The Local Scene Part Two -- The Mayor Leads, New Brighton Bleeds

Steve Larson has been the mayor of New Brighton for a decade now. If you were to imagine what a suburban mayor might look like, Larson's appearance would be almost prototypical. He's got the silvery mane, the ruddy complexion and the open smile of a small-town politician. And when you talk to him, he's usually a very pleasant fellow with a ready smile. It would be hard not to like the guy; the few times I've talked to him, he's been uniformly pleasant and engaging. In some respects, he's almost the mayor from Central Casting.

The problem is this: sometimes when you cast a movie, the movie doesn't have a happy ending. And if you made a movie of city government in New Brighton for the last decade, you'd think that the script was a horror show.

Mayor Larson has presided over the Northwest Quadrant project, which has turned into an enormous boondoggle. If you go down Old Highway 8 in the area north of 694, you see a moonscape. This was the land that was to become a vibrant multi-use development. This was the project that would bring New Brighton into the 21st century, the project that would be Mayor Larson's crowning achievement. When I first moved to New Brighton in 1997, that stretch of road wasn't beautiful, but it was home to a number of businesses that contributed modest but consistent revenue to the city's coffers and provided jobs for citizens in New Brighton and other surrounding communities.

What happened? You can get an excellent overview of the missteps at the Enlighten New Brighton website. Consider the following from Dennis Flahave, who has served on the New Brighton Economic Development Commission and has had a birds-eye view of the proceedings:

About six years ago when the City's consultants provided "cash flow" projections, I brought two prominent developers to the site to get their opinions of the viability of the project. I told then-city manager Matt Fulton of the developers' opinions: one stated that the project was too dense. The other did not feel that we would receive the high-end dollar projections on the townhomes due to the proximity of the two freeways and the noise associated with these freeways.

Let me make an analogy of the density issue. At The Lakes development in Blaine, the project has a density of approximately 9 units per acre. The density at the Northwest Quadrant is at 15 units per acre. To me this would be like backing out of your garage and into your neighbor's living room. However, the City decided to proceed with these cash flow projections.

While the plan called for mixed-use development, Flahave is correct: 15 units per acre is rather a lot. Many New Brighton homeowners live on 1/4 acre lots. Imagine putting 3 1/2 families in that space. Would you expect to get top dollar for a project like that?

As Flahave notes, the developers were skeptical and ultimately, because of poor initial pre-sales and environmental concerns, the developers backed out of the project. Did that stop the City fathers from going forward? Not at all. In fact, they doubled down. Flahave:

In this same time frame the city took $10.7 million out of surplus from other TIF districts and put the money into the Northwest Quadrant in the form of infrastructure such as roads, light poles, curbs, etc.

The City then purchased the Midwest Asphalt property for approximately $19 million on a non-contingent basis. With commercial purchase agreements in Minnesota it is normal to include environmental testing and inspection clauses. Why is this important? Answer, because if a property is found to be environmentally contaminated, the purchaser faces a potential unlimited liability to clean it up. I asked why the City waived its right to test and was told, "if we had done the testing, Midwest Asphalt would not have sold us the property."

Midwest Asphalt's reluctance to sign a contingent deal should have been a huge red flag. Not to put too fine a point on it, but buying a contaminated property on a non-contingent basis was lunacy. The city now owns this land and the costs of abatement will be huge. And while the City of New Brighton might be willing to buy contaminated land, no one else will be. So we're stuck with the cost until and unless the city pays the cost to clean up the site.

But there's more -- the current administration has taken to using creative accounting to minimize the visible impact of its decisions. Flahave:

The City is recently taking great pride in going to the Legislature to get permission for the pooling of our funds. This simply means being able to co-mingle funds - not a good thing as it makes it easier to obfuscate the performance of the individual Tax Increment Districts, no doubt a goal the City desires particularly as it relates to the Northwest Quadrant.

And as a practical matter, it pretty much puts all the City's eggs into one contaminated basket. Perhaps someday the City will be able to sell the NWQ property to other developers. Will they get anywhere near the money that was projected? I wouldn't count on it. Everyone in the Twin Cities business community is well aware of the city's plight and no one is eager to get involved in the development. Would you be?

So where does that leave the City of New Brighton under Mayor Larson's watch? Mr. Flahave runs the numbers thus:

In conclusion, we are currently $100 million in debt and have sold two commercial lots. We are exposed to an unlimited environmental cleanup liability on contaminated sites. Finally, the City now has permission to co-mingle funds making it harder to track the accounting by project. I feel that this is a total breach of fiduciary responsibility.

I would agree. Understand this -- "we" in this context doesn't mean the city government. It means the entire city. If you live in New Brighton, you own some of this liability. It also means that it will be exceedinly difficult to get additional development in town and it might make it harder for you to sell your home, too. Would you buy a home in New Brighton if you knew about the liability you might someday incur as a future homeowner? Or would you choose to live elsewhere?

While it wouldn't be fair to pin all of this on the mayor, he's been a major player throughout and these fateful decisions have happened on his watch. Mayor Larson is now asking for another chance. Would you give it to him?

Guilty Pleasures Part Fifty-Six -- It's Too Late for Joy to the Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves on the Indian Reservation Who Are Tired of Being Alone

I'm back! I'm Fearless Maria. Hey Dad, what time is it?

Think it's about 7:30, Maria.

Dad, you should know that it's Guilty Pleasures time! And now, since we've been doing lots of 80s lately, to dodge the 70s, now we're back to the 70s! Back to ugly! Back to terror! But just because the 70s were ugly and terrible, don't stop reading, because this might turn out okay! You never know!

Way to sell the idea, Maria.

So Dad, do you think it's time for Christmas carols?

Sure seems that way, considering it's snowed about 3 times this week.

Well, Three Dog Night says it is! Here's a traditional version of the classic Christmas carol from 1971!

Joy to the World

Uh, Maria? I don't think that was a Christmas carol.

Sorry, I got confused, Dad, because all those guy's shirts look like wrapping paper! Don't you think they should have bows in the hair and go to cheerleading practice?

It's possible they do have bows in their hair, Maria. We just can't see them because the hair is so long and stringy.

I guess you're right, Dad. That wasn't a Christmas carol. So let me ask you, Dad -- is this a Christmas Carole? Or is it too hard to tell, because:

It's Too Late

No, Maria, that's not a Christmas carol. It is Carole King, though. Are you getting confused by all this old music?

No, Dad. I'm just goofing around. That's what I'm supposed to do, right?

Sure, Maria. It's one of your strengths.

Hey, Dad! So, I have a question.

Okay, Maria. What would you like to know?

What the heck happened to these guys? You were showing these guys to me a while back and they were wearing Revolutionary War outfits with go-go dancers. But then, when they got to 1971, they looked like this:

Indian Reservation

I'm confused. Now they look like those Three Dog Night dudes! That's not an improvement! They're not even half reasonable!

I'm not sure, but they were hardly the only people who looked a lot different in 1971. And I can prove it to you.

Okay, Dad. Who else looked different?

Well, have you ever heard of Sonny and Cher?

Yeah, because a long, long, long time ago I remember you showed me a video of them.

Cher looked like was wearing curtains. As a matter of fact, ugly curtains.

Yeah, and Sonny was wearing a vest that looked like it was made out of shag carpeting. Kind of a home decor thing. Well, by 1971 she looked a little different. Actually, a lot different. Check it out, Maria:

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

You're right, Dad! Goodness gracious, now she's wearing shredded drapes, or whatever that dress is supposed to be! And what happened to her hair? Now it's all wavy and curly and really long. She doesn't even look like the same person!

She started to go for the Las Vegas look, Maria.

That was a bad bet, Dad! Guess what -- she didn't get 3 cherries on the slot machine -- she got 3 skull and crossbones!

Well, I do imagine that the people who did her hair appreciated her efforts. It probably was an all day job.

You know what, Dad?

What, Maria?

I'm getting tired.

Kinda like Al Green?

Tired of Being Alone

Dad, do you think that Al Green got a part-time job as a lifeguard?

How do you figure, Maria?

Look at what he's wearing! He's got on flashy shorts, a tank top and a sun hat! But I'm thinking those gold chains might not help him in the water. Or does he have a whistle on the end of it?

I didn't see one. I agree, it does seem like a slightly impractical lifeguard uniform, Maria. But you know what?

I know, it's time to whistle this edition of Guilty Pleasures to a stop. Vote, people! Pick out your favorite song in the comments. And you know what else, Dad?

No, what Maria?

If you need some help swimming, I wouldn't call Al Green.

How disappointing!

Remember a few weeks ago, when the Obama administration, in its infinite wisdom, sold out its ostensible allies in Poland, the Czech Republic and elsewhere by canceling the missile defense program that the Bush administration had begun? The notion we heard floated was that this concession to the Russians would be the good faith demonstration that would get them to agree to a larger sanctions regime against Iran.

Well, we got our answer today:

Denting President Obama’s hopes for a powerful ally in his campaign to press Iran on its nuclear program, Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday that threatening Tehran now with harsh new sanctions would be “counterproductive.”

The minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here that diplomacy should be given a chance to work, particularly after a meeting in Geneva this month in which the Iranian government said it would allow United Nations inspectors to visit its clandestine nuclear enrichment site near the holy city of Qum.

“At the current stage, all forces should be thrown at supporting the negotiating process,” he said. “Threats, sanctions and threats of pressure in the current situation, we are convinced, would be counterproductive.”

Man, how disappointing! There's more:

Mr. Lavrov’s resistance was striking given that, just three weeks before, President Dmitri A. Medvedev said that “in some cases, sanctions are inevitable.” American officials had hailed that statement as a sign that Russia was finally coming around to the Obama administration’s view that Iran is best handled with diplomacy backed by a credible threat of sanctions.

It also came after the Obama administration announced that it would retool a European missile defense system fiercely opposed by Russia. That move was thought to have paid dividends for the White House when Mr. Medvedev appeared to throw his support behind Mr. Obama on Iran, though American officials say the Russian president was also likely to have been reacting to the disclosure of the secret nuclear site near Qum.

Show of hands here: how many of you saw this coming right down Pennsylvania Avenue?

As our President would say: let me be clear. There's a reason why Theodore Roosevelt suggested the proper course is to speak softly and carry a big stick. Obama has done the opposite thus far. He's been proclaiming his administration's moral goodness everywhere he goes and has pretty much put the big stick aside. The Russians are an unsentimental lot. Seeing the stick laying on the ground, they have proceeded to shove it into a very personal and private place of the president. Perhaps he can paper over the wound with his Nobel Peace Prize or something.

Let Me Be Clear

Those four words are President Obama's favorite verbal tic. Ben Feller at ABC News noticed:

Presidents talk so much in public that is not surprising to find rhetorical patterns. Although Obama is known for a flair with the written and spoken word, his hardest mission is often to make complicated matters relevant to the masses.

So clarity, it seems, is of the highest order.

Terrorists? "Now let me be clear: We are indeed at war with al-Qaida and its affiliates."

Student testing? "Let me be clear: Success should be judged by results, and data is a powerful tool to determine results."

Iran? "Let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies."

Auto bailouts? "Let me be clear: The United States government has no interest in running GM."

The president takes the phrase everywhere.

In Moscow: "Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful, and prosperous Russia."

In Ghana: "Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war."

In Italy, bemoaning poor U.S. leadership on climate change: "Let me be clear: Those days are over."

In Trinidad, announcing new aid: "Let me be clear: This is not charity."

Here's my question: do you think that the President is being clear in his intentions? And if you insert the word "perfectly" in between "be" and "clear," don't you hear the voice of another president from about 40 years ago, as one of Professor Reynolds's commenters pointed out here?

Discuss.

(H/T: Instapundit)

The College Where Everyone Knows Your Name

About ten days ago, we traveled to Beloit, WI to Beloit College for my reunion. Here is the latest news from the college.

• The college has a new president.
• The new science building is finished and it is beautiful.
• The college and the city of Beloit are continuing to work together on projects that enhance the area. The latest project is turning the public library into a performing arts center.
• The college had to cut quite a few staff positions last year.
• Alums, if you have not heard from the college recently and would like to hear from the college again, consider contacting the alumni office. When the alumni office recently updated their database, my address was "updated" to the address that I lived at when I was a student at the college. No wonder why I never received any information about the reunion.
• Professor John Rosenwald is retiring.
• Dean Bill Flanagan is retiring.

Despite these changes, Beloit basically is still the same place that it has been for over one hundred and fifty years.

As a student attending the college, it sometimes felt too small. Now, looking back, I now see the small campus as a nurturing environment.

Benster spent a lot of time questioning us about the college. He was intrigued that he could go to a school like Beloit and do the things that we did over the course of four years. On Saturday, we were able to give him a taste of college life by touring the college radio station where Mr. D was a DJ, walking to the football stadium to watch the football game, showing Benster old issues of the student newspaper when Mr. D was the editor and sitting in a professor's office and talking about anything and everything.

Thanks Beloit for remaining a place where a chemistry major can add a poetry minor, where a professor invites you to his or her house for a meal and where fellow graduates want to hear your life story regardless of whether you are president of Sony Pictures or a stay at home mom.

The Local Scene - First of a Series

We have an important election coming up in New Brighton. We will elect the next mayor and 2 of the 4 seats on the City Council.

New Brighton is at a crossroads right now. The current leadership of the city has undertaken a huge development project that has gone badly awry. The Northwest Quadrant project has denuded a 1-mile stretch of Old Highway 8, from the 694 overpass up to Highway 96. When we first moved to New Brighton, this stretch was filled with a number of businesses, mostly industrial. They are now gone and the grand plans for redeveloping the area have fallen through. What you see when you travel Old Highway 8 today is largely a moonscape of fallow land.

As a citizen of New Brighton, I find the current situation problematic for many reasons. The businesses that were shooed away from the Old Highway 8 corridor were unsightly, but they contributed jobs and revenue to the city and those resources are no longer available. The land, which the City acquired through highly aggressive use of eminent domain, faces significant challenges before it can be redeveloped. And because the city fathers put all their eggs into this basket, other available monies for redevelopment elsewhere in the City are now tied up in order to service the debt on the undeveloped land.

It's been a boondoggle. So the question for the citizenry is this: ought we return the same individuals who chose this path for another term? And are you satisfied that they will do better next time?

My guess is that most people in New Brighton would recognize that things must change. But who are the people to bring about this change? That is the big question. And we will be looking at this question in the coming days.

Radio Free Dilettante — iTunes Challenges You to Parse This

As the O'Jays would say, there appears to be a message in our music today:

Last Five:
You Really Got Me, the Kinks
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved, James Brown
Love Me, Love Me Now, Curtis Mayfield
Save the Life of My Child, Simon & Garfunkel
Don't Worry About the Government, Talking Heads

Next Five:
Got to Get You Into My Life, Earth Wind & Fire
You Ain't Going Nowhere, the Byrds
I'll Be Your Mirror, Velvet Underground
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, Neil Diamond
Cult of Personality, Living Colour

Lightning Round - 101209

Not much time, but here we go:

• I wrote about the latest foul offering from the increasingly odious Garrison Keillor yesterday over at G. O. M. I worked for a number of years in foodservice during my Target years, so I have some knowledge of the subject. Keillor's assertions about how meat is processed, his casual libel of Cargill, McDonald's and Burger King, and his incredible statement about how the industry is somehow back to the 19th Century (not that he'd say how, of course) is really reprehensible. It's pretty sad, really.
• The New York Yankees are really good.
• President Obama told a largely gay audience over the weekend that he's going to get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act. He could get rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell today if he chose to. Will he? I'm not sure he'll be able to get rid of DOMA, though. Let's see if he actually will do these things. I would remind anyone who is interested in the subject of what Jim Geraghty has often said: all Barack Obama promises come with expiration dates.

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Week 5

Howdy! We're back and we're gonna pick some games. Anything you have to say, Dad?

Other than you need to pick up the pace on your picking? No.

Well, let's get this baby rolling.

Purdon't Boilermakers (+3) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers. I personally don't think Purdue is very good. With Coach Tiller retiring, their preparations might be off for a good part of the season. Gophers win the game. Minnesota 31, Purdon't 13.

Tiller didn't leave the cupboard bare at Purdue, but the Gophers should have enough to win the game. The funny part to me: we wanted that outdoor stadium here and now we have a Homecoming game scheduled on a morning where there's a thin coating of snow on the ground. As always, be careful what you want. Minnesota 27, Purdue 24.

Wisconsin Badgers (+16) vs. "The" Ohio State University Buckeyes. Vegas kinda tipped the scales a little bit! I would like to see the Badgers win, but I can't say that. Ohio State is just too good and they have the crowd on their side. The Ohio State University 30, Wisconsin 24.

I agree, Benster -- the spread is absurd. I'll tell you this much -- the Badgers have to love that spread, though, because it indicates no respect at all. And I'm not clear why Ohio State is considered so dominant, based on the times I've seen them this year. So what the heck: Wisconsin 24, Ohio State 19.

Florida Gators (-7 1/2) vs. LSU Tigers. I'm probably Urban Meyer's most disliked person, because I might have had a hand in taking down Tim Tebow through the infamous Benster Curse. I don't think Tebow will play today. I'm going to call the upset: LSU 31, Florida 19.

Just a guess -- Tebow will play. And Urban Meyer will forgive you, Benster. Maybe no one else will, though. Florida 27, LSU 24.

Minnesota Vikings (-10) vs. St. Louis Rams. The Rams are probably the worst team in football. It's basically Steven Jackson and nothing else. Kyle Boller and Marc Bulger are not worth too much. Vikings will give them everything they want, and more. Vikings 40, Rams 3.

I tend to agree with you that the Rams are the worst team in the NFL. And that's why the Vikings better be careful -- historically, they cough up a hairball in these situations. They won't this time, but it won't be easy. Vikings 24, Rams 16.

Pittsburgh Stillers (-10 1/2) vs. Detroit Lions. The Lions might not be the worst team in the NFL, but they are still pretty poor. The Steelers will chew up the Lions offense and look for Big Ben to torch the secondary with Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward. Steelers 40, Lions 0.

No love for the Lions, I guess! Not that they deserve any. I see signs of life in Detroit, though. The Steelers need this one, though. And they'll get it. Stillers 27, Lions 13.

New England Patriots (-3) vs. Denver Broncos. I'll admit, I'm surprised by Mr. McDaniels, the new Broncos head coach. He's done a very good job so far. But all good things must come to an end. Bill Belichek is the Coach K of the NFL. The Patriots constantly win, and unlike the Blue Devils, there are no graduation or eligibility issues. Go you, Brady! New England 30, Denver 17.

We're picking this game because the beloved Packers and da Bearz are on bye this week. And since Kyle Orton is starting in Denver, it's just like picking a da Bearz game. After New England is done with him, Orton will feel like Bob Avellini. New England 34, Denver 21.

Get well, Tim Tebow! Gator Chomp!

Well all righty, then.

Other Awards Presented to Barack Obama Today

13. Champion, Pillsbury Bake-Off
12. JD Power & Associates Award, Best Mid-Size Sedan
11. Queen of Sheba
10. Playmate of the Year (thanks, Picklesworth!)
9. Lady Byng Trophy
8. Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval
7. Best in Show, Westminster Kennel Club
6. Cy Young Award
5. Buckeye News Hawk Award (and coveted Silver Sow)
4. Robert F. Lucas Memorial Lt. Governor's Award, Key Club International
3. Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
2. Miss Richfield 1982
1. Alice in Dairyland

In related news, the Tennessee Titans were declared the winners of Super Bowl XLIV today

Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize. A few thoughts:

• The first point is obvious -- even if he were to ever deserve such a "prestigious" prize, it's way to early to tell. His administration has barely begun and it's absurd to give it to him now.
• In the president's defense, I would say this -- even with his awfully thin resume, President Obama does deserve the prize more than Rigoberta Menchu, Le Duc Tho or Yasser Arafat did.
• And when you consider that list of previous honorees, and also recall that Al Gore and Jimmy Carter have won as well, you begin to understand that the Nobel committee jumped the shark years ago.
• And you know who's really gotta be angry right now? Bill Clinton. Clinton pretty much spent the last year of his presidency trying to do something, anything to help bring about a peace agreement in the Middle East. He didn't even get a sniff from the Nobel cabal. Obama makes a few speeches and he gets the prize. I tell ya, no respect.

A reminder for my New Brighton friends

Although it's been pretty quiet, we do have an election coming up next month. Among those on the ballot are the incumbent mayor, Steve Larson, who would like another tour of duty.

Does Mayor Larson deserve another term? Before you answer that question, you owe it to yourself to visit Enlighten New Brighton, a new website that has a lot of deeply useful information concerning the issues that pertain to this election.

I'll be talking about this election more in the coming days. But remember, knowledge is power.

Fickle Fingar of Fate

Do y'all remember the famous 2007 National Intelligence Estimate regarding the threat of the Iranian nuclear program. It was in all the papers and pretty much spiked any efforts that the Bush administration had been making to rouse the world for action against the Iranians?

I remember thinking it was pretty suspicious at the time. Now, thanks to our friends at the Wall Street Journal*, I know why:

When it comes to politicized intelligence in the Bush years, the critics may finally have a point. Perhaps the work of America's intelligence agencies was manipulated to suit the convenience of a small group of willful officials, intent on getting their way against the better judgment of their colleagues.

Except the intelligence was about Iran, not Iraq, and the manipulators weren't conniving neocons but rather the Administration's internal critics on the left.

That's one way to look at last month's revelation that Iran is building a secret second site to enrich uranium, among other emerging intelligence details. The Qom site—too small for civilian purposes but ideal for producing weapons-grade uranium—is supervised by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and was only declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency after Tehran got wind that the nuclear watchdogs knew about it.

But the more telling detail, as a recent White House "guidance paper" acknowledges, is that the U.S. has been "carefully observing and analyzing this facility for several years." That timeline is significant, because it was less than two years ago, in December 2007, that a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear programs asserted with "high confidence" that Tehran had "halted its nuclear weapons program" in the fall of 2003.

That timeline is significant. Indeed. And there's more:

Yet some of us noted at the time that the NIE added, in a crucial footnote, that by "nuclear weapons program" it meant "weapon design and weaponization work and . . . uranium enrichment-related work," rather than Iran's "declared" nuclear facilities.

And who decided to write the NIE the way it was written? The WSJ fingers Tom Fingar:

The NIE's main authors—including former intelligence official Tom Fingar and other internal critics of Bush Administration policies—downplayed this critical detail. Never mind that it was precisely Iran's "declared" nuclear facilities that constituted the core element of any nuclear-weapons program.

Wouldn't you like to know why Tom Fingar and his colleagues did this? I surely would.

*Anticipating the inevitable "this is an editorial, not a news story" cavil, I would remind my readership that the WSJ editorial page does its own reporting and has broken any number of important stories over the years.

res ipsa loquitur 100809

What if CO2 isn't the problem? It's awfully hard to tax solar activity.

Rember those higher ethical standards we would see now that the Republicans are no longer controlling Congress? Here's the latest.

Keith Olbermann explains why my friends at United Healthcare are the enemy! The enemy!

A challenge to the readership: what, exactly, is the point that Maureen Dowd is trying to make?

Baseball is a funny game

So, let's say you're a Twins fan, and a lot of people here are Twins fans. If at 4:06 this afternoon, a minute before game time, I had told you that:

• Mop-up man Bobby Keppel would be the winning pitcher; and


• Loose Cannon 1, Carlos Gomez, would score the winning run; and


• Loose Cannon 2, Alexi Casilla, would drive in the winning run

would you have believed me? Would anyone have believed that? Of all the fascinating teams that the locals have put on the field in this decade, this may be the most astonishing team to win a division yet. I still don't know how it happened, but there it is.

Congratulations to your 2009 American League Central Champions, the Minnesota Twins.

Radio Free Dilettante – Soggy Tuesday Edition

Once again, iTunes notices something:

Last Five:

Crosseyed and Painless, Talking Heads
I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley & the Wailers
Stop! In the Name of Love, The Supremes
Clash City Rockers, The Clash
Sara, Fleetwood Mac

Next Five:

Stormy Monday, The Allman Brothers
It's Raining Again, Supertramp
When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul, Taj Mahal
Lounge Act, Nirvana
This Boy, The Beatles

I'm Sure There's a Logical Explanation. . .

. . . but I'm pretty hard-pressed to see it:

WASHINGTON - For the past five years, researchers in a modest office overlooking the New Haven green have carefully documented cases of assassination and torture of democracy activists in Iran. With more than $3 million in grants from the US State Department, they have pored over thousands of documents and Persian-language press reports and interviewed scores of witnesses and survivors to build dossiers on those they say are Iran’s most infamous human-rights abusers.

But just as the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center was ramping up to investigate abuses of protesters after this summer’s disputed presidential election, the group received word that - for the first time since it was formed - its federal funding request had been denied.

“If there is one time that I expected to get funding, this was it,’’ said Rene Redman, the group’s executive director, who had asked for $2.7 million in funding for the next two years. “I was surprised, because the world was watching human rights violations right there on television.’’

Anyone have a theory?

Lightning Round

Only have a few minutes. Go!

• We'll give ol' number 4 credit for having a nice game and a nice moment yesterday. In the long run, I remain confident that the Packers made the right decision, though. I've seen enough of Brett Favre to know that he'll break someone's heart again this year. And it won't be the Green Bay Packers.
• We had a wonderful time back at Beloit over the weekend. The campus looks good and you get the feeling that there's new confidence at the school. The new president of the college looks like he's going to do an excellent job. And even the football team looks better.
• "So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the 18th and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
• In case you had any illusions about the role of media, especially the MSM, in today's world, this ought to disabuse you of those notions. CNN is a straight-up Praetorian Guard for the current administration.
• I live in Minnesota. I know a lot of people who work for medical device manufacturers, especially Medtronic, whose headquarters is about 7 miles from where I live. Think they're interested in this?

That Dear Wisconsin Town

Off to Beloit for the weekend. Looks like its going to rain on us pretty much all weekend but that's okay. Fortunately, Beloit College had the foresight to construct actual campus buildings and we'll be able to duck inside if necessary. Have a good weekend and consider this one an open thread to discuss anything you like.

Baby Don't You Want to Go?

Chicago is eliminated for the 2016 Olympics. On the first vote.

A collective shadow of sadness and shock fell over the crowd. "Wow," people repeated. "Unbelievable." "So sad."

"This is just one collective hurt" said Henry McGee Jr, 52, and a small business owner who lives near Washington Park. "I'm really stunned. I thought it would be such a boom for the African-American community."

Under the big top at Washington Park, contortionists and clowns warmed up before the Universoul Circus, which was hosting a viewing party near the proposed Olympic stadium.

A man in a Bears jacket made a slashing motion on his neck.

"It's over," he said.

"I'm shocked," said Natalie McKnight, 29. "I thought with Barack being the chief spokesman, we were going to get it."

I was born in Chicago and lived there for 5 years as an adult. It's a great city, filled with great people. I don't agree with Chicago politics at all. But there's no excuse for schadenfreude. I live in the Midwest and there's no advantage to the largest city in the area being brought low.

I would hope that the organizers in Chicago would simply wipe off the dirt and get back to work. There are other opportunities available.