A Response to the Editor's Response

The letter to the editor at the Post Review by Brian Berg was also printed in the July 24, 2008 edition of the Chisago County Press (not available online). The editor of the Chisago County Press made the following comments in the same issue in response to his editorial.

Editor’s Note:
We have one letter this week opposing action taken by the Minnesota Legislature to raise the gas tax for the first time in years; and another letter from a writer who saw wisdom in the move by the legislature.

The best explanation we’ve come across on the gas tax hike came from North Branch City Engineer Julie Dresel. She said that in 1999 North Branch was alotted [sic] $334,705 in state aid for construction and maintenance accounts.

Nearly 10 years later-- this allotment for 2008 is $384,490.

The main reason for lack of funding in state aid accounts has been because construction needs have grown in all cities; plus the merging and combing of townships and cities has resulted in more cities qualifying for this allotment based on population.

In other words, as Dresel put it, the “pie” known as state aid is only so big, but more and more people want a piece. Without new revenues this would never keep pace with construction and/or road maintenance costs.

It could be argued Minnesota state government has revenue, and funding should have been found elsewhere in the budget-- but the system is set up to be funded by gas tax revenues, meaning those who consume fuel pay for the roads.

___________________________________________

In the July 31, 2008 issue of the Chisago County Press, Berg responded to the editor’s July 24th note. This is not available online.

Kalin taking more from Taxpayers
To the editor:
Last week I wrote that Rep. Kalin deliberately and significantly raises [sic] taxes on all of us just prior to the release of the state’s economic report which revealed we were facing a billion dollar deficit in the state budget.

The editor of the Chisago County Press responded by praising the increase in the gas tax. I did not itemize the gas tax, but referred to the whole tax increase levied to fund the $6.6 billion dollar transportation bill.

The gas tax is just one of several tax increases legislated to pay for the enormous cost of the bill. Kalin increased vehicle license tab fees by at least $25 per vehicle per year. The sales tax on vehicle purchases will increase in some places in the state. Kalin voted to fund the transportation bill by increasing the tax on propane and natural gas.

The editor of the Chisago County Press defended Kalin’s tax increase, arguing that the state aid funding pie for roads and bridges must be increased in size by raising taxes since there are not enough pie slices to go around.

The editor is not at all concerned about the size of the average taxpayer’s pie. Government’s pie must increase in size, but the pies of all of us were forced to shrink by Kalin’s taxation vote. In an economic slowdown, we are expected to tighten our belts, but legislators like Kalin keep grabbing a bigger slice out of Chisago County families’ shrinking pies to fatten the state’s pie.

Jeremy Kalin does NOT put people before politics.

Brian C. Berg
Taylors Falls

THE TIME LINE OF SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

Abortion -> -> -> -> to -> -> -> -> -> Euthanasia

In common parlance: "KILL YOU NOW!" - ("Planned [un]Parenthood" Makes Multiplied Millions Killing Unborn Babies) - OR "KILL YOU LATER!" - (as recently as today's news the State of Oregon "socialized medicine" agency denied a state insured woman cancer patient access to a certain chemotherapy drug because it was "too expensive!")

But the same State Agency wrote her a letter telling her that they would underwrite the cost of the drugs with which she could do away with herself, that is, commit suicide!

Reagan Day Dinner

Plan to join the Chisago County Republicans for the Reagan Day Dinner. The details are in the flyer below.

To reserve tickets, send a message to:

Reagan Day Tickets.

Tables of Eight, reserved and paid for, will receive priority seating in the order in which they are received. So purchase early.

Click on the map below to enlarge or print for directions.

A Cuban Perspective

I received the following personal account via e-mail. I cannot vouch for its veracity, however, it rings true. It also fits in well with the previous post by Freedomwriter.

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate MY independence day and on July 4, I celebrate America's.

This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence. On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the US to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I've thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there.

In the late 1950's most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in.

When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said, 'Praise the Lord.' And when the young leader said, 'I will be for change and I'll bring you change,' everyone yelled, 'Viva Fidel!'

But nobody asked about the change, so:

• By the time the executioner's guns went silent, the people's guns had been taken away.
• By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed.
• By the time everyone received their free education, it was worth nothing.
• By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him.
• By the time the change was finally implemented, Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status.
• By the time the change was over, more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes.

You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I'm back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we would never in America fall for a young leader who promises change without asking, "WHAT change?" How will you carry it out? What will it cost America?'

Would we?

Manuel Alvarez, Jr

CASTRO: FORERUNNER OF OBAMA?

CASTRO: FORERUNNER OF OBAMA?

Before you roll your eyes and dismissively cast aside the possibility you have the moral obligation to yourself to examine the facts and the striking similarity of conditions and circumstances between the time when Castro became Cuba's dictator and Obama's present pursuit of the U. S. Presidency.

Finally, A Vote In Sight

Talk is, there could possibly be a vote on Capitol Hill before the Friday recess to lift the ban on offshore drilling. Please call or email our Senators immediately and demand this vote - the more calls, emails, and faxes they get the more they feel the pressure.

Sen. Coleman 202-224-5641
Sen. Klobuchar 202-224-3244
Rep. Oberstar 202-225-6211 (why not, right?)

And, for good measure, Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202-224-5556; 202-224-3542

You can email them at:
Senator Coleman http://coleman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Senator Klobuchar: http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm

To fax for free, you can go to www.grassfire.net and follow their instructions.

Save this contact info for future reference, and use it often!

KALIN/OLSEEN not O.K. AS OUR LEGISLATORS

Notice how Representative Kalin and Senator Olseen have "nothing to brag about"; oh, all right - nothing to "cheer" about! Absolutely nothing to "write home about" from their efforts this past legislative session!

So they resort to writing about folksy, irrelevant local things like walking the dog, enjoying community celebrations, smelling the roses and pulling the little red play wagon, in parades, on behalf of "the poor." And things like that; things that have nothing to do about substantive accomplishments in the legislature!

And notice how they are being hammered by the local folks, by the county boards, by the school boards and adminstrators, the taxpayers and others who do not like what they did . Or what they promised or what they implied that they would accomplish but did not do!

They are "smarting" from these well-deserved localized criticisms so, early on, Olseen and Kalin are having to have surrogates write letters-to-the-editor pumping them up and telling us that they are nice guys (nobody has ever quibbled that!) even though they accomplished nothing other than raising taxes and doing the bidding of the buy-out bosses for whom they really work.

Examine their voting records. Examine who has funded their campaigns and you'll get the picture!

Under the representation of Kalin and Olseen taxpayers got their taxes raised, vehicle owners got their licenses increased and most others got fees raised (historically, "fees" were called "tax increases" by Democrats you will recall!).

And, oh yes, Olseen and Kalin got their per diems and mileage hiked!

Clearly we poor constituents didn't get our moneys worth with these two liberals!

This is one time it is permissible to agree with Obama - IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Obama... You're no JFK sir!

"From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That's how many days the Senate was actually in session and working. After 143 days of work experience, Obama believed he was ready to be Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World, and fill the shoes of Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan. 143 days. I keep leftovers in my refrigerator longer than that."
Quote by Columnist Cheri Jacobus

The Obamessiah

He ventured forth to bring light to the world
The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

Gerard Baker

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness....

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Obama’s messianic complex is so perceivable that this writing appears in mockery. He is so self-important, so arrogant, that he makes Jesse Ventura look down-right humble.

Priorities of politics

The following editorial was printed in the July 24, 3008 issue of the Post Review.

To The Editor:

As soon as the I-35W bridge collapsed last August, the Democrats were busy turning tragedy into taxes for transportation. Rep. Jeremy Kalin (DFL-17B) was in the thick of planning to take much more of our money. Within two weeks of commencing the legislative session, he voted for the largest tax increase in history, the $6.6 billion expenditure for transportation over ten years.

The Democrats, including Kalin, passed this bill hastily on February 21, 2008 before the state economist’s financial report came out on February 28, knowing full well that the deficit was large and projected to be much larger.

The Governor vetoed this high-priced bill on February 22, but the legislature overrode it on February 25, with Kalin voting a second time to take your hard-earned dollars.

Jeremy Kalin actively and calculating conspired with his cohorts to overburden Chisago County’s taxpayers with higher taxes, knowing we were moving into an economic slowdown such that State economist Tom Stinson called it a recession.

This is not the prudent action of a fiscal conservative which Kalin claims he is. This is the misguided action of a spend drift demanding more of your tax dollars while there is a major shortage of tax dollars arriving in the state coffers. Days later on February 28, we learned there was a huge $935 million deficit in the state’s budget. A prudent legislator would have waited for that scheduled forecast before voting for such a massive taxing and spending increase during an economic downturn. It was already hard enough to keep paying the tax load.

What did Kalin do? He put on more of a tax burden that hits all income levels hard in Chisago County.

Kalin made a difficult situation worse for all of us. That’s not putting people before politics.

Brian C. Berg
Taylors Falls

This letter was also published in the Forest Lake Times and the Chisago County Press (not available online).

NOBAMA

"NOBAMA, YOU'RE NO RONALD REAGAN!"

Republicans in Congress Must Become "DRILL" INSTRUCTORS!

If America is to win the energy war and achieve energy independence and refined petroleum products in plentiful supply at affordable prices the Republican Congressmen and Senators under the direction of the Commander in Chief must become "DRILL" instructors teaching the drill-dodging Democrats how to obey the clear direction of the American people. Right now the Democrats merit a dishonorable discharge for neglect of duty.

RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE?

We have all heard of "absentee landlords" have we not?

Well, speculation (at least) is that we do not have a truly "resident Representative" representing us (District 17B) in the state legislature. Surely this needs clarification and verification and resolution before the next election.

THE BLAME GAME IS "A DOG THAT NO LONGER HUNTS!"

Both Senator Olseen and Representative Kalin have had a convenient "out" for their own failures - this dynamic DFL Duo have skillfully played the "blame-the-Governor" and the opposition party game.

Conveniently they would proclaim that "the Governor vetoed this or that; the Governor was not cooperative; the Governor indicated he was opposed to this or that; the Governor did not govern in a non-partisan or bi-partisan way; the Governor was too conservative; and on and on they would go complaining about the Governor - as a ruse to cover up their own incompetence, failures and liberal extremism.

But indicators are starting to show up that the luxury of the "blame game" may be running out of steam for the Senator and the Representative and that it may not work well for them any more.

To illustrate that development turn to the front page article in the July 16, 2008 issue of The Post Review where we read this exchange: "Board Chair Kim Salo brought up the subject of state assessment testing and noted that three-quarters of state students did not pass the math test. Both Kalin and Olseen noted efforts to address assessment testing that were met with opposition from Governor Tim Pawlenty, prompting Superintendent Deb Henton to reply, "I don't care about governors vetoes, I care about juniors passing the test."

Clearly Kalin and Olseen were interested in passing the buck while equally clearly the Superintendent and the Board Chair are interested in the students passing the tests!

A Liberal Behind the Times with a New Label

A while back I saw a sign at a business owned by an ardent liberal who touts his business for being green. The sign brags about serving drinks in eco-friendly glass mugs, recycling cardboard, selling plastic pails for reuse, sending deep-frying oil to be reused and buying energy efficient appliances.

I guess it must be a badge of honor to be green. Among liberals it also must be a badge of honor to slap one’s own back for this great accomplishment. Why it’s like getting a gold star on your completed assignment in grade school!

So how green is this business? Well, this very business was serving drinks in eco-friendly glass mugs back in the ’50s before the current business owner was even born. (Did you know that glass has been around for more than a thousand years and plastic less than a hundred?!!!) If this makes them green today, then they were green back then. Recycling cardboard has been around a long time and assuredly since the ’50s—nothing new here. Why capitalists even buy the stuff to recycle, creating a whole new industry! Yah, and we recycle plastic too.

Recycling deep-frying oil is easy to do. In fact, truckers arrange to pick up the used oil for their own fuel. It’s so easy to do that a business owner almost has to stubbornly refuse to avoid that capitalistic, money-saving venture.

As far as buying energy efficient appliances goes, it’s almost impossible to buy one that is not energy efficient. As decades-old appliances wear out, energy efficient replacement comes from the capitalistic manufacturing market so that a business owner doesn’t have to do much to be the beneficiary of it. Sure there are choices regarding the levels of efficiency (depending on the cost), but all the appliances are more efficient than a few decades ago.

So what’s so great about these things? Nothing. Republican business owners do this everyday without bragging, simply because these are good business practices. Why even some Democrats do the same without touting their business as green. Amazing, but true!

Why does a liberal have to brag about being green? Any merchant is in business for the best profit that can be made. The above practices either make or save money. They also happen to be eco-friendly. A conservative likes to conserve money, conserve energy, conserve on and reuse waste and we like to conserve our environment too. We do it all the time, but don’t brag about it. Perhaps because conservatives don’t tout their eco-conservation, they are viewed as eco-unfriendly.

Liberals do absolutely nothing better than the conservative business owners do, but they label themselves as green. Thus they feel better about themselves. They have less guilt for using the environment which they do just as much as those nasty capitalists. And their elitist green customers feel so much better when they make a capitalistic purchase at a green business.

Being green is all about feeling good and nothing more. Being green is the anti-depressant used to counteract feeling guilty for just living on planet earth.

We conservatives feel good naturally by living on planet earth conservatively and thanking God for his bountiful gifts to us.