Boozegate

Hi All!

It's an odd time in my life. The car of my dreams is rotting away in a Maintenance Dept. lot waiting to be looted and sold off.

I lawyered up to contest my somewhat deserved, mostly unfair 2nd Degree DWI (yeah, still in denial I guess) but mommy is paying for the best for her 48-year-old miscreant.

What the Legislature is learning, is that if you don't make any news other than opening mourning dove season or limiting where ATVs can go, dusty old stories will be dredged up.

Anyone, staff, electeds, lobbiests, janitors knows that there is plenty of booze available in the State Office Building (affectionately known as the SOB) where the Whole House and the GOP Senate works, and the Capitol primo DFL Senate offices.

Big fucking deal.

The egomanics who "serve" feel very sorry for themselves to have to pull long hours for a couple of weeks each year. There is also a tradition, not unique to MN by any means, of all sorts of "releases" from the pressures of subjugating the masses of asses with all manner of legal mumbo jumbo.

St. John of Marty is the most reviled politician among the insiders. His commandments have forced a cultural change that has led to much worse partisanship than what used to exist when players from all ilk could conviviate at lavish buffet and booze gatherings, getting to know each other and find common ground.

Now the seediest remnants ot the old system have been forced underground. And it is party specific. Seldom does a DFLer tip glasses with a GOPer or vice versa.

I worked for a short while as a human phone answering machine in a prominent corner of the SOB.

Everyone knew where the booze was, but staff was strictly prohibited from raiding the stashes.

We peons DID have a secret society that met after hours in a hearing room. It was a very formal Friday evening meeting with a convener, sarge at arms, initiation ceremonies and 48 non-union brews available to the 30-odd club members. Coors was the only domestic allowed. Most libation was imported. We had very prominent guests. To me it seemed an innocent and team-building social gathering.

Well the Senate DFL has put an end to THAT decades old tradition.

As to media coverage, I can't say we ever had a working reporter join us, save for the many who have found that a government spokesperson job pays more with better bennies and muchly less work -- there're scores of them slinking around.

What I mean to say, is that this BIG story is an old story, and I guess the DFL Senate deserves blame for getting it out due to their "We're drawing the line" philosophy.

I could go on, but best to keep these short.

One last thought. The DFL is much more mean and anal than than the GOP. That is an objective observation. If you had a chance to shmooze with Matt Entenza or Steve Sviggum, who would you prefer? Carol Molnau or Jane Ranum? Shall I continue? OK I won't but I could.

BTW, I am still clueless as to how to invite you to reply, so here is my email:

kuettels@comcast.net

Cheers!