April Knight

Farewell

2010-07-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

We are incredibly saddened to share the news that Colleen Sue Downey Morse (aka April Knight) died on Monday, July 12 at age 60 due to complications from the chemotherapy she was receiving for her brain tumor. She spent her final hours surrounded by family members who love her very much. We will gather to remember her at 10:00am on Sunday, July 18 at the Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 North Lexington Parkway, St Paul, MN.If you would like to make a donation in her memory, her preference was for Greenpeace, World Vision, or St. Jude's Hospital.

ANOTHER PRESS RELEASE FROM MARK DAYTON CAMPAIGN

2010-07-02T15:24:00.000-05:00

Dayton Calls on Mn/DOT to End all Contracting with Allegedly Negligent Firm URS St. Paul, MN: Mark Dayton today called on the Minnesota Department of Transportation to end all contracting with allegedly negligent firm URS. The private contracting giant has been the defendant in several closed and ongoing lawsuits alleging that they cut corners and failed to do their job because they did not determine from multiple inspections that the I-35W bridge was unsafe and in imminent danger of collapse. At the time of the tragic bridge collapse on August 1, 2007, URS had been under contract with Mn/DOT since 2003 to inspect and analyze the strength of the structure. Internal URS e-mail messages which were subsequently made public showed both alleged negligence and incompetence. In one such e-mail message, written in 2006, URS engineer Ed Zhou acknowledged that URS “will not calculate actual capacities of all the [bridge] connections since that is too much work, although that provides the most accurate results.” In another URS memo from a 2006 meeting on the bridge’s safety, the company noted that if gusset plate buckling were to occur, “it is not catastrophic.” Gusset plate failure is widely believed to be the reason why the 35-W bridge fell down. "I am concerned that Ed [Zhou] is trying a little too hard to advise MnDOT that the (I-35W) bridge is okay even though it is clearly overstressed by today's design criteria," URS Project Manager Don) Flemming wrote in another internal URS memo. In spite of several lawsuits alleging negligence, Mn/DOT has awarded 47 contracts worth over $9 million to URS since the bridge collapse. Several of those contracts related directly to ongoing bridge work, and URS even was given contracts for the I-35W replacement bridge after the previous structure collapsed. “Mn/DOT’s continuing relationship is a clear failure of state government,” said Dayton. “It’s terribly wrong that contracts would continue to be awarded at taxpayers’ expense to a firm that the State sued for such a horrible catastrophe. I call on Mn/DOT to immediately stop awarding contracts to URS. If a contractor fails to perform, it should not get another contract.” Dayton also said that the URS contracts shine light on the larger problems of outsourcing government responsibilities to private firms. Mn/DOT reported that it awarded $118 million in contracts to private firms in the FY08-09 biennium. Dayton said, “My budget proposal would reduce by half outsourcing by all state agencies, which totaled over $850 million in the last biennium. That work should be performed by public employees at lower cost to taxpayers and with greater accountability. MnDOT’s excessive contracting is the place to start.” Those contracts are far from transparent, as Dayton staff were directed first to the “Bid Letting” department, then to “Consultant Services,” and finally to “Contract Management Services.” In the end, hours of searching only yielded a short list of links to five URS contracts dating back to August of 2008. The actual copies of the five contracts were unavailable, even though they were listed under the heading, “Taxpayers’ Transportation Accountability Act Notices.”

Press Release from Mark Dayton's Campaign

2010-06-29T18:01:00.001-05:00

Dayton Campaign Releases Two New TV Ads

Today, Mark Dayton's campaign for Governor released two new television ads, which will be running statewide.

You can view the ads by visiting the following link: http://markdayton.org/mainsite/video-archives/2010/06/29/2-new-tv-ads/

THREE DFL CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR

2010-06-28T07:02:00.014-05:00

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Matt Entenza

Mark Dayton

(I'm not playing favorites by making this last picture so large. I don't think this website takes .gif or .bitmap.)

All DFLers will have to decide very soon who they are going to vote for to be our next governor. How will each Primary voter decide? Here are the usual ways, not in any particular order.

1. Issues

2. Name recognition

3. Endorsed candidate

4. Voter contact on the campaign trail

5. Videos and websites

6. Personal charisma (which includes how much the voter "loves" the candidate; you hear a lot of that on Facebook and on the campaign trail

7. Past success in political experience

8. Whether the voter even wants to vote in the Primary, or whether the voter is too fed up with politics to do so. What the percentage is of voters who actually show up at the Primary makes a big difference in who gets elected.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - Kelliher obviously knows all the issues inside and out. She has no problems whatsoever there. She is gaining some name recognition but doesn't have nearly as much as Dayton. Will her DFL cohorts and supporters donate enough money for her to win this campaign? If so, they'd better get hopping.

I'll just meander down the list for each candidate. This is better than trying to walk slowly down the hallway while holding on to the wall.

Kelliher is obviously the endorsed candidate, which does give her an edge. Will it be enough? Keep tuned...

Kelliher's voter contact on the campaign trail does not seem to be as good as Dayton's. Dayton is all over the place. Not only that, but everyone already knows who he is.

Videos are excellent from the Dayton Campaign...websites not so good at all.

Personal charisma is something you never heard many people talk about with regard to Mark Dayton. He's doing something right now, though, because everywhere I go I hear people (mostly women) say "I love him!" While Kelliher's momentum is growing, she just doesn't have that personal charisma that people look for. Like R. T. Rybak has, for example.

Past success in political experience was exceptionally good with Margaret Anderson Kelliher. She knows an incredible amount about Minnesota politics. As far as knowledge and experience, she can definitely get the job done.

It sure seems that there are a lot of people who are disillusioned with the world of politics. The best thing to do is to get out there and get your people to vote!

Matt Entenza - Matt is very good on clean, green energy. He has some great ideas in that area. He's also excellent on GLBT and equality issues. He's good on creating new jobs.

As far as name recognition, I don't see Matt as having much of that. It just isn't there. Oh, I'm sure it is in many circles, but a lot of people still don't know who Matt Entenza is. I don't know how he's going to change that.

As we all know, Matt is not the endorsed candidate. That distinction belongs to Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

I'm pretty sure that Entenza has a lot of voter contact on the campaign trail. But where are his particular campaign trails? I don't hear much about him at all from my non-political circle of acquaintances (yes, folks, I do have a lot of friends who are not political!) When I ask if they were going to vote for him, they didn't even know who he was.

Matt Entenza probably has the best collection of campaign videos. I would rate his website as the best of all three of the candidates.

Personal charisma is not one of Entenza's strong points. He's very soft spoken, which means he's a nice guy, but not exactly your top charismatic person. Of Minnesoa politicians, that honor would definitely have to go to R. T. Rybak.

Entenza has a lot of political experience. Unfortunately, some of it is considered distasteful by many people. I wish these people would learn the truth of the matter. I stuck up for Matt when someone was saying rotten things about him. The guy called me a liar. Go figure. Some people just don't want to listen to truth.

Mark Dayton - Mark is very good on almost all the issues. After all, he was a U. S. Senator and had to know a lot about a lot of different things. He's big on Senior issues, of course. Remember how he took busloads of seniors to Canada so they could get the prescription drugs at lower cost? He's always been an advocate for seniors. He's always been a friend of GLBT, as well. He stood up on the Senate floor in favor of the right of two people who love each other to get married, no matter what their gender. Another issue that he is very interested in is education.

Name recognition? Mark Dayton? That's almost funny. There's probably only a handful of people in Minnesota who don't know who Mark Dayton is, and those are no doubt under the age of twelve. They're just too young to know.

We all know that Mark is not the endorsed candidate. Margaret Anderson Kelliher is. Still, there are plenty of examples over the years where the endorsed candidate did not win.

Mark has been all over Minnesota on the campaign trail. He drove 9,000 miles across Minnesota. He stopped in towns all over and met people in coffee shops and other interesting places. He has successfully reintroduced himself to Minnesotans.

Mark is starting to get some pretty good videos. There's one called "9,000" miles, which you can find on his website.

Personal charisma is not an area that Mark excels at. He's an introvert; standing up in front of a lot of people is difficult for him, especially during the question/answer portion of a forum. I give him a lot of credit, though, for doing something that doesn't come naturally to him. I've also noticed that he's made many, many improvements as a public speaker. I was surprised, proud and happy to see that he made a huge effort to improve in this area.

Obviously Mark Dayton has the most political experience of any of the candidates. He ran three Minnesota State Commissioner offices. He was U. S. Senator. The list goes on.

So now it's up to you, dear voters. The best thing you can do to ensure we get a DFL governor is to pick a candidate and then campaign for that candidate. You can door knock, do mailings and other clerical work, attend Meet and Greets, have a house party for your candidate, or have a fund raiser for the candidate. There's a ton of ways to help out. Call your candidate's office to volunteer. You can also volunteer on their websites. So let's all rally round one of these three candidates and make sure out next governor is DFL.

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CHEMOTHERAPY AT ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL

2010-06-27T09:04:00.011-05:00

Colleen Morse at Round Two Chemotherapy

One Week at St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Paul, MN

So many fluids makes me "puffy."

My lovely daughter-in-law, Rebecca Downey, without

whom I would probably be dead by now. She has been so

incredibly helpful and kind during this entire ordeal.

HealthEast St. Joseph's Made Us Feel Welcome!

HealthEast has the Latest Equipment!

This was a very nice hospital bed, but I much preferred

the loveseat back against the window because it was a

lot more firm.

Here's the nice firm loveseat.

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MARK DAYTON AND YVONNE PRETTNER SALON GIVE PRESS CONFERENCE

2010-06-24T04:31:00.003-05:00

Mark Dayton and Yvonne Prettner Salon

Press Conference in Room 125 State Capitol Building

Presentation of "Serve Our Seniors 5-Point Plan"

When I went to the press conference today, the audience was given a 3-page synopsis of the plan. Since I don'r feel like typing it all out (hey, I don't feel good, remember?) I decided to just let you call his office and see if they'll send you your own copy.

The first part of Mark's speech, the memorized part, was excellent, as it always is these days.

The second part, in which the audience got to ask questions and Mark got to answer them, did not go as well. This is the "thinking on your feet" part of the speech. Mark doesn't do as well with that, He stumbled quite a bit with his answers. At one point he paused about 30 seconds to figure out what to say.

Some of the questions he didn't seem to know the answer to. When that happens, the speaker should just say, "I don't know, but I'll get back to you on it." No one is going to know all the answers to all the questions they are asked.

Does this mean that Mark Dayont wouldn't make a good governor? Of course not. Mark is an introvert, which means that he's rather shy at the off the cuff portion of his presentation. I personally believe that he would be the best governor Minnesota ever had.

Having said that, there are a lot of people who are turned off by those who can't answer questions in a viable manner. I've told Mark before that he should attend Toastmasters. There is a whole manual on speaking off the cuff.

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GOP RESPONDS TO MARK DAYTON'S AD CAMPAIGN

2010-06-16T12:43:00.011-05:00

Mark Dayton

The Minnesota GOP responded to Mark Dayton's ad campaign for governor with a YouTube video of its own. Of course it's a terrible video that doesn't mean a thing. How could it? It was narrated by Michael Brodkorb. If you will recall, Brodkorb is the person who ran "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" before Luke Hellier took it over. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both of these people were made out of the same mold. Hopefully said mold has been thrown in the garbage by now. "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" is the worst website I have ever had the misfortune of visiting. It has definitely not improved since Hellier took it over.

The current GOP video that slams Mark Dayton doesn't have a chance of accomplishing its purpose. Not only has Dayton made a huge comeback in the DFL party; he's also become quite popular in Minnesota politics in general. Sure, he's cashing in on a few things, such as his well-known name that's long been associated with Dayton's Department Store. There's also the fact that Minnesotans really like Dayton for his long-time service to Minnesota. We'll never forget the good things that Mark Dayton did when he was a Senator, when he was the State Auditor and the two times that he was a Commissioner.

Nothing that such low-caliber people as Tony Sutton, Michael Brodkorb or Luke Hellier could say about Dayton would ever be enough to detract from his popularity among Minnesotans. Dayton is a favorite son. Everyone likes him and everyone remembers how much he has always cared about Minnesota. No one will forget about the excellent work he did as Senator on behalf of Minnesota seniors.

I totally disagree that this GOP video is damning for Dayton. On the contrary, it's damning for the GOP. It's damning for Brodkorb and Hellier. It might say some negative things about Dayton, but who cares? We all know that Mark Dayton was a good Senator because he truly cared about Minnesotans and because he did so much for Senior issues. It's easy for the GOP to say negative things about Dayton or about any other candidate, but will what they say hold water? No. There is no water to be held. On closer scrutiny, it all seeps away. Scrutinize this GOP video and see for yourself how many holes it contains.

More on Michael Brodkorb.

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BUYING ADS FOR GUBERNATORIAL RACE

2010-06-11T07:14:00.002-05:00

Mark Dayton

Matt Entenza

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

The Minnesota DFL party has three great candidates for governor. Most DFLers would be happy with any one of them as our next governor. There are some differences between them; their platforms are not exactly the same. Yet any one of them would be such a better governor than any of the choices from any of the other parties. We thus all need to get together and make sure that whoever wins the DFL Primary gets voted in as the winner in November.

Will buying ads help one of these candidates win the governorship? Certainly. Ads help get the name out to the voting public. Who can buy the most ads? No doubt it will be Matt Entenza and Mark Dayton, who both have deep pockets. Kelliher's ability to buy ads will depend on how deep her supporters will reach into their own pockets. She's the endorsed candidate, so hopefully she'll get a lot of financial support. Even as the endorsed candidate, she'll still need money to work with.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton is scheduled to start running TV ads very soon. Public records show Dayton bought at least $354 thousand worth of ads on Twin Cities TV stations.

Dayton's campaign manager, Dana Anderson, confirmed the campaign bought time through the August 10th primary but public records show purchases at most stations only through the end of June. Records at KARE11 show Dayton bought $239,075 of ad time between June 15th and August 10th.

Governor Pawlenty signed a bill last month that allows political committees to accept and spend corporate money on independent expenditures like TV ads and campaign literature. Minnesota continues to ban corporations from giving directly to candidates. The law had to be changed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend money on independent expenditures.

Campaign ads are certainly very important for the gubernatorial race. They may be considered the most important of all campaign stategies. However, there are also other things to look at, such as the past political record of the candidate, name recognition and what voters think a particular candidate can do for Minnesota.

Besides current ad campaigns, I'll also be looking, in future blogs, at past political experience and what each candidate has done that will arouse the voting interest of Minnesota voters.

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Press Release from Mark Dayton's Campaign

2010-06-09T12:12:00.002-05:00

Mark Dayton

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Endorse Mark Dayton for Governor

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced their endorsement of Mark Dayton’s campaign for Governor today.

David Brown, Chairman of the Minnesota State Legislative Board, said to Dayton, “I recognize the commitment that you have made to improve the lives and protect the jobs of all workers and their families. You have established a distinguished record of voting for the improvement and rebuilding of Minnesota’s infrastructure of railroads, roads and bridges.”

On receiving the endorsement, Dayton said, “I am very grateful for the endorsement of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. They recognize that, if elected, I will be committed to protecting rail safety for railroad workers, and all Minnesotans.”

The support of the BLET adds to other important endorsements for the Dayton campaign, including the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the United Steelworkers, Teamsters Joint Council 32 and AFSCME Council 5.

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MINNESOTA GOVERNMENT ENGINEERS COUNCIL

2010-06-08T01:21:00.012-05:00

Matt Entenza, Mark Dayton, Tom Horner, Margaret Anderson Kelliher

2010 Gubernatorial Candidate Questions

MGEC is surveying candidates running for governor. Responses received so far are posted below, arranged alphabetically. All Republican and Independence Party candidates have been contacted as well and their responses will be posted if they choose to respond.

This is a very good website on how each candidate stands on the issues important to Minnesota. These are .pdf files that are in each candidate's own words.

Mark Dayton

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Matt Entenza

Check back later for updates of other candidates who may post their information.

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MARK DAYTON: MINNESOTA'S NEXT GOVERNOR?

2010-06-07T18:56:00.004-05:00

Mark Dayton: Back in the Classroom

Mark Dayton at Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Mark Dayton's first ad campaign is currently under production. Footage is being shot on the farm of DFL activist Harold Eklund of Stanchfield, Minnesota. It will hit the airwaves during the next couple of weeks. This is great for Dayton's campaign, as it adds to his appeal to rural voters.

Harold Eklund and his brother Roger are longtime Minnesota Farmers Union members and Democratic supporters. Their farm has also been featured in a campaign commercial for 8th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar.

Dayton's medica consultant Mike Donilon helped create ads for Dayton’s 2000 U.S. Senate campaign. He’s also an adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, who was a colleague of Dayton’s when they served in the Senate.

Dayton appears to be the only candidate who is currently making sure that he has strong rural ties. To rule out rural Minnesota would be a disaster. Dayton has been a key figure in Minnesota politics since the late 1960's. He has seen things that most of us can only guess at. He knows what works in Minnesota politics, he knows what doesn't work, and he knows how to make Minnesota work for Minnesotans again.

Mark Dayton also knows exactly how to fix our budget crisis. He knows where the money is and he knows how to get it. He has promised to raise taxes on the richest Minnesotans, who can afford to pay their fare share of taxes. He has also promised to not rasie taxes on those who can't afford it. Dayton has a long history of keeping his word. He's of the highest ethical and moral standards. If he says he's going to do something, you can bet that he will do it. That's just the kind of person he is.

I can't think of anyone I'd rather have for the next governor of Minnesota. Mark Dayton has a long history of caring about the people of Minnesota. We haven't had a governor who truly cares about Minneotans in over twenty years. It's definitely time.

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GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FORUM AT CONTINUING EDUCATION AND CONFERENCE CENTER, 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul MN June 24, 2010 1:00 p.m.

2010-06-05T05:18:00.012-05:00

I attended a gubernatorial forum at the Continuing Education and Conference Center at 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 on June 24, 2010 from 1:00 - 2:30. Present were four gubernatorial candiates. They were:

Mark Dayton (DFL)

(pictured here with sons Andrew and Eric

and dogs Mesabi and Dakota

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

(DFL Endorsed Candidate)

Matt Entenza (DFL)

Tom Horner (IP)

For opening statements, each candidate was given two minutes to speak. Here's what each candidate had to say during this allotted time.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - She believes that it's very important for our most vulnerable Minnesotans to have someone on their side. She understands what it means to have a strong vocal voice in Minnesota. She wants to fight against the demons of substance abuse. She wants a fair and progressive tax system.

Tom Horner - He's here because no one else would step forward. (What about Rob Hahn?) Horner believes that we need a Minnesota that we create. He stated that hope dies last and that we can't afford to let hope die at all. Horner stated that he would be a one-term governor. He doesn't want to be governor any longer than that. This blogger doesn't think that's good enough. We need a governor who is in it for two terms, not just one. We need a governor who is committed to Minnesota. Tom Horner asks two questions of voters: What kind of Minnesota are we willing to live in? What are we willing to do to get it? I think that Tom Horner needs to work on his platform a lot more.

Mark Dayton - He's not interested in government to affect funding and policy. His main concern at this time is to make Minnesota work again. Back in the late 1960's and early 1970's Dayton thought, as did many of us, that government would always be a very positive experience. He has never before seen such devastation in politics as he has seen in the last decade. Dayton definitely knows how to fix this and will do so when elected governor of Minnesota. Do Minnesotans want a government of compassion or one of devastation? This blogger would hope that most of us want a government of compassion. We want the things that Minnesota has always wanted. We want the things that have made Minnesota great. We have learned that we cannot cut ourselves to greatness. If we could, Mississippi and Alabama would be number one states. They are not. We want our Minnesota back. The Minnesota we had twenty years ago. It's horrible that today's kids don't know what it's like to have a DFL governor. All the current generation knows is a policy of no and a GOP governor who is full of trickery and deceit. Mark Dayton is the best candidate for governor because he knows where the money is and how to get it. He will tax the rich but not the poor. The rich can afford it. He will implement a progressive tax system like Minnesota had back in its glory days.

Matt Entenza - He grew up in Worthington, MN. He's very good on community opportunities. He's appalled that Tom Emmer wants to elimate health care and have charity care instead. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Matt Entenza stood up to Governor Tim Pawlenty in the legislature and won. Because of Matt Entenza, our health care system was saved. Matt Entenza has good solid legislative experience. He's been working for Minnesotans for a long time. He's got Minnesota's best interests at heart. He's also well versed on the new clean energy economy and is making it part of his basic platform for a successful Minnesota.

Question #1: Minnesota Health Care Act - What is your level of support?

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - She's a very strong supporter of it. She firmly believes that everyone in Minnesota needs universal health care.

Tom Horner - We have a big budget deficit. We need to do all we can to expand health care in Minnesota. We need to allow MA to take place in Minnesota. Finally, we need to take personal responsibility for our health care. (Yeah, but Tom, what are you actually going to do? All I hear from you is a bunch of rhetoric. I don't hear an actual plan. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.)

Mark Dayton - As governor of Minnesota he would champion health care and make it affordable. Do I have any question about whether he can actually do this? No, I don't. None whatsoever. He's been active in Minnesota politics since the late 1960's. He knows exactly what he's doing and how to make Minnesota great again. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever about his expertise or his ability. And I certainly have no doubt at all about his integrity or his ethics. He has a reputation of always holding himself up to the highest ethical and moral standards. This is exactly what Minnesota needs in our next governor. Make no mistake: Mark Dayton could easily be the best governor that Minnesota has ever had.

Matt Entenza - With a 5 1/2 billion dollar deficit, how will we proceed? We must work toward a more affordable health care system.

Question #2: What is your record and what will you do as governor?

Tom Horner - Invest in education. Make sure that jobs stay in Minnesota. We must grow our new jobs here in Minnesota.

Mark Dayton - We need to provide jobs for people. Welfare rates need to go down. Every able-bodied person should have a job.

Matt Entenza - He's a passionate Norwegian. We had a state that was excellent. We need to state clearly and emphatically how much we love Minnesota.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - She will definitely stand up for Minnesota. As governor, she will not make any cuts in basic health for Minnesota's poorest citizens.

Question #3: No discrimination. Describe your history in supporting civil rights for all.

Mark Dayton - Everyone has the right to marry the person they love.

Matt Entenza - Chose Robyn Robinson as Lt. Governor. She fully supports civil rights.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - She fully believes in the Golden Rule. Don't discriminate against anyone, not even Abby, the GOP tracker in the back of the room.

Tom Horner - He grew up in a household where gay marriage was not discriminated against. That's where he formed his values.

Question #4: Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment. How will you nuture our children to do so?

Matt Entenza - We must confront it and talk about it.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - We must make sure that we have strong points in place for childhood early screening. We must not allow these precious childhoods to be robbed.

Tom Horner - ECFC is very important. So is the Minnesota Reading Corps. We must make sure that kids are literate and can read.

Mark Dayton - Mark Dayton doesn't usually talk about personal issues, but he did briefly here. He emphatically stated that domestic abuse in Minnesota is unacceptable.

Question #5: Revenue - What's your take on a progressive tax system?

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - We must fight for the poor and middle class in Minnesota. We must build a more progressive tax system. Margaret will do this from day #1 of her governorship.

Tom Horner - He will raise taxes because he knows that we do need more revenue. We have to set priorities.

Mark Dayton - He will only raise taxes on the rich and wealthy who make over a certain amount of income. He will not rasie taxes on everyone, particularly not the poor and middle class. He will only raise taxes on those who can afford it.

Matt Entenza - He believes that taxes should be progressive.

QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE:

Immigration:

Tom Horner - Wants to see investments in diversity.

Mark Dayton - Believes that the Arizona Law is vile. It's a test between compassion and a lack of compassion. Mark Dayton is all for compassion. He's been compassionate for the needy since the late 1960's. He knows that to move forward into the future, we must understand our commonality.

Matt Entenza - We must break out of negative diversity.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - Immigrant citizens need to be fully engaged. We can all have a brighter Minnesota because of embracing diversity.

National Guard:

Mark Dayton - He will expand the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. This was his program in the beginning back when he was U. S. Senator.Dayton has always been excellent on veterans issues.

Matt Entenza - The Back Door Draft into the National Guard is becoming a critical issue. There is flooding ever year in the Red River Valley. We don't have the Guard here anymore to take care of it. They're all being sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. We need our National Guard for internal protection.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - We need a strategic reward for active duty military personnel. She's a strong supporter of the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Tom Horner - We must acknowledge that we need to do more for homeless veterans and other homeless people. (No kidding, Tom. What do you suggest? Do you have a plan?)

2-MINUTE CLOSING STATEMENTS

How do you differentiate yourself from the other candidates?

Matt Entenza - He's the tallest. He's 6'5". His mother worked until age 74. We can't cut our way to greatness. We have to grow our way to greatness.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - It's very important to have a governor who will stand up and fight for Minnesotans every day. Kelliher states that she is a proven and effective leader.

Tom Horner - He's not a politician. He's into community service. He's been very active in Catholic Charities. He thinks MN needs an independent voice for the next four years. He has no intention of running for two terms.

Mark Dayton - He offers highly experienced and effective leadership in Minnesota state government. He knows that we must raise the necessary revenue that Minnesota needs. He has an excellent plan for that. He knows where the money is and he will get it if he's our governor. Mark Dayton is no doubt Minnesota's best choice for the next governor of Minnesota.

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POLITICS, CANCER AND SURVIVAL

2010-05-22T22:08:00.001-05:00

Charles and Becky Downey

(my wonderful son and daughter-in-law)

As most of my dear readers know, I'm fighting a serious health issue. It's a CNS lymphoma, which is a tumor in the brain. I've been at home this past week waiting for my chemotherapy to start. I have an appointment with the neuro doc on Tuesday. My current treatment is oral steroids to reduce the tumor. Soon I'll start intravenous chemotherapy. I understand that it will probably make me feel sick. The protocol is to be in the hospital with intravenous infusion of methotrexate for a week on, then a week off, for about eight weeks.

Chemotherapy plays a very important role in treatment. High doses of methotrexate are used, often along with one or two more chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy is given before radiation to the brain. The total duration of chemotherapy is 3-6 months.

Part of me is thankful for this delay in the chemotherapy protocol in order to give the steroids a chance to reduce the tumor. Another part of me is anxious to get going on the treatment so I can get it over with and get my life back.

Meanwhile, since I probably have a couple of days to a week before the chemo starts, I'm planning to do a few things if I feel strong enough. I currently feel pretty weak. Some of that is probably because the steroids greatly reduces my ability to sleep. I'll have to ask the neuro about that on Tuesday.

Monday afternoon I promised to volunteer on phones at the Entenza campaign. I always have a lot of fun doing that. Plus I'm usually very productive. I'm good at talking to people and getting them to come to events.

Monday evening is a gubernatorial forum sponsored by A Minnesota Without Poverty. Ending Homelessness and Poverty: What do the Candidates have to say about Health, Housing, and Jobs?

Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

Monday, May 24, 2010
6:30-8:30pm
Temple Israel
2324 Emerson Avenue South
Minneapolis MN

I'm looking forward to seeing many friends there.

On Tuesday afternoon is my appointment with my neurological oncologist in Woodbury, MN. I'll find out what happens to me next from him.

Tuesday evening I plan to attend a roast for my friend Thomas Snell. I graduated from White Bear Lake High School with him in 1968. I ran into him several months ago on Facebook. Now we're great Facebook friends. I've also seen him in person several times since then, mostly at political events and Chamber of Commerce events. Tom has been with MetroNorth Chamber for quite a few years and is now leaving to go on to other things. The Chamber is giving him a roast. I have got to see that.

I'm looking forward to helping out as much as I'm able with SD53 activities this summer. I hope I have the energy to do as much as I'll want to. It's so important for us to get our DFL candidates elected. In SD53 we have Senator Sandy Rummel, who is up for reelection this year, as well as Representative Paul Gardner from SD53A. We're working hard to get Chris Knopf elected over the current Representative in SD53B, Carol McFarlane (R). Chris is working very hard to obtain the seat. He'll be a wonderful Representative. He'll accomplish all kinds of good things for SD53B. McFarlane doesn't do much and her priority seems to be agreeing with everything Tim Pawlenty says. She's a very nice person; indeed, I graduated from high school with her. However, she's not what SD53B needs as far as representation.

I'm also hoping that I'll feel well enough to help out more with the gubernatorial election. I have no idea who will win it, as we have three outstanding candidates. I like each one of them very much. They are, of course, Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza, and Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Each of them has many excellent qualities.

It would be great if some of you would come to see me in the hospital. I'll be at St. Joseph's in downtown St. Paul. You can also see me at my apartment in White Bear Lake every other week. Just email me to let me know when you can come.
tigerhawksoars@yahoo.com

My home telephone number is 651-777-3464. My answering machine died and I haven't been to the store to get a new one yet.

I hope to see many of you soon.

Colleen Morse
aka April Knight
aka MsTigerHawk

********************************************

NIGHTMARE CLINIC

2010-05-20T16:34:00.001-05:00

Banning Avenue Clinic

Family HealthServices Minnesota, P.A.

White Bear Lake, MN

When I moved from Moundsview MN to White Bear Lake MN, I changed medical clinics so I didn't have to drive all the way from my old clinic in Coon Rapids. I had been using Allina for years. I was very happy with them but it was just too far to go. I looked for a new clinic near my new apartment complex. I found Banning Avenue Clinic in downtown White Bear Lake. It's housed in a nice new office in a nice building. I thought I would be happy with it. It's run by Family HealthServices Minnesota. I haven't had any prior experience with them. I now intend to find a different clinic. I'm completely appalled and disgusted by their lack of proper administrative work. I've been given the run around and have not been treated well. I've made numerous phone calls trying to get satisfaction. All I wanted was my medical paperwork. I'm trying to get it in the midst of dealing with a brain lymphoma and getting ready to go into the hospital for extensive chemotherapy.

I was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital on May 5. They thought I was going to die. They thought I had a very aggressive brain tumor. Finally biopsy results showed that it's a CNS lymphoma, which is better than having what they thought I had.

It took quite some time for all the paperwork to get to my primary care physician. Apparently the hospital didn't know who that was. I have no idea why not. By the time I was temporarily out of the hospital and living on steroids to reduce brain swelling, I was spending a lot of time trying to get the paperwork in order. The hospital and clinic should have been the ones to do that. Banning Avenue Clinic was just terrible. I couldn't get any satisfaction at all. They kept putting me off and telling me it would get done. In actuality it didn't get done at all. It's still not done.

Banning Avenue Clinic has a lot to answer for. My doctor might be good, but the administration is totally unacceptable. I called again today but to no avail. I was transferred to their central processing department. They had no records of my lymphoma. None. Zilch. I was so stressed by then that I started crying. Then I screamed at the lady I was talking to on the phone. She transferred me back to my clinic. Then I was transferred a couple of more times. Finally a lady said she would look into it and call me back.

Look into it? They've been looking into it for two weeks now. What do these people do with their time all day? They certainly aren't helping patients to resolve these issues. This is unfathomable!

The lady from the clinic finally called me back a little while ago. She said they would need to see me before they could fill out my paperwork. I was previously told that they would fill it out. I expected it to be all completed by now. I'm waiting on my Vacation Donation, my short term disability from Hartford and a couple of other important papers. The Minnesota Department of Health, where I work, is waiting to get them. They can't do their part until they get all the paperwork from my doctor. The clinic is not cooperating at all. I have never in my entire life had such a terrible experience at a clinic before. There is no way I should have to be going though this while dealing with a CNS lymphoma and getting ready for an intense course of chemotherapy that will last eight weeks, followed by radiation therapy for about five weeks. After that I might have to have the Cyberknife treatment. Paperwork and administrative work is the last thing I should have to worry about.

Not only that, but the Central Processing Dept of this clinic told me that they don't even have a release form from me. I only completed about five of them. Such incompetence!

I was just told that the doctor can't complete my paperwork unless he sees me for this condition first. I have to go to the clinic tomorrow at 11:30 and see him. It's my understanding that the Primary Care Physician is supposed to be the one who deals with all the paperwork, which he or she often gets from any other hospitals and clinics that are involved in the care process. When dealing with a neurological problem, that includes my neurosurgeon, my neuro oncologist and others on my team. The Primary Care Physician is supposed to coordinate. He's supposed to complete the paperwork and send it to the proper place, in this case MDH Human Resources and Hartford Insurance. I was told that the FMLA papers have been submitted. I hope at least that part is true.

I might call my State Senator Sandy Rummel and let her know about this. This kind of runaround should never, ever happen. I've got enough to deal with regarding my health itself. A couple of weeks ago I didn't even know that there was something large growing in my brain that did not belong there.

It's my biggest hope that this kind of incompetence does not happen too frequently at other clinics. It should never happen at all. It's unthinkable!

************************************************************

MARGARET ANDERSON KELLIHER

2010-05-20T08:23:00.007-05:00

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

DFL Endorsed Candidate for Governor, 2010

Margaret Anderson Kelliher was born on March 11, 1968. She grew up on a dairy farm in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, and graduated from Mankato West High School. She then earned her B.A. in history and political science from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. After that she worked hard to earn her M.P.A. from Harvard University in public administration. She does indeed have all the necessary qualifications to be an excellent governor.

Anderson Kelliher is a DFL member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She represents District 60A. She's the current Speaker of the House as well as the endorsed DFL candidate for Governor of Minnesota. Kelliher is only the second woman to hold the position of Speaker of the House and the first woman to earn major-party endorsement for a gubernatorial election in Minnesota.

Margaret was the Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006. In January 2006 she became the first Assistant Minority Leader of the Minnesota House. In June 2006, she was selected by her caucus to succeed Rep. Matt Entenza as Minority Leader. After the Democrats won control of the House in the 2006 election, she was selected by her caucus to be Speaker starting in January 2007. She succeeded Rep. Steve Sviggum in that position. On January 6, 2009, she was re-elected Speaker for the 2009-2010 biennium.

Although Kelliher was not my first choice to win the endorsement (I was a big Rybak and Thissen supporter), I find that she does have some excellent leadership qualities. I don't think that her trouble in standing up to Governor Tim Pawlenty should make us feel that she's not very capable. That trouble belongs entirely in Pawlenty's lap for his complete unwillingness to work with the legislature. His nickname became Governor Veto. His presidential ambitions have been far greater than his concern for Minnesota and its people.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher has a good plan for Minnesota. Her goals are to grow Minnesota businesses; invest in Minnesotans; institute a new approach for economic growth; and position Minnesota for the future. She is determined that as soon as she is elected governor, her administration will work hard from the very beginning to create jobs and get people working again.

Margaret also has a plan to win this election. Here is her statement:

While I have been at the Capitol standing up to Tim Pawlenty and radical Republicans like Tom Emmer, my opponents have been spending their own personal fortunes to get a head start in this race.

But I know that’s not how you earn the support, or the votes of Minnesotans. Paul Wellstone taught me at a young age how to organize Minnesotans around a cause, and inspire communities to achieve something better.

That’s why I am building a people powered campaign for governor. We're going to win this election door-by-door, voter-by-voter. Together with Minnesotans, we are going to win. Because this campaign is about more than one person, it’s about one Minnesota.

That’s what I'm fighting for. That’s how we will close the chapter on Tim Pawlenty, and build a better Minnesota.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher on the issues.

***********************************************

MARK DAYTON LEADS RACE FOR GOVERNOR

2010-05-19T18:34:00.002-05:00

Mark Dayton with Dogs Mesabi and Dakota

The Humphrey Institute poll released information that Mark Dayton leads the DFL race for governor over both Matt Entenza and Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

MPR-Humphrey Institute Poll

The poll included 701 Minnesota adults. It was taken May 13 - 16, 2010. Some think that the result is a slap in the face to the DFL party, since Dayton is not the endorsed candidate and since he did not pursue the endorsement at all.

On the other hand, Mark Dayton has always been very popular among Minnesota Democrats for his 34 years of public service to Minnesotans. He has a very strong history of truly caring about Minnesota and the issues we face.

Dayton has served Minnesotans as a legislative assistant to Sen. Walter Mondale (1975-76), on the staff of then-Governor Rudy Perpich (1977-1978), and was the Commissioner of Economic Development (1978). Next he served as Minnesota Commissioner of Energy and Economic Development (1983-1986) and was Minnesota state auditor from 1991-1995. He was elected to the Senate in 2000, defeating Republican incumbent Rod Grams.

Connie Lewis, who ran Dayton's 1982 campaign, was quoted as saying that Dayton is truly committed to helping people.

"I don't know if people know how passionate he is," she said. "When he tells citizens that he's going to work for universal health care coverage or that he's going to work on prescription drug coverage for seniors, he will dog it and work it, and he really will. When he makes a commitment like that, he takes it very seriously."

Dayton summarized his current gubernatorial 10-point jobs plan at a recent Capitol news conference. One of the main points of it is an "energy savings fund" that would finance energy-conservation and alternative energy renovations in every public building in the state over the next 10 years. Dayton said he would issue up to $300 million in bonds to pay for energy improvements first in state buildings, then later, with the repayments from their energy savings, in public schools and city and county buildings.

He claims that this plan will transform government's use of energy, save taxpayers' money and stimulate the economy. It will also create up to 50,000 construction jobs.

Another of Dayton's plans is to raise Minnesota revenue by making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.

__________________________________________

MATT ENTENZA CAMPAIGN UPDATE

2010-05-18T12:51:00.001-05:00

Matt Entenza for Governor of Minnesota

DAVID SCHULTZ FOR RAMSEY COUNTY ATTORNEY

2010-05-18T05:49:00.003-05:00

David Schultz, Candidate for Ramsey County Attorney

David Schultz was the first candidate for Ramsey County Attorney that I met in the 2010 campaign. He came to a Senate District 53 meeting. I was very impressed with him right from the beginning. He will bring a wealth of experience to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office not only in superior litigation but also in obtaining justice and fairness for all.

Schultz has superior skills as a trial lawyer. These skills have earned him the designation of Certified Civil Trial Specialist from both the Minnesota State Bar Association and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. His high integrity and reputation for fair advocacy have won him the recognition of his peers as a Super Lawyer® every year since 1997. He has a very deep commitment to justice; thus he does quite a few pro bono death penalty cases.

In addition to his work on the Innocence Project of Minnesota, David has served on the Council on Crime and Justice, and the Minnesota Advocate for Human Rights. In 2001, when civil strife threatened the very existence of law in Kosovo, David was selected by his peers in the ABA to co-author the criminal law bench book for judges.

David Schultz is seeking the position of Ramsey County Attorney in order to promote justice for all, including senior citizens, children and veterans. He will safeguard fair access to benefits and he will prosecute financial crime to the fullest extent of the law. In addition, he has zero tolerance for crimes against children, including abuse. David Schultz will procure justice for our entire community through vigorous, innovative, and effective enforcement of our criminal laws.

MATT ENTENZA FOR GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA

2010-05-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

NON-HODGKINS LYMPHOMA BLUES, PART TWO

2010-05-15T15:32:00.009-05:00

Tuesday, May 11, from St. Joseph's Hospital to Cerenity Care Center - Grrrrr. Internet access has been totally unacceptable for me, first at St. Joseph's Hospital and now at Cerenity Care Center in White Bear Lake. When will everyone realize the importance of instant internet access? No wonder we are falling behind other countries in technology!

It's late at night, about 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday May 11. So far I've awoken several times in this strange room in this place I've never been before. The oxycodone makes me sleep soundly, then I wake up. The pain med is for my sciatica pain. My brain tumor doesn't hurt at all, oddly enough. I suppose it's because of the location. It's mostly on the occiputal lobe of the brain and partly on the parietal lobe. No headaches, no seizures, and I still have excellent communication skills, although felt confused and disoriented for several days because of the brain swelling. The doctors put me on steroids to bring that down.

The bad part is that the doctors are telling me that it's an aggressive tumor. On the other hand, I live in a time of great medical advancement. Still, as we all know, ya gotta die from something. Everyone does.

Now back to my hospital internet experiences or lack thereof. Of course I know that the medical care is far more important than whether patients get internet access. Still, for a hospital to be entirely up to date, it's absolutely necessary. Allina seems to be more advanced in this area than HealthEast, as Allina already has EHR (electronic health records) implemented into it's hospital and clinic system. HealthEast is working on it.

As far as my own medical issue with what I'm told is this aggressive stage 3 or stage 4 brain tumor, I'm at an excellent hospital for that. It's one of the best in the country. It houses one of the few Cyberknife Centers in the United States. It's got one of the best neurosurgeons in the United States. His name is Dr. Schwerkoske. His office is in Woodbury, MN.

I left St. Joseph's hospital yesterday afternoon about 4:30 p.m. My coworker Julie Kamrath picked my up in my room at St. Joe's and off we drove to White Bear Lake. That's where I live, but we drove right on by to Cerenity Care Center on Florence Street. I currently live near I694 and McKnight Road in White Bear Lake.

Julie drove, of course, as it was her vehicle and as I am not allowed to drive yet. I was supposed to know where I was going, as I'm very good at directions. Unfortunately, the brain tumor has made me deviate from that ability somewhat. We got lost. Julie says she always gets lost. So there we were, lost and disoriented in my own home town of White Bear Lake. Too funny. (At least I still have my sense of humor!)

We finally found the place and went on in. I'm really glad Julie was with me so I didn't feel all alone in a strange place. She's such a good friend. She really cares.

Unfortunately, Julie had to leave to go home to her family. Charles and Becky were both at work. I am now alone in an unfamiliar place where I don't know anyone and where I am dealing with a major medical issue.

My RN tonight is probably around 40 years old or so. She has only been a nurse for 15 days. She just graduated from nursing school. She's medically in charge of me on this dreary gloomy evening. Very scary for me, as she didn't seem to know what she was doing. She had to keep referring to her charts and books. She seemed to be a rather gloomy person, too, at least on that first evening when everything was coming down on me at once. To be fair, I'm sure she wanted to do a good job. On that first night I felt that she lacked the kind of personality that is so important to nursing. The next time I met her, three days later, I moderately revised my opinion.

I had to have a skin check that evening. Apparently it's a requirement in this kind of facility. I was also required to have a Mantoux test whether I'd already had one in the last ten years or not. That was the extent of my incoming medical evaluation into that facility as they had already been forwarded all of my pertinent medical records.

The most bizarre thing about the RN on last night's nursing shift was that for the first few hours she rminded me of the nurse in Stephen King's Misery. I was so frightened. Imagine the scenarios going through my overly active imagination that evening!

The best part of my stay at St. Joe's Hospital had been all the wonderful nurses. The best part of leaving was getting away from the horrible institutional food. The best part of the care at Cerenity was most of the nursing staff and the physical and occupational staff. The night LPN and nursing assistants were great. It was just Ms. Misery who gave me such a scare.

I wonder what Wednesday will bring besides hours of physical and occupational therapy. I had that at St. Joe's, as well. It wasn't my favorite thing to participate in, as it reminds me that I'm getting old and my generation is on the way out. I did learn that the swelling in my brain from the tumor has caused a short term memory loss. It's getting better everyday, though. Did I have that problem before? I can't remember...

It's now 4:00 a.m. The oxycodone has worn off. My sacroiliac joint doesn't feel too bad right now. This bed that I'm currently in is a lot firmer than the one at St. Joe's and it's not an electronic hospital bed. I think it's better for my back. That's good, because how can we be effectively politically progressive if we have to concentrate on eliminating pain all the time? That takes up far too much time and energy.

Oh, how I wish I had my own email and Facebook right from the beginning of my odeal. How much better that would have made hospital life for me. I missed it so much. At least I have my son Charles, who diligently tells me who has sent me email messages. I was so sad and devastated that some got lost in the St. Joe's system never to be seen again.

I was only supposed to be at Cerenity for two or three days. At least that's what they first told me. They ended up keeping me until this morning, May 15. I finally talked my way out of there because the physical and occupational therapists told me I could easily live on my own. Well duh!

Another good thing about my experiences involved my excellent health insurance at the State of Minnesota. I hope we never, ever lose it.

_________________________________

NON-HODGKINS LYMPHOMA BLUES

2010-05-14T08:05:00.002-05:00

Monday, May 10 - I've been in St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul since Wednesday morning. It started out being a very strange experience. Something happened to me on Sunday night, May 2. It was a serious medical issue. I thought maybe I just had a TIA, but it was much more serious than that.

Going back to Sunday night, I can remember that I started feeling very confused and disoriented. I went back to work Monday morning, May 3, because I was just coming off of medical leave for a different issue. I got to work and back just fine but had a horrible time of doing my job. I couldn't remember how to do it even though I'd been doing it for years. I tried to walk to the printer and went the wrong way. I got lost and turned around in my own office. My coworkers noticed something wrong but thought I was just having trouble getting back into the swing of work after a two-week medical leave. They were very nice about it but were concerned about me. My very nice boss Pete talked to me on Tuesday morning about my medical issues and getting back into work since this is our very busy part of the year in collecting data from insurance companies, health clinics, hospitals, etc.

I went home, then came back to work on Wednesday morning. I was there about two hours or so when I just had to leave. I was scared because I still couldn't figure out how to do my job. I was crying. I went to say goodbye to my coworker and friend Amy Camp. She wouldn't let me drive. She knew something was terribly wrong. She called an ambulance. The next thing I knew I was on my way to St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul, MN, very close to where I work at the Minnesota Department of Health. It was an excellent hospital for me to go to because one of its top specialties is neurology/neurosurgery.

On Wednesday I had a CAT scan and an MRI of my brain, then later an MRI of my entire trunk area to see if the tumor had mestatisized. It hadn't, thankfully.

At first the doctors thought it was an agressive, stage three or stage 4 brain tumor. The biopsy results should come within a couple of days. It is in a spot that I choose not to have surgically removed because of the chance of losing cognitive reasoning skills. That is not acceptable to me.

The plan at this point, before knowing the biopsy report, is five weeks of radiology and chemotherapy and then a cweek of cyberknife. I have a feeling that I don't have long to live, but that could be because I've always had a feeling that I would die by age 62. No idea what that was all about.

I'm sure glad I met all my new friends before all this happened. What joy they have all brought me in the last nine months since I met them. Holly Cairns, Matt Entenza, Jason Hitchcock, Bridget, Gretchen, many others from the Entenza campaign (I can't remember all their names now because of the brain swelling, but probably will soon.), Mark Dayton, Brian Klaas, Katie Tinucci and others from the Dayton campaign. Mark Dayton is the one who first excited my excitement in campaigning since the 2010 gubernatorial race began. After that, I was completely hooked on the campaigning and the election as well as the entire political process. I got to know all the DFL gubernatorial candidates personally. They're all wonderful, caring, intelligent people. Any of them would make a fine governor for Minnesota. They all truly care about Minnesota and the issues facing Minnesotans.

R. T. Rybak and Paul Thissen were both very special to me. They went out of their way to make me feel welcome and to answer questions about hepatitis C and cirrhosis, which is another medical issue of mine. Almost all of the DFL candidates for governor took a great interest in answering my questions.

Tom Rukavina added so much fun and humor to his campaigning. What a unique, feisty, wonderful guy. I'll also never forget his staffer Orrie Salper. He was very special to me because he's such a warmhearted, kind person and has a great sense of humor. Also, I can say nothing but good things about Matt from the Thissen campaign, Senator John Marty and various others.

The Rybak staff, as well as Paul Thissen and his wife Karen, who is such a wonderful woman, also made me feel very good about campaigning and about politics in general.

Also not to be forgotten are all my new reNEW MN friends. What a great group of people! Minnesota is definitely changing for the better because of them. They added so much fun, excitement and enthusiasm to the 2010 DFL State Convention. I was so glad to be an alternate delegate to that event. I met lots of people, including a direct descendant of Daniel Webster who was also named Daniel Webster. The current Daniel Webster was a staunch Rybak supporter. He's the one who did the Rybak campaign music video called I've Been Everywhere.

There are now three remaining DFL candidates for governor. They are Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza and Margaret Anderson Kelliher. It's very difficult to decide which one to vote for. On the other hand, I might not live long enough to have to decide. I've always been a Dayton supporter and I also like Matt Entenza very much.

I have a strong fondness for Mark Dayton, maybe partly because he's of the same era that I am. We both were active protestors against the Viet Nam War. We both distinctly remember Kent State and all the other intense things that happened in the late 1960s and early 1970's. We remember the same culture and the same music. We both love The Moody Blues, although he liked the Rolling Stones better and I liked The Beatles better. We remember Country Joe and the Fish, Simon & Garfunkle, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and so many others. We both kept our progressive values. No wonder I feel an affinity with him. I feel an even greater affinity toward him now that I know him a bit in person. He's never deviated from his dedication to progressive politics. He's been working hard and diligently toward progressive goals since the late 1960's. He has always put the well-being of others before his own needs.

Matt Entenza is definitely another person who I would feel very comfortable with as governor. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, as well, has the values that Minnesota needs. Any of these three would make a great governor.

In conclusion of this first part of my current medical story, I can only tell you, since when I wrote this I hadn't received my biopsy results yet, that the "tumor" might have been growing for awhile until it finally got big enough to cause the symptoms of confusion and disorientation. Luckily the steroids the doctors have me on alleviates that.

I'll submit Part II later today or tomorrow.

**************************************************

DFL and IP Gubernatorial Forum, May 2, 2010

2010-05-02T20:04:00.011-05:00

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Mark Dayton

Tom Horner (on right)

Dayton Staffer

Entenza Staffer

Kelliher Staffer

My Blogger Friend Dyna

Tom Johnson, MDH Management (My Friend from Work)

He's from my Senate District (SD53)

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

This afternoon I attended the Governor's Candidate Forum on Clean Energy, Clean Water and Minnesota’s Future. This was a free public forum sponsored by Super Valu. The location was the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Candidates attending included Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Matt Entenza, Mark Dayton, Rob Hahn and Tom Horner. The former three are DFL candidates; the latter two are IP candidates. The only Republican candidate, Tom Emmer, chose to absent himself from the forum. I'm sure it was because he knew he couldn't keep up with the high intelligence of the other five candidates.

First, each candidate was given one minute to present an opening statement.

Tom Horner gave four points that reflect his main goals in green energy should he become our next governor.

1. Leadership

2. Protect lakes and waterways

3. Green energy with accountability

4. Reform and smart policies

Margaret Anderson Kelliher said that she created jobs across the state. She's excellent on job creation. It sounds like it's her number one focus. She also rates very high on saving energy.

Rob Hahn stated that he is an innovator, a winner and a leader. He's a true outsider and is good on green issues.

Matt Entenza is excellent on green energy. It's his core value. He is an innovator in creating a clean energy economy. When Matt was a prosecutor he put polluters in jail. We're not talking about littering, but about those who knowingly and willfully break the environmental laws.

Mark Dayton knows a lot about everything due to his years as a U. S. Senator. He's got experience in green issues as well as in what has been done and what needs to be done in cleaning up the environment. He has said that the first day in office as governor, he would fire the MPCA Board. Dayton says the board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been irresponsible in enforcing pollution control standards.

Question #1: How can we best promote energy efficiency?

Margaret Anderson Kelliher emphatically stated that energy conservation is her big goal. She will strive for a state government that is performance based. I wonder if AFSCME and MAPE will allow that?

Rob Hahn wants to give businesses incentives to hire new employees. He stated that goals are great to have, but you can't regulate everything. He feels that we should be concerned with our environmental footprint.

Matt Entenza knows that personal responsibility alone won't do the trick in fixing the environment. We need to change the way our new economy works. We also need to have laws and regulations that protect the environment as much as possible. Leaving this aspect of earth protection up to each individual person without any regulations or laws just won't work.

Mark Dayton stated that if men were angels, we wouldn't need antipollution laws. However, human nature being what it is, we do need them. Government has a role and a responsibility in government and in protecting our environment. Dayton thoroughly understands the role that government must play in environmental issues.

Tom Horner said that we need to come up with the right reasons for recycling and keeping the environment clean and friendly. He said that we need to figure out how to innovate. He wants reform and smart thinking. He seems to think we can accomplish our environmental goals without a lot of regulation and laws.

Question #2 stated that 73% of Minnesota voters want clean renewable energy sources. How will we accomplish this?

Rob Hahn said that we have to look at a grid. He also wants a to lift the moratorium on nuclear energy. He wants us to give serious consideration to building a new plant or two. He claims that 3rd generation power plants are very safe. (Okaaaay...and what will he do with the nuclear waste that no one wants to be responsible for?)

Matt Entenza said that dictators in 3rd world countries are determining our energy output. Far too many jobs have left Minnesota. We can get jobs back with wind technology, solar energy, biofuels, etc. Matt is no doubt the most knowledgeable candidate on renewable green energy. Most of his platform revolves around this. This is our future.

Mark Dayton basically said that Hahn is irresponsible. Dayton said we can convert boilers and in ten years we can convert most facilities to conserve energy.

Tom Horner said that our challenge is in finding energy in certain parts of Minnesota. We need smart energy principles. Horner comes across as a very smart person who is also reasonable and makes a lot of sense when you listen to him. Horner said he wants green energy, of course, but he wants smart green energy.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher wants to reduce the amount of energy we use. She claims to be the only candidate to put out a complete plan for energy conservation.

At this point, Margaret Anderson Kelliher had to leave. Now we only have four candidates answering the questions.

Question #3: The Politics of Conservation

Matt Entenza wants to use the money that Pawlenty took to fund conversation. Entenza knows that we need a governor who will make conservation a core value. He wants to eliminate the pollution of our waters with runoff.

Mark Dayton wants the conservation commission to consist of an equal number of men and women. Dayton has excellent ideas on gender politics.

Tom Horner says that it's not about gender politics. He maintains that we can't fund everything, especially now while we have a 5 to 6 billion dollar deficit.

Rob Hahn stated that rivers are polluted. He believes that government has a role to enforce pollution laws but that we can't mandate everything. He wants to lead by example. Apparently he thinks that if we lead the horses to water, we can make them drink just by setting an example.

Question #4:

Mark Dayton has a lot to say about the Pollution Control Agency. He's very outspoken about what is wrong with that agency, and rightly so. He is appalled at that Agency's lack of expertise in cleaning up the environment. If Dayton is governor, there will be a lot of changes there. Heads might even roll. He wants to rename it the Pollution Reduction Agency. Dayton is also for promoting free-roaming livestock. He's got excellent ideas for both reducing pollution and cleaning up the atrocious way many treat livestock.

Tom Horner will require leading through innovation. He wants to use easements creatively.

Rob Hahn says that feedlots are a big contributor to pollution. Farmers should have more easements to set up barriers. He kind of changed his stand as the debate went on. He's willing to listen to others and change as new data becomes available.

Matt Entenza stated that this is where the rubber meets the road. (I like that experession.) He said that this is not about separation. This is about communities coming together. We need to actually test our water. A huge portion of our water is polluted.

Question from Audience Member Andy: What will you do to make sure that enough is being done to protect our environment?

Tom Horner said that we need to adapt new technology. He wants to see innovation as well as more research at the U of M. He wants more to be done with K - 12.

Rob Hahn wants us to look at the big picture. He wants to see long term value for biofuels.

Matt Entenza looks to the next generation of biofuels to create a new clean economy. Matt has great ideas on and knowledge of green energy. Take a look at his website to find out more at http://www.entenza.com/ .

Mark Dayton knows a lot about the use of ethanol and reuseable energy in Minnesota.

Dayton has stated support of green energy and a state pollution reduction agency. He received a 79% rating from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), indicating pro-environment values.

___________________________________________

MARK DAYTON

2010-05-01T21:49:00.001-05:00

Mark Dayton with Staff and Volunteers

For some unknown reason, some people seem to think that Mark Dayton is all washed up politically. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who are in the know and not just think they are, as seems to be the case with Kelliher staffers and supporters, know without any doubt that Dayton is still a major force in the political arena. He's got allies and supporters in places you never dreamed of in all your worldly travels. Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza both have a very good chance of winning the governorship. Probably a better chance than Kelliher, unless a good many voters rally behind her as the campaign continues.

DFLers tend to forget that life in the real world doesn't revolve around the political life of party hacks. The real world of the DFL involves a lot of seniors as well as today's youth who are barely old enough to vote. There's a tremendous outpouring of support for Mark Dayton. He's got the most experience of any candidate. He also knows what Minnesota needs. He's been the most vocal candidate for speaking out against Tim Pawlenty and the disaster he caused Minnesotans. Mark Dayton loves Minnesota; there's no doubt about it.

Does Margaret Anderson Kelliher love Minnesota? Or does she like the power that being Speaker of the House gave her? Why does she want to be governor? What's the real, true reason? I'd like to know.

I know why Mark Dayton wants to be governor. I know the main reasons as well as some of the other reasons. Almost all of his reasons are altruistic. Everyone who knows him knows that his biggest concern is for the future of Minnesota. He's got something inside of him that makes it impossible for him not to care about Minnesota. Our very state, it's very core of existence, is in his blood.

I've never heard Mark brag about his heritage. Yet it's one he can be tremendously proud of. His family was here before the Revolutionary War. What better candidate to serve Minnesota? Who better equipped than a man who has spent his entire life in public service?

Who is not afraid to get his hands dirty by sandbagging in flooded areas? Who has always gone the extra 100 miles or more to help others? Who donated his Senate salary to seniors instead of keeping it for himself? Who has spent decades serving Minnesotans while asking for nothing in return? Who has demonstrated again and again a deep, unfaltering caring for others throughout his entire public service career? The answer is always Mark Dayton. He has never asked what others could do for him. He has always asked what he could do for others. He's always ready and willing to lend a hand where needed.

Mark Dayton has always been there when Minnesotans needed him, whether in times of public crisis or when a single telephone call beckened him to someone who lay dying. He has always answered the call to public service. Will you be there when he needs you?

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A LOOK AT TOM HORNER

2010-04-28T17:47:00.008-05:00

Tom Horner - Independent Party

While many Minnesotans are clamoring to promote the GOP or the DFL political parties, there is another alternative that many overlook. It's the Independence Party. How much do you know about it? If you're like most people, you don't know much. You've been raised as a Democrat or as a Republican. You probably vote the way your parents did. Or else you're a rebel and vote the opposite way. Maybe you're tired of the same old party politics and are looking for something new. Maybe you're not far right or far left. Perhaps you're right in the middle. What party would best suit your needs?

Have you thought about looking into the Independence Party? What is their agenda? What tenants do they hold? Let's take a look.

The Minnesota Independence Party was established in 1992. It was started by a group of ordinary citizens who were tired of special interest influence in politics and were tired of ongoing budget deficits. They were also sick of extremes in politics. They didn't want to be far right or far left. They were mostly moderates and believed that government in moderation was best.

These people wanted a government that would be accountable to the people and that would govern sensibly and within its means. This new political party wanted endorsed candidates and representatives who would serve the people first and foremost. This party would not be governed by extremists on either end of the spectrum, but rather by common sense.

In 1994, the Independence Party won major party status when Dean Barkley ran for the U. S. Senate. The IP has retained this status every year since then. It became even more well known when Independent Jesse Ventura became Governor of Minnesota.

The Independence Party and those who vote for them are fiscally conservative and socially tolerant. This political party is growing. People are turning to it because they're tired of extreme right wing and extreme left wing politics. More and more voters want a balance. The Independence Party gives this balance with a focused, limited scope of government services in which top priorities include education, transportation, healthcare, environment, and budget sanity. The IP believes that political power starts and ends with the people.

One IP candidate who is running for election this year is Tom Horner. Here's what he has to say about what Minnesota needs.

Polarized parties see Minnesota through a narrow lens. To solve big problems, widen the view.

Reprinted from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press April 4, 2010

Think about the challenges Minnesota faces in the next four years: Soaring state budget deficits, an economy that stubbornly leaves nearly a quarter-million Minnesotans unemployed and tens of thousands underemployed, an infrastructure that has us dodging crater-sized potholes, and policies that threaten to make the next generation of Minnesotans the first who will be poorer, less healthy and less educated than their parents.

Now ask yourself this: To solve these challenges, does it make sense to ignore half of all the good ideas that are available? Yet, that's what Democrats and Republicans would have us do. The deeply polarized politics of government today reject good ideas simply because they come from the "wrong" party or the "wrong" partisans.

If Minnesota is to move forward in the next four years, we need a governor who focuses on what's right, not on who's right. Minnesota needs an independent voice in the governor's office, a governor who is able to draw on the best ideas and the brightest talents in the state.

Minnesota needs leadership from someone who knows what it takes to run a business here — to create jobs — and to provide good salaries and good benefits. The red flags about Minnesota's lagging economy aren't new; they have been flying for years. Between the economic downturn at the beginning of this decade and today's recession, Minnesota was being lapped by other states:

•Between 2004 and 2007, personal income growth was 47th among the states.
•During this same period, the state's gross domestic product - our economy - grew at less than half the national average — an anemic 2.6 percent.
•And from 2000 to 2007, Minnesota's job growth ranked 30th in the country.

Minnesota is a great state. We have tremendous strengths and assets. Building on these strengths will require policies and leadership to fundamentally reform how we tax and spend.

First, I reject the DFL's notion that every problem needs a government program and every current government program is worth saving. Government - including state government - takes on too much, too often does it poorly and many times with little or no accountability.

Minnesota needs to set priorities as a state, and not just follow the narrow agenda of a single political party or of one governor. The next governor will have to balance a budget that will be $7 billion or more in the red. That will require hard and often painful decisions. It will mean that some programs - those that aren't delivering value - will have to be eliminated, not just trimmed. Making these tough decisions will take the collaboration of all Minnesotans.

We also need to agree on the things that government should do. I believe in a government that invests in the future, helps people when they are most vulnerable, stewards our shared assets, including our natural resources. But wherever we spend public dollars, we must hold managers, legislators and the governor accountable to specific performance measures.

My second priority is tax reform. This will require that Republicans embrace transformational change. For all the legitimate complaints about Minnesota's business climate, the often overlooked truth is that Minnesota isn't taxing away businesses, it's taxing away new jobs. Minnesota-based companies are growing; they just aren't doing it here. Minnesota entrepreneurs are as innovative as ever; but they are launching their ventures in states more hospitable to start-up businesses and to the capital they need. And instead of being able to invest in new jobs, new equipment or new technology, Minnesota small businesses are seeing more and more of their income taxed away.

We are failing in creating new jobs because Minnesota taxes investment, innovation and job creation - all the things we should be promoting. We need to compete with the world by eliminating the barriers to growth.

The reality is that meaningful and effective tax reform will mean that some taxes will have to go up so others can go down. Those politicians who suggest otherwise - who promise that we can resolve deficits larger even than anything we have seen in the last eight years - are either dishonest or dependent on gimmicks that shift the cost to local government, to the private sector, or worst of all, to our kids.

Only an independent voice in the governor's office can tap the ideas and people to make this balanced approach to spending and taxes work. Minnesotans are tired — not just of the partisan fights in St. Paul, but at the lack of accomplishments. The longer Democrats and Republicans continue to define every issue by their extreme positions or solve every challenge through the narrow frames of higher taxes from the left or deep reductions to government from the right, the opportunity for my candidacy grows.

In 2010, two choices aren't enough when the future of our state is on the line.

Meet Tom Horner

Issues

Why Tom Horner is Running for Governor

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THREE CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR

2010-04-27T19:07:00.001-05:00

Matt Entenza

Mark Dayton

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Who do you want to be our next governor? Matt Entenza? Mark Dayton? Or perhaps Margaret Anderson Kelliher? What are the pros and cons of each candidate?

Most of the active DFL party members want the endorsed candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher. I imagine she'll get a lot of female DFL voters as well. Mark Dayton, of course, has a lot of supporters who have been following his career for a long, long time. Matt Entenza is relatively unknown outside of DFL circles. Not for long, though. He's moving up very quickly. Plus he has the money to advertise his name and what he stands for.

Who is most likely to win the DFL Primary? Gosh, I don't know. It all depends on how many people vote in the Primary. It there's a low voter turnout with mostly seniors voting, Dayton will probably win. If there's a big voter turnout that crosses all ages, Entenza or Kelliher will no doubt win.

Each of the three candidates appeals to a different type of voter. Kelliher will probably get a lot of female votes. There are quite a few females who say she does not appeal to them, though. Nevertheless, I think she's got a fantastic chance of winning the primary. Especially with progressive voters behind her, such as reNEW MN/TakeAction MN. If all of these progressives rally behind Margaret, she just might win.

Entenza is not well known yet, but he has an active campaign and he's getting more and more media exposure everyday. I expect him to be in the forefront of this race. He has the looks for it. He's tall and rugged. If you're looking for him, you certainly can't miss him. Plus he's got the looks that appeal to women across Minnesota. For the men, he's got a commanding presence. Tall and stately. Matt Entenza looks like a governor. He looks like a governor is expected to look.

Dayton has 35 years of public service experience. It's hard to beat that. He knows all about politics. I should think he'd be tired of it by now. I would be if I had been in it for so many years. I suspect that it's so much a part of his life that he'll find it very difficult to shake off the shackle. He should write a book about his life. It would probably be a best seller. He'd become even more famous. Politicians are a dime a dozen, but a good writer is not that easy to find. Especially one who has led such an interesting life. Writers are far more unique than politicians. And they have so much more to offer the world. Once the campaigning is over and the election is won, not too many people pay attention to politicians. (I wonder if I convinced him yet?)

I'll continue to write about these three candidates until we have a winner or until two drop out of the race. Which I don't expect will happen. Starting this weekend, I'll take these three candidates and look at them one at a time with all the pros and cons of each. From my viewpoint, of course.

Meanwhile, start thinking of questions you'd like to ask each of these three candidates.

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DFL GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES ON MPR MIDDAY: R. T. RYBAK

2010-04-22T10:25:00.008-05:00

Next up on this series of DFL gubernatorial candidates speaking on MPR MIDDAY is Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak. Again, I'll show what he said in bold print, then put my comments in normal print.

R. T. Rybak

Question #1: Why are you running for governor?

I'm R. T. Rybak. I'm the Mayor of Minneapolis. I came into office in the wake of a crisis. Right after 9-11, Minneapolis was in trouble. We brought people together; we got results. We lowered crime; we created thousands of jobs; we made the city work. That's the kind of executive leadership I've shown and that we need at the Capitol. Right now the Capitol's in trouble. This state is in trouble. We need to put people back to work. I've done that. We need to make government get results for people. I've done that. But more importantly, I've been a mayor who has been out in the community, I've been in schools. I've been in businesses. I've talked with people who are unemployed. I've talked with people who are victims of crime. I have got into the business of being not only a hands-on chief executive, but a hands-on leader out in the community, I think we need a new leader in Minnesota and I've shown I can get results.

All that R. T. Rybak says in response to this first question is true. As Mayor of Minneapolis, Rybak has done all of that and so much more. Whenever there was a crisis in Minneapolis, Mayor Rybak was there. He was there when the bridge fell. He was there when the fire occurred. He's always there in good times and bad. He will be there for Minnesota. He won't just walk away and quit after one term. He has shown us that he's dependable and responsible. He's the kind of politician I would be proud to call Governor. He's the only candidate who has executive experience. R. T. Rybak is an excellent communicator. He knows what issues Minnesota faces. He knows what the problems are and how to fix them. I can't think of a better candidate to be the next governor of Minnesota.

Question #2: Should a candidate going directly to the Primary without going through the endorsement process matter to DFL voters?

I believe right now that this state has been deeply divided. The first thing we have to do is unite the Democratic party that has lost elections for a generation. My kids are in college and have never known a DFL governor. It's time to come together. We keep losing this governor's race, so what I've tried to do is to say I've got a winning record, I've got executive experience, and I want to unify the party. I think the best way to do that is to run for the endorsement, win the primary and win the general. I believe we have to do all three.

R. T. makes a very good point. I've heard all the arguments about going for the endorsement and not going for the endorsement. At first I thought, yes, it's more democratic to let all the voters decide at the Primary. Then it was pointed out to me that this is a representative government and the endorsement is a part of that. I now think that the endorsement process would work just fine if we didn't have upstarts who jump in and try to do it without the endorsement. I don't have a problem with someone who at least tried for it, but for the two candidates who are trying to win the primary without even attempting to win the endorsement are unfathomable and are going against their own party. R. T. Rybak is playing by the rules of the Democratic party. He has always been a fair and just person; this is just one more example of it. He has promised to abide by the endorsement. We know we can take him at his word. That's the kind of governor we want.

Question #3: Do you have someone you're looking at to be your lt. governor? Who will be your running mate?

I think that the lt. governor should be doing the work. I think Governor Pawlenty got it right by trying to have a lt. governor do the work. I disagree with the choice he made with Carol Molnau running the Department of Transportation, certainly. I think more important, what I want, is someone to be there in the governor's office who can help me make decisions and broaden my experience. I realize that out of the governor's office, and I know this from having been a chief executive, that the job there is also to connect the dots, to move beyond just government, and bring communities together. For instance, when we were addressing youth violence in Minneapolis, one of the reasons we were able to drive violence down 40% is because we brought government together with nonprofits and citizens. That's the kind of work the lt. governor can do. When we had an acheivement gap, when we wanted to make sure we got kids into college, we put through ten thousand kids into summer jobs and college access programs and career centers. That was a city wide work. We need a statewide leader working with me who can say, I'm going to go out and help build those partnerships. A governor has to be a lot of different places. A lt. governor can help double the work.

R. T. Rybak knows what an executive position entails and he knows how to get the work done. He has already shown his expertise as an executive leader by the work he has done in Minneapolis. He has been very much involved in the community as well as in the inner workings of the government of a very large city. He's also got good ideas for what he wants the function of the lt. governor to be. Rybak points out that he's been an executive in business, he's been a journalist, and he's been in government. He has excelled in all of these. I think the journalism background gives him an edge and a different perspective than any of the other candidates have. He knows how to look at things to understand and assimilate the inner workings of any situation. R. T. Rybak will make an excellent and a viable governor.

Question #4: Why would you be a better governor than Marty Seifert or Tom Emmer?

First, I have executive experience. There's a reason why they call one the legislative branch and the other the executive branch. I've been a chief executive. I'll come in with that experience. Second, I believe that I have experience outside the capitol. I've

DFL GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES ON MPR: MARK DAYTON

2010-04-21T17:26:00.007-05:00

I'm doing a series on the gubernatorial candidates and what they said on Tuesday and Wednesday (today) on MPR MIDDAY regarding several issues. I'll take the candidates one at a time, one per blog. Mark Dayton was the first one to speak in this series, so I'll take him on first. For each candidate I'll show what he or she said in bold print, then put my comments in normal print.

Mark Dayton at a Meet and Greet

Question #1: Why are you running for governor?

Minnesota needs to go in a fundamentally different direction. The theme of my campaign is A Better Minnesota. Having just travelled over 9,000 miles throughout our state in all 87 counties, I'd say that Minnesotans are looking for a better direction. They need jobs. We've seen massive unemployment under Governor Pawlenty. We've seen budget cuts for our schools of over $1400 per student. We need to reinvest in education. We need to reinvest in our infrastructure. We need to make taxes progressive once again in Minnesota to pay for these essential investments so we can create a better Minnesota.

He consistently overuses the word "fundamentally." I've heard "fundamentally profound," "fundamentally wrong," and now "fundamentally different." I've also heard "profoundly and fundamentally wrong." Would someone please send Mr. Dayton a thesaurus? As far as the context of his answer, it doesn't really tell me anything new. Mr. Dayton is very good at telling us what Minnesota needs to do in a vague way, but there is nothing definite and nothing to tell us how to get there. He raises more questions than he answers. What does he mean, exactly, when he says we have to reinvest in eduation and infrastructure? What does he mean, exactly, by progressive taxes? Does he have specific figures? Does he know how long it will take Minnesota to get back on its feet once taxes are raised on the wealthy? Tom Bakk used to say, and probably still does, that raising taxes alone just won't be enough. Also, "looking for a better direction" is just not specific enough. That's extremely vague.

Question #2: Should seeking the endorsement rather than going to the Primary without it matter to DFL voters?

I believe in democracy, and in a democracy all the people decide in a free election where the voters have choices of candidates. That means all the people. I'm running based on what I offer the state of Minnesota. I think it's much more important that 400,000 DFL primary voters get to decide who our party nominee is than 1300 party activists and leaders who I respect, but who should not be in a position to dictate to all the rest of the primary voters who their choice should be.

It seems to me that Mark Dayton is going to the Primary without even bothering with the endorsement because he doesn't think he can win the endorsement. I know many others who agree with me, including some of our candidates. The endorsement process is akin to representative government. Does Mr. Dayton believe that representative government should have no place in a democracy? Or is this just something he pretends to believe so that he can rationalize the avoidance of the DFL Primary? Why did he run for the U. S. Senate if he doesn't believe in representative democracy? (An even better question: why did he quit after only one term?) It appears that Mark Dayton is running to prove something to himself. He wants Minnesotans to like him again. Does he not know that his beloved Minnesotans can like him without him attempting to be governor? Does he not know that his chances of being the best candidate to run in November are slim to nil? Does he think that everyone is just going to forget about his fisasco in Washington? On the other hand, yes, Mark Dayton has 35 years of public service experience. Yet he never stayed in one position long at all. One term as State Auditor and one term as senator. Does he really think we're going to believe that he will spend eight years as Minnesota's governor even if he does by some remote chance win in November? I want a DFL governor who can win the Primary and win in November. If the Universe is kind, it will give us R. T. Rybak, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Paul Thissen or one of the other DFL candidates. We would have an excellent chance of winning the governorship with any of these people. Mr. Dayton, please go home and enjoy your millions. It's time to retire.

Question #3: Do you have someone in mind to be your Lt. Governor?

I want a partner; someone I can work with over the course of eight years; someone who brings expertise that I might not have in areas and also a balance in terms of persepective on the state because it is a big job and the Lt. Governor not only serves as the constitutional officer with the governor but also on the executive council and a member of the State Board of Invenstments. She or he has a major responsibility that is statutorily and constitutionally established. So I want someone who will be a co-equal and strong partner in this undertaking.

Okay, this was hard in spots to take down verbatim in writing since Dayton stumbles over his syntax sometimes. There are also incomplete sentences that just trail off into a new thought. Sometimes his sentences get a bit long and are held together with words such as "and, "but," and "or." It's nice that Dayton wants to work with a lt. governor over the course of eight years, but realistically, he has never held one office for that long. He ended his State Auditor duties after only one term; he ended his senator duties after only one term. Why should we trust him to be governor for more than one term? Especially since he's not getting any younger and has a couple of health issues.

Question #4: Why would you be a better governor than Marty Seifert or Tom Emmer?

Both the Republican candidates would push Minnesota even further to the extreme. They both said that they will not raise income taxes on the wealthiest people in this state, which means our taxes will continue to be terribly unfair. It also means that property taxes will continue to rise for middle income Minnesotans and senior citizens and farmers and small business owners as they have been over the last decade. Representative Seifert said the government is a parasite, which is ironic considering that he's now collecting two government paychecks. Representative Emmer said that he would abolish local government aids. Having been in all 87 counties in the last two months and met with county commissioners as well as mayors and city council members from all political persuasions, that would virtually eliminate local government in the rural and property tax poor areas of the state. So I think they demonstrate a very poor understanding of the realities that Minnesotans are facing all over the state, and they would just push us farther and farther to the right wing extreme.

This is a pretty good answer, although Dayton does need to work on his sentence structure, his habit of connecting phrases with "and" far too often, and varous other grammatical stumblings. He did get his point across that Seifert and Emmer just don't care about poor Minnesotans nor the plight of many who live in rural areas. Dayton makes a big effort to point out the huge discrepency in revenue goals between the Democrats and the Republicans. It's unfortunate that the Republicans do not have a more moderate candidate to offer up rather than two extreme right wing candidates. On the other hand, that's probably a good thing for the DFL winning the governorship this time around.

Question #5: Why would you want to take this mess on? How will you appeal to those who don't affiliate with any party?

I don't wat to be part of the first generation in our nation's history to leave our state and our nation worse off to our chidren and grandchildren than we inherited it, and that would be my judgement today. These are challenging times; very difficult times. These are going to be difficult and probaably many very unpopular decisions that the next governor has to make. The political leaders I admire, and I don't put myself in their category, are people like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, who led during difficult and perilous times. I think that's when it matters even more who the leader is and what direction he or she wants to lead. I just see that if we continue in the direction we're going today, if we're going to continue to cut back funding for education - Governor Pawlenty has cut per people aid formula by over $1400 per student - we have overcrowded classrooms all over the state. We have school districts in Minnesota that operate four day school weeks like rural Louisiana - so great, now our education policy is going to follow in the footsteps of rural Louisiana? Minnesota? As the state demographer and state economist have been saying to anyone who will listen, we are sacrificing the strengths of this state by disinvesting in education, infrastructure and essential services, health care, quality of life, and we're sacrificing the future of the state. I don't wanna see that happen. I wanna change direction and make it better. I think that's a broad appeal that applies to the vast majority of Minnesotans who recognize that things are getting worse. They don't have a job, they worry about property taxes going up, they want to see a better Minnesota.

Ok, this answer is very good. The problem is that this is from Dayton's repertoire of canned speeches. This is one he's got memorized. It's when he's asked a question that he's unprepared for that he has problems. Mark Dayton is not known for his ability to think on his feet. Don't get me wrong, he's very quick witted, but the words don't come out right if he doesn't have them prepared in advance. This particular answer is one he's told to audiences many, many times before. These are good ideas, but not all that original. I wonder who his speechwriter is. On the other hand, we all know that Minnesota is in deep trouble. Now the main question becomes who is the best suited candidate to put Minnesota back on track? I honestly don't think it is Mark Dayton. Word is out that he's of the old school of politics. We need someone younger; maybe someone with executive experience like R. T. Rybak. Maybe someone with new and fresh ideas, like Paul Thissen. Maybe someone who understands both rural and urban issues, like Margaret Anderson Kelliher. So maybe not Mark Dayton.

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THE ZEITGEIST MOVEMENT

2010-04-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

MATT ENTENZA ROCKS!!!

2010-04-20T21:23:00.000-05:00

Matt Entenza

Isn't this a great picture of Matt Entenza? I stole it off his website. I hope he doesn't mind. Naah, he won't.

I just love the Entenza campaign. Those staffers treat me like gold. They tell me that's how supporters ought to be treated. I had forgotten. They reminded me. It's a win-win situation.

Matt is a pretty cool guy too. He's not in the campaign office as much as his staffers are, and I'm not there every day by any means. Still, the way they treat me makes me want to keep coming back.

Not only that, but it's a great campaign and Matt is a great candidate. Sure, it took me awhile to warm up to them, but once I actually went to the campaign office to volunteer, I was hooked. People tend to go where they know they'll be well received. People tend to go where they're liked. And people tend to go where they're needed. At Entenza's campaign headquarters, I get all three. I'm liked, I'm well received and I'm needed. Woo hoo!!!

Plus, Matt's got excellent ideas for Minnesota. Probably the best I've heard in many ways. I can now visualize a Minnesota that's a new Silicon Valley of Energy. Wind energy, solar energy and whatever other kinds of energy are floating about. It's all clean, too. Clean energy, that is. As opposed to, for example, energy from burning coal. (I'm no physicist; can you tell?)

The Entenza campaign is full of energy too. Energized people for energized products. It makes sense, doesn't it? My new Entenza campaign friends have so much energy that I feel better and healthier just being around them. Come on down and see for yourselves.

I have fun everytime I step foot in Entenza's campaign offices. Take today, for example. I was trying to download and then upload a couple of pictures that my youngest son Marcus sent me. I was having a bit of trouble because it was in a zip file. Finally I was able to send them to someone as an attachment to an email. I wasn't sure who I should send them to. I knew I was going to the Entenza offices soon. So I sent them to Jason Hitchcock. Guess what they were pictures of? My grandfetus! Yup, two ultrasound pictures of my grandson. (At least they think it's a boy because of the heartbeat.)

Imagine Jason's surprise when he got these pictures in his email! When I got there I had to explain what they were. Then all the girls (Bridgette, Gretchen, etc.) crowded around and ooohed and ahhed over my grandbaby's picture. It was so sweet!

(Hey, look at all the cool stuff the Dayton people are missing out on! Their loss; the Entenza people's gain! Just like the election will be!!!)

Wanna see the ultrasound pictures? Ok, here they are.

Those are two separate pictures of my grandson, Alexander William Champlin. My son is Marcus Alexander Champlin. Here's a couple of pictures of him.

Marcus Alexander Champlin

Baby Marcus

Marcus on Amtrak

Marcus in Shoreview, Minnesota

An Older Marcus in Shoreview, MN

Marcus Champlin and his dad Mark Champlin in Southern Missouri

Marcus with his cousin's baby

Oh hey, I forgot, this blog is supposed to be about Matt Entenza and his campaign. Sorry about that. This son of mine, though, is just as cute as a bug's ear. Right? So you'll forgive me for digressing. There's a baby on the way, you know.

Ok, here's some more pictures of Matt. Remember, this blog is about him.

Matt Entenza

Matt Entenza, Gubernatorial Candidate

Matt Entenza is a candidate who many people are overlooking. That's all about to change. Matt is a candidate who represents the future, not the past. He's got great ideas. He's got an abundance of energy. To find out more, go to his website.

R. T. RYBAK FOR GOVERNOR

2010-04-20T12:15:00.002-05:00

RAMSEY COUNTY CONVENTION

2010-04-18T10:07:00.006-05:00

Gene Nichols, reNEW Minnesota

Grace Kelly

Matt Bostrom

Paul Thissen Signs

Ramsey County Convention

SD53 at Ramsey County Convention

Emily

Team Pinto (after the Convention, at Grumpy's)

Team Pinto, Consolation Dinner for a Job Well Done

After the CD4 endorsements concluded yesterday, the Ramsey County endorsements took place. Most, although not all, of Ramsey County is in CD4.

The winners of the Ramsey County endorsements were John Choi for Ramsey County Attorney and Matt Bostrom for Ramsey County Sheriff. Kudos to those who didn't win for a job well done.

Here's what happened during the endorsement process:

Laura Goodman, candidate for Ramsey County Sheriff, stated that she will abide by the endorsement. She started with a grassroots campaign. She attended Meet and Greets to build relationships. She put people together in committees to plan and prepare. She invited delegates to go with her offroad.

Matt Bostrom, another candidate for Ramsey County Sheriff, also stated that he will abide by the endorsement. He told the CD4 delegates that he understands how Fletcher campaigns and will meet him there, then campaign against him. Bostrom's campaign is highly organized and diverse. He can beat Fletcher on election day. (Matt Bostrom won the endorsement.)

Rebecca Otto then spoke. She's our State Auditor. She's been doing an excellent job. Her office makes wise investments to reduce energy costs. We can go back wards to hundereds of millions of dollars in errors or we can go forward with the good record that Rebecca Otto has.

David Schultz is an excellent speaker. He started The Innocent Project. He put his own safety on the line to rebuild a legal system in Kosovo. He will not abide by the endorsement. He has experience, leadership, and commitment to justice. He will be a working county attorney.

John Choi was introduced by Chris Coleman, who is an excellent speaker. Councilman Carter spoke up for Choi as well. I was disappointed that Dave Pinto didn't win.

Dave Pinto gave the most heartfelf speech. He has a vision which includes justice. Dave would have made an excellent Ramsey County Attorney. He had the vision for the position and he had the heart for it.

The candidates for Ramsey County Attorney were given a set of questions.

What will you do to win?

Dave Pinto - Grassroots support; excellent record as a domestic violence prosecutor; credibility; good record of preventing crime from happening in the first place.

David Schultz - Practices law across the entire spectrum in Ramsey County; has argued cases to juries for 25 years; makes decisions based on evidence and facts; listens and can tell when people are speaking from their hearts.

John Choi - He said that he will be the winner. He has more cash on hand than all three candidates combined. (This is an impossibility, since he is one of the three candidates. Did no one else catch this error?)

How will you prioritize your cases to meet justice in a depressed economy?

David Schultz - Evidence-based practices; child protection; institute practices that lower child abuse.

John Choi - Work with prosecutors in the criminal justice system.

Dave Pinto - Focus on violent and repeat offenders. Also focus on public safety.

Surprise Question for John Choi - A new group of immigrants is violating assembly laws but not maliciously. What to do?

John Choi - Charging anyone with unlawful assembly is hard to prove. We are not the INS.

Surprise Question for Dave Pinto - Elderly nuns have been occupying an abandoned warehouse on the riverfront for ten years. What to do?

Dave Pinto - Understand. Prosecute only if absolutely necessary.

Surprise Question for David Schultz - A dog frequently does his business in a service area. What to do about it?

David Schultz - Find a practical solution to a real world problem. Post signs so people don't step there. Very humorous response.

In the ballot for Ramsey County Attorney, John Choi received 185 of the 285 ballots cast. He is the winner.

In the ballot for Ramsey County Sheriff, Matt Bostrom was the winner.

This concluded the Ramsey County endorsement process. The day was adjourned.

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TWO DFL CONVENTIONS: CD4 AND RAMSEY COUNTY

2010-04-17T21:55:00.008-05:00

Rybak, Thissen and Marty Staffers at CD4 Convention

Team Rybak at CD4 Convention

CD4 Convention, Roseville Area High School

CD4 Convention

I attended the CD4 Convention today at Roseville Area High School. Immediately afterward was the Ramsey County Convention. A high percentage of delegates were a part of both groups, as most of CD4 is in Ramsey County.

As usual, I arrived very early. I got there at 7:30. I mingled with Thissen and Rybak staffers until more people showed up. J. P. Barone was there getting everything in order and giving orders, as a CD chair must do. He's very good at it, though, so that's okay. He always adds humor, too, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Soon more people arrived. I was glad to see my new Pinto staff friends, a few blogger friends and Matt Bostrom and his supporters. I had a couple of hours to mingle before the convention began. It was great to see Tom Rukavina and Orrie Salper, as it always is. They are always so cheerful. The same with R. T. Rybak. Always positive, motivated and incredibly energized. No deep dark depression from that quarter.

Speaking of which, guess who the cat dragged in? That's right. You guessed it. It was none other than Mark Dayton himself. Yes, folks, he actually had the nerve to drop by the CD4 Convention. I heard many people asking each other what he was doing there, since he refuses to participate in the endorsement process. No one seemed to know his reason for coming except that he wanted to steal votes from legitimate candidates. Most of the delegates are mad at him about it. Far be it from me to blame them.

Speaking of Dayton, all he had to do was walk right up to me and say, "Hi! How are you?" Maybe offer a nice hug, and all would have been forgiven. Mark Dayton is apparently deficient in the diplomacy department. Instead of offering up the olive branch, he took one look at me and cut and ran again.

As you may recall, Mark Dayton gave himself an F for his senate years because he felt he was ineffective. I thought he was being too hard on himself at the time. I now defer to his better judgement.

Mark Dayton in the same shirt he was wearing today.

For a rich guy, he doesn't seem to have a very extensive

wardrobe. I think he wants people to think that he's just

a regular guy. It's a political trick!!! What on earth is he
thinking? Something profoundly and fundamentally
wrong, no doubt!!!

After Dayton left in a hurry, I wandered around for awhile. Soon it was time for the convention to convene. We started out with the flag ceremony and the Pledge of Allegiance. Next, J. P. Barone gave a short welcome speech. The entire day was well worth it just to listen to J. P.

Franni Franken was the first speaker on the agenda. She said, "Oh! What a difference an election makes!" She also told us that Al was elected by only 312 votes. His message to us is unity, unity, unity. Franni's message is that the DFL needs to elect the endorsed candidate and only the endoresed candidate. (In other words, don't vote for Mark Dayton.)

Next, someone read a statement from Senator Amy Klobuchar, who recognized Congresswoman Betty McCollum for all her hard work and achievements. Klobuchar also stated that corporations are not people; people are people. She also gave a kudos to health care.

J. P. Barone was up again. He stated that we are now all party insiders because we walked in the door on caucus night.

After that we had reports from the Rules Committee and the Affirmative Action Committee. The Credentials Committee Chair, Fred Perez, gave that report.

At this point some of the alternates were upgraded to delegates. I was one of them. This was my very first experience as a delegate.

Diana Longrie then spoke. She's the former mayor of Maplewood. In 2009 she was defeated in that city's race for mayor. She decided to try to defeat Betty McCollum this year. Betty, of course, just got the DFL endorsement by a very wide margin today at the CD4 Convention. Go Betty!

Longrie was rather a boring speaker. She's an attorney in General Practice and Real Estate as well as in Family Law. She's apparently a legal jack of all trades. She told the delegates that she advocates for citizens and wants to put Americans back to work. (Don't we all!) She's a proponent of renewable energy and biofuels. (She's also a user of crutch words.)

Finally it was Betty McCollum's turn to speak. I could listen to her all day. What a great speaker! Wonderful personality, too! Two others spoke up for her first; then it was her turn. She will give us a transportation system that works for us. She wants to help President Obama move our country forward. Betty has a high energy level and lots of enthusiasm. I get energized listening to her.

Next, four questions were asked of Betty and Diana. Here they are:

1. Will you abide by the endorsement?
     Betty McCollum: Yes
     Diana Longrie: No

2. What will you do to ensure a win in November?
     Diana: Promote peace; get out of Afghanistan
     Betty: Help reelect DFL legislators; help elect a DFL governor

3. How would you balance the viewpoint of your constituents with doing what's right?
     Betty: Vote for families
     Diana: Responsibility is to constituents. Bring troops home from Afghanistan.

4. Surprise Question for Diana: Get rid of Federal income tax
     Diana: Listen to what the questioner is actually asking; where are they coming from?
     Surprise Question for Betty: A group came into the office to dispute logging.
     Betty: Agrees with the group. She believes that logging criteria needs to change.

The vote was then taken. There were 274 delegates voting, including upgraded alternates. Betty McCollum won by a landslide. She got about 98% of the votes. That's because Betty rocks!!!

The next speaker was Mark Ritchie. He said that we made everyone remember why we're #1! He talked about his opponent and reiterated that he would be honoring his opponent's military service and his public service record. He would debate him on the issues. Ritchie emphasized that we need to stand up in praise of public servants. We need to make our voices heard.

Let's look at a few more pictures before we listen to what the gubernatorial candidates had to say.

Victoria Reinhardt, Ramsey County Board of Commissioners Chair

Senator Sandy Rummel, SD53

Representative Paul Gardner, SD53A

Okay, let's listen to the gubernatorial candidates who were in attendance this morning. It's always a pleasure to listen to them speak.

R. T. Rybak - He doesn't want to wait even one more minute for a DFL Governor. It's also time to invest in schools and close the achievement gap. And it's time to invest in transportation. He wants to balance the budget and make Minnesota work. He'll win by creating a grassroots campaign from the bottom up. Rybak is a candidate who has an abundance of energy and a way with people. He's a very caring person. He's also enthusiastic and motivated. He's a natural people person and has a youthful exuberance. Almost everyone likes R. T. Rybak. He'd be a very popular governor.

John Marty - "Look deep in your heart and see why you first got involved in politics. Reread the DFL platform. You wrote it and we'll all make it happen. We will pass the Minnesota Health Plan. We will take the governor's office back." John is good on ethics and morals. He doesn't take PAC money or lobby money. He's the author of the best health care bill this state has ever seen. A vote for John Marty is a vote for everything that's good and everything that's right.

Peter Idusogie - He gave a tribute to John Marty. Peter is running so we can preserve all the good things that Minnesota has done. He is for righteousness and justice. He's also an excellent public speaker.

There were a couple of other candidates in attendance who I understand gave a speech. Unfortunately, I missed them because I was in line to upgrade my alternate status to delegate status. These candidates were:

Paul Thissen - I didn't get to hear him speak today, but I've heard him many other times. He's always excellent. He's got fresh new ideas for Minnesota. He's highly intelligent yet has a great deal of common sense. He cares about others, as I can personally vouch for because of all the times he asked me how I am. (He knows I'm fighting a devastating and potentially fatal chronic disease.) What a difference between all the candidates who inquire after my health and the few who don't seem to care at all. Paul is one of the candidates who always takes the time to ask. Also, it's clear that Paul can win. He has moved up very fast. We're very proud of him.

Tom Rukavina - I saw Rukavina earlier but unfortunately for me, I also missed his speech. Tom always adds humor to his speeches which livens up the day and makes everything appear brighter. He's of the old Farmer Labor Party, which later merged with the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party. He's blue collar. He's been a representative from the Iron Range for 24 years. He's got a large following of people who would love to see him as the next governor of Minnesota.

Ole Savior - He's the perennial candidate. He always runs in elections, although of course he never comes close to winning. Why does he run all the time? I forget. I heard it's to promote his art. Today he was seen outside the school. I was told that he didn't come in.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - I saw her inside the school earlier in the day but I did not hear her speak. I believe she left before she spoke. Don't quote me on that though.

A couple of candidates did not attend today. They include Susan Gaertner, who is no longer seeking the endorsement but will run in the Primary, and Matt Entenza, who has courted the endorsement, is not likely to win it, but will run in the Primary anyway. Of those three candidates who will run in the Primary regardless of the endorsement, Matt Entenza is the most viable. He can definitely win!!!

Correction: Susan Gaertner did drop in at the CD4 Convention. I somehow missed her.

The CD4 Convention wound up with some business. We had a short break before the Ramsey County Convention convened. I'll blog that tomorrow. I'm going to bed now. My eyes are growing very very sleepy...

Meanwhile, here's some more pictures.

J. P. Barone

Matt Bostrom

Orrie Salper (in vest)

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R. T. RYBAK RALLY WITH HOWARD DEAN

2010-04-16T21:40:00.003-05:00

R. T. Rybak for Governor

Rybak Staff Preparing for the Rally

Team Rybak

The Rally Begins

Rybak Rally in Full Swing

Dwayne King

R. T. Rybak for Governor

R. T. Rybak with David Schultz

Howard Dean at R. T. Rybak Rally

Howard Dean

Marc Drummond, TakeAction MN

I attended R. T. Rybak's rally tonight. I expected it to be very high energy. I was not disappointed. The energy increased even more when Howard Dean arrived. So much applause. So many cheers. This was a moment to remember.

First there was an introduction of R. T. Rybak. Then he spoke to the standing audience. He was enthusiastic, of course, as always. Motivating the crowd is one of his specialties. He excels at it. By the time he was done speaking I wanted to fully support him and his campaign. I wanted to run out and shout to the world, "R. T. for Governor! R. T. for Governor!"

R. T. then introduced Howard Dean. That was the first time I had ever heard him in person. He's wonderful! He told us exactly why we need R. T. to be our governor and why R. T. can win. I was definitely convinced. There's just something about R. T. Rybak that almost everybody loves. He's the only candidate with executive experience and it shows.

Howard Dean then spoke about some of the issues, the biggest of which is health care. He said that our new bill that we passed is a start but we're not done with it yet. He told exactly why it needed to be passed now.

We all agreed that Bachmann needs to go. Cheers and applause at this. I believe that she will be ousted this time. She's getting to be too much even for Republicans. She has lost any ounce of credibility that she may have once had.

Howard Dean coming to Rybak's Rally was a stroke of genius. It was just the motivating factor to create even more excitement in this campaign and hopefully to tip the scales toward R. T.

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DAVE PINTO'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

2010-04-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Drew Henry

Pinto Supporters

Birthday Party for Dave Pinto

Dave Pinto Birthday Party

Matt Bostrom (standing on left) at Dave Pinto's Birthday Party

Last night I attended a birthday party celebration for Dave Pinto. Lots of people were there, including some from the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, a few legislators and Matt Bostrom. Matt is running for Ramsey County Sheriff. I hope he wins. He's a great guy and will bring credibility and honor back to that department.

Dave Pinto celebrated his 38th birthday. His brothers and his mother were in attendance. It was nice to meet them. They're just as nice as he is. I also met his wife and his two little boys. What a lovely family!

Drew Henry was also there. It's always good to see him. He's so cheerful and optimistic about everything. Drew is Dave Pinto's campaign coordinator. He's doing an excellent job.

For more information on Dave Pinto and his eight-point plan for success in the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, click here.

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MATT ENTENZA HAS GREAT IDEAS FOR MINNESOTA

2010-04-16T07:33:00.000-05:00

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FORUM AT HAMLINE UNIVERSITY

2010-04-16T06:53:00.001-05:00

Rob Hahn, Independent Party

Susan Gaertner, DFL

Me with Thomas Horner (Independent Party)

Peter Idusogie (on left), DFL

RobBob for Governor (Independent Party)

(Rob Hahn is the author of The Funeral Home Murders)

Last night I had two events to attend. My plan was to start out at the tri-party gubernatorial forum at Hamline University and then go to Dave Pinto's birthday party in Roseville. This plan would have worked better had the gubernatorial forum started on time and had all the candidates who had committed to it actually shown up. Missing were Tom Rukavina, Paul Thissen and Mark Dayton. Matt Entenza and R. T. Rybak had not committed to it. There's lots going on in Minnesota's political world right now so there are lots of conflicts. I did feel bad for the students. They had expected all the candidates who had previously committed and were disappointed when this didn't happen. Out of all of our DFL candidates, only two had arrived at the forum before I left. They were Susan Gaertner and Peter Idusogie. I heard that John Marty was on his way.

Leslie Davis, Republican candidate, was there with copies of his book to sign. Although I've spoken to him at many of these events, he didn't remember who I was or remember ever having seen me before.

Peter Idusogie, on the other hand, clearly remembered me. His mind is razor sharp. He also has excellent communication skills. Minnesota would do very well with him as governor. Wouldn't that upset the proverbial applecart! I'd love it! Regardless of who actually wins, the other candidates ought to listen to Peter Idusogie, as he has some wonderful ideas.

Rob Hahn circulated around the room and took time to talk to lots of people. Rob is an author as well as a candidate for governor on the Independent ticket. He's a very good looking man and has some great ideas about what he would do as governor to make Minnesota better.

It was nice to see Susan Gaertner again. It's been quite awhile since I last saw her. I've missed her at many of these events. I always liked her personality. She's tough and has a streetwise way of talking.

It's always interesting to have a few words with Tom Horner. He's with the Independent Party. I'm waiting to see who the front runner will be in that party, Horner or Hahn.

If I wanted to arrive at Dave Pinto's birthday party at Grumpy's in Roseville, I had to leave. I was rather disappointed that this event started late and I didn't even get to hear the candidates' opening statements.

I'll do a separate blog post on the birthday party.

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TOM RUKAVINA MEET AND GREET

2010-04-15T06:32:00.000-05:00

Tom Rukavina (on right) with supporter.

Orrie Salper (on left) with Rukavina Meet & Greet Guests

More Rukavina Meet & Greet Guests

Tom Rukavina, Gubernatorial Candidate

Meet and Greet for Tom Rukavina, St. Paul MN, 04-14-2010

Last night I attended Tom Rukavina's Meet and Greet. I got a whole new look at Rukavina's campaign. I really liked what I saw. He was so serious that I took him seriously. Sometimes at debates and forums he adds a lot of humor to the extent that it seems like he's just joking around. Tonight, though, he was adept at getting his points across. Everything he said made a lot of sense. I felt myself being swayed toward supporting him.

Tom Rukavina really is refreshingly honest. Or brutally honest. Whichever term you want to use is fine. He gives facts and opinions straight up without sugarcoating. Many politicians like to tell us what we want to hear. Not Tom Rukavina. He'll tell us the truth. We can count on it.

This was the first time I ever heard him talk in depth about several issues. That's because the forums and debates only allow about two or three minutes per question. Tonight he spoke for an hour and a half. I was quite impressed.

The subjects he covered included mineral rights on the iron range, the budget, dealing with Pawlenty, what the legislature is trying to do, the criminal justice system, Second Chance Coalition, and several other topics of interest.

For those who haven't heard Tom Rukavina talk in depth, I would highly recommend that you hurry up and do so within the next week. He's really good when he has longer than a few minutes to speak. Take my word on this.

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MATT ENTENZA: VIDEO OF RALLY

2010-04-14T11:56:00.002-05:00

THE MERITS OF R. T. RYBAK

2010-04-14T04:03:00.000-05:00

R. T. Rybak

I haven't done a blog about R. T. for awhile. It's overdue. I'm trying to cover all the candidates before the endorsement. Rybak has always been one of my top favorites for the governorship of Minnesota.

First, Rybak can win. Almost all Minnesotans know who R. T. is now. And almost everyone likes him.

What's not to like? R. T. has personality, charisma, enthusiasm, motivation, high energy, the ability to work hard and get things done, executive experience, and likeability. In short, he can win. He can get elected as the next governor of Minnesota. As the current mayor of Minneapolis, he's got what it takes to move on up to the governoship.

R. T. Rybak, as mayor of Minneapolis, has created thousands of jobs. He was instrumental in starting the Minneapolis Promise, which links up kids with jobs and opportunity. Mayor Rybak has lowered crime in Minneapolis. He balanced the budget and made investments in the city's future. He can do the same with our entire state.

"Our history has shown that we build opportunity by investing in people and by investing in the common ground where innovation can thrive. Minnesota faces serious economic challenges, but in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we have a unique capacity not just to recover, but to reinvigorate our economy." - R. T. Rybak

Rybak has a plan to bring Minnesota back to greatness. His focus is, and will be as governor, on growing jobs and economic competitiveness. Our state needs to create jobs by investing in education and training. We also need to improve and expand our infrastructure - roads, bridges, transit and technology - from transportation to high-speed internet access everywhere in Minnesota.

To be successful, Minnesota must bring business leaders, labor, civic organizations and the public sector together. R. T. Rybak has a background in buisness. He will be able to create jobs all across Minnesota in health care, medical technology, natural resources, and marketing and retailing. To be successful, and to compete in a global economy, Minnesota must be a leader in business. R. T. Rybak can get us there.

Rybak's governorship will be good not only for Minnesota's cities, but also for the rural areas. He believes in the high value of clean and renewable energy. He knows we have to stop relying on oil from other countries. He also knows the high value of family farms.

For more information on R. T. Rybak and his plan to bring Minnesota back to the top, click here.

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MATT ENTENZA RALLY

2010-04-12T21:33:00.001-05:00

Entenzacycle

Late this afternoon I drove to North Minneapolis to attend the Matt Entenza rally. It was held at the Capri Theatre on West Broadway. What an energizing and uplifting experience! The more I'm around Matt and his staff and supporters, the more enthused I get about his campaign. Everyone is always so cheerful with big smiles on their faces. This is a high energy campaign and one that is definitely going places.

I've changed my mind about Matt Entenza since all the campaigning started last year. I started out with a lukewarm feeling toward him. All I had heard were stories from several years ago. Now that I've become a bit involved in the campaign, I can see that he's got his eyes on the future and what Minnesota can accomplish down the road. Green energy is high on his list of priorities. Minnesota can become the Silicon Valley of this new green energy.

Matt Entenza is one of the few people who has ever stood up to Governor Pawlenty and won. Remember back several years when Minnesota was about to lose MNCare? Guess who saved it? That's right. It was Matt. It took a government shutdown of a week to do it, but in the end Matt prevailed. MNCare was saved. People who were on it got to keep their insurance coverage thanks to Matt Entenza.

This was a great rally tonight. Keith Ellison was there. What an excellent speaker! He sure knows how to get the crowd motivated and revved up. I could listen to him for a long, long time and never be bored.

Entenza staffer Jason Hitchcock was also there. I swear that he has done more to convince me of the merits of the Entenza campaign than anyone could imagine. Jason talks fast and talks long, but what he says is right on target and makes a lot of sense. Matt needs to give the guy a raise! He could convince an Eskimo to buy a pair of sandals.

Matt gave a high energy speech. He was passionate and excited yet still reasonable. I notice that he uses a lot more gestures now than he used to. Using a lot of gestures doesn't come naturally to Norwegians (Entenza is Norwegian for Governor, right?), but Matt is getting the hang of it very nicely. I paid close attention to what he said tonight and discovered that he definitely has an excellent shot at the governorship. He's looking to the future, not to the past. He's got the resources to win and the staff and supporters to work hard to get him elected.

Here's some more pictures of the rally. Enjoy!

Matt Entenza for Governor

Dyna

Jason and Me

Keith Ellison

Keith Ellison and Me

Entenza Staff

Future Governor Matt Entenza

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THE POLITICS OF DEPRESSION

2010-04-12T12:48:00.001-05:00

Me and my dog Shag

As some of you know, I haven't been feeling well. Some of it is from the hepatitis C and cirrhosis. Some of it recently is from a common illness called depression.

Because of various symptoms, I figured I'd better get in to see my doctor. I told her what was going on; she said that I had signs of clinical depression. She gave me a prescription for Lexapro. Ten mg 1x/day.

This happened once before a couple of years ago. I figured it was because my teenage son was giving me so much grief. The doctor wrote a prescription for Lexapro at that time, too. It worked fine to get my seratonin levels back up where they should be.

My son moved out last fall. I went off the Lexapro under my doctor's supervision. Everything was fine until a couple of months ago when something triggered a relapse.

What are the symptoms of depression? In my own case, the main thing is that I couldn't stop crying. It got so I was crying almost nonstop day and night. The only time it was better was when I was around other people. I'm thankful for all my political friends and all the debates, forums, conventions and meet and greets that I'm going to. It really does help to be with others.

Besides crying and a deep senes of sadness, I felt a knot in my solar plexus. I still have all these symptoms, but I can tell they are getting a bit better. I've been taking Lexapro for 3 days now. It takes between two weeks and a month for it to kick in thoroughly.

Another symptom I felt was intense reactions to my own feelings. Each one was blown up about ten times. These lead to sad thoughts and then more tears.

One symptom many feel when suffering from this malady is thoughts of suicide. I thought about it but not too seriously. I believe that this is the game of Life and suicide is cheating. I never was one to cheat at games, not even when I was a kid playing board games. I felt a deep sense of outrage when people cheated. I still do.

If feelings of emptiness and despair overtake you and won't go away, you may be exhibiting signs of depression. Please make an appointment with your doctor. If you have clinical depression, there is an easy solution. Antidepressant medications will get you feeling yourself again within a month. You may also want to consider talk therapy. Studies show that a combination of antidepressants and talk therapy works wonders.

Depression is more than just the temporary blues. The lows of depression make it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Hobbies and friends don't interest you like they used to; you're exhausted all the time; and just getting through the day can be overwhelming. When you're depressed, things may feel hopeless.

Some people describe depression as living in a black hole or having a feeling of impending doom. Others don't feel sad at all. Instead, they feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic.

Whatever the symptoms, depression is different from normal sadness in that it engulfs your day-to-day life, interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun. The feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness are intense and unrelenting, with little, if any, relief. There are different levels of this. One can have mild depression or severe depression.

If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms, and they just won't go away, you may be suffering from clinical depression.

*you can't sleep or you sleep too much
*you can't concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult
*you feel hopeless and helpless
*you can't control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try
*you have lost your appetite or you can't stop eating
*you are much more irritable and short-tempered than usual
*you have thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately if this is the case)

Someone who is clinically depressed may not have all of these symptoms. If you have one or more, see you doctor as soon as possible.

Here's a helpful website that tells you almost everything you need to know about depression.

If you've been diagnosed with depression, is your life over? Of course not. If you have any disease, you probably take a pill for it. Depression is no different. It's just a tool to get your body working right again.

Does depression still carry a stigma in our society? I believe that sometimes it does. It needs to be talked about more. I knew there was a reason I'm going through all this. Let's bring it out into the open. I know there are lots of us who are dealing with this malady. Feel free to comment if you like.

As for the political end of it, let's make sure that we all treat each other according to the reNEW MN vision. All are included; no one is excluded. We're all in this together. We may have different things we have to deal with, but we're all trying to get through life as best we can.

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TOM RUKAVINA: ANOTHER LOOK

2010-04-11T08:49:00.001-05:00

Tom Rukavina

Don't eliminate Tom Rukavina from the gubernatorial race. Word is out that he just might surprise everyone at the DFL State Convention in Duluth in a couple of weeks.

What does Rukavina have to offer Minnesotans? He's got a long, long history of standing up and fighting for the blue collar worker. He's the Farmer-Labor part of the DFL. If you are a delegate to the State Convention, you should consider voting for him. If you have rural roots, you should consider voting for him. If you're a union member, you should definitely consider Tom Rukavina. He can get things done for you. He is willing to work hard to be your voice, just as he's done for decades in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Watch these videos of him.

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CD2 AND CD3 CONVENTIONS

2010-04-10T15:13:00.012-05:00

Me and Matt Entenza at CD2 Convention

Team Thissen

Team Rybak at CD2 Convention

Blogger Eric Pusey (The Big E)

Tom Rukavina

Blogger Steve Quist

John Marty and Micah Marty

Blogger Holly Cairns (far right)

Blogger Dave Mindeman

Today I attended two congressional district conventions. They were CD2 in Chanhassen and CD3 in Plymouth. I heard the candidates speak only at CD2. Unfortunately, I missed R. T. Rybak. He must have been coming to CD2 as I was leaving for CD3. Darn!

I enjoyed seeing old and new friends today, including Orrie Salper, Tom Rukavina, Matt Entenza, John Marty, Paul Thissen, Dave Mindeman, Eric Pusey, Steve Quist, the Rybak and Thissen staffers who I have come to know, and especially Holly Cairns. It's great having blogger and candidate friends! Especially now while I'm on a two-week medical leave of absence from work.

There were quite a few speakers today. I'll give a brief rundown of what each one said.

Jim Klobuchar - is the father of Senator Amy Klobuchar. He gave an interesting speech. He said that we must think anew and act anew. The Bush administration has wrecked the economy of this country. We need to fix it. We need to keep the backbone we had when we swept the Democrats back into the White House. We have to be together during this election year. We'll win by sticking together. Mr. Klobuchar also emphatically stated that corporations are not people.

Frannie Franken - "What a difference an election makes. We now have health care." Frannie touched on this important subject before stating that we now have to move on to jobs and the economy. She also told us that Al is in Rochester today attending a funeral.

Brian Melendez - gave a speech about why we need to win in November. He stated that Michele Bachmann doesn't show up to vote. We need to elect Tarryl Clark in CD6. We must not divide the party. Brian is the MN DFL Chair. He's a good speaker and always has something pertinent to say.

Donna Cassutt - stated that we absolutely must elect a DFL governor. It will take each and every one of us to do this. We have to stand together. We can't let the party be divided. (I don't know for sure, but I get the feeling that Brian and Donna are talking about the endorsed candidate versus the non-endorsed candidates. Could this divide the party?)

Lori Swanson - has always supported health care reform. She knew a woman who could barely pay her bills because of the cost of prescription drugs. She also knows of an elderly gentleman who unknowingly bought a phony insurance policy. When he got sick, the insurance company wouldn't pay his medical bills. Now the clinic wants thousands of dollars that he doesn't have. There are hundreds of stories like this. Hopefully the new health care reform will solve many of these issues.

Tom Rukavina - has six issues to focus on: education, education, education and jobs, jobs, jobs. He's got a blue collar background and is fully union. He comes from the old Farmer-Labor part of the DFL party. Tom's speech today was fiery and passionate. (He got a lot of applause.) Tom's daughter is an AFSCME staff representative. Tom believes that working people should be treated with respect and dignity. They should not be treated the way they are in Minnesota today. (Applause, claps, shouts of agreement.) Tom said, "When we're doing less, less, less, then we're not doing more for the people of Minnesota."

John Marty - "Look into your hearts and see why we first got involved in politics." Remember the DFL platform. Remember the reNew MN vision. Never forget all the issues that we're fighting for. These are important issues that are worth fighting for. We need a governor who will make sure that we get what Minnesotans need. John Marty will carry out the vision. He's the one candidate who doesn't take lobby money. He authored the Minnesota Health Plan. Hewill build a better future for all of us.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - was at her very best today. She was very enthusiastic right from the very beginning of her speech. She was fiery and passionate. She said, "We are all shaped by the road we have walked on." We need a strong DFL governor to turn this state around. The governor we have now has taken tea with the right wingers. We need a DFL governor. Go Margaret! This was an excellent speech today, as always.

Paul Thissen - Our current administration likes to settle legislation by saying, "Well, it's better than nothing." Paul says, "Minnesota has never settled for better than nothing." Don't slap a coat of paint on a buiding that's falling down. We need to build a new building. Paul Thissen has great ideas to bring Minnesota into the future. One thing he'll focus on is the changing demographics of Minnesota. He knows how vital this is to our future.

Matt Entenza - He speaks with the voice of reason. Matt doesn't play on our emotions with lots of fiery passion. Instead, he speaks in a way that appeals to our logic and our common sense. He talks sensibly about the issues facing Minnesota and what the solutions might be. He doesn't go on a rampage about Governor Pawlenty. Instead, he talks about his ideas for fixing Minnesota. Today Matt said, "We need a governor who has a vision that will take us where we need to go." Matt will take us in the direction of green energy. He will make sure we take our state back.

Rebecca Otto - She wants to make affordable housing that is good for the long term. She wants to innovate Minnesota government to be a national leader. Rebecca can do it. Vote for her. She's been an excellent state auditor so far and will continue to be.

At this point I left CD2 and went on to CD3 in Plymouth. I didn't stick around in Chanhassen to hear the speeches and the question and answer period of Madore and Powers. Other bloggers are covering that at MPP.

It's along way from Chanhassen to Plymouth. By the time I got there the speakers had all finished except for Meffert and Hackett. I mingled in the foyer with candidates and staff. I didn't stay very long. My energy is very low today.

The next convention I'll attend is next Saturday, April 17, in Roseville. It's the CD4 convention. That's my home district. I'm looking forward to it.

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PAUL THISSEN MEET AND GREET

2010-04-09T19:45:00.003-05:00

Paul Thissen at Stillwater Meet and Greet

Paul Thissen at The Daily Grind for Meet and Greet

Tonight I went to a Meet and Greet for Paul Thissen at The Daily Grind, 317 Main Street, in Stillwater, MN. This was a well attended event with over twenty people showing up to hear what Paul had to say.

Paul Thissen has been a Minnesota Representative for eight years. He chairs the Health and Human Service Committee. He is running for governor because he wants to work with everyone to rebuild Minnesota. He wants to prepare Minnesotans for demographic changes and for the future. Paul's leadership will focus on the future so that it will be better for all of us.

The campaign is climbing upward fast. He's gaining delegates and gaining in popularity. He's got excellent ideas and brings a freshness to Minnesota politics. One reason is because Thissen accepts the reality of where people are. He knows how to turn the negatives (fear and scarcity) into a positive.

Paul told us tonight that he wants to make reforms sustainable. "You can't starve yourself into reform," he said profoundly.

He then gave kudos to Matt Entenza for standing up to Governor Pawlenty in 2005. It shows a kindness of spirit when one candidate gives credit and praise to another for a job well done.

Paul knows that the budget needs to be cut in places, but he will do it in such a way that it will not undermine the future of our state. He's got an excellent record in the legislature. He knows how to get an abundance of work done for constituents becaues he can work across the table. He's also willing to forego taking credit for it in order to get the work done.

Paul Thissen is aware that many Minnesotans feel anger and frustration that it's so hard to move forward. If he were governor, we would definitely move forward. Paul has a plan for changing things. He feels that the problem is not poor government, but poor leadership. He wants to run Minnesota with mutual accountability between the governor, the legislators and the people. He's a firm believer in personal responsibility and in what we owe to each other as Minnesotans.

Paul will back the Republicans down. He will make them answer such questions as "What agencies are you going to close?" "Which schools will you close?" Which police and fire departments will you close?"

He also has a list of tasks for Minnesota to accomplish. This list includes:

Research and development

Embrace science

Make Minnesota a destination state

Promote arts and culture

Assure marriage equality

Establish immigration reform

Compete in the global economy

Paul Thissen came across to the audience tonight, as he always does, as a very intelligent person with a lot of common sense. As one participant pointed out, he also has the quality of humbleness. He's willing to listen and learn.

Paul Thissen would make an excellent governor.

Paul Thissen Meet and Greet in Stillwater, MN

The Daily Grind, Stillwater, MN

CRYING IN THE RAIN, BY ART GARFUNKEL AND JAMES TAYLOR

2010-04-09T00:11:00.000-05:00

THE BLIZZARD, BY JIM REEVES

2010-04-08T23:55:00.002-05:00

R. T. Rybak Interview at Democratic Visions

2010-04-08T18:51:00.002-05:00

R. T. Rybak on Roads and Transit

2010-04-08T18:46:00.002-05:00

SHELLEY MADORE FOR CONGRESS!

2010-04-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

Shelley Madore

Two other bloggers and myself met Shelley Madore for an interview. She is running for Congress in Congressional District 2.

This was the first time I met Ms. Madore. I was very impressed with her. I could tell right away that she's a very strong woman who is not afraid to say what she thinks. The issues are more important to her than political correctness. I made the assessment that Shelley Madore is just who CD2 needs to represent them in Washington.

Shelley is a suburban mom who wants to be the CD2 congresswoman so her community can do better. She wants to do the things that will make the lives of the families in her district better. She has a passion for making families stronger. She knows that we must generate more revenue to do this. She's all for a progressive tax system.

Shelley Madore has been a community volunteer for twenty years. She can do the work right away because of her experience. She doesn't need a training period. Shelley served as a Minnesota State Representative from 2007-2009. During this time, she was recognized for her work in health care, transportation and education. She is a long-time community activist and volunteer in the areas of urban affairs, transportation and disability advocacy. She has lived in Apple Valley with her two children for nineteen years.

Ms. Madore is concerned about the stress that Minnesota families are feeling in today's economy. She knows that voters appreciate women of strength. That was the first thing I noticed about Shelley Madore. She has strength of character. She has the strength to go up against her opponents. She has the strength necesssary to get things done and to fight in Washington for her district. She understands who the people in her district are and what the district is all about.

A top priority for Madore is to bring jobs into CD2. She understands the importance of green jobs and a green economy in order for Minnesota to be successful in the future. She knows that the biggest complaint among the people of CD2 is there there is a lack of new jobs in the community. She has good ideas for fixing this. First and foremost, she is dedicated to creating a good transportation infrastructure.

Another issue she will focus on is county delivery of health care. She wants to make sure that all people in her district have access to health care and have their health care needs met.

Shelley Madore is a high energy woman. She is willing to work hard to accomplish that which will benefit the people of CD2. She is willing to go toe to toe against her opponent John Kline. She is a firm believer in government for the people and by the people.

I do not live in CD2, but if I did, I would definitely vote for Shelley Madore. She is persistent, truthful, transparent, accountable, and dedicated to making life better for the citizens of CD2. I saw right away that Shelley Madore has the high energy of a dynamic candidate. She is a person who does not legislate away from her heart. Her heart is with the people of Minnesota, particularly those who reside in her district.

I highly recommend that CD2 both endorse and vote for Shelley Madore.

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MEET AND GREET WITH MATT ENTENZA

2010-04-05T20:36:00.003-05:00

Matt Entenza (on right) with Mayor of Winona

Tonight I attended a Meet and Greet for Matt Entenza. It was at the library in Stillwater. If you have never been to the Stillwater library, be sure to check it out. It's wonderful. The view from the top floor deck is stupendous. You can see the St. Croix River Valley in all its splendor.

The Meet and Greet was very interesting and informative for me. I've read Matt's campaign literature and have been to a lot of events such as debates and forums where he was just one of many gubernatorial candidates speaking. It was nice to hear him talk in a smaller group setting. And it was good to see how he interacted with these voters from Stillwater, which is in CD6.

I was very impressed with Matt Entenza tonight. He came across as being reasonable, personable and caring. He listened carefully to the issues that the audience brought up. He never interrupted them to insert his own words. He waited until they were finished with what they had to say and then gave his response. There was a woman in the group who tried to monopolize the conversation. He took her in stride and remained polite. He listened to her concerns. I could tell he was emphathizing with her situation.

To begin the conversation, Matt told about his childhood growing up in Worthington, MN. He gave a personal background of a few of the things that affected his life. He kept it brief for the sake of time, as the Meet and Greet was only scheduled for an hour.

Matt talked of how Minnesota used to have such an excellent school system. I agreed with him on that. I attended the White Bear Lake schools from kindergarden through high school. My four kids were in the Mounds View school district. Between the time I was in school and the time my youngest two kids were, Minnesota's educational system took a nosedive. In the 1950's and 1960's, many languages were taught. When I was in high school there was a choice of French, German, Spanish, Greek, Latin and Russian. A foreign language was required to get into college. Extracurricular activities were either free or reasonably priced. I was in pep band, stage band, concert band and marching band. I never paid a cent for uniforms, instrument rental or lessons.

Let's elect a governor who will bring this standard back to Minnesota schools. Matt Entenza is one of the candidates who can and will accomplish this.

Matt's background is that of legislator, criminal prosecutor of white collar crime, telemarketing scams and other crimes committed in the business world. He became a legislator in 1995 and was the minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 - 2006. In 2005 Matt Entenza successfully stood up against Governor Tim Pawlenty in order to make sure that Minnesota kept its health care. He also, at this time, was instrumental in keeping public education from suffering further budget cuts.

Matt authored and passed the Do Not Call bill, which served to protect Minnesotans from harrassment by telemarketers. He also authored legislation to maintain funding for school breakfast programs and raise accountability standards for charter schools.

Matt Entenza was a major contributor to child support legislation in Minnesota. It was he who authored every major reform from 1995-2002 and increased collection by 25 percent.

As governor, Matt will focus on education, health care and green energy. He knows that no governor can focus on everything at once, so he has picked the issues that need the top priority.

Matt Entenza saved MNCare, which is the state funded health care program for low and moderate income people without any other health insurance. He fought for the rights of every Minnesotan to have heath care access. State government shut down for seven days during this time, but in the end Matt made Governor Pawlenty see the light in regard to the importance of health care. The deal was that if the legislators would agree to call the tobacco tax a fee instead of a tax, then Pawlenty would agree to save MNCare. Of course we all know that a tax by any other name is still a tax. Kudos to Entenza for this one.

Matt wants Minnesota to return to the things that made our state great. Currently, polarization is getting worse and worse. The Teabaggers are getting out of control. Minnesotans are seeking a balance. When things get out of balance in nature, something always happens to restore the balance. It's no different in politics. I sincerely believe that Matt Entenza can restore balance to Minnesota.

Economic growth in Minnesota was about average for the Midwest until education became a prime focus. Then our economic growth took off. We saw tremendous advances in our economy. Now our educational system is suffering because of Republican administration. Our economy is suffering as well. Let's get Minnesota back on track with a superb educational system and a fast-growing economy. One follows the other.

Matt is also concerned about our justice system. There are too many flaws in it. Justice takes too long to accomplish and there is far too much red tape. Tonight at the Meet and Greet, Matt quoted an old saying: "Justice delayed is justice denied." People wait so long for justice that they end up not getting it at all. As governor, Matt will work to improve Minnesota's justice system. He knows that we need a more speedy court system and that we need a fair justice for the poor. Discrepancies have no place in our justice system.

Matt also knows that the "No Child Left Behind" program doesn't work. We need to junk it and come up with something that actually works.

This candidate is good on child support, too. In 2001 he won a national award for best legislator in regard to to this issue.

Matt Entenza is pro light rail and pro heavy rail. This is excellent from my viewpoint. I grew up on trains and always feel a thrill when I ride them. My grandfather and uncle both worked for the Minnesota Transfer Railway. My cousins worked for the Burlington Northern. I myself did a stint with Canadian Pacific Railroad. When I was very small, my grandmother took me on the street cars. I vaguely remember. When I was about five, the streetcar lines began to disappear. Buses took their place. Yet now streetcars are making a comeback. We call it light rail now. Matt has a transportation plan that embraces the next twenty years. I briefly heard the plan tonight. It's excellent.

In conclusion, I have to say that I was very impressed with Matt Entenza tonight. He's very easy to get along with, he listens to people, he's got a pleasing personality, he's got a plan for Minnesota to return to its days of glory but with a futuristic goal, and he's got a plan to win the governorship so he can bring these plans to fruition for the benefit of all Minnesotans.

Here's some pictures of tonight's Meet and Greet.

People came early on their way home from work to wait

for Matt to arrive.

Entenza Staffer

More people arrived, all eager to meet Matt Entenza

This was a beautiful room at the Stillwater library.

My New Friends

We had a great discussion with these two ladies.

Matt Entenza listens carefully to Minnesotans.

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MARK DAYTON AGAIN

2010-04-04T00:28:00.002-05:00

Mark Dayton Speaks About Something?

MN Progressive Project did a blog on February 18, 2009, called Mark Dayton Makes a Move. The blog includes an enlargeable picture of a flyer that Dayton had sent out to some of the voters (hey, he missed a whole bunch of us).

This particular blog that Populista did at Minnesota Progressive Project includes links to a speech and a debate that Mark Dayton had with two other candidates for senator. Go to the website linked to above. The RealAudio links are accessed by scrolling about two thirds of the way down the page.

One commenter on this blog is not happy with Dayton's oratory skills. He says, DFL State Convention Speech, May 22, 2004. Scary. He just goes completely off the rails.

For the debate, he says, U.S. Senate Debate, October 15, 2000. Falls apart when put under pressure. Hour 2 is especially painful.

Personally, I didn't think it was as bad as all that, but go to the site by clicking on the highlighted link above, scroll down, click on the audio links and listen for yourself. The speech in the first clip is kind of wild, much like the more recent AFSCME on the Hill speech. Only left wingers would appreciate it.

There are two separate audio clips of the debate with Rod Grams. The latter obviously won the debate because he had better communication skills and made more sense. Yet one must say that Dayton stood up for himself quite nicely and logically when Grams tried to twist his words. Dayton is not an eloquent speaker (he stumbles over his words a lot), but he is sincere.

Read the rest of the comments on this blog to see what fellow Progressives think of having Dayton as our next governor. Here's one of the comments:

We deserve better than Dayton

The man left the Senate as a disgrace -- he was poised to lose to Mark Kennedy of all people!!! He is yesterday's news, and there's nothing progressive about that. We have tremendous, new-blood progressives poised to lead the DFL back to prominence. Let's not screw this up with a pick like Dayton.

I also posted this on my Facebook wall. Here's the comments that were written about it:

I don't understand this post.

Just go to that website, scroll down, and listen to the three speeches/debates. My purpose is to make sure we get the best candidate for governor and not someone who wins because he's got enough money for superb media advertising. The three RealAudio segments speak for themselves. Also read what progressive DFLers have to say in the comments section.

Oh. Okay. Cause it looked like you were working against Dayton, now that you've had a personal falling out with him.

I am working against Dayton because I am no longer blinded by untenable devotion and loyalty and thus have made the rational decision to fully support Paul Thissen, who is an excellent communicator, has a great record in the legislature, can win the election in November because he appeals to all voters, including moderate, swing and independent. I abhor the idea of Dayton winning merely because he has the most money and the name most recognized by all Minnesotans because of Divine Dayton's Dept Store, which he never had anything to do with as far as the running of it. It's time we elected someone on their merits, their common sense, their integrity and their stand on the issues.

In listening to the debate in the above link, between Grams and Dayton, it's so obvious that Grams won the debate. Yet Dayton won the election because he had more money to spend on advertising. He spent $12 million on that campaign. Conclusion: he bought his Senate seat.

Why does Mark Dayton get elected to public office? Simple. He's rich. That means he's got a lot of money to spend on advertising. Plus he's got a name that everyone in Minnesota recognizes. So Dayton doesn't get elected because he's the best candidate for the job. No indeed. It's because he was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He's so rich that he can't understand what it's like for those who aren't. Sure, he lived with a welfare family for awhile way way back when. What, did they have to pay to feed him? Oh, I suppose there was some kind of program through Yale. That was over 40 years ago, though. When's the last time Mark Dayton hopped on a city bus? Just to see how regular people live? Try the 16 that goes between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Or the 10 that goes from Minneapolis up Central Avenue all the way to Northtown.

When's the last time Mark Dayton ever had to go hungry? Did he ever have to steal a loaf of bread from the grocery store next door because he had no money and nothing to eat? When he brought it home, did he have to put only mustard and ketchup on it because there was nothing else to make a sandwich with?

When's the last time Mark Dayton had to hitchhike because he couldn't afford a car? When's the last time he had to drive an unsafe car because he couldn't afford to fix it? When's the last time he had no place to sleep because the homeless shelters were full?

Don't tell me all the good things this guy has done for people. Not when all of these incidents eventually become fodder for political gain. Take the stories told by others at his campaign kick-off on January 20. Good stories. He didn't even have to toot his own horn. He had others do it for him. Now all those stories are on his website. Sounds boastful, doesn't it? Many of us think it's unbecoming to put those on his website. If you're going to help people out, no need to boast about it. Just do it and keep quiet about it.

It seems that Dayton does things for a few people with his untold riches and then files the story away to be used later for political reasons. Like that's going to make the voters elect him. Well, maybe it will. Voters are sometimes easy to fool. We usually believe what we want to believe.

I have a Facebook friend who said how great it was that Dayton emailed her in compassion because he saw that she lost her beloved little dog. How did he know that? Most likely by the Facebook conversation I was having with the lady. A slick politician looks for things like this all the time so he can appear selfless, kind and compassionate. I fell for that for quite some time myself. Until for some reason he targeted me to be unkind to. Guess he had to be unkind to someone just for a breather. But why choose someone who went out of her way to do nice things for his campaign? Why pretend to like someone when you don't? That was really hurtful. It still is.

How else can you tell how someone really is? Look at all their pictures. If most of them have the candidate looking straight into the camera, you can bet your booties that the candidate is highly political. If he's looking at the other person or people in the shot, then he's genuine. Mark Dayton has been a politician for decades. He's learned all the tricks of the trade.

Did he have to use all those tricks to hurt a woman with a potentially fatal chronic disease? Did he wake up one morning and say, "Today I'm going to find someone to hurt?"

Is this someone we want to be the next governor of Minnesota? I think not. He didn't do very well in Washington as a senator. Why would we think he would be a good governor?

And speaking of oratory skills, take a look at part of a speech he gave at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis. I was going to show you the whole speech, but it's been scrubbed off the internet. Here's the part I found:

Our country has moved decidedly to the right. Our citizens, many are less involved. Our social system is less compassionate, government is less effective and liberalism is more distrusted....Where is God in the midst of all this injustice? I don't have a clue. I don't know if He, or She, or Whatever doesn't exist, died, is incompetent, doesn't care, is laissez faire, or has a master plan I don't understand.

The commentator on this speech said:

Does that sound like a stable and intelligent speech to give to Catholics? The only part with which I could agree is this: "I don't have a clue." He certainly demonstrated that yesterday in his performance on national TV.

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MARK DAYTON AND THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS

2010-04-02T11:30:00.000-05:00

Mark Dayton with Hawk (not Tiger)

Just from going to a lot of conventions, I have found that many party activists, delegates, etc., are totally bummed out at Mark Dayton for his refusal to go through the endorsement process. Many feel that he's not being fair to the candidates who are. His wanting to go straight to the Primary is because he knows he would not win the endorsement. He's going after the Primary voters, who are not party activists or delegates, because he knows they will probably vote for him because they know his name. It's not fair for him to buy another election. On the remote chance that he wins the November election, he'd probably just quit after one term anyway, like he did when he was State Auditor and Senator.

Someone wrote this on a Facebook comment regarding Mark Dayton:

My gutt feeling is that Dayton is only in this race to shape the issues. He knows he couldn't win at the convention or he would have gone for the DFL endorsement. I think he may step aside before the general election, or he could spoil the whole thing. He's a loyal Democrat, why would he want to hurt the party and ultimately Minnesota? We can't let a Republican win this election. Their two front runners could, both, be mayors of crazy town!!

My response:

Dayton is not going to step aside. If he wins the Primary, and it's very likely, he will be the DFL candidate for the November ballot. He thinks he's going to win. I think he can win in August but not in November. I know what the Republicans have on him. They will drag him through the dirt. What they have is nothing to DFLers, but it will vastly hurt his chances of getting swing voters and independent voters, which are needed to win November's election. The other thing is that Dayton wants to be the next governor really, really badly. He thinks it will be his redemption for his senate years. He was not treated well in Washington and it has deeply hurt him. Being the next MN governor will redeem him in the eyes of his beloved Minnesotans. Yet I'm pretty sure he can't win in November. Besides, treating his biggest supporter so shabbily doesn't help his electibility image. Heck, there's only one way he could possibly win in November at this point.

If Mark Dayton did by some chance win the November election, would he be a good governor? Well sure. He'd probably be the best governor that Minnesota has ever had. Each DFL voter will have to decide at the Minnesota Primary whether they are willing to take a chance on Dayton. Because, my friends, if he loses in November, we will have four to eight more years of a Republican administration. We need to decide who is the most likely DFL candidate to win in November and vote for that person in August at the Primary.

I would start doing internet searches on each candidate and see who is the most qualified to win. I would say it's either Paul Thissen or R. T. Rybak. Thissen has the cleanest record and Rybak has the most charisma, which always draws in voters. Also, remember that both Rybak and Thissen have the support and backing of TakeAction MN (the reNEW Minnesota Campaign). So does Kelliher. We based our endorsement of these three candidates on three things:

1. Can they win?

2. Are we willing to back them with our money and our time?

3. Are they progressive?

Let's all work together to support whoever the DFL endorsed candidate is.

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STOP MICHELE BACHMANN

2010-04-02T10:13:00.002-05:00

TALKING POLITICS AT LIFETIME FITNESS

2010-04-01T23:04:00.000-05:00

I love Lifetime Fitness. Every two or three days I go there to get fit. As most of my gentle readers know, I start with running a mile or two around the track, then the stationary bike, then the weight machines. My muscles are all firming up.

After that I hit the lap pool for an hour. Then I reward myself with the oh so soothing and relaxing jacuzzi. All this for only $80/month. Not bad when you consider the rewards.

There's always someone to talk to in the jacuzzi. Today it was a young man originally from India. He was quite political. He had campaigned for Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar. Now he's getting involved in local/state politics. We had a good discussion about the gubernatorial race.

Smira said he really likes Rybak for governor and he also likes Thissen. See, we had something in common right away. He volunteered that he likes Dayton but is voting for Rybak or maybe Thissen. He asked me what I thought of Dayton. I thought it best not to go there. It's still pretty raw. For Secretary of State, he is in awe of Mark Ritchie. Aren't we all? We both agreed that Ritchie did a fantastic job on the whole senator recount issue. For State Auditor, he's a big Rebecca Otto fan. Me too.

He did mention that he didn't like the way a particular legislator treats people from India. I thought that was odd, as the legislator he was discussing is of Indian (from India) descent as well. He thought it was the caste issue. I was surprised.

Smira is now a new friend in person as well as a new Facebook friend. Am I having fun again yet? Not yet, but maybe soon.

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PAUL THISSEN: A FRESH START FOR MINNESOTA

2010-03-31T21:44:00.002-05:00

WHY PAUL THISSEN CAN WIN

2010-03-30T17:35:00.000-05:00

Paul Thissen

For all those undecided delegates, here's some excellent reasons to choose Paul Thissen.

Paul Thissen is one of the most educated of all the candidates. He graduated with high honors from Harvard University in 1989. He then attended the University of Chicago Law School. He served as an editor of the law review and graduated with high honors in 1992. Paul then returned to Minnesota with his wife Karen. He clerked for the Honorable James B. Loken of the United State Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, worked for the Minnesota State Public Defenders Office and became a partner at the Minneapolis law firm of Briggs and Morgan.

In 2006, Paul was named one of “Forty Under 40” top business professionals in the Twin Cities by the Twin Cities Business Journal. In 2008, Paul was recognized as one of the 100 Influential Minnesotans in Health Care by Physician Magazine and named one of the Twin Cities “Best Brains” in Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine. Not only is Paul Thissen highly intelligent; he also has the common sense to put his education to work for Minnesota for the benefit of all.

The nicest thing about Paul is that he doesn't boast about his accomplishments. He just makes use of what he has learned in a viable way for his constituents and for all of Minnesota. He's a very friendly guy and has shown that he cares about individuals as well as about this state as a whole.

If Paul doesn't know something about a particular issue, he makes sure that he finds out. If he gains new information, he is willing to accomodate and assimilate it and, when necessary, change his views to reflect what he has learned.

Paul Thissen is a candidate who, if elected governor, could work well with both parties in a nonpartisan way. Yet we can be sure that he won't cave in to things that aren't right, ethical or moral.

Paul has accomplished much in the Minnesota legislature. He was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002. Since that time he has demonstrated both a high ability and a great willingness to tackle tough, complex issues and deliver viable solutions. In 2007, after just four years of legislative service, Paul was appointed Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. His legislative work has been recognized by numerous community groups and organizations.

Paul is the Chief Author of the Children’s Health Security Act. This resulted in nearly 40,000 children getting access to health care. He was also instrumental in passing the 2008 Health Reform Act, work the Star Tribune named the “prize” of the 2008 session.

Paul Thissen wants Minnesota to be a state where children and teenagers have every opportunity to learn, grow and succeed. He also wants our senior citizens to be able to live their lives with independence and dignity.

For a truly better Minnesota, let's endorse Paul Thissen at the MN DFL State Convention.

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Mark Dayton Should Drop out of MN DFL Gubernatorial Race for the Good of the DFL Party

2010-03-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

Mark Dayton

Mark Dayton said in 2006 that he was not the best candidate to lead the DFL party to victory in the Senate race. So why does he think he is now? Nothing has changed between then and now. He still carries the same baggage.

As far as his candidacy, Mark Dayton’s problem is that he is his own worst enemy, and because of that, the Republicans have a 7-inch file of things they will use against him in November. It’s called baggage. Dayton has a lot of it. While I like him very much as a person, and I was going to vote for him for that reason, I always knew that he’s not the best candidate to lead the DFL party to victory. He can win the Primary because of his high name recognition all over the state. Many voters only vote for a name they recognize. However, if he is the DFL candidate in November, he will lose. He has a history of not using good judgement in the things he says. He’s got the closing of his Senate office due to a terroristic threat going against him. I agree with his decision to close it, but that was the reason why his popularity dropped so much and he decided not to run for reelection for the Senate.

Time Magazine said he was one of the 5 worst Senators. He can’t get away from that stigma. He gave himself an F as Senator, and he can’t get away from that either. Most DFLers would vote for him if he was the DFL candidate on the ticket in November. However, there is no way he would be able to get the Independent Party vote or the vote of the independent and swing voters. Most of this stuff isn’t his fault, but his bad press goes everywhere, and the Republicans will use it all against him. The thing is, none of it is lies. It all actually happened. He doesn’t use good judgement when he talks to the press. Also, he shouldn’t have been so open to his constituents in all his Christmas letters every year where he talked about his two divorces and his struggle with depression and alcoholism.

Most active DFLers know that Mark Dayton will not be a good candidate for the DFL ticket in November because he has very little chance of winning.

Mark is a great person on a personal level. I don’t want anything to disparge his character, which is of very high quality. But he won’t win the November election.

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