Reese Erlich says yes, by proxy at least.
After reporting trips to Iran, Iraq and Washington, Erlich, who will speak at the U of M this afternoon (details here) told me in a phone interview yesterday:
“The U.S. is waging a covert war against Iran by encouraging, training and arming ethnic minority militias that carry out military […]
Good Tuesday noon Fellow Seekers of amusing salutations,
The latest fund-raising appeal from Al Franken has a Halloween theme. It’s titled “Help me unmask Norm Coleman. Lots of references to candy and costumes. The key paragraph says:
“You see, there’s another seasonal tradition getting underway - the one in which Republicans who’ve spent their time in Washington […]
Good Monday morning,
Washington Post politically obsessed blogger Chris Cillizza of “The Fix,” who attempts to track every race, lists Minnesota’s Third District as the third most likely of U.S. House district to change parties in the ‘08 election (which would mean from red — Republicans have held this seat since 1960 — to blue). Minnesota-3 […]
Survey USA sampled 540 registered votes in Minnesota Oct. 12-14 about presidential preferences. Working for three Minn. TV stations (KSTP was the Twin Cities partner), Survey USA ran trial heats of Sen. Hillary Clinton against six Republican candidates, including all the frontrunners. Clinton won every matchup by substantial margins. The margin of error of +/- […]
My friend Pasquino likes to take pieces he reads, stand one key element on its head, slightly adjusting the piece so it makes a slightly different point. For example, here’s today’s Katherine Kersten column. (And before proceeding I should note that Kerstsen and I are former colleagues and friends. Deal with it.) And here’s Pasquino’s version […]
That’s a sensational headline for a strange but not really occult occurrence. I couldn’t seem to find a way to write about it until now, but let’s see if the 5th anniversary of the tragedy (which is today) gives me the opening I need to work through how a post-mortem message from Sen. Paul […]
A magic moment was missed 87 years ago in Kurdistan. Because it was missed, there is no Kurdistan. And, you could say, because there is no Kurdistan, Turkish troops are threatening to create what would be the latest of the long list of crises imperiling the misbegotten U.S. project in Iraq.
In the past month, […]
My esteemed former colleague Pat Lopez of the Strib got Al Franken to do what he wouldn’t do for me — talk about his “evolution” from Iraq war supporter to critic to opponent.
Trouble is, he didn’t answer the questions I raised, nor many of the questions Pat raised.
As I previously documented, Franken has moved around […]
Good Monday morning, Fellow Seekers,
Following up on the Pasquino-Frank Rich post of yesterday, the term “military-industrial complex,” (coined by the way, by future University of Minnesota President Malcolm Moos) occurred in this passage of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address, Jan. 17, 1961:
“Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no […]
My friend Pasquino invites our attention to today’s Frank Rich column, the perusal of which leaves me with a headache, a heartache and a stomach ache. The headache is from trying to follow all the threads of corruption that Rich is weaving together. The heartache is the thought of the billions being misappropriated […]
I noticed this late (it was in the Times “Freakonomics” column Tuesday) but Freakonomist Steven Levitt (a fellow admirer of my childhood chum Roger Myerson who won the Nobel in economics this week) was drawn (as I was in my Monday post) to Myerson’s application of game theory to the mess in Iraq.
My favorite Myersonian […]
Good Friday noon, Fellow Seekers,
My buddy Tom Hamburger of the L.A. Times broke a verrrrry interesting story this morning about a curious source of campaign cash that has been flowing to the Hillary Clinton for pres. campaign.
Clinton has raised hundreds of thousands (and when the full tale is told, I expect it will break […]
The Dan Barreiro radio show (KFAN AM 1130) has invited me on in the range of 5:20 this evening. The subject will be politics in general. I assume recent Black Ink posts on Paulose, Bachmann and possibly Ramstad will be part of the discussion.
Barreiro is off today. The guest host is Paul Charchian.
After 30 years of scribbling for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, I acquired the right to refer to myself as a humble and obedient ink-stained wretch. Now I seek the wily and elusive prey called wisdom and truth. Fellow seekers are most welcome to join the hunt.