MAHNOMEN, MINN. — The numbers came as no surprise to Pat Moran, manager of a substance-abuse program on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.

The DNC wouldn't seem like a friendly venue for a corporate health-care behemoth. But a UnitedHealth executive garnered some of the loudest applause at a forum on health-care reform, according to BusinessWeek.

Across the river from where "artists" of one sort or another are clogging streets for the RNC is an underground movement designed to empower those who've been disenfranchised from the conventional system.

The circumstances couldn't be better for an incandescent performance by these explosively feisty, Grammy-award winning thrash rockers. They were in their pissed-off prime during the Clinton era, splintering into semi-retirement right around the time the U.S. Supreme Court was ruling on Bush vs. Gore. Consigning themselves to a smattering of gigs during two terms of Bush seems like a missed opportunity — or unbashed piñata — for band and die-hard fans alike.

The Clintons have spoken. Obama is their guy, and the media is debating whether they truly passed the torch or just temporarily bestowed their benediction on Barack. Cynical if not smart money is on the latter. But as with much of the drama at the Democratic  convention, the Clinton-Obama rift has something more teach us about the Democratic Party philosophy.

Lost in Eddie Guardado's return to Minnesota is that the Twins cut Mike Lamb loose to make room for him on the roster. Signed to a two-year, $6.6 million contract this winter, Lamb is still due around $3.5 million for the remainder of this season and all of next year. Between the $3.5 million still owed Lamb and the money due to both Craig Monroe and Juan Rincon after they were released, the Twins have eaten approximately $6.5 million in dead money.