News Cut: July 16, 2009 Archive

Five at 8 - 7/16/09

Posted at 7:45 AM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

I'm not going to lie to you. We've known each other far too long (it's been days, right?). This time of the year is the worst for the news business. It's worse than Christmas week. Little stuff becomes big stuff. You know Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" remark? He forgot to mention that most people's 15 minutes comes in the second full week of July. Stay low this week, or you could end up leading a newscast.

1) Are newspaper comments worthless? Doug Bailey of the Boston Globe writes this week that they've got to go :

My problems with these forums can be boiled down to three peeves: The level of commentary demeans and devalues the very product newspapers should be promoting; sniping, misinformation, and insensitivity that would not be tolerated in the newspaper that hosts the forums are regularly posted, seemingly encouraged, and even granted an aura of legitimacy from the association with the host's brand; they create a self-perpetuating cycle in which anonymous, unverified information creeps into legitimate news coverage in ways that haven't been fully vetted.

MPR's Tim Post looked at this issue in this 2007 story. Nothing much has changed. Why not moderate comments? Allow only ones that add intelligence and value to the discussion? At News Cut, comments aren't moderated per se, and I rarely "unpublish" one. I did yesterday (though I can't remember what it was about). It was full of bile. We don't need bile. But we do need more people to comment who have interesting things to say. I'm wondering if people are generally scared off but what they see happening in "comments" in some other high-profile locales?

2) At what age should you think about sticking a fig leaf on your kid? All the news that's fit to....

3) The space shuttle launched last evening. If you're in Minnesota, find locations and times of viewing it across the sky here.

Continuing our observance of the 40th anniversary of the moon shot: It was a question then. It's a question now. Why are we wasting millions of dollars in space when the Twins can't afford a secondbaseman who can hit?

We can put a man on the moon, but we can't save the historic tapes that recorded it. On the other hand, the onboard audio tapes have been released. It's what you didn't hear when the Eagle was heading for the moon.

Good question: I wonder what's left of the Apollo 11 landing site?

4) The reviews are coming in now that the first round of Sonia Sotomayor hearings are over (Round one is done. Other witnesses are testifying today). "What a Waste," headlines Slate, although it gives props to Minnesota's junior senator for asking a question that nobody else asked. And, no, it wasn't about Perry Mason.

However, the big points go to National Public Radio's All Things Considered, which settled the question of how many cases did Perry Mason lose by calling Barbara Hale, who played his secretary on the show. The answer? None.

5) The unemployment rate comes out this morning. It'll be bad. And Minnesota's budget woes? They're going to get worse, too, the state economist tells Politics in Minnesota. The long arm of fraud. He thinks people filing amended returns because they got caught in Ponzi schemes will have a significant impact on things.

Bonus: Time travel. The Beatles have an official Web site. The Beatles? Web site? Mini-documentaries have been posted with the stories behind the making of some of the band's albums. Today: The Making of Revolver. (h/t: Open Culture) Still cool: Paul McCartney made his return to the Ed Sullivan Theater last night.

TODAY'S QUESTION

Forty years ago today, three U.S. astronauts were launched into space on the Apollo 11 mission, which put a human being on the moon for the first time. It was a moment when the nation seemed united behind a common, innovative goal. Members of the Obama administration have suggested that we need that kind of approach to energy policy. What's your suggestion? What is the moonshot for our times?

WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON

We're done with the Sotomayor hearings so it's back to work:

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: We'll get a handle of all of the various health care proposals floating around, and try to answer the question how we're supposed to pay for them. Second hour: Can you run a secret spy agency, tell Congress what you're up to, and still be a secret spy agency?

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - First hour: Political Science professor James Morone , author of a new book out this week, "The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office." Second hour: Harvard University psychologist Dan Gilbert discusses what makes us happy, and why it so often eludes us.

Here's a TED video from April on the subject:

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - Many Latinos tell you they admire Sonia Sotomayor. But some also ask questions about the first Hispanic nominated to the Supreme Court. Why not a Mexican American? Why not an Hispanic male? Second hour: Chris Steiner argues, that gas is too way cheap. Four dollars a gallon was magical. We gave up our SUVs. Six dollar gas? Even better, he says.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - One of first two Somali men indicted on terrorism charges in connection with missing men makes a court appearance this afternoon. MPR's Elizabeth Stawicki is covering the hearing. Business reporter Annie Baxter will dig through the Minnesota unemployment numbers in search of green shoots. NPR's Tovia Smith has an update on the Massachusetts health care system and finds that the requirement that all residents have health insurance is missing thousands of legal immigrants. Why were the moon astronauts sent to Flagstaff for training. Because, it was felt, Flagstaff might as well be the moon. Daniel Kraker will have the look back. There's a pretty interesting pdf file about it here.

LET'S FEEL OLD

Arlo Guthrie is in town tonight, appearing at the Fitz. Let's feel old:

You know, time marches on. But sometimes it stops for a quick breather. I met a disc-jockey woman -- for whom I did not much care -- who tells the story of the time Arlo Guthrie bummed a cigarette from her in the Berkshire Hills, where I struggled as a $110 a week reporter. Later, I programmed a small radio station in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, which claims two things: it's the first place an electric bulb was installed as a street light (for no extra charge, Minneapolis!), and it's the place where Arlo Guthrie renovated the small church where Alice's Restaurant was filmed. Arlo is to the Berkshires what Bob Dylan is to Minnesota. Tonight we're going to go hear Arlo; me and the disc jockey for whom I did not much care for at the time. We've been married for almost 27 years. Life is interesting, even during a slow news week.

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Unemployment by the numbers

Posted at 9:45 AM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

We figured the June unemployment numbers in Minnesota would be bad, especially considering the national figures -- released a few weeks ago -- took economists by surprise.

How bad? 8.4 percent bad, Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development said today.

That's 16, 740 jobs that disappeared in June. Based on a 40-hour week, that's 95 jobs disappearing per hour for the entire month. Imagine the boss calling in three people every two minutes for an entire month to tell them they're losing their jobs. That's how bad.

The sectors that added jobs in June were trade, transportation and utilities, which gained 800 jobs, and financial activities, which added 600 positions.

The job losses appeared to occur right where the economic stimulus was aimed: Construction (down 3,900) and manufacturing (down 3,700).

"Government" added 2,500 jobs during the month year. It takes a lot more than a recession or a hemorrhaging state budget to slow down the growth of government.

Over the course of the year, the Duluth-Superior area was the hardest hit, with more than 4 percent of the jobs disappearing. By contrast, Rochester lost only 1.3 of its jobs; a testament, perhaps, to the axiom that health care weathers recessions.

The statewide map -- provided by DEED -- shows the extent to which Minnesota is a have/have not state when it comes to unemployment. This is based on the county breakdown, the latest numbers for which are May's:

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The nature of heroes

Posted at 11:37 AM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Icons

Maybe you received the e-mail last week berating the news media for providing so much coverage to Michael Jackson, while ignoring the death of Ed Freeman, who was one of 246 recipients of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War.

He was, in fact, a hero.

Back at base, Freeman and the other pilots received word that the GIs they had dropped off were taking heavy casualties and running low on supplies. In fact, the fighting was so fierce that medevac helicopters refused to pick up the wounded. When the commander of the helicopter unit asked for volunteers to fly into the battle zone, Freeman alone stepped forward. He was joined by his commander, and the two of them began several hours of flights into the contested area. Because their small emergency-landing zone was just one hundred yards away from the heaviest fighting, their unarmed and lightly armored helicopters took several hits. In all, Freeman carried out fourteen separate rescue missions, bringing in water and ammunition to the besieged soldiers and taking back dozens of wounded, some of whom wouldn't have survived if they hadn't been evacuated.

He did not, in fact, die the same day Michael Jackson did. Nor the same year. He died last year, the Washington Post's obituary blog reports.

As I began to investigate matters, I found out that Freeman's name had been invoked several times to berate the news media for its supposed lapses. Just as he hadn't died on June 25, he hadn't died last September and been neglected in favor of coverage of Paul Newman. He hadn't died in February, as a widely circulated e-mail claimed, and been buried in an avalanche of stories about "some Hip Hop Coward beating the crap out of his 'girlfriend.' " He hadn't died, as still other e-mailers wrote, on March 25, 2009.

As it turns out, though, neither of the national dailies carried his obituary when he did die, which is odd, especially since he had a Hollywood connection. He and his colleagues involved in the Ia Drang campaign in Vietnam "are immortalized in the Mel Gibson movie We Were Soldiers, says the Idaho Statesman.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama will sign a bill naming a post office in Mississippi in his honor.

Then, perhaps, the Internet will let him rest in peace.

Another e-mail is making its rounds this week, somewhat similar to the one above. This one recognizes Shifty Powers, made famous in Steve Ambrose's Band of Brothers. The e-mail says he died last month. He actually did.

By the way, the Web site The Living Medal of Honor Recipients reports there are now fewer than 100 living Medal of Honor recipients. One of them, Leo Thorsness, is a Minnesota native. He placed John McCain's name in nomination at last year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

(A longer conversation can be found here)

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Pursuing Ricky

Posted at 12:32 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Sports

News flash: He loves us. He really loves us!

Or at least he doesn't hate us that much. Just before he was selected in the NBA rookie draft last month, Spanish basketball star Ricky Rubio committed the cardinal Minnesota sin: He pointed out our flaws, saying it's "too cold" here. Never mind that most of us think the same thing. But outsiders aren't allowed the privilege.

But ESPN reported a few weeks ago that Rubio's reluctance to come to Minnesota wasn't about the cold. He just didn't want to be here.

When the Timberwolves presented their first-round draft choices to the media, Rubio didn't show.

Today comes word, however, that Timberwolves GM David Kahn is heading to Spain, to talk about buying out Rubio's contract with his Spanish professional team.

The real story, however, is buried in the story.

Rubio "is OK with playing in Minnesota," a source said. "It's a matter of getting the buyout done."

Just "OK"? That's a start. Players who don't love it here bring out the dark side of the Minnesota sports fan.

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Romney makes money, political friends

Posted at 12:51 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Pawlenty, Politics

Today's Gallup Poll makes clear the size of the task Gov. Tim Pawlenty has of getting the Republican nomination for president in 2012 (assuming he wants it). The big green bar up there (click for a larger image)? That's former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The little one? That's Tim Pawlenty.

It's not an impossible task, of course, but Romney is making powerful friends the old-fashioned way. He's giving them money. The Boston Globe reports Romney's political action committee has taken in $1.6 million so far in 2009, and given away thousands of dollars to state and federal candidates (none from Minnesota).

Romney also has another advantage over Pawlenty. When his gubernatorial term ended, his state wasn't an economic basket case.

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Submitted without comment

Posted at 2:21 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Sports

Leave it to the Saint Paul Saints. They're giving away souvenir cups.

"We wanted to do a memorable giveaway that would help people in these tough times," said Saints President Mike Veeck in a press release. "We thought about a batting helmet, but clearly people haven't been using their heads for a while, so we figured this was the next best thing to help people defend their futures. We're going to find out if people see the world with a cup half full, or a cup half empty."

It's not quite as good as the "bobblehead" the Saints gave away after the arrest of Sen. Larry Craig at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. But it's close.

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Is West Nile Virus hype too?

Posted at 2:33 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Health

West Nile virus is getting its moment in the sun today with news that the first case of the illness has been reported in Minnesota. Fourteen people have died since the virus was first discovered in the state in 2002, state health officials say.

But this would most likely fit the conventional definition of "overhyped." Since H1N1 (swine flu) was "hyped," as many say it was, anything less severe is also "hype".

From April through early July, Minnesota has had 634 cases of H1N1. The state has had about 450 cases of West Nile since 2002. It had only 10 last year.

211 people nationwide have died from H1N1 since April. 44 died from West Nile in 2008.

Hyped? Maybe. But maybe the reason only 44 people died last year is because someone hyped the disease in 2002, when 284 people died from West Nile. The number has been steadily dropping since people became more aware of how to avoid it.

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The sin of wages

Posted at 4:01 PM on July 16, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

The recession is getting so deep, younger adults are cutting back on bar hopping. Booze and cigarettes are the items people 18-29 say they're giving up in deference to the economy.

A third of those surveyed by Pew say they've changed to a cheaper cellphone plan. One in five say they've moved in with a friend. The thing you can do when you're young!

The generation also is more hopeful than old-timers...

... which leads to the obvious question: Do the younger people know something the old timers don't? Or do the old-timers know something the younger people don't?

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