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Latest blog posts from mnpACT

Waiting for Answers as Fletcher Keeps Pounding his Desk
By Ross RowleyAn old lawyer adage says if you have the facts, pound the facts; if you have the law, pound the law; and if you have neither the facts nor the law, pound the desk. The leftover turkey wasnÂ't even gone before Sheriff Fletcher started pounding away again, generating more media spin...
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Save Us the Righteous Indignation, Governor...
by Dave MindemanI find this quote from Governor Pawlenty a little irksome;"All this money that people are asking for from the the federal government and the money that they send out is money they don't have," he said. "The federal government is broke. They don't have a surplus. They have a...
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US Senate "Winner" Has Tough Sell Ahead
by Dave MindemanAs the US Senate recount forges on, it is clear that whoever is the last man standing on this one is going to have a tough time selling any credentials to non-supporters.Three million votes and the final tally will show a 42% winner by a handful of votes. That's not a mandate....
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Four Budget Mistakes of 2008
by Dave MindemanThe 2008 budget wrangling that seemed so contentious at the time is going to look like a mild cakewalk compared to the 2009 sure-to-be debacle.A lot of head shaking went on as the '08 class passed on the really tough questions and pushed decisions into the next session. And now,...
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Global Warming Skeptics Forge Ahead
by Dave MindemanPolitico had a story about the global warming skeptics on November 25th. The story was generally favorable to the skeptics, discussing the quest of Oklahoma's two Senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn to convince Congress that global warming measures had doubts in the scientific...
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Absentee Ballot Decision May Move Final Decision to US Senate
by Dave MindemanThere is the general feeling in the media that Al Franken was dealt a "serious blow" by the canvassing board's ruling on the absentee ballots.Maybe. But looking at the long term, maybe not.The Coleman campaign has been utilizing the liberal ballot challenge methodology to...
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Becker County & Absentee Ballots: Same Status?
by Dave MindemanThe canvassing board will be deciding on the Franken campaign request to consider absentee ballots that may have been improperly rejected.Fritz Knaak, attorney for Coleman's campaign, stated his legal reasoning in this way:Coleman recount attorney Fritz Knaak said the Coleman...
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Duluth Rail: Train to Our Economic Future
by Dave MindemanPhil Krinkie, head of the Minnesota Taxpayer's League, and chief curmudeonly resident trainophobe, let loose with another "rail" (pardon the pun) against light rail in Minnesota via Minnpost Community Voices.Now, if I lived in Duluth, I would be particularly insulted. Duluth is...
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Federal Funds to the States - Saving Jobs & Balancing the Budget
by Dave MindemanOn November 18th, I posted about the need and possiblity that the Federal government could use some of its deficit spending authority to remedy some of the state budget deficits that are looming large.Yesterday in Politico, Thomas Suozzi, a New York county exec, made a case for...
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Elected Officials and Civic Knowledge? Not Good
by Dave MindemanI have to say that I find this a little disturbing:From Yahoo News:US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.Ordinary citizens did not fare much better,...
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