September 25, 2017
Sep 25 09:11 PFAW, Sen. Franken & David Stras Sep 25 10:04 NFL players, owners, are blowing it Sep 25 15:24 Gov. Dayton's temper tantrum Sep 25 20:12 Indivisible's foolish statements Sep 25 22:36 Jerry Jones' political stupidity
Prior Months: Jan Feb ~ May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
PFAW, Sen. Franken & David Stras
Nothing verifies the fact that Sen. Franken is owned by leftist special interest organizations than a letter from 27 special interest organizations praising him for blocking David Stras's confirmation.
Until recently, PFAW, aka People for the American Way, has been significantly to the left of the Democratic Party for years. When Ralph Neas was PFAW's president, he was known for hyperbole . For instance, Neas once said "that if the views of Scalia and Thomas were to become the majority on the Court, 'the result on issue after issue would be a radical, reactionary shift in U.S. law.' Specifically: 'religious liberty would suffer'; 'church-state separation' would be compromised; 'the right to strike and bargain collectively' would be weakened; 'laws that protect workers from sexual harassment' would be overturned; 'the federal government would be barred from stopping the destruction of endangered species on private land'; 'local governments' power to protect the environment would be restricted'; and 'sensible gun-control legislation would be struck down.'"
Since then, PFAW has moved left. It's worth noting that PFAW is one of the 27 organizations that is praising Sen. Franken. Here's the opening paragraph of the special interests' letter to Sen. Franken:
We, the undersigned civil rights, labor, and other public interest organizations, write to thank you for your commitment to preserving a fair-minded and independent judiciary. Now more than ever, our courts must serve as a check on the president, whose executive actions repeatedly disregard the law and the Constitution, and your recent, principled decision not to return your blue slip on the nomination of Justice David Stras to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit helps ensure that our courts can fulfill this essential role.
When they write that the "courts must serve as a check on the president", they're admitting that they're worried about President Trump. Remember that the left sees Scalia as evil. He actually ruled according to the Constitution. They want a jurist who will implement their policy preferences without questioning.
As former Vice President Mondale has pointed out, in supporting your decision on Justice Stras, the blue slip tradition also has been vital in helping to promote bipartisan cooperation and prevent 'overt partisanship' in judicial nominations. Indeed, it is a manifestation of the Constitution's Advice and Consent process. The blue slip practice is one of the constitutional checks and balances that helps maintain equilibrium among the branches of government. When the Senate majority places partisan loyalty to the president over the Senate's institutional interests in independently carrying out its constitutional responsibilities, the blue slip serves as a vital corrective.
Under normal circumstances, "the blue slip tradition" is vital to building bipartisan consensus. Democrats have shown, though, that they aren't even slightly interested in building bipartisan consensus. This website sums up what Sen. Franken and the Democrats are about:
Our mission is to fuel a progressive grassroots network of local groups to resist the Trump agenda.
Thus far this session, Democrats have used every tool to prevent the installation of President Trump's government. They've repeatedly used arcane rules to delay committee hearings on cabinet appointees. They've voted in lockstep with Sen. Schumer virtually all the time. Sen. Franken isn't representing Minnesota. He's representing Sen. Schumer and the Democrats' special interest allies.
This is laughable:
You could have followed the examples of Senators McConnell, Sessions, Shelby, and Coats and not reviewed Justice Stras' record, withholding your blue slip based solely on the lack of meaningful consultation. However, you went beyond process to evaluate extensively his record. Those of us who wrote the Committee on August 31 very much agree with your conclusion that rather than demonstrating fairness and open-mindedness, his record demonstrates that he would reliably rule in favor of powerful corporate interests over working people, and that he would place a high bar before plaintiffs seeking justice at work, at school, and at the ballot box.
That could've been written by Ralph Neas. It sounds that paranoid. What's obvious is that Sen. Franken won't vote for anyone who doesn't get PFAW's stamp of approval.
Sen. Franken isn't a patriot. Apparently, Sen. Franken doesn't know that it's unconstitutional to demand that a nominee pass a 'religious test'. Watch this video, then tell me that this is a patriot, an honorable man:
Frankly, I'd love to see Sen. Franken, Sen. Feinstein and Sen. Durbin get censured for questioning a judicial nominee's religious beliefs. It's immoral. More importantly, it's unconstitutional. Finally, here's the list of special interest organizations that signed the letter to Sen. Franken:
African American Ministers In Action
Alliance for Justice
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees
Center for American Progress
Committee for a Fair Judiciary
Courage Campaign
Earthjustice
Every Voice
Family Equality Council
Human Rights Campaign
Lambda Legal
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
MALDEF
MoveOn.org
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Women's Law Center
People For the American Way
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Voting Rights Forward
These are the organizations that Sen. Franken represents. He doesn't represent all Minnesotans. He's a disgrace.
Posted Monday, September 25, 2017 9:11 AM
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NFL players, owners, are blowing it
As it consistently does, the NFL players and owners are missing what the fans are telling them. To steal a phrase from history, the NFL has a penchant of never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity. While players, coaches and a few owners stand in defiance to ... who knows what, fans are sending the NFL a clear message that the NFL seems too dense to understand. Yesterday was an historic day in the history of the NFL. This article totally misses the point.
In saying that "Donald Trump has demonstrated himself to be perhaps the one human capable of making the NFL look like a sympathetic character in our national story", Jack Holmes displays that he hasn't noticed that the fans are siding with President Trump. Apparently, Holmes hasn't noticed that NFL TV ratings have suffered while the players displayed their lack of patriotism.
Later, Holmes wrote "The president set out to demonize a group of primarily black athletes exercising their First Amendment rights to protest, silently, during a ceremony celebrating American values because they do not think America is living up to those values. It seems his attempt to isolate and marginalize them has only grown their movement." First, characterizing this as mostly being about race is dishonest. Players of all races participated in dishonoring the American flag and the National Anthem. Next, this isn't about the First Amendment because the Supreme Court has ruled that businesses can dictate employees' conduct while they're in the workplace. Third, if the players and owners want to further damage their product, they should keep doing what they're doing.
I wonder how long before it sinks in that fans don't appreciate the NFL's unpatriotic behavior. Perhaps this will help the NFL recognize that the fans aren't with them:
The NFL's ratings are dropping. Fans are speaking out. The players continue to act like spoiled brats. In other words, the NFL is acting like Democratic activists while the fans stay rooted in reality. The question now is how long it will take for the NFL to figure things out. Based on past history, there isn't much reason to be hopeful that they'll figure things out.
UPDATE: I don't think it will take long for Commissioner Goodell to get the message that this isn't working for them. The NFL's ratings are tanking :
Last night's SNF peaked with a 12.5/20 during the second quarter at 9 - 9:30 PM ET. Not that such a number can feel good to the NFL with ratings down double-digits this season so far after taking a similar tackle last year.
The NFL's activism is killing the proverbial golden goose. If the players persist in insulting fans in the name of activism, the NFL should prepare for significantly smaller TV revenue.
UPDATE II: If the NFL ratings aren't enough to get the NFL's attention, perhaps this will :
Alejandro Villanueva jersey sales are skyrocketing after he was the lone member of the Pittsburgh Steelers to stand for the national anthem before Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
Posted Monday, September 25, 2017 10:38 AM
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Gov. Dayton's temper tantrum
Last Friday, Gov. Dayton made a point of repeatedly saying that he'd been lied to , saying "in my 40 years dealing with Minnesota government I have never ever been lied to", adding that "the people of Minnesota have been lied to and the Supreme Court has been lied to about the predicament that my vetoes supposedly put the Legislature in."
First, it's undisputed fact that Gov. Dayton's veto will cause the legislature to run out of money. Gov. Dayton vetoed the appropriation for the biennium, not just until the 2018 session. Next, it's worth noting that Gov. Dayton said that he'd "never been lied to" in his 40 years of government. That might be but he's lied to us. Remember this golden oldie ? It's the article about then-Sen. Dayton "closed his Capitol Hill office Tuesday until after the November 2 election, fearing a possible terrorist attack that could harm his staff or visitors." The thing is that then-Sen. Dayton closed the office despite the fact that the Capitol Police and the Department of Homeland Security denied there being a terrorist threat.
Sgt. Contricia Ford of the U.S. Capitol Police said "There's no new threat or information pertaining to a threat that's come in. We continue to advise (people) to take caution ... but there's no new information that we've put out." Further, "Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, added: 'We have not made a recommendation for any members of Congress to close their offices, and we do not have any specific threat reporting indicating that Washington, D.C., and the Capitol is a target.'"
This happened in October, 2004, right before the presidential election in which terrorism and homeland security were the biggest issues. Let's remember that then-Sen. Dayton was the only person on Capitol Hill to shut his office. It's worth noting that he's the only member of the Senate who claims he got briefed by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist about this terrorist attack.
I remember that election well. It was right before I started blogging. What I remember clearly is that CBS ran a fake story telling the nation that then-President Bush had gone AWOL while he was serving in the Texas Air National Guard. Powerline blew that story to smithereens the night CBS aired the segment.
For those too young to have experienced the onslaught, the Media wing of the Democratic Party, working in concert with congressional Democrats, tried destroying President Bush's national security credentials with CBS's fake story. While it wasn't proven, people suspected that then-Sen. Dayton tried undermining President Bush's credibility with his own fake national security story.
The fact that jumps out at me is that everyone on Capitol Hill, whether left, right or in between, denies having received the briefing. Either then-Sen. Dayton has an over-active imagination or he's a pathetic liar. Either option is a possibility.
The point to the trip down memory lane is to remind people that then-Sen. Dayton was heading for defeat until he retired after a single term. Then-Sen. Dayton wasn't a trustworthy person. For him now to accuse Republicans of lying to him is utterly laughable.
Posted Monday, September 25, 2017 3:24 PM
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Indivisible's foolish statements
Leftist activist organization Indivisible has published this op-ed criticizing President Trump's strategy towards North Korea.
In the op-ed, Elizabeth Beavers wrote "On September 19, Donald Trump spoke for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly. If you didn't see it, spoiler alert: it was a national embarrassment. Trump escalated his usual 'America First' theme into a vision of foreign policy in which human rights are nonexistent and war is always the answer." Suffice it to say that nuance isn't Indivisible's strength. Truth isn't Indivisible's strength, either.
Implied in Indivisible's op-ed is that North Korea is a model citizen on human rights. That's foolishness on steroids. Indivisible is also dishonest in saying directly that President Trump is pushing war. In his UN speech, President Trump said that "The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies , we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea." President Trump didn't say that he'd launch a pre-emptive strike against Kim Jung Un. Instead, he said that he'd "defend itself or its allies" if it's attacked.
What's worth noting is that North Korea has shot missiles over Japan and in Guam's direction. According to Indivisible's op-ed, the US should let North Korea shoot missiles over US territories and allies. I won't stand with Indivisible if they won't protect US allies. While I don't support pre-emptive strikes against North Korea, I certainly agree with the UN charter, which says that each nation has the inherent right to self-defense.
This paragraph is stunning in its stupidity:
I'd love hearing from Indivisible what war crimes the US would commit if it defended itself from a missile attack. I'm betting that Indivisible is making that up, that the US wouldn't commit any war crimes if it responded to a missile attack on Guam.
Even though we've heard that 'all is fair in love and war,' it's not. There are clear laws and norms restricting the use of military force, and they don't allow for many of the things Trump has said he wants to do, some of which amount to war crimes . It's on progressives to urge accountability and rule of law in the face of reckless militarism.
I'd love forgetting that Indivisible existed. Unfortunately, they're an important part of the Democrats' Resistance movement.
Posted Monday, September 25, 2017 8:12 PM
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Jerry Jones' political stupidity
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was a hero for a day. Unfortunately for him, he tried being too clever by half. First, Jones said "I just feel so strongly that the act of recognizing the flag is a salute to our country and all of the people that have sacrificed so that we can have the liberties we have. I feel very strongly that everyone should save that moment for the recognition of the flag in a positive way, so I like the way the Cowboys do it." Later, Jones said "I do not think the place to express yourself in society is as we recognize the American flag and all the people that have made this great country - the very opportunity for us to be there in front of the nation. So that's not the place to do anything but honor the flag and everybody that's given up a little for it."
People on Twitter were praising him for standing up to Commissioner Goodell and the NFL. Those praises disappeared the instant Jerry Jones tried being too clever by half . Apparently, Jones thinks football fans aren't smart. That's because he "joined his team's players in kneeling before the national anthem prior to their game Monday night at Arizona. Jones, Coach Jason Garrett and other Cowboys coaches and front office executives locked arms while standing on the field. Prior to the anthem, Jones and the players and coaches took a knee. They stood, with arms still interlocked, for the anthem."
Prior to that stunt, Jones made this comment:
To quote Paul Mirengoff's posts about Steve Kerr and Steph Curry , Jerry Jones wants to have it both ways. The NFL won't have to commission a poll to find out what fans are thinking. Here's why:
Some in the crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where the Cowboys were taking on the host Cardinals, booed at the display.
I was thinking I'd return to watching my Vikings' games this weekend. After tonight's stunt, I'm reconsidering that decision.
Posted Monday, September 25, 2017 10:37 PM
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