New Website

My campaign website is under development, however you can preview my lawn sign and sign up to receive email updates on the site already!

Please stop by and enter your email address.

www.joshuabehling.com

I will have, video, pictures, blogging and contribution information when the site goes live.

If you have any questions or need more information on the campaign, please email me at info@joshuabehling.com

Thank you,

Joshua Behling

It's been a while

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I don't even know where to begin, so I won't.....FOR NOW!

I have filed paperwork to run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in House District 15B.

I will have a campaign website very soon, and am hoping to have blogging capabilities on the site.

Please check back for the link in the future.

Thank you for checking in, in the mean time check out these sites for great information:
http://psycmeistr.blogspot.com/
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/
http://www.scsuscholars.com/

Thanks,

Joshua Behling

No More Tax Increases!

Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark...

Seperated at birth?!?!

If the democrats had run on the platform of raising taxes to the extent that they are, they wouldn't have been elected. It's time for Minnesota to stand up and say this is not what you were elected for.

Veto, Veto, Veto, God bless Pawlenty!

Bathroom Break Please!

In an effort to keep people informed of just what is going on in St. Paul this year. We bring to you the Democrats "Freedom to Poop Act."

Erin Murphy (DFL) St. Paul, introduced the "Restroom Access Act" (HF1015).

• Subd. 3. Retail establishment (a place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services(according to the author's definition)); customer access to restroom facilities. A retail establishment that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow a customer to use that facility during normal business hours if the toilet facility is reasonably safe...

If you have to poop, just make sure to tell the clerk that you have a over active bladder, or colon and you will be given the opportunity to use their private restroom. So far there are no provisions that you must clean up if you have explosive diarrhea. There is however a fine of $50 for the first offense if the facility doesn't allow you access to their restroom.

This bill is so vague, because it includes places that offer services, that if you see a sign in someones yard that says "daycare openings," and you need to poop, pull in the driveway, knock on the door and demand that you be allowed to use their restroom. Yes, there is a provision that they must have 3 employees working, but that could mean "helpers" at a daycare.

You are also able to demand restroom access at a yard sale. If they don't allow you to go, then the profits of the entire garage sale could be lost. You need to sell a lot of infant clothes at 25 cents to make up for the fine.

I know that we want the DFL to start paying attention to peoples "rights", but I think they may have gone a little far.

Phyllis Kahn should decide how our money gets spent

Unfortunately we have to wait a couple of weeks for the House of Representatives to release audio of committee hearings. However, sometimes the best things come to those who wait.

In the Ways and Means Committee on Friday, March 9, 2007; Representative Phyllis Kahn, (DFL) Minneapolis; said what I think sums up the DFL Party. The discussion was on the price of government, which includes fees and other such state related items.

When speaking to the testifier about the fact that the price of government has gone down. Rep. Kahn said the following;

• "I think that (doing the research on the price of government) further shows how meaningless this is, but if it did mean anything, I'm personally offended that my price of government has gone down."

I have attached a link to the Audio if you would like to hear it yourself. The quote takes place around the 6 minute 35 second mark of the tape.

Thank you Representative Kahn for describing what the DFL thinks. You are painting a better picture of the fact that you think the government should take in all of our money and divide it out as you see fit. So much for personal responsibility.

ASS AWARD Winner- The DFL Party!

Should it be any surprise that voters thought the Democrats who ran as "new fiscal moderates" would do anything but raise our taxes. Time and time again the democrats find new ways to inflate the government and empty our pocket books. If you thought things were bad before, just wait, we are going to see tax increases like never before.

• 
  Voters Getting Soaked with Tax Proposals by Democrats written by Representative Marty Seifert, House Republican Leader
  When voters went to the polls last year, there certainly was a sense of change in their minds. Many people were upset about congressional scandals, over-spending, frustration with foreign policy and other various issues. There seemed to be a sense, however, that Democrats were campaigning to hold the line as "new fiscal moderates" for the people of Minnesota, whatever vague and attractive meaning that might have held for the voters.
  So November's elections came and went. The voters swept in a large Democrat majority in the legislature, although only by about 4500 votes statewide. However, now the new Democrat-controlled legislature is obsessed with tax increases on you.
  All of the following bills are brought to your courtesy of the new Democrat Majority in the legislature: the $1.2 billion income tax increase; three different bills to jack up your sales taxes; a bill to triple the taxes on hearses; a bill to jump up gas taxes by 50%; another big increase in deed taxes; another bill piles up huge increases on
  alcohol: a 790% increase in beer taxes and 450% increase in wine taxes; there's a proposal to tax gifts and another bill to jack up the taxes on cell phones, land-line phones and other telecommunications devices by 46%; and a bill to impose a 25-cent tax on every incandescent light bulb in the state. There's also bills to increase "fees" on pharmacies, deer hunters, video and electronic equipment sales and more.
  Keep in mind, Minnesota has a surplus that exceeds $2 billion. The average family will get nailed by these Democrats tax increases, on top of squandering the entire surplus. Are they really silly enough to believe that the government should grow much, much faster than the income of ordinary families? Do only the "rich" buy gas, own phones, drink a beer or die? All of these things will be taxed much more.
  Let me be clear: growing government by any other name is just the same.
  I'm not interested in renaming taxes as fees or fees as taxes. This has been done by people of both parties in the past and the voters are smart enough to see through it. The government ought to live within its means like a family or business. Period.
  The $4 billion of tax increases from Democrats could be divided up in many different ways - if you divide it straight up, it would be well over $1,000 per taxpayer in this fiscal period. It goes up more for couples and families as there are only 5 million people that live in this state. Many are on fixed incomes.
  As the new House Republican Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives, let me assure you that my Republican colleagues and I will fight for the ordinary family and against these gigantic tax increases. The Governor stands with us and we are firm in our belief that the government growth should not outstrip the growth of the family income. We have a surplus and the state government coffers grow daily, due to better jobs, higher incomes, stable employment and fiscal discipline from Governor Pawlenty. There is room to fund education and health care with this money.
  This is not about Democrat versus Republican: it's about common sense fiscal management over big tax increases to pay for special interests demanding more and more of your money. Let me assure you that our focus is on key issues that concern working families: controlling taxes, equitable, fair and accountable education funding and health care reform that makes health care more affordable.
  The Republican members will fight against the Democrat proposals to allow non-citizens to vote, to let 16-year-olds vote, to smother businesses with regulations and to micro-manage people's lives. We will offer legislation that fosters more freedom, less government, more equitably funded and accountable education and lower property taxes.
  If you thought that the Democrats were for the "little guy" or fiscal moderation in the elections last year, I'd suggest you look at all of the proposed tax hikes and silly bills by their membership and then hold them accountable.
  Representative Marty Seifert of Marshall is the Republican Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Since the Republicans are in the minority it looks as if a lot of these tax increases will pass. Our only hope is that there are a few Democrats that say enough is enough. There's a better chance of the Vikings winning the Superbowl this year than that happening.

Hopefully enough constituents will get in touch with there DFL lawmakers and make a push for reduced tax increases. Notice I said reduced increases. I have already conceded that there will not be tax decreases, so our only hope is that the number of increases will not stop me from buying that new pair of shoes for my son.

The democrats as a group deserve the Ass Award!

What's next, ban Packer fans from public places?

The Health Care and Human Services Finance Committee of the State House of Representatives moved HF305 one step closer to passing by a vote today of 14-7. HF305 called "The Freedom to Breath Act of 2007" calls to abolish smoking in public places. The bill should be titled "The Freedom of the Government to Regulate Peoples Rights Act of 2007."

I am a non smoker who enjoys eating in a smoke free area. However, since when did it become the Governments right to stop a private business from allowing a legal activity. I know that this issue keeps coming up over and over again. However, when the main argument for this bill is that an employee has the right to breath clean air, I start to wonder. If you have every driven or walked by a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night, you will witness people standing outside smoking. I'm not just talking about the patrons of the restaurant, but the employees. I have worked in the food industry in the past, and the most common thing people did on their breaks was to smoke. This is not a generalization, this is fact. I witness this same practice to this day when going to a large number of restaurants. Let's get serious people, this has nothing to do with an employee's rights and everything to do with the government controlling yet another aspect of peoples rights.

It has been said that a person has the right to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke them, but someone else has the right to not breath in their smoke. I for one do not want the government to be the one to state which ones right is stronger. That is exactly what the government is doing by passing this bill. They are implying that a persons right not to breath smoke is greater than someones right to breath smoke.

What's next the government will say that someone who cheers for the Vikings has more rights than someone who cheers for the Packers, therefore banning people from cheering for the Packers in a public place. Understand I find it unhealthy to my eyesight to see someone in green and yellow cheering on the Packers. However, please legislators stay out of a person/business owner's private life.

I am very disappointed, but not surprised by the DFLers who support this bill. I am in shock of the Republicans that support this bill, as I think they are forgetting that we want less government regulations not more.

I do renew my motion to ban Packer Fans from cheering in Public Places.