Bob Collins
Dave Ratner says he didn’t know exactly why he was invited to the Oval Office last week and if he had known President Trump was going to kneecap the Affordable Care Act and people’s health care, he wouldn’t have shown up. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Politics
The death toll in Puerto Rico is now up to 45. The territory is on its own. The least the rest of us can do is watch the suffering news organizations are documenting. Read more →
State and county officials in Minnesota and North Dakota have issued their reply to a Fargo Forum editorial calling for a more open process when discussing the $2.2 billion flood diversion project on the Red River. They kicked a reporter out of a meeting yesterday, the Fargo Forum reports. Read more →
Hip hop will likely be in President Trump’s Twitter gunsight today after Eminem’s video was unveiled at the BET Hip Hop Awards last evening.
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For over a decade, Janecek and Lee and Diane Rosenthal have been neighbors and not at all friendly ones. Apparently the feud started when Rosenthal was cited by the city for renting out a third apartment in his house in 2011, which was zoned as a duplex. He blamed Janecek for blowing the whistle. Read more →
A Hopkins mayoral candidate says his opposition to Southwest Light Rail is because people from ‘Welfareapolis’ will end up with the sons and daughters of Hopkins. Read more →
Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she was ready for NPR Morning Edition host David Greene’s obvious question this morning after she outlined her plan for government oversight of part of the Internet. Read more →
The CEO of Wells Fargo, Timothy Sloan, appeared before the Senate Banking Committee this morning to answer questions about the bank’s culture of ethical shortcomings.
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There are two stories about the state of the response of the federal government to the people of Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria.
One story is being framed in Washington; one in San Juan.
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A few NFL fans are posting videos of burning tickets in response to the NFL player protest of racial inequality in America. A former Vikings QB is offering real cash for them.
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Late night host Jimmy Kimmel pretty much led the lobbying effort against the latest version of the bill to repeal the health insurance law in the United States. Last night he took a victory lap, declaring it dead. “I haven’t been this happy about something being dead since [Osama] bin Laden,” Kimmel said, calling Tuesday Read more →
The protests surrounding the NFL isn’t about a flag, or an anthem, or a military. It’s about the words that are in the Pledge of Allegiance. Read more →
Gregg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, provided exactly what has been missing in the nation over the last 72 hours — a calm and honest perspective about the problems facing the society in which he lives. Read more →
Americans love their freedom until they don’t. Read more →
If Kimmel is making exposing a secretive and cynical health care repeal process part of his job, it’s only because too many of the nation’s journalists aren’t making it part of theirs. Read more →