Bernie Sanders had an very impressive swing through Minnesota yesterday, with 6000 showing up in Duluth, and 20,000 showing up in St. Paul. I think it's great he's resonating with the left, but two things. First, two people who were at the rally contacted me this morning insisting the actual turn out was closer to 40,000. Why RiverCenter would so grossly under report the truth, I have no idea, but the Bernie camp themselves said the turnout was 20K. That's great! You don't need to pad 20,000. I understand the media hasn't given you a fair shake, but don't get outlandish in your push back. The other issue is something Sander's folks have to address. As passionate and excited as the crowd was for Bernie, there are going to be a lot of those in attendance yesterday not showing up to caucus in Minnesota on March 1st. You're only as good as your turnout, something all Democrats need to remember. If yesterday was important for you, then make sure you show up on March 1!
Finally, some of the Oregon militia idiots were arrested yesterday for trying to overthrow the government. These traitors are not true patriots. They're self serving, greedy thieves, trying to gobble up valuable government land for their own personal gain. I stand by my assertion; if these 'occupiers' would have been African American, they would've all been killed within four hours of the occupation, and the GOP would be criticizing the President for it taking so long. As it was, these armed dolts, who've threatened to kill law enforcement, military, judges and politicians in their selfish land grab, were mostly taken alive nearly a month after they began their 'occupation,' with 'tarp guy' the only one killed. He tied to flee the police, twice, and when cornered, stormed the officers. Not heroic, just stupid. The rest of them were taken into custody. With all of the violence they've threatened, as armed to the teeth as these morons were, most of them were taken alive. Now can someone please explain to me Tamir Rice, Jamar Clark, Laquan McDonald, and ALL of the other instantaneous death sentences unarmed African American's have received at the hands of law enforcement? Clearly two different standards are on display.
Bike guy, I like you and I'm for a vibrant biking community. Minneapolis/St. Paul is great for bicyclists, and the city spends an insane amount of money on expanding and maintaining the bike friendly atmosphere. Do me one favor; tone it down a little bit. I love passion, but when you jump from 'share the road' to 'make life tough for automobile owners,' you lose people. Most people in the Twin Cities are going to drive a car That's a fact. This means we need to maintain parking, roads and highways to meet those needs. Not every street can be be made into a bike friendly street. There are space limitations which prohibit it, so instead of insisting the parking spots need to go away, or the road needs to become pedestrian/bike only, acknowledge that car owners have very justifiable needs too. When you go out of your way to be obnoxious, all you're doing is making people mad.
This last summer, I was driving to a weekend baseball tournament for my son. As we are going down a rural highway with a dedicated bike path running the side of the road (not a sidewalk, an actual bike trail), I pulled up behind a bicyclist who was going down the middle of the lane. As I waited to get past him, I wanted to ask him why? Why wasn't the dedicated, completely empty bike path on the side of the road not good enough for him? Why was he risking his life, the life of the people in the cars around him, and wasting the tax dollars which had been spent for him specifically, in a misguided attempt to insist 'I have the same rights to be on the road as you do?' All you did was piss me off, and everyone else who was asking the same exact questions of you. That's going out of your way to be obnoxious, and it does more damage to your cause than good.
This last summer, I was driving to a weekend baseball tournament for my son. As we are going down a rural highway with a dedicated bike path running the side of the road (not a sidewalk, an actual bike trail), I pulled up behind a bicyclist who was going down the middle of the lane. As I waited to get past him, I wanted to ask him why? Why wasn't the dedicated, completely empty bike path on the side of the road not good enough for him? Why was he risking his life, the life of the people in the cars around him, and wasting the tax dollars which had been spent for him specifically, in a misguided attempt to insist 'I have the same rights to be on the road as you do?' All you did was piss me off, and everyone else who was asking the same exact questions of you. That's going out of your way to be obnoxious, and it does more damage to your cause than good.
Also, do me one more favor. If I approach a crossing where the bikes and pedestrians have the right of way, and I see a bicyclist on the edge of the street looking like they're wanting to cross, I stop. Don't wave me through. YOU have the right of way. Either don't take your rest at an intersection, or cross when everyone stops for you. I know people who have said they don't stop at them anymore because the bicyclists always wave them through. Please keep that in mind. I don't like it when I stop for a person in the crosswalk and, as the people are trying to cross, jackass driver guy barrels through the crossing because he doesn't think he needs to stop. I feel the same exact way about over courteous car drivers who clearly get to an intersection well before I do and then wave me ahead. No, you have the right of way. GO!
Earlier this week I ripped on Edina. For those reading this who don't live in Minneapolis, Edina is the obscenely wealthy community on the southwest side of the metro, where the minimum price for a house is somewhere around 300K (and good luck finding one of those. Most are over seven figures). On Tuesday, I made fun of Edina for something they're hilariously guilty of, being unfriendly. A story in the Star Tribune talked about an Edina kid who wrote the mayor a note about how unfriendly the city was, as neighbors don't talk to their neighbors anymore, a byproduct of the tear down/rebuild epidemic which has turned Edina into a 6000 square foot mansion mecca (something I discussed in the blog post Supersize Me from July 9th, 2015). Ironically, and somewhat hilariously, the mayor acknowledged he had gotten the letter, but had not responded. The reason I, and so many people in the Twin Cities, like to make fun of Edina, is because Edina likes to think of themselves as having no negatives, only positives. Of course Edina has negatives, so does every other community. Only delusional, myopic fanatics think their waste doesn't stink. Edina is very reluctant to admit they have problems, let alone try to solve them. That's why we always love a story which rubs Edina's nose in it. The funny thing is how this public shaming makes them even more unwilling to acknowledge their faults. The vicious circle continues.
I want to encourage everyone to find out how they can volunteer for their local community. I'm part of my city's Planning and Zoning committee. It has been unbelievably rewarding to be part of my communities decision making process and future. Please, take some time and find out if your community has ways for you to be part of the solution. Most do not require too much effort and, trust me, you'll get rewarded for your effort.
Remember, the end is also the beginning.
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