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February 27, 2006
"President George W. Bush's job rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, amid strong opposition to the Dubai Ports World deal and increasing pessimism over the war in Iraq, according to a CBS News poll released on Monday..."
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February 24, 2006 -
"A Halliburton subsidiary has just received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to provide "temporary detention and processing capabilities."
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February 23, 2006 - Could this be the end of Roe v Wade?
"The South Dakota legislators who have approved a bill all but outlawing abortions in the sparsely populated state have loftier aims - an end to the Supreme Court ruling which made terminations legal across America more than 30 years ago..."
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February 17, 2006 - DFL: Pawlenty's airtime is illegal gift
"Gov. Tim Pawlenty's radio show should be considered an in-kind campaign contribution from WCCO-AM, worth as much as $600,000 a year, according to a complaint filed by the DFL Party Friday..."
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February 16, 2006 - Don't let phone giants 'Ctrl' what you get on the 'Net
"In the history of great ideas, the Internet will surely rank near the top. In a relatively short time, it has made vast amounts of information searchable, sortable and readily available with a few key strokes..."
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February 16, 2006 - UN alleges torture at Guantanamo
"The United States on Thursday faced mounting international calls to close its Guantanamo prison camp with U.N. investigators saying detainees there faced treatment amounting to torture..."
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February 15, 2006 - Analysis: Cheney Becomes Unwitting Focus
"At the start of the Bush presidency, Dick Cheney was viewed as the grown-up, the seasoned hand to guide an inexperienced president. Now, he's the center of controversy..."
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February 14, 2006 - State child care costs among nation's highest
"Minnesota offers parents some of the least affordable child care in the nation, according to a new report..."
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February 14, 2006 - Domestic programs are in jeopardy
"The federal budget, for all its bewildering detail, sketches a remarkably clear picture of the priorities of any administration. Congress always puts its own stamp on the fiscal design, but when you have a situation where the same party controls both elected branches, as Republicans do now, the modifications tend to be at the margins..."
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February 14, 2006 - Harvard study blasts Bush education policy
"President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind education policy has in some cases benefited white middle-class children over blacks and other minorities in poorer regions, a Harvard University study showed on Tuesday..."
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February 14, 2006 - Abramoff Said to Claim Close Ties to Rove
"Three former associates of Jack Abramoff say the now-convicted lobbyist frequently told them he had strong ties to the White House through presidential confidant Karl Rove..."
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February 13, 2006 - School Board eliminates $1.4 million from 2006-07 budget
"Following the advice of its business manager, the District 834 School Board agreed on Feb. 9 to cut $1.4 million in staff and services from next year’s district budget..."
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February 13, 2006 - Lawyers group slams Bush on eavesdropping
"The American Bar Association told President George W. Bush on Monday to either stop domestic eavesdropping without a warrant or get the law changed to make it legal..."
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February 13, 2006 - Dean Says Cheney May Have Broken the Law
"Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that Vice President Cheney should resign if he ordered a top aide to leak classified information to the media to defend the invasion of Iraq..."
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February 10, 2006 - Legislators gather to mend fences
"They weren't exactly holding hands and singing "Kumbaya," but a large group of Minnesota legislators wrapped up a two-day workshop Thursday at the University of Minnesota with a lot of ideas and a few agreements about how the competing parties and houses can work more effectively and avoid another government shutdown..."
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February 10, 2006 - Bush's Job Approval Stuck Near Bottom
"President Bush's marks on overall job approval and for handling the economy are mired near their lowest levels despite a spike in consumer confidence over the past month, an AP-Ipsos poll found..."
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February 10, 2006 - Brown warned White House before Katrina struck
"Former federal disaster chief Michael Brown told a Senate panel on Friday he had warned President George W. Bush that New Orleans was facing catastrophe the day before Hurricane Katrina struck..."
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February 10, 2006 - Libby: White House 'Superiors' OK'd Leaks
"A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers."
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February 8, 2006 - Editorial: Increased K-12 fees raise equity concern
"Taxes or fees? Minnesota got itself into a little hot water recently when the Legislature approved a 75-cent-per-pack cigarette "health-impact fee." It was successfully challenged in court -- an event that could have been avoided by calling the charge a tax in the first place..."
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February 8, 2006 - Bush's Social Security Sleight of Hand
"If you read enough numbers, you never know what you'll find. Take President Bush and private Social Security accounts..."
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February 8, 2006 - New majority leader rents D.C. apartment owned by lobbyist
"Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was elected House majority leader last week on a platform of reform, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee..."
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February 8, 2006 - Democrats targeting Medicare 'doughnut'
"Seniors worried about the so-called doughnut hole in their new Medicare prescription drug plans — a $2,850 gap in coverage — might end up with some additional financial assistance..."
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February 8, 2006 - DFLers target Pawlenty drug plan for seniors
"Two years ago, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty launched the nation's first state-sponsored program to help residents buy cheaper medicine from Canada..."
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February 7, 2006 - Mary Cecconi: Cutbacks to public schools all too clear
"Based on the calls and e-mails I've received from public school parents since Education Commissioner Alice Seagren took Sen. Mark Dayton to task for "painting an incomplete and inaccurate picture of K-12 education funding" in our state (Counterpoint, Jan. 27), I have to agree with her that instead of pointing fingers, "we should come together to make our excellent public schools even better."
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February 7, 2006 - Lawmakers press for energy conservation plan
"About a dozen state Senate and House members announced Tuesday that they will redouble their efforts to pass ambitious energy conservation measures this year, including a requirement that 20 percent of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2020..."
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February 7, 2006 - Ciresi says he will not run for U.S. Senate
"Ending months of speculation about his political future, attorney Mike Ciresi on Tuesday said he would not be a DFL candidate for the U.S. Senate..."
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February 7, 2006 - Bush seeks to slash public broadcast funds
"President George W. Bush took a swipe at Big Bird and his ilk Monday as he proposed slashing funds to public broadcasting by more than $150 million..."
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February 7, 2006 - Election-Year Politics Imperil Bush Budget
"President Bush's budget is barely a day old, but it already faces dire prospects in Congress. It's a blueprint better suited for an odd-numbered year..."
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February 6, 2006 - Treasury says extending tax cuts would cost blns
"Key White House tax proposals would cost the U.S. government tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue, the Treasury Department said on Monday, although the administration says they will help boost revenues in the long run..."
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February 6, 2006 - Next Steps on Energy
"The early reaction to President Bush's promise to wean the United States from foreign oil was, in some cases, oddly off-key. The Saudi ambassador, for instance, seemed to wonder whether Mr. Bush had some sort of personal grudge against Mideast oil..."
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February 6, 2006 - Specter Criticizes Rationale for Spying
"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has not adequately justified why the Bush administration failed to seek court approval for domestic surveillance, said the senator in charge of a hearing Monday on the program..."
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February 6, 2006 - Handful of Races May Tip Control of Congress
"In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum (R) has been running behind his challenger for months. In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns (R), linked to the Jack Abramoff scandal, is on the defensive. In Ohio, Sen. Mike DeWine (R) is struggling to overcome a toxic environment of scandals that have tarnished the state Republican Party..."
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February 5, 2006 - Surveillance Net Yields Few Suspects
"Intelligence officers who eavesdropped on thousands of Americans in overseas calls under authority from President Bush have dismissed nearly all of them as potential suspects after hearing nothing pertinent to a terrorist threat, according to accounts from current and former government officials and private-sector sources with knowledge of the technologies in use..."
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February 5, 2006 - Politics links Pawlenty, ballpark backers
"Gov. Tim Pawlenty's personal efforts to salvage plans for a new Minnesota Twins baseball stadium in downtown Minneapolis have immersed the governor in a proposal that has a series of ties to him politically..."
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February 5, 2006 - Bush Budget Favoring Defense, Security
"President Bush's 2007 budget proposes spending more than $2.7 trillion, showering big increases on defense and homeland security and a smattering of other favored programs such as scientific research, education and energy..."
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February 4, 2006 - Feds seizing Canadian prescription drugs
"Minnesotans buying mail-order prescription drugs from Canada are having medications confiscated by U.S. Customs in escalating numbers, a step that has some worried that life-saving supplies may not reach customers on time..."
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February 4, 2006 - Republican Wedge Issues, 2006 Edition
"Old lies die hard. We grow inured to the administration's howlers in defense of its Iraq policy, so much so that the preposterous case the president made in his State of the Union address for our continued presence in Iraq went almost unnoticed..."
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February 2, 2006 - Grant J. Merritt: Pawlenty shortchanges Minnesota parks and trails
"What do parks and trails mean to the state of Minnesota? Minnesota's natural resources are acknowledged treasures, and some of the jewels among these treasures are our state parks and trails..."
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February 2, 2006 - State must make early childhood investments a priority
"During a speech in Hong Kong near the end of his China trade mission late last year, Gov. Tim Pawlenty expressed his amazement at the "scope" of China's rise to economic superpower status. Then, in an apparent moment of sober revelation, Pawlenty reportedly proclaimed that it is about time "for our country to get its rear in gear."..."
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February 1, 2006 - Martin Olav Sabo: Staying the course serves no one, Mr. Bush
""I'm sorry I was right," the late Sen. Eugene McCarthy's comment about Vietnam, perfectly suits your Iraq war mess, Mr. President. I -- and 132 other House members who voted against your invasion of Iraq -- feel the same way..."
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February 1, 2006 - Alito's seating on court is the more telling event
"George W. Bush made an implicit concession Tuesday night: After five momentous years he has little new to say..."
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February 1, 2006 - Analysis: State of the Union Agitated
"The state of the union is fretful.  President Bush acknowledged the public's agitated state Tuesday night when he gave voice to growing concerns about the course of the nation he has led for five years..."
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