In a recent poll among Mormons, Ron Paul beat Mitt Romney. More information can be seen at,
http://www.ldsmag.com/pollmentor/pollmentorres.asp?id=111
Aditional straw poll results can be seen here,
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-poll-results/
As you can see, Ron Paul has quite a following! It is a shame that the media does not give him more respect.
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Here is an interesting article on transportation from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. It does support a gas tax increase of five cents per gallon. It also supports accountability and the reform of operations and policies to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Seems to me that several constitutional issues are being violated at Normandale. Separation of church and state, gender equality, and if the Muslims are denying any one access to worship as a Jew or a Christian, the right to worship freely is also being violated.
This Article is from the StarTribune.com.The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed here.
Katherine Kersten: Normandale's 'meditation room' is home to a single faith Katherine Kersten, Star Tribune
Last week, I visited a Muslim place of worship. A schedule for Islam's five daily prayers was posted at the entrance, near a sign requesting that shoes be removed. Inside, a barrier divided men's and women's prayer space, an arrow informed worshippers of the direction of Mecca, and literature urged women to cover their faces.
Sound like a mosque?
The place I'm describing is the "meditation room" at Normandale Community College, a 9,200-student public institution in Bloomington.
Until recently, the room was the school's only usable racquetball court. College administrators converted the court into a meditation room when construction forced closure of the previous meditation room.
A row of chest-high barriers splits the room into sex-segregated sections. In the smaller, enclosed area for women sits a pile of shawls and head-coverings. Literature titled "Hijaab [covering] and Modesty" was prominently placed there, instructing women on proper Islamic behavior.
They should cover their faces and stay at home, it said, and their speech should not "be such that it is heard."
"Enter into Islaam completely and accept all the rulings of Islaam," the tract read in part. "It should not be that you accept what entertains your desires and leave what opposes your desires; this is from the manners of the Jews."
"[T]he Jews and the Christians" are described as "the enemies of Allaah's religion." The document adds: "Remember that you will never succeed while you follow these people."
A poster on the room's door advertised a local lecture on "marriage from an Islamic perspective," with "useful tips for marital harmony from the Prophet's ... life." Other fliers invited students to join the Normandale Islamic Forum, or participate in Ramadan celebrations.
One thing was missing from the meditation room: evidence of any faith but Islam. No Bible, no crucifix, no Torah.
Normandale's administration is facilitating the room's Islamization. The college's building crew erected the barrier separating men's and women's sections, according to Ralph Anderson, dean of student affairs. College officials also posted signs at the room's entrance asking students to remove shoes -- a Muslim custom before prayers. This was "basically a courtesy to Muslim students," Anderson said.
Despite the room's Islamic atmosphere, Anderson says it "is open to everyone."
Why is the meditation room segregated by sex? "Muslim students prefer that areas be divided into male and female," he said. "Other students don't care."
Doesn't sex-segregation present a constitutional problem in a public educational institution? "I don't want to comment on that," he said.
And the literature regarding Jews and Christians? "I would probably take it out if I knew it was in there," said Anderson.
Normandale's zealous effort to accommodate Muslim students is not new. Chad Lunaas, a former student who works at the college part time, cites examples.
Last year on Fridays, he says, he often entered the bathroom to find that "every sink and toilet stall had someone washing his feet." Other students couldn't use the bathroom at these times, and those who tried felt awkward.
Lunaas finally expressed his concerns to a Muslim student who "seemed to be in charge."
"His attitude was, 'We don't have to listen to you, we can do whatever we want,' " he said.
Confrontations also erupted in the sex-segregated meditation room, according to Lunaas. "Muslim students just took it over. They made people who were not of the Muslim religion feel very uncomfortable, especially if they were female."
One female student tried to use the room when Muslim students were in it, said Lunaas. "She believed she should be treated equally. They were telling her to leave, to take off her shoes, to go to the other side of the divider."
Anderson says he met several times with concerned students. But "the whole thing was just basically swept aside," according to Lunaas.
Anderson said that in the incident involving the young woman, "both sides were probably out of line."
Howard Odor, who advises the college's Somali Student Association, said he has not been aware of "any issues" since the meditation room has been in the racquetball court. "I can guarantee that college policy is that anyone who wants to go in there and pray or meditate can do so."
But many at the college see a bigger issue.
"For all practical purposes, this meditation room is essentially a Muslim prayer room," said Chuck Chalberg of Normandale's history faculty. "Something this unprecedented goes beyond religious toleration."
Katherine Kersten • kkersten@startribune.com Join the conversation at my blog, Think Again, which can be found at www.startribune.com/thinkagain.
I attended the Sewer Fair Open House on Wednesday, December 12. I could not stay long but I had the opportunity to ask some questions.
First, considering a worst case scenario, what would the approximate cost of a full blown excavation of someones front yard be?
We were told "it could be as much as several thousand dollars."
This, to me, is an under estimate. After talking to a person who used to work in the sewer profession I have learned that it could be as much as ten thousand dollars!
Second, Who would be doing the work?
I believe that we would be able to hire our own contractor. I have been told that some other cities get bids from contractors and a home owner must use the cities hand picked contractor.
Third, Would a homeowner be assessed on their property tax?
Yes. A homeowner could pay it off right away, or pay it off over ten years, with interest of course. Consider this for a moment. You are a senior citizen. You live in an older home. You are on a fixed income. The city says you must replace your sewer line. The cost to you could be as much as an additional one hundred dollars per month on your property tax bill! For ten years! On top of rising property taxes, school levies, and in my case, ten years of paying off a street assessment, where do our elected officials think all of this money is going to come from?
After I had a chance to sit down and read a copy of the proposed ordinance I became angry at some of it's wording. This ordinance is for the purpose of complying to a directive handed down by the Met Council. The Met Council is made of people that have never been elected, but appointed. They have the power to rule over us even more so than any of our elected officials. They can even impose their own levies onto our property taxes!
Now here is the bazaar part! As it is written the building inspector "is authorized to conduct inspections of improved real estate that discharges into the City's sanitary sewer system for the limited purposes of confirming that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge of clear water drainage."
The inspector will notify a property owner by a written notice and will be required to allow, within thirty days, access to the inspector. The inspector shall also be granted "emergency access" any time when there may be an actual instance of danger to the public health or safety. How any ones sewer line would cause such an occasion is beyond my imagination!
"Application for a Search Warrant. If a property owner refuses to allow an inspection, the City may apply to the district court for an appropriate administrative search warrant."
"Surcharge. A monthly surcharge of $50 for a single family property and a surcharge of $300 for all other properties shall be added to each sewer and water bill if:
An owner or occupant refuses to allow an inspection within 30 days of the postmarked date of the notice, unless otherwise agreed to by the inspector."
"The surcharge shall be added for every month during which the property is not in compliance."
"The City may suspend water service to a property that is not in compliance with this section."
So now I hope you get the general idea of what the Met Council is ramming down our throats. They want the right to enter our homes as they desire. To impose upon us a surcharge if we do not comply. And they want the right to obtain a search warrant to enter our homes against our will to do a lousy sewer inspection! Is it not reasons like this that people from other countries flock to our shores? To escape such governments that impose such injustices upon its citizens? I consider this proposed ordinance to be unconstitutional. It threatens our right to be safe in our homes from unreasonable search and seizure as well as a violation of due process.
Here is what we need to do. We need to contact our City Council members and the Mayor. I want to remind you that these are all good people that take their jobs seriously. I have faith in every one of them to do the right thing, as long as we let them know how we feel. Listed below you can see how to contact these people,
Mayor John Zanmiller
651-451-1741
john.zanmiller@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. Jim Englin-Ward I
651-308-1844
jim.englin@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. VanMoorlehem-Ward I
aaron.vanmoorlehem@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. Mark Tessmer-Ward II
651-552-1467
mark.tessmer@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. Ed Iago-Ward II
651-731-4447
ed.iago@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. David Wright-Ward III
651-450-1143
david.wright@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
Clpn. Darlene Lewis-Ward III
651-457-8835
darlene.lewis@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us
I received a card in the mail today. It was from the city of West Saint Paul. Our fine city is proposing to pass an ordinance that would enable the City to inspect private sewer lines. This means the sewer line from your house to the street. It would also require property owners to repair sewer lines that are shown to be damaged. I find this to be another fine example of government sticking their nose where it does not belong. The cost to replace the sewer system requires heavy equipment digging a hole in your front yard about eight feet deep from your house to the street. This could cost a home owner as much as ten thousand dollars or more. I urge every citizen of West Saint Paul to attend "2007 Sewer Fair." Here is the information that was on the card. More information can be found here http://www.weststpaul.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={716A3D37-B68D-4FBC-B392-E19CD34CC8C9}
2007 SEWER FAIR OPEN HOUSE PROPOSED I/I (INFILTRATION/INFLOW) ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF WEST SAINT PAUL
The City of West Saint Paul will be holding a Sewer Fair Open House on December 12, 2007 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers regarding the proposed creation of an I/I (Infiltration/Inflow) sewer ordinance in the City of West Saint Paul. The City Hall adress is 1616 Humboldt Ave. City staff will be available at the Open House to answer questions. All interested residents and property owners within the City are invited to attend this Open House. The proposed I/I ordinance would enable the City to inspect private sewer lines. It would also require the repair of broken sewer lines found during inspection. More informatoin on the Open House and the proposed ordinance can be found on the City's website at www.ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us You may also conntact City Engineer/Pubplic Works & Parks Director, Matt Saam, with any questions at 651-552-4130 or by email at matt.saam@ci.west-saint-paul.mn.us.
Brady's Shamelessness-Will They Ever Learn? This week's outrage comes, not surprisingly, from the Brady Center. You may recall back in May, we reported on the Brady Center prescribing its remedies for the horrific Virginia Tech slayings well before any of the facts were known. Not content to stop there, they even sent out an extremely distasteful fundraising solicitation seeking contributions in the amount of $32-one dollar for each of the Virginia Tech slayings.
You'd think the Brady Center would have learned its lesson after being pilloried for this stunt by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (among others), who said, "People who want to take this (the Tech shootings) within 24 hours of the event and make it, you know, their political hobby horse to ride, I've got nothing but loathing for them. To those who want to, you know, try to make this into some little crusade, you know, I say take that elsewhere. Let this community deal with grieving individuals and be sensitive to those needs."
Once again, though, the Brady Bunch has proven it has no learning curve.
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