Adrian Peterson to plead ‘not guilty’ as tweet goes viral

I think we already knew he sees nothing wrong with his parenting techniques. At ESPN, Ben Goessling says, “A day before Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson makes his first court appearance in Texas, it appears he will not consider pleading guilty to child abuse charges in an attempt to expedite his return to the playing field. Mary Flood, the spokesperson for Peterson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, told ESPN.com in an email that Peterson is committed to pleading not guilty … . Unless Hardin is able to secure a quick trial date and convince a jury that Peterson did not violate Texas’ corporal punishment law while disciplining his son, it likely means the running back’s 2014 season is over.”

Meanwhile, Darin Gantt at NBC’s ProFootballTalk.com says, “ … [Peterson’s] representatives said they were surprised to read claims of charity mismanagement in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, since the paper never contacted them. ‘I wish they’d have given us a call and given us a chance to clear up some of these misconceptions,’ said Bruce Richman, who runs the All Day Foundation now. Richman said he’s since talked to reporters from the Star Tribune, but detailed some of the errors in their story. … There were no denials about the six children out of wedlock, or the orgy (though it was noted that the funds for the hotel which housed the sex party came from Peterson’s personal account rather than foundation money). But last time we checked, neither sex nor its cause-and-effect relationship to the appearance of children was illegal or uncommon.”

For The Japan Times Dave Wiggins writes, “Where is the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) when you REALLY need it? That’s the question suspended Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson — accused of child abuse for disciplining his 4-year-old son with a switch — must be asking himself these days. Why isn’t the ACLU coming to his aid, Peterson is probably wondering, while his rights under federal law are being trampled?”

As you may have heard, Peterson attempted to defend himself again … via Twitter. It didn’t go so well. Marissa Payne of The Washington Post says, “As if Adrian Peterson didn’t have enough image problems lately (as well as legal ones), the benched Minnesota Viking posted a couple of tweets around midnight on Tuesday insulting the public, the media and, it seems, everyone everywhere ‘in-general’. … Die-hard Peterson fans quickly came to the star’s support, while his haters used the opportunity to insult him more. But perhaps the most useful criticism Peterson’s late-night tweets elicited was some public relations advice.” … which was to get off social media.

Yeah, because actions and inaction has consequences. Madeleine Baran at MPR writes, “Documents released Tuesday show the Catholic Diocese of Winona expects to file for bankruptcy because of clergy sex abuse lawsuits. Winona bishop John Quinn described the plan in a March 25, 2014 letter to the Vatican. He cited the Minnesota Child Victims Act, which created a three-year window for victims of child sex abuse to file lawsuits for older claims. The window expires in mid-2016.”

It’s happened elsewhere, why not here? KARE-TV’s Steve Eckert and A.J. Lagoe report, “KARE 11 News has learned the FBI is now interviewing two former workers at the Minneapolis VA who claim that patient records were falsified to cover up life-threatening delays. This, as KARE 11 uncovers millions of dollars in bonuses paid to top VA workers that may be based on phony records. Nearly $23 million in bonuses were awarded in the last seven years to directors and top executives at Veteran’s Administration hospitals, according to Department of Veterans Affairs’ financial data obtained by KARE 11 News. The bonuses were extra pay given to the highest ranking executives, in part for meeting scheduling standards at VA facilities across the country.”

It’s a water regulation issue up where there’s usually plenty of water. Says John Enger at MPR, “Residents along the series of lakes that create the border between the United States and Canada are at odds over water levels and their perspective appears to be based on where they live. High water levels are good for recreation but pose a flooding threat to people who live near the lake. For Kec, everything changed in 2000, when the International Joint Commission, the agency in charge of regulating lakes along the U.S.-Canadian border, changed how it manages water levels. The Namakan Chain of Lakes, Kabetogama and Rainy Lake are linked by three dams, two on the east end and a big hydroelectric dam to the west at International Falls that regulates water levels in the whole system.”

Clearly, it’s been party time at the Como Zoo. Says Peter Cox of MPR, “For the first time in its history, Como Zoo reports not one, but two of its gorillas are pregnant. The St. Paul zoo expects the births over the next four months will raise its total gorilla population to nine. That both females became pregnant at about the same time astonished zookeepers.” Why? Because they were home by 11?

Ohhh, boy … . KMSP-TV’s story on the collision on I-494 this morning says, “A wrong-way driver caused a crash late Tuesday morning on Interstate 494 near 34th Avenue. According to the State Patrol, a 76-year-old St. Paul woman was driving the wrong way on I-494, forcing a 23-year-old woman from St. Paul to crash her car into the concrete median. The wrong way driver then crashed head-on into a car driven by a 34-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minn., causing that vehicle to roll several times.”

Salon.com’s Elias Isquith interviews comedian Bill Maher on his campaign to un-elect Second District Rep. John Kline. Says Maher, “You know, we have a month, and I said on the show last night that the most surprising element of the whole thing to us — and, very sincerely, I’m saying this came as a shock — is that this guy, Kline, isn’t even making any appearances! We thought all this month we’d be trailing him, getting some footage, seeing what he had to say, using those words against him — there are no words! His whole campaign strategy is to hide and to not even remind people there’s an election. He doesn’t want people to know there’s an election. That should be seen as something horribly insulting to voters. So I hope that the local media will pick up the ball from there and try to find him. [Laughs] Is he in the witness protection program?”