Activism opportunities

Other than Dave Thul, who is now off to parts unknown, Spotty’s most persistent critic is Julie Risser. Julie has a much better attention span than Spot, which is damnation with faint praise. But still. Julie has sent emails to Spot about some things that might be of interest to Spot’s readers.

First, there will be a forum on immigration policy at the Edina Library at starting at 4:00 PM on May 15th. The address is 5280 Grandview Square here in Cakeville. Free admission; the forum will be moderated by Professor Katherine Fennelly of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. There has been tremendous demagoguery on the subject lately. Here’s the library description of the program:

The New Challenges of American Immigration: A Community Forum
Monday, May 15, 4-6 p.m.
The U.S. has traditionally defined itself as a land of opportunity, a refuge from persecution and a nation of immigrants. Today, more people than ever are trying to enter the country. Professor Katherine Fennelly of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute will facilitate the forum: Is immigration good for America? Is it time to change immigration policies? If so, how? Sponsored by the Friends of the Edina Library in collaboration with the Minnesota Humanities Council, National Issues Forum and the Dakota County Library System.

Second, we can all pretty much agree that election law in Minnesota could use an overhaul – and not to make it tougher for people to vote, as the Republicans want. A quote from Julie:

Professor David Schultz from Hamline has just released a report that shows $42 million was spent lobbying the State Legislature in 2005 (a nonelection year). That comes to $231,000/legislator to influence politics in MN. Two of the most influential lobbying interests are Xcel Energy and The Chamber of Commerce.

On her blog, Julie describes three bills pending in the Minnesota Senate that relate to campaign finance disclosure, instant runoff voting (which Spot particularly likes), and lobbying reform. Apparently, these bills need some pressure to get them moving. It wouldn’t kill you, boys and girls, to check them out and then call or write some legislators.

Ok, here’s the disclaimer guaranteed to annoy Julie considerably. Julie is running for the Senate 41 seat currently held by, sigh, Geoff Michel. Readers know that Spotty supports DFL endorsed Andrew Borene for the job in the upcoming election. That isn’t changing. Spot is not part of the Borene campaign, and Borene hasn’t exactly panted after an endorsement from Spotty (in fact, he runs sensibly away from Spot at every opportunity), but Spotty thinks the Borene has the best chance of beating Michel in November.