November 2005

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The spellchecker as social critic

Filed under: Blogs/Web

Doug Henwood, editor/publisher of the fine Left Business Observer newsletter, sent this note to his mail list the other day:

The spell checker for Adobe's InDesign was stumped by the word "narcoticized," and suggested "Americanized" as an alternative.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 30, 2005 1:49 PM | Comments (0)

 

The miracles of modern medicine

Filed under: Health Care

A friend in San Francisco sends this note about his attempts to register his toddler for an appointment with a medical specialist:

I am not kidding about learning the importance of dealing with insurance companies. Astonishing bureaucracy and ineptitude, among other enjoyable attributes--took them 6 tries, and 5 phone calls, to send me an authorization letter with the correct spelling of the name, address, and phone number of one doctor.

Gives new meaning to the term "preventative medicine"...

Posted by Michael Tortorello at November 30, 2005 12:27 PM | Comments (1)

 

Teen Rampage: Episode 745

Filed under: Crime

Perfect newspaper cliche ruined by an overabundance of guns and religious extremism

In the trade, we call it burying the lede (as in, the lead concept, development or image in a story), and it happens a lot despite the fact that most student reporters hear the term before they get out of Journalism 101. Often it occurs when the hard nut of a story is inconvenient, or just plain too gritty for the writer or their employer.

Case in point: The opening paragraphs of a murderous teen story in Monday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

Perfect parents. Perfect home. Perfect kids. Or so it seemed.

Then, unbelievably, two families in agony. A community in shock.

The double-murder case in Lititz - 18-year-old David Ludwig charged with shooting the parents of his secret girlfriend, Kara Beth Borden, a 14-year-old he met in their Christian homeschooling network - has provoked more than speculation about the Nov. 13 incident itself.

It has caused a wave of anxiety among many parents in the region, who wonder if anything ever truly is what it seems with their children.

The boogieman thus defined as a teen with a secret, the handwringing continues for a dozen paragraphs, at which point we learn that law enforcement confiscated 54 guns from the home of the alleged shooter. On his computer they found "images of Borden 'in various stages of undress' and a video of Ludwig and a friend as they planned an armed raid on an unidentified residence."

Why is it that these "inexplicable" teen rampage cases always seem to involve a parent with a gun collection (e.g. Columbine, the Rocori shooter) and a desire for a religiously inspired withdrawal from society at large? And why is it that newspaper pundits are always much more likely to blame popular culture? The Inquirer's academic expert on teen secrecy goes straight there, the story's description of the suspect as a guy who read the Bible during his breaks at work notwithstanding.

"Garbarino attributes children's alternate universes not so much to technology as to popular culture - violent imagery on TV and in movies, an "extremely explicit" level of sexuality, an erosion in adult authority, and more. The norm has become so extreme, he said, that it's hard to know what behavior is an indicator of trouble."

Maybe we ought to look at our culture's increasing acceptance of rigid belief systems. What homeschooled girl do you imagine feels comfortable telling her parents she has sexual feelings--or worse, sex? Why wouldn't a teenage boy in a guns-and-God family hide naked pictures from his parents?

Duh, as the kids would say.

Posted by Beth Hawkins at November 30, 2005 12:26 PM | Comments (5)

 

Pharmaceuticals propaganda goes literary, backfires

Filed under: Health Care

Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer have a staggering little tale of pharmaceutical-business disinformation posted at Slate. They report that the industry lobbying group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) hired a pair of ghostwriters to crank out a thriller about the import of tainted drugs from, yes, Canada. But a fatal wrinkle in the plot soon developed: Mark Barondess, the PhRMA flack who had dreamed up the project, didn't like the manuscript of the resulting novel and killed the project. Brownlee and Lenzer write that Barondess then offered the writers $100,000 to forget the whole thing ever happened. They declined, and their novel The Karasik Conspiracy will be published in December with a new heavy: the American pharmaceutical industry.

Read the Slate story here.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 30, 2005 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

 

Goodnight, Papa Bear

Filed under: Obituary

Stan Berenstain of "Berenstain Bears" fame dies at 82; parents everywhere get a little less help embracing their own fallibility

Stan Berenstain, creator of the Berenstain Bears books, died Saturday of complications from cancer. A wildly popular series of thin children's paperbacks, the stories chronicled the misadventures of four bipedal bears named, in childlike fashion, Papa, Mama, Brother, and Sister. There must be hundreds of these books, each revolving around some minor domestic trauma: "The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room"; "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food"; "The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners," etc.

Most have a predictable thread: The bear siblings step on Mama's or Papa's last nerve and someone in the treehouse blows up. The angry parent starts to tongue-lash the hapless cubs, but then, at the pivotal moment in each book, realizes that he or she isn't being very grown up about the situation. Bearfit thus defused, a constructive outcome is possible and harmony pervades the treehouse.

More often than not, the dunderhead is Papa Bear, who consistently displays a need to do things better, faster, and bigger, and who gets handed his furry ass every time, only to find himself more beloved by the cubs. According to the obituary in today's Los Angeles Times, Stan Berenstain and his wife and co-author Jan modeled the adult bears on themselves.

"I was told by a lawyer once that truth is a complete defense. Mama's perfectionism is about Jan," Stan told The Times.

He deflected criticism of Papa Bear, who is frequently portrayed as a bit of a dolt, by admitting that the bear's bullheaded tendencies were all his.

I do understand the position of one dad I know who finds the Berenstain Bears series too sexist for his family's library (with the lone exception of "Messy Room," Mama never gets handed her comeuppance), but I still maintain that the series displays a subversive genius. Young children like to hear stories a jillion times; stories that show their parents as flawed or capable of hypocrisy, two jillion times. But even better, show me the grownup who can make it through "The Berenstain Bears and the Greedy Gimmies" without acknowledging on their own tendency to feed the trolls and I'll show you someone pathologically devoid of self-awareness.

I'm a better human for having known you, Stan. Godspeed in the ultimate hibernation.

Posted by Beth Hawkins at November 30, 2005 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

 

11/30: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Diablo Cody mixes old business with family during Thanksgiving at the Pussy Ranch.

Britt Robson analyzes the Wolves-Clippers game in the latest installment of The Three-Pointer at Balls!

THESE DAYS

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has told federal officials that the lighted, decorated tree on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol -- known in recent years as the "Holiday Tree" -- should be renamed the "Capitol Christmas Tree," as it was called until the late 1990s. What? It's not called the Freedom Tree?

A 40-foot motor home was converted into a strip club on wheels, offering alcohol and lap dances to football fans outside the stadium before kickoff of Sunday's Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, police said.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Peg Kaplan has pushed herself away from her bridge game long enough to start blogging again at what if?

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Odeo CEO Evan Williams has Ten Rules for Web Startups

A handy-dandy guide to radioactive consumer products

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."

-- Colin Powell's former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson, on Vice President Dick Cheney, in regard to how Cheney could have believed Iraq was a terrorist training ground

"She'll always be part of Lincoln Financial Field and of the Eagles."

-- Christopher Noteboom, of Tempe, Arizona, who ran onto the field during the Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay Packers game on Sunday and spread his late mother's ashes on the grass

"The Democratic Party seems to be taken over by the Michael Moore contingent in their attitude toward Vietnam, and they continually call for a withdrawal of troops at a time when we haven't finished the job."

-- Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), getting his quagmires confused Monday on Fox News

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 30, 2005 6:31 AM | Comments (0)

 

Minnesota: 7th richest state in US

Filed under: Economy

Today the AP published lists of the US's 10 richest/poorest states and 20 richest/poorest counties. The state list placed Minnesota seventh with a median household income of $50,750 (Connecticut placed first at $56,409). Two Twin Cities metro suburban counties appeared on that top 20 list: Carver at number 16 and Scott at number 17, with median incomes a little over $74,000. Los Alamos County, New Mexico led the pack at $93,089.

In a pair of lists dominated mostly by the East Coast (highest incomes) and South (lowest), the only other Midwestern state to appear on radar was South Dakota: Three of its counties rank among the country's 20 poorest. Buffalo County has the lowest median income in the US ($17,003), and Ziebach County is third-lowest. Todd County also appears on the list. All 17 of the remaining counties on the list are in states in the deep South or in the Kentucky/Appalachian region.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 29, 2005 5:01 PM | Comments (1)

 

Crime blotter: vigilante parking enforcement

Filed under: Crime

Last Tuesday, at approximately noon, Brooklyn Park police officers were called to 8249 Newton Avenue to investigate a vehicle fire. According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, responding officers observed a 1990 Toyota Camry with blackened windows. A smoldering gas can sat next to it.

After the fire was extinguished officers spoke with George Omari Nyagaka. The 28-year-old Brooklyn Park resident allegedly told police that he had set the car on fire because it had been parked for too long in front of his house. He further claimed that the owner of the vehicle practiced witchcraft and was trying to harm him by leaving the car in front of his house.

Nyagaka is charged with one count of second degree arson.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 29, 2005 3:28 PM | Comments (3)

 

Take this job and build a database around it!

Filed under: Economy

Want to know what company in Minnesota has the most on-the-job injuries? Or what company has been busted the most times for federal labor law violations? Or how much the CEO at said company got paid last year? You can always hire a shamus to find out--or you can check out the AFL-CIO's nifty new searchable database, the Job Tracker. Just click here.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at November 29, 2005 2:56 PM | Comments (0)

 

Rybak strengthens Somali connection

Filed under: Minneapolis

Appointment to library board highlights emerging political class

Word just came in trumpeting the mayor's appointment to the library board, Hussein Samatar. Normally, such an appointment would barely be news, but the selection is notable because it underscores what became apparent in the latest round of citywide elections earlier this month: The Somali community is gaining ground as an active and viable constituency.

Rybak benefited from this, according to most observers, as did Eighth Ward council member-elect Elizabeth Glidden. Hizzoner, apparently, has decided to return the favor in kind.

(Six library board members are elected to at-large postitions, and the city council and the mayor each get one appointment.)

The opening graph of the press release offers some context on the choice:

"Mayor R.T. Rybak today announced that he has appointed Somali businessman Hussein Samatar to the Minneapolis Library Board of Trustees. When he takes office in January, Samatar would become one of the highest ranking Somali public officials in the nation, symbolizing the political progress of this rapidly growing immigrant population."

Politics aside, Samatar's CV is nothing to sneeze at. He came to Minneapolis from Somalia in 1994, went to work for Wells Fargo, and founded the African Development Center in 2002.

An interview with Samatar on finances and Muslims can be found here on the Federal Reserve's web site. And there's an interesting profile on Samatar on this Somali web zine.

The entire press release:

Mayor Rybak Appoints Somali Businessman Hussein Samatar to Library Board

Hussein to be among highest ranking Somali public officials in the country

Mayor R.T. Rybak today announced that he has appointed Somali businessman Hussein Samatar to the Minneapolis Library Board of Trustees. When he takes office in January, Samatar would become one of the highest ranking Somali public officials in the nation, symbolizing the political progress of this rapidly growing immigrant population.

"Appointing Hussein to the Library Board is about bringing new voices to lead our libraries into the future, especially voices from our growing immigrant communities," Rybak said. "Hussein has shown incredible leadership helping many entrepreneurs get their start and will bring excellent business and financial planning experience to our libraries."

Minneapolis Public Libraries are governed by an independent Board of Trustees responsible for overseeing the establishment, management, and maintenance of public libraries in the City of Minneapolis. Six board members were elected to four-year terms in the recent municipal election and two members are appointed for two-year terms by Mayor Rybak and the City Council.

"I am humbled and honored to be selected to help lead our libraries," Samatar said of his nomination by Mayor Rybak. "My family and my community have benefited tremendously from public libraries and we have a big stake in ensuring access to the educational opportunities that libraries provide."

Samatar is the executive director of the African Development Center, which works with African communities to start businesses and promote community reinvestment. Before starting the Center in 2002, Samatar spent eight years at Wells Fargo where he managed a $15 million commercial and real estate portfolio.

Samatar has an MBA in Financial Management from the University of St. Thomas and completed a one-year policy fellowship at the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum. Samatar was one of the Business Journal’s 2002 "Forty Under 40" and he currently serves on the boards of the Home Ownership Center, the Citizens' League and the Advisory Committee of the Payne-Lake Community Partnership.

Samatar came to Minneapolis in 1994 from Somalia. As many as 40,000 immigrants from Africa are estimated to now live in Minnesota. Thirteen percent of Minnesota's foreign-born residents in the 2000 Census were from Africa--a higher percentage than any other state in the country. Most of these individuals have come to the United States as refugees fleeing civil strife in Liberia, Somalia, and the Sudan.

A community celebration of Samatar's Library Board appointment is being planned for Monday, December 5th at Franklin Library from 5:30–7:00 p.m.

# # #

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at November 29, 2005 1:22 PM | Comments (1)

 

11/29: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

THESE DAYS

Fatter rear ends are causing many drug injections to miss their mark, requiring longer needles to reach buttock muscle, researchers said Monday.

Despite the support for restrictions, 61 percent of those questioned in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll were opposed to a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Kevin M is plowing through a myriad of very bad sex scenes at The Dead Postman.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Relive an SNL classic as Christopher Walken, Walter Matthau, et al audition for Star Wars.

A craptastic webcam karaoke music performance of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"There is just no introspection there at all. It is everybody else's
fault--the press, gutless Republicans on the Hill. They're still in denial."

-- A "card-carrying member of the Washington GOP establishment with close
ties to the White House" describes the current West Wing mindset in a New
York Daily News article by Thomas DeFrank and Kenneth Bazinet

"Chewing through staff like an industrial wood chipper."

-- Longtime GOP consultant Rick Wilson, on senate candidate and Florida representative Katherine Harris's congressional and campaign staff turnover

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 29, 2005 6:19 AM | Comments (0)

 

DoJ approves Village Voice/New Times merger

Filed under: Media

No surprise there. Here is the text of the note that David Schneiderman of Village Voice Media sent to CP publisher Mark Bartel around noon today:

I am pleased to inform you that the Department [of] Justice has approved our merger with New Times. We expect to close in about a month or so. The work on integrating the two companies will accelerate, but we will still be functioning as separate entities until the closing.

Elsewhere, Chuck Taylor writes in the Seattle Weekly that the FTC posted the announcement that there would be no DoJ challenge to the merger last Wednesday, November 23, to little fanfare.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 28, 2005 1:26 PM | Comments (1)

 

Freakonomics abortion/crime claim takes a hit

Filed under: Media

Here's a note for everyone with a copy of Steven Levitt's monster bestseller Freakonomics sitting on a nightstand or beside a toilet: The Wall Street Journal reports that a new paper written by a pair of economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston undercuts the book's most notorious claim--that there is a direct correlation between the legalizing of abortion and a decline in the crime rate some 20 years later. Christopher Foote and Christopher Goetz say Levitt's claim falls apart when you correct for two errors in his statistical analysis: the omission of a formula that would have made it possible to spot other potential factors (like the crack wave of the '90s), and the failure to adjust for changes in the overall population between the 1970s and 1990s. Notes WSJ reporter Jon Hilsenrath: "After he adjusted for both factors, Mr. Foote says, the abortion effect disappeared."

The story is not one of the Journal's daily free features, unfortunately, but if there is not enough wonk in your Monday, you can read the Foote/Goetz paper that the story is based on here.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 28, 2005 8:58 AM | Comments (2)

 

11/28: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Steve Monaco has your Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

THESE DAYS

Police in Kennewick, Washington, are providing free rides over the holidays to dissuade drunk driving.

Poland's new right-wing government risked a damaging confrontation with Russia when it published a Warsaw Pact map showing detailed plans for Soviet nuclear strikes against western Europe.

The Hayabusa spaceprobe has snatched samples from the asteroid Itokawa, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

You occasionally get sent to the social worker's office when your nom de guerre is "shoot her before she talks her way out of it" or when your blog is called broken hearts are good for stabbing people with.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Serious businesses like Who Represents and Pen Island become a bit more amusing when you type in their URLs.

Flipping back and forth between the 18th century and the hapless efforts of the 21st century filmmakers, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is the making of a movie adapted from the notoriously unfilmable English literature masterpiece, The Life and Opinons of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, written by Laurence Sterne. The film features Steve Coogan, Gillian Anderson, Jeremy Northam, Stephen Fry, and Ian Hart.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The inmates are very willing to do this type of work. It's something they can do to better serve the community."

-- Joe Schmidt, superintendent of the work farm where Alaskan inmates will be butchering the meat of moose struck by trains this winter for distribution in soup kitchens

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 28, 2005 6:08 AM | Comments (0)

 

Knight Ridder acquires MSP Edition of Employment News

Filed under: Media

In an release dated November 23, it was announced that Knight Ridder, which locally owns the St. Paul Pioneer Press, has acquired the Minneapolis-St. Paul Edition of the Employment News, a free recruitment publication. Another publication, Minnesota Health & Medical Careers, is also included in the acquisition. Greg Goff, Knight Ridder's general manager of targeted publications, declared the acquisition would "broaden our offerings to customers, helping them effectively reach all segments of job seekers." Barbara LaMotte, recruitment advertising sales manager at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, was named publisher of The Employment News in Minnesota.

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 25, 2005 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

 

Strib French-Kisses Advertisers

Filed under: Media

That certainly was a fat newspaper landing on doorsteps with a resounding thud yesterday morning, chock full of ads prepping us for today's annual consumer gluttony. To goose things along, the Strib decided the top story was, to quote their headline: Stocks approaching 4-year highs
Of course the beginning of the second graph read, "For the year, the blue-chip stock index is up an anemic 1.23 percent," and if readers bothered to ponder the headline, they would have realized it was a sunny way of saying, "Stocks still haven't matched 2001 levels." But on the day after Thanksgiving, consumer confidence is the name of the game for the folks in advertorial. Now go out and start shopping!

Posted by Britt Robson at November 25, 2005 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

 

11/25: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

THESE DAYS

Former FEMA Director Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job.

Hunger and malnutrition are killing nearly six million children a year, and more people are malnourished in sub-Saharan Africa this decade than in the 1990s, according to a U.N. report.

The barge that bore the body of British World War II leader Winston Churchill down the River Thames during his state funeral 40 years ago will go on sale next month and is expected to make over one million pounds.

A New York Barnes and Noble locked its doors around 11 a.m. Tuesday, hoping to stem the crush of spectators trying to catch a glimpse of the Golden Girls cast, who were signing Season Three DVD sets. [via Fark]

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Dida shares Blotter's love of haiku and going home and taking snow days. Read her blog at Highway 47 Blues.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Superman Returns teaser trailer

Tabloid Photographs from the Los Angeles Herald Express (1936-1961) An exhibition curated by Diane Keaton for the Los Angeles Public Library

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I love giving the golden shower. I've done it before in the shower. It's like so sexy, you know, the temperature of your body and the shower water is very different."

-- Pop singer Ricky Martin, in Blender, on peeing on other people in his shower

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 25, 2005 7:07 AM | Comments (0)

 

Happy Thanksgiving from The Blotter

Filed under: White House

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 24, 2005 7:31 AM | Comments (0)

 

Gas pains

Filed under: Economy

What's the real value of gas? Whatever you're willing to pay for it. That's the line grinning economists were giving at the height of the fall price spike--safe in the knowledge that angry mobs couldn't afford to douse them in gasoline and set them aflame.

Now, a few months after the number "3" made its debut in the lefthand column of local gas station signs, fuel prices have fallen steadily. It appears the "real value" of gas in the weeks after the hurricanes reflected a serious speculative markup. After peaking at $70, crude oil contracts now sit at $55.

According to an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, "New York Mercantile Exchange futures--contracts that require the holder to buy or sell crude, natural gas and heating oil at a set price at a future date--are all down about 20 percent from the records reached this fall." Gasoline futures in particular have dropped 40 percent.

After one of those warm, languid falls that make a man feel like he's taken a hit off a tank of greenhouse gases, Minnesotans may have been hoping for a break on natural gas prices. Keep hoping. Last month, CenterPoint Energy warned Minnesota's residential customers that they could expect to pay 40 percent more than last year. (The company makes a fixed profit, set by the state Public Utilities Commission, whatever happens on the wholesale market.)

It's worth remembering that 2003 was itself an exceptionally costly year for home heating. In fact, the last five years show an ugly trend--a topographical upswing that's bound to make any flatlander uncomfortable.

Listed below is the cost of natural gas, per therm (100,000 British Thermal Units) in each of the past five years, along with the average annual natural gas bill for a local CenterPoint customer.

2001-2002  57 cents/therm   $594 a year
2002-2003  66 cents        $876
2003-2004  74 cents        $907
2004-2005  $1.00        $995
2004-2005  $1.39          $1,400

No data are available on what percentage of residential customers are planning on burning their furniture for warmth.

Posted by Michael Tortorello at November 23, 2005 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

 

Bush's poll tumble: the fine print

Filed under: National

The Harris Poll released on November 17 contains the lowest approval rating for George W. Bush yet logged by any major survey firm: 34 percent, compared to 65 percent disapproval. That's down 16 points from Bush's 50 percent approval a year ago, around the time he was re-elected. And it's 14 points below his Harris Poll high-water mark for 2005: 48 percent back in February.

As the media have noted repeatedly, the Republicans in Congress aren't faring much better in the court of opinion. Their 2005 Harris rankings, approval number first:

November 27% 69%
August 32% 64%
June 37% 58%
April 36% 61%

But there is a kicker that nearly everyone seems to have overlooked. The Democrats in Congress remain even more unpopular than their Republican counterparts. Their Harris ratings from the same periods:

November 25% 70%
August 31% 65%
June 33% 61%
April 34% 64%

It appears the grand Democratic strategy of standing back and letting the Republicans sink themselves is working roughly as well as it did in the 2004 campaign.

Read the WSJ's free-database story on the 11/17 Harris Poll.

Posted by Steve Perry at November 23, 2005 9:44 AM | Comments (0)

 

Hello, Sailor: Now KARE-11 will get paid for (some of) its pimping

Filed under: Media

Deborah Caulfield Rybak reveals in this morning's Strib that local TV news-ratings leader KARE-11 will begin selling airtime on its morning show broadcasts--not commercials, mind you, but hosted segments in the show. Starting on March 27 of next year, the station will sell five-minute spots in its regular broadcast, dubbed "Showcase Minnesota." These product- or service-plugging sessions will cost $2000 to $2500 apiece. (No word on whether the segment hosts will be open to "dating," or what the surcharge might be.) It's part of a larger Gannett plan that originated in Denver and by 2006 will include half a dozen or more of the corporation's TV outlets around the country.

University of Minnesota media ethics prof Jane Kirtley pronounces herself "aghast" at the plan. Indeed: Don't they realize how much more money they could make selling their 10 pm Extra segment? It already consists of product promotions in the guise of consumer news roughly half the time. Here's a list of the last 16 Extras archived at the KARE-11 website, with the consumer pieces in bold:

The new deal on earning [airline] miles [airs tonight!]
Television buying tips
Podcasting, have opinion will share
Best prices on hottest toys
Finding the perfect pair of jeans
Coroner could unlock decades-old mystery
Winning at Texas Hold 'em
Surviving annoying co-workers
Some are sweet on Splenda
KARE 11 Investigates: Reker Case
Eyes all around - Cameras and Cops
The Gift of Life - Part 2
The Gift of Life - Part One
Seeking a Killer - A Cold Case Gets New Life Part 1
Timing is everything -- The traffic light mess
Virtual home tour a big help to buyers

Posted by Steve Perry at November 23, 2005 8:41 AM | Comments (2)

 

11/23: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

THESE DAYS

Days after Rep. Jean Schmidt was booed off the House floor for saying that "cowards cut and run, Marines never do," the Ohioan she quoted, Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, disputes the comments.

City Pages' current cover-scientist PZ Myers tangles with, of all people, Dilbert creator Scott Adams over Intelligent Design.

Fox News is refusing to air an ad critical of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, citing its lawyers' contention that the spot is factually incorrect.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Andrea's an audiophile who someday hopes to be cool. Get her take on recent releases and/or performances by Atmosphere, Electropolis, and Trampled by Turles, at Minneapolitan Music.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Eden Prairie, you just got served! Check out these Christmas lights [sound + NSFW ads]

In a bit of viral meta-marketing, Tigergaming.com is calling on creative types to come up with their next advertising campaign.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Not really that interested in Murtha, ladies and gentlemen, to tell you the truth. I know he got everybody's dander up all last week, but I think he's just the useful idiot of the moment."

-- Bloviating gas-bag Rush Limbaugh, on Vietnam veteran and House member John P. Murtha (D-PA), who has called for the immediate redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 23, 2005 6:10 AM | Comments (0)

 

Nice work if you can get it

Filed under: Business

The Center for Public Integrity has released a new report scrutinizing the accountability and effectiveness of public utility commissions across the country. These bodies, varying in make-up and duties from state to state, regulate companies that provide basic necessities such as telephone, electricity, and water services. The posts pay quite well, an average of $92,561 nationwide.

The study found that these bodies are rife with cronyism and lack any substantial participation from consumer advocates. For instance, the report determined that 45 of the 199 commissioners nationwide were former state legislators, while an additional 49 had either been employed as legislative staffers or gubernatorial appointees in the past.

By contrast CPI located just eight commissioners with backgrounds in consumer advocacy. And one of these, Martin Cohen of the Illinois Commerce Commission, is no longer in the post. He was rejected by the state senate because he was deemed too hostile towards local utility companies.

The report also ranks each state commission in terms of accountability and transparency. Minnesota is among 26 states that receives a failing grade, earning just 53 points out of 100. The state is faulted for not requiring complete financial disclosure from commissioners, nor from their spouses. Minnesota's five commissioners, who are appointed by the governor, are paid $88,448 annually for their work.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 22, 2005 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Nation's most dangerous cities: Minneapolis beats Houston by a long shot

Filed under: Crime

A crime study released yesterday by Morgan Quitno Press reveals that Minneapolis is the nation's 34th most-dangerous city, landing just below Philadelphia on the publisher's danger list. Houston, with a population of more than 2 million, is the 54th most-dangerous city; Newton, Mass., which falls last on the list of 369 cities surveyed, is considered to be the safest U.S. city.

The study looked at cities' crime rates in 2004 per 100,000 residents and measured the findings against national averages. In Minneapolis, 4,709 violent crimes were reported in a population of 376,255 last year: Among them were 45 murders/manslaughters, 384 forcible rapes, 2,246 robberies, and 2,026 aggravated assaults, according to the FBI. Philadelphia, with a little over 1.4 million residents, reported 20,902 violent crimes in 2004.

However, when researchers combined Minneapolis and St. Paul (which is 97th most dangerous) with the metro region, the Twin Cities fall to 195 most-dangerous, just above a town you've never heard of, Warner Robins, Georgia. And there's more good news in all of this: At least we're not Camden, New Jersey. The Number One most-violent city, whose population is 80,600, saw 1,824 violent crimes in 2004. Incidentally, Wisconsin metro areas of Fond du Lac, Appleton, Sheboygan, LaCrosse, and Oshkosh are among the top-ten safest places in the country.

Posted by at November 22, 2005 1:57 PM | Comments (1)

 

Failing Grade for "No Child"

Filed under: Education

Bush Administration eases off pass-fail system for public schools

Four years after enactment of its hallmark education reform, the Bush administration appears to be heading off calls for changes in the law by agreeing not to enforce key provisions of No Child Left Behind. Schools that fail to make "adequate yearly progress" on academic performance under the law to escape the "failing" label can show progress by other means. Some urban districts can offer students in failing schools tutoring instead of a transfer to a better school. States previously under pressure to show that their teachers met certain minimum standards can now show that they made "good faith efforts" toward hiring qualified educators. Testing requirements for disabled students will be eased.

The analysis in today's Washington Post--which fields a crack educating reporting team--is clear, if not terribly pointed:

The Education Department's actions could signal a new phase for school improvement efforts nearly four years after the law's enactment. Taken together, these actions amount to a major response to critics who have called No Child Left Behind rigid and unworkable. They also help the administration combat efforts to amend the law in Congress.

Is it possible that movements to institutionalize charter schools and voichers have succeeded to the point where the law, long and credibly criticized as an assault on public education, is irrelevant? Think about it: State politicians are starting to feel the heat over the absolute lack of anything resembling instruction that's going on in many classrooms; it is starting to look very much even to those so-called terror moms like Bush is wrong, the problem isn't a lack of will, it's a lack of money.

If you have a child in a Twin Cities school, you know what I mean. Parents and teachers are frantic this year; yesterday, the Strib explained the numbers behind what we know anecdotally to be true:

At South, across Minneapolis and into the suburbs, high schools have been fighting a losing battle against bigger class sizes. It's a particularly sensitive subject in Minneapolis, where as recently as 2000 voters approved tax increases to keep class sizes down, only to watch them edge up in recent years because of higher expenses and tighter state funding.

This year the erosion in Minneapolis elementary classes is one to two students on average, but high school classes are jumping, with math classes up by an average of nine students citywide.

"We seem to have reached a tipping point in terms of parent concern," said Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis. "This fall it seems like there's almost a spontaneous grass-roots reaction among parents."

If the tough-love rhetoric fueling No Child was anything more than ideological bluster, would Bush et. al. really be backing away from enforcing the rules at its core?

Posted by Beth Hawkins at November 22, 2005 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

Toward a one-newspaper town, part two

Filed under: Media

On Saturday, the Star Tribune posted a curious story about the uncertain future of its main rival, the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As noted in this space previously, speculation about the Pi Press is fully warranted, given the shareholder revolt at Knight Ridder.

The second sentence of the Strib piece was the odd part. Wrote reporters Deborah Caulfield Rybak and Terry Fiedler: "A scenario in which the McClatchy Co., owner of the Star Tribune, buys the Pioneer Press to eliminate a competitor is seen as particularly unlikely."

Since flaks for both companies declined to comment, the reporters relied on a newspaper industry consultant to support this sanguine claim. The analyst, John Morton, declared that Justice Department regulators simply wouldn't stand for such a flagrantly monopolistic deal.

Oh really? Tell that to the people living in the Twin Ports, where less than two years ago, Knight Ridder, owner of the Duluth News Tribune, quietly snapped up its rival in Superior, Wisconsin, the Daily Telegram. [Disclosure: I worked at the Telegram in the early nineties.]

Yes, the Twin Ports is much smaller market and, consequently, media transactions don't attract much attention. But otherwise the parallels are striking. In fact, in one critical regard, the Twin Ports deal is more egregious than any hypothetical purchase of the Pi Press by McClatchy. Why? Because in addition to swallowing the Telegram, Knight Ridder bought four Duluth-area weeklies, effectively giving the chain a stranglehold on print advertising in the Twin Ports. And guess what? No trust busting lawyers from the Justice Department came riding in to save the day.

Posted by Mike Mosedale at November 22, 2005 9:03 AM | Comments (0)

 

11/22: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Corey Anderson notices a line forming as President Bush pardons the Thanksgiving turkey at American Idle.

Steve Monaco reveals Robert Blake's thoughts as the civil trial's verdict is read at Couch Pundit.

THESE DAYS

A senior United Nations official has accused President George Bush of "doing damage to Africa" by cutting funding for condoms, a move which may jeopardize the successful fight against HIV/Aids in Uganda.

The Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal organization led by Jerry Falwell, promises to file suit against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces. Hopefully, a tumbler of bourbon and a Seconal still counts.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Fire Glen Mason: A blog dedicated to encouraging the U of M to pursue other candidates for the Gophers head coaching job.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Rock 'n' roll novelist Neal Pollack has a hilarious rant at his blog about his 3-year-old's potty training difficulties. Hottest catchphrase for winter 2006: "I pooped on my animals!"

Ze Frank took the Matt Lauer-Tom Cruise Today Show confrontation and turned it into a monotonal discussion between two aliens. [via Boing Boing]

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The period between 9/11 and Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn't a robust discussion of what we were doing. If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil -- they just have a different perspective."

-- Hardball host Chris Matthews, in a speech to political science students at the University of Toronto over the weekend

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 22, 2005 6:25 AM | Comments (2)

 

Soldiers to Minnesota: Give us jerky!

Filed under: Iraq

KTTC-TV out of Rochester is reporting on "Operation Hometown Gratitude," a project whereby local high school students assemble care packages for soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the students need some assistance from hunters to fulfill one popular request: jerky! Area hunters are being asked to donate some of their deer cuts, and Ye Olde Butcher Shop is donating up to three smokehouse loads of jerky processing for the project. Hunters are being asked to contact the butcher shop for more information on how they can donate.

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 21, 2005 2:15 PM | Comments (0)

 

11/21: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Steve Monaco has your Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

Elaine Cassel discusses a prosecutor under investigation in the Detroit terrorism case at Civil Liberties Watch.

If you're jonesing for more awesome Morning Communique-type links, check out the Mid Morning Browse from Karl Pearson-Cater at kpc--weeblog.

THESE DAYS

After 16-year-old Kelsey Swiatko heard that underwear is one of the biggest needs among Kenosha's poor, she launched "Operation Underwear," spending hours outside the local Wal-Mart collecting donations.

Match.com is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees and phony dates with people on the payroll.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Shell Shell is an FOB (Friend of Blotter) who shares her psychoses, Jarvis Cocker fetish, and crappy GRE verbal scores for our amusement at War on Dating.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Got a case of the Mondays? Rate My Puppy will bring on the feel-goods!

Fantasy Island meets Saw in a sadistic new thriller produced by Quentin Tarantino called Hostel.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Yes, obviously."

-- John Kerry, speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, answers his own rhetorical question: "Would I like to be president?"

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 21, 2005 6:53 AM | Comments (0)

 

Spotted

Filed under: Spotted

At approximately 1:05 p.m. Thursday on the third floor of City Hall in Minneapolis. City Council member Dean Zimmerman, greeting a constituent. "Congratulations on your re-election," the constituent says cheerfully. After a long pause, Zimmerman conveys the bad news: "I didn't get re-elected."

Posted by Paul Demko at November 18, 2005 12:38 PM | Comments (2)

 

11/18: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

THESE DAYS

Three liger cubs, bred for their skills in magic, have been born in a Russian zoo to an African lion and a Bengalese tigress.

FEMA moved to nudge victims of Hurricane Katrina toward self-sufficiency, announcing that it would cut off financing for most of the 60,000 families in government-paid hotel and motel rooms by the end of this month.

William Shatner is hoping to persuade medics who removed his kidney stone to hand it over so he can sell it on eBay.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Paul Wellstone: The Musical? Check out Tom's premise at candidate moore.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Mac-addicts looking for background on the legendary 1984 Macintosh commercial can find it at Curt's Media. [via Ad Hunt via Advertising/Design Goodness]

Which mental disorder do you have? Blotter has a case of unipolar depression... how about you? Let us know in the comments section.

If you enjoyed March of the Penguins, the November 2006 movie Happy Feet ramps up the choreography a bit. Yeah, goddamn Robin Williams is in this animated feature as well.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The only regret I had voting for the war is that I never anticipated how incompetent the administration would be in using the authority we gave them to avoid war."

-- Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), in Wednesday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wishing there had been an avoid-the-war attachment to the go-to-war vote

"I mean, T.O. could be good here with the Raiders but I don't think with his baggage and everything he's been through, and my baggage and what I've been through, I don't think that would work."

-- Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss on the prospect of sharing the field with problem child Terrell Owens

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 18, 2005 6:50 AM | Comments (4)

 

Animal Farm at NWA

Filed under: Business

The most interesting daily print journalism increasingly seems to take place in the business sections, and the Star Tribune is no exception.

Yesterday the Strib reported on the harsh words leveled at Northwest Airlines executives by Mark McClain, the local chairman of the pilot's union. On Monday, the pilots agreed to temporary pay cuts of 23.9 percents, a year after their wages were already slashed 15 percent. These are collectively larger than the cuts endured by NWA's management team. Next month, reports the Strib, top management will take 10 percent pay cuts on top of the 8 to 23 percent decreases in wages they experienced last year. McClain called the discrepancy "inherently unfair" and said it reflects "a lack of leadership on management's part."

NWA has utilized its bankruptcy filings as leverage to decrease the size as well as the total salaries and benefits of its workforce. Just today, a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved 19 percent wage cuts for 14,420 ground workers at the airline. But as the Strib notes, the airline execs told the bankruptcy court that management compensation is an issue in retaining key executives. Apparently, some NWA employees are more equal than others.

During the go-go stock market boom of the 1990s, CEOs rationalized their huge executive compensation packages by pointing to the profitability of their firms. So why isn't the reverse true when the airline is bleeding billions of dollars? NWA CEO Douglas Steenland earned $472,649 last year, according to the eComp Executive Compensation Database. By contrast, David Neeleman, the CEO of JetBlue, an airline that actually made a profit in 2004, pulled down $270,000, including his $70,000 bonus. And Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest, the other success story in the airline biz, had a base salary of $322,436, more than $100,000 less than Steenland's base, although bonuses for his performance elevated Kelly's total 2004 pay to $542,436.

The point is, slashing the salaries of NWA's executive team is hardly going to prompt a stampede for the exits--and if it does, given the airline's recent performance, it might not be such a bad thing.

Besides, a little more pruning at the top would again better reflect what is happening throughout the rest of the company. The Strib reports that NWA has slashed its in-house maintenance workforce from 4400 on August 19 to about 880 today. By contrast, its number of officer positions has decreased merely from 68 to 40.

Posted by Britt Robson at November 17, 2005 4:24 PM | Comments (37)

 

Don't feel like waiting 30 years to learn the identity of the new Deep Throat? How about 30 seconds?

Filed under: Rove/Plame

Today's New York Times offers a very subtle hint about which senior White House official might have tipped off Bob Woodward in the Valerie Flame affair. Read the following passage and see if you can guess:

"Because Mr. Woodward said that source had still not authorized him to disclose his or her name, he set off a frantic new round of guessing about who that source might be and a wave of public denials by spokesmen for possible suspects.

A senior administration official said that neither President Bush himself, nor his chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., nor his counselor, Dan Bartlett, was Mr. Woodward's source. So did spokesmen for former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; the former director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet; and his deputy, John E. McLaughlin.

A lawyer for Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff who has acknowledged conversations with reporters about the case and remains under investigation, said Mr. Rove was not Mr. Woodward's source.

Mr. Cheney did not join the parade of denials. A spokeswoman said he would have no comment on a continuing investigation. Several other officials could not be reached for comment."

Still no guesses? OK, let me give you a hint: The first initial is "D"...

Posted by Michael Tortorello at November 17, 2005 11:40 AM | Comments (1)

 

For Minneapolis, red means green

Filed under: Crime

By Eliot Brown

At last check, the Minneapolis police were not walking door to door in North Minneapolis, demanding $140 donations to pay for their salaries. But perhaps it's time they start. In its initial four months, Photo Cop, the system of red light cameras in Minneapolis, has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic citations. And most of it, apparently, is coming from the city's low-income wards.

Since the program started on July 7, Photo Cop has chalked up more than 18,000 citations, ensnaring anyone caught driving illegally in one of 12 marked intersections around the city.

At $142 a pop, with $53.60 going to City Hall, the revenue adds up quickly. Lt. Greg Reinhardt, the coordinator of the program, expects around a $200,000 to $300,000 surplus after expenses. So far, however, the cameras have been catching more drivers than initially expected.

While the city asserts that the cameras were sited in high-accident zones, the fines are likely hitting poorer communities especially hard. Nine out of the twelve cameras sit at high-volume intersections within poorer neighborhoods or at their edges. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, average family incomes in these districts stand below $45,000.

Minneapolis councilman Robert Lilligren, whose 8th Ward hosts four of the twelve cameras, champions the Photo Cop as a safety device. "The one message that I heard consistently--that I heard throughout the ward--was 'We want greater traffic enforcement,'" he says. And he suggests that many of those receiving citations for running lights along these busy thoroughfares are drivers from outside the district.

Cities across the nation seem to be turning to red-light cameras in order to cover their bills, with some in California charging a gut-wrenching $350 for a first-time violation. San Diego, for instance, issues tickets of $321 for anyone caught by camera in an intersection, raking in millions each year for the city. That program ran into some trouble in 2001 when it was found that Lockheed-Martin, the administrator for the intersection cameras, had moved sensors in the road to effectively shorten the yellow light time--a move Lockheed made without notifying the city.

Lockheed, which received a $70 cut for every fine issued, had far more incentive to boost tickets than does subcontractor Redflex Traffic Systems here in Minneapolis, which receives a flat rate from the city.

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 17, 2005 9:14 AM | Comments (13)

 

11/17: Morning Communique

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Steve Monaco has some vintage Thanksgiving-themed comic book covers at Couch Pundit. An esoteric collection indeed.

THESE DAYS

U.S. troops used white phosphorus as a weapon in last year's offensive in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

It can be hard for some people in nursing homes to keep up their spirits, but the residents at the St. Mary's Hospital in County Monaghan in Ireland find it easier than most, thanks to their pub.

Former President Clinton told students at the American University of Dubai Wednesday the United States made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

State Sen. David Hann, State Rep. Erik Paulsen, Eden Prairie City Councilman Brad Aho, and EP School Board Member Tim Fox represent Eden Prairie and southern Minnetonka, and blog at SD42 Republicans.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The folks that brought you turkey-flavored soda last Thanksgiving are adding salmon-flavored soda to the line of products everyone writes about but no one actually buys.

Sandra Davis and Pepper performing a woman and pooch bull fighting-inspired dance routine.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"They're desperate for a fur 'comeback' so they throw their pelts at any clueless celebrity, like Diddy or J.Lo, who'll wear whatever is free. Seriously, a fur coat just adds 20 years and 20 pounds to you, and if you get rained on you smell like a wet dog."

-- best-selling author and bikini enthusiast Pamela Anderson

Posted by Corey Anderson at November 17, 2005 6:45 AM | Comments (0)

 

The bird flu: the coolest new lifestyle trend? Who cares? Let's salsa!

Filed under: Media

The Strib's new and supposedly more-user-friendly redesign jettisoned the rest of the world into thin air. Gone is a portal department to the outside world that lists the day's top national and world news, and here to stay are stories about menopause and that poor, poor rich kid who's just like us, only poorer because being a Dayton makes it too easy to get a job at Target. So what is a newspaper without a World section on its homepage to do with a story about the first human cases of bird flu in China? Add it to the "Lifestyle" section (a screen cap from today's Strib pictured left) alongside a story about the other disease capturing the world's attention: coming up with the perfect baby name.

Update: The cool bird-flu trend has already been usurped by the trend to dial down the thermostat, which apparently everyone is doing lately. The Strib has since removed the bird flu story link from its "Lifestyle" section.

Posted by at November 16, 2005 2:52 PM | Comments (0)

 

Press release of the day II: Mayor Rybak seeks intimate adventures with open M/F couple

Filed under: