Norm Coleman on the Radio

Norm Coleman resurfaced today hosting a program on WCCO AM 830 radio.

He was in rare form.

He criticized the partisanship and lack of civility in Washington. Both were traits which eluded him when he was in office - but he seemed happy to criticize his failings in others.

He also criticized the Democrats for "ignoring" the public rage expressed in last summer's town hall meetings.

After all, populist anger must be listened to. The "public" is happy with their current health insurance. They don't want any government mandated changes.

Norm followed this up by criticizing President Obama for listening to the public anger and attacking the banks.

Populist anger must not be listened to. At least not when it would lead to punishment of Big Business.

Political "Norm Speak" in action. Hogwash.

At least Norm still reads and adheres to the Republican "Talking Points." Ordinary middle class citizens must not be listened to. Big Business, the wealthy, and their supportive Republican drones are the only ones who count.

It's true. He heard it (constantly) on Fox Newz (not to be confused with any real news organization).

Fox Newz Shows its Stripes Once Again

Fox News (aka Faux News or Fox Newz) has shown its true stripes once again.

Yesterday, President Obama held an afternoon news conference to talk about airline safety and the failure of the nation's intelligence and homeland security communities to prevent an attempt to blow up an aircraft on Christmas Day. As with the failures of 9/11, there was a failure to "connect the dots."

I would have preferred that President Obama be more honest with the American Public. The truth is that any determined individual, or group, can bring down any airliner, or commit any other act of terrorism, and the government can do little to stop them. But, I recognize why he couldn't say so.

What did strike me about the news conference, however, was that the three major news organizations (ABC, CBS, and NBC) interrupted entertainment programming on their networks to cover it live. Fox (Faux) News chose to ignore it. Their regular programming ran without interruption.

I enjoy Fox News. I sometimes watch it for its entertainment value. But, more often I watch it to learn what Big Business, the Republican Party, the wealthy, and their Anti-Tax lobby are doing to brainwash the public in support of their agenda.

It would be a real hoot, if the ramifications for the country weren't so serious.

RIP Deborah Howell

Deborah Howell was one of the last great newspaper editors. She held the position before Rupert Murdoch, and the Faux News organizations of the world, destroyed the profession.

Ms. Howell did a marvelous job at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, before moving on to other challenges.

She was reportedly struck and killed while crossing a street in New Zealand.

May she Rest in Peace.

Cell Phones, Traffic Deaths, and Politics

I note that under a "Freedom of Information Act" request, the New York Times forced the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to release a copy of a 2003 report on cell phones and "Distracted Driving."

Supposedly, it was Congress (this time) which "ordered" that the report be withheld, not the science hating Bush Administration. I'd like to see some names. Who was involved, and was their "debt" to the cell phone industry so great that they "pushed" the NHTSA to suppress the scientific evidence?

Were the same forces at work over at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their examination of the facts and their conclusions regarding the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis? Was the lack of a public hearing to examine the facts done to avoid embarrassing Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a Republican "star?" After all he vetoed money for road maintenance in Minnesota.

All politicians seem to lack a certain amount of candor and honesty. Republicans just seem to have taken dishonesty to entirely new levels.

I find it entirely plausible that Republicans might have "ordered" the suppression of research which might have "damaged" the cell phone industry while saving lives. Republicans have a long history of supporting big business at the expense of ordinary citizens.

I hope that news organizations continue to research the issue. The people who "ordered" the suppression of potentially life saving research to support the cell phone lobby should be named and asked to account for their actions.

And, now that the secret's out, how about publishing a clean copy of the report on the NHTSA web site, and formally submit it to Congress for review?

Palin - "I am not a Quitter"

Sarah Palin has granted limited interviews to selected press organizations.

Contrary to the evidence at hand, she claims she's not a quitter.

Like far too many politicians these days - she seems to lack a firm grasp on reality. It's unfortunate that Republican extremists insist upon treating her as if she were the new Messiah.

Yes, she can draw a crowd. But, so can any natural disaster.

The country deserves better than what the Republicans are offering.

Constructive problem solving rather than blind ideology and delusional spin would go a long way.

Goodbye Sarah Palin

Unbelievable news today.

In a rambling statement, using words reminding one of a Tina Fey parody, Governor Palin announced she would not seek reelection as Alaska's Governor. And, further, she will resign the office.

The explanation given for her pending resignation sounded lame. One wonders what she is really thinking. Did the (mostly justified) criticism of her finally get to her? Is she really thinking of higher office? Did the governor of South Carolina "vacation" in Alaska? Is there some as yet undisclosed scandal yet to be reported? Time will tell.

I hope Alaska's Lieutenant Governor is more qualified than Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor. If not, the State of Alaska is in for even more pain than they've endured since Ms. Palin's failed Vice Presidential folly.

I note that news organizations are still trying to obtain copies of Ms. Palin's email messages. As I recall, they were originally told they'd have to pay - in some cases tens of millions of dollars - to see these public documents. One can only imagine why the state wants to continue to stonewall such requests. My take is that the release would further embarrass Ms. Palin and subject her to further (justified) criticism.

So much for Ms. Palin's promise of honest and transparent government.

I found myself chuckling that the State of Alaska says that its systems are so bad that her email messages aren't readily available. If the state's systems are truly that bad - and I doubt it - perhaps they should contract with the Republican's "beloved" private sector to provide the service. I hear that Google provides reliable email service with loads of disk space.

The State of Alaska has also indicated that if and when they provide the requested copies of the email messages, they must do so on paper. It reminds me of at least one major Minnesota company's response to periodic visits from government auditors. They would print reams of paper reports. Box upon box of computer printouts would be delivered by forklift to a conference room and stacked against the walls for use by the auditors. When a young employee asked why the data wasn't provided electronically, the answer was "We don't want to make it easy for them."

It would appear that Governor Palin has attempted to run Alaska as if it were a business.

Thank God it's Over

Minnesota's long running 2008 Senatorial contest has - finally - come to an end. Norm Coleman has - finally - admitted defeat. Al Franken has - finally - been declared as the winner.

I can't say I'm sorry to see Norm go.

I know Norm Coleman once tried to be an honorable man. But, somewhere along the line he changed.

I hope he can find gainful employment outside the public sector where his misguided views will not have such a negative, divisive, impact on the long suffering citizens of Minnesota.

For Senator Franken, let's hope that he's able to maintain perspective. People do matter - more so than special interest groups. And, certainly more than how one politician fares in the next election.

Wake Up!

Note to all Republicans -

Labeling Barack Obama as a terrorist because he had coffee at a college professor's house is about as logical as the left stating that the Republican Party is a terrorist organization due to its support of the failed policies of George W. Bush and other key "leaders."

After all, can't we label George W. Bush as a terrorist because he's caused more damage to this country than the terrorists did on 9/11?

Wake Up!

Is it painful enough for you yet?

The stock market lost another boatload of money again today.

While it's not good to overreact to short term market changes, today's drop continues a negative trend. The wealthy are doing fine. But, average citizens are rightfully terrified as they watch their retirement dreams wither away.

Home prices continue to decline. Grocery costs continue to rise. The economy's in a mess. If you're still employed, you have to wonder if you will be at the end of the month.

Is it painful enough for you yet?

As the dreams of retirees and the middle class continue to shatter, the political attack ads keep spewing out their unique brand of sewage.

The Republicans, and their Big Business supporters, continue to run their smear ads against the Democrats. I guess they have to, as Republicans don't have a very positive record to advertise.

I wonder what it says about our country when John McCain, a once honorable war hero, stoops to trying to smear his rival, Barack Obama, by claiming that he's "a pal" of a 1960's anti-war protester who may have done some bad things back when Senator Obama was just four or five years old.

The partisan Republican crowds listening to the McCain-Palin stump speech smears seem to eat up the message. What does this say about them?

A case could be made for labeling John McCain, and other Republicans, as "domestic terrorists" due to their unwavering support of the failed policies of the Bush Administration. After all, the Republicans, and the greed of their Big Business supporters, have done more harm to this country than the terrorists did on 9-11. All the terrorists did was to bring down a couple of buildings. Republican policies appear to have caused trillions of dollars in long term damage to our country.

While it's easy to blame George W. Bush and his Administration, all Republicans deserve the blame. For far too long, the Republican Party has only represented Big Business and the wealthy. Sure, they've used the religious right to deliver the votes by exploiting hatred and divisive wedge issues. But, in the end, they've only really represented Big Business and the wealthy.

The middle class and the poor have lost ground while awaiting to see any benefit from Republican "trickle down economics."

It's time for the incompetence to end.

Republican Party candidates deserve to be defeated this November. We need politicians who will represent all citizens. We need politicians who will put "Country First," not just as a campaign slogan, but in reality.

Only then will we have a prayer of rebuilding the country.

Norm Coleman - Hypocrite

Normally, Norm Coleman, and his fellow Republicans, are loathe to criticize small businesses and free-market enterprise. At every opportunity, they tout small business as the reason to give massive tax breaks to the wealthy (while failing to mention that the vast majority of small business owners are not wealthy).

However, in a bizarre press release from the Coleman for Senate campaign, Norm Coleman appears to have gone on record criticizing a small businessman who sold his services to some of the Wall Street firms involved in the credit crunch affecting our failing economy.

It seems that the small businessman had listed his speaking fees ($50,000 to $75,000) on a web site, along with a partial list of clients (which included some of the Wall Street firms). Apparently, someone on the Coleman campaign staff used the web site to determine that over the years the businessman had given 30 speeches to Wall Street firms. At his published speaker's fee, it was estimated that the businessman collected between $1.5 Million and $2.25 Million for his work.

Why does Norm Coleman criticize one businessman who dared to conduct legal free-market business with now troubled Wall Street firms and ignore all other businesses which did the same?

Norm Coleman has labeled the private businessman as a hypocrite for collecting fees for his services, because the businessman has criticized lawmaker Norm Coleman for taking fees (or contributions - supposedly not for services rendered) from the same Wall Street firms.

Talk about hypocritical.

Norm, there's a big difference between a private businessman collecting a fee for a legal service, and a politician collecting a "fee" from the same business which is now seeking a share of a $700 Billion public bailout.

To be fair, the small businessman in this case is Al Franken. Al Franken, a businessman turned politician. Al's looking to change careers and take Norm's job.

Let's hope he succeeds.

Businessman Al Franken earned his Wall Street fees honestly.

Unlike some politicians, it's expected that Senator Al Franken will be more likely to represent the people who elected him rather than only representing Special Interests.