DFL Education Foundation

Potholes, Politics, and the Rest of Us

By Arvonne Fraser

It may be mean, but I hope the next time someone utters the phrase, “no new taxes,” he encounters a huge pothole he can’t avoid and soon discovers his Toyota needs a front end realignment job.  Or, possibly, we should simply tell purveyors of that popular phrase that we will settle for old taxes, thank you, such as the progressive income tax.  Then our governments might have enough money to fix those potholes and save us taxpayers some money on car repairs. 

It’s that time of year.  We become morose, maybe even mean and nasty.  Winter has gone on too long, the snow is dirty, and we face April 15 tax deadlines.  The best news I’ve heard lately is from a conservative, David Brooks, on public TV chatting with Charlie Rose.  Brooks asserted that our problems today are not social, but governmental.  Voters ask for programs but don’t want to pay for them, Brooks said. 

Preview (3/13): Charles Carlson of Metro Transit

MARCH 13 Transit Talk with Charles Carlson Saturday, Mar 13 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) Charles Carlson, Facilities Planner for Metro Transit, will give us a tour of his current projects and lead our conversation on additional topics. First, we'll talk about recent changes in downtown Minneapolis, and the implications of transit needs and investments for residential development, commercial businesses, and ridership satisfaction. Charles will then lead us in a conversation about the current status of regional transitways, such as the Central Corridor line and the proposed Southwest and Bottineau lines. Lastly, we'll learn about Arterial Bus Rapid Transit and how this concept can provide faster travel with better service and better stations along our highest ridership urban corridors. Charles is a facilities planner with Metro Transit Engineering & Facilities. He has worked for the Metropolitan Council and Metro Transit for five years on transportation policy, planning, and programming. Charles is a longtime resident of Minneapolis and has a bachelor’s degree in geography and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree, both from the University of Minnesota. *** Only 3 blocks north up E. Hennepin Avenue (County Road 52) from our old meeting place, and a half block west. As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Remembering Board Member Dwaine Lindberg

Few members of the DFL Education Foundation board bring such a rich history and tireless dedication as did Dwaine Lindberg.  Dwaine died on January 7 and will be sorely missed.  See his obituary from the Star Tribune and watch the video tribute to Dwaine below.  (please contact us if you have a better photo of Dwaine)

Video: The Eagle and the Bear by Tom Hanson

In January, 2009, foreign affairs officer Tom Hanson presented on Obama's foreign affairs challenge (audio here) at our Stone Arch Discussion group (see future Stone Arch events here).  His presentation was so good that we invited him back in May for a special event, and the video is now available, right here:

February News and Events (a bit late)

UPCOMING EVENTS (details below)

FEB 13: [Stone Arch] David Gee of Minnesota Business magazine FEB 19: [Achievement Gap] Community Schools [Downtown] Our organizer retired - can you help? See Event Calendar for details

EVENT RECAPS

Rep. Loeffler: How Should We Address Taxes in Minnesota?: audio and recap Iric Nathanson on Minneapolis in the 20th Century: audio and recap John Kaul shares a progressive lobbyist's perspective of 2010: audio and recap Joel Kramer on the Future of American Journalism: audio and recap

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Events 2/11 - Iran - What Lies Ahead 2/19 - The Way Forward: Cooperation and Collaboration in the Age of Climate Shift 2/29 - Minnesota Renewable Energy Society 30th Anniversary Gala See Progressive Issues Calendar for event details and more events Articles Sparking a Savings Revolution In the New Decade, Let's Invest in the Common Good Wealth for the Common Good Minnesota's Moratorium on New Nuclear Plants - Should it Continue? Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free makes sense in the United States Debate on reprocessing of nuclear waste Supreme Court rejects limits on corporate spending on political campaigns A History of Expanding Corporate Rights Legal Arguments in the Supreme Court Case Money Isn't Speech and Corporations Aren't People Senator Feingold on the Corporate Spending Decision Website and petition supporting a constitutional amendment to ban corporate spending in elections

Preview (2/13): David Gee of Minnesota Business

FEBRUARY 13 Publishing and Business Trends with Minnesota Business editor David Gee Saturday, Feb 13 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) David Gee is the Executive Editor of Minnesota Business magazine and Principal at strategic communications firm G-Force Communications. David, on the heels of the recent bankruptcy of Morris Communications, is sharing concerns he has about reading trends, the viability of journalism and the challenges of covering business trends while the publishing industry is simultaneously under siege. He can also take questions and share anecdotes on the business environment in Minnesota. See some of his recent articles at minnesotabusiness.com: Winds of Change - Juhl Wind is helping rural Minnesota generate a multi-million dollar cash crop. Ethics Epicenter - Local ethics pioneers are driving the corporate ethics conversation around the community, the country and beyond. *** Only 3 blocks north up E. Hennepin Avenue (County Road 52) from our old meeting place, and a half block west. As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Caucuses in Minnesota

It is Caucus time in Minnesota.  Regardless of political affiliation Minnesotans across the State will meet tomorrow to express preferences for candidates, pass resolutions to platforms, elect delegates, and shake hands with neighbors.  Some will stay home because, in the words of Jack Paar, "voting only encourages them."  Regardless of your choice tomorrow, party choice or abstaining, do it because it's a political statement, and not because you're overly concerned with Gibbs and Zeva.  

Check out the below information if you don't know where to go.

The Republican Party at 651-222-0022 or http://mngop.com/inner.asp?z=16

The Independence Party at 651-487-9700 or http://www.independenceminnesota.org

The Green Party at 651-288-2820 or http://www.mngreens.org/caucus2010

The DFL Party at 651-293-1200 or http://www.dflcaucuses.org/

Not going is a choice too, but do it because you don't want "to encourage them" and not because you're apathetic.

Jeremy Wieland

Representative Loeffler on what to do with Taxes

Rep. Diane Loeffler came to Stone Arch to talk taxes.  More specifically, throw out what you think you know about taxes and look at them differently.  Are there really dumb taxes we should cut?  Sure.  Are there taxes that we could look at raising?  Sure.  Point is, government spending evolves and it's something we should look at.  Why should my Abelour A'bunadh be immune from tax increases (by the way, wine and beer are taxed even more lightly) when when people are talking about putting a tax on my socks?  It's all here.

Check it out by clicking here.

This podcast is brought to you by The DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Posted by Jeremy Wieland, a constituent of Rep. Loeffler, and a big fan of Abelour A'Abunadh.

We Need Your Help!

Know good speakers? We need your help! Don Ostrom has done yeoman work finding good speakers to populate our 3rd Thursday downtown conversation, but he's looking to step down. Could you step in? If you have some good ideas for speakers and can make a few phone calls, we'll do the rest! Contact Us if you are interested. And thanks!

Preview (1/9): Rep. Diane Loeffler

Saturday, January 9
8 to 9:30 AM
Gardens of Salonica
19 N. E. 5th St., Minneapolis (map)

Rep. Diane Loeffler is an Assistant Majority Leader in the state House of Representatives and a health policy analyst and planner for Hennepin County. She'll be addressing the Stone Arch group in January.

See her voting history on major issues at MPR's Votetracker.

Invite anyone interested, come, buy your coffee--the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant--and join the discussion. And if you're looking for holiday gifts, Iric will have books for sale at an author's discount.