At lunch today I said this would happen (link)

my companion for that meal said that I am a cynical SOB but probably right.

I actually said it wouldnt' happen until Monday, but still...

Bailey says: "Happy Halloween"

He dressed up as a gargoyle, which makes him fit in well in my yard.

If I don't get to say so between now and Tuesday- Go Vote!!!

Are you tempted to go for that independent guy?

If you believe Coleman should lose, this article demonstrates that a vote for Barkley will not do. I fully support Al Franken for US Senate. But for anyone with doubts about Franken, consider the known alternative.

Okay, I have been thinking about this all day

and I finally figured it out.

Norm Coleman is talking out of both sides of his mouth and unless you see the two arguments together, or unless you simply know Coleman well enough, it is not easy to decipher his hypocracy. So let me demonstrate it for you.

Argument One:
A good senator can work across the aisle in a bipartisan way.

This is supported by several supporting theories (acuracy not withstanding)
I (Norm Coleman) work in a bipartisan way.
Al Franken is the most partisan figure in the world, and by the way a liberal extremist.

Conclusion: Norm Coleman is willing to work with others and wants to be that hand that reaches across the aisle ( the Minneapolis Star Tribune endorsed him with the hope that he will live up to this pledge in spite of his past).

He fooled the media- so score one for Coleman.

But argument two reveals his true face.

I (Norm Coleman) am the best defense from Barack Obama as president and re-electing me (Norm Coleman) will be the best way from giving the (evil, extreme, liberal) Democrats from getting a controlling majority.

Subtext: If I keep my seat I can be in an obstructionist minority that will be able to filibuster against any issue we do not support- this is the only defense against the liberal agenda.

So, which is it? Is Norm Coleman the bipartisan, kumbaya singing peacenick who will unify the senate and work together, or is he the guy who will stand up to the liberal agenda? Is he the guy from his commercials who talks about the need to work together or the guy who is running to lead the RNSC ( the committee that runs anti democrat commercials across the country)?

Anyone who has watched this political animal over the past 15 years will easily know the answer. In spite of his protestations in the last debate -that he would not allow the RNSC to continue to run negative ads if he were in charge - he continues to allow the same RNSC to run slimy ads against Franken without comment.

Coleman has revealed himself for who he is- time and time again. The extreme right will vote for him, and he deserves their vote. But let's not be duped.

Local Papers lose their collective minds

St Paul Pioneer Press and Minneapolis Star Tribune both demonstrated their collective move to the right by endorsing Norm Coleman for Senate. This is what happens when media conglomerates buy out both major news papers in one metro area.

Not All !!!

Six years ago today, at almost exactly this time I received a phone call from my mom about my friend Paul. The news gave live continuous coverage of the burning plane in a marshy field.

Paul was a friend of mine. He was also a friend of the poor, a friend to the farmer, a friend to the veteran. Paul was a friend to anyone who did not have a voice.

Paul died, doing what Paul always did. Against advice from campaign insiders, Paul was on his way to the funeral of the father of a friend, because caring for and about people was personal for Paul.

Paul's voice has been silent for six years and perhaps we will never have another like him. But, today, six years later- on the eve of another election day, my sad recollections of that cold October morning are enlightened a bit with a new hope.

Paul would have been enthusiastic about the notion of Barack Obama. I also can't help but beleive that Paul is somewhere watching the events of the past months, and hearing all the things being said about Al Franken- his quirkiness, his temperament, his liberal leanings, etc.

If that is the case, I would hope he is laughing in that full-lunged way that I can vividly remember still, and thinking that he had heard it all before.

Paul Wellstone deserves to be remembered today.

Hear him in the above link as he opposed military action in Iraq, just days before the tragic accident that ended his life. There is also another tribute within the link that is worth a read.

And, just to raise your blood pressure there is this .

Time heals all wounds?

I admit I was never enthusiastic about Arne Carlson. However, the past 10 years have certainly made him look pretty respectable in Minnesota history (Ventura and Pawlenty being his successors). So the linked story to Carlson endorsing Barack Obama is good news, indeed.

The news is so good I am getting giddy

Al Franken is polling 6 % better than Coleman at 40.2% to 34.2% as reported by local KSTP. Further, Michelle Bachman is trailing for the first time by 3% and Ashwin Madia is leading in the 3rd district by the same 3 %. Obama is leading by double digits.

All we need to do is get out that vote. Good things are coming.

Minneapolis Gas Prices $2.28/gallon

and there is no apparent increase in driving patterns resulting from this decrease. It is early yet to say this but perhaps people are learning.

Who would expect the Republican National Committee to be the rational ones?

Well, let's back up. In the face of shear lunacy, ala Michelle Bachmann, the Republicans are pulling all of their support for her in her congressional race.

This is good news for Tinklenberg who was facing (as recently as last Thursday) an uphill and underfunded battle. But since Bachmann's appearance on Friday, the Democrat/independance party endorsed candidate has received over a million dollars for his race for the same seat. Additionally, the Dems have committed another million dollars.

The end of her maniacal reign is within our sights.

I Know what I said, but I didn't say it- and if I did Chris Matthews made me say it.

Keep talking Michelle. It only gets better from here. (see link)

Gas at $2.44- Tom Hauser of KSTP is a windbag

The good news is that I filled my tank today at $2.44/gallon in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis.

The bad news- not really news so much as a sad reminder of the blatant KSTP bias- came on KSTP's "At Issue" today when Tom Hauser (who can't really be a stupid man and therefore I guess must truly be a political right-wing hack trying to pass as a legitimate news man) reported a recent presidetial poll in Minnesota that places Obama at 51% and McCain at 45%. He goes on to say that the poll has a margin of error of 3.9% so that the difference is clearly within the margin of error.

Huh?

How stupid is the audience of this show?

What can tis president really do in order to stop the downward spiral on Wall Street?

It is simple. He needs to stop talking.

Every time he speaks about the fnancial crisis, or for that matter anything else, the market responds by dropping its value. The same effect can be measured in John McCain's poll numbers- which is good but can we take the cost (John McCain can take over for himself and drop his own poll numbers from this point).

Get To Work

this Al Franken ad is among the best I have seen.

Gas price in Minneapolis drops to $2.64 per gallon

no comments today except to point out that I said it would happen.

I hope Franken gets a chance to take it to Norm tonight

The attached link outlines the McCain Health plan. Franken has asked Norm whether or not he would support such an ill conceived proposal. As voters, I think we have a right to know that.

The article here is noteworthy in that it quotes McCain about his own plan- saying, last September, in essence, that we can do to the health insurance industry what we have done for banking. Good Plan.

If his mouth is moving -he must be lying.

John McCain said at a rally today that 'we (republicans) must do all we can to insure that everyone who has a right to vote- can vote' in response to a question about the investigation into ACORN voter registrations. He made it sound like the Republicans are on the side of the angels on this issue. But click the above link to get the real scoop on how Republicans are seeking to disenfranchise low income voters in Ohio.

More than anything, we can see here that the real goal is to create an opportunity to challenge election results in Ohio when it doesn't go their way.

Gas $2.99 in Circle Pines MN.

That is a bit higher than the $3.18 posted in South Minneapolis, but still. It would seem that the oil companies cannot get that price down fast enough. The big Question: Will gas sufficiently under $3 per gallon by October 15 be enough to get people to forget their woes and vote republican by November 4?

I doubt it but I am also glad for the cynicism of the oil industry that they would suppose we are indeed that dumb- It has worked so many times before.

"KSTP's AT ISSUE"

Hosted by Tom Hauser is either dramatically influenced by the Conservative bias of Hubbard Broadcasting and ABC or they are just stupid.

Among the headlines of their expanded hour-long broadcast today:

Obama and Mcain are neck and neck with McCain leading by 1%
Coleman leads Franken by 12%
Gas prices are going up (based on increase in MN gas tax to fund infrastructure support).
Palin 'won' debate last Thursday (because she didn't impale herself).

Obama now cammands solid lead over McCain in Minnesota.

(see the link). But that doesn't mean we don't want to see him again before the election.

I hope that these poll numbers hold. Minnesota has a great opportunity to deliver for Obama and to send Franken to Washington to reclaim the Paul Wellstone seat and tradition in the Senate. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken will provide an excellent team to bring progressive, united, intelligent and pragmatic leadership to the Nation's capital.

Governor Palin and Senator McCain are right: "Change is Coming"

But now is the time for Obama and especially Franken to go all positive- all the time in their political ads.

Lowest Gas Price in Twin Cities Metro Area today---

$3.019

Gas will surely be under $3.00 ( my guess is 2.70 or lower) by election day. Seems Big Oil will be going all out for their conservative friends ( McCain and Coleman).

If the polls out today are real I would strongly suggest that Al Franken avoid flying in small planes for the next five weeks or so. I'm just sayin',

Franken takes lead over Coleman 43 to 34- YEAH!!!

This is the first poll to show this result, but with Survey USA, a rather conservative group, showing Coleman with a lead of only 1% for October 2, things are still looking hopeful.

Lies 79 and 80

from count the lies (link at left)

FactCheck.org: McCain's "False" Clean Coal Claims are "Not True." "The McCain-Palin campaign is airing radio ads in four states claiming that the Obama-Biden ticket 'oppose[s] clean coal.' That's false: Obama's energy plan, which he began promoting well over a year ago, calls for investing in 'low emissions coal plants' and creating '5 'first-of-a-kind' commercial scale coal-fired plants with carbon capture and sequestration.' His position in support of clean coal has been clear. The ad's claim rests solely on a remark Biden made when questioned while shaking hands on a rope line in Ohio. Biden said, 'We're not supporting clean coal.' The campaign says he meant something else entirely. Regardless, it's Obama's energy plan that the ticket is running on." [FactCheck.org, 9/30/08: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/not_coming_clean_on_coal.html]

CNN: McCain Spending Claim "Misleading." "This hour we are taking on the issue of spending. Like taxes when you start talking about billions and trillions of dollars, its easy to get confused. So let's take a listen to the charge from John McCain yesterday in Columbus, Ohio. 'It shouldn't be surprising that Senator Obama isn't interested in protecting your tax dollars. Senator Obama has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending.' Nearly $1 trillion in new spending? That's a lot of money. Is it true? Well, you really have to break down the statement. Let's take a look at a key word in McCain's statement. He said Obama proposed more than $860 billion in new spending. The key word being 'new.' Not 'spending with cuts in other areas,' but new spending. The McCain campaign simply added up the costs of programs Obama has talked about. But the Obama campaign told us some of the programs will be paid for in cuts in other areas. They called the McCain figure 'totally ludicrous.' Now, we also checked with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and that nonpartisan group, agreed, saying McCain's statement was misleading and taken out of context. And listen to this. The group actually found that in the end the candidates would have about the same impact on the federal budget. The projection by the year 2013, Obama would be adding $286 billion to the deficit. McCain, $211 billion. So back to the original charge and the question: Is McCain right in saying that Obama would propose $860 billion in new spending? Well, the truth squad says -- no. The statement is misleading." [CNN American Morning, 9/30/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6hfmQz8J5g]