Speed Gibson

My home network was acting up tonight, finally had to reconfigure the wireless router. This isn't rocket science for me and it's within the skills of most anyone under 25 I suppose. But I still think Cisco or whoever is missing a market segment by not selling a more foolproof set of network appliances.

Less would be more for most, like a default configuration that would work right out of the box, with a pre-assigned password on a sticker on the bottom of the router. It also should be able to auto-detect the cable modem without playing games hooking up a computer first for their software to read.

Step one is still win the lottery, then form the company that would make products like this.

I lost 4 pounds this week, but this still leaves 3rd and 19 for a first down, still doable, even if I'm not the Favre of weight loss.

KTLK's Chris Baker cited an article in the Rochester Post-Bulletin: we're number three nationwide for welfare spending as a percentage of total state and local spending. I was astounded to hear we have reached 22.9 percent!

Nearly 23 percent of all state and local government spending in Minnesota during fiscal 2007 went toward services that fall under the Census Bureau's broad definition of welfare, according to the 2007 Census of Government Finances. Among states, that ranked behind only Maine at 24.3 percent and Rhode Island at 23.7 percent.

The report said $9.3 billion of the $40.6 billion spent by all levels of government in the state that year was on welfare programs. It was a higher share of spending than Wisconsin, 18.2 percent; Iowa, 16.6 percent; North Dakota, 15.7 percent and South Dakota, 15.5 percent.

Not only are we way ahead of our neighboring states, this percentage is rising sharply:

The census data show that in 1992, public welfare spending accounted for 15.2 percent of what Minnesota governments spent. It climbed to 16.7 percent in 1997 and just 18.4 percent in 2002.

If you roll these figures with the growth in spending, population, and the Consumer Price Index, real per capita spending on Welfare has more than tripled in just 15 years. It's a big part of the "structural" deficit waiting for the Legislature in 2010. The difference with Wisconsin equates to well over a billion dollars annually.

We must put on the brakes on this budget monster growing at better than 8 percent a year. There should be at least some bi-partisan agreement on that. A good start would be an indefinite freeze on the current level of very generous benefits being paid until in line with the region.

We will soon have another toll road in Minnesota, this one on Interstate 35W. It runs from Highway 13 in Burnsville to 42nd Street in south Minneapolis, minus the crosstown construction for now. I should like its "pay for what you get" approach, but I don't like what I think hides within this capitalist exoskeleton. It's being done for all the wrong reasons.

I remember when 35W first opened from downtown through south Minneapolis. I may be wrong, but I also remember that politics entered into the design, peeling off the third lane at the 46th St. exit. Why? The city had sacrificed considerable land, which is true, and felt they should have their own local lane lest it simply be the gateway to Richfield and beyond. The undersized Crosstown tangle now finally being fixed helped ensure that vision during rush hour at least.

I also remember when the 35W bridge over the Minnesota River was just two lanes in each direction, too small from day one as I soon discovered when I moved to Burnsville in 1974. But now it's a six lane bridge, which with the Crosstown rework should approach reality for now. But even though you could now argue for four lanes each way, what do we do? Impound one lane to make sure it doesn't carry its share of the load.

Why? Some say to raise revenue for our starving Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDot). But truth be told, a big reason MnDot spends so much is because it's constantly redoing projects it undersized from day one. In the case of where US 169 meets I-494 in Eden Prairie, we're in for Version 3.0, and even that will likely be undersized. Part of this is politics, too, I'm sure, with everyone clamoring to fix their district's roads first, spreading the money to thinly over too many projects.

But part of this I have to believe is to complicate things lest we actually be allowed to drive unimpeded. That's why ramp meters went in before lanes were finally added, and why some hugely obvious lane expansions like 494 through Plymouth still wait. And why complicate things? Because complication is fun!

Indulge me in a Contract Bridge analogy. If you've played this magnificent game at any length, you've met that player that in many respects is a near expert but will go no further because he has no card sense to go with those skills. He will go down trying to execute an advanced squeeze play when a simple finesse has much better odds. A finesse any beginner can do, but a squeeze, well, that's the stuff of experts. Truth is, experts regard squeezes as last resorts for relatively rare situations, since you get no more points for style and aplomb.

Getting back to roads, look at all the fun the alleged experts had with those ramp meters in their fancy control rooms until Senator Dick Day raided the game. He mandated six weeks of flashing yellow and we learned that the meters were in fact causing much of the congestion they allegedly were avoiding. And then came the "sane lane" of the infamous I-394 project, one reason why it was way late and way over budget, not to mention a tremendous waste of right of way. Even a light rail train down the middle would have made more sense, but that's too simple, running a straight piece of track down a dedicated corridor. The sane lane switch lanes, has fun lights and gates to switch, and now, collects tolls with transponders! Cool, huh?

Finally, of course, we must make sure to reinforce the false notion that we can't build our way out of congestion. We simply have to have a a robust multi-modal solution, which somehow includes light rail despite its staggeringly high costs - and fatalities. And it's complicated, too, when running at ground level, with all those fancy lights and gates and linkages to the traffic lights to figure out.

Just build the damn roads where the people want to go and imagine all of the above baggage we could junk. And think how much all that baggage cost us, in terms of plain old lane miles and a bridge here and there to replace a busy stoplight intersection.

It never pays to confuse complexity with sophistication. As in so many technologies and disciplines, great engineering is simple engineering. Great transportation isn't complicated, either.

Sarah Janecek recently confirmed a thought of mine, wondering why politics is so slow this season. Business usually picks up after the State Fair. There are 19 and counting candidates for Governor. A huge state deficit looms and national politics is a morass of incompetence that has eclipsed the usual stories of corruption. And yet, nothing much is actually happening, particularly at the local level.

One theory I have is that with the weak economy and a President who seems poised to punish anyone who wants to have a good time (besides himself), there's no "mother's milk" out there to "stimulate" the political world, not this far from election day 2010 at least.

Another is that while we as an electorate certainly expect better from our leaders, what's the alternative? You Democrats out there are in power, and even I understand it's too early for a palace revolt from leaders like Obama, Pogemiller, and Kelliher. We Republicans out there are largely disillusioned with our own, like McCain, Bush 43, even Pawlenty at times.

And it is an off year election to be sure, with just a handful of local elections and a few referendums. Even the latter seems at low ebb, most school districts realizing there is little chance this year. An Annandale bond issue went down in flames just recently, for example.

That all said, I'm still puzzled. The issues have never been more important, but with all respect to the Tea Parties, there isn't the commensurate debate or even noise. Even the DFL has had precious little to say recently, even on the Almanac couch.

Have we given up?

After a stellar week like Tim Pawlenty in 2003, I collapse like Tim Pawlenty in 2005, gaining over 8 pounds. But if I bounce back like the Pawlenty of 2007 and 2009, I can lose it just as quickly.

Weight loss is hard. There are no silver bullets, which is why there are hundreds of titles in the book store on the subject. There is no substitute for discipline, and I'm sure I'll have plenty this week again.

I knew I'd have to write this post sooner or later. The excerpts from Sunday's ObamaThon and now the United Nations have me shaking my head. I never bought all of the communicator hype surrounding candidate and now President Barack Obama, but even I thought he was better than this.

I complained last year that Obama had absolutely no executive experience. True then, still painfully true today, but at least not a surprise. And like all poor leaders, he's been careful not to hire anyone who might outshine him. (To be fair, McCain's resume was pretty thin in this area as well.)

But I thought he could talk, at least in prepared settings like these, as he did so well during the campaign. But then, other than token opposition from Hillary Clinton, he was master of each and every situation. The press dutifully played along, too, thinking they were part of the history so obviously being written. And then something happened to change all that: he won.

Now, he can't hand pick the audience. He can't control the agenda. His lack of experience and a surprising level of ignorance on too many topics have led to a number of miscues worthy of the Great Gaffer himself, Vice President Biden. In just his first year, he's taken on far more than anyone could hope to handle, let alone a management rookie like Obama. In fact, having avoided any real debate, any vote-to-vote combat all along, having avoided hiring the competent players he so desperately needs, he may not even carry one of his major causes across the goal line.

His polls have turned sour. He's puzzled why his "I'm not Bush" foreign policy is falling short of his expectations. The press is starting to confront him openly. Hecklers abound, even in Congress. But if he tries to moderate, the Far Left cries foul.

So I ask, just what is Barack Obama good at besides campaigning?

It reminds me of an old Amos and Andy TV show. The Kingfish had taken an aptitude test only to have the proctor scratch his head, saying something like, "We've never had this happen before. I'm sorry Mr. Stevens, but our tests can't seem to find anything you're good at."

I've said before that forewarned is forearmed when reading the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You can wade through the bias and contempt to get most of a given story's verifiable content. But I was careless when I recently read: Golden Valley police settle suit in Taser arrest for $200K.

What started as a dinner out with her husband and friends in downtown Minneapolis ended with a Plymouth woman handcuffed, on the receiving end of a Taser shot and barefoot in a jail cell for at least three hours.

On Monday, Sandra Brown's lawsuit from the Oct. 8, 2005, incident was settled with an agreement from Golden Valley to pay her $200,000 for her federal civil rights and excessive-force claims. Brown, 57, said she suffered bruises on her wrists and arm and went on anti-anxiety medicine for the first time in her life after the incident. She said she remains wary of police.

"I would think twice before I dialed 911 even if I was in trouble," she said. "I truly believed the police were there to protect you, and that belief is not so true anymore."

I read a few paragraphs, and harrumph'd a little satisfaction that Golden Valley got what they deserved. Trouble was, I didn't read far enough. The important facts didn't appear until paragraph eight. I also missed that the article was written by Rochelle Olson, who wrote the infamous political hit piece on Alan Fine, erasing any chance of an upset over Keith Ellison. She should have been fired then, and when she wasn't, I fired them, dropping my 35 year subscription.

Fortunately, an emergency room physician set the record straight in his Letter to the Editor:

Let me get this straight: In order to earn $200,000 from the city of Golden Valley, all one has to do is drive under the influence of alcohol, speed, ignore a police cruiser behind you for 2.5 miles, and be belligerent and uncooperative enough for a police officer to use a Taser. Your Sept. 22 article says that Taser shocks may have "contributed to or caused at least 50" fatalities since 2001.

According to alcoholalert.com, more than 9,000 people have died this year alone from drunken driving. The Star Tribune should be ashamed to publish on the front page an article that makes Sandra Brown sound like a victim. What about the fatal car accident she and her husband could have caused?

Rereading the full original article, even with Olson's cautious wording, you realize the good doctor is actually significantly understating what really happened.

I stand corrected. The Browns should be ashamed, grateful at least that their lapse didn't result in a fatality, grateful that the police perhaps prevented just that by pulling them over. The City of Golden Valley should stand firm behind its police in this case. And I say again, Rochelle Olson should be fired.

How many committee members does it take to change a light bulb?

"This topic was resumed from last week's discussion, but is incomplete pending resolution of some action items. It will be continued next week. Meanwhile ..."

At the new Superintendent's suggestion, the Robbinsdale School Board is taking a fresh look at the long list of committees that compete for everyone's time.

The State mandates the following:

1. System Accountability
2. Professional Development
3. Special Education Parent Advisory
4. Indian Education Parent Advisory
5. Community Collaboration for Integration and Equity (aka "Diversity")
6. Gifted Education Parent Advisory
7. District Safety

There are 23 more, not counting memberships in groups like the Association of Metropolitan School Districts. Also not counted are memberships which have no general District level meetings, like the Minnesota State High School League.

Some of these are conditions of federal programs and grants. Some are conditions of union contracts. Some are the result of long-standing District policy. And some are simply created as believed needed.

I think everyone agrees that this list is too long. At least two are not productive. At least one more should be given a due date and ended, like the recently formed and now disbanded committee that reviewed the Spanish Immersion Entrance Policy. But there is a more important problem that I believe the Superintendent is also focusing on: just who do these committees ultimately report to? In some cases, this is not clear but regardless, the default should be the Superintendent.

State law ordains that the Board is elected who then hires a Superintendent to actually run the District, including supervision of all employees. The Board otherwise hires no one nor manages anyone except through the Superintendent. The Board is not supposed to interfere with the Superintendent's administration beyond the required checks and balances, like approval of major contracts, and of course, tax levies. It's not unlike a Board of Directors who hires a Chief Executive Officer in private industry.

The danger with committees is that by making presentations to the Board, they might think the Board is their boss. Boards being composed of mere humans are too easily caught up in this and perhaps all unknowingly believe it as well.

There is a time for independence, such as for the Financial Advisory Commission. You may remember that I and a couple of others campaigned hard to provide and ensure sufficient independence to effectively function as a watchdog agency, as the Strategic Plan specified. And even though the Commission is not run by the Administration per se, it still should be formally reporting its findings to the Superintendent. The Board can later review the recommendations and the Superintendent's responses. Again this would parallel private industry and even non-profits, where management's responses to audit findings are already known by the time the report is presented to the Board of Directors - on behalf of the administration as part of its specified duties.

The Board has formal representation in some committees and is certainly welcome at the rest. But as many Board members have found, there are far more meetings than anyone can possibly hope to attend, even if one or two are jettisoned. And what about the community at large? I think a broader stroke is required, but I'll save that for another post, after the Board takes up this long list in the next Work Session. It was on the last Work Session agenda, but, um, er, ..., well, let me put it this way:

"This topic will be resumed from the prior meeting's agenda, pending other items, which if still unresolved may force further postponement. Meanwhile ..."

One of my favorite old songs begins,

He made the night a little brighter
Wherever he would go
The old lamplighter
Of long, long ago

The new lamplighter?

In Richfield, a city hammered by state aid cuts that total $2.48 million between 2008 and 2010, the City Council is expected to approve a streetlight fee on Tuesday. It would charge each residence between $20 and $24 per year to raise $317,000 to keep the city's streets brightly lit. The cost previously was paid from the city's general fund. But with a 2010 budget that is anticipated to be nearly 3 percent smaller than this year's, the city needs the money, said City Manager Steve Devich.

"This reflects the actual cost of electricity and maintaining the lights," he said. "A well-lit community is a safe community, and that's something this community has valued."

This is from a Minneapolis Star Tribune article which lists Richfield as just one of many cities considering this back door tax increase.

That's exactly what it is, a tax increase that demonstrates the folly of Governor Pawlenty's levy limits. Just as locks only really keep out honest people, these limits only restrain the better run local units of government. Richfield isn't one of these, given its Best Buy fiasco and now this. But Richfield really isn't the problem. They're just using one of many ways to skirt Pawlenty's levy limits. Without levy limits, Richfield et al could simply set a levy limit and face the voters at election time.

Setting this up as a fee is worse than a tax because now the cost of those lights is no longer going to be questioned. If somebody wants "green" bulbs at three times the price, what's to stop it? The city now longer has to weight that cost against other needs. Instead, the politicians can claim they're doing the right thing. The city has no reason to be firm with whatever unions are involved and/or whatever contractors bid on the maintenance.

"It's only $1.75 a month to go green," they'll say. But meanwhile, you're stuck with dim, yellow sodium vapor lamps that wink out 20% of the time. You'll be paying for it directly, but will have no say in the number, type, or hours of operation. It's an entirely administrative matter, not up to a vote.

Sorry, GOP faithful. I say, repeal these absurd levy limits. They don't work. Repeal them all. Repeal them now.

Getting in a little extra walking this afternoon, I listened to some MPR/NPR news. I realized why I don't really like it, besides the droll, pedantic signature voice style. They leave stuff out.

In one segment, they spoke of Republican opposition to ACORN's work in voter registration. No, we're all for voter registration. It's ACORN's work in illegal, fradulent voter registration that we object to.

Another story on immigration left out the key word illegal once again, just like how I imagine the DFL delivered it to their studios.

Then, NPR discussed Joe Wilson, whose outburst "You lie!" was heard throughout the world. And the whole discussion was superficial. No time was spent on whether Obama was telling the truth or not. Why would that matter when we have a Republican in the journalistic docket? The thought that the claim that illegals could not enroll in Obamacare was by then at least the tenth tall tale would apparently never occur to NPR, either.

We at home could vent our frustrations, folly by folly, lie by lie, shouting at the TV or radio, letting off steam with each offense. Rep. Wilson had to sit on his hands, doing a slow burn that eventually boiled over for one of the most obvious lies of the evening. Maybe the two hundred other Republicans deserve some credit for their remarkable restraint. Many Democrats couldn't when President George W. Bush was at the lectern.

It never dawned on the reporter how frustrating it can be, that Wilson was mad as hell, and wasn't going to take it anymore.

It's Wednesday, and my weigh in tonight was excellent, down more than 5 pounds, but not enough to get the first down. Yet, it was a spectacular week, and I'm lighter than I was 20 weeks ago. So while I only lost 2.4 pounds on this set of downs, I'm going forward with a fresh set.

After I stumbled the week before, I decided to do a qualifying lap as in NASCAR, to see if I really had the desire anymore. I did, facing many challenges successfully and staying well within my Weight Watchers plan. It's a great plan; I just have to follow it.

So I qualified to get a very important first down, even if I am guilty of a mixed metaphor.

In just seven weeks, eleven candidates will vie for the the Robbinsdale School Board. There is no primary and with four seats in play, much could change.

Two years ago, there were just four candidates chasing three seats, which is largely why the District decided to skip the primary this year. Who knew there would be so many this year? Both incumbents (Bassett, Van Heel) were re-elected, but new Director Sherry Tyrrell outpolled them both, something that might give pause to the three incumbents running (Green, Walsh, Johnson). On the other hand, not one incumbent lost in 2007 in the Northwest suburbs, including mayors and council members.

A quick scan of the names turned up no campaign web sites for the challengers nor much else of value so I'm going to have to wait for a presumed candidate forum and Sun Newspaper profiles. Meanwhile, what am I looking for in a candidate?

Incumbency is a consideration, generally a plus, as turning all four seats would be too much change, including the loss of the Chair and former Chair. At least one winner will be a new face, almost always desirable, and maybe two is better still. So yes, I'm thinking along the lines of two plus two.

Definitely a negative is anyone currently working for the District as licensed staff, a clear conflict of interest. The rest comes down to issues.

I paid about as much attention to the DFL's recent "Leadership" summit as did the Governor. The agenda was plain enough, to embarrass the Governor into relenting on fiscal responsibility, to sign the DFL tax increases instead of vetoing them.

Finally catching up with "Almanac" I saw the usual suspects like Arne Carlson, but I was almost shocked to see who else was there - former Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson and former House Speaker Dee Long. Both lost their positions for lying and in Long's case, trying to cover up a scandal, unsuccessfully, at our expense.

We're not that bad off in Minnesota that we need to take advice from the likes of these two.

Dennis Prager earns my web site subscription just on his unique ability to distill complex issues into their fundamentals - or their innate contradictions.

On the public option for health care he notes how President Obama and the other proponents proudly claim that it won't make a profit (evil!) and it won't run at a loss. Like a flipped coin landing on its edge, the government health care plan will somehow, by design, break exactly even.

Tuesday night's 2 1/2 hour District 281 School Board meeting spent 90 of those minutes on just one seemingly minor item: a revised Entrance Policy for its legendary Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (RSI) program. It was last updated in 1999.

Assistant Superintendent Gayle Walkowiak presented this first reading of the new policy, using a very understandable, annotated document. It was produced by a special 13 member task force that included Walkowiak and Board Chair Tom Walsh. The goal was to make the program more accessible to minorities, as the RSI elementary program is quite possibly the least diverse in the district.

Much as I like Gayle, her presentation was too long and too detailed. And this seemed to invite equally low level discussion by the Board, mostly on one paragraph, much of that on one word. And all of the discussion avoided the elephant in the living room, that RSI is not available to everyone in the district. Despite what the previous Superintendent mistakenly claimed more than once, that the program is open to everyone, there is a waiting list. Only the application form is open to everyone.

In fact, there is a lottery that selects the remaining students after various legacy, staff, and diversity set-asides are handed out. Most of the Board discussion was on just how many more such exceptions might be created by the new policy. But the big problem remains: not everyone can play. A second elephant is in the hall, too. Just why is RSI so popular?

Is this ultimately fair? Assuming there is still real value in the RSI concept (elephant number three), how do we say no to students who had their heart set on it, who have to watch others less motivated get in, solely on a roll of the dice?

I'm sure making hard work of this. After sounding defeating the State Fair, Labor Day weekend got the better of me, leaving me with quite the mountain to climb this week for the first down.

The irony is I feel so much better when I am under control. That's something Weight Watchers is focusing on more, "how are you feeling?" throughout the day. Sure, you're hungry now, but think ahead how you will feel if you stay or stray.

I ate too much last night, and it stayed with me until about noon today. Tonight, I'm eating broccoli and tuna, and it's just fine, and under budget. And I'll feel better tomorrow morning.

Obama's speech should be another motivator. There will be no hip replacements or knee surgery for most Americans when I need it if he gets his way, so I better treat my joints better.

Today started the 2009-2010 school year throughout Minnesota with a scant few exceptions granted to give 2010 construction projects more time. It was also the first "prime time" School Board meeting for the year in District 281, which I attended.

Given all the changes in the Robbinsdale district, everything went very smoothly. Nobody besides myself was present for "Listening Time" prior to the meeting. And the School Board reported no emails, either so far, the Administration maybe one or two. A few school buses ran behind schedule, not an uncommon situation on day one for multiple reasons.

The Obama speech also generated no difficulty or reaction. Part of the credit goes to the District for publishing their policy, something many others districts did not do. And credit certainly goes to the American people for forcing the President to remove the political content.

I could complain that the Board Meeting took longer than I think we all expected. I'll have more to say on the topic that consumed most of that time later this week. But long Board meetings are nothing new.

All in all, I'd say today was a complete success. Congratulations to the staff who worked through the many facilities and related changes, not to mention a change of Superintendent as well.

Labor Day is over, the State Fair is over, and in many ways, the Summer is over. As is my custom, I am again wearing long sleeve shirts and ties, until Memorial Day 2010. It's time to refocus, getting back to school, work, and football.

The media might get back to work, too, including talk radio. I hope this means KTLK-FM drops the Rockin' Weekend. I notice they didn't even carry the customary Best of Rush on Labor Day. And did you listen to any of this music? It sounds like "album rock" - all the other tracks that KQRS doesn't play. Maybe the royalties are cheaper.

Anyway, my favorite month of September has now begun in earnest!

I've posted before that we could do without some small cities in Minnesota. Fresh evidence is in a Minneapolis Star Tribune article about the city of New Trier, population 105. Forty homeowners are facing a $15,000 bill each to fix its "potholes and stretches of cracked, bowing and crumbling pavement" that link its 40 homes. As in Freeport, Minnesota, the city expects the State to pay for it, solely because they claim they cannot hope to pay for it themselves.

If the State of Minnesota does get involved, it should not throw good money after bad in this shrinking city (pop. 116 in 2000), especially if the city has been putting off this maintenance to create such a crisis. It should only be to unincorporate the city, relocate its residents, and reclaim the land for farming. Nearby are three growing cities of varying sizes, Hampton (pop. 763, 4 miles west), Cannon Falls (pop. 4076, 8 miles south) and Hastings (pop. 22941, 13 miles north).

There are dozens more of these cities in Minnesota. There are 95 cites with less than 100 population, the vast majority of which have lost population the past decade. About one third of our 854 cities account for just 1 percent of the urban population. The median city population is only about 650. Modern transportation and communications have obviated the need for many of them, many created when agriculture employed many times more people and the railroads needed frequent stops for coal and water.

Some larger cities should consider this as well. Osseo could be incorporated into Maple Grove, much like Morningside was into Edina. Crystal and New Hope who share a jigsaw border based on some old feud should merge. (Actually, a small portion of Crystal is landlocked inside New Hope!)

Two cities did unincorporate this decade, and two others merged together. As others have documented, we have way too many units of overlapping and/or unneeded government. It's time to rethink all this here in the 21st century.

Phil Krinkie from The Taxpayers League of Minnesota recently posed a fair and obvious question. What role did former GOP Representative Kathy Tingelstad's 2008 vote to override the Governor and thereby raise taxes have in securing her recent appointment as Anoka County's Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator?

Of the six Republican House members that sided with the Democrats against the Governor, two chose not to run for re-election, two were defeated at the polls, and two won easy re-election.

Of the two who chose not to run, one stepped aside with little fanfare, seeming to willingly accept responsibility for her transgressions. No one suspected that a little more than a year later she would receive an almost $90,000 a year job offer: a plum position with Anoka County—a metro county that would gain tens of millions in additional transit funds with the passage of the bill.

It certainly didn't hurt, but did it in fact help close the deal? Not at all says Anoka County Board Chair Dennis Berg.

In his short work of fiction, titled “The Payoff”, Mr. Krinkie suggests Kathy Tingelstad was appointed because of one vote in a career of thousands. That is simply ridiculous. It’s also insulting to the people of Anoka County who put their trust in her and re-elected her six times to her post in the legislature. We are proud of her record of representing the people of Anoka County.

First, there was nothing fictional in Krinkie's piece, just a statement of facts, and a reasonable supposition on how they may have come together to Tingelstad's and /or Anoka County's benefit. Berg denies this is what happened, that the Board did not make it known to Tingelstad that her vote to raise taxes would be well-received.

Second, Berg further notes that the position in question was not open at the time of the override vote. The current Coordinator, herself a former Legislator, only recently announced her retirement after 12 years in the position.

Third, both Krinkie and Berg agree there was nothing illegal done here in any case. But I'm sure both understand and have witnessed first hand how such behind the scenes arrangements are made, often with the best of intentions, often with excellent results.

I chalk it up to politics as usual, no matter how it actually played out. I'm sure Tingelstad, also a member of the Anoka-Hennepin School Board, will do a fine job for Anoka County, despite the bridges she burned enroute.

What puzzles me most is why Anoka County would even need an Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator. Just what vital functions would not be done, and are worth doing at well over $100 thousand a year in salary, benefits, and office expenses? It sure sounds like lobbying to me, primarily St. Paul lobbying. I'd like to remind Chair Berg of his statement that Tingelstad "was NOT elected by her party, her caucus or her governor. She was elected by her constituents[.]" Our elected representatives were not elected by the Anoka County Board, either. Where is Tingelstad's standing to represent Anoka's voters in lieu of its directly elected representatives?

Such questions of political impropriety are too often rooted in the very existence of political "plums" as Krinkie referred to them, one of which Kathy Tingelstad has now secured.

As of Friday, September 3, about 11 am, here's what I see on the Web regarding how some public school districts will be handling President Obama's Tuesday webcast.

Many of the largest - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Anoka-Hennepin, Bloomington, Rosemount - have yet to post any information. Neither have a number of other suburban districts. Some have, however:

Osseo (279):

We have advised school leaders in ISD 279 to do the following if they are considering showing the President’s speech:

1. First, review a recorded version of the speech and then decide if it will be shown in school at a future date
2. Review the classroom activities created by the U.S. Dept of Education to accompany the message.
3. Then, if teachers wish to show the President’s message, they should notify parents/guardians in advance, allowing parents who do not want their child to view the speech during the school day to opt out by sending a signed note to school.

Robbinsdale (281):

The district is not directing teachers to take time out of a busy first day of school to listen to the President, nor should they feel compelled to alter the school day to accommodate the speech.

However, the district has notified schools that use of the curriculum materials and the presentation is at the discretion of individual classroom teachers and principals for Tuesday or as part of a future lesson plan.

District schools do allow parents to opt their child out of a classroom instruction or activity. Schools may provide alternative materials when this occurs.

Wayzata (284):

We will not be directing schools to take time out of the first day of school to listen to the message. Individual teachers may choose to include the message within their plan for the day as an instructional choice but Wayzata Public Schools is not requiring nor banning the use of the President’s message. If you have more questions regarding this matter, contact your child’s principal.

Hopkins (270):

There is no districtwide plan to present the President's message. We are not directing our schools to take time out of a busy school day to listen to the President, nor are they going to alter the school day to accommodate the speech. However, we have notified schools that use of the curriculum materials and the presentation is at the discretion of individual classroom teachers and principals, either on Tuesday or as part of a future lesson plan.

We are confident with the discretion our teachers have in their lesson planning that they will develop and present materials that are aligned with Minnesota educational standards and objectives of the curriculum.

As with any other curriculum, topic or activity, if parents do not want their children to be part of the curriculum, the teacher is expected to provide alternative materials or activities.

Spring Lake Park (16):

We’ve had a few parents and staff members ask if we were going to set aside time for our students to listen to this approximately 15-minute message. The answer is that we are not setting aside time to do so as this is our first day of school, and all time spent between teaching staff and students is vital for getting the school year off to a positive start.

When reading or listening to the words of those on the Left, I know I'm being misled when I see even a passing reference to Haliburton, a liberal code word for all Bush 43 ills great and small. In a Minneapolis Star Tribune commentary, Rockford High School Principal Ryan Jensen demonstrates another way to extinguish all credibility: quote New York Times columnist and alleged economist Paul Krugman:

Reaganomics was grounded in lowering taxes and deregulating business, which was supposed to lead to prosperity for everyone. But, according to Krugman, this did not happen. And the [Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP)] has consistently opposed any of the Legislature's attempts at increasing revenues by raising taxes because it claims it would hurt business in the state. It would appear that Reaganomics is alive and well at the MBP.

Jensen is old enough to remember the 1980's, including the Carter malaise that began the decade. But rather than believe the events he witnessed first hand, the rising tide that indeed lifted all boats, he now blindly accepts Krugman's revisionist, self-serving, and false account. What did Jensen know then and when did he stop knowing it?

Sure enough, the rest of his piece is an exercise in opaque thinking, even some surprisingly opaque writing for a principal, leading to - surprise! - another call for more money, more resources, yes, more investment in our public schools. The irony is that in building on Krugman's widely discredited work, Jensen may have done his cause more harm than good.

It's Wednesday, Weight Watchers weigh-in day. After a big setback last week, I bounced back, losing 5.4 pounds. And this included a trip to the State Fair and a lot of pizza on another night!

So now it's third down and 9 yards to go in my system, meaning I have 2 weeks left to lose another 4.4 pounds to get my next first down.

What do politicians always say, the cover-up does more damage than the charge? Faced with two teachers who repeatedly, personally mocked a student, the Anoka-Hennepin School District first tried "corrective action" paired with a $ 25,000 judgment against the District. District parents wanted more, i.e., outright dismissal. At a minimum, they insisted their children not be in any class those two led.

Now we learn that the two teachers were placed on leave. The attorney for teacher Diane Cleveland claimed this was voluntary on her part, indefinite and unpaid. No word yet on the other, Walter Filson. Substitute teachers are being hired to at least start their classes next week. But at the moment, it would appear that either could be re-instated at some point, like after the November 2009 Referendum perhaps?

The District continues to hide behind alleged privacy requirements rather than take the final, seemingly obvious step of permanently replacing these teachers. Just what is the issue? The disciplinary action to date and the financial settlement would appear to concede their guilt. The charge is serious, having forced the student to transfer to another school.

As the parents correctly infer, the District's slow, vague, even mysterious response to date suggests such an incident could happen again.

President Obama is the opposite of Reagan's "hedgehog" that did a few things well, taking on too much, and so far not a win in sight. The latest is his web cast to the nation's school children on September 8. John Hinderaker calls it "inexpressibly lame--President Obama at his geekiest." Hugh Hewitt calls it "a terrible idea, and ought to be abandoned ..." But it's always different when it's a Democrat.

Many parents will object to this obviously political event; Obama conducts no other kind. Some parents will demand that their students be excused. I think the School Districts themselves have to make the first decision, however, whether to participate or not. As Hewitt noted, had President George W. Bush tried such a stunt, he would have been ridiculed. Many districts would have refused, and correctly so.

But as I said, the rules are always different for Democrats. The President is a Democrat. Most School Districts are run by Democrats. The unions are heavily Democratic. The show must go on.

Private schools are free to choose, accountable to their customers either way. But Minnesota's public schools should decline the President's invitation for what it is, a political event. Acceptance says that some district residents' views are more valued than others. In any case, to participate is a pointless distraction on the first day of school.