Finally got to see Iron Man last night and despite being sandwiched in-between a Beavis-and-Butthead high schooler on my right and a pregnant woman about to give birth on my left (oops, sorry honey), it was pretty good. The first pleasant surprise patriotic film-goers will notice is the villains: they are actual Muslims. Yes, that's right. Rag-heads. Camel-huggers. Sand-monkeys. The same barbarous murderers that we are at war with in real life. Go figure. How did this faux pas make it past the Hollywood PC filters? It didn't. Marvel Studios financed this superhero drama themselves. I suspect this was because of the Hollywood suit that wouldn't allow The Thing to smoke cigars when Fantastic Four was produced. That would piss me off and that is why another pleasant surprise awaits you; manly men who drink scotch, smoke cigars and chase women. AAARRR!
I liked the casting. MOBsters will instantly recognize Tom "Swiftie" Swift as the rebellious and irreverent Tony Stark, Mitch "Iron Monger" Berg as the lumbering evil Obidiah Stane and Guy "GuyDog" Collins as the soft-spoken agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. I liked the CGI, too. Much better than the cartoonish Spiderman films. But other than that, I found that Iron Man just didn't "pop". Not like Blade Runner watered your eyes with its set design. Or Matrix could keep rolling down your socks after seeing it for the umpteenth time. For example, the writing on Iron Man just wasn't suspenseful. It wasn't as antiseptic as say, a 24, but not even the climax will put you at the edge of your seat so don't expect anything revolutionary or even evolutionary here (heart-plugs? Come on. That's so Dune). Equally underwhelming was the music. I have been humming the Black Sabbath riff since I saw the first preview. How awesome would it have been to have torqued up that heavy-metal fugue as Tony Stark walked out of the dark terrorist cave in his earth-shaking pig-iron prototype. Answer: VERY awesome. How equally disappointing it was then when it wasn't played at all (and 20 seconds during the closing credits don't count).
All in all, Iron Man really had the potential of forging some new cinemagraphic ground but in the end, the new studio startup combined with a light-weight actor-turned-director proved to be too much to overcome. But keep your eyes out. With Marvel Studio's upcoming slate, things can only go up from here.
Helen Hudgens is 93 years young. She's the best Grandma a person could have. I gave my daughter her middle name. And talk about longevitythe longer she goes, the longer I can keep ducking the title "middle age."
This morning, she passed away, may she rest in peace. We knew it was not long away and though it might happen two weeks ago when she went to the hospital with complications. My sister, mother and I all started thinking, how close it was to her husband, Grandpa Jack's, final day. It was almost exactly 10 years—May 10th 1998.
Well she pulled through and recovered somewhat, but still remained very weak and returned to the assisted care home. My mother, an only child, who has been by her side for the last several years had scheduled a trip up here to Minnesota from Illinois for Mother's day weekend. There's a bit of irony there, but I am very glad to be here for her, even though she needs to get back soon to take care of things. I will be making a trip back there too some time this week. It's too soon to have things planned out yet.
In the end she did it. Call it fate, planning, or a bizarre coincindence, but there it is. Jack Hudgens: May 10th 1998, Helen V. Hudgens: May 10th 2008, 10 years to the day.
Here are a couple of my favorite images. The top one is the last photo of her form this March, with my son Asa. The other two are of Helen and Jack in the great days.
Helen was born July 15, 1914 to Cleveland and Edith Pendleton near Bellflower, Illinois. She had a close and large family with 6 sisters and 2 brothers. She married Jack E. Hudgens in 1932 and he preceded her in 1998.
Helen will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She was active in assisting her husband with his building business, as well as being a real estate broker in the Bloomington area. She was a great lover of music and once entertained on the radio with her sister Ruth, as the Melodie Maids, and was active in golf, bowling, and other exercise. The family is greatly thankful to the staff at McLean County Nursing Home for their care and thoughtfulness. Memorials can to given to charities of choice.
I don't think any conservative believed that 2007's session would end as well as it did, And I don't think any conservative believes this one will even come close to another 2007-like happy ending.
I'll stop short of saying come on out and drown your sorrows, but having a pint, tumbler, glass or snifter, and looking at what has happend and what can be done sounds like a good idea. The Taxpayers League is planning an event at the Metropolitan Clubroom in Golden Valley.
They planned it strategically right in between the close of the session and the GOP Rochester Convention for Tuesday, May 27th 5pm.
I know Phil Krinkie will be giving a talk, and to be sure more names will be added to the speaking roster as this firms up. So mark the calendar and tell a friend.
$25 per person. RSVP to jordanmATtaxpayersleagueDOTorg. Stay stay tuned to www.taxpayersleague.org for updates
[As a fellow SD45 Republican member of the community, I was asked by Scott if I would post this policy paper. If you would like to contact him, here is his email:
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As conservatives, we value the free market, personal responsibility, and limited government. I also subscribe to these principles. However, I live with cerebral palsy. It’s saddens me that we are not talking about a comprehensive policy for the millions of Americans that go through life with a disability. It angers me, however, that this is true of both sides of the aisle. No one is talking about the needs of the disabled. Throughout history, we have been seen as being either punished by God or special angels, people that need to be cured, or nuisances.
Through my own experience and analysis, I will attempt to describe the current problems as I see them. I will also offer a critique of some current views by other conservatives. Finally, I hope to present a framework to encourage discussion and, hopefully, lead to creation of a more unified and conservative plan for the disabled. The Current State Who Are These People According to the 2000 census 49.7 million people reported having a disability (Waldop & Stern, 2002). One could write volumes about the make-up of this group. However, for the sake of simplicity, the ratio of 1 in 5 people having some kind of disability is a good measure. Before we get too carried away on numbers, keep in mind that this includes physical, emotional, developmental, and learning disability. We would be right as well in saying that both in general and with specific diagnoses, the phenomenon of disability is “not an equal opportunity” idea. For example, on paper, my wife and I both have the same disability, spastic athetoid cerebral palsy. Yet we could not be more different, I can walk, she can’t. She is prone to seizures, I am not. She is more understandable speaking, I am harder to understand. The list can go on.
However, we must examine this issue from the perspective of public policy. Overall, at this time, the disabled are seen either as “clients” or “patients” or need “services” or as “dollar signs.” In the first case, often called the medical or human service model, the safety and well being of the individual is primary. Here, there is a tendency to “pre-package” services into a one size fits all approach. Since people with disabilities have different needs, not everyone will need the same set of supports. Yet as we will see later, this approach can lead to more loss of control over personal life.
The second view is more of a knee jerk reaction to the first. Under the current state, support services with disabilities are costly. There is no way around it. Naturally, we believe in a low tax burden. However, what can happen is that only the numbers that are in the budget. The natural tendency is to cut the number which, in turn, can leave disabled individual worried about getting needs met. In addition, it fosters the notion the the disabled are drains on public resources or objects of charity, further preventing an inclusion of the disabled in society.
Fox News reports that the Code Pink womyn are arriving on their brooms in Berkeley and casting magic spells to end war. It's not a joke (except maybe for the broom part).
The women's anti-war group has told ralliers to come equipped with spells and pointy hats Friday for "witches, crones and sirens" day, the last of the group's weeklong homage to Mother's Day.
"Women are coming to cast spells and do rituals and to impart wisdom to figure out how we're going to end war," Zanne Sam Joi of Bay Area Code Pink told FOXNews.com
Attendance is down, and this latest gimmick doesn't seem to be helping. Fox News installed a 24-hour "Berkeley Protest Cam" aimed at the Marine recruiting center entrance.
A FOX News camera, which has a 24/7 live shot of the recruiting center's front door, recorded little action, and the gatherings have, until this point, been ill attended.
They should rename it "FAIL cam." I'll try a long distance spell: Expelliarmus Hagosis!
Michael at MDE is uncovering more about Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak's suspended driver's license last year, and reported that Rybak received the speeding ticket on the second day of the DFL convention taking place in Rochester. WCCO-TV reports he didn't pay the complete fine for a speeding ticket received last year in Olmsted County, but seems to handle the Mayor with kid gloves (compared to Fox 9 News) as to how his car got to City Hall. Caroline Lowe's report at 'CCO:
The mayor says he only learned of the suspended license late Thursday afternoon. He was confronted by cameras when he slid into his car parked outside the Minneapolis City Hall Thursday evening. Rybak said he did not intend to drive, and that he was only getting in the car to pick up some paperwork.
If Rybak had been stopped by police after his license was suspended in February, he could have gotten another ticket and had his city car towed.
He left his car behind at city hall Thursday night and planned to take the bus or call his wife for a ride home.
Rybak, who also has a driver, said he already planned to take the bus to work on Friday when he will also take steps to clear up his license and fine issues. He also says he will not get behind the wheel of a car until those issues are resolved and he has a valid Minnesota driver's license.
Fox 9 News also reported that he was sent a notice of the suspension in March. The mayor doesn't recall seeing that notice in the mail. Their video catches him off guard when asked if he was driving around since then, while he's holding the car keys.
"I don't know. Let me think about it for a second. Have I been?"
This is priceless. Beth McDonough may have reached the Mayor before Caroline did — which may explain his smoother responses to WCCO. Check back to MN Democrats Exposed for the latest.
A SuperAmerica worker helped a fellow employee in the midst of a robbery and assault. He may have saved a life. His "speedy reward" from his employer, SA? A pink slip. KSTP-TV has the story and video.
Mark Beverly was one of two employees inside a Roseville Super America when a robber came into the store on March 26.
Beverly was cleaning the bathroom when he heard the store clerk cry out. He came out to find a robber attacking the female employee.
"I just jumped on his back and trying to hit his head and pushed him over the counter. I jumped back over and he was out of there," he said.
Later that day, Beverly returned to work only to be punished for his actions.
"I didn't think I was going to get fired for it," he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
SA allegedly gave him a robbery prevention packet after the incident and denied employment. Beverly is appealing the action, but I bet a lawsuit is brewing already. Score: Beverly 1, Robber and SA 0.
Written by Michael Mannske
Wednesday, 07 May 2008 12:51
It's fun watching liberals eat their own, like when environmentalists refuse to allow wind turbines near their homes for fear the blades will either go sailing through their living rooms or decapitate migratory birds. Last night's report had a similar edge when the mother of an eight-year old blamed her son's injuries from a automobile collision not on said son darting into traffic without looking but on an evil Toyota Prius hybrid running on silent-mode.
"We're conditioned to hear car noises," mother cannibal said. "This is a big safety issue."
I agree, it is. These over-priced social-statements should be mandated to travel over 15 mph. That way, the next time they hit a tone-deaf lib it will be lethal. In the mean time, the legislature will be taking suggestions on what hybrid noise-makers will best send oblivious pedestrians diving for cover. My suggestion: a cackling loop of Hillary laughter.
More from Golden Valley's media monolith:
Wisconsin Envy: After fielding a story on The Dairy State's prestigious number #1 ranking in alcohol abuse, KARE continues to be kludo on how we Cheeseheads can continually sleep through fires, shoot their toddlers with BB guns on a dare or produce two-nosed cows. Are they trying to disparage us with these stories? Sounds like jealousy to me.
Wal-bashing: Another child fondled in Wal-Mart. Duh. You don't hear about this at Targets. How about this for a public service announcement: "DON'T SHOP AT WAL-MART!"
Rick "HDTV-head" Kupchella: This guy is all over the board so I am going to make a little sub-category just for him. This week, in an attempt to score points after his gas-tax backlash last month, HDTVH comes out for taxpayers by exposing Minnesota's prevailing wage, claiming the state overpays unexceptional construction workers some 32% with little productivity increase to show for it. The next day, his station proceeded to frag their earnest lieutenant by reporting construction on the I35W bridge was going along quite exceptionally, thank you, to the tune of being 3 months ahead of schedule. Oops. STORY PROVERB: When redeeming oneself, take it slow.
Perk at Play: Get rid of this guy. Not even his I'm-so-unfunny-I'm-funny schtick is funny. I hear CCO has an opening for meteorologist.
You've heard the old saying "strike while the iron is hot"? With the Democrat Presidential campaign now headed almost irretrievably over the cliff of electoral disaster, now would be the time for Republicans to strike-- to set aside our differences over John McCain (giving enough support so he can take the "high road" to the Presidency as is his wont anyway), and concentrate on advancing our conservative principles by giving him a majority Republican Congress!
McCain naturally leans conservative, but his maverick streak compels him to reach across the aisle and "get things done." Imagine what he would do if Republicans controlled the Senate and the House and the agenda? That's right, he would try to "get things done" by working with the conservative majority. And since the next President will appoint at least one Supreme Court justice, if we do NOT get a Senate majority, the conservative cause may be set back for another generation. If you are one of those still saying you will vote "principle over party" then here is the best opportunity in 20 years to get BOTH.
While we're in the voting booth anyway, there is a simple matter of self-preservation at stake, too. We must take back the Minnesota House for Republicans, and here again the Democrats have given us more than enough ammunition if we will just use it-- telling the truth about what they have done and the clear truth of what we will do better. If we cannot do that, then we probably aren't smart enough to govern anyway. We do NOT deserve to lose, so shouldn't we try to win it ALL, while the iron is hot?
His teleprompter is set about 10 clicks too fast tonight at the NC celebration speech.
It really is awkward to watch and listen to. I feel sorry for the guy. He’s sweating this speech out looking left, then right fast, fast, fast. And he has to look up too high to look natural. Some tech guy is in for a beating tomorrow.
One bonus: his typical hour long speech will only be half as long tonight.
Hillary's speech on the other hand, can not be short or fast enough tonight.
The Admiral at Lake Minnetonka Liberty has posted this report by channel 5 showing some very tough numbers for Al Franken. For those of you that think this recent MDE-covered tax payment problem is just a minor accounting oversight, maybe you can consider these polling numbers the culmination of that added to a rotten personality, utter lack of experience, carpetbaggery, and conflicted policy positions.
And as a topper, here's Al's good friend Bill O' with a qucik shot to the ribs.
Thousands of disgruntled libertarian Americans are in for a huge let-down this fall. Ron Paul's supporters have been misled into believing that they can still get their candidate on the Republican ballot for president this November. They've been told so by Ron Paul's leadership. And telling these rock heads the truth doesn't do much good because they are conspiracy-phobic and think that Republican officers are lying to them. The party has a system for electing its presidential nominee and that person is Senator John McCain.
It can be said, as a generality that these followers of Ron Paul do not play well with others. This explains why they go about their methods of hijacking conventions in the delusion that Dr. Paul will be the nominee simply because they are naive fools.
And now, Ron Paul has come out with a book...a manifesto. I imagine that with thousands of robots across the country following under Ron Paul's spell, he will make a lot of money on this book. But ultimately, all his followers will be able to say, come this September is;
I suppose the Ron Paul Revolutionaries will cry out in their anguish that they'd been cheated. But the GOP will be right when it points out to these simpletons, "We told you so."
I have been struggling for weeks to find a way to apply Coach Vince Lombardi's maxim "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" to politics. It just seemed there should be a connection, and there is. I've been trying to tell every Republican I know, including myself, to vote for John McCain and Norm Coleman in November. The rest of my ticket looks good, with solid conservatives all up and down, but there are still some well-known and well-aired "concerns" about these two. Certainly most of us would prefer they be more conservative, and there is nothing wrong with holding up a "price" for your support-- that's the way politics works, squeaky wheel and all that. But in the end, you have to vote for them or the other "team" wins, and that would be a very bad thing. There is absolutely nothing these candidates can do for you unless they win. Winning isn't everything, but it's the only thing that isn't losing.
We're happy to say the Jeff Johnson for Hennepin County Commissioner website is up and running. After serving in the House, Jeff ran for the MN Attorney General seat in 2006 and lost in large part to the conditions of the year being very unfriendly for anyone with an R behind their name. He would have been a far better and more respectable AG than our current occupant. But that is the past. He is now running for Penny Steele's seat (7) and can use any support you can send his way.
Similar to the 2006 AG race, a Commissioner's race is not always in the forefront of a voter's priorities, especially in a year like this with unpredictable primaries, a POTUS race, a tabloid worthy Senate race, and several contested seats where Republican incumbents have been told to take a walk by their BPOUs.
So please give generously to what will be one of the few potential seats to put Fiscal Responsibility ahead of dream projects.
For those who don't know me, I'm a husband, father, small-business owner, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and youth football and soccer coach. My wife, Sondi, and I live in Plymouth with our sons, Thor (10) and Rolf (7). I believe it is vitally important for our families and our communities to elect strong, effective conservatives to public office.
Northwest Hennepin County is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. We face challenges with property taxes, crime, transportation spending, and an influx of new residents. Our County Government needs to be effective, accountable, and fiscally responsible. As a former State Legislator, I have a proven record of helping protect our families and communities from criminal predators, drug dealers, and those who deal in child pornography and abuse. I have been a passionate advocate for cutting taxes, creating jobs, and building our transportation infrastructure. I will continue to work to focus our social service programs on the truly needy among us.
To me, being an effective conservative voice means making sure that government works on your behalf in an efficient and effective way to meet its primary responsibilities.
The New York Post reports today that things are not looking good for the StarTribune.
May 4, 2008 -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune, reeling under a heavy debt load and plummeting advertising sales, is on the brink of bankruptcy, The Post has learned.
One of the nation's top dailies, "The Strib," as it is known to readers in the Twin Cities, recently hired the Wall Street powerhouse Blackstone Group to restructure its balance sheet after failing to meet its debt obligations, according to people familiar with the company.
The broadsheet is unlikely to shutter its doors, but its creditors, including the banking giant Credit Suisse Group, figure to eventually end up controlling the paper. Down the road, the creditor group could then sell it after dramatically cutting costs.
...
Last week, the paper reported that its weekday circulation dropped 6.74 percent, to 321,984, in the six-month period that ended March 31.
Billionaire real-estate mogul Sam Zell, who bought the Tribune Co. last year, was recently forced to put Long Island's Newsday, one of its more valuable assets, up for sale in order to meet debt obligations.
Technology continues to trump dinosaur media it seems, as more turn to the 'net for news. Some outstate local papers are charging $1 per word for a letter to the editor to help increase income. Time will tell what the "Red" Star will do, especially if creditors like Credit Suisse Group take control.
Fan-fraggin-tastic, and yes, it's well know I am a comics nerd. But shelve that, this is not just a movie for nerds, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow are all just great in this made-for-men film. Jeff Bridges is especially intriguing because of his new beefed up frame, shaved head and full beard, you’ll barley recognize him.
Of the Marvel films so far this is hands down the best, Sorry, the Spiderman series was the best effort up to now, but Tony Stark takes over more manly territory where the more innocent Peter Parker could not. Hot cars, hot gadgets, hot girls, hot planes, hot guns, big explosions, plenty o’ killin’ of Islamofascist terrorists, clever well-timed lines and “that’s gotta hurt” moments. John Favreau in the director's seat director did a fine job here.
A few sidenotes that won't give too much away: The standard 5 second Stan Lee cameo that has become standard in every Marvel Studios release, let's just say in this film he's not himself. I was thrilled to see that Tony Stark had the same dual 30” cinema apple monitors just like I do, If only I had the ocean front property, the Billion dollar company, and the suit. Oh, we see the first opening to S.H.I.E.L.D in this picture although it is a subtle opening, perhaps a Nick Fury production is not that far off.
I would be genuinely surprised if any red blooded American guy did not give this 2 thumbs up.
UPDATE: WSJ reports this is rating well with more than just nerds like me:
The Marvel Comics adaptation "Iron Man" topped the box office with a $100.7 million weekend, the second-best premiere ever for a nonsequel, according to studio estimates, and scored overseas with $96.7 million in 57 countries where it began opening Wednesday. Despite the huge opening, Hollywood's overall business was down 15% compared with the same weekend last year.
Let's for a moment, get off how bad we have it in tax burden here in Minnesota. It makes a man want to drink. Instead, let's focus on exactly that—we rate #1 in binge drinking, that is, if you look at us as a region.
The top 4 in the country are all joined by Minnesota borders. And although, Minnesota is not #1, we are flanked on all 3 sides with other champs of grain guzzlin'. Who wants to take a wild guess that our friends on our northern border is also in the same league. Why?
I'll hazard a guess it may be a lot to do with natural resources. All 4 of us are in one big chunk of the northern grain belt. It just figures, we have the grain, we make the beer, we drink it. You could also make a possible case for the high percentage of Nordic and Germanic ethnic make up of the region.
Now, clocking in at #5 are the Rhode Islanders, I'm guessing they're just angry with that whole Napoleanic complex.
Let's keep in mind that what passes for binge drinking today could not hold a candle to early American booze consumption. You can find many a romantic retelling of bending the elbow. Here's one from Winethur museum:
Alcohol undoubtedly played a significant role in the daily lives of colonists. Numerous reasons existed to justify the colonists' drinking habits: a fear of a polluted water supply, a belief in alcohol's nourishing and medicinal properties, and its role in warming them in a cold climate. Drinks served at mealtimes made steady drinkers out of everyone, even children. Workers and farmers took breaks in the workday for their dram to relieve tedium and ease physical pain. Social and political events, such as weddings, funerals, and elections, invariably had alcohol on hand. However, for all the alcohol consumed, drinking was a family- and community-oriented activity.
The first settlers brought with them the Anglo tradition of beer drinking, and local production was soon needed to meet the demand. With the increasing number of taverns in colonial America, demand for beer outstripped the supply from home brewing and importation from England. Commercial breweries quickly sprung up in the larger cities to quench the colonists' thirst.
As these settlers adapted to their new world, so did their drinking habits. Many spirits made at home used local ingredients, such as hard cider in the North and peach brandy in the South. With the rise in distilling at the start of the 18th century, rum became an important trading and economic product for the colonies until embargoes after the Revolution affected rum trading.
The opening of the frontier in the early republic provided more acres of land for the growing of grain, and whisky was easily distilled. Besides being a cheap and plentiful commodity, whiskey was also easier to transport than grain.
And another from Goliath peppered with unintended humor.
Crooking the elbow was a serious occupation in eighteenth-century America. Visitors to the early republic often expressed astonishment at the amount of spirits that Americans knocked back during an ordinary day. People of the time believed that guzzling plain unadulterated water was unhealthy (as it sometimes was before the days of water treatment plants). They regarded liquor as nourishment. Then, as now, people also used it for medicinal purposes. A popular euphemism was antifogmatic, a drink taken on the pretext that it counteracted the bad effects of foggy weather.
Although drunkenness was frowned on, moderate alcohol intake was a normal part of meals. What Americans considered moderate in the late 1700s amounted to an annual per capita consumption of nearly four gallons of hard liquor, well over twice the amount that modern Americans consume. They also found room for many tankards of hard cider and one-percent beer, and if they were wealthy a certain amount of wine.
Antifogmatic. That's goin' in the act. Yes, we're mere pikers compared to our forefathers, but still, we're #1!
3-1/2 cigars (Great CGI/interesting casting/unimaginative script)
Lasy July, I wrote this:
Well she pulled through and recovered somewhat, but still remained very weak and returned to the assisted care home. My mother, an only child, who has been by her side for the last several years had scheduled a trip up here to Minnesota from Illinois for Mother's day weekend. There's a bit of irony there, but I am very glad to be here for her, even though she needs to get back soon to take care of things. I will be making a trip back there too some time this week. It's too soon to have things planned out yet.
Helen will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She was active in assisting her husband with his building business, as well as being a real estate broker in the Bloomington area. She was a great lover of music and once entertained on the radio with her sister Ruth, as the Melodie Maids, and was active in golf, bowling, and other exercise. The family is greatly thankful to the staff at McLean County Nursing Home for their care and thoughtfulness. Memorials can to given to charities of choice. 
I don't think any conservative believed that 2007's session would end as well as it did, And I don't think any conservative believes this one will even come close to another 2007-like happy ending. 
Michael at 
It's fun watching liberals eat their own, like when environmentalists refuse to allow wind turbines near their homes for fear the blades will either go sailing through their living rooms or decapitate migratory birds. Last night's report had a similar edge when the mother of an eight-year old blamed her son's injuries from a automobile collision not on said son darting into traffic without looking but on an 
We're happy to say the 
For those who don't know me, I'm a husband, father, small-business owner, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and youth football and soccer coach. My wife, Sondi, and I live in Plymouth with our sons, Thor (10) and Rolf (7). I believe it is vitally important for our families and our communities to elect strong, effective conservatives to public office.
