Republican Hot Potato

If you fly at all, airports are not fun places to be these days. Either you're being treated like a criminal in the security lines (whether you're 8 or 80), or you're forced to sleep on a cot because your flight's been delayed or canceled.

Now, just when you thought it was safe to use the airport restroom . . .

Larry Craig, a three-term Republican senator from Idaho, was arrested in June at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for disorderly conduct. According to police records, Craig allegedly solicited sex to an undercover officer in the men's room.

The senator originally pleaded guilty to the charges. But after the story broke, he called a news conference to say that he was innocent and is not gay. Then we heard audiotapes of the interrogation, in which Craig claimed he was entrapped. The officer interviewing the senator accused him of lying.

Top GOP officials, from Senators John McCain (Arizona) and Norm Coleman (Minnesota) to the White House, are withdrawing their support of Craig, calling on him to resign. Craig is up for re-election in 2008.

Once again, a conservative "family values" politician/Reverend/radio talk show host who crusades against abortion and alternative lifestyles gets caught with his pants down. If this pattern of hypocritical behavior continues, should the Republican Party reconsider its pandering to the Christian Right?

Loyal to a Fault

President Bush, in announcing the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (effective September 17), expressed his displeasure over the way his longtime friend's "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons". If he had been paying attention, he would have known why that is.

As one who rose from being Bush's counsel in Austin as Governor of Texas and later in the White House, to becoming the first Hispanic Attorney General, Gonzales was loyal to a fault. And that fault was in putting the needs of the administration ahead of the country's, especially when it came to Bush's War on Terror, doing untold damage to the reputation of the Department of Justice.

Let us count the ways:

• Gonzales supported military tribunals instead of civil trials for suspected terrorists.
• Helping draft a memo supporting harsh methods of interrogating terror suspects.
• Helped approve ways to spy on American citizens.
• Called the Geneva Convention accords on treatment of prisoners "obsolete" and "quaint" in the post-9/11/01 world.
• Allegedly firing nine U.S. attorneys who didn't go along to get along with the administration, replacing them with political appointees.

Trying to explain all this (and more) to congressional committees was an adventure for Gonzales, who didn't seem to know what his inquisitors were talking about. Or maybe he was playing dumb.

How Gonzales held on for as long as he did is no mystery, given that his biggest supporter was the President. But that wasn't enough. Now Gonzales joins Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and other members of Bush's original inner circle back in Texas, while the President must choose a successor who won't offend a Democratic-controlled Congress for the remainder of his term.

Any further rehabilitation of the institutions affected by Bush will have to wait until at least 2009.

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

Michael Vick, who made millions outsmarting and outrunning defenses as an Atlanta Falcons quarterback, was used to making smart decisions on the field. Monday he apologized for making off-field decisions that weren't smart: Being involved in a dogfighting ring, which included torturing and killing dogs who didn't perform. Lying about it to the public, his teammates, and to National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell.

Vick pled guilty to federal charges in a Richmond, Virginia courtroom. Sentencing will be on December 10, after which Vick will likely serve at least a year in prison. For what it's worth, that's more time spent behind bars than Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan combined.

When Vick gets out, the NFL will likely tack on an additional year's suspension. But if he had admitted to gambling on the dogs (which he has not), Goodell would have thrown the book at him.

(Of course, if Goodell suspended every player who drives drunk, abuses drugs, assaults women or engages in any other type of criminal behavior, there would be a major manpower shortage.)

This is a country where people love their dogs. But not a day goes by when we don't hear about some gruesome attack involving a pit bull and some unfortunate human victim who couldn't get out of the way. Shelters are bulging with unwanted animals who end up being euthanized because its owners can't or won't take care of them. There are no bad dogs, folks. Only bad owners.

In his nationally-televised apology, Vick promised to redeem himself, saying he had found religion. Forgive the snickers, but this isn't the first time a celebrity about to be incarcerated claimed to have seen The Light before going into the darkness.

Michael Vick may or may not be allowed to play football again (or, for that matter, ever be allowed to own a dog again). But if he is sincere about being a better man after all the mistakes he's made, then more power to him.

Karl, Barry and the King

While we we were away . . .

• Karl Rove is leaving his job as President George W. Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff at the end of the month. He has done wonders for Bush's career, having guided it from his days as Texas governor to the White House. He has also done more to damage the country (except for Bush himself) by caring more about what's good for conservative Republicans than what's good for Americans, politicizing everything he touched. Rove still has to answer for his role in leaking the name of a CIA spy, but he won't because the President put him under the cloak of "executive privilege". And that permanent Republican majority Rove wanted so badly didn't pan out. But with a Democratic Congress wimping out on domestic spying and getting soldiers out of Iraq, who can tell the difference? Rove says he wants to spend more time with his family, but don't be shocked if he lives to slander another day with a 2008 GOP presidential candidate.
• Congratulations, for now, to Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who broke the all-time career home run record by belting Number 756 against the Washington Nationals. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig continued a long tradition set by his predecessors by not showing up at the ballpark for the historic moment. Hank Aaron, whose record Bonds broke, delivered a classy message on the video screen at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Now we can all ignore the Giants, one of the worst teams in baseball, and ESPN can go back to its taped poker matches. As for Bonds, only time will tell whether his status as the home run king deserves an asterisk or not.
• Elvis Presley died 30 years ago last week. In death, the King of Rock & Roll gave us: Graceland as a tourist attraction, marathons twice a year on movie channels and oldies stations, and Elvis imitators as far as the eye can see. There is a commercial currently running for one of those prescription-only male enhancement products, with a group of presumably middle-aged men performing their version of Elvis' "Viva Las Vegas", with the lyrics changed to reflect the guys' hopes of, uh, getting lucky in their own way. Which got us to thinking: If Elvis were alive today, would he be selling Viagra on TV?

Why You Haven't Heard From Me Lately

Sorry about the lack of product. We've been experiencing technical difficulties concerning Internet access and choosing a new security system for the home computer. I was so desperate to get the previous post done that I had to do this at the library. But everything been straightened out, and we hope to be back on a regular schedule soon. Thanks for your patience.

Tumbling Down

Imagine. if you will, driving down a major metropolitan bridge in the heart of the rush hour. Suddenly, the ground underneath you buckles, cars start disappearing in front of you, and either you fall into the river or come face-to face with broken steel girders and cracked slabs of concrete. Either you survive this or you don't.

No need to imagine. This actually happened one week ago on what used to be the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, which was traveled on by an estimated 140,000 cars daily. So far there are five dead, 100 injured and eight missing.

This is a disaster that could have happened just about anywhere. Roads, bridges and utilities decades old have gone without improvements. The I-35W bridge, built in 1967, was deemed "structurally deficient" back when it was last inspected in 2005. It wasn't supposed to be replaced until 2020.

The infrastructure is what it is because no one wants to spend the money for upkeep. Not politicians who run on "no new taxes" platforms, nor voters who don't want to pay their taxes. It seems we have two needless wars to pay for.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has vetoed major transportation bills (and the legislature failed to override them) for this reason. Now he wants to declare a special session so the legislature can pass a gas tax (or fee, as he likes to call them), and it's only because he's been forced to do something.

It'll be a long time before we know the cause of the collapse, but one thing we do know: It wasn't terrorism. There weren't any explosions that we know of, so it's ridiculous to make that assumption. But that's what the Department of Homeland Security does best--unnecessarily scaring people to justify its existence.

Since the information about what happened in the initial stages after the collapse was slow in coming, the Twin Cities TV stations treated us to the usual local news fodder about so-called "first responders" (a post 9/11 term) giving comfort to the afflicted, as well as interviews with folks who claimed that they wouldn't be alive if they hadn't worn their seat belt (try telling that to the families of the dead and missing who probably were wearing their belts). And there was too much emphasis on the kids who were rescued from a bus stuck on the bridge. Are they implying that adults are chopped liver?

In the following days, the network news anchors parachuted in to do their broadcasts for a night, then returned to New York. President and Mrs. Bush were also here to look at the situation, then went back to Washington. Then they offered words of sympathy as well as promises to find the money to repair the bridge.

One question bothered me throughout this crisis: What if this had happened in New York City? There are a few bridges crossing the Hudson River that could easily have gone down, with ten time more traffic than in Minneapolis. If this were New York, broadcast and cable news coverage would be wall-to-wall, President Bush and Congress would be taking immediate action, and the country would be mourning for several days. If this had happened in New York, Minneapolis would be quickly forgotten the way the Oklahoma City was after 9/11/01.

The bridge will be back in a few years (despite some people saying it could be sooner than that), so commuters can once again enjoy the sights of downtown Minneapolis at night--the lights and steam of office buildings reflected by the Mississippi River, along with the bumpers of the vehicles in front of you. And this time remembering that what happened here on August 1, 2007 could have easily happened to you or me.

Starting Over

Kevin Garnett came to the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves straight out of high school 12 years ago and made a direct impact on his team, the league and the fans. He led the NBA in scoring several times and won the league MVP one year. With him, the Wolves made the playoffs a few times, peaking with the 2004 Western Conference finals, in which they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wolves management rewarded Garnett with one of the biggest contracts in sports history, and therein lies the problem. With so much money being tied up in one player, the team had to settle for second-rate talent and draft choices that didn't always work out.

The team hasn't made the playoffs in three seasons, but Garnett managed to rise above his mediocre supporting players and became the only reason to watch the Wolves. It must not have been easy for him.

Now Garnett takes his act to the Boston Celtics, ending months of speculation about whether the Wolves should trade him or not. Coming to Minnesota are Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair and two first-round draft picks.

Maybe the Wolves should change their name to the Minnesota Crickets. Not so much as a tribute to Buddy Holly, but more like the sound emanating from Target Center for the next few years.