Best Speech of the Convention, So Far

Michele Bachmann Doesn't Know Where Republican Convention Will Be

Just In....

On an appearance on Larry King tonight Rep. Michele Bachmann said in response to a question of whether or not the VP Dick Cheney should come to the convention:

"I hope everybody comes to Minneapolis."

Take that St. Paulites. Not even Congresswoman Crazypants acknowledges you. Maybe you should feel lucky.

Seriously, if she really thinks that the convention is in Minneapolis, no one correct her. It'll be fun to watch her get that confused dog look as she sits wanders Downtown MPLS to find no convention. 

Cutting the Crap

I love it when someone cuts through the crap. Here is an example:

I love it when Sir Geldof points out that between snarfing down caviar and staying in luxury suites, the G-8 will accomplish nothing. The idea that 8 people think they can decide what is best for the rest of the world is a little scary isn't it?

Wal-Mart Gives Employees Reasons to Vote Democratic

They say they don't tell employees who to vote for, but they tell employees which political party will "hurt"the company more. Read it yourself here.

Thanks for giving me another reason not to vote Republican Wal-Mart!

Latest Hysterical Claims By Andy Aplikowski In Rain Delay

It's the first time I've ever seen it, but the latest accusations by story-maker-upper Andy Aplikowski have been delayed by rain. 

OK I'll give the chicken hawk a little latitude here. There is a serious storm coming through but won't stop us Farmer-Labor types. We know what it takes to be a real "hero" to our fans and that means blogging no matter what Sven at KARE 11 says.

So all I am left with tonight is the teaser: Dirty Tricks In 51A ????? 

Please tell us more Andy Aplikowski. I am dying to know what sort of information your little coffee klatch has come up with. I'll just have to assume you are referring to the breakfast pow-wow Governor Pawlenty had in Blaine. Maybe you guys woke up and decided it was a  dirty trick because it will actually hurt Timothy "I Support Stuff" Sanders. I mean you can't really have the support of a mullet-headed, long hair like Pawlenty. Pawlenty was a McCain guy back when McCain was saying he would be a better President than Bush.

So until Andy Aplikowski comes out of his bunker. We'll just have to wonder. 

Andy Aplikowski Just Plain Makes Stuff Up

Andy Aplikowski publishes posts on The True North blog and another called Residual Forces. I haven't read too much of his stuff but it's so unbelievable the Onion must take notes. One needs to look no further than the graphic he dittoed blaming high gas prices on Pelosi.

He also decided to take a dip into the race in 51A to defend Republican Tim “Where’s The Beef?” Sanders.

Hilarity ensues.

In the screed that spins the race for the GOP in Blaine, Aplikowski claims: “Sander's fundraising and doorknocking are well ahead of schedule and far outpacing his Democrat opponent.”

I am going to out on limb here and say that is made up. There is NO WAY you could prove this one way or another. I would be very interested to see how he could factually back this up. Unless the MN Secretary of State has some super-secret website that keeps track of Legislative door to door activity and how many people got “stickered” along a parade route, I think I am safe in saying this is total nonsense.

At least Sander's oppenent, Shawn Hamilton, has proof he actually has been door to door.

My favorite part about the post is that he sets its goals so low that he only hopes to be: “decreasing the Democrat majority” and not retaking the House In November (emphasis his & I love the abuse of the word "Democrat" instead of "Democratic").

I'll give Aplikowski props for actually using his name as a blogger but that could be made up too.

Impeachment on the House floor TODAY (AGAIN)

Congressman Dennis Kucinich will present a single Article of Impeachment to the House of Representatives sometime between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm (CDT) today, Thursday, July 10th. 
 
Sessions of the House of Representatives are broadcast live on C-SPAN (check your local cable listings for channel) and streamed live via the Internet (www.cspan.org). 
 
The article of Impeachment will deal directly with President Bush fraudulently obtaining support for an attack on Iraq by creating a false case for war. Full details of the Article of Impeachment will be available after they are read on the floor of the House by Congressman Kucinich.

Obama and the "Center"

In the past few days, Obama has been reminding liberals that he hasn't changed or is running to the center. This is true. His stance on the war hasn't really changed. He left himself wiggle room in debates by not saying the troops would be out by 2013 and saying he he will work to get the troops out in 16 months- almost a year and a half. However, Iraqi leaders might make the point moot if they kick the U.S. out by the end of the year like their elected officials have been saying.

What Obama and others need to remember is: Obama wasn't really Progressives first choice to begin with. If you thought that Obama was going to be progressive on health care or be a radical on other touchy issues, then you need to check why you call yourself a progressive.

Progressives have known for sometime that Obama isn't really the "most liberal Senator" as conservatives would like to tag him. He's pretty left-wing but he's not Sen. Russ Feingold or coming up with the same ideas as Rep. Waxman or Rep. Wexler.

Progressives, however, have made his campaign a success. They rejected Clinton as a nominee of the old guard much like they did with Humphrey and Muskie in 1972. And Obama does have some very progressive planks in his platform. He is very squarely for LGBT issues, Labor, Native Americans and the environment.  

Those items excite Progressives into action.

And those are the ideas that put him ahead for the nomination and put him ahead in national polls.

The rumble the press heard from the left last week was a lot of progressives wondering if their issues were going on the back burner. That's what Arianna Huffington's posts were about last week.

And why can't progressives can't be critical when a campaign says stuff we don't like?

Case in Point:
What happens when you have the former Health Secretary for the present administration and a co-chair for Obama's campaign talk about health care?
Total agreement! Ignore all the problems we have with the health care system here and how well other countries health care systems work. All our system needs is a little tweaking.

That's right. All you need to do is regulate tobacco more, make insurance forms simpler and require phys. ed. in schools. That's what Tommy Thompson and Tom Daschle came up with at a lecture on the subject. 

OK,that's a start. But that's the best these two knuckle heads can come up with at a hour-long lecture about health care. Both ruled out single-payer health care out of hand.

That's what was said at the 6th Annual Templeton Lecture.

You can listen for yourself here:

Skip ahead to about minute 23. That's where the BS starts flying.

We The People Stories - 6th Annual Templeton Lecture: Health Care, Choice or Mandate?

Typical Republican Campaign Website

It's humorous to see what kind of snake oil GOPsters are peddling on the web to entice honest, hard-working Minnesotans to vote for them. 

Sometimes the less is more (or at least does little harm) approach is best. Case in point is the website for Timothy A. Sanders, GOP candidate in 51A.

What information can we take away from this bare bones approach to informing the voter?

He says his values are: Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Pro-Freedom and Pro-American.

On the last three  of that list, who in the world runs for office against those issues? 

And what does pro-life mean today anyway?  Does it mean you are against wars, for making more safety restrictions for guns and for using science to do what ever is necessary to save lives? Sanders' website doesn't tell you what pro-life means to him. But since that is what I think it means , then I'll conclude that Sanders is an anti-war for gun control and stem cell research candidate. 

That must be what he means. Because he says he is pro-freedom. Therefor, he wouldn't take reproductive rights away from citizens. 

About all I know about Sanders is he is from Blaine. How do I know this? Well, in the 18 or so sentences of factual information he has on the website almost all of them mention Blaine.

Case in point: 

"Tim is a Conservative voice that will stand up for the values of the citizens of Blaine. He has passion and drive to serve the people of Blaine at the Capitol. Tim will work hard for you and your families to represent what is best for the city of Blaine."

I didn't make that up. You can see for yourself here.

Now contrast that to the site his DFL opponent, Shawn Hamilton, has here.

OK? 

'Nuff said.

 

Obama Inner Circle Is Spineless

Arianna Huffington now has this post basically backing up what we said July 1. It's pretty telling when the main person making the argument for having Daschle in your inner circle is David Brooks. 

Huffington said:

"Daschle was also the poster child for Democratic spinelessness on the war, going from supporting the use of force to questioning it to ultimately supporting it with his vote because he felt it was crucial for America 'to speak with one voice at this critical time.' And we know how well that turned out, too."

'Nuff said.

We're Back....

Well things seemed to be moving in a Progressive direction for a while there, but the ghost of Floyd Olson has begged us to bring this blog back to remind everyone what the "FL" in "DFL" stands for.

For starters we'll link to this article from the Huffington Post by Arianna Huffington. It outlines what is going wrong with the Obama campaign.

And we'll also link to this election prediction site that shows as of right now....before all the weird shifting to the center starts to show up in the polls....that Progressive ideas put the Democrats way ahead.

Who is to blame for this shift to the center or return to the Whig party of the 1800's? I blame former South Dakota Sen. Thomas Daschle. He and his former campaign staff are key advisors to Obama. What was one of Daschle's key strategies to get elected? Not to put the word Democrat anywhere in his campaign and running from the center-right. Now it looks like he's rubbing off on Obama. 

Taser Update

The City of St. Paul did clear the way for those 234 tasers to be purchaced. The vote was 6 to 1.

You can watch the debate here. It's not as electrifying as you might think.

Message to Pawlenty

This sums up what the Minnesota Legislature think of Pawlenty's Veto of the Transportation Bill:

Who Wants To Use Deadly Force?

Rep. Tony Cornish loves guns and the NRA.
So, it only makes sense that he wants give people a chance to use guns more by expanding times people can use deadly force (guns).

What doesn't make sense is a DFL committee chair that would allow such a bill to see the light of day.

This is from the Star Tribune:

"Surprisingly, I think this is catching on," said Cornish, adding that some DFLers quietly support the proposal "because it's a popular constituent bill." There is a companion measure in the Senate.

Rep. Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis, confirmed that he will give the bill a hearing in the House Public Safety and Civil Justice Committee, which he chairs.

"I haven't counted votes at all, so I don't have any idea what's going to happen," he said.

Mullery opposes the bill, calling it extreme. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association also opposes it.

So why give it a hearing? Does the Minnesota Legislature have so much time that they can afford to have a little intellectual jousting? 

If you're interested in the bill, it is HF 498. You can read a summary of it here.

Hey MSN, Fix Your Spell Check!

If you have Hotmail, Live, or any of the other MSN incarnations of free email service, you may have noticed something funny when you run a spell check on your email if you mention Sen Obama's name.
It will always ask you to correct the spelling to OSAMA.
Try it yourself.
Any time you type in the lastname of the front-running Presidential candidate, MSN will ask you to change to the first name of the biggest enemy of the United States.

What's the deal MSN? Change it already.

I mean really, which name are you more afraid of misspelling?

Good Stock Tip? Buy Taser...

The company that makes the Taser is making money hand over fist these days. Word is several hundred of the devices are making their way to St. Paul in time for the GOP convention.

Here is a resolution with the city of St. Paul to keep an eye on:

Resolution – 08-99 – Establishing a 2008 financing and spending plan to purchase
234 Tasers for the Police Department. (GS 3048234)
Laid over to February 20 for a public hearing Yeas – 7 Nays – 0


We'll keep you updated after the Feb. 20th meeting.

For further reading, here is an article about the jubilant capitalists (although they make nearly all of their money from taxpayers) at Taser International, Inc: here.

Romney Drops Out, Implies Huckabee is a terrorist.

Romney dropped out. This paves the way for an Obama/ McCain race that will naturally make McCain the Wendell Wilkie of our era.

The best quote from his concession speech:

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Does that mean Huckabee is in bed with the Taliban?

Recession Hitting Minnesota More

This is from the Pioneer Press:


Amid slumping sales, Macy's is making big changes that will affect 950 local jobs.

The retailer's Macy's North headquarters in Minneapolis will be consolidated into the retailer's eastern regional operation in New York, the Cincinnati-based retailer said today. A press release said 950 jobs at the Minneapolis headquarters would be affected, and while it noted that workers laid off would receive severance benefits it didn't provide specific job cut numbers.

Macy's North executives will be considered for jobs in a new local market organization the retailer outlined today or for open jobs elsewhere in the company.

"A Clean Break....."

Vermont Town Wants to Charge Bush & Cheney with War Crimes

BRATTLEBORO, VT --
A small Vermont town is mulling the idea of issuing arrest warrants for President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

In the town of Brattleboro, officials will let voters decide if the duo should be charged with war crimes.

On town meeting day, March 4th, people in Brattleboro will vote on whether the President and Vice President should be indicted and arrested for war crimes if they ever set foot in Vermont.

Nelson-Pallmeyer wins senate straw poll

While there has been a lack of polls by the main stream media, this poll is getting a lot of attention. Click here for the story.

NOOOOOOOO!

2008 Peace First Precinct Caucus Resolution

PEACE FIRST! Secure-Cut-Convert Resolution


Be it resolved that:
The United States government (1) SECURE funding for bringing
U.S. troops home from Iraq and for necessary national defense,
(2) CUT all further funding for the military occupation of Iraq and
for unnecessary weapons systems, and (3) CONVERT that funding
to Iraqi reconstruction, $10 billion annual increase in funding
for renewable energy and "green collar" jobs in the next 5 years,
Medicare for everyone, access to education from early childhood
through university, and voting access with 100% verified paper
ballot.

[ You may cut out the text and tape it to your political party’s
resolution form. The subject area is national security (in the
broadest sense). ]


Bring this to your party of choice's caucus.
If for example you are DFL, then Jack Nelson Pallmeyer is the only one who supports this.

What Does It take to start a war? 935 lies.

A recent study found this:

"President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

You can read it the rest here: http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/

Thumbs Up To This Nick Coleman Column

Nick Coleman: Giving the heave-ho to Carol Molnau is not a game

Kucinich Slaps Around NBC

LAS VEGAS (AP) — NBC News said Monday it will appeal a judge's ruling rather than include Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich in a candidates' debate in Nevada.

"We disagree with the judge's decision and are filing an appeal," said a statement provided by Jeremy Gaines, a vice president for MSNBC, sponsor of Tuesday night's debate. Gaines said the parent network would seek an immediate hearing before the Nevada Supreme Court.

Hours earlier, Senior Clark County District Court Judge Charles Thompson ruled that Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, must be allowed to participate. If he is excluded, Thompson said he would issue an injunction to stop the televised debate.

Kucinich's lawyer had argued that MSNBC at first invited him to participate, then last week reversed course and told him he could not.

A lawyer for the network said MSNBC decided to go with the top three candidates after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

Thompson called it a matter of fairness and said Nevada voters will benefit by hearing from more than just top contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.

The cable network and the Democratic Party have promoted the debate as a chance for the candidates to be questioned about issues from Nevada's minority communities. Tim Russert and Brian Williams are the scheduled moderators.

Kucinich learned of the judge's decision when he was handed a note during an interview with Fox Business Network's Neil Cavuto.

Dennis Kucinich, Willie Nelson and Me

Attorneys for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich filed notice Monday they are appealing a judge's ruling allowing the Democratic Party to impose a loyalty oath on candidates who seek to be on the Texas ballot.

Kucinich and singer-supporter Willie Nelson are pressing the case, objecting to the Texas Democratic Party's oath that a presidential candidate must "fully support" the party's eventual nominee.

Judge Lee Yeakel ruled Friday the state party has the right to require the oath. Lawyers for Kucinich and Nelson had argued it violated Kucinich's First Amendment right to free speech.

"This case is important because it is about the right of a candidate to speak out on issues that are important to the public ... like health care, like war and peace and jobs," said Kucinich's lawyer, Donald McTigue. "We don't think you can require this oath of silence as a qualification to be on the ballot."

Texas Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto said state chairman Boyd Richie must enforce the rules approved by the party's governing body.

"We will wait to hear what happens with the appeal," he said.

The Texas primary is March 4. The Texas Secretary of State's Office has said it needs the ballot question resolved soon because ballots going to out-of-state military members need to be printed and mailed by Saturday.

McTigue and attorney Joe Turner filed the notice of appeal with Yeakel and asked for a temporary injunction allowing Kucinich on the ballot pending a hearing of the case by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The attorneys say they expect an expedited hearing by the appeals court. But a court can take all the way until the election to make a decision if it chooses, McTigue said.

Kucinich Demands Recount In NH

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party's contest were counted. The Ohio congressman cited "serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors" about the integrity of Tuesday results.

Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said Kucinich is entitled to a statewide recount. But, under New Hampshire law, Kucinich will have to pay for it. Scanlan said he had "every confidence" the results are accurate.

In a letter dated Thursday, Kucinich said he does not expect significant changes in his vote total, but wants assurance that "100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted."

Kucinich alluded to online reports alleging disparities around the state between hand-counted ballots, which tended to favor Sen. Barack Obama, and machine-counted ones that tended to favor Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He also noted the difference between pre-election polls, which indicated Obama would win, and Clinton's triumph by a 39 percent to 37 percent margin.

Candidates who lose by 3 percentage or less are entitled to a recount for a $2,000 fee. Candidates who lose by more must pay for the full cost. Kucinich's campaign said it was sending the $2,000 fee to start the recount.

Scanlon said his office had received several phone calls since Tuesday, mostly from outside the state, questioning the results. New Hampshire's voting machines are not linked in any way, which Scanlon says reduce the likelihood of tampering with results on a statewide level. Also, the results can be checked against paper ballots.

"I think people from out of state don't completely understand how our process works and they compare it to the system that might exist in Florida or Ohio, where they have had serious problems," he said. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen for us is to have a recount to show the people that ... the votes that were cast on election day were accurately reflected in the results. And I have every confidence that will be the case."

John Kerry endorses Obama

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, gave Barack Obama a timely endorsement Thursday, snubbing Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as his own vice presidential running mate.

Kerry came to South Carolina to embrace Obama, two weeks before the state's primary and with Obama needing a boost after Clinton's emotional victory over him in New Hampshire.

Quoting a black American hero in endorsing the man who hopes to be the first black president, Kerry told a cheering crowd, ``Martin Luther King said that the time is always right to do what is right.'' Now is the time, Kerry said, to declare ``that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States.''

The Massachusetts senator said there were other candidates he had worked with and respected but Obama was best able to bring Americans together.

``Who better than Barack Obama to turn a new page in American politics so that Democrat, independent and Republican alike can look to leadership that unites to find the common ground?'' Kerry said. ``That's what this is about.''

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the third contender in the Democratic presidential race, was Kerry's vice presidential running mate in 2004. Despite their political alliance, the two men were not close personally and differed behind the scenes on campaign strategy in a race that President Bush won.

Edwards responded to word of the endorsement with a diplomatic statement: ``Our country and our party are stronger because of John's service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues.''

Edwards later said he had known for months that Kerry would support Obama.

Edwards defeated Kerry in the 2004 South Carolina Democratic primary. Kerry had considered running again but decided a year ago he would not.

Kerry dismissed Obama critics who say the Illinois senator lacks the experience to be president. And he took a swipe at Clinton, saying, ``Some have suggested in this campaign that Barack is guilty of raising 'false hopes.' ... My friends, the only charge that rings false is the one that tells you not to hope for a better tomorrow.''

In a debate in New Hampshire, the New York senator said in comparing her ability and Obama's to fulfill pledges to bring about change: ``I think it is clear that what we need is somebody who can deliver change. And we don't need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered. The best way to know what change I will produce is to look at the changes that I've already made.''

Returning to the subject, Obama said when he took the microphone from Kerry: ``In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.''

Obama supporters were hoping the timing of Kerry's endorsement could give him a lift as he seeks to put his New Hampshire primary loss behind him. Obama also was endorsed Thursday by South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson.

Obama praised Kerry's Vietnam War service, calling him a patriot and a man of conviction.

Kerry was Obama's political benefactor once before, selecting the relatively unknown Illinois senatorial candidate to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. It was Obama's first turn in the national spotlight and helped launch him on a remarkable ascent that has made him one of two leading contenders for the party's presidential nomination only four years later.

Kerry had withheld his endorsement, hoping to influence the race and avoid the fate of fellow Democrat Al Gore, the 2000 nominee who endorsed Howard Dean in 2004 shortly before the former Vermont governor's campaign imploded. Gore has made no endorsement so far this year.

While Kerry has been close to Clinton's husband, the former president, he was incensed in 2006 when she chided him after Kerry suggested that people who don't go to school ``get stuck in Iraq.'' Aides said Kerry meant to jab at Bush and say ``get us stuck in Iraq,'' and that he didn't appreciate Clinton piling onto the criticism he already was getting for the remark.

Kerry's own hopes to run for president this year fizzled with that botched comment. For many Democrats, his words revived bitter memories of his missteps in 2004. In another area, he has backed environmental causes, writing a book with his wife on the issue.

Kerry should be able to provide some organizational and fundraising muscle to Obama.

The Republican National Committee was dismissive about Thursday's endorsement, branding Kerry and Obama ``liberal soul mates.''

McGovern urges Bush's impeachment

From the BBC:

Former US presidential candidate George McGovern says the case for impeaching President Bush is "far stronger" than it was against Richard Nixon.
Mr McGovern lost the 1972 presidential election to Nixon, who resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal.

George W Bush is guilty of "numerous impeachable offences", Mr McGovern writes in a Washington Post article.

These include, he says, the Iraq war, the Guantanamo detentions and the neglect of Hurricane Katrina's victims.

"As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honourable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice-president," reads the start of Mr McGovern's article.

He stood clear of calls to impeach Nixon, Mr McGovern writes, fearing that it would be seen as an expression of personal vengeance towards the man who had beaten him in the 1972 election.

But now, Mr McGovern says, his choice is different.


President Bush and Vice-President Cheney "have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time".

The case against them is far stronger than the case against Nixon and Vice-President Spiro Agnew, he writes.

Mr McGovern lists a series of events and issues to support his call for impeachment.

Read the rest here.

Sen. McGovern Asks For Bush To Be Impeached

Read it all here.

DFL Senate Now Veto Proof

Burried in the news is the elecion here in Minnesota.
A January 3rd special election resulted in another DFL pickup.
District 25 (Northfield- South of the Metro) had a special election to fill a vacant seat left by a Republican leaving the legislature. This now put the DFL over the top in the Senate for a 2/3rds majority.
Kevin Dahle won with 55.52% of the vote with 100% of the precincts are reporting.
If you are keeping track that means the Minnesota Senate is 45 DFL 22 GOP.
Why this isn't a bigger story in the rest of the MN media is a mystery.