Go Green!

My Irish ancestry was shared last year. But I am still going to post a picture of the Queen, my beloved late Grandmother Gladys Eaton!.

Have a safe St. Patrick's Day!

Flash

CNN Curmedgeon

Jack Cafferty over at CNN is a feisty ole coot, but for all the distancing my wife does from politics, she always liked Jack. Today, Jack calls it as he sees it, which is his style:

President Obama has done more in eight weeks than George W. Bush did in eight years -- unless you include starting a couple of wars.

While the armchair quarterbacks second guess the new president, he gets up every day and does things, lots of things.

Whether it's creating commissions for women and girls, ordering the investigation of President Bush's use of signing statements, or jamming a huge stimulus package through Congress, the man is working his tail off. And he seems to be loving every minute of it. It's almost as though our president was born to do exactly what he's doing. He's leading, and boy, is that refreshing.

Read the whole thing!

Fat v T-Bone

One person's pork is the next guys bacon:

Despite a likely conservative challenge in next year's Republican primary, moderate Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) won't be running from his record of bringing home the bacon.

A day after President Obama signed into law the $410 billion catchall spending bill for most federal agencies, Specter and Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) issued five news releases noting every earmarked expenditure they had secured in the legislation.

The 16-page list tallies up $161 million in projects secured by the senators, most of it coming through Specter's seniority on the Appropriations Committee. "This funding will have a tremendous impact on local communities," Specter said in one release.

Specter, 79, has essentially doubled down on a political bet that all politics is local -- and the corollary theory that all earmarks are pork except when delivered to your own towns, in which case they are a nice T-bone steak.

I do not have an issue with local representatives fight for funds for their constituents, but I do believe there should be more oversight on how those monies are distributed.

Bachmann and Kline are doing a great disservice to their districts by not fighting vigorously for the much needed projects and programs their people need. How a good opposition candidate can successfully point that out is the key to defeating them in an election.

Flash

BasketBlogging v.2009

Gophers are in. Tubby was intense at the news conference:

Tubby Smith was in the middle of a press conference about needing just two years to shepherd troubled Minnesota into the NCAA tournament when he heard someone chattering on a cell phone in the back of the room.

"Can you take that phone call elsewhere, please?" Smith chirped, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

It didn't take him long to learn that it was Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi informing University president Robert Bruininks that the Gophers (22-10) were given a No. 10 seed and will play seventh-seeded Texas in Greensboro, N.C., on Thursday.

"Oh, Coach I'm sorry! Tell Dr. Bruininks I'm sorry," Smith said as his head hit the table sheepishly and laughter filled the room. "Somebody should have told me that was my boss. ... I didn't just do that."

If they can get by the pesky Longhorns they'll butt heads with the perennial Duke squad. No one said March Madness was easy.

I'll post my bracket once it has been properly vetted.

Flash

A Philly in Philly

I was shown this photo Wednesday night. It is a picture of me, circa 1985 1984, eating an original Philly sandwich on a Drum Corps bus while having freetime in Philadelphia.

Hey, I was hungry after doing the Rocky run up and down the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Flash

Closing Arguments or The End of the Beginning

Live video from theUptake. Replays up until court is in session. For a live blog of the events, along with this video feed, visit theUptake directly:

Video Removed

Of course, if I have time to watching any video at all, especially between 11:00 and 1:00, it will hopefully be here.

GO GOPHERS!

Flash

Coleman's Case on Life Support

It really comes down to this:

Republican Norm Coleman's case in the U.S. Senate trial, once built on the prospects of counting thousands of rejected absentee ballots, is now down to 1,360 ballots or fewer.

And how do these ballots, should the panel decide to add them, break down:

Even if the court accepts all of the 1,360 ballots for counting, it's not clear Coleman's gains would be large.

Dean Barkley and other candidates won 17 percent of the vote in the counties Coleman's ballots came from. If those ballots go for Barkley in the same way, it would further reduce the pool that Coleman can tap.

If the ballots identified by Coleman were allocated to the candidates based on the percentage of the vote each got in the counties the ballots came from, Coleman would pick up 596 votes, Franken would pick up 539 and other candidates would get 225.

Whatever Coleman picks up from his list could be diluted by any ballots Franken identifies and the court approves.

Not only are Senator Coleman's electoral chances significantly diminished, his political future is severely tarnished. His only practical hope, is to man up, take his own advice, and let the healing begin. Its about the only chance he has to begin rebuild his own political career, if it isn't too late already.

Flash

Dear Mayor, About Out Library!

Dear Honorable Mayor Chris Coleman:

I was disappointed at the clear attitude by you and your administration that the closing of the Hamline Library is a foregone conclusion. Many more palatable ideas have been brought forth to not only save Hamline, but strengthen the Library program as a whole. But the lip service received last evening made it clear that this is no longer about saving the Library, but about easing the transitional plan is it closes. And once that Snowball is pushed down the hill, the Library is gone for good, with others in its wake.

Our community has already had its Middle School taken away by the District (Wilson Junior High) and soon the Griggs Rec Center (Reprogramming is no better a buzz word than No Child Left Behind. Lets not mince words, Reprogramming = closing)

So I ask a questions of you that I would like a specific answer to. Was there an awareness by the deciders at the level of pain the Hamline/Midway neighborhood has already received? Are there other communities that have had their Middle School ripped away, and a Rec Center closed and now are facing the loss of their library? Which other Community is facing the same painful expectation as ours?

I know of other communities that have taken the single hit, but none the double, and only Hamline/Midway the perfect storm trifecta.

This is NOT a NIMBY issue, it is a what's left for us issue after our schools are gone, Rec Centers gone and now our library gone. Has anyone really thought this through? I spent several hours looking at the city budget last night. There is plenty to review without gutting the essential programs!

I'd start buy gutting the Human Rights directors and supporting staff. This duplicity of services can be handled by County and City agencies. If the state is cutting funding, then we need to begin transferring services back to the state. Luxury services should be cut and eliminated, not the essentials. A 14% across the department slashing, sorry to say is lazy. Lets by the true leader you are and make the tough choices. Something tells me if you weren't running for Governor, other options would be on the table. True?

Let's put St. Paul first!

Respectfully yet frustrated.

Kurt 'Flash' Schiebel

Hamline Library Meeting

A Grip n Grin with the mayor will take place and the Hamline Midway Library this evening. If you recall, both my neighborhood library AND the closest rec center are on the chopping block. Staunch community activism has created a swell of support to keep the library open. It truly is a pillar of the community. We recognize that everyone needs to make sacrifices during these difficult times, but for my neighborhood to get a double whammy seems like more than our fair share. If you must, take the Rec Center, but leave our Library alone. I'll be making that pitch to the mayor this evening:

Updated Information here:

Community Meeting with Mayor and Library Director

Tuesday March 10, 5:30/6-8pm

Hamline Midway Library, 1558 Minnehaha

5:30 – Community Celebration/rally outside – family-friendly local music, wear red, bring neighbors and friends, signs, balloons, etc. Media is invited.

6-8pm – Meeting in Auditorium. Come with ideas for new partnerships and ways to use the library to make it stronger. Some parents will be watching their children upstairs. Get your friends from all over the city to come!

There are a variety of ways to juggle the current proposal that will secure the library for years to come. Those at 'Save Our Library' present them in detail, but here are the items in general:

1. Voluntary Donation Bins (estimated revenue = $595,512.00)

2. Use Four Work-Study Students and a Half-Time Librarian II to Staff the
Hamline Midway Library (approximate savings = $200,000.00 - $250,000.00)

3. Temporarily Reduce Materials Budget by 50% (savings = $600,000.00)

4. Eliminate the Cap on Late Fees (estimated revenues = $50,000.00)

5. Reduce Postage (estimated savings = $20,000.00)

6. Room Rental Fee (estimated revenue = $30,000.00 - $50,000.00)

7. Increase Late Fees for Adult Materials by 25% (estimated revenue = $82,660.00)

8. Fee for Interlibrary Loan Requests (estimated revenue = $15,426.00)

9. Late Fees for Children’s Materials (estimated revenue = $206,250.00)

10. $1 Rental Fee for “New” Entertainment Videos (estimated revenue = $20,000.00)

Is the Mayor listening?!?

See you tonight!

Flash

PS: For those who want to contact the appropriate individual directly, here is their information:

Email: mayor@ci.stpaul.mn.us, ann.mulholland@ci.stpaul.mn.us (Deputy Mayor), melanie.huggins@ci.stpaul.mn.us (Library Director), and copy russ.stark@ci.stpaul.mn.us

Online form: https://www.stpaul.gov/forms.asp?FID=69

Snail mail: Office of the Mayor, 390 City Hall, 15 Kellogg Boulevard West, Saint Paul, MN 55102

Phone: 651-266-8510

Section 12, Row 7, Seats 5/6

WCHA Ladies Final Face off is this weekend. The #1 ranked lady Gophers play a tough Mankato Minnesota State team at 1:00, followed by UMD and the #2 Wisconsin squad at 4:00. Winners play at 1:00 Sunday for the title!

Get your Tickets HERE! The title of the post show you were the Lovely Mrs. Flash and I will be sitting.

The Lady Gophers have been dominant this year and that is reflected in the WCHA awards recently announced.

The Golden Gophers placed three student-athletes on the All-WCHA First Team, while garnering some of the conference’s top awards this season.

Gopher senior defenseman Melanie Gagnon (St. Adolphe, Man.) was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, while Gigi Marvin (Warroad, Minn.) was named the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year. Monique Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) received the WCHA Rookie of the Year honors and head coach Brad Frost was named co-coach of the year with Wisconsin’s Mark Johnson.

Gagnon and both Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) and Monique Lamoureux were named to the All-WCHA first-team, while Marvin, Rachael Drazan (Orono, Minn.) and Anne Schleper (St. Cloud, Minn.) were second-team selections. Monique Lamoureux was also the WCHA scoring champion and Alyssa Grogan (Eagan, Minn.) earned the WCHA goaltending championship. Lamoureux tallied 61 points in conference competition, while Grogan held a league-best 1.37 goals against average to win the award.

One of our favirite players, Dagney Willey, the daughter/sister of a couple of longtime Drum Corps buddies was tapped for academic honors

Along with the on-ice awards, Minnesota had nine student-athletes on the All-WCHA Academic Team. To qualify, student-athletes must have completed one year of eligibility at present institution, prior to the current academic year, and have a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the previous two semesters or three quarters. Minnesota had nine honorees in Kelli Blankenship (Lusby, Md.); Drazan, Brittany Francis (Thunder Bay, Ont); Gagnon, Marvin, Michelle Maunu (Esko, Minn.); Terra Rasmussen (Coon Rapids, Minn.); Dagney Willey (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Alexandra Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.).

My Saturday is kind of booked, as you can see.

Flash

Corps Update - March is Here

Another GREAT evening on the baritone! The Corps played with the Drum Line for the first time of the season. Pretty impressive for the first time together. First 1/3rd of the show is pretty locked in with the rest of the music being slowly rolled out. We have a commitment to be ready by April 15th, our first performance.

The beginning of the show starts with a Solo, supported by 3 baritones in a soli role. I am in line for one of those spots. What a gas it would be to start the show right out in front like that. But it is an earned spot, so I will be working towards that.

About April 15th,. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Minnesota Brass, Incorporated will be having a performance showcase. The Winter Color Guard program, the Winter Drumline, and a full run through of the 2009 Summer Music book will be presented. We'll be in the main gym of Highland Senior High School in St. Paul. I'll have more details and the event approaches.

Flash
19th year on the field!

Rush to Judge

As long as Rush stays on the air, and is embraced by the 20%, the Left will be in power for a very long time!

via Lane:
Wolverton:

Prep Hockey - Osseo

I've become a HUGE Lady Gopher hockey fan. The pureness of their game makes for excellent viewing. One of the players, Dagney Willey, is the daughter/sister of a coupla Drum Corps pals of mine. The Brother, Kevin Willey, is co-coach of the Osseo Orioles Hockey Squad. The Lovely Mrs. and I ventured to the State Fair Collisuem to watch this Sectional #5 seed tackle the #1 slotted Blaine Bengals. Osseo had them onthe ropes, scoring first, and holding them to a shut out with just a minute left, until Blaine was forced to pull the goalie:

With goaltender Danny Harper on the bench for a sixth skater, Frischmon scored on a rebound at 16:18 to send the game into overtime.

With 17:00 minute periods, that meant Osseo was 42 secons away for a shot at State witha t rip to the sectional title. It was not to be:

Frischmon's game-winner came at 5:14 of overtime. Nick Bjugstad won a faceoff in the Osseo zone back to the right point. Defenseman Ryan Brockway sent the puck behind the net to Eric Scheid, who found Frischmon in the slot.

Kevin's co-coach summed it up crisply:

"We played a perfect game for 50 minutes," Osseo co-coach Mark Phenow said. "It needed to be 51."

Amazing hockey and this was only sectional Quarters.

I'll see Kevin this weekend as the Lady Gophers play in the WCHA Frozen Four, Saturday at 1:00 against Minnesota State. The winner plays Sunday for the title and a virtual lock at a #1 seen in the NCAA Tournament

Mrs. Flash will be going again tonight to watch the surprising Johnson Governor shoot for another upset. Last weekend the shocked the #1 seeded Tartan squad. Friday, the winners of last night, and tonight, play for their trip to State.

Minnesota IS the State of Hockey.

Flash
UPDATE: Live coverage from the section finals Wed, Thurs, and Friday this week on 106.1FM and 107.5FM.

Tom Saterdalen, Reed Larson, Dave Langevin, Jim Rich, Eric Gislason and Ryan Phelps will be calling the action at the following games:

Wed:
Johnson vs Stillwater
Hill vs White Bear

Thurs:
Edina vs Jefferson
Tonka vs EP

Fri:
Blaine vs Centennial
Tonight's winners

Closed Circuit to Buhl

Good friend, cabin owner, and occasional commenter, Buhl, is a Paramedic "up Nort' on da Ranj". Here in town, we have a new blog from a fromer GOP representative who is now a paramedic himself.

Ambulance Driver takes us through his shifts and fills us in on the nitty gritty of his daily grind. I know Buhl would be interested, but maybe you too!

Flash
h/t SitO

Coleman Rests

So former Senator Coleman's case to over turn the certified election results is preliminarily over. All we have seen over the past several weeks is the desperation of a loosing campaign. In fact, I would argue that the Coleman Camp has actually done more to show how clear and pure our election rules are, how committed and dedicated are election officers were, and how accurate the recount was. Was there mistakes, oh sure, but those mistakes, if anything, were evenly distributed and there is simply not enough votes to overcome Senator Elect Al Franken's certified lead.

Now, an honorable man would acknowledge that, bow out, and move on with their life. They would attempt to preserve their character, and what little is left of their political aspirations. But then, we are talking about a Republican.

Flash

UPDATE: I sometimes wonder, in my egotistical way, if these major news outlets read Centrisity for fodder before publishing. Take this for example:

Norm Coleman Must Quit the Minnesota Senate Race—He, Republicans Look Whiny
By John Mashek
Posted March 3, 2009

After four months of nonstop wrangling, it is about time for Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota to throw in the towel. He is depriving his home state of a second vote in the U.S. Senate, threatening to stretch the appeal process of his losing Senate race into April.

Before Republicans start to scream about prematurely handing the seat to Democrat Al Franken, they need to be reminded of the presidential-recount marathon in Florida in 2000. The stakes were much higher then, and Republicans attacked Al Gore and Joe Lieberman as whiny losers. The Democratic ticket was belittled for refusing to admit defeat.

The GOP even brought in out-of-staters to protest recounts in four Florida counties, some of them with signs reading "Sore Loserman." Republican bigwigs complained that Gore was refusing to face the truth about George W. Bush's win, an eventual victory in the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-to-4 vote.

With Coleman trailing Franken by 225 votes in the final recount, he is determined with the help of party figures to continue this process.

Get over it, Norm.

. . . and that's the END of the story!

Paul Harvey, famous for his page 1, page 2 news snippets and the ever classing 'rest of the story' series has passed:

(CNN) -- Paul Harvey, the legendary radio host whose career sharing "the rest of the story" with listeners spanned more than 70 years, has died, according to ABC Radio Networks.

He was 90.

Harvey died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, where he kept a winter home, said Louis Adams, a spokesman for the networks. He was surrounded by family members when he died, Adams said.

Known for his deliberate delivery and pregnant pauses, Harvey's broadcasts were heard on more than 1,200 radio stations and 400 Armed Forces networks and his commentaries appeared in 300 newspapers, according to his Web site.

He had been hosting his radio shows part-time for much of the past year, after recovering from physical ailments including pneumonia and the death of his wife, Lynne "Angel" Harvey, in May 2008.

"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news," said Harvey's son, Paul Harvey Jr., in a written statement. "So, in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend."

Several other public statements are posted at his website. Most notably, for the heir apparent:

"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news. So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend."

- Paul Harvey Jr.

He will be missed.

Super Slides South

When I first heard of the potential candidacy for the Austin gig by our current SPPS Superintendent, I sent the following E-Mail to a School Board member:

I can't say I will be saddened if our Superintendent gets a new gig. I still don't know why we hired someone we knew wasn't going to be here for no more than a few years.

Tell me that, during this time of budget strife, that we will not spend a penny in any kind of nationwide search, that we will move quickly to promote from within, and right this ship without the multi year transition that only amounts to spinning wheels in place.

Here is hoping she gets the job, so those of us who have a real investment in the future of our town and school district can get back to work. Maybe Kent is available. Can't believe we passed on him to begin with.

Kurt 'Flash'
Centrisity.com

Well, if you haven't heard, she's gone!

The Kent I refer to is Kent Pekel, an internal finalist with local roots. We would, and could make a GREAT superintendent. However, soon after he was passed over, he left the district, as most of the good administrators do. It was less than three years ago when the finalists where announced:

Kent Pekel, 38, senior policy associate at the National Center on Education and the Economy since 2005; married, three children.

Key experience: Currently working with states to develop educational systems that replicate worldwide best practices. Past experience as executive director of research and development for St. Paul Public Schools under Pat Harvey; special assistant to deputy secretary of education in Washington, D.C.; social studies/global studies teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington; English language instructor for Yale-China Association in Wuhan, China.

Why here: Enjoys current job, but "I've always planned to apply for the superintendent job in St. Paul, since before I left the district." Says he represents continuity, but "continuity in St. Paul right now is going to require change." His vision will be "education for globalization."

Potential pluses: Knows the district; seen by some as logical heir to Harvey; product of St. Paul Public Schools and has kids in them (eldest, 10, at Capitol Hill).

Potential minuses: No doctorate, might be seen as lacking relevant experience. Some concern about his ability to meet licensure requirement in timely manner. He says state would allow him to operate as licensed while working toward complete licensure within two years.

Personal: "News junkie," spending time with family, active in church in St. Paul.

Here's hoping he is still on the radar!

Flash
(Disclosure: I am a St Paul School District employee and parent of 4 students, 2 former and 2 currently enrolled at Central High School. I obviously have vested interest on both sides of the coin.)

Hamline Library Update

The neighbors of the local library are putting up a fight:

Support for St. Paul's Hamline Library ran red on Tuesday night.

Red pants, pullovers, shirts, scarves and, of course, bright red "Save Our Library" buttons speckled the crowd of at least 270 that showed up for the second — and last, for now — of Mayor Chris Coleman's public meetings to talk about drastic cuts proposed in city services to fill a $44 million budget hole over the next two years.

"We wear red to show the library is vital to our community," said Julie GebbenGreen, who said she walks the two blocks from her Hamline-Midway home with her three children "three to five times a week."

Since it is one of the smallest libraries, it finds itself at the lower end of some misleading statistics:

Hamline, the third least visited of the city's 13 libraries, is potentially on the chopping block. Library Director Melanie Huggins recommended shuttering Hamline, reducing library hours everywhere and slashing the system's materials budget after Coleman requested that all city department heads come up with ways to cut their 2009 budgets by 14 percent.

But raw numbers can be misleading, as pointed out by a poster in the local St. Paul Issues Forum:

There are fourteen libraries in Saint Pauls library system. The Hamline-Midway library has consistently ranked in the top half related to attendance at juvenile and adult events over the past three years. Use of its meeting rooms is in the top quartile of all Saint Paul libraries. In fact, the Hamline-Midway library does not rank last in any usage category.

And where they do rank towards the bottom, it is not due to usage, but to size:

the Hamline-Midway library ranks 12th out of 14 in internet use. The ranking, however, does not adjust for the number of computers available at each library or the fact that the Hamline-Midway library is not open as many hours as other libraries. Of course the Rondo Community library is ranked first and the West 7th library is ranked last, because the Rondo Community library has the most computers of any other library in the entire system and the West 7th library has the least number of computers in the entire system. When the number of computers and hours are taken into consideration, the internet usage at the Hamline-Midway library is comparable and often higher than the computer usage at other libraries.

Based on the annual budget and square footage of the Hamline-Midway library in comparison to its circulation numbers, it is actually one of the most efficient and inexpensive libraries in the city.

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, my neighborhood is the ONLY one facing the closing of its closet library AND closest Rec Center. I can stomach the loss of the Rec Center during these times of budget strife. There are others close enough for my kids to adjust to, but the loss of the library would be crushing to our community. During times of economic tumult, these sources of learning should be as protected as the staffing our our public safety units. Time to look elsewhere.

Corps Update

Drum Corps Night: Wednesday nights are Drum Corps nights. The line is locked in at 58 horns, over 30 guard, and a full drumline. That will put us pretty close to the 128 member limit. This will clearly be one of the most solid and well positioned drum corps in the history of Minnesota. Is a title in the offing, we can't control that. But what we can control is our individual desire to be the best we can be, and do everything in our power to gel with our corps brethren. All day music camp on Saturday, I can't wait!

Rocking the House, and Senate!

The transcript:

I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far -- (laughter.) There are surely times in the future where we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. I know that. (Applause.) That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.

And if we do -- if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, "something worthy to be remembered."

The President simply hit it out of the park. He addressed the issues firmly, and specifically, but with hope, not despair. This speech was crafted in a way that the administration was going to talk straight to us, but lift us at the same time. The President made it clear where we are at, but laid out specifically how we are going to dig ourselves out.

Obama described the nation's financial woes as a "reckoning" for poor decisions made by both government and individuals. Video Watch what Obama says about the "day of reckoning" »

"A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future," Obama said.

"Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."

Noting that is easy to "become cynical and doubtful," Obama said he has learned that "hope is found in unlikely places."

I still have concerns with the bloated stimulus package, but I have faith in this administration. A level of respect that the former administration struggled to attain. And there is another sign that we may be headed in the correct direction. The squealing and squawking of the Right Wing of the blogosphere. The remnants of the 20% that can now only kick and scream. They are denigrating into a level of despair unmatched during the entire 8 years of the GWBush presidency. They are afraid, very afraid, cause the know that we just might have the best leader for this time, with a plan for the future. Its more than hope, but success, peace and prosperity that are on the way!

Flash