Iowa's law against same-sex marriage ruled illegal

The West Central Tribune has an AP article here with more details. I'm not sure how long this (allowing same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses) will last, as the article states that a request for a stay has been filed. In the meantime, though, good for Iowa!

Saturday morning bits and pieces

A few articles that caught my eye this morning.

The Red Wing Republican Eagle ran an editorial praising Senator Amy Klobuchar's push to hold a Congressional investigation into recalls of Chinese-made toys. The most recent high-publicity recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission was due to lead being found in paint used on wooden train sets.

The Fargo-Moorhead Forum ran an AP article about Congressman Keith Ellison's support of a bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The bill was introduced by Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

And finally, my local paper, the Morris Sun Tribune, had a couple of interesting items on the op-ed page. The first was an editorial by Editor Tom Larson, titled Talking Points -- Who cares what Lugar says, Bush not about to listen now. I'll be interested to see if this brings many responses over the next week. The second item was a column from Matt Entenza's new think tank, Minnesota 2020. Titled To invest or not invest, it argues that Minnesota's rural communities would be better served by jobs programs that encourage more smaller businesses, rather than a few large employers. Good fodder for discussion as we work to strengthen the economies of rural Minnesota.

Former Speaker Steve Sviggum to take state Cabinet position.

According to an article by Scott Wente appearing the West Central Tribune, Republican Minnesota House Member and former Speaker Steve Sviggum is leaving the state legislature to take over as head of the state Department of Labor and Industry. He will begin his new duties July 17. Sviggum had previously pledged, in April, to finish his term.

The article further goes on to explain that the Governor Pawlenty must declare a special election to fill the seat. The election must occur before the next legislative session (regular or special). A spokesperson for the Governor is quoted in the article as saying “we expect a special election would be held in about a month.”

Other places covering the story: Minnesota Monitor, MN Publius (to name two I've seen it mentioned by).

Sen. Billy Ingebrigtsen - a man of class and goodwill

There's an article on the Morris Sun Tribune website (to be printed in tomorrow's paper) about the two Republican first-term state Senators, Joe Gimse of Willmar (District 13) and Bill Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria (District 11), who happens to be my Senator. The article is written by Mike Longaecker of Forum's St. Paul Capitol Bureau.

Senator Ingebrigtsen really shows his class in the following excerpt from the article:

Ingebrigtsen said he hopes he’s bringing a greater sense of community involvement to the district than his predecessor.

“I will be available to them,” he said. “I will be in the district. I’m not sure Dallas was doing that full-time.”

For those who need a reminder, Dallas Sams (who died in March) was battling a recurrence of cancer during the election cycle. I find it just a bit off-putting that he would make that comment about a long-serving public servant who can't respond. It's crass enough to say something like that when your opponent hasn't recently died. If you won the race, get over it.

“I’ve been told I handled it like a statesman,” Ingebrigtsen said of the win. “And I’m very proud of that fact.”

Huh. Too bad it didn't last.

Edited 4/14/07 to add:
The West Central Tribune (Willmar) ran the same article today, with the focus switched to Sen. Joe Gimse.

Farmington Independent - "Pawlenty launches anti-DFL campaign"

An article written by Don Davis, the Forum Communication Company's Minn. State Capitol Bureau Chief, appeared on the Farmington Independent's website today. It is titled "Pawlenty launches anti-DFL campaign", and is a brief article about Gov. Pawlenty's reaction to some of the DFL-supported budget proposals, which include increases of some tax rates. There are no comments from either side in the story here, I'll keep an eye out and see if a longer piece appears elsewhere.

If some kind of sin you must be pursuing, well, remember to do it by doing rather than by not doing.

(With apologies to Ogden Nash.)

It's been a while since I last posted. I've been busy with life, and haven't been able to devote solid time to scouring the various Forum papers, but an interesting post popped up in a Google alert. Blue man in a Red district points out that there has been no mention in any Forum-owned paper of Rep. Marty Seifert's comparison of Pres. Bush to gonorrhea. A quick check confirms it. Interesting omission.

Some coverage of the proposed primary move.

A few Forum papers (The Bemidji Pioneer and The West Central Tribune) carried stories about the proposal to move Minnesota's primary from September to June (articles are identical, except for a few extra paragraphs at the end of the Pioneer story). The article was written by Scott Wente. Here's what was in the Pioneer:

Bill would bump up election
Scott Wente
Bemidji Pioneer - 02/16/2007

ST. PAUL — Voters would learn more about political candidates if Minnesota primary elections were held earlier, say proponents of a plan to change the state’s voting calendar.

Legislators and political party activists on Thursday introduced a plan to bump the primary election from September to June, claiming voters will have more time to study the candidates appearing on the November general election ballot.

Primary elections narrow the number of candidates down to one from each political party.

Rep. Bill Hilty, who often carries election bills in the House, said an earlier primary would help local voting officials. The time between when they process primary results and prepare general election ballots is only a few weeks.

“It gives you a very small window of opportunity to make all the preparations,” Hilty, DFL-Finlayson, said of the current election calendar.

Hilty, who previously sponsored similar proposals, predicted there is a better chance of passing such measures this year than in past legislative sessions.

Opponents of the bill said the public doesn’t want a longer general election campaign, but acknowledged the measure could pass the Legislature in 2007. It would go into effect in 2008, a presidential election year.

Sen. John Marty, who suggested primary contests be decided just a month before the general election, said voters would pay attention to campaigns if they didn’t last so long.

“The solution is not to make them longer,” Marty, DFL-Roseville, said.

The state’s top election official supports an earlier primary election.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, in office a month and a half, said the current system makes it difficult for Minnesota voters overseas – such as military personnel, international volunteers and college students studying abroad – to get their absentee ballots mailed home by election day in November. Ballots returned after the general election are not counted.

“We’re very supportive of anything that moves the primary back to give enough time for ballots to go out and come back,” Ritchie said in an interview.

The bill also proposes moving the political caucus meetings from early March to mid-February. That would provide more time for parties to conduct their candidate endorsement process, supporters said.

Leaders from all three major political parties stand behind the proposal, which also got initial approval from legislators handling election laws.

“I like it,” said Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, who sits on the House Elections Committee.

People already see primary contests heating up more than a year in advance, Howes said. Voters probably wouldn’t mind getting the primary election out of the way earlier and spending more time learning about fewer candidates.

“What difference does it make?” Howes said. “Let’s at least end the speculation of who that person’s going to be.”

If a candidate relies on lots of campaign volunteers, it would be more beneficial to have them working over the summer in preparation for the general election, said Rep. Sandy Wollschlager, DFL-Cannon Falls.

Wollschlager, who faced a primary opponent in her House bid last year, said she and other candidates in her position “had to turn around and run for the general election in a very short amount of time.”

Wollschlager, who has a seat on the House elections panel, said she would support the bill.

Scott Wente works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Bemidji Pioneer.

One area of confusion: If this is passed in 2007, when would it take effect? Scott Wente's article indicates it would affect the 2008 cycle, but according to Abdi Aynte of Minnesota Monitor, it wouldn't take effect until 2010.

Personally, I'm a big fan of this plan. I really don't think voters benefit from the long primary season, especially those who don't get involved early in the season (or, most of those who vote in a general election). Too much time is spent running against people who you (in theory, at least) generally agree with on many issues, for the vote of people who are probably better informed (or at least opinionated) than the average general election voter. Those are the ones who need the information on candidates.

I was hoping I'd find some coverage of this.

Whew. I was hoping I would find some Forum newspaper coverage of the Mooninite invasion of Boston. In the Daily Telegram (Superior, WI) I found this and this, but those are just some AP stories. But published today was the following editorial:

EDITORIAL: Marketing gimmick was nerve-wracking learning experience
The Daily Telegram - 02/01/2007

A headline in today’s Boston Globe says it all: “Marketing campaign exposes a wide generation gap.”

It refers to the massive anti-terror reaction by Boston responders Wednesday. They confused stray electronic ad boards with something possibly much more dangerous. Roads, freeways and subways were shut down as a precautionary measure during a response that was somewhat over the top. City officials were livid when they learned the signs were part of a “guerrilla” advertising campaign for the Cartoon Network television show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

If nothing else, this experience was a learning experience for all of us.

After receiving millions worth of media exposure, those in the U.S. marketing community should now realize the world is not their stage. Advertising is a commodity. As such, it’s traditional to pay for publication space, air time, etc. You can’t just hang rogue signs on public and private property without permission.

As you’ll notice in the photo, the signs feature a character making an obscene gesture, which also raises an issue about taste, if that concept still exists in America.

Meanwhile, authorities should realize that every circuit board is not a bomb, particularly if it’s not connected to dynamite, plastique or a pressurized container. Sometimes a sign is just a sign. Anyone who ever installed batteries in their smoke detector could tell this was not an A-bomb. This should have been evident when the first of 38 boards was examined.

The growing the level of violence worldwide has shattered our nerves. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry doesn’t think there’s enough of it, so they have to market violent games and, as described in Wikipedia, TV shows featuring “brutal, sarcastic and...surreal humor.”

This could be a difficult decade.

The editorial did, indeed, include a picture of one of the advertising signs, finger unblurred.

I'm a longtime fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, so like I said, I was hoping I'd be able to cover this. Gotta go, some terrorist just had one million pizzas delivered to my house.

Article about Gov. Pawlenty's 'buzz' in DC

In an article in the Jan. 28 edition of The Forum of Fargo, ND, Forum Communication Co. political writer Scott Wente writes about Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 'buzz' in DC, related to a possible spot as a VP nominee. The long and the short: Sen. Coleman says he's excited, Rep. Kline says he hasn't heard anything, and RNC member Brian Sullivan says "...from a 2008 perspective the focus is on the candidates who are running for president."

Oh yeah, I'm starting to find more time to do this. I hope to get a rhythm going this week, and get a few more posts up.

Hey, where are all the posts?

Said from the reader's point of view. Honestly, I had not planned on actually writing anything on this blog until sometime after the new year, but then my local paper ran Dennis Prager's original article on Keith Ellison, and I felt that merited a post. But much of my time is still taken up with childcare while my wife works 'round the clock on finishing her Ph.D., so there won't be much here until probably mid January. It's not abandoned, just slow starting.

Besides, the indoctrination of future generations comes first!