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Finally, a voice of clarity
Matthew Yglesias nails the latest bout of conventional campaign criticism that we should all be worked up because Barack Obama isn’t “breaking it open.” Yglesias correctly points out that the winning candidate this year was probably never going to get more than about 53 percent in the general election and that our country’s political make…
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Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human nature
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human natureBy Aaron J. BrownFor all our bluster, we humans are really just soft, pink beings that consume more than we should and run much more slowly than other mammals our size.…
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The Iron Range from ‘The Outside’
Sometimes an outside perspective opens new understanding. Friday, the local paper for North Marion, Ind., profiled teachers who visited northern Minnesota‘s Iron Range this summer to learn about the history and importance of the region. The statistics listed in the article are well established, but maybe not well known even to Iron Range natives. Check…
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Get busy on Da’ Range
Are you a young person looking for a job in the traditionally difficult job market of Duluth (and, by extention, the Iron Range)? This Patrick Garmoe DNT story has some tips. Know people. Not tomorrow, but already. And, though it may not be news to some or even remotely interesting to others, this Business North…
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A year ago …
MinnPost has the story of the day: G.R. Anderson Jr.’s vivid story and analysis of the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse from a year ago today. Fine work retelling a terrible event. Related posts: No related posts.
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Brown on the Air: Intuition
My commentary on the KAXE radio program “Between You and Me” this Saturday will deal with the this week’s topic of “Intuition.” I explore the source of intuition by relating Go-Bots, parenthood and underground mining. How is that possible? I am a word ninja. If you forgot, “Between You and Me” is hosted by Heidi…
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State of the Blog
Hello, readers. Well, I wrote 102 posts in July. In case you’re wondering I work from home in July. That insane pace can’t continue forever. You’ll still get daily posts here, often multiple posts when news merits, but I’m going to be more selective as my fall work schedule heats up. That’s why it’s more…
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Apparently it will take two random bridge collapse tragedies
This AP analysis shows that the nation has done little to improve highway infrastructure after last year’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis. But don’t they realize how much we’ve talked about the issue? Like, a lot. And that’s almost as good. Related posts: No related posts.
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FiberNet pulls plug on the Range; now what?
FiberNet officially bit the dust; however, as this Hibbing Daily Tribune story explains, at least one of the project’s strongest backers, Hibbing City Administrator Brian Redshaw, believes there is hope for high speed internet delivered Range wide in the future. I agree and share those hopes. We need to prepare infrastructure for the future of…
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Good times rolling on the Range … for some
Significant, but not surprising: Cleveland-Cliffs posts a record profit for the second quarter of this year. Cliffs, along with U.S. Steel, is one of the major powers in the taconite mining industry of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Steel prices are way up, taconite is key to producing steel, the good times roll, but who is…
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‘Those mobster ads’ and why union choice issue really matters
One of the great setbacks in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate campaign is how Republican operatives — more specifically big business operatives — have been able to cloud the water over the issue of the Employee Free Choice Act. Their ads featuring mobster-like figures pressuring pleasant looking workers into joining unions have fueled many misconceptions held by…
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The Timmy Factor
Conventional wisdom has John McCain’s running mate list pared down to our Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. Barack Obama is supposedly down to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, though Kaine has been getting most of the buzz in the…
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Extreme American Housing Sector Crisis
Perhaps not so ironically, one of the largest homes built by ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover” faces foreclosure. The $450,000 home built by volunteer labor might just be a perfect symbol of America’s mortgage crisis. The show is premised around the idea that a ridiculously large new home will solve the problems of any family, anywhere.…
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Oh, I’ve been to this meeting …
This is a little “inside baseball” but if you are interested in the future of journalism, read this tongue-in-cheek post from Ken Doctor, a former big time newspaper executive now blogging about the problems of the modern media industry. It’s called “Frankly, Candidly, Truthfully: Newspapers CEOs Talk About 2Q.” It’s a funny read, if you’ve…
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Union outreach aims to hold Democratic line for Obama
Electricity was down again this morning (it rained last night; that’s how it goes out here in the woods) so I got a late start on all things electronic. All I’ve got right now is an item on an AFL-CIO political outreach campaign in the swing states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan to reassure…