“In
the last analysis, politics is not predictions and politics is not
observations. Politics is what we do, politics is what we create, by
what we work for, by what we hope for and what we dare to imagine
-Paul Wellstone
Solutions, Not Rhetoric Needed to Address High Gas Prices
DFL leaders, Sarvi for Congress, local small-business owner discuss real solutions for Minnesotans
Party and MN-02 Candidate Will Lead Discussion of Gas Prices –
Impact on Our Economy, Real Solutions for Minnesotans
St. Paul (June 30, 2008) — At a press conference this morning in Apple Valley, DFL leaders joined Second District Congressional Candidate Steve Sarvi and Peter Fisher of AVR, Inc., to discuss the impact that rising gas prices have had on Minnesota’s economy. The event was held at a local gravel pit and refueling station owned by Fisher, whose business has been devastated by high gas prices and the related soft economy.
According to Minnesota DFL Associate Chair Donna Cassutt,
“John Kline, Norm Coleman and John McCain have brought us $4 a gallon gas and record oil profits. Clearly, Minnesotans can’t afford to allow them to continue setting our energy policy.”
According to State Senator Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan):
“Today’s astronomical gas prices are a direct result of Republicans like Norm Coleman who continue to put the oil and gas industries ahead of Minnesotans. We need change in Washington, and that begins with electing candidates like Steve Sarvi and Al Franken who are serious about investing in renewable energy and moving our nation towards energy independence and off of foreign oil.”
Peter Fisher, owner of AVR, Inc., discussed the real-life impact gas prices have had on his business:
“Two years ago many of my employees were working 60-hour weeks during the summer. This summer, they are working 15-hour weeks. They simply can’t live on that, and neither can I. Every truck that sits idle because we can’t afford to fill the gas tank represents a family that is trying to make ends meet.”
According to DFL Second Congressional District candidate Steve Sarvi:
“This is about small-business owners like Peter Fischer and the people who work for him. Without real, meaningful action, more and more people are going to miss more than vacations because of this energy crisis; they’re going to miss paychecks. We need real solutions now and for the future that will get us out of the downward spiral John Kline, George W. Bush and their allies have put us in.”
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Minnesota 2020 explores progressive ideas,
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daily for fresh ideas and commentary on
education, health care, transportation, and
economic development perspectives, for the
issues that really matter.
Uninsured and Unsure in
Minnesota: Part One, The
Pessimistic Optimist
If you asked Brian Dobbs, he would tell you he
was a very lucky guy. After years without health
insurance, he's only had to go to the doctor
once. And that was during the brief period his
employer provided health coverage. Other than
that, Brian has come up with his own brand of
insurance...don't do anything.
Building On Minnesota Roots: A Cooperative
Response to Hard Times
With the U.S. and Minnesota economies in a
tailspin, standing still means falling farther
behind. Recognizing that the status quo won't
do, more and more Minnesotans are rolling up
their sleeves and rediscovering what has always
been a source of Minnesota strength -
cooperation.
Higher Education: The Importance of Investing in
Our State
With bridges in bad shape from Winona to Duluth,
and strapped school districts across Minnesota,
it is important to remember we have a lot to
celebrate too. Minnesota's comprehensive network
of accessible state colleges and universities is
a system we cherish, and shows the vital
importance of investing in our state and
building on what we already have.
Minnesota 2020 Journal: Let Us Now Praise
Kohlrabi
Walking the walk is hard. It's one thing to
advocate buying and eating local but it's quite
another when confronted with purple kohlrabi.
Before going further, the kohlrabi was
delicious. I ate my first kohlrabi this
weekend, grown by a couple of young, organic
farmers. It arrived in a waxed cardboard box
along with a slim selection of lettuce, spinach,
potatoes, broccoli and spring onions. We're
splitting a CSA share with two neighbors. Our
third yielded a single, generous meal.
A Ticket to Cairo
As a college student living in Cairo for the
past four and a half months, I've had a lot of
little life lessons drilled into me: always
hoard small change, make sure to have a written
will before crossing streets, and when it comes
to food, you get what you pay for. But my
experiences here - both as a student of a
foreign language and culture, and as a volunteer
English teacher - have also driven home a more
fundamental point: education is opportunity.
Visit
www.mn2020.org
every weekday for more news and ideas. Thanks
again for supporting Minnesota 2020 as we focus
on the issues that really matter.
In
2006, half as many more Republicans than DFLers
claimed refunds, and the average refund was 50%
higher. Help close the gap and level the playing
field!
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When Andrew Jackson ran for
President in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a
“Jackass” for his populist views
and his slogan, “Let the people rule”. Jackson, however,
picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own
advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters.
During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent
Jackson’s stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the
National Bank.
The first time the donkey
was used in a political cartoon to represent the Democratic
Party was, again, in conjunction with Jackson. Although in
1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the
Party’s leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go
where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled “A Modern
Baalim and his Ass”.
Interestingly
enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely
accepted as the Democratic Party’s symbol probably had no
knowledge of the prior associations. Thomas
Nast, a famous political cartoonist, came to the United
States with his parents in 1840 when he was six. He first
used the donkey in the 1870 Harper’s Weekly cartoon to
represent the “Copperhead Press” kicking a dead lion,
symbolizing Lincoln’s Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who
had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an
anti-war faction with whom he disagreed, but the symbol
caught the public’s fancy and the cartoonist continued using
it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.
Later, Nast used the donkey
to portray what he called “Caesarism” showing the alleged
Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses
S. Grant. In conjunction with this issue, Nast helped
associate the elephant with the Republican Party. Although
the elephant had been connected with the Republican Party in
cartoons that appeared in 1872, it was Nast’s Cartoon in
1874 published by Harper’s Weekly that made the pachyderm
stick as the Republican’s symbol.
By 1880 the donkey was
well-established as a mascot for the Democratic Party. A
Cartoon about the Garfield-Hancock campaign in the New York
Daily Graphic showed the Democratic candidate mounted on a
donkey, leading a procession of crusaders.
Over the years, the donkey
and elephant have become the acceptedsymbols of the
Democratic and Republican parties. Although the Democrats
have never officially adopted the donkey as a party symbol,
we have used various donkey designs on publications over the
years. The republicans have actually adopted the elephant as
their official symbol and use the design widely.
Adlai Stevenson provided
one of the most clever descriptions of the Republican’s
symbol when he said, “The elephant has a thick skin, a head
full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade
knows, proceeds best by grasping the tail of its
predecessor”.
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Invited!
Join the Fun!
In
2006, half as many more Republicans than DFLers
claimed refunds, and the average refund was 50%
higher. Help close the gap and level the playing
field! 
Interestingly
enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely
accepted as the Democratic Party’s symbol probably had no
knowledge of the prior associations. 
Although
the elephant had been connected with the Republican Party in
cartoons that appeared in 1872, it was Nast’s Cartoon in
1874 published by Harper’s Weekly that made the pachyderm
stick as the Republican’s symbol.
