At MPR, Mark Zdechlik reports: “On Sunday, a spokesman said Sen. Al Franken will not resign following allegations of sexual misconduct. Franken has kept a low media profile in the wake of the allegations. Staff said he’s spending time in Washington with family and he will stay there through the Thanksgiving holiday. They said Franken is doing ‘a lot of reflecting.’”
Here’s one place Franken won’t be appearing. In The Hollywood Reporter, Kimberly Nordyke writes: “Al Franken has been edited out of PBS’ upcoming broadcast of ‘David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize’ amid sexual harassment allegations. … The special is scheduled to air nationally Monday at 8 p.m. ET. ‘PBS will air an updated David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize on Monday,’ the network on Sunday told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. ‘Sen. Al Franken participated in the event, but will not appear substantially in the PBS program. PBS and WETA, the producing station, felt that the inclusion of Sen. Franken in the broadcast at this time would distract from the show’s purpose as a celebration of American humor.’”
The latest in the density wars. The Pioneer Press’ Frederick Melo reports: “A group of St. Paul neighbors say they’ve obtained enough signatures to require a public referendum on the future of the former Ford Motor Co. site in Highland Park. …Their ballot effort asks the public to repeal the St. Paul City Council’s Sept. 27 decision to rezone the 135-acre Ford plant property for medium-to-high density residential development. … Neighbors for a Livable St. Paul plans to present the petition to the city clerk’s at 10 a.m. Monday. Ramsey County Elections will review the signatures for validity.”
Speaking of St. Paul fights. Says Tad Vezner in the PiPress, “Over the past year, dozens of St. Paul businesses have been served with a slew of lawsuits alleging violations of the decades-old [Americans with Disabilities Act]. Critics have dubbed them ‘drive-by lawsuits’ — pointing out that numerous businesses on West Seventh Street were all hit by the same client. An attorney bringing many of the St. Paul suits, Patrick Michenfelder, has countered by calling his clients crusaders, advocating for a greater cause. … The businesses served over the past year include St. Paul institutions — Candyland, Cecil’s Deli, Mickey’s Dining Car, Red’s Savoy, Mancini’s, the Grand Ole Creamery, DeGidio’s, Shamrock’s and the Blue Plate Group, which owns the Highland Grill and Groveland Tap, … .”
Interesting piece by the Strib’s Matt McKinney on real estate in Rochester. “The residents of the Zumbro Ridge Estates mobile home park said they had no idea they could ever be anything but renters on their land until they were called to an urgent meeting last April. The private owner of the park would soon put it up for sale, they were told. Did the residents want to buy it? … The residents’ buyout of the park, made possible by a nonprofit agency that focuses on such deals, is the first of its kind in Rochester and illustrates how difficult it is to break into the local housing market, where a mushrooming affordable housing crisis threatens to slow growth and push more people into homelessness.”
A 3-year old. From the AP: “Authorities in western Minnesota say a 3-year-old child was accidentally shot and wounded by another child. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office says it received a 911 call about the shooting from a home in Deer Creek around 7:30 a.m. Sunday. The caller reported a 5-year-old had caused the accidental gunshot wound. The 3-year-old was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital before being sent to a Minneapolis hospital. Authorities say the victim is stable.”
An unwelcome find. The Strib’s Pat Pheifer writes: “A man walking his dog in Solomon Park in south Minneapolis on Sunday morning discovered a body in a wooded area. Police said the man’s dog led him about 40 yards into a small but dense woods, where he saw a body that was partly buried. The park is just north of Hwy. 62 and west of Cedar Avenue S., south of Lake Nokomis and close to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. … Investigators could not tell the age or say how long the body had been there.”
There goes the neighborhood. Finally, in the Strib, Paul Walsh writes, “University of Minnesota basketball coach Richard Pitino, under contract for several more years, recently locked up the purchase of a home in the Twin Cities. Richard and Jill Pitino sealed the deal in October on a home in Edina’s Parkwood Knolls neighborhood for $2.25 million, according to recently updated property records.” So coach, what you do is hit Patisserie Margo over on Valley View early on Saturday and Sunday. Great beignets.
What is right?
When you do harm to others, you admit harm was done, apologize to the person, and promise not to do it again. You do not deny you did harm, accuse those who make tge charges, threaten to sue them or try to make it a larger vendetta against you, unless you have strong evidence. If you learn nothing from the experience and continue to harm people the same way, you are not due any forgives.
Inappropriate sexual behavior is something that a lot of powerful men do, and not all of iOS with unwilling women. Obviously, there are plenty of unmarried women willing to have affairs with married men for a variety of reasons. And both men and women, when away from home, carry on and act out in ways they would find embarrassing to their loved ones. And for the first accuser, there are photos of her grabbing someone’s butt and bestowing a big kiss on a service man – tge excuse it was his birthday.
Those of us who live in glass houses should throw stones. Trump is the least qualified person in the country to pass judgment on anyone’s sexual behaviors.
Above I identified the best and worst way to deal with when a troublesome situation comes up. Then there is truth finding an punishment. Franken had agreed to a Senate investigation- not a partisan witch hunt, but an ethics investigation. Let that happen and any needed punishment follow. I think censure is the best option, particularly as Congress has no interest in examining Trump and hopes to avoid investigate Moore. If Franken runs again, gets the nomination and faced an opponent with less than a sterling record toward toward women, Minnesotab’s can make their choice.