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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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