tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49413712009466262082024-03-05T01:43:17.899-06:00Friendly Neighborhood RepublicanThe worldview of a thoughtful Republican womanFriendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-58767316071248079182020-07-15T19:45:00.001-05:002020-07-15T19:45:51.945-05:00Elitism driving continued school closings<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font face="" style="font-size: 15px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLjhJWv9rOkDWU27Lx4aNKV3uUoaFP5-4tL-VFFtDJs_JQD3lBhml3GnInMkRgmNqObjRCI5S6V3NU_xwTYgc3Cocb01xwY6EY350Zr-m09QiKayIn1RTB7Gr_-mT8x-Z1L7Iji02HWE/s1600/crayone.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLjhJWv9rOkDWU27Lx4aNKV3uUoaFP5-4tL-VFFtDJs_JQD3lBhml3GnInMkRgmNqObjRCI5S6V3NU_xwTYgc3Cocb01xwY6EY350Zr-m09QiKayIn1RTB7Gr_-mT8x-Z1L7Iji02HWE/s200/crayone.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div dir="auto"><font face="inherit">Science from around the globe overwhelmingly shows that children are at extremely low risk of serious complications from COVID 19 and are rarely the cause of outbreaks. Many say this proves schools should reopen. Most teachers, administrators and union representatives have been arguing for them to stay closed.
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One argument I've been hearing in favor of reopening schools is that if people (adults who might be at higher risk),</span><span> can go shopping at big box stores, then children should be able to go back to school.
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Favoring keeping schools closed, I've heard teachers, etc., answer that argument with the notion that nobody goes shopping at a big box store for seven hours a day, five days per week. They also add that we have to think about teachers and staff who might be at risk and "have families."
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I'd bet on the fact that few people would shop at a big box store for that many hours. However, the workers at those big box stores probably spend 7 hours, 5 days per week (or more) at their jobs. Because they are essential workers. Because it's their job. They're also mostly adults (some at high risk), and, I believe, might actually have families.
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So tell me which is true:
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1) Teachers and school staff are non-essential, therefore expendable, or, </span></font></div><div dir="auto"><font face="inherit"><span>2) They're just better than people who work at grocery stores.</span></font></div><font face="" style="font-size: 15px;">
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-38494821214166546712020-07-06T23:18:00.003-05:002023-12-11T13:46:29.172-06:00Minnesota should pay its own bills - Even if it hurts<div>
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<i>"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." - H.L. Mencken</i></blockquote>
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has asked the federal government for "major disaster" aid to repair damage and other costs due to recent riots across the state. With damage estimated at more than a half billion dollars, this is, the governor wrote in his letter to President Trump, "the second most destructive incident of civil unrest in United States history after the 1992 Los Angeles riots."</div>
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Walz didn't mention in his letter that the major disaster was because he and other leaders sat back and allowed the Twin Cities<span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">to burn.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Why on earth should dollars from every tax payer in the United States pay for the action or inaction of our feckless state and local leaders? Minnesota's ruins are not their fault. U.S. citizens had no hand in electing these fearful people who wouldn't know leadership if it threw a Molotov cocktail at them. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">There's an old-fashioned notion called "principle." If you stand on it, it means you're on firm footing, solid ground. The principle here is that the cost of repairing the damage done to Minnesota cities should be borne only by those responsible. And yes, that is we, the citizens of Minnesota.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Like it or not, we are responsible for this mess. Responsible, principled adults pay their own way. You might be thinking, "I didn't vote for those impotent leaders, I voted against them." I understand how you feel, because I'm in the same boat. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We didn't vote for the likes of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who </span><a href="https://youtu.be/gBvqWZVmQus" target="_blank">ran for office on his disgust for police shootings and inequality</a><span style="background-color: white;">, but in 2.5 years still oversaw a system that allowed cops with insane numbers of complaints against them to keep their jobs. We didn't vote for any of those "in charge" who stood twiddling their thumbs and looking scared while their cities were destroyed around them, inspiring scathing articles to be written about their weakness in publications from New York to L.A. We didn't sanction those who ordered the police in the 3rd Precinct to run, sparking copycat attempts across the nation. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We didn't vote for Walz, who took an upside-down approach to Covid 19 and locked down all of Minnesota--even counties with no cases--during a pandemic that ravaged some states but remained fairly low here. (Care facilities were the exception, accounting for a staggering 80 percent of Minnesota's deaths, leaving another stain on our state.) The result was mass unemployment, economic and food insecurity, under-educated children, and confusion from the utter lack of logic of reopening the state as Covid cases rose. And stress. So much stress.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">If you listened closely, you would have heard it. <i>...tick...tick...tick...</i> T</span><span style="background-color: white;">he BANG that followed was as predictable as Covid outbreaks after the masses burst shoulder to shoulder into the streets with the blessings of officials, including Mayor Frey, who just days before had <a href="https://www.startribune.com/mpls-mayor-frey-orders-people-to-wear-masks-in-stores-schools/570664042/" target="_blank">instituted mask mandates </a>with $1,000 fines and threats against business licenses. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Yet we're still responsible, and we're going to have to pay the bill. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We didn't vote hard enough. We didn't care deeply enough. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We keep letting these people run the place, even though their favorite place to run it is into the ground. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We sit at the table alone holding that bill because we can't hand it to those truly responsible: the four police officers who killed George Floyd; the race baiters who lit the fuse; the useful idiots who did the bidding of the Marxist, racist leaders who control them even if they don't know it; the DNC and their compatriots in the media who egged it all on. It's not possible to make them pay in the dollars it will take to rebuild these communities (unless Joe Biden's campaign wants to pony up some money, like it did with bail for rioters and looters who destroyed our city).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We can make them pay, however, with loss of power. Vote harder in November. Care more deeply. Do more. For Go</span><span style="background-color: white;">d's sake, don't give your children's minds over to those who seek to indoctrinate them. Get loud. Make change happen. We have time, because</span><span style="background-color: white;"> a lot of these elected officials have years left on their terms. </span><span style="background-color: white;">While we wait (and work), get ready for your taxes to go up, because they will. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We've paid in so many ways: fear, insecurity, loss of livelihoods, living in the national embarrassment that Minnesota has become. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Even t</span><span style="background-color: white;">hose across the state of Minnesota who don't have anything to do with what happens in "The Cities" still pay, and we're still responsible. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We have no right to go to the federal government--our fellow Americans--with our hands out.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">It's time to open our wallets. Maybe not just to pay for rebuilding what was torn down, but to help elect leaders who won't let it ever happen again. </span><br />
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<br />Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-89094275534356974512016-11-07T15:00:00.004-06:002023-12-11T13:41:32.906-06:00How Dare You?It's time for me to preach to the choir one last time. This is my last Friendly Neighborhood Republican political piece. I realize I'm never going to change the mind of one person who says, "C'mon media, lie to me some more." I can't help anyone for whom liberalism has become a religion, someone who never digs, reads or watches something from another perspective and who thinks left-wing media bias is just a vast right-wing fantasy.<br />
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This is for Republicans with whom I'm pretty damned angry; those who, given any other election, would have voted a straight Republican ticket, but this time... I've divided these voters into a few categories. My friends, I'm talking to you, and it's not that "friendly:"<br />
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<ol>
<li><b>I think this election's a joke:</b> If you're thinking of doing a write-in vote for Mickey Mouse or your best friend instead of voting for someone who actually has a chance to win this thing, you have my disdain. Brave Americans have fought, died, lived with PTSD, been arrested and marched in the streets for your right to stand at that poll and throw your vote away because you think it's funny. It's not. People thought it was funny to vote for Jesse Ventura, and an entire generation of Minnesotans struggle with <a href="http://www.brainerddispatch.com/content/parents-teachers-question-new-math-standards-await-report" target="_blank">math </a>as a result. Your jokes have consequences.</li>
<li><b>I'm a Rolls Royce Republican:</b> You're the flip side of a Limousine Liberal. You're either so wealthy or self important that you believe no matter who wins it won't change your life. You think Trump is beneath you. Hell, you think this whole race is beneath you. And yes, when Hillary mandates single-payer healthcare, you may be able to buy into some Cadillac co-op, but can you buy your own hospital? The Clinton Machine has proven classism is thriving in America, so you know there are a different set of rules for you. You'll be able to keep your guns and get away with it, etc., etc. But if you have one moral bone in your body, which I believe you do, you'll understand that though you may be able to keep your lifestyle and even buy freedom (for a while), your fellow Americans cannot. Show your patriotism by voting on their behalf.</li>
<li><b>I'm intentionally uninformed: </b>You think it's bad to read the Wikileaks information because it came by ill-gotten gains. You believe Democrats when they say the Wikileaks e-mails aren't real. Do you remember this is politics, people? Do you really believe CNN fired Donna Brazile for no reason? Do you think the DNC fired chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (immediately hired by upstanding moralist HRC) for giggles? These entities are proving the legitimacy of the Wikileaks e-mails from both the DNC and Hillary's campaign manager, John Podesta, by their resulting actions. Remember some of the e-mails are from the <a href="https://foia.state.gov/Search/Results.aspx?collection=Nov03_2016" target="_blank">FBI </a>as well. <a href="http://themillenniumreport.com/2016/10/the-top-100-most-damaging-wikileaks/" target="_blank">Read them</a>, believe them, and realize this is how America will be treated if you allow Hillary to become our next president by your inaction.</li>
<li><b>Trump will get us into WWIII:</b> You believe because of his brash style he'll pop off and say something to some dictator that'll get us into a war. That's speculation. A person's prior acts predict future acts. Hillary's much more hawkish than Trump, which her tenure as Secretary of State during which she destabilized Syria, Libya, Iraq (there are too many horrible actions to list) shows. There are U.S. troops, as I write, risking their lives to win Mosul back from <i>Isis.</i> Our troops already fought and died to win Mosul. Hillary/Obama's decision to pull out of Iraq has sent our men and women to death's red carpet to fight for a city they already won. Obama is actually willing and ready to get into a <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cia-prepping-possible-cyber-strike-against-russia-n666636" target="_blank">cyber war with Russia </a>over the <i>Wikileaks e-mails!</i> Let that sink in. They're willing to commit an act of war against a major world power over e-mails about Hillary's campaign, not even United States secrets. Do you want that on your conscience?</li>
<li><b>I'm punishing somebody: </b> You're a Trump supporter who's mad at a Republican member of congress because he won't endorse Trump. You're punishing him by not voting for him. The uber-liberal Democrat running against him will probably win, but you don't care. You think there's no difference between the two. Do you understand how this works? It's all about seats. If Republicans lose too many seats, Paul Ryan will no longer be Speaker of the House. You say, "He's a RHINO anyway." Sigh. It's imperative no matter who is president that Republicans maintain congressional power to balance power if Hillary wins and to help Republicans get their agenda made into law if Trump wins. Not to mention, the Speaker of the House is third in line to the presidency. If you don't vote Republican on the down ticket out of spite, we might get this. I hope it haunts your dreams.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRYB9Wu-2X56jV2Yy8hLc25wC06qVbHBvhCWwfZ8W9FMaAi-dKKtfjc2NN2aPw4_ZgO2FJw9LNMLqKfyBX4f-Zb2YGlDduBiKbYNhtjcYMbjI9LAfsts8dQZ3JGUwjVgLuZH5mjfgq7E/s1600/nancypelosipic3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRYB9Wu-2X56jV2Yy8hLc25wC06qVbHBvhCWwfZ8W9FMaAi-dKKtfjc2NN2aPw4_ZgO2FJw9LNMLqKfyBX4f-Zb2YGlDduBiKbYNhtjcYMbjI9LAfsts8dQZ3JGUwjVgLuZH5mjfgq7E/s200/nancypelosipic3.jpg" width="200" /></a></li>
<li><b>My vote isn't important: </b>This person also believes there is no <a href="https://youtu.be/hDc8PVCvfKs" target="_blank">voter fraud.</a> No matter how many times you're told "every vote counts," it doesn't sink in. I live in Minnesota, a place where it feels like my many votes for Republican presidential candidates may as well have been burned. Whether the Republican won the national election or not, he never won my state. Don't be the kind of person who gives up. Participate in the process anyway, because just maybe your vote could change the tide (not like Obama promised his presidency would do in 2008; Hubris is Obama's best friend).</li>
<li><b>I can't choose--they're both horrible: </b> Do you think every other voter in America is dancing through a field of daisies because of what a fabulous choice they have? You think politicians are all corrupt. You're forgetting Trump isn't a politician. The very reason so many in the establishment are against him is because they're afraid for their often wasteful jobs. Yes, Trump has done and said bad things. But did he <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0" target="_blank">sell 20 percent of America's uranium to Russia?</a> Or did he use his position as Secretary of State to take food out of the mouths of <a href="https://youtu.be/1JNnFTqseDg" target="_blank">starving children in Haiti </a>to fill his pockets? Think of it this way: which candidate do you think loves America and Americans and won't <i>intentionally do harm</i>? Which candidate will sell America to the highest bidder? Voting is partially about being an adult. Be a grown up and choose. Unless it's her. Then stay home. </li>
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</b> <b>A note to to Bernie supporters: </b>I cannot for the life of me understand how you could go into that voting booth and choose the woman who stole your constitutional right to vote for the candidate of your choice. I'm not asking you to vote for Trump; but please, don't reward a person who screwed you against your will and then told you to just throw a little ice on that fat lip.<br />
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If you think you can just not vote, or leave the presidential vote blank, you may rationalize it by thinking, "I've washed my hands of this." But that doesn't leave you clean. Your inaction causes action, and your hands are still dirty.<br />
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Please vote.<br />
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<br />Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-58739470338626266632016-08-16T17:31:00.017-05:002023-11-16T14:37:36.609-06:00Hillary makes blatant public call for voter suppression!On August 10, Hillary Clinton spoke to a rally of supporters in Des Moines, Iowa. Referring to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/09/trump-gun-owners-clinton-judges-second-amendment">Donald Trump's recent comments on the Second Amendment</a>, she said: “Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments by Donald Trump that crossed the line.” She went on to say, “As a young man in Florida said to me the other day, friends don’t let friends vote for Trump.”<br />
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Who has crossed the line now? <br />
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She's continued to say this phrase at rallies in the following days. "Friends don't let friends vote for Trump." I can't believe I'm hearing this from a presidential candidate. She's suggesting that her supporters commit voter suppression by stopping friends from voting if they intend to vote for Trump.<br />
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Voter suppression is, by definition, a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising the right to vote. Isn't that exactly what Hillary is asking her supporters to do?<br />
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Adding to the offensive nature of this comment is the fact that it's a direct ripoff of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) slogan, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." In 1983, MADD introduced this slogan urging people to look out for the lives of friends and others on the road by stopping them from drunk driving. One popular TV commercial said, "...do whatever it takes to stop him." According to the AdCouncil, since MADD launched the campaign, 68 percent of Americans report they have tried to prevent someone from driving after drinking. It's clearly a very effective slogan. <div><br /></div><div>How dare Hillary twist this laudable slogan to incite people to commit federal crimes.<br />
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Voter suppression laws vary by state, but federal laws supersede any state provisions in federal elections. There are <a href="http://elections.uslegal.com/violations-of-election-laws/">specific federal laws</a> against, and penalties for, bribing or in any way preventing a person from exercising his or her right to vote. <br />
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Hillary has repeatedly (often while cackling at her own cleverness) urged supporters to stop friends from exercising their right to vote because they'd vote for Trump. By using the plural "friends," she's asking her followers to commit multiple criminal acts of voter suppression. She leaves it to her followers to decide how to carry out this form of voter fraud. By appropriating MADD's slogan, is Hillary suggesting her supporters "do anything to stop them?" The ways to stop someone from getting to the polls could be easily carried out on a massive scale, as she instructs them to do it at each rally she holds. All of her rallies are available online, thus expanding the numbers of devotees who'll hear her calls to action.<br />
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What kind of temperament must a presidential candidate have to openly tell people to commit voter suppression? Doesn't this repeated command alone suggest Hillary Clinton is unfit for the office of President of the United States?<br />
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This kind of dangerous rhetoric cannot go unexamined and ignored, but the mainstream media will likely do both. It's up to those of us who care about the truth to point out this egregious authoritarian order for the mass commission of federal criminal voter suppression being made by a presidential candidate. Our election integrity is at risk.<br />
<br />Speaking about Trump's controversial Second Amendment remark, retired Gen. Michael Hayden told CNN, "You’re not just responsible for what you say. You are responsible for what people hear." </div><div><br /></div><div>When Hillary says, "Friends don't let friends vote for Trump," some may hear the silly appropriation of a famous slogan meant to induce laughter. However, others may hear a command to commit voter suppression. How many will heed her call?<br />
<br />The real question is, why is Trump the only candidate to be held responsible for "what people hear?"<div><br />
<br /></div></div>Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-51705022100225533432015-10-04T19:12:00.001-05:002023-11-04T15:11:25.064-05:00Twitter Nation: The fatal blow to civil discourse?<div class="MsoNormal">
Twitter is an odd place. I don't think anything of importance should be discussed in 140-character quips. (I've always held disdain for Quippers.) I think it's a wasted place for truth seekers and people who like to argue specifics. Somewhere along the way we became a sound-bite nation. Twitter Nation is much worse.<br />
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Nothing makes me wince more than hearing, "the president tweeted..." Seriously? What could sound more undignified than that? I long for the days of, "the White House has released a statement..." I guess I'm just old fashioned, or I like to wade more than ankle deep. </div>
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I've responded to tweets about which the authors clearly knew nothing. I just want to discuss the issues. I've had many responses, but not about the subject, only barbs "informing" me that I'm stupid, uneducated, etc. One personal attack
after another, some so specific I wondered why they'd bother because the odds they'd be correct were slim to none because THEY DON'T KNOW ME. </div>
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Typical, but not exclusive to Twitter. I've had painful personal experiences when having face-to-face political discussions with people who disagree with everything I stand for. You know those people. They exhaust the talking points they've been fed, and then it's guerrilla warfare on everything about your person. </div>
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There have been wild assumptions about my intellectual capacity, my physical health, my abilities (or lack thereof), even my sex life. This seems to happen only because, if we were politicians, there would be an (R) after my name and a (D) after theirs. It goes no deeper than that. </div>
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I once had a response to what was a <a href="http://www.friendlyneighborhoodrepublican.com/2015/05/arlington_25.html" target="_blank">very heartfelt essay I wrote </a>about my father-in-law's funeral, with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery. I wrote it to both honor him and to give the reader an eye-witness account of a uniquely American experience most will never see. Not one political statement was in it. Yet some social media geniuses responded: "Nice piece, but it would have been more meaningful if you weren't a Republican." </div>
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Deep breath.</div>
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I've lost friends, or those I considered so, because of that (R). I've lost the common courtesy of neighbors because of the signs in my yard. Who does that?</div>
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I don't deny that conservatives sometimes originate getting-us-nowhere exchanges. (Donald Trump, are you listening?) But it seems to be a liberal gift, hewn and polished after years of indoctrination by media and education systems that deliberately discourage discourse and encourage skim-the-surface liberalism. Twitter, I believe, was inevitably conceived from this way of thinking. Its products of conception are too shallow to quench anyone's thirst, unless you thirst to belittle others. Things are seldom learned there. Ideas remain unchanged. Users tweet to the choir and bully those in the band. </div>
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I have a few lovely liberal friends who don't hate me for what I stand for, and I feel the same about them. We love each other because of shared experiences and so much more and, frankly, an explicit agreement to never let our politics get in the way of our relationships. We discuss this openly, and we mean it when we say it.</div>
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I don't think we have to be the exception. I've seen a marriage of more than 70 years last between a liberal and a conservative. They'd joke that when they went to the polls, they cancelled out each other's votes. This isn't the only such marriage I've seen.<br />
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So some of us are capable of much more than just peaceful coexistence. Most want to beat others over the head, and organisms like Twitter would die without them. I would not mourn. </div>
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As the great Joan Rivers used to say, "Can we talk?" I think the answer is: maybe. We're becoming a nation of bullies and bullshitters cloaked in the the anonymity Twitter provides. That's not talking. We may be a Twitter Nation, but it's not a Twitter Universe--yet. Discourse doesn't have to die, but only if we wish to resuscitate it. I'm hearing whispers of those who wish to truly discuss the hard stuff, but it's not really happening.<br />
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I don't want to declare the Death of Discourse. Yes, I'm enough of a hard-ass to truly believe the "low-information voter" will ruin the world. Yet, I'm an inherently nice person, and I like other people, even if they voted for Obama. Maybe I'm just some naïve "Minnesota Nicer" who wants to believe people can learn from one another, and that black and white aren't the only colors.<br />
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Twitter isn't the place for me. I'll visit occasionally, but I won't live there. I'll leave that to those who love to listen to the endless echos of their own tweets.<br />
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-20729351388640565832015-09-22T22:02:00.001-05:002023-11-12T12:58:39.396-06:00Cast of "The View" need to be educated about women's issues<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">On September 10,
"The View" made headlines for their hard-hitting phone interview with
Donald Trump. After carefully considering the consequences, I'm not a Trump supporter,
and I'm glad they were asking tough questions. During the interview, Whoopi
told Trump, "...you've got to get a little bit more informed on what's
going on with women's issues."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Yesterday, the ladies
proved they could use some education as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whoopi went on a tirade
that reveals what she really believes Planned Parenthood does and how the
possible loss of federal money that "isn't being used for abortions"
(which she incorrectly says has been defunded--it hasn't, the house just voted
to do it), could be catastrophic for women (her rant starts at 19:30):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Oh, where to begin.
There are so many things to correct here. First, since Whoopi brought it up,
let's remember why Planned Parenthood really came into being: (Please click on the quote to read about Margaret Sanger's real reasons, in her own words, for founding Planned Parenthood. I think it's especially important to view the video at the bottom of the page, which shows her racist agenda lives on.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>"<a href="http://liveactionnews.org/7-shocking-quotes-by-planned-parenthoods-founder/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">We do not want word to
go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population." - Margaret
Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, 1939</span></a></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It seems Planned
Parenthood wasn't formed at all because people were sick of "tripping over
women with hangers hanging out of their bodies" so much as its founder was sick of tripping over people of color, an attitude that seems to exist
within the organization today. Want to keep defending it, ladies?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">During the Trump
interview on September 10, Joy schooled Trump about Planned Parenthood, saying
"Planned Parenthood does abortions for three percent of the people that
come to them. The rest is women's health. The three percent is not federally
funded, so nobody's tax money is being used for abortions..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If that's true, then why did Whoopi launch into a diatribe about how defunding Planned Parenthood will make
women be unable to get abortions? She argues that defunding Planned Parenthood
is taking away women's rights to abortion, adding "that's not how our
government works."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If I must Dick-and-Jane
it to people who don't understand, I will: If federal money doesn't go
toward abortions at Planned Parenthood, then defunding them shouldn't have any
effect on a woman's ability to get one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've watched the show
since the day it debuted. It was good to have women talking about important,
fun, interesting topics. It's had many incarnations since--some good, some bad.
But it's hit a new low. "The View" is now a bunch of ill-informed
women with the same view who squash any opinions from the token
"conservative," should she be allowed to speak. I don't remember that
being Barbara Walters' vision, do you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It wouldn't bother me except for the fact that the
show has millions of viewers believing the outright lies and ignorant utterings they spew
daily, which could very well influence the upcoming election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">They've lost an
astounding number of sponsors in just the first two weeks of the new season
because of their frivolity and ignorance of serious subject matter. It seems
#DefundPlannedParenthood has a new buddy: #DefundTheView.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-72351422837649994012015-09-16T12:53:00.002-05:002023-12-11T14:27:25.857-06:00Planned Parenthood's biggest lie sullies two major ABC events in one weekPlanned Parenthood, ABC, and its parent company, Disney, must be so proud. First the lie was parroted and told several times on the season 19 premiere week of ABC's "The View," and once by a U.S. Senator! Then, during an unusually-but-refreshingly-brutal on-stage question portion of the Miss America Pageant, it was told again. Has Planned Parenthood's biggest lie become the truth?<br />
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No, because the facts have not changed. Yes, because people perceive it to be absolute truth. In this case, perception trumps facts because not only does this lie help form people's opinions about what Planned Parenthood really does, the lie has and will continue to affect public policy.<br />
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The lie? Planned Parenthood provides mammograms. Every time you hear the word "mammogram" come out of the mouth of anyone speaking about how Planned Parenthood provides health care for women, it's a lie. It just is. Even if Senator Elizabeth Warren says it on "The View."<br />
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(The lie is at about 28 seconds into the video.)<br />
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Now Planned Parenthood's lie has reached the Miss America stage. As a long-time former volunteer with the Miss America Organization at the state and local levels, it breaks my heart that they became involved in the lie. Here it is, from the 2016 Miss America Pageant on ABC Sunday night:<br />
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(It begins at about 2:22 into the in the video.)<br />
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Miss Tennessee parrots the lie that Planned Parenthood provides mammograms. Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms.<br />
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I sought out a mammogram at every Planned Parenthood facility in my home state. I couldn't get one because they don't provide mammograms. They provide "mammogram referral," but not one single mammogram can be performed at a Planned Parenthood facility in my state, or in any state for that matter, because there is not one mammogram machine in any Planned Parenthood facility.<br />
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Any woman could get a mammogram referral from any medical clinic, hospital, internet search, or government agency. Planned Parenthood isn't needed for this.<br />
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Pro-life activist for Live Action, Lila Rose, took it many steps further. She attempted to get a mammogram at Planned Parenthood clinics across the United States. She couldn't get one. Why? Because Planned Parenthood doesn't do mammograms.<br />
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This lie has been deliberately being spread for a very long time, and it's been exposed by several individuals and organizations. Even the breast cancer advocacy group, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, cut off their annual grant to Planned Parenthood because Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms. Nancy Brinker, founder and then CEO of Komen said, "Wherever possible, we want to grant to the provider that is actually providing the lifesaving mammogram." Three days later the Foundation was bullied into reversing its decision by Planned Parenthood and its supporters. Nancy Brinker, who founded Komen in honor of her sister who died of breast cancer, stepped down from her position. Komen has never recovered from the controversy. Planned Parenthood sent a very strong message: Don't mess with us, or we will take you down. Even if you are a breast cancer charity giving us money for mammograms we don't ever perform.<br />
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Planned Parenthood has used the media and its "useful idiots" well. It has used pro-choice women to spread its lies because they won't be questioned. My question is: if they will lie repeatedly to every media outlet imaginable, why should we believe anything else they say?<br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>We shouldn't. I'll be writing a lot more about Planned Parenthood here. If you are pro-life and haven't seen the videos being released by the Center for Medical Progress, I urge you. If you are pro-choice, I dare you.<br />
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So they lie about women's health care. They laugh about sending the heads of decapitated babies through the mail and eat salad and drink wine while talking about how to adjust an abortion procedure on a "17-weeker" to get the best organs to sell. (Is it in a woman's best interest to adjust the procedure? Will it help preserve her future fertility, or put it at risk? Do the abortionists give a damn? Do they adjust the abortion procedure for the sake of "women's healthcare?")<br />
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You may have noticed a mantra of sorts throughout this article: Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms. <i>Every time</i> you hear someone say they do, it's a lie. If you're pro-life, please begin to shout it from the rooftops. If anyone says it, simply say, "Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms." That's it. You don't have to argue it. Just keep repeating it, because it's the truth.<br />
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If you hear it on T.V., post on the show's website or Facebook page that Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms. Then tweet it.<br />
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If you're pro-choice, please do this: Realize that this organization has lied to you. It's lied to millions of women, media, senators, members of congress and more. They are liars. Do you care? Does it bother you that they lie and count on you to perpetuate that lie, gambling on the fact that you don't know it's not true? Is it a problem for you that they will lie about this to get at your tax dollars?<br />
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If you are Planned Parenthood fans, those who I wish, in the words of Joy Behar, "...would just get this through their heads," this is for you:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j6QyEYKmISA?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Do you wonder what else Planned Parenthood is lying about? I'll tackle that next time. Hint: it's not abortion.<br />
<br />Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-10770915761820563232015-07-20T13:41:00.004-05:002015-07-20T13:41:56.824-05:00New FNR Blog Coming Soon!!!My retooled Friendly Neighborhood Republican blog is under construction at this time. In the meantime, archived articles can be easily accessed here. I'm hoping to have it up ASAP, but I can't promise when. I'll put out a mass message when the new, improved FNR is up. Thanks for all of your support. It means everything.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-15837322004693871632015-05-25T23:52:00.001-05:002015-05-26T19:40:30.193-05:00Arlington<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">
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<i>This is a repost of the article I wrote on the Fourth of July some time ago about my father-in-law's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. I thought it an even more appropriate post for today. Remember a Vet; or better yet, thank one today. -- Crystal Kelley</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">It's been exactly one month to the day since our family traveled to Arlington, Virginia, to inter the ashes of my father-in-law, John Kelley, at Arlington National Cemetery.</span><br />
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John was Captain of all the Marines on the U.S.S Missouri in the Pacific Theater of WWII. He was in Tokyo Harbor when the peace treaty was signed by the Japanese on the deck of the Missouri, though he was on land that day securing the harbor and missed the ceremony. After the war, he moved his wife and daughter to Minnesota and began working in the family insurance business.</div>
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John and his wife had the awful, horrible misfortune of losing three of their daughters, all at separate times. The first daughter died while John was serving active duty, and she was buried at Arlington. The other two are buried there as well. We went to bring John's remains to rest next to his three daughters.</div>
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I'm writing about this on the Fourth of July because a funeral with full military honors conducted at Arlington National Cemetery is truly a thing to behold, a true testament to love of our country and the honor it is to serve her. This is the day we celebrate our Independence, and without people like John Kelley, we might not be celebrating at all. When one is at Arlington and beholds the vista of grave after grave covering rolling green hills as far as the eye can see, it drives home the enormity of the sacrifice our service men and women have given and the insoluble link between what they gave and the freedom we enjoy today in the United States of America.</div>
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There was a very large turnout for John's interment. Many of us came from Minnesota, and there was a large contingent of east-coast relatives. A granddaughter and her boyfriend came from Thailand for the service. A grandson came from Colorado with his wife and new daughter, born two days before John passed away.</div>
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On the day of the interment, we all gathered in a meeting room in a large marble-floored building to mingle with one another and talk about John. His widow was taken to another room to meet with the officiant for the service. On the tables peppered throughout the family reception room were photo albums of the cemetery--a view of things that would take hours to see in person.</div>
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Then we gathered for the procession to the grave site. We were in ours cars and drove up behind a horse-drawn caisson carrying a coffin draped in the U.S. flag with with a number of Honor Guard servicemen. Two of the Honor Guard, with precision and care that one would use if he were carrying a box containing the most important substance on earth, transferred the box of John's ashes to the larger flag-draped coffin being carried by the caisson. There was a small door in the back of the coffin, which they opened to place John's ashes inside.</div>
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This was when one of the most moving things occurred, at least in my opinion. From our car, we could see that as we drove through the winding roads to the grave site, there were people obviously dressed as tourists who stopped, stood at attention, took off their hats if they had them, and put their hands over their hearts. They had no idea who John Kelley was, but they gave him the respect he deserved because they knew by the trappings of the service that John had served his country. In what capacity these tourists didn't know, but they honored him anyway. I found that touching beyond words, and I'll always remember looking out of my backseat window and seeing these people stopped and standing at attention in respect for John. It gave me hope for America's future to see these civilians being so respectful. To be honest, the entire service gave me hope.</div>
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The grave site is also the grave site of John's three daughters. Their headstones were there. I had never seen them before; my son, on a choir trip to D.C., had very kindly been allowed to find his aunts' graves, on which he placed a guitar pick to let them know he had been there.</div>
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We gathered around the grave site, and there were about 15 chairs in three rows. The widow, John's brother and some of John's children sat in the front row, and I sat in the second row because of my walking and standing difficulties. Everyone else stood behind and around the chairs.</div>
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The service was officiated by a military pastor dressed in white. He was perfect in content and tone, and made us all feel proud of the man we called father, husband, grandfather, brother, and great-grandfather. We prayed and sang "Amazing Grace." Then came the military rituals.</div>
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I don't recall in which order they were done, but I do recall every one of them very well. The 21-gun salute, with gun shots so loud it was kind of startling. I've never been around guns much in my life, and I was surprised at how loud they are in person. The servicemen with the guns were somewhat away from us, on a gradually sloping hill. Then there was "Taps." If you can go to a military funeral without crying, you will only make it until "Taps." The trumpet, played by a serviceman on another hill, was so haunting and quiet and alone. It is the military equivalent of bagpipes at an Irish funeral. It's impossible to have a dry eye.</div>
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Then came two parts I will never forget. The folding of the flag, during which six Honor Guard officers meticulously, with every move practiced to a science, folded the flag that had draped John's casket, into a perfect triangle. I cannot explain how regimented and controlled their movements were as they folded the flag with the utmost care. A neighbor sent me an e-mail the other day containing the meaning behind the 13 traditional folds made in the American flag. I think it is important for us to know that every fold can have deep meaning. I urge you to take a moment to look at <a href="http://tabbykatus.tripod.com/id5.html" style="color: #006677;">this link</a> to help you understand that, though there are no "official" flag-folding symbols, everything done at this kind of military funeral has meaning behind it.</div>
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Then, one of the Honor Guard took the flag, got down on one knee in front of John's widow, and presented it to her. He removed his pristine white glove and shook her hand, and told her how it represents the country's thanks for his service. Another Honor Guard member approached her, got down on one knee and presented her with a pouch containing the spent shells from the gun salute. He removed his white glove and shook her hand. Then came the last Honor Guard member, who got down on his knee, removed his glove, and took her hand while he thanked her for her service to our country, by being a military wife and raising children alone for a while (John didn't see his daughter, Tina, until she was six months old) and all the other sacrifices a military wife makes.</div>
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What struck me most about these three young men--beautiful in their military dress uniforms, with rows of medals across their chests--was their eyes. I was sitting directly behind John's widow, so I saw how each man looked into her eyes as he spoke to her. Sincerity and reverence were just glowing from their eyes as they spoke to her, and I truly believed that it was an honor for them to be participating in the interment of the remains of a WWII Marine Captain. Sadly, we are losing our WWII heroes at a very fast pace now. The "greatest generation" is dwindling.</div>
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I came away from the service with this thought: Sometimes it seems, especially as a conservative blogger and columnist, that the country is extremely divided, and it is in danger of being lost. While those things still exist and are absolutely true, being at the service made me also believe we are still a great country, and there is still respect, honor and sacrifice going on for her sake. We are still steeped in tradition, ritual and reverence in honor of those who fought for liberty.</div>
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My daughter commented that it was awe inspiring to see so many grave stones of the people who were lost fighting for our liberty. I told her this: They were not lost. Their lives were given. For the most part, these fighting men and women give their lives--they don't lose them--for freedom. It is a gift they have given to our country, the ultimate sacrifice.</div>
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And they are not lost today. We carry these individuals in our hearts and our memories, and they will live on forever; in John's case, as a member of America's greatest generation. He will never be forgotten.</div>
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-69263244606754007722013-07-27T00:43:00.000-05:002014-05-22T19:58:01.417-05:00Most Recent Commentary in the Star Tribune Unveils the Real MeI have been ignoring my blog for some time. Today, I felt inspired to at least update my latest article to be published in the Star Tribune. I never included the link in this blog like all of the other articles and letters I had written that were published in various publications. So I decided to include this one, of which I am very proud.<br />
<br />
It is personal, raw, and was incredibly difficult to send to the Strib. However, I felt an obligation to society to write it after a ridiculous, almost-parody-of-what-liberals-think-conservatives-believe Commentary about entitlement programs, including Social Security Disability.<br />
<br />
So I wrote it. I sent it. It was published. I effectively "came out" to everyone who read it as a disabled Republican. It was a very personal issue I chose to air in a very public way because the misinformation included in the original Commentary article I was responding to was so very wrong, insulting, etc., that I couldn't let it stand.<br />
<br />
So here's the link to the original article.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/171252671.html">http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/171252671.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
And here's the Counterpoint I wrote in response to that article: <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/172553091.html">http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/172553091.html</a><br />
<br />
<br />
I'm proud of what I wrote because it educated people about what most conservatives stand for and told my truth in the best way I could tell it. Please read.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-39170994396720582262013-07-27T00:13:00.002-05:002013-07-27T00:17:52.010-05:00Old "Net Let" to the Strib Still Rings TrueI just ran across a "Net Let" I wrote that was published by the Star Tribune on its on-line page that allows people to share their views on line rather than in print. These posts are hand-picked by the Strib as printable, but they just don't have the room in the print version.<br />
<br />
Here is the link to the Net Let I wrote. Yes, it's old. It's from 2008. It's in response to a Commentary piece with which I disagreed vehemently. Yet it is still a relevant commentary about the abortion culture in America. I guess that is the most sad thing about it: it's still relevant because nothing has changed.<br />
<br />
It would probably be helpful to read the original Commentary article I was responding to. Here's the link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/28667664.html">http://www.startribune.com/opinion/28667664.html</a><br />
<br />
After you have read that, you can read my response, which, while called a "Net Let," is really more of a Counterpoint to the original article. It's included with the other Net Lets, and is under the heading: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Still more facets to the abortion debate"</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/29717209.html?page=all&prepage=4&c=y#continue">http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/29717209.html?page=all&prepage=4&c=y#continue</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-54241831636097640822011-11-06T12:28:00.000-06:002012-08-29T15:28:40.811-05:00Dayton Considers Executive Order to Unionize ChildrenMinnesota Governor Mark Dayton is considering issuing an Executive Order to create a union for all of Minnesota's children.<br />
<br />
Citing concern that children have an under-represented voice in the labor force, Dayton has promised that unionizing Minnesota's children will give them the protection they need as they navigate the difficult journey of growing up to become taxpayers.<br />
<br />
Pro-union groups have described their perceived advantages to unionizing children. "Children need a voice, and the union will be that voice. They are often given low wages for work, forced to wear clothing they don't like, eat food they don't like, and they are disciplined without representation. They need protection against these egregious examples of how children are taken advantage of in our society," said an unidentified union representative.<br />
<br />
"Our goal is that through the unionization of Minnesota children, they will now receive minimum wage for their chores and work done for neighbors and friends. They will no longer be at the mercy of the dictator parent who has the last word. They will have representation in all disputes. They will go unprotected no longer."<br />
<br />
Dayton administration insiders say the unionization will be good for the economy. "Children already hold a large chunk of the disposable income in America. Paying them higher wages will only put more disposable income into their hands, allowing them to stimulate the economy by spending that money at malls and movie theaters."<br />
<br />
When asked if the children's wages would be taxed, an administration official answered, "Only if they're rich."<br />
<br />
A Republican insider disagreed with the plan, saying, "One of the big reasons they're doing this is to change the unemployment numbers. A kid gets a job mowing lawns--one job created. A teenager babysits for several families--each babysitting event would be counted as a new job created. This is ridiculous."<br />
<br />
When asked if this action would even be legal, since minor children are unable to enter into contracts under current law, Dayton just stared blankly into space. <br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(For those with a sprained or absent sense of humor, the above article is a parody, or Al Franken's favorite word, "satire.")</span><br />
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-87024657131042645432011-09-13T19:32:00.001-05:002011-09-13T19:33:13.057-05:00Obama team launches group to eliminate news against Obama before it airs I know a lot of conservatives receive these e-mails, but then again, I know a lot of you don't. So, I sometimes like to share the more interesting ones with the FNR readers. Here's the latest one:<br />
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<blockquote>Crystal --</blockquote><blockquote>If you're someone who cares about seeing a campaign focused on substance between now and November 2012, I need you to become a part of one of our most important teams.</blockquote><blockquote>It's called AttackWatch.com, and it launches today.</blockquote><blockquote>Here's the deal: We all remember the birth certificate smear, the GOP's barrage of lies about the Affordable Care Act, and the string of other phony attacks on President Obama that we've seen over the past few years.</blockquote><blockquote>There are a lot of folks on the other side who are chomping at the bit to distort the President's record. It's not a question of if the next big lie will come, just when -- and what we're prepared to do about it.</blockquote><blockquote>AttackWatch.com is exactly what it sounds like: a resource that allows us to nip these attacks in the bud before they show up on the airwaves and in emails -- and then fight back with the truth.<br />
By signing up, you'll be on the front lines -- you'll hear about false claims as soon as they come up, and we'll count on you to spread the truth to your friends and personal networks and let us know about new smears whenever you hear them.</blockquote><blockquote>Will you sign up now to be a part of AttackWatch.com?</blockquote><blockquote>I remember the smears from 2008 well, and I'm sure you do, too.</blockquote><blockquote>They didn't just attack Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They went after everything this movement is built on, and everyone who supports it.</blockquote><blockquote>This time, they're not just out to personally attack the President -- they're also out to mislead Americans about the record of accomplishments that he's compiled. Just the other day, a Republican financier actually quoted Saddam Hussein in telling a group of millionaire donors that defeating President Obama will be "the mother of all wars."</blockquote><blockquote>We're launching AttackWatch.com today to make sure we're ready for the attacks we know are coming -- and armed with the ability to fight back quickly.</blockquote><blockquote>Sign up for AttackWatch.com now, and let's get the facts out:</blockquote><blockquote>Thanks,<br />
Jim Messina<br />
Campaign Manager<br />
Obama for America</blockquote><br />
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I have eliminated all the links because I don't want trollers to visit them through my blog. There were also links to donate to the "cause," which I don't want to promote. I just found it interesting that this movement assumes everything coming from "folks on the other side" or "them" will be a lie that civilian Obama supporters must be on the "front lines" to extinguish lest it sully the image of the anointed one. <br />
<br />
Watch out for this group. I have a feeling they'll be vicious.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-24483270246667632552011-09-11T01:24:00.010-05:002011-09-11T01:37:35.631-05:00Three Small Words: Remembering September 11<div><i>I posted this article a year ago, on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. I have rewritten it to reflect what is going on today. Please read my updated article for this special year.</i><br />
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<br />
Ten years ago, I wrote this letter to the editor, which was published in the <i>Eden Prairie News</i> shortly after September 11, 2001:</div><blockquote><div><blockquote><br />
<div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b>On September 11, among the many lessons to be learned, I learned that three small words can be used to convey something fearful and despondent, while at the same time convey a message of reassurance and hope .</b></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><br />
</b></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><i></i></b></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b>When my nine-year-old son came home from school that afternoon, he didn't seem to know much about what had happened. I sat him down and explained to him the terrible events of the day. He looked at me, his round blue eyes searching mine for reassurance. "Will we have a war, Mama?" he asked. "Yes, we will," I said, wanting to bite back my words, but at the same time knowing I was doing the right thing. I had to be honest with my son. Thanks to the evil of terrorism, my answer was true.</b></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><br />
</b></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><i></i></b></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Later, my 13-year-old daughter quickly began to understand the gravity of the situation. In typical teenage fashion, avoiding my eyes and trying not to sound too serious, she asked, "Will America make it through this, Mom?"</b></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><br />
</b></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b><i></i></b></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><b>I told her about the deprivation of the Great Depression, the civil war that pitted brother against brother, and two world wars that tested the strength of every American. "Yes, we will," I answered. I had to be honest with my daughter. Thanks to the indelible American spirit, my answer was true.</b></span></i></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><div><i></i></div><div></div><div>Three small words. "Yes, we will." They can mean so many things. That day they meant a promise of war and the promise of victory. Other days, they mean something else.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Life does go on, as it has, since September 11, 2001. We started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where our troops remain today. We've elected a president who has barely spoken of keeping us safe.<br />
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Worse, we've witnessed another terrorist attack in America: the shootings at <a href="http://friendlyneighborhoodrepublican.blogspot.com/2009/11/where-does-buck-stop.html">Fort Hood</a>.<br />
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Our president and most presidential candidates talk about jobs and our economy. Many Americans want our government to give them more, more, more money, programs; you know, free stuff. There is little discussion about how those things won't matter at all if we are the victims of another massive attack by our enemy, which still exists as brutally as it did 10 years ago. Which wants us, and our way of life, gone, dead, buried.<br />
<br />
But we also wonder who will be on this season of <i>Dancing With the Stars</i>. We've become obsessed with vampires. Big news equals Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony's divorce and Kim Kardashian's wedding.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We've forgotten.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Before you say, "Oh no we haven't," I say to you, "Look around. The unity we found that day is lost. We are a country divided. We have stood on opposite sides arguing about whether a Mosque should be built near the Ground Zero site. Do you think this argument would have even found a voice on September 12, 2001?"<br />
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Then there are things like this:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/afdi-sioa-9-11-freedom-rally-welcomes-clergy-114407713.html"><i>NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – </i>The human rights organization American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) will be hosting its second annual 9/11 Freedom Rally on September 11 at 3pm at Park Place and West Broadway. </a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/afdi-sioa-9-11-freedom-rally-welcomes-clergy-114407713.html">While clergy, 9/11 first responders, and 9/11 family members are barred and/or not invited to the official ceremonies, all are welcome at the 9/11 Freedom Rally. And while White House guidelines forbid official 9/11 ceremonies from mentioning who attacked the U.S. on that day or why, the 9/11 Freedom Rally features more honest speakers.</a></blockquote></div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't know how any thinking, compassionate American cannot feel ill after reading the paragraph above. People jumped out of those buildings rather than be burned to death. Firefighters rushed into the buildings to save others while knowing they would lose their own lives. Women lost their husbands, men lost their wives, children lost their mothers, and some lost their fathers before they were even born.<br />
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And whether we like to admit it or not, the atrocities of that day were carried out by Muslim extremists in the name of Allah. Even if the current regime in charge of the White House doesn't want to admit it, it's still the truth.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Do you remember? Do you remember the photos on the front pages of your newspapers of people, your fellow Americans, on American soil, covered in ashes to the point of being unrecognizable as they stumbled through the streets of New York desperate for safety, shelter, a sip of water, a <a href="http://krystalnet.com/dusty_woman.jpg">breath of air? </a>In America? Our America?</div><div><br />
</div><div>I remember that night here in suburban Minneapolis. The sky was clear and dark and salted with a few stars. My neighbor and I were standing in her backyard talking when a military helicopter roared over her house. We knew the skies had been shut down and cleared of all traffic. The helicopter was flying low, and even though it was one of ours--there to keep us safe--for a moment we were terrified. We stopped talking and just sort of hung there in frozen time, as if our hearts had stopped from fear and needed to be jump started before we asked, "What the hell was that?"</div><div><br />
</div><div>Earlier that evening my church held a special service. I'll never forget the image of my daughter, dressed in black, hugging a fellow Sunday School friend as they sat on the steps outside. They stayed in each other's arms for a long time, her head resting on his shoulder. Then they held hands, as if not wanting to let go of one another for fear of losing the other before our next church service. I watched from the top of the steps with tears rolling freely down my face as I realized my children's generation had just become a generation at war. They had become a generation in which the sanctity of the American bubble that had always protected them was shattered by airplanes filled with hate and bound for death. They changed that day--the children. Forever.</div><div><br />
</div><div>That night my children slept in bed with me. Their father couldn't sleep and stayed up all night. My daughter held my hand as she slept, something she hadn't done since she was very small. When she was little, she always wanted to hold my hand as she slept if she was scared. I lay awake and heard another plane fly over the house. I gripped my sleeping child's hand a little tighter.</div><div><br />
</div><div>As I write this on the eve of the tenth anniversary of this terrorist attack on America, I am saddened by how far apart we've come. The weight of this horrible atrocity seems to have slipped from our shoulders, and we've become the frivolous, politically-correct society we were before this ever happened.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Of course we can't be a society hobbled by the hatred lurking in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to kill us. <a href="http://d.yimg.com/nl/ynews/newsmaker/player.html#shareUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fvideo%23video%3D26271274&vid=26271274&browseCarouselUI=hide">We must move on.</a> But all I ask is that for tomorrow, please take a moment to remember. Really remember. Wherever you were in America, it hit you. It touched you.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It changed you.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Before this, you were safe. You are safe no more. You know it. You accept it. You scoff at it when you have to board a plane. It inconveniences you, but it does not effect you, not anymore.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I'm asking you, if only for one day, to let it effect you. Let in the fear of knowing you are never safe. Let in the knowledge that there are people on earth who hate you and what you stand for so much that they will <b><i>kill you and your babies</i></b> in the name of their cause without blinking an eye.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Then, see the issues of the day through those eyes. Is it better to to do as the White House says and not name our enemy? The Mosque near ground zero is still being built. Why are we protecting our enemy? I think some people act this way so they can appear "enlightened" in a world in which if you are against anything anyone does for any reason--particularly if those people happen not to be white Christians--you are called a bigot.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Islam is such a complex thing that it's nearly impossible to deconstruct. I know Muslim people who have Minnesota accents stronger than mine. I have personally seen the good side and the dark side of Islam. So I am not one of those who condemns all who cover their heads and pray five times per day. I just don't want the extremists to blow things up and kill Americans. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I understand the pull toward political correctness that is threaded through our country. But without a healthy dose of fear, wariness and protectiveness, I believe that pull will become so strong we'll all be taken along for the ride whether we like it or not, consequences be damned.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, will you say three small words for me? If I ask you, "Will you remember?" will you answer,</div><div><br />
</div><div>"Yes, we will."</div><div><br />
</div><div></div>Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-74458237115922674082011-09-08T19:13:00.001-05:002011-09-08T21:45:30.495-05:00Obama turning tonight's speech into a campaign fundraiser before he utters one wordI just received the following e-mail from Barack Obama's campaign. It speaks for itself, really, but I felt the need to point out a few things. <br />
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First of all, what a classless, ham-handed thing to do: turning what should be a very sober address to the American people into a campaign fundraiser. I wish this president had a modicum of the respect Reagan had for the office he holds. <br />
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Here's the e-mail:<br />
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<blockquote><b>Crystal --</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>I'm about to head to the Capitol to ask Congress to act on my plan to put Americans back to work.</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>Before I do, I wanted to write you directly to remind you that the fight to create jobs -- and provide the kind of economic security for middle-class families that's been slipping away over the last decade -- won't begin or end with the speech I give tonight.</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>What happens will be up to you. In the coming days and weeks, it will be up to you to pressure Congress to act -- or hold them accountable if they do not.</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>If you're with me, let me know. And the campaign will make sure you are looped into our efforts to support this plan.</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>Talk to you soon,</b></blockquote><blockquote><b>Barack</b><br />
<b>-----------</b><br />
<b>This campaign isn't funded by Washington lobbyists or corporate interests. It relies on donations from people like you. You should donate today.</b></blockquote><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>I didn't add the two links included in the e-mail that direct you to pages where you can donate to Obama's re-election campaign. But they were in the original e-mail. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I am really surprised to find out that I'm on a first-name basis with the President of the United States. But maybe it's fitting to address him by his first name because, in my opinion, he doesn't deserve the above-mentioned title.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I wonder if he'll tell the American people to "pressure" Congress, or is that kind of talk reserved for those of us lucky enough to be e-mail buddies with him? I also wonder if he'll mention that in order to be kept in the "loop" about his job creation ideas, you must first donate to his campaign?</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, it will be interesting to watch Barack's speech tonight. Do you think they'll have a crawl at the bottom of the screen directing you to places to make campaign donations? Or maybe he'll just ask for money at the end of his speech. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Even if he doesn't go that far, I think this incredibly tacky e-mail crossed the line between his being President Obama and Candidate "Barack." </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-44700707323924330292011-09-06T23:54:00.002-05:002011-09-06T23:59:02.519-05:00Pageant tot dressed as hooker--A word in defense of pageantsThe video below shows a tiny tot, probably no more than five years old, dressed up in a costume created as a replica of Julia Roberts' costume in the film, "Pretty Woman." Before she was rescued by her man. In the thigh-high boots, platinum wig and midriff-baring shirt/mini skirt combo she wore as a street hooker. Watch and cringe:<br />
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<img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMTUzNjgzOTI2NDEmcHQ9MTMxNTM2ODgyMjUyNiZwPTEwNjM2NjImZD*mZz*yJm89YzY5OTk1MGFlNzE*NGU3M2Iw/Y2IzZTA5ZmUzZWQ*Nzgmb2Y9MA==.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object data="http://vids.perezhilton.com/plugins/player.swf?v=5859cdfa689fd&p=vega4-without-ads-transparent-flp&autoplay=false" height="308" id="embedded_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410"><param name="movie" value="http://vids.perezhilton.com/plugins/player.swf?v=5859cdfa689fd&p=vega4-without-ads-transparent-flp&autoplay=false"/><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="base" value="http://vids.perezhilton.com"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/></object><br />
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I have been involved in pageantry for more years than I can count. I was in a few teen pageants in my day, and I saw it as a way for a young woman to realize her potential and grow her self esteem. <br />
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Years later, at age 15, my daughter started competing. There are several different pageants out there; not so many in the north as there are in the south. Some are better than others. I'm bit wary of Donald Trump's Miss Universe Organization, which owns Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. I'm partial to the Miss America system, in which my daughter was a titleholder.<br />
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I have been involved in the Miss Minnesota Organization as a sponsor, judge and committee member. I think this caliber of pageantry is excellent for young women. There is a big focus on education (each winner receives a scholarship), and there is a huge emphasis on personal platform work, which is an issue of concern the contestant has chosen to do charity work and community service to enhance, enlighten or just raise funds for to help, for instance, find a cure for breast cancer or autism.<br />
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Through my exposure and work in pageantry, I have met some of the most intelligent, driven, talented, sincere, compassionate and hard-working young women in America. I consider it an honor to have been associated with these incredible young ladies. They are the future leaders of our country (and I have found most of them to be politically conservative. *bonus!*). If you think this generation has gone to hell in a hand basket, just go to the Miss Minnesota Pageant, a local affiliate, or the pageant in whichever state you reside. You'll emerge a changed person. You will have a positive view of pageantry instead of the horrible reputation portrayed on the show, "Toddlers & Tiaras," which provided the above clip.<br />
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I am a big fan of responsible pageantry, and a huge opponent of "kiddie pageants." In my opinion, girls shouldn't be able to compete in pageants until age 15. By then, they have something to say, something to feel, and possibly a well-developed talent. The kinds of girls who would compete at that age possess a great deal of self worth, which is so essential in pageantry. In most teen pageants, there is an emphasis on being age appropriate as well.<br />
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I wish reality T.V. were more interested in showing the positive sides of pageantry, instead of the horror show on "Toddlers & Tiaras" each week.<br />
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Kiddie pageants are more about the pageant moms than the girls competing. And, yes, even in adult pageants, similar pageant moms can be found there. <br />
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But for the most part, women and teens who hold titles, represent their communities or states, or go on to Miss America, are the best of the best and have wonderful, supportive families, committees and coaches. I'm saddened by how this sensational show about child exploitation colors people's perceptions of pageants in general. They could not be more different. <br />
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Don't waste your time watching, "Toddlers & Tiaras." Watch Miss America in January instead. You may just learn something and come away knowing for certain that our world won't be in the hands of a bunch of lazy dolts many think embody the current generation.<br />
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There is excellence in young America. You just have to seek it out.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-5294393279162394782011-09-02T00:10:00.006-05:002011-09-02T17:00:59.055-05:00Viable Jobs Idea From Bachmann--Outdoes Anything Obama's ProposedI found this article today that briefly outlines one of presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's job creation plans. <br />
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<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9PFCVO00.htm">http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9PFCVO00.htm</a><br />
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I'd love to hear more about this, as it's the most substantial plan I've seen lately. I'm interested to hear Obama's wait-until-I'm-done-with-my-vacation jobs plan, which he will announce on television. Obama's job's speech was originally scheduled to be a blatant slap in the face of Republicans, whose debate would have been running against it, until he changed the time of the speech to run the following night prior to the Saints vs. Packers football game.<br />
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Is that Republicans 1; Obama Administration 0, because the President of the United States moved his speech so it wouldn't coincide with the Republican debate at Speaker John Boehner's "request?" Or Republicans 0; Obama Administration 1, because he may pick up a lot of football fans to listen to his speech by having moved it to the pre-game slot (with the possibility of delivering the money shot after having "accidentally" run a few minutes over time)? Something to think about...<br />
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I digress.<br />
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I am not an official supporter of Michele Bachmann for president. I haven't put my deeds or words behind any candidate yet. I need to see more--feel more. I need to make sure the candidate I support would support me and my beliefs.<br />
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But I will give credit where credit is due: Bachmann's simple job stimulus idea is the best we've heard so far, especially from this administration or from Congress. She is a business owner. That means she has miles more experience than Obama had when he became president, which is why we are in the ditch at this point.<br />
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Because a driver who has never had a license shouldn't be the one elected to drive the family car everywhere it goes. With the family in it.<br />
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-34304457942819635282011-07-29T22:31:00.002-05:002011-07-30T20:21:46.086-05:00What do preschoolers and sexy vampires have in common?Burger King kids meals!<br />
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These are photos of the "toy" that was included in my three-year-old granddaughter's kids meal a few days ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhn4vyTQTXgjxn_oBrAVrlqTOvlUCWaqCAEJoM9AeiBRIfh_PsJD2n9wl71Zs0HEvZrJqEuZAaq9fOAlfT2fieZbuDkxgArCTKngc4N9PbDUr7MvWczgZnTswHul7Y4J2lnRUV80el5Hw/s1600/burger+king+closed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhn4vyTQTXgjxn_oBrAVrlqTOvlUCWaqCAEJoM9AeiBRIfh_PsJD2n9wl71Zs0HEvZrJqEuZAaq9fOAlfT2fieZbuDkxgArCTKngc4N9PbDUr7MvWczgZnTswHul7Y4J2lnRUV80el5Hw/s1600/burger+king+closed.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When you open up this plastic thingy, this is what you get:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z-d5kjCnmLU1x6ozftQX4JR4MUpx7s27ZXgjKTTqIUdWQ40RzpLWbOYIMxa8ZgeAup54KtmH9htG_qVAHnUEnhUUbW1PczbeVbElHXvfdvLtj8K9xa2XbSGaGu2a08X9zWT7PJk87fY/s1600/burger+king+open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z-d5kjCnmLU1x6ozftQX4JR4MUpx7s27ZXgjKTTqIUdWQ40RzpLWbOYIMxa8ZgeAup54KtmH9htG_qVAHnUEnhUUbW1PczbeVbElHXvfdvLtj8K9xa2XbSGaGu2a08X9zWT7PJk87fY/s1600/burger+king+open.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>I have a couple of problems with this. First of all, this doesn't even qualify as a "toy." It's purely an advertising tool that doesn't even break a sweat trying to be an actual toy.<br />
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Then there's the problem of extreme age inappropriateness. I know all kids who eat Burger King kids meals aren't three years old, like my granddaughter. Frankly, she's too young to even understand what this toy means.<br />
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But I would estimate the proper ages for children to consume Burger King kids meals to be ages 12 and under. Does anyone in their right mind think children in this age groups should be an advertising target for this movie? Yes, I know there will be the few crazy parents who will bring their toddlers to this film. (Years ago, I sat behind a toddler whose parents thought it would be a great idea to bring her to see "Alien." She screamed that she was scared the whole time and tried to face backwards in her front row seat with her tiny, dimpled hands tightly covering her eyes. I wonder what she grew up to be?) So there are a few crazies out there who will do this, but I don't think that covers even a slight fraction of a percentage point of American parents. At least I hope not.<br />
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I know fast food restaurants often give toys for children under age three if asked, so there are no small parts they can choke on. There were no small parts contained with this toy.<br />
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There was, however, a $5 coupon for any "Eclipse" merchandise I would like to buy for my child. She could be sporting sexy vampire apparel for a bargain price.<br />
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What in the world is Burger King thinking advertising about a new addition to a saga of movies based on books about vampires. Young sexy ones. And I don't have any hang ups about young vampire sex, except when it comes to children. Watching it. Being exposed to it. Opening their Burger King kids meals and thinking the photo inside is cool.<br />
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Gotta go. I need to look up movie times for "Eclipse." I think I might just bring my granddaughter to that instead of "Whinnie the Pooh." I'll make sure to buy her a T-shirt first. I wonder if they come in a size 3T?Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-69208624975592415492011-07-13T01:05:00.000-05:002012-06-18T17:27:24.402-05:00On Pawlenty and Lady GagaSo, T-Paw likes Lady Gaga, particularly her songs, "Bad Romance," and her a cappella performance of her song, "Born This Way" on her HBO special. There are more than a thousand articles on the subject available on the internet, if you'd like to read them. The most succinct one I found was <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/07/lady-gaga-tim-pawlenty-music-born-this-way-/1?csp=34news">this article from <i>USA Today</i></a>. The <i>StarTribune</i> article, as is typical of that publication, crossed the line between news and opinion. It seems this breaking news had a lot of people talking.<br />
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And I say, "So what?"<br />
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I know this confession won't be big news, but I, the Friendly Neighborhood Republican, "like" Lady Gaga too. <br />
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I know, it's shocking. A Republican, mid-western grandmother thinks Lady Gaga is really talented. I know I'm not a member of her typical fan base, but that's okay. I'm a very music-oriented person, and I have a lot of eclectic tastes. If you were to look at my playlist, it would include sacred choir music (performed by my son's high school choir); Prince, more Prince, and still more Prince; Vince Gill; Stevie Ray Vaughn; Meshugah; all of my son's performances that my husband burned for me; Mozart piano concertos; Aerosmith; and, of course, Elvis. And I'm leaving a lot of musicians out. <br />
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I harbor no guilt or conflict about any of my choices. I come from a very musical family, and frankly, neither I nor my children or grandchildren would exist without a combination of 50's rock-n-roll, blues, and classical piano. It's a very long story.<br />
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So, if my choice to appreciate the talent Lady Gaga clearly exhibits as a songwriter, singer, musician and performance artist is a problem for anyone, given my political leanings, that's just too bad. But contrary to what you might think, I'm not advocating that the two are mutually exclusive. They're not.<br />
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Pawlenty, when asked whether the lyrics of Gaga's song, "Born This Way," might be contrary to his belief system about whether or not gay people are born gay, he said, "The science isn't clear either way on that." Even the liberal publications had to admit he was right. It was a round-about way of saying he doesn't disagree with the song's message.<br />
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Pawlenty, like most Republicans, has never said he hates gays and everything they stand for. So why is it news that he appreciates the talent of a woman who has become a contemporary gay icon? He even argued for gay marriage rights as a Minnesota legislator.<br />
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He now says he regrets his support when he was legislator. Sadly, Pawlenty, like Michele Bachmann, has aligned himself with the religious right segment of the Republican party for his presidential campaign. That's where we differ.<br />
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I'm coming out to say that being Republican doesn't automatically mean you are against gay rights. My gay, Republican nephew would agree with that statement. I plan to write much more about gay rights as it relates to Republican politics in the near future.<br />
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But for now, let's just say, stop being shocked that a mid-western Republican would be a Lady Gaga fan. If you are the least bit scandalized or feel Republicans are somehow hypocritical for being fans, I say you're very closed minded, something liberals accuse conservatives of all the time.<br />
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I also say, as a preface to a series of upcoming writings, that the cobwebs needing to be swept from the hinges of the doors slammed to new ideas and anti-stereotyping don't exist in the minds of all Republicans. They just may belong to members of the <a href="http://www.factmonster.com/images/party_democrat.jpg">"tolerance party"</a> who can't seem to accept something as trivial as Tim Pawlenty's musical tastes, just because he happens to be a Republican.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-52749886645608819372011-06-15T15:08:00.003-05:002019-02-06T22:04:48.377-06:00Letter to Eden Prairie News reveals truth about Dayton's extreme vetoesI wrote a letter to the editor of the <i>Eden Prairie News</i>, which was published on Thursday, June 9, 2011. I would have liked to post a link to it here, but it's not online yet. I really want to share the facts included in the letter with readers who may not subscribe to the <i>Eden Prairie News</i>. If you saw the letter, you know I had the dubious honor of being published on the same page as Senator Al Franken. <br />
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Here's the letter:<br />
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<b>Questions Dayton's vetoes</b></blockquote>
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<b>Mark Dayton issued a flurry of vetoes last week, making it the biggest snowstorm of 2011. Among the things he vetoed: Tax relief for Minnesota's 506,000 married joint filers who now have to pay the marriage penalty tax, tax relief for military veterans, property tax relief for disabled veterans and surviving spouses, property tax refunds for homeowners and property tax relief for businesses statewide.</b></blockquote>
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<b>Republicans gave him a $34.2 billion budget - much larger than I would have liked. After subtracting the one-time stimulus money Minnesota received last year, this budget actually represents an increase of $3.5 billion. It raises spending without raising taxes. Why isn't it enough for Dayton - a 9 percent spending increase when so many people are getting little to no increase in income?</b></blockquote>
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<b>Dayton also vetoed Senator Daley's bill to require basic skills testing for teachers. This bill was not controversial. It passed 87-41 in the House and 52-0 in Senate. Dayton is revealing himself to be even more radical than his own party.</b></blockquote>
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<b>Finally, Dayton vetoed the voter ID bill. He said it was because the bill "lacks broad bipartisan support." But, according to two recent polls (Minneapolis Star Tribune and Survey USA), Minnesotans overwhelmingly support voter ID. For example, according to the Star Tribune poll, 80 percent of Minnesotans support voter ID (including 64 percent of Democrats) and only 18 percent are opposed. That sounds pretty bipartisan to me.</b></blockquote>
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<b>Unlike Dayton, my three legislators all support our right to free and honest elections, and they support a government that lives within its means. Thank you to David Hann, Jenifer Loon and Kirk Stensrud. Please keep fighting for Minnesota.</b></blockquote>
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<b>Crystal Kelley, Eden Prairie</b></blockquote>
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I'm not publishing this on my blog so I can blow my own horn, but because I have had comments from several people who, after reading the letter, said, "I didn't know he vetoed all of those things." I think people should be as informed as possible. If this letter can help that happen, then I want to spread it to a wider audience.<br />
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So, if you think the information here is important, please pass it on to your friends. Thank you for your readership.<br />
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Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-68089468166689580242011-06-13T03:08:00.036-05:002011-06-13T15:44:18.628-05:00Who is really holding Minnesota hostage: Republicans, Dayton, or left-wing media scare tactics?The front-page article in today's <i>StarTribune</i>, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/123693874.html">"Shutdown would be a leap into unkown,"</a> is typical in many ways. First, it showcases the Strib's well-known penchant for uni-partisanship by deliberately slanting the article to make Republicans look like the bad guys. Second, it uses the handy dandy scare tactics the left likes to pull out when things get rough. <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qn7M6aLLHg">(Click this link for mood music to read the article's excerpts by. Right click on this link to open it in another tab or window so you can play it while you read.)</a><br />
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The article begins:<br />
<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Minnesota's state parks: Closed.</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">The state lottery? Frozen.</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Minnesota's most violent prisoners? Held back by a skeleton crew.</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">Taxes? Not so fast. Minnesotans would still be paying those.</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">In 19 days, Minnesotans could endure the most wide-reaching government shutdown in state history, with little sense of when it might end.</span></i></blockquote>The music is appropriate here, don't you think? The smell of fear, the bait dangled for dangers lying ahead--you get the drift. <br />
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The last paragraph on the front page before the jump to page A16 reads:<br />
<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's administration has rushed to piece together a shutdown plan largely in secret, even as he slogs through inch-by-inch budget negotiations with Republicans to avert closure. Dayton's...</span></i></blockquote>Poor Governor Dayton, slogging his way through inch-by-inch budget negotiations with Republicans. It gives one mental pictures of Dayton struggling through quicksand toward those stubborn Republicans, standing with arms folded, refusing to move at all, while his administration rushes to piece together a plan in <i>secret</i>. (More about that important word later.)<br />
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Then comes the jump, which most editors hope readers won't bother to turn to to continue reading the article. Many won't. They just read what's on the front page and don't bother to continue. That's why liberal journalists are masters at setting up headlines and front-page teaser articles that blame the right while waiting until after the jump to the inside page to add a point of view from the opposition. You know, to give a balanced news story, not an opinion piece, to help preserve their journalistic integrity. Did I just write, "journalistic integrity?" You may all pause for a short belly laugh at my naive use of those words when referring to the <i>StarTribune.</i> For just one of many examples, even after this article's second jump, it doesn't give the Republican viewpoint at all.<br />
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But it does begin to describe what's going on with the budget negotiations and what Dayton is doing about it. It seems Dayton's top staffers are "cobbling together" information to determine which government workers would be deemed essential in the event of a government shut down. (Non-essential workers would be temporarily laid off and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">w</span>ouldn't be paid during the shut-down period.) Then there is what I consider to be the most important piece of the article:<br />
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<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Dayton's administration has refused to release many details, in part because final decisions will be made not by them but by a court.</span></i></blockquote><br />
So Dayton is "piecing together" the shutdown plan in secret and refuses to release many details. They say the reason is because decisions will ultimately be made in court, but I think there is another, simpler reason.<br />
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It's much, much scarier to leave things dangling in the unknown, isn't it? Much of the rest of the article speculates which jobs or services could be cut (but might not be because no one knows what the plans are), such as schools, nursing homes (which may have to kick residents out), home health care aides, etc. They even trotted out the possibility of a dangerous epidemic and pointed out the "deadly E.coli outbreak in Germany as a ghoulish example of the need to be prepared."<br />
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When presented with the scenario of the possible shut down lasting into September, Charlie Kyte, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators was quoted as saying, "It could be hugely problematic." Hugely? Okay, it's a word, but it's not a good one.<br />
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Anyway, the article points out that Dayton faces pressure from state workers living paycheck to paycheck (who are a large part of his voting base) and his desire to get what he wants politically, which the Strib simply boils down to raising taxes on high earners with no mention of Dayton's proposed 15 percent spending increase. It also points out that much of the outcome is in his hands:<br />
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<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">An expansive shutdown would apply maximum public pressure on Republicans to agree on a budget deal. Or Dayton could argue that most services are essential, which would minimize disruptions, but also give Republicans less incentive to cut a deal.</span></i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">So far, Dayton has been silent on strategy. "We are still in the process of developing what we believe the law requires," he said.</span></i></blockquote><br />
So Dayton could give in and balance the budget with the Republican's version, which proposes a 6 percent increase in spending without increasing taxes, or he could lay off thousands of people who really need those paychecks to keep coming in for their very survival. <br />
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Given Dayton's past as a trust-fund baby turned aimless adult, I wonder which he'll choose? Surely he hasn't stood in the shoes of those whose fate he holds in the palm of his hands. If he has, I'd love to hear the story (a true one, of course). <br />
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The second-to-last paragraph in the article reads:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><i></i></span><br />
<div style="display: inline !important;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Meanwhile, the state's 40,000 workers watch the days tick away while they worry about lost paychecks and whether they'll be able to maintain their health insurance, which could run roughly $1,500 a month.</span></i></div></blockquote>To answer the question posed in my headline, "Who is really holding Minnesota hostage: Republicans, Dayton, or left-wing media scare tactics?" my answer is: the latter two. The Republicans found a way to balance the budget without raising taxes in a recession. By not giving up on his ill advised, silly economic ideals, Dayton has the power to throw Minnesota into a much deeper hole by putting government workers out of work. <br />
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The media are contributing to the problem by printing articles like this to try to scare people into putting pressure on Republicans to back down or on Democrats to hold fast. What I propose is that Republicans begin calling and e-mailing their legislators, both Republican and Democrat, and let them know you want them to accept the Republican budget and keep the government running. <br />
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The potential for government shutdown is in Dayton's hands. Let's hope he drops it like a hot potato and moves on, instead of making a politicized move to shut down the government and spending the upcoming years blaming Republicans for what is truly his decision.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-4759080222497447532011-06-09T22:49:00.001-05:002011-06-09T22:49:59.726-05:00Now it's easy to "follow" Friendly Neighborhood RepublicanI want my readers to know it's now easier to follow this blog than ever before. At the top of the-right hand margin above my photo is a "Friendly Neighborhood Republican Followers" box. In that box there is a button marked "follow." All you have to do is click and you will become a Friendly Neighborhood Republican Follower and be alerted when new blog posts are up. This is a great way to follow the blog if you are not a member of Networked Blogs, which has a follower box at the bottom of the right-hand margin on the page. <br />
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Thank you to all my loyal readers who come to this blog regularly to check for new posts. Becoming a Follower will take some of the work out of that. Thanks to all new visitors for checking it out. <br />
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If you like it, "follow" it!Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-60954041207938200372011-06-06T23:45:00.004-05:002011-06-07T14:20:13.769-05:00Weiner "victim" of poor lying skillsWhile strolling through the blogosphere, I'm finding a lot of media items that seem to be expressing empathy, sadness, and even notes on the bleak, spiritless decor of the room in which Representative Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y) admitted he sent illicit photos and e-mails to young women. The photo in particular question has been one of him in a pair of grey shorts that was sent to a college student via Weiner's Twitter account.<br />
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Weiner gave a series of embarrassing news conferences and interviews in which he tried to pull a Clinton ("it depends on what the definition of 'is' is," etc.) and instead wound up pulling a mix between a bad imitation of George W. Bush's SNL version of bungling the English language (dignitude), and a kid with chocolate smeared all over his mouth telling you he didn't eat the candy. He actually said in an interview with NBC when asked if the photo was or was not of his body below the waist, "I can't say with certitude that it's not me."<br />
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And so today the Congressman has now confessed it was his doing all along (gasp!). In predictable fashion, the liberal media began bestowing victim status upon Representative Weiner, though he already trotted out the "V-word" himself last week. "I was the victim of a prank," he said.<br />
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Eric Dezenhall, author of <i>Damage Control</i>, speaking of today's news conference during which Weiner confessed to lying, said, ..."Unless you're a sociopath, watching someone endure that is a very, very distressing thing." Call me a sociopath, but I don't think watching someone squirm out of the ropes with which they bound themselves is "very, very distressing." It feels a little more like...justice.<br />
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Didn't we all--and I mean <i>all</i>--know this guy did the deed in question and was lying about it? Why the headlines and dismay? Reports are Weiner won't resign (he should) and so, at least for now, the Dems will hold onto their seat. So that's probably not it. Why such sympathy and column space for a guy we knew was a lying sack and a story from which we should just move on?<br />
<br />
Because I'm writing about a dweeby little guy with a funny name who happens to be a United States Congressman using his official Twitter account for ill and blaming it on hackers instead of how Obama's great economic recovery is a failure and an even bigger lie than the tale of the Little Man Who Tweeted.Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-199811808517822192011-05-30T10:11:00.017-05:002015-05-25T23:46:38.713-05:00Arlington<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ltJWJsHYiDAM0EODEIqpIluNYZp3dN4s01XGK9ss9qr5uqpj0c_-tm8QWJq9utWi6ay2irL4zQwoIbawehram5PG-3luqdxZirBux1IrADW218CKYwyc3ITrOlDwrRU2DFQGBbQcRgI/s1600/Headstones+at+Arlington.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ltJWJsHYiDAM0EODEIqpIluNYZp3dN4s01XGK9ss9qr5uqpj0c_-tm8QWJq9utWi6ay2irL4zQwoIbawehram5PG-3luqdxZirBux1IrADW218CKYwyc3ITrOlDwrRU2DFQGBbQcRgI/s400/Headstones+at+Arlington.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612530563008064402" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>This is a repost of the article I wrote last July 4 about my father-in-law's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. I thought it an even more appropriate post for today. Remember a Vet; or better yet, thank one today.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>It's been exactly one month to the day since our family traveled to Arlington, Virginia, to inter the ashes of my father-in-law, John Kelley, at Arlington National Cemetery.<div><br /></div><div>John was Captain of all the Marines on the U.S.S Missouri in the Pacific Theater of WWII. He was in Tokyo Harbor when the peace treaty was signed by the Japanese on the deck of the Missouri, though he was on land that day securing the harbor and missed the ceremony. After the war, he moved his wife and daughter to Minnesota and began working in the family insurance business.</div><div><br /></div><div>John and his wife had the awful, horrible misfortune of losing three of their daughters, all at separate times. The first daughter died while John was serving active duty, and she was buried at Arlington. The other two are buried there as well. We went to bring John's remains to rest next to his three daughters.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm writing about this on the Fourth of July because a funeral with full military honors conducted at Arlington National Cemetery is truly a thing to behold, a true testament to love of our country and the honor it is to serve her. This is the day we celebrate our Independence, and without people like John Kelley, we might not be celebrating at all. When one is at Arlington and beholds the vista of grave after grave covering rolling green hills as far as the eye can see, it drives home the enormity of the sacrifice our service men and women have given and the insoluble link between what they gave and the freedom we enjoy today in the United States of America.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was a very large turnout for John's interment. Many of us came from Minnesota, and there was a large contingent of east-coast relatives. A granddaughter and her boyfriend came from Thailand for the service. A grandson came from Colorado with his wife and new daughter, born two days before John passed away.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the day of the interment, we all gathered in a meeting room in a large marble-floored building to mingle with one another and talk about John. His widow was taken to another room to meet with the officiant for the service. On the tables peppered throughout the family reception room were photo albums of the cemetery--a view of things that would take hours to see in person.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then we gathered for the procession to the grave site. We were in ours cars and drove up behind a horse-drawn caisson carrying a coffin draped in the U.S. flag with with a number of Honor Guard servicemen. Two of the Honor Guard, with precision and care that one would use if he were carrying a box containing the most important substance on earth, transferred the box of John's ashes to the larger flag-draped coffin being carried by the caisson. There was a small door in the back of the coffin, which they opened to place John's ashes inside.</div><div><br /></div><div>This was when one of the most moving things occurred, at least in my opinion. From our car, we could see that as we drove through the winding roads to the grave site, there were people obviously dressed as tourists who stopped, stood at attention, took off their hats if they had them, and put their hands over their hearts. They had no idea who John Kelley was, but they gave him the respect he deserved because they knew by the trappings of the service that John had served his country. In what capacity these tourists didn't know, but they honored him anyway. I found that touching beyond words, and I'll always remember looking out of my backseat window and seeing these people stopped and standing at attention in respect for John. It gave me hope for America's future to see these civilians being so respectful. To be honest, the entire service gave me hope.</div><div><br /></div><div>The grave site is also the grave site of John's three daughters. Their headstones were there. I had never seen them before; my son, on a choir trip to D.C., had very kindly been allowed to find his aunts' graves, on which he placed a guitar pick to let them know he had been there.</div><div><br /></div><div>We gathered around the grave site, and there were about 15 chairs in three rows. The widow, John's brother and some of John's children sat in the front row, and I sat in the second row because of my walking and standing difficulties. Everyone else stood behind and around the chairs.</div><div><br /></div><div>The service was officiated by a military pastor dressed in white. He was perfect in content and tone, and made us all feel proud of the man we called father, husband, grandfather, brother, and great-grandfather. We prayed and sang "Amazing Grace." Then came the military rituals.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't recall in which order they were done, but I do recall every one of them very well. The 21-gun salute, with gun shots so loud it was kind of startling. I've never been around guns much in my life, and I was surprised at how loud they are in person. The servicemen with the guns were somewhat away from us, on a gradually sloping hill. Then there was "Taps." If you can go to a military funeral without crying, you will only make it until "Taps." The trumpet, played by a serviceman on another hill, was so haunting and quiet and alone. It is the military equivalent of bagpipes at an Irish funeral. It's impossible to have a dry eye.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then came two parts I will never forget. The folding of the flag, during which six Honor Guard officers meticulously, with every move practiced to a science, folded the flag that had draped John's casket, into a perfect triangle. I cannot explain how regimented and controlled their movements were as they folded the flag with the utmost care. A neighbor sent me an e-mail the other day containing the meaning behind the 13 traditional folds made in the American flag. I think it is important for us to know that every fold can have deep meaning. I urge you to take a moment to look at <a href="http://tabbykatus.tripod.com/id5.html">this link</a> to help you understand that, though there are no "official" flag-folding symbols, everything done at this kind of military funeral has meaning behind it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, one of the Honor Guard took the flag, got down on one knee in front of John's widow, and presented it to her. He removed his pristine white glove and shook her hand, and told her how it represents the country's thanks for his service. Another Honor Guard member approached her, got down on one knee and presented her with a pouch containing the spent shells from the gun salute. He removed his white glove and shook her hand. Then came the last Honor Guard member, who got down on his knee, removed his glove, and took her hand while he thanked her for her service to our country, by being a military wife and raising children alone for a while (John didn't see his daughter, Tina, until she was six months old) and all the other sacrifices a military wife makes.</div><div><br /></div><div>What struck me most about these three young men--beautiful in their military dress uniforms, with rows of medals across their chests--was their eyes. I was sitting directly behind John's widow, so I saw how each man looked into her eyes as he spoke to her. Sincerity and reverence were just glowing from their eyes as they spoke to her, and I truly believed that it was an honor for them to be participating in the interment of the remains of a WWII Marine Captain. Sadly, we are losing our WWII heroes at a very fast pace now. The "greatest generation" is dwindling.</div><div><br /></div><div>I came away from the service with this thought: Sometimes it seems, especially as a conservative blogger and columnist, that the country is extremely divided, and it is in danger of being lost. While those things still exist and are absolutely true, being at the service made me also believe we are still a great country, and there is still respect, honor and sacrifice going on for her sake. We are still steeped in tradition, ritual and reverence in honor of those who fought for liberty.</div><div><br /></div><div>My daughter commented that it was awe inspiring to see all the people who were lost fighting for our liberty. I told her this: They were not lost. Their lives were given. For the most part, these fighting men and women give their lives--they don't lose them--for freedom. It is a gift they have given to our country, the ultimate sacrifice.</div><div><br /></div><div>And they are not lost today. We carry these individuals in our hearts and our memories, and they will live on forever; in John's case, as a member of America's greatest generation. He will never be forgotten.</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4941371200946626208.post-14282139717826676462011-05-27T15:37:00.013-05:002011-05-27T17:29:39.669-05:00Dayton Vetoes Voter I.D. BillOkay, here we go. I'm about to embark on a blog post about a subject nearly every conservative Minnesota blogger has undertaken. Mark Dayton has vetoed the bill that was delivered to his desk (<a href="http://www.looktruenorth.com/elections/governor/15655-governors-office-or-panic-room.html">located in a closet</a>), commonly known as the Voter ID Bill. <div><br /></div><div>This bill would have required Minnesota voters to show identification at the polls before voting. Republicans wanted this because of the massive voter fraud alleged in the <a href="http://www.redstate.com/jrichardson/2009/06/04/minnesota-vote-fraud-2812-dead-voters/">Coleman/Franken</a> race (including felonious and dead voters) and in the <a href="http://friendlyneighborhoodrepublican.blogspot.com/2010/11/oh-no-not-again.html">election that put Dayton </a>himself in the governor's closet. </div><div><br /></div><div>The dems repeat the example that only a "handful of convicted felons were caught voting illegally." That handful was in the low hundreds--about enough to turn around an election such as Coleman/Franken. They also state the Voter ID law wouldn't identify felons because their ID doesn't show their status as a felon or non felon. But they are missing the point. It would catch the huge amounts of other fraudulent acts perpetrated at Minnesota polls during every election due to our ridiculous, 19th-century "vouching" system, in which a "neighbor" can "vouch" for up to 15 people, and the polls have to let them vote based on that reliable information.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dayton has laughably given an executive order to appoint a task force to look into voter fraud in Minnesota. The fraud the dems have repeatedly said doesn't exist. Does any thinking person believe this task force is going to uncover anything?</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not surprised by this at all. Well, just a little bit. This veto is probably the first time I've seen a democrat decline to bite the hand that feeds him, as they advocate Americans do all the time by being anti capitalist and regulating and taxing businesses to the point where they leave the state/country. But I digress.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank God the Republicans have in their back pocket a Constitutional amendment to require voter ID, which would not require Dayton's approval. Go with that, Republicans. Please.</div><div><br /></div><div>There isn't much more to say about Dayton's veto except that he may as well wear a T-shirt that reads, "I Heart Voter Fraud."</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm too disgusted to write more about this predictable move by an illegally elected governor. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think I need a <a href="http://friendlyneighborhoodrepublican.blogspot.com/2010/11/breaking-news-is-mark-dayton-really.html">Kombucha.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Friendly Neighborhood Republicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349972438818550823noreply@blogger.com0