Radical Solutions

It has been an interesting turn of events in Duluth since Connect Duluth started driving the point home that we, as a City, are facing what could truly be a devastating unfunded retiree health care benefit liability. Various solutions have been proposed by assorted groups and individuals. Finally, prodded by Connect Duluth, the City Council and Mayor decided it may be time to deal publicly with this issue. The Mayor went on a Friday bus ride for a few weeks, attended numerous conferences, visited a Sister City, went to the GLBTQAI celebration both at Bayfront Park and The Main Bar in Superior, stopped attending City Council Meetings, terminated the employment of perhaps the only individual who could actually get his head around the issue and generally buried his head, eventually resorting to acohol and getting a DUI in Wisconsin.

The Council, lead by Donny Ness took the brave and bold step of appointing a task force to point out to them what some already knew, few understood and all of us will pay for for decades. That realization is that the City of Duluth has been bankrupted by the irresponsible pandering to AFSCME for four decades. Also, the stunning revelation that this is going to cost somebody something.

The final nail in the coffin of Duluth has been the willful back-turning to the issue of outrageous promises made in exchange for pitiful concessions since the lifetime health benefit, with no provision for funding it was made two decades ago. The question nobody seems willing or smart enough to ask is, "if the City had no idea it was going to be such an astronomical windfall for the Union and huge expense for the City, why were the Unions the only ones to figure it out?" My point is, if they were willing to concede wages in exchange for lifetime healthcare, why couldn't our appointed and elected leaders of the time, understand to the degree that the Union did, how much greater benefit there was in the lifetime benefit? Is the seductive allure of something paid for over time or by somebody else so great that responsibility to the voting public becomes secondary to appeasing AFSCME? More importantly, does the total abrogation of responsibility begin to pale if the politician of the day can simply say, "it won't cost us anything more...now"? This is and has been the long standing tradition of Duluth's Politicians. Give now and pay later.

Perhaps the most important questions we must answer at this stage of the debacle created by our appointed and elected leaders is whether any of those responsible for creating this monster are or were:

1. Still in Office?
2. Supported by anyone still in Office?
3. Campaigned for by anyone still in Office?
4. Up for re-election any time soon?

There should be swift and decisive political consequences as well as decisive action to stem the growth of this behemoth. What is not being screamed to the hills is that with every passing day, this debt grows. With every indecisive act of the Council or the Mayor, Duluth's debt grows. It has already grown beyond manageable proportions but the question must be asked, if this has been ignored for so long and is a growing problem, why is there not any action on the table, other than a rhetorical rubber stamp of the task force recommendations? There still has been no action taken. What will it take to get the Mayor or the Council to act? What must be done immediately is to put into motion, a recall of this Mayor. He has grandstanded on various issues including this one, yet has done nothing. Maybe if he sees the natives getting restless enough, he will take some kind of action.

If somebody did something and it was challenged by the Union, at very least, there would be action. While the Mayor stands scratching his head and Donny Ness attacks everyone who disagrees with him or his party, this debt grows. It is time for the collective bunch to say, "this is our solution" and take steps to actually implement it, or step aside and let somebody who can, lead. This is not a time for positioning or rhetoric, it is a time for definitive and decisive action. It is time for bold leadership. It is time for the current leaders to lead, follow or get out of the way.

Happy New Year to all. My best wishes to everyone.

Headliner

In most legitimate "news" papers, the the front page headline is usually reserved for something of international, national or regional significance. Like today, for example, a number of possible headlines could have been, Saddam Hussein's trial resumes with graphic torture testimony, or President Bush Has Authority to Eavesdrop, with a followup explaining that the New York Times propaganda machine has been misleading Americans into believing President Bush is doing something that has never been done before. Instead, it's an unflattering photo of Governor Pawlenty and an article about the $.75 per pack fee he imposed on cigarettes.

This $.75 fee per pack is bad idea and I believe Pawlenty exercised poor judgement when he imposed it. You cannot legislate morality or manipulate it through taxation. But I digress.

The Duluth News Tribune has spent more headlines on dubious issues than any "news" paper I have ever had the pleasure, or in this case, great displeasure to read. Three days of headlines were devoted to a shameless, selatious attempt at character assassination of Betty George, who, in my opinion, was ultimately vindicated of the wrongdoing alleged by the Tribune.

You have to be completely blinded by political fervor to not see the shameless and transparent, in your face, bias of the Tribune and it's Publisher, Marti Buscaglia. If there is an opportunity to make conservatives or Republicans look bad, it's front page, bold and fraught with unflattering photos. If it's a leftist or Democrat who has stepped in the proverbial excrement, the photos are usually the best they have ever taken and the miss-step is minimized and the wrongdoing diminished.

It is evident that decades of this type of journalistic malpractice has yielded positive results for the Publisher. The evidence is the Letters to the Editor. One need only read them day after day to realize, there are people out there who's sole source of information is the Tribune. They sit with their coffee, digest the contents of the paper and their Crunch Berries and go off to school and work, knowing full-well that they have all the news of current events that they need. Of course, those of us who have written repeatedly and never successfully to the Editor, letters sent but never published, know the indoctrination is not complete.

Blogs are popping up all over the place with similar themes of frustration, political savvy, conservative views, counterpoints to the blather and competing with the cult of personality of Northeastern Minnesota. The tide may not yet be turning but the wave of discontent is building and gaining momentum. Groups such as Connect Duluth are gaining influence and notariety. Of course some of that notariety is at the hands of the libelous, muck slinging "Journalists" at the Tribune.

Every dog has his day and today, Marti is having hers. In time, she will simply get the doghouse. Until then, we must remain calm, upbeat, optimistic and steadfast. At some point, the hypocrisy, phony altruism, outright lies and misrepresentations of the Tribune will be the dog with the teeth and will ultimately bite the hand that feeds it. The truth always prevails and history, while some try to rewrite it, cannot be changed. The future is ours, America and patriotic Americans will rise up and take back our nation and our region. The pendulum always swings back.

Xing on Xmas

I attended my son's school "Winter Celebration" concert yesterday. I read the program with great interest, and a little trepidation. You know, when you take a part of the afternoon off to watch your child perform, show up at the announced time, only to find your child is last or next to last. It is, perhaps Murphy's Law of school concerts. Well, as Murphy would have it, my son's group was, in-fact, second to last. Oh well, watching the children perform is always entertaining, amusing and usually heartwarming so I decided to just stick around for the whole show.

Here, in order, were the performances as listed in the program:

We Wish You a Swingin' Holiday
Hanukkah festival
Penguin Polka
Snow is falling Today-Spanish/English
Polar Puppy
The Little Snowflake
Bubble Wrap
Winter Waltz
Chicken Soup
Blitzen Boogie
Celebrate Kwanzaa
Keep the Candles Glowing
Everlasting Fruitcake (no, this was not about Herb Bergson)
Masters in This Hall
Believe (theme from Polar Express)

Notice anything about this program? It is scheduled the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas and Christmas break, in a time frame traditionally set aside for Christmas programs and Christmas is notably absent from the program. Actually, they went one step further and edited certain songs to take the references to Christmas out of them. OK, no big deal right? I have no right to be indignant or question why my son's school is actively taking Christmas out of the traditionally Christmas season...or do I?

"So what?" you ask. Well, they also went out of their way to recognize Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Why is it that now only Christ is persona-non-grata? I'm not sitting here pulling my hair out with anger or disgust, just a little frustrated for the vast majority of the students performing in this concert, that the Holiday they will recognize at home, has essentially been banned from their school concert. Drive around Duluth right now and you tell me how many Hanukkah Menorahs, or Kwanzaa candelabras you see in windows vs. how many Christmas trees and Christmas related decorations.

It seems, once again, our sensitivities to the minority are overwhelming our common sense and the rights of the majority. When did Christmas become offensive? When did Christians become deserving of revile by academia? This is a millenia old tradition, celebrated by people in all cultures. In Duluth, instead of what would Jesus do, it's what would Wellstone do?

Well, I'd tell you what Wellstone would do but I'm not going to disparage a dead man. However, I'll tell you what his loyal followers are doing, they're pandering to the left fringe PC crowd and making Christmas a bad word. They are attempting to thwart the free exercise of religion. They are creating their own context within which society is actually beginning to make decisions. This context of "Separation of Church and State" is nothing more than leftist context drummed out of vague references made in a letter written hundreds of years ago. This context and language does not appear in our Constitution, it does not appear anywhere in law and is a fallacy propagated very successfully by the anti-Christian left. Now they're teaching and enforcing it in our schools. The phrase "separation of Church and State" is so routinely used across all lines in this Country, people have actually come to believe there is something in our Constitution that requires it. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our forefathers are rolling in their graves everytime some leftist media "correspondent" plays loose with history and facts and uses that statement to manufacture the context of why we cannot allow any reference to Christianity in our schools or anywhere else for that matter.

Finally, if the Church must be separated from the State, and we all know it doesn't, why then is the reference to a Jewish celebration still PC? I have no problem with the celebration giving equal billing to competing traditions but to eliminate Christmas from current "Holiday" celebrations, is an omission of a particularly aggregious sort. The Constitution guarantees the right to the free exercise of religion and denies the Government the right to establish an official State religion. The leftists are already thwarting our right to the free exercise of religion. Why? Because it fits their overall political strategy. Liberals tend to be liberal with not only our money, but their own approach to life in general, typically lacking moral courage and core convictions. Since Christians are typically conservative, and athiests, agnostics and acedemia tend to be liberal, if they simply crush out any reference to God, Christ, Christmas and the Bible, they feel they can turn the tide in the US from that of embracing conservative principles to one of liberal power-brokering. The problem with their theory it is transparent, contrary to the Constitution and terribly cynical. Even my kids are catching on. On the trip home from school I asked my son why he thought there was no reference to Christmas in the school's program. I kid you not, without prompting or hesitation, my ten year old replied, "it is a conspiracy by a bunch of dimwitted liberals." I couldn't have said it better and my first thought was "there is a God!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Influential?

It seems certain people and entities have done all they can to dismiss the importance of a new local Political Action Committee (PAC). The Connect Duluth PAC has been maligned by so many people you'd think they are the enemy of the State. They have been branded right wing extremists, bigots, racist, homophobes, hate mongerers, etc. The Tribune has gone so far out of their way to malign this group, they have spent more time investigating them and a related blog than they have on Herb Bergson's recent "accident" or on the looming unfunded health care liability the City of Duluth faces.

So why all the hubub about a group of Duluthians? If you read their website at connectduluth.com, you won't find anything inflammatory, hateful or distasteful. You will find quite the opposite. They have numerous articles featuring research and statistics that likely make the Tribune reporters blush with humility. The facts and figures presented on this site are impressive in scope and depth.

There is a "Links" section featuring links to sites all across the political spectrum. Also linked there is the Duluth Citizens Blog, a blog originally operated by Connect Duluth but ultimately spun off due to concerns that it might cause them to run afoul of PAC laws. It is now found at duluthcitizensblog.com. This is another forum that has stirred controversy and has also been branded with similar unflattering labels and smeared aggressively by the Tribune. However, if you read it, you will see that it is merely an open discussion among Duluthians and some former or non-Duluthians.

It is a moderated discussion to some degree and there are screeners who filter out the garbage and comment at times about the subject matter being discussed. While people speak freely and at times passionately, the discussion is intelligent and civil. Isn't this precisely what so many in our community have been calling for? Open, intelligent, thoughtful discussion from all sides is what is truly needed to solve the City's biggest problems. However, again, the Tribune and specifically, reporter Scott Thistle have gone to great lengths to smear, demean and silence this important forum.

Several others, who I care not mention have also gone out of their way to smear, demean, silence and predict the demise of the Duluth Citizen's Blog. Despite their efforts, it is the single most popular, heavily visited discussion forum in the City of Duluth. Why is it so popular? People are allowed to post under anonymous pseudonyms. The cloak of anonymity without the fear of reprisal for speaking one's mind keeps this forum alive and vibrant.

Why would one want to silence such an important and constructive forum? Maybe, it is becoming too influential. The efforts of the Tribune and their reporters have been to claim this forum is bad for Duluth and promotes hate speech and hateful rhetoric. Go there and read it yourself. You will see, nothing could be farther from the truth. If anything, the Moderators have gone overboard in their efforts to keep the forum civil. The fact remains that this is the most heavily participated and viewed forum in the City of Duluth.

The Tribune has had a monopoly on public opinion and influence for so long, and recently purchased all but the smallest independent local papers, further cementing their monopoly. Knight Ridder has gone to great lengths and great expense and risk to "buy" this monopoly. It does stand to reason that they see any challenge to this monopoly as a threat and will do anything in their power, including slanderous accusations, libelous reporting and outright intimidation to silence this voice of reason in Duluth. Unfortunately for the Tribune, recent court decisions have upheld a person's right to anonymityon the internet. Courts have been reluctant to get sucked into cyber-suits involving discussions on the internet as to do so would be in direct conflict with the right to free speech.

So the next time you read an article in the Tribune dismissing or demeaning a local internet forum, go to the forum and read it yourself. You will see what the Tribune is afraid of. Radical views are not the norm as they are propagated by the Tribune. More moderate, thoughtful and generally better informed views are presented and real solutions are being discussed. The real fear of the Tribune...Competition. Just like respect, influence is earned, not purchased, a lesson long ago forgotten by the Publisher of the Duluth News Tribune.

Whiff of Reality

It seems the Tribune finally caved, well somewhat. While not coming right out and apologizing for the Mayor, they did all they could to diminish the seriousness of his actions and excuse his behavior. As we have all heard over and over, we cannot help but wonder how the character of the reporting would be different had this been a politico from the right. First of all, it would not have taken two days post incident for the pictures and truth to come out. It would not have taken all the public pressure the city could muster to get them to report.

No, things would and will be quite different if the next DUI is tagged on a Republican. Regardless of their dubious justifications for the bias, they owe it to themselves, their parent company and most importantly, the readers to be truthful, balanced and report instead of editorialize. The facts don't need to be qualified, explained or justified, just reported.

The notion of fact gathering and reporting is a concept that long ago became foriegn to the reporters and most of all the Publisher of the Tribune. It is important to remember, it is available free on the internet. Why spend the money and support this beast?

Decidedly Civil

It is interesting at times, to note what is not in the Tribune. While local media is still doing followup on the Herb Bergson DUI and wreck, the Tribune was noticeably absent from the followup scene. It seems the Tribune finds it more important to assassinate the character of those who question them vs. reporting the truth about those who don't.

While a DUI has typically not been a career ender for many a politician, this is not an isolated blunder. Mayor Bergson has embarrassed this City of Duluth with his antics on a number of occasions. This is merely the most recent blunder.

Apparently the Tribune is promoting some sort of new-found civility and dispensing with it's reprehensible record of mud slinging. The most interesting thing is what is missing from the Tribune today. No pictures of the car, no mugshot of the Mayor, no followup showing the police report, no conversations with the Mayor himself...nothing. This new tack on civility is indeed very interesting and curious.

Why is this curious? Well, not so long ago, a certain candidate for City Council had an old speeding ticket that the Tribune found newsworthy. He had another dismissed charge against him and the Tribune found that newsworthy. The Tribune made three, yes, count them, three front page headlines about a local individual who was allegedly not performing to the level deemed appropriate by the Publisher. Fortunately for that individual, no real wrongdoing was ever uncovered, despite the audits, "investigative reporting" by the Tribune and numerous others. The three days of headlines must have been nothing more than conjecture and, let's not forget the unmitigated character assassination attempted by the Tribune.

This kind of duplicitous approach by the Tribune shows either a change of heart or a total lack of character and integrity by it's Publisher. Never mind that this is one of the most powerful forms of media in the City as it is delivered to thousands daily and accepted as Gospel by many. Of course they understand that this is a powerful sword and they wield it with characteristic malice, unless one of their own gets out of line. Then the approach is remarkably forgiving. Let's all just forgive and forget, he's only human.

Sleeping is never a problem for the narcissist as they have little regard for others. It is self-promotion and preservation above all else, including integrity and decency. Civility be damned for it does not serve any purpose except as a club to beat over the heads of others. Fortunately for the Mayor, the Tribune is being decidedly civil...this time.

His Honor?

The standard means of addressing a Mayor; Your Honor. Curious term for a man who has brought nothing but dishonor to this City and the Office. The firing of Mark Winson, the renaming of Columbus Day and refusing to recognize it, cozying up to the Public Employee Unions, collusion with candidate/Councilor Gilbert in an attempt to influence the Police to secure an endorsement, grandstanding on a consession regarding the health care crisis that would have been a drop in the bucket, parading around a bar in Superior showing his "titties", proudly making a formal recognition of the GLBTQAI weekend, spending tax dollars like a drunken Sailor, promotion of the Wethouse, spending Community Investment Trust Fund dollars earmarked for street improvements instead on a housing proposal with a dubious mission, numerous mis-steps on practically every issue before the City and now an alcohol related car accident and his subsequent arrest for DUI. Wow, this is quite a list of accomplishments for a three term Mayor. Problem is, he is only half way through his first.

It is time for those loyal to Herb Bergson to begin to at least re-evaluate that loyalty. Blind political allegiance has no place here or elsewhere. Whether you are DFL, Independent or leaning to the right, any objective analysis of the performance of His Honor leads one to question his effectiveness and competence as Mayor of any City. Questioning his judgement is certainly valid. We have the State Auditor, in no uncertain terms, telling us we are headed for bankruptcy, facing the greatest, single unfunded obligation of any City in the State and the potential dire consequences, yet Herb is on a bender driving to Chicago for another conference. This man has done more traveling than all previous Mayors and he is not even through his first term. Is all of this time away from the City productive or is it merely another way for him to avoid tackling the real issues head on?

It begins to beg the question, how much is enough? What will it take for Duluth and Duluthians to wise up? What will it take for those who still support this Mayor to question their loyalty?

Perhaps the most important issue to ponder is the fact that Mayor Bergson is merely a symptom of a bigger malady. That illness is political myopathy and blind loyalty.

Following the Mayor's arrest, the local "newspaper" writes an article that is more an appeal for public mercy than a factual report. The story is almost wholly ignored and dismissed on a local level.

We quite obviously cannot rely on local "news" sources for accuracy or objectivity. We cannot depend on fairness, equity or balance from any of our local "news" sources. How, with this kind of media bias, can Duluthians make objective, informed decisions at election time?

The local media choose to print selatious rumor and innuendo against their political opponents while completely ignoring true violations of the law and public trust by their chosen few and propagate this ongoing dumbing down of the public. How do we as citizens overcome this tide of misinformation?

Cancelling subscriptions to the paper is one small way. Confronting those responsible for the propaganda campaign is another. However, possibly the single most effective way to combat them is to continue blogging, talking with friends and neighbors, write letters to the Editor. Whether they get printed or not, they see them. Get the word out and and point out the inconsistencies.

This is a long road and we must travel it together and remain steadfast in our resolve. This battle will not be won overnight. With liberal dominance in our educational institutions, media, public employees and many other corners of our community, the trip to common sense and balance will be a long one.