No News Is Good News!

The United States Supreme Court met today. There were no announcements of retirements. Tomorrow, the story may be different. But, for the moment, we as conservatives should celebrate each and every additional day of service by Rehnquist the Great. He stayed the course through the dark days of the Warren Court and its legacy -- giving us the Rehnquist Court and a stronger legacy. We should be eternally grateful for every additional day of service. God save this honorable Court.

Supreme Court Vacancy Announced Monday?

Based on what I have been reading, there may be one or two U.S. Supreme Court retirements announced on Monday -- the final day of the Court's 2004-2005 term. The good news is we have a Republican President named George Bush. The bad news is that politics are involved. What we need are principled and young justices who will advance a conservative jurisprudence. I am sure that President Bush will deliver. But, only time will tell . . .

Good advice on dealing with Hillary

Dick Morris, the erstwhile Clinton advisor, has some sage advice for those who do and will oppose Hillary Clinton's run for the White House. I've grown to respect Morris' opinion over the past several years, and I think that we ought to heed his warning. Riding around in black helicopters with tin foil hats on will do little to prevent Mrs. Clinton's election - concentrating on her policies and preventing her from head-faking to the center will be far more effective.

'Just Add Water' autopsy

I'm not a doctor, don't play one on TV, and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I won't try to second guess the doctor who performed the Schaivo autopsy. Yet I did have one question regarding a quote from this article:

"The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain," he said.

By 'expected weight of a human brain', I wonder if the doctor meant 'normal, fully hydrated brain', or if there is a readily available chart of expected brain weights for 41-year old women who have been denied food and water for 13 days. Seems to me that good scientific analysis should dictate use of the latter, or at least take in account the effect of those 13 days.

2006 -- HUGE Year for Minnesota GOP

I echo Festivus's comments regarding the coming year. I think Chairman Ron Carey, Deputy Chairman Eric Hoplin and Secretary-Treasurer Tony Sutton do have the Right Stuff to deliver in 2006 a HUGE success for the State GOP. They are a talented, young and aggressive group. We all need to get active to support them in our common cause.

Comments on GOP State Central Results

It's my prediction that history (perhaps even as soon as 2-4 years away) will look very kindly upon Chairman Eibensteiner. I, like SSC, would like to congratulate Chairman Eibensteiner for his service and successes. It's a tough job, but one where he excelled. To paraphrase something often heard at JAS debates, "I'd like to move that the gentleman be thanked for his service".

I'm thrilled that Tony Sutton will be in an active leadership role. Hoplin is clearly full of energy and likely has what it takes to be an excellent grassroots development person. What will be interesting to watch is how well he and Chairman-elect Carey work together. Maybe even more interesting will be how Carey works with our top elected officials.

As for Carey: As the saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." We may get a sense of Carey's abilities and successes as Chairman earlier than 2006, but the results of that race will be owned by him. With authority comes responsibility, and Carey now has a boatload of both.

I would not be surprised if there were some additional staffing changes at the State Party, perhaps even among the very recent Eibensteiner hires as Carey looks to install his own people. Carey would be crazy, in this pundit's opinion, to replace recently hired ED Bill Walsh, but I suspect that Carey may take a second look at the political director, finance director and perhaps even IT director positions.

Eibensteiner Served GOP Well

GOP Chairman Ron Eibensteiner was defeated at the Minnesota GOP State Central Committee on Saturday by Ron Carey. Governor Pawlenty supported Eibensteiner. The press has spun this as a rejection of the Governor. But, that topic is for another post.

Eibensteiner served the GOP well for six years and should be congratulated for a job well done . . . picking up the Governor's mansion and two Congressional Seats as well as holding the state house. Former National College Republican Chairman Eric Hoplin won for deputy chairman. Deputy State Auditor Tony Sutton (JAS member) prevailed in an uncontested race for Secretary-Treasurer. I think the group of three executive officers - along with National Commiteeman Brian Sullivan - reflect a change toward younger, more aggressive conservatism.

The challenge will be coordinating with a Governor who is younger and has his own version of a more aggressive conservatism.

The GOP has a lot at stake in 2006. Get active!

Finally, a thinking bureaucrat

In response to citizen outrage, MnDOT will open the toll lanes to traffic during non-peak hours. Finally, someone is thinking. Coincidence? I'm sure it is.

Only the mind of a bureaucrat

Many of us have either witnessed or experienced first hand the new traffic experiment on 394 here in Minneapolis. I am one that decided to rent (for $1.50/month) the transponder that grants me the privilege of driving in the highway's toll lane, if I'm willing to pay the variable fee that's posted. I have not chosen to do so yet, so I can't say how well it works.

Originally, I liked the concept. But my enthusiasm was quickly stamped out when I discovered that the toll lane would be in operation 24x7. What this means is that if I'm driving around during the middle of the day, or coming from a late meeting downtown, I still have to pay a nominal fee (25 cents, usually) to drive in the toll lane. Why would I do this when there's no traffic? Assuming many people think like this, the revenue during these off peak times would be comparatively non-existent, and thus would lead a thinking person to realize that opening the lanes in those times would be a benefit.

This morning, I read the following:

The three-week-old toll lane on Interstate Hwy. 394 has touched off a tug of war that may modify the nationally watched traffic experiment.

On one side are project supporters elated by key successes: The electronic tolling equipment is working; enforcement is effective; customer numbers are growing, and lanes that were formerly half-empty transit lanes are carrying more cars. They would like to keep the experiment running.

On the other side are hundreds of furious drivers whose trips have been lengthened by 15 minutes or more on westbound I-394 because the toll lane -- the freeway's left lane -- has been taken away from general traffic and restricted to buses, carpools, motorcycles and toll payers 24 hours a day. They want to alter the toll experiment and reduce the hours on the westbound toll lane west of Hwy. 100 to 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. That would leave it open to regular westbound traffic the rest of the time.

Heeding the complaints, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) plans to add a lane in Golden Valley to improve westbound traffic flow. "We are not happy with westbound congestion," said Nick Thompson, director of the toll lane project for MnDOT. "The public is very frustrated."

...

Minnesota State Patrol Captain Tom Fraser, who directs toll lane enforcement, favors 24-hour operation and recommends against opening the lanes during off-peak hours.

"Any exception to a rule basically invalidates the rule and makes the enforcement that much more difficult," said Fraser, who reports a very low violation rate on the new toll lanes.

"We need more people who live east and drive west in the morning to buy the transponders and use the system -- that's what we need," Fraser said.

Let me get this straight. Rather than open the lane that is already there, MnDOT is going to build an entire extra lane. This has got to be one of the most harebrained ideas in the history of the world. And, after spend our money to build this lane, they will then encourage us to spend more of our money to use the toll lane. Has anyone done a cost/benefit analysis on this silliness? Whoops, sorry for asking a dumb question.

Thanks to Rep. Jeff Johnson of Plymouth, who anticipated this problem last year, but was unsuccessful in getting it addressed up front. He is smart enough to realize the folly of this, and wrote an editorial Sunday encouraging citizen action. At least someone is thinking.

Only the mind of a MnDOT bureaucrat could come up with nonsense like this, and we ought to let Lt. Gov./Commissioner Molneau know how silly we think it is.

European Constitution in Tatters!

The Dutch -- like the French -- have rejected the E.U. Constitution and the homogenization that would have followed.

Prime Minister Tony Blair is not making a United Europe a priority any more -- Africa is more important.

The Euro is floundering.

What are we to make of all of this? I believe it is a Revolution thwarted. The whole EU movement was contrary to Europe's best interests. Europe should not model itself after the United States government or even worse some world government model. Europe should be a group of nations -- not one nation.

Europe is better off without a large, centralized government at the Hague. Freedom for citizens in different nations can be accomplished best without a large centralized bureaucracy. A Frenchman's best protection against German oppression is a sovereign France.

Now, if only we Minnesotans could find a way to be sovereign, so that we would not be subject to our District of Columbia masters.