Norm Coleman finally came to the realization that Minnesota voters are tired of seeing his name on election ballots. His Facebook declaration that he will not run for governor this year is probably good news for Democrats. The two Republicans who seem poised to inherit the mantle of frontrunners, state legislators Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer, are much more conservative than the majority of Minnesotans. They may be able to ride the building national wave of Tea Party discontent, but I’m not sure how well that message plays beyond the exurbs and some rural areas. This is going to be a tough year for Democrats, but Minnesota may be able to finally put a Democrat in the governor’s mansion after a couple decades’ absence.

It’s hard to write anything about the Haiti earthquake without being trite or obvious, so I’m just going to point to Lifehacker’s list of ways to contribute to the relief effort. Doctors without Borders is my choice as they already have a presence in the country, but so do many other good organizations. But I worry that giving will dry up once the headlines fade from public view and that Haiti, confronted with overwhelming devastation, will cease to become a functional state.

Can a geek also be a player? A quick scan of the recent coverage surrounding Peter Orszag’s mini-scandal, the answer is “yes”. Orszag is director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. He also dates assorted hot women, fathers children with them, breaks up with them, and then gets engaged to a different but equally hot woman.  Join Stewart breaks it down for us:

Who knew that bureaucrats could be such ladykillers? Clearly, I’m not living up to my potential. Maybe a new pair of glasses and a haircut that can slice glass would improve my chances.

The health care bill continues its slow march towards final passage as House and Senate Democrats work on negotiating a compromise bill. But even now, with the finish line so tantalizingly close, a special election in Massachusetts (of all places) could throw a monkey wrench in the whole works. Next Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will elect a senator to fill Edward Kennedy’s seat. Of course, Massachusetts is as blue as a naked Na’vi taking a quick dip in Lake Superior, but the political climate is such that even Massachusetts Democratic candidate Martha Coakley is facing a tough crowd. Polls are all over the place and it’s conceivable that the Republican candidate could win, thus taking away the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority.

In such a scenario, the House could still pass the Senate version of the bill and be done with the process. But that solution is far from ideal. The Senate bill could stand a lot of improving and that can only happen if the House and Senate negotiate.

This was never going to be easy. I’m reasonably confident Coakley will win, but much is at stake and it would be a horrible shame if Kennedy’s successor killed his dream of making health care more accessible and affordable.

The Times is the king of fun and interesting infographics that use web technologies to great effect. The latest example is a comparison of Netflix rental patterns across metropolitan areas including the Twin Cities. The maps reveal interesting demographic divides in terms of taste in movies. For example, Paul Blart: Mall Cop was huge in the exurbs but was completely ignored in the urban core. Rachel Getting Married did pretty well in Minneapolis-St. Paul but got less love in the suburbs. Somewhat surprisingly, biopic Milk was pretty popular across the entire metropolitan region except for the far northern and southern fringes. And everyone wanted to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.