Mark Olson under fire!

Representative Mark Olson shoved his wife no less than three times during a recent altercation, allegedly...he is still "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law".

Letters to the Editor are coming more frequently now to the SC Times calling for him to step down. I agree, and would call any political leader of any politcal party to task on this issue. We cannot continue to downplay the impact of domestic violence.

More comments from the SC Times Story Chat on the subject, from the Linda Evans letter, printed December 2nd and Aaron Ziegler letter on December 3rd.

Here is an experpt from the Ziegler letter:

Olson stated, less than 12 hours after his release from the Sherburne County Jail, that he was not going to resign his post as our "representative." Clearly, he spent a lot of time soul-searching to come to the conclusion his career should not suffer as a result of his abusive behavior (sarcasm intentional).

And another

I am calling on Olson to immediately resign his House position and his position on the Monticello-Big Lake Hospital Ethics Committee. Olson should do this for the good of his constituents, and to show he is serious about one of the beliefs he espoused in the literature of his recent campaign: "Individual liberty cannot be preserved without individual responsibility."

Story chat comments

smarty from wstearns
Number of Posts: 75
Comment Posted: 12/2/2006 12:02:34 PM

Dark Side-consentual sex is so different from beating someone. Marky beat his wife badly enough to warrant a 3rd party to call law enforcement. I do not condone Clinton's actions but he had to face Hilary with them. Both parties were adults but I also have concern for Monica b/c she was an intern and could have felt pressured into the act. But, that is history and Marky is current. Nothing to do with pary affilliation either. No matter which side of the aisle a representative sits (house or senate) abuse is wrong.

brian from stcloud
Number of Posts: 21
Comment Posted: 12/2/2006 1:43:04 PM

Smarty, It seems as though Eggy feels there is a difference between a Christian and a biblical view.

Of course there is a difference. The bible says we should execute people for eating shrimp, and it encourages slavery. But the most basic human sense of right and wrong, hopefully shared by Christians, tell us that the bible is morally wrong in these places.
You see, the difference is that the bible does not change, even when it is proven wrong. Christianity, however, is more a reflection of current society and social trends.And if either Christianity or the bible refuse to—or cannot—produce a moral judgment on violence versus consensual sex, well then they are nihilistic and of no value to society.

brian from stcloud
Number of Posts: 21
Comment Posted: 12/2/2006 2:04:05 PM

One more time there dude or dudette, I said that the hyporcrits that attack christians and conservatives for perverts actions, then look the other way to your own Studds and Frank and their perversions as Progressives cheer their filth.

I think you need to look up the word “hypocrite”. You see, Olsen was waging a war of persecution against gay Americans in the name of “defending the institution of marriage” while attacking that very institution with marital violence.
The difference between the right and the left is that the left makes no claims of moral superiority. Haggard’s worst sin wasn’t his drug-fueled gay sex romps, it was hiding those behaviors behind an aggressively, outwardly judgmental institution. The left can attack people like Haggard because they don't believe his behavior was any of our business, but neither was the behavior of the gay community he was aggressively attacking.
Haggard, Foley and Olsen were all conservatives because they had something to hide, and Christianity was the perfect thing to hide behind. Sadly, more and more everyday, conservative=something to hide.

SusanT from Silver
Lake Number of Posts: 15
Comment Posted: 12/3/2006 9:12:06 AM

Archie: If Mr. olson is so well prepared, educated, and capable in public service, why can't he transfer that over to discussions with his wife? Why was it necessary to "use his hands as exclamation points" in the argument (as you described in yesterday's threads), since he doesn't need to use his hands when getting a point across in public? Is it because the people he represents honor him, that he has no need to push them down (again, your reasoning as to why you don't need to push your own wife, as stated in yesterday's threads)?

Archie from Coon Rapids
Number of Posts: 127
Comment Posted: 12/3/2006 1:19:07 PM

Cloud Res:
Take a chill pill you have no idea of what you are babbling about, Bill Clinton was found guilty, Representative Olson remains innocent, does that ring a bell for you?

boatman from St. Cloud
Number of Posts: 80
Comment Posted: 12/3/2006 1:21:53 PM

Archie...the House impeached the President....The Senate found him not guilty.

I could go on and on here...lots of interesting stuff in these rooms! Anyway...if he is guilty, he should resign his seat. We simply cannot tolerate individuals who have to resort to violence to solve their problems.