Drunk Driving in Minnesota

I don't know Daryl Dean Fleck and I have no idea if he has a drinking problem but based on the article I read (www.twincities.com - March 25, 2009) I have to applaud his decision to avoid drunk driving.

Mr. Fleck , age 55, was arrested on June 11, 2007 in East Grand Forks, Minnesota but was just recently convicted of two counts of driving while intoxicated. Mr. Fleck's blood alcohol tested at 0.18 and three open beer cans were under a blanket on the passenger seat of his car which was parked in his assigned parking spot at his apartment building.

Ok, so far so boring you say -- but wait. Mr. Fleck was actually SLEEPING in his car with the keys set on the center console. Apparently Mr. Fleck knew he was drunk so he avoided driving by simply in his car during what was probably a beautiful summer evening. The problem however is that Minnesota state law states that if such a person has "physical control" of a vehicle - which Mr. Fleck did since the keys were in his possession and he was sitting in the car - then that person can be charged with drunk driving.

Again, based on what I read in the news coverage Mr. Fleck did the correct thing by sleeping in his car in an attempt to protect himself and others from drunk driving. Perhaps Mr. Fleck should have placed his car keys under the car and slept in the back seat to help his line of defense!!

I fear that such enforcement of our DWI law will actually encourage drunk driving.

Todd

More Football This Year!!

The United Football League - www.ufl-football.com - is set to kick off its inaugural season in October 2009 which is great news not only for football fans but also for the US economy since they have many jobs to fill to run the league.

I have been very interested in their contest asking fans to generate mascot names for their teams which you can find at their website noted above.

I would only ask readers to promote my team mascot suggestion -- the "San Francisco Firestorm"

Now that would be great fodder for some cool t-shirts!!

Todd

French Women

My local newspaper recently carried a book review for "French Women Don't Sleep Alone: Pleasurable Secrets to Finding Love" by Jamie Cat Callan. The review stated that "Callan is clearly trying to cash in on 'French Women Don't Get Fat'" by Mireille Guiliano.

So that got me wondering about books regarding French Women. A search on Amazon.com produces 154 results but perhaps the inevitable next book was missing which I call:

"French Women Don't Age or Die"

Such a title would help bring this genre to a close I believe!!

Au revoir,

Todd

See more of me at - www.regularfolksunited.com

Time for a Blood Test

Today is "Alert Day" for the American Diabetes Association:

www.diabetes.org

So please get off line for 5 minutes today to call your doctor for scheduling a routine blood test. Then once you get your appointment schedule please send an email to your friends and relatives to join you in taking action for their health.

Please do not wait for Congress to create a universal health care system that will require blood tests and the rationing of services based on your station in life.

Todd

Reminder - I primarily blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com

Sharing Books

I had lunch at Potbelly Sandwich Works last week (www.potbelly.com) where I noticed a book shelf with a sign on it -- "Take a book, leave a book".

I thought this was a nice feature for the restaurant so patrons could feed their head along with their stomachs!!

Read on, Todd

Pension Funds

Reminder - I primarily blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com -- so if you have a few extra dollars please consider an online contribution to keep the site going. Thanks!

Now for something completely different! In a recent edition of the Financial Times newsletter an article about a Canadian pension fund including this ranking of the "Top 10 North American pension funds, 2007":

1. California Public Employees
2. Federal Retirement Thrift
3. California State Teachers
4. New York State Common
5. Ontario Teachers
6. Florida State Board
7. General Motors
8. New York City Retirement
9. Canada Pension
10. AT&T

So does anything in this list catch your attention?

How about the fact that 8 out of these 10 pension funds are for government employees. Perhaps we can even say that "9 of these 10" are for government employees given the massive amounts of tax dollars poured into General Motors.

Instead of sticking their hands in the pockets of taxpayers for a bailout perhaps the General Motors pension fund should have simply given General Motors a loan since this fund clearly has resources -- US$133.8 billion -- which is a better option for everyone concerned.

Yours in tax slavery,

Todd

NBA could learn from the CBA

I have to guess most readers/sports fans don't know that the "CBA" is the Continental Basketball Association which is a minor league team unaffiliated with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Instead of cutting a deal with the CBA (perhaps they tried and I missed it) the NBA created their own "D-League" as their Development League for players that are not quite ready for the NBA.

My teen years are filled with fond memories of watching NBA games on Friday nights since I could "stay up late" to catch a game but now I am in my forties and have not watch an NBA game for several years. Personally I love college basketball but the NBA "game" (if you can call it that) has no appeal for me. I have to wonder how large this "lost market" is for the NBA since their "product" on the floor is pretty much worthless.

What I always loved about the CBA -- which ended its season two months early this year due to financial problems - is their point system. The CBA awarded a point for each quarter of a game that a team "won" which forced teams to play the entire game versus how most NBA games work today -- NBA players move the ball around until about the last 5 to 8 minutes of a game then they turn on the intensity to see which team can win. What a bore!!

In the CBA you must play all out each quarter because the overall point system determines who makes it to the playoffs. Here is an example to illustrate what I am talking about:

Team A Team B

1st quarter scores 15 20
2nd 20 25
3rd 25 30
4th 36 20

total points in the game 96 95

But Team B is awared "3 points" for winning 3 of the 4 quarters.

A much better model that the NBA should consider.

Todd

One Year Old

This weekend we celebrated our son's first birthday with a party for friends and family at the Pool and Yacht Club (ok - it is mostly pool with no yacht but the dock is always open for you to visit!!).

Amazing, one year old already. I can't speak more highly of parenting -- I simply love it.

Since I am already 43 years old I really stop to think about what our children's world will look like when they are adults. One example is my blackberry which our son loves to play with whenever he can grab it. By the time he is old enough to use such a device my "brand new" blackberry will become a museum piece sitting besides the rotary dial telephone and the fax machine perhaps.

My best wishes to parents and aspiring parents everywhere. If the spirit moves you to adopt a child please do so -- there is no greater thing you can do than to give a child a loving home.

Happy birthday to our little bear cub,

Todd
(reminder - I primarly blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com )

Retirement Plans

Ah, no retirement plans for me now that I have seen the results of the class action shareholder lawsuit I was involved in for my former employer today!! Retirement was on my mind -- public employee pensions to be exact -- when I read the "Top 25 List" in the Twin Cities Business Journal recently which listed the 25 largest "Government Agencies" in Minnesota.

Here are the agencies this posting is focused on:

#5 - Teachers Retirement Association
#6 - Public Employees Retirement System
#10 - Minnesota State Retirement System

To manage these agencies there are 250 full time employees who simply process public employee pensions paid for with our tax dollars of course.

Here is a government reform idea that will no doubt be killed in a legislative committee somewhere -- let's combine these three agencies into one thereby reducing operating costs and leveraging new investment opportunities by aggregating the funds involved?

Reform is needed,

Todd
(reminder to readers -- I primarily blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com)

Really Big Snake!!

Our local newspaper carried a Los Angeles Times article last weekend entitled,

"Huge Snake Fossil Found in Colombia"

Now I am not a herpetologist but I do admit unique stories such as this one command my attention. First I should note this newly discovered beast has been named -- Titanoboa Cerrejonesis (TC) - which is pretty catchy don't you think!!??

However, here are some data points in the article that I found most interesting:

• TC "ruled the Amazon rain forest for 2 million years before slithering into nonexistence"
• "The climate had to be 6 to 8 degrees warmer than it is today for a snake that large to survive."
• TC "could eat a large cow or a bison....if there had been any around"

Which leads me to conclude/observe -- 2 million years ago Mother Earth was not "scarred" by the SUV's we drive today so clearly this "global warming" that allowed TC to live was not caused by humans. I might be oversimplifying here but this is a great example that "climate change" has occurred throughout the earth's history regardless of whether or not human were living at the time.

However, I would guess that Al Gore has an explanation for the story of TC's warmer world or perhaps even has another "false-umentary" film planned for us to watch?

Change happens,

Todd

The Decline of Newspapers

Dear Readers (yes both of you!),

I primarily blog at this website now - www.regularfolksunited.com -- but still post here at Space Beagle on a wider variety of topics so I hope you enjoy the postings.

I admit it -- I probably should have been born around 1935 which would make me 20 years old in 1955. Yes the good old days when the "evening newspaper" was still an American institution. I love newspapers so I will always subscribe regardless of the Internet world. I just hope some newspapers actually survive so I can keep subscribing!

However, the current trend doesn't look good now that Minnesota's largest newspaper - www.startribune.com - has declared bankruptcy. Assuming they continue evolving as a business they will survive in some form I believe. Perhaps the clearest indication I have seen so far regarding the need for newspapers to evolve rapidly was noted in this recent article, "Star Tribune may not pay workers full severance." At the very end of the article was this fact, "the Star Tribune spends about $100,000 annually for rent in the Lowry Building in downtown St. Paul."

What? $100,000 annual rent for an office where newspaper staff can work? I have to say that is simply crazy!! The Star Tribune announced it would not continue leasing this office space opting instead to move their St. Paul staff to their Minneapolis office space while they consider their options but here are two options I never heard mentioned:

1.) Buy a condo in downtown St. Paul -- since there is such a glut of condos on the market the paper could probably purchase one for $100,000 then spend a few thousand more to wire it for staff to work online. A one time expense. We are only 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul and condos in our town are being sold for $139,000 for a two bedroom unit.

2.) But the best option by far for the paper would be to phase out most of office real estate by embracing telecommuting. Yes, send all the staff home with their job assignments and perhaps $3,000 checks for new lap tops and home office supplies.

By declaring itself a virtual company the Star Tribune will not only achieve cost savings but they will also increase their relevancy in our Internet economy.

Keep reading,

Todd

Letter to President Obama

Reminder to my loyal readers (yes both of you!!) -- I am now regularly blogging at this website:

www.regularfolksunited.com

But will post commentaries that don't fit this website's focus here at my original "Space Beagle Notes".

Please check out the advice letter I posted for President Obama at the Regular Folks United website.

Thanks for reading, Todd

Lee Iacocca

As 2008 drew to a close I completed reading Lee Iaccoca's most recent book -- "Where have all the leaders gone" which I family friend suggested I should read.

Overall I found that the book was two books in one -- a completed anti-President George W. Bush (GWB) bitch session coupled with Iaccoca's observations on a range of topics especially his philanthropic work now that he is retired. Ok, I got it Iaccoca - you do NOT consider GWB to be a "leader." While I am no fan of GWB on several policy issues I am not a fan of Iaccoca either given his inconsistencies/borderline hypocrisy in his world view as noted in this book.

Here is a prime example --

Iaccoca explains how his "Iaccoca Institute" at Lehigh University (his alma mater) brings students together from around the world for an intensive leadership training/multi-cultural experience at the college. From the description I read I was impressed with this project. However, later in the book Iaccoca throws a hissy fit that "we let the Germans buy Chrysler, the Germans................." By "Germans" of course he is referring Daimler Benz Corporation.

Iaccoca fails to explain why the "Germans" bother him so much -- perhaps World War II when his native Italy was an ally of Nazi Germany? I have no idea. Would Iaccoca have been equally upset if the "Japanese", "Koreans", or even those darn "Indians" (from India not the USA) had purchased his beloved Chrysler?

So much for the "open minded thinking" being taught at the Iaccoca Institute at Lehigh University.

Given Iaccoca's comments I just had to laugh this week when I read that Fiat (an Italian company) has now secured the rights to a 55% ownership stake of Iaccoca's Chrysler LLC. So will he be upset that "we let the Italians purchase Chrysler, the Italians..............." or will he be silent? I would definitely prefer silence since I fear he will publish yet another book.

Again - Iaccoca's philanthropic work at the Iaccoca Institute and on diabetes research is commendable and very necessary so I wish him well with these projects. But please did not offer the public yet another "grumpy old man tells the world what bothers him" book.

Todd

Coleman vs. Franken

The State of Minnesota has a long history of clean elections and high voter turnout so this year's US Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken is a black eye for the North Star State.

The problem is that lawyers - not voters - will determine the final winner of this senate seat. However, "solutions" for improving the process have been advocated such as "Instant Runoff Voting" (IRV) where voters would note their first and second choices on a ballot so that these results would be allocated accordingly thus avoiding an actual run off election. Minnesota needs to amend its voting law to mirror that of the State of Georgia which had a run off election following the November 4th election.

I would hope that either Coleman or Franken would concede the race via a press conference where they would call for this type of election reform.

Todd

Unemployment Forecasts for 2009

Today's local newspapers in Minnesota reported the following unemployment forecasts for 2009:

Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- 11.4%
Minnesota -- 7%
Wisconsin - 5.6%
Montana - 4.3%
North Dakota - 4.1%
South Dakota - 3.4%

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

The 11.4% rate in the UP of Michigan doesn't surprise me for two reasons: 1.) Michigan's state government has taxed and regulated the state economy into a near-depression, and 2.) There is just not much "employment infrastructure" in the UP to start with especially when tourism spending is probably down due to the poor national economy.

But coming in at second place is my beloved Land of 10,000 Taxes - Minnesota at 7%. I really hope I am wrong but I fear our 2009 legislature will propose yet again the nation's highest personal income tax rate to "create jobs in Minnesota.........."

Instead of looking to St. Paul for answers Minnesotans should look west to our neighbor - South Dakota - who is at 3.4% unemployment which in economic terms is considered "full employment" since you always have some shifting in the labor market.

Perhaps one key difference between Minnesota and South Dakota is the fact that South Dakota has ZERO personal income tax which helps keep entrepreneurs in the start creating more jobs.

If there are other factors that readers want to note for me to study please let me know. We have tried the "tax and create jobs" model for too many years in Minnesota so let's use 2009 to implement the "South Dakota Model" by phasing out our personal income taxes.

Todd (please see my other commentaries at -- www.regularfolksunited.com )

German culture

Finally after numerous years of living in the Twin Cities of Minnesota I visited the German American Institute in St. Paul today.

My intent was simply to tour the building but when I walked in I was asked "are you here for the German language lunch?" so I was encouraged to stay. Hey $8.00 for German food and story telling is a good bargain so as the descendant of cheap German farmers I jumped at this opportunity.

The guests at my table spent the lunch talking about the former (thank God - along with Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II!) Soviet Union and East Germany. Is there anything better than laughing at the KGB and the Stasi :-) I spent most of my time talking with two elderly ladies who were retired German teachers. The one lady had obtained her US citizenship in 1949 after having fled East Germany via a job with the US Army at the time.

My lunch mates and I shared not only an appreciation for German culture today but our shared love and appreciation for the freedoms we have in the USA. Freedoms worth protecting for our children.

Study history not social studies,

Todd

PS -- see my other writing at: www.regularfolksunited.com

Billions of Barrels of Oil

There is nothing like the long Thanksgiving Day weekend which allows us to relax with some light reading (when we aren't watching football games of course) such as this item I noticed in the November 29/30 Wall Street Journal:

"Proved Reserves, 2007, Top 10 Countries in Billions of Barrels"

Here is their top 10 list --

Saudi Arabia - 262.3
Canada - 179.2
Iran - 136.3
Iraq - 115
Kuwait - 101.5
United Arab Emirates - 97.8
Venezuela - 80
Russia - 60
Libya - 41.5
Nigeria - 36.2

Now this list can be viewed several ways. My purist free trade friends would say, "big deal where our oil comes from, we send them money and they send us oil, it works for everyone..........." However, I would note a few concerns with this list including the following countries where: we are involved in a war, there are local acts of terrorism against the oil industry, or we have very strained diplomatic relations with these nations -- Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Russia, and Nigeria. This represents 5 of the top 10 owners of the world's oil reserves on this list. Libya might even have to be considered for this list given its past acts of terrorism but in today's new world Libya has renewed diplomatic relations with the Western nations but limited proved reserves.

While never a supporter of invading Iraq I did see the benefit of defending Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1990/1991 given the true threat he posed to the free flow of oil. Had Hussein fully integrated Kuwait as a province of Iraq the combined nation would have been second only to Saudi Arabia in oil reserves.

But why should we have expected Hussein would have stopped at Kuwait? Why not invade the United Arab Emirates at some point and then his old enemy - Iran - which would have made the "Iraqi Empire" the world's largest owner of oil reserves. At that point he could have invaded Saudi Arabia for a clean run of the table!!

Fortunately the USA-Canada border is the "world's longest friendly border" so a steady supply of oil seems assured but such a reliance on imported oil should force our nation to explore other options.

To see more of my writing please visit this macro-blog: www.regularfolksunited.com

Thanks,
Todd

A Peaceful Divorce

Today's newspaper reports show that 76% of voters in Greenland -- currently a territory of Denmark - cast "yes" votes in a national referendum yesterday calling for greater home rule. Twenty four percent of voters said "no" in the official results.

The plan spelled out in the referendum calls for Greenland to take control over:

-local police force
-court system
-coast guard
-language (Greenlandic will become the official language)

On a personal level I have always been intrigued by Greenland ever since a Danish friend of mine invited me to go scuba diving around the glaciers/ice bergs in Greenland. We never made the trip which I regret. However, on a political level this referendum vote coincides with my personal philosophy -- ballots are good and bullets are bad (unless of course an armed revolution is the only option for eliminating an oppressive government -- take heed North Korea, Burma, and Venezuela).

Since Greenland and its mother country, Denmark, apparently are headed for an eventual divorce that would leave Greenland as a sovereign nation it reminded me of other disputed/subservient areas of our world. Kurdistan, Northern Ireland, the Basque Region, etc. are examples that readily come to mind.

Again -- let's give ballots a try versus bullets. Had we pursued this course of action in 1860 in the USA by simply hosting state-by-state referendums in the Confederate States of America regarding the question of secession perhaps most of, if not all of the 600,000 deaths could have been prevented. While I abhor the institution of slavery that existed in the American South some scholars would argue that the US Civil War was a battle over the definition of states' rights but I have always argued it was merely friction between two very different economic systems -- the manufacturing economy of the North and the agricultural economy of the South.

Since the institution of slavery was a failed economic model -- as many plantation owners knew at the time I have read -- it was merely a matter of time before the South would have imploded as the Confederate States of America.

Freedom isn't free,

Todd

100% better than Applebee's!!

Just on the border of Apple Valley and Burnsville, Minnesota is located an excellent family dining experience called - Giuseppe Restaurant -- located at 14600 Wood Park Shoppes. I must say the strip mall exterior is very deceiving.

This Italian restaurant is managed by the brother of the more well known - Stephano's Restaurant -- also in Burnsville. Little did I know but this family is Lebanese but they know how to cook Italian food. I had the seafood jambalaya which my wife could not even look at since apparently the site of squid and octopus waiting for me to consume them is a turn off for her :-)

The food is excellent, the wait staff is personable and attentive, and the owner makes you feel like family so overall a very pleasant dining experience. I will give it a 3.5 on my 5 point rating scale.

I am not posting at this blog very often since my writing time is being consumed by this new website --

www.regularfolksunited.com

I hope readers join me in the discussion.

Todd

new website needs writers

If any of my blog readers share my world view which I roughly summarize as:

• "fly over country" is a great place to live
• governments cause more problems than they "fix"
• many big government advocates actually want to keep the poor and ignorant in our country, poor and ignorant
• God, family, and duty are central pillars to guide our actions

then I believe I have the website for if you are a current or aspiring writer. Think of this new website as your personal newspaper where you can guarantee your thoughts will get published.

The website I am talking about is called -- REGULAR FOLKS UNITED -- and can be found at:

http://www.regularfolksunited.com/

I am a regular writer there so let me encourage you to get involved.

Let the revolution begin,

Todd