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Star Wars III: Return of the Attack of the Phantom SpoilerAs April gives way to May and the final days tick down, one question preoccupies millions of highly trained technical minds around the globe: does George Lucas still have it, or will Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith be yet another example of beautiful cinematography and brilliant special effects in the service of pedestrian acting and an infantile story line? While I realize I'm in danger of jeopardizing decades of close personal friendship here, I also believe that in time George will thank me for telling you all...

Only a gun could have stopped Jeff Weise MARK YOST, St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted on Tue, Mar. 29, 2005 In the week since teenage gunman Jeff Weise walked into Red Lake Senior High School and killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before killing himself, the usual voices from the usual precincts have been asking: What can we do to keep this from happening next time? How about arming security guards, as well as a handful of administrators and teachers who volunteer to be properly trained?I can hear the gasps echoing from Mac-Groveland to Crocus Hill. But...

With hunting season in full swing, we thought it'd be a good time to look at an issue that has long languished in the Legislature and is sure to come up in the next session: gun range protection. Former city dwellers who have moved to the country have learned — GASP! — there's a shooting range down the road. Some have filed nuisance suits against the ranges, which, we'd point out, were there long before the encroaching neighbors. Range owners have been trying to get legislation through the Legislature in anticipation of more problems as formerly rural areas become increasingly...

Kerry taunts tied to school fight Three students face charges in zoo parking-lot beating BY TAMMY J. OSEID Pioneer Press Three zoo school students face charges for using a bat to beat another student who taunted them about being John Kerry supporters days after the contentious election. The 17-year-old Apple Valley victim was assaulted Thursday in a Minnesota Zoo parking lot near Apple Valley's School of Environmental Studies, better known as the zoo school. Chad McKay, also 17, stood over the victim attempting to protect him. "It's a good thing to see young people interested and excited about politics," said...

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura ripped President Bush on Thursday for mismanaging the war in Iraq, for burdening future generations with a huge national debt, and for blah blah blah blah blah... (kindly excuse the hasty and sloppy scan)

In response to email from a constituent, State Representative Rebecca Otto (DFL-Stillwater) demonstrates her amazing ability to straddle an issue: From: Rebecca Otto Sent: Monday, May 03, 2004 3:46 PM Subject: RE: the Shooting Range Zoning Protection Bill--HF327 and SF462 Thank you for writing. I used to live right near the Oakdale Gun Club, and they were a good neighbor, and I know others that are members that love the facility. I want to see gun clubs continue to exist in our communities, and others such as hunt clubs. I had the opportunity to speak to the owner of Wild...

9/11 silver bullet There is a "silver bullet" for 9/11. President Reagan signed an executive order in 1981 that required "cost-benefit justification for new federal regulations." Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush endorsed this policy. Result: America's airports got "lowest cost security," and 19 murderers got through security with box cutters, an item banned by FAA in 1994 from secure areas. Billie Vincent was top security executive at the Federal Aviation Administration in 1991. He wanted FAA to limit carryon luggage to one small bag. He said, "We can make the haystack smaller or the needle larger." If FAA had followed...

The Saint Paul Police Department needs your help in identifying the suspect involved in the homicide on an innocent victim. The suspect is shown in the photographs below. The facts are as follows: On 02-20-04, shortly after 1:00 AM, the suspect re-entered Arnellia's Bar, located at 1183 University Avenue in St. Paul. The suspect fired a handgun multiple times, killing an innocent bystander. The suspect is described as a black male, 5-7, 180 lbs. The suspect was wearing a gray t-shirt with NBA logo on the chest and blue jeans with NBA patches. If you have any information, please contact...

CAPITOL BRIEFINGOn Thursday: A bill that would make it more difficult to close or relocate shooting ranges passed the (Minnesota) House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee. What's going on: The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tom Hackbarth, said he introduced the legislation because he's concerned that local governments are poised to shut down existing shooting ranges. Under his proposal, local governments must foot the bill for noise abatement and range location, and range owners would enjoy a degree of immunity from all but the most severe noise and safety litigation. Next step: The bill moves to the House floor. More information:...

I had not expected to be involved in this year's presidential campaign. But almost daily my name is mentioned by some commentator, usually as a warning of what candidates should avoid. One gets the impression that the campaign of 1972 is the only one whose shortcomings are worth noting. Is the central lesson of '72 that George McGovern lost everywhere except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia? If so, what is the lesson of 1984, when my friend Walter Mondale lost everywhere except Minnesota and the District? Is the lesson of these campaigns that Midwestern liberals can never reach the...

Rush Limbaugh's Comeback Strategy As a scandal, the Limbaugh Drug Affair has a reek suspiciously similar to that of the nude photos of Dr. Laura that surfaced when she became too outspoken a critic of Bill Clinton. Nonetheless the story is out there, the critical damage is already done, and since it's almost impossible to fight the kind of overwhelming schadenfreude that is now coursing through the American body politic, Limbaugh would be well advised to skip that battle and go straight to the second principle of political redemption: Americans love a repentent loser. Or to put it in more...

Posted on Thu, Oct. 02, 2003 Shooting puts focus on gun shows BY AMY MAYRON Pioneer Press The antique revolver Susan Berkovitz allegedly used Monday to kill her cousin and wound a lawyer was purchased at a gun show, where she didn't need a permit to buy it. At such shows, unlicensed firearms dealers can sell weapons to anyone who attends with minimal to no paperwork and no background check. Licensed dealers must follow federal guidelines requiring a full criminal background check before making a sale. Gun-show sales are controversial, with federal legislation frequently proposed that would require everyone who...

Okay kids, it's contest time. Who do you think will be the first reporter, columnist, or televised talking head to claim that the bombing of the U.N. building in Baghdad was actually the work of the CIA, the U.S. military, or maybe even the personal handiwork of George W. Bush himself? And no fair guessing Al Jazheera. That one is too easy.

<p>On the eve of Minnesota's entry into a new era of expanded handgun rights, Republican leaders pushed Tuesday for a one-word change in the rules for barring legal pistol-packers from private property.</p> <p>But DFLers rejected the fix as more than a minor technical correction and repeated their calls to repeal -- lock, stock and barrel -- the law that will make permits to carry handguns in public available to many more people.</p>

Q: Who currently has oil field development contracts with the government of Iraq that are worth an estimated 60- to 75 billion dollars? A: The French petrochemical giant, ELF. Q: What is the estimated value of these contracts if the current Iraqi government falls? A: Zilch. Zippo. Nada. Nuthin' Q: What two American gas station chains are wholly owned subsidiaries of ELF? A: Total and Fina. Q: The next time that you need to gas up your car, where are you going to stop?

With a little effort, I collected the following information from various U.N. web sites. Please feel free to forward or use this information as you please: In 1996, five years after the end of Desert Storm, the U.N. authorized the "Oil for Food" program to permit Iraq to sell oil in exchange for hard currency. The total revenues from these oil sales were to be used as follows: 66.7% to purchase food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid (This was later raised to 72%.) 25% to the Compensation Fund for war reparations 2.2% to pay U.N. administrative costs 0.8% to support...

For weeks the usual assortment of news commentators and offical spokepersons have been telling us that these sniper shootings: are clearly the work of a lone white male middle-aged Christian nutcase have nothing to do with the Religion O' Peace(tm) are proof that we need to close the gun show loophole are proof that we need to ban sniper rifles are all the fault of the NRA and finally, demonstrate conclusively that the public will only be safe when only the military and the police are allowed to have weapons Today of course we learn that the alleged shooter is...

It's election season again, and once again Republicans all over the country are busy snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I've been watching the campaign ads, both regional and national -- I couldn't avoid 'em if I wanted to -- and listening to the debates, and time and time again I hear Republican candidates making the same fundamental mistakes. Dammit, people, we are not the Discount Democrats! We are not here to promise the voters "everything the Democrats can give you, but at a lower price!" We will never win by presenting ourselves as the WalMart of American politics!...

This whole thing has a certain Ted Kasc-- Kaczn-- Unabomber quality to it. Ten bucks says that if and when the shooter is found, he (or she) turns out to be some demented animal rights activist who is out hunting humans "to make you understand how wild animals feel."

Enron is not Bush's Whitewater Commentary: It will be worse By David Callaway, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 12:10 AM ET Jan. 10, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - The Enron Corp. debacle won't be President Bush's Whitewater. It will be much worse. Unlike the financial sideshow over a twenty-year-old failed land deal that dogged the Clinton administration, the collapse of the nation's largest energy trader into the nation's largest bankruptcy last month is set to go straight to the heart of exposing what is wrong with the way the Bush administration is conducting itself these days. Once a buyer for Enron's ...