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Ramsey County: No advertising tax in Vikings plan | David Brauer Blog

David Brauer — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:35:00 -0600

Vikings stadium financing plans are like "vaporware" — the computer industry term for feature-laden software loudly announced yet never makes it to market.

Ramsey County is out with the latest version. While it may never happen, MPR's headline — "Ramsey County reboots tax plan for Vikings stadium, eyes fees, ads" — had my media-sales readers in a lather this morning. Here was the lead:

"Ramsey County is dropping its countywide sales tax plan to help pay for an Arden Hills stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. Instead, county officials are proposing new user fees and advertising fees."

Hot-button stuff in the ad world, since the industry has snuffed many previous attempts to tax its sales pitches. But you can relax, fellas — the county says this isn't the case.

There's an admissions tax in the plan, but deputy county manager Heather Worthington says of any ad tax, "I don't think that's accurate. When you see the talking points, it looks to me like it just could be a typo."

The reporter, Tim Nelson, says it's not. He says "advertising fees" refers to the parking-lot naming rights that are part of the plan. That is a fee, not a tax; still, I'd call those "naming rights," and MPR is adding a clarification to the item saying just that.

If you want to see more, you can cruise through Ramsey County's letter to the governor, and their just-released talking points (page 3):

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Commerce Secretary Bryson tours Minneapolis Community Technical College | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:16:00 -0600

U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson will tour Minneapolis Community Technical College today and talk about the administration's efforts to train workers in high tech fields.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison are scheduled to join Bryson on the 2 p.m. tour and a discussion afterward on how community colleges can work with employers on training programs.

Bryson also plans to talk about the Commerce Department's plans to support American manufacturers as they sell around the world.

Bryson is co-chair of the White House Office of Manufacturing Policy to help better coordinate the administration's efforts.

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Anti-Romney video makes me feel a little sorry for him | Eric Black Ink

Eric Black — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:10:00 -0600

It’s not an easy thing to do, but an online video by a pro-Dem Super PAC, which I assume is supposed to make me view Mitt Romney as a racist or a jerk or stiff or an insensitive French-speaking, wealth-flaunting swell, manages to make me like him a little better and actually feel a little sorry for him or anyone running for office who has to assume that every time he goes out in public he is being filmed and that the merest off-hand joke, overloud guffaw, unfortunate facial expression or slip of the tongue might be used against him

In a period when Repub campaigns — most especially Romney and his own Super PAC allies — demonstrate regularly that they will twist facts, ignore logic and insult their audience’s intelligence with low blows against their opponents, the video is also a reminder that Dems do it too.

The video, by the labor-backed “American Bridge 21^st Century,” is titled “Sh*t Mitt Says.” It contains no lies nor half-truths, since it is nothing but a compendium of short clips of Mitt saying things that the makers of the film suggest is fecal matter.

There is zero substance to the collection. The filmmakers don’t bother with any of Romney’s policy ideas.

A few of the magic moments are already very familiar, such as when Romney challenged Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet, when Romney said he wasn’t concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net, and the time Romney said he likes being able to fire people. Each of those has already been subjected to a predictable hackneyed analysis that even though they are taken out of context and don’t reflect what Romney was really trying to say they nonetheless are damaging because they reinforce a preexisting negative stereotype.

I’m sick of that analysis point and sicker of the subliminal communication strategy that it legitimizes. In the case of this video, I don’t see the strategy and find that about 80 percent of the moments are at least slightly endearing.

I exclude the one where he says "corporations are people, my friend." But am I supposed to find disqualifying:

the “information” that Romney considers his wife “a babe,” and has viewed her that way since she was 15 (or at least claims he has), but that he is trying to get her to stop wearing hot pants (although I gather he has flip-flopped on the hot pants question);
that he has told the same joke (the one about how he is not a career politician because he was only governor for four years and “I didn’t inhale”) over and over again (imagine that, a politician saying the same thing repeatedly in his stump speech);
that he thought the TV series “Twilight” was “fun;”
and that he jokingly tried in one of the debates to curry favor with moderator Wolf Blitzer by saying, “I’m Mitt Romney and yes Wolf, that’s also my first name.” Actually that last one is a lie. Romney’s real first name is Willard. Seriously. You can look it up or have it Politifacted.

Here’s the video:

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MinnPost prepares to launch its new website | Inside MinnPost

Kaeti Hinck — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0600

It has been a busy few weeks at MinnPost headquarters. After some long hours and a more than a few late nights, I’m happy to report that we are on schedule to launch the new MinnPost.com next week.

Of course we couldn’t do it alone. The tireless team at Gorton Studios has been busy building, testing, breaking, and rebuilding the new site; the stellar folks at Clockwork have been making sure we have everything we need for the transition while keeping our current site running smoothly; and MinnPost’s volunteer beta testers have been scouring the site for bugs.

During these final stages of development and testing, we’ve grown more and more eager to share the site with our readers. Among many improvements, the site will feature a responsive design that adjusts to any screen size, better organization of the substantive journalism you've come to expect from MinnPost, and more ways to find stories that interest you.

One of the most exciting prospects of moving to an open source system is that our development doesn’t stop when we launch the site. We’ll continue to add features, make improvements and experiment in the rapidly evolving sandbox of online journalism.

The new site should be live next Wednesday, Feb. 15, and I'll write more about its features then. Afterwards, we hope you'll let us know what you think and how we can continue to improve.

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Ramsey County takes another shot at stadium financing | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:59:00 -0600

With problems aplenty plaguing the Minneapolis Vikings stadium proposals, Ramsey County rushed back onto the field this morning with a new financing plan that relies on user fees for its Arden Hills stadium site.

Ramsey's earlier financing ideas didn't fly: first, an extra half-cent county-wide sales tax and then a 3 percent tax of food and liquor in the county.

The new plan calls for a basket of revenue raisers, including naming rights for the parking lot (really), parking fees, an admissions surcharge, stadium sales taxes and taxes on new developments in the area. Together they'd raise about $20 million a year for the county's share of a $1.1 billion stadium.

Ramsey County Commissioners Rafael Ortega, Tony Bennett and Jan Parker are taking their new pitch to the governor this morning.

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Access to contraception is not about sex -- it's about women's health | Second Opinion

Susan Perry — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:25:00 -0600

REUTERSSome forms of birth control can lower a woman's risk of uterine and ovarian cancers.

As the political fight escalates over the Obama administration’s pending rule requiring most employers to provide prescription contraception coverage to women, one thing keeps getting drowned out in the fracas:

Birth control plays a central role in keeping women healthy.

Catholic bishops and politicians like Rick Santorum may wish to keep birth control pills, IUDs, diaphragms and other contraceptive devices away from women, but they should know that doing so puts women’s lives at risk.

Access to contraception is not about sex. It's about women's health.

First, there’s the fact that pregnancy, even for seemingly healthy women, poses serious health risks — risks that most women want to take on only on their own terms and at a time that they feel is right for them.

And they have good reason for wanting to control if and when they get pregnant. The United States is shamefully behind many other Western countries when it comes to protecting women from pregnancy-related health complications and deaths. As reported by Amnesty International in 2010, deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled during the past two decades.

In 2006, two to three women died daily in the U.S. from pregnancy-related complications. That was a rate that was five times greater than in Greece and four times greater than in Germany.

If women do not have easy and inexpensive access to birth control — and other health care services and treatments — we can expect those pregnancy-related complications and deaths to increase.

A preventive treatment
Opponents of providing women with universal low-cost access to contraception also seem unaware that birth control protects many women with existing health problems from serious, even life-threatening medical complications.

“There are many, many disorders in which we recommend women not to conceive,” said Dr. Carrie Ann Terrell, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at the University of Minnesota, in a phone interview Thursday.

Those disorders, she said, include heart malformations, clotting or bleeding diseases, and chronic medical conditions, like multiple sclerosis.

“We also prescribe birth control for many conditions other than contraception,” such as fibroids, endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), Terrell added.

Birth control pills give women with these conditions relief from pain and, in the case of fibroids and endometriosis, help control the growth of the disease, she explained. If a woman has developed anemia as a result of heavy bleeding, the pills also allow her body to restore its iron supplies.

Some forms of birth control can lower a woman's risk of uterine and ovarian cancers, Terrell added.

“I think if we’re talking about a society that values preventive health care and health maintenance, then I don’t think we can say in the same breath that we’re going to deny women contraception,” said Terrell.

Contraception is fundamental to women’s health care. The pending federal rule will give women access to that care at a cost they can afford. (The Obama administration announced today a compromise on the rule.)

It’s astonishing that we’re even debating this issue in 2012.

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Frostlit | MinnClips

Tom Nehil — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:21:00 -0600

From Vimeo user Leif Enger:

Evidence preserved from last weekend's frost event, which arrived early Saturday after days of strange persistent fog. For two hours all rules were suspended — gravity, for example, was less of a sure thing — then shimmer & bladesparkle vanished as the reliable plain world returned.

Music by Sigur Ros.

frostlit from Leif Enger on Vimeo.

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MN Budget Bites: One likely unintended consequence of a supermajority amendment | Minnesota Blog Cabin

Nan Madden — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:06:00 -0600

MN Budget Bites: One likely unintended consequence of a supermajority amendment

By Nan Madden | Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

Minnesota could see pressure to increase property taxes if a constitutional supermajority amendment is adopted, according to a new Minnesota Budget Project analysis.

Our report warns that restricting legislators' ability to raise taxes would make it harder to provide the services that residents want and value. Policymakers would look for ways to fund services that don't need supermajority votes. Past experience has shown that the inability to raise taxes at the state level in Minnesota leads to more pressure on tuition, fees and property taxes.

Our analysis looks at what has happened to property taxes in states that have constitutional requirements as strict as the ones under consideration in Minnesota. We used U.S. Census data to compare average property tax increases in supermajority states and non-supermajority states.

We found that the nine states with strict supermajority requirements saw total property taxes rise by an average of 22 percent, after adjusting for inflation, between 2000 and 2009. Property taxes in states without supermajority requirements for tax increases rose by just 13 percent.

A supermajority amendment may not deliver on its promises. In fact, a supermajority requirement could create unintended consequences like shifting costs to the local level and potentially higher property taxes.

Policymakers should make tax and budget decisions directly, not through rigid formulas that create unintended consequences.

Our website has a special page with more information about the constitutional budget amendments and how you can get involved.

This post was originally published by Nan Madden at Minnesota Budget Bites, a project from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

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Catholic furor over birth control rule turns Democrats on one another | WorldCSM

Gail Russell Chaddock — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:39:00 -0600

So what does contraception at a Catholic hospital or college have to do with a $109 billion highway bill?

Nothing, it would seem.

But US senators can propose amendments on any subject. And the Obama administration's proposed rule requiring church-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance that covers contraception has turned toxic.

It has thrown the White House back on defense after a rare spike of good economic news. It's also dividing Democratic ranks at a time when both the White House and top Democratic leaders are urging a display of unity.

And that brings us back to the highway bill.

Senate Republicans wanted to get a vote on the matter as soon as possible. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Roy Blunt (R) of Missouri, would allow employers the right to provide employees with health coverage "consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions," without risk of federal penalties.

"This bill would just simply say that those health-care providers don't have to follow that mandate if it violates their faith principles," said Senator Blunt in a floor speech on Thursday.

The measure, cosponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, prompted an objection by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, which blocked a floor vote.

"Republicans never lose an opportunity to mess up a good piece of legislation," he said.

"They're talking about a First Amendment right and I appreciate that,… but there's no final rule," he said, suggesting that the rule is not yet set in stone. "Why don't we just calm down and see what the final rule is."

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is not waiting. The USCCB, which initially opposed the health-care reform bill in 2010 in the fear that abortions could be federally funded, has called on Catholics across the nation to write to their elected representatives to protest the proposed rule.

"Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience," said USCCB President and Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan.

On Wednesday, Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio pledged to overturn the rule.

While some Roman Catholic Democrats, such as Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, have called on the White House to back off the proposed rule, others – also Roman Catholics – are rallying around the president.

"I am dumbfounded that in the year 2012 we still have to fight over birth control," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York, in a statement on Thursday.

"It is sad that we have to stand here yet again to fight back against another overreach and intrusion into women's lives. This is what it is – a political overreach to roll back access to birth control – not a religious issue," she added.

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GOP threatens huge cuts to unemployment insurance | WorldCSM

Gail Russell Chaddock — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0600

A Democratic bid for a breakthrough on payroll-tax negotiations fell flat on Thursday, as Congress closes in on a Feb. 29 deadline with few signs of progress.

If Congress fails to act: the Social Security payroll tax that comes out of every paycheck will revert back to 6.2 percent from the current 4.2 percent tax "holiday," doctors treating Medicare patients will see their reimbursements drop 27 percent as the "doc fix" expires, and millions of long-term unemployed workers will lose benefits.

So far, public meetings of have yielded little agreement, so a 20-member House-Senate conference committee opted this week to go behind closed doors to accelerate progress toward a deal. But, so far, the toughest issue — how to offset the $160 billion cost of extending all three elements — has yet to be engaged.

On Thursday, Republicans on the panel rejected a new Democratic proposal to cut federal unemployment insurance from its current 99 weeks to 93 weeks. Republicans propose cutting back insurance to a maximum of 59 weeks.

Meanwhile, Democrats dismissed two GOP proposals aimed at making the plan more palatable for tea party conservatives wary of government spending. One was to require people receiving unemployment benefits to work toward a high school diploma by enrolling in a GED program. The other was to give states the option to require drug testing for recipients.

"Democrats are not willing to allow states the flexibility they need to give people tools to be reemployed," says freshman Rep. Tom Reed (R) of New York. A strong advocate for these provisions, Congressman Reed says he's now prepared to send unemployment benefits back to a 26-week level.

"The president says that the economy is good, so it must be time to go back to 26 weeks," he added.

Is that the view he sees of the economy back home in upstate New York? "No," he adds. "I question the president's numbers, but it's time to take him at his word."

In a public hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Jack Reed (D) of Rhode Island challenged the GED proposal on the grounds that it imposes an added burden on older workers and may not, in the end, help workers get back into the job market.

Thirty-five percent of those unemployed workers without a high school diploma are over 50 years of age, he said. Many have more skills — including technical certificates and company training awards — than younger unemployed workers with educational credentials.

"To ask them to go get a GED before they could collect on their unemployment is going to put a huge burden," he added.

Moreover, what's causing unemployment isn't lack of skills but lack of demand. "That was the conclusion of the most recent report by the San Francisco Fed," he added. "That people aren't hiring because there's not demand."

Such sharp policy rifts complicate progress toward a deal. So does the congressional calendar, which has the House and Senate out for a week at the end of the month.

But the major sticking point remains how to pay for extending expiring provisions. Democrats are pushing for tax increases. Senate Democrats invited billionaire investor Warren Buffett as well as President Obama to address their annual issues conference on Wednesday. Mr. Buffet is known for proposing higher taxes on the highest income Americans.

Last week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) of Rhode Island introduced "Buffett Rule" legislation that requires incomes over $1 million to be taxed at at least a 30 percent rate.

Tax hikes remain a nonstarter for Republicans. At a press briefing on Thursday, Speaker John Boehner complained that Democrats, with the support of Mr. Obama, are refusing to seriously negotiate spending cuts.

"I think it's fair to ask: Does the president want to accomplish anything this year?" he asked. "The president will not allow their conferees to support a reasonable compromise on spending cuts."

With the payroll-tax break headed toward another 11th-hour showdown, public opinion ratings for the Congress hit a historic low. Only 10 percent of respondents approve of the job the Congress is doing, according to the Gallup poll released Wednesday.

What's striking about the poll is that Americans are generally more satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Economic confidence and Obama's job approval rate are trending upward.

"This means Congress' image is a major exception to the gradual improvement on a number of measures Gallup is tracking," writes Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in-chief.

"The next major hurdle for Congress is the Feb. 29 deadline for the extension of the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits. If Congress is unable to reach an agreement on these issues altogether … Americans' confidence in their representatives could fall even lower."

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In Ireland, EU treaty on debt remains in doubt | WorldCSM

Jason Walsh — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:32:00 -0600

For most of the European Union, the fiscal treaty approved earlier this year is a done deal. In Ireland, however, where the Constitution requires a national referendum on any legally binding document, approval is far from certain.

Much of the uncertainty rests on whether the referendum is actually required in this case. Ireland's attorney general will not make a ruling on that question until late February, but opposition parties left and right are demanding one regardless of the decision.

Both the Irish government and EU officials are keen to avoid a referendum, which, if it failed to pass, could damage the fiscal compact that Europe is hoping will help get the Continent's finances under control.

The EU treaty stipulates that member states must commit to structural fiscal deficits not exceeding 0.5 percent of GDP, and lower and then maintain debt-to-GDP ratios of at most 60 percent. Countries that run an excessive deficit will be subject to structural reform defined and overseen by the EU. Twenty-five of the 27 EU state states have agreed, with only the United Kingdom and Czech Republic refusing.

If Ireland rejects the treaty, the country would be excluded from the Economic Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU's permanent bailout mechanism designed to take the place of the temporary fund created to disburse loans to the EU's struggling economies. The government also claims the country's membership in the euro currency is at risk. Finance Minister Michael Noonan told Bloomberg in December, "It really comes down on this occasion to a very simple issue: do you want to continue in the euro or not?"

Rejection is a real possibility. The Irish electorate has twice voted down previous EU agreements, only later endorsing them when the referendums were re-run with the promise of job creation and threat of political isolation in Europe. This time, anger over tax hikes, unemployment, and cuts to the public workforce are riding high and lawmakers fear many will take the opportunity to give them a bloody nose.

Irish prime minister Enda Kenny maintains his government "has absolutely no fear of a referendum" and would win it if one had to be called — but the political temperature is rising.

On Feb. 1, the Irish Times reported an unnamed EU official saying, "We drafted the text for the treaty so that he [Prime Minister Kenny] has a chance to avoid a referendum."

Minister of Transport Leo Varadkar said on Jan. 29 that he was not "a fan" of referendums, causing a stir with his strong denunciation. Speaking following an opinion poll that said 72 percent of Irish people wanted to see a referendum, Mr. Varadkar said, "I don't think referendums are very democratic." Thirty-six percent of those polled said they would definitely reject the treaty, while 40 percent said they would support it and 24 percent were undecided.

Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, which was in power when Ireland negotiated its bailout from the so-called "troika" of the IMF, EU, and European Central Bank (ECB) in November 2010, has come out in favor of a plebiscite. Speaking in parliament, Mr. Martin said it was "morally right to consult with the people" on the treaty.

Center-right Fianna Fáíl is joined in its calls for a popular vote by left-wing parties Sinn Féin and United Left Alliance, as well as independent lawmakers of various political stripes. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams described the treaty as an "anti-growth and anti-jobs […] straightjacket for the country."

"Irish citizens must have their say on a treaty with such far-reaching implications for this country. Irrespective of what advice the government gets from the attorney general, a referendum is now a democratic imperative," he said.

But Gavin Barrett, a senior law lecturer at University College Dublin, says the referendum is unnecessary. While a referendum would make sense in the case of substantive changes, the EU treaty in question doesn't merit a vote because it merely reaffirms regulations already in place in European law, he says.

"I think there has been some confusion on the part of Fianna Fáil. It is possible to argue the substance is so important you should have a referendum. Their view of the importance of this particular document is, in my view, mistaken," he says.

Beyond the question of whether a referendum is required is uncertainty about the content of the treaty, which many Irish see as a further hurdle to economic growth. Paul Murphy, a United Left Alliance member of the European parliament for Dublin whose group has an attorney looking into the referendum, says the treaty will do nothing to help the economy grow.

"The massive irony here is the government giving out [complaining] about a referendum, but there has been no discussion of the content of the document," he says.

Ireland's trouble lingers
In the background is Ireland's sickly economic performance. Despite being considered the poster boy for peaceably implementing the EU's austere fiscal reform policies, Ireland's troubles linger. Unemployment is at 14.2 percent, according to the latest figures, while the troika and Central Bank of Ireland both revised their forecasts for the country's growth forecasts downward.

On Friday, the Irish Central Bank said GDP would grow by just 0.5 percent in 2012 and by 2.1 percent in 2013. It also says gross national product (GNP), which excludes profits from multinational companies operating in Ireland, will fall by 0.7 percent in 2012 and rise by 1 percent the following year.

Michael Taft, economist with the think tank Tasc in Dublin, says the measures could inflame Europe's woes, not calm them.

"I wouldn't mind the debt-to-GDP ratio, but the real kicker is if we don't sign up by March 2013, we could be denied access to future funds from the ESM [European Stability Mechanism]. That would precipitate a state default followed by a bank default and I don't think the EU could sufficiently 'firewall' the rest of the eurozone from that," he says.

He also says structural deficit is a measurement that makes no sense to enshrine in legislation.

"You can't see a structural deficit. It's one of those measures that are highly, highly dependent on methodology."

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Syria's economy begins to break down | Global Post

GlobalPost — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:25:00 -0600

Syria's economy begins to break down

By a GlobalPost Correspondent | Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

DAMASCUS, Syria — As parts of Syria suffer the effects of the regime's vicious military assault, Damascus is a city looking on. A faltering economy, however, has put many thousands out of work and daily life is slowly deteriorating.

The most widespread sight on the streets of Damascus these days is the plastic sheeting that covers miles of pavement. Sheltered from the rain, underneath men sell cigarette lighters, pirated DVDs and trinkets. The customs police that once hounded such illegal peddlers are nowhere to be seen. It is a sign of what has become a wider breakdown in organized economic life in the capital.

Recent explosions at several fuel pipelines in the Homs region have severely disrupted supplies of diesel, particularly to the huge generators providing electricity to Damascus and to dozens of towns around the capital.

The price of petrol was increased by 10 percent in December and taxi meters have not been updated accordingly. The result has led to outbursts of fighting and arguments between drivers and passengers in a city already fraught with tension.

But other, more pressing concerns occupy the minds of most of Syria's 23 million people.

The cost of eggs, milk, sugar and cigarettes have risen by as much as 80 percent. There is a notable increase in the number of begging children in the streets of the capital. And schools are regularly closed several days a week because of state-organized rallies.

Last week a run on bread, the staple food in Syria, caused major panic in the capital and saw the price shoot up 100 percent for two days before receding.

"With all this instability people react en masse to the slightest rumor," said an accountant in Damascus who blamed a lack of state planning for the shortage of flour. The price of bread is subsidized by the Syrian government.

In Syria's massive public sector, there have been no salary increases since last March.

"The price of everything has increased by at least 50 percent," said an employee at the Syrian Central Bank. "But our salaries have stayed still."

In the past, increases for state employees were often given bi-annually: one after the holy month of Ramadan and a second at the year's end.

Trade in the once-booming Hamadiyeh Souk, a busy market and tourist attraction in central Damascus, has effectively halted. Today, store owners sit outside their shops drinking tea, lamenting the absence of Iranian and western tourists. Carpets and trinkets laid out in alleyways only gather dust.

Iranian tourists visiting important Shiite sites in the Old City of Damascus provided vital business for local merchants. Last week the head of the Iranian passports and immigration police announced that Iranian bus tours to Syria were to be forbidden because of the worsening security situation.

Meanwhile, several rounds of international sanctions placed on individuals and businesses with ties to the regime have not yet managed to topple, or even weaken it to any discernible extent. Soldiers are still constructing dozens of high concrete walls around military and security facilities. Millions of Syrian lira, the local currency, are being spent on reinforcing the state television building and other important sites in the capital. The economic sanctions introduced to squeeze the Syrian regime have so far only hurt ordinary citizens, not those they intended to hurt.

Since the unrest fist took hold in Syria last March, the value of the Syrian lira has depreciated by almost 50 percent against the dollar. Imported foodstuffs such as cereals and chocolate have increased by more than 100 percent since December. For hundreds of import-export businessmen, their trade has collapsed.

"We are just waiting for the regime to fall," said one man who imported generators from Turkey before the uprising.

Still, the Sham City Center mall in the upscale neighborhood of Kafr Souseh in Damascus was teeming with people on a recent Thursday evening. Families clambered for seating in the mall's underground food court.

"People come here in the evening to escape the news on television, which is depressing, and in any case, they have no electricity at home," said one shopper. "But I think very few are spending money on more than sandwiches."

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Somalia's Al Shabab launches suicide attack ahead of talks | WorldCSM

Scott Baldauf — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:20:00 -0600

A suicide car bomb attack, apparently aimed at two Somali lawmakers in the heart of the government-controlled center of Mogadishu, has left 15 people dead. It's the latest sign that the Islamist militant group Al Shabab – which claims a link with Al Qaeda – still has the capacity to disrupt, even as it loses territory under a three pronged assault by Kenya, Ethiopia, and the African-Union-backed government of Somalia itself.

The blast comes just two weeks before a conference in London to discuss possible long term solutions in Somalia, which has seen more than two decades of civil conflict, and the blossoming of a pirate industry that targets commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean for ransom.

Al Shabab took credit for the Wednesday attack near the Muno Hotel in Mogadishu, reports Bloomberg. Police say the attackers rammed their car into a café at the hotel, opening fire on customers before detonating the car bomb.

"The holy suicide attack occurred as it was intended because the hotel housed so-called lawmakers who compete with Allah to draft a constitution," Sheikh Abdi Aziz Abu Musab, a spokesman for the [Al Shabab] rebel movement, said in comments on Radio Andulus, a broadcaster controlled by the militia.

Somalia's Deputy Interior Minister Abdihakim Egeh said that the attack would not slow Somalia's steady progress, reports Voice of America.

"After our government liberated Mogadishu, people are coming back to their houses; they are coming back to rebuild their destroyed businesses and houses, and, it's really depressing to see something like this [Wednesday's bombing]," Egeh said.

...

"I can assure you that the streets of Mogadishu are becoming safer and safer every day, and I'd like to take this moment to thank our security forces for making this possible," Egeh said.

The attack came on the day of a visit by the European Union's new envoy to the Horn of Africa, Alexander Rondos, and just a few days after a similar visit by British Foreign Secretary William Hague. Both the EU and the British government – as well as several of Somalia's neighbors -- have increased their support for the shaky transitional government of Somalia, which has battled Al Shabab for control of the country since it came to power in 2008.

Britain will hold a conference on Feb. 23 to search for political solutions to Somalia's multiple problems of extremism, clan conflict, and piracy, all of which significantly affect trade and the stability of the region.

While Wednesday's suicide attack shows that Al Shabab still has the capacity to plan and carry out such attacks, it also comes at a time when the Islamist militia has been losing ground to Kenyan troops. On Feb. 1, Kenyan troops took the town of Badhadhe, a key transit point south of Al Shabab's headquarters in the port city of Kismayo, reports the BBC. Kenyan troops launched their attacks on Somalia in mid-October, after a string of kidnappings and attacks on Kenyan soil emanating from Somalia. Ethiopia soon followed suit, moving into the border region around the Somali town of Beledweyne.

Somali government forces, meanwhile, have pushed Al Shabab out of Mogadishu itself, allowing Somali civilian families to return to their homes and businesses. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates there are 1.5 million people internally displaced by the combination of war and famine in Somalia, with another 770,000 seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya.

While Britain's ambassador to Somalia, Matt Baugh, told Agence France Presse that the attack would only "strengthen our resolve" to help the Somali people secure their country, there are still substantial questions about whether this Feb. 23 conference will be able to achieve what multiple other conferences held in Djibouti have been unable to achieve.

The greatest difficulty that Somalia faces is not Al Shabab, and not piracy, but rather the clan divisions that prevent Somali politicians from uniting the country. Since the fall of Somalia's last unified government, the socialist regime of President Siad Barre, in 1991, Somalia has been divided along clan lines, with each clan arming itself to retain a voice at the negotiation table. Whenever one clan appears to dominate the government of the day, other clans take up armed resistance against it. Channeling that clannish tendency toward national unity is a challenge that has yet to be surmounted.

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Meet Henrique Capriles, Chavez's first real challenger | Global Post

Girish Gupta — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:15:00 -0600

Meet Henrique Capriles, Chavez's first real challenger

By Girish Gupta | Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

MAIQUETIA, Venezuela — An hour's drive from Caracas, thousands of people gathered in this coastal barrio at Venezuela’s national airport, which was recently given the dubious honor of being the worst in Latin America.

Clad in blue t-shirts and waving tiny red, yellow and blue flags, the lively crowd sang and danced, waiting for the arrival of the man who is the first serious threat to President Hugo Chávez in his 13-year tenure.

Henrique Capriles Radonski is the frontrunner for primaries due to take place on Sunday, in preparation for October’s presidential election.

For the first time in its disjointed history, the opposition he is about to command has finally united to take on the socialist president.

When he arrives, el pueblo — "the people," as Chávez affectionately calls them — crowds around him.

The 39-year-old Capriles has risen up the political ladder in Venezuela over the last decade, once a mayor and now governor of the country's second-most populous state, Miranda.

This gives him credibility among those he is trying to woo.

"He's young, but he comes with experience," gushed Theresa Carinero, 56, clad in a T-shirt and bandana emblazoned with the candidate's name, and waving his flag.

Capriles' support comes largely from people like Carinero, which offers him an advantage over previous opposition candidates.

Former competitor Leopoldo López, who has thrown his support behind Capriles, won the backing of wealthy expatriates, but largely neglected voters at home.

López in 2008 was banned from political office on a corruption charge that never went to court. He denied the allegations and took his case against the Venezuelan state last year to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which overturned the ruling. But Chavez's government declined to honor it.

In the awkward position of being able to stand for elections but not hold office, López shifted his considerable momentum to Capriles just two weeks ago.
At the rally in Maiquetía, Lopez flanked the main man as he greeted the throngs of supporters.

"It's not sufficient to just talk about the problems," Capriles told GlobalPost. "We have to fight against poverty."

Capriles has based his campaign on improving education, which he sees as a long-term solution to the country's insecurity and deep poverty. Capriles' methods are not to shout down Chávez — indeed, he praises many of the president's ideas — but to change things little by little, on a case-by-case basis, he said.

But it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to unseat El Comandante, as his supporters know him. Chavez has been in power for 13 years. And with world oil prices pushing $120 a barrel, Chavez, head of an oil-rich state, has a full campaign war chest. This week, Venezuela's state oil company reported a 35 percent increase in profits last year.

"Chávez has begun his campaign, spending a lot of money," said Luis Vicente Leon, a local pollster.

The president also remains very popular, largely because of the vast number of social programs he has put in place, funded by Venezuela's vast oil wealth.

According to recent figures from local polling firm Hinterlaces, Chávez is bathing in an outstanding 64 percent approval rating.

Housing, health and other programs have been the cornerstone of Chávez's tenure.

Critics charge the programs offer only aid, and no new vision for the future. "Why doesn't Chávez propose a real solution, rather than fixing the odd house just for publicity?" said 24-year-old Yesman Utrera, speaking in his own barrio in the east of Caracas.

He added: "Everyone has a friend of a friend who's been helped by the government."

It was a severe lack of wealth distribution that helped bring Chávez to power in the first place.

While Chávez was studying at Caracas' military academy in the late eighties and early nineties, Venezuelans were growing increasingly disaffected with the authorities, pocketing all the oil wealth while bringing neo-liberal reforms to the masses. Chávez capitalized on the disaffection with his 1992 coup attempt against then President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Despite ending up in prison as the coup failed, Chávez became a national hero, personifying the struggle against a corrupt elite. This would carry him to the Miraflores presidential palace six years later.

Venezuelans haven't forgotten the Perez regime. Pablo Perez, who isn't related to the former president, has campaigned under that old party's banner. But he is still tainted by association. "Pablo Perez isn't going to win the primary because he's from the AD," said Carlos Romero, a political analyst working at Caracas' Central University of Venezuela, referring to the party's Spanish initials.

"I'm not part of the old establishment," Capriles said. He also takes pains to distance himself from any US connection. Though he is fluent in English, he is reluctant to speak the language on camera, pre-emptively parrying attacks from Chávez on any sympathy for the "Yankee empire," as the president describes Washington's domain.

Demonstrating a broader shift in Latin American politics, Capriles is also taking a leaf out of the book of former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Lula, as Brazilians affectionately know him, has come to represent a more moderate Left, able to support the poor while also working with business and Washington — a shift from men like Chávez and Fidel Castro in Cuba, who position themselves as being against the West.

Lula managed to unite a free market economy with social projects which have given concrete aid to the poor. Brazil is now the world's most powerful emerging market and Lula is considered responsible for this and the country's 7.5% GDP growth in 2010.

Capriles' admiration of Lula is evident in social projects in Miranda, the state which Capriles currently governs. For example, he's sponsored cooking lessons for the poor to help them set up small businesses, in direct imitation of Lula's Hambre Cero (Zero Hunger) projects in Brazil.

Ultimately, it is popular support through projects such as this that will win it for either Capriles or Chávez in October.

"I wish Chávez a long life," said Capriles, referring to the president's cancer scare last year, "so that he sees the change that is coming."

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What's Valentine's Day without some schmaltz, some hearts and some flowers? | Listing Slightly

Don Effenberger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:15:00 -0600

For Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d start with the tune that’s widely regarded as one of the most saccharine, schmaltzy melodies of all time.

You’ll probably recognize the music, even if you don’t recall its name. The tune is probably best known for its use in the great “soap poisoning” scene in the 1983 holiday film classic “A Christmas Story.”

The song’s name: “Hearts and Flowers.” It has lyrics, too.

We’ll musically pursue those two timely topics for Valentine’s Day, but let’s separate them.

First, a small sampling of “heart” songs — and then a big bouquet of flower songs.

But before we get started, a quick aside: Check out this fascinating article from The Awl that explains why so many of us love making — and reading — lists.

Now, on to our Valentine’s list …

Hearts . . .
• Wayne Newton’s first charting song, “Heart! (I Hear You Beating).”

• “Heart,” from the musical “Damn Yankees.”

• Three “downer” heart songs: Brenda Lee’s “Heart in Hand,” Elvis’ “One Broken Heart for Sale” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

• And three upper songs: Neil Diamond’s “Heartlight,” Jan and Dean’s doowop version of the classic “Heart and Soul,” and the Ray Charles Singers’ “Love Me With All Your Heart.”

... And flowers
• Dinah Shore’s novelty song “Sweet Violets.”

• Jud Strunk’s “Daisy a Day” and Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs’ “Daisy Petal Pickin’.”

And a big bouquet of roses — 15 rose songs, to be exact. We’ll start with the red ones:

• Bobby Vinton’s 1962 breakthrough No. 1 song, “Roses Are Red” and ... the instant "answer" record, Florraine Darlin’s “Long As the Rose Is Red,” which only reached No. 62 later that year.

• Vic Dana’s “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” (plus one more from the crooner: “Moonlight and Roses”).

Then, some yellow ones:

• Bobby Darin’s "18 Yellow Roses."

• Mitch Miller’s “Yellow Rose of Texas.”

• Two more orders of “gift” roses: Andy Williams’ “And Roses and Roses” and Paul Petersen’s “Lollipops and Roses.”

• Three show-tune roses: Bernadette Peters’ “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” from “Gypsy”; “Lida Rose,” from “The Music Man, and “Rosie,” from “Bye Bye Birdie.”

And like two of the show tunes, more songs about women named Rose:

• Tony Orlando and Dawn’s “Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose.”

• The Statler Brothers’ “Bed of Rose’s.”

• Frankie Laine’s “Rose Rose I Love You.”

• And Nat King Cole’s “Rambling Rose.”

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What should happen to Hennepin Ave.? You can help figure it out | Artscape

Pamela Espeland — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:13:00 -0600

What should Hennepin Avenue look like? How should it feel? How can we honor its history? Starting in March, a series of free public conversations and workshops called "Talk-It Hennepin" will address these questions and more. Earlier this year, Hennepin Theatre Trust (nonprofit owner of the State, Orpheum, Pantages and New Century theatres, therefore a major stakeholder) received an NEA "Our Town" grant to develop plans to reinvent the oldest street in Minneapolis in partnership with the Walker, Artspace (owner/operator of the Cowles Center) and the City of Minneapolis. Tickets are free but RSVPs are requested and limited to available space. For more information and to RSVP, go here.

Want to know more about Hennepin Avenue's great theaters? This Saturday, Feb. 11, begins a series of hour-long tours. Guides take you inside for peeks, historical perspective, architectural details and fun facts. The Pantages is Saturday's destination, with others TBA. Schedule and tickets here.

CC/Flickr/chikachika72Interior of the State Theater in Minneapolis

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) reports that on Tuesday, "arts advocates in every corner of the state introduced resolutions at their precinct caucuses opposing the use of Legacy funding to pay for a Vikings stadium."

If you enjoyed last year's Northern Spark — the free, dusk-to-dawn arts festival that kept people up all night in Minneapolis and St. Paul — open your wallet if you want it to return in 2012. Secrets of the City reports that the organizers are looking for sponsors and have launched a Kickstarter page to help raise funds. This year's festival is scheduled for June 9-10.

The Gary Busey news ball keeps bouncing. Everyone announced his appearance at the Parkway last Friday for the showing of "The Buddy Holly Story." Secrets of the City tracked his movements in the hilariously titled "Gary Busey is on the Loosey in Mpls." A media notice went out about plans for a tribute album and concert with the three McNally Smith alums who played with him at the Parkway. And on Tuesday of this week, word went out that Busey had filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles. A statement issued by his manager likened Busey to other "great American institutions" experiencing financial stress, such as American Airlines.

And that's as close to celebrity news as we're going to get in this space.

Speaking of airlines, musicians are applauding the passage last Friday of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, [PDF] which creates a uniform national policy about musical instruments on airplanes. Up to now, airlines have been making their own wildly divergent rules. The American Federation of Musicians issued a press release that puts the bill's language in plain English: "Any instrument that can be safely stored in the overhead compartment or underneath the seat may be brought on board as carry-on luggage. Additionally, the bill sets standard weight and size requirements for checked instruments, and permits musicians to purchase a seat for oversized instruments, such as cellos, that are too delicate to be checked." We hope this means fewer sad pictures on Facebook of smashed guitars.

For those who love movies in 3D (a group that doesn't include film critic Roger Ebert): the IMAX 3D Film Fest at the Minnesota Zoo starts tonight. On the program: "Born to Be Wild 3D," "Hubble 3D," and "The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D." Discounted Film Fest tickets are available only at the box office.

For Valentine's Day, I tend to think "event" instead of "dinner out." Restaurants can be hit-or-miss on overcrowded holidays. Also, you don't have to celebrate on Feb. 14, unless someone is a stickler. (And no, V-Day was not invented by Hallmark.) Good ideas:

Get all melty at the Capri's "Speak Low When You Speak Love" concert on Saturday, Feb. 11 (7 p.m.) or Sunday, Feb. 12 (3 p.m.). Billed as "a musical conversation about love," it features three singers who can woo me anytime: Dennis Spears, Julius Collins and Dennis Oglesby. With Sanford Moore at the piano, this promises to be, in Spears' words, "a sweet, warm Valentine with something for everybody." Tickets here or at 866-811-4111.

For romantics who can swing dance or don't mind trying: On Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, Tim Patrick and His Blues Eyes Band will perform love songs by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin and more, with guest vocalists Jennifer Grimm and Debbie O'Keefe. Starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets in person at the box office ($19) or online.

timpatrickmusic.comTim Patrick and His Blues Eyes Band will have audiences swingin' at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center

If you can't put your love into words, listen to someone who could: 1922 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who wrote more than 30 love letters to Minneapolis's own Brenda Ueland in the year before he died in 1930. Ueland's step-grandson Eric Utne will read from "Brenda, My Darling: The Love Letters of Fridtjof Nansen to Brenda Ueland" at 12 noon on Sunday, Feb. 12, at Plymouth Congregational Church. Free.

Worth the wait until Feb. 18: Lizz Wright and Kurt Elling at Orchestra Hall. Wright will perform with her band, Elling with his quintet, which includes the amazing pianist Laurence Hobgood. If you want to see Elling on the actual Valentine's Day, you'll have to go to Chicago, where he's headlining a program called "Passion World" with violinist Regina Carter and clarinetist Anat Cohen. Too bad there's no high-speed train between here and the Windy City. FMI and tickets.

Wait a bit longer and see "Beautiful Thing" at Theater Latté Da opening Friday, Feb. 24. The story of two teenage boys who fall in love, Jonathan Harvey's play was a hit on London's West End and became an award-winning film. Latté Da (where I saw the best "La Bohème" of my life, so far) has added the music of the Mamas and the Papas to this already emotionally charged story, with Erin Schwab singing Mama Cass. Schwab is a belter and a very expressive singer who has ripped my heart out more than once. At the Lab Theater. FMI (including, eventually, a play guide) and tickets here.

Not every venue in the Twin Cities is all lovey-dovey this weekend, thank goodness. (I once went to New York City on V-Day weekend. Never again. It was impossible to find anything but love songs in the jazz clubs. By the end of the weekend, my teeth hurt.)

Three things to get excited about:

Friday, Feb. 10–Sunday, Feb. 12: Black Label Movement (BLM) dances at the Cowles in a show called "Visceral," with two new pieces: the world premiere of artistic director Carl Flink's surreal "Canary" and the Twin Cities premiere of "HIT." Writing about "HIT," the Chicago Tribune used words like "combative," "aggression," and "acrobatic oomph." $22. More information here. Tickets here.

Friday and Saturday at the Artists' Quarter: Pianist Bobby Peterson (1950–2002) was loved by all. Each year, the AQ honors his memory with a weekend-long piano showcase that draws great players and crowds. On Friday: Bryan Nichols, Laura Caviani, and Bill Carrothers. On Saturday: Chris Lomheim, Peter Schimke, and Carrothers. I know plenty of people who plan to be there both nights. 9 p.m., $12 at the door.

Friday-Sunday at the Ordway: Upshaw, Dennehy and Beethoven. The SPCO and soprano Dawn Upshaw present the world premiere of "If he died, what then," a new work (and SPCO commission) by young Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. The topic is the Irish famine, so don't expect cheering up, but do expect to be drawn in by the luminous Upshaw. Also on the program: Michael Tippett's Divertimento on "Sellinger's Round," Britten's Prelude and Fugue, and Beethoven's first symphony. Friday and Saturday at the Ordway, Sunday afternoon at the Ted Mann. FMI and tickets.

I wish I had seen "The Dragons Are Singing Tonight" earlier so I could have written about it sooner. This is its final weekend at the Southern, and all four remaining shows are sold out. (I was there Wednesday morning in a sea of schoolchildren, most of whom were riveted by the performance.) Based on Jack Prelutsky's book of dragon poems, with music by New Hampshire-based composer Laurie MacGregor and story by Markell Kiefer, produced by TigerLion Arts, it's enchanting. Puppets, aerialists from Circus Juventas, the Minnesota Boychoir, actors (including the marvelous Elise Langer and Tyson Forbes, who together played the role of the dragon — too hard to explain here, but it worked), and live music by a band of 12 musicians combined in a strong performance with moments of genuine theatrical magic and a message that didn't hit you over the head. The score could have used a bit less unison and more orchestration, but that's a minor quibble. Let's hope for a return of what was a world premiere.

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Delta builds 'durable business model,' weighs merger with American | Liz Fedor

Liz Fedor — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:10:00 -0600

On Valentine's Day, Delta Air Lines will distribute $264 million in profit sharing to its 78,000 employees, including about 12,000 Minnesotans.

This good employee news comes more than three years after the U.S. Justice Department allowed Delta to acquire Northwest Airlines.

Federal regulators, in the waning weeks of the Bush administration, chose not to block Delta's merger deal. About two years later, the Obama Justice Department cleared the path for the combination of United and Continental airlines.

"We've talked for a long time now about Delta making strategic moves to build a different, durable business model," Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in a recent message to employees. "Our 2011 results show clearly that our plan is working."

Delta is in the midst of investing $2 billion in airport facilities and upgrades of its products, and it's placed renewed emphasis on improving its operational reliability.

Delta's net income for 2011 was $854 million, up 44 percent from the previous year. Delta's profit was $1.2 billion when special items were excluded.

"We made this profit after covering a $3 billion run up on our fuel bill," Anderson said in the recorded message.

It's a stark reversal of fortunes for the Atlanta-based Delta, which acquired Northwest after both carriers restructured their businesses and slashed their costs in bankruptcy.

Delta is the world's second-largest airline based on passenger traffic, eclipsed only by United Continental Holdings that's still in the process of merging the United and Continental operations.

'More hard work'
In a year-end message to Delta employees, Anderson wrote, "More hard work is ahead as we build on our momentum to further distance Delta from our U.S. and foreign competitors, many of whom will spend 2012 focused on integration and restructuring."

Southwest Airlines, which acquired AirTran Airways in May, is occupied with integration issues this year. Its net income for 2011 dropped 61 percent to $178 million.

Delta was the first airline out of the gate in the last round of industry consolidation, which allowed it to capture a competitive advantage.

American Airlines was the final big U.S. network carrier to file for bankruptcy, entering Chapter 11 in November. American has disclosed that it wants to eliminate at least 13,000 jobs or 15 percent of its workforce.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, citing unnamed sources, recently reported that Delta, US Airways and a Texas-based private equity firm are eyeing American as an acquisition target.

It will be several months before American is in a position to file a reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court, so it's too soon to tell who ultimately will make a bid for American.

A merger deal could be reached, American's assets could be sold off in pieces or the carrier could emerge from bankruptcy as a free-standing airline.

At this early stage, nobody can predict with certainty what will happen. The lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's song "Magic," may apply in this scenario: "Trust none of what you hear, and less of what you see." There will be a lot of intrigue surrounding American, and anybody who succeeds in acquiring American or some of its assets may be the best chess player.

If a Delta-American deal is struck, the Justice Department would be forced to carefully scrutinize how such a combination would affect consumers. It's likely that route concessions would be required to ensure competition in key cities. Delta and Northwest had very few overlapping routes, which is why regulatory approval for that merger was expected.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport travelers would not see a significant impact from a Delta-American merger. A November report prepared by Metropolitan Airports Commission staff showed that Delta was serving the Twin Cities with departures to 134 U.S. and foreign cities, while American was providing nonstop service to Chicago, Dallas, Miami and New York.

Skeptical of approval
William Swelbar, a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is skeptical that a Delta-American merger would be approved by the Justice Department.

Swelbar, who leads the Center for Air Transportation, wrote recently that so many "carve-outs" of routes might be required by regulators that it would have the effect of breaking up American.

"Delta might seem like an odd suitor," Swelbar wrote. But, he added, "We have to accept the fact Richard Anderson's Delta is not your father's Delta. He and his team are aggressive and understand American holds many assets and relationships that are valuable."

He noted that Anderson, who previously served as Northwest's CEO, and Delta General Counsel Ben Hirst, a former Northwest executive, recently led a successful effort to secure more takeoff and landing rights at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

That deal was approved late last year by the U.S. Department of Transportation in a landing rights swap with US Airways that involved the two carriers' operations at LaGuardia and Reagan National in Washington, D.C. The agreement with the federal government included the divestiture of some landing slots by Delta and US Airways, so other airlines with limited or no service at the major airports could gain the landing rights.

Airline consumers may be wary of the prospect of another airline merger. But oil-producing countries in the Middle East are having more effect upon air fares than U.S. airline executives and federal officials who've allowed industry consolidation to occur.

Southwest Airlines, the nation's biggest low-fare carrier, serves the Twin Cities market. Like other airlines, it was hammered by high fuel costs last year and Southwest raised fares on its route system. Fuel is an airline's No. 1 expense, with labor costs coming in second place.

This year, U.S. airline passengers should expect to keep flying on nearly full airplanes and continue paying higher fares than they did a few years ago.

Delta, which transports the majority of Twin Cities air travelers, has figured out how to turn a profit in a high fuel-cost arena. It typically is the first airline out of the blocks to trim costs when the economy weakens. Now Delta appears to be positioning itself to take advantage of the American bankruptcy.

It's still early in this airline chess game, but the upcoming moves by Delta merit watching.

Fedor can be reached at lfedor@minnpost.com

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Brazil's Petrobras names first female CEO | WorldCSM

Sara Miller Llana — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:08:00 -0600

In naming a woman to head Latin America's largest firm, the Brazilian oil company Petrobras is giving a boost to gender parity in a region that has seen women rising well beyond their US peers in politics and starting to populate executive suites.

Maria das Gracas Foster, a veteran of Petrobras who holds chemical and nuclear engineering degrees, has been named to replace Petrobras chief executive officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli.

Latin America has five female political leaders, meaning that more than 40 percent of the region is headed by women. But women there have lagged behind those in the United States when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder.

That is starting to change. Women have increasingly joined the workforce and attained the same education levels as men. And as women have gained visibility politically, biases have started to disappear, pushing open doors in the private sector.

"When men and women see the accomplishment and authority of women in public life, then it changes attitudes," says Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, regional director for the Southern Cone for UN Women in Brasília. "The only way to eliminate bias is to have experience."

Participation doubles
In Brazil, women hold 13.7 percent of the top executive positions of the 500 largest companies, up from 6 percent in 2001, according to a 2010 study by Ethos Institute. Ms. Foster's role in Brazil is expected to bolster that trend, as Petrobras is one of Latin America's most influential companies.

"This is very important for Latin American women, especially since petroleum is a nontraditional industry for women," says Lidia Heller, a founding member of the Latin American Network of Women in Management.

Women are heads of state in Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and, most recently, Jamaica. Latin America has also implemented quota laws for legislatures, a trend that began in Argentina in 1991 and has spread to about a dozen countries. Women's representation in national legislatures rose from 12 percent to 22 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

But that push for parity has not found its way to the boardroom. According to Catalyst, a research firm in New York, in the US 16.1 percent of top board seats are held by women (see chart). The biggest economies in Latin America are much further behind, with 6.8 percent in Mexico, 5.1 percent in Brazil, and 1.9 percent in Chile.

A longstanding strain of machismo runs through Latin American culture. Women have had more success on the political field because of democratic transitions in the region, while the corporate world is still male-dominated. "In a company it's a smaller group of people, largely a male hierarchy, who gets to decide who goes up the ladder," says Irene Natividad, president of the Global Summit of Women. "It's not a democracy."

Societal changes are helping foster change, however. The economically active female population grew from 42 percent in 1990 to 52 percent in 2008 in urban areas of Latin America, according to ECLAC. Wage disparities have narrowed from 69 percent of men's wages to 79 percent.

Gina Zabludovsky, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, says that of the CEOs of the 500 most important companies in Mexico, about 4 percent are women. Women make up 14 percent of general director positions, up from about 8 percent a decade ago.

"So it is changing," she says, "but not changing as fast as the changing presence of women at the university and in the workforce, and especially what is not changing is their responsibilities at home."

Corporate quotas next?
But Ms. Natividad expects many countries in Latin America will move closer to the experience of Europe, which started with quotas in politics and then implemented gender parity policies at the board level.

The Catalyst report puts Norway at the top for women on boards, with 40 percent. "I think it will spill over to the private sector [in Latin America] at some point," she says.

Enthusiasm in Brazil is high. Its quota laws have not functioned as well as they have elsewhere in the region, leading to lower rates of participation of women in politics.

But President Dilma Rousseff's inauguration was an important boost, especially as she has named women to her cabinet and put them at the highest levels of her staff, says Ms. Tavares. She notes that Brazil trails only Japan in the number of companies that have signed up for UN Women's Empowerment Principles program.

"There are many examples in Brazil right now, including Foster and the president, which have created a very positive environment for women's rights," says Benjamin Goncalves, who coordinated research for the Ethos Institute study.

With women at the top, more have a chance to make it there as well. For example, according to press reports, Foster and President Rousseff are good friends, showing how one woman's success can foster another's.

Or as Joan Caivano, director of special projects including women's leadership at the Inter-American Dialogue, puts it: "There's a new 'old boys' network among women."

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More on Saul Alinsky, this time from Bill Moyers | Eric Black Ink

Eric Black — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:22:00 -0600

A couple of weeks ago, after noticing that Newt Gingrich was working references to "radical" Saul Alinsky into his stump rhetoric in an effort to radicalize Pres. Obama by association, I wrote a piece about Alinsky. Of couse, I wasn't the only one.

Now the estimable Bill Moyers, who's back PBS in case you hadn't noticed, adds a nice little film and his own drawling narrative to the Alinsky revival. Moyers is tougher on Gingrich than I was, but he also manages to juxtapose some Gingrich rhetoric with some Alinsky rhetoric thereby raising the question of whether Gingrich might be the real Alinskyite in the race. Enjoy:

Bill Moyers Essay: Newt's Obesession with Saul Alinsky from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

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Duluth mayor taking nasty heat for anti-racism campaign | The Glean

Brian Lambert — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:05:00 -0600

MORNING EDITION

Duluth mayor taking nasty heat for anti-racism campaign

By Brian Lambert | Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

Duluth’s anti-racism campaign has Mayor Don Ness and others taking some nasty heat. Larry Oakes of the Strib reports: “A close-up of a white woman's face confronts motorists from billboards plastered along major roads here with the message, in large, black letters: ‘It's hard to see racism when you're white.’ ... One of the stated goals of the campaign is to create a community dialogue. In that regard, it got more than it bargained for. Hundreds of the city's white residents have complained that the campaign's kick-off images and messages are offensive. The campaign, they say, blames all racism on whites and implies that white people aren't smart enough to recognize racism. Meanwhile, the campaign's defenders and sponsors, including Mayor Don Ness, say they've received dozens of hateful messages and e-mails from all over the world, as news of the campaign hit websites that cater to white supremacists and other racists. One message to Ness: ‘Die, scum, die.’ ‘I became kind of a lightning rod for groups outside our community,’ said Ness, who was accused in messages from as far away as Scotland of inviting ‘white genocide’ and being a ‘traitor’ to his race.” Really? “White genocide”? How? With trans fats and corn syrup?

It goes without saying we miss her. Our Favorite Congresswoman, Ms. Bachmann, made an appearance on CNN with John King and said: “[Rick Santorum’s] surprise victories Tuesday were a ‘shot across the bow’ for the GOP. ‘I think what we saw is that the voters haven't made up their mind yet on who the Republican nominee should be,’ Bachmann said. ‘But really the biggest signal that was sent is that Barack Obama is in big trouble.’ Bachmann said Minnesota's contest was the first in the 2012 election cycle where voters zeroed in on social issues given the swirl of attention on new rules from the federal government requiring employers, including religious institutions, to include contraception in their health insurance plans. ‘This was the first social issue election that we've had so far, that's what you saw in Minnesota,’ Bachmann said. ‘That's what you saw in Missouri and Colorado. You saw social conservatives weigh in a big way for the first time and I think it's because of Barack Obama's policies.' " Yup. Every less than 1 percent of registered voters of them weighed in in a “big way.”

It may not be the final day of righteous reckoning, but it’s a start for 17,000 Minnesota homeowners. That’s the number in Jessica Mador’s MPR story on the big fraud settlement with giant banks: “17,000 Minnesota homeowners who went through foreclosure between 2008 and the end of last year could be eligible for some financial relief under the terms of a long-awaited deal announced Thursday. ... University of Minnesota law professor and former assistant Attorney General Prentiss Cox said the settlement stemmed from the mortgage meltdown and investigations into revelations that some banks had rushed foreclosures without proper documentation. ‘This is the first time that we've forced the mortgage companies to pony up money to help solve the problems the mortgage industry created,’ Cox said. ‘In the past, we've had taxpayer-funded incentives to mortgage companies to do the right thing.' " Still, a perp walk would be such a balm for the soul.

Abusive husbands are bad enough, but abusive dates affect one-third of teenage girls. Sasha Aslainian, also at MPR reports: “Federal statistics report that one in every three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner. The Preventing Teen Violence Report issued recommendations for preventing teen dating violence, better coordination of prevention efforts and more youth leadership on anti-violence work. The state health department and the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women released a statewide plan Thursday to prevent teen dating violence. Sasha Cotton of the Coalition for Battered Women says over 18 months, study authors interviewed hundreds of young Minnesotans about what they've witnessed and experienced. Among 12th grade girls, one in seven said they had been hit, hurt, threatened or made to feel afraid by their partner, the Minnesota Student Survey found.”

GOP legislators are keen on (another) amendment. This is the one to require a California-style “super majority” to pass any tax increase. A study out by The Minnesota Budget Project says: “Minnesota could see pressure to increase property taxes if a constitutional supermajority amendment is adopted, according to a new Minnesota Budget Project analysis. Our report warns that restricting legislators’ ability to raise taxes would make it harder to provide the services that residents want and value. Policymakers would look for ways to fund services that don’t need supermajority votes. Past experience has shown that the inability to raise taxes at the state level in Minnesota leads to more pressure on tuition, fees and property taxes. ... We found that the nine states with strict supermajority requirements saw total property taxes rise by an average of 22 percent, after adjusting for inflation, between 2000 and 2009. Property taxes in states without supermajority requirements for tax increases rose by just 13 percent.”

Another sky-high lifestyle bites the dust. Dave Hanners’ PiPress story on the arraignment of the so-called “Man in Black” bank robber includes this: “A Chaska man who'd been ordered to pay $1.6 million restitution for mail fraud has been charged in a chain of bank robberies that earned him the nickname ‘Man in Black.’ Mark Edward Wetsch, 49, made his first appearance before a federal magistrate in St. Paul today. The FBI believes he is the black-clad robber who held up 13 Minnesota banks from last March to Jan. 3. ... Wetsch said little during his brief appearance before Keyes, but he did ask for a public defender. The magistrate asked him if he had a job or any money in the bank or owned any cars or a home or had any investments, and he replied that he had none. His destitution is a turnabout from the man who once owned a half-million-dollar home, a Corvette, three Jeeps, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, three snowmobiles and took golf trips to Scotland, vacationed in Hawaii and sometimes took a private running coach along on trips with his daughter, a college track and field star.”

Our hometown airline-with-a-heart, Delta, is considering shipping another 150 jobs down to Atlanta. Wendy Lee of the Strib says: “In a Jan. 24 memo to employees, the Twin Cities' largest carrier said it is looking to streamline its stores unit, which stocks parts Delta uses to maintain its aircraft. The consolidation would combine MSP's warehouse with the one in Atlanta, where Delta's headquarters are. Delta spokeswoman Ashley Black confirmed the memo but declined to comment. Employees for the airline say there are about 150 workers in the stores unit. In the memo, Delta said the job transfers would save the company money.” Note to Delta: Have you considered charging passengers $25 for the spare parts?

At the conservative aggregation blog, True North, Dan McGrath lays into “the anti-integrity” crowd. “And that’s who?” you ask. Well … “When you’re taking flak, it means you’re over the target. By the extraordinary reaction by anti-integrity forces to the introduction of a Voter ID Constitutional Amendment, it seems that we’re very close to the target. It also seems that many groups are looking to protect the constituency of illegal voters and they’re pulling out all the stops. The anti-ID rhetoric is reaching a fevered pitch, with members of Isaiah (a radical left quasi-religious coalition) calling Voter ID ‘a devilish enterprise’ at a recent Capitol press conference. They’re holding rallies. The League of Women Voters is touring the state with a breathless (but completely unfounded) message about Voter ID preventing grandma, minorities, students and soldiers from voting. A letter to the editor campaign is in full swing and our opponents are getting 10 letters published for every one in favor of Voter ID. ... Groups like the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, Isaiah, the ACLU and NAACP are making ludicrous claims like 700,000 Minnesotans will be unable to vote if photo ID is required. They’ve engaged in this kind of hyperbolic speculation before, but when met with the challenge of proving their claims in court, their arguments fall to pieces.”

On that 700,000 being “unable” to vote. All I could find was this from James Warden at Hopkins Patch. “Beth Fraser, who represented Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office at Wednesday’s hearing, said the changes could hurt more than 700,000 Minnesotans — noting that 215,000 eligible Minnesota voters aren’t registered to vote and as many as 500,000 people register at the polls on election day.” But hey, close enough for anti-government work.

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Popular myths cloud debate about defense spending | Community Voices

Dick Virden — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0600

Popular myths cloud debate about defense spending

By Dick Virden | Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

Maybe if we would stipulate that, yes, the United States needs to remain strong to protect its national security, we could move on to consider how best to actually achieve that goal. Instead we waste our breath in fruitless huffing and puffing and pledge allegiance to various myths that just ain't so.

One is that the more we spend on the military, the more secure we are. Mitt Romney, for one, has asserted this precept repeatedly during the endless series of debates among Republican presidential contenders. He's also suggested that the obverse — cutting the Defense Department budget, even modestly — amounts to treasonous weakness.

Candidate Romney says he wants a military force so strong that no foe would dare to attack us. That such a goal is attainable is another myth. We had unparalleled military might in the '90s, yet al-Qaida savaged two of our embassies in Africa and one of our warships in the Middle East. If you say that happened because a Democrat soft on national security was in the White House, then how do you explain the assault of 9/11, when Republican George W. Bush occupied the Oval Office?

The reality is there's no such thing as absolute security. We can never be completely invulnerable to lethal actions by individual or small groups, what the military calls, "asymmetric warfare." We can and must counter and try to marginalize militant extremists bent on mayhem. But that kind of battle is not determined by who has the biggest, most modern fighter jets, tanks or aircraft carriers.

Smarter uses of power
It's a struggle to be won not by big bazookas but by smarter, more calculated uses of power, like the Special Forces raids that got Osama Bin Laden last year and rescued hostages from Somali pirates in 2009 and 2012.

Similarly, the Obama administration achieved the U.S. goal in Libya — getting rid of the tyrant Gaddafi — without shedding American blood and without spending vast sums of our dwindling national wealth. Our allies had a more direct interest this time, so they — and the Libyans themselves — carried more of the burden.

Our foreign wars, as Ron Paul keeps reminding us, are a major reason we're so deep in debt. When the counting is done, the Iraq War will have added a staggering $2 trillion to $3 trillion dollars to our IOUs. Not to mention the number of American, allied and Iraqi lives lost in that war of choice.

Defense hawks never tell us how they will resolve the conflict between high defense spending and the need to stop running up — and start paying down — the national debt. Just cut non-military spending and we'll be fine, they suggest if pressed. But that's a copout. Experts who take the trouble to study the numbers tell us there simply isn't enough fat or meat there to hack away at and balance the scales. That's true even if you're willing to cripple or eliminate many programs and services Americans have made clear they value and want to keep.

To believe we can maintain or increase defense spending and reduce the national debt without increasing revenue is a delusion. It may be pretty to think so, but it doesn't add up.

We can't just come home, either
Ron Paul and others are equally wrong, however, to believe we can fold up our tents and come home. We're a world power with genuine political, economic and security interests around the globe. We can't be indifferent to the fate of Israel, to the free passage of ships carrying oil and other vital commodities, to the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon, to the rise of China, or to the danger carbon emissions pose to the environment. A return to isolationism is not an option.

Though our continued engagement must certainly include a superior military force, do we really need to spend nearly as much on arms as the rest of the world put together? There are powerful lobbies — the military-industrial complex President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about — that say yes.

In making that self-serving case, they ignore our need to get our debt under control, revive our economic health, and address the many pent-up demands at home. They also fail to appreciate that we have many non-military tools — diplomacy, intelligence, public diplomacy, law enforcement, foreign aid and soft power (the ability to attract others through our ideas, ideals and values) — to employ in our favor.

We also have trusted friends and allies to work with us on international problems. We do not have to cure all the world's ills by ourselves — or mainly through military force. We'll be better off when we recognize that, Mao Zedong to the contrary, not all power comes from the barrel of a gun.

Dick Virden is a retired Foreign Service Officer who taught national security policy at the National War College. He is currently diplomat-in-residence at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict. He lives in Plymouth.

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State Sen. Roger Reinert says put Vikings stadium in Duluth | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:47:00 -0600

State Sen. Roger Reinert proposed today that a new Vikings stadium be built in Duluth.

He's a DFLer from Duluth.

In an apparently serious proposal — which he has sent via letter to Gov. Mark Dayton — Reinert says there's a great site for a stadium in Duluth, "southwest of the downtown Duluth area on 500 acres of what was once the US Steel /Atlas Cement Works site."

Sure it's kind of far from the Twin Cities, but that's no problem, he says:

"[I]if last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, can attract ticket holders from over two hours away in Madison or Milwaukee, the Vikings can certainly do so as well," says a statement about the proposal.

“Stationing the Vikings in Duluth is economically advantageous and will help further supplant the message that the Vikings represent all of Minnesota and are not exclusive to the metropolitan areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul," Reinert said.

As for funding, he wants to pay the state's share with extra taxes generated by allowing liquor sales on Sundays.

Reinert happens to be chief author of a Senate bill (SF 197) that would allow liquor stores to be open on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.

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Associated Press names Picht new Minnesota/Dakotas bureau chief | David Brauer Blog

David Brauer — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:30:00 -0600

The Associated Press has named Randy Picht to replace Dave Pyle as Minnesota bureau chief. Picht will take charge of a reconfigured territory that includes North and South Dakota, and Nebraska. Pyle had responsibility for Wisconsin.

Picht, a former AP correspondent and business editor, previously ran the Kansas-Missouri bureau from 2005 to 2010. Since then, he's overseen "Member Choice," which lets member newspapers customize what they get from AP.

AP, a member co-op, provides a ton of copy for media organizations worldwide. In his new territory, Picht will go head-to-head with a new wire service being constructed by North Dakota-based Forum Communications, which owns several dozen Minnesota papers.

Picht's resume indicates some strength in this regard. The American Journalism Review noted in 2009 that he was part of a "SWAT team" working on member content-sharing, calling it, "a hedge against newspapers jumping ship and forming their own news cooperatives."

AP is still dealing with the fallout from the newspaper industry's decline. In 2008, several papers, including the Star Tribune served notice they would leave over high fees. (When AP added money-saving options along the lines of Member Choice, the paper withdrew the notice.)

The wire service has 3,700 employees — down from 4,300 employees five years ago. (Roughly two-thirds of those employees are journalists.) AP laid off 10 employees a few weeks ago; Pyle decided not to apply for the top job at his reconfigured bureau.

In the old configuration, the entire metro area was in Pyle's bureau; now Wisconsin will be split off into a territory with Illinois and Indiana. While the bureau chief is involved in newsgathering, especially calling elections, the position is most managerial, tending to the needs/demands of AP members and keeping sales up. Twin Cities-based news editors, I'm told, will keep the metro reporting flowing.

The Minnesota bureau held Pyle in extremely high regard, and he brought many strong bylines to the bureau, so Picht has some decent-sized shoes to fill.

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Eleven Minnesota churches to pack 1 million meals for Africa in one day | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:42:00 -0600

Eleven Minnesota churches plan to pack 1 million meals on Feb. 25 for starving people in the Horn of Africa.

Working with Feed My Starving Children, ImpactLives and Kids Against Hunger, participants will meet at eight locations in the Twin Cities and Nisswa that Sunday to pack the meals.

Organizers say parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda have been experiencing the worst drought in 60 years and that the famine in this region has been called the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.

Participating churches are:

Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie
Bridgewood Church in Savage
Brookwood Community Church in Shakopee,
City Church in southwest Minneapolis,
New Life Community Church, Maple Grove
Northwood Church in Maple Grove
Oakwood Community Church in Waconia
Timberwood Church in Nisswa
Westbrook Community Church in Chaska
Westwood Community Church in Chanhassen
Woodcrest Church in Eagan

More information on the effort is available from the Hunger Initiative.

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Five Minnesota representatives of The Arc headed to White House forum on disabilities | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:23:00 -0600

Five Minnesota representatives of The Arc will attend a day-long briefing at the White House Friday on issues concerning people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The ARC advocates on public policies, assists people with disabilities in finding homes of their own in the community, and supports families.

The White House Community Leaders Briefing is scheduled to include discussion of such issues as Medicaid, education, community living and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Minnesotans attending are:

Kurt Rutzen, public policy advocate for The Arc Minnesota and a self-advocate
Debbi Harris, board chair of The Arc Greater Twin Cities
Steve Larson, senior policy director for The Arc Minnesota
Kim Keprios, CEO of The Arc Greater Twin Cities
Mike Gude, Communications Director for The Arc Minnesota

Said Keprios: “This is an important opportunity to connect with those who have the power to make a difference — which is what public policy advocacy is all about.”

Rutzen said he's “excited to have this chance to hear what the administration has to say about issues and programs that affect me and others who have disabilities. I would also love to share my experiences about how important it is for me to live in, work in, and contribute to my community.”

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A Kevin Kling lovefest: 'Cold Feet, Warm Hearts' | Weekend Best Bets

Tim Gihring — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:30:00 -0600

Friday, February 10

A mother's guilt

WHAT: We Need to Talk About Kevin
WHERE: Walker Art Center Cinema, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
The Walker offers an advance screening of this highly anticipated film about a young child who suddenly commits atrocities and his horrified mother, played by Tilda Swinton, who wonders what she could have done differently. Learn more at walkerart.org.

Friday, February 10

The big tease

WHAT: Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival, Minneapolis
WHERE: Ritz Theater
WHEN: 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Minneapolis has become a burlesque hot spot of late, full of retro-dressed (and partially undressed) ladies like Coco Dupree and the Beaujolais Sisters. Now, at the Ritz Theater from Feb. 9 to 11, they're hosting their far-flung counterparts — and not just, as the festival name implies, from the Midwest. The headliner is Perle Noire, ostensibly from New Orleans but truly of another era. Learn more at ritzdolls.com.

Saturday, February 11

Pop goes the Cedar

WHAT: My Brightest Diamond
WHERE: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) is a classically trained singer, which makes her experimental pop music all the more sparkling and alluring — the rare chanteuse with chops as well as style. The Bello Duo, composed of two members of the much-missed Spaghetti Western String Co, will open the show on banjo and cello. Learn more at thecedar.org.

Saturday, February 11

Kling for Valentine's

WHAT: Cold Feet, Warm Hearts: A Night of Song, Story, and Love
WHERE: The O'Shaughnessy, St. Paul
WHEN: 7 p.m.
One night only, Kevin Kling will gather Dan Chouinard, Bradley Greenwald, Prudence Johnson, Simone Perrin, and Claudia Schmidt to share songs, poems, and stories about Valentine's Day. A lovefest, pure and simple. Learn more at oshaughnessy.stkate.edu.

Sunday, February 12

For the love

WHAT: Speak Low When You Speak Love
WHERE: Capri Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 3 p.m.
If this concert (also staged at 7 p.m. on Saturday) doesn't put you in a Valentine's mood, you need some thawing out. Four of the finest male singers in Minnesota — Sanford Moore, Dennis Spears (fresh off his Nat King Cole turn at Penumbra Theatre), Julius Collins, and the Rev. Dennis Oglesby (husband of Greta Oglesby) — come together to sing of love at the Capri Theater, recently named the "Best Venue for Jazz" by Minnesota Monthly. Learn more at pcyc-mpls.org.

Sunday, February 12

Soul of Portugal

WHAT: Ana Moura
WHERE: Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7 p.m.
The ancient fado music of Portugal — blues in spirit, flamenco in style — has been recently revived, most spectacularly by the young and sensuous Ana Moura. She's stretched the form, working with tunes by the Rolling Stones and Prince, without breaking its haunting beauty. Learn more at dakotacooks.com.

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Anti-Voter ID group to protest at St. Paul Wells Fargo | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:25:00 -0600

A group opposing a proposed state constitutional amendment that would require voters to show identification is rallying at the Capitol this morning.

The group then plans to move at noon to the Wells Fargo bank building on Wabasha Street in downtown St. Paul, to continue the protest. Buses will take people from the Capitol to downtown.

The protest group, led by TakeAction Minnesota, says in a statement that it's targeting Wells Fargo on the Voter ID issue, because:

The same 1% forces of extreme greed that crashed the economy, including big banks like Wells Fargo, are now attacking Minnesota’s democracy, including the most fundamental right — the right to vote.

The group claimed Wednesday that bank executives and conservative groups are contributing to legislative supporters of Voter ID.

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Minneapolis redistricting group working to create 'minority ward' | Two Cities

Karen Boros — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:22:00 -0600

Citizens charged with re-drawing Minneapolis ward and park district boundaries seemed to agree Wednesday that they want to create a ward on the near south side that would have a coalition of racial minorities that could elect one of its own to the City Council.

They are also interested in splitting downtown Minneapolis so that the area would be represented by two or three council members instead of one, which is now the case.

And they liked a map of park districts (PDF) that changes little from the current map, but the group decided to wait until it settles on new ward boundaries before approving the park plan..

At their previous meeting, redistricting commission members expressed interest in splitting downtown Minneapolis among several wards but asked to see what a single downtown ward would look like before moving ahead. They were not impressed with the results.

The downtown ward (PDF) — randomly numbered Ward 7 — removed the Kenwood and Bryn Mawr neighborhoods and the areas around the lakes from the current ward. The proposed map also did not include necessary changes affecting the surrounding wards.

Here’s a look at both last week’s map (PDF) and this week’s (PDF).

Ward 2
Last week, Ward 2 was stripped of the University of Minnesota and neighborhoods to the south and east in an effort to create a map similar to one suggested by the Citizens Committee for Fair Redistricting, which represents Somali and East African immigrants.

This week, the proposed Ward 2 got back the University of Minnesota and its neighborhoods. In the process, the committee expressed interest in creating a new ward that would take racial minority neighborhoods from Wards 2, 6, and 9 to create a minority coalition capable of electing a City Council Member.

“We want to create an opportunity for minority voters,” said commission member Andrea Rubenstein. “There have been enormous demographic changes in Minneapolis in the last 10 years.”

Ward 3
Earlier, Ward 3, which follows the banks of the Mississippi River in northeast Minneapolis, moved south and east to encompass the University of Minnesota and neighborhoods to the east.

This week, Ward 3 moved again, giving up the University area and moving instead across the river into downtown Minneapolis. That splits downtown into three wards, with the others Ward 5 and Ward 7, which is now main downtown ward.

“This is a very balanced way of having downtown represented,” said commission member Andy Kozak.

Margaret Dolan, another commission member, disagreed, though, saying the people who live downtown “deserve the fact that they have their own representative.”

“This map is by no means done,” Commission Chair Barry Clegg reminded the committee, “This is a work in progress.”

Deadline
Commission members have set a deadline of Feb. 23 or 24 to complete the first draft of ward maps and have scheduled public hearings for Feb. 29 at Weber Commons in North Minneapolis and March 1 at Hosmer Library in South Minneapolis. Those hearings will be televised by the Minneapolis Television Network.

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Minnesota to be granted waiver from NCLB law | Learning Curve

Beth Hawkins — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:20:00 -0600

No Child Left Behind no more — at least for Minnesota.

This state will be among 10 that officially will learn — at 1 p.m. CST — that it has earned approval for its plan for doing better than the nation's 11-year-old education reform law. A polarized Congress has agreed that NCLB is fatally flawed, but has made only cursory stabs at replacing it.

MinnPost/James NordSecretary Arne Duncan

The waiver granted by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will free numerous Minnesota schools — including some that graduate most of their students — from compliance with a series of burdensome requirements to show continuous progress on standardized tests educators have long insisted have no practical value for students or teachers.

If the waiver process is anything like other Obama administration education initiatives, more than two dozen other states will scour the lengthy waiver applications submitted by Minnesota and other winning states to get an idea of the accountability measures that meet the feds’ loosely articulated benchmark for earning a waiver.

This morning officials at the state Department of Education would say only that they will have no comment until after an official announcement has been made.

An end run
Last summer, after it became clear that four years of debate by lawmakers on replacing NCLB had deadlocked, Duncan signaled his intent to end run Congress by freeing states that could demonstrate the ability to keep the pressure on their lowest performing schools from the law’s punitive measures.

In each of the last seven years, more and more schools and districts were labeled failures under NCLB, many because small groups of students did not show progress on standardized tests everyone agreed were outdated and irrelevant. A marquee feature of George W. Bush’s first term in office, the 2001 act requires all students pass the tests by 2013-2014.

Under NCLB, schools had to show continuous progress on standardized tests or risk failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress, as defined by the law. Because Minnesota sets high standards for student performance, the targets became harder to meet each year. Because of this, schools whose students post excellent test scores ended up labeled failures when a handful of kids didn’t do well.

Adding insult to injury, until recently the tests Minnesota used did not actually measure individual student growth or identify gaps in learning. Because poor schools that failed to show enough progress were forced to divert resources from the classroom, failure to make adequate progress became a self-perpetuating trap for programs with large numbers of struggling students.

297 districts technically failing
According to 2010’s test results, 1,048 Minnesota schools and 297 districts are technically failing, despite five years of progress. As a consequence, 157 were forced to set aside money that could better be used to implement classroom reforms. Others were forced to divert energy from programs that were working to comply with mandatory restructurings required of failing schools.

Many were also forced to undergo one of four rigidly prescribed school turnaround processes, a particularly painful process in small communities where the principal and teacher corps are limited.

In essence, the state is paying the price for refusing to compromise, Cassellius asserted when the waivers were first proposed. Anticipating just this bind, other states years ago lowered their definition of academic proficiency. Providing relief for states that have kept standards high in the face of this pressure is one justification for the waivers Duncan laid out.

Duncan proposed granting waivers to states that set or maintain high academic standards, institute teacher evaluation systems that incorporate student achievement data and make intensive efforts to turnaround the lowest-performing 15 percent of schools.

Cassellius got ahead of the pack
Minnesota Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius got out ahead of the pack, sending Duncan a letter [PDF] articulating her plans even before guidelines for requesting a waiver had been announced. In reply, she received an invitation to a White House event at which Duncan hinted broadly that Minnesota was a shoo-in.

Given three years in which performance targets for the state’s schools do not increase, Cassellius proposed, the state will institute a more effective system for measuring student performance that not only accurately depicts a school’s performance, but actually delivers teachers information they can use to help struggling students.

“Minnesota is not proud of the persistent and unacceptable disparities in achievement between and among students that plague our state, and we are urgently focused on correcting this intolerable reality,” Cassellius wrote. “This urgency has brought us to the cusp of nation-leading reform.”

The state’s proposal [PDF] needed just a few "tweaks" to become a winning application, he said: "What you guys submitted was so close."

In recent weeks, the waivers had become the subject of any number of false starts among education policymakers, who have grown used to Duncan’s penchant for doing things at the last minute and keeping his cards close to the vest.

Last fall when he asked states to formulate plans to push struggling schools to do better, Duncan said he would announce the winners by mid-January. A second round of applications, to be submitted by states that would work from feedback on the first winners, were due a month later.

An early report said that New Mexico was the only first-round applicant that will be asked to revise and resubmit its application.

An election-year battle
Congress and the White House need to reauthorize and reform NCLB programs this year, setting up an election-year battle between Democrats and the Republican chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Minnesota’s John Kline. He has proposed a segmented approach to changing the law, and his committee passed three bills last summer doing just that. With one exception, they passed with strict partisan divisions:

The first bill eliminates more than 40 federal education programs deemed duplicative or ineffective.
The second bill makes it easier for states to develop and expand charter schools. This bill received bipartisan support.
The third bill allows local school districts to use some federal education money for purposes other than those to which it was originally dedicated.

Kline’s committee is prepping two additional bills meant to lessen the federal government’s impact in local school districts nationwide. Democrats have resisted the legislation.

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MPS contract negotiations leaving reformers frustrated | Learning Curve

Beth Hawkins — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:06:00 -0600

About half an hour into the most recent round of contract negotiations between Minneapolis Public Schools and its teachers, Bill English picked up his hat and coat and walked out, disgusted.

Co-Chair of the Council of Black Churches and one of the founders of a grass-roots campaign for contract reform, English had been sitting in on the periodic talks since they started in October.

For five years, he and other community leaders have been calling on the district and union to draft a new contract that would allow for strategies that have succeeded in closing the achievement gap in a number of other Twin Cities schools. Two years ago, they formally organized as the coalition Put Kids First Minneapolis.

Their wish list: More time in school; an end to layoffs that don't take teacher effectiveness into account; an end to the practice of forcing "excessed" teachers on schools that don't want them; the ability to hire from a wider pool of teacher candidates, and an easier path for firing underperformers.

English scanned to the bottom of the proposal on last night's agenda, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers' response to the district's most recent salvo — pathetically watered down in his opinion — and realized the counterproposal contained none of the measures he and the other members of Put Kids First Minneapolis had fought for.

Sees district as caving
The district, he charged when reached later at home, was caving.

"I think we have to urge the district to hold out," he said. "Quite frankly, I don't know why we're prepared to settle. Are they prepared to say those kids don't need the extended time they originally asked for? Are they so anxious to settle they'll settle for virtually no time at all?"

As for the union, "They just don't get it," he said. "They just don't get the need to give kids an extended day. They're committing those kids to not achieving proficiency."

And proficiency, he and others are increasingly clear, is achievable even with the most fragile student populations. MPS and a number of the city's odds-beating charter schools currently have a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant to collaborate on replicating the strategies that are working in schools like Harvest Prep Academy. Virtually all of those tactics require big changes to the teachers' contract.

"The union just doesn't seem to care," English continued. "And my response to that is damn them. Damn the union."

Lynn Nordgren

The hour that followed English's departure probably would have unnerved him completely. Federation President Lynn Nordgren walked the group through a series of handouts outlining the duties that already overburden teachers and demanding dramatic reductions in class sizes.

A bright green sheet entitled "Preparing for the year: First week for teachers," outlined 80 hours of tasks such as cleaning classroom surfaces of dust and grime, hanging up number lines, creating name tags and seating plans and sharpening pencils. A tan two-pager listed responsibilities ranging from staff meetings and special-ed paperwork to maintaining bulletin boards.

Other handouts outlined collaborative problem-solving models, committed the district to creating a respectful culture and asked for reductions to the workloads of special-education teachers. The union also asked for changes to the use of assessments and the approach of working in teams known as professional learning communities, both strategies used by odds-beating schools.

Administrators mostly listened
MPS administrators, in this case acting at the behest of a school board dominated by members elected with significant MFT support, mostly listened as union leaders outlined their proposal. Lower class sizes have long been on their wish list, too, but are wholly unattainable unless the Legislature restores tens of millions of dollars slashed from the budget.

Fifteen months ago, five new Minneapolis School Board members were chosen in an election that critics, including outgoing board members, charge was determined by union participation in Minneapolis' DFL endorsing convention.

Soon after the election the members-elect angered those critics and many other community members by signing a letter on MFT letterhead criticizing their predecessors and pledging to work collaboratively going forward.

One, Hussein Samatar, refused to sign the letter. Several others later apologized, saying they did not intend to send a signal that they had taken sides.

One week ago, the district put forth a proposal asking for a 5 percent increase in the amount of time kids spend in the district's 16 lowest performing schools, plus an additional two to three weeks of paid staff training and prep time each year for those schools' teachers.

Administrators also asked for an end to layoffs and forced placements of "excessed" teachers at the so-called high-priority schools. In addition, they agreed to a union "clean slate" proposal to reduce teacher workloads by eliminating as many burdensome, duplicative and unnecessary programs and initiatives as possible.

'Meager and narrowly focused'
English's Put Kids First co-founder, longtime MPS parent and volunteer Lynnell Mickelson, last week characterized the district's last settlement offer as "meager and narrowly focused."

"A 5 percent increase? At Harvest Prepartory, the 'beat-the-odds' public charter school in north Minneapolis, students are currently receiving 35 percent more instruction time than MPS studentsbecause Harvest Prep has a both a longer school day and school year," Mickelson wrote in an entry on the group's blog.

Harvest Prep students are overwhelmingly African American; 90 percent are on free and reduced lunch and they are outperforming white students on state reading and math tests. MPS says it wants to replicate Harvest Prep's success with underperforming students. But by only proposing a 5 percent increase, the school board can't be serious.

This is the first year that Minnesota school districts have not faced significant penalties for failing to ink contracts with their unions by Jan. 15. Led by GOP lawmakers who believed the fines disadvantage administrators in negotiations, the Legislature last year eliminated the deadline.

This year, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing for state laws mandating the reforms on Put Kids First's agenda. DFL versions would blend traditional union protections with reforms; their GOP counterparts are significantly more hostile to labor.

According to the state's largest teacher's union, Education Minnesota, some 40 percent of school districts now take factors other than seniority into account when making layoff and staffing decisions.

A long struggle
Minneapolis has struggled with the issue for years, ever since the mass teacher layoffs that began a decade ago forced the contract's staffing requirements to the forefront. The upshot: While principals have gained some flexibility to hire candidates they consider good fits in recent years, they are still forced to hire from the same pool of tenured teachers.

Reformers and MPS administrators complain that this makes it impossible for them to hire new teachers trained in gap-closing strategies or to prevent the layoff of top experienced performers.

According to a study [PDF] conducted by the teacher quality initiative The New Teacher Project in 2009, MPS schools experienced an average turnover rate of 21 percent during the three previous years, with 7 percent of teachers were laid off each of the two previous years.

Each year between 2007 and 2009, 17 percent were transferred to another school, 15 percent went on leave and 16 percent were excessed. Almost one-fourth of excessed teachers were excessed again the following year.

The practice of "excessing" teachers has been singled out both by The New Teacher Project and Put Kids First as particularly problematic. Whereas layoffs are done on a district-wide basis according to seniority within each subject area, excessing takes place at the building level.

Contractually, excessing is also done by seniority and only when a position — or its funding — is eliminated. In practice, however, it is sometimes the easiest mechanism for a principal to get rid of a problem teacher.

Excessed teachers go into a pool from which vacancies are filled. Just like teachers who transfer out of a school voluntarily, they can bid for open jobs.

Excessed teachers who are not chosen by building teams and principals are assigned to a school by human resources via a process known as "forced placement." Neither teacher nor school has any control over this last process.

Highest satisfaction with new hires
According to the 2009 study, principals report the highest level of satisfaction with new hires and the lowest with excessed teachers. Some 95 percent report being forced to accept an excessed teacher and virtually all reported losing a teacher they wanted to keep to layoff or excess.

Union leaders have countered criticisms of the practice by touting their Peer Assessment Review (PAR) process, in which underperforming teachers can get help becoming more effective or getting out. Nordgren has repeatedly put the number of teachers who have gone through PAR at 500.

From 2005 to 2009, The New Teacher Project found that only 1 percent, or 182 teachers, received assistance from Peer Assessment Review. One-fourth of those referred were denied services and another 19 percent were returned to the classroom. The rest left the district.

About half are rehired, and about half of those are then placed in new schools. More than a third of teachers change schools every four years.

Put Kids First proposed giving tenured teachers who are not selected by any school alternative work assignments for one year. If after one year they are still unable to find work within MPS they should be released with the right to re-apply at any time.

MPS' most recent proposal laid out a range of options, including the right to go into the substitute pool and buyouts. The union's counterproposal would pilot a "modified" placement system at six district schools that are currently receiving federal "turnaround" dollars, which typically require staffing changes.

The two sides will reconvene Saturday for an all-day session. Given how far the district has moved from its original proposal, English and his fellow citizen observers said last night, they are not optimistic. One of them, former board member Chris Stewart, has already turned his attention to the four board seats up for election this fall.

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Rep. Tony Cornish pushes for another constitutional amendment on ballot | Cyndy Brucato

Cyndy Brucato — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:46:00 -0600

MinnPost photo by Terry Gydesen"It's a more strict interpretation" of the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution, says Rep. Tony Cornish.

Republican legislators are pressing forward with efforts to bring constitutional amendments to the November ballot.

The most recent proposal, filed Wednesday and authored by Rep. Tony Cornish of Lake Crystal, reaffirms the right of individuals to "acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms." The legislation adds that any restriction must be subjected to "strict scrutiny."

"It's a more strict interpretation" of the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution, said Cornish.

Cornish is a veteran in this area, having authored previous gun-rights legislation, including a bill this session that allows county attorneys to carry firearms.

He's confident of the legality of the proposed constitutional amendment. "This one, every scholar that I talked to tells me, this doesn't limit a state's rights to restrict," he said. "It does not prohibit the state from regulating ownership."

Like other proposals to amend the Minnesota Constitution — making Minnesota a right-to- work state, requiring voter identification at the polls and the marriage amendment proposal passed last year — the subject matter will provoke a lively and heated debate.

Gov. Mark Dayton is no fan of constitutional amendments. He's objected not so much to the policy points of the legislation, but the fact that the bills, as constitutional amendments, bypass the governor's office and head right to the voters with no opportunity for negotiation between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Dale Carpenter, constitutional law expert, professor of civil rights and civil liberties law at the University of Minnesota Law School and a Republican, says amending the constitutional should be a rare occurrence. The need for a constitutional amendment should meet several requirements, he said.

"We must address three questions: Do we favor the public policy embodied in the amendment, is a constitutional amendment the only way to effectively address this issue, and, even it is, have we addressed it in the narrowest possible fashion?" he said

Carpenter said that Cornish's bill could pass the test, but he'd still recommend that the Legislature try to address the issue through a statute.

As to a concern, often voiced by Republicans, that judges reinterpret statutes, he said: "If we start amending our constitution in anticipation of what courts might one day do, there will be no end to the constitutional amendments that we will be passing, and it won't be just Republican-proposed amendments but Democratic-proposed."

Political realities might also have a role in how many bills make it to the voters as constitutional amendments. Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has said he wants three constitutional amendment proposals, at most, to emerge this session. Carpenter's advice — to try to pass a statute first — may be the fallback position as the legislative session progresses.

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Legislature again considers extending insurance loophole for speeding ticket | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:44:00 -0600

Since 1986, Minnesota drivers who get caught speeding in a 55 mph zone by 10 mph or less haven't had that offense reported to their insurance companies. They have to pay the fine, but it's hidden so that it won't affect rates.

It's called the Dimler Amendment, after former state Rep. Chuck Dimler of Chanhassen, who sponsored it. Changes were later made to hide tickets for anyone going 5 mph over in a 60 zone.

For several years, the state House has tried to extend this loophole so that speeding tickets for going up to 10 mph over the limit in a 60 mph zone would also be hidden from the insurance companies. But it's been hung up in the state Senate.

Advocates are pushing it again this year: It's part of a transportation bill that's been approved by the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee, says the House Public Information Services.

The State Patrol and Department of Transportation oppose the extension, saying it sends the wrong message about traffic safety laws, according to the story.

Next step: a hearing in the House Government Operations and Elections Committee.

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It's smooth sailing for higher-ed director Pogemiller at cordial confirmation hearing | Stories

James Nord — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:32:00 -0600

It's smooth sailing for higher-ed director Pogemiller at cordial confirmation hearing

MinnPost photo by James NordFormer Sen. Larry Pogemiller received unanimous committee approval at his confirmation hearing to be director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

By James Nord | Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012

There was something different in the air at former DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller's confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Democrats and Republicans were actually getting along.

Pogemiller laughed and chatted with Senate Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Michelle Fischbach and former Majority Leader Amy Koch before the meeting began.

When Fischbach gaveled the hearing to order, she first called Pogemiller "the Honorable" and then, after a pause, asked, "What do I call you now?"

"I think once a senator, always a senator," he replied.

About an hour later, members of the committee unanimously recommended him to be the director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, pending full Senate approval.

Pogemiller's hearing looked nothing like the contentious meeting last session when a Senate committee declined to recommend former Sen. Ellen Anderson for confirmation as chair the Public Utilities Commission.

The tone of the floor session to consider Pogemiller's confirmation is likely to be vastly different from the one that rejected Anderson on Jan. 30.

After Wednesday's meeting, Fischbach came up to Pogemiller and congratulated him. Someone made a comment about the lack of contentiousness in the hearing.

"We were trying really hard," Fischbach said with a laugh.

Two other Dayton appointees — the commissioners of the Office of Human Rights and the Department of Corrections — passed through committee since the Senate rejected Anderson.

It's unclear why the hearing for Pogemiller, who served in the Senate for about 30 years, wasn't more contentious – given that he frequently tangled with GOP leaders when they were in the minority.

Pogemiller declined to comment on any differences between his situation and Anderson's.

The GOP insisted that they focused squarely on Anderson's track record in determining her unfit to lead the PUC. Fischbach, also Senate president, said the confirmations were "two different situations."

"The PUC is a different kind of administration," she said. "They're regulating industries. Where OHE is implementing a lot of things that we're doing here … the PUC is a separate entity, so there's a difference there."

Calls for 'meaningful reform'
Much of the hour-long hearing focused on the Office of Higher Education's role. At points, it felt more like a legislative briefing than a job interview.

Pogemiller said he's looking to shake things up, and that he's deeply involved in discussions with MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone and University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler. He told the committee that Gov. Mark Dayton, who selected Pogemiller in October, defined his post as "not a retirement job."

Some members, such as DFL Sen. Kathy Sheran, want the OHE to shift strategies. Traditionally, the office has provided data at lawmakers' request and handled student aid but hasn't focused on making clear recommendations about what that data means.

"Clearly this office has done great data collection," Sheran said. "But my interest in the past and continues to be to utilize those markers in a way to create meaningful reform."

Discussion ranged from how students spent loan money to creating a higher-education "voucher" system to increase competition among institutions. Pogemiller answered questions about declining federal Pell grants, the state grant program and steeply rising student debt.

Sen. John Pederson, a freshman from St. Cloud, also gave a taste of what's likely to come in 2013, Pogemiller's first budget year as OHE director. Last session, Pederson and other Republicans repeatedly pressed MnSCU and U of M administrators about waste and the rising cost of attending college.

Pederson, R-St. Cloud, renewed those questions for Pogemiller.

Without specific answers from the state's colleges and universities on hand, Pogemiller said, "Next year you should ask me that same question, and I guarantee you I will have a strong opinion."

"Senator, if you come up to St. Cloud and help campaign for me," Pederson responded, "then I'll be here to ask you that question."

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Minnesota's per capita personal income compared to its neighbors | Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Louis D. Johnston — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:50:00 -0600

How is Minnesota doing compared to other states? Are we falling behind? Staying ahead? People ask these questions whenever I give a public talk. Those questions lie behind much of the policy discussion going on in St. Paul about the governor's job plan, right-to-work laws and tax policy.

Over the next few weeks, I'll take you on a guided tour of some data that sheds light on how well Minnesota is doing relative to other states and what these data imply about public policy. This week, I'll focus on one measure: per capita personal income. The take away: As Garrison Keillor says, we're above average, but it hasn't always been that way.

Minnesota in the long run
Per capita personal income equals the total amount of income earned by residents of a state divided by that state's population. (The complete definition is available here. In 2010, per capita income in Minnesota reached $42,847, while the national average hovered at $39,945 in 2010.

Per capita income is not in and of itself a measure of well-being. However, when adjusted properly for changes in prices, per capita income does tend to be positively associated with many things people value, including a high material standard of living, better health and life expectancies, and better education. These are the data I use in the figures below.

The figure below shows the raw data on Minnesota's per capita income relative to the national average. Notice the U-shaped pattern: Minnesota started out at the national average, fell below it, and then steadily climbed above the average.

Source: 1880-1920: Richard A. Easterlin, "Interregional Differences in Per Capita Income, Population, and Total Income, 1840-1950." [PDF] National Bureau of Economic Research, 1960; 1929 to present: Bureau of Economic Analysis

The line is smooth from 1880 to 1920 because we do not have annual data before 1929. Our best estimates are that Minnesota was at the national average in 1880, was slightly above in 1900, then fell to about 85 percent of the national average in 1920. Annual data begin in 1929 and confirm Minnesota's position.

Terry Fitzgerald, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, first presented the data for 1929 onward in a 2003 article which tells an important story: Starting at 85 percent of the national average, Minnesota reached parity in the 1960s and has been above average since the 1970s.

How did Minnesota become above average? We'll explore this question over the coming weeks, but here's the short version: High rates of labor force participation (especially by women), investments in human capital (such as education and health care), and investments in physical capital (both by private funders and public agencies) contributed to Minnesota's strong economic performance.

Minnesota and its neighbors
We often hear of how Minnesota must compete with its neighbors for businesses and jobs. We ultimately care about these things because they help determine our citizens' standard of living. So, how does Minnesota stack up against our neighbors, namely Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota?

Let's start by smoothing the data so that we can see the long-run trend. (For those who are interested: I applied a Hodrick-Prescott filter just as Fitzgerald did in his work.) Here is what we get for Minnesota:

Now, let's compare this with Wisconsin over the same period:

Minnesota's per capita income exceeded Wisconsin's starting in the 1960s. Not only that, but Wisconsin fell relative to the national average at the same time as Minnesota rose. Comparing Minnesota and Iowa tells a similar story:

Average income in Minnesota exceeded Iowa's in the early 1960s and never looked back.

How about the Dakotas? We hear quite often how well they are doing, so let's take a look. Here is South Dakota versus Minnesota:

South Dakota certainly grew steadily over the past 25 years, but its average income still hasn't reached the national average. Further, the high points in the late 1940s, the mid-1970s and the late 2000s all correspond to periods of high prices for agricultural commodities, pointing to a potential weakness in South Dakota's economy.

The situation is even starker when we compare Minnesota and North Dakota:

North Dakota exhibits the same patterns as South Dakota; they are exaggerated by the importance of oil and gas extraction in North Dakota and thus make their economy even more subject to booms and busts.

What about some other states?

Two states to which Minnesota is often compared are Indiana and Texas. Indiana, for example, recently passed a right-to-work law and this will no doubt be cited in our Legislature's debates on this issue. Texas is known as a low-tax, small government state that its governor, Rick Perry, cited as an example that the rest of the nation could follow.

Here is Minnesota versus Indiana:

Indiana went in exactly the opposite direction of Minnesota since World War II, with per capita income about 85 percent of the national average.

How about Texas versus Minnesota?

The Lone Star State shows a pattern similar to the Dakotas, with booms and busts in oil and farm prices driving per capita incomes. And, despite low taxes and little regulation, Texas still hasn't reached the national average in per capita income.

Implications for policy
These data are only the first pieces of a larger puzzle we must assemble in order to think about economic policy in Minnesota. However, they paint a very clear picture. First, Minnesota did well since World War II both in absolute terms and relative to our neighbors. Second, Minnesota performed better than states such as Indiana and Texas that are held up as examples of low taxes and minimal government.

Obviously, the past doesn't predict the future. It could be that the factors that made Minnesota above average no longer apply in the early 21st century. But before we enact radical reforms to improve our competitiveness, let's spend some time ensuring that we have the record straight. We'll keep assembling that record in the coming weeks.

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Beautiful February views of Minnesota wetland | Steve Date

Steve Date — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:49:00 -0600

Beautiful February views of Minnesota wetland

By Steve Date | Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012

This has been an unusual winter in the Twin Cities area. We're virtually snowless. While winter-embracers are grumbling, those of us who have never really accepted the idea that everything should be covered in a blanket of white from November to April are calling this brown winter a dream come true.

I visited several wetland areas over the weekend and found some odd (for Minnesota) but beautiful February views. These photos were shot at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield and Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul.

With a winter like this, golf can't be far off, right?

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Tax-base sharing law gets a closer look in Twin Cities | Cityscape by Steven Dornfeld

Steven Dornfeld — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:03:00 -0600

The first comprehensive study of Fiscal Disparities Act is likely to trigger new efforts by some of the more affluent suburbs to make changes or even repeal the Twin Cities' unique tax-base sharing law.

The 234-page study was completed at the direction of the Legislature by TischlerBise, a fiscal, economic and planning consulting firm based in Bethesda, Md. It was posted last week on the Minnesota Revenue Department's website and will be the subject of legislative hearings next week.

The Fiscal Disparities Act, which was enacted in 1971, requires all communities in seven-county area to share 40 percent of the annual growth in their commercial-industrial tax base. The tax base is redistributed to communities under a formula based on their fiscal capacity to provide urban services.

The idea was to reduce the disparities between the "haves" and the "have-nots" — communities with a lot of commercial-industrial property and those lacking in such development — with the goal of helping have-not communities provide adequate public services.

In addition to reducing disparities, the measure was intended to:

Reduce the competition among metro communities for economic development, just for the sake of development.
Protect the environment by discouraging development on unsuitable land for tax reasons.
Provide a mechanism for sharing the benefits of major regional facilities — such as power plants and shopping malls — that have a regional customer base.
Reduce the fiscal impact of regional decisions such as where highways and transit lines are located.
Reduce the obstacles to siting regional parks and other tax-exempt facilities.

Target of attacks
The law took effect in 1975 after surviving two court challenges. However, it has been the target of periodic legislative attacks in the years since.

Past studies by the Metropolitan Council indicate that the disparities in commercial-industrial tax base per capita among communities with population over 10,000 are now 3 to 1. In the absence of the law, the disparities would be 10 to 1.

Source: House Research and MN Dept. of RevenueCurrently, the regional tax-base pool represents about 39 percent of the region's total C/I tax base and 12 percent of its entire tax base (residential included).

Currently, the regional tax-base pool represents about 39 percent of the region's total C/I tax base and 12 percent of its entire tax base (residential included).

The city of St. Paul historically has been the largest single beneficiary of the law. In 2011, the next largest gainers were Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Coon Rapids and Andover. Minneapolis switched to being a net loser in 2011 after being a net gainer from 2002 through 2010.

The TischlerBise study was ordered by the Legislature at the urging of the Municipal Legislative Commission, a lobbying group representing 16 of the region's larger and more affluent cities. Ten of its members are among the 20 largest net losers under the law. They include Bloomington, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Edina, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth and Woodbury.

The study doesn't draw a lot of conclusions. However, it contains a wealth of numbers that could be used by critics of the law.

One problem with the study is that many of the numbers it provides offer comparisons among counties rather than municipalities, masking the true impact of the law.

For example, if the law were repealed, the study indicates that the average tax rates in Hennepin County would fall by1.5 percent while rising in every other county — with Anoka County experiencing the largest increase, a hefty 16 percent.

However, there would be huge variations within counties depending upon the composition of the tax base within each of them. In Hennepin County, for example, the tax rate in Bloomington would decline by 14.7 percent while rising by 15.3 percent in Brooklyn Center, which is nobody's idea of a wealthy community.

Costs for various developments
The study includes an interesting effort to examine the costs of various types of development and whether that development generates sufficient revenue to pay for the public services it requires.

The report indicates, in general, that office, industrial and higher-valued homes generate more than enough revenue to pay for the public services they require, while retail development, public institutions and all other types of housing (lower-value homes, apartments and condominiums) do not.

These findings could generate calls for changes in the law from Bloomington and other cities that now are required to share tax base from large retail centers located within their boundaries.

Julie Herlandsand L. Carson Bise of TischlerBise will testify before the House and Senate Tax Committees Feb. 15 and 16 to discuss the study.

In a newsletter last week to her members, Patricia Nauman, executive director of Metro Cities, said she does not expect major changes to the Fiscal Disparities Act this session.

"The session is on a fast track, with a slated late April adjournment, and the program study … is chock full of complex analysis and detail," Nauman said. Metro Cities, which supports the Fiscal Disparities law, represents 79 cities that encompass 90 percent of the metro area's total population.

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After one last battle, House passes the STOCK Act | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:51:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed Rep. Tim Walz’s STOCK Act 417-2 on Thursday, but for such a significant legislative victory and the strong bipartisan the bill inspired, no one seemed to be particularly excited about it.

The House-passed bill, which bans lawmakers and staffers from trading stock based on non-public information, looks much different than the one Walz introduced to little fanfare last spring. The underlying purpose is intact, but in the legislative hustle to pass the highly popular bill, introduced to the public in a "60 Minutes" segment last fall, new sections were quickly added and, in some cases, even more quickly taken away. Supporters worry that the end product is not as strong as it could be.

REUTERS/Yuri GripasRep. Tim Walz

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the STOCK Act last week, inserting provisions that apply the bill to both the executive branch and firms specializing in “political intelligence,” the gleaning of insider tips from lawmakers and staff and using them for profit. Good government advocates vigorously supported the bill, which in certain ways was stronger and more expansive than the one Walz originally proposed.

But House leadership stripped the political intelligence provision, among others, and added a section that would ban lawmakers from getting a head start on initial public offerings of stock (it’s been dubbed the “Nancy Pelosi provision” after the "60 Minutes" report alleged she wrongfully benefitted from one such IPO in 2008. Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, said on Twitter Wednesday that she supports the provision). The House voted on the legislation on Thursday under procedural rules preventing lawmakers from amending the bill, a point not lost on the bill’s original backers.

Walz and STOCK Act co-sponsor Louise Slaughter said they were disappointed more by the process than the bill it produced, even if they contended it’s weaker than it could be. In a press conference Wednesday, the pair hit House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for filing the bill “in the dark of night” and closing off the amendment process, which Slaughter said could have lead to the reinstatement of the political intelligence provision. They insisted that a conference committee convene to iron out any differences between the two bills once the House approved it is version on Thursday, which, with nearly 300 co-sponsors, is almost a certainty.

But frustrations aside, Walz said he was happy to see the legislation nearing passage, and he offered an olive branch to Cantor.

“I will always come to the conclusion that my bill was stronger, but that’s not the way it works around here,” Walz said. “You’ve got to be able to get people together. I think the leader’s making a good faith effort.”

Political Intelligence
The Senate version of the STOCK Act would subject political intelligence consultants to registration and reporting standards similar to those that apply to federal lobbyists to lobbyists.

The Senate passed the amendment on a 60-39 vote (both Minnesota senators voted yes), but against the wishes of both Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who opposed it.

After the Senate passed its bill (by a 96-3 vote), lawmakers and outside lobbying groups raised concerns that the political intelligence provision was too broad and could risk ensnaring innocent outside parties who might be privy to otherwise non-public information, like journalists and even groups listening to lawmakers’ speeches, opening them up to harsh penalties if they acted on the information they received.

“This provision was extremely broad and its impact would have raised more questions than it answered,” Cantor spokeswoman Laena Fallon said. “Worse, the unintended consequences of the provision could have affected the first amendment rights of everyone participating in local Rotaries to national media conglomerates.”

After Cantor posted his bill online, without the political intelligence provision, the blowback was swift.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who introduced the Senate amendment, called it “astonishing and extremely disappointing.”

“If Congress delays action, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows, just the way Wall Street likes it,” Grassley, a Republican, said in a statement.

Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called the bill a “sham” and accused Cantor of “trying to take credit for finally responding to an issue that has outraged Americans, while behind closed doors he has taken the side of Wall Street and neutered the tough Senate bill.”

In the end, the House bill requires a study on the real impact of political intelligence firms, which Walz said could spur further legislation in the future.

A small step 'in the right direction'
But despite its bipartisan appeal, and the blessing of its lead sponsors, the STOCK Act remains a political pawn in the larger game of right versus left.

White House spokesman Jay Carney started his Wednesday press briefing by admonishing Republicans, saying he was “shocked to see that even this simple bill … that would ensure that everyone plays by the rules is being weakened, behind closed doors, by House Republicans, who seem to be caving to pressure from Wall Street lobbyists.” By Wednesday evening, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had encouraged supporters to sign a petition insisting the bill’s strongest provisions are reinstated before Thursday’s vote.

Cantor called Walz to discuss the STOCK Act on Wednesday, and by all accounts, the pair had a constructive conversation. Walz said he’ll still push for a conference committee to strengthen the bill to his liking, but given Congressional leadership's bipartisan opposition, he thinks it’s unlikely to reinstate the political intelligence restrictions. He's at peace with seeing the STOCK Act enacted in its current form, which in some ways (the IPO provision and one requiring lawmakers to disclose the details of their mortgages) add to Walz’s original bill.

“We certainly took a step,” Walz said. “Some would argue a small step, but that’s fine. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@ minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

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Voter ID foes target business groups' campaign contributions | Political Agenda

James Nord — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:44:00 -0600

MinnPost photo by James NordTakeAction Minnesota Executive Director Dan McGrath speaking at Wednesday's press conference.

Voter ID opponents continued their efforts Wednesday to derail the proposal, releasing a report (PDF) that claims Minnesota bankers contributed to state GOP campaigns with the intent of disenfranchising some voters.

TakeAction Minnesota, which opposes a proposed Voter ID constitutional amendment, said its review of campaign data links financial contributions from bank executives and conservative groups to candidates who support the controversial amendment.

Dan McGrath, the group’s executive director, said that the bank executives support a Voter ID amendment in order to suppress voters who don’t agree with a low-tax, pro-business environment.

But he had to backtrack when reporters pressed him to prove that the groups simply weren’t making contributions in support of the overall Republican platform.

McGrath, in response, said the groups are “moving an agenda that is, in part, aimed at restricting access to the polls.”

According to TakeAction, executives from banks — through conservative political organizations — supported Republican candidates with more than $360,000 in independent expenditures in 2010.

“Wells Fargo, TCF and U.S. Bank executives and their board members have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to members of the Minnesota Legislature, the Republican caucus, to make it harder for the rest of the 99 percent of the population to vote,” McGrath said.

The report also said that House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Majority Leader Matt Dean are part of a national organization that is pushing Voter ID.

McGrath also singled out at least three business groups for their efforts: the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

Initial calls to the communications departments of the Coalition and the Partnership, which have the same spokesman and list their offices at the same address, weren’t returned.

The Take Action report builds on opposition to the measure from DFLers, faith groups and elected officials. A rally is planned for Thursday.

It appears likely that Voter ID will move forward, and Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has said he’s confident the amendment will pass and be put on the November ballot.

TakeAction Minnesota is a donor-funded group also supported by labor unions and foundations.

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About 50,000 Republicans voted in Minnesota caucuses | Political Agenda

Joe Kimball — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:36:00 -0600

It's much easier to vote in a primary election than it is to attend an evening caucus and listen to party platforms and speeches.

Which partially explains these numbers: With nearly all the results tallied at midday, about 49,000 people voted in the non-binding tally for a presidential candidate last night at the Republican caucuses in Minnesota, the Secretary of State's Office reports.

Rick Santorum's victory came with nearly 22,000 of those votes.

By contrast, in the August 2010 Republican primary for governor, Tom Emmer received 107,558 votes, out of about 130,000 votes cast in the Republican tally.

Last night's tally, with 97.5 percent of precincts reporting as of noon:

Rick Santorum, 21,843 votes, 44.98%
Ron Paul, 13,161 votes, 27.10%
Mitt Romney, 8,187 votes, 16.86%
Newt Gingrich, 5,232 votes 10.77%
Write-ins: 141 votes, 0.29%

At least we beat Nevada, which had about 33,000 caucus voters on Saturday. But in last night's Republican caucuses in Colorado, another Santorum victory, more than 65,000 people voted.

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Black History Month gets major emphasis in St. Paul | Two Cities

Joe Kimball — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:24:00 -0600

Black History Month, which gets special emphasis every year in St. Paul, again has a noteworthy schedule of speeches and presentations on tap this month.

Alyssa Wetzel-Moore, a human rights specialist for the city, said the tradition of putting together a major program each February dates to the era of former Mayor Jim Scheibel in the early 1990s.

Scheibel was known for promoting diversity in the city and championing social justice.

This year's Black History Month programs, sponsored by the city and Ramsey County, are in the lower level of St. Paul City Hall/Courthouse:

Feb. 10, noon to 1 p.m.: Roxanne Givens on "The Founding of Minnesota’s African-American History Museum,” and Frank White on "They Played for the Love of the Game — Adding to the Legacy of Minnesota Black Baseball."
Feb. 17, Noon to 1 p.m.: “What’s Up With the Brothers — From Marginalization to Empowerment,” by Dr. Whitney Stewart-Harris, executive director, Diversity and Multiculturalism, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
Feb. 24, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Robin Hickman on “Walking in the Footsteps of Gordon Parks: Preserving His Legacy." Hickmann is Parks' niece. Lunch will be available for $10 from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

The St. Paul Library system also has several Black History Month programs coming up:

Thursday, 7 p.m., Rondo Library, 461 N. Dale St.: Local African-American literature experts will discuss Walter Mosley's books.
Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Merriam Park Library, 1831 Marshall Ave.: Showing and discussion of the film “More than a Month," a tongue-in-cheek look at the complexity and contradictions of relegating an entire group’s history to one month.
Feb. 22, 6:45 p.m., Highland Park Library: Highland Park Book Club discussion of Walter Mosley's “Known to Evil.”
Feb. 25, 2 p.m., Arlington Hills Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., discussion of Mosley's nonfiction book: “Twelve Steps toward Political Revelation.”
Feb. 26, 2 p.m. Central Library, 90 W. Fourth St.: Lou and Sarah Bellamy of the Penumbra Theater discuss the upcoming production “The Amen Corner,” by James Baldwin.

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Regionalism the key to stadium fairness, Mayor Chris Coleman says | Two Cities

Joe Kimball — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:28:00 -0600

Still concerned that plans for a new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis could lead, indirectly, to big problems for St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman has again made a plea for a regional look at how decisions like that are made.

The big concern: Minneapolis officials want to tie a stadium deal to paying for renovations to the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. Doing so would help Target better compete against St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center for concerts, shows and sporting events.

(Coleman also thinks it is superfluous to have two municipal arenas in one metropolitan area and would like to see Target Center demolished, but that would mean bringing the Timberwolves to St. Paul, and that ain't gonna happen.)

In a message to city residents this week, Coleman outlines his concerns and calls for a spirit of regionalism in the stadium issue, much the same as the metro counties handle transportation issues.

Coleman's message:

Six years ago, when I first started this job, the Mayor of Minneapolis and I did something that was mostly unheard of for our two cities — we had breakfast.

At that breakfast, we talked about our kids, our cities, and discussed ways we, as mayors, can work together for the betterment of our community. Looking forward, we knew how important the idea of regionalism would be to creating jobs, keeping our neighborhoods safe, and promoting our towns.

In that spirit of cooperation, we brought the RNC to the metro area. We formed Greater MSP, a regional organization that focuses on economic growth and brings business to the area. We created the Counties Transit Improvement Board, a regional board that coordinates public transportation projects throughout the Twin Cities metro area. Soon, the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in the State of Minnesota will be complete, and our downtowns will be connected by the Central Corridor light rail line.

Discussions now taking place at the Capitol are attempting to tie a new Vikings stadium to renovations at the Target Center. Using funds to update an aged facility that directly competes with a state-of-the-art facility, the Xcel Energy Center in downtown Saint Paul, is not in the best interest of the state. With a population of 3.3 million people, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region is the smallest market housing competing arenas, placing our region and facilities at a competitive disadvantage. For too long our region has been competing against each other rather than working together, and using taxpayer dollars to continue that unsustainable challenge is unwise.

I believe a comprehensive approach to investment in statewide facilities needs to be taken before we commit additional taxpayer resources. It is extremely important that when taxpayer dollars are expended, there is regional equity in those expenditures, and the region isn’t harmed for the benefit of one city. A solution would not only provide equitable distribution of funds, but it would also incorporate stadium governance for the Minneapolis/Saint Paul region (to allow the Target Center and the Xcel Energy Center to compete with arenas around the country and not each other).

As plans start to firm up at the Legislature, I hope there is a renewed conversation about the importance of regionalism. A comprehensive approach to investment in statewide facilities that is even and fair is what’s best for Saint Paul, for the Twin Cities and for our state.

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Michele Bachmann must overcome debt burden in re-election bid | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:16:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — In her book, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gushes with pride at the way she and her husband, Marcus, were able to quickly pay down their college loan debt.

“I had zero debt when I graduated college; Marcus owed $1,500,” she writes. “Our first paychecks went to pay off his student loan debt, and by Christmas, we were 100 percent debt free. ... Frugality and taking good care of things we had — that’s all in my blood.”

Frugality may be in Bachmann’s blood, but it’s not in her campaign’s balance sheets. Bachmann’s presidential run left her campaign arm nearly $450,000 in debt, a sum promising to test the reliability of one of politics’ best fundraising bases.

REUTERS/Alex GallardoRep. Michele Bachmann

Bachmann raised more than $10.1 million for her presidential bid from contributors often donating no more than a hundred dollars each. She has one of the best grass-roots fundraising organizations of any House member — they made Bachmann’s 2010 re-election campaign the richest in history in 2010 — but the question is whether they’re willing to finance both a House re-election bid and Bachmann’s debt service after donating to a short-lived long-shot presidential campaign.

Appealing to small donors
Bachmann already has begun trying to replenish her depleted war chest. She sent out a note to supporters last week asking for contributions (small ones: $25 to $250) using a donor list that swelled while on the presidential campaign trail. Her new re-election campaign manager, Chase Kroll, said the results have been positive.

“One of the benefits of the presidential run was the significant expansion of her already impressive donor base,” he said in an email. “Avoiding specifics, I can tell you that the last fortnight has demonstrated the productivity of that new list. We remain highly confident in our fundraising.”

But Bachmann was already a national fundraiser before her presidential run, often attracting larger donations nationally than in Minnesota: 69 percent of contributions larger than $200 came from out-of-state donors in 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Beyond that, much of Bachmann’s base consists of relentlessly small donors who have supported her because she was a rising tea party figure. Now that she’s balancing a House re-election campaign and the remnants of her presidential bid, she must convince those small donors that she’s not only deserving of their normal campaign contributions, but actually worthy of more financial support than they would have given in the past. That’s not an easy argument to make, given the embarrassing ending to her presidential campaign.

“When she ran for Congress two years ago, she was a rising star and people want to give money to rising stars,” Hamline University law professor David Schultz said of Bachmann’s 2010 run, when she raised $13.5 million. “She clearly doesn’t have the same star quality that she had two years ago that made it a lot easier to raise a lot of money.”

Also at play: the make-up of Bachmann’s district. A state court panel will unveil new congressional district lines later this month, and Bachmann’s 6th district needs to shed 100,000 voters. If the new lines are overly favorable to Republicans and scare off viable DFL competition, Bachmann might struggle to convince donors that she truly needs their support. But if Democrats are able to field a reputable challenger (or, worst case for her, if Bachmann is redistricted into neighboring Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum’s district), it could inspire larger contributions.

“If she’s in a really intense, bitterly fought battle, that might make it easier for her to make money,” Schultz said.

No repayment deadline
Legally, there’s no rush for Bachmann to pay off her presidential debts immediately. Indebted candidates can carry their debt for years, as long as they’re eventually able to keep their commitments to their vendors. Hillary Clinton, who racked up more than $25 million in debt during her primary battle with Barack Obama in 2008, still owes her campaign adviser’s firm $245,000, according to her most recent FEC filing.

“It’s not at all unusual for presidential candidates to have years elapse before everything is closed out,” Center for Responsive Politics senior analyst Bob Biersack said. “It can linger for a long period of time.”

Bachmann, obviously, has a much lighter debt burden than Clinton and still has fundraising momentum, given her decision to run for re-election to the House. Former presidential candidates who carry debt and have no back-up plan politically tend to have a tougher go at it.

But Biersack said most follow the model former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has adapted — liquidate resources, secure refunds for prepaid services, sell such assets as the campaign’s supporter database (which, in Pawlenty’s case, fetched a cool $45,000 from former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s American Action Network) and rely on donations from supporters and even former foes, who often encourage their backers to give financial support to fallen rivals.

Pawlenty, for example, received $66,000 from Mitt Romney cohorts during the last fundraising quarter, part of a $400,000 haul Pawlenty used to cut his post-campaign debt from $450,000 to just over $100,000 in three months.

But for Pawlenty, time is of the essence, Schultz said, since donors eventually look to direct their contributions to active candidates.

In that sense, Bachmann has plenty of time to inspire financial support from her backers. Now it’s a matter of whether they’re willing and able to help her pay her debts.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

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Bachmann parts ways with long-time staffer | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:53:00 -0600

Michele Bachmann has parted ways with Andy Parrish, one of her long-time staffers and confidants.

Parrish was Bachmann's chief of staff until June when he departed her congressional office to work on her presidential campaign. He had worked on other Bachmann campaigns dating back to her initial 2006 run for Congress.

In October, he left Bachmann's presidential campaign and returned to her congressional staff as "special projects coordinator." His last day with the office was Friday, according to a spokeswoman.

Parrish told the Star Tribune he was informed Bachmann was “going in a new direction” and that he was “not part of the direction.” Bachmann’s office would not discuss the circumstances of Parrish’s departure.

Bachmann was a history of high turnover among her staffers. In October, her communications director and former presidential campaign staffer Doug Sachtleben left her office to work for a Louisiana congressman.

Update: Another Bachmann congressional staffer is leaving the office today, though he'll remain in her political organization.

Chase Kroll was named Bachmann's re-election campaign manager on Monday. He is currently Bachmann's legislative adviser and worked as her campaign's political director in 2010.

Coincidentally, the Sunlight Foundation released an analysis of staff turnover among House members today, showing Bachmann with the fifth highest turnover rate among the 329 members it studied. Bachmann had 17 staffers in the third quarter of 2009; only 5 of them remained on her payroll through the end of September.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.

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Santorum SuperPAC to air ads in Minnesota | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:59:00 -0600

A SuperPAC backing Rick Santorum's presidential campaign will begin airing a 30-second ad in Minnesota tying rivals Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney to President Barack Obama.

The Right, White and Blue Fund purchased $133,000 of air time to run the ad, the group's first negative spot, according to the Washington Post. The group also made a $61,000 ad buy in Missouri.

The Minnesota ad features a 10-second shot of Romney and Gingrich superimposed behind Obama. A narrator ominously warns, "they're not so different," before the focus shifts to Santorum's conservative chops.

The Minnesota caucuses are on Tuesday.

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Walz looks to force House action on the STOCK Act | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:20:00 -0600

WASHINGTON — The sponsors of the STOCK Act, a bill to ban lawmakers from using nonpublic information they receive in their official capacities to profit off of the stock market, will use a rarely successful procedural maneuver called a “discharge petition” to try forcing the House of Representatives to vote on the bill.

Rep. Tim Walz, a Minnesota Democrat who is the author of the bill, announced the decision on Wednesday afternoon as the Senate was debating its version of the STOCK Act. The Senate voted 93-2 to consider the bill on Monday and President Barack Obama has said he supports it. The House bill version has 271 co-sponsors, more than enough to pass the bill.

It’s rare for lawmakers to file a discharge petition, and rarer still for one to work. A majority of the House, 218 members, must publicly sign a discharge petition before it takes effect, dislodging a bill from committee consideration and bringing it directly to the floor for debate and a vote. The last successful discharge petition came in 2002; two introduced this Congress have so far fallen well short of passage.

Discharge petitions are commonly used when leadership or committee chairs refuse to consider or vote on a bill. Because they require the support of the majority of the House, it’s usually unnecessary for the majority to use a discharge petition to bring up legislation; if a party has enough votes in its caucus to pass a bill, leadership is usually willing to bring it to a vote.

But Democrats have spearheaded the STOCK Act, and though nearly 100 Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors, the bill’s original proponents, like Walz and fellow sponsor Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York , said they’re frustrated that it hasn’t progressed faster than it has.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Tuesday that he wants a stronger bill than the one under consideration in the Senate, and that if the Senate didn’t modify it, specifically by extending it to cover members of the executive branch, the House would. Cantor said he is aiming to bring the bill to the floor in February.

Walz said the petition will be formally introduced this evening.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

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Minnesota congressional incumbents report a huge financial edge | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:35:00 -0600

REUTERS/Hyungwon KangSen. Amy Klobuchar

WASHINGTON — The fourth-quarter fundraising numbers for Minnesota’s congressional candidates are in, and the incumbents have a large early fundraising advantage.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar has $4.6 million on hand for her re-election bid, giving her a financial advantage over her Republican opponents that’s equally as daunting as her early polling edge.

• Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign ended $1.05 million in debt. She has $615,000 in cash on hand, so she’ll start her House re-election campaign nearly $450,000 in debt.

• Not many congressional races are expected to be competitive next fall, but in the ones that are, the incumbents have a large early fundraising advantage. First District Democrat Tim Walz has $617,000 in the bank, compared with Republican state Sen. Mike Parry, who has $29,000 in the bank after the first two months of his campaign. Republican Chip Cravaack of the 8th District has a $240,000 advantage on his closest Democratic challenger, Tarryl Clark.

• Speaking of Clark, she raised $530,000 since May, which is $70,000 less than what she raised in the last half of 2009, when she was running against the much higher-profile Michele Bachmann.

• The seven Minnesotans who spent the fourth quarter actively seeking re-election to the House of Representatives collectively outraised their opponents by more than $1 million.

On to the numbers, which cover the October-to-December fundraising period:

U.S. Senate
Sen. Amy Klobuchar has $4.6 million in the bank after raising $1 million in the quarter. Klobuchar’s fundraising abilities have been consistent all year long; she raised at least $1 million, but no more than $1.1 million, during each quarter in 2011.

The FEC had published fundraising totals for only one of her potential opponents on Tuesday. Former state Rep. Dan Severson raised $46,300 and has $34,000 on hand.

Klobuchar is considered one of the safest incumbent Democratic senators going into this fall’s election. She is polling 20 points higher than each of her Republican challengers, including Severson, St. Bonifacius City Council Member Joe Arwood and activist Anthony Hernandez.

1st District
Democratic Rep. Tim Walz raised $209,000 last quarter and has $617,000 on hand.

Both of Walz’s Republican opponents, Mike Parry and Al Quist, announced their candidacies in November and filed their first fundraising reports of the cycle. Parry raised $32,500 and has more than $29,000 on hand. Quist raised a mere $2,200 and lent his campaign $4,000. He has $5,500 on hand.

Walz is one of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s two main targets in Minnesota next fall.

Rep. John Kline

2nd District
Republican Rep. John Kline raised $260,000 and has $873,000 on hand, the second best cash-on-hand total in the delegation. Kline’s 2011 fundraising total ($1.02 million) is 40 percent higher than it was at that point in the 2009-10 election cycle, thanks in large part to the added attention he receives as a committee chairman.

Democrats have yet to field a candidate to challenge Kline.

3rd District
Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen continues to show his fundraising chops, raising $316,500 last quarter. He has just more than $1 million in the bank, the best figure of any House incumbent in Minnesota. Paulsen sits on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and has been an active supporter of the medical technology industry, opening him up for contributions from deep-pocketed donors.

Paulsen’s fundraising advantage over his two DFL opponents is simply massive. Navy veteran Brian Barnes has only $28,000 on hand and small business owner Sharon Sund has about half that.

4th District
The two Democrats representing the Twin Cities had their best fundraising quarters of the year this fall. St. Paul-based Betty McCollum raised $128,200 between October and December and has $175,300 in the bank.

Daniel Flood, her long-shot Republican challenger, raised only $4,000 last quarter. He has $1,200 on hand.

5th District
Over in Minneapolis, Keith Ellison raised $243,000 during the fourth quarter. His campaign has $142,000 on hand.

Both of Ellison’s Republican opponents have less than $10,000 in cash. Former Marine Chris Fields raised $20,300 last quarter and has $8,400 on hand. Lawyer and activist Lynne Torgerson has $6,500 in the bank after raising nearly $12,000 in the fourth quarter.

6th District
Michele Bachmann announced last week that she would run for re-election to her House seat. The 6th District needs to shed about 100,000 residents through redistricting, and given the uncertainty surrounding the district’s new lines, no Democrat has stepped up to run against Bachmann, whose fundraising skills makes her a formidable opponent regardless of the district’s boundaries.

But Bachmann will kick off her re-election bid nearly $450,000 in the red, her presidential campaign having racked up more than $1 million in debt. Bachmann has nearly $615,000 in cash between her two presidential campaign committees, and both the cash and the debt will transfer over to her congressional campaign.

If Democrats think Bachmann’s debt makes her at all vulnerable, you might see a top-flight candidate look to challenge the third-term congresswoman this fall. Really, though, it’s hard to predict electoral scenarios in the 6th until the district lines are finalized.

7th District
Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson has $676,000 on hand after raising $114,000 last quarter. At the moment, he’s staring at a rematch with Republican Lee Byberg, who raised $54,000 last quarter and has $128,600 on hand. Byberg still hasn’t paid off the $76,000 in debt he took on in 2010, when Peterson defeated him by 18 points.

8th District
Chip Cravaack has amassed a respectable war chest heading into what’s likely to be a tough re-election contest. The first-term Republican raised $206,000 last quarter and has $515,000 in the bank. In total, Cravaack raised $744,000 in 2011, more than the three Democrats looking to challenge him combined.

Among the DFL trio, former state Sen. Tarryl Clark has the best fundraising numbers by far. She pulled in $161,000 last quarter and has $275,000 on hand. Since May, Clark raised $530,000.

Former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan raised $60,000 during the fourth quarter and has $35,800 on hand. Duluth City Council Memmber Jeff Anderson raised $22,000 and has $13,000 in the bank.

The new redistricting lines will largely determine the competitiveness of this race. If the new 8th District contains Duluth and the Democratic-leaning blue-collar areas around it, outside spending on this race will be mammoth.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

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Bachmann presidential campaign ends in the red | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0600

Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign is more than $1 million in debt, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

The campaign raised more than $1.7 million and spent more than $2.6 million between October and December. Bachmann's campaign ended with $1.05 million in outstanding debt, and nearly $615,000 in cash-on-hand between her main presidential campaign committee and a secondary authorized committee.

Bachmann dropped out of the presidential race on Jan. 4 after a 6th place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Last week, she announced that she will seek re-election to her U.S. House seat. Contributions and debt are transferable between presidential and congressional campaigns, meaning Bachmann will start her re-election bid nearly $450,000 in the red.

In total, Bachmann raised $10.1 million from 24,825 contributors during her presidential run.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com

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Pawlenty still $100,000 in debt | Devin Henry

Devin Henry — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0600

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty still has to pay off $103,000 in debt accrued by his presidential campaign, which ended in August.

Pawlenty raised $400,000 between October and December and spent nearly $374,000 during that time, according to new Federal Election Commission data. Pawlenty's debt stood at more than $450,000 in October.

Pawlenty's contributions included $45,000 from the American Action Network, a political action committee run by former Sen. Norm Coleman. The group purchased the Pawlenty campaign's supporter database.

Mitt Romney's family also donated heavily to Pawlenty, who endorsed the former Massachusetts governor in September. Fourteen Romneys donated a total of $33,000 to Pawlenty between October and December. Politico notes that Romney campaign staff, donors and business associates contributed to Pawlenty as well, bringing the total haul to $66,000.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.

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Reserve your spot at the third annual Book Club Blast | Book Club Club

Audra Otto — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:42:00 -0600

Bibliophiles young and old are invited to MinnPost's third annual Book Club Blast on Sunday, Feb. 12, featuring keynote speaker Kate DiCamillo, the award-winning author of "The Magician's Elephant," "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane," "The Tale of Despereaux," "Because of Winn-Dixie" and many other beloved and unforgettable tales.

An event designed for book lovers, book clubbers, and writers at all stages of their careers, the Book Club Blast offers fun and informative breakout sessions featuring authors Matthew Batt, David Cass, Jack El-Hai, Paul Metsa and Sarah Stonich; publishing industry experts from University of Minnesota Press and Beaver's Pond Press; MinnPost arts editor Susan Albright; and local book club facilitators and specialists.

Visit the Book Club Blast page to view the program, breakout session descriptions, speaker bios, our fabulous door prizes and registration information.

Don't miss this remarkable opportunity to meet, converse with, and learn from this year's stellar line up of Minnesota authors and speakers.

Space is limited — reserve your spot now.

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