Polinaut: July 13, 2007 Archive

The Daily Digest: 7-13-07

Posted at 9:08 AM on July 13, 2007 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

It's a Friday the 13th edition of the digest. Don't worry if you are a Paraskevidekatriaphobiac. There's plenty here to, well, digest as you spend your day under the bed (which I think is bad luck in some Eastern European countries).

All right, let's move on.

GOP Sen. Norm Coleman says he will not support a troop pullback. He also says the U.S. will be in Iraq "for a very long time" but on a different mission. MPR and the Pi Press have stories. You can listen to Coleman's entire conference call with reporters here.

WCCO reality checks the anti-Coleman ads.

Forum Communications details where some in the delegation stand on the issue.

Smart Politics says lawmakers from the Upper Midwest voted along party lines on the issue.

The St. Cloud Times says GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann votes no on the withdrawal.

There's more coverage on the sting operation on the oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in which Coleman played a part.

The Senate Transportation bill funds Northstar.

The Ag Secretary doesn't like DFL Rep. Collin Peterson's Farm Bill.

There's more on DFL Rep. Betty McCollum's trip to Egypt.

The Hill says jurisdictional disputes are impeding the implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is mentioned because he wants the Department of Transportation, not Homeland Security, to distribute disaster related grants.

Legislature and State Government

The Health Department names the state's new epidemiologist. AP has the story. You can listen to an interview with Dr. Lynfield on the right side of that link.

Gov. Pawlenty details plans for a miner study. AP, MPR, the Star Tribune and the Duluth News Tribune have stories.

He also tries to resurrect the volunteer health care provider program.

Activists are calling on the health department to destroy blood samples. The Pi Press has the story.

The Duluth News Tribune says the PUC goes after three long distance phone companies.

Minnesota Supreme Court
Justices side with abortion protesters and overturn their convictions. The Pi Press and the Star Tribune have stories.

2008

There's plenty of buzz that Bob Olson's campaign for Senate is turning into the Bob Olson for Congress campaign. MPR's Tim Pugmire has been calling Olson's campaign and even went by his campaign headquarters to get answers. No call back from the campaign. The campaign offices were also closed.

The Minnesota Greens want their national convention in Minneapolis.

Other

GOP Rep. Mark Olson took the stand yesterday. The St. Cloud Times, KARE-11, WCCO and the Star Tribune have stories.

Finally

The U.S. Census Bureau has a bit of a parking problem.

Is this any way to talk to a president?

Posted at 12:41 PM on July 13, 2007 by Bob Collins

During the Watergate scandal, Dan Rather, then a White House correspondent, was very nearly fired for a confrontation with President Nixon, who had asked Rather if he was "running for something?" "No sir, are you?" Rather replied.

Watching the news conference by President Bush yesterday, it was hard not to think of those times when this question was asked:

When you heard that, since that point, you think of how many hundreds of soldiers have been killed, how much money has been spent. Why shouldn't people conclude that you are either stubborn, in denial, but certainly not realistic about the strategy that you've pursued since then?

Or to put it only slightly differently... "Mr. President, are you freakin' nuts?"

And, as always, the first question went to Helen Thomas:

Mr. President, you started this war, a war of your choosing, and you can end it alone, today, at this point -- bring in peacekeepers, U.N. peacekeepers. Two million Iraqis have fled their country as refugees. Two million more are displaced. Thousands and thousands are dead. Don't you understand, you brought the al Qaeda into Iraq.

And, finally, Wendell Goler of FoxNews:

Thank you, sir. You have spoken passionately about the consequences of failure in Iraq. Your critics say you failed to send enough troops there at the start, failed to keep al Qaeda from stepping into the void created by the collapse of Saddam's army, failed to put enough pressure on Iraq's government to make the political reconciliation necessary to keep the sectarian violence the country is suffering from now from occurring. So why should the American people feel you have the vision for victory in Iraq, sir?

Wondering what Annie Leibovitz would be like as a White House correspondent...

McCain campaign nearly broke

Posted at 12:57 PM on July 13, 2007 by Mike Mulcahy

In an interview on New Hampshire Public Radio today John McCain took responsibility for his campaign's problems. "We've made mistakes," he said.

The AP reports:

The campaign raised $25 million in the first half of the year, but blew through nearly all of it during the same period. By Sunday, the campaign will report to the Federal Election Commission that it has $2 million cash on hand but more than $1 million in outstanding debt, according to officials. They say McCain could end up having as little as a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend as he tries to revitalize his campaign.

Bob Olson for Senate may become Bob Olson for Congress

Posted at 2:18 PM on July 13, 2007 by Tom Scheck

Chris Truscott, with the Bob Olson for Senate campaign, tells MPR's Tim Pugmire that Olson may drop his bid for U.S. Senate and challenge GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. Olson, a DFLer, is currently seeking the DFL endorsement for U.S. Senate against Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Jim Cohen and Dick Fransen. Truscott says Olson has been in discussions with DFLers in the 6th District and is "considering the possibility" about a run for Congress. He says they're planning to make an announcement one way or the other on Tuesday.

Olson ran for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District in 1994 and lost to GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad. Truscott says Olson owns homes in both Orono (3rd District) and St. Cloud (6th District).

Don't know who Olson is? Check this MPR story on him.

Mark Olson convicted on one count, acquitted on another

Posted at 3:53 PM on July 13, 2007 by Tom Scheck

The St. Cloud Times and the Star Tribune have stories. Here's the info from the AP:

Jury splits verdict in trial of Minn. lawmaker
ELK RIVER, Minn. (AP) - State Rep. Mark Olson was convicted Friday of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault and acquitted on a second charge of intentionally inflicting bodily harm, also a misdemeanor.
The verdicts were returned by a jury of five men and one woman after about three hours of deliberations. Sentencing was set for Aug. 8.
Prosecutors alleged Olson, an eight-term Republican from Big Lake, pushed his wife down three times behind their home on Nov. 12.
Olson, 52, claimed during trial he was a battered spouse and that the Nov. 12 incident came after frequent arguments with his wife over raising her five children.
He said that in the past, she hit him several times, stabbed his favorite dresser and cut his picture off their wedding album cover with what he thought was a knife.
Olson's wife, Heidi Olson, also claimed she had been abused.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Gretchen Ziehl told jurors that Olson intended to scare and harm his wife when he put his hands on her and she ended up on her backside.
Ziehl rejected his theory that he was acting in self-defense.
During her closing arguments, Olson's attorney, Jill Clark, asked the jurors to find that Olson had no intent to harm his wife or to cause her any fear when the two argued and eventually became physical.

Mark Olson: What's next?

Posted at 5:49 PM on July 13, 2007 by Tom Scheck (5 Comments)

Mark Olson was found guilty today of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault. Sentencing is scheduled for August 8th. So the next question is: What action lawmakers will take?

There have already been calls for him to resign after the charges were filed. GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert told MPR in December that Olson should be removed from office if he is found guilty. Gov. Pawlenty also said at the time that it would "inappropriate for him to be serving in the Legislature" if he's found guilty.

DFL House Speaker Margaret Kelliher released this statement after Olson was found guilty:

The Minnesota House of Representatives respects the verdict reached by jurors in the case against Representative Mark Olson. The judge has indicated he will impose his sentence at a later date.

The Rules of the Minnesota House of Representatives allow for the punishment of a member who brings the House into dishonor or disrepute. A complaint must be signed by at least two members and submitted to me for referral to the Committee on Ethics. That bi-partisan panel is made up of six members, two of whom serve as alternates. Any recommendation for disciplinary action by the Ethics Committee will be reported to the entire House body for final disposition.

Olson will not be removed from office without a fight. He told MPR in February that he will not resign if he's found guilty.

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