DFL Education Foundation

Legislating by constitution is hazardous

By Jack Ditmore and Arvonne Fraser

With one constitutional amendment already on the 2012 ballot and some two dozen more on the desks of legislators, it's time to consider the risks of legislators abandoning their role and making voters lawmakers.

To be sure, constitutions -- state or federal -- are living documents, subject to amendment in an evolving world. But legislators need to be selective, referring to voters only issues that can't be resolved through the lawmaking powers the Constitution already provides them.

Constitutions are statements of the principles of government; they should not become a list of laws.

Abolishing the office of lieutenant governor or lengthening terms of elected officials would require a constitutional amendment. Requiring people to present photo IDs in order to vote, however, could be accomplished by ordinary legislation.

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Vance Opperman on Politics and Government

At January's Stone Arch discussion, long-time DFLer and businessman Vance Opperman provided his perspective on politics and government in Minnesota. Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv. The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on January 14, 2011, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

Book Review: The Warmth of Other Suns

By Kent Harbison

I highly recommend the book The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It is a very well-written and compelling historical account of the Great Migration of blacks from the South to the North and West during America’s Jim Crow era from WW I to the early 1970s. Ms.Wilkerson took 15 years of comprehensive interviews and research to compile and write this story, largely through the lives of three families from Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.

It is somewhat of a painful and embarrassing reminder of the laws, customs and living conditions affecting African Americans during this period. Indeed, some of these customs and conditions may be new revelations to some readers. This history also shows that the treatment of these “immigrants” was only mildly more favorable in the cities to which they migrated. Among the perspectives to be gleaned from this story is a reflection of the attitudes and actions by government officials and average citizens toward immigrants from foreign countries in recent years. Incidentally, Ms. Wilkerson’s writing credentials have been acknowledged by her being given a Pulitizer Prize for her reporting on the major flooding of the Upper Midwest in the 1990s when she was bureau chief in the Chicago office of the NY Times.

January Newsletter

There may be no winter in Minnesota, but there's always great discussion with the DFL Education Foundation.  Look below for our upcoming events or some great suggested reading. 

Sincerely,
Jeremy Wieland @ DFL Ed Foundation
DFL Education Foundation

 

January's Stone Arch Topic Vance Opperman Provides A Businessman's View of Government and Politics   Saturday, January 14 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) At the first Stone Arch discussion of 2012, businessman and long-time DFLer Vance Opperman will provide his perspective on politics and government. As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

January 13 Achievement Gap Ann Marie DeGroot from Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board Consisting of elected officials from all the public agencies that have an impact on Minneapolis children, the YCB is working to better coordinate services among the many youth-serving organizations, to involve youth in public decision-making, and to set fresh goals to improve outcomes for Minneapolis children. Click here to RSVP On Friday noon January 13  Ann Marie DeGroot, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, will tell us about the work of the YCB on the 25th anniversary of its founding. The meeting is at the University Lutheran Church of Hope at 13th Avenue and 6th Street in Southeast Minneapolis.  Bring a bag lunch - water and coffee will be supplied. Parking available on northeast side of Church.

Suggested Reading Articles that inspire (or anger) our Board to action 50 Years Later: Poverty and The Other America read article  The Tea Party and Angry White Women read article  When Will Solar Power Save You Money? An Animated Map of Solar "Grid Parity" read article  What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success read article  Between the Lines: the Cost of Parking read article  The Most Important Economic Speech of Obama's Presidency, Robert Reich read article  Choosing the 'Right' Republican, Economist read article  The Decline of the Public Good, Robert Reich, Reader Supported News read article  Why 'We the People' Must Triumph over Corporate Power, BILL Moyers, AlterNet read article  A Snapshot of the Race for the Senate read article  The Unconstitutional Constitution read article  How Cities and States are Sticking It to Citizens United read article  Senators Al Franken and Sheldon Whitehouse's Colloquy Confronting Climate Change Doubt, 1 hour video watch video  Executive Director of Fresh Energy Michael Noble's summary of the colloquy. read article  CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Combustion read article  Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks read article  The Effects of Volatile Chemical on Residents Living near Shale Gas Wells - 7 minute New York Times Video watch video  Political Pressure Limits Efforts to Police Drilling for Gas, Ian Urbina, New York Times read article  Natural Gas Drilling, What We Don't Know, Abraham Lustgarten, Pro Publica read article  Global Warming

Other Good Events

See the Public Issues Calendar

Montana State Supreme Court: Citizens United Not Welcome Here

By Sam Ferguson, Truthout

In a rebuke to the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Montana has held that Citizens United does not apply to Montana campaign finance law.

Last Friday, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 1912 voter initiative - the Corrupt Practices Act - that prohibits corporations from making contributions to or expenditures on behalf of state political candidates and political parties. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar federal prohibition was unconstitutional, prompting a wave of bills and court rulings that erased prohibitions on corporate and union political expenditures around the country.

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A Crisis in Our Community: Closing the Five Education Gaps

This report, from the Headwaters Foundation's African American Leadership Forum, cites the DFL Education Foundation's Achievement Gap Committee in a few places.  

The report summary: 

The State of Minnesota is facing a crisis requiring the declaration of a "State of Emergency."  Paraphrasing the 1968 Kerner Commission Report, the United States is  "moving toward two societies, one black, and one white--separate and unequal."  Unfortunately, in Minnesota we have achieved that ignominious distinction in education.  We have created two Minnesotas.  In one, children get a great education at their local public schools, and in the other, children enter our schools behind, fall further behind as they advance, and drop out of school with alarming regularity.  This report outlines five gaps in educational achievement for African American children and a plan for how we can close those gaps.

Click here to download the report

 

Stone Arch Preview: Vance Opperman Provides A Businessman's View of Government and Politics

Saturday, January 14 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) At the first Stone Arch discussion of 2012, businessman and long-time DFLer Vance Opperman will provide his perspective on politics and government.  As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Rep. Paul Thissen: Looking to the Future of the Minnesota Legislature.

At December's Stone Arch discussion, Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-63A) was Looking to the Future of the Minnesota Legislature. Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv. The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on December 10, 2011, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

December News

UPCOMING EVENTS (click for details)

DEC 10: [Stone Arch] Looking to the Future of the Minnesota Legislature  JAN 10: General Election, Senate Senate District 59  See Event Calendar for details

EVENT RECAPS

Minnesota's Energy Future: read the summary or watch the Uptake video  Building the Progressive Base audio and recap  The Challenges and Strengths of Minneapolis Public Schools: audio and recap  Think Again MN: Ways Minnesotans Can Benefit from Our State's Abundant Energy Resources: video and recap  Rep. Phyllis Kahn and Sen. Larry Pogemiller: audio and recap  Steve Fletcher from MN Organizing for Change: audio and recap

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Featured Article: Paul Krugman: Things to Tax  Graphic: prosecutions for bank fraud read article  Interactive map: Minneapolis residents living below the poverty line read article  To close achievement gap, better start early read article  How to get more women professors: success on the top of the world! read article  Occupy Movement Philip Glass: Gandhi Paved the Way for the Social Resistance We See Today read article  What Would Gandhi Do? read article  Makana Sings Occupy Protest Song at Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit watch video  Tom Friedman: "Two Peas in a Pod" Comparison of Protest Movements in U.S. and India read article  "The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street" - Democratic Visions interview with Ahmed Tharwat watch video  OCCUPIED Constitutional Amendment read article  Energy and Environment Climate Change: How do we know it's real and what can we do about it? read article  Tar Sands Oil and the Environmental Impact of Oil Spills (Maureen Hackett)watch video  The Fracking Song, "My Water's on Fire Tonight:"read article  What Would Gandhi Do?read article  Events from the Public Issues Calendar  Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:00am - 9:30am Paul Thissen - Gardens of Salonica, 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis, MN Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:30pm - 7:00pm How the Commodities Casino Creates Hunger and Unrest - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2104 Stevens Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN Sun Dec 18, 2011 9:15am - 10:15am Creating Doubt and Endangering our Future: Obscuring the Truth about Global Warming - Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, 2200 W Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:30pm - 5:30pm A Hopeful Earth - Hamline University, Klas Center, St. Paul, MN   See the Public Issues Calendar for event details and more events

Things to Tax

Paul Krugman, NY Times

The supercommittee was a superdud — and we should be glad. Nonetheless, at some point we’ll have to rein in budget deficits. And when we do, here’s a thought: How about making increased revenue an important part of the deal?

And I don’t just mean a return to Clinton-era tax rates. Why should 1990s taxes be considered the outer limit of revenue collection? Think about it: The long-run budget outlook has darkened, which means that some hard choices must be made. Why should those choices only involve spending cuts? Why not also push some taxes above their levels in the 1990s?

Let me suggest two areas in which it would make a lot of sense to raise taxes in earnest, not just return them to pre-Bush levels: taxes on very high incomes and taxes on financial transactions.

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