Blog on Break

The blog is on break during the off session. Look for occassional posts about random issues and mildly relevant musings during the summer and autumn.

The blog will return again in earnest during the Legislative session, in February.

King Of Pop Is Dead

Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 25, 2009

Micheal Jackson died today, he was fifty years old.

I want to remember Michael Jackson, not as the uber famous King Of Pop from the height of his fame, but that kid with the broad smile and big fro. I was 8 years old when I first heard "I Want You Back" booming out over the car radio in my Mothers car. I thought I was hearing the greatest song ever made.

I begged my Mother to put me to work so I could earn two dollars to buy that record. A few days later, after considerable work, Mom took me to the local record store and I bought a single piece of vinyl gold on 45. I don't even remember what was on the other side, I just remember listening to that song over and over again. Some of my best memories have Michael Jackson's music playing somewhere in the background.

Michael Jackson was part of the soundtrack of our lives. Whether it was the Jackson Five with ABC, which we can still all sing at least part of, or Thriller when he announced to the world he was a truly something special. I can vividly remember being in basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, standing in the recreation room in Disney Barracks, about fifteen of us gathered around a small colored TV set to watch the "MTV World Premier of Thriller". It was truly an event. For 13 minutes we saw Michael Jackson combine acting, singing and dancing as we'd never seen it before. I can still hear Vincent Price whenever I think of that video.

Maybe the story of Michael Jackson can never truly be told without telling the tale of his fall from super stardom. Like some Shakespearean tragedy, his life played out before us as if we were watching some strange and sad tale that seemed altogether familiar and foreign at the same time. Perhaps it was too hard to avoid watching such a monumental fall from grace, but I've heard it said that the only thing Americans like more than a rags to riches story is a riches to rags tale.

Jackson tried hard to make us turn a lens on ourselves. He made countless songs that asked us to examine our own judgements like "Hi Story", "This Time Around", "They Don't Car About Us" and others, but they were largely ignored. Like a good sitcom that seems to inexplicably turn serious, we just weren't interested.

Jackson was preparing for a comeback tour this summer in Europe. We won't get the chance to see what might have been. At some point we love to dust off our former legends and take another look. It gives us the sense that we can forgive and move on no matter what the transgression might have been. Regardless of whatever Michael Jackson's success' or failures while he lived, it seems to me that the harder Jackson tried to fit in, the further away he got from us.

Dispatch From The Capitol

May 7, 2009
Saint Paul, Minnesota
By Marty Owings

As the Minnesota Legislature moves toward its Constitutional deadline,, it may be on a collision course for a shut down. Insiders in both the Senate and the House are starting to express doubts that a budget compromise can be reached. Law Makers say they are concerned that time is running out and that Governor Tim Pawlenty's pledge to veto any new tax increases is making any public compromise increasingly difficult.

Republicans say that they are upset because a measure was passed today for an appropriation, without any numbers. They say for the first time in memory the appropriation had zeros in it. Representative Paul Kohls (R) says the LCPFP (Legislative Commission Planning and Fiscal Policy) meetings, designed to create a more transparent process for budget negotiations, are a charade. Kohls says that not once has he been asked for input on fiscal amounts or if he agrees with the numbers.

Kohls is upset at what he calls an attempt by the DFL leadership in the House and Senate to keep negotiations between the two of them. For her part, Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) says that's simply not true. She says that for the first time these negotiations are being made public in the LCPFP meetings and that the new transparency, while not perfect, is an improvement over the past. Kelliher adds that she's met with Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller less than three times in which they discussed specific budget negotiations.

House Republicans thought at one point that they might have been able to reach a deal if some combination of beer tax, fourth tier increases and racino could have been agreed upon. They say those chances ended today when the House agreed to pass an appropriation with zero's in it. They view this as sharp departure from what they said might have been a rare opportunity for compromise. Several Law Makers, not willing to go on the record, say that Senate Majority Leader Pogemiller has "hijacked" the process.

]The stakes are high for both Legislators and Leadership while the State deals with the toughest budget in its history. For Kelliher and Pogemiller, who may be considering gubernatorial runs they don't want to see a deadlock on their watch. For most Legislators, they understand that the public frustration with gridlock will likely mean a loss of seats for the party seen as most responsible for the impasse.


At this hour, the LCPFP meeting is continuing and at least for now, the negotiations over the budget battle are being heard.

Franken Wins Senate Trail

Saint Paul, Minnesota
April 13, 2009
By Marty Owings

The three Judge Panel in the Coleman V. Franken trial ruled today that Al Franken is entitled to receive the election certificate based on its findings. The Coleman case has been "dismissed with prejudice" according the documents released by the Court in a unanimous 56-page opinion, with an additional 12 pages of supporting exhibits.

The Court said that Coleman failed to prove his case in all areas including absentee ballots, ballots counted twice or their "equal protection" issue in which the his lawyers contended that Minnesotans rights were violated.

Coleman's lawyers had attempted to prove the thousands of voters were "disenfranchised" by the actions of elections officials, that those same election officials counted ballots that should not have been counted, that some ballots were counted twice. All of these assertions were refuted by the Court in their findings of fact.

Perhaps the most critical claim for Coleman's case was that of "equal protection" in which his lawyers claimed that because of the inconsistency of vote counting that not all ballots were treated the same. The Court answered this by stating "Errors or irregularities identified by [Coleman] in the general election do not violate the mandates of equal protection.”

Coleman's lead attorney Ben Ginsberg responded to the Court decision in a statement, saying "More than 4,400 Minnesotans remain wrongly disenfranchised by this court's order. The court's ruling tonight is consistent with how they've ruled throughout this case but inconsistent with the Minnesota tradition of enfranchising voters. This order ignores the reality of what happened in the counties and cities on Election Day in terms of counting the votes. By its own terms, the court has included votes it has found to be 'illegal' in the contest to remain included in the final counts from Election Day, and equal protection and due process concerns have been ignored. For these reasons, we must appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court so that no voter is left behind." Ginsberg said he will appeal the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

For his part, Al Franken appeared outside his town home and spoke briefly to members of the media. “It’s long past time we got to work.” said Franken. He added “We didn’t fight hard simply because we wanted to win, “We fought hard because every Minnesotan knows someone who’s losing a job or a home, someone who’s struggling to pay for tuition or prescription drugs.”

The Court also ordered that Coleman pay for Franken's legal fees and that they pay $7500 fine for withholding evidence from the Franken attorneys. And finally the Court document states the following: "Accordingly, Coleman received a total of 1,212,317 votes and Franken received a total of 1,212,629 votes in the race for United States Senator in the November 4, 2008 general election … Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast … Franken is entitled to receive the certificate of election.”

Senator John Marty Announces Run For Governor

Saint Paul, Minnesota
April 13, 2009
By Martin Owings

Today at the Minnesota State Capitol, Senator John Marty held a press conference to formally announce that he was entering the race for Minnesota Governor. Marty joins a crowded field of Democrats who have already announced their candidacies, among them Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, Matt Entenza, Ole Savior, Paul Thissen and former US Senator Mark Dayton to name just a few.

Marty isn't short on campaign experience, having run for Governor twice previously in 1994 and 98. In 1994 he was beaten by a nearly two to one margin when he ran against Arne Carlson, largely due to Marty's own campaign finance limits and to some extent Carlson's popularity. In 1998, he withdrew from the DFL primary after losing early to Hennepin County District Attorney Mike Freeman, the year that Jesse Ventura won.

Today Marty said he was running in part because his exploratory campaign had been so encouraging. Marty added that Minnesotans are hurting in the economic crisis and that "quick fixes and political gimmicks have been eating away at Minnesota's greatness." Marty says even though he isn't a wealthy or self-financed candidate, he still believes he can win with "people power."

Marty who has championed Gay rights issues and Universal Health care is unapologetic about his positions calling those who would criticize him on Gay rights as "on the wrong side of history." He says that seeing the pain in the faces of everyday Minnesotans is what motivated him to finally decide to run. "This is the first time in American history that the next generation is doing worse than their predecessors and I don't find that acceptable." said Marty.

With the election almost two years away and a growing field of Democratic competitors, Marty knows it'll be a long, hard fight but says he's ready for it. Marty spoke about the work ahead to a crowd of gathered supporters, saying "Every one of us is going to have a lot of work ahead, I know that, I'm excited about that, I hope you're excited about that because we're gonna get em, we're gonna win this race and we'll be representing Minnesota in the Governor's office two years from now."

For the KFAI Radio News Story Click Here:

Coleman V Franken Results on Recount

Saint Paul, Minnesota

April 7, 2009

By Marty Owings

Just about 1 hour ago the totals of the Court ordered recount of 351 votes cast in the 2008 Senate race was completed. Here are the results:

Franken 198

Coleman 111

Other 42

Shortly after the three judge panel agreed with the count, a press conference was held. Secretary of State Mark Richie thanked the three Judges who presided over the case for their hard work and extra efforts during the trial. He also thanks his staff and the Reporters present for their coverage. He added that he expected an appeal, which was later confirmed by Coleman Attorney Ben Ginsberg, and added that a ruling by the State Supreme Court would put closure on the case and the election.

Mark Elias, Attorney for Al Franken said that the outcome today was simply reinforcement of what he and his client had always believed. He added that the trail was not about US election laws, but about who won the race fro Senate in Minnesota. Elias said he was very pleased with the outcome, but stopped short of saying the Governor should certify Al Franken.

Coleman lawyer Ben Ginsberg said that he was disapointed in the results, but happy that Minnesota's Voters had their votes counted, quickly adding thought that not enough of the votes had been counted. He said that he planned to appeal the case after the expected ruling against his client.

Radio Legend Passes

Saint Paul, Minnesota
April 7, 2009
By Marty Owings

Media outlets are reporting the death of radio legend Steve Cannon. Cannon passed away just after 10 p.m. last night at his home in Minneapolis. Anyone who lived within the broadcast range of CCO, will recall Cannon's drive time radio program the "Cannon Mess" which dominated the airwaves for more than two decades.

Cannon entertained generations of listeners with his characters Morgan Mundane, Ma Linger and Backlash LaRue, which were all creations of Cannon and all voiced by him. Cannon was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame with two plaques, one for him and one for the three characters he brought to life.

Cannon was known as private person who would often go out of his way to avoid attention. But on the air he dominated the coveted afternoon drive time slot. Cannon, who grew up on the Iron Range had always attributed his work ethic to his roots in Evelth. Cannon began his radio career in the 1940's and worked all over Minnesota before landing at KSTP in the 1960's where he stayed for 13 years.

After being let go at KSTP he was immediately picked up by WCCO where he remained until his retirement. Cannon also did play-by-play for University of Minnesota Gopher Hockey and color for the North Stars. Cannon never really officially retired and kept busy doing spots for WCCO and some voiceover work.

Steve Cannon was 81 years old.

Here is a link to more on Steve Cannon and some great sound clips:
http://www.museumofbroadcasting.com/Cannon.htm