The Beginning of the End, or The End of the Beginning?

The war in Iraq is not over.  But the withdrawal of American combat forces from the country, as President Barack Obama announced Tuesday night in an address from the White House, is a major step forward.

Now there will be 50,000 "support troops" to teach Iraqis how to defend their own country.  By the end of 2011, they should be gone.

It's been seven years since the George W. Bush administration abandoned one war to start another.  They told us that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the attacks on 9/11/01, and that he had weapons of mass destruction stashed away someplace.  And we believed it.  Only after Hussein was captured and executed did we learn that neither was true, and that it was about settling a grudge held over from the last war.

This war evolved from 'shock and awe' and 'mission accomplished' to roadside bombs and insurgents.  There's no real government in Iraq, with factions battling for control months after elections were held.  It's still dangerous enough that Vice President Joe Biden had to sneak into the country to visit the remaining American troops.

To date, more than 4400 American soldiers have died in the war, and more than 35,000 have been wounded.

With military operations shifting to the once-neglected (and still dubious) war in Afghanistan, Iraq has become nothing more than a blip on the American consciousness.  We now worry about the economy, where a new Islamic cultural center in New York should be located, and whether or not President Obama is really a Muslim.

In his address, the President praised the soldiers for their performance and sacrifice the last several years under difficult conditions.  As commander-in-chief, he has to say that.  In reality, the soldiers have been deadly pawns in every American conflict since World War II that were not only unpopular, but also had very little to do with national security.

Yes, it is time to "turn the page" (as the President put it) on a misbegotten war.  Eventually, we should be doing the same for Afghanistan.

The Emmys: No Cause for Glee

Image by nasa hq photo via FlickrThe 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards on NBC was held this year on the final Sunday in August, because they wanted to avoid getting swamped in the TV ratings by pro football.  Nice try, but the NFL fought back by scheduling a preseason game between Pittsburgh and Denver on Fox.

You would have been better off with the football game.  The Emmys continued their tradition of putting on a lame show, hosted by the only late-night personality on NBC who WASN'T embroiled in controversy (that would be Jimmy Fallon), then rewarding those actors and shows that have won so many times before with yet another award. 

Falling into that last category were "Mad Men" for its third consecutive Best Drama award, Bryan Cranston winning for the third time as best actor in a drama for "Breaking Bad", and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" for who knows how many times as best comedy-variety series.  Edie Falco won her fourth Emmy, this time as best actress in a comedy for "Nurse Jackie".

There were first-time winners, to be sure.  "Modern Family" won for best comedy.  Kyra Sedgwick got one as best actress in a drama for "The Closer".  A woman named Archie Panjabi got a supporting actress honor for "The Good Wife".  And "Top Chef" became only the second winner of the Best Reality Show competition, beating out "The Amazing Race".

Other things you should know from watching the Emmys:

• The opening number with the cast of "Glee" performing "Born to Run" makes one wish Bruce Springsteen had done it himself.
• Ricky Gervais, who offered free non-alcoholic beer to the audience, should host the Emmys next year.
• Jewel sang a nice tune during the "In Memoriam" segment, but the mild applause must have been distracting.  Next time, use an orchestra.
• For those of us who don't subscribe to HBO, that woman in the audience dressed as if she were a 1950s country music star was Temple Grandin.  She was the subject of a biography that won Emmys for best TV movie and best actress for Claire Danes, who portrayed Grandin.
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian was also in the audience.  Al Pacino won a best actor Emmy playing him in the HBO movie "You Don't Know Jack".

There's talk that this might be the last time the Emmy will be seen on broadcast TV, with the networks' contract coming up for renewal.  Given the fact that most of this year's winners came from cable (and thus unknown to most of the viewers), don't be shocked if the awards end up moving there.

The Great Minnesota Suck-Up

Image via WikipediaIt's time for the Minnesota State Fair again, that celebration of people, animals, and whatever-it-is on a stick.  It also means that every local TV station sets up shop here, telling everyone how wonderful the fair is and wishing you were here.

Before we go too much further, I'd like to recommend an article that's in the August 25 City Pages.  It's a T.D. Mischke column titled "The Banality Bandwagon", which is his take on the media coverage of the State Fair.  What there is of it.  Go to http://www.citypages.com/.

Read it?  Good.  Here's a couple more things I'd like to add.

First, there's the constant promotion for the fair from people with journalism degrees who should know better.  They cover crime, politics and traffic accidents the rest of the year, and now they are asked to shill for an event as if they were that guy selling some gadget on TV at three a.m..  And it's always "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" ad nauseum.  Sometimes it seems as if TV news is promoting the fair rather than covering it.

Second, there's the live news broadcasts that are painful to watch.  Does it bother anyone when a studio audience more suited for a sitcom or a talk show (and likely stuffed with corn dogs or Sweet Martha's cookies) becomes the backdrop for the Frank and Amelia show at five and six?  Granted, if there's breaking news, they'll throw it back to the main studio.  It reminds one of the 1976 movie "Network", where the evening news is treated more like a variety show. (Wonder why Fox News Channel never thought of that?)

Yes, we know.  The news has been edging closer and closer to entertainment for years.  Perhaps it's there already.  But that doesn't mean viewers should be forced to choose between staying informed and being played for suckers.  The Minnesota State Fair is a wonderful event, don't get us wrong.  As long as this fact is shoved in our faces every night until Labor Day, it's hard not to feel like Howard Beale

Let The Sideshow Begin

Image via WikipediaWith the primaries over and the Minnesota State Fair upon us, we can reasonably expect the Governor's race to get a bit more serious, right?  Not so fast.

• Mark Dayton, the DFL candidate, took time out from his 'tax the rich' mantra to complain about the presence of 'trackers' in his campaign.  They're the army of people apparently hired by the GOP to follow Dayton everywhere, using digital video cameras to catch him in an embarrassing moment.  Well, they have one to their credit so far:  Catching Dayton making phone calls to staffers, making sure that his two dogs don't suffocate in a hot car.  This might lose votes for the former U.S. Senator among animal lovers, but at least there's no mistress involved that we know of.  Previously, Dayton asked for a "cease-fire" on all the negative advertising.  This is 2010, Senator.  Like it or not, negative campaigning has become a way of life in politics.
• As Target is taking more hits to its reputation for giving money to an organization that supports Republican candidate Tom Emmer, a candidate who has anti-gay views, MSNBC has rejected a request by the progressive site MoveOn.org to air its ads supporting a boycott of the Minnesota-based retailer.  Why would the network of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, do this, you ask?  MSNBC says that the ads violated their policy of not attacking certain companies directly.  Besides, current owner General Electric (until the Comcast-NBC merger is approved) needs a place to sell its light bulbs.  MoveOn did succeed in getting three of the four Twin Cities network affiliates (WCCO, KSTP and KARE) to air their ad.
• Someone with too much time on their hands posted a video on the website for the GOP in Senate District 56, covering Lino Lakes.  On it was a not-too-subtle comparison between Republican and Democratic women.  Can you guess which party's women were considered hot-looking and which ones were not, thanks to the magic of Photoshop?  The video was taken down after officials from both parties complained.  All of which proves that being beautiful is not a job requirement if you want to succeed in politics.  Or is it?
• Of the political ads currently running on TV, they tell us that (A) Dayton is "too risky" to be Minnesota's governor because of his erratic stint in the Senate in which even he gave himself a failing grade, (B) Emmer missed a few votes as a state legislator, and (C) Independence party candidate Tom Horner wants us to know that he isn't as extreme as the other guys.  So his ad features a man whose eyeballs go too far to the left AND right.  Creepy, no?

Unfortunately, all of this sideshow stuff belongs on the State Fair's Midway.  They do nothing to better educate the voters about the person they'd like to see as Minnesota's next governor.  As the weather cools down, that may change.  Or not.

One More Season for Brett Favre. Again.

Image via WikipediaReminiscent of the indecisive boyfriend Katy Perry sings about in "Hot 'n Cold", Brett Favre has suited up for his 20th season as an NFL quarterback.  But only after some of his Minnesota Vikings teammates flew to his Mississippi home, telling him to get off his butt and onto the next flight to the Twin Cities.

The problem is that we've seen this movie before.  It's been running on the same channel for too long.  Year after year, Favre took his own sweet time deciding whether he wanted to play another season that he became a parody of himself.

This year it was all about the ankle injury he suffered during the NFC Championship game against New Orleans.  One day he would meet with doctors to see if the ankle had healed.  The next day he would be throwing footballs to high schoolers.  Who needs training camp?

Another theory:  According to Yahoo! Sports, Favre doesn't have much use for Vikings coach Brad Childress or the way he handles his offense.  Maybe that explains the sideline argument the two had during a nationally-televised game at Carolina last season.

Face it, folks.  Favre has played the Vikings and their fans for suckers.  The team should never have let it go this far, not even for the Super Bowl appearance that has eluded them since 1977.

But give Favre credit for making a decision, no matter how drawn out it was.  He's a 40-year old man with 19 NFL seasons under his belt, and all kinds of records to boot.  His body has taken a beating who knows how many times, and there's been some family drama that's affected his play.  We will almost certainly see Favre enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, probably as a Green Bay Packer.

If Favre decided not to play this season, the Vikings would have been left with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels competing for the starting quarterback position.  Compared to Favre, they're kinda ordinary.  Also, because of the uncertainty over Favre's status, the team didn't draft a quarterback.  And they also passed on acquiring Donovan McNabb, who's now playing for the Washington Redskins.

With Favre, the Vikings are everybody's favorite to repeat as NFC North division champions.  Without Favre, the Packers would have gotten the nod.

Brett Favre has said this season would be his last.  But then, that's what he said when he was in Green Bay and New York.  Why should we believe him now?

Not Everyone's Cup of Tea

Image by theqspeaks via FlickrTo most of us, the Tea Party movement came into our living rooms during last year's health care debate, turning town hall meetings into shouting matches and rallies protesting President Barack Obama's policies into something that seemed to set back racial relations by a few decades.

On the front page of the August 13 edition of USA Today lies an article about the Tea Party movement and some of the people behind it.  The newspaper seems to portray them as normal, everyday Americans who are sick of the way their government taxes and spends with little to show for it.  As far as we know, they don't come to rallies dressed as if they're auditioning for "Let's Make a Deal", or as refugees from the nearest theme park.

The Tea Partiers say, according to the article, that they are an unorganized movement seeking to elect conservative (read:  Republican) candidates who will lower taxes and limit government, and are also not interested in social issues such as same-sex marriage or abortion.  They also don't seem to be too impressed with the candidates for the 2012 presidential election.

So how come they're throwing their support to 'fringe' GOP candidates such as Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sharron Angle of Nevada, both of whom are running for U.S. Senate seats?  Considering the way they've been reportedly acting on the campaign trail (such as making outrageous statements and blowing off the mainstream media), they'd be unelectable in any other year.

National politicians have taken notice of the Tea Partiers, and some have even embraced them.  Sarah Palin is stumping for some of their candidates, which is only appropriate since she's kind of an outsider herself.  Minnesota's Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann chairs the House's Tea Party caucus.  But doesn't that go against the movement's efforts to not being controlled by the GOP?

There are other things about the Tea Party that makes one wonder.  According to USA Today, the movement began out of disgust with the GOP during the George W. Bush years, especially when he authorized funds to help bail out Wall Street bankers during the 2008 financial meltdown.

If that's true, then why didn't they take to the streets to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security?  Those have cost a fortune and a half, coming damn close to bankrupting the country.

Have the Tea Partiers also noticed that everything seems to be falling apart?  Bridges, roads, buildings, schools, you name it.  No one likes to pay taxes.  But it's either that or paying a bigger bill later on.

If the Tea Party movement is to become viable, and not as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republicans, they have to get serious.  No wacky politicians who only appeal to a minority.  No racism.  Be more sensitive to the needs of mainstream Americans.  Otherwise, they'll just go the way of Ross Perot.

Much Ado About a Manhattan Mosque

If you live in New York City, you are no doubt aware that there are plans to put up an Islamic cultural center two blocks from the former World Trade Center, where three thousand people died one September morning.  And yes, that includes a mosque.

Americans would like to believe that they live in the most religiously tolerant nation on the planet.  As long as it's their own religion, that is.  So the protests against the center aren't all that surprising.

What is surprising is the way this so-called 'local' story has been taken over by President Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and other outsiders on the left and right.  Then again, with cable news and the Internet, it probably shouldn't be.

Obama, for his part, has said that he supports the right of Muslims to have such a center.  But he didn't necessarily endorse the planned location.  (We can just hear some of you saying:  Well, of course Obama's for that damn mosque.  Hell, he's a Muslim and he shouldn't be the President anyway.)

Palin, Gingrich and their ilk believe it would be tramping on the memories of those who died on that day,  If they had their way, Muslims would be treated the same way the Japanese in World War II and Native Americans  in the Old West were. They also don't want the center for the same reason why you don't see a Walmart or McDonalds near a Civil War battlefield.  Because it's sacred ground.

Well, let's see.  Two blocks from the proposed center is a glorified construction site AKA Ground Zero.  Nearly a decade after the twin towers fell, officials still haven't decided what should be built in its place.  An office tower?  A memorial?  Condos?  Can you imagine what would happen if the center-with-a-mosque happened to be built there instead of two blocks away?

Granted, the nation is still under the threat of another terrorist attack.  That's why unnecessary wars are being fought, and the military still claims to be looking for Osama bin Laden.  It's why everybody and his grandmother gets searched at the airport, while wannabe martyrs who drive cars and wear shoes nearly go undetected.  This may sound simplistic, but it's still true:  Not every Muslim is a terrorist, and not every terrorist is a Muslim.

Ultimately, it's up to the city of New York to determine whether the Islamic cultural center goes up or not.  Whatever decision they make should and will be the right one, we trust.  As for the rest of us, we need to recognize that not everybody prays to the same God as you do, so why deny others the right to pray to theirs?

Left vs. Right vs. Center in November

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There has not been a Democrat elected governor of Minnesota since Rudy Perpich in 1986.  Mark Dayton has just won the right to try and break that losing streak, facing Republican Tom Emmer and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner in November.

The former U.S. Senator won a close DFL primary contest Tuesday over Margaret Anderson Kelliher, 41 percent to 39 percent of the vote.  Matt Entenza finished a distant third with 18 percent.

This was the first--and probably only--primary to be held in August, a consequence of new laws making it easier for Our Precious Troops to vote via absentee ballot.  Despite hot, steamy weather and thunderstorms, fifteen percent of Minnesotans managed to make it to the polls.  That's more than is typical for a primary, but well below what it would have been for November.

You could say that money helped win this primary for Dayton, who spent $3 million of his own money to campaign.  Entenza spent $5 million telling us that he wanted to get rid of No Child Left Behind in Minnesota schools, when the economy is what voters wanted to hear about.  And all that money still couldn't buy Entenza name recognition, not when he sat next to his running mate, former KMSP news anchor Robyne Robinson. Kelliher, trying to prove that her DFL endorsement still meant something, found that the money she spent for TV ads long after the other guys had theirs up and running was too little, too late.

Now it's on to the general election, where both Dayton and Emmer have to convince the voters that their extreme positions won't be a hindrance to being Governor.

Dayton has often said he favors taxing the rich to help pay down Minnesota's ballooning budget deficit, which would sound more convincing if he weren't so wealthy himself.  Dayton also has to answer for the strange behavior he exhibited during his Senate days, such as closing his office due to alleged terror threats, which is something he never did explain.  And then there are his health issues, which the GOP will certainly pounce on if they're desperate.

Emmer, one of those anti-tax and anti-government folks that Sarah Palin seems to adore (she endorsed him, in fact), has been plagued by campaign gaffes and staff shakeups as he is trailing Dayton in the polls.  And the flap over Target's participation in MN Forward, which is giving money to the Emmer campaign, hasn't helped him either.

Horner is positioning himself as the candidate for people who can't bring themselves to vote for either Dayton or Emmer, regardless of party loyalty.  In this partisan age, that might be a tough sell.  But then again, being a third-party candidate is usually a no-win situation.

If the amount of money spent on the DFL primary was any indication, this is likely going to be the most expensive governor's race in Minnesota history.  What remains to be seen is whether Tom Emmer or Mark Dayton can convince the voters that money isn't everything.

Status Quo For Twins Radio

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Looks like KSTP-AM's last-ditch attempt to keep the Minnesota Twins baseball broadcasts by switching its format to sports talk have paid off.   The station now known as 1500 ESPN won themselves a two-year contract extension with the team.

This comes as a big surprise to those who thought the Twins would go to another radio station in the Twin Cities, most notably WCCO (AM 830), KFAN (AM 1130) or Pohlad family-owned KHTC (FM 96.3).  What brought this on were complaints that KSTP's 50,000-watt signal, which isn't all-encompassing like WCCO's, couldn't be picked up in parts of the metro.

If WCCO had won the broadcast rights, it would have meant a return for the Twins to the station that had been carrying their games since the team moved from Washington in 1961.  It also would have meant that owner CBS Radio had been saving their pennies for this very moment, after so many familiar voices with huge contracts were let go.

If KFAN had won, owner Clear Channel would have bypassed the all-sports station with a weaker AM signal and the Twins would have gone on KTLK (FM 100.3).  We're guessing the team didn't want their family-friendly image sullied by being on the same station as conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

So the Twins are staying on KSTP, where ESPN programming bookends afternoons with its two biggest names, Patrick Reusse and Joe Soucheray.  It also means that they passed on the chance to put simulcasts of games on one of Hubbard Broadcasting's two FM signals (KSTP 94.5 and KTMY 107.1) to appease those who couldn't get 1500.

And you know what it also means?  Two more years of bungling by play-by-play announcers John Gordon and Dan Gladden on the "Treasure Island Baseball Network".  Those two must have fit the Pohlad philosophy they used with their ballplayers:  Why get 'em  good when you can get 'em cheap?

A Visitor From The Future

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This fictional account takes place on a warm day somewhere in the Midwest in the summer of 1945.  A dapper-looking man in a gray suit and fedora pays a call on the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.  For all anyone else knows, this man could be a traveling salesman.  But on this day, he has a special message for the Joneses.

"Good afternoon, sir.  Could I have a moment of your time?  I promise it won't take long.  May I come in?

"This is a wonderful home you have here, Mr. Jones.  Yes, Mrs. Jones, coffee would be fine.

"Allow me to introduce myself.  I come from the future.  The year 2010, to be exact, and I know many things.  I do not work for the government, and am certainly not a spy.  In fact, this suitcase full of brushes is just a cover for my real mission.

"Let me get right to the point.  I see you have a son who is currently serving in the Pacific--he can't really say where he is--and is fighting the Japanese.  What if I told you that the way could be over in a few weeks, and your son could be home in a matter of months?

"I know, I know.  It's rather hard to believe.  But before you throw me out and alert the authorities, please hear me out.

"I can't say exactly what will happen, because it's still a closely guarded secret.  But I will tell you that something will happen in Japan that will cause them to surrender, and your boy won't have to invade the country to do it.

"There is a trade off, though.  This event will cause great loss of life in a matter of minutes.  That's right, I said in a matter of minutes.  It will be unlike anything the world has ever seen.  If we're lucky, we won't ever have to see it again.

"I see that my presence is no longer required.  But before I go, I'll let you in on two things.  First, in the year 2010, we have a person of a different race as President of the United States.  Think about that the next time you're listening to 'Amos 'n Andy'.

"And lastly, I see that you're a Chicago Cubs fan.  Something tells me you had better enjoy this season, because the chance might never come again.  Good day Mr. and Mrs. Jones."

On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was used to destroy Hiroshima, Japan.  Seventy-five thousand were killed.  Three days later, the second bomb was used on Nagasaki.  Forty thousand perished.  A week later, Japan surrendered.

And the Cubs?  They went to the World Series that year, losing to the Detroit Tigers in seven games.

The Afghanistan Papers

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A website called WikiLeaks recently put more than 76,000 classified documents about the war in Afghanistan online, creating doubts about President Barack Obama's ability to turn around a losing situation there.

The papers, which mostly covers the George W. Bush administration, tell us little we didn't already know about the war except for the part where the supposedly friendly government of Pakistan lent their support to the Taliban and its army.

The White House and the Pentagon both claim that the leaked papers would result in endangering the lives of Afghan and American soldiers.  But otherwise, they act as if it's no big deal.

Not much is known about WikiLeaks other than it seems to exist only online.  They claim that they do not know who leaked the documents.  But an Army private has been turned in to military authorities and charged with leaking the materials to WikiLeaks.

Some media organizations, such as ABC News, are blurring the names of informants that were mentioned in the formerly secret papers.  Not that we care, but since Al Qaeda and the Taliban may have already seen the names posted online, why is the media being so paternalistic towards their audience?

A drawdown of American forces from Afghanistan is scheduled to begin in July 2011.  But as time goes along in America's longest war and the body count keeps rising (last month was the bloodiest), you wonder if the White House is serious about following through on withdrawal.

As the efforts to contain terrorism become more of an intelligence and law enforcement problem, President Obama should understand that when something isn't working, it's not a good idea to send more troops and more firepower into a situaton that creates more problems than it solves.

This episode should also serve as a warning to us all that no secret is safe in this brave new world of the Internet.  Those who believe that releasing classified documents is a matter of serving the public really ought to consider whether it should have been done in the first place, not just because it can.