Archive for September, 2016

Donald Trump wasted a valuable commodity this week — time. The week started right, with him winning the first third of the debate. Then he forgot his purpose and started chasing ghosts. The lesson that his advisors need to teach him is that he needs to focus on things that will help him connect with blue collar workers. The other thing that Mr. Trump must highlight is the Clinton Foundation’s pay-to-play scandal and the FBI’s faux investigation.

By highlighting the FBI’s faux investigation, Mr. Trump would connect with Bernie Sanders’ voters that think that the system is rigged. The FBI’s faux investigation would play well with suburban voters who think Mrs. Clinton isn’t trustworthy. It’d be great if he could flip those voters. At this point, Mr. Trump’s campaign would probably be satisfied if it drove Mrs. Clinton’s turnout with suburban voters down.

The Clintons are disgusting, immoral people who’ve lived in the mud their entire lives. Spending 5 more weeks there to win the presidency means nothing to them. Trump’s path to victory is to highlight the things that matter most to people. When in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump should highlight Mrs. Clinton’s statement that she’s going to put coal companies out of business. Wherever he goes, he needs to highlight his plan for energy independence, then contrast that with Mrs. Clinton’s green energy policies.

Part of Mr. Trump’s presentation on green energy should highlight the rigged game that Solyndra tapped into. Mostly, though, Trump should highlight the fact that coal-mining and fracking jobs are just waiting to be filled. Ask people if they want to subsidize Mrs. Clinton’s and President Obama’s special interest allies or whether they’d like to keep doing what’s worked for the last half-century.

If Trump gets back on message, he’ll put pressure on Mrs. Clinton because people want change. They don’t want Mrs. Clinton’s more-of-the-same policies.

Technorati: Donald Trump, Change Election, Energy Independence, Blue Collar Voters, Fracking, Republicans, Hillary Clinton, FBI Investigation, Clinton Foundation, Pay-to-Play Scandal, Solyndra, Crony Capitalism, Barack Obama, Democrats, Election 2016

The man that wrote this LTE, Brian Marsh, gives idiots a bad reputation. It’s stunning to think that Democrats think people are that stupid.

Marsh started his LTE by saying “Stewart Mills III, in talking about the Second Amendment, was quoted in the Dispatch as proclaiming: ‘It is an inalienable right given to us by God.'” Marsh then follows that up by saying “Nowhere in the Bible I read is there any mention of God addressing the topic of a right to gun ownership, and, the last time I checked, God did not write our Constitution or its amendments.”

First, Mills is right. The right to defend ourselves is as old as the Bible. The Declaration of Independence introduces the concept that our rights come from “Nature’s God”, not governments. It’s stunning that Marsh finds this concept radical. It’s been part of our nation’s foundation since 1776.
Then Marsh said this:

It’s sad to see someone so desperate for power that he will resort to fabricating his own “facts” in order to achieve it.

What’s sad is seeing how little Democrats know about the Constitution. Stewart Mills understands the Constitution. He isn’t making things up.

It’s also apparent that Marsh’s goal is to deflect attention away from Rick Nolan. Nolan wants this race to be about ‘Mills the One-Percenter’. Nolan doesn’t want this election to highlight Nolan’s time as a career politician. Nolan doesn’t want voters in the Eighth District to notice that he supports Resolution 54, the DFL’s anti-mining resolution, which I wrote about here:

Specifically, Resolution 54 says “Oppose sulfide ore mining, which is significantly different from taconite mining, poses unacceptable environmental risks, threatens multiple watersheds (Lake Superior, BWCA/VNP, Mississippi) and should not be allowed in the sulfur-bearing rock of Minnesota.”

Rick Nolan is a career politician who will say anything to stay in power. He isn’t about solving problems. He’ll say anything that will keep him in DC.

Technorati: Stewart Mills, Second Amendment, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Republicans, Rick Nolan, Resolution 54, Ken Martin, DFL, Election 2016

It’s amazing that the Duluth News Tribune, aka the DNT, endorsed Republican Rob Farnsworth to replace Carly Melin to represent the people of Nashwauk, Keewatin, Chisholm and Buhl in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

DNT’s endorsement wasn’t tepid, either, stating “he’s also the best bet for effective, strong leadership in St. Paul. Far from an ideologue, he’s an independent thinker with clear goals and specific priorities who’d work for all, not just a party.”

Farnsworth talked about the thing that Ken Martin, Rick Nolan and the DFL don’t want to talk about, saying “The DFL that most Iron Rangers are voting for hasn’t existed for 20 years. The DFL in the Twin Cities that has taken over the DFL in Minnesota, wants to end mining. At their convention and then again at their executive board meeting in the Twin Cities, they tried to pass an anti-mining resolution that I believe will be passed in November because they just pushed it down (the road). This is not a group that is in favor of mining.”

This is the strongest statement by the DNT Editorial Board in the endorsement article:

No matter what political affiliation, Farnsworth rises to the top of this three-way race with a stronger grasp of the issues facing Minnesotans and our Legislature and with his clearly stated and specific goals. They include improving the Iron Range and Minnesota economies by growing jobs; educational plans that make sense for all students; and transportation projects that benefit the greatest number of Minnesotans, meaning more bridge and highway work instead of massive light-rail projects in the Twin Cities that don’t even promise to take cars off the congested roads.

Farnsworth made a ton of sense when he said this:

“With the metro DFL attacking mining, attacking our way of life on the Iron Range, I’m not sure that my kids are going to be able to stay here and raise their family here if that’s what they want to do,” Farnsworth said. “That’s why I’m running for this seat.”

It’s time for the Range to reject the DFL. The metro DFL’s priorities aren’t the Range’s priorities.

Technorati: Rob Farnsworth, Duluth News Tribune, Endorsement, Mining, Iron Range, Transportation, MNGOP, Rick Nolan, Metrocrats, Environmental Activists, DFL, Election 2016

Late this afternoon, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government, thereby avoiding a government shutdown.

First, “lawmakers in the Senate passed the bill 72-26.” Next, the “House passed the bill 342-85 Wednesday night to keep the government funded through Dec. 9.” That allows Congress to get out of town to campaign.

According to the article, the “CR will keep the government funded through Dec. 9 at current funding levels. Besides the regular government funding, it would also provide $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus, but it’s offset by $400 million that would be taken away from programs Democrats view as crucial. In response to floods that ravaged Louisiana and other states recently, the legislation would also provide $500 million in supplemental funding.”

Now it’s off to the campaign trail for all of the House members and 34 senators. The next deadlines on their schedule are Nov. 8th, aka Election Day, and Dec. 9, which is when the CR expires.

I’ve always thought that Dan Wolgamott was overrated as a candidate. A visit to his campaign website, especially Wolgamott’s issues page, identifies him as a cookie-cutter DFL candidate. There’s nothing about him that makes people think that he’s leadership material. A quick perusal of Mr. Wolgamott’s About Me page paints the picture of a family guy, active in the community and who is active at church.

Wolgamott said that “Additionally, I am an active member of my church here in St. Cloud where I teach Sunday School!” He also highlighted the fact that he enjoys “working with local youth and helping them learn essential life values including teamwork and leadership.”

That’s the public/PR spin side of Mr. Wolgamott. To steal a phrase from Paul Harvey, here’s “the rest of the story” about Dan Wolgamott. Apparently, Mr. Wolgamott has another side to his personality that he’d rather keep hidden. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this instance, though, these screen captures are devastating politically:

With all due respect to Mr. Wolgamott, Sunday school teachers shouldn’t be talking on their Facebook pages about manginas. They shouldn’t be saying that their pizza party would “be more pleasurable than a night in the sack with Maas’s mom.”

That’s the type of language that only perverts use.

UPDATE: The night in the sack comment was made in 2010, not 2014. The mistake was unintentional. Nonetheless, it’s something that he shouldn’t have said. I’ve deleted the reference to 2014 from the post.

Technorati: Dan Wolgamott, Sunday School, Hypocrite, DFL, Election 2016

Much internet bandwidth has been used on who won Monday night’s presidential debate. Two of the best political thinkers think that Trump won. Pat Caddell, Jimmy Carter’s pollster, has some interesting statistics that indicate some interesting things that contradict conventional wisdom. In this article, Caddell notes that “48 percent said Clinton did a better job, compared to 43 percent, who said Trump did the better job” before noting “95 percent of the people we contacted told us they were not going to change their vote based on the debate.”

Caddell then noted that “Trump won on the most critical factor, on whether Clinton or Trump was more ‘plausible’ as president, 46 percent to her 42 percent,” saying that “that, for him, was what this debate was really about.” Dovetailing off of that is the fact that, according to Caddell, “forty-eight percent of respondents said in the debate Trump showed he would be a strong leader, compared with 44 percent for Clinton.”

That’s the statistical side of things. Newt Gingrich’s op-ed provides the analysis:

The Intellectual Yet Idiot class that dominates our news media fell all over themselves critiquing Trump and praising Holt and Clinton. In doing so, they repeated the mistake they have made about every debate since August 2015.

Trump wins strategically because in a blunt, clear style, he is saying things most Americans believe.

With 70% of the country thinking that we’re heading in the wrong direction, it’s a major victory for a candidate to win the people’s trust. That’s confirmed by Salena Zito’s reporting, which Gingrich cited here:

Salena Zito is one of the country’s most perceptive journalists, in part because she is grounded outside of Washington and New York. Her column about the debate, “How Trump Won Over a Bar of Undecideds and Democrats,” should be required reading for everyone who wants to understand why Trump strategically won the debate.

After that, Gingrich mocked the elitists:

Trump has a hard time with media elites because they earn a living by talking. The media values glibness. In their world you can speak nonsense if you do it smoothly and convincingly. Trump is a blunt, let’s-make-a-deal, let’s-get-the-building-built, let’s-sell-our-product businessman. The first debate showcased a blunt, plain spoken businessman and a polished professional politician.

In other words, the fight was word salad vs. leadership. Here’s how that worked out:

Time: Trump 55 Clinton 45
Fortune: Trump 53, Clinton 47
N.J.com (New Jersey): Trump 57.5, Clinton 37.78
CNBC: Trump 68, Clinton 32
WCPO Cincinnati: Trump 57, Clinton 37
Variety: Trump 58.12, Clinton 41.88
Slate: Trump 55.18, Clinton 44.82
WKRN Nashville: Trump 64.58, Clinton 35.42
Las Vegas Sun: Trump 82, Clinton 18
Fox5 San Diego: Trump 61.45, Clinton 33.69
San Diego Tribune: Trump 65, Clinton 35

Technorati: Polling, Pat Caddell, Presidential Debate, Hillary Clinton, Word Salad, Democrats, Media, Salena Zito, Battleground States, Pennsylvania, Undecided Voters, Donald Trump, Leadership, Republicans, Election 2016

This CBS report highlights the fact that Keith Lamont-Scott was a violent man. In fact, the report hints that the world is a better place without him. That isn’t a statement on whether Scott was carrying a gun when he was shot. It’s just a statement that he had a history of being a violent man.

The article opens with a statement that says “The black man killed by Charlotte police had a restraining order filed against him a year ago when he threatened to kill his wife and her son with a gun, according to court documents obtained Tuesday. Keith Scott’s wife filed the order on Oct. 5, saying that law enforcement officers who encounter him should be aware that he ‘carries a 9mm black’ gun.”

A man that’s threatened to murder his wife and son isn’t to be trusted.

Later in the article, it said “In the restraining order last fall, Rakeyia Scott sought to keep her husband away because ‘he hit my 8-year-old in the head a total of three times with his fist,’ she said in the restraining order document.” Still later in the report, it said this:

“He kicked me and threaten to kill us last night with his gun,” she said in the order filed in Gaston County, where the couple then lived. “He said he is a ‘killer’ and we should know that.”

Whenever the Democrats talk about African-Americans getting shot, the portray them as innocent victims who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Then they portray the officer as being a trigger-happy racist.

Consider this video of Hillary talking about the Lamont Scott shooting:

After unenthusiastically praising the police, Hillary went into the heart of her rant, saying “This much is certain. Too many people have lost their lives who shouldn’t have. Sabrina Fulton has become a friend of mine. Her son, Trayvon Martin, was killed not far from where we are today. Sabrina says that this is about saving our children and she’s absolutely right. We need to come together, work together, white, black, Latino, Asian, all of us, to turn the tide, stop the violence, build the trust.”

Mrs. Clinton just missed her Sister Soldjah moment. Time after time, the outrage over Ferguson, Baltimore and other places was built on fictions like ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’, only to have the myth demolished by verifiable forensic evidence.

This time, it’s likely that the black police officer who shot Keith Lamont Scott will be exonerated:

Homicide Unit Detectives interviewed multiple independent civilian witnesses at the scene and at police headquarters. Those witnesses confirmed that officers gave numerous loud verbal commands for Mr. Scott to drop the weapon and also confirmed that at no time did Mr. Scott comply with their commands.

A lab analysis conducted of the gun crime scene investigators recovered at the scene revealed the presence of Mr. Scott’s DNA and his fingerprints on the gun. It was also determined that the gun Mr. Scott possessed was loaded at the time of the encounter with the officers. The investigation also revealed that Mr. Scott was wearing an ankle holster at the time of the event.

Then there’s this:

It’s heartless for Democratic politicians to stoke racial tensions for political gain. What’s worse is those same Democratic politicians not speaking out against black-on-black violence.

Technorati: Keith Lamont-Scott, Trayvon Martin, Ferguson, Hands Up, Don’t Shoot, Freddie Gray, Baltimore, Police Officers, Hillary Clinton, Democrats, Election 2016

It’s time for the corruption at the ISD742 School Board to end. Recently, Board member Al Dahlgren called into Dan Ochsner’s Ox in the Afternoon program and told Ox’s listening audience that the School Board had already purchased the land where the proposed new Tech HS would sit. That’s interesting since that purchase isn’t mentioned in any of the School Board minutes. Considering the fact that the purchase of the land was a large expenditure, why wouldn’t that be noted as its own line item?

For instance, the minutes for the June 23 Board meeting mentions “The Administration recommends approval of the payment of bills and other financial transactions in the amount of $4,903,906.24 (Check Numbers 224405-224995 and ACH Numbers 151602548-151602828).” I don’t need to know that they approved the payment of that month’s electric bill but I certainly expect them to highlight special purchases, especially if they’re 6- or 7-figure purchases.

Why is the board hiding this purchase?

Similarly, the minutes for the May 19, 2016 School Board meeting says “The Administration recommends approval of the payment of bills and other financial transactions in the amount of $1,158,169.22 (Check Numbers 224117-224404 and ACH Numbers 151602359-151602547).” Again, there’s nothing to indicate a major purchase.

Thanks to the minutes, we know that “The Administration recommends approval of the Monthly Treasurer’s Report for April, 2016.” Unfortunately, the itemized “Monthly Treasurer’s Report for April, 2016” is nowhere to be found. This is public information. We have a right to know. If it’s posted on a different webpage, the link should be highlighted in the minutes.

The fact that the School Board didn’t tell us that they’d purchased the land highlights the fact that they aren’t into transparency. The fact that they routinely don’t include the details of their Monthly Treasurer’s Report re-emphasize the fact that they’re a secretive bunch. What other things aren’t they telling us about the Tech-Apollo proposed projects?

At this point, I’m not willing to vote to write the District a 9-figure blank check. That’s foolishness.

Technorati: School Board, ISD742, Bonding Referendum, Al Dahlgren, Transparency

According to the Agenda Media, Hillary Clinton mopped the proverbial floor with Donald Trump’s behind. The storyline connecting all of the stories is that she was well-prepared and that she was masterful at getting Trump to take the bait time after time.

That’s the traditional angle, though. It’s the conventional wisdom angle. According to this article, though, voters in swing states might have a different opinion. It’s telling that the article notices “Kae Roberts and Jay Eardly were leaning toward Hillary Clinton before Monday night’s debate. By the end, they had both pulled away. John Kokos and Hank Federal were undecided going in, potential Clinton backers. By the end, they’d ruled her out.”

Any night that voters say that they’re going to vote for you, it’s a good thing. It’s also good when voters rule out your opponent. That’s what appears to be happening in the post-debate aftermath. That isn’t to say that Trump turned in a masterful performance. He didn’t. He didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that Mrs. Clinton gave him often enough.

Democrats were switching allegiances in Pennsylvania, too:

Ken Reed sat down at the main bar of the Tin Lizzy tavern with two things in mind: to dig into the tavern’s oversize cheese steak, and watch the presidential debate. “I am hungry and undecided, in that order,” he said, digging into the savory dish in a bar that dates back to 1746.

Kady Letoksy, a paralegal by day, a waitress and bartender at night at the Tin Lizzy, sat beside him. At 28, she has never voted before, and she is now thinking it might be a good idea to start. Letosky entered the evening undecided in a town that is heavily Democratic in registration. Her sister and father are on opposite sides of the political aisle. Donald “Trump had the upper hand this evening,” she said, citing his command of the back-and-forth between him and Hillary Clinton.

Reed, 35, is a registered Democrat and small businessman. “By the end of the debate, Clinton never said a thing to persuade me that she had anything to offer me or my family or my community,” he said, sitting at the same bar that has boasted local icons as regulars, such as the late Fred Rogers, and Arnold Palmer, who had his own stash of PM Whiskey hidden behind newer bottles of whiskey for his regular visits. “Have to say Trump had the edge this evening, he came out swinging but also talked about specifics on jobs and the economy,” Reed said.

Trump’s goal for the debates is to help him win the election. As such, the debates are a tool to be used to help him win. Viewed in that light, Trump definitely benefited from last night’s debate. It isn’t as much a matter of winning or losing as much as it’s about whether you benefited from it.

Technorati: Donald Trump, Presidential Debates, Swing Voters, Battleground States, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tin Lizzy Tavern, Republicans, Hillary Clinton, Democrats, Election 2016

Thus far in this series, I’ve highlighted the fact that the ISD742 School Board hasn’t talked about St. Cloud’s high school enrollment forecasts for the short-, medium- and long-term. They didn’t tell voters that they’ve already purchased the land for a new Tech HS. That wasn’t announced on the District’s website. It was announced this past week on Dan Ochsner’s radio program when a current school board member called into Ox’s show and blurted that information out.

Last year, voters found out in the newspaper that there wasn’t a finalized set of blueprints for people to look at because, according to Barclay Carriar, “with the cost of designing a building, 80 percent of it isn’t going to be designed until after the referendum. And the plans we’ve got now are still tentative.”

Last year, taxpayers didn’t know that the plans were “still tentative.” This year, we didn’t know that the District had already purchased the land where the new Tech HS is supposed to be built at. The next logical question that taxpayers should demand answers to is what other information the School Board hasn’t disclosed. At this point, taxpayers don’t know where the money came from to pay for the Tech HS land. That’s certainly something that we should know. Did the District have enough money tucked away to pay for the land? At this point, taxpayers don’t know.

The thing that taxpayers know, though, is that they aren’t writing any blank checks this year. This isn’t the time when people are trusting politicians. The School Board is asking taxpayers to approve the biggest property tax increase in St. Cloud history without telling taxpayers that they’ve already bought the land for the new high school. That’s terrible because the taxpayers haven’t approved the bonds yet. That tells taxpayers that the School Board is taking them for granted.

Just because the School Board is a rubberstamp doesn’t mean that taxpayers are a rubberstamp. Taxpayers don’t want a canned presentation. They want input from start to finish. That’s something that the School Board isn’t willing to relinquish.

In my estimation, the ISD742 School Board has transitioned from being public servants to being arrogant taskmasters. That’s why the bonding referendum must be defeated. That’s why we need new School Board members elected ASAP.

Technorati: Bonding Referendum, ISD742, School Board, Tech High School, Property Taxes, Election 2016