Asleep at the Wheel / Another Solution

I have been asleep at the BLOGGERS wheel lately, I can blame lack of time and that would be true, but it is ALWAYS true. I have to just make or take time to do this. So I must not have been too motivated lately.

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Anyway, let me comment on this topic today. This article talks about giving speed limit laws to the cities for residential areas. As the father of 2, I am all for safer streets because I can't tell you how often I see cars flying down my local streets, but I like the Richfield solution. It did not take the time of the people at the capitol and I think it is very effective. About two years ago in my neighborhood, stop signs where installed in what is called a "basket-weave" pattern. The end result is that if you drive east/west or north/south you have to stop every other intersection. It is not a perfect solution, but it works. A slow speed limit would simply be ignored and not inforced in my neighborhood streets, but the stop signs at least get people to stop or do one of those all to familiar "rolling stops".

Buckle Up

A sad and tragic event has taken place yet again in our schools. I sympathize for the innocent and their families involved in this tragedy. I say "buckle up" because we are going to hear the media talk to all the experts and ask the "why" question. We will talk about guns, parents, video games, violent movies, etc. and blame all of them. There is no single answer or reason. Our culture has been on a path to this destination for a long time. You can blame it all, lack of parental (or caring adult) involvement, violent media, guns and a culture that does not cherish life nearly as much as it thinks it does. Our culture cherishes life only when the tragedy happens, then we (collective "we") go back to our careers or planning our next way to entertain ourselves. If you look at this list in the paragraph above, what jumps out at you? I see that ONE of them can have a possitive affect on all the others. If a parent or and adult is more involved in a young person's life, it is much more likely that they can handle or view violent media appropriately, respect guns and help them cherish life. So to me, they are all to blame, but I think fixing one of them could address them all. When adults give up and stop being involved in a young person's life, the harsh, negative parts of our culture pick up the slack and take over. Finally let me add, I just do not get it. How can a teenager get to this piont. I grew up in a different time I guess.

Thanks for Your Prudence

The Richfield School District made some difficult choices in order to keep their expenses in line with projected revenue and to keep their rainy day reserves untouched. I am a little confused about the Alpine Ski Team though, tell me why it is so important to keep a team of three going? I'd feel sorry for the kids, but come on... three kids. I know, they say they'll have at least eight next year, but in this times I just don't see the reasoning. Finally, they also voiced their opinion by not supporting the TIF bills (HF1247-SF1419) for northeast Richfield.

I Tought I Taw a Putty Tat!

OK, so which DFLer is going to see this article and be the first to submit a bill to protect our poor kitty cats? You can bet there are staffers at the capitol already helping to draft up the first bill to submit it. It is a perfect opportunity for a DFLer to get on a soapbox and show how much he/she really cares and make the PETA crowd happy. I found this quote most interesting:

The reason feral cats are scorned by some wildlife officials, hunters, bird watchers and others is because they prey on wildlife, including songbirds and game birds such as pheasants and ducks. And the toll appears high. Wisconsin researcher Stanley Temple, using radio-collared cats, estimates free-ranging cats in Wisconsin might kill between 8 million and 217 million songbirds yearly and 140,000 game birds. A "reasonable estimate" would be 39 million birds, he has said.

I say one will be submitted by the end of the month. Let me add that I happen to like cats as a pet (even over a dog), but I just hope we don't waste time at the capitol on this one.

Just to Be Clear...

I have gone along with the trend and posted a disclaimer as if anyone really reads my blog. See it to the right, under the "author" details. The main reason for this is to be clear that I do not speak on behalf of ALL Republicans or conservatives in MN State Senate District 63.

Posting at My Own Risk

Will the FEC get me for this post? Mark Kennedy Fundraiser St. Patrick's Day Party in support of Mark Kennedy for US Senate. With special guests: Senator Norm Coleman Governor Tim Pawlenty Congressman John Kline Honorary Event Co-chairs: Senator Rudy Boschwitz & Congressman Vin Weber Event Co-Hosts: Bill & Tani Austin, Bill Cooper, Dennis & Megan Doyle, David Frauenshuh, Nate Garvis, Steven & Mary Kennedy, Tom Kordonowy, Paul & Robin Maynard, Steve Sanger, Warren Staley, Paul Walser, Ben Whitney, Mike Wigley Friday, March 18, 2005, 7:30pm Minneapolis Hilton, 1001 Marquette Avenue St. Patty's Bash $50 Contact Shanna for ticket information: RSVP today at 651-784-0003 or Shanna@markkennedy06.com

Public Service and Sickness

Two young kids and me have this puking flu thing and my wife is supposed to be doing her public duty on the jury. I will be a little busy for the coming days, therefore no blogging, just cleaning up, etc.

Italia

As an avid cycling fan and thanks to friends who have traveled there, I desperately want to visit Italy some day. So I didn't need another reason to want to visit, but I was given another one after reading this quote below in this article.

An Italian Cabinet member urged Sgrena, who writes for a communist newspaper that routinely opposes U.S. policy in Iraq (news - web sites), to be cautious in her accounts and said the shooting would not affect Italy's support for the Bush Administration.

What's More Important?

Nancy Soderberg (former Clinton aide and author of The Superpower Myth) was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart earlier this week. Here are her comments:

It's scary for Democrats, I have to say....there's always hope that this might not work.

I'd like to ask here what is more important, the welfare and freedom of people in the Middle East or whether the Democrats are in control.

Sword

I wouldn't have fallen on a sword for this one, but I do think it is good news that HF405 seems to have died in committee. Why should the government force a business to ban smoking, let the free market and customers make the decision. Dan Severson (R-Sauk Rapids), who was the lone Republican to support the bill in the Commerce Committee, almost makes my point in his comments.

A stronger smoking ban, with bars and private clubs included, is still alive in the Senate. Some proponents suggested that they would await action by the full Senate before attempting to revive the bill on the House floor. If that occurs, members' votes would probably be recorded. And that could spell trouble for opponents of the ban, said Rep. Dan Severson of Sauk Rapids, the only outspoken Republican ban supporter on the House Commerce Committee. "You'd better have a real good reason to go against 70 to 80 percent of the voters," he said.

If that many voters want change, then the businesses will change if they vote with their wallet as I do. The Senate bill seems a bit more reasonable because it allows for some prudent exceptions.

I Need Help

OK, let me get this straight, a teenage girl does have capacity to make the decision to have an abortion (no parental consent needed, even as young as 13 in some states) , but a 16 or 17 year-old doesn't have the ability to understand that pre-meditated murder is wrong?

In concluding that the death penalty for minors is cruel and unusual punishment, the court cited a "national consensus" against the practice, along with medical and social-science evidence that teenagers are too immature to be held accountable for their crimes to the same extent as adults.

OK, so I disagree and don't like the decision, next topic. The courts continue to legislate from the bench, why are they supporting their decision based upon public opinion and laws in other countries?

For the Supreme Court itself, perhaps the most significant effect of yesterday's decision is to reaffirm the role of international law in constitutional interpretation. The European Union, human right lawyers from the United Kingdom and a group of Nobel Peace laureates had urged the court in friend-of-the-court briefs to strike down the juvenile death penalty.

Somewhere I think there is a founder or two rolling in their grave after reading what Justice Kennedy wrote.

MDE is Exposed!

Our friend's marketing plan at MDE has been exposed! In a Red Star article he is accused of "juvenile" and "dirty" tricks by Bill Amberg and Amy Klobuchar respectively. MDE is quick to point out that he is not the only one up to these tactics. I like much of the work that MDE does and I wish him all the best. The irony is that the Red Star's article his going to help MDE accomplish exactly what he intended. So congrats MDE! You should do a follow-up post with the number of hits thanks to the article. UPDATE: Our friend at TBFKADVK does not approve, but his opinion seems to be standing on one leg rather than two. MDE is also under attack about him posting anonymously, here, here and here he addresses this topic as well. In these posts he mentions the Pawlenty Exposed website so I went there and found this person to be anonymous as well. So I wonder do the same people who think it is wrong for MDE to remain anonymous send emails to the person running Pawlenty Exposed too? Hmm... I'll go out on a limb and guess many do not. If you still question why some people wish to remain anonymous, here are some good reasons and a photo.

Last fall a Bush hater (or Kerry support?) decided to light a Bush sign on fire in Richfield (SD63) and this was the result. As you can see it was an apartment, so the potential loss of life and property was large. Thankfully no one was hurt.

If you have a problem with anonymous posting, you at least better be consistent with the view.

Gambling

Where do you stand on gambling issue?

Selection Votes Put a casino near the Mall of America. 33% 6 Put a casino at Canterbury. 0% 0 Get some money from existing casino profits. 39% 7 Leave it alone. 22% 4 Other? 6% 1 18 votes total