Ron Paul -- Bombs and Bribes.

An extended excerpt, from here:

Bombs and Bribes

What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on US soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping? That a drone aircraft had come across the Canadian border in the middle of the night and carried out the latest of many attacks? What if it was claimed that many of the victims harbored anti-Chinese sentiments, but most of the dead were innocent women and children? And what if the Chinese administration, in an effort to improve its public image in the US, had approved an aid package to send funds to help with American roads and schools and promote Chinese values here?

Most Americans would not stand for it. Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan. Last week, Congress did approve an aid package for Pakistan for the stated purposes of improving our image and promoting democracy. I again made the point on the floor of the House that still no one seems to hear: What if this happened on US soil? What if innocent Americans were being killed in repeated drone attacks carried out by some foreign force who was trying to fix our problems for us? Would sending money help their image? If another nation committed this type of violence and destruction on our homeland, would we be at all interested in adopting their values?

Sadly, one thing that has entirely escaped modern American foreign policy is empathy. Without much humility or regard for human life, our foreign policy has been reduced to alternately bribing and bombing other nations, all with the stated goal of “promoting democracy”. But if a country democratically elects a leader who is not sufficiently pro-American, our government will refuse to recognize them, will impose sanctions on them, and will possibly even support covert efforts to remove them. Democracy is obviously not what we are interested in. It is more likely that our government is interested in imposing its will on other governments. This policy of endless intervention in the affairs of others is very damaging to American liberty and security.

If we were really interested in democracy, peace, prosperity and safety, we would pursue more free trade with other countries. Free and abundant trade is much more conducive to peace because it is generally bad business to kill your customers. When one’s livelihood is on the line, and the business agreements are mutually beneficial, it is in everyone’s best interests to maintain cooperative and friendly relations and not kill each other.

Quoting Ron Paul again, when he makes sense, as in an update to another post.

Mark Dayton "Trumans" Tiny Tim. And we have to love it. Mincing words, it has its time and place. With others besides Dayton.

Click the screenshot to enlarge and read. Minn Post has the full item online. This link.

The screenshot is opening reporting. I wonder why the highlighted dimension of things went unreported in the Strib coverage earlier noted in Crabgrass, here.

Error and neglect, I would guess. Nothing intentional, nothing designed to discredit one camp or another. No editorializing on the news pages. Strib would never stoop that low. Not hanging readers out to dry with half-fleshed-out reporting. Not Strib.

Excellent coverage of the underwhelming April 15 Tea Bagger efforts.

Minn Post, here.

"Hundreds," was the description of things in St. Paul.

One point well covered with links, the question of whether the Bachmann-Palin tea flavor, Tea Party Express, is more astroturf than grassroots [you KNOW the truth, don't you].

See this earlier Crabgrass post.

The Palin-Bachmann tea flavor does seem to be too heavily blended of the End Times over Eral Grey, or lemmon-ginger, and certainly all green tea is lacking from their flavor.

Nothing is "green" about that pair.

Especially Michele Bachmann, this link.

Andy Birkey's Minn Independent coverage of the same non-event, here. In covering Minn Independent's report of Immelman seeking iP endorsement, I had let this companion headline slide. Readers, have a look.

"Reed continues to have strong support within Minnesota, with 90% of all donations coming from within the state. In addition, she is heavily supported by individual donors, with 98.5% of all contributions coming from individuals, not PACs or special interests."

REED, CLARK, IMMELMAN, ANDERSON, Bachmann. All in the hunt to one degree or another.

Clark's most recent theme is she's topped a million dollars in fund raising - with yet to be online FEC filings showing sources and sinks, so far, with the end of the month approaching so that Clark and the rest of the Sixth District candidates will need to report.

Reed's latest supporter emailing - press release, source of the headline quote, is an indication that in seeking the DFL nomination she will not be outspent, nor run under by the regular party insiders. As an outsider myself, I respect the committment, including putting two hundred grand of Reed family wealth into play, as and if needed, so that institutional contributions to others can be countered if spending capacity is to be equated with quality, or success in the primary and general elections. It should not be that, but it might.

In an ideal world, Immelman should have equal access to public awareness as Reed, Clark, Bob Anderson and that other one. Most by now know we live in a far-from-ideal world.

The Reed item is a short page long, clearly saying:

Congressional Candidate Maureen Reed announced today that she raised over $204,000 in the first quarter of 2010, ending with $433,000 cash on hand. Reed has raised $779,000 total for her campaign. In addition to the fundraising numbers, the Reed Campaign announced that it will receive a $250,000 loan from the candidate, which will increase the cash on hand to $683,000 and mark over a million dollars coming into the campaign to date.

“This amount levels the playing field between Maureen and her democratic challenger. Maureen is encouraged by the wide support she’s received, and this action shows her commitment to this race, dedication to presenting primary voters with a real choice, and defeating Michele Bachmann,” said Jason Isaacson, Campaign Manager for Reed’s Congressional Campaign.

“Maureen’s continued fundraising strength without any high-profile endorsements illustrates that voters want to elect a candidate with extensive real-world experience. Maureen is a political outsider with an incredible background in health care, job creation, and public education. Donors and voters alike know that government is not working for them and that Maureen is the candidate who will work collaboratively and get things done,” said Isaacson.

Isaacson added, “At the DFL Convention we were less than 5 votes away from blocking the endorsement, and in last 4 days of the quarter following the convention, we raised over $68,000, indicating that people are not tied to the preferred candidate of DFL activists, but are drawn to a political outsider who can defeat Michele Bachmann in November.”

The campaign will file its official results with the Federal Election Commission on April 15.

Reporting is that Michele Bachmann has accumulated a ton of cash to flood the channels with her brand of political "information" and we can anticipate it will be offensive - what else could it be, from Bachmann.

The hope is sane voters in the Sixth District will ask themselves two questions. "Is the stuff Michele Bachmann says on FOX my thinking, and what she says on the Jesus networks my view of how people should regard the rights of one another?" That's a first question. The second, "Is my life better or worse since Michele Bachmann has gone to Congress and if worse, what has Michele Bachmann done to make the outcome at all different?"

Each of us has answers, mine being she is a divisive bigot and does not speak for anyone but the ruling elite wanting to delude those easily misled; while my second answer is my life's been okay, and that means I've been luckier than a lot of people because life in general in the Sixth District has worsened with Michele Bachmann a big part of the problem; and not any part of any sane person's solution.

If Michele Bachmann has said "Tax the rich" I missed it.

My only problem is that the competing candidates are more moderate than I am, none, to my knowledge having said "Tax the rich." Yet none other than Bachmann is a Hemsley, or an allay or tool of the Hemsleys of our nation. Any of the four, Reed, Clark, Anderson, or Immelman would be an improvement over the divisive and crass status quo. That said, Reed, Anderson, and Immelman each can be viewed as an outsider to the flawed two party system we live under and are controlled by. The distinction, to me, is relevant.

Each of the two parties has its special interest regulars. Neither party, in my view, benefits greatly from how those interests have regarded the rest of us beyond their own objectives. With organized labor becoming a lesser and lesser percentage of the people, their interests have narrowed rather than broadened in an effort to attract greater percentages of the work force. The employers have won that battle and the response has been to circle the wagons more than to open the process.

I do not think the teachers union and the bureaucrats union has a great concern for the rest of us, not nearly enough, and each instead is steadfast in not seeing their own ox gored even if that stance might be counterproductive to what's best for the nation or for the bulk of the populace.

Weeding out bad teachers and shrinking the bureaucracy and making it more responsive to average citizen needs and expectations, and more productive in ways the private sector work force faces day in, day out, are areas where union leadership has been perhaps more intransigent than is best for everyone else.

Now, one clear caveat. In stating my dissatisfaction with the two party system (and noting now that of the two parties, one, the GOP, is beyond all hope); these are personal views. I do not attribute any such thinking to any candidate for office - each being quite able to speak for herself or himself. I only note that other things being equal - and the capabilities and proven success of Clark and Reed while in different spheres of activity have been largely shown equivalent - my preference in so close and promising a balance is the one less tied to a party insider status quo. However, with the two individuals so excellent, I will vote as I think best in the DFL primary and be exceptionally satisfied with the quality of the winner, should that winner turn out to be Reed, or Clark. Either is in my view an exceptionally promising candidate for the job.

___________UPDATE___________
Besides feeling the Hemsleys of our nation should be more fairly and heavily taxed; I favor single payer and the candidate who has come closest to that policy position is Reed, who has not endorsed single payer, but has at least noted that public option would be a step toward holding the fiscal rapaciousness of the Hemsleys somewhat at bay. Bless Maureen Reed for the courage to at least say that. I await the other three challengers, Clark in particular, to state a position on single payer and/or public option. She seems to want only to agree with her friends.

Immelman and Anderson, each also should speak up on the healthcare issue because it is far from fixed by what's been done with both houses of Congress and the Presidency in a "pass anything" mode after much fussing with little progress to show. Clearly, those wanting repeal of what's been passed do not want it to fix things better, but only to restore the flawed status quo - with either the bill as passed or the before-passage status quo being far, far, far too friendly to the Hemsleys we have among us, feeding off the denials of coverage, the cancellations, the spending caps, and all the other abuses the insurance-industrial complex has, in its rapacious greed, inflicted on the nation.

MICHELE BACHMANN - Stinging hard pressed taxpayers fourteen grand, for a bullhorn and a crowd, so she could feel validation and exhilaration fomenting discord loudly by vulgar over-posturing and rabble-rousing barking

So what's new, right?

Strib online, the day before another crass salvo, April 14, reported:

WASHINGTON - Rep. Michele Bachmann solidified her place in the national spotlight in November when she gathered thousands of Tea Party activists in front of the U.S. Capitol for a "House Call on Washington," to stop the Democrats' health care bill.

Months later, official expense reports show that the boisterous, 10,000-person rally to rein in big government and stop runaway spending cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $14,000.

Bachmann and three other lawmakers split the cost for a private company to arrange staging and a sound system, using their official congressional member allowances. Joining her were Reps. Tom Price of Georgia, Todd Akin of Missouri and Steve King of Iowa.

It's your money. Was it worthwhile bang for the buck, for you?

Did it get the potholes fixed in the district, a Stillwater bridge, or another stop and an extension of Northstar?

Did it get Michele Bachmann press attention?

What exactly are priorities in "representing" the Sixth District? Don't ask me, ask Rep. Bachmann.

Ask her simply, "WHY?"

Also, ask her if it really was 10.000 at the show. The reliable estimates I have seen say three to four thousand, at most.

And good luck on getting a cogent and coherent answer. Find out if it's worth taking the time seeking one.

NOTE: Further parallel coverage, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Even the Mad Hatter and March Hare footed their own bill for their wonked out Tea Party event.

Hateful hovering pop-ups.

A privilege of authoring a site is having an opportunity time and again to criticize nuisances.

Am I the only one that hates how some web sites, you read and move the mouse as you are scrolling and some spot on a site causes a mouse pass-over to pop up some trash (usually in a wordy and gaudily colored ugly balloon format with a hanging pointer to the word or phrase that spawned the balloon), and it is nothing but a distraction you never wanted to have interrupt your reading? Some pages are so bad I simply leave them whether or not there is useful content. Do others also react that way? Or is it only me, being an inflexible old man?

I may do a sidebar poll on that - two options, They are okay; or I hate them too.

That's a future project, but if there is any reader who likes them and believes them helpful, please leave a comment saying so. If any reader is so honked off that she wants to add a supporting voice to my kvetching, go for it too.

I prefer the Firefox borwser because of the addon capability to block advertisements and scripts.

What kind of idiot would feel we would want such stuff in the way of pursuing information? My guess is the perps know we hate it, but don't care.

Interesting conservative-libertarian critiques. Ron Paul's position on militarism is within this line of dogma.

Read them yourself. I am not pushing the thinking as sound or unsound. Only as different from what you hear from Michele Bachmann, especially when she goes on her theocratic circuit riding bent, and different from what you hear from Sutton-Brodkorb, or Strib.

Links, here, here, here, and here. You can use that as a base to explore the line of thought more thoroughly.

The Austrian school is consistent in its message, not talking of freedom and free market mechanisms being ideal, while at the same time embracing the existing power elite and power structure as it spans both major parties, and they avoid the intellectually dishonest position of talking about freedom and then denying freedom of womens' and families' choice. They are consistent, agree or disagree. They are not poseurs trying to mix and match. Ron Paul seems to be with the Austrian school regarding the Fed, but he's pro-life, so go figure. It's trying to do the big tent thing, rather than being consistent and analytical. Give Ron Paul a B+, no better, until he recognizes choice is freedom.

A secular Ayn Rand acolyte writes of Tea Party hijacking worries by the end-time theocrats aka true believers. Why Tea Party Express astroturf with Jesus jockeys Bachmann and Palin are unpalatable to other conservatives.

The outlet is online, I do not know if it is a paper subscription outlet at all, but the link is here, source of the opening screenshot:

Link over to the item, again here, and read the entire editorial-report.

And to further confront the new-wing GOP theocrat majority, there is another sensible sentiment from the true Tea Party voices, against the false -- here, and for an index, here.

These people are extreme, but they are not as offensive as the theocrats; or the worse of the bunch represented by Palin and Bachmann, those who think they can put a foot in each camp and get away with the straddle.

Ron Paul needs to clearly define himself, true libertarian, or fudging toward theocracy too.

He's so far been very cute, agreeing with his friends.

For those liking squeaky clean conflict-of-inteerst-free candidate choices from both parties, an intresting online factoid about Marty Siefert.

Hmmm #MNGOP #mn2010 @seifertmn #gotprinciples? #MNearmarks #foodforfuel

Republican Marty Seifert and his campaign are spending a lot of time trying to misconstrue Tom Emmer’s record and words, but little attention has been paid to his own record. But of course every single time Tom Emmer provides more evidence he is the more preferred candidate, Seifert’s team gets nastier and nastier. It seems to be their “winning strategy”.
Now I have said I don’t want to go down this road, but Seifert’s own campaign staff and advisors are running with scissors, so here goes.
Marty Seifert worked for Southwest State University. (Source: Meet Marty Seifertforgovernor.com)

From 1999 to 2006, Seifert was an Admissions Counselor at Southwest Minnesota State University. He has been on unpaid leave since December, 2006.

But did you know that in 1997, just before he joined the University, he authored a bill to FUNNEL Southwest State Univ. over half a million dollars?

Residual Forces posts that, here; and this is not some DFL hit piece.

It is a pro-Emmer site, no hiding of that openly professed blogger agenda, see, e.g., this post.

The Siefert thing - will it grow legs? And why was it not an inquisitive mainstream media outlet that blew this whistle? Go figure.

It is something that voters should have a more publicized knowledge of, going into the general election, and looking at what each party then offers.

How moribund is the IP? How moribund is the State Auditor's office?

This screenshot, from the CFB site, this link:

[click to enlarge and read] The IP does not even have a candidate filed yet for the two down-ticket Constitutional offices.

For such a do nothing party, it seems only appropriate that they'd have someone for the do nothing office of state auditor.

I don't know what the auditor does, if anything, and went to the official website and still can see little that a single CPA could not accomplish, without staff.

So, you tell me. Rebecca Otto seems to be a nice person. Pat Anderson [Awada] wants the job back. So what?

I tried, once Otto had won, to get that office interested into auditing the Ramsey Town Center financing and money situation, at about the time Nedegaard's thing blew up. Awada had ignored the situation, but this was new blood, this was DFL and not business as usual. Right? It was immediately after the 2006 election that I made the effort, and since it was late November 2006 only months after election day that Nedegaard was sued by the lending bank consortium to force a bankruptcy, it seemed timely to me. It seemed that an official "auditor" should look at the conflict of interest problems that I viewed as systemic to the thing then, indeed from its outset, and yet some fairly senior person on Otto's staff emailed back, basically saying, "We do not do that. If we did there'd be soooooooooooo much to do and we do not have the staff for it."

If not those exact words, the functional equivalent.

The County Attorney already had largely turned a blind eye, form a seat on the Ramsey Planning Commission, and the City Attorney largely did the same, except Terry Hendriksen was then on council and wanted and requested a legal opinion on conflict of interest. Instead of getting a legitimate AGO, something different was attained, saying it appeared to have been kind of okay to that point but there might be problems in the future.

A non-opinion opinion, one that many disliked, and some disliked the fact that a particular firm all too often got tapped in such situations, etc.

But if there was no audit of that situation, crying for one, what did get audited by the State Auditor?

How sister city trips to China were being processed by Ramsey got a bit of State Auditor attention, because the then-mayor wanted to be proper in his junket, and requested an opinion.

That was during the Anderson [Awada] period, as best as I recall. I recall a response as if Awada was replying some of my friends think this, some think that, and I agree with my friends; enjoy China, Tom. One good old person to another.

____________

So, Town Center was slipping into litigation, and foreclosures, the bankers in North Branch were pursued over things where three ultimately copped pleas to criminal charges, the land speculators walked off with the lion's share of money from the table, one on council one on the Charter Commission, and Nedegaard was forced into a bankruptcy and died, and the State Auditor was too busy to notice or care.

Not on my plate, not on my table.

What then DOES the office do besides rubber stamp stuff?

What gets audited and for what reason, and how thoroughly?

It seems ---

Dross.

The story is in a number of online video links, with something to read, here. City pages posts this video. Also, there is this online video link. Also, Dump Bachmann has posted the video link.

The DFL and anti-Bachmann outlets seem to be all over it. Can any reader email me a link to any GOP sites taking the bit in their teeth and running with the item?

Gold standard of the GOP? That pair?

Barry Goldwater and Bill Buckley are spinning in their graves. Taft and Eisenhower too.

What in the world is this Brodkorb guy doing insulting a heritage reaching back to Lincoln? And doing it for what, to score a few current points, of some kind, with some kind of people focused only on today and yesterday but ignoring the day before, etc.?

Brodkorb should apologize for the comment. He should resign his party post. I bet even Norm Coleman is spinning in his grave and he has not died yet. Or, I believe not.

Dick Nixon's heritage even is insulted. This pair could not even be competent crooks, as Nixon was. Perhaps they'd equal his meanness level, perhaps not. But aside from all else Dick Nixon was, he had a brain. Put them in a class with Dan Quayle, perhaps, but that's not anyone's gold standard and even Quayle would have cause for distress over any comparison.

Reagan was a showman, front man, pitch man, barker, and probably would take less offense than others.

BOTTOM LINE: You can see the basis for a sound and intelligent GOP person such as Aubrey Immelman being uncomfortable with the GOP's status quo, and wanting to run against it.

____________UPDATE___________
Before anyone misunderstands, this is not a gender thing. Margaret Chase Smith is spinning as fast or faster than the other deceased but insulted ones. And if news of this were to reach Condoleezza Rice, how do you think she'd feel? Too black to be gold? Get real. Know quality from the opposite. Rice is no Beverly LaHaye, and I expect Dr. Rice is proud of being so. Are you waiting for Ms. Palin, or Ms. LaHaye, to end up here? Keep waiting. It's not in the cards.

________FURTHER UPDATE________
Even Brodkorb's propaganda organ, Hellier at MDE, does not touch that wopper.

Here is all I could find on a site specific search, "gold standard."

Teaching in Minnesota. A Race to Counterproductivity? You decide.

DFL legislators see problems with the Teachers' Union. Teachers' Union sees no problem with itself, with the status quo.

How do you get rid of incompetent teachers with seniority?

Presently, you don't. Unless they fire themselves via misconduct and being caught. If an inept but carefully not outrageous teacher is on some board's payroll, what does it do?

I am unclear about options, but the proposals to allow skilled professionals to teach is being opposed by the union. Go figure why. Figure whether their interest is in what's best for educating students, which should be any true teacher's aim, or in preserving a status quo where they've attained a good collective deal for themselves.

Strib reports some "he said, she said" detail; this link. It's thin and anecdotal. Making the job easier with skeleton staff unlike the print media heydays.

Given Strib's recent clear trending toward the GOP, take their reporting-approaching-editorializing on the news page with a grain of salt.

Still, I would like to read some MSM outlet's reporting what school board leaders in some of the larger districts have to say - those from the community apart from any that came up through the teaching-union ranks.

And then there is the clear and present danger. The Edwatch fringe, the Quist bunch.

There are a host of online links on that batch; starting with Edwatch identifying its key actors, here, and its agenda starting from its homepage, here. Then note Julie Quist's Bachmann ties, here, here and here. Then, see also, here, here, here, or here.

Saying there is an unreliable or questionable critic group on the fringe, Edwatch, and one that sensible persons should view carefully should not, however, detract attention from the how and why question of Minnesota being denied Race to the Top funds.

For Race to the Top links, without Minnesota being a part of the search so general info is expected, this search, or here, and another Minnesota related search, here.

It is not new. But it is true. From Tom Degan, one of his rants.

Michael Moore being praised at a site with which I previously was unfamiliar.

An extended excerpt from an exceptional film review:

On Tuesday morning Moore's latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, was released on DVD. It is his most important one to date. Buy it. Watch it. Organize a showing at your local library. Make sure that as many people as possible see this film. If enough of them come to realize how badly they're getting screwed by their elected representatives, there will be a revolution in this country. It's been seventy-seven years since the last one. We're long overdue.

In fact, there is a revolution brewing at this moment in our history - for all the wrong reasons. People are rising up against an imaginary organization of Liberal politicians that doesn't even exist in this country anymore. Life can be funny that way, you know? Americans even funnier. Go figure.

Democracy in America has been overthrown - plain and simple. For three decades Corporate America was allowed - by law - to rape, pillage and loot our national treasure. When their house of marked cards came crashing down on September 15, 2008, you and I, against our will, were forced to bail these hideous bastards out. That's not a democracy. That's a plutocracy! These "Plutocrats" were able to buy our democratic form of government under the guise of campaign contributions. They have seized it and they have no intention of giving it back. And don't kid yourself by thinking that this is the fault of any particular political party. Both of them have been thoroughly corrupted - the Republicans only slightly more than the Democrats. You say you want a revolution?

In this new movie, Mike dots every i and crosses every t - or to the extent that that's possible in slightly over two hours. A comprehensive look at the shambles that is the American economy would require a film several months in length. It took thirty years to create this mess and it's not going to be cleaned up overnight. When the American electorate stupidly signed on to Ronald Reagan's moronic Supply Side, Trickle Down, Voo Doo Economics in 1980, we effectively sealed our fate. Back then, there were a few voices in the wilderness who were sounding the alarm: that Reaganomics was mathematically unfeasible and that we were committing a long and slow economic suicide. Those warnings went unheeded. After all, it was the Roaring Eighties, baby! Let the next generation clean up our mess!

We're in the money!
The skies are sunny!
We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!

The long dormant chickens of the era of Ronald Reagan have come home to roost with a nasty vengeance. Someday, I hope, we as a nation will overcome our dysfunctional love affair with Reagan and come to understand what a fool the man was. The damage he did to our country was so immense, it will never be accurately assessed. There was a period between the years 1993 and 2001 where that damage might have been put in reverse. Unfortunately it was only aided and abetted by Bill Clinton. And you wonder why I am no longer a Democrat? No Friend Of Bill am I.

The premise of Capitalism: A Love Story is going to be awfully hard for many of us to swallow. In essence the argument being made is that capitalism has failed. We're not merely talking about unregulated, out-of-control capitalism; were talking about capitalism PERIOD. And while it might have been a reasonable option once-upon-a-time - that is no longer the case. Our economic value system needs to be completely rethought if we are going to survive as a nation. And what are the odds of something that miraculous ever happening? About slightly less than zilch. Best of luck to us.

On whom would Jesus foreclose?

One of my favorite scenes in the film is where the theological argument against the capitalistic system is made by a Catholic priest named father Richard Preston. He calls it by its rightful name: "Evil". In the DVD version, there is an extended interview with Father Dick in the "Special Features" section. That segment alone is worth the price of the ticket.

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called Sons of God

Jesus of Nazareth

We're no longer living in the "land of the free". Show me a people whose lives are held hostage by the greed of the ruling class and I'll show you a people who are many things. "Free" they are not. This situation has existed for many years now and it's only recently that we're starting to catch on. Unfortunately, due to the successful propaganda campaign being spewed forth by FOX Noise, the GOP and the so-called "Tea Party", that mass anger is being misdirected. The "Liberals" are behind all of our problems, we are being led to believe. That is only true inasmuch as they have been rendered (by themselves largely) as irrelevant in recent years. The only true progressives in the entire senate are Russ Feingold and Bernie Sanders. Liberalism is deader than the three Kennedy brothers combined - and that's pretty damned dead, Buster!

And did I mention that it's funny, too? It's a scream! Even the music in the closing credits had me rolling on the floor - the worker's anthem, "The Internationale" sung by a lounge singer named Tony Babino in the swingingest, Las Vegas/Rat Pack style! Koo-Koo, baby!

This is the film that Michael Moore should have won the Academy Award for, and yet he didn't even get a nomination this time 'round. That's okay with me - I can't even remember the last time I watched the Oscars anyway. That award is meaningless. The thing to remember is that this is the film which will be remembered twenty years from today as the warning that was ignored.

The specific item, here. The website,

"The Rant" by Tom Degan.

Check out this rant. We in the Sixth District have lived through a part of what Degan analyzes.

Dr. King. A Tom Degan rant.

"It's ironic that the forty-second anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King should fall on Easter Sunday." Degan notes that early in his post. I give only an excerpt, from here, where I urge every reader to go to the item itself for a full read.

One year before his death - forty-three years ago today - he gave a sermon at the Riverside Church in New York City:

"A nation that continues, year after year, to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Well, what the hey! It appears to me that the good doctor was onto something there! In fact, we're way beyond "approaching spiritual doom", we're there, baby! Take a good look around you. This ain't your father's America. It's not even close. Paging Dr. King indeed.

Here's an even bigger irony: His assassin might have saved himself the inconvenience of a long prison sentence had he just waited a few short years. The sad fact of the matter is that by the spring of 1968, Dr. King was not long for this world. His autopsy revealed heart disease so advanced, it is doubtful he would have lived to see his mid-forties. His lifelong fondness for deep-fried southern cooking notwithstanding, the very fact of just being Martin Luther King must have been a burden that would have killed men a lot younger than he. Perhaps we should consider ourselves fortunate that he walked in our midst for as long as he did.

"If we assume that mankind has the right to exist, then we must find an alternative to war and destruction. In our day of space vehicles and guided ballistic missiles, the choice is either nonviolence or nonexistence."

That's what I love about this guy! American history is littered with "Christian" religious leaders. Try as you might, you can't escape them. The thing that sets the right, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. apart from most of these guys is the fact that he wasn't a hypocrite.

The lurking enemy raises questions about Matt Entenza.

This link. MDE.

R.T. Rybak and Tarryl Clark hold a mutual admiration society session, and the lurking enemy is first to report.

This link. Read it at MDE.

RAMSEY -- Paul Levy of Strib reports the latest on the question of siting the new north metro VA clinic.

This link. Read it at Strib online.

Does Tim Pawlenty have an identity crisis? A need for surrogate appeal to a fan base?

Open the URL = bachmannrally.com

See what you get.

Bill Prendergast at Minn Progressive Project has analysis, this link.

It does show a bit of who Tim Pawlenty is, buying that particular URL. Now he's a Tea Bagger. I am unsure why but it makes me think of grade school science, where they define liquid as having a fixed volume but taking the shape of its container.

For those treasuring intellectual rigor in our times of over-simplified superficialities and sound-bite appeals to prejudice and passion.

In this screenshot the side bar supplements the quality aura of the collection of spokesmen:

Click the screenshot to enlarge and read. Intellectual rigor? Or rigor mortus - beginning to bloat? You can join 'The Club' and presumably get green stamps or bulk-order discount coupons at gun shows. Whatever.

Screenshots from -

http://www.ktlkfm.com/main.html
http://www.ktlkfm.com/cc-common/globalsignup.html

I never knew that radio outlet existed. I wonder what they do and say. No time for it, unfortunately.


Anyway, for something totally unrelated; this link.

Breitbart, dim bulb, and pity the fallen warrior. There's plenty of rigor on all sides. Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here.

Without the Web we would have none of that.

So much worthy content exists that we must every day be thankful for having the Web. For instance we learn that Mainstream Media is turning up the heat on the Pope in Europe and elsewhere, we read it, for example, here. Without web news would we know that? Without web veracity, would we know that Mainstream Media might also have editorial-ownership dislikes for Vatican speech without caring to frontally assault it as inappropriately prone to raise questioning if an attack were made against social justice and the Roman Church's views of its unfortunate absence; where the Obama administration and Nancy Pelosi are around as targets for that, and the Roman Church can be pressured via alter boy scandalizing in a 'properly objective' but duly salacious manner. And don't rock their boat over embryos, embrace instead, clasp hands on that front. However, consider a few things the Roman Church says from time to time that could make some view a need for greater silence and circumspection:

It is not the Church's mission to resolve all social problems. However, the Church can doubtlessly contribute to the partial solution of some fundamental problems. For example, She could help in areas which touch the basic things needed for a dignified human life--food, housing, education, clothing, medicine, etc.. Many particular Churches in America give Gospel witness to a communion in solidarity by creating programs to foster cooperative initiatives between one Church and another. They also do this at the continental level within already existing structures of aid, and, when opportune, apart from these structures. The example of the primitive Christian community in apostolic times continues to be the Church's inspiration in the area of a real communion and sharing of gifts, including material ones. The text from the Acts of the Apostles is clear and simple in its teaching: "Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need" (Acts 4:32-35).

This link.

It is incumbent upon States to protect the lives of their citizens, however, greater renewal at all levels is needed to form a society in which the recognition of human dignity and human rights are at the core rather than a consequence of our policy decisions.

In this era of greater economic interconnectedness, effort must be made to ensure consistent focus on a human-centred approach to development. Around the world, millions of children lack access to the very ways and means which will assist them in shaping a better future for themselves and their community. The lack of access to basic healthcare, education, food, water and development prevents people from exercising their fundamental human rights.

The current global economic collapse highlights and will surely exacerbate the plight of the so-called "bottom billion", a figure which due to the present aggravating conjuncture is on a constant rise. These persons will have their right to food impinged by the global food crisis. With the governmental spending focused upon fixing the financial meltdown, social sectors such as education and healthcare will be further downsized and underfinanced. While the economic crisis is presenting a number of challenges for the entire global community, as we begin to create measures to fix the economic collapse, we must not lose sight of those who live with little hope for a decent future. To this end, the report of the independent expert on human rights and extreme poverty rightly recognizes that in addressing the plight of the bottom billion, the realization of human rights and the elimination of extreme poverty are mutually reinforcing endeavours.

This link.

A disconcerting conclusion about the most recent period should serve to enlighten us: side-by-side with the miseries of underdevelopment, themselves unacceptable, we find ourselves up against a form of superdevelopment, equally inadmissible. because like the former it is contrary to what is good and to true happiness. This super-development, which consists in an excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of "possession" and of immediate gratification, with no other horizon than the multiplication or continual replacement of the things already owned with others still better. This is the so-called civilization of "consumption" or " consumerism ," which involves so much "throwing-away" and "waste." An object already owned but now superseded by something better is discarded, with no thought of its possible lasting value in itself, nor of some other human being who is poorer.

All of us experience firsthand the sad effects of this blind submission to pure consumerism: in the first place a crass materialism, and at the same time a radical dissatisfaction, because one quickly learns - unless one is shielded from the flood of publicity and the ceaseless and tempting offers of products - that the more one possesses the more one wants, while deeper aspirations remain unsatisfied and perhaps even stifled.

The Encyclical of Pope Paul VI pointed out the difference, so often emphasized today, between "having" and "being,"51 which had been expressed earlier in precise words by the Second Vatican Council.52 To "have" objects and goods does not in itself perfect the human subject, unless it contributes to the maturing and enrichment of that subject's "being," that is to say unless it contributes to the realization of the human vocation as such.

Of course, the difference between "being" and "having," the danger inherent in a mere multiplication or replacement of things possessed compared to the value of "being," need not turn into a contradiction. One of the greatest injustices in the contemporary world consists precisely in this: that the ones who possess much are relatively few and those who possess almost nothing are many. It is the injustice of the poor distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all.

This then is the picture: there are some people - the few who possess much - who do not really succeed in "being" because, through a reversal of the hierarchy of values, they are hindered by the cult of "having"; and there are others - the many who have little or nothing - who do not succeed in realizing their basic human vocation because they are deprived of essential goods.

The evil does not consist in "having" as such, but in possessing without regard for the quality and the ordered hierarchy of the goods one has. Quality and hierarchy arise from the subordination of goods and their availability to man's "being" and his true vocation.

This shows that although development has a necessary economic dimension, since it must supply the greatest possible number of the world's inhabitants with an availability of goods essential for them "to be," it is not limited to that dimension. If it is limited to this, then it turns against those whom it is meant to benefit.

This link.

Surely a cynic can say that's only rhetoric incidental to passing the plate and managing the Vatican Bank and real estate; but even as 'window dressing' there are some who think propaganta works best when the propagandized hear only one message, not confusing other things. Two voices can be thought of as one too many.

I wonder if those illuminate KTLK radio hosts ever get into such matters, in depth, leaving the sloganeering and mob incitement to lesser men? And where is the place for Mac Hammond and his airplanes in things?

Pawlenty could play in this league as well as I could play in the NBA.

And then there is Sarah Palin. She could not even find Prague on a map. Perhaps, with Bachmann's help. Perhaps not.

Photo from

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

"Will you do the rest of the world a favor and reelect Michele Bachmann?" Palin pleaded at the rally.

It was a rally not held in the Sixth District.

Of those yahooskis attending, hopefully only a fraction live here, so that the headline exhortation fell on deaf ears.

And a clue, Sarah.

The world could turn down such a favor. Easily.

Instead -

District residents, do yourselves a favor.

End that idiot bigot being in Congress.

VOTE HER OUT.

------------------------------

Citizens from elsewhere, do Sixth District residents a favor. Don't suffer fools. Ignore Palin and Bachmann.

------------------------------

Strib divoted two online reports to the spectacle, here and here. The Crabgrass headline is from one.

Minn Independent, here.

Photo from here.

From coverage pics it looks as if Palin got to wear the strings of pearls for the night. Probably Bachmann's, on loan. There's something about that CBS photo that I feel captures the core inner essence of Michele Bachmann.

___________UPDATE___________
Excellent coverage at Dump Bachmann, photos, videos. here and here. Are you comforted by either link?

Triple-A was there, this link. His post was terse but comforted.

_________FURTHER UPDATES________
Worth a thousand words:

 -photo of proud Americans, from DB, this link - bright, perhaps not, nonetheless proud -

I challenge anyone at that rally, at the podium, in the crowd, to take an IQ test. I doubt anyone mistook it for a MENSA meeting.

I wonder how Bill Buckley would have written of it, had he not died too early to witness the event. I wonder how Sinclair Lewis would have written of it. Pages from Elmer Gantry, with the names changed?

I did not like the idea of giving Pohlad free money and I do not like the idea of giving Wilf free money. Real public needs exist. Fund them instead.

The Pohlad free money mischief's been done, and we see Joe Mauer getting a big chunk of Pohlad money and Joe's not paid a penny toward that play field.

Strib, online at this link, reports:

Vikings stadium deal is heating up in Legislature --- Senate Taxes Chairman Tom Bakk says a bill is in the works, while team officials now say they're confident about their chances

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune - update: April 8, 2010, 11:08 AM

A deal to build a new Vikings stadium seems to be gathering momentum at the State Capitol, with a top DFL senator saying Wednesday that "most of the pieces" of a legislative proposal were "pretty much drafted."

Senate Taxes Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said that he has been working on the bill with others and that there is "plenty of time" to pass it before the Legislature adjourns in mid-May.

Earlier in the day, Vikings President Mark Wilf told a group of business leaders that he was "confident" the National Football League team would be able to strike a deal to obtain public subsidies to build a new stadium.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering for a controversial $870 million stadium appears to be intensifying, even though no formal legislation has been introduced.

Lester Bagley, who directs the Vikings' stadium development efforts, said Wednesday that a public subsidy request by the team would likely include "a number of different revenue streams" and that legislative leaders along with local business officials were privately conferring over which package would likely get the most support.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has increasingly commented on the need to find a stadium solution, floated the idea in February of using proceeds from a state lottery game.

Outwardly, at least, the Legislature has had little to say about a Vikings stadium so far this year. Before Easter, as legislators debated a jobs creation bill, the House voted 132-0 against using any parts of the legislation "to assist the state, any subdivision or agency of the state, a local government, or any private entity or person in financing or constructing a stadium or ballpark."

"If you wanted to test the temperature of the legislative support [for a Vikings stadium], I would use that as a reference point," Phil Krinkie, president of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, said Wednesday. "That to me would indicate the wind is in your face."

That's an extended excerpt, but the original link has more.

Enact the Minnesota Health Plan. Let the Wilf family fund their hobby team, or move it. If the league allows a move, if they want to move, bless them. The earth would still turn on the same axis even if the Vikings left town for LA.

Money makes the world go 'round. Tarryl Clark reports fundraising, via Strib.

Strib reports big bucks news, online, here and here.

Below, a screenshot of an interesting Google Images return, with the Google searching settings I have in my Firefox browser [click it to enlarge]:

google = "tarryl clark" site:http://www.startribune.com/

Do that search and see if you get something different.

Perhaps we should give Bing a try? Okay - well, this gets the current article's Clark photo, but ---

It seems Microsoft in Bing has used a similar search context to that pioneered by Google, but unlike Google it does not offer an advanced search toggle for filling in blanks.

For interesting detail about tuning Google searches, see here and here.

St. Cloud Times reports Bob Anderson may again run for Minnesota's Sixth District Congressional seat as IP candidate.

This link.

CIRCUS NOTICE: Three stooges. And it's today. Live streamed, so see it at the Michele Bachmann website. Barf bags are a viewer responsibility.

Tune In to our Live Rally with Governor Sarah Palin

from Michele Bachmann
reply-to newsletter@michelebachmann.com
to 4crabgrass@gmail.com
date Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 11:12 PM
subject Tune in to Watch our Rally with Governor Sarah Palin!
mailed-by in.constantcontact.com

My friends,

Tomorrow, I have the honor and privilege of welcoming
Governor Sarah Palin to my home state of Minnesota, where she will join me on the campaign trail for a rally at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

I want to let you know that just because you're not in the area, it doesn't mean you can't take part in the event. The rally will start at 2pm CT, and it will be streaming live on my website: www.michelebachmann.com.

Sean Hannity will also be joining us in Minnesota tomorrow, and he will be filming his TV show right from the rally. I hope you are able to tune in and help me make this a memorable occasion!

It's an exciting time to be a conservative in this country right now, and I ask you all to stay engaged and keep up the fight! I also wanted to take this opportunity and encourage you to contribute to my campaign. Let's send a message to Washington this November that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi won't ever forget!

Please follow this link to make a donation of $25, $50, $100 or more to my campaign.

Thank You for your continued support, prayers and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Michele Bachmann

Poor Pastor Mac Hammond. Out of the loop. Hung out to dry. And he was going to surely vote for Bachmann in the Third District where he lives. Out of the spotlight. Not in the big tent, center ring. God's making new and diffeent choices these days. And Marcus, not a player apparently in his usual stage prop role?

Gee.

____________
photo, this link, from here

Plastic fantastic Cassandra.

Click the image to enlarge and read it. The link for that right-wing screed site's item, WorldNetDaily, is given here.

Let's take the Bachmann ten points point-by-point.

We, therefore, the People and Representatives of the United States of America, do solemnly Publish and Declare that health care reform, as a matter of principle, must:

* Protect as inviolate the vital doctor-patient relationship; [Bachmann opposes family planning choices as they may be formed between doctor-patient]

* Reject any addition to the crushing national debt heaped upon all Americans; [Bachmann favors continuation of both wars; financed by her willing votes during Bush-Cheney years by what else but running up record levels of debt]

* Improve, rather than diminish, the quality of care that Americans enjoy; [For those covered, but those not covered can continue to play ER roulette, with some dying when parked unattended on gurneys in hospital hallways?]

* Be negotiated publicly, transparently, with genuine accountability and oversight; [Whatever that empty or possibly cryptic rhetoric is intended to mean, it gets it from nine to ten points, and is tidy that way]

* Treat private citizens at least as well as political officials; [Do the Bachmann & Associates workers have as good a healthcare coverage as Rep. Michele Bachmann, clinic owner? Or less? Or none at all?]

* Protect taxpayers from funding of abortion and abortion coverage; [Contra to the first point, she wants to poke her busy-body nose into other peoples' healthcare decisions and options]

* Reject all new mandates on patients, employers, individuals or states; [Along with that get rid of requiring drivers' licenses and mandatory auto liability insurance?]

* Prohibit expansion of taxpayer-funded health care to those unlawfully present in the United States; [Beat up on Hispanics]

* Guarantee Equal Protection under the law and the Constitution; [But don't cover those 48 million souls currently denied the basic human right to attain and access decent baseline healthcare; they can remain unequal?]

* Empower, rather than limit, an open and accessible marketplace of health care choice and opportunity. [Let the states compete for least common denominator in insurance regulation, as with Delaeware having siezed the lowest low road on corporations law; i.e., let all the insurers move headquarters to North Dakota or some such.]

But, hey, it's not as if we're 100% committed ... But, committed, sort of, without misspeaking, sort of without too much misspeaking.

The big hummer to me is that everybody should have the coverage the House Membership has - and the question of whether that means everybody, or everybody but employees of Bachmann & Associates? I await, stoically, the mainstream media's asking Bachmann that question - confronting her on whether the pocketbook trumps the bullhorn.

And now for something different ---

If you don't want to click the image to read beginning text, Minn. Independent has the full story, here.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Santa is wearing a baseball cap, not even a red one, or why he is carrying a picture depicting Obama as Groucho Marx.

I suppose looking at the pictures is not enough, and I will have to read a bit of text. It must have something to do with A Day at the Races.

John Marty's webpage features two video segments, his views on education and his reasoning about the ethics of not taking any questionable contributions.

On the DFL side there is only one known ticket, Marty - Torres Ray, as pictured.

The two videos respectively on education and ethics, here and here.

Or you can link to them from the website homepage:

http://www.johnmarty.org/

Tarryl Clark update - after gaining the DFL endorsement.

Access the Clark campaign website,

http://tarrylclark.com/

And you get that opening screenshot. Clark news, Klobuchar holds a fundraiser; making sense now since Clark's been endorsed and since a former Klobuchar worker is Clark's campaign director. This Clark website link.

Walz reported to have endorsed Clark, again, after the party convention endorsed. This Strib link.

There is no doubt who Clark is running against. This link. Interesting photo of the opponent.

Maureen Reed: Reed is still active but would be pushing the big rock uphill in wanting to get party regulars to endorse her after Clark got the convention endorsement. But Reed is still active and it will be interesting with the quarter having closed to see how each candidate did, especially in individual contributions, when the FEC reports are available for each online.

While there will be a primary and Reed and Clark each will tout her own background and capabilities, the impact will not be one strongly costly to the primary winner because each of the two knows the target is not one another, but the rabble-rousing circus barker incumbent.

Reed's campaign website: http://maureenreedforcongress.com/

And she does feature as recent news the mid-march LORI STURDEVANT editorial complimentary to both DFL Sixth District challengers. This link.

It is concievable this cycle that the DFL legislative leadership might produce the Sixth District Congressional representative as well as the first Minnesota female governor. As concievable, the Minnesota Congressional delegation might add an MD to its list of represented professions.

RAMSEY: Anoka County HRA is looking to purchase in Ramsey Town Center Gardens.

ABC Newspapers online, this link.

Town Center Gardens is the development between Ramsey Blvd. and Armstrong Blvd., north of Hwy 116.

There already has been Habitat for Humanity building there, on the corner diagonally across of from the Ramsey Market [formerly a Tom Thumb outlet]. It is the only place I have seen Somali women in head scarves caring for children on a townhome lawn patch in Ramsey, and diversity is a positive thing. I do not know if the HRA is looking to purchase and dedicate Town Center Gardens housing units to low-income families, or if there is other intent. In relevant part, ABC Newspapers reports:

The Anoka County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has received another $1 million to spend on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) through which it uses federal dollars to purchase vacant and/or foreclosured homes, which are then either rehabilitated or demolished for resale.

The HRA has approved a contract with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), which will pass on to Anoka County reallocated federal dollars that have been returned to the MHFA unused by communities.

When the HRA took action last week, the exact amount of the new money had not been fixed by the MHFA, but Anoka County Community Development Director Karen Skepper received an e-mail late last week from the MHFA informing her that the total would be $1 million.

This allocation comes on top of the direct NSP grant of $2,377,310 that the county received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and $2,506,643 in federal NSP dollars from the MHFA last year.

[...] According to Skepper, one of the reasons the MHFA allocated another $1 million to the county’s NSP pot was the success the HRA has had in using up the existing NSP dollars.

Indeed, all but $600,000 of the $2,377,310 in direct federal NSP dollars have been spent. And once negotiations are completed to purchase vacant land and individually constructed townhomes in the Ramsey Town Center Gardens project, that money will be gone.

As well, 85 percent of the dollars in the original state $2.5 million allotment has been committed to purchasing properties for rehabilitation or demolition, Skepper said.

To date with the federal dollars, the county has purchased 21 foreclosed and/or vacant properties which are either being rehabilitated or demolished. Those homes or lots will be resold.

Of the 21, seven homes have been demolished and five have been completely rehabilitated so far, Skepper said.

In a few cases, the resale will be to Habitat for Humanity or the Two Rivers Community Land Trust in the amount of $1. These agencies provide affordable housing to low- and moderate-income families.

The county HRA has also approved purchase agreements for 11 more properties in the county.

But Skepper does not expect more than half of the deals to be actually consummated, she said.

“Some fall off the market because they are ultimately sold to private buyers,” Skepper said. “That’s great. We would rather see a private sector sale.”

[emphasis added]. Anyone caring to pin down detail could either contact Ramsey's HRA, or Ms. Skepper, mentioned in the reporting.

Woodbury Bulletin - An op-ed on Michele Bachmann.

This link. This excerpt. Use the link to read the entire item and comments.

Published March 31 2010
Viewpoint: Bachmann should practice what she preaches regarding entitlements
Our congresswoman, once again votes against those she represents.

By: John Shirts, Viewpoint writer, Woodbury Bulletin

Our congresswoman, once again votes against those she represents.

I watch the news daily to see what Rep. Michele Bachmann will next say that contradicts how she lives. Which foot will go in her mouth next. She is against any program that helps our citizens who have less than her, yet continues to reap the benefits of government handouts that make her life better.

She spouts vitriol about government involving itself in peoples lives, (requiring people to have health care insurance), yet says nothing about long established government requirements that we carry automobile insurance. What is the difference? She claims that this is an unconstitutional requirement for people. Where is her argument. One requirement is good, the other bad? Give me the rationale.

Her family has benefited from one of the largest government entitlements, farm subsidies, yet she votes against programs to help the indigent.

She is entitled to the best health care and pension benefits available in the country, yet she votes against the health care reform legislation that benefits seniors, people of low or moderate income, and those who are working for employers that do not provide affordable health care plans for ALL their employees. She would deny health care to millions of Americans to protect the interests of the insurance industry.

If our congressperson was truly against those big government programs she detests, she would immediately remove herself from the pension, health care, social security, salary, staff and office space that is paid for by the government and other perks we may not know about. And she would quit littering our mail boxes with her propaganda.

Wanting it both ways is the Bachmann way? It seems to be a commonly felt belief she should either shut up and quit the bullhorn complaining, or conform her conduct to her proclaimed doctrinaire complaints.

But end the straddle.

Both ways is a brand that should not sell, and a carnival barker should realize that.

An interesting review of Michele Bachmann's most recent showing of a repeated tendency to "misspeak," (which some would call "loosely lying" about facts).

Andy Birkey at Minn. Independent, date stamped March 31, this link.

Dump Bachmann, here, here, and here for a similar "respect the truth" posting thread.

This link, for a good Hoot about Bachmann's pretenses at authoritativeness, a Hoot and a Smalley.

_____________UPDATE_____________
Ten Ways Insurance Companies Will ...; this link.

Andy Birkey, same Bachmann-facts, oil-water story; March 29, here. (Related item?)

Gary Gross, Let Freedom Ring Blog, this link, has a contrary perspective. He does favor cost containment, a position he shares with Maureen Reed who pointed out that need in an earlier St. Cloud Times Op-ed, and more recently revisited it as part of a broader picture, this link. The Crabgrass linked item that quotes the earlier Reed op-ed expressed frustration with it not endorsing either single payer or public option. Reed has since gone unequivocally on record embracing public option, indeed, characterizing herself as "the only [Sixth District] candidate who has publicly supported a public option," (italics added, see this link). My understanding of things is that Gary Gross also is aware of the need to "bend the cost curve." [See cited items, this link.] Where Gary and I disagree is his belief that private sector is better at providing coverage than public sector provision of medical care coverage - and where those who like me view it as a right and not a privilege believe the government owes providing it without profiteering. He words the viewpoints differently, but that's the gist. Again, have a look at Gary's post and comment thread.

______FURTHER UPDATE_______
More interesting Bachmann related reading by Andy Birkley at Minn Independent, here and here. Question: Has anyone seen Tea Party signs in Spanish, or bilingual? I do not expect the venue promotes it. Readers, please link to any online image you find, showing a Tea Party rally or bullhorn event that includes signage in Spanish.

Sarah Palin coming to Minnesota to campaign for Michele Bachmann. A new sidebar poll.

Only one vote per person. Voting on the new sidebar poll closes, one minute to midnight, All Fools Day, April 1, 2010.

The top thumbnail choice is "Photo 1."

The bottom, "Photo 2."

_________UPDATE__________
Today is April 1, All Fools Day, with only hours remaining for you to vote on the Palin-Bachmann poll. Do it now.
___________FURTHER UPDATE_________
The poll closed. Photo 2 was the favored dog-and-pony Palin-Bachmann pic by six of ten voters. Check the comments. One sees Bachmann as a do-nothing. Another dislikes fairness and equitable distribution of wealth and well-being.

The GOP is already showing its attack mode theme against Tarryl Clark in MN 6. Interestingly, the Reed candidacy is being noticed.

Read the item and my comment at the original site, Gary Gross' Let Freedom Ring Blog, at this link. I am certain in my mind that Gary will counter my comment with a specific view, and that is what political views and counter-views are about. It is not a hostile adversarial situation, but adversarial nonetheless. I've not yet met Gary, but have spoken by phone and exchanged limited emailings, and I respect him as being a coherent and self-consistent right-of-center voice. Unlike Gary, I am not yet ready to presuppose a DFL primary outcome, something his post does in its ending.

_______UPDATE________
Please take time to look at the comments to the post. Add a thought if you'd like.

John Marty - Patricia Torres Ray announced as a Governor - Lt. Governor ticket.

Read the news as the Marty campaign website homepage feature, this link.

Contribute to the campaign, this link.
[Corporate, PAC, or lobbyist money not accepted]


___________UPDATE_____________
Ms. Torres Ray represents Senate District 62, in the Lake Hiawatha, Lake Nocomis region; this map. Her page on the legislative website is here. Please have a look. It is the quickest way I know of to get extensive info in one place when looking at anyone in either house of the Minnesota legislature (house members and districts, this link; senate members and districts, this link). The Marty campaign page on Ms. Torres Ray is this link,

http://www.johnmarty.org/About_Patricia

It is the source of this opening screenshot [click it to enlarge and read]:

It looks like one intelligent dedicated educated public servant picking a similarly credentialed person for the step away from the governor's office. (It is not a Molnau thing, to me a cynicism expressing a lot about who Pawlenty is and wants around him.) I like the decision however it sits with others.

It's basically the quality of decision making I expected, in supporting John Marty for governor.