News from Lake Wobegon

As you might know, Minnesota has shut down its government services and thousands of people are now not going to either go to work or get a paycheck.  That fella Pawlenty, the former governor, administered the state into a $6 billion dollar sea of red ink and left the mess for the next guy - something akin to the Bush years and President Obama.  It might be considered the epitome of self indulgence and "position" to spill the milk and leave it for the maid to mop up instead of cleaning it yourself but the current set of GOP morals and feelings of entitlement (as in "I'm a rich and I am therefore entitled") has never been so on display.

The State has shut down - the first of perhaps many - and there are some GOP folks running for president who think that this is a good thing.  I don't quite get that.  The people didn't spend the state into this hole - the government did but it is the people who get stuck with the tab - the old "always go to the restroom when the bill for dinner is about to be served" adage is in play.  Mr. Pawlenty and Ms. Bachman think this is nifty.  The GOP controlled legislative branches in Minnesota proposed to only cut services and refused with a double - dog dare you, to raise any more revenue nor rescind any loopholes or tax breaks. This should sound familiar. So who gets the proverbial stick i the eye? The poor and needy of course. You betcha'.

I find this to be the most reprehensible aspect of this.  Let the politicians squawk and bluster all they want but at the end of the day what has been accomplished?  Thousands without a job to go to and without a paycheck and, ultimately, some poor kid who caused none of this, won't get fed because there is no money for food.  Think of that. Some poor kid won't get fed.

Think Christian Children's Fund with pictures of some kid who eats once a day and bad food at that and you go to the phone and pledge to support him for $20/mo. and the kid eats and goes to some makeshift school in some God forsaken part of the globe. Now think of that commercial running in Norway or Sweden where a goodly part of the Minnesota population has roots and the scene being shot in downtown Minneapolis.

Some kid going to bed hungry.  Some kid without food.  Mom may find a way but it might not be for a few days or a week and things will right themselves for a bit but in the mean time - some kid will go to bed hungry and be without food or hope of food for a few days.  In Minnesota.

And that is the news from Lake Wobegan.