Yesterday I did a post on the Star Tribune story on Rep. Ron Erhardt filing for re-election as an independent. In the comments to that post "Allie" reports that there were falsehoods in the story, but she did not indicate what inaccuracies there were. I wrote to Mark Brunswick of the Star Tribune with her allegations. While I was waiting for that clarification, "Allie" posted this letter to the Strib in my comments section...

Open on which caucus

The July 12 article "Longtime GOP Rep. Erhardt will run as an independent" states that I said that I would likely caucus with the majority DFLers if reelected. That is misleading. What I said to the reporter was that I would likely caucus with whichever party was in the majority after the fall elections.

As a moderate, I have always believed that effectively representing the interests of my constituents should take precedence over purely partisan interests. I have been able to best serve Edina citizens by working successfully with members of both political parties on issues affecting the good of all Minnesotans. That is why I am prepared to caucus with the majority, no matter which political party it happens to be.

REP. RON ERHARDT, I-EDINA

...thinking that it would vindicate "her guy". It is clear that Brunswick assumed that when Rep. Erhardt said he would caucus with the majority that he meant that he would caucs with the Democrats. However, this letter gives us a window in the character of Rep. Erhardt that I don't think he or his supporters really wanted. It showed that the only thing that is important to him is being in "the majority". It is not about doing the right thing, no matter how unpopular it is (the common excuse given by some of the "Override Six" in defense of their votes). It is, for Rep. Ron Erhardt, a matter of power. If he really cared about what was "good" for the voters of Edina, he would not change who he caucuses with depending on who has the majority....he would stand up for his beliefs and his constituents no matter what. If he truly believed in what he said, he would form his own "Independent" caucus in order to bypass the "purely partisan interests".

No, this is not about anything other than power. Who has it is what matters to the so-called "moderates". Who has it and how they can ride the coat-tails of those with power.

At least not this year and at least not until his next book is out. Jesse Ventura aka Governor Turnbuckle, announced tonight that he will not file for a run for the US Senate.

Although his appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday night had all the trappings of an incipient campaign -- his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger had announced his run for California governor on another national TV talk show, after all -- Ventura squelched weeks of hints that he was planning to enter the arena against Coleman, whose pro-Iraq War record he despises, and Franken, whom he has characterized as an opportunist for returning to Minnesota after years away to run for office.

I know several people said that this latest episode of shameless self-promotion was done just to keep the spotlight on him and to give him free publicity for his book. I certainly can't argue with them - or the featured comment on the Star Tribune story.

Jesse is as Jesse Does

The anti-politician? Jesse is a self-serving Charlatan who is only interested in his own self-agrandizement and ways that he can personally profit by exploiting the office. What a clown...btw...I thought he renounced his citizenship and moved to Mexico?

Self serving indeed. The people of Minnesota have apparently learned that painful lesson all too well.

ASK passers-by on any street in America what their top issue is for the upcoming presidential election, and they'll all answer the same thing: the Foreign Service Intelligence Act.

Gas prices, home foreclosures, the Iraq war - all pale in comparison. Single mothers gathered at the laundromat are all talking about one thing: FISA.

And if you get them to stop yammering on about immunity for telecoms, you won't be able to shut them up about their next favorite outrage: Barack Obama's decision to opt out of public financing.

Don't believe it? Then - unlike many left-wing bloggers and activists, known as the "net roots" - you're in touch with reality.

The true believers' passion is admirable - but, at some point, grownups realize that they can't get everything their way. Instead, left-wing activists can seem emotionally stunted - always seeking the mountaintop experience, when governing happens in the valleys.

As was reported in the Star Tribune last Friday, today Rep. Ron Erhardt filed for re-election as an independent.

Nine-term Republican state Rep. Ron Erhardt, who failed to gain his party's endorsement after bucking the party line and voting for a state gas tax increase, said Friday that he will run for his Minnesota House seat as an independent.

Erhardt, who represents Edina, was one of six Republicans to support the gas tax increase and defy a veto by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The six votes enabled House DFLers to override the veto and push through the state's first gas tax increase since 1988.

The Strib even confirms what many Republicans suspected....

Erhardt said he would likely caucus with the majority DFLers if reelected.

Based on his voting record, it is obvious he will be more comfortable there.

Like many bloggers, I have a set of Google alerts set to send me all the stories that are out there on the "inter-tubes" about candidates and races I am interested in (note to self - must set one for the Chaffetz race). Naturally, I have one set for the Franken/Coleman race. When I set it up, I set it up for blogs and news stories and every now and then, the blogs alert sends me a diamond that I obviously would have never seen, in my crazy day, had I not had the alert. Today, I got one of those diamonds...

Today we enjoy the Monticello Riverfest parade. I love a parade!

As usual, the people watching is remarkable.

Especially the dude who sits by me in a "Keep Kids Off Drugs" who is totally stoned and spaced out.

We stand for the color guard and are so proud of any of the military people we see marching or retired ones that are riding.

We marvel at the horses and snicker at the pooper scoopers that follow them (why is poop so dang funny?).

We clap like crazy for the bands and the flag/fake wood rifle girls.

When Al Franken's wife and his posse with Al Franken signs (i.e. those dirty hippies with floppy hats and ugly brown sandals) pass by there are crickets, I swear. It is pretty funny but even funnier is this guy at the end of the posse who tries to get the crowd fired up and yells, "Do you want change, or more of the same?!" and Trina my supercoolsistersays, "MORE OF THE SAME!".

Heh heh heh.

What more can you say?

Earlier this week, someone sent me this IBD Editorial.

TORONTO — My country promises everyone quality health care coverage that is free at the point of service and financed through taxes. But unfortunately for me and millions of Canadians, the actions of our government all too often belie that generous pledge.

Canada's cost-conscious, government-run system wasn't there for me when I needed it most. Even worse, it continues to overlook the most fundamental rule of health care — that patients ought to come first.

As America considers ways to reform its health care system, I hope that my experience reminds decision makers that more government intrusion in health care is a poison pill.

Since the emailer did not include a link to the editorial, I had to wait to research it. Well today I finally had a chance to search up Shona's story and what I found blew my mind. First here is Shona's story on the Mayo Clinic's website.

Shona Holmes was in trouble: The list of her symptoms included headaches, sleeplessness, dizziness, low libido and, worst of all, rapidly deteriorating vision. Her family doctor in Canada ordered an MRI, and a brain tumor was detected. But it would take months for her to get on the appointment calendar of a neurologist or endocrinologist in Canada.

"I knew in my gut that I had to see someone and could not wait five to six months," she says. So she called Mayo Clinic and got an appointment the same day.

For Holmes, a 31-year-old native of Waterdown, Ontario, traveling far from her husband, other family members and friends was difficult. She knew there would be several appointments and a battery of diagnostic tests. But she knew it had to be done. So, flying solo, she headed for Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Shona needed life saving brain surgery immediately. However, like her fellow countryman (and fellow OHIP member) Lindsay McCreith, Shona found out that the free health care she was promised came with life threatening strings. She was told that she could not see a specialist for at least six months...six months which, according to the Mayo Doctors, she didn't have the luxury of waiting for. Shona's doctors from the Mayo Clinic made calls to OHIP pleading for an exemption for Shona. They were unable to make any headway with the administrators of the plan. So Shona finally got on emergency appointment with a neurosurgeon and an endicronologist and they refused to accept the Mayo Clinic diagnosis. One of the Ontario "specialists" told Shona that she was simply suffering from migranes - even though she was going blind (as a result of pressure from the tumor on her optic nerve)!

Shona went back down to Scottsdale where she underwent successful surgery to remove the tumor. Since she has come home, Shona has started waging a new battle....a battle for health care options in Canada. She has even gone as far as to post (on You Tube) a video describing what she went through along with an interview that she did with an Ontario television station (starts at the 5:14 mark). Watch for the reaction of the female reporter when Shona tells her that what she did in going to the US for treatment was illegal!

Shona is working to make a positive change come out of her negative experience. It is an experience that all Americans (especially Minnesotans) should pay close attention to as this could some day be our fate as well.

Shona says it best when she says "free health care is great...if you can access it".

A fascinating exchange between MinnPost's media writer David Brauer and Star Tribune editorial board writer Jill Burcum flagged an important milestone in Minnesota public affairs. We passed it years ago but I have not yet written about it because, quite frankly, it's painful. I've long respected many of the fine journalists involved, even the ones I have ideologically disagreed with most of the time. [Hello, Susan Albright.]

To be blunt, the milestone is that the unsigned editorials -- the institutional voices of our state's two largest newspapers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press -- have become irrelevant in Minnesota politics.

What's worse, Burcum wrote, "Our editorials on [Minnesota DFL Attorney General] Lori Swanson played a key role in triggering the legislative auditor's investigation and calls for reform at the office."

That's not only wrong, it's patently absurd.

The Star Tribune editorial calling for an investigation of AG office employees' efforts to unionize was dated March 23. Sure, the Legislative Audit Commission officially called for the investigation March 28, but here's one of a number of meetings the Legislative Audit Commission held to discuss audit evaluation topics, including investigating Lori Swanson's office, before the editorial ran.

The call for an investigation was first made by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano) March 12 (albeit an investigation to be conducted by a different unit of government, arguably more favorable to Republicans, the Bureau of Mediation Services). And perhaps most significantly, employee issues in the AG's office were all over the blogosphere for months (just a few examples here, here (the specific link to Steve Perry's The Daily Mole web site is now defunct and he currently writes at the Minnesota Independent ), here, and here.

Never mind the months of speculation at the Capitol that Swanson's internal union woes would have to be investigated. Speculation which never included, "the Star Tribune edtiorial page called for one."

Because no one at the Capitol ever talks about what the Star Tribune is calling for. Or the cries (have there been any the last few years?) of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Senator Barack Obama is not the only one who is changing their positions at the drop of a hat. Rep. Michelle Bachmann has a post up at Townhall that is sure to send the left's environmental buddies over the edge.

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term. A black hole, according to Webster's, is perhaps "the invisible remains of a collapsed star, with an intense gravitational field from which neither light nor matter can escape."

A SORDID TANGLE of corruption, cash and sex rocked the Statehouse yesterday in a political scandal that left one current and one former legislator and 10 current and former staff members facing criminal charges.

Among the accusations leveled by two state grand juries: Former top legislative staffer Mike Manzo got his lover, a twenty-something former rural beauty queen, a $29,000 job and $7,000 bonus mostly for doing her schoolwork.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the charges against the 12, all Democrats, in a news conference in Harrisburg.

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — In the hills above the University of California's Berkeley campus, nine protesters gathered in front of the home of a toxicology professor, their faces covered with scarves and hoods despite the warm spring weather.

One scrawled "killer" in chalk on the scientist's doorstep, while another hurled insults through a bullhorn and announced, "Your neighbor kills animals!" Someone shattered a window.

Borrowing the kind of tactics used by anti-abortion demonstrators, animal rights activists are increasingly taking their rage straight to scientists' front doors.

Over the past couple of years, more and more researchers who experiment on animals have been harassed and terrorized in their own homes, with weapons that include firebombs, flooding and acid.

Scientists say the vandalism and intimidation threaten not just themselves and their families but the future of medical research. Specialists in such fields as addiction, eyesight and the aging brain have been targeted.

I decried those tactics (in Yahoo groups - I was not blogging at that time) when the pro-life groups used them. It is one thing to protest the clinics but it is always another to physically threaten the families of the doctors who provide abortions or do medical research on animals.

Accompanying the attacks is increasingly tough talk from activists such as Dr. Jerry Vlasak, a spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front press office. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said he is not encouraging anyone to commit murder, but "if you had to hurt somebody or intimidate them or kill them, it would be morally justifiable."

Is this the real life? I’m everyone’s fantasy!
Hoping for an electoral landslide, I’ve escaped from reality
Open your eyes, Look up to the clouds (from whence I’ll come again) and see,
I’m just a poor boy, I bask in sympathy
Because I’m easy come, never let anything go, Polls are a little high, little low
Any way the wind blows, all that really matters is me, is me

Obama, just healed a man, Put a hand against his head
Spake a word, now he’s not dead
Obama, life is just beginning
And Billary nearly gone and thrown it all away
Obama, ooh, Didn’t mean to make you cry
After New Hampshire there was nearly no tomorrow
But he carried on, carried on because only one thing really matters