Speed Gibson

As you may have read here, I occasionally have problems with Windows. To be fair, Windows XP Home Edition has been fine except when a couple of viruses attacked and when the security software actually did the damage.

While I'm recovering, the dark side of the Mac world calls to me. I've avoided it so far, given it's a more closed, more expensive platform. But now, my employer is unloading a bunch of old equipment, including some old Windows 2000 class units for a pittance. Since they have no OS, no CD-ROM drive, and minimal memory, the price is indeed right. All I need is a CD drive, some memory - and Linux!

I just installed a stripped version (Antix) on an old Windows 98 machine, and I have to say it was almost too easy. I'm not going to worry about the sound card it can't find or use. So this weekend I'll add the CD/DVD drive, and see what happens.

A commenter at Commentary has the quote worth re-quoting for the CNN debate last night:

Well, look how evenhanded CNN is behaving with these ‘debates’.

For the Democratic ‘debate’ they had Democratic activists planted in the audience posing as ‘undecided voters’

For the Republican ‘debate’ they had Democratic activists planted in the audience posing as ‘undecided voters’

Is that equal treatment, or what?

About half the audience at the Patriot's debate event Wednesday night were Ron Paul supporters. You have to admire their energy and dedication, setting up a booth and winning the straw poll with 48 percent I believe. They were everywhere, noisy and proud, but also civil and polite.

I found myself going back in time, to the 1980 election when I was working for the Libertarian candidate Ed Clark. I was a lot like the Ron Paul people of today, convinced I had all the answers in my more youthful exuberance having read a few books. Actually, I did have much of it right, one of those books being Milton and Rose Friedman's Free to Choose. What I didn't understand then is the race is not always to the swift, and that evolution usually works better than revolution.

Ron Paul has a history with the Libertarian Party also, their endorsed candidate in 1988 I believe, but still a Republican, somewhat like our own Sue Jeffors. I therefore agree with him on many, probably most of his positions. Positions are not enough. I offer a little fatherly advice.

First, I hope you understood what Minnesota GOP chair Ron Carey said. By all means, campaign long and hard for your candidate, but once the nominee emerges, that's where your duty lies. If you're perceived as a "take it or leave it" person, others will take their leave of you. Hard work in support of any of the other seven candidates will be noticed and appreciated, and make our own candidate more attractive in the next cycle. There are exceptions, of course, Prime Minister Pawlenty being my own personal example. But that's the only exception I've made.

Second, you have to listen to others if you expect others to listen to you. In reading the literature I picked up at the debate, I see nothing that shows how Ron Paul is not an isolationist. Senator McCain really damaged Paul, asking how his non-interventionism is any different than isolationism, certainly ineffective in the 1930's and a dangerous game in post 9/11 America. With nukes, you only have to get close. Maybe I have it wrong. Maybe you can convince me, but you won't be able to do it with slogans and platitudes. Do your homework, then explain it to me.

Third, keep your perspective. The 2008 election could be as significant to America as was 1980, my own "Ron Paul" year. The Democratic party candidate will almost certainly be the most left-leaning since George McGovern. Don't do their work for them by needlessly tearing into other Republicans. If you use "Patriot Act" like the Democrats use "Halliburton" you're hurting, not helping.

What I understand now is that you will seldom get a great candidate and never get a saint. That doesn't mean you stop trying, like when public outcry sunk the latest amnesty bill. In fact, some candidates heard us on this and other issues and changed their position.

So keep'em flying and let's work together to get the best result possible, not the best possible result.

Like many of you, I went to the Patriot's gathering at the Marriott in Minnetonka to watch the CNN / YouTube Republican debate. I haven't watched any such debates so far for either party. It seems too early and the pundits will furnish highlights regardless. I otherwise wouldn't have watched this one, either.

My congratulations and thanks to all involved, including:

• Mosquito Productions, who furnished the big screen monitors that worked perfectly. Even the audio was at the right volume.
• The Marriott, even if they did charge $4.75 for a bottle of light beer
• The Patriot for organizing it and bringing in Rusty Humphries, their newest addition to the lineup (11 pm - 2 am).
• The NARN celebrities, who added additional commentary during the breaks. Mitch even wore a suit!
• The many who turned out, Ron Paul supporters included.

Now this is the way to watch a debate!

It seems to end much too soon, but season five of Dancing with the Stars is over. Helio Castroneves took the checkered flag in what many of us would consider an upset given the prior rounds. But the truth is, he did outperform Spice Girl Mel B in the finals.

Call me a junkie, but I'm ready now for season six.

I saw a short piece on the merger of the Minneapolis Public Library with the Hennepin County Library on our local Channel 12 news. They reported that some libraries will be expanding their hours, the funding for which comes from - the Twins Ballpark sales tax!

After getting smoked acquiring the land for the new Twins stadium, the County can hardly have any money left over. Regardless, how is it that this money isn't locked into a dedicated fund? Even if legal, how is this honest government?

I rushed to press yesterday, labeling the two Republicans serving on the Legislature's School Finance Reform Task Force as RINO's. My apologies to:

• State Senator Amy Koch, who has a 100 rating from the Taxpayers League, both 2006 and lifetime.


• State Representative Carol McFarlane, who is serving her first term and gets the benefit of the doubt for now. That she got elected in the perfect DFL storm of 2006 bodes well, in fact.

Regardless, they are badly outnumbered 3 to 1 as I said.

I also misread the P.S. Minnesota web site and therefore misreported it as being run by this group of Legislators, partly because I haven't found out yet who is in charge. It fit the template and I ran with it, like too many in the general media. Again, I apologize.

What a dud of a Finale, the worst ever! All three finalists did so well last week and Jenny closed out well, too. We expected another tour de force like with past champions Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith. But all three couples overthought at least one of the two dances, particularly Marie Osmond who will finish third tomorrow. She remains the Belle of the Ball, however.

I still think Mel B is the favorite to win, and certainly the best dancer, at least with Sabrina out of the running. But she didn't put much distance between herself and Helio. Her freestyle was competent and athletic, but just didn't have much ballroom dancing in it, as the judges scores reflect. Helio has a very good chance of pulling an upset, assuming this is all above board (remember season one?)

***

I couldn't help "worry" about that narrow strip holding Samantha Harris's dress together, lest there be another wardrobe malfunction.

My father's business accountant, true to his profession, always grumbled about any expense he deemed frivolous. He was often right, that dad bought a few "toys" now and then. "Didn't the circus ever come through town when you were growing up?" he'd ask.

I have the same thought about trains, specifically passenger service, from street car trolleys to Amtrak. Let's face it. It's obsolete technology and has been for 50 years. And yet our politicians can't get enough of it. Didn't they get their fill of Lionel when they were growing up?

Trains are fabulous for freight and I won't bore you with the obvious reasons why vis-à-vis passenger service. However romantic or nostalgic, the reality is that trains make lousy people movers compared to planes, buses, and automobiles.

Even I don't really remember street cars save only the final run by my grandfather before he switched from motorman to driver with Twin City Lines. Those who do remember them recall the noise, the rough ride, the lurching, and above all, the winter cold. Sure, the modern day Hiawatha Line resolved most of the creature comfort issues, but added some problems of its own: fatal traffic accidents, increased crime, and yes, more congestion.

Now they're talking about restoring rail service to Duluth, which was tried and failed as an Amtrak run. May I ask why?

First, it's not that far, about 150 easy freeway miles, 2.5 hours or so. You can stop anytime and anywhere you want along the way, eat, get coffee, even gamble here and there. You have your car stereo to listen to. You can set the temperature exactly where you want it. (Discount the above a little for each additional passenger!)

Second, there's bus service, less than $25 one way, once a day, about 4.5 hours because of several stops. But if you don't drive, how are you going to get around once you get there? You could also fly in, but same question. Ditto a train.

The proponents talk of how a businessman could work on the train, connected by Wi-Fi. But frankly, there isn't much business to conduct in Duluth. It's increasingly a town of pork projects, office buildings and stores giving way to public agency buildings and museums. Ironically, the Internet reduces the need to travel in the first place. No wonder they're talking of an 80% subsidy.

All in all, there's not reason one to justify trying to reclaim a piece of the past people have already rejected - and will again even more so now.

Our Lexus dealers are running those wonderful holiday gift suggestion ads again, where a big red bow adorns the new car in the driveway.

How can a man be clever enough to be able to afford a Lexus, yet stupid enough to pick one out for his wife, apparently sight unseen. There is no need to have her pick her own model, colors, and features. And of course, there is no need to comparison shop at the Mercedes dealership. Chances are good he'll be sleeping in that new Lexus.

This is standard TV fare, though, portraying most husbands like Chester Riley, Ralph Kramden, Tony Soprano, or Homer Simpson.

It would appear that Education Minnesota's "Schools First!" campaign didn't resonate. But the next wave is coming, as Swiftee and others have noted. "Education Funding Reform" is the new catch-phrase, and this time there's no deception on what they really want: more unaccountable money.

The front group is P.S. Minnesota, a "non-partisan coalition of Minnesota education and parent groups united to advocate for adequate and sustainable public education funding" per their web site. Not an educator? Not a parent? You're not welcome, just your paycheck. By the way, non-partisan means 3:1 DFL vs. RINO.

This caught my eye on their web site:

"We know how much it costs to educate Minnesota’s children to today’s achievement standards. We also know how much it will cost to educate our children to tomorrow’s standards."

Finally, someone can answer the question of how much is enough, now and in the future! Oh who am I kidding? It will be a formula containing variables like "average teacher pay" to keep it unaccountable and demographic indexes to keep Minneapolis and St. Paul at twice the average.

This is an interesting site as you'll see in future posts.

Whenever Townhall.com catches up, you'll learn two things about the The David Strom Show the past two weeks. One, they were both very good as I'll discuss below. Two, they were live this Thanksgiving weekend, unlike all three acts of the Northern Alliance Radio Network.

Last week they discussed how and why urban planning like our own Smart Growth and Light Rail are such failures. They interviewed Randal O'Toole, author of "The Best-Laid Plans: How Government Planning Harms Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook, and Your Future," which of course is newly released and in the Free Market Institute Bookstore.

This week's show featured Neal P. McCluskey, author of "Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education," also in the FMI Bookstore. So is Barry Castleman's "North Star Rising, Minnesota Politicians on the National Stage," the subject of the second hour.

As is usual for the Stroms, these are more than the shallow read the flap interviews typically heard during a book tour. They add insight, history, local perspective, and humor to make these enjoyable, informative hours.

Having people like David and Margaret working for us who could otherwise so easily live quiet, more comfortable lives are two more blessings to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I was out walking in Spring Lake Park last Wednesday morning, having taken the day off for Thanksgiving prep. I thought it would be a good time to listen to Dennis Miller on AM 1570.

Every time I've tried to catch the show before I found Dennis wasn't there, just a substitute host. I had my doubts given the holiday tomorrow, but hey - Dennis was on today!

Well, he wasn't "on" in the street sense, but he did the show live. I like Miller but I'd like to like him better, like if his material was more consistent. He has some funny lines and bits, but there is too much lame material in between them. In a word, slow. That goes for his HBO shows and for what I heard today.

Still, it beats what's on the other stations, except for Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh.

I've seen enough. Secretary of State Mark Richie, elected 2006, should resign. His tolerance for voter fraud and demonstrated foolishness in promoting instant runoff voting should be reason enough to make a change, but this is what elections are for. If he goes too far, materially supporting voter fraud for example, the legislature and the courts can intervene.

He gave State information to his political campaign, which he did deliberately and personally by his own admission. The legislature may indeed investigate. The courts might have to decide if Richie did indeed violate the State's data privacy and/or other laws. Richie should spare us this and resign now. There was simply no excuse for this, which even without the cover-up rises to the level of scandal.

During his campaign, Mark Ritchie charged that the incumbent Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer had favored her fellow Republicans during her tenure. He promised to end this as our new Secretary of State, to make the office completely non-partisan.

Partisanship is in the eye of the party out of power. Republicans (MDE included) grumbled about Joan Growe who served from 1975 to 1998. Democrats (like Richie) grumbled about Mary Kiffmeyer, who served from 1999 to 2006.

Regardless, in less than one year in office, Richie has committed an overt act of partisanship, what they call an unforced error in sports. He did exactly what he said he would not do, what he said should preclude Kiffmeyer from re-election.

I use far too many cliches as it is, but nothing summarizes the current situation better than "hoisted by his own petard." By his own pronouncements, Richie should resign.

This Tuesday (Nov 20, hour 2 on Townhall), Dennis Prager interviewed Ronald Brownstein, author of "The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America." He is currently a columnist for the National Journal and Los Angeles Times.

I heard this hour in my car while running errands. I was shouting at the radio at Brownstein's nonsense, cheering Prager's calm dismantling of his premise, that the right is responsible for the increasingly polarization. Brownstein soon found himself painted into a corner, saying that these two statements were comparable in this regard:

1. "Our moral values, in contradiction to the Republicans', is we don't think kids ought to go to bed hungry at night." (Howard Dean, DNC Chair, on Meet The Press)


2. "She said we have been an ‘on-your-own society.' She said, ‘It's time to get rid of that and replace it with shared responsibility.' That's out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx." (Mitt Romney, speaking of Hillary Clinton, while campaigning in New Hampshire)

Statement one is 100% personal, a classic ad hominem attack. Statement two is 100% about ideas, nothing more. Given how many on the left readily embrace Karl Marx's economics these days, it could even be construed as a compliment.

Dennis had offered quote one and asked Brownstein to provide something comparable from a Republican. He couldn't of course, and made do with statement two above. Having no other cards to play, this was his story and he was sticking to it, lest the entire premise of his book collapse by his own admission.

As Prager says, he prefers clarity to agreement. As with Lori Sturdevant per Michael Wigley, a liberal listens to Brownstein. A conservative listens to Brownstein and understands what he says.

It's so nice to see Craig Westover on the blogosphere again, especially his latest post at True North.

Not that you should need any encouragement from me to read this excellent post, but this is all but required MOB reading. He links to a number of recently published articles, left and right, on education:

1. Oct 28 - Lynn Reed, Minnesota Taxpayers Association
2. Nov 3 - John Malone, Association of Metropolitan School Districts
3. Nov 11 - Lori Sturdevant, Minneapolis Star Tribune
4. Nov 12 - David Hann, District 42 Senator (Eden Prairie), Republican
5. Nov 17 - Steve Murphy, District 28 Senator (Red Wing), Democrat
6. Nov 21 - Michael R. Wigley, Taxpayers League of Minnesota

As Westover shows, there's a skunk in this otherwise well-written editorial woodpile.

I would add only one more point. We've heard this same argument before. We've had (and lost it would appear) this same argument many times, from the "Minnesota Miracle" to "The Big Plan." Before asking for still more unaccountable money for K-12 education, the DFL owes us explanations of why all those previous "investments" in "education" went awry.

Our local news, cable Channel 12, is reporting a health care "crisis" in Independent School District 281, the Robbinsdale district that saw its operating levy referendum fail earlier this month. One teacher said his premium is rising by $600 per month. If true, I'd agree this is at least a personal crisis, especially since the collective bargaining agreement is already done and ratified for this period.

My first thought is that this was the TV equivalent of a typo, that they meant $600 per year, not per month. But the interviews with teachers seemed to confirm this. One said she will effectively have a negative check at the end of this month. The general mood is that many teachers will have to move to another district.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune only mentions that family care premiums have tripled since 2005, and not whether this is total or just the employee portion. And why would moving to another district solve the problem? Robbinsdale has already shopped other HMO's they said, without success.

This works out to $7,200 a year assuming we're talking amortized 12 month payroll for the 9 months worked as I believe is the norm. Regardless, this is no doubt a big shock to many family budgets. How could this happen?

When a price rises sharply like this, we generally look to the usual suspects: higher demand, limited supply, and monetary inflation. We further assume there's little we can do about it, as with gasoline prices, only buy less of it, and this is harder to do with health care.

But other districts and the private sector aren't seeing increases like this. I suspect the "problem" here may be that the 2005 rates may have been artificially low compared to the rest of the market. Maybe this was part of a incentive package the current HMO used to win the current contract, a one time "loss leader" that has now expired. Maybe this was part of the prior teachers' contract.

Before sympathy is given or action taken, we need more information. How did District 281's 2005 rates compare with other districts, and of course, the private sector? And how do the new rates compare now?

I serve in two of my city's volunteer positions, one being the Financial Commission that helps the staff and Council put together the annual budget. We're all but done with the 2008 budget and I'm very proud to say that this is an open, honest, competently run process here in Brooklyn Center.

We are one of the exceptions to the general criticism of all governmental units with the power to tax. Maybe most cities are better than we generally think, in fact, Minneapolis and St. Paul excepted. Jason Lewis would be amazed to learn that our 2007 headcount is about 10 less than in 2001.

Like most first ring suburbs, we have challenges, many owing to the willful neglect of Minneapolis and cheap land in outer ring suburbs. There are gentle disagreements on specific items, like the municipal golf course. But we disagree on direction, not the numbers.

I have two thoughts. One, I wish that public school financing would be this transparent, i.e., complete and understandable, both generally and in detail.

Two, I see now how oddly complex the property tax rates and assessments are, mostly thanks to the Legislature, always tweaking in the name of "fairness."

This one may be too close to call among the four remaining contestants. All did very well this week even if the judges were generally a little generous. I'm going to stay with my thinking from last week which was right on the money and say Jenny is going home tomorrow.

The two most expert dancers are Mel and Helio. The two most entertaining are Marie and Mel, and Helio not far behind. Either way, that leaves Jenny out.

I bought a portable MP3 player a few weeks ago, a house brand (Insignia) from Best Buy. It had a rechargeable, replaceable battery it said, 1 GB, FM radio and a few other features. I passed up any number of much cheaper units, thinking I had bought a quality unit.

Last week, though, one channel of the FM went out. But the MP3's still played fine, and I don't use the radio feature much. Yesterday, it locked up solid in the middle of playback and I find (now) that there is no reset button. Fine, I'll re-power it I thought, by "replacing" the battery. There are no directions on how to get the battery out however. Those come with the replacement battery only. So, I used brute force to literally crack it open. I can live with it duct-taped later.

The battery is NOT replaceable by us end users, requiring a jewelers tweezers to handle the smallest connector I've ever seen. I ripped out the battery to recycle that, pitched the rest of this piece of junk in the trash. This makes me 0 for 2 buying these devices, the first being a cheaper SanDisk that didn't make it two weeks.

I'd like to consider a real iPod, but this a semi-closed platform designed for music, video and subscription podcasts, not my personal recordings and old time radio MP3's. Plus, I've heard many complaints about iPod's going bad, too.

The perfect portable doesn't exist for me other than to spend $250 on another Pogo. Otherwise it seems that price doesn't matter so I think I may buy the $20 cheapie at Walgreens. Cheaper may be better in this case.

I saw my first and last half hour or so of "The Next Great American Band" tonight, apparently a reality show eliminating a band a week or so. It is to reality shows what Taco Bell is to restaurants.

What's really lame are judges who fawn over these bar acts. Maybe it's because of the writer's strike.

I quit my decades long subscription to the Minneapolis Star Tribune almost a year ago. I buy a newsstand copy maybe once a week, and, trying to preserve choice, at lease one Pioneer Press per week, too including today. I generally leave it the company lunchroom after I've read it, trying to improve their exposure.

No good deed goes unpunished, I guess. The top headline today asks "Bad mom - or just plain bad judgment?" regarding the four year found wandering St. Paul streets at 1 AM while his mother "ran an errand." Are you kidding me?

But the big story was about the accords struck by Prime Minister Pawlenty and friends to save the earth. This story was dripping with bias borne of liberal politics and junk science, a true disservice to their readership. It literally presented provably false information as accepted fact and gave the reader a false sense of perspective. Nothing was "alleged" and no contrary evidence or quotes were given.

I'm trying to help the fledging competition and this I what I get, a puff piece trying to out-Strib the Strib?

Mark Levin was on Rush Limbaugh's program today regarding his "Rescuing Sprite" book. But that didn't mean they couldn't spend 20 seconds on last night's Democratic Party debate or whatever it was called.

As usual, Levin kept it pithy: second rate candidates, second rate media, second rate audience.

It's hard to argue with that, even if many of the GOP candidates and events aren't much better. But seriously, have the Democrats run a quality candidate since 1968?

I noticed that one of the reasons given for firing MnDot executive Sonia Kay Morphew Pitt was about overtime. Quoting from the Minneapolis Star Tribune account:

"MnDOT's report said it is difficult to gauge the exact amount of time Pitt spent working during her post-Harvard stay in Washington from Aug. 3-11, but she filed for her regular pay plus several hours of overtime. MnDOT had not authorized any time in Washington either before or after the Harvard trip, the report said."

Overtime? For an executive? I always thought those terms were mutually exclusive.

I've been on salary for 35 years and I've never collected an hour of overtime, even those weeks when I put in as much as 90 hours (my wife kept track!). You work the job, not the hours. There are exceptions, like for store managers covering extra hours at another store in a chain. I assume it's the employer's discretion as are bonuses.

But this certainly should not apply to a high ranking presumably salaried executive position. What's going on here? She must be in good with the public school superintendents that seem to get paid more for leaving than for showing up.

I have a short list of cities I will never live in or at least again: Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, and Richfield. These cities all have poorly run and/or overly repressive governments. It looks like I should add Chaska and now Mankato to the list.

They have laws holding adults responsible for underage drinking occurring on their premises. These are "zero tolerance" - "photocop" style laws that charge you with crimes you cannot reasonably expect to prevent.

As I heard it explained on the news tonight, if you own a house, you go out of town on business, and your teenager hosts a kegger, you are guilty. Even if the alcohol is brought in by a party guest, you are guilty. The only sure way to avoid prosecution is to not have kids, putting what number you have up for adoption. I don't get this. What would these people have us do to avoid this?

Even if I've got this wrong, that it isn't this overreaching, it soon will be as the smoking ban demonstrates.

It's almost time for the Results show, so quickly - Cameron and Jenny are in the red, with Cameron going home. It looked like the judges wanted Marie off, but I think she'll finish third in the final round.

Have you ever noticed that people with two last names seem to cause more than their share of trouble in the world, especially if hyphenated? Most of these are women for the obvious reason.

Consider: U.S. Senator Rodham Clinton, State House Speaker Anderson Kelliher, and now, MnDot executive Morphew Pitt. Does Martin Olav Sabo count? Or Keith "Hakim" Ellison? George Herbert Walker Bush?

Just a thought.

It is sometimes amusing when we see one liberal faction unhappy with another. We can disagree on the right, too. I voted YES for a school board levy referendum, for example. Now we have a more serious disagreement, between MDE and Anti-Strib.

Yes, Anti-Strib (Tracy Eberle) was over the top, though much of what he said has at least some basis in fact. But the MDE (Michael Brodkorb) reaction was equally over the top. You shouldn't hang a friend out to dry based on one post, given his many contributions.

Tracy's point that Brodkorb's reaction is is a month later is very telling here. I couple that with some cases where Brodkorb seemed to prefer GOP talking points to the truth. I finally note the language in MDE's reaction - a Charles Schumer style outburst, not constructive criticism.

While I will not excuse or exonerate Anti-Strib, I will stand with Tracy Eberle here. If I were to drop one of these sites from my blogroll, it would be MDE.

However, I'd much rather read how they buried the hatchet this week.

My site is obviously rather plain, as I don't do pictures, ads, and just the one image at the top. But that also should mean fast load times and certainly no pop-ups.

The time has come to do at least a little re-arranging, so bear with me as I make small changes from day to day.

Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform was on The David Strom Show October 3rd, first hour. He was promoting a fairly new concept called Transparency, where the nitty gritty of goverment operations is posted on the web. It's a "power to the people" concept, where all of us can examine the data without having to file Freedom of Information (FoI) requests.

The big problem with FoI is that you need some idea of what you're looking for, and invest time and money in filing the FoI paperwork. You may not get what you want, or in a form you can understand. You may not get it in time to be useful (Amy Klobuchar). You may not get it at all (Hillary Clinton).

Take the case of MnDot executive Sonia Kay Morphew Pitt, fired this week for a number of reasons. What was her undoing? The collapse of the I-35W bridge. She would otherwise have her job today, possibly for as long as she wanted it. This tells me that MnDot Commissioner Carol Molnau has some explaining to do, but that's for another post.

Suppose we had Transparency, where all travel expenses for all public employees is routinely posted on the Web. Someone might have noticed what is going on, like a reporter or a blogger. More likely, a concerned or otherwise disaffected co-worker might drop a hint to the press, starting the ball rolling.

On a more positive note, maybe these employees would think twice before padding their expense accounts or even taking trips of marginal value. By extension, supervisors would realize they cannot simply approve expense reports. Trust, but verify.

As good as our various agencies responded to the recent disaster, it would have been better still had a (better) MnDot emergency response executive been on site. This is an excellent example of why we need Transparency.

We went to see the new movie "Bella" tonight. I saw a review that gave it 3 out of 4 stars, and I think that's about right. It's a simple story, a good story, and told very well. Some critics, you know the type, dismissed it as a pro-life polemic. I won't discuss the details for you, but this wasn't the main theme at all.

I recommend it.

In case you didn't notice, and apparently not many were likely to notice, John Hines has suddenly vanished from the KTLK-FM Morning Show. Don't worry about Hines - per The Rake, he got a six month severance.

Personally, Hines' big booming voice was a bit much in the morning. But hee gave it a good try, and I certainly wish him the best. I think the big problem for KTLK and others in the morning is the format.

I give big points for trying to be local rather than carrying yet another national network show, but contentus interruptus makes the distinction all but moot. There are simply too many commercials and too many interruptions to develop any meaningful thoughts or ideas, i.e., a reason to listen.

I think someone should consider something like the Paul Harvey method. First, he does virtually all of his own spots, avoiding the sharp transitions, like those tired, jarringly annoying Menards jingles with the shouting announcer. And though they all deny it doing it on purpose, commercials typically are 3 to 6 db hotter than the programs.

Second, Paul's breaks are usually just one minute, almost never over 90 seconds. You'll sit still for that, and besides, clever writing and his trademark vocal idiosyncrasies often make them border on enjoyable. He still gets in a solid 5 or 6 minutes in his quarter hour, but you don't mind it somehow.

Third, Paul doesn't waste your time. The typical morning drive program has made wasting time an art form. We don't need endless weather breaks for temperate sunny days. We don't need routine traffic reports, just major disruptions like the I-35 bridge collapse.

Fourth, Paul doesn't take phone calls. I know we're talking talk radio, but most morning calls aren't worth the trouble. Let people leave messages perhaps, play a few of those if you must, but get those amateurs off the air!

This would require significant capitalization, so it probably won't be tried. Plan on yet another Willie Clark instead.

It looks like no incumbents lost anywhere in the Northwest Metro. Golden Valley and Osseo re-elected their mayors and incumbent Council members. The ten incumbents from the Hopkins, Robbinsdale, Wayzata, and Anoka-Hennepin school boards all won.

Particularly disappointing was Hopkins where 6 candidates competed for 4 seats. The two reform candidates both lost to the four rubber stamps. Robbinsdale at least saw challenger Sherry Tyrrell outpoll the two incumbents, but with three seats open, they all won.

As for the money questions, results were mixed. The Robbinsdale referendum went down by about 5 percentage points, and many would say deservedly considering the Phyllis Kahn style hanky-panky going on. The little district that could, Brooklyn Center, is now 0 for 5, losing again. By law, they will have to try again next year.

Anoka-Hennepin passed 2 of 3 operating levies, but lost the technology bond issue. Osseo narrowly passed one of its three levies.

All in all, nothing much is changing up here, for as we know, the new money that was approved won't materially affect the results.

The dancing was back to the A game this week, with many fine performances. It wasn't quite a perfect 30, but I'd say Marie Osmond's first number was easily my favorite.

Somebody has to go home tomorrow, and once again I'll say it's Jane Seymour who was good, just not great. But as to who joins her in the red lights, I have no idea.

Maybe you heard Grover Norquist on The David Strom Show this week. He was speaking about "transparency" which is simply putting data on the web in its raw form. It may take a geek or two to make sense of it, but that beats having to file Freedom of Information requests that may just provide more incomplete or misleading data.

On the ballot in the Hopkins School Board election are six candidates vying for four open seats. Only one is an incumbent, so at least three fresh faces will be elected, hopefully four as the incumbent was part of the statutory operating debt surprise.

One candidate is talking transparency, even accountability: Jamie Wellik. Despite his Masters in Political Science, I'd vote for him if I lived in this district.

As expected, DFL State Senator Terri Bonoff of Minnetonka officially announced her candidacy for the Third District Congressional Seat being vacated by Jim Ramstad. On her web site she says, "I'm running for Congress because it's time our leaders started listening." I'd like to know who she's listening to.

At her announcement she said that getting out of Iraq would be a high priority. She put it this way:

"Our soldiers are serving courageously and valiantly. Yet they are now caught in the middle of a civil war. They cannot win a political battle without a clear mission."

That last sentence is a real puzzler. Regardless, even a Star Tribune reader has a better grasp of the Iraq situation than this.

Last week, Bonoff commented on school funding. She serves on a Legislative task force studying the state funding formulas. On cable Channel 12 I saw her say:

"There are ways that we can save money [in] education funding. While the answer may be that we need to invest more in a per student basis, we should at the same time be responsible to our taxpayers and make sure we're doing what we need to do to be more efficient and make sure they're getting value for their dollars."

That's over 60 words drawn from talking points that say absolutely nothing. Talk about a political battle we can't win!

One Amy Klobuchar in Congress is enough, thank you.

First, let me say that all 8 hours of local Saturday programming on the Patriot were very good despite struggling with the new equipment.

On the "Final Word" segment (3-5 pm), King and Michael talked to Andy Barnett, former talk show host at KNSI 1450 in St. Cloud. He was fired, ostensibly for his choice of questins for some City Council candidates, choices like abortion and same-sex marriage. More specifically, the firing was in response to complaints about those questions. The details are at True North.

My heart goes out to Andy Barnett, but from what I've read and heard, including Barnett's own account, my head is with the station management on this one. Regardless, the worst behavior by far was that of the complaining candidate(s). I again ask, why are liberals so convinced they're right yet are so uncomfortable defending them in public?

Getting back to KNSI, abortion and same-sex marriage just aren't local issues. Barnett gave a couple of weak examples showing how they could relate to other local issues, but this just isn't good enough. Frankly, I think the intent was there to embarrass the candidates. If Barnett was adamant with management as I think I heard him say he was, then yes, he'd be gone at my station, too.

As I said, I will be voting "YES" on the ISD 281 operating levy referendum. The faulty assumption in voting "NO" is that the district would do what we would do in their place. They won't. They will cut muscle, not fat, i.e., lay off teachers and close schools first.

There won't be progress, accountability, or transparency until "they" become more like "us." "They" have to be voted out, even if their replacements are no better. As I survey the Robbinsdale election, the best we can do is bounce one incumbent, but it's a start. There are four candidates for three open seats. Two are incumbents, hence at least one will be re-elected.

I watched a Candidates Forum on cable Channel 12, with three of the candidates present, including both incumbents. By their answers, other than direct references to past actions on the School Board, you could not tell one from another. All spoke in educational double speak, and generally blamed us as poor parents and the Legislature as not providing "full" funding. They further agreed that we shouldn't really look at test scores, lest we miss all the other good work they're doing for us. At least they agreed that results are significantly below what we want and the students need.

The phrases "all else being equal" and "distinction without a difference" certainly apply here, so I have no hesitation in recommending those of you in District 281 vote for challengers Katherine Elrite and Sherry Tyrrell. You can vote for a third, so either flip a coin or do what I'll be doing, just voting for two, hoping the surviving incumbent comes in third.

An elected official once told me that your first or second election campaigns are never failures in that you gain needed name recognition. That's all I could hope for on this, my first campaign, and that's all I got.

Congratulations to the finalists King & Atomizer! I've never met (a sober) Atomizer, but even so, I will enthusiastically be voting for the talented and personable King Banian. (Did I spell that right?)

Updated with October's scores.

Pundit            Weeks Runs Hits Errors



David Strom         7   14    26      1

Dave Thompson       5    9    15      0

Phil Krinke         1    2     4      0

Blois Olson         3    3     7      1

Ember R.-J.         8    4    15     22

Updated with October's scores.

Pundit               Weeks Runs Hits Errors



Phil Krinke             3    12   18    0

Fritz Knack             5    12   22    2   

David Strom             2     6   10    0

Sarah Janacek           3     7   13    1

Dan Dorman              1     1    4    0

Ember R.-J.             2     3    6    3

Andy Brehm              2     1    4    1

Dee Long                1     0    1    2

Jane Ranum              3     3    7    8

Taryl Clark             1     0    0    3

Wes Skoglund            1     0    1    4

Javier Morillo-Alicea   1     0    1    4

Mary Jo McGuire         2     0    4    8

Wy Spano                3     1    3   11

Andy Dawkins            3     0    5   11

As my final ploy to "shock the world" and win the MOB Mayor's race, I want to appeal to the left of center blogs out there. If you think Dennis Kucinich makes a lot of sense or believe Hillary Clinton is a moderate, I'm not your guy. But if you prefer, say, Bill Richardson, let's talk.

A Speed Gibson administration will be fair and bi-partisan. Facts and logic are still required, along with competent use of the language. If you use terms like "illegal immigrant", I will call you on it, left or right. But if you have a case for some form of amnesty for illegal aliens, let's hear it.

As proof that I'm a uniter not a divider, consider this: I will be voting YES next Tuesday on the District 281 (Robbinsdale) referendum. I had originally "knee-jerked" my way to "NO" but later remembered when I had thought it through more carefully, and posted why.

Yes, there are many good reasons why I should vote no, given how unfocused this district has become in my opinion. Voting no won't solve that now or later. If it fails, they will follow through on their threat to lay off teachers instead of support personnel rather than refocus, and yes, the students will suffer for it. If it passes, however, they cannot blame a lack of funding or even parent commitment for continuing failure.

District 281 will continue to decline either way, but faster if it fails. We cannot start the conversation about true reform if we give them the easy out of alleged lack of funding.

So there it is, my thinking liberal friends. You'll have a friend at the top if you vote for Speed Gibson.