Tom Bartel’s “Forgiving Rick Kahn” contains the typical, overused liberal excuse that nobody on the Democrat side of the house is responsible for the voters choosing Norm Coleman. Don’t forget, this is the same state electorate that chose Sen. “Do Nothing” Dayton (or did he change his name to Marshall Fields as well?) in 2000 … Read more
I think Tom Bartel (Forgiving Rick Kahn) is right-on in his comments surrounding the DFL debacle and downfall in this election. For quite a while now I’ve been convinced that no matter how on-track, pertinent or good-willed the Democrats or Greens and their respective platforms are – such will never be able to stand against … Read more
Tom Bartel forgot to mention the crowd (Forgiving Rick Kahn)– which started the first unfortunate move to create a partisan politcal event by booing the Republicans and clapping for the Democrats. That helped set up the Republicans to take the high road – in mourning, they sympathized; the Democrats threw tomatoes. And that behavior can … Read more
I live a long, long way away, in Sydney, Australia, but follow as much of US politics as I can. I hardly had heard of Paul Wellstone until his tragedy during the mid-term elections. The point is that reading Hans Eisenbeis’ ‘take’ (St. Paul: All Apologies) on Wellstone made me identify with not only the … Read more
I want to give the Rake some enthusiastic and positive feedback on your columnists -Kruse, Collins and Ouellette. I imagine they each elicit some downright combustible flame-mail from some of the more touchy element out there, but I’ve much appreciated the topics these columnists have tackled and perspectives they’ve shared. Even if my perspective is … Read more
Thanks for the fine “Happy Anniversary” item last month [Good Intentions, September]. What an elegant expression of the mix of concern, anger, and hurt I live with as a result of the attacks, and the inadequacy, to put it mildly, of most of the public debate and actions that have followed. The juxtaposition of the … Read more
Despite your accusation [“The Puppetmaster at Rest,” October], I planned to vote for Wellstone from the get-go, and I never saw one of Hillsman’s famous ads. And I sure as hell didn’t vote for Jesse (The Numbskull) Ventura, a man more interested in holding asinine grudges than in actual governance. Paul Wellstone’s success in 1990 … Read more
Stephanie March asks why New York is called “the Big Apple” [Down the Hatch, October] and notes that “one theory is that the nickname was coined by jazz greats like Charlie Parker.” While this is a popular theory, it’s been disproven. I’m attaching a research note by Yale librarian Fred Shapiro: “The Random House Historical … Read more
I relocated to these barren wastes in April ’01, and spent my first year searching—mostly in vain—for anything remotely stimulating, or even interesting. Imagine my delight when, on my first anniversary, I stumbled across your magazine. (And imagine my disappointment when the very next issue featured that lame “Top 50” list [“Our Brightest Stars,” June]. … Read more
I hope the writer who penned the concert announcement for Paul McCartney’s appearance at the Xcel Energy Center [The Broken Clock, September] was able to attend the event. A rare opportunity was available for the writer to broaden his/her horizons. If the writer attended, s/he would have heard three songs from a new album written … Read more