FFM hosts capacity crowd for Romney and Pawlenty A capacity crowd of nearly 500 guests joined the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) earlier this month for an evening with Governor Mitt Romney and special guest Governor Tim Pawlenty. At the close of Governor Romney’s inspirational speech – entitled “The Case for American Greatness” – he was greeted with a standing ovation. Here’s why: “It is that love of this land, that love all that is American that convinces me that we will do the right thing at this critical time. We’ve got work to do. It’s a challenging time. We’re up to it. The work’s going to be fun, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure that America remains, as it has always been, the hope of the earth.” Following the event, Governor Romney signed hundreds of copies of his new book. You can read more about the event and the governors’ remarks here and here. |
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Do as we say, not as we do: 100+ MN congressional staffers exempt from health care reform mandates
More than 100 staff members appointed by three powerful Minnesota congressmen, who serve as chairman or ranking member on key House committees, appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently signed into law. According to FFM’s review of the state congressional delegation’s committee assignments, it appears that 115 committee staff of Representatives James Oberstar, Collin Peterson and John Kline may be able to opt out of the requirement to purchase their health insurance through new state-run insurance exchanges. “Forcing millions of Americans into government-run exchanges while exempting high-level staffers is the height of Washington arrogance,” Congressman John Kline told FFM. “If it’s good enough for Americans on Main Street, it ought to be good enough for Democrats’ favored staff members.” Read more at FFM’s website. |
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Minnesota congressional delegation racks up more than 200 earmark requests
A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis indicates the state’s congressional delegation has compiled 216 earmark requests, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential spending. It’s a long list of pork requests, especially considering three members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation – Representatives Kline, Paulson, and Bachmann – no longer seek any earmarks at all. The list also doesn’t include Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, who will add their earmarks in coming weeks and months. FFM recently distributed this “top ten list” of dubious pork barrel spending requests.
Read more about Minnesota’s earmark requests at FFM’s website.
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FFM seeking tech interns for summer
We have big plans at FFM to ramp up our online presence and video projects, and we’re looking for some energetic help! This internship would allow you to assist our investigative research team in bringing eye-opening stories to the public, as well as creating a better user experience for our thousands of website viewers. Experience with video editing software, joomla!, and basic knowledge of html and css is preferred. If you or someone you know is interested, email a resume to Jonathan Blake.
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