The White House

The real R.T. Rybak

Up close and personal with the Minneapolis mayor

Esperanza Spalding Chamber Music Society

Bachmann carpetbags in Iowa for presidential announcement

She's serious.​Michele Bachmann has announced that she's going home in June to announce her White House intentions. Not her home in the 6th congressional district. No, she's going "home" to Waterloo, Iowa. She hasn't lived there since she was small child (and she's faked her own family's root ... More >>

Obama dings Bachmann in teleprompter satire [VIDEO]

What's with this obsession over Obama's teleprompter?​Michele Bachmann is definitely on the radar at the White House. Barack Obama not only mocked her mating dance with birthers by suggesting she was a crypto Canadian at the White House Correspondents Dinner; his media gurus put together a v ... More >>

Minnesota guardsmen back from Iraq may not get paid

army.milMembers of the 103rd ESC receiving their combat patches last year.​Sgt. Jamie Engelbretson had been back from Iraq for less than 24 hours when she got the bad news today: because of the looming government shut-down, her next paycheck will likely be cut in half. The next paycheck may ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty caught wandering the Super Bowl sideline [PHOTO OF THE DAY]

dustytrice.comT-Paw does Dallas.​The Vikings didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but Tim Pawlenty went anyway. A photographer caught our former governor on hiatus from his book tour, hands in pockets, standing around on the sidelines at Cowboys Stadium before the game began. Was he there to ... More >>

Leith Anderson, Tim Pawlenty's pastor, named to Obama's faith council

Leith Anderson, friend of the White House.​Leith Anderson is Tim and Mary Pawlenty's pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie. He's head of the National Association of Evangelicals. And now he's been named to President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnershi ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty sold fewer than 5,000 copies of his book

Not a lot of buyers.​Not only has Tim Pawlenty's national book tour blitz failed completely to do anything about his non-existent national support for a White House bid among the Republican faithful, it's also barely garnered him any book sales. What does this guy have to do to find some atte ... More >>

Michele Bachmann wants to be president [UPDATES]

What could possibly go wrong?​Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, the pride of Waterloo, wants to be president. ABC News is out with a story today saying that she's soon going to huddle with GOP powerbrokers in the state of her birth about a potential White House run. Not that she or her staff ... More >>

Barack Obama brings Ben Harper and The National to Madison [UPDATE]

Photo via WikipediaBen Harper's on board with the president.​Update: Sen. Feingold jets to Madison. More after the jump. President Barack Obama's going into midterm campaign mode this week, and he's scheduled to be in Madison later this afternoon, with Ben Harper and The National in tow. The ... More >>

Five invasive species that threaten Minnesota waters

Photo: MN DNRThis bighead carp was caught on Lake Pepin in 2007​June 23 was probably like any other day for the 20-pound bighead carp. Meander through south Chicago's Lake Calumet. Eat a few pounds of plankton. Frighten some minnows. Excrete said plankton. But the Asian carp, six miles from La ... More >>

Ruth Stewart, 105, wastes away in Margaritaville

Via WikipediaRuth Stewart nibbled on some cake and tippled a Margarita​Her hearing's going, although her friends seem to think her memory's OK. Still, on Ruth Stewart's 105th birthday -- she was born on the Fourth of July -- she needed a frozen concoction to help her hang on. Here's a woman w ... More >>

Michele Bachmann defends "gangster" line to Geraldo Rivera (Video)

Beware of gangsters bent on saving the auto industry​Michele Bachmann has found a suitably attention-grabbing moniker for the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House: "Gangster government." And at various points in the past few weeks, she's drawn fire from the likes of everyone from Bi ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty plans "major announcement" at Facebook forum

​Gov. Tim Pawlenty say he plans to use his first-ever Facebook "town hall" session on Wednesday to make a "major announcement" and seek input on how more Republicans can win office in 2010. The fun begins at 6:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Participants will be able to e-mail questions and P ... More >>

Yes, Somalis will get extra airport security screenings

That's likely going to make for slow airline travel for Somalis in the Twin Cities.

Pawlenty's road show heads to Florida

If it's Friday it must be Florida: Gov. Tim Pawlenty will continue racking up the frequent flyer miles when he puts in an appearance Nov. 13 at The Forum Club of Southwest Florida in Palm Beach, north of Miami.

The Funeral and the Twilight: To Kill You

Strib uses dwindling reporting resources to interview talking dogs

Wine industry toasts the Obamas

Paulbots

Federalis abolishae

Reconstruction in Iraq

8/14 Morning Communiqué

6/6 Morning Communiqué

Southern Comforts

Even Larry Flynt looked cuddly at Durham's doc fest

Free Will Astrology

10/31 Morning Communiqué

7/12 Morning Communiqué

7/7 Morning Communiqué

Rove/Plame: You can't tell the players, with or without a scorecard

Citizen Berquist: The Man with the Van

Who's counting?

'Commander in Chief' creator: We're running like madmen away from politics!

Rove/Plame: the smoking gun?

Space is the Place

Exploring TV's final frontier: The syndicated action series

The Doc Is In

Nonfiction writes the prescription in Toronto

Bring 'em On!

The Bush administration's top 40 lies about war and terrorism

Wing and a Prayer

The West Wing inaugurates a new administration

Plugged Up

Allegations that the president's personal secretary was involved in a cover-up--obscured in the headlines by the White House's skillful media handling--represent the biggest danger yet for Clinton's credibility.

Birds of a Feather

Prosecutors were finally able to nail Tyson Foods--one of the three corporate behemoths that launched and sustained Bill Clinton's political career.

Will They Ever Learn?

Polls show that a majority of swing voters disapprove of Janet Reno's decision not to seek an outside prosecutor for Donorgate. That's bad news for the liberals who keep pooh-poohing the corruption issue.

Jokers Wild

Gambling-rich tribes opposing a casino in Hudson--including the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota and the Mille Lacs Chippewa--hired heavy-hitting lobbyist Patrick O'Connor, who personally spoke to the president about the matter at a fundraiser in Minneapolis.

Union Made

Laborers' union members, mostly low-paid black and Hispanic workers, financed their president's White House visits while the Justice Department quashed a mob investigation.

PUBLIC JOURNALIST #1

The Real Revolution Radio: Amy Goodman, host of Pacifica's Democracy Now!

Horse-Trading

The squabble between Jesse Helms and William Weld over the latter's confirmation as ambassador to Mexico has more to do with personal pique than ideology.

Friends of Webb

Gored

Motel 1600 Revisited

The view from Lincoln's bedroom.

The Really Big Show

Theme: "The Greatest Environmental President." Really?

Friendly Fire?

The TWA incident, Contra coke, and other affairs of the Internet

The Shameless Seven Ride Again