The Minnesota government shutdown & a response from a senator

Last night, before I shuffled off to bed, I took the time to write my state senator regarding the looming government shutdown right here in Minnesota. When I wrote the letter, I had my typical attitude that our elected officials -- at every level -- are just there for the extra paycheck. Hell, they earn full-time money for a part-time job so who wouldn't want to try their hand at running for elected office?

My letter, edited for some identifying content, follows below:

Dear Senator DeKruif,

I am taking time tonight to write you regarding the budget impasse and looming state government shutdown. The petty, partisan bickering and divisiveness has gone on too long. As a constituent in your district, I am appalled that in the time since your election to the office of state senator that you and your peers have continued to further divide an already strongly divided state. After running on a platform of job growth, you have done absolutely nothing to create jobs. By refusing to compromise with Governor Dayton and meet in the middle, you will actually be causing hardships as people face layoffs while the state government shuts down. Even more appalling is that having the government shut down will actually cost more than keeping all services running as-is.

I am disgusted to think that you supposedly speak for the middle class when it is those very people who will face hardships, inconveniences and potential job losses. Why is it so revolting for the current majority party to face the facts and realize that the logical thing to do is raise taxes on the top two percent of wage earners in the state of Minnesota? In the county where I reside, that boils down to a mere 300 people -- people who can afford a somewhat increased tax burden to turn our state in the correct direction.

While I don't expect a response or you, Mr DeKruif, to even bother reading the opinion of one citizen in your district, I hope that you would do the right thing and work with your peers on the other side of the political aisle. It is bullheaded divisiveness and political posturing that has caused the current state of economic stagnation in our state and country and a governmental shutdown which costs more than keeping services running does absolutely nothing to improve anyone's economic status. I hope that you, Mr DeKruif, at least have the decency to return your wages paid to you as state senator because nobody voted for state senators and representatives who would willingly shut down the numerous services and oust tens of thousands of hard-working Minnesotans from their jobs.

Do the decent thing and either present a budget bill which consists of both spending cuts and tax increases for the top two percent of wage earners in the state or return your ill-gotten wages as state senator. After all, I wouldn't expect to receive a paycheck for accomplishing nothing and neither should you.

Sincerely,

[Mr. Sorenson]

Obviously I was less than pleased in how this has played out. It's not a party affiliation thing for me in the least bit -- I'd verbally rip a Democratic member of the state legislature in the same fashion if I was represented by one. Surprisingly, my state senator (or some aide in his office) actually did take the time to respond to my letter. While I don't agree with his stance 100%, I am at least surprised that someone took the time to reply in a timely manner to my thoughtful and strongly worded letter. While I still feel that government should be about compromise and working together and stand by my stance about our state's elected officials forfeiting their paychecks due to accomplishing absolutely nothing, I feel slightly better. Senator Al DeKruif's response follows below:

Dear [Mr. Sorenson],

Thank you for taking the time to contact me, I truly appreciate the input of citizens. I understand that the possibility of a government shutdown is a difficult issue for many, especially workers that face layoffs because of a shutdown.

All people think differently; some are analytical thinkers, some are critical thinkers, some are abstract thinkers. The way we think and is influenced by both genetics and the environment in which we are raised.

Governor Dayton once made a comment about the freshmen legislators not knowing how government works and not being willing to learn; I think that he may be partially right. The freshmen members of the legislature come from a business background we are business owners and entrepreneurs. We are a group of people that have had to make difficult decisions to move our businesses and families forward. We have had to take risks; often with those risks we ran the chance of losing not only our business, but homes as well. We have been through times of struggle; struggle to pay bills, employees, suppliers. We have been able to succeed through the challenges and risks, and know how to make those difficult decisions.

The governor comes from a different background, and has a different mindset; he has never had to be financially responsible for a business and has never had to worry about the struggle that comes from taking a financial risk. Having a trust fund, the governor has never had to worry that a decision that he has made could cost him his home or business. I do not begrudge him that, but I know that his view of the world is different than mine because of that. I cannot see things as the governor does, and I know that he does not see things as I do. Who’s mindset do you most relate to, the governor or those of us that have had to struggle and make difficult decisions?

The issue of the state budget is critical not just for the immediate biennium, but for the future of our state as well. When I was elected I came into office with a resolve to get our state government under control. For too long the role of government has grown unchecked; this needs to be corrected. I want to make sure that this is done right the first time and not leave the problem for a future legislature to deal with.

The governor and the leadership of the unions representing state workers have been teaming up to spread a message of fear and misinformation about the budget. Make no mistake, I am not anti-worker, and I value the hard work and important roles each and every state employee contributes. The workers are the ones that will be hurt by a government shutdown, not the union bosses or the governor. It is wrong that the lives of so many workers and their families are being used as pawns in this game by the governor and the union bosses. The only person in Minnesota right now that can prevent the shutdown is Governor Dayton; only he can call a special session and get a budget in place. At a debate during the campaign, Governor Dayton said he would not shutdown the government for a tax increase. You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGrxP3cea1c&feature=youtu.be

But yet he is willing to risk thousands of state workers livelihoods and break that campaign promise.

The Governor and Democrats in the Legislature have a shutdown plan for Minnesota: Inflict maximum pain for political gain.

There is no reason for a shutdown: The legislature presented the governor with a balanced budget that increased spending by 6% without raising taxes. We know from recent polls that only 8% of Minnesota residents want an increase in government spending. We want the Minnesota government to live within its means, just as every family in Minnesota has to do with their household budgets. The budget increases education spending by over $400 million and the Health and Human Services budget by over $500 million. The governor wants to make Minnesota one of the highest taxed states in the nation, yet he has not specified what the additional revenue would be used for, so essentially it is a tax increase for the sake of a tax increase. I do not think that is a good reason to gamble with any state employee’s job! Make no mistake, if we allow government to grow at the rate our Governor wants, while the economy remains stagnant, the next tax increase will be on you. Controlling the spending now helps us into the future.

I also want to share with you a link that shows the time line of budget negotiations so far. This link shows that the legislature has made multiple concessions to the governor, and each time he has rejected them. http://www.scribd.com/doc/58308265/Timeline-of-Action-in-Last-90-Days-GOP-Legislature-Has-Released-3-Detailed-Budget-Offers-0-from-Gov-Dayton

To say that we have not compromised is simply not true.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s “Business Tax Index 2011” http://www.sbecouncil.org/businesstaxindex2011/report.pdf ranks the states from best to worst in terms of the costs of their tax systems on entrepreneurship and small business. The Index pulls together 18 different tax measures, and combines those into one tax score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared and ranked. Would you guess Minnesota is ranked somewhere in the middle? Hardly, Minnesota is ranked 50th out of 50 states with only the District of Columbia ranked 51st. This is unacceptable and raising our taxes higher makes us even less competitive. We have to turn this around for Minnesota businesses to grow, prosper and again hire our citizens who are out of work.

I ask you to reach out to the governor as well and urge him to work with us to end this budget stalemate. Ask him to live up to his promise to not shutdown the government over a tax increase, especially one that does not have a good purpose! Contact the governor and tell him to stop holding state employees jobs hostage. You can call him at (651) 201-3400; you can email him through his web contact form at http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/.

Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely,

Senator Al DeKruif





Al DeKruif
State Senator
District 25
G 24 Capitol Building
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
651 296-1279 (phone)
sen.al.dekruif@senate.mn

My take on TNT's Falling Skies

A drama focusing on a post-apocalyptic United States six months after aliens initially visit then violently kill and incapacitate the military and leadership network of Earth and take over the major cities around the planet. That's the basic outline of TNT's first foray outside of police and lawyer procedurals and it's probably the cable channel's best series to date and proves that while the networks cater to the lowest common denominator and continue to cast a wide net and appeal to everyone, quality actually has a place and it's increasingly on cable.

Starring Noah Wyle as as sort-of second-in-command of the human resistance after large groups are forced to split up due to the advancing detection methods of the aliens, referred to as Skitters, the show definitely has a dark theme to it. The series definitely does not lack action as I only found myself waiting for things to pick up the pace a couple time throughout the 90 minutes of the 2 hour series premiere I was able to watch.

If you like edge-of-your-seat drama that leaves you wondering what kind of fresh hell awaits you in the next scene, this is just the show for you. It's the kind of series that would never stand a chance on one of the big four networks as was proven in the past year with both The Event and ABC's reboot of V being cancelled at the end of the season.

It's also the sort of series that would have been a perfect fit for Sci-Fi back when it was still Sci-Fi and not SyFy.

I have a feeling that the remaining episodes of Falling Skies will continue along the vein of human interaction and cooperation as they battle against both the child slavery aspect of the alien takeover and fight against the further demise of society in general. It's a common theme when anyone imagines a post-apocalyptic scenario -- society goes straight to shit as everyone fends for themselves instead of being civilized and banding together to reform some semblance of a society.

That will obviously be the b-plot of the series in the coming weeks but I can't wait to see what happens when the resistance captures one of the aliens and am crazy curious to find out just why the aliens chose Earth and what their ultimate purpose is with the planet.

Check out Falling Skies Sundays at 9 PM C/T on TNT.

Kelly Clarkson – National Anthem – NBA Finals

It's rare that I'd actually pay attention to the NBA, much less the playoff or the NBA Finals which seem to drag on to almost July but tonight, with the Dallas Mavericks at home playing the Miami Heat who did their best to buy a championship this year and are leading the series 2-1, it caught my attention.

With the only American Idol winner that actually matters, Kelly Clarkson, singing the national anthem -- and doing it effortlessly and flawlessly -- the Fort Worth, Texas native proved that AMerican Idol should simply turn off the lights and move the crew over to some tacky game show where people open barrels -- each containing snakes or ten million dollars. Of course my ideas might need some polishing but Kelly Clarkson's singing doesn't need any work. Plus, she looks damn good doing what she does.

Love Bites isn't all that bad

At first, the premise of the show had me confused. A quick 15 minute vignette followed by a commercial break then a title card. Then it dawned on me, maybe Love Bites was a play on words -- maybe each segment (15 minutes or so) would feature a new story with a different cast of characters. Hell, anything's possible with a show that's been rewritten, recast, postponed, shelved and reworked more times than a pile of Silly Putty. The fifteen minute format might work for today's Twitter generation but good luck building a following from week to week.

But I was wrong again. Suddenly the title cards seemed pointless. The story started to come together and the lives of the characters started to be woven together.

All told, unless things pan out down the road, the lead character played by Becki Newton seems utterly pointless. She was shown during only the first 15 minute segment and only briefly then. Kyle Howard's appearance was somewhat welcome and unlike his previous milquetoast role in TBS's My Boys, he actually showed glimmers of comedic acting.

Greg Grundberg along with Craig Robinson (The Office) made for a serivceable comedic pairing. The scenes with Grundberg and Jennifer Love Hewitt on a cross country flight with Grundberg explaining his exceptions list and the fact that Hewitt was the only one of the list was funny. Funnier still was Hewitt confessing that her number-one fantasy was having sex on an airplane. The pieces all falling in to place seemed almost too convenient but made for a legitimately funny yet uncomfortable piece of writing. I won't give away the climax of this part of the story but the pair does end up in a very cramped airplane restroom.

All told, the story thus far, is disjointed but after writing the show off after just three minutes but sticking around for the entire hour, I think that with some more solid writing that Love Bites could have had a legitimate chance on the regular season NBC schedule. I'd say that if you have nothing else going on, check out Love Bites Thursdays at 9 PM C/T on NBC because at least it's better than the litany of repeats and unscripted garbage littering the summer airwaves.

Shaquille O'Neal retires

After a whopping nineteen seasons, the journeyman NBA center has decided to hang up his size 19s and retire at the ripe old age of 39. The bigger news, though, is that he publicly announced his retirement online, via a video site called Tout. The video itself is short and to-the-point, at least it isn't all self-serving like some celebrities would do.

While Shaq probably isn't the best player to ever hit the hardwood, he was a force to be reckoned with. I remember him as being nothing less than dominant in his first years with the Orlando Magic. He dunked like nobody's business, was a wretched free-throw shooter and broke the glass on more than one NBA backboard (I remember one shattering in Salt Lake City during an early 1990s game vs. the Utah Jazz).

But the giant of a man had a dream. He wanted to win championships. And with a move to the Los Angeles Lakers he did just that. I'll admit to the NBA sort of falling off my radar after about 1997 but I know he stuck around there and made the Lakers the dominant team in the NBA's western conference. And, yes, he won championships.

It still wasn't enough, though. He obviously loved playing and loved the money. But he was never the center of ugly contract disputes or highly publicized trades (I'm looking at YOU LeBron James, fucking jackass). He followed the money, played his role as a lane blocking center and chased the championship ring. He played for the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat if my memory serves me before landing for what would become his retirement home of sorts in Boston with the Celtics.

He even blames himself for his injuries (now career-ending) for the Boston Celtics not making it to this year's NBA finals. Others, I'm sure, would be thumping their chests and blaming their teammates for not rallying in their absence and carrying the load but Shaq, for whatever it's worth, sounded legitimately disappointed to have missed much of this season and claims to love his new hometown of Boston. Sure, Shaq is a multi-millionaire but he's a sort of quietly funny personality. Arrogant pricks and fame-whores like LeBron James, Alex Rodriguez and their ilk could learn a lesson from this giant of the game.

The Fox News got hacked video

So, um, what kind of viral marketing is this and what movie is it for?



The commenters on YouTube are getting all political over this two-minute video but there are certain clues that are a tip-off that it's a viral video attempt for some sort of movie. It doesn't even deserve this much attention except for its high quality. Not to mention that the YouTube user -- "hiropro999" -- has posted just one video but supposedly has a second video in the works describing how he or she pulled of the supposed Fox News ticker.

As with anything of this nature, I'll believe it's a real video if the footage was captured by someone else, if a still photo surfaced and was vetted and published by a legitimate news source. Until then I'll tag it as unlikely to be legitimate.