Tom's Unedited Rants

Yesterday Miss Emily, the preschool teacher, got a little break at story time. Katie read to the other kids! She said they were all sitting around her while she read stories. This is nothing new in our house because Katie is constantly reading books, but at preschool this is kind of a big deal because the other kids can't read like Katie. The preschool teachers are pretty amazed by how smart she is. Her kindergarten teachers are going to be blown away. I just wish she was a little less shy.

The Minnesota Twins have been trying to get a new baseball stadium for over a decade.  A plan that's been on the table for over a year now that would fund the stadium with a teeny tiny county wide sales tax will probably be going before the legislature for the second consecutive year.  It's only 2¢ on a $20 purchase.  That's not even enough to merit being called pocket change, and it STILL didn't pass last year!  What the heck?!

It doesn't help that we have a wishy washy Governor, Tim Pawlenty, who simply refuses to provide leadership on this issue.  C'mon Gov, show some kohones!  Do you want to be known as the Governor who let Major League Baseball get away?  Did no one learn the lesson taught when the North Stars moved to Dallas?  It cost a LOT more to get the Xcel Energy Center built & get the Minnesota Wild than it would have cost to keep the Minnesota North Stars.  With the sorry state that MLB is in, if the Twins leave there will probably NEVER be another team in this town.

While we're at it, let's get Gopher football back on campus.  Both the Twins & Gophers are deserving.  The Vikings are too, if only because they are the most popular team in the state, but three stadiums may be too much to swallow at once.  Maybe not, if all the development that surrounds the Northern Lights proposal in Blaine can help support the project.

I've known a few people who have worked for Northwest Airlines, which may not be around much longer if the pilots walk out this week. From my perspective, the biggest obstacle facing Northwest has been the near complete disdain the employees have for the airline. How can the pilots trust management during negotiations? I've never known a single person who was happy working there. It certainly didn't help that the mechanics union sold their members up the river. One guy I know was a mechanic. He voted not to strike and he's still out of a job. I never understood why he didn't cross the picket line until I heard the "Don't talk to that guy. He was a scab 25 years ago." story. I thought a union was supposed to support its members, not create a hostile workplace. It sucks. A great guy gets screwed by his union & his employer.

What the pilots & the airline need to realize now is if they don't come to an agreement and the pilots strike, it's over. They all lose their jobs. Top to bottom. Everyone. Both sides are far apart. Both sides need to feed, clothes, & house their families. Both sides need to swallow their pride & meet in the middle, as painful as that will be. Like Larry The Cable Guy would say, "Git 'er done!" A frightening number of people depend on it.