Speed Gibson

"Almanac" had the party chairs on this week, not pundits, so I won't score it.

FACE OFF

                 This week                 To Date
Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Weeks Runs Hits Errs

Dave Thompson       1    2    0         2    1    4    0
David Strom                             1    1    2    0
Blois Olson                             1    0    2    0
Ember R.-J.         0    0    1         2    0    2    2

POLITICAL PANEL

                 This week                 To Date
Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Weeks Runs Hits Errs

Dan Dorman                             1     1    4    0
Sarah Janacek                          1     0    1    1
Mary Jo McGuire                        1     0    0    2
Taryl Clark                            1     0    0    3

We went to an Italian restaurant Sunday night, a name you'd know. Everything seems right. The layout and furnishings are functional and the seating not over-crowded, unlike some other places I won't name here. The service is friendly, competent, and snappy. The menu is interesting with many appealing choices. The prices are reasonable, only ... the food just isn't what it should be.

Much of it was served lukewarm, not hot. In fact, one pocket of cheese in the lasagne was truly cold, somewhere between refrigerator and room temperature. It was obviously reheated, quite possibly by microwave.

Another entree's penne pasta was noticeably undercooked, and way under-sauced. The green beans also needed another minute or two. The Chicken Marsala was kid's menu sweet, though the chicken itself was cooked perfectly. One supposedly spicy dish was spicier than other dishes I suppose, but not as the menu suggested. Otherwise, the seasoning was correct, in all the dishes.

My point here is that these are errors in execution, the kind that drives Gordon Ramsay nuts. Nobody is tasting or checking the food going out of the chicken. Maybe their Chicken Marsala recipe is sweet on purpose, but more I'm inclined to think the cooks got a little sloppy measuring. Serving food hot is not rocket science. Checking pasta for doneness should be done before it leaves the boiling water, and by someone who knows the difference between al dente and underdone.

Correcting these sorts of mistakes doesn't cost anything but a manager or head chef's time to set the required standards. This wasn't our first visit here, to which I had the same general reactions. The quality just isn't there.

Mitch Berg jogged a memory for me, talking of his first encounter with Coors Beer.

I remember when I was a kid, listening to my dad and his friends talking about “Coors Beer”. Unavailable east of Montana, the stuff was supposedly the nectar of the beer-drinking gods.

I went west on a camping trip many years ago and soon we found ourselves in Coors country, an unexpected highlight or so we thought.

But alas, Mitch was right. Coors was no better than Fox Deluxe, if that, perhaps America's real first "lite" beer. The concept of Coors Light is at best redundant, at worst impossible.

We had bought a six pack for the two of us. We left the other four cans behind in the motel.

This will be the last installment, after parts one, two, and three here. As you can tell, I am not Pawlenty's biggest fan. Overall, he's been a good governor as in he's not a Democrat. But his inconsistencies are maddening, doubly so when people who should know better shrug them off. To suggest as the new Party of Pawlenty site does that he is The Great Right Hope is short term thinking with serious long term consequences.

I've discussed the inconsistencies, like the Twins stadium and smoking ban bills. His (new) position on light rail and seeming signature issue of renewable energy will also fail to stand much scrutiny.

But let's consider the biggest inconsistency of all, assuming it is one, his utter collapse in the 2005 Legislative session, the year of the shutdown. One quick point, though. Former Senator Dean Johnson took total responsibility for that shutdown by adjourning the Senate hours early. Everyone else was doing their job, perhaps too well to suit Johnson.

The 2004 elections had reduced the GOP counts in the House, almost losing control in fact. Pawlenty hinted more than once that he had "heard the message" and began talking up spending now that the tax forecasts were looking better. All that talk of restraint and discipline was gone, to the point where he openly criticized his friends who helped elect him and supported him in 2003. What I assess as panic soon had him raising taxes, and openly lying about it. It clearly violated the spirit of the tobacco settlement, even if the courts lacked the courage to say it didn't violate the letter. It was also a rather cruel tax, it terms of who pays and that it was retroactively assessed.

Yes, Pawlenty panicked, his actions all tuned to satisfying the political needs of himself, not his party. Besides, it didn't work. Granted, Iraq, and some clever campaigning by the DFL were significant factors, but his own poor strategy didn't excite the base, either, leading to a primary challenge. Truth be told, it was a political fluke, the "E85" flap, that cost Mike Hatch a narrow win in 2006. How could "the best governor in America" as Bill Bennett recently described him, have lost?

Pawlenty got lucky again this cycle, when the DFL foolishly put Senator Larry Pogemiller in charge of their agenda. Pogemiller overplayed his hand by doing the one thing you don't want to do to Tim Pawlenty: corner him. The DFL agenda was so extreme that they couldn't even peel off a few GOP votes to override Pawlenty's veto of the Transporation Bill.

My view is that Tim Pawlenty will say and do what he thinks is best for Tim Pawlenty. He has flip-flopped (Twins stadium, light rail). He has lied (health impact "fee"), then criticized his fellow Republicans who called him on it. On energy, I can only assume he's making it up as he goes along. That's what's been happening all along, isn't it, starting with the 2002 GOP convention when he got the nomination away from Brian Sullivan, a real conservative.

Again, I don't see the future in this. The GOP already has all the mavericks it needs and more than the base wants. Look at his national couterpart, U.S. Senator John McCain. His best days are behind him, his "straight talk" popularity with the press largely gone as are his remaining Presidential aspirations. For in being that maverick, he has slowly but surely annoyed the base, one issue at at time.

Pawlenty is on the same course, and the Minnesota GOP will be the worse for it in the long run. The "E" (electability) factor is a powerful persueder but don't forget: if it weren't for Judi Dutcher's slip, he wouldn't be Governor now.

If I'm watching my TV accounts correctly, Wayzata High School has opened football practice, in July, and before the Minnesota Vikings. Has high school football become that big a business?

July is the peak of summer. These kids should be out enjoying their summer, or maybe working, not gearing up for football in the heat. Granted, many can't wait, but peer pressure no doubt has some others there a bit sooner than they would otherwise like.

July at least used to be the one month the family could count on for vacations. Graduations and weddings wrap up in June, and back to school shopping can wait until August. When I was growing up, the Calhoun and Harriet beaches closed for the season in early August (algae I think), so even I started thinking about school.

There ought to be a law. For at least one full month a year, the public school systems should leave our kids completely alone.

Continuing my series on Pawlenty being the very model of a modern major conservative, it's easy to find strong evidence of "kinder, gentler" aka "compassionate" conservatism in our Governor.

As good as we might feel about the results of the 2007 Legislative session, spending still went up almost 10 percent, about double the inflation rate. But while I can certainly question his negotiating style, I have to give him and the GOP leadership considerable credit for holding off the near veto-proof DFL majorities he faced.

No, it's the stupid stuff like the Twins Stadium bill that exposes the real Tim Pawlenty. Don't forget, he originally campaigned against this, and against light rail, too. A conservative doesn't raise taxes when there is no need, and Carl Pohlad has no need of state money to build a new ballpark on his own.

The real crime was yanking the prescribed referendum ballot out of our hands, we the taxpayers of Hennepin County. He even went so far as to snub us by signing it at a game, wearing a Twins jersey. Forgive me if this sounds like an ad hominem attack, but this demonstrates a real character flaw in the man.

Pawlenty can be clever and glib, but he doesn't have the political courage to do what's right for its own sake. The best example of this was his signing of the smoking ban. In fact, he was rather eager to sign it. Now whatever else Pawlenty may or may not be, stupid he isn't. I have to believe he knows this second-hand smoke "danger" fades quickly under even modest cross-examination. The data just isn't there. It's another blow to rural Minnesota, especially the border towns, and will significantly add to the growing list of closed bars and restaurants - for nothing.

Pawlenty is a populist, a Republican populist, or should I say, a populist Republican? He somewhat reminds me of Bill O'Reilly, another smart guy in my opinion, but one too willing to suspend that intellect to, say, decry the big bad oil companies.

So why is this Pawlenty of Populism such a hit with voters? That's next, in part 4.

You read a story almost every week how someone is sentenced with a pretty hefty fine. Scooter Libby, for example, received a $250,000 fine. Closer to home, a Wisconsin small businessman faces thousands of dollars in fines for selling gasoline below the state price-fixing levels. Then we have the asset forfeiture laws, with tragic consequences for the innocent in some cases. Finally, even traffic tickets are getting rather expensive, and double in work zones regardless of specific circumstances.

I think we need to review this whole concept at every level of government, for in this case, it might actually be true that "women and minorities are hardest hit."

Scooter Libby's offense was hardly serious in that it could happen to many of us if run through a gauntlet of questions and accusations, especially on an old matter we perceived of little importance at the time. And a $250,000 fine would bankrupt what, 80% of the population or more?

If the purpose of a fine is to teach the convicted a lesson and send a warning to the rest of us, it doesn't work at all for the wealthy. A $200 traffic ticket is big money to a struggling family who happened to go 31 mph in a 30 mph zone in a speed trap city late in the month. It's nothing to say, Mike Cerisi or Carl Pohlad.

If the purpose is to raise money for city operations to the point where it's a profit center, again this in effect discriminates against lower income citizens. It also can turn nice communities into speed traps.

On the other hand, we can't just jail every offender, and caning just won't fly in America. No, fines are very appropriate for small offenses. I'll also concede that higher fines for say, health code inspection failures in restaurants have merit, given the consequences. But in general, fines should be like a kick in the pants, enough to matter, but not enough to make you question the process.

I read that some European country has fines based on income, and I think we should look at this. What's fair? So many hours of work at your salary or average income? Or maybe no fines at first, in effect a suspended sentence that comes due with a second offense within the probationary period? Asset forfeiture laws which the Courts have amazingly tolerated should be repealed outright.

There's something wrong if Wisconsin can fine an honest businessman $2,500 for selling a $3 gallon of gasoline he sells below his competition.

The new Party of Pawlenty site claims that leaders like Tim Pawlenty are the future of the Republican Party. In Part 1, I disagreed, that a non-conservative is not going to enact a conservative agenda. A Republican Party that isn't conservative won't hold off the socialist hordes and in focused competition with "real" Democrats, won't win many elections either.

Despite all this, is Pawlenty the exception? What is the secret to his success? I'll cut to my own chase: he's a chameleon. He's young, handsome, and above all, well-spoken, especially in front of a camera. Though powerful in numbers, the DFL has its own leadership troubles, allowing Pawlenty to be the ultimate shape-shifter. He was a strong Republican Superman in 2003, a weak Caspar Milquetoast in 2005, and a lucky Gladstone Gander in 2007. Throughout it all, his verbal skills carried him. In some cases, he's even able to convince some disgruntled fellow Republicans he did the right thing.

So how do we peel this onion? What are the Governor's core beliefs and policies? And are they conservative? Take taxes, the raison d'etre of the Republican Party. His scorecard is pretty good and yet he needlessly raised taxes in 2005. He put the option on the table, not the Legislature. Not only that, he lied to the base, calling it a fee, and an end justified the means.

We also have the Twins stadium tax increase to consider, and I will in part 3.

I don't do ads here on Speed Gibson, but I think a Northern Alliance sponsor deserves a testimonial: Standard Heating and Air Conditioning.

Last year, I needed service on my furnace and called them because of their Patriot advertising. Knowing the air conditioner was already overdue for replacement, I had them give me an estimate on replacing the whole plant. I called two others to get an estimate, names you would know. I called them twice, in fact, and neither called back. Actually, one did, many weeks later.

I decided not to do the whole job, but sure enough, the compressor died this year. I called Standard Wednesday morning, and they scheduled a man Thursday morning 8-12. He showed up a little before 8 in fact, made a quick diagnosis, and scheduled at estimator for 3 pm that afternoon, again, right on time.

Not wanting to waste time on another round of bidders who won't show, we picked a unit and scheduled installation Saturday morning, again right on time and perfectly executed, including cleanup.

I'm all set for this week's heat wave. If you're not, call my friends at Standard.

There was no political panel on "Almanac" this week, and you had to get up early (via DVR) to see "At Issue with Tom Hauser" because of the British Open.

FACE OFF

                 This week          To Date

Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Runs Hits Errs



David Strom         1    2    0        1    2    0

Blois Olson                            0    2    0

Dave Thompson                          0    2    0

Ember R.-J.         0    2    1        0    2    1



POLITICAL PANEL



                 This week          To Date

Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Runs Hits Errs



Dan Dorman                             1    4    0

Sarah Janacek                          0    1    1

Mary Jo McGuire                        0    0    2

Taryl Clark                            0    0    3

I heard of this site, The Party of Pawlenty, on the NARN's Final Word with King Banian and Michael Brodkorb.

It represents a collective opinion of many people, all probably my betters in such matters. But I respectfully disagree that candidates like Governor Tim Pawlenty represent the best hope of the Republican Party, to "enact our conservative agenda." That's the problem I have. Tim Pawlenty is not a conservative.

Tim Pawlenty has a good record overall, no question, and certainly better than DFL candidates he defeated would have now. The same could also be said for U.S. Senator John McCain at the national level, for they both commit an unacceptable number of unforced errors. These errors not only hurt the party, they result in bad government for all, as in the Twins Stadium bill and Campaign Finance Reform.

Any political party will have its upstarts and mavericks. Most still contribute much to the overall effort. Such "diversity" is actually a plus, lest you wind up with a monolithic, extremist party like the Democrats seem intent on building. But there is no need to recruit or develop more of them. They are not in short supply.

If you're my age, you remember something called Word Processing. It was the beginning of the end for the electric typewriter. A local company, CPT, was one of the pioneers, with high, narrow, black on white reverse video displays that looked just like the paper it eventually produced when done.

I remember laughing when I first heard it called Word Processing. I, you see, was a Data Processor. I had no time for high tech typing. It was beneath me.

Still, the idea quickly caught on, with steno pools giving way to Word Processing departments. My IBM rep soon had another term for it - Word Storage. Words go in, he said, and aren't seen again for days. He had to beg to get his proposals typed .

I think it was on Mark Levin's show this week that I heard some Democrat's speech described as little more than "Word Salad." It seems the term is already in Wikipedia, but there seem to be two meanings, one a synonym for blather, the other a curious concept of mixing letters within words. As long as you leave the first and last letters the same, you can still read it.

Try it yourself, with this quote from U.S. Senator Barack Obama:

We konw taht as porgsereviss we belviee in arfofabdle htleah crae for all Aericmans, and taht we're giong to mkae srue taht Amanerics dno't hvae to coshoe bteeewn a htlaeh crae paln taht bupknatrs the grovennmet and one taht bktpranus fliameis, the ptary taht wno't jsut torhw a few tax bkreas at fiiamles who cna't aofrfd tiher irannsuce, but wlil mrnizodee our haleth crae stesym and gvie eevry falmiy a cahcne to buy iuransnce at a pcrie tehy can aorffd.

It reads just like the original!

Much has been written about newly elected U.S. Representative Keith Ellison's "Bushitlerian" remarks, most of it critical. Most of all, I think it shows a lack of maturity by Ellison.

Ellison is one of many new kids on the block this term. An adult will speak little and listen much in any new situation. Adults understand that the world isn't hanging on their every word yet are extra careful with what they do say.

The late Senator Paul Wellstone learned this lesson the hard way, labeled a "chicken [bleep]" by the President. To his credit, Wellstone did not repeat this mistake.

By comparison, Ellison is a boor, fancying himself significant with just a few months of experience, and showing no real remorse. To use his own metaphor, Ellison is like Mussolini invading France.

I see that three of the four public school districts will have referendums on the ballot this fall. My bias may be showing, but one of them seems more than justified, given how the Legislature favors large, metro districts over smaller and/or rural districts.

But consider one of the others, yes, a large metro district, is asking for an operating levy that works out to about $1,500 per student. Let's do some math.

At about 30 students per classroom, that's $45,000 a year, about 3/4 of a teacher. But they already have the teachers, for they say that priority one for the new money is to lower class sizes. With a couple of very specific exceptions, there is little correlation to actual learning here. Besides, no matter the budget, they always take bows for their academic performance.

No, this money isn't really going into the classroom in any real sense. I happen to live in this district, and will have no trouble voting no until they explain why what they have isn't enough.

The Fraters have an amusing take on Par Ridder, who lost a No Confidence vote taken by the journalists' union. The vote was 110 to 2, which begs some questions. Are there still over 100 journalists left there? Does that count the gatekeepers? Maybe they were the two nays.

But what was the real point of this vote? Retribution for the layoffs seems obvious enough, but these are smart people who know the realities of the business. (Hey, quiet out there!)

As "St. Paul" notes, to say that Par has damaged their credibility is absurd. Everyone's mind is already made up on this and unlikely to change. The only thing that could change their image is if they did put the Fraters in charge as Brian recommends. Now that would get me to resubscribe!

Is Ridder's management style too unsophisticated or too abrasive to suit the Guild? Perhaps, but such a vote is pointless and powerless to change that.

No, this vote is aimed squarely at Avista, via Par's mailbox. Their new owners likely have more changes in mind, changes the 110 don't like. I'm betting on the other shoe dropping, fairly soon.

In my desperation for decent morning drive time radio, I recently found "Quinn and Rose" on the 1570 Patriot II. Based in Pittsburgh, it is carried on XM and maybe a dozen affiliates.

It's pretty good, and it's my new #1 button. The Patriot's automation cuts in and out of commercial breaks in mid-sentence, but still, it's not bad.

Ian and Margery on FM 107.1 are retooling a bit, dropping the "Balanced Breakfast" name, are promoting some sort of blogging on their web site, but still a pretty well produced show, and local. I smell a Radio Consultant. Maybe they were beginning to crowd the franchise - Willie Clark - in the ratings.

I don't like the new parking arrangements by Keegan's so I decided to take the bus to Keegan's Saturday for the MOB party. With gas over $3 a gallon, I saved a little money and didn't have to worry about DWI's. The trip to Keegan's was easy and uneventful, but this was daylight. Again I marveled at how beautiful Minneapolis truly is, and how bad its government must be to mess this up.

I had a great time at Keegan's as I wrote, got out a little later than planned. I soon found myself aboard the infamous #5 bus going through the heart of North Minneapolis around 10:45 pm.

The bus was full, but I saw nobody get on that looked the least bit menacing. Mostly it was a party type of group, with lots of gentle laughter and smiles. I only became concerned when I saw three uniformed Minneapolis police officers get on just as we left downtown. Three? What kind of trouble typically goes down on this run?

Nothing happened and talking to one of the officers, this is just routine. Two or three officers get on and off randomly when on such patrols, though they rode this one past the city limit to the end of the line near Brookdale, and rode another back. The 5 (Fremont), 19 (Penn), and 22 (Lyndale) routes all converge here.

It's nice to see the police somewhere in Minneapolis on a Saturday night.

I don't know if I'll keep this up, but I thought I might
keep score for awhile, for the Face Off segment on "At Issue with Tom Hauser" and the Political Panels on "Almanac."

My main target Ember Reichgott-Junge was off this week, meaning the DFL at least didn't lose the debate. Anyway, here goes, Runs being a truly insightful thought, a hit being a reasonably good observation, and an error a false statement. Not an exaggeration, false, like second hand smoke being a public health risk. I wasn't surprised to see Taryl Clark rattle off a few.

FACE OFF

                 This week          To Date

Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Runs Hits Errs



Blois Olson         0    2    0        0    2    0

Dave Thompson       0    2    0        0    2    0



POLITICAL PANEL

                 This week          To Date

Pundit           Runs Hits Errs     Runs Hits Errs



Dan Dorman          1    4    0        1    4    0

Sarah Janacek       0    1    1        0    1    1

Mary Jo McGuire     0    0    2        0    0    2

Taryl Clark         0    0    3        0    0    3

I got daring the other day, grilling salmon directly on the grate. The usually reliable folks at America's Test Kitchen said 1) heat grill 5 minutes, 2) scrub with grill brush (mine is practically new), and 3) swab with vegetable oil using paper towel gripped by long tongs.

It seemed plausible, but the oh so historically predictable happened, all four pieces sticking firmly, pulling away from the skin, and a little flaking though the grate. Still, it tasted great.

Just make it using foil like everyone else says to do.

Let's start with the Associated Press account:

ELK RIVER, Minn. - State Rep. Mark Olson was convicted today of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault with the intent to cause fear and acquitted on a second misdemeanor assault charge.

The verdicts were returned by a jury of five men and one woman after about three hours of deliberations. Sentencing was set for Aug. 8.

The jury convicted Olson of domestic assault by intending to cause fear of bodily harm or death. He was acquitted of intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm.

Prosecutors alleged Olson, an eight-term Republican from Big Lake, pushed his wife down three times behind their home on Nov. 12.

Olson, 52, claimed during trial he was a battered spouse and that the Nov. 12 incident came after frequent arguments with his wife over raising her five children.

He said that in the past, she hit him several times, stabbed his favorite dresser and cut his picture off their wedding album cover with what he thought was a knife.

On the Final Word segment of the July 14 NARN broadcast, co-host Michael Brodkorb of Minnesota Democrats Exposed called for Olson to immediately resign. Failing this, Brodkorb said the GOP should move to expel him.

Does the Brodkorb punishment fit the crime? I don't think so, and it sounded like co-host King Banian didn't either. Read the charge of which Olson was convicted: intending to cause fear of bodily harm or death. At most this was a threat, for the much more serious charge of actual violence was rejected by the jury, and in short order.

Michael is urging the GOP to set a high standard, to the point of using a liberal zero tolerance approach. Politically this is not necessary, given the current low standards of the DFL. But Domestic Abuse shouldn't be about politics at all, which is why Brodkorb gets this one wrong. Thinking that since Olson is a Republican some action by the Republicans is in order is a non-sequitur.

Mark Olson is an elected representative. It is his own constituents that have standing here, not the GOP leadership. They will have their say at the next election. Recall is another option I believe. The misdemeanor conviction is far short of any general reason why Mark Olson should not be allowed to complete his term with full privileges.

Expulsion must have the highest of thresholds. Even drinking on the job which I personally believe Senator Mentzen did given the numbers isn't enough, and his DWI is a far more serious charge.

The most serious recent situation I can think of was that of former Senator Dean Johnson, for falsely impugning the State Supreme Court, an attack on our very constitutional framework, another in a series of lies for his personal benefit. Even here, the voters in his otherwise safe district knew what to do.

Short of a serious felony that would suggest danger to other members or the government itself, let the voters decide.

I know love conquers all and that opposites attract but Mary Matalin and James Carville? I have never understood that marriage. I picture them arguing every morning at breakfast, with an occasional grapefruit knife duel. It must be true that politics makes for strange bedfellows, and they have the children to prove it.

But I got some insight at the MOB party Saturday night, finally meeting Eva Young. I've never quite known what to make of her, given her blog and on air appearances. And yet, what a pleasure it was, from the beginning. I felt honored to probably be at the most diverse table, with myself, Eva, Flash of Centrisity, and Paul of Wog's Blog. (FYI, Speed Gibson proved faster than the Flash!)

We had a great conversation. We have much more in common than I would have thought, including that even I can take only so much Michelle Bachmann in a given week. As a result, I'm beginning to understand as I should have all along that politics isn't everything.

From the Associated Press:

Katie Couric says the move to CBS would have been less appealing if she had known she'd be doing the more traditional "CBS Evening News" broadcast that she anchors now.

"People are very unforgiving and very resistant to change," Couric said in an interview with New York magazine. "The biggest mistake we made is we tried new things."

Couric's move to CBS has been a big disappointment so far. The evening newscast's ratings are deep in third place, and CBS has rolled back some of the changes it made last fall to shake up the format. Couric conducts fewer interviews, an outside opinion segment was scrapped and the anchor admits she's even dressing down a little to give her critics less ammunition.

First, I'll give Couric some credit for willing to try something different, both in terms of network TV news and her personal career.

But mostly, these were changes in style, not substance, as if to ignore what put them in third place before Couric, or should I say who: Dan Rather. It was Dan Rather's insistence on "fake but accurate" storytelling that squandered what remained of the famed integrity and excellence of CBS News.

The whole concept of a fixed evening time slot for a national news program is of course obsolete in a CNN / Fox / C-Span / Internet world. Star power is pointless, and Couric would do well do move on, for Margaret Carlson was right:

"About the time the network dinosaurs finally stumble into the tar pit, that's when a woman will finally sit first chair."

Many have commented on yet another pass issued to Rep. Keith Ellison by the uncurious, all-forgiving Minneapolis Star Tribune. Granted, it's on the Editorial page, but that isn't a license for printing false information. This is why I dropped my subscription of what - 35 years? - to this paper. As long as statements like this appear:

Bush and his team seem intent on enlarging his authority and defying those who would challenge him or his administration. Geneva Conventions? Quaint¹. Habeas corpus? Flexible². Court approval of wiretaps? Outmoded³. Rising calls to replace a secretary of defense? "I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."⁴

I added the superscripts as references to the following points.

1. The Geneva Conventions, written in the plainest of language, plainly do not apply to our battle with Islamic terrorists. It is Bush's opponents that are trying to reduce Presidential and Executive Branch constitutional authority, not Bush trying to increase it.
2. Habaeus Corpus is for American citizens, not foreigners and enemy combatants captured on the battlefield. Congress and the Courts attempts to expand its constitutional scope and meaning is again, an attempt to reduce Executive constitutional authority, not President Bush's to increase it.
3. The word "wiretap" was falsely expanded by most of the press and Bush's opponents to include even pattern recognition of telephone numbers. But even so, the Patriot Act only expedited a well-known legal practice going back many administrations, including that of Jimmy Carter. The fact that the left insists that there is no difference listening to a foreign terrorist calling America vs an American calling the Home Shopping Network is very telling. Again, the President is not doing anything different than prior administrations like Carton and Clinton of which the Strib approves. The Bush Administration obvious has done more of it given 9/11, but it's essentially the same process and not a power grab.
4. Is the Strib serious? All Cabinet officers serve at the pleasure of the President, short of impeachment and conviction, and it's been that way since 1791 when the Constitution was adopted. Where's the power grab?

Remember the larger context, that we are to wrong to believe Keith Ellison didn't mean exactly what he said. It's our problem for taking him out of context, only there is no context here, none whatever, that, oh, "sands off the truth" here.

My argument isn't with Keith Ellison here. He's free to say and think and vote as he sees fit, but has no reason to think he can fool the adults in the room, even with the Star Tribune's help.

No, it is the Star Tribune that has truly stepped in it once again here. Just as their loaded coverage of Ellison's campaign was the final straw that ended my subscription, this continuing insistence on printing provably false information precludes any re-subscription soon.

It honestly didn't occur to me until I was at the MOB party at Keegan's last night, but July 14 is my Blog-aversary, the start of my fourth year.

I must credit again the two who inspired me to start. Mitch "the glue that stirs the drink" Berg who was at the party was a star, and "Citizen Jo" of "Jo's Attic" was not. Shot in the Dark was always and continues to be a great read, #1 on my blogroll from day one. The Attic had no "Northern Alliance" status but showed how anyone (Jo knows what I mean!) can meaningfully contribute to the discussion. The Attic gave me the courage to begin. Wherever you are, Jo, thanks again.

I hope if you are contemplating starting a blog that you do so. As Bluto says, "Don't cost nothin'!" Blogger.com is really quite good these days, and still free. That's where I started, though I've been a very happy customer of Powerblogs the past two years.

One of these years, I should spiff up my site. I don't do pictures or graphics, but I also don't do ads. That and the Powerblog servers should made Speed Gibson one of the fastest loading sites.

I do have some thoughts of podcasting a little, maybe even doing a little blogtalk radio like Captain Ed. We'll see.

I just might make it after all...

Our planned day trip up north is unfortunately off, my wife being up all night ill. She comes first, but if she's feeling better, I'll try to sneak down for a brew, maybe even dinner.

I have re-read Learned Foot's rules of MOB Party Ettiquette and I should have no trouble complying with it. After all, I don't hit on 18 year girls, I don't own any Hawaiian shirts, don't like name tags, and I hate karaoke. But what about the first tenet: do I know my place?

Yes, I am not in LF's 1% elite that gets 99% of the web hits, which essentially means that I should bow, yield, and avoid eye contact with my betters. Just buy them a drink to honor and thank them for doing what bloggers like me cannot and move on, for "in all likelihood [my] blog sucks."

To that I say, these events are for you 1% elites to thank us plebes for giving you 99% of your hits. You should buy us the drinks, but we'll take your presence tonight, to support and encourage us, as thanks enough!

I woke up around 3 am this morning, heard Phil Hendrie is back on the air, 1-4 am on KTLK 100.3 FM. As luck would have it, Phil gave a beautiful, powerful rant on the Live Earth event.

Basically, he said if we only have 10 years left to act, why sweat the small stuff like leaving your cell phone charger plugged in? Conversely, unplugging your chargers matters only if the ten year warning was a lie. Were you lying then or lying now?

I see that someone ran the obvious experiment of actually putting a meter on an idle charger. One charger didn't even register, nor did two, nor did three:

I plugged in the three phone chargers, the laptop computer's power supply, the charger for a pocket PC, and a battery-charger for 4 AA batteries. Finally, the meter registered power! One Watt.

Assuming the meter is accurately rounding, that's no more than 0.1 watt per cell phone charger. Even a 13 watt compact fluorescent bulb uses over 100 times as much energy. The energy saved from unplugging the charger for a week would run that bulb about an hour, or a typical home hair dryer about a minute.

I'm leaving mine plugged in.

An article in today's Business section of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (yes, I bought a copy) chronicles a storyline I find somewhat amusing. As government expands, inevitable conflicts between sectors of government develop. The classic is the health department that wants sausage factory floors washed frequently and OSHA that says it risks injury from slipping and falling.

Sparta, Wisconsin has an environmental version of this brewing. The locals want to build an Ethanol plant, but the town's largest employer says the attendant air pollution will so damage their products as to force them to relocate. Specifically, they say the well-known odors from Ethanol production will find their way into their air-dried dairy products made there.

So, we have "renewable energy" Ethanol environmentalists vs. other environmentalists concerned about air pollution. Actually, it's really just big corn vs. big dairy, with environmental concerns being the weapons of choice. Still, it's fun to watch.

As an aside, the Associated Press repeats the lie of corn-based Ethanol as "reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil." The gatekeepers at the Star Tribune apparently saw no reason to edit, limit, qualify or challenge this false statement. So don't tell me that the Editorial pages don't influence the news sections.

Some aspiring graduate student could do a thesis on the commercials you see on female-oriented TV programs. One I saw recently pointed out how there could be millions of germs lurking under the rim of your toilet bowl. The bright white seemingly clean toilet on the screen is then overlaid with a murky, greenish color with lots of blots to signify the germs. No, you need Lysol or whatever it was that squirts disinfectant up into this infested, heretofore neglected area.

And then I thought, just what toilet uses require me to reach up under the rim, let alone stick my hand in the bowl area at all? About all I could think of was someone "losing it" due to illness or excess, desperately clinging to the rim. Even then, would you claw around in this danger zone or just grab the outside?

How did the human race make it through all those prior centuries without toilets, let alone totally disinfected ones?

I have an idea for property tax relief. First of course, I need a big pot of money, either a tax increase or a spending cut, enough to cover at least a 20 percent property tax cut for homestead property owners.

Continuing this fantasy, I give the city, county, and school district first dibs on the money. The amounts they help themselves to are clearly shown on the property tax statement. The taxpayers can plainly see when their property tax refunds are reduced when, say, the school district "just has no choice."

Actually, of course, this is exactly what happens now. Every dollar you see on your property tax statement is a dollar you no longer have. But it would be interesting to simply open the cookie jar and see how many cookies they would take.

The Pepsi 400 NASCAR race at Daytona Saturday night showed some pretty good thinking at the TNT network. Called "Wide Open Coverage" it stayed with the race except for the required 3 local cable breaks an hour, and even those were 90 seconds or less.

There was a rearrangement of the screen, putting the ticket and other information below, and they did run some commercials in an inset window. Some of them were enjoyable, like Larry Mac running to a Subway stand for a quick sandwich, and the race is still on screen throughout.

Overall, it was fewer commercials, some replaced by graphics on lower screen, like the Goodyear blimp floating along the bottom. Not bad.

Further, you can clearly see that they have HD in mind going forward. This will soon become the standard, much as DVD's have replaced pre-recorded videotapes. The pieces are all ready and HDTV set prices continue to fall, with many good choices under $1,000 now.

What's wrong with me? I just saw "Evening" with my wife. This is a purebred chick flick - and I liked it. I liked it a lot. What in the hell's the matter with me? Even Roger Ebert hated it, and he normally is a pushover for such fare.

Actually, I have to agree with almost everything Ebert complained about. But I liked it anyway. Maybe I'm just a sucker for 1950's era scenery, sets, clothes, and cars.

I see that former Vice President Al Gore has cleared his calendar of all scheduled public appearances the next six months. Some Democrats believe this portends another run for the Presidency. Perhaps.

But what were these public appearances about? There'd be no need to cancel if they were campaign events, even if Mr. Gore has had trouble discerning when he's at a fund-raiser in the past. Do people want to see him to reminisce about the good old days of the Clinton administration? No, most likely these are to continue his "global warming" crusade, directly or tangentially.

If Earth is doomed without action in the next few years, why isn't this priority one? Perhaps he thinks only the Presidency can give him that power. Perhaps he believes Senator Hillary Clinton isn't the all but certain nominee of his party, meaning he has a chance. Perhaps.

Me, I think he realizes that his global warming crusade has peaked. More and more scientists are appearing with more and more contrary evidence, including evidence that challenges the validity and interpretation of his own. Particularly disconcerting must be that this warming stopped in 1998, almost ten years ago.

Even though Gore allows no debate at his presentations, questions will be increasingly difficult to duck. "Settled science" will wear thin when he has no new evidence of his own while his old evidence erodes. The elections give him a chance to quietly retire as High Priest of Global Warming, and I think he's taking it.

I like the concept of Apple's new iPhone. It's much too pricey for most of us, and a bit weak on a couple of spec's. It's round steak, expensive round steak, but it has plenty of sizzle and will clearly be another conceptual and marketing success for Apple.

But Apple had better not rest. Competitors are already on the way, and it won't be at all difficult to compete on price.

I think there's a segment of customers out there that just want the phone / camera / MP3 player combination. Forget the video, touch screen, eMail, and Web access. Give them more disk and more battery life instead, even if it is a little bulkier. Open it up to all major carriers and ease off on the proprietary iTunes connections. A "nano" (no disk) version could take several form factors, all ruggedized for jogging and sports.

Another customer segment may want video, including the camera which today is still shots only. Others, will primarily want a Web and/or Blackberry experience.

I do know one thing. Almost anything would work better than this Kyocera phone I have now.

I have some sympathy for embattled Minnesota Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach. Accepted bureaucratic and regulatory practice is to be slow to react. Exceptions like Mike Hatch who prematurely rush to a microphone draw immediate fire and often are later embarrassed when the final facts don't support the claims.

Maybe I'm rushing to judgment, but what I see and hear tells me that Commissioner Mandernach probably needs to resign. The evidence appears to have been significant and reliable enough to question why the information was withheld. I see no evidence of malice or being beholden to industry, just bad judgment.

Her claim that she was waiting to develop a more complete presentation, specifically to include action plans and recommendations doesn't work. It's not her job, at least not her job alone. Put the problem in play for all the players to consider - the employers, the unions, health care providers, and the government.

Mandernach illustrates why Pawlenty's appointment of Steve Sviggum as Commissioner of Labor and Industry is so correct. Department heads in government must have proven political experience, and at the level required. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales illustrates why.

It isn't fair, but its why no matter how competent in your field, you can't hope to succeed on that alone. Dr. Cheri Yecke was probably the best Education Commissioner in recent memory yet an easy victim for Senators who once again put the needs of their union contributors ahead of Minnesota's school children. Current Commissioner Alice Seagren seems to know precious little by comparison, but she's politically competent enough to get at least some things done.

Sometime before the Legislature convenes next year, Pawlenty would do well to thank Diane Mandernach for her service and find a poltically able replacement to run the Health Department. This is doubly important now, for one of the few battles Pawlenty lost was over health care funding, again well out of control thanks to the DFL.

Some premises:

"A man's got to know his limitations." -- Dirty Harry in Magnum Force.

"Free speech is unfair to intellectual losers." -- James Lewis at The American Thinker.

"Every lefty jock ever offered up to the audience has [ingurgitated] donkey [anatomy]." -- Learned Foot

Only the "Fairness Doctrine" can restore the "needed" balance in talk radio we're told. We're not getting our Adult Minimum Requirement of "Progressive" thought because the radio station owners won't allow it.

No, what's not allowed is any introspection, as in "maybe we're just not cut out for this." Let's illustrate the concept from the Conservative viewpoint.

The newspaper business has two general characteristics: it is a monopoly in most markets and almost everyone one of them is plainly liberal. The latter has been documented many times; the proof is massive and irrefutable. This is hardly unexpected given that we also know that the newsroom staffs vote Democrat and contribute to left wing causes close to 90 percent of the time.

We Conservatives like to whine and wish for a conservative competitor in these markets. We thought the St. Paul Pioneer Press would consider the business case for no longer following the Minneapolis Star Tribune model, which insults fully half of its potential readership almost daily. But it didn't. Neither do we see any upstart conservative papers anywhere in the country.

There are no obvious business or regulatory reasons for this. We may just have to accept the empirical fact that for newspapers, we Conservatives are the ones who "(what Learned Foot said)." We have to know our limitations. It's not fair, but we're losers when in comes to daily newspaper publishing.

Liberals in turn have to admit that right or wrong, they just aren't any good at commercial talk radio. There is bandwidth available as I blogged yesterday. There are stations available. They've had any number of bites at the apple, but the public just isn't buying it. Even the Fairness Doctrine won't save them, because the probable result is that there won't be any talk radio. The absence of Conservative talk isn't going to make Liberal talk any more appealing.