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Gail O'Hare

St. Paul
Commenter for
5 years 24 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 09/10/09 at 02:00 pm in response to GOP members of Minnesota delegation unmoved, unimpressed by Obama health pitch

I shouldn't be disappointed but I am - disappointed in the cold to lukewarm reactions of Republicans and fence-sitting Democrats. Kline and Paulsen know full well that the "public outcry" was orchestrated by lying cynics who don't give a rip about people's access to healthcare.

On the other side, Dems had better know that the majority of the people who put Obama in power will be very wary of giving money to a party that tolerates obdurate self-serving pols. If you don't produce, we...

Posted on 09/08/09 at 05:18 pm in response to Lupica: Pawlenty makes Palin sound like a Fulbright scholar

I feel no need to be fair to Tim Pawlenty. The whole country knows education is a top priority, but he's been pillaging education funds for years, deriding teachers, cramming his own demagogic pedagogy down our throats. Remember Cheri Yecke? Long before he became governor he demonstrated his card-carrying fealty to the Republican rightwing. He has NEVER been a centrist.

I am ashamed of our governor.

Posted on 06/24/09 at 01:55 pm in response to Taking the pulse of health reform

I appreciate the good information here and am bewildered by some.
Do some quick googling of the costs of healthcare in this country. We spent $2.4 trillion in 2007 - ONE YEAR. Of course, it will cost money to get this behemoth under control, but the estimated 1.3 trillion over 10 years begins to look like a bargain.
Further, I've been fortunate to have had some kind of insurance coverage all my life. But it's been steadily worsening over at least 20 years. Anyone who is...

Posted on 06/09/09 at 02:49 pm in response to Pawlenty on Obama's policies: "Horribly misdirected for our country"

While "deregulatory lust" (love the term) was enabled by some Dems, one has only to look at the career of Hank Paulson to see how Lehman's, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs (his own cushy pillow), AIG and others were allowed to drive this country to the brink of catastrophe.

It was the previous administration that first bailed out the auto companies, leaving Obama to craft the precarious compromises now being scorned as nationalization. What precisely could he have done that wouldn't...

Posted on 06/03/09 at 02:34 pm in response to A diverse U.S. Supreme Court? Definitely, say two of the women who served on Minnesota's highest court

Thank you, Ann and Bernice.
Anyone who reviews the testimony of Roberts, Alito and Thomas will see how they relied on personal experience to demostrate their depth of perception and humanity. When conservatives got Thomas he was the token dream, an Oreo to make the right wing burble with satisfaction. Alito was eloquent on the topic of his Italian immigrant parents. Conservatives have fallen all over themselves rhapsodizing about how touched they were, how the promise on the Statue...

Posted on 05/19/09 at 01:09 pm in response to Amid chaos, tax bill passes -- and solves nothing

Doug, I'm disappointed, too. You are being awfully soft on people who long ago started dismantling Minnesota's commitment to a good life for all its citizens. The folks who reduced the tax rate and began rebating tax monies in the '90s were led by Tim Pawlenty and his faithful pal, Steve Sviggum. The deficit when Pawlenty took over was his own doing. The continued cuts and penny-pinching have led to drastically decreased services and local governments on the ropes.
This is a...

Posted on 04/27/09 at 07:14 pm in response to Debate in Legislature: Do the state's requirements produce the best teachers?

Practicing ahead of time, learning some basics of child/human development and the psychology of learning - these are important for new teachers. However, and I know this will offend some of you, far too much is made of the education courses now keeping schools of education entrenched in colleges and universities. Legislatures across the country have been complicit in cementing their control. Half the courses offered provide a comfy sinecure without contributing materially to teacher...

Posted on 04/21/09 at 02:48 pm in response to Are DFL's tax bills DOA? History -- and early reaction -- suggests they might be

My husband and I are committed progressives who have contributed for decades to the DFL and Green parties, specific candidates, and progressive organizations. We have been dependably generous to a range of charities; those monthly checks are part of our budget.

But we can't do that anymore. We have to pay for cigarettes. First, Pawlenty and the Legislature raided the Tobacco Settlement Fund to balance his no-taxes budget. Cigarette prices skyrocketed. Then Pawlenty attached a 75-cent...

Posted on 02/27/09 at 05:36 pm in response to Obama plan cuts off federal payments to thousands of Minnesota farmers

Minnesota Monitor and Environmental Working Group have published some excellent analyses of farm subsidies. Do a little Googling. "Recipients of Total USDA Subsidies from farms in Minnesota totaled $740,361,000 in in 2006."

We do need some cushion for farmers, but these handouts are inexcusable. Why aren't all the self-described capitalists hollering SOCIALISM? I can't help giggling at the bluster about "punishing producers."

Posted on 01/30/09 at 12:35 am in response to House passes stimulus package

The Dems insist the Repubs were invited and are whining about being exluded. Can you offer a link and some background on their being excluded? I've looked at the RNC and GOP sites and can't find a plan. Googling just brought up Repub complaints about the Dems. Truly, I'd like to read a reliable source on the plan that hasn't been considered.

There are Dem leaders I don't like - honest :)