Welcome
Posted by Site Administrator in news on August 22, 2009
Welcome to the Minnesota First District Republicans web site! We are currently making changes and adding features. Please try out our new forums. (You will need to register to view the forums.) Please contact us if you have any questions or if you find something that doesn’t work as expected.
Department of Justice ditches red, white and blue stars and stripes
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis on August 31, 2010
American Thinker noticed a change at the Department of Justice’s web site.
Why would anyone think our President is a Marxist?
A few questions for climate alarmists
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis, columnist on May 15, 2010
Paul Driessen has some questions at Townhall.com.
Our Congressman, Tim Walz, already voted for the House version of this legislation. In his recent spate of glossy mailings to constituents, he says he’s concerned about our federal budget deficit and about job creation. Yet, if this legislation becomes law, the planet will not be saved, energy will be more expensive for Americans, and everything that relies on energy will be more expensive (unless produced outside of the U.S.). For all of us, that means we can afford less of everything (or have fewer jobs). That means we need less production of everything. That means fewer jobs. That means less tax revenue for the government. That means more pressure on government deficits.
Democrats like Tim Walz are either incapable of connecting the dots — fools — or unwilling to expose the dots — dishonest. In any case, what Tim Walz claims to be concerned about and what Tim Walz votes for are two different things.
Democrats to propose end of judicial elections?
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in news on May 6, 2010
Democrats in St. Paul appear to be preparing to try to amend the state Constitution such that judges will be appointed rather than elected. If you do not think that is a good idea, contact your state representative and senator and give them a piece of your mind. For those interested in more details, read on.
Bills HF.224 and SF.0070 were introduced in 2009. Democrats appear to be preparing to bring them to a vote in their respective chambers in this session. In summary, by my understanding of the house version:
A judge’s initial term of office will be 3-5 years. lines 1.6-18
A commission will evaluate and publish judge performance. lines 1.21-23
The commission will rate judges as well qualified, qualified, or unqualified for office. lines 7.13-14
The commission’s rating will be “available to the public” prior to the election (but no details are given as to what is considered to be “available”). lines 8.8-9
Judges will be presented on general election ballots at the end of each of their terms but only to indicate, yes or no, whether voters believe a judge’s term should be renewed. (This may be used to claim that judges are still elected but keep reading.) lines 2.8-12
Judges that fail their retention vote are removed from office but they can only fail if a majority of those voting on the question vote No. lines 4.17-18
Retained judges’ terms are 8 years. lines 1.18-19
Rejected judges are replaced by appointment. lines 4.18-19
Presto. Judges are not elected.
The Dollar’s Inevitable Demise
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis, columnist on May 4, 2010
Vasko Kohlmayer writes about our national debt at American Thinker. An excerpt:
The White House Office of Management and Budget estimated that at the end of 2010, the national debt will breach the $14 trillion mark. This means that America’s sovereign debt will soon equal the annual output of our economy. History shows that most governments that reach such levels of debt are ultimately unable to contain them. In most cases, this leads to the disintegration of the country’s monetary regime and the collapse of its currency.
While I agree with Mr. Kohlmayer’s economics, I disagree with his believes that our nation’s collapse is inevitable. Inevitable means it’s too late for hope and change; that we may as well bend over and kiss ourselves goodbye. Our spending is completely out of control. The Obama/Pelosi/Reid spending is a completely different phenomenon than Bush 43’s. It is not too late but we have to make big moves, soon.
Removing members of Congress that believe in programs such as government stimulus, cash for clunkers, cap and trade, increased government health care, emboldened labor unions, and constricted job makers is the right way to start.
Demmer for Congress
Posted by Site Administrator in news on April 18, 2010
Randy Demmer is the endorsed Republican candidate for the First Congressional District.
The endorsement came after 8 ballots at its 2010 annual convention, held Saturday, April 17 in the Mankato State University’s Centenniel Student union.
Jim Engstrand, Jim Hagedorn, and Allen Quist all pledged to honor the endorsement.
Demmer is a life long resident of Hayfield, former farmer and business owner, and currently represents Dodge and Olmsted county residents of Minnesota state house district 29A.
Learn more about Randy and his campaign at his web site.
District Convention
Posted by Site Administrator in news on April 8, 2010
Our district convention is Saturday, April 17 in Mankato.
Sorry, online registration is closed. See you Saturday for that.
See our draft:
Shenanigans in federal healthcare reform
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis on March 18, 2010
I’d like to emphasize a point made by Rochester’s Fran Bradley in his Medicare article.
He mentioned efforts to address Medicare fraud and abuse. The monster ObamaCare legislation includes such measures. The shenanigan, the disgusting political reality of it, is this…
Fraud and abuse in an existing system should be dealt with as quickly as it can possibly be identified and corrected. Right?
Not in ObamaCare’s Washington. Oh no. You see, reducing fraud and abuse reduces healthcare costs. Those reductions are needed in the ObamaCare legislation to help the CBO run the numbers in a way that show ObamaCare reducing the deficit. Take the fixes to fraud and abuse out of ObamaCare and it no longer reduces the deficit.
On the other hand, proposed Medicare changes actually related to ObamaCare were taken out and passed as separate legislation. Why? Because they added over $200 billion of cost to ObamaCare. Taking that expense out was an other way of fixing the CBO math.
So, fraud and abuse that should be fixed as quickly as possible and that have nothing to do with ObamaCare are in ObamaCare (waiting for a year to be passed) while costly bits related to ObamaCare are taken out and fast-tracked.
What a bunch of crap from a bunch of crappy people.
A Perfect Storm of Ignorance
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis, columnist on March 13, 2010
This is fantastic. Jeffrey Friedman writes in the Cato Policy Report about the history and effects of regulations on the banks, regulators, rating companies, and (of course) us, particularly related to the housing bubble and subsequent banking collapse. If you can’t stand the details, stick with it for the nature of the beast.
Canadian denied health care goes to Mayo Clinic
Posted by Bruce Kaskubar in analysis on March 8, 2010
In Best of the Web Today, James Taranto tells a story of Canadian health care that includes the Mayo Clinic.
[H]ere’s a story of someone facing bankruptcy owing to medical costs. The twist is he’s Canadian. From the Toronto Sun:
Now, with the Mayo Clinic having done what the Alberta Cancer Board wouldn’t authorize or even explain, but with the tumour unable to be totally removed, the province will now not fund the expensive drug, Avastin, that the Mayo prescribed to keep him alive and keep the remaining tumour from increasing in size–despite the costs of the drug being totally funded by the province for other forms of cancer.
Had he lung cancer, breast cancer, or colon cancer, then the cost of the drug–$4,555 per treatment, two times a month–would be totally covered by Alberta’s version of OHIP [Ontario Health Insurance Plan].
Suffering from brain cancer, Kent Pankow was literally forced to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. for lifesaving surgery–at a cost to family and friends of $106,000–after the health-care system in Alberta left him hanging in bureaucratic limbo for 16 crucial days, his tumour meanwhile migrating to an unreachable part of the brain, while it dithered over his case file, ultimately deciding he was not surgery worthy.
And so he is not only a victim of brain cancer, he is also a victim of arbitrary discrimination.
But he doesn’t.
Kent Pankow, as it turns out, has the right disease but he has it in the wrong place.
The good news is that President Obama remains committed to bringing U.S. health care into line with Canadian standards. If he succeeds, sick Canadians will eventually be set free from the ruinous temptations of places like the Mayo Clinic.
For some reason, Tim Walz hasn’t shared Mr. Pankow’s story with us.
Dean Barkley encourages tea partiers to take over the Independence Party « Republican Party of Olmsted County, Minnesota
Olmsted county Co-Chair Bruce Kaskubar weighs in on Dean Barkley’s invitation to the Tea Party.
