MN Progressive Project - Front Page

On Journalism

TwoPuttTommy — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:46:39 GMT

Here at MPP, Regular Readers recognize that on occasion we've been critical of reporting/reporters - but only for the old-fashioned reason: it's been earned.

When the Strib took Reporter Mark Brunswick off of politics and assigned him to work on Veterans stories, I was a little worried. I wondered if they'd allocate the time and resources needed to do the job. IMNSHO, I'm here to say those worries were unfounded.

Today the Star Tribune has what I consider a really Really REALLY solid piece of journalism on the front page. It's a story by Mark Brunswick about the four day trip home from Afghanistan for Members of Minnesota's Air National Guard.

As it's Memorial Day Weekend, I consider this story a "must read" -- and the video on the Strib webpage a "must watch."

Here's the link to today's story: "Minn. Air Guard: From war to home in four days"

Here's the link to the Strib containing the series of stories: "Marching Home: An occasional series"

Some may have seen what I've posted on facebook with links to the Strib story:

"All gave some; some gave all." Who wrote it is unknown but it's true. Tomorrow on Memorial Day we honor the latter. Today in the Star Tribune is a great story about the former.

I wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day to honor the some that gave all.

And I'll give the Strib a shout-out for some outstanding journalism.

Michele Bachmann opponent Jim Graves interviewed in City Pages

The Big E — Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is a lightning rod. Democrats hate her. Moderate Republicans cringe when she embarrasses herself and our state. Teabaggers love her.

Campaigning against her is like resisting a black hole. Or a train wreck. You can't not donate to her opponent. You can't not look.

2010 was quintessential. Bachmann did her thing. Her opponent, Tarryl Clark, nearly sucked all of the fundraising oxygen out of Minnesota. Yet, Clark lost badly.

With redistricting, Bachmann is in an even safer district. Which makes me worry how much more money will we waste?

Thankfully, her 2012 opponent, Jim Graves, will self-finance. City Pages interviewed Graves.

During an interview with City Pages, Graves -- a wildly successful businessman who created the AmericInn motel chain before founding his luxury-focused Graves Hospitality company -- suggested he probably wouldn't have launched a political career if his native 6th Congressional District were represented by somebody other than Bachmann.
But convinced that folks in his hometown of St. Cloud and throughout central Minnesota deserve better, Graves has hit the campaign trail full-speed. He took some time to chat with us about why he thinks he'll defeat the resilient Bachmann in November, what lessons he's learned as a businessman and how they apply to politics, and his legislative priorities, among other topics.
(City Pages)

So head on over and learn more about the valiant and self-funded Jim Graves.

Mankato Free Press opposes Photo ID Constitutional Amendment

The Big E — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

The Mankato Free Press talked to Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie about the Photo ID amendment that will be on the ballot this November. They asked a number of questions about the amendment, but the answers only led to more questions. In the end the editorial board decided to oppose the amendment.

But they failed to note the biggest thing that the Photo ID Amendment does: eliminates same-day registration.

Same-day registration is the main reason that Minnesota frequently leads the nation in turnout. Republicans want to eliminate this as they do better when fewer voters participate.

Here are the key points (excerpted) the Free Press made:

Unlike other states with voter ID laws, there are no exemptions; not for military voters, absentee voters or those who have religious objections to being photographed.
Indiana spent $12 million in the first three years of its implementation, not including the costs associated with obtaining birth certificates or other documents. Facing our looming budget shortfall, are we ready to absorb this additional cost?
Minnesota does not have a provisional ballot system established, so there are startup costs estimated at about $50 million, according to the secretary of state. And $10 million to operate it. And thousands more of election judges. Again, are we ready to assume this financial and administrative burden even at the local level? Almost every local government association has expressed serious concerns about the budgetary impact of the amendment. If local government has to pick up the tab, who do you think is eventually going to pay for that?
So exactly how does that work for Minnesotans in the armed forces serving overseas? Or absentee ballots? According to the secretary of state's office, there is no other state that requires proof of identity for mail voters.

The main goal of the Photo ID Amendment is vote suppression. Famous GOP and evangelical activist Paul Weyrich said it a long time ago and said it best:

MINNESOTA DEMAGOGUES EXPOSED: PLEASE PAY OUR SEX SCANDAL BILL AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE

The Big E — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

The Republicans running the Minnesota Senate had to hire an attorney after former Deputy Party Chair, former sleaze blogger and fired GOP Senate Caucus Communications Director Michael Brodkorb filed a lawsuit against the Senate. Senate leadership fired Brodkorb for his sex scandal with Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch. Brodkorb is suing claiming female Republican politicians and staffers had affairs, too, but weren't treated as he was.

Now the bill has arrived for the attorney services. And its a heck of a lot of money:

The Minnesota Senate is discovering that defending itself from sex-scandal related legal threats is expensive.
On Friday, Senate officials disclosed that they owe $46,150 for three months of legal fees -- and the bill will only grow.
The bill from Dayle Nolan, a private attorney the Senate hired to defend it against ex-employee Michael Brodkorb, and her firm only goes through March of this year.
Those costs do not yet include all the time Nolan sat in Senate ethics committee meetings, where a former Senate leader was accused of mishandling the sex scandal, and come before Brodkorb has even filed a suit in a court room.

According to this article, it cost we taxpayers $3,960 just to have said attorney sit throught the sham Senate Ethics hearing. $330 per hour sure does add up fast.

Nolan and four associates at her firm, Minneapolis-based Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, put more than 160 hours of work into the case during the time period covered by the invoice. The matter still lingers, with several hearings and other legal work done on the case after April 1.
Most of the work was billed at Nolan's hourly rate, but some was done by an assistant charging $60 an hour. For instance, the cost for Nolan to prepare for and attend a March Senate ethics hearing over then-Assistant Majority Leader Geoff Michel's handling of the matter reached nearly $4,000.
(MPR)

That's A LOT of time spent advising These Clowns about how to prevent Brodkorb from putting every female Republican politician, staffer or lobbyist on the stand to talk about their illicit affairs and costing taxpayers the $500,000 plus expenses for which Brodkorb is suing.

They must have a lot to worry about!

Remember Wisconsin Senate? Republicans do

ericf — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Besides the recall of Scott Walker, Wisconsin has recall elections for four State Senate seats. All four are Republican, so if the Democrats can flip one seat, they take the State Senate. If as looks likely Walker survives the recall, taking the senate not only will be important to having a means of stopping more authoritarian measures from passing, but will also save the recall from looking like a failure since even with Walker surviving, flipping the Senate is a pretty big deal. Moreover, it should chasten whatever rational people remain in the Republican Party.

I don't know what Democrats are doing in those races, but TPM picked up on something a Republican group is doing in one race, specifically, using the old-fashioned crime scare tactic. Click to enlarge:

Their other mailer isn't quite so inflammatory, which is ironic since it's about liberals and Democrats and the Democratic candidate burning money, because "That's just what liberals do".

The central point is Republicans are using their massive money advantage (I keep hearing 25-1 about the governor race, and if that's exaggerated, it's safe to say Republicans have taken advantage of Citizens United to get a several-fold financial advantage) in the Senate races, not just governor.

The lieutenant governor, Wisconsin's own Bachmann clone, is also facing recall. The Democratic candidate, Mahlon Mitchell, has just come out with his own ad:

Wisconsin runs lt.governor races as separate races in primaries, but paired with the governors in general elections. This time they're running separately, though every prediction I've seen says it will mirror the gubernatorial election. This is a unique circumstance though, so I offer no prediction. This race has gotten almost no press coverage, so who knows if voters will even realize the election is being held until its on their ballots. If the recall succeeds, it offers something of a backstop should Walker win. I don't know what actual authority a Wisconsin lt. governor has, and presumably a governor of one party will try to keep a lt. governor of the other party as far away as possible. It's really, really hard to see Walker letting a Democratic lt. governor know anything that's going on or join in meetings or have a desk and office chair. Or office. However, if Walker is indeed forced to resign due to the criminal investigation into abuses of office while he was Milwaukee County executive, the lt. governor would become governor.

So if you're thinking you should do something, do it. Now. I mean right freaking now. Election day is only a week and a half away, and the good guys are being badly outspent. They need any cash you can spare, and if you can spare time, the MN AFL-CIO can use you.

Maybe the most recent poll offers some encouragement. A poll conducted for the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) has Barret down just 3%. Yes, it's an internal poll, but not only does it match other internal polls, but the same poll a week ago showed Barrett down by 7%. Moreover, Walker has been at 50% since the petition campaign started, so he hasn't budged despite spending enormous amounts of money. The race is getting into the range where a strong ground game can make up the difference.

Vikings Stadium Gets Through Minneapolis Council Vote

dan.burns — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:11:26 GMT

And plenty of people are extremely po'd. Now, there's just a formality of a vote today.

The confrontation came as a group of angry protestors met in front of Minneapolis City Hall to protest the city buying in to the Viking stadium financing plan. Objections included the mayor and council refusing to put the issue to a city-wide vote and a question of priorities given the lasting tornado damage on the north side and other civic needs.

Oh, and one more issue, though it doesn't seem to have supporters too worried: part of it may need to clear the Minnesota Supreme Court.

But one potentially problematic piece of the $975 million plan has received scant coverage: The funding scheme to pay for the stadium is contingent on approval from the Minnesota Supreme Court. If the court determines that issuing what are known as appropriation bonds is not constitutional, the funding mechanism for the state's $348 million share of the project disappears.

Where is the Minneapolis Stadium money?

Grace Kelly — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:59:09 GMT

Minneapolis city council approves the stadium 7-6. The city charter considerations were again overwritten by stadium state law.

The approval of the stadium is controversial because all profit goes to the billionaire owner but no profit goes to the city of Minneapolis. The Star Tribune holds the Minneapolis city contribution as $678 million, confirmed by the city chief financial officer, which is possible to increase. In a strange move, the local stadium properties in the area were granted a property tax exemption, which is another hidden expenditure. The state gets back most of its money back from increased sales taxes.

Yesterday, two small bonuses were added of 25 stadium free-use days and a guarantee that a significant portion of jobs go to Minneapolis residents.

Now the Ramsey county folks long knew that they were mostly being used for leverage. They should be applauded for stopping when the deal was truly getting negative for the people. Ramsey county did not have the local financing.

However, the question really becomes does Minneapolis have the local financing? Basically the income going to the Target convention center is diverted. The problem is that Target convention center is LOSING money. Money is being diverted to it and cannot be diverted from it. Even Forbes questions this:

The projected loss for the convention center for 2011 is $3.7 million and the lose for this year is expected to be $2.7 million. Moreover, the city's contribution to the stadium construction and operations will be $678 million when accounting for interest over the life of the deal, which works out to an average of $23 million a year, or almost twice the operating revenue generated by the convention center in 2010. How will the shortfall be made up?

So where is the Minneapolis money coming from?

Ron Paul's supporters driving GOP...where?

Joe Bodell — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:49:50 GMT

A couple of days ago a piece appeared in the New York Times about Ron Paul's supporters, who have apparently taken over the activist bases in several state Republican Parties:

In Minnesota, Paulites stormed the Republican gathering in St. Cloud last weekend, bumping aside two conventional Republican candidates to choose one of their own, Kurt P. Bills, a high school economics teacher, to challenge Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, this fall.
Backers of Mr. Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas, crashed Republican conventions in Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and Nevada in recent weeks, snatching up the lion's share of delegate slots for the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August, a potential headache for the national party and its presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney.
And Paulite candidates for Congress are sprouting up from Florida to Virginia to Colorado, challenging sitting Republicans and preaching the gospel of radically smaller government, an end to the Federal Reserve, restraints on Bush-era antiterrorism laws and a pullback from foreign military adventures.
"I'd call it a strict constitutional approach," said Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky and Ron Paul's son. "And I think it's spreading."

The younger Paul is a first-rate turd who apparently likes to ignore things like the Necessary and Proper clause, the Commerce Clause, and several other, you know, important parts of the Constitution. But whatever.

The local angle on this story is that Paul's supporters really spiked the ball at the recent state GOP convention, and now have a handle on its levers of power. Mainline Republicans aren't happy about it, but what are they to do?

As far as I can tell, the real issue is this: Tea Partiers hate Obama. Mainline Republicans hate Democrats. True Paul believers hate what they see as government overreach, and sometimes those three groups find themselves aligned. But sometimes not so much. Team Paul is just as likely to hold Republican feet to the primary fire over jingoistic foreign adventures, military-industrial corruption, or government in the bedroom as they are to oppose a federal health insurance mandate. And that makes for a dangerous situation for the Republican power structure, in Minnesota and across the nation: with a shrinking, greying, and increasingly white base, they need to hold on to every last vote they possibly can from anyone who ever agrees with them on anything.

But Paulites can and do step quickly away from the Republican line on many issues. As a personal anecdoate, I didn't win anywhere near enough votes in my own campaign earlier this year, but I did spend a few minutes at the door of an avowed Paul supporter. I told him "well, I'm not a true libertarian by any stretch -- I believe that a strong government made up of committed public servants can help make people's lives happier and healthier. But there are definitely parts of the libertarian platform with which I don't disagree, and I'm always willing to listen and discuss those things with people who really care about the issues and not just the politics."

The gentleman nodded thoughtfully, and told me I'd earned his vote. It was a great feeling for me, but it's a terrible, terrible sign for the Republican Party.

Not that I'm complaining.

"C'mon, Mitt - THINK."

TwoPuttTommy — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:38:40 GMT

In case you missed General (Retired) Colin Powell's recent comments concerning Chickenhawk Hall of Shame inductee Willard Mitt Romney:

Oh - and Willard's entry, in the ChickenHawk Hall Of Shame?

How to Win: Optimistic Bias & Pessimistic Bias

Grace Kelly — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:25:55 GMT

When a test of personal expectations happens, we err on the side of hope. The more we hope, the more we try to succeed, therefore hope can act like a self-fulfilling expectation. Optimism makes you try harder. People who are optimistic always feel better in both bad results and good results. Optimism reduces stress and results in better health. So this optimism bias is a very good characteristic to have for most life experiences.

Personal optimism can be dangerous. For example:

Fatality investigations for fire-fighters often include "We didn't think the fire was going to that" even when all of the available information was there to make safe decisions. -Fire & Training Captain, DSEDFPD

It is possible to have both the benefits of optimism and the benefits of realistic planning through knowledge and training. Becoming aware of the optimism bias does not shatter the illusion and therefore lose the benefits. Being aware of optimism means that one can plan for the building in the safety factors that protect us from the negative effects of the optimism factor. For example, one is taught in budgeting to get the best estimate and then double it. This rule works in reality. So we can both keep the advantages of the optimistic bias and protect from the negative effects through knowledge and training.
Based on the studies of Tali Sharot, one learns about 40% more from good news on personal level than bad news. The effect is more neutral when applied to what will happen to someone else. So if possible deliver news as personal good news.

Yet sometimes we have to deliver bad news.

Yet what if we delivered bad news with a good news frame, like here is the bad news but we have a solution. One of my favorite managers, Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom, has a rule that people deliver problems with a proposed solution. Obviously, not every solution proposed is a good one. Yet look at what delivering a possible solution does to the acceptance of bad news. Suddenly one is considering the solution presented and looking for better solutions. When one is put into the frame of solution, then one is not rejecting the news just because it is bad news. So in politics, deliver bad news problems with a proposed solution. Even though recycling did not practically work to stop environmental damage, it probably did more for people to accept environmental damage than any other action. Similarly the long-lived light bulbs helped the acceptance of peak oil. So delivering bad news with a simple solution that may help but will not totally solve the solution is very effective in ensuring that people accept bad news.

What if we have deliver bad news about a candidate or an organization? If we have a choice should we blame inside factors or outside factors? Surprisingly, the answer from studies is that blaming internal factors is best.

If you made a mistake, an error in judgement, or a bad decision, you should admit the mistake, immediately followed by an action plan demonstrating that you can take control of the situation and rectify it. Through these actions, you'll ultimately put yourself in a position of greater influence by being perceived as not only capable, but also honest.
(From the book, "Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive" by Robert B. Cialdini, pages 122-123)

The point in the book is that you can take even an obvious outside factor like a tornado, and respond to it like its under your control. If you say that we could have been better prepared then people believe in you and your capability to handle the same situation the next time.

When a scare happens, we err on the side of caution.

To some extent, our unreasonable fear helped us to better survive. Those who ran first survived.

Our fight or flight response is designed to protect us from the proverbial saber tooth tigers that once lurked in the woods and fields around us, threatening our physical survival. At times when our actual physical survival is threatened, there is no greater response to have on our side. When activated, the fight or flight response causes a surge of adrenaline and other stress hormones to pump through our body. This surge is the force responsible for mothers lifting cars off their trapped children and for firemen heroically running into blazing houses to save endangered victims. The surge of adrenaline imbues us with heroism and courage at times when we are called upon to protect and defend the lives and values we cherish.
(Mind Body Education Center)

We are more likely to fear things that are unreasonable to fear. If one 9/11 attack happened once a year, then the odds would still be 1 in a 100,000. Yet your odds of falling off a ladder to your death is 1 in 218. Yet where do we spend money, checking people's shoes at airports or purchasing better ladders? The lesson here is that we buy stupid costly solutions when we get scared, even when it makes no logical sense.

The practical side of our bias to unreasonable fears is how to tell scary bad news. When Conservatives tell scary news, it sounds like a horror film. When progressives tell scary news, notice how factual and calm that we tend to be. What if we told climate change in the horror story tale that conservatives use and then followed up with a personal way to successfully survive it, like install a solar panel.

Basically, humans are wired in ways that betrays good sound logic and reasoning. I think if we write our political literature and craft our political messaging in ways that better fits with our biases, then we will win easier. Clearly by the illogic that Republicans have already sold, they are already masters at using biases.

MINNESOTA DEMAGOGUES EXPOSED: TAXPAYERS TO PAY TO DEFEND REPUBLICANS FROM THEIR OWN SLEAZE

The Big E — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Minnesota taxpayers will foot the bill so that the Republicans in the Senate can defend themselves from an impending lawsuit by a partisan hack they fired. Of course, this is not just any hack. This is the former Communications Director for the GOP Senate Caucus Michael Brodkorb. He was also Deputy Party Chair. He was also a sleaze-blogger who has the dirt on everybody. He still has the dirt on everybody.

And he didn't have a fling with just anybody. He had a fling with his boss, then Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.

Brodkorb claims he was treated differently than female legislators and staffers who had affairs and weren't fired. He is threatening to put every female Republican who ever had an affair on the stand and ask them questions.

Brodkorb ironically filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A concept he opposes but not strongly enough to exploit to cause damage to his former employers.

Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman said Wednesday that the Senate had received an invoice for legal services performed to defend it from potential litigation regarding ex-employee Michael Brodkorb's firing.
Brodkorb was fired after he had an affair with then Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch. His employment was ended in December the day after she stepped down from leadership in the wake of senators confronting her about the affair.
Ludeman said the Senate received the bill on Tuesday but he would not release it publicly until the leaders of the senate authorized him to pay it.
(Star Tribune)

What is it the Republicans always say about personal responsibility? "For Thee But Not For Me" is that how their motto goes?

More racism in Rochester

The Big E — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

This time Somalis targeted

Rochester is a weird place. I know, I grew up there. On the one hand, its cosmopolitan. The Mayo Clinic attracts top doctors and researchers from all over the planet. IBM still does to some extent, too.

On the other hand, its a backwards-@$$ hick town. Plenty of crackers of live there, too.

Last weekend, for the second time in just over a year, unknown vandals spray-painted "KKK" and a swastika onto the house of a Somali family in Rochester.
Muslim civil rights leaders aren't taking the latest incident lying down. Lori Saroya, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, is calling on the FBI to investigate.

I recall a particular Friday during and after a High School football game (I was in Junior High) a mob of Dirtballs were chasing anyone and occasionally beating up anyone they thought looked punk. While I listened to some punk, thankfully, I had long hair so nobody bothered me that night.

I recall hearing about Somalis getting chased at a football game after I'd graduated and left town.

The more things change ... sigh.

^{- Photo of the hate spray-painted on a Somali family's house from City Pages}