tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84045382009-10-16T19:39:24.882-05:00Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comBlogger1021125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-39221571863067213652009-03-09T14:55:00.008-05:002009-03-09T15:03:26.274-05:00

I am now posting at the Minnesota Free Market Institute and True North. I am still taking comments via email at westover4@yahoo.com. Thanks for stopping by.

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-674299173922959272008-04-09T09:27:00.000-05:002008-04-09T09:35:15.378-05:00

How doth the loyal St. Paul repImprove her bonding tale,And pour on language full of pepTo try to make the sale!How righteously she speaks her piece,How neatly spreads her viewThat general welfare will increaseWith taxes paid by you.— With apologies to the Rev. Charles Dodgson.Better known as "Lewis Carroll," Charles Dodgson penned, "How Doth the Little Crocodile" as a parody of Isaac Watts' poem

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-14417858005938971132008-04-08T07:27:00.000-05:002008-04-08T07:33:43.552-05:00

ABU DHABI (AFP) - The crown prince of the United Arab Emirates of Dubai has bought a female camel for a record 2.72 million dollars, an organiser at a camel beauty pageant said on Monday. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum "bought camels... worth 16.5 million dirhams (4.49 million dollars), including a female camel... for 10 million dirhams (2.72 million dollars)," Hamad bin

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-79518223359859722332008-04-07T08:49:00.001-05:002008-04-07T08:56:54.698-05:00

Interesting email from AM 950 KTNF this morning that highlights the difference in the way the political right and left look at religion. The email promotes the Progressive Faith Conference, "Voting Justice, Voting Hope." It reads in part:Get Ready to Change the Way You Think About Faith and Politics at the national gathering "Voting Justice, Voting Hope: Progressive Faith Taking Action in 2008"

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-65299990990442552152008-04-04T15:33:00.000-05:002008-04-04T15:39:03.919-05:00

Back in the days when grammar, not global warming, was taught in public schools, we learned that some adjectives can't be modified. "Unique," for example. Either something's unique — that is, one of a kind — or it isn't."Essential" is another. Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, the chief House sponsor of the bonding bill, must have missed class the day they taught grammar; she most certainly

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-73678070601809567182008-03-28T09:54:00.000-05:002008-03-28T09:56:55.473-05:00

So the vandals have sacked Rome, and now they are fighting over the spoils. Ripped from the Pioneer Press headlines, 'Fight erupts over new sales taxes for transit. At issue: whether money should be used to bail out Met Council.' Wow. Even I thought the transit kids would play nice together a little longer than this.A couple of weeks ago, I cited comments by Rep. Bernie Lieder, a DFLer from

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-43139540273016301862008-03-25T10:49:00.000-05:002008-03-25T10:54:23.503-05:00

The Star Tribune is reporting today that Forest Lake Area High School Students abruptly canceled the appearance of the National Heroes Tour, featuring decorated veteran from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.Steve Massey, the school principal, said the decision to cancel was prompted by concerns that the event was becoming political rather than educational and therefore was not suitable for a

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-11040715656337680442008-03-20T11:01:00.002-05:002008-03-20T11:12:43.503-05:00

Driven by cost reduction, the recommendations of the Governor's Health Care Transformation Task Force, many of which are rapidly moving through the Legislature in health care reform bills, are, as I discussed in Wednesday's column, a fundamentally flawed approach to health care reform.The Legislature charged the Transformation Task Force with reducing the cost of Minnesota's health care system by

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-27063332155477841582008-03-19T06:46:00.001-05:002008-03-20T11:09:15.190-05:00

Among the pressing issues facing the Minnesota Legislature this session are some very real problems with the health care system: Health insurance premiums are rising, and many employers are reducing or dropping health care coverage.Individuals without employer coverage are finding it difficult to obtain health insurance. Increased costs and reduced reimbursements from health plans, especially

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-83766090912141926402008-03-14T11:17:00.001-05:002008-03-14T11:24:54.949-05:00

The "Override Six" have been alternately flogged and fawned over as "traitors" to the GOP and "courageous" legislators who put "principle over party." As you'll recall, the six — Reps. Neil Peterson, Jim Abler, Kathy Tingelstad, Bud Heidgerken, Ron Erhardt and Rod Hamilton — voted with Democrats to override Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a $6.6 billion tax increase included in the transportation

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-43657158403326381362008-03-12T17:26:00.000-05:002008-03-12T17:27:55.708-05:00

We can't talk about it.

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-52675252007425570702008-03-11T09:07:00.000-05:002008-03-11T09:16:03.759-05:00

In case your neural implants were down and you didn't get Karl Rove's talking points last month, in the February Issue of Townhall Magazine Rove responds to a question from Mary Katherine Ham about the 3 things a Republican nominee must do to beat Hillary. The question may already be dated, but Rove's answer is not. It applies not just to a potential Republican presidential candidate, but also to

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-52003724537086248082008-03-10T12:15:00.000-05:002008-03-10T12:20:42.757-05:00

If you liked "The Moffitt" you may like "The Play's the Thing," the "Community Voices" piece in today's MinnPost.The Play's the ThingScene – A local bar where patrons are staging a "play" to exploit a loophole in the state smoking ban. An author of the ban Sen. Kathy Sheran peers through the window.Sheran: Fair is foul, and foul is fair:Hover through the fog and filthy air.These peasants dare to

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-37740117788406379562008-03-10T11:32:00.000-05:002008-03-10T11:36:52.993-05:00

Excellent piece by Mike Kaszuba in the Star Tribune on the behind the scene dealings that went into securing Republican Rod Hamilton’s vote for the Transportation Bill. It also makes note of Democrat-Farmer-Labor Rep. Bernie Lieder’s sanding off the truth when it comes to “earmarks.”I definitely don't like earmarks, that's correct," Lieder said. "This is kind of a general, if you want to call it,

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-38400672272977185622008-03-07T09:12:00.000-06:002008-03-07T09:16:26.029-06:00

There are promises, and there are political promises, which, lacking the maintenance of sincerity, crumble faster than a rural road in a Minnesota winter. Seems the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is busy sanding off the truth around the promises it made in exchange for support of the $6.6 billion tax increase, nee "transportation bill," railroaded over Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto.In an interview with

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-9772009527825685212007-05-03T08:11:00.000-05:002007-05-03T08:19:30.891-05:00

Wednesday, May 03, 2007I'd read quite a bit about the Supreme Court opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart - the "partial-birth" abortion case - but finally sat down last weekend and read for myself Justice Anthony Kennedy's opinion and Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg's dissent. Viscerally and philosophically, Kennedy's opinion is pretty upsetting to a hobby columnist who holds abortion to be a negative

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-31299554759507903042007-04-20T08:05:00.000-05:002007-04-20T08:10:11.948-05:00

Friday, April 20, 2007I have to admit mixed emotions over the firing of Don Imus. On one hand, Imus' banishment from medialand is vindication of the value of free speech. Speech may be free, but it has consequences. Offend people's sensibilities, and you pay the price. The tribe has spoken. I'm not going to miss the race-baiting shock jock. But I am going to miss the activist who took on issues

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-38609978464986537432007-04-04T17:18:00.000-05:002007-04-04T17:23:43.945-05:00

Wednesday, April 4, 2007It was a week where the Minnesota DFL taxed even our patience with proposals for tax increases on just about everything else. The time seems right for a good old-fashioned rant on the arrogance, self-serving politics and downright socialist propensity of the DFL (motto: "Willing to force someone else to pay for a better Minnesota"). Although such a rant would be indeed

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-5225350740432774352007-03-30T08:52:00.000-05:002007-03-30T12:27:41.879-05:00

Thursday, March 29, 2007A scribe writing for the venture-capital asset across the river took recent delight in goring the "sacred cow" of charter schools. The Minnesota Senate's education budget bill, which caps public charter schools at 150 (the current level plus those scheduled to open in the fall), logically makes sense, he wrote. The "experiment" is out of control. With Manichean paranoia he

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-57096215990574705642007-03-14T09:25:00.000-05:002007-03-14T09:30:23.639-05:00

Wednesday March 14, 2007Molly Olson, volunteer executive director of the Center for Parental Responsibility, has hammered away for seven years at reforming family law policy and divorce practice that discourages both parents from being fully involved in the lives of their children. Most often, she is on the side of noncustodial dads who want, both financially and emotionally, to be a part of

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-65344842374140132692007-03-01T06:42:00.000-06:002007-03-30T09:02:30.076-05:00

Thursday March 1, 2007Pre-emption — a legislative clause prohibiting communities from passing ordinances that are stricter than state law — has been ricocheting through committee hearings on the statewide smoking ban like a bounding football. Rule of law, as opposed to whim of men, demands a consistent application of pre-emption. Pre-emption is not just a loophole to be opened or closed.As

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-71637972262470816542007-02-27T15:08:00.000-06:002007-02-27T15:11:29.196-06:00

I'm interested in reaction to the talked about VMT system and the proposals in this PiPress editorial. Thanks.Think outside the pumpIn his budget proposal, Gov. Tim Pawlenty set aside $5 million to study technologies that could move Minnesota off a per-gallon gas tax and onto a "vehicle-miles-traveled" (VMT) tax — for good reason.As in many states, gas tax revenue in Minnesota is flattening out —

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-76947065776194645832007-02-23T07:30:00.000-06:002007-02-23T07:53:03.092-06:00

Thursday, February 22, 2007Like most Minnesotans, I have lain awake nights tossing and turning over the plight of our state senators who suffer under the burden of an expense allowance of but $66 a day. How would you like to feed yourself on just $66 a day? And now, like Oliver Twist asking for a little more gruel, our senators humbly beg for a 45 percent increase to $96 a day, and some would

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-87611353296875546252007-02-16T10:30:00.000-06:002007-02-16T10:39:22.284-06:00

Friday, February 17, 2007Choosing a topic for a weekly column is sometimes like picking a puppy in a pet store. Ideas are constantly barking for attention, but you've got to choose just one. Do you go with the playful idea and have fun with it? Or do you play to the loyal reader base? Or do you go the attack dog route? It can be a tough call.Two ideas gnawed at me this week. Fortunately,

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8404538.post-13855192101139175022007-02-12T09:25:00.000-06:002007-02-11T16:11:11.016-06:00

A good commentary from Mitch Pearlstein --An urban, low-cost private school did a lot to reduce the achievement gap for blacks.As Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislators consider how to improve urban education, they may want to ponder research findings like these:Citing data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), political scientist Abigail Thernstrom and her historian husband,

Craig Westovernoreply@blogger.com