Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Summary: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, former President Bill Clinton said that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s assertion that the United States has the best health care system in the world is not true and that the new crop of Republicans in Congress are living “in a parallel universe divorced from reality with no facts.” Clinton was responding to comments Bachmann made during her Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 10, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that U.S. Marines fired smoke rounds and armored vehicles maneuvered close to Taliban positions to test insurgent defenses ahead of an anticipated attack on Marjah, the biggest militant-controlled town in southern Afghanistan.


Jun 18th, 2010

Summary: Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked President Barack Obama’s proposal for BP to arrange a $20 billion escrow account to pay for damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher and aid spill victims, calling it a “redistribution-of-wealth fund,” warning BP’s chairman not to be an Obama “chump,” and predicting $9-a-gallon gasoline. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 18, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that intelligence reports indicated that terrorist groups that have long used the Internet to spread propaganda were increasingly tapping the Web to teach Islamic extremists how to be hackers, recruiting techies capable of breaching government or other sensitive network systems for cyberwarfare, and raising money through online fraud.


Jun 8th, 2010

Summary: The Pioneer Press has released a public opinion survey conducted by Decision Resources Limited, showing Independence Party of Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner rising significantly in the polls, going from 7% in March to 17-19% today. The poll indicates that Horner is receiving support from a near equal number of Republicans and Democrats and that the race will be decided by independents. At 41 percent, Horner has a commanding lead among Minnesota voters who call themselves independent, with Dayton trailing at 32 percent and Emmer barely registering at 3 percent. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 7, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that some 10,000 Marines had poured into Afghanistan, comprising the first wave of 21,000 additional troops President Barack Obama had ordered to Afghanistan in 2009 to help defeat an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.


Mar 13th, 2010

Summary: Addressing Tea Party activists earlier this week, Rep. Michele Bachmann exploited U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan in an attempt to score some cheap political points, saying that passing the health reform bill would be a slam against the troops in Afghanistan and that the bill should be killed for the sake of the troops. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on March 13, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that in the early years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, bombings with half the casualties of the March 11, 2009 Abu Ghraib bombing that killed 33 raised fears the U.S. might not prevail; yet six years after the invasion, that attack did not even make the front page of the Iraqi government newspaper.


Jan 21st, 2010

Summary: For the second year running, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) figured prominently in 2009 year-end lists. The Minnesota Independent has a concise overview. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 21, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that in his inaugural address President Barack Obama promised to “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people” and forge “a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan,” and that his promise to end the war in Iraq was on the agenda for the first full day of his presidency, January 21, 2009, when the new commander in chief was scheduled to meet with his top national security aides and senior commanders.


Dec 22nd, 2009

Summary: The 2010 election cycle’s first poll in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District race for U.S. Representative has been released. The survey, conducted December 17-20, 2009, shows 53% of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s constituents approve of the job she is doing. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 22, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that the brother of Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, claimed al-Zeidi’s apology letter was written against his will after he was tortured in detention. The shoe-throwing incident received worldwide media coverage and al-Zeidi became a potent symbol for opponents of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.


Nov 12th, 2009

Summary: U.S. Rep. Steve Israel has called on U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann to apologize for Holocaust imagery displayed at a rally organized by Bachmann at the U.S. Capitol on November 5, 2009 to protest health care reform. … Photos and video from Bachmann’s “House Call on Congress” protest rally. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 12, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the pendulum in Mosul, Iraq, had swung several times between stark violence and fragile security and that the future of Mosul hung in the balance. Immelman also reported that Taliban fighters had hijacked trucks carrying Humvees and other supplies for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan.


Sep 10th, 2009

Summary: The Dump Bachmann blog, citing the Minnesota Independent’s coverage of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recent visit to Virginia to support embattled Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, reports that “Michele Bachmann’s political poison continues to taint other Republican politicians.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the first day after the Sept. 9, 2008 Minnesota State Primary Election in which Aubrey Immelman challenged U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, he reported and analyzed the election results, thanked his supporters, and congratulated Rep. Bachmann on her win.


Aug 27th, 2009

Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) announces a joint “town hall” forum in St. Cloud, Minn., with Rep. Ron Paul as her guest. … Robert H. Reid of the Associated Press reports that it’s been a summer of setbacks for the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, with rising casualties, a divisive election, and growing public doubt about the war. … Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who wielded enormous influence after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq as head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, has has died, exacerbating the growing political upheaval among Iraq’s majority Shiites. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 44th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman traveled to White Bear Lake to record a candidate statement for the Ramsey / Washington County Suburban Cable Commission, through its Government Television Network (GTN). Immelman also reported on the high human and economic cost of the Iraq war.


Aug 14th, 2009

Summary: Bachmann is at it again, making false or outrageous claims in the national media and then playing the victim by leveraging her disingenuousness, incendiary rhetoric and political paranoia into campaign cash. … One year ago today, on the 31st day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman took a one-day break from his Sixth District walking tour to rest his feet and catch up on administrative matters and correspondence while tracking international developments relevant to his campaign focus on national security — specifically, the Russian invasion of Georgia and the emerging threat of female suicide bombers in Iraq.