When Marcus Bachmann came home that Saturday evening in 2000, he checked the telephone answering machine and was mystified by the many messages congratulating his wife for something. "Michele," he said, "do you have something to tell me?" She did.
The state senator from her district in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul had been in office for 17 years, had stopped being pro-life and started supporting tax increases, so that morning Michele Bachmann had skipped washing her hair, put on jeans and a tattered sweatshirt and went to the local Republican nominating caucus to ask the incumbent a few pointed questions. There, on the spur of the moment, some similarly disgruntled conservatives suggested that she unseat him. After she made a five-minute speech "on freedom," the caucus emphatically endorsed her, and she handily won the subsequent primary.
After six years in the state Legislature, she ran for Congress and now, in her second term, has become such a burr under Democrats' saddles that recently the New York Times profiled her beneath a Page One headline: "GOP Has a Lightning Rod, and Her Name Is Not Palin." She is, however, a petite pistol that occasionally goes off half-cocked.
For example, appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball" 18 days before last year's election, she made the mistake of taking Chris Matthews's bait and speculating about whether Barack Obama and some other Democrats have "anti-American" views. In the ensuing uproar -- fueled by people who were not comparably scandalized when George W. Bush was sulfurously vilified -- her opponent raised nearly $2 million and her lead shrank from 13 points to her winning margin of three.
Some of her supposed excesses are, however, not merely defensible, they are admirable. For example, her June 9 statement on the House floor in which she spoke of "gangster government" has been viewed on the Internet about 2 million times. She noted that, during the federal takeover of General Motors, a Democratic senator and one of her Democratic House colleagues each successfully intervened with GM to save a constituent's dealership from forced closure. One of her constituents, whose dealership had been in the family for 90 years, told her that the $15 million dealership had been rendered worthless overnight, and, Bachmann said, "GM is demanding that she hand over her customer list," probably to give it to surviving GM dealerships that once were competitors.
In her statement, Bachmann repeatedly called such politicization of the allocation of economic rewards "gangster government." And she repeatedly noted that the phrase was used by a respected political analyst, Michael Barone, principal co-author of the Almanac of American Politics, who coined it in connection with the mugging of GM bondholders in the politicized bankruptcy. Bachmann, like Barone, was accurate.
Because Walter Mondale was saved by 3,761 Minnesota voters from losing his home state to Ronald Reagan in 1984, it is the only state to have voted Democratic in nine consecutive presidential elections. Minnesota is a blue state but is given to idiosyncratic political flings. Minnesotans, Bachmann says, like "authentic" people of whatever political inclinations, from the cerebral Eugene McCarthy to the visceral Jesse Ventura.
Bachmann, an authentic representative of the Republican base, had quite enough on her plate before politics. She and Marcus, a clinical psychologist, were raising their children -- they had four then; they have five now -- and, as foster parents, were raising some other people's children, 23 of them, a few teenagers at a time.
Born in Iowa but a Minnesotan by age 12, Bachmann acquired what she calls "her family's Hubert Humphrey knee-jerk liberalism." She and her husband danced at Jimmy Carter's inauguration. Shortly thereafter, however, she was riding on a train and reading Gore Vidal's novel "Burr," which is suffused with that author's jaundiced view of America. "I set the book down on my lap, looked out the window and thought: 'That's not the America I know.' " She volunteered for Reagan in 1980.
Looking toward 2012, she is not drawn merely to Sarah Palin or other darlings of social conservatives. She certainly is one of those, but she knows that economic hardship and government elephantiasis now trump other issues.
When she was a teenager in Anoka, Minn., she was a nanny for a young girl named Gretchen Carlson. Today, Carlson, a Stanford honors graduate who studied at Oxford, is a host of "Fox & Friends," the morning show on -- wouldn't you know -- Fox News Channel. See how far ahead the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy plans?
The following appeared on Congresswoman Bachmann's Blog
There's a lot of talk out there about ACORN being stripped of their federal funding, and restricted from receiving federal funds in the future. Sadly, this couldn't be further from the truth.
Here's what really happened:
On October 1, 2009, the President signed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep government programs running at their current spending levels for one month. This was necessary because Congress has not yet passed the annual appropriations bills which fund all government programs into the new fiscal year, which began October 1st.
In the Conference Report accompanying that bill, Congress included the following provision in Division B which prohibited ACORN from accessing federal funding: Sec. 163. None of the funds made available by this joint resolution or any prior Act may be provided to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations. However, the CR expires on October 31, 2009: DIVISION B--CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS RESOLUTION, 2010
Division B provides continuing appropriations for all agencies and activities that would be covered by the regular fiscal year 2010 appropriations bills, until enactment of the applicable regular appropriations bill, or until October 31, 2009, whichever occurs first. Congress can pass another CR if it hasn’t finished passing the spending bills. That CR would also have an expiration date of a matter of days or weeks or maybe months. But, unless that CR includes the same language as Sec. 163, money will flow right back to ACORN on November 1st.
Even if Congress passes its appropriations bills before November 1st, unless they include that language, ACORN will be eligible for funding again. And, remember in that case, the language has to be in all of the bills. There are 12 appropriations bills, each funding different government agencies and programs. Adding the prohibition language to, say, the Transportation funding bill doesn’t stop ACORN from accessing Housing funds.
And, even if Congress were to include that language in all 12 appropriations bills, that ACORN-prohibition language would expire on September 30th – the final day of Fiscal Year 2010.
The only way to ensure that ACORN is barred from federal funds across the board and for more than a brief time is for the White House to suspend and bar ACORN from federal funds. It doesn’t have to take an act of Congress.
My old BPOU is having a Governor’s candidate forum next Tuesday. It should be an interesting event as they are putting a new twist on it. Should be very fun and informative.
Date: Tuesday, Oct 20. Doors open at 6pm, event starts at 6:30
Title: SD51 GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Forum
Location: Mermaid Event Center, Mounds View, MN
Description:
Meet the nine Republican candidates for MN Governor. The forum will feature an interactive, small group format. Each group will meet each candidate for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the candidates will rotate between the groups. Participants will meet all nine candidates! Dessert reception. $25 ticket price, proceeds benefit SD51 Republicans.
For more info contact Rich at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The USS Cole was attacked by terrorists on October 12, 2000. I found a good memorial for the 17 sailors who lost their lives that day. God bless their families.
The senior military judge overseeing terror trials at Guantanamo Bay has dropped charges against a suspect in the 2000 USS Cole bombing.
The legal move by the Hon. Susan J. Crawford upholds President Obama's Guantanamo order to halt court proceedings at the Navy detention center in Cuba.
The military charges against suspected Al Qaeda bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri marked the last active war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Crawford dismissed the charges against al-Nashiri without prejudice. That means new charges can be brought again later. He will remain in prison for the time being.
"It was her decision, but it reflects the fact that the president has issued an executive order which mandates that the military commissions be halted, pending the outcome of several reviews of our operations down at Guantanamo," Morrell said Thursday night.
How times have changed, oh my how times have changed. Let's hope the animals behind this attack meet justice sooner rather then later.
Late last week we got word from Speaker Pelosi that more stimulus funding is being considered to get the economy back on track. Seems that the $787 billion ($1.1 trillion with interest) that you ponied up earlier this year just isn't getting the job done. But, honestly, we shouldn’t be surprised by this response – not when tax-and-spend-and-borrow liberals are in charge of everything from the White House to the Capitol.
More government spending and borrowing to boost our economy is like trying to dig ourselves out of a hole in the sand. When all is said and done, not only have we made no progress, but we’re further from our objective then when we first started. And, with a greater debt for our kids to boot.
Instead of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on government giveaways in Stimulus, Part 1, the government should have focused on giving private business - big and small – a helping hand to create jobs. Jobs are what we need now to turn our economy around - and you don't do that by creating new government programs. You do that by allowing businesses to bring on more employees and grow the economy. But, sadly, it seems this Congress has yet to learn its lesson and is barreling toward Stimulus, Part 2.
Keynote speakers: Twila Brase of CCHC, Phil Krinkie of Taxpayer's League of Mn, Barb Davis White 5th Congressional Dist. Congressional Candidate.
Other noteable speakers: Hon. Michele Bachmann, Gubernatorial Candidates, Represenatives from the Mn Rep. State Party, Local candidates and Representatives.
There will be ribs, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers and other foods and drink (price range $2-$10).
Hayrides, apple bobbing, games. Entry fee $5person/$20 for family.
Ron Paul & Michelle Bachmann Student Town Hall Event - U Minn, 9/25
Ron Paul & Michele Bachman will lead a student town hall discussion at the University of Minnesota on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 7:00pm CT. This is a big day for Dr. Paul and the movement, as it is the same day as the HR 1207 hearings. Dr. Paul will fly immediately from the hearings in DC to Minneapolis for the event, so this will be his first opportunity to comment on the hearings. We expect there will be a webcast of the event so everyone can watch and hear Dr. Paul's comments. Stay tuned for more info.
The event is hosted by Young Americans for Liberty and sponsored by the Minnesota Campaign for Liberty, Republican Party of Minnesota, Minneapolis City Republican Committee, College Republicans, CFACT, and Students for a Conservative Voice.
Obama's Education Plan for our Children (or, Why we need Michelle Bachmann more than ever)
by Allen Quist
"On July 24, 2009, the U.S Department of Education (DOE) announced that the "centerpiece of the Obama administration's education reform efforts" in its "$4.35 billion Race to the Top," will include "adopting internationally benchmarked education standards." These will be national standards, said the press release, keyed to international standards and will be incentivized to the states with federal "stimulus" dollars.
By the term "education standards" DOE means content standards; meaning curriculum-the content schools must teach. By "national education standards" DOE means that schools in all 50 states will teach the same content. This will create a de facto federal curriculum. The Department of Education will financially reward those states that teach what DOE wants taught. The Department can be expected to insist that the values taught in the national curriculum conform to the very liberal ideology of the Obama administration.
According to the announcement, this federal curriculum will consist of "internationally benchmarked" standards. The only extant comprehensive "internationally benchmarked" education standards are those developed by UNESCO, the UN's education arm The UNESCO website clarifies that its education standards conform to the treaties and agreements of the UN. This means that its curriculum includes, for example, the requirements of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which says, "Education shall . . . further the activities of the United Nations" (Art. 26:2).
American schools used to teach the fundamental values of the United States--including the inalienable, God-given rights of life, liberty and property, as guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Not any more. Now our students will be indoctrinated in the UN's definition of human rights. As clarified by the UN's UDHR, our rights now may not "be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations" (Art 29:3). Our children will be taught that they have only those rights the UN says they have.
The UNESCO standards also include the UN's Earth Charter which further defines internationally benchmarked standards. The Charter says these standards must entail what it calls "sustainability education" (Art 14:b). The Charter explains that "sustainability education" entails the "promotion of the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations" (Art. 10:a), nuclear disarmament (Art. 16:d), gay marriage (Art. 12:a), legalized abortion (Art. 7:e), adoption of an "international legally binding instrument on environment" (The way Forward), and indoctrination in pantheism (Art. 14d and Art. 16:f).
The National Governor's Association is enabling the Obama administration's plans by calling for "voluntary national education standards." Goals 2000 of 1994 was "voluntary," too, but most legislators were unaware of the fine print in the companion bill, HR6, which required that states would lose all their federal education funding if they failed to comply. That is why all 50 states joined Goals 2000. The Obama administration has made it clear that it views "voluntary national standards" the same way.
The DOE press release fails to mention that national education standards have already been written, having been composed during the Clinton administration. For a thorough description of what these very liberal national standards say, see Fed Ed: The New Federal Curriculum And How It's Enforced, by Allen Quist, available from EdWatch.org or Amazon.com.
