[Marxism] Even in Minnesota: When Domes Attack

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

Even in Minnesota: When Domes Attack
By Dave  Zirin

Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the last place on earth I would have  expected a
"structurally deficient bridge" to collapse, but it happened. As  sure as
the levees broke in New Orleans, the bridge is no more. Now the state  of
Minnesota is living a nightmare where people I speak with are  alternately
devastated and furious: two parts tears, one part rage, with the  ratio
shifting by the hour. 

I went to college in the Twin Cities, a  refugee from the scowling confines
of New Yawk. Minnesota was like another  planet, a place I almost bolted
after the first day when I was carded for  trying to buy a lighter. But the
people easily won me over. How could you not  love a place that gave us
Prince, Hulk Hogan, and cheese curds? The  combination of fried dairy
products, pro wrestling, and funk was just too  much to resist. It's the
kind of place where my buddy John would choose to  relocate and raise a
family despite having roots in La Jolla,  California.  La Jolla is
breathtaking: an oil painting come to life. But  Minneapolis-St. Paul has
something far more precious than sand and surf. The  people of the Twin
Cities always seem to have one eye on the greater good.  It's a place where
Democrats proudly call themselves the 'Democratic Farmer  Labor Party',
where Republicans go by the name 'Independent Republicans', and  where a
coffee shop calls itself Dunne Brothers, in tribute to the leaders of  the
1934 strike that shut down the city. 

It was also a place, with  its social democratic traditions, that constantly
frustrated the ambitions of  a man named Carl Pohlad. Pohlad is the
92-year-old multi-billionaire owner of  the Minnesota Twins. He has spent
the last two decades of his life trying to  get the taxpayers of his home
state to give him 500 million dollars for a  state of the art mega dome. The
people in numerous referendums were polite  and firm that the Pohlad way was
not the Minnesota way. But Pohlad would not  be deterred. 

As Rudolph Giuliani once said, the problem with stadium  referendums is that
people won't vote for them. Pohlad took the Giuliani  gospel to heart. He
slunk behind the scenes, giving hundreds of thousands of  dollars to
politicians in both parties - eventually making a mockery of the  Labor
label on the Democrats and the Independence of the Republicans.  

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has vetoed every effort to raise taxes to  refurbish
the state's infrastructure, became a born-again stadium supporter.  Others
as well "got religion" and began to worship at the altar of  "revenue
streams, "naming rights," and "luxury boxes."

As the  Minnesota City Pages put it, "After a long string of public
relations  disasters that have entrenched his reputation as a  miserly,
something-for-nothing businessman, Carl Pohlad - the richest owner  in major
league baseball - has finally learned his political lesson. This  time all
the hardball haggling occurred behind closed doors."  

Groundbreaking for the Pohlad's monument to corporate greed and  political
graft was supposed to be on Thursday, August 2nd, but the plans  were
hastily scuttled. The irony was simply too much for even these  assorted
scoundrels to bear. To celebrate the fleecing of the public to the  tune of
half a billion dollars - over 300 dollars out of the pockets of every  man
woman and child - while bodies have still yet to be recovered from  the
fallen bridge, would have been monstrous. 

But this monster is  already long loose and rampaging the countryside. It's
difficult to not  recall Hurricane Katrina and the way the Superdome became
the homeless  shelter from hell for 30,000 of the city's poorest residents.
The Superdome,  also funded by the public dime, became completely unfit for
humanity in a few  short hours. At the time, many - particularly in the
Northern liberal media -  cluck clucked at New Orleans and their
"priorities." But even in Minnesota,  the Pohlad Dome has been given more
thought, planning, and consideration than  the very bridges families assume
will remain upright. Even in Minnesota, as  Nick Coleman of the Star Tribune
wrote, "Both political parties have tried to  govern on the cheap, and both
have dithered and dallied and spent public  wealth on stadiums while
scrimping on the basics." Even in Minnesota. That  might be the most
frightening epitaph of all. Even in Minnesota the Dome came  first and the
people last. Every community needs to take this to heart and  tell
politicians we will no longer worship false idols. Its time to tear  down
the Domes.

[Dave Zirin is the author of the new book "Welcome to  the Terrordome:" with
an intro by Chuck D (Haymarket). You can receive his  column Edge of Sports,
every week by going to _http://zirin.com/edgeofsports/?p=subscribe&id=1_ 
(http://zirin.com/edgeofsports/?p=subscribe&id=1) .  
Contact him at _edgeofsports@xxxxxxxxxx (mailto:edgeofsports@xxxxxxxxx) ] 



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