News Cut: June 25, 2009 Archive

Five at 8 - 6/25/09

Posted at 7:53 AM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)

Greetings. Thanks for putting a little extra work into finding News Cut this morning. Enjoy the new design. One feature of it is the Daily Question from Eric Ringham and Anna Weggel. Today: What should government health care look like?

Now then...

I don't have a Thursday Morning Rouser, so let's just call this the song of the day, instead:

1) Mark Malkoff, who has a general fear of flying, is spending 30 days flying on an AirTran jet. It's Day 25 and he says he's still sane. The Crankly Flyer blog interviewed him from the lav yesterday (Listen). Here's his Web site and his Twitter feed. It's been awhile since we've collected your "flying horror stories" (Use comments below) and this would be a good day. In the Star Tribune today, columnist Gail Rosenblum revealed the "expert" security lines are, in fact, not.

Mrs. News Cut reported her flight from Minneapolis to Hartford yesterday was a disaster, thanks to the sweaty fat guy in the seat next to her, who spilled into her seat, and had to put his leg under the seat in front of hers, who snored with his mouth open, and had bad breath. Southwest gets a lot of grief for requiring passengers like that to buy two seats. This column in an Australia paper notes for the historical record today that Boeing -- quickly becoming the latest American basket case -- set the standard size of an airline seat in 1954.

2) Pick of the week: Drop what you're doing and listen to the episode of Fresh Air, which ran on Minnesota Public Radio last evening. It was a compelling discussion of what happens to soldiers after they're killed in a war -- right after they're killed in war. Captain Craig T. Mallak, a pathologist and lawyer who is also the chief of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, described how the physical and sometimes virtual autopsies of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan have not only assisted in the design of body armor, helmets and vehicle shields, but medical equipment as well.

3) To embed or not to embed? It's an ethical question for journalists that isn't asked much these days. But today is one of those days. The U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry unit in Mosul "barred a Stars & Stripes reporter from embedding with one of its units in that still hinky northern city. Military flacks justified the disbarment by citing a March story from the reporter that 'refused to highlight' what amounted to good news the Army was doing in Mosul. They also said he 'behaved unprofessionally' and wouldn't answer questions about stories he was writing," the Baghdad Observer reports. Easy answer, right? Of course you don't embed. But it's not so simple because if you don't embed, and get the protection afforded, you stand a good chance of getting killed or kidnapped.

I read the Stripes' reporter's March story that got the 1st Cav brass PO'd at him. I'd have written it much the same way. I thought it was a good piece of journalism. Not sure why the military got its knickers twisted to the point of banning a guy who works in a business that buys ink by the barrel--though those cheap little pixels are now trying to take us down.

Meanwhile, Stars and Stripes has the story today of a soldier who's fighting in Iraq while the government tries to deport his wife.

But here's the bigger story:

"I probably get one of these calls a week," said Lt. Col. Margaret Stock, an Army reservist who works with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It's a military readiness problem. The spouses are over there, stressing out about what's happening back home. They can't focus because they're worried about where their wives will end up."

4) It's getting harder to figure out what economic news that sounds like good news is actually good news. Home sales are up, we're told, and that's good news. Or is it?

Realtor Teresa Boardman, who writes the St. Paul Real Estate blog, has crunched the numbers and has a different take.

Some see the increase in sales as a sign that the housing market is on the rebound. I don't see it that way. I think the numbers mean that a bunch of foreclosures sold because the prices were so low and the tax incentive helped fuel the buying.

5) Two days, two stories. Tuesday: Fewer lifeguards at beaches around Twin Cities, the Star Tribune reported. Today's story: Boy, 6, Critical After Pulled From Metro Lake, says WCCO.

"They were playing and one just didn't come up from the water. From what I heard is that the lifeguard saw it right away, instantly, and went over and made sure that the kids in the raft stayed in one spot. They had other lifeguards and people there scouring the water and found the boy fairly quickly," a witness told the TV station.

Here's hoping the young man pulls through and here's big props for the lifeguards, without whom, it's safe to say, this boy would be dead this morning, and we'd be talking about the need to save four or five cents per household in city budgets by dumping a few lifeguards.

Are we sure we want to do this?

Update 12:47 p.m. - Sad news. The young man has died.

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: Will the green economy live up to its promise? Second hour: Romance. Espionage. Parisian cafes and back alleys in Berlin. These are the elements that make the novels of Alan Furst among the best in the spy genre. He joins Midmorning to discuss his latest novel, and his fascination with World War II-era Europe.

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Kurt Zellers, the new House Minority Leader in Minnesota, sits down with Gary Eichten for a chat in the first hour. Second hour: Economist Robert Frank, speaking at the Commonwealth Club of California about "Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times." Here's a speech he gave at YouTube well before the meltdown. See if he got it right.

Talk of the Nation (1 - 3 p.m.) - First hour: In the fight over health care reform -- is private insurance the problem? Second hour: Why is homosexuality apparently fair game for jokes when ethnic slurs, for example, are not?

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - Is there a solution at hand to the problem of aging septic systems near Minnesota's lakes? Could be. Dan Gunderson will have that story. MPR's Lorna Benson will report on advocates for the homeless, who say the governor's unallotment puts a big burden on people with no permanent place to live. The Minnesota Department of Health is meeting with taconite miners to recruit them for an intensive study on cancer among miners.

Some PR pros will opine on how to handle a crisis like, for example, admitting to your cheatin' heart.

Comment on this post

Court to schools: 'Duh!'

Posted at 11:20 AM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice

Date: June 25, 2009
To: School districts in the United States
Re: Strip searching

Please do not strip your search students because you think they might have some ibuprofen.

Thank you.

-- The U.S Supreme Court

* * *

If there was likely to be a "duh" decision coming from the hallowed hall of justice in Washington, this was most likely to be it, and today the justices -- most of them -- used all of their judicial training to avoid using the word "duh."

This is the case of Savana Redding of Arizona, who was ordered to strip and "to pull her bra out and shake it, and to pull out the elastic on her underpants, thus exposing her breasts and pelvic area to some degree," according to the suit which made its way to the Supreme Court earlier this year. The school had a zero-tolerance policy toward pills and someone told the school officials that Redding had prescription and over-the-counter pain pills.

Let the record show nothing fell out.

"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion.

And of the assistant principal's action, Souter wrote:

"Because Wilson knew that the pills were common pain relievers, he must have known of their nature and limited threat and had no reason to suspect that large amounts were being passed around or that individual students had great quantities."

Which is a nice way of saying, "Use your head, man."

The 13-year-old's constitutional rights were violated, the court says, but there's not much she can do about it. The court ruled the school officials enjoy immunity.

Justice Ruth Ginsberg disagreed with that part of the ruling, noting the girl was not sent back to class. "Instead, he made her sit on a chair outside his office for over two hours. At no point did he attempt to call her parent. Abuse of authority of that order should not be shielded by official immunity."

Justice John Paul Stevens objected to the overall decision because the court upheld the immunity of school officials. But that didn't stop him from giving him the rhetorical back of his hand:

"(This is) in essence, a case in which clearly established law meets clearly outrageous conduct. I have long believed that "'[i]t does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13-year-old child is an invasion of constitutional rights of some magnitude.'"

Only Justice Clarence Thomas thought the strip search was none of the court's business:

"This deep intrusion into the administration of public schools exemplifies why the Court should return to the common-law doctrine of in loco parentis under which 'the judiciary was reluctant to interfere in the routine business of school administration, allowing schools and teachers to set and enforce rules and to maintain order,'" he wrote.

Which leads to the obvious question: If the court has no role in deciding whether there's a constitutional right to prevent a 13 year old from being strip searched by an assistant principal, what is it there for?

Here's the full ruling, which reads like a cheap novel.

Comment on this post

Pork spending

Posted at 2:12 PM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

Maybe this is a time when Washington pork really is pork.

This week, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's agriculture commissioner, Gene Hugoson, and his Iowa counterpart, Bill Northey (Democrat), are asking that federal funds be used to buy pork, and then direct it to federal food programs, according to the Associated Press.

What's the problem? Swine flu has scared people from pork, even though it has nothing to do with the meat, and the name has since been changed to the H1N1 flu. The recession also has people eating less meat.

Like the big automakers, there's also the comparative inefficiency of small farms. "Producers that aren't efficient will be hit first," Shane Ellis, a livestock economist at Iowa State University in Ames said. "Those are the operators that we will see exit the market. Not the big operators." And farmers are raising more hogs than the consumer demand requires.

Republican opposition to federal spending and intervention in private business tends to soften when things turn tough for farmers -- a traditional Republican constituency. But is there a difference between an autoworker and a hog farmer? On scale, there's a big difference. But what about philosophy?

Consider Gov. Pawlenty's view of the government intervening in the banking and auto industries. "It's headed in the wrong direction in terms of government micromanaging or intervening, and, worse yet, funding and subsidizing and taking over entire parts of our economy," he said earlier this month.

When should the market prevail? And when should the government step in?

Comment on this post

The truth about Cronkite

Posted at 3:44 PM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Icons, News

If there's one person who would hate the way the condition of Walter Cronkite is being reported, it's Walter Cronkite.

To recap: Last Thursday it was reported Cronkite was "gravely ill."

Later in the day, his publicist declared the reports of Cronkite's near death exaggerated. "He has suffered no major health crisis. He is at home. He was recently ill, and he's home recuperating. He's not gravely ill."

This afternoon the family acknowledged the original story.

In order to dispel false rumors, Walter Cronkite's family wants it known that he has apparently suffered for some years with cerebrovascular disease and he is not expected to recuperate. He is resting comfortably at home with family, friends, and a wonderful medical team. We thank you for your prayers and good wishes."

It's been interesting to read comments from old-timers about Cronkite in the last week. "That was back when journalists just gave us the news," one said, a comment echoed by many others. They forget that it was Cronkite who basically said -- on a news broadcast -- that Vietnam was a mistake.

Cronkite's work also serves as a reminder that news doesn't have to be slick to be good.

Comment on this post

Minnesota after the health care cuts

Posted at 3:57 PM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

It's becoming more clear now what the effect of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's "unallotment" is going to have on the poorest of Minnesotans.

MPR's Lorna Benson has just posted a story that shows the despair that's building among those who get help from the state.

His state-sponsored health insurance will end next year and he'll have to deal with his depression, degenerative disk disease and sleep apnea on his own.

"Actually on my refrigerator I've got a little marker-pen and I've got the date, February 28, 2010, D-day, and I've got my plan for detox."

By "detox," he means weaning himself from all his medications by the end of February, so that when he loses his health insurance on March 1, he'll have a better chance of coping with his health situation.

Lorna's story comes on the heels of Jess Mador's story this week about the loss of the renter's credit. Most of those who get it are senior citizens and disabled Minnesotans.

In Rochester, meanwhile, the Post Bulletin is carrying a story today that says dentists in the state are probably going to refuse to treat lower-income patients because the state is reducing their reimbursement.

A Blooming Prairie clinic that treats low-income patients exclusively is bracing for a significant financial hit as a result of the cuts. Dr. John Flor, with Main Street Dental, said the clinic's dentists are considering a 20 percent pay cut to help keep the facility open.

"If we can't make money, there is nobody to bail us out," Flor said. "So if you can't make money and you can't pay your bills, then you have to quit."

I normally don't quote my wife on News Cut, but she's in the business of helping those who are in crisis find health care. She knows what she's talking about and offered this piece of advice after reading the MPR story.

"Anyone already on disability won't be losing their insurance. Those who are not yet approved by Social Security to collect disability can go through (a mountain of paperwork) the SMRT (State Medical Review Team) and if found unable to work can get federally funded Medicaid. Those who can't do either would be wise to apply for Minnesota Care and somehow try to manage the $4.00-$30.00 per month premium to stay on meds. Along with that, many are unaware that many meds are available at Target or WalMart for $4.00 for a 30-day supply (generic only). Those that aren't generic have very generous free or greatly reduced pricing on meds. All it takes is an application to the manufacturer of said med, and a doctor who gives a damn."

My wife says the one phrase she hears from people who show up lookingfor help is this one: "I never thought this would happen to me."

The governor has made his decision and that apparently is that. Perhaps it's now time to figure out these ways of getting help to people who need a hand.

Comment on this post

Northwest flight may have had similar problems as doomed Air France jet

Posted at 5:02 PM on June 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Disasters

As investigators continue to focus on faulty airspeed indicators as the cause of the Air France crash off the coast of Brazil, the National Transportation Safety Board says a Northwest Airlines Airbus 330 may have had a similar problem.

In a release late Thursday, the NTSB said the Northwest jet was flying between Hong Kong and Tokyo on Tuesday when it apparently had faulty readings for airspeed and altittude. "The aircraft landed safely in Tokyo; no injuries or damage was reported. Data recorder information, Aircraft Condition Monitoring System messages, crew statements and weather information are being collected by NTSB investigators," the release said.

Investigators in the Air France case are trying to determine if icing on the external speed sensors called -- called pitot tubes -- caused incorrect airspeed readings and allowed the crew to fly the plane far beyond its capability to to withstand an in-flight break-up.

Comment on this post