More bathroom terrorism

First, a person or persons with an unclear motive hit the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security in St. Paul with their unique brand of toilet terrorism. No one has been arrested in the aftermath of the poop sabotage.

And the reign of terror continues! Now young students in St. Paul must live in fear that the terrorists will strike their college bathrooms. The University of St. Thomas, Macalester College, and now, Hamline Law School, have all been targeted by the Toilet Terrorist.

No one knows where they will strike next. As we head into a warmer season, St. Paul citizens should be aware of and report any suspicious activities near port-a-potties.

Reopening Nicollet

I was talking to a friend a week ago who is active and informed on south Minneapolis urban development stuff about the fact that the long talked about reroute of Nicollet Avenue was never going to happen. Simultaneously, the Southwest Journal reports that the City developing plan to reopen Nicollet. Were we being too presumptive?

This song and dance of putting Nicollet back together has been done before. About 30 years ago, the city agreed to a development plan to close off the busy Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street, and put in a K-Mart. The development effectively isolates the Whittier neighborhood and provides a transportation challenge for motorists and bikers in the area.

Nicollet Avenue cuts through all of of south Minneapolis, beyond I-35W/Hwy 62, through Richfield, and on to Bloomington and past I-494. On the north end, it enters downtown Minneapolis after it crosses I-94 and becomes Nicollet Mall. The section directly south of downtown is known as Eat Street with it diverse culinary options.

Click on picture for larger image.
Nicollet Avenue is highlighted in yellow and K-Mart is blue.
Yellow arrows show where north and south bound traffic must go to continue on Nicollet.
Arrows do not necessarily denote one-way. Lake Street is a two-way street.

Council Member Robert Lilligren's top priority continues to be to "reopen" Nicollet Avenue. Despite the fact that K-Mart is hesitant to close one of their profitable locations and that the city would probably have to pay more than a few pennies for this valuable real estate, plans appear to be going forward. Yet again.

It makes sense why Lilligren and others are investing so much in this despite past failures to make any headway. The re-link of Nicollet to Nicollet makes a lot of sense from a transportation perspective. But the project could also prove a great opportunity to redevelop a key, two-block section of Lake Street and transform the surrounding neighborhood, much in the way that the Sears Building project has done just down Lake Street.

A look at lowering the drinking age

The Star Tribune looks at the effort among some Minnesota legislators in reducing the legal age for consuming alcohol in bars in restaurants (but not liquor stores). It's a decent piece, despite showing a slight bias against it.

• Some state legislators want drinking age lowered to 18

After reading this article and the recent New York Times piece, I'm struck that we probably need more research on the subject. One would think we'd have a good idea on how healthy and unhealthy drinking habits are developed, but the jury is still out.

I don't know how you test the effects of different drinking ages from a public health perspective. I know that when the age was raised nationwide in the 1980s, drunk driving fatalities went down. The problem is that we are living in a different world today where driving under the influence is still a significant problem, but not as socially acceptable as it once was. Another problem is that I imagine it would be hard to link a legal drinking age change to a change in attitudes and practices five, ten, fifteen years down the road.

My guess is that this conversation will continue on and off for a while.

Spring trumpting forth

The snow is still on the ground in the yards of my north Longfellow neighborhood here in Minneapolis. But signs of spring are already presenting themselves. This morning I heard the songs of robins.

And the other day, I knew spring was upon us as I heard the crazy trumpet guy!

He lives by the Schooner bar around the corner. Often, usually but not necessarily in the early evenings, he blows random notes on his trumpet around the neighborhood. He does it outside the bar. He does it in the alley. He does it at the bus stop. He does it out of his beat-up car. He even climbs in the tree with a giant stuffed Shrek. This time, he actually played part of a song. He must have been practicing over the winter.

I probably haven't heard his notes since September or October. The crazy trumpet guy is heralding spring, just like the rooster announces dawn. Sigh. There' s nothing like springtime in the city...

Quote: Dangerous anatomy

"The last time that I checked a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."

The Transportation Security Agency, in their ever-smart efforts to keep us all safer, made a woman remove her nipple piercings with a pliers in order to get on a flight, all the while screening staff snickered at her. She has threatened to sue if she does not get an apology.

The importance of coffee

Woman crashes into water, saves coffee

Yeah, I'd totally mock her, except that I could almost see myself doing that. Especially if it was a nice, hot café au lait and I hadn't yet partaken any of it. Mmmm...

Ultimate date video

The ultimate date video



This is an old video from YouTube mini-celeb Lazydork. He is known for a hit YouTube video making fun of LonelyGirl. After his supervisors discovered that he was moonlighting as an Internet star, he lost his job as an assistant prosecutor. He then moved from Miami to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player, failed at that, and is now back in Florida. He still occasionally makes these ill-humored videos.

Preventing kids from binge drinking

I've argued before that the prevailing approach of abstinence-only, when it comes to alcohol, does not teach responsible drinking habits in young people.

From the New York Times comes a thoughtful article called Can sips at home prevent binges? The author has two teenage sons with whom he wishes to share his love of wine, in moderation. He struggles to find the best approach in teaching responsible drinking habits to his sons in a society that is somewhat justifiably paranoid about alcohol consumption.

The most illuminating point contained therein was that the context of the family is all important. One researcher agreed that introducing very moderate alcoholic consumption in a family is a very healthy route if the adults themselves are modeling healthy behavior. If the adults aren't, then allowing adolescents even a little bit of alcohol probably doesn't serve them well.

I wonder that if we as a society could "loosen up" a little bit about alcohol consumption and have healthy choices modeled out in public for young people; might that be helpful even among those with poor practices in their homes? Since young people are by-and-large limited from being in places with alcohol consumption except for family events and perhaps sporting events, where over-drinking abounds, many probably never even see what responsible consumption looks like.

Sly in Mpls, George in St. Paul

File this under why Minneapolis has better stuff than St. Paul. On the same day it's announced that Sly Stone is allegedly to appear at First Avenue, we hear George Michael is coming to St. Paul's Excel Center. Minneapolis has good restaurants and a nightlife, St. Paul has this. However, St. Paul is hosting the Republican National Convention this year. On the other hand, Minneapolis is not.

In all fairness to my friends over in St. Paul, I'm really not a Minneapolis snob. I do find reason to go there on occasion and rarely get lost on the confusing streets anymore.

And despite George Michael's pathetic personal problems, I'm not a George Michael hater. I can admit that I rather like "Faith." I'm not shelling out $52 to $177 for a ticket to see him though. I have YouTube...

Sly in Minneapolis

Sly and the Family Stone will perform at First Avenue in Minneapolis on May 2. My guess is that the show will sell out. Though concert goers will have to be open to the possibility of disappointment, as Sly Stone has a history of doing extremely late or incomplete gigs.

In honor of the father of funk coming to Minneapolis, here's one of his hits. (I couldn't find a decent version of "Everyday People.")

Another Funny Bunny

A while back I wrote about a children's book, Honey Bunny Funnybunny, that had left me underwhelmed.

Well, for this Easter, my two girls had the good fortune to receive a "funny bunny" present.

This Funny Bunny appears unaffiliated with the book. It is a wind-up plastic bunny that comes with some jelly beans. You place the jelly beans inside the unscrewed head and wind it up. The bunny proceeds to march forward and poop jelly beans. Yes, poop. The packaging tells us to "Wind him up, and watch him GO!" It also notes that it is only for children aged 4 years and older.

I had a couple pet rabbits as a kid. Those animals produce a lot of, um, solid waste. Perhaps the culprit of the break in and, um, fecal unloading, this month at Minnesota's Department of Homeland Security offices was not a person after all. Perhaps the poop bandit is the Easter Bunny himself! Who knew that the Easter Bunny was some sort of radical anarchist? Now we know; the Easter Bunny was a student of Saul Alinksy.

I've included a video demonstration for your pleasure.



The first two jelly beans shoot out quickly, while the other two refuse to budge. Seems like this bunny needs to get some more fiber. I guess a jelly bean diet isn't the best for a bunny's digestive tract.

Quote: Crowds are fickle!

My freshman high school English teacher taught me two things that I remember to this day. The first was the basic formula to write a paper: Intro paragraph with thesis, three body paragraphs each supporting the thesis, conclusion paragraph repeating thesis and summarized version of the body in three sentences.

The second thing was the theme of Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar. She kept on repeating it over and over through each of the five acts of the long play: "Crowds are fickle."

Mark Mellman, who was the lead pollster for Kerry for President way back when, reminds us how fickle the public at large can be. Mellman (who is not connected to either the Obama or Clinton campaign) dismisses the head-to-head polls of McCain vs. Clinton and McCain vs. Obama.

"People are very mediocre predictors of their own future behavior."

A helpful reminder indeed. I remember reading in 2002 when Bush's popularity was through the roof. Pollsters asked respondents not only did they approve of the job the president was doing, but who they voted for in 2000. One would assume that about 50% of the people would say they voted for Bush. But in poll after poll 60% or 70% of people said they voted for Bush. The most obvious conclusion is that a large number of people remembered voting for someone they didn't actually vote for. If people are that bad at honestly remembering the past, can we truly expect them to give us a useful picture of how they're going to act eight months down the road?

(In fairness, there were probably some afraid in those months after September 11, 2001 to give an answer that could be construed by some stranger as being unpatriotic. The caller could really by John Ashcroft.)

We also don't know what will happen in the world during the next several months that will undoubtedly shape the election.

Frankly, I don't think the argument of electability illuminates an obvious choice for Democrats. I've argued before that I believe Obama is more electable. I still believe that, but not overwhelmingly more electable. The same goes in the reverse. At most, one can credibly argue that Clinton has a slight, but not overwhelming, edge. The real question for the lucky, remaining Democrat primary voters is which candidate do you trust and will better promote your ideals in the White House?

Remember Mellman's words as you see the results of a new poll about next November. I wouldn't take any general election poll at much value until mid-September, a week or two after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention.

Keepin' track of your family

About a year ago I signed up for a free account at Geni.com. Geni is an easy way for just about anyone to construct a family tree. You can quickly type in names and relationships and it creates a visual family tree representation.

Originally, I wanted to use this as a tool to explain to my daughter how various family members are related to each other. (I remember as a kid being confused about who the heck all the relatives were.) As I added more distant relations, it has become a helpful tool for myself.

You can invite other family members to join too and enable them to add people and information to your shared family tree. If you don't know where or when your great aunt was born, perhaps your mom can type that in, and it will remain on your tree for posterity.

If you're really into genealogy or keeping detailed information, the service lets you put in all sorts of info on each person besides birth/death/children/spouse. You can put all sorts of biographical info, such as where they went to school, where they worked, religion, hobbies, quotes, etc. You name it. It also allows you to upload pictures.

Other features I haven't used include laying out people from your tree on a Google map or sending yourself automatic family birthday reminders.

The best part of all this, it's all free. This is not one of those sites like Classmates.com, that aggressively seeks to entice you to sign up for their paid subscription the moment someone somewhere views your profile so that you can find out who.

Here's an example of what my tree looks like. On my account, more information on each person shows, but I've set some higher privacy protections for the general blog readership. Go ahead and click and drag on the below image to navigate around the tree.

Get your own family tree at Geni.com

Editorial on Minnesota AG allegations

The Star Tribune ran an editorial calling for an independent investigation of the allegations involving the Minnesota Attorney General's office. Lori Swanson has been attacked by some current and former staff members who have accused her of ethical wrongdoing and union-busting. The editorial notes that these are only allegations thus far that may, as Swanson suggests, be politically motivated. Nevertheless, they argue and I agree, that because of the power and importance of that office, these serious allegations must be independently investigated. They suggest the Legislative Auditor, who has looked into the Secretary of State's practices around public data, the lawfulness of the governor's JOBZ program, and state lottery agency misappropriation of funds.

I don't know if the Attorney General would accept and cooperate with an outside investigation. I would hope she would. Busy legislators need to first call for such an investigation rather than remain silent. I'm looking forward to hearing a DFL legislator do the right thing and call for an investigation of his or her fellow DFLer, Lori Swanson.

Growth Forever!

Click on the image below to see this week's Opus cartoon. Methinks Mr. Breathed's inspiration was the great Edward Abbey, who said: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell."

Come to Disney World, just ignore the rat stench

Despite the weak dollar, apparently foreign travelers are still not traveling to the U.S. in large numbers. I'm sure it has nothing to do with this guy.

News coming out of Orlando, Florida can't be helpful. It doesn't really help encourage travelers to go to Disney World if they have to endure dead rat stench on the way.

The Orlando Sentinel reports about a problem in the customs area of the airport:

Rat stench a persistent problem at Orlando airport, top customs official says

The Chicago 10

I heard an intriguing interview with Brett Morgen, the director of the new documentary, Chicago 10.

It is a documentary about the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and the ensuing trial of the "Chicago 10" who were charged with, among other things, inciting riot. It is a different take on the documentary form. The trial portions are animated with voice actors reading from the trial's transcripts. It contains contemporary music and gives hardly any political context to the 1968 convention. The historian in me bristles at the notion that a documentary wouldn't put the appropriate historical context of its subject, but Morgen explains in the interview that he is seeking to make the documentary relevant to today versus a history lesson.

I haven't been able to see a movie in the theater since nearly a year, but I hope to catch this one.

Website battle brewing

A conflict is brewing between two parenting websites. At issue is the alleged copying of a website feature.

Babble is "the magazine and community for a new generation of parents." It is a commercial venture by Nerve Media, which started as an online place for sex-related columns, discussions, fiction, pictures, et cetera. Babble seems like a vibrant website. Their home page pulls your attention all over the place. It's one of those sites that is a little too slick, but in a not completely offensive way.

Offsprung has the tag line: "your life didn't end when theirs began." Before their recent redesign, it said it was "for parents who don't suck." It is set up with a number a regular columnists and recently a video channel. The Playground portion of the site allows users to register, share information, select friends, upload photos, start and participate in discussions, and even start their own blog.

Nerve Media's Babble.com also unveiled their "Playground" feature. It's their social networking section, run by Ning, a company that creates social networking platforms. The Babble Playground allows you to register and create profile, connect to friends, upload pictures and video, create groups, and participate in forums. The Babble Playground home page randomly displays other users' uploaded photos much in the same way that Offsprung's The Playground does.

A frantic discussion has erupted over at Offsprung on how to respond. The overriding theme is how the corporate Nerve Media folks are stealing from the little guy. Now, both Offsprung and Babble are commercial ventures, but by judging the staff size and advertising of the two sites, it does seem like Babble is the big fish.

The word "playground" does lend itself to the social networking area of a parenting site. It is plausible that more than one person independently thought of it. Since everyone is getting into the social networking game, it is plausible that the web trend to turn readers into participants is repeated on the two sites.

Taking a look at the two "playground" variations, there do seem to be a bunch of coincidences. They aren't exactly alike, but share elements. Knowing that Offsprung had the idea first and that Babble is the corporate media whore, it starts to look like Babble took the idea, through it at consultants and the folks at Ning and told them, "Do this, but with added features and a little slicker."

And even if that isn't true, it's difficult to believe that Babble didn't look and see that a similar site already had a "playground" section for users.

Already one Offsprung-affiliated blogger has posted on the controversy.

News Topic: Rabbits

In a quest to adopt a puppy, I've been to the local Humane Society a couple times this week. I've gotten to view several other animals during my visits, including pet rabbits. Now, pictures of rabbits are pretty darn cute, I admit. But encountering a rabbit in person, is pretty darn boring. What do pet rabbits do besides defecate profusely?

Yesterday, I saw a man who must have come to a similar conclusion on the utility of rabbits. While driving down the highway, I spot this guy next to his car on an adjoining street. He's holding a wire cage and a big brown rabbit is hopping away. I don't think it was an ex-pet, but rather a garden-eater. I doubt the people living a quarter mile away would have been happy to know about their new neighbor.

Anyways. In honor of the rabbits and the impending Easter holiday, here is the news topic feature on rabbits for your reading pleasure. All news items have been published this week.

• Rabbits a great source of food - A response to an assertion in the Canadian paper by an animal rights activist that use of rabbits for food should be banned. The author, incidentally, has never tried eating rabbit himself.
• Kawkawlin couple's rabbits are popular at Easter time - This Michigan couple breeds rabbits. "At our house, if you're a rabbit and you get a name, you're safe from the pot.''
• Push for bilbies to oust rabbits this Easter - It is important for kids not to receive pro-rabbit propaganda, even during Easter.
• First reported case of rabbit fever in Thailand kills woman - Rabbits are dangerous!
• Good luck indeed: 53 million year-old rabbit's foot bones found - "What we have suggests that diversification among the Lagamorpha group-all modern day hares, rabbits and pikas-may already have started by the Early Eocene." Well, duh!
• Easter? Oh wake me up when it's over - "On the fourth day of Easter my true love gave to me: four chocolate bilbies, three elegant rabbits, two panatones and a Humpty full of Smarties?"
• Cwazy Courts - Apparently, rabbits are "nothing but furry termites."
• Chocolate bunny? It beats the Easter rat - When I saw the following joke, I knew I had to become a regular reader of this columnist: "The Dark Ages lasted from 476 to 1,000 A.D. - longer in Idaho and parts of Wyoming." Ha ha!
• Rabbit nutrition yet overlooked meat in U.S. - She tells us that rabbits have been seen as sacred in many cultures throughout history and that we should eat them.
• Man says he tried to heal rabbits - Farmer gets a court order to undergo a mental evaluation to determine whether he can continue to have animals on his farm.

Neglect of kids

Via the Pioneer Press, a mother who left her 2 year-old and 4 year-old alone for a lengthy period of time has pled guilty to gross misdemeanor child neglect. Her four year-old son had been found outside with out shoes or a shirt at 2 AM in 34 degree weather. One's heart aches whenever these stories surface.

Almost a year ago, I saw another incidence of apparent child neglect. As I looked out the window of my office over the busy Rice Street in St. Paul, I see a man charging to the middle of the street and grabbing a small boy. He thrust him quickly, and out of the path of an on-coming car. Several cars stopped briefly as the man brought the boy to safety.

I go downstairs to see what happened. The boy, about 4 years old, is now standing across the street with a different man, who had pulled over in his car. The boy had on an open jacket in below freezing weather. After watching a few minutes, I go outside, with a bottle of water for the boy. (I had no snacks at hand.) The man is an off-duty firefighter. There are no signs of parents or other adults responsible for this child. He has the boy sitting in the backseat of his parked car and tells me that he called the police, but that the police told them it'd be a while. (Apparently there was some other big emergency in the neighborhood occupying all available cops.) The boy is sitting there silently, but a bit happy to be wearing a real firefighter helmet grabbed out of the trunk.

I keep an eye from the building for a while. Maybe after a half hour or so, the police do arrive. I don't see what happens next.

About two weeks later, in front of the building, I think I see the same boy in the same jacket across the street. (I didn't get a good look.) He's walking with a man in his early 20s down the sidewalk. I am tempted to catch up to them to see and say something, but what would I say?

I have no idea what happened in this case. How did this boy be wandering across a busy street during rush hour alone? Was it from some serious negligence, or not? Were charges ever filed? Do his parents even know how close he came to being hit by a car at 30 miles per hour?

When I hear a story about a woman leaving her child along, walking half-naked at 2 AM, one of my first thoughts is that we're dealing with a parent who probably shouldn't be a parent. More widely available and promoted birth control probably won't stop the neglect or abuse of children, but it damn well wouldn't hurt.

Funny picture of the day

This image is from Ben Brown who posted it at the Offsprung website, a place for parents with a sense of humor.

Quote: Menstruation from a kindergartener's perspective

Today's quote comes courtesy of writer Neal Pollock. His son, Elijah, receives a primer on menstruation and upon running into his mother in the bathroom, has a helpful question for her:

"Mommy," he said, his eyes glistening with sincerity. "Did you remember to put your egg in the potty?"

The full explanation is available on Pollack's Parents magazine blog.

New sins list leaves some gaps

The Vatican released a list of new sins. They just want to make sure you know that "creating poverty" is not something Jesus would have endorsed, should you have been wondering.

Mark Moford writes about this development in the San Fransisco Chronicle and identifies some holes in the new list.

• Though shalt not kid thyself

Thanks to Haddayr for posting about this first.

Today's Featured Blog: On passive aggressiveness

The blog, Passive Aggressive Notes, includes a tip sheet on tipping from a San Fransisco establishment. It is directed specifically at French-speaking foreigners.

What can I do to help the right to choose?

It looks like South Dakota is considering banning abortion again...

Each day brings new distressing developments in the struggle for reproductive health access and justice. What can you do about it? Well, one thing would be to support those on the front lines. Later in April I'll be doing my part to help those on the front lines by participating in Pro-Choice Resources' Bowl-a-Thon. I need sponsors.

• Please consider sponsoring my team, the Plan Bees, and supporting this great organization today!

Pro-Choice Resources is a grassroots organization based in Minneapolis. They work diligently to provide a full span of reproductive health services to women and youth; through advocacy, access, education and empowerment.

Just a $5 or $10 charitable contribution will make a difference to women and girls of all backgrounds.

If you are more politically inclined, consider a donation instead to the political arm of the pro-choice community! For you Minnesotans, go to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota with your credit card in hand. Residents of other states can find their local NARAL affiliate or support the national parent organization. NARAL are the folks that get the right people in office during election season and lobby office holders the rest of the time.

Extra! Extra! Man defecates in state gov't offices

Tuesday's Pioneer Press reported that a man snuck into the Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management office last Friday afternoon and defecated in several rooms. He left on foot before the police arrived.

I just love that this happened to the freakin' homeland security office. I also love that he defecated in several rooms! (So many, one thinks, that they can't even place a number on it. Three? Four? Five?!?)

Warning! Bad pun ahead! So I guess the homeland security office is the place to go to get a load off...

Quote: Science or Beer?

The New York Times reports For scientists, a beer test shows results as a litmus test

Key quote from Dr. Matthew Symonds:

“It’s rather devastating to be told we should drink less beer in order to increase our scientific performance."

More news on MN AG office disarray

Eric Black seems to be one of the only reporters spending time on this, which is quite disconcerting. Today, more detailed allegations from multiple sources on unethical and union busting practices from Attorney General Lori Swanson and some of her minions. Only Tim Pugmire at Minnesota Public Radio has also given decent coverage to the allegations.

It is also unclear whether state legislators are giving any consideration to holding hearings on these serious allegations. The only lawmaker I know of who has called for investigations is Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delano). Emmer is seen as an oddball among some of his own Republican colleagues and is unlikely to singlehandedly convince the DFL majority to hold investigative hearings. Though that hasn't stopped him from trying.

I don't know enough about Minnesota legislative jurisdiction to know who would have the authority to hold hearings. The House doesn't have any judiciary committee. There Emmer has focused his efforts on the all-powerful Rules Committee chair and house majority leader, Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). The Senate does have a judiciary committee, but I don't know what if the Attorney General's office falls within their scope. Reluctance of DFL legislators in investigating the Attorney General are understandable. She's a DFLer and the Attorney General is a constitutional office elected by the people of Minnesota. Still, if their were allegations of ethical lapses and union busting activities by the governor, you can bet they'd be itching to look at that.

Amy Lawler, the lawyer put on leave last week after going public with some of these concerns responded with a letter and attachments 27 pages long. She presents a pretty damning case on a number of fronts on the goings-on in that office. Check out the full letter here [pdf]. After reading this, I don't know how legislators could NOT call for an investigation.

An aside: Isn't 'Amy Lawler' just about the perfect name for a lawyer?

New Beer

One of my beer standbys, whenever I go to the liquor store, is to get Schell's Sampler Case. The brewery produces a variety of good beers; and it is usually a pretty good price. (At Surdyk's right now, the case of 12 sells for $11.99.) The sampler includes their approachable MaiFest and Pilsner; and the tasty Firebrick lager and Caramel Bock. My favorite is the seasonal Snowstorm. It varies year-to-year, but true to it's name, is always great after some snow shoveling.

The MNBeer blog recently reported that Schell's is about to release a new brew: a standard stout. I'm not a big stout snob, but I do enjoy a good luke-warm stout from the tap now and then. Since I'm not able to go out to the bar with much frequency and I'm not going to go to the trouble of creating a tap in my house, I have to settle for some bottled version of stout. That Schell's is coming out with an affordable stout raises my hopes. It should be available in liquor stores very soon.

On a related note, I haven't received any indications that Phillips Distilling Company is jumping on my idea to take over the old Washburn 'A' mill's grain elevator and make it into the world's largest cask of whiskey or vodka. Perhaps, Schell's can adopt this concept and fill it with beer! The empty grain elevator is just down river from the landmark Grain Belt Beer sign on Nicollet Island. Schell bought out Grain Belt a few years ago and is the producer of Grain Belt Premium and Grain Belt Premium Light beer. A huge tank of vodka would probably pose a fire/massive explosion risk, so maybe beer is the way to go. I'll await a call from Schell's thanking me for this fabulous idea.

Attention Twin Citians

Sorry, we're not using "Twin Cities" in the branding anymore. It's "Minneapolis-St. Paul." (Even though the two cities are TWO cities and not a single entity implied by the dash in Minneapolis-St. Paul.) So let me start over.

Attention people of Minneapolis-St. Paul (and surrounding areas):

The still-a-little-bit-relevant City Pages is currently conducting its Best of the Twin Cities (oops!) survey for an April issue. You can fill it out by March 31st at http://polls.citypages.com/bestof08/. Be sure to show your allegiances to your favorite spots. Don't worry about leaving blanks. I sure the hell didn't know what to put for "Best DJ" or "Best State Fair Food."


Maybe we can get the City Pages to make the change to Best of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Area in time for next year.

Random Rant: Gas stations

This ain't a new thing, but it increasingly ticks me off. Why oh why do gas stations have to blare annoying radio music while I spend 90 seconds pumping gas? It's not like I'm going to be able to even listen to one complete song--on the off chance there is a song that I actually enjoy.

With rare exceptions, I've found that these gas stations:

1. Play music at 90-plus decibels
   
2. Have incredibly poor reception
3. Are at a commercial break about half the time you're there
4. Play top contemporary country hits

Having to listen to loud, whiny contemporary country with reception going in and out, interspersed with commercial breaks for crappy, American trucks would be my personal hell. This isn't probably true for everyone, but I can't be alone, can I?

I've become more sensitive to this as I've had to deal with having a sleeping baby in the backseat as I pump gas. I swear, even before parenthood I was pretty peeved with my gas pumping radio encounters. I don't go to stations that I know blast nasty music. It's my only real requirement when choosing where to go.

I've been to one station in St. Paul, that has video screens with commercials and short weather/newscasts from a local station. Methinks this is the wave of the future. Sigh...

Soon, there will be no escape from the constant onslaught of unwelcome auditory and visual stimuli. And this complaint is from someone who has attention deficit disorder who normally needs some level of external stimuli. If I'm being driven batty, things are really out of control!

More on Figlio advertisement

I first wrote about the Figlio restaurant billboard a few weeks ago. I thought it was mildly offensive, but mostly I'm perplexed why this is a clever advertising scheme.

The Deets also did a bit on the issue and linked to my post. One of the ensuing discussions was whether the picture is supposed to be a "regular" aging hooker or a transvestite aging hooker. The question hadn't occurred to me when I first saw it. I guess looking at it now, I would hazard to guess it is a trannie, but I don't see how that really matters.

The billboard is reportedly in several places around Minneapolis. The below picture is on 7th Street, near the intersection with 5th Avenue, in downtown Minneapolis.

Thoughts?

Be careful

Be careful when driving with paint.

Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Do whatever your normal St. Patrick's day thing is. What do I do? I put on a green shirt and not think about it further. I don't see the point of going to overcrowded bar and drinking Irish beer when I can drink good Irish beer on any other day of the year.

One of my favorite St. Patrick's Day related things is John Belushi's Weekend Update commentary on the the luck of the Irish. I can't seem to find any clips of it online due to the stingy executives at NBC. Here it is written out, which doesn't do justice of course. The clip is on the Best of John Belushi on SNL if you happen to have it or want to get it on Netflix or Blockbuster or Amazon.

Here's a different John Belushi clip totally unrelated to St. Patrick's Day or the Irish, except for the mention of corned beef.

Yes it's true: Straight hair more "knottier"

This just in via Scientific American: Straight hair is knottier than curly hair. The American Journal of Physics reports that according to mathematical models and real world testing, straight hair gets 67% more "true tangles" than curly hair. Apparently, the key factor is how fine or coarse the hair is. Straight hair is more often more fine. Fine/straight hair sticks to itself more. In the model, "it turns out that even though curly strands meet more often than straight strands, the angle at which two straight hairs meet is the angle most likely to lead to tangling."

The takeaway? If you are a curly-haired person, take comfort in knowing that your straight haired friends may indeed have more problems than you do with tangles. (Provided they have long enough hair.) If you are a straight-haired person, bookmark this article to show your curly-haired friends the next time they complain about the manageability of their hair.

Randy Kelly at the DOT?

Again from the MinnPost (they're starting to regularly produce a stream of relevant breaking news), Joe Kimball writes that former St. Paul Mayor, Randy Kelly, has been mentioned as a possible nominee to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Kelly certainly shares political philosophy with the governor. He values keeping taxes down at the expense of necessary services and important infrastructure improvements. Current St. Paul mayor, Chris Coleman, has had the difficult task of catching up to the neglect of one term of Randy Kelly, preceded by two terms of Mayor Norm Coleman.

I don't know if Kelly would be a decent choice or not. It's clear that whoever takes over the Department of Transportation will share Pawlenty's vision of building countless roads in the suburbs and Republican areas of Greater Minnesota with tomorrow's money, but spend as little on possible on maintenance or mass transit development. All we can hope for now after several years of Lt. Gov. Molnau at the helm is some competence. It is a sad state of affairs when our main hope when public officials are selected are whether they have the mere competence to do their job.

Illegal items in schools

"Hey kid, wanna buy some Skittles? How about some peanut butter cups? If you got five dollars, I can use my connection to get you a full-sized Snickers bar."

Saved by Batman and Robin

Artist Julian Beever has created a long series of dramatic and realistic "pavement drawings." This is just one sample. More can be found at his website's pavement drawings section.

DFL SD 62 delegates

The chair of the SD 62 DFL, Loren Olson, emailed out the results of the elected delegates from last Saturday's convention. The delegates were elected for the 5th District Congressional Convention (where the party endorsement for the 5th CD will be considered and some delegates to the Democrat National Convention in Denver will be elected). The same individual delegates go to the state DFL convention this June in Rochester. That convention, among other things, will make an endorsement decision in the U.S. Senate race and select delegates for Denver as well.

The 28 delegates from SD 62 are broken down the following way:

• 13 of the delegates came from Al Franken subcaucuses
• 10 delegates came from Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer subcaucuses
• 4 delegates came from subcaucuses which were uncommitted for Senate
• 1 delegate came from a Mike Ciresi subcaucus

It's a strong showing for Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Although, if Nelson-Pallmeyer is going to be competitive at the state convention in a two-way race, he probably would need to do better in his own senate district. Nelson-Pallmeyer was at the SD 62 convention during part of the subcaucusing, even trying to persuade some members of uncommitted subcaucuses that he was their man.

One thing is for certain, those five delegates from the uncommitted and Ciresi subcaucuses will have some busy phone lines pretty soon. Of course, the committed delegates will not be ignored either.

Random blog mini-review

So I grabbed a random blog from Blogger and am passing it on to you for your reading pleasure.

• Dig in the Dirt Duwe

Comments: At first I was confused what "Duwe" meant. It appears to be the family name. During my three minute skim, I discovered that she uploads some pretty winter scenery. The writer is an RN looking forward to retirement. I thought having my blog title being a non-question question was unique--half her blog entries are questions that may or may not have answers.

I hope to do this random blog quick review again when I have five minutes with nothing better to do.

Water power

Scientific American profiles emerging sources of renewable energy from the ocean in the cleverly titled: It came from the sea--renewable energy, that is.

Whether it is from tides, or waves, or water temperature differences, using underwater turbines, tubes, or accordion buoys, there are many exciting developments. Experimental operations are popping up around the world, and a full-fledged commercial "wave farm" is being put in place off Portugal.

I find the buoy approach the most fascinating. Imagine a couple square kilometers of these submerged under the water a few miles off the coast, powering an entire community.

Homer, Ned, and the Moody Blues

A favorite moment from the 1999 Viva Ned Flanders episode. Of all the music groups that have appeared on the show, this is second only to the U-2 episode when Homer takes over Springfield's sanitation department. It features, among other things, heavy use of the word "wanker." (As I think about it, the greatest episode of all time is the vegetarian episode and that has a quick scene with Paul and Linda McCartney--but they are pretty incidental.)

Proposal

Here's one way to propose:


From Found Magazine. Original posting here.

More Muslims in Congress than Atheists

Andre Carson just was elected to Congress in a special election for Indiana's 7th district. The Democrat will fill the vacancy left by the death of his grandmother, the late Rep. Julia Carson.

Carson will be the second Muslim serving in the U.S. Congress, joining Minnesota's 5th district Rep. Keith Ellison, who was elected in 2006. Now there are more Muslims in Congress than atheists. The only known atheist in Congress is the ever-entertaining Pete Stark of California's 13th district.

As of the beginning of 2007, according to the Washington Post, Congress had two Buddhists, two Unitarians (one of which is also the atheist, Rep. Stark), five Christian Scientists, six "unaffiliated," six UCC (United Church of Christ), 15 Mormons, 17 Lutherans, and 43 Jews. The remainder of Congress are from the Christian denominations listed in order from largest to smallest: Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians.

According to one survey of Americans, Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus all have roughly the same number of adherents, each being between 0.4% and 0.5% of the population. Jews and Mormons are both about 1.3%. A full 13.2% in this survey, however, claim "No Religion"--whatever that means.

New quote of the day

The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, always has something "interesting" to say. Actually, he has made it clear that getting attention is all that matters.

This quote is about the Vagina Monologues. It's great he supports the play, but you know the below phrasing wasn't accidental:

"So I stand before you, a vagina-friendly mayor."

Pelosi dismisses Obama and Clinton shared ticket

Here's the end of a recent interview with Nancy Pelosi. When she pauses it's clear she is wishing she didn't go there, but then decides to finish her thought anyways. I think it is safe to say that Pelosi is a bit irritated with the Clinton campaign. Earlier in the interview (shown in full here) she discusses the need for both campaigns to realize the Democrats have to be able to win in November and to cool down. She says in the middle: "There's a lot at stake; the presidency for sure. We must have a Democratic president, but how these races proceed can have an impact as to whether we will carry the Congress of the United States for the Democrats as well. And so that is my responsibility as Speaker of the House."

But the best part is the last 25 seconds:

pelosi by krs601

Quote: Failure of abstinence-only

Quoted in the Associated-Press article, Study finds 1 in 4 teens has a STD, Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood places a large part of the blame squarely where it belongs: abstinence-only sexuality "education" that leaves young people unequipped to protect themselves.

"The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure, and teenage girls are paying the real price."

At what point do policymakers return to sanity and go forward with public health programing that dispenses information instead of mere, abstinence platitudes?

• Those in Minnesota should check out the Coalition for Responsible Sex Ed, a coalition of groups and individuals passionate about making real change to lower the STD/STI and pregnancy rate of Minnesota teens.

Muppet Moment: Shoop Shoop

Attorney in AG office put on leave

UPDATE: The Star Tribune is running an Associated-Press piece right now on the lawyer being placed on leave.

Breaking news from the MinnPost.

Eric Black opens:

"Amy Lawler, the assistant attorney general quoted in a MinnPost story Friday about upheaval, fear and retribution in Minnesota Attorney General's Office (AGO), was placed on administrative leave Monday night, in apparent retribution for speaking to MinnPost."

Lawler was told she was being put on leave because she went to the media about an ethics concern when she should have filed a complaint with the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board instead.

What surprises me after reading Black's original story in the MinnPost last Friday was the lack of further media attention. There seems to be a lot of dysfunction in the office of Attorney General Lori Swanson. As far as I can tell, the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press have yet to cover any aspect of this story. Searching on their websites, none of the local news stations have looked at the matter. Not even Twin Cities Public Television public affairs programs Almanac and Almanac at the Capitol. Only Minnesota Public Radio has given the matter attention, running a piece by Tim Pugmire last week.

McCain running mate possibilities

Buzz continues on the running mate question for both Democrats and Republicans. I'm a little tired of the games from the Clinton campaign, with their Obama-can't-be-a-commander-in-chief-but-will-take-him-anyways message.

On the Republican side, McCain will be making a careful choice. He must get a running mate who will placate the social conservatives, but not scare off everyone else. (That's why Senators Brownback and Coburn are unlikely.)

First, I'll dispense with the usually suspects:

• Former Governor Mike Huckabee (Arkansas): Huckabee would be better positioned if he had dropped out earlier, but still is a possibility. His occasional habit of not being an iron clad economic conservative could be a sticking point, especially because even McCain acknowledges that is not his strong point either.
• Former Governor Mitt Romney (Massachusetts): Definitely has a strong conservative economics credentials. Although he was a moderate-to-liberal on social issues in a past life, he was somewhat effective in assuring social conservatives he was "born again" in the metaphorical sense at least.
• Governor Charlie Crist (Florida): Is likable and from an important state. Some rumors about his sexuality are floating out there. Setting that aside, he has the metrosexual look, which maybe a problem for Republican voters. (Yes, I used that term which I despise: metrosexual.) It's an open question how the social conservatives would receive him.
• Governor Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota): Pawlenty has several things going for him: he's young, is a true social conservative, he's from a state that could be made competitive (although it only has 10 electoral votes). On the negative side, he's not as popular in Minnesota as the national press made him out to be. He won the first time by a slim margin in a three-way race and won reelection by a mere 1 percent against an angry baffoon. Still, popularity in the state may matter little. It's the overall resume.
• Governor Mark Sanford (South Carolina): I don't know much about Sanford. He looks like a bona fide conservative, although like McCain, he occasional rankles some of his allies. Geographically, he would have little to offer.
• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: Rice is liked by a lot of conservatives, but her spot on the ticket would underscore the horrible judgment that got us into the Iraq War. Plus, social conservatives are suspicious of her position on reproductive rights. If McCain somehow thought the election would ONLY by on national security, not the economy or any burning social issues, AND that voters would have a different mindset on the wisdom behind the Iraq War, she'd be a good choice.

Other possibilities:

• Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (Texas): Hutchinson has generally run as a moderate Texan Republican and her votes on social issues has been of the moderate to conservative part of the spectrum. She may or may not be good enough to social conservatives. She is a decent campaigner and fairly likable. Her presence on the ticket may make it safe for many centrist voters to go with McCain even while they are nervous about his temper and hawkish ways.
• Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut): The selection of Lieberman would encompass a whole different strategy. McCain would be betting that he could make up enough additional centrist votes to account for the loss in social conservatives who'd stay at home. If Clinton and Obama slug it out enough and fracture the Democrat party, Lieberman may entail a certain amount of logic for McCain.
• Governor Sarah Palin (Alaska): Palin is a reform-minded conservative who has been mentioned as a long-shot. Last week, she told constituents she is pregnant and will have her fifth child in May. Even though she has a record of returning to work after giving birth, that might put a damper on her long-shot chances.
• Governor Matt Blunt (Missouri): The 38 year-old governor is a recent veteran and a bona fide, bona fide social conservative. He'd placate social conservatives, but is probably too conservative for centrist voters. Plus, his short tenure as governor hasn't been a raging success.
• Former Senator Zell Miller (Georgia): The then Democrat Senator Miller came out to support George W. Bush's reelection and spoke at the Republican National Convention. His name has come up here and there as a potential McCain running mate. But he's old and doesn't bring much. The only advantage is that by comparison, McCain would seem like a gentle, emotionally stable guy.

We're still a few months off and who knows what will happen. First and foremost, what the Democrats end up doing over the next few months will probably impact McCain's calculations.

Stupid! Stupid!

UPDATE: Another reason he's stupid. The guy who took on Wall Street and all sorts of financial-related crimes, is targeted because of his own financial actions. It seems like his suspicious wire transfers led a bank to tip off the feds--starting the whole investigation. Shouldn't the former prosecutor been even a bit more clever?

This is a guy I thought a short while ago could be a good VP pick for Obama (despite his support of Clinton). I also thought he could run for president in 4 or 8 years. How can a person be so dumb?

• Spitzer is linked to prostitution ring

And then there were two

• Ciresi says he's dropping out of the U.S. Senate race

I guess his campaign really never took off. He says he's dropping out to avoid "an unnecessary floor fight" at the June DFL convention. As things were going, it is arguable whether he was going to be able to even last past the first ballot with so few committed delegates. It will be interesting to see if this helps Al Franken or allow further attention/support to coalesce around Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer.

My musings on the Senate race from last week are here.

Separated at birth?

Whoa! I just noticed this. Don't these two pictures bear some similarity?

Gov. Eliot Spitzer

An Asian Elephant

News Topic: Elephants

Today's random news topic deals with elephants. All are from the last couple of days.

• Wild elephants hold up Sri Lanka vote - Not Tamil Tigers, but real elephants want to stop the democratic process in Sri Lanka. (The AFP stock picture accompanying the article shows African Elephants, which do not live in Sri Lanka.)
  
• A jumbo wish of a senior citizen in Bengal - A man wishes to adopt a wild elephant. He has already made accommodations at his guest house.
• Kerala govt. direction on elephant rules - "The Kerala government on Saturday directed officials concerned to strictly implement laws under The Captive Elephant Management Rules following a rise in the number of incidents involving elephants participating in temple festivals becoming wild, causing hardship to people."
• Trees, ants and elephants: Balance gone bad in Africa - A lesson on ecology.
• The big story: Thailand - "Elephants are the symbol of Thailand and you can’t go without being lured into a park (in this case the Mae Taeng Elephant Park) to watch them paint pictures, dance, and play football better than Bafana bafana."
• More than 75 years later, circus still packing 'em in - I'm all for informal language, but it's a bit much to shorten "them" to "'em" in this southwest Missouri paper nicknamed the Misleader.

Quote: McCain and Roe v. Wade

Robyn E. Blumner writes that we should take McCain at his word that he is a true conservative. Indeed, in some important areas he is a solid, far-right kind of guy. Blumner wrote yesterday a commentary in the St. Petersburg Times called Why McCain should worry women. In truth, McCain should worry men as well.

She writes, in part:

"You want to know what's coming with a McCain presidency? How about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. I'm not kidding. The latest case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion made it clear that the two newest justices, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, will vote for substantial incursions into abortion rights, if not their outright elimination. It turns out that Roe isn't a "super-duper" precedent after all. It's now hanging by the thread of 87-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens' continued vitality."

She goes on to reproduce part of the exchange I wrote about here that linked to Cristina Page's essay on McCain and reproductive rights.

DFL SD 62 convention

Yesterday's DFL Senate District 62 convention was an exercise in patience, but it did afford many opportunities in humor. I've always seen myself as this extremely lefty progressive. Then I moved into this neighborhood and met real crazy liberals that make me feel like a raging conservative.

That might be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. I got a lot of laughs out of the implausible resolutions we voted on for inclusion in the DFL constitution or platform. One was to have a three month waiting period for Congress to declare war. First, such a change would require an amendment of the constitution. Second, the Iraq congressional vote was some months before military action, so such a waiting period wouldn't have made a difference there. Third, it would just make the party look clueless, radical, and out of touch--even more so than the city council of Berkeley, California.

The endless debate about rules and process weren't as endless as they have been at similar gatherings in the past. My favorite was the proposal and debate to amend the rules to change the time allotted to non-statewide campaigns from 2 minutes to 1 minute. At that point, we had already had two two-minute speeches and were in line two get just another two or three over the course of the day. The proposal was debated and defeated. Another thing I learned is that all you have to do is label something "undemocratic" to immediately get a sizable portion of the room to oppose something. No listening or critical thought required!

Then comes the sub-caucusing part. Out of a group of 848 delegates, a subcaucus needed to have at least 31 members in order to elect a delegate to the state and congressional conventions. Initially a full 54 different subcaucuses were named. Less than half would ultimately survive. Some seemed a bit repetitive.

The list of initial subcaucuses:

1. Clinton-Franken
2. Franken-Environment
3. Obama-Franken-DFL Victory
4. Franken-Gay Marriage
5. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-End the War
6. Uncommitted-Justice for Palestinians
7. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Stop Global Warming
8. Franken-Pro-Choice
9. Uncommitted-Pro-Endorsement
10. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Single Payer Healthcare
11. Obama
12. Franken-Universal Healthcare
13. Uncommitted-Stop Foreclosures and End the War
14. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Obama-Change
15. Obama-Students and Young Voters
16. Ciresi
17. Uncommitted-Labor-Steal-proof Elections and Let's Hear it for the Middle Class
18. Obama-Ellison-Anti-War
19. Uncommitted-Defeat Norm Coleman
20. Franken-Healthcare
21. Uncommitted for Senate-Obama
22. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-The America I Believe in Does Not Torture
23. Franken-Ellison-Get Out of Iraq
24. Franken-Labor
25. Uncommitted-End No Child Left Behind
26. Uncommitted-Save Neighborhood Revitalization Program
27. Uncommitted for Senate-Universal Single-Payer Health Care for All
28. Uncommitted-Paid Family Leave-Childcare
29. Obama-GLBT Equality
30. Obama-Education-Poverty
31. Uncommitted for Senate-Clinton-Take Back America
32. Uncommitted-Immigration Issues
33. Uncommitted-Environment-Stop Global Warming
34. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-GLBT
35. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Health Care for People Not Profit
36. Uncommitted-Peace Activists for Minnesota Veteran Benefits
37. Franken-Ellison-Champions for Labor
38. Obama-Instant Runoff Voting
39. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-More Trees Less Bush
40. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Save Neighborhood Revitalization Program
41. Uncommitted-Labor-Economic Justice
42. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-For Environmental Sustainability
43. Obama-Franken-Protect Civil Liberties
44. Uncommitted-U.S. Constitution-Mother Earth-All Citizens Equal-Common Sense
45. Obama-Franke-Ellison-Human Rights
46. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Full GLBT Equality
47. Uncommitted-Global Responsibility
48. Franken-Sustainable Living-Elder Care
49. Clinton-For President
50. Uncommitted-Minnesota Great Outdoors and Heritage Amendment
51. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer-Neighborhood Revitalization Program
52. Uncommitted-Strong Economy
53. Obama-Franken-Single Payer
54. Franken-Let Al Speak*

* This last one was proposed as a rhetorical point to allow Al Franken to address the convention even though a surrogate had used the alloted five minutes time. A compromise was proposed, debated, and voted on and Franken was able to speak.

I went undecided and subcaucused with the Undecided-Beat Norm Coleman. I left before the final subcaucusing and am not sure about the final tally of delegates. One conclusion, Ciresi wasn't very strong in this group.

I've not been to a Republican caucus. If I may take some creative liberties, I'll suggest that if the room was full of Republican activists there would fewer subcacuses. Perhaps it would be the following:

1. Save Marriage, Save Our Families
2. Save Embryos/Fetuses, Save Our Families
3. Lock 'em Up, Send 'em Home, No More Immigrants, Save Our Families
4. No More Taxes, Save Our Families
5. Fight the Terrorists in Iraq, Stay the Course
6. Fight the Islamo-fascists in Iran-John McCain
7. Home Schooling-No More Dept of Education!-Teach Intelligent Design

This is just guessing on my part. I'll have the opportunity to see Republican activists from around the country when the Republican National Convention comes to town.

Experience, what experience?

I don't know why Clinton keeps on bringing up experience. First, experience means nothing if you still make bad decisions (see John McCain). But what is all this experience she claims? She saw some stuff in the White House while Bill was president? She's been in the Senate slightly longer than Obama. I guess that's something.

One claim is that she participated in ensuring the Northern Ireland peace process. Nobel Laureate David Trimble dismisses her supposed contribution, saying Clinton was a "wee bit silly" for exaggerating the part she played. Though, his harsh words don't really help his point:

"So in a classic woman politicky sort of way I think she was active...She was certainly investing some time, no doubt about it. Whether she was involved on the issue side I think probably not." [emphasis mine]

Co-winner of the Nobel prize with Trimble, John Hume, has more positive things to say about Clinton. The difference between them may be more of a reflection of Clinton's perceived pro-Catholic position in the conflict.

Trouble in the AG office?

Both the Minn Post and MPR are running pieces about the personnel chaos pre-staging and continuing through a unionizing effort at the Minnesota Attorney General's office. New Attorney General Lori Swanson has not been well received by her employees and there has been some suggestion that some employees were retaliated against for their unionizing efforts.

Most troubling is the alleged circulation of an anti-unionizing, loyalty oath that was passed along to employees. A couple other allegations surfaced of staff attorneys being pressed to create legal cases in politically relevant ways in tight timelines, despite the lack of facts supporting going forward with a prosecution. An assistant attorney-general told reporter Eric Black that "Swanson told her to find someone to sue, draft a complaint and file suit within a week." I'm not a prosecuting attorney, but as I understand it, usually you allow the facts of the case guide you when making a decision whether to draft a complaint.

I voted for Swanson in the 2006 general election, but not in the primary. It's difficult to imagine the same allegations had Steve Kelley been elected Attorney General. Especially with Mike Hatch not in the governor's office and able to protect his protege, I would fully expect an intra-party challenge to Swanson come 2010.