This isn't a 13th Century Theocracy

I grew up listening to and reading about Thomas Aquinas ..The Catholic Church's patron saint of condescending attitudes. This latest attempt by the Catholic Church to attack women's health based on some archaic conceptual object to contraceptives is thinly veiled as a political attack on a President that first they first construed as a black liberationist, then failed to defend as a 'secret muslim' and now call a secularist (which is code for atheist).
Reading about Rick Santorum this morning here. I came to the conclusion that Religious freedom for the Catholic Church is not simply enough for these folks. They believe in theocracy. Santorum said himself that Religion is being attacked.

The intellectual enlightenment arguments made by Catholics has resurfaced in the concept of "natural law." "Laws of Nature" appears in the first few words of the Declaration of Independence. But it is certainly a much more vague term than catholics would like you to believe. They use the term as an argument to institute their extremely conservative values without interjecting God into the conversation.

Take Santorum's stand on Contraceptives:

Nature should take its course. And for that reason:

• States should have the power again to ban contraception;
• The federal government should stop funding family planning clinics that provide low-income women with access to contraceptives and other preventive health care services;
• Religious-affiliated hospitals should be able to strip out all birth control coverage out of any health insurance policy that they offer their employees... regardless of the personal convictions or needs of the employees.
• And girls and women who are raped or victims of incest should not have access to the morning-after pill or an abortion.

There is my case in point. Conservatives who once feared of a President Kennedy beholden to the Pope have now embraced a candidate that has such extreme views Santorum believes secular forces in America have attacked his religious freedom to inject religion into politics. (A bit of a backwards argument, don't you think?). This whole situation seems backwards. Christian Conservatives have dropped any notion of a Tea Party candidate because instead of personal freedom, they prefer a theocracy.

The Catholic Church is behind the new surge of Rick Santorum. His language reflects that of their Canon Law. They have with this new attack on the new health care requirement to include contraceptives in heath coverage plans been able to position their religious and moral views as a victim. Therefore, they can count on the support of their congregation to push back on the requirement, even though polls show the majority of their congregations use contraceptives or at least the support the use of them.

The victim card is effective. Rick Santorum is surging. The Church has managed to undercut women's health based on a Thomas Aquinas concept of "natural law." At what point can American politics mature enough to leave these tired old arguments in the dust? The idea that Santorrum can represent a political party in the 21st century is a scary concept.

Make Me Wanna Holler (Inner City Blues)

Rockets, moon shots
Spend it on the have nots
Money, we make it
Fore we see it you take it
Oh, make you wanna holler
The way they do my life
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
This ain't livin', This ain't livin'
No, no baby, this ain't livin'
No, no, no
Inflation no chance
To increase finance
Bills pile up sky high
Send that boy off to die
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
Dah, dah, dah
Dah, dah, dah
Hang ups, let downs
Bad breaks, set backs
Natural fact is
I can't pay my taxes
Oh, make me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands
Yea, it makes me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands
Crime is increasing
Trigger happy policing
Panic is spreading
God know where we're heading
Oh, make me wanna holler
They don't understand

-Marvin Gaye - written 40 years ago

Messaging for the Future

Is it just me or is Democratic messaging up and down the ticket absolutely horrendous. It makes absolutely no sense that in a State where a DFLer was elected Governor, both the house and Senate were lost by wide Margins. Granted it was a strong year for conservatives, but if that were truly the case in Minnesota, wouldn't there have been a governor Emmer? According to Diane Loeffler, my local House Representative, 75,000 less voters came out to the comparable year of 2006.
The Democratic party needs to have much stronger leadership here locally in Minnesota and Nationally. I think one thing that can be learned from the Tea Party is their great message-cohesion.

The White House certain could use some help with messaging. It has been clear after this year that playing defense simply doesn't work. If anything, Republicans are incredibly effective at ad-nausea. They take a message, spin it how they want and then somehow it becomes fact in political rhetoric. You can pretty much take any major Congressional or State initiative over the last two years up until the Lame-Duck. If the lame-duck was any sign of life, it showed that the Democrats when pushing up against a wall, bite back. I wish this efficiency and fervor can translate into the new legislative year

Hello Internet

Hey Folks,

After a hiatus, I have decided to relaunch the web page with a slight new layout. The topics will be a bit more inclusive then my previous blog post and might include things outside of local populist politics. I apologize if you have been a reader in the past and hadn't heard from me in nearly a year. That being said, I am going to start writing on here ahain periodically about my musing, centered around politics.

I know this isn't local, but I thought you al needed to read this

Iran protest cancelled as leaked election results show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came third

Iran's reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has called off a major rally to protest last Friday's election results, amid claims police had been cleared to open fire on protesters.

By Colin Freeman
Published: 11:21AM BST 15 Jun 2009

Supporters had been due to turn out en masse in Tehran on Monday afternoon, despite government warnings to stay off the streets.

But this morning, a statement on Mr Mousavi's campaign website announced that the demonstration had been postponed – although it said Mr Mousavi would go to the site to ensure any supporters who showed up remained calm.

Related Articles

• Opposition leaders join thousands protesting in Iran

• Violence after Iran elections

• Iranian reformist calls for more protest

• Iran's election result is no surprise

• Ahmadinejad says victory is blow to 'oppressive' world

• Protesters look for leadership as Ahmadinejad supporters crow

Mr Mousavi's wife and co-campaigner, Zahra Ranavard, was reported as warning that riot squads would be equipped with live ammunition, raising the prospect of serious bloodshed.

Iran's Interior Ministry said Mr Mousavi would be responsible for any consequences if he went ahead with the protest.

Mr Mousavi's cancellation of the protest came as sporadic disturbances continued around the Iranian capital, and reports circulated of leaked interior ministry statistics showing him as the clear victor in last Friday's polls.

The statistics, circulated on Iranian blogs and websites, claimed Mr Mousavi had won 19.1 million votes while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won only 5.7 million.

The two other candidates, reformist Mehdi Karoubi and hardliner Mohsen Rezai, won 13.4 million and 3.7 million respectively. The authenticity of the leaked figures could not be confirmed.

Mr Mousavi has accused Iran's government of "fraud" after Mr Ahmadinejad was declared on Saturday to have 62.6 per cent of the vote, making him the landslide winner. The capital has been rocked by disturbances for the last three days.

It was not clear whether Mr Mousavi's supporters would heed his call to stay indoors. About 200 relatives of people arrested during protests over the weekend staged a brief protest outside Tehran's main revolutionary court.

"You can beat us as much as you can, but take us to our children," shouted one woman, as a policeman was seen beating a man in a bid to disperse the crowd. Around 170 people are believed to have been detained so far, and are thought to have been taken to Tehran's Evin prison.

In an effort to quell the rising tensions, the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered an investigation into claims of fraud in Friday's disputed vote, according to Iranian state television.

Meanwhile, David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, raised concern over the implications of the disputed elections for Iran's engagement with the West and for efforts to curb its controversial nuclear programme.

"Our serious concern is about the implications of recent events for the engagement the international community seeks with the government of Iran," Miliband told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with European Union counterparts in Luxembourg today.

"The implications are not yet clear."

Mr Mousavi had previously threatened to hold a sit-in protest at the mausoleum of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, if the authorities banned his followers from holding their rally. It is thought the government would be reluctant to forcibly break a demonstration in what is considered a holy place.

A reformist activist close to Mr Mousavi, Shahab Tabatabaei, said his supporters were determined to hold rally despite the interior ministry's rejection.

Overnight, squads of police and their allies in Iran's basiji gangs, a plain clothes militia made up of civilian hardliners, stormed the campus at the city's biggest university, ransacking dormitories and arresting dozens of students.

Spector may not be automatic Vote.. but he's a realist

“I will not be an automatic 60th vote,” Specter said Tuesday afternoon. “I would illustrate that with my position on employee choice, also known as card check. I think it’s a bad deal and I’m opposed to it. I will not vote to impose cloture. … If the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not vote with them.” -Politico

What does this mean for this like the EFCA vote? Well according to Employee Free Choice Report, even though he said in his statement he would not change his vote on EFCA, it might.

"My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change."

Spector was the only Republican to vote for cloture last year on HR 800 EFCA. I am hopeful that a small change in the bill might help him change his mind. Further, Spector now realizes that he will need Democratic Party support in the next election. Without their support with one of the central issues being EFCA, he can't expect be elected for a 5th term. I Believe with enough pressure, he can become the needed vote for labor.

Spector Makes 59..Franken makes 60

The news is in. Yes! Arlen Spector a life long Republican from Pennsylvania decided recently to switch party's making the race..assuming Franken is seating (which is all but inevitable) up to 60 votes. This is so important because it would provide a veto proof majority in Congress that wuold allow the President to sign crucial legislation loike Health care, energy, education and hopefully Labor reform

Spector was seen as a vulnerable candidate in 2010, where he was loosing in his Republican primary. This is a symptom of a larger issue of Republicans driving moderates out of the party. In his statement He cited that the party was taking ideology over political relevance. "They don't make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I don't understand it but that's what they say."

60 votes... 60 that's huge. It has always been the magic number. With Franken getting seated in the future, real reform will happen in this Congress. The last few months have been filled with Republicans using their Senate minority to block legislation and to make the Democrats look bad, but with this vote, that could change. Granted Spector isn't an automatic vote, butmif he wants to do well in the Democratic primary in 13 Months, he will have to take Democratic Party Platform possitions.


What Does this mean For Franken?

This means the stakes just hot higher. A 60th vote in the senate would make the minority party less relevent. This makes the Coleman lawsuit even more applicable and John Cornyn's push for the Supreme Court appeal even louder.

But.. Pawlenty said that Spector's decision didnt affect the contest in Minnesota, or when he would sign a certificate. This could be good or bad news for Democrats because Pawlenty remains vague on the issue.
"We're going to follow the law with respect to the Franken/Coleman litigation and when and how a certificate gets issued," Pawlenty said. "So again, the situation with Pennsylvania has no connection or impact on what's going to happen in Minnesota."



This could be a historic moment. We will just have to wait and see.

Bachmann....crazier than ever

Bachmann has had some really juicy stuff that she has said lately. false one's about Keith and Obama among others. Take a look at my blog roll. Read the link DUMP MICHELE BACHMANN
--------->



That Being said. Her fear mongering has done her well in the camp0aign office. She raised more than 300,000 dollars in the first quarter of the year. This is on top of another quarter million in the bank reports the MN INDY

Reich 4 One

Hey all of you Northeasters. I apologize for not posting immediately after the endorsing convention but I have been busy. regardless, Northeast and the first ward had overwhelming support for community organizer and Co Chair of Windom Citizens In Action Kevin Reich. He has secured the DFL endorsement. I encourage you folks to volunteer for his campaign. Kevin is a nice guy and has a solid past in the community. Sure he has the DFL endorsement now, whivh is practically the biggest step to CityHall, He still needs volunteers for the primary, where he will face Susan Howitz-Hanna and possible other candidates. Then a general election.

The Importance of volunteering for zKevin, is that if you volunteer, you get the ear of the candidate. Being an activist will help you get your issues heard. So go get your voice heard.

Go here:

http://www.reich4ward1.com/donatevolunteer.html


Even in an election that looks pretty solid, it is important to get involved because there are always important issues like the debt, projects and workers rights that need attention.

Coleman -sore loser - Minnesotan's want him gone

It is sure nice living in this little old state tucked away and near Canada getting noticed on a national scale. But frankly, I don't like that we are noticed for our crazy politics.

Coleman recently told the Pioneer Press that "We Will Never Know who won." claiming that margin is so close that it our elections were not designed.

What Coleman forgot, is that we have a system for this. It is called a recount panel and a challenging trial. Norm Coleman has exhausted his chances of winning outside of appeals. Not only did the the tri-partisan trail judges soundly reject his claims...and pretty much already answer the questions presented to the supreme court, but they made it clear only legal votes were aloud to be introduced.

Minnesotan have now seen that Coleman's time has past to concede. In a recent poll Minnesotas now believe he should concede by about 2:1

Do you think Norm Coleman should appeal the decision and continue to fight in court or should Coleman concede the race?

Appeal: 37%
Concede: 63%

"It's just wrong" - says MIT economist about Bachmann

G.O.P. leaders in the house have perpetually been using a $3128 figure to try and scare people into not supporting the cap and trade system that is being proposed by Obama and the Democratic leadership. Most recently was our own crazy lady Michele Bachmann. She decided in yesterday's Oped that she would perpetuate the wrong numbers used by the GOP that crunch two irrelevant numbers.

Bachmann and her friends use a number ($3128 per household) that nowhere can be found in the M.I.T. report. This number in fact was debunked by the MIT economist John Reilly in an article by the St. Petersburg Times more than two weeks ago.

"It's just wrong," said John Reilly, an energy, environmental and agricultural economist at M.I.T. and one of the authors of the report. "It's wrong in so many ways it's hard to begin."

Not only is it wrong, but he told the House Republicans it was wrong when they asked him.

"Someone from the House Republicans had called me (March 20) and asked about this," Reilly said. "I had explained why the estimate they had was probably incorrect and what they should do to correct it, but I think this wrong number was already floating around by that time."

The report by MIT used a figure 100 times smaller than the Bachmann number. The average increase per household would come out to be $30.89. That is an absolute world of difference. 100 times larger than the MIT figure, really? How many flaming pants can we send to her before she gets the message?

So basically, here we see another stumble with Congresswoman Bachmann, with nearly 20 staff in her office and additional staff in her campaign, you think they could come up with a number that supports what the researcher at MIT used. In fact the article in the SPT is from the 24th of March, in my opinion plenty of time to get your facts straight. Making up and misrepresenting numbers is lying. There is noway around it. Bachmann is doing herself no favors by taking false information from talking points and perpetuating them in the media.

It is pretty evident that Bachmann will continue to advance her slanted agenda, News outlets need to be aware of her figures vs the ones that actually exist. I invite her to use figures that may support her political agenda, but don't use numbers that make a liar out of yourself. Bachmann needs to get her numbers straight,and the Strib needs to fact-check when they publish articles like this.

P.S. - sorry for the blog vac. -I've been swamped with other responsibilities

Employee Free Choice Act - needs your support

The Employee Free Choice Act which was blocked by Republicans and President Bush in the last Congress, was looking like it might pass with a new President, but President Obama doesn't seem to be very pro-labor right now and frankly I am disappointed. The President and the Democrats that support this bill NEED to lobby their colleuges in the Senate to get this bill on the floor for a cloture vote. 58 Votes will not cut it. This bill needs 60.

"Specter announced his opposition a day before a new Quinnipiac poll found him down 14 points to conservative former Rep. Pat Toomey, his likely primary opponent in the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate race. His defection left supporters scrambling to find a new way forward amid admissions that some changes are likely." reports POLITICO

"The most likely Republican supporters — Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and George Voinovich of Ohio — have already declared their opposition to the bill."

There is no better time to pass this legislation than now! With executive pay skyrocketting, workers being fired and laid off for frivaless things, a tough economy with a lot of uncertainty and businesses still engaging in union busting, the bill could really help not just the unionized workers of America but all labor. This legislation poses a threat to the status-quo. It could really help curb the exploitation on the average guy by executives.


Labor has been waiting for this bill for years and years. I think if labor doesn't get their way, There is going to be a fight! Labor may only be 11% of the constituents in this country, but it holds a lot of power in PAC money. I guarantee that if the bill doesn't get passed, or a luke-warm bill gets passed than you will see the most aggressive union movement in decades.

To add to that: This is just another Issue where the Republican Senate Campaign Committee is just trying to hold Franken out of office. He would be a very key vote on EFCA and subtracting a vote from the Dems on this one hurts.

Michele Bachman - don't they send these people to school?

I know someone of you have seen this all over the internet already. It makes me wonder how such a person could just sleep through civics class and then get elected to serve 600,000 constituents. Michele Bachmann is dangerous, not because shes tactical, but because she is so misinformed and controversial. They need her to read the constitution.

Article I, section 8 says, "The Congress shall have Power - To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

That includes the passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, creating the central banking system. It also includes the legislation passed by Congress that gives th Treasury dept. executive power and money.

The Republicans need to vet this lady before she opens her mouth. It just becomes awkward and embarrassing to the entire minority party.

AIG BAILOUT? More Like AIG Bonuses Fund

Outrageous.... Absolutely outrageous. The greed just never ends does it??

Omnibus Hypocricy in the Senate

It is nice to hear that Senators saying things along the line of "no more bridges to nowhere." I agreed to an extent with the Republican leadership that there were to many solo earmarks in the Omnibus spending bill. What I do not agree with is that out of the Omnibus bill is that they have become hypocrites.


MSNBC Reported

"Indeed, of the 35 U.S. senators who opposed the omnibus spending bill last night -- in the form of a "no" on the cloture vote -- 28 of them had solo earmarks in the legislation.

In total, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, these 28 senators had a combined 307 solo earmarks totaling nearly $240 million. The breakdown is below."

I commend the 7 principled legislator without earmarks in the bill, but as you can see (from list below) the leadership had more earmarks than any other naysayer. McConnell the minority leader has a lot of answering to do.

McConnell simply said “this spending spree needs to come to an end.”

'Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called the spending bill a "missed opportunity" and urged President Obama to veto it. "The bill costs far too much for a government that should be watching every dime," he said.'

But what Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn't mention in his comments about spending is that he himself (a member of the Appropriations Cmte.) secured 75 million in earmarks in the bill and 51 million in solo sponsored earmarks.

If you ask me it seems like complete talking point Fraud. Saying one thing, and doing the exact opposite. This is why republican talking points are sometimes effective but often wrong and not founded in reality.

Many point out this bill is bloated but forget to mention, it is bloated with their own pet projects.

Here is the Obama response to the earmark hypocrisy.




Here's the breakdown:
Barrasso (4 earmarks, $2.7 million)
Bayh (4 earmarks, $1.2 million)
Bennett (23 earmarks, $18 million)
Brownback (21 earmaks, $12 million)
Bunning (5 earmarks, $735,000)
Burr (3 earmarks, $1.3 million)
Chambliss (7 earmarks, $4.3 million)
Collins (1 earmark, $380,000)
Corker (1 earmark, $760,000)
Cornyn (5 earmarks, $2.5 million)
Crapo (1 earmark, $100,000)
Enzi (5 earmarks, $1.7 million)
Graham (14 earmarks, $9.5 million)
Grassley (8 earmarks, $350,000)
Gregg (19 earmarks, $10 million)
Hatch (7 earmarks, $700,000)
Hutchison (35 earmarks, $9.9 million)
Inhofe (34 earmarks, $53 million)
Isakson (2 earmarks, $1.4 million)
Kyl (3 earmarks, $5 million)
Lugar (10 earmarks, $3.3 million)
Martinez (8 earmarks, $18.8 million)
McConnell (36 earmarks, $51 million)
Roberts (11 earmarks, $2.2 million)
Sessions (12 earmarks, $4.3 million)
Thune (6 earmarks, $4.3 million)
Vitter (16 earmarks, $4 million)
Voinovich (6 earmarks, $13.5 million)

Should Politicians Twitter?

I read a post in a MNDaily Blog today about politicians and Twitter and it kind of sparked a question in my mind. Should politicians really twitter? Granted it is their first amendment right, but is it ethical, particularly during speeches. Furthermore, I think we expect our politicians to be some of the most articulate and informed individuals and 140 Characters isn't exactly a policy statement.

What do you people think? Leave me a comment, if they should twitter.

Coleman loses another... argument gets weaker

Coleman's chances of winning the election are surely next to nothing. After the three judge panel decided to open as many as 1500 ballots to see if the proper registration was in the wrong envelope. Turns out out of all 1500 hundred ballots..only nearly 90 were actually admissible. Its not sure how many votes Coleman or Franken will net out of this, but one thing that is definitely true is that: 90 < 225. That shows how even at the end of the trial, Coleman is trying to make desperate attempts to get votes. The math just doesn't add up. If Coleman had 226 ballots to show the Judge Panel, he would have already. At this point it just looks like obstruction. If the campaign had any real argument, they wouldn't be caught so many times without comment....like with this latest Star Tribune report

"After the Secretary of State identified the 89 as containing valid registration forms, Franken lawyer Marc Elias said the number was well below the threshold that "might have opened up" the contest. The Coleman campaign did not have an immediate comment."

Michele bachmann - Just can't shut her mouth can she?

The more she speaks, the more [pick your adjective: comical, sad, stupid, party line, alienating] it gets. Shes pulled all stops this time, equating some of the best Presidents including Johnson and FDR to socialism. even further than that she used this "socialism" argument to connect Obama with such radicals as Bill Ayers. So basically what Michelle Bachmann would like you to believe is that Obama isn't trying to act in the best interest of the United States as President, but rather trying to make us a "socialist" society to please lefty radicals.



She said, “But what I think we’re seeing is an implementation of all of the radical ideas that Bill Ayers and Ward Churchill — the radical ideas that we’ve seen on some college campuses, they’re now being implemented in our government, and they’re taking a nefarious route when it looks at the economic recovery.” Reports Mn Independent






I think I have figured out what Bachmann does. She gets her talking points from the House Minority Leadership and takes everything that the talking points might imply and blatantly spews them out. She lets those talking points float around in her head until she can tell us "her opinion," which is more or less connecting the dots that only exist in her head.

Endorsements explained

Mayor - Bob Miller
I am endorsing Bob Miller over incumbent R.T. Rybak because of Bob Miller's strong involvement and support in the Neighborhood Revitalization Project (NRP). Bob Miller has been the President of the NRP since 1992. NRP in my opinion has done a lo for my neighborhood (Audubon Park) and many others across the City. NRP has been on the chop block and looks to be at thing of the past if RT Rybak is reelected.

Ward 1 - Doron Clark
After careful consideration Doron is a young professional very involved in his Windom Park Neighborhood. HE is co-chair of Windom Park Citizens in Action He has a strong volunteer background including through his church and with the Big Brothers. Much like Bob Miller, he is a strong NRP supporter. I think his young energetic leadership can bring some real change to Northeast.

Ward 2 - Cam Gordon
This Green Party Guy is a freshman Council member that has served the University and Seward Area well. He is right on environmental and sustainability issues. Also, I don't see a viable DFL contender.

Park Board District 1 - Michael Rainville
DeLaSalle alum and Labor Endorsed - that's all I need.

Popular Dissent Endorsements

Ward 1 - Doron Clark, Ward 2 - Cam Gordon, Park Board District 1 - Michael Rainville, Mayor - Bob Miller


More detail to follow