“I didn’t question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment.”
Mr. Cheney went on: “The point I made and I’ll make it again is that Al Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That’s their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we’ll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of Al Qaeda. I said it, and I meant it.”
(Vice President Cheney NYT Feb. 2007)
"A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers. (Ronald Reagan March 1, 1975)
"Oh, no! First of all, if I took one vote away from a serious candidate, it would be a sin." (Al Franken Time Magazine, 9/1/03)
John McCain is set to alienate freedom and reality loving conservatives from his campaign this week with a big throw down pander to the environmental lunacrats. But worse then that is that this guy is a fringe freedom hating mandate supporting lefty when it comes to energy and environmental laws.
I just saw his new business surrogate (Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina) on This Week with Georbie boy and she was simply amazing at the inability to identify the connection with why businesses don’t want to come to America or stay here anymore. She did get the taxes right. Businesses will avoid them when ever possible.
The only other issue that draws businesses into a country is not just education, as much as that may hurt McCain’s spinsterette’s argument. It is the ease and low cost of doing business. How much are supplies? How high are property values? How many outrageous and over the top regulations and mandates will harm productivity and cut into margins? Is something as simple as keeping the lights on a sustainable cost, and reality. (let’s not forget California’s rolling blackouts )
Sure good workers are a plus, but if the costs on everything else are exponentially more, it doesn’t make sense to manufacture something there. I know this is the new neo-con (read liberal Republican) rhetoric, but I don’t buy it. Gone are the principles of personal responsibility and accountability. Replaced are they with forced mandates and government requirements.
McCain’s lunacratic streak for fringe lefty environmental policies is going to scare away even more businesses. His limits on energy are limits on productivity. And businesses know that. Here’s a bit to prove that businesses are very leery of President McCain. Bush Business Donors Shunning McCain for Democratic Candidates
All 3 candidates for President are anti-business socialist thinkers when it comes to energy policy and anti-free market tendancies. If we don’t have solid conservatives in Congress to stop whoever wins the POTUS stakes we can pretty much hang up a businesses need not apply sign on our shores.
He’s the Republican candidate. He may blame business for more things than Democrats. That is a damn shame. Then again, he does have his, we don’t need ours.
I’m amazed at how much power labor unions have over weak minded lawmakers. It is almost like they are Jedis. No seriously. The unions have so much power and control over Democrats that they can get them to pass laws that are completely against freedom, liberty, and the Constitution.
On Monday, May 12, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of the mandatory collective bargaining legislation, the Public Safety Employer - Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 (H.R. 980/S. 2123). This legislation would preempt local government authority by forcing local goverments to negotiate with labor unions representing public safety officers over the terms and conditions of employment with labor regardless of state constitutions, state laws, and local laws. The House passed this legislation last year.
NLC strongly opposes this legislation because it interferes with states rights, violates federalism principles, and may be unconstitutional.
Call your Senators and urge them to “VOTE NO” to Mandatory Collective Bargaining (S. 2123/H.R. 980).
It is amazing to me that the very same people who object to the CIA tracking terrorist phone calls are so willing to hand over a worker’s and citizen taxpayer’s rights.
Lady Logician has a great piece on the MNGOP’s financial problems. It is a very powerful piece. Here’s the closing graph.
The ball is in Carey’s court. If he were smart, he would release the audit PUBLICALLY and immediately and he would drop the tax issue and move on to talking about why voters need to vote for Norm Coleman (as opposed to against Al Franken). Senator Coleman has a record that Republicans can be proud of…a record that has frustrated Conservatives for sure, but for the large part has been a good representation of ALL MINNESOTANS. Rather than leaving that important story just to bloggers (like Gary Gross and myself) he needs to be talking about that and leaving the attack pieces to the blogosphere - where it can be done without damaging the candidate or the party. Right now, Chairman Carey, your actions are damaging the entire Republican ticket! For the Senator’s sake, until you get the MNGOP’s financial house in order, please stop trying to help us.
The State Executive Committee must remedy this immediately. If they fail to end this before the State Convention (mind you we were promised this was dealt last June during the Chairman’s race), maybe the State Central Committee will have to take matters into our own hands on Saturday May 31st in Rochester.
There’s been a delay! Worries about the bill are growing. The Health Department’s Baby DNA Warehouse and Genetic Research bill, S.F. 3138, was supposed to be heard tonight (Wed, 5/7), but it wasn’t.
However, the bill will probably come up tomorrow (Thur, May 8), so take action as soon as you read this!
Here’s what happened. We heard that the Governor has suddenly taken an interest in the bill (lots of your citizen petitions!). Republicans who were ready to vote YES on the bill still erroneously thinking it was better than current law began changing their minds after CCHC began talking to them one on one outside the House chamber. And a Republican legislator has introduced a motion to return the bill to conference committee until it no longer eliminates consent. At 8:30 p.m. tonight, the Governor’s head health care policy staffer suddenly appeared at the State Capitol. She was huddled with the author of the bill (Rep. Thissen (D-Mpls)) and three state health department lobbyists. CCHC then began sending in notes to both sides of the aisle telling them to vote NO on the bill because it eliminates informed parent consent requirements currently in law today. Not that much later, the House decided to adjourn and go home (11:00 p.m.)
The bill never came up for a vote! This gives us more time!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Al Franken will not get Norm Coleman reelected. Focus on why people should vote FOR Republicans and there is no need to worry about this sort of touché ’journalism’.
I sure hope we (Republican activists) finally get some answers to this crap at the State Central Meeting set to take place immediately following the State Convention in Rochester. Unanswered questions do nothing but leave questions unanswered. If there is nothing left to ‘correct’, why not make the corrections that were done in a timely manner available for all to see?
Put this baby to bed now rather than leave this crap for an October surprise that would potentially harm our MN House candidates and let Franken off the hook/hurt Sen. Coleman.
Under the iron fist of the DFL Legislature freedom, privacy, and your baby’s DNA are now at risk. SF3138 passed the MInnesota Senate and is headed to the House. It will easily pass there and the State will begin building a genetic census of the state’s youngest citizens unless Gov. Pawlenty vetoes the bill.
Citizens Council on Health Care is leading the way on that notion.
May 5, 2007
Governor Tim Pawlenty
Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
Saint Paul, MN 55155
Dear Governor Pawlenty,
Please pick up your veto pen. You have a critical decision to make.
The future of human rights, privacy rights, and the rights of human subjects in genetic research will be determined by your decision to sign or veto S.F. 3138.
S.F. 3138 eliminates current legal informed written parent consent protections for the Minnesota Department of Health’s genetic research program.
Today, parents must give their consent before the health department can store, use, or share their newborn baby’s DNA for the department’s genetic research program.
If you do not veto S.F. 3138, the bill will take away today’s informed consent requirements and make Minnesota citizens available for involuntary genetic research.
Democrats, yes you Sen. Klobuchar (Emily’s List MN) better be careful when trying to lambast the Oil Companies for gouging consumers. You (yes, the Government) is far worse at gouging the consumers of oil and gas than the Oil Execs.
Yesterday, members of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming spent the day beating up on oil industry executives for “excessive” profits and gouging consumers at the gas pump. Lost in the political theater is the fact that those “excessive” profits are net profits: that is, profits earned after taxes are paid to government. And while the oil companies have enjoyed a few good years, history shows that government has profited more from the domestic oil industry than has its shareholders.
Recent data from the Energy Information Administration shows that since 1981—the first year of the Windfall Profits Tax—total taxes from all oil industry sources exceeded the combined profits of all companies in every year but the past three. Between 1981 and 2006, government collected $1.65 trillion in total taxes after adjusting for inflation. That is 65 percent more than the combined earnings of the 16 largest domestic oil companies during the same period.
As the chart below shows, during most of that 25 year period, government tax collections were nearly twice industry profits in any given year. Indeed, in 2002, before the recent price spikes, the industry earned a collective $20.5 billion in profits. However, government collected more than $50 billion in combined income, property, severance, and excise taxes in the same year.
So, the lesson to members of the House committee is be careful of throwing stones when you live in a glass house.
(There’s even a graph if those words don’t do it for you; click on the link above to see it and the data)
Oh yes, add up the gas taxes plus all the other hand in the cookie jar fees and taxes oil companies pay, and the Government is still a bigger beneficiary at the consumption of oil than those darn executives.
Add to that this savant like quote from Pat Shortridge (via King at TN)
Gas is $3.50 a gallon and politicians are ready to lock up oil company executives. Milk is $3.50 a gallon and the same politicians can’t shovel our money to the farm lobby fast enough. What statesmen.
Oh Pat, Klobuchar is completely clueless on this one.
Stop price gouging by oil companies. American consumers should not have to dig ever deeper into their pockets while the big oil companies amass record profits. We must eliminate oil company handouts and tax loopholes, and dedicate more funds to biofuels research and other homegrown energy sources. (Source Klobuchar Official May 5, 2008)
The taxes the Government has collected from oil companies paid for that microphone Senator. How about the Government lead by example and stop skimming off the top?
Former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer beat Rep. Mark Olson for the HD16B Republican endorsement this weekend. Olson was not challenged because of liberal policies like the Override 6, but rather for personal and legal problems. Olson has been a solid conservative in the MN House, but his past problems did catch up to him and the 16B Republicans chose a different path.
Rep. Olson has not ruled out running as an independent.
Sen. Norm Coleman ‘Independent‘ Republican of Minnesota is once again joining Democrats in the war against Bush and the end to subsidies for millionaire farmers. He’s threatening/promising to help Democrats override the likely veto of the Farm Bill.
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told reporters Thursday that he backs the Farm Bill emerging from talks between the House and Senate and will work to see the Senate override a threatened Bush veto.
“The president has indicated today he will veto the Farm Bill. That would be a terrible mistake,” Coleman said in his weekly press call. “The president’s wrong if he vetoes the Farm Bill. I will work hard to override that veto. Perhaps it won’t get to that point.”
One of Bush’s major concerns in the bill is that people who make $1.9 million a year will still be able to receive subsidies under the current farm bill.
The president is also reportedly balking at higher income limits than he proposed, with farmers making up to $1.9 million a year in combined farm and non-farm income still able to receive subsidies, well above the $200,000 annual limit Bush sought and near the $2.5 million current limit.
I’m sorry, but for all the hand wringing by farmers and ethanol loving politicians over oil profits, I am astonished that they’d have the temerity to demand millionaire farmers (or people who happen to own a or part of a farm) still be able to feed at the federal taxpayer trough.
Sen. Coleman, your opponent is self-destructing. Do you really need to go down this road? How about not acting and siding with the Democrats in their goal to protect the welfare for millionaire farmers and act like that 80% conservative your campaign manager told me so much about last year.
