I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Not Off In LaLa Land - SD38's Picnic

I attended SD38’s annual picnic yesterday in Eagan. You could have fried an egg on the cement from the stifling heat…but the turn out by local Democrats was great.

Mark Dayton gave a rousing speech about how the current republicans in office and the Bu$h administration say they want to build a consensus and bi-partisan government, but they really don't. To them bi-partisan means 'do it our way' or 'you’re being partisan or an obstructionist'. It's about press talking points but not about what's really happening. This behavior is highlighted by CD2's Congressman John Kline’s own record verses his words. While saying he wants to reach out and work for Minnesotans, his partisan voting record speaks for itself.

So to all the talking heads that tell us 'we need to be bi-partisan' (but they don't), being a partisan isn’t a sin in itself…I read this great blog entry from Jane Hamsher posted up at firedoglake entitled “I’m Proud to be a Partisan”. ...It pointed out there are things too important to compromise or give away…

The need to fight right now to restore the Constitution and end the war is strong, and that means some people are going to have to take a stand against a ruthless and intractable opponent. We need to rally behind them and acknowledge their heroism rather than stand back and allow others to tear them down as “partisans” for their willingness to do so. Because sometimes fighting is the right thing to do.

I’m proud to be a partisan.

The article touched on the points Dayton made in his speech, “He’s proud to be a partisan’ and anyone who thinks they can reach a compromise with the Bush administration et al (Kline/Bachman) hasn’t been around the last six years and is off in some kind of lala land.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Under Exposed

Inside Minnesota Politics has a story on why the over-exposed Minnesota republican thuggery blog, has an under-exposed blogger disclosure. It also links to a Star Tribune article about some of the in-fighting going on in the Minnesota Republican State Party. Woot, looks like some bullsh#t explaining is due.

Pawlenty Cheap

At a news conference this morning, the governor said wait staff should be paid less than the new minimum wage as long as their tips make up the difference.

I guess that's his 'tip' to all those that wait tables for a living! Guess this would just one more example of Timmy spreading 'great Minnesota ideas', just like this one.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Monday's Mixer

Remember when newspapers actually reported the news instead of having fluff spreads? I do, but really, those times are beginning to fade much like the Strib's readership.

Three pages of fluff on the madwomen Bachman…Hello? No-one wants to read more fiction parlay as news? Eric Black shows us another side of the red queen in which her darkness threatens even her own party members. Bachman chants “you will pay”…and certainly Minnesotans have and will continue while she's in office. How about a three page spread on her weak record and religious insanity.

Dressing For Success
Sure it was 95 degrees, but why should Hillary be dressing comfortable? In the interest of fairness will The Washington Post now be reviewing the size of Obama and Edwards’s ‘packages’?

Corny Story
There is more acreage planted with corn in our nation than ever before…and the yield is double per acre from 25 years ago. But climatologist are now saying there’s a problem with that regarding dew points and power boost to storms…

"I strongly suspect that changes in agricultural methods — particularly in the area of corn production — are playing a major role in this by adding more water vapor to the lower atmosphere of the Upper Midwest."

Can I get another please
Delay said that illegal immigrants are filling jobs because Americas are aborting babies (no really I don’t make this stuff up!). Probably the most stupid logic since Bush asked us to go shopping to stop terrorism.

Gosh if only I didn’t have that abortion, then my non-existent child could be working as a housekeeper today…

Question?
How can the gutless have a ‘gut feeling’?

Cutting new teeth
Will this Congress actually do something about Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolton? When?

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

And The Losers Are...

Minnesotans, American Troops, Our World Status, Iraqis, Balanced Budget, and Peace...


Today Senator Norm Coleman voted once again with the Bush administration to continue this endless senseless war over a well managed mission with defined timetables. In essence Republican Norm Coleman snubbed his nose at 7 out of 10 Minnesotans who are asking for the war (at the very least) to have defined goals with end marks. Where's the leadership in that?



Expect this endless war to continue until voters elect leaders that start reflecting their values, opinions and beliefs. In other words, as soon as we show obstructionist like Senator Coleman to the door for supporting Bush over Minnesotans.

DFL Message to Senator Coleman

The message is clear to Senator Coleman...stand with Minnesotans and support a time line to bring the troops home from Iraq...




I attended a DFL Veteran's Caucus houseparty last night and can tell you, these Veterans are serious about affecting change is the current failed war policy to protect and support the troops.

"Who is more important to Senator Coleman? The President or the people of Minnesota?"
"The time for action is NOW"

You Tube link

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Kiffmeyer's 'Mistakes' = Kiffmeyer's Cash Bonus

So Kiffmeyer's mistakes (made public by an audit) finds that she overpaid employees by $190,000 and was personally overpaid for mileage reimbursement and asked to be reimbursed after traveling on 17 occasions when "the public purpose of the trip was not adequately identified"....ouch! Looks like Minnesotans voted her out just in time. Wonder where the taxpayer league stands on all of this?

Article at http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1302379.html

Friday, July 13, 2007

Linda Pfeilsticker Is A Winner!

With a special election slated for August 7, there are two candidates running for the seat in 28B that Steve Sviggum vacated...

Linda Pfeilsticker (D) , and Steve Drazkowski. (R)

While the voting public is particularly fickle, I think Linda has the background, integrity, morals, temperament, experience and leadership that voters want in their representative. Give her staffer Katy Smith a call at 507.452.6643 and offer to help out the campaign or donate! Linda Pfeilsticker is a winner!

One Is The Loneliest Number

Sometimes a picture tells it all...from frameshop:



The one photo the GOP does not want anyone to see was snapped at yesterday's NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum. The NAACP invited all 9 Republican candidates to the forum, but only one showed up: Tom Tancredo. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls showed up for their forum.


Wonder why we don't see this picture in mainsteam media?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Wednesday's Wooters

Hot Rockin'
I’m at a lost as to how mega-star rock concert(s) can save us from global warming…but I guess either way…time will tell…in the meanwhile could someone turn on the fan it’s hot as hell around here.

Summorum Pontificum
It’s almost impossible to imagine that the Catholic Church could take steps backward in time…sigh…but they have. Fortunately I know latin and I believe in science, technology, progressive nature, cultural and philosophic works, … (giving me an edge over most priests)..while they pray for my conversion, I’ll pray they emerge from their self imposed dark ages.

“Could a Scooter Libby be hired by DOD?”
Standards?! The DOD doesn’t need no stinking standards! It’s not that I don’t think individuals can’t change, but certain positions especially those dealing with our country’s defense need a higher standard or at the very least a period of time established to show the changes appears real! While I don’t doubt that many criminals run our county, shouldn’t we at least set a minimum standard.

Stinking Liars and their Lies
Remember when the news was just the facts …yeah apparently most don’t.

Sea Monsters and Monkeys
I told you they existed! Scientists suspect that the wounds are a result of a raucous sexual encounter, suggesting that giant squid may breed nearby. Oh yeah, sea monkeys are real!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The Cost Of War

The cost of the war in dollars: 12 billion dollars a month! But it doesn’t stop there…lives, families, healthcare, environment…

FYI- Interesting read from Kung Fu Monkey “lions lead by donkeys”

….I set forth, as first principle, that this Administration is failing to do its job in fulfilling our responsibilities to the troops.

We will make sure you have the equipment you need.It is inarguable that the troops were sent into Iraq without the proper body armor or vehicles. Even now we have reports that Halliburton has been providng the troops with contiminated water. (and so imagine the shit they're getting away with we don't know about) *

This is the richest nation in the world, and it's not like Saddam went all Pearl Harbor on our asses. We had a fair chunk of time to figure out there'd be shooting in the sand. Hell, it was on our own timetable. This is inexcusable.

We will make sure you have a clearly defined mission.

"Fighting terror" is not a clearly defined mission -- it is a talking point. A clearly defined mission has goals and timetables, and when those timetables are not met, then strategies are revised. "We will stand down as the Iraquis stand up" is not a strategy. What's the timetable for rebuilding Iraqi troop strength? What will we change in our attempts to build up those troops if those timetables are not met? Is our mission to stay until there's a fully functioning Iraqi Army and fully functioning state security apparatus? If so, what are those numbers? Is the training going as fast as we hope, or should adjustments be made? Is our mission to stay until the Iraq infrastructure has been repaired? To what levels? Is our mission to kill Zarqawi? To defeat the insurgency, or just control it?

Numbers, dates, plans, percentages -- this is the way grown-ups plan and fight a war. "Stay the course" is not a strategy. If it were, then Macarthur would be buried on a Phillipino beach, George Washington would never have scarpered back across to Long Island under cover of fog, Lincoln would have let McClellan ride out the rest of the Civil War, and hell, Reagan would have let Dick Cheney talk him into never trusting Gorbachev.We will make sure these missions are as well-planned as possible.

If you can't agree that post-war planning was a joke , you're not even living on thesame planet as I am. Go ahead and disagree with the Joint Chiefs. I'll wait here.

We will take care of your families while you are gone, and Take care ofyou whe you come home.

There are already homeless Iraq War veterans, the VA is underfunded and VA benefits have been if not cut then, ahem, "stop-lossed" at least three times by this Administration. Add to that the Bankruptcy Bill passed without exemptions for troops ...You can link-hunt all day. The point is by the broadest, most easily agreed upon standards our side of the covenant with the troops is not being upheld. We are culpable, we are responsible, were are in fact guilty if we do not rectify this situation. And the only way to rectify this situation, in our form of government, is to go chew the shit out of the guys whose job it is to execute our will.

The problem is, these yahoos have managed an ugly trick. They have turned criticism of the policies of Bastards in Suits into criticism of The People in Uniform Getting Shot At. This, of course, is completely wrong, as one can easily tell the difference between the Bastards in Suits and The People in Uniform Getting Shot At. One group is in Suits, and Not Getting Shot At, while another is in Uniform, and Getting Shot At. Please, try to grasp this. Not the same,

There is a flip side. Some people confuse supporting the Bastards in Suits for supporting The People in Uniform Getting Shot At. This is, again, ridiculous. If the history of modern warfare has taught us anything, it's that the Bastards in Suits spend an awful lot of time working the kinks out of plans involving The People in Uniform dying unpleasantly. They often screw that up. When they do screw up, it is incumbent upon Bastards in Suits to suffer criticism and fix the situation, as by comparison The People in Uniform are suffering shattered skulls, missing limbs and death. Which is, on my scale, exponentially more traumatic than criticism…

Passing The Quiz

Can't say that I'm surprised...

How to Win a Fight With a Conservative is the ultimate survival guide for political arguments

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Bush Weak On Crime

This is Bush lying during the 2002 election: "Governor Bush believes that the best way to protect the innocent is to fully enforce the law and to ensure swift and sure punishment for criminals."

This is Bush's message yesterday to his criminal friends:

RIP Brown

Evil never dies, but good does...by the hand of those entrusted to ensure our constitution for those less powerful. From killing racial diversity, to placing limitations on women's rights to choose, to ruling against women who suffer from institutionalized pay discrimination, to depriving basic civil rights to student, this group of judges has ruled in favor of the powerful....all the while eroding away what our forefathers put in place...RIP

When The Fox Controlls The Henhouse

'No bad deed goes unrewarded in the Bush administration!'

Bush sends a message as clear as day: He is above the law…and our constitution… Bush is complicit in the cover-up, the lying and obstruction.

No wonder Libby is smirking...

Via The Nation

It's appropriate. The president who led the nation into a disastrous war in Iraq by peddling false statements and misrepresentations has come to the rescue of a White House aide convicted of lying by commuting his sentence. Before the ink was dry on today's court order denying Scooter Libby's latest appeal--a motion to allow him to stay out of jail while he was challenging his conviction--George W. Bush commuted Libby's sentence.