While they were climbing the ropes course, Abigail, my dad, and I hung out in Nickelodeon Universe below.

This is by far the best deal at the Mall of America. For $5.95, you get as much time as you want to spend in the Ghostly Gangplank. During that time, you can traverse the different levels, challenge yourself to a tightrope walk, and get a pretty good workout in the process.

Jessica and Tracey got lucky. While I waited in line for almost an hour, they were in the Flying Dutchman almost immediately.

But the main reason we went to the Mall, was just to hang out with family. We had a lot of fun!

The Mall of America always looks so festive over Christmas!

Here is Abigail and Grandpa (Mike Pearson)!

Abigail really enjoyed the Rainforest Cafe Store and the Toys R Us Express.

This Tree is as old as the Mall of America. It used to be in FAO Schwarz, but was transferred to the Rainforest Cafe after FAO closed their Mall of America location. My sister, Tracey, loved this tree because they both share a common name.

And here are some more pictures of our Mall of America Adventure…

Good luck!

First of all, time was an issue. I usually don’t have time to spend much of my day learning a new recipe and everything. On the weekends, we are almost always out doing something and usually not at home. Secondly, I did not have a recipe, but my wife found a great tortilla recipe on a blog she reads. Finally, I just never had the motivation on the right day to do it. Fortunately, my wife provided this by setting aside some time today to try the recipe.

Tortillas are so easy to make, I don’t know why I had not tried it before. Even more important, the fresh tortillas are amazingly tasty!

Here is the recipe:

That’s all it takes to get some fresh tortillas. Mix up some rice, beans, meat, cheese, salsa, and anything else that you like on a burrito, and you have a great meal!

Any time a government inflates their money supply, it lessens the worth of a single unit of money. When your grocery bill used to cost $100, it now costs $150.

While this presents a tough situation for many people, the theory is that wages will eventually rise to meet the pre-inflationary levels. Then we pay off our debt at less cost (in inflated currency) to us.

In practice, the situation is more complicated.

Once investors find that we give them back dollars that are worth half as much as the ones they loaned us, they realize that an investment in American loans is a greater risk. They call this “inflationary risk”. In order to compensate them for the greater risk, higher interest rates must be paid for every dollar borrowed.

The next in line are commodities. Traders in this area base much of their bids on the value of a currency. If Saudi Arabia is selling barrels of oil for $80 right now, but then the dollar becomes half as valuable, they will demand $160 (or more based on future projections) for that same barrel of oil.

What happens if we don’t want to pay $160? Google the term “price elasticity”. Basically, we will either reduce our standard of living, refusing to buy that high priced oil, or we will pay the higher price and neglect other items we would spend money on.

The hardest his people will be those on a fixed income. If you have to buy necessities, but those prices keep rising, you will eventually reach a point where your fixed income no longer exceeds the new expenses.

If you wish to read the full bill, click here.

Below is a summary of the “Empowering Patients First Act”.

#1:  Access to Coverage for All Americans

• The Empowering Patients First Act makes the purchase of health care financially feasible for all Americans, covers pre-existing conditions, protects employer-sponsored insurance, and shines light on existing health care plans.

#2:  Coverage is Truly Owned by the Patient

• This legislation grants greater choice and portability to the patient, and also gives employers more flexibility in the benefits offered.  It also expands the individual market by creating several pooling mechanisms.

#3:  Improve the Health Care Delivery Structure

• Physicians know the best care for their patient.  That’s why this legislation establishes doctor-led quality measures, ensuring that you get the quality care you need.  It also reimburses physicians to ensure the stability of your care, and encourages healthier lifestyles by allowing employers to offer discounts for healthy habits through wellness and prevention programs.

#4:  Rein in Out-of-Control Costs

• A key concern in positive reform is reining in out-of control costs.  This legislation does this by reforming the medical liability system.  Also, the cost of the plan is completely offset through decreasing defensive medicine, savings from health care efficiencies, sifting out waste, fraud and abuse, plus an annual one-percent non defense discretionary spending step down.

I considered it an honor to speak during this event, and would like to thank Bill Jungbauer for asking me to do so. Below, I have included the text of my speech.

Beyond the Tea Party

Terry Pearson – August 20, 2009

Greetings from your neighbors in 39b.

I would like to give a special thanks to Chairman Jungbauer for giving me this opportunity to make this address at your picnic.

As you know, there has been a resurgence of conservatism across our country throughout the past year. Nationally, the Tea Party movement ignited a firestorm of activity among conservatives. Locally, the tax cut rallies have brought thousands to support the “lower taxes” and the “more freedom” message.

Because of your response, and the diligent efforts of many of the Republican legislators, the largest tax increase in Minnesota history was halted for the time being. Thanks to Governor Pawlenty’s veto, along with his ingenious use of unallotment, our state budget’s footprint shrank, in real dollars, for the first time in history.

At a critical juncture in time, you stood up for what was right, and that made all the difference. Whether you called your representatives, showed up at rallies, or wrote letters to the editor, you were heard, and you were effective.

Ronald Reagan once said “If you don’t do this, and I don’t do this, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” He was speaking of beating back socialized medicine, but the same could have applied to higher taxes, or any other issue we fight against. Government encroachment does not hold prejudice to one issue; it is an enemy to freedom wherever it exists.

You all played a stunning round of defense over the previous year. We forced the proponents of bigger government, and higher taxes, to the other side of the field, but the battle is far from over.  Now is not the time to sit back, relax, and take off your shoes. If we want to win, if we want to truly create meaningful change, we must move to the offense.

What will you do to take on the liberal establishment?  Will you bring your conservative ideas to newspapers, to friends, and to family? Will you take the fight to the next level by running for office?

Traditionally, Republican strategists have ignored the school board, the planning commissions, or the soil and water board. To our detriment, we have often ceded these positions to our left leaning neighbors.  This is unfortunate, because many of the decisions that are made by these entities have a great affect on the community.

There are dozens of places where you can serve, all for varying interests and time commitments. For example, South St Paul has three school board positions opening up this fall. Why not put your name on the ballot. We all know how lacking the public schools are of strong conservative voices. This would be your chance to build a message of responsible government to the community. Or, ask to serve on any number of city or county commissions. Many of these positions only take a couple evenings a month, but they make a big difference in the communities in which we live.

As conservatives, we believe that the power comes from God, to the people, and then to the government. As federalists, we believe that government’s power is derived first from what is local. So please consider serving your fellow citizens. Let us build a strong conservative governing base at the local level.

The tax cut rallies and tea parties are a great starting point. They emboldened and impassioned the conservative cause, but they are not an end in themselves. Take some time this week to think about running for a position on school board, or maybe applying to a planning commission. Maybe even consider something bigger.

Get out there, and get involved. Let’s take this game to the offense.  Because if you don’t do it, and I don’t do it, we will have to provide an answer to future generations why we did not take those seemingly small steps to provide a future that is free and prosperous for their generation.

Thank you.

Their video stresses the need to limit government intervention in private citizen’s lives. Keeping your health care records, store purchases, etc. secret should be within your rights.

Now, I rarely agree with these guys, but they got it right. We can’t just blindly trust that every action that government takes is for our own good. We must realize that sometimes personal aspects of our life are personal for a reason.

Once you give that information to a government bureaucrat, they cannot help but use that information to “help you live a better life.” And their definition of better may not match up with what you had in mind.

So before you let Uncle Sam or Big Brother into the doctor’s exam room with you (through ObamaCare), remember that they will bring their bureaucrat friends with as well. Good luck getting quality care then.

After the debate is over, we will need to move to the offensive and begin to show the nation just how great free market solutions can be.

In my home state of Minnesota, gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert has proposed some great free market health care solutions. See his video below:

Some great alternatives to the ObamaCare package include:

• Nation wide competition – Allow people to get and keep health insurance that is offered in states other than their own. Rather than having six options for health insurance in Minnesota, you could have hundreds.
• Health Savings Accounts with Catastrophic Care Insurance – This is a plan where you contribute over the course of your life to a Health Savings Account (HSA). For major medical care (over a certain dollar amount per year) you would receive insurance coverage. Marty Seifert does a great job explaining how this works in the video above.
• Encourage free clinics for the poor – Greg O’Connor, of the Americhris foundation, proposed that we find ways to encourage the growth of non-profit, free clinics around the country. There is currently a network of about 1200 of these nationwide. They cater to those that cannot afford health insurance coverage. If someone needs advanced care, such as a surgery, these places work with local hospitals to get the person into surgery for free.
• Remove mandates from current health insurance laws – Removing mandated coverage for certain avoidable conditions would greatly reduce the cost of health care. Currently, a healthy adult, non-smoking, non-drinking, male can expect to have drug and alcohol abuse coverage, quit-smoking coverage, and pregancy coverage. If a person could eliminate some of these options, they could save a bundle. Following the same path, many people would see the advantage of “cleaning up their lives” and going for the cheaper coverage eventually.
• Tort Reform – When people hear this, their eyes glaze over, but it is true that tort reform would reduce health care costs. If we implemented a loser pays system, combined with maximum lawsuit limits for doctors doing pro-bono work, we could encourage more charity work while providing cheaper overall health coverage.

Listening to what these men went through, and what they gave up, makes me very proud to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!