Category: Society

by Dave Mindeman

Michelle Bachman was on MPR this morning asking for "free and open debate" about the marriage amendment. "Let the citizens decide" is her mantra.

You know those are great platitudes but when it comes to the "marriage amendment" there is nothing free or open about it. The proponents of this blatantly discriminatory amendment want to desperately get this on a ballot. Why? Because they can BUY its passage.

There won't be any open debate or exchange of real ideas. No, there will be a billion 30 second sound bites to lie about the rights of gay members of society.

Lies... a constant drumbeat of, bought and paid for, lies.

When Michelle Bachman states that allowing gays to marry would undermine the institution of marriage.. she simply lies. I have never heard any explanation of how that would occur. How are heterosexual marriages undermined? How? Homosexual relationships exist.. they will continue to exist. Why would recognition of existing relationships by marriage contracts or civil unions have anything whatsoever to do with other existing relationships? This argument boggles my mind.

When Michelle Bachman states that unless we have this amendment chained to our Constitution, we risk condoning polygamy and other "unusual" relationships. Another lie. If such a danger exists, then why hasn't it come up before? There is nothing stopping a polygamist from challenging his or her marriage status. The laws that exist have prevented that and are sound and tested. It simply is not an issue.

Here is the crux of the matter. If Minnesota puts the "marriage amendment" on the ballot there will be a flood gate of Republican money flowing into this state to make sure the issue is front and center everywhere. The lies will be backed with "filthy lucre". Republicans who don't even care about the issue will back it monetarily because they know it will bring out the voters they want.. the one-issue, narrow minded, religiously blinded voter. People who want government out of their own lives but still want to control everybody else's.

Real open debate will be drowned out. Money will rule the day. Their is nothing free about this type of "free speech". Rational arguments will be trumped by 30 second fear mongering. The Democrats are right to stop this insanity.

We've had enough lies. The "marriage amendment" will only pro-create more.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

They've done it again... the Minnesota House Republicans have brought back their "circus act". This time they are trying to "marry" the Constitutional Environmental Sales Tax Bill to their Marriage Amendment travesty.

The Environmental bill in its original form simply asked voters to dedicate a small portion of the state sales tax to environmental projects. But legislators started tacking other proposals onto it.

The ultimate controversy comes with tacking on the so-called Marriage Amendment. This is just another example of how little respect the House Republican majority has for the process.

It's another "circus"....like the 24 hour waiting bill being tacked onto an inconsequential Circus Bill a couple of years ago. Using parliamentary trickery, they stripped the circus part of the bill out and sent the 24 hour abortion waiting period bill directly to the Senate floor.

An MPR report quoted a citizen environmental lobbyist:

This was all too much for Tom Jes of Plymouth, who called the actions of the House Tax Committee a joke.
"I'm almost ready to say we need the clown suits out back, so that somebody can get in there and dance around!" he said.

Even the bill's sponsor, Tom Hackbarth, a Republican House member vented his disgust in the MPR report:

"They don't want it to happen. They're trying to do it in a way that they don't have to upset the hunters and fisherman out there, so we need our little piece of pie and we're going to try to kill this thing by piling on. And I think that's all this is really coming to right now. It's a political game. Started out to be a very, very nice nonpartisan issue that everybody could have supported."

They preach about just wanting up or down votes on bills... but it apparently only pertains to "their" bills on "their" terms.

Here we go again... send in the clowns.

Category: Society

by Paul Bartlett

After devastating small town business districts across America,
Wal-Mart now has its eye on a new prize: banking. They are pursuing federal bank licensing and have offered a benign explanation: they just want to save a few bucks processing their own credit card receipts. Nonsense.

Wal-Mart is a cancer that has spread though our nation's body. Remember when Wal-Mart was just the cheesy discounter that advertised "Buy American?" Now you would be hard pressed to find any American made products at Wal-Mart, just crap from China. After Sam passed, the Wal-Mart corporate ethos became destroy the competition. In small towns, this monster dominates in general retail, pharmacy, food, gasoline and auto repair. Now they want to squeeze out community banks. What's next, take over the corner bar?

Wal-Mart has destroyed family businesses across America. And for what benefit? So we can save 25 cents on a hammer? Wal-Mart has devoured its business prey like a raptor ripping at carrion, while under paid Wal-Mart employees line up to collect government assistance.