Across the Great Divide

Ma'am, I'm Going to Need to See Some ID.

Missed this year's Lions Club Parade in my hometown, where members dress up in drag and come out for Lions Pride. 

Just one of the local traditions that help explain my across-the-great-divideism.

Photo by William Woody, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

In other news, formerly white-hot gun sales have slowed some with the economy, but a local seller notes: “There’s actually a lot of gals coming and getting small handguns.”

Well, maybe.

Bonanza Revisited.

Ordinary people, making it by guess and by God, or not quite making it, are just as susceptible to dreams as the ambitious and greedy, and respond as excitedly to the adventure, the freedom, the apparently inexhaustible richness of the West. And the boosters have been there from the beginning to oversell the West as the Garden of the World, the flowing well of opportunity, the stamping ground of the self-reliant.

[...]

If you believe that the world owes you not merely a living but a bonanza, then restrictive laws are only an irritation and a challenge.

— Wallace Stegner, writing about his father, the boom-and-bust West, and its drill, baby, drill spirit

Business Hearts are Not as Black as That.

Harvard Business Review regularly publishes case studies followed by contrasting opinions on how the executive in the case ought to deal with a touchy situation.

In my manager days, I used to read these regularly and marvel at how different wise men could draw very different conclusions from the same set of facts.

In this case, an apparent terrorist bombing, coordinated with another in the city, strikes a subway station across the street from a financial services company that trades in international currencies. The question: should the company open its lobby and cafeteria to emergency personnel dealing with the dead and wounded, or should it keep the doors locked and keep on trading?

As of today, all 26 commenters at the blog sided with community over company. Though they offered different suggestions, most agreed with this one:

What a sad world to ask this question at all, isn't it?

(I refrain even from discussing pro's and con's. If you are still undecided, just imagine yourself explaining to one of the bloodied victims, that he or she may search for shelter somewhere else: "You know, for the sake of our investors." You get the picture.)

What a sad editorial decision if HBR honestly couldn't predict the predictable one-sided responses from its business audience.

[h/t Shawn_Leonard]

GOP Candidate Bios: No Roots Reruns.

I was going to give the biographies of Republican candidates for Minnesota governor equal time, but after reviewing their websites, it quickly became apparent they were going to be a lot less fun than the DFLers.

Let's just say, this field is self-thinning.

But even worse for my specific line of merry-making analysis, the GOP doesn't seem to exhibit the same level of ancestor worship. None of their candidates soared to the mythic-sounding heights in the life stories favored by the DFL candidates.

Purported front-runner Marty Seifert came closest with how he "picked rocks, pulled weeds, picked pickles on his hands & knees and did various farm jobs to save money for college. He worked at the Dari King in Redwood Falls while in high school and delivered pizzas for Domino's Pizza of Marshall during college in order to work his way through without any government grants." Presumably, the farm earned no government subsidies, or else Marty sent back a portion of his pay.

Pat Anderson of suburban North Oaks is a "fourth generation Minnesotan" whose brother is a champion professional sled dog musher in Alaska. That's about as compelling as the heritage story gets, but Anderson's bio was actually was the best among the candidates of both parties — assuming the objective of an "About" page is to make the candidate sound like a real person rather than simply an appealing archetype.

Anderson, with the sled dog reference, was not the only one to hitch a ride on the Palin ethos.

Tom Emmer of suburban Delano played hockey in Alaska after leaving Boston College and named one of his kids Tripp. But in case you were thinking he had something in common with college hockey player Mark Dayton or BC alum R.T. Rybak, Emmer "relentlessly represented insurance companies" and "defended police officers against excessive force claims." He almost makes "trial lawyer" sound GOP-friendly.

Of the three H's — Bill Haas, David Hann and Phil Herwig —the first two hardly provide enough biography to tell them apart, let alone to make their stories memorable. Herwig at times nearly strays into Leslie "Earth Protector" Davis territory, promising to "push the envelope" on all sorts of policies and invoking Paul Wellstone.

Let's put it this way, Norm Coleman isn't second-guessing his party switch as he considers running again for the office he once lost to a wrestler and a 98-pound legacy candidate.

With mostly suburban entries, the GOP lineup is only marginally less city-centric than the DFLers'. So why do the family values candidates skip the Roots reruns?

Here's my theory: The Republicans believe their platform is closer to the outstate mindset, so they don't feel compelled to pretend they're just regular folks who have corn silk in their hair and iron ore in their blood. They're also less likely to care about people different from them, so they don't make pro forma attempts to reach out and establish empathy. Finally, they might just think it's fake to claim tenuous family connections as formative experiences.

Black, urban, gay, union member, organic farmer, artsy fartsy hipster, police brutality victim — don't expect any inclusive family stories from this crowd. You want in the Big Tent, you gotta buy a ticket.

DFL Candidates for Governor: Desperately Seeking Country Cred.

Thank goodness I'm only a blogger instead of a candidate for Governor. Otherwise, my About page would have to read more like this:

Charlie Quimby was born in Rifle, Colorado, a town of about 2,000 known as the Trout Hatchery Capital of the World. Growing up in a large family in small towns on the western slope, he learned the value of hard work from putting himself through college with jobs in construction and oil exploration — and from his grandfather Homer Quimby who ran a hardscrabble Arizona cattle ranch near the Mexican border.

He was inspired by his great grandmother Jenny who, as a single mother, homesteaded in northern Colorado, and his maternal grandmother Emma, whose first husband died when her children were very young. Emma did bookkeeping for the Rifle Dodge dealer and took in laundry to support the family. One of her customers was "Pop" Nelson who had immigrated from Sweden at the age of 16 and worked for the railroad. They married...

Yes, I've been reading the bios of Minnesota's DFL gubernatorial aspirants.

The question of who's country and who's not came to me after listening to Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak at Drinking Liberally last week. I asked him who among his fellow contenders he'd have as a Lt. Governor running mate and to name names. He demurred, with good nature, and then admitted he needed to work on his answer.

Checking the Greater Minnesota bona fides for the DFL contenders, I found most candidates either play the ancestry card or punt.

Idyllic, but not rural

John Marty (avoids the question; the son of a theologian cannot lie)

Mark Dayton (he "grew up in a house in Long Lake" which still sounds kinda rural)

Steve Kelley ("you could find him feeding the family’s two horses or climbing his favorite apple tree" ... before he left suburbia and headed off for exclusive Williams College)

Susan Gaertner (goes for the Pawlenty approach — she "grew up on the East Side of St. Paul during the height of opportunity for working class families")

These guys got "roots"

Paul Thissen's "family roots in Minnesota date to the 1860s when his great-great grandfather established a homestead along the banks of the Minnesota River" (but Thissen grew up in Bloomington)

R.T. Rybak's "Minnesota roots go back more than 150 years to New Prague, Minnesota, where you can still see his family name carved in stone on a building on the main street in town" (but R.T. himself is a Minneapolis kid who traces his early days to his dad's drug store at Chicago and Franklin Avenues in south Minneapolis)

"It's hard to talk about Matt Entenza without talking about a town in southwestern Minnesota called Worthington."  (No, it's impossible. "Matt Entenza's Minnesota roots reach back to the 1870s" but he only spent three years in Worthington)

She will milk her youth

Margaret Kelliher Anderson grew up on a dairy farm just outside of Mankato and was the 4-H State President and the Blue Earth County Dairy Princess (which gives her some pasture cred, but she's now a representative from Minneapolis)

Unimpeachable Toms

Tom Rukavina grew up on "the north side of the small Iron Range city of Virginia" and he's still up there (say no more, though he does)

Tom Bakk worked as a carpenter and union leader and lives near Cook on Lake Vermillion (is the pope Catholic?)

So who might be the DFL's 2010 Mae Schunk or Carol Molnau? Does the Dairy Princess go Iron Range or pick an urban partner to offset her supposed farm-tricity? Would Rukavina, who jokes about his stature, seek out a mini-Mee Muoa? Does "Entenza-is-Norwegian-for-Governor" pair himself with an actual Norwegian?

Next, an analysis of the GOP hopefuls.

Who Shot David Strom?

Exactly one year ago today (11/11/08) MinnPost ran a story announcing that Pat Anderson was replacing David Strom as president of the Minnesota Free Market Institute (MnFMI).

The story said Strom would stay on as senior fellow of the institute, and he did — making speeches, writing op/eds, appearing on TV and doing his radio show on behalf of free market principles.

For a while.

But if you visit the MnFMI site today, you'd be hard-pressed to find him. Looking there for a trace of one of Minnesota's most visible, vocal and entertaining conservatives is like seeking blood spatters at a crime scene.

The most recent blog post attributed to the prolific Strom dates from August. I found a bio page by searching the site, but he is no longer listed on the "Staff and Fellows" page (nor is apparently former senior fellow King Banaian).

When I first noted this a few weeks ago, some of his other contact information still mentioned his affiliation. But when he appeared on Almanac October 3oth, he was introduced as a long-time public policy analyst, "you may remember him from his years with the Taxpayers League of Minnesota."

So the non-mention is mutual.

Also, the Internet Archive pages for MnFMI have been purged. You can't view the old staff photos showing Strom and his wife Margaret Martin with Craig Westover, the sole remaining eminence at what now appears to be the Pat Anderson for Governor Institute.

Strom could be annoying and over the top, but he was good at what he did — putting a clever, leprechaun-like face on the ruthless movement to drown government. At bottom, though, and despite his radio hyperbole, I think he had some integrity.

So why is he out of a job?

He was shouldered aside by politico Phil Krinkie in his previous job with the Taxpayers League. The story I heard at the time was that he was not a fundraiser, and MnFMI better suited his intellectual and policy bent. 2008 was the worst revenue year in the past five for the organization. Near the end of the year came the ambitious Anderson and history seems to have repeated.

Only this time, there was no announcement, and nothing to replace what was once a decent-paying gig. He's just been written out of the picture, except for google mentions.

I don't expect too many progressives to feel sorry for the way this veteran of the small  government wars was treated by his own side, but I do hope he lands on his feet — or is there already.

Staying Staying Positive.

The Stay Positive people are still at it in Grand Junction. I ran into them last summer when they were handing these out at a Sarah Palin rally.

Eight young adults stood outside in the sprinkling rain Tuesday waving signs — not protesting war, a health care bill or taxes — instead they're on a mission to promote positive thinking, no matter what your political bent.

Confessions of a Mole.

It's time to tell the truth.

Yes, I'm a mole.

For five years, I have worked, mostly diligently, to convince you that some conservatives were indeed interested in building a decent world. Now that we've won and the first all-Minnesota presidential ticket is destined for the White House in 2012 — if not sooner — I might as well stop living a lie.

I left a cushy job creating marketing messages for corporate America to become a fake liberal blogger. This job was even cushier — fewer client meetings and working at home — and I took a nice salary bump.

There were drawbacks, of course. I had to quit the golf club. I had to sell the Jag and bike everywhere, even in the winter. Distasteful as it was, I disrespected my political heroes and said some very harsh things about certain political operatives. Now that they run the party, I hope they will remember my mission and treat me kindly. A communications directorship would be nice, with maybe a little side job as an election judge.

I had to attend Drinking Liberally, at least until I seriously relapsed and my bosses put me in rehab. I called it "Colorado." When it appeared my cover might be blown late last year, I started volunteering in homeless shelters.

All that was miserable, but I pressed on for the greater — though not necessarily majority — good.

My only real friend through all this was Jeff, who kept my spirit company here. He did a masterful job of walking the line between a reasonable conservative, an annoying libertarian and the whacko that all of you fear and detest.

Then Wilford Wicklund outed me. Oh, he was sly and I tried to respond with an equally sly comment. But I don't think I was that convincing. Finally, I should start being honest with myself again.

I have a meeting with my handlers this morning. I'm going to tell them my plan to come clean — that I'll lay everything out here. There may be water boarding, to make sure I wasn't a double mole. If they don't let me out alive, no matter.

I've already time-posted the story, and it will appear here, while I either head for the mountains or begin eternity with my savior.

Letter from a Patriot.

Today I received this email, entitled "Why you should attend the town hall meeting."

Take out the references to the Tea Party, and consider the message, which is not about health care, taxes, Obama or immigrants. The text is quoted in full.

The real miracle in the system that governs us is that it survives in spite of itself. What made this nation great was that the power was vested in the people. All of that has changed. The people no longer have any power. All of the power is clustered in groups of Democrats and Republicans. It all happened when you were not looking. Oh sure, they will allow you to think that you have a voice but in the end your only choice and voice will be controlled by one of the people they choose. They will channel your anger to their goals. Why, because you actually have no other choice.

Since I started working on the Tea Party, I have been given a real education in the art of politics. An education that is only available to those who have seen our system work from the inside. But I have seen something else too. I have seen the spirit and heart of the American People. I have witnessed the suppression of free speech and I have seen ordinary people like you and me have that heart torn right out by the system.

There is a rising movement in this country, a discontent, and anger of the unwashed masses. A yearning; a burning desire to throw off the yoke of oppression and be free men once again; in control of our own destiny, subservient to no one. But there is something I must tell you now. I do not think that will ever happen. I pray to God that it will but I am no longer naïve enough to believe that it ever will. The whole system is set up to subvert the will of the people and it is so ingrained and a fundamental part of both parties but that goal is about all they cooperate with each other on.

But what am I suggesting? A third party? No. That would only guarantee that the power now would stay in power and I don’t know how much more of that our country can stand. I have been amazed at the total disregard and lack of respect for the hard working people whose hard earned dollars are squandered and wasted and yes; siphoned off to the special interests. That is a political term for the group of people (camp followers) who attach themselves like leaches to the power elite. They get the contracts, the grants and the loans and in turn they pay back a portion of your dollars in tribute to the campaign funds and dance with those what brung them.

In my over 60 years of life I have played poker in what is affectionately known as brother - in- law games. That is where the sucker is actually playing the cards he is dealt against the best of the other six hands at the table, every time the cards are dealt. But at least in those rigged games the sucker (that would be you the public, the taxpayer) has a very low probability but at least some small chance of winning. Politics removes any chance the sucker might have. Those of you who are unemployed are still working for the system.Those of you who are employed continue to work for the system. You work for them, they don’t work for you and they are not about to start now.

I have been told that I have become cynical. The truth is, I have become wise. I have discovered that if they can’t steal it they will try to destroy it. And I am left to wonder if my thoughts don’t run parallel with those of our founding fathers. How hard it must have been for them to commit their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the cause of liberty. They could not have known that the people would follow. They were committed to a very real game called ‘you bet your life’.

It is the same today as it was then. This is a high stakes game where nothing is sacred., not family, not friends, not even those who were buried long ago in the cold, cold ground. I do not believe that there is a man created by God with enough courage to stand alone for what is right, for what is just against the armies of agents arrayed against you from all sides.

When I started to work on the Tea Party, I was at the corner of 12th and North Ave, standing alone with a sign advertising for the Tea Party on April 15th at Lincoln Park when I was approached by an older lady dressed in humble clothes. There was nothing extraordinary about her. Her face was wrinkled with the years and she walked slightly stooped. As she looked up at me, I noticed that her blue eyes had that faded, tired look but when she spoke her voice was strong and her message I have carried with me to this day. First she asked me did I know what I was doing? And at that time I thought I did. And I relied to her “Yes Mam, I am trying to give the people a voice.”

Her next statement took me totally aback. It was a warning and to the point. She said “ you know they are going to try to get you don’t you?” At that time I must admit that I really hadn’t given that much thought. That was when I was naïve. Now I know that that wrinkled little old lady was so much smarter than I will ever be and since all of you out there trusted me to help you find your voice, I will just pass along one simple warning and you best pay heed and listen up. ‘You know they are going to try to get you, don’t you?’ And now all you have to worry about is who they are. But you will find out soon enough.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

How Do Communities Thrive: By Maximizing Wealth or Redistributing it?

The comments at This Road is Designed to Kill You have drifted a bit off topic — from the safety effects of traffic roundabouts to incentives for people to live closer to work to flight from city schools to the influence of school district size on student achievement. (Go ahead and read them if you haven't. I won't make many explicit references here.)

Running through the discussion is a divide that often surfaces here, and in fact simmers under most of what passes for debate in politics today. Whether the topic is health care, schools, the economy, taxes or infrastructure, it boils down to the merits of government intervention versus free market solutions as ways to solve big problems.

Another, less common way to put it is this: Communities thrive by redistributing wealth or by maximizing opportunities to accumulate wealth.

For example, Mark and Jeff had a back-and-forth over whether a single, large school district that allocated dollars first to lagging schools would help improve student performance, especially in inner city schools.

Mark says: "Turn all contiguous metropolitan areas into a single school district, with funding prioritized so as to deal with the lowest performing schools first."

Jeff responds: "The measure that shows the greatest correlation with school performance isn't funding, and it isn't class size. It's school district size. Kids in smaller school districts do far better."

Jeff is correct that studies show smaller school districts tend to have better student achievement, but size matters only insofar as it negatively affects the factors that really produce learning outcomes.

It's worth noting that school districts usually are large because a) they were formed to encompass large city boundaries with their diverse populations and the education challenges that go with them. Or b) they were consolidated from smaller districts experiencing enrollment declines, substandard offerings or funding issues that led them to seek economies of scale. In both cases, upsized districts are a consequence of factors other than pure pursuit of improved student achievement.

Mark is talking about disparity of income between districts, not size; a super district would be just one way to redistribute money to aid lower-performing schools. Of course, a similar move — giving more responsibility for school funding to the state — was tried and then has been slowly dismantled by Gov. Pawlenty. But redistributing school aid dollars isn't really the whole answer, either. Living in economically advantaged communities tends to be accompanied by other factors that relate to school performance, and these advantages are more difficult to export — or to benefit students who are bused in to those communities.

Growth & Justice delivered a research-based report last year that summarized three factors that were most critical for getting students from pre-K all the way through college. Each of these has financial implications, not necessarily tied to what we think of as "school funding."

Quality academic preparation and alignment. Children receiving sustained quality instruction, rigorous curriculum, and meaningful, ongoing assessments are more likely to succeed at the next education level.
Social supports. Relationships between children and adults in early childhood, school, and non-school settings are significant to academic success. Parents contribute to a child’s educational success when they are involved with care providers, teachers, mentors, and tutors.
Access and financial support. Access to quality providers, programs, and institutions places children and students in a position to take advantage of learning opportunities. But limited financial means can be a barrier to access. Subsidized childcare, preschool, and post-secondary tuition grants expand access to quality learning experiences for students at all income levels.

To over-simplify my point, I'd say the education discussion drifted toward comfortable positions for Mark and Jeff, but got richer as they shared the research and the complexities became more evident.

In another post, I'll discuss one other angle their discussion raised — taking personal credit for successes and blaming government for failures.