Got back from Yearly Kos late Sunday night, and I expect I will be posting some thoughts and reminiscences about that before the week is over, but as usual, life intervenes in all our plans and comes up with stuff to do that just can’t wait, so it’s slow slogging and light blogging for me at the moment.
Also, it’s been a week and I still haven’t commented about the I-35W bridge collapse.  At my house, most of us had arrived home from our various jobs and daytime activities at about 6 PM that day. My spouse called at 6:20 and asked what was all this he just heard about the I-35W bridge over the river near University collapsing? We turned on the TV and watched in shock, and I must confess I’m still in shock a week later. I’m remembering something the hub said that evening, tho, something along the lines of “This is a blot on our reputation. We’re the competent state; the high quality of life state. Stuff like this just doesn’t happen in Minnesota. ”
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A powerful letter in the Spring Grove Herald yesterday reiterated that statement…
(h/t Ollie Ox)
LETTER: Collapsed bridge = no new taxes
Last night while my daughter, Emily, and I watched, “So You Think You Can Dance” (it’s the only reality show we watch. Honest!), one of the celebrity judges referred to the tragedy in Minneapolis and requested that the audience keep Minnesotans in their prayers.
My first reaction was, “Isn’t that nice of him.” Following right on the heels of that reaction came reaction No. 2, which was a strange feeling of what I would call embarrassment.
We are Minnesotans. We don’t want sympathy. We don’t need sympathy! We get things done and we do things right. In fact we do things better then everyone else! We have the best roads, the best schools, the best health care, the best place to live and raise your children.
We may have been one of the highest taxed states in the nation but we were also the best state in the nation and we had an intense sense of pride for that reason, until Wednesday evening at approximately 6 p.m.
For me, the phrase, “no new taxes,” will forever be accompanied by the picture of that collapsed bridge.
Joanne Griffin
Spring Grove
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In sync with that sentiment is this new bumper sticker, courtesy of insideminnesotapolitics.com ….
The designer is NOT taking royalties for these. To order the “No New Collapses” bumpersticker, either click on the image or here.ÂÂ
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