If you don’t like how the government is spending your tax dollars, you could stop paying them. But that approach will only bite you in the end, as Henry David Thoreau discovered in 1846, when he withheld his taxes in protest of the United States-Mexican War. He was tossed in the clinker. This play, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (of Inherit the Wind fame) during the Vietnam War, makes a timely reappearance, but it likely won’t rile up the public the way it did in the seventies, when its controversial anti-war message led to it being shut down on various stages. As for Thoreau’s act of civil disobedience, he may have paid the taxman in the end, but he never did cough up the five bucks Harvard College wanted before it would issue his diploma. So there. 245 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-3010; www.theatreintheround.org
Author: rakemag
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Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
A few years ago, we had more interest in Canada’s hockey players than its ballet dancers. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens had a reputation for stodgy, brittle, ultra-traditional interpretations of classics, and, short of an underfed ballerina passing out mid-plie, nothing too exciting was going to happen on its stage. But in 2000, artistic director Gradimir Pankov took over and snapped those tiny Canucks into one of the world’s most startling and inspiring modern companies. With cutting-edge, European-style performances and creative interpretations of traditional works, its shows are one of Montreal’s finest attractions these days. Currently the company is touring with a program featuring “Six Dances,” “Forgotten Land,” and “Bella Figura”–which, by the way, contains partial nudity. Oh, Canada, indeed. 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-2345; www.northrop.umn.edu
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Beijing, China
CJ Kurth writes: This picture was taken on the campus of Peking University in Beijing, China. My coworker who was showing me around said I should take a picture here as it is a very famous lake in China and that most Chinese would recognize the location. The tower seemed like a perfect backdrop. I asked him what the name of the lake was, he said “the lake has no name”. After taking the picture I asked what the tower was used for, he said “it was made to hold water”. A water tower in front of an unamed pond… maybe we should have seen the great wall instead.
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Kaiteriteri, New Zealand
Twin Citizens Desi Fernandez and Laine Bergeson traveled eight thousand miles (a twenty-eight hour flight; good thing they brought a copy of The Rake!) to visit former Twin Citizens Jennifer, Grady, and Linda Jean Kenix in New Zealand. Here they are in Kaiteriteri enjoying springtime in December. How come they’re not upside down?
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Victoria, Mexico
Marcia Gardner (Minnetonka) and Colin Fenwick (Shorewood) write: Hello! The Rake was with us as we traveled and worked as part of a Global Volunteers team in Mexico about a year ago. Here we are in a park in the town of Victoria, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.
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Smugglers Cove, B.V.I.
Cheryl writes: Smugglers Cove is the perfect place to surf. So we read an article from The Rake to local and visiting surfers on the beach. We wanted to show them our creativity even though we were frozen for almost six months a year. Of course, that’s probably why we stay young looking too!
From L to R: Julia Buky, expat. teaching at Learetty-Stout College, Tortola B.V.I., Becky Aligata from Newington, CT, Cheryl Ouellette (Julia’s mom) from Edina, MN.
Tortola is a fabulous island in the British Virgin Islands. Great food, fantastic social life and breathtaking beauty from every spot on the island.
Smugglers Cove and Cane Garden Bay offer world-class surfing. Rebecca just learned to surf like a pro on her first try!
(We apologize if there are any names spelled incorrectly, the handwriting was hard to read.)
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Why I'm Not Voting for Amy Klobuchar Either
Yet another in a long line of DFL hacksI’ve said it before here, but I am disappointed more each day that Klobuchar isn’t clearly differentiating herself from Mark Kennedy in the Senate race. If you want to look at what she said in a recent Strib article about Iraq and find the clear distinction between her and Mr. Evil, you are welcome to try. (You’ll have to find the Strib article yourself. For some stupid reason, they gave it a non permanent URL…just another in a long line of Strib on the web idiocies.)
As for me, I’m going to write in Molly Ivins for president. She makes a great case for tossing out the old Dems, specifically Hillary. Substitute Amy for Hillary in Molly’s piece and you get the picture. Amy’s only idea of how to run for senator was locking up the party money early rather than actually staking out any coherent positions. If you want those, you’ll have to vote for Ford Bell. He doesn’t have the DFL machine behind him…but then he wouldn’t because he actually stands for something other than just being a senator.
Anyway, see Molly’s latest common sense here. Read it, then go pull out your hair because nobody’s listening.
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Tim the Turkey's Droppings
Tom Turkey
Tim Turkey
It was amusing to hear Governor Pawlenty’s State of the State message today start off with a discussion of turkey droppings and end with the biggest gobbler gunk of all: “And let’s make sure that courts can’t throw out our defense of marriage laws in Minnesota, like they have in other states. Let’s define marriage in our Constitution as being between a man and a woman.”
Aside from all the rhetoric about strengthening education, (when he allows tuition at the U to rise 50 percent during his tenure,) or health care, (when there are 77,000 fewer Minnesotans covered now than there were when he took office,) or holding the line on taxes (when local property taxes have had to take up the slack for the state’s abrogation of its educational responsibilities,) the anti-gay marriage amendment was the true turd in the state’s punch bowl.
Here’s the truth on the anti gay marriage amendment: the Republicans want it on the ballot, not because they believe in it, but because it’s what brings the one issue religious right-wingers to the polls. And when those people vote, we get a Republican majority that’s beholden to them. And when that happens, we all get a good pranging, gay or not.
Here’s what the real marriage amendment ought to look like: “Whereas the state is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution from respecting an establishment of religion, the state hereby renounces all statutes regarding Marriage, and establishes the institution of Civil Union, which can be between any two adults. Such Civil Union shall have the force of law in all regards currently ascribed to Marriage.”
Perhaps the best idea the founders’ ever had was keeping the government free from religion. (Read the First Amendment, if you don’t believe me.) I say we start now and tell Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann and the rest of their ilk that we’d prefer to see them work on uniting us, instead of pursuing their cynical strategy of divide and conquer. Until then, we’re not buying the stuff they’re shoveling.