Sunday's Vikings vs. Saints game unbelievable

I was listening to the radio last week after the Vikings victory over Dallas. One caller said he had just been listening to Dallas radio on the internet, and that rather than talking about the particulars of the game, the callers were talking about how one of their players should have just sucked it up, taken the punishment, gone after Favre on the sidelines, taken him out at the knees, and destroyed them.

I was in the car alone, and I shouted to no one, "That's just evil!" I'm sure I looked like one of those women who practically botoxes herself to death, I was so surprised. I didn't use the word "evil" lightly, either. How could someone advocate doing that to another human being over a game? I truly felt that even talking about potentially ruining not only a man's career, but his life (if you have bad knees, you know it can be hell to live with the pain), was truly an evil thought that should have never made it out of someone's mouth, let alone into their brain.

I guess I'm naive.

I have to admit I didn't watch most of yesterday's game between the Vikes and the Saints--just the last 45 minutes or so. But when I came into the room and asked my family what had been happening, they all told me the other team was hitting Favre "hard" and that they had hurt his ankle.

"You mean they're actually doing it?" I said to my husband, who had to listen to me rant about how evil I thought the radio caller's account was earlier in the week.

"Oh, you should see Favre's wife. They keep showing her every time he gets hit below the belt and she has her hands over her face."

"That's because she knows that at any moment, their lives could be ruined," I said. "Chronic pain's a bitch. It's hard to live with and sometimes even harder on the family. I'm sure he has some [chronic pain] already, but to watch people purposely trying to make life worse for your husband for the sake of a game has got to be horrible."

My husband then educated me on Brett Favre's previous struggle with chronic back pain and painkillers. I had no idea. I just haven't followed football much since before I had children. The knowledge of his past made the whole thing even worse.

Isn't there some rule against this?" I asked.

"Yeah, I suppose they would have been more strict about it if it had been earlier in the season, but it's so close to the Super Bowl they're letting it slide."

"You know--it happens. It's just hard to watch," he said.

Hard to watch? Hard to believe.

Minnesota DFL gubernatorial candidate Dayton promises to tax rich; no spending cuts

Mark Dayton stepped right in to the Minnesota Gubernatorial race at a press conference held at the State Capitol. I don't think there was any speculation that he wouldn't run; he's just made it official.

During his speech, former U.S. Senator Dayton spoke about his background as a Minnesotan and public servant, criticized former Governors and their policies, and introduced his theme, "A Better Minnesota."

The thing that stood out most about his speech was his dedication to--if he becomes Governor--taxing the rich. I guess it's safer for him to say it than it is for other candidates; after all, Dayton is rich. He is an heir to the Dayton's department store fortune and spends millions of his own dollars on his various political campaigns. I suppose it's kind of like the unwritten rule in which a comedian can tell jokes or disparage people of his own race or creed and not get into trouble for it, whereas if you don't belong to a certain group but disparage it, you could be in big trouble. Dayton is talking about taxing himself and his peers, the people he grew up with and went to school with at Blake, isn't he?

Well, he called for taxing the wealthiest 10 percent of Minnesotans. But the definition, as published in the table on page 58 of the Minnesota 2009 Tax Incidence Study, of the wealthiest 10 percent shows their household income for 2011 is projected to begin at $136, 955. Does that figure fit your mental picture of a family rolling in so much excess dough that they should pay disproportionately high taxes to fund Dayton's programs? Not so much.

Besides taxing the rich, his other plans for Minnesota include throwing a lot of money at K-12 education, pre-school and lowering college tuition; retrofitting state buildings with heating and cooling methods using alternative energy to reduce "their carbon footprints;" highway construction and transit improvements; "affordable health care for all Minnesotans;" and several job creation programs.

He implied these spending increases and new spending projects will all pay for themselves. Oh, and the money from taxing the rich will help as well.

But what stands out most glaringly about his speech is that in the midst of all his ideas for "A Better Minnesota," he spoke not one word about cutting spending, eliminating wasteful spending, or saving money in any way. Just spending it. Spend, spend, spend. Because we all know that throwing money at things always fixes problems.

Completely ignoring spending cuts reveals an interesting difference about Mark Dayton, Gubernatorial candidate, as compared to his fellow candidates. As I said before, he's rich. So he thinks like a rich person. If something's broken, buy a new one. If there aren't enough staff to do the job, just hire more. There's no need to think about saving, because money is always abundant.

Which begs the question: Can Minnesota afford to have a rich man in the Governor's office during a deep recession?

Will the Left Finally Get It?

So Scott Brown, a Republican, is to be the new Senator from Massachusetts. A Republican hasn't been elected to the Senate in Massachusetts since the 70's. This is big.

There were a lot of factors that went into Martha Coakley's stunning defeat. She was inherently unlikable, for one thing. She couldn't seem to open her mouth without offending someone. She offended Catholics in a radio interview by saying if they object to certain medical procedures on moral grounds then they shouldn't work in emergency rooms. Great move--insult Catholics in probably the most Catholic state in the country.

But there was more. This was a litmus test, if you will, on the left and its entire existence. It was a referendum on Obama, Peloci, Reid and Emanuel. It was a decisive opinion on socialized medicine, government takeovers of private businesses, and big government in general.

So, will the left finally get it? Will they understand that they're shoving socialized medicine down American's throats and we don't like how it tastes?

I doubt it.

They are so wrapped up in their own elitist bubble that they are, I believe, incapable of seeing what's beyond it. They have their ideas about what's best for the American people, and they don't really care if the people like it or not. In the typical liberal elitist fashion, they think they know what's best for the "little people."

They have their agenda, and I think they'll stick to it no matter what America thinks. If they do anything that seems logical to help Americans (like Senators Franken and Kerry's proposed amendment to the health care bill that would delay taxes in medical devices until 2013--after the next round of elections) it will be for personal gain. They didn't care about the consequences of the tax on medical device companies and their employees; they just cared about Democrats getting re-elected before the companies were furious about the effects of being slammed with another huge tax. Typical.

So, in my humble opinion, the left will not get it, they will never get it, and we have to stop thinking they will. We just have to get rid of as many of them as we can at every opportunity we have to do it. That started tonight with the election of Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate.

So Long Norm--For Now

So former Senator Norm Coleman isn't going to run for Governor of Minnesota. He posted a statement on his Facebook page that made it very clear why.

I have to say that even though I really like Norm, I think this is probably the right decision. It's a little bittersweet; I think he would make a great Governor for Minnesota, but I also feel like I know it would be wrong for him to run. Frankly, I think we need to bring the Republican party closer to the Tea Party definition of what a conservative really is. That movement has such momentum that I think it will define who should run and who will ultimately run in all upcoming elections for a time. Norm is more of a centrist, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But right now, I think conservatives are craving a real conservative.

I don't know Norm personally. I met him on several occasions during his run for Senator. I volunteered a lot for his campaign, and I have photos of him with me, my husband, my children and holding my granddaughter. I have shaken his hand and spoken with him more times than I can count; I believe you can tell a lot about someone by shaking his hand and looking him in the eye.

What I felt viscerally about Norm was that he is a good man. Hearing him speak just enforced that. I really feel his intentions are pure and that he has a genuine love for this country. I also think he possesses the traits necessary to work across party lines and not alienate people (unlike the current occupant of his job).

Early on in the campaign when I spoke with him about issues, he had an energy and passion that was palpable. But what I remember most is an appearance I attended with a very small group of people about two days after the ludicrous charges came out about his wife funneling money through her employer to him (more about that in an upcoming column). When I shook his hand and looked him in the eye, when I handed him my granddaughter, he seemed as if he had been punched in the gut. When he spoke briefly about the allegations, you could feel the anger bubbling below the surface. One can hardly blame him. The eleventh hour attack was malicious and despicable. But mostly, he seemed beleaguered. That's the word that keeps coming to mind when I think about it now.

The protracted recount process for the Senate seat didn't seem to help. Photos of him in the courtroom show a stressed-out, tired man.

And now? Norm looks like he did when I first met him. He looks healthy, energized and happy. Again, I do not know Norm Coleman on any level but as an occasional acquaintance while volunteering for his campaign, and I'm just trying to convey my innate sense of the man.

I hope he continues to thrive in his new life. But, as I said, it is bittersweet. Since he's not running for Governor, what's next for him in public service? I really think he should hold public office again; I just wonder what it could be. I, and many of his other supporters, aren't ready to say good-bye just yet.

In the meantime, Norm, so long, good luck, and thanks for your service.

Four reasons conservative Minnesotans should help MA's Scott Brown be elected to U.S. Senate

Why should Minnesota conservatives care about a Senate race between Martha Coakley and Scott Brown? After all, it's taking place all the way over in Massachusetts. So why should we care?

Because it could have a direct effect on you, your children and your grandchildren.

Martha Coakley, a Democrat, and Scott Brown, a Republican, are in a very contentious race for the U.S.Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy.

The Senate is very polarized these days, and we are in desperate need of more Republican Senators. It would be a coup for Republicans to win a Senate seat that had been occupied by liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy for 47 years. More important, it would deny Democrats the crucial 60th Senate seat they need to stop Republican filibusters of bills that further Obama's socialist agenda.

Brown has been running on the promise to stop the Senate health care "reform" bill. He is particularly opposed to the part of the bill that puts a tax on medical devices. With 1,349 medical equipment and device companies in Massachusetts, the state has a huge stake in stopping this tax.

Minnesota has a stake in killing the tax on medical devices as well. There are 1,008 medical equipment and device companies in Minnesota, 463 of them in Hennepin County alone. The tax on medical devices included in the bill could do catastrophic damage to companies such as Medtronic, whose world headquarters is in Minneapolis.

This even caught the attention of senator Al Franken (oh, it hurts to write that), who co-sponsored an amendment to the health care reform bill with fellow liberal senator, John Kerry, to to delay the device tax to 2013. The amendment was not adopted in the Senate's final version of the bill. I don't know what they thought delaying the tax would do to help medical device manufacturers; it would still threaten to destroy some of them and seriously decrease the profits of others--possibly driving them out of the country--whether the tax is in 2010 or 2013. The only reason I can see for doing that is to delay the tax to start after the 2012 election. Hmmmm, do you think that was behind this? Thanks for looking out for us, senator Franken.

Brown's opponent, Democrat Martha Coakley has revealed herself today to be a typical liberal who has trouble with the truth and blames things on right-wing conspiracies. She was approached last night after a Washington D.C. fundraiser by Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack. He asked her if she stood by her comments, made during a debate on Monday, that there are no terrorists in Afghanistan. She rudely refused to answer his question. Shortly thereafter, a man linked to Coakley's campaign knocked McCormack to the ground. According to McCormack, she looked at him lying on the ground and kept on walking.

When asked about the incident today, Coakley said, “I’m not sure what happened. I know something occurred, but I’m not privy to the facts. I’m sure it will come out, but I’m not aware of that.” She went on to blame GOP "stalkers" for any problems that occurred after the event. There is an AP photo and video of the incident. You can plainly see Coakley was "aware" of the incident.

So there are four reasons why Minnesota conservatives should care about this far-away Senate race:

1. The seat is needed to deny Democrats the crucial 60th vote.
2. We need a conservative voice to help stop the tax on medical devices, which could cost Minnesotans jobs. The liberals are only using the issue to look out for themselves.
   
3. Democrat Martha Coakley is a typical liberal who seems to have a distant relationship with the truth and blames her problems on GOP conspiracies. We don't need another one of these in the Senate. We have enough of them, thank you.
4. Stopping the Democrat insanity in Washington is key to your future and the future of your family. Banding together and helping conservatives be elected across the country will help America stay recognizable.
   

What can you do? You can still donate money to Scott Brown's campaign. You can make phone calls on his behalf as well. (Don't freak out about the page heading. You don't need to travel to MA to do this. You can do it from home.)

Pray this works because our future and the future of our children depends on electing conservative candidates to the Senate to stop Obama's socialist agenda.

That's Coakley on the left clearly looking at Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack, who was "allegedly" pushed to the ground by the other man in the photo, who is linked to Coakley's campaign. She later stated she was "unaware" of the incident.

Poto by AP

Harry Reid Not Racist, Just Incompetent

Unless you've been living under a rock these past few days, you know that the new book, Game Change, by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, alleged that Harry Reid said Americans would be “ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama –-a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.’ ”

There has been much debate over whether Reid is racist or not. I don't really know. Based on his comments, I think he was trying to be a realist and just trying to divine the political winds of the time.

But what I do know is that anyone who would refer to anything having to do with an African American as "negro" is so out of touch with modern America that he is unfit to lead.

I really don't have anything more to say. It's as simple as that.

Friendly Neighborhood Republican Has New Gig

While I still remain focused on my Friendly Neighborhood Republican blog, I have a new on-line column. I'm the Hennepin County Conservative Examiner with Examiner.com.

This new column will have a mostly local focus, though I will write about national and international topics as well. I may also, from time to time, overlap columns by posting Friendly Neighborhood Republican columns on the Examiner.com site, and vice versa.

I'm excited about this new opportunity to write for Examiner.com. I'm even more excited about my first article, which went live today.

It's a profile of local entrepreneurs Sheila Kihne and Betsy Gall and their new Cool Conservative clothing and gift line. Thanks to Sheila and Betsy for willing to be the subjects of my first column.

Please check out Examiner.com and look for me, the Hennepin County Conservative Examiner!

Obama Hanged in Effigy: Blogosphere Quick to Blame Conservatives

This weekend's awful discovery of an effigy of President Obama hanging from a building in Plains, Georgia sparked lots of premature blame from bloggers.

Note: I refuse to attribute any comments I might use here, because I don't want to give these people free advertising. I'm also not running the photo of the effigy because I find the image disturbing and disgusting.

Bloggers today have blamed, "Evil GOP Bastards," and "Frustrated Racist Tea Baggers." One site asked, "Rush Limbaugh? Glenn Beck? Happy Now?"

Limbaugh and Beck were blamed because of the "hate they have instilled in so many of their ignorant followers."

That's just the beginning. The hatred spewed in many of the comments on the blogs shocked me. Here are a few more "pearls:"

"It's easy for us to be anxious about foreign terrorists, but such worry is misplaced in the face of home-grown demagogues like Glenn Beck and his ilk, who incite ugly outpourings such as this - and who veer frankly into sedition."

"No effigy of Bush or Cheney when it was they who destroyed the world economy. "

"The K.K.K. is now the republican party under another name. Maybe now they are called Teabaggers or Birthers?"

"These Obama-haters are worse than anything we've seen in years. It's probably run by the Aryan nation, who are afraid of a smart black (albiet half-black-they seem to forget he's part white) man. I'll bet they're mainly Republicans too!!! "

So much for tolerance.

How about waiting until the Secret Service investigation is over before we start pointing fingers? We don't know who is responsible, and we may never know. It could have been a liberal trying to set up the blame on conservatives. It could be some crazy person, with no political affiliation whatsoever, who is just a racist. If it was someone who calls themselves a "conservative," I will be appalled because they don't represent me or the vast majority of conservatives, who are not racists. They hurt the conservative cause by doing things like this, just as those who kill abortionists only hurt the pro-life cause.

Most of us have already been labeled racists by the likes of Janeane Garofalo and her ilk for daring to even disagree with the anointed one. They just can't understand that we actually don't like Obama's policies and think he is systematically destroying our country. It's just easier to cry, "racist!" than to talk through the issues, I guess.

To quote the late, great Elvis Presley: "Stop, look and listen, baby. That's my philosophy." Liberals could use more of the King's "philosophy" before they come to these hasty conclusions.