Bob CollinsShould a Packers tie get you fired, the Chipotle firings, happy Swap Day, running in place at work, and the Iron Range weasel’s workout.
Reminder: The BBC’s international discussion on the future of Somalia begins right after the news at 10 a.m. on MPR. We’ll have young Somalis in the UBS Forum in St. Paul participating along with groups in Mogadishu and London. I’ll be live-blogging it here on News Cut and we encourage your comments and observations as you listen to the program.
1) WHEN SPORTS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
Floating around the radio dial yesterday, it was apparent that most sports fans in the Twin Cities agree with the Chicago auto dealer who fired a salesman on Monday because he wore a Packers-themed tie to work. We take things that seriously, apparently.
“They’ve been calling from as far away as San Diego, saying they’ll buy from him and only him,” said Guy Cesario of Chevrolet of Homewood. “It’s hard to believe anybody could be so stupid as to fire a good salesman for wearing a Packers tie.”
2) DISCUSSION POINT: THE CHIPOTLE FIRINGS
Over on the MPR Facebook account, Sasha Aslanian’s follow-up to the firing of Chipotle workers because they were undocumented workers is getting a review.
“For each person, we get all the required documents. And even after those reviews, we found that lo and behold, we’ve got a good number of people who apparently submitted documents which were in fact not authentic, despite the fact that they looked to be,” Chipotle’s boss told Aslanian.
It’s a simple issue until it’s not. A union leader says raids against janitors a few years ago just drove them deeper into the underground economy.
That reflects a change in strategy by the feds to focus on businesses who hire undocumented workers, rather than round them up and send them back home. Still, a spokesman told Aslanian, ICE has sent over 300,000 people home, many with criminal backgrounds, he said.
“It’s about time!” Betsy Pavlica told us on Facebook. “People have been complaining that businesses have turned an eye to hiring illegals. Now that one is addressing it, suddenly they’re the bad guys?”
Said Cindy Tinderland-Drury: “Until we go after the businesses that make a practice of hiring illegal immigrants, the problem will not be solved. Most of them can afford the large fine, they just saved a bundle on payroll. Cuz, be honest, most illegal immigrants work for near slave wages.”
Your turn.
Related: In 2010, states passed a record number of immigration laws.
3) BULLETIN: THE ECONOMY ISN’T VERY GOOD
A Boston firm has organized National Swap Day. It lasts through February, an indicator that the economy is so lousy, people are more anxious to wear other people’s clothes, the Boston Globe says.
Rachel Botsman, coauthor of the recent book “What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption,” attributes the swelling of swapping to a perfect alignment of social and economic attitudes. The recession forced budget-conscious consumers to barter rather than buy. Sophisticated technology made it easy to organize quickly online. Such sites addressed people’s interest in recycling their belongings. And despite the apparent rancor with which they shop, swappers say they enjoy the sense of community.
One question: If this is all about the economy — or mostly so — then how come people aren’t wearing their clothes until they’re completely worn out?
4) TREAD ON ME
You know what can make a cubicle-bound blogger feel like the laziest sloth? A colleague with a newfangled treadmill desk:
The World Headquarters of News Cut is trying out the treadmill desk, modeled here by Jackie Cartier of American Public Media’s communications department, She’s working where others have also shown no fear to tread.
This phenomenon is catching on, thanks partly to the work of a Mayo Clinic doc:
James Levine has since left Rochester to work in Cleveland, where he’s setting up “exercise streets.” He told the Cleveland Plain Dealer his goal is to turn Cleveland into a Garden of Eden.
Too easy for me. Insert your own Cleveland joke here.
5) EMBRACING WINTER: ERMINE ANTICS
Filmed this week on the Iron Range. A weasel gets a workout:
Weather trivia: There’s another snowstorm heading for the Boston area. Boston is now just 5 inches shy of the Twin Cities snowfall total for the year.
TODAY’S QUESTION
President Obama delivered his State of the Union address last night. What did you think of the president’s speech?
Bob Ingrassia tried following the speech through various social networks. He found the state of the social networks very noisy.
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: More analysis of the State of the Union address.
Second hour: The BBC’s program “Africa, Have Your Say” broadcasts live from the UBS Forum as part of a worldwide call-in based in St. Paul and London. The program will hear from young Somalis in St. Paul and London who’ve never known peace in their homeland.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: Former Minnesota GOP Congressman Bill Frenzel and longtime Washington journalist Al Eisele talk about Minnesota’s power in Washington, and how and why it’s changed over the years.
Second hour: State of the Union rebroadcast.
Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: Even more State of the Union analysis.
Second hour: Siblings may be separated by any number of circumstances, but what is the cost? And what happens, when they find each other?
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Last week’s legislative auditor’s report on transit governance recommended scrapping a state law prohibiting the Met Council or any other agency from planning, studying or spending money on a commuter rail corridor from Northfield through Lakeville, Bloomington, Richfield into downtown Minneapolis. State Rep. Mike Beard of Shakopee, who now chairs the House Transportation Committee, says once again this session he’ll try for a repeal. MPR’s Dan Olson will report.
