South Carolina

So the latest word is that each of the Big Three has a win — Santorum in Iowa (well, sort of), Romney in New Hampshire, and now Newt Gingrich in South Carolina.

South Carolina is home to skinks and geckos and horned lizards, but … Newt?  The advocate of the little guy, who took millions from big health care companies to advocate for their interests on Capitol HIll, all the while insisting that he is not a lobbyist? The critic of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who then turns out to have been on their payroll for millions as a consultant?  And, lest we forget, Newt Gingrich – the champion of family values and open marriage?

Not that Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum is any prize … but seriously … Newt?

[image from Bruce Lawson, Creative Commons license]

Lies, damn lies and journalism

Lots of people* have been credited with saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.” Doesn’t matter who said it — there are plenty of lies and damn lies to go around, and far too many end up in news articles.

Marv Davidov: 1931-2012

Not all the good die young. Some are tough old birds, speaking out and singing loudly all the way to the end. Peace and justice advocate Marv Davidov was one of the good ones. He died on January 14, 80 years old.

I remember Marv saying, at a protest a decade or so ago, that he could go any time now. Gesturing to the crowd gathered in front of the Minneapolis federal building, he told me, “Look at the age of this crowd. The young ones have it now!”

Sports and politics

Every time there’s a local sports event (the Vikings, the Twins, the Timberwolves, the Gophers …), my Twitter feed is overrun with play-by-play commentary from news guys.

At BSM v. SLP.  Jacks little brother Max skates in his jersey and drops the first puck #jabs #mnhspuck

Has there ever been medical research into why players for the #twolves have no ability to be ashamed of themselves?

Every time there’s a GOP debate (or caucus or primary), not only my Twitter feed, but also the pages of otherwise reputable newspapers, are overrun with play-by-play commentary:

Trend Chart: Mitt on a glide path to victory in NH — opponents as falling as primary nears http://t.co/bCoERWaW via @TPM

RT @jess_mc: 1. Santorum’s “spendometer” in a real thing. 2. It kind of looks like, well.. http://t.co/WeH04QqR

VP material MT @badler: Perry: “Iran will move back in [to Iraq] at literally the speed of light.”

Did Mitt blow off Newt’s handshake? #nhdebate #firstworldproblem

The sports chatter is annoying, but only because I don’t share the passionate devotion to this form of entertainment. The political chatter is more alarming. Where is the serious discussion of issues? That, of course, was a rhetorical question. Political reporting is about the horse race, the color of someone’s tie, and the gotcha moment.

Interesting news stories: first week of 2012

Important: New York Times and MinnPost stories about how good teachers can change students’ lives, and how that result is measurable, albeit not easily. Quantifiably — good teachers mean higher lifetime earnings. Hmm. Something wrong about measuring the effect of good teaching in dollars, but I would guess that if a teacher makes  a difference in dollars, s/he might also make a difference in other ways: shaping moral behavior, fostering self-esteem, “education for democracy,” and more.

Appalling: The Texas teen deported to Colombia by mistake:

“She looks like a kid, she acts like a kid. How could they think she wasn’t a kid?” Lorene Turner, her grandmother, told the AP.

Also, Turner doesn’t speak Spanish.

Way too much ink: Iowa. New Hampshire. All of them.

Minnesota hawalas under siege

Many innocents get squashed by the elephantine steps taken in the never-ending war on terrorism. Some showed up outside the Wells Fargo bank at 2600 E. Franklin today, protesting the closing of hawala accounts, which means they are left with no way to send money back to hungry families in Somalia.

Caribe, Central Corridor construction and cash mobs

Central Corridor construction has been hard on a lot of on- and near-University Avenue businesses, among them the spot of color and sunshine that is Caribe Caribbean Bistro at 791 Raymond Avenue, just north of University. Caribe’s mango and cheese empanadillas and mofongo taste like a little bit of winter vacation in the sun, without paying airfare.

What to do during the Iowa caucuses

Scan old photos.

Write letters.

Watch Jon Stewart.

Try not to look at Twitter feed.

Meet a hero on January 17

Hero coming to town. And you can see him, up close and personal.

Hollis Watkins was a leader in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 70s. When I interviewed him for Freedom Song, he described leading songs as part of the movement:

Yep — resolution time!

I’d like to resolve, like Susan Mernit, that I’ll blog every day this year. I doubt that I’ll make it – but I’m going to try. And maybe re-make the resolution on the first of every month.