Al Franken, Norm Coleman collide on the constitution

May 14, 12:54 PMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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My intent is pure

There are reasons we have stop signs at intersections. There are reasons we have speed limits.

Let me explain. The stop signs are there because it is a dangerous intersection for cars and/or pedestrians without everyone coming to a halt in front of that sign. The speed limits are there because it has been determined that exceeding the speeds would significantly endanger the driver and others on the road at the same time.

These are two examples of laws. They are for our protection.

If, for instance, I was speeding and got pulled over, got a ticket, and then went to court and explained that I don't know how fast I was going and anyway, my intention was to go the desired speed limit and therefore my ticket should be thrown out.

Again, for instance, I disregarded the stop sign. I didn't really stop so much as I significantly slowed down, a California stop, as it were. I explained to the traffic cop and then the judge that I had kind of slowed down and if there would have been people there my intention surely would be to stop.

There are four key rules to vote absentee in Minnesota: voter’s name and address on outside envelope must match the absentee ballot application; signatures must match, too; voter must be registered; voter didn’t already vote in person. Thousands and thousands of voters successfully followed the rules. A few thousand did not and their ballots have been rejected, repeatedly, in some cases.

Well, I know a guy who got a ticket for speeding and he's fuming. He says he's going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court if he has to and he has friends in back of him that will pay for it. I know a woman who has the same type of thing going on in her world just because she didn't come to a complete stop and, by golly, she'll take it to the Supreme Court if she has to. She swears on a stack of Bibles that she has people behind her that can pay.

I know of another guy who lost an election and swears he would have won if all the rejected and therefore illegal ballots had been counted. He's so mad that he says he might take his argument all the way to the Supreme Court and he says there's big, big money to see it through. It's a constitutonal thing, after all.

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