State of the Union

Liked when the dems clapped at the Social Security Line?
Wanna know whats up with Tim Kaine's eye brows?
This is an open thread....give us your two cents on the State of the Union

Today we Remember

Coretta Scott King suffered a stroke Monday night and passed away. The wife of Martin Luther King Jr. and a heroic civil rights and peace activist she will be sorely missed. Her good friend Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth described her as “a matriarch of the movement, a patriot of all that America stands for.” Today a supreme court nominee was confirmed, new poll numbers are out, the 2006 campaign season is well under way, but it is time that we stop. Today we stop all of that partisan politics to stand together to remember an American hero.

Stonewall DFL Endorsements

Yesterday afternoon, Stonewall DFL members met to endorse candidates prior to the 2006 caucuses. ("Stonewall DFL is a political organization that works for a safe and equitable Minnesota by electing GLBT and allied Democrats to office in Minnesota and in the DFL.") I missed the afternoon due to rehearsal, but these are the results:

Governor: Steve Kelley
Secretary of State: Christian Sande
US Senate: Amy Klobuchar
State Auditor: Reggie Edwards
House District 64A: Erin Murphy (Note that all five candidates--Ian Keith, Don Arnosti, Sara Dady, and Donna Swanson--were deemed "acceptable.")

More can be found here or here.

Off His Rocker

Another great example of the liberal bias in the media.

Chris Matthews host of MSNBC’s Hardball show is becoming a more blatant and repugnant republican with each passing day. The uproar around his action started when he compared Michael Moore to Osama Bin Laden:

“This is from bin Laden in the audio today. 'There is no defect in the solution other than preventing the flow of hundreds of billions to the influential people and war merchants in America.' I mean, he sounds like an over-the-top Michael Moore here, if not a Michael Moore. Do you think that sells in America, that this war is being fought for the Daddy Warbucks?”

It doesn’t help when help that his new “bipartisan” roundtable consists of retired republican congressman Joe Scarborough, a former conservative host of CNN’s Crossfire and Fox News’s Rita Cosby.

After spending a jillion years getting annoyed at Republicans for insisting on a liberal bias in the media, it is our turn. Call MSNBC, sign a petition, get a hold of companies that advertise with MSNBC: tell them to stop the conservative bias.

A little bit of humor to start your week...

This year, both Groundhog Day and the State of the
Union Address fall on the same day.

As Air America Radio pointed out, "It is an ironic
juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual
in which we look to a creature of little intelligence
for prognostication, and the other involves a
groundhog."

Thanks Peter!

Sheehan for Senate?

Remember Cindy Sheehan? The mother turned peace activist whose son was killed in Iraq and who camped outside President Bush's ranch this past summer? She may be the next senator from California.

Yesterday, Sheehan told attendees at the Venezuela for the World Social Forum conference that she was thinking seriously about challenging incumbant senator Barbara Boxer.

From the AP:
"She [Sheehan] accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on Iraq.
'She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding ... She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops,' said Sheehan."

Any thoughts, Californians?

Patty in the 6th? Ciresi in the hunt?

According to the Blog "Centrisity", Patty Wetterling has turned down the chance to run as Mike Hatch's running mate for Governor and will instead seek the sixth congressional seat, which she narrowly lost in 2004. They tell us to expect an official announcement next week.


In other news, MN Publius is reporting that Mike Ciresi is going to announce next week his entrance into the race for the open U.S. Senate seat. This will surely make this race more interesting.

Tip provided by Caleb Ethan Jonas, or Big Papa.

Regressive Taxes

Though this was posted around a month ago by Will, I thought that it was high time we brought it back up and ensured that more Mac students are aware of this issue. St. Paul City Council Member Jay Benenav from Ward 4 proposed a fee to be levied at 25 dollars on all college students in the city of St. Paul to help pay for the essential services that they utilize. This fee is nothing more than a regressive tax in my opinion, but it is truly the State's fault (and the no-new tax crowd in particular) for putting municipalities like St. Paul in a position where it must tax the easily targeted, like students. Check out more about this topic from the Pioneer Press. And lets fight this one!


To see a more lengthy explanation of the plan, click here.

Ventura all over again?

Ahhh Minnesota, the great land of wrestler turned governor Jesse Ventura may be prepping for a repeat. Minneapolis school superintendent and former state finance commissioner Peter Hutchinson declared his candidacy for governor as an independent. In his speech Hutchinson Claimed “politics in Minnesota is broken.”
Meanwhile governor Pawlenty is gearing up for his reelection campaign and a host of democrats are vying for the DFL endorsement. With an early poll showing Hutchinson with only 4% of the vote many are saying he will have a Naderesque effect on the race, taking votes away from the Democrat’s nominee. With a ready made answer Hutchinson responded to the spoiler accusation saying, “It's sort of hard to imagine how you could make this spoiled system even more spoiled." So what is it? Spoiler? Experienced and concerned leader? You decide this is an open blog after all.

Kerry and Kennedy to Push for Filibuster of Alito

Senators John Kerry and Teddy Kennedy announced Thursday that they will attempt to mount a filibuster against Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito. Some senior democrats are worried about this move, fearing it may backfire. Three Democrats (all from 2004 red states) have already announced their support for Alito and another (also from a 2004 red state) has said she will not support a filibuster. Republican leadership believes they have enough votes to stop the filibuster. At this point it would require that the remaining 40 democrats and the one independent vote against cloture for the filibuster to be successful.... From CNN.COM

Race and Community in St. Paul

On the night of January 17th, the day after Martin Luther King Day, a 4-foot cross was set in the lawn outside of Liberty Temple and lit on fire. The congregation began five years ago as an almost exclusively African American church, but over the years it has become multiracial. The pastor of the church, Rev. Thomas Mite , and his wife, Vivian, suggested that this move to a more multiracial church was the cause of the incident.

From the Pioneer Press: "While authorities aren't aware of other recent cross burnings or threats against black churches in St. Paul, the congregations are being put on high alert, said the Rev. Devin Miller, project planner for the God Squad, a group of ministers and others who work with police and the community.

'If you allow it to, it creates fear,' he said. 'We have to believe with this being on the heels of Martin Luther King Day, somebody was trying to make a statement.'"

The article also contains this interesting little factoid: "In a landmark decision in 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a St. Paul hate-crime ordinance that made it a crime to burn a cross, saying it violated the First Amendment right to free speech. The case involved a white teenager who burned a cross on a black family's St. Paul lawn in 1990."

And then today, a white freshman at Harding High School was beaten to the ground by three Asian students in an attack that Principal Todd Hochman said "may have been racially motivated." The details on this are too fresh, but the article can be found in the Star-Tribune.

I post this because I think it is important to keep these community issues surrounding race in mind, particularly here at Mac. Racial issues on campus frequently dominate the pages of the Mac Weekly op-ed pages, but these discussions/opinions sometimes seem petty compared with stories such as the ones from above.

But I am just one person, and I have a feeling I am in the minority here. Discuss.

What they said.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was in the middle of a speech at Georgetown Law School when 21 protesters turned there back to him and held up a sign quoting Benjamin Franklin in silent protest. We all took it as a great victory that so many of our peers voted in 2004 and then to many of us sat down and gave up. The record our phone calls, the cut out student aid, and they suck of to the nastiest of lobbyists. The war is nowhere near over. Our friends at Georgetown are right it is time we stand up again and say “no more.” This is a wake up call for all of us who fell asleep (even if none of you are reading this blog).

UMMMMM....

It is only news with this president that he agreed to take impromptu questions, mind you he only let supporters into the press conference and it was in the middle of conservative Kansas...but still. With questions like "What can we do to help the war on terror?" The president was doing fine until:

A sophomore out of Kansas State asked: My name is Tiffany Cooper. I’m a sophomore here at Kansas State and I was just wanting to get your comments about education. Recently 12.7 billion dollars was cut from education. I was just wondering how is that supposed to help our futures?

President Bush froze, mumbled a little, looked behind him for support from his staff, mumbled some more, looked to his side for more support and said: Actually, I think what we did was reform the student loan program. We are not cutting money out of it.

I guess what we learn from this is that when the president is confused he lies because the truth is clear. In December a bill was so controversial that Vice President Cheney had to cast the deciding vote. That Bill cut 12.7 billion in education programming and was the largest cut to student loans in history.

But come-on you can't expect the president to know everything, it's not like his kids will ever need student loans.

Canada Moves to the Dark Side

Oh Canada! Oh Canada!

On Monday, Canadians voted the first Conservative government in 13 years into the House of Commons. ''Tonight friends, our great country has voted for change, and Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change,'' said new Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The move is seen as a desire for greater cooperation with the United States, and a push to move Canada righward on social and economic matters. From the Times: "Relations with the Bush administration will likely improve under Harper as his ideology runs along the same lines of many U.S. Republicans."

And the spread (Conservatives-123; Liberals-103; Bloc Quebecois-50; New Democratic Party-28; Independent-1;Yet to be determined-3) isn't even close enough to make a Liberal minority government threatening--and there was roughly 60% turnout!

To the north, they are moving to the right; to the south, they are moving to the left: Venezuela, Bolivia, and Chile all have socialist presidents. Oh well, it's warmer there any way.

Moral Arguments From The White House

Apparently yesterday was National Sanctity of Human Life Day, one of the President's many efforts to foster a "culture of life." From the official proclamation:

America is making great strides in our efforts to protect human life. One of my first actions as President was to sign an order banning the use of taxpayer money on programs that promote abortion overseas. Over the past 5 years, I also have been proud to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and a ban on partial-birth abortion. In addition, my Administration continues to fund abstinence and adoption programs and numerous faith-based and community initiatives that support these efforts.

And if touting useless abstinence programs and the global gag rule, (which forces clinics in developing countries providing important services such as contraceptives and prenatal health care to choose between U.S. funding and providing abortions (with non-U.S. funds,) endangering the international fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS) isn't enough, we were also all reminded to remember our Creater when considering stem cell research:

When we seek to advance science and improve our lives, we must always preserve human dignity and remember that human life is a gift from our Creator. We must not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it. America must pursue the tremendous possibilities of medicine and research and at the same time remain an ethical and compassionate society.

Oh, yes. A supporter of the death penalty wants to make sure we do not destroy human life.

The entire thing makes me want to vomit.

Bush and Abramoff

Take a close look at this picture and see if you recognize the man behind Bush. It is widely suspected that this man is Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist whose guilty pleas on five counts related to bribing members of Congress set off a push for ethics reform. Seems that in 2000, Mr. Abramoff was part of Bush's transitions team. For the Department of the Interior. Which regulates Native American tribes. Whom Abramoff was working for at the time. There are apparently five other photos floating around the internet that show Bush with a man assumed to be Abramoff. And yet copies of these pictures cannot be found on the internet, despite high-profile articles in the Washingtonian and Time. Supression? Maybe.

And yet Scott Mc Clellan says this: "The president does not know him, nor does the president ever recall meeting him." Seems hard to have an effective transition without ever meeting a member of your transition team. The Washingtonian has this: "Abramoff would tell prosecutors, if asked, that not only did he know the President, but the President knew the names of Abramoff’s children and asked about them during their meetings. At one such photo session, Bush discussed the fact that both he and Abramoff were fathers of twins."

And how could he forget someone who was a Bush-Cheney '04 Pioneer? This means that in 2004, Abramoff raised $100,000 for the re-election campaign. Most Senators and Representatives are donating 100% of what Abramoff gave them to charity--dirty money and all that. But not Bush--he's staying the course: only $6,000 of that $100,000 is going to charity.

So many problems with this scenario, it's hard to decide where to begin. If anyone finds the photos, go ahead and post a link or e-mail us.

Patty Wetterling needs a job?

With 6th district congressmen Mark Kennedy vying for a US Senate seat, four high ranking Republicans are seeking to replace him, in the historically conservative district. But not so fast, with a contentious GOP primary and scandal after scandal in the Republican Party, Democrats see a rare opening to make a net gain in the house. But what matter of man (or woman) could win in a district that went to President Bush 57% to Kerry’s 42%? With her recent announcement that she is dropping her bid for the US Senate, some say that none other then child advocate Patty Wettterling stands the best chance of winning the seat. She came within inches of taking the seat from the popular incumbent, now senate candidate, 2 years ago (54%-46%). Wetterling, with the loss of her son Jacob 15 years ago to kidnappers, became one of the most influential child advocates in the country. She is wildly popular amongst soccer moms and may be the only progressive Democrat capable of making the personal connections needed to win a conservative district. This seat is by no means an easy grab for Wetterling or any other Dem but the idea of winning the 6th district is certainly tantalizing.

Illegal Immigrant Deported Due to Decade-Old Drug Charge

A Jamaican woman living in St. Paul with her husband and son (both American citizens), who has been involved in leading a 12-step recovery program at her church and runs a licensed day-care from her home, was recently deported despite her community's efforts.

From the Star Tribune:

"We were hoping they would show some mercy, but instead I got a call from my wife crying in Jamaica," said Scarlett, 41, of St. Paul. "Our family has been destroyed."

Antoinette (Annie) Scarlett, 34, was deported last week for overstaying her visa and ignoring a judge's removal order following a drug charge in Virginia in 1995.
...
Now, as immigration shapes up as one of the year's major political issues, the case of Annie Scarlett is a reminder that decisions are made daily about who may stay and who must leave.
...
"I don't know what her life was like before, but I've known her since she joined the church almost eight years ago and Annie has had an impeccable record," said Dianne Binns, a probation officer in Hennepin County and Annie's mentor at the church.

Thoughts?

Welcome Back!

If you're not yet here, travel safely; to everyone, welcome back to Mac and best wishes for a good semester! Hope to see you at meetings when you can make it--it's going to be an exciting semester politically.

Gay Civil Rights Bill Passes In The Washington State House

On Friday, the Washington State House passed a civil right bill which would ban discrimination in housing, employment and insurance. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it narrowly failed last year by one vote. Governor Christine Gergoire has said she will sign the bill.

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
"This legislation is about more than just changing the law, it is about sending a message," said Rep. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who has sponsored the measure for 11 years. "A message that the United States and Washington state is a place of tolerance."

Would such a bill fly in Minnesota? Thoughts? Discuss.

Dady Campaign To Sponsor Single-Payer Health Care Forum

Sara Dady, a candidate for the Minnesota State House in our district (64A) will be sponsoring a forum to discuss the possibility of a single-payer health care system in Minnesota.

When: Tues. Jan. 24th from 7:45-9:30

Where: Dunning Rec Center, 1229 Marshall Ave, St. Paul.

Details available at www.saradady.com.

Wetterling Drops Out and Backs Klobuchar

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/193575.html

Well, Patty Wetterling might be on the ballot in 2006, but it won't be as a Senate candidate. From the Strib:

"The move has refueled speculation that Wetterling will either re-enter the Sixth District congressional race, where she ran a respectable losing contest against incumbent Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., in 2004, or compete for lieutenant governor or even secretary of state.

DFL gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Mike Hatch, who first approached Wetterling about being his running mate nearly a year ago, said Friday that 'I want to talk to her -- about all kinds of things. I'm a big fan of hers.'"

Discuss.

Wetterling Dropping Out Of Senate Race?

Rumors abounded Thursday evening following the announcement of a 2:00 pm press conference on Friday by US Senate Candidate Patty Wetterling. Speculation is that she will end her campaign to possibly pursue a spot on one of the gubanatorial tickets or another run at Minnesota's sixth congressional district seat.

The Strib has this:
"Wetterling is said to have been wooed as a gubernatorial running mate and has been urged by some to enter the congressional contest in Minnesota's Sixth District, where she lost a hard-fought race against Rep. Mark Kennedy in 2004...GOP candidates include House Taxes Chairman Phil Krinkie, R-Lino Lakes, House Ways and Means Chairman Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, and Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater." If you are new to MN politics, these are--honest to God--the worst of the worst Republicans in the state.

Will she stay in the Senate race? Will she run for US House? Lieutenant Governor? Stay tuned.

Stonewall DFL Screening 64A Candidates on Campus

For those of you who haven't heard, Stonewall DFL is screening 64A candidates. Information is available below. Feel free to contact me, mklaber@mac with questions.

-MK

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Friends Caucus of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota

Help Screen Candidates for the DFL House 64A Race!

STONEWALL DFL TO HOST SCREENING IN YOUR AREA

Dear Neighbor,

As we see our friend and neighbor Representative Matt Entenza off on his new journey to become the next Attorney General of Minnesota, we’re faced with a daunting task of choosing the next great DFLer to run for his 64A House seat. You are invited to assist Stonewall DFL in screening candidates for 64A on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00PM. The screening will take place in the Macalester College Campus Center, Room 215 and is open to the public.

Stonewall DFL works for a safe and equitable Minnesota by electing lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and allied Democrats to office in Minnesota and in the DFL. By joining Stonewall DFL you can be part of the process of electing positive leaders who will look out for all Minnesotans and make LGBT equality a priority issue. Members may serve on the screening panel, and may vote at our Endorsement Convention on January 29th. The general public may observe the screening, as well as submit written questions to the panel to be asked of candidates.

Membership is open to all persons who espouse the concept that everyone should be granted and have access to the same civil protections, right, and opportunities regardless of their affectional, gender, or sexual orientation, identity, or family structure. Stonewall DFL counts on members to volunteer their time and abilities to help DFL candidates get elected and continue supporting our rights. To become a member, fill out our membership form online at: http://www.stonewalldfl.org/membership/joinform1.php You will become a member 10 days after receipt of membership dues. This means that in order to vote at the Endorsement Convention, you must join by January 19.

The following candidates are scheduled to screen with us: Don Arnosti, Sara Dady, Ian Keith, Erin Murphy and Donna Swanson. We’d love to see you there!

More information about Stonewall DFL and this year’s endorsement process can be found at our website: http://www.stonewalldfl.org/ or by contacting Political Support Committee Chair Matt Klaber at matt@stonewalldfl.org or by phone at 507-327-4946.

Sincerely,

Matt Klaber

Chair, Political Support Committee

Stonewall DFL

matt@stonewalldfl.org

1600 Grand Ave


St. Paul, MN 55105

Paid for by Stonewall DFL Caucus

www.stonewalldfl.org 255 Plato Blvd E St. Paul, MN 55107

Supreme Court Upholds Oregon's Death With Dignity Act

The Supreme Court decision was released today upholding Oregon's Death With Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill people to kill themselves with a doctor's perscription. From the New York Times:

"Justices, on a 6-3 vote, said that federal authority to regulate doctors does not override the 1997 Oregon law used to end the lives of more than 200 seriously ill people. New Chief Justice John Roberts backed the Bush administration, dissenting for the first time.

The administration improperly tried to use a drug law [the Controlled Substances Act] to prosecute Oregon doctors who prescribe overdoses, the court majority said."

In the majority were Justices Kennedy (who wrote the opinion), O'Connor, Stevens, Breyer, Souter, and Ginsburg.
Dissenting were Justices Scalia (who wrote the dissent), Thomas, and Chief Justice Roberts.

Oregon is the only state with such a law, although Vermont has been trying to pass a similar measure for the last year.

2006 College Democrats National Convention

This just in from the College Democrats:

"The 2006 College Democrats of America National Convention will be held at Washington University in St. Louis, MO from July 27-29...We are working to finalize the convention agenda that will be packed with useful trainings, dynamic speakers, and fun networking and social events...The convention is a great opportunity for members of your chapter to get trained..."

The price of the convention will be as follows:
January 23-April 23 Early Registration $40 (First 100 will get a free $25 meal card)
April 24-June 23 Regular Registration $55
June 24-July 23 Late Registration $70

Housing for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night will be $105. Unfortunately, due to the low price CDA negotiated with Washington University, housing must be for all three nights, no more and no less. CDA is also working on discounted travel arrangements.

Registration will open on January 23, 2006."

For those of you that might b interested...

$25-Per-Student Tax Proposed For St. Paul Colleges

City Council Member Jay Benanav, who represents Ward 4 (area around St. Thomas and down to north of St. Kate's) on the St. Paul City Council, has proposed a $25-per-student tax for the St. Paul colleges. The proposal has not been adopted--the city council is merely looking at it--but it is already drawing a lot of attention from colleges and community members alike. The discussion over at the St. Paul Issues Forum has been going on since December 28th, and you can read it by clicking here.

St. Paul is third in the nation for post-secondary schools, behind Atlanta and Boston. Some 37,000 students attend the 10 colleges located within St. Pauls' city limits.

From the Pioneer Press:
"Benanav said the fee is justified since the schools largely do not pay property taxes. Though they pay an assessment for public works services, the city has no way of recovering costs associated with parking enforcement or police and fire services, for example."

Jay Benanav says that the idea was originally suggested back in 2003. You can read his comments on St. Paul Issues Forum by clicking here but here's the important stuff:
"One of the city's most important functions is to ensure the public safety foreveryone who lives, works and owns property here. The cost of public safety is borne by the city's residential and business taxpayers. Colleges and universities in St. Paul do not pay taxes, while they benefit from the high quality public services provided by the city. At the same time, Governor Pawlenty has cavalierly cut local government aid, putting more stress on city taxpayers, and making it more difficult to ensure the public safety of students, residents and workers."

He also notes that, "[t]he City of Boston, to which St. Paul is often compared for its number of institutions of higher learning, is considering a $100 per student assessment to cover city services."

Tell our city council your thoughts about this proposal. Jay Benanav can be contact at ward4@ci.stpaul.mn.us, and Pat Harris (our city council member) at ward3@ci.stpaul.mn.us.

And click the "Post a Comment" link below to discuss this topic.

St. Paul City Council Approves City-Wide Smoking Ban

Going out to dinner in St. Paul just got a little less carcinogenic. City Council member Dave Thune (who admits he is still trying to kick his habit) finally pushed through the smoking ban he has tried to get the city council to pass for the last year; Minneapolis has such a ban in place. The Pioneer Press has this:

"Beginning March 31, smoking will be banned in St. Paul bars, restaurants, pool halls, bingo parlors and bowling centers. Smoking will be allowed on outdoor patios. Smokers who refuse to leave can be arrested for trespassing. Owners who don't comply with the ban risk losing their liquor license."

Mayor Coleman immediately signed the ban into law; former Mayor Randy Kelly had twice vetoed the proposal. (If you're interested, our City Council Member, Pat Harris, voted against it. You can tell him what you think--support or oppose--by clicking here.)

The plan is frequently criticized for hurting small business, but the city is taking steps to help ease the transition to smoke-free: they are looking into potential funding sources to help facilitate the transfer.

Local Politicians on The Al Franken Show

As you may or may not know, The Al Franken Show of Air America Radio is now broadcasting out of the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis. Welcome to the Twin Cities, Al and company!

In the show's first week in Minnesota, several local politicians have been on the show. On Thursday, January 6th, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman dropped by to chat about his plans for St. Paul. You can listen to Mayor Coleman's segment here.

On Friday, January 7th, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak made an appearence (listen here), and on Monday, January 9th, State Senator and DFL candidate for governor Steve Kelley(listen) and child advocate and US Senate candidate Patti Wetterling (listen) dropped by the studio.

Mac Dems Website Remodel

We are in the process of trying to redo the Mac Dems website, make it a bit more user-friendly. To do this, we need your help.

What do you want our website to look like? Do you want news? Do you want interesting political links? Do you want funny pictures? What would it take to get you to look at this website once a day?

Let the discussion begin: click "Post a Comment" below this posting and tell us what you think.