environmental activist in the legislature, which is like saying it's a vote for higher unemployment and wage stagnation on the Range.
Posted Friday, September 16, 2016 3:23 AM
No comments.
Saying no to the environmentalists
This week, a miracle happened. A handful of liberals stood up to some environmental activists .
According to the article, "Councilors Gary Anderson, Em Westerlund and Joel Sipress introduced the resolution, which asserted that "the project has the potential to impair water quality, adversely affect wild rice and aquatic life and increase mercury contamination of fish in downstream waters," including the St. Louis River and Lake Superior itself."
First, I'll back up a bit and explain what the resolution was about. Again, according to the article, the city council proposed "a resolution calling on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to order a public hearing in front of an administrative law judge to weigh the potential risks versus the benefits of developing a proposed copper-nickel-precious metals mine on property that formerly was home to the now-defunct LTV Steel Mining Co. outside of Hoyt Lakes."
Simply put, the request to have an administrative law judge weigh in on this is improper. The statutes that deal with permitting don't allow for having an administrative law judge to hear the evidence. These city councilmembers were asking the DNR to ignore the law and make the procedure up as they wanted.
That trio of "councilors" wanted the City Council to ignore the law to advance their anti-development agenda. They wanted the Duluth City Council to treat them like the laws of this state didn't apply to them.
This time, a handful of liberals told the environmental activists to take a hike. Unfortunately, I won't expect that to happen again for another 20 years.
Posted Friday, September 16, 2016 5:00 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 16-Sep-16 01:18 PM
What liberals? Name one? How do you define liberal? People you don't like? Non-troglodytes? What?
They live in Duluth, they must be "liberals?"
They think Stewart Mills III is a twit, hence are liberals?
I think they are Trumpists. Not liberals. So there.
