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Feathered Thoughts

Posted by Raven on Monday, August 20, 2007 7:44:41 PM

Sorry for the delay but I have started becoming involved with local GOP political party. Hopefully I can inject some logic and reality into things. Instead of a long dissertation on one topic this will be more about just getting thoughts out of my head, random ideas as it were. They may not be Jack Handyesque thoughts but definitely Ravenesque.


Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice


Black and White terms for a Gray topic. Is it not possible for a person to have an opinion without having to be pigeonholed into one ‘camp’ or the other?

Then again from a political point of view what better way to polarize an issue?

The entire topic is flawed to begin with since it really should not be a ‘political’ issue.

Roe v Wade could be looked at as the ‘official’ start of Abortion being a political issue/weapon.

There is a stark contrast between Abortion being a political issue and a legal one. Except that it has evolved to the point where there is no separation between the two.

During Roe v Wade a Constitutional ‘right’ was discovered. Amazing. Only took 200 years or so to discover it.
In one area a ‘right’ was discovered (Right of Privacy ~ Right to an Abortion) yet where a Right is defined there are those who suddenly develop spontaneous blindness. (2nd Amendment)

‘Roe v Wade’ is now seemingly viewed as Scripture. Something so sacrosanct that the mere thought that the Supreme Court could dare do anything to alter it sends a lot of people in to convulsions. Interesting. Since it is (allegedly) a Constitutionally protected Right it would be blasphemous to do anything that could possibly threaten it.

Only one comment to that line of thinking: Segregation was at one point Constitutionally protected. Just a thought.

Roe v Wade needs to overturned. Why? Because it should be in the purview of the States (ala 10th Amendment). If one state wishes to ban it and another wished to allow, then so be it. That is of course until we get rid of those pesky state borders. (Who do those States think they are having independent ideas and thoughts? Don’t they know Washington knows best.)

Final Thought: “It is a women’s body to do with it as she chooses.” Or so the thinking of the Pro-Choice goes. Ok. Fair enough statement. So I am sure this line of thinking also extends to these same people agreeing that prostitution should be legalized yes? Those who willingly wish to do so of course.

 

 

Coronation 2008 (aka Election 2008)

 

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Hilary will be the nominee. Or will she?

This campaign pre-season isn’t even over yet. And much like Football pre-season they both amount to about the same thing, not much.

I agree that the campaigning as started much too early and will be going on much too long. But remember it did not start earlier this year. In all reality it started November of 2004, just after Bush was re-elected. At least on the Democratic side.

I will be quite happy when the election is over with. Then we can start on the next cycle.

The origin of the unmitigated hatred towards Bush is quite easy to determine. Election 2000 aka How Gore lost the Election.

It wasn’t Bush who stole it, or the Court bestowing it. One amazing little tidbit is always conveniently overlooked. Gore did not win his home state. Hmmm Even Mondale won his home state when he got swamped. If he couldn’t get a majority of his home state people to vote for him then he deserved to lose. It’s simple math. Gore wins Tennessee everything else in irrelevant. Bush wins Florida but loses the election. But of course we can’t let facts get in the way of good old fashioned hatred now can we? Besides I am sure has the situation been reversed I'm sure the Republicans would be received just as well as those Democrats who feel Bush stole the election. Right?

Gore in 2008.

A tantalizing prospect too many. I have to include myself in that. I would love to see Al jump in the race. I think it would be quite intriguing to see how the Clinton machine would deal with Al. Plus you would think he would to further get his ‘agenda’ into main stream. Maybe we could actually have a real ‘debate’ on it.

But I doubt he will. Even though he would have quite a bit of clout as President when it came to his ‘agenda’ I don’t think he will because he has just as much clout as a ‘green prophet’ and without the scrutiny he would have as a candidate or as President.

My prediction: One of the two candidates we will have to choose from next November is not currently a declared candidate. Not a risky prediction I know but one that I think will come to fruition.

Could the next President be Madame Hilary? Possibility is there. But I believe if that occurs as long as GOP takes back Congress they can minimize the damage she could do. Assuming there are real Conservatives elected.

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Halloween comes early to Minnesota

Posted by Raven on Friday, August 03, 2007 11:09:15 PM
Disclaimer: This was written on pure emotion. Is that an excuse? No. Simple fact. Funny part is I am a lot calmer, comparatively speaking than yesterday.

According to my calendar the date is August 3rd, 2007. Which means officially about 80 days or so until October 31st. The recognized day of Halloween.

However, it has arrived early this year. Two nights ago in fact. The evening of August 1st. About 6 p.m. local time a major Interstate bridge in Minneapolis collapsed. Chaos, as would be expected, ensued.  It was shortly after that when Halloween arrived. Arriving in the form of ghouls dressed up like politicians. Helped in part at times by their zombie minions, the media.

As you can see by the left side of my Blog I am from Minnesota,in fact I live about 10-15 minutes (depending on traffic) north of that bridge. I have crossed that bridge on numerous occasions. At this time I have no idea if anyone I knew was on the bridge at the time, or anywhere near it. My guess is most likely not, but with the 'six degrees of separation" I am sure there is some connection there somewhere, as it will be for many people in Minnesota.

Before the night was over, while many cars remained in the river and people were still in shock over the horrific incident, the first whispers were heard. Like the soft eerie plaintive cry of a restless spirit. "It's the Governors fault."

While the citizens of Minnesota were either crying out of relief that they survived by pure luck, or crying in sadness and mourning over the unknown plight of family and friends, not knowing if they were alive or dead, the whispers grew louder. "It's Bush and the Republican's fault."

The dawning of the next day saw a full eruption of the ghouls, zombies and tax happy vampires. "If we had more of your money this never would have happened." was the siren's call.

In a time when nothing more was needed than a coming together of Minnesotans as a community to help each other in a time of crisis, the ghouls and vampires found it a perfect time to come out in search of vulnerable prey. They knew that when people were in shock they were much easier to convince of things than usual. What better time to strike out against their hated foes, those who actually dare to believe in the people first, not government first.

This early arrival of Halloween, and all the tricks (but no treats) that accompanied it, was not confined to Minnesota. It even made it's way to the Kingdom of D.C., the home coven of the ghouls, zombies and vampires.

My first thought was that they should be ashamed of themselves. It is a given that all politicians play politics, it's in their job description after all. But to not even have the common courtesy to wait until the all the survivors were saved or the dead recovered was reprehensible and completely without decency. I have no expectations for any of them to feel ashamed, after all shame, like common sense and logic, is a rare if not non-existent thing today in politics. This shamelessness has begun to spread as well. It now permeates through all the little minions and sycophants that mindlessly and slavishly follow their ghoul and vampire leaders. (aka Bloggers/media)

All the bodies have not yet been recovered, the healing has barely begun and yet the wailing call resounds from coast to coast, "If it weren't for the 'no new tax'ers this never would have happened." I'm going to ignore the horrible timing of this phantom debate for the moment, and instead focus on the incorporeal substance of the cries.

"We need more money for transportation."

Just to see what exactly we are dealing with lets look at the Minnesota budget shall we. I will be the first to admit to not being an accountant or anything all I can do is present what information is readily available and go from there.

State expenditures are grouped into broad categories of services. State Budget at a glance

1) E12 Education, state support for early childhood, kindergarten-grade 12 (K-12) education

2)Health and Human Services, funding for mental health and other institutions, public assistance, healthcare, and general public health programs

3)Higher Education, state funding for public universities, state and community colleges

4)Property Tax Aids and Credits, local government aids and grants programs, property tax refunds

5)Environment, Agriculture and Economic Development, programs for environmental protection, recreation, agricultural and jobs creation.

6)Transportation, transportation systems, highway construction and maintenance, and the Minnesota State Patrol

7)Criminal Justice, public safety programs including state courts correctional institutions

8)State Government, including the administrative, constitutional offices, and legislative agencies

9)Other, miscellaneous expenses, such as the payment of principle and interest on state bonds

According to the most recent budget here is the breakdown FY 2008-2009 Budget

Beginning Balance:
2.106 Billion

Total Revenue:
33.812 Billion

Spending:
 K-12 Education 13.780 Billion
Health and Human Services 9.695 Billion
All Others 11.034 Billion

Percentage Breakdown:
K-12 Education 39.9%
Health and Human Services 28.1%
Higher Education 9.1%
Prop Tax Aid/Crt 9.0 %
All Others 8.5%
Public Safety 5.4%

The transportation finance budget is 3.8 Billion Source

I do not presume to make judgment as to what should be spent where, but the numbers do show a great disparity. Is the only solution to start adding piles of money?

The budget also shows only 13% goes to infrastructure operations and maintenance.

"$209.6 million in fiscal year 2008 and $213.6 million in fiscal year 2009 for infrastructure operations and maintenance;"

Perhaps instead of an automatic knee-jerk reaction of "we need more of your money" perhaps the initial thing to do is see how effective we spend what we already spend. This goes for all areas of government spending.

Here is an analogy I think is very fitting:

Johnny has a source of income. With this income he has some primary obligations, as well as opportunity for discretionary spending. If he can't meet those obligations, what should be the solution?

A) Make sure Johnny is exhibiting financial responsibility or

B) Increase Johnny's income source and hope he does better.

The answer for us with common sense and in the 'real world' would be 'A'. If Johnny needs help in how to spend more effectively then we give him help.

The answer for those not in the 'real world' i.e government, is of course 'B'. And if 'Johnny' is the government then the only way to increase their income source is with our money.

So before we start complaining that Johnny needs more money, why don't we see if he is actually spending it effectively first. Just a silly, and common sense, idea. Which of course means it would be summarily dismissed.

MN State Budget Home Page


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