September 16-17, 2017
Sep 16 08:40 MEP, Mark Dayton vs. Enbridge Sep 16 16:45 Abolish the blue slip tradition Sep 16 20:46 Keith Ellison, political coward Sep 17 06:10 NFL's patriotism problem, Part III Sep 17 23:46 Matt Dean's health care vision
Prior Months: Jan Feb ~ May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
MEP, Mark Dayton vs. Enbridge
Saying that MEP, aka Minnesota Environmental Partnership, is dishonest and biased when it comes to fossil fuels is understatement. In their statement about the Dayton Department of Commerce testimony to the Public Utilities Commission, Steve Morse, MEP's Executive Director, admitted that MEP hates fossil fuels.
He admitted it when he said "The age of growth in fossil fuel demand is over. We don't need increased fossil fuel capacity. Instead, We need to get about the business of abandoning and cleaning up the existing Line 3." That's a pretty stunning statement, especially considering the fact that natural gas will be needed for at least three-fourths of this century to replace coal-fired power plants for baseline energy generation.
In MEP's official statement, Morse also said "We commend the Department of Commerce for taking a hard look at the data and carefully considering the criteria that are in law for this type of project. The Department found that this pipeline is not needed for Minnesota, that it does not benefit Minnesota, and is not good for Minnesota."
That's a narrow-minded view of things. First, legislators from northwest Minnesota have criticized the Minnesota Department of Commerce for their narrow-minded perspective:
'Gov. Mark Dayton's administration is 'siding with environmental extremism instead of common sense.' 'Shutting down this pipeline will have a substantial impact on rural Minnesota', Fabian said in the statement. 'Our local counties, school districts and townships will lose critical property tax revenue, and what's more, jobs will be affected and there will be fewer workers patronizing local businesses like our grocery stores and motels. Plain and simple, bureaucrats in St. Paul are advancing policies that hurt Greater Minnesota.''
Friday night on Almanac, Steve Morse debated Cam Winton on the merits of the pipeline. The arguments made by Steve Morse weren't totally without merit. They weren't the least bit persuasive, either. I've been watching environmentalists for 40+ years. In that time, their statistics and 'facts' have been consistently inaccurate. The notion that we're starting to use less fossil fuels is preposterous. Yes, we're driving more fuel efficient cars. Yes, car manufacturers are manufacturing more hybrids. No, society isn't reducing the amount of gasoline we're using. Watch the video of the interview, which starts approximately 5 minutes in:
Posted Saturday, September 16, 2017 8:40 AM
No comments.
Abolish the blue slip tradition
The US Senate must abolish their tradition of giving blue slips to senators in a judicial nominee's home state. It must happen ASAP, too. This article illustrates how this quaint tradition is getting abused.
According to the article, "Scott Cottington lives and has been working in Minnesota as a political consultant for several years. When I asked for his opinion, as an observer of politics and Minnesotan he told me on the phone, 'This is partisanship pure and simple. If you look at what Franken did to Gorsuch, between Gorsuch and Stras, he's being intellectually so dishonest and he's doing it for partisan posturing purposes.'"
Let's be honest. Al Franken is a political hatchet man. He isn't a man of integrity. Back when he hosted a radio talk show, he got embroiled in a most unsavory scandal . According to the article, "A month ago Al Franken claimed ignorance of the transfers. 'I didn't know anything about this until late last week,' he told Air America listeners on Aug. 8. The network's brass echoed this: Air America CEO Danny Goldberg told the New York Sun this week that the 'on-air talent' has 'never had any responsibility for this loan.' This seemed plausible at the time, since no one expects the talent to be arranging finances, so in our Aug. 3 editorial on the subject, we gave Mr. Franken a pass. Regrettably, it appears we shouldn't have. In light of documents that surfaced last week, it looks to be the case that as of November 2004, and possibly earlier, Mr. Franken knew the amount of money, the money's origins and the dates the transfers occurred. This came to light after a settlement agreement between former and current owners of Air America, a document which details the Gloria Wise transfers, was leaked to Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney, who promptly posted the document on their Web sites. The document shows that Mr. Franken signed off on the settlement , and did so in the presence of a notary public , no less."
This is the man that's holding up a confirmation hearing of Justice David Stras? It's frightening enough that he's a US senator. It's disgusting that he essentially holds a one-man veto power over a highly qualified jurist. It's time for the Senate to rethink some of its traditions.
What's the value of consulting senators from a judicial nominee's home state? What information can they provide that isn't already known by the Judiciary Committee? Another important question is whether blue slips are being used too frequently for purely partisan purposes. In this instance, it's clearly being used for purely partisan purposes. This video illustrates how dishonest and mean-spirited Sen. Franken is:
At one point, Sen. Franken, the man who lied about knowing about a loan he signed off on, accuses a judicial nominee of lying. At another point, he accused the judicial nominee of letting her religious faith direct her judicial rulings:
This is why Senator Al Franken, (D-MN), asked Barrett about speaking honorariums she received from the religious-liberty nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, comparing the group to the late Cambodian leader Pol Pot. (The group was recently smeared by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group for pursuing religious-freedom cases in court.) "I question your judgment," the former star of Stuart Saves His Family lectured the 'mother of seven.
It's disgusting that a liar would question a person's judgment. Personally, I've questioned Sen. Franken's character for years. It's been proven that he's lied about loans he's signed off on. He's an admitted cokehead:
He then he says that in his book, he writes "pretty frankly" about the fact that drugs were a regular part of life on the show, at least in those early years. Franken reveals how he did acid at Grateful Dead concerts and smoked dope and snorted cocaine.
But with regard to his own drug use, including of cocaine, Franken explained that he was careful to never abuse it, unlike cast mates such as Belushi, who died in 1982 of a drug overdose.
But I digress. Asking questions about a person's religious beliefs is prohibited by the Constitution:
Since Durbin inquired in the form of a question, we can only assume that Barrett's answer was pertinent to the confirmation. That is problematic, considering that the Constitution explicitly states that no religion , not even a belief in orthodox liberalism, should be a prerequisite for holding a federal office .
It's apparent that the Constitution is just a set of suggestions to DC Democrats. It's time to drain the swamp.
Posted Saturday, September 16, 2017 4:45 PM
No comments.
Keith Ellison, political coward
I can't say that I'm surprised that Keith Ellison has blocked me on Twitter. He talks trash but he doesn't back it up. This evening, Rep. Ellison tweeted "Rep. Keith Ellison If you want to raise wages, then you must rebuild the Labor Movement. No two ways about it." Of course, he didn't explain how he'd rebuild the labor movement without actually building things.
Rep. Ellison, why doesn't the DFL support replacing the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline? Nationally, Democrats talk all the time about infrastructure projects. In Minnesota, the DFL constantly talks about the Bonding Bill as their jobs bill. The DFL is fantastic at building museums, arenas and civic centers. Their record is awful at building (or replacing) critical infrastructure that makes farmers' lives easier.
The biggest point of this is to highlight the fact that Democrats, both locally and nationally, aren't interested in rebuilding our nation's (and our state's) infrastructure if it has anything to do with improving people's lives. When's the last time we heard main street say that a new museum or civic center made their life better or had a multiplier effect on the economy? When's the last time a new hockey arena created hundreds of long-term jobs that paid middle class wages? Sure, the cronies running those arenas make money but does anyone else get paid solid middle class wages?
This is the Democrats' infrastructure plan :
The plan would provide billions of dollars in funding for road, bridge and sewer improvements, expanded broadband internet access in rural areas, railroad repair, public school construction and expanded port and waterway infrastructure. It includes a $200 billion "vital infrastructure fund" that would finance major projects such as rail lines and tunnels connecting New York City and New Jersey.
Noticeably missing are pipelines and refineries.
Posted Saturday, September 16, 2017 8:46 PM
No comments.
NFL's patriotism problem, Part III
Apparently, people across America are getting sick of what I've called the "NFL's patriotism problem." (Part I is here . Part II is here .)
The ratings are in and they aren't a pretty sight for the NFL. If NFL executives aren't worried, they aren't doing their jobs. According to this article, "These days, however, the most popular U.S. professional sport isn't such a sure bet. According to Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser, viewership for the NFL was down 14 percent on a year-over-year basis during the first week of the 2017-18 season. That's the lowest level of same-week viewing since 2009."
This isn't just a regular TV show being off a little bit. The NFL has been a major profit center for the networks. If ratings are off by 14%, the networks' profits dip precipitously. If that isn't cause for concern, nothing is. This paragraph should cause NFL executives and TV executives to worry:
Fox, CBS and Comcast signed a $27 billion deal with the NFL for the right to broadcast games through 2022. ESPN reportedly pays $1.9 billion per year for the rights to "Monday Night Football," a 73 percent increase over the previous contract. NBC and CBS signed a $900 million deal in 2016 for the rights to broadcast Thursday night games.
The money is insane. With those out-sized contracts, the networks can't afford a major decrease in viewership. This probably explains 90% of the drop in ratings:
Taking a knee during the national anthem is a sign of disrespect. That's the fastest path from great ratings to poor ratings.
Others have pointed to the controversy around former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a fan turn-off. Injuries to stars such as wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants haven't helped, either, nor do the retirements of fan favorites such as Peyton Manning.
Posted Sunday, September 17, 2017 6:10 AM
No comments.
Matt Dean's health care vision
Keith Downey made a mistake taking on Matt Dean on health care. While Keith Downey was the chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Matt Dean was fighting important health care battles on the front lines in Minnesota. Matt Dean wasn't sitting on the sidelines. He was fighting and winning health care battles . Let's remember that this happened when the DFL held overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. Yes, Tim Pawlenty was still governor but the DFL were only 3 votes short in the House to override Gov. Pawlenty's veto at any time.
When Downey first attacked Rep. Dean, Dean replied immediately and forcefully. The Strib noticed, writing "In a sign of Dean's emergence as a potential front-runner, his rival Keith Downey launched the first major attack of the Republican contest last week by hitting Dean on health care, a signature issue of his campaign and time in the Legislature. Downey described Dean as a "typical politician" in one Facebook post and challenged him to a one-on-one debate. Dean responded with a bit of passive-aggressive venom familiar to many Minnesotans: "I'm confident Republicans will endorse a candidate who has the care, credibility and integrity to know his facts before blindly launching into a political attack to grab a cheap headline," he wrote."
The one-on-one debate challenge is an old trick. With a full field like this, it isn't effective to criticize an opponent. Hitting an opponent with half a dozen other candidates might hurt him but not help yourself. Also, a one-on-one debate gives the appearance of slimming the field. Downey certainly hasn't cleared the field. For that matter, nobody has cleared the field. The stunt that Downey is playing is that a one-on-one match-up gives the illusion that he's the frontrunner. That's a pretty nifty trick for a guy who just accused Matt Dean of being a "typical politician."
This isn't an endorsement of Matt Dean, though I'd feel pretty comfortable if he was the GOP's endorsed candidate. I'd feel pretty comfortable with a couple other candidates, too. The purpose of this post is to highlight Matt Dean's conservative policy accomplishments on health care. You know that you're on the right track when Joe Davis of ABM insists that "Dean and Republicans have been paying lip service to health care while working to take away Minnesotans' ability to care for themselves and their families."
Right. It's instinctive for Republicans to take ABM's statements as Gospel fact. It isn't like we've ever caught them lying, right? Oh wait. I'm certain we've caught them being dishonest. The truth is that trusting ABM's or the DFL's statements, especially on health care, is like trusting an arsonist to put out fires.
Posted Sunday, September 17, 2017 11:46 PM
No comments.
