Michael OlsonMembers of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Minnesota Legislature are deliberating the definition of marriage. Either institution could take action to legalize same-sex marriage and extend equal benefits to all married couples. Today’s Question: Should the definition of marriage be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court or the Minnesota Legislature? Same-sex marriage at the Read more →
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Archives for March 2013
The Internet is making us poor, asserts Christopher Mims, science and technology writer for Quartz. “History is littered with technological transitions,” he says. “Many of them seemed at the time to threaten mass unemployment of one type of worker or another, whether it was buggy whip makers or, more recently, travel agents. But here’s what’s Read more →
Dennis Blankensop, a councilmember from the northeast Minnesota town of Cohasset has for the past couple months been “virtually” attending council meetings via Skype software from his condo in Palm Springs, Calif. Today’s Question: Should public officials be allowed to cast votes remotely? “My thinking is, it’s the 21st century; let’s do this,” said Cohasset Read more →
The University of Minnesota fired men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith after he led the team to a better record than his recent predecessors. He will be given a buyout of more than $2.5 million. Today’s Question: Do you agree with the decision to fire Tubby Smith? Head coach Tubby Smith of the Minnesota Golden Gophers Read more →
TV time for children younger than 2 has been discouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics for decades. A recent study suggests that screen time leads to lower psychological ability. But some parents, educators and a growing industry of educational app makers are making a case to allow young children touch-screen time. Today’s Question: Should Read more →
A 12-year-old boy was arrested this week after police say he falsely reported a shooting at New Prague Middle School. Some dozen law enforcement agencies responded to the incident only to find that it was a false alarm. Students were sent home for the rest of the day. Today’s Question: What is the appropriate punishment Read more →
There are many challenges in the Middle East. Egypt, Tunisia and Libya have all shed themselves from dictators but their future remains unclear. Turmoil in Yemen continues. Meanwhile, Iran presses forward with it’s nuclear program. Today’s Question: What should President Barack Obama’s priority be as he continues his first visit to Israel?
Ten years ago this week the U.S. invaded Iraq under the pretext that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction. The pretext turned out not to be true, but was used to justify a pre-emptive attack. Today’s Question: Are there conditions that can be satisfied to justify a pre-emptive military strike?
The U.S. invaded Iraq 10 years ago this week. The Iraq War led to the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqis voted in free elections in 2005. The U.S. suffered more than 4,480 deaths and 32,000 wounded during the Iraq War. Iraq Body Count estimates more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians died. Congressional researchers estimate that more Read more →