I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Day: T Minus One

Thankfully, I'll be taking the next few days off to eat turkey and sit mindlessly in front of the big screen TV if not actually sleeping..my life is great and I've got at least 8770 reasons to say so!

I can't blame the turkey for causing the drowsiness associated with eating a large Thanksgiving meal. Studies show it's the large, carbohydrate rich meal rather than just the turkey that releases tryptophans in the brain causing drowsiness after eating...

About that turkey...I got a fresh, locally grown, organic turkey...did you know Minnesota raises more turkeys than any other state?...An estimated 45 million turkeys will be eaten tomorrow (or 675 million pounds of turkey!) and most of them came from Minnesota.

Starting with Harry Truman in 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented the U.S. President with a live turkey in celebration of Thanksgiving. Each year, the live turkey is “pardoned” by the president and most recently has been flown to Disney world to serve as the grand marshal of the Disney world Thanksgiving Day Parade. Although I hear the 'pardoned cranberry' (turkey) may run for office in two years!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, If you're leaving town, travel safe, enjoy your full body scan and/or pat down...Happy Thanksgiving! Eat, Smile, Be Happy...



Obama Outlines Moral, Philosophical Justifications For Turkey Pardon

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

You Can Have This, or You Can Have That!

Tom Emmer's Recount Petition...denied by Minnesota Supreme Court. Recount on...

Alisha and Pete Arnold (BirthOrNot.com...aka right-wing internet troll Zeeboid. )...Fake. But even that misses the point that Pro-Choice is just that...having a choice about your own reproduction and not having a poll or ? decide for you.

Governor Tim Pawlenty fails even when judged by the 'google idiot index'. Number of Google-Indexed Web Pages featuring the phrase “[GOP Contender Name] is an Idiot”

Although I would have bet my last dollar Pawlenty was called an idiot more often than not...hmmm..who knew! Sarah Palin is the queen of idiots and Ron Paul their king...no surprise there:

  • Haley Barbour: 23,700
  • Jim DeMint: 11,600
  • Newt Gingrich: 13,300
  • Mike Huckabee: 7,230
  • Sarah Palin: 60,500
  • Ron Paul: 70,500
  • Tim Pawlenty: 9
  • Mitt Romney: 8,300



Thursday, November 18, 2010

Holy Bat Signal- Eagan,MN Is In Trouble!

Tip O'Neill—a longtime Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress—once declared, "All politics is local." He was explaining how the problems and concerns of towns and cities around the country affect the actions of their representatives and senators in Washington, D.C.

If that still holds true, then look for Minnesota's City of Eagan to play a major role in the upcoming legislative session not because of who they elected, but because of several major announcements this week of...

  • Thomson Reuter cutting 60 jobs this month in addition to the 130 workers from Eagan and Rochester, NY to accept buyouts announced in September (they eliminated 120 last December).
  • Lockheed Martin is closing its sprawling Eagan facility by 2013. That will cost over 1,000 jobs.
Both companies say they are restructuring..blab, blab, budget, blab, blab, competitive edge...but the message boards say they are both transferring work overseas and out-sourcing many tasks once performed within the company. Like other companies that have sent jobs away (overseas or not), this is a major blow to the local economy of Eagan.

Eagan is in trouble and needs help. With the announcement today showing unemployment rose last month to 7.1 percent, the future doesn't look promising for those looking for work especially in Eagan. More people who had given up looking for work are now back in the job market, but construction and manufacturing are still down.

With the three republican newbies for legislative representations (Diane Anderson, 38A, Doug Wardlow, 38B, and Ted Daley, SD38), don't look for any immediate action to stem the job loss bleeding. Doug Wardlow ran on job creation, so now that the fat is in the frying pan, let's see what he does.

For starters they might ask that Governor Pawlenty, who resides in Eagan, to be a little more hands on in trying to negotiate with Lockheed Martin besides just letter writing. Governor Tim Pawlenty pledged his support in a letter to the CEO. The Governor said he’ll encourage significant and innovative incentives to keep the plant in Eagan. State leaders believe they still have time to fight. However gauging from Tim Pawlenty's total lack of progress in the last several years with the soon-to-be-closed Ford plant in St. Paul, don't hold on too tightly to any hope.
Driving through Eagan is depressing these days due to the sheer number of foreclosures. Property went up 2.8 percent this year. The city says most of that increase is to cover all of the foreclosed homes that likely won't bring in any taxes. I suppose we will see the number of foreclosures and property taxes raise even more in the next two years as Lockheed Martin closes their campus. It's time to send for some super hero help.




Wednesday, November 17, 2010

TPaw 2B The Next US President?

A Gallup Poll released earlier this week showed support for Republican presidential hopefuls. In it, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is tied for sixth with 4 percent. That's an improvement from June when he was tied at 2% with 'none of the above'!

Currently the four clear front-runners are : Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich. Each has 80% name recognition among Republicans, and they are about 10 points ahead of any other candidates in trial heats and polling that have tested various combinations of the candidates against one another.

In general terms, Pawlenty lacks a strong national profile but could emerge as competitive candidate if he can gather support away from the front runner Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney who is at 19 %.

Currently Tim Pawlenty is seen as being fourth in terms of the political futures market InTrade, the current “power ranking” according to the National Journal’s Hot Line which uses the average standing in five recent polls of prospective Republican primary voters and favourably ratings among Republican adults according to the recent A.P.-G.f.K. survey.

However, given that a vast majority of Minnesotans would probably not vote for Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty for president even if he won the 2012 presidential primary, Timmy has a steep if not impossible incline to climb if he wants to be the next US President.

Pawlenty belongs to a Baptist General Conference Church, the Evangelical Christian Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. Perhaps they will do commercials much like the Mormons do in bolstering understanding of his religion? Will it be enough?







Monday, November 15, 2010

Lunch with Timmy

Governor Pawlenty had an emergency lunch on Friday...How do I know? Well his car was parked in the 'Do Not Park' zone for 'handicap' parking - van access- all during his lunch at Kyoto's in Eagan.

There was 'pawlenty of open parking' but apparently, the governor likes to keep his driver close...I'm guess in case of emergencies...although two spaces down was an open 'legal' parking space. hmmm... Wonder is that's just another government office perk?


Timmy sat with another suit, at a window table. I didn't see who picked up the tab for the 'business lunch' that spanned over an hour. Must be nice being king.

Note to Pawlenty: The Minnesota's Driver's Manual can be downloaded online and at no charge. To obstruct handicap parking spaces is to break the law. In Minnesota to be eligible for handicap parking you must meet one of the following eligibility (note that governor is not considered a handicap): To be eligible for a disability parking certificate the applicant must meet one or more described definition(s) of a "physically disabled person". Determination of eligibility is based on the physician or chiropractor's signature, ah, but surely the Minnesota Governor knows that?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Get Your Game On - The Minnesota Recount

It's the post election season in Minnesota. Ah, smell the recount in the air!

Given the current lead of Democratic candidate Mark Dayton, a Minnesota Democratic Governorship is a done deal...but hold up...there's more at stake than the actual position. Look for more GOP foot dragging, delaying, and pretending to want 'every vote to count'. This isn't about winning anymore but more about using the situation to further GOP ideology and push through legislation.

While the recount continues, Tim Pawlenty keeps his role as Minnesota's Governor. With a Republican MN house and senate, partisan GOP legislation can easily pass without the worry of a Democratic Governor Mark Dayton veto.

With it virtually statistically impossible for Emmer to win with the current vote gap, the recount and any challenge to it is more about furthering a GOP agenda by passing partisan legislation.

Incoming state House Speaker-designate Kurt Zellers (R) issued a statement on Monday saying that the GOP would not take unfair advantage of the situation, however according to the Star Tribune, an anonymous top-level GOP official said:
"I don't think there's any downside to keeping this recount going on as long as possible, If we keep the process going, there are opportunities for us in the upcoming legislative session."
Typically, the Republicans are saying one thing to the media and public while plotting in private. GOP chairman Tony Sutton said on Wednesday that his party has no intention of taking up a lost cause, saying it would pursue only a "credible" court challenge if needed. Yet, Dayton's lead appears to be hold at the upper limit of the margin that would trigger any other recount making it statistically impossible for a GOP legal challenge to change the outcome. Which begs to question, why the GOP would want to delay the inevitable unless it's about passing their personal partisan agenda?

However, as every Minnesota House and Senate member is up for re-election in two years, any hijacking of the election to fulfill partisan needs would be seen as a betrayal of Minnesotan voters and could backfire when they go to the polls again.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Train Spotting in Minnesota

All Aboard!
If u don't eat ur meat u kant have the figgy pudding if you don't...er...It's simple, build the high speed trains or give back the money...Apparently Wisconsin wants to keep their federal high speed train money not to have trains but to repair roads...the feds say no, can't be done....

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allocated an initial $8 billion for a high-speed rail program, doesn't allow the money to be spend for other purposes, said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers."
As Minnesota has a joint study with Wisconsin on plans for a fast train that would connect the Twin Cities with Madison, this could be an issue. For now Minnesota officials are going ahead with their plans but may run out of steam and chug to a stop shortly!

Getting Off Track
The race for the chairmanship of House Republican conference–a match between Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, is heating up. While Michelle Bachmann has the support of Minnesotans Reps. John Kline, Erik Paulsen and Chip Cravaack, apparently the more mainstreamed, established and well-known conservatives are not backing 'batcrap' Bachmann in lieu of their support for Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling. Even the odd Teabagger seems to be supporting Hensarling.

Bachmann said that win or lose she wants to form a new group in Congress focused on adhering to principles in the Constitution. "It's important that we continue to learn more about the document we pledge to uphold,"

Personally, I think it's a good thing that Bachmann wants to study the American Constitution, it's about time she figures out the power given to take the census! Although if she's what passes for an expert on the Constitution, OMG help us, we are doomed!

The Freight Train Just Rolled Through Town
Okay Obama, time to face reality and find your ballz...in 2008 it was acceptable to try and work with the opposition party, your conciliatory message evoked earlier kinder and gentler times, you know... when American dogs and cats could play together...but by now even you have to realize being continually kicked in the teeth doesn't accomplish squat.

Man up, knock off the kumbaya crap and start taking names. Hell I'll send you the baseball bat...If you aren't capable of being the bulldog call me..but 'git er done' or get ready to face some mean looking folks carrying torches and pitchforks. It's just common sense to stop repeating message failure or did you end up with turnip brains from trying to reach out to mean monkeys? Quit pandering to the 1 percenters and the Corporatocracy and start working for the people who elected you in the first fuck sake! Don't ignore the freight train that just moved through town... it will return on schedule.



Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Emmer Holds News Conference To Blame The Media

Minnesota's biggest loser Tom Emmer said at his news conference today... 'it taint over till the fat voter sings'...er or something like that....sigh, remember when news conferences actually had news facts instead of innuendo, lies, and misinformation.

In the Franken/Coleman recount, after going over each ballot by hand and through 3 courts, the fraudulent votes came to .00006 percent! BTW Jay Weiner has a nice reply to Michael Thielen's post regarding it's inaccurate information on the Minnesota recount...what is it with outsiders wanting to paint a total public, legal, and transparent recount system in Minnesota as a conspiracy when 'their' horse in the race comes up lame?

In addition, if you work with numbers, while not entirely impossible, Emmer would have a better chance buying a lotto ticket for his next big windfall than waiting for 40 times more changed votes than the 2008 recount. Even Coleman's attorney says the fat voter sang for Dayton!

My favorite moment is when Emmer blamed the media for his lost in a Republican year... "Poor reporting; I think that was it."


Yeah that's the ticket, be a stand up official and blame others (Emmer excuse generator)...who did vote for this clown? Ah must have been all those millionaire waitresses. But they will drag this out until the bitter end, how else can they keep a GOP ex-governor in place while they enact their agenda. Is this the intent of the voters? I don't think so.

Friday, November 05, 2010

I'm Coping, Sort Of...

Sorry for not blogging this last week...I was in a deep sleep and having the worse nightmare ever where the Democrats got routed by teabaggers...er...nevermind...

So we lost the MN House and Senate...not good. Dayton, when he's confirmed a year or so from now, will be are only line of defense (probably not how he envisioned doing his job!)...

Unfortunately Governor Timmy and et al GOP will have passed a hell of a lot of hurt by then including...look for no money for true sex education, only the fake abstinence scam, no money for anyone poor, but more tax cuts for wealthy, and some kind of marriage bill stating the usual swill of one man and one women (it's worked so well so far)...sigh...Maybe I should go back to bed as it looks to be a long two years...

I see on the national scene, women got handed their walking papers...we actually lost representation...sigh

It's ugly...and I need a few more days to try and cope with this reality:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated on Thursday that the president will be open to extending the upper-end Bush tax cuts for one or two years as part of a broader compromise with Republicans.

It's like I fell down the rabbit hole...hopefully this has a happy ending but I don't know...

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

They Mostly Come Out At Night....Mostly...

To use the word 'Integrity' and 'Minnesota Majority' in the same sentence is something of a paradox. This group might find a few voter issues but to characterize it as being widespread or pervasive in Minnesota is a joke. It's like using a stick of dynamite to blow up one pesty house fly..

This very small problem (estimates are less than half a percent statewide!) has creased to be voter fraud but instead is now their over the top thuggery reaction. To use their own emailed words ...
"This is just another example of "government [teabagger wingbat ahole brown shirts Minnesota Majority] gone wild" with exercising authority not granted to it by our laws or the Constitution".
Don't confuse their over reactions with CIVIL disobedience! Their interfering intimidation, and gestapo like tactics with the American elections process is meant to cause voter suppression which harms us all.