Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 04.25.06

[David Shove (shove001]

            P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    04.25.06

1. Salon unruly talk  4.25 6:30pm
2. Immigrant/walkout  4.25 6:30pm
3. Health care action 4.25 7pm

4. Is Iran next?      4.26 7pm

5. Sen John Marty - Follow the money for stadiums
6. Grace Kelly    - Carl Pohlad the modern evil thieving villain.
7. Robert Jensen  - US natl character: Narcissistic Personality Disorder
8. Ken Pentel     - GPMN Legislative Report 4/25/06

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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:08:49 -0500
From: Patty Guerrero <pattypax [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Salon unruly talk 4.25 6:30pm

Open Discussion at the tea house.

Pax Salons ( http://justcomm.org/pax-salon )
are held (unless otherwise noted in advance):
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Mad Hatter's Tea House,
943 W 7th, St Paul, MN

Salons are free but donations encouraged for program and treats.
Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511 for information.


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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:41:13 -0500
From: Brian Payne <brianpayneyvp [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Immigrant/walkout 4.25 6:30pm

SUPPORT FOR MAY 1st DAY WITHOUT AN IMMIGRANT
Brian Payne, brianpayneyvp [at] gmail.com, 612-822-8460

This May Day there is a national call for actions for immigrants' rights,
including work stoppages, student walk-outs and general boycotts.  In
order to support people in Minnesota who participate in these actions, the
Workers' Rights Committee is coordinating a training for volunteers who
are interesting in mobilizing support for people who participate in these
actions.

Workers' Rights Committee meeting / training
Tuesday, April 25, 6:30pm
Resource Center of the Americas

BACKGROUND:
Building upon the energy of the millions of people who have been taking to
the streets for immigrants' rights over the past several weeks, the
potential behind the May Day of action for immigrants' rights is enormous
- there has not been so much energy behind a national call for a general
strike in the US in nearly 100 years!

As you might expect in any such large scale action, there are threats of
reprisals for people who participate in the actions of May Day.  In
previous actions around the country over the past few months, workers who
have participated in actions were subsequently laid off from their jobs.
For this reason, the Grassroots Action Committee in the Twin Cities (the
group of folks who supported organizing around the Feb. 12 and April 9
marches) has formed the "Workers' Rights Committee".  This committee is
charged with informing people of their rights / risks / support in taking
actions, and it is also committed to organizing (anything from legal
action to email / phone action alerts to direct action) with people who
are punished in any way for participating in May 1st actions.

The Workers' Rights Committee has set up a hotline for people to leave
messages with questions / concerns both before and after May 1st.  We are
also coordinating a list of volunteers who will be trained in how to
respond to the messages and will work with people who are fired or
punished in any other way for participating in May 1st activities.
Anyone is welcome to be a volunteer, but there is especially a need for
people who are bi-lingual, have organizing experience, or have legal
expertise.

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, April 25 at 6:30pm that will include a
training for anyone who is interested in being a volunteer.  If you are
interested in volunteering, please contact Brian Payne
(brianpayneyvp [at] gmail.com or 612-822-8460) to let us know that you plan on
participating in the meeting (if you are unable to make it to the Tuesday
meeting, never fear...there are many other ways that you can volunteer in
other ways, so contact us anyways).


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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:42:33 -0500
Subject: Health care action planning 4.25 7pm

Important health care MEETING of organizations and individuals to plan a
creative action for upcoming national Cover the Uninsured Week.

Tuesday, April 25, 7PM

Walker Church ( in Cry Room,located in rear of main sanctuary) 3104 16th
ave s, Mpls (near Bloomington Ave  and Lake Str.).

Both national and local media are finally exposing the
unconscionable Billion dollar CEOs at United Health Group, (the giant HMO
located in our backyard in Minnetonka).

This is a call to organizations to  brainstorm an action during the
upcoming high visibility National Cover the Uninsured Week  May 1-7
(www.covertheuninsured.org). Wall Street Journal recently described
William McGuire's $1.6 billion compensation as, "one of the highest of all
time" and included MN UHCAN's demand that MacGuire, Chair and CEO, give
$200 million of his $1.6 billion in accumulated wealth to cover MN's
68,000 uninsured children . This is a wedge issue for larger single-payer
reform.   

This is an open community meeting, feel  free to fan this info out. We
badly need some type of grassroots action, especially since the
MN legislature is doing nothing and is likely to make the MN health care
crisis worse.

Joel Albers Minnesota Universal Health Care Action Network 612-384-0973
joel [at] uhcan-mn.org www.uhcan-mn.org Health Care Economics Researcher,
Clinical Pharmacist


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Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:22:15 EDT
From: MJShahidiusa [at] aol.com
Subject: Is Iran next? 4.26 7pm

M. Jay Shahidi will speak about Iran, US-IRAN relations, nuclear weapons
and more. Discussion will follow:

April 26, 2006, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, Blegen Hall, Room 235, 7-9 p.m.

April 27, 2006, ST. JOSEPH'S PARISH, 8701 36th Ave. N., New Hope, 55427,
7-9 p.m.

May 20, 2006, MIDDLE EAST PEACE NOW, Ridgedale Library, Mntonka.,
9:30-11:30 a.m

June 12, 2006, UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION, 2104 Stevens Ave. S. Mpls.,
5:30 p.m.


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Follow the Money for Stadiums
by Senator John Marty
April 25, 2006

The Pohlad family has given well over $200,000 in campaign contributions
since 2000.

Despite consistent public opposition to taxpayer subsidies for the owners
of professional sports franchises, the Twins, and perhaps the Vikings
stadiums have picked up strong momentum.

The Governor and the Legislature appear poised to provide hundreds of
millions of tax dollars for a stadium, letting the team owners keep 100%
of the proceeds from the new stadium -- even the naming rights to a
stadium that taxpayers pay for!

If these tax revenues weren't used for a new stadium, they could be used
to clean up Minnesota lakes and rivers, meet transportation and transit
needs, or undo the cuts to childcare and early childhood education --
priorities the Governor and Legislature have been unable to fund this
year.

Why is this occurring? Follow the money.

You don't even need to count the contributions from the Twins' lobbyists.
The Pohlad family, which owns the Minnesota Twins, contributed to Governor
Pawlenty and to one of his DFL challengers. The Pohlad family gave to the
Republican Senate Caucus and to the DFL Senate Caucus. They gave to the
DFL and Republican House caucuses.

Carl Pohlad and his sons gave to legislative leaders of both parties --
they even gave to candidates running against each other. In the 2002
gubernatorial race they contributed to two Republican candidates for
governor, two DFL candidates, and the Independence party candidate -- they
had all the bases covered, regardless of who won the election. The Pohlad
family has given well over $200,000 in campaign contributions since 2000!

For a couple hundred thousand dollars in contributions, they will likely
gain a couple hundred million dollars in taxpayer subsidies. It is a great
deal for the Pohlad family.

I am not suggesting that there is any quid pro quo here. I'm not
suggesting someone is buying votes or that anything illegal has occurred
here. But, if it wasn't for pro-stadium lobbying pressure, wouldn't many
legislators rather use the money to clean up polluted waters or for other
urgent needs?

If gubernatorial candidates did not receive generous contributions from
the team owners and lobbyists, perhaps the Governor would stand up to the
pressure and provide leadership in assembling a private financing package,
something he has failed to do.

Some people may dispute the notion that Mr. Pohlad and his sons are
contributing money in order to get a subsidy from the state. If so, listen
to how the Pohlad family and the Twins' lobbyists respond:

Ten years ago, when they first started lobbying for a new stadium, the
Twins' lead lobbyist was asked why the Pohlads started making large
campaign contributions when they had not been big contributors prior to
that time. His answer says it all: "They haven't been before the
Legislature with a request of this size before, and now they are."

Many people make contributions to candidates or parties they support to
help them campaign. Perhaps one could argue that the Pohlads are only
giving to candidates and to the party they philosophically agree with. But
then how do you explain giving $26,000 to the Republican Senate caucus as
well as $40,000 to the DFL one? Or Carl Pohlad's giving the legal maximum
to both Governor Pawlenty and to one of his DFL rivals last year? When
lobbyists and people seeking favors from government contribute large
amounts of money to both parties, it's clearly not because they agree with
both. It is an attempt to influence the political process.

When they first started lobbying for a stadium subsidy, Bob Pohlad said
that his family's bi-partisan giving was done because, "we don't want to
do anything to paint the challenge as a partisan issue. It's not." Perhaps
this gives new meaning to the word bi-partisan -- they're trying to buy
both parties.

Bob Pohlad is right that the contributions probably don't buy votes. But
they certainly help buy goodwill and gain access.

"We're not trying to buy votes," Bob Pohlad said. "There's probably a
group of people who will think that. Yes, we made the contributions. It's
the way the world works."

Copyright © 1999-2006, Apple Pie Alliance Permission to quote or reprint
material from To the Point! is granted if the author is credited.


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Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 10:00:44 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: Grace Kelly <ladycharissa [at] earthlink.net>
Subject: Stadium Solution
[Carl Pohlad the modern evil thieving villain]

I believe in good government, that is working for the common good. And
here we are even considering spending huge money on a hobby!

At a time, that balancing our state budget has been depending on the lucky
chance of estate taxes of a rich person and the hopeful outcome of a court
case, we are spending huge money on a hobby, by tax-financing a stadium.

At a time, when we have education classes of 45 people when education has
repeated been shown to be a major cause of an improving local economy, we
are spending huge money on a hobby, by tax-financing a stadium.

At a time, when we have many transportation problems such as increasing
transportation bottlenecks, dangerous intersections. more potholes than
road and snow plowing which seems to be wait for spring thaw, still we are
spending huge money on a hobby, by tax-financing a stadium.

At a time, when we have cut back state aid to local government, so now we
are choosing between keeping an effective police force and forcing old
people from homes, still we are spending huge money on a hobby, by
tax-financing a stadium.

At a time, when we have mercury levels so high in the state that we cannot
safely eat the fish that abounds in this land, yet still we are spending
huge money on a hobby, by tax-financing a stadium.

At a time, when we should be investing in wind and alternate energy when
our gas prices rise daily,still we are spending huge money on a hobby, by
tax-financing a stadium.

Instead of government working for the common good, government is now
working for the common greed. We are working to make the richest even
richer. Only a politician working for the common GREED could vote to fund
stadiums for private teams. We dedicating our few remaining tax resources
FOR DECADES to paying for a hobby, a hobby that has repeatedly shown that
they can break any contract and leave the state anytime. Unlike a bad law,
we will be stuck with this bad political decision for a life time. And
even when we vote these corrupt politicians out of office, we will still
be paying for this bad decision for decades, handing even our children a
legacy of debt for a hobby.

My heart is so heavy and my tax burden so heavy, for every time I shop in
Hennepin county, I will be paying the making-Carl-Pohlad-even-richer tax.

So now whenever I hear about the Twins, I will hiss and hope that they
lose every game forever more.

So now I was use "Carl Pohlad" as the ultimate symbol of thief, the modern
evil villain.

So now in elections of those politicans who vote for private stadiums, I
will speak of corruption. I hope the mothers and friends of these
politicians scream corruption at them. I will!

So now whenever I see a Twins fan, I will ask for $15 tax refund for the
last time they watched the game. I will donate that to schools or
transportation or the homeless.

So now, I will not be neutral about a million or billion dollar sports
games, I will always call them tax thieves. I hope they always lose and no
one watches the games. I will consider being a ANTI Twins fan to be the
moral high ground, little good that it will do. The best that I can hope
for is that the Twins go bankrupt and the very rich Carl Pohlad loses a
toy, while all the rest of us lose each time the Twins play or even don't
play, we just lose by paying and paying the making-Carl-Pohlad-even-richer
tax for very, ... very long time.

I publicly beg the state representatives, state senators and the governor
to go back to government working for the common good, to totally stop the
tax financing of private stadiums which is government working for the
common greed.

Grace Kelly St Paul, Minnesota


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Diagnosing the U.S. 'national character': Narcissistic Personality
Disorder
By Robert Jensen
April 24, 2006
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2006-04/22jensen.cfm
ZNet Commentary

Politicians and pundits in the United States love to talk about our
"national character," typically in rapturous tones of triumphalism.

Often that character is asserted as a noble force but not defined: Earlier
this year, for example, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said
our national character -- presumed to be benevolent -- requires us to be
welcoming to legal immigrants.

Other times it must be defended against foreigners who just don't
understand us: Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland last month explained
that too many Middle Easterners fall prey to "depictions of Americans
routinely raping, killing, firebombing mosques and torturing innocents as
a function of national character."

And sometimes character is political destiny: In New Delhi last month,
President Bush proclaimed that "democracy is more than a form of
government, it is the central promise of our national character." Luckily
for India, its national character shares the same feature, according to
Bush.

Can a nation have a coherent character? If we take the question seriously
-- investigating reality rather than merely asserting nobility -- we see
in the U.S. national character signs of pathology and decay as well as
health and vigor. What if, for purposes of analysis, we treated the nation
as a person? Scan the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American
Psychiatric Association (the bible of mental-health professionals, now in
its fourth edition) and one category jumps out: Narcissistic Personality
Disorder.

DSM-IV describes the disorder as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in
fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy" that can
be diagnosed when any five of these nine criteria are met:

1. a grandiose sense of self-importance.

2. preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,
beauty, or ideal love.

3. believes he or she is special and unique.

4. requires excessive admiration.

5. sense of entitlement.

6. interpersonally exploitative, taking advantage of others to achieve his
or her own ends.

7. lacks empathy.

8. often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or
her.

9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

Narcissistic tendencies to self-aggrandize are not unique to the United
States, of course. But given the predominance of U.S. power in the world,
we should worry most about the consequences of such narcissism here.

This disorder is bipartisan, and is virtually required of all mainstream
politicians. When the House of Representatives held hearings about the
creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, California
Democrat Nancy Pelosi declared that America is "the greatest country that
ever existed on the face of the earth." Texas Republican Dick Armey
described the United States as "the greatest, most free nation the world
has ever known." With a "grandiose sense of self-importance," politicians
routinely ratchet up the rhetorical flourishes when asserting that the
country is "special and unique."

As for arrogance and haughtiness: When asked at his pre-war news
conference in March 2003 whether the United States would be defying the
United Nations if it were to invade Iraq without legal authorization, Bush
said, "if we need to act, we will act, and we really don't need United
Nations approval to do so." Bush prefaced that promise to defy
international and U.S. law with the phrase "when it comes to our
security," but since the invasion of Iraq had little or nothing to do with
the security of the United States we can ignore that qualifier. Here the
younger Bush was merely mimicking his father, who remarked in February
1991 as the United States was destroying Iraq a first time: "The U.S. has
a new credibility. What we say goes."

On the Gulf War and "lacks empathy": On Feb. 13, 1991, U.S. planes hit a
bunker in Baghdad. Whether military planners knew it was an air-raid
shelter or thought it was a "command-and-control site," an estimated
300-400 civilians died. Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, referred to this as "one downside of airpower," and said the
incident led him to discuss with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf the need "to look
at the target list a little more closely." Was the goal of that review to
discuss civilian casualties? No, it was to question the efficiency of
bombing an already bombed-out Baghdad. In Powell's words: "I asked
questions like, 'Why are we bombing the Baath Party headquarters for the
eighth time? - Why are we bouncing rubble with million-dollar missiles?'"

Powell, who went on to serve as secretary of state in George W. Bush's
first term, was often referred to as the "dove" of that administration.
Perhaps we could call this level of empathy the mark of a "tough dove."

The unpleasant subject of the current Iraq war brings up "fantasies of
unlimited success, power, brilliance." Though Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice recently acknowledged mistakes in the current Iraq war --
"We've made tactical errors, thousands of them, I'm sure" -- she made it
clear that history will vindicate U.S. officials for making "the right
strategic decision" to invade. But that small concession to reality was
too much for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who responded, "I don't
know what she was talking about, to be perfectly honest."

While it's easy to point at the narcissism of soulless and self-indulgent
leaders, this diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder applies to
the country as a whole. The belief that the United States is unique -- a
shining "city upon a hill" -- is deeply rooted, and for many has divine
origins; 48 percent of Americans believe the United States has "special
protection from God," according to a 2002 survey.

The narcissism of the whole society also is evident in the widespread
"sense of entitlement," defined as "unreasonable expectations of
especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her
expectations." This is difficult to confront, precisely because it takes
root to some degree in all of us and can't be so easily displaced onto
only the most overtly pathological. The vast majority of the U.S. public
-- by comparison to the rest of the world -- lives an extravagant
lifestyle that we show few signs of being willing to give up.

We are 5 percent of the world's population and consume about a quarter of
the world's energy. This state of affairs is clearly unjust, made possible
by coercion and violence, not some natural superiority of Americans. Yet
the vast majority of the U.S. public, and even much of the
left/progressive political community, acts as if they expect this state of
affairs to continue. That's real narcissism, and it's at the heart of the
political problem of the United States. Even if we swept the halls of
Congress and the White House clean of every corrupt and cruel politician,
the deeper self-indulgence of an affluent culture would be untouched.

Political activism to derail the pathological policies of those
politicians must go forward. Critique of the concentrated power of the
corporate elites who support those policies is essential. But the critical
self-reflection necessary at the collective level also must come home to
each of us.

Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at
Austin and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center
http://thirdcoastactivist.org/. He is the author of The Heart of
Whiteness: Race, Racism, and White Privilege and Citizens of the Empire:
The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (both from City Lights Books). He can
be reached at rjensen [at] uts.cc.utexas.edu .


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Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:31:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ken Pentel <kenpentel [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: GPMN Legislative Report 4/25/06

Dear Greens at the Capitol,

Improvements in the system for multi-party democracy and ending big-money
in politics are coming to a head.

The House of Representatives has passed two bills that have been included
in HF 2833, the State Government Finance Bill:

1. Campaign $$ disclosure
2. Also, if an individual donates more than $25,000 in the aggregate in a
calendar year to a political party organization, a political committee or
political fund, that party organization loses eligibility to participate
in the refund receipt program. (PCRP)

In the Senate they have not decided to move any Campaign Finance or
Electoral Reform bills this year. There needs to be pressure on Senate
Majority Leader Dean Johnson to allow three bills that are pending to go
to the floor for vote:
1. SF642
2. SF489
3. SF3212

(You can read the Bill descriptions below.)

If we can get some election bills passed in the senate then we may be able
to forge a bill in conference committee. It will take pressure, pressure,
and pressure. You can reach the senators at:
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/

Specifically focus on:
Majority Leader, Senator Dean Johnson  (651) 296-3826
sen.dean.johnson [at] senate.mn
Senator Dick Cohen Chair of the Finance Committee
(651) 296-5931

Professor David Schultz from Hamline has just released a report that shows
$42 million was spent lobbying the State Legislature in 2005 (a
nonelection year).  That comes to $231,000/legislator to influence
politics in MN. The most refined lobbying is by planet-killing
interests(Xcel Energy, The Chamber of Commerce, etc.). The legislators and
governor should be ashamed that it has reached this point. Yet, they act
as if this is just fine. Well, I've got 75 of Professor Schultz's
reports to distribute that to say it is not fine.

The Green Party of MN can intervene in the electoral process by running
candidates (Filing deadlines are in July), getting votes, changing the
discussion and getting elected. This is one way to end the dysfunction in
our political system and try to stop the rationalizations for the massive
injustice toward the earth and each other. What have we got to lose?

Ken Pentel Green Party of MN (612) 387-0601

"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or take the
tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the
promises of democracy." Martin Luther King Jr.

Pending Senate Bills:

Bill Name: SF0642 (Author: Senator Marty)
Authorizing cities to adopt by ordinance alternative methods of voting in
city elections including instant runoff voting; requesting cities using
alternative methods to report experiences to the legislature

Bill Name: SF0489 (Author: Senator Marty)
Relating to elections; redefining expenditure and independent expenditure
for campaign financing purposes; prohibiting political parties signing an
agreement for the receipt of a public subsidy from making independent
expenditures limiting multicandidate expenditures by political parties;
imposing penalties for exceeding the expenditure and contribution limits;
providing for the filing of spending limit agreements by political parties
or party units with the state campaign finance and public disclosure board
and modifying the candidate filing deadline

Bill Name: SF3212 (Author: Senator Hottinger)
Relating to ethics in government; specifying certain lobbying
restrictions; requiring disclosure of economic interests of independent
contractors and consultants; changing certain definitions; prohibiting
former legislators, constitutional officers and agency heads from lobbying
for legislative or administrative action for a certain period of time
after leaving office; modifying lobbyist reports content requirements;
requiring disclosure of certain costs for lobbying on principal reports;
requiring disclosure of contributions to and from conduit funds and
prohibiting commingling of contents; modifying the date for filing
spending limit agreements; prohibiting legislators from serving in certain
positions in the executive branch for a certain period of time after
leaving office; prohibiting corporations from providing administrative
assistance to political committees and political funds; extending the
deadline for return of contributions.


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   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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