2010 Alaska Election Results: The Senate Race Fight Continues - Africana Online

Alaskan write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski claimed 98 percent of the write-in ballots that were counted on Wednesday. Election officials started the five day process of counting the 92,500 write-in ballots. The Democrat in the race, Scott McAdams has conceded. Republican Joe Miller and Murkowski are locked in a close race for the Alaska Senate seat. Murkowski has had the edge and is expected to win with almost all the write-in ballots expected to go her way. An early tally of 19,203 ballots showed Murkowski winning 89 percent of the write-in vote without dispute. Another 8.5 percent of the ballots counted for her were contested. There were two write-in votes for "Joe Miller."

"So far things look really good for us," Murkowski campaign manager Kevin Sweeney told the Anchorage Daily News. While the laborious count is conducted, there are observers and lawyers from both candidates present. Miller’s observers are quick to challenge any ballot that is misspelled or difficult to read. Murkowski spokesman John Tracy suggested some of the challenges were frivolous. "This isn’t supposed to be a penmanship test," he said.

The ballot count began despite a lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the Miller campaign. Miler’s camp believes that Murkowski’s name has to be spelled correctly in order to count by law. A judge Wednesday refused to stop the count while Miller’s complaint is being considered and set briefing schedules for next week. Election officials point to case law and declared their plans to use discretion in determining voter intent when reading ballots with Murkowski’s name misspelled. Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai made the decision to use common sense prior to the election. “If I can pronounce the name by the way it’s spelled, that’s the standard I’m using," Fenumiai said.

Miller spokesman Randy DeSoto said the campaign remained cautiously optimistic and was determined to see the counting process through. The next step after the counting process is certainly court. The deadline to file a case is next month. Murkowski would make history as the first Senate candidate to win a write-in campaign since 1954, when Strom Thurmond became the second Senator to pull off the feat. Although election officials hoped to have the count done by Friday, it will likely last until early next week.

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Keyshia Cole Would 'Love' To Work With Eminem

'He made the hardest comeback for 2010,' the singer tells MTV News.
By Rebecca Thomas, with reporting by Danielle Nieman

Keyshia Cole
Photo: MTV News

Nicki Minaj erupts into lyrical spasms on "Roman's Revenge," a fitful track that features Eminem, spewing murderous bars at breakneck speed. If that doesn't strike you as natural terrain for an R&B balladeer, then no one told Keyshia Cole.

The petite powerhouse recruited Minaj for her uptempo new single "I Ain't Thru," and now she told MTV News she wants a moment in the booth with Em.

"Me and Eminem doing a collaboration?" she asked aloud, her red curls grazing her eyes as she savored the possibility on the set of her "I Ain't Thru" video. "I love that idea."

The Bay Area native revealed that she's a true fan when it comes to Slim Shady — and not just because they're labelmates.

"I just think he made the hardest comeback for 2010, and I support him all the way, and he's just dope, he's just dope," K. Cole said, raising a symbolic glass to the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust's pick for this year's Hottest MC in the Game.

Cole — a new mom who this year welcomed a son with Cleveland Cavaliers baller and fiancé Daniel Gibson — might be onto something. ("We'll have to make that come true," she said of teaming with Em.)

Just as pop&B superstar Rihanna wove a shared experience with relationship abuse into chart-topping accolades on Em's "Love the Way You Lie," Cole's own difficult history with a drug-addicted mother could prove to be common ground with Marshall Mathers, whose catalog is filled with raging diatribes about his mom. Keyshia's own troubled relationship with her biological mom was captured for three seasons on BET's highly rated "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is." Cole's mother Frankie's antics regularly made for blog fodder, and the network green-lit a spinoff, "Frankie & Neffe," which followed the matriarch and the star's sister's exploits and drew jeers from Cole.

The A Different Me songstress told us that although fans look to her for the soulful love ballads, she didn't shy away from delving into dark, twisted stuff on her upcoming album, due December 21.

"You will hear a lot of love from me," she said, but, "You will also know that I've been through some things, and I'm not ashamed of reflecting, OK?" she said seriously, before breaking into giggles.

Would you like to hear a Keyshia Cole/ Eminem collabo? Tell us in the comments!

Related Artists

• Keyshia Cole
• Eminem

Source: "Eminem In The News" via Glen in Google Reader

Election results 2010: What is in our future? - UMD Statesman

Minnesota's political future depends on party cooperation

BY CARL F. BERWALD

Interesting is the best word to describe the statewide outcome of the recent midterm election. Currently (provided the gubernatorial recount doesn't change the outcome), Minnesota will be run with a divided government. This makes it more difficult to get things done, unless the two parties work together, which would be great, but is highly unrealistic.

Currently, Mark Dayton (DFL) is only slightly ahead of Tom Emmer (R) in the race for governor. Provided that the mandatory recount does not change the outcome of this election, Minnesota will be working with a split government, meaning the governor and constitutional officers (Rebecca Otto, Mark Ritchie and Lori Swanson) are of the opposite party of either or both the state house and senate (both of which have switched to Republican control).

This can go one of two ways. First, party affiliation will get in the way and absolutely nothing will happen because it will be a war of bills and vetoes (like we have seen for the last eight years in Minnesota). Alternatively, both parties could work together and compromise, much like the federal government did in the mid 1990s, a time where all was well and we had a budget surplus (what a concept!).

Unfortunately, national trends indicate that the first scenario will take place, with the Republican Party attempting to undo everything that has changed under Democratic control. This not only will move our state in a reverse direction, but it will also not do anything to solve our problems including our huge budget deficit. The legislature needs to focus on solving problems and making Minnesota a better state, not on petty party games and blatantly disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing.

If, on the other hand , Tom Emmer wins after the recount, we will have a repeat of the last eight years of Pawlenty-like policy. Minnesota will not see many (if any improvements) and will probably work backwards to undo any policies that are in place. Also if Emmer wins, Minnesotans will be crippled by a skyrocketing property tax that will result from excessive cuts to local government aid. Tuition costs will also likely rise if Emmer wins as his proposed local government aid cuts would also negatively affect universities' budgets.

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