Last spring I described the plans the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789 were hoping to implement in their effort to unionize the new Target store then being built in West St. Paul. The strategy called for a “groundswell of opposition,” as reported in the StarTribune at the time.

The goal is to create a groundswell of opposition to Target before the West St. Paul store reopens this fall as a SuperTarget, said Bernie Hesse, a union organizer with Local 789 of St. Paul, which represents 7,500 workers in the Twin Cities area.

“We want to have people in those stores, organizing, on the day it opens and we want the [West St. Paul] community to support us,” he said.

The new SuperTarget opened last week and it appears there has been a groundswell, though perhaps not what the UFCW was hoping for. I’ve been to the new store three times so far. It may be more precise to say I’ve been on the premises three times because once the parking lot was so full that I couldn’t find a place to park for my quick errand so I whipped over to the neighboring WalMart store. On the two occasions I actually made it indoors the store was teeming with folks, none of whom appeared to be carrying picket signs. Meanwhile the staff, though a little harried, did not appear to be straining against the cruel oppression of management.

Perhaps the Mall Diva, a former employee in the store’s previous incarnation on this site, will go undercover for us and talk to some of her friends who have returned to work at the new store and report what, if anything, is happening.

Meanwhile, there are just 71 shopping days until Christmas.

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I’d heard a couple of comments at work today about an incident last week where some Vikings players had acted in an unsavory manner on some charter boats on Lake Minnetonka. In this community we’re all too used to reports of drunken driving, assaults and unruly behavior in public with this club so the context of the comments today were along the lines of what “our” chuckleheads had gotten themselves into now.

Driving home from work, however, I heard for the first time details of what allegedly had happened as KFAN host Dan Barreiro interviewed an attorney representing the charter boat service. This was much more detailed and explicit than what had been reported so far. The gist of it was that Viking players (not necessarily the team itself) had chartered two boats and arrived at the dock in a parade of limos. A number of women accompanied the players and once out on the lake there was some disrobing and lap dancing. This evolved into several of the players engaging in sex acts with the women in the public areas of the boat and in view of other players and the crew of the boats. Money was seen changing hands. The crew included young waitresses who were themselves accosted, offered money to participate and teased by these players and their “dates”. The situation was reportedly very frightening to the crew, staff and captains who consulted with ownership on the radio and decided to return to shore. They were concerned with having to deal with many large, unhappy men so they didn’t tell the group they were returning. Because several of the players were also in the control rooms of the boats the captains (young men between 25 and 30 years old) were afraid to give too many details to ownership about what was going on. The limos had remained at the dock so the charter boat owners organized these for a quick pick up and there weren’t any reported incidents when the boats returned. Some of the players apologized for their teammates actions.

There’s certainly a lot to be outraged about in the world today (especially considering the Mall Diva’s post above this one), but for some reason this situation especially turned my crank. That maybe doesn’t say a lot about my priorities when there are so many things of national and international importance to comment on, but I’ve just got to let it fly on this incident.

It may be because I can picture myself being the father of one of those waitresses (hmmm, but not of the other “ladies”) and I can imagine how scary it could be to be trapped in that charged atmosphere. I can also easily imagine the concerns of the captains knowing they were navigating at night on deep water with a group of very large, very strong and unruly men who might not be in a mood to be reasonable. The possibility that they were overreacting – and that the attorney was overplaying the scenario – exists, but it doesn’t sound that far-fetched to me. And I think this behavior has reached a tipping point – for the franchise and possibly for sports in general as this becomes (I predict) a national story in the coming days.

New Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has to take immediate and dramatic action — not to save this season, but to save this franchise and his investment. The players — whether on an officially sanctioned team event or not — have shown no accountability or concern for the public. A public, by the way, that they are expecting to come up with tons of money to build them a new stadium. (Perhaps we ought to consider building another prison instead.) Given this team’s history, ranging from Tommy Kramer and other drunks terrorizing the 494 strip in the 80s up through the infamous Artic Blast event and including the domestic incidents and street-fighting of even more recent vintage, Mr. Wilf needs to put a strong and undeniable stamp on his professed committment to making this a class organization.

There were reportedly as many as 17 of the players involved in this incredibly inappropriate public display. There are 12 weeks left in this season. Mr. Wilf needs to announce that beginning this week two or three players from this group will begin serving two-game suspensions without pay for conduct detrimental to the team and the entire organization, and that these rolling suspensions will continue until every player involved has been suspended. Forget whether or not any of these actions can be proved to be criminal; this isn’t a time for technicalities. These actions in and of themselves have a negative impact on a multi-million dollar operation and its standing and goodwill in the community, and this is the perfect opportunity to demand accountability and establish that things are going to be different. If the team loses, so be it. Mr. Wilf has indicated that his is a long-term view and he wants to operate it in a way that makes his family proud.

Do it, Mr. Wilf, and make us proud at the same time.

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When I heard the news of President Bush’s latest nominee for the Supreme Court the other day my initial reaction was much like Fozzie Bear’s famous “AAH-ah” of discovery: surprised, interested and a bit uncertain. I’ve sat back and tried to process my thoughts and predictions as just about every other blog I’ve read has jumped on one side or the other as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Even after a few days of this I’m still, like Fozzie, a bit wide-eyed.

Here’s the thing for me: I’m politically and socially conservative, and most of my close friends and family vote the Constitution Party. Having been quite involved in Minnesota Republican politics some years ago, I have long since overcome any illusion that there was any real difference between Republicans and Democrats when it came to fiscal sanity. For all the supposed rhetorical differences, each party in practice is pretty much the same when you look at the results. Socially there was a big difference between Bush and Kerry, but I probably would have gone ahead and cast a protest vote for the Constitution Party candidate, Michael Peroutka, but for one, over-riding reason: the Supreme Court.

Given Bush’s track record of judicial nominees in his first term, I really wanted him – and our country – to have a chance to put conservative constructionists on the Supreme Court for the next 30 years. When the first opening arrived and he nominated John Roberts I was almost giddy – something I haven’t felt when it comes to politics in a long time. I was blown away at Bush’s political masterstroke in distracting his opposition while coming up with, almost out of the blue, a bulletproof heavyweight. The Dems knew they couldn’t touch him, but it was fun to watch clowns like Joe Biden blunt their pointy little heads on Roberts’ Kevlar fashioned from experience, scholarship and gravitas.

I thought the only question with the second nomination would be whether Bush choose to go into battle with one of the leading candidates already out there drawing fire, or whether his team had another overwhelming powerhouse like Roberts waiting in the wings to wheel onto the field.

Consider me underwhelmed.

There are definitely things about Harriet Miers that I like and make me feel hopeful, and I can’t – as you may have noticed over the past few days – work up the righteous indignation of so many other bloggers and pundits regarding her nomination. At the same time I can’t help but feel more than a bit wistful at an opportunity lost.

It was kind of like waiting for the NFL draft when your favorite team has a top pick. You spend months reading scouting reports, listening to Mel Kiper and the wannabees, imaging this blue-chip player or that coming in to plug a hole on your team. Then, on draft day, Paul Tagliabue steps up when it’s your team’s turn and says, “From Slippery Rock State …”

Hey, maybe the kid has 4.2 speed in the 40, great hands and eats linebackers for lunch, but you still don’t know if he can play in NFL. Someone high up must have seen something in him, but you can’t help yourself from thinking, “Is that the best we could do with that pick right now? Maybe he would have been available next round after you’ve already drafted the stud from the national championship team.”

Blogfather Hugh couldn’t ease my concerns completely, and the President’s “Trust me” statement wasn’t what I was hoping to hear, either. While he hasn’t inspired my confidence in areas such as immigration and spending (where I had low expectations going in anyway), I will say that his judicial appointments throughout his time in office have been more than solid.

So, back to my Muppet analogy, perhaps my hopes have been abused and my support manipulated by unseen hands. My options are limited, however. It’s not going to do any good for me to go all Animal right now or to act like the karate-chopping Miss Piggy – or even to heckle from the balcony like Waldorf and Astoria. I’ll just be Fozzie; a bit dim, I guess, but always optimistic that things are going to turn out alright. I just hope that this isn’t a re-run.

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Here’s an old joke:

A Protestant pastor is attending a conference in Ireland when he decides to use some free time to drive through the countryside. It’s a lovely day and he’s enjoying the beautiful scenery and accidentally drifts over the center line and strikes an oncoming car.

The pastor is shaken but okay, and is surprised to see that the driver getting out of the other car is a Catholic priest. The priest says, “Faith and begorrah, are you all right, Reverend?” (What’s a joke without a little stereotyping?)

“Why, thank the Lord, yes I am,” said the pastor. “Are you all right, Father?”

“Yes, quite,” said the priest, “but looking into your eyes it seems you are still a bit shaken.”

“I suppose I am,” admitted the pastor.

“I have just the thing,” said the priest, returning to his car and bringing a flask out of his glove compartment. He gives it to the pastor who sips it appreciatively.

“I’m so sorry,” says the pastor. “I was enjoying your lovely countryside and I must not have been paying attention. I’m so glad you’re not hurt.”

“It’s quite all right,” said the priest. “It is a lovely view, and I often find my own mind wandering when I drive past here. The cars can both be repaired, the important thing is we’re both unhurt.”

“Well said, Father,” said the pastor, taking another sip from the flask. “Isn’t it amazing, here we are two members of different religions, sitting here on the side of the road after an accident, peacefully considering each other’s health instead of fighting. In fact,” he said, “here’s to your health!” taking another sip and passing the flask back to the priest. “Won’t you join me?”

“Oh, no thank you, Reverend,” the priest said. “I think I’ll wait until after the police arrive.”

George Bush says to trust him regarding Harriet Miers. Ehhh, maybe. But trust Harry Reid?

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