I’m taking a break from blogging until after the November election. As always, I hope there’s a positive (what is the candidate “for”?), insightful, genuine, and thoughtful message out there for you to consider as you decide which candidate is best. I truly believe any democrat is your best choice. Enjoy your fall.

In the Minnesota political climate, I never assume those who aren’t “with me” are indeed “against me.” There is a difference between “not with me” and “against.” I’m not against rogue Democrats running for governor, but I’m for the DFL endorsed candidate. You’d have to get to know me to understand. I’ll fight tooth and nail “for”, but not “against.”

Unfortunately, that logic cannot be applied to worldly “friends” that comment on Facebook, offer programming advice, skype programming information, or even comment on blogs.

Take this situation. I’m commenting on a Facebook story about PSTD, a few peaceniks comment (I’m not a peacenik, but like peace, BTW), and along comes someone from Pakistan who starts to complain about the United States. My old “for” and “against” logic doesn’t work here, since we are at war in a country very near Pakistan. The Facebook comment thread has suddenly changed, and I am now in a strange position.

The wider picture is that we’ve got American families that suffer due to our being in Afghanistan. Some families even get a knock on the door, and the son, daughter, father, or mother has died. It’s not just ideals, but death we are talking about. And they died for me, even if I am against the war, which I am not.

Or take this situation. I’m Skyping (phone, online, has video but I don’t use it often) with someone who knows which file to change as I develop an application. I ask him a question, he answers, and then the next time I look at his profile I notice he’s added “Afghanistan.” I have crossed enemy lines without even noticing. I terminated the discussion the contact and added “United States” to my profile.

Social media now brings us to new territory. If you are like me, and want to do the best you can to support your American troops, here’s my suggestions as to how to approach worldy communication:

1. Properly identify yourself, including your home nation.

2. Do the best you can at describing what you are “for.” If you are a true peacenik, hopefully you are not against the United States but for peace.

3. Assume that the world can read what you write. Assume there’s very few countries that limit access to truth and media.

4. If another individual seems anti-American, they probably are, and are actually against you (if they are not “with” you, they are against you.) Immediately end discussion and avoid contact with that individual. There’s so many people to talk to, so why talk to someone you’ve identified as anti-American?

5. Consider the implications of back and forth conversation. You might be innocently trying to argue American ideology with that friend on Facebook, but is it really worth you crossing enemy lines? Hopefully you think it isn’t, because it probably is not.

6. Some people cringe at the use of “enemy”. Unfortunately, we cannot determine who is “us” on a worldy scale, and lives are at stake. It’s best to leave it at that. It’s also best to know your countries and keep up with the news.

I get the feeling things aren’t going so well for Garofalo: “I need to have the resources to run another winning campaign.” If I read between the lines, a current lack of funds means other people aren’t happy about Pat’s “No” votes. Pat has said: No to balancing the budget, No to reforming health care, No to helping people stay in their homes, no to helping the worker, and even No to helping veterans.

While Pat’s been voting “No”, Democrats have moved to make painful budget cuts while fighting for the middle class. Democrats have been fighting for appropriate funding for schools. Democrats have been working for more jobs. Democrats have been pushing for affordable health care.

Sigrid Iversen, who is running against Garofalo in MN House 36B, supports community collaboration between families, education and business. She’s concerned that we adequately prepare our kids for success. And perhaps most importantly, she’s been out working hard to listen in our district.

Pat is one of those “wave the magic wand” Republicans. He’s wanting good things for Minnesota, but lacks a plan and has often failed to act, and doesn’t appear to be really interested in fiscal responsibility.

From Pat’s website:

(Minnesota has) some of the highest home ownership rates, income levels, high school graduation rates, college entrance exam scores, K-12 education funding levels, and rate of those with health insurance in the nation.

Minnesota is a great place to live, but we cannot take our world leading status for granted…

Ahem. That is until recently, when we started borrowing from the schools and not being able to fix our roads.

Wake up Minnesota House 36B. It’s time for change. Vote Sigrid Iversen. She’s smart, consistent, and hardworking. If you can, please consider donating to her effort.

We enjoyed ourselves. Thanks, Colin, for organizing this event. It was fun to talk issues.

Here’s photos:

Dan Powers, Candidate for MN CD2, enjoys the crowd

Steve Quist, candidate for MN House 36, listens.

Sigrid Iversen, Candidate for MN House 36B

Hey! I know you from SD36!

Steve Quist's biggest supporter, Andrea!

Buffalo! It was good!

Steve Quist and constituent

Sigrid Iversen hears the scoop

I vote for the out and out firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal. There’s good reason for our military, especially our commanding officers, to respect the chain of command.

Dan Powers, center

Dan Powers values good sustainable jobs, strong families, a clean environment, and empowering businesses to do better.  He’ll get in office and work for us instead of for massive money, big company dollars.  He wants fair taxation, a strong America, and fiscal responsibility.  And he is listening as he creates his action plan– he won’t be a do-nothing like John Kline. He’ll fight for us.

So, what do you value?

Today from the Powers Campaign office:

Dear Holly,

Surprise!  John Kline is actually more out of touch with his district than Michele Bachmann and just as conservative as she is.  That stunning bit of news comes to us via Eric Ostermeier at the U’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

Which is why we need your help today! We need to highlight the ways in which John Kline puts ideology ahead of his constituents.  It’s the quiet ones who are always the most dangerous.

Ostermeier finds the swing between John Kline’s own personal ideology and 2nd District voters to be the 2nd highest in the country and significantly ahead of both Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen.  Yet while progressives across the state and the country gear up to take on Michele Bachmann, John Kline quietly goes about his business looking out for greedy CEOs and corrupt special interests.

Your contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can afford will help build a campaign capable of getting the word out about John Kline’s hyper-conservative record.

While no one has ever mistaken Congressman Kline for a moderate, he does not endure even a fraction of the criticism from the left as Bachmann for what is an equally conservative voting record!

Beating John Kline requires both a strong grassroots effort AND the ability to use media effectively to get the word out about his record.  Only 31 congressmen are more conservative than Kline (out of 435) and John Kline is more out of step with his district than any other congressman in Minnesota.

Help us get the word out about John Kline’s out of touch record today!  Please take a moment right now to donate $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can afford.

Thank you for your help.  Together we can bring back real representation that is in line with the values and needs of 2nd District Voters!

Sincerely,

Dan Powers for US Congress



YAY! I’ve set up a phone app so you can find the Roundtable on your phone. (You can also find this information in our right sidebar, near the top).

Got a droid?

Find us at the Market. Search for “minnesota.”

Or, add us on your phone to the reader app you already use…here’s our feed: http://mnpoliticalroundtable.com/?feed=rss2

She’s been talking with farmers and farmer’s market folks, knocking on (thousands of) doors, meeting with the senior caucus, walking the Saint Anthony Park Arts Festival, talking with the Muslim Community in Minnesota, and she appeared in the Grand Old Days parade.

Margaret needs you.  Please consider donating to MAK, who is DFL endorsed and therefore (IMO) our best foot forward in this Minnesota gubernatorial race.

KELLIHER/GUNYOU SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC EVENTS
SATURDAY, JUNE 5

8:45am
St. Paul Farmer’s Market with Mayor Chris Coleman
Lowertown, Saint Paul

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher will visit the St. Paul Farmer’s Market.

10:15am
CD5 Door Knock Kickoff at Rep. Jean Wagenius’ Home
4804 11th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-endorsed candidate for Lt. Governor John Gunyou, state Rep. Jean Wagenius, and more than 50 volunteers will knock on doors and talk to voters about this crucial election.

11:30am
DFL Senior Caucus
461 Dale Street North
Saint Paul, MN

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher will meet with senior citizens.

12:30pm
Saint Anthony Park Arts Festival
Saint Anthony Park Library
2245 Como Avenue
St. Paul, MN

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher will attend the Saint Anthony Park Arts Festival.

4:00pm
Past, Present, and Future of the Muslim Community in Minnesota
3131 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher will meet with recent graduates and discuss local issues with the Islamic Civic Society of America.

KELLIHER/GUNYOU SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC EVENTS
SUNDAY, JUNE 6

9:30am
Grand Old Days Parade
Grand Avenue in St. Paul

DFL-endorsed candidate for Governor Margaret Anderson Kelliher and DFL-endorsed candidate for Lt. Governor John Gunyou will be joined by supporters in the Grand Old Days parade.

WHAT?

Big sisters are always toast.  Earlier this week I realized a woman was giving me the “OMG, I can’t believe it!” look.  I wondered if I had spilled on my shirt… and then I heard it.  I thought it must be my daughter, Hannah.  Wow.

The elevator doors opened, the woman walked out, and my brother reached over and grabbed his phone out of my purse.  Apparently there’s something called the “fart app.”  Thanks a million, Scot.  Only you.

SKUNK!  o_O

The dogs make noise if an acorn falls off a tree and so I wasn’t really listening.  Bark Bark Bark silence.  The silence part was eerie, and so I popped my head out the door… OMG!  SKUNK!  UNDER THE DECK!  Even the cat got into it.

Okay, so we’re the only ones in the world without air conditioning, and the windows are always open.  The smell is so bad I’ve decided a close skunk spray smells more like garlic or mercaptan.   My nose just can’t handle it.  PS,  everything said about how to de-smell a dog is wrong.  Nothing works, my friends.  Especially when the window is still open and the smell is everywhere.

BP OIL DISASTER

What does BP stand for?  British Petroleum?  That spokes guy slash CEO has an accent. The gushing oil is now like an itch I cannot scratch and reminds me of the time I got some drug to help with a migraine.  Total anxiety.  What a nightmare.  And what about the cleanup? Anyone know what a riser is? And I’m thinking it’s better to coagulate than disperse the oil. Who is with me on that. Is it time to try something likeremoving emulsified oil from the water by coagulating and using foam separation? Oh snap. Hurricane season is going to hurt this year.