News Cut

News Cut: November 17, 2008 Archive

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Passing the News Cut torch

Posted at 9:44 AM on November 17, 2008 by Than Tibbetts (1 Comments)

Bob is on vacation this week, and while we will miss him, we'll still be trawling the internet.

During this week, we will be posting some of the more interesting things we have found on the Web, and we invite you to share your finds in the comments section. Here are a few things we'll be keeping our collective eyes on.

  • A second game of high-stakes economic poker. The financial industry got its bailout, so it would be unfair to deny the Big Three automakers their slice of the pie, right? The Detroit Free Press puts it this way, "America makes things -- and that makes things happen, here and around the world." Too bad nobody wants to buy those 'things' in question.

  • The Recount. Once again, we'll take a hard look at math skills across the state. Will it be the new Minnesota Miracle?

  • Puppies!

Perhaps your best bet? Radiolab returns for another season. Delay your lunch break -- it's on your local MPR station at 2 p.m. all this week.

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On Spam

Posted at 12:03 PM on November 17, 2008 by Than Tibbetts (7 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

The New York Times gave a shout-out of sorts to Spam — the much-maligned meat product made by Austin-based Hormel Foods — along with several humorous, half-hearted attempts at endorsing the product as the great supper savior during tough times.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table.

...

"People are realizing it's not that bad a product," said Dan Johnson, 55, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven.

... and ...

Because it is vacuum-sealed in a can and does not require refrigeration, Spam can last for years. Hormel says "it's like meat with a pause button."

And in case you were wondering what former Minnesota congressmen do with their time, the Times ran into Gil Gutknecht in the Spam Museum's gift shop, buying a Spam tie, sweatshirt and earrings.

Mr. Gutknecht recalled that he once served as a judge in a Spam recipe contest.

"The best thing was Spam brownies," he said, with more or less a straight face.

Perhaps the only positive economic indicator in the story is that the New York Times can still afford to dispatch a stringer to camp out in the canned goods aisle at Cleveland Wal-Mart for 63 words of Average Joe's James' analysis.

So, has the economic slowdown led you to start eating more 'food' that resembles other food? Feel free to share a favorite Spam recipe in the comments.

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Making the rounds

Posted at 6:00 PM on November 17, 2008 by Steve Mullis (4 Comments)
Filed under: News, Politics

Hey there News Cut readers, online editor Steve Mullis here. As my colleague Than pointed out already, our fearless News Cut leader, Bob Collins, is on vacation. He gave us the keys to the car this week and we promised not to crash it. I'm going to waffle between the useful, newsy stuff and the not so newsy but amusing.

So, let's get right down to brass tacks.

  • MPR's Tim Pugmire reported that a Minnesota group wants restrictions on voter registration. The group, called Minnesota Majority, wants to require IDs for voting and end same-day registration. Their claim is that it leads to errors and can disenfranchise those legitimate voters. Being someone that moved here from Florida only a few months ago, I was thrilled that I could vote in Minnesota with a minimum of trouble. Thinking it was going to be a headache, from my front door to the polling place and back home, it only took me 20 minutes. The ease of the entire process seemed to embody the entire Minnesota attitude, and part of the reason Minnesota consistently receives accolades for its voting system. Would you feel more secure about your vote, and the system in general, if a photo ID were required and registration were not allowed the day of the vote?

  • Looking for a gift for that Wile E. Coyote enthusiast in the family? Over at the Museum of Unsual Things they are selling a six-foot rubber band for only $5.50 (+ shipping). The possibilities here are, while not endless, certainly amusing.

  • Minnesota law enforcement agencies are promoting rewards for information related to animal fighting in the state. The reward, offered up by the Humane Society of the United States, is up to $5,000 if it leads to arrests. This was more common in Florida, where I am from, but I had no idea that it was so prevalent here. Hopefully if some of these roosters are saved, they can find second careers as peacekeepers.

  • Foreign Policy wrote today about the Commerce Department's declaration that the current financial crisis is worse than the one that happened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. According to the Washington Post article they link to, the 2.8 percent drop in retail sales last month surpasses the 2.65 percent in November 2001. So now it's official, our own bankers and financial gurus are worse for our economy than terrorists. OK, that's a little bit of hyperbole since the situations are very different. In 2001, people most likely weren't buying out of fear and perhaps guilt of retail spending in a time of crisis. Today, people aren't spending because they don't have any money to spend.

  • It was bound to happen, and the Times of London reported that Sarah Palin has indeed netted a possible book deal for the sum of $7 million. The article compares Palin's position to Obama's in 2004; she now has the national spotlight despite being part of the losing team. But is that an apt comparison? The article quotes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as saying: "...will be only one of the voices leading the party forward." I wonder if Palin will use a ghost writer or pen the book on her own.

  • The recount for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat is set to begin this week. Each of the nearly 3 million votes cast will be meticulously waded through and counted by elections officials, along with a cadre of observers, campaign representatives and security. The big question I have is: Who's going to get our "hanging chad" picture? (and of course who is going to win?)

    • recount.jpg

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