MORNING EDITION

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gave an interview to NewsMax. The resulting story, by David A. Patten, says: “On Friday, Gov. Walker visited Newsmax and its CEO, Christopher Ruddy, at the company's West Palm Beach, Fla., headquarters. In his exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV — part of a national tour to drum up national support for his dramatic fight against public unions who are seeking recall elections of Walker allies in the Wisconsin legislature — the Republican governor says there is no way any legitimate recount would result in a victory for Prosser's liberal opponent. But that doesn't remove the threat. Under Wisconsin law organized labor can get a recount if they're working to pay for it. Walker says unions hope to replicate in Wisconsin ‘what was pulled off with Senator [Al] Franken in Minnesota.’ He promises, though, that Republicans will be on guard against any post-election ballot shenanigans.”

Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel files a story breaking down the numbers — and inherent divisions — in last Tuesday’s Supreme Court vote: “Tuesday's election was an imperfect barometer for 2012, 2014 or even the legislative recall elections to come. It was a nonpartisan election for the judiciary, not a partisan contest for political office. Even though the turnout was extraordinary for an April election (34% of voting-age adults rather than a more typical turnout of 20%), that's in no way comparable to typical midterm (50%) or presidential (70%) turnout in Wisconsin. It may be comparable to turnout levels in a legislative recall election, but we don't know how reliably a Prosser or Kloppenburg vote last week predicts a Republican or Democratic vote in a recall contest. ‘We don't know what independent (voters) did on Tuesday. We don't know if they even voted. My gut is we had a party and only invited the partisans,’ said Ken Goldstein, political scientist at the University of Wisconsin.”

I’m starting to lose count on the number of suits filed to stop cell phone towers. Today is the start of a trial to stop AT&T from putting up one that would beam into the BWCA. Abby Simons’ Strib story says: “The tower will spoil the purity of the wilderness and endanger birds in the 1.1 million-acre wilderness in the heart of Minnesota's Superior National Forest, argues a conservation group that focuses solely on protecting the Boundary Waters. AT&T counters that, even if occasionally spotted from inside the Boundary Waters, the tower is vital for public safety to provide cellular phone service to residents and visitors. Opening arguments are set for Monday in the case, in which Minneapolis-based Friends of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is suing AT&T to prevent the construction of the tower on a ridge east of Ely near the Fernberg Trail.”

Tough crowd. When they start burning the Jesus statues, you know you’re dealing with a special breed. Will Aschenmacher of the PiPress writes:“The Jesus statue the St. Paul City Council recently decided must be moved from its perch overlooking downtown St. Paul was damaged by fire early Sunday morning. Tuan Pham, who ordered the 7-foot-tall white marble statue from his native Vietnam, and his son Huy Pham believe the fire was an instance of arson. Tuan Pham's family came to his home at 231 Isabel Street West for dinner Saturday night. Everything was fine when they left around 11:30 p.m., but when Tuan Pham's wife woke up at 6 a.m. Sunday, small piles of wood had been stashed around the statue's base and lit on fire. A burned aerosol can and matches were found nearby.” Of course, maybe it was a sacrificial thing ...
 
The president and CEO of Allina floats some ideas on improving health care in Minnesota. In a Strib commentary Kenneth Paulus suggests, among other ideas: “4) Allow flexibility: Not every caregiver or hospital in the state can take on the significant financial risk of an assigned Medicaid population. If we want to maintain the economic health and stability of our rural hospitals and providers, they should be allowed to remain in a fee-for-service payment environment. They are simply too small or see too few patients to take on insurance risk. 5) Reduce administrative costs for Medicaid programs: The state does not possess the systems needed to manage a high-risk population. Eligibility systems, claims processing and related services should be outsourced to the private insurance industry.” I’m certain Mr. Paulus is prepared for the intense skepticism phrases like “remain in fee-for-service” and “outsourced to the private insurance industry” inspire.

Veteran PiPress columnist Ruben Rosario files a story on him being diagnosed with incurable cancer: “I worry that my youngest should be joyous on his ‘golden’ birthday rather than lamenting about his father's plight. I worry how to tell my elderly mother, who was widowed less than two years ago and knows only that they are testing my blood for a disorder. Don't want to add more than what she's carrying. I am looking forward to some things, though. I want badly to return to work. I'm like a caged animal if home for too long. I want to find out exactly how good my insurance plan really is. I'm now a member of a club I never wanted to belong to, but I'm curious who the other members are, what the dues are and whether I can provide support. But what I really want to know is if I can lick this thing or at least keep it at bay long enough to be called Grandpa someday.” Hang tough, Ruben. You’ve got karma on your side.

Jeremy Herb of the Strib takes a shot at saying something fresh about campaigns on social media. This part is kind of interesting: “What online campaigning will do is keep potential supporters engaged. Perhaps most important, the Web lets users take an active role in a campaign, offering direct feedback and helping recruit others. Pawlenty's website has a feature called ‘Pawlenty Action’ that rewards supporters for recruiting friends and posting their support for Pawlenty on Facebook. ‘The idea is that there's a bandwagon effect, and when you see that your friend has done something, you're more likely to do it,’ said Vincent Harris, a GOP digital consultant who worked for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Iowa in 2008.” Right. But is that theory or reality?

Good read from PiPress music critic Ross Raihala, asking musicians and celebs, “What was the first record you bought?” A sample: “ ‘I never bought records. I bought cassettes. The first one was Billy Joel's 'An Innocent Man.' My older sister Rachel paid for half of it. I remember we had to choose between that or 'Cargo' by Men at Work. We only had enough money for one. The first cassette I purchased by myself was '1984' by Van Halen, which I already had a dubbed copy of, but the end of 'House of Pain' was cut off. The other side of the tape was a friend of mine doing an impersonation of Paul Harvey for 45 minutes’. — Chuck Klosterman, author of "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs."

Blogger Jeff Rosenberg at MnPublius looks at what nearly happened in the federal budget fight, with all the culture war riders tossed in for bad measure, and writes: “We got some good news last night: The government isn't going to be shutting down. But we also got some equally bad news. The Republicans weren’t able to restore Americans’ liberty by ending the tyranny of funding for women's health. Yes, it’s a sad day for America. I’m ashamed to report that we still live in a nation where it’s possible for women to easily get cancer screening, family planning assistance, and STD testing. Our Founding Fathers would be appalled. Let’s not forget, after all, that the Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal; strict constructionists know they never intended to give women rights. And I’d love someone to tell me how providing funding for womens’ health could possibly promote the ‘general welfare of the United States.’ This is a gross violation of our Constitution.”