I ran the Excelsior 10k Firecracker race this morning. It's a nice run that I haven't done in about five years or so. I remember the last time I ran it one of the sponsors was a dentist; and, he handed our Krispy Kreme donuts at the end of the race. I had to chuckle at the irony as I wolfed down a couple.
The highlight of today was that I convinced my 14 year old to run the 2 mile race. I'm trying to get him interested in running and this was his first road race. I'm glad to say he enjoyed it, even though he had to wait about an hour for me to waddle over the finish line. We're going to try to find a 5k which we can run together this summer.
My boys are starting to get to the age where our interests will overlap. I'm looking forward to it.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The Star Tribune ignores Lisa Goodman
Lisa Goodman is a Minneapolis city council member. A few years back her efforts to deny a development in her ward caused the developer to sue the city under a variety of theories.
The issue may seem boring to most people, but it is pretty important. Most of the decisions made by city councils involve land use--what can be built where. City councils have tremendous power and discretion over these matters.
Residents and businesses have a right to expect fairness from their city. They have a right to be heard, and have their request fairly considered.
A Minneapolis developer felt he had been given an unfair shake, and sued. This isn't that rare or remarkable.
What is remarkable is that the Minnesota district court issued a scathing decision faulting Ms. Goodman for being unfair. Minneapolis appealed; and in May of this year the Court of Appeals upheld the decision against Minneapolis.
The Court of Appeals ordered that Minneapolis reconsider the development proposal becuase its original decision was tainted by Ms. Goodman. The Court held that the orginial decision was "arbitrary and capricious."
That's pretty big news as developers rarely win development challenges. And, it is even more rare that our courts will scold an elected official.
What makes this even more interesting is what the Strib said about this decision--almost nothing. And, its editorial board, which is a frequent critic of GOP elected officials, said absolutely nothing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
The issue may seem boring to most people, but it is pretty important. Most of the decisions made by city councils involve land use--what can be built where. City councils have tremendous power and discretion over these matters.
Residents and businesses have a right to expect fairness from their city. They have a right to be heard, and have their request fairly considered.
A Minneapolis developer felt he had been given an unfair shake, and sued. This isn't that rare or remarkable.
What is remarkable is that the Minnesota district court issued a scathing decision faulting Ms. Goodman for being unfair. Minneapolis appealed; and in May of this year the Court of Appeals upheld the decision against Minneapolis.
The Court of Appeals ordered that Minneapolis reconsider the development proposal becuase its original decision was tainted by Ms. Goodman. The Court held that the orginial decision was "arbitrary and capricious."
That's pretty big news as developers rarely win development challenges. And, it is even more rare that our courts will scold an elected official.
What makes this even more interesting is what the Strib said about this decision--almost nothing. And, its editorial board, which is a frequent critic of GOP elected officials, said absolutely nothing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The media's hatred of conservative women
Sarah Palin's emails made news a few weeks ago. Various media outlets had been waiting for years for the opportunity to sift through some 20,000 pages of emails from Ms. Palin's years as governor. Alas, despite the dozens of reporters dispatched to remote Alaska, it appears that the emails reveal only that Ms. Palin spent a lot of time on the business of running a state.
The effort to obtain and sift through such miscellania is unprecedented in political reporting. It baffles me to this day. An obscure state senator from Illinois vaulted to the national scene and was elected President with far less background interest by the fourth estate.
More recently, Michele Bachman is again under fire for factual misstatements in some of her stump speeches. Sure, I guess some trivial pursuit champion somewhere knows the town that John Wayne was born in--i don't care. I would far rather hear what she has to say about raising the debt ceiling.
Moreover, politicians are known for gaffes. And, none is more prolific in this regard that Joe Biden. But, with his big grin and an "aw, shucks," all is forgiven by the yellow press despite the continued absurdity of the comments made by the man who is but one heartbeat away.
I find it ironic that the liberal media elite so enjoys this double standard. After all, shouldn't those who attempt to own the words of "equality" and "choice" applaud the political success of women?
The effort to obtain and sift through such miscellania is unprecedented in political reporting. It baffles me to this day. An obscure state senator from Illinois vaulted to the national scene and was elected President with far less background interest by the fourth estate.
More recently, Michele Bachman is again under fire for factual misstatements in some of her stump speeches. Sure, I guess some trivial pursuit champion somewhere knows the town that John Wayne was born in--i don't care. I would far rather hear what she has to say about raising the debt ceiling.
Moreover, politicians are known for gaffes. And, none is more prolific in this regard that Joe Biden. But, with his big grin and an "aw, shucks," all is forgiven by the yellow press despite the continued absurdity of the comments made by the man who is but one heartbeat away.
I find it ironic that the liberal media elite so enjoys this double standard. After all, shouldn't those who attempt to own the words of "equality" and "choice" applaud the political success of women?
Surviving the Minnesota Shutdown
Today is the first day of the Minnesota state government shut down. I'm not sure what to expect. But, both political sides having taken the matter this far, I think it will likely be a few weeks before anything changes. Politically it makes no sense to take the government to shut-down and then cave a week or ten days later. No, I think it'll be August before this matter is repaired.
Earlier this week I tried to determine whether there was anything I needed to do to prepare for the shutdown. For the most part, I concluded not. But, my tabs on my wife's car expire in July so I decided earlier this week to go on-line to the motor vehicle department and renew those tabs a few weeks early.
Imagine my surprise when I got to the website and found a note indicating that online services had been disabled in anticipation of the shut-down. The website told me that i would have to apply in person to get new tabs.
I remain puzzled by the cancellation of on-line renewal. In the first place, it seems to me that an on-line automated process would be far superior to an in-person process during a shut-down. In the second place, why would it be necessary to disable an on-line process three days BEFORE a shut-down?
My comments and questions are rhetorical. The only logical conclusion is that the cessation of on-line tab renewal is intended to inconvenience those of us who might otherwise escape the shut-down unscathed.
Earlier this week I tried to determine whether there was anything I needed to do to prepare for the shutdown. For the most part, I concluded not. But, my tabs on my wife's car expire in July so I decided earlier this week to go on-line to the motor vehicle department and renew those tabs a few weeks early.
Imagine my surprise when I got to the website and found a note indicating that online services had been disabled in anticipation of the shut-down. The website told me that i would have to apply in person to get new tabs.
I remain puzzled by the cancellation of on-line renewal. In the first place, it seems to me that an on-line automated process would be far superior to an in-person process during a shut-down. In the second place, why would it be necessary to disable an on-line process three days BEFORE a shut-down?
My comments and questions are rhetorical. The only logical conclusion is that the cessation of on-line tab renewal is intended to inconvenience those of us who might otherwise escape the shut-down unscathed.
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