Category: US Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Arguing about what to call the current Iraq mess seems a little pointless. Instead of debating terminology, it seems much more important to be doing something constructive. But we lost that avenue long ago.

I fear that all the windows of opportunity have closed as Bush and company tried to hide the growing chaos.... now it looks more and more as if its 4th down and long and Bush is going to punt this debacle into Democratic hands, hoping to share enough blame to save his presidential legacy.

There is no solution.... only loss-cutting. Bush has put all of America's political capital and prestige into an Iraqi whirlpool that is sucking us under.

We are faced with some dire choices. We have to leave and soon. Our presence is not part of any solution...only part of the problem. The government in place right now has no political will to take control; they are waiting for some outside force to decide how to proceed. There is no input for security, no protection mechanisms for the educators, no law enforcement outside of militias, no sense of political compromise or negotiation, and no ability to build up an infrastructure of basic necessities.

In short... the people have no place to turn and are at the mercy of the thugs, the thieves, and the theocrats.

There is no military solution and now there is no political solution. It will soon be left up to the ones who have built up the largest armed force and all indications would point to Muqtada al-Sadr.

Our risk is two fold. If we keep our troops in place, even at a reduced level, our troops only become targets and observers of the fighting. Our only purpose would be to slow things down and maybe protect remnants of a government. If we leave, we risk fighting that could spill over into bordering countries -- Turkey and Iran are at high risk to fuel more fighting; and Jordan could be in danger of a wholesale refugee deluge. Syria and Saudi Arabia would soon follow as the they take sides in the sectarian dividing lines. Yet, leaving seems the only way that the Iraqis will understand the urgency of finding their own method of establishing any kind of government. The idea of a democratic one is basically gone.

There is only one other choice... Bush would have to swallow hard and ask for international help. Iran, Syria, and the other neighbors would have to be included. China and Russia could probably be coaxed into helping if they can finesse some international prestige and political capital out of it.

There is no way for the US to save face anymore. We have a crisis of credibility which will take a generation to repair.

Democrats may have regained some political power but it was more or less because the American people voted against the current policies, not for some Democratic solution. Democrats need a magic wand to wave or they will be sucked into the same abyss.

And the American people's patience will not be kind.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Rogers, Minnesota seems like an unlikely place for a taxpayer revolt but buried deep in the election results on November 7th was a message to city officials across the state. It's time to pull the reins in on corporate welfare! (see Tribune article)

Lost in the property tax debates is the dirty little secret about TIF (Tax Increment Financing). In its original form, TIF was meant to be used as a tool to help economically depressed areas lure businesses with a complicated tax formula that ends up giving the businesses huge tax breaks. If businesses would build in their area, the city could give property tax incentives for a certain period of time.... saving the companies huge somes of money.

However, as with most programs that are designed to help, the system has been abused. Now, TIF is used as a competitive tool between communities trying to increase their business base. Community officials would get greedy and risk future property tax collections to bring in more and more businesses. The community of Rogers, a town of about 6,000 people, had the highest percentage of corporate giveaways with 27% of its TIF capacity captured for tax breaks. The new Cabela's that opened along Interstate 94 scarfed up over $5 million in subsidies from the city.... and many feel that the store would have been built without the incentives.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that with that much of your area's property tax given up, somebody is going to have to make up the difference..... that would be you and me.

Rogers is not alone. Chaska gave up 23%...Mounds View 20%... and Minneapolis 15% (an estimated $43 million).

The voters in Rogers were given a real choice on the matter. Paul Przybilla ran for mayor on this very issue... he and new city councilman Steve Rauenhorst will now swing the city council to a majority that will ask more questions about these corporate giveaways. They educated the public on the issue and the public responded.

When you hear people talk about all those "dirty welfare cheats" or those "illegals" draining money from the state coffers, maybe it is worth noting that business takes more than its fair share of local tax money. And the city officials that overstep the boundaries of fairness to give out those breaks may find themselves taken to task.

Category: Society

by Dave Mindeman

Think Progress posted a note (from an article in the Washington Post) regarding the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) and their curious refusal of 50,000 free DVD copies of "An Inconvenient Truth" for distribution among their membership.

Their e-mail rejection was summarized as follows:

In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other "special interests" might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film; and they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs.

But the real curious comment was:

Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters.

That would be Exxon-Mobil, Shell Oil, and the American Petroleum Institute.

Those of you who have seen "An Inconvenient Truth" know that the only political aspect of that documentary is a call to action to fight the growing threat of global warming. Using this movie as a resource in the classroom to discuss the risk of CO2 emmissions and the future of the planet doesn't have to be political at all. Unfortunately, people are unable to separate Al Gore, the former Presidential candidate, and Al Gore, the environmental crusader.

NSTA didn't want to risk the "investment" that companies like Exxon-Mobil are making in their projects ($6 million since 1996)... I guess with the assumption that using Gore's movie as a classroom discussion tool would stop Exxon-Mobil's contributions. Maybe they got a hint from the E-M representative on their advisory board....

But I would deem it a little hypocritical of the organization to refuse the help of the producers of "An Inconvenient Truth", while at the same time distributing materials form the American Petroleum Institute. One of their little film gems is called "Fuel-less" and the first line of this "educational" program says:

“You’re absolutely not going to believe this, but almost everything I have that’s really cool comes from oil!”

The oil industry is doing the same thing to our education system that the tobacco companies did in the 50's and 60's. The only difference is that tobacco just killed people...oil is killing the entire planet.