Advise and Dissent: All in the family

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Rachel Dykoski turned to her family to ask what advice they would give to president-elect Barack Obama. Here’s what they had to say. Chad Dykoski is a technical writer: He needs to change election laws so that third parties are not involved in elections, period. Open source technology, paper ballots can ensure voters rights and he needs to work on how we can effectively protect our voting rights. Effectively protect habeas corpus, constitutional rights and prosecute those who have ignored them – eliminate phone taping, repeal FISA amendments that allow people to spy on citizens without direction or oversight and prosecute those who spy on us illegally. Continue Reading

Flo Golod: Advise and Dissent

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What advice would you have for president-elect Barack Obama? Flo Golod: I‘ve been dying to unload my thoughts on somebody. People are either euphoric or sick of it. You know, this election year was never ending. Here’s what I think, I’m actually very pleased. Continue Reading

VOICES | Another dubious Minnesota milestone

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Teach for America is coming to Minnesota. It’s a dubious achievement because it speaks volumes about Minnesota’s declining school funding and quality. Teach for America, the service-based, non-traditional teacher program, works in our nation’s poorest and poorest performing school districts. Based on a volunteer service model, it recruits and places recent college graduates, mostly liberal arts majors, into classroom teaching roles. The non-profit group recently announced plans to expand into Minnesota. Continue Reading

Good Cheer: A 1932 letter offers Depression-era encouragement

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At the beginning of the Great Depression, my grandfather, Louis F. Parker, and a couple of partners founded Builders Engineering Co. in St. Paul, a manufacturers’ representative to the building trades. They survived the 1930s and operated for many decades after that. I have had in a file folder for some years now a facsimile of this letter sent out in December 1932 by the fledgling company to its business associates. Continue Reading

VOICES | Gift of faith at Christmastime

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Hypnotized by the idea of getting presents from a jolly old man who ate the red and green sugar cookies I decorated for him, the true Catholic spirit of the Advent and Christmas was lost on me as a child.My parents tried their best to involve me in the more traditional activities: lighting the candles on our Advent wreath, counting down the days until Christ’s birth with an Advent calendar, setting up the nativity scene at our Church. This proved futile. As a young child I could not grasp the significance of the Christmas season any better than I could grasp the meaning of what it meant to be a Catholic. I have heard time after time that your religion is dictated by your upbringing, that your parents’ faith will become your faith. For a time, I think that is true. Continue Reading

Faith-based Minnesota Teen Challenge cannot evade scrutiny

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If you accept taxpayer money, you have to accept that you’re going to receive public scrutiny. That simple point seems to be eluding Minnesota Teen Challenge (MNTC), the faith-based drug treatment program which secured a federal earmark in early 2008 arranged by Rep. Jim Ramstad and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for its “Know the Truth” program which aims to prevent drug use. Operating close to the border of church and state, the group’s members are unrealistic if they think their work is not going to get attention. Klobuchar’s deputy chief of staff, Andrea Mokros, explains the senator’s role in requesting the earmark. “The Senator joined several members of the state delegation, including Jim Ramstad and Keith Ellison, in submitting the request for a Minnesota program to prevent drug abuse. Continue Reading

Crisis mustn’t reinforce poor policy choices

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If crisis offers opportunity, Minnesota should bet on itself. It shouldn’t double down on failed public policy. Given state policymakers’ ominous hints regarding slashing or eliminating Local Government Aid payments, that’s clearly what’s at risk. Today, Minnesota is staring down a projected $5.5 billion deficit, fully factoring inflation. The real kicker though is the $426 current biennial budget shortfall. Continue Reading

Pawlenty contradicts his own budget data

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After last Thursday’s November budget forecast, the Governor held a press conference to spin his usual mantra that government spending is causing Minnesota’s budget woes. To support his claim, the Governor produced a a table (PDF) comparing total state and local government spending in each of the fifty states to the rate of job growth over the last five years. The Governor’s only problem was that his data contradicted his assertion. Using this table, the Governor argued that “states with larger job growth have lower government spending than Minnesota.” On the surface, this statement is correct. Continue Reading

VOICES | Now is precisely the time to invest in education

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As Minnesotans digested Thursday’s news of a state revenue shortfall, they experienced the distress that those in the education community have felt for years. Like education funding, Minnesota’s financial situation is bad and will take true leadership to get the state moving again. The state promised to fully fund education early this decade. It hasn’t kept that promise. Don’t believe what you hear about a four percent increase one year or a two percent increase in another – Since 2003, state education investment has dropped an inflation-adjusted 14 percent. Continue Reading