Hi All!
It appears that one has to look to Falcon Heights for a conservative St. Paul
poster! Some of you may remember me from the dim past, but for newer comers
here is a very brief introduction:
A product of the old St Paul Catholic pipeline - Born at Miller (oddly not St
Lukes or St Joe's) upon which site the History Center is extant. Baptized at
St. Luke's, Schooled at Groveland (Kindergarten), Nativity, St Mark's, Cretin
and St. Thomas.
Marrried at St. Agnes and lived on Randolph across from Weber's bakery for 8
years before the offspring started arriving and we set a course for far distant
Falcon Heights, 8 minutes from each downtown, a stone's throw from Har-Mar,
Rosedale and the State Fair, and two blocks from fields of beans, alfalfa and
Corn (quite redolent of manure this time of year).
Started a business out of college specializing in software and support for the
rapidly growing Wang Labs computer company. We spent the first years in the
Bremer Building on Seventh and Robert. I parked in an underground ramp on the
site of the old Ryan Hotel and saw the ramp broken up and hauled away as the
"new" Minnesota Mutual building went up. Had alot of clients in there. Bremer
and Bremer Arcade are long gone in favor of the "newest" Minnesota Mutual
building, I think, 'tho haven't been in that part of town for years.
Wang got steamrolled by the PC revolution and the client base gradualy migrated
away from their old gear in favor of networks. I was sick of computers by then
and failed to follow the crowd. Instead, I dealt with midlife crisis by
getting into politics, first via the Perot II movement (United We Stand) as
opposed to the original Perotistas who became the Independence Party.
I rose to the exalted rank of Chairman of Public Relations, but I rued the fact
that Ross delivered 8 endless, painful years of the Lie'n King.
Joint the Republicans, knocked my head against the Wall of Incumbancy
exemplified by Mary Jo McGuire ('tho I didn't embarass myself, taking 45% in
'92 and 42% in '94 (the year I was endorsed by the then-more-liberal Pioneer
Press and got my first taste of last minute campaign attack skulduggery - still
sticks in my craw).
After that I drank myself to near death a few times and have earned a long
enough sobriety to be considered for Fairview's liver tx list.
Did I say SHORT intro? Mygod I'm carrying on Driscoll on speed. Ah well, as
long as I've started, let's see where this train of thought takes me.
If that didn't bore you to tears, delve into my "wogsblog.com" where the story
of my Annus Horribilus is played out in some brutally honest detail.
On the history of the list: What once was a bit more diverse, has morphed into
a sort of DFL insider's chat room. Not that there's anything wrong with that
-- if conservatives won't get in line to piss into the wind, the forum will
continue to be a Damned Liberal Fool's Paradise.
The few conservatives we had have mostly gone to Blogdom. Tom Swift, Mitch
Berg, me, etc.
It's a preferred forum for me as it's a "pull" versus a "push" way of
communicating. Rather than being a being a fire hydrant in a dog's world, the
blog is out there for anyone who cares to read it. It's not forced into your
mailbox were you have to wear out the DEL key.
You will find my blog quite different than the typical Northern Alliance
offerings. Politics is there, but lots of other fun stuff is there as well.
It has been quite interesting to follow the debates relating to Mayoral
politics. Lately it has been recognized that the internicine sniping between
the Coleman and Ortega factions is not doing the DFL much good.
Kelly is gonna be tougher than hell to beat in any case, but from my perch, it
is self-evident that Coleman is the only one who will make Randy work.
Frankly, I was surprised at the flack Kelly has taken. It is vastly differnent
running a City versus jabbering away in the Senate. He's been pragmatic, but
is still a solid liberal in my book. Methinks the anti-Kelly crowd is having
night terrors of a Norm Coleman II, but Kelly remains a good old Eastside
blue-collar DFLer at his core. I mean, what, if not party favors, got Andy
Dawkins his posh digs in City Hall? Perhaps he qualified do to his past
history of run-ins with the Department he now "heads", else he has some
compromising pictures of Kelly slobbering a wet kiss on a strippers ankle at
Alary's.
As far as Coleman, Liberalism is in his very genes. For crying out loud, have
we forgotten has dad already? His older brother Mr. Billings? I know a couple
of other brothers who think old Nick is a sellout, turning tricks for his Big
Nasty Corporate Pimp, McClatchey.
Sure, Chris as learned to deal with reality and what's good for the City
requires make compromises. To be any good at Mayor, you have to. My memories
go back to Tom Byrne and there have only been two poor Mayors since:
Supermayor, who was a joke, and Little Jimmy, who was just the kind of
candidate the activists still seem to want.
Maybe St Paul is a DFL town, but it sure ain't Minneapolis. The voters usually
seek some level of moderation in a Mayoral candidate. The "Platform Thumpers"
don't seem to get it.
Okay, enuf is enuf for now. It's been awhile since I've posted here and as in
the past, I hope to offer sometimes serious, sometimes contrasting and always
unconventional input to the Forum. My apparent flaunting of the Rules is not
meant with malice -- I'm just funn'n y'all, as the list greybeards can attest.
Just wanted to let you know that they haven't pulled my feeding tube just yet,
and will continue to lurk quietly until I feel the need to do some pot-stirring.
Elsewise, seriously, do give my blog a try. You will see that I am not really
such an eeevil Republican as you might assume. Well, at least I don't bite.
Oh, and I'll do a turn of phrase or an intentional humorous misspelling just to
make you read the list. I've been doing that since I "joint" this list :-)
Cheers!
PK
Paul Kuettel
Falcon Heights
See my site!
www.kuettels.com
Read my blog!
www.wogsblog.com
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