Sen. Al Franken has a problem with Facebook's “tagging.” Jim Spencer of the Strib says: “The Minnesota Democrat called out the company for making it hard for members to avoid having online photos of themselves shared with people they might not want to see them. Chairing a hearing of a subcommittee on privacy and technology, Franken challened Facebook's practice of automatically including its members in a facial recognition program that lets people "tag" their Facebook "friends" so those friends' pictures are initially published without their knowledge. Facebook's manager of privacy and public policy, Rob Sherman, told Franken that ‘Facebook is an opt-in experience,’ but he said the network made it easy for users to stop photo tracking if they wanted. Franken replied that it took ‘six clicks’ on Facebook's ‘easy-to-use privacy settings’ for a user to even find the words ‘photo recognition.’ In contrast, the senator added, Google leaves facial recognition software off until users ask to turn it on.”
Officially, supporters of the GOP’s marriage amendment say Secretary of State Ritchie’s title change will hurt their cause. Brian Bakst of the AP writes: “In a legal brief filed ahead of a late-July Minnesota Supreme Court hearing, lawyers for Republican lawmakers and Minnesota for Marriage said it was improper for Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to alter the title that will appear above the November ballot question. The lawyers criticized the wording he chose as misleading and said it could sway votes. ‘Even small changes in the wording of ballot measures and titles can have a dramatic effect on the election results,’ according to the brief. It was signed by Minneapolis attorney Erick Kaardal but assembled by a group of local and national attorneys who want the court to reverse Ritchie's changes.” I think we kind of assumed as much.
Someone’s going to be getting a lot of Barney Fife jokes. Mara Gottfried of the PiPress reports: “A St. Paul police officer's loaded gun was stolen from his vehicle when it was parked outside his Roseville home, according to police. Sgt. Thomas Arnold reported the theft to Roseville police Tuesday, July 17, at 8:45 a.m. He said it occurred sometime between Monday at 10 p.m. and Tuesday at 8 a.m. The loaded 9mm Glock, Arnold's St. Paul police duty weapon, had been in the center console of his sport-utility vehicle, said Lt. Lorne Rosand, Roseville police spokesman. Arnold thought he'd locked the SUV the night before but suspected he might not have because the vehicle was not damaged, Rosand said.”
The AP story is short but comes with a few attention-grabbing statements: “The state Health Department says the rate of increase in health care spending in Minnesota has slowed to its lowest point since 1997, and the recession is a big reason. The department says health care costs are still rising, but at a much slower pace — 2.2 percent from 2009 to 2010. State Health Economist Stefan Gildemeister … said many lost their insurance when they lost their jobs and others who kept their jobs were more cautious. Gildemeister said another reason health care spending may be slowing is that consumers are increasingly paying more of out-of-pocket costs. Health care spending, at $37.7 billion, accounts for almost 14 percent of Minnesota's economy.”
T-Paw was on … where else? … Fox News Wednesday, joking that he’d show his “tats” to prove he isn’t dull. Politico’s Mackenzie Weinger writes: “[Neil] Cavuto laughed as Pawlenty added, ‘I'm teasing, I'm teasing.’ The ‘Your World’ host also pressed Pawlenty on whether he thinks Mitt Romney needs a flashy running mate. ‘We have a lot of people who are entertaining, who can light their hair on fire or, you know, do whatever,’ Pawlenty said. ‘But the bottom line is, these are serious times, we need seasoned, experienced people who get the job done.’ ” He wasn’t asked if he knew anyone who could finish up a couple of dozen jobs back in Minnesota.
Adam Belz of the Strib has a piece about Minnesota companies looking for ways to sell more food to India: “The 250 million members of India's growing middle class are young and educated, they have money, and they want new kinds of food. About 15 smaller Minnesota companies that sell everything from dried chickpeas to milkshake mix heard that pitch this week in downtown Minneapolis. They met Indian buyers and now will decide whether to export to the world's second-most-populous country. By the numbers, this is a huge opportunity for food exporters — 1.2 billion people who eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. And it's a key example of a demographic phenomenon playing out in several parts of the world. Large numbers are joining the middle class, and forward-thinking businesses are looking for ways to sell their goods in the new market.” They’re not coming after our chocolate-dipped bacon on a stick, are they?
GOP Sen. Scott Newman is up today in a Strib commentary ripping Mark Ritchie: “Ritchie has greatly overstepped the authority of his office by unilaterally changing the name of the voter ID question that will be on this year's ballot. … The secretary of state and outside special-interest groups have called the ballot question misleading. The amendment passed by the Legislature is very clear and understandable. Ritchie is clearly trying to mislead citizens with a vague, ambiguous title in a naked attempt to deter Minnesota's electorate from voting for the proposed amendment, a mission that is not part of his duties as secretary of state. According to several recent polls, Minnesotans overwhelmingly support the voter ID amendment, with 60 to 80 percent support for the provision. Photographic identification for legal, qualified voters is absolutely crucial and an important step toward increased integrity in the election process.”
More on the latest Michele Bachmann furor. Kevin Diaz at the Strib says: “Bachmann has long been a lightning rod of criticism from the left, but her public campaign against what she calls a ‘deep penetration’ into government circles by Islamic radical groups is being met with denunciations from both sides of the political aisle. Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress, went on CNN Tuesday night to fire back at Bachmann just as she was warning of the dangers of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Obama administration in a keynote speech at a Washington summit of Christians United for Israel, a staunchly pro-Israel evangelical group. ‘This is McCarthyism at its worst,’ Ellison told the Star Tribune Wednesday, referring to the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose name became synonymous in the 1950s with his accusations of Communist infiltration in all walks of American life. ‘This is one of those moments when you can't stay silent,’ Ellison said.” She sure can’t.
Steve Karnowski of the AP reports that Costco has taken a stand against the confinement pens used for pregnant sows captured in an undercover video from a Minnesota pork-producing facility: “The company acted after an animal welfare group shot an undercover video showing conditions at one of the chain's pork suppliers. Gestation stalls have been a major target of groups like Mercy for Animals and the Humane Society of the United States. Mercy for Animals had been preparing to release a video shot in a sow barn at Minnesota-based Christensen Farms. Costco then gave the group a letter it sent to its pork suppliers Tuesday urging a phase out of the crates by 2022. The group supplied the letter to The Associated Press. Mercy's director of investigations, Matt Rice, says he commends Costco.”
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Franken objects to Facebook's built-in 'photo-tagging'
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