If you’re reading this … then the mega-worm has not killed the internet yet.
Doing the math Let’s see — if Al Franken leads by about 225 votes, and the court has ordered another 400 ballots opened and counted, where does that leave Norm Coleman? Probably beating the bushes for money to finance endless appeals. To outpoll Franken, The Norm would have to win more than 300 of the 400 ballots, which seems highly unlikely. Counting day — April 7.
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Norm or Nobody Republican Senator John ornyn is now threatening “World War III” and years of federal appeals if The Norm isn’t given the senatorial seat that he pretty clearly has not won. The GOP is forging ahead with a dog-in-the-manger strategy that indefinitely denies Minnesota a second Senator. Continue reading
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All flood, all the time As the level of the Red River slowly recedes, MPR continues to be an excellent source for flood-related news, if little else at the moment. Fifteen of the last 20 stories posted on-line (as of 7:30 a.m. today) focused on the Fargo/Red River Flood story, and one of the remaining five was the forecast of a storm that “could dump 12 inches of snow” in the region. Luckily for Fargo, most of that snow is going to fall farther south. For the Twin Cities, WCCO confirms that there’s nastiness heading our way, too, but probably not until tonight, and probably 2-6 inches of snow with freezing rain and sleet.
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Somali teens and NPR fear-mongering In more of the irresponsible fear-mongering that has characterized National Public Radio’s reporting on missing Somali youth, this morning’s Morning Edition story by Dina Temple Raston repeated unsubstantiated and discredited allegations that the youth will return to the U.S. to commit acts of terrorism here — and said that at least four have returned to Minneapolis and that “Now it looks like they’ve gone underground.” The damage done by such sensationalist characterizations is not balanced by the report’s admissions that “The FBI doesn’t think they are dangerous,” and that “going underground” may mean that parents are keeping the young men home and safe. Just to add the emphasis that NPR lacks, let me repeat: “The FBI doesn’t think they are dangerous.”
The report goes on to discuss secret grand jury investigations, and doesn’t let the secrecy of grand jury proceedings deter speculation about what they might be focusing on. NOTE: In contrast to National Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio has covered the on-going story without sensationalism.
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Liar, liar First Bob Bushman, from the Statewide Gang and Drug Task Force, called proponents of legal medical marijuana liars. Then, reports MnIndy Rep. Tom Rukavina, sponsor of the bill got up and challenged him:
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UPDATED: Minnesota’s unemployment hit 8.1 percent in February, matching the national rate, as the state shed 13,300 jobs during the month, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development. January’s MN unemployment rate was 7.6 percent (NOT including “discouraged” workers, who have given up looking for full-time jobs, or those who are involuntarily working part-time because they can’t find full-time work.)
Nationwide, new unemployment insurance benefit claims last week were down to “only” 594,121, a decrease of 58,515 from the previous week. For a little perspective — there were 335,917 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008, and the total number of people claiming state unemployment insurance benefits was 6,332,272, up from 3,297,238 in 2008. Full federal report here.
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Bachmann earmarks: Yes, you did! “I have not taken earmarks in the last three years that I’ve been in Congress, because the system is so corrupt.”
But, reports MnIndy, “government watchdog groups say she has requested them—seven, to be precise, totaling $3,767,600, since she was elected to the U.S. House.
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Middle class pays more Even in Minnesota, says a Department of Revenue study, rich people pay less in taxes than the middle class. See Who pays Minnesota’s taxes>
Coleman cyber-follies While Norm Coleman is calling it “chilling” and “scary,” a closer look shows that the disclosure of names and credit card information of Coleman campaign donors on the internet is the fault of no one but … the Coleman campaign, which violated basic on-line security procedures. Continue reading
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Is Coleman toast yet? The Daily Kos jumps the gun, declaring “Coleman is toast,” but it’s true that the latest court ruling holds no good news for the Norm. After the inner ballot envelopes were opened in a search for registration cards, only 89 of the roughly 1500 rejected absentee ballots in pile 3a proved possibly countable. In MinnPost, Jay Weiner reports that “Coleman’s universe of legally cast ballots that his side wants opened may now be as low as 1,000, if not lower.”
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Following the money for T-Paw staff The Governor’s staff is paid by money from other state agencies, reports Mark Brunswick in the Strib. The office takes money to pay for $30,000 of senior policy adviser Josh Gackle’s $72,000 annual salary from the Ag Department, PCA, DNR and at least four other agencies. The accounting practice shifts money from other state agencies to pay for parts of at least five other T-Paw aides, reducing his office budget.
[Governor Pawlenty] has said he will reduce his office budget by $360,000 a year, or 5.1 percent, and he points out that his office is planning for 38 full-time equivalent positions for the next two budget years while previous administrations had 55 positions at their peak.
The arrangements that pay for Gackle and the other staffers will continue to help make this apparent frugality possible. So-called interagency agreements reduced the governor’s office budget by more than $700,000 last year, about 19 percent.
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Mary Turck