National

Inauguration 2013: Obama takes second oath of office, evokes spirit of 'We the people' joined in common cause

By Charles Hallman, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

(Photo by James L. Stroud, Jr.)

Barack Obama, who became the third consecutive U.S. president to deliver a second Inauguration Address, told the nation Tuesday that it is up to all of us to “act in our time” to move this country forward.

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Four more years? Obama's dwindling prospects in a second term

By David Schultz, Schultz's Take

Four more years for Obama. Now what? What does Barack Obama do in his second term and what can he accomplish? Simply put, his options are limited and the prospects for major success quite limited.

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Schultz's Take

President Obama's moment: Confronting our culture of violence

By Dick Bernard, Outside the Walls

In my opinion, Wednesday, January 17, 2013, will go down as President Obama’s John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King moment.

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Outside the Walls

Obama unveils sweeping gun control push in wake of Newtown school massacre

By Michael McIntee, The Uptake

President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden, unveils sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence. President Obama pressed Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

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PRESS RELEASE | Congresswoman McCollum's legislative efforts to combat gun violence

By Betty McCollum, Office of U.S. Representative Betty McCollum

In 2012, our country suffered 16 mass shootings with 151 fatalities. The brutal trend is a symptom of a larger problem: widespread gun violence. All Members of Congress have a duty to their constituents to address specific legal loopholes that allow dangerous individuals to commit violent acts with guns.

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PRESS RELEASE | Sen. Franken's statement on reinstating a ban on assault weapons

By Al Franken, Office of U.S. Senator Al Franken

WASHINGTON, D.C. [01/17/13] – A story that appeared on the website of a Minnesota newspaper mischaracterized Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) position on a ban on assault weapons. The Senator has said he supports the principle of reinstating a ban on assault weapons and will consider any specific proposal to do so. Yesterday afternoon, Sen. Franken’s office sent a statement to the reporter writing the story—who has since updated the piece to accurately reflect the Senator’s position—that you can read in its entirety below.

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FREE SPEECH ZONE | No tax refund check? Thank Rep. John Kline.

By Wayne Cox, Free Speech Zone

Do you have plans for your March Social Security check or your tax refund?

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Sundance Film Festival 2013 preview: Minnesota filmmakers join the star-studded throng

By Jim Brunzell III, The Optimistic Pessimist

Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Don Jon's Addiction. Image courtesy Sundance Institute and Thomas Kloss.

Starting on Thursday, January 17 and running through Sunday, January 27, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City, Utah (and in a few surrounding cities, including Salt Lake City). Streets are closed, theater doors are unlocked, grocery stores and restaurants are packed—this is all the craziness that occurs when somewhere between 40,000-50,000 people attend the opening weekend of the biggest film festival in the United States.

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Teaming with soil microbes: Investing in soil essential to good farm policy

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

On a crisp morning in September, North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown held two handfuls of soil and searched for signs of life—theoretically not a difficult task considering one teaspoon of humus contains more organisms than there are humans in the world. But many of the bacteria and invertebrates that lurk in the dark basement of our farm fields exist visually only in the world of high-powered microscopes. So Brown, a compact ball of energy who can somehow combine references to soil biology, farm policy and animal husbandry in the same sentence, uses a less scientific assessment method to compare and contrast the two handfuls—one from his field, the other from a neighbor’s.

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Loon Commons

Ellison takes on party leadership role as 113th Congress convenes

By Dale Connelly, KFAI Radio

The one hundred and thirteenth Congress is now underway in Washington, and 5th district Representative Keith Ellison has a leadership position in his caucus. He will serve as Chief Deputy Whip. Representative Ellison talked with Dale Connelly on KFAI's Morning Blend. [Audio below]

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