Bob CollinsOn two fronts, and from two different political directions, the lack of education by the American voter is cited as a factor in the country’s direction today.
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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Politics
It’s probably never a good idea to use the New York Daily News as a barometer of the state of journalism.
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Lake Elmo, a city famous for its insistence to remain a pre-sprawl town, has taken a big club to sprawl with its refusal to allow bus rapid-transit stations in its community.
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Somebody shot a county commissioner of Meeker County and a local newspaper is running up against a law on data in Minnesota in its effort to find out who.
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In the last days of the 2014 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature tried to pass tougher legislation against payday lenders. Several religious groups whose members were being decimated by triple-digit interest against future paychecks were stymied when Republicans blocked the measure, arguing it removes options for low-income families.
It’s an option for getting ripped-off as PBS NewsHour proved yet again last evening with a focus on a Sioux Falls, S.D., family living paycheck to paycheck.
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It’s likely only coincidence that on the same day, the BBC has aired a visit to an American gun show on the same day President Obama tightens restrictions on gun sales. Read more →
Seinfeld fairly nails it when he notes that when the ’63 Stingray came out, America did things without having a reason to do it and a knowledge how.
That was back in the day when it could also have an occasional chuckle.
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Bruce Hagen, the mayor Superior, Wisc., is in trouble with some of his constituents for making a personal opinion on his Facebook page, adding more fuel to a growing debate in America: What link should there — or shouldn’t there — be between someone’s personal opinion (no matter how insipid) and their public role? Read more →
It’s hard to imagine anyone will still want to be president once the new season of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee debuts. Read more →
There’s a new poll out with questions surrounding the Middle East and the so-called “war on terror.” But before we talk about them, please answer these questions. Read more →
The biggest question in Minneapolis politics these days is ‘What didn’t the Minneapolis School Board know and when didn’t it know it?’
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Ryan Clancy got a lovely note from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the mail today. Clancy’s business, Bounce Milwaukee, received a ‘best places to work’ award from a business publication. Read more →
The tension in the early part of the interview today comes from a theme that runs through his tremendous book. That setting your ideals and values aside — or even turning your back on them — is just the way politics is. And, besides, once you’re in office, you can walk things back and apply your ideals and values.
To do otherwise seems simple enough, but that’s also naive.
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We might well find out one of these days whether Facebook can force the U.S. to do something it doesn’t want to do: Let a refugee into the country it doesn’t think should be allowed in. Read more →
Eric RinghamIt’s a cultural and political Rorschach test: When you look at the face of the actor Mandy Patinkin, whom do you see? Saul Berenson from “Homeland,” or Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride”? Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been quoting the youthful Montoya on the campaign trail. Now the grown-up Saul has begun to object. Read more →