Johnson lays out a list of 19 disturbing facts reported by Kersten, as well as observations of TIZA by a substitute teacher through Kersten, none of which were disputed by Greiling. He concludes by saying, “Under the circumstances, her letter is an abuse of her legislative position. Rep. Greiling should demonstrate Kersten’s “gross distortion of facts” or should resign herself.”

These clear cut cases of abusing one’s position have become “politics as usual,” and will therefore likely pass with little note. But voters, and journalists, should take note that Greiling has no problem calling for someone to lose their very livelihood based on nothing more than her dissatisfaction with the subject matter.

As chair of the K-12 finance committee, Greiling is as responsible for the gross violation of church and state at TIZA as anyone. Perhaps the time she currently spends trying to get honorable journalists fired would be better spent getting the state’s house in order.

I mean, I know we’re talking about swords here, but kicking two kids out of school for the rest of the year for purchasing a couple of souvenir swords on a choir trip in England seems like overkill.

The District 196 School Board can’t elaborate publicly on the expulsions, but their hands aren’t exactly tied on the matter. They could have chosen to make their expulsion decision based on common sense and a little compassionate leniency instead of following the district’s policy so strictly.

Granted, we don’t know the whole story. The parents and students are making their claims and the district is bound by law not to present their side of the story publicly. However, the circumstances of the case make it nearly impossible for me to believe this case didn’t deserve a softer hand.

First of all, this was a school field trip. Where were the chaperons and what is their responsibility in this? Couldn’t or shouldn’t they have informed the students of the policy? I suppose the kids who purchased the swords could have deliberately hidden them from the adults. Still, it seems hard to believe there was something sinister going on here. They were on a choir trip after all. No offense, but if it’s still the same clique of kids that take part in such field trips as it was when I went to school, we aren’t talking about the rotten eggs here.

At worst, we’re talking about a couple of Lord of the Rings fanatics and there’s nothing very threatening to society about that. (Perhaps Matrix fanatics might scare me a little more…)

Secondly, purchasing a sword on a school trip to an exotic land is a unique situation that the current school policy fails to properly address. Expulsion for the rest of the year for a “look-a-like” weapon on a once-in-a-lifetime trip? Come on.

I guess it’s our own fault, really. We’ve become so paranoid about school violence that we’ve put into place vague and paranoiac policies. Clearly we are now enforcing them just as blindly.

Don’t get me wrong, weapons have no place in schools. Threats of violence have no place in schools. Jokes about weapons or threats of using weapons have no place. I understand the need to have a strict policy on these matters.

But, consider this. The enforcement of this policy has most likely alienated a majority of students and some parents. It has certainly outraged a lot of people in the community. Does that really prevent school violence? It seems there’s already enough teen angst out there.

Besides, these two kids seem like good kids on a choir trip who just wanted some authentic British swords to commemorate their trip overseas. I’ll conced that if the School Board has evidence of some sinister plot, I applaud them for taking the appropriate steps. But, short of that, I’d say these students need to be judged much less by their mistaken actions and much more by their intentions.

It’s an outrage! Call your representative today and insist that Minnesota’s corporate “citizens” start doing their fair share!

Scott Johnson sums it up nicely:

The Star Tribune provides a sad illustration of how a newspaper can become a corrosive force on the political and civic life of the community it serves. The financial difficulties of the Star Tribune prompt the thought that the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota would be improved by the paper’s demise.

And certainly not for the first time. While the Strib’s deep-seated and overwhelming bias is well documented and, at this point, essentially a punch line, I am more than surprised that Greiling would start throwing weight around, calling for journalists’ resignations, with little more in her corner than the fact that she visited TIZA and it seemed okay to her.

As it’s been said in an earlier posting, I’m somewhat into the healthy living thing, and I happen to subscribe to Self and Fitness magazines, and can’t even seem to help myself at the checkout aisle if a Shape or Women’s Health magazine looks me in the eye.
But by reading hundreds of articles a year, many of which focus on how to live a more Zen-like lifestyle and which eye shadow really goes with my hair color, there’s really only a few solid pieces of advice I’ve taken away with me.
And hands down the importance of sun protection is No. 1.
Now I know I might sound like a hypochondriac sometimes. I acknowledge the fact that I can’t surf through Web MD self-diagnosing myself with diseases I’ve never even heard of.
Even my fiance’ thinks my obsession with sunblock is a little weird, but after learning things like, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and more than 1 million people are diagnosed annually, I tend to get a little freaked out.
And even more frightening is that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and more than 90 percent of those cases will be caused by sun.
So what can you do? Put on sunscreen. And no, not SPF 4, but SPF 15 or higher that protects against UVA and UVB rays.
In Minnesota we’re known for ski masks and wool socks in the winter. Well, in the summer dress for the elements too. And the good thing is you won’t look nearly as ridiculous rocking UV sunglasses, a hat and some sun-protective clothing.
And regardless of the time of year, don’t go fake-and-bake tanning.
I mean really, is the appeal to have an orange tint even more important than the World Health Organization’s warning against laying in tanning beds.
So my proposal in honor of National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month is to do something good to protect your skin.
Whether that be making a doctor’s appointment to get your skin checked, or buying a new pair of sunglasses. Give it a try and tell me how it went. Is it hard to remember?
Now back to trying to live up to my own expectations and continue my search for a dermatologist in the area who accepts new patients and my health insurance.

…we’re seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming.

“Predicted.” “Might be associated.” In Al Gore’s world, even the vaguest and insupportable link is enough to reach for the panic button. And what, pray tell, is global warming doing to cause the wrath of Gaia? This:

Gore claimed global warming is forcing ocean temperatures to rise, which is causing storms, including cyclones and hurricanes, to intensify.

Er…except the oceans have been cooling for the last five years. Those pesky facts, always getting in the way of a perfectly good line of bull.

…during most of that 25 year period, government tax collections were nearly twice industry profits in any given year. Indeed, in 2002, before the recent price spikes, the industry earned a collective $20.5 billion in profits. However, government collected more than $50 billion in combined income, property, severance, and excise taxes in the same year.

If Congress really wants to grill those which gain the most from oil profits, it need look no further than its own chambers.

Newsweek’s Robert Samuelson finds another problem with the scenario:

Members of Congress complain loudly about high oil profits ($40.6 billion for ExxonMobil last year) but frustrate those companies from using those profits to explore and produce in the United States.

Instead of demonizing oil companies even while reaping massive monetary benefit from their labor, wouldn’t we be better served encouraging them to re-invest in the things that will keep energy affordable?

Now why-o-why can’t I have a two-story gym in my home? Or what about a “full view” of the Arabian Sea?
Well, scratch that. Because in my case, if, let’s just say for fun, my one bedroom apartment in Southeast Minneapolis went up that high, I guess I would have a prime view of the Mississippi River. But still, it’s the principle of the thing.
Turns out Ambani can have six levels of parking garage in his home because according to Forbes magazine he’s the fifth richest person in the world, totaling in at a net worth around $43 billion. Most of his money comes from heading up petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries.
After hearing about something like a 27-story home, I just needed to know more.
What else are the billionaires spending their money on? What kinds of frivolous things do the rich and famous own and do in their spare time?
And after much searching I am proud to present you the top five, price-tag-wise most ridiculous, expensive items or experiences I was able to find.
Disclaimer - these are in no particular order because it was too hard to rank since they are not all one in the same type of item.
No. 1 - Want to go to dinner? Want to have some sushi? It’ll cost at least $400 a person. At least that’s the going rate at Masa Takayama in New York City.
I wish I could say more about the menu, but there isn’t a set one. But after perusing the drink menu I can tell you a bloody Mary costs $20. I think I’ll stick to the ones at the Herkimer ($6 and you get to keep the glass).
No. 2 - And if a person’s already spending a few hundred on dinner, why not spring for the $30,000 a night on the Ty Warner Penthouse in the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. Might as well, right?
No. 3 - Now if I was carrying that much cash around, I would for sure need an awesome purse to secure those endless limit credit cards.
Introducing the $45,000 Loius Vuitton bag.
But, sadly, only about two dozen were ever made and they’re already sold out. Darn, I was planning on buying one this weekend, too.
No. 4 - $2 million. No, not for a house. No, not for a car. Yes. For a bottle of cognac.
Now by no means am I saying there would ever be a justifiable reason to buy such a thing, but if one did, the bottle is probably the coolest.
The 100 year aged liquor is actually in a bejeweled bottle dipped in 24 K gold and sterling platinum, and decorated with 6,500 brilliant cut diamonds.
Something tells me everything would taste better poured from a bottle covered in diamonds.
No. 5 - Coffee that’s around $40 a shot. And to think just a few days ago I was ranting about a $4.50 latte.
What makes Kopi Luwak so expensive? Why it’s the process.
Basically this cat-like animal called a palm civet eats coffee cherries, digesting the outer layer and excreting the coffee bean.
To me, this sounds disgusting, but supposedly this natural process adds a unique flavor to the bean with no after taste.
But for $40 a shot I want there to be an after taste that lasts me the rest of my life.
Well that’s the list. I know there’s plenty more out there intended only for the rich, and I encourage anyone who might know of some to share.
Now it’s back to my $3 a box celestial seasonings tea.

Nevertheless, MinMon will continue to insist Brodkorb is lying about being “paid to blog” currently, prompting this question at True North:

I have a question for the Monitor: Given the reputation as a giant-killer that Michael Brodkorb has built up, and the fact that he is not a dumb guy, and that he’s got a city full of leftybloggers and DFL opposition researchers scurrying about like cockroaches on amyl, looking for that magic link that’d discredit him, does anyone rationally think that Brodkorb - who claims not to earn his living from politics today - would risk all of that by trying to lie about his income?

Y’know - like the Monitor did?

Heh.

“We have FLACs and MP3s for sale. It was never about downloading per se.”

These guys are a complete joke, I think I got my last Metallica CD when I was in I wanna say 6th grade. Since then I think it’s safe to say that they have been regurgitating the same old garbage again and again and again. I think it’s safe to say these guys are right up there with the major label record companies when it comes to doing more to hinder the sales of downloadable media then they’ve ever done to help it.

If they want to play the copyright angle then why did the sue Napster? Here’s a bunch of legal jargon if you want to know more. I still don’t agree with the ruling they came to. If I burn a cd and mail it to one of my friends should the post office be responsible? How come no one has sued the post office over this travesty yet? Talk about shooting the messenger.

I hope their private jet runs out of fuel somewhere over the atlantic ocean one of these days.