Elanne, it's sad that your perspective has no real political will. Reminds of when the Democrats didn't pass a good healthcare bill when they had the chance. Makes me wonder why anyone votes for them. It least when you vote Republican, you get the scraps, the Democrats raise your taxes before they screw you over.

Hi Jimmy, is this how you respond when you can't blame the senate gains on Gerrymandering?

I give you credit for recognizing that quality in President Trump. Too bad he doesn't have my sense of irony or humility. I am very narcissistic about my humility.

BTW - if you are brave enough to shed your anonymity I'd be happy to buy you a beer so we could have a good discussion. My number is 340-5197.
Harry

Dayton’s legacy and also the legacy of Klobuchar and Smith. Shame!

Mr. Percent,
I just caught your additional thoughts a month on. Here are a couple thoughts of my own.

You can't seriously think that living a virtuous adult life means not having been drunk or stupid in youth. I have lived next to college kids for the last 30 years and seen a lot of them stupid drunk. http://snowbizz.com/Diogenes/NotEudora08/Welcome2College.htm

I expect most of them mature by their child rearing years.

I read the article about Kagan that you said disgusted you. I did not read into her words that she would always vote liberally. And by the way. Do you have a universally accepted definition of liberalism. Tolerance and charity for all are both aspects of liberality in my view. Am I wrong?

Today's news brings word that Trump's replacement for Attorney General Sessions has some iconoclastic views. Do you share his views including the one that insists that the courts are inferior to the legislative and executive branches?

Finally, I agree with you on the electoral college. I am not surprised however that many Americans are bothered by the winning side prevailing with fewer popular votes. I am however troubled, outraged really, by the lengths that today's Republicans are going to to rig election laws and pack the courts especially because they represent a steadily diminishing ideological segment of the population.

I just checked back on the comment section of my Frat Boy column from a month ago and discovered that another Anon. writer, Mr. "Percent" had replied to my reply to him. Well, I just re replied. Take a look.....I'll try posting a link below.

Here's that link. Scroll to the bottom:

http://m.duluthreader.com/articles/2018/10/11/14785_frat_boy_justice

Phil, thank you for your comments on war and Veteran's Day. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army, 1977-1981, and I'm thankful that I never had to serve in combat. As a 19-year old I was looking for a job, travel, and money for college after my four years of service. I was able to get all that along with some good advice from my superiors who had been in Viet Nam, mainly that it was a messed up situation that nobody should have to go through. Never heard one of them talk about the glory of war or combat. My journey against war began then, in 1977, and continues today stronger than ever. I share the message that our military does not exist to protect our freedoms, but to gain and protect economic advantages for our nation and certain corporations. It's a shame that our nation enters wars with senseless killing to protect low gasoline prices, over consumption of goods, and endless defense contracts. Thanks again for your strong convictions and voice. ~ Vince Senski

Thank you for your response. Regarding Kagan, what else could this mean: In expressing trepidation about the loss of a centrist, Kagan implicitly conceded that on this court, everyone’s mind is already made up in advance on the cases that count the most and on which the country is bitterly divided. That is a horrible place for the court to be, for it defies the very notion of open-minded adjudication without bias. I doubt she case what the constitution actually says, and only subscribes to her own doctrine of 'fairness' whatever that means. Tolerance and Charity SHOULD have limits, it's not black and white. How far toward communism can a liberal/progressive go before we put the brakes on? I think what you saw in this election, was the public putting the brakes on. (Liberal means different things to different people, I should stop using it. Progressive is a better term for modern Liberals.)

As far as YOUR past goes, make a serious run for office, and see what happens.

Juan,

That quote says that Kagan believes everyone on the court is predisposed to vote in predictable ways on hot button issues. If so, she is no more guilty of closed mindedness than any other justice. I presume you think liberal thinking is the same thing as "unconstitutional" thinking. If so, I don't agree. As a Republican I too am concerned about over reliance on big government. But I also think Grover Norquist's philosophy has been far too successful. He wants to shrink government to the size that he can strangle it in a bathtub.

I think the Federalist Society's Scalia worship of Originalism has some serious blind spots.

You suggested that I should be happy with Robert's because he was a centrist not a conservative. I have been pleased with him because so far he has stood up for Stare decices (spelling?). He is however still in the Federalist Society mold.

That principle represents a healthy regard for the conservative idea of not overturning a long accepted legal applecart. I think that is at risk because of the McConnel/Trump intention to buck the applecart to placate certain slivers of the Republican Party - Namely pro-life evangelicals and Koch Brother fueled laissez-Faire deregulationists. Originalism seems to have become little more than contemporary Republicanism. That's not healthy. It is simply the raw exercise of power.

As for my history I am quite proud of it. What part of my past do you have misgivings about?

I think I misread your invitation to run for office again. Sorry. At 68 and on the outs with party leaders running a "serious" race as a Republican isn't likely to get me elected to anything. I am not really worried about that. I want to provoke some serious thought that our nation is, or should be, far more unified because our divisions are ridiculously overblown.

Great article. Keep telling the unadulterated truth.

Exactly. Trump is also correct in that the media tends to exacerbate those difference because that makes a good story. Trump working with democrats and republicans to rebuild infrastructure doesn't sell any newspapers.

County is to friggin big. No reason for the Range and Duluth to be in the same county. This is gerrymandering.

More Quality work, more music worth investigating.

The city talked about closing the road through Lincoln Park from the very first public meeting. They wanted it shut down. With public pressure at meetings they then said they would give it further study. At every subsequent meeting we asked for info on the traffic study and none were given. I don't think that they ever gave it further study. The retaining wall was a good excuse to do what they wanted to do all along. Gosh, when has that ever happened before??!! The fact that the visibly failing wall wasn't even mentioned or included in the initial plan shows an utter failure in the planning process.

You're right, there was an option in the master plan that considered the closure of Lincoln Park Drive. There was also another option that considered making it one-way. I should have made that clear.

It's true that, like many projects, the city seems to have undertaken this one with certain preconceived ideas. However, I have not seen a big outpouring of public opposition to this project, as I have with, say, Kayak Bay or removal of the Mud Lake causeway. As I contemplate the project, I just don't feel a burning need to expose anything. Hard to say why. Maybe because I have other stories that need exposing more. Or maybe it's because the idea of a open, graded slope into the park, instead of an impassable retaining wall, appeals to me.

JFW explained his rationale for not asking the City Council for any further approval. Now that my article's out, we'll see if any councilors disagree with that.

There is also a brief mention of the retaining wall in the master plan. Page 19: "The existing stone clad retaining wall is also failing and in need of short term repair or long term replacement." Not much, but more than nothing.

Brilliant! Sounds just like someone i used to know...... my ex-wife.