News Cut

News Cut: May 13, 2009 Archive

< May 12, 2009 | Main | May 14, 2009 >

Five at 8: May 13, 2009

Posted at 8:00 AM on May 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

First this bonus. The Legislative Auditor's Office has just released a report on security at the Capitol. The claim is there are vulnerabilities at the Capitol which leads to the obvious question: "How accessible by the people should the building of the people be?" And by pointing out the flas (no weapons screening), are we inviting evil-doers?

  • When you say "unemployed," what do you think? Auto worker? Newspaper reporter? How about lawyer? The Above the Law blog has another installment today of "Notes from the Breadline." It's a great -- if depressing -- read that makes me wonder why so many people are so anxious to go to law school.

    Also on the economy front, a must-read is Annie Baxter's story about couples that live apart in order to keep working.

  • We live in a suspicious society, which makes it difficult sometime for us. I was talking to Mary Lucia last night about being an older guy in the neighborhood, kids grown, when, for example, the Girl Scout rings the doorbell in January to sell cookies. I'm a sucker for kids selling anything, so I always buy. But there's the old guy at the door; there's the kid on the step, and we're both freezing. What do I do? I sit out on the stoop and consider the merits of Samoas. What else can you do these days? Invite the kid in? Not in a suspicious society.

    After that, Jason Samuels sent me a link to a piece his colleague wrote, Putting Men Into Mentoring, a piece spawned by another colleague's question: ""If I sit for a few minutes on that (park) bench, will I look creepy?"

    Coincidentally, the blog "A Day in the Life," is on a similar theme, asking whether the co-worker who drove past his house -- 15 miles out of the way -- stalking. Perhaps. Perhaps not.

    These are the things that consume us while waiting for an end to the stalemate at the Capitol.

  • Astronaut Mike Massimino is using Twitter from space. He's got 238,810 people following him but he's following only two people, which goes to show you: You can be smart enough to fly in space and still not get the social (as in two-way communication) part of social network. Those quarter-million people who are following him will be happy to learn that "launch was awesome." If you were privileged enough to fly into space, would you spend even one second of it on Twitter?

  • The Minnesota Orchestera won't be at the Lake Harriet venue this year.

  • Question: Should family members of members of Congress file financial disclosure forms? If not, how will we know when prominent members -- or even non-prominent ones -- direct taxpayer money to them? The Washington Post examines one such member in a piece that reminds us that good journalism is good.

    Speaking of which, you missed the Frontline documentary on Bernie Madoff? Then you need to spend a lot of time on the accompanying Frontline Web site. Does America have the attention span to follow stories like this?

    WHAT WE'RE DOING

    The News Cut bike ride is still on this morning.

    Midmorning -- Rita Dove from the Talking Volumes appearance at the Fitzgerald Theater in the first hour. July Collins in the second.

    Midday -- No listing has been made available.

    Talk of the Nation -- The Rush Limbaugh - Wanda Sykes controversy or: Which is worse: Joking about Rush Limbaugh being "the 20th hijacker," or claiming Michael J. Fox is faking his Parkinson's? In the second hour: Obsessive compulsive disorder.

    All Things Considered -- How can Minnesota grow the next crop of teachers if we're laying the young ones off?

    Comment on this post

    • Blogging the ride

    Posted at 3:23 PM on May 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (16 Comments)
    Filed under: Sports

    Armed with the experience of riding the bike to work, I'm fully prepped for Thursday's live chat (at 1 p.m.) about biking in the Twin Cities. I found most drivers to be actively considerate, especially in downtown St. Paul. I also found that you'll never get where you're going if you follow all the rules. It's a metaphor for life, actually. Here's the video.

    Comment on this post

    Why is torture seductive?

    Posted at 1:59 PM on May 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
    Filed under: Media

    "What is it about torture that is so seductive to our mainstream media?" Rory O'Connor asks on his blog today. He's taking on the media which, he suggests, has gone to great lengths to defend the use of torture.

    That makes US accomplices? I think not - remember, the same media figures told us, falsely, that "Some torture clearly works," that "we need to keep an open mind" about it, and that "we'll have to think about transferring some suspects to our less squeamish allies, even if that's hypocritical." After all, my fellow "accomplices," as Alter wrote in his Newsweek column shortly after 9/11: "Nobody said this was going to be pretty."

    But nobody ever said it would get this ugly, either! As if the calls for torture and the claims that prosecution will "be too hard legally and politically and too easy morally" weren't infuriating enough, we now find the latest media/torture depredation: The Philadelphia Inquirer has had torture architect John Yoo on its payroll as a columnist since last year!

    Maybe not all the media:

    The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
    Waffle House
    thedailyshow.com
    Daily Show
    Full Episodes    		Economic CrisisPolitical Humor

    Comment on this post

    A forced relationship with Apple?

    Posted at 2:53 PM on May 13, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
    Filed under: Tech

    The Wall St. Journal has picked up on what appears to be a growing controversy: Colleges requiring students to own iPhones and iPods. At least one college in St. Paul is requiring it so that students can download lectures. Notetaking is so old-school.

    The purchase was -- is -- to be covered by financial aid. But in Missouri, it's rubbing some of the kids the wrong way, according to a WSJ blog :

    But some students felt that they were being cajoled by the school into "an unnecessary and expensive relationship with Apple" that "comprises journalistic integrity," according to a Facebook group called "Rotten Apple" that was launched by student Elizabeth Eberlin. At the time this story was written, only 37 students had joined, and after the administration clarified that Apple products weren't actually required, she backpedaled, writing, "I was just worried that students were being forced into a brand, that no matter what percent of the market it really is, is not a good fit for everyone, especially those who are low income but have no subsidies."

    Comment on this post

    May 2009
    S M T W T F S
              1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31            


    Master Archive

    Recent Entries

    MPR News
    Radio

    Listen Now

    On Air

    Midmorning

    Schedule

    Shortcuts
    Hourly Newscast
    Hosts
    Station Map

    Other Radio Streams from MPR

    Classical MPR
    Radio Heartland

    Services

    Become a Sponsor

    In The Spotlight

    • Sound Learning

      Looking for ways to ensure your students are doing quality research from credible sources? Sound Learning is a launching point to Minnesota Public Radio's content on the Web.

    • The Current Music Blog

      Your daily note for good music, news and pop culture. With attempted jokes.