Hail Yeah

After running into a bit of hail on Friday afternoon down in Rochester, I returned home on Saturday to go through another, more intense bout yesterday evening. Fortunately, my car sustained no damage in either incident and our house was likewise spared last night.



The hail in our area was described as "golf ball sized." I would say what we had in our yard was more "ping-pong ball sized." Judge for yourself:



We were out for a walk with the kids when the storm rolled in and made it home about ten minutes before the hail began its beat down. We had a nice view of the proceedings from the safety of our basement and it was fun to watch the hail bounce around the backyard as if God was popping up some corn. What won't be nearly as fun is cleaning up the leaves and sticks that now litter our property and the shredded leaves that are plastered on the side of the house.

SP ADDS:

We got hit with the hail in the east metro too. Here's a shot of my backyard:



Looks like I'll be cleaning up leaves and twigs myself for the next few days!

Beer Geeks

Stopped by The Four Firkins yesterday. It's a bit cozy and the selection wasn't quite as vast as I excpected, but it's still a beer geek's dream. And from the conversation I overheard while picking up a couple of premo beer selections, the level of said geekery was off the charts. Even though I have a fair amount of experience with and knowledge of beer, I felt like something of novice compared with the other beerheads milling about. If you're a local beer afficinado, it's def worth a visit.

Connect The Dots

Smashing editorial in today's WSJ on General McClellan's War:

By now you know the news, if that's the word for it: Mr. McClellan dutifully supported the war as presidential spokesman from 2003-2006, but he has since "become genuinely convinced" it was wrong. He has also had a revelation that the Administration used "propaganda" to sell the war, though this means he himself was chief propaganda minister for three years during which he expressed no similar qualms. Mr. McClellan settles various personal scores, and in particular seems bitter about former deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. White House aides can defend themselves, and we'll let others speculate about Mr. McClellan's motives for turning on his friends.

We'd merely note that the book's publisher is PublicAffairs, an imprint founded by left-wing editor Peter Osnos and which has published six books by George Soros. PublicAffairs is owned by Perseus Books, which is owned by Perseus LLC, a merchant bank whose board includes Democrats Richard Holbrooke and Jim Johnson, who is now doing Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting. One of Perseus's investment funds, Perseus-Soros Biopharmaceutical, is co-managed with Mr. Soros.

Mr. Osnos, who is "editor-at-large" at PublicAffairs, told liberal blogger Rachel Sklar that he "worked very closely" with Mr. McClellan and his editor, Lisa Kaufman. Readers can guess what advice Mr. Osnos gave them about how to make headlines and sell a book six months before a presidential election in which Iraq will be a major issue.

The editorial goes on to show that McClellan's claims are for the most part nothing more than personal opinions rather than new revelations backed by evidence. It also helpfully explains the rather obvious difference between being wrong and lying. In closes by whacking McClellan upside the head thusly:

Mr. Bush also tolerated too many mediocrities for too long, either out of loyalty or Texas ties. On that point at least, Mr. McClellan is persuasive.

The Right to Be Offended

More fall out from the mocking of Hillary. This from the cleric who preceded the Rev. Pfleger on the stage at Trinity United:

As a woman, I was offended by Pfleger's mocking of Senator Clinton for showing emotion.

Oh, boo hoo. Leave it to a woman to get all emotional over the mocking of someone else's emotions.

All right, cheap shot there. But the Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite leaves herself open to that kind of criticism by shoving her gender in our faces. If it is an intolerable offense to stereotype one's behavior based on gender, why is she brandishing her gender as a special qualification to be offended? If you can produce the evidence that emotional response does not vary by gender, it doesn't matter who is delivering the message. Your gender confers no special status on assertions of the truth or the permission to be offended.

I take Thistethwaite's words as a variation of the logical fallacy known as Appeal to Authority:

the type of argument in logic consisting on basing the truth value of an assertion on the authority, knowledge, expertise, or position of the person asserting it. It is also known as argument from authority, argumentum ad verecundiam (Latin: argument to respect) or ipse dixit (Latin: he himself said it). It is one method of obtaining propositional knowledge, but a fallacy in regard to logic, because the validity of a claim does not follow from the credibility of the source.

Democrats in particular are fond of this tactic. It can be used to elevate identity politics, or a perceived victim status, as the absolute moral authority on any issue and it can be used to silence rational debate in favor of emotionalism (see usage of "shut up you Chickenhawk").

My understanding of the rules of logic cannot confirm whether you can properly use yourself, or the presence of your two X chromosomes, as an appeal to authority. Perhaps Thistlethwaite's "as a woman" qualification can more properly be defined as an Appeal to Gynecology.

Coincidentally, this particular logical fallacy is being used right here in Minnesota on another burning issue for the 2008 election. This from Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-St. Paul):

As a woman, a mother, a former teacher, and an elected official, I find this material completely unacceptable," McCollum said of Franken's piece, published in 2000 under the headline "Porn-O-Rama!"

Wow, a quadruple play of special offense qualifications! It's the rare Appeal to Gynecology, Maternity, Pedagogy, and Democracy.

I take her remarks to mean that since I'm not a women, mother, teacher or elected official, I have no right to be offended at Porn-O-Rama! Duly noted. We bow down before her well earned offense and make a note to review Chad the Elder's archives of old Playboy's for a guilt free reading of that article. (He assures me he only reads Playboy Magazine for the Al Franken articles).

Breaking news, Rep. McCollum released another statement on this issue:

"As a parent and an aunt, and talking to other parents, people are very concerned about the type of Internet use that's out there, and how it has a potentially harmful effect on children"

As an aunt? Yes, it's the Appeal to Sibling Fertility! I qualify for that one! And I look forward to proudly standing next to Betty McCollum in the upcoming March of the Righteously Offended to Condemn Al Franken.

Hold The Mayo

Spending the day in Rochester at the GOP state convention in my dual role as delegate and member of the media. Trust me, the media area is much more comfortable than being seated on the floor. The day got off to bit of a rocky start as trying to find a parking spot in downtown Rochester proved to be a serious challenge.

King is providing excellent blow by blow coverage of the convention happenings so far. Mostly pretty arcane stuff (surprise, surprise) with a bit of heated debate on proposed amendments to the party's constitution. A familiar voice from the world of talk radio--Quentin from Zimmerman--rose to speak no fewer than four times, dropping a Zimbabwe reference (drink!) about thirty seconds into his first appearance at the mike.

The voting for delegates and alternates to the national convention is about to begin and it could get interesting. Check back early and often with King for regular updates. I'll try to post something more if and when time allows. So far we haven't even had a lunch break, so hunger may take precedence over further posting.

King, Michael, and I will be taking to the air at 5pm on AM1280 The Patriot for a complete run down of today's events and interviews with a number of guests. We hope to have Senator Coleman on and--if the current snail-like pace of the convention continues--we may air his endorsement acceptance speech live.

Wrath of the All Powerful One Feared

Theological separated at birth.

Galatians 6:7:

Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows


Associated Press headline 5/30:

Obama distances himself from priest who mocked Clinton

As sins go in the Democrat party, that's a pretty big meatball. It's going to require substantial penance and sacrifice. I suggest forcing him to read this in its entirety.

Stereotype Reinforced

Case study on the career evolution of the modern American journalist:

Sally Williams, books editor since 2003, is leaving the Star Tribune. She has accepted a position as director of public relations for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. Her last day at the newspaper will be June 3.

In 25 years here (interrupted by three years at the Seattle Post Intelligencer), Sally has been books editor, Pol/Gov team leader, World/Nation team leader/reporter, Social Issues team leader, assistant city editor and copy editor.

I feel sorry for the other applicants for this position. For a public relations position at a liberal advocacy organization, nothing on a resume screams "QUALIFIED" more than experience as an editor at the Star Tribune.

Mister Obama's Neighborhood

At NRO, Robert Ferrigno imagines a post-election meeting between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Lance:

Ahmadinejad held up a fist. "We currently have eight thousand centrifuges producing weapons-grade plutonium, and that's not counting the ones I can't tell you about." He raised one finger. "We train Hezbollah, which has killed thousands of Americans and Israelis." He raised another finger. "We supply upgraded IEDs to Iraqi freedom fighters to kill your countrymen." He raised a third finger. "We've promised to wipe Israel off the map." A fourth finger. "And Obama considers us no threat? How dare he?"

"I never thought of it that way. He's totally disrespecting you, dude."

"You understand, Lance. Try telling that to the Grand Ayatollah, see where that gets you."

"Someplace bad I bet, right?"

"Your new president is a creation of the CIA," said Ahmadinejad, expansive now. He stretched out his slippered feet, tugged at his wispy beard. "Obama pretends to be the naïf with the glittering smile, the schoolmarm asking children not to run in the hall: Let's talk things over. Let's turn the thermostat down. Let's share your toys. Let's be friends."

"Won't you be my neighbor?" sing-songed Lance.

Def worth reading the whole thing.

Quo?

Ron Paul to visit before state GOP convention

The Republican presidential race is on the verge of heating back up in Minnesota.

More than three months after the state's precinct caucuses, a showdown is in the offing at the state GOP convention in Rochester this weekend.

Long-shot insurgent candidate Ron Paul plans to speak to his supporters Friday morning, just before the convention begins. Then, those supporters hope to nab as many of the 14 national convention delegate spots that remain up for grabs as they can.

Yesterday, I received a letter in the mail from something called "Friends of the Minnesota Conservative Delegate Team" (or FMinnConDelT for short). It was a warning of the dangers poised by Ron Paul supporters attempting to "thwart the will of the majority" at this week's GOP State Convention in Rochester by electing pro-Paul delegates to the national convention. It asked people to do three things to prevent this:

1. Show up at the convention. The location of this year's convention and the fact that there are no endorsement battles has created something of a perfect storm for Paul supporters to attempt a floor putsch. Rochester ain't exactly a visitor hotbed and delegates from Northern & Western Minnesota and the Twin Cities may decide that it's not really worth the drive, especially with our current gas prices. Politics is all about showing up and if more mainstream Republicans don't, the door will be open for Paul's people.

2. Vote for the MinnConDelT slate of candidates for the national delegate and alternate positions. Most of the names on this list are familiar to party wonks like JB Doubtless. Pawlenty, Coleman, Seifert, Pat Anderson, Emmer, etc. One name that I was little surprised to see was that of Michael Brodkorb, our NARN colleague and proprietor of Minnesota Democrats Exposed. It's great to see Michael getting recognition for all his hard work and he's definitely got my vote. If my seat doesn't get snatched by a Paulite that is.

3. Reject the attempts of Paul supporters to change convention rules and procedures. I've been more open and willing to engage with Ron Paul supporters than many within the GOP. I admire their energy and enthusiasm and respect their viewpoints on most issues even if I disagree with many of their policy prescriptions. I liked having Ron Paul at the Republican primary debates and believe that including dissent from the right will only serve to make the party stronger in the long run.

However, the votes have now been cast and the reality is that while Paul raised an impressive amount of money, he was able to attract only minimal support among Republicans. His voice and his views were heard and a majority of the GOP decided that they weren't the ones they wanted their standard bearer to promote. It was a nice run, but it's over.

Paul's supporters should show up at the convention and should continue to raise awareness of the issues that matter most to them. But to try to get delegates and alternates elected to the national convention through a back door process by jamming the convention is only going to serve to further divide the party.

Sometimes Democrats go too far with their rhetoric about the "voice of the people" being heard and people being "disenfranchised," but when the vast majority of Republican voters and caucus goers across the nation have rejected Ron Paul, it would be a travesty for a minority of activists (no matter how vocal) to impose their will at the convention. That doesn't mean they won't try and that should make for a much more "interesting" convention than had been expected.

The Northern Alliance Radio Network will be covering the goings on beginning Thursday night on AM1280 The Patriot when King and Michael kick things with a two-hour broadcast from 5pm-7pm. I'll be joining the Final Word duo on Friday night from 5pm-7pm and on Saturday we'll have our full slate of shows from 11am-5pm (although I believe that Mitch and Ed will be in studio rather than on the convention floor).

Look To The Cookie

Hydrox Redux (WSJ sub req):

Hydrox, the defunct chocolate-sandwich wafer, is returning for one more rematch with its nemesis, the Oreo.

Bowing to more than 1,300 phone inquiries, an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures and Internet chat sites lamenting the demise of the snack, Kellogg Co. has decided to temporarily relaunch Hydrox, the left-for-dead cookie.

"These loyalists can be proud to know they've been heard," says Brad Davidson, head of Kellogg's snack division.

Kellogg quietly killed off Hydrox in 2003, ceding victory to its longtime rival, Oreo, made by Kraft Foods Inc.'s Nabisco unit. Many Hydrox eaters initially thought their cookie had just become more difficult to find, learning only much later that the cookie had been discontinued. The online mourning and efforts to bring it back were the subject of a page-one article in January in The Wall Street Journal.

Freaks. Everyone who grew up in the Hydrox-Oreo battle days knows that Hydrox was a pale substitute for a real cookie. When your mom came home with a box of Hydrox from the grocery store, it was always a bitter disappointment. If you had friends over and your mom broke out the soggy Hydrox for a snack, you were forced to hide your shame. No one ever traded a prize Oreo for a pathetic Hydrox during lunch at school.

The market (and legions of kids) have spoken. Let the lesser of the two cookie brands at long last die.

UPDATE: Rod from Dallas e-mails to fan the flames of cookie (and class) warfare:

In our small Western MN town in the '60s, Oreos were the cookie of the wimpy snot-nose rich kids. We also figured that Oreos were what the prissy kids in the Cities ate. We true children of the earth ate only Hydrox. It was like a Lutheran-Catholic (or Ford-Chevy) split, at least in intensity.

Of course, looking back, I'm sure it was a price thing.

It definitely was a price thing. But when you're a kid such distincts aren't apparent. And anyway when you look back on it now you have to wonder if it would have really killed your mom to spend an extra forty cents to get the good stuff.

All for Nothing, Nothing for All

A few weeks ago, there was much behind the scenes discussion among contributors to this site about attending the Minnesota Twins "All You Can Eat" promotion. Inexhaustible quantities of hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and non-alcoholic beverages for one low, low price. Needless to say, there are those among us for whom the siren call of something for nothing is irresistible.

As a long time aficionado of Dollar Hot Dog Night, I admit I was intrigued. But my experience with that discount wiener promotion has taught me some valuable lessons. Primarily, that the notion of inexhaustible supply is an illusion. The dynamics of security and market demand constrict how much you can actually eat.

First, the Twins dictate that you can only get two hot dogs per trip through the concession line. (A prudent decision, based on Sadr City-like civil insurrection when distribution was unlimited).

Second, demand is so great that the lines to get the dollar hot dogs are very, very long. In practical terms, this limits those who actually want to watch the game to maybe two trips through the line and four hot dogs. True, that should be enough for anyone. In fact, they should change the name of the promotion to "All the Hot Dogs You Should Eat" Night. But even during the most acute suffering and regret after finishing that fourth dog, in the back of your mind you're feeling a little hacked off that you couldn't get more even if you wanted to.

These were my concerns with the Twin "All You Can Eat Night." What would be the per trip quantity limitations imposed by management? What would be the demand/capacity ratio for food distribution? Based on past Metrodome experience, I figured these would place unacceptable restrictions on by ability to acquire All I Could Eat, the Fraters Field Trip was scuttled.

We now receive a report from Mike, at Mooshka's Mind, who believed in the dream and attended this promotion. Excerpts:

The first thing we noticed when we hit the concourse was the all-you-can-eat food line. It was insane. We walked approximately 6 or 7 sections in the direction that food line was forming and it was still going. Absolutely nuts. This is still half and hour before the game and the line is that long. And my favorite part is that they still had only the one "Field Fare" location open, serving all of these people. Brilliant. *******

After a couple of innings, the guys next to us decided to go for another round of food. Rather than go down and find out how long the line was, we instead decided to time these guys and see how long it took them to come back. Half an hour later, a couple of the guys come back. Half an hour! That's at least an inning and a half, and might have been two full innings. Crazy talk!

Mike notes that this was the Twins first attempt at this promotion and they may improve conditions as time goes on. We will be monitoring this situation and alert you with all breaking news on this story.

His reference to leaving the game for food and coming back a half an hour later actually brought back memories for me of the other baseball option we have in town. I was a regular attendee of St. Paul Saints games in their first few years of existence. The promise of outdoor baseball and Mike Veeck inspired fun was enough to draw capacity crowds from the beginning. Ask anyone what their primary memory of those days were and I'd bet they'd answer the same thing: the lines for the bathroom.

The little municipal stadium the Saints play at on Energy Park Drive was not built the notion of 6,000+ beer swilling fans in attendance. In-house plumbing could at best accommodate the typical crowd for a Minnesota Vixen game.

So they compensated by putting a couple of outhouses behind the bleachers, down the base lines. Even then the lines were huge, a trip to relieve yourself would cost you at least an inning or two of the game. Luckily, there was a beer stand flanking the outhouse, so you were not actually deprived access to the primary reason you were at a Saints game. Although fueling up in line also increased the urgency of the moment for all involved. Any dawdlers in the Satellite were subject to a chorus of cat calls and derision. I recall one drunken agitator suggesting the best way to start a riot would be, when you got to the front of the line, pull out a copy of the Sunday New York Times for all to see, sit down, and slam the door.

In recent years, the Saints have upgraded their facilities and the gargantuan bathroom lines are a now a part of history. I see this past Sunday the Saints had a promotion that was officially a reference to Sen. Larry Craig's bathroom antics. From the looks of it, I take it as a tribute to all those brave outhouse line denizens in days gone by.

UPDATE: Speaking of Northern League baseball, idea for the next MOB get together. Road trip to Wichita.

It's Not About You

Yesterday, we attended a Memorial Day service at the Veterans Amphitheater in St. Louis Park as we have for the past few years. Each year a couple of local politicians take the stage and share their thoughts on the day, without a hint of partisanship or evidence of them seeking to gain an advantage from their appearance.

This year Congressman Keith Ellison (MN 5th CD) spoke. Now my wife isn't a hardcore political wonk like Atomizer and she doesn't take things in through any particular political lens as the most hyper-partisan among us tend to do. But she was quite put off by the way that Ellison's words appeared to cross the line between honoring veterans and self-promotion during a campaign season.

Had Ellison merely said that we need to remember the sacrifices that veterans make and ensure that they and their families are taken care of on the home front, he would have been fine. Instead, he went through a laundry list of veterans programs that he supported and talked about veterans having their homes foreclosed and becoming homeless.

What struck a nerve with me was his repeated use of the word "I" as in "I want you to know that I support this bill..." At a time when the focus is supposed to be on honoring the sacrifice of others, a speech sprinkled with said personal pronoun came off as unseemly.

To his credit, the man who followed Ellison, state DFL Representative Ryan Winkler, offered remarks that were short and to the point. He essentially said that the last thing people wanted to hear on Memorial Day was a politician, so he simply thanked the veterans and sat down. His discretion was warmly received by those in attendance.