Minneapolis / St. Paul News Blog

In their short time together, the Hug Brigade (previously profiled here) has gathered to hug strangers on the Nicollet Mall, in Uptown, outside the Vikings-Packers game, and outside polling places on Election Day -- all without incident. Until last week, that is, when a small contingent of Huggers took to the Mall Of America to ease the pain of Black Friday warriors in need of a widdle snuggle.

According to Hugger Tabatha Robbins, the Brigade -- who this time out brandished "Free Hug" t-shirts but not signs -- hugged shoppers for two hours. Finally they were stopped by a security guard who said, "Sorry, but you guys can't do that anymore."

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Learn more about Boulder-based DeVotchKa, performing at First Avenue tonight, in Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go.

The first black male soloist at the Met Opera is remembered at Corpus Obscura.

THESE DAYS

Saudi Arabia has warned that it will sue global tobacco firms unless they pay the full cost of treating patients suffering from smoking-related illness.

Women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man.

Sixty-three-year-old comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum, who overhauled the X-Men comic and helped popularize Marvel Comics in the 1970s, died Saturday while wearing Superman pajamas and covered with his Batman blanket.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Professor Batty blogs on cooking in the dark, covert reconnaissance in Iceland, and tonsillectomy-as-childhood-trauma at Flippism Is The Key.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

10 Things Your Casino Won't Tell You according to SmartMoney

World's Worst Superhero Names according to Wired

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Look at what has happened to Miami. It has become a Third World country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."

— Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), co-chair of the bipartisan House Immigration Reform Caucus

It's no secret that the prognosis for independent record stores is bleak and only getting bleaker. But, for the hell of it, let's revisit the list of recent casualties on the Twin Cities scene. Two years ago, the renowned St. Paul metal mecca, the Root Cellar, shut down its storefront for an internet-only sales model. Last year, the venerable Let It Be Records followed suit and abandoned its downtown Minneapolis storefront. Earlier this month, Aardvark Records in northeast Minneapolis also went the virtual route. And now comes news that Know Name Records is folding its Dinkytown location.

Two items the fresh meat for the MPS mill might want to read carefully

What a bummer we didn't elect Carla Bates to the Minneapolis School Board earlier this month. Not that she was running: According to her bio at Twin Cities Daily Planet, Bates is an instructional technology coordinator at the University of Minnesota and the mother of three MPS students. She's also the site's education editor, in which capacity she's penned an agenda for the new board's first 100 days that's ambitious and sensible--if politically sticky. You can read it here.

The gist: Bates proposes tackling the rest of the to-do list rejected superintendent candidate David Jennings laid down on his way out of his interim posting, most notably closing 10 half-filled schools and doing something about the Dickensian teacher-student ratios at the others. She also just comes right out and says a few things that seem obvious to most of us but don't seem to be appropriate topics for discussion among many educators and district administrators: Someone needs to help foot the bill for shipping erstwhile MPS kids to charters and for the disproportionate amount of special ed the district provides. Oh yeah--and pay some serious attention to in-school disciplinary issues.

The Minnesota Daily reported yesterday on the ruckus currently unfolding at the U of M Law School over the hiring of Robert Delahunty to teach a Constitutional law course next semester. Delahunty formerly served in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. In that capacity he co-wrote one of the so-called "torture memos" that seemingly justified the psychological and physical abuse of detainees in the war on terrorism.

Delahunty joined the University of St. Thomas School of Law as a professor two years ago. The U of M is hiring him to teach a single class.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

The Black Keys, Back-Up Plomo, and Transmission are just a few of the acts playing around town tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete itinerary.

THESE DAYS

Scottish and Canadian researchers used a new form of magnetic resonance imaging to show sitting up straight places an unnecessary strain on your back.

With the release of Superman Returns on DVD, Papa John's Pizza is offering free pizza to Americans residing on Lois Lanes.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Computer programming info and internet news, with a little music and humor linkage thrown in at Stephen Van Dahm's blog.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

TV Land's 100 Greatest Catchphrases in TV - the only list ever that will include John F. Kennedy, Dave Chappelle as Rick James, and Tattoo from Fantasy Island

Nerds track the extent and cause of injuries suffered by Darth Vader throughout the Star Wars saga

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about."

— president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America, the Rev. Joel Hunter, declining the job because he wished to focus on poverty and the environment. Hunter believes the organization is refusing to move beyond the opposition to abortion and gay rights in a broadening of their agenda.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Britt Robson analyzes last night's Timberwolves game at Balls!

Bob Seger, Fear Factory, and Kottonmouth Kings are just a few of the acts playing around town tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete itinerary.

THESE DAYS

A clear majority of Brits and Scots are in favor of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom, according to a new poll.

The New York Daily News reports President George W. Bush hopes to raise $500 million for his presidential library. This guy does nothing on the cheap.

Art Institute of Portland student Bob Averill was booted from the school for offending another student while discussing her belief in leprechauns.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

St. Paul resident Nina Friction blogs on failed Greek omelettes, yoga balls, her trip to Europe, poop stories, and party pix at Nina's Blue Light Cabaret.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Probably a lousy movie, but Crispin Glover as Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka is worth the price of admission: Epic Movie

A Twin Peaks fan heads to Washington state to recapture some of the filming locations of the David Lynch series from the early '90s.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I though it was like an animated Inconvenient Truth. I half-expected to see an animated version of Al Gore pop up."

— Fox News's Your World host Neil Cavuto, on the green themes in the dancing penguin movie Happy Feet

"...If you're going to include those themes, the least you could do is tell me, a parent. Tell me about it first, OK, so I know I'm walking into propaganda... They may not pull in $42 million if people thought they'd be watching an animated version of An Inconvenient Truth."

— CNN Headline News's Glenn Beck, who apparently also got the Happy Feet memo [via Media Matters]

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Diablo Cody has a movie update and schmutz in her eye at Pussy Ranch.

We remember David W. Hermance, the mastermind behind the Toyota Prius, at Corpus Obscura.

Guest blogger Stephen Litel discusses Saturday's Clippers/Timberwolves game at Balls!

THESE DAYS

The upscale menswear and accessory store Jack Spade in Manhattan's trendy SoHo district has stopped selling $40 frog dissection kits (complete with a vacuum-sealed formaldehyde-treated frogs) due to customer outrage.

The number of "spam" messages has tripled since June and now accounts for as many as nine out of 10 e-mails sent worldwide, according to U.S. email security company Postini.

A Florida woman who claimed she was abducted was arrested on charges of filing a false police report after it was learned she was really meeting a man at Busch Gardens.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Winona Daily News reporter Brian Voerding blogs about the Myers-Briggs test, poetry, dead lap-tops, totaled cars, and the scourge of small town boosters at Erehwon.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Ten Worst Internet Acquisitions Ever

Via Robot Chicken: The Real World Metropolis

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The date of the Boston Tea Party does not matter. I know how to learn anything I want to learn. I absolutely know that I could learn how to fly the space shuttle because someone else knows how to fly it, and they put it in a book. Give me the book, and I do not need somebody to stand up in front of the class."

— actor Will Smith, on why he and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, homeschool their children

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

What does "OK" stand for? When a woman gives birth in westerns, why do they always boil water? 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.

Panic! at the Disco, Idle Hands and Mallman are just a few of the acts playing around town tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete itinerary.

David Brauer delivers a Three Pointer for the fouled-out Britt Robson at Balls!

The Friday Random Ten is posted at American Idle. Hit the party shuffle on your iTunes and tell us what's next.

THESE DAYS

British model and tabloid fodder Katie 'Jordan' Price is having her G-cup breast implants removed and plans to sell them on eBay for charity.

Each year, millions of Britons board ferries to France in order to take advantage of cheaper excise duties charged on tobacco and alcohol, but a Luxembourg-based court will soon determine whether a customer can avoid paying the duties in their home country.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Bob Ryan blogs about corporate and personal ethics in relation to our environment, politics, and consumer culture at SWiM Starting with Me.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

What happens when you put a Furby in the microwave

Generate your very own Official Seal [via Incoming Signals]

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Take it up with God."

— New Orleans resident Joshua Thompson, to a TV reporter, after Thompson and his wife sold their Memphis home for a profit, immediatley after it was donated to them by the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ

Suffice to say that things in Washington didn't quite turn out the way Mark Dayton planned. When he took office in early 2001, he became known as "Senator 100," the lowest ranking member of the congressional body.

Not long after, he had to deal on a personal and political level with the 9/11 attacks--and various office evacuations afterward--along with the death of his friend and mentor Paul Wellstone, Minnesota's senior Senator. It seemed as though Dayton never truly found his footing after that.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Check out Peter Scholtes's cover story on local Latin hip hop, Reggaetón Animal, then check out Maria Isa, Lirica Secreta, the Corporation, Danny y Elliot, and many more local artists and dancers in the Twin Cities Reggaetón Gallery.

Jim Walsh has already posted today's Song du Jour at the Walsh Files.

Peter Scholtes has an expanded interview with the Clash's Mick Jones at Complicated Fun.

THESE DAYS

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is proposing that alcohol-detection technology be used by drivers to disable their automobiles if they are found to be over the legal blood alcohol limit.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings finished second behind actor Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap, Laverne & Shirley) in the most recent broadcast of Celebrity Jeopardy.

The mayor of a small Brazilian town has begun handing out free Viagra, spicing up the sex lives of dozens of elderly men and their partners.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Mark, mr. blair, jp, david b., dave w., anders, jc, and saleem review songs and dole out band info, concert updates, and free MP3s at Music for Robots.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

And now, a lovely number from the Complaints Choir of Helsinki

Steve Carell picks up where prophet Jim Carrey left off in Evan Almighty

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have. I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entreé to the world and to the human condition."

— Legendary director Robert Altman, 1925-2006

It all happened too late for this week's print edition, but I've posted a web interview with Chris Stewart, the man at the center of the flap about the satiric Tammy Lee website that painted the IP candidate as a racist.

Here's an excerpt, with a link to the full interview afterward:

CP: What was it that bugged you and your friends at AHS enough about the Tammy Lee candidacy that it was worth going to the trouble of building this spoof page?

One minute and 43 seconds.

That's the average amount of time that Midwest television newscasts devoted to political coverage on a nightly basis during the final month of the election campaign. By contrast these broadcasts featured, on average, four and a half minutes of paid political ads.

Those are the findings of a study released today by the Midwest News Index. The project examined evening and late-night newscasts in seven markets: Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Madison, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was led by UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein.

Pre-Black Friday Bah-Humbuggery

How long will you be paying for Junior's iPod? The fine folks at Lutheran Social Services' Financial Counseling Service are experts in the art of monetary tough love, and they think you should know: Paying 8 percent in interest and making a minimum payment of $10 a month, it will take you 28 months to pay off that $250 Christmas splurge. If you're joining Friday's retail madness, you might want to first plug your list into LSS's "Scrooge-O-Meter."

Pastor who backed Michelle Bachmann in church also gave to Detroit candidate

The pulpit wasn't the only place where Mac Hammond, head of the Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, flexed his political muscle. Hammond, who made headlines in the days before the election for endorsing U.S. Representative-elect Michelle Bachmann during a sermon, also dug deep, together with his wife Lynne Hammond spending $10,400 to support two religious candidates, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Wookiefoot offshoot Mad Love is at the Fine Line tonight. Get the whole scoop in Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go.

THESE DAYS

About 1 percent of Web sites indexed by Google and Microsoft are sexually explicit, according to a U.S. government-commissioned study.

A botched kidnapping in Wichita ended with one of the assailants shooting himself in the left testicle.

President Richard M. Nixon is slated to appear on a $1 U.S. coin in the year 2016, 20 years before an asteroid destroys us all. Coincidence?

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

St. Paul resident Ethel blogs on vomiting dogs, gay rights, and roller derby at Chicken Lady Loves Life.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Comedian David Cross covers Ethan Chandler's reimagining of "One" for Bank of America

Time magazine publishes 5 Myths About the Midterm Elections

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I figure if this was truly a dance competition they would have voted for the better dancer. I would like to think the criteria was based solely on being the best dancer, and I thought we did enough to accomplish that. I'm not crying over spilled milk. If I was going to lose to someone, it couldn't have been to a better guy than Emmitt Smith."

— Television footnote Mario Lopez, not at all bitter about losing to a Hall of Fame running back on Dancing with the Stars

On November 14, at approximately 3 p.m., Glenn Wayne Oltman entered an Unbank location in downtown Minneapolis. According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, Oltman attempted to cash a $7800 check drawn from an account at Delaware Federal Credit Union. He told the Unbank employee handling the transaction that he'd received the money for selling hay. The check, however, turned out to be counterfeit. When the police arrived Oltman allegedly confessed that he'd received the check via email and that he was to receive 10 percent of the proceeds in return for cashing it. The 42-year-old Wadena resident has been charged with one count of offering a forged check.

Rae Hart Anderson, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Minnesota state senate, got her 15-minutes of fame in the blogosphere this weekend. The reason? A rambling and poorly punctuated concession email in which she urged incumbent State Senator Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley), who is a Hindu, to convert to Christianity. "Pay attention...this is very important, Satveer," Anderson wrote. "Have you noticed Jesus for yourself...at some moment in time, yet??"

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

The perfect gift for the despised Vikings fan on your Christmas list at American Idle.

THESE DAYS

Pentagon guidelines that classified homosexuality as a mental disorder now put it among a list of conditions or "circumstances" that range from bed-wetting to fear of flying.

A court in Duesseldorf, Germany rejected a man's compensation claim against British Airways after a cabin crew ordered him off a plane because other passengers were offended by his smell.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Political commentary, along with musings on The Clash, the local stadium efforts, and immigration issues can be found at The Usual Suspects.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

From McSweeney's: Other tobacco mascots that met with disapproval from the AMA

Seinfeld's Kramer goes k-k-krazy! Watch Michael Richards's racist screed during last weekend's gig at the Laugh Factory

A 1978 Marketplace clip featuring Jack Nicholson promoting a hydrogen-powered Chevy

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I don't care what any man says, it's every man's dream to please every woman—and get paid for it."

— Former boxing champ Mike Tyson, agreeing to become a male escort at Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm, a new legal brothel for women in Nevada

On April 4, 2001, Vernon Hiltner was dining at a Perkins Restaurant & Bakery in Coon Rapids and ordered the potato pancakes. According to a civil complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court this week, the meal did not go down well. From the lawsuit:

That as Plaintiff was eating his potato pancakes he suffered an injury in and about his mouth and throat and suddenly blood began to stream down from Plaintiff's mouth and face onto his plate collecting in a puddle of blood, all caused by a foreign object contained in the potato pancakes, and said cut was not caused by any other instrument or thing; that for a prolonged time thereafter, Plaintiff continued to bleed from the mouth and throat, and had an incident of rectal bleeding several months thereafter.

Hiltner's attorney, Mitchell Hadler, claims that the case has already been settled. He declines, however, to provide any details of the settlement. Vivian Brooks, a spokeswoman for the restaurant chain, declines to comment on the lawsuit.

Conservative Philadelphia-based radio host Glenn Beck held a brief interview with Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) on November 14 during a broadcast of CNN Headline News. Beck stated he wasn't accusing Ellison of being "an enemy," but felt many Americans would consider Ellison an enemy of the United States. A snippet of the interview is below...

In response, Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's Countdown, named Glenn Beck winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" for his conduct during the interview. The full transcript of the Beck-Ellison exchange is after the jump...

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Where are all the baby pigeons? In "The Flintstones," what was Barney Rubble's job? 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.

Read about the upcoming Global Orgasm at Culture To Go.

The managing editor to whom President Nixon declared "I am not a crook" is remembered at Corpus Obscura.

Chooglin', Faux Jean, Chris Koza, and the Honeydogs are just a few of the acts playing around town tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete rundown.

What's next in the party shuffle on your iTunes? Add your Friday Random Ten at American Idle.

THESE DAYS

Prominent scientists, among them a Nobel laureate, say a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet.

According to the Cook Political Report, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) is considered one of the three most vulnerable incumbents in the 2008 elections.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Ryan Opaz takes photos filled with brilliant colors and striking contrasts, featuring scenes from the Twin Cities, foreign locales, food, cats, and much more at Obiscoito.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Lil' Nuke lends his hip hop cred to Libertarian candidate for Louisiana governor T. Lee Horne III's music video

If you have no shame or dignity, and your ability to run an offense is highly suspect, you can emulate Vikings coach Brad Childress, thanks to Childress Mustache [via Jason's Talking About...]

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We have a tremendous opportunity here. We need to pass as stringent a law as we can, I would like to make it illegal. What if every city did this, image how many lives would be saved? If we can do one little thing here at this level it will matter."

— Belmont City (CA) Councilman Dave Warden, regarding the recent unanimous council vote to pursue a strict law that will prohibit smoking anywhere in the city except for single-family detached residences

"It's not a 'Brokeback Mountain' situation."

— Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid (D-NV), on the cordial (but platonic) relationship he shares with Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Strib's new weekly entertainment paper, Vita.mn--"a free, entertainment-oriented publication targeting readers ages 25 to 34," according to the (absolutely impartial in a boosterish sort of way) business story the newspaper of record published this morning--was supposed to hit the streets today. But when a mob of City Pagers descended on the outdoor rack right beside the entrance to 425 Portland Avenue around noon, Vita.mn had not yet appeared in its corporeal form. The featured act at web-Vita.mn's front page on Wednesday and Thursday was Average White Band--so does this mean the paper will be a free, entertainment-oriented publication targeting readers ages 25 to 34 who are curious about the music their parents listened to as teenagers?

Since we haven't been to able to find one yet, we ask our readers: Have you seen the thing? What's on the cover? Impressions?

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Kill the Vultures, Skid Row, and Amos Lee are just a few of the acts onstage tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete itinerary.

THESE DAYS

Television legend Andy Griffith is suing a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for Grant County sheriff after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.

Palestinian terror groups and security organizations in the Gaza Strip received $2 million from a U.S. source in exchange for the release of Fox News employees Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

After almost three years of grumbling about local and national politics (as well as Norwegian-Swedish international relations), is Mark Gisleson really calling it quits? Keep watching Norwegianity to see what happens.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Congresswoman-elect Michele Bachmann becomes the subject of a Fark photoshop contest

Paul Giamatti plays Santa Claus and Vince Vaughn is his less-than-successful younger brother in Fred Claus, coming December 2007.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it."

— Universal Music chairman/CEO Doug Morris, describing iPod owners as thieves

It wasn't surprising to hear that Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak isn't closing the door on a potential bid for the U.S. Senate against Norm Coleman in 2008. Hizzoner has been everywhere during this election cycle, plying his fabled energy with enough charm and calculation that his chances at higher office appear slightly less doomed than they did a few months ago.

How? By doing loyal scut work for both Mike Hatch and Keith Ellison, a pair of unconventional pols who represent two very disparate wings of the DFL. Hatch punted the metro area in favor of an outstate strategy. It turned out to be a mistake, as Hutchinson stole many good, gettable votes from him around here, but RT, more prominently than any other Minneapolis DFL-ers, worked hard for him. The only calls my South Minneapolis household got on behalf of Hatch the week before the election were from the nurses (always huge for Hatch and my wife is an RN), Clean Water Action (on behalf of Hatch and all Democrats)...and a taped message from RT specifically on behalf of Hatch, with a reason, the LGA cuts, attached. Bottom line, if I was a totally apathetic South Mpls. voter, RT Rybak gave more longer and more good reasons to vote for Hatch than did anybody else.

During last year's St. Paul mayoral race, challenger Chris Coleman frequently promised to push for a beefed-up living wage ordinance if elected. Today the first-year mayor followed through on that promise, laying out his proposal at a press conference in the basement of City Hall.

Under the proposed ordinance, businesses that receive more than $100,000 in city funds will be required to pay a living wage to workers. That means 130 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, or $12.51 per hour. If the company provides health care coverage the wage requirement is reduced to 110 percent of the poverty level, or $10.58 per hour.

It's no secret that Scott Johnson, one of the troika of heavy breathers behind the popular right wing blog Powerline, spends an inordinate amount of his time hatin' on the Star Tribune. On Saturday, for instance, Johnson cobbled together a post making the argument that the Strib is "the nation's worst newspaper." No matter how dim a view one takes of the Newspaper of the Twin Cities, that is a plainly silly claim. In the same post, however, Johnson did make one point for which he deserves credit: He exposed the Strib's uncredited appropriation of the prose of The New Yorker's Talk of the Town columnist Hendrik Hertzberg.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Amy Sedaris, Say Anything, and Tahiti 80 are just a few of the acts playing around town tonight. Check out Chuck Terhark's City Planner at Culture To Go for a complete itinerary.

Who needs the Lifetime network when the Pizzaman delivers to the troubled households on the Streets of Pizza.

THESE DAYS

An offer to donate 4,000 talking Jesus dolls has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program. UPDATE: Toys for Tots has accepted the doll donation, stating they found "appropriate places for these items."

Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Debbie splits her time between the cubicle and the yarn store, with a little blogging at Debbie Does Duluth thrown in.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Internet classic: 40 Things That Only Happen in Movies

Belly button lint comes from your underwear, and 9 other weird science facts you didn't know

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Sherwood's seat [in Pennsylvania] would have been overwhelmingly ours, if his mistress hadn't whined about being throttled. The lesson should be, don't throttle mistresses."

— Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, discussing future GOP election strategies regarding conduct toward candidates's mistresses [via The New Republic]

"You'll be happy after the closing. You will barely know it happens." Thus spoke Dean Singleton, CEO of the MediaNews Group, when he met with employees of the St. Paul Pioneer Press on April 27. At the time, Singleton had just emerged as the most likely buyer of the Pi Press, which was left orphaned by the dismantling of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain. According to a contemporaneous report of the meeting (in the Pi Press, no less), Singleton said the takeover wouldn't lead to layoffs or a reduction in benefits. On the contrary, he declared himself "totally on board" with the existing strategy to "keep the paper growing."

Given Singleton's reputation as a ruthless cost cutter--and the reflexive paranoia of most media shops--it's no mystery why Singleton would feel compelled to indulge in such happy talk.