Lost Lake Tribune September 18, 2010
Forty-Four Days to Decide: Dem Candidate Coons Comes Under Scrutiny in Delaware Senate Race
While most of the attention in the Delaware race to win Vice President Biden's old Senate seat has focused on the Republican candidate, Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, her Democratic rival, Chris Coons, is now coming under scrutiny -- a development that could give O'Donnell's lagging campaign a boost.
Coons, 47, has already been targeted by Republicans for an article he wrote for the Amherst College newspaper when he was 21 -- a piece entitled "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist."
Coons wrote about his political evolution from a conservative college student who founded the Amherst College Republicans into a Democrat suspicious of America's power and ideals. The transformation, he said, came during a trip to Kenya.
Coons alluded to his past in a debate Thursday with O'Donnell, saying Delaware residents are interested in what candidates will do to create jobs, reduce the national debt and fix what he called a broken political system in Washington, and that they're not "particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago."
Coons is banking on his experience as New Castle county executive -- with an estimated population of 542,000, New Castle is the largest of Delaware's three counties -- and the endorsements of big-name Democrats to defeat O'Donnell, who has no government experience but has the backing of Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C..
Biden was heading to Delaware Friday to stump for Coons at an event in Wilmington. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who also supports Coons, may have done more harm than good when he referred to Coons as his "pet."
"I'm going to be very honest with you – Chris Coons, everybody knows him in the Democratic caucus. He's my pet. He's my favorite candidate," Reid told the Hill newspaper.
But Coons' campaign shows no signs of damage yet; a Rasmussen Reports poll shows him leading O'Donnell by 11 percentage points. "Well, it's always great to be up in the polls," Coons said. "But, frankly, what matters is whether or not I'm addressing the real concerns of working Delawareans. As I've gone up and down this state over the last six months, I've been up in the polls, I've been down in the polls. What really matters is Nov. 2."
O'Donnell doesn't appear fazed by the poll, especially since she trailed veteran Rep. Mike Castle before shocking him in the Republican primary on Tuesday.
"Eleven points is . . . a gap that we can certainly close," she said. "You know, about a month before the primary, I was at least 15 points behind my Republican opponent, so I'm very confident that we can win."
O'Donnell, who came under withering criticism from Castle and the state GOP -- whose chairman said she couldn't be elected as dogcatcher -- said her goal was for voters to get to know her between now and November.
O'Donnell has been criticized by GOP officials for lying about her background, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included an IRS tax lien and a mortgage default and misusing campaign contributions for personal expenses.
O'Donnell stepped into the public spotlight in the 1990s as a conservative activist speaking out against abortion, homosexuality and premarital sex.
Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/17/days-decidedem-candidate-comes-scrutiny-delaware-race-bidens-old-senate-seat/
Expiring Tax Cuts Hit Taxpayers at Every Level
WASHINGTON -- Here's some pressure for lawmakers: If they don't reach agreement on extending soon-to-expire Bush-era tax cuts, nearly all their constituents back home will get big tax increases.
A typical family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax LLP, a tax consulting firm. The same family making $100,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $4,500. Wealthier families face even bigger tax hikes. A family of four making $500,000 a year would pay $10,800 more in taxes. The same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $53,200.
The estimates are based on total household income, including wages, capital gains and qualified dividends. The estimated tax bills take into account typical deductions at each income level.
Democrats have been arguing for much of the past decade that tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 under former President George W. Bush provided a windfall for the wealthy. That's true, but they also reduced taxes for the working poor, the middle class, and just about everyone in between.
Those tax cuts expire at the end of the year, setting the stage for a high-stakes debate just before congressional elections in November. If Congress fails to act, families at every income level will see more taxes being withheld from their paychecks come January.
The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 reduced marginal income tax rates at every level. They also provided a wide range of income tax breaks for education, families with children and married couples.
Taxes on capital gains and dividends were reduced, while the federal estate tax was gradually repealed, though only for this year.
President Barack Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and joint filers making less than $250,000 in adjusted gross income. That's income from wages, capital gains and dividends, before standard deductions and exemptions are subtracted.
Republicans and a growing number of Democrats in Congress want to extend all the tax cuts, at least temporarily.
On Thursday, House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said he wants an up-or-down vote on extending all the tax cuts before congressional elections in November.
"Raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, is the wrong thing to do in a struggling economy," Boehner said. "On the issue of job killing tax hikes the American people are not going to accept anything less than the vote that they deserve."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wouldn't commit to vote on any tax proposals before the election. She did, however, pledge to address them by the end of the year.
"The only thing I can tell you is that the tax cuts for the middle class will be extended this Congress," Pelosi told reporters Thursday.
More than half the country backs raising taxes on the richest Americans, according to a new Associated Press Poll. The survey showed that by 54 percent to 44 percent, most people support raising taxes on the highest earners.
In a breakdown of the numbers, 39 percent agree with Obama, while 15 percent favor raising taxes on everyone by allowing the cuts to expire at year's end. Still, 44 percent say the existing tax cuts should remain in place for everyone, including the wealthy.
While Obama's plan would spare about 97 percent of tax filers, it would mean big tax increases for the wealthy.
Under Obama's plan, a family of four making $325,000 a year would get a tax increase of $5,400, while the same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $56,300, according to the analysis by Deloitte Tax.
A family of four making $5 million a year would get a tax increase of $325,600.
Pelosi said the nation cannot afford to extend tax cuts for top earners.
"I see no justification for going into debt to foreign countries to underwrite and subsidize tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America," Pelosi said.
Making all the tax cuts permanent would add about $3.9 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to congressional estimates. Obama's plan would cost a little more than $3 trillion over the same period.
Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/17/expiring-tax-cuts-hit-taxpayers-level/?test=latestnews
Walker, Neumann extend olive branch in Wisconsin
Republicans mended fences on Thursday, with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and other party leaders praising defeated primary gubernatorial candidate Mark Neumann, and Neumann saying he would work to make sure that his supporters will be voting for Walker in November.
Walker used a “unity brunch” in Milwaukee to criticize his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, as a candidate who would continue the policies of outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle.
After holding a news conference, Walker strode into a ballroom of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and shook hands with a somber Neumann.
Neumann declined to comment after the former adversaries shook hands, but during a three-minute speech to about 50 Republicans, he said: “We are going to do everything in our power to make sure that every single vote that was out there for Mark Neumann winds up for Scott Walker.”
Neumann left immediately afterward with his campaign manager, Chip Englander.
The campaign between Walker and Neumann grew divisive over the final week of the campaign, with Walker running an ad comparing Neumann to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because both voted in favor of an omnibus transportation bill in 1998.
Walker said in an interview that he believes his race with Barrett would be “tight,” and that he needed to reach out to Neumann supporters.
Later, he told the group that he and Neumann were as similar in philosophy as Barrett and Doyle. “We want to end the Doyle disaster,” he said. “We want to make sure we don’t see a third term of Jim Doyle’s disastrous policies embodied in the person of Tom Barrett because Tom Barrett and Jim Doyle are just as much alike as Mark Neumann and I are on the issues and we are going to make that case to the voters.”
Information Copied from http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/103069669.html
Senior issues are a focus of debate
In a debate at Twin Cities Public Television, the three gubernatorial candidates offered health care proposals.
With Minnesota's population aging, the three major-party candidates for governor were pressed Friday on how their budget and health care proposals would affect the elderly.
At a debate at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, DFL candidate Mark Dayton said that accepting $1.4 billion in federal money to expand Medicaid in Minnesota "is going to provide better quality medical care to the elderly."
But Republican Tom Emmer criticized the expansion of Medicaid, saying it could cost the state $430 million. "What are we opting into, and what are the long-term financial liabilities?" he asked. "Every program has to be evaluated."
Independence Party candidate Tom Horner also favored accepting the Medicaid expansion in Minnesota, saying, "It can save money, it can provide better health care, it can lead us to a path for reform."
An expansion of Medicaid, as allowed under the new federal health care law, would cover about 30,000 poor, childless adults who have been on General Assistance Medical Care.
By 2030, the number of Minnesotans over age 65 will double, rising to 1.3 million, and older people will represent over 20 percent of the state's population, according to AARP. Older people now represent 12 percent.
Public health care and related services make up roughly one-third of the state budget.
The debate over aging and health care became personal when the three were asked if they had living wills. Horner and Dayton said they did. "My two sons are in my living will to make those decisions," Dayton said. Life-and-death decisions "ought to be with the family, and it ought to be a collective decision," Horner said. Emmer said he did not have a living will.
Asked about how their leadership would benefit people over 50, Emmer cited his package of tax breaks to create jobs, "because that is what ultimately will fund our nursing homes and fund all the different programs that we expect."
Horner referenced the need to deal with financially ailing public pensions.
Dayton cited his support of seniors' bus trips to Canada to buy cheaper prescription drugs, and his support as a U.S. senator of cheaper Medicare prescription coverage.
Each candidate has staked out markedly different proposals on health care.
Dayton has favored converting Minnesota's health care into a single-payer system that he says could be a national model. He would begin by expanding eligibility for MinnesotaCare, a state program for the poor and working poor, and further subsidizing its premiums.
Emmer would replace MinnesotaCare with vouchers to help individuals pay for private insurance. He has proposed cutting the projected 2012-13 budget for Health and Human Services by nearly 19 percent, though his spending would exceed that for the services in 2010-11. Emmer says he opposes "attempts to restrain the rising cost of care through artificial cost reductions, restricted access and government-dictated standards."
Horner proposes raising the state tobacco tax to help fund health and other programs. He seeks a system that compensates health care providers for improving health, coordinates care for chronic conditions, rewards preventive care and gives patients better access to their medical records.
The November 2 gubernatorial election is at a dead heat in the polls between the Republican hopeful, Emmer and the DFL candidate, Dayton.
Information Gained from http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/103187749.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
Knights Head Coach Steps Down
Crossroads Bible College Athletic Director and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Brad Vaught has resigned his position at the school. Coach Vaught was the Knight’s coach and AD for three years leading them a 44-39 record. The Knights earned the consolation title in the 2008 Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) tournament and a third place finish in 2009. Vaught was a recruiter and assistant coach at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) for the 2006-2007 season. Vaught led Owatonna Christian High School to a Midwest regional title in the 2004-2005 season. Coach Vaught was also Youth Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Owatonna, MN from 1998 to 2006. Vaught is a 1992 graduate of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. He went to the NCCAA National Tournament with Pillsbury in 1989, his sophomore year. Coach Vaught could not be reached for comment.
Senior Editor Ben Fugate and Sports Editor Marcus Troy contributed to this article.
Contributing Article: http://owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=75856
Editorials. As a graduate of PBBC I think I know who both of your sources are. If the one for the board of PBBC is who I think it is, then I would believe him OVER your Crossroads source. In fact I would believe pretty much anyone over your Crossroads source. But it doesn't really matter who your sources are or what is going on currently. Why? Because the PBBC board has always has been incompetent! The board is made up of a bunch of pastors who know nothing about business and who are too stuck in the traditions of their [grandpas] to actually make a constructive decision. The solution to this problem is simple. Just as there is a national cry to vote against anyone in office, there should be a state wide cry to discontinue the legal/operational rights of the current board elect. Start anew, not with a nepotistic, self-propitiating board, but with a board of informed, intelligent, and conservative yet current INDIVIDUALS, yes this leaves it open for women to be elected. As Keith Champion always used to say, that's how I see it from the sidelines.
My point [is] to elect a new board for the MBA. . . .
Thank you for your time and your patience. I do think that Owatonna should buy that property and fix it up. What a perfect location for added facilities for the city.
David Craig, Iowa Editor
I know . . . the Crossroads source, but who is the Pill[sbury] source? Nice article, and good timing, people have been asking me about Pillsbury's status a lot lately.
Kyle Courtney, Sports and Christian Education Editor
It is the right time for my views on the 2010 election.
I have been very excited about the success of the TEA Party in New York, Delaware, Utah, and many other states. For the most part, the TEA Party has produced several conservative candidates for the U. S. House and Senate in this election cycle. These men and women have won tough primaries over left-leaning Republicans across the country. These liberal Republicans needed to go and will hopefully never be elected again. Even if only a small percentage of the TEA Party candidates win in the general election, it will be success to have these moderates deposed.
My fellow Americans need to vote for conservative candidates. Tom Emmer, Scott Walker, Joe Miller, and Christine O’Donnell are included in this group.
I strongly encourage you to study all of the candidates in your local ballot. Ask them and their campaign representatives what the candidates plan to do about spending, taxes, and regulations. Ask about their plans with the size of government and about their cultural and moral views. Do not ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”. Do not give the candidate a chance to choose an answer. Make the candidate explain himself on each point.
I see a lot of conservative candidates able to win many elections in this nation at many different levels. Do not just vote for a certain party or incumbent. Throw your support behind a strong conservative who’s willing to listen to his constituents. Be willing to leave a voting option open when there is no conservative candidate available. Do not vote for more spending and/or taxes on any ballot initiatives. Put your vote to good use in 2010. Ben Fugate, Senior Editor
While most of the attention in the Delaware race to win Vice President Biden's old Senate seat has focused on the Republican candidate, Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, her Democratic rival, Chris Coons, is now coming under scrutiny -- a development that could give O'Donnell's lagging campaign a boost.
Coons, 47, has already been targeted by Republicans for an article he wrote for the Amherst College newspaper when he was 21 -- a piece entitled "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist."
Coons wrote about his political evolution from a conservative college student who founded the Amherst College Republicans into a Democrat suspicious of America's power and ideals. The transformation, he said, came during a trip to Kenya.
Coons alluded to his past in a debate Thursday with O'Donnell, saying Delaware residents are interested in what candidates will do to create jobs, reduce the national debt and fix what he called a broken political system in Washington, and that they're not "particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago."
Coons is banking on his experience as New Castle county executive -- with an estimated population of 542,000, New Castle is the largest of Delaware's three counties -- and the endorsements of big-name Democrats to defeat O'Donnell, who has no government experience but has the backing of Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C..
Biden was heading to Delaware Friday to stump for Coons at an event in Wilmington. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who also supports Coons, may have done more harm than good when he referred to Coons as his "pet."
"I'm going to be very honest with you – Chris Coons, everybody knows him in the Democratic caucus. He's my pet. He's my favorite candidate," Reid told the Hill newspaper.
But Coons' campaign shows no signs of damage yet; a Rasmussen Reports poll shows him leading O'Donnell by 11 percentage points. "Well, it's always great to be up in the polls," Coons said. "But, frankly, what matters is whether or not I'm addressing the real concerns of working Delawareans. As I've gone up and down this state over the last six months, I've been up in the polls, I've been down in the polls. What really matters is Nov. 2."
O'Donnell doesn't appear fazed by the poll, especially since she trailed veteran Rep. Mike Castle before shocking him in the Republican primary on Tuesday.
"Eleven points is . . . a gap that we can certainly close," she said. "You know, about a month before the primary, I was at least 15 points behind my Republican opponent, so I'm very confident that we can win."
O'Donnell, who came under withering criticism from Castle and the state GOP -- whose chairman said she couldn't be elected as dogcatcher -- said her goal was for voters to get to know her between now and November.
O'Donnell has been criticized by GOP officials for lying about her background, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included an IRS tax lien and a mortgage default and misusing campaign contributions for personal expenses.
O'Donnell stepped into the public spotlight in the 1990s as a conservative activist speaking out against abortion, homosexuality and premarital sex.
Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/17/days-decidedem-candidate-comes-scrutiny-delaware-race-bidens-old-senate-seat/
Expiring Tax Cuts Hit Taxpayers at Every Level
WASHINGTON -- Here's some pressure for lawmakers: If they don't reach agreement on extending soon-to-expire Bush-era tax cuts, nearly all their constituents back home will get big tax increases.
A typical family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax LLP, a tax consulting firm. The same family making $100,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $4,500. Wealthier families face even bigger tax hikes. A family of four making $500,000 a year would pay $10,800 more in taxes. The same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $53,200.
The estimates are based on total household income, including wages, capital gains and qualified dividends. The estimated tax bills take into account typical deductions at each income level.
Democrats have been arguing for much of the past decade that tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 under former President George W. Bush provided a windfall for the wealthy. That's true, but they also reduced taxes for the working poor, the middle class, and just about everyone in between.
Those tax cuts expire at the end of the year, setting the stage for a high-stakes debate just before congressional elections in November. If Congress fails to act, families at every income level will see more taxes being withheld from their paychecks come January.
The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 reduced marginal income tax rates at every level. They also provided a wide range of income tax breaks for education, families with children and married couples.
Taxes on capital gains and dividends were reduced, while the federal estate tax was gradually repealed, though only for this year.
President Barack Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and joint filers making less than $250,000 in adjusted gross income. That's income from wages, capital gains and dividends, before standard deductions and exemptions are subtracted.
Republicans and a growing number of Democrats in Congress want to extend all the tax cuts, at least temporarily.
On Thursday, House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said he wants an up-or-down vote on extending all the tax cuts before congressional elections in November.
"Raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, is the wrong thing to do in a struggling economy," Boehner said. "On the issue of job killing tax hikes the American people are not going to accept anything less than the vote that they deserve."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wouldn't commit to vote on any tax proposals before the election. She did, however, pledge to address them by the end of the year.
"The only thing I can tell you is that the tax cuts for the middle class will be extended this Congress," Pelosi told reporters Thursday.
More than half the country backs raising taxes on the richest Americans, according to a new Associated Press Poll. The survey showed that by 54 percent to 44 percent, most people support raising taxes on the highest earners.
In a breakdown of the numbers, 39 percent agree with Obama, while 15 percent favor raising taxes on everyone by allowing the cuts to expire at year's end. Still, 44 percent say the existing tax cuts should remain in place for everyone, including the wealthy.
While Obama's plan would spare about 97 percent of tax filers, it would mean big tax increases for the wealthy.
Under Obama's plan, a family of four making $325,000 a year would get a tax increase of $5,400, while the same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $56,300, according to the analysis by Deloitte Tax.
A family of four making $5 million a year would get a tax increase of $325,600.
Pelosi said the nation cannot afford to extend tax cuts for top earners.
"I see no justification for going into debt to foreign countries to underwrite and subsidize tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America," Pelosi said.
Making all the tax cuts permanent would add about $3.9 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to congressional estimates. Obama's plan would cost a little more than $3 trillion over the same period.
Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/17/expiring-tax-cuts-hit-taxpayers-level/?test=latestnews
Walker, Neumann extend olive branch in Wisconsin
Republicans mended fences on Thursday, with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and other party leaders praising defeated primary gubernatorial candidate Mark Neumann, and Neumann saying he would work to make sure that his supporters will be voting for Walker in November.
Walker used a “unity brunch” in Milwaukee to criticize his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, as a candidate who would continue the policies of outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle.
After holding a news conference, Walker strode into a ballroom of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and shook hands with a somber Neumann.
Neumann declined to comment after the former adversaries shook hands, but during a three-minute speech to about 50 Republicans, he said: “We are going to do everything in our power to make sure that every single vote that was out there for Mark Neumann winds up for Scott Walker.”
Neumann left immediately afterward with his campaign manager, Chip Englander.
The campaign between Walker and Neumann grew divisive over the final week of the campaign, with Walker running an ad comparing Neumann to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because both voted in favor of an omnibus transportation bill in 1998.
Walker said in an interview that he believes his race with Barrett would be “tight,” and that he needed to reach out to Neumann supporters.
Later, he told the group that he and Neumann were as similar in philosophy as Barrett and Doyle. “We want to end the Doyle disaster,” he said. “We want to make sure we don’t see a third term of Jim Doyle’s disastrous policies embodied in the person of Tom Barrett because Tom Barrett and Jim Doyle are just as much alike as Mark Neumann and I are on the issues and we are going to make that case to the voters.”
Information Copied from http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/103069669.html
Senior issues are a focus of debate
In a debate at Twin Cities Public Television, the three gubernatorial candidates offered health care proposals.
With Minnesota's population aging, the three major-party candidates for governor were pressed Friday on how their budget and health care proposals would affect the elderly.
At a debate at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, DFL candidate Mark Dayton said that accepting $1.4 billion in federal money to expand Medicaid in Minnesota "is going to provide better quality medical care to the elderly."
But Republican Tom Emmer criticized the expansion of Medicaid, saying it could cost the state $430 million. "What are we opting into, and what are the long-term financial liabilities?" he asked. "Every program has to be evaluated."
Independence Party candidate Tom Horner also favored accepting the Medicaid expansion in Minnesota, saying, "It can save money, it can provide better health care, it can lead us to a path for reform."
An expansion of Medicaid, as allowed under the new federal health care law, would cover about 30,000 poor, childless adults who have been on General Assistance Medical Care.
By 2030, the number of Minnesotans over age 65 will double, rising to 1.3 million, and older people will represent over 20 percent of the state's population, according to AARP. Older people now represent 12 percent.
Public health care and related services make up roughly one-third of the state budget.
The debate over aging and health care became personal when the three were asked if they had living wills. Horner and Dayton said they did. "My two sons are in my living will to make those decisions," Dayton said. Life-and-death decisions "ought to be with the family, and it ought to be a collective decision," Horner said. Emmer said he did not have a living will.
Asked about how their leadership would benefit people over 50, Emmer cited his package of tax breaks to create jobs, "because that is what ultimately will fund our nursing homes and fund all the different programs that we expect."
Horner referenced the need to deal with financially ailing public pensions.
Dayton cited his support of seniors' bus trips to Canada to buy cheaper prescription drugs, and his support as a U.S. senator of cheaper Medicare prescription coverage.
Each candidate has staked out markedly different proposals on health care.
Dayton has favored converting Minnesota's health care into a single-payer system that he says could be a national model. He would begin by expanding eligibility for MinnesotaCare, a state program for the poor and working poor, and further subsidizing its premiums.
Emmer would replace MinnesotaCare with vouchers to help individuals pay for private insurance. He has proposed cutting the projected 2012-13 budget for Health and Human Services by nearly 19 percent, though his spending would exceed that for the services in 2010-11. Emmer says he opposes "attempts to restrain the rising cost of care through artificial cost reductions, restricted access and government-dictated standards."
Horner proposes raising the state tobacco tax to help fund health and other programs. He seeks a system that compensates health care providers for improving health, coordinates care for chronic conditions, rewards preventive care and gives patients better access to their medical records.
The November 2 gubernatorial election is at a dead heat in the polls between the Republican hopeful, Emmer and the DFL candidate, Dayton.
Information Gained from http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/103187749.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
Knights Head Coach Steps Down
Crossroads Bible College Athletic Director and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Brad Vaught has resigned his position at the school. Coach Vaught was the Knight’s coach and AD for three years leading them a 44-39 record. The Knights earned the consolation title in the 2008 Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) tournament and a third place finish in 2009. Vaught was a recruiter and assistant coach at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) for the 2006-2007 season. Vaught led Owatonna Christian High School to a Midwest regional title in the 2004-2005 season. Coach Vaught was also Youth Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Owatonna, MN from 1998 to 2006. Vaught is a 1992 graduate of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. He went to the NCCAA National Tournament with Pillsbury in 1989, his sophomore year. Coach Vaught could not be reached for comment.
Senior Editor Ben Fugate and Sports Editor Marcus Troy contributed to this article.
Contributing Article: http://owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=75856
Editorials. As a graduate of PBBC I think I know who both of your sources are. If the one for the board of PBBC is who I think it is, then I would believe him OVER your Crossroads source. In fact I would believe pretty much anyone over your Crossroads source. But it doesn't really matter who your sources are or what is going on currently. Why? Because the PBBC board has always has been incompetent! The board is made up of a bunch of pastors who know nothing about business and who are too stuck in the traditions of their [grandpas] to actually make a constructive decision. The solution to this problem is simple. Just as there is a national cry to vote against anyone in office, there should be a state wide cry to discontinue the legal/operational rights of the current board elect. Start anew, not with a nepotistic, self-propitiating board, but with a board of informed, intelligent, and conservative yet current INDIVIDUALS, yes this leaves it open for women to be elected. As Keith Champion always used to say, that's how I see it from the sidelines.
My point [is] to elect a new board for the MBA. . . .
Thank you for your time and your patience. I do think that Owatonna should buy that property and fix it up. What a perfect location for added facilities for the city.
David Craig, Iowa Editor
I know . . . the Crossroads source, but who is the Pill[sbury] source? Nice article, and good timing, people have been asking me about Pillsbury's status a lot lately.
Kyle Courtney, Sports and Christian Education Editor
It is the right time for my views on the 2010 election.
I have been very excited about the success of the TEA Party in New York, Delaware, Utah, and many other states. For the most part, the TEA Party has produced several conservative candidates for the U. S. House and Senate in this election cycle. These men and women have won tough primaries over left-leaning Republicans across the country. These liberal Republicans needed to go and will hopefully never be elected again. Even if only a small percentage of the TEA Party candidates win in the general election, it will be success to have these moderates deposed.
My fellow Americans need to vote for conservative candidates. Tom Emmer, Scott Walker, Joe Miller, and Christine O’Donnell are included in this group.
I strongly encourage you to study all of the candidates in your local ballot. Ask them and their campaign representatives what the candidates plan to do about spending, taxes, and regulations. Ask about their plans with the size of government and about their cultural and moral views. Do not ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”. Do not give the candidate a chance to choose an answer. Make the candidate explain himself on each point.
I see a lot of conservative candidates able to win many elections in this nation at many different levels. Do not just vote for a certain party or incumbent. Throw your support behind a strong conservative who’s willing to listen to his constituents. Be willing to leave a voting option open when there is no conservative candidate available. Do not vote for more spending and/or taxes on any ballot initiatives. Put your vote to good use in 2010. Ben Fugate, Senior Editor
Comments