Following the recent school shooting at Virginia Tech and the killers ability to obtain weapons and ammunition legally despite significant mental health problems, the discussion of more stringent gun control methods has come forth.
I'll never be popular with the NRA folks. While I understand and support the 2nd Amendment rights of Americans, I do see a need for stronger background checks on handguns. These are the weapons that are killing our kids on the streets of North Minneapolis and in these school shootings. In most cases, kids are not raiding their dads gun case and taking the .30-06 to school. They are not taking the 12 gauge to the streets.
It's handguns.
Conservatives chide efforts to place more safeguards, or hurdles as they call them, to obtain weapons.
I'll use the same analogy they used when most Americans expressed great concern at the depths of FBI/CIA domestic spying.
If you don't break the law, you have nothing be be fearful of.
The same holds true with these gun control issues. Creating universal standards across our nation for gun control would be a great start. The fact that Texas and Virginia have some of the most lackadaisical gun control laws in the nation simply puts guns in the hands of people who should not have them.
DC, Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore all attribute most of their illegal handgun issues to the lax policies in Virginia, which create a pipeline of illegal weapons into these areas.
Does your 2nd Amendment right trump my rights to "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
MnSCU v. Legislature: Setting tuition
Sorry for my week long absence. I have been paying attention to whats going on though!
The Strib editorial on MnSCU caught my eye this morning.
First of all, I do have some doubts that this will make it through the Senate as well, or at least those I have spoken to have indicated it may die in conference committee.
That is true. A $193 million cut to the MnSCU system occurred in 02-03. Students picked up $179 million in tuition increases.
The MnSCU system when in collaboration with its union partners at IFO, MCF, AFSCME, MAPE and the student associations, MSUSA and MSCSA, makes it a force to be reckoned with at the capitol.
However, at times the composition of the MnSCU Board can create an adversarial relationship with these groups.
Governor Pawlenty has appointed the majority of MnSCU trustee's at this point. Last year saw the retirement of many strong advocates for higher education in the State of Minnesota. Trustee's like Dr. Will Antell, Lew Moran, Bob Hoffman, were level headed and open minded leaders, leaders who listened to the concerns of students and other advocates alike.
We have witnessed Governor Pawlenty call in his chips a few times with the MnSCU board, in an attempt to get one of his pet initiatives passed.
The infamous Winona State L21 plan, "Learning in the 21st Century" was an initiative pushed by then President Kreuger and the Governor's lackeys. It was highly popular amongst administrators as the additional 5% tuition increase would fund their technology initiatives.
However, they had not consulted students on these increases. They could not justify or even account for specifics behind the initiatives.
Students objected. We objected at WSU and MnSCU.
So, Governor Pawlenty and one of his lackeys, Susan Heegaard, started to call Trustee's the day of the vote, trying to influence this initiative.
It failed. Barely...after many of us lobbied Trustee's hard on the issue.
An amendment failed as well and this plan died...for now.
What the Strib piece fails to recognize is that the MnSCU Board is appointed by the Governor.
The 3 students who sit on the board are recommended by the student associations, although Governor Pawlenty is the only Governor in the states history to not follow the appointment recommendation of the student associations.
While I believe the system is the best thing for college students across this state, in my opinion, the Legislature was completely within it's right to force the system to hold the line on tuition.
To say that the system had no opportunity to discuss this scenario is laughable at best and close to a down right lie. Rep Pelowski has had this club in his bag for years. We have all known it, ask any MnSCU lobbyist if they saw something like this coming...Pelowski has been doing this for years.
The bottomline, while the legislature is responsible for funding woes in higher education, the system itself is responsible for ensuring the billions of dollars this state provides, is spent in the most efficient manner possible.
While the MnSCU Board "did the right thing" a few years ago in casting Pawlenty's pet project aside, with the board now having a Pawlenty appointed majority, will this hold true over time?
The verdict is pending.
The Strib editorial on MnSCU caught my eye this morning.
First of all, I do have some doubts that this will make it through the Senate as well, or at least those I have spoken to have indicated it may die in conference committee.
It's not the fault of the MnSCU Board -- or of system administrators -- that
tuition rose by double-digit leaps in four of the past six years. To identify
the culprit, legislators need only look in the mirror. In 2000, state
appropriations provided two-thirds of MnSCU budgets. Today, it's barely half.
Deep state funding cuts in 2002-03 and modest increases since left MnSCU's board
with only two options -- cut educational quality, or raise tuition.
That is true. A $193 million cut to the MnSCU system occurred in 02-03. Students picked up $179 million in tuition increases.
The MnSCU system when in collaboration with its union partners at IFO, MCF, AFSCME, MAPE and the student associations, MSUSA and MSCSA, makes it a force to be reckoned with at the capitol.
However, at times the composition of the MnSCU Board can create an adversarial relationship with these groups.
Governor Pawlenty has appointed the majority of MnSCU trustee's at this point. Last year saw the retirement of many strong advocates for higher education in the State of Minnesota. Trustee's like Dr. Will Antell, Lew Moran, Bob Hoffman, were level headed and open minded leaders, leaders who listened to the concerns of students and other advocates alike.
We have witnessed Governor Pawlenty call in his chips a few times with the MnSCU board, in an attempt to get one of his pet initiatives passed.
The infamous Winona State L21 plan, "Learning in the 21st Century" was an initiative pushed by then President Kreuger and the Governor's lackeys. It was highly popular amongst administrators as the additional 5% tuition increase would fund their technology initiatives.
However, they had not consulted students on these increases. They could not justify or even account for specifics behind the initiatives.
Students objected. We objected at WSU and MnSCU.
So, Governor Pawlenty and one of his lackeys, Susan Heegaard, started to call Trustee's the day of the vote, trying to influence this initiative.
It failed. Barely...after many of us lobbied Trustee's hard on the issue.
An amendment failed as well and this plan died...for now.
What the Strib piece fails to recognize is that the MnSCU Board is appointed by the Governor.
The 3 students who sit on the board are recommended by the student associations, although Governor Pawlenty is the only Governor in the states history to not follow the appointment recommendation of the student associations.
While I believe the system is the best thing for college students across this state, in my opinion, the Legislature was completely within it's right to force the system to hold the line on tuition.
Lawmakers gave the matter brief consideration. They heard no testimony from
anyone at MnSCU about the impact of a 15 percent cut in central office funds.
They had no chance to weigh alternative sources of funding for the freeze, or
hear whether trimming the central office's consolidated administrative services
would be counterproductive, resulting in higher costs and higher tuition in the
long run.
To say that the system had no opportunity to discuss this scenario is laughable at best and close to a down right lie. Rep Pelowski has had this club in his bag for years. We have all known it, ask any MnSCU lobbyist if they saw something like this coming...Pelowski has been doing this for years.
The bottomline, while the legislature is responsible for funding woes in higher education, the system itself is responsible for ensuring the billions of dollars this state provides, is spent in the most efficient manner possible.
While the MnSCU Board "did the right thing" a few years ago in casting Pawlenty's pet project aside, with the board now having a Pawlenty appointed majority, will this hold true over time?
The verdict is pending.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Local Iraq War LTE
Chad Tschimperle from Cokato wrote a LTE in the Enterprise Dispatch this week. Chad is a local laborer with strong DFL roots.
http://www.herald-journal.com/news/edletters.html
Leave Iraq!
From: Chad Tschimperle, Cokato
I have noticed lately that there haven’t been any letters concerning the Iraq War. What’s up?
Doesn’t anyone have an opinion on the Bush/Cheney/neo-conservative policy of taking over and occupying Iraq?
After all, it has cost our country the deaths of more than 3,000 soldiers, thousands more wounded and maimed for life, billions and billions of our tax dollars (all borrowed from China), and in the opinion of many, our reputation as world leaders.
I support the Iraq War funding bill that calls for the withdrawal of our troops by the fall of 2008.
The reign of President Bush and his gang is ending. So should their war.
Support our troops! Bring them home!
Excellent work Chad!
http://www.herald-journal.com/news/edletters.html
Leave Iraq!
From: Chad Tschimperle, Cokato
I have noticed lately that there haven’t been any letters concerning the Iraq War. What’s up?
Doesn’t anyone have an opinion on the Bush/Cheney/neo-conservative policy of taking over and occupying Iraq?
After all, it has cost our country the deaths of more than 3,000 soldiers, thousands more wounded and maimed for life, billions and billions of our tax dollars (all borrowed from China), and in the opinion of many, our reputation as world leaders.
I support the Iraq War funding bill that calls for the withdrawal of our troops by the fall of 2008.
The reign of President Bush and his gang is ending. So should their war.
Support our troops! Bring them home!
Excellent work Chad!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Jason Lewis foolishly rants about the VT mass murders
I was not going to post anything about this, but since Jason Lewis went on yet another rant last night blaming liberals for the events in Virginia...
"Despite hitting rock bottom, he appears to be trying to dig deeper".
This ought to be a line on Jason Lewis' next performance evaluation.
The last several days he has been an incoherent fool, on his KTLK radio show, about the VT mass murder case.
The day of the killings, Lewis was ranting about how Cho Seung-Hui was corrupted by his liberal professors at VT, as evidenced by his rant against America's rich.
Why do zealots like Jason Lewis have to assign blame to a political party or ideology for heinous acts such as this?
He completely dismissed the religious overtones of the killers rant. While it would be easy to assign a political ideology to those overtones, it's not right.
The past few nights, his rant has expanded to include the "entire institution of liberalism".
Mount St Lewis erupted last night.
Pinning the VT mass murder squarely on the shoulders of liberalism.
The mental health community (a liberal bastion) failed this young man.
The liberal courts did not imprison this risk to society. Were these activist judges that failed in this instance?
The liberal professors at VT tainted the young mans mind with delusions of class warfare.
Liberals hating 2nd Amendment rights kept weapons out of the hands of students who could have defended themselves.
He went on and on...
Lewis likes to paint those that are left of insane with a broad brush. Difficult to do when one is hardly capable of painting by numbers.
The young man purchased these weapons legally. More guns will not solve the problem.
This young man was a victim as well, a victim of a national mental health system that failed. Students, faculty members and medical professionals all profess that this kid was suffering from some pretty severe depression.
It still does not give a 22 year old man the right to commit the largest mass murder in the history of the United States, but it sheds significant light as to why this young man acted this way.
Access to mental health care is a significant issue in Greater Minnesota. Because of limited resources and facilities, oftentimes metro cases get "outsourced" to Greater Minnesota facilities, leaving a shortfall of already scant resources for those of us in Greater Minnesota.
Lewis would call us "nanny state liberals" for talking like this.
How close is that to being a "compassionate conservative"?
Who needs Don Imus when you have Jason Lewis?
"Despite hitting rock bottom, he appears to be trying to dig deeper".
This ought to be a line on Jason Lewis' next performance evaluation.
The last several days he has been an incoherent fool, on his KTLK radio show, about the VT mass murder case.
The day of the killings, Lewis was ranting about how Cho Seung-Hui was corrupted by his liberal professors at VT, as evidenced by his rant against America's rich.
You had everything you wanted. Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your
golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your
vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those
weren't enough to fulfil your hedonistic needs. You had everything.
You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You
thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I
die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenceless
people.
Why do zealots like Jason Lewis have to assign blame to a political party or ideology for heinous acts such as this?
He completely dismissed the religious overtones of the killers rant. While it would be easy to assign a political ideology to those overtones, it's not right.
The past few nights, his rant has expanded to include the "entire institution of liberalism".
Mount St Lewis erupted last night.
Pinning the VT mass murder squarely on the shoulders of liberalism.
The mental health community (a liberal bastion) failed this young man.
The liberal courts did not imprison this risk to society. Were these activist judges that failed in this instance?
The liberal professors at VT tainted the young mans mind with delusions of class warfare.
Liberals hating 2nd Amendment rights kept weapons out of the hands of students who could have defended themselves.
He went on and on...
Lewis likes to paint those that are left of insane with a broad brush. Difficult to do when one is hardly capable of painting by numbers.
The young man purchased these weapons legally. More guns will not solve the problem.
This young man was a victim as well, a victim of a national mental health system that failed. Students, faculty members and medical professionals all profess that this kid was suffering from some pretty severe depression.
It still does not give a 22 year old man the right to commit the largest mass murder in the history of the United States, but it sheds significant light as to why this young man acted this way.
Access to mental health care is a significant issue in Greater Minnesota. Because of limited resources and facilities, oftentimes metro cases get "outsourced" to Greater Minnesota facilities, leaving a shortfall of already scant resources for those of us in Greater Minnesota.
Lewis would call us "nanny state liberals" for talking like this.
How close is that to being a "compassionate conservative"?
Who needs Don Imus when you have Jason Lewis?
Scared for his political life
Listening to Minnesota Matters on AM 950 last night, and their discussion of Norm Coleman (Christian Sande was great on Wednesday too, talking about the US Attorney situation), I began to ponder the GOP and indirectly, Norm Coleman's response to Al Franken's campaign.
They are scared, scared out of their minds.
Since Carey and the Minnesota Republicans are so bent around labels, imagine the political life of a man who lost to a wrester/actor, Jesse Ventura, and a comedian/actor/radio host, Al Franken?
I can't wait...
They are scared, scared out of their minds.
Since Carey and the Minnesota Republicans are so bent around labels, imagine the political life of a man who lost to a wrester/actor, Jesse Ventura, and a comedian/actor/radio host, Al Franken?
I can't wait...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Kiffmeyer's activist SoS days
Conservative bloggers like to make light of current Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's days as an activist for rural communities and other progressive groups.
I was fortunate to have spent all day Wednesday at the Capitol, talking to a few Senators and Reps about some issues and catching up with staff members I have not seen in quite some time.
I'll have a longer report on my meeting with Senator Dille later, but it was a very good meeting.
While meeting with a senior member of the Minnesota Legislature, this gentlemen pulled out his "blue book" and was looking at some of the legislative borders around SD 18 and offering an opinion on redistricting and other future campaign possibilities.
For those who don't know what the "blue book" is, this book lists all the information for the 201 elected officials in Minnesota as well as our Federal leaders, the heads of state agencies, election information, and other great facts about Minnesota and the legislature.
It's a very good book for a lobbyist to have. My "blue book" was pretty worn out after 3 years.
This senior member pointed out the bio's in the older (Pre-Kiffmeyer) blue book. It listed his education, occupation, home address, hobbies, and legislative priorities. It also listed their family info.
Newer editions (Kiffmeyer era) took out the majority of biographical information, which did not please this legislator.
He asked Kiffmeyer why this info was deleted.
Kiffmeyer told him it was "so I don't have to list Karen Clark's domestic partner".
At this time, 1 of the 201 elected officials in Minnesota was openly gay. Kiffmeyer, in her homophobic rage, decided to change one of the largest publications promoting state officials and offices because of one possible reference to a same sex domestic partner?
Good job Kiffmeyer, way to let your personal biases permeate your reign of terror as Secretary of State.
I was fortunate to have spent all day Wednesday at the Capitol, talking to a few Senators and Reps about some issues and catching up with staff members I have not seen in quite some time.
I'll have a longer report on my meeting with Senator Dille later, but it was a very good meeting.
While meeting with a senior member of the Minnesota Legislature, this gentlemen pulled out his "blue book" and was looking at some of the legislative borders around SD 18 and offering an opinion on redistricting and other future campaign possibilities.
For those who don't know what the "blue book" is, this book lists all the information for the 201 elected officials in Minnesota as well as our Federal leaders, the heads of state agencies, election information, and other great facts about Minnesota and the legislature.
It's a very good book for a lobbyist to have. My "blue book" was pretty worn out after 3 years.
This senior member pointed out the bio's in the older (Pre-Kiffmeyer) blue book. It listed his education, occupation, home address, hobbies, and legislative priorities. It also listed their family info.
Newer editions (Kiffmeyer era) took out the majority of biographical information, which did not please this legislator.
He asked Kiffmeyer why this info was deleted.
Kiffmeyer told him it was "so I don't have to list Karen Clark's domestic partner".
At this time, 1 of the 201 elected officials in Minnesota was openly gay. Kiffmeyer, in her homophobic rage, decided to change one of the largest publications promoting state officials and offices because of one possible reference to a same sex domestic partner?
Good job Kiffmeyer, way to let your personal biases permeate your reign of terror as Secretary of State.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
ABC news dumpster divers
They have an event on facebook now, looking for people that knew the shooter in the WV mass murders.
I am at a loss for words...
Here is the text from the event if the link is not working.
Information
Event Info
NameGOOD MORNING AMERICA / ABC NEWS COVERAGE OF VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY
Tagline:
LOOKING FOR PEOPLE THAT KNEW CHO SEUNG-HUI
Host:Good Morning America
Type:Meetings - Informational Meeting
Time and Place
Start Time:Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 1:00pm
End Time:Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 4:00pm
Location:Virginia Tech
City/Town:Blacksburg, VA
Contact Info
Phone:212.456.7124
Email:brandon.t.bodow@abc.com
Description
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech. In our ongoing coverage, we want to speak with people that knew Cho Seung-Hui. We have anchors and producers on campus that would love to meet with you.Please email me at brandon.t.bodow@abc.com or call 212.456.7124.
I am at a loss for words...
Here is the text from the event if the link is not working.
Information
Event Info
NameGOOD MORNING AMERICA / ABC NEWS COVERAGE OF VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY
Tagline:
LOOKING FOR PEOPLE THAT KNEW CHO SEUNG-HUI
Host:Good Morning America
Type:Meetings - Informational Meeting
Time and Place
Start Time:Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 1:00pm
End Time:Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 4:00pm
Location:Virginia Tech
City/Town:Blacksburg, VA
Contact Info
Phone:212.456.7124
Email:brandon.t.bodow@abc.com
Description
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech. In our ongoing coverage, we want to speak with people that knew Cho Seung-Hui. We have anchors and producers on campus that would love to meet with you.Please email me at brandon.t.bodow@abc.com or call 212.456.7124.
Capitol investment in the Capitol
My mom reads my blog on occasion. About a week ago she told me what was really bothering her about the happenings in St Paul, besides DFL tax increases.
The Capitol has been neglected for decades now. While all the partisan bickering has occurred under the dome and the roof, protecting our elected officials from the elements, not one of them sought efforts to protect one of the most beautiful Capitols in the nation. We could be like North Dakota and have a 15 story office building for our capitol!
My mom asked me, "Why can those politicians get a $30 raise everyday and not find the money to fix the capitol?"
The SC Times editorial board has an opinion on the issue, published in Monday's St Cloud Times.
It's a question that dominates coffee shops, restaurants and bars across Greater Minnesota.
What are our priorities? Surely something like this could not fall prey to partisan bickering!
I have heard lobbyists talking about the feel for what's going on at the capitol and they express a great deal of uncertainty as to what will actually happen.
Major bills in transportation, taxes, and higher education (depending on the DREAM Act) stand to be vetoed by the Governor.
Watching Dean Urdahl on TPT's Your Legislators speak yesterday, it seems like the Republican caucus is dug in and may be able to fend off any overrides of a Governor's veto.
Perhaps if we called the capitol a "political stadium" we could find the $250 million to refurbish a Minnesota landmark.
The Capitol has been neglected for decades now. While all the partisan bickering has occurred under the dome and the roof, protecting our elected officials from the elements, not one of them sought efforts to protect one of the most beautiful Capitols in the nation. We could be like North Dakota and have a 15 story office building for our capitol!
My mom asked me, "Why can those politicians get a $30 raise everyday and not find the money to fix the capitol?"
The SC Times editorial board has an opinion on the issue, published in Monday's St Cloud Times.
It's a question that dominates coffee shops, restaurants and bars across Greater Minnesota.
What are our priorities? Surely something like this could not fall prey to partisan bickering!
I have heard lobbyists talking about the feel for what's going on at the capitol and they express a great deal of uncertainty as to what will actually happen.
Major bills in transportation, taxes, and higher education (depending on the DREAM Act) stand to be vetoed by the Governor.
Watching Dean Urdahl on TPT's Your Legislators speak yesterday, it seems like the Republican caucus is dug in and may be able to fend off any overrides of a Governor's veto.
Perhaps if we called the capitol a "political stadium" we could find the $250 million to refurbish a Minnesota landmark.
Welcome to Baghdad
On the way into work yesterday, I was able to listen to pundits like Jason Lewis, Sean Hannity and others discuss how Democrats and their calls for stronger gun control laws may have assisted this crazed gunman at the University of West Virginia yesterday.
Absurd!
Al Swearengen at deadissue has a great post up about the shooting and drawing comparisons to the everyday happenings in Iraq, 4 years after Mission Accomplished.
Check out Al's work at deadissue.
Absurd!
Al Swearengen at deadissue has a great post up about the shooting and drawing comparisons to the everyday happenings in Iraq, 4 years after Mission Accomplished.
Consider the irony of what is about to become the most horrific mass murder
to be blitzed with every ounce of news media in our lifetimes, and how this
scene differs from an average Monday in Iraq, only lesser in size and the fact
that the perpetrator is not free to strike again, nor is he still breathing. In
contrast with what takes place in Iraq every day, the victims in Virginia
already enjoy the small (perhaps irrelevant) comfort of knowing their attacker
isn’t going to hurt anyone else.
Check out Al's work at deadissue.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The partisan choir
The SC Times opinion page editor Randy Krebs wrote an opinion Sunday about how partisan newly elected State Rep Steve Gottwalt has been in the Minnesota House.
Krebs chides Gottwalt for his extremely partisan rantings on a local St Cloud radio show.
The same criticism can be made of Rep Dean Urdahl as well. While watching him on TPT Your Legislators, he comes off as a balanced and moderate legislator.
At forums in Hutchinson, Litchfield, Grove City, and Cokato, all of those running in the recent election discussed their uncanny abilities to work with "the other party" to get things done for our citizens. Rep Urdahl stressed his previous efforts in bringing Keith Ellison and other metro Democrats out into our area to tour various facilities.
Field trips do not show bi-partisanship.
Actions in St Paul show bi-partisanship.
His recent writings in the Annandale Advocate and other local publications damning Democrats for tax increases, a lack of education funding, and late in the year snowfalls have left Urdahl in similar company to other legislators who have become extremely partisan recently.
While SD 18 has been Republican held for decades, however with the significant strides that the Meeker County DFL have made in the Meeker portion of SD 18, it may not stay Republican held much longer.
Urdahl would be better suited by following through with his campaign promises of working to stop the partisan bickering and not ride to coattails of Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert.
Krebs chides Gottwalt for his extremely partisan rantings on a local St Cloud radio show.
The same criticism can be made of Rep Dean Urdahl as well. While watching him on TPT Your Legislators, he comes off as a balanced and moderate legislator.
At forums in Hutchinson, Litchfield, Grove City, and Cokato, all of those running in the recent election discussed their uncanny abilities to work with "the other party" to get things done for our citizens. Rep Urdahl stressed his previous efforts in bringing Keith Ellison and other metro Democrats out into our area to tour various facilities.
Field trips do not show bi-partisanship.
Actions in St Paul show bi-partisanship.
His recent writings in the Annandale Advocate and other local publications damning Democrats for tax increases, a lack of education funding, and late in the year snowfalls have left Urdahl in similar company to other legislators who have become extremely partisan recently.
While SD 18 has been Republican held for decades, however with the significant strides that the Meeker County DFL have made in the Meeker portion of SD 18, it may not stay Republican held much longer.
Urdahl would be better suited by following through with his campaign promises of working to stop the partisan bickering and not ride to coattails of Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert.
Weekend update
A belated birthday to my former campaign manager / field director / singing partner and friend Nolan Pitlick!
Nolan turned 23 this past Friday and had a party at Gustav's in Northeast Minneapolis. Dori and I made it a bit later in the evening as I had to work, but good times were had by all! It was fun seeing some of the Bemidji folk again as well.
Saturday morning started bright and early again with a Meeker County DFL meeting in Litchfield. It was great seeing the Larsons, Deterts, and all of the other great Meeker County Democrats. The group has grown over the past several years and the county actually voted Blue this past election. The portion of Wright was significantly Red and swung the election to the GOP once again, but progress was made.
A few of us Wright County Democrats attended the meeting and discussed some initiatives we can pursue to make Wright County Blue again.
Sunday morning was my first golf outing of the year. I hit the course in Cokato for 9 holes of ineptitude. Despite lacking the ability to hit a ball straight, I still managed to leave the course with more golf balls than I started with (that 9th Hole tends to collect them). I hope that their are no pics of this event...
Otherwise, no blogging this weekend for me! I read a lot of great stuff out there, but it's getting too nice out to blog as much!
Nolan turned 23 this past Friday and had a party at Gustav's in Northeast Minneapolis. Dori and I made it a bit later in the evening as I had to work, but good times were had by all! It was fun seeing some of the Bemidji folk again as well.
Saturday morning started bright and early again with a Meeker County DFL meeting in Litchfield. It was great seeing the Larsons, Deterts, and all of the other great Meeker County Democrats. The group has grown over the past several years and the county actually voted Blue this past election. The portion of Wright was significantly Red and swung the election to the GOP once again, but progress was made.
A few of us Wright County Democrats attended the meeting and discussed some initiatives we can pursue to make Wright County Blue again.
Sunday morning was my first golf outing of the year. I hit the course in Cokato for 9 holes of ineptitude. Despite lacking the ability to hit a ball straight, I still managed to leave the course with more golf balls than I started with (that 9th Hole tends to collect them). I hope that their are no pics of this event...
Otherwise, no blogging this weekend for me! I read a lot of great stuff out there, but it's getting too nice out to blog as much!
Friday, April 13, 2007
The Mark Kennedy sign that won't go away
It's a good thing Buffalo is paying more attention to the signage celebrating its Boys Basketball Championship and not the political types.
I am not sure how to feel about going from a Congressman that did not represent us to a Congresswoman who not only fails to represent us, but embarrasses us as well. Ok, so I completely know how I feel...anyway!
As I have reported before, Mark Kennedy's Congressional sign is still up at the intersection of highways 55 and 25 in Buffalo.
I am not sure how to feel about going from a Congressman that did not represent us to a Congresswoman who not only fails to represent us, but embarrasses us as well. Ok, so I completely know how I feel...anyway!
As I have reported before, Mark Kennedy's Congressional sign is still up at the intersection of highways 55 and 25 in Buffalo.
Sorry for the Zapruder film quality, it's real!
Since Bachmann's team serves its constituents out of one office in Woodbury, about as far East of Buffalo as one can go and still be in Minnesota, the Western section of the 6th is neglected.
Is Kennedy planning on running again in 08?
Who's buying our Congresswoman?
Joe Bodell at Minnesota Campaign Report has the answer we are all looking for!
Seems like Congresswoman Bachmann is popular outside of the 6th CD, with more than 90% of her money coming from outside the 6th.
Joe also points out that Mac Hammond may have given Bachmann $2100 in contributions.
Check out Joe's report!
Seems like Congresswoman Bachmann is popular outside of the 6th CD, with more than 90% of her money coming from outside the 6th.
Joe also points out that Mac Hammond may have given Bachmann $2100 in contributions.
Check out Joe's report!
Bill Prendergast dead on about Bachmann
It has been said many times that Bachmann's insane behavior as a Congresswoman will make her an easy target for defeat in 2008. Along with Christopher Truscott, I have held a line that regardless of what she does in Washington, the Congresswoman will be very difficult to beat in the 6th CD.
In the comments to Eric Blacks Big Question yesterday, Bill Pendergast lays out the best argument for why the Congresswoman will be tough to beat.
Mark’s analysis, as far as it goes, is right–and I never say that about Mark’s analysis of anything.
Bachmann is positioned to be a major factor in future elections, if they play down the reality (she’s a nut and an habitual liar.)
How can it be that a person who’s a nut and an habitual liar (and a sincere bigot, to boot) could be a major factor in federal and state politics?
There are a number of reasons.
1) Michele is a creature of the evangelical political movement. Her political strength is national, not local–evangelical political players like Dr. James Dobson pick out proteges like Michele to run as state and local candidates, grooming them for success at the federal level. This is a long-range strategy of the EPM–they get there “own people” in Congress to do their bidding.
2) The way this is done is to pass off EPM candidates as conservatives in the tradition of Reagan, invoking the Reagan legacy of conservativism. From a Reagan conservative’s point of view, Michele’s political positions in the state legislature were impeccable. So now she’s got: 1) the evangelicals/”Christian Right”, who have a demonstrated power to put in a candidate like Michele into the nomination process, in preference to “secular” right wing Republicans like Krinkie 2) the Reagan guys who listen to Garage Logic, Jason Lewis, Rush Limbaugh, all of that cr@p–these have been successfully groomed to think of Michele as a conservative in the tradition of Reagan, rather than as a fundamentalist Christian candidate. That, in a district that trends Republican anyway, is enough to put her over.
3)There are fewer choices available to conservative Republicans after the last round of elections. In the face of a Dem tsunami in the federal and state elections, Bachmann sailed to victory. She’s begun her rise on the national stage too. She was invited to speak at the most prominent convention of conservatives in the country this year, to speak at the same event as Dick Cheney, Sen. McConnell, etc etc–Michele was scheduled as a featured speaker. (She did not get to speak though–she was apparently “disinvited” after the national story broke about her fantasy account of an existing agreement with Iran to divide Iraq (”Bachmannistan”.)
4) So, as Mark points out, she’s electable–if they can muzzle her; keep her on the message and conceal the fact that she is a certifiable, grade A, USDA inspected Macadmamia nut. And bigot. And theocrat.
5) Other reasons she’s electable. She presents herself very well. She’s attractive and comes off as a “mom” –rather than as a evangelical political extremist who believes in conspiracy theories (which she is.) It’s only when you start looking at statements that Bachmann makes out of the media limelight, before “friendly” audiences, that you realize that she’s a nut. The real thing. You’d never know just to look at her, if you only knew her through her campaign commercials or met her in person. It’s only when she’s “being herself”, speaking off the top of her head, telling lies about what she’s said and done, or seizing the President of the US after the State of the Union speech, that you realize–this woman’s out of control; she hasn’t got an honest bone in her body. But she has no shame and guilt about the lies and bigotry–because in a conversation between you and Michele, Michele believes that she is the one representing Jesus Christ. (He talks to her and tell her what to do, you know–sends her visions. No, I’m not kidding, that’s what she claims.)
6) There’s some very big, very wealthy special interests backing Michele, and they have an interest in seeing that her career takes off. Locally, it’s the Taxpayers’ League and other millionaires’ clubs. Nationally, it’s banking interests. This explains why she had so much interest in getting on Congress’ Financial Services Committee (her first choice for a committee assignment) and so little interest on getting on a committee directly affect farm policy in her Minnesota district (as a conservative, she would have been caught on the “wrong side” of many votes and issues on an agriculture committee, which would have made her loathsome to all the voters who care about those issues in her own district.)
7) The Bush White House campaigned vigorously for Michele. She did photo ops with Bush locally (she adores him and his endless war policy.) Karl Rove came down to Stillwater to speak for her. Cheney appeared with her a millionaires fundraising event out at the lakes. Those guys still have lots of credibility with the richest Republicans in Minnesota; they practically anointed Michele.
8) Finally–Michele’s most important ally on the road to Congress was the local Minnesota media. They stopped her candidacy cold at almost any time during the past six years, simply by reporting what she said and claimed, on the record. They could have simply reported the statements that she’s made over the past six years. If the Minnesota papers and broadcast news outlets in the Sixth District had done that–that alone, would have sunk her–even in the conservative Sixth district.
They didn’t. Not even the “liberal” news outlets, like the Strib or MPR. They received documented quotes by Bachmann herself, indicating that she was an extremist, a theocrat, a bigot, etc. They ignored these, wouldn’t print them, spiked them prior to the election.
So–with the compliance of the local media (which didn’t start covering her nutty behavior until the national press did), Michele’s career has been very well managed, and she’s positioned. Which doesn’t change the fact that she is indeed a nut and bigot posing as a Reagan Republican.
If 1) the media continues to play down the fact that we have a nut representing the 6th district of MN in Congress, and 2) if her advisers can, as Mark writes, muzzle the nut and bigot aspect of her–she will continue to rise in American politics. All the necessary pieces are there, except for the piece of her brain that’s missing, and she doesn’t really need that to keep getting elected.
Excellent work Bill!
In the comments to Eric Blacks Big Question yesterday, Bill Pendergast lays out the best argument for why the Congresswoman will be tough to beat.
Mark’s analysis, as far as it goes, is right–and I never say that about Mark’s analysis of anything.
Bachmann is positioned to be a major factor in future elections, if they play down the reality (she’s a nut and an habitual liar.)
How can it be that a person who’s a nut and an habitual liar (and a sincere bigot, to boot) could be a major factor in federal and state politics?
There are a number of reasons.
1) Michele is a creature of the evangelical political movement. Her political strength is national, not local–evangelical political players like Dr. James Dobson pick out proteges like Michele to run as state and local candidates, grooming them for success at the federal level. This is a long-range strategy of the EPM–they get there “own people” in Congress to do their bidding.
2) The way this is done is to pass off EPM candidates as conservatives in the tradition of Reagan, invoking the Reagan legacy of conservativism. From a Reagan conservative’s point of view, Michele’s political positions in the state legislature were impeccable. So now she’s got: 1) the evangelicals/”Christian Right”, who have a demonstrated power to put in a candidate like Michele into the nomination process, in preference to “secular” right wing Republicans like Krinkie 2) the Reagan guys who listen to Garage Logic, Jason Lewis, Rush Limbaugh, all of that cr@p–these have been successfully groomed to think of Michele as a conservative in the tradition of Reagan, rather than as a fundamentalist Christian candidate. That, in a district that trends Republican anyway, is enough to put her over.
3)There are fewer choices available to conservative Republicans after the last round of elections. In the face of a Dem tsunami in the federal and state elections, Bachmann sailed to victory. She’s begun her rise on the national stage too. She was invited to speak at the most prominent convention of conservatives in the country this year, to speak at the same event as Dick Cheney, Sen. McConnell, etc etc–Michele was scheduled as a featured speaker. (She did not get to speak though–she was apparently “disinvited” after the national story broke about her fantasy account of an existing agreement with Iran to divide Iraq (”Bachmannistan”.)
4) So, as Mark points out, she’s electable–if they can muzzle her; keep her on the message and conceal the fact that she is a certifiable, grade A, USDA inspected Macadmamia nut. And bigot. And theocrat.
5) Other reasons she’s electable. She presents herself very well. She’s attractive and comes off as a “mom” –rather than as a evangelical political extremist who believes in conspiracy theories (which she is.) It’s only when you start looking at statements that Bachmann makes out of the media limelight, before “friendly” audiences, that you realize that she’s a nut. The real thing. You’d never know just to look at her, if you only knew her through her campaign commercials or met her in person. It’s only when she’s “being herself”, speaking off the top of her head, telling lies about what she’s said and done, or seizing the President of the US after the State of the Union speech, that you realize–this woman’s out of control; she hasn’t got an honest bone in her body. But she has no shame and guilt about the lies and bigotry–because in a conversation between you and Michele, Michele believes that she is the one representing Jesus Christ. (He talks to her and tell her what to do, you know–sends her visions. No, I’m not kidding, that’s what she claims.)
6) There’s some very big, very wealthy special interests backing Michele, and they have an interest in seeing that her career takes off. Locally, it’s the Taxpayers’ League and other millionaires’ clubs. Nationally, it’s banking interests. This explains why she had so much interest in getting on Congress’ Financial Services Committee (her first choice for a committee assignment) and so little interest on getting on a committee directly affect farm policy in her Minnesota district (as a conservative, she would have been caught on the “wrong side” of many votes and issues on an agriculture committee, which would have made her loathsome to all the voters who care about those issues in her own district.)
7) The Bush White House campaigned vigorously for Michele. She did photo ops with Bush locally (she adores him and his endless war policy.) Karl Rove came down to Stillwater to speak for her. Cheney appeared with her a millionaires fundraising event out at the lakes. Those guys still have lots of credibility with the richest Republicans in Minnesota; they practically anointed Michele.
8) Finally–Michele’s most important ally on the road to Congress was the local Minnesota media. They stopped her candidacy cold at almost any time during the past six years, simply by reporting what she said and claimed, on the record. They could have simply reported the statements that she’s made over the past six years. If the Minnesota papers and broadcast news outlets in the Sixth District had done that–that alone, would have sunk her–even in the conservative Sixth district.
They didn’t. Not even the “liberal” news outlets, like the Strib or MPR. They received documented quotes by Bachmann herself, indicating that she was an extremist, a theocrat, a bigot, etc. They ignored these, wouldn’t print them, spiked them prior to the election.
So–with the compliance of the local media (which didn’t start covering her nutty behavior until the national press did), Michele’s career has been very well managed, and she’s positioned. Which doesn’t change the fact that she is indeed a nut and bigot posing as a Reagan Republican.
If 1) the media continues to play down the fact that we have a nut representing the 6th district of MN in Congress, and 2) if her advisers can, as Mark writes, muzzle the nut and bigot aspect of her–she will continue to rise in American politics. All the necessary pieces are there, except for the piece of her brain that’s missing, and she doesn’t really need that to keep getting elected.
Excellent work Bill!
Dissention in the ranks? Minnesota Republican Chair edition
Residual Forces is following the forthcoming race for the chair position in the Minnesota Republican Party.
AAA posts a letter from a local GOP BPOU member, Russ Goldstein.
Russ is dead on about how many in the Minnesota Republican Party have forgotten or rejected their conservative ways.
Lets be honest, the party, Democrat or Republican, has a difficult time in telling an elected leader to abide by its platform 100% of the time. Senator Dille has gotten no money from the GOP in years.
My question is where will Congresswoman Bachmann and Congressman Kline come out in the party chair discussions?
How about Senator Coleman?
AAA posts the info on Joe Repya. I wonder if he will create "Liberate Conservative" signs?
Highlights that caught my eye included his offer to cut the salary of the chair by 50% and his Camp Reagan idea. Wow, I guess the highest form of respect is to copy what Paul Wellstone's people did.
AAA liveblogged the Repya press conference at the capitol this past week.
Eric Escala always asks the best questions!
AAA puts together all the local media hits on the race.
It would appear as though a pretty heated contest is coming forth in the race for the Minnesota GOP Chair. Repya is building his base amongst disenfranchised conservatives. In a statewide race, that would not bode well for Repya. In a setting of party delegates and party insiders, that may be just enough.
We'll keep following Andy's work over at Residual Forces on this race...
AAA posts a letter from a local GOP BPOU member, Russ Goldstein.
Why wasn’t Pawlenty called on the carpet when he reneged on his NO TAX
INCREASES pledge? He raised the Cigarette Tax (The word is out…people
aren’t dumb…impact fees are taxes).
Why weren’t Pawlenty and all the RINOs that voted for the Twins Stadium
sent to the Principals Office for violating state law that requires a referendum?
Why weren’t Rep. Severson and Sen. Dille body slammed for co-authoring a state wide smoking ban? This ban does more to hurt small businesses than some tax increases (please don’t take that as an invite for tax increases). And the worst part is that the small business owners whom these two have betrayed most likely supported them and voted for them.
Russ is dead on about how many in the Minnesota Republican Party have forgotten or rejected their conservative ways.
Lets be honest, the party, Democrat or Republican, has a difficult time in telling an elected leader to abide by its platform 100% of the time. Senator Dille has gotten no money from the GOP in years.
My question is where will Congresswoman Bachmann and Congressman Kline come out in the party chair discussions?
How about Senator Coleman?
AAA posts the info on Joe Repya. I wonder if he will create "Liberate Conservative" signs?
Highlights that caught my eye included his offer to cut the salary of the chair by 50% and his Camp Reagan idea. Wow, I guess the highest form of respect is to copy what Paul Wellstone's people did.
AAA liveblogged the Repya press conference at the capitol this past week.
Eric Escala always asks the best questions!
Q: Any criticisms of Carey?
A: 11th Commandment. Carey’s record stands for itself. We’re gonna be a
better party after June 9th.
Q: Source of morale problem
A: lackluster leadership.
Q: MN problem?
A: Only speaks for MN. 2 dismal elections in a row, because they have been
on their heels.
AAA puts together all the local media hits on the race.
It would appear as though a pretty heated contest is coming forth in the race for the Minnesota GOP Chair. Repya is building his base amongst disenfranchised conservatives. In a statewide race, that would not bode well for Repya. In a setting of party delegates and party insiders, that may be just enough.
We'll keep following Andy's work over at Residual Forces on this race...
Dana Perino wiki
I love being random.
Coming across the Dana Perino wiki I laughed loudly at what I found.
Someone has a great sense of humor! I'm disappointed Wonkette has not picked up on this.
Coming across the Dana Perino wiki I laughed loudly at what I found.
Ms. Perino is most widely known for having a dulcet voice that makes her lies
sound sexy.
Someone has a great sense of humor! I'm disappointed Wonkette has not picked up on this.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Coleman draws national attention with Paulose case
Think Progress has a national spin on Coleman's flip flop on US Attorney Rachel Paulose.
However Minnesota Campaign Report has an even better local perspective on the issue!
And we have more from the diaries at Minnesota Campaign Report. This work by mswsm asks some very important questions, including Paulose's campaign contributions to Senator Coleman totalling $1500, $1000 after she secured his support.
As this scandal unfolds, should Coleman return this money?
However Minnesota Campaign Report has an even better local perspective on the issue!
Senator Coleman had plenty of opportunity to review Paulose's
qualifications before helping push her from "interim" to
"Senate-confirmed". She has a glossy legal resume -- Dorsey and Whitney,
Department of Justice -- but is that resume thick? Precedent says that
even Assistant U.S. Attorneys should have several years of jury trial experience
before being considered for a job. Did Paulose have such pointed
experience that it warranted a catapult shot to the front of the class?
This question doesn't address the management aspect of being a U.S.
Attorney. As reported, the mass resignations were caused mainly by
Paulose's management style (or lack thereof). Where in her resume did it
say she had experience in a legal management environment? Three months
serving under Alberto Gonzales and Paul McNulty at the DoJ? That's it?
Rachel Paulose's failings are her own, and we will learn more about
them in the coming weeks. But don't let Norm Coleman off the hook,
either. He had at least nine months to review Paulose's experience for all
aspects of the job into which she was thrust. Being disappointed in her
performance doesn't absolve the Senator from his responsibility for helping
confirm her appointment.
Senator Coleman should assume that responsibility, and accept that it
is himself, and not only Paulose, in whom he should be disappointed.
And we have more from the diaries at Minnesota Campaign Report. This work by mswsm asks some very important questions, including Paulose's campaign contributions to Senator Coleman totalling $1500, $1000 after she secured his support.
As this scandal unfolds, should Coleman return this money?
Retention of soldiers
Think Progress posts that more than $1 billion was spent on bonuses to keep soldiers in the Army, more than 3 times what it spent before the war.
And to think there is considerable consternation over $1 million being spent to check soldiers and veterans for exposure to depleted uranium.
And to think there is considerable consternation over $1 million being spent to check soldiers and veterans for exposure to depleted uranium.
Bachmann changes her Iran story again: The Big Question blog
Congresswoman Bachmann has once again changed her position on the Iran comments she originally made to Lawrence Schumacher at the St Cloud Times.
Eric Black has a very long post that puts all of this together for us. It is an excellent account of what the Congresswoman has said the 3 previous times and her recent interview with a Christian radio station in the Twin Cities.
Just another attempt by Bachmann to shift the blame to someone else and not take accountability for her own actions.
Why didn't she talk about this at all when she had 3 hours of air time at KTLK? She didn't take any calls, since it was probably pre-recorded, and could have controlled her message that way.
Of course she declined. She is praying vehemently that we forget about her 100 day reign of terror...
Here are some excerpts from the 4th version. Read this in its entirety here!
Bachmann's own words:
“They’ve already decided that they’re going to partition Iraq. And half of Iraq, the western, northern portion of Iraq, is going to be called…. the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And I’m sorry, I don’t have the official name, but it’s meant to be the training ground for the terrorists. There’s already an agreement made. They are going to get half of Iraq.”
What can be distorted there? Those were her words.
Eric Black responds to Bachmann's Christian radio bit.
The more the Congresswoman tries to run from this error in judgment, the more her integrity suffers.
I think most people would have been forgiving had she immediately come out and acknowledged her mistake. It happens to all of us.
But to continue to bury one's head in the sand and reject any premise of sanity and accountability shows the regard regard, or a lack thereof, for her constituents. Just listening to her on the radio a week ago now, not one constituent was able to call in and speak to her.
Regardless of all this, she will still be the toughest GOP candidate to beat in Minnesota in 2008. Dump Bachmann has a post up about Tarryl Clark and her unlikely run at Congress.
They also have coverage of Bob Hill's run as well.
Anyway, I'm all Bachmanned out for the day...
Thanks Eric!
Eric Black has a very long post that puts all of this together for us. It is an excellent account of what the Congresswoman has said the 3 previous times and her recent interview with a Christian radio station in the Twin Cities.
Frankly, the radio interview comes across as an effort to blame the
media in general and your obedient ink-stained wretch in
particular for whatever problems her original insupportable
claims caused for her.
Just another attempt by Bachmann to shift the blame to someone else and not take accountability for her own actions.
Why didn't she talk about this at all when she had 3 hours of air time at KTLK? She didn't take any calls, since it was probably pre-recorded, and could have controlled her message that way.
Bachmann has declined to be interviewed for this post, saying through her
spokesperson that she will stand on her earlier statements.
Of course she declined. She is praying vehemently that we forget about her 100 day reign of terror...
Here are some excerpts from the 4th version. Read this in its entirety here!
Bachmann: “And I said: What!? In 90 minutes to go from a reporter initially
questioning me to now it’s on Rush Limbaugh?
And what the Star Tribune did, which I think is wrong, is they went ahead and they posted a story without talking to me, on the Internet. It had gotten onto the Drudge Report. Drudge had gotten onto Rush. And all of a sudden you had a national story.
The thing that is awful, that’s difficult for people to understand is that once the media, the major media puts a spin on a story, you can’t change it. I mean it’s impossible. It gets repeated over and over.
The suggestion was made that I had suggested that there was a written agreement that Iran was going to divide Iraq. I did not say that.”
Bachmann's own words:
“They’ve already decided that they’re going to partition Iraq. And half of Iraq, the western, northern portion of Iraq, is going to be called…. the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And I’m sorry, I don’t have the official name, but it’s meant to be the training ground for the terrorists. There’s already an agreement made. They are going to get half of Iraq.”
What can be distorted there? Those were her words.
Eric Black responds to Bachmann's Christian radio bit.
Is That a Fact? (All alleged issues of alleged journalistic malfeasance
aside, here are the main substantive problems with the radio interview and
the current state of Bachmann’s Iran-Iraq position. Bachmann has abandoned the
what-I-said-was-not-what-I-meant tone of the op-ed piece, and returned to her
earlier claim that what she said in the first place was true and correct, except
for a lack of precision and failure to give examples.
What she said in version one was that Iran had a plan with another
party — it’s now clear she had Al Qaida in mind – to divide Iraq in half
between them and set up a terrorism zone. That statement disappears in versions
two (the I-was-misconstrued press release) and four (the radio interview),
except for the vestigial assertion that the missing piece was true all
along.
But even if we give up on Bachmann making a straightforward
retraction/clarification and sticking by it, there remains a fairly serious
problem with all of the versions: All of them include a statement that Iran
wants to see Iraq partitioned.
But is that a fact? Bachmann says that this fact has been widely
reported in the media. But it hasn’t been widely reported and Bachmann has
offered no evidence that this is so.
In the op-ed that ran in the Strib under Bachmann’s byline, the third
and best version of her position, she adduced some evidence (a
Reuters story) that something called the Mutayibeen Coalition, which Reuters
described as linked to Al Qaida, had posted a video online in October of 2006 in
which the coalition “called for a separate Islamic state in Baghdad and other
areas with a large Sunni Arab population.”
This evidence is not overwhelming. But personally, from what I know of
the situation, it is not far-fetched that elements of Al Qaida would hope to
control the Sunni Arab portion of Iraq (nor that if Al Qaida did control such
territory, it could become a base for terrorism).
But the Iran piece of Bachmann’s case for “America’s adversaries are in
agreement that a divided Iraq benefits their objectives” is much weaker. And
bear in mind, this piece was written to redeem an original claim that Iran had a
plan and an agreement to divide Iraq.
The more the Congresswoman tries to run from this error in judgment, the more her integrity suffers.
I think most people would have been forgiving had she immediately come out and acknowledged her mistake. It happens to all of us.
But to continue to bury one's head in the sand and reject any premise of sanity and accountability shows the regard regard, or a lack thereof, for her constituents. Just listening to her on the radio a week ago now, not one constituent was able to call in and speak to her.
Regardless of all this, she will still be the toughest GOP candidate to beat in Minnesota in 2008. Dump Bachmann has a post up about Tarryl Clark and her unlikely run at Congress.
They also have coverage of Bob Hill's run as well.
Anyway, I'm all Bachmanned out for the day...
Thanks Eric!
Time Magazine
I bought the newest edition of Time last night, for the cover story on how broken our military is now.
This photo leading into the story immediately grabbed my attention.
It's the remains of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle hit by an IED in Iraq. If you enlarge and look carefully, you can actually see the 25mm chain gun and the 7.62mm machine gun still intact.
In the first Gulf War, its reported that BFV's with less protection than this were able to take direct hits from old T54/44 Soviet era tanks.
While this story got me to open the magazine, another story made me buy it.
Fittingly, the story that followed the cover story was about US Senate Candidate Al Franken.
While Senator Coleman has gone to Iraq, he has never connected with the troops like Al Franken has. Al went because of his support for our troops. His appreciation for what we stand for and what we do (or did). He's genuine.
Coleman went on his fact finding missions, which have not helped the Senator assert a strong and clear position on Iraq.
But Democratic voters are angry too. According to the campaign, Franken raised
more than $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2007--this despite having been an
official candidate for only 45 days. At a series of stops during the recent
Democratic caucus night in St. Paul, voters cheered Franken when he talked about
"taking out" Coleman. They laughed at his jokes. But being entertained by
someone doesn't necessarily mean you agree with him. And it certainly doesn't
mean you'll vote for him. To win the seat, Franken will need to convince voters
that his past remarks were "just jokes" and that he is more than "just" a
comedian.
An impressive fundraising figure for sure. Beyond the fundraising aspect, Franken is doing this the right way. He's meeting in small towns all throughout Minnesota. He's meeting with delegates and locals alike, sharing his passion for progressive politics.
Last April I saw Al speak at the 7th CD Convention in Bemidji.
I was skeptical at first. I was duped by Jesse Ventura as well.
I saw a lot more from Al that night. While he was not officially a candidate that night, his speech churned tears and laughter from the audience.
He gets it.
His message connects with people.
Norm Coleman knows he's in trouble. He has aligned himself with the neo-cons in Washington and at the same time, shed any strand of Minnesota values he had.
Franken's speech a year ago, and the visualizations from the Time story shed more light onto Franken's progressive politics and Minnesota values.
Jason Whitlock on Don Imus
Imus is a jackass.
But, he's been a jackass for decades.
Why was it this episode that got everyone?
Years ago, when an Gwen Ifill was reporting from the White House, Imus opined that this African American woman was a cleaning woman the White House let in.
Jason Whitlock, a columnist for the Kansas City Star, has the best opinion piece out there on the Imus matter.
Wow...read this in its entirety!
But, he's been a jackass for decades.
Why was it this episode that got everyone?
Years ago, when an Gwen Ifill was reporting from the White House, Imus opined that this African American woman was a cleaning woman the White House let in.
Jason Whitlock, a columnist for the Kansas City Star, has the best opinion piece out there on the Imus matter.
While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock,
I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball
team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s
or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.
I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to
mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is
anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and
violent.Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and
wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of
repeating the things we say about ourselves.
Wow...read this in its entirety!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The case for depleted uranium testing
The Startribune finally picked up on the proposed legislation in the Minnesota Senate that would allow for the testing of 800 Minnesota National Guard soldiers, checking for exposure to depleted uranium.
I am very pleased that Senator Dille is picking up on this legislation as well and will offer all of my research on the subject.
As a former Bradley Master Gunner, I know quite a bit more about depleted uranium, the M919 round, than most.
I have spoken hundreds of times on the impact of depleted uranium munitions on our soldiers and the neighboring populations alike. It's not a fun presentation at all. The motivation comes from seeing some of my close friends die from Gulf War Syndrome, which some link to the usage of depleted uranium munitions.
Sergeant Major Billy Harte was a powerful leader in the Army. When I recall Billy before he was stricken with cancer, he resembled a linebacker. Standing well over 6 feet tall and over 23o pounds, SGM Harte could still out perform most of our soldiers in our physical fitness tests, regardless of the age group.
In 1998 SGM Harte was diagnosed with lung and liver cancers. He fought for quite some time and at one point we all thought he had this thing beat. In mid 1999, SGM Harte had a more significant relapse and over a 6 month period of time, SSG Meeks, SSG Freeman, myself and others who served under him, watched Billy whittle away from his stout 230 pounds, to under 150 pounds when he died in late 1999.
The doctors at Madigan Army Hospital told us that Billy "had cancers we have not really seen since Hiroshima and Nagasaki days". I recall looking at Meeks and Freeman and wondered what the hell was going on.
Then we recall the stories SGM Harte would tell us as we shared a GP small tent out in Yakima Washington. Billy believed his cancers were from the "rounds we used in the Gulf". Billy led a Mechanized Infantry platoon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, the first major US conflict we used DU munitions in.
Almost a decade later, Billy blamed his use of these rounds on his cancer, and for me, it became a motivation to study DU munitions.
What is depleted uranium and why would we use it?
Essentially, depleted uranium is the by product from the uranium enrichment projects, in both nuclear reactors and with nuclear weapons. They only use less than 1% of an uranium atom, with more than 99% being the remnants, the depleted side of the house per se.
With more than 750 million tons of this stuff laying around now, we (our government and the defense contractors) needed to do something with it.
We use it because it penetrates pretty much anything. 1st Cav troops in the 1st Gulf War reported engagements with modern Soviet era tanks (T72) in which this ammunition penetrated and destroyed the vehicle.
It's twice as dense as lead and nearly 5 times as dense as steel. So, when it hits the "target" it has enough kinetic energy behind it to penetrate the "target".
If that we all it did, we would not have any controversy though.
DU munitions are pyrphoric in nature, that is, they burn intensely upon impact. Dr. Doug Rokke describes it as a hot knife cutting through butter. Except that, the fine particles that are created during the burn are radioactive.
Depleted Uranium has a half life of 4.5 billion years, which means it is very mildly radioactive. However, because DU is often contaminated in the reactor process with plutonium 238, half life 88 years, plutonium 239, half life 24,110 years, and Americium 241, half life 432.2 years, this mildly radioactive waste becomes problematic.
When it is a fine of a particle as it is, it becomes easily inhaled and the particles can settle in the lungs, liver and reproductive organs, causing genetic defects and cancers.
In a study of 251 Mississippi Gulf War Veterans, 67 percent of their children were born without eyes, ears, or a brain, had fused fingers, blood infections, respiratory problems or thyroid and other organ malnormalities.
For those that had to live through American forces use of DU munitions during the first Gulf War, the statistics are shocking to say the least.
A 1998 symposium in Bagdhad found that those living in Southern Iraq, near the Basra area were:
10 fold increase in uterine cancers
16 fold increase in ovarian cancer
5 fold increase in cancers overall
higher incidences of still births and congenital deformities.
We have known for quite some time what the impact of using something like this would be. I have the hard copy of a de-classified Manhattan project document from 1943 that describes the possible use of the by-product from an atomic device.
The memo describes how what is now known as depleted uranium, could be used as a terrain contaminant or a gas warfare instrument.
General Leslie Groves knew this in 1943. Almost 65 years later a trail of denial still exists.
It exists for many reasons.
1. Groups like Alliant Tech Systems profit heavily off the use of this weapon. In fact, since the first Gulf War, we have seen a proliferation of these weapons. In the first Gulf War, the smallest caliber used was a 25 mm from the Bradley Fighting Vehicles. We now use it in 7.62mm machine guns.
When you can purchase this stock from the Department of Energy at pennies on the ton and sell it back to the Department of Defense at profit margins literally thousands of times what was paid for it, why would the Defense Industry want to let it's cash cow die?
2. Iraq was the first wide spread use area of DU munitions. Used extensively in the southern portions of Iraq, US led investigators searched areas of northern and central Iraq for exposure, not finding significant levels. UN research in the Balkans has projected 10,000 more cancers in the region because of the use of these weapons.
3. Denial, denial, denial. Much like agent orange. Don't look, don't find, don't pay. With a VA that is already overburdened and under funded, what would an additional 436,000 GWI Vets who may have been exposed to this stuff do to the system. Using the government's logic, let a couple hundred thousand Vets die, then study the impact. You end up paying a lot less...
It only took the Government 22 years to acknowledge the impact of agent orange...
This legislation would have made its way through the GOP controlled House last year of Kathy Tinglestad and Dan Severson would not have stopped it. I am very pleased to see this legislation actually getting some exposure now!
The Strib story indicates that Governor Pawlenty may not sign this legislation.
We'll see what happens...when more and more Veterans get pissed off about stuff like this, the movement will be powerful.
I am very pleased that Senator Dille is picking up on this legislation as well and will offer all of my research on the subject.
As a former Bradley Master Gunner, I know quite a bit more about depleted uranium, the M919 round, than most.
I have spoken hundreds of times on the impact of depleted uranium munitions on our soldiers and the neighboring populations alike. It's not a fun presentation at all. The motivation comes from seeing some of my close friends die from Gulf War Syndrome, which some link to the usage of depleted uranium munitions.
Sergeant Major Billy Harte was a powerful leader in the Army. When I recall Billy before he was stricken with cancer, he resembled a linebacker. Standing well over 6 feet tall and over 23o pounds, SGM Harte could still out perform most of our soldiers in our physical fitness tests, regardless of the age group.
In 1998 SGM Harte was diagnosed with lung and liver cancers. He fought for quite some time and at one point we all thought he had this thing beat. In mid 1999, SGM Harte had a more significant relapse and over a 6 month period of time, SSG Meeks, SSG Freeman, myself and others who served under him, watched Billy whittle away from his stout 230 pounds, to under 150 pounds when he died in late 1999.
The doctors at Madigan Army Hospital told us that Billy "had cancers we have not really seen since Hiroshima and Nagasaki days". I recall looking at Meeks and Freeman and wondered what the hell was going on.
Then we recall the stories SGM Harte would tell us as we shared a GP small tent out in Yakima Washington. Billy believed his cancers were from the "rounds we used in the Gulf". Billy led a Mechanized Infantry platoon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, the first major US conflict we used DU munitions in.
Almost a decade later, Billy blamed his use of these rounds on his cancer, and for me, it became a motivation to study DU munitions.
What is depleted uranium and why would we use it?
Essentially, depleted uranium is the by product from the uranium enrichment projects, in both nuclear reactors and with nuclear weapons. They only use less than 1% of an uranium atom, with more than 99% being the remnants, the depleted side of the house per se.
With more than 750 million tons of this stuff laying around now, we (our government and the defense contractors) needed to do something with it.
We use it because it penetrates pretty much anything. 1st Cav troops in the 1st Gulf War reported engagements with modern Soviet era tanks (T72) in which this ammunition penetrated and destroyed the vehicle.
It's twice as dense as lead and nearly 5 times as dense as steel. So, when it hits the "target" it has enough kinetic energy behind it to penetrate the "target".
If that we all it did, we would not have any controversy though.
DU munitions are pyrphoric in nature, that is, they burn intensely upon impact. Dr. Doug Rokke describes it as a hot knife cutting through butter. Except that, the fine particles that are created during the burn are radioactive.
Depleted Uranium has a half life of 4.5 billion years, which means it is very mildly radioactive. However, because DU is often contaminated in the reactor process with plutonium 238, half life 88 years, plutonium 239, half life 24,110 years, and Americium 241, half life 432.2 years, this mildly radioactive waste becomes problematic.
When it is a fine of a particle as it is, it becomes easily inhaled and the particles can settle in the lungs, liver and reproductive organs, causing genetic defects and cancers.
In a study of 251 Mississippi Gulf War Veterans, 67 percent of their children were born without eyes, ears, or a brain, had fused fingers, blood infections, respiratory problems or thyroid and other organ malnormalities.
For those that had to live through American forces use of DU munitions during the first Gulf War, the statistics are shocking to say the least.
A 1998 symposium in Bagdhad found that those living in Southern Iraq, near the Basra area were:
10 fold increase in uterine cancers
16 fold increase in ovarian cancer
5 fold increase in cancers overall
higher incidences of still births and congenital deformities.
We have known for quite some time what the impact of using something like this would be. I have the hard copy of a de-classified Manhattan project document from 1943 that describes the possible use of the by-product from an atomic device.
The memo describes how what is now known as depleted uranium, could be used as a terrain contaminant or a gas warfare instrument.
General Leslie Groves knew this in 1943. Almost 65 years later a trail of denial still exists.
It exists for many reasons.
1. Groups like Alliant Tech Systems profit heavily off the use of this weapon. In fact, since the first Gulf War, we have seen a proliferation of these weapons. In the first Gulf War, the smallest caliber used was a 25 mm from the Bradley Fighting Vehicles. We now use it in 7.62mm machine guns.
When you can purchase this stock from the Department of Energy at pennies on the ton and sell it back to the Department of Defense at profit margins literally thousands of times what was paid for it, why would the Defense Industry want to let it's cash cow die?
2. Iraq was the first wide spread use area of DU munitions. Used extensively in the southern portions of Iraq, US led investigators searched areas of northern and central Iraq for exposure, not finding significant levels. UN research in the Balkans has projected 10,000 more cancers in the region because of the use of these weapons.
3. Denial, denial, denial. Much like agent orange. Don't look, don't find, don't pay. With a VA that is already overburdened and under funded, what would an additional 436,000 GWI Vets who may have been exposed to this stuff do to the system. Using the government's logic, let a couple hundred thousand Vets die, then study the impact. You end up paying a lot less...
It only took the Government 22 years to acknowledge the impact of agent orange...
This legislation would have made its way through the GOP controlled House last year of Kathy Tinglestad and Dan Severson would not have stopped it. I am very pleased to see this legislation actually getting some exposure now!
The Strib story indicates that Governor Pawlenty may not sign this legislation.
We'll see what happens...when more and more Veterans get pissed off about stuff like this, the movement will be powerful.
VA report in 2004: Walter Reed was a clusterf@ck then too!
So, while the Bush Administration claims ignorance towards the care of our Vets prior to the Walter Reed Scandal, a damning VA report indicates otherwise.
Mark Benjamin at Salon has been following the Walter Reed Scandal since it broke.
Did Nicholson ever see this report or did he simply ignore it? With the state of the VA at this point, it's clearly obvious that both Nicholson and President Bush have ignored our Veterans while continuing to use them as photo-op props.
Paul Sullivan at Veterans for Common Sense has worked at Walter Reed in the past.
Scandals are abundant in the Bush Administration right now.
Whether it's a group of US Attorney's that were terminated because they were not loyal enough, Iraq War funding and veto threats, Walter Reed / Veterans health care issues, Scotter Libby and the Vice President's dealings with exposing a CIA operative, or the Abrhamoff scandal, this is a dark time in the Bush Administration.
I'm fired up over the lip service that the Bush Administration continues to give the American people.
The 2008 elections will be a referendum on the treasonous acts of the Bush White House and those Republicans who support this deceit.
Mark Benjamin at Salon has been following the Walter Reed Scandal since it broke.
One of Bush's biggest fundraisers. Jim Nicholson took over the VA shortly after this report.In August 2004, VA researchers conducted focus group interviews with WalterReed patients and their families. The report based on those interviews, and
obtained by Salon, says that the patients -- seriously wounded veterans of Iraq
and Afghanistan -- told the VA that they were "frustrated, confused, sometimes
angry" about their experiences at the hospital. Documents provided to Salon show
the focus group report was delivered to top VA officials in November 2004.
"I was in a wheelchair and they expected me to push myself all the way
over to Building 11," says an anonymous soldier in the report. "One hand was in
a bandage and one leg I couldn't use and they wanted me to push myself around
the post ... It just became more of a hassle and my mom did it."
Did Nicholson ever see this report or did he simply ignore it? With the state of the VA at this point, it's clearly obvious that both Nicholson and President Bush have ignored our Veterans while continuing to use them as photo-op props.
Paul Sullivan at Veterans for Common Sense has worked at Walter Reed in the past.
Paul Sullivan, who until March 2006 was a project manager at the VA in
charge of data on returning veterans, told Salon that Kussman's role troubles
him. "Kussman knew in 2004 that Walter Reed was a disaster," fumed Sullivan,
"and thousands and thousands of veterans have needlessly suffered long delays."
Sullivan questioned why the military and the VA apparently
did not address these problems two and a half years ago. "The VA had clear and
unambiguous warning that Walter Reed was a fiasco in 2004," Sullivan said.
"There is no way they can say they did not know ... The question is, did they
share this with the Department of Defense [which runs Walter Reed] in 2004?"
Scandals are abundant in the Bush Administration right now.
Whether it's a group of US Attorney's that were terminated because they were not loyal enough, Iraq War funding and veto threats, Walter Reed / Veterans health care issues, Scotter Libby and the Vice President's dealings with exposing a CIA operative, or the Abrhamoff scandal, this is a dark time in the Bush Administration.
I'm fired up over the lip service that the Bush Administration continues to give the American people.
The 2008 elections will be a referendum on the treasonous acts of the Bush White House and those Republicans who support this deceit.
School district woes all around SD 18
Checking out the local papers today, the schools were all in the headlines. Down in the far Southwest corner of SD 18, McLeod West faces the closing of the Stewart campus, relocating all school assets to Brownton. McLeod West faces more than $200,000 in projected debt for 2008. Two operating levies have failed recently as well.
In Glencoe Silver Lake, the struggles continue as well. In November of 2007, GSL will attempt to pass an operating levy. Two operating levies have failed recently in GSL as well.
The McLeod County Chronicle covers the story.
The cuts in the GSL school district are deep. 16 teachers will lose their jobs, but that still only cuts just over $200,000 of the $500,000 needed in cuts.
In the Dassel Cokato School District, cuts are coming as well.
The Enterprise Dispatch covers the story.
The cuts in the DC school district are not as deep as GSL, but will still impact the community.
The Community ED partnership with Litchfield will be dissolved.
An increase in fees for activities and admission to events will occur, including a parking fee for students.
The custodial supervisor position will be gone. Why do they always fire the janitors?
2 teacher positions were eliminated.
The curriculum directors position was reduced as well.
In total, more than $260,000 will be saved in these cuts.
Just outside of SD 18, in Monticello, cuts will be deep as well.
This is the state of public education in Greater Minnesota. In fact, Greater Minnesota is quickly becoming Lesser Minnesota. Our schools are always have to make cuts to make ends meet out here in the flyover/drive through regions of Minnesota.
We have all talked ad nauseum about changes to the funding model which will put rural communities on the same level as urban metro communities. Senator Dille spoke of this nearly 20 years ago yet the antiquated funding model circa 1970 remains intact.
I read the local newspapers weekly and the discussion of cuts across the board disturbs me. I had a great public education at Annandale High School. Our teachers continue to do more and more with less and less. These cuts have an impact on the kids.
The time has come to stop paying lip service to the issues that matter most to us. At some point, we must recognize that if we don't stand up and fight for what we believe in, we really don;t believe in it. We have gotten to that point on public education in rural Minnesota.
In Glencoe Silver Lake, the struggles continue as well. In November of 2007, GSL will attempt to pass an operating levy. Two operating levies have failed recently in GSL as well.
The McLeod County Chronicle covers the story.
The cuts in the GSL school district are deep. 16 teachers will lose their jobs, but that still only cuts just over $200,000 of the $500,000 needed in cuts.
In the Dassel Cokato School District, cuts are coming as well.
The Enterprise Dispatch covers the story.
The cuts in the DC school district are not as deep as GSL, but will still impact the community.
The Community ED partnership with Litchfield will be dissolved.
An increase in fees for activities and admission to events will occur, including a parking fee for students.
The custodial supervisor position will be gone. Why do they always fire the janitors?
2 teacher positions were eliminated.
The curriculum directors position was reduced as well.
In total, more than $260,000 will be saved in these cuts.
Just outside of SD 18, in Monticello, cuts will be deep as well.
This is the state of public education in Greater Minnesota. In fact, Greater Minnesota is quickly becoming Lesser Minnesota. Our schools are always have to make cuts to make ends meet out here in the flyover/drive through regions of Minnesota.
We have all talked ad nauseum about changes to the funding model which will put rural communities on the same level as urban metro communities. Senator Dille spoke of this nearly 20 years ago yet the antiquated funding model circa 1970 remains intact.
I read the local newspapers weekly and the discussion of cuts across the board disturbs me. I had a great public education at Annandale High School. Our teachers continue to do more and more with less and less. These cuts have an impact on the kids.
The time has come to stop paying lip service to the issues that matter most to us. At some point, we must recognize that if we don't stand up and fight for what we believe in, we really don;t believe in it. We have gotten to that point on public education in rural Minnesota.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A Bachmann smokescreen: A pro-Michele LTE in the St Cloud Times
Feeding off the fervor created by Congresswoman Bachmann and the 3 worst hours in the history of radio (which includes many Twins games from the mid 1990"s), a stupendous LTE appeared in the St Cloud Times from one of the only Bachmann crazy groups that did not get air time during the 3 hour fest.
It's an anti-labor LTE.
Phil Kerpen from Americans for Prosperity Foundation strongly supports the Congresswoman's vote against working class Americans and unions across the nation.
He even pokes fun at the name of the bill she voted against.
The Employee Free Choice Act passed the House 241-185.
Well, lets take a long hard look at what the Americans for Prosperity Foundation really is.
Looking at the issues scroll on the side, you see this organizations #1 priority.
The Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) would appear to be the top priority of this organization. It now has become clear as to why Mr. Kerpen had to come to Bachmann's defense. Bachmann is one of the strongest proponents for TABOR.
I have talked about this a few times here, but TABOR in Colorado has nearly destroyed the public higher education system.
Oh great! Not only do we have higher education issues in Minnesota, but transportation issues as well.
But the LTE was geared towards issues in labor. If you scroll the top of the AfP page to issues, you will see labor near the bottom.
But when you click on labor, there is nothing there!
If this were an issue of such significance for AfP, why do they not have info opposing this bill in the labor button?
So, when will a genuine LTE appear in a local newspaper?
One not from one of Bachmann's strongest corporate supporters.
One not from a Bachmann employed son.
One not from an employee of the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
Keep your eyes open to Americans for Prosperity, which we will have to say is a seriously misleading name.
It's an anti-labor LTE.
Phil Kerpen from Americans for Prosperity Foundation strongly supports the Congresswoman's vote against working class Americans and unions across the nation.
He even pokes fun at the name of the bill she voted against.
The bill she voted against has a sublimely misleading name — the Employee Free
Choice Act.
The Employee Free Choice Act passed the House 241-185.
Well, lets take a long hard look at what the Americans for Prosperity Foundation really is.
Looking at the issues scroll on the side, you see this organizations #1 priority.
The Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) would appear to be the top priority of this organization. It now has become clear as to why Mr. Kerpen had to come to Bachmann's defense. Bachmann is one of the strongest proponents for TABOR.
I have talked about this a few times here, but TABOR in Colorado has nearly destroyed the public higher education system.
Opponents argue that the lack of tax revenue has hurt Colorado in many ways. For
instance, Colorado ranks 47th in the nation for higher education funding (per
personal income level), which is the lowest in 40 years, representing a drop
from 34th in 1992. In another example, Colorado now ranks 44th in what it spends
to repair its roads. Opponents claim that it is because of this that the
percentage of Colorado’s roads in "poor" condition stands at 73 percent,
declining dramatically since TABOR was enacted.
Oh great! Not only do we have higher education issues in Minnesota, but transportation issues as well.
But the LTE was geared towards issues in labor. If you scroll the top of the AfP page to issues, you will see labor near the bottom.
But when you click on labor, there is nothing there!
If this were an issue of such significance for AfP, why do they not have info opposing this bill in the labor button?
So, when will a genuine LTE appear in a local newspaper?
One not from one of Bachmann's strongest corporate supporters.
One not from a Bachmann employed son.
One not from an employee of the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
Keep your eyes open to Americans for Prosperity, which we will have to say is a seriously misleading name.
Monday, April 09, 2007
More honors for Marty Seifert
He was named to the Welcome to Pottersville "Assclowns of the week: Easter Egg Hunt Edition".
As the only non-national political "leader" to make this list, Mr. Seifert has joined such infamous company as (dumroll please)...
Newt Gingrich
Matt Drudge
George Bush
Bill O'Reilly
Don Imus
John McCain
Lindsey Graham
Good job Marty! With STD rates in Minnesota on the increase, this was once again another bad Seifertism.
As the only non-national political "leader" to make this list, Mr. Seifert has joined such infamous company as (dumroll please)...
Newt Gingrich
Matt Drudge
George Bush
Bill O'Reilly
Don Imus
John McCain
Lindsey Graham
Good job Marty! With STD rates in Minnesota on the increase, this was once again another bad Seifertism.
Liar, Liar: The McCain Edition
I meant to write about this last week...
Crooks and Liars has a great post up about it.
I don't know of many markets in the US where you need helicopter gun ships, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1 Abrams, and hundreds of soldiers to secure an area for a photo op.
But McCain says its safe...
Nevermind the 21 people who were killed in the market the next day.
Crooks and Liars has a great post up about it.
I don't know of many markets in the US where you need helicopter gun ships, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1 Abrams, and hundreds of soldiers to secure an area for a photo op.
But McCain says its safe...
Nevermind the 21 people who were killed in the market the next day.
KQRS U of M rape case chat
Listening to the morning shows today, 92.5 KQRS had some interesting chatter about the U of M rape case. Tom Barnard, the resident xenophobe of Twin Cities radio, opined on the case. He wondered why any parent would allow their child to go to a major university, where a culture of rape exists.
It's a great question.
We all know that the KQ crew is staunchly supportive of the quagmire in Iraq. Their xenophobic skits display this on a regular basis.
This culture of rape and sexual assault exists in our military as well.
And the 450 women that came forward after the first Gulf War sharing the crimes committed against them.
Think about that. 696,000 deployed to Kuwait/Saudi Arabia. Over a 6 month period of time, more than 450 soldiers were raped.
If 450 women were raped in Minneapolis over a 6 month period of time, we would be talking of serial rapists. It would lead every major media outlet newscast.
And for many, 17 years later, this is the first time you have seen that figure.
So my question is, would Barnard and the KQRS crew let their daughters join the military, where they have an even greater chance of being sexually assaulted?
It's a great question.
We all know that the KQ crew is staunchly supportive of the quagmire in Iraq. Their xenophobic skits display this on a regular basis.
This culture of rape and sexual assault exists in our military as well.
Rape, sexual assault and harassment are nothing new to the military. They were a
serious problem for the Women's Army Corps in Vietnam, and the rapes and sexual
hounding of Navy women at Tailhook in 1991 and of Army women at Aberdeen in 1996 became national news. A 2003 survey of female veterans from Vietnam through the first Gulf War found that 30 percent said they were raped in the military. A 2004 study of veterans from Vietnam and all the wars since, who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder, found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military. And in a third study, conducted in 1992-93 with female veterans of the Gulf War and earlier
wars, 90 percent said they had been sexually harassed in the military, which
means anything from being pressured for sex to being relentlessly teased and
stared at.
And the 450 women that came forward after the first Gulf War sharing the crimes committed against them.
Think about that. 696,000 deployed to Kuwait/Saudi Arabia. Over a 6 month period of time, more than 450 soldiers were raped.
If 450 women were raped in Minneapolis over a 6 month period of time, we would be talking of serial rapists. It would lead every major media outlet newscast.
And for many, 17 years later, this is the first time you have seen that figure.
So my question is, would Barnard and the KQRS crew let their daughters join the military, where they have an even greater chance of being sexually assaulted?
Friday, April 06, 2007
Bush met with silence at Fort Irwin
I can guarantee you if SSG Kuusela was there, things would not have been silent!
At Think Progress.
Perhaps mostof our soldiers have finally just had it. The surge has taken it's toll...
At Think Progress.
Perhaps mostof our soldiers have finally just had it. The surge has taken it's toll...
Minnesota's US Attorney Office under fire too
While it's been covered at all the good lefty blogs across Minnesota, Think Progress and Wonkette have picked this story up as well.
Do they have a fueled jet just waiting to intervene now? Wow...this is going to get ugly!
According to news reports, the staffers’ dramatic moves were “intended to send a
message to Washington — that 33-year-old Paulose is in over her head.” The Bush
administration tried to prevent the resignations by sending a “top justice
official to Minneapolis Thursday to mediate the situation. The mediation
failed.”
Do they have a fueled jet just waiting to intervene now? Wow...this is going to get ugly!
Coleman getting berated by Galloway in the Senate, continued
The You Tube links broke the Galloway Coleman exchange up. It gets better here!
More of Norm Coleman getting owned by George Galloway
I laughed so hard at the Senator getting owned like this...
Norm Coleman and George Galloway: Ah...the memories
I remember this ass whoopin on CSPAN. I hope someone makes this into a political ad for 2008.
For those who do not remember, here is a good story on the exchange.
Coleman's response was that he was out of time...
I wonder if this will make the infamous Blogs for Norm bit?
For those who do not remember, here is a good story on the exchange.
Galloway called Coleman's bluff and flew to Washington for a remarkable appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "I am determined now that I am here, to be not the accused but the accuser," Galloway announced as he stood outside the Capitol Tuesday. "These people are involved in the mother of all smokescreens."
The member of Parliament tore through Coleman's flimsy "evidence," issuing an unequivocal denial that began, "Mr. Chairman, I am not now, nor have I ever been an oil trader, and neither has anyone been on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf." He accused Coleman of being "remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice" and pointed out error after error in the report the senator had brandished against him.
For instance, Galloway noted that he had met Saddam twice -- not the "many" times alleged by the report. "As a matter of fact I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times that [Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld met him," said the recently re-elected British parliamentarian. "The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns." For good measure, Galloway used the forum Coleman had foolishly provided to deliver a blistering condemnation of Coleman's war.
"Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose the policy that you promoted. I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the mass killing of Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq which killed one million Iraqis, most of them children, most of them died before they even knew that they were Iraqis, but they died for no other reason other than that they were Iraqis with the misfortune to born at that time. I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies," Galloway informed the fool on Capitol Hill.
"I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to Al Qaeda. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9/11, 2001. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end but merely the end of the beginning.
"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong, and 100,000 people paid with their lives; 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.
"If the world had listened to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan, whose dismissal you demanded, if the world had listened to [French] President Chirac, who you want to paint as some kind of corrupt traitor, if the world had listened to me and the antiwar movement in Britain, we would not be in the disaster that we are in today. Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth," argued Galloway.
Then the Brit turned the tables on Coleman and steered the committee's attention toward "the real Oil for Food scandal."
"Have a look at the fourteen months you were in charge of Baghdad, the first fourteen months when $8.8 billion of Iraq's wealth went missing on your watch. Have a look at Halliburton and other American corporations that stole not only Iraq's money but the money of the American taxpayer," Galloway said.
"Have a look at the oil that you didn't even meter, that you were shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went who knows where. Have a look at the $800 million you gave to American military commanders to hand out around the country without even counting it or weighing it. Have a look at the real scandal breaking in the newspapers today, revealed in the earlier testimony in this committee. That the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians. The real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own Government."
Coleman's response was that he was out of time...
I wonder if this will make the infamous Blogs for Norm bit?
Bachmann's Comptroller General interview
Indeed it was the worst 3 hours in the history of radio.
Back in the day, when I was on active duty, we would strain our little hand held radios trying to get something over the airwaves, something to listen to. Whether it was out in the Mojave Desert, the middle of no where in Central Washington, Germany, or South Korea, we consistently strained to get something over Armed Forces Radio or other stations.
Had I gotten yesterday's KTLK show back then, I would have thrown my radio under my Bradley track and taken it out with 28 tons of fun.
But I digress...
Yesterday, the privileged Congresswoman, and she said it was here deepest privilege to do the Jason Lewis show, interviewed Comptroller General David Walker. He spoke of the fiscal nightmare that will face this nation if we do not control government spending, specifically towards entitlements and health care.
They failed to point out that while revenue has increased, spending during the compassionate conservative tenure of W has increased significantly more.
Bachmann failed to discuss Walker's discussion that "The most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan…but our own fiscal irresponsibility."
She beat around the Bush on the issue, but failed to ask the Comptroller General specifically about those comments.
Perhaps its because she's a chickenhawk herself.
And what about the Comptrollers words about the waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq?
Imagine that, $10 billion missing and the Comptroller General gets lip service from the Bushies.
Bachmann simply used the Comptroller General to feed her Taxpayer Bill of Rights fetish. This guy could have told us so much more too!
Back in the day, when I was on active duty, we would strain our little hand held radios trying to get something over the airwaves, something to listen to. Whether it was out in the Mojave Desert, the middle of no where in Central Washington, Germany, or South Korea, we consistently strained to get something over Armed Forces Radio or other stations.
Had I gotten yesterday's KTLK show back then, I would have thrown my radio under my Bradley track and taken it out with 28 tons of fun.
But I digress...
Yesterday, the privileged Congresswoman, and she said it was here deepest privilege to do the Jason Lewis show, interviewed Comptroller General David Walker. He spoke of the fiscal nightmare that will face this nation if we do not control government spending, specifically towards entitlements and health care.
They failed to point out that while revenue has increased, spending during the compassionate conservative tenure of W has increased significantly more.
Bachmann failed to discuss Walker's discussion that "The most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan…but our own fiscal irresponsibility."
She beat around the Bush on the issue, but failed to ask the Comptroller General specifically about those comments.
Perhaps its because she's a chickenhawk herself.
And what about the Comptrollers words about the waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq?
David M. Walker, comptroller general of the GAO, Congress' auditing arm, said his agency has been pointing out problems for years, only to be largely ignored or given lip service with little result.
``There is no accountability,'' Walker said. ``Organizations charged with overseeing contracts are not held accountable. Contractors are not held accountable. The individuals responsible are not held accountable.''
``People should be rewarded when they do a good job. But when things don't go right, there have to be consequences,'' he said
Imagine that, $10 billion missing and the Comptroller General gets lip service from the Bushies.
Bachmann simply used the Comptroller General to feed her Taxpayer Bill of Rights fetish. This guy could have told us so much more too!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Congresswoman Bachmann: The worst 3 hours in radio history
Well, I got to listen to most of Congresswoman Bachmann's attempt at radio today. I was not impressed.
A 3 hour local Conservative radio show and not one single call? The Jason Lewis program and 100.3 KTLK is well known for its phone calls. Jason takes calls every hour and they are integral to the show. Rod Gramms even took a ton of phone calls the day before.
4pm came, and I was listening intently on my drive into the Twin Cities tonight. The first hour came and went, not one phone call was taken. The Congresswoman stressed the listeners to email responses or questions, but none were read on air either.
Lloydletta at Dump Bachmann has a great opinion on what really happened at KTLK today.
Was the show pre-recorded? To steal a line from Mythbusters.
It's plausible.
Not even one local phone call or one single email made it on the air. Her multiple gaffes and the lack of syncing with the shows bumper music could also be a good indicator as well.
Oh what has happened to our Congresswoman?
She is really out of touch with the 6th CD.
Who did she have as guests?
Two people from the neo-con Heritage Foundation, a caller from the Kato Institute, one from the Center for the American Experiment, and Arthur Brooks, the author of a book "proving" conservatives are more compassionate than liberals when it comes to charity.
It was fun poppong back and forth from AM 950, catching Joe Bodel from Minnesota Campaign Report opine on Norm Coleman and other topics, but the happenings at KTLK today from 4-7 were just too much like an accident on 169.
I was in a KTLK Michele Bachmann gauker slow-down.
Regardless, one thing was confirmed today. The race in the 6th will be interesting in 2008. The Congresswoman has aligned herself with some very powerful Washington think tanks and other agencies. The money will be flowing into the 6th to keep her around.
Christopher Truscott's dead one right about both Bachmann and Kline. We need to find good candidates to run against these neo-cons and organize collectively to defeat them.
A 3 hour local Conservative radio show and not one single call? The Jason Lewis program and 100.3 KTLK is well known for its phone calls. Jason takes calls every hour and they are integral to the show. Rod Gramms even took a ton of phone calls the day before.
4pm came, and I was listening intently on my drive into the Twin Cities tonight. The first hour came and went, not one phone call was taken. The Congresswoman stressed the listeners to email responses or questions, but none were read on air either.
Lloydletta at Dump Bachmann has a great opinion on what really happened at KTLK today.
Was the show pre-recorded? To steal a line from Mythbusters.
It's plausible.
Not even one local phone call or one single email made it on the air. Her multiple gaffes and the lack of syncing with the shows bumper music could also be a good indicator as well.
Oh what has happened to our Congresswoman?
She is really out of touch with the 6th CD.
Who did she have as guests?
Two people from the neo-con Heritage Foundation, a caller from the Kato Institute, one from the Center for the American Experiment, and Arthur Brooks, the author of a book "proving" conservatives are more compassionate than liberals when it comes to charity.
It was fun poppong back and forth from AM 950, catching Joe Bodel from Minnesota Campaign Report opine on Norm Coleman and other topics, but the happenings at KTLK today from 4-7 were just too much like an accident on 169.
I was in a KTLK Michele Bachmann gauker slow-down.
Regardless, one thing was confirmed today. The race in the 6th will be interesting in 2008. The Congresswoman has aligned herself with some very powerful Washington think tanks and other agencies. The money will be flowing into the 6th to keep her around.
Christopher Truscott's dead one right about both Bachmann and Kline. We need to find good candidates to run against these neo-cons and organize collectively to defeat them.
Is Tom Emmer running for Governor?
The thought never crossed my mind, until my site tracker showed 6 goggle searches today alone for Tom Emmer, Minnesota, Governor. All from a State of Minnesota computer too, around 2pm.
I know some Democrats in Buffalo who would like that.
The notion of Tom Emmer for Governor intrigues me. He's a true conservative, I doubt he would sell out like Governor Pawlenty, is well spoken, a nice guy, and seems to have a following. I don't agree with him on most of the issues, but like his passion. He'd be better than Seifert as minority leader, that's for sure.
The google searches have me thinking.
Other than Sue Jeffers, I can't really think of any Republican who is in a position to run for Governor.
The thought of Mark Kennedy makes me vomit.
Hmmmm...I'll watch Wright County Republican for the announcement.
I know some Democrats in Buffalo who would like that.
The notion of Tom Emmer for Governor intrigues me. He's a true conservative, I doubt he would sell out like Governor Pawlenty, is well spoken, a nice guy, and seems to have a following. I don't agree with him on most of the issues, but like his passion. He'd be better than Seifert as minority leader, that's for sure.
The google searches have me thinking.
Other than Sue Jeffers, I can't really think of any Republican who is in a position to run for Governor.
The thought of Mark Kennedy makes me vomit.
Hmmmm...I'll watch Wright County Republican for the announcement.
Seifert compares Bush to an STD
It seems as though Marty Seifert has taken his Seifertisms to a new level.
He compared President Bush to gonorrhea.
Rep. Seifert expounded on a number of reasons and at some point in this list said that it didn’t help that “the President’s approval ratings are right there with gonorrhea.”
Now you may recall that Forum Communications was the group that had the Hatch "whore" comment that was big time news for the week before the election.
No news coverage of the ranking Republican in the House comparing the President to gonorrhea?
When reached for comment, gonorrhea was appalled at being compared to the President.
Minnesota Publius has the scoop! Great work guys!
He compared President Bush to gonorrhea.
Rep. Seifert expounded on a number of reasons and at some point in this list said that it didn’t help that “the President’s approval ratings are right there with gonorrhea.”
Now you may recall that Forum Communications was the group that had the Hatch "whore" comment that was big time news for the week before the election.
No news coverage of the ranking Republican in the House comparing the President to gonorrhea?
When reached for comment, gonorrhea was appalled at being compared to the President.
Minnesota Publius has the scoop! Great work guys!
Kline townhall meeting
Minnesota Matters had a great interview and discussion about the Congressman Kline's townhall meeting in Lakeville this past Tuesday night.
Jeff Fecke has a good piece over at Minnesota Monitor. An even better piece at Blog of the Moderate Left!
A good candidate will be able to capitalize on Kline's fears and his foolish maneuvers.
Christopher Truscott has done his homework as well!
Kline's people contend that this is the 47th townhall meeting in the District since Kline has been elected to Congress, I believe that's what I heard. However, from what I recall as well, it's the first to be done live and in person, versus the phone conferences he traditionally has.
Chris is right, who's going to step forward in the 2nd?
Jeff Fecke has a good piece over at Minnesota Monitor. An even better piece at Blog of the Moderate Left!
Indeed, that’s why I think the Kline camp’s decision to lock down the media was
so foolish. KMSP ran their report noting the “tightly controlled”
environment of the meeting, instead of anything really positive that came out of
it. Kline could’ve scored some points had he been less fearful of anyone
finding out that he talked to the unwashed masses. Instead, the story that
ran on the networks was that Kline was afraid of the unwashed masses.
A good candidate will be able to capitalize on Kline's fears and his foolish maneuvers.
Christopher Truscott has done his homework as well!
Kline's people contend that this is the 47th townhall meeting in the District since Kline has been elected to Congress, I believe that's what I heard. However, from what I recall as well, it's the first to be done live and in person, versus the phone conferences he traditionally has.
Chris is right, who's going to step forward in the 2nd?
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Pelosi what if...
Just for the hell of it, what if Speaker Pelosi and her delegation is actually responsible for Iran releasing the UK soliders?
Damn that would be a sweet, big ole middle finger to W.
Oh well...
Damn that would be a sweet, big ole middle finger to W.
Oh well...
Bachmann...Wonkette: The Chief of Staff Edition
Congresswoman Bachmann made Wonkette again. This is starting to become a non-story now. Kind of like Britney Spears making Star or something, or Tiger Woods on the cover of Golf.
Anyway, it's still entertaining though. Check it out and make sure to read the comments.
Clearly, a LTE to the SC Times is in order here!
Seriously though, 3 months into a Congressional term and the Chief of Staff is already leaving. How soon into his Bachmann exposure did he start looking for a new job?
Chief of Staff's are falling by the wayside quickly in DC.
Scooter Libby
Kyle Sampson
Brooks Kochvar
I have lots of questions about this one...more to follow!
Anyway, it's still entertaining though. Check it out and make sure to read the comments.
Clearly, a LTE to the SC Times is in order here!
Seriously though, 3 months into a Congressional term and the Chief of Staff is already leaving. How soon into his Bachmann exposure did he start looking for a new job?
Chief of Staff's are falling by the wayside quickly in DC.
Scooter Libby
Kyle Sampson
Brooks Kochvar
I have lots of questions about this one...more to follow!
Grand Forks flood post
Since I am researching the pork barrel spending Republicans attached to flood relief for North Dakotan's and Minnesotan's, I have come across some pretty amazing stories.
I was just a little kid in my North Dakota days, but witnessed a mighty Goose River flood during my time in North Dakota. My sister has lived through more of these things than I have. Her and her husband gave my girlfriend and I a tour of the area, the dikes and other things that have been done since the 1997 flood.
I am awestruck at the power of Mother Nature. In December, the river looks so peaceful and quiet. By March and April, people begin to really watch the Red River and other tributaries, trying to see what, if anything, will happen again.
Here is an MPR story on the 1997 Grand Forks Flood.
Losing Lincoln Drive
Grand Forks After The Flood
By Laura McCallum
December 30, 1997
RealAudio 2.0 14.4
For more about the experiences of Lincoln Drive residents, including photos, see Remembering and Rebuilding
Seven months ago, civil defense sirens blew in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warning three neighborhoods to flee the rising Red River. Ultimately, an entire community of 50,000 people evacuated as a result of the largest flood in US history.
Among the hardest-hit areas was a close-knit neighborhood of comfortable older homes and middle-class families in east-central Grand Forks. For the residents who lived on or near Lincoln Drive, the flood took more than their homes and belongings - it stole a sense of community that may never be replaced. These are the stories of three families and what has happened since the sirens blew.
APRIL
ON APRIL 22, 1997, thousands of people chased from their homes by the surging Red River pressed into a hangar at the Grand Forks Air Force base to hear President Clinton offer words of comfort and support.
Clinton: ...We have hardly ever seen such a remarkable demonstration of courage and commitment and cooperation and basic human strength, and we are very impressed and proud to be Americans when we see what you have done in the face of this terrible disaster.
In the audience, three neighbors listened - John Little, Pat Moen, and Susan Cutshall. All lived within a few blocks of one another; all three fled Grand Forks as the Red River spilled over dikes and poured into their homes after rising high above National Weather Service projections to crest at 54 feet - 26 feet above flood stage. The Moens and Cutshalls lived on Lincoln Drive, their backyards bordering the river; John Little's house stood a couple of blocks away on Chestnut.
There was a sense of comfort - even relief - in the air-base hangar, a huge change from the confusion and terror described in the pages of Susan Cutshall's diary in the days leading up to the president's visit.
Cutshall: April 17, 97. It happened in the afternoon. The dike had four cracks at the end of Lincoln Drive. The siren blew. Police came. Guards, fire trucks, helicopters, and I broke down.
We packed clothes and cleared out the refrigerator. Move over to 207 Chestnut where we thought we would be safe.
1:15 Friday, we heard on the radio that the Lincoln gave in, it's filling up - Lincoln lagoon, they call it. We walked all the way home. Not knowing what to expect - two houses from us, you can see the water coming up. Tears (chokes up)- fell down my cheeks - and the guards stopped us and I said, "No, that's our house!"
I got up at 4:30 Friday. The sirens are going off, the phones are ringing. The woman I was staying with, Mary Ann Allen, woke me up and says, "that was a call for prayer." We did. And all I could do is imagine everybody praying to God to stop these waters. Cause we CAN'T. We TRIED.
We went through town very, very slow - creeping. We were still scared because if that engine stalled, we were right in the middle of it. We thought we were going to the air base; instead we went to Faith Community Church on the other side and we thought we were safe ... We got up at 7 am to find out the water's getting closer and closer. So here we are, doing it again. And we went for shelter at the air base. And I told my husband if it comes out this far, I'm leaving the whole state. I've had enough - I can't run away any more.
By the time President Clinton toured Grand Forks, the Cutshalls and their neighbor, John Little, had been staying on canvas cots at the base for three days. Little, a wiry man with a shock of curly hair, moved to Grand Forks in 1969, but you'd never know it to hear his southern accent. The University of North Dakota English professor fully expected to be at the base another week or two.
Little: I don't think the river's gonna be going down much in a week! ... And I do enjoy - visiting. And I'm enjoying watching the people. But it would be nice to take a shower. Little had heard the gurgle of his basement filling the night before he evacuated, and, like many at the base, he wasn't sure what condition his home would be in when he returned. But Pat Moen already knew floodwaters reached the rooftop of her two-story home - her husband, a Grand Forks police officer, patrolled the area. Moen knew they would not return to 501 Lincoln Drive.
Moen: It's hard. And Lincoln Drive area - that whole neighborhood is a real close neighborhood, so - it's hard.
MAY
Three weeks later, mid-May, Moen's neighborhood is deserted, the only sound a wind chime still hanging in her backyard. Some nearby homes were forced off their foundations by the force of the floodwater; Moen's blue 75-year-old home is marked off by yellow police tape. Inside, floors have buckled, half-dried mud is peeling off the kitchen counters, and her refrigerator is toppled over. Moen can't spend any time there - the home's musty flood smell brings on her asthma.
At a restaurant on the other side of town, Moen says her neighborhood is destroyed.
Moen: And I look at my neighbor's houses and I cry - it's hard. It's quiet in Grand Forks, now that the Red River is back within its banks. As residents returned to their homes in the days following the flood, many directed their anger at the National Weather Service for its inaccurate prediction of the river's crest. An army of volunteers is still helping with disaster relief in Grand Forks, but the satellite farms of the TV crews have withered away almost to nothing, and the visits by national politicians have stopped.
Pat Moen and her husband Jim are staying with her mother in a two-bedroom trailer. They've decided to move to North Carolina, where their daughter lives, when Jim retires from the police department in January.
The Cutshalls, who lived a few blocks away on higher ground, are renting a rundown trailer in nearby Emerado, not sure whether to clean up their house, which got about a foot of water on the main floor, or wait for a possible buyout. Both the Moens and Cutshalls' homes are on what's called the "wet," or wrong side of a proposed new dike city officials are considering to protect Grand Forks from future floods, although it isn't likely to be built for several years. Only John Little is living in his home again.
When Little's small, dark basement flooded, a brick wall caved in, but the water didn't reach his main floor. Little knows he was fortunate, but he did spend a miserable five days pumping out his basement, without the benefit of heat, running water or electricity.
Little: That might have been one of the worst weeks of my life. Working in that dungeon, with that muck. And there's no easy way - NO way to glamorize what it was like in that basement. You know, I had a Coleman lantern, and a flashlight, and a squeegee board and a push broom and a 5-gallon bucket so that you were just hauling that muck out of there. Little is glad to be back in his two-story home, which he's been restoring for more than a decade. One of his teenage twin sons lives here, too. The 58-year-old English professor has long planned to stay until he retires to his home state of Mississippi in a few years. He admits he's second-guessed himself a few times, not because of the flood, but because he didn't apply soon enough to get any of the so-called "angel" money. An anonymous donor pledged $15 million to Grand Forks flood victims, to be distributed in no-strings-attached $2,000 grants. Little says he put off applying because he hates filling out forms and standing in line, and now the money's gone.
Little: Everything that the city said - and that I heard through the grapevine - led me to believe that you didn't have to rush to get the money. I thought it was kind of guaranteed. So I felt like they had misled me, and it made me bitter enough - I'm ashamed to say - that I thought, I don't want to be here any more. But I've since backed off of that, now that you have time to think about it. Little is also working on a novel about, ironically, North Dakotans who lost their homes to a reservoir.
JULY
It's early July, nearly three months after the flood. Lincoln Drive is still devastated - little has changed here, except now a few barren lots are evidence Grand Forks has begun tearing down houses. The city council has approved the first phase of a plan to buy out flood-damaged homes. Officials delayed a decision until Congress approved a disaster relief bill allocating more than $1 billion to Minnesota and the Dakotas. The latest damage estimate for Grand Forks alone is more than $500 million.
The Cutshalls have decided to buy a new house seventeen miles away in Emerado, far from the flood-prone river. Sitting in front of 7 Lincoln Drive, Dennis Cutshall is resigned to leaving the place they called home for almost a decade and a half.
Cutshall: That's what kept us here was the neighborhood, and I guess that's finally what's making us decide to leave, because the neighborhood's gonna be gone. Even if our house stayed, the neighborhood's gone. It's an old-fashioned type of neighborhood where you could sit out and wave at people, and kids would play in their bikes and everything, so that's - gonna be tough to leave that. Cutshall, a soft-spoken computer specialist at the University of North Dakota, says he wasn't prepared for how painful it is to see the gaps left by demolished houses nearby.
Cutshall: Tears you up when you see it, you know. I can still walk down on Lincoln and see the houses, and I can still get tears in my eyes from it. The Cutshalls considered leaving Grand Forks and going back to Rochester, Minnesota, where both Susan and Dennis grew up, but their daughter Angie won't graduate from high school for another four years. They also have a grown son and daughter who live in Grand Forks. Like many Lincoln Drive families, the Cutshalls and the Moens are connected through their children - the Cutshalls' older daughter, Patty, is friends with the Moen's daughter, Dawn, who lives in North Carolina.
The Moens still plan to move to a new home near Dawn, but now they've decided Pat will leave in a few weeks, and Jim will join her in January. Pat Moen, like the Cutshalls, keeps thinking back as she looks to a future far from Lincoln Drive.
Moen: The old neighborhood where everybody - they were off Saturday, we got together and threw things on the grill, and everybody brought a little bit of something, and we all had fun. That won't be there. The only thing that'll be there is my daughter and my granddaughter and my grandson. Like many flood victims, the Moens have had their share of recovery headaches - they didn't get the full amount of flood insurance on their home, because the water didn't quite reach the two bedrooms upstairs. But as Pat angrily points out, they can't use the top floor if the house is totaled. Then the city told them the home they paid $38,000 for 18 years ago is only worth $49,000 if it buys them out. The building has also been vandalized. Moen says it's hard to believe it's been almost three months since the flood, yet the lives of flood victims are still so unsettled.
Moen: I mean, a lot of people think everything is hunky-dory up here now - it's NOT. It's far from it. They're still messing around with this buyout ... we're all still soaking wet, and to look at it, it's gonna be awhile before anybody's dry. Even John Little, enjoying a breakfast of bacon and grits in his home, says his future looks more uncertain now. He's been told he needs a new foundation, yet the city won't give him a building permit because he's in the 100-year flood plain. So he may end up being bought out after all. Little says he'd like to settle the matter - but he admits, he can't really feel sorry for himself.
Little: I DO have it easy - I'm in my house, if you took the uncertainty away about what is gonna happen to me, I would be OVER the flood. I didn't lose anything that I cried about.
SEPTEMBER
It's now mid-September, fall semester has begun, and John Little's creative writing class is discussing Flannery O'Connor's "The River." The discussion soon turns closer to home.
Little: Is anybody writing about the flood? Anybody going to?
Student: I think it's still too soon. You know, cause I've thought about writing something about it. But I wouldn't really care... to go through it again or write about it. I'd rather wait a year or two, five, who knows. Another student says she's tired of hearing about the flood, and Little responds it will take years before people affected by the flood quit talking about it - too much remains unsettled.
In Little's case, he still doesn't know if the city will buy out his house, so he'll replace his furnace to get through the winter. Little doesn't want to leave - he says he'll never be able to buy another home with hardwood floors, a fireplace, a bay window, and a front porch for what the city will give him.
A couple of blocks away from Little's house, Grand Forks police sergeant Jim Moen patrols his former neighborhood. Butch, as his friends call him, has been living with his brother since his wife moved to North Carolina at the end of July. He says he often drives around town, trying to find former neighbors. The Moens' house looks the same, except the yard is lush with grass about a foot high. Inside, the walls are covered with different colored molds. As often as he's stopped by to check on the house, Moen says it's still upsetting to see it like this.
Moen: We were going to move anyhow, but it was a good sturdy house, and you know, it would have been good for somebody! The Moens hired an appraiser to try to get a better buyout offer from the city, and the city agreed to the appraisal of $66,000, but the Moens haven't signed a bill of sale yet. Jim Moen has decided to head to North Carolina a month earlier, and retire on his 55th birthday in December. He says it's a bittersweet feeling to leave the area where he's spent most of his life, but he doubts he'll return very often.
Moen: Like I tell some people, I'll be back in the spring of '98 for the flood, as a volunteer! They don't like to hear that (chuckles). Moen says he's heard talk that this winter could be even worse than the last. Meantime, the Cutshalls are getting settled in their new house in Emerado, a small town right next to the air base that sheltered them and other flood evacuees five months ago.
It's a far cry from Lincoln Drive - the Cutshall's gray, ranch-style home sits next to just two other houses on the edge of Emerado. Their backyard borders a field.
Relaxing outside after dinner, Susan Cutshall says it's wonderful to be in a house again.
Cutshall: I like it out here - it's peaceful, it's less hectic, and - I couldn't stand living in Grand Forks because - I don't think it's changed that much since the flood. People are still up in the air as far as what's going on for next year's flood. If it does flood next year, the Cutshalls feel safe, knowing they're seventeen miles from the river. But they miss their neighbors, and Dennis misses the old house.
Cutshall: It doesn't feel like home yet ... I miss the porch - I used to sit out on the porch and watch the storms. I can't sit out on the patio and watch the storms here! The city has offered the Cutshalls $59,000 for their Lincoln Drive home, which they think is a little low. Even if they accept it, they don't expect to get a buyout check until next year. Their flood insurance went to pay off the old mortgage and put a down payment on this house, so now, in their 40s, Susan and Dennis are starting payments on a new, bigger mortgage.
OCTOBER
Thousands of miles away, Pat Moen is adapting to Kannapolis, North Carolina, on the outskirts of Charlotte. A new wind chime hangs in the backyard of the Moen's new home, a double-wide trailer on an acre-and-a-half of mostly wooded land. It's mid-October, and although she's been apart from her husband for nearly three months, Moen has the joy of seeing her grandchildren - 3-year-old Tayler and 1-year-old Dakota - nearly every day.
Moen has started a new job at the Walmart here, transferring from the Grand Forks store, and says her co-workers have made her feel at home. Her two pug dogs keep her company, and Moen is also getting to know her new neighbors, talking to them over the back fence.
Moen says she thinks she and her husband made the right decision to leave Grand Forks, especially now their former neighbors are scattered all over town, and the buyout is dragging on.
Some residents who think buyout offers are too low have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court, claiming the city's program doesn't properly compensate homeowners. Moen isn't part of the lawsuit, but says she doesn't blame residents for suing. She says she doesn't miss Grand Forks, just her neighbors of 18 years.
Moen: There are people there that I care very deeply for, and THAT'S what hurts. The town itself, I don't miss. No. Not from what I see what's going on. That isn't the Grand Forks that I moved there 20 years ago to see. Moen carries a lot of bitterness toward the city of Grand Forks - she's convinced city officials had some warning the river was going to get as high as it did, and could've given residents time to get their belongings out. She thinks the city should be doing more to help elderly residents who lost their homes and can't afford a new mortgage. And Moen says it makes her sick to think their home hasn't been demolished yet - she considers it a health hazard.
NOVEMBER
It's late November back in Grand Forks. A layer of snow covers Lincoln Drive; the only sound, the crackle of leaves blowing across the snow.
The Moen's home is still there, still guarded by yellow police tape. A few blocks away, the Cutshalls home hasn't been demolished, either. Dennis Cutshall stops by every day at noon to check on the house because, he says, they're still liable until the city buys it. But he says he doesn't like the neighborhood's emptiness.
Cutshall: The other day when we went to the house to pick up a few last things, we pulled into the driveway and all there was down there was a set of rabbit tracks. Just kinda (laughs) struck me, that's who's living down there now! In the Cutshalls' new house in Emerado, 14-year-old Angie goes online to talk to friends. She says she doesn't get to see them as much now that they've moved from Grand Forks. She says she doesn't really miss the house she grew up in, yet she doesn't like thinking about their old neighborhood.
Cutshall: I don't go back at all. I don't like to ... 'cause I stay bummed out for a long time. Dennis Cutshall still has trouble sleeping, and says he occasionally has nightmares about fighting the flood, nearly seven months after it occurred. He says he doesn't think there will ever come a time when he and Susan feel like they're "over" the flood.
Cutshall: I think it's too traumatic to ever GET OVER completely. I think we'll recover emotionally and financially and everything. But I think - it's always gonna be there. For John Little, a sense of closure will come when he's settled in a new house. The city has offered him about $52,000 for his home on Chestnut Street, not enough to buy a comparable house in Grand Forks, so Little says he'll likely have to rent for a few years until he retires in Mississippi. He's less anxious than some to see the buyout program move more quickly.
Little: You know, I don't have anything to look forward to that makes me want to rush! I wanna stay here as long as I can. In the end, Little actually got $2,000 from the angel fund, that pool of money he'd thought he missed out on. The city sent him a letter, saying its records showed Little had substantial damage, yet hadn't received any money from the fund. Little says he was happy to even receive the letter, and "delighted" to get the full $2,000 grant.
Although Little's street hasn't changed as dramatically as Lincoln Drive, he is losing his next-door neighbors, whose basement was a popular hangout - so much so it had a name - "The Ledge."
Little: I can FIND other community. It won't be the same - I can't replace Billy and Sharon! You know, there are no other Billies and Sharons in the world! But I can find another community.
And ultimately, so will the Moens and the Cutshalls and the other residents forced to relocate. The city will eventually destroy hundreds of homes as part of its flood mitigation plan. The flood of 97 chased 50,000 people from Grand Forks - many of whom lost their homes and neighborhoods - and far more who lost their possessions. At the time a lot was made of the fact that no one was killed in the disaster. But the story of the Red River Valley flood is a tapestry of individual tragedies, something Pat Moen says, unless you experienced it, you'll never truly understand.
Moen: And everybody says, well, be grateful you didn't lose a life. But you did - we lost life in Lincoln Drive ... We lost a neighborhood, and a close neighborhood. One Moen says can never be recaptured.
I was just a little kid in my North Dakota days, but witnessed a mighty Goose River flood during my time in North Dakota. My sister has lived through more of these things than I have. Her and her husband gave my girlfriend and I a tour of the area, the dikes and other things that have been done since the 1997 flood.
I am awestruck at the power of Mother Nature. In December, the river looks so peaceful and quiet. By March and April, people begin to really watch the Red River and other tributaries, trying to see what, if anything, will happen again.
Here is an MPR story on the 1997 Grand Forks Flood.
Losing Lincoln Drive
Grand Forks After The Flood
By Laura McCallum
December 30, 1997
RealAudio 2.0 14.4
For more about the experiences of Lincoln Drive residents, including photos, see Remembering and Rebuilding
Seven months ago, civil defense sirens blew in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warning three neighborhoods to flee the rising Red River. Ultimately, an entire community of 50,000 people evacuated as a result of the largest flood in US history.
Among the hardest-hit areas was a close-knit neighborhood of comfortable older homes and middle-class families in east-central Grand Forks. For the residents who lived on or near Lincoln Drive, the flood took more than their homes and belongings - it stole a sense of community that may never be replaced. These are the stories of three families and what has happened since the sirens blew.
APRIL
ON APRIL 22, 1997, thousands of people chased from their homes by the surging Red River pressed into a hangar at the Grand Forks Air Force base to hear President Clinton offer words of comfort and support.
Clinton: ...We have hardly ever seen such a remarkable demonstration of courage and commitment and cooperation and basic human strength, and we are very impressed and proud to be Americans when we see what you have done in the face of this terrible disaster.
In the audience, three neighbors listened - John Little, Pat Moen, and Susan Cutshall. All lived within a few blocks of one another; all three fled Grand Forks as the Red River spilled over dikes and poured into their homes after rising high above National Weather Service projections to crest at 54 feet - 26 feet above flood stage. The Moens and Cutshalls lived on Lincoln Drive, their backyards bordering the river; John Little's house stood a couple of blocks away on Chestnut.
There was a sense of comfort - even relief - in the air-base hangar, a huge change from the confusion and terror described in the pages of Susan Cutshall's diary in the days leading up to the president's visit.
Cutshall: April 17, 97. It happened in the afternoon. The dike had four cracks at the end of Lincoln Drive. The siren blew. Police came. Guards, fire trucks, helicopters, and I broke down.
We packed clothes and cleared out the refrigerator. Move over to 207 Chestnut where we thought we would be safe.
1:15 Friday, we heard on the radio that the Lincoln gave in, it's filling up - Lincoln lagoon, they call it. We walked all the way home. Not knowing what to expect - two houses from us, you can see the water coming up. Tears (chokes up)- fell down my cheeks - and the guards stopped us and I said, "No, that's our house!"
I got up at 4:30 Friday. The sirens are going off, the phones are ringing. The woman I was staying with, Mary Ann Allen, woke me up and says, "that was a call for prayer." We did. And all I could do is imagine everybody praying to God to stop these waters. Cause we CAN'T. We TRIED.
We went through town very, very slow - creeping. We were still scared because if that engine stalled, we were right in the middle of it. We thought we were going to the air base; instead we went to Faith Community Church on the other side and we thought we were safe ... We got up at 7 am to find out the water's getting closer and closer. So here we are, doing it again. And we went for shelter at the air base. And I told my husband if it comes out this far, I'm leaving the whole state. I've had enough - I can't run away any more.
By the time President Clinton toured Grand Forks, the Cutshalls and their neighbor, John Little, had been staying on canvas cots at the base for three days. Little, a wiry man with a shock of curly hair, moved to Grand Forks in 1969, but you'd never know it to hear his southern accent. The University of North Dakota English professor fully expected to be at the base another week or two.
Little: I don't think the river's gonna be going down much in a week! ... And I do enjoy - visiting. And I'm enjoying watching the people. But it would be nice to take a shower. Little had heard the gurgle of his basement filling the night before he evacuated, and, like many at the base, he wasn't sure what condition his home would be in when he returned. But Pat Moen already knew floodwaters reached the rooftop of her two-story home - her husband, a Grand Forks police officer, patrolled the area. Moen knew they would not return to 501 Lincoln Drive.
Moen: It's hard. And Lincoln Drive area - that whole neighborhood is a real close neighborhood, so - it's hard.
MAY
Three weeks later, mid-May, Moen's neighborhood is deserted, the only sound a wind chime still hanging in her backyard. Some nearby homes were forced off their foundations by the force of the floodwater; Moen's blue 75-year-old home is marked off by yellow police tape. Inside, floors have buckled, half-dried mud is peeling off the kitchen counters, and her refrigerator is toppled over. Moen can't spend any time there - the home's musty flood smell brings on her asthma.
At a restaurant on the other side of town, Moen says her neighborhood is destroyed.
Moen: And I look at my neighbor's houses and I cry - it's hard. It's quiet in Grand Forks, now that the Red River is back within its banks. As residents returned to their homes in the days following the flood, many directed their anger at the National Weather Service for its inaccurate prediction of the river's crest. An army of volunteers is still helping with disaster relief in Grand Forks, but the satellite farms of the TV crews have withered away almost to nothing, and the visits by national politicians have stopped.
Pat Moen and her husband Jim are staying with her mother in a two-bedroom trailer. They've decided to move to North Carolina, where their daughter lives, when Jim retires from the police department in January.
The Cutshalls, who lived a few blocks away on higher ground, are renting a rundown trailer in nearby Emerado, not sure whether to clean up their house, which got about a foot of water on the main floor, or wait for a possible buyout. Both the Moens and Cutshalls' homes are on what's called the "wet," or wrong side of a proposed new dike city officials are considering to protect Grand Forks from future floods, although it isn't likely to be built for several years. Only John Little is living in his home again.
When Little's small, dark basement flooded, a brick wall caved in, but the water didn't reach his main floor. Little knows he was fortunate, but he did spend a miserable five days pumping out his basement, without the benefit of heat, running water or electricity.
Little: That might have been one of the worst weeks of my life. Working in that dungeon, with that muck. And there's no easy way - NO way to glamorize what it was like in that basement. You know, I had a Coleman lantern, and a flashlight, and a squeegee board and a push broom and a 5-gallon bucket so that you were just hauling that muck out of there. Little is glad to be back in his two-story home, which he's been restoring for more than a decade. One of his teenage twin sons lives here, too. The 58-year-old English professor has long planned to stay until he retires to his home state of Mississippi in a few years. He admits he's second-guessed himself a few times, not because of the flood, but because he didn't apply soon enough to get any of the so-called "angel" money. An anonymous donor pledged $15 million to Grand Forks flood victims, to be distributed in no-strings-attached $2,000 grants. Little says he put off applying because he hates filling out forms and standing in line, and now the money's gone.
Little: Everything that the city said - and that I heard through the grapevine - led me to believe that you didn't have to rush to get the money. I thought it was kind of guaranteed. So I felt like they had misled me, and it made me bitter enough - I'm ashamed to say - that I thought, I don't want to be here any more. But I've since backed off of that, now that you have time to think about it. Little is also working on a novel about, ironically, North Dakotans who lost their homes to a reservoir.
JULY
It's early July, nearly three months after the flood. Lincoln Drive is still devastated - little has changed here, except now a few barren lots are evidence Grand Forks has begun tearing down houses. The city council has approved the first phase of a plan to buy out flood-damaged homes. Officials delayed a decision until Congress approved a disaster relief bill allocating more than $1 billion to Minnesota and the Dakotas. The latest damage estimate for Grand Forks alone is more than $500 million.
The Cutshalls have decided to buy a new house seventeen miles away in Emerado, far from the flood-prone river. Sitting in front of 7 Lincoln Drive, Dennis Cutshall is resigned to leaving the place they called home for almost a decade and a half.
Cutshall: That's what kept us here was the neighborhood, and I guess that's finally what's making us decide to leave, because the neighborhood's gonna be gone. Even if our house stayed, the neighborhood's gone. It's an old-fashioned type of neighborhood where you could sit out and wave at people, and kids would play in their bikes and everything, so that's - gonna be tough to leave that. Cutshall, a soft-spoken computer specialist at the University of North Dakota, says he wasn't prepared for how painful it is to see the gaps left by demolished houses nearby.
Cutshall: Tears you up when you see it, you know. I can still walk down on Lincoln and see the houses, and I can still get tears in my eyes from it. The Cutshalls considered leaving Grand Forks and going back to Rochester, Minnesota, where both Susan and Dennis grew up, but their daughter Angie won't graduate from high school for another four years. They also have a grown son and daughter who live in Grand Forks. Like many Lincoln Drive families, the Cutshalls and the Moens are connected through their children - the Cutshalls' older daughter, Patty, is friends with the Moen's daughter, Dawn, who lives in North Carolina.
The Moens still plan to move to a new home near Dawn, but now they've decided Pat will leave in a few weeks, and Jim will join her in January. Pat Moen, like the Cutshalls, keeps thinking back as she looks to a future far from Lincoln Drive.
Moen: The old neighborhood where everybody - they were off Saturday, we got together and threw things on the grill, and everybody brought a little bit of something, and we all had fun. That won't be there. The only thing that'll be there is my daughter and my granddaughter and my grandson. Like many flood victims, the Moens have had their share of recovery headaches - they didn't get the full amount of flood insurance on their home, because the water didn't quite reach the two bedrooms upstairs. But as Pat angrily points out, they can't use the top floor if the house is totaled. Then the city told them the home they paid $38,000 for 18 years ago is only worth $49,000 if it buys them out. The building has also been vandalized. Moen says it's hard to believe it's been almost three months since the flood, yet the lives of flood victims are still so unsettled.
Moen: I mean, a lot of people think everything is hunky-dory up here now - it's NOT. It's far from it. They're still messing around with this buyout ... we're all still soaking wet, and to look at it, it's gonna be awhile before anybody's dry. Even John Little, enjoying a breakfast of bacon and grits in his home, says his future looks more uncertain now. He's been told he needs a new foundation, yet the city won't give him a building permit because he's in the 100-year flood plain. So he may end up being bought out after all. Little says he'd like to settle the matter - but he admits, he can't really feel sorry for himself.
Little: I DO have it easy - I'm in my house, if you took the uncertainty away about what is gonna happen to me, I would be OVER the flood. I didn't lose anything that I cried about.
SEPTEMBER
It's now mid-September, fall semester has begun, and John Little's creative writing class is discussing Flannery O'Connor's "The River." The discussion soon turns closer to home.
Little: Is anybody writing about the flood? Anybody going to?
Student: I think it's still too soon. You know, cause I've thought about writing something about it. But I wouldn't really care... to go through it again or write about it. I'd rather wait a year or two, five, who knows. Another student says she's tired of hearing about the flood, and Little responds it will take years before people affected by the flood quit talking about it - too much remains unsettled.
In Little's case, he still doesn't know if the city will buy out his house, so he'll replace his furnace to get through the winter. Little doesn't want to leave - he says he'll never be able to buy another home with hardwood floors, a fireplace, a bay window, and a front porch for what the city will give him.
A couple of blocks away from Little's house, Grand Forks police sergeant Jim Moen patrols his former neighborhood. Butch, as his friends call him, has been living with his brother since his wife moved to North Carolina at the end of July. He says he often drives around town, trying to find former neighbors. The Moens' house looks the same, except the yard is lush with grass about a foot high. Inside, the walls are covered with different colored molds. As often as he's stopped by to check on the house, Moen says it's still upsetting to see it like this.
Moen: We were going to move anyhow, but it was a good sturdy house, and you know, it would have been good for somebody! The Moens hired an appraiser to try to get a better buyout offer from the city, and the city agreed to the appraisal of $66,000, but the Moens haven't signed a bill of sale yet. Jim Moen has decided to head to North Carolina a month earlier, and retire on his 55th birthday in December. He says it's a bittersweet feeling to leave the area where he's spent most of his life, but he doubts he'll return very often.
Moen: Like I tell some people, I'll be back in the spring of '98 for the flood, as a volunteer! They don't like to hear that (chuckles). Moen says he's heard talk that this winter could be even worse than the last. Meantime, the Cutshalls are getting settled in their new house in Emerado, a small town right next to the air base that sheltered them and other flood evacuees five months ago.
It's a far cry from Lincoln Drive - the Cutshall's gray, ranch-style home sits next to just two other houses on the edge of Emerado. Their backyard borders a field.
Relaxing outside after dinner, Susan Cutshall says it's wonderful to be in a house again.
Cutshall: I like it out here - it's peaceful, it's less hectic, and - I couldn't stand living in Grand Forks because - I don't think it's changed that much since the flood. People are still up in the air as far as what's going on for next year's flood. If it does flood next year, the Cutshalls feel safe, knowing they're seventeen miles from the river. But they miss their neighbors, and Dennis misses the old house.
Cutshall: It doesn't feel like home yet ... I miss the porch - I used to sit out on the porch and watch the storms. I can't sit out on the patio and watch the storms here! The city has offered the Cutshalls $59,000 for their Lincoln Drive home, which they think is a little low. Even if they accept it, they don't expect to get a buyout check until next year. Their flood insurance went to pay off the old mortgage and put a down payment on this house, so now, in their 40s, Susan and Dennis are starting payments on a new, bigger mortgage.
OCTOBER
Thousands of miles away, Pat Moen is adapting to Kannapolis, North Carolina, on the outskirts of Charlotte. A new wind chime hangs in the backyard of the Moen's new home, a double-wide trailer on an acre-and-a-half of mostly wooded land. It's mid-October, and although she's been apart from her husband for nearly three months, Moen has the joy of seeing her grandchildren - 3-year-old Tayler and 1-year-old Dakota - nearly every day.
Moen has started a new job at the Walmart here, transferring from the Grand Forks store, and says her co-workers have made her feel at home. Her two pug dogs keep her company, and Moen is also getting to know her new neighbors, talking to them over the back fence.
Moen says she thinks she and her husband made the right decision to leave Grand Forks, especially now their former neighbors are scattered all over town, and the buyout is dragging on.
Some residents who think buyout offers are too low have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court, claiming the city's program doesn't properly compensate homeowners. Moen isn't part of the lawsuit, but says she doesn't blame residents for suing. She says she doesn't miss Grand Forks, just her neighbors of 18 years.
Moen: There are people there that I care very deeply for, and THAT'S what hurts. The town itself, I don't miss. No. Not from what I see what's going on. That isn't the Grand Forks that I moved there 20 years ago to see. Moen carries a lot of bitterness toward the city of Grand Forks - she's convinced city officials had some warning the river was going to get as high as it did, and could've given residents time to get their belongings out. She thinks the city should be doing more to help elderly residents who lost their homes and can't afford a new mortgage. And Moen says it makes her sick to think their home hasn't been demolished yet - she considers it a health hazard.
NOVEMBER
It's late November back in Grand Forks. A layer of snow covers Lincoln Drive; the only sound, the crackle of leaves blowing across the snow.
The Moen's home is still there, still guarded by yellow police tape. A few blocks away, the Cutshalls home hasn't been demolished, either. Dennis Cutshall stops by every day at noon to check on the house because, he says, they're still liable until the city buys it. But he says he doesn't like the neighborhood's emptiness.
Cutshall: The other day when we went to the house to pick up a few last things, we pulled into the driveway and all there was down there was a set of rabbit tracks. Just kinda (laughs) struck me, that's who's living down there now! In the Cutshalls' new house in Emerado, 14-year-old Angie goes online to talk to friends. She says she doesn't get to see them as much now that they've moved from Grand Forks. She says she doesn't really miss the house she grew up in, yet she doesn't like thinking about their old neighborhood.
Cutshall: I don't go back at all. I don't like to ... 'cause I stay bummed out for a long time. Dennis Cutshall still has trouble sleeping, and says he occasionally has nightmares about fighting the flood, nearly seven months after it occurred. He says he doesn't think there will ever come a time when he and Susan feel like they're "over" the flood.
Cutshall: I think it's too traumatic to ever GET OVER completely. I think we'll recover emotionally and financially and everything. But I think - it's always gonna be there. For John Little, a sense of closure will come when he's settled in a new house. The city has offered him about $52,000 for his home on Chestnut Street, not enough to buy a comparable house in Grand Forks, so Little says he'll likely have to rent for a few years until he retires in Mississippi. He's less anxious than some to see the buyout program move more quickly.
Little: You know, I don't have anything to look forward to that makes me want to rush! I wanna stay here as long as I can. In the end, Little actually got $2,000 from the angel fund, that pool of money he'd thought he missed out on. The city sent him a letter, saying its records showed Little had substantial damage, yet hadn't received any money from the fund. Little says he was happy to even receive the letter, and "delighted" to get the full $2,000 grant.
Although Little's street hasn't changed as dramatically as Lincoln Drive, he is losing his next-door neighbors, whose basement was a popular hangout - so much so it had a name - "The Ledge."
Little: I can FIND other community. It won't be the same - I can't replace Billy and Sharon! You know, there are no other Billies and Sharons in the world! But I can find another community.
And ultimately, so will the Moens and the Cutshalls and the other residents forced to relocate. The city will eventually destroy hundreds of homes as part of its flood mitigation plan. The flood of 97 chased 50,000 people from Grand Forks - many of whom lost their homes and neighborhoods - and far more who lost their possessions. At the time a lot was made of the fact that no one was killed in the disaster. But the story of the Red River Valley flood is a tapestry of individual tragedies, something Pat Moen says, unless you experienced it, you'll never truly understand.
Moen: And everybody says, well, be grateful you didn't lose a life. But you did - we lost life in Lincoln Drive ... We lost a neighborhood, and a close neighborhood. One Moen says can never be recaptured.
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