Bob CollinsThe Monday Morning Rouser. United Airlines retired its last 737 jet last week. So, let’s rouse!
1)Cutting in line? Guantanamo Bay detainees are in line to get the H1N1 vaccine before many in the U.S. population. Says the Associated Press:
“(Army Maj. James Crabtree, a spokesman for the U.S. jail facility in southeast Cuba) acknowledged there may be an “emotional response” from critics who argue that terror suspects should not be allocated swine-flu medications while members of the U.S. public are still waiting due to a vaccine shortage.”
As of Friday, 26.5 million doses of vaccine were available, 10 million more than a week ago. But not everyone can stand in a line a half mile long.
2) A Little Falls Lutheran pastor has resigned because the church voted earlier this year to allow non-celibate gays in the clergy, the Brainerd Dispatch reports (reg. required). Another Lutheran church in Little Falls has lost parishioners because of the decision, its pastor says. In Pennsylvania over the weekend, a group of Lutheran pastors and lay people tried to discuss the split but found it’s difficult to find common ground when most people think they’re on the side of God and the others are not.
3) New research out today links depression and processed food, the BBC is reporting:
They split the participants into two types of diet – those who ate a diet largely based on whole foods, which includes lots of fruit, vegetables and fish, and those who ate a mainly processed food diet, such as sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products.
After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in future depression risk with the different diets.
Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who at the least whole foods.
By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of depression than those who ate very few processed foods.
4) What happens to the dogs from some of Minnesota’s notorious “puppy mills?” If they’re lucky, someone like Twin Citian Pete Howell steps into rescue them, one of many Pilots N Paws volunteers:
Meanwhile, here’s a question: Could you raise a puppy and then give it away after a year?
But back to the aviation aspect for a moment. Look, if you’re going to go for a ride in a jet, don’t push the ejection switch by mistake.
5) Ford announced this morning that’s it’s made a surprise billion-dollar profit. It is the only car maker the government didn’t bail out, but the most interesting angle here is a few paragraphs into the story. Ford is asking its unions to take cuts in pay and benefits. Why? Because Chrysler and GM’s workers took cuts and Ford’s proposal would have its workers match the competition’s. But Ford made a billion-dollar profit. So what’s the right thing here?
Writing on Seeking Alpha, Michael Golde says the bailout of the competition is what’s emboldened Ford workers:
If GM or Chrysler had been allowed to fail or to fend for themselves in Chapter 11, is it highly doubtful that Ford workers would reject cost concessions if their livelihoods were truly at stake? But, they needn’t worry about that now. Bailout Nation mentality has now permeated large segments of our economy. And one bailout beget another bailout of the perception of a further bailout if necessary.
TODAY’S QUESTION
Many cities in Minnesota will hold local elections tomorrow. Do you plan to vote? Why or why not?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: Flu vaccines against H1N1 are hard to come by unless you’re in one of the priority groups. It may be until end of November until there’s enough for wide distribution. The top infectious disease official at the National Institutes of Health talks about the strategy for fighting H1N1, and how vaccines might be produced faster in the future.
Second hour: Guthrie Theater artistic director Joe Dowling.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: A primer and call-in about instant runoff voting with guests Rachel Smith of the Humphrey Institute and MPR reporter Curtis Gilbert.
Second hour: Twin Cities mayoral debates. St. Paul in the first half hour and Minneapolis in the second half hour (metro-area only). I’ll live-blog the debates here.
Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: Drug czars and cops
Second hour: Underground comic legend R. Crumb, who illustrated the entire text of the book of Genesis.
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Some consumers are canceling credit cards as companies raise rates. the rate increases precede expected caps on credit card rates. MPR’s Michael Caputo has their reaction.
MPR’s Laura Yuen previews tomorrow’s St. Paul mayoral election.
MPR News begins a series “stress-testing the recovery.” First up: Hibbing, at the center of Minnesota’s taconite mining industry, has seen some of the state’s highest unemployment rates of late. The entire taconite industry shut down during the course of the year, and now some mines are coming back online. But why is the rebound is completely bypassing Hibbing?
