Minneapolis / St. Paul News Blog

Tomorrow morning, the Minneapolis City Council will decide whether to criminalize those citizens who like to roam the alleys. Under the proposed ordinance--conceived as a crime fighting measure--alley-walkers would be subjected to a ticket or, in some cases, arrest if spotted by police in alley not adjacent to the block where they live.

Naturally, there are some exceptions. "Invitees"--defined as someone who is visiting a resident or on their way to a garage sale--would not be deemed in violation of the rule, nor would police, emergency personnel or garbage haulers.

The GLBT magazine Lavender has endorsed Ember Reichgott Junge for congress in the 5th District, according to a press release issued today by the Junge campaign.

In its edition due out tomorrow, Lavender cites Junge as "the most experienced, qualified, and progressive-thinking candidate...Unlike other candidates for the Fifth District seat, Reichgott Junge's stand on issues protecting those without a voice is not tokenism, but a real and concerned call to action from the mountaintops."

The press release also notes that Minneapolis has the third-largest concentration of gay and lesbian couples in the nation, according to the 2000 census.

Otto trumps Anderson in statewide money sweepstakes

While the gubernatorial and state attorney general races have grabbed headlines in this campaign season, the race for state auditor is still worth noting. Rebecca Otto is the former state rep. who is running as the DFL challenger to GOP incumbent Pat Anderson, who first entered politics as the mayor of Eagan.

The two have done a PR dance over Anderson's record as state auditor, a post she's held since she was elected in 2002. Then, Anderson was part of the statewide regime change, when the Republicans ushered in a new era of dominance in Minnesota politics. The bottom line in this race might just be the bottom line.

THESE DAYS

The Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association has urged members to protest against CBS's decision to air an updated version of its 9/11 documentary in which firemen and other emergency workers are heard swearing.

Fuel expands in the heat, throwing off its measurement at the gas pumps. Hawaii, with an 86-degree fuel temperature, is the hottest. The state with the lowest gas temperature is Minnesota (53 degrees), and we pay $37 million less annually because of it.

A lack of federal money has triggered the shutdown of a coordinated effort to locate 135 people still listed as missing as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Track Tracy Eberly's numerous issues with Minnesota's newspaper of record at Anti-Strib.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Some guy wearing 121 t-shirts

Photos of celebrities with regular folks equals non-stop entertainment at CelebSafari. (Send in your own pix)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I was watching TV and saw the trucks that said 'UN' on them and said, 'Man, you are so uncool, ineffective, anything.'"

-- Megadeth singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine, discussing the metal band's new album United Abominations, its title prompted by Mustaine's disdain for the United Nations

Anyone remember the rotten old days of chain letters, when you'd have to copy them by hand and send them by post? (Back then, kiddies, candy bars cost five cents and oral gratification was something you had to pay for in Tijuana and Bangkok.)

Yet there's bountiful pleasure (if not oral pleasure) to be found in these modern days of email mischief, myths, and scams. I dare say that our children will one day remember the Nigerian Era as a golden age of flim flammery.

To wit, a friend in Atlanta forwards me the following:

Read carefully,

THIS TOOK TWO PAGES OF THE TUESDAY USA TODAY - IT IS FOR REAL

To all of my friends, I do not usually forward messages, but this is from my friend Pearlas Sandborn and she really is an attorney.

If she says that this will work, it will work. After all, what have you got to lose?

SORRY EVERYBODY. JUST HAD TO TAKE THE CHANCE!!! I'm an attorney, And I know the law. This thing is for real. Rest assured AOL and Intel will follow through with their promises for fear of facing a multimillion-dollar class action suit similar to the one filed by PepsiCo against General Electric not too long ago.

Michael K. Browne and the future of the CRA

In this season of high-profile candidacies, it's not likely that you've heard of Michael K. Browne, the acting director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. But Browne, who took over for Jayne Khalifa after she was appointed Deputy City Coordinator in May, has already appeared relatively proactive in what has in recent history been a moribund city department.

Most notably, before his appointment, Browne authored a study that raised serious questions about the state of the city's Civilian Review Authority, the citizen board that investigates complaints against the Minneapolis Police Department. The CRA has been flogged to death repeatedly since its inception in 1991, and skeptics could read Browne's report as another case of the city applying more window dressing to an entity they'd rather see disappear once and for all.

THESE DAYS

This morning, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona will play host to a contingent of politicians and business types from Luxembourg, so, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say "hi."

Responding to numerous "reports of unpleasant meetings" from Alpine trail hikers, the Swiss Hiking Federation is advising against hugging the cows.

Some commercial sex workers in Kenya who apparently are immune to HIV might be carrying a gene that protects them from contracting the virus, according to a study presented at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. [via Digg]

A company called Baby Rock Records has created lullaby versions of songs by Metallica, Tool, and the Pixies.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Political and social commentary not for the faint of heart at Big Daddy Malcontent.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Robin Williams plays a Jon Stewart-like political comedian that runs for the presidency in Barry Levinson's Man of the Year, with Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, and Lewis Black.

A politically incorrect Jell-O commerical from the 1950s

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I didn't even know what school he was from. Then I decided to Google him and found all this information about how awesome he was in college. I guess I should have done that before the draft. I also should have Googled Donte Whitner, because apparently he isn't very good."

-- 80-year-old Buffalo Bills GM Marv Levy, regretting passing on Denver's rookie QB Jay Cutler, and drafting Ohio State safety Donte Whitner instead

Perhaps the biggest surprise among the recent campaign finance data that has been reported thus far is the strong showing of the current solicitor general, Lori Swanson, in her campaign to succeed her boss, Mike Hatch, as Minnesota Attorney General. Swanson is going up against Steve Kelley in the September 12 primary. Kelley enjoys far better name recognition, having finished a strong second this summer in a bid to capture the DFL endorsement for governor. When the DFL endorsee for AG, Matt Entenza, dropped out of the race last month, Kelley hopped in and was endorsed by the party in early August.

The Duluth News Tribune reports today that 12 marijuana plants were discovered growing in a municipal garden in front of the West Duluth police substation. Reporter Janna Goerdt noticed the plants while covering a press conference highlighting a crackdown on illegal use of all-terrain vehicles. The cops claimed ignorance regarding the plants' origins.

[Lt. John] Beyer pointed out that he, his police officers and the public use the backdoor entrance to the police station. The front door just off busy Grand Avenue is usually locked and not used.

"The only thing I can say is somebody has a sense of humor," Beyer said. "Now they'll read about it in the paper and say, 'Yeah, that was me.' "

As I was doing a media clip search in the course of reporting the story on Keith Ellison that will be published tomorrow, the June 8 column from Strib writer Katherine Kersten stood out. I won't go into the entire thing, but do want to address her last point, which was quoted in at least one other national story.

"Imagine that a Republican seeks his party's endorsement for the U.S. House of Representatives, despite having been allied with a white supremacist organization just a decade earlier," Kersten smugly wrote. "You're right. That man wouldn't get his party's endorsement."

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

It was one year ago today Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast region. Weeks later, City Pages spoke to some of the evacuees to compile New Orleans: Survivor Stories, first-hand accounts of those trapped in the city after Katrina—what they did, what they saw, and how they stayed alive.

THESE DAYS

European footballers have frozen stem cells from their newborn babies to use in case of their own career-threatening sports injuries.

A Government Accountability Office probe of the White House's anti-drug media campaign has found that the $1 billion-plus spent on the effort so far has not been effective in reducing teen drug use.

Turning off the television, picking up a crossword puzzle, and eating more fish could be the keys to a better memory, an Australian survey has found.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Jim Braaten took the kids fishing in northern Minnesota recently. Read about the trip and the childhood memories it triggered at the Sportsman's Blog.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Top 100 Wikipedia articles by page views

Will Ferrell pitching Macs (versus parfaits)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"None of us should feel good about where we stand now."

-- NAACP President and CEO Bruce S. Gordon, on the recovery of New Orleans one year after Katrina

Northfield ponders sacking cul-de-sacs

Usually when the New York Times wastes ink on little old us, it has to do with mentioning Eagan as the headquarters of Northwest Airlines.

But yesterday's Sunday Times has an interesting story on its national real estate page. It looks at the larger issue of subdivision development, and how two Minnesota towns are differing on what to do with that dread suburban development hallmark, the cul-de-sac. (The reporter, Carla Baranauckas, has lived in Minnesota.)

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Steve Monaco has your Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

THESE DAYS

Pope Benedict XVI has removed Father George Coyne from his position as director of the Vatican Observatory after the American Jesuit priest repeatedly contradicted the Holy See's endorsement of "intelligent design" theory. And for saying the sun is the center of the universe.

A survey carried out for the Directorate for Health and Social Affairs found that 18 percent of Norwegian women have been harassed by drunk men in the past year. Sounds about right.

The United States is headed for a recession that will be "much nastier, deeper and more protracted" than the 2001 recession, says Nouriel Roubini, president of Roubini Global Economics.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Paul blogs on north Minneapolis political and cultural issues at The North Star.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Does Muse + 120% pitch shift equal Gwen Stefani? [via B3TA]

Thanks a million

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"That lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

-- U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris (R-FL)

A brief bio of the man who hosted Bachmann and Bush

For all of the mystery surrounding President Bush's visit to the Twin Cities on Tuesday--Which interstates would be closed for the motorcade? Who came up with the idea of his health care reform panel?--one poorly kept secret was where the Presidential fund raiser for Michele Bachmann's Congressional campaign would be held.

By Tuesday morning, the Bachmann snoops had sussed out the location: 1400 Brackett's Point, a ritzy peninsular enclave on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Historically, the place has been referred to as "Pillsbury Point" by the locals, due to the fact that the famous Minnesota family has owned several mansions there for decades.

But the host of Tuesday's high-class kegger was a lesser known tycoon by the name of James Jundt.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

How was ice made and sold in pre-industrial times? What does "Alice in Wonderland" have to do with psychological testing? You've got the questions, and Cecil Adams is the man with the answers, as we welcome The Straight Dope to City Pages every Friday.

THESE DAYS

A coalition of 13 conservative groups—including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America—took out full-page ads in some editions of USA Today urging the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate whether some of the porno movies widely available in hotels violate federal and state obscenity laws.

The New Delhi-based Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology said it would blockade the supply of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products into the country after another environmental group said it had found dangerous levels of pesticides in their drinks.

Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Katherine McLane, calls the omission inadvertent.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Moses is blogging and looking for a job in the education field at Yowling from the Fencepost.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Rush Limbaugh handicaps the race-based tribes of Survivor

An interactive map of Springfield

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Always the mom, I thought, we need napkins. I asked the President if he had a napkin and he said no. So, I had to quickly grab napkins. I cannot imagine dripping custard in the Presidential limousine."

-- 6th District congressional candidate Michele Bachmann, recalling the recent visit to a Wayzata custard shop with President Bush, while on their way to a Bachmann fundraiser

"I had the opportunity this afternoon to be part of a relatively small group who heard President Bush talk, extemporaneously, for around forty minutes. It was an absolutely riveting experience. It was the best I've ever seen him. Not only that; it may have been the best I've ever seen any politician."

-- Power Line blogger John Hinderaker, dripping custard

Close readers of their Xcel Energy bill will have noticed a peculiar item on this month's statement. The payment summary portion of the bill contains a mysterious 22 cent credit. This act of unexpected corporate benevolence is rather vaguely explained later in the statement. "The bill includes a credit as we did not meet one of our 2005 Service Quality Plan measurements," it reads.

According to Xcel Energy spokeswoman Mary Sandok, the specific requirement that it failed to comply with was the speed with which calls for service were answered. Under the company's regulatory agreement with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Xcel is required to answer 80 percent of these calls within 20 seconds. In 2005 the company met this standard on 79.3 percent of calls. Because of this failing, Xcel was required to dole out $250,000 to its roughly 1.2 million customers.

A new sentence ordered for Alan Enger

As reported recently in the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ordered a resentencing for convicted arsonist Alan Enger (pictured left).

According to the story, "Judges Gordon Shumaker, Thomas Kalitowski and Kevin Ross said the sentence must be reversed because the dangerous-offender statute under which Enger was convicted is unconstitutional because a judge, not a jury, made the finding."

Enger, 41, had been sentenced to 10 years, with no time off for good behavior, after he pled guilty to second-degree arson for setting fire to a vacant duplex in the 2300 block of NE Polk Street in Minneapolis on December 8, 2004. As reported in City Pages, Enger is so well known on the streets of Nordeast that he's earned the nickname "Backdraft." (See "The Fire Man," CP 2/1/2006.)

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Jim Walsh notes Minneapolis/St. Paul was recently named America's second drunkest city. In honor of this achievement, give us a new city slogan at Culture To Go.

THESE DAYS

Turner Broadcasting is scouring more than 1,500 classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including old favorites Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo, to edit out scenes that glamorize smoking. What's next? Bug Bunny's transvestism? Yogi Bear's criminal tendencies?

In an interview with Wired, Professor Daniel Levitin discusses research into how our brains process the works of artists as varied as Beethoven, the Beatles, and Britney Spears, and why they make us feel so good.

Striptease send-offs at funerals may become a thing of the past in east China after five people were arrested for taking it off at a farmer's funeral in Donghai County, Jiangsu province.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

It's Minnesota State Fair time, and that means Brian, who's got "all the milk you can drink" milk running through his veins, gets the nod at My Pronto Pup.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Cat weight-lifting challenge using fish

Dangerous Beauty: The Art of the Shiv

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?' And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.' ... Hugo is a nice little Guatemalan man who is doing some painting for me ... in Virginia."

-- Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), in a speech discussing tighter immigration controls

The Associated Press reports the tree-growing operation owned by John and Jan Donelson "has lost 27,000 young Christmas trees to the drought" that hit Minnesota this summer. The Donelsons own 300-acres of faith-based forest near Clear Lake, Minnesota that, despite a new irrigating system, met an inconvenient truth that could affect the Christmas tree supply in eight years. Ironically, the more secular Santa's Forest nearby lost no trees because new trees weren't planted this year.

In which the blogosphere offers an occasional gem

Redoubtable South Minneapolis hubris-deflater Wizard Marks has written a letter to the city council committee this afternoon considering restricting the use of alleys to residents of each particular block and a select few others.

Will this ordinance make us safer? No. Even it there were twice as many officers on the force, this tool would not be effective, because the design is hopelessly flawed.

On August 4 at approximately 7:15 p.m. a person identified in court records only as JW was driving a Pontiac Sunfire eastbound on Highway 55. Near the intersection of Highway 149 the driver noticed a white Cadillac El Dorado approaching from behind at a high rate of speed. According to a criminal complaint subsequently filed in Dakota County District Court, the Cadillac proceeded to bump the Pontiac off the road, causing it to strike a post. The driver of the Cadillac then allegedly fled the scene in the vehicle. The Eagan Police Department was summoned.

At 7:24 that same evening a woman identified only as PLS in court records was backing out of her driveway in Eagan. She noticed a white Cadillac weaving back and forth as it traversed the road in front of her residence. The Cadillac came to a halt in front of her driveway, blocking PLS's car. A man, subsequently identified as Jose Alberto Marcelo-Gomez, then exited the Cadillac. He was wearing shorts, but no shirt and began gesturing at PLS in a manner that she deemed threatening, demanding that she give him money. Marcelo-Gomez appeared to be extremely intoxicated. When he attempted to get into her vehicle PLS hit the horn. She then drove onto the lawn, around her antagonist, and out into the street. Marcelo-Gomez allegedly kicked the vehicle as it drove off, then followed in the Cadillac.

THESE DAYS

The Minneapolis Public Safety & Regulatory Services Committee is meeting at 1:30 today in Room 317 at City Hall to discuss prohibiting the use of alleys for through pedestrian traffic, except for abutting property owners, tenants, their guests and invitees, and law enforcement personnel.

German astronomers revealed Monday that they possess one of the world's rarest videotape collections: original images of the Apollo moon landings that had been lost by NASA.

During a half-hour speech before the Tulsa Metro Chamber, Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-OK) called the United Nations an "absolute disaster" whose peacekeepers in Africa have been "going around teaching girls to be prostitutes."

Two live diamondback rattlesnakes were released in a Phoenix movie theater during a showing of the new film Snakes on a Plane. UPDATE: Only one snake, and it entered the theater under his own power

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

LissyJo states she's learning "how to juggle a baby, work, and graduate school." I'd pay to watch her juggle a baby, a bowling pin, and a chain saw, but that's just me. Read about this Minneapolis momma at Adventures of a Mother / Wife / Grad Student / Nurse.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Teletubbies and MC Hammer: 2 Legit 2 Quit

Learn how to shuffle a deck of cards with one hand

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"If we do not get control of our borders, by 2050 Americans of European descent will be a minority in the nation their ancestors created and built. No nation has ever undergone so radical a demographic transformation and survived."

-- political pundit Pat Buchanan, from his new book, State of Emergency

DFL-endorsed candidate Keith Ellison was the choice of more than 80 percent of Take Action Minnesota members who screened 5th Congressional District hopefuls at the organization's endorsement meeting Tuesday night. The results of the tally:

Keith Ellison 103 votes
Jay Pond (Green Party candidate) 14 votes
Mike Erlandson 4 votes
Paul Ostrow 0 votes

Take Action Minnesota is a recent merger of Progressive Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action. The overwhelming margin for Ellison indicates that his progressive base has not been swayed by relentless criticism of his campaign in the media and blogosphere over much of this summer. In a mild surprise, Ember Reichgott Junge declined an invitation to appear and be screened about her positions on the issues.

THESE DAYS (RELIGION EDITION)

Bishop Thomas George Doran, of the Roman Catholic Church's Rockford, Illinois, diocese, has described as seven "sacraments" the Democratic Party's devotion to "abortion, buggery, contraception, divorce, euthanasia, feminism of the radical type and genetic experimentation and mutilation." [via Undernews]

Police Chief Annetta Nunn is concerned her actions—singing hymns at the funerals of three slain officers, making speeches and writing articles mentioning God—somehow have made the devil meaner than usual in Birmingham, Alabama.

The First Baptist Church of Watertown, New York, dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

MN Crawler interviews writers, artists, photographers, and other "everyday people" living in the Twin Cities.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Keep your kids safe from Satan while they sleep with Armor of God PJs! [via Andrew Sullivan]

Sploid is kaput

Jamming at a listening station near you: Record Store Cats

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people's minds."

-- Punit Shablok, owner's of Hitler's Cross, a new Nazi-themed eatery in Mumbai, India

Reported number of Iraqi dead (minimum): 40,592
Reported number of U.S. military dead: 2,605
Announced attendance at Sunday's Twins game at the Metrodome: 42,537

Blanked-Out has posted an interesting analysis of contributors to Ember Reichgott Junge's 5th District Congressional campaign. The blog's author, 24-year-old Minneapolis resident Noah Kunin, found 25 substantial Junge donors who have little or no prior history of giving to Democratic causes. By contrast, since 2000 these contributors have funneled $233,400 towards Republican candidates and committees.

Perhaps most conspicuous among these Junge benefactors: J.C. Huizenga. The Grand Rapids, Michigan resident is a "Bush Pioneer," having raised more than $100,000 for the President's 2000 campaign. Huizenga is also chairman of National Hertitage Academies, a for-profit educational institution that, according to the company's web site, operates 51 charter schools in five states.

Star Tribune reporters Jon Tevlin and Eric Weiffering have written their own eulogy for Terry Fiedler, who died unexpectedly at age 47 on August 12. It was circulated internally at the Strib:

Terry loved Mustang convertibles, drives in the country, dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, Norma's banana cream pie, Famous Amos cookies, the poor boys and crayfish monica at Jackamo's in New Orleans, and Lucky Charms.

CITY PAGES BLOGS

Steve Monaco has your Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

THESE DAYS

Book22, named for the twenty-second book in the Bible, "Song of Solomon," is a new adult toy store positioning itself as a Christian source of intimacy products, like the "Wireless Double Dolphin" and the "Jelly Micro Nitro," for married couples. [via Wired]

"Flex-fuel" vehicles, which run on any combination of ethanol and gasoline, now make up 77% of the Brazilian market.

St. Paul-based Freeload Press will offer more than 100 college textbook titles this fall—mostly for business courses—completely free by including paid advertising.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Minneapolitan Tom Cleland, who created his first post in August 2000, blogs on Green Party issues, electric cars, inconvenient truths, and the Iraq war at Tom Stream.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Hollywood's youngest and thinnest join forces to fight Stephen Colbert (on orders from the president) as The Superficial Friends. [via Drawn!]

From McSweeney's: Ways in Which Spider-Man Does Not "Do Whatever a Spider Can"

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The island where Copperfield located the fountain is so restricted, telephone service is nearly impossible to get; therefore, Copperfield found a pier where he was just able to pick up a cell-phone signal to contact the outside world and speak directly with CNN's Robin Meade. Meade questions him as to whether this is an elaborate set-up to his next big trick and if he really has hired scientists to test his fountain."

-- an excerpt from a press release from CNN, who apparently aren't using the middle "N" anymore, touting magician David Copperfield's claim of finding the fountain of youth

For Ron Peterson, the veteran boxing promoter from Mounds View, no word carries more sting than "liberal." He ascribes most of the world's ills to liberals. When he wants to convey disgust and garden variety invective fails him, he will usually deploy some variation of the L word.

Given this outlook, it's no surprise that Peterson professes to have never cast a vote for a Democrat. Similarly, it's hardly shocking that he has long been a robust supporter of Governor Tim Pawlenty. "He always seemed like a stand up guy," Peterson says. "I know he cut back on a lot of that welfare bullshit."

We expect the blogs like MDE, Powerline, and Kennedy vs. the Machine to be full of hate for DFL-endorsed congressional candidate Keith Ellison, and they haven't disappointed. But the Politics in Minnesota has been uncharacteristically harsh on Ellison and very kind to Ellison most formidable challenge in the 5th District race, Ember Reichgott Junge. One particularly stinging remark came from PIM's Republican editor, Sarah Janecek, who told Roll Call in late June that Ellison's endorsement despite his [tenuous] ties to Louis Farrakhan and his failure to pay parking tickets "is a classic example of liberal moral relativism...A lot of the people are willing to gloss over his past because he's black."

Since Powerline has been lauding Conn. Sen, Joe Lieberman ever since Lieberman was defeated in the recent Democratic primary, and since Ellison's most formidable opponent, Ember Reichgott Junge, told City Pages earlier this month that she co-chaired Lieberman's 2004 presidential bid in Minnesota because he is "a man of integrity," an article in today's edition of the online magazine Salon might be instructive. It quotes Lieberman, during an interview with April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks on September 26, 2000, as saying of Louis Farrakhan, "I have respect for him...I admire what Minister Farrakhan is doing."

Let's see if there is as much of a media shitstorm directed at Junge as there was against Ellison for supporting the Million Man March (which occurred five years before Lieberman's kind words for the Minister). And let's see if Powerline and MDE, and yes, Janecek, condemn Lieberman for his remarks. Let's see if they impugn Junge's staunch support for an open admirer of Farrakhan and demand clarification on her position vis a vis Lieberman and Farrakhan. Let's see, in other words, whether there is conservative moral relativism and a glossing over of Lieberman's and Junge's past because they happen to be white.