The Great Roll Call

Syria Vows to end Crackdown, Greek Government Agrees to Abide By EU Conditions, and a Republican Jobs Program

2012-02-15T06:27:00.009-06:00

Name something that that doesn't exist and two that ain't gonna happen.

Dems: "We Take Care of Our Own!" GOP: Turning Swans Into Crows

2012-02-13T06:55:00.004-06:00

Oh yeah....HUH HUH HUH Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own We take care of our own
We take care of our own We take care of our own We take care of our own We take care of our own We take care of our own Wherever this flag's flown
Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own We take care of our own Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own We take care of our own

(Hey Republicans ask yourself: Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me) Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea
(Question was that the Republican Jobs bill last Friday? Tort Reform?)
HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH HUH

Gov. Mark Dayton didn't just veto four "tort-reform" bills
passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature this morning.

He shredded the bills and GOP leadership.

"These were laughably characterized as jobs bills," Dayton said.

"Calling a crow a swan doesn’t make it one."

The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows

The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows

Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own Wherever this flag's flown We take care of our own

The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows
TThe GOP Turning Swans Into Crows The GOP Turning Swans Into Crows

President Wins One for Old Notre Dame and in MN Score Four for the 4%ers (i.e. the Little Guys)

2012-02-10T19:52:00.005-06:00

If you have not read my profile or figured out by now from my writings, like Harvey Levin says on the closing credits of TMZ: "I'm a lawyer". My current job description requires that I keep abreast and research all aspects of the law as well as state and federal legislation and their respective regulatory processes.

I know for instance that the President was on the level when he said that no decision had been made on a final contraception policy when he initially made his announcement about a week ago. That's because the Federal Rulemaking process is a multi-step process which requires, in part, an agency to:

Sign and publish notice of proposed rule in Federal Register, conduct stakeholder outreach, manage public comments on proposed rule, review and consider public comments, statutory and executive order requirements, optional agency procedures (e.g., supplemental proposal), conduct internal and external deliberation and approval processes, publish final rules in Federal Register and lastly, to again conduct stakeholder outreach. (Source: GAO Report to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee April 2009 citing EPA.)

This process can normally take up to one year and we were only at the very early, initiating policy stage of the process. The President, in response to heated and unfair criticisms and pure demagoguery, certainly sped up the commentary and deliberative processes but the actual reg still needs to be written and follow the approval process. This is how the system works.

I listened to the President's announcement yesterday live on the radio and I thought the President laid his case out like a skilled litigator and cut his opponents off at their knees. I challenge anyone to listen to his entire announcement and dispute the pragmatism and wisdom of his compromise and solution to a difficult and complex problem, in a pluralistic society, involving many stakeholders and rights including everything from individual health to the nation's economy to fundamental constitutional issues such as religious freedoms, privacy and libertarian ideals (i.e. control over one's own body not Ron Paul's convoluted notion of economic liberty and isolationism). High marks and fives to the President on this one.

Meanwhile back in Minnesota the Republicans who control the legislature tried to pull a fast one. Without an iota of a chance for passage and without following the normal legislative process, rushed to the Governor for signature four major pieces of legislation. Had the Republican majorities in both the Minnesota House and Senate had a Republican governor to rubber stamp their payback to their fat cat benefactors, the legislation would have become law. This would have had dramatic impacts on the Minnesota Judicial system, all to the detriment of the average citizen and all to the benefit of big business, insurance companies and wealthy elites who do not play by the rules.

Never mind that at least one of these one-sided pieces of legislative garbage was blatantly unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. Never mind the fact that the Republicans believe that businesses and insurance companies deserve 10% interest on their judgments and ordinary citizens would have been relegated to only 4%. Well on behalf of all the 4%ers out there: Thank you Governor Dayton for your righteous vetoes. http://mn.gov/_live/governor/images/20120210_vetoletters.pdf

Wolverines: "Forget Michigan, We Prefer Minnesotans. They Taste Better!"

2012-02-03T07:33:00.005-06:00

Watching the excellent PBS series Nature the other night reminded me how much I miss my parents. I would have loved to call them on the phone and tell them to turn on channel 2. The episode that aired locally the day before yesterday was entitled: "Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom". http://video.pbs.org/video/1558511285

The reason I wish my parents had lived to see this documentary on Wolverines is that it would have proven both my father and I correct. You see both my father and I are incredibly stubborn Germans. We are also bastions of useless information with good memories and we are rarely wrong. In other words, we are both insufferable to live with. Just ask my ex or my two children.

Flashback to the early 1990's and a cool but sunny spring day. I had stopped by my parents home just off West River Road in South Minneapolis for a visit and wound up taking the aging family dog, Max, a golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix, for one of our favorite pastimes, a walk along the banks of the Mississippi River.

Truly one of the greatest urban natural resources in the country, as Bob Dylan once wrote about ("I'm just sitting on this bank of sand and watching the river flow") and the great Minnesota party band, Lamont Cranston resurrected in spirit on its album "Upper Mississippi Shakedown", "...From the shores of the river you can't see the big city lights..." Max and I jumped the old decrepit WPA era chain link fence and raced down the steep banks of the wooded river gorge until we emerged from the woods and onto one of those banks of sand of which Bobby Zimmerman spoke.

After a nice walk along the shore, Max and I headed back up the steep river gorge near the sandstone cave by the big picnic area off West River Road. About half way up we were hit by a powerful, musky or funky smell, sort of a cross between a dead body and decaying fish smell. There in the trail in front of us was what looked like a flattened dead animal of some sort. It was dark brown with an outer ring of lighter hair which looked blondish grey.

Assuming from the smell and its flattened appearance that it was dead, but just to be sure, I kicked some of the wet muddy dirt of the trail onto the carcass. Much to Max's and my astonishment and terror, this "dead" animal leaped into the air and in one swift mover turned a 180 degree turn in mid air landing facing us snarling at us with gaping jaws.

Well Max and I did not have to be told twice. We high tailed it out of there taking a wide circle around the beast and fighting each other as to who would be first on the way up.

When we reached the old chain link fence demarking the lower trail, I picked up Max and hucked him over the fence and we ran back to my parent's house now about two and a half blocks away. Excited and out of breath I blurted the recent frightening developments to my parents who looked at me as if I was on drugs. Instead of joining in our excitement and enthusiasm, my father dismissed my story with a wave of his hand.

I'll never forget him yelling "there hasn't been a wolverine in these parts in 100 years!" About three days later Mom calls me laughing hysterically. I said what's up Mom and between gulps of air and laughter she manages to croak out, you'll never believe ..."your father is in his den with the encyclopedia out and shaking his head in disbelief, your and Max's Wolverine is in our back yard!" There must be something about Minnesotans that attract them. Watch the Nature documentary on PBS entitled "Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom"

Breaking News: Maturi Heeds the Great Roll Call and Finally Resigns!

2012-02-03T07:09:00.002-06:00

The worst athletic director in the history of Golden Gopher sports, Joe Maturi has resigned. Not since Hosni Mubarek resigned have we seen a bigger despot leave the world stage!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Viscous Pre-Caucus Fluid* Seen Leaking From Luvurne

2012-01-31T06:43:00.014-06:00

On the eve of the biggest prize yet in the Republican presidential sweepstakes, the candidate a drunken imbecile fool of a media personality (Glen Beck) once dubbed "a Churchill for our times", was seen emanating from a seedy movie theater in the Southwestern Minnesota town of Luvurne yesterday.

Made famous by newspaper columnist Dan Savage in his column Savage Love, this obscure but frothy mixture of an ultra conservative, homophobic excuse for a former Senator from the Keystone State was selling his body to the highest bidders in a cheap celluloid palace.

The evenings festivities got under way precisely at 7:00 PM proving that fascists were always capable of making the trains run on time. After a heart felt reading of their international anthem Deutschland über alles, the Neo-Nazis that make up the Minnesota Republican Party quickly got down to business passing on unanimous voice votes their plans to turn FEMA Camps into Serb style homosexual rape camps so their repressed members will finally be free to quit living the lie that they are Christians.

The evenings entertainment was a live sex act performed onstage between what looked like one of Katherine the Great's horses but was actually a soon to be former Minnesota State Senator and her bitch, former MN Republican Party Chair Boss Hog Sutton's little buddy, all set to the tune of "Brown Eyed Girl".

Following a very productive evening of debauchery, former MN gubernatorial candidate Allen Quist invited everyone over to the town's funeral parlour to engage in the Quist family version of scrap booking, i.e. carving fetuses out of corpses.**

*Definition: Santorum
Pronunciation: san-TOR-um
Pronunciation: san-TOR-um
Function: noun
Etymology:
Savage Love - 05/29/03

1. The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.
2. Former Senator Rick Santorum

**Years ago, when Quist's first wife died while nearly seven months pregnant, Quist had the fetus removed from her body and displayed in an open casket so his family could properly grieve for an unborn child. It was one of a series of revelations from the '94 campaign--another was Quist's assertion that men had a "genetic predisposition" to rule the household--that torpedoed his primary bid after he'd been endorsed at the last GOP convention. It also fueled the notion that he is unelectable in Minnesota.
http://www.citypages.com/1998-06-24/books/the-brilliant-demise-of-allen-quist/

MN GOP Playing Politics With Appointments: the Two Parties Are Not "Just the Same"

2012-01-30T07:22:00.007-06:00

We hear it all the time. I even hear it from my closest friends, people who I genuinely like and respect constantly say: "Oh they all do it" or "There is no difference between the two" or "They're just alike". Sometimes I think my friends say it just to get a rise out of me because they know nothing exasperates me more than this misinformed cop out.

No matter how many times I point out powerful, irrefutable examples of instances where Republicans have put personal, party, class and or special interests ahead of the country's interest, their response is always the same. Like the mindless drones from a B grade horror flick they continue to chant the mantra: "They all do it" as if a variation of the aspirational Nike commercial "Just do it".

No, actually Virgina , they are not just alike. Like a family court judge once told me the world is not black and white but a series of shades of grey. Well if this is true (which in the case of that family law matter was not, I was right and she was wrong) then the Republican Party is a very very very dark shade of grey and the Democrats are are very very very light shade of grey.

Case in point, this week the Minnesota Senate is going to refuse to approve Governor Dayton's choice to head the Public Utilities Commission, former State Senator Ellen Anderson. The capitol gossip is that the Republicans are in essence "firing" a highly qualified, intelligent and quintessential good person as "payback" for the DFL refusing to reappoint Governor Pawlenty's Lt. Governor, Carol Molnau to a second term as head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Now the uninformed would ignorantly throw up their hands and say: "You see, they all do it!"

There are just two small differences between the two actions: it was a huge and unprecedented conflict of interest for a Lieutenant Governor to also serve as commissioner of one of the state's largest and most critical departments, one in which she was wholly unqualified to run and which was done merely as a cost savings matter and number two, and this is a big one:

THE F#@KING BRIDGE COLLAPSED ON HER WATCH KILLING 13 PEOPLE!!!

It would have been professional malfeasance and dereliction of duty to reappoint such a buffoon and shame on Governor Good N Plenty for even nominating her for a second term.

So Virgina, if you cannot see nuances in this world, if both of the above actions seem equal to you, then Virgina my dear there is a Santa Claus.

Austerity Reshaping U.S. Political Landscape: Republicans More Than Willing to Throw America Under the Bus

2012-01-27T06:28:00.005-06:00

Long time Washington Post political reporter Thomas Edsall's new book "The Age of Austerity: How Scarcity Will Remake American Politics" beautifully summarizes my observations of the body politic in this formerly great country of ours.

Wait a second, did you say formerly great? Yes I did. Well then, you admit that President Obama has been the direct cause of the decline of American civilization?

Hardly. Quite to the contrary. Rather it has been the forces of conservatism, largely Republicans, Tea Baggers if you will, and their push for all things Austerity at the very time when every past Congress and administration, Democrat and Republican alike, have increased spending on public works projects to spur the economy, to get it over the hump, until consumer spending kicks back in and prosperity returns for all.

Like the engineers at Three Mile Island, the know nothing Republicans, Tea Baggers and fiscal conservatives are operating under misinformation and doing the exact opposite of what is needed to pull us out of a dire situation. The false notion that severely curtailing budgets and balancing the budget at the federal level is the panacea to all our problems is in fact a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately like Ronald Reagan adroitly and cynically proved, if you repeat a lie long enough to the ignorant and lazy American public, they will not only begin to believe it, they will embrace it. That is why all the stupid ignoramuses in this country think Reagan was some kind of great hero when in fact he was a brain addled idiot controlled by a martinet of a wife who screwed Frank Sinatra in the White House when he was out of town.

What does any of this have to do with Tom Edsall's new book? Not much. But it sure felt good getting it off my chest.

To see what Tom Edsall's new book is really like go to the PBS NewsHour site and watch or read the transcript of his excellent interview with Judy Woodruff.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june12/ageofausterity_01-26.html

All the Best Canadian Oilmen Have Chinese Eyes

2012-01-24T07:33:00.004-06:00

I am taking a peremptory strike here and admitting I took a little journalistic license in my last post. My dear sister who I dismissively labeled as "red state" is actually a bastion of beauty and intelligence in what at times can seem like an ugly and ignorant setting.

I mean their legislature did not have the smallest amount of constitutional knowledge that it would pass the most ridiculous knee jerk, xenophobic, hate-filled legislation calling for a ban on adopting Sharia law which was of course struck down by the appellate court.

What my sister actually asked me was why the President would kill the pipeline project when the Canadians were now going to sell all their oil to the Chinese. Like most Republican talking points, there is a kernel of truth to this story, a kernel in a silo of falsehood. What I believe the mass emailers are talking about is the first reaction to the denial of the Keystone permit by a Canadian proponent of the pipeline and government official.

Although the initial unthoughtful reaction was something to the effect that the Canadians would just now have to sell the oil to the Chinese, the official Canadian government reaction was much more realistic and measured and stated something to the effect that the Keystone project was not over, that there are plenty of other pipelines and methods of getting the oil to U.S. markets and in a global economy the Chinese are free to buy oil on the international market.

Besides, in my discussions with a geologist and head of an energy think tank, the beef against the Canadian oil sands is that while it is currently economically viable to extract the oil at $100 a barrel and up, like ethanol from corn, you expend almost as much energy and leave such a large carbon footprint in the process. Furthermore, they have not reached a compromise on bypassing the Sandhill region of Nebraska.

So there you have it. Pete Townsend eat your heart out.

Coat Hangers, Pipeline Jobs and No Taxes: Let's Be Serious, the Adult in the Room is Not Going to be a Repubulican

2012-01-23T07:24:00.007-06:00

Let's get serious for a minute. I know, I know, it's not easy when a national humor magazine ran a faux headline last week: "Minnesota Braces for Bachmann 's Full Attention". As if on cue, Bachmann, not exactly Minnesota's shrinking violet, made her first public appearance in Minnesota in over a year at the annual Roe vs. Wade protest at the State Capitol proclaiming that at this time next year we will be well on the way to overturning Roe.

If past performance is in any way a good predictor of the future, we can expect that Bachmann will unveil her new legislative agenda, adding to that torrent of legislation that has flowed from Bachmann in her three terms as Congresswoman, she will soon introduce a bill protecting coat hangers, just like the incandescent light bulb. Why coat hangers? They will be in short supply if Bachmann and her Republican colleagues get their way in overturning Roe. I still have not heard one of these geniuses idea as to how we are going to avoid going right back to back alley and Mexican abortions for our mothers, sisters and daughters.

Item number two, why does Obama hate jobs? That must have been one of the Republican talking points last week. How do I know this? Because my red state sister asked me that in all seriousness yesterday, apparently in reference to the President refusing to short cut the permitting process for the Keystone oil pipeline, which would run near one of this country's most important bird sanctuaries in Nebraska. With the oil industry past performance in the gulf firmly in mind, one thing we do not need now is relaxing regulations on these bozos.

The question I have for Republican politicians, both state and national, is why are the only jobs you are willing to promote in the entire country are pipeline jobs? Historically speaking, ahem, Mr. Gingrich, bipartisan elected officials, both state and national, have helped to create public works jobs during times of economic slowdowns as a means of jump starting the economy, driven largely by consumer spending.

Unfortunately, the Republicans are playing politics with working class and middle income people's lives and would have the less informed believe that the only jobs in the whole country are the 2,000 to 6,000 jobs anticipated by the Keystone project. Don't believe me? Just read the paper, oh no wait, that is too much work when I can just turn on Fox news, be it radio or television and hear the Fox news readers mouth the latest Republican talking points.

Speaking of history, the good economic times that were the Clinton years were in part due to his Republican predecessor having the guts to do what was good for the country at the time and raising taxes. The fiscal problems facing the country is not due to a lack of taxes paid by the working and middle classes, but rather the huge tax cuts that went to the investment class during Bush II. That is why millionaire and billionaires like Buffet and Romney pay only 15% in federal taxes while you and I pay closer to 30%. If the electorate really wants to send Washington the message"It's the economy, stupid" not only must we re-elect the president, we must send him back with Democratic majorities in both houses.

Neut's Latest Lie: Obama Food Stamp President? Nice Try Neut, But the Truth is That Bush is The Food Stamp President

2012-01-19T18:16:00.004-06:00

"Neut", short for neutered Gingrich, is up to his old tricks. Tonight America will learn more about this paragon of conservative and Republican virtues. We'll hear all about his two divorces, womanizing and request for an open marriage with wife number 2. While this should render his campaign dead, since he is relying on the Evangelical Christian vote to win. However, I noticed a clever ploy used by the "rules don't apply to me gang" and "I'm a hypocrite and I don't care crowd", that is they can commit whatever sin, crime, and or immoral conduct they want to and we are supposed to give him a free pass because his religion believes in forgiveness. Ahhh BULLSHIT!!

If these finger pointers were true Christians they would not be judging everyone BUT THEMSELVES.

So judge for yourselves: Who is the Real Food Stamp President? Why of course, George W. Bush, a conservative Republican. But Republicans are great at repeating the big lie until they believe things like Iraq had something to do with 911, truth be damned.

Well Damn all of you hypocrite christians and Republicans, there is an especially warm corner of hell waiting for you.

To read the proof that Neut is lying : http://factcheck.org/2012/01/newts-faulty-food-stamp-claim/

The Future Is Now: Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and Me.

2012-01-03T07:40:00.015-06:00

No this is not a George Allen Sr. sequel. Well then, what does Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and high colonics have in common? You obviously know nothing about prognosticators and their predilections.

I, for instance, know that the Edgar Cayce World Headquarters was located in Virgina Beach, Virgina in the late 1970'. I know this because I was on a road trip with my friends John and Lamont following our graduation from high school. Also on the trip was Lamont's very cool and pretty hippie girlfriend. Her only fault if you could call it one, was her hippie stoner belief in all things mystic and metaphysical and her topic du jour was this great psychic Edgar Cayce. According to the pulp paperback Miss Hippie had, Edgar was the second coming. According to her book, this Cayce character predicted everything from the Great Depression to World Wars I and II as well as the Kennedy Assassination.

The entire drive down to Virgina Beach it was "Edgar predicted this..." and "Edgar said that..." the whole f#@king way. As we hit the outskirts of Virgina Beach someone spotted the signs heralding "Edgar Cayce World Headquarters and Museum". "You have to stop! You Have to Stop!!" hippie chick squealed with glee. Lamont looked at me as we both rolled our eyes when Johnny , like the big softie he was, dutifully pulled over much to hippie chick's delite. I would have much preferred that we drive the extra three miles to the ocean and a motel room where we could start partying.

I was even more perturbed when the young Jane Fonda insisted that we all shell out the outrageous sum of $5 or $7 to gain entrance to this holiest of shrines. It was to hippie chick's complete devastation and to one of my life's more fondest memories when it turned out that the Edgar Cayce World Headquarters and Museum was nothing more than a shrine to high colonics.

As best as I could tell from the exhibits, which consisted of black and white photos of a series of brick and colonial style buildings set next to actual hoses and pans all connected to a story line contained on placards extolling the virtues of deep cleansing for even the most serious and fatal diseases, good old Edgar was cleaning out the terminally ill and desparate.

I ran giggling and gushing like a child from one exhibit to the next reading each placard much too loudly and hysterically laughing emphasizing the colonic aspect of each exhibit along with choice noises I made by blowing my lips into the palms of my hands. "Look everyone!" I screamed in delight, "Edgar shoved this hose up..."and "Edgar used that pan..." and on and on I went to the absolute horror of Lamont's girlfriend. It don't get any more delicious than that.

And with that incredibly banal digression I give you:

Plainsense's Proctological Political Prediction for 2012

Pretty but pooped Michele Bachmann packs it in following a crappy performance in Iowa.

And the Weiner Is..."That's Not Tea It's GOP"

2012-01-01T06:56:00.008-06:00

That's right, we have a tie for the First Annual Poser of the Year Award. The "Mary Edgar" goes to the Republican Party and to all members of the so called Tea Party for letting themselves be co-opted and hijacked by the very people who put us all in the financial predicament we find ourselves in today, the Republican Party.

Whether it was crony capitalism, tax breaks for the uber wealthy during wartime, trading in bogus securitized mortgages or selling the same bogus investments short, all tracks lead back to the GOP. So the idea that the groundswell of public anger should be co-opted and hijacked by the likes of Michelle Bachmann and her ilk is laughable. The U.S. House Republicans were directly responsible for the lowering of the U.S. credit rating as a result of their game playing and brinkmanship over raising the debt limit, an issue no one ever played politics with in the past.

Locally, the Minnesota Republicans were directly responsible for shutting down state government to the detriment of the state's credit rating and bringing UNCERTAINTY, the new boogieman, to the mindless zombies who repeated the chant in unison all the while pointing their stupid , bony, mindless fingers at the Obama administration while taking absolutely no responsibility for the very problems they were themselves causing. Amazing. Exactly! (Nod out to Lake Superior State.)

Adding hypocrisy to injury was the Minnesota Republican Senate Caucus who punished and illegally retaliated against two of the ugliest, most loathsome human beings for having the audacity to hook up and share the love. Family values indeed. Amazing . Exactly!

Not to be outdone, the Republican majority leaders of both of the state's chambers played games with the Democratic Governor who was working earnestly and in good faith on the Vikings Stadium while at the same time stabbing him and the state in the back with secret emails to the rank and file vowing to sabotage any deal. Senate Majority leader Amy "Craig" Koch even gave an interview to Minnesota Public Radio extolling what the Vikings meant to her: "A great big bowl of chili on a Sunday afternoon". Sports and food. That's all the Sabbath means to Petunia. Amazing. Exactly!

So take a bow Tea Party and Republican Party members for you all are the 2011 Posers of the Year!!

The 2011 Poser Award Nominees.

2011-12-31T06:03:00.018-06:00

2011 Poser of the Year Award

2011-12-30T07:20:00.003-06:00

It's that time of year again. "What time would that be?" you ask. Well ye of little memory, it's time for the First Annual Poser of the year Award*.

*Poser of the Year Award Winners are selected by the Academy of Politician Watchers otherwise known simply as the Academy. Winners are not selected on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation or deviation, including septums. Each winner receives an award from the academy. The award , also known as a "Mary Edgar", is a miniature statuette of J. Edgar Hoover, a real figure from American History not to be confused with that poser Leonardo Di Crappio.

It's Begining To Look Alot Like Christmas...

2011-12-07T06:45:00.004-06:00

Here were go again. Another year and the barrage of television ads just keeps getting more and more prolific. It used to be, back in the day, or as my parents' generation would say: "When we were young you did not have all this commercialism, retailing was not on a mass market basis, but rather a face to face, personal interaction..." You know the rest, it was about the spirit of the time, not the amount of money involved. It was about who you could trust and do onto others as you would have done onto you.

It seems this Holiday season, at least if you live in the Twin Cities area, you cannot turn on the television, literally no matter what time of the day or night, without being bombarded with their obnoxious ads, of varying lengths and quality of production, listening to them extol the value of their services, their wisdom, their integrity and their earnestness. It is almost as if the Three Wise Men had been given millions of dollars by God Almighty and been told to go forward and proselytize.

You of course know the names of the Three Wise Men by now: Scwebel, Goetz and Seiben. To hear these paragons of self-conceit tell it, they are the smartest, wisest, most brilliant human beings alive. You have doubts this Christmas season? Your faith has been challenged to the point you no longer have all the answers to life's most pressing problems yourself? No problem. Just Ask Gary. You have just been injured in a car accident? You have already called 911. Now call 411 and ask for one of their phone numbers. Worried that no one will be there to answer your call. No worry. This is all they do and they do it well.

So if you are like me and you have gotten fed up to the point that you just can't take it any more. I have got some advice for you. Just like that Republican candidate for Governor of Texas said when he ran against the late Governor Ann Richards, "It's alot like rape, if it's inevitable, if it is going to happen anyway, you might as well just lay back and enjoy it." I mean, after all it's just the time of season: it is TSR time.

Ruminations On the "War" On Drugs and Those Who Purportedly Protect and Serve

2011-12-01T06:09:00.003-06:00

News out of Colorado has a National Sheriff of the Year sullying the name of honest peace officers everywhere with his arrest for allegedly offering meth in exchange for sex with a young male. http://mycenturylink.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9RB5VRO1%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=931

Back in Minnesota the out of control drug and gang strike and task forces are huddling with their paid snitches and conspiring to raid individuals, not who are major drug dealers, but rather, individuals with substance abuse problems who happen to have valuable assets that these corrupt law enforcement agencies can seize hoping the victim will then be out of resources to fight the seizures so they can augment their budgets in times of fiscal austerity. http://thegreatrollcall.blogspot.com/2011/06/corruption-coverup-completed-fbi-closes.html

In New York City there have been numerous press conferences in the last month announcing the indictment of police officers for crimes ranging from fixing traffic tickets to gun running. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/01/142909989/is-nypd-commissioner-raymond-kelly-bulletproof

What is the common thread with all this stories? The more power we invest in law enforcement, especially in the post-911 world, the more , not less, safeguards and checks must be placed on those who purportedly "Protect and Serve". Absolute or unbridled power corrupts absolutely.

Meanwhile the citizenry sits on the sidelines thinking "serves 'em right" or "this can't happen to me". Just wait...

The Night They Drove Old Herman Down

2011-11-28T17:59:00.003-06:00

Herman Cain is the name and I served on the Uncle Tom train
'Til lyin' white bitches came and tore up my good name
In the spring of '11, we were hungry, just barely leadin'
By November the tenth, my poll numbers had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Herman down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Herman down
And the women were singing
They went, "La, la, la"

Back with my wife in old Atlanta , when one day she called to me
"Herman, quick, come see, there go another of your affairees"
Now I don't mind sproutin' wood, and I don't care if the bitch's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Hermie down

And the bells were ringing
The night they drove spermin' Herman down
And all the women were singing
They went, "La, la, la"

Like my father before me, I will work the Man
And like a brother with no self-respect before me, I took a subservient stand
turned my back on my brothers and this great land
I swear by the lies that I continue to speak
You can't raise a Cain back up when he's in defeat

The night they drove old Herman down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Herman down
And all the women were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"

The night they drove old Hermie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove spermin' Herman down
And the women were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"

"Na, na, na"
"Na, na, na"
Hey hey Goodbye!

Ret. Sen Alan Simpson, Republican: Grover Norquist and His Extortionate No New Taxes Pledge the Root Cause of Country's Financial Crisis Impasse

2011-11-26T09:48:00.006-06:00

Speaking to Ret. Sen Alan Simpson, Republican, Wyoming and co-chair of the Deficit Reduction Committee, Scott Simon host of NPR's Weekend Edition got a Republican to admit the obvious:

His own party, The Republicans, and their commitment to Grover Norquist's No New Taxes Pledge have placed party over Country and do not even deserve to be in Congress.

To read the transcript: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/26/142795941/after-supercommittee-fails-last-years-plan-gets-new-look

To listen to the interview: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=142795941&m=142795914

Thoughts of Thanks

2011-11-23T06:03:00.002-06:00

Having just hit one of life's major milestones, the big Five O, it causes one to seriously consider what he is thankful for. With very little thought going in, I am just going to wing it:

I am first and foremost thankful for my children, while not perfect, they put up with a very strange and peculiar father. Special thanks go out to my daughter for watching my "nasty little dog" who bit her, while I make my biannual pilgrimages to New Orleans and to my son for being the best hunting partner a guy could ask for, who never complains and gets along with his Dad's hunting companions who are just as strange and peculiar as his dear old Dad.

Speaking of which, I am thankful for my hunting companions, from Mick and his boys and Jay to Charlie, Jason, Cal and the boys at the farm, they make a difficult time of year fun to look forward to. I can never pay these friends back for the acceptance of my son and I to their group and for being such good role models to my son.

Although this may sound strange to some, I am so very thankful for work. Being a professional, ones work become their life, their alter ego, their self-esteem and their reason to exist. Having changed positions a few years back, I am so very grateful, not only just to have a job in this economy, but to have a job which is fun, challenging and filled with so many friends and good people as colleagues. For this I am truly blessed.

Lastly, to my friends away from work and family, I am so thankful you put up with such a difficult person like me and I apologize for being so hard on you all at times. I hope you know that although I may not show it, I cherish your friendship and love each and every one of you.

Occupy TCF Bank Stadium: "This Is Not What A Football Team Looks Like"

2011-11-22T07:50:00.004-06:00

My patience has run out. It's time to Kill the messenger. The Joe Maturi experiment is over, the jury is in and Maturi is out. From the firing of Glen Mason to the hiring of Tim Brewster to the shores of Tripoli, Maturi has fought the Gopher Nation's battles like a gimp with cerebal palsey.

Deer Be Damned: Roomful of Blues Are Still the Kings of Swing

2011-11-07T11:47:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite quotes in all the history of music reviews was a line in the Boston Globe many years ago which described my friend and guitar legend Jimmy Thackery as "... a four-hour performer. That's not how long he plays, but how long one should travel to see him." Well you can add another legendary band to the list of "four hour performers": the incomparable Roomful of Blues who were in town last night at Famous Dave's Blues Club in Uptown.

So what would make a die hard deer hunter pull up stakes on one of the most productive, (two eight points and a ten point buck), deer openers in recent memories and drive back to Minneapolis for an extended set of live music? Why that would be to see the best purveyors of traditional American Music, Providence, R.I.'s gift to the world, Roomful of Blues.

From T-Bone-esqe jump blues to New Orleans swing with a heavy dose of Earl King,to originals with the feel and authenticity of the great standards, Roomful of Blues are simply tops in their craft. Having just returned from the capitol of American music, New Orleans, a little more than a month ago where I witnessed some of the greatest music and musicians of all time, it is clear that Roomful of Blues are not only in the same league, hell that make the playoffs every year.

Like any organization that has spanned nearly four decades, occasionally one goes through the process of rebuilding. I am glad to say that the rebuilding process has been over for the current version of Roomful for a couple of years now and the band has profited from the new found stability in its line-up. Lead singer Phil Pemberton was such a great find and the perfect fit for this band. I just love listening to this guy sing. Not only does Mr. Pemberton have the right voice for this style of music, his phrasing, the subtleties he coaxes out of a song makes him fun and interesting to listen to all night long.

Just like you can't think of Herman Cain without thinking of harassment, one cannot think of Roomful of Blues without thinking horns and believe you me this band is as horny as Herman. Led by the legendary tenor player Ritch Lataille, the Roomful horns are back on top of the business but with a more laid back and more nuanced feel due in large part to its newest member Doug Woolverton who I gushed about the last time these guys were in town. My only comment this time is that at one point in the evening, I leaned over to my good friend Mike LeBeau, Roomful's longtime soundman and one of the best in the business and said flat out, "Am I being disloyal to Bubba when I say how much I love this guy's playing?" To which Mike responded: "Heck no, Bubba would be proud."

My highlights this time around were the numbers Roomful did with New Orleans icon Earl King on the great album "Glazed" and its progeny. Band co-leader Chris Vachon gets the greatest gut bucket excello records sound out of his guitar on these numbers and when mixed with the cool baritone horn honkings of the great "Top of the"Mark Early it produces a rich dark roux that makes the gumbo bubble up, jump and boil. Always a high note is that Monster from Austin, Travis (not Tritt) Colby (not Dolby) on keys and the classiest rhytym section in the business, gentleman John Turner and ever subtle and nuanced drumming of Ephraim Lowell.

All in all it was a highly enjoyable night of music by a group of "four hour performers".

Deer Opener 2011

2011-11-07T11:40:00.004-06:00

Floyd Stays Home to Boast

2011-10-30T08:20:00.005-05:00

Who would of thunk it? Floyd of Rosedale, the porky prodigal son of the Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Program has become something of a stay at home, a veritable shut in.

Try as they might to take our beloved Floyd away, the Iowa Hawkettes powder puff team was incapable of a masculine act to save their black and gold dream of returning Floyd to his former life of drudgery to the state which is also the home of the Pork Institute of America.

I was and still am, highly critical of Joe Maturi's recent move to give the 1-6 Coach Kill an extension. Although the 2-6 Kill era is not much of an improvement, it did seem to have at least the short term effect of squeezing another victory out of Minnesota's answer to Magic Fingers (i.e. put Jerry Kill on your bed and a quarter in him and vibrate your way to relaxation).

To Joe Maturi, the days of 2-10 Gopher seasons are over, even if one of the two victories are against an Iowa or say, a Wisconsin. You never should have fired Mason and two victories over mediocre teams do not make you a Sid Hartman Genius.

To my colleague at work Jeremy and my friend Steve, all we are saying is Give Floyd A Chance! Gophs crush Hawks, Minnesota Rules and Iowa drools!!

Robbery Suspect Thwarted By Bigger Man: Hero of Mendota Liquor Retires

2011-10-01T10:06:00.008-05:00

Friday was payday so I took a diversion from my usual route home on my motorcycle to stop off at my favorite liquor store, Mendota Liquor in Mendota Heights. The store is owned and operated by my friend Patrick, a generous, friendly, but no nonsense man of Cambodian descent. As I have been flat broke as of late due to my trip to the Ponderosa Stomp in N'awlins, I have not been in to see Patrick for about three weeks.

As I approached the counter with my usual brand of beer, which Patrick gladly orders for me and another customer (even though it does not have as high a profit margin as other brands which is why I suspect my neighborhood liquor store won't stock it despite my repeated requests), Patrick greets me with his customary, cheery "Hello Sir!".

As he rings me up , Patrick looks up and deadpans: "I suppose you are going to represent him?" "Oh, who's that Patrick?" "The guy who robbed me." "You were robbed?" I fired back peppering Patrick with two of the the four w's (i.e. who and when).

Patrick gets a wry, incredulous smile on his face and says: "You didn't hear about it? It was all over the news." Patrick proceeds to explain that back on September 26, 2011, a lone white male came into his store and immediately walked to the back of the store before coming to the counter. Hoping to lure Patrick out from behind the counter and distract him, the soon to be robber asked Patrick for a bottle of brandy. By sheer serendipity Patrick happened to have one of the large bottles the robber had asked for right behind him ready to be shelved.

Startled and confused, the robber thrust his hand in his pocket and ordered Patrick to "Hand over the f#@&ing money!" to which Patrick responds with a big grin: "You for real?" "Look motherf#@&er, hand over the f#@&ing money or I will blow your f#@&ing head off!". Totally unphased, Patrick, realizing it would be good to get the robbers fingerprints on the till, says "Okay" and proceeds to punch in no sale so the register drawer opens and steps back forcing the robber to reach over with his other hand to grab the cash all the time keeping his other hand thrust in his pocket.

Patrick, I scream at him, "Are you f#@&ing crazy, just give the guy the money, nothing is worth your life!" "Hell" says Patrick, I survived the Killing Fields in my country, this punk didn't scare me". Patrick continues with his story, including that he followed right on the heels of the robber who was startled to see Patrick standing next to him when he opened the driver's door to the getaway car before jumping in and peeling off. Ever the cool one, Patrick jotted down the license plate, make model and color of the getaway car and promptly called it in to the police who were soon giving chase. Eventually the robber bailed out of his vehicle near Lillydale and made it to the banks of the Mississippi River where he managed to elude a dragnet of over fifty law enforcement personnel, tracker dogs and a helicopter before being arrested the following day hiding in the basement of a friend's house.

Fast forward a couple more weeks and now I am back at Patrick's store the Thursday before the deer opener to stock up on my favorite beer for the opener and Patrick is uncharacteristically unshaved. Noting another person in the store shelving inventory and sensing something out of the usual, I instinctively spout off, "What's up Patrick? You sell the joint or something?"

"As a matter of fact I did. Let me introduce you to the new owner..." Whereupon Patrick introduced me to the new proprietor, a very nice man by the name of "G" as the guy who rides his motorcycle all the way from Minneapolis just to buy his beer from them so be sure to take care of him and order his brand of beer when the distributor starts stocking it again in Spring.

"Patrick", I exclaim, "I hope it did not have anything to do with that robbery?" "Aw, no way" laughs Patrick, "I just want to go back to Cambodia to help out with part of my time". Cambodia has been hit by heavy flooding this year, like many countries in Southeast Asia, and Patrick, ever the hero, is going back to his native land to lend a hand.

Seeing the sad look on my face as I tell him what a great thing he is doing, Patrick adds: "But I will still be coming back from time to time, especially around the holidays, so if you stop in, you may see me again." So to all my colleagues in Eagan and the good people of Mendota Heights, please patronize the best liquor store in the Twin Cities, Mendota Liquor, especially for all your holiday shopping needs and who knows, maybe you will be lucky enough to run into Patrick , a true hero!

American Politics Needs a Wangari Maathai

2011-09-29T05:59:00.005-05:00

Abraham Lincoln famously wrote in his concluding remarks to his Annual Message to Congress in December of 1862:

"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless."

This week the world lost one of its "...last best hopes..." with the passing of Kenyan Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai.

Who was Wangari Maathi? Like many Americans, until just recently I had never heard her name. But after watching the excellent PBS Independent Lens documentary TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, I am convinced that Lincoln’s prophetic remarks on freedom nearly 150 years ago are equally prophetic and applicable to the state of political affairs today in America.

When the state of political affairs in her native Kenya devolved into partisan tribal cronyism, homicidal violence and brutal political suppression, Wangari Maathi, a divorced mother of two, in a society which devalued women, stepped forward and led with peaceful nonviolent movements like the Freedom Corner and Greenbelt Movements to change the corrupt, male-dominated political system in her country. In perhaps the documentary’s most desperate and poignant moments, when Wangari and her fellow mothers were descended upon by Kenyan security forces with clubs and batons to disrupt a nonviolent protest seeking the release from jail of their sons and other political prisoners, the women stripped naked and shook their breasts at their attackers who nevertheless beat them unmercifully, leaving Maathi in a coma. Thankfully she recovered and this act of incredible courage and moral force in the face of violent wickedness eventually led to a new consciousness among the general public in Kenya and important reforms.

With the political parties in America behaving like tribes in Kenya, engaging in an endless cycle of payback, revenge and cronyism we could use the likes of a Wingari Maathi and the courageous mothers of Kenya. Perhaps their American counterparts could even strip naked in front of a joint session of Congress and shake their collective breasts to shame Congress into abandoning their childish and destructive partisan ways and act like grown-ups and start doing the people’s business.

Lincoln, Ghandi, King and Mandela will have to move over and share their space in the hall of human greatness because sister Wangari is moving in.

Fourth Annual Ponderosa Stomp Music Conference Day One

2011-09-20T07:01:00.002-05:00

"I liked you better when you didn't know who you were", Bobby Rush quoting someone commenting on him.

If you are ever fortunate to attend the Ponderosa Stomp, make sure you plan ahead, come early and take in the annual Music Conference sponsored by the event. Better yet, book the VIP Package from my friend Angelo, President and owner of Louisiana Travel. One of the better unintended consequences to come out of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana Travel is one of the best travel services I have ever worked with and can handle all of your Louisiana business conference and recreational travel needs. I have booked two packages thru Angelo, Melanie and the good folks at Louisiana Travel and recommend them very highly.

Now going on its fourth year, the Ponderosa Stomp Music Conference consists of three days of film, panel discussions and networking for the music industry, press, record collectors, dee jays and just plain old music heads. When you attend the music conference you are treated each day to an exquisite buffet luncheon put out by some of the finer New Orleans restaurants and caterers. My favorites were the Cuban artichoke and spinach sandwiches, and the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches "Memphis" or "Tennessee" style as we say up North at Caps Grille in Minneapolis. (Just don't stick you foot in your mouth like I did and recommend the pulled pork to your new friend Mark from England or he may wryly tell you "... thanks, but I don't think its Kosher".) to be continued...

Dinner at K Paul's Louisiana Kitchen and a Cigar Factory Maduro: A Perfect Ending to a Beautiful Day

2011-09-15T21:22:00.004-05:00

The last two times I have been in New Orleans I have meant to have a meal at perhaps the greatest, if not most iconic Cajun restaurants, K Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. Well after a wonderful day made all the more special by almost missing my plane, escaping the 29 degree weather back in Minneapolis and basking in the sunshine and 86 degrees of New Orleans, I decided to treat myself to a great meal. Although I was dining alone, the staff made me feel right at home, allowing me to sit at the bar so I would not feel uncomfortable and even taking my picture with the bust of the naked Nubian Queen which was right next to me on the bar and became my "date".

As I told the bartender, my friend Don O'Dell's father, Dave had the first authentic Cajun restaurant in the Twin Cities, the Mariner and Emporium of Jazz in Mendota and had sent his chefs to K Paul's for training. Dave was also the sole distributor for K Paul's spices for many years in the upper Midwest. Although sadly the Mariner and Emporium of Jazz is no more, eating K Paul's gumbo tonite with the black roux was like hooking up with an old lover, but better. Following the Chicken and Andeuille sausage gumbo, I had the crab fingers in a popcorn batter with the greatest sauce known to man. Top it all off with the phenomenally simple but exquisite bread and sweet breads and it was a meal that brought tears to my eyes and for under $20!!

If you ever go to K Paul's you must go one block toward's the Warehouse District and stop at Laura's for her incredible Rum Prailine Brittle, Coon Ass Bark(white chocolate, macadamian nuts and chili pepper) or my favorite, the dark chocolate Mississippi Mud with caramel and prailines (candied pecans).

For my walk back to my hotel in the Warehouse District I smoked a wonderful full bodied Maduro cigar, fresh from the Cigar Factory and you had the perfect ending to a beautiful day. Eat your hearts out Minnesota! Living large in the Big Easy! Who Better?

Ponderosa Stomp Music Conference Day One Wrap: It's All About Love and Respect

2011-09-15T20:07:00.006-05:00

Until one attends a Ponderosa Stomp event it impossible to explain to the uninitiated what the big deal is. So I apologize to my friend and colleague Jody for being a little sarcastic and snippy in my opening article today but he had spent the week needling me about something that is truly dear to my heart.

You see, what makes the Ponderosa Stomp such a great event isn't just the great music, it is certainly all of that. It isn't just being able to see some of the greatest, legendary musicians and songwriters who have ever lived, but there is that. It isn't just that it is one of the greatest party's you will ever attend. What makes the Ponderosa Stomp so special is love and respect.

First of all it is the love and care and attention to detail with which Ira and the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau put together each years line-up. Although it is always an eclectic mix of the greatest music on earth, American Music: blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and rockabilly, there is always an emphasis on New Orleans music. While Austin may have overshadowed New Orleans as of late as the epicenter, or at least the home of perhaps the greatest number of great musicians in recent years, New Orleans is still the Jerusalem or Mecca of American Music. So it is only fitting that this event takes place in the Crescent City.

Second, it is the love and respect that the musicians, songwriters, producers and industry people have for one another, which, in a cut throat business like the music industry can seem like an almost impossible task. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Ira started the Music Conference segment of the Stomp four years ago. Not only does it give hardcore music heads a chance to live vicariously through, and get a glimpse into the lives of their heroes and heroines, more importantly it gives the musicians a chance to catch up, reminise, let bygones be just that and appreciate each other for the gifts they gave one another years ago and express their gratitude and love for each other. Perhaps the saddest thing about the Stomp is the reoccurring expression of remorse by the musicians that they did not get a chance to express their gratitude, love and respect to one of their fellow musicians and mentors before they passed on. We heard alot of that today.

Lastly, unlike the commercialized, money oriented fan fests of country music or even say NASCAR, at the Ponderosa Stomp there is truly a genuine love, respect and appreciation by the musicians for the fans that goes well beyond money. This may sound corny and trite, but anyone in attendance at today's music conference knows what I am talking about. I challenge anyone in attendance today to say that Bobby Rush, Carol Fran or Lavalle White's emotional thank yous and displays of love and affection for the fans, music press and other musicians in attendance was not 100% real. Perhaps that's the biggest point I am not so eloquently trying to make: The Ponderosa Stomp is real. Real music by real musicians for real music lovers. And it don't get any sweeter than that.

Ponderosa Stomp Fourth Annual Music Conference

2011-09-15T14:45:00.002-05:00

New Orleans, LA

It should be to no ones surprise that I barely made my plane this morning. As usual for me before any trip, I waited til the last minute to do all the things necessary to get ready only to forget my cell phone. I had to run back to my house, missed my train to the airport, had to run like O.J. from a crime scene through Terminal 2 at MSP only to go in the wrong direction. By the time I got near my gate they were beginning to close it when they spotted me, yelled out my first name and held the plane until I boarded. As almost every seat on the plane was taken, I picked one of the remaining open middle seats, between two twenty somethings, who did not appreciate the schweatty old guy dripping and weazin' on them all the way to our first stop, St. Louis.

After all those going to Misery deplaned I moved up to one of the front rows which I shared with a very nice woman whose Hennepin County Library book that she left on her seat while using the lavatory, was stolen. We had a nice conversation and she was on her way to Birmingham, our second stop, to attend her childhood Southern Baptist Church's 100th Anniversary. Despite what you are thinking, we had alot in common, e.g. college student children, and her company made the flight go fast.

I just finished attending the conference's first speaker's discussion "Chicken Heads and Bow Legged Women: A discussion with Bobby Rush, which was of course riveting and hysterical. Gotta fly to catch the symposium on one of my heroes, Guitar Slim and later my favorite diva, Lavelle White. Ciao for Now!

We Will Stomp You: Trail To the Tenth Anniversary Ponderosa Stomp Begins Now!

2011-09-15T05:26:00.003-05:00

All my bags are'nt packed, I'm not ready to go,
Jody can blow it out his nose,
I love to waive the one finger salute
to say goodbye, ttttbbllt,
But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The light rail is waitin' he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die, NOT!

So blow me and smile for me
Tell me that you won't hate me
Remember this image and never let it go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
I'll be really hungover when I come back
Oh yeah, I really don't hate to go

There's so many times you've let me down
telecommuting like a chubby clown
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I'll think and laugh at you
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you
When I come back, I'll be minus my wedding ring

So blow me and smile for me
Tell me that you're envious of me
Remember this image and never let it go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
I'll be really hungover when I come back
Oh yeah, I really don't hate to go

Six Degrees of 911: “It’s A Small World After All”

2011-09-11T06:48:00.001-05:00

Like most Americans over the age of 15, I can remember September 11, 2001 as if it were yesterday. Who could forget that incredibly blue, cloudless sky and the fresh, crisp air with the first hints of the coming change in seasons that would soon be Fall.

It was shortly before 9:00 AM and I was working at the computer in my “Parkway South” (aka home) law office in South Minneapolis. I had a television on in the background with the CBS Morning Show on when I heard Bryant Gumbel announce reports of a fire at the World Trade Center. I thought to myself, “this has got to be interesting…” and got up and went over to the t.v. just in time to see what looked like a shadow pass in back of one of the towers only to explode out of the side of the tower facing the camera in a spectacular orange fire ball.

As I stood there staring at the television screen in utter disbelief, the telephone rang and like I was in some kind of strange, hypnotic trance, I picked up the receiver and said hello without even glancing, as was my custom, at the caller ID. You see, I had consulted earlier that summer with a potential client, a bank robbery suspect, being held under a federal hold at the Sherburne County, MN jail. At the time they were constructing a new federal courthouse and detention center in downtown Minneapolis and until the new facility was ready, the federal government was contracting with Sherburne County, which had just built a state of the art facility with plenty of capacity, to house federal detainees and prisoners awaiting trial and/or hearing.

When my prospective client did not come up with the retainer fee, I stopped taking his collect calls from the Sherburne County jail which had run up to a not insignificant amount. Because my prospective client had been accused by jail staff of being uncooperative, they had moved him into the solitary confinement wing at the Sherburne County jail.

Hearing the voice of my unrequited client, I snapped out of my trance and unleashed a torrent of verbage, something to the effect: “You would never believe what just happened, I just watched an airliner fly into and explode against one of the World Trade Centers…”. Over the course of the next hour, the one hour my client had outside his cell in solitary, I relayed the incoming news to my client who in turn was passing along the information to the other prisoners in the solitary wing by yelling updates down the hall.

It was not until the next day and reading the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers did we discover that also in the solitary wing of the Sherburne County jail that day was Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been held since August of 2001 after raising suspicions at a Minnesota flight school. Despite what the newspapers reported as when Moussaoui first learned of the attacks when he walked into a television lounge and saw new reports later in the day, to which he allegedly pumped his fist in triumph, both my prospective client and I knew the truth, that we were the first persons to apprise him of the news of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

If you will remember, in the days following 911 there was considerable discussion of the government listening in on attorney client phone calls from jail and you can bet I was sweating that I would receive a phone call from the FBI asking me to explain myself, which thankfully never came.

This story just goes to show how interconnected we are and how small the world is that I would play a role in the most defining event of our generation. Kevin Bacon eat your heart out.

Speaking Truth to Idiots: President Obama's Jobs Challenge to Joint Session of Congress

2011-09-09T12:26:00.003-05:00

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and fellow Americans:Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that’s made things worse. This past week, reporters have been asking, “What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?”But the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care about politics. They have real-life concerns. Many have spent months looking for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by — giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to send a kid to college. These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off. They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share — where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in a while. If you did the right thing, you could make it. Anybody could make it in America. For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. They have seen the decks too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington has not always put their interests first. The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy. (Applause.) The question is — the question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning. Those of us here tonight can’t solve all our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives. I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans — including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything. (Applause.) The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for long-term unemployed. (Applause.) It will provide — it will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. (Applause.) It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right away. (Applause.) Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin. And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t. So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you. (Applause.)Pass this jobs bill — pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or if they raise workers’ wages. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year. (Applause.) If you have 50 employees — if you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut. And all businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012. It’s not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal. Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that’s in this plan. You should pass it right away. (Applause.) Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America. Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world. It’s an outrage. Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us a economic superpower. And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads? At a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America? (Applause.) There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to get to work. There’s a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky that’s on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America. A public transit project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country. And there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovating. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart? This is America. Every child deserves a great school — and we can give it to them, if we act now. (Applause.) The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. It will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows, installing science labs and high-speed Internet in classrooms all across this country. It will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosures. It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects all across the country. And to make sure the money is properly spent, we’re building on reforms we’ve already put in place. No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges to nowhere. We’re cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects from getting started as quickly as possible. And we’ll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria: how badly a construction project is needed and how much good it will do for the economy. (Applause.)This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican and a Massachusetts Democrat. The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America’s largest business organization and America’s largest labor organization. It’s the kind of proposal that’s been supported in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike. You should pass it right away. (Applause.)
Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work. These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the competition has never been tougher. But while they’re adding teachers in places like South Korea, we’re laying them off in droves. It’s unfair to our kids. It undermines their future and ours. And it has to stop. Pass this bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong. (Applause.)Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans. We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. (Applause.)Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will have the hope and the dignity of a summer job next year. And their parents -- (applause) -- their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want to work, will have more ladders out of poverty.Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. (Applause.) We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work. This jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several Republican leaders have highlighted, where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent job. The plan also extends unemployment insurance for another year. (Applause.) If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this insurance, and stopped using that money for basic necessities, it would be a devastating blow to this economy. Democrats and Republicans in this chamber have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past. And in this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again -- right away. (Applause.)Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut next year. Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your pocket will go into your pocket. This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans already passed for this year. If we allow that tax cut to expire -- if we refuse to act -- middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time. We can’t let that happen. I know that some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away. (Applause.)This is the American Jobs Act. It will lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people and the long-term unemployed. It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief to small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle class. And here’s the other thing I want the American people to know: The American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here’s how. (Applause.)The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas. Tonight, I am asking you to increase that amount so that it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act. And a week from Monday, I’ll be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan -- a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run. (Applause.)This approach is basically the one I’ve been advocating for months. In addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I’ve already signed into law, it’s a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts, by making modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. (Applause.) What’s more, the spending cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small businesses and middle-class families get back on their feet right away.Now, I realize there are some in my party who don’t think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid, and I understand their concerns. But here’s the truth: Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future. They pay for this benefit during their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And if we don’t gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it won’t be there when future retirees need it. We have to reform Medicare to strengthen it. (Applause.)I am also -- I’m also well aware that there are many Republicans who don’t believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it. But here is what every American knows: While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary -- an outrage he has asked us to fix. (Laughter.) We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake and where everybody pays their fair share. (Applause.) And by the way, I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.I’ll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington. By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. (Applause.) Our tax code should not give an advantage to companies that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create jobs right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan in the process. But in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. We have to ask ourselves, “What’s the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?”Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? (Applause.) Right now, we can’t afford to do both.This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math. (Laughter.) This is simple math. These are real choices. These are real choices that we’ve got to make. And I’m pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It’s not even close. And it’s time for us to do what’s right for our future. (Applause.)Now, the American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. But we can’t stop there. As I’ve argued since I ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts into the future -- an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer security. We now live in a world where technology has made it possible for companies to take their business anywhere. If we want them to start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out-build and out-educate and out-innovate every other country on Earth. (Applause.)
And this task of making America more competitive for the long haul, that’s a job for all of us. For government and for private companies. For states and for local communities -- and for every American citizen. All of us will have to up our game. All of us will have to change the way we do business.My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own. For example, if you’re a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we’re going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do right now. (Applause.) We’re also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly growing startup companies from raising capital and going public. And to help responsible homeowners, we’re going to work with federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near 4 percent. That’s a step -- (applause) -- I know you guys must be for this, because that’s a step that can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened by the drop in housing prices.So, some things we can do on our own. Other steps will require congressional action. Today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated patent process, so that entrepreneurs can turn a new idea into a new business as quickly as possible. That’s the kind of action we need. Now it’s time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to sell their products in Panama and Colombia and South Korea -– while also helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition. (Applause.) If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais, I want to see folks in South Korea driving Fords and Chevys and Chryslers. (Applause.) I want to see more products sold around the world stamped with the three proud words: “Made in America.” That’s what we need to get done. (Applause.)And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for ways to work side by side with America’s businesses. That’s why I’ve brought together a Jobs Council of leaders from different industries who are developing a wide range of new ideas to help companies grow and create jobs.Already, we’ve mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company internships and training. Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges. And we’re going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. (Applause) If we provide the right incentives, the right support -- and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules -- we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that we sell all around the world. That’s how America can be number one again. And that’s how America will be number one again. (Applause.)Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy. Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most government regulations. (Applause.)Well, I agree that we can’t afford wasteful spending, and I’ll work with you, with Congress, to root it out. And I agree that there are some rules and regulations that do put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it. (Applause.) That’s why I ordered a review of all government regulations. So far, we’ve identified over 500 reforms, which will save billions of dollars over the next few years. (Applause.) We should have no more regulation than the health, safety and security of the American people require. Every rule should meet that common-sense test. (Applause.)But what we can’t do -- what I will not do -- is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. (Applause.) I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. (Applause.) We shouldn’t be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe we can win that race. (Applause.)
In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everybody’s money, and let everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they’re on their own -- that’s not who we are. That’s not the story of America.Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and the envy of the world.But there’s always been another thread running throughout our history -- a belief that we’re all connected, and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation.We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. Founder of the Republican Party. But in the middle of a civil war, he was also a leader who looked to the future -- a Republican President who mobilized government to build the Transcontinental Railroad -- (applause) -- launch the National Academy of Sciences, set up the first land grant colleges. (Applause.) And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.Ask yourselves -- where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges? Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the G.I. Bill. Where would we be if they hadn’t had that chance? (Applause.)How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip? What kind of country would this be if this chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do? (Applause.) How many Americans would have suffered as a result?No single individual built America on their own. We built it together. We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another. And members of Congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities. (Applause.)Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight is the kind that’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past. Every proposal I’ve laid out tonight will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities.Now, I know there’s been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan -- or any jobs plan. Already, we’re seeing the same old press releases and tweets flying back and forth. Already, the media has proclaimed that it’s impossible to bridge our differences. And maybe some of you have decided that those differences are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box.But know this: The next election is 14 months away. And the people who sent us here -- the people who hired us to work for them -- they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months. (Applause.) Some of them are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, even day to day. They need help, and they need it now.I don’t pretend that this plan will solve all our problems. It should not be, nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose. What’s guided us from the start of this crisis hasn’t been the search for a silver bullet. It’s been a commitment to stay at it -- to be persistent -- to keep trying every new idea that works, and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it.Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we will have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. (Applause.) And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country. (Applause.) And I ask -- I ask every American who agrees to lift your voice: Tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge.President Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man-made –- therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”These are difficult years for our country. But we are Americans. We are tougher than the times we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have been. So let’s meet the moment. Let’s get to work, and let’s show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

The ball is now in the House Republicans court. Pay attention American middle and working classes and see whose side your elected official is on: yours or the wealthiest Americans. Pass this Bill!

The Power of Place: Location, Location, Location

2011-09-02T07:05:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I experienced the power that a special place has over us mere mortals. The notion that an inanimate object like the combination of wood, mortar and lake stones could have such a profound effect and evoke so much emotions still astounds me as I write this.

You see yesterday we laid the last of my mother and father's generation to rest. My mom's sister, my Auntie Gert, who had managed to reach the beautiful and wise age of 88 years. Gert lived her life on her terms and passed peacefully in her sleep in her own home. Like a beer commercial once said, "...it don't get better than this".

Following the internment at Ft. Snelling where my Uncle Harry and Aunt Gert have perhaps the most beautiful view in all the cemetery looking over a pond and fountain, a number of the cousins decided to head out to the old family cemetery where our grandparents are buried. Before stopping at the cemetery we pressed on to South Haven where my mother was born in a home which still stands and my Grandpa once owned and ran the corner cafe on Main Street. South Haven, population 193, is one of those towns which has not changed (other than the closed and boarded up store fronts and one burned out lot) in over forty years.

As we took stock of my Grandpa's boarded up cafe, I suggested we go out to the old family cabin on Lake Sylvia. My oldest sibling expressed doubts that I could find the cabin. Oh Ye of little faith! I had used this cabin as my party headquarters during college and I could find the place blindfolded and in a drunken stupor. Much to our amazement the old cabin still stood, resplendent in its simplicity, its charm intact but in improved form.

The hilltop cabin of my Uncle and mother's family was still in existence right down to the 1950's kitchen table and 1940's Skelgas stove with griddle. The current owner and her sister were present and invited us inside where upon seeing the aforementioned furnishings formerly belonging to my family I became overcome with emotion and had to step outside and compose myself. It is simply amazing how a place can conjure up such memories so real and powerful that it was almost like bringing the dearly departed back to life. God bless those wise enough to understand historic preservation.

Earthquake Hits the "Old Dominion": Could It Be the Dominionists?"

2011-08-23T17:56:00.003-05:00

With reports originating from Michelle Goldberg of the Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html and helped spread by CNN's Cafferety File, http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/17/17612/ one has to wonder if Rick Perry and/or Michele Bachmann could possibly be behind today's 5.8 quake with its origin centered in the Commonwealth of Virgina or the "Old Dominion" as it is known to the locals.

It turns out that both of my favorite nattering nabobs of negativity, the Republican version of Frick and Frack, Punch and Judy and My Pal Joey, Michele "Batshit Crazy" Bachmann and Rick "the Prick" Perry are followers of a lunatic fringe Christian sect called Dominionism who seek Christian domination and control of the levers of power in governments throughout the world. The U.S. strain of this christian sect advocate replacing U.S. law with the laws of the Old Testament, including the death penalty for homosexuality and abortion, according to CNN.

Well now, isn't that quaint. It's just too bad that this news had not got out before so all of those Evangelicals, Methodists and Lutherans who supported either Bachmann or Perry in the Iowa Straw Poll had known of their candidates' ties to the Protestant version of the Da Vinci Code.

Pawlenty Postscript: Path To Presidency Ends In Iowa For T-Paw

2011-08-14T09:40:00.007-05:00

Much like our Alma Mata's football team in recent years, a Minnesota Gopher's aspiration to move on to something bigger and better ended after a long Saturday afternoon in Iowa. Not including the very notable exception of last year's incredible upset victory, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team had won only one other time in its last ten tries in its annual match up for the bronze pig trophy known as Floyd of Rosedale. It must not count for much consolation to Pawlenty supporters that although Floyd is back in Minnesota, T-Paw leaves his scalp behind in Ames.

Watching my old law school classmate announce on ABC's This Week that he was abandoning the path to the presidency brought on mixed emotions for me. From a pragmatic perspective, Pawlenty's decision made a lot of sense. The people, as inbred and stupid as the base of the Republican party in Iowa is, and although the straw poll does not mean that the voters have made up their minds, they have decided one thing, it sure ain't Pawlenty. Although I have given my old classmate from 1L Civil Procedure class his share of grief over the years for various knuckle head decisions, perhaps the biggest being single handedly reviving the most corrupt organization in the state's history, the Metro Gang Strike Force, there were times that Pawlenty rose to the occasion as Governor and showed sparks that he could ignite national, perhaps presidential potential. The 35W bridge collapse aftermath and his leadership in creating a state web site to facilitate state residents purchasing prescription drugs from Canada, over the Bush administration's objections, immediately come to mind. But alas for Pawlenty, it was not to be.

What is most surreal is the way or should I say by whom he was done in by. It obviously must burn Pawlenty to the core that his chance to grasp at the brass ring that is the presidency was moved out of reach by a most unlikely, even comical, character in the form of Minnesota 6th District Congresswoman, Michele Bachmann. To all Minnesotans, except the brain dead constituents of places like Hugo (Minnesota's version of Bug Tussle) Bachmann is one big scary joke. Scary because the rest of the nation cannot see through her thinly veiled megalomania and utter lack of credibility.

Even the slightest scratch at Bachmann's surface and the whole facade starts crumbling into a heap of rubble. Bachmann touts that she is a lawyer and tax attorney. While technically this may be true, she did get her degree from the no longer existent Oral Roberts Law School, which went bankrupt after the founder's unsuccessful attempt at extorting donations by ascending the school's giant folded hands prayer tower and threatening not to come down until his demands were met. Kinda reminiscent of the Tea Baggers breath holding in Congress over the debt ceiling. Boy that really worked for old Oral and for the U.S. credit rating now didn't it.

At least Oral Roberts Law School could salvage something by holding a fire sale of the school's law library, a framed pictograph of the Ten Commandments stolen from the wall of the local Oklahoma county courthouse, to none other than Pat Robertson's start up joke of a law school, Regents University in Virgina Beach, VA. A review of state and federal court records turned up no more than two references to any matter Bachmann was associated with. Her own biography acknowledges she gave up the practice of law after just two years to raise a family, paid for of course by the state and federal government in the form of medicaid/medicare benefits paid to her husband's christian "counseling" service.

Although perceived by Iowans as something of a sore loser and/or as having sharp elbows after last weeks debate, Pawlenty's "too little, too late" critique of his fellow Minnesotan was just that, but also right on target. Pawlenty has at least laid the groundwork for his fellow GOP presidential hopefuls to make short work of the right wing fluff and no substance that is Michele Bachman. And for that, Timmy, we thank you.

Self-Fullfilling Prophecy: S & P Lowers U.S. Credit Rating

2011-08-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

Who says self-fullfilling prophecies don't pay? Obviously not the Republicans, specifically those of the Tea Bag variety and the American people will be paying and paying for it for years to come.

You don't like the bump upwards on the interest you pay on your home mortgage, auto loan, monthly revolving store credit? Thank the Republicans.

Now before you start mouthing the Republican talking points of "...it's the Democrats and President's fault for not cutting spending more", may I remind those of you who cannot form an original, independent thought, that the President, Leader Reid and Speaker Boehner had a deal, a "grand bargain" if you will that would have provided cuts of over $4 Trillion Dollars, an amount mentioned by Standard & Poor rating service as required to stave off the possible lowering of our credit rating as a nation.

At one point you had hints from all sides that a deal was close to done several weeks ago. But what happened? A little arrogant jerk by the name of Kantor barged in on the discussions and purposely derailed a deal in the making at the behest of greatest plague to American politics since the Klan and the Know Nothings.

This all but guarantees sending the economy back into a double dip recession. So rather than be resented by your less intelligent, Republican friends by saying something like "I told you the stimulus was not enough" instead take the high road, smile and say "Thank you Tea Baggers, you got your wish".

The Debt Ceiling Debacle: A More Accurate Method of Assessing Responsibility

2011-08-02T07:14:00.002-05:00

For nearly two years now we have been hearing from the know-nothing Republicans and Tea Baggers how President Obama is to blame for the financial deficits which they believe pose an imminent harm to the nation. Never mind the fact that most economist believe that we should still be stimulating the economy to create jobs and get us over the hump that is the possibility of a double dip recession.

Now the Congressional Budget Office has provided the statistics which clearly reveal that the lions share of the increases to the deficit, $5.07 Trillion Dollars of it was as a result of the George W. Bush administration's policies. Compare this to a paltry $1.44 Trillion which came as a result of President Obama's and his administrations policies. The rest of the 14.6 Trillion deficit was inherited by both administrations.

The New York Times has laid this information out in an easily digestible format at http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24editorial_graph2.html?ref=sunday

So to all the Republicans and Tea Baggers out there I have just one thing to say, remember the words of the late great Bo Diddley aka Elias McDaniel:

Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself
You say I've been buyin' another woman clothes, but you've been talkin' to someone else
I called your mama, 'bout three or four nights ago
I called your mama, 'bout three or four nights ago
Your mama said, "Son, don't call my daughter no more"
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself
Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself
You say I've been buyin' another woman clothes, but you've been takin' money from someone else
Come on back home, baby; try my love one more time
Come on back home, baby; try my love one more time
You've been gone away so long, I'm just about to lose my mind

A Cautionary Tale for GOP & Tea Party: Minnesotans Blame State GOP 2-1 for State Shutdown

2011-07-29T17:45:00.004-05:00

Looking at the piece of shit legislation that just passed the House, one really has to wonder what kind of drugs are the Republicans on to think that even the most right leaning independent isn't going to blame them for the economic downturn that is now nearly inevitable as a result of the Tea Baggers posturing and playing games with people lives and the financial future of our nation.

If you think this is just partisan rhetoric, just take a look at the latest poll out of the State of Minnesota. By a margin of more than 2-1, Minnesotans blame the Republican controlled Legislature for the recent government shutdown more than they blame Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, according to a poll taken this week by the highly acclaimed journalism website MinnPost. http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2011/07/28/30374/minnpost_poll_minnesotans_blame_gop_for_shutdown/

Perhaps the MinnPost poll's most revealing information was that the state's key swing voting block, Minnesotans with no strong party identification, the independents, strongly favored the Democrat's balanced approach 72 per cent to 22 percent who favored no new taxes and just a minuscule 2 percent for no spending cuts.

The message to Orange Man and the chinless wonder is clear, beware my friend, beware!

Whoop T Doo: Boehner Bill Passes House, DOA in the Sentate

2011-07-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

In perhaps the greatest act of political posturing and futility in U.S. history, House Republicans pass a ridiculous bill which is DOA in the Senate.

How We Got To The Brink of Financial Disaster

2011-07-27T12:28:00.008-05:00

Amidst all the finger pointing and hyperbole going on in D.C. these days, it is helpful to take a deep breath and a step back from the abyss, and review how we got to the brink of financial disaster.

Just to remind my forgetful Republican friends, the road to financial ruin started with the huge tax cuts passed under the early days of the George W. Bush administration. From a high of $236 billion surplus in fiscal year 2000 to $127 billion when Clinton left office prognosticators had depicted a rosy scenario of surplus for as “far as the eye could see”. As you can see from the above graphic, progressive tax policies work. Oh to be able to return to the days of the Clinton Administration

So what in the hell happened? In short, Republican economic and tax policies. Add to that two unfunded wars and you get to the mess we are in today. "But what about all the Obama stimulus?" A necessary evil which worked to pull us back from the brink of economic collapse in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Besides, at least some of the stimulus went to the middle and working classes for things like extended unemployment insurance. To all my conservative friends who call that type of spending a waste: "...there by the grace of God go you" unless of course you can weather a lay off. Just go out and try finding another job today before shooting off your big yaps!

My brother was good enough to enlighten me with perhaps the best summary of where we are today, as a nation, financially: Elizabeth Drew's excellent article "What Were They Thinking" http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/aug/18/what-were-they-thinking/

As Elizabeth Drew so eloquently and accurately stated in her article:

"...The Republicans displayed a recklessness that should have disqualified them from being taken seriously. Any deal that was reached would contain substantial cuts in the coming fiscal year—too soon, as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the head of the Congressional Budget Office Doug Elmendorf have recently warned.

The antitax dogma of the Republican Party is strongly rooted in mythology. The theory that tax cuts create jobs has been discredited by the results of George Bush’s tax policies. The Republicans cling to the myth that “small business” owners are the “job creators,” and so they oppose proposals to eliminate the Bush rate cuts for even those earning over $250,000. But relatively few small business owners earn $250,000—in fact, fewer than 3 percent of the 20 million people who file business income on their personal tax forms (the 1040s) earn that much.

Finally, the antitax position of many conservatives would seem to be illogical, since they also hate deficits: but their real aim is to reduce or eliminate federal programs. They call efforts to redistribute wealth “socialism,” but have no problem redistributing from the poor and middle class to the wealthy through taxes, as set forth in Paul Ryan’s budget plan, which the House approved on April 15. Under the Ryan plan, the taxes of the richest one percent of Americans would be cut in half, while taxes would be raised on most of the middle class. People earning over $1 million would be taxed at a lower effective rate than the middle class..."

Amen.

Just Say No: To Politicians Who Sign Pledges

2011-07-06T17:47:00.002-05:00

As the public's attitude toward politicians and politics in general has grown over recent years from one of hope to ambivalence and eventually to the current attitude of utter disdain, there is a widespread belief among the majority of independent minded voters that the parties are equally to blame. While in some respects this is only logical. There are two dominant parties and as the old saying goes, "it takes two to tango".

Now, while this may be true when it comes to dancing or fighting, unfortunately when it comes to politics, this is not necessarily true. The recent anecdotal evidence from the upper Midwest states of Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as the current standoff in Washington D.C. lends credence to my hypothesis that something has fundamentally changed politics as usual in this country over the last couple of generations.

I trace the origins of the problem back to the mid-1970's when evangelical Christians set their sights on taking over the Republican Party. The first hint of trouble was the "I Found It" bumper stickers that started to appear on cars. The next sign of the coming political Apocalypse was the shotgun marriage of the evangelical Christians lead by Jerry Falwell and his so-called Moral Majority (which in actuality were neither) and Ronald Reagan, a divorced movie star who neglected his own children, did not even attend church and negotiated with the enemy while running for President in order to get elected. Never mind the fact that he defeated one of the most decent men to ever hold the office, Jimmy Carter, an actual Christian who lived the precepts of his religion, not the phony Gospel of Prosperity of the Rev. Falwells and their ilk.

The administration of President Alzheimer and Mommy Dearest will mostly be remembered for running up the largest deficits in U.S. history up until that time, thanks largely to a bogus, three card Monty con game of an economic policy called supply side and the trickle down theory. Under the trickle down theory, by cutting taxes on the wealthy, we were promised that pennies would fall out of the pockets of wealthy Americans and trickle down their pant legs to the middle and working classes. Well something was and has been trickling down upon the heads of Americans ever since but it is yellow, liquid and has an acrid smell.

Couple this with union busting and the all out war on the American middle and working classes was well under way. Before leaving office Reagan was to commit truly impeachable offenses such as treason and other high crimes and misdemeanors in his scheme to sell arms and spare parts to the most evil regime of our time, the Islamic dictatorship in Iran and funnel the profits, in clear violation of U.S. law to the Contra Rebels of Nicaragua, a group which was murdering priests and an archbishop as well as raping U.S. nuns before killing them. Remember what Reagan called these brutish thugs? "The moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers". That statement makes Michele Bachmann look like a professor emeritus in history.

Next up was George Herbert Walker Bush, the last of a dying breed of moderate, competent Republicans. I have to admit, I have mostly admiration for the elder Bush. Highly competent, former head of the CIA, ambassador to the U.N. and China, he truly understood the power and wisdom of multilateralism and was uniquely qualified to rally the world against Saddam in the first Gulf War. Not only did he get other Arab countries to fight by our side, he got countries that did not contribute troops, like Germany and Japan, to kick in monetarily, resulting in a $5 Billion surplus. As great as his leadership in the first Gulf War was, perhaps his greatest legacy was having the courage to stand up and speak out against Reaganomics for what it was: "Voo Doo Economics".

In what will undoubtedly go down as his greatest moment and perhaps the last act of bipartisan courage shown by a Republican politician, he stood up to the know-nothings of his own party and went back on his pledge of "No new taxes" and did the right thing, setting the groundwork for the Clinton Administration's unparalleled years of economic prosperity. Unfortunately, this, like most lessons from history, are lost on today's Republicans.

So remember Americans, any fool politician can keep a pledge for their own political gain to the detriment of the country. But it takes a politician with real moral courage to stand up to his own party and do the right thing for the good of all Americans. Unfortunately there are no more Republicans from the Greatest Generation left in politics for the Democrats to work with. Not only is this a loss for the Republican Party , but a loss for America as well.

Casey Anthony Acquittal Stirs Memories of Guevara Case: Prosecutorial Arrogance Run Amuck

2011-07-05T17:54:00.006-05:00

I try to avoid tabloid news whenever possible. Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of Casey Anthony or of the murder case involving the death of her young child. As a criminal defense attorney for over 24 years, the last thing I want is to be reminded of is work on my time off.

Unfortunately the corporate media news networks would rather bombard Americans with tabloid-style, sensationalistic coverage of two-bit tragedies, white trash murder cases and other sad, but inconsequential matters, then cover matters of national significance. Therefore I could not help but be caught up in the hysteria that was the public's interest in the Anthony verdict today. Not because of the outcome. I had predicted it.

No, I am not a savant. All I needed to form my prediction was to hear the network news summaries of the prosecution's case, hear excerpts from the prosecutor's summation and see the clip of the arrogant, evil, fool of a prosecutor laughing out loud during the defense counsel's summation to know where this thing was headed.

You see, when prosecutors loose all perspective, when they become assured of the righteousness of their cause, when they loose their own humanity in the vilification of the defendant, they deserve to lose. Justice is not about the righteousness of a prosecutor or the alleged evilness of a defendant, it is about truth and it is about the victim. Sometimes the prosecution has to be patient for the truth to emerge. Sometimes the truth takes a long time. That is why there is no statute of limitations on murder. However fools and the self-righteous are often not patient.

The Anthony acquittal may cause Minnesotans to remember a murder case occurring in Dakota County approximately 18 years ago. A young child by the name of Corrine Erstad was the victim of a grisly murder. But just like the Anthony case in Florida, the prosecutor in Corrine's case was an overreaching, arrogant, self-righteous fool of a County Attorney by the name of James Backstrom. Just like the prosecutor in the Anthony case, the Erstad case became all about the prosecutor and his righteousness. Instead of waiting for a solid case to emerge, the always arrogant Backstrom pushed ahead with a weak case with one eye on re-election to predictable results. I have a colleague who owes his career to the arrogance and impatience that is Jim Backstrom.

Many years later Minnesota Public Radio did a story on Backstrom, a journalistic light weight, retrospective piece on the bully's career. In the article, the reporter noted that "... Erstad's photo shares a place on the same book shelf as the one of Backstrom's mother. " What the article should have said that in front of the shelf was a full length mirror because the arrogant, overreaching County Attorney never did change his ways or really take stock of his conduct or if he did it never showed.

May the Anthony and Guevara cases be a warning to the Backstroms of the world and may God grant them the wisdom to change their ways.

MN Govt Shutdown: We Only Have Ourselves to Blame

2011-07-01T06:49:00.004-05:00

The fiscal problems facing the State of Minnesota which culminated early this morning with the shutdown of state government is a direct result of Minnesotans electing politicians who signed pledges. In a republican form of government, the people elect politicians to represent their interests, leaving it up to each individual politician to use his or her own best judgment on any particular issue.

However, dating back several election cycles now, the Taxpayers League and other right wing extremist organizations have extorted loyalty oaths in the form of pledges not to raise taxes, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the exigencies, no matter what the crisis. The end result: gridlock and government shutdown.

Much like a child holding its breath to get his or her own way, the Republican controlled Minnesota Legislature, just like Minnesota's former Governor, Republican Tim Pawlenty, before it, abdicated their solemn duty to act in the best interest of all Minnesotans and allowed their hands to be tied for the sake of a ridiculously simplistic pledge of no new taxes.

Nevermind the fact that the state was one of only a few states in the entire country which had not raised the state's share of gasoline taxes, which taxes are dedicated to the upkeep of the state's roads and bridges. The end result of such Timfoolery has been a deteriorating and decrepit surface transportation system and most tragically the collapse of the 35W bridge and resulting loss of life.

Politics is what it is and that is the art of compromise. When we, the body electorate, choose to elect politicians who come into office with their hands tied, unable to exercise sound judgment due to the extortionate pledges they signed in order to get elected, we only have ourselves to blame.

Bachmann: There She Goes Again...The Graduate of Oral Roberts Law School (defunct) Speaketh

2011-06-30T08:22:00.008-05:00

The day after Michele Bachmann announced the launching of the biggest joke of a campaign for President since Pat Paulson, National Public Radio had an interview featuring random Iowans. Like most Minnesotans, I have never been much impressed by anything or anyone originating from the Hawkeye State. Everyone up here knows the old joke: What's the best thing to ever come out of Iowa? Answer: Interstate 35.

Now there's a new joke coming out of Iowa: Michele Bachmann, who like John Wayne Gacy,hails from Waterloo. Now what are the odds that there are two mass murdering clowns from the same small town in Iowa? "But wait one galdarn minute..." I can just hear the toothless clod say rearing to Bachmann's defense, "How d'yer figur' Sweet Lil Michele is some kinda mass murderer, she's too purdy?"

"Well, my clueless neighbor to the South, she murders the truth, kills history and every time she opens her mouth, another 3 million brain cells die, if that's not a mass murdering clown I do not know what is."

Although the previous exchange was fictional, the day after Miss WhackyNut announced her candidacy, a little belatedly I might add, as part of its radio news story on the subject, the NPR reporter asked those in attendance for their reaction. As God is my witness, one male Ioweejun gushed "...she's the smartest woman I ever heard".

Now I have never been accused of overestimating the intelligence of working class people who are so stupid or ignorant or racist so as to vote against not only their own interests but the collective economic interest of all Americans except for the wealthiest few,this statement should send chills up the backs of everyone with an IQ approaching room temperature and over. Is the base of the Republican Party really this delusional? Are Iowans really that stupid that Michele Bachmann is the "smartest woman" they had ever heard?

As a public service to all Republicans, especially the lead paint chip eating, gold and silver spray paint huffing variety from Iowa, here is another drop in the ocean of proof that Bachmann is a light weight idiot, American Idol wannabe of a politician, fame seeking slut:

Stephanopoulos: You have been making a lot of progress, also getting a lot of scrutiny. I am not going to get too deep into the "flake" flap from Sunday. But as you make progress in this campaign everything you say is going to get more scrutiny. And the Pulitzer Prize winning website, Politifact, has found that you have the worst record of making false statements of any of the leading contenders. And I wondered if you wanted to take a chance to clear up some of your past statements. For example earlier this year you said that the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence worked tirelessly to end slavery. Now with respect Congresswoman, that’s just not true. Many of them including Jefferson and Washington were actually slave holders and slavery didn’t end until the Civil War.

Bachmann: Well you know what’s marvelous is that in this country and under our constitution, we have the ability when we recognize that something is wrong to change it. And that’s what we did in our country. We changed it. We no longer have slavery. That’s a good thing. And what our Constitution has done for our nation is to give us the basis of freedom unparalleled in the rest of the world.

Stephanopoulos: I agree with that…

Bachmann: That’s what people want...they realize our government is taking away our freedom.

Stephanopoulos: But that’s not what you said. You said that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery.

Bachmann: Well if you look at one of our Founding Fathers, John Quincy Adams, that’s absolutely true. He was a very young boy when he was with his father serving essentially as his father’s secretary. He tirelessly worked throughout his life to make sure that we did in fact one day eradicate slavery….

Stephanopoulos: He wasn’t one of the Founding Fathers – he was a president, he was a Secretary of State, he was a member of Congress, you’re right he did work to end slavery decades later. But so you are standing by this comment that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery?

Bachmann: Well, John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.

Nuff said.

Man robs bank for health care benefits: What Health Care Will Look Like If Republicans Repeal Affordable Care Act

2011-06-24T06:25:00.003-05:00

We got a peek into the future this week should, God forbid, Pawlenty, Bachmann and the Gang of Know Nothings succeed in repealing the people's Affordable Care Act:

Yesterday the Associated Press reported that a 59 year-old North Carolina man robbed a bank so he would be sent to jail where he would be eligible to receive free health care. According to the man's attorney, James Verone was a previously law-abiding citizen, that is before robbing the bank.

But in an act of desperation, due to serious health issues, and having nowhere to turn because he was unemployed, Mr. Verone robbed a bank for $1.

"This is a man who is a veteran, a man who had worked his whole life for the American dream," Neece told the Associated Press. "But that dream has now become the American nightmare, not only for him but for numerous people."

He has been charged with one count of larceny from a person. He was being held in the Gaston County jail on $2,000 bond. But Verone doesn't want to post bond because he wants to be in jail for the medical care.

I know, I know, the man did not have to resort to this act of lunacy to get health treatment as I assume that even in a right to work state like North Carolina there is currently some kind of health safety net before the Affordable Care Act kicks in for able bodied adults in 2014, but it only goes to show how desperate people in Mr. Verone's shoes perceive their predicament to be.

But before you scoff and write off this anecdote as knee jerk liberal hyperbole, may I suggest you first lose your job, lose your health insurance and yourself contract a serious disease before you start pointing your judgmental "I Got Mine Why the Hell Can't the Poor, Powerless, Defenseless and Vulnerable Get Theirs!" fingers. True people of faith, real Christians, do not ridicule and blame and judge the less fortunate, they attempt to understand and help them. So my advice to all right-wing moral majority Republicans is to become born-again, but this time with real Christian values not the Gospel of Prosperity preached by the mega-church, t.v. evangelist money grubbers. Amen.

The 2011 Ponderosa Stomp: Early Bird Stomp Ticket Sale Ends Today!

2011-06-24T05:51:00.005-05:00

The Ponderosa Stomp has spent the last decade bringing you icons of American music back to the stage, shining a spotlight on the architects of songbooks that are part of our collective musical DNA. 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stomp, which has expanded over the years from a 2-day concert to include a film festival, music conference, record hop and a DJ dance party. On September 16th and 17th, the Ponderosa Stomp takes over a new venue, the Howlin' Wolf while moving the music conference, film festival and record hop into a central venue, the Renaissance Arts Hotel.

This milestone year will be hailed with tributes to the essential New Orleans recording engineer Cosimo Matassa, Stax Records, Excello Records and Southern music with Allen Toussaint, William Bell, Big Jay McNeely, Eddie Floyd, Lady Bo, Sir Mack Rice, Lazy Lester, Dave Bartholomew, The Bo-Keys w/ Skip Pitts and Howard Grimes, Carol Fran, Classie Ballou, Warren Storm, The Relatives and more.

Early Bird Stomp Ticket Special!

Time is running out to get your tickets to the 2011 Ponderosa Stomp concert for only $40 a night! The Stomp is running this early bird special through Friday June 24th only! So, get your tickets now!

Crisis In Syria: Time for Turkey, Erdogan to Act Now

2011-06-23T06:13:00.005-05:00

With Syrian tanks and troops moving right up to its border with Turkey in an apparent attempt to cut off thousands of more refugees from fleeing across the border, the time is now for Turkey and its Prime Minister to take action and stop the blood bath. President Assad has lost the moral authority to continue to run the country. More importantly, despite the ruthless and barbaric tactics of his army and secret police in gunning down hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed men, women and children, the spell of fear with which he has used to rule the country since taking over the reins of power from his father, is now forever broken by the general public's outrage and hatred of him.

Prime Minister Erdogan, as successful as his leadership has been, is now at a crossroads. There is no question that Turkey holds considerable influence with the Assad regime. Prime Minister Erdogan is said to have a close, friendly relationship with the monster Assad. Mr. Erdogan has a choice: he can either step up to his responsibilities as the only regional power in a position to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people by a two-bit dictator or he can turn his back, lose the respect and credibility Turkey has gained by standing up to the region's other bully, Israel, and dash any hopes of Turkey joining the modern world and entrance into the European Community.

The future of Turkey and Syria rests in Mr. Erdogan's hands.

Mother of All Metaphors

2011-06-22T21:06:00.001-05:00

Corruption Coverup Completed: FBI Closes Book On Metro Gang Strike Force

2011-06-21T06:38:00.003-05:00

One of the most corrupt criminal syndicates in Minnesota history, the Metro Gang Strike Force proved today that crime does in fact pay when the FBI closed its investigation citing a lack of evidence. Following the cowardly lead set by Hennepin County Faux Attorney Mike Freeman, the FBI followed suit refusing to conduct even the most minimal investigation into outrageous illegal, felony conduct that costs the citizens of Minnesota over $3 Million Dollars in Settlements and counting. I know the FBI is hamstrung like the rest of government these days by a lack of personnel and resources but look what one Star Tribune reporter, Randy Furst, was able to accomplish on his own:

Sheriff tried to dissuade Gang Strike Force audit

Bob Fletcher says he changed his mind after cash and vehicles could not be found.
April 5: Several officials criticize Gang Strike Force's publicly funded Hawaii trip

The new strike force leader called the tab "ridiculous," but his predecessor labeled critics "nitwits."
Metro Gang Strike Force had illegal meeting: Experts

Board members e-mailed each other to get agreement on a statement to preempt an editorial on Hawaii trip.
Suit: Gang Strike Force seized money without cause

A young Honduran says Gang Strike Force officers took $4,500 from him last year at an impound lot with...
Gang Strike Force cops shredded documents

A written account by the Strike Force's commander said a dumpster behind the Strike Force's offices in New Brighton...
Document shredding puts Strike Force in doubt

The integrity of the team of 34 officers and supervisors from 13 local law enforcement agencies, who focus on...
Gang Strike Force seizures criticized

The state's Legislative Auditor raised new questions about how the Metro Gang Strike Force disposed of vehicles that it...
Minneapolis, Metro Transit police pull out of Gang Strike Force

Minneapolis police said the decision is financial, but it is more bad news for the anti-gang unit.
Gang Strike Force shut down after audit finds $18,000, 13 cars missing

The decision to immediately close the offices was made after some Strike Force investigators turned up at the agency's...
Strike Force was rife with misconduct, panel charges in new report

Report details breadth of misconduct, saying officers took home property that had no proven connection to crime.
Two top strike force leaders part of inquiry

The Star Tribune has learned the identities of 16 officers reportedly under investigation.
Crime fighters gone rogue

The Gang Strike Force racked up many victories; then stardom turned to ashes.
Seized money: One man fought back

Wilbur Haisley had $3,319 - until a Metro Gang Strike Force officer took it.

Lack of evidence my ass!

Just another example of the Boys in Blue protecting their own and that old corrollary "The Rules Don't Apply to Me".

The bottom line is who do Minnesotans have to blame for this travesty of justice? All of this could have been avoided as funding for this criminal organization had been cut-off way back in 2004.

As I reminded readers way back in August of 2009, it was then Governor Pawlenty who we have to blame for saving Minnesota's version of "Inglorious Basterds", the Metro Gang Strike Force. In announcing his saving Minnesota's answer to the SS from the budget chopping block, Governor Pawlenty stated:

"...Because partisanship has drawn things to a halt in the State Capitol, I've taken extraordinary executive actions to move ahead without legislative action. The budget deficit the Legislature ignored was wiped away with a stroke of my pen. A critical crime-fighting agency, the Gang Strike Force, was slated to disband because the Legislature didn't pass funding. Our administration found the money to keep the group working for Minnesota."

"A critical crime-fighting agency"? "Working for Minnesota"?

Take a bow Pawlenty, Freeman and the FBI because you all played significant roles in the biggest law enforcement corruption scandal in state history at a cost of millions of dollars to the taxpayers. You all are at the least guilty of professional malfeasance if not obstruction of justice. Strong words but well deserved! If you think the FBI's feeble excuse for an investigation into the Metro Gang Strike Force is just an isolated fluke, see POLICE CORRUPTION: FBI INVESTIGATIONS ARE NOT THE ANSWER.

MN Nice Meets the Law of Unintended Consequences: MN Yield to Pedestrians In Crosswalks Law Must Be Repealed

2011-06-20T17:29:00.008-05:00

The Minnesota Crosswalk Law: Key Elements

Where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk. A vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.

A pedestrian must not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk, but common sense should prevail. The law states: "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."

When a vehicle is stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway, drivers of other vehicles approaching from the rear must not pass the other vehicle.

It's unlawful for the driver of a motor vehicle to proceed through a group of school children crossing a street or highway, or past a member of a school safety patrol or adult crossing guard who is directing children across the roadway and who is holding an official signal in the stop position.

Failure to obey the law is a misdemeanor. A second violation within one year is a gross misdemeanor.

Cities can designate crosswalks for longer illumination of "Walk" "Don't Walk" signal lights. Intersections where there is a high concentration of pedestrians, senior citizens, school children, etc., qualify for such designation. District councils, community clubs, or other organizations can petition their city councils to designate these crosswalks.

Minnesota Statutes 1999, Chapter 169.21

It sounded like such a good idea at the time, require Minnesota drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Nevermind the fact that this was already the law. But all it took was a couple of tragic, well publicized instances of pedestrians being struck and killed to produce the inevitable legislation by victimization clamor resulting in bad legislation and the law of unintended consequences.

After the predictable passage of this crap piece of legislation, local law enforcement and the MN Department of Public Safety conducted state wide enforcement and publicity campaigns cracking down on anyone who even slightly entered an intersection when pedestrians were anywhere in the crosswalk even if they were inches from stepping onto the far curb. Now every time I drive anywhere near crosswalks in the state I get imbeciles who either do not have jobs or anywhere they have to be, slamming on their brakes when they see pedestrians, bicycles dogs or squirrels remotely approaching an intersection.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have almost laid down my motorcycle or rear ended some well intended but clueless ambassador of Minnesota Nice who sees someone ten yards from the curb and they stop and start with the hand gesture like their the Pope or something.

Get a f#@king clue people and look in your F#@KING REARVIEW MIRRORS BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO WIN A F#@KING KARE 11 AWARD FOR YIELDING TO PEDESTRIANS STILL ON THE F#@KING SIDEWALK.

If you could not tell, this just happened to me again on my way home from work today and I would like to rip the head off the a$$h*le. I am second in line at the longest light in Minneapolis waiting for a green arrow so I can take a left turn in rush hour traffic.

The green arrow finally signals us to proceed and out of courtesy you try to hurry through so at least three or four cars can turn left before the light changes. We get about3/4s through the intersection when, without warning, a male version of Mother Theresa in the lead car short stops for some idiot on the center island. Although the pedestrian was attempting to cross where you're not supposed to and there was not even a cross walk, at least she was intelligent enough to be content to wait until all the vehicles in the left turn lane had gotten through the intersection. Well this apparently wasn't good enough for Saint Samaritan who almost caused a four car pile up so he could emphasize the fact that he was in no particular hurry as all three cars behind him stared into two lanes of on-coming highway traffic.

Repeal this abortion of a traffic ordinance now before more people die as a result of the law rather than in spite of it!

It reminds me when our former Governor Good N Plenty, in an attempt to distract from the fact that his Department of Corrections had fallen down on the job and let a dangerous level 3 sex offender back on the street who then kidnapped and murdered a young woman, at a time when nearly every level 3 sex offender was being subjected to indefinite civil commitments, responded with the wildly knee jerk and stupid cry for new legislation calling for the death penalty for kidnappers who also commit first degree sexual conduct on their victims. Pawlenty quickly shut up when someone pointed out that that was the law in many states before they realized the unintended consequence that the perpetrator would be incentivized to kill the victim. Whoops! Maybe Pawlenty should run for governor of Texas instead of President. Repeal the crosswalk law Now!!

Neither Rain Nor Mud Can Stop Booker T & Band From Stealing the Show

2011-06-19T07:02:00.006-05:00

I knew I was going to be in for a soggy day when my smart rock was wet on Saturday indicating rain in the forecast. While a little rain might have turned off a few fair weather friends (and fans) it could not dampen the spirits of those in attendance who were treated to a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of good music by real musicians at the Walker Art Center's music extravaganza, Rock The Garden 2011.

Opening the festivities under a light but constant drizzle were Minneapolis' own Tapes 'n Tapes. Being something of an old guy and no longer into the club scene, I have to admit I was not familiar with this group but am happy to say these guys are the real thing. It is extremely encouraging to see younger generations of musicians who take playing their instruments seriously and these guys have the chops and play like they mean it.

The highlight of their set for me came towards the end of their high energy set when they welcomed a couple of horn players to the stage and Tapes 'n Tapes keyboard player switched to French Horn. Sounding some dissonant chords these guys reminded me a little of NRBQ's Whole Wheat Horns meet Rodwell Rudd. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay the group is, right before the group launched into the last number of their set, they announced "We are Tapes 'n Tapes and we're from Minneapolis..." causing me to break a smile as at that very moment I had been trying to figure out whether these guys were from Austin or Memphis, a high compliment indeed.

Next up was the reason I put on my rain gear, Booker T Jones and his crack young band which included "Burnin'" Vernon Black on guitar. Showcasing songs from his excellent new cd "The Road From Memphis", Booker T. and Band demonstrated the difference between having a high school music education and holding a doctorate. By the time they got to the third number of their set, the iconic "Green Onions", these guys were smoking. Looking hale and hearty and much younger than his age, Mr. Jones removed his jacket and got down to business looking debonair in his beige shirt and brown Fedora.

Other highlights included the familiar "Hip Hug Her" complete with a hip hop interlude compliments of his young, badddddddd drummer from Oakland. This kid played with such power he "knocked out" and over his high hat on two or three occasions causing me to make my inevitable Eric Gravatt comparison, the Marvin Haggler of jazz drumming. (Mr. Gravatt hits with such power one night I watched him have to pull his kit back closer to him three times in one set).

My personal favorite was the tune he penned for Albert King, " Born Under A Bad Sign" which had Jones, the virtuoso of the Hammond B-3 organ, switching over to guitar, an instrument he played on several occasions during their set, including a request from his bride in honor of their 26th Wedding Anniversary. Another must mention was a spectacular version of "Time is Tight" causing me to remark to my new friend, guitarist and L.A. transplant, Judd and his significant other Katrina, how amazing the sound was and our kudos to the engineers running the soundboard. My only regret was, alas, he did not play "Down At Ralph's Joint" but then I suppose for the master of the Hammond, it was only fitting.

RightOffline 2011: Harriet A No Show; Bachmann Accepts Award On Bint's Behalf

2011-06-18T21:13:00.010-05:00

June 18, 2011
Minneapolis, MN

In a dramatic turn of events in Minneapolis this evening, blog of the year award recipient Harriet Bint was a no show at the RightOffline 2011 convention. Accepting the award on Mrs. Bint's behalf was none other than tea bag favorite and part-time Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, (leading to wide spread speculation as to why the two have never been seen together or more importantly, why no one has ever seen Mrs Bint, period).

Addressing the friendly, partisan crowd of right-wingnut bloggers, white supremacists, anti-government, anti-taxes, posse comitatus, ultra-nationalist Serbs, neo-Nazis, Republicans and sovereign citizen types, Bachmann gave her typical rousing but factually and historically inaccurate and confused speech.

Bachmann told the gathering in Minneapolis:

"It's so good to be back in my adopted state of Minnesota tonite , home of the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty. In 1948 when Hubert Humphrey made his famous ride to the Democratic Convention and rang those bells to alert the British that they couldn't discriminate against our arms and legs and that we needed to provide handicap access to that rock in Plymouth, a suburb just west of Minneapolis..." I kinda lost it after that. The crowd of yee-haws and troglodytes were cheering and harrumphing so loudly I couldn't make out the rest of Bachmann's rambling dissertation. No matter, the crowd, just like those at Nuremberg in the 1930's, smelled blood and hate in the air.

With a candidate as dumb as this, the Republicans should have no problem loosing again next election cycle, that is if they even have a candidate. The latest rumors swirling around the convention this evening were speculating whether all the Republican potential candidates might be in the dock at the World Court in the Hague instead.

Breaking News: RightOffline 2011: "Hairy Girl in Tennessee" Wins Blog of the Year

2011-06-18T10:43:00.007-05:00

June 17, 2011
Minneapolis, MN

BREAKING NEWS...After just one ballot, the virtually unknown, mysterious blogger Harriet Bint has won blog of the year from the right-wingut blogger convention meeting in Minneapolis this weekend. "'A Hairy Girl In Tennessee' is a daring and outspoken expose of a hirsute political diva from the Southland" gushes head wingnut Andrew Breathesfarts. I cannot wait until tonite when I present her with our award.

Harriet Supporters Fight Back, Tell Hannity: "Leave Our 'Hairy' Girl Alone!"

2011-06-17T19:03:00.010-05:00

I don't think Sean Hannity had any idea what he was getting himself into yesterday when he took on New London, Tennessee native and local school board member Harriet Bint. Hannity, a yellow teeth, slack-jawed yokel of a man who reads propaganda for the corporate shills at Fox News, is in the second phase of his campaign to ruin the careers and rid the world of politicians, no matter how small and insignificant, whose names he finds offensive.

Singing the Twisted Sister teenage anthem, "We're Not Gonna Take It!", supporters of Mrs. Bint, or "Hairy Bee" as her constituents lovingly call her, descended upon Fox affiliates throughout rural Tennessee today blocking goat-cart trails and disrupting the local economy by causing delays in the transportation of the local hooch or White Lightnin'.

"He donno jus who the hell he f^ckng wit..." one of the local businessmen was heard muttering ominously under his breath. "We've Just begun to fight!" yelled one of the Harriet supporters or "Bee Girls" as they like to be called. Towanda, one of the larger, if not largest "Bee Girls", was carrying a crude sign which read "You Can't Lick Our Bint!" a sentiment which made nearly everyone in the crowd feel a little relieved.

I spoke briefly to another one of board member Bint's supporters, a woman in her thirties wearing a "Support Bint" t-shirt who would not give her name . I asked her if she had ever met Mrs. Bint to which the woman replied: "No, but I follow her blog, "A Hairy Girl In Tennessee", religiously. "Well, do you know anyone who has actually met Mrs. Bint or seen her in person?" "Let me think" she says. "Well now that you mention it, no. No I don't".

Hmmm...I thought to myself. Immediately yellow flags went up. I've heard this story somewhere before. A charismatic woman leader, who no one really knows personally or has even seen and is entirely the creation and byproduct of the blogosphere. Before I can say it, one of my fellow reporters blurts out: "I got it! I got it! This is just like that hoax "A Gay Girl in Damascus". Whew, I thought to myself. I thought I was going to lose my scoop, Hairy Bee is none other than Minnesota's own and joke on the world, Michele "Hairy Bee" Bachmann. And that's the truth! tttttbbbbbbbbbllllllllltttttttttttt!

Sean Hannity: "Harriet Bint Must Resign! Now!"

2011-06-17T06:57:00.006-05:00

Sean Hannity, the not so quick-witted hero to the stupid and great unwashed (i.e. tea baggers, Republicans and Fox News watchers) fresh from taking credit for the resignation of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) has now set his sites on local school board member Harriet Bint of New London, Tennessee.

Never accused of being the brightest bulb in the pack, it was not until two days ago when Hannity finally figured out the punny possibilities of a politician named Weiner taking pictures of his weiner. So when Hannity finally expressed his belated not so original observations and faux outrage the matter had pretty much run its course and the next day Rep. Weiner resigned.

Encouraged by the success of his crusade, not so originally dubbed "Weinergate", Hannity next set his sights on ruining all politicians, no matter how small, who, in Hannity's mind have a dirty surname.

Hence Hannity's targeting of school board member Harriet Bint. Said Hannity: "The unmitigated gall of this dumb C#^+. I mean who is she that thinks she could have any future in politics with a name like Hairy Bint?"

Gov. Rick Perry: Gun Ho to Execute Another Possibly Innocent Foreign National

2011-06-16T18:10:00.010-05:00

I do not believe that I have ever encountered a politician I revile more than the loathsome Governor of Texas, Rick Perry. Not content with the blood of at least one possibly innocent man on his hands (e.g. Willingham), yesterday the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Jose Medellin, a Mexican national convicted of capital murder under the infamously flawed system known as the Texas "Justice" system.

Perry should hold the honorary title of engineer for all the criminal defendants that have been "railroaded" under his watch. The idea that the Republican Party actually would consider this ignoramus as potential Presidential timber makes one wonder just how low is the bar that would have the likes of Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry as two of its front runners.

I truly believe that whoever came up with the idea for the "Mean People Suck" stickers had Rick in mind. The Republican governor's position in the Medellin case dramatically illustrates the gap between what right-wing so-called Christian Republicans espouse and what they practice. To sanctimonious jerks like Perry and his ilk, the Republican Creed and their version of the Golden Rule is:

"I Got Mine (usually unethically, immorally or illegally) Why the Hell Can't the Poor, Powerless, Defenseless and Vulnerable Get Theirs!"

To prove my point, I challenge the Governor of Texas to repeat after me and then honestly answer two simple rhetorical questions:

"Do Unto Others As you Would Have Done Unto You"(and yours)

Ready Rick? Here we go:

Would you have ignored exculpatory scientific evidence and rammed through an execution if the person being executed were your own child or relative?

If a citizen of Texas were arrested abroad and charged with a capital offense should he or she have not only the right, but the actual ability to notify the U.S. Consulate and/or U.S. Embassy and mount an adequate legal defense?

Yeah I thought so. What's that? Those examples don't apply to you? Oh yeah I forgot the corollary to your so-called version of the Republican, er I mean, Golden Rule:

"The Rules Don't Apply to Me because I am (fill in the blank)_________(rich, white, male, American, powerful, politically connected...).

Shame on you Rick Perry. Shame on Texas. Shame on Rick Perry's Amerika.

MPR Question of the Day: Should we change place names that don't fit with modern values?

2011-06-16T07:29:00.003-05:00

Absolutely! Pigs Eye is now Palin's Eye. Minnesota is now Michelesota, the state of "Give me Liberty or give me a clue or a book or a camera to pose before". Paynesville is now Pawlentyville...aka Palookaville...

After 30 Years Lonnie Brooks Still Has What Blues Lovers Need

2011-06-12T00:09:00.006-05:00

As a huge blues fan and lover of good music in general, I have been very fortunate over the years to meet some of my favorite artists. While this can sometimes be a cautionary tale (e.g. the waitress who was slugged by a very drunk John Lennon famously said something to the effect that it wasn't the black eye that hurt as much as finding out one of your heroes was a real asshole) the same can not be said of Mr. Lonnie Brooks. Brooks, one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met, is completely devoid of the arrogance and ego that afflicts many famous musicians, especially guitar players.

With a career spanning over five decades and dating back to his early releases under the stage name "Guitar Junior" including the country cross-over "Family Rules" and the song later made popular with a new generation of blues fans by the Fabulous Thunderbirds, "The Crawl". As the moniker "Guitar Junior" was also being used by another blues guitarist, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, another acquaintance of mine, Brooks smartly and graciously returned to his real name and never looked back.

Although originally from Louisiana, Brooks eventually left his father's farm, hopping a horse and then a freight train, eventually ending up in Chicago where he has been based ever since. My path crossed with Mr. Brooks in the early 1980's where I met the ever affable gentleman backstage at Summerfest in Milwaukee. Lonnie and band played the Old Style Country Stage where he performed right before (or after?) my friends Roomful of Blues. A couple years earlier I had met and become friends with Roomful's late great trumpeter Bob Enos and in one of those strange coincidences in life, had earlier also met Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson's key board player Ron Levy, who now happened to be playing in Roomful. Seeing my friends before the show, they hustled up a backstage pass for me so I could enjoy the complimentary keg and socialize with the performers in the backstage trailer that doubled as the performers dressing room. It is in that trailer that I found myself seated on a couch next to Roomful's then guitarist, the great Ronnie Earl and the legendary Lonnie Brooks.

Ronnie had just complimented Mr. Brooks on the success of his latest album on Alligator (in another strange irony, now Roomful's current label) to which Brooks responded with sincere thanks but then stated something to the effect that the funny part about his current success was he had a single that was actually getting considerable airplay in Chicago and had become something of a hit, one of his first since the old days on the Goldband label. This was at a time when everyone thought the Blues were dead and disco had recently reigned supreme. Well this of course caught the attention of every one in the room, especially when Lonnie said "..and you'll never believe how I wrote the song...".

Lonnie proceeded to mesmerize us recounting his story about driving in Chicago in bumper to bumper traffic one day when he noticed that the car in front of his was chasing and honking at the car ahead of it. Concerned that he may possibly be witnessing a rolling domestic(my term from my criminal defense lawyer days), Brooks watched with rapt attention as the first car made it across one of downtown Chicago's drawbridges while the second car did not. As they were now stuck by virtue of the upraised bridge, the man in the car in front of him leaped out and ran to the rail screaming "Baby! Please..You Got What My Body Needs". Lonnie said he immediately recognized he had to write a song with that lyric. Another version of "You Got What My Body Needs" would eventually appear on his "Bayou Lightning" album.

I know everyone within earshot felt as awe struck as I was to hear that incredible story from the man himself only to have the spell broken by the manager of the headline act, an asshole Englishman whose name will go unmentioned, who proceeded to unceremoniously throw everyone out of the trailer to make room for the asshole and his porn star girlfriend. We then carried our discussion outside in the backstage area sipping keg beer and trading their favorite firsthand story about this Englishman being an asshole of which Curtis Salgado won the competition hands down regaling us with his story, when as a singer in the early Robert Cray Band, they had opened a West Coast tour for the English asshole and walked off the tour after three shows because every night they stole the show and then before the next show Mr. Asshole's manager would relay their punishments: they could not use the headlines sound system , then lights and finally decreed they could not use their horn player to which Robert said F You and walked.

As delicious as I found these stories and revelled in the animosity for this old, washed up English blues wannabe, it is important to note Mr. Brooks was nowhere in site. It is just not in his nature to say something unkind of anyone, even if they are a complete, insecure jerk. Now that's the definition of a class act: Mr. Lonnie Brooks.

Now fast forward some thirty years to June 11, 2011 and Minneapolis where the Lonnie Brooks Blues Band is headlining the Famous Daves Blues Fest. Before Brooks' performance was an always fun set of zydeco, funk and soul by Louisiana's Chubby Carrier Band whose highlights included the customary "Zydeco Boogaloo" (known to all Roomful fans) and zydeco versions of War's "Cisco Kid" and the theme to television's "The Jeffersons" aka "Moving on Up". It should be noted that Carrier had won a much deserved Grammy this year only to find out it would be the genres last as they were discontinuing the category. Shame on the Grammys. However, I can't say I am much surprised by this sell-out organization's conduct anymore.

As good as Carrier's performance was, the best was truly yet to come. When he eventually took the stage, after three blistering warm-up numbers led by his son and guitarist Wayne Baker Brooks, Lonnie took the stage dressed nattily in cowboy shirt and gray cowboy hat. Although I was prepared for seeing an artist in decline due to the great equalizer, age, Mr. Brooks showed no signs of it and still I am in disbelief when I looked up his age as this was not the performance of a 77 year old. Still in fine form, including strong voice, great guitar playing and even dance moves, Lonnie had everyone in the crowd thinking to themselves "...boy I hope I am like that at his age...". The highlight for me came early in his set when, of course, he played the iconic "You Got What My Body Needs" complete with extended guitar dual with Wayne that had the crowd shaking their heads and muttering in disbelief. If you have never had the pleasure, you must see Lonnie Brooks because after 30 years he still has what Blues Lovers need!

In the Doghouse Now: Local Press Coverage of Mpls Tornado an Embarrassment

2011-06-11T11:05:00.008-05:00

All the respect and admiration earned in the aftermath of the 35W bridge collapse several years ago has now been squandered when the Twin Cities CBS station, WCCO, runs a news story last night concerning the living conditions in North Minneapolis almost three weeks after the storm. In a continuation of the press exploitation and exaggeration of the situation which has gone from the local Fox affiliate panicking and broadcasting wildly exaggerated reports of wide spread looting and gunfire on the night of the storm to last night's WCCO report that a North Minneapolis man was purportedly living in a brick dog house supposedly because he could not figure out any other way to protect his property.

By the gleam in the eyes of pathetic fool telling his tale of woe, to the gullible local press, I for one am "...not buying what their selling..." to paraphrase the late great ZZ Hill or as my father would say: "Oh Bullshit!". Either this is just another example of the predominantly white, upper class, local press corp being conned again by a few savvy, but vocal, members of the Northside poor and minority communities or we are doomed. C'mon Minneapolis get some self-respect and don't believe everything you hear from the incredibly lazy local press corp aka happy news and 20 minutes of weather. Before running an exploitative story like the one run by WCCO last nite, I suggest the reporter first verify the idiot actually spent a night living like Snoopy. May God help us. Check it out yourself at http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/06/10/3-weeks-after-tornado-north-mpls-living-conditions-tough/

Gov. Rick Perry: Willingham Case is Perry's Chappaquiddick

2011-06-05T11:08:00.005-05:00

If anyone out there, that includes you too Governor, thinks that Texas Governor Rick Perry is the answer to the GOP Presidential candidate woes they had better watch the PBS Frontline episode on how a botched arson investigation turned miscarriage of, then obstruction of justice, with the end result being the State of Texas by act of Governor Rick Perry, putting to death a possibly innocent man, Todd Willingham. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/death-by-fire/

Talk about your misguided and unwarranted government mandates, hey Rick don't ya think when you are imposing the most extreme and irreversible form of punishment you would want to have all the facts, including recently proffered scientific facts, which by the way absolved Mr. Willingham of intentionally setting the fire that killed his children. Instead you prematurely disbanded the commission, the commission that you established, when you did not like their results and than proceeded to allow Mr. Willingham's execution to go through ignoring exculpatory scientific evidence.

I cannot imagine Executive branch decision making this poor let alone come up with comparably bad examples of executive decision making this wretched and grotesque. Oh yeah, I forgot. There was just that little issue of how you cavalierly reacted to the prospect of putting to death a possibly innocent man. To those that think Rick Perry has a chance to become the GOP's Presidential candidate I have just one word: Willingham.

Palin and Bachmann's New England Ride

2011-06-03T18:51:00.003-05:00

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the bus ride of Sarah Palin,
To deliver her message of ignorance and fear;
Hardly a man or woman or unborn child not yet alive,
will remember that shrew’s infamous ride.

She said to her friends in the press, with nary a clue
Demonstrating her ignorance as if on cue:

“He who warned, uh, the, the British that they weren’t gonna
be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringin’ those bells and, um,
makin’ sure as he’s ridin’ his horse through town to send those
warning shots and bells that, uh, we were gonna be secure
and we were gonna be free and we were gonna be armed.”

And with that tortured rendition of Paul Revere’s Ride,
she bade “Good-night!" and roared off on the back of a Harley
to New Hampshire where she had planned something snide
hoping to steal Mint’s thunder only to be denied;

For when Sarah Palin arrived in that New Hampshire night
she had been beaten there by someone equally not so bright,
for it was Michele Bachmann who had arrived months earlier
and spoke to the Tea Party faithful her lesson of history
as that dim bulb knew it, whereupon just like Sarah,
Michele promptly blew it:

“What I love about New Hampshire and what we have
in common is our extreme love for liberty,”
the potential GOP presidential candidate said.
“You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world
in Lexington and Concord. And you put a marker in the ground
and paid with the blood of your ancestors the very first price that
had to be paid to make this the most magnificent nation that has
ever arisen in the annals of man in 5,000 years of recorded history.”
“I’m thankful that you are the first in the nation state because
you are the liberty state,” Bachmann said.
“That is your charge. You keep that baton of liberty. You’ve done it
very well for almost 20 generations from the time the Pilgrims
landed at Plymouth Rock, and I’m sure the very first one came up
to New Hampshire and said, ‘This is where I want to be.’”

So with poets and historians like Sarah and Michele,
the GOP and Tea Baggers should do just swell!
(c) 2011 by Plainsense

(Apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and historians everywhere.)

Gov. Dayton Calls Republican's Bluff

2011-06-02T07:26:00.003-05:00

With the prospect of a state government shutdown on July 1st rapidly approaching, Republican leaders from the House and Senate are meeting with administration officials today for a bipartisan panel discussion what may as well be called a game of "Minnesota Hold 'Em". Although the meeting is not being held at the Canterbury Card Room, the stakes could not be higher.

Since both sides have on their poker faces and neither appears willing to budge, what good could possibly come out of today's meeting? Well I for one am looking forward to the Governor providing details on his proposal to shield S Corps and small businesses from the effects of his proposal for a modest tax hike on the wealthiest 2% of Minnesotans to bring their tax rates in line with the rate paid by the middle class. Hopefully this will shine a spotlight on one of the biggest lies in the history of American Politics, the Republican's claim that a tax hike on the uber wealthy would kill job creation by small business, which accounts for approximately 85% of job growth.

We've heard this claim out of Republicans time and time again whenever their constituencies are faced with the possibility of paying their fair share in income taxes. Despite the fact that this claim has been repeatedly debunked by every nonpartisan fact checking organization, including the highly esteemed FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Journalism. In the last presidential election cycle the actual percentage of jobs created by small businesses that would be effected by a repeal of the Bush tax cuts was estimated to be only 6%.

Now I can just hear the right-wingnuts muttering under their collective bad breath, "nonpartisan, huh". You see, whenever the right is confronted with, sorry, an inconvenient truth, their tactic, much like Mussolini's or Jesse Ventura's, is to attack the messenger. Organizations that follow a strict code of journalistic ethics are not credible so say the right. Only corporate controlled, entertainment dominated, info news organizations like Fox News are to be believed if you are a true Republican.

Recently the Washington Post looked into this issue at the federal level in the context of the Obama Administration rolling back the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy:

"When Republicans speak of “small businesses,” they are referring to the companies that file under the individual tax code. But not all of them are what most Americans would consider small businesses — and not all of them are that small, either. In fact, a report by the Joint Committee on Taxation — the nonpartisan congressional entity that ‘scores” tax legislation — found that the number of tax returns by so-called “flow-through entities” has soared in recent years.

As of 2005, the JCT says, retail trade (such as mom-and-pop shops) accounted for about 11 percent of so-called S corporations, holding 12 percent of total assets, and 5 percent of partnerships, with less than 1 percent of total assets. Another 14 percent of S corporations were in construction but the largest category, at 15 percent, were “professional, scientific and technical services.”

Some of these “pass-through” companies are rather large, with revenues of more than $50 million, but they represent just a small proportion of such companies. According to calculations by Donald Marron, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, in 2008 such companies accounted for less than one-tenth of one percent of all returns filed — but they had 40 percent of revenues and 30 percent of all profits.

“Large businesses thus account for a large share of the economic activity pass-through entities undertake,” Marron recently told Congress. “Policymakers should therefore take care not to equate pass-throughs with small business.”

The result, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, is that only 3 percent of all “small businesses” paying taxes would be affected by Obama’s plan to lift marginal tax rates on families making more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000. (See page 25 of the JCT report.) That group — about 750,000 taxpayers — accounts for 50 percent of the estimated $1 trillion in business income reported in 2011. The other 97 percent of “small businesses” shared the rest — and under Obama’s plan, they would get to keep their Bush-era tax cuts." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/is-obama-aiming-to-hike-taxes-on-small-business/2011/04/14/AFqvmPfD_blog.html

So in light of the cold hard fact as gleaned from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation "...that only 3 percent of all “small businesses” paying taxes would be affected by Obama’s plan to lift marginal tax rates..." I look forward to hearing the response from Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and the Republicans to Governor Dayton's calling their bluff.

Tonight We Remember #3

2011-05-26T07:08:00.001-05:00

It's Official: Republican Controlled Mn Legislature Frittered Away Entire Session Posturing and Passing Social Legislation For Political Gain

2011-05-24T00:32:00.015-05:00

It was perfectly fitting and some would even say karma that on the day that former Governor Tim Pawlenty officially threw his hat in the ring down in Iowa his former Republican colleagues in the Minnesota Legislature wrapped up their session without ever getting down to the peoples business and negotiating like adults with the Governor Dayton to resolve the Pawlenty legacy, a $5 Billion deficit. So just like their former phony leader who did not have the political and moral courage to address the long term structural deficit in the state budget that he faced every Biennium of his two terms as Governor, the Republican controlled MN House and Senate kicked the can down the road just like the bunch of school boys that they are.

So just what did the Republican controlled Minnesota Legislature get accomplished instead of working on the real problems facing the state like the deficit and jobs jobs jobs? Why they spent the entire session passing various turn out the base red meat legislation like new restrictions on abortion, putting on the 2012 ballot a constitutional Amendment banning same sex marriage and Karl Rove's old trick, voter suppression, er, I mean voter ID legislation. Oh yeah, they invited some buffon, right wing minister to give a childish denominational rant of a prayer to open the day last week, the same day they debated their hate filled discriminatory ballot initiative.

Yep, just business as usual for the Republicans, no new taxes posturing, taking care of themselves and ignoring the public good. The result: wasted tax dollars for a special session, skyrocketing property taxes and user fees while services and the quality of life for the middle and working classes goes to hell. Thanks Timmy, thanks Republicans...Same as it ever was.

10 Questions to Help You Get Up to Speed on Michele and Timmy's Nuptial

2011-04-28T07:53:00.007-05:00

Organizers have made plans to accommodate 2 billion "guests" from all over the world. Even more important: The souvenir tea bags have been printed.

So it seems that everything is in place for the grandest wedding of the century: Friday's marriage of Iowa's Prince Michele of the House of Horrors to Miss Timithina "T-Paw" Pawlenty.

But even the most loyal Tea Bag fan (we see you out there waving your little tea bags) may have questions about this intricate ceremony. So here we answer "10 Questions about Minnesota's Royal Wedding Bash":

1) Who are these people?

Michele is next in line to inherit the Republican crown after her forefather George W, the Prince of Idiots, son of George Bush I and his wife, Barbara the mugger in pearls. If the regular succession plan holds, some day Michele will be Minnesota's king with Timithina bearing a title that the Minnesota government won't even speculate on until it all happens, but rumored to be Vice President.

2) What time does the official ceremony start?

The church ceremony starts at 11 a.m. Friday, 5 a.m. Minnesota time. Guests have been told to arrive at least 20 minutes before that. Crowds will be congregating officially at the site starting about 2 a.m. Minnesota time.

3) What will Timmy's gown look like?

It is one of the best-kept secrets in Minnesota history. No one outside the designer staff and the wedding party knows. If we knew, we'd tell you here. But then the secret service guys would show up and bang on the door of the bathroom where we ran to hide.

But if we had to guess, we'd bet that this will be a form-fitted white or ivory gown, without feathers - in keeping with Timmy's tailored tastes. The train will be in proportion to the gown, unlike Diana's jaw-dropping 25-foot train that had all the maneuverability of an oil tanker. We're guessing - and again it is only a guess - the designer will be Steve McQueen's creative director, Tim Burton, or designers at Herbergers or at Lula.

Then again: Who's to say there is just ONE wedding dress? Some estimates say there are three already on hangers, waiting for Tim's last-minute choice.

Rumor has it that his headpiece will be fresh lady slippers, not a tiara, all the better to relate to his non royal South St. Paul roots. Again, no confirmation until Friday. But we can assure you that Tim will NOT be wearing some of his signature clothing items: plaid skirts or cowboy boots.

4) What will Michele wear?

She is expected to wear a uniform from one of the White Supremacist para military services.

5) How much will the wedding cost and who foots the bill?

No one is saying exactly how much the wedding will cost, though St. Paul's Pioneer Press Dispatch has estimated the bill will come to about $10 million or the cost of removing 30,000 vulnerable adults from Minnesota Care.

6) Why are they getting married at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis?

According to an official release: "The couple were moved to choose the venue because of its beauty, its history and - despite the overall size of its congregation - the relative intimacy of the area around the High Altar. Besides the money that can be raised from the offering plates will really line our campaign coffers nicely"

7) What about the bridal couple's jewelry?

The Tea Baggers have fitted Michele with nipple rings with which they plan on making her dance like a marionette. Timmy still has his nose ring which the Republican National Committee uses to yank him along to the party's drumbeat.

But there's been a break from tradition this time: The palace revealed that the prince has chosen not to wear a "Prince Albert".

8) What's the dress code for guests?

According to a palace etiquette guide sent to guests: "Wearing the right Twins hat and not overdoing it is important. Wearing Packer Green or Gold is not appropriate. That must be left to the bride. Men in the Armed Forces should wear uniform and male civilians a leisure suit (track suit) . The Twins hat should be carried, not worn, inside the church."

For women, the dress code means a snazzy pant suit, or Capri's with a jacket, with hat and gloves, boat shoes and a matching backpack.

9) Why does T-Paw wave like that?

There are several possible answers. The most credible has to do with regal restraint and grace. The slightly cupped hand isn't the open-palmed flying fingers most of us use. However, like his in-bred effeminate cousin and Governor from our Cheesehead neighbor state, Scotty Walker, it is rumored that Timithina, like Scotty has extremely thin, effeminate wrists.

10) How will ordinary 'Sotans be celebrating the wedding?

The wedding day has been declared a State holiday in Minnesota, so most people, including yours truly, have the day off work.

What to do? Street party!

No less a personage than Garrison Keillor is urging Minnesotans to organize street parties across the state and has ordered local authorities to scrap the usual red tape about closing roads. The result is that there have been more than 4,000 applications for street parties in the state, with more than 2 million expected to boogie-til-you-puke.

Calling All Birthers, Tea Baggers, Trumpster, Dittoheads, Beck, Hannity and Other Know Nothings: Now You Will Have To Run On the Issues

2011-04-27T08:47:00.011-05:00

Now that the White House has released the long form of President Obama's birth certificate what will you do to distract the the great unwashed, the TMZ, American Idol and Dancing with the Stars crowd now that you can no longer blow smoke up the behinds of stupid people with you racist lies about the President's place of birth?

Will you actually discuss your plans to dismantle the social safety net in this country so you can give your never ending tax cuts to the privileged few who contribute millions to your campaign coffers, which tax cuts are then borne on the backs of hard working Americans? Will you show the American Public the effects that your Republican tax cuts have had on the ever growing inequality in the distribution of wealth in this country?

Will you point out to the American public that the President's cautious approach to Libya and decision not to arm the rebels was the correct one in light of the most recent batch of Wikileaks which revealed that one of the rebels military leaders, Abdul-Hakim al-Hasadi, is an ex Gitmo prisoner and Al Qaeda member?

(Way to go John McCain, Glenn Beck Sean Hannity and other critics of President's Libyan policy! Unlike president GW Bush, President Obama doesn't rush into armed interventions that benefit our strategic enemies at the expense of American blood and treasure, i.e. Iraq.)

Hopefully today will mark the beginning of the Great Awakening: the rejection of the trivial, the refusal to be distracted and the return to focusing on the serious issues which face the nation. This necessarily requires honest public discourse on the actual facts of the given issue or situation.

If we are ever going to come up with successful solutions to our serious problems we no longer have the luxury of ignorance or intellectual laziness. The majority of the public has to start paying attention and stop accepting as truths the litany of lies perpetuated by Republicans since the days of Ronald Reagan: Trickle Down economics are a farce, tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and investor class do not benefit small business nor create jobs. The economic health of America is tied to the economic health of an upwardly mobile and prosperous working and middle class. Stop voting against your economic interests and supporting candidates who only offer you platitudes and lectures on morality. You cannot legislate morality and those that harp on moral issue invariably turn out to be hypocrites. Amen.

Puke & Snot: Pawlenty Iowa Campaign Worker Arrested

2011-04-24T07:23:00.010-05:00

The news wire services were abuzz earlier this month with reports of another in the long list of disturbing cases of hypocrisy on behalf of those paragons of family values and law and order types, the Republican Party. Reading like a page out of failed Minnesota Gubernatorial candidate and multiple DWI offender, Tom Emmer's past, the first staffer hired by the Pawlenty for President Committee in Iowa, 24 year-old Alabaman Benjamin Limbaugh Foster, was arrested in the early morning hours of April 6, 2011 attempting to break into the downstairs of a home in Ankeny, Iowa.

Much to the horror of the owners 15 year-old daughter, the besotted Foster, in a move that is sure to endear his candidate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, in the hearts of all Iowejuns, was attempting to force his way into the home thinking it was the residence he had been temporarily staying at, that is before becoming a resident of the local county jail. Only problem was, that the residence the T-Paw worker had been using as a temporary base of operations was over 10 miles away. Woops!

When Ankeny police arrived shortly after 3 A.M. they found the father of the 15 year old holding the now puking Pawlenty campaign worker at gunpoint on the front lawn. Complicating matters is the fact that despite their locating a car with Bama plates parked just down the street and Foster initially admitting to them that he had been out drinking and driving, the local constables only charged the inimical threat to public safety with public intoxication and trespassing. You don't think the fact that this Des Moines suburb is a Republican stronghold could have anything to do with the gross undercharging in the criminal case now do you?

Well at least we could count on the "take responsibility for ones own actions" crowd to mete out the appropriate punishment for this heinous offense right? You be the judge. The press release from the Pawlenty campaign read:

"Governor Pawlenty is extremely disappointed in Ben's actions and his behavior does not meet the standards he expects of his employees. Therefore the committee is placing Ben on a two-week unpaid suspension and expects him to bear the legal consequences for his actions."

Besides, my former law school classmate and Presidential candidate must have thought to himself, maybe the kid was suffering from a case of swine flu? Yeah Governor, that would be swine of the Republican variety.

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpps/news/politics/pawlenty-worker-ben-foster-drunk-iowa-apr-6-2011_12652592

Full Text of President Obama's Fiscal Policy and Deficit Reduction Speech at GW

2011-04-13T15:05:00.004-05:00

By sheer happenstance I was lucky enough to have the day off today and was able to catch President Obama's entire speech live on my local NPR station (KNOW aka Minnesota Public Radio, of which I am a proud member). As someone who was self-employed for over twenty years, this may not seem like a big deal. But after working for a large corporation for more than three years now, my time is no longer my own. Although the benefits of working for a large organization and being part of something bigger than ones self, especially one with an exemplary corporate culture and ethic such as mine, I do miss being able to have public radio on in the background throughout my day.

So it was a real treat for me to be able to listen live to what will go down in history as one of the President's greatest moments. Widely recognized, even by his most vocal critics, as a great speech writer and a communicator on par with President Reagan, the President spoke directly to the average American in his usual frank and honest fashion, and put into context, both historically and philosophically, the current state of the federal deficit and national debt, an issue so large and complex that few politicians would have the temerity to even attempt. Not only did the President rise to the challenge, to any observer with an open mind and a grasp of the cold hard facts, he slam dunked it.

But what still gives me the willies is that part of the President's speech, which came early on, where he laid out his values, which values form the foundation for his approach to deficit reduction and forms the basis for his budget plan. But these were not just "Obama values" or "Obama Care" as his opponents so disrespectfully refer to the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. No, said values are American values and if you don't believe it just read on.

In words eerily almost identical to the ones I spoke extemporaneously to my friend and colleague Bridget late last week at work in describing my political philosophy, right down to the verbatim quote "...there by the grace of God go I...". And I am not talking about just that much parroted phrase but the whole philosophy behind it. So with God and Bridget as my witnesses, I give you the full text of the President's speech, with credit to me, his clairvoyant co-writer:

"Good afternoon. It's great to be back at GW. I want you to know that one of the reasons I kept the government open was so I could be here today with all of you. I wanted to make sure you had one more excuse to skip class. You're welcome.

Of course, what we've been debating here in Washington for the last few weeks will affect your lives in ways that are potentially profound. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. It's about the kind of future we want. It's about the kind of country we believe in. And that's what I want to talk about today.

From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government.

But there has always been another thread running throughout our history - a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire industries. Each of us has benefited from these investments, and we are a more prosperous country as a result.

Part of this American belief that we are all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff, may strike any one of us. "There but for the grace of God go I," we say to ourselves, and so we contribute to programs like Medicare and Social Security, which guarantee us health care and a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; and Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, and those with disabilities. We are a better country because of these commitments. I'll go further - we would not be a great country without those commitments.

For much of the last century, our nation found a way to afford these investments and priorities with the taxes paid by its citizens. As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally born a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. This is not because we begrudge those who've done well - we rightly celebrate their success. Rather, it is a basic reflection of our belief that those who have benefitted most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more back. Moreover, this belief has not hindered the success of those at the top of the income scale, who continue to do better and better with each passing year.
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Now, at certain times - particularly during periods of war or recession - our nation has had to borrow money to pay for some of our priorities. And as most families understand, a little credit card debt isn't going to hurt if it's temporary.

But as far back as the 1980s, America started amassing debt at more alarming levels, and our leaders began to realize that a larger challenge was on the horizon. They knew that eventually, the Baby Boom generation would retire, which meant a much bigger portion of our citizens would be relying on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and possibly Medicaid. Like parents with young children who know they have to start saving for the college years, America had to start borrowing less and saving more to prepare for the retirement of an entire generation.

To meet this challenge, our leaders came together three times during the 1990s to reduce our nation's deficit. They forged historic agreements that required tough decisions made by the first President Bush and President Clinton; by Democratic Congresses and a Republican Congress. All three agreements asked for shared responsibility and shared sacrifice, but they largely protected the middle class, our commitments to seniors, and key investments in our future.

As a result of these bipartisan efforts, America's finances were in great shape by the year 2000. We went from deficit to surplus. America was actually on track to becoming completely debt-free, and we were prepared for the retirement of the Baby Boomers.

But after Democrats and Republicans committed to fiscal discipline during the 1990s, we lost our way in the decade that followed. We increased spending dramatically for two wars and an expensive prescription drug program - but we didn't pay for any of this new spending. Instead, we made the problem worse with trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax cuts - tax cuts that went to every millionaire and billionaire in the country; tax cuts that will force us to borrow an average of $500 billion every year over the next decade.

To give you an idea of how much damage this caused to our national checkbook, consider this: in the last decade, if we had simply found a way to pay for the tax cuts and the prescription drug benefit, our deficit would currently be at low historical levels in the coming years.

Of course, that's not what happened. And so, by the time I took office, we once again found ourselves deeply in debt and unprepared for a Baby Boom retirement that is now starting to take place. When I took office, our projected deficit was more than $1 trillion. On top of that, we faced a terrible financial crisis and a recession that, like most recessions, led us to temporarily borrow even more. In this case, we took a series of emergency steps that saved millions of jobs, kept credit flowing, and provided working families extra money in their pockets. It was the right thing to do, but these steps were expensive, and added to our deficits in the short term.

So that's how our fiscal challenge was created. This is how we got here. And now that our economic recovery is gaining strength, Democrats and Republicans must come together and restore the fiscal responsibility that served us so well in the 1990s. We have to live within our means, reduce our deficit, and get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt. And we have to do it in a way that protects the recovery, and protects the investments we need to grow, create jobs, and win the future.

Now, before I get into how we can achieve this goal, some of you might be wondering, "Why is this so important? Why does this matter to me?"

Here's why. Even after our economy recovers, our government will still be on track to spend more money than it takes in throughout this decade and beyond. That means we'll have to keep borrowing more from countries like China. And that means more of your tax dollars will go toward paying off the interest on all the loans we keep taking out. By the end of this decade, the interest we owe on our debt could rise to nearly $1 trillion. Just the interest payments.

Then, as the Baby Boomers start to retire and health care costs continue to rise, the situation will get even worse. By 2025, the amount of taxes we currently pay will only be enough to finance our health care programs, Social Security, and the interest we owe on our debt. That's it. Every other national priority - education, transportation, even national security - will have to be paid for with borrowed money.

Ultimately, all this rising debt will cost us jobs and damage our economy. It will prevent us from making the investments we need to win the future. We won't be able to afford good schools, new research, or the repair of roads and bridges - all the things that will create new jobs and businesses here in America. Businesses will be less likely to invest and open up shop in a country that seems unwilling or unable to balance its books. And if our creditors start worrying that we may be unable to pay back our debts, it could drive up interest rates for everyone who borrows money - making it harder for businesses to expand and hire, or families to take out a mortgage.

The good news is, this doesn't have to be our future. This doesn't have to be the country we leave to our children. We can solve this problem. We came together as Democrats and Republicans to meet this challenge before, and we can do it again.

But that starts by being honest about what's causing our deficit. You see, most Americans tend to dislike government spending in the abstract, but they like the stuff it buys. Most of us, regardless of party affiliation, believe that we should have a strong military and a strong defense. Most Americans believe we should invest in education and medical research. Most Americans think we should protect commitments like Social Security and Medicare. And without even looking at a poll, my finely honed political skills tell me that almost no one believes they should be paying higher taxes.

Because all this spending is popular with both Republicans and Democrats alike, and because nobody wants to pay higher taxes, politicians are often eager to feed the impression that solving the problem is just a matter of eliminating waste and abuse -that tackling the deficit issue won't require tough choices. Or they suggest that we can somehow close our entire deficit by eliminating things like foreign aid, even though foreign aid makes up about 1% of our entire budget.

So here's the truth. Around two-thirds of our budget is spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and national security. Programs like unemployment insurance, student loans, veterans' benefits, and tax credits for working families take up another 20%. What's left, after interest on the debt, is just 12 percent for everything else. That's 12 percent for all of our other national priorities like education and clean energy; medical research and transportation; food safety and keeping our air and water clean.

Up until now, the cuts proposed by a lot of folks in Washington have focused almost exclusively on that 12%. But cuts to that 12% alone won't solve the problem. So any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table, and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget. A serious plan doesn't require us to balance our budget overnight - in fact, economists think that with the economy just starting to grow again, we will need a phased-in approach - but it does require tough decisions and support from leaders in both parties. And above all, it will require us to choose a vision of the America we want to see five and ten and twenty years down the road.

One vision has been championed by Republicans in the House of Representatives and embraced by several of their party's presidential candidates. It's a plan that aims to reduce our deficit by $4 trillion over the next ten years, and one that addresses the challenge of Medicare and Medicaid in the years after that.

Those are both worthy goals for us to achieve. But the way this plan achieves those goals would lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known throughout most of our history.

A 70% cut to clean energy. A 25% cut in education. A 30% cut in transportation. Cuts in college Pell Grants that will grow to more than $1,000 per year. That's what they're proposing. These aren't the kind of cuts you make when you're trying to get rid of some waste or find extra savings in the budget. These aren't the kind of cuts that Republicans and Democrats on the Fiscal Commission proposed. These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America we believe in. And they paint a vision of our future that's deeply pessimistic.

It's a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can't afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can't afford to send them. Go to China and you'll see businesses opening research labs and solar facilities. South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math and science. Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure and can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but biofuels. And yet, we are presented with a vision that says the United States of America - the greatest nation on Earth - can't afford any of this.

It's a vision that says America can't afford to keep the promise we've made to care for our seniors. It says that ten years from now, if you're a 65 year old who's eligible for Medicare, you should have to pay nearly $6,400 more than you would today. It says instead of guaranteed health care, you will get a voucher. And if that voucher isn't worth enough to buy insurance, tough luck - you're on your own. Put simply, it ends Medicare as we know it.

This is a vision that says up to 50 million Americans have to lose their health insurance in order for us to reduce the deficit. And who are those 50 million Americans? Many are someone's grandparents who wouldn't be able afford nursing home care without Medicaid. Many are poor children. Some are middle-class families who have children with autism or Down's syndrome. Some are kids with disabilities so severe that they require 24-hour care. These are the Americans we'd be telling to fend for themselves.

Worst of all, this is a vision that says even though America can't afford to invest in education or clean energy; even though we can't afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that's who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that's paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That's not right, and it's not going to happen as long as I'm President.

The fact is, their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. As Ronald Reagan's own budget director said, there's nothing "serious" or "courageous" about this plan. There's nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. There's nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don't have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know.

The America I know is generous and compassionate; a land of opportunity and optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves and each other; for the country we want and the future we share. We are the nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI bill and saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives.

This is who we are. This is the America I know. We don't have to choose between a future of spiraling debt and one where we forfeit investments in our people and our country. To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I'm President, we won't.

Today, I'm proposing a more balanced approach to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over twelve years. It's an approach that borrows from the recommendations of the bipartisan Fiscal Commission I appointed last year, and builds on the roughly $1 trillion in deficit reduction I already proposed in my 2012 budget. It's an approach that puts every kind of spending on the table, but one that protects the middle-class, our promise to seniors, and our investments in the future.

The first step in our approach is to keep annual domestic spending low by building on the savings that both parties agreed to last week - a step that will save us about $750 billion over twelve years. We will make the tough cuts necessary to achieve these savings, including in programs I care about, but I will not sacrifice the core investments we need to grow and create jobs. We'll invest in medical research and clean energy technology. We'll invest in new roads and airports and broadband access. We will invest in education and job training. We will do what we need to compete and we will win the future.

The second step in our approach is to find additional savings in our defense budget. As Commander-in-Chief, I have no greater responsibility than protecting our national security, and I will never accept cuts that compromise our ability to defend our homeland or America's interests around the world. But as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, has said, the greatest long-term threat to America's national security is America's debt.

Just as we must find more savings in domestic programs, we must do the same in defense. Over the last two years, Secretary Gates has courageously taken on wasteful spending, saving $400 billion in current and future spending. I believe we can do that again. We need to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but conduct a fundamental review of America's missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world. I intend to work with Secretary Gates and the Joint Chiefs on this review, and I will make specific decisions about spending after it's complete.

The third step in our approach is to further reduce health care spending in our budget. Here, the difference with the House Republican plan could not be clearer: their plan lowers the government's health care bills by asking seniors and poor families to pay them instead. Our approach lowers the government's health care bills by reducing the cost of health care itself.

Already, the reforms we passed in the health care law will reduce our deficit by $1 trillion. My approach would build on these reforms. We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments. We will cut spending on prescription drugs by using Medicare's purchasing power to drive greater efficiency and speed generic brands of medicine onto the market. We will work with governors of both parties to demand more efficiency and accountability from Medicaid. We will change the way we pay for health care - not by procedure or the number of days spent in a hospital, but with new incentives for doctors and hospitals to prevent injuries and improve results. And we will slow the growth of Medicare costs by strengthening an independent commission of doctors, nurses, medical experts and consumers who will look at all the evidence and recommend the best ways to reduce unnecessary spending while protecting access to the services seniors need.

Now, we believe the reforms we've proposed to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid will enable us to keep these commitments to our citizens while saving us $500 billion by 2023, and an additional one trillion dollars in the decade after that. And if we're wrong, and Medicare costs rise faster than we expect, this approach will give the independent commission the authority to make additional savings by further improving Medicare.

But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations.

That includes, by the way, our commitment to Social Security. While Social Security is not the cause of our deficit, it faces real long-term challenges in a country that is growing older. As I said in the State of the Union, both parties should work together now to strengthen Social Security for future generations. But we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.

The fourth step in our approach is to reduce spending in the tax code. In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. And I refuse to renew them again.

Beyond that, the tax code is also loaded up with spending on things like itemized deductions. And while I agree with the goals of many of these deductions, like home ownership or charitable giving, we cannot ignore the fact that they provide millionaires an average tax break of $75,000 while doing nothing for the typical middle-class family that doesn't itemize.

My budget calls for limiting itemized deductions for the wealthiest 2% of Americans - a reform that would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over ten years. But to reduce the deficit, I believe we should go further. That's why I'm calling on Congress to reform our individual tax code so that it is fair and simple - so that the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford. I believe reform should protect the middle class, promote economic growth, and build on the Fiscal Commission's model of reducing tax expenditures so that there is enough savings to both lower rates and lower the deficit. And as I called for in the State of the Union, we should reform our corporate tax code as well, to make our businesses and our economy more competitive.

This is my approach to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next twelve years. It's an approach that achieves about $2 trillion in spending cuts across the budget. It will lower our interest payments on the debt by $1 trillion. It calls for tax reform to cut about $1 trillion in spending from the tax code. And it achieves these goals while protecting the middle class, our commitment to seniors, and our investments in the future.

In the coming years, if the recovery speeds up and our economy grows faster than our current projections, we can make even greater progress than I have pledged here. But just to hold Washington - and me - accountable and make sure that the debt burden continues to decline, my plan includes a debt failsafe. If, by 2014, our debt is not projected to fall as a share of the economy - or if Congress has failed to act - my plan will require us to come together and make up the additional savings with more spending cuts and more spending reductions in the tax code. That should be an incentive for us to act boldly now, instead of kicking our problems further down the road.

So this is our vision for America - a vision where we live within our means while still investing in our future; where everyone makes sacrifices but no one bears all the burden; where we provide a basic measure of security for our citizens and rising opportunity for our children.

Of course, there will be those who disagree with my approach. Some will argue we shouldn't even consider raising taxes, even if only on the wealthiest Americans. It's just an article of faith for them. I say that at a time when the tax burden on the wealthy is at its lowest level in half a century, the most fortunate among us can afford to pay a little more. I don't need another tax cut. Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut. Not if we have to pay for it by making seniors pay more for Medicare. Or by cutting kids from Head Start. Or by taking away college scholarships that I wouldn't be here without. That some of you wouldn't be here without. And I believe that most wealthy Americans would agree with me. They want to give back to the country that's done so much for them. Washington just hasn't asked them to.

Others will say that we shouldn't even talk about cutting spending until the economy is fully recovered. I'm sympathetic to this view, which is one of the reasons I supported the payroll tax cuts we passed in December. It's also why we have to use a scalpel and not a machete to reduce the deficit - so that we can keep making the investments that create jobs. But doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option. Our debt has grown so large that we could do real damage to the economy if we don't begin a process now to get our fiscal house in order.

Finally, there are those who believe we shouldn't make any reforms to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security out of a fear that any talk of change to these programs will usher in the sort of radical steps that House Republicans have proposed. I understand these fears. But I guarantee that if we don't make any changes at all, we won't be able to keep our commitments to a retiring generation that will live longer and face higher health care costs than those who came before.

Indeed, to those in my own party, I say that if we truly believe in a progressive vision of our society, we have the obligation to prove that we can afford our commitments. If we believe that government can make a difference in people's lives, we have the obligation to prove that it works - by making government smarter, leaner and more effective.

Of course, there are those who will simply say that there's no way we can come together and agree on a solution to this challenge. They'll say the politics of this city are just too broken; that the choices are just too hard; that the parties are just too far apart. And after a few years in this job, I certainly have some sympathy for this view.

But I also know that we've come together and met big challenges before. Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill came together to save Social Security for future generations. The first President Bush and a Democratic Congress came together to reduce the deficit. President Clinton and a Republican Congress battled each other ferociously and still found a way to balance the budget. In the last few months, both parties have come together to pass historic tax relief and spending cuts. And I know there are Republicans and Democrats in Congress who want to see a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

I believe we can and must come together again. This morning, I met with Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress to discuss the approach I laid out today. And in early May, the Vice President will begin regular meetings with leaders in both parties with the aim of reaching a final agreement on a plan to reduce the deficit by the end of June.

I don't expect the details in any final agreement to look exactly like the approach I laid out today. I'm eager to hear other ideas from all ends of the political spectrum. And though I'm sure the criticism of what I've said here today will be fierce in some quarters, and my critique of the House Republican approach has been strong, Americans deserve and will demand that we all bridge our differences, and find common ground.

This larger debate we're having, about the size and role of government, has been with us since our founding days. And during moments of great challenge and change, like the one we're living through now, the debate gets sharper and more vigorous. That's a good thing. As a country that prizes both our individual freedom and our obligations to one another, this is one of the most important debates we can have.

But no matter what we argue or where we stand, we've always held certain beliefs as Americans. We believe that in order to preserve our own freedoms and pursue our own happiness, we can't just think about ourselves. We have to think about the country that made those liberties possible. We have to think about our fellow citizens with whom we share a community. And we have to think about what's required to preserve the American Dream for future generations.

This sense of responsibility - to each other and to our country - this isn't a partisan feeling. It isn't a Democratic or Republican idea. It's patriotism.

The other day I received a letter from a man in Florida. He started off by telling me he didn't vote for me and he hasn't always agreed with me. But even though he's worried about our economy and the state of our politics, he said,

"I still believe. I believe in that great country that my grandfather told me about. I believe that somewhere lost in this quagmire of petty bickering on every news station, the 'American Dream' is still alive...

We need to use our dollars here rebuilding, refurbishing and restoring all that our ancestors struggled to create and maintain...We as a people must do this together, no matter the color of the state one comes from or the side of the aisle one might sit on."

I still believe as well. And I know that if we can come together, and uphold our responsibilities to one another and to this larger enterprise that is America, we will keep the dream of our founding alive in our time, and pass on to our children the country we believe in. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2011/04/13/country-we-believe-improving-america-s-fiscal-future

FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility

2011-04-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility

The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures that shared prosperity will keep the American dream alive for generations to come. A key component of that strategy must be a commitment to fiscal responsibility and to living within our means. Today, the President is laying out a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework to cut spending, bring down our debt and increase confidence in our nation’s fiscal strength, while supporting our economic recovery and ensuring we are making the investments we need to win the future.

$4 Trillion in Deficit Reduction: The President is setting a goal of reducing our deficit by $4 trillion in 12 years or less. This deficit reduction would be phased in over time to protect and strengthen our economic recovery and the recovering labor market.

Debt on a Declining Path, Backed Up By An Across the Board “Debt Failsafe” Trigger: The President’s framework would require that, by the second half of the decade, our nation’s debt is on a declining path as a share of our economy. To enforce this requirement, the President is calling on Congress to enact:

* A Debt Failsafe that will trigger across-the-board spending reductions (both in direct spending and spending through the tax code) if, by 2014, the projected ratio of debt-to-GDP is not stabilized and declining toward the end of the decade. Consistent with prior fiscal enforcement triggers put in place by Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton, the trigger should not apply to Social Security, low-income programs, or Medicare benefits.

Balance Between Spending Cuts and Tax Reform: The President’s framework would seek a balanced approach to bringing down our deficit, with three dollars of spending cuts and interest savings for every one dollar from tax reform that contributes to deficit reduction. This is consistent with the bipartisan Fiscal Commission’s approach.

Shared Sacrifice from All, Including the Most Fortunate Americans: The President believes strongly that, as we make difficult choices to live within our means, we cannot afford to make our deficit problem worse by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Bipartisan, Bicameral Negotiations on a Legislative Framework: The President has asked Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi and Minority Leader McConnell to each designate four Members from their caucuses to participate in bipartisan, bicameral negotiations led by the Vice President, beginning in early May. The goal of these negotiations is to agree on a legislative framework for comprehensive deficit reduction.

Policy Highlights. The policy highlights in the President’s framework build on the down-payment included in his FY 2012 Budget. They include:

* Non-security discretionary spending: The President is proposing to build on the savings from the FY 2011 budget agreement, while investing in key drivers of economic growth like energy innovation, education, and infrastructure. This would entail cutting non-security discretionary spending to levels consistent with the Fiscal Commission, saving $770 billion by 2023.
* Security spending: The President’s framework will go beyond the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to achieve deeper reductions in security spending. It sets a goal of holding the growth in base security spending below inflation, while ensuring our capacity to meet our national security responsibilities, which would save $400 billion by 2023.
* Health care: The President’s framework builds on the Affordable Care Act by including new reforms aimed at further reducing the growth of health care spending – a major driver of long-term deficits. The President opposes any plan that would simply shift costs to seniors and the vulnerable by undermining Medicare and Medicaid. Building on the foundation of the historic deficit reduction achieved through the Affordable Care Act, the framework would save an additional $340 billion by 2021, $480 billion by 2023, and at least an additional $1 trillion in the subsequent decade. These savings complement the new patient safety initiative that could lower Medicare costs by another $50 billion over the next decade by providing better care. The President’s framework includes initiatives that will:
* Bend the long-term cost curve by setting a more ambitious target of holding Medicare cost growth per beneficiary to GDP per capita plus 0.5 percent beginning in 2018, through strengthening the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
* Make Medicaid more flexible, efficient and accountable without resorting to block granting the program, ending our partnership with States or reducing health care coverage for seniors in nursing homes, the most economically vulnerable and people with disabilities. Combined Medicaid savings of at least $100 billion over 10 years.
* Reduce Medicare’s excessive spending on prescription drugs and lower drug premiums for beneficiaries without shifting costs to seniors or privatizing Medicare. Combined Medicare savings of at least $200 billion over 10 years.
* Other mandatory spending: Outside of health care, comprehensive deficit reduction must include savings in other mandatory programs, including agricultural subsidies, the federal pension insurance system, and anti-fraud measures, while protecting and strengthening programs that serve low-income families and other vulnerable Americans. The President’s framework includes a target of $360 billion in savings from other mandatory programs by 2023.
* Tax reform: the President is calling for individual tax reform that closes loopholes and produces a system which is simpler, fairer and not rigged in favor of those who can afford lawyers and accountants to game it. The President supports the Fiscal Commission’s goal of reducing tax expenditures enough to both lower rates and lower the deficit.
* Social Security: The President does not believe that Social Security is in crisis nor is a driver of our near-term deficit problems. But, in the context of an aging population and a Social Security wage base that is declining as a share of overall earnings, Social Security faces long-term challenges that are better addressed sooner than later to ensure that the program remains for future generations the rock-solid benefit for older Americans that it has been for past generations. That is why the President supports bipartisan efforts to strengthen Social Security for the long haul. These efforts should be guided by several principles, including strengthening the program and not privatizing it, improving retirement security for the vulnerable while protecting people with disabilities and current beneficiaries, and not slashing benefits for future generations.

DETAILS OF THE PRESIDENT’S FRAMEWORK FOR
SHARED PROSPERITY AND SHARED FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. A Fiscally Responsible Economic Strategy to Invest in Competitiveness and Growth

The President believes that, if we are going to promote economic recovery, invest in our long-term competitiveness and meet our values of dignity for retirees, protection for the most vulnerable and opportunity for all Americans, a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework must be part of our overall economic growth strategy.

The question is not whether we need to bring down long-term deficits and debt to build economic confidence and promote investment in the United States; instead it is how to best do so consistent with a pro-growth economic strategy. The framework the President outlined today charts a course to achieve deficit reduction and support economic growth, with a balanced approach and an enforceable backstop to ensure that we achieve our economic and fiscal goals.

2. A Deficit Reduction Goal and Enforceable Debt Failsafe

The framework the President announced today offers a balanced approach to maintaining our economic recovery while living within our means. It centers on the following goal:

Achieving $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years or less. The President believes that this goal is achievable over a 12 year period, consistent with the goals of promoting economic growth that benefits the middle class and strengthening the health and economic security of our nation’s seniors, people with disabilities and most vulnerable. The Administration projects that this framework will reduce deficits as a share of our economy to about 2.5% of GDP in 2015, and put deficits on a declining path toward close to 2.0% of GDP toward the end of the decade.

Deficit reduction should be phased in over time to ensure that fiscal policy does not undermine the momentum of our economic recovery. Our economy has created 1.8 million private sector jobs over the last 13 months and the pace of job growth has accelerated in recent months. While long-term deficit reduction is a crucial component of the President’s economic strategy, this goal cannot be used as an excuse to undermine the near-term policies and investments we need to continue our economic recovery.

Deficit reduction efforts should be held accountable by a “Debt Failsafe” trigger: The President is confident that, with a robust economic recovery and bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction, we will put our debt as a share of the economy on a declining path by the second half of the decade. However we must provide a strong incentive for Congress to act on a deficit reduction framework and renew confidence that we will hit this goal. Therefore, the President is calling for:

* A debt failsafe that will ensure that our nation’s debt is on a declining path as a share of our economy. If by 2014, budget projections do not show that the debt-to-GDP ratio has stabilized and is declining in the second half of the decade, the failsafe will trigger an across the board spending reduction, including on spending through the tax code.
* The trigger will ensure that deficits as a share of the economy average no more than 2.8% of GDP in the second half of the decade.
* Consistent with prior fiscal enforcement mechanisms put in place by Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton, the trigger should not apply to Social Security, low-income programs, or benefits for Medicare enrollees.
* The trigger should also include a mechanism to ensure that it does not exacerbate an economic downturn or interfere with our nation’s ability to respond to a national security emergency.

3. Discretionary Spending

Non-Security Savings Equal to the Fiscal Commission’s, While Investing In Our Future:

* The budget agreement negotiated by the President last week represented the largest one-year reduction in discretionary spending in our history, even as it invested in areas key to our long-run economic growth and competitiveness.
* We should build on this year’s savings, while ensuring that we continue to make the investments we need to win the future and not threaten the economic recovery. The President believes we can do so while generating additional deficit reduction by cutting non-security spending to levels consistent with what the Fiscal Commission recommended over the next decade.
* This would generate an additional $200 billion in savings over 10 years beyond the $400 billion in savings from the President’s Budget. Over 12 years, it will generate a total of $770 billion in deficit reduction.

Additional Discipline on Security Spending While Keeping America Safe:

* While the President will never accept cuts that compromise our ability to defend our homeland or America’s interests around the world, Secretary Gates has shown over the last two years that there is substantial waste and duplication in our security budget that we can and should eliminate—proposing savings of $400 billion in current and future defense spending.
* As part of a comprehensive deficit reduction framework, the President is calling for pushing harder to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but conduct a fundamental review of America’s missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world.
* The framework sets a goal of holding the growth in base security spending below inflation, while ensuring our capacity to meet our national security responsibilities, which would save $400 billion by 2023. (The President will make decisions on specific cuts after working with Secretary Gates and the Joint Chiefs on the comprehensive review.)
* Note: this deficit reduction is in addition to the savings generated from ramping-down overseas contingency operations.

4. Health Care

Medicare and Medicaid Savings of $480 Billion by 2023 and At Least an Additional $1 Trillion over the Subsequent Decade, Providing Better Care at Lower Costs:

* Building on the Affordable Care Act, the President is proposing additional reforms to Medicare and Medicaid designed to strengthen these critical programs by reducing waste, increasing accountability, promoting efficiency, and improving the quality of care, without shifting the cost of care to our seniors or people with disabilities.
* The framework will save $340 billion over ten years and $480 billion by 2023 (including the proposals already included in the President’s Budget). This framework includes the same aggregate savings that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan proposed in his November 2010 plan with Alice Rivlin and an amount sufficient to fully pay to reform the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) physician payment formula while still reducing the deficit.
* Over the subsequent decade, the President’s proposal will save well over $1 trillion by further bending the cost curve, doubling the savings from the Affordable Care Act.
* The President’s framework offers a stark contrast with the House Republican plan that would increase seniors’ health costs by $6,400 annually starting in 2022, raise health insurance premiums for middle-class Americans and small businesses, cut Federal Medicaid spending by one-third by the end of the decade, and increase the number of uninsured by 50 million.

The President’s framework proposes specific reforms to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid over the long term, including:

* Addressing the long-term drivers of Medicare cost growth: The President’s framework would strengthen the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) created by the Affordable Care Act. The IPAB has been highlighted by economists and health policy experts as a critical contributor to Medicare’s solvency and sound operations. Under the Affordable Care Act, IPAB analyzes the drivers of excessive and unnecessary Medicare cost growth. When Medicare growth per beneficiary exceeds growth in nominal GDP per capita plus 1 percent, IPAB recommends to Congress policies to reduce the rate of growth to meet that target, while not harming beneficiaries’ access to needed services. Congress must consider IPAB’s recommendations or, if it disagrees, enact policies that achieve equivalent savings. If neither acts, then the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to develop and implement a proposal to achieve the savings target.
* The President’s framework will strengthen IPAB to act as a backstop to the other Medicare reforms by ensuring that Medicare spending growth does not outpace our ability to pay for it over the long run, while improving the program and keeping Medicare beneficiaries’ premium growth under control. Specifically, it would:
* Set a new target of Medicare growth per beneficiary growing with GDP per capita plus 0.5 percent. This is consistent both with the reductions in projected Medicare spending since the Affordable Care Act was passed and the additional reforms the President is proposing.
* Give IPAB additional tools to improve the quality of care while reducing costs, including allowing it to promote value-based benefit designs that promote proven services like prevention without shifting costs to seniors.
* Give IPAB additional enforcement mechanisms such as an automatic sequester as a backstop for IPAB, Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
* Reforming the Federal-State partnerships to strengthen Medicaid and promote simplicity, efficiency, and accountability: Under current law, States face a patchwork of different Federal payment contributions for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The President’s framework would replace the current complicated Federal matching formulas with a single matching rate for all program spending that rewards States for efficiency and automatically increases if a recession forces enrollment and State costs to rise.
* In addition, the President has called on the National Governors Association (NGA) to make recommendations for ways to reform and strengthen Medicaid, and the framework will consider the ideas that its Task Force produces. The President also supports reform of Medicaid to incentivize more efficient, higher quality, care for high-cost beneficiaries, including those who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. These nine million beneficiaries comprise 15 percent of Medicaid enrollment but consume nearly 40 percent of total Medicaid spending.
* Improving patient safety: Together with employers, States, hospitals, physicians and nurses, the Administration has launched a new public-private partnership called Partnership for Patients that will help improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans. The two goals of this new Partnership are: preventing patients from getting injured or sicker while they are in the hospital and helping patients heal without complication. Achieving the initiative’s goal would mean more than 1.6 million patients will recover from illness without a preventable complication, reducing costs by up to $50 billion in Medicare and billions more in Medicaid over the next 10 years.
* Cutting unnecessary prescription drug spending: The framework would limit excessive payments for prescription drugs by leveraging Medicare’s purchasing power – similar to what was called for by the bipartisan Fiscal Commission. It would speed up the availability of generic biologics, and prohibit brand-name companies from entering into “pay for delay” agreements with generic companies. And, it would implement Medicaid management of high prescribers and users of prescription drugs.
* Reducing abuse and increasing accountability in Medicaid and Medicare: The framework would clamp down on States’ use of provider taxes to lower their own spending while not providing additional health services through Medicaid; recover erroneous payments from Medicare Advantage; establish upper limits on Medicaid payments for durable medical equipment; and take other actions to improve program integrity.

A major contrast with the House Republican approach. The President’s framework rejects plans that would end Medicare as we know it or transform Medicaid into a dramatically underfunded block grant, putting at serious risk not only seniors but also the most vulnerable children and people with disabilities. Some of the major problems with the House Republican approach include:

* The House Republican plan does nothing to reduce health costs. Instead it actually increases costs by doing nothing to reform the way health care is delivered in addition to putting a larger fraction of the burden on beneficiaries and States.
* In the first year the Republican plan goes into effect, a typical 65-year-old who becomes eligible for Medicare would pay an extra $6,400 for health care, more than doubling what he or she would pay if the plan were not adopted.
* States would get one-third less for Medicaid by 2021, potentially leaving 15 million people without coverage, including seniors in nursing homes, people with disabilities, children and pregnant women.
* The House Republican plan would no longer guarantee the same level of benefits and choices that seniors have today in Medicare, because the proposal allows private health plans to determine benefits, raise cost sharing, and limit choice of doctors and hospitals.

5. Other Mandatory Spending

Outside of health care, comprehensive deficit reduction must include savings in other mandatory programs.

The President’s Budget includes measures to reform agricultural subsidies, shore up the federal pension insurance system, restore solvency to the federal unemployment insurance trust fund, and enact anti-fraud measures.

Building on these efforts, the President’s framework includes a target of $360 billion in savings from other mandatory programs by 2023.

The Fiscal Commission and other bipartisan efforts have put forward additional proposals that should be considered as part of a comprehensive deficit reduction effort to meet this target.

Reforms to mandatory programs should protect and strengthen the safety net for low-income families and other vulnerable Americans.

6. Tax Reform

The President is calling on Congress to undertake comprehensive tax reform that produces a system which is fairer, has fewer loopholes, less complexity, and is not rigged in favor of those who can afford lawyers and accountants to game it.

He believes we cannot afford to make our deficit problem worse by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

He also supports efforts to build on the Fiscal Commission’s goal of reducing tax expenditures so that there is enough savings to both lower rates and lower the deficit. Reform should be designed to ask more of those who can afford it while protecting the middle class and promoting economic growth.

In addition, as he explained in the State of the Union, the President is continuing his effort to reform our outdated corporate tax code to enhance our economic competitiveness and encourage investment in the United States. By eliminating loopholes, reducing distortions and leveling the playing field in our corporate tax code, we can use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years without adding to the deficit.

7. Social Security

The President does not believe that Social Security is a driver of our near-term deficit problems or is currently in crisis. But he supports bipartisan efforts to strengthen Social Security for the long haul, because its long-term challenges are better addressed sooner than later to ensure that it remains the rock-solid benefit for older Americans that it has been for past generations. The President in the State of the Union laid out his principles for Social Security reform which he believes should form the basis for bipartisan negotiations that could proceed in parallel to deficit negotiations:

* Strengthen retirement security for the low-income and vulnerable; maintain robust disability and survivors’ benefits.
* No privatization or weakening of the Social Security system; reform must strengthen Social Security and restore long-term solvency.
* No current beneficiary should see the basic benefit reduced; nor will we accept an approach that slashes benefits for future generations.

From "Sitting In Limbo" to "Many Rivers to Cross": Dems Save CPB and NPR In Real Cliff Hanger

2011-04-13T06:30:00.004-05:00

Shortly following the near shutdown of the Federal Government last week, the entertainment industry weekly Variety reported that:

"The eleventh-hour budget deal that averted a government shutdown spares the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio, as it was among the policy riders dropped in the final deal, according to the Daily Caller. House Republicans had voted to eliminate funding for CPB and restrict government money for NPR, but they were given little chance of making it into the final legislation. The deal that was reached on Friday is to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, but Democrats fought against a number of "add ons" that restricted funding for Planned Parenthood and for new EPA regulations." http://www.wilshireandwashington.com/2011/04/ww-morning-run-public-broadcasting-spared.html

So when I awoke from my Saturday Night Live snooze last weekend just in time to change my channel back to PBS for tpt's broadcast of Austin City Limits, I got down on my knees to thank the Democrats for what ensued. As any fan of American music knows, Austin City Limits has been the oasis of taste in the desert of music mediocrity that is popular culture in America and the world today.

My first experience with Austin City Limits dates back to the mid-70's while on the annual summer vacation road trip with my parents. We were staying in a cheap motor lodge somewhere in the southwest and as best as I can recollect, my father must have sprung for a separate room for my brother and I. While flipping through the handful of broadcast stations I came upon a mild looking middle-aged man with a natural wood finished Fender who proceeded to put on one of the greatest exhibitions of guitar playing I had ever witnessed. The man was the legendary Roy Buchanan and it was one of the earliest episodes of a little known PBS music show originating out of its Austin Texas affiliate. The rest as they say is history.

Over the years Austin City Limits has brought some of the greatest music performers in the world into the living rooms of America. Besides the aforementioned performance by Roy Buchanan, other memorable shows that immediately come to mind include Delbert McClinton, Alejandro Escovedo, Van Morrison as well as countless others. However, I must say that ranking right up there in my mind has to be Jimmy Cliff and his incredible band's performance which kicked off the show's 2010 season. Since the passing of Bob Marley some 34 years ago, no other Reggae singer songwriter has come close to the greatness that was Bob...with the possible exception of Mr. Cliff. Now I do not profess to be some great student of Reggae music, some white wannabe poser in dreadlocks. Hell I'm a bald, middle aged white guy with two left feet. I'm also somewhat of a music snob in that I only like one of two kinds of music, as Louis Armstrong would say (and I paraphrase), the "good" kind. And it don't get any better than Jimmy Cliff's Austin City Limits performance.

Very much still on top of his game and backed by one of the crack bands in all of Reggae, Cliff came bounding out on stage dressed in what looked like Cincinnati Bengal's wide mouth receiver, Ocho Cinco's leisure suit. Opening with "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", Cliff quickly got down to business strapping on a guitar for the only time of the night and launching into the first of the shows many highlights, a stunningly beautiful rendition of one of his greatest songs, "Sitting In Limbo". From there it was non-stop pulsating rhythms. "Rebel,Rebel, Rebel", the call and response of "One More" and a great rework of the war protest anthem "Vietnam", now "Afghanistan".

Next came the title track to the Citizen Kane of all Reggae movies, "The Harder They Come" which unfortunately brings to mind my only slight criticism of the show, which was his sharing the stage for this number with one barefoot wannabe, Michael Franti, whoever the hell he is. My only comment is I can see why he can't afford shoes.

Other highlights included his signature piece, "Many Rivers to Cross" (which gave me goose bumps), a cover of the Johnny Nash hit "I Can See Clearly Now" and the show ending drum circle of "Bongo Man" complete with sample of "Rivers of Babylon" by the Melodians.

All in all this was music history and we have only Austin City Limits, PBS and the Democrats to thank for it, which is reason enough to vote the Republicans and Tea Baggers the hell out next election. Jah Man!

Wis. Supreme Court Seat In Doubt as Investigations Widen

2011-04-11T08:11:00.004-05:00

Following the unofficial tally with 100% of the precincts reporting in last week's Wisconsin Supreme Court race, it looked as though Assistant State Attorney General Joanne Kloppenburg had squeaked through a victory by the narrowest of margins, 204 votes. But just when it looked like sanity had returned to the realm of Farve, Waukeshah County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced she had forgot to save the vote for the City of Brookfield, a Prosser stronghold, to her personal laptop computer.

Bringing back memories of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who also was active in the 2000 Bush campaign, and boyhood stories of the dog ate my homework, investigative bodies from the Wisonsin State Accountability Office to the U.S. Justice Department have been asked to investigate the astonishing reversal in election results.

Recall Wis. Gov. Walker Movement Picks Up Steam Amidst New Allegations of Corruption

2011-04-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Governor Walker had appointed the son of one of his biggest campaign contributors to a high-paid executive administration post that he was wholly unqualified for. In a move reminiscent of the ill fated Bush Administration appointment of the incompetent Michael "Way to go Brownie" Brown to head FEMA, Republican cronyism is alive and well in the Cheese State.

In his article on April 5, 2011 Journal Sentinel Political columnist Daniel Bice reported:

"Brian Deschane - the 27-year-old son of a prominent lobbyist - was demoted on Tuesday following a public uproar over his appointment to a cushy job earning $81,500 per year working in Gov. Scott Walker's administration. But check out the two candidates Deschane beat out to get the position as head of environmental and regulatory affairs in the state Department of Commerce: The first, Oscar Herrera, is a former state cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Scott McCallum with a doctoral degree and eight years' experience overseeing the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites. The second, Bernice Mattsson, is a professional engineer who served since 2003 in the post to which Deschane was appointed. By contrast, Deschane has no college degree, little management experience and a couple of drunken-driving convictions. His father represents a trade group that gave more than $121,000 to Walker and his running mate. Herrera and Mattsson didn't get far in the process. "Neither candidate was interviewed," said agency spokesman Tony Hozeny.

On Tuesday, Walker abruptly reversed course and bumped Deschane from his appointed position overseeing dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. The move comes one day after the Journal Sentinel disclosed details of the appointment. Deschane is the son of Jerry Deschane, a longtime lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders Association, which gave $121,652 via its political action committee and conduit to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch." http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/119283094.html

Well, well. Right-wing hypocrisy apparently knows no bound. The Governor who would begrudge decent hard working public employees their hard earned benefits and the right to collectively bargain thinks it is okay to hand out high-paying, key executive administration positions as political patronage.

Wisconsinites your duty is clear: Impeach or Recall Walker as soon as legally possible.

The Cheeseheads Have Spoken: Labor YES; Walker Hell NO!

2011-04-06T15:35:00.002-05:00

With 100% of the vote reported, Assistant State Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has won an Associate Justice seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court defeating misogynist Neanderthal and current Justice David Prosser. Prosser, a former Republican lawmaker and right-wing activist is perhaps best known for referring to his own Chief Justice, a woman, as a “Bitch”. Well Mr. Prosser, aka "the Human Tort", the Bitch Is Back, but you ain’t.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Today is First Referendum on Walker and Anti-Labor Movement

2011-04-05T13:27:00.001-05:00

Today will be the first test of where the populist sentiment lies in the State of Wisconsin: with the progressives and the labor movement or will the cheesehead middle and working class be so stupid as to vote against their own economic interests. At stake is a seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme court currently held by Justice David Prosser, a Neanderthal Walkerite who once called his own Chief Justice a “bitch”. http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/118310479.html Now there’s judicial temperament. Where are all the bible banging, family values types objecting to the candidacy of this misogynist cretin? Nowhere to be found. The economic interests of the wealthy elite apparently trumps decency and middle class values every time. Come on Cheeseheads! Pull your collective heads out of your Styrofoam yellow wedges and do the right thing: Vote for Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg for Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and send a message to the country: It’s Not Tea, It’s GOP” and we’re not gonna take it!!