Why We Live Here

    The front door after hours of shoveling to get to it.
     We're nearly ready for Christmas.

The snow fell and fell and fell! I shoveled for more than five hours, just to keep the path to the garage open and the walkway up to the house clear. I cussed a few times, but, deep-down, I really loved it. While I shovel snow I have time to think clearly about lots of things.
by Charlie Leck

One thing I know for sure is that I would be nowhere else – well almost nowhere else. I love it here in winter, but I’m always thrilled to see springtime roll in.

Most of my readers are not Minnesotans. Many of them are from places like SC, GA, FL, AZ and CA. The only sense of understanding I get from them comes because nearly all of them were once northerners. They understand. They remember snow and they remember loving it; however, that was when they were young, free spirited and a bit on the crazy side. Now they want warm and dry roads to drive on and driveways that don’t need to be cleared of snow.

Pity them!

Winter has roared back to Minnesota – and this after a nearly snowless and coldless winter last year. What fun to have the season return and settle on the land as it should.

Some of you, reading in other places about the terror of the snow in Minnesota, forget it! Don’t believe it! All is well and beautiful here and those of us who are real Minnesotans are happy as all get out about the return of the real season.

Here are a few pictures that I took on Monday morning right here around the house. Have a nice toddy on the patio for me tonight and shake your head, if you must, about that dumb son-of-a-bitch up there in Minnesota.

    The view from the west side of the house, out into the woods
     that lead down to Pioneer Creek that ambles through our property.

    That's our quarter-mile long driveway that can be a bit
    challenging on a day like today.

    That's a stairway leading up to a little guest apartment
    above our detached garage. It's difficult to get up there
    during a winter like this one.

    An attractive little welcome slate greet guests
    who will stay in our little apartment.

    The view from our kitchen window, looking south toward the
    creek and the farm.

All is well. I am happy! Life is good.

_________________________

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Tim Pawlenty: A Complete Political Hack

Tim Pawlenty is not just a bad governor, but he is a
ruinous one who will walk out on a job poorly done.

by Charlie Leck

Senator McCain, you can have him!
We don’t want him! He’s too cheap for us!
He’s too cheap! He’s too cheap!
He’s too cheap for us!

It looks very much like John McCain is going to choose the Governor of the State of Minnesota to be his running mate. Senator, you can have him!

I took to calling him ‘Governor Poorlenty’ last year. It never caught on. Someone liked ‘Governor Pukelenty’ better. No taste!

A friend dropped me an email, expressing his apprehensions about Pawlenty:

“This guy Pawlenty is a creep. With McCain’s age and cancer history, this would be a very bad vice-president. Read the current article carefully in City Pages. This is the real Pawlenty. I’ve known this guy for years and he is a bad guy.”

So, I read the City Pages story about Governor Pawlenty. Yup! Sure enough! He’s a really bad dude. But, I knew that before delving into the story. I wrote about it here many months ago. Pawlenty took one of the finest states in the nation – a state that nearly always finished first or second in every measurement category one could imagine – and absolutely ruined it. Now in those ratings, we finish only mediocre and sometime worse.

Wendy Anderson and Arne Carlson shake their heads in dismay. Hubert Humphrey is rolling over in his grave. Governor Goofy is spinning wildly in his.

Paw-Lenty took a state that was legendary and made it ordinary.

I congratulate all those simpletons who elected him to office. You got what you deserve.

Now he seeks the Vice Presidency of the United States. If elected and tragedy lands him in the big, oval office, he’ll make George W. Bush look like a piker.

For my opening, I snitched a tune from the old, old days and put new words to it. I’ll close that way as well, with an even older tune.

All our bridges falling down, Falling down…
All our bridges falling down
Thanks to Pawlenty

Took our school apart he did,
Apart he did, apart he did,
Took our schools apart he did
Thank you Pawlenty

Left our seniors on their own
On their own, on their own,
Lef t our seniors on their own,
Thank you Pawlenty

All our towns are falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
All our towns are falling down,
Thanks to Pawlenty

And our roads have gone to hell,
Gone to hell, gone to hell,
All our roads have gone to hell,
Dear Gov Pawlenty

Screwed our farmers really good,
Really good, really good,
Screwed our farmers really good,
Did old Pawlenty

Now we have to build it up,
Build it up, build it up,
Now we have to build it up,
After Pawlenty

He left our state a tattered mess,
Tattered mess, tattered mess,
He left our state an awful mess
Did dumb Pawlenty

We have bridges we must build,
We must build, we must build
Bridges, highways and new rail
Nixed by Pawlenty

Now we merrily say goodbye,
Say goodbye, say goobye
Merrily now we say goodbye,
To Tim Pawlenty

Off you go with John McCain,
John McCain, John McCain,
Off you go with John McCain,
Just what you wanted

Hope you get your bottom kicked,
Bottom kicked, bottom kicked
Hope you get your bottom kicked
By Barack Obama

Sam Thinks He Can

Sam Stern writes "Sam Thinks He Can!"

Sam thinks Senator Barack Obama can do it!
by Charlie Leck

I tossed and turned in bed last night. It wasn’t the outcome of the Super Bowl that bothered me – I was comfortable with either team winning and I enjoyed every part of the festivities, including the incredible singing of the National Anthem, through half-time, to watching Eli Manning come of age.

No, I tossed and turned because I am going to caucus tomorrow night here in Minnesota. I couldn’t make up my mind about a presidential candidate and it was bothering me. I would lean toward Senator Clinton for a few hours and then toward Senator Obama for a while. For some reason, I feel some sense of loyalty to the Clinton name. I feel that I still don’t know with certainty where Obama stands on a few issues and how strongly he feels about others. The fact is, I don’t want either one of these candidates to not get the nomination!

I awoke in the morning, badly in need of coffee. With strong, hot coffee steaming in a big mug, I turned on my computer and went first, for some reason, to the blog site of a neighbor who lives just up the road. I’m captivated by his web site mostly because of its title: Sam Thinks He Can! It’s a colorful site and it keeps me up to date on a fellow I’m starting to admire quite strongly.

The tumult inside me stopped as I read his fresh, interesting blog. The title of the blog for this particular morning could have been directed to my questions about Senator Obama and his ability to be President. “Sam thinks he can!”

The blog was both emotionally touching and well reasoned. Sam told me to open another tab on my browser and go to an INCREDIBLE video production; and then come back and listen to his reasoning. I did exactly as he instructed me and went to DIPDIVE and watched this cool, inspiring and artful presentation about Senator Obama. Do not miss this! Make sure you watch it, just for the joy of seeing such an outstanding production. What fun! I’ve watched it three times already this morning and I’ll watch it a few times more.

I’m going to caucus tomorrow night for Senator Barack Obama. Also, I’ll pull my check book out today. This is the correct choice, even though it’s made in quite an emotional state of mind.

I am remembering how desperately I wanted Bobby Kennedy to be elected in 1968. I hadn’t been old enough to vote in the election that sent John Kennedy to the White House. I wasn’t very pleased to vote for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However, then, in 1968, I was ready to vote with enthusiasm and excitement and I was caught up in the joyfulness that had captured huge numbers of the nation’s young. There wasn’t going to be any stopping Bobby Kennedy – until that awful night in June, in a hotel in Las Angeles.

Now I see the joy and excitement of America’s young people as they rally around Senator Obama. The young people! America’s future! The kids to whom we are passing the huge financial, environmental and diplomatic problems we created for them!

This is the time for the young and vigorous and hopeful. They have a dream, by God, and their dream might come true. I’m an old guy, but I’m with them on this one. If Senator Barack Obama is elected President of the United States, it will be the most joyful, celebratory inauguration in the nation’s history.

I will have climbed to where Martin Luther King, climbed – to the mountain top – and I will have seen over to the other side. I will have seen what is possible. I will have seen how great we can be as a nation! I will have seen a great turning – an immense change!

A terribly important paragraph in Sam’s blog struck me right between the eyes and stuck there. It is what finally pushed me over the edge and helped me make up my mind. It’s no fault of Senator Clinton’s, but it is true and it is sad.

“The type of experience Senator Clinton brings to the table also brings baggage. While I firmly believe Senator Clinton can hold her own in responding to the right wing conspiracy she identified more than 10 years ago, I’ve started asking myself whether it’s the best use of our chief executive’s time to have deal day in and day out with orchestrated character assassination.” [Sam Thinks He Can]

I hope, by now, you’ve watched the DIPDIVE video. Drop me a note or add a comment here and let me know what you thought of it. I thought it was absolutely wonderful!

Next: The Real Ronald Reagan