Central Minnesota Political

Native people and their allies in Western Canada have shut down plans for a major oil pipeline. More info at  https://www.stand.earth Tim Central Minnesota Political

This is from Representative Nolan's weekly letter. I agree completely: Dear Mr. King,  After almost 17 years,  it’s time to bring American troops home from Afghanistan  and put an end the longest war in our Nation’s history. The Founders established America’s military for our own national defense – not as a force to be spread around the world propping up corrupt dictatorships under the guise of fighting terrorism. And not to be deployed anywhere without the  consent of Congress , a clear definition of “victory,” and a strategy for achieving it.  What’s more, it’s time for the President to flatly and permanently reject a reckless plan he is reportedly considering to privatize the Afghan conflict, and  turn the U.S role over to billionaire war profiteer Erik Prince , 6000 mercenary fighters, and a 90 plane private air force paid for with American taxpayer dollars. As bad ideas go, this one sits at or near the top of the list.  First and foremo...

I spent a lot of time deciding who to vote for in the recent primary election. I finally settled on the candidates that had been endorsed by the DFL. I made that decision in part because they had the endorsement of a lot of thoughtful and dedicated people. But the endorsed candidates lost. I'll support and vote for the DFL candidates in the general election. But I'm wondering what was the point of the expensive and time consuming process that led to the endorsements at the state convention. Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba always told me that if I wanted to influence the political process I should get involved with the DFL through the endorsement process. I believed that and I've always attended precinct caucuses. I've often attended county and Senate district conventions. And I was a delegate to the Congressional District convention some years ago. I also generally make a small donation to the DFL so it can conduct the county convention. But what for? What is ...

Michael D'Antonio and Peter Eisner just released their book, The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence. Here's a quote from the publishers press release: " Little-known outside his home state until Donald Trump made him his running mate, Mike Pence – who proclaims himself a Christian first, a conservative second, and a Republican third – has long worn a carefully-constructed mask of Midwestern nice. Behind his self-proclaimed humility and self-abasing deference, however, hides a man whose own presidential ambitions have blazed since high school. Pence’s drive for power, perhaps inspired by his belief that God might have big plans for him, explains why he shocked his allies by lending Christian credibility to a scandal-plagued candidate like Trump." "In this landmark biography, Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael D’Antonio and Emmy-nominated journalist Peter Eisner follow the path Pence followed from Catholic Democrat to conservative evangelical Republic...

Little Falls and Long Prairie State Representative Ronald Kresha holds a powerful position in the Minnesota Republican party. Rep. Kresha is the GOP’s Whip. Since the GOP was in the majority in the last legislative session Kresha was the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives. Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Legislative Whip.  “A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature . Whips are the party's "enforcers"; they invite their fellow legislators to attend voting sessions and to vote according to the official party policy. The term is taken from the "whipper-in" during a hunt, who tries to prevent the hounds from wandering away from the pack. Additionally, the term "whip" may mean the voting instructions issued to members by the whip.” Since Ronald Kresha’s job is to keep the hounds from wandering away from the GOP pack he has to be a Party-line man. That is to say he has...

The Washington Post released an article on Wednesday of this week with this headline: “President Trump has made 4,229 false or misleading claims in 558 days”. A week earlier the Toronto Star printed an article entitled, “Donald Trump has said 2083 false things as U.S. president”. Even though the two newspapers don’t agree on the shear vastness of Trumps lies, errors, and ignorant mistatements I’m mortified that a Canadian newspaper finds it necessary to count them. Pinocchio as played by the Italian actor Toto - Photo from Wikipedia Counting “false things”, whether they are lies or simply ignorant statements, matters according to the two newspapers. Here’s what the Toronto Star says: “We’ve had presidents that have lied or misled the country, but we’ve never had a serial liar before. And that’s what we’re dealing with here,” Douglas Brinkley , the prominent Rice University presidential historian, told the Star last December 17th. “We haven’t seen anything like this. It’s...

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018 needs to be passed by September. If it's not passed federal grants for police departments and non-profits that support victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault will dry up. As of today Collin Peterson has not publicly supported this bill, also known as HR 6545. Please call his office and urge him to support this important legislation. In Washington he's at 202-225-2165. In Minnesota you can reach him at: Detroit Lakes, MN: 218-847-5056 Marshall, MN: 507-537-2299 Montevideo, MN: 320-235-1061 Redwood Falls, MN: 507-637-2270 Willmar, MN: 320-235-1061 Thanks. Tim