Liberty & Prosperity Blog

Sunday night, I watched a special featuring former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom titled "The Price and Splendor of Freedom," a special documentary dedicated to exploring his life and his love for America. Earlier this weekend, Kanter Freedom appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend, where he teased a possible congressional run . The thought of having Congressman Freedom "from the free state of Florida" excites me to no end. What's sad is that Turkish-born Kanter-Freedom appreciates the U.S. Constitution more than most Democrats. That thought doesn't excite me whatsoever. Another thing that excites me is another foreign-born patriot. This patriot's name is Elon Musk. We'll return to Mr. Musk in a minute. Let's finish talking about Kanter Freedom first. While getting interviewed by Fox & Friends Weekend hosts, Freedom said "I am having a conversation with people. Obviously, it's a process. I am just trying to find the right place where i...

According to J.B. Pritzker, Illinois's Democrat governor, Illinois is doing just fine. IRS data, though, tells a quite different story. According to this WSJ editorial , "The IRS each spring publishes data on the movement of adjusted gross income (AGI) and taxpayers across state lines from year to year. Some Democratic Governors such as Mr. Pritzker claimed that the 2020 Census undercounted their state populations, but the IRS data shows blue states are losing taxpayers and income at an increasing clip." There's no doubt that things are getting worse for Pritzker but it isn't just Illinois that's having problems. The biggest blue states are experiencing similar trends. According to the IRS, "The IRS data shows a net 105,000 people left Illinois in 2021, taking with them some $10.9 billion in AGI. That’s up from $8.5 billion in 2020 and $6 billion in 2019. New York’s income loss increased to $24.5 billion in 2021 from $19.5 billion in 2020 and $9 billion i...

It's obvious that the DFL is intent on ruling with an iron fist. This session, the DFL didn't just not push through the most Far-Left agendas in a) state history or b) the nation. The DFL pushed it through without approving a single meaningful amendment from the GOP.  Further, the DFL has pushed their radical agenda through without putting Republicans on the few conference committees that've been appointed. This isn't governing. It's ruling. It's the personification of the tyranny of the majority , in which Madison "discussed how an overbearing majority faction could take control of the government." The DFL doesn't have "an overbearing majority." In the State Senate, the DFL holds a 34-33 seat majority. In the State House of Representatives, the DFL holds a 70-64 seat majority . In 2007, the DFL had a 85-49 seat majority in the State House. In 2009, the DFL had a 87-47 seat majority in the State House. Those are overbearing majorities. 7...

It isn't enough that Joe Biden signed some spending bills that caused the worst inflation since the Carter administration. It isn't enough to have surrendered U.S. prestige, power and place on the world by being the biggest appeasers since the Carter and Obama administrations. That's what happens when the U.S. lets the Chinese broker a deal between Iran and the Saudis, then pretend that it's no big thing. That's what happened when the Biden administration surrendered in Afghanistan, giving the Taliban safe haven to start plotting new terrorist attacks. Instead of just doing a terrible job as President and First Lady (FLOTUS), they're now ignoring their own granddaughter. According to this Washington Examiner report , "I have six grandchildren, and I'm crazy about them. And I speak to them every single day — not a joke. As a matter of fact, I just got finished going through the calls, and only one of them answered the phone, but at least I got to leave ...

It hasn't been long enough since I last wrote about Kathy Hochul, New York's Democrat governor.  Just to make sure midwestern conservatives knew she hadn't faded into liberal oblivion, Gov. Hochul reached an agreement with her fellow Democrats to make New York "the first state in the nation to advance zero-emission new homes and buildings beginning in 2025 for small buildings, 2028 for large buildings." When he announced that he's running for re-election, Joe Biden said "When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are. The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer. " Telling people that they can't use a clean-burning, efficient form of fuel is the taking of a liberty. While Biden hasn't said that he's pushing for the elimination of natural gas lately, it's still his stated goal. This is society-wide suic...

Karine Jean-Pierre's multiple blatant lies are starting to pile up. These aren't little white lies. These are whoppers about national and international importance. The WSJ highlights some of the whoppers that KJP has told about the status of the debt ceiling . The WSJ editorial highlights KJP as saying "House Republicans are holding our economy hostage and threatening default. As the President said yesterday, he’s happy to meet with Speaker McCarthy, but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. That is not negotiable." KJP is insinuating that House Republicans have done nothing about lifting the debt ceiling. That's a steaming pile of BS. KJP knows that. Biden knows it, too. When asked about negotiating with Speaker McCarthy, Biden replied "I'm happy to meet with McCarthy but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended." That's stunning. Both mindless bots said the same thing. Both hinted that House Republicans hadn't done a...

Now that House Republicans have passed a bill that lifts the debt ceiling, something that Joe Biden betted against, Biden is thrust into a difficult position . Kim Strassel writes "Democrats will continue to demagogue the bill, but it’s a tough sell. Average Americans don’t see a problem with returning spending levels to those of two years ago, or clawing back money for a pandemic that is long over, or asking childless able-bodied adults to work a few hours in return for welfare. Especially in light of $31 trillion in debt." That's just part of Biden's debt ceiling difficulties. That's because Speaker McCarthy didn't try using a top-down, John Boehner model. Strassel writes "Credit goes to leadership for the early realization that this bill would have to be bottom-up, not top-down. Credit goes to the heads of 'the five families', the ideologically diverse caucuses that make up the GOP majority—for choosing to keep the peace. Credit goes to (nearly...

Nothing is settled at this point but one thing is increasingly likely. Joe Biden's handlers don't want him on a debate stage, especially if the GOP nominee is Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott or someone else that's youthful and charismatic. The only way this changes is if Donald Trump is the GOP nominee. Gov. DeSantis is a skilled debater. Donald Trump is a straight-ahead brawler. That isn't the way to win back suburban voters. It's also the best way to lose debates. If I'm advising Biden, why would I agree to him debating a young, charismatic and eloquent candidate? The chances of Biden telling one of his stories of things that didn't happen is too great. Think of his story that he was arrested attempting to meet with Nelson Mandela . Worse, what happens if Biden has one of his frequent brain freeze moments? Will battleground state independents give him the benefit of the doubt? That's a risky proposition. Biden is a well-known loose cannon. He's frightening...

Late Wednesday afternoon, the House passed a debt ceiling bill , forcing Democrats to come up with a serious plan. The passage of the bill is considered Speaker McCarthy's biggest victory since becoming the Speaker. Of course, NPR had to diminish the accomplishment, titling their article "House Republicans overcome internal divisions to pass debt ceiling bill." The article opens by saying "After overcoming internal divisions, the Republican-led House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that links lifting the country's debt ceiling with spending cuts and a series of GOP policy changes." Unlike Democrats, who follow the orders of their leader without questioning, Republicans are often a contentious bunch. They don't just follow orders. It's fairly frequent that people like Jim Jordan, Chip Roy and Thomas Massie don't automatically say yes. Sausage-Making If you're wondering how this sausage got ma...

Now that he's announced that he's running for re-election, the question before the American people is whether they want an authoritarian tyrant president who works 24/7 (24 hours a week for 7 months out of the year Joe Concha coined that phrase) or whether they'd prefer a president that's honest, hard-working and fights for his people. Joe Biden's first (and hopefully only term) is marked by his authoritarian handling of everything from gas stoves to EVs to telling us which light bulbs we can use. He fired people who had natural immunity from COVID because they refused to get vaccinated, whether they were firefighters, police officers, FBI agents, teachers or nurses. Does that sound like a president who's fighting for "the soul of America" or a tyrant who isn't interested in hearing from the American people? According to this WSJ article , "In the video, Mr. Biden frames the election as a question of 'whether in the years ahead we have m...

Let's not pull punches with the situation at SCSU. Part of the blame must be affixed to their presidents. It's been a parade of seriously underqualified candidates. Still, the bigger fault lies at the feet of the DFL's governors and the DFL majorities in the legislature. Had the DFL made Minnesota attractive to people to expand their business in, start their business in or grow their business in, Minnesota would've population-wise and enrollment-wise. Gov. Tim Walz tried spinning Minnesota as an economic juggernaut in his latest state of the state address. That's nonsense and other states know it. It didn't take long for KARE11 to highlight something that I've highlighted many times. KARE11's article stated "According to the 2020 report Knocking at the College Door, the national decline in the birthrate is expected to cause the number of high school graduates to peak by about 2025. 'After that, we expect there to be a steady decline of the nex...

North by Northwest – The Verdict In the first ever televised US Presidential debate, a handsome, slightly younger candidate John F. Kennedy won over a sweating Richard Nixon with a 5 o’clock shadow. However, those hearing the debate on radio only generally favored Nixon. (History Channel) It was style versus substance, and as often happens in politics, style won as evidenced in November. We have somewhat the same situation here in Little Falls, the debate being its ISD April 17th, 2023, School Board meeting. Given that only one side was even heard, yes, the District/Education Minnesota forces won. But as I noted last time, under Marquess of Queensberry debate rules, the ad hominem rhetoric alone conceded defeat, that they could otherwise not defend their position. It was style vs [a lack of] substance, and no doubt style has once again won. But at least we’re talking, and in that sense, perhaps every parent and taxpayer won. This is a silver lining of the Covid lockdowns, that remote l...

Late last week, Joe Manchin's temper boiled over during a heated debate over what was allowed in the Inflation Reduction Act. I suspect that Manchin was upset that he'd gotten snookered into voting for the Inflation Reduction Act. The truth is that Manchin is staring down the barrel at a likely defeat at the hands of Jim Justice. While Manchin was fighting the Build Back Better Bill, Sen. Manchin's polls kept climbing. The minute he agreed to voting for the Inflation Reduction Act, Sen. Manchin's poll numbers started dropping. Enter Jennifer Granholm, Biden's ideological Secretary of Energy. Sen. Manchin grilled Secretary Granholm , expressing "frustration with the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credit for electric vehicles, taking issue with loopholes in its distinction between manufacturing and processing of materials. 'We want this done in America. We don't want this overseas because basically then there's no urgency for our manufacturing to e...

In a surprising announcement this morning, Fox News announced that they were parting ways with Tucker Carlson . The announcement was made by Harris Faulkner during her program, which is named the Faulkner Focus. According to the announcement, "FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways, the network announced on Monday. 'We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,' a FOX News Media spokesperson said in a statement. An interim program, 'Fox News Tonight,' will air at 8 p.m. ET until a permanent replacement for Carlson is named. 'Fox News Tonight' will be hosted by a rotation of various Fox News personalities." While most of the articles covering Carlson's departure describe this as a huge loss for FNC, it'd be foolish not to mention that Carlson had some mighty big shoes to fill when he replaced Bill O'Reilly. The O'Reilly Factor was the top-rated show on cable news for 10+ yea...

If you've paid attention to Donald Trump's pre-emptive (and outlandish) criticisms of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, you'd notice that he needs Kellyanne Conway in the worst way . Trump's criticisms have gotten so far-fetched that he's sounding like a man who'll say anything to win. It's time for Trump's adult children to step in and tell him he looks desperate . RedState's article states "President Trump on Friday sent an email portraying Florida as some kind of dystopian nightmare with a slew of problems supposedly caused by Gov. DeSantis. In the email was a statement from Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, who said DeSantis has 'left a wake of destruction all across Florida' by spending 'more time playing public relations games instead of actually doing the hard work needed to improve the lives of the people he represents.'" What BS! If he's done such a terrible job, why are people moving there by the tens of thousan...

North by Northwest – The Sound and the Fury It’s 5:02 PM on Monday, April 17th, 2023. Eleven speakers were allowed to speak over the next 33 minutes, per Agenda Item #4. You can watch the video via the link on my previous post. There you will see a sea of orange "Proud Educator" shirts in the audience, six of whom spoke here. There were two main themes. One, that those opposing or even questioning the recent sexually-related curriculum changes are spreading "misinformation" and can only have political motives. But two speakers claiming this themselves presented "misinformation", several claims without any supporting evidence. And throughout, there was no consideration that any of those "misinforming" parents might truly be acting in the best interests of their children. The District’s views on the proper sex education of children, particularly in the Elementary grades cannot possibly be misguided or ineffective, let alone harmful. Two, several s...

There once was a time when Tim Walz made a promise on cutting taxes. Gov. Walz's promise happened in March, 2022 when the projected surplus was $9,240,000,000 (that's $9.24 billion.) According to this MPR article , "Gov. Tim Walz formalized a trial balloon he launched last month by formally proposing a supplemental budget Thursday that includes $500 one-time checks to individual taxpayers and $1,000 checks to couples. Using a New Hope gas station as the backdrop for his revised plan for a projected budget surplus that has grown to $9.24 billion, Walz said the checks will help Minnesotans dealing with higher gas prices and other everyday needs." Fast forward to this week. A year+ after the first Walz Check proposal, that $500 rebate proposal for individual taxpayers and $1,000 for couples has shrunk . The article says "About 2.5 million tax returns would qualify for checks starting at $275, according to House Democrats. It’s significantly lower than the $1,000 sta...

In FY2010, SCSU hit its peak in terms of FYE ( F ull Y ear E quivalent) enrollment. Each year since then, FYE enrollment has dropped. Thanks to one-time money, SCSU will be able to operate, albeit at a diminished capacity. A longtime reader of this blog and a retired professor at SCSU just told this blog "Under the plan that has just been announced the balance sheet shows a continuation of deficit spending with reserves being consumed to a point where they are practically non existent. With 82 programs being closed and with another round of negative news the plan assumes a 1% increase in enrollment." It helps to understand the history at SCSU. According to a statement from SCSU , "SCSU’s current budget deficit 'has several underlying factors, including significant demographic decline in the number of graduating high school seniors over the past decade, increased operations expenses caused by inflation, high instructional costs to deliver programs, decreases in state ...

Predictably, Tim Walz's State of the State Address was dishonest . His jealousy towards Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis really showed when he said that Florida was banning books from schools. While that isn't a total fabrication, it's heavy on the deception, light on the accuracy. What's happening is that Gov. DeSantis is preventing pornographic material from being distributed to children. Omitting that detail isn't insignificant, though it's the Walz Way. Another shameful moment happened when Gov. Walz, like all other DFL politicians, highlighted the fact that he's without principles on major issues. That's when he said "I know guns as well as anyone else in this room... I'm not just a veteran, or a hunter, or a gun owner. I’m a dad. And for many years, I was a teacher. I know that there’s no place for weapons of war in our schools, or in our churches, or in our banks, or anywhere else people are just trying to live their lives without fea...

North by Northwest – The Agenda As I said at the outset, I’m really not here to debate the parental rights issues in play here. Here, I want to talk about the published meeting agenda. I came to hear Agenda Item #4: Public Comments, which followed the Call to Order (#1), Pledge of Allegiance (#2), and District Mission Statement (#3). It was limited to 30 minutes, with individual speakers asked to limit their presentations to 3 minutes. And – to be "civil, courteous, thoughtful, and respectful." While two speakers went over that 3 minute limit, 11 were heard in about 33 minutes. But with maybe 30 District teachers and staff arriving early, flooding the speaker queue, only supporters of the controversial District policy in question were heard. This meeting ended about 6:15 PM. Many prior meetings have lasted significantly longer, which makes me wonder why all could not be heard. Were I on the Board, given the short business agenda, I would have made a motion to resume Public Co...

During Texas Republican Representative August Pfluger's questioning of DHS Secretary Mayorkas, Rep. Pfluger described a high-speed chase that ended in tragedy . Rep. Pfluger told Secretary Mayorkas "to apologize to the family of Maria Tambunga and Emilia Tambunga, who were killed last month." Pfluger then said "They're sitting right behind you. They came here today because they want answers. They came here today because of the failures of you and your leadership. They came here because they want closure." Mayorkas then stood and spoke to the Tambunga family, expressing his condolences to the family before accusing Rep. Pfluger of politicizing the moment. Pfluger replied that the only person politicizing the situation was Secretary Mayorkas. Then Pfluger replied with a question, asking Mayorkas "Mr. Mayorkas, do you disagree with the head Border Patrol agent when he said that our border is not secure?" Mr. Mayorkas replied "I respectfully do in...

Salena Zito's latest report paints an awful picture, a picture that questions why the Biden administration isn't doing more to stop opioid poisonings. The article opens by saying "When the Penn Hills police and paramedics arrived at the modest suburban Pittsburgh home in the 8100 block of Chaske Street on Jan. 14, they found the father of 7-month-old Zhuri Bogle desperately performing CPR on his infant daughter. It was 6:44 a.m., and with the exception of a few flurries swirling in the brisk winter air, the sky was still as dark as midnight. The first responders immediately took over from the father and administered CPR on the unresponsive baby for the next 21 minutes. At 7:05 a.m., Zhuri was pronounced dead at the scene." Later in the article, Ms. Zito wrote "We have looked the other way as opioid addiction and abuse in the U.S. has gone from zero to a grotesque and infinite epidemic. It now endangers every aspect of life. Our public health has degraded, our ec...

While Joe Biden semi-consciously staggers towards raising the debt ceiling, Kevin McCarthy has put together a plan that makes a ton of sense. The theme of Speaker McCarthy's plan is limit, save and grow. Biden and Sen. Chuck Schumer have already criticized Speaker McCarthy's plan. White House Spokesman Andrew Bates said "Speaker McCarthy is holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage, threatening our economy and hardworking Americans' retirement." I could be polite and say that Bates' statement isn't accurate but that's soft-pedalling reality. Bates' statement is a filthy lie. McCarthy promised to raise the debt ceiling. In fact, he's consistently said that since becoming Speaker. The Biden administration has insisted that the House and Senate pass a clean debt limit bill. Otherwise, Biden will veto it. (That sounds rather autocratic, doesn't it?) Meanwhile, "Schumer said Mr. McCarthy 'continues to bumble our c...

North by Northwest – The Venue The April 2023 monthly ISD 482 School Board meeting was held Monday, April 17th, in the Middle School Media Center. It was scheduled for 5 to 6 PM, started on time, and ended about 6:15 PM. My first observation was: why 5 PM? Mondays at 5 PM is very convenient for the District staff, but what about the parents, many of whom are just now leaving work? Here in the Twin Cities, 6 pm, even 7 pm is more common. As some perhaps expected, there was a large staff presence tonight, overcrowding the room. It was recorded, and I see that past meetings are indeed on a YouTube channel (LFCS.tv). I’ll be sampling these more fully later, but I can say now that those in the back could not hear several speakers and some of the staff reports. I sat near the front, but even I had trouble hearing a couple of the more soft-spoken speakers. This room might work for 20 to 30 people but no more if everyone is to be heard. I’ll concede that this informal setting is probably a...

North by Northwest – Prolog I, your obedient servant Speed Gibson traveled to Little Falls, Minnesota to attend its April 17th School Board meeting. I was curious how a parents’ rights issue was generating state-wide attention this far away from the Twin Cities. The issues in question I’ll leave to the players and pundits involved, as we’re not dealing with violence or physical abuse here. I am interested in the process, how the District is handling this challenge. As the saying goes, "it's not the crime, it’s the cover-up." I’ll report my findings in multiple posts, but first some background information. Little Falls has been gaining population the past 30 years, with 9,140 in the 2020 Census. Driving around beforehand, I was very impressed with the well-kept homes I saw. The business climate would also appear to be healthier than most in Greater Minnesota. Even so, enrollment in the Little Falls Community Schools (ISD 482) is falling, down 162 students in recent years ...

There's no doubt that Joe Biden and Speaker McCarthy don't see eye-to-eye on the debt ceiling or the U.S. economic priorities. During Speaker McCarthy's speech at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, Speaker McCarthy criticized the Biden administration's economic policies. Further, Speaker McCarthy proposed a blueprint for the economy that he's titled " limit, save, and grow." Speaker McCarthy explained his plan by saying "In the coming weeks, the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent on China, and curb high inflation, all without touching Social Security or Medicare. Simply put, it puts us on a responsible fiscal path in three ways: limit, save, and grow. First, we will limit federal spending. In the past two years, discretionary spending in Washington has exploded by over 17 percent. That’s faster than GDP growth and even inflation. And keep in mind, that new...

It's painfully obvious that Joe Biden is intent on forcing a debt ceiling crisis on the American people. He's consistently insisted that he'll only sign a clean debt ceiling bill. To be fair, past presidents have signed clean debt ceiling bills to avoid ruining the full faith and credit of the United States. It's totally fair to state that no other president has spent $6,000,000,000,000 above the previous baseline in 2 years, too. Joe Biden spent that much additional money above the FY 2022 and FY2023 discretionary spending budgets. Rather than wait like a potted plant for Biden's debt ceiling proposal, Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited the NYSE on Monday, where he delivered a much-needed speech that outlined the Republicans' economic blueprint. When his name was first submitted to be Speaker, some in the GOP Conference resisted McCarthy. Today, McCarthy has served 100 days since officially becoming Speaker. If you didn't have the opportunity to watch Speaker ...