Suckers

As I mentioned last night, Gov. Dayton decided to add insult to injury yesterday by vetoing the one remaining legislative priority the Republican-led legislature had:

In a stinging coda to a divisive legislative session, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday vetoed a GOP-led package of business property tax breaks that were a top priority for many of the state's corporate leaders.

The veto came hours after a session-ending triumph for Dayton and a bipartisan group of legislators, when Dayton made a rare, ceremonial show in the Capitol rotunda of officially signing the bill to create a new $975 million home for the Minnesota Vikings.

A billion for the Vikings, bupkes for other businesses. Not surprisingly, the reaction wasn't happy:

"The governor showed a great amount of flexibility on his top priority, the stadium, and little or no flexibility on issues related to small-business job creation," said David Olson, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

And the Republicans, who basically spent the last week trying to get something done as Helga Braid Nation sucked all the oxygen out of the Capitol Dome, were less than pleased:

GOP legislators say they now realize they should have insisted on the stadium and tax bills as a package deal to ensure that both became law. Rep. Greg Davids, chairman of the House Taxes Committee, accused Dayton of trading stadium votes from DFLers in return for vetoing the tax bill, robbing Republicans of a chief accomplishment.

"Dayton got everything he wanted," said Davids, R-Preston. "It was a finely crafted tax bill that he torched for political purposes."

Senate Taxes Committee Chairwoman Julianne Ortman said the bill offered a lot of relief for business for only a tiny burden on the budget. "This was a terribly unfortunate, very partisan veto and he did it at the expanse of all the cities and businesses of Minnesota," said Ortman, R-Chanhassen.

 So let's sum this up -- Dayton rams through the Vaseline Dome and then shows every other business in Minnesota his butt. And now the Republicans get to be on the business end of a few million dollars worth of Alida Messinger ads that they won't be able to counter.

After the cynical, scurrilous campaign that Dayton used to gain the governor's chair, it should have been evident to everyone on the Republican side that they were dealing with a guy who does not act in good faith. I hope the momentary praise was worth it for the Julie Rosens, John Kriesels and Morrie Lannings of the world.

The Reward for Bipartisanship

Mark Dayton gives David Senjem his reward for helping to jam the Vaseline Dome home:

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a GOP-led package of business tax breaks that would have blown a $100 million hole in the state budget in coming years.

That's some nice stenography from Strib reporter Baird Helgeson, but we'll let that pass for the moment:

“It ignored my requirement that any future spending must be paid for and avoid adding to the next biennium’s projected deficit,” Dayton said in the veto letter.

The tax bill had been one of the top priorities of Republicans who control the Legislature and the state business community. Dayton vetoed a much larger tax bill two weeks ago, so Republicans scrambled to piece together a new, scaled down version.

Only to get slapped down again. And by the way, Governor, if you were so interested in "paying for" future spending, why the hell did you commit the state to half a billion dollars, at a minimum, for a new palace for Zygmunt Wilf? Wait'll the pull-tabs don't come close to paying for things.

But of course, this is only part one of the reward. Part two will be the flood of advertisements we'll be watching over the next six months castigating the "do-nothing" legislature. Maybe they can bring back the woman who kept braying "Tom EmMMMMMER!!!" in the last cycle and have her say "Kurt ZellERRRRRRSS!!!" or something.

Frogs and scorpions, people. The tax bill was a hell of a lot more important for the long-term health of this state than appeasing the NFL and the braying denizens of Helga Braid Nation. But instead of making Dayton sign a tax bill before he got what he wanted, you did it the other way around, and this is your reward. Congratulations.

Always with the Halos

I don't ever recall seeing any other president presented with a halo. Our current president gets one on the cover of Newsweek, along with is possibly a historically inaccurate assessment:

There has long been speculation that our first gay president was actually James Buchanan, although the evidence is circumstantial:

Anyone who bothered to look into his living arrangements, says James W. Loewen, an adjunct professor of sociology at Catholic University. Of course, in his new book, Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong (The New Press), Mr. Loewen is speaking of the first Buchanan with Presidential politics in his blood, James.

Mr. Loewen, author of the best-selling Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (New Press, 1995), sets out in his new, self-described “rant” to dispel the myths that befog the American landscape. In a chapter titled “You’re Here to See the House,” he recalls asking a tour guide at Wheatland, Buchanan’s mansion near Lancaster, Pa., whether the 15th President was gay. “He most definitely was not,” came the outraged reply.

This new book isn't so new, by the way -- it came out in 1999, but just to finish the point:

“Most likely was,” insists Mr. Loewen. Buchanan’s long-time living companion, William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.” Around Washington, the pair were known as the “Siamese twins,” slang at the time for gays and lesbians. And when King was appointed envoy to France, in 1844, Buchanan lamented to a friend that “I have gone wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any of them.”

And there was an important historical component to this relationship:

The relationship may have been more than romantic. Mr. Loewen speculates that Buchanan, a native of a fiercely anti-slavery section of Pennsylvania, developed pro-slavery views out of sympathy with King, who served as a Democratic Senator from Alabama.

“It’s important to know that some of our leaders have been gay,” says Mr. Loewen, explaining why he outed a man often counted among the 10 worst Presidents. “To know that gay people did things, good things and bad things. You can’t just claim the heroes.”

By the way, back in Wisconsin, Rufus King has a high school named after him (in Milwaukee) and one of the streets that leads directly to the state capitol in Madison is King Street, which was named in his honor. This isn't surprising, since Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848 and King was clearly an important person in that era.

In the meantime, I'm amazed how many pictures there are of Obama with a halo:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And if you want to see more, lots more, click the link.

Coming Soon to Your Storage Shed

It's the president of the United States, speaking in front of someone's garage in Nevada. Word on the street is that if you vote for him in November, he might seed your lawn, too.

Your Meme of the Day

So we learned this week that Mitt Romney had an early career as a "hairstyle commando." And Vidal Sassoon, who gained worldwide fame for his high-fashion geometric hairstyles that were first introduced at almost the same time that Romney wielded his wicked scissors, died the day before the expose appeared in the Washington Post.

Connect the dots, people. Connect the dots.

Bad Things I Did in 1965

Since we're talking about things that happened, or maybe didn't, when Mitt Romney was in high school, I think it's important that I disclose some of the bad things I did in 1965:

• I threw up all over my mother
• I used up a lot of water by soiling diapers
• I didn't share my blocks with my brother, although all he wanted to do was eat them anyway

Confession is good for the soul. If you were alive in '65, I'd also encourage you to share your peccadilloes in the comments section. I'm pretty sure Gino soiled a few diapers that year, and Rich might have, too, although since Rich grew up in Chicago, his family might have been able to arrange it so he could have a 19th Ward committeeman's aide simply follow the toddler version of Rich around with an early prototype version of a pooper scooper.

Welcome to the Vaseline Dome

Congratulations, Helga Braid Nation -- you've won.

Ending a decade of turmoil, the Minnesota Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a $975 million Vikings stadium meant to anchor the team in Minneapolis for a generation.

The vote ended a turbulent session that saw the project nearly die several times, only to get revived and then dominate the Legislature's final weeks, as opponents ultimately succumbed to intense pressure.

I'll probably do a longer post-mortem of this shameful spectacle in a few days, although there's not much more to say, really. I don't doubt that the new building will be very nice -- once we've spent well over a billion dollars for the thing, which it will be after the cost overruns, it's not going to be a dump.

The problem is an eternal one -- we have more Julie Rosens than we have Dave Thompsons, at least among those who are willing to run for office. And until and unless we address that issue, we'll continue to spend money we don't have for projects we don't need.

Who's In Your Wallet?

Crude, but I think you get my point.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XX -- Fire Up the Vaseline Truck

It's long been true that many bad decisions take place at 3:30 in the morning. Like this one:

The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to spend $477 million —$50 million more than they had planned — to get a new stadium under a deal that was given final House approval early Thursday morning.

The results of a furious, final stadium negotiating session were released after hours of closed-door meetings Wednesday, in which top lawmakers conferred with the Vikings and the state’s top business leaders out of public view.

The Senate, which had earlier passed different versions of the stadium plan, was expected to take a final stadium vote later Thursday.

As months of intense stadium politics at the State Capitol neared an end, the House voted 71 to 60 for the revised financing plan after a debate that finished at 3:30 in the morning.

So Zygi spends $50 million more than he planned, although it's not necessarily $50 million of his own money. And we're going to have this thing.

Not surprisingly, our politicians are pleased with themselves and the courage it took to spend money we don't have:

[Rep. Morrie] Lanning defended the state's efforts to get the Vikings to pay more for a new publicly owned stadium amid reports the team might leave Minnesota. "We have driven a very hard bargain," he said.

And the Vikings want you to know how selfless they are, too:

"The Vikings and the Wilfs have stepped up ... and made a huge commitment to Minnesota," added Lester Bagley, the team's vice president.

At this point, it's tough to be outraged, because it's simply business as usual. You had a bunch of politicians who were doing what politicians do. It's always easier to spend other people's money than it is to deliver tough messages, especially when a bunch of people in purple face paint and Helga braids are braying in your face. We want our bread and circuses and our politicians are only too happy to deliver them, especially the circuses. You can take all the public opinion polls you want and the fundamentals don't change -- people say they want the government to spend less and not to waste money, but we keep sending politicians to St. Paul and Washington who do it anyway.

For what it's worth, at least the sorry spectacle we've been treated to in this legislative session has driven home that, for all our self-proclaimed exceptionalism, there is no exceptionalism here in Minnesota. All it took was for Roger Goodell to come to town and everyone folded like a rummage sale card table. The $50 million added to the cost is a rounding error. The NFL got what it wanted and we're all going to pay for it, even if we never see a Vikings game anywhere other than on television.

And because so much of the final process was done in closed-door meetings that were dancing around the open meeting laws, I fully expect that the lawsuits are already queued up. It's full employment for a blogger, I tells ya.

The Joy of Amateur Punditry

Usually the feedback loop isn't quite this short. This morning, in this feature, I said the following in the wake of the North Carolina referendum that banned both gay marriage and civil unions:

You won't hear much about Barack Obama's "evolution" on this issue, at least for the remainder of the campaign.


It only took 8 hours or so for that particular observation to become, ahem, non-operative:

President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage Wednesday, just hours after North Carolina adopted a constitutional amendment to ban it -- one of 41 states where same-sex marriage is illegal.

President Obama's declaration does not change any law, but it does inject a contentious social issue into the race for the White House.

"For me personally it is important for me to affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," Mr. Obama said.

Got that one wrong. So it goes. The value of my punditry has a direct correlation to the price my readers pay for it.

There are plenty of political implications to Obama's decision to speed up his "evolution," but I'm not thinking about that today. We'll be talking about the politics for the next six months, I'd wager.

In the article I've linked, CBS News points out something that is worth mentioning because, in my view, it's absolutely crucial to understanding the larger dynamic on the topic of gay marriage:

Support for same sex marriage is generational and the president said today his children don't understand why same-sex parents would be treated differently.

"It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective," Mr. Obama said.

Emphasis mine. If you have school age children, which I do, one thing becomes immediately evident; they are being taught, in no uncertain terms, that gay marriage is right and proper and that opposing it, for any reason, is wrong. The views you hear from young people on these issues are astonishingly unified on this topic, because questioning the idea of gay marriage is about the same as questioning gravity. It may be different in other parts of the country, or among parochial school kids or home schooled kids, but I'd wager that support for gay marriage among young people is, if not 100%, awfully close, especially among kids who attend public schools. It is a generational thing and those of us who are older are going to lose the argument in the end. Obama is just swimming with the tide.

And because of that impending reality, as I've thought about the issue, I've come to realize that my own views on the subject don't matter especially. I tend to be libertarian on social issues of this sort, because I have little interest in telling people how to live their lives; it's trouble enough living my own life. But since I am a free amateur pundit, I'm going to offer some views anyway.

I worry that we are simply embarking on the latest leg of what's been a 50+ year social experiment that has fundamentally altered the meaning of marriage, at least as far as it has been traditionally understood. And while we can find various counterexamples throughout history, especially if you consult with the right anthropologist, this statement shouldn't be especially controversial -- in most cases, in most societies, the primary purpose of marriage has been to provide a framework for the upbringing of children. Sex is part of the enticement and love is a happy byproduct, but given the amount of arranged marriages that have happened throughout history, romantic love has often been at best a tangential consideration.

The point I'd make is this -- marriage was, at one point, a much different deal than it is today. Plenty of couples take their marriages seriously and view their roles in a traditional sense. I have no reason to believe that plenty of gay couples wouldn't take their marriages seriously. But the traditional reasons and understandings of marriage aren't the same, especially in a world where the message is that marriage is about love, or (in some cases) simply codifying infatuation. We are also living in a world where a lot of people don't bother with marriage when they start a family. And as a practical matter, plenty of women are essentially married to the state because the men who happened to be the biological father of their children aren't available, or even expected, to provide for their progeny. And we are also living in a world where traditional sources of morality, especially certain mainline Protestant denominations, aren't especially interested in fighting for the traditional understanding. My Catholic Church is fighting, but it's getting the hell beat out of it, and a lot of my fellow Catholics are at best ambivalent about the wisdom of the fight. Our associate pastor gave a stemwinder of a homily on the subject last week and while some of the parishioners were applauding, a lot were sitting on their hands.

None of this should be surprising. In our world, in 2012, the traditional understanding of marriage is a tough sell, because the idea of sex when you want, with whomever you want, has a lot of appeal to most people. Once the widespread availability of the birth control pill gave at least some control of female sexuality to something other than the menstrual cycle, or a father with a shotgun, the game changed. And because the goal wasn't preserving a framework but rather seeking "love," no-fault divorce came next, because everyone deserves a chance at happiness, right? And since humans are human and sometimes don't get the birth control right, the legalization of abortion followed that. Each of these changes has had an enormous impact over time and in ways that we're only beginning to understand.

And since love is now the goal and since love is, for many people, simply the practical application of the biological imperative, it's tough to justify keeping gay people out of the party. Normalizing gay relationships was always going to be inevitable in such a world. If marriage is more about mutual self-actualization than it is about making sacrifices for the next generation, there's no good reason to keep gays out of it, at least as a matter of public policy. In some respects, it's almost surprising that all this didn't come sooner. I suspect that if the AIDS epidemic hadn't happened, we'd have reached this moment 15-20 years ago.

Sex/love is a hell of a lot more fun than abstinence. That's a given. And if sex/love is mostly decoupled from its end-stage biological implications, it's going to be the winning message. Even when social norms were a lot different, plenty of people were still looking for a little strange if they thought they could get by with it, because that biological imperative is powerful indeed. I live in a good sized metropolitan area. Over the course of any given day, I'm likely to see dozens of women who are attractive enough to momentarily attract my attention. I don't pursue the matter, but it's tough not to notice them. And I have no reason to assume that women don't notice attractive men, too. Nor, for that matter, would it be particularly surprising that gay men and women see the same things that I see, although their focus would differ.

The nagging, conservative voice inside of me tells me that there are good reasons for traditional marriage, but that voice isn't strong enough to counteract the cacophony of voices that proclaim otherwise, especially when the competing voices celebrate a biological imperative that's plenty strong without the chorus. A lot of people don't hear the nagging voice at all, or choose not to listen. No one enjoys being on the business end of nagging, no matter how sterling the motives of the nagger. So we're going to have gay marriage added to the buffet line of love, sooner rather than later, regardless of what the good citizens of North Carolina might think at the moment, or what is decided here in Minnesota later this year. I fully expect to be dead and gone by the time we take a reckoning of the wisdom of these decisions. Maybe that nagging voice I hear is wrong. But it would not be surprising if, some day in the future, it starts to regain strength.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XIX -- Festooning in the Senate

The Vikings stadium bill makes it through the Senate with an unexpected, and unpleasant, surprise:

One change, which has Dayton's support, would require Internet retailers such as Amazon to collect state taxes when Minnesota customers buy online. Minnesotans are already supposed to pay state taxes for such purchases, but only a tiny fraction do.

The change would bring in just $3.5 million a year, but is a top priority for local retailers such as Target and Best Buy, who argue that existing laws give an unfair advantage to online retailers.

Call it a political payoff to Target executive John Griffith for services rendered.

There's more, of course -- with this story there's always more:

"The Vikings didn't get everything they wanted," Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, the chief Senate stadium author, said before the final vote.

The team agreed.

Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said after the vote that the team remains committed to paying $427 million toward a roofed stadium at the Metrodome site. He had said that spending $532 million, as the House wants, is unworkable and did not publicly warm to the Senate's call for $452 million from the team.

But Rosen said she believed the team would have to spend at least the extra $25 million the Senate proposed. "Oh, yes. I do. Yeah," Rosen said.

I would expect the conference committee to find a number between $452 and $532 million, probably right around $500 million. But there's more still:

But the Senate, in a close vote, reversed itself and instead settled for a less stringent set of user fees that, while still opposed by the team, would augment the state's desire to use electronic bingo and pull tabs in Minnesota's bars and restaurants to pay the state's stadium share.

The user fees ultimately adopted include a 10 percent fee on the sale or rental of stadium suites, a 10 percent fee on parking within a half mile of the stadium during NFL events and a 6.875 percent fee on team jerseys and other league-licensed products sold at the stadium.

They backed off the initial proposal, which was essentially 10% on everything -- tickets, concessions, merchandise, stadium signage and the Vikings share of National Football League revenue sharing. That would have paid for a lot more of this monstrosity, but the Vikings would have rejected it.

Now comes the fun part -- the conference committee that will iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Kurt Zellers and David Senjem can pick anyone they'd like to be on the conference committee. Because I believe in the spirit of bipartisanship, I'd strongly recommend Sens. John Marty and Dave Thompson be part of the Senate team. And since it's important that the voice of a Minneapolis representative be heard, Zellers really ought to appoint Frank Hornstein, the authentic voice of Linden Hills.

And while I'm ordinarily loath to do it, I have to give our own State Senator, Barb Goodwin, a heartfelt thank you for pointing out something that needed to be said:

 "They're great businessmen," Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, said of Vikings ownership, led by Zygi Wilf. "They certainly promised a lot of things here -- except the money."

Get used to it, Senator.

UPDATE:  I take the kind words back on Sen. Goodwin, who voted for the stadium anyway. Should have known better.

Meanwhile, on Tobacco Road

Gay marriage is banned. Civil unions, too:

A proposed amendment to North Carolina’s constitution which would make marriage between a man and woman the only legal union recognized by the state has passed a statewide vote, the Associated Press reports.

The referendum- North Carolina Amendment One- goes a step beyond outlawing same-sex marriage, which was already illegal in the state. The law decrees that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”- meaning that civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be legally recognized.

What does it mean? Three things I can think of, at least for now:

• You won't hear much about Barack Obama's "evolution" on this issue, at least for the remainder of the campaign.
• Expect some pressure on the Democratic Party to move their convention from North Carolina, although it's likely too late for that to happen.
• The search is on for the Vaughan Walker of the Fourth Circuit.

Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin

The results are in for the primary for recall election for Gov. Scott Walker. And the Democrats can't be too happy with it. Walker, facing token opposition, racked up 626,538 votes. Combined, top Democratic challengers Tom Barrett and Kathleen Falk got 619,049 votes. It's worth noting that since it was an open primary, an unknown number of Republicans actually voted for Falk, trying to make her the winner.

Walker isn't universally popular in Wisconsin, not by a long shot. But I would be very surprised if Barrett, who lost to Walker in 2010, is victorious this time around. He has been soft-pedaling the real reason for the recall, which is the anger of the unions. The unions themselves could not deliver a victory to Falk, who was specifically campaigning as their champion.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XVIII -- The High Price of Vaseline

So the Vikings stadium bill passes the House, 73-58. Yesterday I speculated that the DFL would need to deliver more than 34 votes to pass the thing and it delivered 40. So it goes.

As I suspected would happen, the bill did get amended in some important ways yesterday. The Star Tribune has the complete list, but there are three provisions that I find especially interesting:

• While increasing the cost to the Vikings/NFL by $105 million, and taking a chunk out of naming rights will get the headlines, I think protecting the city of Minneapolis and the state from cost overruns is pretty significant. Since the DFL and its allies pointedly voted down a provision that would have exempted the project from "prevailing wage" (a/k/a union wage) rules, there are almost certainly going to be cost overruns to this project. I would imagine that, after all is said and done, the cost to the Vikings/NFL actually went up closer to $200 million yesterday. That's a lot of money. I also think the provision could lead to litigation later on.
• Increasing the term of the lease from 30 to 40 years is a big deal. If you look at the history of such things, the NFL doesn't like to stay in the same place for 40 years. About the only stadium that I can think of that the NFL has occupied for that length of time without significant changes is the stadium in San Diego. I fully expect that if this thing gets built, the NFL will get restless well before 40 years elapse, so this could be a bit of a poison pill.
• Closely related is the cost increase imposed on the Vikings if the team changes ownership after the stadium is built. The Wilfs are making good money now and should, theoretically, be making better money if the Vaseline Dome comes to fruition, but long-term economics of the deal could start to look shaky if the NFL has to pay out a lot of money to former players because of concussions and other traumatic injuries. The gunshot that killed Junior Seau resounded throughout a lot of boardrooms. The Wilfs would be committing themselves to some major financial risk if the deal goes through as it currently sits. They may not be willing to do that.

Now, it's possible that some of these provisions may not be part of the final bill and I'm certain that the Vikings will be trying to get most of the amendments stripped out if the bill passes the Senate and goes to a conference committee, but I don't think they'll be able to get rid of all of the changes. Yesterday was a very expensive day for Zygi Wilf.

il miglior fabbro

I was going to write something about the elections in France -- no really, I was -- but First Ringer has it covered. Click the link.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XVII -- To the Floor

After all this time, and after essentially tossing most of the regular business of the government to the side, the Vikings stadium bill finally hits the floor of the House today. A few thoughts:

• One thing worth remembering about what will happen today is that it will be possible to add amendments to the bill during the debate. I fully expect stadium opponents to use that possibility and would strongly encourage its use. For example, they could make funding contingent on a referendum in Minneapolis, or they could add in provisions from bills that the governor has vetoed. The key will be keeping the Republican caucus together on this, which could be tough, given the beating that Kurt Zellers has taken (and earned) in recent days. One wonders how much of the anger over Gov. Dayton's behavior in recent days will be expressed today.
• If the bill passes, there is going to be litigation against it and the public record of the debate will be very useful to the plaintiffs. 
• In the end, I think that the Republicans will lose their nerve and the bill will pass, by a vote or two. It will be interesting to see if the DFL brings more votes than the 34 they promised. They may have to.

Time to go home, Pete

Oops:

It was a revealing moment for California Rep. Pete Stark, the irascible East Bay liberal who has forged a reputation as a firebrand during four decades in Congress.

The 80-year-old Democrat, in a meeting with Chronicle editors and reporters this week, appeared to be confused about Solyndra, the Fremont solar power company whose collapse has fueled Republican criticism of the Obama administration's energy policies this election year.

"I wish I had enough expense allowance to get one of those new S's that Solyndra's going to make down there - the electric car," Stark said, after being asked about the company. "They run $60,000 to $90,000."

To their credit, the San Francisco Chronicle did feel compelled to point out what was wrong with ol' Pete's statement:

Solyndra doesn't make electric cars - or anything else. It declared bankruptcy and shut down last year after receiving $535 million in government loan guarantees. The electric car company in Fremont is Tesla Motors, which took over part of the abandoned Nummi plant and will release its next car, the model S, this summer.

Of course, Pete's been known to say other things, too, some of which are at the link. My personal favorite is this, recounted in a George Will column nearly a decade ago:

During the House debate on authorizing the use of force against Iraq, Rep. Pete Stark, a paleo-liberal from northern California, cried, ``Rich kids will not pay; their daddies will get them deferments." He meant draft deferments. It is almost unkind to awaken Stark from his dogmatic slumbers to notify him that there has not been a draft since 1973. And the Beatles have broken up.

There are a lot of people like Pete Stark in Congress, who have been there for a very long time -- he first went to Washington in 1973. I think it's time for him to go home, but there's a chance they've taken away the keys to his Solyndra.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XVI -- Chicken and Chicken Droppings

I'll say this for Mark Dayton -- he's a thoroughly nasty piece of work. His veto of the tax bill that was the top priority of the Republicans, on the eve of the Vikings stadium vote was one of the more cynical things I've seen in a while.

His reasons are even more cynical -- see if you can follow Dayton's logic here, as reported by Jim Ragsdale at the Star Tribune:

Dayton said the tax breaks would add $145 million to a deficit already projected at $1 billion in the coming budget cycle and was tilted too heavily to corporations, with only limited support for homeowners.

However, he does support building a stadium that will be a drain on state coffers for years and years. Not surprisingly, Republicans aren't pleased:

"We have a governor that's called us unfit to govern, he's called us liars, said we're sneaking around him," said normally amiable Senate Majority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester. "That gets a little tiring."

I imagine it would. But what's worse is this -- Dayton assumes he can get by with it.

Dayton is counting on the Republicans being intimidated by the likes of KFAN radio guy Dan Barreiro, who turned House Speaker Kurt Zellers into an incoherent puddle of goo in a hostile radio interview on Thursday. He's also counting on the purple face-painted hordes who have been hanging out in the Capitol to add to the intimidation.  And Dayton knows that if the Republicans actually show some spine and vote down the Vaseline Dome, they'll get Barreiroized by every bobo with a microphone on the public airwaves and drowned in bad ink from the nakedly self-interested Star Tribune. Thuggery often works on Republicans, especially when you have Republican leaders who hate negative publicity more than they hate hoovering the wallets of their constituents.

So what do you do? Roll over and die? Here's a modest suggestion:

Dayton may have his cynicism and his various praetorian guards, but the Republicans have one advantage -- they control the calendar. So what they should do is schedule a veto override vote before the stadium vote. Then you put the DFL legislators on notice; if you sustain Dayton's veto, the stadium bill dies. And if the stadium bill dies, immediately adjourn the session. And if Dayton tries to call the lege back into special session, the price becomes not only the governor's signature on the tax bill, but one or more other bills that he's vetoed. Some combination of tax relief and maybe, say, the teacher tenure bill, or tort reform, would do nicely.

Would the Republicans be denounced everywhere and by everyone if they did that? Of course. But that's going to happen anyway. If they just take it and roll over for Dayton, they'll get no credit for doing so either -- the headlines will crow that Dayton's leadership saved the day. If you've been assigned the black hat, you might as well wear it proudly and get something out of the session that will actually help the state.

There's been a game of chicken going on all along in this session. So play.

Lightning Round - 050412

Haven't done one of these for a while:

• I haven't written about the Amy Senser case, but now that the verdict is in, I would say this: it's just a very sad story all the way around.
• Brian is following the strange case of Chen Guangcheng and makes the right point over at his place. We back the Obama administration a lot here, on merit in most cases, but it's difficult to see any good options in this case.
• I hope that Mariano Rivera's career didn't end yesterday. He's had an amazing run.
• It took me a while to get to it, but I just finished reading Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism the other day. I don't know that I agree with his conclusions, but I'll say this -- you'd be amazed at how many admirers Benito Mussolini had back in the day.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XV -- Back to the Unicorn

So yesterday's plan is gone and we're back to the pull-tabs:

House and Senate Republican leaders said lawmakers will vote on a Minnesota Vikings stadium bill on Monday and they've taken their last minute plan off the table.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers said that they will take the vote even though he doesn't know that the plan -- which would use gambling revenue to pay for the state's share -- will pass and he personally "cannot" support it.

Back to you, Mark Dayton:

The fate of the stadium is now in the governor’s hands...This is his top priority," said Zellers, who spent months refusing to say how he would vote on the plan.

Gov. Mark Dayton said he was just fine with the responsibility.

Of course he is -- he's the one public official involved in this thing who doesn't have to face the voters in November.

“I am very pleased that the Republican legislative leaders have agreed to my request for up-or-down votes in both bodies on a new “People’s Stadium” that would provide jobs for several thousand Minnesotans and keep the Vikings here.  Now everyone will be able to hold legislators accountable for that momentous decision," Dayton said in a statement.

The "People's Stadium." Yep, the one you'll be able to enjoy for only $100 a ticket. Or more. Let my friend and fellow blogger, Brad Carlson, ask the right question:

The one thing that has rankled me throughout this whole process is how Gov. Mark Dayton has called this the "people's stadium." Well if that is really the case, why not have "the people" who use it actually pay for it?

Why not, indeed? Most of the time, the answer appears to be "because shut up," paired with a slap across the face with dangling Helga braids.

I'm not going to stay long on the topic, because I've already pointed out, repeatedly, what you need to know about the proposal that will get the vote on Monday. There is no way that charitable gambling will come close to covering the costs of the deal. Legislators who support the bill are spending money they don't have. If this thing goes through, it will be very interesting to see how the state of Minnesota markets the bonds, which would be backed by a revenue stream that has never been used before. In other words, it's a billion dollar bet.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Barack

While I'm not sure how much value there is in rereading love letters that Barack Obama sent nearly 30 years ago, this much is certain -- they are funny as hell:

I haven’t read “The Waste Land” for a year, and I never did bother to check all the footnotes. But I will hazard these statements—Eliot contains the same ecstatic vision which runs from Münzer to Yeats. However, he retains a grounding in the social reality/order of his time. Facing what he perceives as a choice between ecstatic chaos and lifeless mechanistic order, he accedes to maintaining a separation of asexual purity and brutal sexual reality. And he wears a stoical face before this. Read his essay on Tradition and the Individual Talent, as well as Four Quartets, when he’s less concerned with depicting moribund Europe, to catch a sense of what I speak. Remember how I said there’s a certain kind of conservatism which I respect more than bourgeois liberalism—Eliot is of this type. Of course, the dichotomy he maintains is reactionary, but it’s due to a deep fatalism, not ignorance. (Counter him with Yeats or Pound, who, arising from the same milieu, opted to support Hitler and Mussolini.) And this fatalism is born out of the relation between fertility and death, which I touched on in my last letter—life feeds on itself. A fatalism I share with the western tradition at times. You seem surprised at Eliot’s irreconcilable ambivalence; don’t you share this ambivalence yourself, Alex?

Forget Eliot, Yeats or Pound -- this is Joycean. It's the Portrait of the President as a Young Bullshit Artist.

Then again, this precious paragraph from a letter Obama sent to his then-current girlfriend, Alex McNear, captures a few things that have come true during his presidency, to wit:

• The "choice between ecstatic chaos and lifeless mechanistic order" is a pretty good description of the difference between Obama's 2008 campaign and what he's attempting to peddle this year.
• Like his administration, this paragraph has a bunch of words and little meaning.

Now, to be fair, this sort of sophomoric rambling is part of the game in college -- if you're trying to make time with the ladies, one way to do it is to spout off nonsense like this. I can think of one young woman who received letters of this sort from me back in the mid 80s, and I can only hope that she tossed those letters and those words never see the light of day. Still, one can't help but think that Eliot had Obama figured out:

There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;         

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

We'll be serving toast and tea in November.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XIV -- Finally, Clarity

A day after all hell breaks loose, now we have an idea of what the Republicans in the legislature are really proposing -- an end to the Kabuki:

House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, said the new plan would use a more stable form of state financing – general obligation bonds – than the charitable gaming revenue Dayton wanted to use to fund the state’s $398 million stadium contribution.  He also added that using general obligation bonds meant the project would need a roof.

“We hope this is fruitful,” Dean said of the sudden talks at the state Capitol surrounding the new Republican stadium plan. “We’re trying to find a solution that the Legislature can agree to.

“If it’s not productive and it’s not helpful, then we can move on to other solutions to try to get done to get out” and adjourn this year’s legislative session.

What Dean and his colleagues are proposing, at long last, is honesty. General obligation bonds are issued by the state and the state promises to make good on the bonds using whatever means are needed, up to and including taxes. So yes, with this proposal, the state would be on the hook for the bonds. And yes, if the stadium were to be approved and built, taxes might go up.

The key is this: now the politicians have to admit it. The problem all along, which those of us who have been critical of the deal have been arguing consistently throughout, is that the proposed revenue streams were fanciful at best. Think about all the dodges that are involved in "charitable gaming" as a revenue stream:

• It assumed that Minnesotans would want to gamble more than they already do
• It meant relying on something that was totally unproven as a revenue source to back the bonds, which would have meant paying higher interest rates to the bondholders
• It was a scheme to get around the reality that one political party is utterly beholden to current gaming interests
• It was a scheme to get around the perception that the other political party automatically eschews all taxes all the time, which has never been the case

In short, the entire discussion, especially for the past few months, has been dishonest to the core. I have written over 50 times on this topic over the past year and I've said the same thing, over and over. The decision comes down to this -- do we, meaning the citizenry of Minnesota, value having the Vikings around enough to pay for a new stadium? It is the only question that really matters because all of us will, in one form or another, pay for the thing if it gets to the floor and is approved.

There was only one way to avoid having to pay for the stadium with tax revenue and that was to allow the White Earth Band to have a casino in the metro area, in a prime location that would be disadvantageous to the existing tribal casinos. Because one political party would never allow that, paying for the stadium with general obligation bonds is the only real recourse available. Racino has always relied on revenue projections that are dubious as well. If you were interested in gambling, why would you go to Canterbury anyway, when you'd only be a short distance away from Mystic Lake? Canterbury would have to spend millions to have a facility as nice as what's already available down the road. And let's be honest -- for most metro area residents, by the time you reach Running Aces, you're a good part of the way to Hinckley already.

Now, finally, we have a clear choice. Do we want a new stadium for the Vikings or not? And if you do, are you willing to pay for it? If you are, tell your legislator that you support it. If you don't think it's worth the cost, tell your legislator that. 

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XIII -- The Roof and the Ceiling

Back in the 70s, Parliament sang it. Nearly 40 years on, the legislature is saying it. Tear the roof off the sucker:

A Republican plan for a cheaper, roofless Minnesota Vikings stadium took DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Democrats by surprise Tuesday, leading to another dramatic breakdown in talks.

The proposal, which also lacks the support of the Vikings, would rely on about $200 million in long-term borrowing to pay the state's share, with the cost of a roof negotiated in later sessions.

Meanwhile, Mark Dayton wants the funk, or maybe he was in a funk:

At a hastily called news conference, Dayton decried the plan as a political "gimmick" that "destroys the People's Stadium" that could be used year-round for concerts and other events.

The Vikings quickly announced their opposition, too, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said the city would not be a partner in the new plan.

You have destroyed ze People's Stadium! But Dayton was just getting warmed up:

Flanked by DFL legislative leaders and Rybak, Dayton accused Republicans of going behind his back to secretly negotiate with the Vikings, noting that they withheld information from his administration about the plan even as they all met to cut a session-ending deal on tax breaks, bonding and the stadium.

"It's cynical, underhanded politics," Dayton said.

I dunno, it's no more cynical than using a funding mechanism (electronic pulltabs) that's certain to fall well short of expectations, Governor.

So what are the particulars of the plan?

Under the emerging proposal, about $200 million in stadium infrastructure costs would get lumped in with a larger state bonding bill that would pay for repair of roads, bridges and buildings, including restoration of the Capitol. Republican leaders said the details would be worked out in coming days.

In addition:

The new proposal has some elements that could make it more politically palatable. It would not rely on expanded gambling to pay the state's share. Many Republicans and Democrats have opposed new gambling and harbor strong doubts that an expansion of electronic pull-tabs and sports-themed tip boards would bring in enough money to pay the state's share.

The proposal could inflate the size of the bonding bill, which might appeal to Democrats pushing for state-backed construction projects as part of their jobs agenda.

The debt would, however, be repaid with general tax dollars. As recently as mid-April, Zellers said relying on general fund dollars for stadium costs was "a huge problem," and requested backup funding plans that would eliminate that prospect.

So let's look at what all this means:

• The first thing that needs to be said is this: the gambling money that's been proposed isn't going to come close to covering the costs of the stadium. It might not be enough to cover the debt service, let alone the actual construction cost. The game here has always been to get the thing passed and start work. When the money would come up short, then future politicians would face the prospect of dealing with a sucking chest wound of debt, as has happened in Indianapolis, Cincinnati and elsewhere. What the Republicans are saying, if not directly, is that they don't want to play that game. If that makes them cynical and underhanded in the governor's eyes, so be it.
• The issue isn't really about building a roof, it's about establishing a ceiling. A ceiling in the costs involved in this project, that is. Building a "People's Stadium" that will charge more for events than most people can afford? Now that's cynical.
• One thing should be evident -- the Metrodome may be unloved, but it's still plenty adequate for most of the secondary events that happen there. If the stadium were built somewhere else (about which more in a moment), the Dome would still be available for high school football championships, early season Gopher games, rollerbladers and the like.
• I can't prove this, but I suspect some of the impetus for this proposal stems from lingering animosity over the power play that Minneapolis and its supporters pulled in dragging the stadium project away from Arden Hills. It was always too convenient that certain politicians, including the governor, were only willing to pony up $300 million for the Arden Hills site, but were somehow able to come up with an additional $100 million for Minneapolis. I would also guess that it's been galling to watch so many members of the Minneapolis legislative cohort oppose the stadium. It should tell you something that outstate politicians, especially Morrie Lanning and Julie Rosen, have been the ones who have had to do the heavy lifting in the legislature. Should such machinations matter? Perhaps not, but folks tend to notice such things.
• Could a roofless stadium be built elsewhere? Of course. We have one not far from the Metrodome already, so it can be done. It's also worth noting that many of the northern teams in the NFL, including the Packers, Bears, Bills, Patriots, Giants, Jets, Browns and Bengals, all play in outdoor stadiums. Somehow these teams all manage to survive, often quite nicely, without having a "People's Stadium."

As for what will happen next? It's difficult to say, but one thing is clear:  the plan seemed close to passage is probably dead. And we'll probably be hearing from Eric Grubman and Roger Goodell soon enough.

Forward?

It's the state motto of my home state of Wisconsin and now, it's the slogan of the Obama campaign:

Forward

It's also a term with plenty of Marxist implications.

We could have a lot of fun with this one. And I think we will.

Water Under the Board?

Nancy Pelosi has some 'splainin' to do:

In an explosive memoir released today, former CIA counterterrorism chief Jose Rodriguez provides new evidence that Rep. Nancy Pelosi lied when she declared she had not been briefed about the use of waterboarding.

Recall that in a Capitol Hill news conference three years ago, Pelosi (D-Calif.) vehemently denied being told about the use of waterboarding at a CIA briefing in September 2002. “We were not — I repeat — were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used,” Pelosi said. She later changed her story, telling reporters, “We were told explicitly that waterboarding was not being used.” She claimed she learned about the use of waterboarding the following year, only after other lawmakers were told by the CIA. “I wasn’t briefed, I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it,” she said.

So, what did she know and when did she know it?

In his new book, “Hard Measures,” Rodriguez reveals that he led a CIA briefing of Pelosi, where the techniques being used in the interrogation of senior al-Qaeda facilitator Abu Zubaida were described in detail. Her claim that she was not told about waterboarding at that briefing, he writes, “is untrue.”

“We explained that as a result of the techniques, Abu Zubaydah was compliant and providing good intelligence. We made crystal clear that authorized techniques, including waterboarding, had by then been used on Zubaydah.” Rodriguez writes that he told Pelosi everything, adding, “We held back nothing.”

Speaking of holding back nothing, Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen offers a good solution:

There is a simple way to settle this once and for all. Pelosi should formally request that the Obama administration declassify the cable that was sent from headquarters to the field reporting on the details of her Sept. 4, 2002, briefing. If she refuses to do so, it should be taken as an admission by Pelosi that her account of events is a fabrication.

As Justice Brandeis said, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Blog comment of the day

So we learn the following from the British press:

A majority of doctors support measures to deny treatment to smokers and the obese, according to a survey that has sparked a row over the NHS's growing use of "lifestyle rationing".

Some 54% of doctors who took part said the NHS should have the right to withhold non-emergency treatment from patients who do not lose weight or stop smoking. Some medics believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

In response, over at Hot Air, a commenter said this:

Well count me among the anti-fat and anti-smoking bigots. You choose to poison yourself (while also advocating that significantly less harmful stuff like weed should be illegal) then I could really care less about you. Get off the damn couch, turn off the damn TV, put down the greasy pork leg and do some friggin cardio already. And really, I blame the people who let fat men get laid. If women would stop sleeping with fat men, this obesity epidemic would be solved.
libfreeordie on April 29, 2012 at 10:19 PM

Do you agree?

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XII - Chicken

Nothing happened yesterday at the Capitol. In nearly every instance, that's a good thing. And considering the mistake that's likely to come out of this session, it's a very good thing:

A chief author of the Minnesota Vikings stadium plan said Sunday it was "very questionable" that the project would win approval unless Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders first reach agreement on other issues.

"Without a global agreement, without an agreement on a bonding bill and a tax bill," said Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, "it's very questionable whether there will be a vote on the stadium."

The tax bill is something the Republicans want.

Republicans want the elimination of the statewide business property tax, a move the governor has resisted because it could require dipping into the state's emergency budget reserves.

Or worse, it could even lead to reductions in the size of government, something Dayton can't abide. Meanwhile, once again John Marty says something that is (a) true and (b) politically inconvenient:

But a plan to instead rely on user fees, placing charges on everything from tickets and stadium signs to the Vikings' share of television revenue, will likely be offered on the Senate floor.

If user fees replaced public subsidies for the stadium, "I would guess 99 percent of the public opposition [to the stadium] would go away," Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, a longtime critic of stadium public subsidies, said Sunday.

However, the one thing that the Vikings and the NFL can't abide is the idea that the people who actually use their palace would pay for it.

Only Money

Two stories, seemingly unrelated.

First, the Wall Street Journal notes that Illinois has a few issues to deal with:

Illinois is an object lesson in why firms are starting to pay more attention to the long-term fiscal prospects of communities. Early last year, the state imposed $7 billion in new taxes on residents and business, pledging to use the money to eliminate its deficit and pay down a backlog of unpaid bills (to Medicaid providers, state vendors and delayed tax refunds to businesses). But more than a year later, the state is in worse fiscal shape, with its total deficit expected to increase to $5 billion from $4.6 billion, according to an estimate by the Civic Federation of Chicago.

Rising pension costs will eat up much of the tax increase. Illinois borrowed money in the last two years to make contributions to its public pension funds. This year, under pressure to stop adding to its debt, the legislature must make its pension contributions out of tax money. That will cost $4.1 billion plus an additional $1.6 billion in interest payments on previous pension borrowings.

Business leaders are now speaking openly about Illinois' fiscal failures. Jim Farrell, the former CEO of Illinois Toolworks who is heading a budget reform effort called Illinois Is Broke, said last year that the state is squandering its inherent advantages as a business location because "all the other good stuff doesn't make up for the [fiscal] calamity that's on the way." Caterpillar, the giant Peoria-based maker of heavy construction machinery, made the same point more vividly when it declined in February to locate a new factory in Illinois, specifically citing concern about the state's "business climate and overall fiscal health."

I have a college friend who is a teacher in Illinois and he seems amazed that the pension he's been promised seems to be swallowing up the state budget. Math is hard.

Next, our old pal John Marty, in William Proxmire mode, has been running the numbers on the Vikings stadium:

If the bill for the Minnesota Vikings new stadium passes the cost to taxpayers will be $77.30 per ticket, per game, for 30 years, according to an analysis by state senator John Marty, who submitted his findings to his colleagues yesterday. . . . If the taxpayers of Minnesota think $77.30 is too much, Marty has even worse news: the real cost is much greater because his calculation does not include the value of the property tax exemption on the stadium and the parking ramps, nor the value of the sales tax exemption on construction materials.

To be fair, there will be many more events than 10 Vikings games a season in the building, so that cost will be less, potentially substantially less, than $77.30 per ticket. At the same time, Marty is correct about the property tax exemption and there's also the likelihood that the project costs we've heard are seriously lowballing what a stadium would actually cost. So, while the $77.30 per ticket subsidy is probably overstated, it may not be overstated by much.

The larger issue is this -- beyond the crushing amount of debt the federal government runs up each year, many states are looking at equally crushing debt loads. More importantly, there seems to be no understanding of how screwed we really are already. The money that so many people have assumed would be forthcoming simply won't be, for a variety of reasons. So when I see Mark Dayton and Paul Thissen braying about Republican obstructionism, I only wish I were more confident that the Republicans would actually do some obstructing.

A MinnPost Reader Sets Me Straight

I've been fortunate that my blog posts regularly appear in other places, especially True North. I also have been a regular participant in the "Minnesota Blog Cabin" section of MinnPost, which picked up a piece I wrote last week concerning the role that Ron Paul acolytes are playing in the Republican Party.

MinnPost tends to attract a very different readership than my other haunts -- it's largely an online competitor to the Star Tribune and employs a lot of ex-Strib and ex-Pioneer Press writers. It's also a place that tends to be, like the Star Tribune, leftish in its orientation and its readership. As a result, the commenters there are often critical of what I write. That's fine, although it sometimes leads to some strange exchanges.

I had the following exchange over there this week with a gentleman named Paul Udstrand, who is also a blogger. I thought it was interesting enough to share here.

Udstrand, whose blog is named "Thoughtful Bastards," asked what might be a rhetorical question:

What is it with you Republicans and music? Why do you keep grabbing music from liberal musicians? (the title of this article is from Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue"). Aren't there any flag waving country music songs you can use?


Well, I like music and song lyrics often make dandy headlines for blog posts. And while I have no animus against Lee Greenwood, I prefer Bob Dylan. So I responded thus:

Actually, Mr. Udstrand, I prefer Bob Dylan to "flag waving country music songs." By your leave.


Which led to the following response, which is simultaneously condescending and 100% wrong:

Mark, I'm afraid you have seriously misinterpreted Bob Dylan, for one thing, it's not country, it's folk music. At least we share something in common however... we like Bob Dylan.

Whenever I'm instructed by a liberal that I've misinterpreted something, it's likely because I famously lack the nuance for which liberals are justly celebrated. But since I'm not a "Thoughtful Bastard" and am actually an ornery cur, I couldn't let that one go:


Really, Mr. Udstrand? I've "seriously misinterpreted Bob Dylan?" Where did I say Dylan was a country music artist? He certainly dabbled in it, from "John Wesley Harding" in '68 and his subsequent sojourn to Nashville, which was some 4 years after he essentially left folk music behind. Or have you not heard about the breaking news of Dylan's appearance with electric guitars at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival and the subsequent outrage that greeted that performance, some 47 years ago now? Dylan was a crucial figure in folk music, but only for a brief time. The vast majority of his career and his songbook resides elsewhere. Dylan belongs to rock as much or more as he belongs to folk or any other genre.


As I'm guessing you know, "Blood on the Tracks" was released in late 1974, a full decade after Dylan went electric with "Bringing It All Back Home." As such, it's a rock album.


Now, I do like country, but my tastes in that genre run more to Bob Wills and Hank Williams Sr., although I like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, too. And I also like Marvin Gaye, the Clash, the Drifters and Django Reinhardt.


In other words, I like a lot of music. I'm not especially fond of condescension, though.


Maybe that was an uncharitable response. I guess I should be grateful that my instructor is a "Thoughtful Bastard" and not a heartless bastard. Because then I'd have really been in trouble....

Bully Pulpit

It would be both churlish and dishonest to deny that bullying exists, as it always has. Human nature being what it is, it's unimaginable that it wouldn't. In the same way, human nature being what it is, most people are willing to accept the idea that the impact of bullies and bullying be limited when possible.

In that spirit, I call your attention to the commentary of one Dan Savage, best known for his exhaustively detailed advice to the lovelorn, which is printed amongst the adverts in the transactional sex sections of City Pages and similar urban publications. He's also a bit of a Biblical scholar, it turns out and offered some deep thoughts on the subject recently at a student journalist convention in Seattle. Stacy McCain shares a report:

“People often point out that… they can’t help with the anti-gay bullying because it says right there in Leviticus, it says right there in Timothy, it says right there in Romans, that being gay is wrong,” Savage tells the crowd in a short video posted on Tumblr by a student attendee.
“We can learn to ignore the [expletive] in the Bible about gay people the same way we have learned to ignore the [expletive] in the Bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation,” Savage said.
At this point, student Jenny Patterson yelled “That’s bull,” and walked out. As other students followed, Savage called them “pansies,” she said.

Pansies? If I didn't know better, one might think that was a little bullying of Mr. Savage, no?

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome XI -- Subsidized Vaseline

It may not matter much to the stampede wearing the Helga braids, but it's worth thinking about what happens if the legislature does go ahead with building the new Vaseline Dome. Writing for the Star Tribune, Mike Kaszuba notices a little contract language:

The agreement to build a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium in Minneapolis features a key difference from the plan to build the project in Ramsey County and even from the Minnesota Twins' new Target Field.

Once it is built, any Vikings stadium operating cost overruns ultimately will be the public's responsibility.

And not just overruns. The public will be legally obligated to maintain the stadium "in a manner that is first-class and consistent with comparable" National Football League stadiums -- a clause that could translate into substantial future costs.

What does "first-class" mean? In the case of Indianapolis, which built the Colts their Xanadu a few years back, it meant new taxes:

Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis opened in 2008 and when the stadium's operating costs quickly exceeded projections, the pressure fell on the Capital Improvement Board, the public body that operates the stadium.

"The operating expenses increased because the new venue -- I don't want to say quite doubled the size -- but it was a much larger venue" than the Colts' older stadium, said Dan Huge, the board's chief financial officer. "There was definitely a step up."

In response to the financial crisis, he said, state lawmakers in Indiana authorized a hotel and motel tax and created a sports development area -- two moves that now generate $11 million a year extra for the operating costs of both the stadium and a nearby convention center.

Of course, Minneapolis already has an effective sales tax rate of over 10% in the downtown area, which is used for the ongoing cost of the convention center and is now projected to pay for the Minneapolis "share" of the stadium costs, so hiking the local sales tax is likely a non-starter. Adding additional taxes to hotels and motels will make the cost of travel to the Twin Cities more expensive. And would the taxes apply only to downtown hotels, or would it apply to hotels throughout the area? These things matter.

And what happens if the Vikings get their wish?

In the proposed deal for the Vikings stadium, language is more vague. The public authority would be obligated to operate the stadium in a "first-class" manner "consistent with comparable NFL stadiums, such as, but not limited to, Lucas Oil Stadium."

It's not clear if the "public authority" in question would be the existing Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, or if yet another "public authority" would be created to oversee the operations of the new stadium. After all, Target Field has its own public authority, the Minnesota Ballpark Authority. Certainly there needs to be yet another one for this facility -- we need to hire more bureaucrats!

For their part, the Vikings are saying this is what the state officials want:

Vikings spokesman Lester Bagley said it was the state -- not the team -- that wanted the public to have more control of the new stadium in Minneapolis. Mondale agreed and said that in keeping with Dayton's wishes, "the philosophy in 'the People's Stadium' is that the public would run the stadium."

Well, yeah. The public needs more bureaucrats, especially more who are beholden to Mark Dayton and Ted Mondale for their gainful employment.

Meanwhile, consider what happened in Cincinnati:

In Cincinnati, where the NFL's Bengals got a new stadium in 2000, the costs have forced Hamilton County to sell a hospital. Greg Hartmann, the county board president, said the county not only paid for most of the stadium's construction, but also pays for most of its escalating operating costs.

"I'd love to trade with you," he said, in explaining the county's stadium dilemma.

Nah, Mr. Hartmann. We don't trade. We join. And we know we're smarter than everyone else:

"We've done a good job," Mondale told a Senate panel Wednesday. He added later that he is confident state officials have avoided a "long history" of mistakes public officials in other NFL cities have made because they have been distracted by getting a "shiny car."

It's shiny, all right.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome X -- Sand in the Vaseline

Apparently some of our friends in the legislature haven't gotten the memo yet regarding the Vikings stadium:

A Senate panel's surprise vote Wednesday to authorize racinos as a way to fund a new Minnesota Vikings stadium left project backers scrambling to erase the proposal before it could scuttle the stadium effort.

The racino addition approved by the Senate Finance Committee was another indicator that many legislators remain doubtful that the state's $398 million share of the $1 billion stadium can be funded solely by allowing electronic bingo and pulltabs in Minnesota bars and restaurants.

Legislators should be doubtful about the pulltabs and electronic bingo, because they won't come close to paying for this thing, especially when the cost overruns start to pile up. Adding a racino does two useful things:

• It again shows how rotten this whole enterprise is; and
• It demonstrates conclusively how the modern-day DFL is a nothing but a shell that is wholly owned by its various benefactors. Doubt that? Consider this:

On Wednesday, DFLers said to expect no help from them if the racino provision remained. "You'll have almost no votes from the [DFL] caucus," said Sen. Richard Cohen, DFL-St. Paul.

You don't tug on Superman's cape and you don't mess around with the metro tribes. Meanwhile, various Vikings players were palling around the Capitol yesterday, which got the attention of the television cameras, but Adrian Peterson and Chad Greenway weren't the most important visitors. The NFL's version of Luca Brasi was there, too:

"I feel like we have been watching a very hard fought, great game, with the Vikings marching down to the goal line," said Eric Grubman, a National Football League executive vice president, after watching the stadium debate at the State Capitol. "And I feel like they're very close. And I think when it's very close, it gets really tough."

Grubman is watching, people. Better get your minds right.

Benster and D Mock the Draft -- 2012 Edition

Well, it's just about that time when we need to offer an informed analysis about the NFC North's prospective draft needs. Oh, who am I kidding? We aren't gonna go there, old dude!

So what are we doing, young fella?


We are going to mock the draft. Just like we did last year, because let's face it, you've always tried to bring me up correctly and I believe the song goes, "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Mel Kiper."

Seems like good advice to me.


Well, since we have established our ground rules here, let's get to it. Watch me work!

Minnesota Vikings: Well, the first thing to realize about the Purple is that it's still not clear that whoever they draft will not have to move to Los Angeles next year. So my advice to the first-round pick of the Vikings is simple -- rent. The Vikings are coming off a 3-13 season, so they have many needs, but I think chief among them is the need for a lame sportscaster. I'm pretty tired of watching Vikings games on FOX where they trot out Sam Rosen and some guy who made a NFL roster back in about '82 or so. I mean, I get why they have to find so many of these guys -- would you want to spend a season sitting next to Sam Rosen? I think not! Last year, I recommended high-pitched FSN superstar Robbie Incmikoski, who did solidify their need for lame sideline analysis and also provided all of us with a lot of laughs as he struggled mightily to pronounce the name of Nicola Pecovic. But now we need to get Robbie some help, which is why I recommend that the Vikings return once more to the FSN well and choose Kevin Gorg, who is less high-pitched than our man Robbie, but much more bald and equally incoherent.

Bold choice, but I think the Vikings need to close ranks in other areas. They have assembled quite an impressive roster at the Capitol to help them get their new stadium, but they need help, so I'm going to recommend that they bring on one of the more skeptical members of the legislature, Sen. Dave Thompson of Lakeville. He's even more bald than Gorg but usually is able to string together a sentence or two without resorting to cliches. That's a rare thing at Winter Park, young fella.


Good point, Geritol Fan! But now we need to move on to the up and coming, blue-clad squad from Meeshegan. Yes, I mean the:

Detroit Lions: Detroit is looking really good, although they've had a few issues with the police blotter lately. It seems like Ndamukong Suh gets a traffic ticket every few days or so, and various members of their offense apparently majored in Street Pharmacology Studies in college. To remedy that problem, we need to get someone of sterling character to suit up for Jim Schwartz. Last year, I suggested Eminem, which probably wasn't the wisest choice, the more that I think about it. We need to do better this time. We need a guy who can build something that lasts, which is why I'm going with Henry Ford. Now, I realize that Ford died in 1947, but it's not as if the Lions would be able to tell the difference between a guy who's been dead for 65 years and most of the people who have suited up for them in recent years. I mean, tell me -- would you rather play Henry Ford or Joey Harrington? I think that question answers itself, old dude! Go with Ford, I say!

Now that I think about it, Henry Ford probably had a better season in 2003 than Joey Harrington did, so I take your point. But now we need to be forward thinking. The Lions seem to have anger management issues and that means they need someone who can calm their nerves and get them to be at peace with the world. It's pretty clear that the fellow the Lions need is the Dalai Lama. A big hitter, the Lama.


Okay, that's a little strange, old dude.

Well, at least my draft pick is alive.


Okay, good point. Speaking of dead, it's time to consider the:

Chicago Bears: Chicago had a terrible season last year and Jay Cutler got mailed home in an interoffice envelope once the defensive linemen of the league got past his turnstile O-line. So, you would think that the Bears need an offensive lineman, right? Well, no. The better move is to get someone who is simply offensive. Last year I suggested Muammar Gadhafi, who failed to report to the team because he was killed in a civil war during the summer. Now, you might suppose the Bears would have learned something from that experience, but if you think that, you don't know the Bears. So I'm going to recommend that the Bears double down on corrupt Middle Eastern dictators and draft Bashar al-Assad. He may not have a chin, but he's certainly ruthless enough to line up next to Brian Urlacher and put down the opposition. By any means necessary.

Wow, that's bold. I'm thinking that the Bears need to go another direction this year. Last year I suggested Gilbert Gottfried for the Bears, but he apparently wasn't quite as irritating as Bears announcer Hub Arkush, so this year I'm thinking they need to get someone who is even more irritating than either Gottfried or Arkush. So the key is to pick someone who is (a) irritating and (b) has an irrational hatred toward the Green Bay Packers. That can only mean one person -- Skip Bayless. If Bayless can remove his lips from Tim Tebow's backside, he'll be an excellent pickup for the Bears.


Wow, you're just mean, old dude. I wouldn't sic Skip Bayless on anyone. Meanwhile, let's turn our attention to the glorious:

Green Bay Packers: The Packers are coming off a year that was both successful and yet disappointing. Going 15-1 was pretty impressive, but getting their butts handed to them by the New York Media Giants was even worse. So my beloved Packers have work to do. They need someone who also had a tough year, but who has the resilience to fight back against bitter foes. It's pretty clear that the Packers need to draft Scott Walker. Last year I suggested David Prosser, who was victorious against Geritol Fan's pick, Joanne Kloppenburg. So I think I'm on solid ground with this pick.

No, I think the Packers need to pick someone who is tougher than Walker. They need to pick someone who can dominate the competition and tell people what's what. The obvious pick for the Packers is our very own Fearless Maria. Let's face it, she's been dominating her middle school all year long and she's tough enough to handle most anything. So we'll go that way. Although I'd like the Packers to consider (for real) Beloit College superstar Derek Carrier in the late rounds. 


Okay, now let's face it. These picks are much better than anything that helmet-head Kiper could come up with. Exhaustively researched and brilliantly considered. This has been your NFL Mocked Draft for 2012. Ben out!

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome IX -- Unicorn Sausage

If you'd ever thought that most of what happens in government is kabuki, you were correct. Consider what's happening now with the Vikings stadium bill, which apparently no longer needs any vetting:

Business and labor leaders put political muscle behind a new Minnesota Vikings stadium Tuesday, their support helping build what one lawmaker described as a growing "air of inevitability" as the project neared a final vote.

In passing through a second Senate panel, the stadium plan continued an extraordinary political march at the Legislature after being left for dead barely a week ago. In both the House and Senate, the stadium's public subsidy package seemed headed for a vote this week, although either a razor-thin victory or a crushing defeat remained possible.

"It feels like a first down, [and] another first down -- got a good drive going here," said Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina, who chairs the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Committee, where the proposal passed on a unanimous voice vote Tuesday. "I think, after a while, it starts to take on a little bit of momentum and an air of inevitability," Michel said.

Don't you worry your pretty little heads about how this thing is going to get paid for -- the unicorns are on the march! More important, it's becoming a garbage scow with all manner of other goodies piled on:

There were however other sweeteners added Tuesday for St. Paul, mostly in an effort to entice legislators from St. Paul to back building the stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

The legislation now includes a provision to spend $1.3 million annually for 20 years that can be used for, among other things, a new downtown ballpark for the St. Paul Saints.

Metzen's move created some tension, which could be seen Tuesday as Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak had an animated conversation with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman in the back of the hearing room.

"We do believe that there absolutely has to be parity," Coleman told the panel.

I suppose if we're going to spend, spend, spend, we might as well throw Coleman a bone and give him "My First Stadium - By Kenner!" too. Metzen, by the way, is James Metzen, a DFLer from South St. Paul, who would also like to add $43 million more to pay for debt relief for the RiverCentre and Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Meanwhile, Michel eloquently sums up the current feeding frenzy and gives an object lesson regarding what happens when you spend too much time in the legislature:

"We don't have an ocean," said Michel, who added that to many outsiders, Minnesota merely represents "flyover" country. "We need some things, [and] this is part of our stuff."

We're getting stuffed, all right. If Michel wants to be honest about things, I would suggest that the lege work with the Vikings to give the corporate naming rights for this new stadium to Vaseline.

Dilettante 3000

Welcome the 3000th post on Mr. Dilettante's Neighborhood. We'll start with a little music:

One of my favorite songs of all. This blog began 6+ years ago as a lark, something for a bored guy to do over his lunch hour. It's still a lark for the most part, but it's also given me (and my co-bloggers, family members all) a chance to share a few thoughts on the passing scene. It's also led to some great friendships.

As social media go, blogging may be a little past its sell-by date, but there are many things one cannot communicate on Facebook or Twitter. We've spent more time on political matters here than I ever thought we would, and there does seem to be an audience for that. Here's another song:

The one constant -- as serious as we've been at times, I do hope that we've never lost sight of the need to entertain, too. So here's another song:

Thank you for visiting. I hope that if we post 3000 more times, you'll still find it worth your time.

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome VIII -- Details, Shmetails

All it took was Roger Goodell to give the marching orders, apparently. Perhaps we're going to get a new Vikings stadium after all:

The Minnesota House revived the plan for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium on Monday, and the project's momentum accelerated throughout the day amid indications the full House and Senate could vote on the proposal by Friday.

Just a week after a House committee dealt a severe blow to the project, the Ways and Means Committee Monday night sent a revised funding plan to the full House without recommendation.

So all those details concerning funding? No reason to worry about that, apparently.

In just the past week, legislators have tentatively altered the plan on two critical fronts: Making it more likely that residents in Minneapolis -- the stadium would be built in downtown Minneapolis -- would have a referendum on the stadium, and also putting in jeopardy financial relief for the city-owned Target Center as part of the plan.

But Monday, the chief House author of the stadium legislation said that, despite lingering criticisms over the stadium's funding and location, it was likely too late to make such major changes to the proposal.

"There's an increasing sense that people want to get it to the floor for a final vote -- even the people who likely are going to vote no," said Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead.

"I think we're beyond that," he said of major changes to the plan. "There just simply isn't time."

Yep, it's time to eat that crap sandwich. A few observations:

• As we've maintained here from the outset, the funding is chimerical. The state, which means the taxpayers, will be on the hook for this thing. At one point that was an issue, but apparently it isn't any more. Don't expect any explanation of why that changed.
• If the bill gets through and Gov. Dayton signs it, you can bet that a lawsuit will be filed within minutes. The Vikings and their governmental benefactors had better hope that the judge is the spiritual successor to Harry Crump.
• The most amusing part of this deal is that Target Center gets bailed out. The politicians in St. Paul who sandbagged the Arden Hills site have to be kicking themselves now, because a revitalized Target Center will likely take business away from Xcel Energy Center. And because the Vikings stadium is essentially taking all the other oxygen out of the Capitol building, the Lowertown ballpark for the St. Paul Saints probably won't happen, either. Well played, Chris Coleman!