Albert Lea Tribune editorials: Thumbs down to I-90; treatment of veterans
DOWN — To the shoddy condition of Interstate 90.
Fans of Albert Lea sports teams find themselves driving to Rochester for games and tournaments. The stretch of I-90 between the Rochester exit and Austin is bumpy and neglected, particularly on the westbound lanes. We know the state’s metrocentric leaders have let the state’s rural roads go, but to let an interstate freeway get this bad shows just little St. Paul cares about southern Minnesota.
This might be a job for the First district's congressman to work on, since he sits on the transportation committee. The paper joins others in the district in decrying the Pentagon's plan to reclassify the military mission in Kosovo:
DOWN — To cutting pay for troops.
Just as area members of the Minnesota National Guard are about to be shipped to Kosovo to support the Kosovo International Security Force, the Pentagon declares its intentions to remove Kosovo’s designation as a combat zone. There remains unrest in Kosovo, and sure it’s not like Iraq or Afghanistan, but if America weren’t fighting two wars, the Pentagon would clearly keep Kosovo’s combat designation. It would be the most dangerous location in U.S. military service. The soldiers — who, by the way, already don’t get paid well enough — deserve the combat pay.
We have friends whose kids have served in Kosovo and even before the pay cut was announced, they lamented how easy forgotten their service in the Balkans was.
Washington Post: House Democrats build support for war plan
The WaPo's article, House Democrats Build Support for War Plan, notes what Congressman Walz wanted in order to sign on with the democratic strategy on Iraq:
Through closed-door meetings, pep rallies, private phone conversations and horse trading, Democratic leaders are moving outward from the 180 solid votes in the party's political center to win the votes on the party's left and right that will be needed to pass the bill later this month.
For Nadler's vote, it meant a provision for enforcement. For the backing of Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), it was language prohibiting an attack on Iran without congressional authorization. For the support of Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), a National Guardsman who trained troops for Iraq, it was the inclusion of a waiver that the president could invoke to get around strict standards of troop readiness.
We're hoping to get into the Cities for the Darfur Town Forum today at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis from 2- 4 p.m.
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