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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Guv Handicapping: Rukavina runs. Jungbauer reveals.

Screenshots, first, DFL side, here (click images to read):



On the GOP side, at the State Fair, online here:



Well, that Jungbauer revelation about B.S., and his emphasis of the numbers seven and thirteen; I know the Book of Revelations was into numerology, seven seals, and four hoursemen, that stuff; so perhaps the revelation about global warming should have been termed H.S. per horsemen and all. But 13, I am no bible scholar, far from it, so I am unfit to know how or if the number 13 shows up in Revelations. Perhaps Revelations Chapter 13 has something relevant to say? Who knows.

I am glad I don't believe any of that end-days kind of mythology so as to not read too much into the Jungbauer revelation about global warming in the context of seven years and thirteen disciplines - but I do believe global warming is real and no myth.

Rather than being unsupported mythology, global warming belief has support in science [presumably one of the thirteen disciplines the man studied]. And if I had to put the B.S. label on one or the other ... hey, remember, George Carlin said he worships the sun ---- because it is something he can see (and hence know it's real). Sixty Minutes had a segment over the weekend on the extreme fires seen out west, with a leading firefighting field director saying it is real, severe, and an indication of global warming causing the spring melts to come early at high altitude, so that the fire season is lengthened with the ending part having undergrowth getting to be dry tinder due to the early thaw and lengthened fire hazard season. That appears real to me, with record amounts of forest going up in flame the last few years.

There is no B.S. to forest fires being extreme, and unwanted, as I see it.

______UPDATE_______
I have a particular interest in the Jungbauer candidacy because I live in his district, and more importantly, he cosponsored a Minnesota Senate bill to force teaching of "intelligent design" in Minnesota schools as if it had scientific credibility. From his campaign website:

Years of listening to each side’s frustrations in key debates -- from environmental and land use policies to the respective concerns of unions and employers - renewed Jungbauer’s interest in public service and building better consensus in state and local law. After winning two terms as the Mayor of his hometown, Jungbauer ran for and was elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 2002.

As a leading Republican voice for conservation and environmental protection, Jungbauer says his goals for the years ahead include gathering stronger support for inventive environmental and energy solutions that are supported by sound scientific research. “Alternative doesn’t have to mean cost prohibitive or radical,” says Jungbauer. “I believe in everyone’s potential to be environmentally friendly, but first we as leaders have a responsibility to prove to consumers and the business world how affordable ‘green’ solutions can be and how significant a difference they really can make.”

In his second term, Senator Jungbauer has focused on educating the citizens of Minnesota and the legislature about the real science surrounding global warming, Minnesota like other states, is pursuing many forms of legislation to curb global warming pollutants. “If we are going to make public policy decisions that will affect the way we live indefinitely, it’s important that we understand the unintended consequences of such legislation before enactment.” Recently, Senator Jungbauer has been appointed to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) standing committee on Agriculture, Environment & Energy.


So, why run campaign public appearances seeming to be a sideshow of rage and venom over whether global warming is real or a hoax?

That says almost nothing about what he'd acctually do or try to accomplish, were he to be elected governor.

If he would justify sponsorship of the "intelligent design hoax" his bill suggests he wants to perpetrate, explaining a justification for that mischief; and then articulate clear and realistic policy stands more detailed but in line with his website blurb, quoted above, he might appear to be less of a crank.

And I say that with the understanding that news outlet reporting can be slanted to paint pictures that are separate from realities, but that's the drumbeat the reporting conveys - a global warming skeptic, with little else of substance to talk about in speeches.

That's a thought everyone should bear in mind. Reporting is filtered through a lens that might not be yours, were you there in person, listening.

And in terms of my thoughts, he's the candidate not me and can run whatever campaign he wants to. I would much prefer to see him mounting a Sixth District GOP congressional primary challenge to the incumbent, rather than thinking about being governor. Jungbauer is less a personal promoter and glory seeker than Michele Bachmann, and he appears to be smarter.

Not that I would vote for him in the Sixth, Tarryl Clark seeming to be a substantial baggage-free and clear-minded challenger from the DFL, but if the DFL is destined not to win Jungbauer would be be an upgrade to Bachmann.

As flawed as he is, he stands head and shoulders above the grandstanding incumbent.

You can take the truth of that to the bank. (Not that it would help you there, it would not, but go ahead, take it there, it would be your time and trouble, not mine.)

NOW --- This is truly felt - Jungbauer is a decidedly less divisive person than Bachmann, and much more personable - he's a human being acting honestly and directly rather than acting primarily for press attention, for rock star like recognition (foibles and all), etc.

He's quite decent, in my view, in a way that I find Bachmann deficient. And, given his choice to run for governor, I am in no position to say he is better or worse than any of the other GOP hopefuls. My main attention is on the DFL field. He likely would be as good a GOP finalist as any of the others, and probably better than some.

______FURTHER UPDATE_______
Is Jungbauer getting balanced attention from press outlets? You decide, and start with two items, here and then here. As to blogging, compare here, here and here. If you believe there's wisdom in reading more than one source, more than a single viewpoint, I would not do much to dissuade you.