Derek Boogaard

There isn’t, as far I know anyway, any site on the internet that explains just why there are fights and goons in the National Hockey League. Have you wondered exactly why pro-hockey tolerates this kind of behavior when other professional sports have eliminated it?  

Well, I will attempt to explain the existence of the hockey enforcer. Let’s do this in a conversational tone; I want you to ask me a question and then I will give you the best answer that I am capable of giving.  

—  

So go ahead…  

You: OK, so explain to me just why there are so many fights in hockey.

Me: Fighting results from the nature of the game. Hockey is a game that you play in a small area, you get to move around faster than you are able to run, you get to hit people and you get to carry a stick. And even more importantly, the game rarely stops. How could a fight be avoided given all of that?  

–  

You: Well, football is a tough physical sport, and they don’t fight frequently. Why??

Me: This has to do with the referee’s whistle. Football players play hard for 10-15 seconds then the referee blows the whistle and stops the play. The angry players they will have trouble retaliating and not getting caught.  

In hockey, stoppage of play is the exception not the rule and there is plenty of time for tit-for-tat retaliation to explode into a fight. The hockey enforcer’s roll is take care of the retaliation. That way you won’t have to waste a good player in the penalty box.  

—  

You: What exactly does a goon do?

Georges Laraque

Me: The major role of the goon is to protect the better players on the team. Hockey is a very fast game with players making contact with each other all over the ice. This creates the possibility of an injury causing cheap-shot that the referees don’t catch. If your team has a tough enforcer on the bench then the other team’s players will think twice before taking a cheap-shot at one of your better players.  

A goon also also attempts to physically intimidate the other team’s skaters which causes them to play more tentatively. They also rally their own team by demonstrating that they won’t physically back down to their opponents.  

–  

You: Have there always been goons in hockey?

Me: Well, there has always been fighting in pro-hockey, and there has been pro hockey in one form or another for around 100 years. Earlier teams couldn’t afford to have one skater assigned to only protection but they might have had a tougher skater who essentially performed the goon’s roll. Examples of players like this would be:  

• John Mariucci; of the 1940’s, who at 5’10” and 200# was one of the larger players of his day.
• Lou Fontinato; of the 1950’s, who was a tough defenseman. His play on defense encouraged other teams to find their own enforcers.

–  

You: Why would a tough defenseman encourage other teams to add enforcers to their team?

Me: I’m glad you asked that. Here’s how physical intimidation works in hockey.  

When you put together your hockey team you will tend to have the smaller quicker players on offense and the bigger and stronger players on defense. Yes this is an over-generalization, but this is the tendency.  

When the quick forwards skate down the ice, the stronger defensemen (Canadians always seem to misspell this word) will try to check them in order to slow them down. The defensemen will then realize that the more physically intimidating they are, the more tentative the forwards will play.  

If defensemen really nail the forwards, then they will not only physically intimidate them but they might knock them out of the game for a while. If this style of play were to go unchecked (get it?), then many of the forwards will get injured. So if you are smart, you will go out and get a really tough skater to be out there with your smaller but talented forwards. This tough guy might not be the best athlete on the team, but his very presence will make those smaller forwards more confident and more effective.  

–  

You: That’s an extreme over-generalization and isn’t true in “blah blah blah” situations.  

Me: Yes, I’ve already said that it is an over-generalization. But not every reader has your knowledge of the sport so lighten up.  

–  

You: How has the roll of the enforcer evolved?

Me: Well; like I said, early teams didn’t have a skater assigned to only that roll.  

Also, in the 1970’s, the NHL created a “third man in” rule in which an automatic ejection was given to anyone who joins a fight in progress. This rule slowed down the number of bench clearing brawls.  

– 

Raitis Ivanans

You: Will the NHL ever eliminate fighting?

Me: I doubt that that fighting will ever be eliminated. There have long been calls for elimination of hockey fights. But no one can be sure whether the elimination of fighting will increase or decrease the overall number of injuries to the skaters.  

My guess is that the elimination of the goon would actually increase injuries for the reasons listed above.  

There are college leagues and European leagues with little fighting. But the fans of the NHL like to watch hard physical contact. And that kind of contact will either result in fights or more injuries; at least in my opinion… take your pick. 

–

Listen to the “Gentlemanly” Exchange at the 49 second mark of the Ivanans – Laraque fight in the video below;

Why Hockey has Goons is a post from: Backbench Media

It seems to me that we humans want to assign blame when a disaster like this one occurs. Most of us want to point to a simple answer to the problem; or to one person or institution who should shoulder the blame. Maybe we find security in doing do. It probably makes the world around us seem less unexplainable and less uncomfortable.

But unfortunately the world is a dangerous place and the best strategy is to face it, and all of its complexities head on.

The gulf oil spill report

President Obama formed a commission to investigate British Petroleum’s roll in the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, the deaths of 11 people and the resulting oil spill.

The presidential commission investigating the accident recently announced its findings and made the important point that the oil spill could not be blamed on BP and its attempts to save money by skimping on safety.

 Fred Bartlit, who is chief counsel for the presidential commission that investigated BP said; “To date, we have not found a single instance where human beings made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,”

There was pressure on the employees to get things done quickly and move on. But this is understandable considering the expenses involved.

–

Difficulties in oil drilling

Think about the engineering problems that you would need to solve if you wanted to drill oil in deep water.

• First of all, you need to find the oil under the ocean bottom.
• Then you need to tow your oil rig hover deep into the ocean and make it over one spot. You can’t attach it to the ground since you are a mile above the ocean floor.
• Now you need to send down a shaft for the drill that is a mile long
• After that, you start drilling and the oil that you are looking for might be 3 or 4 miles underneath the ocean floor.

You are doing all this while fighting wind and storms on the surface and ocean currents moving in different directions at different depths. And don’t forget about the extreme pressures involved.

Now imagine the difficulty involved in plugging an underwater gusher with damaged and coiled metal from the shaft being pushed around by ocean currents. While at the same time, you need to  use many of your resources to do triage on your public relations and attempt to minimize your legal exposure.

And imagine having to work with a federal government whose main contribution to the whole situation is to just get in the way. The federal government’s major activities were to threaten legal action and to manipulate reports written by scientists about deep water drilling.

–

I’m just glad that there are people willing to take on those problems.

–

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon

No one is sure of the exact reason why the explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, but here is the most probable situation according to an internal investigation team selected by BP.

One important idea that you have to remember is that accidents like this one never have just one cause; there is always a whole chain of events that go wrong in order for the disaster to occur.

The simplified a list below which came from ; Synopsis of BP’s Deepwater Horizon Accident Investigation Report.

Here is the accident chain:

1. Bad Cement— The crew was going to temporarily abandon the well in order to build a construction facility. They poured cement down the casing but the slurry mixture that they used might not have been right for the extreme pressures in the drill shaft.

2. Damaged barrier in the drill shaft— Deep in the shaft there is something called a float collar which is located between the drill and the shaft and functions as a barrier to gasses. This might have been damaged.

3. The well team didn’t properly pressure test the well.

4. The increase in the amount of combustible hydrocarbons coming up the drill shaft wasn’t noticed in time.

mud gas separator

5. Mud gushered uncontrollably out of the drill shaft onto the rig. This mud was saturated with combustible hydrocarbons. The crew was unable to prevent the blowout by closing a valve, so they connected the pipe to a mud gas separator. This mud gas separator was quickly overwhelmed.

6. There might have been a design issue with the mud gas separator. Hydrocarbons might have been vented onto the rig and possibly into confined spaces on the deck.

7. The fire and gas control system did not prevent ignition.

8. The explosion may have damaged the emergency disconnect sequence.

Finding fault with British Petroleum is a post from: Backbench Media

If you have been directly involved in doing this, then you have probably found that working with the government can be a chore. The government side of the contribution has so many strings attached that it slows down the whole process and can add needless cost into the program.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy has a magazine for its Alumni called the Kings Pointer. Charles Hill, the chairman the Alumni Foundation mentioned some excellent advice that he received from the West Point Association of Graduates (AOG).

The AOG avoided being bogged down by government regulations by taking over the planning and implementation of some building projects at their school. So instead of simply donating money to West Point, they planned the project and donated the buildings instead.

This seems like a great way to give money more efficiently. The AOG says that they saved up to 40% on their projects.

Donating Money to Public Institutions is a post from: Backbench Media

I checked recent news articles about each race and added the most current published vote differences to the list.

This information is accurate as of November 10^th.

Midterm Elections 4; Undecided Races is a post from: Backbench Media

California has an enormous budget deficit on their hands. They have an unsustainable pension plan that covers their gigantic number of state workers along with many local government employees.

Their budget deficit is $24 billion according to the L.A. Times. And even worse; if they completely slashed all of their one time spending, they would still be $12 billion in the hole.

Californians will soon come to the Federal government looking for a bailout.

But will they get any help there?

Well, the Democrats tend to be pro-bailout so they might willing to helping California. But the Republicans and the majority of Americans will be against it. And since bills start in the House of Representatives will California be able to convince House Republicans?

Just how much political influence will California have?

If California had a strong number of influential Republican politicians at the national level they might have been able to negotiate with other Republican House members.

Also, a Senator Fiorina or a Governor Whitman would have wanted to (and would have been forced to) plead for federal government help. But now there is no California Republican who has the national standing to do this negotiation.

Let’s go down the list:

Prominent California Republicans

• Governors—0
• Senators—0
• Representatives—19 out of their 53 districts

Good luck California…

Now it’s your turn. You can fix California’s budget problems yourself!

Just go to the LA Times website and use their “Deficit Meter”. You will see the size of California’s problem.

Midterm Elections 3; Be Careful of what you Wish For California is a post from: Backbench Media

In 2010, there were 37 Senate seats contested; 18 of those seats were held by Republicans and 19 were held by Democrats. So, things should theoretically have been easy.

However in 2012– Democrats will have to defend 23 seats, including the 2 independents; while Republicans only have to defend 10 Senate seats.

2012 Senate Elections

Vulnerable Senators

The list of the vulnerable seats is my own and is based upon a couple of things such as; the political views of the Senator versus his or her States’ voting history, possible political scandal (Ensign) or possible retirement (Kohl).

Also; Jim Webb whom I consider a high quality, conservative Democrat might get frustrated with the Democratic platform and do something about it.

And Joe Manchin who ran away from much of the Democratic platform in his 2010 campaign. He might have to still keep running from those positions in order to keep his promises.

——

Update:

Dick Morris wrote an article on the 2012 Senate elections also. His list of vulnerable Senators is slightly different than mine. And his arguments have a bit more depth to them than mine do; however as usual, Dick is extremely optimistic about the Republican’s chances.

He also lists Olympic Snowe’s Senate seat as a vulnerable one. Personally I don’t see this liberal Republican having problems getting re-elected in a Democratic Maine. But Morris is more knowledgeable than I am.

…Unless the Tea Party gets an unelectable Republican nominated in the primary.

Midterm Elections 2; Senate Democrats just faced an Easy Election is a post from: Backbench Media

Of course you did!

I found this fascinating visual display by Pedro M Cruz while searching Vimeo last December and thought that it was a fascinating visual display of the rise and fall of the four large European empires.

Pedro recently updated it by adding music and more detail.

You might enjoy this very interesting animation of the empires of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal and their balloon like expansion along with their cell mitosis like decline over the past 210 years.

. 

Empires decline – revisited from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

Visualizing Empires; updated is a post from: Backbench Media

Only one Liberal Senate seat was lost during this election cycle.

I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade, but while the elections in the Senate might have been very good for Republicans they were less successful for conservatives.

If you voted Republican like I did during the 2010 midterm elections, then you should be generally happy with the results. There were many Republican pickups in the House of Representatives. There were also several new Republican Governors who will have the privilege of working with new Republican majorities in the State Houses.

But, let’s look at what happened in the United States Senate for a moment. There were 37 Senate seats up for election, 18 of those seats were held by Republicans and 19 were held by Democrats.

The Republicans took 6 Democratic seats and the Democrats didn’t take any Republican seats.

However, who are those 6 Democrats that will no longer be serving?

Here is a list of the 6 seats:

There is a magazine called “The National Journal” which is for political insiders and has a subscription price that you can’t afford. Fortunately they have a website that contains some very interesting information.

One interesting thing that you can find in this magazine is a tally of the voting records of each of the members of Congress. These votes can then be categorized into either a liberal or conservative vote.

This summary is a bit of an overgeneralization of course, but their list will give you a general idea about just how liberal or conservative each member of Congress was during a certain time period. Check out National Journal’s 2009 Vote Rankings here.

During 2009 there were 98 Senators— Al Franken and Scott Brown weren’t there yet. And 58 of them were either Democrats or sided with the Democrats.

So– how did the Senators who lost their Senate seats rank on this list?

Well, I’m glad that you asked.

Out of the Senate seats gained by the Republicans, only one is from a genuine liberal!

Evan Bayh was ranked as the most conservative Democrat in the Senate; in fact he was ranked as more conservative than Republican Olympia Snow. Sestak wasn’t there in 2009 but Specter also voted in a conservative manner for a Democrat. Specter; however was a traitor because he went to the other side; as opposed those converts who switch to our side– get it?

You can go down the list yourself, but the main thing to notice is that Rolland Burris is the only bona fide liberal on the list.

Midterm Elections 1; The GOP knocks off One Liberal Senator is a post from: Backbench Media

My eyes are bleary and my brain is fried. Have you ever noticed that simple repetitious work is more tiring than work that actually involves thinking?

I would have never have imagined doing work like this when I was a kid. I was always going to be an astronaut. I remember those Gemini Capsules where I could have just sat there and enjoyed the ride.

Did those astronauts ever had to do inventory?

——

When I mentioned this to someone at work he told me that he always wanted to be the third baseman for the Milwaukee Braves. He wanted to be Eddie Mathews.

Eddie was one of the all time greats of baseball. He hit 512 homeruns over a 16 year major league career and was the only person to play for the Boston Braves, the Milwaukee Braves and the Atlanta Braves.

I wonder if Eddie ever had to do inventory.

Oh well! Soon I will be done with it and back down to working 40 hours again.

——

Here’s a trivia question for you?

Name the person who was on the cover of the first issue of Sports Illustrated back in 1954??

Hint; his name is mentioned in this post.

——

The Braves’ Baseball Team

The  Atlanta Braves organization is the latest iteration of the oldest continuous professional sports team in North America. And they can thank the Chicago fire for that honor… The Cubs didn’t play for 2 years after the great fire of 1871.

Here is a history of the Braves with its various team names and locations:

And they inspired the team names of the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox.

Career Choices is a post from: Backbench Media

Here is Steve Martin performing King Tut back in 1979!

Steve Martin actually could play stringed instruments. Listen to him play a song called ”The Crow” on the banjo. Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka aren’t half bad either.

The World’s Greatest Artistic Performance is a post from: Backbench Media

• NOTE; the list below doesn’t show election victories. Instead, it shows the difference in the number of Republicans between one election and the next one. This number could be affected by any party switches, resignations, or special elections that might occur–along with election victories.
• The greatest changes in party control of the House of Representatives occurred right after the Civil War. Both parties had their greatest gains and losses during this turbulent time period; most current election changes have been small in comparison.
• During the 20^th century Democrats achieved large increases in couple of times. Such as in the post Watergate 1974 election, early in the Great Depression when Franklin Roosevelt was president and in 1948 with Truman.
• Republicans had large election success in the House late in the Great Depression and in 1946 under Truman.
• You will sometimes hear of the size of Republican gains in the House of Representatives that occurred in 1994 with Gingrich and the Contract with America. These gains really isn’t that big when compared to historical gains.
• And then there is Warren Harding…He caused large political party movement in both directions.

Republican Gains in the House

Historic Election Changes in the House of Representatives is a post from: Backbench Media

This post contains my quick and dirty prediction of Republican Party gains during the 2010 elections. I picked a Republican gain of 9 seats and I am sticking with it.

However, if you are looking for more detailed analysis than I can provide, then I would suggest the following sites:

• Here is Gallup’s thorough analysis of voter intention and enthusiasm.
• Rasmussen has Republicans 51% and Democrats 39% in a generic poll…Ouch!!
• Jay Cost has a quality if optimistic view of the potential Republican tidal wave.

Now, I have two warnings regarding the elections in the House of Representatives; first, very few of these election matchups have been polled; so few candidates know exactly where they stand with the voters.

Second, many of the House districts have been gerrymandered. Many Democrats are from districts that have been fireproofed. They can’t be knocked off by Republicans under almost any conditions because their districts are shaped to contain few Republican voters. (Many Republicans are in districts like this also.)

—–

Now regarding this post.

These are my updated predictions for the elections in the US Senate as of Saturday October 30th. I haven’t changed my mind on any of the Senate races. In fact the new Real Clear Politics polls are only confirming my original choices. Of the 8 tossup seats; the 6 that I thought would go Republican have shown Republican movement and the 2 that looked like gains for the Democrats are moving Democratic also.

I think that he most interesting race is in Washington State. On October 26th I listed this as a pure tossup, but now it appears to be moving ever so slightly Republican. I originally picked this pure tossup as a Republican gain because the most motivated voters are on the conservative side of the spectrum.

I’ve left the remainder if this post unchanged with the exception of adding a column for the “Updated Republican Lead in the Real Clear Politics Polls” in the Spreadsheet below.**

——

The most probable outcome will be a Republican gain of 9 seats, and the composition of the Senate will be 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats. There will also be 2 independents who vote with the Democrats. Thus the Senate will be divided into a 50/50 split.

My more conservative guess is for a Senate consisting of 49 Republicans and 49+2 Democrats. And my more optimistic guess is of a Republican majority of 52.

The source of my analysis is the current Real Clear Politics polling data; along with the excellent article by Sean Trende called “Who’s Going to Vote This Year?”

——

Here is what you need to know about the Senate Races

• The current makeup of the Senate is 41 Republicans and 57+2 Democrats
• The Democrats won’t pickup any Republican Seats.
• Three Democratic Seats will certainly switch to the Republicans; those Republican victories will be in Arkansas, Indiana and North Dakota.
• There are eight other toss-up Seats; all of which are held by Democrats.

Here are my estimated Republican victory margins for those eight toss-up Seats:

——

The assumptions of the Election Pollsters

If you are interested in how the pollsters decide exactly which people to poll then again, I would suggest that you read Sean Trende’s article – “Who’s Going to Vote This Year?”

He makes the point that the “The most difficult job a pollster has is trying to figure out who the actual voters are going to be in a given election year.” The article persuaded me that the pollsters are over-estimating the percentage of Democrats who will vote this year. 

I added the “Sean Trende Adjustment” in order to compensate for the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats. And my guess is that even this adjustment might be a bit conservative; this is why I turned Washington State’s pure tossup into a Republican win in my analysis. And, If the race breaks perfectly for Republicans then they might even grab 2 more seats for a majority of 52.

Elections like this will surely be full of suprises. Someone will certainly lose a safe seat and someone else, who now appears to have little chance will shock us all; so if nothing else, this will be a fascinating event. Maybe Linda McMahon will win in Connecticut and one of the Republicans who appear safe will lose.

——

Senate Results by State

Here is a summary of the 37 seats up for election in the Senate and how I speculate that the election will change them.

Predictions for the 2010 Senate Elections is a post from: Backbench Media

Some of the polling firms on this list are of lower quality and should be ignored. The Minnesota Public Radio poll should be discounted. This was conducted by the Humphrey Institute which ranks 258^th out the 263 polls ranked on another of my posts. The Star Tribune poll is ranked a mediocre 156^th on this list, so it should be discarded also.

Here are the quality polls:

• Public Policy Polling is a Democratic polling firm but has an excellent reputation and is 6^th best on the list. This poll has Dayton ahead by 3 points.
• Survey USA is the best polling firm in the country and has Dayton ahead by only 1 point.
• Rasmussen is the 9^th best on the list and has Dayton ahead by 3 points.

The average the 3 quality polls is a bit over 2 points. This number is well within the margin of error so Emmer has a chance. But the big news here is that Dayton has led in almost every poll taken, so it would be hard to bet against him.

Tom Horner, the third party candidate has an average support level of almost 13%. It is impossible to know if his support will drop below 10%. And, it is impossible to know which major party will benefit from a collapse in Horner’s support.

Horner has received support from several influential Minnesota politicians from both parties along with many Minnesota Newspapers. Horner’s supporters see Emmer as too conservative and Dayton as both too liberal and incompetent.

In summary; Mark Dayton is leading in all of the polls. So unless the Republican tidal wave is extremely large, he will be Minnesota’s next Governor.

The Minnesota Governor’s Race is a post from: Backbench Media

I found this to be an infuriating documentary, which any reasonably intelligent person could only watch a portion of, before giving up on it. After CNN and I parted for the evening I watched my Netflix rental of “Dark Shadows” from 1966, which I found to be more thoroughly grounded in reality.

Just in case you missed this attempted hit job from the CNN Wing of the Democratic Party; here is what you missed.

• The Tea Party is controlled by a secret group of wealthy insiders.
• The Tea Party is an uncontrolled group filled with racists.
• Sarah Palin doesn’t live up to CNN’s high standards of intelligence (you know; like Larry King does).
• The NAACP is an honest, politically neutral judge of the Tea Party movement.
• Any Tea Party Endorsement of any candidate implies that anybody who ever had any positive thought about the Tea Party movement is supporting that particular candidate.
• A large national movement has disgruntled former members.
• If some racist in some forgotten part of a desert state calls himself a member of the Tea Party Movement then every Tea Party Member is a racist.

There was more, but you get the point.

——

One bizarre scene occurred when CNN tried to do a “60 Minutes” style gotcha piece on Christine O’Donnell. Some CNN character called Shannon Travis knocked on the O’Donnell’s campaign headquarters door and thought that he found a conspiracy when no one answered it immediately.

He was let in under the condition that he couldn’t have the camera running and found that the campaign was setting up the office; plugging in the computers and arranging the furniture. Travis seemed to imply that he was getting some sort of scoop, but his summary of the event had no point. He just implied that O’Donnell’s campaign was unorganized.

CNN must have had some cost cutting measures that involved firing any decent editor. Anyone who has read my blog: BackbenchMedia.com knows that I’m no fan of Christine O’Donnell, but this gotcha moment was beyond pathetic… I could have inserted a knife in her back in a much more efficient manner.

The good news is that CNN’s ratings are so meager that its main audience consists of creditors and Larry King’s ex wives. I haven’t seen the ratings for this particular show but I doubt that many watched it for very long.

As you probably already noticed, the left’s main campaign strategy involves calling Republican candidates names.

—-

*Actually; the real reason for this particular post is to demonstrate just how easy it is to be condescending and snarky. But, as you probably already know; it really doesn’t work. 

If the “Sarah Palin is Stupid” tag works then why is she as popular as ever? If the “Sarah Palin is Stupid” tag doesn’t work then why do condescending liberals still do it?? Who is really stupid here?

And Conservatives! I could give you a very long list of Democratic office holders that you could point to and call “Stupid” if you want. But I hope that you wouldn’t do it because you have more class than CNN, the liberals (and I) have. (Get it??)

——

Check out this article about “Democrats blaming the victims” from The Detroit News.

CNN’s Tea Party Hit Job is a post from: Backbench Media

This race has been clean; at least by national standards, with the only below the belt attacks that I know of, being Manchin attacking Raese’s wealth.

West Virginia’s politics is dominated by the Democratic Party. Currently the state has a Democratic Governor, 2 Democratic Senators and 2 of its 3 Representatives are Democrats. West Virginia tends to vote more like its eastern neighbor Maryland than like its southern neighbor Virginia.

Its major industry traditionally has been coal mining and a large proportion of the State’s voters are union members.

——

I have predicted that the Democrat, Joe Manchin will win this election by about 9% and the Real Clear Politics poll average currently has this race as 4.5% for Manchin.

However, if Raese runs a close race and stays behind by 2-3% during election night, then it will be an extremely good evening for Republicans. And if Raese starts to pull ahead after the polls close then it could be a Republican tidal wave of historical proportions.

West Virginia has the Bellwether Race is a post from: Backbench Media

The Minnesota Democratic Party made what I consider the biggest boneheaded move so far in this election season; which is saying a lot!

They sent a poorly thought-out mailing into some Minnesota House district that you have never heard of. This ad shows an unflattering image of a priest wearing a button that says “Ignore the Poor.” The mailing was being used to attack Republican candidate Dan Hall who isn’t even Catholic, but instead is a Protestant Minister.

After being asked about it by several media outlets; the Minnesota Democratic Party refused to apologize for the mailing. They claimed that the mailing is appropriate because Dan Hall opposes more government spending on social programs.

Here is a news piece about the controversy from KSTP television in St Paul and below that is an enlargement of each side of the mailer.

I found this information while searching Hot Air and Minnesota Democrats Exposed

The Minnesota Democrats Offend Catholics is a post from: Backbench Media

Garrison Keillor Al Franken

You already know about Juan William’s firing from National Public Radio. And if you listen to NPR on the Radio often, you will notice their liberal bias. But do you know about Garrison Keillor’s political involvement? 

 Keillor has gotten quite wealthy with his government subsidized “A Prairie Home Companion” so he obviously has a vested interest in having NPR radio receiving your tax dollars. Garrison Keillor as you can imagine is also a Democrat. Here are a couple of articles that he has written which give you an idea of his political opinions.

Attacking Senator Coleman

Back in 2002 Keillor wrote an article which personally insulted and made insinuations against former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. Click here for this article. It was published in Salon and titled “Empty victory for a hollow man”. Personally, I haven’t thought that Keillor has said anything funny in the last 20 years, and that this particular article paints a truer demonstration of his nature. 

He didn’t use any substantive arguments when he attacked Coleman as a changeling who doesn’t have Keillor’s superior literary knowledge. The much divorced Keillor then attempted to either start or promote a rumor of infidelity by the never divorced Coleman. 

Attacking Republicans in General

During the Republican Convention in 2008 Keillor made another attempt at political opinion journalism in an article called “Who wants to see Sarah Palin as the next president?” In this article, Keillor looked down upon Republicans with that superior moral indignation that is so common to the self-proclaimed elites. He made the predictable inferences about Palin’s intellect and then tacitly assumed that Republicans are racist with the “skinny guy with the funny last name” line. It seems that Keillor, like many liberals is very color conscious.

Attacking Michelle Bachmann

 In the last couple of weeks Michelle Bachmann foolishly praised Keillor’s entertainment skills. In doing so, Bachmann demonstrated both a lack of both political and artistic sense. Keillor showed himself as a real cad when he returned the compliment with an insult. He called Bachmann an embarrassment to Minnesota (like Al Franken and Keith Ellison?). 

Keillor then wrote a fundraising letter in support of Bachmann’s opponent Tarryl Clark that was sent to voters in their district. 

The Government funded Keillor is using his status to push his political beliefs.

Frankly, I wouldn’t care about Keillor’s opinions if it wasn’t for the hypocracy of NPR. He’s lucky he’s not a Republican or he would have been fired by now.  —- 

Here is the letter that Keillor wrote: 

Dear Friends, 

Thirty years ago, when I started telling stories about Lake Wobegon, I put it smack in the middle of Minnesota – in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in fact – where staunch Republicans and loyal Democrats know how to live together without yelling at each other and do what needs to be done to work out our problems. 

It’s embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans that Michele Bachmann, a politician who is so busy grandstanding and giving interviews on Fox News that she doesn’t have time to serve the people who elected her, represents the 6th District in Washington.
That’s why I’m proudly supporting Tarryl Clark – and I hope you will join me by contributing before today’s midnight deadline. 

Minnesota’s 6th District has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the state, but in an interview with the St. Cloud Times, Congresswoman Bachmann was unable to name any “substantive” legislation she had passed. 

Michele Bachmann may still be counting on sliding through to re-election on November 2nd, but this year she is running against a smart and hard-working State Senator, Tarryl Clark, who is determined to make the talking heads of Fox News sit up and take notice. 

Tarryl founded Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity and served as youth minister of her church for nearly twenty years. She grew up in a Navy family and has worked on behalf of veterans, families and children in the legislature. Service to her community is a part of who she is, and that spirit of service is sorely needed in Washington these days. 


I hope you’ll join me in making a financial contribution to her campaign – $25, $50 or $100 – before midnight tonight! 

Tarryl Clark will never embarrass our state in Congress. Let’s restore some respect for the Minnesota tradition of working together sensibly by electing her this November. 

Thank you, 

Garrison Keillor 

P.S. Instead of working to solve problems, Bachmann talks about us as a “nation of slaves” and about the need for smaller government even though she knows better – the biggest part of big government is military spending, Social Security, and Medicare. Which would she do away with? Bachmann’s so-called policies are just the old Bush economics that Alan Greenspan characterized as “disastrous.” Help Tarryl defeat her by donating today.

More NPR Political Bias is a post from: Backbench Media

Dayton Supporting a Strike, 2010

Well four years ago in 2006, Dayton was ending his one term as a U.S. Senator and he decided not to run for a second term because low rating in the polls. And Time Magazine  published an article which listed him as one of the worst Senators in Congress.

Minnesotans have had a occasionally voted for unconventional and quirky candidates. Is Mark Dayton one of those? He has been elected to conventional positions but this Time Magazine article from April 14th 2006 casts doubts upon his skill level.

—————————————————–

Here is a copy of the article from Time:

Mark Dayton: The Blunderer

When he was elected in 2000, Minnesota Democrat Mark Dayton seemed well prepared, having worked as an aide to Walter Mondale in the 1970s. But he has exhibited erratic behavior since then: in October 2004 he shut down his office for almost a month, citing an unspecified terrorist threat. The 99 other Senators had access to the same intelligence and kept their offices open, even while Dayton went on television to tell his constituents not to visit the Capitol. In February Dayton, 59, made another notable blunder. The Mayo Clinic, which is in Rochester, Minn., was opposed to a South Dakota — based company’s plan to expand its railroads into Rochester because it would mean dozens of trains passing by the clinic each day. Dayton told FORTUNE magazine the Mayo Clinic is “worth a hell of a lot more than the whole state of South Dakota.” He later apologized for the remark.

Inside the Senate, Dayton has passed few bills partly because some are too liberal for the Republican-controlled body, including one that would have created a Department of Peace and Nonviolence. He has confounded his colleagues by complaining about basic facts of the job, such as his limited power in a chamber where authority derives from seniority. He announced early last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Here is Time’s 2006 list of the best and worst Senators:

America’s
Best Senators

Those who do, and don’t, make a difference in the U.S. Senate

The Best Senators

• Thad Cochran
• Kent Conrad
• Dick Durbin
• Ted Kennedy
• Jon Kyl
• Carl Levin
• Richard Lugar
• John McCain
• Olympia J. Snowe
• Arlen Specter

The Worst Senators

• Daniel Akaka
• Wayne Allard
• Jim Bunning
• Conrad Burns
• Mark Dayton

Mark Dayton: The Blunderer is a post from: Backbench Media

I discovered that my local Democratic State Representative is opposed to cuts in funding to K-12 and to higher education. She must really care about children’s education right?

Well; maybe not… There isn’t, nor has there been any recent cut to education in Minnesota. There have been cuts to the rate of increase in education funding, but not actual cuts. So I can only conclude that she is either ignorant or she is lying.

Here is a graph of the Minnesota Department of Education Revenues from 1996 to 2011.

You can see that the budget never went down and that Minnesotans will spend nearly $8 billion next year. Oh, by the way the school enrollment has been flat  and so have the educational outcomes.

Now what about Education on the Federal Level?

Well, here are the yearly appropriations to the US Department of Education.  This chart shows that there actually have been some cuts in the federal education budget. However, these cuts have been minor compared to the general trend of the increasing education budget.

You should also notice that real increases in education spending came during the presidencies of people named Bush.

You might have noticed that big jump in spending in 2006. That was mainly due to college students taking advantage of low interest Stafford Loans.

Obama is currently slamming Republicans over education cuts because they don’t want to fund one of his pet projects. Do you think that his program could be funded by education cuts somewhere else?

What Education Cuts? is a post from: Backbench Media

Christine O’Donnell is running for the Senate in Delaware and unfortunately, had a major gaff in her debate with Chris Coons. While responding to her opponent’s remarks; She asked the question “Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state? This caused derisive laughter among the audience of law students.

Although technically she is right- those exact words aren’t in the First Amendment; she gave the Democrats and the liberal media something an excuse to become snarky and condescending about her question. And she really didn’t need to get into this issue; so she went out of her way to step in poo on this one.

Delaware is a liberal state which had the chance with Mike Castle to add another Republican to the Senate. But blowhards like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity liked the unqualified O’Donnell’s talking points and pushed for her on their radio shows. Now they, along with Sarah Palin and many true believers in the Tea Party movement must take the blame if the Senate goes Democrat by only one vote.

But, would I vote for Christine O’Donnell if I was a Delaware resident? Yes, I would hold my nose and vote for her; mainly because she isn’t a Democrat.

 —-

Here are the first ten Amendments to the Constitution for your reading pleasure. These are essentially the Bill of Rights– without the Preamble. When you read these Amendments you should be reminded about just how marvelous a thinker that James Madison was. And how lucky we Americans were to have him on our side.

 The First 10 Amendments to the Constitution

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Cable News Bias

I watched cable news last night and paid attention to what the talking heads said about Christine O’Donnell. Here is what I discovered:

• Conservative Fox News said nary a word about the subject with the exception of Sean Hannity, who gave a vague reference to O’Donnell doing well in the debate!?
• Liberal CNN and MSNBC spent nearly half of their time on the O’Donnell / Coons debate. Many of their thoughts about the first amendment; even by their so called constitutional experts were wrong—at least in my opinion. I wish that they could keep in mind that Madison wrote the Bill of Rights in order to limit federal power and for not for personal rights. Knowing Madison’s intention clarifies the meaning of the Bill of Rights
• CNN and MSNBC frequently criticize Republicans such as O’Donnell and Sharron Angle while ignoring Democratic oddballs such as Alan Grayson and Alvin Greene; Fox does the opposite.
• CNN, MSNBC along with the major networks don’t seem to care that Obama can’t quote the Declaration of Independence properly. They would rather spend their time criticising conservatives and Republicans.

By the way Fox News absolutely destroys their cable competition.

Christine O’Donnell; the First Amendment & Cable News Bias is a post from: Backbench Media