HometownSource Blogs

According to the Tax Foundation, Minnesota has the third-highest corporate tax burden in the known universe, 41.4 percent. That’s higher than all but Pennsylvania and Iowa in the U.S., and significantly higher than more socialist nations like Germany, France, and Canada.

It’s an outrage! Call your representative today and insist that Minnesota’s corporate “citizens” start doing their fair share!

Despite providing zero evidence that anything Katherine Kersten wrote about TIZA was in error, Rep. Mindy Greiling is a-okay with calling for her ouster at the Star Tribune. Far less surprising is the Star Tribune’s willingness to run such a letter, extremely short on substance but long on personal attacks, as long as the target is a conservative (even one of their own).

Scott Johnson sums it up nicely:

The Star Tribune provides a sad illustration of how a newspaper can become a corrosive force on the political and civic life of the community it serves. The financial difficulties of the Star Tribune prompt the thought that the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota would be improved by the paper’s demise.

And certainly not for the first time. While the Strib’s deep-seated and overwhelming bias is well documented and, at this point, essentially a punch line, I am more than surprised that Greiling would start throwing weight around, calling for journalists’ resignations, with little more in her corner than the fact that she visited TIZA and it seemed okay to her.

May brings flowers, long walks in the park and a good game of Frisbee golf, a.k.a. “frolfing.”
It brings the first smells of barbecue, excitement for farmer’s markets and the chance to sip coffee outside of cafes.
If you can’t tell, sunshine in my face and a warm breeze are some of my favorite things, and because of that I’m taking the time for a little PSA and letting everyone know May is also National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention month.

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Never one to miss an opportunity to gain politically from a tragedy, the Goracle yesterday blamed the Myanmar cyclone on global climate warming change:

…we’re seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming.

“Predicted.” “Might be associated.” In Al Gore’s world, even the vaguest and insupportable link is enough to reach for the panic button. And what, pray tell, is global warming doing to cause the wrath of Gaia? This:

Gore claimed global warming is forcing ocean temperatures to rise, which is causing storms, including cyclones and hurricanes, to intensify.

Er…except the oceans have been cooling for the last five years. Those pesky facts, always getting in the way of a perfectly good line of bull.

In this season of high gas prices and finger-pointing, the Tax Policy Blog notes that - since 1981 and the passage of the Windfall Profits Tax - government has made more off of oil than…well…oil companies. The cumulative total is: government - $1.65 trillion, oil companies - $1.12 trillion. Here’s a summary (graph at link):

…during most of that 25 year period, government tax collections were nearly twice industry profits in any given year. Indeed, in 2002, before the recent price spikes, the industry earned a collective $20.5 billion in profits. However, government collected more than $50 billion in combined income, property, severance, and excise taxes in the same year.

If Congress really wants to grill those which gain the most from oil profits, it need look no further than its own chambers.

Newsweek’s Robert Samuelson finds another problem with the scenario:

Members of Congress complain loudly about high oil profits ($40.6 billion for ExxonMobil last year) but frustrate those companies from using those profits to explore and produce in the United States.

Instead of demonizing oil companies even while reaping massive monetary benefit from their labor, wouldn’t we be better served encouraging them to re-invest in the things that will keep energy affordable?

After my last somewhat depressing when you really think about it entry about the rising cost of life, I couldn’t help but sarcastically chuckle to myself when I came across Mukesh Ambani’s plans for his family’s 60-story home.
That’s right. Not six stories, which would still be more than ridiculous. Nope, 60 stories with 27 different floors.

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Minnesota Monitor, ground zero for the local Sorosphere and another entity that would be shrieking were Franken a Republican, instead goes after the source of the story, Michael Brodkarb. It’s line of attack is exceptionally disingenuous given past stonewalling about its own funding sources. It’s also humorous to note that the piece required a correction due to the author’s failure to read an AP story closely.

Nevertheless, MinMon will continue to insist Brodkorb is lying about being “paid to blog” currently, prompting this question at True North:

I have a question for the Monitor: Given the reputation as a giant-killer that Michael Brodkorb has built up, and the fact that he is not a dumb guy, and that he’s got a city full of leftybloggers and DFL opposition researchers scurrying about like cockroaches on amyl, looking for that magic link that’d discredit him, does anyone rationally think that Brodkorb - who claims not to earn his living from politics today - would risk all of that by trying to lie about his income?

Y’know - like the Monitor did?

Heh.

Suddenly Lars and the gang are all about file sharing? Apparently so in this recent interview with Rolling Stone.

“We have FLACs and MP3s for sale. It was never about downloading per se.”

These guys are a complete joke, I think I got my last Metallica CD when I was in I wanna say 6th grade. Since then I think it’s safe to say that they have been regurgitating the same old garbage again and again and again. I think it’s safe to say these guys are right up there with the major label record companies when it comes to doing more to hinder the sales of downloadable media then they’ve ever done to help it.

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Lawmakers are rushing to defend Al Franken. Here’s some highlights:

…now that it’s been vetted out — he took responsibility quickly, didn’t hide behind the, ‘I didn’t understand,’” she [Rep. Shelley Madore] said.

No, he hid behind the “it’s my accountant’s fault” excuse, and he only took responsibility after he was exposed by the evil right wing screeching squad.

“What it points out to me is how well someone can take care of problems when they come up,” said [Rep. Tom] Tillberry.

Well, this isn’t the first time it has come up. Just ask New York. By “come up” Tillberry seems to be alluding to when the problem finally gets public scrutiny. Read more »

I feel for John and Judy McEachran.

The Inver Grove Heights couple faced a $67,000 assessment from Dakota County for soils cleanup regarding asbestos-containing materials uncovered on their townhome property during excavation work that began in 2004.

Apparently, their property was where old bridges went to die. Read more »

Faced with choosing the high road or using a tragedy for political gain, McCain goes for the gain:

Republican John McCain said Wednesday that the bridge collapse in Minnesota that killed 13 people last year would not have happened if Congress had not wasted so much money on pork-barrel spending.

I certainly wouldn’t argue that pork-barrel spending is out of control, and we continue to elect one of the worst offenders, Rep. Oberstar. But putting checks in place to limit this legal version of bribery sells itself; there is no need to exploit a tragedy caused by a defect in the design. Please Senator, leave the crass exploitation (think Katrina = global warming, no WMD = Bush lied, or bridge collapse = no new taxes) to the pros.

UPDATE: Oberstar takes a whack at McCain for exploiting the bridge tragedy:

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On my way to a town meeting Tuesday night at Lakeville City Hall, I stopped at the Cenex station and filled up my Taurus. It cost me $47.

At the meeting, Lakeville City Administrator Steve Mielke disclosed that for about $36 in property taxes on my Lakeville condo and similar “average-priced homes” in the community, the Metropolitan Council was willing to provide two transit stations and bus service along I-35 and Cedar Avenue to downtown Minneapolis.

I hope the City Council recognizes at its meeting Monday night, when it will vote on the Met Council offer, that the community is looking at an incredible bargain. Thanks to a combination of state, federal and county transit dollars, the city has a golden opportunity to become a more complete, full-service community. It has a chance to join other Dakota County cities that have been offering bus service to its residents for many years. Read more »

Via Tim Blair, is there a problem not caused by global warming?

“Climate change will trigger a chain of events which is likely to increase the stress on society and result in higher vulnerability to diseases including HIV,” said Prof Tarantola, due to address an HIV forum in Sydney.

And here you thought it was caused by having unprotected sex with a carrier of the AIDS virus. Silly rabbit.

Of course, the author bases the prediction on food scarcity, which is occurring right now, not because of global warming, but because of the decadence of western warmenists.

UPDATE: Global AIDS warming crisis averted! At least, for the next decade.

With 12 states already in, and Minnesota seen as one of the most liberal states in the country, it was/is only a matter of time before marijuana was/is legalized for medical purposes.

But not if Gov. Pawlenty and law enforcement officials have anything to say about it.

Pawlenty has warned that he will veto any bill that reaches his desk. That denial may come sooner than anticipated, after the legislation passed in the senate and is in the process of being passed in the house. Also, Tuesday marked the start of an ad campaign throughout the state which asks supporters to call Pawlenty’s office and urge the governor to either sign off on the legislation or allow it to pass without his signature.

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Remember when gas used to cost 89 cents a gallon?
Or what about when coffee was only $1?
And now it’s stamps. On May 12 the 41 cent stamp will go to 42 cents. Read more »