James Sanna, Patch Staff

I live in Whittier, Minneapolis with nine fish, five bicycles, four computers, one Wusthof knife, one ever-tolerant boyfriend, no partridge, and no pear tree.

A New England yankee by birth, I was kidnapped three times a year by officials from a small liberal arts school in southern Minnesota, beginning a few months after my high school graduation. This strange ritual ended in 2008, but since the kidnappers blindfolded me every time, I didn't know how to get home. At least, I thought, this place is like New England: it has snow and people who believe neither in raising the thermostat in winter, nor in reading traffic signs nor in obeying them when their eye chances upon one. 

My reporting on K-12 education issues has appeared in the Twin Cities Daily Planet and the Minnesota Independent. Until early 2011, I helped run TheColu.mn, a Minnesota-focused online news magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. I takes news tips, reader comments, and bad puns at my email address, listed above. 

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When interacting with the world in a political way, I believe people should keep a couple things in mind:

Those who have more should fight to create and preserve opportunity for those who have less.

Be aware of your privilege, and when someone challenges it, think hard before you pitch a fit.

After that, things get pretty murky: the Devil's always in the details, but I think it's important to go through the details to find him.

My Politics

I am not registered with any party, but I have always voted Democratic. I believe government should be as efficient as possible, but that it is also capable of achieving great things like dramatically increasing opportunities for poor kids. I would call myself pretty liberal on most social and tax issues, and moderately anti-corporate, but I've got a libertarian streak when it comes to private property.