February 26-28, 2015
Feb 26 02:28 Bad decisions, terrible outcomes Feb 26 04:16 KG's triumphant return to 'Sota Feb 26 09:44 Scott Walker: I won't take the bait Feb 27 01:54 Betty McCollum's hatchet job Feb 27 03:04 Bombshells from Judge Doty's ruling Feb 28 05:57 Eric Kaler's political correctness Feb 28 17:06 MnSCU obstinance report Feb 28 17:54 CPAC Straw Poll results
Prior Months: Jan
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Bad decisions, terrible outcomes
According to this article , 11 MnSCU institutions have been ordered to submit a Financial Recovery Plan because they've been financially mismanaged. Four out of seven MnSCU universities are on this list, including St. Cloud State. St. Cloud State's budget deficit for FY2015, the current fiscal year, is $9,542,000. That's bad news but it isn't the worst news for St. Cloud State. Next year's deficit is projected to be approximately $16,000,000.
Given the fact that SCSU's budget reserves have dropped significantly in the past few years, sound financial judgment would instruct President Potter to start making decisions to cut St. Cloud State's losses ASAP. That would instruct President Potter to start with cutting things that aren't central to the University's mission. Ancillary programs like the Women's Center should be receive heightened scrutiny.
First, it isn't that I'm saying the Women's Center doesn't serve any useful purposes. Still, there's a reason why it's called an ancillary program. One of the events it's sponsoring is a play called Slut: the play . Here's the purpose of the play:
to stem the tide of sexual shaming, harassment, and violence by raising awareness and calling for healthier attitudes toward female sexuality.
There's no questions that this is a subject to be taken seriously. That being said, that doesn't mean that St. Cloud State has to be the only option for putting on the play or that the University needs a Women's Center. Since there already is an organization that deals with sexual violence in the St. Cloud area, why can't that organization take the lead? If the argument is that there isn't an office for the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center on campus, there's a simple fix to that. With all of the empty buildings on campus, there's no reason why one of those buildings can't offer on-campus space to the organization.
That would offer the best of both worlds. First, there'd be trained professional health workers on St. Cloud State's campus to deal with this serious issue. Second, it wouldn't cost St. Cloud State a penny to make this important service available to its students.
Another essential step that St. Cloud State must take is to immediately renegotiate the lease President Potter signed with the J.A. Wedum Foundation. The University lost $7,700,000 in the first 5 years of the lease . This isn't the comprehensive list of bad financial decisions President Potter has made. They're just some of the terrible decisions he's made.
Thanks to President Potter's bad decisions, St. Cloud State has essentially been given detention. The biggest question remaining is whether anyone with authority will finally demand that he start making better decisions. If President Potter won't admit that he's made some rather foolish decision, then it's safe to say he won't fix the problems he's created.
Posted Thursday, February 26, 2015 2:28 AM
Comment 1 by Jarrett at 26-Feb-15 06:30 AM
He should be removed ASAP. He is a disease on the City of St Cloud, MN as well
Comment 2 by Mystique at 26-Feb-15 09:44 AM
If memory serves, King Banaian pushed the idea of zero based budgeting when he was a representative. In the case of higher education and particularly MnSCU, shouldn't there be a comprehensive review of all academic and ancillary programs? What unique niche does the Women's Center fill that cannot be filled by other existing on campus programs and external agencies? With the massive 5 year enrollment decline at SCSU and a severe budget problem, an external comprehensive review is essential for restoring SCSU's financial health. Students fees at most universities have skyrocked in short order. When it comes to student fees, I think students and their parents should be able to JUST SAY NO in being forced to have their hard earned money being spend on some programs like the female organism.
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/?p=16868
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 26-Feb-15 09:51 AM
I can attest to the fact that zero-based budgeting was part of HF2, which King was chief author of in 2011. The other part of HF2 that year was the Sunset Advisory Commission.
KG's triumphant return to 'Sota
When it comes to Minnesota Timberwolves basketball, one player's name rises above the others. Whether talking about Da Kid, the Big Ticket or The Franchise, Kevin Garnett is the man that's the face if the Timberwolves' franchise. Wednesday night, 8 years after leaving Minnesota to win a championship with the Boston Celtics, KG returned home. This video is worth watching:
We'll have to wait and see whether KG will play another season with the T'Wolves but we don't have to wait to find out whether he's instantly the leader of this team. Garnett's charisma translates into being a true leader.
The other thing we don't have to wait to find out about is whether he's still a great defender. His block of Nene's hook shot in the lane wasn't just a rejection. Most blocks happen when coming over from the weak side. Rarely does the guy guarding a big man block that player's shot. While KG guarded Nene, he swatted Nene's shot off the backboard, grabbed the rebound, then handed it off to Ricky Rubio.
Once they got Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic back from injuries, the T'Wolves' offense has been decent. They just couldn't stop teams. Wednesday night, the T'Wolves' defense was outstanding. Washington's box score tells the story of how good Minnesota's defense was:
It's great having KG back in a T'Wolves' uniform. It's even better watching him mentoring the talented kids on the T'Wolves' roster. Whether he plays another season or whether he accepts a front office job or whatever new role he takes with Minnesota, it's great having KG back home.
Posted Thursday, February 26, 2015 4:16 AM
No comments.
Scott Walker: I won't take the bait
Think of Scott Walker's op-ed as his way of telling the Gotcha Media that he isn't playing by their rules:
There has been much discussion about a media double standard where Republicans are covered differently than Democrats, asked to weigh in on issues the Democrats don't face. As a result, when we refuse to take the media's bait, we suffer.
I felt it this week when I was asked to weigh in on what other people said and did and what others' beliefs are. If you are looking for answers to those questions, ask those people. I will always choose to focus on what matters to the American people, not what matters to the media.
Various right-leaning pundits have said that Gov. Walker needs to deal with the Gotcha Media's tactics. Those pundits are wrong. In fact, I think that part of Gov. Walker's strengthening poll ratings are directly attributable to Gov. Walker's refusal to play the Gotcha Media's games.
This is the stuff that Americans want to hear about:
Americans believe our nation is facing some substantial challenges. Government spending is out of control. Terrorists seek to destroy our way of life. Our economic recovery has been slow. Our borders aren't secure. The federal government has usurped powers that rightly belong to our states.
And every day across Wisconsin, and as I travel the nation, I hear from people who share with me their worries about, and their hopes for, our country. They worry about whether their children in college will be able to find a good job after graduation. And as a dad with two sons in college, I worry right along with them.
They talk to me about the rise of terrorist attacks and ISIS, and what it means for our security at home, and for Americans and our allies abroad. We all pray for American sons and daughters in the military and their safe return home.
We're living in dangerous times in terms of the threat posed by ISIS and al-Qa'ida, both of which get stronger with each week. We aren't living in prosperous times, thanks to President Obama's failed policies, starting with the Affordable Care Act.
It's time conservatives to unite around Scott Walker. We need an inspirational leader who's gotten great things done and who hasn't played the Gotcha Media's games. Only Scott Walker fits that description. Jeb Bush did some conservative things as Florida's governor. Now that he's playing on the national stage, however, he's supporting things like Common Core and President Obama's executive amnesty.
What Americans need now is an unapologetic conservative who's listened to the people and did what they told him to do. We don't need someone who's listened to political consultants and the special interests.
Posted Thursday, February 26, 2015 9:44 AM
Comment 1 by Gretchen Leisen at 26-Feb-15 12:31 PM
I love Scott Walker's record, his determination, his ability to outmaneuver the news media, etc.. I also like Ted Cruz and Bobby Jindal.
The GOP candidate must be willing to fight for every vote. The only way to succeed is to turn those silly questions into opportunities by applying the subject to some other issue that people are interested in. An example would be - any question about another candidate's religious beliefs - turn it around to say that people of good faith are all interested in stopping the persecution of religious people in the Middle East. So the answer is peripheral to the question, but more pertinent to the interests of the general public.
The other thing is that Walker (or any other GOP candidate) will need to go around the news media. With the internet, twitter, facebook, etc. I hope that this time the GOP releases a different short ad every week from August 1st until the November election. Each ad will focus on a SERIOUS problem that the citizens are worried about. KEEP THE DEMOCRATS ON THE DEFENSE! Be Reaganesque.
Betty McCollum's hatchet job
President Obama has no fiercer defender than Rep. Betty McCollum, the Democrat representing Minnesota's 4th District. That doesn't mean she's accomplished much. It just means she's represented a district that's as competitive of a district as Nancy Pelosi's. Rep. McCollum's op-ed reads like something approved by President Obama himself and possibly written by Susan Rice with the assistance of Ben Rhodes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the midst of a heated reelection campaign. Yet he is traveling 5,900 miles to give a speech before a joint meeting of Congress on March 3 - just two weeks before Israelis go to the polls. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), working with Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, a former Republican political operative who renounced his U.S. citizenship, extended the invitation in a clear effort to undermine the president while the United States and its five partners engage in tough negotiations with Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons, a national security priority I strongly support.
TRANSLATION: Rep. McCollum hates Israel. What's worse is that she supports President Obama's bad faith negotiations with Iran that is aimed at giving Iran the time it needs to enrich enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon. Any statements that President Obama is trying to prevent Iran "from obtaining nuclear weapons" is BS.
Charles Krauthammer's article blows that myth to smithereens:
The news from the nuclear talks with Iran was already troubling. Iran was being granted the 'right to enrich.' It would be allowed to retain and spin thousands of centrifuges. It could continue construction of the Arak plutonium reactor. Yet so thoroughly was Iran stonewalling International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors that just last Thursday the IAEA reported its concern 'about the possible existence in Iran of undisclosed ... development of a nuclear payload for a missile.' Bad enough. Then it got worse: News leaked Monday of the 'sunset clause.' President Obama had accepted the Iranian demand that any restrictions on its program be time-limited. After which, the mullahs can crank up their nuclear program at will and produce as much enriched uranium as they want.
That doesn't sound like President Obama is working tirelessly to prevent the Iranian mullahs from getting a nuclear weapon. That sounds like President Obama has given Iran permission to build nuclear weapons.
Here's more of Rep. McCollum's BS:
'To think about going behind the back of a friendly country's administration and working out this kind of arrangement with the parliament or the Congress - it's unheard of,' said Daniel C. Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Such an unprecedented lack of respect toward a U.S. president has not gone unnoticed in Israel, either.
Rep. McCollum expects Israel to respect a president who's handing a nuclear weapon to Iran, still the biggest state sponsor of terrorism? That's frightening, especially considering this information:
The agreement thus would provide a predictable path to an Iranian bomb. Indeed, a flourishing path, with trade resumed, oil pumping, and foreign investment pouring into a restored economy. Meanwhile, Iran's intercontinental-ballistic-missile program is subject to no restrictions at all. It's not even part of these negotiations. Why is Iran building them? You don't build ICBMs in order to deliver sticks of dynamite. Their only purpose is to carry nuclear warheads.
In other words, Rep. McCollum supports Iran getting the capability to launch ICBMs. She supports Iran having the ability to hit NYC with nuclear weapons.
Basharat concluded his Haaretz column by saying, 'Any leader who tried to do to the Americans what Netanyahu has done would be ejected immediately, not from Washington but from office in his home country.' That's one opinion. I will respectfully leave that choice to Israeli voters. In the meantime, I will respectfully abstain from attending Mr. Netanyahu's campaign rally.
That's laughable. After Rep. McCollum does a hatchet job on one of America's staunchest allies, she then pretends that she doesn't care who wins the Israeli elections. I believe that like I believe that waving a red cape in a bull's face won't provoke an attack. That's why Minnesotans think Rep. McCollum is a joke.
Posted Friday, February 27, 2015 1:54 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 27-Feb-15 07:07 AM
Where is a real reporter to ask Betty:
"If you're the leader of your country wouldn't you be concerned that a country which has said they want to destroy won't set off an atomic bomb in one of your largest cities if they have one? You're not worried about an atomic bomb being set off in New York City or Washington D.C. for example?"
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by MadJack at 27-Feb-15 05:29 PM
Iran's real target is not Israel but America. Israel is already in easy reach of their current ballistic missiles. It's almost as if Obama is aligned with Iran's nuclear weapons program. Could it be that Obama hates America? Well the white part of it any way. The next 22 months with Obama and his pen and phone are fraught with peril.
Comment 3 by Chad Q at 27-Feb-15 05:34 PM
Walter -
I live in Betty's district and I believe this is the same woman who said that al-Qaeda was no longer a threat so of course she would be willing to give Iran a nuke. The woman is so vacuous it amazes me she continues to get re-elected.
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 27-Feb-15 11:36 PM
Chad:
The problem is I believe my rep Keith E is more clueless than Betty. I think you're a little lucky compared with me.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Bombshells from Judge Doty's ruling
Judge Doty's 16 page ruling in the NFLPA's lawsuit on Adrian Peterson's behalf against the NFL contains some bombshell statements. This part of Judge Doty's ruling is particularly stinging:
Moreover, Henderson's conclusion that the New Policy is consistent with the previous Policy is contradicted by the Commissioner's own statements in which he acknowledged that the New Policy included 'changes' to the Policy. See, e.g., id. Ex. 65, at 1 (' I made a mistake. I'm not satisfied with the process we went through, I'm not satisfied with the conclusions. And that's why we came out last month and said: we're going to make changes to our policies. We made changes to our discipline.'); see also id. Ex. 35, at 99:21-100:15.
At the heart of the NFL's defense was that the Commissioner had great latitude in determining Adrian Peterson's punishment.
Judge Doty's ruling didn't just criticize Commissioner Goodell. It criticized Henderson, too:
The NFLPA next argues that Henderson exceeded his authority by adjudicating the hypothetical question of whether Peterson's discipline could be sustained under the previous Policy. The NFL responds that the NFLPA submitted that issue to Henderson. The record belies the NFL's argument. The NFLPA submitted to Henderson 'the pure legal issue' of whether the New Policy could be applied retroactively. NFLPA Ex. 122, 21:22-22:24; see also id. Ex. 20, at 4. Nothing in the record supports a finding that the NFLPA asked Henderson to determine whether the discipline imposed was consistent with the previous Policy.
In other words, Harold Henderson tried justifying his decision by saying that the NFLPA asked him to. That isn't the only time where Judge Doty criticized the NFL's arbitrator:
Henderson was an NFL executive for nearly two decades and apparently continues on in a part-time capacity, earning $2.5 million in compensation from the NFL since 2009.
This footnote was found at the bottom of Page 8 of Judge Doty's ruling. This information, by itself, isn't damning. The fact that Henderson's ruling sounded like the NFL's press release, coupled with his less-than-impartial ruling, however, all but state explicitly that Henderson was Commissioner's self-appointed hatchet man against Adrian Peterson.
ProFootballTalk stated that the NFL hasn't had a good year in the courts. That's what happens when a tyrant thinks he has the authority to make the rules up as he goes. That's what third world dictators get away with. High profile CEOs of major corporations don't get away with that very often.
Posted Friday, February 27, 2015 3:04 AM
Comment 1 by bruce danielson at 28-Feb-15 05:38 PM
One cannot change an application of contract post hoc.
Interesting, somehow both sides must have agreed the "neutral arbitrator" be appointed by the management, not neutrally agreed upon. Strange.
I strongly agree with Doty's ruling.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 28-Feb-15 05:46 PM
Thanks for that perspective, Bruce.
Eric Kaler's political correctness
U of M President Eric Kaler's new policy on reporting crime on the U of M campus is fairly straightforward:
The University of Minnesota plans to reduce the use of suspect descriptions, including race, in crime alerts sent to the campus community. President Eric Kaler described the new approach in an email sent to students, staff and faculty on Wednesday. Kaler said suspect descriptions will still be included when they help identify a potentially dangerous suspect, but that when the description is too general, the university will "note that only a limited description of the suspect(s) is available."
If that sounds foolish to you, check this out:
The decision came after a dialogue about the issue on campus, which included a student-led occupation of Kaler's office earlier this month.
I wouldn't call it a dialogue as much as it's President Kaler caving into the demands of some overly PC students:
Thirteen demonstrators were taken into custody Monday night after staging a sit-in at University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler's Morrill Hall office to complain that the university is not committed enough to diversity.
The protest, organized by a group that calls itself "Whose Diversity?", ended just before 8 p.m. Monday. A tweet from the Twitter account for Whose Diversity, @WhoseDiv, said all 13 were released by 4:37 a.m. Activist Tanja Andic said protesters believe that the university merely gives lip service to the idea of diversity on campus. "They talk about investment in diversity," Andic said. "They talk about having it as something that benefits the university rather than something that is about basic ethics, and justice and serving everybody."
That's proof that the inmates are running the U of M asylum. It's also proof that Kaler doesn't have the spine to stand up for common sense. This tells me that President Kaler doesn't have much in the way of common sense himself:
"We have heard from many in our community that the use of race in suspect descriptions in our Crime Alerts may unintentionally reinforce racist stereotypes of Black men, and other people of color, as criminals and threats," Kaler wrote. "That in turn can create an oppressive climate for some members of our community, a climate of suspicion and hostility."
That isn't the worst news. This is:
Tori Hong, who helped organize the sit-in Feb. 9, called the decision a good first step. "We do think that it's not enough, and that the university it still being somewhat superficial about it," she said. "So we're going to keep pushing the administration to think harder and keep engaging in these conversations."
Ms. Hong thinks that this is just the first step. She's probably right because President Kaler doesn't seem to have the will to fight for common sense. The thought that the campus shouldn't include a person's race "when the description is too general" is foolish. It's insulting that these student activists pushed President Kaler into this decision based on the thought that suspect descriptions "may unintentionally reinforce racist stereotypes of Black men."
Posted Saturday, February 28, 2015 5:57 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 01-Mar-15 07:44 AM
This story was brought up on the Joe Pags show on Thursday and no one could believe this was happening. It was just another story they used to mock Minnesotans and show how ridiculous this state has become. We became a laughingstock with Jesse and it just keeps going with Al, Amy, Dayton, and now this.
MnSCU obstinance report
After reading this article , it's impossible to connect the word competence with the title of high-ranking MnSCU administrator. Here's why:
According to Sam Nelson, president of Minnesota State College Faculty-Ridgewater, the decision to take the vote followed eight years of efforts to improve communication with Allen. Union members feel Allen has been unresponsive to their concerns.
The vote passed overwhelmingly. About 140 faculty members were eligible to vote, 75 percent cast ballots, and 90 percent voted in favor, Nelson said.
That's a pretty overwhelming result. Here's the results of the faculty's surveys:
This statement startled me:
1. President Allen demonstrates respect for faculty.
2007-08 = 2.22
2008-09 = 2.067
2011-12 = 2.38
This is the other statement that startled me:
3. President Allen demonstrates that he places appropriate value on the input of faculty in addressing college issues.
2007-08 = 1.98
2008-09 = 1.623
2011-12 = 1.86
Part of the collective bargaining agreement between MnSCU and the faculty is shared governance. Whether you agree with that principle or not, it's part of a negotiated contract. That means these colleges' presidents are obligated to that. Clearly, the vast majority of faculty at Ridgewater think that President Allen isn't living up to their agreement.
This isn't rare within MnSCU. At St. Cloud State, their monthly shared governance meeting is officially called Meet and Confer. For the last 2+ years, the SCSU Faculty Association have nicknamed the meetings Meet and Announce, as in they hold the meeting and President Potter announces the things he's changed unilaterally.
Considering the fact that St. Cloud State has a $9,542,000 deficit this year that's predicted to jump to more than $12,000,000 next year, perhaps President Potter should consider the possibility of actually listening to the FA's ideas.
Posted Saturday, February 28, 2015 5:06 PM
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CPAC Straw Poll results
Predictably, Rand Paul won the CPAC Straw Poll for the third straight year. That isn't proof that Sen. Paul is a top tier candidate. It's proof that he's inherited his father's supporters. By the time the South Carolina Primary rolls around, he'll pretty much be an afterthought in the GOP presidential race. Here are the top 5 finishers:
Noticeably missing from the ranks of frontrunners is Chris Christie:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, considered a top-flight candidate since the 2012 presidential elections, finished last with 2.8 percent of the vote.
To put that in perspective, Christie finished behind such juggernauts as Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Rick Santorum.
The story, though, is Gov. Walker's strong second-place finish. Nobody thought he'd dethrone Rand Paul as the straw poll winner. Finishing with 21% is impressive, though I can't say it's totally unexpected. Here's what the Washington Times is reporting :
Mr. Walker saw the biggest surge in this year's poll, rising from sixth place and 7 percent last year to reach 21.4 percent this year. That was nearly twice the 11.5 percent Mr. Cruz garnered, about the same as his showing last year.
This result is interesting:
When first and second choice preferences were combined, Mr. Paul and Mr. Walker were even closer, with 41.5 percent of respondents listing Mr. Paul as in their top two, and 40.8 percent listing Mr. Walker. Mr. Cruz and Mr. Carson trailed with little more than half that support.
Here's another interesting tidbit of information :
It sounds like Jeb Bush's supporters are taking CPAC pretty seriously this year. Emails provided to Slate show that backers of the former Florida governor are busing supporters from downtown Washington D.C. to CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland, and organizing to get them day passes into the event.
One of the emails that went out this morning was from Fritz Brogan, a former advance man for then-President George W. Bush who (per the Washington Post) co-hosted a fundraiser for Jeb's Right to Rise PAC earlier this month. A Bush insider confirmed to Slate that Bush's Right to Rise PAC is helping organize the transportation.
'We strongly recommend arriving as early as possible to get a seat,' wrote Brogan in an email sent to undisclosed recipients. 'Our 'Early Rise' team will be there at 7:30am onward helping reserve seats- if you want to join the early team, let me know.' Brogan wrote that there were still available seats on buses leaving from K Street and Georgetown at noon on Friday to get to the event in time for Bush's talk.
Two things are important about this. First, Jeb's team went all-in to impress at CPAC with the hope of doing better than expected. That didn't happen. The other important thing about this is that there aren't many people from K Street and Georgetown available to vote in the New Hampshire or South Carolina primaries. If this lackluster finish doesn't give Team Jeb some gray hairs, then they aren't paying attention.
Posted Saturday, February 28, 2015 5:54 PM
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