Minnesota Politics

I read a lot of political blogs and the Huffington Post is one of my favorites. While it leans far left (who am I kidding? I'm a CA moderate, which is pretty far left across the nation), it's nice to see well thought out, argued points of view from that perspective. Conservatives have won the war of words for decades now, and thanks to the blogosphere, things seem to finally be changing.

Tonight Pete Smith wrote a stinging critique of Minnesota governor Time Pawlenty: Hey, Senator McCain - Take our governor. Please.

I've never been a big Pawlenty fan, but his refusal to sign off on the five cent gas tax was the final straw. Following the HWY 35 bridge failure he said he'd consider such a law to improve the state's infrastructure. At the time, it was politically the right thing to say, but he needs to get his conservative credentials up now that he's got the White House in mind.

The extreme weather here forces us into two seasons: winter and street repairs. Simply put, Minnesotans needed to stop borrowing money to work on the roads. The work needed to be done and the time is now to do. I was proud of the six Republicans who switched sides to override Pawlenty's veto. It's a shame they've now been disciplined by GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert.

They deserve to be commended. I've listed their names below:

Bud Heidgerken of Freeport
Neil Peterson of Bloomington
Ron Erhardt of Edina
Kathy Tingelstad of Andover
Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake
Ron Abeler of Anoka

Thank you for cutting through the gridlock. Minnesota and I thank you.

U.S. Bank Skyway Open

From Eden Prairie News:

The U.S. Bank Skyway Open returns to the downtown Minneapolis skyways Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, March 1. The custom-designed mini-golf course will give Minnesotans a chance to help a good cause while “putting” their way through the downtown Minneapolis skyways. Proceeds from the event benefit the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities’ Rebound program.

This sounds awesome. I wish I could at least check it out. But I have plans all weekend. Check it out, if you get a chance. For those of you that don't know what the skyway is, here's the Wikipedia that describes it best and shows pictures.

More info here: Skywayopen.org

Token Academy Awards Entry

Minnesotans seem to either love or hate Diablo Cody. She won every local end of the year award and yet many still view her as a carpetbagger. I enjoy her blog from time to time. I haven't seen Juno yet, but after winning an Academy Award last night for best original screenplay. I don't know her personally, but I've met a few people who have. None of them have terribly good or bad things to say about her, but hey, that's sort of the Minnesotan way, isn't it?

Something struck me while reading the San Francisco Chronicle's entertainment writer Tim Goodman review of last night:

Best adapted screenplay: Diablo Cody. She was working pretty hard to keep that dress together. But she's a perfect example that no matter who you are, if you turn on a pitch and get all of it, you can go places.

I did see her dress and wow, she sure knows how to leave people talking. Was Juno all it's been cracked up to be? Did she deserve the award? Some people love it, while others hated it. What say you?

I've only seen four movies at the theater in the last year: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Borat, Ian Curtis' biopic Control, and Sweeny Todd. I'm not a completely void of pop culture. I mean, I did recently start watching Lost on DVD and am now on to season two. Netflix has remain my friend even without venturing out to the theaters.

I'll also have to check out Minnesota's own the Cohen Brothers' No Country For Old Men soon. Maybe I'll make a day of it and watch both Juno and No Country For Old Men?