Truth Surfer

"Nobody likes me, Everybody hates me, I'm gonna to eat some worms!" Hey what's not to like about Madam Mary Kiffmeyer (R), Minnesota's Secretary of State? Just because... She won't do anything unless forced by law , She can’t interact with others fairly , Likes scaring Minnesota voters by exploiting terror fears , Well, I could go on but why when City Pages says it all: Ten Million Kiffmeyer Critics Can’t Be Wrong

Wilkerson said that Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard." I'd go with letter D. - all of the above Interesting story - who's really running the country? "Ex-Powell aide: Bush 'too aloof'"

''It was an epiphany.'' exclaimed Rumsfeld while smirking like a chimp. Meaning: A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization. Rumsfeld is so close…and in a small way he’s half right, almost right, well he's extremely too 'right' (if you know what I mean). 'They can’t be called insurgents' because they are part of the legitimate Iraqi government ! So in 7 years, Rumsfeld has come to being half wrong! That's not really considered an epiphany...but given how dense he is…I expect it will come on judgement day while on his way to hell .

In their Cheers & Jeers article in Saturday's edition of the Faribault Daily News - they Jeer Tim Pawlenty. Here's what they said (taken from the Faribault Daily News, November 26, 2005 edition): "Jeers to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his administration for taking no responsibility for rising property taxes around the state. The state Department of Revenue reported that property taxes will jump an average of 10.2 percent next year thanks to school levies and hikes in city and county taxes. It's true local governments set property taxes, but many local governments are increasing taxes to offset burdens passed down from the state in one way or another. Taxes are the result of many factors, including decisions made by state leaders, and the Pawlenty administration cannot absolve itself of all responsibility like they are trying to do." Can you say trickle down taxation? Ironically, on the same page was a letter to the editor from our State Auditor - Pat Anderson talking...

If Republicans love Democracy so much, why are they limiting voter participation? Below is from Senate Majority Leader Dean E. Johnson November 22, 2005 The Governor who stole Christmas Senate Majority Leader questions special election decision Senate Majority Leader Dean E. Johnson questioned Gov. Tim Pawlenty's decision to call a special election on Dec. 27- two days after Christmas. Pawlenty issued the order to fill the vacancies of Dave Kleis in the Senate and Joe Opatz in the House of Representatives. "It's clear from the governor's actions that his highest priority when considering special elections is low voter turnout. It is difficult to understand someone who claims they believe in democracy and then makes decisions that ensure the fewest number of people participate in the process," Sen. Johnson said. The 2006 Legislative Session convenes March 1. Thus, the governor could have chosen any date before mid-February which would have not coincided with the...

"Congress helped itself to a $3,100 pay raise on Friday, then postponed decisions on bills to curb spending on social programs and reduce taxes in favor of a two-week vacation." - Star Tribune, Saturday, November 19, 2005 So let me get this straight... Congressmen Mark Kennedy, Gutknecht and John Kline voted to cut funds that help the poor and children - in Mark Kennedy's words "It’s never easy to restrain the growth of spending, even modestly." Well, no I guess not - I wish I could give myself a raise. Maybe the Congress and Senate should put a freeze on all of their pay raises until the war in Iraq is over! If they want to support this war they should lead by example by putting their pay raises towards paying down the deficit, that has been created in large part by the war. That would be fair! Wouldn't it?

Pressured by best friend George W. Bu$h, Congressman Mark Kennedy votes against the poor, and students! In a tie breaking vote on Friday, Congressman Kennedy voted to cut $14 billion to student loan programs and voted to cut $12 billion in Medicaid funding (Medicaid is the health care program for the poor and disabled). What does Mark have to say? “Washington shouldn’t have a blank check, and as a CPA and businessman I’m happy to see us act to reduce our federal deficit. This bill reduces spending in a way that reflects our Minnesota values and sets priorities. We owe it to our children to lower the deficit." (from Mark Kennedy's campaign website ) So we can give the President a blank check for an unwarranted war? And instead of rolling back the tax breaks to the richest Americans, we'll reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor and our children??? THOSE MOST CERTAINLY ARE NOT MINNESOTA VALUES!!! They sound more like the Bu$h Republican's (DeLay, Bush, Cheney, Fris...

It's that time of year again! The annual staging with completely new scripting of the 'Fake Turkey Photo Op' in Iraq Day! Will we see a repeat of the ‘fake turkey’ in Iraq? Will it be the same shallow plastic unreal turkey ? Will there be new turkeys also attending? My advise, not that anyone asked, is this: Bu$h, Kennedy and Kline have been basted enough... Stick a fork in ‘em… they’re done George

Let's see.... The illegal war in Iraq, torture, using banned weapons, lies, corruption, cronyism, no-bid contracts, the deficit and borrowing more foreign money than the previous 42 presidents combined, secret prison camps, chemical warfare, conspiracy with big oil to deceive congress, fake intelligence, obstruction of an investigation into pre-war intelligence, media manipulation, chief of staff indicted for covering up his role in outing a CIA operative for political revenge, secret energy meetings with big corporations.... Yeah so what was it Cheney said about Democrats and war critics? Oh yeah... we're "dishonest," "reprehensible," "irresponsible" "opportunists". Umph, yep it's official, Cheney lies.

Either ex CIA Director or Bush Administration VP Cheney is lying ... "I am embarrassed that the USA has a vice president for torture. I think it is just reprehensible. He (Mr Cheney) advocates torture, what else is it? I just don't understand how a man in that position can take such a stance." click here to see who! **warning** picture in browser may be closer to an indictment than it looks.

Quick Quiz: So why wouldn't John Kline join with 87 other members of Congress in signing a petition asking North West Airlines to put a stop to outsourcing thousands of jobs? Answer: John Kline who is on a first name bases with NWA CEO has taken $2500 from Northwest Airlines this cycle alone. more at Dump John Kline Blog

Ah...Obama, I love it when you talk liberal to me! "I know there are Democrats who don't want to give up spending, Republicans who don't want to give up any tax breaks for the wealthy and members of both parties who don't want to give up pet projects back home, but now is a time for shared sacrifice. Americans want members of both parties to put all options on the table to start solving this problem. I believe that we can quickly find $100 billion for Gulf Coast reconstruction with a balanced approach that finds half the money in spending cuts and half the money in the delay and repeal of tax breaks, primarily for millionaires. To cut $50 billion in spending, we could put a two-year moratorium on all pet projects and other local spending. We could defer projects such as the $10 billion mission to Mars or eliminate unnecessary business subsidies. We could drop funding that gives private companies extra incentives to participate in the new Medicare drug program--as the S...

President Bush defended his policy regarding American held prisoners this week by stating ""We do not torture". Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again .... he lies.

Bush is coming . Do I buy the eggs now or wait? Ahhhhhhh, guess I better get them now... Imagine the run on eggs as we get closer to his royal ass appearing in Minneapolis. Local egg vendors could really make a killing by raising their prices. On second thought, given recent polls , they probably will give the eggs out! It's exciting to have the Bush come to Minneapolis to show that his lack of ethics extends to Mark Kennedy et al.

Veterans Day Outrage: Conservatives End 55-Year-Old Practice of Hearings for Vet Groups From Think Progress: "On Tuesday - three days before Veterans Day - House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-IN) announced that for the first time in at least 55 years, 'veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.' " more

A Veteran Speaks to President Bush on Veterans Day Bob Geiger writes: "President Bush, As our nation celebrates the contributions and sacrifices of America's Veterans today, I thought I would take the time to let you know how one Veteran feels about your commitment to our military and your true level of patriotism. After all, the Republican party smears anyone they oppose by questioning their support of the troops and their national loyalty so that's all fair game, right?" more

This fall, when we set our clocks back an hour, Kansas got confused and kept going back...into the dark ages. It's understandable, afterlife they're not real good with scientific facts. What did Dorothy say when her government grade school taught her that marriage and the family were outdated social constructs of privilege that Jesus had two mommies? "Well Toto, it looks like we're not in Kansas anymore!" What is happening in Kansas? For starts, science has been undermined by the narrow view of the religious right. Proponents of ID (intelligent design) believe and want taught a version of creationism but without it having any bases in facts or having it proven in scientific terms. Like all religion, 'ID' is based in faith. Supporters say 'you must believe because...Well, because! Or else!' And framing is everything, down to even the naming...ID? Intelligent? It should be called My God is better than your Science . Naturally if you don't believe...

story here On Friday, November 11, Americans will observe Veteran's Day. This is a day set aside to honor our war veterans. I cannot think of a more worthy purpose for a holiday. Now let me guess: this Veteran's Day, George W. Bush will strut his way into a specially choreographed photo opportunity and smirk and say some carefully crafted yet predictable and hollow-sounding words about how the American people appreciate the sacrifices that our veterans have made in the noble quest to defend freedom and democracy. And he will be right. We the people do appreciate the sacrifices that our veterans have made. After all, our brave veterans made those sacrifices while Dubya's congressman dad pulled enough strings to get his boy out of harm's way and into the elite Texas Air National Guard to avoid Vietnam. Our brave veterans made those sacrifices while Dick Cheney arranged for five separate deferrals because he had "other priorities." Our brave veterans made those s...

Veterans account for nearly one-third of all homeless men in America, even though the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says they comprise only 13 percent of adult males in the general population. Veterans are twice as likely as other people to be chronically homeless... One in five of those who live at or below the poverty line are veterans or widows of veterans. In addition to the complex set of factors affecting all homelessness … extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, and access to health care … a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse, compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Minnesota FACT : 42 funded beds for 1,961 homeless Minnesotan Veterans! What can you do? Determine the need in your community. Visit with homeless veteran providers. Contact your local mayor’s office for a list of providers. Involve others. If you are not already part of an organizat...

Thirty-two months and 2,000+ American deaths into Bu$h's illegal and immoral war -- is possibly the first published image of a U.S. military fatality to appear in the MSM. Has the NY Times published the first picture of a dead US soldier in Iraq of any corporate media outlet? Is anyone paying attention? This just isn't right.

In Brief: Lonsdale Mayor Re-elected. One City Council Member Re-elected. New City Council Member elected. Here's how the numbers break down: In the Mayor's Race Tim Rud won re-election with 477 votes against mayorial candidate Roz Carson who received 123 votes. Blaine Smith recieved the most votes in the City Council race with 306 votes and in second was Fritz Duban with 238 votes. *** It is apparent that a majority of those who voted are concerned over public safety with electing Blaine Smith. Smith ran on his experience as a current Rice County Deputy Sheriff and his wealth of Law Enforcement knowledge. From Smith's flyer: "As this town continues to grow, I for one want to know that we can depend on Lonsdale to keep our kids, homes, schools and streets safe... At election time, vote for me to be your voice on quality of life and public safety concerns." ***

There's just not end to their arrogance and abuse of power. Ask yourself, if the roles were reverse, how would you be treated... from Raw Story : Due to a problem with Electronic Voting Machines in Los Angeles County, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was told he had already voted when he showed up at the polls today to cast his ballot in the Special Election that he himself declared for California today! He was told he'd have to use a provisional ballot, but unlike most American voters, he was eventually allowed to use a regular ballot anyway. Los Angeles County Registrar, Conny McCormack (a huge fan of Diebold machines, and a very good friend of their sales rep here in Southern California) is trying to mitigate the damage...big time...Though she admits that someone "breached protocol in advance of the election" It should be further noted, that the Governator was attempting to vote in Sacramento! Not in Los Angeles County! So the "breach" which would have kept a n...

There's a posting at Daily Kos on Coleen Rowley (CD2 Congressional Candidate), saying Coleen is the 'Real' thing . Maureen Dowd did an OpEd , in the NY Times. She was relating women she thought were heros. On the list was Minnesotan Coleen Rowley . Coleen risked a twenty year career at the FBI to do what she thought was ethically correct. She was in Time as 'Women of the Year' for 2002. And not satisfied to leave it at that, Ms. Rowley running as a Democrat for congressional office in Minnesota's second district. She's going up against GOP John Kline who has sullied his name by voting straight bush/delay agenda. Judging from all the GOP party hacks that have lined up to take a shot at Coleen in recent weeks, they must be worried she'll win! Even the ever poisenous Ann Coulter has chimed in and taken a swipe at Rowley for being 'too right' (there's just no winning with these folks!)....fortunately for those of us in the second district, Cole...

I, as most of the world, watched in horror as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. What was uncovered was something worse than the storm. It was the conditions that most of the victims of Katrina were in... the conditions before the storm. Those mostly affected by Katrina's wrath were the poor. Those living in poverty, right here in the United States of America. I was glued to the television reports on Katrina. I could not believe what I was seeing. I became mad at various people and then latter in that week rage set in. Outrage and anger combined in me. I don't ever remember being so outraged and angered in my entire life. The thing was, I didn't know what I was angrier about - that there were so many people living here in America - the richest country in the world, who were poor and forgotten or that our government failed these individuals on so many levels. Outrage and anger can destroy you, or if you use them in your efforts to create change - they can end up helping people. I h...

Michael Brown quit as Federal Emergency Management chief, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - he should have been FIRED!!! There's something deeply and morally wrong with this picture. In a recent story on CNN.com, e-mails that Brown made during Katrina have been made public. Brown's lack of leadership and lack of a moral compass have been exposed through his e-mails. In one e-mail he asks 'Can I quit now?' - Don't believe it? Here's the article: 'Can I quit now?' FEMA chief wrote as Katrina raged I don't know what is worst: 1. Brown's lack of leadership 2. Brown's e-mails 3. President Bush's lack of Leadership (Why he didn't react faster to Katrina? Why he didn't fire Brown?) - or - 4. That Brown is still being paid by the American people!!! To me, it all equals a morally deficient administration. Take action NOW - write your Senator, and Congress Person! Let them know that it is not OK for us to be paying a person who has failed...

"Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them." DeLay aide Mike Scanlon, in a memo read aloud at the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. SOBs...every damn one of 'em. Did you get that folks? They don't care about you. Even if they count on you, THEY DON'T CARE!!! They really don't care. Hat tip to VirginiaDem at Kos.

...A 'Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act' Just two days after Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) forced a closed session to highlight an alleged lack of progress into a probe of pre-Iraq war intelligence, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) staged another act of political disobedience today. Lautenberg filed an amendment to change the official name of the " Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act 2005" to the "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act." (Click for PDF screenshot ) "Let's call this bill what it is -- a moral disaster," explained Lautenberg. "This bill would close the door of opportunity and cut critical services to the poor, elderly, sick and hungry. This bill... Medicaid is cut by $9.5 billion over the next five years, $7.4 billion of which will fall directly on low-income Americans in the form of increased co-payments and premiums, so-called "flexibility" that w...

Kline has an important choice to make...Does he accept and encourage the sort of unethical behavior epitomized by Tom DeLay or does he put his foot down and say enough? Sign a petition asking Kline to give the 'Delay Money' to Charity at http://www.ourfuture.org/return_DeLays_cash.cfm Here's the letter being sent: Mr. Kline, The climate of corruption and scandal in Washington is at an all-time high and you have accepted campaign contributions from Rep. Tom DeLay — the epitome of pay-to-play politics. By taking DeLay's money, you're sending a clear message that you're willing to profit from his unethical behavior. You have a choice: either accept and encourage Tom DeLay's corruption or put your foot down and say enough! We demand that you take the money that you've accepted (~$40,000) from Tom DeLay and reinvest it to address one of America's most pressing priorities — helping Katrina victims rebuild their lives.

"Her greatness lay in the fact that she did what everyone CAN do, but most people don't do." Michigan governor during Rosa Parks funeral tribute:

Really I don't make this stuff up: A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say immunizing teen-agers could encourage sexual activity. Those "social conservatives" want sex to be as painful, shameful, costly and risky as possible... until they (speaking for g*d... stamp their approval on it (I'll leave it for you to decide what constitutes an "approvable" sexual relationship with these people). But it's obviously that death by cervical cancer is okay with this group but sexual conduct may not be. Remember, it's not about faith, it's about control.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is reaping windfall profits from the global panic over the possible outbreak of avian flu in humans, as demand for Tamiflu increases worldwide. Tamiflue is turning out to be a private gold mine for Rumsfeld, who was the chairman of Gilead Sciences Inc which produces the drug. In July, the Pentagon ordered $58 million worth of Tamiflu for U.S. troops, while Congress plans to buy multibillion dollars' worth of the drug . Mr. Rumsfeld has asked administration lawyers for advice on conflict of interest, but none of them would comment. Instead he consulted an outside lawyer and was advised to keep his stock, to issue a public statement and recuse himself of decisions related to the drug This is just like that conflict of interest with Cheney who is the former CEO of Haliburton which has won tons of no bid contracts for services in Iraq and is making a good profit off of these high gas prices. Funny how these things seem to work out for the boys in the white h...

Will there be a nasty political fight to make people forget that the White House is choked full of criminals? Will Asian Chicken Flu capture the media's attention while Rove continues to drive stakes into the heart of our constitution? Can Bush change from 'court tv' to 'little white house of g*d'? Stay tuned to find out. Same Bush-time, same Bush-channel. Kudos to ' This Modern World ' and Greg Saunders for the pios.

Scooter, let me know where you land...at one time I did some work in a couple of west coast maximum security prisons... maybe I could formally introduce you to big bubba and the gang. "If convicted Libby could face the following penalties: Obstruction of justice: 10 years in prison. Making false statements: 5 years. Perjury: 4 years. Going to jail with the name Scooter: Priceless." ---Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live