One week now until the DFL precinct caucuses. Here are some handy sites to help you find your way there.
Sir Elton John says Saturday night's alright for fighting so maybe there will be some pre-convention show downs at the "Straw Poll" happening tomorrow.
Hey ladies! Fight for your right to be a power-mongering, syncophant-rewarding asshole too!
Sarah Janacek seems to raise the hackles of knee-jerk reactionaries like few others. So her column about female candidates, particularly Amy Klobuchar, not being judged by some ridiculous double standard blew people's minds.
But before joining other feminists in applause because she's seen the light, let's take a moment for a Prog Prog annecdote;
The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota Public Broadcasting is suing over the "The Current" radio station. Seems they have a trademark infringement beef with Current TV's name.
Current TV, which was co-founded by Al Gore, is a cable/satellite channel and website featuring alternative news and "citizen journalism" by amateurs who send in their news and videos. Both entities routinely use only "current" as an identifier.
Why should we care? We really shouldn't, other than both are great and hopefully these public paragons don't tear each other down (whoa ... for a second there I thought I was talking about the convention endorsement battles). While not entirely frivolous I don't see this working out for MPR. I base this on the Fox network empire never suing anyone over the use of the word "Fox", especially considering all the radio stations who call themselves "the fox" (thus setting up a similar media vs. media comparison). And after the whole "fair and balanced" fiasco they had with Al Franken, you know they probably tried.
This cartoon off of Current TV cracked me up (the others in the series aren't that great)
Prognosis Boring - Judge throws out the suit.
Prognosis Extreme - Current TV forced to change name back to original INdTV and pay court fees back to MPR.
Prognosis Ludicrous - Current TV counter-sues and wins. Judge awards plaintiff both the public radio station and half of Bemidji as settlement.
Prognosis Progressive - Just listen/watch and all will be well.
Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription ... is more Ford Bell! See the original SNL cowbell sketch
Sorry folks, but the Bell radio ads are gettin' to me.
If you listen to Air American out of the Twin Cities you probably heard the first and second commercials. With a loud bell sound, followed by a woman saying, "clear as a bell" the ad snaps you out of the commercial block haze. My first reaction was "cheesy", but they're growing on me, much like the Will Ferrell/Christopher Walken sketch.
Now there are four more, though I don't know if they're on the radio yet. Until then check out the other 4 ads on the front page of Bell's website.
After a 3-day weekend in which workers' complaints were received and systematically ignored, tomorrow might be the most uncomfortable Tuesday morning in Hennepin County courthouse history.
In spite of Local 2938's objections, the AFSCME Council 5 once again endorsed Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. Local 2938, which represents about half of the 400 employees in the Hennepin County attorney's office (including investigators and 112 non-management lawyers), was similarly snubbed four years ago when it asked Council 14 to withhold the endorsement from Klobuchar.
These recent events center on two of my favorite subjects - Democrats and unions - and more specifically why these two subjects have drawn ire and become less effective over the last two decades.
I believe that this slow downfall is mainly brought on by a disconnect and unresponsiveness between the organizations and the very people they attempt to serve. In short, they're no longer populist.
Some of this simply bad education and poor public relation efforts. Ironically, neo-conservatives have expertly misinformed and been responsive to the demographic groups liberals espouse to help. This is why you'll often hear party hacks moan, "why do people vote against their own best interests?" They're voting for the people who speak to them, not those who try to speak for them.
At the center of this is the political hack or organizer. Often the same person will bounce between working for unions and then Party, bringing with them their peculiar allegiances. This insider track leads to a cycle of endorsement recommendations for candidates who play ball with the party and candidates getting insider knowledge to get endorsements. But often left out of this loop is the membership. This is by no-way all encompassing, and the overwhelming majority of organizers want to see people enjoy a higher quality of life, but denial can't hide that it happens.
Having said all that, let's go to the dueling AFSCME letters, articles and some other statements made in the last 2 days. Then I'll give my final prognosis.
(AP) MINNEAPOLIS - The local union representing the staff of Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar is asking its parent group, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, not to endorse her in her bid for the U.S. Senate.
Jim Appleby, an assistant Hennepin County attorney and local union president, said in a letter to union leaders this month that Klobuchar had denigrated lawyers at her office publicly and privately, taken credit for their work and "created a hostile work environment."
The two-page letter said Klobuchar's management style had resulted in increased grievances and that she used successfully prosecuted cases to give the public the false impression that she was actively involved in those cases.
The local union represents more than 300 employees in the office, including investigators, paralegals and all 112 of its non-management attorneys.
"Has it made some people angry that I've done some things differently? Yes," said Klobuchar, who held the office since 1999.
Klobuchar said the focus of the discontent seemed to be last year's contract negotiations and the charge that she did not support a wage increase for those employees.
But Appleby disagreed.
"It's about how our people are treated in the workplace," he said.
He said the union also asked that Klobuchar be denied endorsement in 2002, when she was running for re-election. That request was ignored, he said.
Veterinarian Ford Bell is also seeking to be the DFL nominee. The likely Republican candidate is U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, who faces only token opposition in his own party.
