Et tu Minnesota? How can a state that produced Paul Wellstone and Al Franken also be home to Looney Bachmann and these people? Guess he's just proving his Tea Bagger credentials.
Local Republican lawmakers want to enact immigration legislation similar to a controversial bill recently passed in Arizona, even as thousands of people across the country attended rallies Saturday against the bill.
Critics say the bill amounts to racial profiling because it requires police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally. But Minnesota Reps. Steve Drazkowski and Greg Davids applaud the Arizona bill, saying it addresses a failure in federal enforcement. Drazkowski is drafting a similar state bill he hopes to introduce before the session ends this month.
(snip)
State legislation could stem the growing number of illegal immigrants in Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities-area, Davids said.
"They cost the state a lot of money," Davids said. "The bill just says we're going to follow the U.S. Constitution, Homeland Security and the laws of the land."
But Arizona's provision has generated backlash from President Barack Obama to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to about 2,500 people at a rally Saturday in Minneapolis. And Republicans concede they'd need more seats in the Legislature before an Arizona-style bill could pass here - Drazkowski said there was virtually no chance his bill would pass this session.
One of our favorite readers, Joeyess, stumbled on to something that he sent my way. Allow me to share some information on what the Tea Baggers are up to:
The Tea party Express is rolling through Topeka, Kansas tomorrow, and they are assembling at the state house.
If you click on the link at the RSVP button in the bottom right hand corner of this page (that's a screenshot, click to enlarge)...
They're fundraising on public grounds. I called Legislative Services to ask if the Tea Tantrumers were getting security and/or clean-up free of charge. I also asked what it takes to get permission to use capitol grounds.
I was told no, they weren't getting those services for free. The woman was a little defensive until I told her I wasn't writing a piece about her, but of the Tea Party. She informed me that the prerequisite was a legislative sponsor, and they got one: A female state senator whose name slipped the woman's mind.
She also told me all they had to do was fill out an application, and if the space was available, it was theirs.
The PAC told her their event was a "free speech rally".
So Joeyess and I are wondering, do they getting freebies anywhere when they shouldn't? Ace reporter Joeyess decided to make a call:
I just talked to Doris at Bettendorf, Iowa parks and recreation. She said that they were charging them a $125 fee for port-o-potties and they expected to have police on site.
I told her that I write a bit about the Tea Party Express, and in my research I found that they are involved with a PAC. She seemed really surprised. She also said that only a permit was required [Laffy Note: This is what I was told in my call to Topeka], and they had applied and received one for the event.
It seems that this Tea Party/PAC is taking advantage of municipalities and their resources, across the midwest at least, without revealing that a PAC is involved. [Laffy Note: The woman I spoke to seemed a little surprised when I told her that, too]
This particular event is taking place at Leach Park. I think they are fleecing municipalities in the name of free speech. $125??? That's chicken feed to FreedomWorks and their ilk.
I think this is endemic to this "movement". They're taking advantage of what are already financially stressed city governments and depleted resources for political purposes. This is not free speech. This is free fundraising.
This begs the question: Does this fall under Citizens United? If so, thank you very much, SCOTUS.
While we're on this topic, let's take a quick look at safety issues.
If you've visited a county office recently, or a courthouse, you've probably had to go through security, even a metal detector. But that kind of security is non-existent at the Minnesota State Capitol and some lawmakers believe the state's most visible landmark is a target.
Given the hostility and threats we've been witness to lately, security is a real issue.
Lawmakers sit just a few feet below unrestricted galleries and the doors to the House, Senate and governor's office are wide open.
"I think sooner or later something is going to happen here," said Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul.
Unfortunately, the state budget is a problem. Security isn't an option at the moment.
"Whether we have a tough budget or not, we should prepare to provide basic safety for the people of Minnesota when they are engaging with their government," Hansen said.
Of course, nobody is accusing Tea Tantrumers of being gun-toting extremists. They'd never do anything rash like, oh I dunno, storm a capitol building. Who'd be that brazen?
Outside the Capitol building, the antiquated air exchange system makes it vulnerable to outside sabotage. [...] And unlike other public buildings, visitors don't get checked at the Capitol door.
So many Tea Tantrum/PAC rallies, so little time. If/when Joeyess and I find out more, I'll pass it on. Meantime, this is plenty to chew on.
Washington (CNN) - Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, was one of several members of Congress who reported receiving obscene and threatening letters after voting for the health care reform bill passed by Democrats on Sunday.
But her spokeswoman told CNN that inside one letter received Thursday was a condom, removed from its original packaging.
McCollum's spokeswoman Maria Reppas said Thursday that the congresswoman's district office in St. Paul received the condom in an envelope dated March 23, along with an anonymous typed letter reading: "Betty McCollum you've been dry f***** by the liberal party."
(snip)
Her office also reported receiving part of a shredded American flag doused in gasoline and a typed letter addressed to McCollum, Rep. Keith Ellison, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken - all Democrats from Minnesota.
"Each of you receives part of a shredded American flag," the letter read. "It represents Obama and your liberal filth. Open the bag, it's covered in the stench you've brought to our government ... Because of you, we are now a country of dirt, shame, corruption and slime."
The Minnesota crazies showed themselves... but the feed is in and out. I grabbed the quote in the title, but that was nothing compared to what I heard afterwards.
Michele Bachmann is expected to make an appearance.
Snort. I hope someone on the D's side is taking notes. Via Taegan-
Nearly one-third of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R) final budget proposal would rely on $387 million in federal stimulus money to balance the budget, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Pawlenty opposed passage of the economic stimulus legislation early last year telling Bloomberg it was "largely wasted" and "misdirected."
Last night I was on Twitter (am I ever not on Twitter?) and noticed The Uptake's tweets on their live coverage of Minnesota progressive talk radio AM950’s Blue State Bash at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
I toddled over to their feed and saw Ed Schultz speaking very freely-- and frankly-- about a lot of things.
Schultz also noted that April 7 will be his first anniversary of his TV show, a date that coincides with Sarah Palin’s scheduled appearance on behalf of Michele Bachmann in Minnesota. Schultz — resides in Minnesota — made this pledge to the audience:
If all of you here will make a commitment to me tonight that if I bring my TV show right across the street from where they’re doing their rally, you’ll all show up. [applause] That a deal? Ok, we’ll do it. [...]
We need to get rid of Michele Bachmann. [applause] Any congressional member who thinks that members of Congress should be investigated for their anti-American views doesn’t understand what voting is all about.
Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman will not run for governor in 2010, the Republican announced Sunday on his Facebook page.
Coleman, who lost re-election to Democrat Al Franken in a close contest in 2008 that took six months to resolve, said it is the wrong time to launch a new campaign.
"This is not the right time for me and my family to conduct a campaign for Governor," Coleman wrote in the Facebook post. "The timing on this race is both a bit too soon and a bit too late."
It's never the right time for you, Normy. Why can't you understand that?
And I'm saying that a bit too politely and a bit too tastefully.
Remember the good old days when Rushpublics insisted that we all support our president in time of war? Gee, it seems like a million years ago, doesn't it? Especially because when they've made us dizzy by doing a 180 or three, war(s) president be damned:
This is a candidate who is endorsed by the GOP. Yes, that GOP. The GOP that has relentlessly and blindly attacked a commander in chief who was soaked by a big, inherited bucket of fail the second he was sworn in.
Minnesota State Senate candidate Mike Parry removed more than 43 racist and homophobic tweets from his Twitter feed after progressives began researching and responding to him.
We'll be losing Congressional seats this year to members of this very same party, the party that supports this racist.
A well known Republican fundraising group is no longer working with Rep. Michele Bachmann. Reports that the Gula Graham Group ended its dealings with the Dictrict 6 congresswoman first surfaced in Congressional Quarterly. She is no longer listed on the group's Web site as a client.
The news comes a month after Michele Marston, one of Bachmann's key aides, quit her post the day before Bachmann's big anti-health care reform Capitol rally -- er, press conference.
"When your captain's crazy, it's time to find a new ship," a unnamed GOP House member said after the Marston departure.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) "has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign and will announce Thursday the support of a group of high-level political strategists and donors, complemented by a handful of top new media consultants," Politico reports.
"Pawlenty, under the radar of D.C.'s political community, has locked up some of the key operatives who engineered then-President George W. Bush's reelection campaign -- a significant feat for a little-known Midwestern politician."
Yep, sure is wonderful for the black folk in "Obama's America" Mr Limbaugh.
Derrick Thomas was on his bike with home in his sights, returning about 1 a.m. Wednesday from hanging out with his girlfriend and cousin in Brooklyn Park.
Before he knew to be terrified, Thomas, who has autism, found himself flying over his handlebars and writhing on his back on the concrete. Standing over him, he said, were three men armed with an ax, brass knuckles and a gun.
They beat and kicked the 18-year-old while screaming a racial epithet, and they ordered him to strip naked, he told police. Then they robbed him of everything he had, including his Air Jordans, blue jeans and shirt. Police said Thomas has a mental capacity of someone 8 to 10 years old.
"They were saying stuff like, 'We hate the president; we're gonna kill the president, his wife and his kids,'" Thomas recalled from his front stoop Friday, his left eye puffy and discolored. "They said every black person that comes through our park, we're gonna kick their butt. We don't like black people, period."
The assault, and another on a second black man -- Thomas' uncle -- just blocks away, led authorities Friday to file assault and robbery charges against Anthony P. Kilpela and Bryan C. Westerlund, both 21 and both white, of Minneapolis.
(snip)
The alleged comments about the Obamas drew the attention of the Secret Service, whose agents interviewed Thomas on Friday, according to his family.
Next thing you know they're going to be showing up in Sherman tanks carrying missile launchers...
Josh Hendrickson left his children at home Saturday and went to downtown Minneapolis, where President Obama was scheduled to speak, carrying two loaded pistols -- one in a holster under his camo shirt and another in a back pocket. He spent the next seven hours standing in front of Target Center, he said, not to cause trouble, but to make a point.
"The Second Amendment isn't suspended just because the president's in town," said Hendrickson, 32, who said he showed police at Obama's health care rally his license to carry and conceal a weapon under state law.
(snip)
As Obama has held rallies across the country in recent weeks, there have been isolated reports of individuals showing up carrying guns -- one incident in New Hampshire involved a man with a gun strapped to his leg. While Hendrickson said he was not motivated by those events, he said he sympathized with those attempting to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms
"I'm a pretty laid-back guy that loves his kids and his country," Hendrickson said.
He added, however, that he had just been released from jail a month earlier on an assault charge for pepper-spraying a customer at a Cub Foods in Brooklyn Center, where he worked as a security guard.
I'll do my best to take my award-winning, patent-pending, internationally acclaimed quick notes. I'LL BE UPDATING, RE-POSTING AS HE SPEAKS.
Here's Prez O:
Packed house, huge cheers.
Are you fired up? [nice]
Crowd chanting "Yes we can!" They are going crazy!
You may have been watching So You Think You Can Dance, don't know if you caught it on TV, but the other night I gave a speech to Congress about health care. [HUGE CHEERS] I can already see this crowd is a lot more fun. [huge cheers]
I went to speak on behalf of American people. I ran for prez because it was time for a govt. to make possible the dreams of middle class Americans. ... that understands the quiet struggles...
Health care is one of those struggles... These aren't people, contrary to what you've heard, who are deep in poverty... these are people who are working every day, middle class Americans [applause]. ... Maybe you've been denied... due to previous condition... In the last 12 mos, 6 million more lost their insurance... Today more disturbing news: Nearly half of all Amer's under 65 will lost their coverage at some pt. over the next 10 years!
We gotta do something. [huge applause] Because it can happen to anyone.
But it doesn't stop w/ the uninsured. If you lose/change jobs or have to move... or if you're dropped/watered down coverage... just when you need it. Or paid premiums, but company wouldn't cover the full cost for care. [telling personal stories...]
Nobody should be treated that way in the U.S., that'll change this year. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
It's been a century since Teddy Roosevelt tried to get reform.. we can't sustain it any longer.
If we do nothing, your premiums will rise faster than your wages. Businesses will close down, fewer will open in first place. We'll be spending more than Medicare/caid than every program combined. Not an option. I may not be first, but I'll be last to take up hcr. [HUGE APPLAUSE] We'll get it done this year.
Good news: We're closer now than ever. Solid agreement on 80%, that's never happened before.
Coalition of drs, nurses, hospitals, sr's groups, even drug companies. They know it won't be stopped, want to be on board.
Partisan spectacle now... Scare tactics v. honest debate. Score short term political points instead of solving longterm challenges. THE TIME FOR BICKERING IS OVER, time for games is past... time for action, time to deliver on health care for every American. [HUGE APPLAUSE, YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN]
A lot of misinformation out there. I want you to know about the plan, so when you talk to your friends, you can say, here's what's going on.
More security, stability for those w/ insur, and provide insur. for those who don't. Slow the growth of health care costs for families, businesses, govt. If you have insurance, NOTHING IN THIS PLAN WILL REQUIRE YOU OR EMPLOYER TO CHANGE COVERAGE OR DOCTOR. Repeats it.
What it will do is make it work better for you. Against law to deny coverage for preexisting conditions [HUGE APPLAUSE]... or get dropped when you get sick, or water it down... or place some arbitrary cap....We will place a limit on charges for out of pocket expenses. Nobody should go broke because they got sick. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
Insur. co's must cover routine check ups, preventive care, mammograms, colonscopies, etc. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
With no insurance? You can get covered. Affordably. NOT by some govt. takeover, but w/ a marketplace where indivs' and sm. businesses can shop for a plan. One big group of uninsured Amer's can drive down costs [CO-OPS... UH OH] You should get the same deal that members of Congress get. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
If you STILL can't afford, we'd provide you/sm. bus. owners tax credits. In the first few years to set up the exchange, you need immediate help, those w/ preexisting conditions... there will be coverage.
One option, ONE... most who offer coverage will be private.. one should be PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION [HUGE APPLAUSE]. I want to be clear: It would only be AN OPTION. Nobody is forced to choose it, nobody w/ insur. would be affected by it. It would keep pressure on private insurance.
Same as private v. public colleges, universities. Same should be true of health care.
I'm open to different ideas, but I won't back down from basic principle of providing a choice. I'll make sure no govt or insur. bureaucrat gets between you and coverage you need.
How to pay for it? Legit concern. We inherited some big deficits/debts, and have big econ. crisis. We need control of our federal budget. First, I WILL NOT SIGN A PLAN THAT ADDS ONE DIME TO DEFICITS, NOW OR IN FUTURE, NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS.
Iraq War, tax cuts were what I was faced with. I won't make those same mistakes when it comes to hcr.
Next: Savings within existing system, money that's wasted, abuse... Drs, nurses determined that there's waste, not must me. Same with Medicare/caid. Distortions cleared up: WE HAVE STOOD UP FOR SR'S NOT HAVING TO STRUGGLE WITH MEDICAL BILLS. THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF MEDICARE, IT REMAINS A SACRED TRUST. Not one dollar of Medicare fund will be used, we will not be lowering benefits for srs. We will eliminate $$ of waste and fraud, and subsidies to insurance co's.
Next: Create independent commissions of medical experts, to ensure srs. will have Medicare. We can use savings for prescription drug costs. So don't pay attention to scary stories of how your benefits will be cut. The ones who accuse are the ones who have talked about cutting Medicare in the past.
Making Medicare more efficient helps reduce costs elsewhere. Look at Mayo Clinic and what id does. We want to help country learn from Mayo. That'll save everyone $.
Reduce infection rates, teach drs. how to work together... take fewer tests, email to all the drs. Common sense solutions.
Plan: Ideas from both parties... seek common ground in weeks ahead. I'll listen to serious proposals, but I WILL NOT WASTE TIME TO THOSE WHO THINK IT'S GOOD POLITICS TO KILL HEALTH CARE [HUGE APPLAUSE]. I'M NOT GONNA ALLOW SPECIAL INTERESTS TO USE SAME OLD TACTICS, ALLOW PEOPLE TO MISREPRESENT MY CLAIMS, OR ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO.
We are closer than ever before. This is the hard part, when special interests want to bring me down, scare, intimidate you... so I need your help. [applause]
Pundits say maybe you're doing too much. Pushing too far, too fast. [crowd: noooo] I never said change would be easy. When FDR intro'ed Soc. Security [boos?] they called it socialism. But sr's. decided protection was worth fighting for. When Medicare was intro'd, they said, gov't. takeover, but imagine what sr's. would go thru now w/o Medicare.
I've always believed change comes from the bottom up, begins with you, sharing your stories, fighting for something better. That's what's happening right now. [crowd's going wild, yes we can]
I asked if you were fired up [crowd goes nuts], some have heard that story. [He retells it]
There you go. : )
One voice can make a difference. Fired up? Ready to go? They can't stop us, let's go get this done!
I completed Rep. David's so-called survey on health care and returned it to him, telling him what a tin-hat wearing pointy-headed wingnut he is. It's a shame that the once great GOP has been hi-jacked by far-right extremists like him.
****
I'm disgusted with Rep. Greg Davids' health care survey. His questions validate the misinformation that has been going around. Regarding question four, illegal aliens are not included. Regarding number five, end of life counseling is given all the time when doctors can do no more for the patient and he/she has six months or less to live.
****
Your recent health care survey had me thinking because it does a disservice to the debate by fueling the fears of the public rather than helping to educate us. It does us a disservice to include questions within your survey that are misleading and have little to do with factual discussion on health care.
****
I just finished filling out your poll on health care. This is one of the finest examples of demagoguery I have seen. I will be keeping a copy of it in my collection of poll questions designed to provide a pre-determined result.
****
I have read Dr. R. L. Sauer's letter regarding my health care survey and would like to respond. First of all, I'd like to extend my thanks to Dr. Sauer for sharing his input and completing the survey.
Here's my own survey. It's really short, because I don't want to confuse the stupidest among us. Oh, and it's only directed at one person, Greg Davids:
What do you consider most important:
A: Encouraging honest input, whether it be agreement or dissent, from your constituents.
I got to witness something really special. About a dozen tea party activists had staked out Franken's booth, and confronted him loudly when he arrived. But within minutes, he'd turned an unruly cr...
I got to witness something really special. About a dozen tea party activists had staked out Franken's booth, and confronted him loudly when he arrived. But within minutes, he'd turned an unruly crowd into a productive conversation on health care. The discussion went from insurance reform, to the public option, to veterans benefits, to cap and trade. He made a few laugh and even told a touching story that moved a few to tears. A whole lot of common ground was found.
See what being reasonable can accomplish? It's not that hard, and so, so productive.
I knew it felt like it, but apparently there's proof. Via Taegan.
If you thought you were seeing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) a lot on cable news, it's because she has been on a lot, CQ Politics reports.
A new study finds that the Minnesota Republican, who has a penchant for making controversial statements, has made 22 appearances on national cable news programs so far this year, matching her total number of appearances for all of 2008. That's one every 9.1 days.
The interview, conducted by the conservative news website WorldNetDaily, is her most recent foray into headline-making. Just last week, she linked herself to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, another Republican woman who mesmerizes the party’s base and drives Democrats nuts. “Don’t let them Palinize me!” she pleaded in a fundraising letter.
Asked about a Bachmann-for-president run, she said:
“If I felt that’s what the Lord was calling me to do, I would do it. When I have sensed that the Lord is calling me to do something, I’ve said yes to it. But I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. That’s really my standard. If I am called to serve in that realm I would serve, but if I am not called, I wouldn’t do it.”
If that sounds vaguely familiar, Bachmann made similar comments in 2006 about her decision to run for Congress. At the time, Bachmann said that she and her husband fasted and prayed for three days about whether to run and “that on the afternoon of day two, God made that calling sure.”
.jpg)
