Archive for August, 2007
Friday, August 31st, 2007
The Republican Convention will be coming to St. Paul in the next few months and the associated costs are to result in about a $13 million short fall in the city’s budget. Because the expected economic benefit extends far beyond the city’s border while infrastructure costs are largely placed exclusively on the city, the state legislature provided funding in the tax bill ear-marked for the convention. The governor vetoed this. Now the city must find the funding from somewhere else. I have some ideas:
–This is a Republican convention. They don’t believe in government. Why then, are they asking for the government to be involved? Make them pay for it themselves and provide their own security. I shouldn’t have to pay for a big Republican fundraising wank-fest info-mercial.
–Because Republicans believe that the private sector and economic growth are the only ways of solving poverty, they should hire the homeless and needy over at the Dorothy Day Center across from the Excel to provide security and other staffing needs.
–Because Republicans believe everyone is safer when everyone has a gun, guns should be mailed to everyone in the city and passed out at every corner around the convention, with ammunition kiosks scattered about free of charge. Also, because Republicans are big on “freedom”, there should be no barriers preventing the free movement of people anywhere in the city.
–”User Fees” should be levied on all escort services, pharmacies, and men’s rest rooms.
That’s my short list. Anyone else have any ideas?
Posted by jim r at 10:27 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | 10 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Posted by jim r at 11:04 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | 8 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Posted by jim r at 8:54 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | 3 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Posted by jim r at 4:46 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
Posted by jim r at 2:38 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
1) Triple Rock Social Club
$2.50 pints weekdays from 4-7
2) Dubliner Pub
Apparently there is a happy hour but nobody ever knows what it is or what it counts for. JFK would like a Harp.
3) Pizza Luce–Downtown
Half-price pints and -$2 on appetizers for happy hour until 7 every night I think.
4) Grumpy’s NE
Not sure if they have a happy hour, but it is a cool bar and they sponsor a bike team that has a bunch of cool people on it.
Feel free to provide your own suggestions and debate me on this one…I might be forgetting something or someone.
Posted by jim r at 2:14 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | 8 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
When I first moved to the Twin Cities I frequently found myself bored and listless. Of course, I blamed the space and the culture rather than myself, because, after all, who doesn’t seek to place blame elsewhere? At any rate, over the past few years I have begun to warm to the beauty of the space, and realize that the amount of public investment and desire to live in a “liveable community” really makes the Twin Cities a great place to live (don’t get me wrong: I will still complain whenever I get the chance). Unlike other places where I have lived–where it seems like nature is essentially bulldozed in order to be replaced by human space–, the human space is integrated into nature here. There are a number of places you can go and forget you are even in the middle of an international population base of over 2.5 million people. Lakes and the rivers have been protected as belonging to the public (where in other cities lakes like Calhoun, Harriet, and Como etc. would be the back yards of the wealthy) and an extensive system of interconnected trails can take you from one end of the cities to the other. Of course, this type of system is an investment that costs a lot of money to have and maintain, but people generally understand that, and are willing to pay for it and see that it is a good value.
I use this system fairly extensively, including on my commute to work where I try to ride at least three days a week. I certainly feel better when I am car-less. Rather than stuck in traffic, this is what I get to see:
Pedestrian bridge over Minnehaha Creek
Minnehaha Falls
The Mississippi
Ford Plant–will be closing in the next few months
GP-For those of you not from the Twin Cities, this is the only bike shop in town (Grand and Prior).
These are neighbors who are against the burner. I do not know what the burner is.
Summit Avenue
The Cathedral
MnDOT–Notice the caution fences and overhead protectors around the building and entrances. These are not because they are working on the building, they are because they are not. The granite slabs on the exterior are crumbling off and in danger of falling off completely, as well as other structural problems with the building. Funding has been approved by the legislature at least once now, if not twice, only to be vetoed by the Governor.
The capitol–A little ways behind it is where I end my morning journey.
Posted by jim r at 11:33 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | 7 Comments »
Thursday, August 30th, 2007
You really have to work at not having anything better to do.
Posted by jim r at 10:04 am in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
In a blockbuster move, the White House announced that it has traded two of its most prominent criminals to FOX News for undisclosed compensation and future consideration. It is expected that Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzalez will join Oliver “Ollie” North and other criminals on the FOX News team in the next couple of months. Karl Rove will be a commentator on campaign finance and government security, while Gonzalez is expected to fill the slot designated for international law expertise. After all, who knows better than somebody who violates a law what the law actually is.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed; however, it is believed that part of the compensation for Gonzalez and Rove is payback for FOX News’ trade of Tony Snow to the White House. Additional compensation is rumored to be a “snow-job” in an undisclosed bathroom at MSP International Airport. It is also rumored that this has been Dick Cheney’s hiding place since 9/11. According to sources he is serving as the administration’s “designated hitter”.
Posted by jim r at 6:47 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Posted by jim r at 5:43 pm in Mobile Post | Permalink | No Comments »
