Almanac: At the Capitol

I'm not sure I've ever gotten more reaction on a blog post than yesterday's comments about Terri Bonoff and the 3rd Congressional District race. Last night I got a call on my cell from Sen. Bonoff concerned about what I had to say. I pointed out that while I mentioned some tough stuff, I also said some nice things. I try to criticize and reward equally. I gave Bonoff credit on WCCO-AM in my weekly segment Thursdays with Mondale and Jones for having the guts to call me and have a professional, productive conversation. Sometimes it's easier for people to digress to name-calling, like what's going on in the comments on MDE right now. It amazes me the vicious things people will say with anonymity online. Would they ever say these cruel things out loud to someone's face? After more than a decade working in commercial and public television I know viewers can say some nasty things, it seems they forget we are real people with real feelings. I know I have crazy hair, but I love public television for actually allowing me to embrace my naturally curly Norwegian fro. When I worked in commercial television I was not allowed to have my naturally curly hair, I had to cut and straighten it because news anchors don't have curly hair. I want it to be about my journalism, not my hair. Also, it seems common fodder for web writers to try to call me a Democrat or a Republican. For the record: I'm neither. I'm nothing. I'm a journalist. I see good and bad ideas from both sides and all around the middle. I was raised by a fair and brilliant journalist who taught me to see the validity of many opinions and make my quest educating people from a non-partisan point of view.