The real 5th CD recap

First, I just want to thank my beloved Smartie for taking over this week. Between arranging the Meet and Greet, some side work for the Crashing the Gate Tour on Tuesday, and a very jam-packed work week, I never had a moment to sit and write a post. He forged on bravely without me, and took on all the posting duties himself.

I also wanted to wait and see what came out of Doug Grow's three hours of watching the candidates. Sadly, not a lot on our event, although the bar and the group were both named, so I'm happy.

I got to the bar at about 20 to 6 and was surprised to have people start showing up right away. All in all, we probably hit near 60 people at the 331, although at least 2/3rds of the group were candidates or staff. Keith Ellison and Gail Dorfman had the most people there by far, with some of Ellison's running about tagging with people with Ellison stickers. I was a little worried that the taggers weren't old enough to be in a bar, but considering I'd earlier seen a baby branded with a "Polly for School Board" sticker, I figured we were cool (Smartie said he might be ready to start having kids if I'd stop calling it "having a baby" and started referring to it as "Extending the Marty brand.").

I had a chance to speak to nearly every candidate there, with the exception of Ellison, whom I saw walk in but never found a chance to talk one of one. Erlandson was the first to toast the DLer's hanging by the beer pitchers, causal in a short sleeved black shirt rather than the business suits everyone else had donned. "We're drinking, we're in a bar, I thought I should be comfortable," he declared, apparently staffless and totally at ease.

Savaadera was fun and natural (even suited up), and much younger than I thought he was when I shook his hand at the Obama rally. I found myself completely forgetting he was a politician and just chatted with him rather than drilled him on his platform.

Ember couldn't make the event, but I was able to spend a bit of time talking to her staffers Marty and Kate. I discovered Kate lived a few blocks from me, and we made plans for barbecue when things slow down a little in the summer.

Anne Knapp was one of the first to arrive, and appeared to be having the most fun, both with her campaign and with talking to others. She is now on the DL mailing list and we very much hope that she'll remember the door is always open.

The Wege and I also discussed websites with Tammy Lee, who's site went live yesterday and which, I must say, looks really good. Since she's an independent and in for the long haul, I think it will serve her very well.

Most of my actual campaign discussions were done with either Nelson-Pallmeyer or Dorfman. Nelson-Pallmeyer surprised me a bit in his intense dedication of his staff. I got to speak to him and asked him to explain his position more on the war in Afghanistan, as I had heard he was against it and I believed it was a just endeavor although highly mis-executed. We realized our positions were much closer than I thought, and I enjoyed our discussion quite a bit.

Dorfman was wonderful, talking to me for a good 20 minutes about how much she has enjoyed the campaign. Dorfman impressed me both with her genuine kindness, and the fact that she was the only candidate I have ever asked "What is the first thing you would do once you win?" who gave me a real answer. Often I hear a candidate say generalities about the war, or education, or healthcare. Never before had someone given me an actual plan, with full details. I was amazed by both the passion of her commitment and her intelligence and organization obvious in her planning.

It was amazing how well everyone got along. Because the DLers were so sparse, the campaigners were chatting among themselves, and seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. I was told not to be concerned, that when the balloting starts and people have to drop, they need to make inroads and start winning over each other, so in some ways this was good networking for them, and not just a night off.

Dorfman told me that it has been a very positive campaign, and the candidates truly get along. And with the exception of Nelson-Pallmeyer, who told me he believed the other candidates were copying from his speeches and platforms, there seemed to be no animosity among them. It was a great night of drinking and talking, and we hope to see them all again. Best of luck to all of the candidates in what is sure to be an exciting convention on the 6th.

The 5th CD DL Round Up...

will not be appearing in this post. Instead, check back tomorrow when REW will be providing an exciting blow by blow account of the whole dazzling affair.

In the mean time, you can check out Tammy Lee's shiny new website at:

www.tammyleeforcongress.com

Oil & Adam Smith (Pt. 2)

In this section we address the "Invisible Hand" argument. Clearly Capitalism is the best system of market regulation yet devised. Empirical evidence of that fact is all around us in the United States or any other first world nation. However, the form of Capitalism that we practice is far from a pure laissez faire market system. To varying degrees every industry in this country is regulated, by anti-trust laws, by environmental concerns, by the labor laws, etc. Many of those regulations arose in direct response to public outcry over -legal at the time- corporate malfeasance (see, for example, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire) So, to begin, let's immediately dispense with the notion that governmental intervention in private industry is always harmful. While the proper level of government involvement is certainly open to debate, it is generally acknowledged in this country that the government has a role to play in regulating markets and companies.

More than that, one cannot set a single rule across all industries. Different industries have always had differing levels of government involvement in their activities. The obvious parallel in this case is the regulated monopolies of the local energy companies (well, regulated until recently and we see how well that's working out). Electricity, natural gas, etc. being deemed "essential" the government heavily regulated this economic sector in order to help ensure that their delivery was uninterrupted and the prices kept reasonable. Another example of this concept is the government's ability to prevent or intervene in union strikes in industries deemed to be essential to the functioning of the country or a region. (see this, for example) In certain industries, then, regulation is generally deemed to be acceptable, as the loss in free enterprise is considered less important than the smooth functioning of the industry.

Another area in which the Invisible Hand argument becomes non-operative is in an industry where a very small number of players control almost the entire market and where the bar for entry is so high that new players in the field are a virtual impossibility. The first part of that sentence is obviously true-thanks to mergers and consolidations the entire US oil market is controlled by six or seven massive corporations. It's not hard to understand that even without formal collusion there is very little incentive to out compete one another and thus a greater likely hood of "conscious parallelism" (thanks, LF!). The other half of the equation is the high bar for entry. Oil being a limited asset, most of the oil that is available worldwide is already under someone's control be it a private company, a national government, a cartel or some mix of those elements. The point is that a new player in the market would find it difficult to get a supply of the initial product, and even if they did they would have to transport the product to a refinery, (which we're told there already aren't enough of), then transport the product to a station and finally find a station willing to sell their product since most if not all gas stations are affiliated with one of the major oil companies. With all of these prerequisites, then, it becomes virtually if not actually impossible for a new player to break into the market. Because of this, there is little fear that the big companies will have to face competition from any upstart companies that have a new way of doing business, which kind of cuts the invisible hand off at the wrist. Taken together, then, there is relatively little competitive pressure upon this industry compared to most large industries.

Because of these two factors, "whatever the market will bear" quickly becomes the minimum standard for pricing, and the prices push up from there. Don't like it? What's your alternative? At this time in history oil would have to be considered an essential resource. Even if you walk or bike everywhere you go you can't escape it. Food production and distribution, for example, require huge amounts of oil and those prices will increase in proportion to oil costs. Something which always and unavoidably affects the lives of every citizen and which is tightly controlled by a single industry? Sounds like an "essential industry" to me.

So what's the solution? The long term solution, of course, is to ultimately wean ourselves off this dependence. This will involve both investments in transit and alternative fuels. That's a strategy that absolutely needs to be pursued unless we like having our national economy slammed every few years by major oil shocks, but it's not going to do much in the short term. For short term fixes, generally speaking, the system works and I wouldn't advocate major change to it, certainly not a level of control on par with local utilities. But on something so deeply intertwined in our lives it does not seem unreasonable to place some safeguards and controls upon the marketplace. One step would to be prevent further mergers amongst the already massive oil giants which would further reduce competition. Another short-term fix often floated is the windfall profits tax or a similar system to try to discourage profiteering.

These seem like relatively small and simple changes. Undoubtedly there are better possible options. The point of this post was mainly to refute the arguments that government has no role in this and that the market was capable of operating without restraint. I've left out hard numbers on what exactly constitutes profiteering because frankly I have no ability to crunch the massive amounts of data that would be required to create a comprehensive theory. I'd be happy just to have a general acknowledgment that, yes, indeed something is wrong with this system and it is possible for us to have positive influence on the market. If I've made a hash out of the issue, I have no doubt someone will set me straight.

Ack!

The Strib's new website background is even scarier than the Live Green Go Yellow one. Make it stop!

Also, how hot does it have to be before they take the snowman down from their weather forecast on their main page?

Sorry, a little worn out from the big DL meet n' greet last night. Regular posting will begin as soon as I get some more coffee in me.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Since it may be a little while before I'll have time to finish the second half of oil economics post (I'm sure you're all very disappointed) let's talk about something really important: Football.

First, Vikings & Bears fans rejoiced when they heard the news that Aaron Rodgers will be warming a bench for another season. Lions fans looked up briefly, then returned to quietly sobbing.

Second, the draft is this weekend. Who do you think the Vikings will pick? A QB seems like the obvious choice, given the bone-headed Daunte trade, but I'd rather see the team focus on defense. Linebacker is an obvious and immediate need. Another need only slightly less pressing is at Safety. On the Offense, signing Steve Hutchinson was a good start but we still need to beef up our O-line. I'd probably rate all of those needs as being at least as pressing as the need for a new QB. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Oil Prices and Adam Smith (Pt. 1)

Doug over at Bogus Gold wrote a post yesterday defending oil company profits during this time of rapidly rising gas prices. His thoughtful post plus this one by Pat Cleary over at RedState.com invoke various free market principles to justify what is widely perceived as profiteering by oil companies. Now I'm no economist, so I may be way off base with this post, but I believe both Doug's argument and Pat's contain serious flaws.

Doug's basic argument boils down to the old "Invisible Hand" argument. The argument goes essentially that markets are self-correcting, profits drive competition which drives innovation which drives more profits and so on with both businesses (through profits) and consumers (through better and/or cheaper products) benefiting. Pat's argument is that oil prices are rising due to factors beyond the control of the oil companies and therefore they cannot be held responsible for price increases. Let's deal with that second argument first.

If it were true that gas prices reflected the price of crude oil then oil company profits should remain relatively stable- just like those of most blue chip industries. That is clearly not the case, however. The fact that oil companies are reaping record profits as oil prices increase indicates that they are raising gas prices faster than can be accounted for by the price of oil alone. Admittedly, oil prices are set by a volatile futures market, so occasional large profits are to be expected since sometimes fears of shortages are over exaggerated and therefore the commodity becomes temporarily over valued. We're not seeing occasional profit spikes, however, but sustained massive profit margins for more than a year now. Also record profits are not limited to one company as one would expect in a normal market situation where the current market leader would take the largest share of the profits. Instead this seems to be generally true of all players in the industry.

Lack of refinery capacity also runs into this "fake shortage" problem detailed in the last paragraph-gas prices simply do not directly relate to the production cost of gas as oil company profits make clear. There are additional considerations for this one which I'll get into more fully in the next post when I address Doug's argument.

Drinking Liberally 5th CD Meet & Greet UPDATE

Remember, tonight's the night for the MEGA HUGE 5th CD meet and greet, brought to you by your good friends at Drinking Liberally.

Want more? I've just been informed that we will be joined by another candidate tonight:

Tammy Lee, Independence Party candidate for the 5th CD.


That brings tonight's total number of confirmed candidates to nine:

Gail Dorfman, Keith Ellison, Mike Erlandson, Anne Knapp, Tammy Lee, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jay Pond, Jorge Saavedra & Gary Schiff

So come out, have a beer, say "hi" and get to know your next Congressperson.

Drinking Liberally 5th CD Meet and Greet
Wednesday, April 26th 6-9 pm
331 Club, 13th and University in NE Minneapolis


(I can't find a website for Ms. Lee. Anyone know of a link?)

Oil is Expensive...Hot Air is Cheap.

I've been watching with great amusement the recent Republican scramble to pretend they aren't in the pocket of the oil industry. Remember the big energy bill they passed last year? You know, this energy bill:

The new 1,724-page energy law, four years in the making, will provide $14.5 billion in tax breaks. The recipients will include producers of oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power...

Well, oil companies probably needed that money, right? I mean, you wouldn't give them tax breaks at the same time as they reap record profits:

When major oil companies report their quarterly profits next week, they're once again expected to post record numbers. With crude trading around $60 a barrel, the oil industry is enjoying one of the biggest windfalls in its history.

Would you? Oh wait, no, that article was from last year, before the energy bill was passed. And thanks to that bill, a bill Mark Kennedy and other Republicans proudly supported, you get this story:

Big Oil Expects Big Profits as Earnings Season Looms

If things shake out as expected, the first quarter of 2006 will mark the 11th straight quarter of double-digit profit growth. That is a result that has only been bettered once before — the bull market of the early Clinton years (Q4 '92 to Q4 '95).

And why is that?

The biggest chunk of that growth will come from the energy sector, where companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are expected to push three-month results up by more than 40 percent, according to the latest analyst estimates.

In the meantime, the rest of us have to work second jobs just to be able to afford to fill up the tank. But, then, what do you expect from someone who, last year alone, took over $13,000 from oil and gas lobbyists? (Figure provided by the Center for Responsive Politics).

Now that people are getting angry about gas prices, Republicans in congress are realizing that this could be trouble for them. House and Senate Republican leadership have proposed a toothless probe into the possibility that oil companies are price gouging. Hmmm...oil companies, fight price gouging, where have I heard that before?

I will fight to stop price gouging by oil companies. In early September, I called for a "gas gouging penalty" against oil companies that were gouging American consumers at the gas pump even before Hurricane Katrina. Oil companies were already enjoying record profits, with double-digit increases each quarter. Exxon Mobil is the richest company in America. It violates our basic principle of fair play when major oil companies can gouge consumers -- not only hurting ordinary families, but also harming other businesses that see their own costs go up dramatically.

Despite all this Kennedy claims on his official website that:

Liberal Democrats Offer No Solutions to High Gas Prices

Like what, giving them tax breaks and hoping they deign to lower prices?

No, Kennedy's actual plan is to try to amend the energy bill he just voted to pass in order to take out exactly those tax breaks that he just gave them. This bill, this fantastic political farce, which Kennedy claims is so near and dear to his heart was proposed late last year and died in committee. Kennedy has done nothing to revive it. Even if the bill were ever revived, remember that it simply reverses the tax breaks congress just gave them. It does nothing to punish price gougers or to prevent future price gouging.

But that's typical for the Republicans, especially someone as lacking in ideas as Mark Kennedy. Take your opponent's ideas, water them down until they are ineffective, then promote your "bold new plan" while slamming your opponent's "lack of ideas". Remember, everything you're going to hear from Republicans over the next several months came originally from Democrats: fighting price gouging, increasing fuel efficiency standards, reducing dependence on foreign oil, all of 'em came from the left side of the aisle. And once we have a majority in Congress at the end of the year we'll finally be able to act on these ideas, instead of just talking about them.

Update: Posted this then checked the Gmail account and what do I see?

GAS PRICE CRISIS CONTINUES TO BURN MINNESOTA WORKING FAMILIES

Which makes some of the same points I just did, but much more civilly. I'm like Creskin, I hold a computer to my head, and just know what's going on in the internets.

Drinking Liberally 5th CD Meet and Greet Tomorrow

Feel lost trying to figure out who is who in the race to fill Martin Sabo's seat? Drinking Liberally is hosting a 5th CD Meet and Greet on Wednesday, April 26th from 6-9pm. All candidates running for the 5th from the Left side of the political spectrum have been invited to attend (and bring materials), or to send a representative. Candidates confirmed thus far are Gail Dorfman, Jay Pond, Keith Ellison, Gary Schiff, Jorge Saavedra, Mike Erlandson, Anne Knapp and Jack Nelson Pallmeyer, and we hope to keep hearing from more.

Drinking Liberally 5th CD Meet and Greet
Wednesday, April 26th 6-9 pm
331 Club, 13th and University in NE Minneapolis

Drinking Liberally is a progressive group that meets informally to discuss the latest in political events over a pitcher of beer. Some members are activists, some are political bloggers, and many just like a chance to talk to other people with the same political interests. DL has had libertarian and conservative members as well, and foisters an atmosphere of open discussion. Previous candidates who have attended Drinking Liberally meeting recently are Ford Bell, Amy Klobuchar, Sue Jeffers, Becky Lourey and Steve Kelley. DL belongs to no party, endorses no candidates, and really like their beer.

(Hey, if I can't put up my own press releases, what's the point of having a blog?)

A Good Argument for the Estate Tax

THIS MAN HAS YOUR MONEY

One of the common arguments against the estate tax, and progressive taxes in general, is that it's unfair to take a larger share of someone's hard earned money just because they managed to get rich. The unspoken assumption being that the rich are somehow better people who, through dint of hard work and dedication, have achieved something that the rest of us could have had if only we'd worked harder. Even a cursory understanding of economics, or a quick glance at the tax code, will show that this is bull. But that stuff's boring, right?

Well, here's another way of looking at it:

The Twins' promised investment of $130 million in the project, Krinkie noted, will be repaid in just over three years in the new ballpark, which is expected to increase team revenues by $40 million a year. "I'll take that investment opportunity anytime someone wants to offer it to me," Krinkie said.

[LINK]

And the paper is being disingenuous on Mr. Pohlad's behalf. They don't even take into account additional concession income, naming rights or other revenue streams in that "slightly over three years" figure. But what the heck, we'll use their figure. Now remember that Hennepin County is selling thirty year bonds to finance this thing, thirty year bonds to be repaid by us, the Hennepin County residents and taxpayers. So, using their figure, we taxpayers of Hennepin county will be transferring our hard earned money directly into Pohlad's pockets for twenty seven years until "our" share of his stadium is paid off.

How again is this man's incredible success due to his own hard work? And how much is just because, as usual, the system is rigged to favor the already super rich over the rest of us? Now does the estate tax make a little more sense?

Worst President Ever?

Certainly looks that way:

Bush's approval ratings slide to new low

In the telephone poll of 1,012 adult Americans carried out Friday through Sunday by Opinion Research Corporation for CNN, 32 percent of respondents said they approve of Bush's performance, 60 percent said they disapprove and 8 percent said they do not know.

Heh. But the best part is later on:

Americans were evenly split on whether Bush is "competent," with 47 percent saying yes, 47 percent saying no and 6 percent expressing no opinion.

He can't even get half of the country to say he's "competent"? Ouch.

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately. Between the paying work and my new bike (and some beautiful weather to ride it in) I've not had much chance to write lately. I owe you all some good posts. I'll get to work on those.

Great minds and all that...

Let's have a big hand for State Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL)-40B.

Why are we suddenly applauding Rep. Lenczewski, you may ask?

Because on May 6, 2005, the forward thinking Rep. Lenczewski proposed House Bill HF2505 which read:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. [AGREEMENT REQUIRED.]
Legislative approval of imposition of a local sales tax by Hennepin County for purposes of financing the construction of a new baseball stadium is not effective until the county has entered into a binding agreement with the Minnesota Twins requiring the team name to be changed to the Hennepin County Twins.

Rep. Lenczewski, I salute you. If you ever get an opportunity to stop by Drinking Liberally, I'll buy you a beer.

Billionaire Boondooggle is a Go!

If I'm going to be forced to pay for this ridiculous stadium plan I think I and my fellow Hennepin County taxpayers should get something out of it. So, to my State Representative (Diane Loeffler) or any other Hennepin County-based legislators I propose this amendment to the Stadium Tax Bill when it comes before you:

Whereas the taxpayers of Hennepin County are being forced, contrary to existing law, to pay for a stadium we believe those taxpayers deserve recognition for their sacrifice by being honored with naming rights for the team they are funding.

Therefore, from this day forward the team formerly known as the "Minnesota" Twins shall henceforth be called the "Hennepin County" Twins.

If the rest of the State doesn't like this name change they can pick up an equal share of the tab and we can take this amendment off the table. Until then, it's the least you all could do.

Since the Star Tribune was too busy basking in the success of their ten year PR campaign to bother reporting who voted in favor of ripping us off, I'll update this post when I find out who all on the Taxes Committee voted for this waste of money.

Update 1: My bad, House not Senate.

Update 2: Okay, I can't find the source for this, but according to the Greet Machine blog, here were the votes:

Legislators voting NO (against a referendum):

Simpson, Brod, Davids, Dorman, Lanning, Nelson, Westerberg, Atkins, Dill, Koenen, Marquart, Rukavina, Lesch, Jaros, Sieben = 15
(Anderson would have probably voted NO but he was absent)

Legislators voting YES (in favor of a referendum):

Erhardt, Zellers, Bernardy, Krinkie, Delaforest, Knoblach, Vandeveer, Abrams, Kohls, Lenczewski, Davnie, Mullery, Howes = 13

Is anyone surprised that not a single Rep. who voted to skip the referendum actually lives in Hennepin County? If I want to add a patio to my house can I get someone in Rochester to pay for it? They can totally come visit me and sit on the patio, if they like, beer is only $7 a glass.

Drinking Liberally Recap - Steve Kelley

Steve Kelley arrived at DL last night poised, prepared, and in a trademark green tie. First off, I have to admit the scheduling of the event was a little difficult, and our desire to get him in near the same time as Becky Lourey made for some scrambling that unfortunately didn't get him as large of an audience as I would have hoped. Steve appeared to take it all in stride, and launched in on his key topic, education (Or at least, as soon as we let him know that we were the small group at the tables and not the large gathering of writers at the bar.).

Although we only had about an hour to spend with him directly, he was able to field all of our questions, especially about ethanol, and explained to us how his election plan wasn't just for himself, but a way to get even more democrats into the house and senate.

Perhaps the most interesting part to me was getting to meet with his wife Sophie. I have to admit that I probably spent as much time talking to her as to Steve, and was impressed by how involved she is in the campaign, even helping to answer questions here and there. She told me that the entire family will do events, or travel off to various meetings to make sure everything is covered and increase his reach.

After the Kelley's left for the next event, we got to spend some time talking to two of his staffers, or should I say, I sat down and monopolized one while the other spoke to other members. Between talking about how to run a campaign "cleverly," and Steve Kelley's insistence that the focus should not be a negative attack on Pawlenty but instead a positive approach to how we can make the state better, I'm going to be quite interested to see how this all turns out.

I'm still hoping to get Peter Hutchinson's campaign to drop in, and Mike Hatch as well, so I myself am going to hold off on my final thoughts until I've met with them all. Wege (who has a summary of his own up)told me that in some cases it doesn't pay to actually meet candidates, as you let your personal feelings overshadow just looking at where they stand and if you agree. And Bush did win the "candidate I'd most like to have a beer with," so who knows if the gut really means anything. At this point, I'll leave it at this: "I've never had a beer with a DFL gubernatorial candidate I didn't like."

Updates on updates

Saavedra and Erlandson have confirmed, and Schiff has moved to a definate. This is in addition to Ellison, Pond, Dorfman, and Nelson-Pallmeyer, whom I mentioned yesterday but didn't link.

All the above candidates will be at the 5th CD Meet and Greet at the 331 Club on Wednesday, April 26th from 6-9 pm.

I also did not link the Lambert/Janacek show that Markos and Jerome will be on Tuesday May 2nd from 4:00 to 4:30, prior to their appearence at the 331 club from 6-8 pm. There will be amazing tacos available, too, I am told.

So, that's catching you up with yesterday. I'll try to have a Steve Kelley DL update up in a little bit.

For those of you who like updates

Sorry, I've been busy with the DL organization and haven't been able to post much.But here's some updates about the next couple of weeks:

I've been working on the 5th CD meet and greet for DL next Wednesday, adn so far we have hard yes from Dorfmann, Pond, Nelson-Pallmeyer, Ellison, and probablys from Schiff.

As for the party on the 2nd with Markos and Jerome, they will be doing an interview on the Lambert and Janecek show from 4 - 4:30 that day, so be sure to tune in.

Tonight, we have Steve Kelley from 5:30 to 7:00, so be sure to drop in on your way home from work or school or wherever it is you people go during the day.

Cognitive Dissonance?

Traditionally, conservatives have always claimed to oppose any unnecessary regulation on businesses. From the ADA to OSHA, they've always and consistently decried "government interference". Okay, fine. I don't necessarily agree with their positions, but it's ideologically consistent and understandable.

With that said, I find myself increasing perplexed by the right wing's support of pharmacist conscience clause-style bills. How are these not "government interference" in the workplace? Isn't it a rather onerous regulation to prevent an employer from disciplining an employee who has chosen not to sell a product that the business has chosen to stock? This is especially true since employers are (rightly) prohibited from discriminating against an employee based on their religious beliefs.

For example, if this bill passes, a pharmacy that hires a strict Scientologist (who don't believe in psychiatric drugs) is going to have to keep a second pharmacist working whenever that person is behind the counter because otherwise a fairly wide selection of their products are not going to get sold and many of their customers will remain unserved. Is that fair to the pharmacy?

So, a question to all my conservative reader(s) out there:

How do conservatives square their "morally conservative" and "pro-marketplace" beliefs?

Wait-List the Penicillin

Ha!

But if the reality is that a Minnesota measure is not "about ideology in any way," perhaps we can look forward to a day when every patient population is subject to the same scrutiny as women of reproductive age.

For instance, no longer would pharmacists be limited to keeping single moms waiting for their birth control packs. They could also pull the plug on divorced men who couldn't possibly suffer from erectile dysfunction that many times a month.

It wouldn't be just sexual assault victims in need of morning-after pills who could endure the scorn of pharmacists who believe life begins at fertilization. Adult-onset diabetics in need of insulin could endure the scorn of pharmacists who think they brought the disease on themselves.

It wouldn't be just college girls who would have to wait to fill a prescription for emergency contraception; perhaps their male partners could endure the humiliation of having their penicillin scrips handed over to someone who doesn't mind dealing with people who have sexually transmitted diseases.

Kiddie Kiddie Bang Bang

This post over at MNGuru's reminds me of Smartie reading the op/ed section this Sunday. Smartie says, "Yeah, I can see it now. 'Hey kid, you're only 13, gimme your lunch money.'"

Not cool

I hate Digital Drifter

Steve Kelley at Drinking Liberally

Timing is a littel different this time do to some other events, so Steve Kelley will be attending from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Come early and hit happy hour!

Heads will roll

I can imagine it now:

"Let me just say something about leaks at the Star Tribune. There are too many leaks of classified information in Minneapolis. There's leaks at the newsroom level; there's leaks in the support staff. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my newspaper I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated our paper, the person will be taken care of."

Segregating the Big O

I've been spending too much time lately reading the Omaha World Herald and trying to get a grasp of what's going on with the OPS three school system plan that has come into the national spotlight.

What's kind of interesting about it is the fact that no one in Omaha really knew they'd hit the big time, or how they are being portrayed:

That this debate has erupted and taken on the dimensions that it has may ultimately prove very healthy and productive, but - in the meantime - it runs the risk of portraying the city of Omaha and the people of Nebraska as the George Wallace-style segregationists of the 21st Century. With the national media failing to report the full story, the school boundary and funding issues establishing its context are largely being obscured by race-baiting headlines.

Though - as I have repeated over and over again - I disagree with how the legislature came to pass this sweeping legislation, it's important that Nebraska unite and demonstrate to the rest of the nation that this is just one step in addressing the economic disparity that plagues our inner-city schools.

It is a drastic measure to address a severe problem. Cities and states should not be scared away by the spotlight from taking such risks. I just hope the debate continues and the long-term interests of Omaha's students always remain front and center.

Kyle has good links and analysis is many of his recent posts over there, and are worth a read.

It's a Good Friday

Planned Parenthood is live-blogging the annual Good Friday Protest at Highland Park.

This is What You Wanted

The Pharmacist's Refusal Bill isn't dead yet in Minnesota. But it should be. Why?

Fecke has the story of what happens when pharmacists are allowed to decide which prescriptions they want to fill. Guess what? Pretty soon it's not just the Morning After Pill they're refusing. He cites the case of a woman denied post abortion antibiotics.

Unfortunately, that's not even the worst of it:

The complaint also includes an incident from November 2005 in Yakima, in which a pharmacist at a Safeway reportedly refused to fill a Cedar River patient's prescription for pregnancy-related vitamins. The pharmacist reportedly asked the customer why she had gone to Cedar River Clinics and then told the patient she "didn't need them if she wasn't pregnant."

Give a self-righteous prick stones, and pretty soon he's casting them at anyone he doesn't approve of.

[Cedar River Clinics is a Washington State organization similar to Planned Parenthood]

Becky Lourey, Drinking Liberally Recap

I believe Smartie is going to do a full post, but I just wanted to mention how much fun I think we all had with Becky Lourey last night. We had a crowd comparable to when Amy Klobuchar came, and by the end of the night she appeared not only to have spoken to everyone, but knew their names and pet issues, and was even making dates to meet in a year to discuss pet projects and see what a difference a year makes. She was engaging, natural, knowledgeable, and most of all fun in a way you don't often get to see in your candidates.

And I hear she mixes a mean drink once she understands the recipe.

Gettin' Biblical on Immigration

Three Way News has the (three thousand year old) scoop.

Can a parting of the Sea of Cortez be far off?

Irony

Homebound reservist detained at airport after showing up on terror watch list

Thank Goodness

Finally, a voice that actually makes me want to read Minvolved again:

The countries that the Disease Control Priorities Project spent most of its time studying were not like the United States. They have more disease, less health care and a lot less money. But we're headed in that direction: the health care system we have now cannot keep up with the aging of our population, the increasing obesity of our children, and the costs that it is imposing on individuals and government.

I don't know exactly how we should be spending money in health care. But I do know that we spend too much on after-the-fact, expensive procedures for people who can afford excellent health care… and too little on the public health initiatives that could prevent the conditions that required those procedures in the first place.

Now if she and Fecke could make Minvolved babies that can start a Minvolved columnist sweatshop, I'd be a happy camper.

Cursing the Wege

He sez:

"If you like sushi, you're supporting the world's biggest religious cult."

Even worse, I adored Moon's bored, rich princess moon-baby on that awful reality show with the rich kids and poor kids (I can't remember the name, since, as she was voted off first, I stopped watching). Does it help that she was the only one who seemed to like the debtors?

Drinking Lbierally Tonight With Becky Lourey

Tomight's candidate at DL is Becky Lourey, DFL gubernatorial candidate.

Also, it's the one year DL aniversary. So stop by and give us some love.

Playing "Yeah, But"

Sure it was wrong, but he's one of ours...

While national Republican officials have said they deplore such operations, the Republican National Committee said it paid for Tobin's defense because he is a longtime supporter and told officials he had committed no crime.

A Puzzler

So...Mona Charen wants to deport all the immigrants because they refuse to assimilate...but what incentive do they have to assimilate when they're just going to be deported sooner or later?

(or be treated like illegals their whole lives even if they are legal immigrants)

This may sound like snark to some, but it's a very real question...and one that "guest worker" status exacerbates rather than solves.

Update-added the parenthetical

The Story of One Vote

I vowed to give up sniping about Katherine Kersten's ill-informed and ill-tempered screeds and I'm sticking to that vow. However, since I have some direct experience with the subject of her column yesterday, I thought I'd share my little story and let you be the judge.

The thesis of her column, is that it's much too easy to vote in Minnesota and we need tougher ID standards to prevent what she insinuates is "widespread" voter fraud. I'll let others handle how ridiculous it is to insinuate such a charge without proof and just get right to my story:

When REW and I moved into our house in early October of last year we went through all of the travails that usually accompany this kind of major life change. By the time we made it to the DMV to update our Driver's Licenses/ID cards it was already mid October. So, we filled out our change of address forms, checked the little box saying we wanted our voter registration at this address and we were on our way.

When the municipal elections rolled around in early November we still had not recieved our new ID cards. This wasn't particularly troublesome as we had been assured at the DMV that even before we got the physical cards, the information would have been entered in the State's database. I would have grabbed a utility bill but none were handy since we hadn't been in the house for a full month yet, but I didn't think much of it as I wasn't really expecting any problems.

Anyway, we get to our polling place and REW gets in line ahead of me. Sure enough, even though she hasn't received her ID card yet, her name is on the list of registered voters and she is handed her ballot. No problems.

I step to the front of the line then, state my name, and wait for them to check off on the list and hand me my ballot. No such luck. The volunteer, a very nice older lady asks me how I spell my name and immediately I know this isn't going to be easy. I spell it out for her and she slowly looks over her list again...nothing. Apparently, due to clerical error, I was not on the list. So there I am no utility bill and a clipped license with my old address on it, nothing to connect me to this polling place...except REW, who has finished voting by this time and come over to find out why I'm still standing there. With her help (and sworn statement) the situation was quickly resolved, I voted and we were on our way.

Thus, I can personally attest that the "voucher" system is useful for something other than voter fraud. Not that my one vote probably means much in the grand scheme of things, but surely there are a hundred other times that it might be important. Something to think about before making serious changes to our election law.

Wow

I can't really say anything except this is the most soul-baring and introspective post I've read in a long time:

I will no longer stand with a party whose rhetoric is one-directional. Character matters only when it is the good character of the GOP member or the bad character of the DEM member.

And I cannot be in a party where the letter behind the name is more important than anything else.

Yesterday's Shocker

Lost in the shuffle of everything else (and lucklily I was reminded of it again by Fecke) was learning that there's nothing with the gov't listening in on domestic calls.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggested for the first time Thursday that the president might have the legal authority to order wiretapping without a warrant on communications between Americans that occur exclusively within the United States.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said when asked about that possibility at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Are the Libertarians still in love with the President, or will there finally be some yelling?

Rally Free Zone

This is the last post about Saturday's rally for the Powerliberal site. If you would like to read more summaries and see other people's pictures, go to DFLSenate for more rally stuff than you know what to do with.

Policy and a Pint - Thursday, April 20th

From email:

As you may know, we're having our next Policy and a Pint next Thursday the 20th at 6:00 at the Varsity Theater.


These events have been fantastic in terms of the turn-out, energy, the interest of younger people, and the chance to partner with The Current.


Next week's event focuses on "The Future of Environmentalism in Minnesota". Not only will it feature a League member (Larry Baker) as one of the presenters, it will be much more interactive and hands-on than previous events.

I urge you to consider attending if you can, or to forward this message on to others that you think might be interested.


Thanks! Sean



Sean Kershaw

Executive Director

I'm supposed to be going to a Ford Bell house party, but I've been told these are great events and encourage everyone to go. (And yes, finally it's not on a Wednesday)

101 Issues

Since Michelle Bachmann's pet project was voted down-again-last week, can we please stop wasting space on this "issue" and get onto a debate more likely to impact the lives of Minnesotans?

You know, something like, Class sizes; War in Iraq; Special Ed funding; War in Afghanistan; Graduation rates; Renewable energy; Traffic; Conservation; Government corruption; Higher Ed. funding; Trade deficit; Bird flu; Terrorism; Iran; Preschool/Headstart funding; School funding; Drug war policy; Other pandemics/diseases/etc.; Education equality; Student loan funding; Poverty; Border security; Free trade; Obesity; Unfunded pensions; India/Nuclear Proliferation; Veteran's issues; Copyright/Fair Use issues; Outsourcing; Privacy issues; Campaign finance reform; AIDS; Food safety; Affirmative action; Road conditions; Racism; Eminent Domain; Union busting/wage issues; Stem cells; Smoking bans; Police funding; Drug costs; Drug safety; Municipal Wi-Fi; Arts funding; Katrina rebuilding; Medicare Part D; Invasive species; Social security reform; Parks & Trails; Nuclear power; Health care funding; Juvenile issues; Retirement; Nursing home funding; Science/Research funding; Government corruption; Rural internet access; Mad cow/CWD; Climate change; Port security; Internet crime/safety; Immigration; HAVA & voting issues; Media monopolies/conglomeration; School safety; Job safety; Immigrant integration issues; Wiretapping; Identity theft; Plame leaks; Corporate Malfeasance; North Korea; Price of gas; Death penalty; Bankruptcy & credit issues; Property taxes; School Curriculum/Standards; Violent crime; Property crime; Income taxes; Sports stadiums; National debt; Middle East unrest; Water pollution; Transit; Air pollution; Israel/Palestinian conflict; Gun control/permits; Unemployment rate; Affordable housing; Job market; Historic preservation/development issues; Airport security; Teen Pregnancy; Farm subsidies; STD prevention/Public health issues; School drop out rates; Nuclear safety; Natural disaster readiness; Income inequality; etc.

I challenge anyone to explain to me how gay marriage "threatens" to impact Minnesota more than any one of those issues. Otherwise, can we please move on to a debate of actual importance? Thanx!

Rally Summary Up

At DFLSenate

Surprisingly enough, Obama closed with Newt Gingrich. "I don't usually site him at democratic rallies," he admitted, "But I think of his words, 'Had enough?' We have spent over 400 billion in a war that has made us less safe. Had enough? We have wire taps and torture. Had enough? We have chicanery and bamboozlement. Had enough?" he asked to growing applause, as 'Amens' sprinkled the crowd.

Rally Teaser Up

Here

Kos and Colbert

Video here.

Don't forget, Markos and Jerome will be here to promote their book on May 2nd, 6-8 pm.

Also, the variety at Minvolved is kind of staggering. Yesterday we have a column promoting the Greens, today it sounds like they're advocating Health Savings Accounts. This sure isn't Sponge's Minvolved anymore.

More blogging post rally.

Some Common Ground

Trying to provide counseling in a non-partisan way:

"The reality of abortion isn't political at all," says Claire Keyes, director of that clinic, one of the first to offer grief counseling. "Women don't come in here and say, 'I want to exercise my constitutional right.' It's a personal, emotional decision."

Psuedo Friday Cat Blogging

This is neither me nor my cats, but I still find it evilly funny...

Republican Bright Side

But at least people aren't talking about DeLay much anymore.

But He Didn't Say Plame

So that make it okay...

DL recap

It was a very small crowd (I blame spring) and I had one of those nasty "A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall" headaches, and I still had a great time. Tild brought me my T-shirt, so I was quite pleased to don me know my gay apparel.

Sue Jeffers was a ball of energy. It's always a lot a fun to have someone come in to talk who is natural and earnest, and Sue had both in spades. I didn't talk to her as much as I would have normally, simply because of the head pain and the fact that I wanted to make sure both Bruce and Eva, who were closest in ideology to her of any of the rest of the group, had a chance to get all of their questions answered (or in Bruce's case, debated joyously, as Sue held her own against our resident curmudgeon). It should come as no surprise that I agreed with very little of her stances, especially since I believe that as a greater good and a way to ease congestion public transportation should be subsidized further, rather than punished for not making money. But she made her points with strength and stuck to her guns, something you have to respect when she chose to visit a group that has so many people so far from her political camp.

(Also, we could all bond by picking on the Republican Machine a bit, which is always fun.)

All in all, a very good time, and we have provided Sue and her campaign staff with an open invitation to join us any week they choose, as long as they promise to let me know the next time they are on the radio with David Strom again. I love listening to Strom try to pretend Pawlenty is a fiscal conservative.

DFLSenate

If you aren't a frequenter, lots of good stuff went up over there today. Check it out.

How do you know Bush is really over?

His approval ratings are below 50%...in NEBRASKA!

With President Bush's approval rating in Nebraska having sunk below 50% for the first time during his presidency, it isn't a surprise that the Republican gubernatorial candidates are trying to put some separation between themselves and the many Republican failures in Washington D.C.

Since everyone keeps asking

Upcoming Drinking Liberally Events

April 12th - Becky Lourey
April 19th - Steve Kelley
April 26th - I am trying to round up as many 5th CD candidates who are interested to come do a meet and greet, since it's the last open DL before the May 6th endorsement.
May 2nd - Crashing the Gate Party

Drinking Liberally Tonight - Sue Jeffers

Tonight we have Sue Jeffers, Libertarian candidate of Governor, stopping by to meet with us. Personally, I'm actually pretty excited to have someone not all DFL-y come in, as I thik it will make for some really good talking.

Are we going to have a Sticks and Bob fight, though? Free shots to the winner.

Interesting

I find it safe to say that only those of us who aren't getting paid are going to bother to respond, though.

Live Blogging the Marriage Amendment Hearing - Updated

Here

Update: Bill fails 5-4

I'd take a Warhol of that

Heh

Curiouser and Curiouser

First the CWFA thinks maybe women shouldn't just be for the breedin', then you have Powerline calling DeLay "liberal".

The next thing you know, I'm going to see the Strib commending Ronald Rea...oh, wait.

Huh

The Women are now saying "Hands off my ovaries!"

So, low income women possibly being coerced to harvest eggs is bad. Low income women being forced to have children they don't want and can't support is fine.

God bless those conerned women.

That would be the sound

of Paul Wellstone spinning in his grave.

Given her ideological bearings, [Michele]Bachmann cites an unusual career role model: the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, a liberal icon.

Like Wellstone, a little-known political science professor when he first won his Senate seat in 1990, Bachmann emerged from obscurity. She said she went to the 2000 Republican endorsing convention "wearing blue jeans and a sweatshirt and tennis shoes and no intention of running for office," but ended up in a primary challenge to a 28-year moderate state senator who she described as a RINO (Republican In Name Only). Bachmann beat the state senator and won the general election.

Kos and MyDD - May 2nd, Save the Date

Drinking Liberally, Minneapolis is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a book signing party for Markos and Jerome's new book, Crashing the Gate. The event will be held at the 331 Club on Tuesday, May 2nd.

I will have more details as they become available.

Let's make a deal

You can have back all of your taxes that go to family planning agencies you don't support when I can have my taxes back that are being spent on the war.

I guess in the incremental war to reverse Roe V Wade, people think only allowing the rich to have abortions is the best first step.

Caulk and Awe

Tis the last day of our Power vacation, and a gloomier day could not have existed. I am nearly done with a scarf I started earlier this week (my first attempt at stripes, and I'm pretty pleased), and baking some venison stroganoff for dinner, while smartie is upstairs in the man pad.

The rain today has been good becaue it showed us that once we hooked up all of the downspouts properly, our basement no longer leaks. Sadly, we have also discovered that ur front window does, regardless of how clean the gutters are. Looks like we need to caulk outside and replaster and paint inside once the sun comes out. But at least I don't have to plant a garden anymore, since Doug seems to be my hook up this year.

All in all, a cozy lazy day. Back to work both literally and blogging-wise tomorrow morning.

Not to start a MOB war-edited

original post removed because I though about it, and I am not 4 years old.

lushes

I swear, I really don't drink as much as this makes it sound like.