Vikings release Brad Johnson

just heard on Channel 5

go Travaris

One in Four Women Have HPV

from USA Today, one in 4 women have HPV.

But get this:

There are dozens of strains of HPV. Low-risk forms can cause genital warts and non-cancerous changes in cells in the cervix, and often clear without treatment. Several high-risk forms have been linked with cervical cancer.

(my bold)

Just to make it clear, just because the symptoms of the HPV is gone, does not mean the woman is no longer infected. Which means it can be passed to her partner.

When men realize they can get warts from girls who don't know they have it, will there suddenly be a lot more support for the vaccine?

Zing

(Note: zing is the new heh)

I, for one, applaud Jeff Davis for being pro-active and solution-focused on this issue. Yes, let's allow homosexuals to take on the responsibilities of a marriage contract. What an elegant solution.

'Cause, you know, it would be awfully hypocritical of someone to oppose extending domestic partnership benefits to a homosexual couple on the grounds that they weren't married if one simultaneously opposed the right of that couple to get married.

Zing

My God is an Angry God

This weekend, Smartie and I were laughing a bit at Colorado, who got smacked down with snow yet again. We had joked that this all started once Ted Haggard came out as the frisky l'il devil he really was.

Turns out we weren't the only ones questioning God's motives this weekend:

For the second time in as many months, God attempted to smite Senator Brownback in Iowa, unleashing a wicked ice storm on Iowans -- only to miss his intended target. Blessed with foresight, God’s Senator canceled yet another appearance in Iowa, fearing He would feel God’s wrath.

Due to downed power and telephone lines left in God’s smitten wake, God Himself could not be reached for comment on the alleged hit.

Next comes lightening, I'm sure.

note to self

when going to see an accountant, don't wait until the morning of to actually start going through receipts.

especially not after a drinking liberally night...

One Smart Puppy

that spotty!

You know, Tom, God told Abraham to stay the knife in the end. Perhaps God is telling you the same thing, but you just aren't listening.

Save the Student Reporter

Sue, it may not be as glamorous as feeding a child in Africa or Central America, but college students have needs, too:

Let me get to the point, Mr. Taylor: I need $4,453.34. This money will help fix my car, erase my credit card debt, pay for summer school, textbooks, graduation, a date with this girl I wanted to take out on Valentine's Day but couldn't afford to and cold medicine to cure me for the third time this winter. Every remaining penny from these expenses will be donated - in your name - to MSU.

Google Bombing Myself

Robin Marty is Wonderful, Robin Marty is Great, Robin Marty Robin Marty Robin Marty Robin Marty Robin Marty

Robin Marty

Robin Marty

Robin Marty

(Ask me what that was about at DL tomorrow night, and I'll tell you a funny story)

Easier Than Writing Mitch an Email

I don't like sites that make you register with them to comment (but rew, you say, Minnesota Monitor asks you to register! Ask, I rebutt, but not demand.)

Anyway, since I didn't feel like registering, and i can't find Mitch's eamil address, I want to point out an inconstancy in his last post.

See, they are talking about a 21 w, 6 day fetus. But note this part -after conception. In real world terms, that's actually a 24 week old fetus. They count weeks as +2 since you always know when the last cycle started, but not necessarily when the child is conceived.

So your math is off. Not significantly, but enough. The scientific community doesn't claim that a fetus isn't viable after 24 weeks. In fact that's when they claim viability starts.

But what do I know? I'm a googling Luddite.

So its chinese new year

or so Wege says.

Makes me feel a little reflective. I had a very good year. And I expect next year to be better.

But year of the pig? That frightens me. I feel like every year is a year of near-sightedness and gullibility. Pig sounds like someone you'd like to have a beer with, versus lead a country.

Wake me when dog gets here.

I may like this woman

the new strib editor:

CP: You are the first female editor of the Star Tribune. How do you feel about that?

NB: I've been told that that's the case. I haven't actually researched it. It's the year 2007. If we're still marking our firsts, I'm not sure that's really a good thing.

That was quick

Must be campaign time:

Today:

"Whew, good thing no one noticed how he moved back to Minnesota (ahem carpetbagger) last year. That would have blown the secret. So would how he crashed Coleman’s GOP state party convention party last year. (See photo above, that ain’t doctored, and yes that is a Coleman sign I am holding)"

Last year:

It only took one day at the Convention to see two Horsemen of the Apocalypse—Gary Miller endorse DFLer Keith Ellison for Congress in the 5th District and comedian Al Franken attend Sen. Norm Coleman’s hospitality suite (and pose with KvM’s super trooper Triple A).

Even MDE himself, Michael Brodkorb, got in on the fun, asking Franken about his role in Ray Parker’s Ghostbusters music video.

Franken was actually warmly received by Republicans, stopping to talk to whoever approached him and posing for numerous pictures. And from Franken’s perspective, why not? It was the largest audience he had all week. "

did you hear the one about Al Franken?

live blog from the show - my fingers hurt

What I love most about Vox Day

It's that he is an obsessive compulsive googler.

I thought it might be true when he quickly found my post about him last month. His response to Fecke yesterday just proved it.

I like to think of him deep in his underground lair, hitting refresh on his computer, the glow of the screen etching the worried crease ever darker between his furrowed eyebrows and then ....YES! A google alert arrives in his mailbox proving someone one out there is talking about him.

"Must respond" He whispers to himself. "The perpetrator wrote 12 sentences about me, I shall respond with 36! And two philosophers! No, make that two philosophers and a theologian! That will get him!" His fingers crack ominously as he prepares to rebut, wiggling eagerly in his chair.

Actually, those were very unpleasant images, especially for Valentines Day. So, enjoy your next google on me, Mr. Day. Consider it my valentine.

I don't think this thing works...

You Are Most Like George W. Bush

So what if you're not exactly popular? You still rule the free world. And while you may be quite conservative now, you knew how to party back in the day!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

Jonah Goldberg: Welcher

Jonah's "big picture judgment" is about as good as his honor in paying off bets.

Luckily, the lefties are taking care of it.

Smartie and I pitched in $50 for the cause, since, in smartie's words, "50 bucks to make Jonah look like a schmuck? Hell YES!"

(Shoot, I just said hell. Now I'll never get into a Democratic campaign.)

Something You Won't Hear Every Day

I like Joe Lieberman's idea.

US should weigh war on terrorism tax - Lieberman

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Sen. Joseph Lieberman said on Tuesday that Congress should consider a tax to fund the U.S.-declared war on terrorism and reduce the need to cut domestic programs to pay for security spending.

A former Democrat who supports the Iraq war and backs President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, Lieberman said the proposed increase in the Pentagon's budget for next fiscal year will squeeze funding for critical domestic programs.

"I think we have to start thinking about a war on terrorism tax," the independent Connecticut lawmaker said. "I mean people keep saying we're not asking a sacrifice of anybody but our military in this war and some civilians who are working on it."

As Lieberman points out, this is one way to spread around the sacrifice a little to those of us not actually fighting this war while also making apparent the economic strain this continued conflict is having on the country.

War supporters always want to compare Iraq to World War II. They should be strongly in support of this proposal, since WWII resulted in a massive tax increase. Indeed, the modern income tax system owes its existence to taxes levied to pay for that conflict. So I say go go Joe!

If you want to know what I've been doing all day

check out the new blogroll.

Strange things you never would have expected from me...

Despite how long I've been paying attention to this politics thing, the first section I always read through in the Sunday paper is the business section.

I have a strange addiction to money columnists.

I'm not exactly sure why that is. It started even before the couple of years in the investment banking world. In fact, it may have started during the outplacement agency days, when I was writing newsletter articles. But it's gotten a lot worse in the past year or so, when I find myself reading them in constant search for reassurance that we are where we need to be financially. The accountant seems unflapped by the finances, and the dude with my IRAs seems unpanicked as well, although he keeps calling me every few weeks to tell me we need a "retirement checkup," (and oddly, just as I used to do with the creditors of old, I make up an excuse and swear I'll call back). As far as I can tell, everything is fine.

So why does this post freak me out?

My cushion is a little closer to the whoopie variety.

I really need to stop reading these things. They're always raising the damn bar.

Hotdish Monday: Where Are They Now?

The Super Bowl is over, and Bears quarterback Rex Grossman is destined to vanish into obscurity while Peyton Manning is lauded as MVP.  But politics, like football, is a team sport.

We have Super Bowl aftermath and a quick look at a few behind-the-scenes players.

Looking at the team players in politics, The Fix notes Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has hired former Minnesota Senate candidate Mark Kennedy's former fund-raiser to work on his own campaign.  I'm sure Giuliani's team is hoping the end result is much better for them.

And the Downtown Journal has an excellent article up about Congressman Keith Ellison's (MN 5) new congressional offices and staff.  The piece focuses on new district director Brian Elliot and Ellison's office's focus on being out in the district.

“We’re really approaching this in a way that doesn’t require you to come to the office,” Elliott said. “Our doors are always open, but we also encourage people to really be looking for us in the community.”

If you missed the VoteVet's Super Bowl commercial targeting Sen. Norm Coleman, Publius has it here

And since no post-Super Bowl hotdish would be complete without actual game coverage, we present Captain Ed's Super Bowl Liveblog.

Grossman Strikes Again! He throws it at the wrong jersey and gives up six..

If only I'd just read the game...

Finally, Flash makes a bold prediction.

Next year it will be the Vikings losing to the Colts. You heard it here first.

An Open Letter to David Strom

Dear Mr. Strom:

I'm fairly certain that in Greek mythology, Cassandra was actually right....

That is all.

Perjury v. Little White Lies

In his essay "Self-Reliance" Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. A great person does not have to think consistently from one day to the next." While I never would have thought so before, I guess today's column from Debra J. Saunders marks her as a truly great person.

Saunders, one of the biggest cheerleaders of Bill Clinton's impeachment, seems aghast that the Scooter Libby trial might have political consequences. Shocking stuff. Perhaps more shocking is that the same author can write:

On the other hand, lying before a grand jury -- with forethought -- is a serious offense.

and:

Instead, Fitzgerald is going after Libby for lying about leaking. This is a trial that never should have happened -- about leaks that do not appear to be criminal.

or an entire column about how Ken Starr didn't go far enough in his witch hunt but Patrick Fitzgerald is "out of control"?

I'll forgive the fact that throughout today's article she consistently blurs the definition between "investigation" and "trial" as it suits her narrative. I'll just chalk that up to a great mind not needing to worry about quotidian details.

The final irony is that she is indignant that no one was charged with leaking Plame's identity. Is she implying that if no crime was committed then lying to a grand jury is okay? I eagerly await her long overdue apology to Clinton, then. Since, after all, Starr was supposedly investigating a land deal in Arkansas which turned out to be perfectly legal.

I won't hold my breath.

The jokes just write themselves

Spend $200, get fleeced by McCain...


(Joke thanks to Leigh)

Developing an open mind

it's very chilly outside.

Perhaps hell has frozen over.