Erlandson + HUGE SUV = Environmentalist?

From the Strib:

"Ostrow pointed to education and health care; Reichgott Junge said universal health care and investing in children before age 6; Ellison listed economic justice and health care, and Erlandson said global warming and criticizing President Bush."

Um, he drives a Cadillac Escalade. Which means that he alone is spewing 11.90 to 13.20 tons of Greenhouse Gas emissions a year . This is a vehicle that the US Department of Energy give's a "1" on fuel economy (on a ten point scale)

DFL Process for AG Race

So I posted on this a little over at MN Publis but thought it would do well to address it here.

This stuff about the party not recruiting candidates to replace
Entenza before he dropped out is annoying me.The DFL has a structure and a process. The highest ranking body of the DFL is the biannual state convention. The next highest body is the State DFL Central Committee and then the Executive Committee. A lower body, nor an officer of such, may overturn or act contrary to a decision of a higher body.

In other words, if the DFL Officers were to recruit a candidate to run
against a candidate for an office that was endorsed by the State Convention it would constitute malfeasance and be an impeachable
offense.

It is looking like the Central Committee will be meeting August 12th, not sure where yet. It should be an interesting three weeks.

Entenza

My reaction to the whole saga of Matt Entenza dropping out of the race for Attorney General?

Sadness.

You see, the things that he ahs been accused of are very much at odds with my personal experiences with him. He always struck me as one of those politicians who actually wanted to make things better for people. He is one of those straight white men who actually understands what privileges he has just due to his gender, sexual orientation and skin color and he actively worked to counter that. He is not one of those liberals out to fix the world by making it like himself but rather he always was bringing in people and setting them into power.

In all the ranting about how much money he and his wife have I have wondered about two things: Are there people upset that he is not "man enough" to be ashamed that his wife earns more than him? And, are there people who are upset that he and his wife use that money on politics rather than on a lavish lifestyle of conspicous consumption? (Millions of dollars in stock options and they live in Merriam Park, a solidly middle class neighborhood in St. Paul.)

Honestly, I don't know if Matt did something wrong. If he did it is a heartbreaking thing because I know that he and Lois are basically good people. If it is proven he did something wrong my hope and expectation is that he will learn greatly from this. Hopefully others will learn a bit about forgiveness and allowing for the foibles of being human.

State DFL Central Committee Meeting

So, we arrive in the morning to discover that, despite repeated inquiries over the past week, the air conditioning in the entire East end of Eden Prairie High School is on the fritz. At 9am the main hall was already at 80 degreess. But, after some masterful work on the fly by DFL staff the meeting was moved to the air conditioned gym on the West end. The AC had to be turned on so the room wasn't entirely comfortable but a lot better than what it could have been. The worst part was the acoustics but we got past that.

Bill Davis was elected Treasurer without opposition.

We had some substantial, passionate yet respectful debates over some resolutions. The most organization was thrown toward the Transit Funding Constitutional amendment
that will be on the ballot this fall. I suspect that advocates for the amendment thought they were going have an easy time getting the DFL to endorse the amendment and they seemed to be scrambling at the last minute when it became obvious through email discussions in the week prior that there was in fact some serious opposition to the measure. I admit it was entertaining to watch people who had been so sure of themselves and their political "savviness" have to scramble like that.

The pro-amendment resolution was put in motion and then someone immediately moved a subsititute resolution to oppose the constitutional amendment. That substitute motion failed but on a very slim margin, almost a 50/50 split. I am not clear on what happened next as I was out of the room but I came back into the room as a vote was being taken that resulted in the DFL taking no position on the amendment at all. Given the close margins that was probably the best outcome.


Of course Judi Dutcher was endorsed for Lt. Gov. Mike Hatch's speech was too long and the same one we have heard several times before. Next meeting I'm giving it for him!!

THIS is what I want for Christmas!!

A Ronco Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler!

I honestly did not know they made these things anymore. I really need it to go on the shelf next to my Presto Tater Twister.

I don't know why but this offends me ...

Advertisement found on the back of my grocery store reciept:

Pregnant? Considering Adoption?
Please help us fulfill our dream of having a family. If you or someone you know is pregnant and thinking about adoption, a financially secure home full of love and laughter awaits your baby. MN Agency approved.

Call Kathy & Daniel toll-free .....

High Level Rant about Latest Ellison "Scandel"

This was not the morning for me to see this .... I saw this on MDE this morning and since I was already in a non-hormonal bad mood to begin with this has just pushed the BP up a notch or two. So, in response ....

Yea, my license is suspended too. You see, the City of Minneapolis, unlike say, St. Paul, suspends your license if you do not pay ANY ticket. So, that pissant parking ticket you got two months ago for staying one minute over the meter time, the one you stuffed in your glovebox and forgot about? Well they just suspended your license over it. Or, maybe, like many of the district's residents, you live paycheck to paycheck and you could not afford to pay the ticket. That means that the City of Minneapolis not only is going to sock you for the damn ticket but also for the late fees, "court fees" and then make you pay an additional $35 to the State to get your license license reinstated. (This is another example of how expensive it is to be poor.) This may not be what happened with Keith but when you have a city that is so strapped for cash that it basically has to use the state as enforcers to collect a $20 parking ticket it means there is something else wrong.

Maybe its time we elected someone to congress who has a freaking clue that life is not all "Up With People" and Glossy head shots perfect. Someone who has made mistakes and lived a real life rather than living their life in plastic wrapped packages labeled "open only upon campaign for Congress".

Campaign Piece from Bill Davis

Just FYI .....

Also, Mari Pokernowski is not running so at this point it's looking like a quick election.

=========

My name is BILL DAVIS, and I am seeking your support for State DFL Treasurer. The election will be held on Saturday, July 15, at Eden Prairie High School. I am writing to you because I need your support and counsel.

As many of you have heard, longtime political activist Kerry Gauthier has submitted his letter of resignation for this position. Kerry has decided to pursue other political interest during this election cycle. All of us wish to thank Kerry for his dedication and commitment to the DFL Party over the last several years. Because of Kerry's decision to leave, a vacancy for the position of State Treasurer has occurred and, with your help, I would like to fill it.

The position of State Treasurer is not new to me, I served in this capacity as the State DFL Treasurer more than ten years ago, so I am thoroughly familiar with the duties and the level of responsibility involved. I can hit the ground running and that's important for the DFL Party. My strengths are designing procedures that facilitate the tracking of revenues coming in and going out of the DFL.

For over 16 years, I have served as the President/CEO for a private non-profit community base agency with an annual budget of approximately $15,000,000. As the chief executive officer I oversee the agency's budget and assure its compliance with all regulatory rules and procedures stipulated by state and federal law. While my fiscal director manages the day-to-day operation, it is my responsibility to completely understand and establish procedures and protocol for that department. In other words I know the correct procedures and I know the correct questions to ask and most importantly, I know then correct procedures are being properly implemented.

As State Treasurer I would like to assist the Chair by creating strategies that generate funds and designing fiscal policies that enhance overall accountability. And I will present fiscal reports so that you can clearly understand the fiscal health and well being of the Party.

With your support, I would like to return to this office and serve the DFL Party once again. I am very pleased with the overwhelming support that I am receiving from DFLers from all over the State. Your support is greatly appreciated.

As a resident and active member of the Third Congressional District, which extends from the Metro into Greater Minnesota and reflects the urban/suburban and rural blend of DFLers in our Party, I would bring a high degree of energy and a work ethic that will ensure accountability, commitment, competence, compassion, and the capacity to do this job and do it well. I have over twenty years of experience as a party officer at every level of the DFL Party and I have worked on numerous campaigns statewide and locally as well. I look forward to talking with you in the days ahead, in the meantime, please feel free to contact me ....

Again, I would be honored to earn your support.

VOTE BILL DAVIS for DFL STATE TREASURER on July 15th