Thursday, May 31, 2012

What Would Jesus Do?

I don't really know, frankly, but I know what humans should do: support this man and his remaining members.

St. Paul UCC Church at brink of closing over gay marriage stand

Friday, May 4, 2012

Bye Bye Vikings?

Nah, first of all, they have nowhere to go and secondly, we all know that a publicly-funded stadium is an inevitability. Governments no longer have the power to say "no" to sports franchises when they hold them hostage with threats of relocation. I, for one, am fine with letting them go--they can go lose games somewhere else. The "jobs" argument holds no weight with me, as the data show that the jobs created are, in the long run, low-wage and highly subsidized. In the end, these deals are almost always a net loss for the public and a huge gain for the team and the NFL. For all of their sucking and the rather long rap sheet, the Vikings are one of the most profitable teams in the League; they can afford to pay.

But the tradition of funding stadiums for private enterprise with tax payer money is so embedded in policy now, that there is almost no stopping it, and it's such a political hot potato that no matter how you vote, you lose. Someone will be pissed that you let the Vikings leave and didn't "create all those jobs" and someone will be pissed that you handed over millions of dollars (that you owe the schools) to a bunch of rich people.

This is one issue that cuts across political boundaries, with me parting ways with my governor, for whom I have the utmost respect, and the unions, which I support.