When a violent attack happens we get stereotyped false statements from the right wing. Even from right wing leaders who are considered rational, like Senator Susan Collins, we get statements like this:
“Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, until recently a top member of the Homeland Security committee and still a prime mover on security bills. “I don’t have evidence to back that up. That’s just based on previous attacks.”
Actually when one looks the real evidence, right wing extremism provides the most terrorism threats. Of course that excludes the consideration of corporate greed terrorism that killed at least 14 people in the West Fertilizer Explosion in Texas this week alone.
In the graphic above, it is difficult to see the identical circles because of the surrounding perspective. We can fix our perspective with real information. The In the rest of article, I lay out graphs of where our real terrorism threats exist. …READ MORE
Timid Video Theater responded to a long-lasting mantel of snow back in 1983 with a piece of whimsy for a KTCA-TV magazine show. Given the weather we’ve been we’re going through, I figure an encore might prompt some cheer. Our Facebook “friends” have posted hundreds of photos (with the their Smart phone cams) of white flocked trees, snow plows, stuck cars, confused robins - its getting as cute (as bad) as KARE 11 weather persons on the 6 O’Oclock. Well possums, enough already. This video includes ace comedy writer Peter Toland (before his Emmys) and the wonderful James Deming and John Barnier, Brainerd Bait Shop fashion statements, Met Stadium tail gating and the innovative boys back at 3M. I continue to produce Timid Video stuff (“Junk Yard Democrats” etc.).
What do I mean by “Democrats need to better with white voters”? And what do I mean by “part 4″? The latter is easy to answer. It turned into a multi-post subject, where the entirety of part 1 was devoted just to answering the question of why. That’s why I’m going to give just the brief version of why Democrats need to win more white votes, despite all the attention given to generational differences among voters and the Republican attempts at reaching out to young people, non-whites, generally what the recent elections revealed as Democratic-leaning demographic groups (DLDGs). The gist is this:
President Obama won the popular vote by a narrow enough margin, that Republicans can overcome it if they have any success reaching out to DLDGs. Yes, I’m aware of how they’ve been tripping over their own tongues, but let’s give ourselves a margin of error by assuming they do better enough at outreach to give themselves a chance at the electoral college.
Republicans won a healthy majority of the US House with a large minority of the overall vote, and a similar dynamic holds true in many state legislatures. We have to win more white voters if we hope to win majorities of seats.
I’m aware the demographic trends have been in our favor, but I don’t see why we should concede elections while we wait for elections to be handed to us. I also don’t like just assuming current trends continue. I prefer giving ourselves a margin of error, just in case GOP outreach works, or demographic trends change.
So that’s the brief version of why Democrats have to win more white voters. There are a lot of variables involved, like age, religion, income, a bunch more, and identifying those was done in part 2 (please check there before asking why I didn’t consider something, because probably I did). I devoted part 3 to one variable, population density, which has a remarkable correlation to the presidential vote. It got its own post partly because it’s rather complicated, but also because this seems like the single most important variable. At a minimum, it seems population density will suggest some overlooked targets for future elections and possible future strategies.
So in this final part, we get down to the application of all this analysis. How do we win more white votes? If it was resolvable in a single blog post I suppose it would be more obvious and already done, so I can’t pretend to have the whole solution. I do have ideas though, after the jump, but first one point to make about the feasibility of winning a bigger share of the white vote. Could we increase Obama’s 39% a few points to, say, 43%? Obama’s share in 2008 was, oh look, 43%. That would seem definitive proof we can do this. So let’s do this:
Sport hunting and trapping of Minnesota grey wolves prompted
Minnetonka’s Dr. Maureen Hackett to form Howling for Wolves, a citizen-driven campaign to get the DNR, Governor Dayton and/or the Legislature to replace such activities with humane and environmentally smart management protocols. When the Grey (Timber) Wolf was removed from the endangered species list by the Federal Government, the State, as we all know, provided a hunting season of it. Dr. Hackett and Nancy Nelson are not at all happy about this. They discuss the issues surrounding this important predator on the current edition of Democratic Visions. But you can see the segment now with this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQAQjXtQu0
More effective gun controls are addressed on the current edition of Democratic Visions.
Sami Rahamim discusses with AM950 Radio’s Nancy Nelson his response to the September killing of his father Reuvin Rahamim and two of his father’s employees and a United Parcel Service driver in his Bryn Mawr, Minneaplis sign company. Sami, Rahamin attended the State of the Union speech on the invitation of Congressman Keith Ellison. He and other survivors of families who had been victimized by gun violence heard President Obama call out to Congress that they “ … deserve a vote!” As a citizen-lobbyist, the 18-year old Mr. Rahamim has spoken on behalf of reforming gun laws in Saint Paul and Washington D.C.
In a strong commentary about reluctant Minnesota DFL legislators, Eden Prairie’s Doug Lind reminds our state lawmakers that they need to show backbone and pass effective laws that will reduce the careless and evil use of weapons.
Democratic Visions is produced by unpaid volunteers through DFL Senate District 48 at the Bloomington Community Access Television studio on Old Shakopee Road.
Minneapolis MTN Channel 16 – Sundays at 8:30 p.m.
Dem Vis is also streamed live on Sundays at 8:30 p.m at this MTN Ch 16 link: http://www.mtn.org/Video/tvguide/live.html
Comcast Channel 15 Sundays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Richfield and Hopkins.
Bloomington Cable Access Television (BCAT) Channel 16 on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m., Fridays at 9:30 p.m. , Saturdays at 7:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.
DEMOCRATIC VISIONS CHANNEL – YOUTUBE
Browse more than more than 125 segments including discussions, commentary and humor on a wide range of political issues -
Brace yourselves for the GET OFF MY LAWN rebranding
As everyone knows, the Republican Party (aka the Party Of No, aka The Tea Party, aka Party of Legitimate Rape, aka The Birthers, aka the Climate Change Deniers, aka the Ignorance Caucus) has image problems.
Rep. John Kline will land in the national spotlight this month as he leads a congressional hearing on school violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that left 26 people dead in Connecticut.
It’s the first hint of the pivotal role Kline, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, will play in the Republican Party’s effort to redefine itself after the electoral losses of 2012.
Since the start of President Obama’s second term, influential Republicans have been crafting an education- and jobs-centered agenda they hope will help win over a broader base of Americans.
Besides school safety, Kline also will lead the GOP push on issues party leaders hope will make them more relevant to minority and middle-class voters: private-school vouchers for children from lower-income families, college affordability and workforce training tailored to in-demand jobs.
Kline knows as much about education as I know about astrophysics. But the former Marine knows what his donors want him to say. Yes, that’s the for-profit colleges and the banks that rip off far too many people seeking higher education.
As for image, Kline’s staff calls the cops any time a Democrat shows up his offices. In other words, he’s the prototypical Get Off My Lawn Republican.
The staffers he hires are notoriously rude. Campaign Manager Mike Osskopp went to a DFL event and yelled racist insults at DFLers as they arrived.
First Republicans in Congress helped the Bush Administration destroy the economy. Then they held the economy hostage over the debt ceiling demanding austerity measures all the while protecting the 1% and corporate tax dodgers. Their shenanigans lowered the US’s credit rating.
The only solution President Obama could negotiate with them was a short term solution that if Congress couldn’t permanently deal with the debt ceiling, we’d have massive across-the-board cuts called sequestration.
Now with sequestration looming, what have Republicans in the US House done? They’re going on vacation.
“With millions of jobs and our nation’s economy in the balance, and only four legislative days left until the March first sequester triggering drastic, across the board spending cuts that will negatively affect every senior citizen, every child, and every middle class family in my district and across America, the Republican leadership adjourned the Congress this morning for nine days,” says Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-MN).
Nolan and Democrats in Congress voted against adjourning.
“Politics aside, the people of Minnesota’s 8th District expect and demand that their Congress stay at work to achieve a bipartisan, balanced solution to our budget and debt situation,” Nolan continued. “A solution that includes responsible spending cuts, increased revenues, and economic growth to generate the middle class jobs we so desperately need.”
“We simply cannot continue to govern this great nation by crisis management,” Nolan concluded. “I will continue to do all within my power to get this Congress working again for middle class Americans who expect no less.”
70 Minnesotans hopped on a train headed for Washington, DC this morning. They’ll be attending the Forward On Climate rally tomorrow on the Washington Mall. The rally is expected to draw tens of thousands of people.
This morning 70 Minnesotans discovered that changing one word can change the world. As they gathered at the St Paul Amtrak station, a flash mob blossomed singing, “ride on the earth train,” a heartfelt adaptation of Cat Steven’s “Peace Train.” The dream of an earth train was born on November 30th as Susan and Jim Lenfestey left Bill McKibben’s Do the Math Tour feeling inspired and ready for action. Bill had suggested attendees join him for a rally in Washington D.C in February to encourage President Obama to take meaningful action towards a clean, sustainable energy future. Susan joked, “well we know we can’t fly. Let’s take the train!” Her offhanded joke was really a deeper reflection of a commitment to a clean energy future. Planes are one of the biggest contributors of carbon, and if we are to significantly lower the carbon in our atmosphere, limiting our air travel is an excellent place to start. The train ride to D.C will be long, but it will be a chance to enjoy the landscape, engage with other passengers, and minimize carbon emissions on a long journey. (Read more about Amtrak’s commitment to environmental sustainability here). (MN350.org)
Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) was one of the 70 to hop on the train.
“I’m a life-long environmentalist,” Hornstein said. Hornstein is chair of the House Transportation Committee and a member of the Energy Policy Committee. “I strongly believe that climate change is one of the defining issues of our generation. This event is nothing less than historic.”
A few others hopped on the train, too. Author Louise Erdrich, humorist, storyteller Kevin Kling as well as musician Prudence Johnson.
Disgruntled former presidential campaign staffer Peter Waldron made a slew of accusations against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). From not paying staff to stealing email lists to illegally paying a consultant through her PAC, Waldron had quite a lot of material.
A[n Iowa] state Senate ethics committee said Wednesday it won’t take immediate action on a complaint filed against a Republican senator accused of taking improper payments from Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign.
Committee members voted 5-1 against taking any further action unless “further substantiating information” was offered related to the complaint filed Jan 28 by former Bachmann aide Peter Waldron against Sen. Kent Sorenson, of Milo. Waldron said Bachmann for President tried to conceal payments to Sorenson of $7,500 a month for about six months by running the money through a political action committee with ties to the Minnesota congresswoman.
On Sunday, the NY Times’ Paul Krugman wrote a column entitle The Ignorance Caucus. He was talking about a speech House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) gave.
To be sure, Mr. Cantor tried to sound interested in serious policy discussion. But he didn’t succeed – and that was no accident. For these days his party dislikes the whole idea of applying critical thinking and evidence to policy questions. And no, that’s not a caricature: Last year the Texas G.O.P. explicitly condemned efforts to teach “critical thinking skills,” because, it said, such efforts “have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”
And such is the influence of what we might call the ignorance caucus that even when giving a speech intended to demonstrate his openness to new ideas, Mr. Cantor felt obliged to give that caucus a shout-out, calling for a complete end to federal funding of social science research. Because it’s surely a waste of money seeking to understand the society we’re trying to change.
Today, Sally Jo Sorenson relates at Bluestem Prairie the story of a thunderously ignorant bill Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) submitted. The bill (HF419) would prevent any federal firearm law that NRA stooge The Draz doesn’t like, i.e., ban or limit firearms, from taking effect in Minnesota.
Seriously, how does The Draz expect his bill to pass the bull**** constitutionality sniff test?
His bill reeks so badly of Wayne LaPierre‘s cologne and is so obviously copy-pasted from the NRA’s website that The Draz should feel ashamed for his lack of ability to think for himself. The Draz unashamedly admits that he’s just copying what’s been done in “17 other states.”
Is it time to stop referring to members of the Republican Party in the legislature as Republicans? Should we begin referring to them, officially, as members of the Ignorance Caucus?
If so, I nominate Steve Drazkowski as their leader.
The State House has passed a bill that would raise the state minimum wage to $9.50/hour and index it to inflation so $9.50 in today's dollars is worth an equivalent amount in next year's. The State Senate is dragging its feet, insisting on legislator pay raises *first*. Tell them to get off the sidelines, stop dragging their feet, and help raise up the working poor!
When a violent attack happens we get stereotyped false statements from the right wing. Even from right wing leaders who are considered rational, like Senator Susan Collins, we get statements like this:
Brace yourselves for the GET OFF MY LAWN rebranding
“With millions of jobs and our nation’s economy in the balance, and only four legislative days left until the March first sequester triggering drastic, across the board spending cuts that will negatively affect every senior citizen, every child, and every middle class family in my district and across America, the Republican leadership adjourned the Congress this morning for nine days,” says Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-MN).
Disgruntled former presidential campaign staffer Peter Waldron made a slew of accusations against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). From not paying staff to stealing email lists to illegally paying a consultant through her PAC, Waldron had quite a lot of material.
Today, Sally Jo Sorenson relates at 
Gun law reform on Democratic Visions
by JeffStrate on March 21, 2013
More effective gun controls are addressed on the current edition of Democratic Visions.
Sami Rahamim discusses with AM950 Radio’s Nancy Nelson his response to the September killing of his father Reuvin Rahamim and two of his father’s employees and a United Parcel Service driver in his Bryn Mawr, Minneaplis sign company. Sami, Rahamin attended the State of the Union speech on the invitation of Congressman Keith Ellison. He and other survivors of families who had been victimized by gun violence heard President Obama call out to Congress that they “ … deserve a vote!” As a citizen-lobbyist, the 18-year old Mr. Rahamim has spoken on behalf of reforming gun laws in Saint Paul and Washington D.C.
In a strong commentary about reluctant Minnesota DFL legislators, Eden Prairie’s Doug Lind reminds our state lawmakers that they need to show backbone and pass effective laws that will reduce the careless and evil use of weapons.
Democratic Visions is produced by unpaid volunteers through DFL Senate District 48 at the Bloomington Community Access Television studio on Old Shakopee Road.
Minneapolis MTN Channel 16 – Sundays at 8:30 p.m.
Dem Vis is also streamed live on Sundays at 8:30 p.m at this MTN Ch 16 link: http://www.mtn.org/Video/tvguide/live.html
Comcast Channel 15 Sundays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Richfield and Hopkins.
Bloomington Cable Access Television (BCAT) Channel 16 on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m., Fridays at 9:30 p.m. , Saturdays at 7:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.
DEMOCRATIC VISIONS CHANNEL – YOUTUBE
Browse more than more than 125 segments including discussions, commentary and humor on a wide range of political issues -
https://www.youtube.com/user/DemocraticVisions
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