How about we take a break from the daily outrages perpetrated by the DFL Legislature, and have a little chuckle at the poor doomsayers at the Church of Global Warming?  It seems that Mother Earth has not been cooperating since 1998 and, while CO2 in the atmosphere continues to increase, global temperatures have refused to go up and, depending upon how and where you measure (Anchorage Alaska just set a new record for the longest snow season, and hundreds of cities recently set new low-temperature records), may actually be colder than before.

Ignore all that, say these "scientists," because even if our projections are total crap in the short term, they are still going to be accurate over the long term.  Somehow, that sounds a lot like the methodology I have heard for predicting what the Stock Market will do: "A trend will continue until it changes."   For some reason, these fearful folks won't even recognize the truth  of that theory.

A new message graphic I made for Minnesota Action Network.

My friends of the libertarian persuasion, seeing the debate on gay marriage as one on the legitimate extent of government authority, suggest that government should not be in the "marriage business" at all, and that it be left as a strictly private contractual matter.  This would mean that gay couples and traditional couples would be "equal" before the law.  I think it's a terrible idea with all sorts of undesirable consequences, but if legal equality is the goal then this is certainly a direct approach.

The DFL, on the other hand, believing that their narrow election victory last year makes them wiser than 1000 years of human history, are about to ADD gay couples to their radically redefined term "marriage," believing that this creates "marriage equality."  But that isn't true!  If the DFL declares that gay couples can be legally married then those of us who object, on whatever grounds, will be violating the law if we do not recognize gay marriages.  Suddenly, a principled objection becomes an illegal act, and whether criminal or civil action ensues is a matter of whim.  Since we have seen the lengths to which the radical homosexual activists will go to impose their agenda on the rest of us, have no doubt that this will happen; it already has in other states.   The DFL is not making a law to create equality, but to criminalize those who disagree.  Shameful!

According to the latest news, in response to the Boston Marathon bombing, the DHS says "customs agents will now verify that students have valid visas." 

The Homeland Security Department ordered border agents "effective immediately" to verify that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government's first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.  Read more: Fox News

You mean, we weren't checking this before??!!

The Star Tribune relays how current Minneapolis leadership broke its promise to bring more auditors to review the city's financial statements. The promise of three is now only one:

On a recent afternoon at City Hall, auditor Magdy Mossaad sat alone in the two-story space where he oversees reviews of the city’s finances. Three years after the City Council reorganized internal auditing and pledged to make it a robust function of city government, Mossaad is now the office’s only full-time employee.

What does an auditor do?

As city services go, auditing is not likely a top priority for constituents who are more focused on plowing and police. But the office’s reports on major city contracts and controls on city finances can save the city money and prevent potential calamities.

A recent review of accounts payable, for example, revealed that there were too few controls on who could create new vendors within the city’s financial systems. Another recent report showed that former employees sometimes retain access to sensitive data. A 2012 review of the city’s largest contract, with IT firm Unisys, concluded the company was not fulfilling an obligation to prove the city was getting favorable prices. The office will complete about seven audits this year.

What does an auditor catch?

[Peter] Wagenius noted it was the state auditor — which audits the city’s financial statements annually — that recognized in the mid-2000s the city was overpaying for benefits on two pension funds, rather than being caught internally. “What would the financial history of the city be like if that issue had been caught two years earlier, or three years earlier, or five years earlier, or seven years earlier?” Wagenius asked the committee.

The timing is interesting given the open seat for Minneapolis Mayor this year, along with contentious city council races in the liberal DFL stonghold. Rybak will not be held to account - he's leaving a potential pile of overpayment and underwatched messes for the next administration. His excuse?

Just a short infographic to point out what the DFL ultramajority means for beer lovers in Minnesota. Cheers.

By the time you read this, action in the U.S. Senate on the new gun control push (Toomey-Manchin) may already be underway or complete.  Most Republicans and a few sensible Democrats oppose this legislation as ineffective at best, while intruding on legitimate second amendment rights at worst.  Democrats and a few so-called Republicans, apparently some 52 of them, are prepared to move forward on debate, but fortunately Senate rules require 60 votes to do that.  I propose that there is a way that both sides can actually win, here.  That is, the Republicans get a chance to block ineffective legislation, protect the Constitution, side with the majority of public opinion and generally do the right thing by voting not to even consider this thing.  Democrats get to excite their base, climb on their moral high horse, and seize another issue with which to viciously attack Republicans from now until the next election.  (One suspects that's all they really care about, anyway.)  Heck, this might even be a win for all of us!

So our Commander-in-Chief comes on the TV yesterday, after the horrific bombing in Boston, and proclaims that "we will find out who did this, and why they did it."  The authorities say they are looking for the “persons and possible motives” responsible.  After 9/11 this mindset was displayed even more openly in the question “why do they hate us?”  These questions – the search for a motive – presume two things, both logically incoherent.  First, the question of motive presumes some sort of rational actor, either a single perpetrator or a well-organized group, rather than a single crazy or a group of crazies.  But the intentional mass murder of innocent civilians is proof positive of insanity, or used to be, so a search for rational motives is bound to be fruitless.  Second, with the assumption of a rational motive, we are led directly to the presumption that the grievance itself is somehow legitimate, when NOTHING justifies these terrorist atrocities.  It is blaming the victim, and assuming that a sane response would somehow prevent an insane act!

There is only one way in which it would be helpful to know the motive behind this heinous crime, and that is if knowing that motive led us to the perpetrator.  But unless the insane perpetrator leaves some note or manifesto – a clue – behind, or publicly claims responsibility, we are unlikely to know what was in the mind of the madman who did this.  And if someone DOES claim responsibility or leave deliberate clues as to their motivation, then we know the WHO before we know the WHY, so why will not matter.  It never does, because these are not rational acts.  Ignore why; find out who and wreak awful justice on them.

Here's a simple graphic I made for the 2013 Tax Day. Minnesota Action Network wanted to show where your tax dollars go. NOTE: 80.3 % of Minnesota tax dollars go to Education and H&HS. 

U.S. House Rep. Keith Ellison publicly endorsed a candidate for Mayor this past week. For Minneapolis, which lies in his own congressional district? No, New York City.

Andy Mannix at City Pages thought it odd, too:

Keith Ellison must be feeling pretty confident after winning reelection so handily against Republican Chris Fields last November.

On Current TV yesterday, Ellison became the first politician to publicly endorse Anthony Weiner's prospective New York City mayoral campaign. Yes, that Anthony Weiner, the former congressman who not two years ago had to resign after accidentally sending a picture of his manhood into the twitterverse.

"Anthony's a good guy in my opinion," Ellison told Current host Bill Press. "Now, he should've came clean once he got busted, you know, and I'm sorry he didn't do that. But he's sorry he didn't do that. And his wife's sorry he didn't do that."

Mannix aptly sums up disgraced politicians:

(That's a good lesson for future reference, congresspeople. The time to come clean is after you have already been caught.)

Do you also find it odd that Weiner is running for office after such an embarrassing and very public offense? So does Joshua Green at BusinessWeek:

One reason Weiner has so few friends is that most members of Congress, including his fellow Democrats, regarded him as chiefly concerned with his own aggrandizement—he spent more time shouting at Republicans on cable television than legislating. Given how that turned out for him, you might imagine he’d be especially eager to show some substance. You’d imagine New York City voters would want to see that, too.

Another thing Weiner and Ellison have in common: shouting at republicans. Ellison made headlines last year losing his temper on a radio debate with opponent Chris Fields, and more recently with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

If anything, we can look forward to the New York Post's creative cover pages this year — like those for the disgraced Congressman in 2011:

Ellison (who many from all political parties in my district consider a disgrace) once again ignores the Fifth Congressional District to help rehab a disgraced member of Congress run for Mayor — in New York City. Given the open Minneapolis Mayoral seat this year, perhaps he could endorse a candidate here. Then again, perhaps mayoral candidates of integrity may rather he doesn’t.