The First Family continued their annual tradition of service on the day before Thanksgiving at Martha’s Table, a community based non-profit organization in Northwest DC. The Obama Family handed out turkeys, pumpkin pies, stuffing and other groceries to families of the Martha’s Table community.
Giving thanks and working together are the themes of PResident Obama’s Thanksgiving day message. He says that working together as one people – as Americans — we can overcome the challenges currently facing our nation.
“And we will. But we won’t do it as any one political party. We’ve got to do it as one people. And in the coming weeks and months, I hope that we can work together, Democrats and Republicans and Independents alike, to make progress on these and other issues.
That’s why, next week, I’ve invited the leadership of both parties to the White House for a real and honest discussion – because I believe that if we stop talking at one another, and start talking with one another, we can get a lot done.
For what we are called to do again today isn’t about Democrats or Republicans. It’s not about left or right. It’s about us. It’s about what we know this country is capable of. It’s about what we want America to be in this new century.”
President Obama Thanksgiving address-captioned video and transcript.
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The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board has cleared the way for the Tom Emmer and Mark Dayton campaigns to easily donate money to their own recount funds. The Board ruled that such donations are not campaign expenses, and therefor do not count towards the limits on campaign expenditures. The ruling came during an emergency meeting of Minnesota’s Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board. The “Dayton Transition Fund” had requested the opinion.
The board’s opinion said:
The Board recognizes that while important to an election, a recount effort happens after voting in the election has concluded. A recount of ballots will ascertain the result of the election, but it will not influence that election.
The Board concludes that a contribution to a fund established to support a candidate’s participation in a recount of ballots affecting that candidate’s election should be, and hereby is, recognized as a noncampaign disbursement.
This is an audio feed of today’s vote:
All four of the board members present voted to accept the advisory opinion.
This morning at the State Capitol, State Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Newport, other lawmakers, and members of the Minnesota law enforcement community will discuss legislation to classify synthetic marijuana as a Schedule I drug and make it illegal to sell or possess in Minnesota. The news conference will feature Stacy Huberty, a Hastings resident whose son was hospitalized after smoking synthetic marijuana in June. Synthetic marijuana is often known as “Spice” or “K2” and is packed and sold as herbal incense. It is made up of herbs and synthetic compounds that are similar to THC, the natural chemical found in marijuana. However, the synthetic drug produces much stronger and more dangerous side effects, including heart palpitations, respiratory issues, vomiting, agitation, panic attacks and delusions.
President Obama pardons the national Thanksgiving turkey — an annual presidential tradition. “Let me say for the record that it is good to stop at least one shellacking this November” said the President.
Obama Pardons National Thanksgiving Turkeys – Transcript … Continue Reading
The Minnesota State Canvassing Board met for a marathon session yesterday at the State Office Building in St. Paul, and the day featured intellectual fistfights over complex legal matters between Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson and attorneys Eric Magnuson and Marc Elias, who are representing Republican Tom Emmer and Democrat Mark Dayton, respectively, in the post-election gubernatorial showdown. Dayton currently leads Emmer by 8,770 votes — a figure which has hardly budged since Nov. 2. Magnuson continued pushing for reconciliation of ballots counted, even after the state Supreme Court struck down his team’s challenge, whereas Elias urged the Secretary of State’s office to publish the total running count during next week’s recount, including the ballots that are contested
In the midst of it all, The UpTake interviewed Magnuson and Elias, and analyzed the legal proceedings with the help of MinnPost’s Jay Weiner, who literally wrote the book on the last great Minnesota recount.
Today Minnesota lawmakers and law enforcement will call for a ban on synthetic marijuana during a 10 a.m. press conference at the State Capitol.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means that today is the busiest travel day of the year for Americans. The Transportation Security Administration’s intrusive body scanners and recent pat downs have prompted a “National Op-Out Day.” The UpTake has learned of a protest scheduled for 6:30 p.m. this evening at the Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport’s Lindbergh Terminal 1, near Houlihan’s Restaurant.
Get your fill of turkey and stuffing tomorrow (or whatever delicious morsels appear on your table), and we’ll see you back here bright and early Monday morning for our live coverage of the gubernatorial recount!
The UpTake’s Craig Stellmacher interviews Mark Dayton attorney Marc Elias and Tom Emmer attorney Eric Magnuson following today’s Minnesota State Canvassing Board hearings.
MinnPost’s Jay Weiner, an expert on Minnesota electoral recounts given that he wrote the book, “This is Not Florida,” about Al Franken’s triumph in the 2008 Senatorial recount, speaks to The UpTake during today’s state canvassing board meetings.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie holds a news conference following today’s Minnesota State Canvassing Board meeting over next week’s gubernatorial recount.
Now that the state-mandated recount has been cleared to begin next Monday, with Dayton holding an 8,755-vote lead, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board will meet today at 10 a.m. to discuss its plan for the upcoming recount. The UpTake will air the proceedings live from the State Office Building in St. Paul, and we expect also to broadcast a press conference afterward with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
Playback of this morning’s session below:
To view our live blog in a pop-up window, Click Here
Mark Dayton’s recount team wants to avoid a repeat of the 2008 recount ballot challenge war.
During the 2008 recount of the Norm Coleman and Al Franken US Senate race, the two sides engaged in a ballot challenge war. Republican Coleman’s team challenged thousands of ballots for Al Franken, which depressed Franken’s vote total — giving the impression he was far behind. The DFL Franken team responded by also challenging hundreds of ballots. Most of the challenges proved to be frivolous.
The Franken recount team based its internal count on how the election judge at the recount table originally “called” the vote. That tally allowed Franken Attorney Marc Elias to predict the outcome of the recount with a margin of error of less than 50 votes out of 2.9 Million cast.
It became obvious during the 2008 recount that the Coleman team was initially using challenges to rally public support (and funding) for its candidate by making it appear he was leading.
In 2010, Dayton’s recount team doesn’t want to play that game and is asking Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to help put a stop to it by reporting the totals from the election judge’s “call at the table.”
Changes made after the 2008 recount already make it harder to challenge a ballot. No longer can a ballot be challenged for stray pen marks, which was the reasoning behind many of the challenges.
A letter from Dayton recount attorney Charlie Nauen sent to Secretary of State Ritchie on Monday says that “granting our request will result in no additional burden because the information necessary to report the ‘call at the table’ will be collected pursuant to current draft Procedure No. 11, which requires that the reasons for the challenges, including the initial call at the table be recorded on the challenged ballot.”
The Dayton letter requests that the matter be discussed when the canvassing board meets today at 10am to review the totals from all of Minnesota’s elections, including the Governor’s race where Mark Dayton still leads by 8,755 votes.
Dayton Campaign Letter To Secretary of State
The First Family continued their annual tradition of service on the day before Thanksgiving at Martha’s Table, a community based non-profit organization in Northwest DC.
President Obama says he will meet with Republican and Democratic leaders next week for a “real and honest discussion”.
President Obama pardons the national Thanksgiving turkey — an annual presidential tradition.
At least 80% of your premium dollars must go to health care, or your insurance company will owe you a refund.
In Lisbon, Portugal, President Obama talks about the transition to Afghanistan troops taking the lead on their own security. That transition will begin in 2011 and is expected to be completed by 2014.
U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) introduces the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), which protects students from harassment, bullying, and violence based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
There is enough gridlock, enough bickering. If there is one issue that should unite us – as Republicans and Democrats – it should be our national security. — President Obama on START treaty
President Obama’s decision to bailout and restructure General Motors was an unpopular decision at the time, but the numbers show it has paid off with jobs, a stable economy and now a higher net worth for GM than it has had in 10 years.
President Obama speaks about General Motors, which is once again a publicly traded company.
Former President George H.W. Bush is one of 15 people President Obama named today to receive the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
State Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Newport, other lawmakers, and members of the Minnesota law enforcement discuss legislation to classify synthetic marijuana as a Schedule I drug and make it illegal to sell or possess in Minnesota.
Lawyers rehash the arguments they made in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court today.
Mark Dayton and Yvonne Prettner Solon meet with Senator Tom Bakk and Representative Paul Thissen to discuss legislative priorities for the next session.
Sarah Walker, CEO of 180 Degrees Inc., discusses the importance of re-enfranchising ex-felons, and returning people to the community after they have served their sentence and probation.
U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) introduces the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), which protects students from harassment, bullying, and violence based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
Three of the nine Minneapolis peace activists whose homes were raided by the FBI on Sept. 24 received notice of new subpoenas to appear before a Grand Jury in Chicago some time after Thanksgiving.
This is a lively conversation about the state of judicial elections in Minnesota and the proposed solutions at the Humphrey Institute.
A showdown is in the making between the government and three Twin Cities anti-war activists targeted by the FBI. Tracy Molm, Anh Pham and Sarah Martin have received word from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that that they will be called to appear in front of a Chicago Grand Jury. Groups supporting the three plan to hold a news conference today at 4:30 pm at the Minneapolis Federal Building.
Watch our full-day coverage of the “Give to the Max Day” telethon in St. Paul. We’ll be featuring Minnesota’s nonprofits, on the air, from 8 a.m. until midnight. Please, donate to The UpTake during “Give to the Max Day” and help us reach our fund-raising goal of $7,500.
Congressman Erik Paulsen, who represents Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, received 7,000 signed petitions from Twin Cities area workers pleading for an extension of the federal unemployment benefits that are set to expire Dec. 1.
The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board has cleared the way for the Tom Emmer and Mark Dayton campaigns to easily donate money to their own recount funds.
The UpTake’s Craig Stellmacher interviews Mark Dayton attorney Marc Elias and Tom Emmer attorney Eric Magnuson following today’s Minnesota State Canvassing Board hearings.
MinnPost’s Jay Weiner, an expert on Minnesota electoral recounts given that he wrote the book, “This is Not Florida,” about Al Franken’s triumph in the 2008 Senatorial recount, speaks to The UpTake during today’s state canvassing board meetings.
Now that the state-mandated recount has been cleared to begin next Monday, with Dayton holding an 8,755-vote lead, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board will meet today at 10 a.m. to discuss its plan for the upcoming recount.
In 2010 Dayton’s recount team doesn’t want to play the challenge game and is asking the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to help put a stop to it by reporting the totals from the election judge’s “call at the table”.
Justice was lightning fast and brief for the Tom Emmer for Governor campaign. “Petition denied” was the two word opinion issued by Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea.
Today at 2:30 p.m., the Minnesota Supreme Court will acquiesce to the petition the Republican Party filed last week and hold hearings to examine alleged errors and omissions regarding the number of ballots counted in the Nov. 2 election.
A press release today from the Dayton recount team announced that it was filing a brief with the Minnesota Supreme Court to oppose the Republican petition. The Dayton team also announced that election protection attorney Marc Elias was being added to the ticket.
Ramsey County today urged the Minnesota Supreme Court to dismiss the gubernatorial recount petition filed by the state’s Republican Party earlier this week that sought to correct alleged errors and omissions regarding the number of ballots counted in the Nov. 2 election.
The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State will provide media with a live video presentation of the recount training for election officials. The training will be provided by Gary Poser, state elections director.
Diana Bratlie has been a paid consultant for Republican Congressman John Kline, and an unreliable witness.
Moving with relative lightning speed, Minnesota’s Supreme Court will take up the issue raised by the Republican Party in Minnesota’s Gubernatorial race.
Ken Martin–DFL candidate for Governor Mark Dayton’s Recount Director on a GOP petition to the MN Supreme Court.
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton and Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb today announced that gubernatorial hopeful Tom Emmer and the state Party have filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court asking the court to ensure that reconciliation has occurred in each of Minnesota’s 4,136 precincts.
This afternoon at 3 p.m. Mark Dayton’s Recount Director Ken Martin will brief the press on the latest recount efforts and the next steps. Dayton currently leads Republican Tom Emmer by 8,755 votes, with a state-wide recount scheduled to begin next week.
It’s not abnormal for Pawlenty’s brain trust to leave him with only a month and a half remaining before he is scheduled to vacate the governor’s mansion. But this all begs the question, what happens if the gubernatorial recount between Mark Dayton and Tom Emmer drags into 2011, and Pawlenty is forced to remain in St. Paul beyond Jan. 3?
At a Mark Dayton recount team press conference at the State Capitol earlier today, attorney David Lillehaug called the GOP effort “a fishing expedition” and insinuated that the Republicans were “trying to find the ball” in their effort to erase the 8,755-vote gap separating Dayton from Emmer.
Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Mark Dayton’s Recount Director Ken Martin will discuss the completion of all 87 county canvass board meetings and the next steps in the post-election process.
Today, representatives from Common Cause Minnesota (Mike Dean), the League of Women Voters (Laura Fredrick Wang), and the Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota (Mark Halvorson) announced their intent to observe the impending 2010 gubernatorial recount.
Are Republicans planning to delay the recount process so that current Governor Tim Pawlenty remains in the State Capitol long enough to team up with newly elected Republican majorities in the State House and Senate to pass non-emergency legislation.
A panel discussion yesterday at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute led by moderator Larry Jacobs examined a likely 2010 gubernatorial recount through the prism of the 2008 recount.
When pressed Tuesday with the question, “Who’s in charge — you or the party?” Tom Emmer responded: “I’m absolutely going to be involved, but there’s going to be more people than just one ultimately.”
A possible 2010 recount seen through the prism of the 2008 recount was examined in a panel discussion yesterday at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.
