2007: The Best Is Yet to Come!

It's been an incredible 2006: Rewarding, challenging, encouraging, disappointing and full of blessing.

Politics is not my life. It is, at best, a diversion compared to what really matters.

My life is primarily my family, then my friends. As long as I have them, I have everything.

I look forward to communicating and collaborating with you in the New Year. There's much work to be done. In spite of recent setbacks in the political arena, like Ronald Reagan I believe that America's best years are ahead of her. His optimism and faith in the principles that make America great live in me. I pray they will blossom and grow in you in 2007 and beyond. I sign off with his words.

Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.

I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.

When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God Who has so blessed our Land. We need God's Help to guide our Nation through stormy seas. But we can't expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living.

We have to keep in mind we are a Nation under God, and if we ever forget that, we'll be just a nation under.

Sometimes when I'm faced with an unbeliever, an atheist, I'm tempted to invite him to the greatest gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him if he believes there's a cook.
Let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in their totalitarian darkness -- pray that they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the locusts of evil in the modern world.

How can the leadership of the other side... open each session of their great convention with an injunction to the Lord, and end each session with a prayer to God, and still insist on denying that right to a child in a public school?

We will never compromise our Principles and Standards.
We will never give away our Freedom.
We will never abandon our Belief in God.

May God bless you and may He continue to bless the United States of America.

SADDAMNED

Saddām Husayn Aabdu-Al-majīd al-tikrītī:

April 28, 1937-December 30, 2006

Saddam Hussein was granted the due process he consistently and mercilessly denied millions of his own people. Justice has been served.

The Reason for the Season

Good Riddance

During his farewell address at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library today, outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan reserved a few cowardly parting shots for President George W. Bush and the war on terror.

Prior to Annan, the U.N. was merely inept and irrelevant. He managed to add incompetence and corruption to the mix. It was only last year that the Independent Inquiry Committee, a U.N.- appointed panel created to investigate corruption in the oil-for-food program in Iraq before the war, rebuked the soon-to-be former U.N. Secretary-General for mismanaging the program and allowing his son Kojo to take advantage of his father's position for personal profit in it.

Appeasement 101

Disturbing Parallels

New York, 9/11/2001

Pearl Harbor, 12/07/1941

Mirror Image

"Two years of Pelosi gives a good idea of what four years of Hillary will be like."
-- Former Congressman Tom DeLay

Silver Lining

Rochester City Councilwoman Amy Blenker and School Board candidate Gary Mullen-Schultz went down in defeat. Blenker was pretty much a non-entity in the City Council. Mullen-Schultz is too liberal for the Rochester School Board.

Mullen-Schultz's defeat was particularly embarrassing to the left-of-center former P-B columnist. After the primaries, the failed school board candidate wrote the following on his website.

Even though the results were very, very close, I ended up taking first place. The only reason I was able to do this was because of your outstanding support. The fact that more than two thirds of the voters chose someone other than the incumbent shows that many members of the community want change.

Mullen-Schultz has yet to call Fred Daly, "the incumbent," to congratulate him on his reelection to the school board.

The Real Winners

"Since Washington's hostile and hawkish policies have always been against the Iranian nation, this defeat is actually an obvious victory for the Iranian nation."

- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

"I swear by [Allah] we shall not rest from jihad until we...blow up the filthiest house known as the White House."

- Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, a.k.a Abu Ayyub al-Masri, leader of Iraq's al-Qaeda wing

A New Direction

According to Ann Coulter, the Democrats' new direction is REVERSE.

Measuring the Drapes

Democrats all over the country are salivating as they measure the drapes in anticipation of sweeping every possible office for which they are running. They forget that elections are won or lost on Election Day, not a news cycle or two beforehand.

Here are the people I support in local Minnesota races. They share my values and they have my vote.

Mark Kennedy: U.S. Senate
Gil Gutknecht: U.S. House of Representatives
Tim Pawlenty: Minnesota Governor
Scott Wright: Senate District 30
Carla Nelson: House District 30A
Bill Kuisle: House District 30B
Dave Senjem: Senate District 29
Randy Demmer: House District 29A
Rich Decker: House District 29B

The Rochester School Board election is one of the most important. The following candidates deserve your vote. Their focus is quality, affordable education with accountability:

Fred Daly
Daniel O'Neil

Halp Us Jon Carry!

Just in case you haven't seen it, here's the picture that's all over the internet. Now, that's real sense of humor. Kerry deserves it.

The troops now dislike Kerry more than ever.

First congressional district challenger Tim Walz disinvited the Massachusetts senator from coming to Minnesota to stump for him. He was also told not to go to either Iowa or Philadelphia where other rallies had been scheduled before Kerry's unfortunate comment.

Even Hillary Clinton said Kerry's comments were "inappropriate."

As for the argument that Kerry "botched" the joke, Vice President Dick Cheney replied that the senator "was for the joke before he was against it."

Here's Kerry's "apology:"

"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."

Misinterpreted to wrongly imply? Who talks like that?
John Kerry. That's who.

The "Botched" Joke is on You, Senator

"You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
-- John Kerry

In a hasty and poorly thought out response to the firestorm of criticism surrounding his offensive comments toward American troops in harm's way in Iraq, John Kerry, DEMOCRAT, Massachusetts, defiantly stated: "I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy."

Moreover, the junior senator from Massachusetts said that his demeaning comment about the educational competence of our troops was "a botched joke about the president and the president's people, not about the troops ... " in spite of the fact that the statement in question mentions neither the President nor his "people."

By the way, what is so hilarious about fighting terrorists and "insurgents" in Iraq? Perhaps Funnyman Kerry can clarify.

Upstaging Osama

Kerry Belittles U.S. Troops

"You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

-- John Kerry

Over thirty years ago, John Kerry accused his fellow soldiers still in combat in Vietnam of wantonly murdering and raping civilians and burning their villages.

A few months ago, John Kerry said American troops in Iraq were "terrorizing" women and children in the dead of night.

Now he says the troops in Iraq ended up there because they are ignorant and uneducated.

At least Kerry is consistent: he besmirches and belittles American troops no matter the conflict in which they are involved. Now even Democrats are distancing themselves from the Massachusetts senator since he managed to expose their thoughts and feelings for our troops to the whole nation and the world.

It will be hard for Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri to top that one.

Dear Values Voter

A recent letter to the Rochester Post-Bulletin editor challenged "values voters," code words for evangelical Christians, to vote Democrat "for a change." According to the author, the alleged failings of the Republican party swing from the vapid charge that evangelicals have been "played for saps" to the ludicrous and dismissive assertion that abortion, flag burning and school prayer are "emotional" issues.

Evangelicals value innocent life, are deeply patriotic and believe the Constitution gives them the right to exercise their freedom of religion in the public arena. Republicans are the party which embraces those values and therefore it's natural that values voters should gravitate to the Party of Lincoln.

Democrats, on the other hand, defend abortion-on-demand including the gruesome procedure known as partial-birth abortion. They also promote embryonic stem cell research, which evangelicals object to on moral and ethical grounds. It is difficult for me to determine exactly how patriotic Democrats are since I hear more criticism of than either praise or appreciation for America from their camp. Democrats also come across as opposed to religious expression, particularly the Christian brand. The Boy Scouts seem to be a favorite whipping boy of theirs and their surrogates in the misnamed American Civil Liberties Union.

So, Mr. Michael Fields, the author of the letter, should forgive us value voter "saps" if we continue to vote for the candidates and party which acknowledges, honors, respects and promotes the civic and faith values we hold so dear. We will leave the getting mad and getting even to Mr. Fields and his party.

Rochester School Board Election

The League of Women Voters promoted a candidate forum among the Minnesota House and Senate Candidates in the area on November 25 at the Heintz Center.

During a break between debates in the commons area, I decided to make my way to the other room where debates were being conducted when I heard someone call may name. It was DFL activist and school board candidate Gary Mullen-Schultz. He introduced himself and proceeded to tell me that he knew I didn't like him very much. You see, we had sparred online regarding the left-leaning content of his columns when he used write to the Rochester Post-Bulletin. Apparently liberals take dissent as a personal affront, not as honest disagreement. It would seem that they don't think their viewpoint should be challenged. They are "right," after all.

I tried to tell Mr. Mullen-Schultz that my disagreement with him was ideological, not personal. He wouldn't have it. He said I had been "rude" to him online. I replied I could have said the same about him but wouldn't. Then I excused myself and walked away.

Mullen-Schultz, along with Sandra Soltis, must not be elected to the school board. They are a threat to taxes and education. They are the latest products of a certain "social concerns committee" in town. They are the same folks who gave us Sheila Kiscaden, Ann Lynch and Kim Norton. DFL activists see the school board as nothing more than a stepping stone for their own to be elected to higher office.

Soltis is a professional bureaucrat. She promotes her experience in education administration as an asset but it is actually detrimental. If elected, she will become an advocate of the interests of the bureaucracy not the students. Moreover, she denies that she is a product of the "social concerns committee" as per a conversation that we had on the phone about a month ago.

Parenthetically, I know very little about Larry Gifford, but his brochure has enough mispelled words in it to tell me that perhaps he should go back to school instead of joining the school board.

Let's reelect Fred Daly and elect Dan O'Neil and Diane Hermann-Blakley to the school board so as to keep it from becoming a lab for the failed liberal ideas of the DFL.

Daly is a decent man who has been a champion of the interests of fiscally conservative residents of the Rochester school district.

I have interviewed Dan O'Neil and found him to be honest and straightforward in his answers. He supports choice schools, particularly core knowledge. One of his children attends Washington Elementary, where two of my children are students as well.

Diane Hermann-Blakley is a small business owner who has the business common sense the current school board sorely lacks.

Booted!

Carla Nelson, Dave Senjem and Rich Decker, along with a few of their Republican supporters were uncerimoniously booted from the Somali Indoctrination Event put out by the DFL this afternoon. The media was present, which Tina Liebling was not pleased with. My recommendation: write the P-B and ask them how fair is it that the DFL wants to deceive the Somali residents of Rochester by billing an event as meet-the-candidates and then only having DFLers and their ideas showcased. Send your POLITE and INQUISITIVE emails to: letters@postbulletin.com, furst@postbulletin.com, sellnow@postbulletin.com, or losness@postbulletin.com.

Somali Voter Indoctrination Event

I called Abdi and asked him which candidates are going to be present at the "education" event and he told me that no candidates were going to be present. I said that the brochure stated that candidates would be present and asked if Republican candidates had been invited. He said it was not an event for candidates and that it was open to anyone who wants to attend. Please note that the "event" is sponsored by the Olmsted County DFL. Abdi invited me to attend and I plan to be there.

It should be interesting.

BANKRUPT!

The blogosphere is abuzz with the news that the liberal talk radio network Air America will be filing for bankruptcy on Friday. I say, "Good riddance!" It seems like unfunny comedian and Air America star Al Franken's move back to Minnesota, supposedly to explore a U.S. Senate run in 2008, had more to do with the inevitable demise of the Bush-hating liberal radio network.

DWD: Driving While Deaf

You've already heard the story. First Congressional District challenger Tim Walz was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in 1996 in Nebraska shortly before he moved to Mankato. The high school teacher and coach failed a field sobriety test after the arresting officer detected the smell of alcohol in Walz's breath and person. Walz failed both a field sobriety test and preliminary breath test.

In some twisted plea deal, Walz's blood alcohol test was suppressed in court, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and got away with paying a $200 fine.

Walz's camp blames the trooper ("he wouldn't speak up") and the DFL candidate's deafness, due to his artillery soldier's training, at the time

So, are Walz’s people claiming he was arrested for DWD (Driving While Deaf)?

Was Walz too drunk to tell the trooper that he had a hearing impairment?

I hear Walz was driving a 1993 Mazda at the time and that he bought a pricey Mercedes Benz, which he may still own, in 2000. Nevertheless, he drives an E85-fueled American-made vehicle now that he is campaigning for office to go along with his fake "union man" persona. Hypocrisy, anyone?

Why impugn the trooper? All he did was arrest someone who was speeding (i.e. going 96 mph when the posted speed limit was 55) smelled of alcohol and failed a sobriety test.

Why suppress the results of the sobriety test in court if he was not really drunk?

Why move from Nebraska to Minnesota after the arrest? If he was innocent, as he claims, why run away?

So many questions, so many evasive answers from the Walz camp.

Follow the Money

It looks like Ms. Amy "Let's End Give-Aways to Big Oil" Klobuchar has been secretly reaping the profits that she so self-righteously condemns. Klobuchar's mutual fund portfolio is replete with evil oil company stocks. ExxonMobile seems to be a favorite of Klobuchar's. How could she? Does she not remember the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska? Does she not realize that those Machiavellian Big Oil executives are price gouging the American driver? Is she not ashamed to take their "blood money" so greedily?

Check out the Minnesota Democrats Exposed site for details and discussion of Klobuchar's hypocrisy.

Blowing Smoke

Just in case you missed him, Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch was in town again yesterday. He comes to Rochester almost as often as Governor Tim Pawlenty these days. Hatch and Judi Dutcher, his running mate, went to the University Center Rochester to smear Pawlenty and avoid saying that they want to raise taxes to solve any and all "crises."

Hatch's talk could have been summarized in one sentence, if he were not so in love with the sound of his own voice: Governor Tim Pawlenty is single-handedly responsible for the 50% tuition increase in higher education the last 4 years.

Not health care for university employees.
Not maintenance and construction costs.
Not waste and excess.
But Tim Pawlenty.

Matt Stolle's P-B coverage mentioned that Hatch addressed a group of 35 students, but it should be noted that most, if not all of them, were there to take notes for an "assignment" from their English teacher. It was a convenient, though disingenuous, way to add warm bodies and young faces to an audience which would otherwise be reduced to a couple of reporters and the aides who follow Hatch from photo op to photo op.

Honest Amy

The following is the text of an email Chris Miksanek sent to 1st Ward Councilwoman Amy Blenker in response to a "personal" note left at his door. It is published here with his permission.

Dear Amy,

An hour ago, you apparently rang my doorbell. I didn't want to be bothered, so I looked through the blinds until "you" left; and left behind a leaflet stating that you were sorry you missed me. In person, you are apparently a 30-ish man with a receding hairline. Or maybe that was one of your campaign workers leaving behind your personalized material? Naaa .. you wouldn't be dishonest about something like that, would you? Say it ain't so! Tell me that you're more honest than that.

Chris Miksanek

Amy's "personal" note says "Sorry I missed you" (emphasis mine), implying that she herself had left the note. Very misleading indeed and even more egregious than the supposed "re-elect" wordage of Carla Nelson's signs.

Blenker's voice has been anything but independent. She votes the party line: with the bureaucracy and for tax increases. "Balancing our priorities" means absolutely nothing, unless she believes that funding the construction of yet another ice hockey arena is a "priority." Finally, there is nothing honest about pretending that you stopped by someone else's house, didn't find them home, but was thoughtful enough to leave a personal note.

The one "accomplishment" of Amy's that really stands out to me was her vote to raise city taxes the week before Christmas last year. Independent indeed.

Two Peas in a Pod

Fade to Red Ink

Vote Gary Mullen-Schultz for Rochester District School Board: because your local property taxes aren't high enough.

Fade to red (ink).

Mr. Mullen-Schultz's biography fails to mention that he is a protégé of former Rochester School Board Chair and current DFL Minnesota House District 29B candidate Kim "The Tax Lady" Norton. Apparently he is also too modest to brag about his credentials as a Rochester Post-Bulletin columnist as well as a reliable DFL mouthpiece. Mere oversights, I'm sure.

You will remember that Ms. Norton and most (*) of her cohorts, including Senate District 30 DFL candidate Ann Lynch, voted to increase property taxes the week before Christmas 2005. Ho ho ho.

(*) School board member Fred Daly was the lone noble dissenting vote.

Do not be fooled by Mr. Mullen-Schultz's rhetorical sleights of hand. The following come from his campaign website and are accompanied by color commentary.

"... there are no silver bullets that will both suddenly improve our schools and lower our taxes."

So, when if it comes down to a choice, what will Mr. Mullen-Schultz's be? We know that, to liberals, "improving" our schools means raising property taxes and dumping even more money in said schools. As a liberal himself, I rather doubt that Mr. Mullen-Schultz will even consider lowering property taxes. It's not in the liberal nature to let working people keep their own money. Seniors on fixed incomes and small business owners be damned.

"I believe we should take a hard look at introducing Chinese and Arabic languages. To facilitate this, we must carefully examine the need for other language offerings, such as German and French, to decide what level of funding they deserve."

Mr. Mullen-Schultz would probably find it jingoistic, but what about teaching our children how to write and speak the English language properly? Walk around any public school cafeteria or just stand in the hallway and you will realize that if kids are murdering their native tongue so callously, imagine what they will do to Chinese, Arabic, German and French.

"It is important to have varied voices on the board so that a multitude of thoughts and opinions are heard."

With the exception of Fred Daly's thoughts and opinions, of course. A genuine appreciation for a diversity of thoughts and opinions is not exactly a liberal forte.

"I will work to cultivate such an atmosphere, with the goal of creating the best possible school district with a minimum of public funding. "

A "minimum" of public funding.

Sure.

Somehow I doubt that the school district's taxpayers share Mr. Mullen-Schultz's definition of "minimum public funding."

Liberal democrats have adopted the language of fiscal responsibility with pathological fervor. They will not vote in a fiscally responsible way, but darn it if they haven't mastered the rhetoric.

The truth is that the Olmsted County DFL now sees the Rochester School Board as a primary stepping stone to showcase and eventually propel liberal candidates to higher office. The aforementioned Norton and Lynch, are prime examples.

Do not be fooled. The DFL is grooming Gary Mullen-Schultz for higher office. Warn your friends against voting for Mr. Mullen-Schultz or any other liberal wolf in pseudo-fiscally conservative sheep's clothing.

Also, if you live in either House Distric 29B or Senate District 30, remind your friends and neighbors of that cold and dark night the week before Christmas when Norton and Lynch raised our property taxes. Urge voters not to reward their fiscal misdeed by electing them to higher office. Besides, if they raised your taxes here at home, what would keep them from doing so again in St. Paul?

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks

For all the talk that Republicans are about to experience electoral defeat at all levels of government, liberals don't seem all that confident they will indeed sweep the November elections.

I say that because of the latest campaign controversy that seems to have gripped southeastern Minnesota. DFL Rep. Tina Liebling's liberal minions are fit to be tied over "Re-elect Carla Nelson" campaign signs. Their underwear is currently tied into tiny little painful knots as they argue Nelson's signs are meant to imply she is the current state representative. According to their delusional argument, Nelson is pretending to be the incumbent in order to deceive District 30A voters into "re-electing" her. Such a wascally Republican.

How dumb do DFLers think District 30A voters are? In the current climate, what advantage is there to falsely claim to be an incumbent anything?

Liebling has cast aspersions on Nelson's honesty, of course, which in itself is a cleverly dishonest way to deflect attention from the freshman DFL representative's mediocre record in the legislature.

Is the term "re-elect" the exclusive property of an incumbent or is someone who at one time held the office entitled to use the term in order to reclaim it? Does it matter?

There is no anti-incumbency talk from DFL activists regarding the Minnesota House races in Districts 27B, 30A and 30B since their candidates are the incumbents. Their anti-incumbency bravado, vitriol and slander are reserved for First District Congressman Gil Gutknecht.

Instead of quibbling over the meaning of the term "re-elect," Tina Liebling and her supporters should explain why she should be re-elected when the first government shutdown in Minnesota history happened on her watch, why she consistently votes for taxes increases and why she is lax regarding the enforcement of our immigration laws.

Embracing Insanity

Howard Dean piqued way too soon.

Had the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses been held yesterday, Dean would have been well on his way to clinching the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.

If anyone had any doubts that the liberal Democratic Party is in the process of being taken over by its radical wing, the results of yesterday's primary in Connecticut should remove them once and for all.

Political Cynicism

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

-- Groucho Marx

Ink by the Barrel

I attended a conference a few weeks ago where one of the speakers advised political candidates not to pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. The topic was "Media Relations," as you may have guessed. Well, I don't believe that the media are above criticism, no matter how much ink they can afford to buy. So here it goes.

Jay Johnson's latest anti-Republican editorial tirade ("Attacks feed voter apathy," August 8, 2006) serves a dual purpose; (1) raise School Board member and DFL Senate District 30 candidate Ann Lynch's unimpressive profile and (2) paint Republicans as a whole with the broad brush of "less-than-admirable side of human behavior."

Mr. Johnson's springboard was an online comment by Duane Quam in which the Olmsted County Republican Party Co-chair chides Lynch for considering her School Board experience an asset in her campaign for the Minnesota senate. Mr. Quam is a critic of the fiscal priorities of the School Board and believes that Lynch is very much a part of the problem, which raises questions as to her qualifications for higher office.

The School Board's "excellent bond rating" and " high marks in overall effectiveness," which Mr. Johnson's editorial touts, were built on the backs of senior citizens on fixed incomes and small business owners. The Board's last property tax increase was enacted the week before Christmas last year. Ho ho ho! I should refrain from making any Ann "Grynch" jokes.

The P-B editorial took Mr. Quam to task for "hit-and-run tactics" and "scorched-earth politics." Never mind that leftist bloggers hiding under the anonimity of monikers such as "coezee" and "211094" routinely use invective, name-calling and even vulgarities in the same forums as Mr. Quam but with impunity.

Mr. Johnson admits that Mr. Quam subsequently sent the P-B an email that had "considerable detail" meant to back up his online comments. The P-B editorial page writer never lists those details, however. The editorial goes on to praise School Board actions and imply that Lynch is responsible for their success.

It looks like the P-B has a dog in this electoral fight.

Run, Kerry, Run!

John "The Come Back Kid" Kerry dazzles an Iowa "crowd" and decides that the masses really want him to run for President of the United States once again.

Trivializing Illegal Immigration

As a LEGAL immigrant and naturalized American citizen who has filled every form, met every deadline and abided by every rule in order to comply with American immigration laws, I resent the implication from the open borders crowd that I am a racist for wanting the laws to be enforced.

When trying to detract from the term "illegal," open border types often point out to what they consider the inconsistency between Canadian and Mexican border enforcement. The implication is that America discriminates against "brown people." Liberals do so love to play the race card.

However, the Canadian government is not publishing literature to both encourage and help their native population cross the border into the United States "safely," Mexico is.

Canada is not threatening to sue the American government in OUR courts if we send the National Guard to our own borders in order to stem the tide of ILLEGAL immigration, Mexico is.

Canada is not outsourcing its jobs and social services to the United States, Mexico is.

Liberals are obviously ignorant of how strict Mexico's immigration laws are. The Mexican government apparently does not understand the absolute poverty some of the Honduran and Guatemalan immigrants crossing its southern border face in their own country.

Doesn't the Mexican government care where their illegal immigrants' next meal is coming from or how they will get medical care for their sick children? Why is the southern border of Mexico so tightly controlled when the northern one is a sieve? Mexico should be more tolerant of "undocumented" immigrants but they can't get past the word.

Kill Gil

Eight out of twelve letters to the editor and three out of four Rochester Post-Bulletin editorials discussing First District Congressman Gil Gutknecht's performance, positions and statements over the last 60 days have had a negative tone. The letters to the editor are patently orchestrated. The editorials are more disturbing. Perhaps the Post-Bulletin should register as a 527.

Liberals Find God at Guantanamo Bay

Jay Johnson has found God.Sort of.

The Rochester Post-Bulletin editorial writer believes that the Creator has endowed islamofascist terrorists in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere with certain unalienable rights ("God-given rights for all?," Wednesday, July 19, 2006).

It's funny how God is often sidelined in political discussions, unless the Good Lord can somehow be shown to favor the liberal side of an argument.

Whereas Americans and other free peoples pursue happiness through hard work, self-sacrifice, involvement in and support of their duly formed governments, uncivilized and murderous peoples such as the terrorists incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay get their jollies from broadcasting decapitations, blowing up car bombs at street markets and committing other innumerable senseless acts of slaughter.

But Mr. Johnson argues that we "must" protect "the God-given rights of people who might have sought to do us harm." Might? "Harm?" He makes it sound like terrorists have been plotting to toilet paper our homes, place whoopee cushions on our chairs just as we are about to sit down or give Americans a collective wedgie. That bin Laden. What a prankster! The awful truth Mr. Johnson and most liberals refuse to face is that, given a chance, Gitmo detainees would murder our families and us where we stand.

Conferring constitutional rights on fanatical mass murderers, as Mr. Johnson argues we "must," will do nothing but embolden America's enemies in their pursuit of democracy's demise. They will plot, attempt and execute acts of unthinkable carnage secure in the knowledge that, whether their plans are foiled or they are apprehended after the fact, they will be afforded every protection and right guaranteed by the principles, documents and institutions they have sworn to eradicate in the bloodiest possible manner. If liberals like Mr. Johnson have their way, the very rights and freedoms terrorists loath would be showered upon the ones now imprisoned and others we are sure to capture in the future.

The United States Supreme Court has given Congress a unique opportunity to "limit" the so-called rights of sworn enemies of the United States of America. It concerns me that the likes of Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Dick Durbin (D-ILL) will have a say in the matter. Preserving our system of government requires defending it from real threats posed by the likes of Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees.

In his Gettysburg Address, one of the most brilliant speeches ever written, Abraham Lincoln states that America's Founding Fathers established a nation "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Mr. Johnson's Guantanamo Bay friends, on the other hand, have dedicated themselves to the proposition that such a nation and form of government SHALL "perish from the earth."

The Declaration of Independence states,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Terrorists do not believe they are equal to "infidels." And they certainly reject the idea that power requires consent of the governed - the major tenet of a democratic government.

The Preamble of our, not the terrorists', Constitution reads,

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

When has al-Qaida, or Hamas and Hezbollah for that matter, ever committed to unity, justice or tranquility? What document have terrorists produced that binds them to the promotion of the good of their people and promises to perpetuate freedom?

I welcome Mr. Johnson's desire to make this an election issue. The referendum question to be answered is as follows. Whose rights are we to preserve, our truly God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or the terrorists' "rights" to take them away?

True Heroes

It is the soldier, not the reporter,

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,

Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.

Father Denis Edward O'Brien

USMC

Jay Furst, the Rochester Post-Bulletin's managing editor, is in mourning. Two journalists were killed in Iraq on Monday and Mr. Furst took notice that about 71 members of the media have died in the conflict since the war started in 2003.

Mr. Furst believes that because journalists "put their lives on the line to report to the world and explain this critical moment in history," they are heroes. I beg to differ.Unlike most media types, I simply have INFINITELY more empathy for the often thankless work American soldiers do and the sacrifice they bear to keep not only the United States but the whole world safe. Like Father Denis Edward O'Brien, I know and appreciate who actually guarantees the freedom I enjoy.

I will place the value of the work being done by American soldiers injured or killed in the war against terror above any presumed sacrifice any journalist has EVER made. I have not and will not criticize dead or wounded journalists. However, I will criticize their methods, biases, and motivations. Media services and journalists have a choice to go or not go into the field of battle, to risk or not risk injury and death - soldiers do not.

Yesterday I heard an interview with a soldier stationed in Iraq. He said he gets shot at EVERY night. He and every other serviceman and woman, much like the American soldiers in every war before them, in Iraq and Afghanistan are the ones truly putting their lives on the line to SAVE the world at this critical moment in history.

I will not lower standards so far as to label journalists "heroes" - a sure sign of a lack of good judgment and compassion for the true sacrifice American men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world have made and will continue to make every single day.


American soldiers are the true heroes.

Hot Air

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He lowered his altitude and spotted a fisherman in a boat below. He shouted to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."



The fisherman consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 4909 minutes west longitude.

The balloonist rolled his eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The fisherman smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the fisherman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

Yearning to Breathe Free

Give me your illegals, those who willingly violate American immigration laws,
Your whiny masses demanding amnesty,
Those who don't even care to learn English.
Send these, who refuse to assimilate into American culture, to me:
I give in to their bullying and make them American citizens because they say so.







I am an American by choice. That choice became official when I took the Oath of Citizenship on Wednesday, November 17, 2004. I often wonder what took me so long to get to that point. Over the years, I had always felt American. My wife often tells me I am the most American person she knows. That's high praise from someone who was born and raised in the Midwest - the heart of America.

But, over the years, my permanent residency status ("green card") alone was not enough. I had become politically aware and drawn to conservatism initially through President Ronald Wilson Reagan's contagious, unapologetic and inspiring love for America. I will write more about Reagan's influence in my life in a later blog.

The Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed everything. I am still shocked, saddened and outraged over the events of that fateful day. All of a sudden, it was not enough to simply live here legally. The country that embraced and adopted me had been attacked in a bloodthirsty and cowardly manner. And, as if to confirm the wisdom of my ideological choice, it didn't take long for liberals to ask themselves and a recently wounded country what Americans had done to deserve being on the receiving end of mass murder.

September 11 made me realize that I needed to go all the way citizenshipwise. It was no longer enough to appreciate the history and embrace the values of this great country. I did battle feelings of unworthiness, however. Foolishly, I thought I could live, work and raise a family in America, but surely I wasn't worthy of citizenship. I did overcome those thoughts and determined to become an American. Still, it took me another two years to take the plunge.

What put me over the edge, as it were, was the looming 2004 presidential election. The president who had brought the country together and took the war to the enemy, was suddenly under attack by those who wondered what evils America had been punished for on 9/11. I began applying for citizenship even as I started campaigning for the reelection of President George W. Bush. I shook his hand the first time he came to Rochester - an unforgettable moment in my civic experience. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote for him since the citizenship ceremony was scheduled for two weeks after the election.

The day I became an American citizen was one of the proudest and happiest of my life - right alongside my wedding day and the birth of my six children. The words of the Oath of Citizenship still ring in my ears and resound in my heart:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

It saddened me to realize that others who were about to take the same oath were not serious about the oath's meaning and implications. As I was seated at the Bethel College auditorium, I engaged in at least two conversations where my fellow citizenship candidates confided that they either planned to retain the citizenship of their country of origin or were becoming citizens primarily as a means of obtaining some personal benefit.

I have renounced all allegiance to Brazil, my country of origin. My loyalty is to America. And that's the reason why the recent pro-illegal immigration protests are so disturbing to me. What makes people who deliberately and persistently break America's immigration laws think that they must be rewarded with American citizenship? They are not the "huddled masses yearning to be free." They are people who believe themselves entitled to that which they neither value nor are willing to sacrifice for. Their economic blackmail failed but their threats remain. They are not "yearning to breathe free" or they would take their protests across the border. Imagine what sea change would come about in Mexico if the hundreds of thousands who have marched here were to make the same demands of their own government and on their own soil.

A word on temporary work permits: they are ok with me. Just make sure the application process starts at the applicant's country of origin.

America is a nation of immigrants who came to her shores to find the one thing that made them thrive: FREEDOM. Freedom was the yearning of their hearts, not entitlement and dependence. They didn't feel they were owed anything. Empowered with that freedom, they built this country. They came to give and in time, if not they themselves, their descendants reaped the benefits of their hard work. America is truly the land of opportunity. If it can happen anywhere, it can happen here. And often, it can't happen anywhere but here.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

The "Progressive" Ten Commandments

In yet another display of their intellectual bankruptcy and lack of originality, liberals have come up with their own "Contract with America." They call it (Are you ready?) "A Progressive Contract with America." (http://www.democracyforvancouver.org/?q=node/235 )

The following is a translation of the most recent liberal, I mean "progressive" ten commandments.

1) "We Will Bring the Troops Home"
TRANSLATION: We will cut and run in Iraq.

2) "We Will Crack Down on Corruption"
TRANSLATION: We will do a better job of covering our tracks while we still take money from lobbyists and corporate types. It's only morally objectionable when Republicans get caught doing it .

3) "We Will Make Public Officials Accountable"
TRANSLATION: Never mind Bill Clinton, Dan Rostenkowky, Jim Wright, Mike Espy, Ron Brown, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Cynthia McKinney et al.

4) "We Will Unleash New Energy for America"
TRANSLATION: Let India, China and Russia use up all the oil. Who cares about economic development? Let America's competitors surpass her. Why compete anyway? Incidentally, how do you like my new hand-cranked coupe?

5) "We Will Rebuild America First"
TRANSLATION: We will tax the hell out of everyone. When the rich shelter their income, we will go after the middle class. We know Joe Six-Pack doesn't make enough to pay tax accountants.

6) "We Will Make Work Pay Once Again"
TRANSLATION: We will squash entrepreneurship and destroy small businesses once and for all. Minimum Wage? Through the roof! Union membership? Mandatory! Taxes on businesses? Confiscatory!

7) "We Will Make Healthcare Affordable"
TRANSLATION: Government will take over health care. We will decide if you are sick and how sick you are. When you need life-saving surgery, plan on it six to eight months in advance. Pray you don't die before then. Oh, did I mention we will outlaw prayer?

8) "We pledge to strengthen Social Security"
TRANSLATION: We will do more of the same, dumping more and more money on a system already on the brink of bankruptcy. If it's broken, why fix it?

9) "We Will Keep the American Dream Alive"
TRANSLATION: We will be your nanny from cradle (those whom we allow to be born) to grave (those whom we do not euthanize). We will punish initiative, eliminate self-respect and extinguish self-reliance from the American landscape.

10) "We Will Provide Real Security for America"
TRANSLATION: Welcome to El Norte. Mi casa es su casa. "Si se Puede."

Quail Hunting the Kennedy Way

I wish I could take credit for this but I found it on the Internet:

When Cheney was asked why he didn't report the accident more quickly, he replied, "I placed a call to Teddy Kennedy immediately to get his input. He told me to sleep on it and if it still bothered me the next day, then to call it in."

Foo-foo Dust

The Rochester Higher Education Development
Committee recommends the establishment of a world class institution that leverages the University of Minnesota's research capability, in
partnership with IBM, Mayo Clinic, and other industry leaders to build signature academic and research programs that complement southeast Minnesota's existing leadership roles in health sciences, biosciences, engineering, and technology. Educational programs will provide application to economic activities via innovation, translational research and clinical experiences. This institution will have a distinct identity and one governing entity. This institution will be the University of Minnesota Rochester.

-- Rochester Higher Education Development committee vision statement.

"These are all buzz words. This is foo-foo dust. It really looks good when you throw it up in the air, and it glistens as it comes down to the ground. Then you get a broom and sweep it up and throw it away."

-- State Representative Gene Pelowski (DFL - Winona) reacting to the release of Rochester Higher Education Development Committee report to Governor Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota legislature, as reported in the Rochester Post-Bulletin.



Rep. Pelowski should read the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee Report to Governor Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature. I have. It IS a great document. Here are some highlights.

"Rochester's confluence of world-class medicine, advanced technology and bioscience industry makes it uniquely poised to be a major player in the 21st century bio-economy. This potential cannot be fully realized without further investments, most notably in the area of human capital generated through a research university and associated academic programs. Partnerships between the University of Minnesota, IBM, Mayo Clinic, and related businesses position the State of Minnesota to become one of the fastest growing and dynamic biomedical economics in the world." (p. 5)

"Currently, 40 states specifically target the biosciences for development and all 50 states have economic development initiatives available to assist bioscience companies. Other states are investing aggressively in a comprehensive range of bioscience programs to promote research and commercialization. Many are pursuing bioscience development strategies including strengthening research, increasing university-industry collaborations, and enhancing their business development support." (p. 7)

" Rochester has key private-sector research and develompent engines, but national studies prove that the presence of a major research university is also required to really power the knowledge economy and to provide the skilled human capital required to populate and grow innovation-driven enterprises." (p. 14)

Hardly the "foo-foo dust" Winona (State) DFL Rep. Pelowski claims it to be. His attitude is typical of the DFL whenever Rochester advances the four-year university proposal. It is time for bold investments in the economic and educational future of southeastern Minnesota.

Rochester's detractors have opposed the growth of educational and business opportunities in our region as outlined the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee (RHEDC) in one form or another for at least 30 years. The reasons are myriad.

The "foo-foo dusters" fear their slice of the funding pie will be reduced if the U of M - Rochester project is advanced. They argue that Rochester doesn't really need a four-year university since WSU is only about an hour away and the city is "overcrowded" with institutions that offer baccalaureate and masters' degrees - even doctorates, if you look hard enough .

The U of M - Rochester concept is unique, however. It will offer signature courses available at no other institution in the state. Biomedical Informatics, Computational Biology, Nanotechnology and Pharmacogenics are only a few of the distinct course offerings listed in the RHEDC report (pp. 18-23).

In addition, the U of M - Rochester curriculum will incorporate business education concepts such as entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership with a view to economic development. As stated in the RHEDC report, "These skills are essential to the transfer of technology to the marketplace leading to significant economic development for the area, state, and nation." (p. 24).

Also, they turn a blind eye to the fact that Rochester is Minnesota's third largest city. It is the home of the Mayo Clinic, arguably one of the top two medical research institutions in the world. IBM Rochester has developed the world's fastest supercomputer, BlueGene. Biomedical and technological advances run on parallel tracks in southeastern Minnesota. Powerful partnerships have taken place, but in order to bring the two fields together in the most comprehensive and economically profitable manner, we need a research institution of the highest caliber. Hence the U of M - Rochester concept.

Saying that Rochester has to support the whole system if it wants consideration for the project, as DFL State Senator Sandy Pappas suggests, is a mix of blackmail and the repackaging of the same old excuses to keep our educational and economic aspirations down.

If "our" area legislators have questions or reservations about the committee report, they are just a cover. Reps. Andy Welti and Tina Liebling in particular have proven to be puppets of the Twin Cities DFL. They will do or not do and say or not say what Matt Entenza, or whoever their next caucus leader is, tells them.

Assuming that all legislators are decent people who will do the right thing in an election year is a naïve approach to a pivotal issue. Senator Sheila Kiscaden's sincerity on the U of M - Rochester concept is in doubt. Her party switches over the years have been dictated by political convenience rather than moral conviction. Her ability to promote the idea of a U of M - Rochester within the DFL caucus is D.O.A. unless, she can convince Winona State University Rep. Gene "Foo-foo Dust" Pelowski and others to drop their petty parochial antipathy toward Rochester's educational and economic progress. Kiscaden talks a good game while in the district. Always has but so far hasn't delivered.

There is a difference between "being known" as the champion for a Rochester university and getting in the rink to fight for it. Governor Tim Pawlenty is the true Rochester university champion. And as someone who has followed the issue for the last decade, I think that State senator Dave Senjem and retiring Rep. Fran Bradley have done more in a practical way to advance the idea than our own chameleon senator.

Southeastern Minnesota voters need to understand that the U of M - Rochester project is not even on the DFL's radar screen. Kiscaden will dance the dance and say a lot about it without saying much.

DFL Reps. Andy Welti and Tina Liebling will either equivocate or remain mum on the U of M - Rochester project because they know where the Twin Cities/Iron Range DFL leadership stands on the issue. They know their place and will not dare stand up for the community they should represent above all other interests, whether they are personal or their party's.

They are welcome to prove me wrong.

What I Believe

Olmsted County has recently been infected with politicians of the worst kind, as you know. They are placeholders whose goal is to grow their party and further their selfish ambitions rather than develop the community that entrusted them with elected office.

As strongly as I feel about my deeply held beliefs regarding what makes America great, I learned long ago that there is only so much an individual can accomplish on his own. My wife and I were discussing the American Revolution before bed a few nights ago (quaint, I know) and it hit me again that the reason it was so successful in the end is that it was a movement. It wasn't about an individual's heartfelt beliefs about freedom. It wasn't about the agenda of a business or farming elite. People of all walks of life dedicated themselves to building America out of the highest principles and aspirations humanity has ever harbored.

It is time for that same kind of movement today - a Second American Revolution, if you will. People need to be re-educated on what it means to be an American. If they know and understand the principles, the history, the toil, the sacrifice, the setbacks and the victories that brought America to where she is today, they will instinctively reject the liberal principles of obscene taxation and moral laxity that permeate our society.

Sadly, my tea bag "stunt" at the Rochester Truth-in-Taxation hearing was lost on American citizens who had no idea what the Boston Tea Party was. That saddened me deeply but also helped me understand why they were so easily deceived by Andy Welti and Tina Liebling (and almost Kim Norton, the Tax Lady) during the last election cycle.

Knowing American history and sharing the principles on which America was built inoculates anyone against the pernicious disease of liberalism.

War: What Is It Good For?

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last."

-- Sir Winston Churchill






"If you don't believe ... Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me,"

-- John "The Blue Bunny" Kerry

Let it not be said that liberals haven't learned at least one lesson from the Vietnam War. They have learned that spitting on soldiers and calling them "baby killers" is not endearing to the American public. Now they know to lie about "supporting" the troops. They may be disingenuous but they are not stupid.

Damage Control

If their absence at Governor Pawlenty's Rochester Bioscience Center announcement does not convince voters that Rep. Tina Welti, Rep. Tina LIEbling and Senator Sheila Kiscaden's focus is not the economic, scientific and educational development of southeastern Minnesota, nothing will.

Welti, LIEbling and Kiscaden were at the Governor's Rochester Higher Education Committee announcement yesterday because they HAD to be. After the P-B exposed their absence (snub, actually) from the Governor's previous visit, they couldn't afford to have their hypocrisy and disregard for issues that benefit Rochester exposed in the media again.

Hiding their partisanship behind a façade of moderation is a carnival trick that has run its course. When the legislature is in session, Welti, LIEbling and Kiscaden are there and that is all that really counts to the Twin Cities/Iron Range DFL.

Giving (and not giving) Rochester Her Due

A friend who was present at the Rochester Higher Education Committee release of its U of M-Rochester expansion proposal told me this afternoon that Welti, LIEbling and Kiscaden were present and accounted for. As I watched the local news tonight, there they were front and center. Kiscaden dragged DFL senate District 30 hopeful Ann Lynch to the event for a photo-op. Ironically, Nancy Brataas, Kiscaden's former mentor, was sitting across the aisle from Kiscaden. Next to Distric 30A Republican candidate Carla Nelson.

Either Welti, LIEbling and Kiscaden have learned to check their emails regularly or finally understand that they can no longer only give half-hearted lip service to the idea of a four-year university in Rochester. They have to pretend to support it publicly too.

The only sure way to make the four-year university in Rochester a reality is to reelect Governor Tim Pawlenty, fire Andy Welti and Tina Liebling and snuff the electoral hopes of Ann Lynch and Kim Norton. The DFL's spending priorities lie in the Twin Cities and the Iron Range, not the Med City. Under a DFL regime, Rochester would be reduced to a piggy bank to finance their failed social experiments.

Even if LIEbling, Welti and Kiscaden were inclined to promote the four-year university effort, which they are not, their DFL puppetmasters in the Twin Cities would never agree to giving Rochester her due.

DFL: The Party of the Twin Cities and Iron Range

The insinuation that DFL Senator Sheila Kiscaden and Reps. Andy Welti and Tina Liebling were given no advance notice of Governor Tim Pawlenty's most recent visit to the Med City on purpose, as a recent Rochester Post-Bulletin editorial (All area legislators must pull for the community) implies, is preposterous. The Rochester area state legislators have since admitted receiving an email notice in advance but hadn't checked their messages in time to attend the event. Or so they say.

It is hard to believe that our area legislators and their secretaries would have missed the governor's press announcement. The secretaries have access to their legislators' email and are to alert them if something important comes up. In addition, the staff of their caucus gets the emails and are to alert members of the meeting. Since it is unlikely that Welti, Liebling and Kiscaden would have missed the announcement, the only reasonable explanation is that, in their partisanship, they decided not to attend the meeting.

The P-B editorial assumes that our area's DFL legislators actually care about the growth of southeast Minnesota to begin with. There is evidence to the contrary.

Rochester's progress and prominence are not a priority of the Minnesota DFL, a party beholden to the interests of the Twin Cities and the Iron Range. As for the Olmsted County DFL, the growth of their party is their main priority. Welti, Liebling and Kiscaden would probably prefer not to attend events that highlight the importance of Rochester in the governor's agenda for fear that their presence would convey support for Pawlenty's initiatives.

Were they truly "bipartisan" and "moderate" as they falsely claim, Welti, Liebling and Kiscaden would be present at this and other events. But alas, they are not. How have House districts 30A and 30B benefitted from Liebling's and Welti's (mis)representation?

Welti can't even deliver a new fence for the Rochester International Airport, which seems to be his legislative priority for 2006.

LIEblings hypocrisy has been dealt with in a previous post.

Kiscaden's focus for the last 14 years has been ... well ... Kiscaden.

Rochester and surrounding communities deserve better.