Watch www.theuptake.org on Tuesday July 7th at 12:15pm ET/ 11:15pm CT as Al Franken is sworn in as the US Senator from Minnesota. By Noah Kunin, Senior Political Correspondent 7/6/09 Washington, DC Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator-elect Al Franken made statements to the press before entering a close door meeting. Vice President Joe Biden will swear Franken in as Senator on Tuesday on the Senate floor. Live coverage will begin at 1200pm ET / 1100am CT. Reid urged Republicans to join the Democratic majority in passing upcoming legislation with bipartisan support.
Senator-Elect Al Franken thanks The UpTake for its coverage of the recount and election trial. Franken talks about how his campaign staff insisted that he take a vacation the first week of the trial and how he spent his vacation watching The UpTake. Franken talks about health care, the late Senator Paul Wellstone and the logistics for his swearing in next week. Franken has two words of advice for any DFL candidate who may possibly end up running against Norm Coleman for Governor: "call me."
By Noah Kunin, Senior Political Correspondent 6/30/09 In a midday ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Former Senator Norm Coleman's appeal to overturn the decision by the three judge Election Contest trial court that Al Franken won the the 2008 Senate Election in Minnesota. Coleman, in a humble concession speech, (which The UpTake was not allowed to film) said the process has gone far enough. This video is Senator-Elect Al Franken's response, from his home in Minneapolis, MN. While Senator-Elect Franken will be the 60th Democrat in the US Senate, he says it's more important that he will be the "2nd Senator from Minnesota". He is expected to be sworn in next week.
more at http://www.theuptake.org President Obama announced that on Tuesday (June 30, 2009) US Troops turned over all of Iraq's towns and cities to the Iraqi government and security forces. Transcript: I want to say a few words about an important milestone that we've reached in Iraq. Today, American troops have transferred control of all Iraqi cities and towns to Iraq's government and security forces. (Applause.) This transition was agreed to last year as part of our Status of Forces Agreement with the sovereign Iraqi government. It's a part of our strategy to responsibly end the war by removing all American combat brigades from Iraq by next September, and all of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. So the Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration. This is an important step forward, as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny. And with this progress comes responsibility. Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people. And Iraq's leaders must ...
Opponents of Governor Pawlenty's veto of health care for the poorest Minnesotans are asking the Governor's neighbors to call him and ask him to change his mind. Literature from the DFL organized group says the Governor's "pledge to far right-wing Washington politicians is hurting Minnesota's economy - and Minnesota's families.
more at http://www.theuptake.org Representative Mark Buesgens (R- Mankato, MN) probably meant something different, but he states not once, but twice that keeping the speed limit at 45 mph along 35E south of downtown St. Paul will "turn lawbreakers into good people." The author of the proposal, Representative Pat Garafalo (R-Apple Valley) steps in to clarify that it's really the other way around. Either way, the speed limit on 35E stays the same as the proposal is defeated 62 to 72, sparing the State of Minnesota a potentially very expensive lawsuit so Representative Garafalo can shave a few seconds off his commute from Apple Valley to the Capitol.
more at http://www.theuptake.org Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert upset that Republican tax plans are not being voted on in the Minnesota House tries to scare Freshman DFL members with a well-rehearsed story from a Star Trek episode. We're not positive which episode the speaker was referring to, but it sounds like one of a dozen on the show. But please don't call Representative Seifert a "Trekkie". If he was he would have quoted the episode's name, original air date and the name of the actor who played bit part of the crew member. This is from debate on Thursday April 23, 2009 about 8:45pm CT
More at http://www.theuptake.org. Watch out Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and other late night comedians. The Minnesota House of Representatives is trying to provide you competition. At 11:30 last night when most Minnesotans have turned off the TV and gone to bed, the House put on its own version of stand-up comedy. It all began with a proposal to not pay lawmakers expenses (per diem) during any special session. The idea being that would be an incentive to finish all the work during the regular session which is scheduled to finish next month. Instead of voting down the proposal, Rep Rod Hamilton (R) Mountain Lake moved to amend it to require Twin Cities metro areas legislators to provide housing, food, laundry and entertainment for non-metro area legislators. The amendment touched off a round of comedy and eventually led to original proposal being withdrawn. In other words, the proposal to eliminate special session per diem pay made by Rep. Joyce Peppin (R) of Rogers was literally laughed off the...
Former US Senator Norm Coleman's lawyers announced today that he has filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that said Democrat Al Franken won the state's US Senate election. This is a press conference phone call with Coleman spokesperson lawyer Ben Ginsberg and Coleman attorney Jim Langdon. For some reason, Ginsberg did not want to reveal where he was making the call from-- saying it was only "secret and undisclosed".
More at http://www.theuptake.org. Representative Michele Bachmann (MN-6) is still spreading false information regarding an MIT study on cap and trade. She held two townhalls today to discuss proposals for a cap and trade program to abet greenhouse gasses. She was joined by Chris Horner, a lawyer for the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They gave prepared presentations and only took highly moderated pre-written questions. For us to know if Rep. Bachmann is "willfully lying" vs "unwittingly misrepresenting" we would have to know if she knew the author of the MIT report had spoken out on the subject. Regrettably, Rep. Bachmann refused to speak with ALL press today.
More at http://www.theuptake.org It's the longest election in Minnesota's history, and it's still not over. But a ruling from Minnesota's election contest court may have signaled the beginning of the end of Minnesota's US Senate race. Former Senator Norm Coleman's chances of winning the election were severely dimmed when the court ruled that only 400 additional ballots will be counted. Democrat Al Franken leads Coleman by 225 votes. The election contest has been a soap opera, drawing thousands of viewers from all over the country every day. In the above video, The UpTake's Mike McIntee takes us through the major plot lines and moments of the trial, which has been educational as well as entertaining.
more at http://www.theuptake.org Even immediate family members often describe the SCHIZOID as âdisconnectedâ, "robots", or "machines". But the schizoid is not depressed, merely indifferent. As such, borderline schizoid personalities thrive in a culture that celebrates the self above the group, is charged with masochism, and thrive in what Eisenhower called the âmilitary-industrial-academic complex.â Reference- âAmerica is in Need of a Moral Bailoutâ- http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090323_america_is_in_need_of_a_moral_bailout/ BIO Dennis Trainor Jr is a regular video contributor to TheUptake.org. He was a writer & media consultant for Dennis Kucinich's 2008 presidential campaign & a 2007 "Best of YouTube" nominee for his work as writer/ performer on "The Hermit with Davis Fleetwood." He is currently at work on two books: "My Progressive Dilemma" (chronicling President Obama's 1st year in office) and a novel adapted from his play, "I Coulda Been a Kennedy."
more at http://www.theuptake.org Al Franken has trouble finding the exact words describe when he will be seated as a US Senator and his current status. He is speaking to the Minnesota Young Democratic Farmer Labor group on Saturday March 28, 2009. Franken has a 225 vote lead in the MN US Senate race over former Senator Norm Coleman. A court has yet to rule on an election contest suit filed by Coleman. Testimony on that suit wrapped up two weeks ago.
More at http://www.theuptake.org About this video: Last week I brought to your attention the far flung theory of Russian academic Igor Panarin, who foresees civil war in the United States arising from the current economic crisis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_wzMDQgpHw With Obama's new Director of Intel Dennis Blair telling congress that the number one security peril facing the United States is global economic turmoil, has the Intel community agree with Panarin? Furthermore, is the Obama strategy of inviting comparison between himself and Lincoln an example in "be careful what you wish for?" …………… Dennis Trainor, Jr is a regular video contributor to TheUptake.org. He was a writer & media consultant for Dennis Kucinich's 2008 presidential campaign & a 2007 "Best of YouTube" nominee for his work as writer/ performer on "The Hermit with Davis Fleetwood." He is currently at work on two books: "My Progressive Dilemma" (chronicling President Obama's 1st year in ...
more at http://www.theuptake.org Was it courtroom levity or an indication the court may rule against the Norm Coleman campaign? Coleman attorney James Langdon was explaining why the court should count certain absentee ballots when he looked at Judge Denise Reilly and said "I see you are not buying this." Reilley laughed and replied "I thought I had a poker face." "No I don't think so" said Langdon. "What can I tell you that will help you buy it?" Reilley smiled and said "My concern is that the legislature passed a statute, and I took an oath to uphold the law." Langdon then asked "And how are you not upholding the law, may I ask..." Reilley interrupted him saying "You know typically judges ask (the) questions."
More at http://www.theuptake.org ABOUT THIS VIDEO: President Obama's stimulus package is intended not only to shore up the economy, but the U.S. psyche. The American Dream itself. But what if we euthanize the American Dream? The Uptake wants to hear your voice. Submit your own video "letter to the editor." More information: How to submit a video 1) Have something intelligent to say 2) Record it on a video using your real name. 3) Upload it at www.tubemogul.com using info@theuptake.org as your log in and uptake411 as your password. 4) Send an email to info@theuptake.org telling us about your video. Dennis Trainor, Jr is a regular video contributor to TheUptake.org. He was a writer & media consultant for Dennis Kucinich's 2008 presidential campaign & a 2007 "Best of YouTube" nominee for his work as writer/ performer on "The Hermit with Davis Fleetwood." He is currently at work on two books: "My Progressive Dilemma" (chronicling President Obama's 1st year in office) and a novel adapted from his play, "I ...
The Uptake wants to hear your voice. Submit your own video "Op/ED." More information here: http://opinion-editorial.groups.theuptake.org/en/summary/ How to submit a video 1) Have something intelligent to say 2) Record it on a video using your real name. 3) Upload it at www.tubemogul.com using info@theuptake.org as your log in and uptake411 as your password. 4) Send an email to info@theuptake.org telling us about your video. ABOUT THIS VIDEO: NBC has rejected a anti-abortion ad submitted for its Super Bowl broadcast. After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago told CatholicVote.org today that NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving "political advocacy or issues." Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.org reacted: "There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement. We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC's parent company GE has done for years. We congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American ...
Video Chuck Olsen- Text Noah Kunin - The other aspect, that I found notable, was the idea of cherry picking. These clips are going to be in our highlight reel released later today. Friedburg acknowledged both campaigns were doing it and if someone didn't know about cherry picking they really shouldn't even keep their job. Most observers have conlcuded that both campaigns were targeting their likely supporters but today it was put in stark relief in the cross examination of Peter Demuth - Demuth said that he was called by the MN Republican Party, told his absentee ballot was rejected and ASKED if he supported Coleman. When replied that he had, he was offered legal support to draw up an affadivt.
More at www.theuptake.org Video-Chuck Olsen, Text-Noah Kunin -- Quick recap: lots of talking about previous positions by each campaign, when those positions were taken, when they were reversed. Not a lot of discussion on who actually got the most votes. In fact, the scope of this election contest actually SHRANK. Upon questioning from Joe Friedburg, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann discussed the chain of custody regarding 171 ballots unscanned ballots in a voting machine during the recount. Satisfied with Mr. Gelbmann's explanation, Friedburg dropped that complaint from the Coleman election contest. While yesterday was dominated by testimony from Mr. Gelbmann, today the Coleman legal team mixed it up a little with testimony from two additional voters whose absentee ballots Coleman claims were improperly rejected. Overall, Coleman's argument is that a lack of adherence to statute or rule requirements should not mean those votes are rejected as long as they are registered voters in MN.
The Uptake wants to hear your voice. Submit your own video "letter to the editor." More information here: http://opinion-editorial.groups.theuptake.org/en/summary/ ABOUTH THIS VIDEO: Barack Obama wrote the headline to chapter one in his own administration's history when, with George Bush sitting just feet away and the whole world watching, he seemed to wipe away a whole doctrine with:"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." As he the new president was signing executive orders that shut down the detention facilities at GITMO, U.S. military drones fired missiles that killed at least 15 people inside Pakistan, leaving people around the world asking if the controversial military policy begun by George W Bush had changed after all. Dennis Trainor, Jr has worked as a writer/ media consultant for Dennis Kucinich's 2008 presidential campaign. In addition to contributing video commentator to The Uptake (http://www.theuptake.org ), he is host at Operation Itch ( ...
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