Thumbs down to Palin
Thumbs down to Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin for not stopping the practice of billing sexual assault victims for their rape kits while she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Rape kits are used to gather evidence after a sexual assault and cost between $300 and $1,200. Sexual assault victims should have access to justice regardless of whether they can afford a rape kit. By forcing them to pay for the kits, the city was punishing people who did not choose to become victims in the first place.

Thumbs up to Rasmussen
Thumbs up to Allen Rasmussen for attempting a compromise between International Falls and Koochiching County during a discussion on legal representation of the Koochiching Economic Development Authority. The issue of Highway 332 between the city and county has spilled into other agencies. The Daily Journal again calls for a cooling off period for the two government bodies before it causes the dissolution of an agency working for county-wide economic development.

Thumbs up to Trails End
Thumbs up to the Trails End Champter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and school districts for making it possible for the exhibition on whitetails this week. The event was free and open to the public and taught some new things about deer that even avid hunters could appreciate.

Thumbs down to bailouts
No one likes an ‘I told you so’, but current bailouts to corporations based on its potential impact to the economy, were avoidable and is not a just natural process of an economic downturn. Efforts to thwart exorbitant salaries and personal gain from mismanagement were defeated nearly a decade ago in Congress. Today, the legacy of the sub prime loan and high level corporate crime could be a result.
The Federal Bank has rightfully placed conditions of interest, reimbursement, control, replacement of leadership and protection of shareholders in the AIG bailout. More corporations will likely look for government rescue at the expense of shareholders, and possibly, the holders of retirement accounts. Public hearings and accountability for executives found guilty of wrongdoing are needed. The standards were there all along but are in disary from decades of bending the laws.

Thumbs down to cameraman
Thumbs down to the camera man who got in the face of the bagpiper who solemnly played as he walked through the commemorative benches at the Pentagon 9/11 service last week. His rude presence ruined the experience for viewers who watched from the more tasteful stance of a wiser, more distant camera man. A closeup view of the dignified Scotsman would not have better depicted the meaning of his performance. A more thoughtful distant perspective was completely lost on the ambitious photographer.

Thumbs up to professor
Thumbs up to the Duluth professor who participated in the discovery of why the 77-million-year old dinosaur “Leonardo” found in Montana was both mummified and fossilized. UMD pathologist Arthur Aufderheide suggested to archeologists that chemicals in the swamp where the rare specimen was found, prevented the usual decay in the beast.