Possible now, possible soon, maybe possible later

"When someone comes to your door asking for your vote, ask about not only the future, but also about today. If the candidate offers only status quo and dogma, wish them a good day and move on." 

I read an interesting article this weekend about climate change. It was fun to read as some of it was common sense, some was the direction we are headed, and some made so sense what-so-ever. It spurred my thinking, thereby giving me some fodder for deeper thought. Besides all of which, today I need to take a brief break from all politics, all the time. Like everyone else, it is starting to wear on me, as we get closer to a week from tomorrow.

Okay - maybe this will not totally devoid of politics. What we need today, with people representing us, are change agents. I'm sorry - every time I hear someone from the Left say they are "progressive", I need to chuckle. Why? They are not progressive - not even close. They are tied up in dogma. And no progressive exemplifies that better than Education Minnesota. More of the same, more of the same, more money, same results. Meanwhile, the system remains broken, the achievement gap has not budged, inner city schools continue to be failures, many kids don't graduate, and many kids who do graduate don't know spit. 

Every tool needed to fix our sagging education system is available today. Right now. Jeff Johnson knows that. He wants to fix our education system. However, by doing so, he will need to smash the status quo. Destroy dogma, the nesting ground of the school unions. That is why Education Minnesota can't stand Jeff. He is a threat to them. 

During my days at Control Data, Plato, a computer based learning system, was developed. However, in the 1980's, society was not ready for for Plato. But Plato, and others like it (and better than Plato), are around today. I could go on for ten pages on how education could be reshaped using today's (and even yesterday's) technology - but I won't. I will only say this much - education reform, getting more for less, is possible today. VERY possible. 

The article on climate change was dripping with doom and gloom, like most of them are. "We MUST get out of our carbon producing transportation devices!", the article said. And soon. Is that possible today? Yes and no. Yes, in that many companies can offer more telecommuting jobs, but don't. Why not? Trust and dogma. Today, thousands of jobs which are not home based, could be. Again, we need to break the status quo. Otherwise, we will remain stuck in the muck of dogma with jobs like we are in education.

There will be MASSIVE changes by 2025, or shortly thereafter. Trust me - this is fact. I have addressed this issue many times before, so I will only touch on it today. In less than ten years, people who cannot work from home, will be whisked to their employment location at 80+ mph. They will travel on roads which are filled with other autonomous vehicles also going the same speed. You will have no need to park, as you will be let off at your place of employment. When you want to go home, you just order up a ride on your smart phone. 

Everything will be all electric. Most homes will have durable solar roofing resting over their shingles. Their efficiency rating will be at least double of what it is today. Capacitors will be in every house, to retain the excess power collected during the daytime. Most every item in the house will contain IoE (Internet of Everything). There will be no more cable as all communication will take place over the newly released 6g internet. Hyper-sonic transportation will start to be available for trans-Pacific flights. Robotic services will be prolific in many jobs which were once low or no skill. 

Then what will be possible later? Not even futurists can fathom that one! Some articles I have read have discussed by 2050, we will not only have explored the Moon, but also started mining the vast amounts of Helium 3 which resides there. We will have finally explored all the unexplored areas of our oceans and Antarctica. We will have colonies on Mars, and will have started interstellar exploration. Electric transportation will be over, as hydrogen will be the fuel used on most everything that moves us. Keep in mind - 2050 will only be 25 years after the year which starts the era of the Great Change - that would be 2025.

When someone comes to your door asking for your vote, ask about not only the future, but also about today. If the candidate offers only status quo and dogma, wish them a good day and move on. If however, they offer positive change by what we have today, to smash the status quo, to keep an eye on the future, you might have someone to vote for.   

Lawfulness vs. Lawlessness

"The wisdom of the Framers was awesome to say the least. They must have foreseen a day like this coming. So, to keep our Constitution intact and valid, they made it very hard to change."

Lawfulness. Lawlessness. Two words which appear to be close in spelling, but have such different meaning. By nature, most (if not all) patriots I know choose to live by the rule of law. And what is the rule of law? Our Constitution. Plain and simple.

Elected or appointed lawmakers can do what they want to subvert it, but until it is legally amended, our age old legal compass remains the law of the land. Those who follow it are lawful. Those who do not are lawless. Lesson over, now on to the next topic.

Just kidding. There is no next topic, and I am not nearly done with this one. Right now, with President Trump in the White House, there seems to have been some permission slips handed out to the street thugs. Do what you want. Stop traffic. Destroy things. Harass people. Yes, even hurt people. Why do they do that? Why are they lawless? Because they can be. Nobody seems to be stopping them. It is "anything goes" to try and suppress the vote of the Red Team in November. Resist the President. Overturn the 2016 election. Well, a hard rain is about to fall on their parade.

Patriots are lawful because they choose to be. They love our Constitution. They are lawful - but they are not patsies. If the Democrats take over the House next month, all eyes will be on them. The Red Team is not going to sit back in their rocking chairs and go to sleep. They are not going to think, "Okay - maybe next time."

The patriots will not allow the Democrats to run rough shod over our rule of law like they did under Obama. All the grace that could be mustered, has been used up during the eight years of Obama. This time, if the Democrats try and ruin the government again, subvert our Constitution, we just might make Antifa look like a gathering of the Red Hat's. 

The Left has already put the country on notice that the Resistance! will continue. Even if they win the House, they will use our government as a more powerful tool for the Resistance!. They will try to impeach the President as well as others. The mobs will still be in the streets, only this time there will be even less of a deterrence to keep them in check. Borders will become more porous, sanctuary cities and states will proliferate, and Central American gangs will prowl our streets like hungry lions. All taxes will escalate (only on the producers however), GDP and growth will decline, and we will all be on a rapid decent to the Carter and Obama days.

Then, the Democrats will try their best to change the Constitution. To have it look more like they want it to look. To modernize it. One big problem however - they can't. To LEGALLY modify our Constitution is a complicated process, which takes the majority of the country to agree to. The wisdom of the Framers was awesome. They must have foreseen a day like this coming. Therefore, to keep our Constitution intact and valid, they made it very hard to change.

Just to be clear to those on the Left side of the street, let me rephrase a couple of key points. Patriots are not loyal to a government, UNLESS that government is wrapped tightly around our Constitution. AND (this is critical), patriots believe (as the Framers did), the government serves the people, not visa versa. 

Once the election is over, and if our government operates within the parameters set forth in our Constitution, everything is cool. Life goes on. If however, Blue Team takes over the government, and tries to operate outside the Constitution, the lawfulness of the patriots might quickly morph into lawlessness. Think about it. Yes, the stakes are that high.   

"Mr. Perfect"

"If you run into Cal, shake his hand. He is a rare breed these days. If you get a chance to be the friend of Cal and Ellen, consider yourself blessed. 31B is in good hands so long as we have someone like Cal Bahr representing us. And I am blessed to call him friend." 

This is not a satire. This is not a cut. On the contrary, it is nothing but praise. Besides all of which, besides being my Representative, Cal is also my friend. Then why come up with a smarty so-so title like "Mr. Perfect"? Many already know this - some do not. Calvin (Cal) Bahr was the ONLY Representative to receive a 100% grade from the Taxpayer's League. A perfect score.

Some on the Left might read this and turn up their noses. "So what? Anyone can vote NO all the time! That is not lawmaking!" True statement - and I agree. But with Cal Bahr it is different. Cal has the unique ability to practice the lesson most of our parents tried to teach us. The difference between "want" and "need".

Please don't get me started. On second thought, listen to Jeff Johnson for a while. He is chomping at the bit to get into the Governor's chair so he can weed out ALL the programs which were passed solely on "want", rather than "need". The cost of our state government has gone up like a Roman candle due in part to useless "want" programs. With law makers like Cal, there would be no more "want" programs - only "need". And if perchance one slipped through the cracks, Governor Johnson would NEVER sign it into law.

What makes Cal Bahr so special then? Nothing really. Hard working man. Good family man. Army veteran. Oh, one more thing. He has studied and believes in the United States and Minnesota Constitutions. In fact, when he raised his hand and promised to uphold and protect, he meant it. 

In less than two weeks, the election will be over. Voting for Cal to represent 31B for another two years was as easy as falling off a log. Cal does not have to do this - it certainly is not for the money. No, Cal does this because it is the right thing to do. Cal is first and foremost, a patriot. He loves Minnesota and does not want to see it devolve any further.

If you run into Cal, shake his hand. He is a rare breed these days. If you get a chance to be the friend of Cal and Ellen, consider yourself blessed. 31B is in good hands so long as we have someone like Cal Bahr representing us. And I am blessed to call him friend. 

Our vanishing "Old Guard"...

"The patriots today, feel our country is not lost. There is hope. However, there is also a culture war going on with those who want our country denigrated or maybe even destroyed." 

Yesterday, when we were at Menards, we were in line behind an elderly gentleman (I know - hearing "elderly" from me is a scream). He had a "Korean War Vet" hat on. He had brought a younger (not much) friend with him to drive him, and to help with his shopping. When I saw the trouble he had signing his name to his purchase (he was almost blind), my mind wandered back to a time years ago. When my wife and I went to the commissioning of the USS Chosin down in Pascagoula, MS.

The USS Chosin was named after a very famous battle in the Korean Conflict. It was a battle up by the Chosin Reservoir. It was late in 1950, shortly after Thanksgiving. The weather was brutal, and for the first time, the Red Chinese entered the war. The small Marine detachment at the reservoir was heavily outnumbered and outgunned. However, in the middle of a pitched battle, they did manage to break free - and inflicted heavy causalities on the Chinese by doing so. But the Marines also paid a heavy price, with over 1,000 killed and 5,000 missing.

At the commissioning, many of the survivors of the battle were invited to attend. Some spoke of their experiences. It was a solemn and awesome event. The history which was there, live and in color, defied description. I will never forget it.

The Korean War, sometimes known as the "forgotten war", was a very important time in history for us. It was the first time the former allies from the recently concluded World War II went after each other in battle. It was the Cold War going hot. 

I am always reminded that our "Old Guard", our World War II and Korean War vets, are starting to leave us. They lived through the worst of times in two brutal wars, and the best of times, in the period of history right after they were over. The "Greatest Generation" spawned the "Baby Boomers". People my age who would grow up in a time unparalleled in history.

As I watched the vet slowly walk out of the Menards store yesterday, I could not help wondering what he thought of our country today. The hate and discord. The mass shootings, the mail bombs. The course language and the immoral culture. It saddened me. For the World War II and Korean War vets to give so much, to want so much for this country to flourish, and now to see what it has become. 

However, patriots today feel our country is not lost. There is hope. However, there is also a culture war going on with those who want our country denigrated, or maybe even destroyed. We owe it to the "Old Guard" who is vanishing rapidly, to maintain what they fought and died for. And we owe it to our children and grand children to preserve America's greatness.   

October Surprise? Not this year!

"This is America today folks. We can either fix it, or watch it devolve further. I have said this for a while lately - we are one match away from a huge fire. And when the fire starts, it might be impossible to put out. Just saying..." 

How badly do the Democrats want a Blue Wave next month? Like there is no tomorrow, badly. What will they do to make this happen? My guess - the sky is the limit. This morning, on one of the cable stations which still reports real news, a former NY cop was interviewed about the pipe bombings. He jumped right on it. "False flag" he said. The hosts on the show were stunned. "Too early to make that assumption" one host said. "No credit of blame was been given so far". Well, that is not really true.

Schumer, Pelosi, and a host of other Lefties are blaming Trump's tweets for inciting someone to do these bombings. Excuse me - I thought there was no blame so far. Oh, the blame is coming - and in spades. Even though it was Holder, Waters, Pelosi and a gaggle of others on the Left who have said their side needs to confront our side more, Trump is being blamed. When everything else fails, pull out the biggest "October Surprise" imaginable. And are these bombings part of this "October Surprise"? Many on our side think they might be.

Would I be surprised if these bombs were sent to the Lefties by a patriot? Yes - surprised, and mostly saddened. Our side does not operate this way. Once in a great while they have, but it has not been mainstream patriots. The Left on the other hand, has shown a propensity for using bombs. Just look back during the Viet Nam protests. The Uni-bomber. 

If this was orchestrated by the Left to be the long awaited "October Surprise", it will not work. You see, the Right has their own "October Surprise" ready to be unleashed. It is called voters. The Red Team is more motivated right now than the Blue Team could ever be. Whereas the Blue Team motivation is only hatred towards Trump for "stealing" the 2016 election, our motivation comes from the injustice of Kavanaugh hearings. The non-stop caravans. The constant attacks on the Second Amendment. Socialism. Bloated government. Sanctuary cities and states. Single Payer health care. The list goes on and on.

Those who would love to pin these "bombs" on the Red Team, need to think again. It is not the way we operate. We don't go to ball fields and target Democrats with assassination. We don't destroy campaign signs. We don't drive people off of campus because we don't agree with their speech or ideas. We don't drive people out of restaurants just because they are not on our side of the argument. We don't "sucker punch" candidates from the other party. 

Don't get me wrong - the Red Team wants to win this election very, very much. To quote Karin Housley, we will do it by "playing fair". We can still play hard and fair at the same time. Am I blaming the Democrats for planting these bombs and then blaming it on us? Not yet. Would it surprise me if it was them who did it? Sadly, no. But - until the FBI makes a rock solid determination, I will keep my powder dry.

This is America today folks. We can either fix it, or watch it devolve further. I have said this quite a bit lately - we are one match away from a huge fire. And when the fire starts, it might be impossible to put out. Just saying... 

Is there a hill worth dying for?

"Join me folks. Join the Red Team in making this happen. We can do it. We have the right leadership nationally, and the right leadership waiting in the wings in Minnesota. As my friend Donna Bergstrom likes to say - 'Let's do this!'" 

I got a kick listening to the debate between the very informed Jenifer Zielinski, and the very uniformed Ilhan Omar. But hey - this is to represent CD 5. No offense peeps - but this CD does have some very odd voters therein. Not a whole lot of Republicans. Not a whole lot of conservatives. Heck, not even a whole lot of capitalists. What does it have a lot of? Somali refugees, progressives, millennial's, socialists, punks and poverty. Unfortunately, the kind of people who would vote for an alleged bigamist over a very informed person like Jenifer. Go figure. 

But unlike CD 4 and CD 4, who have been stuck with progressives, statists, socialists, and worse (for decades) - what is the hill worth dying for this election? We know what the Blue Team has been trying to sell. What hill they want to die for. We have heard this just recently from Omar. Their "hill" is to impeach Trump. To roll back tax cuts. To kill the Second Amendment. To increase the number of sanctuary cities and states nationwide.

In a different world, this election would be a huge nothing burger. Unlike Obama's first mid-term, when the economy was deep in the tank, Obama came through smelling like a rose. Congress however, did not. The people wanted a change in Congress to prevent this country from turning into a socialist mecca.

With President Trump however, our economy is smoking hot. For everyone. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". In the 2010 midterms, the economy certainly was broke. It needed fixing. In the 2018 midterms - not a bit broken. HOWEVER - if the Democrats take the House back, we will start going in reverse very fast.

What does all this mean? The hill worth dying for (nationally), is status quo. DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING! We are on the right track! In Minnesota however, we are not on the right track. Not a bit. Our Minnesota "hill" worth dying for, is to OVERTHROW THE STATUS QUO!

For seniors, regardless of party, WAKE UP! Minnesota is getting hosed on taxes! Not just Social Security tax for seniors, but our way higher than average income tax rates. Tim Walz has no interest in fixing Social Security. None. His mouth to our ears. Suck out seniors. And our state income taxes, Walz wants to take higher! And more gas tax, to boot!

Jeff Johnson is not a populist. Not a progressive. Not a socialist. He is a citizen who wants to be our Governor. He KNOWS our Social Security tax on seniors needs to be fixed - pronto visto. But he can't do it if he does not get elected. He can't do it unless we keep the Minnesota House Red. Jeff wants to fix our state income tax rates, so we are not a high SALT state. Again, he can't do that if he is not elected and we keep the Minnesota House Red. 

Minnesota needs to change. Our status quo is killing us right now. Walz will just pour gas on the fire. Jeff Johnson on the other hand, will overthrow the status quo. Make Minnesota more livable for seniors and higher income people. Jeff's vision for this state (and trust me, I have heard it dozens of times on the campaign trail), is to make Minnesota better for EVERYONE. Not just one economic class like Walz wants to do. That is nothing but DFL status quo.

What are the twin peaks worth dying for in November? Nationally, keep the status quo. Let the President keep on keeping on. If we do, we will all prosper. In Minnesota, overthrow the status quo. Elect the first conservative Governor we have had in my lifetime. Keep the Minnesota House Red. Elect Doug Wardlow as the first Republican Attorney General in almost five decades. Elect Pam Myhra as our State Auditor and John Howe as our Secretary of State. Those two positions, as well as the AG spot, need to be cleaned out and fumigated. 

Join me folks. Join the Red Team in making this happen. We can do it. We have the right leadership nationally, and the right leadership waiting in the wings in Minnesota. As my friend Donna Bergstrom likes to say - "Let's do this!" 

Voting uninformed

"Jeff and the rest of the team have done their part in informing the electorate. In two weeks, it will be our job to vote them into office." 

Late this past summer, a whole lot of people were complaining that the number of voters might be low in the coming November election. Particularly the Red Team voters. Then came the Kavanaugh hearings. Then came the "in your face" mob harassment of Red Team lawmakers and politicians. And now comes the caravan. All of a sudden, this perceived lethargy by the Red Team seems to have vanished. As has the myth of a "Blue Wave". 

That being said, I have said this before - if our numbers are low two weeks from today, our chances are gone. Our state will end up bluer than toilet cleaner. To complicate things, I am starting to think there might something as bad, maybe worse, than a non-voter. That would be an uninformed voter.

Like how? Many uninformed Minnesota voters might look at Tim Walz, and think he looks like the real deal. That he would make a good Governor. Why? First, he looks like a grandfather. Kindly and kind. He is a former soldier, a former high school teacher, a football coach. He spent some time in Congress, representing the good folks in the First District. Now he wants to be our Governor, so he can "bring us all together".

Jeff Johnson, on the other hand, who does he think he is? For the uninformed voter, Jeff might just appear to be a rich kid, who went to expensive schools, worked for a exclusive law firm, and now serves on the Hennepin County Board. According to the DFL commercials, all Jeff wants to do is cut, cut, cut, to serve the Republican Party better. Whereas Tim Walz wants to give, give, give. Two chickens in every pot. For the uninformed voter, who never reads the fine print during election season, this is what they are hearing.

Here is the truth, the imitable facts. The "kindly old grandpa", Tim Walz is nothing more than a progressive. In fact, if you read his platform, he is more progressive than Mark Dayton. We wants to raise your income taxes, raise the gas tax, screw with our gun rights, and make our state a sanctuary for gangs, drug runners, and outlaws. In my book, "Grandpa" Walz pretty darn progressive. 

Jeff, on the other hand, is not this "rich kid" of privilege. He grew up in Detroit Lakes. Graduated high in his class and then went to Concordia College. TRIPLE majored, and was accepted into a very good east coast law school. Graduated, was accepted into a law firm in Chicago, worked there for a few years, and then moved back to his beloved Minnesota. Here, he set up his own consulting company for labor and employment issues. Besides all of that, he has served in the Minnesota House, and the Hennepin County Board. His pedigree is as good as anyone who has ever run for the Governor of this great state. Actually, I think he is MOST qualified to ever run for Governor. 

This coming Thanksgiving season will be the two year point since Jeff and I had coffee. There, he asked my opinion of him taking another run for Governor. Since that time, I have had a lot of time to spend with Jeff, and get to know his platform and positions. I knew he was the right solution for many things in Minnesota which need to be fixed. 

Most anyone who has met Jeff, had a chance to talk to him, believe in his vision for Minnesota. Most do - but not all. We are after all, still a purple state trying to get redder. 

The vote in two weeks will be a numbers game. If more Red Team vote than Blue Team, like 1.0 to 1.3M of them - we will. If we get closer to the 1.3M, we will win many of the seats we are contesting for. Also, the more informed voters we get, the better our chances are.

Jeff and the rest of the team have done their part in informing the electorate. In two weeks, it will be our job to vote them into office.