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.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
My pants don't fit and my feet hurt
My wife would tell you that I've had three mid-life crises since turning 40 a few years back. She's probably right.
The most recent crisis has caused considerable lethargy. I used to pride myself in getting up early and getting a lot done in a day. Those days are long gone.
In an effort to force myself to resurrect old habits I signed up for the Twin Cities marathon in October. It has been a tough road. I haven't really shed much weight since I started running again; that will have to change if I am to do anything other than waddle through the marathon.
It's only been three years since my last marathon but it is far harder for my body to aborb the impacts from running. Both knees hurt and I have shin splints in my lower right leg. My ankles are stiff and it is a chore to get out of bed in the morning. My sons ask why they always see me with bags of ice on my legs.
It could be a long summer.
The most recent crisis has caused considerable lethargy. I used to pride myself in getting up early and getting a lot done in a day. Those days are long gone.
In an effort to force myself to resurrect old habits I signed up for the Twin Cities marathon in October. It has been a tough road. I haven't really shed much weight since I started running again; that will have to change if I am to do anything other than waddle through the marathon.
It's only been three years since my last marathon but it is far harder for my body to aborb the impacts from running. Both knees hurt and I have shin splints in my lower right leg. My ankles are stiff and it is a chore to get out of bed in the morning. My sons ask why they always see me with bags of ice on my legs.
It could be a long summer.
school district woes make the front page
Yesterday's Strib covered the on-going boundary dispute with a front page story. I read the story twice and remain unclear of why it deserved front page treatment. The story contained nothing "new" or really that interesting.
I remain convinced that reporters at the Strib are kinda lazy; they'd rather rehash an old story than come up with anything new.
The controversy itself is becoming tedious. Yes, I think the administration is misguided; so, too, the school board members who support the boundary changes. I still don't know what it is that they're actually trying to fix. And, irrespective of whether the boundary changes will benefit kids or not, it is clear that those who supported this initiative knew that the issue would cause considerable pain in Eden Prairie. It was a mistake to go down this road.
That said, I also remain uncertain of what the organized opposition hopes to accomplish. I don't think the threat, or fact, of litigation will accomplish much other than ensure continued poor coverage by the Strib. It would be far easier, and cheaper, to effectuate change by getting just two or three motivated school board candidats and raising $10,000 a piece for them. You only need about 2000 votes to get on the school board; that can easily be done by a motivated candidate.
I remain convinced that reporters at the Strib are kinda lazy; they'd rather rehash an old story than come up with anything new.
The controversy itself is becoming tedious. Yes, I think the administration is misguided; so, too, the school board members who support the boundary changes. I still don't know what it is that they're actually trying to fix. And, irrespective of whether the boundary changes will benefit kids or not, it is clear that those who supported this initiative knew that the issue would cause considerable pain in Eden Prairie. It was a mistake to go down this road.
That said, I also remain uncertain of what the organized opposition hopes to accomplish. I don't think the threat, or fact, of litigation will accomplish much other than ensure continued poor coverage by the Strib. It would be far easier, and cheaper, to effectuate change by getting just two or three motivated school board candidats and raising $10,000 a piece for them. You only need about 2000 votes to get on the school board; that can easily be done by a motivated candidate.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wanna bet?
Gambling has received a lot of press this legislative session in Minnesota. Recently, much has surrounded the GOP platform and whether that platform can accomodate two different positions--1)opposition to gambling; 2)breaking the tribal monopoly on casino gaming.
This issue has been debated because two GOP leaders--the state party chairman and our national committeewoman--stand to profit personally from this issue. Our state party chair has formed a political consultancy which has partnered with an anti-gambling group (itself funded by the tribal casinos). Our committeewoman has herself become a paid lobbyist in favor of increased gaming.
Much of the public debate misses the point. I don't much care whether gaming is increased or not--i understand both sides of the issue and each raises legitimate points. To me the bigger issue (which hasn't really received much attention) is the fact that party leaders who have an ability to influence state legislators because of the power which they have in the GOP are now being paid to lobby those same legislators. I think that's wrong...plain and simple.
Our elected party leaders make great sacrafices to serve the party. If they require compensation to make up for those sacrafies, fine. Ask for a salary and I'll support giving you one. And, if you want to use your connections to become a lobbyist after you leave the party office, also fine. But, I do not think it is appropriate for party leaders to become lobbyists while they hold a position in the party. Put it this way--when our state party chair calls a legislator on an issue, which hat is he wearing? Can he really wear just one and ignore the other? If he calls as a lobbyist the legislator has to realize that this is the person who has the ability to send money and volunteers to him during his next campaign.
Our party is a big tent party in which activists and elected officials alike will have different positions on a number of issues. Our party leaders need to be able to communicate with those elected officials without wondering whether the leader's self interest is involved.
This issue has been debated because two GOP leaders--the state party chairman and our national committeewoman--stand to profit personally from this issue. Our state party chair has formed a political consultancy which has partnered with an anti-gambling group (itself funded by the tribal casinos). Our committeewoman has herself become a paid lobbyist in favor of increased gaming.
Much of the public debate misses the point. I don't much care whether gaming is increased or not--i understand both sides of the issue and each raises legitimate points. To me the bigger issue (which hasn't really received much attention) is the fact that party leaders who have an ability to influence state legislators because of the power which they have in the GOP are now being paid to lobby those same legislators. I think that's wrong...plain and simple.
Our elected party leaders make great sacrafices to serve the party. If they require compensation to make up for those sacrafies, fine. Ask for a salary and I'll support giving you one. And, if you want to use your connections to become a lobbyist after you leave the party office, also fine. But, I do not think it is appropriate for party leaders to become lobbyists while they hold a position in the party. Put it this way--when our state party chair calls a legislator on an issue, which hat is he wearing? Can he really wear just one and ignore the other? If he calls as a lobbyist the legislator has to realize that this is the person who has the ability to send money and volunteers to him during his next campaign.
Our party is a big tent party in which activists and elected officials alike will have different positions on a number of issues. Our party leaders need to be able to communicate with those elected officials without wondering whether the leader's self interest is involved.
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