The amendment, of course, was defeated, and the Minnesota Senate is expected to vote to legalize gay marriage this week.

The vote in the Minnesota House wasn’t even close — 75-59 with four Republicans voting in favor.

So what happened? It all began when a backlash against the Marriage and Voter ID amendments were widely credited with helping sweep Democrats into controlling both legislative chambers in the November election.

The high-powered Minnesota United For All Families that guided the “Vote No” campaign fell seamlessly behind the push for legalization. At the same time, legislators in other states, from Maine to Washington, approved legalization.

Polls continue to show younger voters overwhelming support for gay rights. While even a few months ago Minnesota legislators expressed skepticism a legalization effort would succeed, the measure seemed to acquire an organic momentum of its own.

Somehow this issue has taken center stage, and an air of inevitability has changed places with uncertainty, as Minnesota appears poised to legalize gay unions.

Now, the Minnesota Senate has revived the idea with a budget proposal to expand the sales tax to all clothing.

It’s proving a tough sell.

Senate Democrats had to try twice before they could pass their budget proposal this week. That’s more than embarrassing when you are in the majority.

Both the DFL-controlled House and the Governor say they are now opposed to the increase. Minnesotans have gotten used to not paying the tax.

Entire businesses, including many at the Mall of America, say their success is based on the lack of a clothing sales tax. With the DFL in control at the Capitol, you would think compromise would be easier. The fact that it’s not may haunt DFL House members and the Governor who are all up for re-election in 2014.

The Senate, which is not up until 2016 has more time for taxpayers to absorb any unpopular moves and an inability, at least so far, to set a coherent fiscal agenda.

And if the Senate, House and Governor can’t agree on a tax plan, I am sure Republicans will be quick to point out that Democrats have no one to blame but themselves.

As Rhode Island legislators voted to legalize gay marriage this week, all five of the state’s Republican senators voted for the measure. A Republican group called the American Unity Fund is lobbying Republicans across the nation to support gay marriage.

Their argument is, in part, that the rights of gays to marry is synonymous with the Republican ideal of individual rights and less government intrusion on personal decisions.

Here in Minnesota this week, a prominent Republican voice, Brian McClung, former Deputy Chief of Staff to former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, voiced his support for gay marriage. The McClung endorsement also contained a stark warning to republicans.

In a newspaper editorial and several interviews McClung warned that if republicans do not do an about face on this issue they risk “losing an entire generation of voters.” McClung points out that polls show that Americans under 30 overwhelming support gay marriage.

The Republican votes in Rhode Island came as a surprise.

It’s not yet clear what will happen in the Minnesota legislature. But there are indications that if it doesn’t happen this year, it is likely just a matter of time.

The other big question is, of course, did they get help? Since 9/11, American intelligence has been able to shut down Al-Qaeda-backed plots on our soil, but the lone wolf terrorist remains a threat.

The murders of 13 people by Major Nidal Malik Hasan in 2009 at ForT Hood is just one example.

The horror of the Boston bombings lies in part because the two young men who were embraced by their new country, betrayed it. It remains to be seen if 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who while gravely wounded was willing to engage police in a second firefight, will offer up an explanation.

It is also unclear whether this young man will be able to offer a full insight into his brother’s mindset. Given American intelligence successes in recent years there is reason to be hopeful we will find out if they acted alone, but the elusive why is the explanation we all really need.

She is the only person other than Vice President Joe Biden who the President has ever allowed to give the weekly address. Whatever your view on the issue, at a personal level it was a gutsy and heartbreaking appeal.

This week, the U.S. Senate agreed to discuss the most limited of proposals to expand background checks. It is a measure that would expand checks to Internet sales and unlicensed dealers at gun shows. It also includes record keeping measures that could help law enforcement track weapons.

It does not include background checks for sales among family members or even neighbors. It is far from the universal background check proposal that the President originally called for. That would have expanded checks to the estimated 40 percent of sales that currently legally take place without a background check.

Polls show between 80 to 90 percent of Americans support expansion of checks.

Critics claim the polls fail to mention the added costs of administering the checks to both the buyer and to any government agency involved. Would the expansion of background checks have stopped the Sandy Hook massacre? No, it would not have.

The guns were bought by Adam Lanza’s mother.

Francine Wheeler’s argument is simple. If this limited measure stops one shooting, one injury, or one death, it’s worth it.

That part of what the defense is counting on as they introduce evidence and call witnesses that lay out the monstrous acts Schaffhausen has pleaded guilty to. But is he sane?

There are at times during the evidence where the testimony and his behavior in court and in a videotaped interrogation suggest someone who is seriously mentally ill. There is clear evidence he talked about killing the children months before the murders.

But there is one piece of evidence that stands out for me. It’s the phone call recorded by the River Falls Police Department in which an officer confronts Schaffhausen about the threat he had made earlier that day to his former wife.

Jessica Schaffhausen testified that day that Aaron had called her and told her “he wanted to come down there (River Falls), have her choose which child to kill and have her watch so that she feel the same pain she had caused him.”

In that phone call recorded by police, Schaffhausen denies the threat, rationalizes his harassment of his former wife and justifies his behavior. He tries to bully the female officer, demanding to know her marital status. He is manipulative and self-serving.

It is the only glimpse we have of Aaron Schaffhausen in his own words in an extended conversation. And in that moment, at least, he clearly knows right from wrong as he insists he is the one who is being victimized. He lies as he denies the horrible threat he made.

In that phone conversation he also insists he is not a threat to himself or others. Four months later he murdered his children.

It is this one though that I frankly have a difficult time reporting on. In the end I think it is the photographs of the three girls that get me most.

The photographs are remarkable. The girls seem to jump out of the still frames. Their beauty, their joy, their innocence, their individual personalities shine through. Amara, 11, Sophie, 8, and Cecilia, 5, are not just frozen in time in these images.

They live and their joy lives too. I am in awe of their mother Jessica, who was in court this week, who had the strength to sit in the same room with her ex-husband who has admitted to the horrific murders.

On an Easter weekend where spring finally seems to have arrived, I will be thinking about these three little girls who remind me to never take anyone I love for granted.

Margaret Schneider, 86, of St. Peter, who suffers from dementia, was charged with voter fraud because she voted twice in last Augusts’ primary.

Schneider says she simply forgot that that she had cast an absentee ballot four weeks earlier when she went to the polls.

In most crimes, prosecutors need to show there was criminal intent. Schneider says she never intended to vote twice, and her prior medical history of memory lapses supports her case. But the law she is being prosecuted under is different than most any other Minnesota criminal statute.

It requires that the prosecutor must file charges if there is any evidence that the law was violated. The prosecutor, Nicollet County Attorney Michelle Zehnder Fischer, said she had no choice.

The legislature is currently looking at changing this law to give prosecutors the kind of discretion they have in other cases. Courts and prosecutors have enough real crime to deal with.

Margaret Schneider, despite being charged with a felony, is no criminal.

As she puts, “you see what you remember when you are 86.”

The anguish over Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., and here in the Twin Cities with the Accent Signage shooting has fueled an unprecedented arms race.

Many of those racing to get permits are convinced tougher gun laws are around the corner. But the story at the Minnesota capital is one being seen around the nation: tougher gun control measures are stalling.

It appears gun rights advocates have the upper hand. They are those who will argue that with all those newly armed citizens we are a safer society.

Those that got permits had to pass background checks. But with that many permits issued there have to be people who slipped through the cracks. There are certainly people who are packing right now who are troubled, angry, and even mentally ill.

The arms race is not just — as some in the Twin Cities like to think — a rural phenomenon.

It is your next door neighbor in the suburbs, in the city, at the corner store. Minnesotans need to ask themselves if that is the way they want it.

Is an increasingly armed society one that is truly safer?

Or is it one that is far more dangerous, with more mass shootings on the horizon?

Just weeks ago it was the fiscal cliff, now we have the sequester and the possibility of $85 billion in cuts being phased in, starting March 1. The public opinion polls show Republicans are shouldering most of the blame for the standoff.

A recent Bloomberg poll found the President’s approval at 55 percent, his highest showing since 2009. Republicans, on the other hand, sit at just 35 percent, a drop of six points in just six months. Republican leaders say the President is exaggerating the immediate impact of the cuts, but it’s clear they will be felt from Head Start programs to airport delays to furloughed federal employees.

Polls also show the nation wants both parties to work together. If they did work together they would almost certainly be able to come to agreements that would eliminate fiscal crises occurring every few months. Then everyone’s approval ratings just might rise.

Twelve students were treated at the scene after being overcome by fumes from the mace that police had to use to subdue the crowd. And while it’s true the physical injuries could have been a lot worse, South High’s reputation has taken a serious blow. For students and staff that is no doubt a difficult thing to deal with.

As reporters were led into a news conference after the riot, an administrator asked if reporters knew that the school had two National Merit Scholars. Clearly there are good things about South.

A few weeks ago I did a story on a Somali language class at the school. The Somali students at South are learning Somali so they can speak to their parents, some of whom speak little English. The students I interviewed for the story were bright and positive. The students I spoke with after the riot were scared and angry.

The melee was captured on surveillance cameras. The students responsible for the worst violence will likely face criminal charges and almost certain school disciplinary actions. But the other kids need help, too. Community leaders were brought into the school the day after the riot to discuss tensions between different racial groups. Hopefully that is just the start.

The students and staff at South High deserve a comprehensive effort by the Minneapolis School District to make sure something approaching Thursday’s riot never happens again.

Reading the complaint against Schnickel illustrates how with a few clicks, someone can create an alternate online persona.

Even more frightening is how easy it is to meet, approach and befriend not just one or two, but potentially many young victims. Couple that with the unending insecurities of adolescence, and you have a minefield for exploitation.

The victims in the Schnickel case don’t remember a world without social media, a medium many young people their age use to pour out their most intimate secrets to friends. Some say parents must monitor their kids online activities. But is it really possible to monitor every online dealing an adolescent has?

I don’t think so. They, too, can create alternate accounts that can easily lose a watchful parent. Adolescence is a time for growing independence, and the notion of electronically eavesdropping, either openly or secretly, on all of a young person’s communications seems not just impractical, but intrusive.

I plan to have my 13-year-old read what Bradley Schnickel is accused of. I am not sure how else to drive home the reality that predators use the very tools kids live by to manipulate, deceive and abuse their unsuspecting and trusting victims.

It also raises the issue of how Hunt had time to access this information. At least 8,000 queries where while he was on-duty. Did he have that much free time at his job working for the state of Minnesota?

The fact that 11,000 of his queries were when he was off-duty raises the issue of what personal computer(s) he was using to access that information. The state says Hunt did not sell or disclose the information, but how does the state know that someone else did not access the information on outside computers Hunt used?

It is shocking that the accessing of private information by an off-duty employee did not immediately trigger some kind of alert. Consider the data state and local governments have on all of us and our families.

Between tax information, law suits, birth records, marriage and divorce records, our private lives are now recorded and stored held in multiple state data bases. Safeguards need to put in place, with greater oversight of those who have the kind of access that Hunt had.

If he did this for so long, on such a large scale without being detected, how many other breaches have there been? The state needs to act immediately to prevent this type of cyber-stalking that is a serious threat to all of us.

As the image and word of the incident spread to news outlets, Washburn went public saying the school was disciplining four students.

Students I spoke to say the four students involved did not intend to make a racist threat or statement, that is was simply in their words “a dumb prank.” Students seemed surprised at the attention, not only from the news media, but from the school as well.

While the Minneapolis School District is not commenting on the nature of the punishments, a half-dozen students told me one boys was expelled and at least two other students were suspended. All the students I spoke with thought the punishment was too harsh, that the incident was not really as “big a deal” as everyone was making it out to be.

What students I spoke with did not seem to understand is the historical context of such an image — that hanging a doll or figure in effigy has been seen for decades as a threat, a warning of some kind of act to come.

There seemed to be no understanding among the students I spoke with that this type of image could be a source of fear and intimidation. Obviously, I did not speak to every student. But that lack of context, that lack of perspective on this nation’s not-too-distant, and distinctly ugly past is troubling.

The school district said the students involved will be subjected to some form of restorative punishment. Hopefully that will include a history lesson for all students on why a black doll hanging by a rope is, in fact, a very big deal.

The National Shooting Sports Federation reported that 2.2 million background checks for gun purchases were performed last month, an increase of 58.6 percent over the same period in 2011.

Considering that the pro-gun control Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reports that 40 percent of all gun sales do not require a background check, it is impossible to gage just how many new guns are being purchased and how many will end up in the hands of those who are mentally ill.

The push to re-instate the assault weapons ban seems to be foundering in Washington, but there does appear to be growing support for a universal background check for all gun purchases.

At minimum, this seems a reasonable measure to at least begin with.

But the question remains if the sheer number of weapons already out there will continue to provide ready access to those individuals who have neither sport, nor self-protection in mind.

From Decker’s partner, who put his car in reverse and left the scene after the shooting, to law enforcement’s focus on Ryan Larson — the night of the murder will always carry with it questions about the handling of the investigation in its early hours. Larson was arrested and then released for a lack of evidence.

The BCA and the Stearns Co. Sheriff’s Department continue to refuse to clear Larson outright, despite the fact they have the murder weapon, which was found at a property Thomes, not Larson, had access to.

Four days after Larson was released, on Dec. 8, Cold Spring police arrested Thomes for a DWI offense.

But Thomes only became the focus of the investigation after a tip in response to a $100,000 reward. Decker was shot at point-blank range in a packed parking lot under a bright parking lot light, yet no one has come forward to say they witnessed the shooting.

While we may never know all the answers to the why and how of what happened, the public, and certainly officer Decker’s family, deserves to know anything that does come to light as law enforcement continues their investigation.

Gun rights advocates say any discussion of stricter gun laws is politicizing one of the most senseless tragedies in American history.

Scotland enacted a law making handguns illegal after the 1996 slaughter of 16 preschoolers in Dunblane. But America’s history with guns is different, and it is difficult to imagine that a sweeping ban would ever happen here.

Even before Newtown, the president said he would like to see the renewal of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired during the Bush administration.

It’s not clear what gun control measure could have prevented this horrific event. Adam Lanza was apparently using his own mother’s legally purchased weapons, which she reportedly used for target shooting.

The intersection of all these mass shootings is not just ready access to powerful weapons, but mental illness. An examination of both issues – our gun laws and the treatment of those who are mentally ill – is warranted.

President Obama is right: this has happened too many times. And while each time the cost is unbearable, this time – with the loss of so many who were so very young – the cost is beyond measure.

I was still shooting film and had dropped the roll off an hour before. The clerk asked if I would check them.

As I stood at the counter and looked, I was shocked to see, amidst shots of the Empire State Building and other tourist attractions, nude pictures of my children. Some of the shots were close-ups of what parents commonly refer to as “your private parts.”

Mortified and a bit panicked, I mumbled that the pictures were fine, stuffed them in my purse and rushed out of the store.

My children were 2 and 4 at the time. They later readily and quite proudly admitted they had taken my camera and taken the pictures when I was not watching. At the time my mind raced, had the clerk seen the pictures? Was she asking me to check the prints to get my reaction?

The shop had my contact information, would someone be calling me to investigate?

No call ever came. But I wondered what would have happened if I had picked up the prints in the Twin Cities where I am often recognized. The moment I heard Melodee Hoffner defend her husband, Todd, after he was first charged with child pornography, I thought about what had happened to me and how many other families have, for whatever reason, images that have been captured that could be misinterpreted.

A judge ruled on Friday that there was nothing pornographic about the images on Todd Hoffner’s cell phone. It would be nice to see this man, who has been living in what he describes as “a nightmare,” get his coaching job back.

And yes, I did talk to my 2-year-old and my 4-year-old. I stumbled a bit, when one asked if they had done something “really bad.”

My answer was that these days there are bad people, who do bad things to kids. But that the “good” way to take pictures is to always have a grown up you know and trust be there with you.

I am sure there was a better explanation I could have offered, but it was certainly not the last time the nuances of parenting collided with an age where what is good and bad is evolving at a pace that is difficult for many of us to keep up with.

One proposal would require those making more than $400,000 a year to have their entire salary taxed at the existing rate of 35 percent.

Currently, portions of these high salaries are taxed at lower rates — anything over $400,000 is taxed at the higher rate. This apparently would allow some Republicans to claim they are not raising tax rates.

Also being considered would be a roll-back to the pre-2001 tax code that would bar the wealthy from itemizing deductions. It is not clear how much Republican support can be achieved for these types of proposals.

But some kind of movement is needed. And soon, before everyone’s taxes rise, sharp cuts to everything from defense to social programs go into effect, and another deep recession becomes a virtual certainty.

Dear Esme,

Franni

AUNT CARLA’S PUMPKIN CORNBREAD

It is impossible to just have one piece. Be sure to make it the night before so you can have some with your Thanksgiving morning coffee.

Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup milk

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. On the first speed of a hand or standing mixer, beat together the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and milk.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry in three batches with a rubber spatula. The batter will be smooth, and is more fluffy than liquidy.
5. Pour the batter into a 9 by 13 baking pan (or two loaf pans), and place in the middle rack of the oven.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick stuck in the middle of the cornbread comes out dry.
7. Let the cornbread cool for ten minutes, and then cut into pieces and serve.

THOMASIN’S ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 in. cubed chunks
3 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbs. light brown sugar

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a cookie sheet, and scatter the squash chunks on it.
3. Evenly spread out the chunks of butter among the squash, and sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar evenly on the squash.
4. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is tender. You can poke the squash with a cake tester, a fork, or a small knife to test.

FRANNI’S PUREED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

(credit: Al Franken for Senate 2014)

Preparation
1. Bring the butternut squash chunks to boil in a saucepan.
2. Turn the heat down to medium, and let cook until the squash is tender, approximately ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Drain the squash, and mash with a masher or a hand mixer.
4. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste.

AL’S WILD RICE STUFFING

(credit: Al Franken for Senate 2014)

Ingredients
1 lb. Wild rice (Mahnomen)
one stick butter
ten cloves of garlic
3 medium sized yellow onions
4 stalks of celery
2 lbs. White button mushrooms
salt to taste

Preparation
1. In a colander, rinse the wild rice.
2. Put the rice in a pot, and cover with 3 inches of water. Boil in a pot, uncovered, for about 20 to 25 minutes. If you’re using Mahnomen wild rice, it will cook more quickly than the paddy variety.
3. While the rice is boiling, slice (do not mince) the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and celery.
4. Melt the butter in a skillet, and sauté the onions, garlic, and celery until they begin to bleed a little liquid into the butter. Then add the mushrooms. The celery and onions should not be totally soft.
5. Once the rice has cooked, drain it and add to the sautéed vegetables.
6. Add salt to taste, and stuff into the turkey before roasting. The rest can be eaten as a side dish at dinner.

P.S.: Al says I should add an “extra ask” in the P.S. But the only “ask” I have is that you and your family enjoy a wonderful holiday. So, instead, how about an extra recipe for the morning after?

FRANKEN FAMILY POST-THANKSGIVING TURKEY SANDWICH

This is my favorite use of leftover turkey.

Ingredients
2 slices of rye bread
1 tsp unsalted whipped butter
turkey breast
2 iceberg lettuce leaves
salt to taste

Preparation
1. Spread unsalted whipped butter on the rye bread.
2. Sprinkle on salt.
3. Place turkey and lettuce on top of one piece of bread, and place the other piece ofbread on top.
4. Slice in half and enjoy!

But it is the backdrop that has been revealed that is downright chilling. Lost amidst the scandal is news that got little play — that four-star Gen. William “Kip” Ward was demoted, forced to retire and has to repay US taxpayers $82,000 for his lavish spending.

Apparently the general and his wife were staying at the Waldorf Astoria and enjoying other luxurious perks on the taxpayers’ dime.

Amidst the tidal wave of news reports in the past week was an image of Paula Broadwell and Gen. Petraeus seated on what appears to be a first class jet chatting with each other.

Not that generals should travel coach, but you can’t help but wonder if the trappings of life at the top of the military heap are so princely that the judgment of these men entrusted with the lives of so many, have become totally distorted?

It’s not just Ward and Petraeus, but what of Gen. Stanley McChrystal who had the hubris to give an interview to Rolling Stone ridiculing civilian leaders, including the vice president?

Then there is Gen. John Allen, who engaged in an exchange of thousands of emails with Jill Kelley, a woman who called Tampa police 911 demanding diplomatic protection from reporters camped on her door step?

And what of Petraeus and Allen, who wrote on Army stationary letters of support for Kelley’s sister who was locked in a nasty custody fight?

There have been descriptions published of the lavish parties Kelley gave at her home for commanders at MacDill Air Force. Is that what it takes to gain influence from top commanders — a little champagne and a nice buffet?

The British Historian Lord Acton wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

No one is disputing that a commanding general should enjoy perks reasonable for someone who has achieved such status. But the recent troubling history of top US generals, and this scandal in particular, raises profound questions about the culture that exists at the very highest levels of the US military.

The opposite happened.

Yes, voter turnout was 76 percent. But voters went against both Amendments, Sen. Amy Klobuchar won re-election by 35 percent, Rep. Chip Cravaack lost, Rep. Michele Bachmann almost lost and Republicans lost both houses of the legislature.

The Marriage Amendment failed to carry even Republican strongholds like Scott County were Mitt Romney beat the President 56 percent to 41 percent, but the Marriage Amendment was rejected 51 percent to 49 percent.

Perhaps it was the still dire economy, voters resenting being forced to vote on social issues when all polls suggest the economy is their No. 1 concern. Perhaps it is part of a national trend, voters in three other states legalized gay marriage.

Perhaps voters may have resented putting a gay marriage ban in the Constitution, when Minnesota law already makes gay marriage illegal. Perhaps a wave of ads demonstrating that seniors without drivers licenses would have to get a state ID to vote may have changed minds.

Voters spoke on Tuesday and it is difficult to interpret the results as anything but a sharp rebuke of Republican legislators who put the Voter ID and Marriage Amendments on the ballot.

Only after last Sunday’s Star Tribune poll showing that Romney was down by just 3 percentage points to the President, did the Romney campaign begin running ads here.

The ads are running and Paul Ryan will campaign here tomorrow. The President has responded with ads here as well and former President Bill Clinton will campaign here tomorrow too.

But is it too late for Romney both in Minnesota and nationwide? The New York Times says of 22 swing state polls published Friday, Romney leads in only one, Florida.

The President remains ahead in the swing states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The Twin Cities and other Minnesota media markets bleed into both Iowa and Wisconsin.

If Romney had waged a battle for Minnesota there would have been ads on Minnesota stations that would have been seen in both those states.

Hindsight is 20/20. And both campaigns have been dealt with the mother of all October surprises in Hurricane Sandy. So far, polls in the Hurricane’s aftermath show a boost for the President.

If gas lines and relief efforts continue to stall, that could change. But time is running out. The second guessing is just beginning.

During last night’s Vikings game, Kurt Bills ran an ad claiming Amy Klobuchar covered up for Tom Petters and failed to prosecute him while she was Hennepin County Attorney.

That ad is being labeled as false today by both Doug Kelley, the Trustee in the Petters bankruptcy case, and by a partner in the law firm that represented Petters whistleblower Deanna Coleman.

Kelley, a Republican who ran for Minnesota governor, calls the claims in the ad “preposterous.” Kelley said Klobuchar handled the return of all Petters campaign contributions “honorably.”

“She did just what Tim Pawlenty and Norm Coleman did – she gave the donation money to charity,” Kelley said.

Federal law allows for politicians to do just that, Kelley added. Kelley also said he later approached Klobuchar and other politicians to give the money to the fund the Bankruptcy court had created to help victims.

Kelley said Klobuchar gave the money back a second time “without a fight.”

Bills’ ad is also being denounced by attorney Joe Tamburino, a partner in the law firm of Caplan and Tamburino who represented Deanna Coleman.

“The ad is completely unfair and inaccurate. Nobody in law enforcement knew anything about the conspiracy until September of 2008 until Deanna came forward to Federal authorities,” Tamburino said. “Tom Petters was on nobody’s radar until then.”

Klobuchar served as county attorney from 1999 until she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.

Mike Osskopp, Kurt Bills’ campaign manager, said Friday that the Bills ad is based on a story that ran in The Daily Caller, a conservative website.

“I don’t know if that story is true or if it’s not true. Until someone proves that it’s not true we will continue to run it,” Osskopp said.

If you look at state and national polls, it is possible that Mitt Romney will win the popular vote and lose in the Electoral College.

Right now, in the states Romney is ahead in, he is ahead by significant margins.

In the states the President is likely to win, he is ahead by  much smaller margins.

In all states except Nebraska and Maine, it’s a winner-take-all rule in the Electoral College. This year, the Electoral College may, for the fourth time in history, elect the President with the fewest popular votes.

The other three times were in 1876 with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes, then in 1888 with the election of Benjamin Harrison and again in 2000 with the election of George W. Bush.

The Electoral College was designed by the founding fathers who feared the population was too ignorant to directly elect the President.

Those days have clearly passed.

Maybe it’s time for the nation to reconsider the role of the Electoral College.

That is within the poll’s margin of error. Both sides agree the vote will be very close. But one survey that should be especially concerning to opponents is not a poll, but a study by New York University Professor Patrick Egan.

That study of more than 30 marriage amendment and ballot questions from around the country found that on average polls had underestimated the opposition to gay marriage by seven percent. The takeaway for political analysts is that in the past, a statistically significant number of people have, when polled, said they support gay marriage and then when they vote, vote against it.

But will that happen here? Obviously we won’t know until after Election Day. It’s clear though that Minnesota is the state that may break the 31-state winning streak of gay marriage opponents, and that is why the onslaught of ads on both sides will be with us through Nov. 6.

Four years ago, on this same date, then-Sen. Barack Obama was ahead by 6.2 percent.

Eight years ago on this day, President George W. Bush was ahead of John Kerry by 1.2 percent.

It is too early to tell if Friday’s unemployment figure of 7.8 percent will give the president any kind of bump, or if voters will buy Republicans’ argument that the number is a reminder of how slow the recovery on Main Street has been.

Mitt Romney won the first debate because he made it a night about the economy.

The president lost not only because of that, but because he failed to attack Romney on such crushingly obvious weaknesses like his infamous 47 percent comment.

With just 31 days until the election, this race is razor tight. While the protected numbers in the Electoral College show the president with an edge, there is room for movement here as well.

In the end, the vice-presidential debate this Thursday will likely not sway voters. But when former Gov. Romney and the president debate again on Oct. 16 and again on Oct. 22, they will need their “A” game. Those final debates may just determine the outcome.

What Dolan could not tell me in an interview on WCCO-AM on Saturday is whether Engeldinger had a conceal and carry permit. Dolan told me he had to “careful” because the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department told him that information was private and protected by state privacy laws. Minnesota has had a conceal and carry law since 2003. It’s one of 30 states to have one.

The New York Times reports FBI statistics that say nationally, the applications for background checks to purchase firearms increased from 8.9 million in 2001, to 16.4 million in 2011.

Like it or not, we are a nation of gun owners. While other permits such as driver’s licenses are public, conceal and carry apparently brings with it a shield of privacy.

There are many unanswered questions surrounding the tragic murders in Bryn Mawr. We will likely never have answers to all of them.

But whether Andrew Engeldinger had such a permit is one question I hope is eventually answered. Because it’s one the public and the victim’s families deserve to know.

On a busy night, with a high profile concert act playing, Mystic Lake can attract 20,000 people. With the introduction of alcohol, there will no doubt be problems: More DWI’s, more fights and more law enforcement activity. There will also almost certainly be more growth and undoubtedly a lot more jobs, for everything from those bartenders to added security.

The likely losers will be nearby liquor stores, restaurants and bars who counted on Mystic Lake patrons stopping by if they wanted alcohol. Because a Reservation is sovereign land, Mystic Lake could conceivably offer onsite retail liquor sales on Sundays and have bar closing times later than nearby non-reservation venues.

Liquor alone won’t transform Mystic Lake and the surrounding Prior Lake area into the Vegas strip, but it will be a game changer that has the potential to transform this entertainment destination. Having liquor at Mystic Lake’s venues will bring growth, but it will almost certainly bring growing pains.

According to numerous news accounts, Nakoula Bassely Nakoula pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2010 and is now being investigated for possible probation violations. As part of his probation he was supposed to not use the Internet without reporting to his probation officer and he was not supposed to use assumed names.

The amateurish trailer, which remains on YouTube, to the film looks like a bad parody of a bad Saturday Night Live skit. It got virtually no attention until it was translated into Arabic, prompting demonstrations first in Egypt and now in more than 60 countries around the world. In many of those nations, the production of any film comes only with state approval. And so the apparent perception amongst the lawless rioters is that despite all the disavowals and all the denunciations from American leaders – this film is a product of the United States, instead of a small group of reckless filmmakers.

In the aftermath of the rioting Google has blocked access to it in certain countries including Libya and Egypt. But the damage has been done. The power of the internet to spread the sensational and inflammatory is unprecedented. In an age when almost everyone with a cell phone can produce a video and post it on line, it is virtually impossible to prevent incendiary material from going up on the World Wide Web.

And that is a terrible reality of the hyper-connected age we live in.

Too boring is the word. Too much talk about safety, lectures on the proper way to hit. How to take a hit. How to safely tackle.

In the eyes of middle school kids football is about hitting. Hitting as glamorized by the NFL.

Now four players that the NFL suspended from the New Orleans Saints’ pay-for-pain bounty scandal have been reinstated. A three person arbitration panel ruled that the NFL Commissioner had overstepped his bounds in suspending them. The ruling allows that the suspension could still happen, but only after a more thorough investigation.

The suspensions, including the year-long ban on New Orleans head coach Sean Peyton remain in place. But the players are back, one of them, Jonathon Vilma tweeted “Victory is mine!!!!”.

Victory at all cost. Victory even if the goal is to injure your opponent.

The investigation into this case continues. In the middle school football locker rooms, so will the lectures about safety.

And more kids will no doubt think the safety stuff is dull, compared to the way the big guys play, and most importantly, are rewarded for playing football.

After Clint Eastwood’s rambling, off-color discourse with an empty chair, we know why.

Two days later, Eastwood’s speech — not Mitt Romney’s — remains the most talked about, tweeted, and debated appearance at the convention.

Romney’s speech, arguably the best he has ever given, remains shoved off center stage, by a performance more fitting for a late-night talk show. Even worse, the speeches that came before Eastwood, moving tributes of Romney’s personal kindness from members of his church in Massachusetts were lost in the analysis of why Eastwood was given the green light to speak in prime time.

It also overshadowed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who followed Eastwood. Rubio’s tribute to a father who worked as a hotel bartender so Rubio and his siblings could have a better life came in second to an empty chair. Even worse, Eastwood ran over his time slot, pushing the bulk of Romney’s speech past 11 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone. An awful lot of those working moms the Republicans are trying so hard to lure away from President Obama may well have been in bed.

And what of the choice of Eastwood? He is an American original, whose gunslinger “Make my day” persona seems to embody the American ideal of singular rugged individualism.

And as was pointed out in a rocky, but revealing 60 Minutes profile several years back, he is also the father of seven children by five different women, only two of whom he was married too.

Clint Eastwood’s appearance was memorable all right. America political conventions may never go off script again.

There will surely be once again 1.7 million visitors who will leave sunburned, overly stuffed with fried foods and their wallets a whole lot lighter. Some will walk away with gigantic stuffed animals won after likely paying way more than the value of the toy playing Midway games.

We will all either walk to faraway parking lots, wait in lines to get on shuttle buses and, for those outside of the metro, drive hours to get to the Fair.

And in the end most of us will leave knowing we will be back next year.

We will be back, because the fair is a constant. As much as our lives change in a given year or over a decade the Fair remains much the same.

Yes, there may be a new ride or two, or some new foods to try, but for the most part fairgoers hit the same attractions each year.

Yes, there is sticker shock at the larger and larger bite the Fair seems to take every year to get in and park, eat, ride rides, eat more and ride more rides. Despite the Great Recession, attendance at the Fair has not dropped. We may be giving up a vacation or a weekend at the lake, but the Fair is not to be missed.

The Fair, with its huge animal barns, celebrates what most of us once were in Minnesota: farmers and settlers. Seeing the young 4-H kids asleep by their animals in the barn is a reminder that so many of us take our farmers today for granted. With the craft exhibits and talent shows, the fierce competition for blue ribbons in contests for everything from pickles to jam the fair honors traditions that go back generations.

And what to make of the eccentricities most exemplified by (what else) the butter sculptures? All I can say is, it’s only in Minnesota and it’s only once a year.

See you at the Fair.

Even Republicans, and especially conservatives, have been critical of Romney for being fuzzy on key issues.

That is not the case with Congressman Ryan. The Ryan budget would overhaul Medicare and Social Security and sharply cut entitlements.

It is a budget that has been a lightning rod for Democrats.

The Romney campaign has sought to make the election a referendum on the state of the nation’s economy. But with the Ryan pick, the election may in fact turn out to be at least in part a referendum on Ryan’s fiscal agenda.

The pick comes at a critical time for the Romney campaign. National polls this week show President Obama opening a statistically significant lead. A Fox News poll showed President Obama leading by 9 points, 49 to 40 percent.

But, in the end, it is not the popular vote that matters. The Electoral College is what decides who wins, and Wisconsin’s 11 electoral votes are critical. A Quinnipiac poll this week of Wisconsin voters showed the President leading Romney by 6 points.

Can Paul Ryan deliver Wisconsin? Historically, polls have shown that voters cast their vote for the person at the top of the ticket and that a running mate has little impact on their ballot decision.

But by choosing Ryan, Romney has made a bold pick that more than any other running mate pick in recent history will put a sharp focus on the man running for the No. 2 spot.

It is shocking that the triumphant and dazzling 16-year-old Gabby Douglas’ success has prompted a fierce Twitter debate on her hair. Apparently some feel so entitled that they have taken to the Twittersphere to snipe that Douglas hair is unkempt.

I know that for African-American women, the issue of hair is a sensitive and expensive issue. Now that debate has spilled into cyberspace.

The issue of being judged on appearance is also not limited to high profile African-American women, but to all women in the public eye. (Just check out some of the back-biting Internet comments on Hillary Clinton’s hair).

But somehow the focus on the charismatic and extraordinary Douglas is especially grating. It seems social media, for all its potential to bring people together, can also provide a platform for the very worst in all of us.

But there is a second wave of second guessing.

James Holmes was being treated by a psychiatrist who specializes in schizophrenia. It is too early to tell to what degree mental illness affected his actions, but the thread of mental illness weaves through so many “lone wolf” attacks.

Jared Loughner — the man who shot and killed six people and wounded 14 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the horrific murders of three young sisters in River Falls, Wis., Aaron Schaffhausen’s defense attorney has said his client has suffered from depression for a very long time. And just yesterday, a Dakota County Judge declared Iraq War veteran Blake Uddin not guilty of a carjacking because of mental illness.

It is impossible to say whether better access to affordable mental health care could have helped prevent these crimes. But it is also reasonable to say that better diagnosis, care and even awareness might have made a difference. And that is something to second guess.

Movies are a place where parents, especially of tweens and teens, can feel their children who are at an age where they love to push boundaries, are safe. The Colorado shooting is horrific on so many levels. There are those seeking to blame Colorado’s liberal gun laws. Certainly the easy access James Holmes had to semi-automatic weapons helped him slaughter and injure more victims more quickly. But a deranged soul bent on mass murder could find other ways to kill.

Then there is the news that a trailer for a Warner Brothers Film to be released this fall features a scene similar to the Colorado shooting. In the “Gangster Squad,” trailer mobsters start shooting at a crowd in a movie theater from behind the screen. The trailer has been running for weeks. Did James Holmes see the trailer? Warner Brothers has pulled the trailer from movie theaters and is considering cutting the scene out of the movie. Is violence in the media in part to blame? Possibly, but someone bent on mass murder could draw inspiration from anywhere.

Lunatic, psycho and deranged. Those are among the words being tossed around to describe James Holmes. I would offer another: Coward. The lone lunatic coward is a threat that always is out there. What can be done to prevent and protect society from these individuals? We can take precautions, but there is no measure that can absolutely guarantee the prevention of future atrocities.

And so reluctantly, I let my son see “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.”

Yet SEC filings says Romney was the “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president” until 2002, when he and the firm agreed to a severance package. Additional SEC filings show Romney’s signature on deals that took place after 1999. It matters because it was after 1999 that Bain, as owner of a number of distressed companies, shipped U.S. jobs overseas.

President Obama is running ads saying Romney either lied on federal documents, or is lying now to the American people. Romney has sought to clarify the position by saying while he was the owner of Bain Capital at the time in question, and that he had no involvement in the “management” of the company during that period. Romney has also said he will not release his tax returns from the years in question, which would presumably detail the compensation he did or did not receive from Bain.

It remains to be seen if the American people will accept Romney’s explanation that as an owner who signed documents involving multimillion dollar deals he truly had no involvement in the management of the company. As a candidate seeking to show he is in touch with average Americans, this issue could continue to be a problem and ammunition for President Obama.

The backdrop of continuing Wall Street scandals, with corporate executives seeking to deflect responsibility for what happened on their watch, doesn’t help Romney either. The fact that Mitt Romney went on five television networks to deflect and respond to the Bain charges is an indication of just how big a deal this issue is. In a razor-tight election, it is the American people who will decide whether Romney’s Bain tenure is a deal breaker when it comes to how they vote in November.

Some are from powerful, influential people.

Former Vikings coach Denny Green and former Congressman Jim Ramstad are among those asking the judge to consider not just the crime, but the entirety of Senser’s life.

Ramstad writes of Senser’s missionary work and says that society would not be served by having her imprisoned. There are letters from teenage friends of Senser’s daughters, talking about what a wonderful mother and person she is.

A number of defense attorneys have told me letters like these do make a difference in many cases. But that in this case they will almost certainly not get the Senser defense the “no prison time” goal that they are asking for.

The judge in the case, Daniel Mabley, sentenced Timothy Bakdash, who was convicted of mowing down a group of U of M students in Dinkytown earlier this year, to more time than what prosecutors asked for. One of those students, Ben Van Handel, died as a result of his injuries. The judge ordered the 40-year sentence for Bakdash after Van Handel’s family presented him with a book filled with pictures of Van Handel’s life.

Anousone Phanthavong’s family will have their say at the sentencing.

They are the ones who have lost their loved one forever as a result of what Senser did that night. A jury has convicted her.

The letters about Senser, all 113 of them, document a life that, until that night in August, was a very good one. But Senser was not on trial for what happened before Aug. 23, 2011. She was convicted for not just what happened that night, but how she acted in the days and months afterward.

And that is almost certainly what she will be sentenced for.

Polls show this is the popular stand, with more than half of Americans wanting some part of the law repealed. And now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld most of the law, it is only Congress that can undo it.

But just as Chief Justice John Roberts threaded a needle in order to uphold the mandate of requiring most Americans to purchase insurance, Republicans will have to finesse their push for repeal to account for the fact that some parts of the law have become popular.

After the ruling this week, students and parents were openly rejoicing at the University of Minnesota — young people under the age of 26 will be allowed to stay on their parents’ health plans. And at the Courage Center, which treats 12,000 people a year, many of them with severe disabilities, the ruling was being hailed as the biggest step forward since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The ruling upholds the Affordable Care Act’s ban on lifetime caps on insurance policies and bars insurance companies from discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions. The pre-existing condition ban will be extended to adults in 2014.

These are parts of the law that appear to be among the most popular. Republicans will have to figure out how to campaign for the repeal of ACA without alienating those who like these portions of the law.

In upholding the ACA, the Supreme Court has set the agenda for the November campaign. It will be a referendum on health care reform, with voters deciding if the changes they already have seen are ones they want to keep.

The debate on health care appears ready to push the economy side as the central issue in the campaign. And that may be welcome news for the President, as a debate on repealing ACA will have to focus, in part, on aspects of the law that many Americans are embracing.