OK, the Night Writer is a nice guy, but he worries too much about hurting people’s feelings. I, the Minfidel, agreed to post here from time to time on Minnesota issues because too much “Minnesota Nice” has seeped into NW and somebody’s got to be able to tell it like it is. Wimp. And that’s me, the Minfidel – a non-believer when it comes to the Minnesota legislature being God.
Anyway, Shot in the Dark posted earlier this month about the day he realized he was far from being the lone conservative blogger in Minnesota. He wondered why this state produces so many right-leaning blogs. Well, duh. I typed the first seven things that came into my head into his comment box. Now that I’ve elbowed my way onto this blog, I’d like to repeat those reasons, plus a few more now that I’ve had time to think. I was going to do a “Top 10” but that’s overdone. You see, mine goes to 11.
Reasons for Right Thinking MN Blogs:
1.Plagues. Minnesota is plagued by mosquitos and liberals. While slapping a mosquito brings some satisfaction, slapping a liberal gets you sent to Anger Management. Therefore we blog.
2. The need for an outlet. The StarTribune and Pioneer Press only publish one of our letters to the editor for every 8 or 10 from the left.
3. Familiarity breeds contempt. No one knows better that socialism doesn’t work than someone who has experienced it up close.
4. Perspective. Transplants such as myself know that Republicans in Minnesota sound like Democrats in at least 46 other states.
5. A target-rich environment. If you can’t find an example of mushy thinking or stubborn wrong-headedness every day, your body may have assumed room temperature (if it has, don’t worry, you can still vote in Washington State).
6. Size of Audience. Each year you can be fairly certain that at least 50% of Minnesota high school graduates are able to read.
7. Frustration. “Conservative” leaders here are often as elusive as our walleye – and put up about as much fight.
8. Hope. Hubert Humphrey ran the Communists out of the Democratic Party here once; maybe it can happen again.
9. Wildlife management. We love the sound of a loon calling across the lake, but not from the editorial offices of the Strib.
10. Because ice fishing isn’t as exciting as you might think.
11. Because it’s not Nice.
Think I’m joking? Further proof of #5 above appeared in Thursday’s Pioneer Press. Two groups from the religious left – Churches United in Ministry from the Duluth area and the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition – are planning to lobby the legislature to raise taxes for “social and economic justice,” saying that it would be “immoral” not to.
“Much has been made of moral values during and since the presidential election,” said the Rev. David Tryggestad of Duluth’s Concordia Lutheran Church. “One moral value that has not been talked about much is poverty and homelessness. As long as we live in a society that tolerates such monumental disregard for the least of these among us, we are an immoral society, regardless of what we might say about other moral issues.”
So, apparently, taking from others is the only “moral” solution. Let’s see, I think it is the seventh commandment that says “don’t steal” and the 10th that says “don’t covet,” but I’m not sure. Maybe this group could go look at the 10 Commandments monument in front of the Duluth City Hall and get back to me. Oops, too late for that.
I do know the fifth commandment is that “do not kill” one. Since they are concerned about “the least of these among us” I assume Churches United in Ministry and Joint Religious Legislative Coalition will next lobby the Legislature to stop abortion, although it doesn’t appear to be a priority on the JRLC web site.
