Ideas count, don’t they? In politics especially, I keep trying to convince myself. But I don’t hear any ideas from presidential or Minnesota senate candidates. Just warmed over stuff that sort of sounds good no matter where on the political spectrum you find yourself Listen to Al Franken: Norm Coleman has to be held accountable for supporting George Bush. Are you suggesting he should have supported Al Gore? And what about a single payer health care system, Al …or Norm…or anyone. We’re all for universal health care, and so we ‘ve covered that subject,  and now let’s move on to a deep, resounding cry for change. What?

We’re sailing on the global economy ship. No one seems to deny it. And yet the Democrat candidates for president couldn’t wait to shred NAFTA, especially in Ohio and Pennsylvania. What are we for in the new flat world? Here’s an idea: free foreign language training for all citizens. Minneapolis could do its own version and truly make itself an international city. I’m dreaming, I know.

We shouldn’t stand for cliches and soaring rhetoric. These language modes make us feel good, but they’re like cotton candy: no nutrition and bad for one’s teeth. I’m not asking for program details on some esoteric tax policies, although a candidate could tell us to go to his/her web page for such. I’m asking for ideas, strong views on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness The Peace Corps wasn’t an idea exactly. It was a means to carry out an idea that the United States had a mission to give time and talent and goodwill to other citizens of the world who had gotten short-shrift.

The fairly strange man who is the president of France has ideas. One is that Mediterranean bordering nations have a common set of interests, interests that might transcend their religious, cultural and ethnic differences.

So let’s set up confederation of such countries loosely based on the European Common Union, he suggested, both during  his campaign and, most wonderfully, after his election. A Club Med kind of NAFTA. Don’t like that idea? Why? Let’s hear your idea.

I know why ideas are in short supply in big election campaigns and why glorious emotional obfuscations  fill the political store house. It’s because the experts tell the candidates that they will lose the election if they come up with an idea. So the candidates talk as if they have ideas, but what they really have is code words.

I don’t believe the experts. I think most voters would welcome candidates who have new ideas, probably even vote for them because they have ideas. Let’s listen to all the candidates to see if any of them agree with the idea of having ideas. The ideas don’t need to be perfect, not even have parts or sections or tax or environmental impact statements. Just something to inspire us to think a little bit.

Posted as a plea (for ideas)

CN

From time to time I take a peek at Minn Post, another understaffed, underfunded, online journal just to see what those louts have lifted from this blog or our newsletter. There was a very nice overview of the 2010 Partners effort to encourage collaboration among the many stakeholders developing in the ballpark/transit neighborhood on the west side of downtown Minneapolis. The piece written by the always thoughtful Steve Berg can be viewed by following the link at the bottom of this post. Anyway I was “feeling it” as we big time bloggers say so I thought I would follow up with what I thought was a nice comment by some thoughtful Minn Post reader. Darned if she didn’t go “Google” on my ass and decide that she needed to let the vast reading public know that I am, God forbid, a lobbyist who has been an advocate for a new ballpark, even worse! That’s fine but then gentle commenter decides to take a whack at my pal Leer who has done nothing but push the mighty concept of collaboration for two years as an admittedly enlightened by self interest volunteer. Little does she know that we buy e-ink by the barrel around here so for your amusement is my follow up to “being outed”.

“Meet?” I would have to classify that as quite the speed date. If the inference was a lack of disclosure some how diminished the credibility of my post, let me disclose away. I have been directly involved as an advocate for a compact transit oriented ballpark since the mid 1990’s. This stems in part from my love of baseball, the belief that a major league baseball team is an asset to the entire region and that building a better place to see and play the game (as well as operate the team) would benefit fans and the community for generations. Note, neither my firm, Neerland & Oyaas, Inc., nor the non profit advocacy organization, New Ballpark Inc. (NBI) that my partner and I founded with several real live civic leaders have ever received a dime from the Twins or the team’s owners. I publish an almost bi-weekly newsletter, Neerland & Oyaas Online which has called to task public and private leaders who haven’t done what we perceive to be in the public’s best interest as this project has rolled out.

Through NBI I have played a role in forming two important citizen involvement committees. The first C-17 was charged by the City in 2000 to look at the economic social benefits of an urban ballpark. The Design Advisory Group (DAG 360) was convened, in part thanks to my advocacy, to stake out design principals to guide area developers, including the Ballpark Authority and the team around a standard that this was to be “more than a ballpark”. Since DAG 360 issued its report at the end of 2005 I have been working with colleagues including my friend Chuck Leer (who chaired the DAG 360 as a volunteer) to promote the concept of all of the area stakeholders working under a common umbrella to implement the driving principles behind the DAG 360 report. For more than a year I have funded without reimbursement the various communications and meeting materials to keep stakeholders interested during the protracted land fight which threatened to derail any such cooperation.

As a sometimes paid, always passionate, promoter of the ballpark I am driven by the belief that great cities are in significant ways defined by their gathering places. We promised a better ballpark that would keep our team here. The Twins, Ballpark Authority and the design team are delivering in spades. I will not waver from pursuing the second half of that promise that this project would result in a vibrant neighborhood; a place that will attract and retain residents, workers and visitors for years to come.

Beyond that I am a lifelong Minneapolis resident as is my lovely and talented wife. Our darling boys have followed my journey through the Minneapolis Public Schools. I still consider myself Catholic although not always getting the vibe directly from Rome. I am a Libra with eclectic musical tastes who enjoys sunny fall days. Whew, now maybe we can say “we’ve met”.

Link to Berg’s commentary: http://www.minnpost.com/steveberg/2008/04/22/1587/ballpark_wont_succeed_as_an_isolated_gem

Submitted with a bit of “take that” in my voice

MJO

The University of Minnesota announced this morning a tremendous, stupendous, awe inspiring $65 M gift from the Minnesota Masonic Charities to the hospital’s Cancer Center. A more complete story can be found on the Star Tribune’s web page,  www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/17460244.html. Far be it from us to actually check a fact but if memory and some direct experience serves, the Masonic Charities derives its funding from a few main sources, notably personal philanthropy and revenue generating activities including, gasp, circuses! We want to thank those who have given so generously over the years to this magnificent benevolent organization. In addition we want to recognize the elephants who have provided so much joy to thousands of Minnesota children merely by standing on brightly colored boxes, walking in parades trunk to tail and carrying gleeful 45lb-ers upon their multi-ton frames as features of the Shrine Circuses.

Posted with gratitude on behalf of the thousands of cancer survivors, their families and their caregivers all of whom will benefit from this grant.

MJO

Well look whats back after darn near a month of Sundays, our almost daily Blog!
Regular readers of our newsletter will remember our recent laudatory look at the Regional Chamber’s media forum and our amazement at the credentials of the moderator Campbell Mithun’s John Rash. At the time we described Mr. Rash as indefatigable given his amazing credentials and work schedule. We now upgrade him to “Super-indefatigable” having just learned that he has been named as an Editorial Writer on the Star Tribune’s Editorial Board. Mr. Rash had been a contributing columnist on a monthly basis in the business section and will
now join the board the equivalent of two days a week.
Going forward John’s primary role at Campbell Mithun will be further focused on creating content examining and explaining the cultural and
commercial factors defining the dynamics of media. Mr. Rash’s analysis will no doubt be of great benefit to the agency’s clients. He will continue the many facets of his trademark “Everything Talks” – a website (rashreport.com),WCCO am radio show and podcast, weekly Advertising Age column and other published pieces including the oft cited “Rash Report Fall TV Season Preview”.
Back at the main ranch Mr. Rash’s new title will be Director of Media Analysis. He will continue to provide insights and collaborate with the media teams and Campbell Mithun clients.

We have been sharp critics of the Avista folks and their dismantling so much of what we came to know and admire about the Star Tribune. We have not bought the hogwash regarding their abiding respect for the Strib’s fertile market. Actions speak louder than words. A vital daily newspaper is still the cornerstone of an engaged citizenry and this cornerstone be shakin’ baby. That said Mr. Rash’s addition to the editorial staff ( please do note this is left hand side writing as the paper’s voice kind of staff) may bring a real world sensibility that full time fourth estaters have been accused of losing.

submitted with awe

MJO

Strange sounds on the car radio as we journey down The Ten from Palm Desert , CA to Prescott, Arizona…. Brit Jockey Mark Wheat’s distinctive voice and sassy patter on public radio emanating from Santa Monica. when did he leave the Twin Cities and MPR? Mark was a first rate waiter back in the day as well, having survived un deux trois and Michael Morse. Restaurants in  Southern California would be well served  by Wheat’s presence, but he seems to be busy enough raising money and playing music for MPR’s much warmer cousin.

Posted whistfully,

CN

Glide Church on the edge of the Tenderloin section of San Francisco serves approximately 500 poor people breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The food’s good. The service’s efficient, and the enterprise is, it seems, non-proselytizing and non-judgmental. The clientèle is predominantly male and black, from young to old. Other agencies in SF do the same thing every day, and their efforts are replicated across the country. What does all this mean? Is this the so-called permanent underclass of America?

We are mentally and emotionally overwhelmed by the problem. Where have we gone wrong? The poor you will always have with you, someone we know once said. But in these numbers, and growing?

While the Glide Church also offers a raft of other social services, the sense is that this is a permanent,long term, chronic condition. The Haves and the Have-Nots. It’s all very depressing…..

Submitted with a note of sadness

CN

Ahoy,

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the partners at the Starbucks on 22nd and Hennepin for voting me “nicest, coolest, smartest customer ever“. This award, the first of any kind in my life, entitles me to a week’s worth of Triple Grande Non-Fat Lattes, one per glorious day for a whole glorious week. More importantly it entitles me to bragging rights over nice Pat, who is gone to Costa Rica a bit too much to qualify; too cool for words David Fima;, Dr. Gary Stern, the head of the whole Federal Reserve (at least this district); the children’s doctor who looks like the actress Susie Oh, only even classier; half crazy Johnny, the darn pretty good artist; all of the cute ladies from the nail salon; Blois Frigin’ Olson and the life spring guys who never say hi and just stare every morning even though I see them, oh, 336 days a year.
Submitted with swagger
MJO

Ps

just a gentle reminder to the partners at good old 2216 Hennepin, remember to brew full batches of bold until noon each day. Thanks to each of you for the honor!

So Neerland gets first whack, it is as it should be I suppose. Even better the main content of this post isn’t even mine!

I have had the pleasure of meeting a quite remarkable fella named Garrett Ebling. Fomer reporter, current communications professional for Great Clips, Inc and I35W bridge collapse survivor, which is an honor not unlike eagle scout, once you are a bridge collapse survivor you are always a bridge collapse survivor. Garrett’s story has been well chronicled in the newspapers and on the local network affiliates. The physical experience; as the bridge fell, the heroic recuse by a Comcast Cable employee who missed Garrett’s fate by a car length and Garrett’s journey to recover his health and heal his battered body are at once inspiring and jarring. Shocking as it all may be Garrett’s physical experiences are fathomable.

It is his metaphysical journey that we may never understand. There is no “why me” in Garrett today. He is grateful that he was spared to continue his life, with his betrothed and a new job. Garrett credits his faith, his belief in an Almighty, and His master plan, for the strength he found to persevere. But still there will always be more to this story. As any good reporter would, Garrett is listing the “who, what, when, where, why and hows” but together they aren’t adding up. Probably never will. Garrett posted this poem on his caring bridge site. It is a metaphor for all of us who experience collapse and rebuilding.

“Numb”

We cascaded into the crevices

Tumbled into the darkness

Our bodies bounced and rattled

Off concrete rubble and ribbons of steel.

Some landed wet. Others dry,

Gargling and spitting blood and water.

Most were patched up like tape onto a bicycle tire,

Set free to return to the roads and bridges that betrayed us.

And like dogs who despise leashes,

We pull the other way. Who wants to go there?

We stand unbudging and hollow.

The trembling gnaws from inside out.

It settles, then swirls, like garbage in the wind.

There is no savior. No finish line.

Instead we wander with aching feet, unsettled mind,

A countenance not unlike the walking undead.

We’ve become numb.

The rug was pulled from beneath.

We collapsed with no net below.

Where is our deliverer?

For more about Garrett’s journey visit his caring bridge site your darn self; www.caringbridge.org/visit/garrettebling

Posted with humility
MJO

I’ve been somewhat traumatized and also stimulated by some of my activities recently, and I think I’ve got an idea on how I might jump into this here blog-o-sphere.

First, the visit to the Social Security office. We weren’t the only white people there, but we were in the  minority. Which is probably good for our humility. Something’s wrong though. There was just this rumble of bad attitude and minor bad behavior; two armed guards searched us at the door and hovered over us. I guess I was thankful. There was a certain clubiness to it all, with a lot of the service/money seekers (yes, ourselves included) obviously at home, like they were at one their regular neighborhood stops, bitching about the stupidity of the government and the bureaucrats who served them. Outside, in the cold mist, the beneficiaries of the system stoked up on their smoke of choice and continued the negative commentary. No one seemed to have a job to go to. I heard myself ranting on the drive home. I was shocked by myself. Where did I go wrong….Later I read a well-done piece put out by the Center for the American Experiment, A Kitchen Table  Conversation about Minneapolis and its Future. Mitch Pearlstein led the Mayor, Peter Bell and Gary Cunningham in a conversation about the  intractable  problems on the north side. The “sides” of the argument seemed to be what government should/could do–with the Mayor listing the efforts–and what was personal or community responsibility–the Bell tolling on this theme– and Cunningham weighing in on both sides. The conversation, or at least its rendering, was civil and interesting, and there were some areas of agreement that jarred me, and some insights–Bell’s mainly–that provoked me, like his notion that because somone says something–rap music or falling down pants– is a cultural thing doesn’t mean it isn’t disrespectful and counterproductive. This publication should be read by all..,

And I didn’t top it all off with a stroll down (up?) the Nicollet Mall to replenish my pique and angst about such falling down pants and the misbehavior of those off whom they are falling ,or the drunks waiting happily for a ride to detox or suburbanites driving through our red lights because our red lights don’t really mean anything from a cultural point of view. I ask you, can we rank these various forms of thuggishness as anything but equal? No, I didn’t take my stroll from 12th Street to the River, but my wife did and she came back and did a little ranting herself….

And now, finally, the idea. I once ,somewhat patronizingly,  explained to Citizens League head Sean Kershaw that ideas trumped process, particularly process that involved drinking beer and pondering the big picture. I suppose I was wrong. But I’m still devoted to ideas and doing things that work, and, even as a nearly extinct species, I am frustrated and concerned about the desperation and defeat that characterizes a major portion of what is my city and the depression that sets in when nothing seems to work and when fair-minded men like Cunningham, Rybak and Bell can only call for more government efforts and at the same time say nothing will really work unless the community takes charge. Both sides are right, of course, and maybe something coming in from left field could help generate progress and hope……..

The idea: every church, mosque and every cultural institution on the northside should form Citizen Anonymous groups, open to all on a weekly basis, based on the AA model of service, unity and recovery–and the primary requisite, anonymity. The only requirement for membership, young or old, is to admit that one’s life has become unmanageable, in a community and cultural sense, and that the only responsibility of the group is to help others in the community to acknowledge the poison of  family dysfunction, crime and ignorance and a willingness to work together as living antidotes to that environment. Everyone gets to tell his story, his or her community-a-logue or bad environment narrative, and no one judges anyone, and everyone gets to go home having had a chance to share the experience in a place that doesn’t demand gang colors or  tired social service strategies. The only expense of this operation is a few bucks tossed in a coffee can to pay for the heat and light. No picnics, no rally for Christ or Allah, just a Circle of Friendship, and then everyone says a prayer for peace. I suppose the parallels aren’t perfect but you get the idea.

I had another idea about Charity a few years ago. i couldn’t quite articulate my take on the subject, which makes me  think that possibly I didn’t have much of a take. Reading my new idea here, I am afraid I may be grasping at straws in my own concern and desperation. But I’ve seen miracles worked by people who just talked about themselves and hoped that they could lead a better life. Better than complaining about the bureaucrats, I say.

Submitted with gusto,

C.N.

In an effort to keep moving forward, we are pleased to announce a new feature of the Neerland.Oyaas.com website: a frequent if not daily blog chronicling the lives of two Minneapolis public affairs consultants.

Unlike Online, which you will continue to receive every two weeks or so, our blog thoughts will not be written in the editorial “we” but rather be designated “CN” or “MJO” or even, if she totally loses her senses, “MW.”

We hope the new blog feature gives you an opportunity to think about some of the things that confront our community perhaps differently or at least through another lens. We will try to be provocative and depend on you to challenge us and our beliefs as we challenge the status quo.