OK, this isn't so trivial anymore

At least we know now why it took Al Franken's accountant a couple of weeks to get to the bottom of the California tax problem!

The headline says it all: Franken owes $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states

Was somebody recently faulting the Star Tribune for blowing this out of proportion?

I maintain that this isn't the kind of problem that should singlehandedly bring down Franken's campaign, but one can't dismiss its significance. While the figure and scale is big, the Franken people are implying that it stems from the same misunderstanding of tax law. They continue to blame the accounting firm.

It could very well be that the accounting firm is incompetent and gave horribly faulty advice. But the very fact that Franken was unable to figure out about himself what the Republicans uncovered fairly easily is troubling.

This will probably not foil Franken's DFL endorsement, but it can't help. I won't say that delegates should dump Franken for Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, but perhaps they should give the question some serious consideration. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer might truly be the better pick to take on Norm Coleman. Hopefully, he doesn't owe tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes.

Democracy on the move

Democracy is on the move, but in which direction exactly?

The Maps of War website created the below dynamic map showing the history of democracy and where and when it has spread. Of course, it's a bit simplified and skips some smaller examples of democracy in the middle. Democracy, I guess, is in the eye of the beholder. The most interesting thing is what the map creators judge to be democracies in today's world. They take a pass on some countries.

Another reason for a constitutional amendment

Yesterday, the Supreme Court said it was okay to require a photo ID to vote. Never mind that this amounts to a poll tax. Government issued IDs are not free, and indeed many legitimate citizens do not have current valid IDs. It's an obtrusive hurdle addressing a non-existent problem.

I'm not a legal scholar and I won't say the Supreme Court got the constitutionality question wrong. (Though, I do take some comfort that my favorite Justices did dissent: Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer. My man, Justice Stevens, let me down by being the main author of the controlling opinion.) I'm disappointed all the same.

Part of the problem is that there is no constitutional right to vote. There are constitutional protections against sex-based and race-based discrimination at the polls, and the poll tax and literacy tests are now out the window. But there is no constitutional guarantee to the right to vote.

We need an amendment to change that. And while we're at it, let's reform the electoral college and nationalize federal elections. The rules around federal elections (Congress and the President) should be the same in each state. While we're at it, we may as well address some other issues surrounding eligibility for the White House, moving election day to the weekend, and giving Washington, DC congressional representation.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution:
1. The President and the Vice President of the United States shall be elected by the plurality of the popular vote of the citizens of the United States as long as the plurality is greater than 35 percent of the total vote. The result of the presidential vote shall be certified by Congress on the 20th day of December of the election year. Should no candidate for President or Vice President receive more than 35 percent of the total vote, Congress shall make the selection by majority vote from the three candidates with the most popular votes before the 31st day of December of the election year.
2. An election for the President and Vice President shall be held in United States Territories for eligible citizens to vote in the popular election.
3. The right of citizens the age of 18 years and older to vote shall not be abridged.
4. Congress shall be vested with the authority to administer and regulate federal elections free of interference with the Executive.
5. Election for federal office shall occur on the first Saturday and Sunday of November in the election year.
6. A naturalized citizen who has been a citizen of the United States for at least 14 years and has resided within the United States for at least 14 years shall be eligible to hold the office of the President or Vice President.
7. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall have representation in Congress as if it were a state: Two Senators and at least but not limited to one Representative, subject to enumeration with the States.

Let's make it happen!

McCain/Obama/Clinton administrations: Minnesota personnel

We've talked about the running mate odds already. Let's get even more ahead of ourselves and discuss which Minnesota politicians may be snatched to serve in the next administration.

First off, in the unlikely, but unfortunately possible, scenario of a McCain presidency. A lot of high profile current and former Republicans are off the table because they lack experience or have been discredited. It's difficult to see Michele Bachmann or Rod Grams serving in an administration.

• Tim Pawlenty - Conventional wisdom continues to build that Pawlenty is at the top of McCain's running mate list. If the governor does not become McCain's running mate, don't count a Governor Molnau out. Pawlenty could be a cabinet member; particularly but not necessarily the Secretary of Health and Human Services or Secretary of Education.
• Jim Ramstad - I don't know how Ramstad and McCain regard each other, but both have a reputation of bucking the party line in Congress. McCain, while a "maverick," is still a by-and-large conservative. Ramstad is a true moderate, particularly on social issues. Ramstad is retiring from Congress. His appointment wouldn't put a Republican seat in danger (it already is). Ramstad might not be a cabinet level appointment, but still in line for some administration job. Ramstad could serve the administration in a health care capacity or perhaps law enforcement.
• John Kline - Kline may or may not be out of a job come January. The Republican congressman has been a steadfast supporter of the war and is a consistent conservative. Whether or not he is reelected this fall, Kline could be a pick to serve as a higher-up in the Department of Veterans Affairs or perhaps in the Pentagon.
• Norm Coleman - Should Coleman lose election this fall, but McCain wins (an unlikely combination), he might be able to get employed in some capacity in a McCain administration. Perhaps with his 5 years working on foreign relations in the Senate, Coleman could be appointed an ambassador. Perhaps ambassador to the UN, but McCain would probably want someone with more experience and intelligence in that position. If Coleman wins in the fall, he's probably not an attractive enough person to vacate a Senate seat, even if a Republican would be appointed to replace him by a Governor Pawlenty or Molnau.

(Here's a scary scenario. Remember that once upon a time Pawlenty wanted the U.S. Senate seat before Dick Cheney "persuaded" him to run for governor. Should McCain win the presidency with Charlie Crist as his running mate and Coleman win reelection too, but vacate the post when appointed the ambassador to the EU or something. Pawlenty could then resign and Gov. Molnau appoint Pawlenty to serve out the six year Senate term. It's been done before, albeit without good results. Setting that aside, who would a Gov. Pawlenty or Molnau appoint to fill an empty Coleman seat?)


An Obama presidency:

Minnesota Democrats hold more congressional and statewide seats than Republicans, but most are relative newcomers. However, some DFL politicians stick out for an opening in an Obama administration.

• Jim Oberstar - It would be hard for Oberstar to give up his chair of the House Transportation Committee. It looks like he has just gotten started there. That is, except for maybe the possibility to become the Secretary of Transportation. The resulting special election would be competitive, but Democrats would still probably be able to keep that northern Minnesota seat.
• Lori Swanson - Swanson has been tarnished in recent months with allegations of ethical breaches and union busting. At this point, the charges probably don't rise to the level to stop Swanson from being appointed a federal judge. State Democrats would probably be resistant to the idea, since the governor would have the power to appoint a successor for the attorney general.
• R.T. Rybak - The Minneapolis mayor was an early and strong supporter of Obama's. It is not too far fetched to see Rybak serving in the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Betty McCollum - McCollum's departure wouldn't worry Democrats too much. McCollum has been steadily climbing the Democratic caucus leadership ladder since elected in 2000. She may not wish to throw that away. Still, McCollum might be an attractive fit in a number of administration posts within the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Education. McCollum might also be the type of person appointed to the National Endowment for the Arts.

A Clinton administration:

It is doubtful, although an outside possibility that Clinton will be elected the next president. In that scenario one can assume many of the first Clinton administration loyalists would return. Clinton would undoubtedly bring in some new blood out of need and a desire to make her own mark.

Under a Clinton administration, Oberstar, Swanson, and McCollum may all still be potential candidates for appointments despite Oberstar's and McCollum's endorsements of Obama. Rybak would be out of consideration in all likelihood. Two additional names:

• Chris Coleman and Susan Gaertner - The St. Paul Mayor and the Ramsey County Attorney, respectively, have both endorsed Clinton. Coleman has also served as a public defender and prosecutor in Hennepin County. Both are top names for a gubernatorial run in 2010, but one or even both could be persuaded to take a post in Washington, DC. Either could be good fits for a Department of Justice or federal judiciary post.

Modest restrictions on teen drivers

Minnesota is at the top of the charts when it comes to teen traffic fatalities. Legislators are thankfully taking some action.

Thanks to Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis), new drivers may have some further restrictions soon. A bill passed the Minnesota House, that among other things, would restrict new drivers from driving with more than one under-20-years-old passenger (who is not a sibling) for the first 6 months behind the wheel. New drivers would also be not permitted to drive between the hours of 12 and 5 AM, unless traveling between home and work or a school event.

As someone who believes that the drinking age needs to go down, but the driving age needs to go up, I applaud these modest changes. Of course, I don't think they go far enough. I don't understand why these restrictions couldn't be for the first 12 or 18 months of holding a license--especially on late-night driving.

These modest restrictions will probably only have modest results. But when talking about teen lives being saved, each little bit counts. If we're serious about saving lives on Minnesota's roads, we'd probably also invest in mass transit as a driving alternative for young people.

The Star Tribune gives further details on the measure in an article on Friday. Overall, it is a good piece. I was annoyed by one line about one-third the way in: "The statistics on teen crashes are heart-stopping." In the grand scheme of things, I know it isn't a big deal; but this cute, play-on-words in reference to teen driving deaths has the unintended impact of making light of the subject rather than underscore it. No, the statistics aren't heart-stopping. The accidents themselves are literally heart-stopping. Keep in mind that to anyone who knew a young person who has died in a car crash, it is much more than a "heart-stopping statistic." It is a devastating reality.

Yes, this is hardly bad enough to complain about. It is a pet peeve of mine. Certainly, it could be worse.

Please, news reporters, please stop using figurative language in reference to a subject that is literally true. You might think it is clever writing, but it is cheap and often comes out wrong.

More Al Franken sloppiness blown out of proportion

A little over a week ago, Minnesota Republicans publicized that Al Franken's company did not pay corporate income taxes in California and owed a bunch in back taxes. It appeared at the time that Franken neglected to officially dissolve the corporation in California when he moved it to New York. I wrote at the time this did not merit the coverage it received, unlike his previous problem with workers' comp insurance in New York.

The Star Trib does a more lengthy piece today on the subject, with little additional information or insight. It still looks like that it is a case of failing to dissolve his corporation when he moved it to New York (and we assume paid taxes there).

The Republicans say, "But he did some paid appearances in California--he's still doing business there!" Well, I don't know California tax law, but my understanding is that those earnings would go through the New York-based corporation and which would be paying federal and New York state taxes. I could be wrong, but maybe the Strib should figure this out before printing a long piece of unsubstantiated allegations.

There are lots of people who should be taken to task on this story:

• The Star Tribune and writers Kevin Duchschere and Patricia Lopez for giving such attention to these allegations without getting to the bottom of the story. They're doing little more than parroting the Republican smear machine.
• Al Franken's accountant who seems to be blamed for a lot of these mistakes.
• Al Franken himself, but not for the California tax allegations. He's a dufus right now because he has had over a week since this story first arose to get to the bottom of it and provide answers.
• Al Franken's company for relying on an accountant's advice and not hiring a corporate tax attorney when moving his corporation from one state to another.

And what about the Minnesota Republicans? I can't really blame them. They successfully took a small matter and got some political hay out of it. That's what happens in politics. Their argument about him doing business in California seems a little disingenuous, but at least they aren't lying.

Goin' bowlin' tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm participating in the Pro-Choice Resources Bowl-A-Thon. Our team is the Plan Bees. It's a take off Plan B emergency contraception, also known as the "morning after" pill. More accurately it is the "72-hours-or-more after" pill.

Right now the team is only has 80% of its $1000 goal.

Support reproductive health education and access with a just a $5 online donation! Gifts to the Plan Bees can be made anonymously or in your name. Proceeds benefit Pro-Choice Resources, a Minneapolis-based non-profit with programs that reach both within and beyond Minnesota's borders.

Studio apartment in south Minneapolis

Need a place to live? This upstairs apartment is accessible by ladder and close to a major bus line. It may not have a lot of room, but it is Dish Network TV ready!

Your Ecological Footprint

I just tried out a new online project designed to calculate your personal ecological footprint. Basically since the world has finite renewable and nonrenewable resources in the near future, how much is our personal consumption overshooting the available resources?

They calculate that the world's population is over-consuming at a rate in which we would need another half of the Earth to sustain it.

I took the quiz and had some bad news. First, on the good side, my ecological footprint was slightly less than the national average. Still, apparently we'd need a total of 5.33 Earths if everyone was to consume at my level. The national average is a shocking 6.35 Earths!

They explain some of the methodology and also provide resources on how one could reduce their ecological footprint in the different categories.

Try it out at Redefining Progress's Ecological Footprint Quiz.

School buses and bars

I live in south Minneapolis. There are neighborhood bars every few blocks. I heard once that my ward has the most bars per capita outside of downtown.

Still, I always pause when I see school buses parked during the day close to a bar when there isn't a school for several blocks. I know they have to park somewhere, but it makes me wonder.

These are two of three buses I saw parked next to the Schooner Tavern around the corner from Rainbow Foods last Friday at 1:47 PM.

Gas

I don't think I was the only one to look at the price of gas in recent days and have my eyes nearly pop out of my head.

Three dollars and forty five cents?! For real?

At first I thought it was an anomaly, but most of the many stations I passed on Friday had this same price. The outliers weren't that far behind.

I guess I'll have to start checking prices before I head out the door.

Smurfin' party

Apparently some southern California types are holding a big, invite-only, VIP, Smurf-themed party. It is part of the celebration in conjunction to the 50th anniversary of the Smurfs.

One of the event sponsors is Hpnotiq, a Smurf-colored liquor. Hpnotiq is a French-made cognac-vodka-fruit juice concoction. Apparently it's been really trendy among Gen X and Gen Y kids, as well as Hollywood types. I guess I'm a little out of the loop. I'm not a Hollywood type, but I am on the Gen X-Gen Y dividing line.

Since Smurfs like all things smurfy, I would expect Smurfs to drink Smurf-colored liquor. Do you think Smurfs are happy or angry drunks?

Franken and California tax returns? Whatever...

I was critical of Al Franken following the discovery that his company had not been paying workers' comp insurance for a number of years in New York. A $25,000 fine was levied against his company by the state of New York.

Now, the Republicans have found that he didn't pay owed state taxes in California. Bad day for Al Franken.

Is this a real controversy? Does it matter?

I had a problem with the New York state matter, but the more recent discovery does not rise to the same level. It appears that Franken got bad advice and did not submit a filing dissolving the corporation in California when he moved it to New York in 2002. (We assume he paid taxes in New York.) It a sloppy mistake, but an excusable one. Not paying legally-required workers compensation insurance for several years, that is pretty big deal in my book.

Lots of corporations let their registration lapse and don't file dissolution papers. A quick search of Minnesota corporations with "Minnesota" in their name reveal 23 of 40 corporate entities (or trademarked names) on the first page that are "inactive." Inactive means they haven't filed registration renewals or officially dissolved. It's a common oversight.

This is not worth the news coverage it's received.

Priorities

Exhibit 1: University of St. Thomas invites, disinvites, then after dithering around and demoting a professor, they decide to reinvite Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He declines their final invite.

Exhibit 2: The student government decides not to invite and fund an anti-abortion speaker nominated by a group of conservative students. The St. Thomas administration swiftly steps in and invites and pays for the speaker, because they know better than their students.

Why? Because they were concerned that the students' decision had "diminished the university's position on pro-life issues."

The University of St. Thomas, an academic institution, has demonstrated it is more important to display their pro-life cred than respect student-made decisions on speakers or to host a Nobel laureate to discuss world peace.

Pandering

The Democrats have been pandering on free trade. Now it's John McCain's turn:

• McCain Proposes Gas Tax Holiday

Happy Tax Day

Happy tax day! It is an as good a day as any other to reflect that we are one country, pooling our hard-earned money for the general and greater good.

What's that? Where do we spend our hard-earned tax dollars? Well, for lots of things of course! The biggest one just happens to be war. For fiscal year 2009, expenditures for past, present, and future war actions account for 54 cents on the dollar. Makes you feel good inside.



Courtesy of the War Resisters League. They explain their methodology here.

Expelled coming your way

Ben Stein's anti-science film, Expelled, will be in theaters nationwide this Friday, April 18. Since I wrote about this last week, the National Center for Science Education has unveiled their website Expelled Exposed. The site refutes the nonsense presented in the film as well as questions the examples of intelligent design martyrs.


While questioning whether people were really "expelled" for their openness to intelligent design, they provide at least one example of someone fired for not being "neutral" in the scientific "debate" between evolution and intelligent design.




MORE RESPONSES FROM THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Eugenie Scott, the director of the National Center for Science Education, was "bamboozled" (her word) into participating in the film. She is interviewed by Scientific American writer, Steve Mirsky, in his weekly podcast. The podcast also has an interview with Scientific American editor-in-chief, John Rennie, on his views after being shown the film by one of the associate producers.

Scientific American recorded the discussion between the producer and staff members after being shown the film. I'm not patient enough to listen to the hour-long discussion, but it was reportedly "energetic." Listen to it here.

Skeptic writer Michael Shermer also appears in the film and wrote about his experience and impressions in a recent column. He looks at the big and small ways the film deceives, including hiring extras for a scene at Pepperdine University when they couldn't recruit enough supporting students.

It looks like the scientific community is taking this film seriously.

The few film reviewers that have been permitted to see (or snuck into) a screening, haven't regarded it highly either.

A little worse than "monkeys"

Republican congressman, Geoff Davis, put the recent mini-controversy over a Democratic convention delegate referring to kids climbing a tree as "monkeys" into perspective.

Rep. Davis talked about participating in a "highly classified, national security simulation” with Sen. Barack Obama.

Davis went on to say:

“I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country.”

Yes. Davis called Obama a "boy." Davis did have the wisdom to apologize quickly after the Obama campaign took him to task.

via Pol Watchers

Changing the presidential primary process

When I was 18 years old, I visited a prospective college and interviewed for a scholarship. A panel that included a current student and a professor talked to me for about 20 minutes. The professor, upon hearing I was interested in politics asked me how I thought the presidential primary system should be reformed. The criticism being the unfairness that some small, unrepresentative states had disproportionate say.

I can't remember my exact response, but I think it boiled down to I have idea in the world. I didn't get the scholarship.

Now over a decade later, having studied political science in college, and worked in politics for seven years, I still am unsure how to answer that question.

I'm amazed that for all the talk about the process this year and how it works and doesn't work, there seems to have been only a little discussion on how to actually fix it for next time. And once this election season is behind us, this will all become a distant memory and people won't have the fire under them to change things for 2012 in any substantive way. Remember during the 2000 election mess all the talk about reforming or doing away with the electoral college? I remember bold predictions that the electoral college would be gone before 2004. Fat chance at that.

One hopes that both Democrat and Republican elites understand that change needs to happen. The Republicans didn't get too burned this time, but it could almost as easily been them with two candidates threatening to go all the way to the convention. The only "advantage" the Republicans have in this respect is the existence of some winner-takes-all primaries that serve to prop up the candidate in the lead. Despite some arguments from Clinton supporters, the Democrats should not emulate the undemocratic electoral college in their candidate selection process.

Who can say what should be done then? There are alternative plans out there to make it more orderly. But first, maybe some guiding principles.

• Democracy should be valued in this process. Having a presumptive nominee before half the country has voted is undemocratic. The most obvious solution would be in part to have a more condensed season.
• Less populous states shouldn't get overwhelming disproportionate say in the candidates. Still, efforts should be made to give some protection to smaller states and rural constituencies in general.
• The process should at least make sense to voters.

Plans have been proposed to put states into regional groups or non-regional groups (either randomly or by relative size) and then having the primary season spaced out over several months between the regions/groups. In some plans the regions/groups would be in the same order each time and other plans suggest a rotation in order or lottery. Political scientist Larry Sabato suggests a regional approach with a lottery on January 1 of the election year to determine the order of regions, preventing candidates from camping in the early states for the previous 12 months. (Or in John Edwards' case, 36 months.)

The main weakness in many of the proposals is that it puts up further roadblocks against second-tier candidates being able to use grassroots organizing to be made into contenders. The argument is that it makes money all important. Frankly, I don't know if that changes much between the status quo and these plans. A candidate will always need lots of money to compete, but I don't think there is strong evidence that one can buy their way to the White House.

All plans still require immense grassroots organizing, aside from possibly the idea of a national primary, which is politically unrealistic anyways.

I think the rotating regional primary makes the most sense. The plan wouldn't necessarily put 1/4 of the country on the same date, but on the same month. Region 1 states could have their contests as early as the first Tuesday of March. Many would go on the first Tuesday, but some might take the lesson from this year and realize that earlier isn't necessarily better, especially on a crowded day.

One variation favored by the National Association of Secretaries of State shown on the right, maintains an exception for the early Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, to occur in February. Personally, I think that would be fine, although maybe in the long term the Iowa and New Hampshire exceptions should be eliminated.

My main concern with the four regions is that the primary season is packed too tight. Here's what I dub the Five Regions Primary Plan. It does eliminate New Hampshire's and Iowa's standing. States are divided into 5 regions that rotate the order each 4 years. Territories that don't vote in the presidential general election but do send delegates to the party convention are split between two of the regions.

Regions would rotate every for years. States within the first region could choose primary/caucus dates within the month of February. The second region in March, third in April, fourth in May, and fifth in June. The parties would hold their conventions between July 15 and August 15. A bipartisan commission in the same spirit as the presidential debate commission would be appointed to adjust the regions following the census to keep them roughly equal in population/congressional districts and to play traffic cop on party convention date and host city conflicts.

The way that small states are respected is that they have the freedom in setting their own primary dates within the month. For example, I doubt any state in Region 1 would hold their primary the same date as California. By going before or after, they can stick out. Particularly on the year the region is first, small states can play a key role in winnowing down candidates; just probably not to the same degree as New Hampshire and Iowa have traditionally done. And that is a good thing.

Click on the region for details. Click on the link below for a larger map.


View Larger Map

As always, comments welcome!

Making mountains out of molehills

It is the presidential election after all. It's time to make mountains out of molehills! (Or children into monkeys...)

• Illinois delegate for Obama resigns after 'monkeys' remark
  

She complains to her neighbors about their children climbing in the tree, which she sees as dangerous. She tells the father "the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys." The mother calls the police, she gets a $75 ticket, and is now resigning as a delegate to the national convention because she has been labeled a racist.

Referring to children of another race climbing in a tree as monkeys is apparently verboten.

Pawlenty irritates Coleman

The A-P tells us that Republican Senator Norm Coleman has expressed disappointment over Pawlenty's line item veto of Central Corridor light-rail funds this week.

Normally, I'm pretty cynical about anything Coleman does. Especially in an election year. Mr. Votes-the-Republican-Line is trying to be seen as an independent and moderate voice for this November. Most of his actions should be viewed through that lens.

But I don't think his light, but helpful, criticism of the governor is for his own personal political objectives. I would say it is genuine. Certainly, there are other Republicans Coleman can publicly disagree with in order to be seen as independent minded. Expressing disagreements with the most popular, and influential, Republican in Minnesota probably doesn't help politically. So, good for him.

Random history

On this day in 1908, Carl Jung wrote a letter to his colleague Sigmund Freud.

What did the eminent psychologist have to say to the other eminent psychologist? Mainly, that he had a bout with the flu and was "too dissociated" to write much more. Clearly, a momentous day in history.

Freud, Jung, and fellow analytic psychologists

Expelled Intelligence

Soon, Ben Stein's new "documentary" on intelligent design, Expelled, will hit theaters across the country. Over the past weeks, pre-release screenings have been shown across the country in order to drum up grassroots support for the controversial film.

Some people with scientific backgrounds have been able to see the film. The staff at Scientific American were treated to a private screening in their office. Minnesota biology professor, P.Z. Myers, who was also an unwitting guest in the film, was kicked out of a screening at the Mall of America. His guests, family members and friend Richard Dawkins were allowed to stay for some reason. Dawkins was also an unwitting interview subject in the film and is the most famous (or infamous) evolutionary biologist in the world today. Dawkins wrote about the experience in an essay called "Lying for Jesus."

The initial reports and reviews aren't encouraging. It appears the film spends little time actually defining evolutionary theory or even intelligent design. They do everything they can to connect evolutionary science to Nazi ideology and atrocities. Ben Stein actually appears at Nazi death camps in the film to underscore the point. The film gets its title from the notion that academics who have the audacity to question evolutionary theory and inquire into intelligent design get expelled from their jobs and profession. Some in the science community have begun to gather evidence that questions whether these are really intelligent design "martyrs."

Several of the scientists interviewed describe being bamboozled into participating in the film. A front company to the Canadian parent film company was presented to them. They were told the name of the film was something more balanced, despite the recent discovery that the domain name expelledthemovie.com was registered even before the interviews were conducted. So it's unlikely that the producers changed the name and focus of the film halfway through.

Dawkins and Myers discuss their film experience and impressions

Namecalling in politics

I think there is not enough substance in politics and too much name calling. Just turn on the television or radio, and name calling is what you hear. It's unhelpful and immature.

I generally try to refrain from name calling. Even those who deserve it. This week, my resolve has been tested. lI've resisted two days, but I can't any longer.

Tim Pawlenty is a dick.

On the radio: The McDonald sisters

Minnesota Public Radio ran a segment named something that wouldn't normally get my attention: Voices of Minnesota: Religion and Social Justice.

Blah... blah... blah...

But I happened upon it by turning on the radio and hearing a familiar voice talking about women and the church. The McDonald sisters were being interviewed!

Rita, Brigid, Kate and Jane McDonald are four sisters who grew up on a Minnesota farm and all became Catholic nuns. Each have devoted a lifetime to social justice work. And they've all been visible in the anti-war community in Minnesota. It is hard to have attended more than a few anti-war demonstrations in the Twin Cities and not have encountered one or more of the sisters.

As a former Catholic, it was surprising and refreshing to hear a Catholic nun say that she didn't put stock in the notion of original sin and that Jesus' role wasn't to die for our sins. What? I had always been taught in Catholic school that that was a key point.

The McDonald sisters are inspiring whether or not your religious views correspond with theirs. (Mine certainly don't.) Their interview on their faith and work is the first half of the program.

Fightin' Joe fights himself

Way back in 2006 Ned Lamont successfully challenged incumbent Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary for the Connecticut Senate seat. Lieberman went on to run in the general election as an independent and won the three-way race with 52% of the vote.

The day before the August primary, the Lieberman campaign's website crashed. They blamed the Lamont campaign and their supporters for a "hack attack" and asked for a criminal investigation. They got a bunch of media out of it.

Guess what? The Stamford Advocate has learned the real story. A criminal investigation did ensue and discovered quite quickly that the website crash was the result of a badly configured server designed only to handle 100 emails an hour. An FBI memo dated BEFORE the 2006 general election stated their findings quite clearly. And yet, a Lieberman representative was still pointing fingers at the Lamont people in December. (Lieberman ain't just a sore loser, he's a sore winner too!)

Why are we finding this out a year and a half later? It's because the government authorities finally responded to a Freedom of Information Request filed in late 2006. Clearly the Lieberman people would have been told this at the time the investigation was closed in October 2006, but Senator Virtue himself hasn't come clean about making this mistaken allegation at a key moment of the nasty campaign. I think it's safe to say that Lieberman values playing the victim more than he values honesty.

Politicians often invent straw man arguments. Joe Lieberman makes himself the victim to his aggressor self.

It's this kind of thing that makes me actually hope McCain would pick Lieberman as his running mate. He'd elicit many opportunities to take him down. Playing the victim in this way doesn't play well in the race for the White House.

Song for Wednesday

I love Kristin Hersh's raspy, spooky voice. Here's one of her songs from the album Learn To Sing Like A Star, released last year.

In Shock

Judge Synder

One of my favorite Simpsons moments. The best part is when attorney Lionel Hutz reacts to the news that they've drawn Judge Snyder.



I'm sure some people have had real experiences with attorneys that aren't all that different from this one.

Science Debate

Reactionary, nationalistic Americans to do the patriotic thing and buy Russian or French vodka

A mini-controversy has erupted. Apparently, Swedish-made Absolut Vodka ran an advertisement in Mexico that appealed to Mexican nationalistic pride at the expense of Americans. The ad shows a map of Mexico with its pre-Mexican-American War boundaries that included a sizable majority of the current western United States.

Patriotic Americans are outraged at this serious threat to the territorial integrity of the United States. The very audacity of a foreign company appealing to the patriotism of its customers! It's not like Toyota advertises their trucks with American patriotism or any American company would appeal to the locals outside of the U.S. borders. At least one upset citizen has vowed never to purchase Absolut Vodka again, but instead Stoli or Grey Goose vodka.

It seems there is a sector of the population who is really up in arms on any perceived threat to the United States. These are most likely the same folks who think immigration is ruining the country. Some of the nuttier ones are worried about a "New World Order" or "North American Union" conspiracy.

Since any supporting evidence is used to further these conspiracy theories, even satire, here' s my contribution to rile the feathers of the reactionary conspiracy theorists. North America, perhaps less than fifty years from now? For added insult to injury, the capital of the new union is Detroit. Cuba gets southern Florida!

New blog on Minneapolis-St. Paul

I've started a new, separate blog about the Twin Cities. Ooops, sorry about that. It's not the Twin Cities, it's Minneapolis-St. Paul. The blog is called Minneapolis versus St. Paul.

The cities formerly called twins have had a longstanding rivalry. The rivalry is often friendly and sometimes ridiculous. Like the time where the two cities adopted different daylight saving calendars and general confusion over what time it actually was ensued for a couple of weeks.

Minnesotans know that the two cities have their differences. Minneapolis and St. Paul have their own separate character and history. What this means is you'll have some strong opinions about the alleged superiority of one over the other.

An effort is now underway to scientifically evaluate and measure the ways one city is better than the other. Over time, we will be able to determine once and for all which city is the best.



Suggestions for comparisons are welcome.

Swansongate continues

Last week, the Legislative Auditor told a House Committee that he would begin a "preliminary inquiry" into the allegations of wrongdoings in the Attorney General's office. His inquiry would not include the alleged anti-union activities. Apparently, non-partisan lawyers have told the DFL House leadership that such an investigation may constitute an interference in labor relations and violate federal labor law.

Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Louis Park) had been pushing the Legislative Auditor, Jim Nobles, to begin an investigation until Nobles said he would initiate it voluntarily without a legislative committee motion. But here's the question, is Simon carefully doing his constitutional duty by pressing for an investigation into the highest ranking DFLer's alleged wrongdoing? Or, is Simon have a personal vendetta against Swanson and is exacting his revenge with the help of a runaway union leadership and former DFL House leader and Hatch nemesis Matt Entenza?

Some DFLers in the Swanson-Hatch camp believe more in the latter. Adding to the inter-party fighting, Minn Post reporter G.R. Anderson has uncovered an email sent by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center) to other DFL House members. Hilstrom forwards information from former Attorney General Mike Hatch and Swanson mentor that suggests that Simon is being driven to take down Swanson because he was "involuntarily transfered" by Swanson when they both worked in the AG's office under Hatch.

Hilstrom and Simon have reportedly already talked and resolved their differences. Though Simon noted, in part: "I think the implication that my transfer years ago to another division makes me a disgruntled employee is absurd and makes it look like [Hatch and Swanson] have something to hide."

No news yet on when the Office of the Legislative Auditor will release its preliminary findings. Many eyes will be on that report, but it will still be only part of the puzzle since the union-busting allegations remain unresolved.

Later bar hours in the Twin Cities?

I'm not a late night partier, but I still applauded Minnesota's move a couple years back to allow local municipalities to choose whether to have a 2:00 AM bar closing time instead of the previous statewide 1:00 AM closing. If you want to be seen as a fun and vibrant place in our world today, you can't be closing bars at 1:00 AM.


With the GOP convention looming in Minneapolis-St. Paul, state lawmakers are debating whether to temporarily allow even later bar closing times (until 4:00 AM!) and allow Sunday liquor sales around the time of the convention.

At first I was dismissive. Yeah, get the Republicans even more drunk and rowdy! That's just what we need. St. Paul City Council Member, David Thune, echoed this attitude by claiming his downtown constituents "don't want a bunch of puking Republican lobbyists on the streets at four in the morning."

Upon further reflection, I don't think it's a big deal. First, we have to remember that it's not just going to be Republicans and Republican lobbyists that will flood town around the convention. You'll have media reps from around the world, activists, bloggers, volunteers, etc. The puke will likely be bipartisan.

I wonder how many bars will really see an increase. Certainly, the downtown ones Thune is concerned with will probably fill up; but it's not like the neighborhood bar on the corner is going to be invaded by the Republican delegation from Louisiana or anything. They'll have their share of private events to go to at the University Club and all the hotels.

So downtown St. Paul might be a mess with more drinking, but it's going to be a mess anyways during the convention. Frankly, my guess is that a sizable number of the downtown St. Paul residents with the opportunity will find another place to be during the convention. Is the rest of the Twin Cities really going to have much of an impact from two more hours of drinking except for higher revenues? The Minneapolis downtown city council member, Lisa Goodman, sees this differently than Thune. She said, "We can be a cold Omaha or we can stand up and be a 24-hour city." Ouch! Take that Omaha!

To fellow Minnesotans I ask: Do you want to be seen as prudes by the rest of the country/world? Or do we want to be seen as a fun, festive place, and make some money off these visitors? I'll take a couple weeks of bipartisan puke. It's worth it.

And while they are at it, legislators should make the provision allowing Sunday sales permanent rather than temporary. Sometimes you run out of beer during the Sunday afternoon BBQ and need to restock. We shouldn't give the puritans even one day to mandate our habits.

No more weather!

As part of a wave of staff cuts at CBS-owned stations across the country, weather forecaster personality Paul Douglas from the Twin Cities' WCCO has been let go.

I've never been a big Paul Douglas fan--I want the science and facts behind the weather, not the poetry--it strikes me as an odd move. I imagine that Douglas himself drives a portion of the audience to WCCO. He probably costs them a lot of money and I'm sure the network has looked at their market research closely. Still, it's strange. I know they still will have weather, as they have weather forecasters who are paid less than Douglas.

My preferred weather forecaster is Keith Marler on the Fox 9 morning show. He's upbeat, but gets to the point. I like that.

Random invite

I got a random Evite invitation--and I'm not sure how. I opened up the email to find that I have been invited to the At Your Cervix Benefit Party! It's sponsored by the Smitten Kitten, "a progressive adult sex toys and equipment retailer."

First, I wondered what exactly an "at your cervix party" was; and second, if having a cervix would be important part of participating.

It turns out that At Your Cervix is a documentary showing the problematic ways that medical schools teach (or don't) how to do cervical exams. Not having a cervix, I can't speak directly to the experience of having a bad or even normal cervical exam, but I'm told they can be no picnic in the park. And yet, cervical exams are a common and key part of women's medical experiences. They are something that you want done right.

One of the things the film looks at is the way that some schools allegedly cut corners, or at least smooth the corners over, when it comes to getting consent from patients to be used as practice subjects for future doctors and nurses. I have a friend who used to volunteer for this practice. I think she got paid a small stipend, but probably nothing that made it worthwhile in itself to have strangers of unknown skill give her pelvic exams. She saw it as a way to do her part in helping women receive good care down the road. Apparently, some schools don't hire subjects, but make students be the subjects themselves.

Here's a short clip:



I don't think I'm able to go to the party, but it looks like interesting event. The film is scheduled to come out this fall.

More comedy

Here's a silly YouTube video I came across. With higher production values (think make-up and wig), they could be decent SNL cast members or something like that. They are Gabe and Jenny, apparently a comedy duo based in NYC.

Muppet Moment: Charles Grodin

From the best Muppet movie and the best human character in a Muppet movie...

Web show: Parenting and Sex

Via Offsprung.com, a new comedy web show on the difficulty of parenting and sex coexisting. This is episode two: Up and Around and Shake It and Down! You don't have to see the first episode to enjoy this one with the "sex therapist."

Urgent update on lefties

• The dangers of left handedness

Idea via MNSpeak.

In other news:

• Television kills
• Sushi is unsafe
• New research uncovers the dirt on bellybutton lint
  
• Polka music popularity remains steady
  
• Disease in the wolf population
  
• Be wary of French people
• Passive aggressiveness is on the rise
• Fundamentalists increase their flock
• Drink beer every day
• Be nice to your mother
• Celebrity-driven news ever more popular
• Conspiracy theorists assail skeptics
  
• The Internet is your friend
  
• Hummers are dangerous
• New species of worm discovered
  
• The downside of safe sex [adult content warning]
• Comprehensive sex ed saves lives
  
• Time marches on
• Americans urged to get better sleep
• Weekly World News will be back on newsstands
  
• Public service announcement on itchy pants

• And finally, new disturbing intelligence is partially declassified! [You heard it here first!]