We the purple...

Posted at 2:28 PM on July 3, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)

The annual posting of the official News Cut July 4th observation:

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Flag daze

Posted at 7:27 AM on July 3, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)

Weekend assignment: Photograph the people violating the U.S. Flag Code, and send me the pictures. You should have no problem finding a violation if you know what to look for.

People have their heart in the right place when they make a statement about how much they love the American flag when they turn it into apparel, or napkins, or T-shirts. They just don't know they're doing the opposite.

Example: Above is a picture I shot at a Twins game last month. I've blurred out the kid's face because he was so enthusiastic as he pushed the wheelchair of a woman who was among those singing the national anthem. He's probably a real good kid. But he had the American flag as a hat on the way out to the field. And wore it as a shawl afterwards.

What's wrong with that?

Check the U.S. flag code, Section 8:

(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.

(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.

(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.

Even a T-shirt with a flag violates the Flag Code. Who knew?

I haven't been out on Highway 169 for a few months now, but the last time I was, Belle Plain still hadn't fixed one of the more egregious signs of disrespect for the flag in the Twin Cities that I pointed out in December.

No doubt, that wasn't the intent of the organizers of the "Welcome Home, Troops" display. But that's the net result.

A lot of politicians -- especially those who want an amendment to protect the flag, show their love for it by wearing it.

On this holiday weekend, perhaps the best way to respect the flag and what it represents is to understand the proper way to do that.

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The Air France report

Posted at 3:45 PM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Disasters

The French version of the National Transportation Safety Board -- the BEA -- released preliminary findings in the crash of the Air France Airbus off the coast of Brazil last month. You've probably heard about it on your favorite public radio station newscast.

Here's the full English version of the report, which says the plane did not break up in flight, but hit the ocean at a high speed belly first.

The pictures of some of the wreckage are somewhat stunning because they're far bigger than what we usually see in plane crashes.

It seems increasingly unlikely the "black boxes" will ever be found. Without them, we may never know why this flight crashed, when so many others in similar situations have not.

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Lost in translation

Posted at 3:32 PM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

I have -- intentionally -- not written much about Michael Jackson in the last week. And it's a policy I intend to continue.

Right after this:

Lower the cone of silence!

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Being Denny Hecker

Posted at 1:08 PM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

No matter how difficult your financial condition, reading the U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing for Twin Cities auto dealer Denny Hecker may make you feel comparatively lucky. Here's the filing.

Hecker owes millions to banks and automobile makers, as well as hundreds of thousands to Las Vegas casinos and credit card companies.

Hecker has $24,000 in cash in the bank. He's got $766,000 $766 million in debts.

Here's what the filing reveals about the lifestyle of Denny Hecker:

>> He has $35,000 worth of watches, including three 18k gold Rolex watches.

>> His wedding ring is worth $24,000.

>> He has seven snowmobiles, three scooters, and six four-wheelers, two pontoon boats, seven Jet-Skis and a yacht (which has been repossessed).

>> He owns $25,000 worth of clothing.

>> He owns three condos in Two Harbors, a home in Medina, a home in Crosslake, two condos in Bayport, a condo in Plymouth

>> He owes $450,000 in gambling losses at the Mirage, $400,000 at the Bellagio, and $100,000 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas.

It doesn't appear that he personally owns a car.

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The health care bills

Posted at 12:02 PM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Politics

As the economy continues to collapse, it appears health care has overtaken it as the most important issue facing Washington politicians.

The Senate's giant health care bill has been posted here. It's 615 pages long. The chairman's amendments are another 175 pages.

How many people who boil the characterization of the bill down to talk-show-sized bites will actually read it? How politicians will actually read it? And this is just the Senate version.

Most people won't. But that won't stop them from having an opinion.

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What's Plan B?

Posted at 11:19 AM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

National Public Radio's Yuki Noguchi had an interesting answer when Morning Edition host Renee Montagne asked her this morning whether the $790 billion economic stimulus package was having any effect on the unemployment picture, which is a disaster.

"It's hard to say whether we're actually seeing that now," she said.

A better answer would have been this one: "No."

The stimulus package was supposed to create or save 3 million jobs. Its effect was supposed to be felt by now; at least a little bit.

But it has had no significant effect and we know that because of this continuing narrative when it comes to the economy. As NPR reported:

June's payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected.

The economists missed it again. More people -- about 25% more people -- lost their jobs last month than these "experts" had predicted.

There was no pointing out that things are less bad than they were. They aren't. "News that's less bad is a poor substitute for good news," one analyst said on CNBC this morning.

"Employment and unemployment are lagging series," Christina Romer, chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers said. "So we are in for some more job losses."

Romer pointed out that job losses are fewer than in recent months, but that's no sale for Edward Harrison, writing on the financial site Seeking Alpha:

We have now seen 22 consecutive weeks with jobless claims over 600,000. This is unprecedented. And while these figures are larger than in previous recessions because the workforce is larger, they are declining half as slow as they have done previously.

"What we are still seeing is too many jobs lost," President Obama said a few minutes ago in an interview with the Associated Press. You think?

Economists may not have a clue, but Wall Street knows a pig when it sees one, responding with a near 200-point drop by midday.

Even by the rhetoric of Economic Armageddon we've heard over the last year, today's is frightening:

William Gross, the founder of PIMCO, pointed out the obvious problem. People can't generate a recovery by spending if they're out of work:



A recovery by later this year? Forget it, Gross says. Think 2012.

"We're in the middle of a crash," Nassim Taleb, the author of The Black Swan said. "So if I'm going to forecast something, it is that it's going to get worse, not better."

One reason? On American Public Media's Marketplace program, Arizona State University economist Lee McPheters said the stimulus cash was spread evenly around the country rather than where the big problems are.

And Marketplace's Scott Jagow notes the fact average unemployment is lasting four months is especially troubling. It's double what it was when the recession started.

And these figures don't include the 3,300 to 4,700 jobs jobs expected to be lost under Gov. Pawlenty's unallotment, or the 200 jobs that were lost yesterday when a trucking firm in Duluth went toes up. Future numbers will also include 700 people at a Hibbing taconite mine, who were told today their mine will remain closed for up to a year.

Writing in the New York Times, David Leonhardt says the stimulus has helped somewhat, but the recession is too big for it to have made a difference. He says the Obama administration got a little carried away with hope.

Unfortunately, the administration's rose-colored forecast has muddied this picture. So if at some point this year or next the White House decides that the economy needs more stimulus, skeptics will surely brandish that old forecast.

Obviously, people can use some good news. What might that be? Perhaps that someone has a Plan B.

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Is a marital affair worse for Republican politicians?

Posted at 9:01 AM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (52 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

I'm live blogging Midmorning's first hour on Thursday, a discussion about politicians and their affairs. Over our neighboring cubicles on Wednesday, I gave Kerri Miller my view: marriage is about as serious as a commitment as there is, and if you're willing to sell it out, the chances are pretty good you'd think nothing of taking a lesser route on the road of ethics. It's more a question of character than a matter of hypocrisy.

But is it a more egregious violation if it's a Republican who walks the Appalachian Trail?

"This is a very disturbing trend that some of their leaders can't abide by some of the values they as a party used to esteem, or should esteem," David Woodard, a Republican consultant and political science professor at South Carolina's Clemson University told the Los Angeles Times last week.

"As other Republicans come up for consideration, this is certainly one of the first things they'll have to address," Woodard said. "Voters will be looking at their private lives much more than before."

Fine. But does that mean a Democrat who admits to an affair gets a pass?

"The American public is often forgiving of personal mistakes," Julian Zelizer, a political science professor at Princeton University, wrote in the New York Times. "There have been many instances when voters re-elect politicians who have suffered through damaging events. But voters don't like it when a politician does something that directly contradicts the core arguments that they or their party have been making in the public arena."

Both Zilizer and Woodard are the guests during the hour (starting at 9:06 a.m.), and I'd like to have a corresponding discussion here to share during the hour. So please share your thoughts below.

LIVE BLOGGING

9:02 a.m. - Let's start by trying to separate the political from the moral. Take this poll.

9:04 a.m. - Some of the comments are getting mailed in. Just got this one:

"We are born with two innate urges. One is to eat, the other is to reproduce. There should be no surprise that infidelity is part of the human condition."

9:07 a.m. - Here's Kerri's intro she read just now:

There are new calls this morning for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford to resign--A dozen Republican state senators have asked Sanford to step down...and a handful of county GOP chairs are calling for him to quit. One of the largest newspapers in the state has also editorialized that Sanford should tender his resignation.

The chorus for the governor to leave office grew louder this week....after he disclosed more details about his extra-marital affair. In a lengthy interview with the Associated Press... Sanford said he was no longer in love with his wife...that his Argentinian mistress was his "soul mate"...and that he'd had other encounters with women during trips with friends. At one point he told the journalists: "I will be able to die knowing that I had met my soul mate."

Attorney General Henry McMaster has asked the State Law Enforcement Division to review all of Sanford's travel records to determine whether he broke state laws.
So far, Sanford has said he will fulfill the remaining 18 months of his term...but there are diverging opinions on whether he can still be effective.... There are also differing perspectives on whether marital fidelity tells us anything about the kind of leader someone can be?

And that's where you, our audience, comes in this morning.

9:09 a.m. - We're starting with Woodard. "I feel like I'm watching a marital autopsy," he says. We're all still trying to figure out why Sanford felt the need to make matters worse by saying he doesn't love his wife anymore, has found his soulmate and still hopes to reconcile.

9:10 a.m. "Do Men See Mark Sanford in the Mirror?" the Los Angeles Times asks this morning.

Call me crazy, but amid all this finger-wagging, am I detecting just a little bit of -- gasp -- empathy? Is there something about Sanford's puppyish comportment, not to mention the fact that, unlike many adulterous politicos, he seems to be truly in love with his mistress (or at least truly convinced that he is) that's making him less a pariah and more a symbol of the male midlife crisis? For all his duplicity and entitlement, are some Americans -- particularly men -- feeling as much pity as outrage? Consider this small sample:

You can read the rest for yourself but it seems to me the suggestion is most men are doing this. Quite a generalization. Does Mark Sanford represent you, gentlemen?

9:13 a.m. - "There's a few people on the Democratic side enjoying this," Woodard says.

9:14 a.m. - Can you be an effective leader after having admitted to an affair? "Yeah, I think you can," Julian Zelizer says. He uses the fact Wilbur Mills got re-elected. But lots of crooked politicians have been re-elected. Does that make them good leaders, or just good crooks?

9:18 a.m. - Chuck (caller): "He seems to be extremely selfish and putting himself in front of everything else and these aren't the times for that." Zelizer says bad economic times can make people angrier. The condition of the Republican Party could make people shakier about "having someone like this in the spotlight." On the other hand, the Great Depression involved FDR having some behavior issues, and yet is considered one of the greatest presidents.

9:21 a.m. - Katherine (callers) says the issue isn't personal transgressions but incompetence to govern.

9:23 a.m. - "He's telling us much more than any of us need to know," Zelizer says. "People don't understand why he can't stop himself." Dave Woodard reacts to my comment so the air just now that 100% of the people taking the News Cut poll says the crime here is "being a hypocrite." "I think that's accurate," he said.

9:25 a.m. - Thelma of Minneapolis writes:

"It matters very much when it takes a hypocritical stance. Didn't Gov Sanford publicly reprehended Pres Clintion for his indiscretions? "

Why, yes, that's true. And funny you should mention that:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Clinton Curse
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

9:28 a.m. - Woodard says Sanford makes it hard to attract candidates to run for office. He says since Watergate, we're telling people more than they want to know. It's an interesting comment because very little about Watergate coverage had anything to do with personal lives.

9:30 a.m. - A revelation that everyone knows but few acknowledge. Woodard says bill and proposals such as Defense of Marriage are designed more to increase voter turnout than actually "defend marriage."

9:35 a.m. - We're back after the break. Kerri and I have been talking about what great guests Woodard and Zelizer are.

9:36 a.m. - Caller says it's not about hypocrisy etc. It's about whether or not "you're lying to me. If you're lying to me or the voters, you're out, bucko, because lying means I can't trust you about anything else." Kerri asks if he holds his politicians to 100% truthfulness. He says a broken promise well explained isn't lying. But "if you ask where are you and I lie about that, that's deceit. That's just bald-faced lying."

9:38 a.m. - Responding to that, Dave Woodard said, "I did not have sex with that woman." He says you can lie and get away with it in office. But, for the record, Clinton never came up for a vote after lying to the American people.

9:40 a.m. - The Digitel in Charleston, SC:

The point here is, yes, flay Sanford for his marital indiscretions, but we've got to recognize the real problem is how South Carolina has been starved in education -- and that's the real root of our job problems.

9:41 a.m. - Zelizer: "We don't elect angels, we elect politicians. Ideally we'd love a government full of truth-tellers but I'm not sure we're ever going to have that and I think most voters know that."

9:43 a.m. - Talk shifts a bit to Sanford's presidential aspirations. "Mitt Romney is smiling," Woodard says. "If after a big-spending administration like the Obama administration and you want to cut taxes, I think Gov. Sanford could've stood very tall. But it's a moot point now."

What about Tim Pawlenty?

"There's a lack of a clear farm team of leaders not only to run for president, but to define what the party is all about. In 2004, people said the Democrats were done. Parties can remake themselves very quickly. It's too early and the loss of Sanford isn't a huge detriment.... it's not a sign the party can't rebound. These scandals happen. We hear that these are the people who are natural leaders, but nobody had ever heard of them until then. Pawlenty and Romney are two of the leaders still standing. Romney is more formidable."

9:47 a.m. - I thinking maybe I should add a poll question: Is it wrong to have an affair?

9:49 a.m. "I factor in hypocrisy, don't we expect it?" Kerri asks. "Yeah, but we don't like to see it in our face," Zelizer says.

9:51 a.m. - "People will give politicians give and take if they make a position and they can't take it later on because of the circumstances. What they can't seem to accept is when they take an oath or a vow," says Woodard. "When they violate those kind of things (marriage vows), they violate something in a serious situation and they're on record as being hypocrites and that's why hypocrisy is winning." (He's referring to the poll posted above)

9:52 a.m. - Time to turn this hypocrisy thing around. Suppose a governor spends two terms telling you taxes are wrong. Is he a hypocrite if he raises taxes? Would we hold that against a governor?

9:54 a.m. - Caller's observation: "If the governor were a woman, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"The images of politics is smoking, drinking, and fooling around," Zelizer says. "It's hard to see a woman candidate surviving thise."

It's not much of an issue in South Carolina, Woodard notes, because the state has the lowest number of elected female politicians.

9:57 a.m. - Gail Collins in the New York Times today

Talking about money was familiar ground for South Carolina conservatives, and for a while it looked as if they might settle on a rule that sex is irrelevant unless it leads to a tax increase.

This was a great hour. I hope you continue the discussion down below in the comments section!

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Five at 8 - 7/2/09

Posted at 7:15 AM on July 2, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

1) Has it really been 10 years since the big blowdown (scroll down on that page to see great Jim Brandenburg photos) in the Boundary Waters? On July 4, 1999, wind wiped out a wide swath of forest and planted predictions of devastating forest fires. What's happened in that 10 years? MPR's Stephanie Hemphill provides an update and has this video of the blowdown.

Far more difficult to assess is why YouTube's "related video" recommendation for the blowdown is an ABBA reunion.

2) Your odds of surviving a heart attack in a hospital are not very good, a study concludes. If you're African American, they're even worse.

3) I'm not sure how much coverage this is going to get nationwide, but this is huge. Says the New York Times:

All his life, Robert Bowman wanted to be a lawyer. He overcame a troubled childhood, a tragic accident that nearly cost him a leg and a debilitating Jet Ski collision.

He put himself through community college, worked and borrowed heavily to help pay for college, graduate school and even law school. He took the New York bar examination not once, not twice, not three times, but four, passing it last year. Finally, he seemed to be on his way.

Nice story, right? No. He can't get admitted to the New York Bar because he has too much student loan debt. The paper notes that the state's courts "have overlooked misconduct like lawyers' solicitation of minors for sex, efforts to deceive judges and possession of cocaine." But student loan debt? That cannot be ignored.

4) This person is right. "Awesome" is used far too often. Does 1,000-2,000 dolphins in one spot qualify. It's called a "superpod" and they've been captured on film off the British coast.

5) News Cut is off Friday, but I'll probably post a few items anyway. I'd love to get your July 4th celebration pictures. Picnics, parades, fireworks etc. Did someone say fireworks? How to shoot fireworks. And here's some tips on setting up the shot from Smithsonian photographers.

Bonus: When I was at AirVenture in Oshkosh a few years ago, I spent an afternoon talking to women who were Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). They ferried airplanes to war zones. They flew the planes that towed targets for gunner practice, they'd pack for an overnight trip and come back 30 days later. They served every bit as much as men in World War II, but they got nothing. They got no military benefits and they lost their jobs when the war was done. But at least now they're going to get a medal.

NEWS CUT ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

Don't eat a glow stick.

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - In the first hour we'll be discussing affairs that politicians have and whether that's any of our business. I'll be live-blogging it so I look forward to your participation here. Second hour: n his 2008 book "Predictably Irrational," behavioral economist Daniel Ariely unmasked the role of emotions in our financial decisions. In a revised edition of the book, he examines how our collective financial decisions helped bring the economy down. It's all about us.

Midday (11 a.m. -1p.m.) - First hour: Education commissioner Alice Seagren will be in the studio to discuss the latest math and reading test results. Second hour: Mark Zdechlik's new documentary about the U.S. Senate election . "Al Franken's Road to the Senate."

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - How violence affects a community. Why NPR doesn't use the word torture and the prescription for pain management.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - Does Rochester have a gang problem? MPR's Sea Stachura will have the answer. Brandt Williams will look at how Minneapolis plans to replace thousands of trees it may lose to the emerald ash borer. And another look -- this time from NPR's Ben Nelson -- on how Al Franken may change things in the Senate.

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The 'T' word

Posted at 3:27 PM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Media, News

Catching up.

When NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard was on Midmorning a few weeks ago, she said the Public Radio audience was angry that NPR won't call waterboarding torture. She said she'd have an article about that by the end of the day, but she didn't and I forgot to check.

She explained the policy last week:

... the problem is that the word torture is loaded with political and social implications for several reasons, including the fact that torture is illegal under U.S. law and international treaties the United States has signed.

That earned over 400 comments, most of which did not agree with Shepard. She wrote a follow-up post yesterday, noting that she brought the audience concerns to the editors and that NPR is apparently resolute on the matter:

One can disagree strongly with those beliefs and their actions. But they are due some respect for their views, which are shared by a portion of the American public. So, it is not an open-and-shut case that everyone believes waterboarding to be torture. Many in NPR's audience obviously believe it is, but others do not.

The main argument of my column was that NPR should describe waterboarding rather than use coded language to characterize it. Another alternative is to quote responsible officials who have described it as torture, for example President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Media critic Dan Kennedy, who writes Media Nation, took Shepard to task last week for "getting it so wrong."

Perhaps NPR can eschew the T-word and instead describe waterboarding as "an interrogation technique once considered so heinous by the United States that it hanged Japanese officers for doing it to Americans."

To which, he says, Shepard responded...

I'm not trying to say what is and is not torture, but is every abuse classified as torture now or are there degrees? When a police officer throws a suspect to the ground and handcuffs them, is that torture or simply abuse?

And to which he -- Kennedy -- responded today:

As John McCain and others have pointed out, the United States executed several Japanese military officers for waterboarding American prisoners of war after World War II. And as I wrote last week, if NPR really can't bring itself to use the T-word, perhaps it can describe waterboarding as "an interrogation technique once considered so heinous by the United States that it hanged Japanese officers for doing it to Americans."

So yes, if I were an editor at the Boston Globe, you're damn right I would refer to waterboarding as torture. That seems about as solid as referring to oil as a fossil fuel, or baseball as a sport. By eschewing the term "torture" to describe a practice that the entire international community regards as such, NPR is not being neutral. Rather, it is embracing a euphemism that places the network squarely on the side of the torturers and their enablers.

NPR should not use enhanced interrogation techniques on the English language.

On Midmorning, Shepard said she's not just NPR's omudsman, she is "the ombudsman for Public Radio," which seemed to be news to the people at MPR News I talked to.

So, is there an MPR policy preventing reporters and hosts from using torture instead of waterboarding? No.

FYI, Ms. Shepard will be on Talk of the Nation on Thursday at 1:40 p.m. (CT) to talk about the issue.

(Photo: Getty Images)

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Obama's staff

Posted at 3:05 PM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

The Obama administration today released the list of salaries of White House employees. Find it here. $172,200 is the most any employee not named Obama can make.

It also shows the kinds of jobs available in the White House. There's a senior writer for proclamations who makes $50,000, a $62,500 deputy director of video, a $78,000 director of African American media, $153,000 director of online resources, a $75,000 director of surrogate booking, and a gaggle of $36,000 correspondence analysts, who we presume are the people who read the mail.

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Franken faces

Posted at 1:01 PM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Faces in the crowd at today's rally for Sen.-elect Al Franken. You'll need to click the image to enlarge it.

It's near impossible to keep that Election Night excitement alive for 8 months.

11/4/08

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The amazing shrinking and expanding Minnesota

Posted at 11:44 AM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Health, Surveys and trivia

Oh for the love of the sweet, sweet paradox.

Two stories in the news today could be related. But they're not.

First:
We're shrinking.

Second:
No, we're not.

As long as we're on the subject, let's talk about obesity and the half-full/half-empty coverage.

Twenty-five percent -- one in 5 3 4 of us -- in Minnesota aren't just fat We're obese. Twenty-three percent of Minnesota kids are overweight, according to a survey out today from The Trust for America's Health.

"Obviously, Minnesota is doing something right," said Serena Vinter, one of the authors, told the Star Tribune.

We are?

Here's a line from her press release:

Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to the F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009.

Maybe we're not as fat as, say, Wisconsin, but how is it possible to categorize this as a success story?

The situation remains a disaster waiting to happen -- except it's happening now. Since the data shows Minnesota is not improving, this 2003 MPR series -- The Fight Against Fat -- remains timely.

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Harassment during Pride

Posted at 10:30 AM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

A news release from the Minneapolis Police Department regarding harassment during the Gay Pride parade last weekend:

Currently, there is a video on YouTube of an incident that occurred sometime during the Minneapolis Gay Pride Festival. There has been some speculation that Minneapolis Police Officers were in that video. The Minneapolis Police Department wants to assure the public that those security officers who casually walk by during this incident were not from our department. We have a strict uniform policy and those were not our uniforms or our police officers. This is unacceptable behavior that would not be tolerated by the Minneapolis Police. Action would have been taken immediately to stop the harassment that is depicted in the video.

Aside from settling the issue that it wasn't the MPD who didn't step in to help, the video is most troubling because of the kids who've been taught to "hate gay people."

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Five at 8 - 7/1/09

Posted at 7:36 AM on July 1, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

1) Eric Ostermeier, who writes the Smart Politics blog, does not disappoint as he puts a bow on the U.S. Senate race. He puts the margin of victory in historical context. But enough of then. What about now? Time looks at the five areas where Franken can make a difference in the Senate. Monica Davie, the New York Times political reporter, does one of those segments where the NY Times tries to be a radio station, but provides a little analysis (Listen), including some thoughts on Norm Coleman's future.

Better analysis comes from Stephen Colbert, of course.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Al Franken Finally Declared Senator
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

What's your message for Al Franken? Go here.

Franken was Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer this morning.



2) From the looks of things, the great uprising in Iran is over. In the end, did Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and the other social networking sites make a difference? "As great as Twitter was for getting the story out, it overstated the revolution," Frank Rich said at the Personal Democracy Forum. But, the Wall St. Journal blog, Digits reported, the real surrender seems to be coming from Rich here at home. He said the consumers of news will get they want, and they want celebrity news.

Arianna Huffington gets a good grilling on the Twitternournalism from the BBC:



3) In a world where everyone wants to talk about either politics or Michael Jackson, someone has assembled the 50 greatest movie trailers of all time.

4) The joy of tinkering. A new TED video:



5) Few of us, I guess, still think that rocketing into space is cool. If you're one of them, you'll love Dick Gordon's The Story talk with Dr. John Grunsefeld, who had a long commute to work. He was the Hubble repairman.

Bonus: Is there a difference between politicians' affairs and the affairs of the little people? In the Loop explores.

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning - More on Al Franken in the first hour. Second hour: Dave Pirner, lead singer of Soul Asylum.

Midday - At noon, more on the Franken win. Political analysts Todd Rapp and Tom Horner will be in the studio. Coverage of the Franken rally at the Capitol.

Talk of the Nation - First hour: The gay community helped put Barack Obama in the White House. Now, many feel betrayed. What's next in the relationship? Second hour: Joe Alonzo had a plan -- college, job, marriage. Then the economy bottomed out. He's part of a generation trying to start out in the worst economic crisis of their lives. TOTN looks at the prospects for Generation Next.

All Things Considered - Tim Pugmire takes a look at Gov. Pawlenty's unallotment and the prospects for challenging the go-it-alone budget balancing strategy. Euan Kerr talks to Garrison Keillor about 35 years of A Prairie Home Companion. We get the second shoe in NPR's series on health care from the doctors' perspective. Today: What the younger docs think. Barbara Bradley Hagerty looks at the gay marriage issue and the African American church.

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