Airman Countdown

Airman Nick is scheduled to fly in for the Holiday Exodus, Wednesday evening. He graduated from Lackland this past August, and has been attending Tech School in Keesler, MS ever since.

He'll be gone before the new year begins, but anytime to catch up will be good times. I am hoping to get him downtown Thursday night, But I understand I do have to share him with the rest of his friends.

Thinks have been hectic on my end, thus the snails pace of posts. I;m sure I'll find some time to rattle some cages soon enough.

Flash

Joel is Home . . . for now.

Spotted on Facebook:
This isn't over by a long shot, but it is a good first step.

Welcome home, Joel!

Flash

Joel Juked

Joel Rosenberg, MOB Member, friend, carry advocate, renowned carry trainer, author, and MPD Gadfly, is in jail . . . STILL!

A Minneapolis man who claims to have a right to carry a gun in City Hall faces charges for bringing a loaded weapon into the police chief's office last month.

Now, we reap what we sow, and all that. But as you read the case you'll see that the Police officer A MONTH AGO, return the gun to Mr Rosenberg after disarming him and politely asked him to return the gun to his vehicle. Sure would imply to me that that would be that. Not in this case.

Remarkably, the court is holding Joel on $100,000 bail and continued his hearing till after the first of the year. Just plain senseless.

Other 2nd Amendment and MOB blogs are getting the story out. They have a much better handle on the details then I do, so give them a look:

Political Prisoner
Sgt. William Palmer
Joel Rosenberg: Alpha Male of the Day
Free Joel (Update)
The Empire Strikes Back
25% of Windypundit Blog Team Now In Jail
Latest news on civil rights activist Joel Rosenberg from Ellegon.com

I'll be following this to see if/when the court comes to it's senses.

Flash

Congratulations, Governor-Elect Dayton

Dear Mark,

OK, it's finally over, and what we have known all along will become official within the next few hours.

Now, the political landscape isn't quite what you were hoping for, but that doesn't mean there isn't opportunities. The local Right Wing smear machine is taking a page out of the national playbook, already. They are planning, hoping, and praying for you to fail. The Legislature will do whatever they can to set bugs and booby traps in your way. Let them. The Minnesota electorate will see them for who they are.

The MN GOP has never been a forward thinking bunch, pacifying their base until the real people get hurt enough that they vote them out. It will happen again, in a couple years. For now take the high road. No need to roll over or capitulate. We learned from the outgoing Governor that there are a variety of options for you when working with an opposition legislature. Relax and be relieved. If their pattern holds true, they'll implode soon enough. And you'll be there to pick up the pieces, and show everyone the true leader you are.

Godspeed Governor Elect Dayton!

Kurt 'Flash' Schiebel
Centrisity.com

Capitulation

Sometimes I wonder if the Democratic Party actually has a plan. These tax relief negotiations are something that should have happened BEFORE the midterms, especially the vote. The Left would have been in a position of strength, whereby they could DARE the Republicans to vote against Tax Cuts for all before the midterms. This would have saved their house majority. But they didn't, and now they are backed into a corner.

The new vote on the Framework gives the Right a second chance, and now puts the 'double dare ya' on the Democrats, instead. How much are we spending now . . . estimates are between 600 and 800 BILLION. The deal:

Paraphrased:

- Bush tax cuts: $458 billion. The package would extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone for two years

- Unemployment benefits: $57 billion. The package would also leave in place for 13 months the option to file for extended federal unemployment benefits

- Social Security tax break: $120 billion. The package would also offer workers a 2% payroll tax holiday next year

- Individual tax credits: $40 billion. extend for two years the increased value of a number of tax credits that benefit low- and middle-income tax filers,

- Business tax breaks: Cost unclear. It is still not clear how many business tax breaks are in the package. Some, like an extension of the research and development credit, has drawn bipartisan support and is typically renewed annually. But also included is a new temporary option for businesses to write off 100% of their expenses in 2011. A cost estimate was not immediately available.

- Estate tax: $88 billion. exemption level would be raised to $5 million and the top rate lowered to 35%.

Another deficit killer. Everyone wants to give away money, but no one wants to make the tough budget cutting decisions that need to happen. And I mean meaningful cuts, not Freezing salaries and chopping apart Earmarks, feel good actions that are pennies to the budget.

GOP, come back to me when you have meaningful tax cuts, like a 20% cut in defense!! Dems, let me know when you are willing to do the same in Health and Human services, or even Education.

Isn't there at least some group of true fiscal conservatives who have the guts to do what is needed, regardless of personal electoral peril?

I doubt it!!

Flash
Centrisity.com

The Chess Game

There is a reason I tend to support Democratic candidates in the face of my right leaning moderacy. The Left is a forward thinking compromise based group, whereas the Right is a power hungry unmovable behemoth. The current stunt they are pulling nationally, block everything and anything until they get their way, is no different than what is happening here in the recount. It's all about power and the base. But what happens when the base begins to wane. Lets look at that.

From the Strib:

The Dayton campaign said that of the 2,776 ballot challenges Emmer workers have filed, 98.2 percent have been declared frivolous. By contrast, 39 Dayton challenges have been ruled frivolous, according to the campaign.

Does the Emmer legal team even know what they are doing to themselves. With control of both houses of the legislature they have a chance to lead, and govern. They have an opportunity to show the MN electorate how they believe things should be done. Even with a Governor Dayton, there is much room to show what they can do. But the hunger for power, even briefly, seems to be more important than long term improvement of the state. Some Emmer supporters are getting fed up:

Those challenges were wearing thin even on some Emmer voters.

"I'm an Emmer supporter, but I think what's going on here is a bunch of nonsense," said Steven Camp, a Robbinsdale resident and small-business owner who worked as a Hennepin County table official.

But Camp didn't blame Emmer. He suggested larger forces may be at work. If Republicans delay the recount long enough or contest it in court, the planned Jan. 3 swearing-in of the next governor could be delayed.

"It seems to me, frankly, that Emmer is something of a pawn in this situation," Camp said.

Being a pawn is NOT the mark of a leader. If Rep Emmer wants any hope for future political viability he needs to recognize a couple things; 1) there is no path to victory for him; and 2) The behavior of his recount team and the MNGOP smear machine is causing frustration even within his base.

Rep Emmer has a choice to make, if it is his choice and that is to simply recognize reality. If there is a decision to move forward with an election contest post recount, we'll have our answer. No sensible leader would continue after the process is complete . . . unless, of course, he is merely a pawn.

Flash

Yes, That's Her!

Yes, that;s my sister leaning over the table on the front page of the Strib. Both her and my mom participated in the recount efforts, yesterday. My take is very simple numbers:

By day's end, more than 400 ballots were challenged, with the vast majority coming from Emmer's side. County officials declared half of those challenges "frivolous," meaning they remain in the current count but could get another look.

According to a final tally released by secretary of state Monday night, taking challenged votes out of the count did little to change the overall vote

margin. Dayton picked up 20 votes while Emmer lost four.

Dayton now leads Emmer 43.6 percent to 43.2 percent -- a margin of 8,794 votes.

Folks, according the the SoS site, almost half (44.65%) of the votes have been looked at, and the results have barely budged. There is not path to the Governor's mansion for Emmer. So the question that becomes more clear, is whether the Right risks losing the independents and moderates to go on a wild goose chase to suppress the will of the electorate.

It seems to me, that cooler heads will prevail. The Right has a prime opportunity to show the people of Minnesota they can be sensible, and then govern from the platform that they ran on. If they try to do that with an end around of the electoral system, they could become a permanent minority in two year. I would think the last thing they want is for the DFL to hold all three branches of government. If they are willing to see the writing on the wall, they will have a much better chance of keeping their majorities in both chambers come 2012.

Flash

8 Years!

Eight years ago, today, Centrisity was born. In that time. congressional controls has swung Left, and back Right. The President is of a different party. My grade school kids are now fledgling Adults, well except for the youngest, who is a Senior in high school, now.

My oldest spent 5 years in the marine corps, including a trip to the sandbox. And the #3 son is active duty in the Air Force. I've lost two best friends, watched my nephews grow up and marry. My parents enjoy good health, I'm still madly in love with my wife, and the Drum Corps has gone from middle of the pack to Championship contenders.

I haven't written much, recently. Attempts to stick to policy get drowned out by members of the smear machine who can't even take time to see the good that is happening right now. I'm not sure what will happen next, on these pages. But an 8 year investment isn't something I just want to walk away from. I still plan on lying low as I watch the recount, the holidays, and the world. At some point the fire will burn again, but time is a treasured resource. As I shuffle my priorities, Centrisity will soon find a place on that list.

Thanks to many of you for sharing this journey with me. 8 years is a long time, let's hope that time will continue to grow.

Kurt 'Flash' Schiebel
Centrisity.com

Thanks for your Service!

I special Thank You to the newest Veteran to be, Airman Nick!

He is currently excelling at Keesler AFB on track for Tech School Graduation in mid December. He will then get a couple weeks off for Christmas Exodus where we'll have much to catch up on.

He had an opportunity to go to Japan for his first assignment, but decided that getting more training and being involved in the meet of the Air Force beet going over seas to a Sit down Help Desk Job. He's got 6 years, I am sure he'll get to travel some over that time.

Also a salute to Sgt. Tom, who continues to enjoy his inactive reserve status. He is attending College in San Diego and actually called last night. He needed to check up on his brother still at home.

Thanks, gentleman! You have made me very proud!

Dad!

Other Veteran's Day Posts:

2009
2008
2007
2005
2004

Same Song, Different Verse

Please Vote!

The fear and Smear from the Right is over. The failed campaign of the Left is done.

The Right successfully deceived the electorate, as is their practice. The Left limped along without even attempting to show where we were at two years ago, and how much better we are today.

Fortunately, Minnesota is ahead of the curve. We tried it their way and it has cost us dearly, in jobs, in education, in basic infrastructure needs.

So while the US House slips away, the US Senate majority narrows, and Nationally the midterm massacre will take the President's working majority away, Minnesota will be a bright spot. For the first time in almost 20 years there will be a Democratic Governor and a House and Senate willing to work together to steer this great State back into economic prosperity.

The news tonight will be bleak for common sense Moderates, and progressives, but the talking heads will come back to Minnesota as that oasis of sanity. We tried it there way, it simply doesn't work. The memory of the National electorate is short, but that is not the case in the great state of Minnesota.

Flash

Myth and Magic

Something strange happened a few months ago. I was starting to get drawn into the smear that is the Tea Party Republican hate game. As a real fiscal conservative, small government type I started buying into their spin. But then I woke up, and started researching on my own.

As mentioned in Monday's post, it is actually the Democratic administration and congress that is reducing Government jobs while increasing private sector job opportunities. You would think, if the Tea Party brigade was sincere about what they want, they would reject the failed policies that got us here, and embrace the very practices that are delivering the exact goals they claim they want. But the Right Wing noise machine continues to push false memes and myths, for the truth would simply destroy them.

With their unlimited foreign money and corporate contributions, they have controlled the media. The electorate now actually believes the opposite of reality. Here is one of those falsehoods:

1) Job Killing Taxes -> Would you know that 40% of the stimulus was directed straight to tax cuts:

In a troubling sign for Democrats as they head into the midterm elections, their signature tax cut of the past two years, which decreased income taxes by up to $400 a year for individuals and $800 for married couples, has gone largely unnoticed.

See, the Right doesn't care about tax cuts, they care about winning.

Fortunately, Minnesotans are smarted than that. While many around the country have been suckered by the myths perpetrated by Right Wing extremists, the Minnesota electorate has dismissed them. The GOP wave, with assistance from their slush fund money, may fool those most vulnerable, but not us, here! Democratic candidates are doing well, as the folks here know what is at stake. Too bad others around the country don't get it . . . yet!

Flash

Job Creators!

The Tea Party brigade and their dutiful minions keep harping two main things, JOBS and Smaller government. What's interesting, is the current party in power is delivering on both:

This is the 9th straight month of private sector job growth in the midst of a devastating recession that has put a serious strain mostly on the poor and middle class. There has been a total of 863,000 private sector jobs created in 2010, exceeding the total created under the Bush/Cheney regime.

Recall in President Bush's last month, we shed over 700,000 jobs in January 2009 alone. Now we have much further to go, and for many the picture isn't all that rosy, but for the 'Drown Government in a bathtub' contingent, you would think they would be jumping for joy (NYT):

But over all, the economy lost 95,000 nonfarm jobs in September, the result of a 159,000 decline in government jobs at all levels. Local governments in particular cut workers at the fastest rate in almost 30 years.

So we have consistent Private Sector growth, albeit not enough, coupled with significant shrinkage in government. A perfect Tea Party storm. In fact, consistently, the Left has had much more success in economic growth than the Right.So what;s the gig . . . POWER! The Right has shown they aren't at all interested in working towards a better future. They aren't at all interested in acknowledging what works, and what doesn't. This is about pushing myths and mysticism into the election cycle, in hopes the electorate has short memories.

There are several myths being pushed in the waning moments of this election. I'll point some of them out this week.

Flash

Beginning of End in Afghan?

NYTimes reports:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Talks to end the war in Afghanistan involve extensive, face-to-face discussions with Taliban commanders from the highest levels of the group’s leadership, who are secretly leaving their sanctuaries in Pakistan with the help of NATO troops, officials here say.

The discussions, some of which have taken place in Kabul, are unfolding between the inner circle of President Hamid Karzai and members of the Quetta shura, the leadership group that oversees the Taliban war effort inside Afghanistan. Afghan leaders have also held discussions with leaders of the Haqqani network, considered to be one of the most hard-line guerrilla factions fighting here; and members of the Peshawar shura, whose fighters are based in eastern Afghanistan.

Optimism, maybe, but I haven;t seen a very organized leadership structure within the Taliban. It only takes one to go off on their own and create havoc. But this time, it is sounding more positive:

American officials said last week that talks between Afghan and Taliban leaders are under way. But the ranks of the insurgents, the fact that they represent multiple factions, and the extent of NATO efforts to provide transportation and security to adversaries they otherwise try to kill or capture have not been previously disclosed.

At least four Taliban leaders, three of them members of the Quetta shura and one of them a member of the Haqqani family, have taken part in discussions, according to the Afghan official and a former diplomat in the region.

The identities of the Taliban leaders are being withheld by The New York Times at the request of the White House and an Afghan who has taken part in the discussions. The Afghan official said that identifying the men could result in their deaths or detention at the hands of rival Taliban commanders or the Pakistani intelligence agents who support them.

Read the whole article, it is a great insight into the next phase of this ongoing struggle!

Flash

The Strib Endorsement

In the STRIB's endorsement of Emmer . . I mean Horner, they state

"Don't let fear cause you to vote for a candidate you consider to be the second-best choice."

Which, ironically, is the reason most people ARE voting for Horner, out of FEAR! I will NOT vote for an unelectable only to inoculate myself from criticism. I will proudly vote for Dayton knowing he will right the wrongs of the TPaw fiasco!

Some people confuse ideological perspective with voting pattern. I'm not one of them. I tend to vote more Blue than Red since the GOP candidates of late have been to the extreme. Of the two electables, I am going for the more moderate of the two, and it isn't Emmer. For Congress, as an example, I will NOT vote Blue for the same reason.

This isn't about party, its about progress. The state has stagnated for 8 years and we have lost our status of leader in the country. Time to change that, make the tough decisions, and get this state moving again.

Flash

Turning it Around

Good News Great News

Good news for everyone:

Private businesses added 64,000 workers in September,

GREAT news for small government Tea Party Conservatives:

the government shed 159,000 workers,

Certainly not anywhere near the private sector jobs growth we need. Here, lets take a trip in the time machine, to the booming years of the Bush economy:

Employers slashed another 598,000 jobs off of U.S. payrolls in January, . . .

The latest job loss is the worst since December 1974, and brings job losses to 1.8 million in just the last three months, or half of the 3.6 million jobs that have been lost since the beginning of 2008.

The loss since November is the biggest 3-month drop since immediately after the end of World War II, when the defense industry was shutting down for conversion to civilian production.

How does the saying go, those who refuse to remember history are doomed to repeat it. If we go back to the policies that ravaged this economy during the Bush years, we will, be doomed! Think about that when you review your ballot this fall.

Flash

Airman Update: Classes Begin!

Coming off Basic Training in August, these well training and prepared men and women are eager and ready to begin their new paths. And then it all comes to a screeching halt. A hurry up and wait situation where significant downtime is experienced following an 8 1/2 week adrenaline push. That's what happened to my son.

He arrived at Keesler AFB (Mississippi) immediately after graduation weekend. A 16+ hour bus ride to his new home. However, there was no opening in his classes, so duty assignments like Security, loading dock, and PT conditioning was his world . . . but no classes. That all changed this week.

After 6 weeks of waiting, with early signs of frustration beginning to set in, he began his next step in his journey. The Airman is going into Cyber Systems Operations, so his class schedule start with Cyber Systems Basics, Windows & introduction, and high tech classes that will prepare him for his first duty station.

Anticipated Graduation is the 2nd week of December, where God willing, he'll get some much needed leave including about 2 weeks of uncharged leave as part of the Recruiter Assistance Program. IF the timing works out, it will be a very merry Christmas at the Flash homestead.

Now that he has begun Tech School, within a few weeks, we may found out more specifics of where his first assignment will take him. HE is hoping for over seas, Japan or Germany, but he he will go where he is needed, and serve out country proudly.

My son, the Airman . . . I'll keep you posted.

Flash
Proud Air Force Dad; AB Nick
Proud Marine Dad; Sgt. Tom (inactive reserves)
Proud Dad; Josh and Bob

Stealthy

How to FInd a Trillion!

There are various estimates to what the deficit currently is, but here is what we do know (Careful, ScaifeNet link). When President Clinton left office, he had a surplus. During the Bush years the deficit climbed to close to half a trillion. With the much needed stimulus, unfunded, the deficit jumped to over a trillion. So where can we find a trillion.

Lets start by reviewing the budget breakdown. As you can see, no meaningful dent can be made on the budget without significant cuts, reforms, or cost savings, in the area of Health & Human services and defense.

Of course, the other option is to look at potential revenues. By extending the Bush era tax cuts to ALL Americans, yet allowing the top tier to expire (a modest 3% increase in each earned dollars over $250,000) would fuel a 700 Billion dollar revenue in flux. Without this balanced approach, where does the money come from.

See, it is ease to scream cuts, it is simple to buy into the Liberal spending spree, but NONE of these Tea Party Republicans have any solid details as to how they would do it.

You wanna slice of reality, lets cut the entire Department of Educations, but that is only 100 Billion dollars, where do you find the other 900 Billion, OH, that would be the same as the Defense Budget . . . . . . If you want to get real serious, the Interesting on our debt is almost 400 Billion dollars. You want to start taking the debt, you need to eliminate the deficit. And like we have found here in Minnesota, you can't do it with cuts alone, a balanced approach is required.

Flash