30,000 more troops and promises: Obama’s promise to begin a withdrawal in eighteen months, Karzai’s promise to stop the corruption. So, if Afghanistan is desert and mountains, does that mean it can’t be the Big Muddy?
Here are the links and a few quotes: Continue reading
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An exposé by the Star Tribune and a legislative hearing put charter school building practices in the limelight this week. Background: MN law establishing charter schools said they could not own real estate, i.e. school buildings. The rationale, according to the Strib, was “to keep the focus on education and prevent taxpayer exposure to mortgage defaults if a school failed.” Continue reading
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The Center for Democracy and Citizenship moved from the Humphrey Institute to a new home in Augsburg College in July. Now comes the news that the Center for School Change is also leaving the Humphrey Institute, moving to Macalester at the end of the year. The Macalester press release notes that the Center is fully grant-funded, and “will cover the full cost of its space, and grants administration and other fiscal services Macalester will provide.” Continue reading
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Rini Templeton - protest march
The presidential speech defending the war comes tonight, but the Afghanistan escalation is already underway, according to the New York Times. The U.S. will send 30,000 additional troops, the Brits will send 100, and the French will send none, demonstrating the depth of international support for the war. The depth of U.S. support? There are polls and polls, but a recent Miami Herald editorial is a measure of the lack of support: Continue reading
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A Star Tribune article marking the 20th anniversary of Minnesota’s open enrollment option offers some interesting insights on who wins and who loses. Open enrollment gives students the option to enroll in public schools outside their own district. Big-city school districts lose both students and the state aid dollars that follow them, with more students opting to enroll outside the districts than there are outside-district students coming in. (Anoka-Hennepin and Minneapolis are cited in the article, and the same is probably true of St. Paul.) Continue reading
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The Star Tribune cheerfully headlined “Finally, H1N1 vaccine a click away” and continued:
Looking for an H1N1 shot?
Now you can find one by entering your ZIP code on a state public health website.
Only problem: it’s not true. The http://www.mdhflu.com website lists NO H1N1 vaccine clinics within 30 miles of Minneapolis or St. Paul. None. Not a single one.
So here’s the progress on finding H1N1 vaccines for people at risk: Two weeks ago, MDH was withholding all information about where you could get an H1N1 flu shot, theoretically because the public could not be trusted with that information. Now MDH says they will give the information to the public, but their website doesn’t have accurate or current information. Progress?
There are clinics offering H1N1 vaccine, but I’m not sure where all of them are. An intensive web search turned up the Hennepin County website listing a couple of December clinics. They’re suburban locations, but well within the 30-mile radius. Some college campuses are offering H1N1 vaccines to their students, though others are still waiting for the vaccine, according to MPR. And there are other clinics, but which ones and where they are remain a mystery.
Supplies of the vaccine are still scarce – news reports from various sources say that Minnesota has received about a million doses, but that about 2.7 million are needed to meet the demand for at risk groups.
The vaccine is still limited to people at risk. That group now includes anyone between six months and 24 years of age, people who live with or care for children under six months of age, people older than 25 who have chronic health conditions, and health care providers.
MPR reports that some clinics have surplus H1N1 vaccine and are vaccinating non-high-risk patients.
Minnesota Public Radio News has learned of at least five cases where H1N1 vaccine was offered to patients, even though the individuals did not fall into any of the high-risk categories for priority vaccination. Four of the cases occurred at two different clinics southeastern Minnesota and one case was in St. Paul.
MPR didn’t name the clinics, but it quoted MDH spokesperson Kris Ehresman:
So far, there’s only enough vaccine for less than half of Minnesota’s estimated 2.7 million residents who are in high-risk categories. Ehresmann said she’s heard from many metro-area counties where demand for vaccine is still very high and the supply is very short.
She said any clinic that has excess vaccine should share its doses with other clinics.
Filed under analysis
ICE is only one of the federal agencies surveilling people. Federal surveillance reaches far beyond immigrants. Federal agents use massive databases, facial recognition, cell phone photos, and license plate records. Beyond surveillance, they target and threaten people involved in protests, bringing the full weight of federal power to bear on individuals. Their actions often remain […]
Five years after the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, the attacks on democracy and on elected officials continue. Yesterday, two politicians currently under attack by the Trump administration spoke out with anger and eloquence.
The New York Times today has plenty of coverage of who, how, when, and where the United States illegally attacked Venezuela and abducted its president and first lady. But that’s far from the whole story. A few easily overlooked but essential facts: For informed insights on the consequences of Trump’s attack on Venezuela, see:
50 USC Ch. 33: WAR POWERS RESOLUTION §1541. Purpose and policy (a) Congressional declaration It is the purpose of this chapter to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United […]
Over at Law Dork, Chris Geidner has a great column on the four key lessons we can and must take from 2025. The first: pushing back is essential — and it works. I won’t try to summarize his column, but encourage you to go and read it and, if you can, support the good work […]
Mary Turck