Here we go!

UPDATE: U-DFL member and kick-ass softballer Pat Smith runs a blog called "a plain picture." It has been selected as the City Pages Blotter Blog of the Day! Congrats to Pat!

A few things before we get down to the nitty-gritty:

I found this the other day. It's a list of the senators ranked based on popularity in their home states. #1? Maine's Susan Collins. Second was Kent Conrad of North Dakota whose name is similar to the senator with the lowest approval rating (position 100), Conrad Burns of Montana. Other notables: Barack Obama-tied for 4th, Trent Lott-tied for 6th, John McCain-tied for 16th, Hillary Clinton-tied for 24th, John Kerry-tied for 61st, Russ Feingold-tied for 66th, and Bill Frist-tied for 58th. The Minnesota delegation has Norm Coleman tied for 55th and outgoing senator Mark Dayton at 84th.

Minnesota House Speaker Steve Sviggum says that session will be done on time this year, and maybe even early!

Though the immigration protests in St. Paul on Sunday weren't as large as some of the ones in the southern US, it was quite a sizable turnout. To me, this is representative of a problem that has long been ignored by politicians and the business world, and to which there is no ideal solution.

There has been some confusion about who to send names to if you know of some young people who are delegates or alternates to the state convention. You can send them to me (Max) at page0172@umn.edu. Please include their name, whether they are an alternate or delegate, which high school or college they attend (or which one they did attend and year graduated) as well as any position in the youth DFL movement.

Finally, vote TOMORROW or WEDNESDAY in the Minnesota Student Association elections. Check back here tomorrow for a link or visit http://www.maxandmonica.com to vote!