If you look to the far left up on the hill, you can see the 2012 Volunteer of the Year winner, the Red White & Blue flag Canopy Tent. It volunteered for a variety of outings in 2012.  This is a view of one of the soccer fields at McMurray Fields looking northward. 

The Saint Paul Republican City Committee is glad to advertise the dates of Hmong Freedom Celebration–The 33rd Annual Sports Festival is set for the first weekend in July, the 6th and 7th.  This celebration is also known as “J4″ because it is usually held during the July 4th weekend.

We found out last year that the teams need to have at least 70% of the players to be Hmong, so if you want to participate on a team you have to find a team that will take you on.  The Ben Blomgren Campaign found out last year after they paid an entrance fee that they couldn’t compete.  There were no “published” rules that stipulated this.  So it was confusing.

There will be more information coming about when the opening ceremonies will begin in the weeks ahead.  Here is some general information about the J4 Hmong Freedom Celebration and the 33rd Annual Sports Festival:

General Information:

Admission: $5.00 (Children under 3 years old and seniors over 65 years old–ID required get in FREE)
Location: McMurray Fields (Como Park) in St. Paul, Minnesota
Date: July 6, 2013-July 7, 2013
Who: Everyone is welcomed! Near or far, thousands attend J4 every year!

Please download a copy of the J4 flyer for more information regarding the sports tournament, Miss Hmong Teen pageant and new sports promotions! Hmong Freedom Celebration & 33rd Annual Sport Festival Flyer

Here is the map of the McMurray Fields and booth information:

2013 J4 field map

All the road construction that will take place from just north of St Paul’s Downtown area to Little Canada Road has started already.

One main problem area will be dealt with that lies just below the Interstate 35E is the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave, Mississippi St, Phalen Blvd (the future proposed General Vang Pao Memorial Drive), and the on-ramp and off ramps that feed that intersection.

The on and off ramps from Interstate 35E will be moved to Cayuga St just north of that intersection.

On Interstate 35E from there to Little Canada Road there will be a MNPass lane.  Wheelock and Larpenteur Avenue Bridges will be replaced as well.

Currently there is discussion between MnDot, District 5 & 6 Planning Councils, and the Ward 5 City Council person Amy Brendmoen concerning the bike trail that may shadow the Trout stream on the west side of the Interstate highway.  Brendmoen insists that the bike trail should be on the eastern side of the Interstate highway and that it should run down a city street.  There is a lot of push back on that unpopular plan.  Brendmoen insists that it is the best use of taxpayer money, however it might be more dangerous to cyclists (and less scenic).

Here is a video that shows what the 4 mile stretch of Interstate 35E will look like in 2015 when completed.

For many people who are employed and always have been employed the concept of being broke is a foreign idea. They scoff at the Assurance program that gives a free cell phone and free minutes up to 250 to low, or no income individuals.  They also believe people on welfare to be lazy, good-for-nothings who find ways to exploit the system.  (Zygi Wilf is not lazy).

Unfortunately many Republicans believe this and participate in this form of class warfare.  The Institutional Party does it in reverse they seek to topple wealth producers in our society and redistribute their assets.  Our party suffers from playing within stereotypes that the media and the Institutional Party have created to win elections.

These three stereotypes are:  white, rich, and indifferent.  The class warfare we wage support the last two stereotypes.

Honestly I’m at a point that I could use some no income benefits but I’d rather take it from my Christian brothers and sisters than the government.

So last month I sought assistance for paying my rent.  I encountered a system that turns away many people who need help because it takes almost a month to see if someone qualifies for assistance.  Same goes for SNAP aka food stamps.

If you thought I get paid to run this website, you thought wrong.  I get no money at all, I’ve thought of setting up a tip jar for loose change $5 and less.  I usually do it at a library, or a coffee shop with wi-fi and a public computer.  If you like my articles you could tip me for the hours I put into writing and editing them.

I was thinking of using this one or the one below….after checking with MN CFB about how it would work

__________________________________________________

The problem here is that I don’t play guitar but rather alto saxophone. There wasn’t a sax case photo

So I wonder what would be a good system to make these relief organizations operate lightning quick and efficient.  Then it dawns on me that the one place that seems to study how to do things better is the Apple Corporation.

This is the old Apple Computer logo. Now that they are known as Apple Corporation we hope their logo protection people don’t come a-callin’.

You’ve probably have seen the portable sales devices each employee on the sales floor has. If you haven’t you need to stop in at the nearest Apple Store. Instead of having maybe two heavy desktop registers that would form lines out the doors, the portable ones are the size of a small spiral notebook and they streamline the process of purchasing something.  It has a card reader on it to read magnetic strips of a credit or debit cards.  Imagine if it could read a state ID or drivers license?  It could search a database and report right away if someone qualifies.

This is a Point of Sale (POS) Device that is similar to what Apple Sales Associates use in their stores.  It has a card reader and a bar code scanner.

It might eliminate a lot of AFSCME jobs too.

If the money set aside could help more people who truly need help instead of pad the wallets and pensions of an army of slow, rules and regulations followers doesn’t it make more sense to have a process that is done in a quick and efficient manner?  Or is public assistance just a job program for truly slow and lazy workers?