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News Cut: November 2, 2012 Archive

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Lessons from the football field (5x8 - 11/2/12)

Posted at 7:27 AM on November 2, 2012 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Five by 8

'D' is for decency, why weatherpeople can't say 'I told you so,' Mr. Burns' endorsement, Minneapolis crushes a law's spirit, and a message everyone can approve of.

Continue reading "Lessons from the football field (5x8 - 11/2/12)"

Neither rain, nor flood, nor fire...

Posted at 10:50 AM on November 2, 2012 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Tech

... can stop New Yorkers from lining up at the Apple store in Manhattan for whatever electronic trinket the company is rolling out today.

ipadmini_line.jpg


CNET is providing live coverage of the first day of sales of the iPad Mini.

(Photo: Marguerite Reardon/CNET)

Meanwhile, over in Queens...

line_in_queens.jpg

(h/t: Heidi Moore via instagram)

(2 Comments)

Employment math often ignores people

Posted at 12:02 PM on November 2, 2012 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

If you want to see a fine example of what economic development is in this economy, you need only look to this story from western Massachusetts today, which documents the sale of a paper company in New England in two cities, one of which has been in tough economic times for decades.

The Crane Paper Company of Dalton, Mass., (they're the company that makes the paper on which money is printed), bought a paper company in Kennebunk, Maine, and intends to move its operations -- designers and craftspeople -- to Crane's North Adams, Ma., factory.

I know North Adams pretty well; I have family there and my father-in-law owned the radio station there for many years. In the '70s, its major employer -- Sprague Electric -- moved its operation South as many manufacturers in New England's milltowns did, leaving people struggling. And, for the most part, they've been struggling ever since.

So the news is good news for that area. But it's this line in the story that's troubling:


The consolidation will result in no job cuts, which employs around 300 in North Adams. Crane will offer William Arthur's 270 Maine employees jobs in western Massachusetts.

This is unemployment mathematics. If you eliminate jobs in one location, but you add jobs in another, nobody has lost a job.

But what are the odds that 270 residents of Maine will decide to pick up their belongings, sell their homes, leave their extended family, and move to a far corner of rural Massachusetts?

Some of them obviously will. But it's a good bet that a lot of them would rather stay where they're comfortable.

In New England particularly, economic development means creating a job by taking it from somewhere else.

(1 Comments)

Talking to your kids about depression and grief

Posted at 1:00 PM on November 2, 2012 by Bob Collins
Filed under: Health, Schools

There have been a couple of suicides at Hastings High School in the last week or so, a subject that requires an honest and somewhat clinical look at the cause.

Many experts have discouraged educators from speaking about suicides at school, for fear they'll be sensationalized -- if not romanticized. That fear is not without foundation. Take KSTP TV, which went for the former in its story, "Police Investigate Rumors of Suicide Pact at Hastings High School."

It was several paragraphs into the story before we find, "the investigation found the suicide pact was not true," which leaves you with only the fact that two kids somehow reached the point at which the solution to their individual problem was taking their own life. Not much of a story there, apparently.

More sensible, is the Hastings Star Gazette, which has reported both suicides without the hype, and only the facts, few as they may be.

And today the paper showed even more good sense when it posted the video it recorded at last night's hour-long meeting at Hastings High School on "Talking to your kids about depression, suicide and grief."

The paper is doing what journalism should: some good.

Religion and the same-sex marriage amendment

Posted at 1:54 PM on November 2, 2012 by Bob Collins (24 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Religion

Several listeners taking in this afternoon's rebroadcast of last night's forum on Minnesota's same sex marriage constitutional amendment noticed that a lot of it was dueling Bible passages.

They've let us know they noticed that:

This discussion is so incredibly far off base it is absolutely incredible. As the discussion went on during the "MPR Debate: Constitutional amendment on marriage," all I heard, over and over again, was Jesus and the Bible define marriage and the law must follow the Bible. While in their own context that's true, government must support ALL the people, not just Christians and their theology. The desire to marry and enjoy all the benefits of the laws of the land that surround marriage has NOTHING to do with religion it has to do with civil law. Thus, engaging in a religious debate is simply false. Where are the voices of Buddhists, Atheists, Jews, Wiccans, etc? Where are the voices of the average American with no religious axe to grind? Admittedly, the reason you invited Reverend Jerry McAfee because religion has been extremely vocal on this issue. But, frankly, I am tired of being preached at by Christians who are continuing to try to do with legislation and the vote, what they have failed to do with persuasion. -- James Garlough, Apple Valley

Listening today to the debate on the marriage amendment, it seems to me a glaring lack of attention is on the need to strengthen the separation of church and state in our country. A sub topic is the 3 branches of government balancing each other.

Health care debate, marriage ammendment, role of the judiciary, a preacher saying that our countries law should be based on the bible? What about separation of church and state?

I am a Catholic, who is all for freedom of religion and also for granting the civil right to marriage to lesbians and gays as a way to strengthen marriage and family.

By the way, the Catholic church states that: "the Church's leaders are to avoid endorsing or opposing candidates or telling people how to vote" (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) Many of us question if they should be campaigning for amendments. The hierarchy is treading a fine line on their own teachings. -- Sue Nichols/St. Paul

Voting "NO' does not remove the protections of the constitutional concept of separation of church and state. I would argue voting "YES" tricks us into doing just that. Why impose religious values on marriage from a governmental perspective? Christians are not the only ones who can be married. Children are not taught only Christians have rights. Why discuss religious issues in school at all? Different religions are free in this country to define marriage in their own way. -- Fritzie Borgwardt/Edina

If you removed the religion from the public discourse of government, what would this debate sound like?

(24 Comments)
November 2012
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