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Minnesota
Profile
Minnesota
is a state in the Midwestern region of the United
States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S.,
it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over
five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of
the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted
to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11,
1858. Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes",
the state's name is the Dakota word for "water".
Those waters, together with forests, parks, and wilderness
areas, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor
recreational opportunities.
Nearly sixty percent of Minnesota's residents live
in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known
as the Twin Cities, the center of transportation,
business, and industry, and home to an internationally
known arts community. The remainder of the state consists
of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture;
eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and
settled; and the less populated North Woods. The large
majority of residents are of Nordic or German descent,
but ethnic diversity has increased in recent decades.
Substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin
American immigrants have joined the descendants of
European immigrants and of the original Native American
inhabitants.
The state is known for its moderate to progressive
politics and social policies, civic involvement, and
high voter turnout. Minnesota ranks among the healthiest
states and has a well-educated and literate population.
Politics
MMinnesota
is known for a politically active citizenry, and populism
has been a longstanding force among the state's political
parties.
Minnesota has a consistently high voter turnout, due
in part to its liberal voter registration laws, with
virtually no evidence of voter fraud.[106] In the
2008 U.S.
presidential
election, 77.9% of eligible Minnesotans voted—the
highest percentage of any U.S. state—versus
the national average of 61.2%. Previously unregistered
voters can register on election day at their polls
with evidence of residency.
Hubert Humphrey brought national attention to the
state with his address at the 1948 Democratic National
Convention. Eugene McCarthy's anti-war stance and
popularity in the 1968 New Hampshire Primary likely
convinced Lyndon B.
Johnson
to drop out of the presidential election. Minnesotans
have consistently cast their Electoral College votes
for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976,
longer than any other state. Minnesota is the only
state in the nation that did not vote for Ronald Reagan
in either of his presidential runs.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties have major
party status in Minnesota, but its state-level "Democratic"
party is actually a separate party, officially known
as the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
Formed out of a 1944 alliance of the Minnesota Democratic
and Farmer-Labor parties, the DFL now serves as a
de-facto proxy to the federal Democratic Party, and
its distinction from the Democratic Party, while still
official, is now a functional technicality.
The state has had active third party movements. The
Reform Party, now the Independence Party, was able
to elect former mayor of Brooklyn Park and professional
wrestler Jesse Ventura to the governorship in 1998.
The Independence Party has received enough support
to keep major party status. The Green Party, while
no longer having major party status, has a large presence
in municipal government, notably in Minneapolis and
Duluth, where it competes directly with the DFL party
for local offices. Official "Major party"
status in Minnesota (which grants state funding for
elections) is reserved to parties, which receive 5%
or more of the state's general vote in the U.S. Presidential
election. Status is revised every four years.
The state's U.S. Senate seats have generally been
split since the early 1990s, and in the 108th and
109th Congresses, Minnesota's congressional delegation
was split, with four representatives and one senator
from each party. In the 2006 midterm election, Democrats
were elected to all state offices except for governor
and lieutenant governor, where Republicans Tim Pawlenty
and Carol Molnau narrowly won re-election. The DFL
also posted double-digit gains in both houses of the
legislature, elected Amy Klobuchar to the U.S. Senate,
and increased the party's U.S. House caucus by one.
Keith Ellison (DFL) was elected as the first African
American U.S. Representative from Minnesota as well
as the first Muslim elected to Congress nationwide.
(Credit:
Wikipedia)
Media
The
Twin Cities area is the fifteenth largest media market
in the United States as ranked by Nielsen Media Research.
The state's other top markets are Fargo-Moorhead (118th
nationally), Duluth-Superior (137th), Rochester-Mason
City-Austin (152nd), and Mankato (200th).
Broadcast television in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest
started on April 27, 1948, when KSTP-TV began broadcasting.
Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation, which owns KSTP,
is now the only locally-owned television company in
Minnesota. There are currently 39 analog broadcast
stations and 23 digital channels broadcast over Minnesota.
The four largest daily newspapers are the Star Tribune
in Minneapolis, the Pioneer Press in Saint Paul, the
Duluth News Tribune in Duluth and The Minnesota Daily,
the largest student-run newspaper in the U.S. Sites
offering daily news on the Web include MinnPost, the
Twin Cities Daily Planet, business news site Finance
and Commerce (web site) and Washington D.C.-based
Minnesota Independent. Weeklies including City Pages
and monthly publications such as Minnesota Monthly
are also available.
Two of the largest public radio networks, Minnesota
Public Radio (MPR) and Public Radio International
(PRI), are based in the state. MPR has the largest
audience of any regional public radio network in the
nation, broadcasting on 37 radio stations. PRI weekly
provides more than 400 hours of programming to almost
800 affiliates. The state's oldest radio station,
KUOM-AM, was launched in 1922 and is among the 10
oldest radio stations in the United States. The University
of Minnesota-owned station is still on the air, and
since 1993 broadcasts a college rock format.
News
Chris
Wallace (Fox) Calls out Minnesota over Internet Gambling
Ban, by Dan Cypra - 2nd May 2009
(Credit:
Poker News Daily)
In
the fight for the rights of online poker players in
Minnesota, PokerXFactor.com instructor and St. Paul
resident Chris “Fox” Wallace has taken
a stand, calling for the Justice Department to arrest
him if playing online poker is illegal.
Wallace’s
actions follow written notice served to some of the
country’s largest internet service providers
(ISPs) such as Comcast, Charter, Qwest, and AT&T.
The notices, which were authored by the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety and received on Monday,
call for 200 internet gambling websites to be inaccessible
by the state’s residents. Appearing on the list
of affected sites were U.S.-friendly rooms Bodog and
Full Tilt Poker along with a bevy of online poker
establishments that do not accept customers from the
United States. The latter group includes Action Poker,
CD Poker, Noble Poker, Mansion Poker, and Titan Poker.
It also includes the title sponsor of the 2009 World
Series of Poker (WSOP), Everest Poker, whose logos
will don tables in the Amazon Room at the Rio for
the second straight year. The Department of Public
Safety is also calling for companies to block telephone
access to the sites’ support numbers.
Wallace
told his hometown newspaper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune,
last week, "I have e-mailed the Justice Department
and I've volunteered to be arrested. I play online
poker. Come and get it." He revealed that he
faces a potential loss of $2,000 per week. If the
ISPs successfully block the sites in question, he
not only would potentially be unable to play online,
but also would be barred from browsing any of the
domain’s pages. David Axtell, an attorney at
Leonard Street and Deinard in Minnesota, told the
Star-Tribune, "This is an old law put in place
before the Internet and there may be an argument that
it doesn't cover Internet service providers.”
The
law in question is the Wire Act, which was passed
in 1961 and has historically applied only to online
sports betting. Many question whether the age-old
law is applicable to online poker, casino, and Bingo
games; each genre of internet gambling had sites appear
on the list of 200 released last week. Interactive
Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA)
Chairman Joe Brennan questioned the Government’s
professionalism in generating its list. According
to a statement found on iMEGA’s website, Brennan
explained, “We question how much thought was
put into the selection of these sites. To propose
censoring Minnesota residents’ Web access and
not to know which sites are even in the U.S. market
makes me wonder just how seriously the Department
of Public Safety is taking this action. It comes off
as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than
thoughtful enforcement.” The list of 200 was
generated randomly without regard to what type of
internet gambling each site was engaged in.
Other
websites that are affected include Betfred, Betway,
Bet U.S., Crazy Poker, Euro Poker, Gnuf’s online
casino arm, Hollywood Poker, Intertops Casino, Players
Only, Total Poker, Ladbrokes Casino, and Party Casino.
Publicly traded companies on the London Stock Exchange
own the latter two sites. At the time of writing,
neither had written statements about the Minnesota
internet gaming issue given to the Exchange. Party
Gaming entered into a non-prosecution agreement with
the U.S. Government last month and agreed to pay a
$105 million fine. In the process, it admitted to
processing transactions from U.S. customers using
third parties, which was “contrary to certain
U.S. laws.” Upon passage of the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, Party Gaming
exited the market.
ISPs
have up to three weeks to respond to the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety. The state has legalized
Indian casinos, card rooms at horse racing tracks,
and a lottery that features second chance drawings
online. Next week may see Congressman Barney Frank
(D-MA) introduce legislation to clarify or overturn
the UIGEA. The bill, which was originally scheduled
to be introduced in March, may outline a complete
licensing and regulatory framework for the industry
similar to last Congressional session’s HR 2046,
the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act.
Profile
Jesse
Ventura
Jesse
Ventura: Wrestling with politics, by Greg Tingle
Jesse
Ventura and Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Jesse
Ventura and Vince
McMahon
Jesse
Ventura, formally known as "The Body", has
seemingly done it all in life; Navy Seal, Actor, Wrestler,
Governor, but now it appears he has a new role to
play - advisor to who many are picking as the next
Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
One
doesn't have to look hard to see the parallels between
the career of Ventura and Arnold. Ok, we admit, Arnie
was never a pro wrestler, but if you can ignore that...
Both
have dabbled in acting over the years, with Arnold
attaining household name status, and attaining incredible
wealth, if nothing else.
In
fact, Media Man Australia understands it was in fact
Arnie who got Jesse the role in Predator, just as
his full time career in the then, World Wrestling
Federation, was coming to a close.
Again
in The Running Man, both appeared. Arnold as a contestant,
Ben Richards, and Jesse as Captain Freedom!
Both
men have seen the gym in their day, and are unquestionably
"good talkers" with amazing charisma and
leading man appeal.
One
gets the feeling that Arnie and Jesse were were schooled
for politics. Ventura by his ex boss, Vince McMahon,
promoter of the WWE, and Arnie having the world's
best political minds in his ear, and being married
to Maria Shriver, a "product" of the Reagan
dynasty.
Both
Arnold and Jesse are not keen to do away with what
brought them to the party.
Every
few years, Jesse makes a reappearance with the WWE,
having apparently amended the ways with Vince McMahon,
and Arnold is ready for another appearance or two
in Terminator 4 or whatever else Hollywood dishes
up, win, loose or draw the upcoming California elections.
Either
way Jesse and Arnold are an unstoppable team, and
they will continue to muscle into the political world,
once dominated by tight fitting suit types.
This
tag-team is well schooled for politics.
Jesse
Ventura: Wrestling with politics, by Greg Tingle
Jesse
Ventura, formally known as "The Body", has
seemingly done it all in life; Navy Seal, Actor, Wrestler,
Governor, but now it appears he has a new role to
play - advisor to who many are picking as the next
Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
One
doesn't have to look hard to see the parallels between
the career of Ventura and Arnold. Ok, we admit, Arnie
was never a pro wrestler, but if you can ignore that...
Both
have dabbled in acting over the years, with Arnold
attaining household name status, and attaining incredible
wealth, if nothing else.
In
fact, Media Man Australia understands it was in fact
Arnie who got Jesse the role in Predator, just as
his full time career in the then, World Wrestling
Federation, was coming to a close.
Again
in The Running Man, both appeared. Arnold as a contestant,
Ben Richards, and Jesse as Captain Freedom!
Both
men have seen the gym in their day, and are unquestionably
"good talkers" with amazing charisma and
leading man appeal.
One
gets the feeling that Arnie and Jesse were were schooled
for politics. Ventura by his ex boss, Vince McMahon,
promoter of the WWE, and Arnie having the world's
best political minds in his ear, and being married
to Maria Shriver, a "product" of the Reagan
dynasty.
Both
Arnold and Jesse are not keen to do away with what
brought them to the party.
Every
few years, Jesse makes a reappearance with the WWE,
having apparently amended the ways with Vince McMahon,
and Arnold is ready for another appearance or two
in Terminator 4 or whatever else Hollywood dishes
up, win, loose or draw the upcoming California elections.
Either
way Jesse and Arnold are an unstoppable team, and
they will continue to muscle into the political world,
once dominated by tight fitting suit types.
This
tag-team is well schooled for politics.
Version
#2 of the same article
News
Jesse
Ventura History With BetUS
(Credit:
Wikipedia)
In
November 2004, an advertisement began airing in California
featuring Ventura. In it, Ventura voices his opposition
to Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger's policies regarding Native
American casinos. Like Hogan,
Schwarzenegger at one point was also a close friend
of Ventura as well, but since Schwarzenegger's victory
in California, Ventura has not reportedly given him
any praise; Schwarzenegger didn't even mention Ventura's
name in an interview with Fox News in 2005, where
reporter Chris Wallace asked him if he was "the
next Jesse Ventura". Ventura is serving as an
advisory board member for a new group called Operation
Truth, a non-profit organization set up "to give
voice to troops who served in Iraq." “The
current use of the National Guard is wrong....These
are men who did not sign up to go occupy foreign nations”.
In August 2005, Ventura became the spokesperson for
BetUS, an online Sportsbook. In 2005, Ventura repeatedly
discussed leaving the United States. In September
2005, Ventura announced on The Mike Malloy Show that
he was leaving the U.S. and planned to "have
an adventure". In late October 2005, he went
on the The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and reiterated
that he was leaving the U.S. due to, among other things,
censorship. He has since moved to Baja California,
Mexico.
In September 2006, Ventura endorsed and campaigned
with independent Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky
Friedman, and Independence Party of Minnesota 's gubernatorial
candidate Peter Hutchinson and Team Minnesota. He
revealed he now spends much of his time surfing near
his home in Mexico.
In April 2008, a book authored by Ventura, titled
Don't Start the Revolution Without Me was released.
In it, Ventura describes a hypothetical campaign in
which he is a candidate for President of the United
States in 2008, running as an independent. In an interview
with the Associated Press at the time of the book's
release, however, Ventura denied any plans for a presidential
bid, stating that the scenario is only imaginary and
not indicative of a "secret plan to run".
In the MinnPost.com, Ventura's agent, Steve Schwartz,
describes the book thus: "[Ventura is revealing]
why he left politics and discussing the disastrous
war in Iraq, why he sees our two-party system as corrupt,
and what Fidel Castro told him about who was really
behind the assassination of President Kennedy."
However, in an interview on CNN's The Situation Room
on April 7, Ventura hinted that he was considering
entering the race for the United States Senate seat
now held by Norm Coleman, his Republican opponent
in the 1998 Gubernatorial race. A poll commissioned
by Twin Cities station Fox 9 put him at 24 percent,
behind Al Franken at 32 percent and Norm Coleman at
39 percent in a hypothetical three-way race. However,
Ventura announced on Larry King Live on July 14, 2008
that he would not run.
He spoke at former Republican presidential candidate
Ron Paul's "Rally for the Republic", organized
by the Campaign for Liberty, on September 2, 2008.
At the event, Ventura implied a possible future run
at the U.S. Presidency. Ventura stated before a live
audience that "If America proves itself worthy,
in 2012 we'll give them a race they'll never forget!"
TV Week is reporting that Ventura is in negotiations
with Twentieth Television to host a half-hour court
show that would debut in the fall of 2009. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Website
Internet
Movie Database: Jesse Ventura
Profiles
Wrestling
Politics
Mind,
Body and Spirit
The
following is a public letter from Jesse Ventura to
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Credit:
Time Magazine)
Be
yourself. Be Arnold. Scripts are for actors, by Jesse
Ventura
Arnold,
what the heck are you doing? You're getting out of
Hollywood to go into politics? Well, then forget agents
and studio bosses—now you're dealing with real
predators. But since your mind is made up, I hope
you won't mind a little advice from someone who's
been there.
Now,
I know you're a Republican, but I hope you won't go
out on the trail and act like a politician. Republican
or Democrat, it makes no difference: people don't
like politicians. Which is completely understandable,
since most of them act like cyborgs, robotically selling
the latest talking points from party headquarters.
So
be yourself. Be Arnold. Be the guy who can sit and
have a cigar with the crew. Be honest. Don't worry
if you don't know the answer to every question asked.
Just say, "I don't know," if you don't know.
When I did this during my campaign in Minnesota, people
were amazed. How revolutionary—a politician
who stands in front of the people and doesn't feed
them pre-canned answers!
To
win, you have to convince people that you care enough
to work hard and make tough decisions. And most importantly,
that they are your own decisions.
Now
that you are a candidate, you will be getting advice
from all corners. Some of it will have checks attached.
Whatever you do, keep your distance from special-interest
groups, powerful lobbyists and their dirty money.
The fact is, Arnold, you don't need them. You can
win this race by going straight to the people.
When
you use commercials, don't be negative. Be Arnold.
Let people get to know your sense of humor, your work
ethic, your leadership and your genuine concern for
the average Joe. Think about what you want to say,
and talk from your heart. Scripts are for actors.
When I was running in Minnesota, I saw my two opponents
with stacks of briefing books and advisers galore
giving them instructions. A debate organizer once
came up to me and offered a pen and pad. I said, "No,
Ma'am, thanks anyway, but you see, if you tell the
truth, you don't need a long memory."
Plenty
of the old Republican gang will come around and want
to be your new best friend. That's fine, but let them
know that you are in government to solve problems,
not to help them hold on to their power. Expose the
status quo politicians of both parties who avoid making
tough decisions. Sure, you'll make some enemies, but
if you win, you've got a chance to change the game.
Go for it. You didn't become an international superstar
by playing it safe.
Finally,
Arnold, beware of the media. I know you think you
have a thick skin, but take my word for it—the
press is brutal. The stuff it comes up with is nothing
like a bad review for a recently released film. Good
luck.
Profiles
Wrestling
Politics
Mind,
Body and Spirit
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