Marching Together Toward The Bright Future

If it weren't for Doug Grow, Lori Sturdevant would be the most tried-and-true DFL flak in the Strib's band of columnists. If you're from out of state, or if you haven't been following Minnesota politics for long, you have to...
Posted by Mitch on November 01, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Good News For Prisons

The Minnesota "Poll" shows that Minnesotans want more funding for roads:Voters like the idea of changing the state constitution to channel more money to roads and transit, but support is hampered by the confusing language that will appear on the...
Posted by Mitch on September 21, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Pack It In, Hatch

The latest Minnesota Poll shows Mike Hatch and Governor Tim Pawlenty tied:Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Attorney General Mike Hatch are entering the fall campaign facing an electorate evenly divided on their candidacies for governor, according to the latest Star Tribune...
Posted by Mitch on September 18, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Those "Nonpartisan" Growth and Justice People...

...are having some "public meetings" to discuss their plan from on high to revamp Minnesota:Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006 8:00 AM Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building [Hm. Pretty "non-partisan" location, that...] Fireside Room 179 Robie Street East St....
Posted by Mitch on July 17, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (34) | TrackBack

Scenes From Hell

Learned Foot has 'em....
Posted by Mitch on July 13, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Blogswarm: The Cucking Fool

Someone from the "Cucking Stool" snarks[*]:Mitch Berg at Shot in the Dark reports today that the 200 wealthy Minnesotan who took out the ad advocating higher state income taxes are heavily Democratic.Bingo. I was waiting for that one. A bunch...
Posted by Mitch on July 12, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (21) | TrackBack

The Blogswarm: The Point

I've had a couple of commenters during various parts of the blogswarm point out things like Jeff Fecke did earlier this morning:Don't tell me that Walter and Ted Mondale are Democrats. I don't know if I could handle thatJeff misses...
Posted by Mitch on July 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (13) | TrackBack

The Blogswarm, Part II

Derek Brigham of went after two groups from the Scolding, Nagging Patricians list. He says:No Surprises here Mitch. A few yielded no results. Every other one of the others is hardline left and usually a pretty big contributor to the...
Posted by Mitch on July 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The Blogswarm, Part I

Marty Andrade joins the blogswarm with looks at ">Thomas Moore, Walter Mondale, Ted Mondale, John Morgan, and a group of the other Ms....
Posted by Mitch on July 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Blogswarm Note

A number of other local bloggers participated in the blogswarm. I will be posting links to their work later today....
Posted by Mitch on July 10, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Blogswarming the Patricians: Keller Through McBurney

I took the list of patricians, from Thomas Keller III through the McBurneys. Since some commenter will inevitably write "what, don't these people have the right to contribute what they want to whomever they want?", let me answer in advance;...
Posted by Mitch on July 10, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Charles Townsend's Children: Blogswarming the Patricians

In 1765, British parliamentarian Charles Townsend, in noting the Colonies' protests against the Stamp Act, said:"And now will these Americans, Children planted by our Care, nourished up by our Indulgence until they are grown to a Degree of Strength &...
Posted by Mitch on July 10, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Blogswarm The Patricians

UPDATE 7/7 AND BUMP: Will start posting the blogswarm on Monday. UPDATE 7/3 AND BUMP: Will update the group assignments later today or tomorrow. Vacation calls. UPDATE 6/29 AND BUMP: More of the groups are going out. I've updated who's...
Posted by Mitch on July 07, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (27) | TrackBack

Patricians: The Blogswarm (Part I)

Over at Ladies Logic and Savage Republican, the Lady Logician has started publishing her part of my blogswarm of the Growth for Justice patricians:Part One Part TwoPart ThreeIf you're part of the swarm, send me your links....
Posted by Mitch on June 29, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (27) | TrackBack

The Patricians, Part II

Looking at the second paragraph of the Patricians Proud to Pay full page ad in the Strib last week:We need more Minnesotans to acquire postsecondary degrees so they earn enough sto support a family, and so our state can be...
Posted by Mitch on June 27, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Gold-plated Brickbats

First Ringer hammers Growth for Justice... ...on the facts...:While individuals earning $300,000 would be hit for at least an additional $6,000, that’s not overly destructive or dramatic. Of course, Minnesota’s tax rate is currently 7.85%, meaning earners at $300,000 are...
Posted by Mitch on June 26, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (41) | TrackBack

What If They Had a Convention and Nobody Cared?

Minnesota's Independence Party is sort of like Crispin Glover. Nobody knows why either of them got where they are. Oh, with the IP it's not that complicated; back in a sillier, more trivial time when most Americans were oblivious to...
Posted by Mitch on June 24, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Wandering Into The Sights

Westover on the likely denouement of the stadium debate. And it's not pretty:Unless the DFL blinks, and Sen Steve Kelley the author of the 7-county metro bill [which would spread the stadium tax over the entire metro, and use it...
Posted by Mitch on May 04, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Dear Legislature: Thank You

I support Governor Pawlenty on most things - but some of his olive branches to the mushy middle and dim left just baffle me. His move to increase pre-kindergarten assessment is one of them. It baffles the Strib, too -...
Posted by Mitch on May 04, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Concerns

Bob Collins at Polinaut notes the results of an MPR poll on voter concerns in the upcoming elections. The ranking of first choices is as follows, for both federal and state races: SENATE AND HOUSE Republican rankings (first choice) 1....
Posted by Mitch on April 20, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Most Depressing News Day Ever?

This are the links on a single page of the Strib's online edition today: Husband charged in St. Paul sex slavery case Body parts found in ditch may be missing woman's Man charged with shaking 3-year-old to death Car chase...
Posted by Mitch on March 30, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Just Mooooooove On

Gary Gross - Saint Cloud's vice-premier of blogging - has finally ditched blogspot and created a new blog, "Let Freedom Ring". He ends his piece on the Dean Johnson flap as follows:At this point, all I’m certain of is that...
Posted by Mitch on March 29, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Can't Make It Up Fast Enough

I occasionally imagine bizarre circumstances, confident in the knowledge that it can never actually happen. I get pretty imaginative. Not this imaginative:The tot crawled through the toy discharge chute in the Toy Chest claw machine at a Godfather's Pizza in...
Posted by Mitch on March 28, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Abuse of Power?

How ambiguous a statement does this seem?“members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them. I have had a number of visits with them about our law. All of them, every one of them, including the lady who just...
Posted by Mitch on March 16, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (30) | TrackBack

Chilling Effect

Katherine Kersten on the local DFLMedia's stifling of dissent:The members of Minnesota Families United, a grass-roots group made up mostly of the relatives of soldiers who have died in Iraq or are serving there, welcome debate on the war. Marine...
Posted by Mitch on February 23, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Amy Klobuchar's Pants On Fire

KvM catches A-Klo in a lie:In a debate this weekend Amy Klobuchar claimed that Mark Kennedy voted against raising funding for the C.O.P.S. (Community Oriented Policing Services) program. She’s even sending out an email with a video link of the...
Posted by Mitch on February 09, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

She Knows No-Thing. She Sees No-Thing.

At least when it comes to her staff's antics: (The image is for satirical purposes only, and deliberately leverages the benign, comedic nature of the late John Banner's beloved character, Sergeant Schultz. Schultz was a stumbling, bumbling oaf - sort...
Posted by Mitch on January 31, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Weasels Run Wild

Perhaps you've heard; Twin Cities "public relations" consultant Blois Olson is suing the blogger formerly known as Minnesota Democrat Exposer. Olson - a longtime DFLer - is suing Michael Brodkorb for defamation:The suit alleges that Brodkorb, citing an unnamed source,...
Posted by Mitch on January 05, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Thank Goodness For The .08 Limit

The overarching wisdom of Minnesota finally adopting the .08 blood alcolhol limit as the standard for driving while intoxicated was proven in spades yesterday on I-94 in Minneapolis. A driver, who tested .082, merely a hair over the new legal...
Posted by Mitch on December 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Slammed

David Strom on Governor Pawlenty's loss in court over the "Health Impact Fee":According to the Ramsey County Court, the administrator for the settlement, the answer is that the state violated that agreement and must refund the money collected. The air...
Posted by Mitch on December 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Bush In Town

The President is in town today. Yes, I got a call. No, I could not manage a grand for admission. Not that I'd have had the time today anyway. Other people? Well, they have all sorts of time on their...
Posted by Mitch on December 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Vultures On The Scraps Of Fortune

Let's flash back, if you will, to two years ago. The DFL predicted, in full facial-vein-bulging fury, that combining the Ventura Deficit ($4.5 billion dollars at the time) with Pawlenty's "New New Taxes" pledge was irresponsible, and would plunge the...
Posted by Mitch on December 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Everyone Take A Deep Breath

Yesterday, Kennedy Vs. The Machine discovered that their old archives had been hacked:We checked our email this afternoon to find several notes from friends informing us that a blog called MN Publius — which champions the Amy Klobuchar for Senate...
Posted by Mitch on December 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Kelley Exposed?

Has Minnesota Democrats Exposed caught DFL Goober hopeful Steve Kelley using state resources in his gubernatorial campaign?Earlier today, I received an official Steve Kelley for Governor press release from one of my numerous DFL sources. I reviewed the document properties...
Posted by Mitch on November 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Jerich Throws Hatch Under Bus?

Katherin Kersten writes about Ron Eibensteiner's acquittal last week at the show trial in Olmstead/Mower County. The piece revisits an old friend of ours....
Posted by Mitch on November 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

No Sex Please, We're From Minnesota

I heard the ads for the upcoming "Sex And So Much More" show (which starts today at the Minneapolis Convention Center) as I was driving to work the other day. The ads went out of their way to sound...not quite...
Posted by Mitch on November 17, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Should Surprise Nobody

A Mauer County jury took less time to acquit former state GOP chair Ron Eibensteiner of any wrongdoing than it took to write and file the story about the event, most likely.Former GOP chairman Ron Eibensteiner was acquitted Tuesday on...
Posted by Mitch on November 16, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Commandment 11: Unbunch Thy Undies

It's a week after the most holy of Minnesota holidays - Saint Wellstone's Day - and while the caterwauling was relatively muted in most quarters, some of it stuck out. Mark Gisleson of Norwegianity, in his perfect world, would apparently...
Posted by Mitch on November 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Worst Fears

The Strib's current piece, "What Killed Reece Miekle" - currently in part two of five - is a wrenching, draining read for any parent. The story - in which a family's middle child dies of a mysterious blood ailment that...
Posted by Mitch on October 31, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

That Buzzing You Hear Is The Rending Of Garments All Over Highland Park

It's the third anniversary of the death of Paul Wellstone. Three years ago, I noted both the genuine bipartisanship of the mourning, as well as observing that some seemed to be slipping the surly bonds of reason. Today - well,...
Posted by Mitch on October 25, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

TPaw Endorses Jeff Johnson

Governor Pawlenty has endorsed Representative Jeff Johnson for next year's Attorney General race.“Jeff Johnson will make an excellent attorney general for Minnesota,” Pawlenty said. “I worked closely with Jeff in the House and have seen the quality of his work...
Posted by Mitch on October 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Skol!

Norway's Crown Prince, Haakon, visits the Twin Cities today:Minnesotans will get a chance to cast their eyes on His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon during his two-day visit to the state today and Thursday. The prince's trip here — his...
Posted by Mitch on October 19, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Official Bias?

The MN Democrat Exposer - a man who's eaten the MN DFL's lunch more times than they'd care to remember - not only notes that the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Center is having Bill Clinton in to speak as part...
Posted by Mitch on October 16, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Good Timing?

On the one hand, winters in southern Minnesota are very overrated. I moved here nearly twenty ears ago, and I have yet to see a winter that was remotely challenging by North Dakota standards. That being said, this is good...
Posted by Mitch on October 12, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Signs of Teflon?

Probably not. But I can't help but notice that Pawlenty Exposed, one of the worst-written lefty anonyblogs out there, has not bothered to post anything since early June. Maybe once conservatives started pushing back on Pawlenty's cave-in to the "moderates",...
Posted by Mitch on October 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

MPR: Carrying Water For The Greens?

Federal authorities raided the home/campaign headquarters of Minneapolis City Councilman Dean Zimmerman yesterday:FBI agents spent about three hours going through Zimmermann's home, which is also his campaign headquarters. Zimmermann did not comment to reporters. Lauren Maker, campaign coordinator for the...
Posted by Mitch on September 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Letdown?

A little bird wrote to say that yesterday's Labor Day picnic didn't exactly knock 'em dead:Not much of a crowd this year. Not like last year when Edwards was there . . . the whole island was full of people...
Posted by Mitch on September 06, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Eternal Froth

I was in a union once. I taught at a local MnSCU affiliate for a semester; given a choice between paying $108 for my "fair share" of collective bargaining costs (which was apparently well-spent; it was a very well-paid part-time...
Posted by Mitch on September 05, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Fair Enough

Chumley Wonderbar has the update on the weekend's activities at the Fair....
Posted by Mitch on August 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Alles Klar, Herr Kommissar?

A Hennepin County judge just grabbed Mike Hatch by the scruff of the neck and whacked him with a newspaper:A four-year battle between Attorney General Mike Hatch and Medica ended Thursday when a Hennepin County judge Thursday stripped Hatch of...
Posted by Mitch on August 18, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Minnesota's Jimmy Carter?

Arne Carlson's motto: If it moves, tax it. If it doesn't move, spend it....
Posted by Mitch on August 17, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Another Tax Hike

The precedent's been set; if you chisel money out of the unpopular, it's not really a tax. It's a "fee" charged against being in the wrong group, having the wrong pastime... ...or being in the wrong place at the wrong...
Posted by Mitch on August 10, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

The Whole System's Out of Order

In Minnesota, we elect most judges - including State Supreme Court justices. As part of the judicial elections, Minnesota has maintained the willfully-naive fiction that judicial races are non-partisan; that judges are not supposed to cite any political stances in...
Posted by Mitch on August 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

A Good Sign

From our friends at MNDemEx:"R.T. Rybak was booed at the Humphrey Institute at the U of M today when he said in front of a crowd largely comprised of Brits, at the 'Symposium on International e-Democracy', that the Iraq War...
Posted by Mitch on July 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Kiffmeyer: The Real Story

Parts of the state left are grinning like toddlers that just made a huge pants at the story that Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer's office got dinged in a legislative audit. Marty Andrade takes the notion apart. Read the whole...
Posted by Mitch on July 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Stay

Former Mrs. Minnesota Dee Henderson, doing three years and change for Social Security fraud, wants a transfer to Minnesota to serve the remainder of her time:Henderson, 45, and her supporters are circulating petitions calling for her transfer, which more than...
Posted by Mitch on July 25, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

That Darn Bush Economy, Part XV

Unemployment in Minnesota at post-9/11 low:Minnesota's unemployment rate in June dropped to its lowest level in more than four years, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development said Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent was the...
Posted by Mitch on July 19, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Damnation by Faint Praise, Redux

The Strib editorial board continues its usual scolding over the session - but correctly notices a potential bright spot. Sort of....
Posted by Mitch on July 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

If Major Parties Irritate You...

...stop and remember; it could be worse. The Green Party has released its Vision for Saint Paul....
Posted by Mitch on July 12, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

The Law Is An Ass

The US, and the Twin Cities, are awash in immigrants who refuse to assimilate into American culture. Illegals from Mexico openly pine for "Atzlan" - a Hispanic nation - in the US southwest. A significant minority of immigrants from Latin...
Posted by Mitch on July 11, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (27) | TrackBack

Unlamented, Ineffective Shutdown Ends Unnoticed

The 18% of Minnesota government workers affected by the mis-named "Shutdown" will be returning to the jobs that, a week ago, were considered non-essential. That's gotta go under "damnation by faint praise", huh?...
Posted by Mitch on July 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Priorities?

The Strib had another piece on the gaping void that the "shutdown' has left in Minnesotans' lives. Example: Minnesota runs a state chilcrare referral agency. It has 19 offices across the state:Many parents ready to hit the job market after...
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Who Knew?

The roads were busy on the way to work today, although not crushingly so. The girl at the coffee drive-through was her usual perky, overcaffeinated self. The radio was full of the usual chatter. The cubes at my office are...
Posted by Mitch on July 05, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

DFL Legislative Deadbeats: Caption Contest!

My ideas: "The DFL walk off the job - leaving nothing but a trail of metaphors!" "How about Momma puts out the cigarette and holds the sign herself?" Discuss. Photo courtesy the Strib...
Posted by Mitch on July 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Oh The Humanity

Minnesota's government shuts down. So far so good. Or is it?...
Posted by Mitch on July 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Shutdown?

Look, State Employees - and I know there are a few of you who read this blog - I feel for ya. I really do. I've never worked for the government in my life. Never even had the opportunity, had...
Posted by Mitch on June 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Before The Apocalypse

Steve Sviggum advised Minnesotans to get mentally ready for a government shutdown:"Citizens, like legislators, have to prepare themselves mentally,'' said Sviggum, R-Kenyon. "It's not the right thing to do, it's not a good thing to do but you don't want...
Posted by Mitch on June 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Cage Match

Tim Pawlenty's move to get the House and Senate leadership into a locked cabin and not letting them (or him) out until the budget is settled is, I think, a brilliant move. Pawlenty "I've asked them to pack their bags...
Posted by Mitch on June 27, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Who's Screwing Up Minnesota?

Via the Fraters, I read John Hawkins' poll over at Right Wing News, "Who's Screwing Up America". And I wondered - why concentrate on the nation? Who is screwing up Minnesota? Unlike Hawkins, I'm going to to rely on some...
Posted by Mitch on June 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

C'mon All You Travel Guides!

Dave from Ohligarchy is coming to Minnesota on vacation!I have not determined which week I am going to be there, but I am working on what to do when I am in the area. There are a few things swimming...
Posted by Mitch on June 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Hatch Job

Mike Hatch's daughters' trial on assault charges began yesterday in Chicago :Boiled to its essence, the trial appears likely to lay out these scenarios, based on the testimony of the first four prosecution witnesses, all employees of the Crobar Club,...
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Must Be Summer

It's 4:20 AM. Couldn't sleep. There's an early morning thunderstorm going on right now. Lots of lightning, mostly silent but for a low background rumbling, and a brief gout of rain that made the humid air feel tangibly cooler. There's...
Posted by Mitch on June 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Dump

Perhaps you've heard - Michele Bachman is running for Congress. Bachmann, depending on your point of view, is either a tireless crusader for traditional conservative values, or the Spanish Inquisition. Her critics range from the fairly articulate (even among Republicans)...
Posted by Mitch on June 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Churn

As Minnesota's state government flirts with shutdown, the claws are coming out:Long-simmering tensions between the Republican governor and DFL Attorney General Mike Hatch came to a head Thursday, with Pawlenty openly challenging Hatch's ability to represent the administration, saying that...
Posted by Mitch on June 03, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

There Once Was a Poet from Nantucket

With weary end-of-session stroke the governor has vetoed a measure academic, passed by solons (some be-speedoed). The poets in the great white north, bereft of recognition, sought of them one, to laureate. A spiffy state position! 'midst locking grids and...
Posted by Mitch on June 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Rolling Craps

Don't say we didn't warn you, Governor Pawlenty. Today's story in the Strib spells out the collapse of a gubernatorial initiative that, if it had to be advanced at all, was best collapsed; the notion of the state casino.Gov. Tim...
Posted by Mitch on May 31, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Beware of Rabid Partisans Bearing Nonpartisanship

Lori Sturdevant starts Sunday's column:For sparing you a harangue about how excessive partisanship gets in the way of governing at the statehouse, credit my teenage daughter.Sturdevant goes on to deliver a thoroughly partisan harangue about partisanship. Presumably her daughter had...
Posted by Mitch on May 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Protest Too Much

As a general rule, I've always thought broadening initiative and referendum excessively was a lousy idea. There's a reason that we're a Republic, one that elects representatives to handle the minutuiae of government rather; it protects the rights of political...
Posted by Mitch on May 26, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Open Letter to Governor Pawlenty

Governor, I'm Mitch Berg. We met last week, finally. I gotta confess, I started as a lukewarm supporter in '02; I thought (as I still think) that you were one of the very best stump speakers in Minnesota politics, and...
Posted by Mitch on May 23, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Tempest In A Toilet

Certain hysterical elements of the local left and crypto-left think they have found a story. They're half right. There's a story there - but not the one they think they have....
Posted by Mitch on May 20, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (26) | TrackBack

Now I Feel Safer

You're not 21 until 8AM the morning after. The Senate say so!The legislation to combat the so-called "power hour," between midnight and closing time on a person's 21st birthday, was included as part of a Senate bill making a number...
Posted by Mitch on May 18, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Frau Ranum, Strict Mistress

Among the wierder things that came out of last week's debates on the Minnesota Personal Protection Act, according to Joel Rosenberg, was:the Jane Ranum Bondage amendments (which would have allowed any cop or security guard to handcuff any permit holder...
Posted by Mitch on May 16, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Sour Grapes, Forever

I remember when radio had no great import in life. Oh, that's not entirely true. When I started in radio, it was a place you went for baseball games, for local news (back in the days when most radio stations...
Posted by Mitch on May 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

What Made Minnesota?

To the left, the debate of Minnesota's future can be summed up (or at least crudely stereotyped) by the signs on the laws promising the owner is "Happy To Pay For A Better Minnesota"; by purple-faced columnists intoning that the...
Posted by Mitch on May 11, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Look What Followed Me Home

Local collector wins battle with the Navy:It's taken six years and a special act of Congress, but an aircraft mechanic from Princeton, Minn., is the undisputed owner of a rare World War II Corsair fighter plane that he salvaged 15...
Posted by Mitch on May 11, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Hail Bureaucrats!

Mark Yost wrote a piece in the PiPress assailing the state's Public Employee unions for their lawsuit against the state, which opposes the use of prison labor on state jobs. It was indeed a pithy piece:If you've driven Minnesota's highways...
Posted by Mitch on May 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Narcissism Monologues, Redux

When writing about the little publicity grabber in Winona and her "I [heart] my Vagina" buttons yesterday, I forgot one other point. If you wear that button in school, and people feel uncomfortable about it, the "champions of free speech"...
Posted by Mitch on April 23, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

The Narcissism Monologues

People have asked me about the Vagina Monologues controversy in Winona, where a couple of Winona High School girls (backed, natch, by the ACLU) are fighting for the girls' "right" to wear "I [heart] My Vagina" buttons in school. Let's...
Posted by Mitch on April 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Below The Bottom Of The Barrel

I've been back and forth on gay marriage for the last few years. I basically support civil unions and oppose gay marriage, which means I'm more or less ambivalent about the Bachmann amendment. However, I know that an awful lot...
Posted by Mitch on April 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Koering

Senator Paul Koering told the public that he was gay, last week. And then, he went and supported putting the "Marriage Amendment" - the proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as involving one male, one female, no substitutions please...
Posted by Mitch on April 17, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

You Must not Think Bad Thoughts

Wog brought my attention to this bit from yesterday's Strib.On Thursday, the Exxon store -- which bears no other name but "This Is My Station" on the marquee -- advertised regular unleaded gas for $2.11 per gallon. But a sign...
Posted by Mitch on April 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Solutions

Red Lake tribal chairman Floyd Jourdain's son has been arrested for conspiracy in the Red Lake massacre:One of the sources, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, said Jourdain and Weise exchanged e-mails that discussed Weise's intent...
Posted by Mitch on March 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Waiting For That Cold Omaha

Minnesota is a destination for the kind of people that keep an area prosperous:"I knew I'd like this city," Hattie Dambroski said recently in her St. Paul apartment. "I didn't know I'd fall in love with it." It sounds like...
Posted by Mitch on March 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Mike Hatch, American Bankers and the Media - Part 5

Let's say they found evidence that, say, John Ashcroft had worked behind the SEC's back to broker a deal to allow ENRON to avoid the public stigma of paying a fine for their transgressions, in exchange for a large donation...
Posted by Mitch on March 25, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

More from Red Lake

More details about the Red Lake massacre and 17 year old killer Jeff Weise are coming out. He was the type of character with someone from both sides of the cultural divide to dig into:one of a Native American who...
Posted by Mitch on March 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Red Lake

Yesterday's tragedy at the Red Lake Indian Reservation high school is a horror indeed:A teenage boy opened fire inside the local high school on the Red Lake Indian Reservation on Monday, killing seven people before turning the gun on himself....
Posted by Mitch on March 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Mike Hatch, American Bankers and the Media: Part 1

Nearly two years ago, the Mower County attorney brought a misdemeanor campaign finance charge against State GOP chairman Ron Eibensteiner. Since this story is back in the news, I'm going to exhume the five-part series I did on the entire...
Posted by Mitch on March 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When Hacks Unite

Mike Hatch, Ron Eibensteiner and the American Bankers and Insurance case are back in the news:The Minnesota Supreme Court revealed Thursday it won't hear an appeal from Republican Party chairman Ron Eibensteiner, who is fighting gross misdemeanor charges in a...
Posted by Mitch on March 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Dour Hour

North Dakota excels at a lot of things; my native state's high school students get better SAT scores than any other state; the school system's performance is also a good as Minnesota's vaunted system, and at about 2/3 of the...
Posted by Mitch on March 14, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Shot of Sanity

Anyone who follows Wog can follow the lunacy of the American drunk driving industry. Understand, drunk driving is wrong. Don't do it. People who are repeatedly caught with astronomical Blood Alcohol Levels should not be allowed on the road. But...
Posted by Mitch on March 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

A Pack, Not A Herd

Passengers foil a bus hijacking in southwestern Minnesota:As she forced the driver to continue driving, another passenger dialed 911 on his cell phone and reached an emergency dispatcher at the State Patrol office in Marshall. Authorities at first couldn't find...
Posted by Mitch on February 18, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Serious Business

As Doug from BoGold notes, the Taxpayers League is getting serious with State Patrol union president Tim Jensen. I won't reproduce the text of the letter - go visit Doug for that - but this part here is intrigueing:The League...
Posted by Mitch on February 16, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Demonology

I'm seeing a pattern here. (Some things are too obvious even for me to miss). The Star/Tribune is maintaining via its editorial board and its star columnist Nick Coleman that the right wing of the blogosphere is on the payroll...
Posted by Mitch on February 11, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Bummer

The DFL ranks, frankly banking on Franken, feel blank and rank as Franken's wanking tanks. Thanks!...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Baby Steps

I've been listening to a bit more of the Nick Coleman show, mornings on our local FrankenNet affiliate; call it "training" for my upcoming live-blogging/live-fisking of his program. I'm up to a minute at a shot before I cringe from...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Strom Responds to Jensen

David Strom has a classy yet pointed response to State Patrol Troopers Association president Corporal Timothy Jensen's article in the union newsletter:Let me be absolutely clear: I believe Trooper Jensen is an honorable man and would never act on his...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Beneath Contempt

Are you, like many Minnesotans, tired of having your taxes jacked up endlessly by a legislature that cares more about feeding the state bureaucracy than about your family's bottom line? Did you send a buck or two to the Taxpayer's...
Posted by Mitch on February 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Good for Minnesota. Bad for NARN.

Mark Dayton is apparently not running for Senate again:Dayton, a department store heir who tapped $12 million from his own fortune to finance his 2000 campaign, also faced a fundraising hurdle. He has said he would be unable to finance...
Posted by Mitch on February 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

When You Think You Have It Bad

Wog from Wog's Blog is on his way to the workhouse:I am waiting for my ride to the workhouse to turn myself in. Rumor has it that Ramsey County plays games with electronic monitoring prisoners by keeping them in jail...
Posted by Mitch on February 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Lenfestation

Question: If you're supposed to be guilty, and you keep laughing, does that make you a bad person? We've run into Susan Lenfestey before; she's credited as a "Minneapolis Writer" at the bottom of her latest piece in the Strib....
Posted by Mitch on January 24, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

You Know Who You Are, Part V

You were the guy in the black Blazer who came barreling up behind me on Snelling Avenue last night. The road had not been plowed, and there was a solid six inches of snow; so my front wheels were fighting...
Posted by Mitch on January 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Is This The Best You've Got?

Snowstorm. Pfft. I didn't even button my jacket. This was the Oliver Willis of "snowstorms"....
Posted by Mitch on January 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

That Horrible Bush Economy

The economy is the worst since the Great Depression. Remember that? Either do these guys:Business leaders across Minnesota and the rest of the six-state Minneapolis Federal Reserve district are more optimistic about the economy for 2005 than they have been...
Posted by Mitch on December 17, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Winter Driving Advisory

The Strib editorial board, shocker of shockers, shifts into scold mode. And so do I....
Posted by Mitch on December 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

It's a Miserable Life

The Man uses Christmas to keep The People down. The Power Structure uses Christmas to further entrap the clueless worker in tentacles of materialism, to dull their minds to the injustice around them. There. Now you don't have to read...
Posted by Mitch on December 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

For Your "Sitting in your Underwear, Drinking Beer and Eating Gas-Station Burritos" Pleasure

Doug from Bogus Gold reviews four uncommon supermarket salsas. Mmmmm. Perfect accompaniment for an evening of solo bacchanalianism. By the way - tonight's my anniversary; I've been single (in fact, if not in the eyes of the law) for fiv...
Posted by Mitch on December 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Stories Straight?

Minnesota DFLers are trying to ding the Governor over his "no new taxes" pledge. Seems that local property taxes might rise. DFLers contend that Pawlenty's "no new taxes" policy while erasing budget shortfalls is a sham because it applies only...
Posted by Mitch on November 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Misery Index

In the world of Nick Coleman, the Twin Cities are a morass of misery; huddled masses of the poor, chivvied into shivering, hungry action by a smug, self-satisfied clacque of "Big Cheeses". And yet, the media is talking about full...
Posted by Mitch on November 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The RINO King and the Mulligan Man

Nick Coleman longs for the bad old days. As Dinesh D'Souza wrote in his biography of Reagan, there was a time when the GOP was just a rump of the Democrat party; slightly less statist, slightly less pro-tax, marginally less...
Posted by Mitch on November 17, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Now the Bad News

With all the excitement over the presidential victory, Margarent Martin has sobering news about the MN House:The defeated Republicans: Lynda Boudreau Bill Kuisle Bill Haas Jim Rhodes Carla Nelson Peter Adolphson Doug Fuller Doug Lindgren Stephanie Olsen Lynne Osterman Howard...
Posted by Mitch on November 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Wetterling Lies

I heard the new Patty Wetterling spots today. In among the "Mark Kennedy hurt our feelings" palaver came this little bit of misleading selective context:Mark Kennedy even voted for a 23% national sales tax, which would also eliminate the mortgage...
Posted by Mitch on October 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Choice Appears: Panic Ensues

Ralph Nader has a bigger than normal following in Minnesota; Minneapolis has a number of Green city councilpeople, so reality is not a big constraint on a lot of the Twin Cities electorate. But Ralph Nader has them in a...
Posted by Mitch on October 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Conventional Wisdom: Wrong?

For the past week, the scuttlebutt has been that Mark Kennedy's poll numbers in the MN 6th Congressional District were scary-bad - that Wetterling's numbers were challenging Kennedy's. King tells us that reality is taking hold, thankfully:Two big pieces of...
Posted by Mitch on October 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Kerry Visit

I didn't go to the Kerry rally yesterday - although I did drive past the Kerry headquarters on Wednesday, and thought briefly about grabbing a ticket. Work called, though. Naturally, ">Nick Coleman went. Oh, his column is about someone named...
Posted by Mitch on October 22, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Up Two?

The latest Mason Dixon poll of battleground states shows shows Bush up two points in Minnesota. If you believe Mason-Dixon - and I'm deeply ambivalent about polls in general, after their performance in Minnesota in 2002 - it's shaping up...
Posted by Mitch on October 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Ballad of the Yellow Beret

Mark Dayton (via Powerline), explains last week's bugout in yesterday's Strib....
Posted by Mitch on October 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Those Big-Government, High-Tax Republicans

Steve Gigl on the Strib's moronic endorsement of Kerry in an editorial today. I was going to rip this one myself before work cold-cocked me. But Steve has the goods. The Strib loves Republicans, as long as they're the Arne...
Posted by Mitch on October 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Sleazy Home Companion

I was listening to the local Air America affiliate, and heard the most surreal ad; Garrison Keillor will be doing a benefit for some DFL candidate at the Mermaid in Mounds View. I almost had to pull off the road....
Posted by Mitch on October 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Unclear on the Concept

As I've said a time or two, there are some decent, readable lefty blogs in the Twin Cities. New Patriot is a groupblog featuring a couple of them, including Chris Dykstra, who wrote this bit about my piece yesterday about...
Posted by Mitch on October 08, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Black Helicopters Over Mac-Groveland

Laura Billings is either: a) Joking, or b) Losing it. You have to wade through a bunch of the same old crap to find out....
Posted by Mitch on October 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

NAACP: "Minorities Are Really Stupid"

Clear Channel broadcasting has been posting billboards reading "Don't Vote" around the Twin Cities, including in or near some largely-minority neighborhoods (and, I should add, in my own polyglot neighborhood). Naturally, according to the NAACP (and various wackjobs), it's a...
Posted by Mitch on October 05, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Save WCAL

Carl Albing, a friend of Shot In The Dark, sends this electronic petition to try to derail the sale of WCAL Radio at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN to Minnesota Public Radio. I'd like to wish 'em luck. These...
Posted by Mitch on October 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

The Dinosaur's Birthday Party

The Strib gives us a look into the bad old days with this editorial on the 20th birthday of the Utne Reader. If you've missed it, Utne (as it's now called) is a bit of a Reader's Digest for the...
Posted by Mitch on September 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Shocked?

First, let's understand this; I don't believe you can judge a book by its cover. Pictures are misleading. Stereotypes are bad. Yep yep yep. That said... A story in today's Strib is entitled Teacher's drug arrest shocks International Falls. Looking...
Posted by Mitch on September 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Another Blogger In The News

The Strib writes a profile of local gay, black Republican minister Dennis Sanders. Kudos to Dennis, who I've featured in this space because of his blog, "Moderate Republican". Here's the funny part: the article is called For this GOP member,...
Posted by Mitch on September 22, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Perry On

Steve Perry, uberliberal editor of the City Pages, isn't happy:Q: Are the Democrats really as stupid as they look? A: No one is really as stupid as the Democrats look.One gets the impression Steve Perry is throwing in the towel....
Posted by Mitch on September 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Behind the Curve, Part II

Minnesota Republican Watch is a not-very-coherent opinion blog covering the liberal perspective on Minnesota Republicans. They uncorked this one the other day:Senate District 42 Republicans are claiming that documents produced by CBS News/60 Minutes regarding President Bush's military service are...
Posted by Mitch on September 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

All Collegiality Aside...

A few months ago, when did my review of local lefty blogs, one that was suggested (by Chuck Olsen) was Minnesota Liberal. At the time, ML had been dormant for many months. It's back - and I'm kinda sorry I...
Posted by Mitch on September 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Behind the Curve

If you've been hiding under a rock, you might not know that CBS' "documentary evidence" about Bush's TANG service was under intense, hostile scrutiny. The MN DFL site has has apparently been under a rock and a mattress; they're liking...
Posted by Mitch on September 11, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

We Weren't The Only Ones

At the Minnesota State Fair this last few days, we were astounded by the numbers. Not just the numbers of people - in fact, our little corner of the fair, on Judson by the International Bazaar, was actually kind of...
Posted by Mitch on September 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Face, Meet Boot. Forever.

Via the Fraters, this except from a letter from MN GOP chair Ron Eibensteiner to Ray Waldron of the MN AFL-CIO:That is why I was shocked to learn that during John Kerry's visit to the State Fair today union members...
Posted by Mitch on August 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

When Did You Stop Beating Your Wife?

Mark Gisleson at Norwegianity has uncorked another one of his masterpieces of near-comic hyperbole masquerading as analysis, this time in re Powerline's editorial in the Strib, and Jim Boyd's cowardly, content-free response....
Posted by Mitch on August 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Bush Rally Epilogue

I've heard a few commenters note that they were underwhelmed by the presence of Ricky Skaggs at yesterday's rally. Go forth and seek enlightenment. Back at my first country radio job (KDAK, Carrington ND, 1982), country music was near its...
Posted by Mitch on August 19, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Classically Torn

WCAL is a little publicly-supported classical music station based in Northfield, MN. It's been a must-listen for a very long time. Minnesota Public Radio's classical network is to classical music as Chino Latino is to food; bland and homogenized, but...
Posted by Mitch on August 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Groundswells Popping Up All Over!

Tom Swift sends this story from the Strib, about a "group" of St. Paul liberals who want to recall Mayor Kelly. Money quote:Now, a small group of St. Paul citizens says it wants to take action. "We want to recall...
Posted by Mitch on August 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Lillehaug: The Rick Kahn of 2004?

Joel Rosenberg has a potentially interesting theory - that David Lillehaug might - low probability, but not unthinkably - be the Rick Kahn of the 2004 election....
Posted by Mitch on August 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Freedom Fighters - Coleman Style

Nick Coleman has found a fascists in our midst, in this piece on the brutal repression of a couple of Duluth kids outside President Bush's speech a few weeks ago.The Ringsred brothers of Duluth may turn out to be poster...
Posted by Mitch on July 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

The Inmates Rule The Cities

It was as predictable as could be - once Bloomington (a south 'burb of Minneapolis, best known as the home of the Mall of America) banned smoking, it wouldn't take long for Minneapolis or Saint Paul to do the same....
Posted by Mitch on July 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Smoked Out

As Bloomington acts to ban smoking citywide, and Minneapolis and Saint Paul sniff around the idea of doing the same, it's starting to sink in with some of the local punditry. Even Doug Grow gets it, although he squeezes a...
Posted by Mitch on July 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Earth Shakes

IKEA opened here in the Twin Cities last week. Or so I'm told. I haven't been yet. Probably won't for a while, either. Truth is, I don't have the faintest idea what the fuss is about....
Posted by Mitch on July 19, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Spat

In terms of getting play over trivial issues in the local media, it's been a red-letter week for the Northern Alliance....
Posted by Mitch on July 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Big Cheese

Nick Coleman tries his hands at business reporting, in re the sale of Daytons Marshall Fields:Are we celebrating this news? Or are we waving goodbye, bidding farewell to an era when Minnesota was self-sufficient and blessed with homegrown companies and...
Posted by Mitch on June 11, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

Duckspeak, 2004.

In Orwell's 2004, one of the ruling party's end goals is to reduce the language of the proles to the very minumum needed to carry out party business - "Duckspeak", a circumscribed gibberish sufficient to carry out instructions and parrot...
Posted by Mitch on June 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Don't Confuse Us With The Facts

Read today's Strib piece about the fraud investigation of Pat Forciea, longtime political consultant....
Posted by Mitch on June 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

With Comments Like These...

...who needs a blogger? "Gideon" writes in my comments to my previous post today:The Star Tribune published an article on the DFL booze scandel on page 2B under the fold. It is an classic how-to case study of how to...
Posted by Mitch on May 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Minnesota Numb

In Minnesota - where the legislature yells "Off What?" when MADD yells "Jump" - getting pulled over after a couple of drinks is an automatic world of legal and financial hurt, no matter what the circumstances; the draconian laws, administered...
Posted by Mitch on May 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Lesser of Two Lessers

Dick Day isn't either a genuine Republican or a particularly astute person; he's a manifestation of the dreaded "Soccer Mom" suburban Republican, voting mostly on contingency, rarely on principle. The Pioneer Press editorial page isn't either very sensible or especially...
Posted by Mitch on May 26, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

The Suspense Is Killing Us. Over and Over and Over...

Hey! Did you know Al Franken just might run for Senate in Minnesota in 2008? No, really! It says so right here! But shhhhhh - it's a big secret:...
Posted by Mitch on May 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Grandstanding

Mike Hatch is at it again....
Posted by Mitch on May 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4)

Sniping

Yesterday morning's PiPress story was slugged "DFL Wants to Play Nice". Oh, well. It's about time. The SCSU Scholars titled it better: "DFL Shoots Their Hostage". It fits....
Posted by Mitch on May 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

On a Roll

This story in the Strib credits momentum from the discovery of Dru Sjodin's body in last weekend's discovery of the remains of Erika Dahlquist....
Posted by Mitch on May 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Pennies From Heaven - Dyspeptic Edition

I was worried about Nick Coleman. Once the Bus Strike ended, he had no more excuses to wander the streets of the Twin Cities, looking for "victims" of the Cities' "big cheeses", stringing quotes together into out-of-context attacks on the...
Posted by Mitch on May 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Legislative Chicken

With a war going on, it's almost comforting to report on Minnesota's legislative squabbling....
Posted by Mitch on May 11, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

Senator Moron

Here's a transcript from today's Senate testimony, with Mark Dayton grilling Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs' chairman General Myers:DAYTON: "General Mayer...er...Myers, er...when did you stop beating your wife?" MYERS: "Er, I have never beaten my wife. Ever." DAYTON:...
Posted by Mitch on May 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6)

Pity Me

Most of my working career - actually all of it - I've worked in some of the most wretched offices in the Twin Cities; converted railroad sheds, converted storerooms, closets... ...so I don't feel at all bad that after 11...
Posted by Mitch on May 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5)

Saint Paul is Better - Reason #32,422

Even Doug Grow gets it right once in a while:What's wrong with St. Paul? Here it had a perfect chance to learn from its big twin. Instead, it's gone its own way in selecting a new police chief. No muss,...
Posted by Mitch on May 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Waiting For '08

Don't worry about Al Franken. When FrankenNet's death spiral finally and inevitably concludes, he's got plans. He still wants to be a Minnesota senator....
Posted by Mitch on May 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

As I Enjoy...

...this lovely day, I have to temper the joy I feel by asking myself... ...does Nick Coleman feel joy today? Or is he off prowling the streets around the Strib building, trying to find people for whom sunshine and warm...
Posted by Mitch on May 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

JB Doubtless Was Right

Petty crime seems to have dropped during the bus strike. Don't expect the usual suspects to be happy about that, though....
Posted by Mitch on April 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Fold

There are two issues on which I strongly differ with the Minnesota GOP. One is commuter rail - and I'll be writing about the House Republicans' mistakes in this area in the next few days. The other? Gambling....
Posted by Mitch on April 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

First Birthday

The Minnesota Personal Protection Act turns one year old today. Lest we forget, let's step back in time and reminisce about what the DFL predicted would happen....
Posted by Mitch on April 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4)

Sniping

Nick Coleman constantly derides the death of "Minnesota Nice". Yet it's on full display at the Minnesota Senate these days. Of course, as any real observer of Minnesota and Minnesotans knows, "Minnesota Nice" is just a pseudonym for a sense...
Posted by Mitch on April 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

Wetterling To Run

It's impossible not to feel sympathy for Patty Wetterling. Wetterling is, of course, the mother of Jacob Wetterling, whose kidnapping (along with that of Fargo girl Jeana North a few years later) forever scuppered the feeling that small towns are...
Posted by Mitch on April 27, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10)

Take Your Kids...and...er...?

Lots of people have squawked about "Take Your Child (nee daughter) to Work Day" since it started a little over a decade ago. Today? Of all people, it's the schools that are raising a fuss:Now another problem threatens the annual...
Posted by Mitch on April 22, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

The Hellish World of Nick Coleman

The buses are running again. Nick Coleman can stop prowling the nether regions of the cities, looking for the most disaffected bits of the thin film of people who even noticed that the buses were gone. So is he happy?...
Posted by Mitch on April 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Woo Hoo! A Review!

The City Pages' Paul Demko reviews last week's Northern Alliance appearance on the Hewitt show.Minnesotans can be proud to know that some native sons are representing on right-wing talk radio. The Northern Alliance Radio Network has been running locally on...
Posted by Mitch on April 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8)

Case Closed

They found Dru Sjodin on Saturday. Now, I'm perfectly happy, on conservative grounds, that neither Minnesota nor my homestate (and site of the primary crime scene), North Dakota, have the death penalty. However, since this is a federal case (the...
Posted by Mitch on April 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Fake Hate Crime

Michelle Malkin notes that Tawana Brawley has just gone to college.: "Ever since self-defacing teenager Tawana Brawley smeared feces all over herself, scrawled 'KKK' and 'nigger' on her skin, climbed into a trash bag, and blamed it on racist cops...
Posted by Mitch on April 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Nick Coleman is Losing It

Nick Coleman is Losing It - Coleman on - what else? - the bus strike:Bob Wright is a 65-year-old believing Christian and political independent who works a security job at the Pillsbury Center and harbors no delusions about the bus...
Posted by Mitch on March 31, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Old and In The Way

Old and In The Way - The City Pages' Steve Perry bounces back and forth between paranoia and perception in this week's cover story on Karl Rove. So tell me - in this next section, the "money" section of the...
Posted by Mitch on March 24, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Is Nick Coleman Losing It-

Is Nick Coleman Losing It?- A weekly ritual at the Northern Alliance Radio Network production meetings is the race to claim our nominations for "Hack Column Of The Week". Dibs on this week's Coleman. Although fisking Nick Coleman is starting...
Posted by Mitch on March 22, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Bile Pages

Bile Pages - Lileks doesn't like the new Yellow Pages. He doesn't know the half of it. The new phones books arrived today. Usually not something I note unless I’m desperate for a column. (Years ago I reviewed one, treating...
Posted by Mitch on March 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Caucusian

Caucusian - Went to the District 66B GOP caucus last night. HUGE turnout. If you think the base isn't energized in Saint Paul, think again. And that's even with the state GOP's crummy attitude about the "inner city", which...
Posted by Mitch on March 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Stupid Labor Tricks

Stupid Labor Tricks - Metro Transit drivers may be ready to strike tomorrow. Metro Transit is holding firm on money. I'm not hearing any sympathy for them among bus passengers I know. Among non-bus commuters, most don't know what bus...
Posted by Mitch on March 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Three Signs of Spring

The Three Signs of Spring - In my little corner of the Midway, there are three key signs that spring has sprung: The puddles of vomit in the street after the Hamline frat boys' parties wash away in the rain...
Posted by Mitch on March 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

What If They Had A Strike, And Nobody Came?

Metro area bus drivers are getting ready to strike: "Metro Transit workers overwhelmingly rejected a final contract offer on Monday from the Metropolitan Council and gave union leaders the authority to call a bus strike to strengthen their bargaining...
Posted by Mitch on February 17, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

A Penny Saved, A Spin Earned

So let's talk about the school closings in Minneapolis. Enrollment is dropping in Minneapolis - dropping drastically. The Pioneer Press notes that: "Saying that another round of budget reductions this spring simply wouldn't get to the core of the district's...
Posted by Mitch on February 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Pawlenty in Iraq

Channel 11 is reporting that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is going to Iraq to visit Minnesota troops. Nothing on Google News yet. UPDATE: Again from Channel 11 - the Governor is apparently in Iraq, having left in secret with five...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Sounds of Heads Bashing Against Walls

As the session starts, the biggest non-story of the year - the attempt to repeal the Minnesota Personal Protection Act - is getting underway. Note to opponents - lotsa luck. Notes from the PiPress story:It's been nine months and more...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Session

The 2004 Legislative Session will be getting underway today. It's going to be a doozy. It will pit Governor Pawlenty - hot off a very successful freshman year in office - against a DFL-controlled Senate that is down, but by...
Posted by Mitch on February 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Fiduciary Responsibility

Doug Grow's column in the Strib today is a masterpiece of misplaced populism: "Poor Wells Fargo. In a bloody drama that's unfolding in New York courts, the big bank could be portrayed as coldly crushing innocent small businesses owners. But...
Posted by Mitch on January 27, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Leading Indicator

Leading Indicator - The new Minnesota poll shows Governor Pawlenty's popularity is increasing: "Two of the more telling indicators in the January poll are those showing his standing among older Minnesotans and political independents. In September, only 46 percent of...
Posted by Mitch on January 26, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Get On The Train

Governor Pawlenty will push for funds for the Northstar Commuter Rail line: The rail line would extend 40 miles from Minneapolis past Anoka, Fridley and Elk River. To meet federal approval the project was cut in half. It was...
Posted by Mitch on January 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Open Letter to All Minnesotans

Now hear this. It's not that cold. Quit your whining. I moved here from North Dakota in 1985. In these 19 winters, I have yet to encounter weather I'd call anything but "wintery"; for my tastes, winters here are a...
Posted by Mitch on January 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Think Correctly

Think Correctly - Powerline continues their series, Getting our minds right in Minnesota, about the Elliot Rothenberg case. Rothenberg is a Minnesota attorney who has attacked the Minnesota Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education requirement for "Elimination of Bias" classes, or...
Posted by Mitch on January 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

For The Rich

For The Rich - The city's class warriors are in full warble over Governor Pawlenty's proposal to create toll lanes - not toll roads, mind you - amid some of the metro's worst traffic. "It's preferential traffic for the rich",...
Posted by Mitch on January 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Writ Large

I have no sources for this. There is no corroborating evidence. This post is based exclusively on a hunch. And I'm going to run with it. Remember the last two elections in Minnesota? In '98, the polls showed Norm...
Posted by Mitch on September 18, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Sundaze

Lori Sturdevant wrote a great column on Sunday. There's a timelessness on Machinery Hill. The visitor notes the timelessness of the 4T Program message - Tractors, Transmissions, Tarnation, Tranquility - and the clusters of genuine young 'uns gathered around...
Posted by Mitch on September 03, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Duelling Investigations

The Attorney General is investigating the Administration. The Legislature is investigating the Attorney General at the behest of the Administration. The Star Tribune sets the stage: "House Republican leaders announced the creation of a committee to look into the role...
Posted by Mitch on August 14, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

American Bankers and the

American Bankers and the Local Media - As I said earlier this week, my story on the American Bankers brouhaha will probably kick off Monday, in five parts, more or less daily (one or two parts could get delayed)....
Posted by Mitch on June 20, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Gang Strike Force

The local left is making much of Mike Hatch's op-ed in yesterday's Strib, trying to pin cuts in the Gang Strike Force on Governor Pawlenty. As I'm discovering, you always need to check behind the scenes. A source at...
Posted by Mitch on June 20, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Turnbuckled

Jesse Ventura wrote an op-ed in yesterday's Strib. It's perhaps redundant to call anything Jesse Ventura does "self-serving" - the man practically defines the term. But this article is amazing:Last year the state had a deficit of about $2.3 billion....
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

"I Shouted Out 'Who Killed Paul Wellstone', When After All..."

Anyone who didn't see this one coming? Show of hands, please?WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When federal investigators released a report last month about the plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone, some members of Congress hoped it would dispel talk...
Posted by Mitch on June 03, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Question for Doug Grow

You asked in your column today "Where are the groups supporting the new concealed carry law?" Now, as I noted in my posting below, counting lists of endorsing or opposing group is a convenient dodge; I'd imagine plenty of "groups"...
Posted by Mitch on April 29, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Awada Good It'll Do Ya

Awada Good It'll Do Ya - When I'm not writing Shot in the Dark, or job-hunting, I contribute to the "Political State Report". It's a group blog, run by überblogger The Daily Kos, and includes contributors from all political orientations...
Posted by Mitch on February 13, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Remembering Wellstone

As I said at the time of his tragic and untimely death, I disagreed pretty forthrightly with pretty much everything Paul Wellstone stood for, at least politically - but, like many genuine conservatives, I had plenty of respect for him...
Posted by Mitch on January 11, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The GOP and the Immigrants

The toughest nut the Minnesota GOP has to crack is the urban vote - controlled in the inner city by afro, latino and asian voters. These voters traditionally vote Democrat nationwide, and DFL locally. The National Review's Daniel T....
Posted by Mitch on November 20, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Casualties of War - DJ

DJ Tice of the Pioneer Press has an excellent analysis of the DFL (and national Democrats') troubles.What might this reveal? While not ignoring the powerful personal appeal of Clinton, there is a more important common characteristic about the elections from...
Posted by Mitch on November 20, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Coleman and the DFL

R. Alex Whitlock writes to ask:You mentioned in your Keiller fisking that Coleman was all but kicked out of the DFL. I've never heard that story... would you mind elaborating on it here or on the blog?Happy to oblige. For...
Posted by Mitch on November 14, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Update

The Keillor story is bouncing around the blogosphere like a hyperactive six-year-old at a McDonald's Playland. Tacitus has a superb comparison of Keillor, Bill Moyers (whom we visited earlier this week) and Lewis Lapham (überliberal editor of Harpers), and finds...
Posted by Mitch on November 14, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Keillor-hauling

An email correspondent says he agrees - Keillor is a genuine humorist, which is a sadly endangered species these days - but adds this:But I could let [previous japes at the right] pass, because he didn't make a point of...
Posted by Mitch on November 14, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Keillor. Again

This post kept me on the map - in response to Keillor's petulant and ill-tempered response to we peasants.

It was the most fun I'd had in years.

Posted by Mitch on November 14, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Tomorrow

I'll be tackling the big job of fisking the new Garrison Keillor piece in Salon. But tonight, I have the worst flu I've had in years, and it hurts to look at the monitor. We'll see you then....
Posted by Mitch on November 13, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Minnesota Poll

In recent elections - and some not-so-recent - the inaccuracy of the Minnesota Poll has become a statewide joke. Scott Johnson of Powerline writes this piece. Here's a money quote:The Star Tribune's final pre-election poll was published on November...
Posted by Mitch on November 11, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

What Would Wellstone Think? -

What Would Wellstone Think? - Last night, Lewis reminded me of one of the more interesting facets of Paul Wellstone's character. While he was liberal enough to make Ted Kennedy blanche, and his convictions in that direction were utterly unshakeable,...
Posted by Mitch on October 29, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Old Minnesota, meet New Minnesota?

Minnesota is, of course, the home of Minnesota Nice, a euphemism for "The closest America gets to a Swedish cradle-to-grave social welfare state". It's possible that we may be facing a referendum on that image. This fall Minnesotans will...
Posted by Mitch on February 11, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Cooper, Part III

Some of Bill Cooper's detractors seem to think his current stunt - "exposing" moderates in the party - is a ploy to get Bill Sullivan into the pole position for the nomination this fall. Question to those who believe this:...
Posted by Mitch on February 06, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The DFL Dictionary

"Bipartisanship (noun): to belong to a non-DFL party, but to espouse and support DFL policies without any serious question". We're collecting more DFL Dictionary entries. I'll publish them here, shortly. Write me with your entries! I'll publish them when...
Posted by Mitch on February 06, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Gay Marriage - (AKA Bill Cooper, Part II)

I've always opposed gay marriage - and always thought I knew why. Andrew Sullivan - a conservative columnist and former New Republic editor - may have changed my mind. He's conservative, Catholic, and gay. He writes eloquently about the conflicts...
Posted by Mitch on February 06, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Bill Cooper - The Star/Tribune

Bill Cooper - The Star/Tribune writes this morning about Bill Cooper's move to "purify" the Minnesota GOP. Here's the question: If you ARE a Minnesota Republican, what ARE the party's bedrock issues that are worth fighting for? According to Bill...
Posted by Mitch on February 06, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)