Last night, we had the good fortune of being invited to a reception at the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul along with a number of other local bloggers and outstate talk radio hosts. The entire Northern Alliance of Blogs was on hand with the notable exception of James Lileks. Apparently he was too mainstream for this particular affair. Other prominent bloggers of note who attended the reception include the triumvirate from Kennedy v. The Machine (Gary, Doug and John), the two fine young gents from the Patriot Blog, and Jerry, who is an outpost of red in a blue district at the SD63 blog (he knows a thing or two about beer as well).
Not since the heyday of Tyrell Ventura had such an eclectic crew been invited inside the residence. For the record, we were much better behaved than Tyrell's cohorts and the taxpayers of Minnesota can rest assured that the dignity and integrity of the stately home (not to mention the rugs, furniture, and fine China) were not compromised in any way by our visit.
The highlight of course was the opportunity to chat with Governor Pawlenty and some of his staff. He proved to be an engaging, affable host who genuinely seemed to enjoy the opportunity to converse with members of the emerging "alternative" media. Or at least he did a damn good job pretending to.
Everyone has their own "pet" issues that they're passionate about and the Governor took the time to indulge us the opportunity to air our concerns on pressing issues of the day that we feel deserve special attention.
Here Governor Pawlenty and the Warrior Monk from SPITBULL shake hands after the Governor agrees to consider WM's request to call out the National Guard and wage brutal and uncompromising war against the insurgent squirrels who keep the WM awake at night.
JB Doubtless and his fiancé made the trip up from Rochester, which gave JB the chance to vividly demonstrate the horror of the recent Springsteen concert in St. Paul to Governor Pawlenty.
When my turn with the Guv came, I began by weighing in the on the possible economic implications for Minnesota if the Chinese government elects to float the renminbi, but that topic was evidently not capturing his imagination. He was obviously interested in more substantive discourse and so I elected to play the tried, but true Ralphie card.
Everybody loves Ralphie and the Governor proved just as susceptible to the little guy's charms. An unfortunate incident on the way to the gala had left Ralphie's head in the rather precarious position of no longer being connected to his body. But the Governor was able to see beyond Ralphie's physical limitations and discover the true spirit within him. It's clear to everyone who knows Ralphie that he's got a good head on (or off) his shoulders, and Governor Pawlenty was no exception.
While Ralphie appealed to his heart, I made a pitch to the Governor's head and asked that he rescind the title of Minnesota Commissioner of Hockey that he bestowed upon Hugh Hewitt a few years back. Governor Pawlenty found my arguments compelling and my logic that Hugh does not adequately represent the interests of hockey in Minnesota to be flawless. He promised to take care of this matter at his earliest available convenience and plans on personally delivering the news to Hugh on his show in the near future.
This may not be the beginning of the end of Hugh's spree of collecting meaningless, ill-deserved titles, but I believe that we can say with confidence that it is the end of the beginning. The rollback is underway.
For more on last night's festivities check out:
Captain's Quarters
Kennedy v. The Machine
Bogus Gold
and
Shot In The Dark
No comments:
Post a Comment