Secrets of the City

When does someone change their mind and when does someone flip-flop? Is there a difference, besides tone?

Good for Grow. Big enough to own up to it. He knows the downside. And there won’t be any bloated bellied children, begging for milk, surrounding Torii Hunter, who will be kicking them aside a he strides into a new ballpark.

I thought the state was getting involved so the county could ostensibly act quickly and fund a ballpark without the state-required referendum. The real reason was that it wouldn’t survive a vote, of course — and by now, we could’ve had that done. I don’t want to pay the PET™ (Pohlad Extortion Tax). This billionaire expects us to buy the better part of a new ballpark for him, or he’s going to sell off the team he’s neglected for years.

I took some photos of the RollerGirls on Saturday. It was the first time I went, by the way, and was a blast.

Al Franken, the marxist dwarf and alleged comedian, would be the perfect candidate for the democrat party. The whole party’s a bad joke.

Sure, in comparison to Republicans, the Democratic party looks bad. I mean, how do you compete with the party of pork-barrel spending, collapsing economy, wars of choice built on mountains of lies, prisoner torture, and discussions of nuclear war with Iran. It’s just so darn sexy! They shoplift, hit on teenage girls over the Internet, and play guitar while New Orleans drowns! They’re rebels!

The numbers on women leaving the work force are interesting, especially when you consider that despite the trend Minnesota jobs continue to grow as to income tax revenues. That leaves me wondering if there’s a gender breakdown in new job statistics to see if women are STAYING out of the workforce or just dropping out temporarily to raise their kids. I also have to wonder what will happen in 5 or 6 years – will these women look to re-enter the workforce and leave us with a flood of job seekers that artificially raises the unemployment rate? (I’m not an expert on how we determine the unemployment rate)

“I don’t want to pay the PET” (Pohlad Extortion Tax).”

It’s so small you won’t even know that you did it.

Wow I never knew dtester was a democrat hater!

I guess I didn’t notice the other 10,000 comments made that were exactly the same. If you can say something nice, or at least original or funny why don’t you just STFU.

Al Franken, the marxist dwarf and alleged comedian, would be the perfect candidate for the democrat party.

I’m sure you missed a few talking points there. Take a few more sips of kool-aid, and I’m sure they’ll come back to you.

The rest of us will think for ourselves thank you!

“I guess I didn’t notice the other 10,000 comments made that were exactly the same. If you can say something nice, or at least original or funny why don’t you just STFU.”

If that were the qualifications for political comments on MNSpeak we would have very quiet conversations.

And for what it’s worth, I have thought for myself about Al Franken and came to the same conclusion, I don’t think he’s very funny and he’s well left of where I generally fall. But that’s just be being not nice and repetitive.

Franken has yet to make me laugh, or interest me enough to look further to find out if he’s really funny.

That said, we need a Democrat to beat Norm Coleman. If he’s the man to do it, then he’s the man to do it.

Having been to see Hamlet at the Guthrie, I can say that it’s a fabulous production and if any of you haven’t been to see it yet you should try to nab some tickets before its run is over. The early 20th century setting works remarkably well and the costumes that go with it are great. Plus the actors are good, which never hurts. ( ;

I would prefer no political conversations to partisan name calling.
That really doesn’t really add anything.

I would like to know how dtester feels about Franken’s take on issues such as a living wage, free trade or universal healthcare.

I am exhausted by the idea of seeing another Hamlet (I saw seven prouctions in one year a few years ago, and got to the point where, when Hamlet says “To be or not to be,” I wanted to shout “Not to be!”). And I’m tired of productions that place Shakespeare in another decade — it’s too gimmicky for my tastes.

The Rat: I don’t care if it costs me a dime I picked up off the street, it’s extortion. Pohlad has been holding the team hostage for nearly a decade, by slashing payroll (somehow failing to completely torpedo the team thus far) and threatening to sell, move, or dissolve the team. How much longer until he resorts to sending in players’ fingers and toes to the Capitol?

The people who want a new ballpark for the Twins can help finance the game quite easily: go to the goddamn games. Spend $10 on the “cheap seats” in a privately financed stadium, and the thing will pay for itself. The majority of Hennepin voters like myself have a legally enshrined right to vote against the PET™, but the county government is doing its very best to deny it.

Let the Twins leave.

If they can’t make a profit in a market economy without government subsidies and taxing us all, F them. Let them fail and go somewhere else.

From what I’ve seen, Franken is quite a good name caller. Not sure he ever got out of the 3rd grade.

Man oh man. I’m all for political discussion, but not this kind of stuff.

Come on, MNSpeak! We’re better than the rest of the internet!

Hey, how did you get the TM like that?

Funny how people are so against a Twins Stadium, but when it comes to extortion for a choo choo train to nowhere that’s going to perpetual money pit they’re all for it. Oh yea, maybe we can get another wonderful superintendent that we’ll have buy out. Point is, there are worse things that our leaders spend money on. At least the Twins Stadium generates jobs and economic activity.

Franken shouldn’t run cuz he can’t win.

Coleman is the Anti-Christ.

Solution?

Jesse Ventura for Senate!

I may be the only person the Twin Cities to listen to Air America, but I agree with a lot of Franken says. He is consistent and honest. I have read one of his books. I don’t always find him funny, but I do find it funny how much people hate him simply for pointing out how much and how often the right wing lies.

So what are you saying Domenic?

That most Liberals are thoughtful, insightful intellectuals and most Conservatives are Jack Booted Bullies who refuse to see (or awknowledge) the OVERWHELMING TRUTH that their policies are flawed, immoral, and/or inspired by hate?

No! You’re not saying that at all.

I am!

Happy Hump Day!

“I don’t care if it costs me a dime I picked up off the street, it’s extortion.”

It’s a public/private partnership. They’re done every day around the country.

“Pohlad has been holding the team hostage for nearly a decade,”

If we would have given in a decade ago, it would have been finished and cheaper than it is now.

My reasons? Purely personal. The Twins are my team. As a fellow sports fan, though not necessarily baseball, you must understand the emotional capital we all invest in our teams.

the same people who say Franken can’t get elected are the ones who said Ventura couldn’t–establishment partisans.

that said, the people who voted for Ventura: Would they vote for Franken? the question is really whether Franken can get the nomination, cuz everyone knows what’s coming for the Republican party in the 06 and 08. a big fat shit sandwich for all the stunts they’ve pulled for the past decade.

Wow, if goofballs and raindog are examples of the insightful, intellectual, compassionate liberals, sign me up with DFL immediately.

Politics is a place for tough talkers, Fred.

I think the issue with most political based comments on here (and most everywhere) is that people tend to lump groups and stereotype instead of actually thinking about issues, people, etc.

Conservatives have little in common with the present administration.
I don’t think anyone believes that record spending is conservative and I don’t think every last liberal is a Democrat. Let’s try to stick to talking issues and ideas instead of moronic talking points.

vote against the PET”…

Seriously, how did you get the TM like that?

the ™ symbol is done by the ampersand symbol (shift 7) trade and semicolon.

Like this, but remove the periods: &.trade.;

Hal, surely you can come up with a better reason for a taxpayer fiananced Twins stadium than your “Well…we paid for a train!” strawman.

Simply put, there is no good reason why a billionaire should ask us to pay for facilities for his business if he can’t run it profitably. The jobs that will go away with the Twins lay at the feet of the billionaire, not the taxpayers.

Raindog -

You did say it. I agree. I did not until recently however. Once the the Republicans controlled every aspect of the government and the deficit balooned and new jobs were crappy or nonexistent and very few within their party spoke out about it – then I became more comfortable with your word “most”.

™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™

Let’s look at the differences between the Twins ballpark and a Vikings stadium:

I live in Uptown — a Twins ballpark would cost me money, while Anoka County citizens foot the bill for a Vikings stadium.
Advantage: Vikings

The Twins ballpark project is just a ballpark that the Twins drew up and get a big subsidy to build. The Vikings stadium is part of a larger development project, and it was put together with input from the county (so it has features like a retractable roof). That’s a real public/private partnership.
Advantage: Vikings

The Twins are worth about $127 million dollars, to the Vikings valuation of $604M. ¹
Advantage: Vikings

And as usual, I think pro football is way more awesome than baseball. You can watch a football game at the leisurely speed of golf, or a baseball game moving at a glacial pace. And you always see the best available players on NFL gameday, instead of being at the whim of whatever matchup the five man rotation happens to piece together that particular day. Of course, it’s still a subjective category, but I can’t help but put baseball down when I get the chance.
Advantage: tie

Let’s try to stick to talking issues and ideas instead of moronic talking points.

Oh, you mean like:

- Conservatives have little in common with the present administration.

I’m a conservative and I fully support this administration because even though he’s compromised too many times with the opposition, at least he’s not a cowardly and immoral democrat.

- I don’t think anyone believes that record spending is conservative

They do when they agree we’re at war. Liberals refuse to believe we’re at war or they’re in denial, which is certainly a viable explanation for their disconnect from reality.

- I don’t think every last liberal is a Democrat.

True. But none are republicans.

I love baseball. Wrigley Field is one of my favorite places on earth.

But those who suggest the Twins should leave if they can’t compete without ’subsidies” are correct.

This market, due to it’s (smaller) size and very unique sociological / psychographic tendencies, is barely able to support four pro leagues along with all the college sports AND all the other entertainment options that are out there.

The marketplace moved the Expos to Washington, and it will move the Twins to Vegas.

All the bandwagon riders of the 87 and 91 Twins success – well, they won’t be there at tonight’s game, and the attendance NOW in the early season, when it’s nice out, means EVERYTHING.

Bottom line is – this ain’t a baseball town.

The name calling just continues.

he’s not a cowardly and immoral democrat

I’m glad I just direct people to your screed to to make my point.

You need help.

They do when they agree we’re at war. Liberals refuse to believe we’re at war or they’re in denial, which is certainly a viable explanation for their disconnect from reality.

How would anyone know we’re at war, other than families with loved ones dying over there? The only thing we’ve been asked to do in support of it is to go shopping, with our nice fat tax refunds. Oh yeah, those magnet ribbons too. And all the brave Republicans fighting so courageously at their keyboards.

Maybe we’re not asked to help finance it –the regular way, with taxes– because then we might begin to ask uncomfortable questions. like, for starters: WTF are we doing babysitting an Arab civil war?

™

Suh-weet.

There’s this one, too! ©

Making sure they don’t bring the war over here.

Like they did on 9/11.

REMEMBER?

Who is “they” Do you mean Al Queda? Because the 9/11 commission (appointed by Republicans) found that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al Queda. Plenty of Democrats supported Afganistan and too many went along on Iraq. The actual cowardice of the party is probably reflected by their unwillingness to challenge the Iraq logic at the time. I made an agreement with my grandparents that I’d admit to being wrong if they found WMDs and they agreed to admit being wrong if we didn’t. Now my grandpa says “I’d rather fight them over there than over here”. The fact is “they” were not a threat to us – not in Iraq. The war on terror has been executed horribly.

Making sure they don’t bring the war over here.

I forget, we invaded Iraq right?

And its been proven that they had nothing to do with 9/11.

And its been shown that there were no WMD’s.

And no link has been shown between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

I’m confused!

Little Bud, are you saying Iraq attacked us on 9/11 or that all camel jockeys are alike?

Look, all I’m sayin’ is this: What if tomorrow we uncover a huge complex in Iraq, 25 meters underground, that manufactures Iraqi Mass Destruction Robot Warriors. All I’m sayin’ is, that would be the end of the discussion right there. I think we can all agree on that. *Everyone nods and shakes neighbors’ hands*

Taylor, you are crackin’ me up!

look out boys and girls here comes the liberal mnspeak lynch mob and get ready for a reprimand from the powers that be that it was the conservatives that started it

they’ll be bitchin’ about all the web traffic and rex’ll take his toys and go home

I’ve staid out to this point but I can’t let this go by:

And no link has been shown between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

The recent declassification of intelligence documents potentially indicates otherwise. We also know there were WMDs because he used them and had intent to rebuild many of his programs as soon as he could flip enough UN members to start lifting sanctions.

W/that I’ll leave the discussion by saying I think there were a lot of interesting news items today (the women in the workforce story) and the way this converstaion has gone is utterly stupid.

OK hawks, we’re fighting terrorists, right? Fighting the US military in the Middle East is antithetical to two important principles of terrorism: attacking vulnerabilities and the element of surprise. Terrorists choose the battlefield, terrorist choose the terms.

We’re not “fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here” — they’ll attack where they choose, thank you very much. And just because the US military is the greatest force in the world, but that’s only for fighting other militaries, and not necessarily famine, disease, or terrorists.

Well, if there’s a potential indication after the fact, that’s good enough for me!

I’ll agree with Kevin. To a point. Lots of good news stories today. My original f/u post was going to be that Bat Girl makes me laugh. I also respect the fact that he is disputing facts – whether or not I agree with them at least he doesn’t just name call and say 9/11, 9/11. Kevin – if you get a chance to link to the declassified info – I’d love to see it.

Enough of this political bull. Let’s hate on Rondell White for a while.

OK, even I don’t like where this discussion devolved to. We’ve got a kick arse art crawl this weekend, photos of Roller Girls, and cows getting robotic love, and we end up kvetching about terrorism. Shit, I do that enough on my own blog.

I hate it when I agree with Kevin.

Cool photos Max. I did a story on the RollerGirls when they competed in Coon Rapids. Somehow, it seemed more fitting in CR. Anyway, I’m glad they’re doing well.

speaking of “tiny” local sales taxes to pay for projects, why not try out that great technique on something USEFUL like LRT to st paul? (which happens to actually be a public service, unlike a stadium)

Why, with the funds from such a tiny sales tax you could built an entire light rail system!! It’s not like it’s never been done before.

But then again, I forget sometimes I’m in the Land of the MOA Waddlers.

sigh.

“You can watch a football game at the leisurely speed of golf, or a baseball game moving at a glacial pace.”

When I was younger, I had a shorter attention span, too.

“And you always see the best available players on NFL gameday..”

Along with the accompanying sideshow, which resembles professional wrestling more year after year.

Tri, Look for that as soon as we figure out how private enterprise can make money on every LRT ticket sold.

Should we fight the so-called “war on terrorism” by holding Israel accountable for its dehumanization and displacement of Palestinians, thereby upholding American ideals and proving to right-minded Arabs that we value their human rights?

Or should we fight the “war on terrorism” by treating our armed forces as Israel’s proxy army and sending them from Baghdad to Tehran to Damscus to . . .

In due time, Tom. In due .

oops. missed the link. In due time.

Rex took his toys to Seattle™

And there was even more support for what I’ve believed, then backed up (to a point). The article on the ‘dome actually states that the Vikings are its best revenue generator.

And you don’t need any kind of attention span to watch baseball, unless you’re trying to finish up a book in those lengthy interludes between the “action”.

Go to the art crawl this weekend. Attendance has been down this past few years and the St. Paul Art Collective wouldn’t know a marketing plan if it bit them on their collective asses.

Go buy some stuff.

If it’s like the Uptown Art Fair I’ve never been able to see where the line is between art and merchandise.

“unless you’re trying to finish up a book in those lengthy interludes between the “action”.”

A least the commercial breaks are timed for innings and pitching changes. With football, you never know when the “action” might be intense marketing.

That said, the cheerleaders are cute.

I’m a Saints fan. When do they get a bazillion dollar stadium?

When they make it to The Show

Like the stickers used to say:
IT’S NOT UPTOWN
IT’S NOT ART
IT’S NOT FAIR

I still like to call it the Uptown Fart Air, but I certainly wouldn’t abolish it — why should St. Paul have a monopoly on non-event events like Grand Old Day and the Winter Carnival?

SKIP M-PSIFF
Just a reminder to the city of Minneapolis, boycott what is certainly the poorest showing of an international film festival in the country. One hijacked by Tim Grady for his own purposes. Why give him your money if he doesn’t want yours. When the people of this fair city offered him some in exchange for programs they wanted he turned it down. He doesn’t have your interest in mind. Only his own. AVOID ATTENDING AT ALL COSTS. In fact protest at the venues and I will guarantee he’ll try to call the cops on you. What a righteous son of a bitch, he doesn’t even understand free speech. Such a man should not own a publishing company. Berlusconi of the Twin Cities!