June 17, 2007 - June 23, 2007

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Minneapolis enforces citywide curfew, Mayor Rybak to read bedtime stories on MTN

Filed under: Minneapolis

With summer in full swing, city officials are looking to cut down on curfew violations through the awkwardly titled "10 Home, Bed, Fed" awareness campaign. For instance, were you aware that it's illegal for a child under 12 to be out past 9 p.m. on a weekday? Or that anyone under 18 must be home before 11 p.m. by government decree?

"Our goal is to prevent curfew violations by partnering with parents to keep kids safe," Mayor Rybak said in a press release.

Good, we say. There are simply too many heinous things for 11-year-olds to do after 9 p.m. They might play hide-and-go-seek after dusk. Or run about catching fireflies at nightfall. Or embark on late-night exploratory bike rides.

City Hall is thankfully putting an end to this sundown tomfoolery. And for good reason. Statistics show that these activities pose greater health risks than traditional American pastimes, such as watching television, chatting online, or bitching about Paris Hilton.

But is the current curfew enough to ensure child safety? We at City Pages don't think so. That's because kids under 18 are still allowed to roam the city streets during daylight hours as if they were free citizens. This is unacceptable. If officials wish to remove all danger, they must keep city youth holed-up indoors all day, everyday. Well, maybe not all day. An exception should be made for the hours between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., which would give neighborhood kids ample time to mow our lawns.

Unfortunately, though, officials remain unwilling to extend the curfew beyond nighttime hours. This places an unfair burden on parents. No parent should be forced to set guidelines for their child. Not when we have a perfectly competent city government to do so for us.

Please sign our online petition requesting City Hall to establishment a legally binding City Bedtime here.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 22, 2007 3:02 PM | Comments (6)

 

6/22 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Peter Schilling Jr. gives his thoughts about whether Torii Hunter should be traded at Balls.

It's John Travolta vs. Tom Cruise in the Great Actor Smackdown at Couch Pundit.

Shuffle your iTunes and give us your Friday Random Ten at American Idle.

Download free MP3s from local artists such as Cloud Cult, the Hopefuls, Digitata, M.anifest, Flock of Doug, and more at Music To Go.

THESE DAYS

Sen. Minority Whip Trent Lott left reporters scratching their heads when he used the electrified fence surrounding the goats at his home in Mississippi as an analogy while discussing a fence on the United State-Mexico border.

Horror movie director Wes Craven is suing his neighbor, Bio-Dome star Pauly Shore, alleging that water from the comedian's home seeped down a slope and damaged his property.

There are close to two million U.S. military veterans without health insurance or adequate access to health care, according to recent analysis of 2005 U.S. Census Bureau data.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Becca blogs about throwing up moldy sandwiches, recently acquiring a therapist, her sad songs iTunes playlist, and raising an autistic son at The New Beccablog: Because I Said So.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

A U.S. map labelled with the names of countries with comparable GDPs [ya happy, Wege?]

Knit Crocheted TV dinner and moonshine [via Drawn!]

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Corny is hardly the word. There's more corn here than in Kansas."

— an excerpt from the Daily Mail's review of the "Lord of the Rings" musical which premiered in London's West End Tuesday night

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 22, 2007 6:27 AM | Comments (3)

 

Torii Hunter: Pohlad's ignoring me and Twins fans are dumb

Filed under: Overheard

We're paraphrasing. But Torii Hunter, in New York this week for a series against the Mets, granted an interview to the Daily News. Here's what this season's best Twin, whose contract is up this season, had to say:

"I want to be with the Twins and that's been my main goal, but I'm human and the silence makes you wonder. I think I'm a decent player. I can't believe there hasn't even been a conversation about it. That's tough to swallow."

OK, fair enough. The man wants to get paid. But what about this?

"I love Yankee Stadium. The atmosphere and energy there is great. And the fans know the game. When they get on you it can be pretty personal, but it's always about your baseball game. When someone screams, 'You just can't hit that slider,' that's someone who knows what they're talking about. You don't hear that kind of informed (chatter) in Minnesota."

Ouch.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at June 21, 2007 9:30 AM | Comments (7)

 

6/21 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Peter Schilling Jr. wonders which Twins team will show up in Florida after they beat the red-hot Mets again. Join the discussion at Balls.

Jessica Armbruster interviews Rev. Ted Haggard's masseur about his tell-all book at Culture To Go.

We're adding new articles like DVD and game reviews every day. Use our Recent Article RSS feed to check for new content:

THESE DAYS

The Homeland Security Department, the lead U.S. agency for fighting cyber threats, suffered more than 800 hacker break-ins, virus outbreaks and other computer security problems over two years, senior officials acknowledged to Congress.

A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis enable the metal lover to supplement his income with state benefits.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Local and world GLBT news, as well as info on upcoming Pride events at Queer Cities.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Photographer Tom's photos of what may be an unfinished World War II munitions factory near Rosemount, Minnesota—can anyone out there confirm this?

The prairie dog drama king

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"They really stumble over our culture."

— Internet security company president Dan Clements, discussing an overseas Internet thief who recently attempted to sell the MasterCard number and other personal data of one Herman Munster of 1313 Mockingbird Lane in an underground chat room

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 21, 2007 6:41 AM | Comments (1)

 

Hmong refugees join hundreds of students leaving Minneapolis schools

Filed under: City Pages

In this week's cover story, The Outsiders, writer Paul Demko reports on the exodus of Hmong students from the troubled Minneapolis School District. An excerpt: "The Hmong refugees aren't the only ones fleeing the Minneapolis public schools. In just the last six years, the district's enrollment has fallen from 48,689 to 36,428—a drop of 25 percent. Enrollment in Choice Is Yours has ballooned from 472 students in its initial year, 2001, to 1,878 during the last school year. Charter schools have claimed still more students. Enrollment at North High School has plummeted from 1,274 to 950 over the last five years. The experience of the recent Hmong arrivals provides a telling snapshot of the difficulties and dysfunction that plague the Minneapolis system." Read the cover story here, then come back to join the discussion.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 20, 2007 9:41 AM | Comments (8)

 

6/20 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

THESE DAYS

The U.S. circumcision rate peaked at nearly 90 percent in the early 1960s but began dropping in the '70s. By 2004, about 57 percent of all male newborns delivered in hospitals were circumcised.

A man widely believed to be the model for the smiling chef on Cream of Wheat boxes finally has a grave marker bearing his name.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Crystal and Ryan are an Apple Valley couple who enjoy cooking and sharing their recipes with the world at Café Cyan.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

A map of the Star Wars galaxy

13 Movie Plots Rendered Ridiculous by Their Stars' Behavior

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It's scary in this country, it's probably because of our bad educational system, but the percentage of people that believe in Creationalism is really scary for a country that's going to have to compete in the world where science and medicine require a better understanding."

— New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during a recent speaking tour through California

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 20, 2007 12:29 AM | Comments (0)

 

6/19 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Andrea Myers checked out last night's sold-out Ryan Adams show at the Cedar. Read her review, and view Daniel Corrigan's photos, in our gallery section.

DVD reviews this week include the Die Hard Collection, Big Nothing, Pacino: An Actor's Vision, and more.

Peter Schilling Jr. discusses the Twins' loss last night to the Mets at Balls.

We remember the only Chinese nurse to care for the "Flying Tigers" during World War II at Corpus Obscurum.

Download free MP3s from local artists such as Brother Ali, Tim Rally Gold, Little Man, Ben Weaver, the Plastic Constellations, and more at Music To Go.

THESE DAYS

Excessive mating by wild hares at Milan's Linate airport has blocked takeoffs, landings, and radar systems.

The Kellogg Co. said that it would phase out advertising its products to children younger than 12 and stop using licensed characters unless the foods meet specific nutrition guidelines for calories, sugar, fat, and sodium.

A new Canadian survey, apparently the first of its kind in four decades, reports that 8 percent of dreams swirl around sexual situations.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Carol E. showcases a new photo every day honoring our capital city at St. Paul Daily Photo.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Worst Jobs in Science 2007

Nerd tattoos

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"This proves that the judges had sympathy for an old man who doesn't have a job."

— 83-year-old former Price is Right host Bob Barker, upon receiving his 19th Daytime Emmy Award

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 19, 2007 6:18 AM | Comments (0)

 

Local liberals attend surrender party at the library last week

Filed under: War on Terror

Nearly 100 pro-Constitution radicals were on hand at the Minneapolis Central Library on June 14 to witness a pair of Minneapolis attorneys spout their anti-torture propaganda. During the hour-long discussion "The Guantanamo Bay Challenge: Finding the Balance Between Our Nation's Security & Our Nation's Ideals," James Dorsey and Nicole Moen succeeded in undermining America's War on Terror by raising questions about Guantanamo interrogation tactics, thus emboldening the Enemy.

The duo—who practice at Fredrickson and Byron—described their on-going experiences representing Ahcene Zemiri, a 39-year-old Algerian man who has been detained in Guantanamo Bay since April 2002.

"Most [of the detainees] had been tortured or abused and were not well psychologically," said Moen, who acts as an Arabic translator in addition to her legal duties.

According to Dorsey, "enhanced interrogation techniques" devised by psychologists and behavioral scientists in Guantanamo include shackling the evildoers into uncomfortable squatting positions for hours on end in addition to dismantling their faith by having women approach them in inappropriate ways on their way to prayer and cutting off bathing water before splashing them with what they are told is menstrual blood.

Moen demonstrated a shameless bias in favor of due process when she implicitly suggested that habeaus corpus—the common law-era writ which guarantees prisoners the right to know the charges filed against them—is somehow an essential component of justice, individual liberty, legal rights, and other hippie buzzwords.

She went on to underhandedly disparage the Military Commission Act of 2006 for doing away with the aforesaid writ, going on to say that her client "has not been charged with anything." This, despite the fact that Zemiri has long admitted to practicing Islam.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 18, 2007 2:44 PM | Comments (6)

 

6/18 Morning Communiqué

Filed under: Morning Communique

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco has the newest Monday Movie Quiz posted at Couch Pundit.

Jack Sparks has posted the first installment of the 2007 edition of the Top 100 Country Songs of All Time at the Other Side of Country.

Read Geoff Cannon's review and Daniel Corrigan's photos of the recent Nelly Furtado show in our gallery section.

Gary Hodges reviews a new version of Shadowrun, which Microsoft has reimagined as a first-person shooter, at citypages.com/gaming.

THESE DAYS

Japan will get its first nursing home for dogs with round-the-clock monitoring by doctors and a team of puppies to help aging pooches feel younger.

The populations of 20 common American birds—from the fence-sitting meadowlark to the whippoorwill with its haunting call—are half what they were 40 years ago.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Liv has decided to seek out the beauty found in life over 365 days. Find something beautiful every single day at One Year of Beauty.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Marie Antionette Action Figure, now with "Ejector Head"

Placemats made out of bacon

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work."

— Guidelines found on GlaxoSmithKline's website devoted to alli, the first FDA-sanctioned diet drug to be sold without a prescription. Possible side effects include loose stools and gas with an oily discharge. [via Norwegianity]

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 18, 2007 6:33 AM | Comments (1)

 

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