MEDIA ALERT : Michele Bachmann is RIGHT !

Fresh from her Iraq / Pakistan fact-finding Congressional trip, MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports “Bachmann also wants the news media to do a better job reporting on what she views as the larger war on terror. "For instance, the day after I left Baghdad, 26 people were killed in one suicide bombing, 130 in another, " Bachmann said.
Congresswoman Bachmann is right … the media has ignored the Global War on Terror™.

Iraq gets minimal attention.
Take Bill O’Reilly who on discussed Fox News coverage of Iraq by stating on his June 12th radio program: Did you report every fire fight? No. The reason that CNN and MSNBC put it on is because they want to give the impression that the war is a loser and Bush is an idiot. That may be true. The war is a loser and Bush may be an idiot. Okay, that’s for you to decide. But that’s why they’re doing it. They’re not doing it to inform anybody about anything. The terrorists are going to set off a bomb every day because they know CNN and MSNBC are going to put it on the air. That’s a strategy for the other side. The terrorist side. So I’m taking an argument that CNN and MSNBC are actually helping the terrorists by reporting useless explosions. Do you care if another bomb went off in Tikrit? Does it mean anything? No! It doesn’t mean anything.
In my opinion, Fox avoids Iraq news. Listen to their radio news feeds and Iraq barely gets mentioned as the top news story … and their TV is quite adept at celebrity news, weather news, natural disasters … but not Iraq. Just check their website and see where Iraq is mentioned.

So what do they miss? Let's just look at world news.

An Al-Qaeda-aligned rebel group previously known as the Salafist Group for Dawa (Call) and Combat has claimed responsibility for a triple suicide bombing in Algiers on April 11 that killed 33 people and injured 222 others while just today another attack occurred in the same country killed eight (plus the suicide bomber) and injured 30.
Also, today eight people were killed Wednesday as a market in the Somali capital came under grenade attack for the third consecutive day ahead of a weekend peace conference. Five civilians were killed in similar attacks on the sprawling market on Monday and Tuesday which are blamed on Islamist insurgents.
While on the Basilan Island in the Philippines, Islamic militants killed 14 Philippine marines searching for a kidnapped Italian priest during a major gunbattle, and later beheaded 10 of them, the military said Wednesday. Another nine were injured in the gunbattle with about 300 militants near Tipo-Tipo town on Tuesday. The Abu Sayyaf is an Al Qaeda-linked group of self-styled Islamic fighters blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks and many kidnappings however on an Internet posting a rival Islamic rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, claimed credit .
And last week the violence in southern Thailand continued. In all 32 people and three militants were killed, and 94 were wounded. In the week, there were 23 IEDs detonated and three defused.

The media did give lip service to the militant cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and the Red Mosque situation in Islamabad which was resolved after two days of fighting which resulted in at least 50 people inside and 10 Pakistani soldiers dying after commandos stormed the complex.

The UK terror plot investigations did get a lot of play by Fox. But is that due to the fact that Fox News has reporters in London already? Also, since London attack was averted, it could be construed as a “success” in the Global War on Terror™; thus a story that some would want to promote. But the real question that needs to be asked, were these attacks really authorized by al Qaeda, or just to work of a group of angry people?

As the examples above indicate, it is a mistake to think that al Qaeda is only in Iraq. Even if Iraq was free of al Qaeda, al Qaeda is active all over the globe. That silly catchphrase that “we’re fight’ng in Iraq, so we don’t have to fight them here” is just plain wrong.

So Media, please heed Congresswoman Bachmann’s plea … it is a Global War.

And not only do we need to know about what is going on, so does Congresswoman Bachmann.
The St. Cloud Times reported : The delegation's visit was harrowing at times. While visiting with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker at the U.S. Embassy inside Baghdad's walled, high-security Green Zone on Friday, mortar blasts landed inside the American-controlled territory. "This recorded message played four times while we were there, asking us to move away from any windows, to get on the ground and move to the center of the building," Bachmann said.
[SNIP]
Security conditions in Iraq prevented Bachmann from meeting any Iraqis, leaving the Green Zone or staying in Iraq overnight. She and other congressional members were required to wear full body armor, including Kevlar helmets, during the entire trip

This reporting makes it sound as if Bachmann had no idea of the conditions in the Green Zone, much less the rest of the country. According to a U.N. report, in March there were 17 mortar and rocket attacks in to the Green Zone which grew to about 39 attacks in May. The U.S. Embassy advised its personnel on March 28 that body armor and helmets were required for all "outdoor activities" within the embassy's grounds. A May 3 directive told Green Zone residents to "remain within a hardened structure to the maximum extent possible and strictly avoid congregating outdoors." A May 19 notice went further, saying that "congregating outdoors is strictly prohibited until further notice," and ordered the closing of "the palace pool area" because of "the threat of indirect fire" -- the term used for rockets and mortars.
And on Tuesday, an intense mortar attack on the Green Zone killed 3 people and wounded 18. Buried deep in the story : Tuesday's attack came the same day gunmen kidnapped Iraqi Police Col. Mahmoud Muhyi Hussein, who directs security inside the Green Zone, as he was driving in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Jadriya.
COMMENT : If the person responsible for security can be kidnapped, there is no security.

Conclusion : Congresswoman Bachmann has a lot to learn ... although the media needs to do thier job, the Congresswoman needs to read what is already being reported. Heck, if I can read the papers, why can't she ?

Pawlenty dreams but Minnesotans fear nightmares

Last week, Governor Tim Pawlenty was in the southern Minnesota town of Janesville to participate in “cornbreaking event to mark the beginning of construction on the state’s largest ethanol plant. The plant, being built by US BioEnergy is a half-mile east of the town, will turn area corn into 100 million gallons of ethanol annually, as well as producing 320,000 tons of distillers grains. It will employ 40 people.

Somehow as I read The Free Press story, my mind wandered to the book Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella which many of you may know due to the Kevin Costner's film, Field of Dreams.
The tagline "If you build it, he will come" haunts the main character, Ray Kinsella -- an Iowa farmer who visualizes a ball field in the middle of his field of corn. Digging up his corn to build a ballpark will inspire the return of baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson, a man whose reputation was forever tarnished by the scandalous 1919 World Series.
A review of the book relates that baseball is a metaphor, a way to talk about things like innocence, belief and, perhaps above all, America. Shoeless Joe is a parable about one of the most fundamental of American ideals, beginning anew. Ray Kinsella, by plowing up a large section of his farmland, is both building and rebuilding, creating what had never been there and re-creating what had come before. The land was once a place where the sins of the old could be expunged and a new vision realized, and this kind of renewal is what Kinsella's quixotic creation brings about.

So now we come to Minnesota’s Governor … a natural-born cheerleader for business. Optimism is his mantra … not realism. Naturally, every Governor would be happy with a new business that will create jobs … and jobs that cannot be ever outsourced overseas. The news that there may be an oversupply in ethanol production this year was quickly dismissed. The Associated Press reported “Lehman Brothers analysts estimated the surplus at about 1 million gallons per day starting in the second half of 2007. The firm's report attributed part of that to the ethanol plant construction boom, but said transportation bottlenecks are a bigger problem."
Now the Governor may be able to claim that Minnesota will be a top producer … but what about the transporation issues?
"If you build it, they will come."
As Leigh Pomeroy reported on Minnesota Monitor “county and township roads aren't built to handle the heavy truck traffic going to and from ethanol and biodiesel plants."
Once again, we are back to the Governor’s failure to invest in roads. So those of us in southern Minnesota who have complained of Highway 14 for decades, and now finally have a least a good stretch of road in the Janesville area, will see that road deteriorate faster as well as the county roads that feed into Hwy14.

But the Governor loves ethanol and all its federal grants that are available and tax subsidies.
Did you know that Minnesota leads the country in USDA grants received ? The Free Press reported : “ The state has received $18 million in Rural Development Renewable Energy Grants since the program started in 2003. A total of $4 million was issued to Minnesota farmers and small businesses last year alone. "
Pawlenty’s JOBZ program had previously announced that US BioEnergy would recieve a $4.5 million loan and up to $1.2 million in property-tax rebates from Waseca County.
In the fiscal year ending June 30,2006, Minnesota sent $18.1 million to 13 of the state's 16 ethanol plants link plus federal tax credits and local inducements.
When the Governor was challenged on MPR concerning the need to continue tax subsidies for ethanol production, Pawlenty responded that we had to adhere to our commitments. What about the commitments that were made for LGA, gutting the state’s health insurance program, or cutting education funding that have happened during his tenure ? Are those programs subject to adjustment since they are expenditures, but we can never go back on our word to subsidize a start-up industry that is now profitable !

And back to Pawlenty’s personal “Field of Dreams”, there is a scene in the movie, where Ray Kinsella and his father discuss Heaven on Earth :
John Kinsella: Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella: It's Iowa.
John Kinsella: Iowa? I could have sworn this was heaven.
[John starts to walk away]
Ray Kinsella: Is there a heaven?
John Kinsella: Oh yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.
[Ray looks around, seeing his wife playing with their daughter on the porch]
Ray Kinsella: Maybe this is heaven.

Except when Pawlenty is campaigning for John McCain in Iowa, I bet he thinks Heaven is Minnesota --where subsidies are in the present (which make dreams come true) but consequences are in the future. Taxpayers and motorists will have nightmares.

It’s great to create “a new vision” of a revitalized rural Minnesota, but let’s not focus only on the opportunities without realizing that there are ongoing expenditures that need to be provided.

Remember fellow taxpayer, every dollar that is given as a tax subsidy is a revenue dollar that will have to be paid by us.

KAA – Another Unneccessary Death that demands Congressional Action

KIA, short for Killed In Action, is used to indicate an individual who is killed during a military operation.
KIA happens due to the enemies action.

KAA is short for Killed After Action.
KAA may be due to our inaction and inattention to the emotional state of our returning soldiers.

Brian Skold enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard on Dec. 30, 1998.
Skold served with the 1st Battalion, 151st Field Artillery based in Montevideo Minnesota and was deployed in Baghdad from late 2004 through 2005.
The 151st lost three men in combat in Iraq.
Skold died on May 27th after a standoff with police.
Members of his family told authorities that he may have been suicidal.

"I don't think the president and the government are doing their job with these young men and women who are coming back from the war zones and trying to turn their lives back to a regular world again," said Don Pappenfus, a Vietnam-era veteran and a Sauk Rapids City Council member, "Something's bothering them, and the screening isn't there."

"I don't know enough about his situation, but it doesn't surprise me that we're seeing more incidents like this," said James Schulze of rural Stewart, Minn., whose son Jonathan, a 25-year-old Marine veteran, committed suicide in January.

Read the complete StarTribune story

As an editorial in the Austin Daily Herald commented :
“107 suicides during Iraq operations have been recorded - and that doesn't include suicides by troops after they have returned home. That is a shocking number. Something needs to be done.”

The U.S. Army Medical Command Mental Health Advisory Team III released a report that included a number of key findings including :
-- The top non-combat stressors were deployment length and family separation.
-- Soldiers serving a repeat deployment reported higher acute stress than initial deployers.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) reports : At least one in three Iraq veterans and one in nine Afghanistan veterans are facing a serious mental health problem, from depression to anxiety to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These veterans face serious family and employment problems. Divorce, drug abuse and suicide rates are up.

Earlier this month, Democrat James Moran of Virginia introduced H.R. 2219 : "To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award a grant to a private, nonprofit entity to establish, publicize, and operate a national toll-free suicide prevention telephone hotline targeted to and staffed by veterans of the Armed Forces." Minnesota Congressman Jim Ramstad is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 2219 ... Veterans care might be one of the few issues that can – and should - get bi-partisan support.

There is no reason that every Minnesota Congressperson does not become a co-sponsor of this bill. Please contact your representative today.

Minnesota State Tax Proposal : The Bill Cooper Legacy Tax

“ Anybody has a right to evade taxes if he can get away with it. No citizen has a moral obligation to assist in maintaining the government. If Congress insists on making stupid mistakes and passing foolish tax laws, millionaires should not be condemned if they take advantage of them. -- J. Pierpont Morgan

In the spirit of J. Peirpont Morgan, I propose The Bill Cooper Legacy Tax as a lasting tribute to the man who fought Minnesota tax policy.
For those of you who do know the name Bill Cooper, it’s probably because you are not a Republican millionaire who views taxes as evil and excessive.
Bill Cooper has thrown in the towel and left our state ….
But with our money.
Legally, I might add … because the State Legislature wrote the laws.
"I reject feeding this dysfunctional [Minnesota government] beast," said Cooper, who made millions in cash compensation and is worth more than $100 million in TCF stock, admitted that Minnesota also proved a decent place for him to eke out a living.

It’s time to correct that stupid mistake and correct a foolish tax loophole.

Many Minnesotans participate in deferred retirement programs … i.e. 401k. The Federal Government wants us to save for our retirement (hint : don’t count on Social Security). As a general rule of thumb, the maximum amount the IRS allows a person to defer to a 401k plan is $15,500 and may go as high as $20,500 -- although many company programs may have lower thresholds. Although many of us do participate in such programs, our income limitations may not allow us to max out. So what we have here is an example of a good program that provides unequal benefits … but that is the way it goes.
Financial planners recommend deferring income recognition with the assumption that your income will be less -- as well as your overall tax rate -- during your retirement years.
To the Federal Government, they are willing to permit this, since eventually you will be paying a tax.

Now, here comes the Minnesota problem.
Minnesota mirrors the Federal Government deferral … but Minnesota is not guaranteed that you will be a taxpayer during your retirement years. Bill Cooper is no dummy and he is not alone. Some people permanently move out of state, while others maintain multiple residencies … but only one for tax purposes. Minnesota relies on a variety of taxes while other states such as Florida do not have a State Income Tax. Regardless if they are permanently gone or just “snow-birds”, Minnesota is being “legally” manipulated by the current tax law. And as a result, the tax burden is shifted to the current residents and depriving the government of revenue needed for the common good.

For someone in Cooper’s income bracket this can be a nice little windfall … as 401k plans have been around since 1978 … easily over $100,000 of deferred income ... that every year has been excluded by Minnesota and who now will never get any tax dollars. In fairness to Bill Cooper, this is a tax loophole that should have been corrected earlier ... in fact, I approached my former State Senator about this but he told me that he was retiring to Arizona so he could not help me. But every good legislation needs a snappy title ... so let's pay homage to the former head of the Republican Party in Minnesota and name it after Bill Cooper --- it will be a legacy that we'll all remember.

Here is the simple solution, when completing the M1 Minnesota Individual Income Tax form, simply include the income on line 3 of the form. Yes, that income will be considered in your reported income, but that’s fair for all of us. And since the tax was paid on the income already, your withdrawal would be tax-free.

And for the politicians that have taken a No Tax Pledge, this should not be a problem since this is not a new tax, nor an increase in tax rate … it is only a change in when it will collected (Remember when Property Taxes were due in November then got moved up fifteen days?).

Cooper complains of taxes but the problem is not taxes … the problem is the tax law writers. The problem with taxes is because of subsidies, credits and loopholes --- fairness is missing.

“The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue. -- Lord Denning

Michele Bachmann for Vice-President !

After wining the First Quarter Republican Campaign Coffer Primary, Mitt Romney joined the other announced candidates for a “debate” at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during which he read all the cue cards exactly as puppetmaster Vin Weber wrote them. The general consensus of the pundits is that Romney did a credible job making him a viable competitor to McCain with Giuliani faltering.

As Stephen Colbert lamented... “Come on, media, it’s your job to preemptively anoint someone so we all know who to give our money”, so let’s save the time for any more of these “debates” and award Romney the nomination.

I know that might seem hard for some to accept … after all in 2000 the message was that America needed a MBA in the White House (Romney was a classmate of GWB at Harvard’s Business School) and in 2004 the message was that you cannot vote for a Flip-Flopper from Massachusetts … but that was then, and this is now. The people who packaged Bush have a new and improved 2008 version … a State Governor with no foreign relations or Congressional experience is what the country needs … (this time, they’re sure they got the right guy… just trust ‘em.)

So what is the first order of business for President-to-be Romney --- selecting his Vice President.

In modern politics, the VP is someone who strengthens the ticket from a regional, religious, experience, and even once a gender difference.
So looking at Romney, what areas does he have to concern himself ?
His current State of residence is Massachusetts (and that is about as Blue as you can get on the Electoral College map) and his strongest backers are in Utah ( and that is about as Red as you can be). So, he need someone from a state that is an Electoral College toss-up. In the past two elections, Florida (27 Electoral Votes) and Ohio ( 20) were the key states. This year, it might not be two big states, but instead a combination of smaller states … toss-up states such as those interconnected in the middle of the country – Minnesota (10), Iowa (7), Wisconsin (10) and Missouri (11).
As has been pointed out, Romney is a Morman, so someone with the strong appeal from the evangelical movement would be a plus.
For experience, Romney’s only elected office was as a one-term Governor. So someone with experience in Washington would be beneficial.

So, the field is relatively small.
Jim DeMint, Senator from South Carolina and a strong backer of Romney would be a choice, but South Carolina’s 8 votes are most likely in the Republican column anyway. And with the Senate having 1/3 of its members up for election, there are a number of potential candidates (i.e. Norm Coleman) would have to weigh giving up their Senate seat for the possible VP slot. Also, the Senate is split so close between Republicans and Democrats that the Party may not want a sitting Senator to abdicate.
Choosing a sitting Governor may not help although Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty and Missouri’s Matt Blount are Republicans.
So, he might have to pick someone from the House of Representatives.

Now, with 201 Representatives to choose, he might have to find someone that fits his ideological beliefs.

To learn Romney's ideological beliefs, I note that he delivered Saturday’s graduation speech at Regent University, the school founded by televangelist Pat Robertson. During the address, he criticized people who choose not to get married because they enjoy the single life.

OK, so don’t allow me to stray into a tangent that some people may never get asked to get married; or may have a spouse killed in the Iraq conflict … simply stated, I guess being single is a problem for Romney. I suppose that I should not be surprised considering his family’s polygamy background including a great-grandfather who had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12. But wait a second, this couldn’t be Romney codeword equating “the single life” with those of alternative lifestyles.

So obviously, he needs someone with strong family values that will join him to lead America in a moral crusade to the promise land. Maybe someone that the alumni of Regent University would support (Marcus Bachmann earned a master's degree in counseling from Regent University).
That’s right, it may be time for Michele Bachman to bring Minnesota’s ten electoral votes to the Romney-Bachmann ticket.
What a perfect solution ... from a toss-up state, deeply religious, from Congress, and a woman ... what more could the Romney want?
That’s right only a heartbeat away from the presidency … Michele Bachmann.

Baghdad or New Orleans – Is there a difference to Bush ?

When George Bush speaks, for too often, I end up shaking my head, but his comment explaining the situation in Iraq still has my head spinning.
“Either we'll succeed, or we won't succeed. And the definition of success as I described is sectarian violence down. Success is not, no violence. There are parts of our own country that have got a certain level of violence to it. But success is a level of violence where the people feel comfortable about living their daily lives. And that's what we're trying to achieve."

Was he talking about Philadelphia which as through the first 114 days of 2007, have experienced the murders of 128 people. Since 2002 the murder rate has climbed steadily, from just under 300 to more than 400 last year. Half of the killings remain unsolved. The murder rate in Philadelphia right now is higher than New York City, higher than Los Angeles, higher than Chicago. Philadelphia's poverty rate is the highest of any major U.S. city and Philadelphia is overwhelmed with illegal weapons.

Or maybe Bush was referring to New Orleans which according to the FBI, in 2004, the last full year before Hurricane Katrina, there were 56 murders for every 100,000 people. Time Magazine speculates that "residents will not return. If they don't return, bringing money, momentum and stability with them, crime will continue to increase."

The displacement from Hurricane Katrina caused an increase in Houston’s murder rate.

Or maybe Bush was thinking of the violent crime in Minneapolis which has increased in every year since 2001 and now has businesses demanding more increased police patrols.

But that may be unfair, just to pick on large cities. The most recent FBI examination of violent crime data for the population groups showed that cities with populations from 100,000 to 249,999 had the greatest increase in the number of murders, up 12.5 percent. Cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants experienced the greatest increases in both robbery, 9.9 percent, and aggravated assault, 8.5 percent.

If this rant sounds like a KFAN audio clip “All the negativity in this town sucks!”, it should be.

Atul Gawande has a OpEd piece in the NYTimes entitled “The Power of Negative Thinking.
“We Americans believe instinctively in the power of positive thinking. Whether one is fighting a cancer, an insurgency or just an unyielding problem at work, the prevailing wisdom is that thinking positive is the key — The Secret, even — to success. But the key, it seems to me, is actually negative thinking: looking for, and sometimes expecting, failure. [snip] Negative thinking is unquestionably painful. It involves finding and exposing your inadequacies, which can be overwhelming. ”

And that’s Bush’s problem.
He’s not thinking about the negatives … he’s talking positive and regardless of reality.
Addressing negatives can create postive results.

Let’s ignore Iraq for a moment and evaluate George Bush’s presidency based on crime, poverty, illegal drugs, illegal immigration, economic opprotunity, police levels, etc.

Why does the President have a mentality that accepts a “certain level of violence” in any community ?
Shouldn’t the challenge for Bush to make every community feel as safe as Crawford or Kennebunkport ?

Norm Coleman – 21st Century Franken Pioneer

The ultimate incumbent’s freebie is the Franking Privilege which allows members of Congress to use government funds to pay for mailings to constituents. Now, I have no problem when my representative uses the Franking Privilege to reply to a question that I have asked … and it is somewhat infromative when a representative sends out a mass mailing summarizing for his constituents the highlights of the a completed session. But, I was offended when Gil Gutknecht used his Franking Privilege to mail to rural voters a glossy brochure on his 10/10 Ethanol legislation … that was target marketing to pander to rural voters for the upcoming election.

As voters realize the pandering, the politicians need to find other ways to expend our tax dollars to let us know what they are doing for us. One new method that is being used is "video news releases" (VNR). The use of VNRs is not without controversy, as the General Accountability Office concluded that the Bush administration had illegally spent taxpayer money from the Medicare Trust Fund.

While the Bush Administration may have paid columnists to write about their programs and used VNRs to peddle the Medicare Part-D program, Norm Coleman may have found the equivalent of the 21st Century Franking Privilege.

Twin Cities media will tell you that Norm Coleman is a press release machine. Unfortunately, the print media will generally want to ask a few questions and edit accordingly. But the television media may be easier to manipulate.

Case in point … KEYC in Mankato has run two VNRs highlighting Coleman in committee functions.
To KEYC, it may seem to be “reporting the news” as all they have to do is follow the tag line and run the footage.
To the viewer, he doesn’t realize that he is being feed a line.

The most recent example was after the Agriculture Committee Hearing on April 24th. Coleman issued a press release .

But somehow, KEYC ran a nice clip of Coleman talking about “the need for dairy groups to work together to strengthen the safety-net for America’s dairy industry”.
Was this news?
Well, to evaluate it, I waited to see what the print media said about the hearing. Star-Tribune, Pioneer Press, Washington Post and New York Times did not deem this hearing to be newsworthy … not one inch of column space ! But maybe KEYC deemed that it was newsworthy since the subject may have interest to its rural viewers … but how come there was no footage of Senator Klobuchar who also sits on the Agriculture Committee?

The other example was on March 6th when KEYC ran another clip presenting Coleman’s Agriculture Committee “face time” discussing school lunches.

Com’n KEYC, you’re being manipulated …. Or is there a bias For Republicans?
See my previous blog commentary for previous examples of KEYC and its favorable presentation of Republicans.

Com’n Norm, your wasting taxpayers monies.
This is not CSPAN where a committee hearing will show all the discussion … from all the elected representatives.
This is pure Norm face time.
This is wrong.
It doesn’t matter if it is being done by a Republican or a Democrat, it is wrong.
Someone has to edit the copy just for your face time and your comment and then distribute it to the media.
You may call it, keeping the public informed … I call it propaganda … and pure campaigning.
When I see this type of media manipulation (or co-operation), even "Fair and Balanced" news reporting doesn't seem so slanted.