News Cut: September 21, 2009 Archive

Five at 8- 9/21/09: Problem-solving the American way

Posted at 7:25 AM on September 21, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)

Monday morning. It's time to bow our heads. Let us play:



1) 60 Minutes was more like 60 Seconds last evening, which was too bad because this segment is a story worth telling, and now, retelling. The leap in technology is remarkable. But it's impossible to watch this segment without thinking about the things that are possible when the right people are motivated. It's also a reminder how many people are coming home from Iraq without an arm or two.



The Associated Press, meanwhile, profiles Michael Graves, the Minneapolis designer who has turned his talents toward products for the disabled.

2) It's beginning to sound familiar. The Washington Post has gotten its hands on a secret memo from the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, who warns that the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure." The memo also says the Afghan government is corrupt.

In other words: We're losing.

Italy wants to bring its troops home from Afghanistan. The Taliban says history is on its side.

When does the issue move into the political dialog here?

3) A good way to kill a few hours and get a better picture. Verifiable.com allows people to make and post charts. Take this one, for example. It's the consumer price index by major groups. Clothing, it notes, used to cost twice as much as everything else (the '60s). Now it costs half as much.

Play? Yeah, that's what they want you to do. That way you'll pay later.

4) There aren't many better ways to start a day than with a Nikki Tundel moment. Today's discovery:

Participants at the Ramsey House Finishing School for Young Ladies spent part of their school vacation studying the Victorian era -- a time of morals, modesty and manners. Instead of seasonal attire like swimsuits and flip flops, these girls donned corsets and petticoats. And rather than roasting marshmallows, they enjoyed formal tea parties.

5) Who knew? There's a kinship between gangsta rap and radio talk show hosts. Egos, haters, feuds, and verbal skills,

I'll admit that the parallels between Jay-Z and Rush Limbaugh do not seem obvious, and to grasp them you need to look beyond the violence and misogyny that have made rap a favorite target of the right wing. (Come to think of it, perhaps each of these realms will be chagrined to be likened to the other.) But as soon as you dig beneath the surface, the similarities between talk radio and gangsta rap are nothing short of uncanny. And these similarities are revealing, too.

TODAY'S QUESTION

What will it take for you to recover from the recession? The recession is showing signs of easing, but for many people it could be some time before a sense of security returns. What will it take for you to recover from the recession? Has the economic crisis cost you something besides money?

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11a.m.) First hour: How much of the opposition to President Obama is based on race?

Second hour: Louise Erdrich across the decades.

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - First hour: Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics discusses U.S. health care reform efforts, and health care systems around the world.

Second hour: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Haynes Johnson and Washington Post reporter Dan Balz, speaking to the Commonwealth Club of California about their new book, "The Battle for America 2008."

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - First hour: What U.S. soldiers face in combat, how new tactics, and new policies are playing out in Afghanistan.

Second hour: Bill T. Jones celebrates Abraham Lincoln in dance.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - MPR's Ambar Espinoza previews the History Museum's display of a replica of the most complete and best preserved T-Rex ever discovered.

NPR's Tracy Samilton tours a lab where scientists are trying to figure out how to make one a battery that can power automobiles.

Debbie Elliot's story is first-person accounts of the uninsured in New Orleans.

And a segment looks at the question of whether kids should walk to school more, and ride the bus less.

PARTING SHOT

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was basking in the adulation of his $1 billion stadium (is Zygi Wilf going to want one just like this?) on Sunday night before a national TV audience. The bad news is that national TV was watching Jerry Jones.

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All about us

Posted at 5:51 PM on September 21, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

The Census Bureau released the 2008 American Community Survey today. The bureau sends surveys each year to a select sample of residents. Many of the questions on it are the ones that Rep. Michele Bachmann used to make a brouhaha a few months ago.

What does this year's survey tell us? Not a lot that we didn't already expect.

— The number of households with married couples has dropped from '07 .
— The number of people over 60 has increased. The median age of Minnesota has increased from 37.1 years to 37.4 years. In 2006 it was 36.8.
— The number of married people has dropped while the number of divorced people has increased.
— Eight-seven percent of people in the metropolitan area (including St. Cloud) commute to work by car. Seventy-eight percent of them drive alone. Gender doesn't make a difference in the results.
— Most people's commute is 20-24 minutes. (15.9%)
— The percentage of white people has increased to 88.1 percent.
— The number of unmarried women giving birth has increased from 24.9 percent in 2006 to 30.1% in 2008.
— Enrollment in elementary schools is dropping.
— Two-income families: About 55 percent of U.S. married couples had both spouses in the labor force. North Dakota ranked first at 65 percent, followed by Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.
— The percentage of Scandanavians is dropping.
— Fewer own and more rent.
— Fewer households have two cars.
— Minnesota ranks behind only Massachusetts and Hawaii in the percentage of people with health insurance. (91.3%)
— The median value of a house has dropped from $221,900 to $213,800.
— The percentage of homeowners whose housing costs equal or exceed 35%of month income has increased significantly.

You can find the survey here.

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