That Was the Week That Was

These are strange times. The federal government has stock in banks and insurance companies and may soon own an automobile manufacturer or two. My son Daniel noted that even if these turn out to be bad investments, they won't go out of business. The federal government never shuts anything down when it is ineffective. We maintain our mistakes.
As we all have noted, there is no script with our "current events". Everyone is making it up as we go. Now Minnesota is projecting a 5.3 billion $$$$$$$$$ shortfall. Everyone is scrambling to guess where the cuts will be made. We recently voted ourselves an increase in our sales tax that is dedicated to the arts and the wildlife. The intention was for this to be supplemental money for these causes. Now they are alarmed that the legislature will stop giving them the usual funding for the arts and wildlife thinking they can survive on the dedicated sales tax funds. Get real already. We are all sinking. Maybe the birds can survive on wild rice and the goodwill of people who stock their bird feeders. Maybe artists will have to remain starving a little longer. That is the tradition, isn't it? We have a 5.3 billion $ shortfall. This will not be pleasant. Whose ox do we gore?
Welcome to the land of innovation. The state that gave us 3M and IBM, Post-it notes and PCs, Mayo clinic and rollerblades. Now someone has suggested we sell off the airport to private investors. Sell the lottery system. The lottery can go, but who is going to buy the airport? The airlines are broke. The banks won't let go of their cash stash. Who wants the airport? Maybe the naming rights could be sold. At MSP we could be known as "Cinnabon Airport at Caribou Field". Everything else is already named Target and that doesn't seem like a reassuring name for an airport. No thank you. No Target field. They might be able to sell naming rights to Target for the space shuttle landing strip, but not the airport, please.
Now about that lottery. No sooner had the First Nation made gains with "gaming" and we want in on the action. It only seems just if money is to be lost gambling that the native tribes should profit. Call it payback for taking the whole country. We didn't even give them naming rights. The country is named for an Italian no one knows. I'd be willing to be Dakotaland, or Cherokeevillage for a price. I don't feel indebted to any Italians. We all know the Norwegians were the first Europeans here, don't we? Hmmm. Do the Norwegians have any oil money they would like to spend for naming rights in Minnesota?