Five at 8 - 2/23/10: The new 60

Posted at 7:35 AM on February 23, 2010 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Five by 8

1) Political talk. Is 56 the new 60? For all the hand-wringing that losing a super majority would grind Congress to a halt (how would anybody know?), a funny thing happened yesterday. A jobs bill got passed in the Senate with the help of moderate Republicans. Fivethirtyeight.com's Nate Silver says more are likely to be elected in November, but most Republicans running are conservatives, he notes. But yesterday's vote re-establishes that northeast Republicans, for example, don't generally play by the same rules as the rest of the caucus.

Meanwhile, likely presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has painted Gov. Tim Pawlenty into a corner. As a presidential candidate, Pawlenty is against extending the federal stimulus. But as a governor, Pawlenty is for the federal stimulus, at least enough to use the cash in the budget proposal that he submitted just last week?

Pawlenty's dilemma reveals the difficulty in having two jobs at once as these two paragraphs from Tom Scheck's story show:

In the past, Pawlenty defended his position on accepting stimulus money by arguing Minnesota gives more in tax money to the federal government than it gets back. He also said the stimulus funds would have been better spent if they were geared towards cutting payroll taxes and taxes paid by small businesses.

But state economist Tom Stinson noted the federal stimulus included $231 billion in tax cuts. That includes a $400 credit for low and middle income workers, a $250 one-time payment to Social Security recipients and disabled veterans, and a break for businesses that purchase capital equipment.

This is the sort of thing that keeps Jon Stewart in business, comparing the words of politicians with the words from the same politicians.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rage Within the Machine - Progressivism
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

2) How to get your kid into college: Get him/her on YouTube. The New York Times says student applications are increasingly including produced YouTube videos, like this:

Once you get to college, what do you have to do to get out? A relic of post World War II is still in force at some of the premier institutions, the Boston Globe reports. You have to prove you can swim.

Also on the competition front, today is the first day of the February Bar Exam.

3) George Clooney is up for an Oscar for his latest film role in which he plays a man who fires people for a living. But what's it really like to sack people? The BBC profiles those who spend their days ruining others'.

4) Science! What's in household dust? You don't want to know.

More science: Some of the world's greatest cities may be the next Port Au Prince.

5) Spotted outside a grocery store in Woodbury yesterday (by Mrs. News Cut). It begs for a caption contest, doesn't it?

More dogs: What is it about the Law and Order theme that's freaking out dogs?

Bonus: Embracing winter. An aerial tour of St. Paul and environs. Hat Tip to Pete Howell. He's the guy I've written about several times who uses his airplane to rescue dogs around the country.

TODAY'S QUESTION

Severe cold cracks pavements. Moisture seeps in and expands when it freezes. The ice displaces pavement, more moisture seeps in, the cycle repeats and a pothole is born. Do the potholes seem worse than usual this year?

(Another question: Is this machine the solution?)

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: Reading a favorite book a second, or third time can be like seeing an old friend. It can also spark new insights and emotions, or a new appreciation for the beauty of the language. Midmorning looks at the pleasures of rereading.

Second hour: Think you know where words come from? A special challenge edition of Midmorning with word origins scholar Anatoly Liberman.

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Both hours: MPR chief economics correspondent Chris Farrell answers listener questions about the economy and personal finance! He's out with a new book, "The New Frugality."

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - First hour: After September 11th, John Yoo wrote some of the most controversial legal documents in recent history -- the so-called "torture memos." He's Neal Conan's guest.

Second hour: Some college campuses now have threat assessment programs, to spot potentially dangerous people, before they act. Can you predict violent behavior?

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - Northstar commuter rail ridership numbers for last month exceeded projections. Ridership numbers increased on snowy days, confirming that people are using rail as a bad-weather alternative. MPR's Ambar Espinoza will have the story.

NPR will report on how climate change science has been rattled recently, how figure skating music is selected at the Olympics, and the grilling Toyota will get on Capitol Hill.

---

Comments (6)

Caption contest:

"Yep, that's a trooper. I dunno, Marge, we might be busted..."

Posted by Sam | February 23, 2010 8:02 AM

---

I think you are being unfair to Gov. Pawlenty. He is showing extraordinary leadership in this budget mess, a lot more than the tax and spend DFL caucus.

I for one am glad he vetoed the bonding bill--and if he has to unallot because the DFL doesn't follow his budget guidelines like they should, I will stand up and cheer.

As far as the stimulus--he can certainly decry the stimulus, while taking credit for the funds.

If you, Bob, are accidentally undercharged by an overpriced restaurant, do you call attention to it? Or do you take the money?

Posted by Patrick from Anoka | February 23, 2010 8:21 AM

---

The issue I bring up isn't a commentary on whether the governor does or does not veto the bonding bill. The issue I bring up is a debate between Gov. Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota and Gov. Tim Pawlenty on the national stage.

And, sure, he can decry the stimulus while making it an important part of his budget. But he can't do so without someone asking, "huh?"

Either you're for the stimulus or against the stimulus. You can't be both FOR the stimulus and AGAINST the stimulus with linguistic gymnastics. Anything can be explained away that way.

It can't be a Ponzi scheme in 49 other states and not a Ponzi scheme in Minnesota.

So your question can just as easily be: "If someone offers you money you know came as a result of a Ponzi scheme, do you take the money?"

No matter what the answer, it reveals a lot about the person to whom the question is asked.

Posted by Bob Collins | February 23, 2010 8:37 AM

---

Hypocrisy seems to be the new black this election cycle. Decry the stimulus, and yet hold out your hand for it for your district, your state.

On the other hand, it seems Charlie Crist is paying a big political price for vocally supporting the stimulus thanks to his challenge from Mr Rubio.

So perhaps Pawlenty in his heart of hearts like the stimulus, but for his quixotic bid for the Presidency, has to talk it down in public.

Posted by Paul | February 23, 2010 9:27 AM

---

Caption Contest:

Oh look, a parking lot vulture.

Hey Buddy! I'm not leaving until the humans return.

Posted by JackU | February 23, 2010 12:21 PM

---

I didn't realize the swim tests had such a history; Carleton has one, too,and similarly points to swimming as an essential life skill.

Posted by Bea | February 23, 2010 1:42 PM

---

Post a comment

The following HTML tags are allowed in your comments:
+ Bold: <b>Text</b>
+ Italic: <i>Text</i>
+ Link: <a href="http://url" target="_blank">Link</a>
Fields marked with * are required.

Name*:

E-mail Address*:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments*:

Comment Preview appears above this form upon pressing the "preview" button. Edit your comment and press "preview" again, until you are satisfied with your comment.

Your comment may not appear on the blog until several minutes after it was submitted.

• E-mail this page
• Print this page
• Tweet this page
• Share this

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories