What is it with Pawlenty's hypocrisy and nonsensical actions?

[Deja Q]

This jerk want to privatize MN roadways (meaning toll booths to make his hand-picked company wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice while unused roads get shut down.) http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4292228.html

It's promoted by Herr Pawlenty as a choice. BULLSHIT.

I recall a road sign looking like a ballot. "X"'ed was the Republican platform for roads. (Greens supported bicycles and Dems supported the monorail...) Did we, the people, ever think in our worst nightmares that the pukes meant PRIVATIZED ROADS?!

And will taxes go down if this is implemented? You can bet your sweet bippy they won't go down. Unless you make a 7+ digit salary, which leads into this nightmare:

He also wants not one but multiple stadiums: One for Twins, one for Vikings, one for Golden Gophers. Paid for by taxpayers because the sports teams shouldn't have to spend money. http://news.mpr.org/features/2003/11/04_mccalluml_stadium/ (has no info on the stadium the gophers want.)

Granted, the Metrodome - while sufficient in terms of capacity - is located in a dumb place as far as traffic is concerned, shouldn't one stadium be enough? And why taxpayer support when you'd think education/schools would be a higher priority? Oh yeah, these are republicans in control of America: Profit means more than true infrastructure! :crazy:

He also wants an Ice Palace to be built. :eyes:

We live in bizarro world!

Things EVERYBODY USES should be paid for by taxes. Like ROADS.

Things SOME PEOPLE prefer to use should be paid for by them only, without government assistance. Like STADIUMS and sports teams. I don't give a frack about 1 statium, let alone 3 of them just to keep the gaggle of spoiled brats satisfied and they sure as Halliburton shouldn't be getting one penny from any taxpayer. Not when sports players and owners make 7-10 digit salaries. Let them leave.

Sorry to rant, but republicans and people who support republicans are just beyond description... x(

[Droopy]

1. You know you're living in a fucked up world

when people think it's okay to have sports stadiums subsidized by tax payers but think it's crazy to have health care for all paid for by taxes.

[gristy]

2. Good point HT.

Bizarro world it is indeed. Will you write a LTTE?

Inside the Trib's sport section today, we had Sid Hartman stating "But you win with good players. And that's why the Vikings need a new stadium, so McCombs has the money to sign the top free agents, and not the second-wave types that they have been signing."

Obviously, Hartman's talking about all of us taxpayers paying for that damn stadium. Oh, much more important than our schools! asshole...

[Deja Q]

6. Is McCombs so broke he needs government welfare?!

McCombs, Pohlad (who's also stinking rich but won't pay his players what they want which is why they leave), and such are wealthy. This is well documented. They can afford to pay players ten times their weight in gold if they wanted. They don't need government subsidies at our expense and, besides, the whole sports industry is skewed by greed. What sort of drug is Hartman on, because I want to try some!

Indeed, the Twins and Vikings had been doing well; both getting into the playoffs quite often the last I remember... these "second-wave types" seem to be doing a rather good job, not all can get into the playoffs. Unless they don't have standards anymore?

I might whip up a letter tomorrow, if it's not too late. But being vocal is a new goal of mine and I've already been doing lots of write-ups and petitions for numerous issues... Maybe it'll make a difference, I hope...

[funkyflathead]

3. He is trying to get the Viking fan vote n/t

[Lefty48197]

4. Tell him to visit I-91 east of Los Angeles

It shows the "wonder" of private roads. Somehow, a private company won a juicy contract to build some extra lanes "the toll roads" along I-91 from LA eastward. The contract allowed the company to build a couple of extra lanes alongside the existing five or so lanes in each direction. Use of those lanes is limited to those who purchase the toll transponder, which automatically deducts money from your PREPAID account when you drive in the toll lanes. Part of the deal was that the State of California wouldn't build anymore highways that would compete with the freeways that had the toll lanes.
The result has been that the five non-toll lanes remain jammed all hours of the day, while the two toll lanes next to them are either empty, or have a much smaller number of vehicles flying past the jammed vehicles.
What a great idea that turned out to be.
Now they're talking about drilling a 14 mile tunnel through the mountains in order to alleviate the congestion on I-91.
Here's my solution:
Tear down the barricades, remove the security cameras, transponders, and extra police patrols, and use those two fucking empty lanes to alleviate the congestion on the other lanes. Problem solved.
Oh yeah. One more thing: Have occasional exit ramps that exit from both the left and right lanes, so that people won't have to cross five lanes to get to their exit.

[Deja Q]

5. Sounds like typical American life... :-(

Sounds like typical American life. Lower- and middle-classes get stuck going nowhere where the wealthy have it easy up to their smelly armpits.

Your post boasts some excellent common sense. Unfortunately, republicans wouldn't know common sense unless there was a dollar sign involved... x( In the media, everything gets frowned on the moment they say "______ is just too costly". (life is more than just a monetary cost and it's stupid to live in a structure that puts profit over stability, longevity, and reliability. Without clean air and water and recycling and using renewable energy instead of profitable gonna-disappear-someday energy, our pathetic excuse of a society won't be lasting much longer! I wish the masses would figure that out too...)

[dflprincess]

7. Gov (and Bush stooge) Pawlenty has himself so boxed in with

his "no new taxes" pledge that he has to come up with other ways to raise revenue (raising "fees" and "tolls" is not the same as raising taxes - go figure). Did you see the article in the Strib about parents in some school districts doing private fund raising for the public schools? Of course, this is only happening in more affluent districts.

As for the stadiums, don't get me started. The Dome was built for the Vikings and I have no sympathy for their whining for a new one now. The Twins were never happy with it and they need a baseball stadium - but not with my tax money. And, I see, Minneapolis wants to put a new staduim in the warehouse district. Hellooooo a lot of us don't go to week night games now because of the hassle of getting downtown at rush hour and the parking fun. Meanwhile, the U isn't getting the money it needs from the legislature so it keeps raising tuition (a land grant school - it was suppose to be free), but we're suppose to cough up for a new Gopher stadium???

I could cry when I see what has happened to this state.

Don't forget to caucus March 2.