Random Link o’ the Day:

www.irakrakow.com/forums/cnbcstockcontest/

Torrey Westrom

The ridiculousness of the DFL controlled State House of Minnesota has reached new heights:

Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, delivered an “I’ll show you yours if you show me mine” type of comment on the House floor Thursday.

But to be fair, rewind to earlier in the debate about his bill to require that all American flags be made in this country.

“As I was getting dressed, I made sure that everything I wore was made in the United States,” he said.

He even made sure his $112 pair of shoes was American made. “I will be wearing those Red wing shoes in my casket.”

…

Selling foreign-made American flags could bring penalties of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail under Rukavina’s bill.

Several Republicans said that was too harsh for people selling flags at garage sales or for July 4 venders. One asked Rukavina what he would say to that.

Without missing a beat, Rukavina replied: “Book ’em, Danno!”

…

Minnesota Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, brought up an amendment to require lawmakers to own and drive only American-made cars if they voted for a bill mandating American flags be made in the United States.

Bill sponsor Rukavina asked Westrom a simple question: “What kind of car do you drive?”

That brought down the House, laughter interrupting work for several minutes.

Once laughter died down, Westrom replied: “Rep. Rukavina, I have never driven a foreign car.”

Westrom is blind, and has a good sense of humor.

Torrey is a great guy. I have seen him give a number of speeches. He once told a group of GOP caucus attendees “I want everyone to know that I never read from a prepared speech…I only speak from the heart.”

Personal Update

All you CNBC home-gamers are on your own for Earnings Reports and stock picks this Friday. Good luck. Hopefully I’ll have some time on Saturday to detail how I’m doing in the contest. I think I have some good strategies going into the third week.

Also, for those of you who might have thought something was missing Thursday, something was: no Twins podcast. Have no fears, the Twins Podcast is slated for this upcoming Sunday night at 6pm. However, once the season starts for the Twins the podcast will be live every week on Thursday nights at 10pm. If there are any Twins or sports bloggers out there who would like to appear on my Twins podcast I would love to have any of you on, just email me at marty dot andrade at gmail dot com or you can leave a comment below.

And why not, everyone else can have at the comments, it’s an official open thread.