Mid-day news and netroots digest: pesto edition

We were out late last night cooking a going away dinner for a friend heading out for his summer naval ROTC assignment. It's remarkable how much pasta with pesto and garlic bread healthy young people can eat.

Congressman Walz's communications and district director Meredith Salsbery returned our email asking about how Walz defined "expanded drilling."  It's much as we expected, based on what he said at his Shell gas station press release several weeks ago. Walz does not favor opening ANWR, but does want to ramp up drilling and production in the National Petroleum Reserves-Alaska, which is already open but which could be put into more production.

He's more keen on better tapping areas that are already leased, but is willing to look at opening up additional off shore areas so long as such efforts are part of a comprehensive energy policy that includes environmental safeguards, as well as the development of new fuels and energy conservation and fuel efficiency. GOP endorsed candidate Brian Davis wants to open everything up, but also eliminate CAFE fuel efficiency standards and other mandates.

Walz is sticking to the notion that lease holders should use it or lose it. The "use or lose it" bill is coming up again in the House, CQ Politics reports in ‘Use It or Lose It’ Bill Revised to Win Oil-State Support Comes Back to House.

Update: The Washington Post reports in White House threatens to veto oil drilling legislation:

The White House on Thursday threatened to veto legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives that would force oil companies to give up undrilled federal leases and ban the export of crude drilled in Alaska.

The bill, which the House was to vote on later on Thursday, has a "use it or lose it" provision that requires oil companies to diligently develop their existing federal leases or turn them back to the government before they could obtain new acres to drill.

Even the Pope is advocating conservation, according to the Washington Post article, Pope Says Save the Earth for Future Generations. Who knew?

Ben Pershing at the Washington Post's Capitol Briefing blog looks at Unrest in the GOP Base.

In the Duluth News Tribune, Ted Thompson of the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children praises Tim Walz's leadership in supporting child abuse protection:

Thankfully, there are many elected officials around the country who understand this, and Minnesota Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar, along with U.S. Reps. Jim Oberstar and Tim Walz, are leaders among them.

Through their efforts, and with the help of many others, the National Child Protection Training Center program, based in Winona, Minn., has received significant federal funding, allowing training center trainers to travel to every region of the country and to train approximately 10,000 prosecutors, law enforcement officers, social workers and other child-protection professionals and organizations.

The Rochester Post Bulletin reports US Rep. Tim Walz to visit St. Charles grocery store. MnPublius picks up on the National Geographic Education Foundation award in National Geographic Recognizes Our Own Tim Walz.

The Pioneer Press issues a CORRECTION for its errors in reporting fundraising figures in the First.

The Big E at MnBlue compares and contrasts Walz and Klobuchar on recent FISA votes. He's not happy with Klobuchar.

Brian Davis's whoppers are starting to get noticed. Aaron Landry at MnPublius observes in Norm Coleman: Liar On Off-Shore Drilling:

Michele Bachmann, CD1 candidate Brian Davis and a number of elected officials across the country have said it: China, with the help of Cuba, are working to drill for oil just tens of miles off of the shore of Florida. It’s a complete lie. Although even Dick Cheney has backpedaled on it, Norm Coleman is caught still spreading the myth. [video follows]

A source in Rochester informs us that Republicans in that area are still circulating this myth, in the form of a Powerline post from May that's now repackaged and beefed up with the attributed authorship of a Phillips Petroleum heir. Snopes refutes the bogus authorship while looking at the silliness of the main claims. Disavowing the Chinese drilling myth is left to Cheney, I guess.

The Blueman laughs at Davis's spin on fundraising in Brian Davis Is A Mathematician Too?  Who Knew! Hal was flabbergasted:

Honestly...this is a Blueman first.

I have no idea where to begin here.

Once he stopped guffawing and collected his thoughts, Kimball dove into his analysis. At the end, he decides:

Ollie is 100% correct. Davis has quickly become the biggest exaggerator in Minnesota politics.

then links to an anonblog that raised a question about Davis's driving record.  One can check out  Brian James Davis's tickets by picking "I Accept" here (Internet Explorer only), then accessing his files in the Criminal Case Records section by picking the "Defendent" option on the search menu.  Is the one in Rochester the candidate? Perhaps a kind reader could check on that.

Frankly, we don't think that a handful of speeding tickets matters in an election, whether or not this Brian Davis of Rochester, Minnesota, is the Brian Davis running for Congress. As for the suspended driver's license after a ticket for operating a vehicle with expired registration wasn't paid in a timely fashion, it's not as if he's the mayor of Minneapolis.

Map: NPR-A