November 16-20, 2012
Nov 16 07:19 Union gets 18,500 people fired Nov 16 10:46 Rep. King: Petraeus testifies talking points were edited Nov 17 08:08 Rep. Hortman: Alida Messinger's personal legislator Nov 18 07:10 MnSCU's wasteful ways Nov 19 07:35 It's been 8 great years Nov 19 12:24 Nolan: Alida's DC ally Nov 20 04:50 Time for Potter, Rosenstone to make better decisions Nov 20 16:22 DFL: the party of smear campaigns & deceitful chanting points
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Union gets 18,500 people fired
Thanks to a union's decision to strike, Hostess is filing for final chapter bankruptcy :
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hostess Brands, the maker of such iconic baked goods as Twinkies, Devil Dogs and Wonder Bread, announced Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them.
The closing will result in Hostess' nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide. The bakers' union represents around 5,000.
Hostess will move to sell its assets to the highest bidder. That could mean new life for some of its most popular products, which could be scooped up at auction and attached to products from other companies.
"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement.
These idiots couldn't see the forest from the trees. The union insisted that they weren't taking any cuts. As a direct result of their decision, Hostess Brands will soon be part of history. Thanks to the unions' stupidity and greed, 18,500 people will hit a soft jobs market at the worst time.
It's guaranteed that the unionistas will whine about getting a raw deal. They'll say that they're just fighting for a livable wage. Instead of agreeing to a deal like the Teamsters, they chose to bankrupt the company and put 18,500 people on unemployment.
If these people want to know what stupidity looks like, they should buy a mirror.
Tags: Hostess , Wonder Bread , Twinkies , Bankruptcy , Unions , Unemployment
Posted Friday, November 16, 2012 7:19 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 16-Nov-12 09:54 AM
Hey, unemployment benefits are the best way to inject money into the economy so the US will be better off with 18,500 more people not working. What a joke.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-12 10:54 AM
Thanks for that note, Chad. BTW, are you related to Nancy Pelosi in any way? Just kidding.
Comment 3 by J. Ewing at 16-Nov-12 11:17 AM
You watch. Picket lines will be set up outside all of the plants demanding that they re-open and pay back wages.
Comment 4 by eric z at 16-Nov-12 04:49 PM
Rapacious ownership at play. Probably some corporate raider operation, Bain perhaps, doing a takeover and wanting to fold the thing up to raid the pension reserves or some such.
Comment 5 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-12 10:13 PM
Eric, Hostess has been in financial difficulty for quite some time. It's time you did some research before you assume another evil corporation done working families wrong.
Rep. King: Petraeus testifies talking points were edited
In a shocking statement after the House hearing, Rep. Peter King confirmed that Gen. Petraeus testified that the CIA's original talk points were edited :
Here's a partial transcript of Rep. King's statement:
REP. KING: How did the final talking points emerge? He said it went through a long process involving many agencies, including the Department of Justice and the State Department. No one knows yet who came up with the final version of talking points other than to say that the talking points that the CIA had put together were different than the talking points that finally emerged.
Later, Rep. King said "The original talking points were much more specific about al-Qa'ida involvement."
That's explosive testimony. Gen. Petraeus essentially said that the CIA, the people that gather the intelligence, originally identified al-Qa'ida as being involved in the attack. Equally explosive is the fact that the original CIA talking points were changed by people outside the intelligence community.
That means what's been known up till now as "the CIA's talking points" weren't put together by the CIA. It includes the possibility that the talking points that Susan Rice referenced were political in nature.
The minute Rice's talking points don't have the heft and credibility of being from the CIA is the minute these talking points lose their credibility. It's also the minute Ambassador Rice's story loses credibility.
Tags: Benghazi , al-Qa'ida , CIA Briefing , David Petraeus , Oversight Hearing , DOJ , State Department , Susan Rice , Talking Points , Cover-up , Democrats
Posted Friday, November 16, 2012 10:46 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 16-Nov-12 04:43 PM
Where did this phrase "talking points" originate?
What is the history of its use, this context, this situation?
The post presumes knowledge or agreement on some base premises/definitions, and w/o being privy to what was assumed there, it does not hang together making sense w/o the background.
Petreas was called to tell the truth, wasn't he, and put under oath and questioned. How is his testimony not more important than handwaving about "talking points?" Please help me understand.
Comment 2 by eric z at 16-Nov-12 04:47 PM
For instance, did the CIA invent and promulgate the "protest about blasphemous film trailer" story, who formulated it, when, and why - was Susan Rice misled by CIA people that the administration trusted, and was the distrustful stuff from the top - Petaeus himself, or spread by lower rung personnel at CIA?
That's relevant. Not "talking points."
Romney had talking points, he'd cut taxes spend more on the military, and balance the budget. Nobody believed him, and he never gave detail.
Detailed fact counts, not speculation over "talking points." Who cooked the "protests over film trailer" story, when, why, and how was it spread/promulgated?
Any info on that kind of stuff?
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-12 10:21 PM
In this instance, the White House, specifically Jay Carney, used the term talking points with regards to the document.
More important than the little quibbles game you're playing, though, is that the CIA knew al-Qa'ida had planned the attack for the anniversary of 9/11. Our diplomats knew AQIM, Ansar al-Shariah & 8 other militias were within miles of the Benghazi consulate.
That's why they kept requesting additional security. Either Hillary or President Obama made the decision that the additional security wasn't needed.
They ignored the intelligence that the CIA gathered. Rather than doing his job, President Obama politicized the intelligence reports. That's what got 4 American patriots killed.
Everthing else is irrelevant.
Rep. Hortman: Alida Messinger's personal legislator
When Speaker-In-Waiting Paul Thissen announced his committee chairs , one chairmanship in particular jumped out at me. Thissen's pick of Melissa Hortman as Energy Committee chair should frighten taxpayers. I wrote about Rep. Hortman's exotic opinions on energy policy in this post . At the time, Rep. Hortman and others were pushing legislation that would've implemented a cap and trade policy, with emission standards tied to California's. In an op-ed, Rep. Hortman cited this statistic:
FACT: More than 75 percent of Minnesotans favor the legislation. In addition to loving our trucks and cars, Minnesotans also value our lakes, rivers and streams; our forests and natural areas; wildlife habitat and clean air; and way of life.
In a statewide poll conducted by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership in fall 2007, more than 75 percent of voters supported legislation requiring new cars and trucks registered in the state to meet lower emission standards.
If Rep. Hortman gets her way, and I'm betting she will, we'll soon have a cap-and-trade system in Minnesota. It's best to not think of Rep. Hortman as representing a district. It's better to think of Rep. Hortman as being assigned to get Alida Messinger's militant environmentalist agenda passed.
At the time of her pushing cap-and-trade legislation, I did some research into how the California emissions regulatory system would affect car prices. Here's what I found in 2008:
The California vehicles I checked cost north of $2000 more than the identical vehicle sold here in Minneosta.
As I said at the time, I didn't do an exhaustive search. That said, I did a lengthy search. Repeatedly, the pattern held.
It's impossible to think of this pick as anything other than a jesture of obedience to Alida Messinger and a first signal that this legislature will be compliant with the militant environmentalists' agenda.
This is a stunning admission:
Congress allows states to adopt either the California standard or the federal standard for air emissions from vehicles. California regulated air pollution from motor vehicles before Congress adopted the motor vehicle sections of the Clean Air Act. Because of California's pre-existing state law on the issue, states were given the choice to follow the California standard or the federal standard but they may not set their own standards that would be different from either the California or the federal standard. Minnesota has not yet adopted the California standard so the EPA regulates motor vehicle emissions in Minnesota. The Clean Car legislation I have authored would have Minnesota opt into the California standard for motor vehicle emissions.
It isn't a coincidence that California's gas prices are the highest in the nation. California's emissions standards have driven up vehicle prices while forcing a glut of exotic fuel mixtures. Think of it as the worst of both worlds: higher priced gas going into higher priced vehicles.
Welcome to Rep. Hortman's world.
Tags: Energy , Cap And Trade , Melissa Hortman , Gas Prices , Car Prices , Militant Environmentalists , Special Interests , Alida Messinger , Tax Increase , Paul Thissen , Mark Dayton , DFL
Posted Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:08 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 18-Nov-12 07:37 AM
Heh, heh, heh. And the morons who voted the democrats back into power think only the rich are going to pay higher taxes. We are all targets for the democrat tax, regulate, and spend machine that will take control in January. We'll see if people are really worried about the lakes, river, forests, and their way of life when their utility bills double and the price of gas and a vehicle goes up to where only a select few can afford to drive. I can hardly wait.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-12 11:10 AM
Chad, many of the people who funded the DFL takeover are trust fund babies, folks who don't put their money at risk. Unfortunately, many of the people that voted for the change will be significantly hurt by the DFL, aka the middle class & the working poor.
Comment 2 by Chris at 18-Nov-12 10:49 AM
In case you do not know, Rep. Hortman has publicly stated she worked for VP Al Gore.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-12 11:08 AM
Thanks for that information. I didn't know that.
Comment 3 by eric z at 19-Nov-12 07:33 AM
With Republicans having not done well in the election, do you see Hann or Daudt as having any Moses in them?
If so, which more than the other, and what will the tablets brought down from the mountain top say?
Have the Republicans any viable agenda, not mixed to appeal to blocs in "the base" but coherent?
If so, are Hann and Daudt fit to advance it?
Hann gets his livelihood from the health insurance industry. That bodes ill. Daudt, is he a team player or advancing mainly, Daudt?
Look at your two top guns. Then criticize others?
Come on. How's the Brodkorb lawsuit going?
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 19-Nov-12 07:46 AM
Eric, Republicans ran on a positive agenda. Simply put, the money spent by Alida Messinger on smear campaigns drowned out that positive message.
The question is whether the DFL will have the ability to say no from time to time. That isn't likely. Their tax increases won't net the money they'll need to pay for their insane spending increases.
Within a year, their spending increases will have to be scaled back because the tax increases won't produce the money they need.
Finally, your hatred of profit-making companies is well-documented. I won't dignify your cheapshot of Sen. Hann other than to say he's intellectually superior to Sen. Bakk.
I'm confident he'll expose Sen. Bakk as an intellectual lightweight.
Comment 5 by walter hanson at 19-Nov-12 12:22 PM
Eric:
If you think it's so easy why don't you raise the money to buy Hostess and give those 18000 workers their jobs back and a nice payraise.
If you didn't notice the Republicans ran on an agenda and come in 2014 when Minnesota has gone to hell (especially compared with Wisconsin) with businesses fleeing, no tax cuts for anybody, raising deficits which is what they said they were going to stop, and not even being able to say yes to their allies it will be the DFL that doesn't have a message that the "Trust babies" as Gary says that can save them. The DFL will be greatful that they still have the state senate until 2016.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 6 by eric z at 22-Nov-12 09:30 AM
What about Daudt? Do you like that choice, or did you like Zellers-Dean better? It is not asking you to nay-say anyone, just relative preferences within your own party representatives.
KD sure can accumulate traffic citations, that I can say is an objective fact.
Comment 7 by Gary Gross at 22-Nov-12 11:03 AM
Kurt Daudt is a good man. He'll handle the position well. The good news is that Thissen's just a 1-term Speaker.
Comment 8 by walter hanson at 23-Nov-12 11:43 AM
Eric:
KD won't try to pass a bad agenda for the state of Minnesota which is what the DFL will do.
Unfortunately, you don't understand that it's a bad agenda.
By the way have you gone and bought Hostess to save those 18,000 jobs yet?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
MnSCU's wasteful ways
I read this Strib article because I suspected there had to be a catch to it. I was right. First, here's what caught my attention:
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will ask legislators for $97 million more over two years. In return, leaders pledge to boost enrollment, cut administration by $44 million and cap tuition increases at 3 percent.
Officials of the higher education system said the $1.2 billion budget request approved Wednesday makes unprecedented promises to match state funding with private money. For example, if it gets $21 million in state funding for equipment and technology, the system will raise an equal amount from businesses.
It's great PR saying that MnSCU is capping tuition increases at 3%. The devil, as always, is in the details:
If funded, the MnSCU system would limit tuition increases to 3 percent or $145 a year for a full-time college student and $205 a year for a university student. That limit does not apply to fees or room and board .
In other words, the lost tuition revenue will be recouped through higher student fees and more aggressive alumni fundraising efforts. There's no indication systemic change is part of MnSCU's agenda. Spin definitely is part of MnSCU's strategy:
This is Chancellor Steven Rosenstone's first budget request as head of the system of 24 two-year colleges and seven state universities, which enrolls more than 420,000 students. Much of its language focuses on educating more people for "high-demand, high-growth professions."
It's great to hear that MnSCU will focus more resources on educating students for "high-demand, high-growth professions." It's just that it doesn't match with reality :
Floral Design
Central Lakes College
About this Program
Floral Designers provide a variety of products and services to the public. Products include floral arrangements for all occasions, blooming and foliage plants, and accessory gift items. Services include the care of plants and flowers, interior decorating, and providing consultation for weddings and other special occasion. People who enjoy art, working with and serving others, as well as those who enjoy growing and working with living plants and flowers will benefit from the Floral Design program. The Floral Design program prepares students for a wide variety of challenging and profitable careers. Students will learn to design traditional and contemporary flower arrangements; work with fresh, silk, and dried flowers; identify and care for flowering plants, foliage plants, and fresh flowers and greens.
I didn't know that Floral Design fit the description of being a "high-demand, high-growth profession." I'm betting most small businesses and large corporations weren't aware of that emerging entrepreneurial opportunity, either. Then there's the Natural Resources AAS Degree/Certificate program at Central Lakes. If a student inquired as to what they'd be qualified to do upon graduation, here's what they'd find :
EXAMPLES OF JOBS RELATED TO THIS PROGRAM
The links below provide information from the Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network
(O*NET -- www.onetonline.org) about occupations that may be related to this program including the knowledge, skills and
education level that may be required.
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-4181.00
What "high-demand" field does this fit into, Chancellor Rosenstone?
Not to be outdone, Century College offers a degree in Global Studies . Here's what students will learn:
Global Perspective
- Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements which influence relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions.
- Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
- Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
Here's what Bryan Caplan recently said about the current state of higher education :
I'm currently in the 36th grade. After high school graduation, I spent four years at UC Berkeley to get my bachelor's degree, and four years at Princeton to get my Ph.D. In 1997, George Mason hired me as a professor - and I'm still here. I have a dream job for life: GMU essentially pays me to do whatever I want, and I never have to retire. But while higher education has been very good for me, it has been a lousy deal for society.
Taxpayers heavily subsidize higher education, about $500 billion dollars per year. What does our society get in exchange? Conventional wisdom says that these billions lead to a massive increase in what economists call "human capital." The nation's colleges teach promising young people the skills they need to contribute to the modern economy, enriching us all. If you actually pay attention to the subjects that most students study, however, this story does not fit the facts.
Think about the classes you're taking right now. How many are teaching you skills you're ever likely to use on the job? There are very few jobs that use history, literature, psychology, social science, foreign languages, and the like. Think about your major: Does it even pretend to be vocational? There may be a few engineers in the audience, but most of us study subjects that simply aren't very practical. And if you talk to engineers, even they spend a lot of time proving theorems, a skill you rarely use outside of academia.
It sounds like he's familiar with MnSCU's Floral Design, Natural Resources and Global Perspectives programs. This is the question that sticks out:
How many are teaching you skills you're ever likely to use on the job?
It's time to quit pretending that MnSCU is meeting our human capital needs. Further, it's time to quit pretending that there isn't tons of wasteful spending on each campus. Forget about raising Minnesota's Higher Education budget. Let's start by talking about how much waste should be sliced from the Higher Education budget.
Any other starting point will just lead to another status quo, reform-free, fat-filled Higher Education budget that Minnesota's taxpayers shouldn't be asked to subsidize.
Tags: MNSCU , Jobs Of The Future , Natural Resources , Floral Design , Global Perspective , Century College , Central Lakes Community College , Pork , Reforms , Tuition Freeze , Room and Board , Student Fees , Fundraising , Status Quo
Posted Sunday, November 18, 2012 7:10 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 19-Nov-12 07:24 AM
Beginning, "cut administration by $44 million"?
Do you expect a devil in THOSE details?
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 19-Nov-12 07:40 AM
Read the entire post, Eric. It's self-explanatory.
Comment 3 by walter hanson at 19-Nov-12 12:28 PM
Eric:
You do understand if you do a comparison of the price of gasoline from 1980 through now and do a comparison with the price of college admissions the graph for college admission has grown far more dramatic because the colleges haven't been forced to respond to price competition like the so called evil oil companies had to respond.
Note reasons why the price of gasoline hasn't jumped dramatically people have bought compat cars, tried to drive less. Do you have any real suggeestions for the colleges. They seem to just keep making more and more departments because they know that the government will give them more money directly or indirectly in the form of extra college aide and student loans.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 4 by Jethro at 20-Nov-12 12:02 AM
Floral design? I truly doubt this program was developed after a needs assessment was conducted and public hearings were scheduled. MnSCU does not work. What useful purpose does the central office serve students and taxpayers? Inquiring minds want to know.
It's been 8 great years
It was 8 years ago today that I started blogging. Rathergate caught my attention but it was the freedom movement that inspired me. The first big subject that I wrote about was the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine. That's how I first learned of a certain economics professor at St. Cloud State. I've been privileged to call King Banaian my friend since then.
I wrote about the massive protests that gathered in Independance Square, the Purple Thumb elections in Iraq, followed by Hezbollah's assassination of Rafiq Harriri in Lebanon. Harriri's assassination triggered the Cedar Revolution.
It's been fun writing about the TEA Party movement. I've even helped put a couple of them together with the help of Leo Pusateri, another important conservative ally in the fight against progressives. As helpful as Leo has been in the fight for conservative principles, I appreciate his friendship the most.
I've learned from some outstanding bloggers along the way. Captain Ed's (that's what he was called in his pre-HotAir days) posts from CQ were awesome reads. When Ed published his lengthy posts, the thing that stood out for me was the depth and detail of his research.
Mitch Berg's literary skills still continue to amaze me. Mitch isn't just a talented writer, either. He's a topnotch reporter, too.
Early in my blogging career, I learned about the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers. Today, many MOBsters are friends of mine. If you aren't a MOBster, you should join ASAP. The comradery is great.
Finally, I'd like to thank the people who faithfully read my blog. Over the years, I've been amazed at who reads my blog. Sitemeter statistics have shown lots of state legislators read LFR. That's why I'm proud to say LFR has had a serious impact on the policy debates in St. Paul.
With the DFL now in control, temporarily, of the Legislature and with a DFL governor, I pledge to step up my reporting.
Posted Monday, November 19, 2012 7:35 AM
Comment 1 by Nancy at 19-Nov-12 08:32 AM
Congrats, Gary! Now more than ever, we need citizen journalists and columnists to speak boldly with the truth. My goal this year is to add more voices to the MOB and to True North.
Thanks for all you write!
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 19-Nov-12 09:35 AM
Thanks Nancy. My apologies for not including you, Derek & the rest of the Junta to my list of MOBSter friends. Thanks for doing, not just talking. You're a great example of what's right about the conservative movement.
Comment 2 by walter hanson at 19-Nov-12 12:24 PM
Gary:
Congrats on eight great years and I look forward to at least 8 more. It seems like thanks to Eric you have been having to work 16 years for just 8 years.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 3 by eric z at 22-Nov-12 09:23 AM
Gary, I know you went through one pretty major template change, after I noticed and began reading LFR. Was there more change before that?
In any event, congrats to you Gary, and Walter, what can I say but Thanks, on Thanksgiving. You know how to say warm and supportive things. If I can double anyone's time on earth, it is something I cannot neglect.
Comment 4 by Gary Gross at 22-Nov-12 11:17 AM
Actually, I started this blog on April 1, 2006. I started on Blogger under the name Let Freedom Ring (Throughout the World) on a Saturday night, Nov. 19, 2004.
In the winter of 2006, Blogger had a 2 month stretch where their service was, putting it politely, unreliable, I decided to change to WordPress.
Recording history being made, first with the Orange Revolution, then with the Iraqi vote on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2005, followed quickly by the short-lived Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, it's been an incredible time.
I've made some fantastic friends (King Banaian, Mitch Berg, Leo Pusateri, Ed Morrissey, Nancy Laroche, Janet Beihoffer, Terry Stone & the Lady Logician just to name a few), met other nice people & generally enjoyed myself while hopefully exposing corruption and making life better.
Those are certainly things worth being thankful for.
Nolan: Alida's DC ally
When
Onions: To Rick Nolan for his comments at the Associated Press interview in Minneapolis on Nov. 18 when he said the BWCA Land Swap bill would not advance before the end of the congressional session because it lacks bipartisan support. If he wanted to tell the truth he would have said that the BWCA Land Swap bill lacks Democrat support as the bill was already passed by the Republican House of Representatives. Democrats hold a strong majority in the Senate and both Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken are Democrat, so what could stop a Senate companion bill from being passed? Only their allegiance to the Sierra Club rather than to the voters of Northeastern Minnesota.
By playing partisan politics with this legislation, he's sabotaged any hopes the land swap could occur and the revenue for K-12 education it would've created.
When Nolan said that the BWCA Land Swap bill didn't have bipartisan support, he lied. Any bill that's supported by Tom Ruckavina, Chip Cravaack and Mark Dayton has bipartisan support. Had Nolan been interested in telling the truth, which he isn't, he would've said the bill didn't stand a chance because Harry Reid and Senate Democrats are obstructionists who don't care about Minnesota.
This leads to another question, specifically, why didn't the supposedly bipartisan Am Klobuchar support this bill? Might it be that she's another unfailing ally of the militant environmentalists?
It's time to defeat liberals that talk bipartisanship in public, then sabotage school funding while their media allies look the other way.
Tags: Militant Environrmentalists , Sierra Club , Alida Messinger , Melissa Hortman , Paul Thissen , Amy Klobuchar , Rick Nolan , DFL , Harry Reid , Democrats , Chip Cravaack , BWCA Land Swap , K-12 Education , GOP
Posted Monday, November 19, 2012 12:24 PM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 20-Nov-12 11:37 AM
Another case of "don't do as I do, do as I say."
Sadly, all too common in today's world and about to become even more pronounced in Washington. Especially the "do as I say" part.
Comment 2 by eric z at 22-Nov-12 09:19 AM
It is one small earth and we all have to live on it.
Those protective of it should get a gold star, not a scold.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 22-Nov-12 11:07 AM
Nolan isn't protecting the Earth. That's a myth. It's time you realized that the environmental movement is nothing more than anarchists' attempt to control human behavior by essentially eliminating private property rights.
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 23-Nov-12 11:36 AM
Eric:
Then I assume that you will give all your money to those miners you don't want to give jobs to?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Time for Potter, Rosenstone to make better decisions
When Chancellor Rosenstone submitted his first MnSCU budget request , he said it focused "on educating more people for 'high-demand, high-growth professions.'"
That's a perfect-sounding soundbite but it's spin, not reality.
When Earl Potter told the St. Cloud City Council that the Aviation program was "a fine program that we could no longer afford", he sidestepped a bigger issue. This Time article cuts to the heart of the matter in its opening paragraphs:
Air travel can be torturous enough as it is, with delays, cancellations, lost luggage and expensive tickets, but experts warn that another problem looms on the horizon, threatening to further complicate the commercial airline experience: a pilot shortage. According to the Wall Street Journal , U.S. airlines are on track to run out of pilots in the near future and are facing the most serious scarcity of trained aviators since the 1960s.
The paper reports that more than half of American pilots are over age 50, and there is a dearth of qualified candidates to fill the cockpits that will be left empty when they retire. The mandatory retirement age for pilots is 65 years old (extended from 60 in 2007), meaning that thousands are expected to leave their careers with no one to replace them, the Journal notes. While the profession saw a boom in new hires in the 1980s, significantly fewer have been hired in the last 10 years, thanks to a combination of tighter regulations, pay cuts and general economic turmoil.
It's time to think of the ramifications of the conditions described in Time's article. With the holiday season approaching, people will be faced with crowded airports, overbooked flights, longer delays and, potentially, disruptions of their travels.
Actually, air travellers know that that's what air travel is like pretty much year round already. When I went to the RightOnline Conference in Las Vegas this summer, each of the flights was full. The jets were undersized, too.
Imagine what things will be like if this pilot shortage isn't addressed. Airlines will shut down additional flights. Flight options will shrink dramatically. Service to so-called 'second-tier cities' will be canceled altogether because they can't be staffed.
That isn't speculation. That will be reality within the next 5-7 years. President Potter and Chancellor Rosenstone have the ability to change that by rescinding the decision to cancel the Aviation program at SCSU. It's without question that SCSU can't produce all of the graduates it'll take to replace the soon-to-be-retiring pilots. Still, they're capable of being a significant part of the solution.
In fact, I'd argue that it's wise to change the trajectory of the Aviation program. Instead of shutting it down, they should be expanding the program to increase the number of flight maintenance workers available to regional airlines. There's a shortage of them, too. Those classes could be offered by the St. Cloud Technical College.
If Chancellor Rosenstone is truly committed to educating more people for "'high-demand, high-growth professions,'" he can start with telling President Potter to re-open SCSU's Aviation program. There's no arguing that an industry that's facing its most severe shortage in a generation is a "high-demand" field.
It's time for Chancellor Rosenstone and President Potter to stop playing games. They're great at saying the right things. Now it's time for them to start making better decisions that meet the various industries' needs. If they don't start making better decisions, students will rightfully start abandoning the universities for colleges that train them for these jobs.
UPDATE : For more on this topic, read my Part I & Part II of my series on higher ed reform on Examiner.
Tags: Stephen Rosenstone , MnSCU , Earl Potter , SCSU , Aviation Program , Airlines , Air Service , Pilot Shortage , Airline Mechanics , Flight Delays
Posted Tuesday, November 20, 2012 10:39 AM
Comment 1 by Jethro at 20-Nov-12 07:52 AM
This post nailed it with sniper like precision. SCSU enrollments are down by 1800 students in the last two years alone. The political grandstanding by MnSCU needs to stop. For a college president and Chancellor to ignore a major problem like an airline pilot shortage is irresponsible, inexcusable, and unethical. MnSCU gets money from the public coffers so there needs to be accountability to the public. The legislature needs to start asking hard questions of MnSCU.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 20-Nov-12 10:33 AM
Thanks for the compliment, Jethro.
MnSCU needs to disappear. Accountability isn't possible with it. University presidents report directly to Chancellor Rosenstone. Despite the questionable degree programs in MnSCU, Chancellor Rosenstone hasn't held any of his university presidents accountable.
Comment 3 by Nick at 20-Nov-12 11:14 AM
Rosenstone=All talk, no substance!
DFL: the party of smear campaigns & deceitful chanting points
It isn't that there isn't a fair amount of truth in this SC Times article . It's that it didn't talk about a truly disturbing pattern, namely ABM's lies in their anti-GOP smear campaigns.
Jerry McCarter tried portraying himself as having tried to run a clean campaign on the issues. I wrote here why that's BS. First, let's look at what he said in the Times article:
'Part of what I was trying to do was show people you can do this without negative ads; you can do this without all the special-interest money,' he said. 'I guess I showed them that you can't.'
Now let's look at something McCarter ran on:
McCarter, who's running against Sen. John Pederson, R-St. Cloud, says the shutdown was part of what spurred him to run for Senate. 'Like a lot of people, I found [it] unnecessary, politically motivated, and I think it damaged the state's image long-term,' he said.
I've written repeatedly that Gov. Dayton shut the government down. It's a matter of record that several GOP legislators submitted lights-on funding bills to prevent a state government shutdown. The one attracting most attention would've funded state government at its 2011-2012 levels through July 11. During that time, the goal was to negotiate a final settlement on the budget.
At 10:00 pm of June 30, 2011, Mark Dayton stepped to a microphone and announced that negotiations had failed and that state government was shutting down. Rather than calling a special session to pass a lights-on bill, Gov. Dayton put 23,000 state government employees on furlough.
For all of his I'm-running-a-clean-campaign rhetoric, the truth is that Mr. McCarter built much of his campaign on a verifiable lie.
That isn't the only lie ABM peddled during the campaign. With their willing accomplices in the Twin Cities media, they put together this lie-filled ad:
One announcer said that "It was another day of deep budget cuts at the Capital." Pat Kessler said "Cuts are so deep, it threatens public safety." Dayton said "There are real consequences to every dollar cut." It's time to highlight the truth with the DFL's own words:
SEN. COHEN: We're going to be passing a budget that it billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars and at a level that we've never done before in the history of the state. The 12-13 budget will be $34.33 billions of dollars in general fund dollars taxed to the citizens of Minnesota. The 10-11 budget two years ago was $30.171 billion, I believe.
So the difference is over $4 billion, I believe. The largest state general fund budget ever, ever, ever, in the history of the state of Minnesota.
What this means is that Gov. Dayton's words, Pat Kessler's words and other biased media's words didn't have a hint of truth to them. It's worth noting that ABM didn't hesitate in using them in their statewide smear campaign against GOP candidates.
It's time for Mr. Sommerhauser and other reporters to blister Alida Messinger, Gov. Dayton and the Twin Cities media for telling the whoppers that they told. If he won't, citizen journalists like Mitch Berg and myself will expose the DFL for the corrupt political party it is.
Tags: ABM , Smear Campaigns , Alida Messinger , Mark Dayton , Jerry McCarter , DFL , Pat Kessler , Mark Sommerhauser , Agenda Media
Originally posted Tuesday, November 20, 2012, revised 21-Nov 5:22 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 21-Nov-12 03:52 PM
Gary:
The problem is they think she is on the side of truth, Justice, and the American way. Why attack her?
Of course we know none of them are for truth, justice, and the American way.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by eric z at 22-Nov-12 09:14 AM
Election's over. Get over it. Move On.
Happy Thanksgiving.
To you. To Mary Franson. To Bob Cunniff.
To the 35 who did not recognize being handed a wrong ballot and voted it anyway. Apprentices to Bozo the Clown.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 22-Nov-12 11:05 AM
The election is over but the fight's just starting. If you think that a regressive tax on everyone (cap & trade from Rep. Hortman) will help make Minnesota prosperous, you're kidding yourself.
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 23-Nov-12 11:34 AM
Eric:
The fight for a real and good budget for Minnesota and the United States is always a fight worth having.
Apparently you don't care and since you think the election is over I guess we won't be seeing you do any more posting until 2014.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 5 by eric z at 24-Nov-12 10:30 AM
Walter, there is something of an unkind edge to that comment. On Thanksgiving, no. You waited a day, and that delay step was both kind and thoughtful.
Gary, I will bet Alida Messinger is more open about who she is, where she's from, and how she came to her message than Anita Moncrief.
You are just hateful towards her because she has lots of money but is not greedy or small minded about the bounty chance accorded her. That's a distressing thing, to see you believe all people of great wealth should be dismissive of 47% or more of those whom chance rendered less fortunate; born to lesser circumstances and hope.
Comment 6 by eric z at 24-Nov-12 10:31 AM
Forgot to say, Messinger is a job creator. Do not overlook that, if actual job creators are truly important to your world view.
Comment 7 by walter hanson at 24-Nov-12 12:16 PM
Eric:
Your comment was that the election was over so we should shut up! That was the unkind comment. I was interpretering that since the next election wasn't until 2014 that was when you were going to start posting again.
So you think a good budget for the federal government is to keep spending more than a trillion year in deficit spending?
Do you think a good budget for the state of Minnesota is to do a tax increase on the rich which will drive them away (why do you think Rush Limbaugh moved his show to Florida) along with their tax dollars. You have seen how California that used to have the best economy in the United States has gone to hell.
By the way Messinger and Obama are job destroyers and you support both of them apparently.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
