Posts by Chris Steller

Shortly before health care reform passed the House Saturday night, Rep. Michele Bachmann rose to speak against the bill wearing a Hawaiian lei around her neck.

Taking his opening shot in the state that hosts the nation’s earliest presidential caucus, Gov. Tim Pawlenty could hardly miss by appealing to “Heartland values” that Minnesota shares with neighboring Iowa. But other parts of his Saturday-night speech to Republicans in Des Moines seemed slightly off-target.

The U.S. House of Representative has passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, by a vote of 220-215. In dramatic late-night action Saturday, the bill passed with two votes more than the minimum needed — and one of those votes was from a Republican: Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana.

In brief, back-to-back appearances, U.S. Reps. John Kline and Jim Oberstar delivered diametrically opposed statements on the floor of the House of Representatives Saturday night during the historic debate over national health care reform.

There’s word that “Stunning” Steve King, congressman from Iowa, wants a Saturday reprise of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “Superbowl of Freedom” rally against health care reform. Before a second “House Call” protest blurs memories of the original, here is a sampling of reportage from a pair of eyewitnesses to Bachmann’s achievement on Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation Thursday that would encourage states to examine untested rape kits for DNA evidence. The bill would also provide for more health workers trained to administer rape-kit exams, particularly for Native American women.

In headlining Thursday’s “House call” protest against health-care reform, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann was going rogue on her own party’s leaders, who had hoped to focus the day’s attention on their own 12-hour, online health-care “town hall.”

“As one of my good friends and supporters, I want you to know that today we filed the paperwork to create the R.T. Rybak for Governor Committee.” And so Minneapolis’ newly re-elected mayor at long last made his intentions clear — though murky syntax made it sound like he is one of his own good friends [...]

The Minnesota Independent’s sister site, the Washington Independent, was on the scene Thursday for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” protest against health care reform at the U.S. Capitol.

Last year a website was created to answer the then-burning question, “Is Barack Obama a Muslin?” This morning, news outlets across the land carried the headline: “Woman first Muslin to win Opus Prize.” The Minnetonka-based Opus Prize Foundation awarded $1 million to Aicha Ech Channa, president of the Morocco Association for Women’s Solidarity, who is, [...]