NEWS YOU CAN USE | Give your candidate $50, get your money back by Paul Purman, TC Daily Planet • It’s the political season and you know that means money talks. But you may not know that you can give money to a state-level candidate or party of your choice and be reimbursed by the state. Minnesota’s Political Contribution Refund Program allows eligible U.S. citizens over the age of 18 to recoup up to $50 a year in contributions (and married couples up to $100.)
Media Monitor: KTLK talker likens Obama to the antichrist by Paul Schmelzer, Minnesota Independent • Jason Lewis wannabe Chris Baker is again looking for attention. As Media Matters reports, the KTLK radio host has been likening the Democratic presidential candidate to the antichrist. “I’m getting really sick of being told that if I disagree with Barack Obammy, the Nicolae Carpathia candidate, that I’m a racist,” he said on his Sept. 23 show, referencing the antichrist character in the “Left Behind” series of books. While the books are wildly popular, the smear would only seem to have resonance with people who’ve read the apocalyptic series — a group likely already on the McCain bandwagon. Baker’s other look-at-me bids: In July he said the WNBA is “a place for lesbians to make out when they score,” and in April he suggested a way of dealing with RNC protesters: with machine guns.
Being mentored as a youth inspired mother to serve others by Nancy Torrison, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder • Leslie Vinson, employee of Pillsbury United Communities and director of Oak Park Community Center in North Minneapolis, chose to finish her schooling and pursue employment where she could use her skills while giving back to the community she loves.
City Council creates department to oversee NRP by Briana Bierschbach, Minnesota Daily • The Minneapolis City Council approved a proposal Friday to authorize the creation of a new city department to oversee the future of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
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GROUND ZERO | Second Time As Farce: Russia, America’s Economy and the Presidential “Debate” by Rich Broderick • Maybe it’s the time of year – the cusp of October, the approach of yet another anniversary of the Bolshevik’s 1917 coup d’etat — but Friday night’s surreal “debate” between Barack Obama and John McCain reminded me of _A People’s Tragedy, The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924_, Orlando Figes’s magisterial history of Russia’s epic revolutionary era.
FACTS AND FICTIONS | Economic Collapse by Eleanor Arnason • I come from a family that never recovered from the Crash of 29. My parents never invested in the stock market. My father didn’t pay much attention to money, as far as I can tell; and my mother kept waiting for the next crash. I have lived my entire adult life expecting capitalism to unwind any day now.
GOING GREEN | Two Twin Cities green landmarks on tour by Dan Thiede, Metro CERTs • From 1:30-2:30pm our group toured The Green Institute’s Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center.The Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center (PEEC) is The Green Institute’s flagship and a national model of comprehensive sustainable design. The building was a pilot for and helped inform the creation of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC’s LEED), which has in the last ten years risen within the green building movement as the preeminent national green building standard.
THINK FORWARD | New consumer guides to safe plastics and children’s products by Ben Lilliston • New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the health risks from the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), found in many plastic and children’s products, highlights the challenge for consumers to find safer plastics.
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