May 14, 2015 · 11:02 am

From bib overalls to hazmat suits

“They had hazmat suits,” the farmer said, “and they sprayed the tires of their truck with disinfectant, too.”

“They” are inspectors checking for avian flu. Coming from all over the United States, the teams travel farm to farm, testing poultry for avian flu. The highly contagious disease has killed more than five million birds — mostly turkeys — in Minnesota and more than 25 million — mostly egg-laying chickens — in Iowa. There is no known treatment or vaccine. Once it hits a flock, the H5N2 virus kills quickly, and kills 90 percent of the birds in those flocks. Continue reading →

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May 12, 2015 · 9:31 pm

Talking turkey — and chickens and avian flu

This spring, avian flu has killed millions of turkeys and chickens in the Upper Midwest. As the country’s turkey champion, Minnesota produces about 46 million turkeys per year. As of May 12, 85 Minnesota flocks in 21 counties have been hit by this bird flu. More than five million Minnesota birds have been affected. This avian flu outbreak has hit Minnesota particularly hard, with 85 of about 133 affected flocks in the state.

Continue reading →

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May 5, 2015 · 2:55 pm

Backing away from voting rights

Image by Daniel Lobo, used under Creative Commons license.

Image by Daniel Lobo, used under Creative Commons license.

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like this was the year for voting rights for convicted felons in Minnesota. Both Republicans and Democrats backed bills allowing convicted felons to vote after they were released from prison, even if they were still on probation or parole. Now the voting rights bill looks dead. Continue reading →

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May 3, 2015 · 12:58 pm

Killing MinnesotaCare with Republican logic

mct state capitolRepublicans in the Minnesota House voted last week to kill MinnesotaCare, the subsidized health insurance program for low-income Minnesotans. That’s one part of their billion dollars in cuts to Minnesota’s health and human services budget. Apparently, under Republican logic, these cuts are necessary because of the state’s two billion dollar budget surplus.

UPDATE 5/6/2015: Senator Tony Lourey (DFL) says that MinnesotaCare is “not up for debate.” How will that affect the conference committee negotiations? We’ll have to wait and see. Continue reading →

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May 1, 2015 · 9:37 pm

MN education budget forces ‘a gosh darn lousy plan’ on schools

mct state capitolWith a two billion dollar budget surplus, the Minnesota legislature is poised to pass inadequate budgets that will force schools across the state to cut teachers and programs. In the House, Republicans have passed an education budget that increases per-pupil state aid by six-tenths of one percent. That’s far below the rate of inflation, and comes on top of years of failure to keep up with inflation. The DFL Senate does barely any better, with a one percent increase. Continue reading →

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April 28, 2015 · 8:19 am

MN Republicans say no to four-year-olds

Photo by Barnaby Wasson, published under Creative Commons license - https://www.flickr.com/photos/barnabywasson/279911701/in/set-72157594345855838

Photo by Barnaby Wasson, published under Creative Commons license – https://www.flickr.com/photos/barnabywasson/279911701/in/set-72157594345855838

In the debate over universal preschool vs. targeted scholarships, the Minnesota legislature is just saying no. Governor Dayton proposed $348 million to create a free, all-day preschool program in public schools across Minnesota. The money would come from the two billion dollar budget surplus. Republican legislators said no. Instead of funding preschool, they want permanent tax cuts for businesses, permanent elimination of all estate taxes, and temporary tax cuts for individuals. Continue reading →

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April 27, 2015 · 6:56 am

Shortchanging Minnesota schools — and kids

school busWith an almost two billion dollar state budget surplus, you’d think we could do great things for kids. But no — the Minnesota legislature proposes per-pupil school funding increases that are lower than inflation. Again. As it has done for 20 years. Continue reading →

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April 21, 2015 · 7:00 am

1,600 migrants drowned: Assigning blame

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“En 2012, plus de 2000 migrants sont morts en Méditerranée”, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 2014 [Photo published under Creative Commons license]

At least seven hundred people, maybe 900 or more, were on the 70-foot ship that sank in the Mediterranean on Sunday. Almost all of them died. According to Vox, that brings the total number of migrants drowned in the Mediterranean this year to about 1,600. So far. In 2014, the total reached 4,868. Continue reading →

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April 20, 2015 · 9:44 pm

Forensic FAIL at FBI — Where’s Bones when we need her?

#37053796 - Microscope © Les Cunliffe via Fotolia

#37053796 – Microscope © Les Cunliffe via Fotolia

The FBI screwed up big-time and long-time, according to all reports now surfacing. The Washington Post leads with:

“The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.”

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April 14, 2015 · 8:56 pm

Tax Day – Who pays, who plays

Screen Shot 2015-04-14 at 9.22.40 PMApril 15 is tax day. I’m happy to pay taxes. I’m happy to have an income so that I can pay taxes — and buy food and clothing and books and wi-fi. I’m happy to pay my share for schools and roads and social services. I am not complaining one bit about tax day.

Plenty of other people have complaints. Continue reading →

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