January 2005

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Maybe They'll Play My New Song "Dollar Store" If I Make A Contribution

Filed under: Imported

The Current, that new Twin Cities radio station that everyone's jawing about, plays a lot of music by the group Low.

Low is also one of the station's commercial sponsors.

Isn't that what used to be called "payola"?

Posted by Paul Demko at January 31, 2005 7:16 PM

 

Pi Press: Outback Steakhouse Is All About Meat!

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I feel awful about all the mean things I've written about the Pioneer Press lately. I'm starting to feel like one of those right-wing drips who can't go more than 18 minutes without posting a strident condemnation of Nick Coleman and his cast of socialist goons at the Star Tribune.

LNW! is really all about love.

In that spirit I'd like to point out the consistent excellent-ness of Ross Raihala, the Pi Press' (sorta) new music critic. The guy's smart, funny, and has interesting, eclectic taste. He's so good that I read today's column even thought it prominently mentioned Creed. Raihala also had a piece in today's paper highlighting five musical acts that are poised to make it big in '05.

But then--crikey! I flipped the page of the "Weekend Life" section and came across this headline: "Mac A Roo 'N Cheese pleases little nippers at Outback." I know this will be difficult to believe, but the article--a "critique" of Outback Steakhouse--is even more loathsome than that headline implies. Luckily I don't own any firearms or I might have done a Gary Stewart after reading this.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 27, 2005 5:47 PM

 

What Ever Happened to All That Great Footy Content on LNW!?

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St. Paul City Council member Jay Benanav introduced the following resolution at yesterday's meeting:

WHEREAS, a number of nettlesome problems have existed in Saint Paul for many years, causing thoughtful people to ask, "Why do bad things happen to good cities?" and

 

WHEREAS, an independent authority, specifically the editorial board of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, has finally offered a rational, well-researched answer, placing blame for Saint Paul's irksome spate of bad luck squarely on the shoulders of three-term councilmember, City Council President Kathy Lantry, and

 

WHEREAS, President Lantry has been cited by the Pioneer Press editorial board for the recent departure of the one of the world's leading stem cell researchers from the University of Minnesota, which, though Belgium's gain, is indeed Saint Paul's loss, and

 

WHEREAS, the Pioneer Press has also laid blame for the public budget crisis at the feet of President Lantry, faulting her priorities, which include ensuring that all the city's emergency vehicles have functioning axles, and

 

WHEREAS, on further reflection, we would be remiss not to recognize myriad other Saint Paul catastrophes, for which President Lantry is to blame, which include, but are not limited to:

 

 —  The 2004-2005 Minnesota Vikings' incredibly bad defense, which led to yet another heartbreaking football season; and

 

—  SPAM, that annoying, unwanted email that clogs internet e-mailboxes; and

 

— Signs of aging, such as gray hair and wrinkles, which President Lantry promotes at City Hall (and at the Pioneer Press) by her relentless pursuit of adequate city services for her constituents, and

 

 —  The recent snow emergency, costing the city of Saint Paul $10,000 in notification costs; or if you're a skier, snowmobiler or outdoor enthusiast, the dearth of snow in Saint Paul this winter, and

 

 —  Recent household plumbing problems which led to a family argument on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005, at the home of City Councilmember Dave Thune; not to mention

 

 —  Potholes, barking dogs, the high cost of pharmaceuticals, traffic congestion, global warming, the NHL lock-out, and the increase in the Saint Paul deer herd.

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council acknowledges that, despite the disasters and difficulties raining down upon us, President Kathy Lantry, like the rest of us, was duly elected by her Ward 7 constituents, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that the City Council will do everything in its power to neutralize the impacts of President Lantry's dedicated service to the City of Saint Paul. 

Posted by Paul Demko at January 27, 2005 5:11 PM

 

Pi Press Hypocrisy

Filed under: Imported

In yesterday's Pioneer Press, columnist Mark Yost penned a peon to the democratic spirit of the blogosphere. Positioning himself as the anti-Nick Coleman, Yost gushed over his ideological soul mates at Power Line and Fraters Libertas.


Funny that Yost should have chosen this week to champion the egalitarian ethos of the blogosphere. I had my own run-around with Yost and his fellow Pioneer Press editorial writers last week. Suffice it to say they didn't seem much interested in dialogue.

I was working on a story about the proposal to build a damn around the St. Paul Downtown Airport. The Pi Press has repeatedly championed the project in editorials. But it has failed to acknowledge that its own printing press is adjacent to the airport and could potentially benefit from a new levee. Here's the whole story.

Yost refused to answer questions about the potential conflict. Citing company policy, he referred me to the paper's "communications manager" (whatever the fuck that is), Pat Effenberger. I left messages for Effenberger and Yost's boss, editorial page editor Art Coulson, but neither was returned.  I subsequently sent Yost this email:
Guess I should've more closely proof-read that last sentence! Anyway, I got zero response from Yost.

Perhaps I would've had better luck if I'd pointed out that I'm not just some outdated media hack, but also a blogger.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 26, 2005 12:28 PM

 

I Should Have Posted This on Friday

Filed under: Imported

Unionized clerical employees at the St. Paul Public Schools have been working without a contract since June 30th of last year. The chief bargaining hang-up, not surprisingly, is health care. Essentially the union, AFSCME Local 844, which represents some 400 employees, wants the school district to pony up an additional $200,000 over the next two years towards health-insurance premiums.

According to Rita During, business representative for Local 844, workers now pay $378 per month for family coverage--an exceedingly high amount considering that the average annual salary for such workers is just $32,000. But given that the school district is facing a $24-million budget shortfall, Local 844 has had little success in getting concessions. A strike looks possible if an agreement isn't reached by the end of this month.

At Sunday's DFL convention (only the DFL would be brilliant enough to hold their convention during the NFL division championship games), called to endorse a replacement for Sue Haigh on the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, Local 844 members handed out fluorescent yellow flyers addressing the situation. The headline read "It's just not right!" and called on delegates to contact school board members and voice support for workers.

The action was potentially significant because one of the top contenders for the endorsement, Toni Carter, also happens to be chair of the St. Paul Board of Education. Even though the flyer didn't explicitly attack Carter, it still had the potential to play a factor in the endorsement fight.

"She is the chair of the school board and she is part of the problem," During told me on Friday. "I think as the chair of the board she has some responsibility."

Apparently the DFL delegates weren't too bothered by the labor dispute. Carter took a commanding lead over her four challengers for the endorsement on Sunday's first ballot and steadily lengthened that lead on subsequent votes. Delegates eventually unanimously endorsed her candidacy. She will face at least three other candidates in the February 15th primary election: Anne Harris, Joe Samargia, and Mary Casebolt.

Local 844 will have to come up with some new ways to pressure the school board.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 6:14 PM

 

About Those Headphones I Purchased at the Dollar Store

Filed under: Imported

They don't fucking work. I want my dollar back. Can you return stuff to the dollar store?

Makes me wonder about the rice and beans I purchased there. They tasted okay last night.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 4:40 PM

 

More '08 Election News

Filed under: Imported

The most depressing blog ever.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 4:30 PM

 

LNW! Correction

Filed under: Imported

Owing to an editing mishap, LNW! misspelled the name of SCSU Scholars contributor King Banian in a previous post. We regret the error.

(Unlike the mainstream liberal media, LNW! always corrects factual errors!)

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 1:44 PM

 

DBTs Listening Party

Filed under: Imported

As reported previously on LNW! (not part of the MSM), New West Records is re-issuing the first two Drive-By Truckers records, Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance. Being an influential member of the non-MSM, I received my copies a few weeks back. But if you're not so powerful and would like to hear these historic, groundbreaking albums there's going to be a listening party at the Five Corners Saloon tomorrow night. Nagel emailed the details:

Sadly, I can't make it. At that time, the Indomitable Drinky Crows will be battling to hold on to 23rd place.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 1:10 PM

 

Hillary Announces '08 Presidential Bid

Filed under: Imported

From today's New York Times:

(On a side note: Boy does this blog suck!)

Posted by Paul Demko at January 25, 2005 12:33 PM

 

Dinar Fever

Filed under: Imported

Jesus' General is calling Power Line out for dubiously peddling Iraqi dinars to the site's readers. 

Now I know absolutely nothing about currency trading. Or monetary policy. Or economics. I can't even balance my own checking account. 

But when I posted on this topic back in July, noting that I could not find any information about the company promoting dinars on AM 1280 The Patriot, it elicited a response from one of Power Line's own ideological confreres, King Banyan of the SCSU Scholars. This was the nub of his take:

Fellow NARNer Mitch Berg posts about Paul Demko's observation that he cannot find any information about the company that is advertising selling these dinars. Nor can I.  But even if I could find the company I wouldn't bother, because I think it's a bad deal.

And he's a bonified monetary economist!

(For the rest of the informative SCSU Scholars post go here.)

Somehow I doubt that Scott "The Big Trunk" Johnson and those other two non-mainstream-media moguls at Power Line are investing too many of their own assets in the Iraqi dinar.

(Cribbed from New Patriot)

Posted by Paul Demko at January 18, 2005 4:28 PM

 

Kathy Lantry Destroys Downtown St. Paul!

Filed under: Imported

The reasoning employed in this editorial in today's Pioneer Press is so delusional and dishonest that it's difficult to take seriously. Basically, as best I can determine, the editorial board is blaming Kathy Lantry and her allies on the St. Paul City Council for Catherine Verfaillie's decision to step down as head of the University of Minnesota's Stem Cell Institute.

Never mind that Verfaillie has repeatedly stated that she's returning to her native Belgium for personal reasons. Never mind that she doesn't even work in St. Paul.

But Verfaillie's departure is merely a pretense for saddling Lantry and her council allies ("who seem to favor swing sets and fresh-painted light posts over job creation,") with the blame for the depressing, ghost-town state of downtown St. Paul.

St. Paul's downtown renaissance teeters on a precipice, with more than 25 percent of its office space vacant. Just a handful of downtown businesses employ more than a few hundred people. If one of them — St. Paul Travelers, perhaps — were to leave, the city would be in real trouble.

Never mind that this "downtown renaissance" has always been a complete fabrication created by Norm Coleman and his cheerleaders on the editorial board. Never mind that the downtown office vacancy rate has been over 20 percent for years. Never mind that no decent-sized company would dream of relocating to downtown St. Paul at this point without receiving a massive city subsidy.

Never mind all that: It's Kathy Lantry's fault.

The dismal state of downtown St. Paul has nothing to do with Norm Coleman and Randy Kelly's fiscal policies.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 18, 2005 12:24 PM

 

Misc. Debris

Filed under: Imported

1. More evidence that CBS News is run by a bunch of anti-American socialists: 60 Minutes will have a feature on Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard this Sunday. This is the second time they've done a segment on soccer in less than a year. Somebody alert Dick Thornburgh! (Cribbed from Bruce.)

2. My friend Harris, a journalist who's almost liberal enough to work at CBS, sent along this fine story about Rathergate. It's the only decent commentary on the subject that I've seen.

3. The MLS Draft was today. I couldn't make heads or tails of it truthfully. I know pretty much nothing about the college game. But I really enjoyed this Greg Lalas piece about sweating out draft day teaching high school English while waiting to find out if he was picked back in 1996.

4. My own soccer team, the Indomitable Drinky Crows, currently has a record of 0-5-2. We're in 22nd place. There are 23 teams in the league. On Wednesday we lost by a score of 10-2. We're seeking corporate sponsorship. For some reason Wally McCarthy isn't returning my calls. Anyone want to sponsor us?

4. Attention Laura Ingraham: Please note that the correct phrase to use when denigrating daily newspapers, television news programs, magazines, or any other information dissemination service that purports to be report objectively is "mainstream media." Henceforth cease referring to it as the "elite media." This slight adjustment in nomenclature more accurately describes the massive liberal conspiracy pervasive throughout the media. Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 14, 2005 6:32 PM

 

Mayor Politics (and a Scatological Apologia)

Filed under: Imported

I stopped by St. Paul City Hall today at noon to witness Chris Coleman's announcement that he's running for mayor. He was flanked by an impressive cast of political pooh-bahs: Corky Finney, George Latimer, John Lesch, Mary Rosenthal.

Coleman offered a lot of platitudes about "building bridges." He also seemed to indicate at one point that his plan for rejuvenating downtown St. Paul involves wooing college dropouts to the city. But Coleman did deliver one line that struck me as a potentially effective attack on the notoriously demagogic current occupant of City Hall: "Our Mayor must lead with inspiration, not intimidation."

Actually, he may have had other good zingers. I snuck away before he could finish because my bowels were about to explode. Apologies to whomever has to clean the second floor men's room.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 12, 2005 6:35 PM

 

Shem Shakir

Filed under: Imported

One of the first stories I ever wrote for City Pages, way back in 2000, detailed the nefarious dealings of the Frogtown Action Alliance and its executive director, Shem Shakir. Basically the nonprofit group was in economic ruins owing to financial mismanagement, bad business deals, and sexual harassment suits. Shakir was pulling in a six-figure salary while running the group into the ground. He was finally given the boot and the organization is now defunct.

I hadn't heard one word about Shakir since then. But his name popped up on yesterday's St. Paul City Council agenda. Apparently Shakir was involved in a traffic accident on November 7, 2002 with a St. Paul public works employee and sued the city. St. Paul agreed to pay Shakir and his wife $21,000 to settle the matter.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 6, 2005 6:26 PM

 

Mommy Was Right: Never Talk to Strangers

Filed under: Imported

Usually I go out of my way to avoid talking to other people on airplanes. This is generally accomplished by sticking my nose in a book and not coming up for air until the plane is safely at its destination.

But I failed to heed this rule on my flight back from Philadelphia on Monday. I recklessly engaged the young man seated next to me in a conversation regarding the Sheryl Crow video being shown on the overhead monitor. For reasons that I can't entirely fathom we ended up discussing her parental status. Neither of us were certain whether Ms. Crow has kids, but we agreed that she is unlikely to have any with Lance Armstrong.

Inevitably, the conversation quickly degenerated. It turned out that this young man fancied himself some kind of online entrepreneur. Despite the fact that he'd recently enlisted in the Air Force for six years, and was currently on his way back to some godforsaken base in Texas, he was soon going to be a millionaire.

Unfortunately--and this is the truly tragic part of the tale--he needed my help. The online-retailing scheme that's going to make him a millionaire is apparently some kind of multi-level-marketing horseshit. In other words, he's going to make money by recruiting other online retailers and then co-opting a portion of their sales for himself. Or something like that. I wasn't particularly paying attention.

Anyway, after about 30 excruciating minutes of this guy explaining to me how he's going to become fabulously wealthy (complete with diagrams), he makes the pitch: Would I, per chance, be interested in becoming a self-employed millionaire?

I thanked him for graciously offering to include me in this financial endeavor but politely declined. I explained to him that I was lazy, indolent, disinterested in all material goods, peculiarly devoid of any entrepreneurial drive, and best suited for highly regimented clerical work.

This did not dissuade him. "If you get rid of your conscience, you can do anything," he informed me. "Morals are fine, but sometimes they get in the way."

I was at a loss to rebut this surprising line of argument. We sat there in silence for several minutes. Then I picked up my book and began to read.

I thoroughly expect this young man to be indicted by Elliot Spitzer someday.

Posted by Paul Demko at January 5, 2005 4:26 PM

 

That's So Boss

Filed under: Imported

Thurston Moore uses the word "boss" as an adjective three times in the liner notes to the new Nirvana box set.

Other than that I'm quite enjoying the collection, particularly the Leadbelly covers. It was a present from my brother. He also gave me the relatively new Faces box set, which I haven't listened to yet, but am looking forward to immensely. I don't have the liner notes for the Faces box set because my brother burned the four-disc collection, thus denying Rod Stewart his deserved royalties. But apparently there's an anecdote recounted in the liner notes in which the Faces refused to play the Royal Albert Hall because the authorities would not allow them to set up a bar on stage.

How many artists would take such a principled stand today?

Posted by Paul Demko at January 4, 2005 11:46 AM

 

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