Seek Forgiveness For What?

About the only people in Minnesota who believe the Minneapolis Star Tribune, aka Red Star, is a fair and balanced news provider are the staff of the paper itself. Never was this was more obvious then in an editorial titled "Memorial
Day/Praise bravery, seek forgiveness" and published May 30, 2005, Memorial Day.

The premise of this piece of tripe is familiar to those who have heard the never ending stream of anti-American rhetoric from the Left. "Bush lied. We had no reason to go to war with Iraq. We are so evil and should beg forgiveness from the world." Overlooked, of course, are the results of our actions. We have rid the world of Saddam Hussien, a proven murderer and a man who started wars with his neighbors and used poison gas (a weapon of mass destruction) on his own people. Free elections in Iraq and Afghanistan. Steps towards democracy in Egypt.

Also overlooked is that the bloodshed in Iraq is not something that the US is initiating but is the actions of murderous terrorists that the Red Star generously refers to as 'insurgents', most of whom are not even Iraqis.

This is one American who is sick and damned tired of the Left painting America as an evil warlord hell bent on world domination when the truth is that no other nation has provided as much aid and support to the needy peoples of the world than America. No other nation can match our track record for sharing our wealth. None. Nada. Zilch.

Why does the Left and it's mouthpieces like the Minneapolis Star Tribune persist in their attempts to make America the world's bad guy? Because they can. And why can they? Because we continue to provide financial support for them with our subscriptions and by dealing with their advertisers. Only when we change our habits and withdraw our support will these defeatist voices be silenced.

Beg for forgiveness? Kiss my derriere Star Tribune.

Senate Repubs Fold AGAIN

With the so called compromise agreement on Judical nominees and the use of filibusters, Senate Republicans, led by John McCain, have once again rolled over and played dead for the Left. And for what? Three nominees out of ten?

Let's be very clear about what was agreed to: Republicans will give up the so-called nuclear option in exchange for up-or-down votes on three nominees. The Left agrees to continue doing what they have been doing. America loses but who are the winners?

An obvious winner is the Left. They have shown that even though they are a minority, they have more moxie and control then the majority Republicans. Another winner, if you call it that, is John McCain who now will wallow in a media love fest and use this to launch his presidential bid.

Is this why Republicans were elected, to roll over and play dead for the Left? Is this the leadership we voters thought we were gaining? Did we really want a bunch of media hungry, fence-sitting pollpigs holding Senate jobs? We might just as well have elected Leftists.

Shame on you Senate Republicans. In your lust for the adoration of the media and quest for personal power, you have betrayed the very people who elected you in the first place.

We will not forget

Lied To, Screwed and Not Even A Kiss Afterwards

Politicians find it almost impossible to speak in plain english and even harder to tell the truth or keep a promise. Today's star political performer is none other Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Not only has Pawlenty performed just about as expected for a politician, namely lied and broken a promise that he made to get himself elected, he has boldly demonstrated that he believes that Minnesotans are a stupid lot, incapable of telling the difference between a "fee" and a "tax".

The man who ran for office on a 'no new taxes' promise has proposed a 75 cents per pack tax on cigarettes calling it a "health impact fee" [Source]. Mustering up all the fake sincerity learned from years as a politician, the Governor was quoted as saying, "I believe this is a user fee. Some people are going to say it is a tax. I'm going to say that it is a compromise and a solution". Actually Governor, about the only ones who will be able to claim with a straight face that this is a "fee" and not a "tax" are your fellow politicians and the brain-dead minions of the hard core left.

Governor, you can paint it red and put fancy decals on a VW Bug but that still does not make it a Ferrari. This is a TAX. Just how stupid do you think we are? Do you think that if you put 10 pounds of horse manure on a plate and called it a steak that we would happily dig in?

Undoubtedly the Minnesota chapter of big media will credit the Governor with showing great courage for being willing to abandon his promise but the simple truth is that it takes no courage to break a promise. It takes no courage to lie nor is performing a political spin dance worthy of PT Barnum an act of courage. It is about as much as we have come to expect from professional politicians but it is not what we expect from a man of principle or from a true leader.

Minnesota elected this republican governor and his buddies in the House and Senate in large part due to two promises. The first promise, to live within the current budget was broken almost right from the start of this session. Now the second promise, no new taxes, is history. About all that is left is for the Minnesota republican party to officially announce it's merger with the liberal Democrats that have cursed this state for so long.

Besides breaking his promise, the Pawlenty has decided that the 25% of adult Minnesotans who enjoy smoking will be used to balance the outrageously bloated budget. Rather than cut the budget or even just live within the current revenue, Pawlenty has targeted a portion of the state's population to pick up the tab for the lack of guts and discipline that runs rampant in the State house. One can only wonder which group of citizens will be targeted next when this cash cow is milked dry?

Should we be surprised that yet another politician has brazenly broken a promise and lied to us? Not at all. In politics this is called 'business as usual'. In the best of all worlds, the voters would remember the lies, the broken promises, the political game playing and come election day, toss out every elected official and start over with a new batch who's first act would be to enact strict term limits for all elected officials. Barring Divine Intervention, this ain't going to happen but we can at least hope that enough voters remember the lies and actually go to the polls on election day and try to reclaim some control over the three ring circus that politics has become.

Remember Governor, if it barks and wags it's tail, it is a dog. Not a monkey, not a squirrel, not a bird.

Gas Tax Showdown in Minnesota

The scene is set. At one end of the dusty road stands the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty. At the other, the Minnesota Legislature. The issue: a 50% increase the state gasoline tax. [Source].

Now eagerly stand on the sidelines watching and waiting to see who will flinch first?

The back story to this thrilling drama is familiar. Pork loving elected officials want to spend more money then they have. Currently the state gets about $1.3 BILLION per year for road projects and expenses (according to a Pioneer Press article). This is not enough for our elected worthies from both sides of the aisle. Rather than explain where the existing monies are going and where the new money would be targeted, the elected worthies have resorted to the rhetoric of gloom and doom. Rather than allowing the taxpayers to vote of the tax increase, they have chosen to ram it down our throats. Of course, if the tax payers turned down the increase, the elected worthies would have to look elsewhere for more money to spend on their favored flavor of pork.

An issue like this always goes deeper then the obvious. For instance, while the elected worthies expect annual double digit percentage increases in money to spend, most household budgets are not going up much if at all. Unlike the so-called representatives of the people, we can not decide that our employers have to give us more money and enforce that decision by confiscation. In the debate over this increase, Sen. Sharon Marko, DFL-Cottage Grove, maintained that prices at the pump shouldn't dictate how the Legislature acts on the gas tax. (Marko will be long remembered for her tireless efforts to gain funding for the massive mangling of highway 61 through Newport, Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park.)

It would seem reasonable to expect the elected officials to answer a few questions in simple english before trying to rape our pocketbooks YET AGAIN. Where is the money going right now - details please? Precisely where will the new money go? Why are you afraid to let the taxpayers have a say in a tax increase?

Until such time as voters learn that voting the party ticket is the act of an idiot, that voting really can have a powerful impact and that there is no such thing as government money - it is our money, this sort of action will be the norm that we will receive from our elected officials.

Come on folks, wake up and demand better representation. After all, the elected clowns are our employees.

Screwed by Republicans AGAIN

We expect the Minnesota DFL and other leftists to vote to raise taxes: these folks have never met a tax they didn't love and could not live within a budget if their lives depended upon it. So it was no surprise when leftists in the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to support a 10 cents per gallon gas tax increase. What was mildly surprising was that the measure passed due to support from "moderate republicans" [Read
more].

Taxes in Minnesota are already high. It was promises of lowering the taxes and learning how to live within budget that convinced voters to elect a Republican majority to the state House. Given that state revenues increases about 8% per year without tax increases, this does not seem like an unrealistic request. Most voters would give their eye teeth for an 8% raise each year. But these elected clowns just do not seem able to say "no" to any spending request especially if the request is for one leftist cause or another (such as Smart Growth).

Once again, Republicans have let us down. This time it was the so-called "moderate republicans". These are the clowns who sit on the fence and are far removed form any vestige of fiscal responsibility or conservative thought. When a politician is unwilling or unable to take a tough stand, they are called "moderates". When Republicans side with tax and spend liberals, they are called "moderates". When they screw the voters who sent them to office expecting them to cut spending and reduce government size, they are called "moderates".

We prefer the term "coward".

It takes conviction and courage to make a promise and keep it as the House Republicans did at the start of the session when they promised to live within the budget and revenue levels. It is not easy to stand for something when leftist politicians, special interest groups and media are dragging your name through the mud. It does not take courage or conviction to sit on the fence.

To date, Republican's in both the state Senate and House have emulated their brethren at the national level and done nothing to prove that they believe in smaller government, lower taxes and personal liberty. What they have done is clearly demonstrate to the voters of Minnesota that there is no difference between the Republicans and the leftists and that they do not deserve our votes.

Babylon Speaks ... Again

Some of the very best comedy today comes not from the professional humor writers and comics; rather it comes from Hollyweird celebs trying to sound knowledgeable about anything other than making a fortune by pretending to be someone else. One of the best sources of this type humor is Alec Baldwin.

"The leadership class of the Republican Party is a conservative Christian loony bin who's taken over the Party ... The leadership of the Republican Party are a bunch of sociopathic maniacs who have their lips super-glued to the ass of the conservative right"

Alec Baldwin, on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher"

Well Alec, that certainly paints an interesting mental image ...

Do us all a favor, either shut up or go away or better still, both. As one of the leading lights in Babylon, you have no business lecturing anyone about anything.

Why is the Left so afraid of faith?

Why are the leftist activists, mainstream media and secular humanists so afraid of Christianity, especially those Christians who happen to be conservative and who happen to actually practice their Christian faith? What is it about the the forces of the Left to attempt to marginalize the role of religion in our society, our individual lives and our government?

America was founded by men and women of faith who clearly and distinctly understood that as blessed as mankind was, we were still, first and foremost, subject to the Word of the Lord. So firmly did these brave souls believe that they were willing to put their lives and material wealth at risk to establish a land where religion could be freely practiced, not a land free of religion.

Now we find amongst us a collection of misguided leftists who fear religion. They fear the power of the individual who truly believes in something, anything at all especially God and His Son Jesus Christ. They fear a clear definition of right and wrong and go to great lengths to condemn those who do believe that the line between right and wrong is clearly laid out for us by God. They fear a population that believes in God and is willing to stand firm against the onslaught of secular humanism and so-called modern thinking.

Times change folks. Technology brings about changes in our lives on an almost daily basis. Yet only those those who's faith is weak and who place what little real faith they have not in God but in mankind are so foolish as to believe that changing times also means changing faith and reality. The Word of God is the same today as it was in 1865, 1776 and moment of time before.

People of faith have been a target for the left for some time and indications are that the secularists are becoming so fearful that they will intensify their attacks. The rare politicians who hold firm to a true faith in God will be ridiculed while those that practice a faith that is based upon the current fads in thinking and in the absence of absolutes will be hailed as great leaders.

People of faith will be told that we are wrong to hold our beliefs and that we should be happy to have a secular government, stripped of all moral principle, tell us how to live our lives and how to raise our young.

This is not about politics - never before have so many politicians tried so hard to deny the role of faith in our lives, our society and our government. Regardless of party affiliation, they will issue warnings of gloom and doom at the embedding emergence of a "Theocracy". No, this is not about politics or what poll drives what actions from our elected representatives.

This is about Faith, about believing that all men were created by God regardless of the Name by which we call Him. This is about believing that God grants to each of us free will and individual freedom to decide how we will live our lives and raise our families. How willing we are to put aside our obsession with the material world and defend our Faith will determine the future of this great country. Our willingness to defend our Faith with word and deed will determine if we remain a nation of free men and women or if we become the shining star of the crass, materialistic secular left.

Pray for guidance in seeing and following in the path He has set out before us. Pray for the strength to resist the temptations of easy morality and a world where there is no clear right and wrong. Pray for the courage to risk all, as the Founders were willing to do, to defend our country, our culture, our lives and our very souls.