September 28, 2017
Sep 28 08:17 Twins rewrite history books Sep 28 11:16 Steve Scalise's triumphant return Sep 28 13:07 How stupid are the Packers? Sep 28 17:14 Will SEIU get decertified? Sep 28 20:09 Gazelka questions Gov. Dayton Sep 28 23:09 The NFL still doesn't get it
Prior Months: Jan Feb ~ May Jun Jul Aug
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Twins rewrite history books
Tonight, the Minnesota Twins rewrote the history books, becoming the first team to lose 100 games in a season, then qualify for the postseason the next. If I had a $100 bill for each time I've heard a player on a championship-winning team tell the TV interviewer that 'nobody except those of us in our locker room believed in us', I'd be a wealthy man. It's the type of thing that's cliched and discounted all the time. It's like the interview with the football GM about their top draft pick saying 'I can't believe he dropped to us. He was our top-rated player on our board.' It's ok to discount people saying that.
Tonight, Fox Sports North's Audra Martin interviewed the players after they clinched their playoff spot. Several Twins, including Byron Buxton, the team's MVP, Brian Dozier and other players said, sincerely, that others didn't believe in them. This time, in this situation, it's true that people outside the Twins organization didn't give them much of a chance to finish with a winning record, much less win the second wild-card spot. Why should they? They'd just finished the 2016 season with a 59-103 record. This year, they'll finish with at least 83 wins. That's a 24-game improvement from last year. Minimum. This video has as much to do with why the Twins made the playoffs as anything:
Twins manager Paul Molitor has made some mistakes but he's been a great teacher, too. During his Hall of Fame career, Molitor was known as having great instincts. The timeless adage about good sports teams taking on their manager's personality fits with this team.
While the Twins have holes on their team, so do the other AL playoff teams. If I had to pick a favorite going into the AL playoffs, I'd pick Cleveland. Any team that puts together a 22-game winning streak while not allowing more than 5 runs in any of those wins is a formidable team. The Twins, meanwhile, just got swept by the Yankees, their likely wild-card playoff opponent, meaning that the Twins are facing an uphill fight. Regardless of whether they're eliminated in Game 163 or they make a playoff run, it's been a fun season. Joe Mauer appreciates how special of a season it's been:
Twins GM Thad Levine summed up the Twins' attitude towards winning in the playoffs pretty well:
Good luck to the Twins. It's been a fun season to be a Twins fan.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 8:24 AM
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Steve Scalise's triumphant return
This morning, Rep. Steve Scalise, (R-LA), made his first appearance on the House floor since his attack on a baseball diamond on June 14th. It was an emotional return. Upon his arrival on the House floor, Speaker Paul Ryan said "the Chair wishes to mark the return to the chamber of our dear friend and colleague from Louisiana, Mr. Steve Scalise. After another standing ovation, Speaker Ryan declared "Our prayers have been answered. His bravery and his family's strength have been such an inspiration to this House and to the people it serves. America is grateful for this moment. The Chair now proudly asks 'For what purpose does the gentleman from Louisiana seek recognition?'" Mr. Scalise's reply was "To speak out of order, Mr. Speaker." Upon hearing that, Speaker Ryan replied "The gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume."
At the start of his speech, Rep. Scalise spoke about his faith, saying "It starts with God. When I was laying out on that ball field, the first thing I did when I was down and I couldn't move anymore, I just started to pray. And I will tell you, it gave me an incredible sense of calm, knowing that, at that point, it was in God's hands. But I prayed for very specific things and I will tell you pretty much every one of those prayers were answered. And they were some pretty challenging prayers that I was putting in God's hands. But He really did deliver for me and my family."
Suffice it to say there weren't many dry eyes in the room at that point:
Later in his speech, he thanked David Bailey and Cristal Griner, his security detail that morning, for opening fire on the gunman even though they had both been hit, saying "David, you are my hero, you saved my life. Thank you so much."
Scalise also made special mention of Rep. Brad Wenstrup, saying that without his tourniquet, he wouldn't have lived. Scalise noted that Rep. Wenstrup is a doctor and a former combat surgeon who served in Iraq.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 11:16 AM
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How stupid are the Packers?
The first thing I thought after reading this article was "How stupid are the Packers?" The next thing I thought was whether they'd hired a rookie to run their PR department. The article opens by saying "A request by Green Bay Packers players for fans to join them in a show of unity during the national anthem before their game Thursday apparently did little to calm the debate. Packers fans on Wednesday continued to blast the NFL, the team and players for what they perceive as showing disrespect for the nation, the flag, the military or the national anthem by sitting, kneeling, remaining in the locker room or locking arms during the national anthem. Supporters say players are peacefully exercising their free speech rights on the best stage available."
It's frequent that pundits rightfully portray politicians as living in a bubble. Based on what the Packers just asked of their fans, isn't it obvious that these players don't have a clue what their fans think? Apparently, nobody associated with the Packers understands their fans. Aaron Popkey, the Packers director of public affairs, said "We've had a steady stream of feedback beginning Monday morning and it continued into Wednesday. We've heard on both sides of the matter. We take note of their concerns."
"We've had a steady stream of feedback?" That's the best Mr. Popkey can do? That's frightening. This should frighten the Packers and the NFL:
"I am so ashamed of and appalled by the ignorance of any NFL player who would dare disgrace our Stars and Stripes or the memory of hundreds of thousands of fallen U.S. heroes who paid with their lives so that we may live free," said Steven Tiefenthaler, a native of Brookfield who now lives in San Antonio. Tiefenthaler is a Packers shareholder and 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran.
This should, too:
Laura Hapke, a La Crosse native now living in Orange, Calif., said the Packers were the last team she expected to do what they did Sunday. Hapke meets with other Packers fans each week to watch the game. Her mother is a shareholder and she's on the season-ticket waiting list. In other words, she's a diehard fan. "If they come out and say they are more into politics than patriotism, I'll have to rethink it," she said. "It will break my heart, but I'll have to rethink it."
Check out the solidarity within the NFL:
I'm betting that it won't take long before the NFL's major sponsors quietly contact the NFL and tell them to stop the protests.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 1:07 PM
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Will SEIU get decertified?
This afternoon, I got an email saying that the MNPCA has submitted over 10,000 cards to Gov. Dayton "demanding a union decertification election."
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota should be getting nervous because SEIU Healthcare Minnesota "established the union in a mail-in ballot, low voter turnout election with just 13 percent of the estimated 27,000 home-based PCAs in Minnesota." Kim Crockett, the Vice President at Center of the American Experiment, said that the 10,000 cards "total three times more than the 3,543 PCAs who voted for unionization in 2014."
In other words, the chances of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota getting decertified is significant to high. A little history is in order. On the last weekend of the 2013 session, the DFL passed a bill authorizing a unionization vote for in-home child care providers and PCAs. The DFL passed the bill despite the fact that in-home child care providers lobbied all weekend against the bill. They simply didn't listen. The DFL had gotten their marching orders from AFSCME and SEIU. There was no way they were going to disobey their masters.
In March, 2016, the in-home child care providers rejected unionization by a vote of 1,014-392. That's a defeat of 72% rejecting unionization, with only 28% of in-home child care providers voting for unionization. But I digress.
Apparently, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota got the message that a fair election wouldn't turn out well so they allegedly tried winning the certification election with low voter turnout. Now that the "home-based PCAs in Minnesota" know the details of what they were signing, expect this decertification vote to turn out differently. These people don't like the types of people you should mess with:
Though I won't predict anything, I'll state that it wouldn't surprise me if this decertification vote is lopsided, too.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 5:14 PM
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Gazelka questions Gov. Dayton
If there's anything that comes through in Paul Gazelka's op-ed , it's that Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka won't hesitate in questioning Gov. Dayton's statements.
Sen. Gazelka proved that when he wrote "The governor abruptly ended mediation, accusing us of lying to him. I strongly disagree but decided it was best to let it pass and try to get back to the good working relationship we had forged during the session. But now that he has publicly stated again that I had been dishonest about the Senate's position and that our team did not act in good faith, I have no choice but to defend the Senate. The members and staff (both partisan and nonpartisan) of the Minnesota Senate have acted honorably, even in the shadow of the governor's attempt to defund our branch of government. All of us continually look for ways to end the impasse and stay true to the Constitution's declaration that the legislative body share power with the executive branch."
Next, Sen. Gazelka crystallized the issue ultimately facing the legislature, saying "Apparently, our updated report to the court upset the governor once he realized his leverage over the legislative branch was temporarily weakened. Whether it happens next month or next February, the fact remains that because of the governor's veto, the Minnesota House and Senate will run out of money long before the two-year biennium ends."
What I've repeatedly and consistently said on LFR is that, ultimately, the Supreme Court needs to resolve this constitutional balancing act. They've already ruled that the line-item veto is constitutional. They've also ruled that governors can't use a constitutional tool to achieve an unconstitutional result. Finally, they ruled that the people of Minnesota have the right to 3 fully functioning branches of government.
There's only one ruling that would satisfy each of those parts of the Supreme Court's ruling. If they want to satisfy their statements, they have to rule that Gov. Dayton improperly used a constitutional tool. By voiding Gov. Dayton's line-item veto, they'd allow the entire bill to pass. After all, Gov. Dayton approved the rest of the bill.
I'm disappointed in the governor's tone and accusations that we were dishonest. I'm frustrated that, unlike any other governor in Minnesota's history, Gov. Dayton wiped out funding for the legislative branch, and I'm disheartened that I even have to defend my team in the public arena. But it's important for the public to know the governor's public comments on this matter are not accurate.
Sen. Gazelka, lots of Democrats likely agree that Gov. Dayton overstepped his bounds. They just can't say that publicly.
In this fight, Gov. Dayton hasn't been 100% honest. It's a shame he wasn't. I said at the time of the Supreme Court's ruling that Gov. Dayton's actions weren't in good faith. I've always been able to say that Sen. Gazelka's actions have been in good faith.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 8:09 PM
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The NFL still doesn't get it
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with players and team owners to put out the PR nightmare caused by the National Anthem fiasco. The NFL isn't so thick-headed that they didn't notice the crisis. It's just that the NFL hasn't figured out why people are upset.
What tells me that the NFL still doesn't get it is that "NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the gathering was one of the many conversations that have happened this week within the NFL. 'The commissioner believed with all the owners here for committee meetings it was important to bring in some players and hear directly from them,' McCarthy said in responding to an email from The Associated Press. 'While the conversations will remain private, they were very informative and instructive.'"
This isn't about hearing from the players. Attempts to spin it as being about owners getting on the same page as the players is missing it entirely. That's what happens when the media covering celebrities, whether that's actors, athletes or politicians, get too cozy with the people they cover. What the NFL needs most to figure things out is to watch some Youtube videos like this one:
Owners, players, coaches and especially the Commissioner need to see this one:
Finally, this isn't just about not standing at attention for the National Anthem, though that's certainly part of it. It's also part of it that people go to sporting events to escape from politics. To the fans, they're hoping to just relax and have fun that day. The players sitting or kneeling at the event stole that enjoyment from them.
Personally, I'm starting to think that the NFL is an elitist/activist league. If that image spreads to other fans, the fat TV contracts will shrink.
Posted Thursday, September 28, 2017 11:09 PM
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