Dump Bachmann Blog on Kindle

Anna comments: Did you all know that this blog is one of the top 50 political blogs (subscriptions purchased) on Kindle? It's right up there with Ellen Goodman, David Broder, Hub politics, etc. Look, it's at #27 as I write this. Here's the Amazon.com Kindle page... be the first to give DB a review... suggestion; "Dump Bachmann is HOT".

Even Republicans Wince When Michele Bachmann's Name Is Mentioned for Statewide Office

Blois Olson in Minn Post: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann: Bachmann needs no introduction, and even Republicans wince when you mention her name for statewide office. That said, they will also admit that she is the favorite daughter of the socially conservative dominated base within the GOP. Her reputation as a tireless campaigner and political animal would make her a serious contender for the GOP nomination and a primary victory.

Favorite Michele Bachmann Quotes

These haven't been updated in a while. Please add your favorite recent quotes, with citations in the comments. Michele Bachmann v Michele Bachmann Even unable to agree with herself, counter-quotes from then Senator Michele Bachman, who sought GOP endorsement for Congress next year, include: "The marriage initiative is 'not a Republican-Democrat issue'." --Senator Michele Bachmann, Star Tribune, November 10, 2005 "Democrats need to fear losing their seat." --Senator Michele Bachmann, Pioneer Press, November 11, 2005 "I had high heels on and I just couldn't stand anymore. I was not in the bushes." Sen Michele Bachmann, Strib, April 13, 2005 "He [President Bush] kissed me in Minnesota, too" - Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Strib January 24, 2007 "Help!!!! HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!! I was being held against my will!" Sen Michele Bachmann, Women's Restroom in Scandia, Minnesota, April 9, 2005 "Little children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal and natural and perhaps they should try it." Sen Michele Bachmann, Interview with Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries. "This is a ticking time bomb and there is a very real threat that an Activist Judge Strike down DOMA this year" Sen Michele Bachmann, Interview with Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries. "I never wanted to amend the constitution." Sen Michele Bachmann, Calling in to Tom Barnard, May 12, 2005. "Is there no longer freedom of speech in this chamber, Mr. President?....Mr. President...MR. PRESIDENT?....You can turn my microphone off now." - Michele Bachmann -May 16, 2004, Last day of 2004 Session. "Literally, if we took away the minimum wage—if conceivably it was gone—we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level." —Michele Bachmann, 1/26/05, Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee, testifying against SF 3, a bill to raise the MN minimum wage and advocating the elimination of the minimum wage altogether.. "Many teenagers that come in should be paying the employer because of broken dishes or whatever occurs during that period of time. But you know what? After six months, that teenager is going to be a fabulous employee and is going to go on a trajectory where he's going to be making so much money, we'll be borrowing money from him." —Michele Bachmann, 1/26/05, explaining why teenagers should pay employers for the privilege of working instead of receiving minimum wage. "If we allow businesses to be prosperous and accrue capital, they’ll be giving their employees more than they can even begin to imagine. But when we continue to tie cement blocks on businesses (like the minimum wage) and constrain them, they can actually do less than their employees."—Michele Bachmann, 1/26/05, testifying against SF 3, a bill to raise the MN minimum wage and explaining why it actually keeps wages and benefits lower. "I was wondering, if most employers are already doing this anyway, isn’t minimum wage really just superfluous? Why do we even have one?" —Michele Bachmann, 1/26/05, Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee, testifying against SF 3, a bill to raise the MN minimum wage, and advocating the elimination of the minimum wage altogether. "If raising the minimum wage to $7.00 an hour is a good idea, that why dont we just raise it to $20.00 an hour, that must be even better." —Michele Bachmann, 1/26/05, Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee, testifying against SF 3, a bill to raise the MN minimum wage. "I look at the Scripture and I read it and I take it for what it is. I give more credence in the Scripture as being kind of a timeless word of God to mankind, and I take it for what it is. And I don't think I give as much credence to my own mind, because I see myself as being very limited and very flawed, and lacking in knowledge, and wisdom and understanding. So, I just take the Bible for what it is, I guess, and recognize that I am not a scientist, not trained to be a scientist. I'm not a deep thinker on all of this. I wish I was. I wish I was more knowledgeable, but I'm not a scientist." - Michele Bachmann interviewing with Todd Fiel at KKMS as quoted in the Stillwater Gazette, September 29, 2003. "Something that I think sometimes people don’t like to hear is that secular people can be sometimes even more dogmatic in beliefs than people who are not secular. ... In some ways, to believe in evolution is almost like a following; a cult following — if you don’t believe in evolution, you’re considered completely backward. That seems to me very indicative of bias as well." - Michele Bachmann quoted in the Stillwater Gazette, September 29, 2003. "No one that I know disagrees with natural selection — that you can take various breeds of dogs ... breed them, you get different kinds of dogs," she said. "It's just a fact of life. ... Where there's controversy is (at the question) 'Where do we say that a cell became a blade of grass, which became a starfish, which became a cat, which became a donkey, which became a human being?' There’s a real lack of evidence from change from actual species to a different type of species. That's where it's difficult to prove." - Michele Bachmann quoted in the Stillwater Gazette, September 29, 2003. "On the morning of December 7, 1941, local St. Paulite Orville Ethier was aboard the USS Ward, a boat manned by 82 Navy reservists from St. Paul, when a small Japanese sub appeared near the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward fired two shots, one of which struck and sank the sub, which constituted the first American shots of World War II. The commander of the Ward relayed a message about the incident back to military headquarters in Honolulu. The message stated "We have attacked, fired upon and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area." The message, sent more than an hour before the 8 a.m. attack on Pearl Harbor, went unheeded. You are a type of Orville Ethier - a patriot looking to secure American freedoms. The question is, will the Senators of Minnesota act like the Honolulu military headquarters and ignore your message? Today we face perhaps the greatest attack on the family in our lifetime. Now is OUR time to stand up and send a message to avert an equally impending disaster. Please visit www.mnmarriage.com to read my recent column on the threat that legalized gay marriage poses to our civil and religious liberties and, to tax exempt organizations in particular." - Michele Bachmann email to supporters. "Iran is the troublemaker trying to tip over apple carts all over Baghdad right now because they want America to pull out. And you know why? It’s because they’ve already decided, that they’re going to territory, they’re- they’re going to partition Iraq and half of Iraq, the western northern portion of Iraq is going to be called, the United, uh, uh, the, the uh, -oh, I’m sorry, I can’t remember the actual name of it now, but it’s going to be called, um, uh, the, the, uh, uh the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t have the official name, but it is meant to be the training ground for the terrorists. There’s already an agreement made; they’re going to get half of Iraq and that is going to be a –a terrorist free,-a terrorist safe haven zone." - February 9, 2007, interview with Larry Schumacher, St Cloud Times. Posted February 10, 2007 Michele Bachmann on Americorps: Sure, under the guise of quote volunteerism, but it’s not volunteers at all, it’s paying people to do work on behalf of government. We had about 75,000 people involved in Americorps before – this adds another 250,000 people – so more government employees but what’s even more concerning about it is his focus is on young people – the original language of the bill was mandatory service for government. Right now the language is voluntary but just this last week a democrat colleague introduced the bill to make this mandatory. I believe when it’s all said and done this service that I believe there is a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service and the real concern is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go and work in some of these politically correct forums. So that it is very concerning. It appears that there’s a philosophical agenda behind all of this and especially if young people are mandated to go into this. As a parent I would have a very very difficult time do this. Again this is a huge power grab and it’ll cost us us billions of dollars. - Sue Jeffers show, KTLK FM, 4/4/2009

AUDIO: Bachmann on KKMS June 4th

From Bill's post Thursday: She said that cap-and-trade will double our electricity bills, that the money raised will be used to fund socialized medicine and that once that happens, it will take six months for a woman to get a breast cancer exam. (She says that's the case in Britain, which has socialized medicine.) There were many other horror stories, mostly about the media coverage favoring Obama and the Democrats and the GM bailout. She referred to her famous "stop same-sex marriage rallies" and said that she didn't see any "hate" at those. But she added that it wouldn't surprise her if any "hate homosexuals" signs that *were* there, were plants from her opponents. Bill Prendergast sent me the audio, I edited it... listen: UPDATE: One of the hosts asked Bachmann about the the "perception" conservative conservatives are "mean-spirited". Bachmann replies that perception is "the media's" fault. In addition, Bachmann speculated (at 10:20) that nasty, bigoted signs at one of her marriage amendment rallies (see photos below) may have been planted: I did not see meanness. I didn't see it. It did not happen. It was a creation of the media and if someone had a negative sign? I'll tell you, I got to the point where I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had planted negative signs, because we were very careful about that, telling people we didn't want any negative signs. We wanted to be positive and I did not see the mean spiritedness and it's time we defend Christians... This is what Eva has to say about that:: The above is one of the signs that Michele Bachmann was discussing. It's interesting that she is now claiming these signs were plants by gay rights activists. In the past, when I debated her and mentioned these signs, she corrected me and stated she HAD spoken out against these signs. Maybe this is what she means by "speaking out against" the signs. More pictures of signs at that rally in this post. Here's the money quote and a slideshow of the signs:

Michele Bachmann : Anti-Transit Dead-Ender

Conrad deFiebre has an excellent opinion piece called "Tough Times for Minnesota Transit Bashers" at MinnPost and Minnesota 20/20. It's a very good read, but I'll skip to the end: But extending the Northstar probably hinges on federal funding, and there's the rub. While Pawlenty, Kleis and most other Minnesota officials have signed on, Michele Bachmann, the area's representative in Congress, hasn't gotten aboard. Without her support, it's hard to see how the project receives any help from Washington. Clearly, it's time for all Minnesota leaders to chuck the tenuous anti-transit ideology and tap into the proven economic, environmental and social benefits of a modern, efficient transit system. For many years, pro-highway, anti-transit road-warriors fought against planning and funding for transit. Bachmann was one of the road warriors and she remains a staunch ideological foe of transit. Whoever runs against Bachmann in 2010 needs to make her transportation record going back to her days in the legislature a major issue in the campaign. Here's Elwyn Tinklenberg talking about Bachmann's transportation record in 2008:

It's 4:34 pm--she's off the air, didn't take any questions

Sorry about that, folks. She was just on the air at KKMS 980-AM, they gave out the phone number for listeners to call in--but she didn't take any questions. She's gone. I did manage to tape her remarks. She said that cap-and-trade will double our electricity bills, that the money raised will be used to fund socialized medicine and that once that happens, it will take six months for a woman to get a breast cancer exam. (She says that's the case in Britain, which has socialized medicine.) There were many other horror stories, mostly about the media coverage favoring Obama and the Democrats and the GM bailout. She referred to her famous "stop same-sex marriage rallies" and said that she didn't see any "hate" at those. But she added that it wouldn't surprise her if any "hate homosexuals" signs that *were* there, were plants from her opponents. Sorry about the false alarm, I thought she might take a question because they gave out the number. (She doesn't, usually, but I thought it might be worth a shot.) She mentioned that you can register to receive her "tele-town hall meetings," that she gives out information to about 40,000 homes in Minnesota via these calls. Nothing about taking questions via these calls, it sounded more like they are recorded announcements from Michele. Eva adds: The above is one of the signs that Michele Bachmann was discussing. It's interesting that she is now claiming these signs were plants by gay rights activists. In the past, when I debated her and mentioned these signs, she corrected me and stated she HAD spoken out against these signs. Maybe this is what she means by "speaking out against" the signs. Was there any discussion of Dr Tiller's murder?

It's 4:18 pm, Michele is on the air taking questions at KKMS

She's on KKMS, AM 980, right now as I write this. They gave out the phone number on the air, which means the hosts Jeff and Lee are taking questions for her from the radio audience. Here's the number to call in to ask a question, from the KKMS web site. "Call us on the air at 651-289-4499 or 888-332-5169."

Michele Bachmann for Governor?

From the comments: I really want her to run for governor. Really. It would provide months of spectacular entertainment. MarkH 06.02.09 - 10:22 pm | # I just don't see how she could win the Governor's mansion, given the reputation she's got. She's a do-nothing/achieve nothing legislator--cemented that reputation after nearly ten years in elected office. The only thing that she's done so far for her constituents was agree to break her word about earmarks. Everyone knows about the "foreclosures in Bachmann's district" thing. Highest in MN. And she's on the banking committee in Congress--during the run-up to the Wall Street collapse she wasn't talking "better regulation" she was talking "stop CFL light bulbs." In other words, she has no successes to point to outside of those on election day. She's done absolutely nothing for anyone, except for providing her "no vote" to the special interests in Congress in return for campaign funding. And as for the rest of it: she's nuts, and now everyone in the country outside the GOP knows it. And a theocrat--they don't know that yet, but it will be in the mix pretty soon, if she keeps her head up. If she really does hope to run and win, she'd have to pull a Pawlenty--sneak in by a hair, with the IP splitting the opposition vote. But she couldn't even do that, because Pawlenty's a lot more "marketable" in terms of rhetoric. This year we've seen some efforts by Bachmann to expand her wing nut/talk radio/theocrat base by staging photo ops on subjects that appeal to the mainstream: women's health, social security... We'll probably see more of that, but I always thought that it was aimed at proving that she could win her congressional district by a majority. She'll have to prove that she can win a district without needing an IP/third party split helping her along. I didn't think that she was staging these "reach for the middle" photo-ops because she was contemplating a run for governor. I don't see how an extremist like MB could win the spot, in a state where Pawlenty barely crept back in by a hair, a state that chose Klobuchar and Obama and (narrowly) Franken. The political environment in MN, for extremist like Bachmann, is about as bad as it can get. But maybe I'm wrong. The state GOP's in chaos, Bachman's certainly got firm support on the grassroots right and she's puffed by conservative radio all the time. She's got the state's evangelicals in the bag, which is not true of the other GOP wannabes. The irony is that if MB does run for Gov, she'll still be dependent on the Independence Party vote to get her to a victorious plurality--as she is now. So maybe even a failed bid for governor would be to her advantage now, if she turned in any kind of a credible vote total. Does anybody here see *how* she could win, if she runs? I always kind of figured her eyes were on something beyond Minnesota, but it's true that the traditional path to the White House is via the Senate or a Governor's mansion. She can't just "leap-frog" over those intermediate steps, straight out of Congress... Bill Prendergast 06.02.09 - 10:29 pm | # Bachmann would be formidable in an endorsement race for Governor, but I do not believe she could win statewide.... She can't get above 50% in a highly republican district. Eva Young 06.02.09 - 11:18 pm | # Well, what bugs me is that I think that that is what she's going for--that "more than 50% in a highly Republican district." That's what I mean when I'm talking about women's health/breast cancer event, the social security event,whatever she's got coming up next. There's not really much need to do for her to do that "reach beyond her base" if she doesn't have bigger plans for herself. (We know that she's not doing it because she's genuinely interested in working on those issues, because she's not even interested in working on any issues she cares about--even "conservative" issues.) So I figure she's trying to prove to the party that she can win a majority, not just a win via a plurality. And I guess it's possible that she could convince the party of that without actually having to win the majority in the 6th district. If she throws more of these "I care" photo-ops and less of the "no questions about global warming" events, maybe she'll bring over some state Republicans on her side for a governor's race. As you point out, she'd be formidable in the endorsement race with her core constituency. I think the state GOP is scared to death of her because she's got the evangelicals locked up all over the state--a conservative Republican can't campaign hard against an evangelical favorite without fear of evangelical media retaliation. And, in Michele's case, without "regular" talk radio retaliation (from the Jason Lewis type clowns who adore her.) So at this writing I think that if she ran she'd take the nomination and lose the race (unless the Democrats *really* screw things up over the next year or so.) But I'm not sure that she's not planning a run. She's built a national base of conservative support--for what? So she can stay a Congresswoman from a backwater district for the rest of her career? It's interesting to speculate. It's amazing that after all the times she's been caught lying, pro journalists still take her at her word. They report: "Well, her spokesperson said she's not running, so that's that, she's not--WE'VE GOT HER SPOKESPERSON'S WORD FOR IT. AND MICHELE'S, TOO." Jesus, they never learn about her v. the truth. Bill Prendergast 06.03.09 - 8:44 am | # "That's what I mean when I'm talking about women's health/breast cancer event, the social security event" Warning: Rant Ahead -- Note that these events (social security, health) were targeted at women. Guess where Bachmann LOST support in the last cycle? Yep. Women. She still has the white Republican male vote, but the women are slipping to the other side. Lots of women were insulted by the Palin run (especially intelligent women), and Bachmann was closely tied to Palin. That's a big mistake in the 6th, along with the other lies and gaffes that tend to anger thoughtful women. Character flaws in a female representative reflect poorly on my gender (and we've fought hard to get this representation . . . only to have someone like Bachmann make us look bad with lies and goofy statements? No thanks!). Many white men in the 6th voted for Bachmann, but their wives quietly voted in another direction. I know. I talked to some of them. Bachmann plays to the white male crowd in her looks/dress/overtly sexual language, etc., and it works. The problem for women is that the Bachmann, Palin types remind them of the flirty, empty-headed girls they didn't like in high school. They lack maturity (Bachmann can't seem to keep from saying stupid things when she opens her mouth), and they make the election races look like some kind of prom queen popularity contest. Yuck. None of us want to go back to high school politics, but that's the image they tend to portray. Now Bachmann has to find ways to show, to women, that she is more than the one who knows how to do her hair and put on makeup. These events are an attempt to do so. I hope she can show real insight into the real problems facing our district, and take appropriate policy actions -- for our sake. She embarrasses women more than men. Anna 06.03.09 - 9:43 am | # If MB runs, it will end up being the greatest gubernatorial election, between the DFL candidate and the IP candidate. DavidD 06.03.09 - 10:42 am | # That's interesting, Anna. I hadn't thought about the fact that the "reach out" photo ops were attempts to improve her credibility with women voters, specifically. As opposed to her "conservative wedge issue" events, eg, "there is no man made climate change", which mimic the talk radio audience take (mostly white males.) I hadn't viewed the "reach out" events as an attempt to *stop the loss* of a certain segment of voters. I'd been thinking all along that it was her attempt to *increase* her vote total by spewing something besides conservative talk radio. In either case, I still think it's true that she has to prove that she can pick up new voters, not just keep the ones that are already in her camp. What if she can't convince anyone outside her existing base that she's more than just right wing talk radio? She might still lock up the endorsement because the conservative base is firmly behind her, but in the end a Bachmann run for governor or senate would be just another expensive fiasco for the state GOP. The basic task for her is to convince the state and national GOP that she can win outside a district that's already gerrymandered to favor any conservative GOP candidate, and without the aid of the IP as a splitting force. Bill Prendergast 06.03.09 - 12:28 pm | # Anyone who thinks Bachmann can win a statewide race for anything in Minnesota is delusional. I will bet $100 on that right now. Any takers? Karl 06.03.09 - 1:41 pm | # So many of us on this board want her to run and be a continual embarassment for the GOP that I think we should start a petition in her honor. Really, it would be great to have MB be among the many wing-nut right standard bearers in 2012 who will not only lose their own races but help Obama handily win a second term (not that he's likely to have any problems doing so, even if his popularity goes down significantly). Of course, if TP runs for President against Obama, he won't need any help losing. olansoule

Republican Chris Johnston Announces he will Challenge Michele Bachmann

MnIndy: Woodbury attorney Chris Johnston says he is “mulling a run” against Rep. Michele Bachmann in the next Republican primary. Johnston says the district needs to be represented by a Republican “who thinks before they speak.” MnIndy has this link to Chris Johnson's blog. Is Aubrey Immelman going to run again?

Personal Rapid Transit Company Employee Drops By Dump Bachmann

We usually get the same two PRT guys, A Transportation Enthusiast and Mr Grant (Seattle PRT promoter David Gow) dropping by to leave comments every time I post an update on the PRT boondoggle that Bachmann wrote legislation for and promoted in the media. In this post, A.T.E. invited an Project Studies Manager for Advanced Transport Systems Lld, the would-be vendors of ULTra to comment... and he did... first under the screen name "Mr. Allegedly Brilliant": Hi Marjilquimalema, Mr. Enthusiast emailed me and asked if I'd care to reveal myself publicly. Alas, not quite yet. I've got this crazy plan to present Avidor a bottle of his favorite whiskey, once I've made my first million in the PRT business. I'll let you decide whether that's because I'm a nice guy or an evil bastard, but anyhow, in the meantime, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Although I must humbly wave off any allegations of "brilliance", Mr. Enthusiasm is otherwise correct: Mr. Avidor's ceaseless and idiotic distortions and lies about PRT did, in fact, convince me to give up a perfectly good career, move overseas, and go into the PRT business full-time. It's also true that I was and continue to be a rail fan, and have long since sold my car and adopted a transit-only lifestyle. I believe that PRT and rail will work very effectively in an intermodal context, to provide a far better transit solution than either mode can alone. In the past, a number of PRT advocates have made a number of wrong-headed anti-rail statements, for which I've frequently upbraided them. Although I'll note that all three of the major PRT companies (of which I work for one) -- and every reputable transport consultancy which is doing PRT work -- are entirely friendly towards rail, so it's really only a handful of overenthusiastic zealots who continue to sound an anti-rail drumbeat. (Although they're not nearly so zealous or idiotic as our own beloved Mr. Avidor). I'll also note that I'm a fairly strident liberal (at least socially; I've got a mild conservative streak on the fiscal side of things), and sincerely wish Avidor all the best in his anti-Bachmann campaign. The fact that she's made supportive noises towards PRT is disconcerting to me -- but even a stopped clock can be right twice a day. (Exhibit A: Ken Avidor, the archetypal stopped clock, liking rail.) Does that help answer your curiosity, marjilquimalema? Oooh! Here's another clue: trying to find a good handle to go by, I just discovered that I can turn my name into an anagram: "Another Lane, Ken". Shiny! But not really a good handle, alas. Mr. Allegedly Brilliant In a subsequent post, Mr. Alledgedly Brilliant revealed his identity: Okay Ken, you got me! Was it the "another lane, Ken" anagram that gave it away? I have to confess that I cracked myself up with that one. It evokes this sort of Forrest Gump-ish image of people shouting at you to "use another lane, Ken!" while you blaze down the fast lane at 5 mph in reverse. Very apt. couldn't resist, even if it gave the game away. marjilquimalema: if you're still tuned into the conversation, you can find a paper I wrote, which tangentially addresses the relationship between rail and PRT, here: faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/ Koren_PRT_Essay.pdf. I do need to write another paper which focuses more centrally on that issue. Ken: Sorry, I'm not going to answer any of your flame-bait questions. Not because I don't have the answers (I do), but because: 1.) I don't have the time. 2.) You've proven yourself to be utterly realit-challenged for years, so there is truly no point. 3.) I've grown rather fond of you being shrill and ignorant, and wouldn't want to say anything which might diminish that. I do have some questions for you, however: do you drink whiskey? If so, what's your favorite type? If not, would you prefer something else instead? I really do want to make sure that you are able celebrate the absolute crushing defeat of your longtime propaganda campaign in style. I owe you that much, at least. All the best, Nathan Nathan Koren It's too bad that Nathan refuses to answer questions and instead chooses to ridicule critics. As an employee of a company seeking government approval of their system, that is not in the company's interest. Could that be the reason over 100 residents in Daventry, England protested against PRT? ... and it's not just those 100 residents in Daventry. The elected officials of Daventry threw cold water on the pods too... Read the report: All evidence suggests that these proposals are moving at a pace with detailed plans now being put in place for a pilot route to precede full scale installation. Daventry people have not been apprised of the full extent of the infrastructure required to operate the proposed PRT system. This lack of information clearly denies them the opportunity to make reasoned judgement and comment. It would seem that DDC are reliant on the public reaction to the earlier showcase demonstration as a measure of public acceptance. The Working Group considers that it is not in the public interest for DDC to hold to this position. Throughout this investigation the Working Group has strived to remain impartial, seeking to present the facts as objectively as possible. PRT Working Group Daventry Town Council Transit consultant Michael Setty takes a look at the recent paper Natan Koren mentioned in the comments at Setty's Public Transit web site and instead of brilliance, Setty finds flaws. For over thirty years, the PRT "industry" puts a lot of work into publicity but has failed to deliver on its hype. The mainstream media has published that hype and failed to fact-check the claims of the PRT promoters that PRT is "faster, cheaper, better" than rail transit and that PRT would not cost the taxpayers a dime (as claimed by Bachmann in this MPR article). It is encouraging that 6th District candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg told us that Bachmann's record in the Minnesota Senate will be an issue in the next election. I hope that the issue of Bachmann's opposition to reality-based transit; Northstar and the Hiawatha LRT... and her support for a bogus "transit" system, PRT will be investigated by the media. UPDATE: ATS Project Studies Manager Nathan Koren has returned to comment on this post: Ken - for years, your approach to debate has been an unending torrent of misrepresentations, lies, slander, straw men, fake photoshop jobs, and every other trick in the 2-bit propagandist's book. Now, don't get me wrong, I *like* you this way -- you've been an inspiration to many, and a great comedic foil -- but do you honestly believe that anyone respects you enough at this point to engage in a serious debate? Please. The only reason anybody bothers to interact with you at all is because it's fun to press your buttons. But I'm feeling generous today, so how about this: I'll make you a deal. You give me an absolutely truthful answer about your favorite whiskey (and/or drink of your choice), and I'll give you an absolutely truthful answer about Daventry. UPDATE: I asked Mr. Koren if it was company policy to liquor-up people before answering questions and this is his reply: No Ken, this is a special offer, just for you. I know this is difficult to believe, but it's actually meant to be a sincere gesture of good will. You have no idea how much I owe you. If your lies had been any less odious, then I might not have felt compelled to seek out the *real* truth about PRT. Had I not done that, then I wouldn't have become such a big believer in it; I would never have quit my job, moved around the world, gotten an Oxford MBA on a scholarship, or been hired by a PRT company. All so that I can prove you wrong. The world works in mysterious ways; sometimes the lowliest of pond scum can become the foundation of a rich ecosystem. In my case, a delusional propagandist -- that's you -- somehow became the foundation of phenomenal life adventure for me. I'm a big believer in Karma, and somehow I feel like I owe you something for this; merely crushing your idiotic propaganda campaign won't quite convey the gratitude I feel. I was thinking that a nice bottle of whiskey might do the trick, and would have the added benefit of giving you something stiff to drink. So how about it? What's your preference? Or are you afraid that knowing the truth about Daventry might defuse its value as propaganda? Is "the truth about Daventry" different than this newspaper report or this PRT report from the Daventry Town Council? What's with these PRT guys?

Will Michele Bachmann Run for Governor?

Tom Scheck at MPR asked Michele Bachmann's office whether she was planning on running for governor. Her chief of staff, Michele Marston said she was happy where she is now. Bachmann fan Triple A has her on the short list.

Bachmann, Playboy, and a hater

Every so often, we should remind ourselves that there are idiots on *our* side, too. Just because Michele is a nut, a liar, a bigot, a hate-monger--that doesn't mean that all the people who criticize her are saints. Emily Kaiser of the City Pages reports that Playboy magazine has retracted an on-line article. This article was written by Playboy author Guy Cimbalo and lists the 10 conservative women he'd like to "hate-fuck." That's a not misprint, that's the theme of an article in Playboy. There was an outcry when the article appeared online and Playboy pulled the piece without explanation. (There is a link to Emily Kaiser's reporting, at the bottom of this piece.) You see--some of the people who *think* they're on our side--are not really on our side. This Guy Cimbalo? He *thinks* he's doing the planet a service by identifying ten conservative spokeswomen he'd like to "hate-fuck"--but he's not. Neither is his editor. Neither is Hugh Hefner, who has a lifetime behind him of supporting liberal causes. Actually, I'm betting that Hefner's the one who had the piece pulled--after the response it was generating was brought to his attention. His brain is not all it used to be--by now it's probably about ten per cent Viagra--but Hefner knows that it's not good for liberal causes or even for Playboy magazine to talk about how the authors would like to "hate-fuck" certain women. The general idea behind Playboy was that sex could be "fun" for parties involved; the idea that sex is something you do to women because you "hate" them is not part of the famous "Playboy philosophy." Bachmann and her fans will use this to their advantage. It will help them; she will claim "victim status" and this time she'll be right, for once. So we do not need "spokespeople" like Playboy's Guy Cimbalo to help us in struggle against Bachmann's craziness and bigotry in government. People who speak about women as Cimbalo does will make us no friends, gain us many new enemies, and make Bachmann many new friends. Not only that: Mr. Cimbalo would seem to be some kind of an asshole, as does his editor. If they want to be assholes, they should go play for the other side. Sometimes it's possible to explain to people like Mr. Cimbalo "what is wrong" with their "outraaaaageous sense of humor, in this particular instance." You do that by doing posts about how you'd like to "hate-fuck Mr. Cimbalo's mom, or sister, or wife, or girlfriend, because you'd really like to get back at him for helping Michele Bachmann and the conservative movement with this stupid article he wrote." Or you might write about how you'd like to "hate-fuck Mr. Cimbalo, to get back at him for helping Michele Bachmann and the conservative movement with this stupid article that he wrote." But that teaching strategy is dodgy, because a person who would write such a thing about any women because he hated their politics--might be kind of sick in the head and the heart. He might *like* the things you seek to appall him with. I hope the reaction is such that this guy goes over to the other side, and real soon. Link to City Pages: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/06/playboy_on_bach.php

2 degrees of separation: Dr. Tiller to Bill O'Reilly to Bachmann

One of Michele Bachmann's core positions is her pro-life view. That's what got her started in politics; protesting outside abortion clinics. That's the sort of thing you need to do to get "street cred" with evangelicals in a political environment where they are strong. Evangelicals, when they're not mincing words, believe that abortion is murder; the unjustifed killing of an unborn human being. (It's not just evangelicals that believe this; obviously Catholics hold the same view.) There's no question in the minds of such people that sperm and an egg become a human being at the moment of fertilization. A "zygote" (a fertilized human egg) is--in their minds--a human being. Just as much a human being as I am, writing this, or you are, reading it. Not only that: in their minds, the zygote has a unique human soul assigned to it from the moment of conception. It's impossible to prove or disprove this last assertion, since it refers to something (a soul) that doesn't have any material existence. But it's all the more reason (in the minds of the pro-life people) that abortion is murder, from day one of the pregnancy: the willful killing of a human being and the sending of an innocent soul directly to heaven. I've heard it argued as a matter of religious doctrine that the souls of all the unborn ever aborted will be incarnated after the Final Judgement. (By "incarnated," the speaker literally means "made flesh," long after they were aborted.) This means that millions of Americans are taught and believe that the aborted unborn--the zygotes, blastocysts, fetuses, etc. who were never born--will be revived after the Last Judgment as fully grown adult men and women (in their early thirties, according to most of the accounts I've read and heard) and will dwell with other Christian believers forever in the new heaven. So you see, those are the factual assumptions in the minds of millions of pro-life Americans as they weigh "the pros and cons" of the murder of Dr. Tiller, a late-term abortionist. In their minds, Dr. Tiller was undoubtedly a murderer--because they have been taught that abortion is a kind of legalized murder, and that post-Roe we are all living in a legalized new "holocaust" that dwarfs the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis during the Second World War. So what should you do about it, if you accept the premise that "abortion is murder, no matter what the law says, and abortionists are murderers," no matter what the law says? If you accept that premise--as millions of Americans do, and are taught to do, every day, by their clergy--what is your moral duty, with regard to saving the lives of the innocents who are being slaughtered every day? It's a very, *very* short step for some people--the step from accepting that abortion is legalized murder and abortionists are murderers, to the next step: defending the lives of the unborn, by murdering the "murderer." And the clergy are not the only ones teaching the millions that abortion is murder, and abortionists are murderers... Bill O’Reilly’s jihad against Dr. George Tiller Posted Jun 1, 2009, 12:17 AM PT by Jed Lewison Since 2005, Bill O’Reilly has waged jihad against Dr. George Tiller, dedicating 29 segments of his show to demonizing and dehumanizing Tiller, who he invariably called "Tiller the baby killer." As you can see from these video clip samplings of O’Reilly’s holy war, you don’t have to actually pull the trigger to help sponsor terrorism: The link to the video clips of O'Reilly is posted below. So there's the connection between the Tiller killing and O'Reilly defining him regularly on national television as "a baby killer." O'Reilly is trying to lie about his role in identifying Tiller as the proper object of target practice by the most violent members of the pro-life community. But he knew, of course, as all proto-fascists know--that if you use your platform to identify someone as target of hatred, someone in the enormous crowd of haters listening to you would take you up on it. Which leads us the last degree of separation: the one between Michele Bachmann and Bill O'Reilly. Same strategy, same tactics. If you're respected by the right wing crowd and tell your right wing crowd of haters that the President of the United States is "a Marxist" and "a tyrant," you're inviting assassinations--because you know that in your right-wing crowd there are violent types who are willing to act on your identification of the President as a threat to American freedom. And if you're respected by that right wing crowd, and you tell them that there are anti-Americans serving with you in Congress and the Senate, and that there's a conspiracy going on to end liberty in America--again, you're inviting assassinations and murders (of officials, of cops, etc.) I expect that if Bachmann is ever cornered into giving an opinion about the Tiller murder, her answer will sound something like Dr. James Dobson's (who is, by the way, one of her political mentors and inspirations.) I think it is likely that she will officially deplore the unlawfulness of this act of violence (in a church, by the way.) But she and O'Reilly know what they are doing. If your career consists of feeding hatred to the crazy, at least some of the crazy are bound to act out on that diet of hatred. It must be a real "high" to people like Bachmann and O'Reilly to know that their vicious accusations and targeting can lead to actual murders, actual deaths--not just of the people they are targeting, but of people who are trying to enforce the law. That gets me wondering about the whole "soul" issue, again--if souls exist, and you could see them, what would the souls of people like Bill O'Reilly and Michele Bachmann look like? Here's the link to some of O'Reilly's four years of identifying Tiller as a baby killer... http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001803/

Bachmann's Pal The Admiral is "Dancing in the Streets" Over Dr. Tiller's Murder

Political Muse at Liberal in the Land of Conservative checked Bachmann friend and fellow traveller The Admiral's blog to see what he had to say about the assassination of Dr. George Tiller and sure enough, The Admiral is celebrating : I'm sure most everyone has heard by now, HHS Secretary, and former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelus cash cow, Dr. George "The Baby Killer" Tiller got kacked in church! Couldn't have happened to a nicer murderer! Baby Killer Tiller is the, or I should say, was the American version of Dr. Josef Mengele. He would abort on demand at any stage of pregnancy. A real sweetheart! Can't say I'm sorry to hear about his demise. --snip-- Remember that song, "Dancing in the street"? I suddenly have an overwhelming urge to play it really loud... and dance in the street! During the election, the Admiral also wished someone would assassinate Barack Obama: Somebody please! Do a Sirhan Sirhan on this pompous ass, willya? Bachmann rarely has time for reporters or constituents, but she has lots of time for the Admiral: Since February I've had 3 or 4 direct communcations with Michele Bachmann. Not her staff, but her. She's been more than helpful in giving me information and fulfilling any request that I may have, and I don't even live in her district. Regardless of how you may feel about her, she's a very gracious and accomodating person. She even granted me an interview request. And I can't get the time of day out of my own representative! Reporters should ask Bachmann whether she agrees with her fellow traveller The Admiral aboutt Dr. Tiller and whether she too feels like dancing in the street.

Bachmann 's & Coleman's Pardon Requests for Frank Vennes Jr. Mentioned in Strib Article

The Strib article is about a lawsuit against an auditing firm that allegedly failed to take a good look at Metro Gem, a company run by Frank Vennes Jr.: According to the suit, Vennes, who spent five years in prison for money laundering and gun and drug charges, formed Metro Gem in 1996 and was its sole shareholder. Between 2001 and 2007, the suit says, Vennes collected more than $93 million in fees from the Petters operation for funneling money to it. Petra said Vennes' criminal record should have sent up "red flags" for Virchow Krause. In its answer, Virchow Krause said it "has insufficient information as to whether Frank Vennes was a felon." Did Vennes' criminal history send up red flags for Norm Coleman and Michele Bachmann? Vennes has tried repeatedly to win a presidential pardon and got Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Norm Coleman, both Minnesota Republicans, to write letters on his behalf. Bachmann withdrew her support last fall after the Petters investigation became public. Coleman's spokesman said he had recommended a pardon "based on Mr. Vennes' good works in the community and his emphasis on helping young people." He said if Vennes was involved in the alleged Petters scheme, "then the senator, like many others, has been lied to and has every reason to rescind his letter."

Michele Bachmann's Buddy James Dobson Condemns Tiller's Murder

James Dobson: "We are shocked by the murder of George Tiller, and we categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence that took his life. America has from its foundation respected the rule of law, by which every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." --- Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman emeritus at Focus on the Family I checked Michele Bachmann's congressional website to see whether the ubiquitous in the media Bachmann has had any response. ******crickets****** From Dump Bachmann comments: Those who oppose Abortion have not proposed anything as to what is to happen should it become ILLEGAL once again. What do those who oppose Abortion want State laws to say?? They have not been overly clear on that. KathyC | Homepage | 06.01.09 - 9:55 am | # I am NOT pro-abortion...but the death of Dr Tiller compels me to note the following: Operation Rescue has managed the public debate in such a manner that the public often believes that the alternative to late term abortions (which Dr Tille performed) is a healthy, happy infant. The problem is, that a normally developing child, in the third trimester cannot be aborted simply because of the "desires" of the mother in any state in the US. Third trimester abortions do not happen to just fit the convenience of the mother. These are children with gross deformities, who cannot live once delivered. Anacephalic (no head or brain) infants, blood vessel abnormalities that mean that the mother CANNOT safely deliver the child without bleeding to death, etc. These abortions are pretty rare (he was one of only a very few who did this procedure-- I heard the statistics of only 3 such clinics in the country). In these late term abortions the choice is between a child who will not survive in any case and may either kill the mother in the process or may mean she can never have another child OR aborting this child, so that the mother will survive and may be able to have other children. This is not a black white issue...it is a tragedy no matter how they decide. Most families who face this decision do not survive, even when both parents are in agreement, because of the stress and lingering guilt--even as they felt they had no choice. It is a horrible decision to have to make. I would love the day when abortions are never necessary, but there are times when, as horrible it is, may be the lesser of two evils. PR Chris Chris Miller | 06.01.09 - 11:08 am | # Here's a good take on Bachmann's position: Readers and viewers of local media should be calling for reporters to solicit Bachmann's opinion on this. Everyone likes to get the local angle on a national story. They'll follow her around on her phony photo ops--let's get a REAL news story out of Bachmann for a change. Make her respond to these past comments, and those of her heroes like Randall Terry and Bill O'Reilly. Karl | 06.01.09 - 12:08 pm | # It's amazing to me that Operation Rescue has still not been identified as a terrorist organization. It speaks to the power of the terrorists friends like Bachmann who can apply political pressure on to prevent them from being monitored like other terrorist groups. Bachmann won't say anything about this horrific crime because she knows well she is responsible in part for it. No, she's going on the warpath to save Lake Elmo Chrysler dealer, who would have been shut down anyway in Chrysler's bankruptcy from "Obama's pink slip." jonerik | 06.01.09 - 2:13 pm | # Sure, blame Bachmann for a kook killing a late term abortionist. Why don't you blame the democrat party for the 7 gang murders a day in Chicago? This actually has some truth to it. dare2sayit.com

Will Michele Bachmann Have Any Comment on the Gunning Down of Kansas Doctor Tiller?

From the comments: Looks like Bachmann's "armed and dangerous" and other inflammatory comments are bearing fruit. Dr. Tiller, a well known physician who performed abortions in Wichita, Kansas, was murdered in cold blood by anti-choice, anti-life terrorists. Dr. Tiller was murdered at his church where he was ushering today, which is Pentecost Sunday. The symbolism is not lost on me. To me, Bachmann, with her "armed and dangerous" and other inflammatory rhetoric, is the Saul of this movement, holding the jackets of those who do the stoning of martyrs and nodding in approval. jonerik UPDATE by Avidor: More info is coming out about the suspect who killed Doctor Tiller: The suspect in custody for the slaying of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller was a member of an anti-government group in the 1990s and a staunch opponent of abortion. Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kan., a Kansas City suburb, was arrested on Interstate 35 near Gardner in suburban Johnson County, Kan., about three hours after the shooting. Tiller was shot to death around 10 a.m. inside Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita. In the rear window of the 1993 blue Ford Taurus that he was driving was a red rose, a symbol often used by abortion opponents. On the rear of his car was a Christian fish symbol with the word "Jesus" inside. Those who know Roeder said he believed that killing abortion doctors was an act of justifiable homicide. "I know that he believed in justifiable homicide," said Regina Dinwiddie, a Kansas City anti-abortion activist who made headlines in 1995 when she was ordered by a federal judge to stop using a bullhorn within 500 feet of any abortion clinic. "I know he very strongly believed that abortion was murder and that you ought to defend the little ones, both born and unborn." Roeder was also a tax protestor and has a criminal record. In April 1996, Roeder was arrested in Topeka after Shawnee County sheriff's deputies stopped him for not having a proper license plate. In his car, officers said they found ammunition, a blasting cap, a fuse cord, a one-pound can of gunpowder and two 9-volt batteries, with one connected to a switch that could have been used to trigger a bomb. Does that fit the description of a domestic terrorist? Bachmann doesn't think the feds should investigate people like Roeder. Bachmann said so in her Townhall.com blog: It is absolutely shocking to see what's taking place at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). President Obama’s new Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has recently been criticized for issuing a nine-page memo prior to the nationwide “Tea Parties” last week, warning of right-wing political extremism, referring to United States citizens with "dangerous" political leanings. An official document of the DHS lists right-wing extremists as "groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," and includes those "rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority." So, apparently, according to Homeland Security Department, the American ideal of federalism is a threat to American ideals. This video was uploaded to Bachmann's You Tube channel: Bachmann made the same accusations on Jan Markell's show: "It isn't that they don't want to use the word 'terrorism,' it's who they're using this word against," said Bachmann. "And as you had stated correctly, in this report -- which I have read, it's about a nine-page report I believe, if I recall correctly -- the right-wing extremists report, they include people who believe in End-Time prophecies, pro-life. It is appalling the people that they named." UPDATE by Avidor: Operation Rescue's Randall Terry has denounced Dr. Tiller as a mass murderer and is parroting Bachmann's talking points about a Federal crackdown on anti-abortion groups: "George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder. Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches." Does Bachmann agree with Randall Terry? Reporters should ask her if she does.

Can a Michele Bachmann Movie Be Far Behind?

From the comments: I know it's been a few days since the announcement of a Michele Bachmann comic book, but I couldn't comment until now. Just the thought that my love Michele Bachmann might be depicted as a superhero in spandex made me swoon for days and days. Imagine Michele as a superhero. What are her powers you ask? The greatest powers any superhero has ever had. Michele has the ability to alter reality and make up her superpowers as she goes along (much the same way she does with facts). I can't wait to see my hero Michele fly to Florida and single-handedly take out those Chinese oil rigs that are just off the Florida coast. Then, utilizing her super-speed, Michele could fly to the US Mint and halt the destruction of the American Dollar and prevent the printing presses from making the Global Credit Unit. Then, by tying members of Congress and the Senate in her magic lassoo (my heart's beating faster just thinking about this) she can get those anti-Americans in Congress to confess that they are dangerous Socialist/Marxist/Rino/terrorists. But she wouldn't just settle for performing heroic deeds in the present. Utilizing her time travel abilities and her in-depth knowledge of history, my darling Michele could fly back to 1976 and isolate Jimmy Carter before he could give anyone Swine Flu. A quick travel to 1932 and Super Michele could force FDR into not introducing the dreaded Hoot-Smalley Act. Finally, Super Michele could solve the problem of illegal Hispanic immigration by time travelling back to 1492 and send those illegal immigrants on board the Nina, Pinta, and Santa-Maria back to Spain. I can't wait for the comic book. Can a movie be far behind?